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THE JEWISH March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776

Parshas Vayakhel • Candlelighting 5:32 pm • Luach page 11

Vol 15, No. 10 • TheJewishStar.com

THE NEWSPAPER OF OUR ORTHODOX COMMUNITIES

BDS and J Street stir local election of George Soros who opBy Ed Weintrob erates his own private inThe special election to vestment fund and philanďŹ ll Dean Skelos’ state Senthoropic enterprise. ate seat turned this week There has been no on the relationship of the suggstion of a direct concandidates and their ponection by George Soros to litical parties to BDS and J the Kaminsky campaign.

Street.

Before Jonathan SoRepublican state senaros, now 45, established tors, promoting the canhis foundation in 2012, he didacy of Hewlett Harbor joined his father in giftattorney Chris McGrath, ing at least several hunvisited Cedarhurst on Sundred thousand dollars to J day to demand that the Street. George Soros, now Democratic-controlled As85, and a daughter consembly approve anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and 'HPRFUDW 7RGG .DPLQVN\ OHIW DQG 5HSXEOLFDQ &KULV 0F tinue to fund J Street.

In a Friday morning Sanctions) legislation that *UDWK GXULQJ LQWHUYLHZV LQ 7KH -HZLVK 6WDU RIÂżFHV ODVW ZHHN interview in the ofďŹ ces passed the Republican-conmajor supporters of J Street, a of The Jewish Star, Kaminsky retrolled Senate, 55–6, on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, a social media cam- Washington-based group that is sponded sharply to the social mepaign was seeking to tie the Dem- widely viewed by advocates for the dia campaign that’s been trying to ocratic candidate, Assemblyman Jewish state as antagonistic to Is- raise doubts about his commitment Todd Kaminsky of Long Beach, to raeli interests. The Kaminsky Sen- to Israel. “You’re not going to ďŹ nd a more George Soros, an anti-Zionist bil- ate campaign accepted an $11,000 lionaire philanthropist. Soros and contribution (the largest permit- staunch supporter for Israel than I members of his family have been ted) from Jonathan Soros, a son am,â€? he said. Continued on page 19

%RQQLH DQG -DFN 5\EV]WDMQ LQ WKHLU :RRGPHUH KRPH The Jewish Star / Celia Weintrob

After death march, 70 years of marriage

By Celia Weintrob The Woodmere home of Bonnie and Jack Rybsztajn is chockfull of photos of their three children and seven grandchildren; pride and love of family permeates the place.

While reaching 70 years of marriage is a tremendous milestone for any couple, it’s even

more exceptional for the Rybsztajns: both bride and groom survived several concentration camps as well as separate death marches.

Feb. 24 marked the anniversary itself, and far-ung family members joined the Rybsztajns for Shabbos, where Jack davened at Ohr Torah in North Woodmere.

Continued on page 19

At gala, Achiezer continues to inspire and unite community

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and “We’re all in this together,� were the underlying factors behind each of these chronicles.

One of the emotional highlights of the evening was the tribute to Howard and Susan Zemser, parents of Justin Zemser, a�h, a Navy Midshipman whose life was cut short at the young age of 20 in the Amtrak Train #188 crash of May 2015. Rabbi Boruch Ber Bender, president and founder of Achiezer, presented a beautiful painting of Justin to his parents.

Rabbi Bender related how people like the Zemsers give the Achiezer team the chizuk to make it through the difďŹ cult days. “A couple like the Zemsers,â€? he explained, “who experienced the indescribable pain of losing their only child, remained strong and, despite the horriďŹ c pain they endured, remained focused on kovod hameis and prompt burial. Now [they] spend their days connecting with G-d [and they] show us all how tragedy will not overtake us.â€?

Throughout the program, the dinner attendees were honored to be addressed by several notable people, including Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, who addressed the crowd on behalf of the many elected ofďŹ cials in attendance. —From Achiezer Look for more photos in The Jewish Star next week.

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On Sunday night, an unprecedented and incredible evening of tribute took place at the Sands Atlantic Beach. 1,500 people — young and old, rabbonim, elected ofďŹ cials and community members from all walks of life, koined together in unity.

Those in attendance came bearing the very same testimony: “Achiezer is there for our community, guiding everyone who needs assistance throughout every step of the way.â€? Whether matching people with the proper referrals, directing community members to the proper doctors for the treatment they desperately need, coordinating meals and driving assistance, crisis management, emotional and ďŹ nancial support, and so on, Achiezer is the community’s one-stop resource.

In a stirring program that lasted just under an hour, the gathering honored Ben Weinstock, Shlomo and Raizy Hackel, Dr. Deborah Dienstag. and Eliahu and Chaia Frishman, and celebrated the efforts of all those involved with Achiezer.

With its dinner theme of “We Are All Achiezer,â€? Achiezer showed a ďŹ lm, “Drama in Real Life,â€? that featured heartfelt accounts of community members whose lives have been touched

by Achiezer. “Any time I need Achiezer, they’re only a phone call away,�

Sheloshim tribute to Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, zt’l ALAN JAY GERBER KOSHER BOOKWORM

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his past week commemorated the sheloshim, one month, since the passing of Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, zt�l. Much has been written in tribute to his legacy. This week’s essay will note some of his literary contributions, his impact on the world of kashrut, and his special relationship with one of our community’s most outstanding personalities, Mordechai “Mordy� Kriger of Lawrence.

Among Rabbi Belsky’s communal undertakings was his major contribution to the enhancement of the quality of the observance of kashrus. According to Rabbi Menachem Genack, longtime CEO of the OU kosher supervision division with whom Rabbi Belsky worked, “Rabbi Belsky was an irreplaceable man. He was a brilliant Torah scholar who fulďŹ lled many important functions within our community but perhaps none as central as in the world of kashrus observance. His absolutely incredible knowledge was reected in the thousands of halachic papers that he wrote over these many years on issues that touch upon all observant Jews.â€?

Rabbi Belsky was afďŹ liated with the OU for over two decades and would serve, together with Rabbi Herschel Schechter, Rabbi Asher Weiss and Rabbi Menachem Genack, as the highest authority in kashrus law. His expertize was second to none, according to all with whom I spoke in this ďŹ eld. He was also a shochet who was an expert in the intricacies of deveining (nikur), an expertise that he shared with many other shochtim. Halacha and its related responsa will, in the years to come, serve as a permanent literary legacy of Rabbi Belsky.

The person responsible for the initial publication of Rabbi Belsky’s work was his lifelong friend, Mordy Kriger. Given Rabbi Belsky’s work regimen, only two preliminary works were published in English in his lifetime, “Piskei Halacha,� compiled by Rabbi Moshe Dovid Lebovits, and “Shulchan Halevi: Halachic Responsa From the Desk of Harav Yisroel

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Belsky,â&#x20AC;? edited and arranged by Moshe Armel and Reuven Mathieson under the executive editorship of his son in law, Rabbi Reuven Cohen.

Each of these volumes, planned as the ďŹ rst in a projected series, are titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Kriger Edition.â&#x20AC;? Mordy Krigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement has been and will continue to be crucial in the success of this series.

In the ďŹ rst volume, Rabbi Lebovits wrote the following: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This sefer would never have seen the light of day without the magniďŹ cent generosity of Rabbi Mordechai Kriger. It is with deepest feelings of hakares hatov and admiration that I extend my gratitude to this truly exceptional individual.â&#x20AC;?

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In the second volume, Rabbi Cohen wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In all my meetings with Reb Mordechai, I have found him to be a man of Torah, one who spends time diligently and productively in the Beis Midrash. Indeed, Mr. Kriger has enjoyed a long and close relationship with the author, going back to the days they were classmates in Torah Vodaath. Even when he took his considerable talents into the business world, this did not detract at all from his love of Torah learning. In 2008, Harav Belsky conferred upon Mr. Kriger the coveted semicha of Yoreh Deâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ah, after years of diligent study.â&#x20AC;?

Finally, I conclude this tribute essay with the following hesped by Mordy Kriger, in honor of his life long relationship with Rabbi Yisroel Belsky. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I was in Torah Vodaath, elementary school, my classmate, Hagaon Rav Yisroel Belsky, ztâ&#x20AC;?l, sat two rows behind me. Little did I know at that time that he would become a renowned Torah scholar who greatly inďŹ&#x201A;uenced our generation. An example of his uncanny memory is that when I retold a story that occurred around the ďŹ fth grade, he remembered all the details. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To me, Rabbi Belsky represented Yeshiva Torah Vodaath.

This yeshiva took in boys who came from all types of homes, from very religious, to chasidishe, to children who would eventually attend public high schools. â&#x20AC;Ś Rabbi Belsky, with his great wisdom and broad breadth of understanding, related to and brought close all types of Jews. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expert in Kashrus. He also allowed me in my high 60s to study by him and attain semicha in Yorah Deâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ah. His shiurim that I was honored to attend were unique in their clarity and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hands onâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; explanations that we received. Nobody knew the facts and could present them so vividly as Rabbi Belsky, ztâ&#x20AC;?l. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a dayan, he was the paradigm of honesty who fought for the truth at great personal sacriďŹ ce. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When he was ill a few years ago, I told him that he canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave us, we still needed him. We were zocheh to have him back for a few more years but, unfortunately, we are not zocheh anymore. Such people as Rabbi Belsky are irreplaceable.

I sorely miss him.â&#x20AC;?

And so do we all.

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March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

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THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776

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Going for the Gold on Oscar night JUDY JOSZEF WHO’S IN THE KITCHEN

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n Sunday night, 34.3 million viewers tuned in to view the 2016 Academy Awards. And as I do each year, I tuned in as well. The show tends to be about two hours too long and 90 percent of the awards everyone cares about are presented in the last five minutes, but it’s a ritual that brings back old Hollywood glamour.

There is glitz and glam, sequins and satin, and haute couture. Oh, and jewels, let’s not forget those jewels, most of which are on loan from Harry Winston. Not sure why they have to be on loan, as the actresses wearing them are millionaires many times over.

The rest of us plain folk should get a shot at wearing some of those pieces. Hey Harry, my daughter’s wedding is coming up this summer. Just saying.

As usual, this year, there were elegant gowns, embellished gowns, some too bright, some too dull, some too tight — and then there were those that were barely there, as in dangerously plunging neck lines. Maybe it’s a good showcase for those jewels on loan, but better they should get some extra material on loan and cover up a bit.

Cate Blanchett looked like she went wild in Michael’s with flowers and feathers taking over her gown. Lady Gaga won most improved, no more meat dresses and matching hats for her!

Actors got noticed as well. Jared Leto, what were you thinking with that lapel flower bow tie?

But enough about the red carpet. Let’s move on to the nominees and the awards. y favorite movie this year, was, “The Danish Girl.” My husband Jerry hated it. He said he would rather see “men” movies, not men turning into women movies. The subject matter was a bit too much for him. I asked him “how is it, that you can watch Gladiator, There Will be Blood,” “Full Metal Jacket,” No Country For Old Men” and “Pulp Fiction,” and not be able to stomach “The Danish Girl”?

Eddie Redmayne, in my opinion deserved the Oscar for his portrayal of the first known transgender. Of course, had he read the phone book, I would have thought so as well.

I still think he portrayed Stephen Hawking, better than Stephen Hawking. All the other actors turned in wonderful performances, I just thought Redmayne deserved the gold.

I also think, had DiCaprio, not been in the mix, he would have won.

I saw “The Revanant” and enjoyed it, but didn’t think DiCaprio deserved the award.

He was the heavy favorite, though, because, he was nominated five times earlier and though he deserved it a few of those times, he was overlooked. That, and the fact that he had to work under treacherous conditions. The film was shot in the Canada and the crew was subject to 25 degrees below freezing.

Really, Leo? I was in Lake Placid two weeks ago where it was 30 degrees below 0. You don’t see me walking around with an Oscar!

Yes, you worked under terrible conditions, but you got paid millions for your efforts, and it’s safe to assume you had heaters.

Most of the show ran according to plan,

M

with awards given to those who were favored in each category, except for best supporting actor. I loved that they introduced the “thank you scroll” that was shown on the bottom of the TV screen. It was meant to shorten the usually long-winded thank you’s and words of appreciation to everyone that had ever come into contact with the winner. Great idea, but most of the winners ignored it and went on and on and on.

Best Foreign Language Film went to “Son of Saul,” a Hungarian Holocaust film.

I’m guessing the person in charge of choosing the music, to usher the Jewish director off stage, will be looking for another form of employment. He chose “Ride of the Valkyries,” composed by the notoriously antiSemetic composer Richard Wagner. Oops.

So three-and-a-half hours later, I turned the TV off and murmured what I do every year. “Next year, I’m going to just read about it in the paper the next day.”

Who are we kidding, G-d willing I’ll be tuned in next year as I have for the last 45.

Old habits die hard.

I was going to share a recipe for black and white cookies. But since this year’s nominees were, unfortunately, all white, I decided to save that recipe for another week.

'RXEOH &KHUU\ &UXQFK 3LH Ingredients: 12 ounces frozen tart cherries, thawed 6 ounces frozen sweet cherries, thawed 3/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca 2 3x1-inch strips lemon peel. Use a vegetable peeler to remove large strips of peel,

avoiding the bitter white pith.

1 9-inch baked pastry shell 1 cup flaked coconut 1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds 1/2 cup white chocolate baking pieces 1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drain cherries, reserving juices; if necessary, add water to equal 1 cup. In a medium saucepan combine sugar and tapioca. Stir in reserved juices and lemon peel.

Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove and discard lemon peel. Add drained cherries (you should have about 2 cups). Cook and stir 5 minutes more. Pour filling into baked pastry.

For topping, in a bowl combine coconut, nuts, baking pieces, oats, flour and brown sugar. Add butter. Stir to combine. Sprinkle topping over filling. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Cool on rack.

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March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

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5 THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776

Fighting for OUR CHILDREN

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Long Island families The McGrath plan to help private schools: sending their children to

Fighting for Long Island Families

March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

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Ilan Halimi: Jewish Lives Matter BEN COHEN VIEWPOINT

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n his preface to a recent publication from Fathom, a British magazine covering the Middle East, British lawyer and antiSemitism expert Anthony Julius—always the author of a memorable phrase—denounced “anti-Zionism and its creature, the BDS movement,” as “one of the major political stupidities of our time.”

The import of Julius’s comment struck me as I was reflecting on the terrible fate of Ilan Halimi, the young French Jew who 10 years ago was kidnapped for ransom by a largely Muslim gang. Halimi spent nearly a month in the custody of these “barbarians”—that was what they called themselves—during which time they beat him, burned him, and tortured him. Halimi was left for dead by a railway track outside Paris on Feb. 13, 2006, and indeed, he did die of his wounds just a few hours after being discovered.

In the tumult that followed the murder, it emerged that Youssef Fofana, the gang leader, had targeted Halimi because he was a Jew, and Jews have money. It was a brutal demonstration to a skeptical French public that anti-Semitism within the Muslim com-

munity—often fueled by savage attacks on Israel’s right to exist and dark mutterings about the political influence of its Jewish supporters—is all too real.

Speaking at the recent 10th anniversary commemorating Halimi’s murder, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazneuve confessed, “Ten years after the murder we still feel this collective regret of hesitating to call the act by its true name—anti-Semitic hate.’’

That hate is also, as Anthony Julius might acknowledge, a monstrous form of political stupidity. Despite being one of the discredited ideologies that grounded totalitarianism in the last century, anti-Semitism has persisted into this one. Its followers have regrouped under the banner of the elimination not just of Israel, but of the empathy and affiliation with Israel that most Diaspora Jews feel towards it.

This onslaught upon Jewish empowerment and self-confidence has more than one symbol. At its depths, it is exemplified by the extraordinary cruelty Ilan Halimi was subjected to, solely because he was a Jew. In that regard, you might also include the murderous siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris last year, at the close of a week that began with an Islamist terror attack against the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

At its “height”—and I use that word with reservation—it takes the form of either rationalizing anti-Semitism or denying that it exists altogether. Instead of understanding

the Halimi murder as an act of hatred aimed at the Jewish people, some French intellectuals advise us that the “sentiment that a large section of black and Arab French youth feel towards the Jews is something quite different, having nothing in common with historic anti-Semitism.”

The authors of that claim, Messrs. Alain Badiou, Eric Hazan, and Ivan Segre, then explain that it’s all Israel’s fault: “The young people we are referring to make an amalgam between the Israeli state’s anti-Palestinian repression and this distorted image of French Jews, which can lead them to believe all the Jews in the world, here and elsewhere, are their enemies.” t is distasteful to think of Ilan Halimi’s torment as an “amalgam,” but this kind of explanation isn’t limited to these writers.

Similar arguments have been made following other atrocities against European Jews, such as the murder of a teacher and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012, and the 2014 attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, in which four people were killed.

Again, the pattern in these attacks is the same: the perpetrators were local Muslims (although it should be clarified that no foreign Islamist organization was involved in the Halimi murder) and the rationalizers were the same folks who portray BDS (the Continued on page 18

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Shneiders … men of the cloth TEHILLA R. GOLDBERG VIEW FROM CENTRAL PARK

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lthough shneider, meaning tailor, is a common name in the Jewish community, I can’t say I have ever personally known one. I do, however, remember a scene from “Fiddler on the Roof,” when shouts of “It’s here! It’s here!” rang out in celebration of an arrival — the arrival of a baby, the audience is led to think. In fact, it is the arrival of Motl the tailor’s long awaited Singer sewing machine.

Maybe it’s because my grandmother was a seamstress of sorts, her lips often pursed tightly holding a needle between them, a thimble capping her finger, threading a garment, that I have always had a soft spot for tailoring. That may be what drew me to “Men of Cloth,” a documentary film about master tailors and the vanishing art and craftsmanship of tailoring.

Filmed over 11-years, you get a sense of these master tailors’ craft, dedication and passion for tailoring as an art form. Tailor shops bespoke a time and place between people, a where the work depended on the talent of human hands. These men were steeped in behind the scenes, day-to-day hard work within their quiet spaces, surrounded by collections of inanimate objects: multicolored spools of thread, pins, scissors, measuring tape, buttons and books with patterns, rich mahogany tables and little makeshift dressing rooms. Their creations were labors of love.

One of the tailors spoke of his thumb regularly being bent out of shape and his ritual of tying it and sleeping on it in order to reverse the bent finger. Another spoke of the tradition of praying and meditating to succeed in his tailoring work; the work of taking a slab of fabric and bringing it to life, transforming it into a garment worn by a person, this was treated with great respect.

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In the tailor shop scenes, not much is said, yet the diligence and intensity of quietly cutting and sewing were redolent with character, especially the scenes between tailor and apprentice.

Between gorgeous scenic views of narrowing cobbled Italian alleyways, humorous takes here and there — a customer stuck in the dressing room at the mercy of the tailor due to being pinned up and immobile (“this is how I got my wife to marry me,” the tailor jokes, “she was stuck”), or what must be a constant refrain that tailors were accustomed to hearing (“please make the button fit tight as I will soon be thinner”) — it was the simple give and take between an elderly master Italian tailor (still coming into the shop fulltime at 90!) and his young apprentice that was so very moving and that gives a sense of how personal tailoring really is.

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ll three tailors hearken to a different time. They are WW II veterans; they began apprenticing as tailors at age 10, the need born of poverty.

One of the tailors said that when he turned 10, his dad told him, “Please go to so and so’s tailor shop.” He then corrected himself. “Actually there was no please, it was more like ‘tomorrow you go to so and so’s tailor shop to begin studying tailoring’.”

By 18 they were fully independent tailors.

And that tailoring table is where they longed to be, day in, day out.

It wasn’t about the money. It was the love of the craft, of, as the Yiddish saying goes, making something from nothing. Perhaps the training was born out of utilitarian need, but the lifelong craft is something they believed in, a devotion to both the function and Continued on page 18

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THE HEART OF JERUSALEM

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The commentators ask why this special gathering was necessary, why didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Moshe inform the Jewish people as he normally would.

Rashi points out that this actually occurred on the day following Yom Kippur, which would seem to be Rashiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to this question. But why does the day after Yom Kippur engender such a gathering?

Some historical context is helpful here.

The Jewish people receive the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai on the seventh day of Sivan. Forty days later, on the 17th day of Tammuz, Moshe comes down from the mountain (in last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portion Ki Tissah ) to ďŹ nd the people frolicking with the Golden Calf, at which point he hurls the tablets of the law down the mountain. Three days later, on the 20th day of Tammuz, after the

n the fall of 2012, Israel was again preparing for war in response to the thousands of missiles being ďŹ red indiscriminately from the Gaza strip onto the population centers of southern Israel. As Eva Zrihen was posing for wedding photos in Tel Aviv, not 50 miles south her younger brothers, Sergeant Eliahu and Captain Emmanuel, were donning ďŹ&#x201A;ak vests and ammo pouches and getting themselves focused for the challenge of entering Gaza in what was expected to be one of the most intensive and costly ground operations in modern warfare.

The Zrihen family was torn between tears of joy at experiencing Evaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding and pangs of worry knowing her two brothers were about to engage in Operation Pillar of Defense.

Eliahu and Emmanuel sent Eva a message telling her how sad they were to be missing her wedding, but that they expected there to be only tears of joy. They were all engaged in a mitzvah party, they wrote, just celebrating 'XULQJ 3LOODU RI 'HIHQVH (OL DQG (PPDQXHO ZHUH UHOHDVHG IURP WKHLU EDVH DW WKH *D]D ERUGHU VR WKH\ FRXOG DWWHQG WKHLU VLVWHUÂśV ZHGGLQJ IDF two different mitzvoth.

As the Zrihen family headed to the wedding hall, sirens wailed principal perpetrators of the Gold Calf have and rockets began falling, and everyone had been dealt with, Moshe ascends the mounto take cover in the bomb shelters. The wed- tain a second time to gain forgiveness for the Jewish people. Forty days later he descends ding celebrations would have to wait.

Meanwhile, at aroud 9 pm, just outside on the ďŹ rst of the month of Elul (which today the Gaza strip, it was decided that Eliahu begins the period of repentance leading to and Emmanuelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unit in the Nachal brigade the high Holy days) to announce the people would not be going in before dawn, and their are forgiven. Then he ascends a third time for base commander found Eliahu Zrihen with an additional 40 days, to receive the second an important message: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have 15 minutes tablets (luchot) which he must hew himself.

And ďŹ nally, 40 days later, Moshe deto ďŹ nd your brother. Take my car keys and go scends from Mount Sinai for the third and dance at your sisterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding.â&#x20AC;?

Their cell phones had been taken away in ďŹ nal time, on Yom Kippur, the tenth of Tishpreparation for entering Gaza and there was rei. Thus, it was on Yom Kippur that the no time to ďŹ nd them, so no one knew they Jewish people realized they were really forwere coming. Normally, by the time they given and had been given a second chance, would have gotten there the dancing would with a second set of luchot.

What Rashi was pointing out was not the have long been over, but a few missiles from connection between gathering and Yom KipGaza delayed everything.

At 11 pm, Eli and Emmanuel walked into pur, but rather between this gathering the the wedding hall. They had not had time day after this particular Yom Kippur. You to change out of their combat gear or even see, six months after the great Exodus from take the camouďŹ&#x201A;age paint off their faces. Egypt, the people, like the ďŹ rst set of luchot, But when the two exhausted, dusty soldiers were broken.

Back on the seventh of Sivan, G-d Himself with grins as wide as the sea walked into the hall, everything just â&#x20AC;Ś stopped. The band spoke to them with Moshe, from atop Mount stopped playing, the people stopped dancing Sinai. Now, it was Moshe bringing the luchot and parted, and for a moment no one moved, to the bottom of the mountain as the Jewish until the bride turned around and let out a people encamped at the mountainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foot â&#x20AC;&#x201D; shout of joy, and then the entire hall erupted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;as one, with one heart,â&#x20AC;? writes Rashi. But And one family, symbolizing an entire with the Levites meting out justice to the people, separated by 50 miles and seemingly idolaters who transgressed with the Golden in two entirely different worlds that night, Calf, the dream of Sinai seemed far away and â&#x20AC;Ś broken. became one.

So Moshe gathers everyone together and, his weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portion, Vayakhel, begins as Moshe gathers the entire people togeth- at the behest of G-d, he gives them a speer. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from this unique moment that cial mitzvah: to build a mishkan (tabernacle) the portion gains its name Vayakhel, which together. Because for any community to acmeans to gather.

Continued on page 8

T

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RABBI BINNY FREEDMAN

THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776

At Vayakhel, working together to build our Jewish community

8 March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

Working togetherâ&#x20AC;Ś Continued from page 7 complish its goals, it must work together as a team.

This word, vayakhel (to gather), appears in almost exactly the same form, at the beginning of the story of the Golden Calf: When the people saw that Moshe was not coming, â&#x20AC;&#x153;vayakhel haâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;am al Aharonâ&#x20AC;? (â&#x20AC;&#x153;the nation gathered around [on?] Aharonâ&#x20AC;?) (32:1).

So, before the Golden Calf they are gathering as an am, a nation. But on the day after Yom Kippur they are gathered by Moshe as an eidah, a Congregation. Perhaps, when coming to Aharon after seeing that Moshe had not returned, the people gathered for a mission â&#x20AC;&#x201D; what unites a nation is its purpose, its mission. Here, however, the purpose is actually to gather. How do you rebuild a broken people? Your bring them to build something together. Perhaps the Torah is alluding to the fact that they are not gathering just to build a mishkan, they are building together in order to rediscover the beauty of being â&#x20AC;&#x153;gathered.â&#x20AC;? recently read a wonderful book on the value of team building by Patrick Lencioni, in which he describes the ďŹ ve dysfunctions of a team.

The ďŹ rst dysfunction, he suggests, is trust â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not trust in the conventional sense, which is about noting the frequency of a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavior resulting in assumptions with regard to future behavior; but rather, he is speaking of the conďŹ dence among team members that all their intentions are good and are pursued for the good of the team or a higher purpose than themselves. This includes the willingness of team members to be vulnerable and share their mistakes, conďŹ dent in the knowledge that they will not be judged, because all the team members simply want to help

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each other and become better in the interest of the team, or of a higher purpose. It also includes the ability to engage in healthy conďŹ&#x201A;ict and even point out other team membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mistakes and ďŹ&#x201A;aws, secure in the knowledge that no one is making it personal, but that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always about the team.

As an example, if a basketball player is more concerned with his own scoring than whether the team wins, then something is dysfunctional in the way that team works.

On the other hand, the coach has to be able to tell a team member where he messed up without his taking it personally, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not about him or her, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about something much bigger.

This is true of every team setting and every healthy relationship. Your spouse or parent has to be able to tell you where you need to improve without you taking it so personally, secure in the knowledge that they love you and have no axe to grind; they simply want to help you become even better.

And so, 3,200 years ago, with the ďŹ rst tablets shattered at the foot of the mountain, and the dream of a better world at risk, Moshe gathers together the entire Jewish people and tells them to build a mishkan, a special place, together.

And here is some food for thought for the Shabbat table: Seventy years ago, with the Jewish people along with the Torah communities of Europe in tatters, Hashem tells us to build a State of Israel â&#x20AC;Ś together. And here we are, living the dream; we just have a bit of a ways to go to build it â&#x20AC;Ś together. Perhaps this Shabbat of Vayakhel we might all consider thinking how to get a little better at the together part.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

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arasha Vayakel begins with the construction of the mishkan (the portable desert sanctuary): â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moses called the whole community of the children of Israel to assemble, and he said to them: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;These are the things that the L-rd commanded to makeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? Following this verse, one would expect the Torah to list the details inherent in the construction of the mishkan. This is the case, for example, in the beginning of Parashat Terumah.

But in our parasha, instead of presenting the constitutive elements of the mishkan and how it is to be designed and assembled, the Torah discusses the sanctity of Shabbat and the speciďŹ c proscription of igniting a ďŹ re on this most holy of all days: Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have sanctity, a day of complete rest to the L-rd; whoever performs work thereon [on this day] shall be put to death. You shall not kindle ďŹ re in any of your dwelling places on the Sabbath day. (Shemot 35:2-3) Rashi, basing himself upon the Mechilta, the halachic midrash to Sefer Shemot, explains why these seemingly incongruous pasukim (verses) were included at this juncture: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Six days: He [Moses] prefaced [the discussion of the details of] the work of the Mishkan with the warning to keep the Sabbath, denoting that it [i.e., the work of the Mishkan] does not supersede the Sabbath.â&#x20AC;? The Torah, therefore, is teaching us the ultimate holiness of Shabbat. Even the construction of Hashemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dwelling place on earth must cease at the onset of this most consecrated day.

Everyone encounters Shabbat and its kedushah in a different way. Each of us has a favorite time. For some, it is the Friday evening meal that is preceded by Lecha Dodi in shul, and ushered in with the singing of Shalom Aleichem and Aishet Chail. For others, it is the morning teďŹ lah in the synagogue, replete with the Torah reading and followed by the second meal. Personally, I am most profoundly affected by the ďŹ nal meal of the day, seudah shlishit.

Many of our Sages have noted that this is the last bastion of kedushah that separates us from our weekday activities and their uncertainties.

Personally, it is the time when I most strongly feel the neshamah yitarah (the extra soul) that the holiness of Shabbat bestows upon each of us. As such, the singing of Mizmor lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dovid (A Song of David) and Yedid Nefesh (Beloved of My Soul), in conjunction with divrei Torah (words of Torah), often transports me to the highest heights that I am able to achieve during my subjective Shabbat experience. In some very powerful ways, these are transformative and majestic moments that help me reconnect to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Many have suggested that the singing of Mizmor lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dovid during seudah shlishit captures the essence of the ideal Jewish religious experience. The psalm speaks of peace, serenity, and inner calm: â&#x20AC;&#x153;A song of David. The L-rd is my shepherd; I shall not want. He causes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His nameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

the realm of holiness whose name is Sabbath, into the dark and frightening, secular workaday week, we sing the psalm â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The L-rd is my shepherd; I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; etc. etc., and we believe with our entire hearts in the word of the psalmist.â&#x20AC;?

In the Ravâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis, however, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this psalm only describes the ultimate destination of homo religiosus (religious man), not the path leading to that destination.â&#x20AC;? For Rabbi Soloveitchik, Judaism â&#x20AC;&#x153;is not, at the outset, a refuge of grace and mercy for the despondent and desperate, an enchanted stream for crushed spirits, but a raging, clamorous torrent of manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consciousness with all its crises, pangs and torments.â&#x20AC;? He explicitly urges us to

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824773

RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF

sake. Even when I walk in the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they comfort me. You set a table before me in the presence of my adversaries; You anointed my head with oil; my cup overďŹ&#x201A;ows. May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the L-rd for length of days.â&#x20AC;? (Tehillim 23) My rebbi and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zatzal (the Rav), in his seminal essay entitled Ish HaHalacha (Halakhic Man, 1944), depicted the following relationship that obtains between seudah shlishit and Psalm 23: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is true that during the third Sabbath meal at dusk, as the day of rest declines and manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul yearns for its Creator and is afraid to depart from

JST

9 THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776

Transformative nature of Shabbat

understand that the path leading to peace and serenity â&#x20AC;&#x153;is not the royal road, but a narrow, twisting footway that threads its course along the steep mountain slope, as the terrible abyss yawns at the travelerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feet.â&#x20AC;?

Judaism, when approached with spiritual and intellectual honesty, helps one navigate â&#x20AC;&#x153;the straits of inner oppositions, and incongruities, spiritual doubts and uncertaintiesâ&#x20AC;? of life. The individual: â&#x20AC;&#x153;cries out of the depths of a psyche rent with antinomies and contradictions, out of the bottomless pit of a soul that struggles with its own tormentsâ&#x20AC;?

Life, for the thinking religious Jew, is, therefore a trial-ďŹ lled journey replete with the innumerable challenges of a searching soul. Little wonder then, that we long for the inner peace portrayed by the psalmist, a peace that is most closely approximated on the holy Shabbat, when we are free to focus upon our spiritual growth and yearning for closeness to Hashem.

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Bat mitzvah girl from Old Bethpage adopts an Israeli ďŹ reďŹ ghter

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March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

10

By Celia Weintrob Hannah Slavskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pop-Pop, along with other family members, gave her an awareness of the life-saving work ďŹ reďŹ ghters do. As a child she washed ďŹ re trucks and checked to make sure vital equipment was in working order.

A natural extension of these experiences translated into her choice of a bat mitzvah project â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the adoption of two Israeli ďŹ reďŹ ghters through Jewish National Fundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Israeli Fire and Rescue Service programs.

Hannah, a middle school student in Plainview, donated $5,000 to the JNF, raising $3,600 for the two â&#x20AC;&#x153;adoptionsâ&#x20AC;? and included $1,500 from her bat mitzvah gifts.

FireďŹ ghters are some of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unsung heroes. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re among the best in the world and considered the number one specialists in responding to acts of terror. They are the ďŹ rst responders to a wide range of emergencies, including bombings and rocket attacks, car accidents, forest ďŹ res, and hazardous materials incidents.

Through JNFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Adopt an Israeli FireďŹ ghter program, a donation of $1,800 will outďŹ t one ďŹ reďŹ ghter with a complete set of protective clothing that meets current ďŹ re and Hazmat standards: coat, pants, heavy-duty suspenders, gloves, helmet and boots. The bar or bat mitzvah child receives a framed certiďŹ cate with a personal letter and photograph from the â&#x20AC;&#x153;adoptedâ&#x20AC;? ďŹ reďŹ ghter, and an invitation to visit his or her ďŹ re station when traveling in Israel.

Unfortunately, many of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ reďŹ ghters are using outdated protective clothing which does not properly shield them from exposure to extreme heat and chemicals.

Hannah traveled to Brooklyn Heights on Sunday to join veteran Israeli ďŹ reďŹ ghter and

Hazmat specialist Uri Chobotaro and JNF development ofďŹ cer of Israel operations Ariel Kotler, to mobilize support in that community for their efforts. Kotler spoke of the aged and wheezing ďŹ re trucks in use throughout Israel, many dating to the 1970s and 80s, and the lack of protective clothing and gear, explaining why the Fire and Rescue Service is in dire need of donations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;JNF has partnered with the Israeli government, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll put up two-and-a-half dollars for every one dollar we raise,â&#x20AC;? Kotler said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so every $125,000 in donations buys us a $500,000 top-of-the-line new ďŹ re truck. And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gotten us over 150 new trucks, which is great. But we still need many more, so that every area in Israel is protected.â&#x20AC;? National budgets have been cut due to security concerns, and that has hit smaller communities especially hard.

With the proliferation of long-range rocket strikes from both Gaza and southern Lebanon, plus emerging threats from Iran and Syria, the need for a robust and effective Fire and Rescue Service is greater than ever.

Over the years, JNF has helped purchase over 150 ďŹ re trucks, built several ďŹ re stations, and purchased millions of dollars of new lifesaving equipment and protective gear.

Chobotaro spoke of the Mount Carmel ďŹ re that left 44 people dead, the worst civilian casualty ďŹ re in Israeli history, making clear that having more and newer equipment could have prevented those deaths.

Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event drew nearly 100 people to the home of Penny and Stephen Rosen, longtime supporters of the JNFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Israel Fire and Rescue Service efforts and founders of the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Orthodox shul, Congregation Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Avraham, which celebrated its 27th anniversary gala this week. Penny is co-chair of JNFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fire and Rescue task force.

PARSHA OF THE WEEK

A

s the Torah progresses with the building of the mishkan (tabernacle), we find the instructions of chapters 25–31 coming to life, culminating with Moshe telling Bezalel, “Do your magic” (end of chapter 35 through the beginning of chapter 36).

“Every man and woman who felt an urge in their heart to give something for all the work that G-d had ordered through Moses, they (the Israelites) brought a donation for G-d.” (35:29) Does “Every man” and “Every woman” refer only to those who had an urge to donate, or to every single person?

The Malbim shares a powerful interpretation that should remind us of how each and every person can make a contribution.

“What it means to say is that all these donations [of money] are not what G-d seeks. He wants the hearts. If there was a man or woman amongst the Israelites who did not donate, because the poor people have nothing to donate, they at least dedicated their hearts. They donated their hearts and their thoughts [and skills?]. They determined in their hearts that if they only had the means they’d donate all the money for the mishkan and its vessels.

“This is what it means when it says they felt the urge to donate a donation of the heart — they wanted to build the entire mishkan!

The Israelites brought this man and this woman as a gift/donation to G-d. This man and this woman who desired with all their hearts to be involved – this is the ultimate donation that G-d wanted, and was receptive to accepting. It is as if Israel is bringing this kind of donation in that they merited to find among them straight, righteous people such as these.

It seems profound, but in truth it’s not such a novel idea.

G-d is not seeking money.

He wants hearts.

Waze error leads soliders astray

By Lilach Shoval, Daniel Siryoti, Yori Yalon Five Israeli Border Police officers were injured when security forces entered the Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, on Monday night to rescue two non-combat IDF soldiers who had accidentally driven into the area and were attacked by a Palestinian mob.

The two soldiers apparently took a wrong turn when using the Waze navigation app.

The pair split up in an effort to escape after their vehicle was set on fire by rioters.

“There was an issue here with technology, but the real issue was hatred,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Tuesday. “We will investigate the incident and look into the errors that led to this complication. Technology may have been involved in the incident, but it was also used in the rescue efforts.”

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz told Army Radio on Tuesday, “We will need to investigate how they got there. We are dealing with issues regarding the quality of Waze and of the difficulties that could result from it.”

—Israel Hayon via JNS.org

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work to their childrens’ school in lieu of tuition. Maybe some shul members teach classes, or attend every class possible, to support shul programming. Other “shul-people” seem to always be involved in constructive and active ways in the goings-on of the synagogue; they become staples at every event, every program, and almost seem to define the shul itself.

“Owning” a shul or a school doesn’t mean that every person who wants to needs to become a great writer (punch line: “who wrote a check”).

Sometimes the make-up of these institutions is largely defined by those who roll up their sleeves, on the ground, and become the

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movers and shakers who determine the trajectory of where their community is headed, simply because they are the ones with the most experience and the most inside knowledge of what the people want.

Raise your hand if you know someone like this. Be even prouder, if this has been describing you.

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RABBI AVI BILLET

he way life looks these days, some people manage to ride around the financial struggle that others live day in and day out. And many live check to check, are in debt, and truly cannot afford to participate in certain aspects of Jewish life, and certainly not in philanthropy, in the manner that others seem so able to do.

How can everyone nonetheless feel that “this is my mishkan”?

By giving time instead of money. By showing up. By volunteering. By working the phones, working behind the desk. And by being one of the people who brings life to an institution.

Maybe some parents provide free handi-

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THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776

Every one of us has a role to play

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More than 1K tested at YUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genetic screening

+XQGUHGV JDYH D VDPSOH RI WKHLU VDOLYD IRU JHQHWLF VFUHHQLQJ DW %HOIHU +DOO LQ WKH 6N\ &DIp DW <HVKLYD 8QLYHUVLW\ Jennifer Brown for Yeshiva University

not recognize the importance of until itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too late, and we had the opportunity to reach our peers at a critical time before they have children and educate them about their own risks and options, which is one of our goals at the Medical Ethics Society. The impact that our screening had on the greater Jewish community is incalculableâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the fact that we were able to make such an impact proves that anyone anywhere can make a difference. â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is what YU is all about: students who are activists and through their passion, commitment to the ideals of Torah and knowledge of science have brought together more than 1,100 young people to help ensure a healthier future and diminished pain and suffering in our community,â&#x20AC;? said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, vice president for university and community life at YU. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Young Jewish couples are at risk for having children with devastating genetic diseases, but the majority of young Jewish men and women have not been screened,â&#x20AC;? said Karen Arnovitz Grinzaid, senior director of JScreen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Jewish Genetic Disease Consortium conďŹ rmed that the Yeshiva University event was the largest screening event since the community-wide Tay-Sachs screenings in the 1970s and 80s.â&#x20AC;?

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A groundbreaking 1,162 participants were able to receive free and comprehensive genetic testing during three sessions organized by Yeshiva Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Student Medical Ethics Society, in partnership with JScreen, a university-based nonproďŹ t program specializing in carrier screening for genetic diseases common in the Jewish population. The screening was one of the largest of its kind ever held and made free testing available to young people of many different ethnic backgrounds and walks of life within the Jewish community.

At the event, participants were screened for more than 100 possible disorders through an innovative technique that allows DNA samples to be collected through saliva, rather than blood, making the entire process quicker and less intimidating. They also had the opportunity to consult with a licensed genetic counselor.

A generous subsidy from JScreen meant there were no out-of-pocket costs to anyone who attended the screening, ensuring that expense was not a barrier for anyone seeking testing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This project was completely a student-run initiative,â&#x20AC;? said Rebecca Garber, co-president of the Medical Ethics Society. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Genetic screening is something that people may

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13 THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776

AT SOUTH NASSAU, WE TAKE MEDICINE AND QUALITY SERIOUSLY.

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Lightning ‘Boldt’ of German support for Israel history, and I think that every human being is responsible to help their fellow human beings.”

In 2011, he stared the Freundschaft Deutschland-Israel (German-Israel Friendship) Facebook page, which today boasts 13,000 me a mbers. He has emerged as the go-to man in Germany for unabashedly pro-Israel perspective and commentary, although he holds no organizational affiliation. His “day job” is working for a company that manufactures industrial tools for the automotive industry. He lives with his family in a village, population 1,000, near Bielefeld, where his children are known for painting Stars of David in school.

Boldt was born in Siberia to a German family that returned to his motherland when he was 10 years old. He grew up as a Christian, but no longer identifies as one. He first en-countered

Kaffehaus Einstein in Berlin near Brandenburg Gate, ahead of his February trip—his sixth to the Jewish state—Boldt said his support for Israel is dictated entirely by reason and ethics.

“People ask me: Why do I support Israel this way? Why do I put in so much effort, time, and money into Israel? There is no people, no state on the planet that has so many enemies, that’s fighting so much in thi ss life, like the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” he told JNS.org.

For Boldt, supporting Israel is the only rational, humanitarian choice for a thinking, freedom-loving person. Germany’s “historical responsibility” to address its Holocaust past has nothing to do with Boldt’s support, nor should it, he said.

“I refuse to think about historical responsibility as a German,” said Boldt. “I know the

By Orit Arfa Andreas Boldt can’t help but effuse praise and love for Israel with seemingly any chance he gets—with his kids, too. In some of his Facebook posts, the 37-year-old has his dirty blonde-haired children (ages 5-13) passionately singing “Adon Olam” and “Hatikvah.”

Documenting a recent trip to Israel, he took particular pride in his meeting with IDF Maj. Gen. (ret.) Doron Almog, the first commando to land on the Entebbe runway for the famous hostage-rescue mission in 1976. With his bright blue eyes, carefully trimmed beard, and fit build, he sometimes models on Facebook with the Israeli and German flag.

A casual observer might think he has some sort of irrational or religious obsession with Israel, but sitting down with Boldt over coffee at

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Israel through biblical stories, yet he is among a few of his (former) co-religionists in his circles (aside from his immediately family) who took a keen interest in modern Israel. He conducted independent research on Zionism as Israel was portrayed in the media as an aggressor.

“From my personal experience in life I had until then, and the people I met, I felt something was wrong there. Because I know the Muslim-Arab mentality in the Mideast, and I couldn’t imagine that Israel was the big aggressor in the area,” he said.

Boldt befriended Israelis over social media and fell more in love with the country—and its people. He has observed that Germans are largely neutral on the subject of Israel. The German far-right is irrelevant. Most of the hate mail he receives comes from Arab Muslims and the occasional left-wing Israeli. The latter group saddens him because they set back his work by touting their credibility as Israelis. Boldt fears that with Germany’s influx of Muslim migrants born and bred on hatred of Israel, the day will soon come that they will bully Germans into embracing anti-Israel—and hence, anti-Semitic—attitudes.

“I really was sure that in two or three generations to come, Germany would have normal relations with Israel and the Jewish people in general,” he said. “I was very optimistic we would overcome the issue of the Holocaust and German history in the sense of having a normal relationship in the way we have with the British, French, etc.…With the rise of Islamism in Europe and Germany in general, we hear more talk about BDS (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) and against Israel.”

In fact, he believes that Germans’ concern with overly repenting for the Holocaust sins of their forefathers has led to a misguided openimmigration policy. As far as refugees go, he doesn’t believe that Germany has any more obligation than other countries to help them flee chaos in Muslim countries, such as the ongoing Syrian civil war.

“What is historical responsibility and how far does it go? If you look at daily reality, you won’t find anyone who really feels a historical responsibility. To speak about that in public is nice, but I don’t think it will lead us to somewhere helpful. I think the only responsibility to speak about is a moral responsibility,” he said.

While Germans learn about the horrors of their country’s past in school, Jew-hatred is sometimes still casually thrown around the dinner table by grandparents who lived in the rabidly anti-Semitic generation. It’s this dormant anti-Semitism, Boldt reasons, that Israelhaters prey upon.

“The average Germans just don’t want any conflict,” he said. “We want a peaceful life. We want to save money for our lives. They’re quiet, usually. They don’t demonstrate. … The Muslim population is pushing the Germans, saying, ’Hey, we have to do something.’ Starting with boycott calls in front of shops, so they avoid those shops because they don’t want conflict.”

But Boldt also believes that backlash against the behavior of some Muslim migrants, such as the sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve in Cologne and other cities, may help Germans realize what he already understands: that Israel is the beacon of civilization in a region of barbarism and misogyny.

The Holocaust, Boldt said, should not be used justify Israel’s existence to the average German, let alone in general.

“If you approach a German and speak about the Holocaust, he’ll automatically feel bad, but the German today wasn’t alive 70 years ago…I try to show people we have common values.

You love life. You love human rights. Your children grow up in freedom. You’re creative. You respect animal rights,” he said.

For Israelis, Boldt conveys a much simpler message. “You know, Israelis ask me everyday: ‘Why do you support us so much?’ The general answer for me—and I answer the Jewish way—is, ‘How can I not support beautiful people like you’?”

Distributed by JNS.org

15 THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776

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Houston, we do not have a kosher problem

By Jacob Kamaras For most of my 29 years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been spoiled rotten when it comes to kosher food.

I was raised not only in New York City, but in the borough of Brooklyn, the kosher capital of the world outside of Jerusalemâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or maybe even surpassing Jerusalem. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly leave my comfort zone as a college student at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, with access to three meals a day in the campus dining hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full-service kosher wing. Forget the notorious â&#x20AC;&#x153;Freshman 15â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;I managed to put on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sophomore 30.â&#x20AC;? After graduation, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d go on to live in two of the best kosher-restaurant towns in America not named New York: Los Angeles and Teaneck.

I had it all. Kosher cuisine of all shapes, sizes, ďŹ&#x201A;avors, and countries of origin. Gourmet, greasy, and everything in between.

Then I moved to Houston.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get me wrong, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live in a kosher wasteland. We have the standard kosher fare for a mid-sized Jewish community: a pizza place, an Israeli place, a vegetarian place, and a kosher takeout counter at the grocery store with delicatessen items and Chinese food. But I used to be spoiled rotten in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Teaneck, and suddenly I found myself in a strikingly â&#x20AC;&#x153;ordinaryâ&#x20AC;? kosher scene.

What is this Brooklyn boy to do?

As it turns out, the newest entrant in the Houston kosher landscape saved the day.

Genesis Steakhouse & Wine Bar has brought a much-needed upscale kosher experience to the city I currently call home. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just the steak. Even the burger is elevatedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;take my favorite Genesis dish, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bruce,â&#x20AC;? which features a half pound prime burger, crispy pastrami, fried eggs, and onion strings. Each

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bite is to be cherished, as are the restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elegant lighting and overall ambiance.

I was particularly thrilled to recently try out the Sunday brunch at Genesis, which includes some menu items that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t upscale for the average non-kosher consumer, but marked an exciting ďŹ rst-time kosher experi-

ence for this New Yorkerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s saying a lot. Chicken and wafďŹ&#x201A;es. Corned beef hash.

Eggs Benedict with brisket. Well, OK, the latter is generally considered an upscale dish, at Genesis or any other restaurant.

Then, on Feb. 22, I had the privilege of seeing Genesis owner Jason Goldstein get

his due at Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 15th â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gourmet Kosher Extravaganza,â&#x20AC;? an annual event organized by the Greater Texas Region of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU). Goldstein was one of seven chefs on what AABGU called a â&#x20AC;&#x153;culinary dream team,â&#x20AC;? whose members collaborated to present a ďŹ ve-course meal at the Westin Galleria Hotel.

Remarkably, Goldstein was the only chef among the group who cooks kosher food year-round. But perhaps even more remarkably, Houston now has a kosher restaurant that actually deserves a spot on the culinary â&#x20AC;&#x153;dream team.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;People from New York, Chicago, London, Mexico City, they visit me all the time, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe I come to Houston, Texas, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an upscale kosher steakhouse just as good if not better than any other [kosher] restaurant on the East Coast.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a surreal feeling to have that, it really is,â&#x20AC;?

Goldstein, a second-generation restauranteur, told me.

So how did an annual kosher extravaganza come to be in Houston, of all places?

Deborah Bergeron, the executive director AABGUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greater Texas Region, told me that when she took the job more than a decade ago, her region â&#x20AC;&#x153;needed a fundraiser.â&#x20AC;? She had observed a similar fundraiser in Boston that showcased leading chefs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I originally started calling the chefs, I told them who I was, what I was doing. Nobody returned my calls. So I thought, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh my, how am I going to pull this off?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then I made another phone, and I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is Deborah Bergeron, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m calling about the top six chefs of Houston.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Then Continued on next page

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fundraising arm. And thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one more thing: they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t paid to cook that night. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They give of their time, their effort, their talents, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not easy. They expect nothing in return,â&#x20AC;? Bergeron told the crowd.

Oh, so you want to know what was on the menu? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll end the suspense. Hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oeuvres: stuffed chicken with jalapeĂąo, beef-wrapped asparagus, short rib empanadas, wild mushroom crostini, and tuna poke on a cucumber bite, by Genesisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Goldstein.

First course: veggie and kosher seafood mosaic, by Chef Mark Cox of Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Chef Carmelo Mauro of Carmeloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Second course: duck with a zucchini pancake and ďŹ gs, by Chef John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro and Chef Mark Holley of Holleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Entree: prime rib with sweet potatoes, by Chef Steve Caruana of the Westin Galleria Hotel. Dessert: ďŹ&#x201A;ourless chocolate cake with raspberry beet coulis and meringue, by Chef Richard Kaplan of Weights + Measures.

The attendees got to wash down their ďŹ ve courses withâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;what else?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;water.

But not just any kind of water. It was the latestâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;97th, to be preciseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;speech by author Seth M. Siegel about his popular book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let There Be Water: Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solution for a Water-Starved World.â&#x20AC;? Siegel and I actually sat next to each other for dinner, and it was a reunion of sorts: I had interviewed him about the book last December in Austin, in between his 55th and 56th speaking engagements relating to the volume. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be competing with that great chocolate cake dessert,â&#x20AC;? Siegel told the crowd while he was doing just that.

I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go into a full-scale food review of the eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ ve courses because, ďŹ rst of all, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not a professional food critic, and second of all, the point of this column is ďŹ rst and foremost to express my appreciation for the event itself.

The kosher extravaganza of Feb. 22 proved to me that indeed, Houston, we do not have a kosher problem. That is the only comfort food I need. One of the reasons we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a kosher problem is, apparently, the tradition of AABGUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scrumptious fundraiser. But that takes place just once a year.

On a much more regular basis, we have Genesis Steakhouse and its visionary owner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been more than a challenge,â&#x20AC;? Goldstein told me. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had to create an imagination in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds, the belief that it could happen. They didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it could be possible, but I think I showed them, through quality and ambiance, that we can have an upscale venue that just so happens to be kosher.â&#x20AC;?

Jason, at the very least, you have a believer in me.

Jacob Kamaras is editor-in-chief of JNS.org

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Continued from previous page they all called me back,â&#x20AC;? she recalled. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I ďŹ gured if I could convince one to do it, then I could convince the others. None of them had ever cooked kosher, none of them had ever worked together. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We really started something in Houston that now all the charities do it, and all the charities have them work together, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a commonplace thing.â&#x20AC;?

Over the course of 15 years, more than 5,000 guests have been served by 35 chefs at the AABGU-hosted Houston kosher extravaganza. Goldstein is the exception to the rule, as most of those chefs werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t familiar with kosher cooking prior to their association with the southern Israeli universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s American

THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776

Kosher in Houstonâ&#x20AC;Ś

Ilan’s Jewish life mattered…

Continued from page 6 Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) as a legitimate, non-violent cause. The net effect of both reinforces, quite simply, the sense that whether they are outside or inside Israel, Jews are overprivileged interlopers with malign and disproportionate influence. In other words, exactly the same political stupidity that prevailed in the darkest days of the 20th century.

Of course, anti-Zionism is unlikely to trigger another mass extermination of the Jews, but that’s a miserable standard to live by.

Right now, it is the main contributor to the insecurity that European Jews too frequently encounter. Paradoxically, legal measures against the hate speech practiced by BDS supporters may lead some of its wilder followers to pursue further violence targeting Jews in frustration at the blunting of their campaign against Israel.

What the Jewish community should register is that, over the last decade, we have accumulated more than our fair share of what might be called, in different circumstances, “martyrs.”

There is Halimi, and with him the other victims in Paris, Brussels, Toulouse, and even Israel, where random Palestinian attacks on Jewish civilians are inspired by the constant repetition of anti-

Semitic motifs in Palestinian media. There is also the example of Alberto Nisman, the Argentine federal prosecutor who was likely murdered while pursuing an investigation into the previous Argentine government’s cover-up of Iranian responsibility for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

Let me conclude with a thought in the form of a slogan: “Jewish Lives Matter.” As the AMIA and Nisman cases demonstrate, violence and terror against Jews and their institutions can go unpunished. As Europe demonstrates, living an openly Jewish life can mean going to shops and schools that are guarded by soldiers or armed police.

Ten years after Ilan Halimi’s death, governments no longer deny that there’s a problem, but their response is necessarily limited in impact—after all, today’s youthful bearers of anti-Semitism distrust their own politicians almost as much as they do the Jews themselves.

Thereby do the Jews, once again, find themselves as the yardstick of Europe’s future social harmony. And that’s the last place they want to be.

Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org.

Shneiders, men of the cloth… one. A tailor can talk without saying words.”

In this film, you see the tailors age before your eyes. You see the dates on the screen, and wonder how it ends. One, of the tailors says: “A tailor never retires, a tailor works until he can’t anymore.”

When, at the end of the film, it is dedicated to the memory of one of the master tailors who died since the filming began, that line pops back at you. In fact, that is how it was. He worked at his tailor shop until he no longer could. These others tailors are still doing and will continue to do.

After all, they are the men of the cloth.

I am left wishing, if only I had known and witnessed this throwback to another era, the diligent and dedicated focused toil of a true shneider in my lifetime.

Copyright 2016 by Intermountain Jewish News

Hineni gala honors Rebbetzin In a display of profound gratitude, the internationally renowned Torah outreach organization, Hineni, will, IY’H, honor its founder and president, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, at its 50th anniversary gala on March 15 at Guastavino’s in Midtown Manhattan.

As a survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Nazi Europe, the Rebbetzin’s life mission has been to disseminate the timeless and eternal wisdom of the Torah to a lost generation searching for spiritual sustenance.

Rebbetzin Jungreis, who lived for many years in the Five Towns, significantly impacted the lives of both secular and observant Jews through the thousands of shidduchim 5HEEHW]LQ -XQJUHLV she has made and the Torah families she helped created. She authored four bestselling books — “The Jewish Soul on Fire,” “The Committed Life,” “The Committed Marriage” and “Life Is A Test” — and was a columnist at The Jewish Press since the publication’s inception.

President George W. Bush appointed the Rebbetzin to serve on the honorary delegation that accompanied him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.

For information about the gala, contact Hineni at 212-496-1660, or visit hineni.org

By Fern Sidman for Hineni

826658

Continued from page 6 beauty of creating a garment someone is truly happy with.

When one of the apprentices showed a cut of a coat to his elderly mentoring tailor, the response was: “This is very good, many might even call this perfect; for me it is never perfect, though.”

Now that was high praise!

The tailors spoke of cutting and sewing a garment, with their customer’s every slope of shoulder mentally in front of them. The tailors knew them. They pictured them while working. They knew, with every nuance, what the person looked like — who they were creating the garment for.

In another tailor shop, one tailor was from Italy, another from Ecuador, a third was American, all speaking difference languages.

“A tailor, they don’t need to talk to understand each other,” said

826685

March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

18

19

Continued from page 1 My family were Polish Jews and I was raised A festive family dinner at Traditions on Sun- very frum. I never gave up on Judaism.â&#x20AC;? day evening rounded out the weekend.

Both of the couple were raised in a very The Rybsztajns were married in Brussels, religious atmosphere, with Jack attending Belgium, a year after being liberated from yeshiva and Bonnie Bais Yaakov.

After being left for dead, twice, during the the camps, he by American troops and she by the Russians. As their tale unfolded, details death march, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not only a miracle that Jack survived, but that he can recall and relate the of their torment became clear too.

Pointing to an enlarged, framed photo- unbearable things that were inďŹ&#x201A;icted upon graph of their wedding day, Jack Rybsztajn him. That part of their story will be told in a recalled the Shaydels, a well-to-do couple future issue of The Jewish Star.

Bonnie ran off the death march two weeks next door who welcomed him and his bride before liberation, to their home and saving two women gave them nice clothwho were inspired by ing to wear for their her courage. Bonnie special day. This gestook the rags off her ture of kindness and own feet so that they friendship meant the could walk, a story world, for the couple that was related dihad no belongings rectly by those womand next to no family. en, in Israel where â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wear a pocket they had emigrated, handkerchief to this to Bonnieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter day, in honor of Mr. Jennifer Rybstein.

Shaydel,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All these photos are my â&#x20AC;&#x153;We grew up as a diet, my soul food.â&#x20AC;? regular Jewish family,â&#x20AC;? Jennifer noted.

They met in Gerâ&#x20AC;&#x153;My mother deserves many through Bona great deal of credit nie Rybsztajnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friend for being the feminist Rushka, and traveled behind the scenes and to Brussels when Jack taking care of all our learned he had a sis- %RQQLH DQG -DFN 5\EV]WDMQÂśV ZHGGLQJ SKRWR needs.â&#x20AC;? She and her ter there, but she had left for Palestine one day before they arrived. two brothers knew that their parents had each Then Bonnie, sole survivor of nine children, lived through the Holocaust, but it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an evdiscovered she had an aunt there, who was er-present thing while they were growing up, she unfortunately on her deathbed by the time said. The details and horrors of their experiences they arrived. The Rybsztajns stayed in Brus- came out much later, after they were already sels for ďŹ ve years, while Bonnie worked as adults, and have been shared with Yad Vashem.

The Rybsztajns moved to the United a seamstress in high-end fashions. Jack became a teacher, and ultimately a fashion de- States in 1950, ďŹ rst settling in Brooklyn, near the uncle who had sent the box with signer and a sweater manufacturer.

One day he saw a placard that made his teďŹ llin, which also contained papers allowing heart leap. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mr. Jacobs is looking for them to emigrate. They moved to Woodmere anyone who has survived with the name of 35 years ago, Jack davening at Young IsraRybsztajn,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and listed an address in Brook- el of Woodmere and Bonnie watching him lyn,â&#x20AC;? said Rybsztajn. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yechiel Rybsztajn was adoringly ever since.

Mazal tov to the Rybsztajn family on this my father. I wrote to this Mr. Jacobs and he sent back a box containing a tallis and teďŹ llin. momentous and most rare of occasions.

Continued from page 1 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Several weeks ago I stood on the border with Gaza and Sderot and the kibbutzim in the western Negev. I saw what people in Israel are living through every day.â&#x20AC;?

Kaminsky said â&#x20AC;&#x153;the rabbis know me, they know what I stand for. My record in the Five Towns speaks for itself.â&#x20AC;?

Jonathan Sorosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; political priority is clean government and campaign ďŹ nance reform, which meshes with the priorities voiced by Kaminsky, a former federal anti-corruption prosecutor.

The special election, on April 19, will ďŹ ll the seat vacated by Republican Skelos, of Rockville Centre, when Skelos was convicted last December of corruption. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I talk to him [Jonathan Soros] we only discuss good government. He obviously feels that the corruption in Albany has reached unprecedented levels, and he likes the idea of me trying to ďŹ ght it. That was the extent of our discussions. Period.â&#x20AC;?

McGrath, in an interview in The Starâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ofďŹ ces on Wednesday, said that â&#x20AC;&#x153;what my opponent does, and how he raises money, is really his issue,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really know the relationship between my opponent and that gentleman, so I really shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t comment.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The BDS issue is a big issue,â&#x20AC;? McGrath said.

On Sunday, Republican legislators from Long Island gathered in Andrew J. Parise Park in Cedarhurst to push the Assembly to act on the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-BDS bill that would deny state contracts to businesses that support BDS. Several states have passed similar anti-BDS legislation, and more states are considering action.

Kaminsky, one of the sponsors of the bill in the Assembly, told The Star he did not know when the Assembly might act on it.

Congress passed its own anti-BDS law, which President Obama signed last week. In

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a signing statement, the president said he would not enforce the law to the extent that it prohibits sanctions against Israeli interests in so-called occupied territories. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to call on the New York State Assembly to pass this bill,â&#x20AC;? Sen. Jack Martins of Old Westbury, the billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s co-sponsor, said on Sunday in Cedarhurst. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no place in New York for hatred and anti-Semitism.

Martins told The Star that the Assembly was pushing for changes in the billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wording that would eliminate penalties for promoting BDS. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the changes make the bill irrelevant, then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no pointâ&#x20AC;? in pursuing it, he said.

Some of the social media posts using the Soros name appeared on the Facebook page of Avi Fertig, the Republican candidate defeated

by Kaminsky in a 2014 Assembly race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jonathan Sorosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; father is a very visible and substantial supporter of organizations that fuel the BDS movemment,â&#x20AC;? Fertig told The Star. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That anyone should give comfort and protectionâ&#x20AC;? to the Soros family by accepting their money â&#x20AC;&#x153;insulates this family from well-deserved criticism.â&#x20AC;?

Fertig emphasized dangers posed by BDS and said those who support BDS help create â&#x20AC;&#x153;an unbearable environment on campus.â&#x20AC;?

For more on this issue, and broader coverage of the state Senate campaign, visit www.TheJewishStar.com.

²Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x20AC;°

6

Some papers may be bigger, but no Jewish newspaper on Long Island is better.

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Rabbi Mordchai David ZTâ&#x20AC;?L (Previous Admor Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Spinka Yerushalayim)

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March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

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21 THE JEWISH STAR March 4, 2016 • 24 Adar 1 5776

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March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

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JEWISH STAR Schools HALB celebrates its bat mitzvahs On Sunday, HALBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sixth grade girls celebrated their bat mitzvah breakfast. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ashira LaHashem Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;chayai, Azamra Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Elokai Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;odi.â&#x20AC;?

Focusing on the power and beauty of expressing themselves to Hashem through song, the girls put on a stunning performance, combining songs and narration to tell the story of three powerful women in our history who all sang shira to Hashem.

They described the experiences of Miriam, Devorah and Chana, and explained how we can use them as role models for guidance.

In preparation for the event, the girls participated in a project where they each researched the origin and signiďŹ cance of their Hebrew names, and presented their information in the form of a scrapbook frame with pictures, pâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sukim and more.

HAFTR bowls for Zedek Med

By Moshe Weiner, HAFTR Junior Last Thursday night, over 80 students from HAFTR High School, participanting in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second annual Bowl-A-Thon, raised over $15,000 for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Each participant raised at least $100.

This money, earmarked for the medical centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trauma unit, will beneďŹ t the 850,000 patients that Shaare Zedek treats every year. With the recent rise in terrorism in Israel, a majority of the victims of these attacks have been treated in Shaare Zedek.

The team that had the honor of raising the most money was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Team Friends,â&#x20AC;? whose captain was Emma Alpert. Placing second for most money raised was captain Tami Noskowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bowling Vibes.â&#x20AC;?

By emailing family and friends to ask them to contribute to a worthwhile cause, HAFTR students accomplish something amazing.

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Reading week CAHAL Kindergarten marks 100 days at HANC In honor of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Read Across America Dayâ&#x20AC;? and Dr. Seussâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday on March 2nd, HANCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Samuel & Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School, in West Hempstead, launched â&#x20AC;&#x153;Reading Spirit Week,â&#x20AC;? a weeklong celebration designed and coordinated by HANC Literacy Coach Mrs. Dara Reiff.

All students and faculty wore red and white for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cat in the Hatâ&#x20AC;? day, crazy socks for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fox in Socksâ&#x20AC;? day, mismatched or inside-out clothes for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wacky Wednesday,â&#x20AC;? pajamas for â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Am Not Going to Get Up Today!â&#x20AC;? day, and mustaches for â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Loraxâ&#x20AC;? day.

Send your news The Jewish Star is printing even more school news! Send your news (and photos with captions) to Schools@TheJewishStar. com. Please send by 5 pm on Monday.

Monday was a very special day for kindergartners in the CAHAL program at HANC â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not because of the leap year date, but rather becauser it was the 100th day of school.

Since school started on Sept. 8, the children have been counting every one of the school days on which they have enjoyed learning and playing together. Each morning they added an orange one-unit square to their place value chart, then traded in a group of ten orange ones for a tall green ten stick. Building week by week, month by month, the numbers increased â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until they could hardly contain their excitement when the numbers reached into the 90 with 9 ten sticks, approaching the long awaited trade-in for the big blue 100 block.

When they arrived in the morning, each child paired with a classmate and took a plastic bag ďŹ lled with 100 Lego blocks of different shapes and sizes. They had to build something together by sharing the blocks and their ideas.

While they were limited to 100 blocks, they were not limited in their creativity, making a spaceship, jet boat, Lego factory, RV home on wheels, and a lovely house and garden.

After their building time, the children

wrote about what they made with their partners and illustrated the page with a picture of their creation; each group then presented their creation to the class and described its parts and functions.

The children decorated and cut out funny 100-shaped eyeglasses which they happily

wore around the room. They were also proud to count out 100 pennies which they put into the class tzedakah box to help the needy.

The day was truly 100 percent, integrating excitement with learning, math with art and imagination, writing with creativity, and mitzvot with all that we do!

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ALL MAKES AND MODELS www.PlazaAutoLeasing.com

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IN

MINUTES

YOU CAN BE ALL SET! 9:41 AM

10 0%

Äť $'56 24+%'5 ; Äť *7)' +08'0614 ; 4 ' 8 + . ' & % + 7 Äť 3 5 . # 8 1 4 2 2 # ; 5 Äť '# 4 1 1 & 1 6 4 1 1 & Äť 5'48+%'

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61 5#8' 10 ;174 0':6

.'#5' 14 274%*#5' 1( # 0'9 14 75'& %#4

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ARE YOU A PAL YET?

825647

March 4, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Adar 1 5776 THE JEWISH STAR

24

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