New York Jewish Life Vol. 2

Our interview with The Maccabeats

Gov. Cuomo rushes to Jewish Children’s Museum

Landsmen South of the Border

VOL. 1, NO. 2 | MARCH 15 – 21, 2017 | NEWS THAT MATTERS TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA | NYJLIFE.COM | FREE

RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED Social Media’s Kosher Foodie Scene

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Governor Cuomo viewing commemorative entrance wall, receiving briefing, meeting with press

Cuomo at Jewish Children’s Museum NEARBY FOR ANNOUNCEMENT ON INVESTMENT IN CENTRAL BROOKLYN, CUOMO RUSHES TO JEWISH CHILDREN’S MUSEUM AFTER BOMB THREAT RECEIVED AT THE POPULAR CROWN HEIGHTS INSTITUTION

BY STAFF

In a show of solidarity and security, Gov. Andrew Cuomo rushed to the Jewish Children’s Museum on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights this past Thursday not long after a bomb threat was emailed to the popular cultural institution.

The emailed threat was sent to the museum with an indication that the note was “concerning museum security.” The email went on to say, “A group of individuals...have successfully planted pipe bombs at the museum and the devices are set to go off today at a busy hour of the day.” Alleged detailed knowledge of the threats was presented, which led to their being taken very seriously, the email said. “To my knowledge I am aware there are three pipe bombs scattered throughout the museum. They will be detonated via cell phone that my group leader has in his possession.”

The email was received at about 9:30 a.m.

The museum was immediately evacuated, and the police were called. A careful, extensive, floor-by-floor search was conducted by New York City police.

Gov. Cuomo was already nearby at Medgar Evers College, where he announced a $1.4 billion investment in central Brooklyn to address persistent problems of poverty, violence and poor health.

“I can’t tell you how personally upsetting it is to me,” Cuomo said of the threats as he left Medgar Evers. “This is an affront to everything we are as New Yorkers. And it’s not getting better; it’s getting worse.”

Gov. Cuomo met with Devorah Halberstam of the Jewish Children’s Museum, and received a briefing from the police on the scene.

Local, state and federal law-enforcement authorities have investigated more than 120 bomb threats against Jewish community centers, schools, child-care facilities and other institutions throughout the country since the start of 2017.

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SCHUMER IN THE NEWS

Planes, Boats & K-9 Patrols at Risk SCHUMER: PROPOSAL TO BUILD EXPENSIVE WALL ALONG US-MEXICO BORDER DEVASTATES PROGRAMS THAT VITALLY IMPACT NEW YORK SAFETY U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer this week sounded the alarm and expressed serious concerns with the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)—cuts Schumer says would put New York and Long Island security at risk.

“New York is terror target number one and that’s why cuts that hamstring New York airport security and compromise the safety of our waterways must be vociferously defended -- before the damage is done,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. ”In an age of terror threats and lone wolves, the Trump administration’s budget cuts to the TSA and USCG would spell real trouble for security here in New York City. We know from recent attacks at airport baggage areas how real the threat TSA faces is, and they need MORE support to keep us safe, not less -- especially when the plan is to divert the money for a border wall we don’t need, and that won’t keep us any safer from would be terrorists.”

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Schumer continued, “Making cuts to canine detection teams that help screen passengers and Coast Guard response teams that help in the event of an attack near or on the water would make America less safe and secure. Simply put, this administration’s ‘safety last’ plan will not fly, and I will do everything I can to protect New York from the administration’s cash raid for the border wall.”

According to a budget proposal and reports, the White House is seeking a 14 percent cut to the USCG budget and an 11 percent cut to the TSA budget in an effort to pay for the proposed Mexico border wall. A border wall that, Schumer says, is ineffective, would not increase safety and is profoundly expensive, and that President Trump has promised again and again would be, “Paid for by Mexico.”

Schumer said as a top terror target and popular traveling destination, these cuts could impact New York the most. Schumer also noted that the budget severely cuts back on canine detection teams, which

offer a unique and effective way for the TSA to accurately and efficiently screen passengers.

Schumer continued, “The border wall is impractical and unpopular, a pointless burden that this administration is trying to pay for by taking money away from the programs that actually keep Americans safe.”‎ New York City is home to some of the busiest airports in the country. According to the Port Authority, 126 million air travelers utilize its airports each year. According to reports, the proposed budget cuts the TSA by 11 percent to $4.5 billion. According to reports, the proposed budget cuts the USCG by 14 percent to 7.8 billion.

In New York City, the USCG is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the Port of New York and New Jersey, the largest operating field command in all of the United States. They conduct Port and Waterways Coastal Security, Search and Rescue, and Boating Safety missions. In November, the USCG helped rescue 100 people off a ferry in NY Harbor; and in March, the USCG helped respond to a plane crash in the Hudson.

Schumer, today, said cutting these programs that collectively act as the bricks in the firewall that is national security would be bad for America, but especially disastrous for New York.

BDSWatch

Anti Defamation League: White Supremacists on Campus; Unprecedented Recruitment Efforts Underway White supremacists are engaged in unprecedented outreach efforts on American college campuses – another sign that these hate groups feel emboldened by the current political climate. Since the start of the school year, America’s college students, faculty, and staff have been confronted by a flurry of racist fliers and stickers, on-campus appearances by white supremacists, and several rounds of anti-Semitic, racist faxes and emails.

White supremacists are mobilizing

in hopes of translating their online activism to “real world” action, and campuses – and young people – are prime targets, in part because they are still figuring out who they are, and what they believe. Extremists also undoubtedly see value in recruiting a new generation that can carry the movement for years to come.

Longtime white supremacist Jared Taylor recently wrote on his website, American Renaissance, that colleges are of special interest “because they are

bastions of anti-white propaganda.”

Until recently, on-the-ground white supremacist actions have been relatively infrequent on college campuses – but there have been notable exceptions. In 2013, Matthew Heimbach attempted to start a White Student Union at Towson University in Maryland to “represent the unique cultural heritage, folk customs and strong Christian traditions that define white civilization.” Later that same year, Patrick Sharp established a similar group at Georgia State University.

These days, white supremacists are taking more forceful steps to establish a physical presence on campus. Identity Evropa (founded by Nathan Damigo) was clear in its goals – and used fittingly “academic” language – when describing “Project Siege” plans for the 2016-17 school year: Go talk to actual students.

White supremacist events on campus face particular scrutiny and, in some cases, speakers are able to circumvent the school altogether, avoiding heated debates over free speech rights versus hate speech laws. In December, when

Richard Spencer spoke on the Texas A&M campus, he wasn’t there as a guest of the University. Instead, he spoke to supporters and onlookers in a room rented for the occasion by local neoNazi Preston Wiginton.

Fear and anger are the most common reactions to white supremacist fliers and events, usually followed by a powerful response from students and others who are appalled by the display of hate and divisiveness.

College administrators are responding more quickly and forcefully to campus hate speech; the president of the University of Texas called for a town hall meeting after anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant fliers (courtesy of American Vanguard) were found all over the Austin campus.

The University of Michigan recently launched its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative, which the school hopes will make all campus populations feel safer and more empowered.

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Publisher’s Note

News that matters to Jewish communities in the New York City metropolitan area

Context is critical. Things that matter often happen in relation to something else. Choices are made. Decisions are thought out. Consequences are assessed. Very rarely do things happen in a vacuum.

Last week’s New York Jewish Life cover story on exclusive poll results concerning President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continue to generate strong feedback. Our poll of likely voters in our distribution area revealed, among many fascinating points across a range of political and social issues, that our diverse readers would mostly still vote for Trump instead of Clinton if the election was done over. Though Manhattan favored Clinton 73-20, which is consistent with the ideological direction of the neighborhoods NYJL is in there - Upper West & Upper East Sides, and the Lower East Side Coops, Brooklyn would overwhelmingly cast their votes again for Trump - 7614. Queens Jewish communities, in the most diverse county in America, also stayed with Trump in our poll 6036. Our distribution areas in Nassau County, spread out over the South Shore and North Shore, split evenly 46-46.

I have to say, I was more than a little surprised at these numbers. Given the chaos taking place in Washington, dangerous uncertainty overseas, ongoing revelations of possible conflicts-of-interest in the Trump family, and steady messaging against Trump from all over, I had figured the numbers would be different than they were. Closer to home, I assumed the rise of anti-semitic threats and violence since the emergence of the Trump phenomenon would have generated

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concern enough to dent his numbers.

My friend Miriam was not happy, and told me so on Facebook. Longtime Clinton loyalist Risa questioned the methodology of the poll. Colleague Adrienne was shocked. Co-worker Howard said he could have been knocked over with a feather on reading our story. And don’t get me started on the call I got from my mother.

To them and others, but concededly not to my mother, I cautioned that their distaste for the President wasn’t the issue. The poll question, I pointed out, was a do-over match up against Secretary Clinton, not a popularity question on President Trump. It was a choice.

Elections are about choices and consequences, like so much of life.

Sometimes choices are of no real consequence, like what to order in for dinner. Sometimes choices are of enormous consequence, like where to live or where to send children to school. Sometime choices have large consequences at first, but then change to something less serious over time.

Choices are about the match-up. This or that, now or later, him or her, yes or no. Sometimes you can fudge it, and have some of both, but sometimes you can only have one and not the other.

Elections are like that.

We saw this in the United Kingdom recently, twice. Once on the Scottish vote on whether to leave the UK, then on the vote for the UK to leave the European Union. In the Scottish vote, the energy seemed to be on leaving, but then a silent majority voted to stay.

On whether to leave the EU, the divide came down to London vs. everyone else, with a slim majority voting to leave. Like our presidential election,

messaging in the EU campaign focused on concerns around immigration, economic uncertainty and rage at urban elites, and national security.

Trump won the swing states that put him over the top in the electoral college by a handful of votes, while losing the national popular count.

The election is over, even though the campaigning seems never ending.

Voters made their choice months ago.

No matter how pro-Hillary a community seemed to be, no matter how antiTrump a community presented itself, our poll numbers reflected the choice we asked our readers to reconsider.

When elections come around later this year for Mayor, and then in 2018 for Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General, and the entire State Legislature, New York Jewish Life will insist that the issue isn’t about popularity, but about voting for this person or that person. When this paper discusses tax policy or legislation on social issues, it will be presented in the context of choices—this direction or a different way? When we profile individuals making a difference in the arts, philanthropy, or social service, we will ask about the choices they’ve made.

New York Jewish Life isn’t an academic journal, though those are vital and necessary. We will take positions. We will make choices, just like you do.

Please keep the comments coming.

Michael Tobman, Publisher

PUBLISHER

Michael Tobman LAUNCH EDITOR

Michael Gareth Johnson EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Sara Werden BUREAU CHIEF

Maxine Dovere COPY EDITOR

Marjorie Lipsky FREELANCE REPORTER

Jenny Powers Lucy Cohen Blatter Tammy Mark DESIGN

LETTER7

©2017 929-274-0762 news@NYJLife.com www.nyjlife.com 306 Gold Street Brooklyn, NY 11201

OUR CIVIC LIFE

FourQuestions

and other historic Jewish places, as well as sites of other faiths, and Holocaust memorials in the region.

02

HERBERT BLOCK

Executive Director, American Zionist Movement

Have you ever been the target of discrimination?

Not really myself, especially growing up in NYC and primarily working here, but I have dealt with many people throughout my career who have experienced racism and antiSemitism. I have also worked closely with many Holocaust survivors and heard their stories of suffering and living under the ultimate discrimination perpetrated by the Nazis.

03

01 Are you better off now than you were four years ago?

I am very fortunate, both now and four years ago, to have a wonderful family. My wife and I are the proud parents of three great kids, who go to a Jewish day school and to a religious Zionist Summer camp.

I am happy to have started a new position this month as Executive Director of the American Zionist Movement, which is composed of organizations and individuals representing a broad array of Zionist perspectives and engaging in a variety of philanthropic, educational and advocacy activities on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.

And, I was recently reappointed by President Obama to my third term as a Member of the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, an independent Federal agency established to help preserve cultural sites in Eastern and Central Europe associated with the heritage of U.S. citizens. These include synagogues, cemeteries

What was the last television show you binge-watched?

I have watched every inning on MLB TV of the Israel baseball team playing in the World Baseball Classic. I have long been a big baseball fan and a strong supporter of Israel and I hope for the growth of the sport there.

04 What was your favorite vacation from your childhood?

Visiting Israel for the first time with my parents and meeting my cousins there and experiencing my heritage there firsthand. We also stopped in France and Italy. My mom did not like to fly so we crossed the ocean by ship on the legendary QE2 and I remember the great kosher dining room on the boat.

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Social Media’s Kosher Foodie Scene

BY LUCY COHEN BLATTER

For home cooks who wanted to expand their Purim baking repertoires beyond the traditional raspberry and prune-filled hamantaschen, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest offered myriad options — including cannoli, lemon-lavender, and even corndog twists on the classic triangle-shaped cookie.

As is now the case before any Jewish holiday, Jewish food personalities were out in full force on social media this year, sharing recipes and communicating with their followers — both the seasoned holiday bakers and novices among them.

Amy Kritzer, of blog “What Jew Wanna Eat,” always sees a bump in traffic to her blog and to her Instagram followers around holidays like Hanukkah, Passover and Purim. Kritzer, who is based in Austin, Texas, and has nearly 36,000 followers on Instagram, is not kosher PHOTOS FROM FACEBOOK FEED OF KOSHER FOODIE DAVID LOBL, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO herself, but chose to focus on Jewish foods when she started her blog in 2010.

Stories, a video feature, has become particularly “I’ve always been passionate about Jewish life,” says also about the people,” says Sarna.

While some social media users are learning about popular. “It’s making us into mini celebrities,” says Kritzer, who also likes to present Jewish food in ways that are “cool and relevant.” She’s received messages Jewish food for the first time, others are so well versed Melinda Strauss, of food blog “Kitchen Tested.”

In Apfelbaum’s “Stories” she often cooks alongside from followers who say her food — including dishes in it that the new recipes and photos they see online like sweet potato latkes with cranberry apple sauce help break them out of their cooking ruts. “I’ve been her children (she has five). “I think it’s really and coffee- and whiskey-braised brisket — helps them able to get people excited about cooking for Shabbat interesting for people to have a window into this connect more with their Judaism. “It’s about more and the holidays again,” says Chanie Apfelbaum of Hasidic Brooklyn life,” says Sarna, about Apfelbaum’s than just recipes, it’s about acknowledging our past the “Busy in Brooklyn” blog, who has nearly 25,000 videos. Sarna says the videos she does on Facebook followers of her Instagram account. People within the and Facebook Live which show her kids often do and keeping our traditions,” she says.

“Social media introduces people — even people who observant community “are pushing themselves to be particularly well, too.

The trick, of course, is staying on top of multiple aren’t Jewish — to Jewish food,” says Shannon Sarna, more creative” as a result of what they see on social social media channels. “Instagram is the focus now, a food blogger who runs The Nosher (its Instagram, media, she says.

For Apfelbaum, Instagram has proven the best but if you’re trying to grow a brand, you need to be @jewishfood, has more than 6,000 followers, and there are over 366,000 followers on Facebook). “Food way to communicate with her blog’s followers. A everywhere,” says Strauss. “All of us grew because of is such a great connector; everyone loves challah, savory salami babka she recently created for Purim, Facebook, then it changed its algorithm and now it’s everyone loves matzoh ball soup. And people who for example, became a viral sensation. She received not as helpful in getting new followers. It’s always want to feel connected to their Jewishness can log dozens of photos via Instagram from followers who’d changing.”

But online Jewish food communities aren’t all onto Instagram or go on Facebook, and it adds a level tried their hands at a babka of their own.

For Apfelbaum and other food bloggers, Instagram centered around individual food personalities, either. of connectedness that’s not just about the food, but

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But many of these personalities do manage to make money off of their online presences.

“Instragram and Twitter relationships develop into offline relationships that become collaborations,” says Sarna, whose new cookbook, “Modern Jewish Baker” will come out in September.

Some of the Jewish food world’s social media influencers, like Sarna, pen cookbooks (Kritzer’s “Sweet Noshings” came out last year). Others make money off sponsored posts and branding deals with kosher companies, cooking classes, menu development and food styling.

And some of the more well known names will likely gather in New York in November for the Jewish Food Media Conference. Formerly known as the Kosher Food Bloggers Conference, the name was changed to include those for whom social media sites like Instagram has now replaced the need for a blog.

Strauss, who runs the event, says the goal is to get people to improve branding, their styling and their content in general.

Ultimately, she also wants the likes and retweets to turn into in-person collaborations.

“We want everyone to grow and be friends. In this industry in particular, we only grow when we help each other,” she said.

“I Don’t Cook But I Give Out Recipes,” a Facebook group that counts over 23,000 members, was started

by Brooklyn-based Este Wolbe as a way to share kosher recipes. (Wolbe does now have her own blog, CookingwithTantrums.com, but as the name of her Facebook group suggests, she used to hand out recipes more than she actually tested them.) The group gets about 100 member requests a day. “It’s become a community of kosher cooks from around the world who support and uplift one another,” says Wolbe. “It’s a wonderful place to share ideas and ask questions.”

And it helps that everything is kosher, and created by people with the same cooking needs.

“Just like shopping in a kosher supermarket, where you don’t have to look for a hechsher on each item.

Where else can you ask for a tried and true recipe for gluten- free hamantaschen or get menu ideas for a Siyum? Not to mention time sensitive challah dough questions answered in real time by dozens of experienced challah bakers.”

While social media’s Jewish food fans are committed and close-knit, it’s still a limited audience, so garnering hundreds of thousands of followers — like mainstream food-centric social media influencers can — is just not feasible.

“You can see it from our follower numbers, it’s just a smaller crowd,” says Strauss, who has over 13,000 followers on Instagram. “My blog doesn’t necessarily say I’m kosher, but my following is mostly kosher, so I’m not growing at a rate as fast as others.”

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are married with kids living normal lives,” says Ari Lewis, an events and marketing manager for a local day school by day, and a Maccabeat by night and weekend.

Elisheva Koplen, their booking manager, says, “The Maccabeats are doctors, lawyers, architects, psychologists, rabbis and students. Most of their events are booked on the weekends, and vacation and personal days are often used for other events. Being part of the Maccabeats requires a big commitment and a lot of late nights creating, recording, filming and rehearsing. It can be difficult to balance everything including family time.”

Lewis finds himself on the road for about 30-35 performances a year, and credits an accommodating employer and a very understanding wife for his ability to live the Maccabeat lifestyle.

New York Jewish Life Interviews the Maccabeats: From Virtually Unknown to Pop Sensation

BY JENNY POWERS

It’s a Saturday night, and the sold-out concert venue is packed with impatient teenage girls screaming for their favorite boy band to hit the stage.

Wearing band T-shirts—some bought, others homemade—holding “We Love You” signs and posting selfies on social media to pass the time, the fans wait.

Parent chaperones for the younger fans are all hunched over in their seats, checking watches and texting away on smartphones.

Suddenly the lights go down and the volume of the shrieks goes up and intensifies as the guys, dressed in their standard black pants, white button-down shirts and black skinny ties, take their places across the stage.

Within moments they are dancing, singing and beatboxing to today’s top music tracks—from Justin Bieber, Taio Cruz and even the Broadway hit

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“Hamilton.” However, if you listen closely to the lyrics, you’ll hear words like “latkes,” “menorah” and “Shabbat.”

This is no ordinary boy band—it’s the Maccabeats, whose humble origins as a student a cappella group began in the halls of Yeshiva University.

A decade later, their fame has skyrocketed.

With over 20 million YouTube views under their yarmulkes, the Maccabeats have now performed in 37 states and 11 countries, putting a Jewish spin on popular music and attracting millions of fans of all ages in the process.

But who are these guys, and how did they go from being an unknown a capella school group to a world-renowned band that took the Internet by storm?

“We are all just a group of normal guys doing what we love! We all have full-time jobs, and most of us

Nachum Joel, a married father of two in the insurance business who is in his final semester of business school at Yeshiva University, says, “I currently average about four to five shows a month and practice with the guys once a week, then squeeze in recording and filming. It’s crazy, but as life gets busier you make time and you find the energy for the things that are important. Life is crazy and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The group also writes their songs. Joel tells New York Jewish Life, “We have a creative committee within the Maccabeats that brainstorms song and video ideas. Then the committee will work on the lyrics as a group. A few times we have even incorporated ideas suggested by fans.”

When the group produced their first album, they asked their fellow classmate, Uri Westrich, if he’d be interested in doing a video for their cover of Matisyahu’s “One Day.” Excited at the prospect, he agreed. “Six months later, after I began as a medical student at Mount Sinai, they asked me if I wanted to team up again to do a Chanukah video. That turned out to be ‘Candlelight,’” says Westrich, referring to the mega-hit video that took them from virtually unknown to viral sensation in a weekend.

According to Joel, “The group had a goal of eventually, over time, reaching 100,000 views for ‘Candlelight.’ It hit a million that weekend and is now at 12.5 million views. That’s when we all looked at each other and kind of said, ‘Is this really happening?’

Then we started seeing our video posted on major news sites and the TV stations started reaching out to us to perform.”

Not bad for a video that took one day to make and cost less than $2,000 to create.

“We recently held an audition this year, the first time in four years,” Joel shares. “None of us want to stop, which makes it harder to add new members.

But we did just add a wonderful new member, Joey Senders.”

As for what the audition process looks like to join the ranks of the world’s most famous Jewish a cappella group of nice Jewish boys dedicated to their heritage, their craft and their families, Joel explains, “It is not a special audition process. Prepare some music, sing for the guys and we vote. That’s it.”

YeshivaMemories

JAKE ADLER Hebrew Academy of Suffolk County Class of 2000 Torah Academy of Suffolk County Class of 2004

The most vivid memory I have from my yeshiva days was the impact they had on my parents and my two siblings. There is no question that sending three kids to Jewish day school was not easy with the high cost of tuition. But my parents prioritized both our Jewish and our secular education, and it made them extremely happy to do so. Their joy had a long-lasting effect on me—as did their struggle. The saddest part is that both my elementary and high schools on Long Island were forced to close because of soaring costs. This was 15 to 20 years ago, and costs have only increased for parents and schools. This is partly why I have dedicated my career to helping alleviate the burden on our schools and families.

I remember fondly when each of my daughters got her chance in pre-K and Kindergarten to be the Ema for the weekly Shabbat party. I was not working full-time when my older girl had her two chances so it was easy for me and the family to attend the events. I had returned to teaching full-time when my younger daughter had her turns, so I did not get to attend most occasions.

But I do recall one year she made sure to wear a fancy dress, and she was so dramatic when she lit the Shabbat candles, as if she were acting on stage!

THE LEVITT FAMILY Rabbi Harry Halpern Day School Class of MID-2000s

East Midwood Jewish Center Hebrew School Class of early-mid 1970s

One of my favorite vocabulary games in my third grade class was when our teacher, Mrs. Rohn, would toss a ball to a student and say a word in English. We would it and say the correct translated word in Hebrew. Or she would lob the ball to a student and say the word in Hebrew and we would catch it, and translate the word into English. I ended up doing this game a few times when I was a substitute teacher for a beginning Hebrew class!

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IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

The Relationship Between Cheesecake and Hamantashen

BY RABBI ELIE WEINSTOCK

When I was growing up, my father would often say, “On Sukkot you can eat WHAT you want, but you can’t eat WHERE you want. On Pesach you can eat WHERE you want, but you can’t eat WHAT you want.

Shavuot is the best holiday since you can eat WHAT you want and WHERE you want it.”

Now, the holidays are about much more than what’s on the menu (or are they?), but Shavuot does stand out in the cycle of holidays for its lack of specific rituals or symbols. If we go around the year, we start with the shofar announcing a new year on Rosh Hashanah along with all of the accompanying sweet symbolism.

Yom Kippur is unforgettable for the fasting and the amount of time spent in synagogue. Sukkot has the sukkah and the four species. Chanukah has the lighting of the candles commemorating a miracle; the presents came later. Passover is the “king of rituals” with matzah and the many features of the seder.

Shavuot? Yes, there are customs like cheesecake, but Shavuot is, fundamentally, “just” a holiday commemorating receiving the Torah at Sinai. In my experience, it is the one that gives observant Jews the hardest time with their bosses when they ask to take the day off, since it is the least recognizable of the Jewish holidays.

Why don’t we make a bigger deal and have rituals celebrating Shavuot? Without the Torah received on Shavuot, there would be no Judaism! It is because the Torah is life. More accurately, the Torah is the mechanism for living a meaningful and sacred life.

To commemorate the Torah, one doesn’t need fancy rituals or recipes. To commemorate the Torah, we recommit to living it.

The best things in life may not be free, but the greatest thing in life is to live it purposefully.

There is another holiday that seems quite ordinary, yet is also quite profound. Nowadays, we do make a big deal about it with costumes and fancy gift baskets.

But Purim, at its core, is celebrated in a very everyday way. The Megillah teaches that we celebrate Purim by observing four mitzvoth: We read the Megillah, which recounts the Purim story; we have a festive meal; we share gifts of food with friends; and we make sure to help out those in need. Yes, these are rituals, but I can’t think of a more natural way to celebrate every day than by telling a story, eating, sharing and helping.

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, a noted rabbi and

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psychiatrist, notes that what makes Purim unique is that there is nothing supernatural about it. Everything seems to unfold in an ordinary fashion, yet God is quite active behind the scenes to bring about the salvation of the Jews. The Purim narrative includes a drunken king, a refusal by the queen that earns her a death sentence, a Jewish beauty becoming the next queen, a villain, a hero, a couple of parties, a hanging and a victory—hardly the stuff of miracles! In reality, though, we can find God pulling the strings behind the scenes of seemingly ordinary events.

The holiday of Purim—like Shavuot—is about celebrating the way we live our lives.

And here’s the kicker—in Esther (9:27) we read: ‫םיִוְלִּנַה לָּכ לַעְו םָעְרַז לַעְו םֶהיֵלֲע םיִדּוהְּיַה ולְּבִקְו ּומְּיִק‬ ‫…םֶהיֵלֲע‬.

The Jews ordained and took upon themselves and upon their seed and upon all those who join them….

The Talmud (Shabbat 88a) comments that this verse in Esther means that kiymu ma she-kiblu k’var— that the Jews during the time of Purim accepted

what they had accepted previously. This refers to the Torah. The Jews accepted the Torah at Sinai, and they accepted it again during the time of the Purim story.

We learn that, like Sinai and Shavuot, Purim is a reaffirmation of Judaism as living. The Torah contains many rules and obligations. At the same time, Judaism is meant to be integrated into our everyday lives to uplift and sanctify what we do and who we are.

The Jews in Persia may have strayed from this message. It is quite easy to lose sight of the sacred and meaningful within the hustle and bustle of daily life.

But at the height of their salvation from the depths of despair, they reaffirmed the necessity of bringing the Torah and Judaism into their everyday lives.

Thank God (and with God’s help), the 21st century doesn’t confront us with a similar threat of destruction, though danger is always present and vigilance always required. As we celebrate Purim, however, it would be a nice idea to reaffirm for ourselves and our children the power, meaning and relevance of the Torah in our lives and in our world today.

Rabbi Elie Weinstock is rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (KJ) in Manhattan and a vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis.

NYJL Celebrates March 21 World Down Syndrome Day

BY SARA WERDEN

March 21, 2017, marks the 12th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day, an annual day of global awareness founded by the United Kingdom-based charity Down Syndrome International (DSI), and officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.

On this day, DSI invites people around the world to join it in increasing understanding of this genetic disorder, as well as advocating for a high quality of life for those affected by the disorder. Quality of life, for this disorder and so many other disabilities, focuses on promoting the inclusion of those with the disability in as many daily activities as possible.

Down syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) occurs when a child is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21 (currently occurring in approximately 1 in 800 live births). In most cases this causes lifelong mental and physical difficulties. Traditional childhood milestones (walking, speaking, and independent dressing and feeding) are significantly delayed.

A variety of physical, educational, occupational and developmental treatments is now available, encouraging Down syndrome teens and adults to work, pursue a college education and live independently (with access to support services).

To raise awareness for people living with this disorder, DSI has created a

World Down Syndrome Day website— worlddownsyndromeday.org—where visitors are encouraged to share their experiences. They can also get information about related DSI events around the world and specific initiatives created by the charity.

Examples of DSI initiatives include its #MyVoiceMyCommunity campaign, which enables people with Down syndrome to get involved in government policy and action; and the annual World Down Syndrome global video event, in which video clips are collected and edited to promote the inclusion of people with Down syndrome in society.

Last year, DSI released a critically acclaimed public-awareness video titled “How Do You See Me?” starring acclaimed actress Olivia Wilde and Down syndrome college student AnnaRose, a past participant in multiple events at the Special Olympics. “How Do You See Me?” flips the camera, sharing the perspective not of those seeing a person with Down syndrome but of that person herself.

The sixth annual World Down Syndrome Conference will also be held on March 21, at the Trusteeship Council Chamber at United Nations Headquarters. Scheduled panels include “Why Should We Advocate?,” “In Our Own Words” and “How Do We Advocate?” Speakers from around the world are scheduled, including Dina EshalievaKyrgyzstan, director, Public Fund of Parents of Children with Down Syndrome; Maria Madalina Turza-Romania, president, European Centre for the Rights of Children with Disabilities; and Michał Milka-Poland, self-advocate, Polish Association for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities. Free registration for this event is available on the World Down Syndrome Day website.

DSI is also well known for its fundraising efforts. Visitors of the World Down Syndrome Day website can purchase official WDSD merchandise, as well as items from its whimsical Lots of Socks collection.

For more information about DSI, please visit https://ds-int.org .

MARCH 15 – 21, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 13

IN THE COMMUNITY

Juxtaposed against an image of refugees in undirected motion, the iron outlines of the cases that carry their life’s possessions remain intact.

Soft Diplomacy: Revealing Israeli Art at the United Nations

BY MAXINE DOVERE

Orna Ben Ami with Janet Lehr,owner of the Janet Lehr Gallery in East Hampton.

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Joseph Bau, an artist who survived World War II as a name on Schindler’s List, long dreamed of having his art displayed on the walls of the United Nations.

During more than a half century in Israel, his work as a graphic artist helped the Mossad extradite Adolf Eichmann from Argentina, and assisted Eli Cohen in his espionage efforts in Syria. When Shashi Tharoor, then Under-Secretary General at the United Nations, contacted the Joseph Bau Museum in Tel Aviv to invite him to participate in the exhibit marking the official International Holocaust Remembrance in 2010, it was, said his daughters, Hadasa and Clila, ”the fulfillment of a dream.”

Israel’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has made it a priority to increase the visibility of Israel, and its art, at the United Nations. In a conversation with New York Jewish Life,

the Ambassador emphasized that “under my watch, we have vigorously stood up to anyone who spreads lies about Israel...working closely with our friends to fight against the endless attempts to condemn Israel.”

Danon called the defense of Israel “a serious and relentless fight.” “I also believe that we must also go on the offensive,” Danon told NYJL. “This means using ‘soft diplomacy’ to expose as many Ambassadors as possible to the truth about Israel. Once an ambassador or UN official truly experiences Israel, their views are changed forever. They don’t necessarily become a Zionist overnight, but do often try to see things in our region in a more nuanced manner.”

The Ambassador has brought some twenty UN ambassadors to Israel. He has also brought Israeli culture to the United Nations. “These [Israeli art] exhibits are enormously popular at the UN. Not only do top officials and Ambassadors from friendly countries show up, but often we see Ambassadors from

IN THE COMMUNITY

countries who do not even have diplomatic relations with Israel at these events. They may be coming to look at a particular work of art; they leave a little more educated about Israel.”

Within the last year, three major exhibits of Israeli art have been displayed at the United Nations, beginning with a display of the paintings of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, z’l, who was a soldier in the Israel Defense Force. Hadar was killed during the 2014 Gaza War. He left a legacy of paintings Ambassador Danon called “touchingly poignant.” “The paintings,” said Danon, “portray the painstaking reality Israelis face every day.” Titled “The Final Peace,” the work “highlighted the evil we must contend with as we battle terrorists who refuse to return our soldier’s body for proper burial.” Goldin’s body is still held by the terror group, Hamas.

An exhibit of thirty photographs of natural flora and fauna, taken by Israeli photographers, “allow people to take in the beauty of our country,” said Danon.

“The Natural Side of Israel,” a series of thirty prize winning photographs, depicts the beauty of nature in a series selected by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

The most recent exhibit, “Entire Life in a Package” shows Israel’s commitment to the worldwide refugee crisis. Co-sponsored by the Israeli Mission to the United Nations and The Israel Project (TIP), artist Ben Ami’s work is in welded iron, often combining the stark metal with photographs that portray individual or community loss of home, identity, and sanctity.

While projecting a clear Holocaust reference, they also offer a more universal view of global refugees.

Commenting on the exhibit, Danon said “as a people who spent 2,000 years living in exile, we are no strangers to this world. We experienced firsthand the lack of security while in exile, while never losing hope for a better future. As Jews, we cannot allow ourselves to be indifferent to the plight of refugees today.

This message resonates with so many here at the UN and perhaps makes them consider Israel in a different light than they usually do.”

Josh Block is President and CEO of The Israel Project. Ami’s exhibit, said Block “was an opportunity to showcase Israel’s sensitivity to the dreams represented in the upheaval of the journeys of refugees.”

NYJL asked the artist if her work is received differently in Israel than in the Diaspora. “When I showed my work in my studio,” she shared “people had tears in their eyes...” She incorporates family photos with cut and welded iron, seeking “to soften this hardest of substances, while strengthening the message of her work.”

“In art you can really express yourself. I want the iron to be feminine, with pain and emotion ... I sculpt objects, belongings that represent people to me... The idea is more difficult than the execution,” said the artist, who does her own welding. A refugee’s “entire life is in a box” she said.

“For me, saying goodbye is connected with death,” concluded Ben Ami. “I need to tell the world now you have to do something.”

Noam Kortler photographed thousands of Red Sea Dwarf Sweepers “glassfish” at the Satil Wreck Site

Only the doll imaged in iron remains the little girl is disappeared.

Israel’s national bird, the hoopee, manages to outrun a golden jackel in this photograph by Irit Drob

From left: Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, H.E. Danny Denon, artist Orna Ben Ami and Joshua Block, president and CEO of the Israel Project

From the right) Shaul Goldstein, Director General, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Mazi Magnez, Director of Communications, and Uzi Barzilai, Manager for Resource Development and Partnership, Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Joseph Bau’s artistry and its preservation by Oscar Schindler enabled the viewer to “enter” Pleskow Concentration Camp through these disturbing images.

“The Wedding” portrays his and Rebecca Tannenbaum’s marriage ceremony in Pleskow, an event memorialized in Steven Spielberg’s 1990 epic Schindler’s List;“ entering the Crematorium allowed exit in only a single, heavenward direction.

MARCH 15 – 21, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 15

Ten Tips for a Less-Stressful Passover

BY DUBY LITVIN

(JTA) — Passover requires a great deal of preparation, especially if you are making your home kosher for Passover. These 10 tips will help you organize and prioritize so you can enjoy the holiday.

1. Don’t wing it; plan it.

Planning is imperative. Think of your house as your corporation and you as its CEO. You are in charge.

Just as a big company would plan out its functions, you also want to work on “Project Passover.” When you have a plan in place, things will go much more smoothly.

2. Delegate to your team, including children.

As CEO, it is your job to delegate and supervise all the tasks. The more you delegate, the better off you will be. If you can afford it, hire a cleaning person to help. Have your spouse or a teenage son or daughter take care of the shopping. Even if you think the job is small and easy, the less on your plate the better.

The best thing with children under 6 is to have someone else take them out of the house so you can clean without them underfoot. Older children can handle small jobs, such as wiping down toys and surfaces. In the kitchen, these little helpers can do peeling, juicing, cracking nuts or other introductory jobs. Know what your child can or can’t handle and let him or her feel important.

3. Distinguish between Passover cleaning and spring cleaning.

Imagine sitting down to a beautiful Passover seder—the house is spotless, the chandeliers are glistening, the windows are sparkling—and you’re falling asleep. While it’s lovely to have chandeliers and windows sparkle and shine, this is not essential to making your home kosher for Passover. Passover requires cleaning any place where there’s a very good chance that food was brought in. If you know there was no food brought to an area, that area doesn’t have to be cleaned. Even if food has become stuck on the wall, if it’s more dirt than food, it doesn’t have to be scrubbed off. For something to be considered chametz, it needs to be edible and accessible.

4. Is it poor man’s bread or bread that makes us poor?

For those buying only foods certified kosher for Passover, the holiday can be very expensive. But you don’t have to make matzah or other processed

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foods mainstays of your meals. Instead, focus on inseason fruits and vegetables. Before heading to the supermarket, create a menu and shopping list, and stick to it.

5. Don’t buy an entire kitchen your first year.

If you are making your house strictly kosher for Passover, you will need to pack away your year-round dishes and cookware and replace them with Passover ones. However, you can build up your Passover collection gradually. Start with just the few crucial items the first year and each year buy a few more things.

6. Your best friend is your list.

From a cleaning to-do list to detailed shopping lists, from last-minute reminders to menus, lists will save your life. Don’t let a mental to-do list overwhelm you—get it all down on paper and rest assured nothing will be forgotten. Keep everything in one place (or on your smartphone).

7. Passover doesn’t have to be Pinterest-worthy.

While many people believe everything has to be picture-perfect, simplifying can make your life much easier. Plan a new and fancy dish here and there if it gives you pleasure, but don’t feel like you must. Where possible, cook things in advance and freeze them.

8. Leave the bitterness to the maror.

The last thing you want is to have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to holiday traditions. If you do feel resentful about the amount of work that goes

into holiday preparations, then something needs to change ASAP. Try to shift your thinking from “yet another thing I have to do” to a place of “we have an opportunity here.” Focus on what’s most important about Passover: the seders, which allow for time with family and other loved ones.

9. Have fun and create new traditions.

My mother-in-law makes a special orange soup for Passover, and all her grown children now make it as well, because it’s a beloved tradition. You may think, Who cares? It’s just soup (or it’s just the annual Passover week trip to the park). But these are exactly the things that make Passover special. To make holiday prep more fun, try putting music on while cleaning, giving out prizes (to yourself as well as others) for accomplishing specific tasks, purchasing special new toys for the holiday, and/or creating photo contests with friends or family members of “funniest items found while cleaning for Passover.”

10. When all is said and done, get it in writing!

Passover is over, and the last thing you want to do is to create one more list. But hang in there and jot down what worked and what didn’t, such as buying too much matzah or not enough. Write down that new trick you came up with to help the kids enjoy the seder. You will thank yourself next year.

For more Passover planning tips from Duby Litvin, go to www.DubysPesachLists.com Duby Litvin lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Shmully. When she is not making lists, she focuses on the small kosher bakery she owns and dabbles in writing children’s literature. Connect with her at MrsDuby@gmail. com or go to www.DubysPesachLists.com.

Passover Recipes: Lighten Up with Fish and Veggies

BY MEGAN WOLF

(JTA) — I love serving light foods that are naturally kosher for Passover. With so much matzah, vegetable and fish dishes are often a welcome addition in my home.

In this holiday menu, my coconut carrot soup is a creamy soup at its finest. The combination of carrots, ginger and coconut is so warming and really delicious.

Not a ginger fan? It’s easy enough to leave it out.

And what could be better than a recipe that doesn’t require excellent knife skills? Since the soup ingredients are blended, dicing imperfections won’t be noticeable at all.

For the caesar salad, making your own dressing is an easy way to cut down on the fat and calories, and tailor the taste to your palate. I’m a big garlic fan, but feel free to scale back—your dressing will still be delectable. Romaine hearts hold up especially well against a hearty dressing.

The lemon salmon recipe is perfect for a crowd.

Little work is required and the end result is so tasty.

Roasting lemons really brings out the flavors. You can encourage your guests to squeeze the warm lemon atop the salmon for even more flavor.

The lemon in the grilled asparagus nicely complements the salmon without imparting an overpoweringly lemon flavor. Because one dish has roasted lemon and one has lemon zest, they are bright without being redundant.

If you don’t have a grill pan—which is a wonderful kitchen item to have, especially if you’re tight for space—you can easily roast the asparagus in the oven for a similar texture. But really, nothing beats the smokiness of a grill.

1 tablespoon diced ginger 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced 1 can coconut milk 3 cups vegetable stock salt and pepper to taste coconut-milk yogurt (optional) Preparation: In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium low heat. Then add the carrots, celery and ginger. Cook until soft, about 18-20 minutes.

In a small skillet, heat the last 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Then set aside.

Add the can of coconut milk to the carrot and celery mixture and stir to combine. Add 2 cups of stock and stir to combine.

Place half of the onion into the carrot mixture and place the mixture in a blender to combine until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender directly into the stock pot.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with remaining sautéed onions and optional coconut yogurt on top.

Ingredients: 1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly diced 1 cup diced celery

Preparation: Preheat oven to 400.

Coat each piece of salmon with olive oil. Then sprinkle with salt and peppercorns.

Place lemon slices over salmon and roast until cooked to your liking, about 10 minutes or more.

Serve on a platter with rosemary sprigs.

CAESAR SALAD

Ingredients: 2 large heads romaine lettuce hearts 3/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (can be omitted for Passover) 1 lemon, juiced salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese hot pepper flakes (optional) Preparation: In a blender or food processor, combine yogurt, olive oil, garlic, mustard and lemon juice.

Taste. Then season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Halve each lettuce heart and dice. Then place in a large bowl.

Toss the greens with half of the salad dressing to start, adding more to your taste.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

COCONUT CARROT SOUP

1/2 teaspoon peppercorns 1 lemon, thinly sliced 4 sprigs rosemary

LEMON SALMON

Ingredients: 1 pound salmon, sliced into 4 fillets 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

GRILLED ASPARAGUS Ingredients: 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1 lemon, zested

Preparation: Heat a grill pan until hot (or roast in the oven).

Toss asparagus with olive oil and place on grill pan, cooking about 3 minutes on each side.

Sprinkle warm asparagus with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest.

Megan Wolf is the author of “Great Meals with Greens and Grains.”

MARCH 15 – 21, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 17

OUR WORLD

Landsmen South of the Border On the other side of the wall Trump wants built, a Jewish community thrives

BY MAXINE DOVERE

More than a century before Jews arrived in what would become the United States, Mexico had a Jewish community with five hundred year old roots. The first Mexican Jews were Marranos - Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism, or escapees from the Spanish Inquisition. After 1571, they faced similar persecution in Mexico. Many assimilated, although traces - including genetic traces - of their Jewish origin remain. In the 21st Century, a significant number, both in Mexico and the once Mexican Southwestern United States, have returned to Judaism.

Luis de Carvajal and his family arrived in 1567.

On March 12, the Consulate of Mexico in New York exhibited their oldest known Jewish documents in the “New World - Memorias.” which will be permanently housed in Mexico’s Museum of Memory and Tolerance. A 1595 autobiography details Carvajal’s Jewish life, hidden and not, and includes his book of psalms, commandments, and a collection of prayers.

The Carvajal family arrived in Mexico as the Mexican Inquisition was being established. From 1585 to 1601, “New Spain” was actively engaged in purging Mexico of its Jewish communities. Carvajal, a Portuguese born “hidden Jew,” and his family were initially welcomed, even given land grants just north of “New Spain.” In 1595 he was denounced and, though he had revealed the names of some 120 other secret Jews, and executed in 1596 The current Jewish community of Mexico can trace its beginnings to the declaration of religious tolerance issued by the Emperor Maximilian I in 1865. Maximilian needed professionals to modernize Mexican society, and invited members of the European Jewish community to immigrate. A small group, industrialists and banking personnel, accepted the invitation. Some made fortunes, a few stayed, but most returned to Europe. Despite this outreach effort, the 1900 census count showed a population of only 134 Jews. By 1930, the estimate was about 21,000.

Some 50,000 Jews now live in Mexico, making it Latin America’s third-largest Jewish community (Argentina and Brazil are larger). Most contemporary Mexican Jews are descendants of the Askenazic immigration of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. The initial immigration was largely Yiddish

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speaking. Ladino-speaking Sephardim, many with origins in Syria and the Middle East, followed. Noted scholar Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, MD, Lebanese born of Syrian Jewish heritage, was raised in Mexico City.

About 75 per cent of the Jewish community lives in five neighborhoods in Mexico City, with smaller populations in Guadalajara and Monterrey. “It is a very close community,” Noa Radosh, a third generation Mexican born in Israel, told New York Jewish Life.

“It prides itself on the continuity of its Judaism and the strength of its Zionism.” Noa, a graduate student soon to be at Brandeis University, warmly admitted “we all know one another. Wherever you are in the world, if there is a Mexican Jew, we probably have met or share the same friends.”

Mexican Jewish Yiddish language activist Arturo Kerbel-Shein, speaking about Jewish schooling in Mexico, says in de alte schoola - the old school children learn Yiddish and Spanish, study Tanach in Hebrew, and enjoy a strong close knit Jewish atmosphere. “Kindergartners would speak to each other in Yiddish and Spanish.” Non-denominational Jewish education is available at the “newer” YL Peretz School, founded in 1948.

New York Jewish Life asked Ricardo Alday,

Political Coordinator for the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C., to comment on the level of antiSemitism in Mexico. Alday, who is Jewish, said “We are a welcoming society. We haven’t heard of activities similar to those in the States. We have no reports or complaints from anyone in the community or from high level Jewish leaders. I would raise the flag if that were the case.”

Miguel Angel Mancer, Mayor of Mexico City, recently laid the cornerstone for the new headquarters of the Jewish Documentation and Research Center of Mexico. Sited next to the historic Rodfe Sedek Synagogue, it will house Jewish documents, photos, an audiovisual archive and 20,000 books, a newspaper library, auditorium and classrooms. Ruben Goldberg, president of the Board of Trustees of the 86 year old Synagogue, called Rodfe Sedek’s new neighbor “the symbol of conservation and survival... in which the history of our people survives without waning.” The president of the Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico, Soloman Achar, characterized building the center near the synagogue as a way “to boost the concept of a Jewish meeting point that will also help preserve the history of the Jewish community.”

Mexico’s relations with the Jewish world go far beyond its borders. In 2000, a wide ranging trade agreement was signed with Israel. By 2016, trade between the two nations increased almost 300 percent, totaling roughly $700 million annually, making Israel Mexico’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East.

Jonathon Peled, Israel’s Ambassador to Mexico, has told El Universal newspaper “This is a very timely moment for the relationship between Mexico and Israel, which is expressed at political, economic and cultural level.,” Mexico’s President, Enrique Pena Nieto, plans to visit Israel in 2017, when the trade agreement is to be updated and a “ProMexico” trade office is to be opened.

“Still,” Noa Radosh told New York Jewish Life, “most Mexicans have never met a Jew.”

Sephardi Scholar Devin Naar reads children’s books in Ladino to his son, Vidal, as well as translates books from English into the language.

JTA - COURTESY OF NAAR

50 PLUS LIFESTYLES

Get In Shape With Partner Workouts

BY JOANN BARRY COLON

Did you know that relationships and fitness have a lot in common? They both require a commitment, hard work, time and patience and are totally worth the results.

As a Certified Personal Trainer, I understand that men and women may work out at different intensities, yet they both have the same goals in mind: being in a healthy relationship and getting healthy. I help partners customize workout plans that they can do

together while maintaining their different workout intensities.

Below are three partner workouts that can be performed at home or the gym: • Wall Sit/Dips: One person places his or her back up against the wall and slowly come into a sitting position, bringing your feet slightly forward and shoulder width apart. Hold the wall, sit while your partner performs their dips. For the dips, the other person stands in front of their partner (facing away), firmly place each hand on their partners thighs then come down

into a sitting position (knees bent for beginners or straight for advance), begin to bring your buttocks down to the floor until your arms are at a 90 degree angle, then slowly extend your arms (keeping your back straight and chest up throughout the movement).

Do eight to 10 reps then change places.

Aim for two to three sets.

• Kneeling Partner Rotation: Kneel on the floor, place your feet together and keep your shoulders back and chest up. Begin to rotate a ball counter clockwise, while passing the ball to one another, and then rotate to the

other side. Do eight to 10 reps counter clock wise, then repeat the other way.

Aim for two to three sets (Beginners start with a two or four-pound medicine ball and advance to a four- or sixpound medicine ball).

• Partner Lunge: Stand approxi mately one foot apart from one another and facing each other, then hold hands. Keeping your back straight, chest up and shoulders back, step back on your left leg, bringing your knee down to a 90 degree angle (almost touching the floor)and hold for a count. Then, return your left foot to the start position. Repeat eight to 10 reps, then switch legs. Aim for two to three sets.

Consult your physician before starting this regimen. For best results, work one on one with a Certified Personal Trainer. Redeem this article to receive a complimentary partner workout session. Email your questions to healingwithin34@aol.com.

5 Smart Steps To Preserving Brain Health Everyone knows aerobic exercise gets the heart pumping and lifting weights keeps muscles strong. But when it comes to keeping the brain healthy, most people are unsure what to do.

As you age, brain health and maintaining memory functions becomes a top concern. Turns out, these issues may begin sooner than you think.

“We tend to think about memory decline as an older person’s issue, but that’s not the case at all,” said Dr. Aimee Gould Shunney, a licensed naturopathic doctor specializing in women’s health and family medicine.

“There was a study published in 2012 in the British Medical Journal that examined cognitive function in people age 45 to 70. The researchers did not expect it, but they found evidence of cognitive decline in the 45-yearold participants as well as the older participants.”

She notes there are two basic pathological processes that cause degeneration of the brain: oxidative stress and inflammation. Basically, the standard American diet and lifestyle contribute to those processes. So who is this really an issue for? Men and women of all ages.

No matter your age, you can take charge of your brain health by following these five smart steps from Dr.

Make memories and support brain health by spending time with friends and family.

Shunney: Healthy eating “A Mediterranean-type diet that focuses on whole foods, good fats and foods high in antioxidants is a great place to start,” said Dr. Shunney.

She encourages her patients to focus on getting omega-3 fats from fish and monounsaturated fats from olives, olive oil, nuts and seeds. She also recommends increasing fruits (especially berries) and beans (they’re packed with antioxidants). What’s more, research shows a little cocoa, coffee and red wine can act as antioxidants

and are beneficial in low to moderate amounts.

Supplements In addition to a quality multivitamin, Dr. Shunney recommends an omega-3 supplement. “Getting enough omega-3s is one of the most important measures we can take,” she said. “DHA is the dominant omega-3 in the brain.

Just like we need to make sure babies have enough DHA to grow their brain, we need to make sure older people get enough DHA to keep their brains healthy.”

She suggests Omega Memory by

Nordic Naturals. It’s a DHA-dominant omega-3 formula that also includes other brain healthy ingredients: curcumin, phosphatidylcholine and huperzine A. Learn more at www.nordicnaturals.com.

Thinking activities “I recommend anything that keeps your mind working,” said Dr. Shunney.

“Such as activities that require things to be arranged or puzzles that have to be put together. Crossword puzzles, word games and board games are all great.”

She also notes some activities to avoid: “It’s important to limit certain activities. The constant scanning of social media and newsfeeds eliminates creativity and keeps us on edge. Limit the time you spend doing that and instead do things that cause you to explore and think and put ideas together on your own.”

Socialize “Social isolation has been linked with cognitive decline,” said Dr. Shunney. “In one study, people who were lonely experienced cognitive decline at a 20 percent faster rate than people who were not lonely.”

Make time to take a foreign language class, join a Toastmaster’s Club, take a watercolor class - anything that connects you regularly to other people.

-Brandpoint

MARCH 15 – 21, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 19

3 Popular Humorists Write a Haggadah for the ‘When do we Eat?’ Crowd

BY ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL

(JTA) -- If the Maxwell House version doesn’t cut it for you, there are Haggadahs for vegans, for children, for chocolate lovers and even for Christians. There’s the “Santa Cruz Haggadah” for hippies and the “New American Haggadah” for hipsters. There are annotated Haggadahs for those who want to extend the seder into the wee hours, and the “30 Minute Seder Haggada” for those who want to eat, pray and bolt.

Now three well-known American humorists have written a Haggadah for an overlooked crowd: the wiseguys, cutups and punsters who frankly have a hard time taking the whole thing seriously.

“For This We Left Egypt? A Passover Haggadah for Jews and Those Who Love Them” (Flatiron Books) is a collaboration of Dave Barry, whose syndicated Miami Herald humor column ran for over 20 years; Alan Zweibel, an original “Saturday Night Live” writer and co-creator of “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”; and Adam Mansbach, the novelist who had a sleeper hit with his faux children’s book, “Go the F*** to Sleep.”

“For This We Left Egypt?” (henceforth known as “FTWLE”) is the sort of book that includes Jerry Lewis as one of the Ten Plagues, that wonders why slaves escaping Egypt would run directly toward a body of water, and that suggests Jews are told to eat the bitter herbs known as maror “to remind ourselves that we never, ever again as a people, want to be in a position where we have to eat freaking maror.”

For all the jokes, however (and it is pretty much all jokes), the book follows the basic steps of an actual seder and includes some prayers in their original Hebrew. It’s even printed from right to left. If you were to discard the jokes, you’d be left with a fairly faithful framework of an actual Haggadah, albeit six pages long.

At a panel discussion last week at the New York Public Library featuring the three authors, Barry said they hoped that some readers would actually use their parody haggadah at a seder. In the first place, it would mean selling more books. And in the second place -well, he didn’t mention a second place.

Barry had previously collaborated with Zweibel on the 2012 novel “Lunatics.” Mansbach and Zweibel wrote the 2015 kids’ book “Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My ....” The three met up a few years ago at the Miami Book Fair and, at Mansbach’s suggestion,

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started an email chain that ended up as “FTWLE.” Zweibel, who grew up as a member of Congregation Sons of Israel in Woodmere, New York, had previously assured himself a place in Jewish Humor Heaven when he suggested to fellow SNL writers Al Franken and Tom Davis the idea for the “Royal Deluxe II” commercial parody. In that 1977 skit, a rabbi tests a smooth-riding luxury car by circumcising a baby in the back seat. Mansbach described his own 2009 novel “The End of the Jews” as a book about the “complexities of a Jewish identity -- the fact that you can feel culturally Jewish without being religious, or understand yourself ethnically as Jewish but not be down with the dominant politics of Jewish life, and so on.”

Which might seem to leave Barry, the son of a Presbyterian minister, as the odd man out in this trio, except that he and his Jewish wife belong to a Reform temple in Miami and he served as sandek -- honorary baby holder -- at his grandson’s brit milah.

Barry recalled the family seders where his father-in-law and family patriarch, a Cuban Jewish immigrant named Harry Kaufman, liked to recite the complete Haggadah in at least three languages. The other guests tried to trick Harry into “skipping huge chunks of it and then pretend he fell asleep.”

Looking back on those marathons, Barry said, “No wonder this religion is in trouble.”

In fact, the target audience for “FTWLE” are those who approach the annual seder as a bit of an ordeal -- an endurance test of biblical storytelling standing between them and their meal. A 2013 Pew survey of American Jews found that attending a seder is the most commonly observed Jewish practice, but it didn’t seem to ask if anyone is actually enjoying the proceedings.

In recent years, there’s been a slew of Haggadahs meant to enliven the typical seder, with discussion questions

for the adults and games to distract -- I mean engage -- the kids. Those efforts come in for ribbing in the “FTWLE” as well. Following the section on the Four Sons, one of a series of “discussion questions” asks, “Vito ‘The G-dfather’ Corleone had four children: Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie. At Corleone family Seders, who do you think asked each of the four questions, and why?”

(Yes, “FTWLE” follows traditional Jewish practice by spelling the Almighty’s name as “G-d,” as in “Then G-d spoke from inside the cloud. At least he said he was G-d; there was no way to tell for sure because of the cloud.”)

(And weirdly enough, it doesn’t have a parody of the Four Questions. Why is this Haggadah parody different from all other Haggadah parodies -- of which there are examples, according to Yiddish scholar Eddy Portnoy, as far back as the 13th century?)

I’m a product of the “seders don’t have to be boring” generation, and at our table keep a stack of modern commentaries and supplements on hand to keep the evening lively. This year I’ll add “FTWLE” for the times when things begin to flag. And I’ll toss out questions from it like this one: “How come the Angel of Death needed lamb’s blood to know which houses the Israelites lived in? You’d think that would be the kind of thing the Angel of Death would just know, right?”

For a parody Haggadah, that’s a seriously good question.

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EDITORIAL

Why Seeking Work/ Life Balance is the Wrong Goal

BY JENNY MAENPAA, LMSW, ACC

More and more women, especially millennials, are prioritizing “work/life balance” when seeking jobs. I commend these women for prioritizing their own selfcare, as I always tell clients I work with to “put the oxygen mask on themselves first.”

The problem with this particular mentality is it inherently implies that work and life are separate entities. It’s as if the person you are at home is a “mommy” suit you leave by the door on your way out, or the person you are at work is a “teacher” hat you can put on and take off at will. Does anyone really forget about their children, spouses, families, or friends when they are at work? And does any professional “turn off ” their brain when they go home?

We are whole, complete people. We think about our loved ones when we are at work, on the subway, and everywhere in between, doubly so when there is an issue we are concerned about. We use the skills we learn and refine at work in our everyday interactions. It’s time to stop fighting the fact that our work lives and our home lives are not two halves of ourselves, but rather two of the many facets that make up our personalities and journeys.

According to the 2016 Workforce Purpose Index by LinkedIn and Imperative (the Largest Global Study on the Role of Purpose in the Workforce), “Professionals spend a majority of their hours awake at work, and yet 2 out of 3 are disengaged in their jobs.

Only 30% of the U.S. workforce reports being actively involved, enthusiastic, and committed to their work. There has never been a more crucial time to connect people with their purpose.”

Instead of seeking out a “balance” between work and life, integrate them. If your strengths at work are coalition-building

22 | NYJLIFE.COM | MARCH 15 – 21, 2017

and teamwork, use those skills to manage conflict on the PTA. If your job teaches you how to take a vision and make it a tangible reality, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

If you value being home for dinner, don’t work for a company that regularly schedules meetings for 7 pm. If you prioritize weekend freedom, don’t take a job with >50% travel.

On the other hand, if you are young, single, and love to travel, take that job! The point is, there is a lid for every pot, and a company for every kind of employee.

Too often, women try to fit themselves into a mold dictated by someone else’s needs. It may seem like the right choice at the outset, but anyone who has ever spent too much time trying to become a version of themselves to meet someone else’s expectations knows it never ends well.

So stop trying to force yourself into making a false choice between who you are in your life and who you are expected to be at work.

If you are a right fit for an organization, you will already be living the values their company promotes. If they are a right fit for you, their mission will explicitly state values that resonate with you. You deserve to be happy, efficient, and effective all at once, and your company deserves an employee who is all of those things, too. Happy employees are productive employees, and productive employees increase profits for their companies. Those companies then turn around and reward productive employees with bonuses, promotions, and raises. It’s a win/win.

Jenny Maenpaa, LMSW, ACC is the founder of Forward in Heels Executive Coaching, which empowers women who want to excel at what they do, stand tall, and own their worth so they can light up the world. As a licensed psychotherapist as well as certified executive leadership coach, Jenny has been helping women make bold, lasting changes in their lives for over a decade.

The Surge in Anti-Semitism?

Here’s How to Stop it

BY DANIEL ELBAUM AND MARC STERN

Almost daily accounts of vandalized cemeteries, spraypainted swastikas and bomb threats to JCCs and other Jewish agencies have naturally evoked considerable alarm.

Clearly, we must never reconcile ourselves to an America where this is considered normal. Yet we must not succumb to the opposite tendency to see these recent incidents through a 2,000-year-old lens and draw comparisons to darker days, when Jews felt powerless and alone in the fight against anti-Semitism.

There is no nation -- other than Israel, of course -- that has been more hospitable and welcoming to Jews than the United States. Indeed, there has been no generation of Jews in our people’s history more ingrained into the fabric of the nation in which it lived.

Experts on hate crimes agree on two things.

First, perpetrators are not always caught, and therefore the majority of hate-crime victims may not see the culprits brought to justice.

Second, since hate crimes are “message” crimes, the public response is crucial in preventing them from happening again.

Words matter. Condemnations matter. And leaders must step up and express solidarity with the victimized communities, sending the clear message that such acts will not be tolerated or ignored.

We welcome the White House’s strong condemnation of recent anti-Semitic incidents and its promise to find ways to stop them. We also appreciate the Senate letter urging action against these threats spearheaded by Senators Peters, Portman, Rubio and

Nelson, and signed by all 100 members of the upper chamber.

But still more can be done now. Here are three suggestions for concrete action: First, the White House should convene a conference on violent extremism and hate crimes. The assault on the Jewish community is not occurring in a vacuum. There also have been widespread reports of crimes against other minority communities.

Although reasonable people can disagree about the causes, there can be little doubt that something ugly has been unleashed, and it needs to be examined and addressed.

All crimes are reprehensible, but hate crimes carry an extra dimension since they victimize both individuals and communities.

Second, federal security funding for vulnerable religious and other communal institutions must be increased.

Hate crimes aimed at Jewish institutions threaten not only those organizations.

They menace the very basis of our pluralistic society, and therefore every citizen should have an interest in stopping them. Governments at all levels need to make financial investments to that end.

And finally, since other nations are watching, our reaction, in word and deed, can affect Jewish security abroad.

The White House should act swiftly to The upsurge of antiSemitism will not abate on its own. We need concerted action to reverse it.

Daniel Elbaum is the American Jewish Committee’s assistant executive director and director of regional offices and Marc Stern is the committee’s general counsel.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Woodmere Neighbor David Friedman Approved

by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Garners Enthusiastic Community Support - NYJL Interviews

BY TAMMY MARK

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-9 last week to approve David Friedman’s nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. A resident of the Five Towns Jewish community on Long Island, President Donald Trump’s nominee is also a bankruptcy lawyer, a writer for several major Israeli publications, and enthusiastic supporter of Israel.

Friedman has been Trump’s friend and attorney for 15 years, and served as Senior Israel Advisor to Trump during his campaign.

Friedman has articulated his support of Israeli settlements and of relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and against the certainty of a two-state solution as the way to peace. Friedman has spoken out openly against the liberal pro-Israel groups and their criticism of Israel.

Early on in the campaign, Friedman worked with Trump to develop the Republican platform on Israel.

Woodmere resident and family man Friedman is a well-liked member of the greater Orthodox community. He has garnered overwhelming support in his hometown and received praise from a range of institutions and individuals, with not much concern shown for his support of the somewhat controversial changes in policy proposed by the Trump administration, or any question of his ability in taking on the position.

Michael Fragin, a Republican strategist and Deputy Mayor of Lawrence has confidence in Friedman’s success. “David Friedman is a talented and accomplished individual who loves the United States and Israel with great passion. I have no doubt that he will utilize his formidable intellect and negotiating skills to navigate the sometimes difficult path of Middle East diplomacy.”

Friends and neighbors call attention to Friedman’s character as an indicator of his intentions and

capabilities. “He is a compassionate, community minded individual who is very much concerned with the plight of others. He always looks to help and is involved with countless acts of charity both public and private,” says fellow attorney and Woodmere resident David Perl.

On any concerns about Friedman’s strong far right positions on Israel, Perl maintains they are unwarranted.

“David Friedman is first and foremost a believer in democracy and the democratic process. Any backlash is completely misguided.”

Support for David Friedman is not limited to the Orthodox republican demographic. Rabbi Bruce Ginsberg of the Conservative Congregation Sons of Israel in Woodmere, who worked closely on communal issues with David’s late father, Rabbi Morris Friedman, has faith in his abilities.

“As a brilliant, articulate attorney who knows the Jewish State well and has earned the confidence both of its leaders and the President of the United States, he will make an outstanding American Ambassador to Israel.

Humble, charitable, and deeply devoted to family and neighbors, he is a model citizen who will bring honor to Washington, D.C. as its representative abroad.”

As for the next step for him to be considered by the full Senate, Rabbi Ginsberg hopes to see the continued progress in favor of Friedman has been in touch with Democratic Senators to that end.

“I am delighted that with the help of Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, David received the endorsement of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I have contacted New York Senators Schumer and Gillibrand’s offices to urge them to follow that principled lead by voting in favor of David’s appointment as Ambassador when his nomination comes before the full Senate.”

MARCH 15 – 21, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 23

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WE HOUSE NEW YORK 24 | NYJLIFE.COM | MARCH 15 – 21, 2017