October 28, 2011 - The Jewish Star

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What inspires Jewish violence? Page 4 Giant tallit by Great Neck couple Page 10 Rav Carlebach on the parsha Page 12 Honoring Muslim shoah rescuers Page 17

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VOL 10, NO 41 ■ OCTOBER 28, 2011 / 30 TISHRI, 5772

Jewish “Occupy” protesters keep presence beyond Sukkot

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HAFTR pair named Siemens semifinalists By Jeff Bessen B and Sergey Kadinsky A pair of HAFTR seniors was among the nalists in the 2011 Siemens Competisemifinali Math, Science & Technology held tion in M 21. Wade Miller and Erich Hirsch on Oct. 2 the use of graphene and graphene studied th oxide as a potential substitute for stem body tissue. cells in replacing re for the material is a body Their source s part that is often removed and discarded dentists. “When you have it as simple as by dentist having a wisdom tooth removed, it is less pain and less risk of injury and infection,” Hirsch said. sai Currently, stem cells are taken patient’s body, which is an expenfrom the p procedure. sive and invasive i “The two components graphene and “Th graphene oxide are very interesting, graph putting them together is the perand p fect opportunity for research,” Miller said. said His project with Hirsch is titled, “The “Th Growth and Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells Plated on De Polymer Scaffolds Containing GraPo phene and Graphene Oxide.” p Former Lawrence High School student Paul Masih Das, who diss covered a new method of making c graphene, inspired their study g topic. Das was a 2010 Intel Scit ence Competition finalist, is in e the t process of getting a patent on his h research. Both groups of students worked under the guidance of w Rebecca Isseroff, the science reR

By Sergey Kadinsky Amid the cacophony of drumbeats, rhyming protest chants and spirited debates, an outspoken activist blogger vows to keep the Jewish presence in downtown Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park beyond its highly publicized Sukkot. “We have a traditional egalitarian minyan and we will continue with Shabbat dinners as long as we can,” said Daniel Sieradski, 32, a self-described “Orthodox anarchist,” with a long resume of social causes and online campaigns. The Brooklyn resident catapulted into national headlines on Sept. 30, a week into the Occupy Wall Street protest, by organizing an outdoor Shabbat potluck dinner, which was then followed a week later by Kol Nidrei where the reddish-bearded Sieradski donned the kittel, amid a crowd of 1,000 protester worshippers. Sieradski’s wife Morissa brought vegetarian cholent and his mother Jennette Friedman supplied challah for the praying protesters. “My mother and father in Teaneck are going through foreclosure and I am going to bat for my parents,” Sieradski said. “This is what it means to be an eved Hashem.” Chabad of Wall Street donated the initial pop-up sukkah as a non-political gesture to promote religious observance, but with a growing crowd, Sieradski later brought in a larger sukkah, complete with a portrait of legendary Jewish anarchist Emma Goldman. “If I can’t dance with a Torah, it’s not my revolution,” Sieradski writes on his Facebook, paraphrasing Goldman. Jews Racial and Economic Justice, the

Continued on page 2 Photo by courtesy of HAFTR

HA HAFTR seniors Wade Miller and Erich Hirsch.

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Shabbat Candlelighting: 5:28 p.m. Shabbat ends 6:38 p.m. 72 minute zman 7:08 p.m. Torah Reading Parshat Noach This Friday and Shabbos are Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan

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HAFTR pair’s stem cell project Continued from page 1 search coordinator for both high schools, and were directed in their research by Dr. Miriam Rafailovich of Stony Brook University. The students conducted experiments this past summer with other local high school and college students as well as with scientists, on the campus of Stony Brook. The students worked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, living in dorms with their colleagues. “It was good to be among the like-minded, where everyone is involved in the research,� Miller said. An interest in biomedicine prompted Hirsch’s involvement, and as he moves on to college, his curiosity about research and medicine could combine into a future career. “Research is very difficult, but very rewarding,� he said. “It is a very collaborative effort with different people in different areas of science.� Hirsch has yet to narrow down his college choices. Miller has chosen University of Pennsylvania as his college. The Siemens Competition is a nationwide annual research competition in math, science and technology for high school students, administered by the College Board. The top participants receive college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 in individual and team categories. This year, an all-time record of 2,436 students registered for the competition, submitting an unprecedented 1,541 projects. Though the HAFTR students were not among the four finalists from Long Island, they learned much from the experience, and Isseroff noted that this is just the beginning. “There are a lot of exciting applications to their research,� she said. One other local resident, Daniel Goldsmith of North Shore Hebrew Academy, also secured a finalist spot for his topic, A Novel Search for Topological Charge Fluctuations in the Quark Gluon. Plasma

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October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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3 THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Opinion Rethinking the Shalit exchange

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can still see his eyes and his twin- a tear at the thought that the ankling smile as I walked him to the guish and suffering of this family, bus, with his rucksack over his who have become the family of an back and a pair of ‘kafkafim’ (show- entire people, will finally end. er shoes) tied on and dangling from But this poignant moment is a piece of string. coming with a terrible price. No less It was Sunday night, the first than a thousand terrorist prisoners, week of June 1982 and once again many with blood on their hands, Israel was at war. After incessant will be released. And the atrocities shelling from the PLO in Lebanon they collectively perpetrated are forcing the people in northern Is- some of the most horrific terrorist rael into their bomb shelters all actions in the history of Israel. These are the men who helped weekend, Israel had finally had enough. At 5 a.m. on June 5, IDF plan and execute the Sbarro’s pizforces crossed the border into Leba- zeria bombing murdering 15 innon. That evening, Rav Amital z”l, nocent civilians and wounding an the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har additional 130. They blew up buses Etzion strode into the study hall at and university cafeterias, murderthe beginning of the evening study ing children and grandparents with session, banged on the lectern, an- not a second thought, killing hunnouncing, “All fourth and fifth year dreds, wounding thousands and students should head back to their leaving tens of thousands of parents rooms and pack their gear. In half siblings, children, wives and close an hour buses will be coming to friends behind to mourn the loss of their loved ones, and contemplate a take you north.“ The silence in the study hall life forever changed by the refusal was palpable; our friends and com- of a fanatical band of murderers to rades were going to war. I was still a accept even the possibility of living greenhorn American, barely a year in peace with a people that have in the country and a full year away never wanted anything more than from my own IDF service. I walked to bring light into the world and live in peace with their back to the dorms to say neighbors. goodbye to a few of my FROM THE HEART This is not the first Israeli friends. OF JERUSALEM time Israel has released Twenty minutes lata large and disproporer, Zack Baumel came tionate number of terrorout of his room with his ists in order to bring our rucksack and shower boys home. We did it to shoes, and the inconget back what turned out gruity of it puzzled me. to be the bodies of Eldad I asked him, “Why do Regev and Ehud Goldyou need those if you’re wasser in the aftermath going to war?” Zack reof the Second Lebanon sponded,“ Are you kidWar, as well as much ding? These are the most earlier in exchange for important things you kidnapped Israeli citizen can take to the army!” Elchanan Tannenbaum. That was the last Rabbi Binny But the first instance of time I saw Zack BauFreedman such an exchange actumel. I distinctly rememally took place in 1984 in ber walking him to the bus; remember waving goodbye what was known as the ‘Jibril deal’. In exchange for bringing home and seeing his grin flash one more time from the bus window, and re- a few live Israeli soldiers and bodmember wondering what was really ies, including Hezi Shai, who was Zack Baumel’s tank commander, waiting for him. A few days later, Zack’s tank Israel for the first time negotiwas hit in a battle with Syrian tanks ated, through intermediaries, with and commando forces near Sultan Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front for Ya’koub, and although we know he the Liberation of Palestine, releasescaped the tank alive, along with ing 1,050 prisoners. Among the reTzvi Feldman, neither of them have leased was unrepentant Lod Airport Massacre perpetrator Kozo Okabeen seen or heard from since. They, along with Israel’s other moto, and future Hamas founder MIA, Yehuda Katz, who also went Ahmed Yassin. I still remember the late Yonah missing in the same battle; Ron Arad, an air force navigator shot Baumel’s stance on that deal. Even down over Lebanon in 1986; Guy though his son was still held prisonHever who went missing on the Go- er, he was vehemently against the lan heights nearly 15 years ago; and deal, believing that it would open Omar Souad, taken in 2001, are the up a Pandora’s Box that would give forgotten Israeli soldiers who are terrorists free license to kidnap Israelis in general, and Israeli soldiers very much on my mind this week. G-d willing, this week, in the in particular. If anyone had the right to an midst of the festival of Sukkot, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, held captive by Hamas opinion, it was certainly Yonah since his brazen abduction in 2006, Baumel. And yet, one wonders if his will finally come home. There is not position against negotiating with be a Jew anywhere on earth who terrorists (or at least agreeing to does not smile and even hold back completely lopsided exchanges) lest

Photo by Frash90

Released Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit is welcomed home by Defense Min. Ehud Barak, Prime Min. Benjamin Netanyahu, and his father Noam Shalit. a line be crossed, might well be the reason that his opposition no longer applies. After a number of such prisoner exchanges, the deterrence no longer exists. Yet, we have crossed a new line this time, as the nature of the terrorists we are releasing includes a large number of murderers with actual blood on the their hands, and suggests that we may be releasing individuals who will absolutely kill again. And of course, there is the fact that leaders of Hamas have already declared that they absolutely plan to kidnap more soldiers seeing that Gilad Shalit’s kidnapping produced such wonderful results from their perspective. Some suggest that it is important to bring Gilad back home as IDF soldiers need to know that no matter what, the State of Israel will do everything to bring them home safely, and that this is important as it affects the morale of the soldiers. And yet, my son-in-law, currently a sergeant and headed for officer’s course in the elite reconnaissance unit of the Israeli paratroopers, upon hearing this suggestion at our Shabbat table this week, asked indignantly in whose name this argument was offered. After all, over the past 5 years, while Shalit has been in captivity, the percentage of recruits signing up for combat units in the IDF has actually gone up. And he remarked that he knows of not a single soldier who decided not to join a combat unit due to the story of Gilad Shalit. If anything, the opposite is true. And just to complicate things even further, there are the theological questions. It is interesting that the large majority of the religious right wing in Israel is vehemently against this exchange for reasons expressed above (though they will be as happy as everyone else for the Shalit family). And yet, specifically from the religious perspective, one might contemplate an entirely different position. After all, it seems this exchange will happen, so it

must be G-d’s will. And in the end whatever tragedy may, G-d forbid, occur at the hands of these terrorists in the future, must also be the will of G-d, or else it would not happen. And of course, there is the fact that a Jewish soldier being held captive for five years is a terrible hillul Hashem, in which case freeing that soldier must be a kiddush Hashem. Unless of course one considers the fact that Hamas held out and got what Israel said it would never give, which is itself a huge hillul Hashem, demonstrated by the huge celebrations in Gaza, and the various despots lining up to congratulate Hamas on bringing Israel to submission, all of which of course is a tremendous hillul Hashem. In short, one does not envy the Prime Minister who has to make such decisions, and I envy those who can say with absolutely certainty that they know what the right decision is in this case. There is one more thing worth considering, which for some reason we seem to be missing, and that is, especially going forward, the way Hamas and our enemies perceive our actions, and what can and should be done as a deterrent, to ensure these scenarios do not continue to plague us in the future. Unfortunately, we have been dealing with our enemies based on the way we see things. But that just does not match up with the way they see the world. In many Jews’ and Israelis’ perspective, the fact that we are willing to release 1,000 prisoners just to get one man, demonstrates our value of life as paramount and above all else, and the fact that we are willing to cross our own red lines, bespeaks a genuine desire for peace and compromise, and a love for each individual soldier as if he were our own. What strength of character we have! But that is just not the way they see it. In the Arab worldview, Hamas held out and got us to capit-

ulate, demonstrating our weakness. It is not accidental that the first Intifada started after Ehud Barak offered the most far reaching concessions any Israeli Prime minister had ever offered, as well as unilaterally pulling out of Lebanon, and the most intense and protracted missile barrage from Gaza came after we pulled out of Gush Katif. Going forward, perhaps another piece of wisdom shared with me by Yonah Baumel is worth contemplating: In the 1980s there were numerous kidnappings of foreign citizens in Lebanon. Most notable amongst them was the Rev. Terry Anderson, an American held in captivity for eight years; three of them with a sack over his head and chained to a wall in a shed like an animal. Yonah shared with me that around the same time; the Amal Militia in Lebanon kidnapped two Soviet diplomats. But the Russians do not think like Westerners. The very next day, the Russians kidnapped two Amal commanders, and sent a box to Amal headquarters in Beirut with two index fingers and two ears, and a message saying the Amal militia would receive two new body parts every day until they ran out of body parts, and then they would kidnap two new Amal commanders and start over again. The two Russian diplomats were released the very next day. Makes me wonder whether we need to re-think the box we have opened, and at least going forward, start to deal with our enemies in ways they can understand. Rav Binny Freedman, Rosh Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem’s Old City is a Company Commander in the IDF reserves, and lives in Efrat with his wife Doreet and their four children. He is a survivor of the Sbarro’s pizzeria bombing in Aug. 2001. His weekly Internet ‘Parsha Bytes’ can be found at www.orayta.org

October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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Opinion Editorial

What inspires Jewish violence?

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ow do individuals appearing committed to Torah learning and tradition, find justification to firebomb a private residence in New Square, smash bookstore windows in Jerusalem, and vandalize a girls’ yeshiva in Ramat Beit Shemesh? In a recent Ami Magazine interview, former Edah HaCharedit spokesman Rabbi Shmuel Pappenheim, described these zealots as inspired by Pinchas, the biblical hero who massacred a Jewish prince for having an affair with a gentile woman. The sages praised his act, in restoring honor to the nation. But these days, honor killings are more likely to appear among isolated Pashtun tribes in Waziristan rather than the heart of Jerusalem. Likewise, the Torah allows for numerous other harsh punishments, and brings down numerous plagues, famines, sieges, and natural disasters on the sinful. Throughout the centuries, Torah scholars understood that these punishments came not from human hands, but from a Creator who outlined in detail the principle of middah k’neged middah. In the absence of prophets, the sages codified the Oral Law, which takes a merciful direction. Sanhedrin 41a states that the death penalty was taken away from Jewish courts by the Romans, and without a Sanhedrin, rabbinic courts lack the authority to impose capital punishment. Likewise, the written order for parents to execute a rebellious son is tempered in Sanhedrin 71a, “There never was, nor will there ever be, a child who meets all of the legal qualifications of the ‘wayward and rebellious son.’” If you are looking to exterminate the remnant of Amalek, Berakhot 28a states that the clear identities of descendants of ancient biblical nations have been lost over

It is clear that for Jewish vigilantes, the Palestinians are their leading inspiration. time. Considering the leniencies prescribed in the oral tradition against violence, where do the modern-day zealots find their justification? Less than an hour from Meah Shearim, Arab neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem have secured their de facto independence through years of successful rioting. The Israeli police do not dare enter these areas. In exchange for tire burning, rock throwing, carjacking, kidnapping, bus bombings, and massacres, the Palestinian Arabs have secured an Olympic team, an observer status at the United Nations, a police force, an internet domain, and other trappings of statehood, all with the implicit consent of Israel. Feeling ignored by the state, the extremist minority that was outvoted in a democracy, they burn trash bins, vandalize mosques with “price tags,” smash windows of modern Orthodox businesses, force women to cover up, sit in the back of buses, and banish them from public life. They curse, impose, intimidate and traumatize. In short, they witnessed the rise of Hamas as it developed from a small cell of zealots into the government of Gaza. Soon enough, entire sections of Israel could become autonomous areas ruled by the modern-day Sicarii. It is clear that for Jewish vigilantes, the Palestinians are their leading inspiration. Lost in their zeal are the words of Yirmeyahu. “Do not go in the way of the nations.”

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Letters to the editor On the Shalit release time to rejoice and a time to cry. The return of Gilad Shalit after 5 1/2 years of incarceration in a Hamas dungeon in Gaza is something we have been praying for since the day he was brutally kidnapped. No one with a heart of flesh can deny being moved to tears of joy for Gilad Shalit and his family. But there is another perspective on this both qualitatively and quantitatively disproportionate prisoner exchange. It can be asked to any opponent of this exchange, “what would you do if you were Gilad Shalit’s parents”? One has to be grateful not go through this ordeal. But perhaps, there are some like Roi Klein who have the greatness of soul to put the nation’s interests above their personal interest. Or perhaps there are some who would lobby hard for their son’s release and hope (knowing in their heart of hearts) that the answer will, and should be, “NO.” The PM of Israel contradicted his own writings when he agreed to this deal. He suddenly found religion and quoted the Gemara that one soul in Israel is the equivalent of the world and the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim. Perhaps Ehud Olmert was a stronger leader when he refused to make such a deal because the price was too high? The Supreme Court refused to consider the appeal of the families of the victims of terror (“not our business”). But apparently approving the Gaza disengagement and the destruction of Jewish (not illegal) homes in Migron was their business to uphold? In the end we do see the greatness of Am Yisrael. We celebrated the life of a kidnapped soldier. The people in Gaza celebrate the return of murderers. Perhaps the Gilad Shalit return was too loudly celebrated in Israel. Perhaps it should have been muted in light of all the counter concerns? In the end it was appropriate for Succot. It was a Kohelet day: a

Rabbi Heshie Billet Woodmere

“Occupy” rallies pervert Jewish values It is true that Judaism encourages giving and care for the needy and holds charitable practices in the highest esteem, but primarily as it remains a social responsibility in the hands of the individual, as opposed to the government. As majority leader Eric Cantor told a Jewish audience recently at an Upper West Side synagogue, “a bureaucrat in Washington can’t make as effective a decision about charity, as you can.” The most productive, Jewish and impactful path that authentic activists with charitable concerns can take, is in the private sector. Perhaps all this energy and exertion should be directed towards the establishment for example, of a grassroots support organization that grants financial aid to struggling artists or writers like Jeanette Friedman, or partners corporate giving programs within large pharmaceutical companies with those that are in the greatest need of medical aid. Additionally, initiatives of this innovative nature are effective, pro-active and cut out the waste and red tape associated with the federal charity of Washington that is being called for. The Jewish solution is certainly not government imposed. It calls for activists to encourage “genuine willingness on the part of those who gain to ensure that the losers also benefit,” and to appeal to and inspire the spirit of charity as a personal obligation through effective and creative private sector programs. Dovid Efune Director, Algemeiner Journal Brooklyn

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ADL and AJC put progressive politics before Israel throwing the Jewish state to the wolves. Many Americans feel this is the most antiIsrael administration in the 63-year history of the Jewish State. Although the prose in their pledge is tame, its purpose is to isolate Jewish groups who wish to point out the failings of President Barack Obama’s policy towards Israel. These organizations have a vested interest in ensuring that the Jews continue to vote Democratic and re-elect this president. They fear losing access to he White House. These two groups never opened their mouths when Jewish groups disinvited Sarah Palin from an anti-Ahmadinejad rally in 2008, fearing that she will divert many Jewish votes away from Obama. When Obama invited the anti-Israel group J Street to presidential meetings, the Zionist Organization of America was disinvited because unlike the rest of the leading secular Jewish organizations, the ZOA is conservative. The ADL and AJC stood silent, rather than for bipartisanship, as an important organization was thrown out of the White House. Perhaps the AJC doesn’t really believe in the progressive politics it eschews and simply wants to “go with the flow,” their history is marked with a desire to stay under the radar. When European Jews were dying at the hands of the Nazis, the AJC discouraged open talk of the Holocaust, fearing that ac-

tivism would create an anti-Semitic backlash. This was documented in Naomi Wiener Cohen’s book Not Free to Desist: The American Jewish Committee, 1906-1966, published in 1972. From 1949 to the Six Day War of 1967, the AJC described itself as “non-Zionist,” fearing in supporting the newborn Jewish state; it would inspire charges of dual loyalty in the United States. As for Abraham Foxman and the ADL, they have never shied away from politics before, as long as it is progressive politics. In recent years the ADL has: ■ Supported partial birth abortion. In 2008, urging both parties to adopt a prochoice stance in their presidential platforms. Does Abe Foxman realize that not all Jews hold pro-choice views? ■ Condemned pro-Israel Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders as an extremist for advancing a conspiratorial anti-Muslim agenda.” ■ Issued a “White Paper” promoting the progressive on the Tea Party movement. ■ Refused to recognize the anti-Semitism present within Occupy Wall Street, until Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com embarrassed it into recognizing this fact. The ADL and the AJC have interesting ideas about bi-partisanship. If it supports their leadership’s goals of maintaining their prominent position in the American

progressive movement, it’s just fine. For Foxman and other leaders of major Jewish organizations, a progressive domestic agenda is a higher priority than the safety of Israel. Matt Brooks of the Republican Jewish Coalition put it well: “An open and vigorous debate on the questions confronting our country is the cornerstone of the American electoral process. Allowing the American people to see where candidates stand, pro and con on critical issues, is the hallmark of our free and democratic political system. For this reason, the RJC will not be a signer to this pledge…This effort to stifle debate on U.S. policy toward Israel runs counter to this American tradition. Accordingly, the RJC will not be silenced on this or any issue.” Jewish Americans, indeed all Americans are not as stupid as these groups think, they will see through the ADL and AJC attempts at stifling debate. Soon enough, bigtent groups created a century ago to represent all American Jews will be reduced to mere shadows, financed by secular philanthropists, but will little popular support.

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

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f you don’t support Barack Obama, shut the heck up!” That appears to be the message of the leading secular Jewish organizations, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in a joint statement released on Tuesday asking Jews not to make Israel a political Issue: The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish ComPOLITICO mittee have joined toTO GO gether in an effort to encourage other national organizations, elected officials, religious leaders, community groups and individuals to rally around bipartisan support for Israel while preventing the Jewish State from becoming a wedge issue in the upcoming campaign seaJeff Dunetz son. Join the ADL and AJC in taking the “National Pledge for Unity on Israel” -- and sign our pledge. Israel is at a crucial point in her history, surrounded by terrorists who are appeased by most of the world, and a president who, because of incompetence or intention, is

THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Opinion

Parshat Noach

Looking Out For Myself for one another, in good times and especially in bad times. They’ll talk about how the community is a “makom Torah,� and a model of chesed. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,� they say. Some might even express where they’d never want to live because, “We don’t want to be like those people.� But the story of the Tower of Babel is meant to tell us that it’s not about what your community can accomplish. Many communities, in fact, do a lot of good. Each community looks out for its own. The downside of the Tower of Babel group is emphasized particularly in contrast to an individual named Abraham, who chose to make a name for G-d, instead of making a name for his community. He worked on himself in order to sanctify G-d’s name, rather than focus his attention on the trimmings of his neighborhood. Now that the holidays are behind us, let us ask ourselves in what way we are working to sanctify G-d’s name – both as communities, and even more as individuals. It’s nice that we have shalom zachars. But why are rabbis the only ones who prepare the divrei Torah to share? It’s nice that we have long shabbos meals, but why do spend the entire time chatting, perhaps remembering to say a “quick dvar� right before bentching, in place of filling our shabbos tables with songs and a vibrant discussion of the parsha? It’s nice that our children speak at their bar and bat mitzvahs. But why does half the speech need to contain a gratuitous “roast� of siblings instead of a sophisticated thought that parent and child worked on together that shares a powerful message for speaker and participants? Let us aim to bring our children into adulthood, rather than encouraging them to demonstrate how childish they can be. It’s nice that the communities we live in support causes, Torah, chesed. But wouldn’t it be even greater if every individual participated in these support efforts, not just by saying “I’m a fan,� but also by showing up, rolling up sleeves, and getting involved? Our communities can have whatever reputations they’ve developed or will develop. But our goals as individuals should always be, as Hillel said, “To look out for myself.� If I don’t make the effort to break away from the coattails of others to create my own good name, to sanctify G-d’s name myself, and to continue to grow in a spiritual way, “Who will be for me?�

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he Tower of Babel story teaches many lessons. Arguably the most blatant problem in the story is that the goal of the people involved was to “make for ourselves a name.� (Bereishit 11:4) Unified they were, but to what end? Hillel said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?� (Avot 1:14) Avot D’Rabi Natan explains this to mean “I am my own best advocate.� For a person to be successful, the initiative to make a good name must come from within and must be followed with precise actions that will help achieve such a goal. How could this be a problematic aim for the builders of the tower? The answer lies in its purported intent. It is one thing to stand up Rabbi Avi Billet for oneself and to make a personal growth chart guided by distinct benchmarks of “what I need to achieve to be the best I can be.� It is an entirely different matter to put the vital interests of our community above those of other individuals and the world as a whole. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes, “The community complements the individual, but only if the community assumes the same attitude toward G-d as the individual should; that is, if it subordinates its will to G-d. “If the community declares, ‘We want to demonstrate the powers inherent in the community’ without calling in G-d’s name; if the individual is called upon to be a servant of the community, but not to serve G-d; if the community presents itself as an end instead of as a means to an end– then mankind’s whole moral fixture is lost.� While Rabbi Hirsch may have been addressing the dangers of communism (he lived at the same time as Karl Marx), I think we can springboard off his division between the community and the individual to create a new paradigm for what individual growth can look like. Over the course of many travels and shabbats spent in different cities and towns, I have found many people quite dedicated to their communities. Many talk about how “everyone here is so nice.� They’ll talk about the distinguishing character of their shul, or the “chevra� they have, or how people look out

L o n g Is l a n d’s Fa s t e s t Grow i n g , Fu l l Se r v i c e L a w Fi rm

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October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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A Jewish newspaper should have a Hebrew column. So here it is. We will try to maintain a level of vocabulary so that it will be easy enough for students to read and interesting enough for those more fluent to enjoy.

THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Hebrew only please!

Mitzpe Hila 2011: rejoicing with trembling By Rabbi Noam Himelstein

Rabbi Noam Himelstein studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion and served in the Tanks Corps of the IDF. He has taught in yeshiva high schools, post-high school women’s seminaries, and headed the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Melbourne, Australia. He currently teaches at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem, and lives with his wife and six children in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion.

The Jewish Star newspaper (Long Island, NY)

Re-Elect

LEGISLATOR HOWARD J. KOPEL Howard Kopel isn’t a professional politician. He’s a local businessman who ran for the County Legislature two years ago, promising to make the tough decisions necessary to cut spending, reform Nassau’s assessment system, and reverse the habit of endless tax hikes that were making Nassau unaffordable for our working families and seniors. Here’s what Legislator Howard J. Kopel, our community advocate, has accomplished for us: Supported two consecutive no tax increase budgets Cut county spending over $170 million Turned a $134 million deficit inherited from the previous administration into a $26.6 million surplus in his first year in office. Worked to eliminate the unfair 2.5% tax on home energy and electricity Eliminated unnecessary patronage jobs and cut the size of the county workforce to its lowest levels since the 1950s Stopped annual reassessments and made it easier for residents to grieve unfair and incorrect property value assessments

Re-Elect Legislator Howard J. Kopel

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Jewish protesters dismiss anti-Semitism charges Continued from page 1 Park Slope-based Kolot Chayeinu, and the gay synagogue Beth Simchat Torah cosponsored the sukkah project. Among the few Orthodox speakers speaking at the sukkah was Uri L’Tzedek Director Rabbi Ari Weiss, who spoke on the Jewish commitment to social justice. “One can be Orthodox and engaged in social justice. We should not penalize the wealthy, but the poor are getting poorer and this is something that we have to protest,� said founder Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz. As Sieradski promotes the message of economic equality, he is also shaking off allegations that the protest movement contains anti-Semitism. “There is this shmendrick who runs around with a sign ‘Zionists control Wall Street.’ We chase him around but the police said that he also has a right to be here.� The image of this protester has been circulating around the internet, boosted by politically conservative groups opposing the protest movement. “This is not a group rooted in anti-Semitism, but whenever you have group envy, discontent and scapegoating, it often lends itself to anger at Jews,� said Rabbi Aryeh Spero. “We’ve seen historically that with class warfare, they look at Israel, see a successful country and feel envy.� Taking the political opposite of Sieradski, the Great Neck resident founded Caucus For America, which seeks to combat what it perceives as growing secularism and socialism in the administration of President Barack Obama. “There is a certain selfishness here. They want guaranteed jobs and wages, it’s a romantic anarchy,� Rabbi Spero said. On the last of the Chol Hamoed days, Sieradski welcomed Brooklyn City Councilman Brad Lander to the sukkah, where he spoke on affordable housing. Unable to secure a loudspeaker permit from the police, the demonstrators repeated each of Lander’s sentences in unison. Amid the speech, Rev. Jesse Jackson strolled by, clasping hands with Lander. “We have the power to make this a better world,� said Rev. Jackson, who has his own past of troublesome remarks about Jews. At the rally however, he spoke of the Jewish role in the

Photo courtesy of Occupy Judaism Facebook page

Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander shares common cause with Rev. Jesse Jackson at the protesters’ Sukkot gathering. civil rights movement, including New Yorkers Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in 1964 while registering southern blacks to vote. Looking into his own community, Sieradski called on supporters to take hold of their local Jewish organizations. With

their leaders often being those with the deepest pockets, Sieradski argues that many Jewish organizations lack democracy. “We have to ‘Occupy Judaism’ and hold our Jewish leaders accountable,� Sieradski said. “The greatest tzedakah comes with no strings attached.�

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October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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9

By Ariel Rosenbloom

What does the homecoming of Sgt. Gilad Shalit mean to you? “The release is a wonderful thing. It has been a long ďŹ ve years. I will continue to daven for the remaining people still held in captivity and that Gilad will be able to make a full physical and mental recovery from his experienceâ€? KEVIN SEIDLER Teacher Plainview “It shows me how loyal the Jewish people are to one another and how important a Jewish soldier is.â€?

STEPHANIE WEPRIN Student Queens College Jamaica Estates

“I’m relieved that he’s home, yet I feel that his freedom came at too high of a price. 1,027 terrorists are too many to be released for one Jewish Israeli soldier.�

“I think it’s great that one of our brethren is back home and I pray that those that were traded for him live out peaceful lives.�

MICHAEL ARYEH Student Queens College Cedarhurst

MICHAEL ROZENTAL Photographer assistant “Picture This� Cedarhurst

“It’s a very big tragedy. They could have gotten him out without letting loose a thousand murderers. The rebbe said you shouldn’t give back one inch of land. This is just piling one tragedy on top of another.�

“It shows how much a Jew is worth versus a Palestinian.�

RAANAN ISSEROFF OfďŹ ce manager Brooklyn

STEPHANIE JERET Chef Lawrence

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THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Mensch on the street

Creative tallit covers Simchat Torah in Great Neck By Sergey Kadinsky The Great Neck Synagogue had a colorful Simchat Torah this year, with a huge tallit cloth held up by six poles in the main sanctuary, the work of local couple Ina and Isaac Greszes, in memory of Ina’s father Charles Frankel. “My wife is a graphic designer and I’ve worked with fabrics all my life,” Isaac Greszes said. “We combined out know-how.” The holiday of Simchat Torah was always special for Frankel, who bought the Kol Hanearim aliyah each year at his Chicago synagogue. In the decade since his passing, Greszes, a gabbai at the synagogue’s beit medrash minyan, has purchased the aliyah for himself, in memory of Frankel. About five years ago, the shul came to Ina and Isaac, asking them to purchase a giant tallis, in lieu of their usual donation, to enhance the young children’s Simchat Torah experience. “In the past, members would tie their talleisim together to create a large tallis,” Greszes said. “In this two year process, we reached out to 25 shuls between New York and Los Angeles, but their designs did not really encompass what we and our shul are about.” Ina drafted a design centered on the Beit Hamikdash with a colorful set of buildings facing it. “For us, Jerusalem is our central focus and from there you see different neighborhoods,” Greszes said. Once the design, manufacturer, and size were finalized, the tallit project was announced to the congregation at the shul’s annual dinner. The project proved successful, contributing to one of the highest-grossing fundraisers in the shul’s history. “Over 120 different

Photo by Emma Greszes

The enormous Kol Hanearim tallit honors a family’s patriarch while uniting numerous donors who made it possible. families are named in the dedication, that’s over 600 names on the tallit,” Greszes said. Donations for the project ranged from $50 to $36,000. The donors’ names seamlessly wrap around the central image, imposed on an arch brick design that frames the image on the giant tallit. “It was a joint project of so many in the shul, spearheaded by Isaac and Ina,” said Rabbi Dale Polakoff.

Further boosting the connection to ancient Jerusalem, the 18 by 18 foot tallit has techelet fringes hanging from each of its four corners, covering dozens of excited children during the holiday service. “It was a wonderful service. The children were looking up, searching for their family names,” Rabbi Polakoff said. The strong sense of family unity for Greszes is also evident in his family firm’s name,

Charles G. Bailey, the Midtown Manhattan fashion design showroom. “Charles is my father-in-law, and also the name of my son,” Greszes said. “Bailey is the bechor, he had the aliyah this year. And the G is our last name.” Rabbi Polakoff said that the tallit enhanced the service, fostering unity among the participating members. “Just as the tallit envelops the wearer, this tallit connects all of us.”

October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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By Sergey Kadinsky The stage is askew and sounds of seagulls squawk at the off-Broadway Castillo Theatre, where Dan Friedman’s “The Learning Play of Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak, Son of Sara, of Berdichev,” takes the setting of a deck aboard a late 19th century steamer heading to America, with four Russian Jews representing the religious spectrum between socialism and Orthodoxy. In the play, the four characters act out stories related to the famed rabbi in resolving conflicts between the Jewish responsibility to other people and the commitment to religious observance. In one such story, a teamster seeks advice from the rabbi on balancing work and religion. “My need to earn a living gets in the way of my service to G-d,” the teamster says, to which Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak replies, “You serve the Lord with your wagon just as good as you learning the Talmud.” At this point, the socialist, portrayed by Ben Prayz, triumphantly concludes that ritual is not the main point of serving G-d. Sean Singer, who depicts an Orthodox baker, rebuts the socialist’s conclusion, leading into another story play from the rabbi’s life where a drunk water carrier appears in the rabbi’s dream, receiving a greater blessing for his Passover observance than the great rabbi. Seeking to find out why, he summons the wasserman to his home for a conversation. Throughout the story sketches, a silent fifth character played by Belarus native Dmitri “Zisl” Slepovitch, weaves through the background. An apparent counterpart to the unseen fiddler from the universally renowned Fiddler on the Roof, Slepovitch gyrates with his clarinet, conveying the mood of the debate among the four passengers. Slepovitch is the musical director of the Folksbiene Troupe, the remaining Yiddish language theater group in New York. Moshe Yassur, who also hails from the alte heim, directs the play. Born in Iasi, Romania, Yassur began his career as a Yiddish actor before making aliyah. He currently splits his time between New York, Israel and Romania in his role as a theater director.

Photo courtesy of All Stars Project/Castillo Theatre

A full spectrum of Jewish views rock the boat in “The Learning Play of Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak, Son of Sara of Berdichev” Respected by religious and secular Jews alike, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak was best known for expressing the positive aspects of even the least religious Jews. An example cited by Chabad’s brief online description speaks of the rabbi encountering a Jew smoking in public on Shabbat. When the rabbi asked the smoker whether he was aware that he was committing a sin, the smoker answered that he was aware of this fact. “Lord of the universe, see the holiness of your people,” Rabbi Levi

Yitzhak declared. “They’d rather declare themselves sinners than utter a lie!” The play can be seen on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. until Nov. 10 at Castillo Theatre located at 543 W. 42 Street in Midtown Manhattan. Tickets are $35 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased through the box office at 212-941-1234 or at www.castillo.org.

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THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

The Berdichever goes Off-Broadway

The Kosher Bookworm

Reb Shlomo’s Torah legacy

R

abbi Shlomo of Kartin said: “If you want to raise a man from mud and filth, do not think it is enough to keep standing on top and reaching down to him a helping hand. You must go all the way down yourself, down into mud and filth. Then take hold of him with strong hands, and pull him and yourself out into the light.” Here’s another one, “When you tell stories about holy people, and you tell other people there are holy people in the world, it fills you with joy.” Elie Wiesel, the Nobel literature laureate also has a word on this week’s author. “He would suffer with those who suffered. A lover of loving, he would never offend the person to whom he was Alan Jay Gerber speaking. Where others might use argumentation and recrimination, he preferred praise. I never once heard him speak ill of another, even of those who cared a little less for him.” These words reflect upon one of the most charismatic personalities of previous century in Judaism. A rabbi, whose unique manner and method help save Judaism from the decay of a decadent civilization that surrounded us. Now, once more, the treasure that is Reb Shlomo’s legacy is to be found in a new work, “The Torah Commentary of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach” by Urim Publications. The first volume of the upcoming series has Rabbi

Shlomo Carlebach’s commentary on the first six parshiot of Sefer Bereishis contain perhaps among the most human and humane oriented takes upon the sacred divine text, thus truly enhancing its meaning and teachings. In his foreword to this work, Rabbi Shmuel Intrator notes the influences of the following rabbinic figures behind Rabbi Carlebach’s work. “His teachings hold a depth that weave eternally through a tapestry of multi-layered interpretations and applications. This perspective to Torah study he inherited from his great master, Rav Aharon Kotler, the founder of the Lakewood Yeshiva, whose brilliant lectures are world renowned for their highly developed detailed Talmudic pilpul study. “Reb Shlomo’s breadth of Torah and life scope, evident in many of his teachings, are an approach to Torah study that he learned from Rav Shlomo Heiman, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vadaath who preferred a broader, more inclusive approach to a more detailed, developed one. “Reb Shlomo’s application of sophisticated Talmudic and Halachic approaches to spiritual Chassidic and Kabbalistic concepts are clearly influences of his close apprenticeship with the last Lubavitcher Rebbe.” These influences coupled with the teachings of Ishbitz and Breslov, all came together and are reflected in the Torah teachings that are to be found in this newly issued work of

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Reb Shlomo’s Torah teachings. As an example of these teachings consider the following sampling from this week’s Parshat Noach. “Reb Nachman and all the Rebbes say that G-d never said, ‘Let there be water,’ so where did the water come from? The truth is that the water is the one thing, which is between before and after creation...” Water is very pure; water is absolutely very pure which means in a certain deep way, water is untouched by creation. It’s created and yet it’s not created. So the thing is that obviously, the way the world was evolving ‘after creation’ was absolutely polluted, so G-d began pulling back. He didn’t destroy all creation but He went back half a step.” In another teaching this in regard to prayer we learn the following, “You know why Noach didn’t pray for the world? Noach believed in G-d. He understood that G-d created the world, and now G-d wants to destroy it. So people are bad and there is nothing to do about it, they have to be wiped out. If someone is evil, then you got to destroy them. “You know friends, if someone says to me, ‘I bought ice-cream for twenty-five cents and I don’t like it, I want to throw it out,’ I‘m not crying over it. “If someone says to me, ‘ I bought something for a hundred million dollars and I want to throw it away,’ I say, ‘please don’t do this.’ “See what it is… Noach didn’t know what the world is, he did not know how precious

Songwriter Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach the world is. Yes, he knew that it was a beautiful world. He knew there is one G-d, but, mamesh knowing what the world is all about, how deep the world is, how deep every human being is? This he didn’t know.” I conclude this essay with the following observation by Rabbi Intrator. “The teachings in this book are not just meant to be read, but they are intended to be enjoyed and experienced as ‘holy music’. Ultimately they are intended as a lesson to live a ‘holy life.’” Indeed, for those of us who enjoyed Reb Shlomo in life, these pages of learning will bring us back to the memories of the cadence of his voice in both prose and song. To those of you who never experienced him on the pulpit or stage kindly please obtain this work in the month to come and learn the first half of Sefer Bereishis as you never learned it before. For more information on this and future publications in this series you may want to check out www.CarlebachLegacy.com

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Photo courtesy of Misaskim

Misaskim entertains 600 local orphans On the breezy shore of Manhattan Beach, bus loads of local children who have suffered the loss of a parent, were entertained by athletic acrobats from Flippenout Productions. The show was part of a day filled with activities, including a tour of a Coca-Cola bottling plant, kiddie rides, and a concert by the Ari Teitelbaum and the Shira Choir, alongside Shloime Daskal. Misaskim provided transportation and logistics of the event. Photo courtesy of HAFTR

HAFTR students celebrate Gilad Shalit’s release through song

Photo courtesy of Chabad Center for Jewish Life

Merrick Chabad “occupies” fall street fair

HAFTR Middle School students gathered to watch a slide show and were read one of Gilad’s letters to his parents while in captivity. The seventh grade girls sang Arik Einstein’s “Now That You Are Here,” a song written specially for Sgt. Shalit upon his release. The Middle School assembly concluded with the Israeli national anthem.

Coinciding with Chol Hamoed Sukkot, the village of Merrick had a street fair on Oct. 16. With temperatures cooling and leaf colors changing, Rabbi Shimon Kramer wore a sweater, handing out calendars, brochures and literature to nearly 200 passersby. Unlike the Wall Street protesters, Chabad’s “occupation” of Merrick Avenue ended on the same day.

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THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Photos of the week

Local news in brief

ON THE

Calendar

Gourmet Glatt to host benefit for kidney donors

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

The gift of saving a life through a safe surgery at no cost has been the task of Renewal since 2006, with 127 transplants to the credit of the Brooklyn-based nonprofit. To pay for the cost of the operation for donors, the Gourmet Glatt supermarket in Cedarhurst is holding a food and wine tasting event on Nov. 1, where supporters can taste a variety of creative kosher products while learning about the valuable work of Renewal. “It is a gift that gives life and the procedure is safer than a hernia surgery,” said Renewal founder Mendel Reiner. “There are absolutely no financial reimbursements, it is done in total altruism through newspaper ads.” Renewal posts the age and blood type requirements in Jewish community newspapers, and pays for the donor’s lost wages and out of pocket expenses related to the surgery. Insurance covers the surgery of kidney recipients. For more information on this event, contact 347-228-1281 or renewal@gourmetglatt.com

“Rebbetzin Kanievsky inspired our local women to say amen”

Photo by Isabel Slepoy

Yocheved Hess, 11, and Shmoul Hess, 10, participate on stage in a performance by ventriloquist Jonathan Geffner at Yeshiva Daschei Torah in Far Rockaway.

Oct. 30 Shul honors its namesake CONGREGATION AISH KODESH of Woodmere is holding its annual Hilula for the Yahrzeit its namesake, Rabbi Kalonimus Kalmish Shapira, known as the Aish Kodesh. The event will feature the music of Yosef Karduner and the Divrei Torah of Rabbi Moshe Weinberger. The event will be at Bnos Bais Yaakov, located at 613 Beach 9 Street in Far Rockaway. The event begins at 9:00 p.m. For more information and sponsorships, contact Elliot Blumenthal at elliot.blumenthal@bipc.com or (516) 457-7893.

Nov. 1 Food & Wine for Renewal GOURMET GLATT EMPORIUM, the kosher supermarket located at 137 Spruce Street in Cedarhurst, is hosting a food & wine tasting event to benefit Renewal, the Brooklyn-based nonprofit that coordinates kidney donations in the greater Orthodox community. The event runs from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Funds raised at the event will be used to provide financial assistance to kidney donors and education programs on kidney donations. For reservations, contact 347-228-1281 or renewal@gourmetglatt.com

Nov. 2 On Jewish humor ELMONT JEWISH CENTER, located at 500 Elmont

Road in Elmont is hosting author Prof. Kenneth Libo, who will be speaking on the topic “From Tummler to Top Banana,” on the role of Jewish humor in American culture. The free event is cosponsored by New York council for the Humanities. Dr. Libo is an adjunct history professor at Hunter College. The program begins at 8 p.m. For more information, contact 516-488-1616.

Nov. 6 Martial arts for Kulanu KULANU, the nonprofit serving special-needs children in the Five Towns community, is hosting a Punch and Kick-A-Thon fundraiser where children and adults may participate in an hour-long session of punches and kicks guided by Warren Levi Martial Arts and Fitness. The cost is $18 per person. The event begins at 11 a.m. at 620 Central Avenue in Cedarhurst. For more information, contact 516-569-3083.

On Oct. 15, a renowned inspirational figure in the Orthodox world died. Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, 79, was known for welcoming countless women into her home seeking blessing and advice. The Bnei Brak resident was related to leading Orthodox rabbinic figures of recent times, a daughter of Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv and wife of Rab-

Ongoing Bat Mitzvah classes DRISHA INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH EDUCATION is now offering a Bat Mitzvah program at Congregation Beth Sholom, located at 390 Broadway in Lawrence. Titled “Our Mothers, Ourselves,” this five-week class for mothers and daughters ages 11-13 will explore different personalities of women in the Tanakh from both pshat and drash perspectives. The class will also discuss the significance of becoming a Bat Mitzvah and how it relates to these prominent women. The classes will take place on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

bi Chaim Kanievsky. For women in the Five Towns, she was the inspiration behind the Ohel Sara Amen Group. “There were lines of people outside her door and she welcomed them with compassion, taking down their names for tehilim,” said Rabbi Dovid Weinberger of Lawrence, the spiritual advisor for the Amen Group. “She davened vasikin early every morning with a group that responded in amen to each other’s brachos and some of our local women brought this concept home.” Rabbi Weinberger spoke with Rabbi Elyashiv on the merits of this concept, which he strongly endorsed. Though Rebbetzin Kanievsky never visited Lawrence, she was familiar with its Amen Group. “She knew them all by name and always asked me how they are doing.”

Merrick Chabad’s festive Sukkot week

Rabbi Shimon Kramer’s Chabad Center for Jewish Life, which serves the communities of Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh, hosted local residents in its sukkah tent between the holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Joining the festivities was comedian Richard Morris, entertaining the crowd as they noshed kosher pizza. On Simchat Torah, Chabad students seeking a career of shlichus are known for walking long distances to celebrate with smaller Jewish communities. This year, nine yeshiva students staying at the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s ohel in eastern Queens walked 12 miles to Merrick, visiting the local Chabad and other nearby synagogues. “No matter their affiliation or lack thereof, anyone in our community is welcome and can feel comfortable at Chabad programs,” Rabbi Kramer said.

starting on Nov. 13. For more information, contact inquiry@drisha.org

Exploring Haftarah for women CONGREGATION KNESETH ISRAEL, located at 728 Empire Avenue in Far Rockaway, is hosting weekly haftarah lectures for women sponsored by Machon Basya Rochel Seminary, with Vivienne Chaya Frank. The classes take place every Tuesday at 1 p.m. starting Oct. 25, at the cost of $12 per class. For more information, contact 718-355-8900.

Nov. 12 Jews in the Civil War YOUNG ISRAEL OF HILLCREST, located at 169-07 Jewel Avenue in Hillcrest, is showing the film “Jewish soldiers in Blue & Gray” by the National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis Univ. The film presents the stories of the 10,000 Jewish soldiers who fought in the American Civil War. The free event is co-sponsored by State Assemblyman Rory Lancman and Queens Jewish Community Council. The free event begins at 8 p.m. For more information, contact 718-969-2990 or 718-544-9033.

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October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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15 THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Ask Aviva

Unable to attend this simcha My husband and I are in our late seventies and are proud grandparents. Our first grandchild just became engaged to a lovely young man. They are planning on marrying in Israel in a few months. I cannot attend, since I am responsible for taking my husband to dialysis and caring for him. Our children or grandchildren help out the few times that I am not able to take him, but all of our family will be at the wedding and I do not feel that it would be right to leave him with someone who is unfamiliar with his situation. I have been dreaming of my granddaughter’s wedding from the time that she was a very young child and cannot come to terms with this concept of not attending. -Caring Caregiver

Dear Caring Caregiver, First of all, Mazel Tov—the first grandchild’s wedding is a very exciting time! I think that it is very admirable that you are not ready to give up your duties temporarily. It is a testament to the fact that you deeply care for your husband. My concern is that you don’t end up resenting it afterwards. So in order to do that, we have to help you come to terms with it before it happens and help you own your decision. First step: Rule out all other options. It’s time to get creative and flexible. One idea that comes to mind is utilizing these few months until the wedding to find someone whom you can train and trust to do the job. I personally benefitted from this type of situation after I had my youngest child. I never trusted anyone to care for my babies until they were old enough to go to playgroup and never dreamed of leaving someone else in charge even for an hour. Unfortunately, I was in a critical medical state while expecting my youngest and needed help with the baby after he was born. I was very present in the house, though physically not 100%. During those months, I showed the woman how I run things, how I parent, and she followed my lead. After some time, I trusted her enough to leave her in charge a few hours during the week and started working outside

of the home. Could I trust her completely? No. I couldn’t trust anyone in that position completely. But I definitely felt comfortable since we had a few months history: I could hear her when she thought I was napping, I would watch her from the window if she took my kids outside, etc. So if you were able to find someone now and train them, and have neighbors checking in on them while you are gone (in between the reminder phone calls that you are making,) would you feel comfortable leaving? If not, that’s fine. I just want you to realize that it would be you holding yourself back, not your husband holding you back. And that is fine as well. If you decide not to go, you still need to actively do what you can to come to terms with things. Can you please read my first sentence again? Notice that I did say that it is an exciting “event,” instead I framed it as an exciting time. This means that you can be part of this momentous occasion without attending the actual party. Get involved and tag along. (With the permission of the bride and her mother.) Go with them to look at invitations, weave through Bed Bath and Beyond while clumsily scanning items for the bridal registry. Don’t offer your opinion unless asked, but be there. These memories cannot replace seeing your granddaughter under the chuppah. However, shopping, planning and choosing with Babby over a span of a few months are far more valuable and cherished memories for a granddaughter than dancing with you at her wedding as her friends keep shoving in to show off the shtick. Not to mention the headpiece comb that’s digging into her scalp and the train she keeps tripping on. That is if she can even remember more than an eight of a second of her wedding. And, the best part of being in your late seventies is living in the early 2010’s—get all dressed up and Skype will transport you! -Aviva Aviva Rizel is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice that can be reached at 347-292-8482 or AvivaRizel.MFT@ gmail.com. She is a resident of Far Rockaway.

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Dear Aviva,

October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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Photo by Corey Adwar

Descendants of rescuers, local Muslim leaders, and top Albanian UN diplomat Ferit Hoxha, spoke on the rescue of Jews in the Balkans during the Holocaust.

Muslim shoah rescuers honored By Corey Adwar When a Muslim family in Yugoslavia protected its Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust, the family had no idea that Israel would rescue them from genocide during the Bosnian War 50 years later. But that is exactly what happened for one Muslim family, and a descendant is now telling her remarkable story, on a visit on Oct. 16 to Glen Cove. Sara Pechanec, the daughter of Muslim rescuers during the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia, spoke to a large crowd at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County in an event coinciding with the BESA: A Code of Honor special exhibit. Although Pechanec was born after the war, she related the story of how her mother, father and grandfather sheltered a Jewish family, even though the headquarters of the German Gestapo was located across the street from their home. When her grandfather obtained false documents for the Jewish family, they were able to leave Yugoslavia freely. After the Nazis learned that he had assisted Jews, Sara’s grandfather died in a concentration camp. In the 1990’s, Pechanec lost her home and wealth during the brutal siege of Sarajevo. The Israeli government and Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust memorial – secured the transit of Sara’s family to the Jewish state in 1994, including her mother, husband, and young daughter. Israeli politicians Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres each delivered letters stating that the Muslim family could re-

main in Israel for the rest of their lives without conditions. Now, Pechanec marvels at how kindness and sacrifice can be repaid in successive generations. “It’s our children and grandchildren that build the bridge of friendship and tolerance and help the people that need help,” she said. Pechanec said it was hard at first to come to a foreign country. Nevertheless, she wanted to make Israel her permanent home because its people were the only ones willing to help her family when she had no other friends left to turn to. She then made the surprise choice of converting to Judaism. “The rabbis asked me ‘Why do you want to become a Jew? You haven’t enough problems in your life?’” Pechanec said half-jokingly. But she was passionate about the Jewish faith. “If you love something and you want to be a part of it, it’s not difficult,” Pechanec said of her desire to convert. In terms of how strict she is in her practice of Judaism, Pechanec describes herself as belonging to the middle of the spectrum – somewhat conservative but not as much one could be. She emphasized that a steadfast belief in G-d should matter more than the different ways

in which people express that belief. Pechanec currently works at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and her daughter is an officer in the Israeli Air Force. Pechanec and her siblings represent three countries and three religions, with a Christian brother in Mexico City, and a Muslim sister in Sarajevo. But her family represents only one of the many cases in which Muslims helped Jews during the Holocaust. Other speakers at the Holocaust Center on Sunday included Qemal Biçaku, a descendant of Albanian Muslim rescuers who saved 26 Jews. After the war, Biçaku’s grandfather and uncle were jailed and tortured by Albania’s strict communist regime for maintaining contact with those Jews who had since settled in other countries. Israel’s Yad Vashem awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations to both Pechanec’s and Biçaku’s families, which is an honor bestowed upon non-Jewish Holocaust rescuers. Dr. Anna Kohen, the daughter of rescued Albanian Jews and the President of the Albanian American Women’s Organization, also spoke at the event. Her parents fled to a nearby Muslim village, where they were sheltered in a Muslim home and took on Muslim names until the end of the war. Even though

“The rabbis asked me ‘Why do you want to become a Jew? You haven’t enough problems in your life?’”

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Dr. Kohen says everyone in the village knew her parents were Jewish, no one ever informed the Germans of their presence. In Albania, the term for helping strangers in need, even at the risk of one’s own family, is known as Besa. In Albania, Besa is a tradition and code of conduct that transcends differences such as religion and ethnicity. Ferit Hoxha, the top Albanian diplomat at the United Nations, described the importance of Besa in Albania’s culture. There was no history of anti-Semitism in Albania before the war, and all of the Jews there survived the Holocaust. Albania was the only country in Europe that had Jewish population growth during the war, as many Jews fled there in order to escape persecution. Hoxha said that one reason why more people aren’t aware of the rescue of Jews is because Albanians who practice Besa don’t feel that they have done anything out of the ordinary. “They were not looking for attention, they just behaved as their code of conduct, education, and humanity dictates.” Another reason cited by Hoxha is the long post-war period of communist rule, which isolated Albania and forced its citizens to keep quiet about their past. Dr. Faroque Khan, a founding member of the Islamic Center of Long Island, introduced some of the Albanian Muslims at the event. He said the same principles of Besa also exist throughout the Muslim world and have their origins in the Quran. “This is true jihad. They were practicing the tenets of the Muslim faith.”

17

By Rachel Blinick and Daniel Elefant The fierce debate between Rep. Michelle Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry over using executive power to require young girls to be vaccinated against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) raises a very interesting question for all Americans to ponder. If state and federal governments use their power—not to mention the law—to intervene in public health related issues, is that a “violation of liberty interest� as Bachmann called it or do we view it as a necessary measure that would be considered public good? This question runs deep through every demographic across the country. Indeed, can we draw a clear boundary where our lawmakers should not cross in the name of public health? On the one hand, most agree on the requirement for public school children to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP). However, there are many who question the extension of such requirements to HPV vaccines—those that protect women from certain cervical cancers—because of the social and moral impact such vaccinations might have on young teenage girls, as well as the potential destruction of parental choice to which this could lead. There are serious public health risks that require immediate federal attention, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was established to address such risks. But, there are also those for which governmental intervention could qualify as “violation of liberty interest.� Obesity-related health conditions place a

financial pressure on our healthcare system to the tune of over $150 billion dollars a year, more than all types of cancer combined according to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. In an effort to ease this pressure, a number of elected officials have proposed a tax on sugary beverages. Republican Sen. Shane Cultra has even proposed a tax on parents with obese children, and suggested removing these children from their parents’ custody and placing them in healthier foster homes. Have the skyrocketing rates of obesity and related diseases such as diabetes become so out-of-control that we must now revoke the freedom of some individuals to protect themselves and their children? Among the states, the highest obesity figures in 1990 were less than 10 percent. By 2010, the lowest obesity rates jumped to 20-24 percent and the highest rates topped 30 percent. So, there is clearly cause for national alarm and action. Nevertheless, many would argue that any legislative measure infringes on the rights of the healthy. To be sure, must they be taxed on the occasional treats that they enjoy just because their obese neighbor might be a walking time bomb? This obesity debate evokes vivid memories of a time when there were smoking sections on airplanes and tobacco companies ruled the billboards and television screens. Back then, and still to this day, there are ongoing discussions about whether or not the government is getting too involved in trying to solve the problem, thereby crossing lines that step on “liberty interest.� Recent studies testify to the tremendous decline in smoking across the country, seem-

THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of healthiness

RACHEL BLINICK

DANIEL ELEFANT

ingly a direct result of increased taxes on cigarettes and the millions of dollars in anti-smoking advertising campaigns. But others argue that the drop in smoking rates is the result of education, which raised an increased awareness of the health risks. The over arching question remains: when is it absolutely necessary for governmental intervention on behalf of the public good and when is it our duty to tell government to mind its own business? The only apparent distinction we can draw is that when a particular group of people or organizations can be held responsible for a severe impediment on

public health, only then should we be willing to forgo carefully selected freedoms that will directly bring our health back to order. Until further research is done and more ethical conversations are held, it is very difficult to justify the government’s “violation of liberty interest.� Rachel Blinick and Daniel Elefant are copresidents of the Yeshiva University Student Medical Ethics Society and will present a conference on Jewish Perspectives on Public Health on Nov. 6th. For more information visit www. yumedicalethics.com.

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October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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19 THE JEWISH STAR October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772

Teens on NCSY’s JOLT volunteering at a soup kitchen in Israel. JOLT is one of NCSY’s nine meaningful and fun summer programs.

How to inspire your teenager in 42 days or less You’ve invested time and money instilling Jewish values in your children. But are they passionate about being Jewish? This summer, they just might be.

One thing we’ve learned along the way: nothing inspires, motivates and builds teens like an NCSY summer. That’s because NCSY Summer is built on a simple mission - provide Jewish teens with a growth-oriented, meaningful and fun summer. It starts with our staff and advisors. We have a simple philosophy: hire the best. That means positive and relatable role models who care about each teen and want to make a difference in their life. Those that can lead a learning group with teens in the morning, play sports

with them in the afternoon and hang out with them at night. We view summer as the ultimate growth opportunity. It’s when teens are free to make their own choices. And when you put them in a growth-oriented environment with positive reinforcement, they learn to make the right choices. In the summer, during the year and for the rest of their lives. After a summer with NCSY, teens come back feeling more connected to their heritage, more appreciative of Shabbat, more committed to davening and more in love with Israel. Because when you take teens and give them a chance to run a camp for unaffiliated Jewish children in Austria on JOLT or learn in a beit medrash

with Rav Hershel Schachter on Kollel, they rarely ever see things the same. Years later, past participants look back on their summer as a turning point in their religious and spiritual growth. And quite often, the best summer of their lives. Last summer, the parents and grandparents of 890 teens chose to send their kids on an NCSY Summer Program. This summer, let us show you what we can do for your child in 42 days or less. After all, you deserve it. Learn more about NCSY’s nine unique summer programs and register before 1/2/2012 at www.ncsysummer.com. To request a brochure, email summer@ncsy.org or call 212.613.8167.

NCSY is the youth movement of the OU.

498305

A

t NCSY, we understand Jewish teens better than anyone. Because we work with them 365 days a year. And we’ve been doing it for 56 years.

“When I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at 27, Dr. Hodyl not only helped save my life … she changed it forever.” Dr. Christine Hodyl’s caring approach to lifesaving breast cancer surgery had a life-changing impact on survivor Kristine Smart, who is now studying to become a radiation oncology nurse because of her experience. A leading breast surgeon, Dr. Hodyl removes the tumors alongside a team of plastic surgeons, conserving as much of the breast as possible and providing immediate post-mastectomy reconstruction, giving patients hope and renewed dignity with the utmost in personal, compassionate care.

Kristine Smart Breast cancer survivor & radiation oncology nursing student, West Hempstead

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October 28, 2011 • 30 TISHRI, 5772 THE JEWISH STAR

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To schedule an appointment with Dr. Hodyl, call 877.SOUTH.NASSAU or visit www.southnassau.org for more information. Christine Hodyl, DO, FACS Director of Breast Services SOUTH NASSAU COMMUNITIES HOSPITAL

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ONE HEALTHY WAY, OCEANSIDE, NY 11572

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877-SOUTH-NASSAU

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WWW.SOUTHNASSAU.ORG

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