May 31, 2013

ELECTION: Lunin-Pack concedes, Plaut wins Page 13 TORAH: Army service and religious life Page 4 HIPPEST RABBI: Maybe baby, maybe not Page 8 CELEBRATE ISRAEL: Parade and concert Page 10

THE JEWISH

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VOL 12, NO 21 Q MAY 31, 2013 / 22 SIVAN 5773

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‘Prisoner of Zion’ in 5 Towns for Shabbat Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich, whose campaign for religious freedom from within the repressive Soviet Union inspired a generation of young Jews around the world, will visit the Five Towns this Shabbat.

The former Prisoner of Zion — he maintained Torah while surviving 11 years in the gulag of communist prisons and labor camps

before emigrating to Israel — will make several public appearances on Saturday, and then participate in Sunday’s Celebrate Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Mendelevich, whose courage as a Soviet dissident in the 1960s and ’70s is described in the book, “When They Come For Us We’ll Be Gone,” will speak at three shuls, a private

reception, and a Saturday night book signing.

On Sunday, he will appear on WABC77’s Religion on the Line program at 9:15 a.m., before joining with city officials and other dignitaries at the start of the parade.

The Five Towns is the first stop for Rabbi Mendelevich in a nationwide “Od Avinu

Chai” (“Our Father Lives”) educational campaign designed to stimulate Yiddishkeit among young Jews, organizer Gavriel Gozland told The Jewish Star.

“Whether in full-time yeshivas, in day schools, or on college campuses, young Jews today face tough questions of identity and Continued on page 7

$25K reward in murder of Chaim Weiss

By Alexandra Spychalsky After more than 26 years of unanswered questions, Nassau County police have reopened the cold case murder of Chaim Weiss, a Long Beach rabbinical student, and offered a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the murder.

Weiss, a 15-year-old, third-year rabbinical student at the Mesivta of Long Beach, was found slain in his dormitory bedroom on Nov. 1, 1986.

“I am appealing to you and urging you, that any information that you feel the police might need, please contact the police department,” said Anton Weiss, Chaim’s father. “Please help do the right thing.”

Det. Lt. John Azzata, commanding officer of the homicide squad, and Chief of Detectives Rick Capece, along with County Executive Ed Mangano, joined Weiss at a press conference in Mineola on Tuesday, where they asked the public to come forward with any information that could help solve the case.

“We implore anyone out there who may have information to please share it with our Crime Stoppers hotline,” Mangano said. “This is about bringing a killer to justice.”

Continued on page 2

Counting our blessings on Memorial Day The Jewish community of Lawrence and Cedarhurst joined its neighbors on Monday to mark Memorial Day with a parade up Cedarhurst Avenue and a ceremony in Andrew J. Parise park.

“We are grateful this day for those who have put their lives on the line to insure that our country is safe, protected and secure,” said Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence (top right). “We remember those who paid the ulimate sacrific — we can never, ever forget.”

Photos by Ed Weintrob/Jewish Star

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Murder…

Continued from page 1 Police said that the murder occurred in Weiss’s room on the third-floor of the dormitory, at 63 E. Beech St., and that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the head.

Police said that there was no sign of forced entry, but that the window in Weiss’s room was left open. This was significant, Azzata said, because it corresponded with Jewish tradition that a window should be left open when a person dies, in order for the soul to depart — something that led police in the 1980s to believe the killer was familiar with Jewish ritual.

Capece and Azzata said they are reviewing forensic evidence, but would not disclose whether any recent progress has been made in the case. They said the department systematically reviews cold cases, and said they had reason to believe there was more information to be attained in the Weiss killing. Following an initial announcement last week, tips have already been coming in, they said.

“We feel, after this time period … maybe we can get more information, new leads and go in new directions,” said Azzata. “There is somebody out there that knows a secret. I’m looking for that person to give me that secret.”

Azzata and Capece said that police believe it is possible that they are missing key information, because those with pertinent knowledge may be reluctant to make accusations because to do so may conflict with Jewish law.

“The Homicide Squad is aware of the Jewish Orthodox belief that one should not call [anyone to account] unless there is positive proof that that individual was involved in such incident,” said Capece. “We are sensitive to, and respect that belief. However, a homicide has occurred and we need any information that can help us solve this case,

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and bring justice and peace to the Weiss family. The police department is not asking anyone of accuse someone, but to only come forward with any information pertaining to this case.”

Capece said that the department would like to interview every student, faculty member or employee that was involved with the yeshiva at the time.

“The Mesivta of Long Beach applauds the perseverance of the Nassau County Police Department as it commences the reinvestigation of the tragic but unsolved murder,” said Rabbis Chaim Moberman and Mordecai Respler in a statement issued by the Mesivta.

“We have met with the police department, and pledged our full cooperation in the investigation.”

Crime Stoppers is asking anyone who has information about this crime to call 800-244TIPS, or Homicide Squad at 516-573-7788.

Alexandra Spychalsky is a staff reporter for the Long Beach Herald

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Anton Weiss, Chaim’s father, at Tuesday’s press conference, where police announced the reopening of the cold case.

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May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

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Kids Kicking Cancer, overcoming pain, at Hewlett YI

By Malka Eisenberg Pain may be one of the realities of cancer treatment, but an organization founded to empower children undergoing cancer care by using martial arts techniques is making great strides in alleviating and controlling their pain.

Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg of Detroit, who founded Kids Kicking Cancer in 1990, will speak at the Young Israel of Hewlett on Shabbat Parshat Korach, June 8, and will present his technique that Sunday.

The program deals with “any issue of childhood pain,” said Goldberg and teaches children how to use Tai Chi breathing techniques to deal with their pain. The method, called Breath Brake, uses breathing “to stop stress and take control of your life,” he said.

A student of Rav Joseph B. Soleveichik and longtime member of the YU kollel — as well as a black belt in Karate — Rabbi Goldberg’s epiphany came while he was director of Chai Lifeline’s Camp Simcha.

When an “adult screams (in pain) the doctor finds another way to do things, with a kid they hold the kid tighter,” When a child was screaming when the nurse was accessing his mediport for treatment in Camp Simcha, Rabbi Goldberg yelled, “Wait!” Everything stopped, he said, and he asked the nurse to “give me a second.”

He told the child that he was a black belt and asked if he wanted ”me to teach you karate. He almost jumped off the table.” Rabbi Goldberg taught him breathing techniques.

When the nurse removed the needle after treatment, the child was unaware and felt no pain. “I began a pilot program at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in 1990, a Kids Kicking Cancer program using martial arts, breathing work, meditation and empowering children to know that they can deal with pain.”

But Rabbi Goldberg’s knowledge of cancer and children began earlier and was personal.

“My wife and I lost our first child to leukemia 32 years ago,” he said. He was a Rebbe at Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles at the time. “Kids didn’t heal well then.”

They got the first call on Oct. 24, 1980 that they had to bring their two-year-old daughter

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg

Children at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Bloomfield Hill, Michigan, gather in a circle with Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg. back to the doctor. She had been diagnosed with a “bad virus.” The call came before the Shabbat of Parshat Akaida, the binding of Isaac. He was told that Shabbat morning that the hospital was “short staffed” and he had to help fasten his daughter’s arms and legs to the table. “Avraham didn’t use Velcro,” he said, “but everything else felt the same.”

“She used to say ‘no meds please’,” he recalled, “and she would tell five year olds not to cry. She was very powerful.” Sarah Basya passed away at the age of two, in 1981.

Seven years later, Rabbi Simcha Scholar was raising funds for Camp Simcha and wanted Rabbi Goldberg to be the camp’s director. Goldberg protested, “Every little girl will be our daughter!” He was camp director there for 12 years.

The breathing technique works because “children believe in the power of martial arts,” he said, noting that “88.1% of our interventions significantly lowered the pain level of children who were experiencing pain of disease or therapy. This is a very significant number without drugs.” He said that the technique is “extremely spiritual — it’s not by accident that the Hebrew word for breath is neshima” similar to the word for soul — neshama.

Rabbi Goldberg has been teaching pain management and end of life care to doctors in the pediatric medical world since 1990.

Three days after they taught Pfizer in

New York he was asked to teach in Pfizer Italy. “Ninety-seven percent of adults we’ve trained at major companies describe as having profound impact on their lives,” he said.

One year ago, he began a program at Vatican Children’s Hospital in Rome, and that it is now spreading through Italy. The first pilot program in Israel began at ALYN Hospital last year, and last month, he began the program at Hadassah Ein Kerem.

Adult martial artists are taught the techniques for several months to teach the children. The children, ages 3 to 20, learn the techniques and they in turn teach adults.

“The power of the program is that when children become teachers, it changes their perception,” giving them “more empowerment and decreases their pain.”

“The kids always get a standing ovation,” he said, and then they “go back to the clinics (for treatment) and know that there is a purpose to what they do.”

He cited one child who was given a week to live and after training was able to leave the hospital and survived another six weeks.

“Most of our kids survive,” he stressed.

“They do great today.”

On one occasion in Minneapolis, he anticipated only 20 people at his lecture, but about 120 came. “People are so thirsty to know techniques to deal with life. The responses are so tremendous. It really impacts, it’s kind of a life changing process.” He noted that

he is the only person to appear on the covers of both People magazine and Ami magazine.

The course is an hour and is done while seated. “In one hour there is such a transformation,” said Goldberg. “People end up laughing and crying. It really makes an impression.”

His goal in speaking in the Five Towns is to rebuild the program in this area. It had been anchored at seven New York Hospitals but lost $600,000 in funding from earmarked appropriations in 2010, he said. He noted that Sloan Kettering, Columbia Presbyterian and the Ronald McDonald House “pulled back from the programs; others copied our work.”

Dr. Carolyn Fein Levy, head of the Pediatric Oncology Rare Tumor and Sarcoma Program at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, said she has known “Rabbi G” for 15 years. “I have watched this program grow from a local program in Michigan to an international phenomenon. Rabbi G modified the program when I was working at The Brooklyn Hospital Center to a Kids Kicking Sickle Cell Program. Children with sickle cell often have painful crises and require narcotics for pain control. With the power breathing method the children were able to reduce their narcotic use. These adolescents felt empowered to fight against their disease and were no longer the victims. I hope that Rabbi G can find the local support to bring the program to the Long Island area. I believe that Kids Kicking Cancer can truly help our patients and families with cancer manage the stress and pain of their illnesses. This unique martial arts program supplements the medical care we can provide and helps children battle their illnesses with power and perseverance.”

Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg is clinical assistant professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Southfield, Michigan, where he was the Rav for 20 years. He just completed a book, not yet published, “Power, Peace, Purpose: Life’s Lessons from Kids Kicking Cancer.”

For more information, contact Marc Cohen at 313-557-0021 or mcohen@kidskickingcancer.net

5 Towns helps its helper, at a benefit for Achiezer

By Malka Eisenberg An organization whose goal is to facilitate care and aid for residents in need in the Five Towns and Rockaways is now calling on the community to help raise money to continue its mission.

Achiezer, founded in 2009 to coordinate communal resources to assist 24/7 with medical, mental health, financial and physical issues, will hold a dinner this Sunday, June 2, 6:30 p.m., at the Sands in Atlantic Beach.

A program at 8:15 will feature videos about Achiezer and its honorees. “There will be lots to see and learn about Achiezer,” Development Coordinator Eli Weiss told The Jewish Star, including ways to help by joining Achiezer’s more than 250 volunteers.

Weiss, who directs and organizes, imple-

ments and oversees projects and programs, and coordinates volunteer activities, said his team is specially equipped for Shabbos.

“We have goyim trained in Shabbos-related emergencies following Halachic guidelines,” he said.

“The last thing a person in crisis needs is six different phone numbers,” Weiss said.

“Everything is taken care of with one call to Achiezer.”

In addition to dealing with the doctor and the surgery, “there’s a lot more than meets the eye — getting the kids to school, cooking food, and other needs be it large or small.”

“Financial budgeters assist people in getting their finances back in shape,” Weiss said, citing Insurance Department Coordinator Sruly Miller as someone who would be able to perceive needs not apparent to others. “Our staff has a keen eye and is able pick

Photo courtesy of Achiezer

Achiezer around the table: Rabbi Boruch Bender, founder and president, center, and Achiezer staff. up on other issues that may not be apparent and thereby maximize the help an individual receives here.”

“We still have Sandy calls coming in,” said Weiss, and there is still “someone in the office specifically dedicated to Sandy related

calls.”

“We need our community’s support to continue to serve our brethren,” Weiss added, “and to do what we do — being there at the time of need for the Five Towns and the extended Rockaway community.”

THE JEWISH STAR May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773

Health

May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

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Torah Will army service end religious life, or are we missing the point

I

Parshat Sh’lach

Loving G-d’s Shabbos, threats not required

remember one of the guys I was in ye- whether they can conquer the land, and this shiva with, trying to convince me not to apparent lack of faith results in an entire sign up for Officer’s course. I would be generation losing the opportunity to enter forced to spend an additional year and a half the land of Israel, dying off instead in the in the army, without any spiritual environ- desert, until the next generation, born free of o the best of my counting (and I’m ment to safeguard my religious ideals. “Atah the slave mentality of Egyptian bondage, can happy to hear a correction), the Torah finally come home. titkalkel,” he said, “you will be corrupted.” mentions the concept of Shabbos once Yet the idea of sending out the spies here This issue, here in Israel, threatens to rip apart the social fabric of the country. There seems to emanate from G-d, as the verse says: in Bereishis, six times in Shemos, four times in Vayikra, twice in Bamidbar (including this “Send out spies for yourselves.” are many in the “religious” camp week’s parsha, Shelach) and only once in DeThirty-eight years later, in (whatever that means) who beFROM THE HEART varim. repeating this story to the seclieve that those capable of sitting OF JERUSALEM Add to this at least 16 times it ond generation about to finally and learning Torah should not go enter the land, Moshe clarifies is referenced in the remaining 19 into the army. what the story was really about: books of the Bible, and we have a After all, for 2,000 years of ex“Va’Tikrevun Elai’ Kulchem, significant day in the Jewish calenile when we did not have a land, Va’Tomru’ Nishle’chah Anashi- dar. our only connection to our Jewish The story of the wood gatherer um Lefaneinu, Ve’yachperu lanu heritage and identity as a people Et Ha’Aretz…”“And you all ap- (m’koshesh eitzim) in 15:32-36, was the study of Torah. Hard as proached me, and said: let us send however, is one of the more disturbit is for some to imagine, it is very out men to explore the land for ing references to the holy day in the easy to lose your Jewish identity Torah. And while it is Shemos 31:14 us…” (Deuteronomy 1:22) in the “field” even in the only JewTradition suggests that the idea that is the pretext for the result ish army in the world; I watched a originated with the Jewish people meted out to the wood gatherer, lot of guys go into the army with and may have represented a lack it is nonetheless troubling to see a kippah on their heads and a pair of faith, however, G-d, seeing this someone put to death for violating of tefillin in their bags and graduRabbi Rabbi Binny was what the people wanted, ac- the Sabbath. ally lose their connection to JewFreedman The Talmud (Bava Batra 119aquiesced and ordered Moshe to alish ritual and Jewish tradition. b) suggests — somewhat approvlow them to send spies.

I remember one weekend However, sending scouts to spy prior to ingly — that the violator did so on purpose of R&R in Netanya, when we were down to teach a lesson to the people. from Lebanon (after an intense and stress- conquest is not necessarily a bad thing.

I have always found this Talmudic pasMoshe himself, before conquering Ya’azer, ful month). Saturday afternoon we were free and were told we would have the eve- sends out spies (Bamidbar 21:3), as does Ye- sage to be troubling. Since when is a person ning off — so all the guys cleared out to hoshua, (see Joshua 21:32), relying heavily allowed to violate a capital crime in order go to the beach or head into town. For me, on the information his two spies bring back to teach a lesson? The active principle in the Torah is that when a person is guilty of though, it was Shabbat, and I stayed behind before beginning the conquest of the land.

The Torah suggests the mistake the peo- violating a capital crime, the punishment in Beit Goldmintz, the R&R center we were bivouacked in for the week. There was one ple made occurs upon the return and report will be so public that “All of Israel will hear other boy who was from a religious home, of the spies: “Ve’Lo Avitem La’a lot, Va’Tamru and fear [the punishment] and they will not who was clearly torn about what to do. Later, Et Pi’ Hashem Elokeichem, VaTeragnu’ continue to do such a heinous crime” (see when everyone had gone, I realized I was Be’Ohaleichem…” “And you did not want to Devarim 13:12, 21:21). There is no justificaalone; I never asked him where he had gone. go up (to the land of Israel), and you rebelled tion granted to those who purposely sin for against the word of G-d, and murmured in the benefit of the masses! Their sins are not The army really does wear you down. whitewashed in the Torah, but the Talmud And so, I understand the position of those your tents…” (Deuteronomy 1: 26-27) All of which leaves us with a number of does give the sinner an air of justification.

Jews who are opposed to yeshiva students It happens that even this principle (capital doing the army. But after considering that puzzling questions: How could the people doubt G-d’s ability punishment as a deterrent) is hard to fathom point of view, I respectfully disagree. in the two cases in Devarim — the former to bring them into the land of Israel?

••• And while it is true that once the Jewish being an individual who tries to get others to This week’s portion, Shelach, contains one of the most challenging stories in the people entered the land of Israel, the overt leave the fold and worship idolatry, while the entire Torah: the story of the spies.“Sh’lach miracles of the desert, including the manna latter is the case of the wayward son who has Lecha’ Anashim Ve’Yaturu…” “Send out spies from heaven and miraculous clouds of glory become a glutton and violates the fifth of the that accompanied them up to that point, Aseres Hadibros (Ten Statements) through for yourselves…” (Numbers 13:1) In an incredible moment in Jewish history, ceased, and the Jews now had to fight and disrespecting his parents.

How do we reconcile a person doing a the Jewish people are ready to achieve their Continued on page6 simple act of carrying wood with a death mission. With the fleshpots and pyramids of Egypt behind them, having come through the Red Sea and receiving the Torah at SiHE EWISH TAR nai, the Jewish people are on the banks of the Jordan River ready to come home. More Independent and original reporting from the Orthodox communities of Long Island and New York City than 200 years after the children of Joseph All opinions expressed are solely those of The Jewish Star’s editorial staff or contributing writers and his brothers became enslaved in Egypt, 2 Endo Boulevard, Garden City, NY 11530 Publisher Ed Weintrob the centuries old dream of the Jewish people Phone: 516-622-7461, Fax: 516-569-4942 Editor Malka Eisenberg is finally about to be realized. G-d has told E-mail: newsroom@thejewishstar.com Account Executive Helene Parsons them they are now ready to enter the land — Contributors Rabbi Avi Billet The Jewish Star is published weekly by the same verse that contains the mission to Jeff Dunetz The Jewish Star LLC, 2 Endo Boulevard, spy out the land, contains as well the promJuda Engelmayer Garden City, NY 11530. ise that G-d will give them the land.

Rabbi Binny Freedman Subscription rates: $9 per quarter on a So one wonders, if G-d is already promAlan Jay Gerber ising to give them the land, why is there a Rabbi Noam Himelstein credit card in Nassau and Far Rockaway, or $48 a year. Elsewhere in the US, $15 need to send spies? If the Jewish people truly Judy Joszef per quarter or $72 a year.

Editorial Designer Kristen Edelman believed in G-d, they would certainly have no Photo Editor Christina Daly need of spies — and as soon as the spies reNewsstand Price: $1. turn, the journey that began with such promCopyright © 2013 The Jewish Star LLC. ise ends in disaster.

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Hearing their report, the people sense that the spies, men of great stature, doubt

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penalty?

We can’t. And this is why the Meshech Chochma notes that “from the time the wood gatherer was stoned — though he had intended his act for the sake of heaven, to publicize the punishment so people would not take the prohibitions of Shabbos lightly — it had such an emotional impact on the people that while they were in the mountains of Moav and going through the motions of the book of Devarim (and the review of many laws that it includes), Shabbos is not mentioned. The manna was the eternal reminder of the existence of Shabbos. This is why it is otherwise only mentioned in the retelling of the Ten Statements, which is a reminder to people to keep the Shabbos [but says nothing about those Avi Billet who violate it].”

There is no other evidence (that I’m aware of) that the death penalty was invoked for a violation of Shabbos.

The Meshech Chochma reconciles for us the distaste we have for the death penalty over Shabbos violation, as he essentially argues this punishment doesn’t fit the crime.

The book of Devarim avoids the topic because the repercussions for its violation are distasteful.

But what is the crime?

The mitzvah to keep Shabbos is so essential to who we are as a people on account of its prominence in testifying to God’s creating the world.

It is also how we attest to God’s role in taking us out of Egypt, and creating the nation of Israel that was finalized with the giving of the Torah, which includes the mitzvah of Shabbos so prominently displayed on the first of the Two Tablets.

The wood gatherer displayed his utter disregard for all of this. Perhaps in the aftermath of the spies incident he felt that God had forsaken the Jewish people. Maybe he felt that there was no hope for the future — he, along with his generation were fated to die in the desert. Maybe he lost heart. Maybe he gave up. Maybe he felt there was nothing to live for anyway.

But that is a fatalist attitude. We have been waiting for the Messiah to come for a long time. We wait for peace in Israel, even though despite the good intentions of politicians, it will continue to elude the region with “peace partners” that are anything but sincere.

Do we give up? No. We forge on. With our faith intact. And with an ever-present hope for the future.

Abandoning G-d and the Torah is for people who, like the wood gatherer, don’t see the point in it all.

And while thankfully there is no death penalty for those who violate Shabbos, we pray that Jews across the world will revisit Shabbos, tap into its beauty, and help bring the day the Messiah can come. (Talmud Shabbos 118b)

By Rabbi Simcha Weinstein

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Simcha Weinstein

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein, advocate of being fruitful and multiplying, pictured with daughter Orna Bina.

Royal Air Forces’ benefits package or its rules about paternity leave.

Kate and William are part of a fortunate minority who graduated from college with zero student debt. (The percentage of college grads, male and female, citing educational debt as their reason for delaying having children has nearly doubled in the last decade.)

That doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t learn a thing or two from the royal couple, however.

We’ve set up society in such a way that men and women in their prime reproductive years are postponing having children — or deciding not to have children at all. Recently released U.S. population census data shows population growth at its lowest level since the Great Depression. Without a sizable, stable tax base to fund them, many of America’s entitle-

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein is a best-selling author who recently was voted “New York’s Hippest Rabbi” by Channel 13 in New York. He chairs the religious affairs committee at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and recently published the book, “The Case For Children: Why Parenthood Makes Your World Better.”

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The most famous person of 2013 hasn’t been born yet.

I’m talking, of course, about the royal baby – the future heir to the British throne who will be the most photographed, tweeted and talked-about newborn of the early 21st century.

As someone who grew up in rainy Manchester, England it’s beginning to feel like 1982 all over again. From my then child’s vantage point, I watched the nation’s unemployment rate soar, while the Tories introduced austerity measures to reign in spending. The announcement of Charles and Diana’s pregnancy gave ordinary people a reason to “keep calm and carry on.”

As bad as things were back then, at least the government of the day didn’t stoop as low as the current resident of No. 10 Downing Street, who placed a tax on sausage rolls, Cornish pasties and other lowly staples of British cuisine (such as it is). I dearly hope a tax on tea won’t be next; I hear they tend to end badly.

However, there’s a sharper contrast exists the royal couple of the 1980’s and today’s.

Diana was engaged at 19, a bride at 20 and a mother to William before her 21st birthday.

Kate Middleton, on the other hand, was married at 29 and will be a 31-year-old mother. That puts her in perfect step with the times: In 1960s, the median age for marriage in the United States was 22 for men and 20 for women. Today it is 29 and 27, respectively.

Kate also personifies the typical contemporary young woman, in that she has more formal education than Diana.

Today, 55 percent of college graduates aged 25 to 29 are female. Women earned 60 percent of all master’s degrees in 2010.

Obviously, that’s where many of the parallels end. Unlike most newlyweds today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge don’t have to worry about personal finances. With every imaginable career — or no career at all — open to him, William trained as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot without having to concern himself with the fine print of the

ment programs will crumble, along with a decaying infrastructure.

Recently, my wife and I welcomed our fourth child. This means the size of our family is now almost double the official national average.

I doubt many of my fellow New Yorkers would take too kindly to a male rabbi from across the pond appearing to tell women what to do with their wombs. I understand those objections. However, if you’ll allow me to use a very American expression: I just call it like I see it.

And as I see it, the America we all treasure can only thrive when our young people decide to welcome children into their lives.

“Welcome” is the operative word: I confront hostility to my family’s very existence almost every day, and not just in the form of disapproving stares. Progressive New Yorkers don’t hesitate to inform me that I’m being selfish for having so many children. They seem awfully concerned about “saving the planet” – but for whose future enjoyment, exactly?

Quite simply, without children, there will be no future to either save or destroy.

Allow me to put on my yarmulke and get biblical for a moment.

In the Torah, the first commandment to humankind is, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Why command people to do something that not only come naturally, but also guarantees the continued survival of the human race. I sometimes wonder, however, if that long ago command to be fruitful and multiply was actually meant for us modern people, thousands of years in the future — a kind of message in a (baby) bottle that would wash ashore in our postmodern, post-parenting era.

The question is: Are we willing to heed it?

THE JEWISH STAR May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773

The Hippest Rabbi / Maybe baby … Maybe not

5

Are we missing the point…

Continued from page 4 fend for themselves, this does not explain the problem of the people here. For one thing, G-d clearly tells them they will succeed in conquering the land, and for another, they have already had a taste of their ability to fight and be victorious against a strong enemy in the battle against Amalek, where Joshua and the elite of the army have to fight an all-day battle to repel the enemy.

And where is Moshe, and for that matter Aaron, in this entire story? Why are they not able to convey to the people that there is no need to doubt G-d’s ability to lead them into the land of Israel?

••• Imagine the scene: The entire Jewish people are encamped in the desert, ready to finally enter the land of Israel. Upon hearing the report of the spies, they are apparently terrified.

‘How can we do this?’

‘The people are giants, the land is filled with fortified cities and armies of trained warriors; how can we, barely a year out of slavery in Egypt, hope to conquer this entire country?’

So Calev, perhaps seeing that Moshe and Aaron have nothing to say, jumps up on a rock, as it were, and shouts (poetic license here) ‘Enough!!” and everyone is shocked into silence! You could probably hear a pin drop, even on the sand, and Calev has a moment, an incredible opportunity, to say the right thing, to bring the people back to their senses and save the day. What would you have said at that moment?

There seems to be a glaring omission in Calev’s brief speech: why does he not mention all of the great miracles G-d has performed? Why not shout out loud: ‘what of the splitting of the sea? The vanquishing of Egypt? How can you all be so short sighted?’

Yet Calev does not even mention these things, simply saying ‘come on, people, we can do it!

We can go up and conquer the land!’

••• One is reminded of the vain attempts by Vladimir Jabotinsky in the period preceding the Holocaust to convince the Jewish communities of Germany and Poland that it was time to go home, to the land of Israel. Although he, like Calev, saw the writing on the wall, he was not able to seize the moment and sway people’s opinions. Alas, if only the words had been there. But in Calev’s case, it seems, they were. Why did he not mention the obvious?

Lastly, consider who the spies really were: they were the princes of the tribes, men of great stature, chosen as leaders of the people, “Roshei B’nei Yisrael Hemah”: “They were the great men of Israel”. (Numbers 13:3) It is difficult to imagine therefore, how such men could suddenly, in the midst of an experience where G-d was everywhere, and where miracles were a daily event, doubt G-d?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory, in his Likutei Sichot, suggests an idea, which may respond to all of our questions.

Perhaps the reason Calev does not mention the great miracles Hashem had performed was because these same miracles were the root of the problem.

The people understood that part of the process of entering the land of Israel, was that G-d would necessarily withdraw. In the desert, Hashem was everywhere, providing manna from heaven, water from the magical well of Miriam, even protection from the elements by way of the clouds of glory. And that is clearly not the goal in Judaism; because when G-d is everywhere then where are we?

Much like parents, who need to get out of the way so their children can grow, entering the land of Israel represented that period in

the growth of the Jewish people where they would come into their own.

The people understood that it was for this new reality that they were being readied. The problem was, how do you leave the world where G-d is everywhere, to the world where He is so hidden? The spies weren’t afraid of a physical defeat, they were afraid of a spiritual defeat. What happens to a people accustomed to meditating on G-d twenty-four hours a day, when they have to actually serve in the army, work in the fields, and earn a living? It is no big deal to have a deep spiritual relationship with G-d, in the Yeshiva that was the desert; but can you maintain that level in the office, or on the tractor?

This was, you see, precisely the mistake of the spies in the desert three thousand years ago. ‘How can we leave the perfect spiritual environment of the desert, for life in the trenches and the fields?’

‘How will we be able to maintain our level of Torah when we need to harvest the crops, and man the guard posts?’

‘We are not ready’, the princes of the tribes must have felt; little more than a year out of Egyptian servitude, the Jews are still complaining and doubting G-d; they need more time in “Yeshiva”, as it were.

‘When we get to Israel, there will be no time to learn all day; we need to spend more time in the presence of G-d, in order to be on the spiritual level that will allow us to survive out there in the harsh reality of the world.’

••• Israel will be an “Eretz Ochelet Yoshveha’”, “A land that consumes its inhabitants”, say the spies (13:32), which means us - The people will be consumed by their physical pursuits; who will have time to study Torah after a long hard day working in the fields?

That is why the miracles were not mentioned by Calev; they weren’t the answer to the claim of the spies, they were the reason the spies felt they should not yet go in! And that is why Moshe and Aaron have nothing to say; because the entire contention of the spies is how can we leave the world where we can hear Torah from Moshe and Aaron every day? So anything Moshe and Aaron might say would only further prove the spies’ point!

And this, indeed, is exactly what Calev is saying: “…We can surely go up (to the land) and inherit it because we CAN” (Bamidbar 13:30) Calev’s point may well have been that even in the difficult physical pursuits of entering, conquering, and working the land; we can continue to ‘go up’. We can grow spiritually in the world outside the Yeshiva….

The spies you see, were wrong, because the purpose of a life lived in Torah is not elevation of the soul; that is only a vehicle to sanctify the world. The real goal is to find G-d in the world, not to see Him by leaving the world behind.

••• The perspective of the yeshiva student afraid to enter the challenges of the army, itself a mitzvah, in defense of the Jewish people, limits G-d to the domain of the spiritual environment. But Judaism suggests that Hashem is everywhere, and we can find G-d and a relationship with Him, even in the most physical of experiences.

One wonders whether this was the tragic mistake of the leaders of our generation, indeed the princes of Torah and great leaders of the Yeshiva world 60 years ago, who almost en masse resisted the opportunity to leave the spiritual desert (even paradise) of the Yeshivot in Europe, for fear of the spiritual corruption life in the barren desert of the land of Israel would have entailed.

Imagine what a different Jewish world we would live in today, if the state of Israel had been built by the yeshiva students of the Mir and Belz, Volozhin and Radin.

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May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

6

7

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Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich displays his newly-translated autobiography, “Unbroken Spirit: A Heroic Story of Faith, Courage and Survival.�

Prisoner of Zion‌ Continued from page 1 purpose,â€? Gozland said. “We must transmit spiritual strength to the younger generation, and there is no better ambassador and teacher than Rav Mendelevich.â€?

Rabbi Mendelevich’s Five Town appearances begin with Kabalat Shabbat davening at 7:40 p.m. in the Stahler residence, 17 Beechwood Drive in Sutton Park, Lawrence.

Men and women are invited.

Shabbat morning, Rabbi Mendelevich will daven with Congregation Shaaray TeďŹ la, 25 Central Ave., Lawrence, and deliver the main drasha (biblical talk) at 11 a.m.

At 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, he will speak at the seuda shlishit (third meal) at Congregation Beth Sholom, 390 Broadway, Lawrence, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday night, Rabbi Mendelevich will greet community members at the Central Perk CafĂŠ, 105 Cedarhurst Ave., where he will autograph copies of his recently published “Unbroken Spirit: A Heroic Story of Faith, Courage and Survival,â€? an English translation of his memoir in which he reounts his struggle and victory against the Soviet regime.

In 1970, at age 22, already a veteran of the Jewish underground, Yosef Mendelevich

participated in a daring attempt to escape the Soviet Union with a group of Jews on a small civilian aircraft.

Before the group could board the plane, the KGB arrested them all. The international uproar sparked by their trial in Leningrad trial resulted in the moderation of two death sentences.

Following the sacriďŹ ces of Rabbi Mendelevich and others, more than a million Jews eventually ed the Soviet Union.

Rabbi Mendelevich will address students in several yeshivas and day schools in New York and New Jersey during his ďŹ ve-day visit that begins in the Five Towns this Shabbat. “Educating young Jews about the beauty and majesty of Judaism is at the core of my being,â€? said Mendelevich.

Glenn Richter, former national coordinator of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, added: “Yosef Mendelevich is a genuine Jewish hero. Hearing him speak and reading his book is a huge inspiration to overcoming life’s obstacles, deepening Jewish identity and loving the Land of Israel.�

For more on Rabbi Mendelevich and his activities in the Soviet Union, see the Jewish Bookworm column on page 14.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 | Lawrence Country Club, 101 Causeway, Lawrence, NY

Two Repeat Sessions: 10–10:30 a.m. light breakfast | 10:30–noon program 4–4:30 p.m. refreshments | 4:30–6 p.m. program

RESERVATIONS:

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May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

8

Schools A student’s wonderful journey through HAFTR

By Matthew Maron Senior Matthew Maron, former editor of the HAFTR’s newspaper “The Tattler,” writes about his journey at HAFTR. He plans to attend Cornell University after spending next year in Israel.

Time is a precious commodity. We’re told to cherish it, not to delay until later. However, we don’t always follow this philosophy.

Rather, through all of the tests, DBQs, APs and other schoolwork, we live our lives in this moment, as if we will never evolve to something else. We can’t see ourselves being older because here we are now.

When we came to HAFTR High School, we, as students, faced so many questions.

Which classes to take, which teams to join, and quite frankly how to figure out who we were going to be for the next four years of our lives? High school is a scary prospect.

Inherently, it has a major impact on our students’ futures and helps set the course of their entire life.

C.S Lewis once said, “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”

When we came into HAFTR, the workload at first was, well, tough. Never before had any of us been held to such academic standards; spending a couple of hours a night doing homework was not uncommon. While not all students are equally motivated to do the work required, when it came time to wake up and go to school, we walked in under the glass entrance with a smile on our face.

When we didn’t understand the material, bad. When we’ve had trouble in our lives, inevery single teacher was willing to stay af- side or outside of school, we’ve been there ter class, sacrifice their break, and even work for each other, lending an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. with us over the weekends We’ve helped others to make sure we understood through Tomchei Shabbos, the material. When we had blood drives, or iShine. a problem with a homework We’ve been a cohesive group question, we worked togethof students, friends from beer as classmates, and more ginning to end. importantly with friends to And now, this chapter in figure it out. our lives winds down. In a Our teachers instilled in few days, we will no longer us the yearning to do well be HAFTR students. No lonnot for the grade but for ger will we have to endure the knowledge. Our Rebthe temperature extremes beim helped us grow spirituthat make up HAFTR’s heatally, whether that was in the ing/air conditioning system. classroom, through chesed No longer will we hear the projects, or learning with us familiar shout of “Arlette!” in outside of school. Last sumCollege Guidance. No longer mer, one of our Rebbeim will we be able to get Rabbi learned with the boys in our Moskowitz’s Friday cholent grade every Thursday night.

Our teachers didn’t care Matthew Maron loved his in the G.O. office. No longer will any of us who had Mr. that we just knew the ma- HAFTR experience. and Mrs. Beck see “YBL” on terial, they cared that we understood it and how what we learned in the board the day after a test.

It’s a bittersweet reality. We spend so the classroom could and does apply to us in our lives every single day. The success of our much of our lives working towards a certain goal and when we finally achieve it, we want grade is a testament to such dedication.

Most of us have been in school with each to go back and relive the journey. When most other since the day we walked into HAFTR’s of us look back at the people we were four nursery program. We’ve gone to each other’s years ago, we look like entirely different birthday parties, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, play people.

We’ve changed, for the better. And HAFTR dates, and everything in between. We’ve been there for each other in good times and itself has too.

When we entered HAFTR in 2009, the school was coming off a bad break up. The school as an institution needed to rediscover what it was, what it wanted to be, just like us.

Together, we’ve grown and prospered.

The school we leave now is not the one we entered. It’s more focused, renewed, and ready to help all of its students succeed. Now we part ways, some of us to spend the year in Israel, others to head off to college. However, during our time in college and beyond, students will come back to discuss college/ graduate school, halachic issues, or simply just to visit their former teachers and friends.

And, we’ll be welcomed with open arms for once you’ve attended HAFTR, you’re always a HAFTR student!

In retrospect, I think we are all grateful for having had the chance to attend HAFTR High School. The friends we’ve made, the experiences we’ve had together will last us for a lifetime. While the journey was tough, we’ve finally arrived at our destination.

Now, we can relax and rejoice. But soon it will be time to get ready for the journey to the next destination in our lives. We go through our lives not knowing the challenges life will bring. All we have in this journey is our past, present, and the knowledge we’ve accumulated along the way. None of us knows what the future has in store. What is certain, however, is that HAFTR has prepared us for anything we may encounter.

A version of this story first appeared in HAFTR’s “The Tattler” newspaper.

Touro honors Robert Goldschmidt, Lander dean Touro College conferred an honorary doctorate of political science degree on Robert Goldschmidt, dean of its Lander College of Arts and Sciences and Touro’s vice president for planning and assessment, at Touro’s 39th commencement exercises on May 26 at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. More than 2,000 guests were in attendance.

“You have touched — and quite often transformed — the lives of multiple generations of students,” said Dr. Alan Kadish, president and CEO of the Touro College and University System, while conferring the degree. “You seek hidden potential in all students, motivating them to develop their talents and analytical research skills. Yours is an extraordinary resume of accomplishment and achievement.”

In his role as Touro’s liaison to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Dean Goldschmidt has been instrumental in securing accreditation for the college in New York, successfully leading it through five major reviews. He is also responsible for leading the accreditation process for Touro’s branch campuses in Berlin, California, Florida, Moscow, Nevada and Paris, and has obtained approvals for the opening of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and the College of Pharmacy, both in New York.

Now in his 39th year with Touro, Dean Goldschmidt is the architect and founding dean of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush, which serves more than 2,500 men and women in separate schools over three semesters annually.

Dean Robert Goldschmidt received an honorary doctorate at Touro College’s commencement. Pictured l-to-r: Dr. Stanley Boylan, vice president for undergraduate education and dean of faculties; Dr. Alan Kadish, president and CEO; Dean Goldschmidt; Rabbi Moshe Krupka, executive vice president; and Dr. Mark Hasten, chairman of the board of trustees.

“You are committed to providing an avenue for professional advancement for yeshiva and seminary students while enabling them to retain, without compromise, their identity and adherence to the highest standards of Torah learning and observance,” said Rabbi Moshe Krupka, Touro’s executive vice president.

“At Touro, all of your talents were able to find full expression. It was here at Touro that you realized your great potential. As a Torah scholar and an academic, you are an

articulate communicator in the sacred and the scholarly.”

Schooled in Paris and at the Yeshiva Chachmei Tzorfas in Aix-les-Bains, France, Dean Goldschmidt mastered Talmudic tractates and French literature, as well as six languages: French, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Hebrew and Yiddish.

At age 16 he and his family immigrated to the United States where he enrolled in Yeshivat Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn. He immediately exhibited proficiency in English—his

seventh language—and studied at the yeshiva until he received his smicha from renowned Torah sage HaGaon HaRav Gedaliah Schorr, zt”l.

Dean Goldschmidt graduated from Brooklyn College as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and completed his master’s and coursework for a doctorate in political science at New York University where he was a National Defense Education Scholarship recipient, and a research fellow for two years at the NYU Center for International Studies.

9

One pan fish dish F

irst, apologies to my husband Jerry and my daughter Jordana, who I inadvertently left out in my shout outs last week, when thanking everyone for helping me while I was helpless with a broken rib.

They both went above and beyond and it was greatly appreciated.

Of course, there were times when Jerry was a bit “un” helpful. Take for instance the day the dishwasher broke. The repairman came and said I needed a new part, which he ordered and said would take a week to arrive.

Great, broken rib, no dishwasher and it’s Friday. Somehow I managed to cook, clean the kitchen, shower and dry my hair with one hand, which isn’t easy.

Then…Jerry walks in before Shabbat, and Judy Joszef puts a 2 liter bottle of diet Coke in the freezer, which is absolutely filled to the max without any visible room to stick anything in, let alone a 2 liter bottle. Before I can say anything, he closes the door and it bursts open as the bottle falls out, bounces on the floor and starts to explode all over the place. There was Jerry, just like his dog Buck when he was left alone in the dining room with a birthday cake on the table for Jerry’s daughter. When they walked in the dog lifted his head out of the cake and looked at them, face totally covered in icing and a frozen look of fear on his face. That was Jerry. Soda bottle in hand, a look of fear on his face and the soda spraying all over the kitchen, the entire freezer (soda froze as it hit every shelf,

drawer and article of food), every cabinet, top and bottom, the oven, stove, countertops, floor, table and ceiling which is 15 feet high in certain spots. Needless to say, Jerry was very apologetic and nervous as he witnessed my arrival back in the kitchen. After seeing the fear in his eyes and his murmuring over and over “I’m so sorry, I’m so very sorry,” I actually ended up feeling badly for him.

Not the case with the second repairman who showed up the following Friday to install the new part for my dishwasher. I received the part on Wednesday, got a call asking if I would like a morning or afternoon appointment from American Home Shield, and was told Sears would arrive on Friday. A different repairman walks in, I show him the part that arrived and he says, “what’s that?”

I explain, “It’s the part that was ordered last week by the other repairman who was here.”

He responds, “No one was here already from Sears; I’m here to see what’s wrong with your dishwasher.” I explain the story and give him the part that arrived that was ordered by Sears. He sticks by his story and says that it’s impossible because his computer says that he was scheduled for last week, couldn’t make it so he rescheduled for this Friday. Thinking I was in the Twilight Zone, I try hard to make him understand that no one cancelled and no one spoke to me about rescheduling.

A part was ordered and it arrived and it came from Sears, so how does he explain that???

He then said I had to pay the initial $100. I explain that I did that last week but I don’t remember what I did with the receipt the repairman gave me. The repairman showed me his computer and said there is no record of me paying or any Sears repairman at my home. Now I begin to think that maybe it was someone casing my house to rob me at

a later date. But then why would he order a part from Sears and send it to me?? He said, “True, this part was shipped from Sears and it would have not been shipped without the $100 payment, but still I had to pay again as I didn’t have the receipt. At that point I ripped apart my kitchen (with my good arm) and found the receipt, to which the guy said, ”Ok, he was here, and you did pay by credit card but till I get the ok from the office you’re going to have to pay if you want me to install it.” Now I was sure I was in an SNL skit. I actually listen to the conversation going on with his supervisor and say, loud enough for the supervisor to hear me, “Asa Aarons of Channel 2 News is going to love this story.”

Bingo, one minute later they Okayed the installation of the new part.

And so, since I didn’t have a dishwasher this past week, and didn’t want to wash any more dishes than I had to with a broken rib… ..I bring you a delicious healthy one pan fish dish. Enjoy!

One Pan Fish Dish Ingredients •3 cloves garlic, divided •2 tablespoons olive oil •2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced •1 large onion, sliced •6 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced •1 14-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped, reserve the liquid •1/4 cup water •1 teaspoon salt, divided

•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper •3 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs •2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed •1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest •1 1/2 pounds halibut or cod, skinned and cut into 6 portions Preparation 1.Preheat oven to 450°F. 2.Mince 2 garlic cloves and place in a small bowl. Whisk in 1 1/2 tablespoons oil 3.Combine fennel and onion in a 9-by-13 baking dish; add the garlic mixture and toss to coat.

4.

Roast the fennel mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until softened, 20 to 25 minutes.

5.

Add potatoes, tomatoes and their juice, water, 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Cover tightly with foil and bake until the potatoes are tender, 35 to 40 minutes more.

6.

Meanwhile, mince the remaining garlic clove and place in a small bowl. Add breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, lemon zest, the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Mix with your fingers until blended.

When the potatoes are tender, place fish on top of the vegetables and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over all. Roast, uncovered, until the breadcrumbs are browned, 10 to 15 minutes Judy Joszef can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany this week announced an agreement under which the German government will provide approximately $1 billion over four years for homecare for Jewish Holocaust victims.

“We are seeing Germany’s continued commitment to fulfill its historic obligation to Nazi victims,” said Claims Conference Special Negotiator Stuart Eizenstat. “This ensures that Holocaust survivors, now in their final years, can be confident that we are endeavoring to help them live in dignity, after their early life was filled with indescribable tragedy and trauma. This is all the more impressive since it comes at a time of budget austerity in Germany.”

“Our commitment to advocating for Holocaust victims has never wavered. Through constant discussions with the German government, we have attained a groundbreaking agreement that will help tens of thousands of elderly survivors for years to come,” said Claims Conference Executive Vice President Greg Schneider.

The government agreed, in its talks with the Claims Conference, to provide 205 million euros ($266 million) in 2015 – an increase of 45 percent over 2014; $273 million

for 2016 and $280 million for 2017. The previously agreed-upon amount for 2014 is approximately $185 million, an increase of $15 million over 2013 funding.

Thus, taken together, this historic agreement is a commitment of approximately $1 billion for homecare funding for 2014 through 2017.

In 2013, the Claims Conference is supporting homecare for 56,000 Holocaust victims around the world. Based on the organization’s assessments, the need has not yet peaked, as all the survivors who remain alive are increasingly elderly, with many growing more frail and vulnerable.

The Claims Conference has worked extensively with the German Ministry of Finance to provide comprehensive data regarding the current and projected needs of Nazi victims. In addition to the 56,000 Nazi victims who are receiving Claims Conference-funded homecare, there are an additional 90,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide who receive other welfare services such as food, medicine, socialization programs and transportation from the Claims Conference.

Several other significant agreements were reached.

632253

German fund for aging survivors reaches $1B

THE JEWISH STAR May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773

Who’s in the kitchen

Central Park concert follows Celebrate Israel Parade Sunday’s Celebrate Israel Parade will again be paired with a concert that organizers are calling the largest pro-Israel rally in North America.

Joining entertainers under the Central Park Bandshell, between 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., will be two distinguished speakers — Israel Deputy Defense Minister MK Danny Danon, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. Bolton has been a staunch supporter of Israel and an expert on the situation in Iran.

The parade, along Fifth Avenue, will run for several hours, beginning at 9:15 a.m.

Exciting performers include a burst of musical and singing talent. The headliners are LIPA!, a masterful singer and showman; and EDON, who proudly wore his kippa as he achieved semi-finalist status on “America’s Got Talent;” Elron Zabatani, of Jerusalem’s Old City, will be accompanied by Shlomi Aharoni, an alumnus of the Rabbinical IDF Orchestra and Choir; seasoned veterans Jerry Markovitz, Sandy Shmuely and Dr. Meyer Abittan will also be performing.

The concert is sponsored by the Israel

Concert-In-The-Park Committee, associated with Young Israel Chovevei Zion and the National Council of Young Israel.

Once again, the event will pay tribute to Carl Freyer z’l who, together with his wife Sylvia, founded the concert in response to a call by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin to mount a protest to the notorious 1993 Oslo accords. Mr. Freyer and his wife were founders of Arutz Sheva and the National Jewish Outreach Program. The event also salutes noted Jewish activists and philanthropists Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann z’l, who was its first Chairman, and Rose and Reuben Mattus z’l, of HaagenDazs fame.

Parade-goes should note that this year’s concert venue is different than in the past.

The new location — the Central Park’s Bandshell — can be reached by entering the park at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street.

Early arrival is strongly advised as there will be added security checks, and only one entry line to the Bandshell. For security reasons, no large backpacks or bags will be allowed into the concert. Photo ID is required for entry.

Courtesy Barry Brown Studios

Sunday’s concert-rally will again be spearheaded by (l-to-r) Dr. Joseph Frager, long-time organizer, and Dr. Paul and Drora Brody, chairpersons, pictured at last year’s event.

Over 1,000 mourn and honor 12 destroyed Torahs

By Malka Eisenberg Over 1000 men, women and children filled the streets and plaza in front of the White Shul in Far Rockawy Sunday morning to hear eulogies and divrei Torah at a mass community wide funeral for 12 Torah scrolls severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Judge Martin Ritholtz recalled the “tremendous simcha” of students who were called up for galilah (the honor of winding up the Torah scroll) from Maimonides School. This Torah was one of those packed in individual, large, barrel-like, Terra cotta containers draped with Tallitot, resting in gray plastic carts lined up beside the speakers.

Ritholtz drew a parallel between the erasure of much of the writing in these Torahs to the erasing of G-d’s name mentioned in the previous week’s Torah reading of sotah. Just as the erasure of the Name is used to bring shalom bayit, peace to a husband and wife riven by jealousy, “perhaps,” he theorized, this mass erasure is to bring “reconciliation between Knesset Yisrael and Hakodosh Baruch Hu. We must do acts of chesed (kindness),” he said.

Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, of Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi, noted that King Achav, an evil king of the Israelite monarchy, was willing to surrender everything to an enemy but not

the Torah. “Can we be any less?” he cried.

He recounted Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin’s respect and defense of the sanctity of the Torah and of the “hundreds of thousands of korbanot that we gave up for the Sefer Torah.” He noted that the Nazis used the Torah parchment to line boots to desecrate the Torah. He called on listeners to give respect to the Torah, that “they are in front of us now” like a learned rabbi.

Noting that “suffering creates a climate of Teshuva (repentance),” Rabbi Jonathan Muskat of the Young Israel of Oceanside said that in times of “calamities and distress we should engage in introspection and soul searching” and that the suffering of Hurricane Sandy “actualized emunah (faith in G-d) and chesed (acts of kindness).” He said that there is “so much history behind every sefer Torah” and cited this as an “opportunity to improve our yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven).”

“The Abishter (G-d) took 12 pieces and much more,” said Rabbi Eytan Feiner of the White Shul, “we have to see ourselves as burying a piece of ourselves, rachmane letzlan … Sandy brought out tremendous achdus (unity) … it’s time to unite, to share pain … Hashem sees Am Yisrael gather, Hashem comes down … Hashem will take care of Am Yisrael.” He stressed the importance of showing respect for the Torah, being quiet during the Torah reading, being close to the

Photo Tauree Thompson

Rabbi Yaakov Feitman of Kohillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi of Cedarhurst, joined Judge Martin Ritholtz and Rabbi Jonathan Muska of the Young Israel of Oceanside, in addressing Sunday’s levaya. He’s flanked by Torah scrolls awaiting burial.

Torah and with each other. He expressed gratitude to the organizations that assembled this gathering and helped during the hurricane, “the unparalleled chesed,” and the need to love one another and respect the Torah and one another and that G-d should save us “from all tragedies.”

The mourners then walked respectfully

behind the Torahs as they were wheeled on carts to three trucks. Four Torahs were loaded into each truck, into one of three large square wooden coffin-like open boxes, each Torah separated from the others by pieces of Styrofoam so the pottery cases wouldn’t break on the ride to burial in Liberty, New York.

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May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

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However much guilt is on Obama’s hands, impeachment would be bad for America and bad for the GOP his isn’t going to go down well for Eric Holder and the administration. NBC News reported that Attorney General Eric Holder personally approved the decision to go after Fox News’ James Rosen; then on Friday, the Department of Justice told Reuters that the NBC report is correct, possibly setting up the Attorney General to be indicted for perjury.

The department said the search warrant for the reporter’s email account — Rosen’s reporting on North Korea prompted a leak investigation — followed all laws and POLITICO policies and TO GO won the independent approval of a federal magistrate judge.

However just the week before, the House Judiciary Committee called in Attorney General Eric Holder to Jeff Dunetz testify in the Associated Press reporters’ scandal. During his testimony under oath, Holder told Rep. Hank Johnson (DGA) that targeting journalists was bad policy and something he’d never been involved in: “First of all you’ve got a long way to go to try to prosecute the press for publication of material. This has not fared well in American history. … In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, this is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy.“

T

If you compare the Department of Justice statement with what Holder told Rep. Johnson, it looks like the Attorney General perjured himself to Congress.

Polls show that America is getting frustrated with the administration’s fight to keep the truth behind the three scandals under wraps. But as frustrated as the public may get, Congress — which is in charge of finding out the truth — is even more frustrated.

Also last week came the revelation that the White House knew about the IRS scandal months before the public was told. Although there is still no proof that the President was told, we do know White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler knew about the scandal, and we know she told White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough about the impending IRS inspector general report. The only reason for the chief counsel to tell the chief of staff is for the information to get to the President. However the contention today is that the president did not know.

As Congress and (in some cases) the mainstream media do their jobs and investigate these scandals, there are soft rumblings of the “I” word — impeachment — coming from a few conservative pundits and from Republicans in Congress.

Allow me to suggest that what we know so far does not even approach “I” word levels, and even if they reach that level, impeachment would be a horrible option for the country and for the party.

The last two Presidents who approached impeachment level were Nixon and Clinton, both of whom went way over the line to break the law. Clinton committed perjury, something to which he eventually admitted after DNA testing. Nixon may have survived Watergate if there wasn’t an audio record of his crimes that proved he obstructed justice.

The Obama administration has been

careful to protect its senior leaders by putting very little in writing. Heck, the Attorney General didn’t even put in writing that he recused himself from the AP case, even though law requires him to.

But let us say that eventually it is proven that each scandal was directly ordered by the President (a long shot but just suppose): •On Benghazi it can be proven the president lied for political purposes (he would not be the first) — but the only one really culpable would be Hillary Clinton who lied to Congress, something that would be a crime (whether or not she was under oath).

•The AP scandal may prove to be immoral, but doesn’t seem like a crime because the DOJ got a court order.

•While the IRS scandal probably has the biggest chance of toppling an administration, even if this abuse of power is proven to have been directly ordered by Obama, is impeachment the best option?

Not necessarily for a host of reasons. The first would be these three horrible words, “President Joe Biden.” Imagine this gaffemeister making foreign policy decisions/ statements — there would have been no surge in Afghanistan, we would be living with a nuclear Iran, and Bin Laden would still be alive (yes, he advised against the Afghan surge and the Bin Laden mission).

It would be a bigger disaster for America’s standing in the world than Obama (although it might be funny if Biden had a summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il and said, “Come on Kim, stand up and take a bow — What am I saying, you are standing!”)

A Joe Biden-led domestic policy would be just as bad. Perhaps the government would distribute pamphlets teaching women to protect themselves by emptying their shotguns through closed doors, Joe’s gun control advice.

Let’s say Obama is implicated directly in the IRS scandal and there is a smoking gun.

He is impeached by the House and there is a trial in the Senate, at which point there is no way a Senate — which when you include the one socialist/independent has 56 votes on the President’s side — is going to come up with the 67 votes required to toss him out of office and give the reins to Biden.

However, if the house moves in that direction, Barack Obama ceases to be a scandal-ridden President and becomes a martyr to Republican obstructionism. The GOP will become the racist party that threw out the first African-American president. Any voters on the fence would go Democrat — just based on that meme.

On the other side, if Obama is proven to be behind the IRS and other scandals, a weakened Obama is still much better than a Biden. It is also better than the charges of obstructionism and racism that would be sure to come with any House action.

Thinking longer term, if Obama is implicated in these scandals and stays in office he would be too weakened to push through his radical freedom-stealing agenda during the remaining 921 days of his administration. Additionally, it will make ripe campaign fodder for the senate and house campaigns in 2014 and the Presidential campaign of 2016.

Any talk of Obama impeachment is way premature, but even if Obama were directly tied to these scandals, impeachment would be bad for the United States and bad for the GOP.

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.

As veterans of Sandy’s wrath, we feel for Oklahoma

By Malka Bernstein

What does a person do when his or her entire life is suddenly turned upside down?

On May 19, the people of Moore, Oklahoma, faced that issue. A destructive tornado came to that neighborhood and wreaked havoc.

“As Monday’s 1.3-mile-wide tornado descended on Moore, it tossed debris four miles into the sky, damaged 12,000 homes and took 24 lives,” Zeke Miller reported in Time. “But amid the scattered two-by-fours and shingles, there were also generations

of memories: family photos, heirlooms and mementos.”

Considering the damage that was inflicted on Moore, it is unbelievable that the entire incident took place so quickly. Bryan Perry from CNN reported that the tornado was 1.3 miles wide and 17 miles long — comparable to 19 football fields end to end. The storm speed was 35 mph with top winds of 200 mph.

Buildings of all sorts were flattened.

Homes and school buildings, structures which were considered strong and sturdy, fell quickly to the powerful winds. Anything

that was in the path of the destructive tornado crumbled and fell like a deck of cards being shuffled.

Like many of us, I was affected by Hurricane Sandy, so I am able to partially understand some of what the people in Oklahoma are dealing with. It is, however, incomprehensible for me to fully grasp what the residents of Moore are going through. It is difficult for me to imagine the feelings and emotions that some of the people are experiencing at such a challenging time as this.

So much of life as the residents of Moore knew it, is no longer. The town is in sham-

bles, and people are bereaved. Although my experience is able to provide me with only an inkling of what is going on in Oklahoma, it is nowhere near comparable to what these people are encountering.

While most items can eventually be replaced, the people who perished in the storm can ot. I sincerely hope that the people of Oklahoma finds the strength they will need to rebuild and continue to go on with life.

OU, Young Israel and Chabad are all facilitating the collection and distribution of relief funds to the people of Oklahoma.

THE JEWISH STAR May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773

Opinion

May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

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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.

May 30

Young Israel of Hewlett One Piermont Avenue Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg of KidskickingCan-

South Nassau Hospital Offers Parent-Child Education

cer

Classes and Support Groups Maternity Orientation, 7:30-8:30pm, South Nassau’s Conf. Room A All classes unless otherwise noted, will be held at the Parent/Child Education Classroom located at 2277 Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor in Baldwin. For more information, or to register for classes please call (516) 377-5310.

Shabbos morning schedule: Rabbi Goldberg will be speaking at 9:30 AM after the Hashkama Minyan, at 10;45 AM before Mussaf in the Main Minyan, and at 7:15 PM before Mincha.

He will also be speaking at 8:20 PM in the South Shore gym, 1170 William Street,Hewlett, NY 11557 Sunday Morning at YI of Hewlett, downstairs 10:30 AM Seminar on Breathing for stress relief

May 31

June 9 Kulanu Fair

Youth Shabbat at Congregation Beth Sholom The children will lead the davening from the amud, lain from the Torah and deliver divrei Torah to the congregation. Kiddush honoring the youth.

June 2

2013 Celebrate Israel Parade Celebrating Israel’s 65th Anniversary 11 AM – 4 PM Rain or Shine 57th –74th Streets on 5th Avenue New York City CelebrateIsraelNY.org

20th Annual Israel Day Concert/Rally in Central Park at Central Park’s Bandshell 2:30 to 7:30 PM, rain or shine

June 4

Keren Eliana Parent Advocacy & Resource Center (P.A.R.C.) Parent Seminar Series Presents “Working Towards the Best Life Possible” Presenter: Ellen Paige, LCSW / Parent Where: Kulanu Center for Special Services, 620 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst When: Tuesday, June 4th at 7:00pm Fee: $15.00 (Refreshments will be served) RSVP Required: Call Vicki @ 516-569-3083 x140 The journey of a mother of a special needs adult son…from the initial dream before child-

12:30 PM to 5 PM Cedarhurst Park, Cedarhurst NY Arutz Sheva

MAZAL TOV! Knesset member Tzipi Hotovely of Likud married attorney Or Alon on Monday. Hotovely-Alon is Orthodox and a major supporter of Judea and Samaria.

Hotovely ascended the Temple Mount, as she pointed out--the holiest site for the Jewish people--the day before her wedding as some brides do in Israel after ritual purification necessary before marriage. Over 2,000 guests were invited to the wedding. All leftovers were donated to the Rabbi Aryeh Levine Foundation that provides food packages to needy families of Hesder Yeshiva graduates. birth, to a different life “after the diagnosis”, to clinical and educational challenges, to the acceptance of a new kind of life for her son: always “working towards the best life possible”.

Ellen will share her personal and professional perspective in this moving seminar including an unexpected new phase of her son’s life: marriage!

Keren Eliana Parent Advocacy & Resource Center Where professionals help families each step of the way through the maze of social, medical, educational, vocational, and recreational resources for their children with special needs Kulanu Center for Special Services 620 Central Avenue Cedarhurst, New York 11516 516-569-3083 ext.138 www.kulanukids.org

11th Annual Cantorial Concert In memory of Cantor Moshe Ehrlich Kk”z Featuring: Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, Cantor Aaron Bensoussan, Simcha Leiner & Cantor Joel Kaplan Congregation Beth Sholom 390 Broadway, Lawrence, NY 11559 www.bethsholomlawrence.org 516 569-3600

199 Broadway, Lawrence, NY 11559 (516) 239-1157 Watercolor Workshop in the Garden Four Tuesdays – June 4 - 25, 2013 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Rain dates are the Thursday following each class from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Welcome to the great outdoors! Rock Hall Museum invites you to paint and use the elements of the outdoor environment to create a unique visual statement. Mary Ann Heinzen, a prominent watercolor artist for twenty-five years, will instruct four classes. Adults only. Space limited.

Reservations required. Reservations are only confirmed with receipt of full payment. Materials not included. Supply list will be provided. Workshop is $90 per person; $80 members/seniors.

June 6

FD-NOW 11th Annual Dinner Thursday, June 6th, Lawrence Yacht and Country Club 101 Causeway, Lawrence, NY 11559 6 PM reception, 7 PM dinner For more information go to fdnow.org

June 8

Town of Hempstead Rock Scholar in Residence at Hall Museum

June 11

HASC Honor Haim Chera Ninth Annual Real Estate Dinner Tuesday, June 11th 666 Fifth Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10019 Cocktail Dinner 6:30 PM, Business Attire For more information go to www.hasc.net/ dinner Or call 718-686-5912

June 19

Chai Lifeline 2013 Awards Dinner Marriott Marquis, New York Reception 6 PM, Dinner 7:15 PM For more information contact Sam Zaks at szaks@chailifeline.org Or call 212 699-6601.

June 27

Successful Interviewing Sid Jacobson JCC Thursday, June 27, 2013 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Sid Jacobson JCC 300 Forest Drive East Hills, NY 11548 For more information, please contact: Suzanne Feiner Connect to Care sfeiner@fegs.org 516-484-1545, ext. 214 American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter available upon request.

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Calls 463 vote flip ‘result of human error; Board meets Thursday, 9 p.m.

The hotly contested Lawrence Board of Education election ended on Wednesday afternoon, when Jesse Lunin-Pack — who on election night, May 21, appeared to be far head of rival Tova Plaut — conceded.

The board said it would meet at 9 p.m. on Thursday at Lawrence High School to make it official. Lunin-Pack said he was given permission to address the meeting.

When results were first reported on Election Night by school district Superintendent Gary Schall, Lunin-Pack was ahead, 1,610 to 1,184, a lead of 426 votes. Dov Herman, who also ran in the race to replace Dr. Solomon Blisko, received 840 votes. Blisko did not run for re-election.

“I come to the conclusion that what happened was nothing more than human error,” Lunin-Pack said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

In the first recount, the day after the election, Lunin-Pack’s initial advantage became a 37-vote lead for Plaut.

“Because the count did not match what was reported by poll watchers, including my own, the [school] board requested a recount,” Lunin-Pack wrote in a letter to friends and supporters on Facebook on May 23.

“The results are going to be what they are going to be,” he told the Nassau Herald. “The question is, how did this happen?”

Tova Plaut and Jesse Lunin-Pack Plaut said only, “I have no comments until all results are official.”

The recount was initiated because district officials thought that a mistake might have been made in the reporting of the election numbers, according to Schall. “As soon as the election was over, the machines were under lock and key and secured, and officially impounded,” he said, adding that the machines

were picked up by the Nassau County Board of Elections on May 22, and the district did a recount at the elections board’s Mineola office. “All indications point to a very, very close election,” Schall said.

The district rents the voting machines from the Nassau County Board of Elections, but the board has no jurisdiction over recounts, which are the district’s responsibility.

Lunin-Pack said a second recount was conducted on May 23 or May 24, and the results were the same as the first recount.

Board of Education President Dr. Asher Mansdorf said the school board did not initiate the recount. “We’re not contesting anything,” he said. “The election is run by the [district] clerk, and the [district] attorney said they felt the numbers needed to be recanvassed before they become official.”

Neither District Clerk Mohinder Bharaj nor Al D’Agostino, the district attorney, nor Lunin-Pack’s attorney, Desiree Fusco, returned calls seeking comment.

State Education Dept. spokeswoman Antonia Valentine said she could not comment “because of the possibility that the commissioner may be asked to rule on the matter in an appeal.” She did say, however, that election inspectors tally the votes and inform a school district official of the results. If the district cannot determine a winner after the recounts or a candidate challenges the results, an appeal can be filed.

On Tuesday, district offered no explanation for the significant disparity in its counts.

This story was reported and written by Jeffrey Bessen, editor of the Nassau Herald, where a version of this story appeared on Wednesday.

1-armed hero speaks at 5 Towns FIDF dinner

By Malka Eisenberg Over 400 supporters came to show respect and admiration for representatives of the Israel Defense Forces at the 2nd annual dinner of the Long Island chapter of Friends of the IDF last Wednesday at Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst. The dinner raised $300,000.

As the master of ceremonies, Five Towner and noted criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman stated that everyone came to “honor the old, the young and the in between.”

“The Five Towns produces some of Israel’s best fighters,” hr said.

Ira Feinberg, of the original members of Machal from 1948, was profiled in a brief video. “I was able to participate in the first army in 2000 years to say ‘never again’ — long live the Jewish people,” said Feinberg.

Gloria Schreiber, one of the original Sarel volunteers, who do stints of maintenance work on Israeli army bases, and Feinberg stood to be acknowledged by thunderous ap-

plause as the audience rose to their feet.

The FIDF provides services to soldiers, including those who come without their families. It insures they have food for the holidays, free flights and a visit of 30 days each year to their families, counseling, gyms, dental benefits as well as other services.

One of the speakers representing Givati was Sergeant Daniel Orvomaa, a lone soldier originally from Helsinki, Finland.

IDF veteran Sgt. Izzy Ezagui also spoke of his experiences. Ezagui was born in Brooklyn and visited Israel through Birthright in 2006.

The following year, the family moved to Israel and Ezagui enlisted in the army.

“I knew that Israel is my home,” he told the Jewish Star.

“My Hebrew was awful when I started,” he recalled. He said that he was given “extra punishments [laps and push-ups] if I didn’t understand instructions.” He was in the Givati brigade, stationed near the Gaza Strip, responsible for fighting terrorism in the area.

After nine and a half months of training, he was sent to the southern border with operation Cast Lead. A mortar fired from Gaza wounded many of his comrades and tore off his left and dominant arm. He woke up in the hospital, “reeling with pain,” but said that either chutzpa or determination drawn from within motivated him to pursue his goal of returning to combat. “My mom told me recently that the first thing I said when I woke up—and I don’t even remember this—was, ‘you know I have to go back, right?’ It was from the very beginning, not something I decided. It was just there.”

His request was turned down by many officers and politicians who visited him, but he persisted.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s General of Southern Command finally allowed him to pursue his goal of reentering a combat unit — provided he could pass physical endurance and mili-

tary skills tests. He learned how to un-jam an assault rifle, climb a rope, even cut his nails, open a water bottle, tie his shoes and use a hand grenade one-handed “by force and determination.” His base commander, the Givati weapons officer, a Krav Maga instructor and others assisted him in his retraining and provided “love and support,” he said.

Ezagui was the first soldier with his type of injury to complete commander training.

He opted not to get a prosthetic arm since he said that he works well without it, learning to accomplish what he needs to do with one arm. He noted that as a commander, his soldiers didn’t treat him differently, not even acknowledging his missing arm.

He is currently living in Florida, returning to Israel for reserve duty, and relating his experiences as a motivational speaker. He has also written a book about his experiences, “Single Handed.”

Broadway Veterinary Care Drs. G. Wexler, A. Kuperschmid, J. Mansfield

1598 Broadway Hewlett 11557

(516) 374-5050 Low Cost Spay/Neuter/ Vaccine Program Photo by courtesy of FIDF

At the FIDF dinner, l-to-r: FIDF national board member Ronny Ben-Josef, Sgt. Daniel Orvomaa, FIDF committee member Jay Spector, IDF veteran Sgt. Izzy Ezagui and FIDF National Director and CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yitzhak (Jerry) Gershon.

Economic Relief Exams $29 Tues., Wed., & Thurs. 2:30-4pm Extended Hours - Sundays By Appointment

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(in accordance with halacha)

THE JEWISH STAR May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773

Lunin-Pack concedes election to Tova Plaut

May 31, 2013 • 22 SIVAN 5773 THE JEWISH STAR

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The Kosher Bookworm

Mendelevich saga: A Jewish war that defeated communism

H

ow ironic that a recently published history of the struggle to liberate Soviet captive Jewry begins with two words — Yosef Mendelevich.

“When They Come For Us We’ll Be Gone,” by the skilled journalist and essayist Gal Beckerman [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010], describes the death and life struggle between Judaism and community Mendelevich personified, and which defined a generation of Jewish youth both in the Soviet Union and America.

In 598 pages, Beckerman tells of the titanic struggle that would redefine world politics and ultimately defeat communism. He covers those at the grass roots level who gave of themselves to help liberate hundreds of thousands from the shackles of communist tyranny, and features such personages as Jacob Birnbaum, Glenn Richter, Avi Weiss and Abraham Joshua Heschel, who helped to catapult this issue to the front pages.

Yet it was Mendelevich who came to symbolize the Jewish religious element in direct combat with Marxist-Leninist communism on both ideological and physical levels.

“Mendelevich was a shy boy with pale, pimply skin and thick horn-rimmed glasses,” writes Beckerman of the face of the struggle. He was born in post-war 1947, into an ash heap from World War Two, with a Jewish community in physical waste from the murderous struggles that resulted in the destruction of over six million Jews.

This Jewish community was betrayed by those who it viewed somewhat favorably before 1939. In his classic 1958 study, “Masters of Deceit,” FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover goes into great detail demonstrating the communist betrayal of East European Jewry in helping to blindside them to what was to come at the murderous hands of the Nazis. In a chapter titled, “The Communist Attack on Judaism,” Hoover states: “The third communist propaganda claim, that of rescuing Jews from Nazi extinction, is also a deception. In the first place, for two years prior to the Nazi invasion of Russia, when Moscow Alan Jay Gerber was allied with Berlin, there is no record of any Soviet protest against the Nazi slaughter of Jews, so far as is known. The good-neighbor policy between the communists and the Nazis, initiated by the Stalin-Hitler pact, is clearly established by the following report sent by the German Foreign Office, where it came to light after the war. … ‘The Soviet Government is doing everything to change the attitude of the population here toward Germany. The press is as though it had been transformed…’ ” Hoover continues by stating that “Then, too, the silence of the Soviet leaders on the outbreaks of Nazi anti-Semitism completely misled Eastern European Jews as to the real character of the Nazi threat and hence, some two million Russian and East European Jews made no attempt to escape the Nazis during the early months of the German invasion of Russia.

And even after the Nazi onslaught, there was a shocking fail-

Photo courtesy of Alan Jay Gerber

Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich and Alan Jay Gerber met last year in Jerusalem. ure on the part of the Soviets to reveal Nazi atrocities against the Jews.”

“Not only did the communists in the Soviet Union fail to make any effort to save Jewish people during the war, they showed no concern over their fate,” Hoover wrote.

Furthermore, the director notes that concurrent with the Holocaust, the communist attitude toward Zionism reflected policies and actions that would lead to mass suppression, targeting Jews who wished to identify with and later to emigrate to the Jewish state.

This was the world into which Yosef Mendelevich and his contemporaries were born, a world hostile to both Judaism and its concurrent Zionist ideology. In this world of communist oppression, Mendelevich was to experience severe cruel persecution and eventual brutal imprisonment, horrific experiences described in great detail in Mendelevich’s recently translated, “Unbroken Spirit: A Heroic Story of Faith, Courage, and Survival” [Gefen Publishing, 2012], translated by Benjamin Balint.

Mendelevich’s work is “an extraordinary testament. It tells us that nothing can kill the human spirit,” Beckerman says. “Even living in a totalitarian regime, where his basic rights were denied, Mendelevich managed to rise to great heights of bravery and faith. He recounts his story beautifully and powerfully. It is impossible not to be moved by the resilience of his Jewish soul.”

It was to this Jewish soul, the spirituality that frames Mendelevich’s whole existence, that most impressed me when I met him last year in Jerusalem.

This sentiment is reflected by Mendelevich in the follow-

ing: “Someone who called to urge me to publish this book accurately observed: ‘The value of your book lies in the fact that you have so faithfully and consistently continued to live the life you began all those years ago.’ He was right. If I were to honestly ask myself, ‘Are those values you believed in — the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel — still significant for you?’ I would answer, ‘Yes, yes, yes !’

“Not only have I not veered from the path on which I originally set out, but I have progressed along it. I have studied a great deal of Torah and, aware of how much I do not know, I wish to learn much more. I have endeavored to act for the good of the Jewish people here in Israel, and wish to do so much more. It is for this reason that I feel privileged to address Jews all over the world.”

In a special message for this essay, Glenn Richter, one of the premier leaders of the Liberate Soviet Jewry movement, writes the following tribute to his friend: “My respect for Yosef has grown over the past 41 years since we campaigned for his release from the brutal gulag.

He remains clearly focused — that the plot to hijack a small plane to fly to freedom, though doomed, was the strongest possible expression of the desperation of Soviet Jews to exit to Israel, that it galvanized Jews across the USSR to demand their freedom and free world Jews to support them — and we can never forget that sense of abiding solidarity.

“Yosef realizes that he remains a role model, and is willing to shoulder the burden, for those who wish to take their Jewish identity seriously and put practical application to their beliefs. His book shows how he thought each step of belief and then acted upon it. Sometimes the appellation ‘inspiring’ is used too loosely. In Yosef’s case, that’s just the beginning.”

At the conclusion of a recent interview in the OU’s “Jewish Action Magazine,” Bayla Sheva Brenner asked Mendelevich the following question: “As a Jew who believes in hashgachah pratis, why do you think G-d deemed that Yosef Mendelevich be born in communist Russia and find a way to blossom as a Jew in that environment?”

To which Mendelevich replies: “I have no explanation, but I am thankful to the Ribbono Shel Olam for having selected me for this mission. It is the reason I wrote my book, to show how, with the help of G-d, it is possible for even an assimilated Jewish boy living in communist Russia to find his Jewish soul. It is my hope that the next generation of Jews will read the book and think, ‘If a simple Jew like Yosef Mendelevich could do it, I can too.’”

Let me conclude by stating that we all can only respond with a hearty Amen to these heartfelt sentiments. As a student of Marxist communist ideology, I can only marvel at the fortitude that Mendelevich represents to all of us.

Our faith deserves this commitment and we, in turn, must dedicate ourselves to further observance to the tenets of our faith in G-d, equally both in ethics and ritual.

The Kosher Bookmark

The Menorah’s journey, and films from old Poland

D

r. Dov Levitan of Ashkelon College and Bar Ilan University has penned a most learned essay themed to last week’s Torah reading of Bha’alotcha entitled, “On the Connection Between the Menorah and the Land of Israel.”

“The importance of the menorah in the context of the land of Israel is evidenced by the numerous places it was used as a motif in ornamentation of synagogues in Israel in the time of the Mishnah and the Talmud,” Dr. Levitan teaches. “Historical and archaeo-

Alan Jay Gerber

logical research indicates that only after the destruction of the Second Temple did the sevenbranched candelabrum become a widespread Jewish emblem of great symbolic significance.”

Today, we all know that the Menorah as depicted on the Arc of Titus in Rome is the centerpiece of the coat of arms of the State of Israel. This, according to Dr. Levitan, was adopted to symbolize the return of the menorah to the land of Israel, thus further underscoring the close connection between the Menorah and the newly re-

born Jewish state after 2,000 years of exile.

“A straight line runs from the making of the Menorah by Betzalel ben Uri [as described in Shemot] through this week’s reading, which tells of the Israelites completing their preparations for the trek towards the land of Israel,” Dr. Levitan writes. All the rest is history.

Please Google “Bar Ilan Parashah” for more selections and options.

The YIVO research center has issued a notice informing of the video installation of an exhibit entitled “Letters From Afar,” at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, through Sept. 30.

The exhibit will be based on home mov-

ies by Jewish immigrants in America visiting their hometowns in Poland during the 1920s and 30s. The films, which they carried back to America, were preserved to this day, some of the only motion pictures of pre-war East European Jewry now available, providing us with a snapshot of the diversity and richness of Jewish life in interwar Poland.

For more information, you can visit www. jewishmuseum.org.pl My Last Word: For some fun and light reading, check out The Brooklyn Paper’s report, “If Knishes could tawk: Documentary explores the New York accent” by Jaime Lutz [http://bit.ly/119QrzE] and enjoy.

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