Hanan Porat remembered Page 2 Mel Gibson’s Maccabee film Page 4 When a caterer fails the test Page 11 Eating by your children Page 14
THE JEWISH
STAR
VOL 10, NO 39 ■ OCTOBER 7, 2011 / 9 TISHRI, 5772
Divorced? You don’t have to go it alone
WWW.THEJEWISHSTAR.COM
Vote for our local heroes on Federation website By Sergey Kadinsky The Facebook-driven election is on, with a wide variety of candidates vying to top the chart of this year’s Jewish Community Heroes, a contest sponsored by The Jewish Federations of North America. Among the 306 contenders are nine from Long Island, ranging from a challah baker to a collector of shoah survivor stories. Lawrence resident Lori Marton, who is currently in second place, was nominated for the Ohel Sara Amen Group, which takes place daily in her home. “Mrs. Marton’s daughter was not well, and so we met to learn about shmiras lashon in her zechut,” said founder Judy Rubin. “It was a very intimate circle of women meeting for 10 days of teshuvah, and six years later we are still here.” The online poll is in its third year, inspired by CNN’s Heroes, which profiles “everyday people changing the world.” While Marton’s home features lectures for women, Woodmere resident Marla Turk stuffs boxes at her house with challah rolls, bound for exotic destinations such as Afghanistan, Djibouti and Iraq, to be eaten by Jewish soldiers on Shabbat. “My mother took it to another level, sending matzos on Pesach and Shaloch Manos on Purim,” said Adam Turk. “She buys it herself,
By Sergey Kadinsky The attendees at a lecture for Orthodox single parents were shy initially, but conversations developed, as they spoke of greater acceptance of divorcees in the community. “It’s coming together, people who have gone through tough divorces seeking to give back by guiding people undergoing divorce in peace and maintaining their families,” said Benny Rogosnitzky, who organized a lecture last Sunday in Brooklyn. A cantor at Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue, Rogosnitzky is also a divorced father of three children. “Acceptance is going to take a long time, but it starts with self-acceptance, knowing that there are good fathers and mothers.” he said. FrumDivorce.org, a group of Orthodox consultants that guide divorcees through the process, sponsored the lecture. It is not alone among such groups. Divorced Chevra keeps a website forum and a Facebook page with a variety of topics discussed. As one example, Shayna asks about her ex-husband, who still has her prayer books. Responses range from making a list and hiring a lawyer, to moving on and purchasing new books. More immediate concerns include what to do with the children on holidays, where responses also range from “avoiding them” to “asking my mother to babysit.” Rogosnitzky said that such online forums help observant single parents find support. “We take our collective experiences and offer guidance so that children suffer as little as possible.” Speaking at the FrumDivorce event, Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff said that with children, divorced parents are compelled to have a long-
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Shabbat Candlelighting: 6:09 p.m. Shabbat ends 7:07 p.m. 72 minute zman 7:39 p.m. This Shabbos is Yom Kippur
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