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Parsha Toldot • December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 • Candlelighting 4:10 pm, Havdalah 5:17 • Luach, page 21 • Vol 15, No 46

The Newspaper of our Orthodox communities

A firefighter views a wildfire that broke out near Jerusalem on Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 Friday. A report from Israel: Page 2.

The Jewish Star / Eric Dunetz

Woodmere fire trucks join Israel’s arson war The Jewish Star With fire trucks donated by the Young Israel of Woodmere and its members seeing action in Israel’s arson war, the YIW plans to donate two more.

The shul raised $125,000 between Friday afternoon and Monday — enough, with a JNF USA matching grant, to buy a $250,000 truck. Now it’s passing the envelope to fund a second truck, and Rabbi Hershel Billet told The Jewish Star late Tuesday that he expected that would happen.

The YIW has been helping in the fire-fighting arena “since the Carmel fire, and when the rockets started falling,” he said, with one truck previously donated by the shul and two by individual members. “Israel needs as much fire equpiment as they can get. Missles can create more fire than a pyromaniac.”

JNF development officer Ariel Kotler, reporting from Israel on JM in the AM on Monday, said that he saw a YIW firetruck deployed last week.

“We’re not looking for kavod,” Rabbi Billet said. “The goal is to help Israel.” He said that efforts would be undertaken soon to assist victims of the fires, who are numerous and located in many communities.

In an email to YIW members of Monday, Rabbi Billet pointed to the large number of people injured and homes destroyed.

“From time to time we have been called to stand with Israel,” he said.

“Now is one of those times. We have always stood tall as a community.”

“There is a tremendous need for firefighting equipment. Israel does not have enough trucks and many that they have are antiquated,” he said, adding that the trucks being acquired are state-of-the-art.

To contribue, visit support.jnf.org/goto/yiwemergency

Zahava Vay, Shira Keilson and Mimi Muchnik check out Midnight Madness specials at Jildor Shoes on Central Avenue in Cedarhurst last Saturday night. More photos pages 24–25.

‘Midnite’ shoppers crowd Cedarhurst

An estimated 4,000 shoppers poured onto the commercial streets of Cedarhurst on motzei Shabbos, creating a festive atmosphere as they celebrated the American tradition of “Black Friday” — on a Saturday night.

“The event was a great success,” proclaimed Teri Schure, See Cedarhurst on page 24

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Thousands of rabbis pose for a group photo in front of ChabadLubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parking in Brook-

With the wildfires tamed, Israelis seek answers

By Andrew Tobin, JTA JERUSALEM — As the wildfires that raged across this country for nearly a week were subdued Sunday, Israelis surveyed the devastation in search of answers.

The fires, which continued to flare Sunday evening, consumed as many as 32,000 acres of forest and brush across the country — an area more than twice the size of Manhattan.

Tens of thousands of people fled their homes, and hundreds of buildings were burned to the ground. Many dozens of people were injured. Incredibly, no one died.

According to security officials, an unseasonable dry stretch and high winds ignited the fires, which then inspired alleged Arab arsonists to join in.

Controlling the flames required a monumental Israeli operation — and some outside assistance. About 2,000 Israeli firefighters fought the blazes starting on Tuesday, many of them working 24-hour shifts. They received assistance from a dozen countries from around the world and the region. The Palestinian Authority sent 41 firefighters and eight trucks to help.

Maya Ben Zvi was one of many Israelis grappling with loss. Her popular family-run restaurant in the Jerusalem hills burned down last Friday during a wedding party. On Saturday, she told Israel’s Channel 2 she would rebuild, but that it would take time.

“It is denial, I feel like I don’t know what I feel,” Ben Zvi said. “There are moments I weep and there are moments I block it. I cannot contain the force of 21 years invested in this place.

Israeli ministers pledged to help people like Ben Zvi rebuild. At a special Cabinet meeting on Sunday in Haifa, a northern city hardest hit by the fires, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered ministers to clear bureaucratic hurdles for those affected by the fire. The previous evening, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon had approved immediate $650 payments to anyone whose homes had been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the fires.

Meanwhile, Israeli security forces targeted alleged arsonists, who they said began setting fires on Nov. 23, according to Israel’s Channel 10. At least 35 people — most of them Palestinians but at least 10 reportedly Arab Israelis — were arrested

“The severity of these cases is not equal in severity to other terror attacks because it is so powerful and it draws on the forces of nature to sow death and destruction,” the prime minister said at the meeting.

On Saturday night, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on visits to communities damaged by fires called for the destruction of the homes of arsonists.

In separate visits to Halamish, a West Bank settlement north of Jerusalem that was evacuated because of a fire that damaged or destroyed dozens of homes, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel should respond by expanding settlements. Liberman said there was “proof” that arsonists started 17 of the 110 documented fires.

When the extent of the fires was just becoming clear on Nov. 23, Bennett had tweeted that only “someone who this land does not belong to” could have started the fires. Meanwhile, the Arabic hashtag “Israel is burning” was trending on Twitter, with tens of thousands using it to celebrate the ongoing destruction in Israel.

Arab politicians decried “incitement” against their community by Israeli Jewish politicians and pointed out that some of the fires were started near Arab communities.

Ayman Odeh, the head of the Arab Joint List political party, reacted Nov. 24 to Bennett’s tweet, saying, “To my regret, someone decided to exploit this dreadful situation to incite and to lash out at an entire community.”

Hours later, Odeh called on any arsonists to stop, saying they were “the enemies of us all.”

Some Orthodox Jewish rabbis saw the fires as a divine retribution. Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, a leader in Israel’s settlement movement, said Nov. 24 that the fires were God’s punishment for the government’s plans to uproot West Bank communities, including Amona, which the High Court declared to be illegally built on private Palestinian land.

“Strong winds usually carry rain, but now all is dry and flammable. It is G-d’s hand that does it,” Levanon wrote in a pamphlet. “Until the disgrace of the threat of eviction is lifted from Amona, Ofra and elsewhere, no rain will fall.”

A helpful rise in humidity and drop in wind was expected

by Tuesday, and rain was forecast for Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting the scene of a fire in Zichron Yaakov, in northern Israel, last Wednesday. Emil Salman/Pool

since Nov. 24 on suspicion of setting fires or inciting others to do so.

Some were released, including on Sunday a Bedouin-Israeli man who was locked up last week for a Facebook post that encouraged arson in a sarcastic tone and with the hashtag “Sarcasm, not serious.” Two Arab Israelis confessed in jail, police reportedly told the Sunday Cabinet meeting.

Even as security officials warned against jumping to conclusions about the causes of the fires, Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians said they would respond to them as acts of terrorism.

Netanyahu declared on Friday that there was “no doubt” arson was involved and blamed terrorists. At the Cabinet meeting, he pledged to “act forcefully” against arsonists and called such actions worse than “other terror attacks.”

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Malagasy women prepare to be married after converting to Judaism in May.

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By Josefin Dolsten, JTA Though there is no synagogue, mikvah or Jewish school in Madagascar, visitors to the African island nation can enjoy a kosher meal, Shabbat services and weekly learning programs.

The Jewish community of 121 people — all of whom converted to Judaism earlier this year — can’t afford to build a synagogue. So now, one member is touring the U.S. to raise awareness and funds “If people were rich enough, maybe each family would save money and we’d gather this to raise a synagogue — [but] that’s [the] kind of thing we can’t afford to do,” said Elysha Netsarh, a university lecturer in plant chemistry and a prominent member of the Jewish community, which is based in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo.

Over three-quarters of Madagascar’s population lives below the international poverty line ($1.90 per day), according to 2012 World Bank data. The Jewish community is mostly middle class, said Netsarh — most members earn enough to make ends meet but not to put aside any savings.

Some members of Madagascar’s fledgling community started practicing Judaism around 2010, but they became officially Jewish in May, when three Orthodox rabbis traveled to the island off the coast of southeast Africa to conduct the conversions. The conversions make Madagascar home to the world’s newest Jewish community, according to the nonprofit group Kulanu, which supports the community as well as other isolated groups around the world looking to learn about Judaism.

In what Netsarh termed an “extraordinary event,” 121 Malagasies, as the locals are called, answered questions in front of a rabbinical court and immersed in a river, which served as a ritual bath. Men underwent symbolic circumcisions, and 12 couples wed according to Jewish tradition.

Netsarh, like most Malagasy Jews, arrived at Judaism through Christianity. Although she was raised Catholic, she found herself unsatisfied with her faith and tried exploring other Christian denominations. None of them clicked.

“I had this deep thirst inside of me, it was a feeling of something lacking,” she told JTA last month at the Upper West Side apartment of Kulanu’s president, Harriet Bograd, which also doubles as the organization’s office.

Judaism had always lingered in the background for Netsarh. Her grandfather had told her as a young girl that he had Jewish ancestry. Though it wasn’t until years later that she explored Judaism, when she did, it felt right.

“I wanted to seek for something to fulfill me, and I didn’t get it until I had Jewish life,” she said.

Netsarh, 40, isn’t alone in believing she has Jewish roots — a vast majority of Malagasies believe they are descended from Jews, and some community members were hesitant to convert in May because they believed they were already Jewish.

Genetic research hasn’t been able to corroborate their stories, instead showing that the first people to settle on the island were of Malayo-Indonesian origin, explained Nathan Devir, an associate professor of Jewish studies at the University of Utah, who has studied the group since 2012. Later, African Bantu migrants also settled on the island.

But Devir doesn’t completely dismiss the possibility of Jewish heritage. “I don’t really have a definitive opinion on whether or not they are actually racially descended from people that belonged to one of the 10 lost tribes ... Given the genetic research that’s been done, it’s unlikely but possible,” he said.

Bograd considers the authenticity of the “Malagasy secret” — as the belief in Jewish heritage is referred to — irrelevant to her work with the group.

“Kulanu’s position, and my position as president, is that when people want to practice Judaism, we welcome them, and if they have sacred stories we honor those ... but it is not our job to prove or disprove what actually happened,” she said.

Through December, Netsarh will be speaking at synagogues and Jewish organizations around the United States in order to raise money for Kulanu’s efforts in her community and around the world. Kulanu is in touch with two potential donors to build a synagogue and mikvah in Madagascar — but plans have yet to be finalized, said the group’s vice president, Bonita Nathan Sussman.

Kulanu leaders are hoping Netsarh can shed light on the organization’s work in Madagascar and around the world. In the last five years, the organization has seen an increase in groups reaching out to them to learn more about Judaism, Sussman said.

Continued on page 25

tehilla r. goldberg view from central park

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his column started as View From Jerusalem. After I moved to the Upper West Side, it was switched to View From Central Park, a geographic marker of the move, from Jerusalem to New York. When I returned to Denver, the title remained. I was teased a lot; when friends or readers would bump into me, with a wicked sparkle in their eye, they’d cheekily comment, “so, how is Central Park?” and we’d both chuckle.

Well, I have repaired and made up for those misleading years. Not only did I relocate to New York City last year, but I am really and truly actually living on Central Park West. I see the park from my front window. It’s a room with a partial view, but not just any view; dare I say, it’s one of the prettiest parts of the park. There is a perfect pond, weeping willows and a bridge. It is so idyllic and fairytale-ish that sometimes when I am walking through it I feel like Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island.

As any New Yorker can attest, Central Park is more than a gorgeously landscaped geographic location. It is the heartbeat of the city.

Walking through that park is like happening upon a fairytale.

Because Manhattanites live in apartments, Central Park is the common space for us all. Whereas in Denver you seek respite in the privacy of your own backyard, Central Park is like one big collective front or back yard, depending on what side of town you live in.

Even more than that, Central Park serves as a contrast. Manhattan is so pressured. So rushed. So suspicious. When you walk into Central Park it’s almost as if you have entered a different place. The formal fashion and edge are peeled away. People look you in the eye. Perhaps even strike up a conversation. You are still in the midst of central Manhattan, yet you are in a different place all its own.

It’s taken me years to get to know the park. Each round of New York living has introduced me to another layer, and then another. Within each iteration, I feel like I have found my newest favorite part of the park. The sweet zoo. The canopied trees of that famous and so-reminiscent-of-Paris

walking path. The Mall. The shimmering Reservoir, Manhattan’s skyline a silhouetted circle encompassing it. The secluded and rustic Ramble, and the wide Bridle Path. The vintage carousel and charming boathouse. Romantic Bethesda fountain, and the magical, curved Bow Bridge. Ice skating rinks and the Alice in Wonderland sculpture.

The endless spots in this gem of a park can go on and on.

It was pretty special to be living in this room with a view as the park transitioned from winter to spring. The snow had melted, the sun was out; but the trees and the park were still bare. You keep gazing at it, you keep passing it, and it’s in that state of in between-ness, when suddenly one day, poof! you can literally see and point to the moment when it went from bare to bloom. From gray to pink. The weeping willows’ bare branches now flowering in jades and emeralds that kiss the ponds they hover over.

But even that pleasure can’t compare, with Central Park in autumn. ast Sunday I had planned to go to Rhinebeck in the Hudson Valley; it was my attempt to catch the beautiful hues of fall foliage before it takes its last gasp of the season. Last minute, plans had to be cancelled. For a second I was disappointed, but then I said to myself, calm down. You are in Central Park. It’s like you are living in a fall foliage portrait.

Indeed, that is what it is like.

Or like stitched scenes of many different portraits. With the golden light of fall softer, more muted and amber than usual, the different scenes you pass glow with an added dimension of nostalgia, or perhaps a dream still to be fulfilled.

With the vast and endless soft and hazy backdrop of blurred wines and golds, crimsons and pinks, shades of apricot and jade, and leaves carpeting the ground, it is the perfect canvas tinged with muted color.

The portraits abound. Two bikes leaning against a tree, a couple floating on the Boathouse Lake, a family picnicking, people jogging, an elderly couple conversing on a long wooden bench … the mosaic of these sweet moments enfolded by breathtaking beauty and a dreamy dimension, complete.

It’s almost like taking a peek into different, lit up evening living rooms, but instead they are snapshots in time right here, right now, when Manhattanites add more mythical memories to Central Park.

Copyright Intermountain Jewish News

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Cedarhurst resident returns to site of sniper hit From Vosizneias.com One year after he was rushed by medics to Shaare Zedek Hospital after being shot in the leg outside Mearas Hamachpela, a Cedarhurst resident returned with his entire family to Chevron to recite a special bracha recalling the miracles that he experienced during the sniper attack.

Steven Borochov and his sons Eli and Yosef were among several hundred people who traveled to Chevron in November 2015 to spend the Shabbos of parshas Chayei Sara at Yeshiva Shavei Hevron. As the

Borochovs walked up the steps to Mearas Hamachpela just before the onset of Shabbos, 19 year old Eli was struck in the leg by a bullet fired by an Arab sniper.

Eli Borochov was taken by ambulance to Jerusalem where doctors were able to remove the bullet from his thigh.

In a VIN News interview, Steven Borochov said that he was astounded by the incredible warmth and caring shown to his family during their short stay in Israel, vowing to return again to spend parshas Chayei Sara in Chevron.

“When we left last year I said that terrorism will not deter us and that I planned to be back a year later with my whole family,” Steven Borochov told VIN News.

Borochov kept his word, flying with his wife and four children to Israel to spend parshas Chayei Sara at Yeshiva Shavei Hevron.

The family returned to Mearas Hamachpela with a group of friends from the Five Towns, where Eli Borochov said the bracha expressing his gratitude for the miracle he experienced one year earlier.

“Doctors told me that the bullet was just centimeters from his femoral artery,” said Steven Borochov, noting that that fractional difference made the difference between life and death.

Steven Borochov said that he has received hundreds of emails from Israelis who said that his pledge to return to Chevron was a source of tremendous emotional support.

“The truth of the matter is that we don’t go to Chevron to give chizuk,” said Borochov. “We get chizuk there.”

Chabad parties in B’klyn and reaches S. Dakota

Eliyahu Parypa / Chabad.org

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Rabbi Kussi Liepsker of Tuscaloosa, Alaba, dances with his colleagues at the Brooklyn banquet that climaxed last weekend’s International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. The event

drew 5,600 rabbis and guests from 90 countries. At right, ChabadLubavitch Rabbi Mendel Alperowitz and his rebbetzin, Mussie Alperowitz, and their two daughters, ages 18 months and 2 months, in

Crown Heights preparing for their move to South Dakota to establish a Chabad-Lubavitch center in the only state that did not have one, an announcement that was made at the conference.

History will never absolve Holocaust-clad Russian Castro, says Alan Gross skaters spark outrage

Alan Gross speaks with President Obama during his flight back to the U.S. after being released from prison in Cuba.

White House photo

Alan Gross, who was imprisoned on espionage charges for five years in Cuba while trying to assist its Jewish community, said following the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, “History will never absolve him.”

Castro’s death at the age of 90 was announced on Friday night by his brother, Raul, Cuba’s current president.

“History will never absolve him. But perhaps now the voices of Cuba will be heard. Speak up, Cuba,” Gross tweeted shortly after Fidel Castro’s death was announced.

In later tweets he called for the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba.

When he was arrested in 2009, Gross, of Potomac, Maryland, was working as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development setting up internet access for Cuban Jews.

Gross was released in December 2014 as part of a broader exchange in which three Cubans convicted of spying were released from American prisons. The same day, President Barack Obama announced renewed ties with the communist nation.

Gross has called for improved ties between the U.S. and Cuba. In September, he endorsed thenDemocratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, citing in part her commitment to the Obama administration’s new openness to Cuba. JTA

A Russian state-owned television channel aired a figure-skating performance featuring dancers dressed in uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates.

Actor Andrey Burkovsky and Tatiana Navka, a professional figure skater and wife of a senior Kremlin spokesman, wore striped pajamas with yellow Star of David patches while dancing to a song by an Israeli singer on Saturday night on “Ice Age,” a popular Russian celebrity ice dancing show similar to “Dancing With the Stars.”

Throughout the four-minute performance, Navka and Burkovsky frolic and play cheerfully with an imaginary infant. Near the end of the routine, a bright light shines on them.

Burkovsky signals to Navka that he must go and gestures for her to take care of the imaginary child before he walks into the light.

A loud bang is heard and the stage goes dark but for Navka’s face as she closes her eyes and clutches the imaginary infant with her back turned to Burkovsky.

The act was inspired by Roberto Benigni’s 1997 film “Life is Beautiful,” about a Jewish Italian man who attempts to distract his son from the Holocaust’s horrors. Navka and Burkovsky danced to “Life is Beautiful,” performed by Israeli singer Noa, from the film’s soundtrack.

The unusual performance prompted criticism on social media.

“For a person who knows very little if anything about the Holocaust, the message is this: Put on a striped robe, adorn yourself with a yellow six-pointed Star of David, get an all-included deal at a concentration camp, and your life will be beautiful,” Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, a professor of Jewish studies at Northwestern University, told the NY Times. “I would call it a crime against elementary humanity.” JTA

Some upbeat over Trump’s education pick WASHINGTON (JTA) — Add sweeping school reforms — and with them, funding for private schools that Orthodox groups embrace and secular Jewish groups fear — to the campaign promises that Donald Trump plans to fulfill.

The president-elect named Betsy DeVos, a billionaire education reform activist and champion of charter schools and public funding for private schooling, as his education secretary.

Trump has said he would earmark $20 billion in federal money to charter more independent schools or for vouchers for poorer families to pay for private schools.

“Under her leadership, we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so we can deliver worldclass education and school choice to all families,” Trump said in announcing the nomination.

“School choice” is music to the ears of Orthodox Jewish groups, sometimes joined by other proponents of Jewish day schooling, who have argued for decades that constitutional churchstate separations should not cut off day schools from public funds. Agudath Israel of America, welcoming the announcement, said it has worked with DeVos for years “to give parents educational options for their children.”

Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, called the DeVos nomination “encouraging.”

“The regulators of the schools should be the parents,” Diament said. “They’ll see if the school is making a good education and if it’s not, they will move their child to another school.”

Jewish groups that advocate for stronger church-state separations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement, were silent on the DeVos pick, declining JTA requests for comment. That’s not in itself unusual, as Jewish nonprofits generally observe the “if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all” rule when it comes to presidential personnel choices.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers and heir to a long tradition of liberal Jewish advocacy in and for public education, said the DeVos appointment is “about the decimation of a public school system for children.”

She said the inequities that Orthodox Jews say are embedded in restrictions on public funding for religious education — high taxes for services they don’t or can’t use — are better addressed through government paying for nonsectarian activities and needs.

“We found ways to spend public dollars for remedial education, for transportation, for special needs” for Orthodox Jewish day schools, Weingarten said. “We found ways to ensure that people who had reason to want religious education and yet at the same time … were entitled to public dollars, to get them.”

nity. The resolution calls attention to some of the fundamental elements of Modern Orthodox life: religious observance, rabbinic authority, general education, gender roles and opportunities, the religious value of the State of Israel, and the concern for factionalism and division.

The rabbis advocate “pursuing knowledge of the sciences and humanities in order to know God’s Creation, and in order to join the rest of His children in pursuing our mutual welfare through common civic, scientific, and political undertakings.” This contrasts with other approaches common with the Orthodox Jewish world.

Noting that some assert that “the Modern Orthodox community is facing a serious schism about the proper parameters and limits” of engaging with “secular wisdom and culture,” the

rabbis urge “constructive religious debate that is ‘for the sake of heaven’ by defending our opponents’ honor and motives; by emphasizing points of accord as much as areas of dissent; and, by seeking truth with grace, civility, and love.”

In keeping with their embrace of participation in general society, the rabbis emphasize that Jewish law requires all Jews to be “loyal citizens of modern countries” and to “punctiliously comply” with all “non-discriminatory civil legislation.” Jews transgress Jewish law when they violate civil law in order to advance what they perceive to be religious values, or when they rationalize such violations by invoking halachic texts.

The resolution insists on the “complete observance of Jewish law” as interpreted by leading,

recognized rabbinic decisors.

While reaffirming traditional practices in the synagogue, it calls for “fostering a diversity of halachically and communally appropriate opportunities for women’s lay and professional involvement in Jewish life.” Aware of the efforts by some to advance ritual change in Orthodox setting by creating ‘facts on the ground,’ the RCA urges all Jews to adhere to “the millennia-old Jewish practice of innovating and/or modifying halachic practice only after substantive consultation with authoritative rabbis.”

It emphasizes “the essential spiritual equality of every Jewish person before God, and seeking, in that light, to maximize his or her religious expression, observance, and growth in private and public.”

South Nassau Communities Hospital Respite Room

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SOUTH NASSAU AND ACHIEZER RECOGNIZE THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THE LOCAL ORTHODOX JEWISH POPULATION AND ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE YOUR STAY MORE COMFORTABLE AND ENJOYABLE.

We’re working with doctors, nurses and our entire hospital staff to raise awareness of the sensitivities and sensibilities of Orthodox Jews; and we are working closely with our Rabbinical consultants to anticipate our patients’ needs before they arise.

To highlight these efforts, we are pleased to provide the Kosher Pantry/Respite Room cosponsored by South Nassau and Achiezer.

This room offers a quiet haven for patients to relax, rejuvenate and enjoy a variety of kosher amenities provided exclusively for their use.

Thanks to Gourmet Glatt, the pantry is fully stocked throughout the week and has hot meals for Shabbos and Yom Tov. And with a MondayThursday 1:35 p.m. Mincha Minyan year-round on premises, and Young Israel of Oceanside

For more information about the Respite Room or our other services, call 877-SOUTH-NASSAU, visit southnassau.org or call Achiezer at 516-791-4444.

nearby (walkable within the Eruv), we can always help meet your spiritual and medical needs.

South Nassau also offers a convenient Shabbos elevator, and comfortable overnight accommodations are available year-round at our kosher Shabbat Hospitality House, which is complete with beds, linen, durable kosher food items and a refrigerator. Electric Sabbath candles are available. Access to the Shabbat Hospitality House is arranged through South Nassau’s Spiritual Care Program.

When you find yourself in our hospital, visit the new Respite Room located on the Ground Floor G Wing adjacent to the Volunteer Office, and see for yourself why more and more Jewish families throughout the area are choosing South Nassau.

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RCA Asserting that its vision “remains vital, relevant, and effective for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities,” the membership of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) has adopted a resolution, “Raising the Banner of Modern Orthodoxy,” setting forth distinguishing highlights of its worldview.

Calling upon all “Jews to embrace its unifying outlook with passion and pride,” the 1000-member organization uses a similar set of points to vet rabbis seeking to join its ranks.

While there is much that all Orthodox Jews across the spectrum share in common-in theology and in religious practice-the resolution highlights some unique attitudes towards important issues that help to define the Modern Orthodox commu-

THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

RCA posts Mod Orth platform for 21st Century

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Aunt Jemima Apple & Eve Sesame Street Brick Pack Juice Pancake Syrup 8 Pack - 33.8 oz

3

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Post 12 oz Alpha Bits; 11 oz Waffle Crisp; 14 oz Golden Crisp; 12 oz Honey Comb

5

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Assorted - 9 oz - 15 oz

1 Liter

Quaker Instant Oats

2

4

5

3/$

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Ohr 2.5 Hour EZ Light Chanukah Lights Oil or Gel - 44 Count $ 99

13

Canada Dry, Sunkist, 7-Up, A&W 3/$

5

3/$

99

2 Liter

5

1

$ 99

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Duncan Hines Duncan Hines Chewy Classic Cake Mixes Fudge Brownie Mix 15.25 oz 18 oz

Plain or Seasoned 15 oz

99¢

......................................................

4/$

Jason Bread Crumbs

6 Pack

$

4

$

Except Lasagna, Jumbo Shells, Manicotti, Plus & Gluten-Free 12 oz - 16 oz

Nestle Rich Milk Hot Cocoa

2/$

2/$

Barilla Pasta

Assorted - 24 oz

299

Vintage Seltzer

1

Libby’s Whole Kernal or Cream-Style Corn 14.5 oz - 15 oz

2/$

79¢

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Bloomeos Cookies Assorted - 20 oz

299

$

Celestial Seasoning Teas All Varieties - 20 Count

4

2/$

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26 oz

9 oz

Tonelli Marinara & Pasta Sauces

Gourmet Glatt Chocolate Covered Almonds

399

3

2/$

$

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All Flavors - 20 oz

Stems & Pieces - 8 oz

Original or Natural 46 oz - 48 oz

Whole, Diced, Crushed,Sauce, Puree - 28 oz /29 oz

Vitamin Water

Haddar Mushrooms

10/$

89¢

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10

Ner Mitzvah 44 Count Color Chanukah Candles Assorted Colors

1

2/$

Mott’s Applesauce

5

2/$

Ner Mitzvah 45 Count Tall Color Chanukah Candles Assorted Colors

4

2/$

Hunt’s Tomatoes

299

$

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Gold or Silver

Dairy or Parve Except White Chocolate

Ner Mitzvah Glass Cup Oil Menorah

3

$

99

Lieber’s Chanukah Chocolate Coins

1

3/$

while supplies last!

LaYogurt

Skim Plus Milk

All Flavors - 6 oz

Regular, Chocolate, Lactose-Free 64 oz

2/

89¢

299

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T’nuva Swiss Cheese

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Assorted - 5.3 oz 10/$

All Flavors 64 oz

Assorted 16 oz

Polly-O Ricotta

24 oz

2

$

3

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Mom’s Chicken

Nuggets, Shapes, Stars - 28 oz $ 99

99

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Kineret Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 12 oz

8

5

1

2/$

B’gan Onion Rings

All Varieties - 48 oz $ 49

All Flavors 16 oz

Assorted 16 oz

$ 99

399

Breyer’s Ice Cream

Sonny & Joe’s Hummus

$

$

2

Assorted 59 oz

Axelrod Cottage Cheese

$

32 oz

Original Only - 7 oz $ 99

Tropicana Orange Juice

2

$

99

349

Norman’s Poppers Yogurts

10

Morningstar Farms All Varieties 6 oz/12 oz

3

$

99

Turkey Hill Iced Teas

Friendship Sour Cream

3

2/$

Ta’amti Moroccan Cigars Vegetable or Potato 14 oz

439

$

1

$ 49

Halo Top Ice Cream All Flavors - 16 oz

499

$

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24 oz

Except Nutri-Grain 8 oz/12 oz

14 oz

Pardes Cauliflower Florets

499

$

Eggo Waffles

5

2/$

Freund’s Flounder Fillets

499

$

individually wrapped!

Chanukah Headquarters!

NOW 2 locations!

Cedarhurst STORE HOURS

137 Spruce Street

(516) 569-2662

SUN -TUE: 7 AM-9 PM WED: 7 AM-11 PM THURS: 7 AM-12 AM FRIDAY 6:30 AM-2 HRS. BEFORE CANDLE LIGHTING

Woodmere STORE HOURS

1030 Railroad Avenue

(516) 295-6901

SUN - THURS: 7 AM-9 PM FRIDAY 7 AM UNTIL 2 HRS. BEFORE CANDLE LIGHTING

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December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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9 THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

Sale Dates: December 4th - 9th 2016

Specials

1st CUT BRISKET

1149 lb.

$

Pastrami $ 29 $ 49 8 lb. Beef 9 lb. Turkey Deckel Deckel Wings ................... ...................

$

Neck & Skirt

ready to bake

199 lb.

...................

Shoulder

Buffalo or or grill!

499 lb. Lamb $ 99 Chops 10 lb. Seasoned$ 99 1 lb.

Wings Super ................... . . . . . . . Family . . . . . . . .Pack .... $

Ground Beef

...................

Boneless Untrimmed $ 29 $ 49 8 lb. Pot 9 lb. Chicken $389 lb.

Roast Cutlets ...................

Corned

WHOLE OR CUT-UP Beef Deckel PULLETS ...................

219 lb.

Super Family Pack

...................

Ground Boneless $ 49 White 5 lb.

Beef Fillet $ 99 $ 49 9 lb. Chicken 8 lb.

Sliders Steak

$

2 Pack

Family Pack

Family Pack

Wesson Oil

Canola, Corn,Vegetable - 48 oz

2

$ 99

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Kellogg’s 12 oz Corn Flakes or 11 oz Krave Cereals

5

2/$

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Gold Medal Flour

Regular or Unbleached - 5 lb

5

2/$

69¢ lb.

199 lb.

$

Large 2/$5 Sweet Cantaloupe

Red Delicious Apples

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3 lb Bag ..........................

99¢ lb.

Cello Onions

2/$3

3 lb Bag ..........................

Cello Iceberg Lettuce

99¢ lb.

99¢ ea.

Head ..........................

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Package

10

10/$ Sliced 2/$3 Mushrooms

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Original Only - 36 oz

Jumbo Green Peppers

79¢ lb.

Spaghetti Squash

1399lb. $ 99 5 lb.

$

Beef-a-Roni Heimish Noodle Crumb Kugel

$

Mushroom Barley Soup

$

699ea.

2 lb Container Quart

order your shabbos platters early!

Grilled Salmon with Salad Container

Aliza Beer Nutritional Meals 24 VARIETIES! SPECIAL OF THE WEEK:

9

$

99

Tilapia Family Pack $ 99 lb.

5

monday only!

Bell Cakes

99¢ea.

$

Apple Turnovers

Amaryllis Bunch

Seasonal Winterberry Bunch

599 $ 99 8

$

Spinach or Broccoli 10” Pizza

5

6

French Bread

799ea.

19 $ 1999

$

99

gourmetglattonline.com

7

$ 99

Cucumber Roll

Stuffed Capon with Brown 99 ea. Rice Plus 2 Side Dishes

Breaded Flounder $ 99 lb.

Amnon Pizza

79¢ lb.

Deli & Takeout

Baby Chicken Teriyaki

Chobani Greek Yogurt

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Slicing 2/$4 79¢ lb. Persian Cucumbers Tomatoes

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Except Flips - 5.3 oz

4/$3

99¢ lb.

$ 49 4 ea. Anjou Bag Pears Clementines

Gala Apples

Hot House Cucumbers

Pumpernickel Bread 2 lb

1

249ea.

$ 49 ea.

Holland Hydrangeas Peony Bouquets

$

24 & Up $ 2999& Up $

99

/gourmetglatt

450

$

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Mango Crunch Roll $

495

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Alaska Roll

550

$

Spicy Tuna Avocado $ Roll

595

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Crunchy Dragon Roll 95 $

10

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American Dream Roll 95 $

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check out our new olive bar! $ 99 Israeli Dip Pre-Packaged new!

2 ea. $ 49 Eggplant Turnip Salad new!

3 ea.

Pre-Packaged Butternut Squash Soup Pre-Packaged $599ea.

Honey Mustard Vegetable new! $ 99 4 ea.

Muffin At the Counter Diet Russian Cole Slaw

At the Counter

Sweet Potatoes

At the Counter

Marinara Pasta

At the Counter

549lb. $ 99 5 lb. $ 49 5 lb. $

We reserve the right to limit quantities. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.

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Sweet Potatoes

Back Yard Stem Tomatoes

December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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More food after Thanksgiving? Think healthy! #2: Fill up with fiber Fiber draws water from your body and Judy from the food you’ve eaten, and transports Joszef it to your intestinal tract, helping to deliver that meal-ending satiation, according to a who’s in the kitchen 2009 study by researchers at the University of Washington.

Fiber may boost satiety, too. Since it passeing it’s after Thanksgiving as I write this article, and after a huge delicious es through the body undigested, fiber slows Shabbat lunch at the Rothenbergs the absorption of nutrients and makes you and an amazing night of non-stop eating feel fuller longer, according to a 2008 study by researchers at the on Sunday night at the University of MinneBerg-Coplin wedding, the sota. A 2009 study last thing I can think is in the Journal of the eating. I even thought of American Dietetic asking my editor if I could Association found take the week off. But as that adding 6 grams I found out last week, my of soluble fiber (such number one fan, 102 year as ground flaxseed) old Irene Twersky, knows to yogurt provided when I play hooky, and I the satiating power didn’t want to disappoint of an additional 260 her. So, instead of a calocalories. To reap the rie-laden recipe, I decided satiating benefits of to share some healthy fiber, aim for 25 to tips that I found online a 35 grams daily. while ago.

Refined carbohyThis is from an article 102-year-old Irene Twersky, a great fan of this drates, on the other written by Paul Akita in column, with great, great granddaughter. hand—like in those Men’s Health.

Krispy Kremes—are satiety killers. When #1: Know what (and when) to drink Think of your stomach as a balloon. As participants in a 2008 British study drank you eat, it stretches. And once it expands to a high-carb beverage for breakfast, they reits maximum capacity, the sensors through- ported feeling hungrier at lunch than when out your digestive system tell your brain that they drank a beverage high in protein. Here’s it’s time to stop eating, regardless of what why: Too much sugar brings on a rapid spike in insulin, which causes a sugar crash later you’ve filled your belly with.

To stretch your stomach without stuffing it and triggers a craving for more food. #3: Pack in the protein with calories, you need water. Alan Aragon of Protein, your muscle-growing fuel, also has Men’s Health recommends drinking a glass 30 minutes before a meal and sipping frequently the power to raise levels of peptides—synthewhile eating. Water-rich foods—soup, salad, sized amino acids—in your stomach. “These fruit, and vegetables—will also fill your belly peptides initiate cross-talk with the brain on a molecular level to send out satiety signals,” without contributing excessive calories.

B

says Aragon. He recommends aiming for 20 to 40 grams of protein at each meal. #4: Savor the flavors Your belly is rumbling, and a waiter sets a juicy burger in front of you. Resist the urge to unhinge your jaws and swallow it whole.

Thoroughly chewing your food increases what researchers call “oro-sensory factors,” which send satiation signals to your brain, helping you feel full on less food, according to a 2009 study by Dutch researchers. Study participants who chewed each bite for an extra 3 seconds ended up consuming less. And skip those sippable meal-replacement shakes and calorieclogged smoothies from the juice joint. #5: Trick your belly full You can’t trust your gut. Maybe you’ve heard about the Cornell University study with the trick bowls: People who ate soup from bowls that continuously refilled ate 73 percent more than those who ate from ordinary bowls. The kicker: They rated themselves as feeling no more full. Scientists call this use of sensory cues to assess fullness “learned satiation.” Try this: Dole out a portion of food onto a smaller plate and immediately place the rest in the refrigerator. Once you eat, the visual cue of a clean plate will signal that you’ve had enough—and the leftovers will stay out of sight and out of mind, in the fridge. #6: Avoid distraction at dinner What you’re doing while you eat might be as important as what you’re eating. You’re likely to consume much more food and eat for longer periods of time when you’re distracted by television, music, or a computer, according to a 2009 review of studies published in Trends in Food Science & Technology. Eating while distracted interrupts brain-to-stomach satiation signals, making it harder to monitor your food intake. Also, distraction raises the risk of overeating the wrong types of foods— think popcorn at the movies.

The takeaway from all this is simple: When you eat, actually eat. Grab a seat. Focus on your meal. Don’t check your e-mail or hit up Hulu for last night’s Daily Show. Pay attention to your first plate of food and you might find that you don’t need to go back for seconds. #7: Downsize your snacks As long as you’re eating satiety-inducing nutrients at every meal, you’ll reduce your urge for food between meals, says Aragon.

But if your gut’s growling and your next meal is far away, a healthy snack can help prevent you from binging later.

Here are two quick, delicious, healthy and low calorie snacks.

Crispy Baked Kale

Ingredients: 1 bunch fresh kale (you can use the packaged kale already in pieces from Trader Joe).

1 Tbs. olive oil. 1 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt.

Directions: Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into small pieces. Wash and dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Find a second recipe, for Parmesan Zucchini Crisps, online at TheJewishStar.com.

Judy Joszef is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

Koshary: An Egyptian lentil and rice recipe

By Ronnie Fein, Nosher via JTA Koshary, an Egyptian specialty, is one of the best vegetarian dishes I have ever tasted.

It’s a street food, sold everywhere you look, including carts and stalls in Cairo and everywhere else in Egypt. It’s carb-loaded and comforting, bountifully flavorful and ribsticking.

My grandma would have said that koshary has the “tata and the mama” in it. Indeed, this dish contains a lot of stuff!

It includes pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas and fried onions topped with a cumin-infused, gently spicy tomato sauce.

Koshary developed as an offshoot of other Middle Eastern and South Asian foods by people who migrated to Egypt during the late 19th century, when the British occupied parts of both areas. It’s similar to both mujadarah (Middle Eastern) and kitchari (an Indian specialty), each of which are based on rice and lentils but don’t include tomato sauce. There is also some speculation that koshary’s closest ancestor is an Iraqi Jewish dish called kichri, although that dish has no pasta and is often eaten topped with a fried egg or a dollop of yogurt.

Although you have to cook koshary’s several parts separately, you can do the work piece by piece and ahead of time, then put the different elements together at the last minute and reheat the dish in the oven. I’ve even nuked it in my microwave oven. For serving, you can arrange the different elements in layers or side by side, as you wish, serve the sauce on top or separately.

Koshary recipe

Yield: 8 servings Ingredients: Tomato Sauce: 2 tablespoon olive oil 1 large clove garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger 1 2-inch cinnamon stick

28 oz. can Italian-style tomatoes, including liquid, chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Koshary: 6 oz small pasta such as elbows, farfele 1/2 cup lentils 1/2 cup white rice 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large onions, sliced 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained Directions: First, make the sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger

and cook briefly. Add the cinnamon stick and cook briefly.

Add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper.

Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and set aside.

Preheat the oven to warm (about 225 degrees).

Next, make the koshary elements: Cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Cook the lentils in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Combine the rice with 1 cup water in a small saucepan.

Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat but keep the cover on the pan to keep the rice warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over low-medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove the onions to a bowl and set aside in the oven to keep warm.

Next, reheat the tomato sauce.

Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the sauté pan used for the onions. Add the cooked macaroni and cook over medium heat without stirring, for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom is crispy. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes to crisp the pasta. Remove the pasta to a serving dish.

Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the sauté pan. Add the lentils and cook for 1-2 minutes or until lightly crispy. Spoon the lentils on top of or alongside of the macaroni. Add the rice to the serving dish.

Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Add the chickpeas and cook briefly to warm them. Spoon the chickpeas onto the serving dish.

Spoon the caramelized onions onto the serving dish.

Spoon the tomato sauce on top or serve separately.

Ronnie Fein is the author of four cookbooks: “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cooking Basics,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to American Cooking,” “Hip Kosher” and “The Modern Kosher Kitchen.”

David Anton — whose family heritage includes three generations of (Antosofsky) cantors and rabbis — uses cultural snippets of home life, holiday gatherings and history like the ingredients of a favorite grandmother’s Shabbat chicken soup. Like that weekly delicacy prepared in homes around the world, these pieces mixed together reflect a community’s collective memories and perhaps spark new ones as recipes are prepared step-by-step on screen.

Ed Koch talks about his mother’s use of

Linda Baron-Katz brings a message of hope for those in the Orthodox community living with a mental illness

A memoir of the heartbreak and challenge of growing up with a mental illness like bipolar disorder, its stigma and the hope for recovery

A children’s book about two different mental illnesses — depression and mania — makes it easier for children to understand these mental conditions Visit our website:

www.surviving-mental-illness.com For more information, contact Linda at

718-261-3772

baronkatz@gmail.com

liver an Let The Jewish Star deto your simcha! unforgettable treat Give your guests a unique custom-designed edition of

Sephardic Temple dinner offers a really ‘blind date’

Let The Jewish Star turn your photos and story into a unique and treasured keepsake … featuring any number of custom pages in any quantity you desire ... prepared by Long Island's professional Jewish newspaper team.

Perfect for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, fundraising galas, anniversary parties, special birthdays, and as a salute to an outstanding executive or board member. The possibilities are unilimited!

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10 JEWISH STAR January 1, 2016 • 20 Tevet 5776 THE

“Sometimes, to truly open your eyes, you must close them,” explained Leo Brandstatter, executive director of JIB’s U.S. office. “Blind Date and our previous dining experience, Blackout Brunch, were developed to experience the sensory world that lies just beyond our vision. Our guests will participate in a powerful presentation, where sensing is perceiving. We utilize the power of darkness to clear away the expectations created by sight.”

Since 1902, the Jerusalem Institute for the Blind has provided a wide range of educational, rehabilitative, health and social-welfare activities for blind and visually impaired children and youth throughout Israel.

For reservations or sponsorship opportunities call 212-532-4155 or visit JIB-BlindDate. org. Tickets are $150.

Make your simcha or gala extra special, with a personalized newspaper devoted to your honorees and guests!

and Eliyahu Raskin Mazel Tov to the families of Shaindy Holtzberg Weintrob from The Jewish Star • Ed and Celia

Continued from page 1

in Crown Heights with was born in Brooklyn and raised Bais Rivka and her brother and six sisters. She attended office assistant everyhas been, since graduating, the

one wants to hire. and mischief, was Eliyahu, a bright boy full of laughter the neighborhood’s born in Brooklyn Heights, and attended in fact, he was in the top-tier Kiddie Korner Preschool — at the United founding class. He continued his education and completed Lubavitcher Yeshivoth on Ocean Parkway, Heights. After two his schooling in Toronto and Crown he returned to his years as a junior shliach in California, outreach for CongreBrooklyn Heights roots and now does at Brooklyn gation B’nai Avraham through programming professionals.

Jewish Law School, and with local young B’nai Avraham This reporter interviewed excited of Eliyahu. I briefly guests about their recollections the comic book rabbi, caught up with Simcha Weinstein, snappy dresser, serious who blurted, “Eliyahu Raskin — dragged back into the doer … we love him!” before being sea of dancers. one of the shul’s After the bedeken, Penny Rosen, founders, shared her thoughts of Eliyahu. and have loved “I’ve known him since he was a baby, talk,” she said. “I was him dearly even before he could books to read to him often at the Raskin house, bringing mind, he easand Yankel. Eliyahu has such an inquisitive reading with me, and ily picked up on nuances. He loved Eliyahu prewell after the boys could all read themselves, ferred my voices for the characters.

Chalav Yisroel Swiss “I remember once finding some lunch, staking cheese, and Eliyahu coming for Shabbos cheese board so his out that block of Swiss on the marble brothers would not get it first. a little, but it him “My best memory might embarrass Bar Mitzvah age and is very sweet. He was approaching no longer could sit had to sit in the men’s section, could mitzvah, he gave me on my lap. The night before his bar world to me.” a last huge hug, which meant the I have alPenny added: “In addition to his intelligence, kindness to all.” ways been impressed by his innate chatted about her While refilling her drink, Sonia Beker warm wishes for the happy couple. guy and full of fun.

“Eliyahu was always a high energy his siblings and other He loved socially interacting with streak. He was fearmischievous benign, a had and kids, invincible and unless, loved to take risks, always feeling still quite small, he endaunted. I remember when he was and fell, footing his missed tree, a thusiastically climbed But his energy injuring his head and requiring stitches. by this mishap. level and zest for life were not diminished sensitive young “Today, Eliyahu is a warm, humorous, family and everyone man, full of good spirits towards his to his rabbis and teacharound him. He was a great asset his knowledge and ers in his studies, and he’s applying B’nai Avraham as excellent people skills at Congregation now very busy climba teacher and in outreach work. He’s great success and joy ing the tree of life, and we wish him truly love him.” in his work and in his marriage. We vigorous dance set, While cooling off from a particularly was the very first kid Naomi Weinberger noted that Eliyahu bar mitzvah. She also she ever heard recite a maimer at his a group to tap out a recalls him sneaking away at times from ping pong, played often tune on her keyboard. “And he loved be volleying and then, at our home,” she added. “You would from Eliyahu.” giggling of lots and slam a “wham!” — line-by-line each Fran Bast related the following story I’ll bet you this bantime her dance line passed by. "Fran:

Fran: I’ll bet you $10 ner won’t go up. Eliyahu: Yes, it will.

Beer delivered, it won’t. Fran: OK I owe you $10, Eliyahu. debt settled!” related by Sita Eliyahu’s good humor was laughingly — all this reportHess at the bar (just seltzer! Sheesh we were just getting ing makes a person thirsty): “When Sukkot dinner in their to know the Raskins, we went for Raskin boys have a tensuccah. During these dinners, the the evening in dency to sit in different seats throughout Adam drank more order to be good hosts. As my husband in the succah) do to apt is one throughout the evening (as seats and alternately Eliyahu and Yankel kept swapping he was calling both of sitting next to him. By mid-evening too gracious far were them Eliyahu. Eliyahu and Yankel just appreciated what to contradict him (or maybe they

• 20 Tevet 5776 THE JEWISH STAR January 1, 2016

The Jerusalem Institute for the Blind (JIB) will host a “Blind Date Dinner” at the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst as part of a series of sensory-awareness experiences developed

by JIB to benefit the visually impaired in Israel.

Diners will get a first-hand glimpse into the lives of those who are blind or visually impaired by participating in an unforgettable culinary journey in darkness — safely and comfortably.

As guests arrive for the dinner at 7 pm on motzei Shabbos, Dec. 17, they will be given featherweight blindfolds and guided to their seats where they will be served an exquisite meal prepared by Genadeen Caterers.

In the artificial darkness of their blindfolds, guests will allow their remaining senses to be their guides, savoring tastes, aromas, textures and sounds in a way never thought possible.

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chicken neck meat as a cure for a cold and how rendered chicken fat cured even the worst cook’s mistakes; a young family prepares cholent for Shabbat; a man takes pride in his grandchildren’s delight in his year-round preparation of matzoh brei; and sisters reminisce over the memory of kreplach stuffed with chopped liver.

While the focus of Hugs and Knishes is of course food, when there is talk of Jewish culture and tradition there is usually song, and Finkel and Feldshuh don’t disappoint, sprinkling their interviews with the Yiddish melodies of their childhoods.

If, as Feldshuh comments, modern dietary trends mean we “don’t have to eat half the challah” to appease the classic doting Jewish mother, Hugs and Knishes celebrates what those Shabbat and yom tov tastes still mean for a family’s third or fourth generation in America.

be). I teased Adam an excellent drinking buddy he could about it for weeks! always been so warm “Eliyahu is a lovely person. He has up our succah last year. with us. He even delivered and set We wish him and Shaindy all blessings!” to relate her memoPamela Roth took the opportunity ries over dessert.

Eliyahu had to “My son Josh remembers all the times as the Rabbi stood pick up Rabbi Raskin on his shoulders crazy faces. As for and waved his arms and Eliyahu made cheesecake assistant, me, I remember Eliyahu as my best in Shternie’s kitchen. baking cheesecakes for Shavuoth for the crust.”

He smashed the graham crackers Heights, on The couple will be residing in Brooklyn Clinton Street.

Celia Weintrob • 516-622-7461 ext 241 • CWeintrob@TheJewishStar.com

877478

A new film airing this weekend on PBS television explores the rich history of Jewish food and its cultural impact on the community.

“Hugs and Knishes: A Celebration of Our Jewish Foods and Traditions” visits both Ashkenazy and Sephardic homes to capture anecdotes of Jewish life that represent a diverse cultural experience and demonstrate the universal cultural truth that “we are what we eat.”

The program, produced and directed by David Anton, a Great Neck native and current Old Bethpage resident, will air Sunday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 pm on WLIW21, and Thursday, Dec. 8 at 9 pm on channel 13.

Long Island-affiliated interviewees in the film include Marvin Antosofsky, rabbi emeritus of Temple Or Elohim in Jericho; Rita Trokenheim of Plainview; Filmore Peltz of Massapequa; former Hofstra creative writing professor Sam Toperoff; and Michael Barcham, manager of Ben’s Deli and Restaurant in Carle Place.

Hugs and Knishes delivers great stories and recipes, from the youngest children learning how to participate in the Passover seder to one of today’s last remaining links to the great American Yiddish theater tradition, actor Fyvush Finkel (beloved for his Emmy-winning work on “Picket Fences”), who passed shortly before the film’s distribution. The film also features actress Tovah Feldshuh and former Mayor Ed Koch.

Such memorable highlights as the interaction of elementary school-age children at a senior center’s intergenerational baking event and sisters recalling a grandmother’s approval of their holiday efforts underline what is at the film’s core — food as a link to the past and a hope for the future to maintain tradition when all else may be abandoned. As a young boy interviewed during DOROT’s “Bubbe’s Bakery” hamentashen event laments, “If we don’t know these things like how to make food … they’ll get lost.”

Throughout the program, producer/director

THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

Hugs & Knishes cheers Jewish food & tradition

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December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Jordan Kaplan, a credit ratings analyst at Standard and Poor’s and president of the Lander College Alumni Council, talks with Ron Ansel, Lander College for Men Director of Career Services.

campus in Kew Gardens Hills offers a dual curriculum of intensive Torah study and a wide range of academic programs. Students major in professionally oriented disciplines.

For alumni, the panels are a way to contribute to the school and to maintain their connections.

“I like to give back to Lander because I had a great experience here,” said Jordan Kaplan, a credit ratings analyst at Standard and Poor’s who is president of the Lander College Alumni Council.

“That dozens of alumni take time from their very busy personal and professional lives to come back to campus demonstrates just how committed our alumni are,” said Rabbi Aryeh Young, Lander’s director of alumni affairs, who organized the program.

Over subs, hot dogs and soft drinks, students peppered alumni with questions about their career paths, their college and graduate school experiences, and the lessons they learned on the job. After informal networking, the discipline-specific panels began.

At the finance panel, Kaplan advised students to focus on gaining meaningful experiences when they are starting out.

“The salary is important, but experience matters most in your first job,” he said.

The panelists also discussed how to use your network to build your career, what to highlight on a resume, and how Lander prepared them for their careers.

Moshe Bedziner, a senior from North Miami Beach, waited for the medical See Touro on page 25

December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 Every week in print and online at TheJewishStar.com Send news and photos to: Schools@TheJewishStar.com Weekly deadline: Monday 5 pm

STAR SCHOOLS

Gifted goals at HAFTR elementary Fifth grade students in the gifted program of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway have been partnering with Stony Brook University researchers to track penguin colonies in Antarctica.

The tracking method, called the Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics, enables citizen scientists to use Web-based technology and Google Earth to locate guano, the stain left by penguin excrement. Guano is found only in the places where penguins breed, so locating the stains aids in determining the location of penguin populations.

Global climate change is seriously impacting the penguin population in Antarctica. As the ice melts, the penguins’ habitat is threatened, so locating and protecting penguin populations is critical. Dr. Heather Lynch, associate professor of ecology and evolution and the primary investigator on this project (along with Mathew Schwaller of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center), developed the tracking program for citizen scientists to help policy-makers with con-

servation directives aimed at saving Antarctica’s dwindling penguin populations.

Gifted teacher Lisa Rosenberg and Rabbi Baruch Noy of the technology department initiated this project in Rosenberg’s fifth grade gifted program in early November. To date, the students have found two penguin colonies by locating their guano stains by looking at satellite images taken in 2011.

According to Lynch and MAPPPD data webmaster Dr. Grant Humphries, Rosenberg’s students found an emperor penguin colony called Smith, with around 4,000 breeding pairs of penguins. The colony was located 2.3 km from where it was last seen in a 2009 image, indicating that this colony still existed at that point in time. Additionally, Rosenberg’s students uncovered another penguin emperor colony called Smyley, which had 6,061 nests at last count in 2009. Lynch and Humphries plan to use this data to convince NASA to task some satellite time to investigate these colonies in the near future.

This project is perfect for her gifted class, Rosenberg says.

Med ethics confab at YU Yeshiva University’s Student Medical Ethics Society will partner with YU’s Center for the Jewish Future to explore the history, challenges and impact of infectious diseases, at the Tenth Annual Fuld Family Medical Ethics Society Conference.

Titled “Humanity’s Oldest Rival: Infectious Diseases: Then, Now and Beyond,” the conference, on Sunday, Dec. 4 from 9 am to 1 pm, will feature experts in the worlds of medicine and Jewish law. It will take place on the YU campus at 500 W. 185th St., Manhattan.

“We feel it’s important to tackle the topic of infectious diseases considering the current climate,” said MES Co-President Yael Mayer.

“The Ebola Zaire viral epidemic in Africa, and its sudden appearance on our shores, spurred a great deal of panic; however, the general population had limited access to concrete knowledge of the disease. Similarly, the rising count of Zika infection in the United States is being met with much apprehension, but little understanding of the virus and its halachic implications.”

“The goal of this conference is twofold: to give people the opportunity to become aware of the science and halacha relating to infectious diseases and to give them an appreciation of the dedicated men and women who work tirelessly to combat this mounting threat,” added MES Co-President Ari Garfinkel. “To achieve that goal, the conference has been expanded to include other highly relevant issues, such as a look at the history of infectious diseases, and the rise of superbugs (antibiotic-resistant microbes), particularly in hospital infection.”

To register, visit yumedicalethics.com/ events/humanitys-oldest-rival/.

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Greeting old friends and former professors with smiles, dozens of alumni of Touro’s Lander College For Men returned to the college recently to share their professional experiences with current students.

Lander College for Men hosted a threeday series with 14 career panels as part of its career services programming.

“Successful Lander College for Men alumni have an invaluable perspective, since they know from their own personal experience what they would like to have known while they were students, ” said Dr. Moshe Sokol, dean of the college.

“Students say this is one of the most helpful programs we offer.”

Established in 2000, Lander College For Men is both a rigorous academic institution and a tight-knit community. The

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YOSS learning: Thanks, G’Glatt An award of hakaras hatov was presented to Gourmet Glatt VP Operations Yoeli Steinberg (center) for providing snacks and refreshments to the hundreds of participants in motzai Shabbos learning at Yeshiva of South Shore.

Steinberg is flanked by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, rosh yeshiva (left) and Rabbi Shlomo Drebin, program coordinator.

Special dedication by TAG students at SNCH TAG fourth graders made a special dedication this week at the Achiezer Respite Room in the South Nassau Communities Hospital, donating a new challah cover and special tablecloth. The room is stocked by volunteers several times a week with kosher food and other provisions. It is an oasis for anyone spending time at the hospital with a loved one at any time, during the week or on Shabbos.

At open house, Shalhevet offers an opportunity At its open house on Nov. 6, Midreshet Shalhevet High School (sister school to Rambam Mesivta, a National Blue Ribbon School), asks prospective students: Would you like your high school learning to be an obligation or an opportunity?

“What if you were taught that your questions and interests in Judaism, math, science, art and literature were of utmost importance?” shared senior Michal Beer of West Hempstead. “What if the teachers’ top priority was how hard you worked to understand, and how much you grew as a person from the lessons you learned? In Midreshet Shalhevet, this is certainly the philosophy, and the effect it has on the classroom environment is immense.”

Girls from 15 schools around Long Island, Queens, and Brooklyn, came to see what Shalhevet is all about.

Ninth grader, Basya Borenstein of Queens began the program by expressing her love of Shalhevet after only a few months. Assistant Principal, Mrs. Shaindy Lisker, spoke about what makes a Shalhevet girl stand out — exemplifying midot, chesed and ahavat Yisroel.

Sophomore Avygayl Zucker of Far Rockaway raved about all of the incredible extra-curricular activities — sports, mock trial, school play, art, and more. Avygayl emphasized that with so

many opportunities, each student can get involved in something she wants.

Tamar Lichter, a Shalhevet 2013 graduate, currently a senior in Macaulay Honors at Queens College, described how Shalhevet prepared her well for a secular college education.

She recently received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, a national award for undergraduates who plan to pursue a career of research in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). Since graduating from Shalhevet, Tamar has done original research in math and computer science, including, a project in gesture authentication for smartphones at Rutgers University.

She thanked Shalhevet for preparing her for these endeavors, “but more importantly, Midreshet Shalhevet prepared me for being a Torah Jew in the professional world.”

Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, then shared Shalhevet’s mission: a small school that does not fit any specific mold, a school incredibly adept at customizing for the needs of each student. The school is warm and nurturing and inspires individual growth, encouraging girls to pursue any profession they choose while adhering to a Torah framework, he said.

The school’s guiding principle is that its girls should not be intimidated by the

secular world, but should be prepared for it. Rabbi Friedman stressed that at Shalhevet the focus on the core values of tzniut, both in how a person behaves as well as in dress, kavod habriyot, ahavat yisrael, hakarat hatov, yosher (learning to admit mistakes and apologize), and, very importantly, ahavat Eretz Yisrael.

Shalhevet prides itself on our Israel activism. The girls actively participate

in rallies multiple times each year, and many are involved in the Committee for Israel Activism, which bringing in speakers, plans and executes programs, and educates the entire student body on what has and is happening in Israel and around the world so that they will be prepared to answer tough questions when prompted.

“In Midreshet Shalhevet, we are

Living chesed: Achiezer’s Rabbi Bender speaks at CAHAL Rabbi Boruch Ber Bender, president of Achiezer, address and advise the staff of CAHAL on how to help their students become more involved in acts of chesed.

Rabbi Bender described how chesed is not just a project, but a way of life. He shared many stories about community members who became involved in chesed activities through Achiezer, and how they enabled their children to experience giving chesed firsthand.

He suggested that CAHAL staff ask students to picture themselves on the receiving end, so that they

can todevelop empathy and the ability to feel someone else’s pain.

Rabbi Bender said that chesed opportunities are often right in our own backyards, and they are a winwin for both the receiver and the giver. Practical examples included helping elderly neighbors after a snow storm by shoveling their walk, helping bring food to restock hospital respite rooms, and making challah covers for families who stay in hospitals over Shabbat.

Rabbi Bender concluded by reminding everyone that chesed empowers children and builds greater

confidence and self-esteem.

CAHAL staff shared their own experiences with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and how grateful they were for Achiezer’s help.

After the presentation, the CAHAL staff collaborated to plan chesed initiatives with their classes and in the community. They also expressed interest in helping to expand Achiezer’s newest initiative, CIMBY (Chesed In My BackYard), to include even more opportunities.

The Young Israel of LawrenceCedarhurst graciously hosted the gathering.

constantly being challenged,” said senior Michal Beer. “Because of the individualized environment, I have grown so close with many of my teachers.

They play a crucial role in the person I have become today [and] learning has become a fundamental and enjoyable part of my life.”

Michal also discussed Shalhevet students’ impressive SAT and ACT scores and said that each student is guided in selecting the right Israel program and college. She also mentioned how the office of the principal, Esther Eisenman, is always open and how she finds the time to address the needs of each student.

Mrs. Eisenman concluded the speeches by expressing how remarkable all of the girls in Shalhevet are, the topnotch colleges and seminaries that they are accepted to, and their true love for all of am Yisroel. She read statements from alumnae in Israel who expressed their thanks to Shalhevet for preparing them for life after high school, as well as statements from Israel programs and college deans highlighting the students as open minded individuals who love intellectual challenges.

“We are a smaller school by design, with big school opportunities both academic and extracurricular,” Mrs. Eisenman concluded.

Following the speeches, the parents and students took part in mini class lessons led by Zionism coordinator, Rabbi Yotav Eliach; chumash teacher, Andrea Schulman; math teacher, Mike Kelly; TSBP teacher, Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss, and science teacher Menachem Borenstein.

The classes that they participated in were just a taste of the excitement and energy found throughout Midreshet Shalhevet on a daily basis. The parents and students were then invited to the ballroom where they enjoyed a buffet, with Shalhevet teachers, parents, and students present to answer questions and convey more information about Shalhevet.

Those who missed the Midreshet Shalhevet open house are invited to visit for a personal tour. To schedule a visit, contact Shani Seewald, director of communications, at 516-224-0240 x204 or sseewald@shalhevethsg.org.

research focuses on the modern history of Iran, Shi’ah Islam and Iran’s religious minorities.

The event, on Monday, Dec. 5 at 6 pm in Koch Auditorium on the Israel Henry Beren Campus, 245 Lexington Ave., Manhattan, will also feature an address from the Dani Dayan, Consul General of Israel.

“For hundreds of years there existed a vibrant Jewish life in Arab countries where Jews were integral to all aspects of social life and rose to the highest positions in government and in business,” said Dayan. “With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, this historical Jewish presence was almost entirely erased. Each year the Israeli consulate marks the exodus of Jews from Arab countries together with the communities which carry on their traditions.”

CAHAL-HANC k’garten celebrates Thanksgiving What better way is there to appreciate what we have in our lives today than to learn about the past, when the advantages and benefits we take so for granted did not even exist?

In lessons about the holiday of Thanksgiving, the children in the CAHAL kindergarten class at HANC have come to understand and value the people and everyday things in their lives so much more, and to thank Hashem who has granted them all the goodness that they know.

Through group lessons filled with pictures, stories and artifacts, the children learned about the Pilgrims from England and the Native Americans of 400 years ago. The children compared and contrasted the Pilgrim and Native American homes, clothing, and ways of life; videos on their SmartBoard brought these stories “alive” as they watched how the people of the Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts, a living museum today, recreate daily life in the settlements that they built and modeled after the Pilgrim and Wampanoag villages of long ago.

The message behind the Thanksgiving lessons, in addition to their historical and cultural value, were to demonstrate that one group of people gave much needed help to another group who then showed their gratitude in return. Doing chesed and showing hakarat hatov are both essential middot.

Choosing to thank their therapists, who are an integral part of the CAHAL program and help them in their skills development every day, the children got to work. As in the days of old, each child made his or her own clothing (costumes for both Pilgrims and Native Americans to switch off wearing during the feast), and they made pumpkin muffins from scratch. Each child brought a food contribution to the feast and helped to set a beautiful table for the guests. The children learned the important social skills of how to greet and entertain guests as well as escort them when it is time to leave. Later in the day, the class walked around the HANC building giving out pumpkin muffins and thanks to the nurse, custodians, and others who help in the school every day.

CAHAL, the local yeshiva based and sponsored community program for children with learning challenges, now in its 24th year, provides smaller, more individualized classes in the local yeshivas.

CAHAL students attend mainstream activities daily. When ready, children attend mainstream academic classes as well, with support from CAHAL to ensure success.

CAHAL is accepting applications for September 2017. For more information contact CAHAL at cahal@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

According to Niche.com, HAFTR High School was listed as the #4 private school on Island, surpassing all other Yeshiva High Schools in the area. We take great pride ranking and being listed as the top Yeshiva on the Island.

According to Niche.com, HAFTR High School was listed as the #4 private school on Long Island, surpassing all other yeshiva high schools in the area.

We take great pride in this ranking and being listed as the top yeshiva on the Island.

HAFTR HS offers a warm, Torah-rich, student-centered environment in which students enjoy a dual curriculum of intensive Judaic studies and rigorous academics in the humanities and sciences. A carefully developed, challenging course of study is designed to foster creative and independent thought, and facilitate HAFTR High School offers a warm, Torah-rich, student-centered environment in which stu students’ success in the finest yeshivot and curriculum universities. enjoy a dual of intensive Judaic studies and rigorous academics in the hum

and sciences. A carefully developed, challenging course of study is designed to foster cr

Our wide array of extracurricularand activities and clubs gives numerous opportunities toyeshivot and unive independent thought, andstudents facilitate students’ success in the finest engage and excel in community service, cultural arts, athletics, student government, religious and Our wide array of extracurricular activities and clubs gives students numerous opportu political activism, and academic competition and research. We inculcate our students with an to engage and excel in community service, cultural arts, athletics, student govern appreciation of Torah values andreligious our American heritage.

Our graduates become productive and political activism, and academic competition and research. We inculca members of society, as well as articulate, dedicated OrthodoxofJews areand passionately students with an appreciation Torahwho values our American heritage. Our gra committed to being model citizens and advocates for the Jewish people. become productive members of society, as well as articulate, dedicated Orthodox Jew

are passionately committed to being model citizens and advocates for the Jewish p

Ms. Naomi Lippman, General Studies • Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, Judaic Studies Principal HAFTRPrincipal High School Central Wyner, Avenue Assistant Principal Mr.635 Joshua Ms. Naomi Lippman, General Studies Princip Cedarhurst, NY 11516 516-569-3807 www.haftr.org

Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, Judaic Studies Princ Mr. Joshua Wyner, Assistant Principal

Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns & Rockaway High School

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To mark the annual commemoration of the exodus of Jews from Arab countries, Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and Sephardic Community Program will partner with the Consulate General of Israel in New York next week to present a lecture and discussion on the cultural dimensions of modern Jewry in Arab lands.

The lecture by Dr. Daniel Tsadik, associate professor of Sephardic and Iranian studies, will highlight certain aspects of the culture of Arab Jews, including their activities in literature, theater, cinema and sports.

“Our journey through these topics will pay tribute to the impressive, multifaceted, lively and creative individuals, communities and societies that lived in Arab lands,” he said. Tsadik’s

HAFTRRANKED IS TOP TOPRANKED YESHIVA ON LONG ISLAN YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL ON L.I. THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

YU explores exodus of Jews from Arab lands

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635 Central Avenue • Cedarhurst, NY 11516 • 516-569-3807

Students in the Manhattan Day School Israel advocacy team met last week with Josh Warhit, Northeast high school coordinator of StandWithUs. StandWithUs is an organization dedicated to educating people about Israel and to combating the extremism and anti-Semitism.

Warhit offered the students advice and encouragement on taking a stand to support Israel.

Although the students have just begun their research, they were able to describe why they chose their particular topics and what they intend to speak and teach others about. Warhit advised them to be sure they use primary sources, know their audience, and build relationships.

This is the second year that MDS has organized an Israel advocacy team. Last year, six representatives presented their “Stand for Israel” to the Upper West Side community, Yahoo News, Alan Dershowitz, and the United Nations.

“I saw the program last year and it inspired me,” says Tyler Fischman, who is reporting on

anti-Semitism at the United Nations.

“I recognized that the public was unaware and uninformed of the current situation in the Middle East and I wanted to get involved in Stand With Israel,” says Charlie Laifer, who is doing his research on social media and propaganda.

“I hope to gain a stronger understanding of how to read between the lines and learn how to verify the facts in several sources,” says Jacob Kadoe, who is reporting on biased media.

Other topics to be explored include Education of Palestinian Youth (Isaac Silverman); Palestinian Payments (Ruthie Gerber and Allie Berkowitz); Political Anti-Semitism 2016 (Max Jankelovits and Harry Meister); Racism in Arab Countries (Mia Spira and Rivka Yellin); Efficacy of Security Checks (Shoshana Epstein); Israel: The Legitimate Sovereign (Avital Feuerstein); and Erroneous Allegations Against the IDF (Rachel Halpern).

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StandWithUs partners with advocates at MDS

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Aish comes to Rambam Rabbi Max Anteby, senior international lecturer for Aish Hatorah, was welcomed to Rambam Mesivta to discuss “Torah and the Origins of the Universe.” The Program was arranged

by Rambam Rebbe, Rabbi Ari Boiangiu, who introduced Rabbi Anteby as a scholar, successful CEO, and Talmid Chachom.

Rabbi Anteby, using complex mathematical formulas, coupled with quotes from the Torah and the Miforshim, gave compelling proofs about the actual age of the universe.

The discussion was erudite, as well as humorous, and Rabbi Anteby was impressed with the decorum and insight displayed by the talmidim.

The school is looking forward to welcoming him back for a follow-up visit in a few months.

Shulamith fair says ‘thanks’

HAFTR 4th graders journey to LES Fourth grade artists and historians from the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway visited the Eldridge Street Synagogue and toured the Lower East Side. The students are learning about immigration in their social studies curriculum.

Touring the Lower East Side gave them an opportunity to see how a neighborhood and community transforms over time. Students marveled at the architecture and design of the shul and were enamored by its story.

In groups, they explored a theme to study, such as people, build-

HANC: Why be thankful?

Students at the Samuel and Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, in West Hempstead, have been focusing on gratitude.

Each class had a discussion about thanking Hashem. In the course of their conversations in class, the children composed a profound list of elements of their lives that come from Hashem.

Their list included: the world, family, friends, Torah, air we breathe, food and water, teachers, books, our school, pets and, of course, their toys.

As a culminating activity, each student and staff member received a green balloon

Second grade students of Shulamith School for Girls welcomed their parents and grandparents to the Cedarhurst school’s annual Thanksgiving fair.

The school lunchroom was elaborately decorated in fall colors, creating a festive atmosphere for the event. The girls sang songs and presented poems. There were also interactive booths for the children and their guests to “feast” upon: making cupcake turkeys, placemats, and bookmarks were some of the activities that delighted everyone.

Thanks to the creativity and commitment of their teacher, Sharon Katz, the students enjoyed an enriching experience which taught them all about the Pilgrims and why they came to the “New World.” They learned how very different life was at that time than it is today, and came to understand the hardships the Pilgrims endured.

As the students and parents thanked their teachers, it was evident that they gained an appreciation of hakarat hatov.

ing facades, windows, doors and signs. Using iPads, each group captured the essence of their theme by photographing the synagogue and other landmarks that included the Forward Building, Reb Moshe Feinstein’s yeshiva, the Nickelodeon Theater and the Jarmulowsky Bank.

Lunch was at the first playground in New York City, Seward Park.

A stop at The Pickle Guys was a highlight of the day. Photographs will be on display at the Fourth Grade Evening Celebration of the Arts in March.

that said “Todah” on it. The entire school went outside, thought about all that they are grateful for, and then released hundreds of balloons up to Hashem.

Following the release of the balloons, HANC’s illustrious music teacher, Rabbi Mordechai Shapiro, lead the entire school in song, and the children and teachers danced together in celebration.

Despite the cold weather and strong winds, to see the young kindergarten students dancing with sixth graders, and teachers dancing with students, was truly an inspiring celebration.

YU: Grateful to police and firehighers Yeshiva University students reached out to local police officers and firefighters to express heartfelt appreciation for the role they play in keeping New York City safe.

Two officers from the city’s 34th Precinct and five firefighters from Fire Department of New York Ladder 45 represented the forces at an event on YU’s Wilf Campus that gave students an opportunity to sign a poster or share their gratitude in person.

The event was organized as part of a campaign called #ShareYourThanks, created by students in a social media marketing class at the Sy Syms School of Business to spread positive feeling and goodwill toward law enforcement officers.

“We were assigned to create a campaign for a social cause and we noticed the tension in our country surrounding law enforcement,” said Matan Horenstein, one of the campaign’s organizers.

“We thought it would be impactful to put together an event where we showed our appreciation to the local police and firefighters who work around the clock to protect and keep us safe.

We have received lots of positive feedback from students thanking us for coming up with the initiative and allowing them to share their appreciation with the heroes of our community.”

The hearT of jerusalem

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ibor Rubin was a Corporal in the Korean War when his battalion was ambushed by thousands of Chinese troops in the battle of Unsan, North Korea, in the fall of 1950. The Americans’ firepower soon dwindled to a single machine gun. The weapon was in an exposed position and three soldiers had already died manning it when Corporal Rubin took charge. He fought until his ammunition was gone. Badly wounded, he was captured and sent to a P.O.W. camp, but his bravery helped many of his fellow soldiers survive. And his valor does not end there.

He spent 30 months as a prisoner of war in North Korea, and fellow prisoners later testified about his willingness to sacrifice for the good of others. What gave him the strength to do all this?

Tibor was born on June 18, 1929, in Paszto, a Hungarian shtetl with about 120 Jewish families, to Ferenc and Rosa Rubin.

His father, who had served in the Hungarian Army during World War I and spent several years as a prisoner of war in Russia, worked in a shoe store. In the days before the Nazi occupation of Hungary in March 1944, his parents sent him with a band of adult escorts in an attempt to reach Switzerland, but they were captured.

Young Tibor, then 14, was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, where, on his arrival, a commandant told him and his six comrades that none would get out alive. He barely survived the 14

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What was it that guided Toibor Rubin in the dark cold winters of mauthausen and north Korea?

In Jewish tradition, every child born of a Jewish mother remains a Jew no matter what. The Talmud tells us: “Yisrael, af al pi she’chatah, Yisrael hu” (“A Jew, even though he may transgress, remains a Jew”).

So, what happened to Esau?

Last week, Avraham was forced to choose between his two sons, Yitzchak and Yishmael. But one might surmise that a Jewish father is not enough; Avraham’s son will only be the next Jew if he is born of Sarah, his Jewish partner.

This week, that hypothesis appears to be shattered, as both Esau and Yaakov are born of the same Jewish mother, Rivkah. So why isn’t Esau Jewish?

It would seem that the aforementioned axiom applies only from the time of Yaakov, and in fact from the time Yaakov that acquires the name “Yisrael.” Only when Yaakov succeeds in becoming Yaakov (as well as Yisrael), will the Jewish people be born.

What is it about the struggle between Yaakov and Esau that signifies the completion of this journey and the definition of Jewish progeny? Why is Esau not a Jew? Yitzchak seems to think that Esau is the next Jewish generation — he intends to give Esau the blessings! — so why was Yitzchak wrong?

G-d creates to have created the perfect experiment: twins, born of the same womb,

raised in the same home and even given the same blessings (compare Bereishit 27: 28 vs.

27:39: they both are blessed with the dew of the heavens etc.) as if to teach us that there is a characteristic that Yaakov develops irrespective of his genetic lineage that is the final sign of what it means to be a Jew. What is that ingredient? ight from the beginning when Rivkah struggles with her pregnancy, she is told by G-d that she is carrying two separate nations (ibid. 25:23). The boys “grow up” (25:27), and Rashi explains that while Yaakov pursues study, Esau pursues idolatry.

Indeed when Rivkah is pregnant the Midrash (quoted by Rashi 25:22) suggests that Yaakov wanted to get out when they passed halls of Torah study and Esau wanted to get out when they passed temples of idolatry. Rashi even suggests (26:35; 27:1) that Yitzchak’s poor sight is caused by Esau’s sacrifices to idolatry which cause smoke in Yitzchak’s eyes.

Rabbinic literature seems to suggest that the paradigmatic difference between Yaakov and Esau was Torah vs. idolatry. Yaakov is described (25:27) as the “ish tam yoshev ohalim” (the “complete” person who dwells in the tents, which represent Torah).” The Torah is described as complete as well — See Hashem on page 25

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months before the camp was liberated by American soldiers on May 5, 1945.

In a 2013 documentary film, Finnigan’s War, about veterans of the Korean War, Corporal Rubin recalled, “I promised the good Lord that if I get out of here alive, I’d become a G.I. Joe, to give something back.”

He eventually made it to the United States and enlisted in the US Army.

He had been steeled for captivity and privation, he said, by his experience in Mauthausen. In Korea, he declined an offer by his Communist captors to return him to Hungary, then under the influence of the Soviet Union. Instead, he made a habit of sneaking out of the camp at night and foraging for food, stealing from enemy supplies, and bringing back what he could to help nourish his comrades.

“He shared the food evenly among the G.I.’s,” Sgt. Leo A. Cormier Jr., a fellow prisoner, wrote in a statement, according to the Jewish Journal. “He also took care of us, nursed us, and even carried us to the latrine.”

He added, “Helping his fellow men was the most important thing to him.”

Corporal Rubin’s father died in the Buchenwald concentration camp; his mother and a younger sister died at Auschwitz. In a longoverdue tribute, more than half a century later, on Sept. 23, 2005, Tibor Rubin, then 76 years old, was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Asked where he found the strength to risk his life again and again for his fellow soldiers, he responded, “My mom was very religious, and she always taught us: ‘There is one God, and we are all his children.” his week, parsha Toldot tells of the children and grandchildren of Abraham, and raises a fundamental question: What makes someone Jewish?

THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

Our ultimate guide: An all-encompassing truth

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December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Fantastic Beasts an allegory of anti-Semitism, fear A Consideration by Gabe Friedman, JTA The first spin-off from the Harry Potter film series, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” is a thrilling and at times darkly sinister adventure. The movie, which launched a new five-film franchise with new characters, has already cast a spell over Potter fans, raking in a box office best $75 million in its opening weekend.

It also happens to be an allegory of the perils of anti-Semitism, xenophobia and a general fear of the other in modern society.

The film’s plot follows Newt Scamander — a young “magizoologist” who has traveled the world studying exotic magical creatures, played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne — around New York City in 1926.

Along the way, as he attempts to find some “beasts” who have escaped from his magical suitcase, Newt befriends two characters who are presumed to be Jewish: Tina Goldstein, who works for The Magical Congress of the United States, and Jacob Kowalski, a World War I veteran who wants to open a bakery on the Lower East Side (he bakes confections from recipes passed down from his presumably Jewish grandmother).

J.K. Rowling always avoids identifying religions in her works, but an establishing shot of an Orchard Street sign in the heart of the Lower East Side — which was New York’s Jewish immigrant epicenter in the early decades of the 20th century — feels like a crystal clear hint.

Eddie Redmayne and Leda Lestrange in a scene from “Frantastic Beasts.”

However, the deeper Jewish undercurrent in “Fantastic Beasts” comes in a second storyline, which involves a black cloud that terrorizes the city. The viewer learns that this powerful dark mass, or “Obscurus,” which can destroy streets and buildings in its way, is actually the product of societal oppression.

As Newt explains, when children born with

magical powers hold in (or obscure) their identities, this dark force is unleashed. An Obscurus child usually dies before the age of 10.

An obvious parallel to be made here is to the rampant xenophobia and anti-Semitism of the 1920s. The mass immigration of Jews and southern and eastern Europeans led to

a backlash in the United States, with laws passed in 1921 and 1924 severely limiting immigration. The Russian Revolution fueled fears that foreign “radicals” would sneak in with the new arrivals. Henry Ford was funding an anti-Semitic newspaper. Jewish quotas at prestigious American colleges were well underway.

As a result, many American Jews hid their cultural and religious identity for fear of discrimination.

“As Jews were admitted to executive suites they were expected to emulate the other occupants of those exalted quarters, that is, to become less obviously Jewish,” is how the late Jewish sociologist Daniel J. Elazar described the phenomenon. Jewish observers have debated the effects of such assimilation on the Jewish community and Jewish psyche ever since.

Rowling told the New York Times that her story was inspired by the recent rise of populism around the world.

Her screenplay is set in a world of economic anxiety and distrust of the Other, where the investigation into what is behind the dark cloud is explicitly called a witch hunt, and Newt is arrested by a Magical Congress looking for a scapegoat.

It will be interesting to watch if the next four “Fantastic Beasts” movies tackle similarly political themes — and if Eddie Redmayne’s charming character makes any more Jewish friends on his adventures.

350 pieces set for Judaica auction J. Greenstein and Co. in Cedarhurst will cross-cultural interactions are found in other top plated with brass.

The shape of the top of the tik is clearly auction over 350 pieces of antique Judaica in objects in this collection.

A Woman’s Sabbath Cap is an example of influenced by Persian architecture, almost a lead-up to Chanukah.

Each item placed for sale represents a adding beauty to a life of mitzvah-keeping. like the arches in some of the mosques in Istime and place in history. Many of today’s In Poland, Jewish women would “cover their fahan. Again, cross-cultural interactions are religious practices are hybrids of biblical law hair within the presence of men other than apparent. This is a museum-quality piece, meshed with rituals and practices that were their immediate family,” explained Green- and would be at home in the hands of a priplace when and where they were first prac- stein. “It was a custom among wealthy wom- vate collector.

“The Persian sefer Torah was actually ticed. The pieces being auctioned carry the en in Poland to wear these very elaborate lore of a rich history that has enhanced Judaism over the centuries.

Jonathan Greenstein, famed antiquities expert and historian and founder of the auction house at 417 Central Ave., talks with pride about the pieces in this collection, which will go on sale on Monday, Dec. 12 at 1 pm.

Items hail from across the Jewish world — Poland to Persia, Morocco to Israel — reflecting a common history, with similar practices, struggles and celebrations, but in- Jonathan Greenstein and a women’s sabbath cap handwoven with silver thread, one of several antique Judaica items that fused by the manner- will be auctioned. isms of the societies in caps.” Placing a beautiful hat on their head found in the Zaleznik estate,” Greeenstein which each lived.

A featured piece of the auction is an 1880s was not only sanctifying themselves by keep- said. “It was very surprising to find such a sefer Torah inscribed with Sephardic-style ing Jewish law, but it also allowed them to piece in a collection of a very Ashkenazi famhandwriting, crafted by a Bukharian Jew- assert their beauty while also maintaining ily. I imagine Dr. Zaleznik wanted to have an example of each discipline with every heriish scribe. Hailing from the central Asia, the their modesty.

Another item that stands out is a velvet To- tage represented.”

Bukharian Jewish culture resembles a cross It is due to the wide span of interests of between Russian-speaking Ashkenazi Jews rah tik (covering) made in Persia in the early the Zaleznik family that J. Greenstein and and that of those from Persia. This sefer Torah 1900s (with the original Torah included).

The velvet glimmers with a rose-like color, Co. is able to auction such a diverse group of reflects a similar mixing of cultures. A plain wooden scroll reminiscent of those found on which is complemented by ornate gold and items this month.

Visit www.jgreenstein.com, call 516-295a Russian Torah is wrapped with parchment silver designs. When the tik is opened, the reflecting Sephardic heritage. Subtleties of Torah within opens with a golden shine, its 2931, or email jonathan@jgreenstein.com.

Event chairs: Jennifer Pravato and Debi Yadegari

UJA gathers vols in Syosset for T’ksgiving Dozens of child and parent volunteers assembled and delivered Thanksgiving baskets for needy families, homebound seniors and veterans at a UJA-Federation of New York event in Syosset that was organized by the New Leadership Campaign and Connections Families Helping Families.

The baskets brought joy to Long Islanders receiving services from UJA-Federation beneficiary agencies, including Hatzilu Rescue Organization, the Lend a Hand Project, MidIsland Y Jewish Community Center, Rina Shkolnik Kosher Food Pantry in Woodmere, and the Samuel Field Y, and the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center.

Event chairs included Jennifer Pravato and Debi Yadegari, and Jamie Silverman, Eddie Zuckerbrot and Drew Donner served as Teen Chairs.

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What we will interests that we of great imporour community’s and also — paramount to House the White legislative and Whoever wins state and local wins the many card — must be reminded that tance, whoever take our civic the Election Day judicial races on x communities on Long Island and monitor races we in the Orthodo we follow the respond if seriously, that and that we will responsibilities our elected officials, or mishandled. the actions of ignored are long tradition hold dear ng America’s the issues we issue is continui for the security of the JewWhether the support of in the aled) shake for yeshivas observ(sometimes threaten or insuring a fair Shabbos ish state of Israel, or facilitating hearings for a myriad other aid, or ent, location of state nation in employm it’s certainly the surest way — g them. ers who face discrimi might be the concerns, voting let the pols know we’re watchin our yeto the solvency of easiest way — safety, along withrests with Hashem. But Israel’s ly, Ultimate parnasa, success of our job is to vote. shivas and the Tuesday, that a job to do. On Ed Weintrob, Editor and Publisher we each have

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THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 2 Kislev 5777

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December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

20

It’s December, it must be Chanukah AlAn JAy Gerber Kosher BooKworm

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es, with this edition dated December 2, we are to soon to observe the joyous holiday of Chanukah. With that said, it is my pleasure to once again cite for your reading pleasure another learned work by Rabbi Yanki Tauber of Woodmere, entitled, “Inside Time: A Chassidic Perspective on the Jewish Calendar” (Meaningful Life Center, 2015), volume two. In this volume, we learn about one aspect of the Chanukah ritual observance that has in recent years been revived by many Jewish households, that is, the use of olive oil in lighting the menorah.

The first essay that I bring to your attention is a teaching found in the section themed to Purim. However, what makes this particular essay relevant now is of how the author contrasts the use of oil in the Chanukah ritual to the consumption of wine at Purim meals.

Rabbi Tauber begins by citing this verse from the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 105:5: “Oil permeates the entire substance of a thing.”

Rabbi Tauber then teaches us the following from his essay entitled, “Oil and Wine”: “Oil is in. Oil shuns superficiality — you won’t find it riding a fad or angling for a photo opportunity. When oil comes in contact with something, it saturates it to the core, permeat-

ing it in its entirety.

“When set aglow, oil is the master of understatement. Soundlessly it burns — not for the oil lamp the vulgar cackling of firewood or even the faint sizzle of candlewax. Its light does not burst through the door and bulldoze the darkness away; instead, it gently coaxes the gloom to shimmer with a spiritual luminescence.”

The author continues: “Chanukah is oil, Purim is wine.

“Chanukah is the triumph of the Jewish soul.

The Greeks had no design on the Jew’s body; it was the soul of Israel they coveted, seeking to indoctrinate her mind with their philosophy and tint her spirit with their culture. We fought not for the freedom of our material self but to liberate identity from Hellenist domination.”

“Chanukah is commemorated with oil. Chanukah celebrates the innerness of the Jewish soul, the essence which permeates and sanctifies every nook and cranny of the Jew’s life.

Chanukah celebrates the secret glow of the spirit which, rather than confronting the darkness, infiltrates it and transforms it from within.”

A related theme is expressed further in another essay, this one directed exclusively to Chanukah observance, entitled, “The Transparent Body” wherein we learn the following teaching that ties in with the theme of the previously cited essay.

“Yet the battle waged by the Hasmoneans against the Greeks was the most spiritual battle in Jewish history. The Greeks did not endeavor to physically destroy the Jewish people, or

even to deprive them of their religion and way of life; they merely wished to Hellenize them — to “enlighten” their lives with the culture and philosophy of Greece. Keep your books of wisdom, they said to the Jew, keep your laws and customs, but enrich them with our wisdom, adorn them with our art, blend them into our lifestyle. Worship your G-d in your temple, but then worship the human body in the adjoining sports stadium we will build for you. Study your Torah but integrate it with the principles of our philosophy and the aesthetics of our literature.”

As we approach Chanukah, please consider these teachings by Rabbi Tauber. In doing so, also revisit the holiday prayer, “Al Hanissim.”

Study carefully its text, its theme, and its message. Then, contrast it with Rabbi Tauber’s teachings. In doing so, you will arrive at better understanding of Chanukah’s theological message, and its spiritual holiness, a valued lesson for all Jews for all time.

For Your Continued Learning

I am pleased to bring to your attention the recent release of a new work published by the Orthodox Union entitled, “Coming Closer: Understanding and Experiencing Tefillah” by Rabbi Yisrael Shlomo Goldfinger, a musmach of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, and currently a member of the kollel of Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim in Queens.

The author describes his work as themed to unlocking the spiritual power of Jewish prayer by teaching how prayer, in an organized manner, foster a relationship between G-d and His

people. The result, when read with great care, is to further enhance our appreciation of the structure of the prayer text and thus generate an intense mode of worship.

Another recent work, published by Toby Press, is “The Secret of Chabad,” by Rabbi David Eliezrie. Of timely interest to us at this time of year is the chapter entitled, “The Menorah Wars,” a 20 page historical narrative of the struggle many have had, all over the United States, with assimilated and misguided Jewish leaders who sought to ban the public display of menorahs in public venues. This is a very daunting episode in American Jewish history, and Rabbi Eliezrie has richly earned our commendation for a job very well done in exposing the perfidy of those who have for so long attempted to falsely claim governance of our interests in the public and political square.

Alan Gerber is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

Rivka’s lesson: Spiritual stagnation unacceptable rAbbi Avi billet Parsha of the weeK

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naware that she was carrying twins, Rivkah has second thoughts when the “child” in her rumbles around. The rabbis teach us that when she passed a house of study Yaakov tried to emerge, while when she passed a house of idolatry Eisav fought to emerge. For a woman who believed she was carrying one child, this disparity of views from within the womb was perplexing, and so the verse says, “She went to seek of G-d.” (25:22) There are a number of views as to what it was she went to seek: She went to “the house of Shem” (Midrash Aggadah); “She went to request for mercy for the rest of her pregnancy. … She

went to offer a sacrifice” (Pesikta); to seek G-d, she went to pray at a place of purity — namely, the same place where Yitzchak had gone to pray for her to become pregnant, Mt. Moriah. Many commentaries suggest that she went to the prophets of her time for answers, while Ramban says the only definition of seeking out G-d is prayer.

Some wonder (see Radak, for example) why she didn’t ask her husband or her fatherin-law for answers. The Maharal of Prague suggests, in his Gur Aryeh, that she didn’t go to them because she was afraid that her difficulty was on account of some sin (which he doesn’t identify). The rabbis explained (Sotah 12a) that the righteous women were not subject to the decree against Chava to have difficulty in pregnancy and childbirth. She thought that her

personal experience was testimony to some personal flaw that would degrade her in the eyes of her husband and father-in-law, the latter telling his son that she isn’t good enough for him.

(With our own hindsight, such a thought is certainly disturbing; one wonders how often such thoughts are passed from parent to child today, questioning the worthiness of a spouse, when a parent sees something he or she does not like in their child’s spouse’s behavior or choices.)

Getting back to Rivkah, let us look at the explanation offered by the Kli Yakar on what Rivkah sought. He explains that in her thinking that she was only carrying one child, its pernicious behavior in utero was indicating that there may in fact be two deities. Wondering, “If this is

When the going gets rough, one has to seek the right answers.

the case, what do I need this for?” she was in fact asking, “How am I different from other women (in my view of monotheism) if in fact there are two deities?” And so, Kli Yakar suggests, “she went to seek out G-d,” means she went to seek out the truth of G-d’s essence.

He goes on to explain, in 25:23, that the reason Yitzchak prayed on her behalf (25:21) was because he feared that she was barren on account of her family relations, being the daughter of Betuel and the sister of Lavan. Rivkah herself, after becoming pregnant and confronting her doubts raised because of the instability of her fetus, wondered why she had even prayed for a child — as her child was giving every indication of her being no better than Hagar, and her child being no better than the child of Hagar.

From one perspective, like other commenatries, Kli Yakar also has Rivkah seeking answers.

From a different perspective, he has Rivkah seekSee Rivka on page 21

Enduring meaning of the covenant of patriarchs rAbbi dAvid etenGoff

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ur parasha presents the story of Isaac’s sojourn with Abimelech, the King of the Philistines: “And there was a famine in the land, aside from the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham, and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.”

(Bereishit 26:1) Apparently, Isaac was planning to repeat his father’s journey and travel from Abimelech’s kingdom to Egypt. Hashem, however, had different plans for him: “And the L-rd appeared to him, and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land

that I will tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and I will bless you, for to you and to your offspring will I give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham, your father. And I will multiply your children like the stars of the heavens, and I will give your descendants all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will bless themselves by your seed’.” (26:2-4) At this point, the Torah cites the reason why why Isaac and his future children are to receive the blessings that have been vouchsafed to them: “Because Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My instructions.”

(26:5) Rashi explains the terms, “charge, commandments, statutes and instructions,” in the following manner: And kept My charge: [Referring to] decrees

to distance [himself] from transgressing the warnings in the Torah, e.g. secondary prohibitions to prevent incest from occurring, and the Rabbinic decrees to safeguard the prohibitions of the Sabbath. My commandments: [Referring to] things, which, had they not been written, would have been fit to be commanded, e.g. [prohibitions against] robbery and bloodshed.

My statutes: [Referring to] things that the evil inclination and the nations of the world argue against, e.g. [the prohibitions against] eating pork and wearing garments of wool and linen for which no reason [is given], but [which are] the decree of the King and His statutes over His subjects. And My instructions: To include the Oral Law, the laws given to Moses from Sinai.

As the Ramban (Nachmanides) notes in his commentary on our pasuk, Rashi’s gloss is

congruent with the rabbinic concept that maintains, “Abraham fulfilled and kept the Torah prior to it having been given [at Mount Sinai].”

This idea is given powerful voice in two wellknown statements in the Mishnah and Talmud: •We find that our father, Abraham, implemented (she’asah) the entire Torah prior to it having been given. As the text states: “Because Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My instructions.” (Mishnah, Kiddushin 4:14) •Rava said, and others suggest that it was Rav Ashi who said: Our father, Abraham, fulfilled (kiyaim) the entire Torah — including eruvei tavshilin (the mixture of dishes, a rabbinic enactment).

As the text states: “Torotai (My instructions)” — this refers to both the Written Law and the Oral Law. (Talmud Bavli, Yoma 28b) See Patriarchs on page 21

Patriarchs...

Continued from page 20 ing more than a mere understanding of the battle taking place in her womb, but of Who and What G-d is in this world. t’s incredible to consider that even after 20 years of living with Yitzchak and of being removed from her father’s home that there were still smidgens of doubt in Rivkah’s mind.

Doubts and questions are not a bad thing. The simple concept of emunah (often translated as “belief”) implies an element of doubt, as it is not as definitive as “knowing.” But the question is what one does with one’s emunah and knowledge.

What does one do when confronted by a traumatic event? Does one’s trust in G-d become strengthened, or does everything crumble?

I know Jews who converted to Judaism a long time ago, who have more faith and trust in G-d than many born-Jews I know. I know people who became baalei teshuvah a long time ago, who have been on a constant climb up, becoming more and more in touch with their godly side over time and knowing where they want to end up. I also know people in similar boats who remained stagnant forever or who, when the going got rough, they got going, dropping much if not all of their “progress.”

Rivkah’s experience proves that when the going gets rough, one has to seek the right answers. The challenge for every Jew, regardless of background, is to ask, “What do I know? What do I not know? Where am I at peace in my Jewish experience, and where do I still struggle? What skills would I like to have as a Jew — to read, write, speak Hebrew; to lead the davening or read from the Torah; to know how to kasher a kitchen; to know how to ritually slaughter; to be able to check a mezuzah, tie tzitzis or tefillin?”

If we would not grow stagnant in any aspect of our lives as professionals, in athletics, in our understanding of the world, in our personal interests … then why is stagnancy acceptable in our Judaism?

Rivkah came from an upbringing entrenched in idolatry and taught us that stagnancy is unacceptable. This is an important lesson for all.

Rabbi Avi Billet is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

Continued from page 20 he Ramban raises a series of formidable questions that challenge the straight-forward interpretation of these two passages: One may very well ask: If we are to accept [the notion that “Abraham fulfilled and kept the Torah prior to it having been given [at Mount Sinai],” how is it that Jacob raised up a monument (28:18) and married two sisters [both acts that are prohibited by the Torah]? Moreover, how did Amram marry his aunt (Shemot 6:20), and how did Moses establish 12 monuments? (Shemot 24:4). And how is it possible that they [Jacob, Amram and Moses] would permit themselves such actions when they were precisely those activities that our father Abraham had prohibited himself to do?

The Patriarchic Covenant apparently imparts teachings to the Jewish people by example rather than by prescription. While the Sinaitic Covenant [the covenant enacted by our receiving the Torah] tells the Jew what to do and how to act as a member of the covenantal community, the Patriarchic Covenant addresses the “I” awareness of the Jew, teaching him how to experience his Jewishness. It sensitizes him in specifically Jewish ways; it expresses attitudes, ideals, and sentiments which still speak to us. It guides our feelings and consciousness rather than our physical acts, for we are duty-bound not only to act as Jews, but to feel as Jews. In a word, it is the backdrop of the Sinaitic Covenant; the latter is the behavioral fulfillment of the truths, values, and Jewish self- awareness established by the former. … Thus, all of Jewish history and the basic character of the Jew were shaped by the covenantal period of the patriarchs. Their lifeexperiences still nourish our self-consciousness as Jews even as the Sinaitic Covenant guides the format of our lives. (Rabbi Abraham R. Besdin, Man of Faith in the Modern World: Reflections of the Rav, “Shaping Jewish Character,” pages 67-69, brackets and underlining my own)

At this juncture, the Ramban presents a profound response that has become a fundamental element in understanding the phrase, “Abraham fulfilled and kept the Torah prior to it having been given [at Mount Sinai]:” Based upon the thought of our rabbis, it appears to me, that our father Abraham learned the entire Torah through holy inspiration (b’ruach hakodesh) and assiduously worked at mastering its content as he searched for the underlying rationale of its commandments and essential principles. Moreover, he kept the Torah in its entirety on the level of one who is not commanded, yet volitionally chooses to do so (aino metzuveh v’oseh). In addition, his actual practice of the Torah was solely in the Land of Israel. As such, Jacob married two sisters outside the Land of Israel, so, too, did Amram [marry his aunt].

In sum, the Ramban presents three constitutive elements of what Chazal called the “Brit Avot” (the Patriarchic Covenant): 1. Abraham learned the entire Torah b’ruach hakodesh.

2. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob chose to fulfill the entire Torah on the level of one who is aino metzuveh v’oseh.

3. Under the Brit Avot, the actual practice of the Commandments was restricted to the Land of Israel.

For the Rav, the Brit Avot emerges as our emotional and psychological ballast in the midst of the wave-tossed sea of a world that ceaselessly challenges our values and, far too often, our very right to exist. Moreover, in my estimation, it teaches us that “we are duty-bound [to] not only to act as Jews, but to feel as Jews” so that, like Abraham, we may be ever sensitive to the needs of all mankind and ultimately be metkane haolam b’malchut Sha-dai (improve the entire world through the Kingdom of G-d).

With the Almighty’s help, may this time come soon and in our days, v’chane yihi ratzon.

Rabbi David Etengoff is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

Luach Fri. Dec. 9 • 9 Kislev Parsha Vayetzei

Candlelighting: 4:09 pm

Havdalah: 5:17 pm

Fri. Dec. 16 • 16 Kislev Parsha Vayishlach Candlelighting: 4:11 pm

Havdalah: 5:19 pm

Fri. Dec. 23 • 23 Kislev Parsha Vayeshev Shabbos Mivarchim Candlelighting: 4:16 pm

Havdalah: 5:23 pm

Chanukah

1st Candle, Sat. Dec. 24: 5:23 pm 2nd Candle, Sun. Dec. 25: 5:23 pm 3rd Candle, Mon. Dec. 26: 5:24 pm 4th Candle, Tues. Dec. 27: 5:25 pm 5th Candle, Wed. Dec. 28: 5:26 pm 6th Candle, Thurs. Dec. 29: 5:26 pm 7th Candle, Fri. Dec. 30: 4:19 pm 8th Candle, Sat. Dec. 31: 5:28 pm

Fri. Dec. 30 • 1 Tevet Parsha Miketz Rosh Chodesh

Candlelighting: 4:19 pm

Havdalah: 5:28 pm

Fri. Jan. 6 • 8 Tevet Parsha Vayigash

Candlelighting: 4:25 pm

Havdalah: 5:34 pm

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21 THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

Rivka...

Given the legal limitations of the Patriarchic Covenant, as presented by the Ramban, we may well refer to a question that was asked by my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal: “What did [this] covenant impose upon the Jewish people, and what has been its enduring relevance and influence over the centuries?” We are fortunate to have his penetrating reply:

December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

22

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Fidel Castro was an evil despotic murderer JEff DuNEtz politics to go

S

urkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ome in the media and or liberals in the U.S. government are treating the death of Fidel Castro as a loss for the world, describing him as a revolutionary, a freedom fighter, someone to be revered for bringing education and social services to the Cuban people. NON-

SENSE!

Castro was a ruthless dictator who once put the world on the brink of a nuclear war, trampled the rights and freedoms of his people, put his opponents in jail to be tortured, executed them by firing squad, and was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands across Latin America.

Chris Mathews of MSNBC recalled that when Castro took power he was “a romantic figure” and “a folk hero to most of us.” His colleague Andrea Mitchell said that “Castro gave his people better health care and education.”

Is she serious?

Across the dial Geraldo Rivera said on Fox and Friends, “Yes, he was a leftist. Yes, he was a communist. Yes, his economic system failed.

But the fact of the matter is, I mean, the Cuban medicine is renowned the world over. You know, there are aspects of his, what he left behind, that I think will be remembered.”

Former President Jimmy Carter praised the dictator for the love of his country and went on to say, “We recall fondly our visits with him in Cuba.”

Green Party presidential nominee, Dr. Jill Stein, tweeted, “Fidel Castro was a symbol of the struggle for justice in the shadow of empire.

Presente!”

Even President Obama soft-peddled Castro’s evil.

“At this time of Fidel Castro’s passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people. We know that this moment fills Cubans — in Cuba and in the United States — with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation. History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him.” he problem with these statements is that Castro was not a statesman or a freedomfighter, he was a ruthless torturer and murderer. He was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Cubans and trained terrorists from other countries to go home and kill others. He persecuted Christians, capitalists, democratic activists, homosexuals, and anyone else he didn’t like. He and his subordinates murdered fathers, mothers, children.

They raped, pillaged, stole, and abused anyone who got in their way.

He killed between 3,000 and 4,000 people via firing squads, sometimes “joining in on the fun.” Some of these executions were filmed and shown in cinemas. Some of those who disagreed with the dictator were spared execution but may have preferred a quick death to the years of torture.

One of his most savage acts was the treatment of his former revolutionary comrade Huber Matos. Matos, a long-time democratic enemy of the dictator Batista, protested against

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Castro’s closeness to Moscow. After a show-trial, including a seven-hour speech of denunciation from his former friend Castro, Matos was flung into prison for 20 years (16 of them in solitary confinement), during which he was horribly tortured.

Another victim of Castro’s torture was the poet Armando Valladares. Originally a supporter of the revolution, Valladares he refused to put a ‘”I’m with Fidel” sign on his office desk.

He was charged with terrorism and sentenced to 30 years. He served 8,000 days (22 years)

during which he was forced to eat other prisoners’ excrement and confined in cells so small that he could not lie down.

Women and Children weren’t spared from Fidel Castro’s murderous ways.

One July morning in 1994, a group of 72 Cubans boarded a state-owned tugboat with the intent to navigate it to freedom. Within minutes the vessel was under attack by other stateowned tugboats. By the time the incident was over 41 Cubans were dead. 10 of them were children. A complaint about the incident was filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is an “autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (“OAS”) whose mission is to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere.” The report states: “Government boats positioned themselves on either side and sprayed everyone on deck with pressurized water, using their hoses.

“The pleas of the women and children on the deck of the tug 13 de Marzo did nothing to stop the attack. The boat sank, with a toll of 41 dead. Many people perished because the jets of water directed at everyone on deck forced them to seek refuge in the engine room. The survivors also affirmed that the crews of the four Cuban government boats were dressed in civilian clothes and that they did not help them when they were sinking.” hen he wasn’t killing, and torturing his own people, Castro was trying to export murder throughout the world. He exported his revolution to Latin American countries in the 1960s, and dispatched Cuban troops to Africa to fight Western-backed regimes in the 1970s.

And, of course, there was the time that he helped push the human race to the abyss of See Castro on page 23

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Turkey’s Erdogan: the insult and the fury BEN COhEN Viewpoint

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urkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was at his repellent best when he was interviewed by Israeli television journalist Ilana Dayan last week.

Although the interview was pegged to the restoration of Turkish-Israeli bilateral ties this past summer, Erdogan used the occasion to spit

his usual invective against Israel and Jews more generally. Many of Erdogan’s favorite topics— the supposed symbiosis between Nazi Germany and the Jewish state, Israel’s insulting intransigence in the face of his personal attempts to negotiate a solution to the Palestinian question, Israel’s alleged desire to change the religious status of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif)—arose in the conversation, and he addressed them in the fanatical, embittered tone that has come to symbolize his ascendance as a Turkish dictator.

Like the former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Erdogan has developed a reputa-

tion for offensive quotes that shore up, at the same time, his aloofness from and contempt for the morals and values of the West. And as with Ahmadinejad, the Nazi Holocaust and its 6 million Jewish victims provide an ideal tool in this regard.

In the summer of 2014, when Israel went to war in Gaza to bring an end to the barrages of missiles and rockets that Hamas terrorists fired over the border, Erdogan declared that the actions of the Israel Defense Forces constituted “barbarism that surpasses Hitler.” Ponder that for a moment: the president of a European Union (EU) candidate country and NATO mem-

ber state sounding off like some anonymous lunatic on Twitter by leveling the ugliest insult imaginable against the state of Israel and the Jewish people.

That wasn’t the first time that Erdogan gave voice to his deep-seated anti-Semitism. In 2009, appearing on a panel in Davos with the late Israeli President Shimon Peres, Erdogan stormed off the stage screaming insults as he exited the room. “When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill,” he told Peres. Even more bizarrely, Erdogan cited Gilad Atzmon, a leading U.K.based anti-Semite, saying that “Israeli barbaSee Turkey’s Erdogan on page 23

Continued from page 22 rism is far beyond even ordinary cruelty.”

The Ilana Dayan interview, perhaps, was regarded as an opportunity for Erdogan to make amends to both Israel and the Jewish people.

But when asked about his notorious 2014 statement, Erdogan simply reasserted the moral equivalency between Nazi Germany and Israel. “I don’t approve of what Hitler did, and neither do I approve of what Israel has done,” he growled. “When it’s a question of so many people dying, it’s inappropriate to ask who was the more barbarous.”

Yet again, this profoundly anti-Semitic insult, which places the Jewish state in the same soiled universe as the Nazis, has been spread around the public domain by one of the world’s most well-known heads of state. As tempting as it is to conclude that while political rhetoric is one thing, political action is another — an impression increasingly conveyed in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election — in Erdogan’s case, such a distinction isn’t really possible.

That’s because Erdogan really is a dictator. In the months that have passed since Turkey’s failed and rather murky coup attempt against Erdogan this past July, more than 40,000 people have been arrested or detained, including many journalists and opposition politicians. The civil service and the higher education sector have been purged, and hundreds of independent NGOs, such as the Association of Lawyers for Freedom,

have been “temporarily” shut down. The strategy here was captured well by Thor Halvorssen, the president of the Human Rights Foundation.

“Erdogan has transformed Turkey from a democratic country to an authoritarian regime,” Halvorssen said. “He has done this by abusing the state of emergency powers he claimed after an attempted coup that, by the hour, looks more like a very convenient justification for the total dictatorial takeover of Turkey by his nationalist political party.”

Sure enough, Erdogan has now laid out his plan to execute those ambitions. The president is now preparing a bill for a referendum on Turkey’s constitution. A “yes” vote in that referendum would mean the abolition of the prime minister’s office and the transformation of Erdo-

to what exactly Erdogan’s intentions are.

That is why clarifying America’s policy on Turkey is such an urgent task for the incoming American administration. Erdogan has praised President-elect Donald Trump, projecting ever so slightly when he told Ilana Dayan, “A country without a strong leader will go down.” But that embrace has the potential to be poisonous.

One can only hope Trump understands that a Turkish dictatorship closely aligned with Russia—Erdogan has been talking about spurning Turkey’s EU membership bid in favor of the Moscow-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization—is neither in America’s interests nor in the interests of regional U.S. allies, among them Israel and the Kurds.

That needs to start from the realization, as Ilana Dayan amply demonstrated during her interview, that Erdogan is not going to change.

Ben Cohen is senior editor of TheTower.org.

His column is distributed by JNS.org.

Castro...

designbychantz.com

Continued from page 22 self-destruction by inviting the Soviet Union to place ballistic missiles in his country.

In October 1962, American spy planes discovered that nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles capable of reaching the United States were placed in Cuba by the USSR. Castro believed they made him the big man in the Americas. Thankfully he became a bit player in the ensuing crisis involving President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet leader, Nikita S. Khrushchev.

JFK put American forces on on alert and ordered a naval blockade of Cuba. JFK and Khrushchev stared each other down for 13 tense days as the word stood on the brink of nuclear war. After the crisis, Castro was angry that a compromise was reached. Reportedly, Castro wanted the Soviets to launch a nuclear war, and he perceived the outcome as a betrayal by the Soviets.

But that was Castro; he preferred hundreds of thousands — even millions — of deaths to protect his ideology.

Castro was not a statesman or a freedom fighter as some implied; he was a murderer, torturer, rapist, an evil man who killed his own people, exported murder to other countries, and was upset that his Soviet allies preferred an uneasy peace to nuclear war.

The world is better off that this degenerate is now sharing a special place in Gehinnom with Arafat, Hussein, Stalin, Mao and other murderous “freedom fighters.”

Jeff Dunetz is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

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Turkey’s Erdogan…

gan into an executive president empowered to stay in office until 2029.

The internal crackdown in Turkey is mirrored in Erdogan’s aggressive strategy for Turkey’s “near abroad.” As Burak Bekdil of the Gatestone Institute think tank recently pointed out, Erdogan is complaining aloud that Turkey lost the borders of the Ottoman Empire under duress in the years following World War I—during which the Ottoman rulers systematically exterminated more than 1.5 million Armenians. Turkey’s imposed borders, Erdogan says, “are the greatest injustice ... done to the country and the nation.”

At the same time, Turkey is pushing deeper into Syrian territory, using the offensive against Islamic State as a cover to defeat the Syrian Kurds, who have proved themselves to be the most reliable and courageous allies in the fight against Islamic State barbarism. Now the U.S. and its allies are holding off support for Turkey’s push on the town of Al-Bab, uncertain as

December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

24

Midnight Madness draws shoppers to Cedarhurst

Along Central Avenue and on Cedarhurst’s side streets, shoppers like Rikiel Kestenbaum and Leba Sheifer checked out the merchandise and hunted for bargains on Saturday night.

Sari Hellman, Elisheva Monezyk and Rachel Hellman paused for The Jewish Star’s shutterbug inside Fame.

Alexandra Feder and Abigail Alon in Fame on Central Avenue in Cedarhurst.

At dozens of stores in the Cedarhurst business district, there was merchandise and bargains aplenty. And as many as 4,000 shoppers — including Seema Geisten and Temima Feder.

Michele and Caroline Jaspan in Jildor Shoes.

Cedarhurst…

Continued from page 1 executive director of the Cedarhurst Business Improvement District.

“In addition to providing grreat shopping deals, the evening served as a social and community-event event,” she said.

Because Black Friday was also nearly the year’s shortest erev Shabbos, Five Towns’ Torah-observant shoppers had little time to hunt for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving when Americans typically crowd shopping malls and downtown business districts. To compensate, Cedarhurst offered an opportunity to shop after Shabbos had ended.

“Other local towns, cities or villages would be hardpressed to garner anything close to that number of shoppers for a four-hour event,” Schure said.

Another midnight madness holiday event is set for Saturday, Dec. 17, from 8 pm to midnight. Fifty-one Cedarhurst merchants have already said they’d participate, and more are expected to join, Schure said.

Bracha and Emily Gorbacz made the rounds on motzei Shabbos, during Midnight Madness in Cedarhurst.

Debbie Murasmo, Leah Lightman and Bayle Lightman on Saturday night in Debbie’s Closet.

The Jewish Star photo coverage by Eric Dunetz

Debbie’s Closet presented Sarit Katz Ariella Katz and Ayeitet Katz with an array of choices.

Continued from page 4 “We’re getting emails every week from individuals and new communities ... People [are] clamoring at the door for Jewish attention,” Sussman said, citing contact with interested individuals and communities in Rwanda, Malaysia, Afghanistan, India and Côte d’Ivoire.

Sussman’s motivation stems from Jewish history — she sees her work as a way to “rebuild the Jewish people” following the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews in Arab countries.

Meanwhile, the newly “rebuilt” community in Madagascar continues to balance daily struggles and responsibilities with a serious commitment to learning more about their new religion.

In Netsarh’s case, that means finding time to study Torah in between two jobs and family duties— she works both as a lecturer at the University of Antananarivo and as a consultant for a homeopathic medical company and helps to take care of her sister’s children

— waking up around 4:30am to do so.

“Each morning when I have my Torah reading it’s like I am drinking energy,” she said.

Most of Madagascar’s Jews cannot study Jewish texts with such ease. Only one other person in the community speaks English, and while most people understand some French, reading complex texts in the language is a struggle.

To that end, Netsarh is working on producing the first-ever Malagasy translation of the the Five Books of Moses and the Jewish prayer book. So far, she has completed the book of Genesis, but she says her work schedule keeps her from progressing as quickly as she would like.

Despite her responsibilities, she hesitates to call herself a leader, saying that in her Orthodox community, even though men and women are considered equal, “men should lead.”

Netsarh cites tzniut, the Hebrew term for modesty, in explaining her ensemble, a

brown coat that covers most of her body and a head covering that she custom ordered from a tailor. She isn’t the only community member who follows a strict interpretation of Jewish law, or halacha.

The community, which has three spiritual leaders but no rabbi, errs on the side of caution, rather than potentially transgress Jewish law. For years, when there was no access to kosher meat, members ate a strictly pescatarian diet.

“All the people in the community want to progress in a spiritual level so getting a higher spiritual level is much more important [than eating meat],” she said.

While on tour in the U.S., in addition to raising funds for her community, Netsarh hopes that the unique Malagasy Jewish experience can inspire American Jews. She has heard that “religion sometimes here is superficial because of the social environment.”

Jews here can “learn from our life and mainly from our way to be Jewish,” she said.

Touro men eye careers…

Continued from page 13 panel to start. “I always wanted to be a doctor. I want to be able to help people,” he said. He volunteers in the emergency room at Jamaica Hospital.

Doctors in a range of specialties from pediatric neurology to emergency medicine shared their perspectives. Students learned that an entire semester of college is covered in just two weeks in medical school, and that their Lander education would leave them well prepared for this.

“Lander’s dual curriculum built the habits that enabled me to be successful.

I had classmates from Yale and Harvard who were overwhelmed by the work,” said Dr. Yitzchak Goldstein, a pathologist who graduated in 2006, went to medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medi-

Adina Chetrit, Bracha Barak and Sarah Rachel Klein checked out the sales at Debbie’s Closet.

At Legacy on Central Avenue, Baila Neuman and Zarine Shamilzadeh are dressed for the coming winter.

cine and is now a physician at Montefiore Medical Center.

Ari Glatt, an attorney at Nixon Peabody in Manhattan, attended the University of Chicago Law School after graduating from Lander.

“I love being an attorney, but the reality is that you have to go to a top law school or be at the top of your class if you want to work for one of the big firms,” said Glatt, who lives in Woodmere, Long Island. He discussed the different types of careers that lawyers pursue and fielded questions about LSATs and GPAs. Lander prides itself on combining scholarship, career readiness and a commitment to Torah and mitzvos in a warm and supportive community. That’s what brought Ari Glatt back to campus last

week. “I loved my time at Lander,” he said.

The Lander College for Men is an undergraduate division of Touro College, in service to the Jewish community. It is grounded in a dual curriculum of intensive Torah study and a wide range of academic programs, and students major in professionally oriented disciplines. The college provides students with an environment that produces ethical, mature, and well-rounded professionals committed to scholarship and career growth.

Dedicated to Touro’s mission of perpetuating the Jewish heritage, Lander College for Men prepares students to uphold the ideals of Torah and pursue positions of professional and communal leadership.

Hashem as ultimate guide…

Continued from page 17 Torat Hashem Temimah (a total and engulfing reality) — as opposed to Esau who is described as the ish sadeh (the man of the field).

Pagan idolatry is essentially the worship of nature, but more than that, worshiping multiple gods creates a quid pro quo relationship: If you do what I want, I will worship you, but if not I will worship something else. When the Nile overflowed the Egyptians would offer her sacrifices, but if not, they would worship the sun. The inevitable result of this worship is that the gods were limited; the pagans considered them great, but they were simply bigger than man.

Judaism came to share a different message: we are not next to G-d in reality, G-d is the source of reality; Hashem is reality, and we are simply challenged to see ourselves immersed and surrounded by the reality that is Hashem.

And if all of reality is Hashem, then we do not worship based on whether we perceive G-d as doing “good” for us.

Rather, it’s all good; the only question is whether we are able to see it as such.

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his has a profound impact on all of our relationships as well. If our deities are worshipped conditionally we will inevitably relate to everything else in the same way. We will love our children if they do our bidding and we will do for our spouses out of an expectation that they will do for us, and if they don’t do what we want, why should we do what they want.

Judaism introduced a completely different type of relationship: G-d is viewed as our loving father; we love our children unconditionally and we don’t do for our spouses because we expect them to do for us but because they are part of who we are.

Perhaps that is why this struggle over who will be chosen is presented through the prism of the relationship between parents and children. Note as well that Yitzchak loves Esau because he is a hunter (25:28), whereas Rivkah simply loves Yaakov, with no reason given, as love is meant to be.

Even Esau’s relationship with Yitzchak seems to be painted as a quid pro quo.

He has no compunction letting go of the birthright and its inherent respon-

sibility, it is only the blessings that he wants (and gets).

Judaism, however, is not a role but an all-encompassing reality. Yaakov will be the ultimate example of the idea that our love for and relationship with G-d is irrespective of whether it appears we are “blessed.”

Yaakov will undergo the most tumultuous life of any of the forefathers, yet nhe ever abandons his love for Hashem.

Perhaps this is why Yaakov is associated with Torah and truth, because the essence of Torah as the source of truth is that we accept Hashem as the source of our all-encompassing reality.

It is this truth that will accompany us, the Jewish people, on our long journey through millennium of exile, and maybe it was this truth that guided Toibor Rubin in the dark cold winters of Mauthausen and North Korea.

Now, finally, with this deep understanding and the third Jewish generation in the land of Israel, the Jewish people and its message for a better world is ready to be born.

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem.

Rabbi Binny Freedman is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

THE JEWISH STAR December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777

New Jews in Madagascar…

25

Lawmaker: ‘Think twice’ before buying French JERUSALEM — Israeli lawmaker Michael Oren said Israelis should “think twice” before purchasing French products after a French government agency reiterated the requirement that products from the West Bank be marked as from “settlements.”

“France is labeling Israeli products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan. Israelis should think twice before buying French products,” Oren, of the Kulanu party, wrote in a Twitter post on Saturday night.

Two days earlier, the French Economy Ministry’s General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention said in the government’s Official Journal that it requires vendors to use the word “colonies,” French for “settlements,” to specify goods originating in Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967.

The requirement, according to the ministry, is based on binding regulations adopted last year by the European Commission on labeling settlement goods. JTA

‘Lost’ Indian Jews visit Auschwitz for first time Members of India’s so-called “lost tribe” of Jews last week visited the site of the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz for the first time.

Five members of Bnei Menashe, a group which claims to be descendants of Manasseh, one of the 10 “lost tribes” of the ancient Kingdom of Israel that was banished from Israel in the 8th century BCE. The Bnei Menashe group was in Poland as part of a larger visiting group of Israeli students from Abir Yaakov Yeshiva High School in Nahariya.

Bnei Menashe member Yaniv Hoinge and his parents moved from India to Israel in 2012. The family’s aliyah was facilitated by Shavei Israel, a nonprofit that calls itself “the only Jewish organization today that is actively reaching out to ‘lost Jews’ in an effort to facilitate their return [to Israel].”

In 2005, then-Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar officially recognized the Bnei Menashe as a lost tribe, and about 1,700 Bnei Menashe members moved to Israel before the Israeli government stopped giving them visas. The government later reversed that policy, enabling Bnei Menashe immigration to resume. JNS.org

NEWS briefs

Members of the Bnei Menashe, India’s “lost tribe” of Jews, on their visit of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. See story in News Briefs.

Courtesy of Shavei Israel

After the couple left France, the painting, which shows a man dressed in black clothing and wearing a fur, was held temporarily by various art dealers and collectors. Eventually it was sold in 1941 to the German government, which planned to display it in a museum in Hitler’s hometown. Allied forces found the painting in 1945 and brought it back to France.

The painting reportedly was one of over 2,000 artworks taken from France to Germany during World War II whose owners have yet to be identified. JTA

Soccer fans in anti-Semitic chant on London subway Fans of a British soccer team were filmed singing an anti-Semitic chant on a London subway. The chant by backers of the Chelsea club followed the team’s victory on Saturday night against the rival Tottenham Hotspur, which has many Jewish and pro-Jewish fans.

“I’ve got foreskin, how about you, [expletive] Jew?” they reportedly chanted.

Ahead of the match, Chelsea had warned fans in the match’s program and on its website that the club will not tolerate such actions, the London-based Daily Mail reported.

In March, Chelsea fans chanted anti-Semitic abuse at a Jewish subway passenger following a championship match. JTA

Painting returned to French couple who fled Nazis Moscow Jewish museum France returned a 16th-century painting to the grandchildren of a German-Jewish couple wins tolerance award who were forced to sell the work in Paris as they fled the Nazis.

The portrait, attributed by the French Culture Ministry either to the Dutch artist Joos van Cleve or his son, was returned Monday to Christopher Bromberg and Henrietta Schubert in a Paris ceremony. Their grandparents, Henry and Hertha Bromberg, sold the painting in 1938 as they were heading for the United States, the New York Times reported.

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December 2, 2016 • 2 Kislev 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) honored the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow with an award for its efforts in spreading tolerance and understanding. The award comes just more than a month after the same U.N. body passed two resolutions ignoring Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem.

The museum received the award, which comes with a $100,000 prize, at a ceremony in Paris. Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar said that “spreading tolerance is an absolutely necessary thing for Russia,” adding that the Jewish community in Russia is “involved in this as much as they can be, specifically after the opening of the Jewish Museum and the Tolerance Center in Moscow in 2012,” Russia’s Interfax News Agency reported.

The $50 million Moscow museum, partially funded by the Russian government, opened in 2012 to much fanfare. The museum details the history of the Jewish people, including portions dedicated to the Holocaust as well as the Russian roots of Zionism.

JNS.org

German court upholds jail for Auschwitz guard, 95 Germany’s highest federal court upheld the conviction and prison term of a 95-yearold former Auschwitz guard for being an accessory to murder.

The court rejected the appeal by Oskar Groening, his attorneys said Monday, according to the German news agency dpa. Groening, an SS member during World War II, was sentenced in July 2015 to four years in prison for his role in the murder of 300,000 Hungarian Jews at the camp in Poland.

Reuters reported that the court had made the decision in September but only publicized it Monday. It is not known if Groening is well enough to be put in jail.

Groening had admitted to being tasked with gathering the money and valuables found in the baggage of murdered Jews and handing it over to his superiors for transfer to Berlin. During the trial, Groening asked for forgiveness while acknowledging that only the courts could decide when it came to criminal guilt. JTA

Israeli HSers help unearth a Bronze Age figurine A unique 3,800-year-old Bronze Age figurine was unearthed by a team of archaeologists and Israeli high school students, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced.

IAA Excavation Director Gilad Itach said that the eight-inch-tall figurine sitting on a jug was unearthed on the final day of excavations at a site in the town of Yehud.

“It seems that at first the jug, which is typical of the period, was prepared, and afterwards the unique sculpture was added, the likes of which have [not] been discovered in previous research,” Itach said. “The level of precision and attention to detail in creating this almost 4,000-year-old sculpture is extremely impressive.”

The Israeli students who participated in the dig were part of a new archaeologythemed high school matriculation program offered by the IAA and the Israeli Education Ministry. JNS.org

Jewish students allege a cover-up at Cambridge Three Jewish students at Cambridge University in Britain say they were violently attacked by members of a university drinking club and that the university covered up the

results of an investigation into the incident.

The incident, which occurred in late October, was first reported Saturday by the Telegraph newspaper.

One of the students, Shlomo RoiterJesner, 25, said that when club members at the bar noticed their kippot, they became “more physical and more vocal … shouting: ‘Jew, get [expletive] out of here’,” the Telegraph reported.

A second student said as “vicious antiSemitic slurs” continued, drinkers tried to choke one of his friends with his own scarf and threatened physical harm to all three of them.

There were witnesses to the incident and a closed circuit security video of the incident, which did not include a sound recording, according to the Telegraph.

Following a university inquiry, RoiterJesner last week received a response from Jane Stapleton, master of Christ’s College at Cambridge.

“The internal disciplinary process of the tutors is now concluded and two students have been disciplined,” the response said.

“Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.” The students were not found to have acted out of anti-Semitism. JTA

London cafe: Sorry for swastika-clad smoothie A London café has come under fire for selling a “Nutzy,” a smoothie with a swastika drawn on the label of the bottle, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

A Holocaust survivor reported the smoothie and its label to the Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British watchdog charity.

“I left the shop almost in tears and shivering as it proved to me how much anti-Semitism and fascism is still utterly present,” the survivor said.

Speaking of the shop’s manager, the survivor said, “That man had no shame whatsoever to tell me that I should not be offended by what I saw when the use of the swastika and the name of that drink is clearly not a coincidence.”

The survivor said he told the manager of the Nin Com Soup café in north London that the name of the drink and the symbol were offensive to someone who lost his whole family in the Holocaust, and the manager responded that London “is a free city.”

The café’s founder, Ben Page-Phillips, said Sunday in an apology posted online that the swastika on the bottle was “unsanctioned,” and that the bottles were removed immediately after the manager was alerted. JTA

Arizona teens decorate cupcakes with swastikas Teens at a Jewish girl’s birthday party in Arizona decorated cupcakes with swastika symbols, saying they did it to “be funny.”

The birthday teen’s mother posted a photo of one of the cupcakes on Facebook and called for it to be a teaching moment for parents, the Arizona NBC affiliate 12 News reported Sunday.

She removed the post, but the photo has spread on social media.

The teens had recently learned about the Holocaust and therefore knew what the swastika symbolized, the mother reportedly said in her post. She later posted that the girls had apologized, according to 12 News.

JTA

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