Kosher Bookworm: annual Pesach reading list for the entire family

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

In his introduction to “Haggadah and History” (Jewish Publications Society, 1975), historian Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi noted the following:

Editorial: Nothing new under the sun

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

In 1897, Bircat HaChama did not go smoothly in New York City.

Parshat Vayikra: Lessons from “No-Chametz” zones

By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

In his comment on Exodus 12:15, former Chief Rabbi of England Rabbi J.H. Hertz writes, “Leaven is the symbol of corruption, passion, and sin.” Perhaps this sentiment would inspire one to get rid of ‘chametz’ throughout the year.

Seidemann: A time of transition

From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

A child is born and eight days later he is passed from one person to another, to another and yet another before the actual circumcision takes place.

Shafran: Piece plan

The right angle

By Rabbi Avi Shafran
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

The title of Reform Rabbi David Forman’s column in the Jerusalem Post was certainly intriguing. “Let’s Declare Ourselves a Separate Religion,” it read.

Briefs: Fashion, Loose change, Shul wins grant, Torah for free

Fashion week comes to Lawrence

NSCY’s Project Frumway featured stylish, modest clothing

Project Frumway, a fashion show at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence on March 16, featured 54 models — elementary and high school students — walking the runway in fashionably modest attire.

Jump rope team trains for nationals

Qualifying tournament moved from Shabbos to Sunday

The Rock It Ropers competed in a double dutch event at Sunday’s qualifying tournament.

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

Suri Fineberg of Cedarhurst, a speech therapist and mother of two, also holds the distinction of being a nationally ranked, award-winning jump-roper.

Communal concierge

Oceanside shul attracts new families to the neighborhood

Avi and Natalie Hirschel left the Upper West Side to move to Oceanside, where they were greeted warmly by the community as they welcomed their son Judah into his new home. (Photo by Baruch Spier)

By Baruch Spier
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

The Hirschels didn’t move to Oceanside for its kosher restaurants, the nearby yeshivot or its proximity to the Five Towns. They chose Oceanside because of the people.

“We realized that if we moved here, we wouldn’t just be part of a community, but a family,” said Avi Hirschel. He and his wife, Natalie, moved from their Upper West Side apartment last Memorial Day weekend.

Obituary: Rabbi Fred Ackerman a”h

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

Rabbi Fred Ackerman, a”h, leads Shabbat services at Woodmere Rehab in September 2007. Ida Rosen lights candles, assisted by Leba Sonneberg.

Rabbi Fred Ackerman, known affectionately as “the Rabbi” of Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, passed away on March 5.

“Rabbi Fred Ackerman a”h was a true mensch,” said Leba Sonneberg, director of marketing at Woodmere Rehab.

Recycling rules revisited

By Malka Eisenberg
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

The elegant Lawrence Village Country Club ballroom was the backdrop for a forum and discussion on trash, recycling and fear of vermin on March 12.

Sports: HANC wins Yeshiva League basketball championship

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

2008-09 HANC Hurricanes (Photo by Lena Salzbank)

The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) won the Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Basketball League (MYHSBL) Varsity Basketball Championship,

Off-season Aliyah

A group of 37 arrived in Israel on March 16, with the assistance of Nefesh B’Nefesh. (Photo by Sasson Tiram/Courtesy Nefesh B’Nefesh)

Off to Israel, alone, to start a new life

By Baruch Spier
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769

Until last week, 28-year-old Edo Gaash enjoyed the American life.

Opinion: Reporting sexual abuse

By David Mandel
Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

There is legislation under consideration specifically to extend the statute of limitations on reporting sexual abuse until the victim survivor is 28 years old. My colleagues and I at OHEL agree with and support this legislation.

This is consistent with a long held belief that many victims do not disclose initially, or for many years. Reasons include fear of the offender, shame on a personal level as well as how others will react to them, stigma associated with being victimized, and for many, the strong belief that it will affect their chances of finding a mate in marriage (shidduchim). This is not only true in the Jewish (Orthodox) community, but it is popular belief in other cultures as well.

In fact, we posit that the statute of limitations can extend even further, beyond age 28. This can act as an important deterrent and safety net to report and prosecute, as well as prevent future occurrence of sexual abuse.

That most perpetrators are not jailed is not a Jewish problem. As I have previously written, former Westchester, New York District attorney, Jeanine Pirro, was noted for her aggressive pursuit of pedophiles. In six years of sting operations, from 1995 to 2005, she succeeded in having 111 men arrested

Abuse victims speak out

By Michael Orbach

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Sheldon Fine addressing a conference in Manhattan about sexual abuse he suffered as a 12 year old. (Photo by Michael Orbach)

Esther Malka’s story began when she was nine, when her brother Reuven touched her at the pool.

Later that night he crept into her bedroom. Over the next nine years the sexual abuse escalated. She put a lock on her door but her brother took down the door. She began sleeping on the couch in the living room in her clothing. When she told her parents about the abuse, her parents, wary about shidduchim for her three brothers and younger sister, sent her to live with a family in Monsey. They refused to blame her brother; her father went so far as to explain that it was not her brother’s fault

That’s Life 3-27-09

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

Dear That’s Life,

It was very early on Ta’anit Esther (not bright, just early –– the sun wasn’t up yet) when I walked into the 7-Eleven on Peninsula and Rockaway Turnpike,

Letters to the editor 3-27-09

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

No mercy on molesting

To the Editor:

I read “Seeking second shot at predator clergy” by Michael Orbach and your editorial “Yes on victim compensation, no on communal bankruptcy” in the March 20 issue of your paper.

Only Simchas 3-27-09

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

Weddings

• Wedding of Batsheva Sod (Lawrence, NY) & Dovid Levin (Brooklyn, NY) – March 23, 2009

Spring in like a … goat?

Issue of March 27, 2009 / 2 Nissan 5769

(Photo by Stuie Vaiselberg)

An unusual player visited the basketball court at the Yeshiva of South Shore early Friday, the first day of spring: a goat. It belongs to a neighbor of the yeshiva who brought the animal to winter in Hewlett from an upstate farm where it usually resides. The goat managed to open a gate and wander off, perhaps to celebrate the changing of the season with some baaasketball. A yeshiva employee tied the goat to a pole to await the arrival of police officers who brought it home.

— Mayer Fertig

See The Jewish Star as it appears in print 3-27-09

Click here to see print edition of The Jewish Star for March 27, 2009

Obituary: Shephard Melzer a”h, 66

By Mayer Fertig
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Shephard Melzer a"h

Shephard Melzer a”h, chair of the Village of Lawrence Board of Appeals and one of the architects of the merger between Hillel and HILI that formed the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, died suddenly last Friday.

Kosher food pantry operator loses funding

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

A kosher food pantry in Far Rockaway that has seen a large increase in need — some 90 new people a month, on average — is likely to close in July.

Free mortgage counseling in Cedarhurst

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Local homeowners in danger of foreclosure who can’t cope with their mortgage lenders can now avail themselves of free counseling services,

Ninth grade cancelled at Shulamith H.S. next year

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Parents who thought their daughters would attend Shulamith High School in September must make other arrangements.

Anti-Israel speaker challenged at library

A first person account

Mindy Gershon of the group United for Justice and Peace offering a left wing view of Israel to a mixed group of elderly progressives and Israel supporters at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library. (Photo by Michael Orbach)

By Michael Orbach
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Only during the question-and-answer session that followed an otherwise unimpressive anti-Israel lecture at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library did things get interesting — so much so that the president of the library’s board of trustees, Ben Eilbott, who had held his head in his hands

Non-profits fear Obama plan to lower charitable deductions

‘Recipe for disaster,’ a fundraiser predicts

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

President Obama’s budget proposal to limit charitable tax deductions for the country’s highest earners will have an adverse impact

Seeking second shot at predator clergy

Bid to restart clock on civil penalties passes NY Assembly

By Michael Orbach
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

It was Pearl Engelman’s first trip to Albany.

The Satmar woman, hair covered with a blonde sheitel, dressed in accordance with the strictest laws of Jewish modesty, was aboard a chartered bus filled with survivors of sexual abuse and Brooklyn community activists.

They were on their way to Albany to lobby for passage of the Child Victim’s Act, a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Marge Markey (D-Queens) that would extend the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse from the victim’s 18th birthday to the 23rd, and the statute of limitations for civil damages from a victim’s 23rd birthday to the 28th. More importantly, the legislation would open a yearlong window to file civil lawsuits in cases where the statute of limitations has already expired.

Editorial: Yes on victim compensation, no on communal bankruptcy

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Human nature has played a key role in the dearth of criminal cases and civil lawsuits filed against perpetrators of sexual abuse in our yeshivahs.

That’s Life 3-20-09

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Dear That’s Life,

Remember the days when you could buy Dimetapp without having to pass a lie detector test or produce character witnesses?

Me neither.

Around the world in 333 days

New exhibit documents artist’s pursuit of a minyan

Artist Max Miller’s watercolor portrait of Congregation Kehilat Jeshurun in Manhattan is part of a new exhibit at the YU Museum. (Courtesy YU Museum)

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

If you’re looking for an interesting detour to make while visiting
Manhattan, an hour or two of your time would be well spent exploring the Yeshiva University Museum.

Kosher Bookworm: Pesach and Moshe’s legacy

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Recently I came across a very astute observation

Shedding new light on Bircat HaChama

YU symposium explores the unique blessing

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Bircat HaChama, a blessing on the sun that is recited just once every 28 years, can be made on Wednesday, April 8, 2009,

David Seidemann: The fifth son

Opinion: From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

The faithful come in four types, in my experience.

Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei

Virtuous testimony

By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

After the debacle of the Golden Calf, the question must be asked: were the Israelites completely forgiven for their sin?

Only Simchas 3-20-09

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 20 Adar 5769

Photos: Manhigut dinner, Woodmere Rehab,

Manhigut Yehudit, the largest faction inside the Likud party, celebrated its Seventh Annual Dinner on Shushan Purim, Wednesday, March 11, at the Sands of Atlantic Beach. Dr. Paul Brody of Great Neck received the Eretz Yisrael Award and is pictured in the middle, holding Israel’s flag and dancing with his son, Joey. Manhigut co-founders Moshe Feiglin, president, and Shmuel Sackett, international director, are dancing in the left section of the circle next to Rob Muchnick, Manhigut’s U.S. Director, with his son David on his shoulders. (Photo courtesy Manhigut Yehudit)

Letters to the editor 3-20-09

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

Tomchei Shabbos gift

To the Editor:

My friend told me that her husband gives a shiur every morning in Lawrence. On Friday morning, a man walked in with an envelope

The Jewish Star as it appears in print 3-20-09

Click here to see the print edition of The Jewish Star for March 20, 2009

Fatal fall in Lawrence; Levi Zahn a”h

By Mayer Fertig
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Levi Zahn a”h, a husband and father of three daughters and a son, passed away Sunday morning after a fall down a flight of stairs in his Lawrence home.

Anti-Jewish sentiments in Inwood

Flyers, meeting seek support against Bnot Shulamith move

By Michael Orbach
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

This flyer opposing the growing Jewish presence in Inwood was recently distributed there.

A flyer recently found stapled to utility poles and placed inside grocery stores in Inwood may indicate souring relations between Jewish and non-Jewish residents of the less-heralded fifth town. The flyer announced a meeting intended to galvanize support against the planned purchase of a campus for Bnot Shulamith.

“District 15 schools have already been taken from our children and gone to Jewish organizations,” the flyer read.

CAHAL and TOVA merger will cut costs

By Malka Eisenberg
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Two local organizations, CAHAL and TOVA, will be combining operations immediately to cut costs and raise funds to continue to serve the community efficiently and effectively, in a move approved by the board of directors of both organizations.

The planning for the move began in mid January, said Richard Altabe, vice president of CAHAL and executive vice president of TOVA.

“Everybody was very supportive and thought that it was an excellent idea,” he said, noting that no one was laid off. “It’s an operational restructuring to reduce costs from nonduplication of phones, office space and the merger of fund-raising where appropriate.”

The annual appeal in the synagogues until now rotated between the organizations, one year for CAHAL the next year for TOVA, Altabe explained.

Tomchei Shabbos gears up for greater need

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Like many other charity organizations, Tomchei Shabbos –– which provides weekly food packages to needy local families –– is feeling the effects of the recession.

“We’re up about 20 percent in requests for food,” said Jeanette Lamm, the coordinator of Tomchei Shabbos for the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. “We’re now sending over 190 packages every Shabbos, and the numbers are gradually creeping up. “

The increased demand comes as Tomchei Shabbos begins to prepare for its Pesach campaign, its largest project of the year, coordinated by Ari Schonbrun of Cedarhurst. As the holiday approaches, the organization expects the number of needy families to continue to grow.

“This year we are preparing Pesach packages for 220 families, up from 180 last year, and up from 165 the year before,” Schonbrun told The Jewish Star.

Making a mark on the Jewish market

Local entrepreneurs create new Web sites

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Despite the downward spiral of the economy, one growing industry seems to be web sites catering to the Orthodox Jewish community.

Local Jewish academic impersonated

By Michael Orbach
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Lawrence Schiffman is happy to have his name back.

Cost of Pesach in Israel way down

Travelers who already booked could still realize savings

By Jewish Star staff
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

With so many Americans facing new financial concerns, the number of people planning expensive trips to Israel this Pesach is way down,

Editorial: Deduction Reduction

Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

President Obama rode into office on a wave of concern about America’s economic future. He promised change and so far Americans seem to like what they’re seeing; polls are still riding high as the new administration nears the two month mark.

However, one change the president proposes is very troubling: a cap on tax deductions for charitable contributions by the wealthiest Americans. It would apply to those earning $250,000 a year or more and cap the deduction at 28 percent, down from the current 35 percent, the current maximum income tax rate. Beginning in 2011 the president proposes to raise the top rate to 39.6 percent on earnings of $250,000 or more. However, tax deductions for charitable contributions apparently would remain capped at 28 percent.

An article in The National Review,

David Seidemann: Surcharges and sacrifices

Opinion: From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann

Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

If the following happened, it would be a true story:

Local musicians compete in Lander’s Battle of the Bands

Top prize goes to Jewish pop rock group “Except Saturday”

The Far Rockaway-based group Guns-N-Moses posed happily after Lander College’s Battle of the Bands. (Photo by Ari Shane Schwartz-Weitz)

By Baruch Spier
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Two Far Rockaway-based bands, Min Shemaya and Guns-N-Moses, won second and third place, respectively, at Lander College’s Battle of the Bands competition on Motza’ei Shabbat. The group Except Saturday, whose members hail from Brooklyn and Queens, earned first place, beating out seven other bands.

Over 300 young men flocked to Lander College’s fourth floor auditorium

Parshat Ki Tisa

Karet: a separation from the community

By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Of all Torah portions, Ki Tisa has the largest number of mitzvot that include a “karet” punishment.

That’s Life 3-13-09

Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Dear That’s Life,

Well, well, well. Everyone needs a break every once in a while and coming back to life’s normal state of affairs is often a transition and takes some getting used to.

Only Simchas in The Jewish Star 3-13-09

Engagements

On the Calendar 3-13-09

Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Notice from Lawrence School District # 15

Parents are reminded to file their child’s request for Private School Transportation no later than April 1, 2009.

The Jewish Star as it appears in print 3-13-09

Click here to see the print edition of The Jewish Star for March 13, 2009

The Kosher Bookworm: “Remember Amalek!” by Dr. Louis H. Feldman

A review of a nation we are commanded to hate

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

Rav Kook in his “Midbar Shiur” teaches that the Jewish people have two missions, one as a mamlechet kohanim (a kingdom of priests) and the other as a goy kadosh (a holy nation).

Megillat Esther: Haman’s beloved advisors

By Rabbi Avi Billet

There is a very subtle change in the way Megillat Esther refers to Haman’s family and advisors before he is disgraced leading Mordechai through the street on a horse, and how they are presented immediately after the episode.

David Seidemann: Perceiving our potential

Opinion: From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

We sat around the table, the rabbis, three of them, the maybe soon to be ex-husband, the maybe soon to be ex-wife, myself and a few other family members and friends there to lend support. Could this marriage be saved, the relationship repaired?

Editorial: Sure there’s a cycle of violence

Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

For years, Mideast watchers have objected to the term “cycle of violence,” a media favorite, on the grounds that it morally equivocates between Arab belligerence and Israeli self-defense.

When your nose is that red, it’s Purim all year

(From left) Oooshie the Clown (Asher Mechanic), Schmeggles the Clown (Shlomo Dov Kopelowitz), Timmy the Clown (Meir Dovid Weinberg), and Marlin the Clown (Aron Martin) in blue hat at right during a “Learn, Don’t Burn” fire safety show. (Photo courtesy of Lev Leytzan)

Lev Leytzan honors local volunteers who clown around for a good cause

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

Who needs stodgy old awards like Guest of Honor and Parent of the Year when you can confer deserving honorees with a distinction known as the Golden Nose? 

Singing for Israel’s solidarity

Girls from five yeshiva high schools sang in a choir competition on Feb. 23 to raise money for the Israel Solidarity Fund of America, which distributes money to victims of terrorism and their families.

High school girls’ choirs compete for tzedaka

By Malka Eisenberg
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) may have won first place in the Second Annual Girls’ Choir Competition at HAFTR High School on Feb. 23, but the joy and camaraderie of all five participating schools raising money for charity eclipsed any feelings of rivalry.

Capping yeshiva tuition

New YU initiative aims to stop rising costs

By Michael Orbach
March 10, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

At least one local school reports tuition payments are down at least seven to 10 percent this year,

Thinking of moving to Eretz Yisroel?

Rabbi Yigal Segal, the new Nefesh B’Nefesh ambassador to the yeshiva world, speaking in Brooklyn last month. (Photo courtesy Nefesh B'Nefesh)

Nefesh B’Nefesh pitches Aliyah to the Yeshiva world

By Michael Orbach
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

Advertisements for several recent Nefesh B’Nefesh events didn’t actually contain the word aliyah. Instead, they delicately asked, ‘Are you thinking about moving to Eretz Yisroel?

Eliezer Project expanding

Fund raising planned for West Hempstead and Oceanside

By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

With the recession deepening and a seemingly ever-increasing number of jobs being lost, the Cedarhurst-based Eliezer Project –– a not-for profit that is helping families weather the economic crisis –– is expanding

Review: The Event really was big

Lipa Schmeltzer, joined by Mordechai Ben David, onstage at the WaMu Theater at MSG Sunday night. (Photo by Shimon Gifter)

By Mayer Fertig
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

The people who tried and failed to ruin the Lipa Schmeltzer concert billed as “The Event” weren’t missed at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night — but they missed some show.

Producer Sheya Mendlowitz orchestrated a nearly seamless blend of live performance, clever video clips, and surprise guests — including Mordechai Ben David and Far Rockaway’s own Rabbi Boruch Chait — plus multiple costume changes — all presented without benefit of a live master of ceremonies, usually an omission that invites disaster, at least in my opinion, but certainly not in this case. (Note to concert promoters: if your name isn’t Sheya Mendlowitz you probably can’t pull that off; get an M.C).

The Event was billed as a tribute to the late Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum a”h and it was a nice one.

Helping classmates cope with tragedy; Flu was the apparent cause of death

Levi Yitzchok Wolowik a"h

By Mayer Fertig
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

When word got out Saturday night of the shocking loss of Levi Yitzchok Wolowik, administrators of Yeshiva Darchei Torah, where he was a fourth grader, had to prepare their staff and their students to deal with his death.

Rabbi Dovid Morgenstern, the menahel of the fourth and fifth grades, himself a trained grief counselor, said the yeshiva immediately sought guidance from Chai Lifeline’s bereavement and crisis intervention team, led by Dr. Norman Blumenthal and Mrs. Zahava Farbman.

Blumenthal met that night with administrators and teachers, Rabbi Morgenstern said. The next night “we had a meeting…in the yeshiva for parents specifically of the fourth grade,”

Grieving community transforms dinner into joyous honoring of boy’s life

Just hours after the burial of nine-year-old Levi Yitzchak Wolowik, stunned supporters of Chabad of the Five Towns entered a banquet hall for the center’s 14th-annual dinner to honor the wishes of their beloved rabbi and rebbetzin. (Photo by Yosef Lewis)

By Dovid Zaklikowski
Issue of March 6, 2009 / 10 Adar 5769

More than 500 people packed the banquet hall of the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst for the annual dinner of the Chabad of the Five Towns, but the couple who has worked tirelessly for almost 15 years to strengthen Jewish life in Nassau County, Rabbi Zalman and Chanie Wolowik, was noticeably missing.

The Wolowiks were observing shiva for their nine-year-old son Levi, who had tragically passed away just two nights before.

If the March 1 dinner’s organizers and honorees had had their way, there might have been no event at all. Some wanted to cancel, while others spoke of postponing the affair to some time after Shloshim,

The Jewish Star as it appears in print 3-6-09

Click here for the print edition of The Jewish Star for March 6, 2009