December 13, 2103

Survivors and their photos at JCC 3 This week’s parsha 4–5 School news 8 THE 5 Towns Calendar 13

THE JEWISH VOL 12, NO 48 Q DECEMBER 13, 2013 / 10 TEVET 5774

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5 Towns yoetzet tackles mikveh myths

By Malka Eisenberg In her role as Five Towns yoetzet halacha, Lisa Septimus is working to dispel some of the myths associated with taharat hamishpadcha (laws of family purity).

Discussing “Ten Myths That Stand Between You and the Mikveh,â€? before an audience of women at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence, Septimus dealt with “common misconceptions ‌ like regarding nidah (menstrual impurity) as disgusting, technical aspects such as how to count the seven clean days properly, and misconceptions of preparation.â€? “This is an understudied area of halacha (Jewish law),â€? she told The Jewish Star. “People are much more exposed to kashrut and Shabbat than nidah. There is a need for a

yoetzet in this area of law to further educate and encourage women to observe the laws better and understand it better, and how the mitzvah could be a more digniďŹ ed and uplifting experience..â€?

A yoetzet is a woman specially trained and certiďŹ ed to advise women in these areas.

Septimus is a Judaic studies teacher at North Shore Hebrew Academy H.S. and Rebbetzin at Young Israel of North Woodmere. She earned her B.A. at Brandeis University where she wrote her thesis on halachik solutions to the problem of agunot.

She studied at Drisha for one year on a fellowship in Jewish education and then transferred,

in its ďŹ rst year, to Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Study.

She earned an M.A. in Tanach from Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School.

When Nishmat, the Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Jerusalem, brought its yoatzot halacha proContinued on page 2

Kulanu honors Sterbas and Mandela and Zion: It’s complicated Star’s Joszef

By Ben Cohen, JNS.org In the coming days, there will be much reection on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, following the former South African president’s passing on Dec. 5. And in the coming weeks, we can anticipate a febrile exchange over his true views on Israel and the Middle East.

We shouldn’t underestimate the signiďŹ cance of such a debate. Mandela has entered the pantheon of 20th-century ďŹ gures who exercised the most extraordinary inuence over global events, touching the lives of ordinary mortals in the process.

In the 1940s, many Britons could tell you exactly where they were when Churchill delivered his famous “Blood, Sweat and Tearsâ€? speech to the House of Commons; in the 1960s, it was hard to ďŹ nd an American who couldn’t remember his or her precise location when the news of Kennedy’s assassination came through;

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and in the 1990s, it seemed, at least to me, that absolutely everyone could recall what they were doing at the moment the world learned that Mandela had been released after serving 27 years in a South African jail.

I certainly remember where I was on February 11, 1990, when Mandela ďŹ nally exited prison. Along with thousands of others, I stood at the gates of the South African Embassy in London, an imposing Continued on page 14

South African Jews eulogize ‘madiba’ Joseph recalled in leader’s push for reconciliation over vengeance Dr. Warren Goldstein, South Africa’s chief rabbi, delivered this prayer at the internationally televised memorial service for Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium.

G-d and King, who is full of compassion, G-d of the spirits of all esh, in whose hands are the souls of the living and the dead, receive, we beseech You, in Your great loving kindness, the soul of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who has been

gathered unto his people.

Remember for him the righteousness which he has done.

Remember, O L-rd, how he exempliďŹ ed the ďŹ nest qualities of your servant Joseph, about whose great leadership, generosity of spirit and powers of forgiveness, we read in your Hebrew Bible.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, was thrown into a pit with snakes and scorpions by his brothers who were ďŹ lled with hatred and jealousy towards him; and he was then sold into slavery and exiled from his father and from his home for 22 years,

many of which, due to a terrible injustice, were spent in jail.

Joseph emerged from jail to become a leader and head of government of a mighty nation, and, when he was reunited with his brothers, had the opportunity to exact vengeance and justice. And yet, Joseph, the righteous, transcended his personal pain and need for retribution by forgiving his brothers so his family would not be torn apart and destroyed forever.

So too, Oh L-rd, your servant Nelson Mandela, like the biblical Joseph, rose up from jail to become President of a mighty Continued on page 14

Friday: Fast of 10 Tevet. Shabbat Candlelighting: 4:09 pm Shabbat ends: 5:14 pm 72 min: 5:41 pm. Torah Reading: Vayechi

By Malka Eisenberg Kulanu, the Five Towns-based organization that helps children with special needs and their families, will honor three of its founding members — Jewish Star Kitchen columnist Judy Joszef and Alyssa and Leslie Sterba — at its annual scholarship dinner on Dec. 21, motzei Shabbat, at the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst.

Kulanu came together in 1999 as a peer-led support group for parents of children with physical and developmental disabilities who wanted their children to be able to be a part of the community’s Jewish cultural, social -XG\ -RV]HI and educational opportunities. They brought their concerns to local rabbis, and awareness was raised through the Orthodox Caucus Torah Ethics Project.

Kulanu partners with local synagogues and schools to provide the children — from age two through adulthood — with Jewish cultural and value-based programming. In doing so, Kulanu has opened a broad range of educational, chesed and tzedaka opportunities to the community. They also help parents deal with the daily challenges they face and facilitate their getting medical, social or educational services.

Joszef has been active in Kulanu since its founding, Continued on page 2

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Yoetzet of the 5 Towns…

Continued from front page gram to Ma’ayanot Yeshiva H.S. for Girls in Teaneck, Septimus signed up. She attended the intensive part time program of study over two years and three summers under the guidance of Rabbi Gedaliah Berger, the overseeing rabbi who teaches at Stern College.

During the course of study, the students cover extensive halachic material and “at the very end they flew us to Israel — five women — to be tested orally at Nishmat by four rabbis,” Septimus said. “It was the most nerve wracking experience in my life but exhilarating, in a positive way.”

As the yoetzet for the Five Towns, women are free to call her and ask questions pertaining to the laws of family purity and related concerns. If she knows the answer she will answer it; if not she will refer to a local rav with the perspective of the woman asking the question. If it is an issue needing a psak and requires a halachik decisor, she will approach Rabbi Mordechai Willig in Riverdale or Rabbi

Kenneth Auman of Flatbush, the dean of the American program. She noted that she once called Rabbi Yaakov Varhaftig, the dean of the Israeli program.

“I always had a love of learning and welcomed the opportunity to go back and learn seriously,” she explained.

Septmus grew up in Westchester, attended Westchester Day School, Ramaz H.S. and Midreshet Moriah. She pointed out that her thesis at Brandeis, where she majored in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, was still relevant, noting three points she covered — prenuptial agreements, the New York Get Laws, and hafkaat kedushin (annulments).

Septimus encouraged women to participate in a women’s health and halacha day planned for Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Young Israel of Woodmere.

Women with questions may contact Lisa Septimus at 516 900-2109 between 3:30 to 5 pm or between 8:30 to 9:30 pm or at 5townsyoetzet@gmail.com

Kulanu Honors....

Continued from front page volunteering on the dinner decorating committee and at Kulanu’s Camp Discovery. A pastry and personal chef, she is owner of Soiree, a party planning/catering business, and has been involved in many aspects of Five Towns life including Amit, HAFTR and the Young Israel of Woodmere.

Judy and her husband Jerry, a tax attorney, are proud parents of Yoni and Esther, Elana, Daniel, Jeremy, Yardena and Yitz, Elliot and Jordana. Her children informally launched Kulanu’s Sunday recreational program.

When Jordana was preparing for her bat mitzvah, Judy suggested it would nice to include the Kulanu kids she had been working with for many years. “Mom,” Jordana replied, “I already included them on my list, but not as Kulanu kids, but as my friends, because that’s what they are, my friends!”

Alyssa and Leslie Sterba are part of the original support group that formed Kulanu.

Alyssa has been on the Board of Directors for 13 years and is chair of the fundraising committee. She is also active in AMIT, Camp HASC, the YIW sisterhood and owns Take it Personally, a gift and toy business.

Leslie is an accountant with a private practice and volunteered his accounting expertise at Kulanu. He is also active in YIW, and volunteers for the Community Security Service Team and Tomchei Shabbos.

Garrick, their younger son, has been a Kulanu student for nine years and participated in their other programs as well. He continues to be a source of pride for friends and family

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who have watched him grow and flourish.

In her trademark way, Joszef explained how she got involved with Kulanu: “It was taking a very long time to get [Kulanu] off the ground, and one day David turned to my boys and Jordana and said, ‘Call all of your friends. Tell them to meet us at the Number Six School with balls, bats and anything we can use as bases.’ He then called parents of special needs kids and told them to bring the children.

“That Sunday morning all those years ago it was the most unbelievable ball game that I ever attended. My son helped a boy in a wheelchair hit the ball, then pushed him in his wheelchair as he rounded first, second, third and then home to the deafening cheers of the crowd. There was not a dry eye to be found. People walking by stopped and cheered with us. That was how the Sunday morning inclusion program began and that’s when I got hooked.”

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By Malka Eisenberg A display of local miracles â&#x20AC;&#x201D;35 black and white portraits of members of the Chaverim Holocaust survivors group â&#x20AC;&#x201D; was displayed during Chanukah at the Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns.

The headshots, titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dreams from Nightmares,â&#x20AC;? are the work of George Bargad Bogart, a New York photographer who comes from a family of many Holocaust survivors.

He chose to use black and white because â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is reminiscent of the time â&#x20AC;&#x201D; when the Nazis took pictures of everybody they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use color. I am trying to show that despite everything theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been through you can see in their eyes their love and lust for life and how they survived and thrived despite what happened to them.â&#x20AC;?

Several local survivors posed beside their photographs. Two of them told their stories to The Jewish Star.

Rachel Gleitman of Cedarhurst was born in 1923 in Muncacs, Czechoslavakia, one of seven children. Her brother was taken to the front for a labor brigade in 1939, a year after Hungary was invaded â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Germans â&#x20AC;&#x153;didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a hard time to convince the Hungarians how to deal with the Jews,â&#x20AC;? she said. Her father was taken in 1943, his beard cut off, and returned to them in 1944. The Jewish school was closed, they were thrown out of their home, forced to leave their possessions behind and slept on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor in the one room allotted to them.

Soon they were herded to the marketplace and marched through the city, mostly women and children since the able bodied men were taken earlier. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We could see the curtains of the homes move, faces peeking from the windows; no one came out to say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;what are you doing to these people, what did they do to you?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;?

She, along with her parents, four brothers and one sister, were packed into cattle cars and arrived at Auschwitz hungry and thirsty. They rushed out of the cars to the yells of â&#x20AC;&#x153;schnellâ&#x20AC;? by the Nazis to face â&#x20AC;&#x153;an elegant German ofďŹ cer with white glovesâ&#x20AC;? who pointed to the right or left. Gleitmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes welled with tears at the memory. She and her father, older brother and sister ultimately survived. She never saw her mother and three little brothers again.

They cut her hair and she, with a group of 500 girls, was herded into the showers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was a cement ďŹ&#x201A;oor, very clean; all of us so calm and looking up I said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;no water is coming out of there.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; We sat on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor. The doors opened and we went out and they gave us shmates (rags) to wear. (Twenty years later, after she was married and had a baby and living in the U.S., she met a woman who recounted that episode and was told

Top photos by Christina Daly, bottom photos by Malka Eisenberg

â&#x20AC;?Miracles of Lifeâ&#x20AC;? subjects pose near their photos. From left, top, Lottie and Leon Sperling, concentration camp survivors and spouses; Nathan Sobel, of Loboml. Bottom, Rachel Gleitman, Bernie Igielski, camp and death march survivors. that they were to be gassed but were saved when the mechanism malfunctioned.)

As the war drew to a close, the Nazis forced them on a death march in January 1945 and they walked in wooden clogs through densely falling snow. Fifteen girls managed to escape from the end of the column, ďŹ rst from the Nazis, then from a Polish ofďŹ cer, returning to Muncacs then to Prague and to Germany. Rachel taught Hebrew in a displaced persons camp and she met her husband there. She came to Philadelphia in 1949 and, a year later, he came and they got married. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I consider myself very lucky,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Education is the most important part; make sure to tell young people what happened. We still have to believe that there are good people.â&#x20AC;?

Bernie Igielski of North Woodmere was born in 1927 in Brezeziny, a small town near Lodz, Poland. His fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst wife had ďŹ ve children; Bernie was the second child of ďŹ ve children from his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second wife.

He said he had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;very good childhoodâ&#x20AC;? until the Nazis invaded in 1939 and they were

forced into a ghetto. He vividly recalled how ten Jews were selected to be hanged. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One was my cousin,â&#x20AC;? he said grimly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They made us watch. I remember.â&#x20AC;?

In 1941 the Nazis liquidated the ghetto.

He recalled seeing his mother holding a child in her arms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They threw the baby on the truck like sacks of potatoes, all the children, they all died. The Jews were loaded onto trucks and gassed as they drove off.â&#x20AC;? He said that about 350,000 were buried in pits in Chelmno. He remembers the Nazis throwing babies into the air and shooting them.

When he was transported to Auschwitz, Mengele diagnosed him with scarlet fever and he was quarantined in a hospital there. A Jewish doctor from Prague managed to keep him out of the selections for the gas chambers held every two days. But when he was put with 3,000 others destined for the gas chamber, the doctor from the hospital produced a paper that he was able bodied and put him on a transport to Germany. Bernie cycled through eight different camps. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t supposed to live,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Peo-

ple say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re lying.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe me.â&#x20AC;?

He was on a death march for three weeks.

Most didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t survive. Bernie was liberated by the Americans and lived in Germany, coming to the U.S. in 1948. He was drafted into the U.S. army, went through basic training in Virginia and was to be sent to Korea when a Colonel heard his life story and sent him to work at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington.

His philosophy is a positive one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more you give of yourself, the happier you are and the more you derive. I guided my life like this. You will always see me with a smile on my face. I have a lot of friends. My mother brought us up with so much love.â&#x20AC;? But, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;nothing could top what I saw. Scratch my surface and it comes out. If you live with hate it kills your kishkse (insides). Love others before you love yourself. We triumphed over our enemies.â&#x20AC;? Bernie is married and has two children.

He once spoke to a group in Tennessee to teach tolerance. He said that the listeners lined up and cried. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is what I like; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than food to a Holocaust survivor.â&#x20AC;?

1,000 at Bet El gala voice solidarity for ALL of Israel Over 1,000 people trekked to the New York Marriott Marquis last week to support the 1,300 family strong Bel El community in the Judea and Samaria region of Israel.

Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli Knesset and the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputy minister of defense, joined keynote speaker Lt. Col Ralph Peters in discussing the threats posed to Israel by Palestinian terrorist groups and the Iranian regime.

Danon voiced concern over Secretary of State John Kerryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assertion that / WR U $VVRFLDWH HYHQW FKDLUPDQ 'U -RVHSK )UDJHU ,VUDHOL 0. he will have successfully brought the DQG 'HSXW\ 'HIHQVH 0LQLVWHU 'DQQ\ 'DQRQ NH\QRWH VSHDNHU /W Israeli-Palestinian conďŹ&#x201A;ict to a â&#x20AC;&#x153;conclusionâ&#x20AC;? by sometime next year, and to the &RO 5DOSK 3HWHUV GLQQHU FRPPLWWHH PHPEHU 'U 3DXO %URG\

recent lifting of sanctions against Iran.

Peters spoke of Bet El not in terms of security or a â&#x20AC;&#x153;strategic high ground,â&#x20AC;? but rather the â&#x20AC;&#x153;moral high ground.â&#x20AC;? He characterized it and other Israeli settlements as outposts of â&#x20AC;&#x153;our civilization.â&#x20AC;?

Responding to the perception by members of the political left that Peters and those sharing his views are bigoted, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I come before you as a person ďŹ lled with prejudice! I am prejudiced in favor of civilization, I am prejudiced in favor of the rule of law, in favor of justice, in favor of the equitable treatment of women, in favor of science and progress and education, and therefore I am prejudiced in favor of Israel.â&#x20AC;?

While Peters referred to Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enemies as â&#x20AC;&#x153;barbaric,â&#x20AC;? he asserted that his bias wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t directed towards Arabs as a race but to the culture of Arab states (and among Palestinians in particular) that gloriďŹ es mass murder and thwarts any prospects for political or economic progress, or peace between Israel and her neighbors.

One of the dinnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s associate chairpersons, Dr. Joseph Frager, described the annual Bet El gala as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;premiere eventâ&#x20AC;? for American supporters of the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria.

Information for this story was supplied by Daniel Perez for Bet El.

THE JEWISH STAR December 13, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 10 TEVET 5774

JCC â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Miracles of Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feature Shoah survivors

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Yaakov and Yisrael — ‘My Son’ and ‘Your Grandsons’ T

he opening of our parsha contains narrative that seems inconsistent — “Yaakov” lives in Egypt, but the days of “Yisrael” are getting closer to his death.

After asking Yosef to swear that the burial will not take place in Egypt and will take place in his family burial plot, “Yisrael” bows at the head of the bed.

Time passes, and Yosef is told (by—?), “Your father is sick.” So he takes “his two sons with him, Ephraim and Menashe.” SomePARSHA OF one (who?) tells “YaaTHE WEEK kov,” “Your son Yosef is here.” So “Yisrael” strengthens himself and sits on the bed.

Then “Yaakov” speaks to Yosef, and through what he tells Yosef it almost seems as if Menashe and Ephraim are not present.

In short, Yosef is informed that his two sons will be viewed as Rabbi Avi Billet if they are the oldest of the 12 tribes, and that through them Yosef is receiving the double portion of the first born’s rights.

After saying this, “Yisrael” sees Yosef’s sons and puzzlingly asks, “Who are these [people]?” before he is reminded they are his grandsons and he asks to bless them. (47:29-48:9) There are numerous theories for the switch between Yaakov and Yisrael, what each name represents, and why each might be used in the context in which it appears. Many are interesting but most have an inconsistency or a flaw

(or a stretch) that makes it not worth belaboring the point.

The problems we will zero in on surround who is telling Yosef about his father, who is telling his father about his arrival, why are we told that he took “his sons” and then it specifies “Ephraim and Menashe” (talk about stating the obvious!), and what is the role of Ephraim and Menashe until Yaakov notices their presence?

The Torah tells us Yosef took them “with him,” indicating their presence should have been noted from the moment Yosef showed up, not after Yaakov has already given Yosef a blessing and instructions!

Many commentaries (Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Radak, Pesikta, Alshich) suggest that the one who told Yosef about his father’s illness, and the one who informed his father that “Yosef is here” was the same person — The “Magid.”

The announcer.

Rashi even suggests that his identity is unimportant because sometimes the Torah leaves out unimportant details.

However, Rashi also raises the possibility that the announcer is Ephraim, who spent a lot of time with Saba Yaakov (see Daat Zekenim’s fascinating “proof” for the Ephraim identification).

And the Midrash Sechel Tov uses a similar argument to suggest that it was Menashe who made the respective announcements to Yosef

and to Yaakov.

In this latter approach, whether it was Ephraim or Menashe seems to be irrelevant (in the big picture), because all it means is that Yosef hears the news and takes his informer along with his other son to visit Yaakov, and the informer subsequently announces Yosef’s arrival — or, as Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch notes, the terms “Vayaged (and he told)” and “Vayomer (and he said)” – in order not to shock the older man, Yaakov was first told Yosef was coming, and then informed when Yosef actually arrived.

The Shach suggests that when “Yisrael” bowed at the head of the bed in 47:31, he was bowing before G-d’s Divine Presence, which stayed nearby and informed him in 48:2 that Yosef was there. Netziv puts a slight twist on this idea as he suggests Yosef had sent a message that he was not coming alone – he was to bring his sons, anticipating their receiving a blessing – suggesting that his father should prepare to receive the Divine Presence.

The Alshich focuses on the terminology of “Acharei Hadvarim Ha’Eileh” (after these things) noting how the use of the word “Acharei” instead of “Achar” indicates that the promise to bury Yaakov in Canaan distinguished Yosef and opened the door for his sons to be blessed.

Much time passed between the end of chapter 47 and the beginning of chapter 48, and the promise did not directly merit the double

Yaakov continues to avoid the painful conversation of the fateful day when Yosef descended to Egypt.

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portion gifted through Efraim and Menashe, but it was all related.

Alshich raises the possibility that it was the same Divine Presence that accompanied Yisrael’s bow in 47:31 that informed Yosef that his father was sick – in other words, Yosef intuited it through Ruach HaKodesh (a divine spirit).

According to the Daat Zekenim, Yosef did not regularly visit his father, to avoid having the conversation about what actually transpired that wound him up in Egypt.

The suggestion made by Or HaChaim can help us satisfy our conundrum. He says that on the one hand “Yosef’s sons” should merit a blessing on Yosef’s merit, but on the other hand, Ephraim specifically and Menashe specifically each merit a blessing on his own right.

While it seems that Yaakov is not paying attention to the presence of Ephraim and Menashe when they show up with their father, he is aware that “Yosef’s sons” are present.

He continues to avoid the painful conversation of the fateful day when Yosef descended to Egypt, because they are not alone, and he speaks glowingly of Yosef’s sons as if in absenti, because speaking of them as “Yosef’s sons” is Yosef’s blessing.

They are only indirectly relevant to Yosef’s blessing, which goes all the way to 48:16.

When Yaakov looks at them and calls them over, though he blesses them together (in 48:20), he is blessing Ephraim the individual and Menashe the individual.

We see differences in the relationships Yaakov/Yisrael had with his son versus with his grandsons. The roles of the players here indicate the truth of the statement of Mishlei 17:6, “Children’s children are the crown of the aged, and the glory of the children is their fathers.”

Columnist@TheJewishStar.com

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December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

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O

f all the unexpected visitors I ever received, none even come close to the surprise I got in the summer of 1994.

I was teaching a course on Jewish values deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania, near Indian Orchard, at Camp Moshava. We were in the middle of an intense discussion on Jewish ethics, when I noticed three men standing at the entrance to the lodge. Their features were Far Eastern and they were standing patiently at the door, taking it all in.

You must understand, we were really FROM THE HEART in the middle of noOF JERUSALEM where. The group of teenagers sitting before me was part of a very special group of kids who had been chosen to join a Jewish experience away from all the hustle of computers and cell phones, television and stereos.

I couldn’t imagine how these three fellows had ended up here.

Rabbi Binny “Where are you Freedman from?” I asked.

“We come from Tibet, though we are living in Nepal right now.”

What really shocked me was their next question: “Are you Rabbi Freedman?” I was amazed. They were actually looking for me, having arrived all the way from Tibet!

It transpired that they were followers of the Dalai Lama who, along with 80,000 followers, was forced to flee Tibet in the early 1950s, when the Chinese had taken over their country and destroyed the infrastructure of their Tibetan religion.

Recently, they had begun coming to terms with a new challenge. Having lived in exile for nearly 50 years, a new generation was coming of age who had grown up in India and never saw Tibet. So they were trying to figure out how to keep the dream of Tibet alive, in the hearts of their children who had never seen or experienced, the homeland they still longed for.

So the Dalai Lama decided to consult the experts. Who better to explain how to stay connected to a land in exile, than a people that managed to retain a dream over 2000 years, finally realizing their goal and coming home after nearly 50 generations?

The Dalai Lama then sent more than 300 students all over the world, to major Jewish organizations, particularly Zionist youth camps, to ask for help to learn how to respond to this dilemma. Somehow, after hearing about Camp Moshava, they had been given my name, and had sought out our discussion group.

I was stunned by their question, and didn’t have the heart to tell them that I really had no idea how we had survived for so long, against so many obstacles, to finally come home. After a long discussion, I told them I hoped they would not have to wait as long as we did. n 1948, so beyond statistical probability as to be off the charts, the State of Israel was born. After 2,000 years of dreaming and wandering, the Jewish people were finally coming home. Never in history had an ancient language been reborn as a modern, spoken vernacular. Yet, today, three year olds

in the streets of Tel Aviv are speaking the same language their ancestors spoke thousands of years ago.

What is the secret of our survival? How is it, after so long, that we can walk again the ancient cobble stones of the Old City of Jerusalem, or climb Masada, still hearing the echoes of prayers offered so long ago, while the Roman Empire has been dust for 15 centuries?

There is an exchange in this week’s portion Va’Yechi, that is as powerful as it is puzzling, and may contain the secret of Jewish survival.

Yaakov, aware that his death is near, has one request: He wants a promise from his beloved son Joseph, that he will not be buried in Egypt, but rather, that his body will be returned for burial in the land of his fathers.

For thousands of years, Jews have attached enormous significance to the place of their burial, viewing interment in the land of Israel, and especially in Jerusalem, as the highest merit. Even when Jews could not be buried in Israel, they often managed to have a small bag of dirt, from Israel, placed with them, or under their heads when they were buried. Why this fascination with burial?

If the essence in Judaism is not the body, but the soul, what does it matter where the body is buried when it is, in the end, only temporary, and survived by the spirit?

This request of Yaakov is so important, that he forces Joseph to actually swear that he will indeed fulfill this promise. And it makes such an impression on Joseph that he, too, in the final words of the book of Genesis (50:24), swears his brothers to perform the same kind-

I hoped they would not have to wait as long as we did.

I

ness for him, and to one day not forget his bones in Egypt when they return home….

Why this pre-occupation with death and burial? Why is this so important that it is the concluding topic of the book of Genesis?

Indeed, all the way back in the beginning of everything (Genesis 3:19), the last words G-d tells Adam before exiling him from the Garden of Eden, are: “Me’Afar Atah, Ve’El Afar Tashuv” (“You are from the earth, and you will return to the earth”).

Why this pre-occupation with land?

Perhaps it is not surprising, our connection to the land; after all, the first challenge G-d ever gives a Jew is his words to Abraham: “Go … to the Land that I will show you…” (12:1) Why, in order for Abraham to achieve his mission, did it matter where he was? One would have expected that what was really important was who he was?

And indeed, not long after Abraham fulfills his end of the bargain, he loses his only heir, his nephew Lot, to the lures of Sodom, and so G-d makes him a promise: “All of the land that you see will I give to you and your offspring, forever. And I will make your seed like the dirt of the land…” (13:15-16) What a strange blessing! Your children will be like dirt.

The Jewish story really does begin with Abraham. Four thousand years ago, one man, alone in a morass of pagan idolatry, believed it could be different. Life didn’t have to be idols and child sacrifice, and the worship of the cruelty of nature. The world could learn to change. The beginning of a society based on an objective ethic, that might did not necessarily make right. Perhaps one person could teach the world, not by preaching, Continued on page 7

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THE JEWISH STAR December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774

For each of us, home is where our heart is

December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

6

THE JEWISH

STAR

Independent and original reporting from the Orthodox communities of Long Island and New York City All opinions expressed are solely those of The Jewish Star’s editorial staff or contributing writers Published weekly by The Jewish Star LLC, 2 Endo Boulevard, Garden City, NY 11530 Phone: 516-622-7461 ■ Fax: 516-569-4942 News releases: Newsroom@TheJewishStar.com ■ Calendar listings: Calendar@TheJewishStar.com Letters for publication: Letters@TheJewishStar.com ■ Ads: Advertising@TheJewishStar.com Publisher Editor Account Executive Editorial Designers Photo Editor

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Contributors: Rabbi Avi Billet, Jeff Dunetz, Juda Engelmayer, Rabbi Binny Freedman, Alan Jay Gerber, Rabbi Noam Himelstein, Judy Joszef, Rabbi Simcha Weinstein.

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Phantom Iran nuclear deal T

op honors go to Harvard University’s Stephen Walt for the most asinine response to the purported deal between the world’s main powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program.

Walt co-authored with John Mearsheimer, “The Israel Lobby,” a badly researched, poorly argued screed about how pro-Israel organiBen Cohen, JNS zations cajoled U.S. administrations into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t have done.

Paranoiacally obsessed with what he regards as the malign influence of Israel and its supporters, Walt has made it his personal mission to defend the Iranian nuclear deal.

Like Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, he thinks it’s the deal of the century, though not for the Iranian regime, but for the U.S.!

Hence Walt’s recent tweet: “75% of NatSec experts support Iran deal.

So what explains Congressional opposition?” Walt added, “(Hint: maybe a powerful lobby?)”

Just who are these “National Security experts”? In National Journal survey, 75 percent of those questioned believe the deal is good—but with so many qualifications it is almost meaningless. Said one analyst, “If it becomes the final deal, it’s disastrous.”

The awful truth is that no deal has actually been agreed upon. At best, the Geneva talks yielded an understanding that Iran’s nuclear program has to come under more stringent monitoring in exchange for a significant lightening of the sanctions imposed on the Iranian regime.

But because of the fanfare that the Obama administration deliberately stoked around the Geneva talks, governments and international financial institutions are starting to behave as though the sanctions have already been lifted. That is a problematic development, since further talks with the Iranians VIEWPOINT

are to be held in Vienna this week. As Reuters reported, “Western diplomats said the experts must iron out nitty gritty matters of implementation not addressed in Geneva before the deal can be put into practice.” If Iran is already reaping the rewards of an unsigned deal, and if most of the world thinks they have already been very cooperative, then they have little incentive to ensure that the International Atomic Energy Agency is able to carry out rigorous and effective inspections of their nuclear facilities.

The ham-fisted diplomacy of Secretary of State John Kerry appears fatally flawed not just in this area. By granting Iran the right to enrich uranium, the principles articulated in Geneva violate several U.N. Security Council resolutions that insisted Iran had to end all enrichment activity. The regime’s reactor at Arak will remain operational, with every chance of producing weapons-grade plutonium in the future. There is not even acknowledgement of the clandestine origins of Iran’s nuclear program, and no mechanism for ensuring that the regime doesn’t start enriching uranium at secret sites like the one at Fordow.

Against this reality, President Obama’s recent claim that “for the first time in a decade, we have halted progress of Iran’s nuclear program” comes across as hallucinogenically false. It seems as if the president is quite happy for Iran to weaponize its nuclear program, just not while he’s in the White House.

For those like Stephen Walt, as well as organizations like the pro-Tehran National Iranian-American Council, the goal here is not to peacefully resolve the Iranian nuclear question. They are quite happy for Iran to have nuclear weapons, because that would result in Israel, a country they loathe, losing its military edge, thus forcing the U.S. to question the strategic wisdom of its historic alliance with the Jewish state.

That’s why it’s vital to remember that we have not, yet, arrived at such an outcome. And that’s why it’s equally vital to back Israel’s insistence that it be allowed to respond independently to the continuing Iranian threat — including, if necessary, through a military strike.

The president is happy for Iran to weaponize its nuclear program, just not while he’s in the White House.

Obama’s policy alienates ‘moderate’ Arab world B

efore Anwar Sadat took over, Egypt and the majority of the “moderate” Arab world were satellites of the Soviet Union. Sadat dumped the Soviets for the West, upsetting the Egyptian military (but American dollars earned their love and respect).

Egypt’s move enticed other “moderate” Arab nations to come over to the Western side.

Jeff Dunetz Under President Obama, American foreign policy slowly disengaged from the Middle East and shifted emphasis to Asian interests. As the U.S. shifted, our Arab allies saw America abandon Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, ignore the red line of Syrian chemical weapons, and the Iranian nuclear deal, as signs of inconsistency and weakness.

Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain, said Obama’s disjointed foreign policy is driving the Arab states back into Moscow’s embrace.

Citing Obama’s handling of the Syrian chemical weapons crisis that allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to seize the initiative, Salman said some states were seriously reviewing their relations with the U.S. “The Russians have proved they are reliable friends,” he said, referring to Putin’s diplomatic intervention to prevent Western military action against Bashar al-Assad.

The Washington and Cambridge-educated Salman, 44, who also serves as Bahrain’s First Deputy Prime Minister, said Arab states now doubt the West’s reliability to protect their interests. “The U.S. cannot sit from afar making condescending judgments. It needs friends and partners to achieve its goals,” he said.

Bahrain has been upset with the U.S. ever since Obama abandoned Mubarak, a move that also upset Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi ambassador to England, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, gave the U.S. a rare public rebuke during the initial P5+1 nuclear discussions with Iran.

“Appeasement hasn’t worked in the past, and I don’t think it will work in the 21st century,” he was quoted as saying.

“That is why the frustration really is toward the main players within the United Nations Security Council. That’s their responsibility and they will share also the blame. Whatever deal comes out, they are responsible for it.”

In mid-November, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia appeared on “Morning Joe” and criticized the Obama administration of not having a cohesive policy in the Middle East.

“We need cohesive, coherent and comprehensive policy for the Mideast,” he said. “President Obama draws the red line whereby the chemical weapons are used in Syria, and that red line is crossed, very bluntly and openly. Then he just reneges and blinks on that and gives Putin the chance to go back from not the back door but the main entrance.”

“That’s scary and dangerous,” he said.

POLITICS TO GO

When MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell disputed the Prince’s accounting, there was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Bin Talal delivered a verbal coup de grâce. Referring to Obama’s public call for the removal of the Syrian despot, the Prince responded: “The flip side of that is that Bashar [alAssad] is staying now for a long time to come.

Because now, there is an unsigned contract between the United States and the regime in Syria to get the chemical weapons. And for sure, the last thing the Obama Administration would like right now is to change the regime.

Because we’re not sure if these jihadists, these terrorist jihadists, take over they will not continue in that part of giving up the chemical weapons. That’s the flip side of it also. That’s where the foreign policy confusion comes up.”

A key component of a good foreign policy is consistency. Our allies need to understand our objectives and policy. Obama’s vacillating lead-from-behind policy has led the Arab states to look at the U.S. under this President as weak and unsure. If they end up in the embrace of Russia, the United States will be worse off for decades to come.

While our Arab allies may be inching away from the United States, this President has been able to accomplish something no other American leader has been able to achieve: Israel and Saudi Arabia are working together to squash the P5+1 deal with Iran — recent but unconfirmed reports have the two countries working together to create a cyber attack on the Iranian nuclear plan. By alienating the two U.S. allies, Obama may have created a détente.

Columnist@TheJewishStar.com

Obama’s vacillating has led the Arab states to look at the U.S. as weak and unsure.

Home...

Continued from page 5 but by example.

Judaism has never been about telling anyone what to do. In his entire life, Abraham never tells anyone else how to behave. Even prior to his death, and after Sarah’s, he never tells Yitzchak how he is meant to be. Abraham is the example par excellence of teaching by what you do, and not by what you say.

And G-d tells Avraham that if he wants to be His partner, to be a model for what the world could be like, he needs to let go of where he is. If “through you will be blessed all the families on the face of the earth,” then you need to be separate.

People have often misunderstood the essence of what Judaism is all about, because although Judaism is a religion, it is also a nation. And to be a nation, you need to have a home. To be a role model, you need to be visible. Judaism dreams of creating an entire society based on ethics and love; based on Torah. And that can only begin in our own land; only in our own place can we truly build a model society as it was always meant to be.

And being apart isn’t just about how the world sees us; it is also about how we see ourselves. When you are in a separate place, it forces you to consider who you really are.

Further, Yaakov wants to be buried in the land of his Fathers, because if I don’t know where I am from, I don’t really know who I am. Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah, are not just part of my past; they are a part of who I am today.

For the last fifty years, the Jewish people, especially in the land of Israel, have been going through an identity crisis. Who are we?

Are we a Jewish people, or are we Israelis?

Joseph, in these last few portions, represents the first Jew to experience exile.

When Yaakov commands Joseph to take him home to the land of Israel, he is making a statement not of where we are, but of who we are. Our place, in the end, is at home, in the land of Israel.

And what does it mean to be buried in the earth? The blessing of being ‘like the dirt,’ given to Abraham, reflects the fact that no matter what one does to the earth, it can never be destroyed. Burial represents the belief in eternity; where I choose to be buried represents where I really want to be, and therefore, who I really am.

At the end of the book of Genesis, the family of Yaakov is about to become the nation of Israel. Becoming more and more entangled in the culture and land of Egypt, Yaakov, and then Joseph, reminds them that one day they will return home. And that will depend not on where their bodies are enslaved, but where their hearts and souls freely yearn to be.

For two thousand years, at every wedding and every funeral, at the entrance to every home, and after every meal, we dreamed of Jerusalem. You learn a lot about a person from what their dreams are, and the same holds true for a people. Our bodies were in exile, but our hearts never left home.

At about 6 a.m., during our infant feeding hour, our five year old daughter let out a wild scream. We ran into her room to see what was wrong. As we approached her she looked at us with crazed eyes and screamed again and then her body went limp. We took her to the bathroom where she began to wretch and after vomiting she was slowly able to stand and move her body. She then complained of a headache so naturally, like any Jewish parent, we gave her a wet shamata for her head and took her temperature. As we were about to call Hatzalah, our very calm and loving eight year old son screamed on the top of his lungs, “I CAN’T TAKE THE CRYING!” (referring, of course, to our baby, who we left to fend for herself and was letting us know she

was not happy about it).

We ran to his room and found him drenched in sweat, unable to stand, and retching. Naturally we ran him to the bathroom. Our 5 year old wanted to see what was happening so she got off the couch and as soon as she got into the bathroom vomited again, passed out and once again was unable to move her body. We called Hatzalah, who we are so grateful to, and within minutes they were in our house measuring the oxygen saturation of our children.

Suddenly, the paramedic yelled, “Everyone out of the house and into the ambulance now!” We had carbon monoxide poisoning!

Carbon monoxide is a deadly, colorless, odorless and tasteless poisonous gas which

many people never survive to talk about. We did not have functional carbon monoxide detectors at this time; Hashem was truly watching over our family.

When someone goes through such a situation you are left with the feeling of what do I do with this? Where do I channel it?

We have decided to take it upon ourselves to share our story and educate the public to ensure that this will never happen to you. We therefore ask you to check to make sure you have working non-expired carbon monoxide detectors with backup batteries. Call your alarm company to make sure you are covered for carbon monoxide and, of course, pass this lesson along to family and friends.

May we only know simchas.

This life-saving letter was distributed this week by Achiezer.

We the Korman family from Far Rockaway would like to share our personal Chanukah MIRACLE with you. Some of you may know who we are, and some may not, but our identity is not of importance because this story could be about you.

All day Friday my wife and I walked around complaining of headaches and feeling quite tired. We made no big deal of it as we are blessed with a three month old who likes to keep us up at night.

THE JEWISH STAR December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774

Far Rock Chanukah miracle saves CO-hit family

7

December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

8

Jewish Star Schools •For FREE publication in The Jewish Star, schools should email material to SCHOOLS@TheJewishStar.com. •Include a phone number the Star can call for verification or more information.

•Photos should be sent with captions that include as many names as possible. •Copy is subject to editing for style and space and will appear at the discretion of the editor.

Rambam Aviator After watching a video featuring a lone Israeli pilot being surrounded by 11 Egyptian MIG fighter planes and successfully shooting them all down, Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, Rosh Mesivta of Rambam, pointed out that it highlighted the theme of Chanukah as one pilot took on an entire team of enemy pilots and emerged victorious. He also said it was a hint of things to come — a surprise trip to Aviator sports complex.

The next day, there was one more surprise before boarding the busses: Recognizing Excellence. Rabbi Friedman and Assistant Principal Hillel Goldman awarded plaques to juniors Hudi Rosenfeld and Shlomo Sandler in recognition of their leadership in running the Chesed Committee. Sam Cohen, Akiva Hochbaum, and Tzvi Strauss, all seniors, along with sophomore Evan Edelstein, earned School Service Plaques as members of the school’s Masmidim Program. Freshman Ariel Blumstein and sophomores Jacob Roffe and Yakov Weinberger were all recognized as Masmidim of the Semester.

The awardees were showered with applause and then a fun filled afternoon of sports ranging from ice-skating to frisbee to flagfootball was full-on. The football fields, full court basketball courts, and the great indoor soccer arena were

Toy drive brings smiles

Giving is ingrained in HAFTR students at a young age. The nursery students are involved in an ongoing toy drive for children in need, headed by Early Childhood Director

Cyndy Goldberg. Especially around Chanukah time, these students have an awareness of the importance of giving to others, which ignites warmth in their hearts. —Jamie Rohr

Machon Hamikdash on tour at HAFTR Steve Frankel of Mikdash Educational Center (Machon Hamikdash in Jerusalem) presented a hands-on experiential learning program for HAFTR middle and elementary school students to learn about the Holy Temple.

Students were able to build a model of the Beit Hamikdash and see its magnificence. Frankel also brought a model of the Menorah made of iron rods used by the Maccabim that temporarily replaced the solid gold menorah.

The program coincided with the current Daf Yomi, Chanukah, and realistically depicted what the students are learning in seventh grade Navi classes. Students were awed by the experience as they learned all about the Beit Hamikdash and what we are missing in galut.

used to their fullest extent.

The night concluded with Maariv back at the school and Snapple and Dunkin Donuts for everyone.

Chanukah at Rambam was a real Chaggigah!

SKA JUMP to boost Israel

By Leelah Paul The SKA JUMP team successfully ran its first event of the year. Organized as a component of NCSY, JUMP (Jewish Unity Mentoring Program) is a teen leadership training program that focuses on teaching Jewish high school students leadership skills, thereby empowering them to help create positive changes in their schools and communities.

The event began with the SKA JUMP team hosting the Ariel Dance Troupe in Lawrence for Shabbos. The troupe, led by Dora and Masha Litvak and consisting of ten Israeli dancers who attend a secular high school in Ariel, Israel, recently arrived in the United States to begin its first international tour to raise awareness of both Ariel and Israeli culture.

The SKA JUMP team reached out to the troupe and offered to host them for a spiritually uplifting Shabbos. The troop’s members had the opportunity to experience Shabbos, while they enhanced the day for the JUMP team with their enthusiasm and interest.

As one of the dancers washed n’tilat yadayim, she exclaimed, “I’ve never felt so connected to G-d. Just saying the bracha made me feel so close to Him.” The JUMP members remarked that they had come to realize how much they took for granted in their daily lives and

how lucky they were to be a part of an orthodox community.

After the inspirational Shabbos, the JUMP team held its first community wideevent, Israel Culture Night, which focused on reaching out to the community and teaching the importance of advocating for Israel while also highlighting its unique culture.

The night began with an incredible Israeli cooking demonstration by Aussie Gourmet Naomi Nachman. She delighted the crowd as the intricacies of making chumus.

After an Israeli meal of falafel and pita donated by Shula’s Pizza Store and Israeli salad donated by Qcumbers, participants heard from the vice president of One Israel Fund, Scott Feldman. Mr. Feldman, known for being a thought provoking speaker, showed a moving video and taught the crowd about the most effective ways to advocate for Israel. Attendees of the event received an informative booklet with 25 commonly asked questions on lobbying for Israel.

To end the night, the Ariel Dance Troupe wowed everyone as they performed four expressive dances that told the story of Israeli pioneering and creative spirit. The event was a huge success and the JUMP team looks forward to more exciting programs in the near future.

broken leg way back in high school.

Now for those who want some snow, but don’t want to bear the cold, try Snow Pudding.

Snow Pudding

Before Jerry or his brother Seme could stop him, he barreled down the mountain and they figured he was fine. About an hour later there was an announcement on the loudspeaker, “Will Jerry Joszef please come to the Red Cross station.” As soon as Jerry walked in, it wasn’t hard to find Stuie — he was the one with his head swathed in white bandages ala the soldiers in the World War II movies.

“What happened?” asked Jerry. “What happened, is that you took me to the expert mountain and said it was like water skiing.

Let me take this opportunity to tell you Jerry Joszef, that it’s not!” Stuie screamed.

Jerry felt awful and asked if they gave him something for the pain, which they had, so Jerry said since it was a gorgeous day, he would just take another run or two with Seme and then they would leave together.

Those of you who know Jerry, know that he has no concept of time … ever. So hours later when he returned to the Red Cross station,

Stuie was furious. “You left me here bleeding and bandaged and spent the day skiing?!?”

“Wow, look at the time,” Jerry stammered sheepishly. “Is it that late already?”

They got back to Brooklyn, and Jerry took him straight to the hospital to be checked out again, and re-bandaged. Jerry told the doctor to make sure his head bandages looked impressive since he had to take Stuie along to his wife’s (at the time) brother’s party in honor of his graduating dental school.

“Are you kidding me Jerry?” yelled Stuie.

“You almost killed me, left me in a hut bandaged up for hours and now you’re dragging me to a party — are you crazy?” Jerry replied, “I know it’s asking a lot, but, I’m really late, I told my wife I would be on time for the party. Your injury looks pretty impressive — it will definitely get me off the hook, come on be a sport.”

So Stuie saved Jerry from surefire trouble and without realizing it got revenge for his

Get the

8 egg whites 5/8 cup sugar ¼ teaspoon vanilla 2 teaspoon kosher gelatin 2 teaspoon lemon juice 2 cups boiling water •Beat egg whites well in a mixer until it turns fluffy and doubles in size.

•Add vanilla and lemon juice, whisk well, then add kosher gelatin and water mixture and sugar little by little and whisk well until it triples in size.

•Pour into ramekins or individual glasses or cups and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours. The texture will change as it sets and will become light and fluffy.

If you want to make it a bit more decadent, you can serve it with a custard sauce.

Custard Sauce 2 egg yolks 2 cups of milk 1 cup of sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Place milk and sugar in a saucepan over a low flame. Once dissolved, remove from heat. Add the egg yolks and beat well, and then add the vanilla.

Place mixture back on the stove and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens.

The custard should be made close to serving time.

Judy Joszef is a pastry and personal chef and party planner. She spent 18 years as a pastry chef at venues in the Five Towns, before launching her current business, Soiree. She can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com

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As I sit staring out of the window on this wintery, snowy day, trying to figure out what to write about, it hits me. Skiing. Not me skiing, I don’t like doing anything I don’t have total control over, and let’s just say, in my few attempts at skiing, I didn’t have total control!

But my husband Jerry has great skiing stories!

Jerry met Stuie Hershkowitz during his last regular season high school basketball game. Both players were the stars of their respective teams — Stuie for HILI, Jerry for BTA. Stuie was defending Jerry and stuck his foot out and somehow Jerry stepped on Stuie’s foot and broke his own ankle. Though not happy about breaking his ankle during his WHO’S IN THE last game, he ended up KITCHEN becoming close friends with Stuie, and years later evened the score with him, though not on purpose.

Jerry was an avid snow skier, and Stuie was an avid water skier. Jerry told Stuie that if he could do one, he could do the other.

(Rule Number 1: Do research on your own Judy Joszef when Jerry gives you info on sports!)

Stuie brought along a date and when they got to the top of what they thought was an intermediary slope, Stuie’s date gave one look and had to be taken down via snowmobile. Stuie decided the Black Diamond was as good as any place to start — after all, Jerry said it was like water skiing and he was a pro at that.

THE JEWISH STAR December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774

Enjoying snow (pudding) without suffering the cold

9

End of Genesis: A contrast in commentary styles KOSHER BOOKWORM

Alan Jay Gerber

W

ith the conclusion of the Torah reading cycle of Bereishis, this week’s essay will be devoted to a presentation of several contrasting styles of commentary.

Utilizing their own words, this will demonstrate how the same biblical segment can be made to be viewed from variant perspectives thus demonstrating the unique plurality of methods of midrash

and p’shat in our religious tradition.

The first commentary is drawn from the overview introduction to Parashat Vayechi as found in the Torah commentary published

by Kehot Publication Society based upon the works of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory: “It is thus fitting that the first book of the Torah ends with the message of ‘Vayechi’, ‘he lived.’ As the curtain closes on the groundwork laid by the patriarchs and we prepare to witness the maturation of their progeny into a full-fledged people who will assume the role of ‘a kingdom of nobles and a holy nation,’ parashat Vayechi serves to remind us that the Book of Genesis is not simply literature, a sentimental or partisan tribute to our

national ancestors who, impressive though they may have been, are dead and gone and, therefore, no longer relevant.

“No, they are alive, truly alive, and it is only by identifying with their aspirations and by internalizing and remaining loyal to their heritage that we, too, can be truly alive. As long as we remain in exile, we will continue to be beckoned by the dazzling enticements of the pseudo-life around us [and within us]. But the Torah is ‘a Torah of life,’ eternally challenging us to remain above these temptations and ‘choose life’ by fulfilling Gd’s commandments, thereby making our lives and the world around us into a home for G-d, the true ‘source of life’.”

From this most eloquent clarion call to

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December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

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faith, we find in the Chumash commentary of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, of blessed memory, edited by Dr. Arnold Lustiger, and Rabbi Menachem Genack of the OU, the following commentary based upon the call by Jacob to his sons to gather for his final blessings to each: “Jacob here expresses the essence of ‘Knesses Yisrael.’ According to Nachmanides, Knesses Yisrael connotes a community of contradictory, mutually exclusive ideas and people. It is a ‘ coincidentia oppositorum’: many traits of character, all of which might be positive, but logically are mutually exclusive and contradictory. For instance, halachah often displays great tenderness, kindness, understanding, and sensitivity.

Halachah can also display stern justice, with no pity. Misplaced mercy often inflicts harm upon the community or upon the people.”

In an earlier take on a cognate theme in Parashat Chayei Sarah, the Rav taught the following: “The individual attributes were later personified by the twelve children of Jacob.

Each of these sons was distinct in character and in his respective strength. Together, they are identified as Knesses Yisrael. The word Knesses connotes the integration of the specific attributes represented by Jacob’s sons -an elevated, metaphysical entity which transcends the sum of its parts.”

Last, we have the teachings of the great Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l, on this parashah, [The Torah Commentary of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, Bereishis, volume two, Rabbi Shlomo Katz, editor, Urim Publications, 2013] wherein he goes into a beautiful oral presentment in his own unique poetic-style midrash.

“We have no idea how awesome the last few days of Ya’akov were. This whole portion of Vayechi, the portion telling about the time just before Ya’akov died, is so deep. There is a very strong Kotzker saying: When people come to me, I first have to clean them up a little bit. Then I polish them, and then I make them stand straight. Only then can I talk to them.”

“Do you know what it means to stand straight? To have your place in the world.

Ya’akov Avinu was a prophet his whole life.

And in his last few days he mamesh saw everything that would happen until the Messiah comes. He saw his sons and what would be with them, and he put each of the twelve tribes in its place. But not only that. He also saw what every little ‘Yiddele’ would have to go through until the coming of Mashiach. And Ya’akov mamesh put all the ‘Yiddelach, every little Jew until the end of time, in his place.”

“In the last portion we learned about the Great Day to come. When the twelve brothers were mamesh one, we saw the oneness of Israel, which will be like the time of the Messiah. This portion of Vayechi is like one day before Mashiach comes, with Ya’akov Avinu putting everyone in his place.”

Each of these contrasting works referenced above deserves your attention and patronage. Also, for further study may I once again suggest a work by Rabbi Alex Israel entitled, “Jewish Unity” a detailed, eight-page analysis of Jacob’s blessing that can be found on the Virtual Beit Midrash website [at vbmTorah.com].

Columnist@TheJewishStar.com

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Glatt Kosher food is available in the coffee shop located in the main lobby of the hospital.

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â&#x20AC;˘Submit events to Calendar@TheJewishStar.com. â&#x20AC;˘Put event DATE in subject line (include ALL dates of â&#x20AC;&#x153;throughâ&#x20AC;? date if event repeats). â&#x20AC;˘ Deadline Thursday 2 pm, 7 days before cover date. â&#x20AC;˘Include a price of admission or specify FREE â&#x20AC;˘Include for publication an email address or phone number so readers can conďŹ rm your event. â&#x20AC;˘ Listings may be edited for style and space.

7+856'$< '(& )5(( $'9,&( On Thursday, Dec. 12, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Food For Thoughtâ&#x20AC;? a free talk series for women at 10 a.m. at Cravingz CafĂŠ, 410 Central Ave., Cedarhurst, artist Jessica Vaiselberg speaks on gaining a better perspective through drawing.

There is a special-priced menu and gift certiďŹ cate rafďŹ&#x201A;es. Call (646) 543-7332.

6$1'< ,03$&7 On Thursday, Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to noon, Alexis Watson from North Shore LIJ Hospital will speak on the mental effects of Hurricane Sandy at the Inwood Senior Community Service Center in the Five Towns Community Center, 270 Lawrence Ave., Lawrence, (516) 239-6244.

THE JEWISH STAR December 13, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 10 TEVET 5774

Jewish Star Calendar

13

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/81&+ /($51 With Rabbi Shalom Axelrod of Young Israel of Woodmere.

Traditions Restaurant, 302 Central Avenue, off Rockaway Blvd., Lawrence. 12:30-1:30 pm. Buy a great $12 lunch, eat and learn.

Alan Stern 516-398-3094.

&KDEDGÂśV DQQXDO GLQQHU DW WKH 6DQGV LQ $WODQWLF %HDFK RQ 6XQGD\ 'HF ZLOO KRQRU OHIW WR ULJKW %WVDOHO DQG (VWKHU )DUNDV %HQM\ DQG )DLJLH +HU] 'DYLG DQG =HKDYLW 0DQGHOEDXP 'DQLHO DQG -DFTXHOLQH 5ROQLFN DQG %RULV DQG $QQD 9ROIPDQ )RU WLFNHWV FRXSOH FDOO

Healy Ave., Far Rockaway, 3 pm. (516) 2399500 or (718) 327-7464.

Master of ceremonies, Charlie Harry. New York Marriott Marquis. 212-699-6658.

0$1 2) /$ 0$1&+$ Bayswater Players perform at Bayswater Jewish Center, 2355 Healy Ave., Far Rockaway, 8 pm. (516) 2399500 or (718) 327-7464.

&+$%$' 2) ),9( 72:16 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spreading Lightâ&#x20AC;? dinner celebration. Honoring Btsalel and Esther Farkas, Benjy and Faigie Hertz, David and Zehavit Mandelbaum, Daniel and Jacqueline Rolnick, Boris and Anna Volfman.

Grand Ballroom, The Sands, 1395 Beech St., Atlantic Beach. $600 per couple. 6 pm. 516295-2478.

7+856'$< '(&

021'$< '(&

/81&+ /($51 With Rabbi Shalom Axelrod of YI Woodmere. Traditions Restaurant, 302 Central Avenue, off Rockaway Blvd., Lawrence. 12:30-1:30 pm. Buy a great $12 lunch, eat and learn. Alan Stern 516-398-3094.

6$785'$< '(& 6+¡25 <26+89 47th annual dinner of Shâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;or Yoshuv Institute of Jewish Studies. $500 per couple. Buffet dinner 7:45 pm, program 9 pm. The Sands of Atlantic Beach, 1395 Beech St. 516-239-9002 ext. 102.

0$1 2) /$ 0$1&+$ Bayswater Players perform at Bayswater Jewish Center, 2355 Healy Ave., Far Rockaway, 8 pm. (516) 2399500 or (718) 327-7464. )5,(1'6+,3 &,5&/( Party for children with special needs and their siblings. Stories and snacks. 2:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3:30 pm. (516) 295-2478 x13 or Batsheva@chabadfivetowns.com. *(17/(0$1¡6 $*5((0(17 Movie night at YI Woodmere features this 1947 film, in which a journalist, played by Gregory Peck, goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an exposeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on anti-Semitism in America.

8:30 pm. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere.

516-295-0950.

681'$< '(& &+$5/,( +$5$5< speaks at the 32nd annual brunch of Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns. Tehillim recipients: North Shore University Hospital chaplain Rabbi Daniel Coleman, and Mrs. Lisa Reich. Tehillim Recital by Rebbitzen H. Rubin. Call for ticket prices. 718 327-5989. 10 am. Congregation Kneseth Israel, Empire and Sage Streets, Far Rockaway.

0$1 2) /$ 0$1&+$ Bayswater Players perform at Bayswater Jewish Center, 2355

2+(/ event tackles â&#x20AC;&#x153;Transmission of Trauma: Holocaust Survivors and their Children.â&#x20AC;?

Featuring Irit Felsen, Ph.D., clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma and traumatic loss; David Mandel, chief executive officer of OHEL, and Harriet Blank, LGSW, director of geriatrics at OHEL. 7 pm.

Free. Congregation Beth Sholom, 390 Broadway, Lawrence. 347-695-9713.

78(6'$< '(& &$)( (8523$ On Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Sholom, 390 Broadway, Lawrence, a gathering for older adults enhancing their past with a feel of European flavor. Meet new people, have a little nosh, exercise, Yiddish humor, lectures, movies, music and more. Contact Rebecca Gordon at (516) 569-6733 x209.

6&2776%252 %2<6 Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m., American history teacher Don Parker will discuss the Scottsboro Boys trial and the trials of enlisted men and officers who were tried for abuse and flagrant punishment of American soldiers who committed crimes while in the military. The Hewlett Woodmere Library.

:('1(6'$< '(& &+$, /,)(/,1( gala, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Roads to Healing.â&#x20AC;?

+($/7+ 6&5((1,1* 10 am to 2 pm, free health screenings will be performed by St. Francis Hospital medical personnel at the Inwood Senior Community Service Center in the Five Towns Community Center, 270 Lawrence Ave., Lawrence, (516) 239-6244.

<,'',6+ )$50 Registration closes for this winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program (Jan. 6-16), a 10-day Yiddish Ulpan with Columbia University faculty (equivalent to one semester at Columbia). $350â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$500. 71 Dzierzek Lane, New Hampton (near Middletown), NY. 845-360-50234.

)5,'$< '(& 28 ,1 :(67 +(03 Orthodox Union Executive VP Rabbi Steven Weil leads an OU Community Weekend at the Young Israel of West Hempstead. He will speak at the Oneg Shabbat on â&#x20AC;&#x153;After the Pew.â&#x20AC;? 630 Hempstead Ave.

6$785'$< '(& 28 ,1 :(67 +(03 Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Rabbi Steven Weil continues YI West Hempsteadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OU Community Weekend with a morning shiur on the parsha, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anatomy of the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First BDS Movement,â&#x20AC;? and a sermon on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Jew Me.â&#x20AC;? In the afternoon before Mincha he will discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nurture, Nature and Destiny: What Ingredients Produced The Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Perfected Human Being.â&#x20AC;? Between Mincha and Maariv, Rabbi Weil discusses â&#x20AC;&#x153;Men Are From Mars, Women From Venus: A Look at The State of Marriage in the

Orthodox Community.â&#x20AC;? 630 Hempstead Ave. .8/$18 annual scholarship dinner. Honoring three of the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founders: The Jewish Star Kitchen columnist Judy Joszef and Alyssa and Leslie Sterba. Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst. 8 pm. 516-569-3083, ext 106. &$+$/ 5th annual beneďŹ t concert for CAHAL, the community-wide special education program, features popular performers in Jewish entertainment â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Avraham Fried, Shloime Dachs, and Benny Friedman accompanied by The Shloime Dachs Orchestra and Zemiros Choir. 8 pm, Lawrence HS, Reilly Rd, Cedarhurst. Purchase tickets ($36, $50, $72) through CAHAL ofďŹ ce, 540-A Willow Ave., Cedarhurst, or at Judaica Plus, 445 Central Ave., Cedarhurst. 516-295-3666 Sheldon@cahal.org.

681'$< '(& %5($.)$67 63($.(5 Elana Stein Hain, community scholar, Lincoln Square Syangoague. Sponsored by Hiller Family in memory of Susie and Leonard Hiller and Sonia Hiller.

9 am. Congregation Beth Sholom, 390 Broadway, Lawrence. 516-569-3600..

:('1(6'$< '(& .26+(5 *263(/ Joshua Nelson, Prince of Kosher Gospel Music, performs with his choir at Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. $35 adults, $25 students and seniors,online at www.mjhnyc.org or by calling the box ofďŹ ce at 646.437.4202. 36 Battery Place, Manhattan.

7+856'$< '(& /81&+ /($51 With Rabbi Shalom Axelrod of Young Israel of Woodmere.

Traditions Restaurant, 302 Central Avenue, off Rockaway Blvd., Lawrence. 12:30-1:30 pm. Buy a great $12 lunch, eat and learn.

Alan Stern 516-398-3094.

7th and 8th graders doing chessed at White Shul Every Thursday night, chessed activities are in full swing at the Community Service Initiative of Far Rockaway (CSI), an after-school program for 7th and 8th grade girls at the White Shul.

CSI is a weekly after-school program for 7th and 8th grade girls, run by Sari Babad and Ilanna Schuster. It has been almost two months since the start of the pro-

gram, and already the girls have accomplished so much! In the past few weeks alone, they have done many things to help out in the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and have had a blast at the same time! These amazing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chessed Special Agentsâ&#x20AC;? volunteered to help JEP-LI with a Shabbaton mailing, and even got paired up with a camper from Camp Nageela West as a pen-pal! CSI also

had its ďŹ rst workshop, designed to give the girls an opportunity to explore the values and importance of different aspects of Chessed.

The girls discussed the meaning of Hakaras Hatov, and decorated thank-you cards to send to the people who have impacted their lives. Although the girls are working hard to help others, they also manage to squeeze in some time

to have fun themselves. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sushi, pizza, or ice cream sandwiches, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always something great to eat, and the feelings of achdus and friendship are growing stronger every week. The girls also got a chance to use their creativity in a special cake-decorating class given by Adina Slepoy. Special thanks to Adina, the Slepoy family, and Breezeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, for sponsoring this

exciting activity! In the spirit of our Hakaras Hatov focus, we also must thank every CSI girl for spending her free time every week to help others. Tizku Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;mitzvos!

To sponsor a week of wholesome fun and chessed and to contribute to our goal of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;growing by givingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, please contact Shira Leff at 347-729-3879 or at csichessed@ gmail.com.

Mandela and Zion.... part, that’s because a mischievous letter linking Israel with apartheid, purportedly written

by Mandela, went viral on the Internet (in fact, the real author was a Palestinian activist named Arjan el Fassed, who later claimed that his fabrication nevertheless reflected Mandela’s true feelings.) Yet it’s also true that, in the Cold War conditions of the time, the ANC’s main allies alongside the Soviets were Arab and third-world dictators like Ahmed Ben Bella in Algeria and Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. The confusion is further stirred by the enthusiasm of some of Mandela’s comrades, like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to share the South African franchise on the word “apartheid” with the Palestinians.

But those activists who want to make the Palestinian cause the 21st-century equivalent of the movement that opposed South African apartheid in the 20th century will—assuming they conform to basic standards of honesty— find it very difficult to invoke Mandela as support. Mandela’s memoirs are full of positive references to Jews and even Israel. He recalls that he learned about guerilla warfare not from Fidel Castro, but from Arthur Goldreich, a South African Jew who fought with the Palmach during Israel’s War of Independence.

He relates the anecdote that the only airline willing to fly his friend, Walter Sisulu, to Europe without a passport was Israel’s own El Al. And the ultimate smoking gun—the equation of Israel’s democracy with apartheid— doesn’t exist.

Mandela once wrote that Jews were more sensitive about race because of their own history. There are parallels between the oppression suffered by South African blacks under racist white rulers, and Jews living under hostile non-Jewish rulers. The notorious Group Areas Act, restricting black residency rights, brings to mind the enforced separation of Jews into the “Pale of Settlement” by the Russian Empress Catherine in 1791. Many of the other apartheid regulations, like the ban on sexual relationships between whites and blacks, carried echoes of the Nazi Nuremburg Laws of 1935.

Mandela’s diagnosis was that Africans should be the sovereigns of their own destiny.

Similarly, the founders of Zionism wanted nothing less for the Jews.

Sadly, none of that will stop today’s advocates of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement from falsely claiming Nelson Mandela as one of their own. But the truth is subtler than that. Mandela’s complicated legacy doesn’t really belong to any political stream— and that is one more reason to admire him.

South African Jews....

Continued from front page nation; he too transcended his personal pain and years of suffering to forgive and to embrace his brothers and sisters who had inflicted so much pain on him and so many millions of others, in order that our diverse South African family would not be torn apart by hatred and division.

Madiba brought to life the ancient words of Joseph when he said to his brothers in Genesis chapter 50 verse 19: “‘Fear not - for am I in place of G-d? Although you intended me harm, G-d redirected it for good: in order to accomplish – as is clear this day – that a vast people be kept alive. So now, fear not – I will sustain you and your young ones.’ And so he comforted them and spoke to their heart.”

Nelson Mandela spoke to our hearts. He brought us comfort. And through his mighty power of forgiveness he sustained us, and liberated our country from the pit of prejudice and injustice, unleashing the awesome generosity of spirit of millions of South Africans.

Let his reward be with him, and his recom-

pense before him. Shelter his soul in the shadow of Your wings. Make known to him the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand, bliss for evermore. Bestow upon him the abounding happiness that is treasured up for the righteous O G-d, who heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds, grant Your consolation to the mourners. Strengthen and support them in the day of their grief and sorrow; and remember them and their families for a long and good life. Wipe away the tears of all South Africans, and indeed the world. Bless the people of this country, a nation of heroes, who came together to transcend the pain of the past, in order to build a great nation on earth, and inspire our hearts to continue to walk in the path of Nelson Mandela, to live up to his majestic legacy.

As the Bible says, “Like one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you, says the L-rd, and in Jerusalem shall you be comforted. Your sun shall never more set, neither shall your moon wane; for the L-rd G-d shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.” And let us say Amen.

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Continued from front page edifice on the eastern side of Trafalgar Square.

During my late teens, I’d become a regular attendee at rallies and protests outside the embassy demanding Mandela’s release. I can still hear the joyous roar of the crowd, as we celebrated that Mandela was no longer a prisoner of the apartheid regime.

Before this account gets overly saccharine, I should add that not every opponent of apartheid was an advocate of democracy elsewhere in the world. Many of the protestors were diehard Stalinists. And while they accurately perceived the monstrosity that was apartheid, they were only too happy to excuse the brutal crimes of the Soviet Union and its satellite states. They had copious words of condemnation for the white minority regime in Pretoria, but rolled their eyes in irritation at the suggestion that the Soviet KGB, the East German Stasi and the Romanian Securitate were just as bad, if not worse. I couldn’t help thinking that they regarded Mandela’s release as welcome relief from the gloom that set in when communism unraveled around the same time.

Which brings me to the question of Mandela’s political legacy. There will be no shortage of platitudes on the left about Mandela’s nonetheless heartfelt commitment to racial tolerance, painstaking negotiation and civil disobedience in the face of injustice. Equally, many on the right will accurately recall that Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) was closely aligned with the Soviet Union and with a host of thoroughly unpleasant terrorist organizations, like the PLO, who dressed themselves up as “liberation movements.” As a recipient of both the Soviet Order of Lenin and the American Presidential Medal of Freedom, it might be said that Mandela embodied this contradiction.

Still, Mandela was no orthodox leftist. In his autobiography, he discusses how he was strongly influenced by the Atlantic Charter of 1941, a mission statement shaped by the visions of Churchill and FDR for a post-war order in which freedom would reign, fear and want would be banished, and self-government would emerge as a core principle. Also in the book, he distinguishes the African nationalism he subscribed to from the communist beliefs that prevailed among those he worked with— and his understanding of nationalism bears a close resemblance to the national movements that surfaced in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century, including Zionism.

This latter point is important because there is a widespread misapprehension that Mandela was an opponent of Zionism and Israel. In

669353

December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

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December 13, 2013 • 10 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

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