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SEE BACK COVER

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Vol. 1 No. 18

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A Call to Boycott Poland?

Nuke Talks Unresolved

By Jeanette Friedman

(combined services)

Henderson, NV—Diplomatic ﬁreworks sizzled ﬁercely last Sunday at an intergenerational gathering of Holocaust survivors and their descendants when it sounded as if Mark Weitzman, director of Government Affairs, who is based at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in NYC—told a group of more than 350 survivors of the Holocaust and members of the Second and Third Generations not to visit Poland because of the schechita ban. In the audience, seated with

Geneva—As the P5+1 powers continue in their efforts to get a recalcitrant Iran to halt its production of nuclear grade materials, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to rail against any agreement that would leave Iran with its nuclear

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 Mark Weitzman – Director of Government Affairs – Simon Wiesenthal Center

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By Aliza Chazan

ergen is considered a bellwether county; that is, election results here are considered to be an indicator of future trends for people and places beyond Bergen. With more residents than any other county in the state, Bergen County is considered a melting pot: 60.5 percent white, 17.3 percent Latino, 14 percent Asian and 5.1 percent black. A win for a politician here is considered to be a sign that he or she is doing enough right to hit all the demographics; a win in a bellwether county is an indi-

cator of future wins in elections geared toward a larger populace. Since 1996, Bergen has voted Democrat in the presidential race. This fact, combined with the county’s diversity, means that a win here for a Republican has real signiﬁcance. Newly reelected Governor Chris Christie, Republican, had 60.2 percent of residents’ votes. Online political oddsmakers place the odds at seven to one for Christie to get the GOP nomination for 2016 and 14 to one for him to win it all.

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BetEl E

By Elizabeth Kratz

See Pages 42 -45

nglewood—There are few better ways to live in the moment than to watch a sporting event in a large arena, surrounded by others sharing the same experience, breathing in the air of excitement and enjoying the drama of the game. For others, a concert or play, or even a day at an amusement park, can create the same level of transportment and distraction. When children are ﬁghting an illness or going through a difﬁcult time, an exciting outing can ease the burden for a few hours, and the resulting joy in reliving the experience can

(With permission from The Atlantic Wire) eeks ago, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Fund gave George W. Bush a standing ovation. But since news broke that the former president would address an evangelical group dedicated to converting Jews to Christianity in preparation for the End Times, some Jewish leaders and groups have re-

sponded with rather strong criticism. That includes one of the umbrella group’s member organizations—the Anti-Defamation League— which expressed its “disappointment” with the former president’s decision to address an evangelical group in a statement early last week. Bush spoke on Thursday in front of the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute, as Sarah Posner ﬁrst

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Teaneck TBO 8U Closes Out Strong Fall Run By JLBC Sports Staff

Sharing Seats, Easing Burdens

See our Special Dirshu Kinnus Shabbos Coverage!

Bush’s Jews for Jesus Speech Troubles Jewish Leaders By Abby Ohlheiser

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Bergen Post-Election Analysis

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Mike Dube presents tickets for the Jets game to Daniel Morrison.

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emperatures continue to drop but Teaneck’s TBO 8U team stayed hot throughout the fall season. An 8U team generally has a lot of Fall baseball “rookies” as it’s the youngest grouping on the league circuit. This team was fortunate to have four players from last year’s fall team as veterans of the travel experience. Michael Green, Jack Ruditzky, Matthew Schwartz and Jordy Sheinfeld were back looking to improve on last year’s three win experience. Additionally, Joshua Markovitz and Judah Vogel had experience from working with the summer travel team. Five rec standouts ﬁlled out the remaining spots including Eliezer Kravetz, Liev Wolin, Jared Kinches, Jacob Mauskopf and Dani Grinfeld.

With a short eight game season, the team started strong right out of the gate. Week 1 vs the Woodcliff Lakers, Teaneck took a commanding lead and won 19-9 with good at bats. Jared Kinches had the ﬁrst extra base hit of the season with a bases clearing double to break the game open in the second. Game 2 of the sea-

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OPEN HOUSE FOR MEN November 17, 2013

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NEWS

How Arafat Died and How the PA Blames Israel by Khaled Abu Toameh The Gatestone Institute, with permission Ramallah—Palestinians renewed their allegations that Israel was responsible for the “assassination” of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. But a thorough reading of the Swiss scientists’ report shows that their findings are inconclusive. Russian scientists who also examined the remains have said there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that Arafat may have died in 2004 by polonium poisoning. Many Palestinians are saying that Israel could not have “killed” Arafat without help from the people who were very close to him. According to this theory, the same Palestinian officials who have been pointing a finger at Israel may themselves have been involved in the death of Arafat. “I am sure it is someone in his close circle,” Arafat’s widow, Suha Arafat, told Reuters last week. “It must have been someone close to him.” While U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was busy in the Middle East last week trying to prevent the collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Palestinians renewed their allegation that Israel was

responsible for the “assassination” of the Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat. The nine-year-old Palestinian allegation—that Israel had poisoned Arafat— was this time based on the findings of Swiss scientists who conducted tests on his remains and soil taken from his grave. But a thorough reading of the Swiss scientists’ report shows that their findings are inconclusive. Still, the Palestinian Authority [PA] is not willing to let the facts stand in its way. The scientists wrote that “taking into account the analytical limitations, mostly time lapse since the death and the nature and quality of the specimens, the results moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-201.” However, Russian scientists who also examined Arafat’s remains have said that there was insufficient evidence to support the the claim that Arafat may have died in 2004 by polonium poisoning. The Swiss and Russian scientists did not conduct a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Arafat’s death. All that they did last November

was take samples from Arafat’s body in a bid to determine the cause of death. Since the 108-page Swiss report was published by the Al-Jazeera news channel last week, PA officials have been waging a campaign of incitement against Israel. The PA’s campaign has created the false impression among Palestinians that the Swiss scientists were the ones who pointed a finger at Israel. The PA has also created the false impression that the findings of the scientists were conclusive and uncontroversial. On Friday, shortly after Kerry left the region, Palestinian officials took the case a step further at a press conference. “Israel is the first, only and major accused in the assassination of President Yasser Arafat,” Tawfik Tirawi, head of a Palestinian committee entrusted with investigating Arafat’s death, announced at the start of the press conference. The Palestinian charges against Israel regarding the death of Arafat are not new. These charges, which have never been verified, surfaced almost on the first day when Arafat fell ill in his presidential compound in Ramallah. In the past few days, a number of Pal-

estinian officials said in wake of the findings of the Swiss report that it was time to take Israel to the ICC for its ostensible role in the death of Arafat. So while Abbas was reaffirming his commitment to peace during the recent meetings with Kerry, PA officials and media outlets were telling their people that the Israelis must be punished for “poisoning” Arafat and perpetrating various “crimes” against Palestinians. The anti-Israel incitement causes huge damage to Kerry’s continued efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The incitement radicalizes Palestinians to a point where many are starting to talk about the need for revenge, and not peace. But many Palestinians are saying that Israel could not have “killed” Arafat without help from the people who were very close to him. According to this theory, the same Palestinian officials who have been pointing a finger at Israel may themselves have been involved in the death of Arafat. So the charges against Israel are coming back to haunt Abbas and several senior Palestinian officials.

Lots of Looted Art Recovered and Three Pieces Returned (combined services) Europe—Looted Holocaust art has landed in the news recently. The Netherlands will return three paintings by 17th century Dutch masters to the descendants of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The paintings were by Philips Wouwerman, Dominicus van Tol and Hendrik Gerritsz. In 2006, they returned more than 200 paintings to the family. Experts believe that dozens of Dutch museums are in possession of at least 139 items with “problematic origins.” The bigger story was the discovery of a cache of 1400 paintings worth more than a billion dollars in an apartment in Munich—which German police seized two years ago, but never made public. The ﬁnd includes Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Courbet and other knock-

your-eyes-out names. The police found the paintings when they went after tax evader Cornelius Gurlitt, son of German art dealer Hildebrandt Gurlitt, a Nazi collaborator. The Munich resident has since disappeared and, according to Haaretz, his neighbors presume he is dead. The German authorities have yet to explain the delay in reporting the ﬁnd, and informed the Chancellery only a few months ago. The paintings, in generally good condition, were discovered in what the German newspapers called a hovel. The list of paintings or pictures of them will not be posted on line at this time. The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that some of the Nazi-looted art had been conﬁscated from Hildebrandt Gurlitt by the Allied Forces in 1945 and were returned to him in the 1950s. He left them to his son, who is supposed

Nuke Talks Unresolved 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

production facilities intact. Denounced by the New York Times as generating “hysterical opposition,” the Times editorial conveniently failed to address Netanyahu’s position that he wants “a diplomatic solution, but one that actually dismantles Iran’s nuclear program.” Concurring with Netanyahu, a senior U.S. ofﬁcial reported, “The United States and Israel have worked very closely and consulted often in the way to proceed forward. Some days we may disagree on tactics,” said the ofﬁcial, “but we absolutely agree on the objective and we absolutely agree that we need a comprehensive agreement, and we hope to get one very soon.” Over the past weekend, it was reported that France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius 8 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

to have lived an almost hermit-like existence and who sold them off as needed. Haaretz reported that Tel Aviv-based attorney Joel Levi, an expert on looted Holocaust art, told them that “the works that were discovered in Munich are only the tip of the iceberg,” and suggested that thousands of additional works may be stored in other places. The German Weekly Focus also suspects that there are additional stolen works in other places—and the Austrian media reported that Gurlitt owns another house in Salzburg, Austria. But Munich customs director, Siegfried Kloeble, who is working the case, disagrees and says no one will ﬁnd more. The chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann, wants a thorough accounting of why the ﬁnd was not made public when it happened. He says that the story proves that

seemed the sole holdout to ﬁnalizing a proposal that would lift some economic sanctions pending Iran’s agreement to temporarily halt its nuclear production capabilities. This prompted the Times to declare, “If all those inveighing against any deal—namely members of Congress, Israel and Saudi Arabia—see the weekend results as a new opportunity to sabotage it, what is the alternative?” Again the Times failed to mention that “it was Iran that was not prepared to sign the agreement on Saturday night in Geneva. They needed to go home and consult.” In the meantime, Netanyahu continues to press for a “better deal” that would not give Iran everything it wants “without paying for anything.” As Netanyahu stated, “We will continue to speak out” against the deal that is being negotiated, because “this process has a goal…to prevent Iran attaining a nuclear weapons capability.” The next round of talks is scheduled for November 20th.

the Holocaust was not only mass murder, but mass robbery as well. Ruediger Mahlo of The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (the Claims Conference), has demanded that Germany return looted paintings to their rightful owners. “It cannot be, as in this case, that what amounts morally to the concealment of stolen goods continues,” he said. The heirs of Jewish businessman David Friedmann hope for the return of Two Riders on the Beach, a 1901 painting by Max Liebermann that was part of Friedmann’s collection. They saw the painting on TV when the story of the cache discovery was aired and had previously listed the painting, as well as others, on Germany’s Lost Art Internet Database, a registry of art works looted in the Holocaust.

Bush’s Jews for Jesus Speech Troubles Jewish Leaders 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

reported in Mother Jones. He’s the featured speaker at a fundraiser that was headlined last year by Glenn Beck. The organization is probably best known as part of the “Jews for Jesus” movement. While some evangelical groups (particularly those with an End Times-focused mission), along with members of the Messianic Jewish movement insist that “Jews for Jesus” is simply a sect of Judaism, most Jewish people and leaders strongly disagree, and consider the group to be Christian. It’s a

very contentious debate. The Messianic Jewish Bible Institute has since removed all reference to the event from its site, though organizers have conﬁrmed to Mother Jones that it’s still happening, with tickets ranging from $100 to $100,000. It’s not clear whether Bush is receiving a speaking fee for his time. Notably, news of Bush’s commitment to the Texasbased group was immediately condemned by David Wolpe,

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ISRAEL NEWS BRIEFS Sodastream’s $4 Million Super Bowl Ad (JNS.org)—Sodastream, the popular Israeli carbonated drinks company, has announced that it will kick off its 2014 advertising campaign with a $4 million Super Bowl ad for the second year in a row. “The Super Bowl is a proven venue for SodaStream to deliver our beverage revolution message to over 100 million viewers, empowering consumers to enjoy a smarter, ‘better-for-you’ alternative to packaged soda,” said SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum. Israeli Sodastream allows consumers to use regular tap water to create homemade carbonated beverages. Last year, the company generated more than $436 million in revenue.

Jerusalem Undivided Forever (JNS.org)—Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said it is a “founding ethos” of Israel that Jerusalem will never again be divided, and that the city is not up for negotiation. Lapid’s remarks came as Jerusalem is discussed in Israeli-Palestinian conﬂict negotiations. According to Israel Radio, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is Israel’s chief negotiator, and Yitzhak Molcho, who represents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in negotiations, have had differences over the possible borders of Jerusalem. Molcho supports maintaining the current municipal boundaries and including some Jewish communities beyond the security barrier, while Livni supports more ﬂexible boundaries to accommodate Palestinian claims in eastern Jerusalem.

Liberman Cleared (JNS.org) In a unanimous verdict, a three-judge panel on last week acquitted former Israeli foreign minister and Yisrael Beiteinu party chairman Avigdor Lieberman of corruption charges, Israel Hayom reported. Liberman was accused of fraud and breach and trust, but now intends to rejoin the foreign ministry.

U.S. Official: Israeli Planes Strike Syrian Military Base An Obama administration ofﬁcial told CNN Israeli planes struck a military base near the Syrian port city of Latakia last week. An explosion at a missile storage site was reported in the Middle Eastern press. According to the ofﬁcial, the target was missiles and related equipment the Israelis felt might be transferred to Hezbullah. Israel’s military has long said it would target any transfer of weapons to

Hezbullah or any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel. Israel has never ofﬁcially conﬁrmed taking action inside Syria to avoid embarrassing Assad and sparking a potential response.

Amazon Opens Israel According to Al-Monitor, retail giant Amazon’s CTO, Werner Vogels, announced during a visit to Israel last month that: “We are setting up an entity in Israel to support our cloud activity in Israel, which, up until now, has been supported from Europe.” The Amazon service and sales center, to open in early 2014, will also service the Middle East and Africa.

Heroes to Heroes in Israel Ha’aretz reports that Heroes to Heroes, an American non-proﬁt group, brings traumatized U.S. veterans to Israel for spiritual healing. The group has organized and ﬁnanced three Birthright-type trips designed for non-Jewish American war vets—of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the important elements of the trip is the inclusion of disabled Israeli veterans who accompany the Americans during their 10 days of intensive touring. “I’ve had more people thank me for my service here [in Israel] than I have just about anywhere in America,” said Greg Grutter, who did four deployments in Iraq and three in Afghanistan and was medically discharged a year ago after 19 years of service.

IDF Blows Hamas Terror Tunnel (JNS.org)—The IDF detonated part of a Hamas terror tunnel near the Gaza border in the Khan Yunis area recently. During the operation, a Hamas explosion injured five Israeli soldiers, and one Hamas terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire. An ensuing Israeli airstrike in response to the Hamas attack killed three Palestinian terrorist commanders, Maan News Agency reported. The incidents marked the worst Israeli-Palestinian clashes since the eight-day Gaza conflict of November 2012.

Israel and Japan Collaborate (JNS.org) –The Israeli and Japanese governments will establish a joint research and development fund. Also discussed was the option of exporting Israeli agricultural produce to Japan. A secondary goal of the trip was to promote the International Dairy Federation conference, to be held next October in Israel with participants from 54 countries.

Hamas Rockets Can Reach Tel Aviv (JNS.org)—Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is amassing M-75 rockets with a range of 43 miles and the capability to reach the Tel Aviv metro area. While the number of such rockets currently in the group’s possession is still small, Hamas is rapidly working to grow the arsenal. The group does currently have hundreds of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Hamas Textbooks: Torah and Talmud ‘Fabricated’ (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Hamas has introduced new textbooks in the Gaza Strip that characterize the Torah and Talmud as “fabricated,” The New York Times reported. Gaza schools previously used a curriculum approved by the Palestinian Authority. The new Hamas textbooks describe Zionism as a racist movement whose goals include driving Arabs out of all of the area between the Nile River in Africa and the Euphrates River in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. “The Jews and the Zionist movement are not related to Israel, because the sons of Israel are a nation which had been annihilated,” the books say.

Mahmoud Abbas Calls Terrorists ‘Heroes’ at Prisoner Release Celebration (JNS.org)—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held a celebration in Ramallah in honor of the second set of 26 Palestinian terrorists released by Israel as part of Israeli-Palestinian conﬂict negotiations, calling the prisoners “heroes” despite their violent history. Abbas told the crowd, “We welcome our brothers, the heroes coming from behind the bars to a world of freedom and liberty. No permanent peace agreement would be signed as long as there is one single prisoner in Israeli jails,” Abbas said.

Syria’s Chemical Weapons Plants Destroyed, But Actual Weapons Remain The Christian Science Monitor reports that Syria has destroyed its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced. The OPCW now faces the more challenging task of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, thought to include more than 1,000 tons of mustard gas, as well as the nerve agent sarin. The

international community is still struggling to come to agreement on where and how the chemical weapons will be destroyed.

The Kurds Get a Second Chance More than 200,000 Syrian Kurdish refugees have moved into Iraqi Kurdistan—in the Kurdish world view, a passage from one part of their homeland to another. The Kurds disregard the frontiers imposed almost a century ago by Anglo-French power. Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, is a booming city of shopping malls, high-rises and swank hotels. Oil and natural gas have remade the city, as has its political stability, remarkable when set against the mayhem of the rest of Iraq. The Kurdish regional government and almost ﬁve million people who are ofﬁcially part of Iraq in reality belong to an independent nation. The Kurds inhabit fragments o f Syria by the Turkish and Iraqi borders, in the northeast; their lands contain the bulk of Syria’s oil.

Danish Crown Prince Comemorates Holocaust in Israel (JNS.org)—Danish Crown Prince Frederik is visiting Israel to commemorate 70 years since the rescue of Danish Jews during the Holocaust. In October 1943, 7,000 Danish Jews were sent to Sweden by the Danish resistance to escape the Nazis. The Prince is set to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem with Denmark’s education minister and attend a memorial concert by the Jerusalem symphony orchestra. Prince Frederik will also meet Israeli President Shimon Peres to discuss bilateral relations between the two nations, Israel National News reported.

God Works in Mysterious Ways When Rabbi Noah Muroff of New Haven, CT, bought a desk on Craigslist, little did he know that he was also buying 15 minutes of fame. In an attempt to move the desk into his home, he had to take the desk apart. Upon doing so, he discovered a plastic bag containing $100 bills. Counting the money, he discovered that it totaled $98,000. What to do? Muroff immediately called the seller and returned the woman’s money. As he said, “If Hashem wants us to have this $98,000, He will make sure we have it in a way He sees ﬁt.” He told Tablet, “That’s what a Jew is supposed to do.”

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 9

NEWS

Knesset Passes “Tzohar Law” (from combined services) erusalem—Following several years of lobbying and publicity efforts, the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization celebrated a historic legislative victory recently when the Knesset passed the “Tzohar Law.” In October, the newly elected chief rabbinate had attempted to block the legislation. Now couples across Israel will be allowed to apply for marriage licenses in any local rabbinate in Israel. Previously, the couple could only marry in the rabbinical jurisdiction where either the bride or groom ofﬁcially resided and where the local rabbinate functioned as mini-monopolies, which caused widespread resentment among both religious and secular couples. In addition to severe bureaucratic obstacles, many ultra-Orthodox local rabbis prohibit Zionist rabbis from performing weddings. This behavior causes thousands of secular couples to prefer civil ceremonies in Cyprus and Prague instead of Jewish marriage in Israel. These couples are usually unaware that their children will ﬁnd it almost impossible to prove their Jewish roots in the future.

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Livni Defends Kerry By Times of Israel Staff ustice Minister and chief Israeli negotiator with the Palestinians Tzipi Livni came to the defense of US Secretary of State John Kerry after he launched a very public attack on Israel’s West Bank policies during an interview with Channel 2 last Thursday. Kerry is a man who “cares about the State of Israel,” Livni told Israel Radio. “He believes that a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is critical for the security of Israel and in general. He invests a lot of time, effort and heart in this matter. And he speaks from the heart. He’s not saying these things to attack Israel,” she went on. “He’s saying: ‘Friends, when you’ve got an Intifada and terror on your hands, there are those who say OK, there’s terror, and we will not talk to terrorists.’ And I think he’s saying that the quiet is temporary and it’s important for Israel, for the State of Israel and its citizens, to do it [negotiate a final agreement],” Livni added. The justice minister also spoke about Iran and a possible nuclear deal taking shape between the P5+1 world powers and the Islamic Republic—a deal of “limited” sanctions relief in response to an Iranian agreement to start scaling back nuclear activities—saying that an easing of sanctions would lead to an agreement that’s less desirable. US officials said Kerry will fly to Geneva on Friday to participate in the ongoing negotiations between the P5+1 world powers and Iran—a last-minute decision that suggests a deal could be imminent. Netanyahu has described the possible offer to Tehran as a historic mistake and “a deal of the century” for Iran. In an interview with NBC last week,

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“This breakthrough is a historical victory for the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” said Rabbi David Stav, founder and president of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization.” Many people are unaware that Israel is suffering from a wave of mass assimilation and intermarriage. This is mostly due to bureaucratic factors rather than halachic challenges. Tzohar rabbis are devoted to removing any and all administrative obstacles, while remaining one hundred percent committed to halacha. We have a historic responsibility to preserve the future of the Jewish people. We cannot afford to sit by and lose a single Jewish family. This law is also a major breakthrough in Tzohar’s efforts to ﬁght for the legitimacy of hundreds of North American community rabbis who are fully committed to halacha and devote their nights and days to preservation of the Jewish people.” Since its founding in 1996, Tzohar volunteers have assisted more than 90,000 secular brides and grooms throughout their Jewish marriage process, as well as numerous other national Jewish identity initiatives.

US President Barack Obama said that an interim deal with Iran could provide “very modest relief” from international sanctions and that the bulk of them would remain in place. “There is the possibility of a phased agreement in which the ﬁrst phase would be us, you know, halting any advances on their nuclear program, rolling some potential back, and putting in place… some very modest relief, but keeping the sanctions architecture in place,” Obama said. “We don’t have to trust them. What we have to do is to make sure that there is a good deal in place from the perspective of us verifying what they’re doing,” he added. According to Britain’s Telegraph, the deal’s four main points were that Iran would stop enriching uranium to 20 percent and convert its existing stockpile into harmless uranium oxide. Iran would be able to continue enrichment to 3.5% purity necessary for nuclear power plants — but would agree to limit the number of centrifuges running for this purpose. The inactive centrifuges would be able to remain intact. Iran would also agree not to activate its plutonium reactor at Arak, which could provide an alternative route to a nuclear weapon, during the six-month period in which Iran will limit uranium enrichment to 3.5%. Lastly, Iran would agree not to use the advanced IR-2 centrifuges, which enrich uranium three to ﬁve times faster than the older model. In return, the British paper reported, the U.S. “would ease economic sanctions, possibly by releasing some Iranian foreign exchange reserves currently held in frozen accounts” and ease “some restrictions on Iran’s petrochemical, motor and precious metals industries.”

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NEWS

A Call to Boycott Poland? 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

Polish Holocaust survivors who were in Warsaw for a similar gathering in 2011, was the Polish Consul General in New York, Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka. She was appalled at what she heard, as were her tablemates, she told JLBC, just moments after Weitzman’s speech ended to the applause of some participants. In a follow-up conversation, the Consul General told JLBC that she found it very disturbing that in today’s times someone would tell future generations to avoid visiting a country that is a “loyal, political friend of Israel and whose political and cultural elites are committed to combating antisemitism, educating young Poles about the common Polish Jewish history and seeking reconciliation with Jewish communities around the globe.” Ziomecka explained that the schechita ban is a legal and political issue which after being passed by the Polish Parliament, has been appealed, and is now waiting for the verdict of the Constitutional Tribunal (a Polish equivalent of the Supreme Court). She emphasized that the ban itself was not the result of antisemitic sentiments quoting the opinion of the chief rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich: “This has nothing to do with antisemitism.” (The Forward, Nov. 15, 2013) She is also the person who, more than 10 years ago, was one of the creators of the concept of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and had a vision for a museum of Polish Jewish History, which would tell the story in the place where contemporary Judaism—in all its forms and denominations, from Hasidim and Mitnagdim to Zionists and Yiddishists and more—was born. (Today’s Belarus used to be part of Poland, as was Ukraine.) Four Israeli Prime Ministers were born in interwar Poland, which regained its independence in 1918. “For almost one thousand years we jointly inhabited the same land. But the war, with its death and destruction, should not be seen as the last chapter. We have to work together to make the world better, not worse. We should be creating new, positive chapters in our history,” said the Consul General. The museum had a soft opening in Warsaw last Yom Hashoah. Right now it serves as an educational and historical center and sits on top of where Warsaw’s Jewish Quarter and the Ghetto once stood. The area was leveled by the Germans soon after the Ghetto Uprising. When she spoke of the museum and the history of the Jews of Poland there was naught but passion in her voice. “The legacy of the past is not just one of death and destruction. The legacy is also one of accomplishments and co-habitation. When we started, no one wanted such a museum. But then, as they realized the importance of preserving this history, many Polish Christians and Jews alike joined in the endeavor. Poland is where almost 80% of American Jews and a large percentage of Israelis come from. It is their legacy, it is also their place. “The museum—more than anything else—is an educational center, a place where people will come to learn about our shared history and our accomplishments, and also how we can work together. Because the museum faces the monument dedicated to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, visitors will also be reminded of the Holocaust.” She noted that Weitzman did not ask people in the audience to avoid visiting Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, where schechita is banned. “I found it really heartbreaking that a representative of the Wiesenthal Center, which is supposed to stand for tolerance, singled out the people of Poland and their country, oblivious to the progress that has been made since Poland regained 201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

its independence from the Soviet Union in 1989,” said Ziomecka. “He is oblivious to the fact that that he is insulting the memory of those Poles who risked their lives to save Jewish people and ignoring the existence and efforts of hundreds of thousands of young and old Polish patriots devoted to making Poland a place hospitable for all—including the Jews.” She added, “I was very heartened to see that the Polish Holocaust survivors seated at my table were upset and went to the organizers to voice their dissent.” Weitzman told JLBC that his statement in Henderson was conditional, but it seems that that was not what was heard by many people in the audience, including this writer. At one table, people were distracted and listening for keywords, not really paying close attention. He told JLBC, “I said IF Poland cannot guarantee the right of freedom of Jews to practice their religion freely, and ends up barring shechita, I would rec-

ommend that Jewish organizations think twice before suggesting or holding meetings in Poland.” And then he added the words he used at the conference when he closed his remarks: “I hope Poland chooses wisely and that this does not become an issue. I have been in touch with leaders and Jews in Poland and with the Polish government, and I hope the situation can be resolved as soon as possible.” Weitzman also told JLBC that last June he met with museum leaders and educators in Warsaw and was very impressed by the warm and inviting structure. “They have some exciting plans and ideas, and we have offered to cooperate with them and I hope we will continue to work together. I look forward to seeing the core exhibition when it is installed, because I am glad that there is something that will tell the story of the history of Polish Jewry in all its complexities—with all its joy



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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 11

LOCAL NEWS house with over 50 teenage boys representing all the different community high schools. There was cholent, kugel, loads of food, singing and some divrei torah too. Additionally, every week after Mincha on Shabbos at Beth Abraham, the high school boys have a seudat shlishis together with Rav Cohen and Mayer Simcha. This includes singing, divrei torah and more delicious food, which makes for an overall great time. Additionally, there is a twice weekly learning program in the Beth Abraham Beis Medrash. The Teen Zone is always open to suggestions and one can easily suggest ideas to Zahava Finkelstein on the website. Subscribe to the web page to receive all the updates on activities, learning and chesed opportunities at cbateenzonegirls.weebly.com.

Congregation Beth Abraham Teen Zone Launches By Daniel Weiskopf & Matti Fuld ue to a growing number of teens in the Beth Abraham community, the shul, under the auspices of Assistant Rav Tanchum Cohen, has organized teen programming to give its kids a fun, relaxing outlet to gather together in a social setting without the pressure of school. This year, in addition to Rav Cohen, Mayer Simcha Stromer has come along to co-pilot the program dubbed “The Teen Zone” and add vitality to an already exciting program. The program has had a booming start to the year, kicking off the New Year with a Simchas Beis HaShoeiva at the Kazlow

Federation Opens Mailbox for Typhoon Relief In Philippines Paramus, NJ— In response to the widespread destruction caused by super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey has opened a mailbox to accept donations from the community. Federation has reached out to all its partner agencies in an effort to maximize efforts. At one of those agencies, the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, there is deep concern as 92 staff members hail from

the Philippines. Some of those staffers have, so far, not been able to get in touch with their families. In the wake of the storm’s devastation, IsrAID, the Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid, has sent an aid team to the Philippines to provide critical health interventions in the hardest-hit areas. The Israeli team will help local NGOs and UN agencies in treating hundreds of thousands of people affected by one of the worst

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storms on record. Locally, many Filipino-Americans have expressed concern for relatives at home. To make a donation online, go to www.jfnnnj.org/typhoon or call Dana, 201-820-3937. Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey adds value by providing the leadership necessary to create a strong, collaborative, caring, and vibrant Jewish community in northern New Jersey, Israel, and abroad.

A Call to Boycott Poland? 

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and all its sorrows.” Dr. Michael Berenbaum, the Holocaust scholar, arrived at the hall in Henderson in time to witness the noisy reaction to Weitzman’s speech. He is close to Weitzman and the Polish Consul General, both long-time friends of his. He told JLBC, “It was remarkable to realize that what people heard was different from what was said, which clearly indicates the high sensitivity of the relationship between Poles and Jews even now. But I do think that the forces in Europe arguing against schechita and circumcision— in their quest for human rights and animal rights—trespass people’s deep and

Typhoon Haiyan has devastated the Phillipines.

historical religious sensitivities. Given the fact the Jews and Muslims both share these concerns, this offers their communities the rare opportunity to join together to protect their own and each other’s religions.” Junczyk-Ziomecka told JLBC, “The Jewish Second and Third Generations want to learn about the Holocaust, the tragic chapter of Polish-Jewish history— which is what the Poles are trying to do as well. We did not ask the Germans to build their death machine on Polish soil, and yes, there were many instances of murder and crime inﬂicted on Jews by their fellow citizens. There was and still is evil and prejudice everywhere, not only in Poland—which is why I believe that people of good will must join forces and devote themselves to education and to leading the struggle against the rebirth of antisemitism and fascism, so that the Holocaust does not happen again.”

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LOCAL NEWS

YUConnects Holds Successful Teaneck Shabbaton midst the glorious autumn landscape and the unusually warm sunshine of November 1st-2nd, the YUConnects Shabbaton felt equally exceptional. Not merely because Rav Hershel Schachter of Yeshiva University and other notable speakers joined the participants or even because the Teaneck community was so genuinely hospitable to all; what made the Shabbos remarkable was the naturalness of the event itself: a comfortable setting for compatible young men and women to mingle and socialize. YUConnects, the premier social and matchmaking arm of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future, is barely ﬁve years young, but has brought tremendous changes to the modern dating scene. By presenting contemporary educational forums, hosting a state-of-the-art matchmaking website, and by offering a professional staff for mentoring and guidance, YUConnects is able to impact Orthodox men and women preparing for marriage in ways few other organizations can. The events that YUConnects initiates are especially popular; singles can establish relationships in warm, friendly atmospheres thereby increasing their networking and meeting opportunities. Success is in the numbers. To date, YUConnects has

Dr. Pelcovitz to the community at large were exceptionally well-attended. Rotating tables during the courses allowed all the participants to meet each other during all the delicious meals. “I felt that the varied seating pushed me to chat with some men at Friday dinner, again at Shabbos lunch and then I felt more comfortable during the mingling at Shalosh Seudot,” said one young woman. Several Yeshiva University alumni or participants traveled from out-of-town graduate schools to take part in this wonderful event recognizing that they can make many new connections in one weekend. Mindy and Henry Orlinsky graciously opened their home for the Shalosh Seudot buffet as the men and women became absorbed in conversation. Rabbi Kenneth Brander stopped by and shared some fascinating insights into relationships by pointing out that Esav, in the parsha, simply called the lentil soup “adom hadom” and thereby incorrectly focused on “externals” instead of the proper—and important—inner ingredients. The capstone to the weekend was the outstanding Melava Malka at Bnai Yeshurun called, “Are You Game?” In addition to the nearly 70 Shabbaton registrants, approximately 20 more participants joined the interac-

tive game night which was festooned with colorful balloons and six gaming stations ranging from foosball and air-hockey to ipad challenges and a full-screen Jeopardy tournament on the stage. Matchmakers mingled to facilitate more interaction and to make future suggestions for the attendees. One innovative and popular “Make-a-match” suggestion box allowed the men and women to recommend a match idea for their friends from the people they met over the weekend. Couples are already dating, match suggestions are being followed up and the Teaneck community is asking “When can we do this again?” By fostering the prevalence of relaxed and comfortable meeting opportunities, YUConnects and the Teaneck Shabbaton was special, indeed. For more information on YUConnects, contact the ofﬁce at yuconnects@yu.edu, go to the website at www. yuconnects.com or call 212-960-5400 X 6163

YUConnects thanks the following families for their support of our recent Teaneck Shabbaton Lead Sponsor:

Lois Blumenfeld & Dr. Norman Sohn In Loving Memory of Avi Blumenfeld a”h and Judy & Ira Sohn a”h Platinum: $IBOJF -FO (SVOTUFJO r #FDLZ "WJ ,BU[ r .JOEZ +POBUIBO /FJTT +VMJF 4IBCTJ 4DISFJFS r (JMB %PWJE 8FJOTUFJO Lois Blumenfeld and husband Dr. Norman Sohn stopped by the Melava Malka

allowed 272 individuals to ﬁnd their life partner. “So many of us feel that young people today simply don’t have the options to meet the way we did years ago. YUConnects is unique in our circles, and that is why we felt strongly that the program deserves our support,” commented Lois Blumenfeld, who along with her husband, Dr. Norman Sohn, were the lead sponsors of the Shabbaton, geared for men and women ages 21 to 26. Dozens of other local community members joined in the sponsorship to demonstrate support for YUConnects and the event. One of the highlights of the Shabbaton was the compelling Friday night symposium entitled, “A Jew in the Workplace.” This interactive session posed common scenarios, such as meeting colleagues for drinks or at lunch, wearing yarmulkes on the job, handshakes or other physical contact with the opposite sex at work, enabling the attendees to have vibrant discussions on true-life dilemmas. They then beneﬁted by hearing the insightful perspectives of Rabbi Schachter, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt and Mrs. Suzy Schwartz, the distinguished panelists, with lively comments contributed by the moderator, Mr. Allen Pfeiffer. Afterwards, chulent and kugel were part of a beautiful collation which facilitated more mingling. Dr. David Pelcovitz and Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky also offered words of Torah during the weekend and the special lectures on relationships given by 201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

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We also thank the Adult Education Committee & Beis Medresh Program of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun for helping to sponsor this event.

YUConnects conducts educational forums and develops programs that foster healthy meeting opportunities and relationships toward marriage.

www.yuconnects.com November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 13

NEWS

Pew Results Seen as a Wake-Up Call By Philip Berroll ergen County—Close to half of all married American Jews have a non-Jewish spouse. Two-thirds do not belong to a synagogue. And a growing number – especially among those aged 30 or younger – identify culturally as Jewish but describe themselves as having no religion. These are some of the ﬁndings of a new survey, “A Portrait of Jewish Americans,” conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center as part of its Religion & Public Life Project. Since its release to the public, the survey has reignited the decades-long debate in the American Jewish community over assimilation, intermarriage and the difﬁculties of maintaining a Jewish identity in an open, pluralistic society such as the U.S. The Pew survey, the most comprehensive opinion

poll of American Jews since 2001, was conducted from February through June of this year. In order to obtain a representative sample of poll respondents, the survey covered geographical areas, such as the Northeast, in which 90% of the American Jewish population U.S. resides. The survey paints what many Jewish leaders are calling a disturbing picture of a people increasingly cut off from their roots and traditions – and not just because of the findings on intermarriage and synagogue membership. Researchers also reported that one-fourth of respondents said they did not believe in God, one-third had a Christmas tree in their home last year… and 34 percent said it was possible to be Jewish while believing that Jesus was the Messiah. But one finding in particular has raised alarms: 22 percent of American Jews self-identified as having no re-

Rabbi Neil Winkler

Rabbi Lawrence Zierler

ligion – but among so-called millennials (those born after 1980), the number increased to 32 percent, suggesting a trend that if left unchecked could lead to further attrition in the American Jewish population. For several of Bergen County’s leading rabbis, the survey has confirmed what they had observed, or suspected, for some time—and should be seen as call to the Jewish community. THE ORTHODOX UNION, IN COLLABORATION WITH STAJE AND CONGREGATION BNAI YESHURUN a wake-up Rabbi Neil Winkler of Congregation Young IsIS PROUD TO PRESENT A 4-WEEK FALL SERIES THAT FOCUSES ON… rael of Fort Lee said he was not surprised by the growing number of non-religious Jews. “Since the collapse of the ghetto walls and the increased mingling of Jews with the ‘outside world,’ the secularization of the Jew has increased as well,” he observed. “For the survival of a people numbering less than .02 percent of world population, this is a major challenge. “With less and less Jews observing, with more The SENIORS ACTIVELY GROWING AND EXPLORING and more Jews intermarrying, it is no wonder INITIATIVE is a forum focused on enhancing the that 32 percent of the millennials say they have no religion,” he added. “For most of them, there educational opportunities of the Jewish Community. most probably was very little meaningful religious observance, education or conversation in their home.” Rabbi Lawrence Zierler of the Jewish Center 641 West Englewood Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666 of Teaneck said the survey illustrated how many Jews had become “consumers” of a cultural exMONDAYS 10/21, 11/4 & 18, 12/2 perience rather than “joiners” of a religious comRegistration and lunch 12:00 PM munity. “When you’re a consumer, you don’t easiProgram 12:30-2:30 PM ly wear a label – and if you’re not a joiner, you not a stakeholder,” he said. “And I think that’s Open to Men & Women. Walk-ins Welcome are how you get this statistic of people who don’t consider themselves to have any religion, or who Registration Fee: $20 for all four sessions belong to a synagogue for vestigial reasons or be$10 per workshop cause of a ‘tribal’ connection rather than a religious connection.” Includes lectures and lunch There were some brighter spots in the survey. Most of the respondents expressed pride at REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.OUCOMMUNITY.ORG being Jewish and said they had a “strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people,” while 69 perOR CALL 212.613.8300 cent said they had an emotional attachment to Israel (though only 17 percent agreed that building settlements in the West Bank was helpful to To view previous Israel’s security). presentations on line visit: And the findings were relatively positive for Marc Weiner Martin M. Shenkman, P.C. Orthodox Jews: The survey found that 98 percent http://ow.ly/pQ4ss BOOMERS – PLANNING FOR HOW TO STRENGTHEN of married Orthodox have a Jewish spouse – the YOUR EMPATHIC LISTENING overall number for American Jews is 56 percent RETIREMENT AND LATER LIFE: & COMMUNICATION SKILLS: – and that far fewer young Orthodox than in the ESTATE AND FINANCIAL past are either leaving for other branches of JudaAN EMPATHY LABYRINTH PLANNING ism or abandoning the faith entirely. Rabbi Steven Pruzansky WORKSHOP But Rabbi Zierler considers this to be “a semiAlex Bailey, Psy.D. Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Reuben Ebrahimoff, consolation” at best, while Rabbi Winkler beCHANUKA: RECOGNIZING “The Haftorah Man” lieves that no one in the Orthodox movement “should smile at any of the [survey] results. THE BIBLICAL AND THE MIRACLES AROUND US “Losing any Jew is a tragedy, and with numHISTORICAL BACKGROUND Devorah Wechter, MS RD CDN bers indicating that we are disappearing, there OF THE JEWISH HOLY DAYS Rabbi Menahem Meier is nothing to celebrate,” he said. “It is only natural that those with less intense emotional, educational and social connection to their heritage their people would find it easier to leave the STAJE.ORG and fold, so I would expect that fewer Orthodox Jews would be doing so. But they are still leaving. And we, too, must wonder why – and what can we do to stem the tide.”

The SAGE Initiative

CONGREGATION BNAI YESHURUN

Monday, November 18, 2013 Monday, December 2, 2013

Monday, October 21, 2013

Monday, November 4, 2013

www.oucommunity.org 14 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774



CONTINUED ON P. 51

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LOCAL

Days of Yore: Teaneck, Circa 1976 By George Friedman omeone once said: “If you live long enough, you start to sound just like your parents.” It may have been my nearly 90-year-old dad who said that. He often regales me with tales of when hot dogs at the kosher deli cost a nickel back when he was a kid. An article in the last issue of The Voice (“Teaneck: Looking Back, Moving Forward”) described Teaneck back in 1988, and among other things noted that you could get an apartment in West Gate for $600 a month. That prompted me to think to myself “Back in ’76, when we were young, our rent was $246 a month – for a two bedroom!” See, Dad? I sound just like you.

Coming to Teaneck We came to Teaneck after Ellen and I wed back in 1976 because of parking. Really! My great- uncle Sam owned an apartment building in Kew Gardens, and he offered us a great deal. We arrived one evening to look at the apartment, and it took us over half an hour to ﬁnd a parking spot—metered, of course—causing me to mutter to Ellen, “Can you imagine going food shopping at night? I’ll have to lie down in the spot to save it.” The apartment was nice enough and the rent cheap. My great-uncle described the shuls, shopping, proximity to transportation, and his belief that this was an up-and-coming Jewish community. To which I replied, “That’s all very nice, but

I can’t live in a place with bad parking.” Ellen’s brother Ed and his wife Barbara lived in Teaneck, having moved there a few years before. They offered to get us into their apartment complex, the Henrich Hudson Apartments on Lozier Place (between Terrace Circle and West Gate). They, too, described the shuls, shopping, proximity to transportation, and their belief that Teaneck was an up-and-coming Jewish community. Said I, “That’s all very nice, but how’s the parking?” When they told us parking was plentiful and not metered, I was hooked. So, we settled in Teaneck after our wedding. We were part of Aliyah Bet—the second wave of frum folks who moved to Teaneck. Funny thing, though, Ellen’s brother and his wife moved out about ﬁve minutes after we moved in. I often wonder about that.

Coming to Beth Aaron There were just two Orthodox shuls in Teaneck back in 1976—Beth Aaron and B’nai Yeshurun. So, we checked out both shuls. B’nai Yeshurun was nice enough, but I was kind of leaning toward Beth Aaron, because the “parking” (seating) was tight at B’nai Yeshurun. What really sold me on Beth Aaron was the following incident: It was a warm early spring day. The AC was not on, but with the windows open it was comfortable. An older gent—someone’s guest I imagine—was sitting next to the window. Then this transpires:

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• Old gent closes window. • Another congregant walks over and opens it. • Old gent closes window. • The same congregant walks over and opens it again. Old gent closes window. • The same congregant walks over and opens it again. • As the congregant starts heading back to his seat, the older gent starts reaching for the window. • The same congregant turns and says “You touch that again, I’ll break your hand! Why do we all have to be hot? Sit somewhere else!” That worked for me, since I was thinking exactly the same thing. I just had to join that shul! The congregant and I became friends and neighbors, and Ellen and I became active members, serving on the board and various committees, and being honored at the shul dinner (me, twice). In reality, it turned out Beth Aaron was then and is still today a great shul that, despite signiﬁcant growth, is a warm, friendly and welcoming place. When we joined Beth Aaron it was in a house. I sat in the talking section back near the ﬁreplace because Rabbi Fass couldn’t see you. The shul had mice, who we sometimes tried to count toward a minyan. We held kiddushim in a small upstairs bedroom, often using an ironing board as a serving table. We’ve experienced three expansions over the years.

Today, it is housed in a beautiful, modern, much larger building and the mice and ironing board are gone.

Amenities Hard to believe, but at one point there were very few amenities for frum Jews back in the day. For example: Restaurants: There were just two kosher restaurants back then, Jerusalem Pizza and King David. Jerusalem, which was located around where the Teaneck General Store is today, was half the size it was in later years. They had a Tuesday night takeout special; you got a plain pie for $2.99! The King David was a ﬂeishig restaurant located where Pizza Crave is today. It operated according to no discernable schedule. I’m sure today there would be an app for this, but back then there were ad hoc phone trees. Someone would notice that they were open and call a friend, who would call another friend, etc. There were no kosher establishments on what today is “Restaurant Row” up in the Plaza. If you wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant, and didn’t want to go to the city, you went to either Gartner’s Inn (located near the Tappan Zee Bridge), or the Pelham Manor (located, oddly enough, in Pelham, NY). Bakeries: There were no kosher bakeries in Teaneck back then. The ﬁrst one, called “Phibbleberry’s” was on Queen

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CONTINUED ON P. 19

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 15

LOCAL NEWS

A Modern-Day Maccabee Comes to Town By Fran Gozland eaneck—It isn’t often that a modernday Maccabee arrives in Teaneck area scant days before Chanukah, but that’s just what will happen on Shabbat/November 15-16. Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich is a genuine Jewish hero. A founder of Riga’s Jewish underground under oppressive Soviet rule in the mid-20th century, he and a group of daring colleagues planned to steal a Russian civilian airplane and ﬂy it under the USSR’s radar to freedom. But the KGB secret police found out, and arrested the 12 plotters as they were about to board the plane at a Leningrad airport.

Their trial in 1970 riveted world attention on Soviet Jews desperate to immigrate to Israel. After international protests, the Kremlin backed off from the two death sentences meted out, but still imposed long years of punishment in the notorious Gulag of prisons and labor camps. Mendelevich was sentenced to 13 years. Mendelevich’s deﬁance of his captors in the hell of the Gulag became legendary,as he constantly deepened his love for Israel and his emunah (faith), his insistence on covering his head, keeping Shabbat and observing the commandments to the extent possible. Finally, after a 56-day hunger strike, and over a

decade of Western protests on his behalf, he was suddenly, miraculously released and ﬂown to an ecstatic reception in Israel. In freedom in the Jewish state, Mendelevich fulﬁlled his dreams of serving in the IDF, married and became the father of seven, and obtained his smicha (rabbinic degree). Today he happily teaches Torah in Jerusalem, and is the author of his acclaimed autobiography, Unbroken Spirit. Rabbi Mendelevich, who speaks English, has the extraordinary ability to connect with audiences young and old as he relates his life story. He will speak on Friday night, November 15th, 8 pm, at an

oneg shabbat at Congregation Beth Abraham, 396 New Bridge Road, Bergenﬁeld. He will speak on Shabbat morning, November 16th, at the 9:10 am early minyan and 10:30 a.m. main minyan at Congregation Rinat Yisrael, 389 West Englewood Avenue, Teaneck. He will also speak at seuda shlisheet after a 4 p.m. mincha at Congregation Keter Torah, 600 Roemer Avenue, Teaneck. On Saturday evening, Rabbi Mendelevich will sign copies of his autobiography from 7:30 - 10 p.m. at the Teaneck General Store, 502A Cedar Lane, Teaneck. For more information, contact (917) 405-9211.

VETERAN’S DAY

Ralph Gerber and the Jewish War Veterans By Lisa Matkowsky his Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, Bergen County joined the rest of the country in honoring the service and sacriﬁce of our hometown war veterans. Ralph Gerber, an Army veteran and River Edge resident, is commander of Jewish War Veterans Post 498 in Teaneck and is very cognizant of the fact that, despite national respect, in the Jewish community, Jewish veterans are mostly overlooked. Since 1896, when the organization

was formed by Jewish Civil War Medal of Honor recipients to counterbalance antisemitic canards of non-military service by Jews, the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, the ﬁrst veteran’s organization chartered by Congress, has existed to challenge antisemitism, to uphold the image of the Jewish patriot, and to support all veterans rights. “There are deﬁnitely challenges in preserving the mindfulness that Jews also fought,” Gerber said. “The general population needs to know, and local post

e n i n a u G

Pre

scho

l o

Located at Netivot Shalom 811 Palisade Ave 2’s class is run by Aliza Safran Monday-Friday 9:00am-1:00pm 3 year old nursery class is run by Carmela Rosenbaum Monday-Friday 9:00am-2:00pm Extended hours and early drop off available!

Registration for September 2014 opening October 14th Call about summer camp 2014 for nursery and pre-k For more information contact Aliza Safran 201-724-8886 alizasafran@gmail.com Carmela Rosenbaum 201-951-7458 carmrox@yahoo.com

16 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

works hard to make sure that Jewish participation is recognized and commemorated as well.” Mr. Gerber was stationed in England from May 1952-October 1954 after he volunteered for Army service, and is deeply proud to have served his country during the Korean War. Even though his posting didn’t take advantage of his fluency in German, Italian and French, Gerber felt it was his civic duty to serve in whatever capacity was needed. “It’s very important to instill love of country and flag in our young people,” he added. “I really felt it.” But despite American participation in many wars since WWII, veterans’ organizations are having a rough go maintaining their membership. Gerber told JLBC, “Every veterans post has problems except those in Florida. Most of our members are vets of World War II and there are difficulties inherent in sustaining our aging membership. Many face hardship in cold weather or are unable to drive at night. Our oldest veteran is 100 years old. Nevertheless, we go on trips, march in parades and put flags on the graves of deceased veterans. This is essential both to publicize Jewish participation in war efforts as well as to provide needed camaraderie for our veterans.” Teaneck’s Post 498 is the joint post for both Teaneck and New Milford, having through the years already absorbed posts from Englewood and Bergenfield. It has about 120 members. Meeting regularly on the first Sunday of every month, these Jewish veterans participate in myriad activities—from visiting hospitalized veterans, promoting veteran’s issues, participation in parades and memorial services, doing chesed, participating in community activities and in activities of the national and state organization. “It is very difficult to raise funds for these crucial activities,” Gerber noted. y few donors and almost “There are very

no support from the community, and the National dues are high and constantly increasing. Our membership is getting smaller and smaller and younger vets are not joining. They have no interest. We recently wrote to every temple in the county to entreaty their members to join local posts,” he continued. “We did not receive even one response.” In spite of the difﬁculties, Gerber remains positive and enthusiastic, working very hard to sustain the get-togethers and activities. Last year, due to the determination of their commander, the post went to The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. They also marched in the July 4th parade in Teaneck, participated in memorial services, and plan to take a trip to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park this coming May. “We are ﬁnancially restricted but continue with our activities,” said Gerber. “It’s important for our veterans in order to preserve the spirit of comradeship, and for our community to preserve the memories and records of patriotic service performed by the men and women of our faith; to honor their memory and safeguard from neglect the graves of our heroes.” That is the that message from those who served; would the community prove it felt the same way.

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18 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

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LOCAL NEWS

Rinat’s 26th Dinner Set for Dec. 21 ongregation Rinat Yisrael will hold its 26th annual dinner on December 21, 2013. Guests of Honor are Moshe and Ilana Wertenteil. The Sruli Guttman Memorial Service Award will be presented to Avi Katz, and the Young Leadership Award will be given to Rena Zelig. For more information or to make reservations please call 201-837-2795.

Tenafly Mikvah Celebrates Bat Mitzvah Year By Aviella Bareket enaﬂy—Women from all over Bergen County joined the Chabad Tenaﬂy Mikvah of Lubavitch on the Palisades in celebrating its bat mitzvah year—its 12 year anniversary. The event honored the women who dedicate time to come to the mikvah. An inspirational program by Mrs. Sarah Karmely had the women discussing the mystique of the mikvah. They also donated gifts to beautify the facility. The evening was topped off with

a tour of the facility which has been newly renovated. Funds were raised with rafﬂe that offered wonderful prizes. Each woman left with a gift bag and felt a special connection to the beautiful mitzvah of mikvah. For more information about the mikvah please contact Mikvah Director Nechama Shutyak at (201) 816-0440. For more information about the Chabad Women’s Circle events, please contact Naomi Gershovitz at Naomi@chabadlubavitch.org or 201-871-1152 x543.

Avi Katz

Medical Supply Gemach Opens in Teaneck By Estelle Glass

cal equipment, such as walkers, commodes, shower chairs, even a motorized wheelchair along with many other items, will shortly be able to do so by contacting the Levy’s at Yehiel@ optonline.net or call Yehiel at 201-3575495 and he will even arrange for the item to be personally delivered to your home. At present, all donated medical items are being stored in a spare room at the Levy apartment in Teaneck. However, the family is looking for volunteers to help them out with garage or basement space as their limited space is rapidly ﬁlling up. The Levy family is operating the gemach solely as a nonproﬁt organization, so no monetary donations are being requested. Please watch for postings on Teaneck Shuls or Beth Aaron newsletter for the exact opening dates and hours of the gemach. May this wonderful tzedakah bring comfort to the family.

eaneck—After the death of Renee Chaya Levy of Teaneck seven months ago, her son Chaim, and her widower, Yehiel Levy, came up with the idea of establishing a much-needed medical gemach to honor her memory. As anyone who has suffered an illness or experienced surgery recognizes, it is often expensive and certainly time-consuming to obtain all the many devices necessary for the patient to function on a daily basis. With the blessing of Rabbi Larry Rothwachs and the cooperation and participation of the members at Congregation Beth Aaron, the family decided that they would be able to “help people who are down on their luck,” at a particularly trying time in their lives, while paying tribute to their wife and mother. Thanks to the gemach, anyone who wishes to borrow or to donate medi-

Days of Yore 

CONTINUED FROM P. 15

Anne Road near Ludwig’s Hardware. I didn’t name it. [ed.note: No. You didn’t. But the editor of JLBC did, and she’s still married to the guy who owned it.] Meat: Nope, no kosher meat either. People got their meat from Elizabeth, the Heights, Brooklyn, or Queens. Mikveh: There were no mikvehs in Teaneck. One had to shlepp to the Heights, Great Neck, or this scary place in Union City. Kosher Markets: Are you kidding?

Moshe & Ilana Wertenteil

Rena Zelig

Darchei Noam Celebrates Its First Dinner air Lawn—Nathan and Rachel Bednarsch were recently honored at Congregation Darchei Noam of Fair Lawn’s ﬁrst annual dinner, held at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center. All guests were toasted and roasted as dinner was served. Most importantly, the Congregation and community expressed their appreciation to the Bednarsches, who were founders of Darchei Noam, and held services in their Kenneth Avenue home. Nathan also served as the congrega-

tion’s president. Rabbi Jeremy and Rebbitzin Shira Donath inspire and excite both old and new members with their warm and welcoming attitude, which contributed greatly to the shul’s expansion. Since its inception seven years ago, the congregation has grown signiﬁcantly and recently celebrated its fourth year in its Alexander Avenue location. The kehilla is looking to expand and enlarge the facility to include its many new young families.

Nothing existed. No Ma’adan, no Glatt Express, no Best Glatt, no Grand & Essex, no Cedar Market, no nothing. A big treat was heading to Main Street in Queens to go food shopping.

Today Teaneck today has become an amazing place. A time traveler form 1976 would be astounded to see the growth in terms of Yiddishkeit. The number of orthodox shuls, restaurants, and services is breathtaking. In short, there have been many, many changes. On the other hand, some things haven’t changed; the parking is still good!

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LOCAL NEWS

Shelley Steiner Employee of the Month at Jewish Home ockleigh—Shelley Steiner, L.S.W., social worker at the Gallen Adult Day Health Care Center which is part of the Jewish Home at Home, has been chosen Employee of the Month for November 2013. Shelley, a graduate of the Columbia School of Social Work, has been at Gallen since 2002. Gallen provides supervised day programs to frail seniors, disabled adults and those with cognitive impairment, Steiner explained. “We can improve their quality of life while monitoring their physical needs. And we give their caregivers respite.” Asked what she enjoys about her work, she said, “I feel I make a difference with participants and the families I work with, advising them and guiding

Al Qaeda’s Most Dangerous Stronghold The Daily Beast reports that two Al Qaeda franchises are grouping at the Syria/Iraq border and using the region’s chaos to make things much worse. The blog says that “Hundreds of new jihadist fighters are flocking to this battlefield in the heartland of the Middle East. And with the civil wars in both countries all but certain to endure for the foreseeable future, the danger from this stronghold is growing. The older and more dangerous calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and al Shams (ISIS). Al Shams

20 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

them with information they need to care for family members. The Jewish Home is a health care continuum, but it recognizes that people want to stay at home. By working with them here, we can offer that as an option.” In addition, Steiner works with the Alzheimer’s Association and facilitates the support group for caregivers held at Gallen as well as acting as liaison between Congressman Bill Pascrell and the Alzheimer’s Association to keep him apprised of what’s happening with the disease. “I’m very fortunate to work with an organization that supports these endeavors,” she said. Her supervisor, Joan DiPaola, R.N., Gallen’s director, said “Shelley is not only a colleague but a great, supportive friend. means ‘Greater Syria’—that is, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel-Palestine—and the name reﬂects ISIS’s ambitions. It intends to erase the borders of the modern Middle East created a century ago by Winston Churchill after the end of World War I, and to create an al Qaeda-run emirate across the region. Every week, ISIS terrorists carry out multiple acts of mass-casualty violence in Syria and Iraq.”

Munkacser Whistle-Blower To be Prosecuted by Hynes The New York Times reports that

She is a social worker with an enormous heart and reaches out to help partici-

pants enrolled in the program as well as their families. She is a team player and pitches in wherever she’s needed. She’s a great asset here in the Adult Day Health Care Program.” Residents of Englewood, N.J., Shelley and her husband Jeffrey have three children: Yael, 27, who is an attorney; Ian, 25, who works in real estate equity, and Perri, 22, who is in nursing school. The Jewish Home Family and its member entities are not-for-proﬁt organizations, providing long-term care, sub-acute, outreach programs and outpatient services for the elderly and their families in Bergen, North Hudson and Rockland counties. For further information or a photo, please call 201-750-1414.

Sam Heller, father of a son groped by a prominent Hasidic cantor, Baruch Lebovitz, will be prosecuted after all, for attempting to bribe a witness. Hynes demoted two seasoned prosecutors who assured Kellner the charges would be dropped and also ﬁred Barbara Burke, a prosecutor and former nun who complained that the ofﬁce had not passed along—as required— records to a lawyer trying a wrongful conviction case against Mr. Hynes and his rackets chief and longtime friend Michael F. Vecchione. Hynes and Vecchione have vowed to prosecute Kell-

ner again. The case revolves around Lebovitz, who has close ties to the politically powerful Munkacser Rebbe, Moishe Leib Rabinowich, who is against reporting child sexual abuse to the police. Lebovitz was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to up to 32 years, and was then released on a technicality, while attempts were made to buy off Kellner, who was cooperating with police detectives. Other Lebovitz victims came forward, then they lied about their relationships, blaming Kellner for “paying” them off. Lebovitz is awaiting a new trial.

Photo caption: (from left) Joan DiPaola, R.N., Gallen’s director, EOM Shelley Steiner, and Chuck Berkowitz, president and CEO, Jewish Home Family after the presentation of the award.

201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

NEWS: ANALYSIS

The Believer By Ben Birnbaum (With permission from The Washington Post)

PART 1 In early 2011, a disgruntled former employee of the Palestinian negotiating team handed Al Jazeera the biggest leak in the history of the Arab-Israeli peace process. The Palestine Papers—a collection of internal emails, working papers, and meeting minutes—contained shocking revelations about the compromises Palestinian leaders had made during the last serious negotiations with Israel, which began in late 2007 at Annapolis, Maryland, and continued into 2008. But the documents also put a spotlight on the surprisingly cordial—even congenial—relationship Palestinian negotiators had enjoyed with their Israeli counterparts. And they left little doubt as to which member of the opposing team had been their favorite: Israel’s foreign minister and chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni. Abbas supporters in the West Bank. During negotiations, Livni says, Abbas would bring her cigarillos “so I could join the men smoking.” “I would vote for you,” chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei told Livni, according to the minutes of one 2008 meeting. Saeb Erekat, another top Palestinian, suggested to U.S. ofﬁcials that he could appear alongside Livni “in public events to demonstrate [to the Israeli public] we have something since Annapolis.”

“What we had in Annapolis was trust,” Livni, 55, told Newsweek recently. “Even when we argue, we respect each other. And we respect the demands, even when we say no.” Livni quit smoking in 1998, but she recalled that, during those talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would bring her cigarillos “so I could join the men smoking.” It wasn’t just the Palestinians who were fond of Livni back in 2008. As foreign minister, she had become a beloved presence around the world. “She was well regarded by the Europeans as someone who

unable to form a coalition, forcing her to call early elections. Though Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party won one seat less than Livni’s Kadima in the February 2009 vote, the strength of other right-wing parties left him in a stronger position to form a government. Netanyahu became prime minister, Livni became opposition leader, and the peace process more or less froze. In 2012, after three years of failing to bring down Netanyahu’s government, Livni was thrown out of the party leadership by Kadima voters in a landslide. She re-

Tzipi Livni still thinks peace is possible between Israel and Palestine. Now she has a chance to prove it. wanted to end Israel’s isolation, so she was someone they could work with,” former secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told me. “In Washington, she was seen as someone who was trustworthy, committed, and hardworking. The president personally liked her a lot.” Meanwhile, at home in Israel, where top politicians are generally assumed to be crooked, she had built a reputation for honesty. When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned in September 2008 amid mounting corruption allegations, Livni became head of Israel’s ruling Kadima Party and seemed on the verge of becoming Israel’s second female prime minister. Then, almost overnight, things fell apart—for both Livni and the prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace. Livni proved

turned to politics eight months later to contest the January 2013 elections as the head of a new, peace-focused, center-left party. But with Israeli politics prioritizing domestic issues for the first time in decades, she found herself badly out of step with the national zeitgeist—and her party finished seventh with just 5 percent of the vote. Livni’s historical moment, it seemed, was over. Rice and Livni in 2007. Rice recalls Sharon telling them, “You two women will do some good things for the world.” But something strange happened a few weeks after the election: Livni appeared at a joint press conference with Netanyahu to announce that her party would be the first to join his new government. Netanyahu, seeking to build a centrist coa-

lition that would ease his tensions with the world, had given her the post of justice minister and—at her request—the chance to head any new peace talks with the Palestinians. Livni’s timing couldn’t have worked out better: after months of intense shuttle diplomacy by John Kerry, negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians have now resumed in earnest for the first time in five years—giving her a chance to complete what she long ago started. Achieving a two-state solution, Livni said, is “the reason for me to be in politics.” It’s also a task that rests very much on her shoulders. Given her relationships with Palestinian officials, her credibility with the international community, and, these days at least, her rapport with Netanyahu, Livni may be the only person who can drag Israelis and Palestinians together and—after 65 years of conflict—broker an

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Happy Chanukah may your holiday be happy, healthy and bright.

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 21

NEWS: ANALYSIS

The Believer 

CONTINUED FROM P. 21

agreement both sides can live with. From the nadir of her career to the savior of her country in less than a year: it would be, as political redemption narratives go, a pretty spectacular story. What no one knows is whether it can actually be done. ON SALAHEDDIN Street in the Bab alZahra neighborhood of East Jerusalem, across from the Rajab Abu Asab and Sons electrical-appliances store, sits a boxy, nondescript building protected by a stone wall and a gate manned by several security guards. After a future peace accord, in which Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem would likely come under Palestinian sovereignty, it could very well house government offices in the new Palestinian capital. But today, it is the home of Israel’s justice ministry and the office to which Livni commutes most mornings from Tel Aviv. I visited Livni days after she had returned from Washington, where, standing at a podium alongside Kerry and Erekat, she had announced the resumption of peace talks. She seemed tired but upbeat. Sitting at her desk wearing a taut black outfit, her hair in a ponytail, and a small golden Star of David around her neck, Livni spoke at length about Israel’s pursuit of peace. “Something that truly frustrates me is the impression in Israel that when you are talking about security, you are bold, you are tough, this is what we need

against all the enemies that we have,” she said, banging the desk. “And when someone is talking about peace, you know, it’s the naive left wing, soft.” Livni’s journey to the role of Israel’s leading peace advocate was an unlikely one, born as she was to one of the most prominent right-wing power couples in the fledgling Jewish state. Her father Eitan’s family had fled anti-Semitism in Poland when he was 6, moving to Palestine to pursue the Zionist dream. As a young man, he joined the Irgun, the right-wing guerrilla organization seeking to drive the British out, and rose to become the group’s chief operations officer, a role that got him arrested in 1946 (he later escaped in a famed prison break). Earlier that year, during a raid on a train transporting salaries for British generals, he had met and become enamored with fellow Irgun member Sara Rosenberg. On May 15, 1948, the two became the first couple to marry in the new state of Israel. Tzipi, the youngest of their three children, was born 10 years later. The young Livni grew up in an Israel dominated by the left-wing Labor Party, which led every government for the state’s first three decades. The Irgun—and its political successor, the Herut Party—had differentiated itself from the ruling establishment not only by its tactics, which included blowing up British installations, but by its uncompromising support for establishing Jewish sovereignty over all of biblical Israel (which comprised not only modern-day Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, but Jordan as well). The move-

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ment had ardently opposed the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan, which divided Palestine into Jewish and Arab states— and which David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, had accepted. “I lived between two different worlds since I grew up in Tel Aviv,” Livni said, recounting her childhood in Israel’s largest and most left-wing city. Unlike her friends, who joined the socialist Scouts and marched with red flags on May Day, Livni joined the smaller, right-wing Beitar youth movement, where she was schooled in the ideas of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the ideological father of right-wing Zionism. She felt marginalized, believing that the establishment had minimized her parents’ contribution to Israel’s founding. “I was furious when I read in school that my parents represented war, that there was a glorification of blood, that they wore fascist clothes,” she said. “I was quite a young fighter then. I don’t envy my teachers. I used to preach to them.” To this day, Livni insists that her parents “were freedom fighters, not terrorists.” She said that unlike some of Israel’s leading right-wing firebrands today, who have thrived electorally on anti-Arab sentiment, they “respected the Arabs.” Livni recalled urging her reticent father—who served in the Knesset for both Herut and Likud—to campaign for himself during the 1984 Likud primaries, only to watch him pick up the phone and ask party members instead to support a Druze candidate because he thought it important for Likud to have Arab representation. In 1967 Israel conquered the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the Six-Day War. Eitan Livni subsequently brought his young daughter to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and other biblical sites that had fallen into Israeli hands. When religious Jews later established a heavily fortified settlement community in Hebron, her mother sent money to support it. “I’m not a person of mentors,” Livni

German TV: How Antisemitic is Germany? BERLIN – The Jerusalem Post reports that German public television broadcast a documentary last week about modern antisemitism at the heart of German society. It shows the commonality between anti-Israel legislative initiatives from Green Party and neo-Nazi NPD party. Titled AntiSemitism Today: How hostile is Germany toward Jews? – it was produced by Ahmad Mansour, an Israeli Arab, and two Germans, Kirsten Esch and Jo Goll. Mansour is a policy advisor to the Brussels-based European Foundation for Democracy. Dr. Monika Schwarz-Friesel, a linguistics professor at the Technical University in Berlin, investigated a combination of 14,000 letters and emails sent to the Israeli embassy and Jewish organizations. The majority came from “so-called mainstream society.” One letter from a man with a doctorate states, “Why are always again the Jews persecuted? You need to ask yourself that.” He added, “By the next Holocaust the whining begins to start again. I am fed up with it.” Dr. Dieter Graumann, the head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, slammed the disparate treatment

says. “The only mentor I can speak of as such is Jabotinsky, who died in 1940.” “I was 9 years old, so I was not thinking about whether we could keep it,” Livni said. “I remember people dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv when we freed Jerusalem—and I used the word ‘freed’ because it was coming back home. It was the kind of enthusiasm that was not against somebody. It was something that united us back then—left and right.” That ﬂeeting unity soon evaporated over disputes about whether to settle the land, as her father and other Likudniks were urging, or to keep it as a bargaining chip for a future peace deal. Initially, Labor governments consented to a handful of settlements in areas of strategic and biblical signiﬁcance. But after Likud leader (and former Irgun chief) Menachem Begin won the 1977 election, ending Labor’s 29year rule, he lifted all restrictions on settlements and even established incentives for Israelis to move to them. The young Livni supported the rightwing line. As a high-school student, she joined her mother at a protest of one of Henry Kissinger’s visits because he was pushing Begin to accept the idea of land for peace. “It was quite a violent demonstration,” Livni recalled. “They beat us, the policemen.” Still, she had no plans at the time to follow her father into politics. Like most Israeli high-school graduates, she joined the Army; a few years later, she signed on with Israel’s hallowed Mossad intelligence agency. “Had she not left, I’m sure she would have been able to reach very high echelons there,” says childhood friend Mirla Gal, who served with her in the Mossad. Livni’s time as a spy remains shrouded in secrecy, though she is known to have been based in Paris and is believed to have played a role in Operation Wrath of God—the mission to hunt down and kill Palestinian terrorists who murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. “Whatever she did,” Gal says, “she did very well.” (To be continued.)

targeting Israel as “absurd” in the ﬁlm. With respect to the product labeling, he noted that there are “many different territorial disputes in the world and nowhere else is it [product labeling] done.”

Lithuanian Jews to Get Reparations JTA reports that the Lithuanian government is granting symbolic reparations to Lithuanian Holocaust survivors. Each survivor will get $622 to compensate for the Holocaust and the Soviet occupation, a parallel which infuriates Jewish groups and survivors, who point to Lithuanian attempts to label Jewish partisans as traitors to Lithuania during the Holocaust. Lithuania is a master of Holocaust obfuscation, “which does not deny a single Jewish death at the hands of the Nazis. Instead, it uses as a starting point the idea that the Nazi genocide was not a unique event but rather a reaction to Soviet “genocide” (and antecedent to further Soviet genocide) in which the same elements of Lithuanian society that often sided with the Nazi invaders were persecuted and imprisoned by the Communist regime, whose ofﬁcials included Jews.”

201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

OP-ED

Gevaltism, Antisemitism and Hungary By Jerome A. Chanes “Gevalt! The goyim are after us! It’s the Second Holocaust! Jews are not safe in Hungary—or anywhere in Europe! My mother’s favorite story: Two Jews in post-Anschluss Vienna are walking through an antisemitic neighborhood. They see that they are being followed by two Nazi thugs. One of the Jews says to his friend, “We’d better make a run for it; there are two of them, and we are all alone.” Thus goes the purple rhetoric that characterizes much of the discussion of Jewish security in Central and Eastern Europe. What, in fact, is the reality of Jewish security in Eastern Europe? Is it a catastrophic near-past of Auschwitz that is finding its way into the future, indeed into the present, with danger signals that are blinking red in a way we have not seen in years? Or is the reality rather different: troubled, perhaps, indeed problematic, but at bottom relatively secure? The current situation in Hungary is the source of much of the gevalt. A neoNazi, neo-fascist, party, Jobbik, founded in 2002, has become the third-largest in the Hungarian parliament. Jobbik’s leaders are frankly antisemitic: “Given our current situation, antisemitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews.” Thus Judi Szima, a Jobbik candidate for the European Parliament and a Jobbik member of the Hungarian Parliament, Marton Gyongyosi, have demanded the creation of a list of Jewish politicians to identify potential “national security risks.” But Hungary’s serious political problems need to be put into context. What is the larger picture? According to Michael Miller, chairman of Jewish Studies at the Open University in Budapest, “Yes, there are political problems—even serious problems. But to say that these problems are leading to rampant antisemitism in Hungary, where Jews are endangered, well, that’s plain crazy.” So what is going on? Why hysteria on Hungary? We are a “gevaltist” people. We know that. In the United States, I have for many years reported that even as the levels of behavioral and attitudinal antisemitism drop—and drop dramatically—higher percentages of American Jews assert that antisemitism is a “serious” problem. Whatever the explanations for this “perception gap,” the gap between perception and reality is significant, and informs much of the gevaltism of American Jews on Europe. (This is not to say that European Jews do not have problems; 2002 and the first half of 2004 were terrible times in France, and elsewhere.) But the issue goes beyond gevaltism. As is almost always the case, it’s all about the money. Part of what is going on has less to do with the reality of antisemitism and Jewish security in Hungary and elsewhere in Europe, and everything to do with inter-

nal changes in the American Jewish community. There has been a shift in the American Jewish “center-of-gravity,” from national to local, with local federations having increased impact in public-affairs. Federations woke up, and saw that the big ticket in fundraising was no longer the soup-kitchen, or the old lady living alone on the Lower East Side; it was Israel. And it was, increasingly, antisemitism. These issues are in public-affairs arenas that heretofore had been the province of the national “defense” agencies and the local community-relations councils. The agreement that had been hammered out in the 1944 CJF General Assembly that assigned a division of labor to the public-affairs agencies and to the federations—community-relations councils and national agencies would address public-affairs, including antisemitism;

201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

federations would take care of the socialservice and social-welfare agenda—was increasingly violated as the federations moved aggressively into Israel and antisemitism—cash-cow issues for fundraising. It’s all about the money, and Eastern European capitals—regular stops on the trail for federation missions—are naturals for sensitizing federation leadership to exaggerated claims of antisemitism in Hungary and elsewhere. My conversations with federation and other organizational lay leadership participating in missions to Hungary (most recently in August) reinforce the suggestion that leadership is being sensitized, not to serious problems in Hungary—entirely legitimate—but to something exaggerated claims of an antisemitism that is pervasive, a new dispensation in which Jews are not secure in that land.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), however, which plays a leadership role in monitoring antisemitism domestically and around the world, has taken an entirely responsible stance on what is going on in Hungary. While expressing deep concern over the rise of right-wing political rhetoric, including antisemitic expression, the ADL’s response has to date been sober and balanced. Bottom line for Hungary: There are problems in Hungary, no question, serious problems. But in Hungary—as is the case everywhere else—the central criterion for Jewish security is the ability of Jews to participate in the society on a dayto-day basis, individually and communally. In Hungary in 2013, there are few Jews who cannot participate in society because of fear of antisemitic animus. Jew-

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CONTINUED ON P. 26

The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Presents: A Shabbat in Teaneck with

Rabbi Menachem Penner Acting Dean of RIETS

6KDEEDW 3DUVKDW 9D\HVKHY s 1RYHPEHU Rabbi Menachem Penner is Acting Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University and the Men’s Undergraduate Torah Studies programs at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Penner also serves as the spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Holliswood in Queens, a position he has proudly held since 1996. Rabbi Penner received his semikha from RIETS in 1994 and his BA from Yeshiva College in 1991.

Schedule of Events FRIDAY NIGHT BETWEEN MINCHAH /MAARIV Congregation Bnai Yeshurun ONEG / TISH @ 8 P.M. Home of Nechama and Danny Saks

SHABBAT MORNING Drasha at 7:15 a.m., 9 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. Minyanim

Congregation Keter Torah

Birchat Modim: Drumsticks or Candlesticks?

1285 Mercedes Street

SHABBAT AFTERNOON

Divrei Torah throughout the Tish: Insights of the Maharal on Chanukah

Shiur between Mincha/Maariv

Congregation Beth Abraham

Yosef and His “Dream-Coat”: What Was Yaakov Thinking?

For more information, please contact Genene Kaye at 212.960.0137 or gkaye@yu.edu

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 23

FIRST PERSON: NAMES NOT NUMBERS @ MTA

It’s All About the Stories

The MTA class at Museum of Jewish Heritage

By Jeanette Friedman hen Michael Berenbaum came to Moriah a few months ago to talk to students enrolled in the Names, Not Numbers® program, I thought it was an interesting project, because remembering the past is all about people telling the stories of their lives. The students involved in the program are divided into groups of 4-6 students, and each group researches a Holocaust survivor and interviews him or her for posterity by producing a digital video they will

24 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

present to their schoolmates. It’s an awesome project and I ﬁled it in the back of my mind, to call it to the attention of some of my friends and colleagues in the Second Generation and Holocaust educators. And then Tova Rosenberg, the executive director, asked me if I would train students to do the interviews. I started my professional life as a journalist in 1970, listening to people and telling their stories, and I began to learn about the Holocaust as a child, from what I heard from my parents, their friends and relatives—stories spoken in

words that were out of context, stories with no chronologies, stories I am sorry to say, I was too young to understand. I got lucky when Dr. Yaffa Eliach offered a course on the Holocaust in the brand new Judaic Studies Department at Brooklyn College, and I, as editor of ken, the night school paper and a daughter of survivors, took it so that I could observe a Holocaust education pioneer in action. After all, how does one teach the Holocaust? We were given but one assignment— to collect our parents’ stories, if we could get them to talk. In 1972, very few people talked about the Holocaust. It was almost like the blind leading the blind. How do you rip open barely healed wounds by asking stupid questions? Is that going to get them to talk? Case in point: The first question I asked my father was, “Why didn’t you fight back?” And he asked me if I’d ever heard of collective responsibility. One man takes out one Nazi, he explained, and it is certain everyone who witnessed that will die. Do nothing and some may have a chance to live. And then he laughed. I understood. And I knew I needed to learn how to collect the stories, the testimonies, of those who promised to tell what happened “Dorten” (there), to keep the promises they made to those who stayed behind and for the sake of future generations. I discovered that the older they get, the more eager the survivors are to talk before it is too late. Many of them have realized that the world hasn’t changed much. The genocides continue, and the stories must still be told. So they tell their stories, rip open old wounds, for our sakes, in their own attempts to make the world a slightly better place. Each survivor’s story becomes their ethical will, their Tzeva’ah. I learned how to interview survivors from the best, from Yaffa and Bonnie Gurewitsch when they were at the Center for Holocaust Studies in Brooklyn, a tiny office in Yeshiva Flatbush. It was more complicated, albeit logical, than one might think. But thanks to those two incredibly smart women, I learned how to do it correctly, and found myself doing the oral history training workshop for the Second Generation on the first day of the World Gathering in Jerusalem in 1981. Fast forward 40 years. As a lay Holo-

caust educator who has has earned her street creds, and as a professional journalist, I have interviewed hundreds of people including a list that would make me sound like a celebrity name dropper—from Nobel Prize winners to scoundrels, a Supreme Court justice, geniuses, media moguls, rabbis, movie stars, fashion designers and remarkable folks from every walk of life. By now, my husband and I have worked on dozens upon dozens of Holocaust survivors’ stories, published their memoirs, and dealt directly with the survivors and the survivor world since we were kids. When I understood what and how Names, Not Numbers® operates, I realized the concept was an answer to the question that has plagued Holocaust educators and survivors: How are we going to reach kids once we are gone? Who will go on to tell the tale? Moshe Kinderlehrer, publisher of JLBC, introduced me to Tova Rosenberg, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of a roomful of 55 kids, 53 of them 3Gs, at Moriah in Englewood. They are going to research, interview, film, and present survivors to their schoolmates in a film they produce themselves. It turned out that Dr. Prager, the Moriah principal, was at the same Zachor conference I attended at HUC in November 1979 that led directly to the international movement of Second Generation and the creation of the first Second Generation group in New Jersey. Now his eighth graders were blowing me away, and you could see they had picked up some of Dr. Prager’s passion for the “holy work” of collecting testimony. Just two weeks later, I was at MTA in Washington Heights, standing next to Rabbi Michael Taubes. We have known each other a very long time. I was bringing my toddlers to Gan Rina, his mother’s nursery school in Teaneck in 1979 when I discovered the swastikas and curses scrawled on the walls that turned me into a Holocaust education activist—and sent me to the Zachor conference that very same weekend. The coincidences were crazy. As I stood in front of 20 very tall young men, I realized I had come full circle. Only two or three of the MTA students raised their hands when I asked if there were grandchildren of survivors in the course. When I asked why they volunteered, they said they felt a moral obligation to do the work. That is cause for hope. It means the mission of collecting stories has gone beyond people who carry the familial obligation of becoming what is known as the “memorial candle,” recorder of the family history. These kids have taken upon themselves, as volunteers, the painful obligation of receiving the last of the eyewitness testimonies from those who were in those places, where Jews did not perish—where they were repurposed and murdered by design, wherever they were. They survived in the camps, ghettos and forests, in hiding, in holes, in caves, in tunnels, by passing on the other side. Wherever they were, they survived because they promised to tell their stories for those they left behind, and these students are committed to hearing their stories and transmitting them to future generations. They give us, the Holocaust educators and activists, hope for the future because they have become the guardians of those painful but vitally important memories.

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ME’ACHOREI HAPARGOD

Dear God: Thanks, But No Thanks By Robert Katz ddie Murphy. Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Don Imus. Howard Stern. Soupy Sales. Marv Albert. David Letterman. Chuck Scarborough. All of us are employees of NBC. These are the people for whom I interned and worked for, the people with whom I rode the elevators and shared the same breathing space. The years were 1982-1986, and they were lofty years that I hoped would fulﬁll boyhood dreams. But what do you do when God gives you a talent that you can’t use? When the one extra-special gift He has bestowed upon you—in my case being a sportscaster—is a gift that you can’t embrace or fully utilize because the gift requires you to use your talents on Shabbos and yom tov? When I was only 5, I would walk around the house in my best little radio voice saying, “Mom, tell Dad what he’s won right here on The Price is Right.” By age 12 I was sitting by myself in Shea Stadium in an empty corner, doing play by play of Mets games into a tape recorder. By age 16, I was an intern at WYNY radio in New York, helping a tiny, fascinat-

ing German Jewish woman named Ruth Westheimer to do her Sunday night broadcasts. At age 18 I was sitting in Howard Stern’s office helping him plan a show. Two years later, after having spent many intoxicating evenings in the presence of the aforementioned stars of radio and TV, I was producing sports talk radio and pro games for 66 WNBC. At the end of Rangers hockey games, the great Marv Albert would thank “our producer Robert Katz back at the studio.” Outside NBC’s home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, I came face to face in the field with the likes of Tom Seaver, Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner, to name but a few. And then came the hammer. In the spring of 1986, two young colleagues and I were sitting around and shooting the breeze. Their names: Mike Breen and Bob Papa. Mike is now the world famous voice of the NBA on ABC and ESPN and does TV games for the Knicks, while Bob Papa is a fixture as the radio voice of the New York football Giants. This was my “chevra.” In walks Dale Parsons, the 66 WNBC Radio Program Director, to our little shared space and announces that a show slot has opened up suddenly and that he needs a fill-in talk show host. He was prepared to offer it to one of us. He wanted our demo-tapes on his desk by

the next morning. After lots of hooting and hollering that our big chance had arrived, a sudden dreaded thought hit me. “Dale,” I asked, when is the open slot? I knew the answer with every fabric of my body, and I was right. “Saturday midday, 1-5 p.m.” came the answer. I was crushed. This was not the first time, “but it may well be the last time,” I recall saying to myself. The year was 1986. I was 21. There was no Internet. Cable TV was in its infancy, and nearly all college sports were played exclusively on Shabbat. Stay or go? Follow “The Dream” or follow “The Tradition?” The answer was clear. Follow The Tradition—the mesorah of your parents and grandparents and who knows how many others before you—and walk away, hoping and praying that the Good Lord will help you find your way. So, what do you do when you have a God given talent that you can’t use? You reach deep inside and try as hard as you can to discover and appreciate whatever else God has given you. There’s a great Hebrew saying— “Eem Kvar Az Kvar” —if you’ve already been dealt a hand, you may as well play it. If I was leaving behind my career choice because of Shabbos, I might as well put my energies into doing something openly identifiable with who I am and to help

my own people. So I thought I’d be good at marketing, pursued and got my MBA, and decided that rather than become an Executive Vice President for IBM or AT&T or Google, I rather become Chief Development Officer for a place like OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services, and put whatever other (limited) skills I had to use for the betterment of the Jewish Community. And so dear reader, know you know how I got here. I looked up and said, “Thanks, but no thanks”. Was it all worth it? Is God happy with me? Or is He mad at me for not taking his offer and running with it and seeing how it would have played out so that maybe I could have been the first Shomer Shabbat play-by-play man in NBA history? Or I have done enough by working for the Jewish Community over my last 25 years-plus to merit some sort of peace of mind? Feel free to discuss among yourselves. Personally? I’d really like to find out, after 120 years. Maybe there’s even a job waiting for me…it would have to be Angels’ play-by-play. Robert Katz has been a Bergen County resident for 25 years and has been a Jewish communal professional since graduating Yeshiva Unversity in 1985. He can be reached for comments at: rkatz@jewishlinkbc.com

FORMER ENGLEWOOD MAYOR MICHAEL WILDES AND HIS FAMILY INVITE YOU TO RUTH B. WILDES MEMORIAL LECTURE SPONSORED BY THE WILDES FAMILY ON THE OCCASION OF THE 18TH YARHTZEIT OF RUTH B. WILDES Z”L IN WHOSE MEMORY MJE WAS ESTABLISHED.

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Ruth B. Wildes z"l flanked by her two sons the former Mayor of Englewood, Michael Wildes and his brother Rabbi Mark Wildes at his 1993 Smicha Ordination.

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 25

OP-ED

Shades of Red Amidst A Sea of Blue By: N. Aaron Troodler, Esq. s New Jersey voters went to the polls on Election Day, there were those who questioned whether the race at the top of the ticket could even be considered a “race.” The gubernatorial contest, which ordinarily would be replete with intrigue and suspense, was totally devoid of any drama. The race for governor was, for all intents and purposes, over before it even began. Riding a wave of popularity that propelled him to rock-star-like status, Governor Chris Christie garnered 60% of the vote and easily cruised to a 22-point victory over Democratic State Senator Barbara Buono. In doing so, Christie became the first Republican in New Jersey in 25years to get over 50% of the vote in a statewide election. As for Barbara Buono, she found herself in the unenviable position of being in a political Catch-22. She had virtually no name recognition and therefore had difficulty raising money, yet without adequate funds she was unable to boost her profile statewide. What makes Governor Christie’s colossal win so remarkable is that he achieved this historic feat in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republican voters by a whopping 700,000. Despite the enrollment advantage that Democrats have in this overwhelmingly “blue state,” Christie scored an easy victory.

Bergen PostElection Analysis 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

This, in addition to Christie’s win of 51 percent of the Latino vote and 20 percent of black voters, has given a lot of hope to Christie supporters. However, an Edison Research exit poll concerning a hypothetical 2016 showdown between Christie and Hillary Clinton, shows the governor garnering much less support. The polls showed Clinton receiving 57 percent of New Jersey Latino vote and 86 percent of the black vote. Besides for the gubernatorial position, there were six state senate, 12 general assembly, one county sheriff, three freeholder, and a myriad of town council positions open throughout the county’s six legislative districts. Democrats claimed two-thirds of the open state sen-

In retrospect, it appears that Christie fared extremely well among voting groups that tend to favor Democratic candidates, rather than Republicans. According to the exit polls, 57% of women voted for Christie, versus just 41% for Buono; 21% of African-Americans, a group that traditionally favors Democrats, cast their ballots for Christie, a noteworthy number considering that when he ran in 2009, only 9 % of AfricanAmerican voters supported him, and in an extraordinary show of support from Hispanic voters, who typically vote Democratic, Christie got an astounding 50% of the vote. Christie also did extremely well among independent and moderate voters, union members, and young voters. Even 33% of Democratic voters cast their ballots for the Republican governor. How did Governor Christie perform so well among voting groups that customarily back Democrats? How is it that the Republican candidate turned the gubernatorial contest on its head by running so strong across the board? Chris Christie bucked conventional wisdom by very skillfully and deliberately building a broad bipartisan coalition that swept him to victory. He successfully cultivated strong relationships and alliances with various constituent groups that generally tune out Republicans. Christie masterfully assembled a groundswell of support that was just too much for Buono to overcome. It is quite clear that Chris Christie is not your typical politician. The popular ate seats and just under two-thirds of the open seats in the General Assembly. Michael Saudino, Republican, was reelected sheriff and, of the three freeholder seats up, two went to Republicans and one to a Democrat making the full breakdown on the council ﬁve to two with a Democratic majority. Bob Yudin, Republican County Chairman, referred to Bergen County as a swing county. Bergen used to be a very strong Republican county and then, for a number of years it was a very strong Democratic County. Four years ago Governor Christie lost the vote here, but this year he won by the biggest margin since Thomas Kean in 1985. “It was a huge municipal win for us in most of Bergen County,” Yudin said. “We won in towns that we haven’t won in for decades.” The “huge municipal win” wasn’t complete on a state legislature level, something which Yudin put down to re-

governor is a “tell it like it is,” “say what he thinks” type of person, and it certainly appears that the overwhelming majority of New Jersey voters appreciate his outspoken and brash personality and actually ﬁnd it refreshing. In addition, New Jersey residents cannot forget the fact that Governor Christie was there for them as they struggled to pick up the pieces after Superstorm Sandy. The images of a concerned, caring and courageous Chris Christie consoling storm victims were extremely powerful and they undoubtedly left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of New Jersey voters. On Election Day, Chris Christie did not just win a second term as governor; he catapulted to the front of the pack of likely 2016 Republican presidential candidates. Christie’s record-breaking win sent a loud and clear message to the national Republican Party that he just may be their guy in 2016. The crossover appeal that he demonstrated in New Jersey may be exactly what the Republicans are looking for as they struggle to overcome a barrage of negative publicity relative to the Tea Party movement’s rise within their ranks. The recent government shutdown in Washington, D.C., adversely impacted the Republican Party’s desperate attempts to get back on track. Many people placed the blame for the shutdown squarely on the GOP and the consensus tends to be that the conservative arm of the Republican Party forced the hand of

their congressional leaders and essentially boxed them into a corner. With his inimitable style, Chris Christie may be the cure for what ails the national Republicans. The question is, however, whether Christie’s unique brand of bipartisanship outreach will resonate with more conservative voters throughout the nation. It also remains to be seen how Christie will fare in the context of a national Republican campaign if and when the ultra-conservatives who may be angling for the GOP presidential nomination, such as Senators Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, try to paint him in a more liberal light. With his celebrity status and widespread appeal, Chris Christie has deﬁnitely claimed his spot on the national stage. The question is how well he will do as the GOP’s guy in the spotlight. On Election Day, Chris Christie swept into the governor’s ofﬁce for his second term with a powerful mandate that is virtually unprecedented. The meteoric rise of a Republican governor is something that one would expect to see in a “red state,” not in an overwhelmingly Democratic “blue state.” Chris Christie, however, has proven that there can be shades of “red” amidst a sea of “blue.”

districting and gerrymandering. He said that legislative districts 35-37 are impossible for Republicans to win and that one district 38 is the only truly competitive won in the county. Legislative districts 39 and 40 have been solidly Re-

publican for many years. The coattails effect, something which allows members of a party to win on the heels of a popular candidate of that party’s win, was not in effect in New Jersey as a state

Gevaltism, Antisemitism and Hungary 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

ish institutions (including synagogues) are strong, day-schools are thriving. The ability to participate in society is the best measure of security of Jews in any land, and that ability is strong in Hungary. Unlike the Europe of the 1920s and 1930s, antisemitism in Hungary is not embedded in the institutions of society, in the institutions of power. Hungary is not Germany. Indeed, the govern26 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

N. Aaron Troodler is an attorney and a principal of Paul Revere Public Relations, a public relations and political consulting firm. Visit him on the Web at TroodlersTake.blogspot.com, www.PaulReverePR. com, or www.JewishWorldPR.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: @troodler

ment in Hungary did speak out against Jobbik—belatedly, but the government did speak out against antisemitism. Finally, Jews are not leaving Hungary, which is what one would expect were there to be serious threats to Jewish security. Hungarians are not running—they are not going to Israel or to the United States or to Canada. One has only to recall my mother’s second favorite story—“What’s a Jewish telegram? ‘Start worrying. Letter follows.’” That’s what’s going on in Hungary. Jerome Chanes, a regular contributor, is the author or editor of four books on Jewish history and public affairs. He is a fellow at the Center for Jewish Studies, CUNY Graduate Center.

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 27

THE JEWISH LINK

EDITORIAL

OF BERGEN COUNTY

Looted Art: Ah, The Mystery he German police ﬁnd 1400 paintings worth a billion or more in a tax evader’s (and hermit’s) apartment, and tell no one until the story is leaked to a German magazine. The fellow has disappeared, and it turns out his dad was essentially the art looter-in-chief for the Nazis. More than that, after the Allies captured the looted paintings in the post-WWII war period—paintings stolen from Jewish collectors and those labeled as degenerate—they were given back to the scoundrel in the 1950s. The paintings were left to his now disappeared son—an old recluse whose friends think the cops will ﬁnd his corpse in a house in Austria. There is speculation that there are more paintings to come, but the Germans say not. In the meantime, no one knows why the Germans didn’t break the news earlier. And the Claims Conference representatives in Germany are already demanding the paintings be turned over to them, while individuals whose parents owned extensive art collections are already lay-

ing claim to some of the works that were posted to the web last Monday. These are important paintings that range from the 16th to the early 20th century and include many grandmasters, including Courbet, Chagall, Picasso and Matisse. ToulouseLautrec, it boggles the mind. There are so many questions to ask, so many mysteries to solve, even Nancy Drew would get dizzy. Why did the Allies return the paintings to a known Nazi collaborator? Why did the Germans try to keep this trove a secret and refuse to post to the web until forced to do so? Why does the Claims Conference think it has the right to the paintings even before their provenance has been proven? Why aren’t the Germans going to handle inquiries from heirs and assigns? One need only look at the controversy surrounding the East German properties to wonder why the CC would want those paintings. No one wants a repeat of the properties ﬁasco. You have to wonder. How many peo-

Co-Founders/Co-Publishers Moshe Kinderlehrer Mark (Mendy) Schwartz

ple are hoarding looted paintings and will never be able to show them or sell them? Art lovers can be so very passionate and become prisoners of their possessions. Do they build special rooms like those in the movies—where art collectors go to gloat over stolen masterpieces? This trove is huge. It is ﬁlled with works by artists who are household names, whose paintings fetch millions of dollars. What is this going to do to the art market? Will it enhance the price of these works for having the cachet of being looted art? Or will it depress prices because of the rules surrounding supply and demand? The missing elements are a good murder or two; a good-looking thief caught red-handed, a sexy female cop, an international chase, and an expose of how the art markets work, including the seamy underside where stolen art exchanges hands. Anyone care to write the screenplay? To be continued.

CORRECTION/APOLOGIES: Due to an editing mistake and confusion in the Op-Ed article on Page 31 by Meylekh Viswanath entitled “Why (Some) Jews Are Racist - Part II of II,” the word “late” was inadvertently inserted before the name Rabbi Herschel Schachter. We regret the error and any confusion it may have caused.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: I recently attended a Chamber of Commerce awards dinner, at the Glenpointe Marriot Hotel in Teaneck, New Jersey. As I walked into the lobby with my associate Bruce Prince, the owner of Teaneck General Store, a friendly man named Edwin Ramos introduced himself as the owner of Farmer’s Insurance Agency, also in Teaneck. As we entered the cocktail reception, we lost sight of Mr. Ramos. Later we were called to the ballroom for the awards dinner. We went to a table that had a few seats left, and Edwin Ramos was there with several members of the Teaneck Police force and Reverend Clemens Reinke from Grace Lutheran Church, who had just finished the convocation. We exchanged pleasantries and information about our respective businesses. Edwin asked about my line of work, and I handed him a business card for my company, Pampered Pets of NJ. His face immediately transformed to reflect great sadness, and he told us that his beloved boxer, Prince, had disappeared 18 months earlier. He and his children missed his dog. Also sitting at the table was Police Captain Kenneth Croonquist, who was listening intently to Edwin’s story. Captain Croonquist began asking questions about the dog...his name, his age, his coloring, and much more. This continued for about 20 minutes, as the captain clearly knew Prince. Edwin sent Captain Croonquist a picture of Prince, and the officer went to the lobby to make some phone calls. He seemed very excited at the thought that he might know the whereabouts of the lost dog. 28 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

The evening came to a close with no resolution about Prince. I thought that the prospect of ﬁnding the dog was probably not possible, but I could not stop thinking of Edwin. I contacted him and he told me that his beloved Prince was back at his house with his family!!! Three complete strangers sitting at a table, exchanging greetings. One person speaks about her business. These few words begin a series of revelations that point to the discovery of a dog that had been missing for 18 months. Thanks to a myriad of coincidences (there are many more, too numerous to mention) and the effort of Captain Croonquist, Prince is back with his family. He was in excellent condition, having been given good care at the house he was living.

Yvette Oppenheim

To the Editor: How sad that after all these years Mitzvah Day in Bergen County, sponsored by the Federation of Northern New Jersey and joined by dozens of synagogues and Jewish schools, continues to be a day only of social action. The word mitzvah means any commandment from God whether ethical or ritual. Why deﬁne the word as simply good deeds? At a time of massive assimilation and intermarriage, it behooves all of our Jewish organizations to have both kinds of mitzvos available to the thousands of Jewish adults, teens and children involved. This means we should be encouraging the purchase of mezuzahs at a discount; the giving of inexpensive Shabbat candelabras with candles, the donning of teﬁllin and per-

haps discount coupons to kosher supermarkets in an attempt to increase kashrus observance, etc. If Judaism continues to be a concentration of only ethical moral values to the majority of Jews, then we will continue to lose to assimilatory forces.

Martin Polack

To the Editor: Thank you for your article of Oct. 31st, “A Green House Pops Up in Teaneck,” about the Passive House that is under construction at 543 Wyndham Road in Teaneck, NJ. To learn more about this Passive House in particular, you can read an informative article at Greenbuildingadvisor.com, the go-to industry site about building green. See: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/greenbuilding-news/passivhaus-building-modular-way or search for Teaneck Passive House on their website. For the record, the ﬁrst quote attributed to me in your article was not something that I said. Thank you for the changes you made to the online version of this article.

Malka van Bemmelen, AIA, LEED AP, CPHC Note: The JLBC stands by what was published originally.

To the Editor: Rabbi Jack Riemer’s review of Kaddish, Women’s Voices seems to be an interesting addition that addresses traditional women’s spiritual needs. However, I can’t help but notice that much Orthodox rhetoric and behavior still reﬂects the patriarchal condescension that prevents serious sensitivity toward a particular segment of Jewish adults.

Editor Jeanette Friedman Contributing Editor Nina Glick Advertising Director Yaakov Serle Associate Editor Aliza Chasan Sales Development Ken Goffstein Sales Representative Maxine Bender Simon Worman Technical Editor/ Database Coordinator Moishie Rosenberg Sports Editor Steve Gutlove Design design2pro.com Contributors Sarah Abenaim • Larry Bernstein Rabbi Sam Frenkel • Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Glick Temima Zucker • Estelle Glass • Chavie Hagler Gail Hochman Robert Katz • Elizabeth Kratz Banji Latkin • Harold Nussbaum • Sara Prager P’nina Seplowitz • Bracha Schwartz Rabbi Mark Staum • Tzvi Silver Jordana Schoor • N. Aaron Troodler • Chemmie Sokolic • Rayzel Yaish • Nancy Zweibach The Jewish Link of Bergen County PO Box 3131 Teaneck, NJ 07666 Phone: 201-371-3212 Email: editor@jewishlinkbc.com Advertising: ads@jewishlinkbc.com Subscriptions/Home Delivery: delivery@jewishlinkbc.com The Jewish Link of Bergen County, an independent publication, promotes honest and rigorous conversations about Judaism,Israel and issues affecting our community. The opinions reflected in articles from our contributors do not necessarily reflect JLBC’s positions, and publishing them does not constitute an endorsement from JLBC. We simply offer food for thought. We reserve the right to accept or refuse submissions and edit for content and length. We also reserve the right to refuse advertising that in our opinion does not reflect the standards of the newspaper. We are not responsible for the kashrus of any product advertised in the Jewish Link of Bergen County.

In the review, the rabbi mentions that several women paid tribute “to the rabbis who welcomed them, who were kind enough to announce pages....and (looked) over to their section once in a while when they spoke” (italics mine). I was not only struck by the fact that readers are expected to appreciate these supposedly “enlightened” acts but we were to view this as some sort of “proof” that certain segments of the Orthodox Jewish community are indeed broad minded. He chose to conclude with: “Anyone who reads (this book) will come away... with a new appreciation for the way in which modern Orthodox Jews are striving to balance their commitment to tradition with their understanding of the spiritual needs of the women in their midst.” This implies that women are not included under the rubric of “modern Orthodox Jews” but rather are “others” lurking about “in their midst.” I don’t think this was deliberately disrespectful but does reﬂect the point that many men in the modern Orthodox community still consider women as religious outsiders. I agree with his point that both sides have much to learn from each other. Let’s recognize that semantics matters.

Susan Berger

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DIVREI TORAH

How to Confront the Enemy By Rabbi Michael Taubes he story of the tumultuous life of Yaakov Avinu continues in Parashas Vayishlach, which begins with a description of his preparations for his upcoming encounter with his brother Eisav as he returns to Eretz Yisrael after being away for many years. It is clear from the Torah’s presentation that Yaakov is terribly nervous about the prospect of meeting Eisav, especially after learning that Eisav is not alone, and is approaching him with a veritable army of some 400 men. Chazal’s comment that Yaakov readied himself in three ways, namely, by putting together a gift for Eisav , by davening to Hashem,, and by preparing for battle, is well known and further indicates how apprehensive he truly was. It is noteworthy that this was not Yaakov’s first meeting with an adversary who seemed bent on doing him harm. In fact, this story of Yaakov and Eisav occurs immediately on the heels of Yaakov’s tension-filled confrontation with Lavan, the details of which are at the very end of the previous parashah. Interestingly, though, we find a striking difference between these two episodes in terms of the public roles played by Hashem in each case.

In the previous parsha, the Torah reports that on the night that Lavan and his associates caught up with Yaakov and his camp—whom they had been pursuing for several days—Hashem appeared to Lavan in a dream and sternly warned him not to do anything to Yaakov, something Lavan indeed acknowledged in his subsequent conversation with Yaakov. In this week’s parashah, however, we ﬁnd no such Divine intervention on Yaakov’s behalf; Hashem does not similarly appear to Eisav to tell him not to harm Yaakov. Evidently, Hashem does not believe that Yaakov needs His help in dealing with Eisav, as he apparently did in dealing with Lavan. Why this distinction? The answer may lie in the very different natures of the threats posed by Eisav and Lavan. Eisav’s intentions were always clear. He deeply despised Yaakov and in fact expressed (at the end of Parashas Toldos) his intention to kill him. An enemy like that, an adversary whose destructive designs are easily perceived, Yaakov can deal with on his own. In such a case, one knows exactly what one is up against and can consequently prepare accordingly, as indeed Yaakov does, without need for outside help. Lavan, however, is another story entirely. He is a trickster, he deceives, he stabs you in the back while outwardly professing friendship. His true intentions are not at all ob-

vious, as he may try to harm his opponent in more subtle ways than through a direct attack. An enemy like that can be far more dangerous because it is often difﬁcult to know when and how one is being victimized. At times, one may not even be aware of the dangers posed by this kind of enemy until it is too late; in this case, Hashem thus decides that He must intervene on Yaakov’s behalf to save him from a potentially perilous predicament. Throughout the years, the Jewish people have faced both kinds of enemies. We have experienced enemies like Eisav, who openly declare their hatred for us and their desire to physically annihilate us, men women and children – on Purim, for example, we celebrate our victory over such an adversary. And we have experienced enemies like Lavan, who may seem on the surface not to be enemies at all, but who may threaten us more subtly and less intensely, but ultimately just as seriously—on Chanukah we rejoice for conquering such an opponent. Based on the above, it may be suggested that these latter enemies are at least in some ways of greater concern, precisely because their attack is so subtle and at times even imperceptible—and must therefore be dealt with effectively. In 21st century America, we are not regularly challenged, thank God, by

countrymen who wish to destroy us physically. We are, however, potentially endangered by a society whose inﬂuences can, if not carefully monitored and positively harnessed, lead to a weakening of religious and spiritual commitment. To guard against this kind of threat, in the absence of evident Divine assistance, we must arm ourselves— and most especially our children—with the right “ammunition.” Our children must be given the Torah and general education that best suits their individual needs, regardless of external considerations. They have to be trained in an appropriate environment, where they can beneﬁt from an array of both peers and mentors who can serve as proper role models. And they have to be shown the warmth, the beauty and the day-to-day relevance of what they learn by caring and nurturing teachers who themselves know what it means to achieve greatness in Torah while also serving as productive and contributing members of society at large. Equipped in this fashion, these youngsters, our successors, will be able to withstand even the less dramatic and obvious challenges to our future as a people. Rabbi Michael Taubes is the Rosh Yeshiva & Head of School for MTA/YUHSB and has been involved in chinuch, both formal and informal, as a Rebbe, teacher and administrator for more than thirty years. A lifelong resident of Teaneck, he is presently the Rav of Kehillas Zichron Mordechai in Teaneck.

THE MAGGID OF BERGENFIELD

Vayishlach: Davening in Dusseldorf (Bereishit: 32:5) By Larry Stiefel hen Avi Morgenstern got engaged, it was a source of great simcha for the entire Morgenstern family. He was the first of the generation of cousins to get married, and everyone wanted to be at the wedding. That posed a serious problem for the New Milford branch of the Morgenstern clan. Steve and Maggy Morgenstern had four children. All of them were very close with Avi and all of them wanted to be there to sing and dance with Avi and his kallah, Abby, down the aisle. The issue was proximity. The wedding was in Yerushalayim, and that meant six airline tickets from Newark to Tel Aviv. That was a serious piece of pocket change for Maggy, Steve and their brood. Normally, Maggy would have dipped into the family’s large cache of frequent flier miles, but the Morgensterns had used them all up in Puerto Rico for yeshiva break that past winter. Who knew Avi was going to fall in love so quickly and have such a short engagement? Apparently true love worked fast in the Holy Land. With no other options, Maggy sat down at her desktop and went to work. She perused Priceline. She combed Kayak. She explored Expedia. Finally, on an odyssey through Orbitz, she found what she was looking for. “Steve, I’ve gone through every possible flight option for Avi’s wedding,” she

called out from the kitchen. Maggy always planned the family trips, because if Steve were left in charge they would never leave New Jersey. “O.K., what have you got?” Steve bellowed from his perch in front of the Giants game. “You’re not going to like it.” “Try me.” “I’ve got it narrowed down to three airlines.” “El Al, United, and British Airways?” “No, Air Berlin, Turkish Air, and Aeroflot.” “What country is Aeroflot?” “Russia.” Long pause. Steve came out of the den. “How much are we talking?” Maggy turned the computer so that Steve could see the screen for the flights she had found. “Well, that’s not too bad. And how much is El Al?” Maggy typed a few more letters, punched “Enter,” and turned the screen toward Steve again. “O.K., that’s bad. So then which airline should we fly?” “They all have stopovers,” Maggie said. “So it’s a matter of where we want to spend a few hours, Moscow, Ankara, or Dusseldorf.” Steve smiled. “You know, I’ve always wanted to see Dusseldorf.” “You and me both, Honey.” Maggy entered all the information that was necessary, and ten minutes lat-

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er the Morgensterns had six coach seats on Air Berlin for June 21st, from New York City to Tel Aviv, with a stopover in Dusseldorf. It was a done deal. The day of the big trip arrived, and at 1:30 in the afternoon the Morgensterns set out on their trek. They had four suitcases, two car seats, six carry-ons, and a cooler stuffed with enough snacks for a small army (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola bars, chocolate chip cookies, bagels, and of course, no liquids). True, they had requested kosher meals on Air Berlin for both legs of the trip, but Maggy wasn’t taking any chances. Besides, there was the stopover in Germany to contend with. The trip to the airport went smoothly. The Morgensterns whisked through security without incident. The T.S.A. security lines were short, and they boarded without forgetting anything at the gate (it sounds easy enough, but boarding a plane with four children in tow is something you have to do at least once to appreciate). Sophie started with the window seat, but agreed to relinquish it to Danielle somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Michael sat in between his parents with Steve’s iPad on his lap, deep into the game “Temple Run,” and Benny never looked up from his iPod. The flight went extremely smoothly. Maggy was a little weirded out by the flight announcements in German, but she settled down after a while, and even chuckled when the flight attendant

asked her if she wanted “shparkling vasser.” The in-flight entertainment on the airplane was fantastic, with many movies and television shows to choose from. Other than the food and beverage service and a brief nap by each of the Morgensterns, they were all glued to their screens for most of the flight. Steve caught up on most of the fifth season of Mad Men, and Maggy developed an addiction to Downton Abbey. Before they knew it, they were landing in Dusseldorf. It was 7:15 a.m. in Germany when they disembarked in the airport. The Morgensterns sat on the orange plastic chairs in the arrivals lounge and stared off with the numb feeling of having missed an entire night’s sleep. They had an hour and-ahalf until they needed to board their connecting flight to Israel. They were tired and washed out. Oddly enough, Michael, the 5-year-old, hadn’t slept a wink on the plane, but seemed the most awake. Even Benny didn’t have the energy to turn on his iPod. Benny turned to his father. “We need to chill.” “We need to explore,” Sophie said. Maggy looked at her entire crew. “We need to daven.” Steve knew his wife was right. Their first priority was to find a quiet place to daven Shacharit. But he truly was not looking forward to this. He hated putting on his tefillin in airports. When he was

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OP-ED

When the Shidduch Hits the Fan By Shoshanna Jaskoll, The Times of Israel his week, along with the rest of you, I read the words of Gital, a chained woman or Agunah as she publicly pleaded for a Jewish divorce from her husband. But this isn’t about Get. I’ve written about Get before. This is about what has become of Jewish dating and marriage in certain, mainly ultraOrthodox, circles. Reading her words, I was struck by the brokenness of a system and how it can lead directly to tragedies like Gital’s. In these circles, every young man and woman has a resume where all pertinent information is written: family lineage (often including information on siblings and other family members), education, background, character traits, looks, earning potential etc. The unquantifiable is quantified and people are dehumanized, forced onto a scale and what best adjectives a well-meaning mother can find in a thesaurus. Matchmakers match based on criteria—mostly yichus (lineage)—parents vet and approve. The young people meet in a public place over a soda or coffee and try and get to know one another beyond the paper. Then they report back to those in charge. Gital speaks of the pressure she felt to continue dating her husband after the second date even though she didn’t want to. “I told the matchmaker I wanted to stop seeing him…My parents asked me to think about it because his parents were so insistent …In Orthodox dating, you rely a lot on what other people tell you—So I gave him another chance.” So, they dated further. And so they married. Marriage begins after the last guest has gone home and the door to the hon-

eymoon suite closes. Truly alone for the ﬁrst time, the couple will completely reverse the trends they lived for years; of not touching or being intimate with someone of the opposite sex (a topic for another post but one very important to this conversation) and begin their lives as man and wife . In these circles, birth control is eschewed. Having a large family is paramount—it is why you marry. For many, like Gital, pregnancy comes quickly. If the couple is lucky, they have a few months to get to know one another before morning sickness, fatigue and all of the other symptoms and pressures of pregnancy impose themselves. If the man is a full time learner, often the wife is the breadwinner. In a matter of months, she’s adjusting to being a wife, working full time and being pregnant. She is exhausted and perhaps afraid. He is at best a bit lost but compassionate and at worst unable to sympathize and resentful. The way I see it, to strengthen Jewish marriages and families, three things can and should be put into immediate effect. 1- The dating process must change. No longer should women be a series of numbers and one word answers— modest, quiet, wealthy, thin, employable. No longer should men be son of son of son of, an incredible learner in… A person’s character, soul, dreams, and smile cannot be put on paper. Young people need more autonomy. They must not be pressured to continue to date someone they do not want to! Why would parents not listen to their daughter, who after spending hours with a person has decided he is not for her? Why are other people’s opinions more important than their own child’s? What kind of decision makers and parents are we building if we don’t allow them to learn and make decisions, trust their gut and deduce conclusions from

observed behaviors? There is a middle ground between the stale shidduch style above and the bar/ hookup culture. Social settings where young men and women can meet more naturally can be very good things. Kids should be trusted to function according to the values with which they were raised. Matchmakers can still advise and recommend, but this cold system needs to be revised and young people need more control over their lives. I daresay that had Gital had the ability to meet and judge and reject her husband on these terms, had her voice been heard, the marriage and subsequent misery she has endured would not have happened. 2- There should be a suggested 6-12 month period of using birth control from the start of the marriage. It is wrong not to give a young couple the chance to get to know one another before becoming jointly responsible for another human being. Judaism places the highest value on children. They are not just a commandment to be ﬁlled, they are people and should be born to parents who have a gained a bit of perspective and maturity, who are ready for that step together, and who can properly support those children emotionally and physically. Heterim should be given for the purpose of making stronger marriages and better parents. I once met a woman at the Beit Din. She was young and ultra-Orthodox. As I watched her tiny daughter toddle between her and her husband, I thought perhaps she was in the wrong place. I told her this was the area for divorces. She told me that she and her husband were married a few years but were now divorcing. They agreed that they should never have gotten married. Many couples stay married and weather the tough times together. But wouldn’t

it be great if the couple had time to get to know one another, build bonds and create a partnership before meeting the challenges of starting a family and all that comes with it? Might that not make for easier starts, stronger partnerships, healthier children, and yes, make it clear to some that they just should not be married BEFORE children are pulled into the mess? Had Gital been advised to wait six months before starting a family, she would have been able to leave Avraham before becoming pregnant and having a child in the midst of this war. 3. Every Jewish couple getting married should sign a Halachic prenuptial agreement and every Rav worth his smicha should refuse to marry couples without one. A step was lost between Gital’s dating and her marriage. That step would have protected both parties. Had Gital and Avraham signed a Halachic Prenuptial agreement, which calls for sanctions against a husband for refusal to provide a get and a wife for refusal to accept one, he could not wield it against her and prevent her from having a life. Like me, Gital may have been assured by her Rav that it was unnecessary. Perhaps she was told that it wasn’t “kosher.” Most likely, she was told nothing at all. Jewish marriage is a sacred thing. It is a thing of respect, love, hope and partnership. It is dreams born over thousands of years and strength of a people millennia old. It is holy and it is good. And when it is used as a way to gain status or ﬁnances, as a way to hurt and control and manipulate and punish, it is a stain on us all. The system is broken and it needs to be ﬁxed. Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll is an American Israeli, mom, nonprofit consultant, lover of chocolate and seeker of truth. She and her family made aliyah from Teaneck in 2007.

THE MAGGID OF BERGENFIELD

Vayishlach: Davening in Dusseldorf (Bereishit: 32:5) 

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younger he had backpacked across Europe with friends, but they had always gotten up at the break of dawn in the youth hostels they slept in so that they could pray in peace. In college he used to daven Mincha in a phone booth if he was on the road (the joke was to dial GO-D) to have a modicum of privacy. Now here he was in Germany, a country not historically famous for its religious tolerance, and he had to daven for all to see. But he hadn’t missed putting on teﬁllin every day in many years, and he certainly wasn’t going to miss now. And Benny had been putting on his tef30 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

illin for almost two years without fail. There were many lessons to be taught to his family at this moment. “Your mom’s right,” he said to his four kids. “Let’s move out.” The Morgensterns picked up their carry-ons and began to walk. Four gates over they found an empty departure area with no flight pending on the electronic departure/arrival board. Except for the cleaning crew, it was pretty much abandoned. “This will do fine.” Steve put on his talit and tefillin, Benny put on his tefillin as well, and Maggy, Sophie, and Danielle pulled out siddurim. Michael said the few prayers he knew by heart that he said in school with his teachers. They stood by the window looking out over the flight crew that was working on a recently arrived Lufthansa 737 in the distance. They spent about 20 minutes on their prayers, trying as best they could to ignore the stares of the occasional travelers as they walked by across the lounge.

As Steve and Benny took off their tefillin, Steve looked proudly at his family. “You know, this whole scene makes me think of a Rashi in parshat Vayishlach.” Maggy looked over at her husband with a world weary look. She was used to his habit of waxing philosophically at the strangest of moments. “Really, Steve? Do tell.” “Well, when Yakov is about to meet Eisav after many years of separation, he sends him a messenger with the message: Im Lavan garti va-echar ad ata. I have sojourned with Lavan and have lingered until now. Rashi offers this explanation: Im Lavan harasha garti vetaryag mitzvot shamarti. I have lived with the evil Lavan all these years, but I still observed the 613 commandments. It is a play on the word garti that the letters are the same as taryag, or 613.” “Good one, Dad,” “Gee, thanks, Danielle, but don’t thank me. Thank Rashi.” “Good one, Rashi,” Danielle opined.

“Uh, sure,” Steve continued. “But I think Yakov’s point to Eisav relates to us here today. We’re far from home, in a foreign place, but despite the hardship and inconvenience, we’re going to keep the mitzvot. Like davening in a small German airport, under the scrutiny of lots of strangers. That’s who we are, and that’s what’s important to us.” Maggy smiled. “Good one, honey.” “Thanks.” “It was a nice dvar Torah, but now that we’re done davening, I have just one thing on my mind.” “And what’s that?” “Coffee.” “Nice thought. I know we’re in Dusseldorf, but there must be a Starbucks here somewhere.” [There wasn’t.] And the Morgensterns continued their odyssey across the airport. Larry Stiefel is a pediatrician at Tenafly Pediatrics. He is author of the parsha story blog Themaggidofbergenfield.com. 201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

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Italian Holiday By Aliza Chasan o one will ever ask me for this piece of advice regarding a trip to Venice because this is not something that happens to normal people. Nevertheless, an unsolicited piece of advice: Do not fall into a Venetian Canal. If you swallow any of it you will need shots and if it’s Winter, you will be freezing. Falling into the canal—in my one set of Shabbat appropriate clothing no less—may have been the most memorable aspect of my trip there, but Venice has so much to offer beyond the occasional, accidental dunk into the water. I spent three weeks in Italy over January of 2013. Most of my time was spent in Florence, enough so that I can still, almost a year later, give directions to the notable sites, but I also visited Pisa, Sienna and, as mentioned, Venice. Winter is actually one of the best times to visit the country because it isn’t tourist season. A Chabbad rebbetzin there told me that during tourist season, you literally have to wait for breaks in the street trafﬁc to exit buildings. In Florence, or Firenze as Italians call it, there are a number of key places to visit, but ﬁrst the food. There is one kosher restaurant in the city, Ruth’s, and sadly no kosher gelateria. If you’re looking to eat outside a

restaurant, you can purchase Yomo brand yogurt, a large variety of beautiful fresh produce, Mulino Bianco brand cookies, and Toscana bread, that’s any bread with a really hard crust (knock on the bread to test it.) In Venice you get the chance to do something special- eat all those Italian baked goods you’ve seen in store windows, but not had the chance to eat. The main restaurant, which hosts Shabbat meals, is called Gam Gam, but just down the road are two kosher grocery stores: one which sells pizza and a number of Israeli products and the other which sells the aforementioned baked goods in addition to deli sandwiches and groceries. Italians are a friendly and courteous people. For instance, my friends and I couldn’t find our hotel in Venice. While strategizing in the street, an elderly Venetian lady opened up her window, babbled away at us, said a word that sounded vaguely like accompany and then popped outside in slippers and a robe to escort us. If you’re ever lost, just say the name of the place you’re trying to go and someone will help you readily. The main sites to find in Florence are: the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Michaelangelo, Pitti Palace, the Uffizi, the Academia, the shul and a mercato or two. Climbing the Duomo requires going up around 400 steps, but the spectacular paintings and the view from the top are worth it. Ponte Vecchio crosses the Arno, the city dividing river, and is home to an array of amazing jewelry stores and nothing else. Pitti Palace, on the other side of the Arno, is enormous; the former home of the Medici family, it now houses multiple separate museums and, through it, you can access Boboli Gardens. There are porcelain, mod201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

ern art, silver and costume museums. You can also tour the royal apartments. The two other notable museums, the Ufﬁzi and Academia, are home to a slew of amazing paintings and statues including the David and quite a number of Botticelli paintings. The shul in Florence is stunning. The services were Sephardi, which would have thrown off my focus all on its own, but the interior of the shul and its beautiful design didn’t allow my mind much time to process the different mode of davening. Sienna holds a surprising amount of Judaic artifacts. The civic museum has marble moldings of biblical scenes and there’s a calligraphy and book restoration store which focuses largely on Hebrew material just 15 minutes walk from the city’s black and white Duomo. While there, be sure to see the Piazza del Campo and clock tower. Note: if you take the train into town and ask a resident if it’s possible to walk to the center of town, they will say yes. Know that all they mean is that it’s possible, not that you should do it. The train in Venice though is located well in the

sense that you’re going to want to see everything in the city, not just the “main” sites. Venice is the city of Vivaldi, masks, canals and more. If you’re interested in visiting Murano, Burano, or Torcello, note that the boat to each island is actually quite time consuming. Boats for ‘long distance’ travel are more of water taxis or busses; if you want to ride a gondola, but you’re not sure about the outrageous price, ﬁnd another tourist on the street and buddy up, that way you can split the bill. Finally, a few practical remarks: if you purchase train tickets in the station several days before you plan to travel to a city, you can get sizeable discounts, but this only works in the station- not online. Also, validate your tickets before entering the train; a conductor will check for it and you can be ﬁned if you don’t have that stamp. My last practical, but honestly terribly sad bit of advice, only visit Pisa if you have time to spare. The Leaning Tower is obviously very impressive and a good thing to check off a bucket list, but there isn’t much else on offer in the city.

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Travel to Cadbury World Is Cocotastic—and Kosher By Nathan Jeffay/JNS.org t’s easy to imagine that if the ancient Israelites had been familiar with the cocoa bean, God might have promised them a land ﬂowing with milk and chocolate. He didn’t, but such a land does exist. In the English city of Birmingham, a 90-minute train ride from London, Cadbury—the company that popularized modern British milk chocolate—welcomes half a million visitors a year who come to pay homage to Cadbury World. And if you are kosher observant and accustomed to foodie travel attractions where you can look but can’t taste, you should rejoice—the London Beth Din regards almost all products made by Cadbury as kosher. Non-Brits may not grasp just how big Cadbury is—as a cultural institution as well as a brand. But you’ll quickly get the hang of it at their huge visitor center. In addition to the main exhibition, there’s an outdoor children’s play area with climbing zones, tube slides and tunnels, a separate area at a lower level for the under-5s, and a multimedia show. The show consists

The sign outside Cadbury World. Credit: Benkid77 via Wikimedia Commons.

of two five-minute features during which you meet the earnest Quakers who set up the company back in 1824, after which you get to create your own chocolate, with melted Cadbury chocolate and fillings. A visit to Cadbury World can take up to three hours, but it is so well choreographed that time flies by. It isn’t an “exhibition” in the conventional sense, but rather a mixture of displays, acted sketches, 3-D multime-

dia presentations, demonstrations of the production process, and of course, tastings. Yet you do learn a lot—in fact, Cadbury World was one of the ﬁrst institutions in the UK to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, recognizing it as a provider of quality, safely managed educational experiences for young people. For those of us used to family outings where different people circulate at different speeds

and everyone loses each other, Cadbury World is brilliant. As you go past various junctures, such as the shows, in batches of around 50 people, you are constantly synchronized with your party. The various components of the experience have been designed to hold the attention of the very young while stimulating the grown-ups. There was a 70-year age span in my family group, and both granddad and toddler daughter loved every minute. The exhibition begins with a series of 3-D stages where miniature ﬁgures give you short snippets of the history of chocolate. You ﬁnd out about “chocolate houses” where grown men (women and children were barred) used to gather to drink hot chocolate and gamble, and you meet an actress who recreates the atmosphere of these dens of sugary indulgence. Then an actor introduces the members of the Cadbury family who established the company and made it great. They tell their story of how their chocolate is made through a series of presentations, one of them featuring seats that move as the cocoa breaks are shaken.

You find out how specific Cadbury lines are made, and you make your way through a packaging plant to an area where you can watch the production of one of the company’s premium handmade products. The place really does flow with chocolate—a kilometer of piping on the ceiling takes it around. And even after nearly three hours, the kids are still on a high—not just because of their pockets full of samples or the cup of liquid chocolate (the day’s second), but because the whole trip ends with an adorable ride, Cadabra, which takes you on little carriages through a world in which cute cocoa beans are engaged in all sorts of activities, including skiing. I always dreamed of visiting Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. This was definitely the next best thing. While most products distributed at Cadbury World are kosher, some are not. The London Beth Din’s listing of kosher Cadbury products can be found at www.kosher.org.uk. Originally published by www. Jewish.Travel, the new online Jewish travel magazine.

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A Flawless Event in Israel Starts with Protexsia By Bracha Schwartz Englewood, NJ— The boutique winery in Israel, tucked into a protective forest, was the perfect setting for a visiting celebrity couple from Los Angeles. After viewing the exclusive production process, the couple strolled to a private outdoor table, where they dined on a gourmet threecourse meal accompanied by several exquisite wines. Does that sound like something you’d like to do? Don’t open your guidebook to look for the number—you need protexsia, Hebrew for connections. The boutique winery tour was arranged by Shari Alter of Englewood, New Jersey and Harvey Tannenbaum, who made aliyah from Los Angeles 14 years ago, partners in Protexsia Plus (www.protexsiaplus.com), a company specializing in event planning and VIP travel in Israel. Protexsia Plus organizes visits for two and events for 500. With Alter in the U.S., and Tannenbaum in Israel, they arrange all advance work and on-site coordination. For the boutique winery tour, Tannenbaum visited each location before the couple arrived to make sure the trip flowed as smoothly as wine from a bottle. Alter first met Tannenbaum when she hired him to help her coordinate her oldest son’s bar mitzvah in Israel in 2006. About a year later, he asked her to work with him. Now they are partners. Alter is the creative force at Protexsia Plus, often the first one to meet with clients and hear about their dreams. With a background in interior design, she takes the lead in planning the itinerary, décor and printed materials. She showed me a pre-departure gift she created for one bar mitzvah party: a coordinated package with luggage tags and passport holder that was sent overnight to the homes of all the guests before they left. Tannenbaum coordinates the logistics in Israel, using his protexsia to find the vendors and venues that will make clients happy. Alter said their teamwork speeds up the planning. “Because of the time difference, our clients can ask me questions in the afternoon that Harvey can work on it in Israel while they are asleep,” Alter said. “They wake up with answers.” The sun doesn’t set for long on Protexsia Plus. First time visitors to Israel appreciate Alter’s guidance. “I worked with a family from New York’s Upper West Side who didn’t think much about religion until their son’s bar mitzvah, and they decided to make it in Israel,” Alter recalled. “They wanted to know where to go and what to do. We suggested they visit Hebron, a place they had never heard of. It made a big impression. When they came back, the parents wrote a check for $5,000 to the Hebron Fund.” Alter and Tannenbaum have turned the most fanciful ideas into spectacular reality. They planned an engagement party on the top of Masada, with the couple flying in by helicopter. One family had a simcha in Hertzliya with their own private amusement park. A South American family wanted a simcha in the desert – they had it on top of a mountain, complete with tents, a dance floor, DJ, back-up generators and an after party. Everyone, including the staff, wore white. Alter and Tannenbaum also use their

Harvey Tannenbaum, President, Protexsia Plus

Shari Alter, Senior V.P and US Representative, Protexsia Plus

protexsia to fulfill smaller, meaningful requests. “We planned a bar mitzvah for a boy with special needs who loved to drum. We arranged for him to drum with a local Israeli band. It was a really special day for him,” Alter said. “We had another bar mitzvah boy who loved to cook. We arranged a bake-off contest for all the guests.” The economic climate has affected some aspects of travel to Israel. Alter said people planning simchas have fewer friends coming now, and some have to scale down the size of their events. Sometimes Alter has to gently tell a client that an activity they want, like practice at a shooting range for $120 per person, may be too expensive. But a four-hour party in New York costs as much as a trip to Israel. So by comparison, making a simcha in Israel can be a cost-effective decision. Politics can create obstacles, but Protexsia Plus knows how to get around them. When they had an event planned in Jerusalem’s old city and roads were blocked off due to a sudden security problem, Tannenbaum called someone he knew who offered to get the catering truck there through a back route. Alter said she knows of only two events families cancelled due to fears about security—and both regretted cancelling afterwards. The kind of research Tannenbaum and Alter do would be almost impossible for travelers to conduct themselves. They hire babysitters, mostly girls who have done their Sherut Leumi service, who are trained and competent. They speak to chefs about special diet requirements. And of course they are knowledgeable about kashrut supervision and the preferences of their clients. Clients who rent apartments arrive to find their refrigerators stocked and flowers on the table. Like a personal concierge, they will arrange hard to get concert tickets and advance restaurant reservations. Tannenbaum began the business shortly after arriving in Israel, having been a lawyer in LA. “People I knew kept asking me for recommendations and advice. I realized I could make a business doing this,” he said. Over the years, he has developed many relationships with caterers, hotel staff and restaurant managers. He evaluates other service providers by trying them out first with family and friends. “Ten years ago, my great aunt came for a visit and wanted to go to Tel Aviv,” Tannenbaum related. “I asked a driver who, unbeknownst to her, I was looking at to work for us. When she returned I asked her, ‘Did he drive well? Was the cab clean? Would he understand the American mentality?’ He became one of

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the company’s trusted drivers and also recommended others.” Matching the right resources to the client is part of Tannenbaum’s expertise. “We try to stay out of politics, but we know which guide is a good ﬁt,” he said. “Some tour guides specialize in bringing Tanach to life for those with little background and others are scholars. We also have guides who are knowledgeable about Christian sites for the many non-Jews who come to Israel.” And then there are those sudden glitches that are insurmountable if you’re on your own but Tannenbaum and Alter can ﬁx with a few well-placed phone calls. Their U.S./Israel partnership saved the day for one couple who arrived in Israel at night for a family simcha later in the week.

After a relaxing dinner, they prepared to check into their hotel only to be told at the front desk that they had no reservation and the hotel was full. The client called Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum called Alter in New Jersey (yes, at 2 a.m.). Alter went through all the records and found the problem; the hotel had transposed the couple’s name. They did indeed have a reservation. Protexsia Plus came to the rescue for a college student in London who was supposed to meet her family touring in Israel. Tannenbaum got a frantic call from the father. His daughter went to Heathrow Airport by mistake when she should have gone to Luton. There was only one El Al ﬂight left she could take and arrive before yom tov. Tannenbaum called a travel agent he knew who called El Al. The young woman caught a cab to Luton and was met by an El Al representative who whisked her into the airport and onto her plane. Tannenbaum and Alter have a passion for Israel. Tannenbaum is guided by the memory of his father who grew up without a bar mitzvah—they didn’t have any in Auschwitz. But now, a generation later, he’s making it possible for others. Alter, whose mother-in-law also survived the Holocaust, loves making people’s dreams of visiting Israel come true and now has a second home there. “We travel to Israel so much that sometimes we have to remember how special it is,” Alter said. “Travel to Israel is a blessing that we can’t take for granted.”

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 33

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Are We There Yet? By Alyssa Colton MA, OTR/L And Aviva Lipner MA, OTR/L amily vacations are a time for building memories, filling albums and creating bonding experiences for the entire family. It is meant to be a time to get away from it all and have a fun, relaxing occasion. Many families, however, find that the vacation is rarely all that they were expecting and more frequently filled with unexpected, and unwanted, “surprises.” Everything from lost luggage, sibling bickering, carsickness, long lines and unmet expectations, the vacation is the perfect setup for frustration, aggravation and stress. Not OUR vacations, of course, those are perfect. Over the years, we have come up with some suggestions to make va-

cations more fun for the entire family. First of all, if you are taking a long trip such as a long car ride, road trip or a long airplane ride, ﬁll your children’s backpack with some surprises for them for the trip. Do not allow them to see their packs until you are on your way. For a younger child, a couple of new age appropriate toys that pack well and one or two of their favorites will help for the long trip. (Maybe save a toy or two to surprise them with for the way home since most children are more excited for the vacation than they are for the return home.) Don’t forget to pack a few snacks and a drink that your child can control on his or her own. Activities such as coloring books, reusable stickers, Magnadoodle or Etch-aSketch boards, and other small toys suitable for traveling are great commodities to add to your packing prep. Cards and games that come in their own containers are also great for travel as they pro-

vide easy clean-up. Parents, spend a little bit of time being creative and you will not believe how thrilled your children will be with their activities. A little bit of advance preparation can help provide a funﬁlled vacation for parents and children. When the family has a member with special needs, however, the entire vacation experience is different. Whether the family member has physical limitations that are obvious and require equipment, or physical challenges that may not be obvious or other difﬁculties that are not strictly physical, the vacation now takes on a whole new meaning and the planning needs have changed. One thing that families of children with special needs should be aware of is that most amusement parks and other vacation spots have accommodations to help make their vacations smoother and more enjoyable. In most amusement parks or other vacation hotspots, with a letter from your doctor or therapist, you can obtain a pass to allow your family

How Eddie’s Kosher Travel Became # 1 An Interview with David Waller How did you get into the travel business? It’s actually an interesting story. We never intended to get into the travel business. When we lived in Australia we had

other businesses: I was in the steel security manufacturing business and Chana was in residential real estate. One year we went on vacation to the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Chana was pregnant with our third son and we were already thinking about the stress of Pesach even though

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EMUNAH: BUILDING A JEWISH FUTURE IN ISRAEL, ONE CHILD, ONE FAMILY AT A TIME! 34 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

it was still several months away. We made the decision then that we would come back for Pesach with our own food and spend the holiday there, which was possible because the area had the infrastructure of a shul and Jewish community. When we returned home and began telling our friends and community about our plans everyone wanted in. At the time, there was no Pesach program in Australia so this was a ﬁrst. We ended up hosting 200 guests and imported a team of eight chefs from Israel. We did this for ﬁve years and it grew each year but it always remained a side business-hobby. How did you go from that to living in Israel? We always wanted to make Aliya to give our children a fuller Jewish life and better education than what we had in Australia and…because we are a little crazy to want to leave Down Under - such a beautiful country! After 17 years of marriage and four kids later, we decide it was ‘now or never’ and made a pilot trip to Israel in October 2007. We made Aliyah in March 2008. It was close to Pesach and Platinum Travel, with whom we had connected during our pilot trip, was planning to run a Pesach program at the Dead Sea for over 1,200 guests. They desperately needed help running it and we were happy to step in. You have a prestigious, successful travel agency. How did that happen? Eddie’s Travel was founded by Eddie Freudmann in 1976. He was from the UK and made Aliyah with his family to Netanya. He opened a travel business booking vacations and operating kosher cruises and this grew substantially. In 1986 he started a Pesach Hotel for Anglos coming to Israel. A year before we made Aliyah, Eddie suddenly passed away. His son-in-law took over the business but since he was a lawyer it was not his natural forte. We had been previously introduced to Eddie’s Travel on our pilot trip so we reconnected and bought the business in November 2008. Why Eddie’s Kosher Travel? Eddie’s Travel was already a very recognizable brand name in the industry with a

to move to the front of the line in parks or sit in speciﬁc areas during shows. You will need to do your homework as these regulations are changing all of the time. For example, Disney Parks are notorious for their accommodations for individuals with special needs. At this time, however, they are undergoing changes to their policies and are following more of a “fastpass” type of ticket instead of a “no-line” policy. Before you make your reservations, go online and do your research so you are well educated in making appropriate decisions. Remember, regardless of your family’s speciﬁc situation, spending a little extra time before your trip preparing can help you build those magical memories you are looking for. Making sure your luggage makes it to the other side? Sorry, we have no tips for that. Alyssa Colton MA, OTR and Aviva Lipner MA, OTR are pediatric occupational therapists and owners of Kids’ Therapy Place, LLC. You can find great toys and games at Kids’ Therapy Toy Store info@kidstplace.com

great reputation and a strong clientele from all over the world. We changed the ofﬁcial name to “Eddie’s Kosher Travel & Tourism” because Eddie’s Travel didn’t have a particularly Jewish ring to it. Our market was kosher vacations and cruises and it tied in with our domain website www.koshertravelers.com. We ended up making other changes, too. The beginning of 2009 was when the Madoff scheme emerged and a major worldwide recession set in. Not the best time to get into the luxury travel business! The industry was hit hard and by Pesach of that year we were feeling the impact. We had done all our due diligence and research but nothing could have predicted this. We decided to revamp. First we merged our cruise operations with our main competitor, Kosherica Corporation. We were both feeling the crunch so by merging we became the number one player in the kosher cruises market. We also introduced a wide range of kosher land tours to exotic destinations. Then we shut the physical ofﬁce and set up our staff to work from their homes. This made sense because no one walks into a travel agency anymore to make travel plans. We revamped the website and built up the Pesach programs, expanding it from one hotel to six. How were you able to turn things around? It’s been a process but we are seeing results. Our merged kosher cruises operation is the market leader. We run a full kosher program within the regular luxury cruise line’s program and take care of every detail from providing Shabbat elevators to Jewish heritage tours at port destinations. If a cruise leaves on a Sunday morning we organize Shabbat at the city of departure. Cruises are popular because you can visit multiple destinations and only unpack once. Our Pesach and Sukkot programs in Israel are ever popular with loyal returning clients as well as new clients from the USA, Canada, UK, South Africa and Australia as well as Anglo Israelis who have heard of our reputation and how we stand apart from our competitors. This year for Pesach we are offering a range of hotel options in Ti-

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TRAVEL

Discovering Korea By Tamar Herman hat’s a nice Jewish girl from New York doing in a place where she can’t ﬁnd a nice Jewish boy?” What was I doing there? I asked myself this numerous times throughout my six months studying abroad, especially after I realized I could no longer just pick up a burger from the local Glatt Kosher restaurants. Now that I’ve returned and can eat all of the food I desire, I want to go back to a world with no kosher food stores, only one (non-army) synagogue, and people who have never even met a Jew before. In many ways, Seoul, South Korea is much more advanced than New York City. The subways run on time (with numerous phone applications that will help you pick the fastest route); you don’t have to swipe your Metro Card, and there’s always service and data. Every street corner has multiple-story, 24-hour coffee shops, and the residents of Seoul are much more fashionable than New Yorkers. But, at the same time, Seoul is much more attached to its past than New York is. While there are some skyscrapers, the heart of Seoul is four palaces and various temples. In fact, the only reason I know where the American Embassy in Seoul is located was because it is right next to the magniﬁcent palace, Gyeongbokgung. Most of Seoul’s landmarks were rebuilt after the Korean War, but they aren’t lacking in authenticity; it’s hard to remember that you’re in the middle of a city with over 10 million residents when you’re looking at the throne of Korea’s last kings. Seoul is home to more than just palaces; it’s also home to some of the best shopping, ranging from high end shopping districts like Apgujeong and Gangnam (like the song,) to Dongdaemun market where you can haggle over prices, to the area near Ehwa Woman’s University, where up- and-coming fashion students try to sell their goods to small boutiques. Haggling is a must in most Korean stores, but be warned: if you’re light hair and light eyes, they’ll probably hike up the prices thinking that you’re a tourist. Seasoned Seoul-ite that I became in my six months there, I was able to gauge that most T-shirts sold on the street could be bought with 10,000 Won (a little less than $10) if I just handed the shopkeeper the money. Seoul’s not all about shopping, but since I wasn’t able to eat, well, anything, most of my experiences didn’t include food memories. However, I did sit with my friends while they grilled pork bellies (samgyeopsal) or made hot pot (shabu shabu) on the table in front of them, and while they ate pounds upon pounds of kimchi, Korea’s national side-dish. For snacks during the day, while I bought Jelly Bellys or Haagen Daaz from the convenience store, my friends would get kimbap, Korea’s version of sushi, which almost always included picked yellow radish, kimchi and ham. At night, there were hundreds upon hundreds of things for college students to do. Our neighborhood, Sinchon, was

“W

the host of the prestigious Yonsei University, which I attended, and also Ewha Woman’s University, which meant that there were hundreds of bars, themedcafés and noraebang (literally singing rooms). A few blocks away was Hongdae, which had a lot of clubs and fashionable shops, as well as street performance spaces. The most talented performers would reserve the right to play on Hongdae not only to make money from passersby, but because they knew if there was a scout from one of Korea’s top entertainment companies, their fortune could be made. While most people know Psy and Gangnam Style, they don’t know that Korea is the host to one of the largest growing entertainment industries in the world. If you’re so inclined, you can attend hundreds of concerts with perfectly constructed performances by boy bands and girl groups. Or you can attend Broadyway-style musicals or dance performances (Korea is gaining much attention for having amazing b-boying teams.) There’s also the Co-Ex Mall and Aquarium and the National Museum with gorgeous traditional gold and porcelain objects from ancient kingdoms. But my personal favorite was something I only discovered at the end of my stay, the jimjilbangs. These 24-hour saunas may seem frightening to Americans, but for roughly $12 you can stay 12 hours at a sauna and spa. People spend nights there, sleeping on the hard wood floor after they’ve enjoyed the health benefits of both hot and ice saunas (my personal favorite was the hot salt room.) You can go straight from a hard day at work to relax; every customer is given a change of clothes and an electronic bracelet, which can be used to pay for various things like food, massages or arcade games. After your time is up, there are showers and blow dryers with which to freshen up, and then you can go back to your life as normal. Even though I doubted that it’d be clean or safe, the Dragon Spa jimjilbang was one of the cleanest places I’ve ever been, and there were parents with their children there overnight, having a fun family outing right in Seoul. And, of course, if you miss America, you can always head to Itaewon. The area sprung up around the U.S. army base, so there are always a lot of Americans and other foreigners in the area. There’s even a mosque and a Jewish Center run by Chabad. I spent just about every Shabbat there, or else I would have had to make a special trip in order to buy instant soups and Israeli snacks like Bamba and Bissli. Just about every week I was asked the question that started this article: What was I doing there? But it didn’t matter. All of us Jews in Korea didn’t really seem to belong, but we made our own community there. There were Jews who have been there for over 20 years, the Chabad family who has been there for only a few and the U.S. soldiers and businessmen with their wives and young children (who attend a pre-school run by the rabbi’s wife). As for me, I wasn’t alone, there were a few other Jewish college students. There’s also the army chaplain, who had services and meals for people; I had difficulty ever going because Seoul has no eruv, so I wasn’t

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able to carry my passport on Sabbath in order to gain entrance to the base. As odd as it sounds, I tried to avoid Itaewon; there was so much else in Korea to see, that if not for my Jewish-ness, I may have never gone to the area. Itaewon is like a sudden break in the country, because, unlike most of Korea, there was a lot more crime in the area with a lot of immigrants (Korea primarily has only Koreans living in most neighborhoods.) Drunks may be out at all hours due to lax drinking laws in Korea, but they’re usually harmless. I never once feared walking around with an open purse and even

grew so comfortable that I would take my wallet out on the subway and look at its contents. Coming back to New York, where I didn’t have to cook practically every meal for myself, was a shock. But, all the same, Seoul had much more of a unique feeling than New York does. Since my return, I realize that some things I thought made so much sense in Korea (like sleeping on the ﬂoor of a sauna) would be extremely odd here. But New York doesn’t have palaces, or national food like kimchi and kimbap; New York’s a melting pot, but Seoul has its own ﬂavor.

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CHESSED

Thankful for Thanksgiving Pies: Sisters Raise $80K for Sharsheret By Elizabeth Kratz eaneck—Last Thanksgiving, 400 pies were baked in a private home in Teaneck, along with 250 loaves of pumpkincranberry bread. That’s a lot of sweets for one house. But don’t worry—it’s not just for one family. It’s a pie bake sale with a rich history and a message. The goal of the bake sale, according to founders Sharon Wieder, a Teaneck resident and her sister, Adeena Sussman of Manhattan, is to raise funds and awareness for Sharsheret, the national not-forproﬁt organization supporting young Jewish women and their families facing breast or ovarian cancer. The two sisters lost their mother, Stephanie Sussman, and grandmother, Ann Nadrich, to ovarian cancer, and created the bake sale in memory of the women who empowered them in the

kitchen. Wieder herself is a survivor of breast cancer who got involved with Sharsheret during her own treatment. Their bake sales, which have extended to friends running sales from their own kitchens, have so far netted $80,000 for Sharsheret. Now in its ﬁfth year, the bake sale extends to 11 cities, including Jerusalem. “We wanted to do something positive, in memory of our mother, who was a big baker and entertainer who passed away in 2006,” said Wieder. “We’re not just doing it to raise money. We want to raise awareness about Sharsheret and the resources that are available to women ﬁghting cancer and their families,” she said. Four hundred pies may seem like a lot, but Wieder brushes off the work. “It’s very natural for us to do this, and it’s a special time for us to do something to-

gether to remember our mom,” she said. Bake sales in other cities were started by friends of the Wieders and Sussmans who decided to join the cause, but have now reached out to others who want to support Sharsheret in this way. The sisters provide guidance to the bakers as they organize their own bake sales. “We’ve created a kit where we have all the recipes we make, a timeline, a letter we send to family and friends, a blurb to send to shuls and schools for announcements, and we provide tips and hints for doing this huge baking job. All of the products we buy are kosher, pareve and baked in a kosher kitchen. People call if they have questions about the kashruth, and my sister and I are available by phone or email as much as possible,” Wieder said. The bakers essentially donate all the raw materials for the pies (which reaches

into the thousands of dollars), and then 100% of the proceeds from the sales go to Sharsheret. Wieder added that this year the website offers the option of donating speciﬁcally to support the bakers of the project, to defray their costs of raw materials. Pies can be ordered through the website at http://www.sharsheret.org/piesfor-prevention. Because all the pies are baked fresh, orders need to be in by Sunday, November 17th. Sharon Wieder is happy to answer any questions at 201837-7837.

Sderot Hesder Yeshiva Celebrates its 18th Annual Dinner By Moshe Kinderlehrer he last time I was in Sderot was in the summer of 2005, only weeks before the Gaza pullout. What remained in my mind were images of freshly installed and painted missile shelters. This week, in Teaneck, I spent some time at Gotham Burger in Teaneck with Rabbi Dovid Fendel, the founding Rosh Yeshiva and dean of what is formally known as the Max and Ruth Schwartz Yeshivat Hesder of Sderot. Rav Fendel gave me the update on how far the yeshiva and the city of Sderot have come since that fateful summer. A West Hempstead native and the son of founding HANC (Hebrew Academy of Nassau County) principal Rabbi Meyer Fendel, he was in Teaneck as part of a whirlwind trip that culminates with their big gala on Monday night. His American Friends Executive Director, Yossi Baumol, is working on ensuring the dinner’s success, while Rav Fendel speaks to garner support from groups and individuals. This weekend will be very special because he will be joined by the newly elected mayor of Sderot, Alon Da-

36 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

vidi, and by the head of Bayit HaYehudi, Naftali Bennett, who is also Israel’s economic minister. The three of them will be speaking at shuls and organizations throughout the tri-state area. Their goal is to raise funds for the yeshiva and for the city. The yeshiva is now one of Israel’s biggest hesder yeshivot with over 500 students, and the school and the municipality work very closely on many issues, including housing and security. There is a desperate need for scholarship subsidies for the students and for capital projects. A number of buildings have already been built to contain the burgeoning student body with help from abroad, the municipality and the Israeli government, but more is needed. Rav Fendel is especially concerned over the latest budget cuts that have impacted the yeshiva, and said that 2014 will be a very challenging year, with further cuts expected. He said although the hesder yeshivot were promised additional funds that the haredi yeshivot might not be eligible for, this was not a positive position. “It takes away from our unity,” he said. “Cuts that fall only on the hare-

di yeshivot and not on the hesder/dati leumi yeshivot drive a wedge in the Torah world’s unity.” As we ended our schmooze, he noted that despite the approximately 10,000 rockets ﬂying out of Gaza over the past decade, Sderot has recovered and gotten stronger than ever. There’s a booming real estate market with strong growth prospects. “The Palestinians have to

know that if you start up with us, we will only grow stronger….that was a mistake they made,” he said. You can still register for the dinner on Monday night (Nov. 18th) at the Marriott Marquis in New York. To sign up or make a donation, call Yossi Baumol, 718-6734945, email info@sderot.org or visit their website, www.sderot.org/english.

Yachad’s Summer Programs Grows for Individuals with Disabilities By Batya Rosner n a given school day morning, sometimes as early as 6:00 a.m., Naphtali Tzvi Yehuda Soloveichik will be on YouTube watching camp videos from his past three summers participating in Yachad’s camper program at Camp Morasha. For Naphtali, 17, who attends a private therapeutic school in his hometown of Chicago for those with autism, the impact of his few weeks integrated within a mainstream Jewish camp and the friendships formed have developed his social skills and strengthened his Jewish identity. “Naphtali would know he is Jewish without the Yachad Camp Morasha program because of our lifestyle, but this experience really makes him feel part of the Jewish people,” shared his father, Rabbi Moshe Soleveichik, Rosh Yeshivas Brisk (Chicago) and Rav of Kehilas Beth Sholom Ahavas Achim. “That is what inclusive means.” Yachad, the ﬂagship agency of the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD), provides unique social, educational and recreational programs for children and young adults with learning, developmental and physical disabilities with the goal of their inclusion in the total life of the Jewish community. With 17 opportunities for summer social development, ranging from

Yad B’Yad participants Ari Zucker of Livingston, NJ; Tzvi Burston of Los Angeles; Mayer Schein of Woodmere, NY; and Elisheva Katz of Baltimore.

trips to Israel to vocational and camper programs, Yachad/NJCD has become one of the largest providers of summer programs for Jewish individuals with disabilities. According to Jdata, an online forum for Jewish organizations to share information operated by Brandeis University and the Jim Joseph Foundation, Yachad serviced the second-highest number of campers with special needs in summer 2013. “Since 2008, there has been tremendous growth in the number of individuals with a spectrum of disabilities being serviced in Yachad summer programs, from 190 ﬁve years ago, to 443 individuals from across the United States and Canada in summer 2013,” said Eli Hagler, Na-

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CHESSED

Race for Courage By Estelle Glass ergenfield—A parent of a chronically ill or disabled child or the child himself might view an all-expense paid, week-long luxury vacation as just an impossible dream. But Tziporah Wasserman of Bergenfield is working with Kids of Courage to actually make this dream a reality. Kids of Courage was created to enable sick children and their families to experience some respite from their difficult lives by granting the children the opportunity to experience a flight to a luxurious vacation spot for a fully paid nine-day vacation. At the same time, the participants are able to bond with others in similar medical circumstances and to share their experiences while forming new friendships. The counselors, medical staff, therapists and administrative help associated with Kids of Courage, are all volunteers, so private funds are needed to raise the money for medically equipped planes that are turned into flying hospitals and for lodging at five

star hotels stocked with medical equipment as well as for the catered meals and amusement park admission. The counselor/camper ratio on these dream trips is one or two counselors per child, with each child getting personal attention and care by volunteers specially trained by co-founder and NYU Medical School professor, Dr. Stuart Ditchek. Over the past several years the group has visited Orlando, Los Angeles and California and has taken winter adaptive skiing trips to Vermont. Campers who enjoy Kids of Courage services range in age from 5 years old to the age of 24. Over 100 campers with life threatening illnesses visit theme parks, participate in outdoor activities, attend concerts, meet celebrities and attempt actions they had hitherto thought impossible. Surprisingly, as these children participate in adventures that other children might take for granted, their health improves. Dr. Ditchek maintains that these fun-ﬁlled weeks have a therapeutic effect, as improved moods naturally lead to improvement in one’s immune system.

Naturally, the cost of arranging all of these trips is staggering. Just this past year’s trip to Orlando cost in the area of $800,000. It is only thanks to the dedication of selﬂess volunteers like Tziporah Wasserman, who are gearing up to participate in Marathon Bahama on January 19 that these vacations will continue. She is the granddaughter of Calvin and Tzippy Soled, pioneer builders of the Teaneck Jewish community. After a relaxing weekend in a Bahama resort, over 100 runners—who have raised a minimum of $3,600.00 each—will race together to fund Kids of Courage programs throughout the year. There will also be 10 campers in wheelchairs aided by volunteers, who will run a half- race of 13.1 miles. Tziporah, a special education teacher in Dumont, became interested in this wonderful organization after hearing about its work from some friends. She then spent a rewarding week last summer as a counselor on the Orlando trip. Tziporah, like so many of her co-counselors, still keeps in touch with her campers and attends Shabbatonim and other func-

tions with them, although camp is long over. Now, Tziporah hopes to realize her goal of raising the $3,600 so that she can participate in the upcoming marathon. You can help Tziporah and the Kids of Courage by sending checks made out to Kids of Courage to her home at 85 Wilbur Avenue, Bergenfield, N.J. 07621, or going online to her profile at http://race 4 courage.org/ race/716-tziporah-wasserman/ profile. Help Tziporah realize her desire to “make dreams come true and. turn into reality,” as Kids of Courage campers experience joy and exhilaration for a special week of their lives.

Cheryl Mandel Inspires At Frisch surprising source of inspiration came to the Frisch School on Wednesday with One Family Fund speaker Cheryl Mandel . One Family Fund (www.onefamilyfundtogether.org) is Israel’s premier organization that supports and rehabilitates victims of terror and bereaved families in Israel. Cheryl’s son Daniel, a 24 year-old Lieutenant in the IDF, was killed by Hamas terrorists while leading his troops into Shechem just 36 hours before Pesach. Cheryl has traveled the world speaking publicly about her beloved son and the signiﬁcance of his life and death, inspiring communities around the globe. According to Rabbi Eli Ciner, Associate Principal, “Cheryl’s ability to relate to the students and her message of strength and overcoming adversity had a powerful effect on the attentive audience.” Speaking to more than three hundred students, Cheryl asked, “Is there anything in your life that means enough

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to you, that is important enough to you, that you are willing to ﬁght for? Because for Daniel, and all the soldiers in the Israel Defense Force, the State of Israel means enough for them..... And they are not doing it just for those of us, who either by accident of birth or by choice, are living in Israel today They are doing it for Jews all over the world, including every single one living in America today,” she continued. “They are doing it because they know what happened when there wasn’t a Jewish state.” Cheryl stressed that Israel’s existence is essential and that strong and fortunate communities like the Frisch school have an obligation to support those less fortunate in Israel. According to Elaine Keigher, Associate Principal, “The students connected to Cheryl on an emotional and hashkaﬁc level.” Cheryl’s positive attitude and statement that “life is good” impressed her young audience. Several students approached her after the speech, and told her of their passion for Israel and their plans to study in

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yeshivot next year. The Frisch community appreciated the opportunity to enable their students to be educated and inspired by such an optimistic, dynamic, and idealistic woman. Cheryl has been speaking this past week throughout the tri-state area on behalf of OneFamily, the organization that currently provides assistance to (L-R) Evan Cohen, Cheryl Mandel, Mendy Friedman 17,000 Israeli victims of terror.

Friendship Circle Yedidainu Program Hosted at Moriah & Yavneh ast Thursday and Friday was the state- consisted of music, art, sports and bakwide NJ Educators Convention and ing, all run by Moriah staff and student public schools were closed. For families with special needs children in the public schools, the Yedidainu program (started originally with Yeshivat Noam) coordinated by the Bergen Friendship Circle offers these parents a solution by providing a day of activities in partnership with local schools Zev Kinderlehrer (r) at a recent Friendship Circle Yedidainu program at for these chil- Moriah Academy dren. Last Thursday, Yavneh Academy hosted a full-day volunteers. Both days offered a huge serprogram with 8th graders volunteering vice to parents who had structured activto work with the children and joining ities for their kids with special needs. them for davening, activities, and a trip The Friendship Circle is planning two to WeeZee World. Last Friday’s program more such programs at Yeshivat Noam was hosted by The Moriah School and at the end of December.

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FOOD AND HOME

Butternut Squash Pappardelle By Lisa Reitman-Dobi alling leaves and shorter days herald autumn. But to me, the most eloquent and inarguable proclamation comes from the smell of fresh sage in the kitchen. Add the richness of butternut squash, brown butter, hints of nutmeg, thyme and toasted almonds, and you have the makings of the perfect fall meal. This recipe for butternut squash pappardelle is a simple elaboration on basic homemade egg pasta. A standard hand-cranked pasta machine makes rolling out sheets of this beautiful dough a breeze. Those who do not own a pasta machine can use a rolling pin. The result will be a thicker but equally delicious result. For this recipe, I used a vegetable stock reduction. Osem mushroom soup base with its earthy mushroom ﬂavor (and lots of salt, so be careful), can make a lovely addition to the sauce. As with any reduction, adjust seasonings after the reduction has reached the last stage of thickening. Be careful with the salt. Memorable and mouthwatering, this dish only seems complex. The dough can be made

a day ahead. And a bit of therapeutic punching along with the kneading might be just the ticket as you brace yourself for the holiday double whammy on November 28. If you fall in love with this pasta the way I did, you might want to serve it on Thanksgiving. For a meat main or side dish, omit the Romano, butter and goat cheese and use homemade chicken stock for a rich, delectable sauce.

What You Need: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Equipment: Large, non-stick skillet Large pot to cook the pasta Large bowl Large colander Pasta machine to roll out the pappardelle For the pasta: 1 ½ cups cooked butternut squash, pureed Olive oil for the pan 2 Tbs. finely chopped shallots 1 clove finely chopped garlic 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbs. butter 1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves 1/8 tsp nutmeg ½ cup grated Romano cheese 2 large eggs, beaten 3-4 cups all purpose flour, more for kneading and roll-

ing • 1 tsp salt For the Sauce: • 4 cups vegetable stock (no tomato; low salt) • 1 Tbs. olive oil for pan • 4 Tbs. butter • 2 Tbs. finely chopped shallots • 2-3 Tbs. white wine, optional • 2 cloves finely chopped garlic • 2-3 cups loosely packed, washed baby spinach • 1 Tbs. thyme leaves • 2 Tbs. finely chopped sage leaves • 1 tsp corn starch • Salt to taste • Fresh pepper to taste • Dash of nutmeg Dash of cayenne For the garnish: • ¼ to ½ cup toasted sliced almonds • 2 ounces goat cheese • 2 Tbs. chopped fresh chives In a large, non-stick skillet, sauté the shallots until soft. Add the garlic, the butternut squash puree and the butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, allowing the puree to reduce. After five minutes, add the thyme leaves, nutmeg and ½ tsp salt. When

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PESACH 2014

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FOOD AND HOME

Laundry Lessons By Tova Knecht hat happens when something you’ve counted on for so long is no longer there to help you? Well, the piles of laundry begin to grow—literally. When our washing machine’s interior began smoking during a wash, I was annoyed. I still had three loads of laundry to do, how dare it break down? Then I was in denial; I’ll just let it rest for a while and maybe it’ll ﬁx itself on its own. Finally, I came to the realization that I should probably call the manufacturer. The customer service agent scheduled a diagnostic appointment. When we were told the cost to ﬁx the broken motor and shredded belt

would be $427 dollars, we said no thank you. You see, we had a backup plan. All these years we’ve kept a spare washing machine for this moment. But then, when it was hooked up, it too was not in working order. Oh, the irony. My kids and I spent an hour in Sears looking at all the different washing machine models. The salesman was eager to make a sale, throwing around all the Yiddish phrases he knows. The ﬁrst model he showed me was the “Mercedes of Washing Machines,” his quote, not mine. Well, none of the others seemed to match up to that one. But, I came to terms with the fact that my laundry room isn’t the place for a Mercedes. Oh well. While my laundry life was in turmoil, so many other wonderful things were going on around me. At this time of year when we are about to celebrate Chanukah and Thanksgiving, I stopped to realize all there is to be grateful for. When my kids were kvetching that their drawers ‫ב “ד‬

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were empty, I turned to family for some help. When you can count on your family for help and they can count on you, it makes a world of difference. I schlepped (maybe the salesman’s Yiddish rubbed off on me) ﬁve loads of laundry to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s house. The kids were thrilled to play with their cousins, and dinner out altogether at Shnitzel+ was an added bonus! That night, our clothes were clean, and I smiled. There was a sense of relief. This was one of those simple things in life that we sometimes take for granted. Our lives depend on the here and now—instant gratiﬁcation. We don’t always need patience because so many things in life are immediate. I told my kids about the “olden days,” when people would wash their clothes in the river. I wish I could have bottled the laughter that ensued. We talked about how we are so lucky for all the helpful things around us. But then we talked about how we should handle moments when things don’t go our way. And we discussed how thankful we are for family. I love these teachable moments! I am happy to say, after doing some research, (my husband’s idea, not mine; I just wanted a machine right away), we chose a new machine from Yudin’s Appliances. They removed the old machines and hooked up the new one. The joy of clean clothes! Hopefully, I won’t have to air any more of our dirty laundry in public again. Tova Knecht is a 2nd grade general studies teacher and Kindergarten computer teacher at The Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey. She spends her summers as Head Counselor for Camp 613 Girls. To arrange for Rainbow Loom or other craft events, Tova can be reached at TovaKnecht@ gmail.com.

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ainstream news will lead you to believe something diplomatic or political is the talk of the day in Israel. But for most Israelis the big news right now is whether a new cheap coffee chain that recently opened in the heart of Tel Aviv will spark a coffee revolution and bring down the prices at cafés around the country. Entrepreneur Avi Katz—the guy who brought the “dollar store” concept to Israel—is leading the latest coffee revolution. His team opened Cofix, a takeaway only café on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Tel Aviv. Everything on the Hebrew-English menu is five shekels (about $1.40): quality Italian coffee, cappuccino, sandwiches, bakery goods, fresh juice and desserts. A cup of coffee at a café in Israel usually runs $2.80-$5 while a sandwich costs $7-$11. Within hours of this audacious venture opening, people were queuing out the door and down the block. The long lines continued for the next three days and Aroma, Israel’s biggest café chain, has already announced that it will lower the price of cappuccino to NIS 8. “There’s no way I could have known this would happen,” Katz, the founder and president of the crowdsourcing investments Hagshama Fund, told ISRAEL21c. “Even someone as optimistic as me couldn’t have known this would take place.” The idea for the new café chain has been brewing in Katz’s mind for 12 years. The veteran businessman told ISRAEL21c that he will always remember the day he pulled his “new Mercedes into a gas station and went to buy coffee and a snack at the service stop. Paying over $14 for two coffees and baked goods hurts, even for someone with a new Mercedes.” Katz—along with his daughter, Hagit Shinover; his partner in Hagshama, Benny Farkash; and attorney Hanan Shemesh—opened the first branch of Cofix on Ibn Gvirol Street and plan to keep it under their ownership for the first few years. Katz says they plan to open more branches in Tel Aviv’s down-

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FOOD AND HOME Will ShopRite Listen to Requests for More Kosher?

Pathmark, in late March or early April 2014.

From Kosher Today, with permission pringfield, NJ—The ShopRite chain is considered to be one of the leading supermarket chains in the country when it comes to kosher. Its “Kosher Experience” was a trailblazer in the supermarket world. A neighboring store in Livingston includes plenty of kosher products on the shelves and in freezers and refrigerators. Yet according to the New Jersey Jewish News, observant Jews in Springfield are engaged in a letter-writing campaign urging ShopRite to expand its kosher offerings at a new store scheduled to open in Union next year. The petitioners, led by a congregant at Springfield’s Orthodox Congregation Israel, are asking ShopRite to include a Kosher Experience, an expanded kosher aisle and butcher shop found at ShopRite stores in Livingston and West Orange. So far, says the NJJN, ShopRite has said that no kosher butcher shop is

High Quality Glatt Kosher Returns to PM

endom, MN—It has been 10 years since the PM Beef plant here produced glatt kosher beef, although it has produced products for Hebrew National under the certiﬁcation of Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag of the Triangle K. The highly regarded slaughterhouse is known for its high feed standards and hence, quality beef, that some in the industry say is on par or superior to beef produced in Aurora, IL, mostly for Alle Processing. In an agreement reached with AD Rosenblatt of Dallas, the plant will open its special glatt kosher producing rooms to once again resume the production of the coveted beef. The beef will be marketed under the Yaakov’s brand name. Yaakov is the great grandson of Avrohom Dovid Rosenblatt, a Hasidic Jew who founded the company in 1910 that now bears his name. It will feature the certi-

M planned in the Union store, although it will feature “extended kosher offering[s].” Organizers of the letter-writing drive say they are satisfied with the response, although they wouldn’t mind if the company reconsidered. Letter-writing has long been an effective weapon of choice in many communities. Supermarket officials say that they take such campaigns very seriously in every food category, but take particular notice when it is kosher. The new ShopRite is scheduled to open on Route 22 at Springfield Road in Union, in a space formerly occupied by

ﬁcations of the Orthodox Union, the CRC and a still to be named Hasidic rabbi. AD Rosenblatt is a producer of quality meat products with slaughterhouses in Elkhorn Valley, Wichita and beef and veal in Wisconsin.

Mehadrin Enters Greek Yogurt Frey rooklyn—For the second year in a row, the Mehadrin booth at Kosherfest featured a huge banner announcing the company’s introduction of new Cholov Yisroel yogurt, only this time it really did launch the product. Last year, competitor Norman’s (Dairy Delight of Rutherford, NJ) did launch a line of Greek yogurt and seemed to instantly capture the Cholov Yisroel market for Greek yogurt. Their yogurt won the best new dairy item at Kosherfest 2012. With the introduction of the Mehadrin Greek Yogurt, sources told Kosher Today that a “new war” has ensued for shelf space. While Norman’s dropped its retail price to $1.49 to celebrate its anniversary, Mehad-

Butternut Squash Pappardelle 

CONTINUED FROM P. 39

the mixture has thickened and reduced by about 40%, remove from heat. Allow it to cool, then stir in the Romano cheese. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add 1 tsp salt. Blend in the cooled squash mixture. Using a fork, blend in one cup of the flour. Gradually add more flour, until a tacky dough begins to form. Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and knead in more flour until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Knead for an additional five minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for at least 40 minutes and up to three hours. If you make the pasta the day before, refrigerate overnight and allow the dough to sit at room temperature for an hour and-a-half to two hours before rolling it out. Wipe out the skillet used for the squash and heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and sauté until soft. Add the wine or some vegetable stock to the pan, and, after the steam lifts, add the garlic. The garlic will soften quickly. Add 2 T butter, sage and thyme. Gradually, add the remaining vegetable stock, allowing it to reduce as you go. Since vegetable stock has no collagen, adding 1 tsp of corn starch

dissolved in a little water will help thicken the sauce. Reduce the stock, adding the remaining butter, nutmeg and cayenne as you stir. When the reduction begins to coat the back of a spoon, it has reached the right consistency. Adjust the seasonings. Set the pan aside. Divide the dough into two sections. Using the heel of your hand, ﬂatten each section into a ½ inch oval. Feed the dough through the pasta machine from widest setting of 7 down to level 3. Repeat with the second disk. On a ﬂoured surface, cut the sheets in half and then into ¾ to 1-inch wide ribbons. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, heat the sauce and stir in the baby spinach. The spinach will cook down very quickly. Reduce heat to lowest setting. Gently add the pappardelle to the boiling water. It will cook quickly. Test a piece after 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately add to the pan of sauce and spinach. Shut off heat source. Gently stir to coat the pasta. Distribute the goat cheese on top, sprinkle with almonds and then the chives. Serve and enjoy! Serves six.

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Tempest in a Coﬀee Pot 

CONTINUED FROM P. 40

town area in the coming months. “After we check the market and pay the price of experience, we’ll franchise out,” he told ISRAEL21c. Coﬁx’s long-term development plans cite opening 300 branches around the country. The café market in Israel is brimming. According to a 2009 report by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, there were over 1,300 cafés peppered throughout Israel and some 120 in Tel Aviv. Coﬁx is meant to sharpen the distinction between the takeaway café scene and the sit-down cof-

fee-shop market, which Katz says has been blurred. “It’s not about what other café owners are feeling [in response to Cofix’s opening], but rather what they’ll do,” says Katz. “There’s no reason that kiosks don’t sell coffee at our price. This is a realistic price. It still enables us to make a nice profit. Our motto is to sell more for less, not to sell a little at a high price.” The same day that Cofix opened, in fact, two other café chains advertised $1.40 cappuccinos, albeit for a limited time offer.

rin matched the price with its newly launched yogurt. Mehadrin, the leader in Cholov Yisroel products, is hoping to become dominant in Greek yogurt as well, although Norman’s is said to continue to have strong sales. Norman’s is the only Cholov Yisroel manufacturer that has its own manufacturing plant, which the company says is easier to supervise from a kashrus point of view and that it can “strain the yogurt to its specifications.” To go one up on Mehadrin at Kosherfest, Norman’s launched a Greek Yogurt Lite product with only 100 calories. Cofix is not strictly a social venture, Katz is very upfront about wanting to make a profit. However, the new kosher café chain does answer to the public’s desire for fair prices. It makes sense why he would be the one to lead the coffee revolution. Eighteen years ago, Katz founded the Bee Retail Group, Israel’s largest group of retail chains for home and leisure merchandise. He is the guy who introduced the Kfar Hashashuim toy store chain to Israel and offered more affordable prices. He also introduced the Doctor Baby chain, a store selling reasonably priced baby paraphernalia. And, of course, the dollar store enterprise was his, too. “There’s always a social purpose to what I do,” Katz told ISRAEL21c. “The public’s feeling that the cost of living has risen unjustly is correct. People want to see a change in food prices. Prices have fallen in fashion, computers, phones. There is no reason to pay $4 for fresh carrot juice that is made from broken carrots grocers can’t sell anyway.” Katz said that Cofix is meant to perk up the takeaway sector but that it could—and should— also improve sit-down café options. Coffee shops, said Katz, “should return to what they really are. Until five years ago there was a difference between what you could get in a sit-down café and fare served at a takeaway place. The owner of a sit-down café has to charge for what they offer: service, a proper meal and distinctive ambiance. I feel the menu will have to change.” November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 41

DIRSHU SHABBOS KINNUS OLAM HATORAH

Coming Together to Honor the Torah By N. Aaron Troodler ne of the hallmarks of Judaism is the unique attachment that each Jew shares with one another. We may come from diverse backgrounds, different locations and divergent paths in life, yet there is a common factor that ties us together and connects us in an extraordinary and unparalleled fashion. Limud HaTorah creates a bond between Jews that is the common denominator, irrespective of all other factors. A love of Torah and a deep understanding and appreciation of Torah is the foundation upon which Judaism is built. That love of Torah was on full display this past weekend as nearly 1,000 men, women and children gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Somerset, New Jersey, for Dirshu’s Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah. This special sold-out event drew people from around the world and from across the United States. In addition to the large contingent from the greater New York and New Jersey area, there were participants from Eretz Yisrael, England, Canada, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit and Cleveland. People came from far and wide to take part in this momentous and magical event. Dirshu is an organization that has truly revolutionized Limud HaTorah in the 21st century. Dirshu encourages Torah

42 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

study in a wide variety of subject matters, with a particular emphasis on review and retention of the material that is learned. Through the use of an innovative and unique model, Dirshu provides participants with a schedule of learning, which is followed by the administration of regular exams on the material. Currently, there are tens of thousands of people throughout the world who study Torah as part of the Dirshu program and participate in the tests that are given in conjunction with the program. The Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah, which was organized under the skilled leadership and guidance of Rabbi Ahron Gobioff, Dirshu’s North American Director, featured an impressive array of Gedolei Torah and Lomdei Torah, who thoroughly enjoyed spending time with one another and basking in the glow of the Limud HaTorah that permeated the hotel. The underlying theme of the weekend was achdus, ruchnius and aliyah la’Torah. Each of the distinguished speakers and maggidei shiur that addressed the crowd expounded on those ideas for the beneﬁt of everyone in attendance and spoke about the critical importance of Kavod HaTorah. HaGaon HaRav Reuven Feinstein, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Staten Island, gave a major address on Erev Shabbos. As the crowd listened intently to this

great Gadol HaDor, Rav Feinstein conveyed to them a message that was well received and well understood. Learning is something that you bring home with you, said Rav Feinstein. Limud HaTorah is something that you have to incorporate into your daily lives and make an integral part of your everyday lives. Because of the large crowd that participated in Dirshu’s Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah, a massive heated tent was set up outdoors to serve as the shul. The davening there was nothing short of spectacular. World renowned singer Reb Isaac Honig and his singers from the Shira Choir greatly enhanced the teﬁllos and zemiros throughout Shabbos, beginning with Kabbalos Shabbos on Friday night. HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva, Telz Cleveland and Mesivta of Lakewood, gave a stirring speech on Friday night that centered on the idea that true avdus— service of Hashem—is achieved when one uses all of his potential. That is what Dirshu is all about, said Rav Sorotzkin. It is a program that encourages and enables people to fully maximize their potential. L’Avdo— to serve Hashem—means to learn Torah and to daven. Rav Sorotzkin also discussed some of the current events in Israel and stressed the importance of being mispallel for the people in Eretz Yisrael.

One of the more beautiful features of the Dirshu Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah was the presence of so many families who came to participate in the event and the special emphasis that was placed on the critical role that the spouses of the Dirshu participants play in the Limud HaTorah of their husbands. The vital role that the women play in the Torah growth of their spouses and families was discussed by a number of the speakers, including HaGaon Harav Yehoshua Fuhrer, shlita, Mara D’asra of Bobov in Toronto, who discussed the important partnership between the husband and wife that exists when one participates in Dirshu’s learning program. In addition to the many programs over Shabbos that were offered for women by wonderful female speakers such as Mrs. Chany Feldbrand, Mrs. Chani Juravel and Rebbetzin Dina Fink, there was one address in particular that stood out for many as the most spiritually uplifting and emotional aspects of the entire weekend. On Friday night, Mrs. Weisz addressed the crowd. She gave a heartfelt account about her husband, Reb Avrohom Weisz, who takes part in the Dirshu learning programs. Reb Avrohom suffers from ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig Disease. As a result, the only muscles in his body that he is able to move and control are his eyes. Using a computer and

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DIRSHU SHABBOS KINNUS OLAM HATORAH

controlled eye movements, Reb Avrohom Weisz takes the Dirshu tests, taking well over 14 hours to complete each test because of the painstakingly slow process that he has to undertake in order to complete this task. His wife told the crowd about the time when her husband was nearing the end of the test when the electricity went out and the computer he was using shut down. As a sign of his deep devotion to Dirshu and his determination to take the test, Reb Avrohom proceeded to begin the test again from the beginning when the lights came back on. As the crowd listened to this brave woman recount her husband’s story, there was not a dry eye in the room. Another powerful story was told about Reb Avrohom Weisz and his connection to Dirshu. Following a major surgical procedure, he fell into a coma. Everyone—the medical professionals and his family—kept talking to him and hoping and praying that he would wake up. The passionate pleas of his wife and children failed to rouse him from the coma. It was only when one of his non-Jewish caregivers yelled “Abraham—Dirshu!” that Reb Avrohom Weisz came out of his coma. Watching Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, the Nasi of Dirshu, grab hold of Reb Avrohom Weisz’s wheelchair during the Melave Malka on Motzai Shabbos and dance with him was a sight that none of us will ever forget. The focus on Kavod HaTorah was on full display during the entire Shabbos. The Bais Medrash was open 24 hours a

day and it was always being used by people who were learning. At 7:10 on Shabbos morning, Rav Dovid Hofstedter gave a shiur in Daf Yomi. Yet even earlier, the hotel lobby was ﬁlled with people with a sefer in hand. Despite getting to sleep very late the night before as a result of all the Friday night programming, people did not miss an opportunity to learn a bit more, and awake early to hear an extra shiur. The words of Torah and Mussar from the mouths of great Gedolei Torah and Talmidei Chachamim were enjoyed all throughout Shabbos. HaGaon Harav Chaim Cohen, shlita, Rav D’Chasidei Gur D’Flatbush, noted that learning in and of itself is a great thing. However, when you begin reviewing the material in a substantive way in order to prepare yourself for a test, as is done in the Dirshu program, that is a tremendous thing. HaGaon Harav Yeruchem Olshin, shlita, Rosh HaYeshiva Bais Medrash Govoha, spoke at Shalosh Seudos about how Dirshu uplifts people as they strive to achieve great heights and high levels in their learning. There is a constant yearning to go further and further and to keep making progress in one’s learning. Harav Olshin noted that he sees ﬁrst-hand the positive impact that Dirshu has by watching the incredible growth of his Talmidim in Lakewood who participate in the Dirshu learning program. HaGaon Harav Shmuel Yaakov Berenstein, shlita, who came from Eretz Yisrael to participate in Dirshu’s Shabbos Kinnus

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Olam HaTorah, spoke about the positive attributes of Dirshu’s unique program of daily learning in Halacha. After he was given an enthusiastic introduction at Shalosh Seudos by HaGaon HaRav Zev Smith, shlita, Maggid Shiur Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and Irgun Shiurei Torah, who served as the Master of Ceremonies, Rav Dovid Hofstedter picked up on the endorsements of the Gedolei Yisrael for Dirshu’s daily limud of Halacha and discussed the program in greater detail. Reb Dovid talked about the importance of incorporating practical Halacha into our daily lives and the special feeling of being part of Mishpachas Dirshu. A number of other prominent Gedolei Torah participated in Dirshu’s Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah as well, including HaGaon HaRav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz, shlita, Dayan, Khal Toldos Yakov Yosef of Skver; HaGaon Harav Moshe Mordechai Lowy, shlita, Mara D’Asra of the Agudas Yisroel of Toronto; Rav Eliezer Ralbag, shlita, Rav D’Kehilla Lakewood Courtyard; HaGaon Harav Shlomo Zafrani, shlita, Rosh HaKollel Khal Bnei Torah; Harav Avrohom Reit, shlita, Maggid Shiur Daf HaYomi B’Halacha; HaGaon Harav Dovid Yitzchok Shapiro, Rosh Yeshiva Be’er Yaakov; Harav Ephrayim Greenbaum, shlita, Rosh HaKollel D’Shikun Skver; Harav Moshe Pruzansky, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Chemdas HaTorah; Harav Shmuel Shmelka Schwartz, shlita, Rav Dkhal Shefa Chaim D’Klausenberg, Lakewood; and Harav Chaim Krause, shlita, Maggid Shiur Daf HaYomi B’Halacha. The elongated Shalosh Seudos pro-

gram was truly a sight to behold. After the z’man, the entire program, including the speeches and the music, was broadcast live on the Nachum Segal Network and on Kol Haneshama Radio for the entire community to enjoy and take part of. After hearing words of Torah and Chizuk from the impressive collection of Gedolei Torah, Reb Isaac Honig and the Shira Choir treated the crowd to great music and tremendous ruach. The men all got up and danced with great exuberance as if they were at the chasunah of their own child. The scene in the ballroom as the men danced and shared in their collective simcha was a microcosm of the entire Shabbos. Everyone joined arms and danced with one another. It did not matter one iota that this person was Chassidish, this man was Litvish, or this guy was Yeshivish. Everyone in attendance was part of the Dirshu family and the unity and excitement that they felt as they danced together was evident to all who were present. It was quite apparent to me that the common denominator for the Dirshu Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah was Achdus and Kavod HaTorah. It was incredible to see the tremendous unity that was apparent in every aspect of the event. It was an Achdus that is established by people who are all involved in the same thing, namely, Limud HaTorah and Kavod HaTorah. It was clear to me that when you are part of Dirshu, you are not only part of a movement or an organization. When you are part of Dirshu, you are part of one big Torah family. November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 43

DIRSHU SHABBOS KINNUS OLAM HATORAH

“Ki Heim Chayeinu – Torah is Our Life! Torah Keeps Us Alive!” By Esther Rubin he invitation was appealing, it beckoned us to attend the Dirshu Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah—a Shabbos that promised to rejuvenate both my husband and I physically and spiritually. Yet, I was hesitant. Being somewhat more of a shy personality, I could not imagine finding common ground with any of the other women who would be in attendance. It did not even occur to me that I would find myself among sisters in arms, among women who were living similar lives to mine, busy lives with nary a moment to spare, but lives that were fulfilled by one unifying factor: that all of our husbands were lomdei Dirshu! Now, I am sitting here reliving the Shabbos, wanting to grasp onto the inspiration and hold onto it forever!“Ki heim chayeinu – Torah is our life! Torah keeps us alive!” This was the heartfelt message that resonated from the heart and soul of a woman who lives daily with the physical manifestation of a husband whose every second of life is another second of Torah; whose husband is imprisoned by a body that no longer

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functions other than the muscles of his eyes through which he learns and conveys his love of learning; whose husband can derive no possible pleasure from this world, his physical body being kept alive with life support, feeding tubes and constant medical care, and yet whose life still had meaning and who still had reason to want to live! Nine years ago, Rav Avrohom Dovid Weisz was diagnosed with the dreaded illness known as ALS [Lou Gehrig’s Disease], a disease that slowly robs a person of all bodily functions, imprisoning the brain in a body that won’t obey it. The heart continues to beat, the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the brain to comprehend, but the rest of the body slowly shuts down. The stricken person is left with only his eyes to communicate. When the Weiszes heard the diagnosis, they were devastated, but they were determined. “We chose life – ‘Ki heim chayeinu’.” Mrs. Weisz exclaimed, “Can this be more crystal clear than in our situation? ‘U’vahem nehgeh yomam va’laylah and in them [Torah] we toil day and night’, we were in the dark, the darkness of ill-

ness, yet we still had the Torah, the mainstay of our existence—reason enough to want to live!” Indeed, over the course of these nine years, Rav Weisz and his wife have fought for his right to live, fought like lions for his right to do the one thing that he holds most dear —to learn Torah! Despite everything, despite all of the medical doomsayers, his life has been revived, time after time after time and each time, they joyously praise Hashem for granting him additional time on this world to learn. Mrs. Rachel Weisz’s uplifting words to the women after the Friday night seudah at the Dirshu Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah electriﬁed the entire audience, leaving not a dry eye among the crowd. Even more than the emotions that were running high was the feeling that indeed Torah is life, Torah is our life. The feeling came across loud and clear: The Torah of our husbands who are maximizing their time by learning, whose Torah learning we are supporting, their Torah is our Torah; it is our crowning glory. “Sheli V’Shelachem Shelah!” “At one point,” Mrs. Elbaz, a work-

ing wife and mother whose husband devotes every spare moment of his time to his learning with Dirshu explained, “I just felt that I couldn’t continue. It had been a very difficult day. I came home from work exhausted, my colicky baby had not let me put her down… I sat down and said, ‘I just can’t’. My husband promptly closed his Gemara and with a deep sadness in his eyes, but a surety in his movements, he replied, ‘O.K. I will stop.’ As I watched, he then began turning pages in his Gemara, one page, another page, another… He then grasped the entire pile of pages (which has grown exponentially by now) and paraphrased the words of Rabi Akiva, “Sheli v’shelachem shelah —These pages of Gemara that I have learned until now are yours!” “That was a turning point. I insisted that he continue learning with Dirshu and yes, although life has gotten increasingly busy, I have never turned back. The greatest reward that I feel is when he comes home in a celebratory mood, exclaiming, ‘Mazal Tov! I finished another perek!’ When I congratulate him, he looks me in the eye and congratulates me—on having finished another perek!”

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DIRSHU SHABBOS KINNUS OLAM HATORAH Chizuk for the Neshama; Relaxation for the Guf The Dirshu Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah offered a rare opportunity for the wives of Dirshu members, many of whom are busy wives and mothers with very limited time for either physical or spiritual rejuvenation, the opportunity to enjoy a Shabbos with all the physical amenities for a peaceful, relaxing Shabbos combined with a potpourri of speakers who offered chizuk for the neshamah. Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Tests! In addition to the speech of Mrs. Weisz on Friday night, Rebbetzin Dina Fink, captivated the women with her message of how pivotal a woman’s role is in preserving the treasure of Yiddishkeit for her family. Her personal examples and divrei Torah to elucidate her point brought home the fact that although certainly it is much easier to feel spiritually connected to Torah and Yiddishkeit by engaging in spiritual pursuits, dealing with the mundane activities of caring for a house and children and encouraging husbands and sons to learn Torah is no less of a spiritual pursuit. She quoted Rav Dessler’s explanation of the words in Eishes Chayil, ‘Vatischak l’yom acharon—and she will laugh at the last day.’ Rav Dessler explains that laughter generally comes after a surprise. What surprise is this referring to? When the end of days comes and the wife will see the reward

she earned for every peanut butter sandwich, she will burst into laughter!” Throughout the Dirshu Shabbos Kinnus Olam HaTorah there were countless opportunities for the wives of all the lomdei Dirshu to share with each other the many stories of how they partner with their husbands to enable them to learn; of the joys and the difficulties of trying to raise their ‘peanut butter sandwiches’ from the mundane realm to the spiritual realm. The knowledge that there are so many other women out there who share their goals, difficulties and aspirations, was enough of a spiritual booster shot to help them forge ahead. Accepting Our Nisyonos and Elevating Ourselves to a Spiritual Plateau Mrs. Chani Feldbrand explored the topic of how nisyonos are a springboard for growth and how each and every person’s nisayon is tailor made for that person. “Isn’t it beautiful to think that Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks at each person as an individual and creates the specific package that she needs to grow?!” She continued by explaining that what exactly the ten nisyonos of Avrohom Avinu were a subject of debate. The Rambam does not count Uhr Kasdim and recognizing Hashem among the nisyonos. Rav Yitzchok Kirzhner, zt”l, clarifies that if the person being tested understands what is being demanded from him, it is not considered a nisayon! Avrohom Avinu

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recognized that everything else was hevel havalim. Therefore recognizing Hashem could not constitute a nisayon!” We all have nisyonos, but if we remember that they are a matana from Hashem and if we try to understand the message Hashem is sending us, it will elevate us and our families to a higher, spiritual plateau. A Foolproof Method: Bring Hashem With You Wherever You Go In addition to the many inspiring speeches by Mrs. Chani Juravel, Rebbetzin Dina Fink and Mrs. Chani Feldbrand throughout the Shabbos, there was a wonderful Chinuch panel on motzoei Shabbos chaired by these star mechanchos. The questions, pulled from the audience, covered such topics as sibling rivalry, controlling one’s anger, relationships and the like, to questions of helping our children maintain tzniyus standards. Mrs. Chani Juravel told a story of a friend of hers whom she always admired as being both tzniyusdig and appropriately dressed. “When I asked her how she managed to successfully ﬁnd the perfect clothing for herself and her daughters, she laughed and divulged her secret. ‘When we enter the car on our way to the store, we each take out our Sifrei Tehillim and daven—‘Hashem, we want to dress in a way pleasing to You, please help us ﬁnd the right clothes at the right prices!’

This method has never failed us!” Mrs. Juravel concluded, “Bring Hakadosh Boruch Hu with you wherever you are, whatever you are doing!” she urged, “That method can never fail!” It was very late on motzoei Shabbos. The son of Rav Avrohom Dovid Weiss came to Rav Dovid Hofstedter and gave him the letter contained below saying, ‘My father was very tired after the whole Shabbos, but he wouldn’t go to sleep until he sat down and wrote this letter, a letter that took him two hours to write!” To Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, Ah gutteh, freilichen voch. It is impossible to describe the pleasure that I, my wife and children had on Shabbos Parshas Ki Seitzei, 5754. It was a pleasure of both ruchniyus and gashmiyus. Yasher koach for the Shabbos and for the tests that were the catalyst for me to spend so many hours learning and [giving me the ability] to clarify many areas [of Torah]. May Hashem bentsch you and your rebbetzin to see much nachas from your children and from lomdei Dirshu. In truth, it would be appropriate for me to detail at length my tremendous pleasure and the great chizuk that I received from the Shabbos, but it is difﬁcult for me to write… but my heart says a tremendous amount. With love and hakoras hatov, Avrohom Dovid ben Sara Bluma Weisz and family.

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FOOD AND HOME

Calorie-Free Pasta and Much, Much More At Kosherfest 2013 By Banji Latkin Ganchrow ecaucus—There are not that many places where you can see the world’s largest chicken nugget, sample kosher “ham,” and bite into a halachically permissible cheeseburger while drinking kosher spirits from various regions of the world. Welcome to Kosherfest. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Kosherfest brings together tried and true kosher products and new exciting innovations in kosher cuisine. Members of the food industry, including restaurant owners, nursing home chefs and other assorted individuals ﬂock to this event to sample the latest wares. Many of the companies at Kosherfest have taken on a “healthy” mentality. Lucky Union Foods are now making a line of deli meats made entirely out of ﬁsh. I also discovered “Miracle Noodle,” the zero calorie noodle and rice. Made from 97% water and 3% glucomannan, the consistency was quite different, yet

not totally offensive. Jill Goldstein, one of the members of the Miracle Noodle family, even shared with me that her product has been on Dr. Oz. Calorie-free pasta is quite the invention. Though, the “best new pasta, rice, beans or soup” award, given from the event, went to Mikee Mac Non-Dairy Macaroni & Cheese dinner. GIT USA, Inc. are the makers of a series of gluten and allergen free cereals and snacks. The taste was reminiscent of Passover fruity o’s, but, as Sally Mangano, the company’s rep shared with me “if you have a child or adult with allergies, we tried to make the tastiest product we could.” Mauzone Mania was another company excited to display its healthier line of products including “Matt’s Munchies,” a kosher pareve fruit snack for kids (and I am assuming adults), which contain an entire serving of fruit at only 35 calories a package. They also displayed a line of vegetarian gyro and sausages and vegan peanut butter. Taste of Crete, whose motto is “Simple. Healthy, Greek,” had a delight-

ful display of cholesterol free, egg and dairy free, vegan Greek cookies. If popcorn is your thing, Ben Berlin of Hadar Kosher Foods was displaying American Farmer Kettle Korn, a delicious, pareve snack that comes in regular and skinnylite. A distributor of the product, Berlin said that owner of American Farmer is a nice Jewish guy who wanted to make his product available to the kosher market and it’s nut free. Healthy shmealthy, Fallsburg Bagels, owned by Yochonon Klitnick, sells frozen, plain donuts with toppings that you can put on yourself. Delicious. David’s Cookies, known for their dairy cookies, now makes a line of pareve cookies that taste just as good, as well as heavenly mufﬁns. Sterns Bakery sells “pastry-to-go,” delicious goodies in individual wrappers. Beigel’s Bakery, a “tried and true” product, according to owner Joseph Folger, had an assortment of giant black and white cookies and other homemade-like baked goods. The possibilities were endless. And then there was the meat. Turkey

bacon, sausages, deli, hot dogs, pareve cheese to go on hamburgers. The companies know there is a market for kosher “non-kosher like” products and they are jumping all over it. According to consumer Avery Hoffman, who was attending Kosherfest with some friends, “I was pretty excited to try foods I never thought I would be able to eat.” That seemed to be the consensus amongst attendees. I, personally, am a bigger fan of dairy products, and fell in love with the Pizza Cone. The cone is made out of a crust-like cracker, ﬁlled with vegetables, sauce and cheese, served piping hot. Perfection. Passover was not overlooked, especially by company Heaven and Health, which makes a whole line of kosher for Passover pasta products. Banji Latkin Ganchrow is a Teaneck resident and writer who enjoys traveling across the country by car with her husband and three sons. She is also the author of the blog holycrapimgonnabe40 and hopes to, one day, write a best-selling novel and appear on the Ellen Show.

Finding Fort Lee By Karen Seliger eaving the city is not easy, especially just as everything else in your life is changing… but with our first baby on the way our “future” demanded a responsible plan and all young Manhattanites know that responsible planning at the home-buying stage usually means saying goodbye to the Upper West Side. Like many city-lovers, if we could have afforded it, we would have stayed. But the high prices and small spaces in Manhattan leave few, if any, options for those looking to buy their first home. But where to go to find space, Jewish life and proximity to the city? Well, we first looked in Brooklyn. But let’s face it, Brooklyn is no longer the city’s affordable, quirky sibling. All the good neighborhoods are as expensive or more than those in the city. So we next turned our gaze northward, a few miles up the Hudson. We spent a few joyful fall Sundays roaming around Dobbs Ferry, which is a charming little town with an equally charming Orthodox shul. However, as pretty as it is, the housing choices within our budget were not as robust. So, in the end, we decided to pursue a middle ground with more housing inventory and a shorter distance to the city. Hello, Bergen County. We had plans to see other neighborhoods due west of the GWB, but the first place we stopped—the place closest to the city—was Fort Lee. We had heard that there were a couple of Orthodox shuls in Fort Lee and that it was a viable option for those looking to downsize from Teaneck and move closer to the city. But we were on the opposite end of the curve. We need-

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ed space; a place to feather and grow the nest, not empty it. We nonetheless decided to explore the Young Israel and Chabad Shul communities in Fort Lee and we were pleasantly surprised by the warmth and vibrancy that we found there. In the end, we chose to buy a condo at the south end of the Eruv, with a view of the Hudson, our precious NYC and the GW Bridge. On the investment side, our building is extremely well managed. The ﬁnancials are impeccable; the capital improvements are intelligently planned and executed. And in the last year, the value of property has increased tremendously. We knew when buying our two-bedroom, twobathroom condo that, should we want to leave at any point, we could rent out our condo and not only cover all our costs but put an extra few dollars in our pocket as well. Our building, which sits on the Cliffside Park side of the border line between the two towns, is in close proximity to the Chabad Shul (just a few blocks walk). The Jewish community on this south-end of Fort Lee is a diverse one. Young and old, families just starting out and “downsizers” alike, the community is consistently growing. The shul hosts a seated lunch every Shabbos and a Mommy and Me playgroup every Wednesday morning (part of the thriving PreSchool which will be a boon once our son is old enough). The express bus outside our front door on Palisades Ave gets my husband to work quickly and with minimal outdoor waiting time, while in the summer he can hop the ferry and is in midtown in minutes. With the easy access to all of the Bergen County Jewish amenities and services, we have found this jump across the water to be much more than we could have ever hoped for.

We still miss NYC, but not in the way we expected. Maybe that’s because we discovered so much in Fort Lee, including the city views through our windows.

Karen Seliger is currently a Sales Associate at V and N Group LLC. She holds a Masters degree in business (MBA) with a concentration in marketing. Karen@ vera-nechama.com

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OP-ED

Monday Night at the Movies By Estelle Glass Garden State Plaza Mall on lockdown after random shots are fired Ironically, we didn’t even want to go that night. Our flight back from Chicago had been delayed and we had just spent a lively but tiring weekend with our children and grandchildren. On the other hand, the tickets to the movie screening at the Garden State Mall in Paramus were prepaid and the film’s acclaimed director, the most famous guest speaker of the season, was scheduled to discuss his work after the showing. So off we went. We could catch up with our sleep later on. Keeping my eyes open during the movie was a formidable task but an icy drink and a sugar candy rush helped. Mr. Acclaimed Director was just getting into his spiel about how difficult it was to make his film with a low budget, when we first heard it; faintly, very faintly at first; just a low beeping of an alarm accompanied by some flickering of lights on the wall. Disregarding the interruption, the speaker just forged ahead with his anecdotes, speaking more loudly now over a robotic announcement. “Fire emergency. Everyone exit the theater now. Do not use the elevators. This is a fire emergency. Everyone exit

the theater now.” The man at the podium looked annoyed that his attentive audience was now somewhat distracted. He soldiered on bravely as the moderator kept snapping his photo from every angle. Meanwhile, the alarm never stopped. My husband and I turned to each other and then looked around. Was this a real alarm? A malfunction? Will we look stupid if we make a dash to the door? No one else was standing up to leave. Not one person in charge told us what to do. Then slowly, too slowly, some people in the crowd began to gather up their belongings and head to the aisles where they congregated in confusion. My husband snapped out of his languor and shouted to the group blocking our row, “Get a move on everyone... We have to leave. Now! Let’s go people.” And we pushed our way to the side exit and through to the street. We were all lucky that night, thank G-d. No one in the mall was hurt. We were able to leave the building before it was locked down. It was only when we rushed out into the night that we saw the unfolding chaos outside, as scores of police cars and ambulances swirled screeching around us. As I think back about that night I am left with so many unanswerable questions. Why would a young man want to kill

Richard Shoop, Teaneck resident, entered Garden State Plaza with an Ak-47 and, after panicking shoppers and store workers, committed suicide.

himself in this way? Why did he have easy access to a weapon? As for the rest of us seated passively in that movie theater, why was it that we were so indifferent to the ringing alarm, that we almost failed to react? It’s true that had we heard shots, we would have all responded immediately. Nevertheless, hundreds of people ignored a very clear warning. Are we so accustomed to ﬂashing screens

and ringing phones that we assume the bell is merely tolling for someone else? Or, is it merely human nature to want to believe that bad things happen to other people, or perhaps only in the action up on the silver screen, at a Monday night at the movies? Estelle Glass a Teaneck resident is a retired educator who is happily writing her own essays

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 47

AN APPRECIATION

Chana Mlotek, z”l, (1922-2013) From The National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene hana Mlotek was an extraordinary woman and Yiddish folklorist who worked long and hard to bring a vibrant, exciting, Yiddish culture to Jewish life in America. This included keeping The National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene in the spotlight as the showcase of that culture in the 21st century. Née Eleanor Gordon, Chana got her love of Yiddish culture from her father, who sang Yiddish songs from memory, but never wrote them down. She and her husband, Yosl, z”l, a Holocaust survi-

vor and son of a teacher from Poland, imbued their two sons, Zalmen and Mark, and their children, with a legacy that is ﬁlled with zest and passion for the multilayered, international culture of Yiddish and Yiddish theater. They learned early on that Yiddish theater was an integral part of Jewish immigrant life in America before and after the Holocaust, and that it is a wonderful medium that continues to artistically convey messages about Judaism and life to modern audiences. As a result, they, too, have devoted themselves to the cause. Chana earned her BA at Hunter Col-

lege of the City University of New York. In 1978, on a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Chana returned to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, where she had started her career in 1944 as a secretary and later, assistant to its founder, Dr. Max Weinreich. Forty years later, she became YIVO’s musical archivist. She was the recipient of life achievement awards from the Milken Archive of Jewish Music and the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Hunter College Hall of Fame, the Workmen’s Circle and the International Association of Yiddish Clubs.

It all came to pass because of a scholarship she was awarded in 1948 to attend UCLA. It was there, in a class on Yiddish folklore, that she found an acquaintance she’d met in New York—Yosl Mlotek. Already in love with Yiddish, they fell in love with one other. Yosl was appointed Director of Education at The Workmen’s Circle in New York, where Chana was living, and in 1949, they married and dedicated their lives to bringing Yiddish back to life. Yosl passed in July, 2000. The Yiddish folklore class that brought them together was the ﬁrst and only such course at an American university at the time. Today, more than 20 universities offer Yiddish courses, and many of them expose their students to music and drama, as well as the basic language. That did not surprise Chana, who saw Klezmer music as honey that attracts American Jewish youth to music and Judaism. Chana’s legacy of making Yiddish culture part of American Jewish life continues to be realized in the 21st century as more performers, Jewish and not, become involved in productions that showcase Yiddish cultural history and contemporary innovations on themes often taken straight from the material that Chana and her husband collected from every corner of the world.

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HEALTH AND FITNESS

“No More Excuses – Part II: Surrounded By Nosh” By Chemmie Sokolic rior to the previous issue of JLBC and my humble rant regarding the lack of communal focus on health and exercise, we started to consider the excuses we tell ourselves that prevent us from becoming the people we can indeed become. We discussed having a lack of time and a lack of support as two reasons why it’s sometimes difficult to reach our health and fitness goals. This week, I’d like to examine another common excuse, and see if we can’t, instead, use it as a tool to help us achieve our objectives. Pizza day at work? Your co-worker decides to treat the whole office to the leftovers from their weekend birthday party? Your spouse believes that always keeping packets of cookies on hand in the house is vital, just in case there’s

a blackout? Here in the afﬂuent west, we’re all surrounded by a continual barrage of alluring unhealthy indulgences. It’s so easy to make unwise choices, especially when everyone around us makes those same poor choices. So how can we ﬁght the tide? How can we muster the self-control and discipline to “choose life”? First of all, once you’ve made the healthy decision to make healthier decisions, and have stocked up on more nutritious alternatives, make a clean sweep of your kitchen and pantry (and anywhere else you may have a “stash”). All you need to do after that is stop walking down the cookie aisle in the supermarket. Does that mean you’ll never eat another cookie or piece of cake again? No, of course not, nor should it be, and we’ll discuss more about that in a subsequent issue. For now, however, simply know that it’s far more challenging to make better food choices when famil-

iar temptations continue to be so readily available. One of the biggest excuses I hear regarding people’s “questionable” food choices is “there was nothing else to eat,” especially if you’re in unfamiliar surroundings. Well, that’s easy enough to change: Think ahead. Always think ahead, always have healthful foods with you, or, at the very least, healthier alternatives to the more deleterious enticements we’re all inevitably faced with from time to time. Don’t wait until you’re hungry before wondering what there is to eat; inevitably, the only foods that are easily obtainable in those pivotal instances are not ideal, to say the least. Instead, plan ahead and prevent the “surprise” of “having” to have an unhealthy snack. I suggest preparing your meals in advance, several at a time in separate containers that you can grab from the fridge whenever you need them. Before you go out, even if you’re not hungry at that moment, grab

an apple or a handful of nuts for later, just in case there aren’t any healthy alternatives at your destination. Finally, learn to say “no”; don’t give in to social or familial pressure. Admittedly, we’re all affected by foods differently, so ultimately, you must make the right choices for your own body. For some people, though, sugar and fat can feel just as addictive as drugs, a fact that is sometimes difﬁcult to comprehend by those people who don’t share those same intense cravings. At the end of the day, then, only you can control what goes into your mouth; it is only your own reﬂection with which you must contend. Remember, you are stronger than that piece of cake. Chemmie Sokolic is an ACSM-certified Personal Trainer, and owner of Frum & Fit LLC. Chemmie can be reached at chemmie.sokolic@frumandfit.com. Visit www.FrumandFit.com or www.Facebook. com/FrumandFit for more information.

SELF-HELP

It’s All About Your POV By Avi Shteingart our perspective on a given situation can determine if you will be happy or bitter. Imagine the scenario: it’s a warm evening with a light breeze. You’re standing on the beach, watching waves crash on the shore, listening to the roar of the ocean with the stars overhead. I assume you’re feeling relaxed and calm, transported away from the worries of the world. A client recently described ﬁnding himself in the following situation, one all of us can relate to. He was driving along the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn at 10 p.m., when trafﬁc suddenly came to a standstill. He manages to pull over by the shoulder alongside Plum Beach, a beau-

tiful expanse of sand where the Atlantic Ocean meets Jamaica Bay. He is running on empty; his cell phone has five percent battery power. As he describes his evening, I’m thinking about all those evenings I drove past that exact spot and how I never stopped to take in the view. We pay hundreds of dollars to fly to far off places to sit on beautiful beaches and take in such sights, and yet I speed by nightly at 10 mph over the speed limit. I’m about the suggest how lucky he is, when he says that as he stood on the beach, with hundreds of idling cars behind him, his anxiety turns to anger. He questions why he took this route in the first place; he projects how his wife is probably reminding herself how irresponsible he is, and he envisions the fight they will have when he gets home 4-5 hours late. Ten minutes later, traffic is moving at

a rapid clip. After processing his feelings with him, I reflect the initial thoughts that had flashed in my head. I explain that he and I took the same situation, and allowed it to affect us in radically different ways. In fact, his thoughts increased the tension and anxiety he was already experiencing, leading to a progressive cycle of negative thoughts, ending hours later. Inevitably, we encounter moments daily that are beyond our control. We will get stuck in traffic at the worst moments; planes will be delayed when we desperately need to make that layover; we’ll even find that the milk is sour right after pouring it into our cereal. The question is how we react and respond to these uncertain certainties in life. In Alcoholics Anonymous there’s a common belief that for true recovery, we need to learn to “live life on life’s terms.” This means accepting our limits in this uncertain world. However, I think that this only allows us to survive life. For those interested in thriving in

life, we need to take it a step further. Watching the different recovering addicts pass through my ofﬁce, I have found that those who live on life’s terms and also embrace them can bask in true serenity. They actually relish those moments when we feel blindsided. How do they do that, you may ask? They do so by truly understanding their limitations. In those moments we most dread, when circumstances are beyond our control, they appreciate what cannot be changed. Our greatest strength is when we can truly recognize this fundamental fact. It can change our lives and deeply alter our relationships. Avi Shteingart, LMSW CASAC, is a licensed therapist and maintains offices in Queens and Bergen County. He specializes in substance abuse, gambling, and other process and behavior addictions, as well as work with adolescents, young adults and adults struggling with anxiety, depression, social struggles, and transitions. Contact info: avi.shteingart@gmail.com or 201-410-5883.

PARENTING

The Dilemma: How to Help a Bedwetter By Rivki Chudnoff aking up in the middle of the night to the dreaded words, “My bed is wet,” or ﬁnding a pile of wet pajamas tucked in a corner on the bathroom ﬂoor are challenges many families face daily. While bedwetting can be frustrating for the parents and the child, understanding this condition can help with its management. Bedwetting is common and considered normal in children 2-4 years of age. Staying dry consistently every night may not occur until a child is 4-5 years old. Enuresis is the condition when bedwetting continues in children over 5. Most children will outgrow enuresis with maturity. While 20% of 5 year olds wet their bed, by age 10 it drops to about 5%, with about 1% of children still struggling with enure-

sis at puberty. Why does my child wet their bed? There are many reasons why bedwetting occurs in older children. It is important to note that is it is not your child’s fault that they wet their bed. One common cause is genetics. Studies indicate that children whose parents or grandparents suffered from enuresis are more likely to wet their beds. Other medical reasons include urinary tract infections, underdeveloped bladder, overactive bladder, diabetes, and hormone imbalance. It is not uncommon for diabetes to ﬁrst present as enuresis. A frequently overlooked cause of enuresis is sleep apnea. In sleep apnea, the child’s sleep is disrupted, and may be the result of enlarged adenoids and tonsils. While medical causes need to be in-

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vestigated, a child’s eating, drinking, and voiding routines during the day may contribute to bedwetting at night. Though it may seem counterintuitive, not drinking enough during the day can lead to excessive ﬂuid intake in the evening. This can result in an overly full bladder during sleep. “Holding it” too long during the day, may also result in bladder leakage at night. Stressful events or changes in the household (like the birth of new sibling or changing schools) may be a trigger for some children. What can I do about it? Carefully choosing the language and tone used to speak to your child can preserve their self esteem and improve treatment outcomes while working on staying dry. Substitute the word “Accident” for a more neutral phrase like, “ladder leaking.” Create

a zero tolerance policy for siblings making fun in the home. Lifestyle modiﬁcations such as ensuring your child drinks enough during the day and decrease ﬂuid intake before bed may be helpful. Avoid caffeinated beverages such as soda and teas, as they can cause an increase in urine production. Lastly, make sure your child uses the bathroom immediately prior to bedtime. When should I seek professional help? If the above strategies don’t result in improvement, or if any of the following exist, it is time to seek out professional help: • Child is older than 5 years • Child experiences leakage during the day time • Bedwetting is keeping your child from participating in social opportunities, like sleepovers or trips

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 49

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Avoiding Weight Gain This Winter By Tanya Rosen inter seems to be a time when many people put on some extra weight. Have you ever considered why that is? Here are some of the top reasons and what to do about them. More layers, more room to hide. The bulky sweaters and loose coats give us that fake comfort and temporary ability to feel denial. I always tell my clients to have one summer outﬁt easily accessible and to try it on on a regular basis. Aside from serving as a reminder that summer is just a few short months away, it will be an accurate measurement of how your more ﬁtted (and less layered) wardrobe feels. Hot comfort drinks. Don’t we all as-

sociate those hot chocolates and creamy lattes with cold winter days? Did you know that these drinks can contain up to 700 calories? Many people falsely assume that “liquid calories” don’t count. This is obviously false. Try herbal teas instead, or lower calorie versions of your favorite drink. Substitute whole milk for skim, skip the whipped cream, and use cinnamon powder for flavor, instead of flavored syrup. Feeling too lazy to exercise. Many people feel a lot less energetic in the winter months and that is understandable. The days are shorter, it gets dark sooner, and getting out of the house requires bundling up, and even warming up the car. Outdoor exercisers find it more challenging to stick to their routine with the unpredictable weather, and it getting dark so early in the day, giving them less hours of “ideal work-

out conditions.” My suggestion? Adjust your schedule or routine accordingly. See what works for you. Changing weather and conditions should not deter you from your fitness goals or routine. If you’ve been exercising outdoors, consider joining a gym. If you are more tired at night because it gets dark so early, consider getting in your workout in the morning instead. Chanukah parties, office holiday parties, Chinese auctions, dinners, and fundraisers... need I say more? As always, plan ahead. Do not ever starve yourself the day of a function, planning to make up for it later on. Eat regular balanced meals throughout the day, and try drinking 2 glasses of water before the event. When you get there, plan what you will have before you fill up. Treat a buffet style table as a visual menu. It is just there for visual display, and it is up to you

to make choices from it. As always, having professional guidance is one of the best tools you can invest in. Whether it’s a nutritionist helping you plan your menus, or a personal trainer working out with you and measuring your results, having that professional guidance is extremely valuable. Remember that summer is right around the corner. With just some planning and willpower, you can avoid weight gain traps this winter. Tanya Rosen, M.S. CAI CPT is a nutritionist, personal trainer, aerobics instructor and owner of Shape Fitness, an all women’s fitness studio in Brooklyn. Tanya is also the creator of the first and only kosher workout DVD available for women and for girls through www.shapefitnessgym.com. For questions or column topic ideas, feel free to email Tanya at tanyashape@gmail.com

What Every Woman Should Know: Folic Acid and Methyl Folate By Eliezer Gruber n the last several months, I’ve devoted considerable column space and radio air time to publicizing the need for expectant mothers—indeed, for all married women of child-bearing age as well as soon-to-be married women—to adopt lifestyle behaviors that increase their chances of having a healthy baby. Eating a balanced diet rich in nutrients that have been clinically proven to promote optimal fetal development is at the top of that list. Because most women don’t get enough of these vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids through the foods they consume, supplementation is generally appropriate and necessary. Folic acid and B12 in particular have received a lot of attention from the scientiﬁc community in recent years.

Folic Acid: What, Why, and When Folic acid is the synthetic form of the B-group vitamin folate, which is vital for a wide range of enzymatic reactions that promote normal fetal growth and development. Important studies have shown that folic acid significantly reduces the risk of a baby being born with neural tube (brain and spinal cord) defects (NTDs), such as spina bifida and anencephaly. Preliminary studies also suggest that folic acid may decrease the risk of other birth defects, including congenital heart defects and cleft lip/ cleft palate, and lower the risk of pre-term delivery. Since NTDs and certain other defects usually occur during the first month of gestation, experts believe it is crucial for women to begin a folic acid regimen even before they are expecting. Along these lines, the Mayo Clinic and others recommend that women start taking folic acid at least one month before pregnancy, while the Hospital for Sick Children recommends three months. To decrease the risk of pre-term delivery, some experts recommend starting a year before. In my own practice, I recommend 50 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

that young women begin taking 800 mcg of folic acid in an iron-free multivitamin when they start seminary and continue the regimen throughout their childbearing years. (Since most multi-vitamins contain iron – which should be avoided, except in cases of anemia—Nutri-Supreme has formulated a special iron-free multi-vitamin with 800 mcg of folic acid and 200 mcg of B12. According to a National Institute of Health-sponsored study, children born to women with low B12 have a two to three times greater risk of NTDs.) Women who have already had a baby with an NTD, are usually advised to take more than the generally recommended 600 to 800 mcg of folic acid. But since not all women metabolize folic acid in the same way, it is important to be aware of other exceptions to the general dosage recommendations.

A GPS for the Road to Fetal Health Scientiﬁc research is now beginning to reveal that gene mutations in the folate metabolism pathway (a series of genes that regulates folic acid metabolism) can affect how well the body processes folic acid. If that biologic process is not coordinated properly in the early weeks of gestation, a possible neural tube defect may result in the embryo. I like to use the example of a GPS to explain this breakdown in the metabolism process: If there is a blockage along the road to a destination, even the best GPS instructions won’t help us get there. Similarly, if the folate pathway is compromised, the folic acid can’t get to where it needs to be in order to do its job properly. A common genetic variation that’s been shown to interfere with folic acid metabolism is known as MTHFR C677T. (The C677T designation means that the MTHFR gene mutation was passed down by both parents.). This mutation, which researchers estimate affects approximately 25 to 50 percent of the population, is also associated with in-

creased miscarriage risk. People with MTHFR gene mutations are more likely to have high-homocysteine levels—though not everyone with high homocysteine levels has the MTHFR gene variant. High homocysteine, which can result from a folic acid or B12 deﬁciency, has itself been correlated with an increased risk of birth defects and miscarriage. For women who fall into the high homocysteine and/or MTHFR categories, simply upping the folic acid dosage is generally not the answer. (Indeed many doctors feel that taking more than 1000 mcg of folic acid is an inadvisable and even potentially risky practice.) Rather, they should take a different form of folic acid known as L-methyl folate. (Nutri-Supreme’s Methyl Folate and Methyl Folate with B12 and B6 are the only standalone Methyl Folate supplements on the heimishe kosher market.)

Taking Action Every day, science reveals new ways to help ensure healthy pregnancies and lower the risk of birth defects. But given all the studies already linking folic

acid and B12 deﬁciencies with NTDs and other birth defects, is there anything we can do right now to further that goal? In my view, there is a lot to gain—and much potential heartbreak to avoid— by making simple blood screenings for homocysteine, folic acid, B12 and glutathione “standard procedure” for any young woman beginning the pre-pregnancy vitamin regimen, especially those with a family history of birth defects. (Note: Low glutathione levels can be a marker for oxidative stress, which can play a role in increasing the risk of miscarriage and birth defects.) I am hardly alone in this opinion: In a conversation I had with Dr. Jill James, a well-known researcher for the Arkansas Center for Birth Defects and Prevention, she commented that with homocysteine testing so readily available, there’s no reason women should not be making it part of their pre-natal regimens today. Eliezer Gruber, Certified Nutritionist, is the founder of Nutri-Supreme Research. His radio show Healthy Living can be heard live on 97.5 FM JRoute Radio or by calling 712.432.4217 each Thursday at 12:00 p.m. He can be reached at 888.68-Nutri.

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SELF-HELP

The Eyes Have It: Tips on Connecting to Others By Elly D. Lasson, Ph.D. ost people agree that making eye contact with other people is important in our lives, especially if we are trying to convince them to see things our way. Eye contact positively affects interpersonal relationships as well as workplace interactions. There are ﬁve important times to make sure you are making eye contact. The context could be while you are making a presentation, during a job interview, or any conversation for that matter. (1) Match with the verbal: In your initial approach to a new party or even someone with whom you already have established a relationship, eye contact should support what you are saying.

Pew Results Seen as a WakeUp Call 

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One way to do this, according to Rabbi Zierler, is for Jewish educators to place more emphasis on giving students “an affective experience” that can help them to forge a strong Jewish identity. “What came out in the [Pew survey] is that there is a lot of teaching to the head, but not to the heart,” he said. “As a result, too many students can’t interpret or reﬂect upon what they’ve learned. And that doesn’t serve them well when they’re put into a new environment, such as college, where they are really tested and they have no fallback. “We can’t talk enough to young people, or allow them to ask enough questions,” he added. “Too many teachers

When you introduce yourself to someone, make eye contact with them when stating your name. You should also be looking at the person when he/she states his/her name. Often, the close of a given interactive episode will conclude with a “thank you.” That is an opportunity to take leave of the person with a sincere expression of gratitude. Looking the other person in the eye when you say “thank you” is a great way to reinforce that. When you make a presentation, don’t read everything from your papers or the charts on the wall. Take the time to look out at your audience and make some eye contact. (2) Match with the nonverbal: Another key in developing a solid interpersonal relationship is non-verbal communication. The two most common gestures are the handshake and the smile. Shakedit questions or say, ‘we’ll entertain that, but not now.’ Kids can smell a lie, they can see a fake—and they’ll carry that with them.” Above all, Rabbi Zierler said, community leaders and educators need to reach out to young people, grooming them for potential leadership roles, at a much earlier age. “The big mistake of the Jewish community is that we wait until they are settled down to try to turn them into leaders, through young leadership groups or whatever it might be,” he asserted. “We should start, in the upper classes of high school, to have them mentored by people who are good exemplars of community connectedness, before they leave the comfort of the community for the atomized experience of the college campus. “Right now, no such serious mentoring takes place—and that has created a big disconnect between the generations of the Jewish community.”

List your events in our Community Calendar. Advertise your services in our growing Classifieds section! Call (201) 371-3212 or editor@jewishlinkbc.com Bess Berger Nutrition Consulting Bess Berger, RD, CDN Registered Dietitian

ing someone’s hand while looking over his shoulder will not engage the person you are greeting, and it may be off putting. On the other hand, a smile combined with eye contact expresses that you want to be there. It also shows interest and enthusiasm in what is being discussed. While this sounds basic, many job interviews fail as a result of not attending to this. Consequently, the desire to work or be there is not conveyed. (3) Don’t wander off: While making a positive ﬁrst impression is part of the game, eye contact should not end with the handshake or initial introduction. While at times challenging, make a concerted effort to maintain eye contact throughout the conversation. Wandering eyes give the impression that you are distracted, either from the discussion at hand, or more generally. (4) Don’t stare: Too much of a good thing is often counterproductive. Maintaining eye contact throughout an interaction is a reasonable goal. But, if you don’t use selective diversion, you will come across as creepy and that will be a turnoff. (5) Don’t leave anyone out: In many of our interactions, were are not communicating one-on-one, but one-to-many. Focusing one’s eye contact and attention on a single person to the exclusion of the others will indicate that you are ignoring them and give off the impression that you are not validating their presence.

One scenario that has become more commonplace is when interviewing for a job with a panel. Another is when you are making a formal presentation to a group. Make an effort to scan the room. We naturally tend to focus on those who are either familiar to us or on whom we believe to be the most inﬂuential person in attendance. Sometimes your theory of who that is will be correct; sometimes, you guessed wrong. But even if you are correct, it is possible that the others there will play some role in the hiring process. Or, in the case of a presentation, they are the recipients of any messages you are trying to communicate. Some of these same individuals might end up being your co-workers and, as such, are formulating their ﬁrst impressions of you. So, engaging them with eye contact will always play well. It goes without saying that eye contact which is devoid of substance will not be totally effective. This could be verbal content (e.g., quality responses to interview questions) or a sincere emotional investment in what is going on. As most things go, it is a package deal. Elly D. Lasson, Ph.D. comments and consults on careers, employment and job searches. He leads a nonprofit organization called Joblink of Maryland. He studied at Ner Yisrael (B.T.L.); earned his B.A. in Psychology from UMBC; M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Psychology from Wayne State University.] elasson@joblinkemployment.org, 410.602.8700

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FEATURES

Class Space By Mordechai Schmutter f you’re looking for a career that involves a lot of travel, a decent amount of job security, and you don’t want to have to wear a tie, I would definitely suggest getting a job as an astronaut. And there’s no better time. NASA has just announced that it would start accepting applications for its next class of astronauts sometime in November. The class is going to graduate in 2015, so that’s just two years of school for a job that the entire world looks up to. Okay, so the whole world won’t necessarily look up to you. The world in general can only name about one-and-a-half astronauts. There was Neil Armstrong, Buzz Something, and that third guy who waited in the car. But there have been a whole lot of astronauts since then that people can’t name, and there’s no reason you can’t be one of them. My point is that for those of you who say that there’s no job market out there anymore, you’re obviously wrong. So you should definitely apply. Okay, so I don’t know the actual halachos of being an astronaut, like what kinds of toothpaste foods are kosher, besides for the applesauce, and what time you’d have to daven, but I do know that you’d have to buy a yarmulke that ties under your chin. I also know that there are some parts of frum life that would definitely be more difficult in zero gravity, such as

shechting animals, putting schach on a sukkah, and davening Shemoneh Esrei. But most astronauts are only up there for six months, after which they come back down and get consulting jobs. But the beneﬁts are great. It’s a government job, so you have great health insurance, although they do give you a physical before they even accept you to make sure you’re not the kind of person who ever needs health insurance. You also get a nice amount of vacation days, although where are you going to go? A lot of good those do when you’re trapped on a space station. You also get to take off on random government holidays, such as Flag Day, and Groundhog Day and George Washington’s yahrtzeit. And that Thursday in November that commemorates the one weekend that the colonists of Boston didn’t starve to death. Pretty much anyone can apply, although the last class, which graduated in 2009, had nine students. So we know the classes are nice and small. In other words, if you have a learning disability, this is a great school for you. Okay, so there’s not a very good chance that you’ll get in. The average job opening receives dozens of resumes, most of which they don’t even look at. NASA gets THOUSANDS of resumes, including a resume from every 6-year-old boy in the WORLD. You also need a degree in some kind of relevant scientific ﬁeld, plus time spent working in the

real world, or at least in a lab. They want you to have a reasonable knowledge of science, because there are only a certain amount of times you can go, “What on earth is that?” “What on earth is that?” before the other astronauts lock you outside in your space suit. And there’s no GPS in space. They also accept pilots, and I’m sure that many people become pilots in the hopes that someday they’ll get accepted to astronaut school. In fact, if you ever go into the cockpit of a plane, you will see the pilot and the copilot pretending to be astronauts, saying things like, “Roger” and throwing clipboards back and forth like there’s no gravity and hanging from the ceilings. That’s why they never let passengers into the cockpits. You also need to be reasonably healthy. They don’t want to cut a mission short because Murray had a cardiac event. MURRAY: “I’m having a cardiac event! Everyone’s invited!” You also need 20/20 vision, because everything in space is pretty far away, and if you think it’s hard to find a contact lens on the floor, try doing it in zero gravity. You can also apply if your eyesight is such that it is correctible to 20/20 via laser surgery. And if you’re afraid of lasers and don’t understand how something that can pulverize a tank can also fix your eye, and you’re afraid that the technician

will forget to turn the knob from “TANK” to “EYEBALL,” then maybe space travel in general is not for you anyway. Applicants also have to be between 5’2” and 6’3” to apply. I’m not sure why. It’s not like people aren’t bumping their heads on the ceilings anyway. I think it’s because they want to make sure you can fit into the last guy’s spacesuit. As far as the rest of your physical shape, NASA spokespeople say that they run a physical, but you don’t have to be in amazing shape. “We don’t make people run ten miles just to apply,” they said. “Once they get there, we’ll torture them and make them fit.” Too fat for the space suit? We’ll MAKE you fit. For one thing, the interview is on the 36th floor, and there are no elevators. Also, all students are required to pass a swimming test during the first month of training. They have to swim three lengths of the pool wearing a flight suit and tennis shoes, and then tread water for ten minutes. It turns out the best way to simulate the gravity of space is to do it underwater. So if you’re looking to gear up for your entrance exam, you might want to try—I don’t know—repairing your car at the bottom of a swimming pool. Their goal is for everyone that they accept to eventually pass, but once in a while, someone does not. “Mr.

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CHESED

Sharing Seats, Easing Burdens 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

last days, weeks or even months. When his tickets to sports games or concerts were going unused on Shabbos, Yoni Greenstein of Monsey used his social and workplace networks to give them away, and soon began to donate other tickets that came to him to Jewish organizations where he volunteered, like Chai Lifeline, OHEL, Kids of Courage and I-Shine. “I found that whether a kid is depressed, has lost a parent, or is sick or unhappy, going to a game for a few hours can distract them from life’s difﬁculties,” said Greenstein. Over time, people began to go to him for tickets for family members or friends going through a rough time. Over the last

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several years, Greenstein and several partners, including Mike Dube of the educational sports company Dube Zone, of Englewood, developed a nonproﬁt organization to give away tickets to kids who can enjoy them, called Sharing Seats. Today, Sharing Seats is a volunteerrun, non-denominational 501(c)3 organization that seeks to give children a day or evening out to sporting events, concerts, Broadway shows, museums or amusement parks. “Sadly, children with serious illnesses spend a lot of time in treatment or in the hospital, but to give them a reason to say, ‘Today was a great day,’ is very special,” said Greenstein. Today, many of the tickets that come to Sharing Seats are extended to the Jewish community in the tri-state area because of the personal networks of the people involved as volunteers, but the tickets are also available to the larger community and inner cities. “Disease aren’t biased, and neither are we,” he said.

Ort (z”L) received tickets to the Stanley Cup finals through Sharing Seats. Here, she is showing off the team jersey that Mike Dube delivered.

Another special thing Sharing Seats does is help people to give event tickets anonymously, Greenstein said. “Let’s say

Daniel Morrison, right, received NFL game tickets from Sharing Seats, and met retired Jets running back Freeman McNeil.

an individual wants to cheer someone up, perhaps a child in their community. For instance, maybe they know someone who experienced a loss in their family or maybe someone whose parents are divorcing, and the child seems down and could use a lift. We can be a conduit for people to use in providing uplifting experiences anonymously,” he said. Dube said he relishes the opportunity to help someone enjoy a day out. “We get Yankees tickets for someone who is wheelchair bound, and do the research to determine accessibility for their front row seats. This kind of day can have such a profound effect on people’s lives; it’s not monetary, it’s a whole package experience that we have been able to give them. They still talk about it,” he said. One child who benefited from Sharing Seats and the Dube Zone is Daniel Morrison, a 10-year-old who attends Yeshivat Noam in Paramus. An athletically inclined child, Daniel was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last summer. In school last year he participated in Dube Zone sports programming, and Dube reached out to his family recently as part of Sharing Seats. “Daniel had never attended a professional football game, and it has been a dream of his for the past two years to attend one,” said Mitch Morrison, Daniel’s father. “He has a strict protocol, but now since can do a few things in public, Mike got us tickets to attend a Jets game, and the experience was like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, fulfilling Daniel’s wish,” said Morrison. Daniel is now hard at work fighting his illness, which is a serious but treatable form of cancer. “In some ways, a child’s illness can be harder emotionally than physically, because they know that they are missing out on so much,” said Morrison, who said his son missed being able to attend camp this year and is not currently able to go to school. “The Jets game was a way to escape some of the limitations he has right now.” Dube said Sharing Seats gets many kinds of requests and often within hours, the seats are found and the event scheduled for the child. “We’ve never gotten a request we weren’t able to fill,” said Dube. “People who want to give event tickets or money to be used for creating a memorable experience can do so, as a tax-deductible donation, through Sharing Seats,” said Greenstein. Anyone who is interested knowing more is encouraged to contact Sharing Seats at sharingseats@gmail.com. November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 53

FROM THE DESK OF RABBI DR MORDECHAI GLICK

Stress â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Source Of Klollah Or Bracha â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Take Your Pick his past Thursday my wife and I returned from more than three weeks in Montreal, though we had planned to spend a week. Shortly after we got there, the sky fell in and we were faced with a medical emergency. Our handicapped daughter, Naama, was admitted to the hospital and the situation was touch and go for almost three weeks. We were with her, joined for part of the time with our other children, from early in the morning to late at night. Boruch Hashem, things turned around after two and a half weeks and she was released. But the horrendous stress that we experienced, brought to the fore, a very important truth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; stress activates the emergency arousal system. We were caught in its grip for much of the three weeks. And any time we are overly aroused, our reaction to events and everyday occurrences can become extreme. How do you react to a less serious

ongoing emergency â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perhaps, the loss of a job, or a terribly embarrassing position that you took in front of your friends/community, or being publicly accused by a coworker or a previously trusted friend with a very serious crime? Probably you become very defensive, reacting with rage or terror, and your dealings with even your loved ones become fraught with danger. You become difďŹ cult or impossible to deal with, and you react very strongly to innocuous things or even attempts by your spouse to be supportive. Is it any surprise, then, that often when a new couple becomes aware of a serious permanent defect in their child, things become very troubled and an inďŹ&#x201A;ated number of such marriages eventually end in a bitter divorce, often precipitated by the husband. What happened to the bayis neemon? What happened to the beautiful couple that everyone was kvelling over for months after the wedding? More importantly, what happened to two people who were trying to connect and care about each oth-

er? What happened is what happens to many people faced with a crisis, they are desperately looking for someone to blame. And unfortunately, the easiest ones to blame are the people close by. From there it slowly turns from difďŹ culty to disaster. But it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be that way. It could be that people turn more for support to those that are nearest. It could be that in the midst of the suffering, the couple grows even closer than they would otherwise be. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the way it was for my wife and I. We were children (20 and 21) when we married. We thought we knew everything about life, as do most children. When our third daughter (Naama) was born, we were hit with terrible news. When she was 7 or 8 months old the doctor suggested that maybe we should bring her to a neurologist. He told us she was spastic and retarded, and that we should place her in an institution. We refused to hear him and went from doctor to doctor always hearing pretty much the same thing. (Things have changed, and par-

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â&#x20AC;˘ Child is suffering embarrassment and decreased self esteem â&#x20AC;˘ Bedwetting has started abruptly after months of being dry at night â&#x20AC;˘ Child experiences pain or burning with urination â&#x20AC;˘ Sudden change in appetite or thirst â&#x20AC;˘ Urgency during the day, with sudden unexpected needs to void immediately â&#x20AC;˘ Frequent constipation or straining when moving bowels Discuss your concerns with your

ents today are generally told that raising a handicapped child can be very challenging, but very rewarding.) And against all odds, (and almost all doctors) we raised her and loved her and saw her grow into the beautiful person she is today. And along the way our marriage grew into something more beautiful (though challenging) than it might have otherwise been. When you are faced with terrible stress, which path do you choose? May G-d bless you and help you through the trauma, and hopefully grant you the most important thing in life - a love that, in spite of its difďŹ culties, is pure and endless. Please feel free to contact me regarding this (or any) topic. You can do so anonymously by writing to mordechaiglick@gmail.com . Dr. Glick was a clinical psychologist in private practice for 35 years as well as a rabbi of Congregation Ahavast Yisroel. If you would like to submit a question, or contact him for an appointment, he can be reached at mordechaiglick@gmail.com

How to not Keep Bumping Your Head on the Ceiling of the Spaceship How to Zip up a Spacesuit What All Those Buttons Are For What to do if Someone is Standing on your Oxygen Tube How to keep Your Food Down in Zero Gravity Passing Clipboards Back and Forth so They Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Go Sailing Through the Window Locking the New Guy Outside in his Spacesuit How to Strap Yourself into a Sleeping Bag so Your Arms Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Keep Floating Up Like Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Having a Dream that Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Being Mugged Hosing Down the New Guyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Spacesuit You only have until January to apply, so apply now! Space is limited. Umâ&#x20AC;ŚYou know what I mean. pediatrician. There are many treatment options available to help families overcome this challenge. Studies have found that successful treatment for bedwetting results in improvements in self-esteem, self-image, and socialization. Bedwetting may be effectively treated by a physical therapist experienced and trained in this area. Pharmaceuticals may be prescribed by a physician when necessary. With appropriate intervention, you and your children will sleep better. Rivki Chudnoff MS,PT is a NY/ NJ licensed physical therapist with more than14 years of experience working in both pediatrics and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health. She can be reached at rivkichudnoff@gmail.com

Send us your news, events, and photos! Send to editor@jewishlinkbc.com 54 November 14, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 11 Kislev 5774

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RYNJ Preschool Preview By Nomi Rotblat ensory sand search, kids in the kitchen, and picking patterns are some of the fun and educational activities your child will experience at the Preschool Preview hosted by the early childhood program of Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, on Sunday, November 17th at 9:30 am. “The Preschool Preview is an opportunity for preschool aged children who are interested in exploring RYNJ to come and participate in activities they will experience once they attend preschool,” ex-

plains Morah Fran Mermelstein, RYNJ’s Preschool Director. “Although each activity is enjoyable for the child, there are also important educational and developmental skills to be learned from each,” adds Morah Aviva Vogel, Assistant Director of the Preschool. The Chanukah themed Sunday morning includes a Hebrew language component for the children with the preschool’s beloved Ganenet L’ivrit, Morah Mali, and it culminates in a Chanukah Sing- A- Long with Morah Hadassah. “The morning reﬂects the warm and nurturing environment of our Preschool. The morot who orchestrate the morning are the same morot who teach and welcome our youngest students each morning with love, excitement and creativity,” states Rabbi Daniel Price, RYNJ Head of School. For more information or to register, visit RYNJ.org or contact Tamar Kahn, Director of Admissions at tkahn@rynj.org. Preregistration is requested, but walk-ins are welcome.

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Yavneh 5K Benjy Schwartz Walk A Success JLBC Sports staff n Sunday November 10th, The Benjamin Schwartz Memorial 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk brought over 1,000 people to the Westﬁeld Garden State Plaza. The event helped to raise over $50,000 for Yavneh Academy Scholarship needs. Participants of the run/walk were treated to a pre-race workout with

Event organizer Amy Buchsbayew with race Winner Michael Fonder

Yavneh Academy Executive Director Joel Kirschner, Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera, and Mendy Schwartz at the start of the race.

Donna Riker of HNH Fitness in Oradell, NJ, t-shirts, and a buffet breakfast. At the culmination of the race, event organizer Amy Buchsbayew of Teaneck presented medals to the top runners in the various age categories. Congratulations to the overall winner Michael Fonder,age 27, from Tenaﬂy, NJ, who came in at 15 minutes and 34 seconds.

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 55

SCHOOLS

Leadership Day at Ma’ayanot By Pam Ennis hursday, November 7th, was no ordinary day at Ma’ayanot. Peek in the gym and you would ﬁnd students playing with feathers, string, tarps and balls, and even building structures out of plumbing pipes. It was Leadership Day at Ma’ayanot, and while there was lots of fun, and even some games, participants were engaged in serious activities meant to foster group cohesion, build personal conﬁdence and instill the feeling that every person in a group can make a difference. For the second year in a row, Ma’ayanot contracted with Dr. Jim Cain, noted author and principal consultant of

Teamwork and Teamplay, to run a full day of programming for various groups within the school, including the entire senior grade, the faculty and student leaders. The main portion of the day’s programming was dedicated to the senior grade. Elana Flaumenhaft, Assistant Principal for Student Life, explained that she likes to run leadership training for the senior grade to make sure that all students, those who strive to be leaders and those who shy away from the spotlight, understand that “you don’t have to be the loudest or the most outspoken person in the room to be a leader. You need conﬁdence, you need to be comfortable with yourself, and you need to believe that you can make a difference. This program will help all students get to the point where they realize they can make a difference in whatever they set out to do.” During lunch Dr. Cain gave a seminar for teachers on the theme of building relationships within the classroom. He

acknowledged that much of what goes on in the classroom is task oriented, but he also explored how and why students respond better to assigned tasks within an environment that fosters positive and safe relationships, both between students, and between students and teachers. Later in the day Dr. Cain ran one last training session for Ma’ayanot’s student leaders, including G.O. (student government) representatives and committee chairs. Before introducing Dr. Cain, Ms. Flaumenhaft explained why training of the sort they were about to receive is crucial for student leaders. “You have all chosen to assume leadership roles with-

in the school,” she explained, “but we want to make sure that you succeed well in those roles, and to do that we need to help learn how to work together, how to manage a project, how to delegate responsibility, and how to get the rest of the student body interested in what you are doing. We want to make sure you succeed as leaders here at Ma’ayanot, and also for the future.” The day was clearly enjoyable and, according to senior Hannah Ash, meaningful as well. “I learned valuable skills for the workforce, like how to lead a team, how to work collaboratively, and how to value the opinions of others.” Spoken like a future leader.

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SCHOOLS

Yeshivat He’atid Pre-K Mock Wedding for Parshat Vayetze he Pre-K students were very excited to plan their very own wedding! The morot taught the classes all about Parshat Vayetze, and then had a wedding celebration (just like Yaakov, Leah and Rachel). The children learned the steps to a Jewish wedding and, of course, how to dance with tremendous simcha.

Before Sunrise By Etzion Neuer n a recent crisp October Sunday morning before the break of dawn, parents and students of Yeshivat Noam’s fourth grade gathered along the banks of the Palisade Cliffs for a remarkable minyan. Nature provided the walls of our beit knesset: the brilliant orange and yellow foliage of the cliffs on one side, while on the other side, gulls and geese wheeled and soared above the surface of the deep blue Hudson River.

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The idea behind the ‘Sunrise Minyan‘ belonged to Rabbi Yaakov Nadler, Yeshivat Noam’s fourth grade rebbe, who, while teaching the Mishna of Brachot, found a creative way to make the davening times relevant to my nine year-old’s grade. Introducing Mishna to children can present its challenges, and when the subject drifts into differentiating between terms like netz hachama (sunrise), alot hashachar (dawn), and how much light is necessary to recognize one’s friend within four cubits...well, it’s not hard for me to imagine how a child’s attention might occasionally wander. For a nine year-old boy, there’s no better way to challenge boredom than by introducing a ﬂashlight. In the countdown leading up to the big day, my son made sure to check in with me several times to ensure that our ﬂashlight had working batteries, that we had the proper directions to the cliffs and that he would indeed be having doughnuts. We began davening at 7:00 am, a group of blearyeyed parents, together with our excited kids, huddled together on a dock by the water in the early morning darkness. I noticed that I was not the only father wrapping my

talit around myself as a blanket to keep warm. As davening progressed and the sun rapidly began to break over the horizon and rise above the Hudson River and warm us all, Rabbi Nadler repeatedly called attention to its changing position and applied the appropriate terms for the zmanim. And just like that, 2000 year-old terms suddenly sprang to life and became exciting and relevant. When this beautiful minyan concluded, the students immediately scrambled for the hot chocolate and doughnuts that had been laid out for them while most of us parents fueled ourselves with coffee and marveled at the experience. The program continued as Rabbi Nadler led all of us on a short hike through the Palisades.

As a parent, I was moved by several aspects of this experience: how a teacher creatively devised a way to transform the mundane into meaningful; how this same teacher selﬂessly shared his precious personal time with his students and their parents; and how Yeshivat Noam has fostered a climate that welcomes this kind of creative approach to experiential learning. Too rare are the moments in which parents and children can enjoy a shared moment of joy in a Jewish educational setting. Rabbi Yaakov Nadler’s Sunrise Minyan provided us with just such an experience that is also an unforgettable memory. Etzion Neuer is a proud parent of four Yeshivat Noam students. November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 57

SCHOOLS

New York Colleges Score Big Judaic Hire By Aliza Chasan he former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, will be teaching at both Yeshiva and New York University starting in January. Sacks, 65, will serve as the Kressel and Efrat University Professor of Jewish Thought at YU and as the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Judaic Thought at NYU. NYU student and Teaneck native Avital Kaplan has been checking the online course registry waiting for Rabbi Sacks’ class to pop up so that she can enroll. She

described NYU as a school standing for universalism and globalism, two ideals most students at the school are interested in, and the need to balance those ideals with personal and communal identity. “Rabbi Sacks is a really great ﬁt for the NYU community; he has a lot to contribute to the conﬂict between personal or communal identity and universalism,” Kaplan said. Sacks, the author of 25 books and a world-renowned religious leader, served as chief rabbi from September of 1991 until September of 2013. The idea of the Jewish world and out-

side world came up again with Scott Kalmikoff, a senior at YU majoring in Jewish Studies with a concentration in Jewish History. He’s also very excited to have the opportunity to learn from R’ Sacks. “After reading a number of Rabbi Sacks’ books, I became a huge fan of his. I think he is a perfect example of someone who is able to thrive while balancing both Judaism and secularism, which is the ideal of Yeshiva University,” Kalmikoff said. “Rabbi Sacks is extremely wise and talented, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to learn from him at YU.”

Touro College of Pharmacy Appoints Interim Dean From Fair Lawn ew York—Dr. Alan Kadish, President and CEO of the Touro College and University System, announced that Dr. Zvi Loewy, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences at Touro College of Pharmacy, will serve as the school’s interim dean. Dr. Loewy succeeds Dr. Stuart Feldman, who stepped down last week.

Dr. Zvi Loewy

“I am pleased that Dr. Loewy has agreed to undertake this signiﬁcant assignment at this time,” said Dr. Kadish. “With his experience in the biological sciences and pharmacy education, research, private industry as well as his proven commitment to the school and its mission, the College is well-served to have Dr. Loewy take the lead at this time. I wish him every success as he collaborates with the Campus Provost and CEO, Dr. Jay Sexter, in carrying out this new assignment.” Said Dr. Loewy, “I am grateful for this opportunity being afforded to me to provide strong management to the College of Pharmacy, to foster a culture of rigor and excellence in pharmacy education, to ensure superb training for our diverse student body and to lead and develop the faculty of the our school.” Dr. Loewy has a diversiﬁed professional background that includes more than 30 years

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SCHOOLS

A Culinary Evening at Ma’ayanot he Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School parent council is pleased to invite the community to a Culinary Evening at Ma’ayanot on Sunday, November 24th at 7:00 p.m. The evening will feature cooking demonstrations by two of the most talented chefs of the kosher world, Leah Shapira and Merav Dahan. Leah Shapira is co-founder of cookkosher.com, a popular online kosher recipe exchange, au-

thor of the best-selling Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking, and co-author of numerous cookbooks including Passover Made Easy, Starters and Sides Made Easy and Kids Cooking Made Easy. Merav Dahan, a proud Ma’ayanot parent, is founder of Merav’s Cuisine cooking blog and has been teaching the art of preparing healthful and quick kosher recipes for over a decade.

In addition to cooking demonstrations, the evening will include smoothie making by Ma’ayanot parent Ofra Wind, and a boutique featuring Pampered Chef, Cutco Cutlery, Chanukah essentials and much more. For more information or to register for the event visit www.maayanot.org and click on the events link, or contact Carrie Polonetsky at coplonetsky@yahoo.com.

PARENTING

Parent-Teacher Conference Tips for Parents By Rabbi Maccabee Avishur ow can you get the most out of ParentTeacher conferences? First of all, go. The competition for your time is ﬁerce, but investing time in meeting with your child’s teachers pays great dividends down the road. Second, prepare some questions and talking points. Teachers will surely have some data to talk about, work to show and anecdotes to share, but teachers can’t possibly guess what information is most important to each parent. Your questions as a parent can help guide the teacher and help them learn about what is most important to you. Here are some suggested questions. In what ways is my child acting with Kavod to you and other adults? How about other students? The teacher’s description of how your child seeks assistance or what she does when she’s feeling a certain way will give you some awareness of the way she interacts with others and what her rela-

tionship is like with others in the school. How does discipline work in your class? Understanding how the teacher motivates your son to behave and how she reacts when he doesn’t follow instructions can help you learn about the teacher’s approach to discipline. In addition, you might learn useful tricks that you can implement at home, and you may be able to share useful insights with the teacher about what you have found works best. Consistency of approach in discipline helps your son learn consequences of pro- and anti-social behavior and helps prevent your son from developing the belief that he can act differently with different adults. When does my child excel and what seems to be the biggest struggle for her? This isn’t the same as ﬁshing for compliments or being hard on your daughter. Rather, it’s an opportunity to learn what your daughter’s strengths and weaknesses are so you can harness her potential and address her challenges. How does my child behave during davening? At home, your son may be a commit-

ted davener or a resistant one. Learning about his disposition towards davening in school can help you support the school’s work at home. In addition, learning the school’s prayer selection and tunes can help you reinforce at home the positive habits he is learning at school. What can we do at home to support the work you’re doing at school? As long as this question isn’t an empty platitude, it can be a powerful way of strengthening the school-home relationship. Every time a parent asked me this question, I didn’t have to think hard to come up with something meaningful that I thought would be useful in advancing the growth of the child. Plus, I really appreciated the suggestion of partnership implicit in this question. The most important lesson here is that it pays to prepare for the conference. Be prepared to listen as well as talk. Spend a few minutes before your conferences jotting down questions you have and topics you’d like to learn more about. It’s a good idea to take notes during a conference and to ask for an explanation if you don’t understand something. Remember,

The Time I Had a (Winter) Break By Sarah Abenaim lucked out for winter break last year. In my last trimester of pregnancy, it was too risky for me travel anywhere, and so I was advised to stay put. We had stayed home for most winter vacations in the previous years, as my husband is a selfemployed dentist and therefore “paid vacation” does not really exist. And I had managed to come up with a few enticing day-trips to create a break in the constant bickering among my kids; Chuck E. Cheese! Frozen Yogurt! Build-a-Bear! Getting our teeth cleaned (I know, I’m that creative)! But as my midsection grew to enormous proportions, I found myself lying on the couch and only participating in activities that boasted a chair, preferably one that reclined (another hidden perk at the dentist). “Why don’t I take the kids to Puerto

Rico this year?” my husband offered one night in December, while I stared at the dishes, hoping they’d wash themselves. “I’ll take off from work…” My eyes lit up. It would be the ultimate winter break for me: one giant, week-long nap. I shivered with excitement. We talked through the details. It would be from Sunday through Thursday. I’d make a menu, prepare and pack food, and write up a manual to caring for our kids, which would include important tips, such as brush their hair, feed them real meals (not just ice cream) and put them to bed before eight. I would also pack their suitcases and organize their carry-on bags, and would probably be so tired, I wouldn’t move again until they’d come home. I was smart about the organization. With a few weeks left until the trip, I split up the work over time and did a little each day, all the while scouting out the perfect pillow for my own restful vacation. But I guess we missed some very

important details, because it all changed when my husband handed me the flight itineraries one evening in early January. “Here’s the plan,” he said, and I flipped through the pages showing departures and arrivals, and that luckily, it was a non-smoking flight. “You only reserved three seats?” I asked, noticing his name, along with our two older children on the ticket heading. We had a third child, a daughter, who was 3, too old to be a lap-baby. “Will you wear her in a Baby-Bjorn or something? Hide her in your coat?” I asked, desperately, trying to come up with a logical reason for why there was no ticket in her name. I looked at the floor, hoping that maybe I had just dropped the paper. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I never planned on taking her. I can’t bring all of them alone…” He looked at me helplessly, and I understood. I also wouldn’t want to venture on a vacation with all three kids. I could barely handle Votee Park.

your time slot in the conference is likely very short (5-10 minutes), so you might not have time to speak about everything you had hoped to. Be respectful of the teacher and of the next parent waiting outside the class. If you want to continue the conversation, set up a time to do so in the coming weeks, and make sure to ﬁnd out the teacher’s preferred method of communication. If the teacher has mentioned any areas that she’ll be working on with your child, it’s a great idea to check back with the teacher a few weeks down the road to learn how your child is doing. Parent-teacher conferences are an important element along the continua of fostering a healthy school-home relationship and developing the academic, emotional and spiritual development of your child. Making the make the most of this opportunity maximizes return on your investment in your child’s Jewish education. Rabbi Maccabee Avishur is the Associate Director for Teaching and Learning at Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership. He can be reached at avishur@yu.edu.

It was just like that that my dream winter vacation melted away. The vision, so pristinely created, would never actualize. Although this meant that I would have to get dressed every day, I at least wouldn’t have to play referee to any sibling fights on a minute-to-minute basis. And I would have one daughter who could keep her long hair, because it was likely that the other would need a buzz cut when she returned with un-brushed dreadlocks or a tangled beehive housing a few crabs, sand and seashells. Winter vacation ended up being relaxing. We did low-key activities, like cut up many papers into tiny squares, braid and put beads in her hair so it looked like she went somewhere tropical, and, the dreaded Chuck E. Cheese. My daughter was thrilled to have time alone with me, a final hurrah as the glorified baby of the family. And I was lucky to get a break, even just a partial one. Sarah Abenaim is a freelance writer living with her husband and four children in Teaneck. She is working on her first book. More of her essays can be found at www.writersblackout.wordpress.com.

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 59

PARENTING

Helping Children Deal with Setbacks, Part 2 By Mark Staum, LCSW n my last article, I listed three situations where parents could consider how to help their children deal with setbacks. The adage “live and learn” is a popular saying, but it is important to address how parents can communicate this message to their children. Teaching children to deal with setbacks by increasing positive thinking, reducing negative thinking and managing their emotions can help children deal with disappointment. As children become more aware of their emotions, they become more capable of emotional regulation. The ability for children to manage their emotions will go a long away in helping them deal with disappointing events. Alternatively, the inability of children to manage their emotions may lead to difﬁculties with anger, impulse control and peer related conﬂicts. How do parents use modeling to assist their children develop emotional control? Consider the example of Mrs. Rudant, who received a phone call from school that her 10-year-old son, John, has refused to participate in gym for the past two weeks: Mrs. Rudant: Hi, John! Today I received

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in academia, executive leadership with major global pharmaceutical companies

a call from school that you have not participated in gym for the past two weeks. The school sounded very concerned that something is bothering you because you always love going to gym and being with the other kids. Is there something happening that we can talk about? John: I am a little embarrassed by the fact that I was sitting on the side over the past week during the games. The other boys did not pick me in the game so I didn’t play at all for three straight games. The teacher didn’t notice, so I just got up and left. Mrs. Rudant: That must have been so frustrating and disappointing for you! In the above example, Mrs. Rudant remained calm. She didn’t “sound the panic button,” nor did she demand to know exactly why John could possibly have not attended gym for the past two weeks. By remaining calm, she allowed John the time and space to express his concerns. By providing feeling words, Mrs. Rudant also teaches John that it is okay to feel disappointed. John will then feel increasingly conﬁdent that there is potential to resolving this issue. When it is difﬁcult for children to remain calm, parents need to provide them with the tools to manage their emotions.

A parent can help a child do all of the following: Remain calm by taking deep breaths. Develop some coping thoughts to reduce any negative feelings. Help the child develop solutions to the problem. Parents can also prepare their children for how to deal with disappointment or potential disappointment. Returning to our original example of sports competition, a parent can remind a child (prior to the sporting season or during the initial weeks) that, He may not be on a team with many of his friends since the teams are divided in different ways. Unlike last year, this year he may not be the best athlete on the team and may need to work really hard to “prove himself.” Although he may have a goal to win every game, that goal may be difﬁcult to reach. For the student who can’t seem to ever do well on a Mrs. Smith Math test, a parent can remind a child that, Teachers are different and Mrs. Smith may have different expectations on examinations. Last year, he got off to a “rocky start”

with Mrs. Greenwald and performed great after two months. You are happy to work with him on strategies to help him feel more relaxed while taking these tests. For the camper who wants to go home because he has no friends in his bunk, the child can be reminded that, Adjustments to a new environment and schedule can be difﬁcult. Meeting new kids can be challenging, but it was always one of his strengths in school. He did great last summer when he went away to the three-day overnight program. In all of the above examples, parents are helping their children deal with setbacks (or potential setbacks) through the internal framework that has been cultivated through parent/child communication and dialogue.

and creation and management of biotech start-up companies. Dr. Loewy is a graduate of Yeshiva University (B.A.), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (M.S.) and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Ph.D.). In addition to his position at Touro College of Pharmacy, he is on the faculty of New York Medical College, and serves on the boards of the Jerusalem College of Technology and the New Jersey Technology Incubator. Dr. Loewy is a member of the scientiﬁc advisory board of C3 Jian, a private company focused on providing improved oral

healthcare; is a member of the steering committee of the Pennsylvania Translational Research Partnership Institute and the Coulter advisory council, and is an editor of the Journal of Prosthodontics. Dr. Loewy has published broadly and holds over 25 patents. Touro is a system of non-proﬁt institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various

schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www. touro.edu/#/news/

See something happening near your home? Know of an event coming up in your community? Tweet it to: @jlinkbc

How Eddie’s Kosher Travel Became # 1 

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berias, Galil, Jerusalem, Netanya, the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv, each with added value, renowned scholars in residence, kids & teen programs, day tours and more, at unprecedented lower prices than ever before. What are some of your crazy stories working with clients? How do you handle it? When we see families getting together and enjoying each other’s company it makes the job worthwhile. We consider it a real privilege to be able to bring Jews together, to celebrate a special occasion or unite as one large extended family. That’s not to say there aren’t stressful moments. In this service-oriented business you have to have a thick skin while you treat every request with grace and patience. Once we got a call Erev Pesach from a client who wanted to make sure that the ﬂowers we provided would match the color of the Haggadot. We don’t just sell rooms, 60 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

Mark Staum, LCSW is the school therapist for the PTACH program @ MTA. He maintains a local private practice in Teaneck, NJ, where he sees children, adolescents, young adults and families. For questions or comments about this article, please contact mstaumlcsw@gmail.com . To learn more about Mark, please look at his web site, www.markstaum. com.

we provide a unique and memorable experience. We work hard all year around to exceed our client’s expectations. In addition, we are able to do a lot of communal good through our business. By nominating a cause at each hotel, we sell Aliyot, distribute pledge forms and have managed to raise tzedaka funds for various organizations and projects. We have raised funds for a shul building fund, Yeshivat Hesder Modiin, Leket Food Bank, IYIM Singles program and Mishne Lechem. Our proudest moment was Pesach 2012 when we donated a Sefer Torah to Israel’s Iron Dome IDF base in the presence of top army brass, in honor of the company’s 25th year at the same Tiberias Hotel. We are grateful that we have the opportunity to give back to the community as it is not only about the business… What is unique about Eddies Kosher Travel? Hands down it is the personal connection we have with the clients – especially those who come on our chagim trips. We go above and beyond to make sure we get to know our guests on a personal level and make sure that all their needs are

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SCHOOLS

Yasher Koach of the Week--- Michael Feuerstein Rudin & the TABC Midnight run ichael Feuerstein Rudin has been the starting goalie at the Torah Academy of Bergen County for the past four year. Although Michael has many on the ﬁeld accomplishments, we are proud to present him with this week’s award because of his work as the chair of the TABC Chessed Committee, and point man for the Midnight Run. The Midnight run, is an organization that provides meals and supplies to the homeless in New York. Until November of 1989, Midnight Run used the facilities of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry as a base of operations, including the storing of food, clothing and supplies. Later that year, Midnight Run was incorporated as a not-for-proﬁt organization, and a generous contribution by a Westchester corporation enabled

them to rent their ﬁrst headquarters at 97 Main Street in Dobbs Ferry. There, they were able to collect, sort and store clothes; prepare food; and coordinate the donations and the thousands of volunteers it takes to make Midnight Run a reality. Midnight Run has been contagious and, without a grand master plan, the program has grown from the original tiny group to a collaboration of more than 150 community organizations. Most of the runs are done by local colleges, yeshiva participants include: Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy (SAR) and TABC (for the third year in a row). Michael told the JLBC that “participating in midnight run gives us a better appreciation for all what we have and makes us more sensitive to others misfortune”.

The run collects basic necessities for the homeless: Clothing and toiletry items like: socks, hats, gloves, jackets, pants, shirts/sweaters, underwear (new or used) as well as unopened toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, deodorant, and soap. Food items that can be used are hot chocolate packets, coffee packets, granola/breakfast bars, canned fruit (pull tab tops), instant oatmeal packets. They will be feeding the homeless and monetary donations to help defray the cost of food are welcome. Supplies can be dropped off at TABC (1600 Queen Anne Rd in Teaneck) or at the home of Michael Feuerstein - Rudin (370 Rutland Ave in Teaneck). The boys of TABC will be making their distribution run to the homeless of NYC on December 5th and need all donations by November 27, 2013

Frisch Juniors Pack for the Food Bank of NY pproximately 30 Frisch juniors traveled to NYC on October 31st to repackage food for the Food Bank of NYC. They repacked over 4,000 pounds of cabbages and apples. Students had to put the boxes together, check the produce to see if it was edible, weigh the boxes, and then stack them on pallets for redistribution. (All photos taken by Lisa Appelbaum)

(L to R) Tyler Hod, Max Gruber, Michael Rubin, Rafi Jacobovitz, Odi Haramati, Robby Bernstein, Sammy Katz, and Tal Singer

Moriah students participate in a flag folding ceremony with veterans from Englewood

Big Apple Crunch At MTA With a Berachah! n Thursday, October 24th, MTA Students and faculty joined roughly 1,000,000 New Yorkers in an attempt to set a new world record for “most people at an apple crunching event”. In MTA, this meant that every student and faculty member were given a fresh apple, hand-picked by the members of our Student Council the day before; at noon on Thursday, everyone made a beautiful berachah and crunched into the incredibly delicious apples. That Thursday was National Food Day, and the Big Apple Crunch was one of thousands of events happening around the country promoting healthy

Morah Deena’s third grade girls at RYNJ reached a huge milestone last week receiving their Naviim.

eating. The school’s goal in participating was to promote that idea within the MTA community as well as to re-ignite the passion for making berachos. Both goals were certainly accomplished; students made proper berachos with wide smiles, and the buzz in the hallways was about how delicious those apples tasted.

62 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

In honor of the month of Kislev, Moriah students made gifts for American and Israeli soldiers. This month’s theme at the school is an attitude of gratitude.

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HISTORY

Jews in Space By Phil Siers and combined services Boris Valentinovich Volynov was the first Jew in space. He was born in Irkutsk in Siberia to a Jewish mother, but then his family relocated, and he finished secondary school in Prokopyevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, in 1952. The next year he completed basic pilot training in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, and in 1955 graduated from an aviation school in Novosibirsk. From September 1961 to January 1968 he studied at the faculty of engineering of the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and graduated with a diploma of a pilot-engineer-cosmonaut. Because of his mother’s Jewish background, his selection for space missions was hindered. Scheduled to fly in 1964, Soviet command pulled him off the mission when they found that that Volynov was Jewish. But in 1969 he was finally selected as commander of the Soyuz 5. In 1980 he received his Ph.D. from the Zhukovsky Academy. After resigning from the space program in 1982, he spent eight years as a senior administrator at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. After 30 years of service in Star City, in 1990, he retired as a colonel. Judith Arlene Resnik was born in 1949 to Sara and Marvin, an optometrist, in Akron, Ohio. Both her parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. Judith’s brother Charles was born four years later. She attended Hebrew school. A graduate of Firestone High School in 1966, she excelled in mathematics and played classical piano. While at Firestone she achieved a perfect SAT score, the sole female to do so that year. She received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University in 1970, the year she married fellow student Michael Oldak. They divorced in 1974. In 1977 Resnik earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Maryland. Upon graduation from Carnegie Mellon, she was employed at RCA as a design engineer, and later worked with various NASA projects contracted to the company. While working toward her doctorate, Resnik was affiliated with the National Institutes of Health as a biomedical engineer. Later, she was a systems engineer with Xerox Corporation. Resnik was recruited into the astronaut program January 1978 by Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols, who was working as a recruiter for NASA. Resnik’s first space flight was as a mission specialist on the maiden voyage of Discovery, from August to September 1984. She was likewise a mission specialist aboard Challenger for STS-51-L and died when it exploded on January 28, 1986. Resnik was the first American Jewish astronaut to go into space. Jeffrey Alan Hoffman is an American former NASA astronaut and currently a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. Hoffman made five flights as a space shuttle astronaut, including the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, when the orbiting telescope’s flawed optical system was corrected. Trained as an astrophysicist, he also flew on 1990 Spacelab shuttle mission that featured the ASTRO-1 ultraviolet

Jeffrey Alan Hoffman

Judith Arlene Resnik

Boris Valentinovich Volynov

astronomical observatory in the shuttle’s payload bay. Over the course of his ﬁve

missions he logged more than 1,211 hours and 21.5 million miles in space.

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CONTINUED ON P. 64

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“Rates are at historic lows! Envoy Mortgage is your local hometown lender. Call Stuart Greenbaum today to dicuss your options.” Stuart Greenbaum Stuart Greenbaum Loan Originator Loan Originator NMLS #279221 NMLS #279221 mm - 201.694.4677 - 201.694.4677 oo - 201.268.5757 - 201.268.5757 f -f 855.961.8793 - 855.961.8793 1717 Arcadian WayWay SuiteSuite 104 104 Arcadian Paramus, NJ NJ 07652 07652 Paramus, Envoy Mortgage, Ltd. NMLS #6666. All applications are subject to credit approval. Program terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Some products may not be available in all states. Other restrictions and limitations may apply. This is not a commitment to led.

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 63

HISTORY

David Alexander Wolf

Jews in Space 

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Hoffman was born November 2, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York, but considers Scarsdale, New York, to be his hometown. He graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1962, then received a Bachelor of Arts degree in astronomy (graduated summa cum laude) from Amherst College in 1966, a Master’s Degree in materials science from Rice University in 1988, and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Harvard University in 1971. Hoffman is an Eagle Scout. As of 2005 he is currently co-director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium and a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Hoffman made his fourth flight as an EVA crewmember on STS-61, December 2–13, 1993, on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. During this flight, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was captured, serviced, and restored to full capacity through a record five space walks by four astronauts, including Hoffman. While in space, during the holiday of Chanukah, he spun a dreidel to a live audience via satellite watching what’s known as Chanukah Live. David Alexander Wolf is an American astronaut, medical doctor, and electrical engineer. Wolf has been to space four times. Three of his spaceflights were short-duration Space Shuttle missions, the first of which was STS-58 in 1993, and his most recent spaceflight was STS-127 in 2009. Wolf also took part in a long-

Ilan Ramon

Gregory Errol Chamitoff

Gary Reisman

duration mission aboard the Russian space station Mir which lasted 128 days. He was brought to Mir aboard STS-86 in September 1997, and landed aboard STS-89 in January 1998. In total Wolf has logged more than 4,040 hours in space. He is also a veteran of seven spacewalks totaling 41hrs. 17 min. in both Russian and American spacesuits. David A. Wolf was born August 23, 1956 and graduated from North Central High School. Wolf then went on to earn a degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University. In 1982, he earned a medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. He subsequently trained as a flight surgeon with the United States Air Force. Wolf joined the staff of Johnson Space Center in 1983 and investigated the physiological effects of microgravity. With a number of shuttle flights and a four-month layover at the Russian space station Mir under his belt, Jewish astronaut David Wolf says that his first spacewalk was a religious experience. Other religious experiences he’s had in space? Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Chanuka, for which he brought a menorah that he couldn’t light due to fire hazards, and a dreidel. “I probably have the record dreidel spin,” he later said, “it went for about an hour and a half until I lost it. It showed up a few weeks later in an air filter. I figure it went about 25,000 miles.” Gregory Errol Chamitoff was born August 6, 1962 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to a Jewish family of Russian origin. Selected by NASA for the Astronaut Class of 1998, Chamitoff qualified for flight assignment as a Mission Specialist in 2000.

Since then, Chamitoff has worked in the Space Station Robotics branch, been the lead CAPCOM for ISS Expedition 9, acted as Crew Support Astronaut for ISS Expedition 6, and helped develop onboard procedures and displays for Space Station system operations. Chamitoff served on a long duration mission to the International Space Station. He launched as a Mission Specialist on board Space Shuttle mission STS-124. He was Flight Engineer 2 and Science Officer on Expedition 17. He returned home as a Mission Specialist on STS-126, completing a tour that lasted six months. He was assigned to Expedition 17 and flew to the International Space Station on STS-124 on May 31, 2008. He was in space 198 days, joining Expedition 18 after Expedition 17 left the station, and returned to Earth in November of 2008 on STS-126. Chamitoff served as a mission specialist on the STS-134 mission, which was the last flight of Endeavour. Dr Chamitoff is currently the Lawrence Hargrave Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is also Professor of Engineering Practice in Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. As a sign of his faith, he took mezuzot shaped like rockets on to the International Space Station and placed them on the door post near his bunk bed. Ilan Ramon (June 20, 1954 – February 1, 2003) was an Israeli fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and later the first Israeli astronaut. Ramon was the space shuttle payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of Columbia, in which he and six other crew members were killed in a re-

entry accident. At 48, he was the oldest member of the crew. Ramon is the only foreign recipient of the United States Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Ramon was born in Ramat Gan, Israel, to Tonya (1929-2003) and Eliezer Wolferman (1923-2006). He grew up in Beersheba. His father was from Germany and fled Nazi persecution in 1935. His mother and grandmother were from Poland and were Holocaust survivors, having been in Auschwitz. They immigrated to Israel in 1949. His first name, Ilan, means “tree” in Hebrew. Ilan changed his last name from Wolferman when he joined the IAF just as many other Israeli aviators did. Ramon graduated from high school in 1972. In 1987, he graduated with a B.Sc. degree in electronics and computer engineering from Tel Aviv University. In 1974, he graduated as a fighter pilot from the Israel Air Force (IAF) Flight School. In 1981 he was the youngest pilot taking part in Operation Opera, Israel’s strike against Iraq’s unfinished Osiraq nuclear reactor. After attending the Tel Aviv University, he served as a deputy squadron commander. In 1994, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and assigned as Head of the Department of Operational Requirement for Weapon Development and Acquisition. He stayed at this post until 1998. Ramon accumulated over 3,000 flight hours on the A-4, Mirage III-C, and F-4, and over 1,000 flight hours on the F-16. In 1997, Ramon was selected as a Payload Specialist. He was designated to train as prime for a space shuttle mission

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RABBI A. S. TEICHER

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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Mayor Welcomes First Meridian to Teaneck eaneck—Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin welcomed First Meridian Mortgage to town by participating in a ribbon cutting ceremony with Vice President Jason Berg at First Meridian’s grand opening celebration. An industry leader with over 20 years of experience, First Meridian celebrated the opening of its latest location with an open house event at the branch, located at 568 Cedar Lane. Local business people and members of the Teaneck community enjoyed refreshments and good company as they learned more about the new mortgage related resources available to them. “It was great to have the opportunity to introduce members of the Teaneck community to the local First Meridian team. We’re excited to be able to service the community in which we work, live and play,” Berg stated. As a community lender with over

a dozen locations, First Meridian prides itself on its operational strength and boutique level customer service. The ﬁrm also brings a wide and ever expanding range of mortgage products to the area. “I was excited to be at the grand opening to be able to welcome First Meridian Mortgage and its Vice President Jason Berg to Teaneck. Jason is obviously someone who cares tremendously about taking care of his customers and doing the right thing by our community. They will be a great addition to Cedar Lane businesses,” commented Hameeduddin. In addition to his work with home buyers, Berg also delivers closing cost concession strategies and new negotiating techniques for buyers and realtors, as well as effective merchandising strategies for sellers.

With over twenty years of experience, First Meridian Mortgage has consistently balanced exceptional customer service along with quick and effective results. They attribute these results to the convenience of in house underwriting services and strong lending platforms. As a relationship oriented mortgage bank, FMM strives to keep their clients educated throughout the loan application process by encouraging interaction between loan officers and clients. First Meridian Mortgage loan officers answer questions, set a budget, educate their clients, and help in constructing better and smarter decisions. FMM Specializes in: New Home Loans • FHA Loans • 203K Loans • Renovation Loans • Cash Out Refinance • Jumbo Mortgages • Fixed Rate Mortgages • Adjustable Rate Mortgages • Invest-

Jason Berg (l) with Marc Stein of Links Realty at opening

ment Property Loans • Home Equity Loans and Lines of Credit For more information about Jason Berg and his work with First Meridian Mortgage, please contact him at 201-343-6100 or jberg@fmm.com. To learn more about First Meridian Mortgage, please visit www. fmm.com.

Time To Get “Totally Organized!” By JLBC Staff ergen County—The idea hit two local women, June Aranoff and Rita Cutler, like a bolt of lightning as they talked one afternoon. June and Rita are Machetunim (Yiddish word for in-laws), and while discussing myriad subjects, including the harried and often overloaded schedules our children currently keep, the inability of young families to keep the home organized came under discussion. Both agreed that with today’s extremely busy schedules, families have very little time to get their homes/ofﬁces organized and under control. Since both women are extremely organized and can appreciate a clutter free environment, they decided to incorporate

their skills and open a business: Totally Organized. Their goal is to get you up and running. According to research studies in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, clutter can up your anxiety levels and raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol— which can result in decreased productivity. When clutter takes over the home, stress levels climb. June and Rita’s approach is to treat each client as an individual and offer free consultation. They talk with their clients to determine the most comfortable route to achieve a clutter-free space. Usually, they focus on one area of the home/ofﬁce where the client would like to start. They offer speciﬁc organizing suggestions and share a portfolio with a variety of organi-

zational tools and the many available options. Once a plan is established, June and Rita come to their clients home prepared to spend as much time as necessary to get the job done. They physically sort and organize their client’s papers, knick knacks, clothing and toys. A label maker enables June and Rita to identify and color-code the various bins, containers, drawers, etc. , that they bring in to organize a particular client. It is very important to emphasize to all clients that all work done in their house is kept conﬁdential. No one need ever know that Totally Organized was ever there, unless the client decides to share that information with others. You might never ﬁnd the perfect time to call for your free consultation. You just

Rita Cutler (l) and June Aranoff of Totally Organized

have to decide that now is the right time to get this done. Call Totally Organized at 201264-3514 or 845-304-8976 and let them take the stress out of your life. You may also email gabi1jba@gmail. com or rc2148@optonline.net . You’ll be glad you did!

LIVING IN ISRAEL

Living in the Rova: Pros and Cons By Gedaliah Borvick any, many people have fallen in love with the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, the “Rova.” Is it any wonder? Spirituality emanates from Har Habayit (the Temple Mount), the surrounding Judean hills and the remnants of thousands of years of Jewish history uncovered in practically every nook and cranny of the neighborhood. The Rova is a short walk to the Kotel for prayer services and moments of personal introspection and meditation, and one can ﬁnd Torah classes conducted in many languages and on practically every level from beginner to highly advanced. The excitement of living literally in the center of the world, just steps away from where the third Temple will hopefully be rebuilt speedily, in our days, cannot be surpassed. Having spent two years back in the early 1980s learning at Yeshivat Hakotel, I can attest to the very rich and colorful times I experienced living in the Rova. I have heard similar stories from clients

whose holiday vacations spent in the Rova were unforgettable and spiritually uplifting. The thrilling sights and activities combined with the eclectic and colorful personalities of the permanent residents create an atmosphere that truly captures the imagination of Jews from around the world. And so it comes as no surprise when clients mention to me their interest in purchasing an apartment in the Jewish Quarter. In fact, Jews have yearned to live in this area since time immemorial. The land on which the Jewish Quarter is located has been inhabited by Jews ever since King David established Jerusalem as his capital almost 3,000 years ago. After Israel’s 1948 War of Liberation, the Jewish residents were forced to evacuate their homes, and all of their synagogues and schools were destroyed by the Arab Legion. It took 19 years before the Rova was liberated in the miraculous Six-Day War, and our generation has been witness to its resettlement. With such an extraordinary past, exciting present and promising future, what are the issues that a potential apart-

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ment buyer should consider before buying in the Rova? Although pricing for most apartments (with the exception of the units blessed with picturesque views overlooking the Kotel Plaza) are in the same price range as units in communities such as Rechavia, one must consider that access on multiple fronts can be challenging. Shopping within the Rova is limited, and if you choose to shop outside of the Rova, you will have to haul your purchases to your apartment, which can be up to a 15-minute walk from the parking lots. In addition, during the height of the vacation seasons, such as Sukkos and Pesach, the streets of the Rova can be very congested, making it difﬁcult to get around. Other points to consider: The apartments tend to have narrow footprints, so the larger units are often on multiple levels, requiring residents to be comfortable trekking up and down the stairs many times a day. And the ﬂip side of having a diverse population is that the Rova lacks homogeneity, which some people desire in a community they call home. I have friends who live in the Rova

and wouldn’t trade their home for anything in the world, but most of my clients, upon further deliberation, end up buying outside the Rova—but spending many hours visiting and enjoying this extraordinary neighborhood. Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. You may contact him at gborvick@ gmail.com. November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 65

BOOK REVIEW

A Candle in the Heart: How Yiddishkeit’s Flame Kept a Child Alive By Bracha Schwartz

a lifetime. “My children claim that the survivor in me has always been trying to reach the child I once was,” Kallman says in her acknowledgment. What makes A Candle in the Heart more than a memoir to be appreciated only by Kallman’s family is the vivid description of the people, places and times that shaped her life. She paints a beautiful portrait of her birthplace, Piestany in Slovakia (borders changed back and forth for a while), with its town square

rom the vantage point of her life as the matriarch of a large and loving family, Judith Kallman returns to her wartorn childhood in the Holocaust, sharing her memories, and ﬁlling them in with her adult knowledge. She was only four years old when she saw her parents for the last time. By then, her privileged, comfortable life had already started its rapid descent, and the few memories she has of those early years have had to last

into the latrine. Her will to live gives her the strength to somehow climb out. And when she ﬁnally senses that the soldiers have gone, she runs back to the barn where her mother embraces her, ﬁlth and all, and gives her the strength to go on. Kallman, two brothers and a sister were at school when soldiers stormed into her home and took her parents and two other siblings away. The surviving siblings became fugitives, moved from Author Judith Alter Kallman

We lived like moles, burrowing deeper and deeper underground. Our ritual was conducted in whispers – without candles, without challah, without wine. Mama taught us to light the candles in our hearts. We might disguise who we were, but we never denied our faith. and the spa, famous for its rejuvenating mineral baths. Born into a wellto-do family, the youngest of six children, she was too young to understand the events she writes about but ﬁlls in with research to keep the narrative accurate. She recalls with total clarity the time her family was being hidden in a barn as their protectors had to entertain soldiers so they wouldn’t be suspected of hiding Jews. Desperate to relieve herself, Kallman goes out at night to the dark outhouse – where she falls

place to place by the “underground Working Group,” a collaboration of secular and religious Jews working together to save lives. Eventually winding up in a sanitarium, she recovers and is placed on a kindertransport to England where a foster family gives her stability and a somewhat normal life. Some Holocaust memoirs lose their interest after the protagonist is rescued. We are happy for the survivor’s escape, but the rest of the story doesn’t always make for good reading. Kallman’s life, and thus her narrative, continues to surprise and engage us. She leaves England for Israel, living ﬁrst in a Mizrachi children’s village (now AMIT) and then in Tel Aviv. There she meets the man who will become her husband and moves to New York. Again, her life takes an unexpected turn when she is left a young widow with small children. Kallman describes a life focused on family until she realizes her children are growing up and she misses companionship. A friend intro-

duces her to Irwin Kallman and she begins yet another new chapter. In a disturbing scene at the conclusion of the book, Kallman tells us about being in a Swiss hotel with her husband and meeting a woman who sought her out because she looked American. The woman implies that she knows of ominous tidings for America but no one will listen; she says she has had relationships with powerful men in the Middle East and will trade information for safe passage to America. Kallman takes the woman’s card and leaves to catch a plane to New York. The date is September 11, 2001. Kallman’s plane is forced to return to return to Switzerland. Back in New York, she tries to bring the woman’s plea to contacts who might help. Although the FBI meets with her, and she gives them the woman’s papers, she never learns anything more about the woman or her story. The episode, however, is a stark reminder that peace is never permanent and in every generation, someone is trying to kill us. Every Holocaust survivor has a miraculous story. Kallman tells hers with sadness, faith and a tranquility that comes from giving her children and grandchildren the love that was so brutally stolen from her childhood. The candle in her heart now burns in theirs.

Shabba t, Nov embe r 23 rd Elija h’ s J ou rney C ome s to Tea ne ck! On Shab bat, Nov ember 23 rd , Parshat Vay eshev will fall on Internat ional Survivors of Suicide Day. Congregatio ns Netivot Shalom an d Shaar e Tefillah will w elcom e Elijah's Journey, an organi zation fo cused o n suicide awar eness and prevention initi ativ es in the Jewish community. Efrem Epstein,

founder of Elijah's

Journey,

will speak/teach aft er

Shacharit at N etivot Shalom (~11:30 am) and at Seud ah Shlishit at Shaare Tefillah (~4:20pm). The

near-identi cal

presentatio ns

will

focus

emotion al

struggles

detailed in the Tanach and what they can teach us in responding to th e estimated 13,000,00 0 Americans who cont emplate suici de ev ery year. T he e nt ire T ean ec k c om mu n it y is i n vi te d to at ten d t he shiur im a t b ot h sh uls .

More information about Elijah’s Journey is available at: www.elijahsjourney.net

66 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

Yavneh Academy Commemorates Kristallnacht n November 11, in commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Yavneh Academy Middle School hosted Mr. Julius Behrend. Mr. Behrend, who currently resides in Spring Valley, NY spoke about his childhood memories of growing up during the Nazi era in Germany. Born and raised in the famous port city of Hamburg, Germany, Mr. Behrend grew up comfortable, his parents hav-

ing owned a business, and he enjoyed some luxuries that were unavailable to most people at that time. His paternal grandfather was the president of one of Europe’s most magniﬁcent synagogues, the orthodox synagogue of Hamburg. The synagogue sat amidst a park in the residential sec-



CONTINUED ON P. 80

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SPORTS

Bruriah Lightning Oﬀ to a Bright Start By Sara Weissman ruriah’s basketball A Team kicked off its season with a win against Maayanot at home! The game was action packed from the second the players stepped onto the court. The team was energized, excited, and united as they passed, dribbled, and ran the ﬂoor. After Nikki Bick (jr.) scored a layup off the opening tip, it was clear that the team was prepared for a successful evening. Among the highlights, Michal Hyman (jr.) sprinted the length of the court for an open layup; Ally Orgel, Dani Berlin, and Julia Landau (sophs.) all scored; and Tovah Weiskopf made

her freshman debut. Penina Abramov (sr.) let nothing getting in her way as she led the team on defense. Bruriah received solid defense from Jennifer Gardner (sr.) and Tali Becker (fr.), as well. Led by Susan Rifkin, an enthusiastic, devoted, and optimistic coach, Bruriah’s basketball A Team is happy to have won its season opener. Comments from the spectators include “They play well together and are in sync.” The team’s hard work and positive spirit are palpable on and off the court! Join the fun and watch Bruriah in action on November 21 at Ramaz and November 24 v. Central at home. Go Lighting!

Ma’ayanot Varsity Volleyball Off to a Strong Start By Pammy Brenner uesday, October 29th - Ma’ayanot’s varsity volleyball team kicked off the season with a win against Ramaz. Although Ramaz won the first set, Ma’ayanot came back and secured the victory by winning the next three sets. The Rapids were off to a great season! Sunday, November 3rd - The team played their second game against Kushner. The Rapids won the first set 25-6, and the next two sets were quickly won as well. A highlight of the game included junior Alex Fuch’s 15 consecutive serves. Tuesday, November 5th - Ma’ayanot’s volleyball team was put to the test in

Teaneck TBO 8U Closes Out Strong Fall Run 

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

son was also the most exciting. After a high scoring game 1 this was a true pitchers duel. Ruditzky, Kravetz and Markovitz combined on pitching a one hitter with Schwartz calling a great game at catcher. Sheinfeld’s single drove in the first run of the game after singles by Ruditzky and Green. With the score tied at one going into the bottom of the sixth Markovitz led off with a walk. Ruditzky double ended the game with a 2-1 walk-off in dramatic fashion to bring the teams record to 2-0. Game 3 quickly brought the team back to earth as Teaneck played a club team, the NJ Stampede. Teaneck jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with Sheinfeld hitting a bases loaded single in the first. Jared Kinches made a nice outfield catch to hold the

their third game against Frisch. The first set was close, but the Rapids lost 21-25. The second set was even closer, but the Rapids lost again by a score of 25-23. Frisch only needed to win one more set to take the game. The excitement grew as the Rapids rallied from behind to win both the third and fourth sets, 25-20 and 25-17 respectively, which set up the need for a tense tie-breaker set. Coming off of two straight set wins, the Rapid’s morale was high and they rode that momentum to a decisive 21-9 win in the final set. After a slow start, Ma’ayanot rallied to win the game against Frisch! The Rapids’ gaming record is now 3-0. Go Rapids! stampede scoreless after one. The stampede then put on a hitting display with multiple long shots to the fence for a 15-4 pounding. Although the team lost they took the game as a great learning experience of how solid top to bottom aggressive hitting as a key to growing as players and winning games. The team hit the cages. Game 4 Teaneck put runs on the board in every inning highlighted with a triple by Green and singles by Wolin, Vogel, Grinfeld and Markovitz. Jacob Mauskopf made a great play in center throwing out a runner at first base on a grounder up the middle. With the game tied at 7 after six the Clarkstown Stars called the game as a tie to bring the record to 2-1-1. Game 5 against upper saddle river was a rout. Ruditzky pitched a perfect game with 6 strikeouts to the first 6 batters and hit a double and a home-run. Sheinfeld had 3 hits, Green and Ruditzky 2 hits, and Mauskopf, Schwartz, Kravetz, Markovitz and Wolin each had base hits. Next up were the NJ Red Sox. After a pep talk by the coach about not losing to a team called the Red Sox, 3 Teaneck pitchers Ruditzky, Wolin and Marko-

Varsity Basketball Suﬀers Overtime Defeat by Ezra Teichman (‘14) n Tuesday night, the Lions faced the Magen David Warriors. The Lions played an excellent ﬁrst half, especially on the defensive end, and went into the half up by one. The Lions could not buy a bucket in the third quarter and quickly fell behind. By the time the fourth quarter came around the Lions found themselves down by ten points. But thanks to

some big shot making by Willy Kluger (10 points) and Akiva (10 ponts) Gottlieb the Lions were able to cut the lead to three. With forty seconds left, Eli Lipner (17 points) was fouled on a three pointer and hit all three free throws to tie the game. After a defensive stop the game went into overtime. In overtime, the Lions did not execute from the line and could not stop Magen David on the other end. The ﬁnal score was 58-53 in favor of MDY.

MTA JV Basketball Hot Start Continues With Win Over Westchester By Coach Yosef Weinberger he JV Lions continued their hot start with another victory over Westchester. MTA was in control throughout the game and won by a ﬁnal score of 50-33. They were propelled once again by stel-

lar team defense and unselﬁsh play on offense. Adam Motovich led the way in scoring with 10 points and Ben Miller provided a spark with his outside shooting. The Lions look to continue their success in their next game against Heschel.

TABC JV Hockey By Jonah Ganchrow he JV hockey TABC Storm traveled to the Lion’s Den in Washington Heights to play the MTA Lions. The Storm started off strong with early and efficient goals in the first period. By the time the period was over it was 7-0 in favor of the Storm with Daniel Levy (2, 3), Yair Knoller (5, 6), Zach Rothenberg (2), Jonah Ganchrow (2) and Leo Dresdner (1) scored his first. With this huge early lead, Coach Norm

Blumenthal gave his starters a rest. But Leo Dresdner (2) scored another beauty short-handed and Daniel Levy (4) netted his third of the game, to make it 9-0. With such a comfortable lead, Coach Norm did not place another starter on the court for the whole third period. The game ended with a ﬁnal score of 9-0. The goal-tending was outstanding thanks to Shua Beilin, Donny Rozenberg and Solly Weiser who all contributed for a combined shutout.

vitz threw a shutout. Teaneck took the lead for good in the fifth off of hits by Kravetz, Vogel, Mauskopf and Kinches leading to a 6-0 Teaneck win and a 4-1-1 record. Game 7 was against a yet to win Paramus team who is always the toughest nemesis of Teaneck travel. This year proved no different as Paramus pitchers were pumped up and held Teaneck to 2 runs through 4 innings. Teaneck pitchers were never comfortable on the mound and gave up a number of runs in the late innings. After 2 hits by Kravetz and a home-run by Markovitz Teaneck took a 10-9 lead to the bottom of the sixth. Teaneck couldn’t get the final out and Paramus scored the winning run on an infield hit. The final game of the regular season was a rematch vs. the Woodcliff Lake Lakers and once again Teaneck put runs on the board winning 15-4 after 4 innings. Sheinfeld and Kravetz had multi hit games and Wolin had another good game on the mound. Teaneck ended the regular season at 5-2-1 and were in second place heading into the playoffs. After an odd ruling by the league that provided

the Red Sox with a forfeit win on a game not played. Teaneck was dropped to 3rd place and had to travel for their playoff game and shot at the championship. In a high scoring game Teaneck took an 8-6 lead behind multi hit games by Ruditzky, Green and Kravetz. One tough inning saw Teaneck give up the lead for good. Final score was 18-13. Players fought hard until the ﬁnal out just as they had all season. Special thanks to head coach David Ruditzky who gave lots of his time in coaching and mentoring the kids, running practices and scheduling games. Additional thanks to the asst coaches and parents including Norm Blumenthal, Yudy Sheinfeld, Phil Green, Allan Schwartz, Eric Mauskopf and Avi Vogel. The players, parents and coaches were thrilled with the progress the team made throughout the season. Players had a great time at practices and games and are thankful to the fans that showed up to the games throughout the season to support the team. After the ﬁnal out the players were most excited to get a cup of hot chocolate as it was freezing out there!

Send us your sports news, events, and photos! Send to editor@jewishlinkbc.com 201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 67

SPORTS

Frisch Basketball Report By JLBC Sports Staff n November 6th, the Kushner JV Cobras came to Frisch ready to take on the JV Cougars after the Cobras’ impressive performance in a tough loss to TABC. The Cougars jumped out to a 13-2 lead on the back of So. F. Andrew Langer’s driving and dishing and five points from So. G Mayer Scharlat and four more from So. PG Noah Schechter. So. F Isaac Weinstock held down the boards along with So. C Zach Cohen, who had four blocks in the quarter to go with his two points. The Cobras cut the lead to 13-8 at one point, while Frisch subbed frequently. Ultimately, although the tough Cobras would not quit in the face of waves of pressure, the Cougars overpowered the squad from Livingston. The half ended with Frisch enjoying a 35-12 lead. The second half saw more of the same, as Frisch used the whole roster to finally vanquish Kushner 67-27. Scharlat lead the Cougars with 12 points, Fr. G Yisroel Solomon added nine, and Schechter and So. F. Scott Levine (the “Monsey Microwave”) both tallied six. Cohen finished with five blocks and Weinstock added three points to go with his five boards. Sophomores F/C Gideon Benchabbat and Captain G Jon Siedel chipped in with tough defense and strong rebounding to round out the win. The Frisch JV (2-0) takes on Ramaz in

the Basement on November 20, 2013 at 7 p.m., part of a JV/ Varsity doubleheader. November 9, 2013, Motzei Shabbat— The Frisch Cougar Varsity rolled into Manhattan to take on the MTA Lions in a battle between league rivals. Frisch jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but the Lions scratched back with the help of Jr. G Willie Kluger’s three-ball to lead 9-7 at the end of the first quarter. Sr. G Jacob Furer’s four points kept the Cougars close. The second quarter brought more scoring as the teams loosened up. Jr. F Benni Tuchman (four points), Sr. G/F Justin Hod (four points) and Sr. G Eli Scharlat (one three-ball) held sway for Frisch, but MTA, led by 10 points from Sr. C Eli Lipner, lead 30-21 at the half. Frisch came out to start the second half with a full court press that rattled the Lions, and the Cougars began to crawl back into the game. At the end of three quarters, Frisch had made progress and cut the lead to 38-32. With their star Lipner injured after landing hard on his arm in the third quarter, MTA could not hold off the Frisch waves of pressure in the last stanza. Frisch closed out the game on a 10-0 run, lead in the quarter by Hod’s seven points and another four from Tuchman, for a final score of 47-40. Hod lead all scorers with 14, followed by Tuchman with 12, Furer with eight, big men Sr. C Jake Reichel and Sr. C Evan Cohen with five each, and Scharlat’s three.

Frisch Flag Football League By Daniel Raykher ith 175 boys participating, IFL is the biggest club in Frisch. IFL is the recreational ﬂag football league in Frisch. The commissioner is Rabbi Schachter and the co-commissioner is Rabbi Sher. There are 21 teams made up of students with a senior captain, and a 22nd team,

the “Running Rebs”, the rabbi team. IFL is played on Fridays and Sundays, all year round. IFL is a great way to make friends, bond with students in other grades, get some exercise and most importantly have fun! Daniel Raykher, is a senior at Frisch and Four year veteran of Frisch IFL and captain of this year’s West All Stars.

Frisch Hockey Hits the Ground Running By Jacob Bach he Frisch Cougars had just come off a big 2-1 win vs. MTA when they had to bring their talents to the Five Towns to take on Rambam. The small gym played to their disadvantage, but the Cougars still managed to squeak out a 5-4 win. Odi Haramati led the team with a hat

trick, while clutch goals came from Jason Levine and Jono Wietschner. The penalty kill has remained perfect this year as well as a strong power play which has helped the team tremendously. Again Frisch waited until the third period to turn on the jets and take over the game. Frisch will next take on Kushner and look to extend its perfect record to 4-0.

The Basketball Season at Ma’ayanot has Officially Begun By Shana Adler fter a disappointing end to the season last year, when the JV basketball team lost in the first round of the playoffs, the girls were excited to return to the court united and stronger than ever. Under the amazing guidance of coaches Keni Ashby and Atara Polinsky, the team practiced about four hours a week, beginning two months prior to their first game. Their coaches provided this team of freshmen and sophomores with the skills and inspiration to allow them to prosper in the season to come. All the hard work and effort led to the team’s victory against the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn on Sunday 11/10/13. The game opened with amazing shots from Racheli Zirman, Alissa Felder

and Gabi Lerner. Blocks, steals and great plays allowed for an outstanding game. At half time, the Ma’ayanot Rapids had an eight point lead over Flatbush. After the half, both teams were able to score many points, but the Rapids played tough defense and amazing offense to ultimately take the game. Ma’ayanot finished on top with a final score of 3426. This basketball team has the potential to win many more games this season, and will continue to work hard in order to do so. The Ma’ayanot Rapids have yet to win a basketball championship, and this team of great players, led by their amazing coaches, are hoping to make Ma’ayanot history and be the first team to bring that championship basketball banner home to Ma’ayanot.

TABC JV Storm beats the Thunder he JV Storm Basketball team took on the strong JEC Thunder in front of a rocking house in Elizabeth on Wednesday night. The Thunder came out swinging with a 6-0 lead on two three-pointers before the fans were in their seats. The Storm players kept their cool and climbed out to 13-10 lead after the ﬁrst quarter led by Shlomo Kroopnick’s (’16) inspired effort in his ﬁrst career start and superb all-around play from Tai Gerszberg (’16). After some even play in the second, the Storm carried a slim three point lead at the half. TABC stretched the lead in the

third to seven resulting from solid team defense. The lead was stretched to 10 early in the fourth and was held steady despite a late push from the home Thunder to a final score of 43-33. Noah Greenblatt (’17) showed tremendous poise on defense late in the game, Gavi Smith (’16) ran the show smoothly, Aaron Heideman (’16) chipped in with 10 points and solid defense, Yehoshua Naor (’16) played hard-nosed two way basketball laying in 12 points, grabbing 16 boards (nine offensive) and Tai Gerszberg filled in the stat sheet with eight points, seven assists, five steals and five rebounds.

TABC Varsity Storm By Tzvi Rotblat n Wednesday night, November 6, the TABC Storm took on the RTMA Thunder. After a close start the TABC Storm pulled away and led by 17 at halftime. That lead was extended to 35 by the game’s end with the ﬁnal score of 66-35. TABC was led by Solomon Shulman with 17 points, Alex

Frisch Varsity Girls Volleyball By Sydney Silverstein he Frisch Varsity volleyball team is a family. Every Tuesday and Wednesday night it meets in the gym for weekly practices. While its members take practices very seriously, they do manage to have loads of fun. For every birthday the coach, Adina, bakes delicious brownies or cookies to celebrate. It is never annoying or frustrating to

68 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

attend practice; even when the players have a lot of work due or tests the next day. Volleyball is always one of the players’ priorities. This season, so far, the team has had two victories over Kushner and one victory over Bruriah. It has one loss against Maayonot,. This is just the beginning of an amazing season and the team’s future is looking bright.

Hirt with 15 points, and Yehoshua Zirmman with eight points, 12 rebounds, and ﬁve blocked shots. Moshe Brum, Dan Poleyeff also played a key role, as well as Noah Hiller, Joey Spierer and Tzvi Rotblat.

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 69

HISTORY

Jews in Space 

CONTINUED FROM P. 64

with a payload that included a multispectral camera for recording desertaerosol (dust). In July 1998, he reported for training at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, where he trained until 2003.

He flew aboard STS-107, logging 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space. Although considered a secular Jew, Ramon reportedly sought to follow Jewish observances while in orbit. In an interview he said, “I feel I am representing all Jews and all Israelis.” He was the first spaceflight participant to request kosher food. He reportedly sought advice from a Chabad Lubavitch rabbi, Zvi Konikov,

about how to observe the Jewish Sabbath in space, as the period between sunrises in orbit is approximately 90 minutes. This was referenced by the words “Jerusalem we have a problem” in Rabbi Konikov’s speech at the Kennedy Space Center Memorial for Columbia on February 7, 2003. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly when Space Shuttle Columbia was

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destroyed and its crew perished during re-entry. Aboard STS-107, Ramon carried a pencil sketch, “Moon Landscape”, drawn by 16-year-old Petr Ginz, who died in Auschwitz. Ramon also took with him a microﬁche copy of the Torah given to him by Israeli president Moshe Katsav and a miniature Torah scroll (from the Holocaust) that was given him by Prof. Yehoyachin Yosef, a Bergen-Belsen survivor. Ramon asked the 1939 Club, a Holocaust survivor organization in Los Angeles, for a symbol of the Holocaust to take into outer space with him. A barbed wire mezuzah by the San Francisco artist Aimee Golant was selected. Ramon also took with him a dollar of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Gary Reisman was born October 2, 1968, in Parsippany, N.J. He earned a B.Sc. in economics at Wharton and in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991; a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cal Tech, in 1992 and 1997, respectively. After that he worked at TRW as a guidance, navigation and control engineer, where he helped design unmanned spacecraft for NASA. He was the ﬁrst Jewish astronauat to man the International Space Station, where he spend many months doing experiments, spacewalks to install robotic equipment and training new replacements. On board was a memento he had brought with him from Ilan Ramon’s widow.

Send us your news, events and photos! Send to editor@jewishlinkbc.com

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An Evening of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Defianceâ&#x20AC;? and Celebration: Bielski Partisans Honored By Steve Fox ew Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Jewish Partisan Education Foundation (JPEF) held their annual dinner at New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gotham Hall and honored the Bielski family and all of the surviving Bielski Partisans, who famously formed the largest Jewish Resistance army in Russia during the Holocaust. It was an evening that celebrated the triumph of Jewish determination and the heroic accomplishments of the Bielski Partisans, led by brothers Tuvia, Asael and Zus who formed an underground army and built an encampment in the forest, in the process saving over 1100 Jews. Younger brother Aron, who was only 10 at the time and is the lone surviving brother, as well as a large number of Bielski children and grandchildren were in attendance at the dinner. Many cousins came to honor their grandfather Aaron Bell (nee Bielski). Aronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter, Susan Abrams lives in Teaneck. Former Teaneck residents Aliza Abrams and her brother David, were there, too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always know about our grandfather and what he went through because when we were younger it was very hard for him to speak about his experiences. As we got older, he began to share his story, commented Aliza. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until the books and the movie DeďŹ ance (which portrayed the Bielski Brigade) came out, when we realized how many people were saved by our

grandfatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family.â&#x20AC;? Aliza brought Aron to Yeshiva University to speak to the students of YU and Stern last year to share his experiences. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My grandfather taught me the importance of identifying as a Jew and so I always wear a yarmulke at work, since they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t survive for us not to be proud of our Judaism,â&#x20AC;? added David. JPEF premiered The Legacy of the Bielski Brigade at the dinner. The ďŹ lm is narrated by actor Liev Schrieber, who portrayed Zus Bielski in the feature ďŹ lm DeďŹ ance and is an active supporter of JPEF. After the ďŹ lm, each of the 17 Bielski Partisans in attendance was presented with a special commemorative medal designed especially for the occasion by the JPEFâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;they were placed around the recipientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; necks by one of their children or grandchildren. It was an emotional and joyous way to recognize the heroism of these brave ďŹ ghters and to convey the lesson to all about Jewish determination and Jewish survival. Helen and Sheldon Zelig of Englewood and their sons Aaron and Joshua also attended to honor Helenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, Lisa Kushner Reibel, who could not attend. Lisa and her sister Rae, brother Chanon and father Nachum, were part of a group of 230 Jews who escaped the notorious Novogrudek Ghetto by digging a long tunnel over a period of months and ďŹ&#x201A;eeing into the forest. Chanon was killed soon afterward. The Bielskis heard about this group and res-

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cued them by inviting them to join their encampment, which resembled a small village. In reality, the majority of the people in the Bielski camp were not the ďŹ ghters but received refuge and protection from the Bielskis. A few years ago, JPEF produced a ďŹ lm called A Partisan Returns, showing the Kushners, their children and grandchildren returning to Novogrudek and to the site of the Bielski encampment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was overcome with tremendous emotion when I looked around the room and realized that most of the 400 people at the dinner would not be sitting here without the heroism of the Beilski brothers,â&#x20AC;? observed Helen Zelig. Helenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cousin ____ who is Rae Kushnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter, and her daughter Pamela Hirt and her husband Ari, of BergenďŹ eld also attended the dinner. Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz saluted the courage of the Partisans and stressed the importance of standing up for your people and showing support for Israel, especially on college campuses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bielskis had courage thrust upon them unwillingly. They had no choice and they knew it,â&#x20AC;? he exclaimed. Quoting Elie Weisel, Dershowitz proclaimed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Always believe the threats of your enemies more than the promises of your friends.â&#x20AC;? He added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bielskis built a cityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Jerusalemâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; in the forest because they had to depend only on themselves or die. Every young

person who understands the story of the Partisans would be proudâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but they have to know about it.â&#x20AC;? That is the mission of the Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation which provides more than 7200 educators worldwide with JPEFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innovative curriculum and ďŹ lms and sponsors special events inspiring young people to stand up against discrimination and antisemitism by retelling the story of the Jewish Partisans. It is estimated that from the 1,100 Jews rescued by the Bielskiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there are now over 10,000 Jewish children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren leading one to wonder how many more Jews would have come from the 6 million who were murdered. They are the real legacy of the Bielski brothers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it is the responsibility of every young person to speak to a survivor because you are the last generation to know survivors. It will change your life,â&#x20AC;? added David Abrams. Like the multitude of Bielski Partisan children and grandchildren in attendance, he speaks from ďŹ rst- hand experience. For more information about the JPEF go to www.Jewishpartisans.org. Steve Fox is president of Fox Marketing & Video Productions in Teaneck and co-chair of the Teaneck Holocaust Commemoration Committee as well as the Bergen County Holocaust Memorial Committee. He can be reached at foxy555@aol.com. November 14, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 11 Kislev 5774 71

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Berenbaum On Kristallancht: Speech to Survivors Offers New Persepctives By Jeanette Friedman enderson, NV—More than 500 child survivors of the Holocaust, survivor descendants and guests gathered in a ballroom in the Nevada desert to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. They listened raptly as Holocaust scholar and JLBC contributor, Dr. Michael Berenbaum addressed a joint convention of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors, Second Generation and their Descendants and the group, Generations of the Shoah International. In offering perspectives on Kristallnacht that are often overlooked, Berenbaum chose a style he usually reserves for the classroom, engaging his audience by making them think. At one point, he told them, “To understand the Holocaust, you need to understand three words: definition, expropriation and concentration.” Definitions were used to separate the Jews from the mainstream, expropriation was a form of disemancipation, and concentration— it was pretty clear what he meant by that. He addressed many issues and offered many historical facts, but the major theme was that the night of November 9-10, 1938 was about much more than broken glass and history. It was really about the synagogues, their role in the Jewish community, and the purpose behind their destruction. Berenbaum began by examining the word Kristall—nacht. “You know that language is deceptive and many of you were deceived by the language of the Shoah. You know what resettlement to the East meant. It did not mean resettlement to the East. You also understood the various ways in which people spoke when they said one thing and meant another. “In Germany, over the last 30 years, the label of that night is more commonly referred to as the Reichspogrom of November 1938. Crystal is beautiful, Crystal is lovely, Crystal has a certain sound to it and a certain delicacy to it and Reichspogrom tells a much deeper truth.” When most American Jews think about Kristallnacht, they think about the broken storefronts, 7,000 of them, that were shattered that night—and the One billion Reichsmarks they had to pay, and the insurance they were forbidden to collect. We think about the burning of the synagogues almost as an afterthought. Berenbaum’s talk showed how the burning of the synagogues of Germany was really what the destruction of that night was about. He began by describing a nine-hour conversation with a man in Milwaukee, as they looked at a collection of pictures of synagogues in Germany before the war. This man convinced Berenbaum that to understand the real meaning of Kristallnacht you had to understand the role of the synagogue in German national life. “Then you can begin to understand the elements reflected in the burning of the synagogues. For a community of 525,000 Jews, there were 2,200 synagogues. Think about that. I come from

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Los Angeles which has 600,000 Jews, and may not have 200 synagogues. So the 525,000 Jews in Germany had two thousand two hundred synagogues and those synagogues became part of the public expression of the role of Jews in German society. “They were often built in triangulation with the cathedral and the Catholic church, to indicate that Germany was a pluralistic, multi-religious community. The synagogues that were built were an expression of the great progress that the Jews had made within Germany—they had built buildings of signiﬁcance.” In order to contrast that with America, Berenbaum drew distinctions of what happened when the Jews arrived in New Amsterdam in the 15th century, and Peter Stuyvesant forbade the building of synagogues. “It took a very long time before Jews were able to have an expression of Jewish presence in the community by building houses of worship, to become part of the fabric of the community.” He followed by describing how one of the synagogues in Cincinnati was designed to integrate into the community and reﬂect the Jewish presence there. “What Germany was doing by destroying the synagogues showed, in the most essential, physical way imaginable,

because the best way to survive, the best way to leave, was if you had a mobile profession. “What is a mobile profession? Plumbers, electricians, and agriculture are mobile professions. Even nursing is a mobile profession. Doctors and lawyers are not. Doctors are not because the licensing requirements are enormously severe…. In the synagogues, they were training a generation to live life elsewhere, while they were trying to find ways to get out of Germany. One of the deepest problems is not that the Jews didn’t want to leave. There was nowhere for Jews to go that was sufficient to accept the numbers that had to leave.” Berenbaum continued, “The synagogue was also a place to teach the tradition to people who didn’t know what it really was to be Jewish. Martin Buber stayed until 1938, until almost the very end, because he had founded an institute for adult Jewish studies to try to give people inner resources with which to face extreme degradation and humiliation. He tried to give them an attitude to wear the Jewish star with pride instead of the disdain with which the Nazis were forcing them to wear it. Now think of our children, and the women and people of beauty and affluence who walk around with a little Jewish star

When the Germans attacked the synagogue, they were depriving Jews of anything roughly resembling a public life or a communal life. They were being Ripped out of the presence of German society. how much they were willing to do— what price they were willing to pay— to tear the Jewish community out of the fabric of life in Germany. Think of that as you begin to think about what happened on Kristallnacht, on the night of the Reichspogrom of 1938.” Berenbaum then established a principle: Just because Jews were powerless, that did not mean they were passive. He repeated it twice and said. “Look around here at all the child survivors of the Holocaust, and you will see that the reason that almost all of them survived is because despite the limited power they had or their parents had, their parents were absolutely anything but passive. They tried any way, manner or form to save their children, in order to give them the possibility of life. That is a form of activism that you have to understand.” He then applied that principle to the role of synagogues in the German-Jewish community. “What is a synagogue? A synagogue on Friday night, on Shabbat, became a place in which you had services. On Monday it became a theatre, on Tuesday it became a symphony hall and on Wednesday it became an opera house. On Monday morning it became the place for the distribution of welfare. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, they were teaching Jews mobile professions

around their necks, and what they feel in America and in the world today when they wear it with pride.” Berenbaum then offered two profound examples of how prayer was used to teach the Jews of Germany how to respond to the lives they were then living. “Rabbi Leo Baeck composed a prayer for Yom Kippur 1935, which he read in German, but only someone who knew the original text would understand the changes. It was Aleynu, and to the phrase, ‘We bow our heads and bend our knees before the King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed be He,’ he added the words, ‘But we stand erect before man.’ It was his way of telling the community on this most scared night that part of being a Jew is to stand against the idolatry they were experiencing all around them.” Another example came from Rabbi Joachim Prince, who was one of the last rabbis in Berlin. (Prince, who survived, was a Bergen county resident, and was the speaker who preceded the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the podium on The Mall in DC, when King made his “I Have A Dream” speech.) In 1937, Prince was prohibited from preaching, and the Gestapo monitored the synagogue. He asked the Gestapo agent if he could lead his congregation in prayer, and since that was not yet prohibited, he was given permission to proceed.

“He read a line in the Amida, in Shmoneh Esrei, one that traditional Jews read at least three times a day—and there are people here who have prayed it thousands of times but never paid real attention to it. He had his congregation read it again and again in Hebrew, not a language the Gestapo understood: ‘Ve chol ha choshvim olay roah, meheyra ofer atzosam ve kalkel maschshevotam—and all who plan evil against me, quickly annul their counsel and frustrate their intention.’ In other words, let God confuse our oppressors. “The congregation read it, and they read it again, and they read it again and again because it was sinking into them as they understood what it translated into in Germany, what it really meant. The synagogue was trying to be responsible.” More than 1,000 German synagogues were burned that night, as bystanders brought children to watch the flames and fire departments were prohibited from extinguishing the flames unless they were spreading to nearby properties. “By attacking the synagogue,” said Berenbaum, “they were attacking the heart and soul of the Jewish community and the only institution that responded to the catastrophe. The synagogues responded to the catastrophe by transformation. When the Germans attacked the synagogue, they were depriving Jews of anything roughly resembling a public life or a communal life. They were being ripped out of the presence of German society.” He then directed his remarks to kindertransportees in the audience and noted that after Kristallnacht, their parents took an enormous risk by placing them—and he used the title of a movie about them to describe it—into the arms of strangers. “They did it because they loved you so much they wanted you to survive. No parent under normal circumstances would give their child to an unknown person to raise him unless they understood desperation.” His conclusion was to the point: “Tonight we remember with pride the role of the synagogue and its prominence in German society. We remember the cruelty that was inflicted on this night 75 years ago, and we remember the bystanders who watched the synagogues burn and who brought their kids to watch the synagogues burn. We remember that there were rooms where even the most scared could not be left alone and had to be desecrated and destroyed. We remember the outrage of the world that did not translate into doing something serious about the situation. We remember the courage of the Jews who understood they had to get out and those who got out—and the despair of the Jews who knew they had to get out and had nowhere to go. “And we remember that the tragic Reichspogrom of November 1938, Kristallnacht, was the tragic end of the beginning and the beginning of the end.”

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KRISTALLNACHT

Kristallnacht Commemoration at Teaneck High School eaneck—Teaneck High School’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center will host a Kristallnacht Commemoration to mark the 75th Anniversary of the “Night of Broken Glass” which took place on November 9 & 10 in 1938. The pogrom took place throughout Germany and within the occupied areas of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Instigated by Nazi ofﬁcials but publicized as “outraged public reaction” to the murder

Boy Avenger By Michael Berenbaum began reading Jonathan Kirsch’s The Short Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, A Nazi Diplomat and a Murder in Paris (Liveright Publishing Co., 2013,) with considerable skepticism. As Kirsch notes, Grynszpan, the 17-year-old assassin of Ernst vom Rath— the Third Secretary in the German Embassy in Paris, whose death was used by the Nazi as an excuse to launch the November 1938 pogrom euphemistically known as Kristallnacht—might seem merely a footnote to history. How interesting could the life of a 17-year-old high school dropout be? What story could Kirsch tell? But it took only a few pages for my skepticism to turn to admiration, as Kirsch tells a powerful story with the skill of a novelist and the precision of a historian. His discoveries are many; here and there I might disagree with his interpretation of some events or his condensation of evolving German policies, but these are scholarly quibbles and do not affect the integrity of the work. Grynszpan was the son of Zindel and Rivka, Polish Jews living in Germany who were expelled in October 1938 and forced to survive in no man’s land. Unable to remain in Germany, their home for years, they were not readmitted to their native Poland and lived in Zbanzyn, betwixt and between. Herschel’s sister wrote a postcard to her brother brieﬂy describing their condition and the circumstances afﬂicting some 12,000 Jews who had been expelled, and that propelled Herschel to

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tional Yachad associate director. “This is something beyond incredible.” He also noted, “Yachad will continue adding new programs and services that additionally educate the community at large, championing the inclusion of those with special needs within the broad Jewish community.” Yachad offers two opportunities for individuals with special needs to experience the Jewish homeland. Yachad Birthright— in conjunction with Israel Free Spirit, the OU’s Taglit-Birthright Israel program—is a free 10-day Israel experience tailored for individuals with special needs to accommo-

of Ernst Vom Rath, a German Embassy ofﬁcial stationed in Paris, by a Jewish teenager, Herschel Grynszpan, the night resulted in the shattering of tens of thousands of Jewish homes, businesses and tombstones. It heralded the beginning of the end for European Jewry. The program at Teaneck High School will feature Miriam Hilsenrath of Highland Park, great-grandmother

and survivor of the horriﬁc Auschwitz death camp. Accompanying her will be her daughter, Rochelle Goldschmiedt of Bergenﬁeld, herself a grandmother, who described her recent tribute to her mother’s courage and fortitude by participating in the NYC Marathon and Triathalon. She will explain how her mother’s strength served as her inspiration and how her own children were inspired as well.

Goldie Minkowitz, Math instructor at THS, has arranged for selected Social Studies classes and the Israel Club to participate in the program. Interested community members should contact Goldie Minkowitz at gomink@aol.com or Pearl Markovitz at pearlmarkovitz@ gmail.com. Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 9:45 a.m. at the Teaneck High School Student Center 3rd Floor.

act. He bought a gun, entered the Paris embassy and shot a Third Secretary. I knew Herschel’s father had survived the Shoah and that he took the stand at the Eichmann trial in 1961, one of the few survivors whose testimony Hannah Arendt treated with a measure of sympathy. I also remembered that Herschel Grynszpan was not the first Jew to take a German’s life. Two years earlier, in 1936, David Frankfurter, a Jewish medicalschool student in Switzerland, assassinated Wilhelm Gustloff, a Nazi functionary, but that took place while Germany was hosting the winter Olympics and instructions had gone out to put the best face forward: antisemitism was toned down; graffiti was covered over; racial posters were removed and instructions had been given to be kind to tourists and give them the impression that the reports overseas about Nazi Germany were exaggerated, mere anti-German propaganda. As a result, no collective retaliation was meted out to the Jewish community. Grynszpan attacked vom Rath on Nov. 7, and the timing was unfortunate. Nov. 9 was a sacred date on the Nazi calendar, the anniversary of the failed putsch attempt in 1923 that landed Hitler in jail but was regarded by the “old fighters,” the early Nazis supporters, as the launching pad for a movement. Hitler and his most ardent supporters had gathered in Munich for the celebration, and they exploited the opportunity for widespread violence against the Jews—more than a thousand synagogues were burned, 7,000 businesses were looted and ransacked, and 30,000 men aged 16-60 were arrested and sent to the newly enlarged concentration camps of Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen, which for the

first time had a majority Jewish population. The events of November 9th-11th in Germany, which by then also included Austria, were as historians are apt to characterize it, “the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end.” Like an artist painting a canvas, Kirsch is a master of context. He captures the tensions within the Grynszpan household in Germany, where they had lived since 1911, their efforts to eke out a meager living, their disappointment at Herschel’s lack of direction and their brave but also necessary decision to send their youngest child away from Nazi Germany. Kirsch also portrays the extended Grynszpan family, Herschel’s grandmother, who feels abandoned by her sons who had left her behind in Poland, and each of Herschel’s uncles and aunts, who figure prominently in his escape first into Belgium and then to France, and his new life in Paris. Kirsch understands the family dynamics, the rivalry among brothers, the tensions among the sisters-in-law and the burdens placed on these relationships by the arrival of their troublesome nephew. He is able to trace Herschel’s sojourn in Belgium, his illegal crossing into France and his arrival in Paris, where he lived in constant danger of being discovered by the police. He depicts Grynszpan’s life on the streets of the City of Lights, the cafés he visited and the company that he kept. Kirsch’s description of the assassination itself is masterful, and he follows Grynszpan through from arrest to interrogation and then his strategy for defense. Remarkably, Grynszpan was immediately turned over by the Germans to the French police, and he remained in their custody even after Germany conquered

France; Grynszpan, a high-profile political prisoner, was spirited out to Vichy France, eluding German capture for a time. So too, were the documents of his case, making it ever more difficult for the conquering Germans to get their hands on this prized possession. Kirsch explores and debunks the rumors that vom Rath and Grynszpan were lovers, but not before skillfully exploring the rumor and how it might have been possible, and also not before depicting the Nazi German policy toward homosexual men and the macho bonds among the Nazi chieftains. Grynszpan masterfully used these rumors to prevent a show trial in Berlin, as German propagandists, headed by Dr. Joseph Goebbels, feared that instead of having a trial focused on the international Jewish conspiracy it might show widespread homosexuality within the ranks of the Nazi elite, thus embarrassing the Germans. Kirsch even follows Grynszpan through to the gates of the concentration camps and onto his death. Significantly, Kirsch asks the largest of all questions: Why is Grynszpan not regarded as one of the giants of the Jewish resistance movements? Why is his name not mentioned alongside Mordecai Anielewicz, Abba Kovner and Tuvia Bielsky? Perhaps it was because he acted too early, only on his own, or for reasons that seemed personal more than ideological and political. Or perhaps it was because in retaliation for the assassination, the Nazis exacted such massive punishment. Yet Kirsch has brought Grynszpan to life again, and in the process rescued his character from being merely a footnote to history—and for that no one would have been more grateful than Grynszpan himself.

date physical handicaps, medical needs, etc. Yad B’Yad (YBY) (Hebrew for “hand in hand”) brings typical high school students together with Yachad members for a ﬁveweek Israel “I went on YBY as a mainstream highschooler, and that’s why I’m here now,” noted Rebecca Schrag, MSW, referring to her current position as director of Yad B’Yad, in addition to her work as Yachad director of Community and School Programing. “Last year registration for Yad B’Yad was ﬁlled for the summer by early winter. The long waiting list showed us that there is a need to provide a second YBY session for summer 2014, which is currently in the works.” Stateside, Yachad offers a number of camp experiences within inclusive environments at camps on the east coast: Camps Morasha, Nesher, Shoshanim and

Moshava in the Poconos of Pennsylvania; and Camp Mesorah in the Catskills of New York. Last summer, Yachad expanded to oversee existing camp programs for youth with special needs, Chaverim (for boys) at Camp Magen Avraham and Kesher (for girls) at Camp Sternberg, brother and sister camps located in the Catskills. Many of these camps also provide opportunities for adult Yachad members to have summer jobs, working either four or the full eight weeks of the camp season, at sleep-away camps Lavi, Mesorah, Morasha, Moshava; or day camps such as Moshava Ba’ir in Paramus, NJ, or Moshava Ba’ir Toronto. With the guidance of a job coach, vocational workers are given assignments based upon interest and skill level. Yachad also provides social programming for all vocational staff. “The hard work and dedication of

Yachad camp program directors, who include speech therapists, social workers and special educators, has signiﬁcantly contributed to the growth of the size and quality our programs,” stated Joe Goldfarb P.h.D., Yachad director of summer programs. “We’re very proud of all of our staff who make our programs work so well.” “Wherever the placement within a Yachad Summer Program, everyone feels like that is their home,” reﬂected Nechama Braun, administrator of Yachad Summer Programs. “Whether a Yachad member or mainstream student, participants learn a tremendous amount about sensitivity; about friendships; about being part of a community; about reaching out to others; about giving to others; and at the end of the day everyone takes away a lot.” Registration for Yachad Summer Programs 2014 is now open at www.yachad.org.

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TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

A New Hope for Alzheimer’s By Viva Sara Press, Israel 21c team of Tel Aviv University researchers have identified a specific set of molecules called microRNAs that detrimentally regulate protein levels in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease and beneficially regulate protein levels in the brains of other mice living in a stimulating environment. “We were able to create two lists of microRNAs—those that contribute to brain performance and those that detract—depending on their levels in the brain,” said Dr. Boaz Barak, one of the authors of the study. “By targeting these molecules, we hope to move closer toward earlier detection and better treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”

The researchers ran a series of tests on a part of the mice’s brains called the hippocampus, which plays a major role in memory and spatial navigation and is one of the earliest targets of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. They found that, compared to mice in normal cages, the mice living in an “enriched environment”—an enlarged cage with running wheels, bedding and nesting material, a house, and frequently changing toys—developed higher levels of good proteins and lower levels of bad proteins. For the ﬁrst time, Barak and a team of researchers in the lab of Prof. Uri Ashery of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Neurobiology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience identiﬁed the microR-

NAs responsible for regulating the expression of both good and bad proteins. Prof. Daniel Michaelson of TAU’s Department of Neurobiology in the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, Dr. Noam Shomron of TAU’s Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Dr. Eitan Okun of Bar-Ilan University, and Dr. Mark Mattson of the National Institute on Aging collaborated on the study, published in Translational Psychiatry. Two ﬁndings appear to have particular potential for treating people with Alzheimer’s disease. In the brains of old mice with the disease, microRNA-325 was diminished, leading to higher levels of tomosyn, a protein that is well known to

inhibit cellular communication in the brain. The researchers hope that eventually microRNA-325 can be used to create a drug to help Alzheimer’s patients maintain low levels of tomosyn and preserve brain function. The researchers also found several important microRNAs at low levels starting in the brains of young mice. If the same can be found in humans, these microRNAs could be used as biomarker to detect Alzheimer’s disease at a much earlier age than is now possible—at 30 years of age, for example, instead of 60. “Our biggest hope is to be able to one day use microRNAs to detect Alzheimer’s disease in people at a young age and begin a tailor-made treatment based on our ﬁndings, right away,” says Dr. Barak.

Master Your Browser’s Tabs with These Tricks and Extensions By Harold Nussbaum here’s a strange joy in keeping 20 tabs open and pretending you have the ability to multitask and actually manage all of them. But in reality, most browsers buckle under the pressure of too many tabs and you start to lose track of what you have open. Here’s a look at some tab management tools for Chrome and Firefox. Use the Built-In Tab Management Tools in Shortcuts for Chrome and Firefox Over the years, Chrome and Firefox have worked in a few clever solutions to tab management. Chrome • Sync Open Tabs: One of the handy features in Chrome is the fact it’s tied into your Google account. Subsequently, it stores all kinds of data, including your tabs. After you enable the sync tab feature by typing in chrome://ﬂags/ into Chrome and click “Enable syncing open tabs” it syncs every tab you have open and allows you to swap all your current pages over to a new computer. Even better is the brand new ability to do the exact same thing on Android devices. • Pin Tabs: One of the problems of opening a lot of tabs is that you may accidentally close an important tab. To keep this from happening, right-click the tab you want to keep open and select “Pin Tab.” This shrinks the tab down to just the favicon. Pinning it saves screen real estate and ensures you won’t accidentally close it. • Use Your Shortcuts: You have several important shortcuts for navigating tabs. First, Control+Tab moves to the tab on the right, Control+Shift+Tab moves to the left (on Macs it’s Command+Option+Right Arrow and Command+Option+Left Arrow). The other helpful shortcut is reopening a closed tab, Control+Shift+T. This saves you the pain of having to dig through your history to ﬁnd an accidentally closed tab. • Bookmark All Tabs: If you need to just walk away for the day but don’t want to lose all your open tabs, you can select

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Bookmarks > Bookmark All Tabs to create a custom folder for all your open bookmarks. It’s a great way to remember and store information. Firefox • Separate Tabs into Groups: The handiest feature in Firefox is its built-in tab management tool. When your tabs get out of hand, right click the + (new tab) and select customize. Select “Tab Groups.” Or, enter the Tab Groups view by using the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + Shift + E. You can organize and group them into smaller sections so you can easily pull them all up later. • Pin Tabs: Like Chrome, Firefox also has a Pin Tab feature. Right-click any open tab and select “Pin Tab.” This shrinks down the tab to prevent you from closing it. • Control How Firefox Uses Tabs: Firefox allows you to control how it handles tabs when you open and close the browser in the settings menu. Click Tools > Options (or Firefox > Preferences on a Mac) and click the “Tabs” button. You can change some of the default behavior for how Firefox handles tabs and restores tabs. • Bookmark All Tabs: Firefox comes with the same quick and easy ways to bookmark all your tabs as Chrome. Right click on an open tab and choose Bookmark All Tabs. You can store your open tabs in any bookmarks folder you like. Organize Tabs in a Visual Way The biggest problem with managing a ton of open tabs is the fact that you need all that data, but it’s difficult to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for. To solve this problem, extensions strive to make the idea of flipping through tabs a more visual experience. Chrome If you’re a more visual person and want to see all your tabs at once with a preview, TooManyTabs for Chrome is an extension that sits in your toolbar and shows you a pop-out preview of every open tab you have. Firefox TooManyTabs is available for Firefox as well, however, Firefox already has a good visual tab manager. For something completely different, Vertical Tabs

throws all your tabs into a sidebar instead of on the top of the browser. It changes how you handle tabs, but it’s useful for getting a quick look when you have 20-30 open tabs at a time. Free Up Memory with Automatic Tab Closing If tabbed browsing is something you do, but don’t really utilize for any particular reason, you might want a way to shut down unused tabs to free up memory. This is great for people who open new tabs they don’t really need, or just forget about them. Chrome Tab Wrangler is an extension that automatically closes down unused tabs after a set number of minutes and allows you to reopen them at any point. If you’re looking for an automatic solution to your tab problem, this is a handy tool. TabWrangler also locks certain web pages so they never close. Firefox AutoClose Tabs offers the same features as Tab Wrangler with a few visual cues so you can save a tab before it closes. It also protects unread tabs from closing automatically, so if you’re taking a while to get through a list of links, it doesn’t shut them down until you view them. Archive and Save Every Tab Currently Opened If you’re operating with a lot of tabs, you might want a simple way to restore exactly what you have open so you can reopen all your tabs later. Chrome Tab.bz is built to share your open tabs with other people, but it’s more useful to use it for yourself. One click on the extension and your entire session is archived in a single URL that you can open later. If you prefer to archive what you have for offline viewing, ZipTabs compresses every open tab into a zip file so you can take it where you want to go. Firefox I had trouble finding a good way to download all your open tabs for offline viewing for Firefox, but if you want to save your session in the cloud, TabCloud does just that (it’s also available for Chrome). The benefit of the cloud is that

you can easily open your session on another computer if you like. Send Tabs to Mobile Devices Sometimes you might want to continue reading on your tablet. It’s pretty easy to send your tabs to your phone. Chrome In order to send your open tabs to an Android or iPhone, you need one of two extensions: Chrome to Phone or Site to Phone. Chrome to Phone will send you open tabs to an Android device, whereas Site to Phone handles third party devices like iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 and webOS. If you want another option to send tabs directly to an iPhone, SendTab works great, but costs 99¢ in the App Store. The Tab Sync feature in Chrome should also solve the problem if you’re using the Chrome browser on an Android device. Firefox Like Chrome, you have the same two options to send links to your phone: Fox to Phone and Site to Phone (not available yet for Firefox ver. 25) If you’re looking to sync across devices, the built-in Firefox Sync (Tools > Options > Sync or Firefox > Preferences > Sync on a Mac) allows you to sync open tabs across multiple computers or to Firefox mobile. Quickly Hide All Your Open Tabs There’s always the chance you have too many tabs open. If you need to quickly hide your tabs when your boss walks in, it’s easy to do. Chrome PanicButton for Chrome gives you one-click access to hide all your open tabs and save them as bookmarks in a folder. So if your boss is creeping up behind you, you can quickly hide everything you’re doing and save the session for when the boss walks out the door. Firefox Firefox has its own, slightly different version of Panic Button that works well to quickly hide all your open tabs when someone sneaks up behind you. A click of the button or hotkey and your tabs disappear without losing you session. Upgrade Your Settings and Get More Control Over Tab Behavior



CONTINUED ON P. 77

201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 75

SHOP W. ENGLEWOOD

ut s abo u k s A ing Cater Event Next Your

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â&#x20AC;˘ 2 eggs in shell (optional for a great shabbos day egg salad) â&#x20AC;˘ salt and pepper to taste In a crock pot, layer the bottom with the onions, then barley, then meat, potatoes,eggs, onions again, and honey & hoisen sauce (may substitute with ketchup). In a separate bowl, mix the seasoning together with cold water and pour over cholunt ingredient just an inch past the potatoes (you should see them begin to ďŹ&#x201A;oat). Add the scallion pancake. Cover and set for shabbos. Serves the most delicious cholunt!!!

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Royal Persian Grill Tel. 201-833-1555

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76 November 14, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 11 Kislev 5774

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Ricciardi Paint Brothers Tel. 201-837-3468 www.ricciardibrothers.com

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Therapy Gym

Chubby`s Barber For Men

Teaneck Dentist Tel. 201-837-3000 www.teaneck-dentist.com

Teaneck Chess Club 1 free lesson 185 Court Street, Teaneck 201-833-1741

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TABC Shows Oﬀ New Building at Open House OPEN HOUSE — SUNDAY 11/17 — 1 -3 PM

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Master Your Browser’s Tabs with These Tricks and Extensions 

CONTINUED FROM P. 74

All of the tricks for solving single problems are great, but if you’re looking to take control over your tabs you may need to dig into their default behaviors. Firefox has one of the best extensions for this, but you can still get some basic customization in Chrome. Chrome Unfortunately, there’s no one single way to upgrade your tab options in Chrome, but if you combine Bookmarks Menu and Chrome Toolbox it will make it so you can change the default behaviors for how tabs are opened, add conﬁrmations, and change shortcuts. It isn’t as

robust as Firefox’s option below, but it will at least give you quick access to alter default tab behavior. Firefox Tab Mix Plus is the closest thing to an all-in-one tab manager for Firefox. It handles nearly every aspect listed above and helps keep your tabbed browsing organized and under control. You can duplicate tabs, control focus, reopen closed tabs, manage sessions, and handle when pages load. If you’re looking for a single extension that does almost everything you want, Tab Mix Plus is where you want to start.

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How Eddie’s Kosher Travel Became # 1 

CONTINUED FROM P. 60

catered for. On our world tours and cruises, we cannot always personally be there, but the attention to detail remains the same. We make sure everything is taken care of on every level. Are Pesach hotel programs as expensive as they appear? Yes and no. We have packages available for all budgets, big and small. We have a signature kids-free promotion at our

ﬂagship hotel in Tiberias which takes a huge chunk off the budget. The thing you must remember is that whatever package you choose, when you go with Eddies Travel you get the added value that comes with being a guest of ours. A great tip to know is that the earlier you book the more you get because there is more availability and you can play around with more options. Take a look at our website www.koshertravelers.com or give us a call and we’ll help you plan the perfect Pesach experience – or any vacation, for that matter – to suit your individual needs. Israel +972 2 9929801 | USA +1 646 240 4118 | Australia +612 801 44676 | Europe +44 208 819 2620 Make sure you don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Rena has lived in Bergen County for over 20 years, she utilizes her extensive real estate expertise and local market knowledge to guide home buyers and sellers throughout the entire real estate process. She also has had much experience guiding clients through each stage of successful renovation and construction projects. Rena possesses great listening skills and really enjoys both getting to know and educating her clients to ensure that they will secure the property that will be a perfect fit. Prior to becoming a real estate professional, Rena was an actuarial consultant in a managerial role at Ernst & Young LLP, in New York. Rena’s consulting, analytical and management experiences coupled with her keen attention to detail, have positioned her for success in the real estate industry. When Rena is not working with buyers and sellers to find them their next dream home you can find her with her husband and three children enjoying various activities. You can contact her at 201.214.1131 or at rena@linksnj.com

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201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

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November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 77

SUPER SHABBOS SHEET

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;×´×&#x2019; ďŹť×Ą×&#x153;×&#x2022; ×Ş×Š×˘×´×&#x201C;â&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x201C;×&#x; ×?×Ş ×&#x203A;×&#x153; ×&#x201D;×?×&#x201C;×? ×&#x153;×&#x203A;×Ł ×&#x2013;×&#x203A;×&#x2022;×Şâ&#x20AC;Ź MIDDAH OF THE WEEK

CANDLELIGHTING IN JERUSALEM: 4:00 P.M.

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;×&#x2022;×? ×§×&#x201C;×&#x2022;×Š ×&#x201D;×&#x2022;×? ×&#x17E;ďŹą×&#x2022;×?×&#x2022; ×&#x2022;×˘×&#x201C; ×Ś×?×Ş×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź

Can you judge these situations favorably?

â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;Ż A family member always seems to arrive late. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;Ż Your watch wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t where you left it.

Try to make peace with others.

PARSHA SKITS

â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źdid 3 things before seeing â&#x20AC;Ť ×˘×Š×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Źfor the first time in 34 years: he sent him angels with gifts, got ready to fight, and davened. â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źwrestled an angel who said his name would now be â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×Š×¨×?×&#x153;â&#x20AC;Źand who hit him in the sciatic nerve. When they met, â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2022;×˘×Šâ&#x20AC;Źhugged and kissed his brother and asked him to join him in Seir. â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źtold him to go ahead of him. â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x201C;×&#x2122;× ×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź, â&#x20AC;Ťâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źs daughter, was taken captive by â&#x20AC;Ť×Š× ×&#x203A;×?â&#x20AC;Ź. â&#x20AC;Ťâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;×Š×&#x203A;×?â&#x20AC;Źs father arranged for â&#x20AC;Ť ×Š×&#x203A;×?â&#x20AC;Źto marry â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x201C;×&#x2122;× ×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź, but â&#x20AC;Ť ×Š×&#x17E;×˘×&#x2022;×&#x;â&#x20AC;Źand â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x153;×&#x2022;×&#x2122;â&#x20AC;Źtricked them and killed all of â&#x20AC;Ťâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;×Š×&#x203A;×?â&#x20AC;Źs people. â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źdidnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t agree with what had happened. HaShem told â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źto go to Beth El so he went with his family. â&#x20AC;Ť×¨×&#x2018;×§×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź died and was buried. HaShem confirmed that â&#x20AC;Ťâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źs new name was â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×Š×¨×?×&#x153;â&#x20AC;Źand that He will give him the land He had promised to â&#x20AC;Ť ×?×&#x2018;×¨×&#x201D;×?â&#x20AC;Źand â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;×Ś×&#x2014;×§â&#x20AC;Ź. â&#x20AC;Ť ×¨×&#x2014;×&#x153;â&#x20AC;Źdies as she gives birth to â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2018;Öź× ×&#x2122;×&#x17E;×&#x2122;×&#x;â&#x20AC;Ź. She was buried on the road to Efrat. â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×Ś×&#x2014;×§â&#x20AC;Źdied at 180 and was buried by his sons. â&#x20AC;Ťâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;×˘×Š×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Źs descendants and the Edomite kings are listed.

HASHEMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WONDERS

â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źpreparing to meet his brother â&#x20AC;Ť×˘×Š×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź after 34 years (32:8). â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x2122;×˘×§×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Źand â&#x20AC;Ť ×˘×Š×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Źmeeting for the first time in 34 years (33:1).

â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;Ż The Grand Canyon, the Alps, and Niagra Falls. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;Ż The power of speech, to speak to Him and others.

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x203A;×&#x2022;× ×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learn the siddur, one word at a time.

â&#x20AC;Ť ×&#x17E;×&#x2022;×&#x201C;×&#x201D; ×?× ×&#x2122; ×&#x153;×¤× ×&#x2122;×&#x161;â&#x20AC;ŹT â&#x20AC;Ť = ×&#x17E;×&#x2022;×&#x201C;×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹThanks Discuss things that you are thankful for that HaShem and your parents have done for you.

PARSHA LESSONS Value relationships with your family members (33:1).

CROSSWORD Complete the crossword by translating each Hebrew word into English. Need help? Use the verse reference to find the word in this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parsha.

Across 1. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×?×¨×&#x2018;×˘â&#x20AC;Ź33:1) 3. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×&#x2018;×&#x203A;×&#x2122;â&#x20AC;Ź33:4) 5. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×Š×&#x2014;×¨â&#x20AC;Ź32:27) 7. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×&#x17E;×&#x153;×?×&#x161;â&#x20AC;Ź32:7) Down 1. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×?×¨×&#x2018;×˘×&#x2122;×?â&#x20AC;Ź32:16) 2. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×¨×Ľâ&#x20AC;Ź33:4) 4. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×Š×?â&#x20AC;Ź32:28) 6. â&#x20AC;Ť( ×&#x17E;×&#x2014;× ×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź32:8)

WORD FIND! Can you find all the bold and underlined words on this sheet?

M R E A D Y R R E W O P

E E M C P W O T E V Q G

M N A B A E T U I A L 6

B O N T R R A P R L R 1

E T C M E E T C D U A 3

R H I S N W I D E E C G

H E M O T H M A U I H N

T R M N S S E I R S E I

R S D L E A H L R D L T

I L L U M I N A T E F E

B A K I V A E B E T H E

F A M I L Y L E G N A M

â&#x20AC;Ťď&#x201E;×¨ďŹŞ×Ş ×&#x2022;×&#x2122;ďŹŞ×&#x153;×&#x2014;â&#x20AC;Ź

READY, SET, TRANSLATE Connect the Hebrew to its English translation.

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;×Š×&#x17E;×&#x161; ×?×&#x153;×&#x2022;×§×&#x2122;×? ×&#x203A;×Š×¨×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź â&#x20AC;Ť×¨×&#x2018;×§×&#x201D; ×¨×&#x2014;×&#x153; ×&#x2022;×&#x153;×?×&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź

May HaShem illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;×?×¨ ×&#x201D;' ×¤Öź× ×&#x2122;×&#x2022; ×?×&#x153;×&#x2122;×&#x161;â&#x20AC;Ź â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2022;×&#x2122;×&#x2014;× ×&#x161;â&#x20AC;Ź

May G-d make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;×Š×? ×&#x201D;' ×¤Öź× ×&#x2122;×&#x2022; ×?×&#x153;×&#x2122;×&#x161;â&#x20AC;Ź â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2022;×&#x2122;×Š×? ×&#x153;×&#x161; ×Š×&#x153;×&#x2022;×?â&#x20AC;Ź

May HaShem turn His countenance to you and establish peace for you

4 5

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2019;×&#x17E;×&#x2DC;×¨×&#x2122;×?â&#x20AC;Ź

WORD CMRLESAB (scramble)

Answer the questions below to spell a word in this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parsha.

6 7

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2013;â&#x20AC;Ź

+ â&#x20AC;Ť×?â&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť×¤â&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť× â&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť×§× â&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź

+ â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x201C;â&#x20AC;Ź

ÖźLGEBA, OSATT, ACALHHL, ZHAMAT, CHNWISAD, AITP

â&#x20AC;Ť×Ąâ&#x20AC;Ź

) â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2122;â&#x20AC;Ź

Hint: â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x201D;×&#x17E;×&#x2022;×Ś×&#x2122;×? ×&#x153;×&#x2014;×? ×&#x17E;×&#x; ×&#x201D;×?×¨×Ľâ&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź

THE FAMOUS ABBA

â&#x20AC;Ť×Şâ&#x20AC;Ź â&#x20AC;Ť×Šâ&#x20AC;Ź â&#x20AC;Ť×¨â&#x20AC;Ź â&#x20AC;Ť×? ×&#x2018; ×&#x2019; ×&#x201C; ×&#x201D; ×&#x2022; ×&#x2013; ×&#x2014; ×&#x2DC; ×&#x2122; ×&#x203A; ×&#x153; ×&#x17E; × ×Ą ×˘ ×¤ ×Ś ×§â&#x20AC;Ź # " ! ( ' & % $ # " ! ( ' & % $ # " !

! "

thefamousabba@icloud.com

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Congregation Bnai Yeshurun is seeking volunteers that have time available to work on the shulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology committee. Among potential projects are improving the shulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website, evaluation and coordination of various office software programs, and coming up with efficient solutions for technology issues that arise (e.g., synching multiple email distribution lists, interfacing with the shulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soon to be available app, finding efficient ways to conduct surveys or elections, etc.). Anyone interested, please contact Debby Graneviz (debby@bnaiyeshurun. org). Recruiting new committee members for the Parks, Playgrounds and Recreation Advisory Board of Teaneck. Current projects include planning for the all-inclusive splash pad (water) park in one of the play areas. Meetings are once a month. Great opportunity to get involved in the community. For more information or to volunteer contact gdreskakis@gmail.com. The Guttenberg Center for Special Services at Kaplen JCC on the Palisades will be hosting Special Talents Art Show during the month of December.

Artwork will be featured created by school aged children and teens who arew differentlyabled. The deadline to submit art is November 18th. Opening reception will take place on Sunday, December 8th from 1:00 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3:00PM in the Waltuch Gallery, located on the 2nd floor of the JCC. Anyone interested in submitting art should contact Mindy Liebowitz at mliebowitz@ jccotp.org or call 201 408 1490. Walk Around Teaneck and Write on Windows! Teaneckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gratitude Graffiti Project continues until Thanksgiving. Go into the stores listed below, ask for window markers, and express your gratitude on the storefront window. A fun activity for the family. A&S Comics, Aikido North Jersey, Aquarius Health Foods, Artwal Novus Auto Glass, The Berkshire Bank, Best Glatt, Bischoff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Brier Rose Books, Budget Print, Carlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;z Craze, Chop Shop Barber Shop, Chubbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Classic Quiche CafĂŠ, Club Fit, Coffee Col, Cohen Paperie and Gifts, Comfort Shoes, Cortley Cleaners, EJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place, Eli Katz Teaneck Museum, Flowers by Lynn, G and G Liquors, Gerdes Again Deli Liquor Store, Get Twisted, the Golden Grill, Homewatch Care Givers of

78 November 14, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 11 Kislev 5774

Bergen, J and Z Auto Repair, Lee Caribbean, Lizaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nails, Maggies Southern Kitchen, Mom Meditation, Marlin by Mishoe, Mercury Wellness Solutions, Milez Salon, the Natural Spot, Noahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ark, Queen Anne Wine and Spirits, Rainbow Laundromat, the Right Pizza, Shelleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Smokey Joeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, State Farm Insurance, Teaneck Cinemas, Teaneck Flower Shop, Teaneck General Store, Teaneck Library, the Trophy King, Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Child, the Grassynoel Gallery and Studio, Victorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant, World of Wings, Yo Delight, Zoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cupcake CafĂŠ. The Friendship Circle is pleased to introduce 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11! The Friendship group is for children 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 who have difficulties reading social cues or navigating social situations such as those with ADHD or Aspergerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The group will meet one Sunday a month and participants will enjoy group activities such as karate and drumming. Dr Avigael Wodinsky will lead activites geared toward developing strategies for emotion regulation, friendship skills, skills for understanding thoughts and feelings, conversation skills, as well as social problem solving skills. Activities will take place at

Rinat Yisrael, 389 W Englewood Ave, Teaneck from 10:00AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11:30AM RSVP and for further information please contactZeesy@ BCFriendship.com or call 201 262 7172. The program will take place on November 17, December 8th, February 2, March 2, March 30, June 8th. New Jersey Yachad Announces Inclusive Art Program for Middle and High School Students Open to local Junior High and High School Students and Individuals with Special Needs ages 12 and up. 10 Tuesday Sessions-October 15-December 17, 7;00-8;00PM The Art Place 490 Curry Ave. Englewood Nj $75 -Please make checks payable to NJ Yachad Space is limited. To register ,please contact Reva Judas at 201 -833 1349 or email judasr@ou.org Join Areyvutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mitzvah Clown Program Anyone between the ages of 6th grade through 120 years old (!) is welcome to participate. Learn to make balloon animals, bring joy and smiles to senior citizens and children with special needs.

Partner with other special need organizations. Program runs from October through June. Cost for participation is $250 and includes all materials including a clown kit, clown costume, gifts for the monthly site visits and a program coordinator. For further information contact Danny at 201-244-6702 or info @areyvut. org. HEICHAL HATORAH WELCOMES NEW STUDENTS Rabbi Aryeh Stechler welcomes prospective talmidim and their parents to find out more about this new traditional Yeshiva which prides itself on an exceptional high school general studies program. Please contact Rabbi Stechler to arrange meeting to learn more about the school. He can be reached at ras@heichalhatorah. org or 201-335-0633. TORAH IN THE AM Cong Keter Torah 600 Roemer Avenue, Teaneck Rabbi Menachem Meier is in his 7th year of providing a rigorous study of Torah learning. The program meets on Tuesdays and Thurs 9:00 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9:45AM studying the text of a book of Tanakh â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

currently the group is studying Yonah. 9:45 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 10:45AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An in depth study of Kesuvos, Chapter 7 relating to obligations within a marriage. People with both extensive and limited backgrounds will follow the shiur and benefit. On Thursdays only from 10:45AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11:40AM A careful study of the prophet Isaiah is discussed. Participants are welcomed for any of the classes and are requested to bring a text. Congregation Bnai Yeshurun Beis Medrash Program Presents Kollel Boker Featuring Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky. The group will be learning Gemara Shabbos. Each Shiur will have Maar Mekomos. The shiur will take place every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday Mornings at 6:20AM in the classrooms. Learning is dedicated for a Refuah Shelama for Yitzchak Yaakov ben Batia Sarah. Hava Finkel, a social worker and early childhood educator. In addition, babysitting will be provided during the High Holiday services. Services will be provided from 9:00AM - 1:00PM. For further information call 201 567 9420.

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH 9:45AM – 10:45AM Bnai Yeshurun 641 W Englewood, Teaneck Zumba with Sorrolle – each Fri morning $10.00 per person in the Social Hall Erev Shabbat Nov 15th 8:00PM Cong Beth Abraham, 396 New Bridge Road, Bergenfield Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich Former Soviet Prisoner of Zion will be guest of honor at an oneg. As well Rav Mendelevich will be speaking over Shabbat at several locations. Shabbat, November 16th Parshat Vayishlach, Rinat Yisrael, 389 West Englewood, Teaneck Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich will speak at 9:40 at the teen minyan and 10:30 at the main minyan. Following 4:00PM Mincha at Seudah Shlishit at Cong Keter Torah, 600 Roemer Avenue, Teaneck Cong Netivot Shalom, 811 Palisade Ave, Teaneck Abraham and Sheila Shlussel Educational Program Shabbaton: Meaning, Music and Poetry: A Closer Look at Tefillah Scholars in Residence Rabbi Elie Kaunfer and Joey Weisenberg will lead a special davening and learning experience. For further information contact info@netivotshalonj.org Rav Yosef Mendelevich 7:30PM – 10:00PM Teaneck General Store, 502 Cedar Lane, Teaneck Book Signing for his autobiography “Unbroken Spirit” Ice Skating for Boys 8:30PM – 10:30PM Frietz Dietl Ice Rink 639 Broadway, Westwood sponsored by youth departments of Beth Abraham, BMOB and Ohr Hatorah. All boys 5th – 8th

grades invited. $10 per person.

Understanding our National Attraction to Loshon Horah – Rabbi Teichman

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH Shiur on Chanukah: Following 8:00AM Minyan Cong Beth Aaron 950 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck Rabbi Daniel Feldman speaks on “What Happens When the Lights Go Out?”

NEVE – PTI 7:30 – 9:30PM A special learning experience for women that did not benefit from a Yeshiva Education in their youth. 6 part Monday evening series $130 for the session. First class free for new students. For further information contact nevepti@ gmail.com or Sorah.Birnbaum@ gmail.com.

Preschool Preview 9:30AM -11:00AM Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey 666 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge All prospective preschool students and their parents are invited to play with Morot and learn more about the program. RSVP requested at www.RYNJ. org

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH FREE WEBINAR presented by Ohel 7:30PM – 9:30PM “Challenges and Solutions to Caring for Aging Parents” Registration necessary at www. ohelfamily.org/webinar

7:00PM Night of Wonders Teaneck Jewish Center 70 Sterling Place, Teaneck Benefitting Do Wonders by Lillian Lee. Musical Presentation entitled “Songs of Hope”, a tricky tray silent auction, delicious food, cocktails and inspiration. $75 per person. RSVP to Dowonderscharity@gmail.com . For further information call Aliza or Rubina at 201 837 6770.

Shiur Rabbi Beni Krohn 8:30PM – 9:15PM Cong Rinat Yisrael, 389 West Englewood Ave, Teaneck “Can I light my menorah on the airplane? Chanukah and Thanksgiving Travel.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH Project Ezrah 11:30AM – 12:30PM Cong Keter Torah, 600 Roemer Avenue, Teaneck “Embracing Change and Helping Our Careers Evolve” Continuing series in helping the mature worker. Anne Wallman, successful business owner speaks. RSVP to Jennifer@ezrah.org.

Huge Chanukah Boutique 5:00PM – 9:00PM Rinat Yisrael 389 West Englewood Ave, Teaneck Kids craft room from 5 – 7 with pizza $5 per child for you to drop them while shopping.

SHABBAT, NOVEMBER 23RD PARSHAT VAYESHEV Melave Malke 8:00PM Chabad of Teaneck 513 Kenwood Place, Teaneck Rabbi Dov Ber Pinson will speak on “Journey of the Soul: Reincarnation and the Kaballah. In honor of the 19th day of Kislev the Rosh Hashannah of Chassidus. Dairy Meal

Rabbi Menachem Genack 7:45PM Cong Shaare Tefillah, 510 Clalremont Ave, Teaneck Rabbi Genack will speak about his book “Letters to Clinton”

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH Jewish Renaissance Center 9:45AM – 11:00AM 1510 Jefferson St, Teaneck

Free of Charge. Please RSVP rabbisimon@aol.com

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH 9:15AM – 11:30AM Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future Abraham Arbesfeld Kollel Yom Rishon and Millie Arbesfeld Midreshet Yom Rishon present “The Legacy of Hakham Ovadia In Tribute to Gadol Hador Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef zt”l Presenters: Rav Herschel Schachter, Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, and remarks by Rabbanit Adina Bar Shalom, Founder, CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Haredi College of Jerusalem, Daughter of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l. Open to men and women – free parking. Reservations made by contacting kollelyomrishon@ yu.edu.. B’Not Mother Daughter Event 9:30 – 11:00AM Cong Bnai Jeshurun 641 West Englewood, Teaneck Thanksgivakkuh Cupcake Decorating - $36 Michelle Frohlich from Cake-a-Bite will teach how to creat 6 stunning Chanukah and Thanksgiving themed cupcakes. RSVP and info contact Barbara Smilow at 718 974 4550. Checks to be made out to CBY BNOT. Spaces are limited. UNCLE MOISHY 2:00PM The Learning Center 199 Scoles Avenue, Clifton Jewish Family Service of Clifton/ Passaic presents concert. Tickets can be purchased online at jfsclifton.org Tickets in advance $18 and at the door $20. Mother Daughter Culinary Event 7:00PM Ma’ayanot High School, 1650 Palisades Ave, Teaneck The evening will include culinary demonstrations by noted chefs

Leah Shapira, author of the award winning cookbook Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking, and Merav Dahan, creator of Merav’s Cuisine, as well as a preChanukah boutique featuring Pampered Chef, Cutco Cutlery, and much more. For more information or to register for the event, please visit Ma’ayanot’s website (www. maayanot.org) or contact Pam Ennis at 201-833-4307, ext. 265. Women’s Mikvah Association 4th Annual Event 7:30PM Cong Keter Torah, 600 Roemer Avenue, Teaneck Honoring Miriam Feman, Reception and Raffle Package followed by Dairy Dinner and Program (8:15) Register at TeaneckMikvah.com/ event - $54.00

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH 9:45AM – 11:00AM Jewish Renaissance Center 1510 Jefferson St, Teaneck The Definition of True Torah Heroes – Rebbetzin Leah Kohn NOVEMBER 27 05 DECEMBER CHANUKAH Sunday, December 8th 9:30AM YOGA Cong Bnai Yeshurun, 641 West Englewood, Teaneck Led by Monica Gordon, $10 per class. Contact monywin@aol.com if interested. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9TH 7:00PM JNF Teaneck Reception Cong Beth Shalom, 354 Maitland Ave, Teaneck Honoring Marlene and Philip Rhodes, Teaneck Councilman Yitz Stern – Presenter Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, Cong Beth Aaron, Special Recognition Ben Guttman, Featured Speakers Davidi Perl,

Mayor of Gush Etzion and Shani Abrams Simkowitz, Director of the Gush Etzion Foundation. Glatt Kosher Buffet and Dessert Reception catered by Ma’adan of Teaneck – minimum contribution $180 per person. (cost of dinner included) RSVP by Dec 3rd. Call 888.JNF 0099.

DECEMBER 11TH 6:30PM – 8:30PM Moriah School, 53 South Woodland Street, Englewood Modern Orthodox Jewish Camping Fair. Meet directors, counselors and current parents. With questions contact ekessler@ moriahschool.org DECEMBER 12TH 7:00PM Hadassah Shelley’s Vegetarian Café, 482 Cedar Lane New group being formed for ladies in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s. For further info and to RSVP Contact Gail Black at blackfam@hotmail. com Monday, December 16th 9:45AM – 11:00AM Jewish Renaissance Center 1510 Jefferson St, Teaneck Lashon HoRah: The Devaluation of our Humanity – Rabbi Teichman

JANUARY 15 – 25TH WINTER SCHOOL BREAK Yeshivat Noam Family Israel Adventure led by Rabbi Chaim Hagler Open to the entire community and appropriate for families with children in a wide age range and ideal if the oldest child is in 2 – 5th grade. Packages available with the option of staying with the group in hotels or only joining for the touring experience. For itinerary, registration form and pricing information go to www. yeshivatnoam.org or call Rabbi Hagler at 201 261 1919 ext 115.

CHESED OPPORTUNITIES Sharona Nagler Care One visitation program is a Bnai Yeshurun program reaching out to volunteers to commit at least once a month (or more if preferred) to visit people staying in Care One. Contact Arianne Weinberger at ariannew@verizon. net, Ari Wartelsky at ariwart@ gmail.com or Alana Green at green.alana@gmail.com for further information. Tomchei Shabbos of Bergen County In need of volunteers to pack and deliver. Please contact the following: For packing Paula Cohen –

paulacohe@gmail.com For delivering Steve Gutlove – s.gutlove@yahoo.com Tomchei Shabbos of Bergen County Announces a program for Bar and Bat Mitzvah girls. For information on how to commemorate your Simcha with a chesed project thru partnering with Tomchei Shabbos, contact Andrea Fields at 973-371 1771 ext 411 or AJBier@aol.com Jewish Family Service of North Jersey, located in Fair Lawn, is in need of volunteers who can deliver kosher meals to homebound and disabled people

living in Fair Lawn. Meal deliveries are made Mondays thru Fridays, between 11:30 am and 12:00 noon. Substitute drivers for any weekday are needed, as well as volunteers who can commit to driving once a week on a regular basis. Please call Francine Cuff @201796-5151 if you are interested in volunteering. Care One – desperately needs help in forming a minyan. A kosher rehabilitation and nursing center located at 544 Teaneck Road, 4 blocks south of Holy Name Hospital, is in need of volunteers to maintain

continuity of its Shabbos and weekday minyanim, which its residents look forward to each week. This is a wonderful chesed opportunity that can be combined with the mitzva of Bikur Cholim. Questions, or to volunteer to daven, lain, give a d’var Torah, etc., call Rabbi Siev at (201) 287-8519 or email to jsiev@care-one.com Bikkur Cholim of PassaicClifton helps provide rides for Cholim and frail residents to medical appointments. Rides are available to local Passaic and Clifton destinations as well as to Hackensack, Englewood, Manhattan and other medical

canters as necessary. For more information or to volunteer contact the Bikkur Cholim at 973249-8811. Bikur Cholim of Teaneck is looking for volunteers to visit the Jewish patients at Holy Name Hospital on a daily basis and Shabbosim. Volunteers must be 16 years or older to visit the hospital on their own. For more information or to volunteer please call the Bikur Cholim at 201-8364950. Shearit HaPlate of Bergen County, Inc. is our area’s only kosher food rescue organization

that collects prepared food leftover from local caterers and restaurants, and then repackages and distributes it to those that can benefit in a respectful way that helps ensure the recipient’s privacy and self-esteem. To Become a Recipient: If you or someone you know would like to be notified when food is available, please respond to this email. The information will be kept confidential within the organization, and no qualifying questions are asked. PLEASE LET US HELP-EMAIL US TODAY! shearithaplate@gmail.com fernamper@aol.com

List your events in our Community Calendar. Advertise your services in our growing Classifieds section! Call (201) 371-3212 or editor@jewishlinkbc.com 201-371-3212 • WWW.JEWISHLINKBC.COM

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 79

GEMACHS AND CHESED OPPORTUNITIES BABIES AND CHILDREN: Teaneck Bris Gemach Bris outfits, pillows, pillow cases, tefilos for mothers to say. Open to the Jewish community. There is no solicitation of funds. For information or to reserve Email either david.lobl@gmail.com or zsizzle11@aol.com or call Zissi at 718 704 6225. Teaneck Baby Gemach Collects baby equipment, clothing to size 5T, toys, diapers, formula, and baby food for Jewish families in Bergen County. For more information contact Avi and Ginnine Fried at 718-753-6275, or by email at Teaneckbabygemach@ gmail.com. Tax donation letters are available for any financial and/or item donations. Bicycle Gemach Rivky Klar at bikegemach@gmail. com PREEMIE CLOTHING Yad Yocheved – 201 836 2071 Passaic Baby G’mach Collects baby clothing in excellent condition up to size 2T as well as other baby gear including high chairs, cribs, strollers, carriages, changing tables, diapers and formula. They pick up in NJ/ NY area. For more information contact Siggy Berger at 201-4861492 or via email siggy@aishdas. org.

SIMCHAS Centerpiece Gemach – Cong Beth Aaron Contact Ellen Chazin at njellen18@yahoo.com or 201 357 8426 or Michele Cooper at benandmi@yahoo.com Chatan and Kallah Gemach Donate new, unopened gifts to needy couples. Accepted in original boxes household, Judaica, engagement or wedding gifts that are not your taste or cannot be used. Drop off at Carrie Cooper, 1060 Windsor Road or email Carrie at candscooper@gmail.com. Tablecloth Gemach Recently established in memory of Chaim Yissachar ben Yechiel Zeidel Dov Z’l. Specialty cloths in all colors and sizes for every type of simcha. Donations will go to Project Yi’che and are tax deductible. Please contact chayemf@aol.com for an appointment

GOWNS Fairlawn Gown Gemach Gowns (wedding gowns, mother of the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls) are loaned free of charge. Please call for appointments. The number is 201 797-1770. The gemach has relocated and new address will be given at time of confirmation of appointment. For donations or any other inquiries please contact Fairlawngemach@aol.com. Appts

are not made by email. The Fair Lawn Gemach is under the auspices of Anshei Lubavitch of Fair Lawn.

ADULT CLOTHING Chabad of Maplewood NJ. Contact: Lenny Levy, 201-8367376 or email umbrellapickup@ aol.com FURNITURE DONATIONS Email rodzeen@gmail.com of a picture of what you›d like to donate and a recipient can be matched. Email TeaneckSimcha@yahoo. com for information RINAT CHAIM GEMACH NEWLY FORMED IN MEMORY OF RENEE CHAYA LEVY. Donations of medical supplies are welcomed (wheel chairs, portable commodes, walkers, canes, crutches, etc.) Please only equipment in good condition will be accepted. For more information or to donate to equipment to the gemach call Yehiel Levy at 201 357 5495. The Bikkur Cholim of PassaicClifton’s Medical Equipment Gemach Wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes, scooters and other medical equipment to lend them out at no charge. For more information or to schedule a pick up contact Yael

Gotteib at 973-778-9320. Housewares G’mach in Teaneck collects brand new, still in their boxes, serving china platters, mixing bowls and many other house ware items for new Kallahs in need. For more information or to donate contact Sara Beth Fein at mrsfein@aol.com. The Jewish Book Gemach collects Jewish books for 4th- 8th graders. If you have books for donate or would like to receive books please contact Moshe and Shifra Schapiro at jbookgemach@gmail. com. Congregation Ahavath Torah 240 Broad Avenue, Englewood) collects flower centerpieces than can be brought to the homebound or those in the hospital. For more information call the Shul at 201568-1315. Yad Leah collects modest and contemporary clothing, infant through adult, to be sent to Israel. Donated clothes must be in either excellent or like- new condition. For more information regarding drop off locations contact Jessica Katz at 973594-9118 or via email Jessica@ yadleah.org The Kallah Gemach collects donations for Kallahs in need. They collect any unopened new items in their original boxes from

people who have received gifts that they do not want and offer them to those less fortunate. All the items go to Passaic where the girls can come and see what they may be able to use. We collect things like Judaica, household items, small appliances, giftware, etc. For more information contact Carrie Cooper at 201-801-9028 or via email at candscooper@gmail. com. Bikur Cholim Wheelchair Gemach - 201 836 2907.

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS The Friendship Circle is a social organization for children with special needs that involves them in a full range of recreational activities. Teenage volunteers are the key to keeping our programs running! Volunteers can visit a child at home weekly for a play date, join a monthly program on Sundays with sports, music, art, and baking, join us for holiday programs, camps or cooking programs. Volunteers must be in 7th grade or older. For more information or to volunteer please call Zeesy Grossbaum, Director of Bergen County Friendship Circle atZeesy@BCFriendship.com or via phone at 201-262-7172. Feel free to check out their website: www. BCFriendship.com. SINAI SCHOOLS Sinai Schools services children

Yavneh Academy Commemorates Kristallnacht

Bush’s Jews for Jesus Gig Troubles Jewish Leaders



CONTINUED FROM P. 66

tion of the city, accommodated 1,200 people, and was adorned with an Aron that was fashioned with Italian marble paid for by the wellknown Warburg family. Mr. Behrend spoke movingly to the students about his father returning from the synagogue on November 10, 1938, weeping like a baby over the synagogue’s destruction, only to be arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp hours later. Mr. Behrend made a point of emphasizing that his family benefited from the loving kindness of his grandfather. Over twenty years earlier, in 1910, his grandfather had arranged an honorable sendoff for a community official who had left under a cloud of suspicion. He personally provided the funds for the official to begin his new life in America. The elder Mr. Behrend, who was not convinced the man had done wrong, arranged a fine farewell party so his fellow Jew

would not leave in disgrace and shame. Mr. Behrend spoke to the Middle School students about his experience of hiding each night in order to avoid the British bombing. He explained that the situation was made even more difficult because Jews were forbidden to hide in the same air raid shelters as Germans. As the war progressed emigration became progressively more difficult as countries closed their doors to the Jews. By this time, the man who had been assisted by Mr. Behrend’s grandfather had established himself in the United States. He remembered the chesed done for him by the Behrend family and was determined to save the rest of the family. He personally arranged for Mr. Behrend and his parents to leave Germany. They arrived in America in May of 1941 just five months before the Germans closed all doors of emigration to Jews.

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CONTINUED FROM P. 8

an extremely inﬂuential conservative (the branch of Judaism, not the political category) Rabbi. In an op-ed published at the Forward on Monday, Wolpe elaborated on the reason why Bush’s association with so-called “Messianic Jewish” groups will trouble many American Jews: “What is so bothersome about the group that President Bush has chosen to address is that to speak of ‘Jews for Jesus’makes as much sense as saying ‘Christians for Muhammad.’ A Jew who accepts Jesus has cut himself off from the faith community of Jews, and that has been so for 2,000 years. When the ﬁrst Christians left the Jewish community, and all the billions of Christians who followed recognized that their belief in Jesus made them a distinct religion, were they all deluded? Only today people have realized that division was a mistake after all? The sudden rise of ‘Messianic Jews’ owes more to a clever way of misleading untutored Jews than to making theological sense. It should not receive the imprimatur of a former President of the United States.”

Criticism of Bush’s speaking gig includes groups and individuals who would see Bush as a political and ideological ally, too. Take the short, contextual criticism of Bush’s decision in Commentary, a conservative magazine founded by the American Jewish Committee. Jonathan Tobin noted that Rick Santorum faced similar criticism for his 2010 speech at a conference hosted by the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America. Speaking on the conservative, particularly Jewish, reaction to news of Santorum’s decision, Tobin wrote, “the lesson was lost on a far more important member of the GOP who also has a sterling record of friendship for the Jews: former President George W. Bush.” The ADL, in their statement, called Messianic Jewish Bible Institute’s assertion that Jewish individuals who accept Jesus as their messiah are still Jewish “false and offensive.” Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, added: “We were disappointed to learn that former President George W. Bush has decided to move ahead with his plan

and adults with learning and developmental disabilities. There are various volunteer opportunities available, such as driving young adults to their job sites and shadowing some of the students at various community activities. For more information or to volunteer contact Aggie Siletski at 201-833-1134 x105 or via email at asiletski@sinaischools. org or visit their website at www. sinaischools.org. Yachad- National Jewish Council for Disabilities YACHAD, The National Jewish Council for Disabilities, is dedicated to enhancing the life opportunities of individuals with disabilities, ensuring their participation in the full spectrum of Jewish life. New Jersey Yachad touches our community on a daily basis, providing inclusive programs for individuals with special needs and emotional support for all members of the family. Services include parent support groups, sibling support, information and referral, socialization programs, weekend respite through monthly shabbatonim, over a dozen summer camp programs, vocational training, sensitivity training workshops, advocacy, family retreats and so much more. For more information please contact Chani Herrmann at herrmann@ou.org or call 201833-1349.

to speak at a fundraising event for an evangelical proselytizing group whose stated goal is to convert Jews to Christianity. “President Bush is a friend who has an abiding love and respect for Israel and the Jewish people. I know that he does not represent or embrace the purpose or the mission of this group, and therefore I wish he would not speak there.” In October, Bush expressed skepticism in Iran’s recent willingness to negotiate with the international community over its nuclear program. “The United States’ foreign policy must be clear eyed; and understand that until the form of government changes in Iran, it is unlikely that their intentions toward Israel will change,” he told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Fund. That more or less matches with Israel’s reaction to the new rounds of negotiations, along with American legislative hawks . As Tablet pointed out, Bush will have a hard time pleading ignorance here if the criticism becomes too much. Bush’s chief of staff Josh Bolten previously told the magazine that the Bush family is ”very open to and respectful of faiths of all kind, but particularly Judaism.” This decision, to say the least, complicates that reputation.

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SPORTS SCENES FROM AROUND BERGEN COUNTY

Chaim Cohen leading the pack at Flag Football Ayal Pessar leaning to get Michael Reinhart in Frisch Flag Football League - Credit Lisa Appelbaum

Arianna Chesner blows by her defender for team Ice Cream on Grand in MGBL Girls

Sariel Rotblat, Binyamin Alter and Asher Jacobson after a long day of Teaneck Junior Soccer League

Joey Slomnicki, Azi Knecht, Dov Zomberg @ Bergenfield PAL Soccer, Nothing beats having friends on your team

Elza Koslowe. Kayla Lowy., and Dalia Hoffer all smiles before MGBL Girls game for their team FZ Collection

Eliana Menasha, Emmi Lefkowitz, and Ella Ashendorf from Team Dash Printing, having a post-game drink and smile.

Aidan Schwartz with a power kick for TJSL Team Ireland

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Teaneck Junior Soccer League Team Netherlands posing after 3-2 playoff win L-R - Yona Mandel, Eyal Kinderlehrer, Yonathan Brothman, Kenny Blanco , Tzvi Mandelbaum

Children from the surrounding Yeshivas enjoyed a special All-Sports and Basketball minicamp on Election Day at Ben Porat Yosef. The day included a myriad of sports games and activities and was intended by both boys and girls. Pictured are students from BPY on their recently renovated home court. CMEK will be hosting a School Break Winter Camp in January. For more information, contact Chad Mekles at www.CMEK.com *Mention the Jewish Link and receive a 10% discount. Offer expires December 1st.

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 81

MEET THE NEIGHBORS

See us at the Israel Real Estate Exhibition in New York

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Starting at just $387,000* our diverse selection of luxurious apartments and cottages suit every budget, style and size desired. Learn more and meet the neighbors at GaneiHaEla.com *Based on the Shekel to Dollar exchange of 3.6

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82 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

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TOURO COLLEGE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY BECOME A SOCIAL WORKER

INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR

Monday, November 18th

SPRING 2014 CLASSES

43 W. 23rd Street, 8th Floor New York, NY 10010

Monday, December 9th

Sessions will take place at 6pm

“According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook, job prospects for social workers are growing better than other occupations through 2018. If you want to make a difference in your life and the lives of others, our Graduate School of Social Work is for you. Our students are our top priority. Advance your career, help others, and join our warm, supportive family.”

Visit: www.touro.edu/msw RSVP: kerry.haley@touro.edu Phone: 212-463-0400 X 5269

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facebook.com/WeAreTouro @WeAreTouro Touro College is an Equal Opportunity Institution

November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774 83

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The Quality You Expect, The Attention You Deserve! Never Sacrificing Quality For Price

Because We Care!

1400 Queen Anne Rd · Teaneck, NJ 201-837-8110 Mashgiach Temidi / Open Sun & Mon 7am-6pm · Tues 7am-7pm Wed & Thurs 7am-9pm · Fri 7am-2:30pm 84 November 14, 2013 • 11 Kislev 5774

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