Students take a stand; rally against Iranian president

Palin fallout; disappointment at lack of participation

Shalhevet High School for Girls students rallying Monday at the United Nations.

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Thousands gathered across from the United Nations Monday to protest the arrival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his scheduled address to the U.N. General Assembly the following day. Dag Hammarskjold Plaza was filled with a diverse crowd of activists and protesters, among them several hundred students from local yeshiva high schools, including Machon HaTorah and the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County.

Several American and Israeli dignitaries addressed the cheering crowd, delivering rousing speeches and inspiring the audience to break into chants of “stop Iran now,” referring to the Iranian dictator’s development of nuclear weapons and his proclaimed desire to wipe Israel off the map.

Ordering in for Shabbos

HANC and Rambam students help feed Houston after storm

In Houston, a forklift unloads 22 pallets of post-hurricane Shabbos food packed by HANC and Rambam students (photo courtesy Dr. Ron Moses)

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Preparations for Shabbos traditionally begin on Tuesday, so Dr. Ron Moses, an ear-nose-throat specialist in Houston, was right on schedule last week when he realized that in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike there was no kosher meat, chicken or fish to be had in the entire city, and no improvement was likely before Shabbos.

“A lot of the supermarkets had lost power, all the meat and cheese was gone, Shabbos was coming and nobody was going to have anything to eat,” Moses said.

The rebbetzin of his Conservative shul, Congregation Brith Shalom, had ordered in the past from Mauzone Food Service,

On the wings of an eagle

By Meir Weingarten

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

The price of a ticket to Israel is always a popular subject for an (after) shul shmooze or for small talk on the Friday morning line for challot. These days the price of fuel is hiking airfares to unheard of highs, making the topic even more exciting for shmoozers from all walks of Jewish life.

The following is a true story. The names have been changed because I never knew them.

Waiting on line at my favorite Brooklyn bakery, Reb Asher was excited about his trip to Israel next week. (If I had to categorize Reb Asher based on his look, and I do, I would say that he belongs to the “frum yeshivish” sub sub-division of right wing Orthodoxy. Not to be confused with the “modern yeshivish” sub sub-division and surely never to be even close to the Modern Orthodoxy division, which sometimes calls itself centrist, but not always.)

“Can you believe that I paid over $1700 for my ticket?”

“It’s crazy,” agreed Shmuel, the man behind the counter. “If this is the price now, imagine how high it’ll be for the coming holidays, not to speak of next Pesach.”

Hatzalah plans garage for Five Towns ambulances

Organization hopes to put two valuable vehicles behind closed doors

An artist's rendering of the garage Hatzalah plans to construct on West Broadway in Woodmere (image courtesy Hatzalah of the Rockaways-Nassau County)

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

If your teeth chatter in a car that’s been parked outside on a winter night, or you wilt in the superheated air in a car that’s been standing in the sun, you probably can imagine the discomfort of a patient strapped into an ambulance that’s been freezing or baking in the elements before the heater or air conditioner can catch up. Perhaps the person is even breathing oxygen that feels uncomfortably chilled.

“It sounds silly but you see the discomfort of the patient,”

Charge of abuse at shul in Far Rockaway

By Michael Orbach

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

A man who lived on the grounds of a Far Rockaway shul has a hearing on Sept. 29 on charges that he abused a child during davening.

Securing your loans

RCA makes Pruzbul document available for creditors

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) has produced a formulated copy of the “Pruzbul,” a Rabbinic credit-preserving form, making it conveniently available to the public –– in Hebrew and English versions –– before Rosh Hashana.

Parshat Nitzavim

Good old-fashioned pessimism? Not exactly.

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Devarim 30:1 states: “And it will be when all these things come upon you, namely the blessing and the curse that I have given you, you will take it to your heart among all the nations where G-d has displaced you.”

A wedding to remember

Lawrence marching band performs Jewish music

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Guests at the wedding of Steven Rozenberg and Rachel Weinstock in New Rochelle on Aug. 21 were treated to a unique musical performance: The Lawrence High School marching band performed

Editorial: Demagogues, bullies and wimps

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Even a week later it remains unclear to us how the addition of Governor Sarah Palin to the list of scheduled speakers at the Ahmadinejad rally at the United Nations Monday somehow tainted the event as partisan.

Opinion: Palin and JStreet

The origins of a political farce

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

By the time you read this article, the now famous anti-Iran rally will be just a dim memory. Rosh Hashanah and its attendant preparations will be foremost in our minds. Yet the political aftershocks of the disinvitation to Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin still reverberate.

Even more ominous, in this writer’s opinion, is

From the other side of the bench

A call to remove the “garbage”

By David Seidemann

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

I was driving to work this morning behind a garbage truck and trying to avoid the stench. Bumper to bumper in my lane, and the lane to the left to me, there was no where to go. I had no choice but to ignore it. Then, a piece of garbage flew out of the garbage truck and

The Kosher Bookworm: Covenantal Imperatives

Covenantal Imperatives

Essays by Walter S. Wurzburger edited by Eliezer L. Jacobs and Shalom Carmy

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

He was a distinguished community and rabbinic leader in our community for over three decades. He served a rabbi of Congregation Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence from 1967 to 1994 and as rabbi emeritus until his passing in 2002. In all those year, Rabbi Dr. Walter Wurzburger came to symbolize the best in the rabbinate as well as to our faith as one of its premier theologians and expositors of Jewish thought and practice. It was through his eloquence both in speech and writing that the beliefs of Judaism were to experience a modern cast in language and tone that was understandable to both scholar and layman alike.

It has been said that Modern Orthodox theology has abandoned the field of popular religious thought to the

Opinion: Rabbinical malpractice

Evaluating the actions of our leaders

By Howard Kopel

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

It’s that time of year when the timeless rhythms of Judaism take over our lives and carry us along in its currents. The kids’ rebbeim and rabbis in their pulpits have been talking about Chodesh Elul and teshuva in preparation for the Yomim Noraim. We are used to it and many of us tend to simply fall into line and march along without too much thought or introspection.

Don’t disturb the party

Ever wonder what our children are thinking?

By Rabbi Yakov Horowitz

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Imagine that you and your spouse decided to treat yourselves to a high-end cruise for your 50th anniversary.

Never having done this before, you are blown away by the luxurious setting and are thoroughly enjoying every moment.

In your information packet, you were told to dress formally for dinner on the first evening, so you put on the best clothing from your closet and made your way to the ballroom.

While eating the main dish, someone on the next table keeled over, clutching his heart as he fell.

That’s Life

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Dear That’s Life,

My three-year-old son, Abie, and two-year-old daughter, Shalva, are obsessed with collecting pennies and giving tzedaka. Any time they find change, they get excited for another opportunity to find a tzedaka box and insert their coins.

One Thursday afternoon, in the midst of the heavy erev shabbos shopping, I was on line at Gourmet Glatt waiting to pay for my few items. I handed the cashier a $100 bill and as

Letters to the Editor

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

We’ve learned nothing from history

To the Editor:

Your article describing recognition of the 1943 rabbis’ march, and the recognition of the work of the Bergson/Hillel Kook group (Holocaust museums and Jewish leaders now recognizing 1943 rabbis’ march;

On the Calendar

Check back later today for the complete calendar, or go to www.thejewishstar.com

Slice of life: Apple cake

The search for the perfect recipe

By Eileen Goltz

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

One of the fun Rosh Hashanah minhagim includes eating honey with apples, in the hope of sweetness in the coming year.

While I’m a big fan of the raw apple, I’m forever trying to find the perfect apple cake and pie recipe. Why? you ask. Well, for me, there is a taste that comes close to culinary nirvana with the combination of cinnamon, apples and nuts in a cake or pie

A survivor’s tale

Woodmere Rehab resident Esther Bauman tells her story

Holocaust survivor Esther Bauman, 92, shares her story at the Woodmere Rehabilitation & Health Care Center. (Photo courtesy Woodmere Rehab)

By Malka Eisenberg

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

On a warm fall day, Esther Bauman, 92, sits behind the tray of her wheelchair in her first floor room at the Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, eating a sugar kichel. The walls covered with family photos, and the brightly colored sheets and curtains on the windows reveal no trace of her past in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp.

“You cannot talk about it,” Bauman says of her life during the war. “Every person has some good things and some bad things. Hitler was a bad thing. He ruined my life. Whatever I did he took away. I started a new life.”

Figuring out the family

Panel reveals what parents need to know

By Michael Orbach

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Over 70 people attended a panel at Congregation Beth Sholom Saturday night on what is probably one of the most pressing issues on parents’ minds before the High Holidays: “What Jewish Parents Need to Know About Their Children.”

“Since Adam and Chava and their kids, there’s going to be parent-child issues,” Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Beth Sholom

Right angle: Coming to Judaism

Last of a three-part series

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

One of the most compelling factors to ponder when considering the veracity of Jewish religious tradition is something that makes us uncomfortable — but something we are in a better position today to perceive than anyone at any other time in history:

Notes from a working mom: Multi-generational relationships

Getting along with your elders at work

By Ayala Cohen

Ayala Cohen

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

As part of its employee assistance program, my company sends out a monthly newsletter offering solutions to various issues that employees encounter. The most recent publication was entitled “Relationships at Work” and one article in particular caught my eye. The article was called “Getting along in an Age-Diverse Workplace,” and the subtitle read “Co-worker gripes often have a generational issue at their core. Learn ways to improve understanding and get along in an age-diverse workplace.”

I began thinking about my own relationships with people of diverse ages. With Rosh Hashanah approaching, it is time to begin a cheshbon hanefesh and start the process of teshuva, evaluating our actions from the past year, repenting

Senator Skelos goes to shul

Young Israel of Woodmere hosts Senate Majority Leader; community leaders

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

Getting high on mountains

View of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. (photo courtesy HomeAway.com)

By Jacqueline Vinar

Issue of Sept. 26, 2008

My earliest memories of the mountains were the Catskills where I summered with my parents as a child year after year at one bungalow colony or another. Then came the Poconos where I spent my camping years, followed by singles weekends at various Borscht Belt hotels

Web EXCLUSIVE: Threats to sponsors may have led to Palin invite reversal

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Exclusive to The Jewish Star online

By Mayer Fertig

Rescinding an invitation to Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and every other political figure who was scheduled to appear Monday at a protest against the United Nations appearance of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, was “the only way the rally could keep its focus,” according to Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Senator Hillary Clinton, who also was scheduled to appear, withdrew after learning that she was to share the podium with Governor Palin.

In a move that several critics called “a debacle,”

Preparing for the pulpit

Rabbinical students gain practical experience in local shul

Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Congregation Beth Sholom

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Three students from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University have been hired as rabbinic interns at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence.

The Kosher Bookworm: The annual Jewish calendar caper meets its match

The unique story of Chari Pere

A Yearly Shpritz of Jewish Bits

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

This week’s Kosher Bookworm will take on a lighter tone before we progress to the serious aspects of this sacred holiday season.

Recently, I had a very engaging meeting with a young up-and-coming cartoon artist and comic talent who is an observant Jew, and a proud one at that. With our mail clogged each day with calendars of all shapes and sizes dated to the new year, someone has come up with the one calendar that will never be thrown out after it expires one year from now. The creative artist who developed it is the subject of this week’s review.

Slice of Life: Healthy after-school snacks

Healthy after-school snacks

By Eileen Goltz

Issue of  Sept. 19, 2008

With childhood obesity a major health concern across the nation, hearing “I’m hungry. What can I have to eat?” as the kids come home from school is enough to make any parent take a second look at what’s in their fridge and pantry.

The task of finding foods for the kids (and the 10 friends they bring home with them) that are nutritious and delicious, easy to make and won’t break the bank, can be daunting. The truth is that all children

That’s Life

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Dear That’s Life,

We have a minyan in a local Rav’s house every Friday night in Cedarhurst. Just a few weeks ago, while we were davening Kabbalat Shabbat, it started to rain. Everyone had one eye in their siddur, and one eye out the window. When we finished, it was still pouring. One person joked, “I’ll stay and take out the salad” and someone else added, “I’ll take out the soup.” Meanwhile, the Rav pulled a sefer out from his

On the Calendar

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Lawrence – Congregation Beth Sholom will host a Selichot forum on Saturday Night, September 20 at 10:30 p.m., “What Jewish PARENTS Need to Know About Their Kids,” sponsored by CBS Sisterhood, in cooperation with Ohel Children’s Home & Family Services. Featured speakers will be Dr. Michelle Friedman, Psychiatrist and Director of Pastoral Counseling at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah; Naomi Lippman, HAFTR High School Associate Principal; and Barry Horowitz, LCSW, Coordinator, Ohel Long Island Services. Selichot will follow at 12:00 a.m. with Chazan Joel Kaplan. Men and women are invited and refreshments will be served. Congregation Beth Sholom is located at 390 Broadway in Lawrence. For more information, please call (516) 569-3600, ext. 22.

Parshat Ki Tavo

Heads we win, tails we lose

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

When my oldest child began to talk, she was two months shy of her second birthday. It occurred to me that I could develop a unique relationship with her through talking about the weekly parsha before she’d go to sleep. It was a hit –– so much so that when she woke up in the middle of the night, she sometimes cried “Abba, I wanna do parsha!” –– but more so because she really memorized the things we talked about.
When I’d ask her questions at the shabbat table, she wowed guests and hosts (when we were guests) with her trained answers to my questions.

Right Angle: Coming to Judaism (Part 2)

Coming to Judaism – Part two of a three-part series

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Occam’s Razor requires us to explain a fact or set of facts in the least complicated way. The darkening of the sky, for instance, might be a solar eclipse, and the pitter-patter on the roof a family of cats. More likely, though, it’s raining.

Dreaming of Varadero

By Miriam Bradman Abrahams

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

The news bulletin was disappointing to say the least. Tipped off by my internet home page, I ran to the remote to punch in CNN. Daytime TV is an activity I shun except for earth shattering reports, and my heart was skipping beats, palpitating loudly against my chest. As I watched the repeating newsreels of indignant Cubans in Miami and the pronouncements from the small Caribbean island

Editorial: Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

In a frenzied political season there may be just two kinds of people. No, not Democrats and Republicans. We’re referring to the kinds of people who forward an indiscriminate flow of e-mails without bothering to determine if the information contained therein is even remotely accurate — and everyone else.

Letters to the editor

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Right on the money

To the Editor:

The current issue of “The Jewish Star” is a standout (Sept. 12, 2008). I have enjoyed Rabbi Weissman’s columns and find this one also on the money. But to run a Page One article on child molestation by a (gasp) holy man –– that took guts. Michael Orbach gets the Golden Bagel for that article.

West Nile virus spreads in Nassau County

Thirteenth person diagnosed Monday

Jewish Star Staff report

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

The Nassau County Department of Health reported another confirmed case of the deadly West Nile virus Monday. The victim, a 9-year old male from West Hempstead, became ill on Aug. 30 with fever, nausea and headache. He was hospitalized on Sept. 2, discharged Sept. 11 and is now recovering at home.

New mothers urged to donate cord blood at birth

Initiative aims to assist bone marrow recipients

By Malka Eisenberg

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

A campaign to encourage expectant mothers to donate cord blood on the day of delivery is being led by the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation and the Bikur Cholim of Borough Park and is seeking rabbinic and community support.

When the umbilical cord is cut after birth, the blood that is left in the cord and in the placenta is generally

Sanctity of life

Medical ethics conference highlights “End of Life” challenges

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept.19, 2008

Close to 300 people attended the third annual Medical Ethics conference at Yeshiva University on Sunday. Entitled “Sanctity of Life,” the conference ran from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and focused on the halachic approach to end of life challenges, with several sessions moderated by various experts in the field.

Recycling efforts unite residents

Sanitary District One recently offered in-school programs on recycling. A commissioner poses with students from two different schools, with a district garbage truck as a backdrop.

Karate and its hidden benefits

By Meir Breuer

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Students stand at attention during a recent exhibition at The Yeshiva of South Shore

I will always remember being overwhelmed as a Yeshiva day school student. Another thing I clearly remember is the outlet I chose to help me cope. It was, and still is, practicing karate. Karate is not necessarily for everyone. However, due to its unique qualities, I feel that it is worth a try for almost anyone.

Occasionally you may find a martial arts instructor who emphasizes inappropriate behaviors, but the association of terms like “karate” and “martial arts” with fighting and violence –– which can dissuade parents from sending their children to karate classes –– is inaccurate. Taught properly, karate offers many benefits.

‘Shame,’ not threats, led to resignation

Dov Hikind will name new leader to task force on abuse

By Michael Orbach

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind pledges to press on with an effort to end child sexual abuse in the Orthodox community despite the sudden resignation of the leader of his newly formed task force.

“If you have a conscience, how can you not address this?” Hikind told The Jewish Star after Rabbi Benzion Twerski, a clinical psychologist, announced his resignation on Sept. 10, less than a week after Hikind tapped him to lead the task force. “I am committed to those in pain. I will not stop.”

In an hour-long interview, Rabbi Twerski stated that he resigned because

Shulamith sale in Brooklyn unraveling

Judge gives parents green light to sue; high school may fold

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

The Lawrence man who planned to buy the campus of Shulamith School for Girls in Brooklyn wants out of the deal. The sale was supposed to fund, at least in part, the purchase of a permanent home in Inwood for Bnot Shulamith of Long Island.

Joshua Guttman is offering to terminate the contract, provided that his “full down payment deposit” –– believed to be $1.5 million — is returned within 30 days. His attorney, Israel Goldberg, sent a letter to that effect Monday to lawyers for the school  

In my view: Instant replay

By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky

Issue of Sept. 19, 2008

Major League Baseball recently decided that it will allow the use of instant replay technology. Despite the fact that football, hockey and tennis utilize instant replay for almost every crucial decision, Major League Baseball will only use it to determine whether a ball hits the “foul pole,” says Jimmie Solomon, vice president of baseball operations.

On the Calendar 9-12-08

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

In my view: Don’t compliment your date

By Chananya Weissman

Twenty-seven dresses too many

A call to abolish the tradition of bridesmaid dresses

By Sari Nossbaum

(Photo by Judah S. Harris Photography + Film)

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Traditionally, being a bridesmaid is considered an honor; it is a gesture to signify the importance of the friendship between bride and friend. But let’s face it, between attending numerous fittings, potentially loathing the color of the material, and the substantial costs involved, making a dress can often turn into more of a burden than a privilege.

Despite the hassles involved, many girls accept that this is what one must endure

Internet dating

Jewish singles face one more question

From the other side of the bench: A pit bull with lipstick

By David Seidemann

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Most hurricanes blow in from the southeast. This one blew in from the northwest –– Alaska to be precise. “Hurricane Sarah” took the stage in St. Paul last week and blew away the naysayers. Politically astute leftists, while continuing to bash her policies, had to admit that this “pit bull with lipstick” was more than they thought she would be and that they indeed did have a fight on their hands with a formidable

The weekend widows support group

Notes from a working mom

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Ayala Cohen

Relating to the theme of this week’s paper, simcha celebrations, I’d like to share my experiences as the wife of a magician.

When your husband is a magician, he tends to work many nights and weekends; that’s just the nature of being an entertainer. Smachot are usually scheduled on nights, weekends and legal holidays. The idea is to celebrate when most people are off from work, so the Smachot are scheduled around the corporate work schedule. Thus, an entertainer’s work hours begin after the “normal” workday ends and continue into the wee hours of the night.

It is not uncommon for my husband to say goodbye to me on Friday afternoons with the departing words, “See you on Monday.”

Shatnez. Not just a cool word, but a mitzvah too

By Matis Friedman

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Recently I picked up some new suits from being checked for Shatnez (wool and linen interwoven) and came away with quite a story.

When dropping off clothes, protocol is to leave a name and phone number to be contacted when the clothes have been checked. One need not leave an address, as delivery is not part of the service. Yet two men chose to include their addresses along with the pertinent information.

Parshat Ki Teitzei

Not being ‘cross’

By Rabbi Avi Billet

That’s Life

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Dear That’s Life,

Whether or not you want to admit it, at some point or another, you talk to yourself. We all do it –– don’t be ashamed. It’s when you answer yourself that there’s really a problem.

Case in point: Standing in Supersol and not being able to find my shopping list, I stood in the baking aisle and stared blankly at the items on the shelves, hoping that by some divine intervention,

Gunning for mosquitoes (UPDATED)

Nassau County completes aerial spraying

UPDATE: 4:30a Thursday Sept. 11, 2008 …

Nassau County has completed aerial spraying for the West Nile virus, according to the county Department of Health. Spraying by truck in Woodmere and Glen Head was completed last week. Residents are urged to remain vigilant and to remove standing water from around their homes to prevent additional mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes will continue to be active until the weather becomes cold enough to have two overnight frosts, the health department cautioned,.

Nassau County reschedules aerial spraying

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Nassau County was forced to postpone the aerial pesticide spraying scheduled for Sept. 4 due to high winds and adverse weather conditions.

THE KOSHER BOOKWORM: Terror in Black September

A first-hand account by David Raab

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

The year is 1970. Imagine yourself at age 17, experiencing an enjoyable summer in Israel with friends and family. You’re looking forward to going home to Trenton, New Jersey. Your whole life is ahead of you: college, a great job, and all the dreams of the average American teenager.

Then, on your trip home over Labor Day weekend, you are to witness and experience the greatest criminal act in aviation history to date, the hijacking of four passenger planes by Islamic terrorists.

IS THE WINE WORTH THE MONEY?

Recanati Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Five Towns, Great Neck students among first graduating class of kosher-trained chefs

Culminating culinary school

(Photo by Judah S. Harris Photography + Film)

By Lisa Schiffman

One of these folks could be the chef at your next simcha.

On Aug. 14, a graduation was held at The Mac Rotunda at Kingsborough Community College to honor the first 12 graduates of The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts Professional Training Program. In addition to receiving diplomas, the graduates — dressed in crisp chef’s whites — prepared and presented a bountiful buffet that included carved vegetables and fruit platters, meat-filled crepes, hand-made bow-tie pasta and chocolate-frosted cupcakes

Photo Essay: HAFTR Back-to-school carnival

Horsing around at HAFTR

Photo Essay: Future HAFTR

Photos by Joe Sperber for The Jewish Star

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway has broken ground on its new Torah and Athletic Center on Central Avenue in Lawrence.

Letters to the editor

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Accidents waiting to happen

To the Editor:

I have been meaning to write this for a long time. I can procrastinate no longer. A recent incident that happened in a parking lot made this a priority. First, some background:

Right Angle: Coming to Judaism

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Part one of a three-part series

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

A long, long time ago, when I was much younger, even more foolish and living in California, I used a motorcycle for personal transportation.

Holocaust museums and Jewish leaders now recognizing 1943 rabbis’ march

Rabbi Binyamin Kamenetzky was among participants

Jewish Star staff report

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

After years of appeals and petitions, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., recently installed materials acknowledging the wartime rescue activities of the Bergson Group, including its march by 400 rabbis to the White House in 1943.

Five Towns lawyer for Williamsburg abuse victim

Sues principal; is working to eradicate child molestation from yeshivas and other non-public schools

By Michael Orbach

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

A Cedarhurst attorney, Elliot Pasik, who has made it his mission to combat child sexual abuse in the Jewish community, is representing a 23- year-old whose accusations have rocked the Satmar community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Editorial: The end is near (Exclusive to The Jewish Star)

From the issue of Sept. 12, 2008

“Baloney!” — Abraham Aaron Rubashkin’s angry reaction Tuesday afternoon to formal charges filed by prosecutors in an Iowa court. The indictment named him, his son, Sholom Rubashkin, and two employees with more than 9,000 violations of that state’s child labor laws.

The court papers charge the defendants “participated in efforts to conceal children when federal and state labor officials inspected that plant.” Penalties could include lengthy prison terms and run up millions of dollars

Renewed warning about West Nile-infected mosquitoes

By Malka Eisenberg

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

Bag guys are really good guys

HAFTR and Supersol offer reusable bags to raise money for cancer research

By Rachel Blady

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

Team HAFTR and Supersol are joining forces in an environmentally friendly venture to support the American Cancer Society. Reusable shopping bags are on sale through Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway and will go on sale at the store next week. They bear the motto “Pink Goes Green” Bag guys are really good guys — a reference to both the pink ribbon representing breast cancer, and saving the environment.

Remembering September 11

“The Day the World Cried,” an original painting by artist Gerald Siegel, commemorates the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

Saving shuls in Sderot

Congregation Beth Sholom was one of three local organizations to partner with the One Israel Fund to sponsor new bomb shelters in Sderot.

By Jewish Star staff

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

The One Israel Fund, in conjunction with three local institutions, placed three bomb shelters at shuls in Sderot on Aug. 31, in an effort to allow residents of the kassam-ridden town to continue davening and learning at each location.

Teaching from home

Educating children in an unconventional way

Chana Fischbein of Far Rockaway does her schoolwork in the comfort of her own home.

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

Most parents of young children share the common experience of the stressful morning rush to the school bus and the after-school challenge of getting everyone’s homework done. But Jessie Fischbein, a mother of three from Far Rockaway, has never driven a carpool or attended a parent teacher conference, and her children have never spent a day in the classroom. Outside their home, that is.

That’s Life

Dear That’s Life, 

Well, I have to say that I’ve had some very interesting responses to the piece I wrote regarding my colonoscopy.

From the other side of the bench

Speaking from the heart 

By David Seidemann

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

I was watching at 6:47 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 27 when history was made. I remember watching JFK’s funeral on television, man walking on the moon and a host of other historic events. I place Barack Obama’s nomination on the list of historic events I will always remember, whether I vote for him or not.

Editorial: Death of a bureaucracy

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

The grinding bureaucracy encountered by new immigrants to Israel is the stuff of legend.

The case for clean language — Op Ed

Notes from a working mom

By Ayala Cohen

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

You can hear profanity everywhere these days: in the office, at the supermarket, on the train. The other day I heard a mother say some unmentionable words at the playground, in front of her two-year-old and four-year-old. I used to approach people who were cursing and ask them to please cut out the language because it offended me. But the foul language has become so pervasive that I’ve basically given up.

Untruth in advertising — Op Ed

Right angle

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

Thanks all the same, but no, I’d prefer my next party not be “the talk of the town.”

Budgetary Wonderland — Op Ed

In My View

By Howard Kopel

Howard Kopel

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Nassau County’s Controller and self styled “Fiscal Watchdog” Howard Weitzman has proudly released whBudgeat he calls a simple and easy to read report on the County finances. As simple as it may be, it is nonetheless horrifying in its nonchalant obfuscation of a County rapidly spiraling into financial crisis.

Spreading the wealth of Torah

How a retired financier makes a difference

By Michael Orbach

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

A recent New York Times article posed the following question to the gold winners at this year’s Olympics: Where do you go once you’ve got the gold medal? What next after you’ve managed to hit the dream? The same question, albeit in a non-sporting context, could be posed to Morris Smith, a 51-year-old Lawrence resident and former head of the Magellan Fund.

Parshat Shoftim

Money isn’t everything, but it doesn’t hurt

By Avi Billet

Issue of Sept. 9, 2008

The Jewish king has three restrictions: he may not have too many horses, too many wives or too much money.

New testimony about U.S. failure to bomb Auschwitz

Revisiting the past

An aerial view of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

By Rafael Medoff

Issue of Sept 5, 2008

“I heard the American planes flying overhead and saw the windows in the factory shatter — those planes were so close to the gas chambers, but they never bombed them.”

So says Holocaust survivor Lidia Vago in new eyewitness testimony about the U.S. bombers that struck German industrial targets adjacent to the Auschwitz death camp in late August and early September of 1944.

On the 64th anniversary of the American air raids near Auschwitz, Mrs. Vago has come forward with her account of that experience, which remains the subject of debate and controversy more than six decades later.

Letters to the Editor

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

Building up Darchei

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

Workers poured concrete for the footings of the foundation of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s new facility last week.

Rabbi Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, Mr. Norman Rabenstein, who is dedicating one of the four buildings that will comprise the nearly 170,000 square foot complex and Rabbi Zev Bald, director of development, visited the site.

In mom’s memory

Ner Sarah fund honors Shari Siman-Tov a”h

(Standing, from left) Chevie Nussbaum, Rena Margolies, Robyn Fenster, Zisi Resnick, (seated, from left) Ariella Siman-Tov, Lisi Stahler.

By Jewish Star staff

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

A barbeque pool party for women held in Woodmere last week raised funds for Hachnasat Kallah in memory of Shari Siman-Tov, who passed away several years ago after battling breast cancer.

Yom Iyun in memory of Rebbetzin Judy Young

On the Calendar

By Jewish Star staff

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008

A Yom Iyun to commemorate the first yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Judy Young a”h will be held Wednesday evening, Sept. 10 and Thursday, Sept. 11, focusing on Teshuvah, Tefilah and Tzedakah.

On the Calendar

Issue of Sept. 5, 2008