January 4, 2013

Kosher Bookworm: Exodus and the Emancipation Page 5 Creativity to yeshiva curriculum Page 6 Who’s in the kitchen: lost and found Page 7 Agudath convention coverage Page 14

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VOL 12, NO 1 Q JANUARY 4, 2013 / 22 TEVET 5773

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Bayswater Gemach:

Continuing to help in the wake of Sandy

By Malka Eisenberg As the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy continue to struggle to return to normal, others continue to find ways to help put their neighbors back on their feet.

In the days after the storm, those not seriously affected rushed to donate clothing, but many of the clothing gathering sites, the gemachs, were damaged. One woman in Bayswater, now seeing the need and the demand for children’s clothing, is working to fill that gap.

It is a gemach, the word a consolidation of

Courtesy Finkelstein family

Diane Liebman Braid, and Erica Liebman, Peri’s counselors at Camp Simcha Special, parents Paul, Lori, Peri’s brother Joel, and Peri.

Chai Lifeline:

W.H. family makes a run for it

By Karen C. Green To be in the company of Peri Finklestein, of West Hempstead, is a delight. To have the pleasure of meeting her on her birthday made it even more special. The West Hempstead resident, a Chai Lifeline Camp Simcha Special camper who celebrated her 13th birthday on December 31, is participating in the upcoming ING marathon in Miami on Sunday, January 27, 2013, along Continued on page 3

the words gemilut chasadim, or act of kindness, for free children’s clothing distribution “to benefit our community and those affected, to help those hit by the storm as well as needy families,” said Jessica, the woman who is seeking more donors for the gemach.

“Boruch Hashem our home was not affected by Hurricane Sandy,” said Jessica.

“We had a generator for five houses.” The homes in her area jointly connected to a generator providing minimal power but not enough to run the machines to do laundry.

Needing pajamas for her children, she went to get some from the gemach then in Shor

Yoshuv. The gym there had an ”enormous amount of things,” she said. Many families were affected by the storm, large families, and she took things in the sizes those families needed and gave them out.

“I had a dream as a little kid that I always wanted to open a children’s clothing store,” she said, laughing. “My friends know that, but I never did it. I love shopping for my kids.”

She saw the ”amazing” gemach set up in Shor Yoshuv immediately following the storm, even before the power was returned Continued on page 3

Local pundit gives his SPINCLASS

By Karen C. Green It’s been over eight years since he first began his tenure as Executive Assistant to then New York State Governor George Pataki, (2004 – 2007) and, in the course of time since, Michael Fragin has become a household name in most any discussion about local politics.

It’s no wonder, almost a natural evolution, that the current Village of Lawrence trustee , former LIPA trustee and former political columnist for The Jewish Star would take to the airwaves to share his views on political issues. SPINCLASS, which airs Thursday evenings live at 8 p.m. and encores twice weekly on NachumSegal.com and JMintheAM.org, is an outgrowth of Nachum’s expansion of his network and roster of shows, to include a talk show about politics.

Launched after Succos and right before the election, Fragin is already getting feedback from listeners who often approach him in shul, in Gourmet Glatt, and in town. Thus far, SPINCLASS has featured journalists, political bloggers and public relations executives, such as recent guest Juda Engelmayer, Senior Vice President of 5W Public Relations.

“Michael Fragin is informative and fair and offers his guests ample time to speak.”

Photo courtesy of Michael Fragin

Michael Fragin discussing the damage to the community with Congressman Gregory Meeks following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The Columbia Business School and Yeshiva University grad who has been actively involved in many campaigns including Bloomberg, and Bush 2004, isn’t interested in just having political candidates as his guests. “I

want to sharpen people’s understanding of the political world. People come to the ballot box and don’t know what to do. They don’t have a grasp of certain political issues. The

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YU grooms future leaders part in these missions to expand their world views and hone their leadership skills, Jewish communities anxiously await our annual winter visits, seeing them as opportunities to involve our students in their supplemental education programming and Jewish identity and community building projects,� said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, the David Mitzner Dean of the CJF. In Nicaragua, another 16 participants will volunteer with Servicios MÊdicos Comunales (SMC), an NGO that promotes communitybased sustainable development in the southwestern district of San Juan del Sur. An outgrowth of SMC’s educational programming, the students will assist with the construction of a public library, a project started by previous CJF winter mission participants.

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(NEW YORK, New York – January 2, 2013) Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future announced today that it will be sending 91 outstanding undergraduate students on service learning, experiential education, and humanitarian aid missions across three continents during the University’s upcoming winter intersession.

From January 10-20, the student leaders will take part in an array of hands-on community building projects in Israel, the United States, Nicaragua, and Mexico while developing their own leadership, teaching, and advocacy skills. “It is exciting to see that true partnerships are developing between Yeshiva University and communities around the world. As much as it is important to us that our students take

+$)75 (DUO\ &KLOGKRRG 'LUHFWRU ‹ F\JROGEHUJ#KDIWU RUJ ZZZ KDIWU RUJ Courtesy of Yeshiva University

YU students on a previous mission to Nicaragua setting the foundation for the library in San Juan del sur.

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Continued from page 1 with her family, who collectively make up TEAM FINKELSTEIN. TEAM FINKELSTEIN, a group of seven, including Peri, parents, Lori and Paul, siblings Katy (20), Joel (17) and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Ellen and Steve, have committed to raise $18,000 for the organization that is such an integral part of their lives. “At the moment, we are short $1,000 but hope that over the next three weeks we meet our goal. Chai Lifeline has been part of Peri’s life and has given us so much since she was a baby. If I had a million dollars, I’d give it to Chai Lifeline, but I don’t and that’s why we are so anxious to raise money for them. We could never give back what they’ve done for Peri.”

Peri, was born with nemaline rod myopathy, the Eastern European form of muscular dystrophy. Statistically, there is a one in a few million chances of being born with it.

Since Peri’s birth, pre-natal tests have been

developed to test for it.

Peri attends West Hempstead middle school, mainstreamed since nursery, with the help of a registered nurse. “The district has been phenomenal to Peri. Therapists, a laptop at the desk, whatever she needs,” exclaimed Lori Finkelstein. “Art and Math are my favorite subjects, and I just entered an art contest,” noted Peri. Peri enthusiastically went straight to the Scholastic website on her ipad that is conveniently attached bedside to point out the 2013 Scholastic Art and Writing award contest that she entered.

“I want to be a fashion designer or a dancer, expressed Peri. “I want her to be an attorney, she thinks like a lawyer,” noted Lori.

The half mile marathon (13.1 miles) is a major event for Chai Lifeline, who last year had a contingent of over 300 people.

The run, which starts at 6 a.m. and travels through downtown Miami is the culmination of an entire weekend of festivities at the

Peri Finkelstein’s art project submitted to the Scholastic art and writing award contest.

Photo by Peri Finkelstein

Eden Roc hotel, starting with Shabbos dinner. Saturday night after Shabbos is a combination pasta dinner and pep rally of sorts with a video.

“Several years ago when Peri was 3 or 4, Chai Lifeline convinced us to send to Peri to Camp Simcha Special. It’s hard when you have a child that is so medically challenged.

My husband Paul made the point that while she is our kid, she’s really everyone else’s as well. Chai Lifeline is like an extended family. You don’t have to ask for anything, they just know. But when you do ask, they jump.

I want other kids to be as fortunate as Peri,, expressed Lori Finkelstein.”

“Diane Liebman Braid is the reason why we do the race and why we send Peri to camp . Following eight years of being my son Jo-

el’s big sister she said “I’ll be Peri’s counselor in camp.” She called one year and said, ‘I’m doing the race in honor of Peri’ ,” said Lori.

This is Peri’s second time participating in the race, and the fourth year in total that a Finkelstein is participating. We prepare for this race for eight months. I fundraise through facebook, emails, mailings. I even stalk people. Some people donate $10, others $500.

The $10 dollars means as much coming from one person as the $500 dollars does coming from the other. You really see the good in people, its so motivating.”

For more information about donating to Chai Lifeline in honor of Peri Finkelstein please visit www.teamlifeline.com and include TeamFinkelstein in the memo line.

Bayswater kids’ gemach Photo courtesy of Michael Fragin

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos with Michael Fragin of Lawrence.

Local pundit takes to the air Continued from page 1 show is a good avenue for listeners to gain intelligence in this regard. I hope to cover issues that aren’t addressed elsewhere. I have heard from listeners that I explain things in greater depth, issues such as the implications of the fiscal cliff, ramifications of challenging petitions, and practical differences between open elections and primary elections.”

“We’ve covered Israeli elections; we are not just limiting things to New York,” said Fragin, Lawrence resident since 1999, who, with wife Mimi, are parents to six children.

As the parent of four boys that attend Darchei Torah and two girls at Torah Academy for Girls, Fragin is acutely aware of the Jewish angle in politics and doesn’t run away from it. “We are going to talk about real topics that are not often discussed, “ noted Fragin.”

Voter participation in the Orthodox Jewish community, is one such topic, described Fragin, as he recalled a recent interview with Rabbi Yechiel Kalish, Agudath Israel’s Political Director. In the interview, Kalish lamented about low voter participation in the Orthodox community citing a remark from Bradley Tusk, Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign manager in 2005, “The Orthodox Jewish vote is the most overrated community politically, they don’t deliver.

“I enjoy politics, it’s good fun,” said Fragin, who describes the best and worst part of politics as being identical. “There is one defining moment, election day; there are no second chances.”

Fragin’s role as political consultant in the 2010 heavily contested New York City Council race that led to the election of David Greenfield, Democrat and close personal friend, further bolstered the respect he garners from both sides of the aisle. Locally, he was instrumental in the New York State Assembly race that brought Far Rockaway resident and community member Phil Goldfeder to Albany. “Michael has years of experience in government and public service and I know that this new radio show will allow him to continue sharing his expertise on political issues relating to the Jewish community. I wish him much success in this new endeavor,” expressed Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-NY), who’s Queens’ district includes Far Rockaway.

In the coming weeks the show’s format will morph to include questions from callers.

Fragin looks forward to upcoming weeks where he is excited to host Maggie Haberman of Politico, Allison Hoffman of The Tablet magazine, Jonathan Greenspun, Mercury Public Affairs and Ben Smith of Buzzfeed.

Continued from page 1 to that area. Vast donations of clothing, new and gently used, were set up in the gym, but when much was not taken, it was donated to Yad Leah. Other bags of good clothing were left and Jessica brought them into her house.

She has already distributed some of the clothing as it has been requested. Originally, she also had women’s clothing but she said that it was “too overwhelming” and the gemach is now from infants to size 12 children. “I don’t have room in my house. I don’t have so much stuff; we are down to six bags.” They plan to move the gemach to a friend’s house “around the corner” in the friend’s basement. Jessica wants to open it all year round, on set days and times during the week. Jessica currently runs a playgroup in her home and this is her first time running a gemach. “Up to this point people have been calling with specific

sizing and whatever I have is given to the family. The demand is strong, but our supply is low. We started doing the gemach in response to the hurricane and we are hoping to grow and be available to all needy families in the community. Baruch Hashem we have many large families and the financial situation is tight for all.”

She said that she is collecting “anything new, or gently used, everyday or Shabbat clothing as long as it is in good condition— no junk. Call if you need and if I have it I will gladly give it. I keep it confidential. I drop it and leave it. I know they need it. I am going on faith. If they’re coming I assume they need.”

For more information, to use the gemach, or to donate, call Jessica at 603-540-6826 or email to bayswatergemach@yahoo.com.

Photos by Malka Eisenberg

New and gently used clothing arrayed on racks and tables in the cavernous Yeshiva Sh’or Yoshuv gym during the power outage following Hurricane Sandy.

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Opinion The five most under-reported, unreported and/or mis-reported stories of 2012

A

t this time of year, people usually write about the biggest stories or most impactful stories of the year. Being a contrarian at heart, I prefer to look at the stories that should have been the biggest stories.

These are the news items that might have been the number one stories of the year if they hadn’t been ignored or misreported by the mainstream media.

5) What wasn’t added back to the Democratic Party platform? Everyone talked about the provision recognizing Jerusalem as IsraPOLITICO el’s capital, which was TO GO in previous Democratic Party platforms and removed from 2012. The provision was added back despite the lack of votes, as it became a political embarrassment. But there were three other items removed by the Obama campaigns that were not added back to the platform: the peace process should resolve Jeff Dunetz the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel; there should be no discussions with Hamas until they renounce terrorism; and any peace agreement required adjustments to the 1949 Armistice lines to protect Israel’s security. Please don’t tell anyone though; the mainstream media wants to keep it a secret.

4) Attorney General Holder being held in contempt of Congress. The mainstream media attributed this story to politics. But many were killed (including a U.S. border agent) because of this misguided ATF plan which allowed Mexican drug cartels to have some

powerful weapons. Congress wanted to get to the bottom of how the program happened, and why Eric Holder lied about not knowing about the program when he first testified.

Holder refused to provide the documents requested by Congress and a bi-partisan vote of the House declared that Holder was in contempt of Congress.

Many Democrats have attempted to politicize the issue, falsely claiming that House Republican’s contempt vote is an act of racism that has more to do with their efforts to suppress votes than finding out the truth about the operation and Terry’s death. Led by the Congressional Black Caucus, many Democrats walked out during the vote.

3) The President’s “Green Energy” threw money away. This goes way beyond making lousy investments. In trying to pick winners and losers, the Obama administration chose companies who had already lost; they took our money and invested in green energy projects despite warnings that they were going bankrupt.

Most surprising, perhaps, is how bad off the government knew some of the investments were before committing all that money. For example, Beacon Power, a green energy storage company. Before committing $43 million of our money, the Energy Department knew that Standard & Poor’s had confidentially given the project a dismal outlook of triple C-plus. Would you put your personal money into an investment that’s triple C-plus? Your government did.

“CBS counted 12 clean energy companies that are having trouble after collectively being approved for $6.5 billion in federal assistance. Five have filed for bankruptcy. The junk bond rated Beacon, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, AES, a subsidiary of Eastern Energy and Solyndra. Others are also struggling with potential problems. Nevada GeoThermal, a home state project personally endorsed by Senate Majority Leader Harry

Reid, warns of potential defaults in new S.E.C. filings reviewed by CBS News. On its last financial statement, Sun Power owed more than it was worth. First Solar was the biggest S&P 500 loser in 2011 and its CEO was cut loose, even as taxpayers were forced to back a whopping $3 billion in company loans.

The U.S. passed the 16.5 trillion dollar mark in national debt; can we really afford to waste money like that? The rest of the mainstream media ignored CBS’ report.

for the sickest Americans. This tax provision will most harm near retirees and those with modest incomes but high medical bills.

•The Medicare Payroll Tax Hike: The Medicare payroll tax is currently 2.9 percent on all wages and self-employment profits.

Under this tax hike, wages and profits exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married couples) will face a 3.8 percent rate instead. This is a direct marginal income tax hike on small business owners, who are liable for self-employment tax in most cases.

2) The $1 trillion dollars of tax increases that began on New Year’s Day, which had nothing to do with the fiscal cliff. There are five major Obamacare taxes that took effect earlier this week.

•The Senior Citizen Tax- Medical Device Tax: In addition to killing small business jobs and impacting research and development budgets, this will increase the cost of your health care – making everything from pacemakers to artificial hips more expensive. This tax attacks America’s seniors.

•The Flex Account Tax: The 30-35 million Americans who use a pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at work to pay for their family’s basic medical needs will face a new government cap of $2500. This will squeeze $13 billion of tax money from Americans over the ten years. (Currently, the accounts are unlimited under Federal law, though employers are allowed to set a cap.)

•The Surtax on Investment Income: This is a new, 3.8 percentage point surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single).

•Higher Taxes for Medical Itemized Deductions: Currently, those Americans facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).

This tax increase imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. By limiting this deduction, Obamacare widens the net of taxable income

1) “Benghazi-gate” Four Americans were killed in this 9/11-terror attack. We were told that it was all because of an anti-Muslim you tube video—that has proven to be a lie.

The State Department was watching the attack happen LIVE. The questions the press refuses to ask: is why were the people lied to about the causes of the attack? Why wasn’t there more security at the Benghazi mission when they were receiving urgent pleas from Ambassador Stevens and others? Why wasn’t help sent to the people fighting for their lives in the Benghazi Mission annex? The battle was over seven hours long, there was plenty of time to send help, but none came.

Those are my top five most under-reported/un-reported/misreported stories of 2102.

Keep your eyes on the Jewish Star during 2013 and you will read the political stories and angles you will not see elsewhere as they happen.

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Karen C. Green Malka Eisenberg Helene Parsons Rabbi Avi Billet Jeff Dunetz Juda Engelmayer Rabbi Binny Freedman Alan Jay Gerber Rabbi Noam Himelstein Judy Joszef Kristen Edelman Christina Daly

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Jeff Dunetz is the Editor/Publisher of the political blog “The Lid” (www.jeffdunetz.com).

Jeff contributes to some of the largest political sites on the internet including American Thinker, Big Government, Big Journalism, NewsReal and Pajama’s Media, and has been a guest on national radio shows including G. Gordon Liddy, Tammy Bruce and Glenn Beck.

Jeff lives in Long Island.

Letters to the editor we were clearly overwhelmed Enlightening & tasty when by the enormity of the task.

Dear Editor: I always find Judy Joszef’s articles and recipes enlightening and delicious. This week’s history of gefilte fish was extra special. Kudos for top notch cooking and research.

Marlene Sider North Woodmere

HAFTR nachat Dear Rabbi Oppen, Our house, like so many others, was ravaged by the Sandy storm.

But a few Sundays ago, it shone brightly. We were most fortunate, B’H’, to have seven HAFTR students, under the leadership of Rabbi Moskowitz, “take over”.

Their tireless efforts resulted in the completion of removing destroyed possessions and packing what little was left. Rabbi Moskowitz stayed for many hours and led by example, doing very difficult work.

He was able to assess our needs

We are most grateful for the selfless chesed demonstrated by these HAFTR students and Rabbi Moskowitz. The midos that you inculcated in our children continues into the next “dor”. These high school students are the best of the best. Their “gutskeit” and respect were evident on their smiling faces. We could not have imagined that in the midst of this overwhelming destruction, we would also experience HAFTR nachas.

Thank you and may you continue the work of mitzvah-building that you do so well.

Sincerely, Helen and Steve Greenblatt (former HAFTR parents)

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The Exodus and the Emancipation significance, can spare one or another of us.

The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We – even we here – hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free – honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope on earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just – a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and G-d must forever bless.”

The use of the Almighty’s name in this document was to be followed up in a month, when it is cited once again in the conclusion to the Emancipation Proclamation: “And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and gracious favor of Almighty G-d.”

According to historian Allen Guelzo in his book, “Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America,” this reference to G-d was no accident. And, indeed, the same claim is made by historian Louis Masur in his recently published “Lincoln’s Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War For The Union,” wherein he quotes from the New York Tribune that, “The President has been strongly pressed to place

the Proclamation of Freedom upon high moral grounds.”

According to historian Harold Holzer in his recently published work, “Lincoln: How Abraham Lincoln Ended Slavery in America,” Lincoln told a visitor at that time, “No human power can subdue this rebellion without using the Emancipation lever as I have done.” In the president’s own words, the Emancipation proclamation was not only “the central act of my administration,” but also “the great event of the nineteenth century.”

Mazur points out Lincoln’s certainty of commitment, quoting the president as having said at that time that, “I never in my life felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper … If my name goes down into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.”

Hopefully, this year there will be meaningful commemorations of this historic event to teach our youth the meaning of freedom and of the freeing of slaves, for we, too, were once slaves in the land of Egypt. And, that freedom is commemorated at this time of year in our weekly Torah readings.

Freedom from slavery is given a very eloquent commentary in the recently published work, “Echoes of Eden: Sefer Shemot – Salvation and Sanctity” [OU Press / Gefen Publishing ,2012] by Rabbi Ari Kahn of Bar Ilan University.

Following the plague of the death of the first born, Paroh demands that the Jews leave immediately in the middle of the night.

According to Rabbi Kahn, “He pleads with them to leave, implores them to take the entire nation and go immediately. ‘Your are free, your are free!’ he shouts at them, but Moshe and Aharon retort: ‘Are we thieves that skulk about in the night? We will leave in the morning.’”

Rabbi Kahn continues with this observation that makes this moment even more significant than what the plain text appears to tell us.“The first act of freedom was choosing not to leave Egypt when Paroh told them to do so. G-d had commanded that no one was to leave their homes that night, and the nation exercised their right, as a free people, to obey the word of G-d and not the word of Paroh. They marched out of Egypt at the hour when the sun god was perceived to have been at the height of power. There would be no mistake about it: day or night, midnight or sunlight – Egyptian deities were powerless, meaningless. The Jews were set free when the firstborn were struck – at night, but they left Egypt the following morning, in broad daylight, with their heads held high, and the vanquished Egyptian gods no more than a memory.”

The Exodus experiences of our people served as an inspiration for those, some four thousand years later, to experience themselves, here in America. The very invocation of the Almighty in the Emancipation Proclamation 150 years ago this very week, serves as a testament to the everlasting faith that we Americans all share in the belief of a Higher Being who governs us all, and to the shared recognition of that fact, that will help sustain us all in the difficult times to come.

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his past Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. This coming Shabbat and for the next month ahead, we will be reading and learning from Shemot, the Book of Exodus, the story of our slavery in Egypt and the subsequent liberation and the giving of the Ten Commandments.

Given the cold weather that we are experiencing, these spring season-like Torah readings bringing to mind Pesach and Shavuot, should be giving us some rather warm feelings, spiritually speaking. Thematically speaking, the slavery link between the Exodus of so long ago and the emancipation of black slaves 150 years ago brings together two very precious events in both world and religious history.

This week’s essay will touch upon both, citing some relevant literary works for your learning pleasure.

Alan Jay Gerber One month before President Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, he sent to Congress his annual message. He ended that message, in anticipation of the proclamation, with the following stirring words: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves….No personal significance, or in-

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The Kosher Bookworm

January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE THE JEWISH STAR

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The Yahadus books:

Bringing color and creativity to yeshiva curriculum

By Malka Eisenberg A new series of textbooks set to revolutionize the teaching of overall knowledge of Judaism, including general information or yedios klaliyos, and geared to elementary yeshivos, is finding excited devotees among educators and parents in orthodox communities worldwide.

The Yahadus books are a project of Living Lessons, an educational organization that, according to Rabbi Sholom Binyomin Ginsberg, educational director, a musmach of Telshe Yeshiva and mechanech (educator) for over 30 years, “is a grass-roots effort to prepare and market top-quality Judaic Curriculum materials. Benefiting from the best and latest educational theories and approaches, yet without compromising our rich Mesorah (tradition), a group of caring and dedicated individuals have undertaken the monumental task of preparing detailed curricula to make Judaic subjects engaging, meaningful and exciting to learn and teach.

“The first result of this effort is a stateof-the-art Yahadus curriculum, designed and created by a team of Mechanchim and Mechanchos, Rabbonim, researchers, writers and designers.

“The name Living Lessons was chosen in connection with the overall goal of this effort – to prepare our children with the lessons of the Torah, providing them with the tools, knowledge and desire to live their lives as Torah Jews.”

The organization is sending its third volume to the printer; its previous volumes, full color, jammed with interesting facts, photographs, anecdotes, stories and color coded, with blue for facts, details and halachos, orange for reasons and life messages, green for applying the lessons to life and derivation from the mitzvohs, and actualization of the mitzvah. The goal of the series is for it to be implemented over five years, one book per year, from 4th through 8th grade, although Ginsberg said that it was also geared for ages “9 to 90.” It uses the mitzvohs, specifically as detailed by the Rambam (Maimonides), as a guide, covering 120 mitzvohs every year with the goal of a “strong overview of the entire Torah.” The hard cover textbooks are meant to be used over and over by succeeding grades; there are also teacher’s guides and workbooks. In 90 minutes a week, divided as the teacher needs, the student will cover all 613 mitzvos (commandments) over a five year period. Each page has the central topic and additional material dispersed on the page that can be included or omitted as time and the students’ levels allow.

The material is structured based on the mesorah (Jewish tradition) and incorporates parts of educational models and methods, the results of extensive educational research in the way children learn, comprehend and remember, and consultations with experienced and seasoned Jewish educators. The main section presents the basic facts, laws and reasons for the mitzvos discussed, and how it applies to Jewish life. Surrounding color coded framed off areas present optional material ranging from other facets of the mitzvah, stories of gedolim, biographies of rabbonim, related halachos, science, history and other informative and related asides.

There are also sections to verify that the student has absorbed the material, to practice the mitzvah on paper, and to review and prepare for a test on the material.

The teacher’s guide presents the teacher with a more extensive background of the

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Sholom Binyomin Ginsberg

The Yahadus books, volume one, teacher’s guide, workbook, and textbook. course material, giving the teacher more material to use if warranted, with variations of opinions, “misconception alerts,” and further clarification of material in the textbook. It also has model discussions for opening the topics, multisensory activities, answer keys, assessment tests and answer sheets.

“I have been in chinuch (education) for many years,” emphasized Rabbi Ginsberg. “I noticed a couple of huge problems. One is the material that is available. A sixth grader gets sheets of black and white photocopies, a soft covered black and white (booklet) for the individual perek (chapter) for a primary subject—Gemarah.” He noted that for the secular subjects, history, science and math, the student uses “incredible eye-catching books. It’s a sublime negative message that he’s getting.”

“The second big problem,” he continued, “is that students are leaving schools and they don’t know what it means to be Jewish, they don’t know everything about yiddishkeit.

Stop an eleventh grade student on the street and ask them to give me a five minute ‘sell’ on what it means to be Jewish—it’s a huge problem. They would say ‘Um,um, I guess we do mitzvos.’ This result is based on experiments we’ve done all over, from the most to least bright, not only children but adults. I love them (all the yeshivos), but a typical student spends eight hours a day in school all these years; at the end of the day, in their mind, everything had to be translated. It doesn’t mean anything to them. The students come out without knowing the basics.” He noted that at the transition from elementary school to high school “ a boy will be tested on a blatt of Gemarah that he has prepared.” Parents would ask Ginsberg as a principal how his school differed from other schools but he would not “sell his and bash other schools… people are giving their lives for Torah!” He pointed out “gaps, we are stuffing children with lots of knowledge but we are missing a true curricula—what do we want them to know when they leave every grade?”

He gave as an example the “mah nistanah,” the Four Questions asked by the young-

est person at the Passover Seder. It is taught every year, he said, and the Rebbe teaches it every year, not knowing if the students know it. “They don’t ask who wrote the mah nishtanah—they won’t know. Do they ask why those four question? They should know why you make a bracha (blessing) on the lulav, why not the esrog—there are four minim!”

Ginsberg stressed the need for a “continuous curriculum, scope and sequence. What is the scope of what I’m giving them and the sequence?” He explained that second graders are not taught who wrote the mah nistanah, but ”you build on it” teaching more information, and more complexities as the student gets older and amasses more knowledge. He further pointed out that in secular education, in the wake of the elections, a second grader will be taught a little about the president, a third grader would be taught that he lives in the White House and his wife is the First Lady, but in seventh grade students will learn about Democrats and Republicans.

He suggested asking your child if the pasuk “Shma Yisrael…Echod,” taught to them when they are in still diapers, is a statement or a mitzvah. “If they don’t understand the oneness of G-d, then they are missing the point. I want to be able to go over to any Jewish child…that they should know the 613 mitzvos in the Torah, that they should be able to cite the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch and know: the belief that Hashem created the world, that you can’t believe in other gods, and the oneness of G-d.”

The Torah, he said, “to the students is a ‘collection of very interesting stories about old people and some mitzvos that we will do when Mashiach comes, whoever and whenever that is. Today, 80% of the Torah is not applicable to me.’ As a result of all these problems, a special group of people got together to plan, to develop a curriculum so a child will get something about everything and develop a thirst for learning. To learn in a way that he or she will want to continue to learn more after he or she is finished. We were banging our heads about what to call

the curriculum,” They called it “Yahadus, teaching the kids the basics of Judaism and started an organization, Living Lessons, Torah for us to live.”

The multimillion-dollar project started years ago, said Ginsberg, with people “all over the world” working on this electronically. He noted that one person “helped us primarily—George Rohr,” provided the funding for the project.

Rabbi Yosef Heisler, a fifth and second grade rebbe in Torah Academy in Saint Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, grew up in Far Rockaway, and learned in Yeshiva of South Shore. His son is currently learning in Shor Yoshuv. Rabbi Ginsberg was the principal there two and a half years ago.

Heisler noted that Rabbi Ginsberg “bounced things off me” while the first volume was being edited. He said that the “finished product is amazing” and that it “matches the glitziness of chol (secular) textbooks. It’s a tremendous thing; the students can’t get bored.

They can look in the margin. It’s beautiful.”

He noted that even if the student loses concentration they can read some of the marginal facts or stories on the page. “It has a hook,” he said. “It’s a wonderful addition to limudei kodesh (Judaic studies).” He has his fifth grade boys’ class learning “bechevrusa” (paired learning) with the book. “It gets them to ask questions, they get fascinated.

It’s clicking. It’s something that is going to be mekubal (accepted), very, very successful and definitely for girls too. As a rebbe, I’m fascinated by the Yiddishe (Jewish) trivia. I find it fascinating that there is no dearth of amazing accounts related to the topic. The concept is gevaldik. The value of such a sefer for children of klal Yisroel is inestimable.

I haven’t seen a book like this since the 39 melachos of Rabbi Boruch Chait 20 years ago.” He noted that his father, Rabbi Yaakov Aharon Heisler, was a high school rebbe at HANC for 28 years.

Chaim of Judaica Plus, a Jewish bookstore in Cedarhurst, noted that they “carry every book that comes out” and that people have been requesting it and are happy with it. He quoted a price of $63. “It’s a gem with lots of information, a great layout and great style.”

Rabbi Yecheskel Kaminsky, owner of the Kitov book store in Far Rockaway, carries the books as well, but noted that it’s “not the biggest seller. People are not asking for it—they don’t know about it yet. It’s very nice.” He noted its cost at $59.99 for each volume. He pointed out that HALB’s Rabbi Meyer Kramer’s Chayanu series of six volumes have a lot of klalim (facts) for each grade. But as for the Yahadus book, “It’s a very nice book with stories and a lot of pictures.” He commented that it leans to the charedi but can be used in all yeshivos.

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg was dean of Torah Academy in Minnesota from 1999 until recently. The school was named School of the Year by Torah Umesorah in 2004. Before that he was Headmaster of Seattle Hebrew Academy for seven years with the school receiving the same award by Torah Umesorah in 1998. He has a master’s degree in education from the University of Minnesota, has other professional educational background, including having recently graduated from Columbia University’s Institute for Day School Management. He has published other books and conducts workshops for educators and parents.

The Yahadus books are available in local Jewish book stores.

7

Southern fried chicken: lost and found about six. He was at the Pineview with his parents and ďŹ ve- year-old brother for a Rambam Shabbat weekend. He was playing with his brother and another friend after lunch.

Jerry thought it was a good idea to trek into the forest for an adventure. He assured his brother and friend that they wouldn’t get lost since he always watched Davey Crockett and he thought of himself as “king of the wild frontierâ€? just as Davey was on TV. And trek into the forest they did. At ďŹ rst it was exciting, but after a while, his brother and friend started to get tired and hungry and were afraid they would never ďŹ nd their way out. Again Jerry told them not to worry, Davey would never cry and neither should they. Jerry led the group as they trudged on looking for any signs out of the forest. Just then Jerry noticed a clearing and saw cows coming toward them. The boys panicked.

Jerry saw some tractors and told the boys to climb on top of them. All he had to do was wait till the farmer arrived. But instead of the farmer, a car pulled up on the road and the Fire Chief emerged. “Are you the boys from the hotel?â€? he asked. “Yes,â€? they answered. “ Do you know that you have the whole county looking for you? Your parents and relatives are very worried. Hop off the tractor and into the car, and I’ll drive you back.â€? “We can’t; it’s Shabbos,â€? Davey Crockett replied. The Chief of the Fire Department explained that it was six miles back to the hotel and they had no choice. As the car neared the hotel the road was lined with ďŹ re department per-

sonnel, police and state troopers and a helicopter overhead as well as all the guests in the hotel. Some were cheering, some were crying and then there was his Tante Rochel. “Your mother is going to kill you,� she said.

Jerry had a feeling she was right. He knew so much about Davey Crockett but had no idea how Crockett would handle his mom. To this day, his mom recalls the fear she felt that day. I tell her these days Jerry is still getting lost, but so far we’ve never needed a police escort yet.

Talking about getting lost, I just found my mom’s recipe for the best southern fried chicken. It was in a box of books that I had never unpacked when I moved into my house 20 years ago. I can still remember the way it tasted all those years ago when my mom prepared it.

Ruth Feig’s Southern Fried Chicken Recipe Ingredients: 3 lbs chicken cut up (you can use any pieces you like) 12 cups water 1 cup kosher salt or ½ cup table salt 1 1/2 cups all purpose our 1 tsp black pepper Vegetable oil for frying Paper or plastic bag for coating chicken Directions In a pot large enough to hold the water and the chicken dissolve the salt and add the chicken to the water (you can divide into 2 different pots of you like). Soaking the

chicken in the salt water mixture will insure crispy fried chicken. Let chicken soak at least 4 hours or overnight.

Rinse chicken well and dry.

Mix dry ingredients in brown paper or plastic bag. Drop 1 or 2 pieces of chicken into bag at a time and shake until chicken is coated. Continue until all chicken is coated with your our and seasoning mixture.

Heat 1-1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet, black cast iron skillet is the best choice for crispy fried chicken. Oil is hot enough when if a drop of water is added to it, the oil pops. Add chicken to skillet in a single layer, avoiding overcrowding, as it will lower the temperature of the oil. Plan on making more than one batch.

Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered until chicken is browned on both sides.

Turn only once. I usually ďŹ nd I need 15 minutes for dark meat and 10 for light meat. I use a thermometer. Temperature should be 165 F. Judy Joszef is a pastry and personal chef as well as a party planner. She spent 18 years as a pastry chef at Abigael’s, The Cedar Club, Centro and T42 in the Five Towns, before launching her current business, Soiree. She can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com

SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE WEEKEND WITH YESHIVA UNIVERSITY’S RABBI DR. MEIR SOLOVEICHIK Director of Yeshiva University’s Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought

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e were heading out to a wedding dear friends were making and I wanted to leave enough time to get there since we always get lost somehow or stuck in horrendous trafďŹ c. I hadn’t eaten all day and was looking forward to the shmorg. Lucky for me there was no trafďŹ c and we got off the highway in record time. Only problem was, the road we were supposed to merge onto was nowhere in sight. Jerry assured me it must be up ahead. “Ahead where?â€? I asked. We had already passed towns I had only heard of when listening to the LIRR announcements.

We stopped at gas stations, convenience stores, anything that was open. I even tried to ask “Siri� on my iphone. “Siri, I’m lost, how do I get to Jericho Turnpike in WestJudy Joszef bury?� She responded “Ok, I am checking on directions to Geronimo Road in Westchester.�

Thanks Siri, if I wanted to end up there, I would have asked my husband. So there we were, on Swamp Road, starving, frustrated and me vowing to ďŹ nd my GPS as soon as we returned home that night. I love Jerry, and although he’s brilliant, getting lost is just a way of life for him. His career in becoming helplessly lost started when he was

THE JEWISH STAR January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE

Who’s in the kitchen

January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE THE JEWISH STAR

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THE JEWISH STAR January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE

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Parshat Shemot:

“Now You Will See What I Will Do to Pharaoh‌?â€?

By Rabbi David Etengoff Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Shifra bat Chaim Alter, and Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, and the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam and Moshe Reuven ben Chaya.

The ofďŹ cers of the children of Israel saw them in distress, saying, “Do not reduce [the number] of your bricks, the requirement of each day in its day.â€? They met Moses and Aaron standing before them when they came out from Pharaoh’s presence. And they said to them, “May the L-rd look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hand[s] to kill us.â€? So Moses returned to the L-rd and said, “O L-rd! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people.â€? And the L-rd said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.â€? (Sefer Shemot 5:19-23, 6:1, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) The passage above is found at the end of our parasha (Torah portion). At ďŹ rst glance, it seems to narrate a fairly clear series of

events: 1.Pharaoh sadistically demanded the same quota of bricks from our enslaved people, even though previous verses indicate that the Egyptians would no longer provide the straw that was an essential element in creating the bricks.

2.The ofďŹ cers of our people were enraged at Moshe and Aharon, whom they viewed as the causative agents of Pharaoh’s latest decree, and asked G-d to judge them for what they had allegedly done.

3.In response to the ofďŹ cers’ allegation, Moshe spoke to Hashem and asked Him two questions: “Why have You harmed this people?â€? and “Why have You sent me?â€?

4.Moshe then protested to G-d that matters had only gone from bad to worse since the onset of his having acted as His emissary (shaliach), and that G-d had failed to save His people.

5.G-d reassures Moshe that His promises will in fact be kept and that he will bear witness to Pharaoh’s ultimate downfall and the consequent redemption of our people.

As in all matters of Torah exegesis, however, there is far more here than meets the eye. In reality, there is a battle royal within the Midrash as to the proper way to interpret the ďŹ nal verse of our passage: “And the L-rd said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.’â€? Midrash Sechel Tov (Buber), Sefer Shemot, Parashat

Vayechi 6, takes the following approach in its analysis: And the L-rd said to Moses, “Now you will see‌â€? The Promise that I have already pledged to Avraham: “And also the nation that they will serve will I judge, and afterwards they will go forth with great possessions,â€? (Sefer Bereishit 15:14) [will be fulďŹ lled.] Therefore, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh‌â€? He said: “You [the Jewish people] are lax, just lax‌â€? Therefore, [as a result of My] powerful hand he will send them out, and [as a result of My] powerful hand he will drive them out from his land.

Even though the above passage is Midrash, it seems to be p’shat (direct and straightforward analysis) in that “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh‌â€? appears to be a direct continuation and fulďŹ llment of Hashem’s original promise to Avraham. In other words, there is no “story behind the storyâ€? motif being presented. Instead, we encounter an almost naturalistic ow of events from the ancient times of Avraham to the ďŹ nal days of Egyptian bondage.

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 111a, nearly all other Midrashic sources, and Rashi (10401105), however, employ an entirely different mode of interpretation in their understanding of the phrase: “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh‌â€? In their view, Hashem took Moshe to task and punished him for questioning His ways, and for criticizing the results of his shlichut (i.e. Moshe’s agency).

Such “lack of faith� never was part of the Av-

ot’s (Patriarch’s) repertoire of behavior, as is demonstrated in the following passage: And for this Moses was punished, as it is said, “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people, neither have You delivered Your people at all.�

Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him [Moshe], “Alas for those who are gone and no more to be found! For how many times did I reveal Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name of El Shad - dai, and they did not question my character, nor say to Me, What is Your name?�

I said to Abraham, “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it to youâ€?: yet when he sought a place to bury Sarah, he did not ďŹ nd one, but had to purchase it for four hundred silver shekels; and still he did not question My character.

I said to Isaac, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless youâ€?: yet his servants sought water to drink, and did not ďŹ nd it without its being disputed, as it is said, “And the herdsmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdsmen saying, ‘The water is ours;’â€? still he did not question My character.

I said to Jacob, “The land whereon you lie, I will give to you, and to your future childrenâ€?: yet he sought a place to pitch his tent and did not ďŹ nd one until he purchased it for an hundred kesitah; nevertheless he did not question My character; nor did he say to me “What is Your Name?â€?

Continued on page 15

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Celebratingâ&#x20AC;? the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sylvesterâ&#x20AC;??!

THE JEWISH STAR January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE

Hebrew only please!

Yeshiva University proudly presents

What is known in much of the world as â&#x20AC;&#x153;New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eveâ&#x20AC;? is known in Israel as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sylvesterâ&#x20AC;?; the last day in December, referring to the feast day of Sylvester, the Pope who reigned between 314-335. This has traditionally upset many, who claim that it isn`t proper to celebrate an anti-Semitic pope. The truth is that we do not really know Sylvesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude towards Jews; it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t clear that he purposefully legislated against them. Yet, to celebrate a date that historically did not bode well for Jews (for example, there were times that pogroms were held on this night) does seem a bit odd ...

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ON THE

Calendar Submit your shul or organization’s events or shiurim to jscalendar@thejewishstar.com. Deadline is Wednesday of the week prior to publication.

Jan 5

Comedy Night Cedarhurst Need a good laugh? Don’t settle for another boring Motzaei Shabbos. Chabad of the Five Towns Comedy night will feature the brilliant comedy of Joel Chasnoff. Joel’s comedy with a mix of personal anecdotes and keen observational humor, ere centered around the theme of the absurdity of modern American life.

Joel is not your grandfather’s Jewish comedian. With humor that’s clever, sharp, and never degrading, Joel’s comedy is a one hundred-eighty-degree turn from the Borscht Belt comics of old. Audiences across the spectrum, from U.S. Marines stationed at Okinawa to the Rebbes of Lubavitch Yeshivahs find Joel’s comedy smart, witty, and— most importantly—hilarious.

The night, which starts at 8 p.m. will also features delicious dairy pasta, salads and sushi bar. The chairpersons for the evening are Josh & Naomi Abehsera, Victor and Chana Braverman, Ranon and Rachel Bruckenstein, Adam and Sarit Kramer and Moti and Elke Probkevitz. There is a $30 admission fee and RSVP is appreciated. Please call 516-2952478 or visit www.chabad5towns.com to reserve your spot. Chabad of The Five Towns is located at 74 Maple Avenue, Cedarhurst.

Jan 8

Chabad Ladies Event Cedarhurst Ladies Night Out: Intelligent Investments Invest in something truly valuable: Your Marriage! Soulmates or Stalemates, a Kabbalistic exploration into the difference between men & women and how to use this information practically to enhance your relationships, with Mrs. Chana Weisberg. This event is for women only.

Dairy soups and salads will be served.

Couvert $18; Sponsor $36; Event Partner: $100.

If you wish to be a sponsor of this event please call Chabad at 516 295-2478 At the home of Devorah Dreifus, 303 Buckingham Road, Cedarhurst. 8:00 pm Info: 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Woodmere Lanes treats Kulanu’s kids to a bowling party Kulanu was treated to a special gift last week when Nick Paxinos, proprietor of Woodmere Lanes, called to offer free bowling to Kulanu participants. Nick’s generosity provided a fun activity for participants from Kulanu’s RAP (Recreation Activity Program) and 18 additional children who attended Kulanu’s Holiday Respite program during the week of December 25th.

The picture shows members of the RAP participants and staff with Woodmere Lanes employees.

Last row: Deb Lang, Matis P., Ira B.,Yehuda F. with Woodmere Lanes employees, Kevin and Faythe Middle Row: Ilan B., Margie S. Kulanu staffer and Isaac G. Front Row: Eric R.

Jan 19

Singles Event Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union Singles Connection

invites singles of all ages to a Beatles Extravaganza featuring “Come Together,” a Beatles tribute band, for a fun and exciting opportunity to meet new people.

The recreations of the visual, vocal and instrumental experience of what was known as Beatlemania will take place at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, 5 East 62nd Street. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

The OU Singles Connection is a division of the OU Department of Community Engagement.

Pre-registration is $20 online at www.oucommunity.org or calling 212.613.8300. Admittance will be $25 at the door.

For further information, contact OU Community Services at www.oucommunity.org or call 212.613.8300.

Seforim For Sandy The Seforim Sale is the world’s largest Jewish book sale, completely run by Yeshiva University students for four weeks beginning February 3, 2013. This year, the Sale is focused on helping out Shuls and schools that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Our goal is to help replenish

libraries lost or damaged during the storm. To nominate your Shul for a chance receive a donation of up to $10,000 worth of Seforim, simply post a message on our Facebook wall with your Shul’s name and contact info @ facebook. com/seforim

Follow us on Twitter @SeforimSale and follow the project #Seforim4Sandy If you have any questions, feel free to email Sara, our Marketing Director, at sshabtai@theseforimsale.com

13

Moshe’s destiny: To never enter the Land

C

ommentaries have a field day trying to pinpoint what was Moshe’s sin that sealed his fate not to bring the people to the Promised Land. Even the language of the Torah is inconclusive, because when the episode of Mei Merivah (Bamidbar Chapter 20 – the “Rock incident”) took place, Moshe and Aharon are informed they will not “bring” the people to the land.

It is only later that they are told they, too, will not “enter” the land (Bamidbar 20:24, DeRabbi Avi Billet varim 4:21 (referring to Bamidbar 14:30?), Devarim 32:52).

In Moshe’s case, he pleads to at least merit to be buried in the Land, a request that is summarily denied. There are reasons suggested for why he needed to be buried in the Mountains of Moav, and why his gravesite needed to overlook the area where the sin of Ba’al Peor took place (Bamidbar 25).

Regardless, when one looks at the sources, it seems plainly clear that Moshe’s non-entry into the Land has nothing to do with the Rock incident. The flaw there, as described in the Torah, is one of leadership.

He may have wanted to go in to the land, even as a private citizen. Alas, one can argue

that being informed at that time that he will not be bringing the people in to the Land, is more likely a nice way of saying what has been known all along. “You can’t lead them, because you won’t be going in. At all. Ever.”

In the beginning of Devarim, Moshe pins the reason on the event of the spies (1:37), which predates the Rock incident. This “reason” for not entering the Land is advanced by Abravanel. But is the spies incident the real first indicator that Moshe will not enter the land?

According to the Gemara Sanhedrin (17a), Eldad and Meidad (Bamidbar 11) prophesied that Moshe would die and Yehoshua would lead the people into the Land. This episode predates the spies.

The Chizkuni offers two interpretations on Bamidbar 10:29, when Moshe says to his father-in-law, “We are traveling to the land.

Come with us!” Either Moshe was tying his fate to everyone else to keep their spirits up; they should not think they are not entering the Land, just because their leader will not be entering. Or, perhaps Moshe was saying that to convince Yisro to come along; he would otherwise think that if Moshe is not entering the Land, how could he enter the Land?

This approach follows Rashi’s thought from our parsha, which I’ll get to in a moment. But the interpretation of Chizkuni indicates Moshe knew, as he was encouraging everyone to go to the Land, that he would not be entering. This predates Eldad and Meidad.

One of Rashi’s last comments on our parsha (Shmot 6:1), quotes a passage from Sanhedrin 111a in which Moshe is told by G-d, “Now you’ll see what I am going to do to Egypt, but you will not see what I am going to do to the kings of Canaan.” This predates the Exodus and the plagues.

Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch comments on the strange hotel incident of 4:23-25, where Rashi says G-d sought Moshe’s death for not having circumcised Eliezer: “G-d’s plans are dependent on no man….No man – not even Moses – is indispensable to G-d.” In other words, even Moshe might have died at that point – before he even got to Egypt.

Commentaries focus on Moshe’s objection to becoming the leader in 4:13, where Rashi explains Moshe’s complaint to mean, “Send (them) in the hands of the one who will bring them to the Land, because it is not my destiny to bring them.”

Rabbi Obadiah Bartenura notes the nuance in Rashi’s words as he explains, “How could it be suggested that Moshe knew the decree that he would not enter the Land?

One could suggest he thought he would enter the Land, but he knew he would not be the leader at that time. ‘It is not my destiny to bring them in to the Land’ is not the same as ‘It is not my destiny to enter the Land.’ He thought he would enter, just as leader emeritus.”

The other indicator is implied from a midrash in Devarim Rabba on Vayelech in which a “measure for measure” punishment

is associated with a parallel word utilized by Moshe and by G-d. When Moshe is told he will die, G-d says to him, “Hen karvu yamekha lamut” – indeed your days are numbered until your death. Moshe had said about the Israelites, in 4:1, “V’hen lo ya’aminu li” – indeed they will not believe me, that you sent me. The similar use of the word “Hen” – Moshe speaking ill of the Israelites, and G-d speaking ill of Moshe’s destiny (that he’ll die and no longer lead) may indicate a measure for measure punishment, that Moshe is not worthy to be the leader until the end.

While the question of Moshe leading versus entering the land alone seems to have not been clarified until later, the indications are that from the get-go, Moshe was not going to see the job through to the end.

It is a little deflating. But it is also a very powerful message--that not every person needs to finish everything in a lifetime. When our time is up, hopefully we will have lived a life in which, that which we built, can be continued by others. We may have picked up from those who came before us as well. But if the project is set in motion, and can be finished by a capable successor, we have done pretty well.

We know what Moshe’s job was, and now we know that he wasn’t a failure who didn’t bring his job to its conclusion. His job was to get as far as he got. And while he may have wanted to go further, his not making it further is no indication of failure. On the contrary, he fulfilled his destiny to the utmost.

Expressing gratitude H

ow does one make life meaningful?

How do we make sure that we are living every moment to its fullest poten-

tial?

This week’s portion, Shemot, contains a powerful indication to Judaism’s recipe for a meaningful and joyful life.

At the beginning of this week’s portion, we find the family of Ya’acov as strangers in the land of Egypt. It is FROM THE HEART interesting to wonder OF JERUSALEM whether they ever began to feel, given their relationship with no less than the Viceroy of Egypt, at home in Egypt? One wonders whether they started to enjoy Egyptian culture whilst becoming immersed in Egyptian society, and even contributing to the Egyptian economy and social structure.

Rabbi Binny Whether they began Freedman to feel at home or not, one thing is abundantly clear from the text: they are about to suffer a rude awakening. A new Pharaoh arises in Egypt, who has no love for the Jews, nor any recognition of their contribution to Egyptian society. The comfortable lives of the children of Israel gradually descend into a spiral of agony and horror, until they find themselves at the lowest strata of a slave society, where people become numbers and human beings are measured for the value of their work output.

The entire story of the enslavement of the

Jewish people, and the morass of evil that ensues, begins with one very specific occurrence: “And a new King arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus (Shemot) 1:8) How could a King of Egypt have no knowledge of who Joseph was?

How could a Pharaoh living in the time immediately following Joseph’s death even be able to pretend he does not know who Joseph was? How could the Egyptian people allow such a convenient ‘amnesia’ to take place, conveniently forgetting all the good Joseph had done for Egypt in saving it from seven years of famine and ensuring its survival as the Empire of the time?

Make no mistake about it: this is not just an ancient phenomenon; the Holocaust began because an entire society did not feel any sense of gratitude towards a generation of Jews who fought in her defense in World War I….

The beginning of the story of Egyptian servitude is really about ingratitude, just as man’s original exile from the Garden of Eden was also rooted in that same sense of ingratitude, when Adam suggests it was Eve’s fault: “The woman you gave me tempted me and I ate” The real mistake (chet) Adam made was not appreciating the gift of a partner (Eve) he had only just been given, by G-d.

We get into our cars to get to work, barely conscious of the fact that there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who have no work, much less a car, and yet we complain because a traffic jam causes us a half hour delay.

You come home annoyed at your wife because she parked your car in the wrong spot, and actually forget what an incredible gift it

is in today’s world that you are coming home to a woman who decided, for whatever the reason, that you are actually the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. How is it we get angry and complain about the little and even not-so-little things our children may do, and forget how many people desperately wish, every day to have such problems?

How can people, all of us, become so blatantly ungrateful? What is the root of Kefiyat HaTov? Rav Avigdor Nevehnsahl, in his Sichot L’Sefer Shemot, suggests that there are a variety of reasons people are uncomfortable with gratitude, but mostly they boil down to one point: we don’t want to feel we owe anyone or anything; we want to feel we can do it alone. And to avoid admitting that we owe or need anyone or anything, we rationalize that the person we really owe, has not done anything for us at all.

We think: ‘Well, he did me a favor, but I’ve more than paid him back; in fact, he really owes me!!’ or: ‘No matter how much he’ll ever do for me, it doesn’t come close to the good I’ve done for him!’

And, of course, when I don’t feel I owe anyone or anything my existence and all the good that is in my life, then all that I do becomes about me, because I don’t owe anyone anything….

And this was Egypt’s great mistake. The root of all ingratitude is selfishness; I don’t want to owe anyone anything because I want it to be all about me. So Pharaoh, and with him the Egyptians, began to rationalize: what did Joseph and the Jews do after all?

We granted them a safe haven here in Egypt, and even gave them their own land in Goshen! In fact, they really owe us!

Just like the Germans in the early twenti-

eth century, who felt they had given the Jews a safe haven for too long, and had given them jobs and respectability so “we owe them nothing; in fact they owe us!”

Which may be why the Jewish people’s redemption from Egypt begins with hakarat hatov, or gratitude.

When Hashem visits the first of ten plagues upon the Egyptians by turning the Nile into a river of blood, it is Aaron who actually sets this plague in motion, because Moshe, eighty years earlier, was actually saved as a baby (from Pharaoh’s decree to drown all the Jewish male babies) by the waters of the Nile River! Obviously this is not because Moshe does not want to offend a river! It is because the development of gratitude as a character trait is so critical, that Hashem wants Moshe to practice gratitude even on the Nile River.

Rav Nevehnsahl shares an amazing story about Rav Ze’ev Gustman, the Rosh Yeshiva of Netzach Yisrael Yeshiva in Jerusalem, who passed away in 1991, and was one of the great and holy men of the last generation; a legend in his time. (Rav Gustman was actually one of the judges (dayanim) who sat on Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky’s Beit Din (court) in Vilna, an unheard of honor for someone so young and an indication of his great stature even then.) When the Nazis gathered all the Jews of Vilna together for their final journey, Rav Gustman succeeded miraculously in hiding in one of the bushes in his back yard, from where he succeeded in escaping to the forest where he hid with his wife and daughter for the remainder of the war. Until two years before his death, Rav Gustman continued to personally water the plants in the yeshiva courtyard every day in recognition of the fact that a simple bush had Continued on page 15

THE JEWISH STAR January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE

Parshat Shmot

January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE THE JEWISH STAR

14

Young Israel of West Hempstead celebrates 57 yrs Citing his leadership in numerous projects, the Young Israel of West Hempstead presented its Young Leadership Award to Ari Hirsch, assistant editor of The Vues.

The awards were presented at the Young Israel’s 57th anniversary dinner, held Saturday night at the Sands.

Although Hirsch was reluctant to get involved in community activities when he first moved to West Hempstead, the spirit of involvement that permeates the community led him to reverse course. “I saw how involved people get in the community and how much they enjoy being part of shul and community and I felt obligated to join them.

So Hirsch joined the Simchas Torah Kiddush Community and then took a leadership role in the Motzei Shabbos Parent Child Learning Program. He spearheaded innovations,brought in popcorn and prizes each week and, most of all, came to cherish

the opportunity to learn Torah with his children.

Accustomed to having late Shachris minyanim in Brooklyn, Hirsch created a 9 a.m.

Shachris minyan each Sunday in West Hempstead. Until then, the latest minyan was at 8:30 a.m. And he began to recruit speakers to present Divrei Torah at one of the synagogue’s eight Shabbos minyanim.

In making the presentation, Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer likened Hirsch to Naftali, one of the shvatim mentioned in the Shabbos Torah reading. “He is like the gazelle who races to give good news and he speaks beautiful words,” the rabbi said. The rabbi cited the many acts of chesed that Hirsch has done for the Jews of West Hempstead and for Jews throughout the metropolitan area.

“You should continue to run, to race, and to do chesed the way that you do and never become exhausted.,” said Rabbi Kelemer.

The Young Israel presented its family of the year award to Bob and Gila Margulies.

The synagogue presented its first lifetime service award to Gitta and Bernie Zivotofsky,who have been active for nearly half a century.

Channie Stein received a community service award for her role in creating learning oppor-

tunities for women while Naomi Goldenberg received the Sisterhood Aishes Chayil award.

Stephen Plotsker served as dinner chairman.

Seymour Liebman is synagogue president.

The Young Israel of West Hempstead offers a wide variety of services and programs for its 700 member families.

Photos courtesy of Ari Hirsch

Young Leadership Awardee Ari Hirsch and Rina Hirsch with Rabbi Yehuda Kelerner and Synagogue President Seymour Liebman.

Ari Hirsch celebrates Young Israel of West Hempstead’s 57 years with son Dovie , Rabbi Yehuda Kelerner and Bob Marguilies.

Agudath Israel of America’s 90th anniversary convention

By Malka Eisenberg Agudath Israel gave much assistance and support in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but in turn, was also effected by the storm: its annual convention had to be postponed and Sandy and other events even changed the convention’s theme.

Normally held on Thanksgiving weekend, Agudath Israel of America’s 90th anniversary convention was held December 27th through the 31st, beginning sessions at 7:30 pm rather than the usual start of two or three on Thursday afternoon. “It’s usually on a legal holiday when people are off from work,”

noted Leah Zagelbaum, director of communications of Agudath Israel of America. “It started on a regular work day so it started later.” It was held in the Hilton in East Brunswick, New Jersey and was broadcast to 30 cities around the country.

About 1500 men and women attended various lectures, sessions for the entire gathering and multiple breakout sessions throughout the weekend. “The original theme was to be the growth of klal Yisrael, as seen at the Siyum Hashas with 90,000 in attendance at Metlife Stadium and broadcast to 150 locations in 22 countries on six conti-

nents.” explained Rabbi Labish Becker, executive director of Agudath Israel of America.

After Sandy and the Pillar of Defense war in Israel, with all the bombings of Israel, “people needed to talk about reaching out and needing each other as brothers and sisters, every Jew caring for each other.”

Many addressed the two themes of Shomer Achainu Anachnu—we are our brothers’ keeper—we care for our fellow Jew, and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the world movement of Agudath Israel. Rabbi Yehiel Kalish spoke of “how we can respond in times of crisis,” explained Becker, and

Mordechai Ben David spoke of the devastation of the Seagate community where he lives and “what it’s like to go through this type of catastrophe.”

Agudath Israel was founded in 1912 in Katowice, Silecia by some of the greats of that generation including the Chofetz Chaim, the Imrei Emes, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzenski, and the Czortkover Rebbe.

“We have the same issues today,” pointed out Rabbi Becker, “just a different form.” We still have the “need for Jews to unite and come together. It is the bottom line of everything that is Agudath Israel.”

Photos courtesy of Agudath Israel

Rabbi Yaakov Bender addresses attendees at Agudath convention.

Dr. Yitzchok Shindler, Mrs Shoshana Bernstein, Mrs Tziporah Koslowitz, and Mrs. Yael Kaisman

15

It is no accident that Judaism begins the day with the Modeh Ani prayer, and that the first word we say every day, before anything else, is simply “I will be thankful.”

We choose, in every second of every minute of our lives, whether to appreciate what we have, or to bemoan what we are missing.

And in so doing, we actually choose not what we have, but how we have it, and who we are.

May Hashem bless all of us with the strength and wisdom to appreciate all the gifts we have in this world, because that is the first step in making the world the place we want it to be.

Shabbat Shalom, Binny Freedman

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With Hashem’s help and guidance, may we be zocheh (merit) to emulate both the Avot and Moshe Rabbeinu (our teacher Moshe), so that we, too, may be called “Avdi,” (“My servant”) as we faithfully strive to walk in our Creator’s path and follow His ways. V’chane yihi ratzon.

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Rabbi Etengoff: Shemot Continued from page 10 And now you [Moshe] say to Me, “Neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

[Therefore,] “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh…”: “You shall behold the war against Pharaoh, but not the war against the thirty-one kings [that will be fought by your student and protégé, Yehoshua, when he conquers the land.]” (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 111a, translation, Soncino Talmud with my bolding, brackets, and emendations) This powerful and poignant Talmudic presentation provides us with an entirely new understanding of the greatness of the Avot.

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Continued from page 13 saved his life fifty years earlier in Vilna….

We need to understand that displaying gratitude is not because the other person needs it; rather, we need it; because being grateful makes us better people and makes the world a better place to be, and makes room for Hashem in our life, which is, in the end, what we are all doing here in the first place.

And this was the essence of who Joseph was: when the brothers are afraid of Joseph’s wrath upon encountering him twenty-two years after having sold him as a slave and left him for dead, Joseph is actually grateful to the brothers for having been the vehicle G-d chose to allow him to save them along with an entire country!

Precisely because Joseph represented the essence of constantly appreciating all the good Hashem is constantly giving us, even when we don’t see it that way, the Egyptian slavery only begins after Joseph is dead and the Egyptians can conveniently “forget” him…..

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Expressing gratitude

Take care of your back, you only have one

By Daniel Aryeh If you suffer from back pain, you are far from being alone. Nearly everyone will experience some form of back pain at some point in his or her life. It is the second most common cause of missed days of work in the United States. (The common cold causes more missed days of work). Most back problems arise from injuries to the muscles or ligaments. Others include injuries to the discs between the vertebrae or to the bones themselves. If you do not know the cause of your back pain, you should have it evaluated by a doctor.

The back is a complex structure made up of 33 vertebrae, over 30 muscles, numerous ligaments, multiple joints, and inter-vertebral discs. Thus, there are many structures that can cause discomfort if injured or affected. The spine is supported by large muscles called the paraspinal muscles, which also help support the weight of the upper body.

These muscles, ligaments, and bones all work together to provide the control and strength that one’s body needs for nearly all movements and activities. For this reason, the lumbar spine is prone to injury, and when an injury has been sustained, we are prevented from performing many of our daily activities, including simple ones.

Back injuries and back pain can often be prevented and treated by performing daily stretching and strengthening exercises.

This will help loosen up and strengthen the muscles of the back, thereby making them less susceptible to injuries. It is highly recommended that a routine of stretches and

strengthening exercises be performed in the morning when one wakes up so that one’s body will be in much better shape to handle one’s “stressful” day. It is also recommended to perform a regular routine of stretches and strengthening exercises again at night before going to bed. This way, one can “undo the damage” caused by the stresses of life. Most people can benefit from a regular stretching regimen during the day, as well. Please note, however, that before beginning any new exercise routine, one should discuss their plans with their primary care physician. Once one is medically cleared by their MD, one should consider being seen by a Licensed Physical Therapist, who is trained in the proper techniques and methods required to treat back pain, prevent further injury, and help customize and individualize one’s exercise routine.

When performing a stretching program, one should continue through the exercise until a gentle stretch is felt. One should not experience any pain or discomfort. If this is the case, you are probably stretching too far for your current level and muscle tears and injuries can occur. Avoid any bouncing motions and always keep your movement slow and smooth. When performing a strengthening program, one should try to be able to complete 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions of the same motion. Here, too, one should not experience any pain or significant discomfort.

After completing any exercise routine, make sure to drink plenty of water to re-hydrate.

Two other important ways to avoid back injuries include being educated in proper lifting techniques and work ergonomics. Never

lift objects with the muscles of your back!

Always keep your back straight when lifting anything and use the strong muscles of your legs to do the work. Avoid all twisting motions of the back and use your feet to turn instead. Avoid bending to the extreme and prevent any twisting or jarring motions of your back. If an object is heavy, try getting some help from someone else. If your job requires you to sit at a desk for long hours each day, make sure to take plenty of breaks. Try to take a few minutes to stretch at your desk.

Use proper adaptive devices such as a lumbar support role (or a rolled up towel) to maintain a healthy posture. You might feel more comfort by elevating one or both of your feet on a small step stool under your desk, in order to help keep you spine in a flattened/ neutral position. You might, also, want to make sure that everything is properly placed at your work station in order to help keep your body aligned and avoid poor posture.

Applying moist heat packs and cold packs interchangeably to the painful area will tend to help alleviate the muscle spasms, joint/tissue inflammation and pain, as well. If seeing a Physical Therapist, one’s treatment plan might include using a TENS unit or some form of electrical stimulation to help numb the pain by generating nerve impulses that block the incoming pain signals from the peripheral nerves. The therapist may decide to use a low frequency ultrasound, which is, also, noninvasive and is used to warm the body’s internal tissues at the level of the cells, thereby allowing muscles to relax (since heat makes everything expand), while increasing circulation to the injured area to help speed

up the healing process. Various massage techniques can be used, as well, to help relax the muscle spasms, decrease the sensitivity/ tenderness/pain and increase circulation to help with the healing of the muscles/tissues.

In summary, back pain is something that is very common and can usually be treated conservatively. Physical therapists are trained in the proper techniques and methods to treat back pain, even proactively. They can help educate you in the appropriate exercise routine to keep your back muscles strong and flexible. They can teach you various back safety techniques and how to use proper body mechanics for performing your daily activities without irritating your back.

They can, also, help you correct your posture and perform various modalities to relieve your back pain.

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE BACK. SO, TREAT IT RIGHT! Daniel Aryeh has been a licensed PT for 17 years. He founded Achieve Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation of Long Island seven years ago in Hewlett in order to better the lives of his neighbors in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway.

Daniel Aryeh, PT LLC, located in Forest Hills, has been serving the Queens area for nearly four years and here, too, the approach taken is one of treating all patients as family and friends. The intent of each therapist at both locations is to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and function to patients, who are suffering from any and all physical ailments. We truly strive to give our patients a life changing experience so that you can start enjoying your life again with minimal to no pain or limitations.

Personal attention in a warm environment - because WE CARE!

Sari Levy, M.A. P.T.

Daniel Aryeh, P.T.

Physical Therapy in Hewlett • Specializing in Sports and Orthopedic Injuries (including pediatric cases), • Neurological and Rheumatological Disorders and Geriatrics • We treat: Back and Neck Pain, Vertigo/Dizziness, Walking Difficulty, Balance Disorders, • Post Surgical Procedures/Joint Replacements TMJ, Poor Posture.

• Strong emphasis on Therapist: Doctor Communication • Private treatment & exercise rooms • Experienced Male and Female Therapists • Late evening hours and free on site parking • Most health insurances accepted, including Workers Comp. and No-Fault

1490 Broadway, First Floor • Hewlett, New York 11557 Telephone (516) 593-4530 • Fax: (516) 593-4518 achieverehab@gmail.com

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January 4, 2013 HEBREWDATE THE JEWISH STAR

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New Location!

Same Great Service.