JEWISH STAR
TheJewishStar.com
Lech Lecha • Oct. 19, 2018 • 10 Cheshvan 5779 • Torah columns pages 20–21 • Luach page 20 • Vol 17, No 40
Marilyn Monroe’s siddur Cedarhurst auction set Cedarhurst’s J. Greenstein & Co. is putting up for auction a siddur that belonged to actress Marilyn Monroe. The opening bid on Nov. 12 will be $4,600. Monroe converted to Judaism in 1956, prior to marrying Jewish-American playwright Arthur Miller. The couple divorced five years later, but Monroe continued to maintain to Rabbi Robert Goldburg of Congregation Mishkan Israel in New Haven, Conn., who oversaw her conversion and marriage, that she was still committed to being Jewish. The actress seems to have put the siddur to use. The auction notes say it contains writings that are “apparently in her hand” and that the spine is nearly detached. The cream-colored edition of The Form See Monroe on page 12
Serving our Orthodox communities
Tefillin’s a lifesaver Scientific study affirms what Jews already knew Jewish men who wrap tefillin as part of their daily morning prayers may also be protecting themselves from the worst effects of heart attacks, a study found. A pilot study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine found that regular users of tefillin, or phylacteries, may receive cardiovascular health benefits through remote ischemic preconditioning — that is, briefly restricting blood flow and oxygen to the heart and then restoring it. The results of the study were published last month online in the American Journal of PhysiologyHeart and Circulatory Physiology. The study involved 20 Jewish men from the Greater Cincinnati area including nine who wore tefillin daily and 11 who did not. Wearers wrao a leather strap is tightly around either the right or left arm for about half an hour during morning prayers six days a week, often tight enough to leave grooves in the skin for a few minutes after they are removed. They are not worn on Shabbat.
Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar helps a young man wrap tefillin during a trip to France in 2015. Yachad
The researchers measured participants’ vital signs, drew blood for analysis of circulating cytokines and monocyte function and also measured blood flow in the dominant arm, which is not
wrapped with the tefillin. Blood flow was higher for men who wore tefillin daily and improved in all participants after wearing it just once as part of the study. The study was headed by Jack
Rubinstein, UC Health cardiologist and associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease. He said in an article posted on the university’s website that the binding of the arm and the discomfort users often report may serve as a form of preconditioning and offer a substantial degree of protection against acute ischemic reperfusion injury — when a section of the heart is deprived of oxygen and then damaged when re-oxygenated — that occurs as a result of a heart attack. Ischemic preconditioning essentially mimics the effects of exercise by placing the heart and vessels under light stress. “We found that people who wear tefillin in either the short or long term, recorded a measurable positive effect on their blood flow. That has been associated with better outcomes in heart disease,” Rubinstein said. Israeli studies have shown that Orthodox men have a lower risk of dying of heart disease compared to non-Orthodox men. — JTA
3 upstate schools bar Jew-hater Great Necker gets his letter from MU
Three colleges in upstate Poughkeepsie have banned an individual who is suspected of hanging fliers that blame Jews for sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on their campuses. Fliers with anti-Semitic messages appeared last week on the campuses of Vassar, Marist and Dutchess Community colleges. A male was discovered putting up the fliers on Marist on Monday and identified by the police, according to a Vassar statement. The individual was not arrested because “the wording of the fliers did not rise to level of hate crime,” Town of Poughkeepsie Police Capt. Kevin Farber told JTA.
College officials said the person has been banned from the three campuses. The fliers also appeared on two campuses at the University of California, Berkeley and Davis, and at two organizations in Iowa. “Every time some Anti-White, Anti-American, Anti-freedom event takes place, you look at it, and it’s Jews behind it,” the fliers read. They show an image of Kavanaugh surrounded by caricatures of Jewish members of the U.S. Senate with Stars of David drawn on their See Banned upstate on page 12
A 20-year-old from Great Neck, one of several students affected by the BDS-driven recommendation-letter boycott at the University of Michigan, may have finally gotten his letter. Lucy Peterson, a UM graduate student instructor, had said she’d be happy to write a letter when asked by junior Jake Secker. But after she learned that Secker was
applying to study at Tel Aviv University, she changed her tune. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t ask before agreeing to write your recommendation letter, but I regrettably will not be able to write on your behalf,” Peterson, a teaching assistant in Secker’s introduction to political theory course, wrote in an email to Secker. “Along See Michigan on page 10
In time for Aliyah Day, 30 new olim In advance of Israel’s celebration of Yom HaAliyah on Tuesday, a diverse group of 33 Americans made aliyah on a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight. The flight that landed at Ben Gurion Airport carried new immigrants from nine states and all walks of life, ranging from young students to retirees. They will reside in communities throughout the country and work in professions such as biotech, engineering, education, media, business and psychology. The group also
includes individuals who have already made significant contributions to Israel, including a man who helped establish a microelectronics laboratory for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Yom HaAliyah acknowledges aliyah as a core value of the country and celebrates the contributions of immigrants to Israeli society. It’s “an important and inspiring opportunity to appreciate how olim have shaped Israel’s culture, economy and national character and remind us all to appreci-
ate the miraculous times we live in,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-Founder and executive director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. The NBN flight was arranged in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL) and the Jewish National Fund-USA “Our olim will have a transformative impact on Israeli society through community-building, innovation, and other outstanding and diverse contributions.”
Gabrielle Agus from New York was one of 33 new olim greeted on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport this week.