December 6, 2013

Disability Center expands 3 War against Europe’s Jews 6 Survivor, 96, lights Coney Island candles 2

THE JEWISH VOL 12, NO 47 Q DECEMBER 6, 2013 / 3 TEVET 5774

Facebook.com/TheJewishStar

STAR

Twitter.com/JewishStarNY

www.TheJewishStar.com

Post-Israel inspiration: DRS minyan /HDUQ HDW PHHW

Cedarhurst survivor meets savior

By Malka Eisenberg After 69 years, a Cedarhurst psychologist and Holocaust survivor was reunited this week with the son of the family who sheltered him and his family for two years during the Holocaust.

The men embraced as Polziec arrived at JFK Airport from Mielec, Poland, then travelled to the Gerstner home on Albermarle Road to light the menorah on the ďŹ rst night of Chanukah. “When we were in hiding we couldn’t celebrate Chanukah,â€?

Gerstner explained at the candle lighting. “This is an opportunity to celebrate together. We celebrate the victory over our enemies.�

They sat side by side on the sofa in the Gerstner living room, Gerstner speaking animatedly in awless American English, Polziec speaking Polish, answering questions through a translator, occasionally saying an English phrase. They repeatedly reached out and grasped each other’s hands, and during the emotional conversation would at times hug, as family members and cameramen swirled around them. “I am very happy to be here,â€? said Czeslaw. “I regret that it took so long to meet.â€?

Gerstner said that his grandparents had a farm in Poland and his mother was a peddler. They had some connection with the Polziec family in the town of Frysztak. “They must have taken pity on her,� he surmised.

'U /HRQ *HUVWHQ DQG &]HVODZ 3RO]LHF DW *HUVWHQÂśV KRPH LQ &HGDU In July 1942, a few days before most of the Jewish residents KXUVW RQ :HGQHVGD\ QLJKW -HZLVK 6WDU SKRWR E\ Malka Eisenberg Continued on page 12

Shabbat Candlelighting: 4:10 pm. Shabbat ends: 5:13 pm. 72 minute zman: 5:41 pm. This week’s Torah Reading: Vayigash

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID GARDEN CITY, NY 11530 PERMIT NO 301

&KDEDG RI +HZOHWW KHOG LWV DQQXDO &KDQXNDK RQ ,FH FHOHEUDWLRQ DW *UDQW 3DUN LFH VNDWLQJ ULQN RQ 'HF &KLOGUHQ DQG DGXOWV LFH VNDWHG SOD\HG GUHLGHO GHFRUDWHG DQG DWH GRQXWV DORQJ ZLWK ODWNHV DQG KRW VRXS 7KH\ ZDWFKHG DQ LFH VFXOSWRU FDUYH D ÂżYH IRRW PHQRUDK IURP D EORFN RI LFH WKDW ZDV WKHQ OLW E\ &RXQW\ /HJLVODWRU )UDQFLV %HFNHU 5 /\QEURRN &KDQXNDK FHOHEUDWHV WKH YLFWRU\ RI WKH -HZV RYHU WKH *UHHN $VV\ULDQV LQ WKH VHFRQG FHQWXU\ %&( -HZLVK 6WDU SKRWR E\ 'RQRYDQ %HUWKRXG

Hewlett’s menorah on ice

By Malka Eisenberg After the much anticipated year in yeshiva or midrasha has come and gone, the students return to earth from a spiritual high in the rariďŹ ed environment of Torah learning in Israel. Back in the U.S., many struggle to establish a college experience that continues their Torah high.

To facilitate and maintain a yeshiva connection in the students, Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, menahel (principal) of the Davis Renov Stahler (DRS) High School for Boys in Woodmere, has initiated a periodic Shabbat minyan (the next one is this Shabbat, Dec. 7). All single post-high school young men and women are invited.

About 50 young men and 30 young women, mostly alumni from DRS and Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls (SKA), attended the ďŹ rst minyan on Oct. 26 in the DRS Bait Midrash, 700 Ibsen St., Woodmere. Rabbi 5DEEL Yisroel Kaminetsky, DRS Kaminestsky’s wife Elisheva Kaminetsky is a teacher and administrator at SKA. He said that “a lot more than I expectedâ€? came but he anticipates “a lot moreâ€? will come in the future. “Young men and women come back from learning in Israel where they are exposed to yeshiva davening and get very inspired, spending time in Israel with like-minded students. When they come back they don’t have anywhere to daven with a common bond,â€? he said. “Most shuls are geared to adults,â€? he said. “It’s different, they get lost and have no opportunity to lead the teďŹ llah, to lain (read from the Torah). [In this minyan] there are more opportunities for the kids to get involved in leading the teďŹ llah, laining, as gabbai [sexton].â€?

He emphasized that the minyan is “for students, not adults,� and he wants the “kids to take over and lead it.�

Its intent is “not to take away from regular minyanim,� he said.

He said that through this minyan, rabbis and teachers Continued on page 2

Holocaust survivor, 96, lights Coney menorah

By Will Bredderman The Brooklyn Paper A Coney Island synagogue lit a candle this Chanukah, not only to celebrate the Festival of Light, but to remember one of the darkest episodes of Jewish history.

The Warbasse Jewish Heritage Congregation inaugurated its enormous new menorah and the beginning of the Jewish holiday on Nov. 27 with a special ceremony by a 96-yearold survivor of the Holocaust.

Jack Eisenstein — who endured the horrors of the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps — kindled the first festival lights on the 22-foot-high, 16-foot-wide candelabrum, displayed for the first time this year at the corner of Neptune Avenue

and W. Fifth Street. Eisenstein, the seniormost member of the Warbasse Congregation, expressed awe and pride at the sight of the stately sconce.

“I never saw something like it before,” Eisenstein said.

Eisenstein was born in modern-day Belarus in 1917, and was 26 when German troops invaded his village. The soldiers killed his father and three sisters and deported Eisenstein, his mother, and his older brother to the infamous Auschwitz extermination facility in Poland. Eisenstein was separated from the two of them at the camp and never saw them again.

The young man stayed alive until the Germans evacuated the installation in Jan. 1945,

fleeing from advancing Soviet troops. The Nazis sent Eisenstein and some 20,000 others to the Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany.

The survivor recalled having to sit in the cold day and night at the second camp, and each morning discovering others had succumbed to exposure.

“You woke up and found everywhere was a dead person, a dead person, a dead person, every single day,” said Eisenstein. “I saw so many other men die like flies, like flies. I do not know how I pulled through.”

Allied forces liberated Bergen-Belsen in April of that year, and Eisenstein travelled to Sweden after the war, where he lived before moving to Brooklyn in 1949 at the urging of relatives, first settling at 68th Street and Bay

7+( &21&(57 7 %(1(),7 7+( &+,/'5(1 2)

& $ + $ /

AVRAHAM FRIED SHLOIME DACHS

BENNY

FRIEDMAN MOTZEI SHABBOS • DECEMBER 21, 2013 • 8 PM LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL REILLY RD & PENINSULA BLVD, CEDARHURST B E N E FAC TO R S Paul & Gila Reinstein SPONSORS

TICKETS: $36, $50, $72, VIP

CALL FOR GROUP DISCOUNTS

CAHAL | 540-A WILLOW AVE. | CEDARHURST | 516-295-3666 JUDAICA PLUS | 445 CENTRAL AVE. | CEDARHURST | 516-295-4343 EICHLER'S | 1401 CONEY ISLAND AVE. | BROOKLYN | 718-258-7643

W W W. C A H A L . O R G

FOR TICKET INFORMATION, GROUP DISCOUNTS AND SPONSORSHIPS PLEASE CONTACT: 516-295-3666 • SHELDON@CAHAL.ORG

Parkway, and then moving into the Warbasse Houses when they opened in 1965.

The leaders of the Warbasse Congregation said they wanted Eisenstein to lead the lighting ceremony out of respect for his age and experiences, and a desire to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.

“It has an added weight because of what he has endured. He is very dear to us,” said Rabbi David Okunov. “I want him to be a bridge for the next generation.”

Okunov said he commissioned the huge outdoor menorah as a symbol of the religious liberties allowed in the United States — liberties that Jewish people have not always enjoyed. The rabbi noted that Chanukah celebrates the overthrow of pagan tyranny in Judea in the second century, B.C., and hoped that the new memorial of the holiday would draw people from across the borough and across the world.

“Chanukah is a celebration of Jewish freedom, and we wanted something that resonates with the residents of Warbasse and the greater Coney Island community,” said Okunov. “The White House has the National Menorah; the Brooklyn courthouse has the Brooklyn Menorah — this will be the Coney Island Menorah.”

After Israel, DRS minyan…

KAUFMAN & GOLDBERG FAMILIES • ALAN & COOKIE GREENE • SHLOIMIE & PESHY KURZ BERYL & DOREEN ECKSTEIN • MOISHE & ESTHER MISHKOWITZ • LARRY & LISA SIEGEL MAIDENBAUM PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION GROUP /JG ASSOCIATES

BERG & DAVID AT T O R N E Y S AT L AW PLLC

PAT R O N S & F R I E N D S

BASS & LEMER LLP • DR. DAVID & MRS. TOBY SCHNALL • ATLAZ COMPUTERS THE JEWELER’S WIFE • LESTER & SUSAN KAUFMAN SUSAN & IZZY KAUFMAN • RUSSO’S PHARMACY KEREN & JOSH ENGLARD • OCTAGEM 667584

December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

2

Continued from page 1 in the community can maintain contact with and mentor their high school students once they are in college. He said that his wife continues to “meet with and advise” SKA alumni on “how to stay inspired in the U.S.” and answers “dating questions.”

Additionally, the kiddush and shiur that follow the minyan provide a “low pressure and wholesome positive atmosphere for young men and young women to meet. People know people — they can meet at the kiddush and the shiur. The Orthodox community does not have enough venues for young people to meet each other and this venue could be helpful in the area of shidduchim.”

“Some of the people who are not interested in dating [said] that maybe it was an atmosphere they are not used to but understand that it’s good for the community. And those not dating yet are willing to go along with it anyway. The positives of davening outweigh any awkwardness they feel and will get used to it.”

He hopes to begin “running chesed events together” with DRS and SKA alumni.

The minyan is “not going to be every week,” he stressed. “I don’t have the time or the energy. I’m not a shul rabbi and don’t want to be. I just want to create a nice minyan for teenagers” to recharge, rejuvenate and retain their connection to the davening in Israel.

“This time period between Israel and marriage lacks direction. It’s volatile. In college you are on your own. For some kids it’s great [but] some kids get lost. I’m hoping to give direction and strength to this age group.”

The beit midrash at DRS, accessible through the main entrance and to the right, can seat 350 people comfortably and has a mechitza.

“It’s a wonderful thing and important for the neighborhood,” Rabbi Kaminetsky said.

Nusach Ashkenaz davening is conducted from 8:30 to 10:30 am, followed by kiddush, and shiur on the parsha by Rabbi Kaminetsky.

For information or to sponsor the minyan or kiddush: clevy@drshalb.org or call 516 2957700 x0.

Yad HaChazakah celebrates chanukat habayit with Flatbush open house

By Malka Eisenberg Yad Hachazakah, the Jewish Disability Empowerment Center, is celebrating a chanukat habayit of their new home at 1389 East 18 St. in Flatbush, with an open house on Thursday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 8.

Rabbi Michael Levy, a Woodmere resident and active member of Congregation Aish Kodesh, has been a board member of Yad since its founding in 2006. Blind since birth, he raises awareness and seeks donations for Yad, speaking at schools, camps and shuls and contacts organizations to improve accessibility.

This new home will house a “model center, our own space … that we fully control and can design to reflect who we are,” said Sharon Shapiro-Lacks, founding director of Yad HaChazakah. She has been a leader in disability policy in the independent living movement for more than 25 years and now brings this self empowerment and advocacy to Jewish communities.

Levy at LIRR’s Woodmere station.

The center is one floor down, accessible by elevator and is decorated with 16 posters presenting varied perspectives on disabilities.

The Slingshot Foundation, an organization that pinpoints nonprofits worthy of funding, highlighted Yad in this year’s guide supplement on disabilities and inclusion.

Slingshot noted that Yad is “led by and for persons with disabilities and commits to including Jews with disabilities in all aspects of the organization’s decision making.”

It described the organization as, “Tirelessly advocating for inclusion and disability rights within the Jewish community, Yad HaChazakah strives to change misconceptions and eradicate stigmas about persons with disabilities. The organization gives persons with disabilities a voice in the Jewish community and provides them the tools they need to live better lives. In addition to individual support, Yad HaChazakah also works with national and New York-based Jewish organizations to help improve disability awareness and accessibility standards, serving as a vital force in breaking down barriers that prevent Jews with disabilities from participating in all aspects of Jewish life.”

In an email interview with the Jewish Star, Levy cited two ways of viewing disability. One is the medical model, that people with disabilities (PWD) are “passive recipients of service with no autonomy” and that the problem is the patient, and the patient must adjust to society.

The other view, he said, is that people with disabilities are a minority and that barriers in society prevent their integration into society, including print only books, inaccessible buildings and transportation, and the attitude that PWDs are special needs and should be segregated. Levy stated that these barriers “exist in the Jewish community. It was time for us to empower ourselves, and, following the independent living model, work to change the system and, whenever possible, to remove or minimize the barriers.”

Yad HaChazakah’s brochure states that they provide “guidance, resource information, advocacy and support networks for people with obvious or hidden disabilities/ health conditions and their families while we promote access to Jewish community life within the framework of Torah.”

Since more than half of their board members have disabilities or health conditions, they are experts in living with disability and are often best able to support and assist each other. They work to help individuals use their own abilities and cultivate resources to

Michael Levy at work on his blog.

manage daily living at home, to date, marry and raise children, work or volunteer, access learning opportunities and fulfill mitzvot and participate fully and contribute to the community.

Yad provides guidance, support, networking, groups, mentors, and works to change attitudes towards the disabled and expand access and inclusion for people with physical, visual and auditory disabilities to shuls, yeshivas, stores, mikvahs, events and agencies. They can help access vocational training, long term care, shadchanim and singles events; Braille, large print or recoded Torah related texts; better wheelchair access to one’s home, shul or yeshiva; daily living assistive devices and communication technology, sign language interpreters, and benefits and subsidies.

Rabbi Levy was born in New Jersey and “attributes his achievements to G-d’s beneficence and to his courageous parents.” He was born blind and, unlike most blind children in the 50s, attended the local public school. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. He visited Israel, studied at Hebrew University and received Rabbinic ordination. Levy has worked at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, the Jewish Guild for the Blind and as a part time chaplain at Roosevelt Hospital.

Since 1993 he has worked as the director of travel training for MTA NYC Transit.

Michael is married to Chava Willig, a writer, editor, lecturer and author of “A Life Not with Standing,” an autobiography, and about her challenges as a polio survivor. They are

Ohel honors 5 from 5 Towns Five Five Towners were honored at OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services 44th Annual Gala at the New York Marriott Marquis on Sunday, Nov. 24.

Pictured in photo at right, from left, are Ben Englander, Jonathan Marks, Michelle Sulzberger, Jeffrey Schwartz, Izzy Kaufman, Chairpersons of the OHEL Omni Golf Classic, who were honored for ten successful years, at Ohel’s Gala.

More than 1225 guests and elected officials came to show support for an organization that provides critical social services to individuals and families, to help people of all ages deal with everyday challenges, trauma and crises.

Ohel’s professional staff helps the Jewish community with foster care, developmental disabilities, mental health care, housing, treatment education, outreach and more in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Florida, California and worldwide on the Internet.

The enthusiastic crowd, moving speeches and video presentations demonstrated tremendous commitment to the Gala’s theme: OHEL Sees the Star in Everyone. For more than 44 years, OHEL has provided critical programs and services inspired by the principle that every individual counts and deserves to be a cherished member of the community.

bound by their love of Judaism, and love of words, language and music. The Levys have two children, one married, and one grandchild.

Michael said that opening the center on Chanukah was significant. “The Maccabees were a movement from within the people, asserting their right to live as they chose, not condemned to live according to the decisions of others. We want Jews with disabilities to know they have choices about how to conduct their lives. In the Chanukah Haftarah: Zechariah chapter 4, the navi is reminded that “not by strength and not by valor, but

by My Spirit, says Hashem Tsvakot.” There is a long history in Judaism of the supposedly weak rising to positions of leadership.”

He sees this new center, in addition to their location at 419 Lafayette Street in New York City, as a place to show people how to “empower themselves, helping them integrate into their Jewish communities, showing them how to advocate and advocating with them when shuls, schools, places of employment, shadchanim, bus companies that transport children to Jewish schools, etc., act in ways that keep them segregated.”

Said Lacks, the goal is “to help our communities make it possible for Jews with disabilities to participate as fully as possible in Jewish life and to build leadership capacities within Jews with disabilities. “ The new center will hold discussion groups, workshops and programs. For reservations and more information call Leah Weinstein at 646-723-3955 or email openhouse@yadempowers.org. To learn more go to: www.yadempowers.org

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774

W’mere rabbi drives disability empowerment

3

Stopping at Beer Shava as ‘Yaakov’ becomes ‘Yisrael’ I Y n the Torah, the city Beer Sheva appears thus named only one time (26:33). Otherwise it is always called Beer Shava. Seforno notes the difference between the vowelization of the two names of the city, while Ibn Ezra offers that when it is called Beer Sheva it might be for two reasons (based on an oath and the number seven) or, perhaps, PARSHA OF it is a different (though THE WEEK similarly named) city.

When Yaakov visits Beer Shava in our parsha, he is presented as Yisrael as he offers sacriďŹ ces to the G-d of his father Yitzchak.

G-d speaks “to Yisrael� in a nighttime vision, calling him “Yaakov Yaakov,� saying, “I am the G-d of your father.

Do not fear going down Rabbi Avi Billet to Egypt, for I will turn you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will come up with you as well, and Yosef will place his hands on your eyes.�

Then “Yaakovâ€? gets up from Beer Shava, as “Bnei Yisrael,â€? lifting Yaakov their father – along with their children and wives – onto the carriages Pharaoh had sent for them. •What is the signiďŹ cance of stopping in Beer Shava? •Why is Yitzchak mentioned and not Avraham? •Why the switch from Yaakov to Yisrael, and back again? •What are we to take from the “nighttime visionâ€??

•Who will be accompanied by G-d in the descent to and in the ascent from Egypt?

Why the promise of Yosef putting his hand over Yaakov’s eyes? itzchak had two prophetic experiences in Chapter 26: In the ďŹ rst he is told not to descend to Egypt during a famine, as his father had done before him, and the second was in Beer Shava when G-d told him, “I am the G-d of your father Avraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and make your children numerous in the merit of my servant Avraham.â€? (26:24) Yaakov likely went to Beer Shava on account of this latter encounter (Rashbam), hoping to be the recipient of a similar blessing, and also hoping to be told not to descend to Egypt. Nonetheless, he was encouraged to complete this trip (Sechel Tov). Alternatively, Toldos Yitzchak suggests Yaakov very much wanted to go, but feared G-d would tell him he could not. The promise to become a great nation in Egypt, unlike the promise his father received, was so helpful in freeing him to go.

SacriďŹ cing to the G-d of Yitzchak alone may be because— • a person is more obligated to honor his father than his grandfather (Rashi, Midrash) • since Yitzchak suffered as well over the sale of Yosef (the crying father in 37:35 refers to Yitzchak), his suffering could serve as a merit for Yaakov’s own wishes to suffer no longer (Pesikta)

• a lament over not honoring Yitzchak for 22 years, Yaakov did not want similar treatment when being reunited with Yosef (Meshech Chokhmah).

There are many theories as to why “Yaakov� or “Yisrael� is used. As they are going down to Egypt and need strength (Yisrael) to survive, the name Yaakov is still applicable as with that name he is sometimes defeated.

They come as “Bnei Yisrael� because they will multiply in numbers and eventually be redeemed. But Yaakov the man is the one who is descending to slavery. (Ramban) The nighttime vision is unique to Yaakov and takes place when he is on the cusp of leaving the land (see 28:11-16). The message is that even in nighttime, in the darkness of exile, Gd’s Shechinah (the divine presence of G-d) dwells amongst Israel. (Meshech Chokhmah) G-d promised that He’d go down with and take Yaakov out of Egypt. Yaakov did not want to become a slave, so he was told he personally wouldn’t be there that long (Or HaChaim). He received the promise that his children would not be enslaved during his lifetime either. (Sechel Tov) Of course, Yaakov knew from the moment he purchased the birthright that exile was the price for getting the blessing promised to Avraham. Never having anticipated that the strange land was going to be Egypt, he feared for the moral decay of his family to the point

Yaakov knew exile was the price for getting the blessing, but never anticipated it would be in Egypt, a land of moral decay.

they’d never be able to get out. G-d promised him that if necessary, He would take them out early, before it is too late. (Beis HaLevi) The promise of going down to Egypt included different features.

The language is “I will go with you� as opposed to “I am bringing you down.� (Rabbenu Bachaye) He is literally counted as the 70th soul because the family actually totals 69. (Daat Zekenim) This is what the Kli Yakar calls a “Yeridas HaShechinah,� a descent of the Divine Presence.

A double language is utilized to promise the ascent from Egypt: I will bring you up (your sons will bury you) and I will bring your children up (eventually) (Sechel Tov, Radak); not only will you be brought up, but all of your sons will merit burial outside of Egypt too (R’ Chaim Paltiel); the double language of ascent refers to Eretz Yisrael and to the World to Come. One is a physical ascent, and one is an ascent of the soul (Rabbenu Bachaye).

The promise that Yosef would place his eyes on Yaakov has different meanings.

We know from the death of Rachel (and elsewhere) that a throwaway comment in the Torah sometimes turns out to be a prophesy. Perhaps Yaakov was being promised that the comment he made when he thought Yosef was dead “that he would go down to the grave mourning for his son�

(37:35) would not be fulďŹ lled.

As the Baal Haturim notes, G-d was showing Yaakov that Yosef would not die in Yaakov’s lifetime. As Rashbam hints (Baba Batra 108a), Yaakov was receiving a two-part blessing here: that he would outlive Yosef, and that Yosef has children who count as part of Yaakov’s family of 70.

Continued on page 9

The Bayswater Players Present

MAN OF LA MANCHA

:,17(5 63(&,$/ 1RQ VWRS ,QFOXGLQJ WD[HV DQG IXHO

by DALE WASSERMAN

6WDUWLQJ DW

Saturday: Dec. 7 & 14 - 8pm Sunday: Dec. 8 & 15 - 3pm

3(6$&+ 1RQ VWRS 63(&,$/ 9LD HXURSH ,QFOXGLQJ WD[HV DQG IXHO

Produced by Michael Gliner Directed by Mario Martone Musical Director Barbara Brand Silverman

%86,1(66 &/$66 ,QFOXGLQJ WD[HV DQG IXHO

Featuring: Gary Buschwald • Aaron Dobin • Dawn Forrester Beth Gordon • Steve Greenblatt • Gary Hlliard Ellen Joseph • Kadeem Joseph• Sonia Kennedy Dara Lifschutz • Stuart Rappaport • Ciro Timmons Alexis Wolf • Gill Yablon

/RZHVW +RWHO &DU 5HQWDO 5DWHV

3(6$&+ 72 )/25,'$ ,QFOXGLQJ WD[HV DQG IXHO

TICKET SALES: (516) 239-9500 OR (718) 327-7464 BRING IN OR MENTION THIS AD FOR YOUR FREE GIFT

BAYSWATER JEWISH CENTER 2355 HEALY AVENUE (AT DICKENS STREET), FAR ROCKAWAY WWW.BAYSPLAYS.COM

7ROO IUHH )/< ,65$(/ UHVHUYDWLRQV#EGWUDYHO FRP ZZZ EGWUDYHO FRP

667588

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS (RESERVED SEATING ONLY) $25.00

December 6, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

4

5

cover fire unit designed to keep the enemy’s heads down, while advancing towards the enemy until close enough to charge their position and take them out.

Unfortunately, in this case they had the high ground, and as the Israeli soldiers advanced towards the gunmen, they were caught in a murderous crossfire from a second group that had been waiting for just such a maneuver.

One of the boys was killed on the spot, and a second was lying under fire, wounded, when their deputy Commander arrived.

It was an impossible situation; the wounded man, lying near his fallen comrade was crying in agony in the middle of a wide-open area, under heavy fire with almost no cover.

Logic dictated that until heavy re-enforcements including air support arrived, there was nothing to be done; the boy was simply unreachable. In fact, as he was within easy reach of some of the Palestinian gunmen; it was clear, in retrospect, that they were simply leaving him out there as bait. Some of the men later reported in the debriefing that they could see the grins on the Arab gunmen’s faces every time the wounded Israeli cried out in pain.

Maybe it was too much for this young lieutenant, or maybe he thought he saw a way to get his man out. Or maybe it was the army he was serving in; there is a tradition in the IDF, which I have always been particularly proud of, that we never leave a man behind; all the boys come home.

We’ll never know; he was the ranking officer on the scene, and he wasn’t about to send someone else out to such a nearly impossible mission, so he did it himself. Under heavy fire, he succeeded in reaching this boy, throwing him over his shoulder to make his way back.

But he never made it, and there are a lot of us who will always wonder whether the Arab gunmen watching waited to cut him down just long enough to make it even more painful. He was cut down not two hundred yards away from safety, and there he lay, with his dead soldier, brothers in death, forever.

I have gone back to that day, and his decision, many times since.

Did he manage to say something to that wounded man? Was it worth it, so that an Israeli soldier, not nineteen years old, would not die alone? And most of all was he right?

Do you, should you, can you risk your own life for the possibility of saving another? ndeed, this question is at the heart of the story we read in the beginning of this week’s portion, Vayigash.

Binyamin, the youngest son of Yaakov, stands accused of stealing the goblet of the viceroy, and the punishment for such a crime is to become a slave in the dungeons of Egypt forever.

Seemingly in an impossible situation, with no way out, Yehuda steps forward, and in what becomes his finest hour, rises to the challenge of saving his brother from a horrible fate.

Do you, should you, can you risk your own life for the possibility of saving another?

I

Serving the Five Towns & Surrounding Areas

Vignette® Modern Roman Shades SEPTEMBER 14 – DECEMBER 17, 2013

Save $100*

or more with rebates

on qualifying purchases of Hunter Douglas window fashions.

cheers.

It’s time to decorate your windows for the holidays.

www.distinctivewindowfashions.com * Manufacturer’s mail-in rebate offer valid for qualifying purchases made 9/14/13 – 12/17/13 from participating dealers in the U.S. only. Offer excludes Nantucket™ Window Shadings, a collection of Silhouette® Window Shadings. Rebate offers may not be combined; for each qualifying purchase, the higher applicable rebate amount will apply. Rebates will be issued in the form of a prepaid reward card. Funds do not expire. Subject to applicable law, a $2.00 monthly fee will be assessed against card balance 7 months after card issuance and each month thereafter. Additional limitations apply. Ask participating dealer for details, rebate form and information on qualifying purchases. © 2013 Hunter Douglas. All rights reserved. All trademarks used herein are the property of Hunter Douglas.

“ And now, let your servant (me) remain a slave to you, and let the boy go (home) with his brothers.” (Bereishit 44:32) Essentially, Yehuda offers himself as a slave in lieu of his brother; he will take his brother’s place. But what justified Yehuda doing this? How was he allowed, and even praised by the rabbis for offering to give up his life for that of his brother?

Indeed, the sources suggest that it is in this moment that Yehuda the brother becomes Yehuda, father of the Royal Davidic line. So this must be the right thing to do.

And yet, Jewish tradition is very clear on this point: “Ein Dochin Nefesh Mipe’nei Nefesh” rules the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish law). (Choshen Mishpat 425:2) “We do not push one life away for another.” We cannot decide which life is more worthwhile; that is the purview of G-d.

Indeed, the Talmud (Pesachim 25b) makes it very clear that I cannot save my own life at someone else’s expense, because “ my blood is no redder than his….”

The Torah, however, gives a very straightforward explanation as to why Yehuda feels the need, and even the obligation to offer himself in place of Binyamin.

“Ki’ Avdechah Arev Et Ha’Na’ar Me’Im Avi” “Because I guaranteed the lad from my father.” (44:32) Yehuda explains to Joseph that he has become an Arev, a guarantor, for his brother Binyamin. Back in Canaan, these were the words Yehuda used which seem to convince Yaakov to send Binyamin with the brothers: “Anochi E’ervenu, Mi’Yadi Te’vakshenu” “I will guarantee the lad, from my hand you can ask for his return.” (43:9) Continued on page 9

WE DO REPAIRS

Lenny Koegel 516-594-6010

667582

D

uring the second Intifada, after a wave of violence broke out in Israel, our unit was called up for nearly forty days as part of an emergency draft order.

It is difficult to describe how challenging it is to be completely uprooted from your life, literally overnight, with no idea of how long you will be needed, or when you will be able to get back to the routine of job and family.

It was more than a challenge; it was often overwhelming.

One day I was struggling to FROM THE HEART keep up with e-mail, OF JERUSALEM and preparing shiurim (classes), and the next I was struggling to keep up with the pace of shootings, daily intelligence briefings and night patrols.

But what we had to deal with was nothing compared to some of the regular army soldiers and officers who were trying to respond Rabbi Binny to the murderous pace Freedman of deadly events unfolding along the ‘tunnel road’ that ran beneath the terrorist guns in the heights of Beit Jallah.

One afternoon, after a few quiet days, our unit responded to heavy gunfire coming from El Khader, one of the Arab villages along the tunnel road south of Jerusalem. A number of families were caught in the crossfire, and the patrol that had arrived on the scene was advancing towards the gunfire, in an attempt to draw fire away from the road, as well as shorten the distance to the gunmen.

The goal in such situations is to set up a

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774

Achieving Am Israel’s oneness as a people

December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

6

THE JEWISH

Norway wants to kick out its Jews

STAR

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

Ed Weintrob Malka Eisenberg Helene Parsons Stacey Simmons Matthew Stammel Christina Daly

EWeintrob@theJewishStar.com 622-7461 ext.291 MEisenberg@theJewishStar.com 622-7461 ext.240 HParsons@theJewishStar.com 622-7461 ext.241

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

Kashrut: The Jewish Star is not responsible for the kashrut of any product or establishment featured in the Jewish Star.

This newspaper contains words of Torah; please dispose of properly.

Submissions: All submissions become the property of the Jewish Star and may be used by the Publisher in print, on the web, or in any media without additional authorization or compensation. All submissions may be edited for publication.

Distribution: The Jewish Star is available free of charge in many kosher food establishments, stores, synagogues, and street-side news boxes in Nassau County and New York City. Mail subscriptions are available, prepaid: $9 per quarter on a credit card in Nassau and Far Rockaway, or $48 a year. Elsewhere in the US, $15 per quarter or $72 a year.

Copyright © 2013 The Jewish Star LLC. All rights reserved.

Circumcision under attack in Europe T

his week, as Jews across the world celebrate Chanukah, they also remember the victory of the Maccabees against the brutal rule of Antiochus IV, designated “Harasha” (“the wicked”) by rabbinic tradition. Antiochus’s main aim was to Hellenize the Jews in the ancient land of Israel by forcing them VIEWPOINT to adopt Greek customs in place of Jewish ones.

One Jewish custom that Antiochus banned was circumcision. Because it was the symbol of the covenant between G-d and the Jewish patriarch Abraham, Antiochus understood that to comprehensively destroy Judaism, circumcision would have to be Ben Cohen, JNS outlawed.

Almost 2,000 years later, a campaign against circumcision has again emerged, this time in Europe. This is not a campaign in the style of Antiochus — no one has been persecuted or arrested, and the advocates of a ban on circumcision emphasize that their approach is based on persuasion, not coercion. Still, the historic echoes of cruel rulers like Antiochus, and later on the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who also banned circumcision, should partly explain why European Jews have been left incredulous at yet another attempt to break this symbol of the Divine covenant.

During the last decade, we’ve become accustomed to viewing anti-Semitism in relation to the assault on Israel’s legitimacy. But in the last two years, Jews have faced another distinct threat in the context of an offensive against Judaic rituals. In countries as varied as New Zealand and Poland, the ritual slaughter of animals for kosher consumption has come under sustained legal attack. And from San Francisco, where anti-circumcision campaigners have gathered under the banner of a viciously anti-Semitic cartoon called “Foreskin Man,” to European countries like Germany

Photo by Andrew Ciscel via Wikimedia Commons

$ SURWHVW DJDLQVW FLUFXPFLVLRQ LQ &KLFDJR

and Norway, there have been similar efforts to place circumcision outside the law.

It’s notable that much like today’s anti-Zionists, the anti-ritualists furiously deny that they are in any way motivated by anti-Semitism.

Just as opposition to Israel’s existence is motivated by concern for Palestinian human rights, we are told, so opposition to Jewish ritual is grounded upon a commitment to the welfare of animals and the rights of infant boys.

All that — not to put too fine a point on it — is a load of bull.

Let’s take the anti-ritualist discourse of advocates like Anne Lindboe, the Norwegian government’s child welfare advisor, at face value. Lindboe says her opposition to circumcision stems from a commitment to the rights of infant boys to be spared from a “procedure that is irreversible, painful and risky.” If that’s the case, then where are the mass protests of those — like myself and many of you reading this column — who have “survived” this same procedure? I don’t feel as if my rights were violated by my own circumcision, and I suspect many of you feel the same. In other words, we are not the Jewish equivalents of the thousands of Catholic children sexually abused by predatory priests, which resulted in a well-known and justified scandal that consumed The Vatican.

“That doesn’t matter,” you might expect Lindboe, or the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, which also opposes circumContinued on page 12

N

orway’s Health Ministry is considering a proposal to regulate the circumcision of boys. Some political parties are calling for a complete ban of the practice on minors.Two years ago, the ministry was tasked with reviewing circumcision and how it should be practiced in Norway. It has yet to finalize its stance, but it promises a proposed bill POLITICS TO GO

by Easter 2014, Health Minister Bent Hoie told Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper.

Their timing was impeccable. The circumcision story became headline news in November, which this year hosts Chanukah. Part of the story of Chanukah revolves around the Syrian-Greek invaders banJeff Dunetz ning Jewish practices, including circumcision.

The Greeks saw circumcision as damaging the perfect “human form.”

The issue was brought to public attention after the recent call by Norway Children’s Ombudswoman Anne Lindboe to ban circumcision of boys before age 16, unless the procedure is warranted by medical needs.

Lindboe, who last year advised Jews and Muslims to replace circumcision with “a symbolic ritual,” also told the paper that non-medical circumcision of pre-teen boys should be outlawed and those performing it should be punished in a similar fashion to people who use violence against children.

“If 15 years is set as the minimum age, we expect Norwegian parents to follow and respect the law,” said Lindboe, a longtime advocate of the criminalization of ritual circumcision, which she considers a form of abuse and infringement of children’s rights to “physical integrity.”

Physical integrity — that sounds awfully like what the Syrian-Greeks said about circumcision just before Mattathias started his revolt 2,200 years ago.

As for violence against children, whether intended or not, Lindboe’s words reference the anti-Semitic blood libels — Jews using the blood of children to make matzo, etc.

Is Norway really saying they do not wish to have Jews or Muslims in their country?

Historically, movements to ban circumcision

are centered on attempts to move the Jewish commitment from G-d and refocus it on man.

Almost every campaign to destroy the Jewish people started with a ban on circumcision, followed by a ban on kosher slaughter and finally a ban on teaching Torah.

Norway is doing it backwards; they banned kosher slaughter of animals in 1930. The Simon Wiesenthal Center has asked Norway to remove the ban on Jewish ritual slaughter, justifiably calling the prohibition anti-Semitic.

Whether they were meant to be anti-Jewish or not, a bill to ban circumcision is fundamentally anti-Semitic. Even if you give them the benefit of the doubt and believe their intent to be humanist or Hellenistic, the end result is banning key Jewish rituals.

The brit milah (covenant of circumcision) is one of the most central practices of Judaism. The Rabbis tell us that males are not born perfect on purpose. Circumcision gives fathers (the parent who is ordered to conduct the ritual) a chance to participate in the act of creation. We believe that G-d has a huge role, and mothers obviously have the role of developing the baby within her body, but only through the act of brit milah do fathers get to participate.

And their role of performing the circumcision adds the final touch, making the boy perfect.

Circumcision is not something some ancient rabbis dreamed up. Circumcision is directly commanded in the Torah: “You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, as a sign of the covenant between Me and you. At the age of eight days, you shall circumcise every male child born to you throughout the generations.” (Bereisheet 17:11-1) Circumcision is not an interpretation of what G-d wants, but according to Jews (and Muslims as well) it is a direct order — right there in ink and parchment. From what I understand from my Christian friends, they too believe that the Torah is the word of G-d (but circumcision applies only to Jews).

There is also a medical reason for circumcision; it is an established scientific fact that circumcision helps prevent HIV. This new effort by Norway to ban circumcision sends a clear message to Jews, Muslims and all people of faith, “Get The Hell Out!” Especially when you consider it on top of the 80year old prohibition of kosher slaughter.

It’s not just Jews who are in danger because today it’s circumcision, tomorrow they can claim communion encourages alcoholism and ban that Catholic ritual.

7

ȧɃȶɄȶȿɅɄ

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774

ȫȶȾɁȽȶ ȠɄɃȲȶȽ ɀȷ ȣɀȿȸ șȶȲȴȹ $ *DOD &RQFHUW )HDWXULQJ WKH 3UHPLHU $ &DSSHOOD *URXS

ȪɆȿȵȲɊ țȶȴȶȾȳȶɃ ɁȾ

$OO 7LFNHWV 9,3 7LFNHW 3DFNDJHV $YDLODEOH ,QFOXGLQJ &RFNWDLO 3DUW\ DQG 'HVVHUW 5HFHSWLRQ

6DQG\ GHYDVWDWHG RXU KRPH EXW WRJHWKHU ZH FDQ 5HEXLOG 5HNLQGOH 5HGHGLFDWH

$OO SURFHHGV ZLO EH GHGLFDWHG WR UHEXLOGLQJ 7HPSOH ,VUDHO

667742

)RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ DQG WR SXUFKDVH WLFNHWV SOHDVH FDOO

7HPSOH ,VUDHO RI /RQJ %HDFK ‫ ݿ‬5LYHUVLGH %RXOHYDUG ‫ ݿ‬/RQJ %HDFK 1< ‫ ݿ‬ZZZ WHPSOHLVUDHORIOE RUJ

DATE: Sunday December 8, 2013 TIME: 10 AM - 1PM

Phone: 516.487.2424 www.nshahs.org

663509

667622

400 North Service Road Great Neck, NY 11020

8 December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

Affordable Care Act tips from Achiezer in 5 Towns As the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act gets underway, Achiezer has been fielding many questions. Dozens of families have already been successfully enrolled in the system, as Achiezer’s insurance staff were from the first in state to successfully train and learn these new programs; approximately 90 percent have already come away with significant savings. As resident health insurance expert, Achiezer Health Insurance Coordinator Sruly Miller gives us the lowdown on what we can expect.

Is the exchange site even usable these days?

There’s been lots of negative media going around about the exchange site; however, that information is all related to the federal exchange site. New York is one of 14 states that have taken the initiative of setting up their own exchange sites. So far, the New York site has been the most successful of them all. There have been some glitches, but mostly, the issues have been minimal, and we’ve enrolled a few dozen families with good results.

When I search online, I’m coming up with a federal exchange, as well as a New York State exchange. Which one has the information that I need?

It is pointless for you to search on the federal exchange site; all of the information relevant to you is on the New York State exchange site.

Will I be eligible for insurance under the Affordable Care Act? If you are either: low income; do not receive insurance benefits through your employer; or receive insurance benefits through your employer, but pay more than 9.5% of your total household income in premiums, you will likely benefit from the ACA. If you are on the high end of the income spectrum and receive insurance through your employer, the ACA will not apply to you.

I have never been eligible for subsidized insurance in the past. Is it possible that I might be eligible now?

Yes. The eligible income levels for insurance coverage are much higher now than they’ve been in the past.

667578

3UH H[LVWLQJ SURJUDPV (Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, Healthy NY) If I am already on Medicaid or Child Health Plus, what will happen to my coverage?

The Medicaid and Child Health Plus programs will continue as before. When it comes time to reapply, your application will be submitted through the online exchange site, but the program and coverage remain unchanged. The enrollment times and rules for these programs also remain as they were before.

If I am on Family Health Plus or Healthy NY, what will happen to my coverage?

The Family Health Plus and Healthy NY programs will be terminated as of January 1, 2014. If you are on either of these programs, you need to apply for new coverage through the exchange before December 15, 2013. You will almost definitely be eligible for a subsidy for the new program.

([FKDQJH LQIRUPDWLRQ What kinds of health insurance plans are available through the exchange?

Health insurance plans available through the exchange are called Qualified Health Plans (QHP). The QHPs are provided by dif-

Sruly Miller, Achiezer’s health insurance coordinator. ferent carriers; some are traditional insurance companies that have adapted their policies to comply with the ACA, and some are brand new companies that have been created for the exchange. Different counties offer different lists of eligible QHPs. What is the difference between the QHPs? Each QHP offers 10 main benefits, as required by law. While the broad categories of benefits are the same across the board, some QHPs offer additional benefits and options.

Prescription drug coverage varies between QHPs, and the networks of participating doctors vary, as well.

Is there any price difference between the QHPs? There is a price difference between the QHPs. Subsidies are available for all QHPs to income-eligible families.

Are there price differences within the same QHP? Within each plan there are four levels, referred to as ‘metal levels’: platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. The platinum level includes the highest premium, but has no deductible and minimal co-pays. The bronze level has the lowest premium, but requires a $3000 deductible and 50% co-pay on all services.

The gold and silver metal levels fall somewhere between those two extremes. Premium subsidies may be applied to any level.

What are the coverage limits?

In accordance with the ACA, there will be no limits to the number of doctor/hospital visits, so long as each visit is medically necessary. There will also be no caps to financial coverage; carriers will be required to foot the bill for even the most expensive and longterm medical issues.

What is the enrollment period, and when will coverage begin?

This year, the enrollment period will extend from October 1, 2013 through March 15, 2014. Applications submitted between now and December 15, 2013, will begin to receive coverage on January 1st, 2014; applications received after December 15, 2013 must be submitted by the 15th of the month in order to begin receiving coverage on the first day of the following month. The annual open enrollment period every year thereafter will be from October 15-December 7. Applications may be submitted at any time midyear if the applicant experienced a qualifying event, such as loss of a job, or a birth or death in the family.

6XEVLGLHV IRU 4+3V RQO\

What kinds of subsidies are available?

In most cases, subsidies are available for families whose income is below 400% of the Continued on page 10

9

Continued from page 4 Other possibilities include: Yosef will close your eyes when you die; Yosef will take care of those upon whom you have your eye – your children and grandchildren … long after you die (Radak); “Einekha” (your eyes) means “Inyanekha” – he’ll take charge of your affairs (Chizkuni); or, most practically, you won’t have to keep your eye on all of your belongings when you get to Egypt, because Yosef will make sure everything gets to you (nothing will be stolen) (Seforno).

The stop in Beer Shava, therefore, is highly significant. It is meant to serve as a reflection of a spiritual encounter his father had, and it is meant to sway or counter many fears Yaakov has over being the “one” who is beginning the actual descent to the strange land promised to Avraham. Avraham’s experience is not noted because Yaakov serves as his spiritual heir – and perhaps Yaakov even latches on to whatever merits his father had, as a man who suffered in his life, and as a

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774

Beer Shava stop… man who never left Eretz Yisrael – a place to which Yaakov desperately wishes to one day return, whether in life or in death or through his descendants.

The promises he receives from G-d set a stage for the promises the people will one day remember: that we may become slaves, but there is a promise for redemption. We may fall into moral depravity, but G-d will not let us disappear into a murky existence from which redemption is impossible.

For us, we look to the words of the Midrash that the Final Redemption will mimic the first redemption (from Egypt) in all ways, except that the Final Redemption will not be preempted by slavery. We therefore hope that all the promises made to Yaakov in Beer Shava will one day be fulfilled again, as we experience an end to the night in which Yaakov received his vision. A promise for a bright future when G-d will once again accompany us all up to the land he promised to our forefathers.

Achieving oneness…

Continued from page 5 What is the nature of this ‘Arevut,’ and why does this suddenly change Yaakov’s mind over all the entreaties and attempts of the other brothers?

Rav Avigdor Neventzahl, in his Sichot Le’Sefer Bereishit, points out that Arevut is related to the word Eruv, or a mixture (like Irbuv, or mixed up).

Somehow Arevut means Yehuda and Binyamin have become one. True Arevut is about becoming one with another.

In Israel today, when a person borrows money, someone else is often asked to guarantee the loan; that second person is called an Arev, or guarantor. And if the person who borrowed the money reneges on the loan, then his friend, the Arev, will be made to pay. By becoming an Arev for a loan, he has agreed that the loan is his as well; the borrower and the guarantor have become one.

Yehuda does not even know for sure that Binyamin did not actually steal the goblet, but it does not matter. Incredibly, during this entire episode, Yehuda never once asks Binyamin this question, perhaps because that is not the issue; Binyamin is Yehuda’s brother and that is all that matters to Yehuda.

Twenty-two years earlier, tragedy befell the family of Yaakov because the brothers were not one. If ten brothers can throw their brother in a pit, and then sit down to have lunch, completely ignoring his cries and tears (Bereishit 37:24-25), then something is terribly wrong.

A Happy & Healthy Chanukah!

WE DO !

CATERING

As Binyamin stands accused by the King’s Guard, with the damning evidence found in his pack, the natural thing to do would be for the brothers to continue home. After all, this time they needn’t even conspire, fate is handing them the perfect way to get rid of the new prodigal son. The favorite son will disappear into the dungeons of Egypt, and there really isn’t anything they can do.

But this time, it will be different, because this time ten brothers refuse to turn their backs and allow their brother to be cast alone into the pit. This time, they turn as one and return to Egypt. Despite the obvious motivation to continue on their way, and bring their ‘bread’ (all the provisions) home, they cannot do it, because they are one.

And that is why, in this moment, Yehuda the brother becomes Yehuda the King, who will eventually produce the royal lineage of King David. Because this is what Royalty is really all about.

Perhaps that commander, seeing his brother wounded in the field, understood that a part of himself was lying out there, and as a commander, perhaps he felt he had no choice….

Indeed, at Sinai (Shavuot 39a), we all accepted as a people, the idea that: “Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh La’Zeh.” “All Jews are responsible for one another.”

We are all meant to be Areivim; this is our greatest challenge: to achieve this one-ness, first as a people, and eventually as a world.

Shabbat Shalom.

15% OFF

Any Purchase over $15 Not to be combined with any other offer.

Exp. 1/31/14

667199

76 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, N.Y. 11561 Tel: 516.889.8470 Fax: 516.889.8471

667587

Under the Supervision of The South Shore Vaad SVS

10 December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

Achiezer on insurance…

Perl tel, e l l e h c n A i RabbB”, Leni Goldsmith Jay Mos Hosted by

vwwc

Continued from page 1 federal poverty guidelines. The basic subsidy is applied towards your premium. There is also an additional program called the CSR (Cost Sharing Reduction) Program, which helps cover the cost of deductibles and copays. With both programs, the lower the income, the higher the subsidy.

If I am eligible for a CSR subsidy, can I use it at any metal level?

CSR subsidies can be applied to the bronze and silver levels, only.

How will I know which subsidies I am eligible for?

When your application information is processed on the exchange, it is automatically assessed for eligibility for all programs.

How are subsidies paid?

You may choose to apply your subsidy directly against your monthly premium, or to take it as a tax credit. So if, for example, you are eligible for a $250 subsidy, you may choose to pay $250 less per month on your premium, or you may choose to apply a $3000 tax credit to your tax return at the end of the year.

Mickey “ s , David Weis ff o k ic tr S e Kiv

Co-Hosts

H A K U CHAN

,03257$17

N O H T TELEANKSGIVING

What happens if my income changes in the middle of the year?

If your income rises in the middle of the year, you become ineligible for your subsidy.

If you neglect to adjust your income online and continue to receive the subsidy throughout the year, you will have to pay the difference at the year’s end, come tax time. This becomes a particular problem for you if you are self-employed; if your income rises mid-

WHERE TH ENDS!

NEVER , 2013 7-11pm

S

Get the

Dec. 8 , y a un d

Verizon FIOS Channel 6 Cablevision on Long Island Channels 18, 48, 118

$SSOLFDLWRQ SURFHVV Can I apply for insurance on the exchange on my own?

You may apply for insurance on the exchange on your own, at www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov.

What documents will I need for my application?

You do not need any documentation for the initial application. Once the application is submitted, they may request documentation to be scanned and uploaded. All of your information, with or without documentation, will be cross-referenced amongst several different agencies (i.e. the IRS, Experian, etc.) for accuracy.

How can Achiezer help me with the application process?

Achiezer can help you assess options and decide on the best one for your particular situation. We may also have more savvy in terms of assessing your eligibility for various programs than you may have on your own.

Achiezer will be presenting two public information sessions explaining the details, specifics and vital updates about the new exchange and regulations, one in Far Rockaway, one in the Five Towns. Details will be announced in the coming days. For more information regarding the forum, contact healthinsurance@achiezer. org. For general health insurance questions and appointments, call 516-791-4444 ext. 3.

Weekly!

Scan with your Smart Phone to Register & Subscribe*

Live streaming:

www.chanukah telethon.com

Direct TV Channel 48

year, you may be left with a substantial debt at year’s end. The flipside is also true: If your income fell during the year, you will be able to claim the tax credits for a subsidy that you were eligible for, but never used.

Dish Network Channel 62 and 8114 Cablevision Westchester/Rockland Channel 6, 19

Time Warner Cable Channel 22, Channel 91 (NYC)

Comcast Channel 19 (NJ), Channel 25 (CT) * Scroll to the registration area to begin the registration process.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE! EVERGREEN PRICING Now Only $30 Go Green, Save Green. Save money, time and valuable paper by choosing to be automatically charged $30.00 once a year on your credit card.

BEST DEAL!

ONE TIME PRICING $36.00 for one year. A renewal notice will be sent by mail when your term is up.

To subscribe call 516-569-4000 press 7 or www.liherald.com/subscribe

653141

668231

rity ers, celeb , entertain hallenges rs e d a le c ho” in meet the “Who’s W abbis, help ay from home” for R g Watch the in c n a e aw the D s! chefs and es providing a “hom between the crack ll m ti fa r o u h o of by those w Sponsored ING ineola, M d a b a ST-STAND 1 h NY 1150 NCFJE C ’S LONGE K ND la R o A e O G Y in IN M W E IS Ave ONE OF N BELOVED FUNDRA VENTS! 261 Willis AND INMENT E ENTERTA 6 3 6 -3 9 3 Info: 516-7 badmineola.com N ANITARIA .cha com ES * HUM * visit www rlwebcasts@gmail.

IV L N G IO T IN A V C *SA bipe H * EDU C A E R email: rab T U O

By Michele Alperin, JNS.org Worldwide performances of “Fiddler on the Roof” attest to its cultural power, as it evokes the yearning for tradition in a changing world. What is behind its staying power?

According to Alisa Solomon, author of the new book “Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof,” it is the show’s balance between the universal and the particular.

During a recent symposium at Princeton University celebrating the upcoming 50th anniversary of the play’s Broadway opening on Sept. 22, 1964, Solomon, a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, said the show — which was still going strong with empty seats or standing-room spots at its 900th Broadway performance in November 1966, surpassing the expectations of its creators — “quickly belonged to everyone.” She shared an anecdote about a Tokyo rehearsal where a local producer asked Joseph Stein, who wrote the play, whether Americans really understood “Fiddler.” A very surprised Stein quickly asked “Why?” and received the response, “Because it’s so Japanese!”

While its appeal is universal, for Jews “Fiddler” calls forth the “old country.”

“To this day it is taught as a document of shtetl life and thus came to stand for Jewishness itself,” Solomon said at the Nov. 1415 Princeton symposium, which probed the play’s roots, its creative development, and its cultural resonances at home and abroad.

Solomon suggested that the key to the show’s abiding power, in a way its authors couldn’t have guessed, is that it is “focused on tradition rather than Torah or law.” The idea of tradition, she adds, is dear to any culture in the modern world. “It is a way of embracing a legacy without having to adopt its strictures,” she said.

By successfully representing the idea of the East European Jewish past and an idyllic idea of the shtetl, said Solomon, the show

7HY\H OHDGV WKH SHUIRUPHUV LQ D /RQJ ,VODQG SURGXFWLRQ RI ³)LGGOHU RQ WKH 5RRI ´ Photo by Penny Frondelli

“served a need of American Jews, who both needed to honor, recognize, claim, and embrace a heritage and life that was no more and at the same time needed to distinguish themselves from that.”

In pondering the implications of her own profound response to the music of the “Sabbath Prayer” song in the show, Jenna Weissman Joselit, professor and program director of Judaic studies and professor of history at George Washington University, noted that in the new world “the Sabbath experience was more in the breach than in observance.”

The power of “Sabbath Prayer,” she said, is that it “directly assuaged the concern of the American Jewish community—it’s future.

“It raised the possibility that in abandoning the Sabbath, American Jews had missed something special, but it was not too late to stage its resurrection,” Joselit said.

But at the same time, this “prayer” is not

from the liturgy, but was totally fabricated by the creative team, and language like “keep them from the stranger’s way” and “defend them” was included purposefully, said Joselit.

“It was designed to encapsulate conditions at time of play,” she said.

“The language was designed to integrate the self into the body of the play and concerns about exogamy, change, and the need to preserve the Jews.”

The play came to be at a moment in the U.S. when the counterculture was growing, feminism was coming to the fore, and the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was increasing. Solomon noted that its audiences saw the developing “generation gap” through the eyes of both Tevye and his daughters.

“Part of the genius of the show is to have both perspectives,” she said.

To illustrate this, Solomon alludes to

the arrival in Anatevka of Perchik, who will eventually marry Tevye’s daughter Hodel, but early on mocks Tevye and his friends.

When they ask where he is from, Perchik responds that he is from the university in Kiev.

A townsman then asks, “Is that where they teach you to speak to your elders like this?”

Solomon observed that, given the developing gap between parents and children in the early 1960s, the play’s audiences “know why that was a joke in ’64.”

Politics also affected the actors themselves during the first Broadway performances of “Fiddler.” Joanna Merlin, who originated the role of Tzeitel, the eldest of Tevye’s daughters, related the tension that remained between Zero Mostel, who played Tevye, and the show’s director/choreographer Jerome Robbins because of their different experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Robbins had been a cooperative witness, eventually “naming names” to the congressional committee that investigated allegations of communist activity in the U.S. during the early years of the Cold War, whereas Mostel had been blacklisted.

Merlin was blunt about the two men’s relationship. “Zero hated him but agreed to work with him because he respected him as a director, and he didn’t hide his feelings,” she said. “Jerry felt very guilty and humiliated.

There was a lot of tension during rehearsals because of that.”

Sheldon Harnack, the lyricist for “Fiddler on the Roof,” had a different perspective. He recalled that on the first day of rehearsal, which is kind of a meet and greet among participants, the cast wondered what would happen when the two men met. Mostel arrived first. When Robbins walked in, said Harnack, “Zero said, ‘Hi there, blabbermouth.’ Luckily everyone in the cast and Robbins laughed.” His perspective was that after that incident, Mostel kept his feelings to Continued on page 12

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774

‘Fiddler’ at 50 proves its staying power

11

Morocco, alone in Arab world, friendly to Jews

By Sean Savage, JNS.org Tucked quietly away on the far-western edge of North Africa, Morocco has largely avoided the upheaval of the so-called “Arab Spring” that has plunged many Middle Eastern countries into chaos. It has a vibrant economy, stable government, and growing tourism industry.

Nevertheless, Morocco is not immune to the problems of the Arab world, including corruption, unemployment, and Islamic extremism. Additionally, a proposed bill in the Moroccan legislature that would criminalize any contacts with Israel threatens to undermine the warm relations Morocco has with its Jewish community at home and abroad, as well as its growing international reputation as a rare model for success in the Arab world.

“Overall, Morocco remains stable and open for business and remains a mecca for tourists, but the gaps between rich and poor, endemic corruption and unresponsiveness of state institutions to people’s needs, high youth unemployment—all things that characterize the entire region—means that Morocco is not immune to challenges,” Professor Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, principal research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, told JNS.org.

Isolated by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Atlas mountains to the east, Morocco has one of the Arab world’s oldest and most

stable monarchies under the leadership of King Mohammed VI. Founded in 1631, the Alaouite dynasty, which claims descent from the Prophet Mohammed, has given Morocco a firm sense of identity and stability over the centuries.

Taking over as king in 1999 after the passing of his father, King Hassan II, Mohammed VI is a young and progressive pro-Western leader who immediately instituted social reforms and economic liberalization in an attempt to modernize Morocco. The king is also an adept businessman, and the royal family has a fortune worth more than $2.5 billion.

As the so-called “Arab Spring” swept through the region in 2010, King Mohammed faced unprecedented challenges to his regime. Allegations of corruption and the slow pace of reforms damaged his reputation.

“There were substantial protests, calling for reform, not revolution,” Maddy-Weitzman said.

“The king seized the initiative from protestors demanding reform, promoting a new constitution that was to give more power to the government and parliament, the devolution of power to local and regional authorities, to effectively fight corruption and the recognition of the Berber (Amazigh) language and culture as a core component of Moroccan national identity. He also expanded public spending—salaries, job hiring, sub-

6HFUHWDU\ RI 6WDWH -RKQ .HUU\ DQG 6HFUHWDU\ RI 'HIHQVH &KXFN +DJHO PHHW ZLWK .LQJ 0RKDPPHG 9, RI 0RURFFR LQ :DVKLQJWRQ RQ 1RY Department of State photo

sidies on basic goods,” he said.

Maddy-Weitzman said the reform movement is now out of steam.

“The monarchy retains legitimacy, the king was proactive, and the example of the instability that has shaken other countries serves as a deterrent for many Moroccans,” he said.

One of the most unique and profound aspects of the dynamism of modern Morocco

and its leadership is the country’s deep interest in preserving and promoting its Jewish heritage. Under King Mohammed VI, Morocco has recognized Jewish contributions to Moroccan national identity as part of the 2011 constitutional reforms and has restored an ancient synagogue in Fez. Home to one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, Jews first settled in Morocco Continued on page 12

December 6, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

12

Cedarhurst survivor...

/HRQ *HUVWHQ DQG &]HVODZ 3RO]LHF DUH VXUURXQGHG E\ *HUVWHQœV ZLIH FKLOGUHQ DQG JUDQGFKLOGUHQ ² DOO RI ZKRP ZRXOG QRW EH DOLYH KDG LW QRW EHHQ IRU WKH VDFUL¿FH RI WKH 3RO]LHF IDPLO\ GXULQJ WKH +RORFDXVW Photo courtesy of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous

Continued from page 1 of the town were killed, they were taken in by the Polziecs, he said. Leon, then 8 years old, and his mother Frieda, and his aunt Celia, uncle Herman and cousin Moshe Wiesenfeld, hid in the attic of the Polziec home, where Maria and Stanislaw had ďŹ ve children.

Leonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family moved between the attic and the barn and at times hid in the thick forest adjoining the home during Nazi searches.

Leon recalled that the barn held two cows, a horse and a pig. Sometimes, when there was no danger of Nazi searches, they were able to enter the home and Leon and Czeslaw, then 9 years old, would be able to play together.

They also built a secret bunker and stored bales of grain above it.

The Gestapo suspected the Polziecs of hiding Jews and would come looking for them.

Leon recalled that they came one time in the middle of the night and Leon and his family raced down the ladder and hid in the bunker.

The Polziecs pulled bales of wheat over the hiding place. Under the ďŹ&#x201A;oor, they could hear the Nazis beating Stanislaw and hear the crying and yelling and the Nazis searching for them. Leon was terriďŹ ed that he would inadvertently cough and give up their hiding place; that would have led to all their deaths, including the Polziecs.

He praised the Polziec children who kept quiet about the hidden Jews even as the Nazis beat their father. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was as close as we came to being caught,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We heard everything. I have bad memories of there,â&#x20AC;? he said, his cheerful, open face darkening. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This family helped us with the Gestapo and triumphed over their design to destroy every Jew. It is great to be able to express personally, to talk to someone

who saved my life. It is a gift to me, he gave me my life. He saved ďŹ ve people. And thanks to him there are generations of children.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were determined to kill every Jewish soul,â&#x20AC;? said Leon of the Nazis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They found the time to search the forest to ďŹ nd one child to kill.â&#x20AC;? Leonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family was ultimately liberated by the Russians and came to the U.S. after the war.

The two reunited men were feted around town with a Kiddush at the Young Israel of Lawrence Cedarhurst on Shabbat, a presentation at Rambam Mesivtaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chanukah chagiga (celebration) on Tuesday morning and the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Tuesday night.

Dr. Leon Gersten has lived in Cedarhurst for 40 years and davens at the Bais Medrash of Cedarhurst, the Shteibel, and his children attended, and now his grandchildren attend, Yeshiva Darchei Torah and the Torah Academy for Girls.

Leon had tried to track down the Polziecs starting in 1989, but was unsuccessful until he approached Yad Vashem who was able to ďŹ nd Czeslaw. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR), an organization founded to assist non-Jews in need who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, facilitated the pre-Thanksgiving visit.

When asked why his parents hid a Jewish family, Czeslaw said, through the translator, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was the decision of my parents. Our mothers knew each other. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were honest people living in the village. It was the right thing to do and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what they did.â&#x20AC;? Then he added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe others could have done it.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, no,â&#x20AC;? rejoined Leon, and the two men hugged and kissed each other. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody else.

Circumscision banâ&#x20AC;Ś Continued from page 6 cision, to reply. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Babies have rights, even if they lack the communicative means to express them.â&#x20AC;? Very well, thenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are we to therefore conclude that parents have no jurisdiction over the bodies of their children? Are we to bracket circumcision, an essentially harmless operation with proven sexual health beneďŹ ts, with the barbaric practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), as the Council of Europe does?

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really involved here is an insidious attempt to curb the civil rights of both Jews and Muslims, who also mandate circumcision for boys. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say for sure whether the anti-circumcision crusaders have realized that the logic of their position is a society where both Jews and Muslims are unable to live. But clearly, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not an outcome that

overly bothers them.

We are, of course, a long way from a legal ban. Europe today is not the domain of Antiochus, nor of the Nazis, who famously banned kashrut three months after coming to power in 1933. Yet a practice does not need to be proscribed to become stigmatized.

After years of baiting Israel, parts of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educated elite are doing the same to Jewish ritual. How long before we hear reports of Jewish schoolchildren being bullied simply because they are circumcised?

No wonder that a recent European Union survey showed that almost 50 percent of European Jews have considered emigrating.

Against this backdrop, who wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t?

Ben Cohen is the Shillman Analyst for JNS. org.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fiddlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at 50â&#x20AC;Ś Continued from page 11 himself and worked very hard.

According to Solomon, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fiddlerâ&#x20AC;? also got entwined in the 1968 controversy between the United Federation of Teachers, which was 90-percent Jewish and entirely white, and the experimental school districts over local control of schools.

The conďŹ&#x201A;ict climaxed in a citywide public strike that shut down New York City schools through the fall of 1968. During the teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strike, the drama teacher in a middle school on the edge of Ocean Hill-Brownsville decided to present â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fiddlerâ&#x20AC;? as the spring musical.

Some Jews were against this for fear that black and Puerto Rican student actors would use it to make fun of Jews, although a clip shown by Solomon suggested that the actor and actress who played Tevye and Golde, ages 13 and 14, respectively, played their parts with great integrity and talent.

Another political use of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fiddlerâ&#x20AC;? has been in Eastern Europe, where the play has been

used as a way to delve into the history of a localeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jews. Its performances are accompanied by booklets that detail what happened to the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jews during World War II. In the end, the legacy of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fiddler on the Roofâ&#x20AC;? may be its ability to reach both backward and forward. Joanna Merlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite moment was the farewell scene. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was very reminiscent for me of my grandmother leaving,â&#x20AC;? she said, noting that the ďŹ nal scene was a prelude to an unknown future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was kind of experiencing what they were looking forward to when they were leaving each other, in addition to having to say goodbye to each other, as they were all going to different parts of the world,â&#x20AC;? Merlin added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was very close and personal for me.â&#x20AC;?

George Washington Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Joselit touched on Merlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sentiments, but in a different way. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What the play is about, despite moments of wrenching loss, is possibility,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Friendly Moroccoâ&#x20AC;Ś Continued from page 11 when it was part of the Roman Empire, and the country later became a haven for Jews ďŹ&#x201A;eeing the Spanish Inquisition.

By the mid-20th century, the Moroccan Jewish community stood at around 250,000300,000, one of the largest in the Middle East. But like every other Arab state, Morocco lost most of its ancient Jewish community amid the upheaval over the creation of Israel and the subsequent Arab-Israeli wars.

Yet Moroccoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story is more complex than that of the rest of the Arab world, where rabid anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment has raged during this period of time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There has not been any widespread persecution of Jews in Morocco, neither during World War II nor in the following decades,â&#x20AC;?

Ambassador Serge Berdugo, secretary-general of the Moroccan Jewish community and ambassador-at-large for King Mohammed VI, told JNS.org.

Indeed, Moroccoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s King Mohammed V, grandfather of the current monarch, is famously hailed for his refusal to deport Jews during the Holocaust, when Morocco was under the control of the Nazi-collaborationist regime in Vichy France.

Rather, Berdugo told JNS.org that there were a number of complex factors that led to the massive Jewish exodus, including â&#x20AC;&#x153;socioeconomic issues, religious beliefs, family reasons, [and] political and strategic trends in the Arab world.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;All these factors created an atmosphere of permanent uncertainty for the Jews,â&#x20AC;? Berdugo said.

Despite its Jewish population decreasing to 5,000, Morocco has maintained warm ties with Moroccan Jews abroad, with tens of thousands of Jews from Israel and elsewhere regularly visiting as tourists.

At a time when Jews and Israel are constantly viliďŹ ed by Arab media outlets and leaders, Moroccoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appreciation for Jews has been a welcome development for Berdugo. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unlike so many countries in the world, Morocco does not feel any guilt towards them [Jews],â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the contrary, they feel they have lost part of their national body because of their departure and are very proud to know that those who left did not forget their country... Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good feeling of mutual recognition of our common cultural heritage of tolerance and of the Moroccan people.â&#x20AC;?

Nevertheless, challenges do exist. Moroccoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Islamic Justice and Development Party

(PJD), which controls the parliament, , has along with other parties proposed a series of bills outlawing contact with Israelis.

The bills seek to make it illegal to trade with Israeli entities and for Israeli tourists, of whom many are of Moroccan descent, to enter the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fact that the bill [making trade with Israel illegal] has been put forth, and sponsored by members of parliament from a variety of parties, including those in the government, is disturbing,â&#x20AC;? Maddy-Weitzman said.

Jewish human rights advocates have been quick to condemn the bill and have called on King Mohammed VI to stop the proposed legislation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This law would not only endanger the Jews remaining in Morocco, it would set a precedent for the exclusion of other minorities, thereby wrecking Your Majestyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2011 newly enacted human rights based Constitution,â&#x20AC;? Shimon Samuels, Simon Wiesenthal Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director for international relations, wrote in a recent letter to King Mohammed VI. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Indeed, it may also deter foreign investment prospects, both current and future,â&#x20AC;?

Samuels added.

Given King Mohammed VIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s afďŹ nity for Jewish heritage and his unique role in steering Morocco, observers think he will likely veto the bill.

Despite the reforms, â&#x20AC;&#x153;power in Morocco rests in the hands of a ruling elite that revolves around the Palace, and the Moroccoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s governing institutionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the prime ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s post, his cabinet, and the legislature â&#x20AC;&#x201D; do not exercise real power,â&#x20AC;? Maddy-Weitzman said.

For Westerners, especially Americans, there would seem to be an inherent contradiction in a monarch guiding his country towards modernity. But in a region wracked by civil strife and revolutions, King Mohammed VI, back by his familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy, believes it is his place to guide Morocco into the future.

At the same time, Berdugo believes that his countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiny Jewish community, which is bolstered by a benevolent king, can serve as example of what is possible between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They (Moroccan Jews) are the witnesses of a possible peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Jews with full rights and duties.

As such, their voice for a just peace in the Middle East is a clear one based on experience and living together,â&#x20AC;? he said.

T

his past week, I catered a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner for 48 for a producer from California who was in town for her son’s wedding, finalized a few party proposals, filled a few cake orders, cooked for my mom, and tried to shop for a dress to wear to a dinner. Turns out shopping was the hardest item on my list.

I can see all of you women out there nodding your heads and sighing in agreement as you read this, and the husbands and boyfriends who have to listen to their wives or girlfriends as they sigh and nod their heads in WHO’S IN THE agreement.

KITCHEN Everything looks good on the mannequins and the hangers. It’s the trying on process that messes it up. Ever watch a woman browsing the racks? We can eyeball a dress in three seconds and know if we like it or not — too short, too long, too bright, too dull, too gaudy, too conservative, etc. Yet with Judy Joszef all those we pass up, we manage to find enough to stop the circulation in our arms on the way to the fitting room. Yes, the fitting room, something kids these days don’t believe in.

Even when my daughter, now 21, was 12, she would just want to buy it all, take it home, and try it on there. Sure, why not?

She wasn’t the one schlepping it back and waiting on line to return it. I find it much more convenient to try on the 20 dresses, discard them one by one, and leave the store not having to come back and wait on the return line.

Wish it was as simple as it is for my husband Jerry. He can flip through a Filson, LL Bean, or Field and Stream catalog (ok, I was kidding about the last one) and order a whole year’s worth of clothes in 20 minutes. I try to tell him those clothes are only for sportswear, not a casual day at work. He shouldn’t look like he’s about to go dog sledding in the Yukon, rather than sitting at his desk in his office. Should I worry that he’s going to order a sled and a team of dogs online?

For those who take the merchandise home to try on, you don’t have to deal with the pushy sales girls, the bad lighting and skinny mirrors, my three pet peeves.

Lighting. Really, do you think if it’s dim in the fitting room we will think that the dress that looks awful actually looks good on us? Really, give us some credit.

Skinny mirrors. You have a return policy, right? Well, once we get home and notice the dress now makes us look heavier, we are going to return it. And we’re on to your tricks. Mirrors should be straight up not leaning against a wall, a definite sign it’s a slenderizing mirror. Ladies, check

yourself out in the clothes you came to the store in, if you look much thinner in the fitting room than you did this morning, it’s a skinny mirror. Honestly, how many inches do you think you lost on the treadmill this morning?

Pushy salesgirls. I know it’s your job to help us and help the store sell the dress, but can I have just a few minutes to get the outfit on before you knock and ask how it looks?

This week, not a minute after going into the room, there was a knock on the door asking how it was going. I replied, “Well, at the moment it’s going naked. Can we discuss it when I actually have the outfit on?”

So in the end I decided the eight little black dresses I already have in my closet looked better on me than the 20 I tried on. I might just have to buy myself a new pair of shoes to change the look, but that’s a whole different article for another time.

Just as you can enhance the look of a simple black dress with elegant shoes or a

piece of jewelry, you can enhance the dish you are serving. Here are three easy examples of how you can do it. The recipes are your responsibility, I had a tough week topped off with dress shopping; I’m pooped!

•Take a simple poached pear and slice it all the way to the top but leave the tip intact and fan out the slices a bit. Lie it on top of a small salad of spinach, goat cheese and pecan halves. It makes a pretty appetizer or salad and it’s a great mix of textures.

•When serving salmon, whether poached, broiled or baked, try placing thin lemon wedges around the perimeter of a platter, place the salmon or fish of your choice on the plate and tuck curly parsley in between the slices.

•Another great idea is using different heights. Make a simple stir-fry with veggies and fish, chicken or beef. Spoon it onto a plate and using a scooper, place a ball of rice on the plate to the side of the stir fry.

Add chop sticks for effect.

Judy Joszef is a pastry and personal chef as well as a party planner. She spent 18 years as a pastry chef at Abigael’s, The Cedar Club, Centro and T42 in the Five Towns, before launching her current business, Soiree. She can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com

Parting thoughts on giving thanks, as Chanukah departs A t last week’s Saturday night Chanukah presentation at the Young Israel of Woodmere, Rabbi David Fohrman, of Woodmere, contrasted the Purim and Chanukah Al Hanisim prayers that we say after the Modim liturgical work, each themed to a thanksgiving to G-d.

“In the Al HaniKOSHER sim prayer for Purim, BOOKWORM we give thanks for the miracle of being saved, and that’s it.

The prayer ends with a recounting of the salvation itself. However, for Chanukah, it doesn’t end there. Instead, the prayer concludes with an epilogue: and we establish these days, as days of thanks and praise.”

Alan Jay Gerber Rabbi Fohrman adds the following telling observation: “It is as if the establishment of these days, as thanks and praise, is itself part of what is special about Chanukah. That thanks is integral to the holiday itself, integral to what is that we commemorate.

“Thanks is about recognition. Our recognition of the transcendent Force that comes from beyond and manifests itself in our world; the Force that is behind the flame that burned even though there was no more oil, the Force that was behind the Maccabees’ victory of the few against the strong. Our

recognition of that Force is what the holiday is all about.”

These holiday contrasts, as reflected in the texts of our liturgy, involve the element of gratitude for the Chanukah miracle. The placement of the Al Hanisim prayer after the Modim liturgy of thanks to G-d, is as if it were, thematically, an integral part of Modim. I am most grateful to Rabbi Fohrman for this explication of the liturgical text.

In a very interesting and informative work by Cedarhurst native, Rabbi Yehoshua Grunstein, we read his take on the theme of gratitude within the context of our year round liturgy, almost as if it were an extension of the Chanukah theme.

Entitled, “Daven Your Age: An Adult Journey through the Daily Prayer Service” [Gefen Publishing House, 2013], this 238 page work presents to us a panorama of interesting and mind catching sound bites that help us to understand the true meaning of what is behind the discipline of “davening” and the true meaning of the Hebrew text itself.

Rabbi Grunstein teaches us the following: “We say ‘thank you’ every day for having our days run smoothly and safely. We thank

G-d ‘for nothing’ that is, for nothing that we know about. Though we aren’t aware of the hidden miracles that G-d does for us daily, we acknowledge His silent intervention in our lives.”

Further on in this book, the author goes into more detail in the Al Hanisim prayer.

Here are a few sample quotes for your edification: “Al Hanisim is a prolonged thanksgiving to G-d, for giving us even more to be thankful for on those days. …

Since Al Hanisim is essentially thanksgiving, we recite Al Hanisim after Modim — we are extending the daily thanksgiving blessing in words and content. … We prolong our thanksgiving on Chanukah and Purim because we are aware of the great miracles that occurred on those days, but that thanksgiving flows naturally from our ongoing obligation to thank G-d each day for just getting through the day alive.”

In a scholarly written footnote to the Modim liturgy, Rabbi Grunstein teaches us the following: “This may explain the classic question as to why the text of Al Hanisim for Chanukah just speaks about the miracle of the war and restoration of the Temple from defilement,

and not a word about the famous miracle of the oil that unnaturally lasted for eight days!

Based on the above [quote from the opening verse of Modim], this part of the service speaks about G-d’s natural miracles and not supernatural ones, ones that are with us and can be felt ‘each day,’ and thus only the former two are mentioned and not the supernatural third.” Next time you recite the Modim, give it a more careful “kavanah” reading, and if possible, with English translation.

Rabbi Grunstein, as a youth attended HAFTR and HALB and attended services at Rabbi David Speigel’s famed Shtibel and at the Young Israel of Woodmere. He currently is the director of training and placement at the Straus-Beren Amiel Institute of Ohr Torah Stone. He serves as a reserve solider in the IDF military rabbinate, and resides with his family in Efrat.

FOR FURTHER STUDY “The Art of Jewish Prayer” by Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner, z”l, and Dr. Liza Aiken, is one of the great classics in prayer. First published in 1991, this work contains a comprehensive chapter entitled, “Prayer of Thanksgiving” dealing with the whole concept of thanksgiving in our tradition. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, count yourself as lucky. It is surely worth an effort to do so.

Also, where available, check out Rabbi Yitzchak Sender’s classic, “The Commentators’ Al Hanisim” for both Chanukah and Purim. Both books are worth your attention for their balanced presentation of the teachings on this subject.

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774

Dressing up your wardrobe … and dishes and meals

13

CLASSIFIEDS

5 Towns Ad Sales The Jewish Star is expanding and has two immediate openings — full-time and part-time — for representatives to sell advertising and marketing opportunities to businesses and institutions in and around the Five Towns, Queens and Brooklyn.

To Advertise In This Section, Call 516-632-5205 REAL ESTATE

These salaried positions offer paid time off, health plan and 401(K), plus great commission and bonus opportunities and flexible schedules.

House For Sale

ATLANTIC BEACH 1443 PARK STREET 6 BR, 4 Bth, Heated IGP Private Beach Club $700,000 Neg.

An ideal candidate will demonstrate an entrepreneurial mindset and concern about our communities.

We don’t just sell advertising “space” in print and online, we sell marketing campaigns that boost neighborhood businesses and support its institutions.

Owner 516-295-3930

SELLING YOUR HOUSE? Run Your Ad in

The Jewish Star Just Call Our Classified Department at 516-632-5205

The Jewish Star is a product you can be proud of, published by a well-established, family-friendly company that offers competitive compensation and benefits.

Please send a brief cover letter and resume to Jewish Star Publisher Ed Weintrob.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(:HLQWURE#7KH-HZLVK6WDU FRP

Announcements

Jewish Journalism

ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT or service nationwide or by region in up to 12 million households in North America's best suburbs! Place your classified ad in over 750 suburban newspapers just like this one. Call 516-569-4000

MERCHANDISE MART

The Jewish Star, the preeminent newspaper of Torah Jewry on Long Island, is reviewing candidates for staff and freelance positions in the newspaper’s expanding editorial department.

Wanted

CASH FOR COINS! Buying ALL Gold & Silver. Also Stamps & Paper Money, Entire Collections, Estates. Travel to your home.

Call Marc in New York 1-800-959-3419

Jewish Star staff and freelance correspondents cover local news that’s important to Long Island’s Jewish communities; additionally, “op-ed” contributors prepare thoughtful opinion pieces on issues of concern to both local, regional, national and international Jewish communities.

Home Improvement

EMPLOYMENT

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Help Wanted

PLACE YOUR AD

AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN here– Get FAA approved Aviation Maintenance Technician training. Financial aid for qualified students– Housing available. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 866-296-7093

Credit Financial PRINT SHOP GENERAL HELP Print Shop Looking for General Help and Roll Tender/Jogger. Must Have Forklift, and or Clamp Truck Experience. All Shifts. Must Be Motivated. Please Call Lou 516 569-4000 ex. 256.

CUT YOUR STUDENT LOAN payments in HALF or more Even if Late or in Default.

Get Relief FAST Much LOWER payments.

Call Student Hotline 877-295-0517

GET FREE OF CREDIT CARD DEBT NOW! Cut payments by up to half. Stop creditors from calling. 877-858-1386

HIRING? Run Your Ad in

The Jewish Star Just Call Our Classified Department at 516-632-5205

Employment/Information NOW HIRING!!! $28.00/HOUR. Undercover Shoppers Needed $300/DAY Typing Companies Advertising Online. We provide the training & the jobs to perform.

Genuine Opportunity. PT/FT. Experience Unnecessary. www.HiringLocalHelp.com

Business/Opportunities MAKE UP TO $2,000+ Per Week! New Credit Card Ready Drink-Snack Vending Machines. Minimum $4K to $40K+ Investment Required. Locations Available. BBB Accredited Business. (800) 962-9189

SERVICES

GUARANTEED INCOME FOR Your Retirement Avoid market risk & get guaranteed income in retirement! CALL for FREE copy of our SAFE MONEY GUIDE Plus Annuity Quotes from A-Rated companies!

800-669-5471

Education AIRLINES ARE HIRING- Train for hands on Aviation Maintenance Career. FAA approved program. Financial aid if qualifiedHousing available. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance (877)818-0783

Health & Fitness CANADA DRUG CENTER is your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed Canadian mail order pharmacy will provide you with savings of up to 90% on all your medication needs. Call today 1-800-418-8975, for $10.00 off your first prescription and free shipping.

"KOSHER" YOGA/ LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPY The Peaceful Presence Studio- 436 Central Ave. Cedarhurst. Separate Men/ Women. Now Women's Aerobic, Cardio-strength Training/ Tai Chi. www.peacefulpresence.com 516-371-3715

Home Improvement HAS YOUR BUILDING SHIFTED OR SETTLED? Contact Woodford Brothers Inc, for straightening, leveling, foundation and wood frame repairs at 1-800-OLDBARN. www.woodfordbros.com. Suffolk Cty Lic. #41959-H, Nassau Cty Lic. #H18G7160000

Never be without power again!

The Jewish Star is seeking fastpaced print-centric reporters and writers and also individuals with Web and video experience.

Call Roof Diagnostics Solar Today and ask about our home generators

MEDICAL ALERT FOR Seniors- 24/ 7 monitoring. FREE Equipment. FREE Shipping. Nationwide Svce $29.95/Mo. Call Medical Guardian Today 866-992-7236

Autos For Sale MAZDA 2003 MPV: Sports LX, midnight blue, 97,000 mi., 7 passenger, AC, PW, PB, cruise, 2 new tires, luggage rack, rear spoiler. $4000/offer. (516)599-2570

Hooked up to Natural Gas Line Automatically turns on during power loss No Maintenanace, No Fuss, No Worries

Students at local Jewish high schools who are interested in contributing stories about their schools are also invited to inquire.

Autos Wanted CASH FOR CARS! Any Make, Model or Year. We Pay MORE! Running or Not. Sell Your Car or Truck TODAY. Free Towing!

Instant Offer: 1-888-545-8647

800-772-5168

666251

Please send a brief cover note, resume, and writing samples or links to Jewish Star Publisher Ed Weintrob.

(:HLQWURE#7KH-HZLVK6WDU FRP

Just Call Our Classified Department at 516-632-5205

AUTOMOBILE & MARINE

December 6, 2013 • 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

14

%H 3UHSDUHG IRU WKH 1H[W 6XSHU 6WRUP

DONATE YOUR CAR to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish. We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call 631-317-2014 Today!

SELL YOUR CAR Just Call Our Classified Department at 516-632-5205

â&#x20AC;˘Submit events to JScalendar@TheJewishStar.com. â&#x20AC;˘Put event DATE in subject line (include ALL dates if event repeats). â&#x20AC;˘ Deadline is Thursday 10 am, 7 days before cover date. â&#x20AC;˘Include a price of admission or specify FREE â&#x20AC;˘Include for publication an email address or phone number so readers can conďŹ rm your event. â&#x20AC;˘ Listings may be edited for style and space.

7+856'$< '(&

),5( (/(&7,21 Voting for ďŹ re commissioners in the Five Towns ďŹ re districts is being conducted today. All terms are ďŹ ve years and begin on Jan. 1, 2014. â&#x20AC;˘Incumbent Woodmere Fire Commissioner David Stern is being challenged by Stewart Bodner. Voting is from 6 to 9 pm. at ďŹ rehouse at 20 Irving Place, Woodmere â&#x20AC;˘Sitting commissioner Paul Breslin is unopposed in the Hewlett Bay district. Voters can cast ballots from 5 to 9 p.m. at the ďŹ rehouse at 25 Franklin Ave., Hewlett â&#x20AC;˘Also running unchallenged is incumbent Inwood Commissioner George Miller. Voting is at the ďŹ rehouse at 188 Doughty Blvd., 6 to 9 pm. â&#x20AC;˘Atlantic Beach Fire Rescue Commissioner Steve Cherson is unopposed, too. Voting is between 6 and 9 p.m. at Atlantic Beach Fire Rescue Headquarters at One Rescue Road in Atlantic Beach. â&#x20AC;˘Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department held its elections on Dec. 3.

(Election information from the Nassau Herald.)

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

6$785'$< '(& *5((1%(5* 72 .28)$; 72 <28., /,6 The evolution of Jews in American Society from the 1930s to Today. Talk, pizza and movie. Dr. Steven Bayme, director of the Contemporary Jewish Life Department, American Jewish Committee, speaks at 7 pm, followed at 8 pm by pizza and a screening of the 1998 documentary, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg.â&#x20AC;? Free. Young Israel of Plainview, 132 Southern Parkway, Plainview. Ariane Eisman, aeisman89@hotmail.com.

681'$< '(& %/22' '5,9( Hosted by the Irving Place Minyan and Congregation Sons of Israel. 8:45 am to 2:45 pm. Donors, 17 to 75 years old, at least 110 pounds, and healthy, will be invited to enjoy a snack after their donation and will be eligible for a sweepstakes to win a pair of Super Bowl XLVIII tickets. 111 Irving Place, Woodmere. 516-374-0655.

352-(&7 ,163,5( Presents an Evening of Wine and Wisdom Americana with Rav Gav Friedman, Aish Hatorah speaking sensation and Five Towns native. Topic: State of the Union of American Judaism. Honorees: Chaya and Eli Shapiro, and Brocha and Gi Orman.

Wine and cuisine 7 pm; program 8:15 pm. Donations from $180. At home of Esti and Ushi Stahler, 17 Beechwood Dr., Lawrence. 646291-6191.

6$785'$< '(&

/LJKWLQJ XS WKH QLJKW LQ &HGDUKXUVW 5DEEL =DOPDQ :RORZLN RI &KDEDG RI WKH )LYH 7RZQV RQFH DJDLQ NHSW &KDQXNDKÂśV OLJKWV EXUQLQJ EULJKW LQ &HGDUKXUVWÂśV SXEOLF VTXDUH ZLWK D JLDQW PHQRUDK OLJKWLQJ HDFK QLJKW LQ $QGUHZ - 3DULVH 3DUN 3LFWXUHG RQ WKH VHYHQWK QLJKW *RXUPHW *ODWWÂśV <RHOL 6WHLQEHUJ Jewish Star photo by Ed Weintrob

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

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

021'$< '(& :25. F-E-G-S Employment and Career Transition Services presents an employment boot camp for boomers, with professional career employment counselors. Workshop is open to all, and no question will be considered a silly one. Talk resumes, interviews, outreach, networking, more. 10 to 11:30 am at Long Island ofďŹ ces of UJA-FEderation of New York, 6900 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset. Call 917-606-6556.

6$785'$< '(& &$+$/ 5th annual concert to beneďŹ t CAHAL, the community-wide special education program, features some of the most popular performers in Jewish entertainment today â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Avraham Fried, Shloime Dachs, and Benny Friedman accompanied by The Shloime Dachs Orchestra and Zemiros Choir. 8 pm, Lawrence HS, Reilly Rd, Cedarhurst. Purchase tickets ($36, $50, $72) through CAHAL ofďŹ ce, 540A Willow Ave., Cedarhurst, or at Judaica Plus, 445 Central Ave., Cedarhurst. 516-295-3666 Sheldon@cahal.org.

:20(1¡6 /(&785( 6(5,(6 Smadar Rosensweig, professor of Bible at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University. Topic is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Devorah, Woman of Lapidot: The Words of Hashem on Fire.â&#x20AC;? 8 pm. Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere.

:('1(6'$< '(&

7+856'$< '(& /81&+ /($51 With Rabbi Shalom Axelrod of Young Israel of Woodmere. Traditions Restaurant, 302 Central Avenue, off Rockaway Blvd., Lawrence. 12:30-1:30 pm. Buy a great $12 lunch, eat and learn. Alan Stern 516-3983094.

$ VZHHW ³DQG RLO\ ³KROLGD\ 2QH RI &KDQXNDK GHOLJKWV LQ ,VUDHO LV WKH 6XIJDQL\DK WKH GHHS IULHG GRXJKQXW 7KH ,')œV SURYL VLRQV EUDQFK DFTXLUHG PRUH WKDQ GRXJKQXWV IRU WKH ILJKWLQJ IRUFHV $ UHJXODU VXIJDQL\DK SDFNV FDORULHV HDFK ZLWK GLVDVWURXV LPSOLFDWLRQV RQ WKH ZDUULRUVœ ILWQHVV VR SHUFHQW RI WKH GRXJKQXWV DUH ³PLQL´ VL]HG FDUU\LQJ D ORZHU FDORULH YDOXH 7D]SLW 1HZV $JHQF\

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

A new way to explore the Holy Land: on a bicycle What kind of ground can you cover in three hours in Jerusalem?

Amir Rockman, bicycle director of Gordon Active, with his brother Asaf, recently began leading a bike tour from the Inbal Hotel.

On a press tour, Amir said that he lives in Caesarea and bikes 30 miles to Tel Aviv on a regular ba-

sis. Asaf bikes seven milesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;mostly uphillâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Nekofa, where he lives, to the city.

For the new tours, the Inbal provides riders the bikes, a helmet, a bottle of water, and a map for $30 for a full day or $20 for half a day.

As part of the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;wellness con-

cept,â&#x20AC;? Roth said the biking initiative offers participants â&#x20AC;&#x153;a new way of exploring Jerusalem and discovering what they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know.â&#x20AC;?

Gordon Active (www.gordonactive.co) offers the following biking options: half or full day tours of Jerusalem; half or full day bike tours of Tel Aviv; night tours of Je-

rusalem; full day 20-mile tours of the Judean hills with visits to wineries; nine-day, 20-35 mile per day tours of northern Israel; eight-day, 25-40 mile per day tours from Jerusalem to Eilat; seven-day tours, including ďŹ ve days of 60-90 miles per day, from Jerusalem to Eilat; six-day tours across the Galilee; Ne-

gev mountain bike safaris of one to three days; and six one-day mountain bike tours.

Count Zohar Dublin, an account executive for a Tel Aviv public relations ďŹ rm, said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ride was beautiful, and this was a great chance to tour the city in a different and more active way.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;JNS.org

THE JEWISH STAR December 6, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 3 TEVET 5774

Jewish Star Calendar

15

The independent voice of Orthodox Jewry on Long Island Rabbis Billet

and Freedman

on Vayeshev

4-5 Bookwor m on Than

THE JEWIS

VOL 12, NO 45

Q NOVEMBER

ksgivingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Je w

H

22, 2013 / 19

KISLEV 5774

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Israel will de fend itselfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; MK Bennett re minds Wo

Schools 14

STAR

Facebook.com /Th

eJewishStar

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re adding more news coverage, new features, and more columnists...

ish roots 10

Twitter.com/Jew

ishStarNY

By Malka Eis enbe Naftali Benn rg ett, pivotal member an Knesset d Home party, head of the Jewish tinuing Irania warned of the conn thr eat and the im portance of the eternity of Israel in a 35 minute spe at the Young ech Saturday night state, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not Israel of Wo a good eno odmere.

He stressed reason. ug Israel as the the importance of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the There is a better reason h cupied with som ething. Ma ybe in people and home of the Jewish son dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ĂŞ Torah [that is Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s] â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 10 months, 20 not just as months, bu rai- mome tre.â&#x20AC;? stateâ&#x20AC;? and t the a â&#x20AC;&#x153;shelter nt they Be tha nnett said ala North Ko break out it is done the principal house in the t Israel is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;light- sion rea. The cur of his curren mis- of the ren t lent Middle stormâ&#x20AC;? of the turbu- raise t East. alarms ove U.S. visit is to keep P5+1 is a bad deal. Th deal r the crisis ey can the ability to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is Israel rea Iran. with given break out at lly the safest for Jews?â&#x20AC;? moment. A any place â&#x20AC;&#x153;Th he asked. good dea be to disma â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are now, ey donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to break other places ntle the wh l would the : ole thing.

Woodmere; Teaneck, New Jersey; line an y want to keep the out Then it would pipe- yea Perth, Austr tak d e are the wa m three itin rs to rebuild ali whole mean from scratc ing is to be a. If our moment, when the g for the right â&#x20AC;&#x153;In any h.â&#x20AC;? a shelter relieved, san when the We ctions are â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israel ha event,â&#x20AC;? he continued s the capabi , st is preoclity to defend Continued on 2UWKRGR[ =LR page 12 <RXQJ ,VUD QLVW 0. 1DIWDOL %H

www.TheJewish

Star.com

odmere that Torah is Is raelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raison d YI â&#x20AC;&#x2122;ĂŞtre

Bearded cade t fought â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and won LIR R vandals

QQHWW HO RI :RRGPH UH RQ 6DWXUGD SRVHV ZLWK D \RXQJ FRQJUHJDQW \ QLJKW

DW

7KH -HZLVK 6 WKH WDU SKRWR E\ ( G :HLQWURE

By Malka Eis enbe The ďŹ rst ste rg p in the rei a Chabad-L nstatement ubavitch Ne of w Cadet was handed down York City Police Friday by a federal distric in a ruling on hattan wh t Jud ge in Ma o claim of the upheld the constituti non cadet that his First Am al ment rights were endFishel Litzm denied. an was â&#x20AC;&#x153;th the Police row n outâ&#x20AC;? of Academy for his beard refusing to to trim said Natha one millimeter in len n gth Litzman ha Lewin, Litzmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorn , s as is custom never trimmed his bea ey. ary with Ch rd, but even so, abad Chasi dim, it naturally on a half inch from his ski ly grows about Baer noted n. Judge Ha that there rol )LVKHO /LW]P are many exc d DQ FDQ NHHS tions to the Ne KLV EHDUG mentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unpu w York City Police De eppart- ure to bli hair to a on shed rule limiting facial other enforce that rule aga e millimete inst ofďŹ cers than Fishel r rule was no Lit t applied un length and the zman.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a iformly.

Lewin said dom in Ameri great day for religious properly em that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Judge Baerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s op freeca,â&#x20AC;? Litzman inion decisio phasizes the , 39 , said of the tween the n that â&#x20AC;&#x153;will discrepancy NY ena on facial ha PDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s announced limita be- my life-long dream ble me to carry out ir and the De tion of the of ser ving the City of New partmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peo ple fail- police ofďŹ cer. I am York as a uniformed ver y gratef ul for the

support I rec eived from outside the tho New York Cit se inside and ment durin y Police De g this partâ&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lubav long ordeal.â&#x20AC;? itc h sta nd low him to ard does no trim his bea t alThe Jewish Star. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He app rd,â&#x20AC;? Lewin told accommoda lied for religi tion. He ha ous for months d been tra an ining It was his life d was at the top of his cla York City Po -long ambition to be a ss.

New lice OfďŹ cer. tutional to It was uncon thr they have to ow him out â&#x20AC;&#x201D; of cou stiBy Jeffrey take rse Besse The next ste him back.â&#x20AC;?

In the ďŹ rs n p for Lewin, gued 27 cas t 10 months of es before the who has arthis Court and is U.S .

Su the pre re have bee year widely know me of civil rights n as a champ times as ma n three ny a proposed and Jewish causes, is ion bias grafďŹ ti inc to order reques ide ting that Lit ďŹ le be reinstate Five Towns nts at zman d.

Long IsLitzman, a land Railro ad train ther of ďŹ ve resident of Monsey an stations as , worked sin d fathere were ce monides Me in 2012, dical Cente 2002 for Maiaccording r and from 20 to the Me 06 for New as a paramedic tro Yor Hospital an Transportati politan d the village k Presbyterian on Auwell. In 20 of Kir yas thority.

Joel as 09 he took the Police Last year Continued on OfďŹ cer there were four page 12 such incidents, all at the Cedarhurst LIRR station. So far

By Jacob Ka this year, 6ZDVWLND DW &HGDU ma KXUVW VWDWLRQ the MTA ha Nov. 28 ma ras, JNS.org s reported 3KRWR FRXUW HV\ -HIIUH\ rks Than seven incide ica retail /HE as well as nts at Ceda the ďŹ rst day ksgiving Day, of t-sh er ModernTribe.com on rhurst, four e in Hewlett, on a line It would be irts and gre of Chanukah in a Law tot rence and al eti a of 12.

On Oct. 30 American Jew natural reaction for . the occasionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one ng cards to mark , Ce darhurst res an one an , when notici swastika scr ident Jeffre lap during alysis of the that, according to ng that ove atc y Leb a passenger she hed onto a panel of endar, to sm casual reading of the r- rian calendars, wo Jewish and Gregoone of the saw a lters. cal- more ile or even lau than 75,000 nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t occur again for Gitell took Continued on stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s things much gh. But Dana yea page 12 rs.

Gitell, who further.

A marketin had known g professio givukkah â&#x20AC;&#x153;Th Norwood, nal living Mass., Git in said the â&#x20AC;? was coming for ďŹ ve anksell trademarked more she tho coined an years, ught about kah,â&#x20AC;? launch the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thanksgivu d more she came to 7 VKLUW EHLQJ appreciate the it, the PDUNHWHG E\ k- cance ed a websi Facebook an beh 0RGHUQ7ULEH te as well sig as days wh ind the overlap of tw niďŹ FRP d joint holiday, Twitter pages for o ich holiâ&#x20AC;&#x153;both celebr the and partnered Shabbat Candl ate religi with Juda- freedomâ&#x20AC;? and have â&#x20AC;&#x153;si elighting: 4:1 milar theme ous 3 pm. Shabb s.â&#x20AC;? at ends: 5:17 Co ntinued on pm. 72 minute page 3 zman:

triple attacks in Five Towns

The biz of holi day mashup

PERMIT NO 301

Join Us!

5:45 pm. Th is we

ekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Torah Re adi

ng: Vayeshev

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID GARDEN CITY, NY 11530

Contribute an article, send a letter to the editor.

Promote your organization, advertise your business.

Ed Weintrob, Publisher (718) 908-5555 EWeintrob@TheJewishStar.com

Malka Eisenberg, Editor (516) 622-7461 ext. 240 MEisenberg@TheJewishStar.com

Helene Parsons, Retail Ad Sales (516) 622-7461 ext. 241 HParsons@TheJewishStar.com

December 6, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 3 TEVET 5774 THE JEWISH STAR

16