Editorial: No race in this race

Issue of August 29, 2008

Love Barack Obama’s policies or hate them, something really momentous has happened that’s worth noting.

Joe Biden shmoozed here

Joe Biden in Lawrence (1994)

Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del), running mate to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, at a 1994 fundraiser at the Lawrence home of

Cedarhurst shul plans outreach to single parents

Extra set of hands; a shoulder to lean on

By Malka Eisenberg

Issue of August 29, 2008

Any married parent who’s ever felt like he or she does a disproportionate amount of the child rearing ought to be able to empathize. “A single parent can have three weeks, 24-seven, before they get a break,”

That’s Life

Dear That’s Life,

In my mind, few things say ‘summer’ like a boating trip on the Delaware. Pulling into the Lander’s Boat Trips parking lot was like going back in time. All of a sudden I was fourteen again

As economy worsens local charities feel the pinch

Donors continue to give, but less than in previous years

By Michael Orbach

Issue of August 29, 2008

2008 saw the government bailout of Bear Sterns, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, an increase in unemployment and, according to many economists, a full-fledged recession. It’s no surprise that local Jewish charities have been hit hard as well.

Woodmere dentist meets bone marrow recipient

Issue of August 29, 2008

By Rachel Blady

A Jewish Heritage Day audience of tens of thousands watched on the big screen at Shea Stadium Sunday as Gary Schnitzer, a New Jersey man recovering from leukemia, and Dr. Steven Eisenberg, a dentist from Woodmere who donated the bone marrow that saved him, met for the first time.

A bone marrow donation through the eyes of a spouse

First person

By Malka Eisenberg

Issue of August 29, 2008

My husband, Steven Eisenberg, got the call on his cell phone in his office. The Gift of Life contact person said that he was a possible match and they had to verify if he could be a donor very quickly because the intended recipient was in bad shape. It was an emergency.

The Kosher Bookworm

The Haftarot of our lives

A review of how our Haftarot are treated, by Dr. Michael Fishbane

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of August 29, 2008

A few weeks ago The New York Times featured a new exhibit at The Israel Museum in Jerusalem of the Great Isaiah Scroll from their famed Dead Sea Scroll collection. This is the first time in over forty years that this scroll, in its original incarnation, is being placed on public display. Until now only a copy was available to be viewed by the public at the museum’s famed Shrine of the Book, together with related artifacts, and k’lai kodesh.

Letters to the Editor

Issue of August 29, 2008

Step up or stand back

From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann

Issue of August 29, 2008

The melodies are haunting — evoking feelings first experienced in the Holy Temple thousands of years ago. Melodies so holy, so ancient, that Jews praying in groups of ten or in groups of thousands are vigilant about employing them and only them in the High Holiday services. Finding a suitable chazzan can be tough in America, Europe and Israel. Imagine the difficulty in finding a person versed in the particulars and nuances of the liturgy in Korea!

Houston, we have a Torah

A gift from a Cedarhurst family to a shul in Texas

By Michael C. Duke

Issue of August 29, 2008

Parshat Re’eh

Playing by the Rules

By Avi Billet

Issue of August 29, 2008

How confusing does a five-word pasuk (verse) have to be?

Tangled up in Jews

Right Angle

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Issue of August 29, 2008

Anti-Israel diatribes spring from Iran’s leaders like fleas from a dog, but a recent Iranian Parliament statement stood apart, containing as it did a remarkable admission.

Concert on the lawn

Issue of August 29, 2008

A benefit concert for the Heller Resource Center of the Yeshiva of South Shore began with food catered by Traditions …

Watermelon for Labor Day

A collection of fun facts and recipes

By Eileen Goltz

Issue of August 29, 2008

Back in the day (yeah, like I’m so old) Labor Day was not only the last hurrah of the summer vacation; it was the day before school started. Now, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a day of respite for students who’ve already started classes (a celebration for child weary parents around the country) and a day of food, food and more food, usually served in a picnic state of mind. Yes, I know that “Labor Day” is a creation and celebration of the labor movement in the U.S. of A and is dedicated to honoring the social and economic accomplishments of American workers, but truly, it’s also about a fun day stuffing your face.

Holy Huckabee

A Great Neck man, Dr. Paul Brody, was one of several people who accompanied former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee to Israel on August 18th and 19th, on a trip organized by Ateret Cohanim-The Jerusalem Reclamation Project.

Mishna study in soldiers’ memory concludes

By Jewish Star Staff

Issue of August 29, 2008

The last words of Masechet Uksin, the final tractate of the Mishnah, speak of G-d’s desire to cloak the Jewish people in peace. They are fitting words to conclude a program of Torah study in memory of Israeli MIAs Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, said Rabbi Chaim Wasserman of the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel.

JCC’s Cathy Byrne speaks at Holocaust conference

By Daniella Adler

Issue of August 29, 2008

Cathy Byrne, M.S. R.N., director of Older Adult Services at the JCC of the Greater Five Towns, was the keynote speaker at a conference for social workers in the field of geriatrics and Holocaust survivors on Aug. 11. The event was sponsored by the Conference on Jewish Claims Against Germany.

On the Calendar

Issue of August 29, 2008

The play’s the thing, but not everything

Shul softball players compete but it’s all in fun

By Rachel Blady

Issue of August 29, 2008

Uniting District 14

Collaboration between public and private schools to continue

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 29, 2008

Hewlett-Woodmere District 14 is once again working to unite the public and private schools in the area, offering equal services to both and enhancing student life at the local yeshivas, following their successful efforts last year.

Shulamith executive director apparently ignores second beit din summons

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of August 29, 2008

A lawyer for a group of Shulamith School parents, Robert Tolchin, said Tuesday there has been no response from the school to a second summons to the RCA beit din. The Beth Din of America declined to comment.

HAFTR to break ground on Torah and Athletic Center

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of August 29, 2008

HAFTR will break ground on a new Torah and Athletic Center on Central Avenue on Sunday, September 7 at 9:30 a.m.

Machon Hatorah: HAFTR, Rambam and Shalhevet

By Yaffi Spodek

Machon Hatorah is gearing up for a productive new school year in its three divisions, HAFTR, Rambam Mesivta and Shalhevet.

Back to school at Bnot Shulamith

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 29, 2008

Bnot Shulamith Middle School is excited to welcome 145 girls into grades five through eight this year, a 20 percent increase in enrollment over last year’s 120 students.

Back to school at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 29, 2008

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov will welcome over 180 students this year, a record number for the yeshiva, where enrollment has been steadily increasing each year.

Back to school at HANC

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 29, 2008

Hebrew Academy of Nassau County welcomes Rabbi Rafi Draiman as Assistant Principal of its Plainview elementary school.

Back to school — Part 1

Issue of August 22, 2008

Hanging in the balance

Life as a mother and student

By Chani Fertig

Issue of August 22, 2008

Being a student is always a challenge — keeping up with schoolwork, studying for exams, turning in assignments on time. Add to that the stresses of motherhood and running a household, and suddenly a lot of balls are in the air, and there aren’t enough hands to catch them.

Fighting your child’s finger fatigue

By Peggy L. Gurock

You’re probably already hearing the complaint from your school kids.

“I won’t be able to do all that homework I’ll be getting this year. My fingers get too tired from so much written work in school.”

Shalhevet to open, but without Dr. Rivkah Blau

Personal reasons cited for departure; noted educator could rejoin school at later date

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of August 22, 2008

Shalhevet, the new, third division of Machon HaTorah, will open for class Sept. 2 as planned, but without Dr. Rivkah Blau, the respected educator who was expected to lead it.

Congregation Beis Ephraim Yitzchok welcomes new rav

Rabbi Zvi Ralbag to be installed in September

Rabbi Zvi Ralbag, new rav of Congregation Beis Ephraim Yitzchok (The Island Shul) in Cedarhurst. (Photo courtesy Israel Solidarity Fund)

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 22, 2008

Congregation Beis Ephraim Yitzchok in Woodmere, commonly known as the Island Avenue Shul, will inaugurate Rabbi Zvi Ralbag as its new mara d’atra next week.

CBEY, on Peninsula Boulevard, is home to 90 full-time members. Menachem Kagan is the congregation’s president.

In My View: Jew in the city

Debunking myths about Orthodoxy

Allison Josephs

By Allison Josephs

Issue of August 22, 2008

Old-fashioned, extreme, closed-minded, sexist, dirty and ignorant. These are some of the words that used to come to mind when I would think about Orthodox Jews as a kid. When I got to know some personally, in my late teens, I was quite surprised to discover how normal they were.

Parshat Eikev

Loving the ‘ger’

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of August 22, 2008

The Torah commands us to love three entities: G-d, our neighbor, and the “ger.” The term “ger” is usually translated to mean “convert” or “proselyte,” but it literally means “stranger.”

That’s Life

Issue of August 22, 2008

Dear That’s Life,

A New Tisha B’Av Lamentation, as heard on Central Avenue:
To give my daughter and son-in law an opportunity to rest on Tisha B’Av, I took my two-year-old grandson for a walk in Cedarhurst. Our destination was the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, where Ari Zvi loves to check out the yellow and red fire trucks and the white ambulance.

The Kosher Bookworm

Nazism, communism and the Olympics

King Of The Road: From Bergen Belsen to the Olympic Games by Dr. Shaul Ladany

Alan Jay Gerber

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of August 22, 2008

By the time you read this, the 2008 Olympics in Communist China may be over. Nevertheless, there are a few pieces of unfinished business on this topic that remain to be brought to your attention. There are a few more Jews who have participated in previous Olympics whose stories should be told.

From the other side of the bench

Going for the gold

By David Seidemann

Issue of August 22, 2008

Once every two years, the nations of the world are supposed to lay down their arms, cease all military conflicts, and unite behind the concept of “sports,” to unify a severely fragmented world. It rarely happens though, and as was the case in the Munich Olympics, it results in violence itself.

Right angle

Judge-and-jury journalism

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Issue of August 22, 2008

Like an amusement park barker inviting passers-by to step right up and throw balls at some unfortunate’s head sticking through a hole, The New York Times editorial page seems to have been calling on any and all to pitch print projectiles at a mark of its own: the kosher-meat producer Agriprocessors.

On the Calendar

Issue of August 22, 2008

From Carlos and Gabby’s to G-d

The story of a local woman’s journey to Judaism

By Michael Orbach

Issue of August 22, 2008

Sitting across from Daniella Saffiato, a pretty brunette with a bewitching smile, whose speech is peppered with phrases like “boruch Hashem” and “hashgacha pratis,” and dresses according to the strictest laws of Jewish modesty, one wouldn’t believe that less than two years ago, a completely different girl, dressed in jeans and a tank top, her lip pierced with a metal stud, stumbled on a “help wanted” sign outside a kosher Mexican restaurant on Rockaway Turnpike, Carlos and Gabby’s.

Editorial: Color blind color war breakout

A Jewish Star Editorial

Issue of August 22, 2008

Proper chinuch can be all about striking just the right balance — as much about not saying the wrong things as it is about saying the right things. Above all else, it’s about teaching our children by our own good example.

Take, for example, the trumped up rabbinic ban that led the singer Lipa Schmelczer to cancel a charity concert at Madison Square Garden last February.

Web Exclusive: No walkout at Rubashkin, says Rabbi Weissmandl

“Friendly” conversation with owner not a job action, Kashrus supervisor says

EXCLUSIVE to The Jewish Star online- August 20, 2008

By Mayer Fertig

Rabbi Menachem Meir Weissmandl, who oversees kosher supervision at the embattled Agriprocessors kosher meat packing in Postville, Iowa, denied emphatically that shochtim and mashgichim at the plant, who are technically his employees, staged any sort of job action Wednesday.

Chaos engulfs Jews in Georgia

War between Russia and its former republic creates turmoil for families in Gori

By Dov Winston

Issue of August 15, 2008

At least 1,000 Jews fled the former Soviet republic of Georgia for Israel Tuesday, according to the Chabad.org News website.

The emergency airlift was taking place even as efforts were underway to persuade Georgia to sign on to a French-backed peace initiative which, it was hoped, would halt five days of Russian attack on the U.S. ally.

Beit Din sets Friday deadline for Shulamith response

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of August 15, 2008

The Beth Din of America set a Friday deadline for Shulamith School for
Girls to respond to a second hazmana to a din torah.

Editorial: A three hour tour, a three hour tour

Issue of August 15, 2008

We must be missing something.

Federal and state law enforcement is investigating the Rubashkin plant in Postville, Iowa a half dozen different ways, with the most recent unpleasant revelation being alleged child labor violations on a scale said to be unprecedented in the State of Iowa. Yet, to hear continuing reaction to that now famous three hour tour of the plant by a group of rabbis ‹ remember Gilligan’s three hour tour? ‹ a guy not paying attention might think the entire Postville matter has been exposed as a trumped-up blood libel put out there by union organizers who play hardball.

Making a difference at Morasha

Campers integrate chesed into a fun-filled summer

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 15, 2008

Camp Morasha held a bake sale last Friday, raising $228 for the Zev Wolff Fund, which is a cause dedicated to finding a cure for neuroblastoma, the rare form of pediatric cancer affecting a five-year-old from Woodmere.

The sale coincided with “Gratitude to Health” week at Morasha and was organized by the Manhigot, girls entering ninth grade. Donating the proceeds to the fund was the brainchild of two campers, Elana Spector and Lauren Rubin, 14-year-old HAFTR students who live in Woodmere.

In My View: The lost Yom Tov

By Chananya Weissman

Issue of August 15, 2008

This year, Shabbos Nachamu coincides with Tu B’Av, which is interesting when you consider how the two events have evolved.

Shabbos Nachamu is historically significant as a time of consolation for the mourning period just concluded. Nowadays this date is more famous for being “Singles Event Weekend,” when all that the community has to offer its ever-swelling singles population is on glorious display. More on this later.

Kosher Bookworm

Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936 by Dr. David Clay Large

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of August 15, 2008

The Olympic Games in Communist-ruled China are nearly half over. Much has been written about this international athletic event, the first held in a totalitarian state since 1980, but it is not my intention to reprise those articles and opinions. Rather, I would like to bring to your attention a unique and historically interesting book on the most infamous Olympic Games of all, the Berlin Olympics of 1936.

New shul on the block

Construction nears completion for Beis Haknesses of North Woodmere

by Yaffi Spodek

Issue of August 15, 2008

The Beis Haknesses of North Woodmere will move into a newly renovated building on Hungry Harbor Road just in time for Rosh Hashana.

Under the leadership of Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz the four-year-old shul is expanding to meet the needs of the neighborhood’s steadily increasing population of young couples. With nearly 50 member families, BKNW has far outgrown its makeshift accommodations in Rabbi Lebowitz’s basement.

From the Other Side of the Bench

Advice worth following

By David Seidemann

Issue of August 15, 2008

I’m not sure which is worse – giving advice when you’re not asked to or failing to ask advice when one could really benefit from it. In truth, each option leads to a perilous path.

Food for the Jewish soul

How to keep kosher in a healthy way

By Chana Billet

Issue of August 15, 2008

Shabbat dinner at the home of Chana Rubin is a mouth-watering event. But, instead of carbohydrate-rich kugels and bakery cakes laden with trans fat, Rubin serves fresh, wholesome food that packs a strong nutritional punch. Whole wheat challah accompanies a walnut and lentil pate and curried butternut squash soup. An entree of lemon tarragon chicken breasts is served with a brown rice pilaf, steamed green beans and a fresh green salad. The meal ends with a seasonal fruit crisp and herbal tea.

Meningitis vaccine recommended, often ignored

Camp or dorm poses increased risk for deadly disease

By Malka Eisenberg

Issue of August 15, 2008

About 10 out of every 100 victims of bacterial meningitis will not survive the experience. Another 15 or so will be left physically or mentally impaired. There is a vaccine, routinely recommended for all 11 to 18 year olds, and usually given at the 11 or 12 year old check up. Yet, most eligible teens have never had it — ­­ just 12 percent did as of 2006, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal.

Fostering Shmuel

Op-Ed

By Sara and Azriel Ganz

Issue of August 15, 2008

As long-time foster parents, we read last week’s Jewish Star article, “Adopting Shmuel” (August 8, 2008) with great interest. While touched by the wonderful tale of Shmuel’s adoption, we were also disappointed by the inaccurate portrayal of his life in foster care. We would like to set the record straight about the vital role his most recent foster parents played in the life of Shmuel (or “Ritchie” as he was then called), about what fostering entails and, in particular, what it means to foster an extremely difficult child.

Aspiring doctors

Local students conduct research at Einstein

By Rachel Blady

Issue of August 15, 2008

Batya Matla Herzberg of Woodmere and David Pinn of Lawrence are conducting research in a laboratory at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of the Roth Scholars summer program for Yeshiva University undergraduates.

Mike Gallagher, pro-Israel radio host, now live in New York

By Michael Orbach

Issue of August 15, 2008

“To a conservative like me, every Jew should be a conservative,” Mike Gallagher said, in a phone interview with The Jewish Star. “Liberals are historically pro-Palestinian and they don’t understand that the battles that are going on are for the survival of Israel.”

With an opening salvo, the staunchly conservative radio host is back in New York.

Israir to end flights to U.S.

Airline cites fuel costs as reason for cancellation

By Jewish Star staff

Issue of August 15, 2008

Israir Airlines will suspend flights to the United States effective Sept. 13. The carrier’s announcement Wednesday blamed escalating fuel prices and an expectation of a decrease in the number of passengers due to the weakness of the dollar.

Right Angle

Bless Us

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Q: What do righteous, learned Torah scholars and newly observant Jews, or baalei teshuva, have in common?
A: The way they recite blessings.

No, it’s not funny, nor is it meant to be. It’s simply an easily confirmed observation.

That’s Life

Issue of August 15, 2008

Dear That’s Life:

To all those who do not believe in the power of challah, read this:

A cousin of mine in Yerushalayim, making my challah recipe for the first time, called a bunch of times for consultation and advice, although she had made challah on numerous other occasions. She and I spoke often on that Friday morning.

Parshat Va’etchanan

Enjoy, enjoy!

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of August 15, 2008

The Talmud (Taanit 30b) quotes the Mishnah when it says there were no holidays (literally “good days”) on the Jewish calendar as great as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur. The Talmud delves into the greatness of the 15th of Av (which falls this year on Shabbat, August 16), famously describing how single girls would dance in the fields and single men would meet them in the greatest singles event of all times.

How to avoid a shocking experience

Lightning kills 80 people each year, and injures 300 more, across the United States. Five men attending an athletic event in Nassau County were recently struck. A lightning strike can cause a person’s heart to stop beating, as well as burns to the skin, broken bones, damage to the nervous system and muscles, and loss of hearing and eyesight. To minimize the chance of being struck, observe these safety tips:

On the Calendar

For the week of August 15

Lawrence – The Par Group’s Samuel Levine Memorial Golf Classic will be held on Monday, August 18 at the Seawane and Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence, to benefit Sunrise Day Camp, the only day camp in the nation for children with cancer and their siblings. The event will honor Morey Danon, Group Director and Senior VP of Signature Bank; Michael L. Faltischek, Senior Partner at Ruskin Moscou Faltischeck, P.C.; and, Ted Haft, President and CEO of 680 5th Avenue Associates and Ten O’Five Investment Group. To register or for more information on sponsorships, please visit our website at www.sunrisedaycamp. org or call (516) 766-4341.

Where synagogues once stood

Two men immersed in the Kinot elegies during Tisha B’Av observances at the Kotel in 1993. (Judah S. Harris)

A Tisha B’Av exploration

By Judah S. Harris

Issue of August 8, 2008

Tisha B’Av all over the world is observed through fasting, expressions of mourning, the reading of Megillat Eicha and the recitation of the Kinot.

Eli Tziyon and music of the Three Weeks

By Moshe Weiss

Issue of August 8, 2008

From cradle to grave, in simcha and tza’ar, for most of us, music is more than just a byway of life. It is a guidepost to stages in the cycle of the Jewish calendar year — a veritable marker, if you will, of the rhythm of Jewish life.

Thank G-d for Tisha B’Av

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of August 8, 2008

This optimistic/pessimistic outlook is an embodiment of what Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik would call a “dialectic.” Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, but we are promised that in the Messianic era, it (along with the other fasts) will be a day of tremendous joy (Maimonides, Laws of Fasting, 5:19).

Adopting Shmuel

A happy family shares the true story of a spontaneous decision

By Michael Orbach

Issue of August 8, 2008

Back in 2005, looking to make some extra money while I finished my great American Jewish novel, I substituted as a teacher’s aide in a local Jewish elementary school. In the small special education classroom I met Shmuel, then known as Richie. Met, in this case, is a strong word for the whirling mass of limbs that was Shmuel as he was barely controlled by a small army of special education teachers, teacher’s aides and shadows.

Editorial: Helping others — a Tisha B’Av collection

Issue of August 8, 2008

Ehud Olmert’s announcement that he will not compete in the upcoming Kadima elections, and will step down after they are concluded, certainly must have bolstered the confidence of modest souls who secretly believe that the Five Towns area — not Washington, D.C. or Jerusalem — really is the center of the free world.

That’s Life

Issue of August 8, 2008

Dear That’s Life,

Rich and I met about eight years ago at the World Trade Center at a Landmark Seminar. G-d knows that if it had not been for the melting pot of New York, the odds of our paths ever crossing were slim to none.

From the other side of the bench

Turbulence in our lives

By David Seidemann

My flight back from points South last week was uneventful, if you don’t count the first 30 seconds or so.

Immediately upon takeoff, we encountered severe turbulence, the airplane, its contents and passengers shaking to and fro. There were audible gasps and many screams accompanied by clenched fists, teeth and I would assume many prayers. The non-Jewish woman seated on my left was crossing herself so repetitively that had she been holding yarn, she would have been able to knit herself a sweater.

Loving the leagues

Stellar sports program enhances Simcha Day Camp

By Rachel Blady

Issue of August 8, 2008

Sports leagues are the highlight of the summer at Simcha Day Camp in Far Rockaway.

To children, summer is all about happiness and fun, and Simcha Day Camp certainly lives up to its name, as hundreds of young campers are having the time of their lives this summer at the Far Rockaway camp.

Young boys from all over Nassau County, Brooklyn, Queens and even Israel have flocked to Simcha Day Camp’s sprawling 10-acre campus since 1991 to participate in not only a regular day camp, but an exceptional sports leagues program as well.

A home away from home

By Dov Winston

Issue of August 8, 2008

A new program called BAYIT (Building a Year in Israel Together) will pair students studying in Israel with families who have made aliyah from North America, attempting to ease the transition period for those who spend a post-high school year learning in Israel.

Israel secures backup blood supply

By Daniella Adler

Issue of August 8, 2008

In the event of a national catastrophe, Israel will have access to a backup American blood supply, thanks to a contingency agreement between America’s Blood Centers and Magen David Adom.

Heroism in West Hempstead

By Rachel Blady

Issue of August 8, 2008

A West Hempstead man, Moshe Hill, was honored Tuesday as a hero by Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray for saving a woman’s life.

Hill, 22, was leaving Roosevelt Field Mall on July 11 when a woman he had just collided with in a car accident suffered a seizure. He quickly called 911 and assisted the woman until emergency medical technicians arrived.

The Kosher Bookworm

“...With All Your Heart...” is a fitting tribute to IDF Major Roi Klein, z”l, who gave up his life to save others, in a true act of heroism.

“…With All Your Heart…”

A Torah tribute to a true hero on Tisha B’Av

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of August 8, 2008

Grenade! Grenade! The very mention of this word can send shudders down the spine of even the most battle hardened. The instinct is to run. However, on the first of Av, two years ago, one brave G-d-fearing soul, IDF Major Roi Klein, z”l, yelled these words in urgent warning and threw himself upon the grenade, thus shielding the men under his command from certain death.

A musical gift

Proceeds of a song to benefit children in China

David Gurwitz performing piano music he calls “a gift from Hashem.”

By Michael Orbach

Issue of August 8, 2008

David Gurwitz, a New York-based Jewish pianist, is donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of one of his songs to the American Red Cross China Relief Fund to help Chinese children injured in the Sichuan Earthquake.

Court orders attorney to turn over Shulamith school bylaws

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of August 8, 2008

Parents of Shulamith’s Brooklyn school won a small court victory at a hearing July 30, after a judge ordered the institution’s 1937 bylaws to be produced by an attorney, Avram Schreiber, who said he had them in his possession.

On the Calendar

Issue of August 8, 2008

Lawrence – Rabbi Natan Slifkin, the “Zoo Rabbi,” will be speaking in Congregation Beth Sholom on Shabbat Chazon, August 9. At 10:45 a.m, he will speak about “Judaism and the Animal Kingdom” and at 5:00 p.m. he will discuss “The Making of Controversy.” Beth Sholom is located at 390 Broadway in Lawrence. For more information, please call (516) 569-3600.