Thanks, from Baghdad

American soldiers at a small combat outpost outside of Baghdad said thanks after they received a little love and warm wishes from kids on Long Island who were thinking of them this summer.

HAFTR’s Camp Hillel launched the “From Day Camp to Base Camp” Project in conjunction with The Living Torah Museum in Fallsburg, N.Y. and the U.S. Post Office in Fallsburg.

They sent boxes of gifts including baby wipes, granola bars, Ziploc bags, disposable cameras, socks, Camp Hillel T-shirts and Frisbees and fleece pillows.

Sgt. Joseph Calvello wrote, “Sorry it has taken so long to respond but it has been really busy here lately. My soldiers really like the pillows your campers made and thought it was really awesome of the campers to take the time to make them by hand. I saved one of the Frisbees for us and I gave one to some Iraqi children … Thank you again for the support. My soldiers really appreciate the gifts. Attached is a picture of my platoon, I’m in the second row kneeling, 2nd from the right.”

The unit is due to return to Fort Bragg, N.C. in November.

Sukkot: Only joy

The Torah commands us twice to rejoice on Sukkot. For Shavuot it only says to rejoice one time. For Pesach “joy” is not mentioned at all: it’s hard to rejoice when you’re thinking about the chametz you might still have in your house.

“V’samachta b’chagekha… v’hayita’ akh sa’me’ach.” [Devarim 16:14-15] You shall rejoice, and be only happy.

Only happy! Does that mean you can’t be sad at all? Does that mean you can’t have any not-so-happy thoughts or feelings? How does a person do that?

Rabbi Nachman of Braslav introduced the idea which has become a popular song — most of us probably know the song better than we know how to live up to its teaching — Mitzvah Gedolah Lihyot B’simcha Tamid. It’s a great mitzvah to be joyous always.

Rabbi Nachman acknowledges that it is human nature to be more easily depressed than overjoyed, and that life has its ways of doing that to a person. So a person must strive to overcome the difficulties. “For all ailments come only from sadness and depression. Therefore we must rejoice with all that we can, even with words of nonsense.” This could mean to tell jokes. It could mean to talk about nothing. It could mean to act silly. Whatever it takes to help you be happy, that’s what you need to do.

The Talmud (Taanit 8a) says, “Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi says, ‘if you are happy (or accepting) of the trials life gives you — you bring salvation to the world!’”

Life is a test. Sometimes there are ups and sometimes there are downs. The economic climate this year is not what it was a year ago. Some of us are not doing as well as we were before things took a bad turn. Some of us are out of work and are struggling.

The Mishnah in Avot (4:1) says, “Who is wealthy? The one who is happy with his portion.” In other words, non-physical wealth is determined by the state of your heart. If you are at peace with the situation life puts you in, you are “wealthy.”

The Torah tells us in the middle of the tokhacha of Ki Tavo, one of the reasons why these curses come upon us is “when you had plenty of everything, you would not serve G-d your Lord with happiness and a glad heart.” When times were good, the Torah is saying, we needed to serve G-d with pure joy.  We need to remember to thank G-d for the good things in our lives: “Thank you, G-d. Thank you for all the good in my life. Thank you for the friends and the love in my life. The joy I experience from being alive. The joy I experience from serving you. The joy I get out of being a Jew. The joy I get out of doing for others. The joy I get from learning Torah. The joy I get from living Shabbos. The joy I get from celebrating that we have the Torah. The joy I get from having a relationship with You!”

On these verses in Devarim, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says, “the joy of your blessedness comes not from your source of income, or your sources of entertainment, but from the Lord your G-d Who bestows this bountiful blessing on you from the place of His Torah and through the means of His Teaching, if you dwell in His tent faithfully.”

It was King David who wrote in Psalm 122, “I rejoiced with those who said ‘Let us go to the House of G-d.’” David himself provided an example of how a person can completely rejoice — letting go of all inhibition — in the service of G-d. Samuel II chapter 6 tells the tale of how he danced in front of the Ark as it was brought to Ir David, Jerusalem, in anticipation of the building of the Temple.

This is how we begin to experience true joy.

Twice a day synagogue-goers have been saying “L’David Hashem Ori” for close to two months. “One request I ask of G-d,” L’David reads. “Let me dwell in the House of G-d all the days of my life. To gaze upon the pleasant ways of G-d and to meditate in His sanctuary.” If you had one request to make of G-d, what would it be? Why would King David write this as his sole request? Maybe King David did not have a mortgage and tuition bills.

Only one thing mattered to King David — the joy he could get out of life. And he knew, all real joy emanates from where it begins. Joy starts in the House of G-d where we seed our relationship with Him; where we can let go of every inhibition, where we can sing and dance and rejoice in our lives dedicated to the service of G-d. When everything else goes, we still have G-d.

And that is something for which we all can be truly joyous.

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

The Torah commands us twice to rejoice on Sukkot. For Shavuot it only says to rejoice one time. For Pesach “joy” is not mentioned at all: it’s

Editorial: Can’t anybody see he’s trying to tell us something?

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

hen someone shows you who they really are, believe them. It’s good advice in the schoolyard and in the workplace, but on the stage of history that truism is often ignored.

If there’s anything in the world you could say for Adolf Hitler it’s that he didn’t try to hide who he really was. He published his plans for the Jews and for the world a number of years before he tried and failed to bring them to fruition. “Mein Kampf” is still available; anyone can read it and see how the evil Hitler laid out just what he hoped to accomplish. Britain’s Chamberlain was an eternal optimist, or perhaps he just didn’t read very well. He was convinced there could be “peace in our time” and for his naïveté, history has not treated him kindly. Of course, that was hardly the worst result of his folly. For not taking Hitler at his word, the world eventually went to war at the cost of twenty million lives, including six million Jews targeted for extermination.

Comparisons to Hitler usually strike us as hyperbole. Charges of Nazism are invariably overblown and inappropriate. Several years ago The Jewish Star was called “Nazi” for thoughts that appeared on this page. Nonetheless, descriptions of Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as “the new Hitler” seem right on the mark. Astoundingly, despite his persistent Holocaust denial, despite his open threats to destroy Israel, and despite his dogged pursuit of nuclear weapons, few seem to take him seriously. Or, seriously enough.

Even now that Iran has been revealed as constructing a second nuclear facility believed capable of producing weapon grade material, kept secret until just the other day, the UN is gearing up to demand another round of facility inspections. If history is any guide, and for heaven’s sake, it ought to be, this effort will soon deteriorate to ‘catch me if you can’ pseudo-diplomacy, and empty threats by the world body.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s angry denunciation of the UN’s tolerance for Holocaust-denial was welcome and heartening, but it’s far from certain his speech did not fall on deaf ears.

The consequences of an Israeli military strike on Iran are sure to be heavy but unfortunately the consequences of Israel not attacking Iran’s nuclear capabilities may be far, far worse.

That somber fact, in 2009, is a direct result of virtually the entire world’s foolish refusal to take Ahmadinejad at his word, even though he’s clearly been telling us all exactly who he is.

When someone shows you who they really are, believe them. It’s good advice in the schoolyard and in the workplace, but on the stage of history that truism is often

Letters to the Editor 10-2-09

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

Stalin

not such a bad guy?

To the Editor:

A recent article by Jay Gerber (“A myth destroyed”; September 4, 2009) alleges that Stalin was responsible for the Holocaust. Nothing is further from the truth. Gerber bases his allegations on some books he read. You can read books that will prove anything that you want to hear. I can tell you from personal experience, spending two years in concentration camps, that the Soviet army liberated us from the Germans. They were our saviors. They liberated Auschwitz and many other camps. They not only liberated us but also fed us and treated us with dignity and great care.

To say that Stalin was responsible for the Holocaust is totally ludicrous. To set the record straight, he was no saint and he liquidated many so-called enemies of the revolution, but we as Jews owe him a lot hakoras hatov. I estimated that he saved millions of Jews, those that were liberated from the camps and hundreds of thousands of Jews that received refuge escaping from the Germans by going from Poland to Russia.

All this could not have happened without the approval of Stalin. Also, he appointed the prime ministers of the eastern European countries, Poland, Hungary and Romania and they were all Jews.

We Jews are known to show hakoras hatov to those who save Jews. I object to Mr. Gerber’s article. He can’t make a judgement on reading misguided books.

Paul Gross

Cedarhurst

Bringing back nightmares

To the Editor:

Your article (“Fringe Baptist  group brings hate to Great Neck”; September 25, 2009) triggered nightmares for my mother. The words of these virulent Anti-Semites reopened the traumatic events of her childhood during the days of Father Charles Coughlin when Hitler was coming to power. Like other vulnerable Jewish children, her life was made hellish in Brooklyn. She was frequently taunted for being a Christ-killer in addition to being beaten up for daring to set foot on a Christian street. The single worst episode was, as a child of no more than age ten, my mother was tied up to a fence and had her hair burned until a righteous Christian woman intervened to rescue her.

Rabbi Benjamin Blatt

Wisconsin

Stalin not such a bad guy?

To the Editor:

A recent article by Jay Gerber (“A myth destroyed”; September 4, 2009) alleges that Stalin was responsible for the Holocaust. Nothing is further from the truth. Gerber

Two books parents should know about: “Talking to your children about Intimacy: a guide for Orthodox Jewish parents” by Sara Diament

Several years ago it seemed the height of irony when Madonna told an interviewer about the strict limits she set on her young daughter’s television viewing since so much of what is on TV these days is inappropriate for children. The irony of course lay in the fact that it was the singer’s own determined pushing of the envelope beginning in the eighties that helped drag the popular culture down to where it is today. But Madonna is famous for reinventing herself and she seemingly reinvented herself as a concerned parent, even as she helped make other parents’ lives so much more complicated.

It’s disconcerting when mothers and fathers of even the most sheltered child realize they are fighting a losing battle. Even children from homes with no television pass billboards and buses in the street; almost no age-appropriate, quality reading material exists for Jewish children who read above their grade level; and there’s almost always a friend’s house at which to sneak some time in front of the tube.

Translation: it is crucial to have age-appropriate talks with children about matters related to the Torah perspective on the beauty of intimacy and family life. Parents who fail to do so must resign themselves to the fact that their children will get information and form opinions based on Hollywood’s view of these matters.

In “Talking to your children about intimacy: a guide for Orthodox Jewish parents,” Sara Diament, a mother of four from Bergenfield, N.J., who holds a Masters in Jewish Studies from YU and a Masters in Health and Behavioral Science from Columbia, offers a blueprint to Orthodox parents who are unsure about how to go about discussing puberty or having “the talk” with their kids.

It offers scenarios for conversations with children who range in age from very young to the pre-teen years and beyond, with an appendix dealing with the subject of abuse and another offering a review for parents themselves about the pertinent biology.

The self-published book includes letters of approbation from HaRav Hershel Schachter of Yeshiva University and Rabbi Mordechai Willig of Young Israel of Riverdale. A future printing is to include a letter from Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, who wrote “we must prepare our children to live decent lives in an environment where there is no restraint on what may be said, shown or printed … to avoid dealing with these issues under the guise of tznius falls under the category of chasid shoteh, foolish piety.”

It’s a quick read and it proved invaluable in a field test with a grade-schooler during a long walk this past Shabbos.

The book can be ordered online at www.torahparenting.com.

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

Several years ago it seemed the height of irony when Madonna told an interviewer about the strict limits she set on her young daughter’s television viewing since so much of what is on TV these days is inappropriate for children. The irony of course lay in the fact that it was the singer’s own determined pushing of the envelope beginning in the eighties that helped drag the popular culture down to where it is today. But Madonna is famous for reinventing herself and she seemingly reinvented herself as a concerned

Two books parents should know about: “Understanding Your Child’s Health” by Susan K. Schulman

By Mayer Fertig
Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

Many books guide parents through the medical pitfalls of childrearing. This is the first we’ve seen that does so through the prism of an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, offering information geared to, say, Yom Tov overeating, the dangers of Pesach cleaning, or the relative (or utter) lack of exercise offered to students in most yeshivas.

Dr. Schulman is a pediatrician who has practiced in Borough Park for over 30 years, today treating the grandchildren of some of her original patients.
“Understanding Your Child’s Health”

Legacy of the Netziv: “The Path of Torah”

Just the name, the Netziv, HaRav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin zt”l, should give a shiver of awe and inspiration to any knowledgeable Jew. His life’s story, as reflected in “My Uncle The Netziv” [ArtScroll, 1988] by his nephew, Rav Baruch HaLevi Epstein, the Torah Temimah, tells the story of the quintessential Rosh Yeshiva and Gadol Hador.

While the book is unfortunately long out of print, if you can get a copy it would be worth the effort to revisit the author’s take of his illustrious uncle. It reads remarkably like a novel that offers the reader an intimate view of the Netziv, with insights and eye-opening historical revelations that cast the subject as not only a gifted spiritual leader, but a sensitive human being with faults that needed attending to and problems that had to be addressed. All this is reflected in the book, which merits your attention and appreciation of a true leader of our people.

While “My Uncle the Netziv” may be a bit hard to obtain, I am happy to inform you that a classic book by the Netziv, long ignored and, by now, unknown, has just been published in English translation. The new edition of “The Path of Torah” [Urim Publications, 2009] is now available in most Jewish bookstores. It bears a rare approbation by one of our country’s leading rabbinical scholars, Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, the Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council.

Under its original title, “Darkah Shel Torah,” it served originally as an introduction to the Netziv’s “Haamek Sheala” dealing with the responsa of Achai Gaon. The translator, Rabbi Elchanan Greenman of Houston, has done a masterful job in bringing us a three-part book with 43 chapters that span a range of topics on Halacha, history as you have never experienced in yeshiva, aggadic material and mussar.

The footnoting is extensive as merits so scholarly a work, with a corrected Hebrew text positioned around the English rendition.

Rabbi Greenman states that he undertook this work “because it is a work of profound significance that has largely been ignored and misunderstood. After completing the translation, I realized that it is unique in providing several examples of the Vilna Gaon’s pilpul method, the first time that such complete examples have been made available in English.”

The Netziv was known to write in a poetic style that, in translation, can obscure the meaning of the text and hamper comprehension by the modern reader. Rabbi Greenman was cognizant of this literary problem and has effectively given the text a new cast that avoids this stylistic handicap. The text is lucid and easy to read despite its complicated content. He not only succeeds admirably, he has set a new standard for establishing a responsible  “flexibility” to be emulated in the future by others confronted with similar difficulties.

Rabbi Greenman studied under Rav Aharon Soloveichik at the Yeshiva Brisk of Chicago where he received his rabbinic ordination in June 1977. He also has a B.S. in Physics and a M.S. in Computer Science. For over two decades Rabbi Greenman has been employed as an engineer for the International Space Station and is currently the lead engineer for Software Quality Engineering. Despite this, Rabbi Greenman’s first love has always been the study of Torah and a specific interest in the writings and teachings of the Netziv. The work under review is a reflection of his life’s work in this field.

This book is not for casual reading. Nevertheless, it merits your serious attention given the inherent spiritual value of its content and the integrity of its sainted author.

The Kosher Bookworm

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

Just the name, the Netziv, HaRav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin zt”l, should give a shiver of awe and inspiration to any knowledgeable Jew. His life’s story, as reflected in “My Uncle The Netziv” [ArtScroll, 1988]

Before Lucy, before Oprah, there was Mrs. Goldberg

By Michael Orbach

Oy, I’m getting ferklempt just thinking about “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg,” a documentary by Aviva Kempner.

For those of us not familiar with the heyday of radio and the early years of television, matronly Molly Goldberg, created and played by Gertrude Berg, was America’s Jewish mother. From 1929 until 1956, her name was ubiquitous on radio and television. Her show’s first incarnation was a daily 15-minute radio broadcast called “The Rise of the Goldbergs.” In 1949 she made the jump to television where “The Goldbergs” became arguably TV’s first truly successful sitcom.

Gertrude Berg, whose real name was Tillie Edelstein, was born in 1898 to a Jewish immigrant family in Harlem. Her acting career began in skits she performed in her family’s Catskills resort. Her radio and television shows stand as a landmark to tolerance and a forgotten chapter in modern Jewish history; a moral “Seinfeld” for the fifties, or a Jewish “Father Knows Best,” as Molly Goldberg and her family confronted the history of the old world and the wonder of the new one in America.

“Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg,” a history of the Goldberg radio and television programs, is a clever documentary that mixes black-and-white footage from the thirties, forties and fifties into a seamless narrative. Commentators in the film range from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Norman Lear, who created “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” and even clips of an interview Berg gave to Edward R. Murrow. The title stems from a trademark element of the shows, epitomizing the old tenements in New York where no one had phones and the easiest way to reach a neighbor was simply to yell “Yoo hoo!” out the window.

“The Rise of the Goldbergs” began a week after Black Tuesday, the 1929 stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression, with the tagline a “Place in every heart and a finger in every pie.” The show proved so popular that when a sore throat put Gertrude out of commission, NBC received over 100,000 pieces of mail. The show’s success was attributed to its authenticity and to its writing, which Berg did herself. The show in its time period was also a play in contrast; Father Coughlin’s anti-Semitic rants on the radio, while a station away on the dial Molly Goldberg lectured about family values with the show’s crazy old Uncle Davy character played by a legendary Yiddish actor, Menashe Skulnik. The show’s message, the documentary notes, was  “everything is going to be okay.” It was a beacon of stability in very troubling times.

The show was so popular that Berg has been described as the Oprah of her day. In a poll of the most respected women in America, she came in second to Eleanor Roosevelt; a poll released the same year that listed the most successful women in America, put Berg first, with Mrs. Roosevelt second. Unsubstantiated lore from the Depression-era claims Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “I didn’t get us out of the Depression, Molly Goldberg did.”

The radio show was second in the ratings to the blaxploitation radio program, “Amos and Andy,” though “The Rise of the Goldbergs” presented a far different, positive stereotype: a wise, caring and patient Jewish mother, who was, in her own way, hip. For her role as Molly Goldberg, Berg won the very first Emmy for Best Actress, awarded in 1950.

Behind the stereotype of the Jewish mother, Berg was a canny and progressive Park Avenue feminist who created a multimedia empire. Goldberg merchandising extended to comic strips, advice columns, and in probably the earliest example of a celebrity clothing line, Goldberg-inspired housedress patterns. In a vaudeville tour one summer, Berg grossed $10,000 a week. As Molly, Berg advocated for war bonds and took on some social causes: a rock is thrown through the Goldberg’s window in one episode, a reference to Kristallnacht, and to the Goldberg family’s worries about Jewish relatives in Europe during World War II.

The TV show’s eventual cancellation came about not because of anti-Semitism, but ironically enough, because of its own success. Philip Loeb, the actor who played Jake Goldberg, Molly’s husband, was blacklisted for suspected Communist activities and the show’s sponsor pulled out. Berg fought for a year-and-a-half while the show was off the air, to save Loeb’s job, even attempting to intercede with J. Edgar Hoover. Eventually, she gave up and Loeb was replaced by a series of actors. However in Goldberg’s 18 month absence from television, another matriarch, Lucille Ball, had arrived, and the rest is history. “The Goldberg’s” limped along for a few years but in 1955 Berg called it quits. She went on to star on Broadway, winning a Tony award; she wrote a bestselling book; and passed away in 1966.

If there is any possible criticism of this enjoyable documentary it’s that Kempner perhaps goes a bit far in making Goldberg’s case. Goldberg, important as she was, didn’t pull America out of the Depression. And despite her progressive-for-her-time outlook, Berg was no revolutionary. As she once put it: “Anything that will bother people … unions, fund raising, Zionism, socialism, intergroup relations. … I keep things average. I don’t want to lose friends.”

But so what? On some level, Molly Goldberg made it okay to be Jewish in America.

A review of Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

By Michael Orbach

Gertrude Berg as Molly Goldberg

Oy, I’m getting ferklempt just thinking about “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg,” a documentary by Aviva Kempner.

For those of us not familiar with the heyday of radio and the early years of television, matronly Molly Goldberg, created and played by Gertrude Berg, was America’s Jewish mother. From 1929 until 1956, her name was ubiquitous on radio and television. Her show’s first incarnation was a daily 15-minute radio broadcast called “The Rise of the Goldbergs.” In 1949 she made the jump to television

That’s Life: Drama queen in action

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

Dear That’s Life,

Scene: A family meal 35 minutes before the beginning of Yom Kippur.

A niece who shall not be named is asked by her mother to leave the table or apologize to all present after she manages to touch most of the mashed potatoes left in the bowl.

“I’m sorry,” she said, adding, “Was that good?”

“It would have been if it had been sincere,” her mother replied.

“It was sincere,” the young drama queen shot back. “Look, I’m teary.”

Mayer Fertig

Dear That’s Life,

Funny thing about a car is that one does not appreciate how nice it is to have a working, dependable car until your car is no longer working or dependable.

Truthfully, I am low-maintenance and don’t have many demands, but I do insist that when I turn my key in the ignition, my car actually starts.  I do not think it is too much to ask that when I want to go somewhere, my car should allow me to do that. It should not be a scene out of the Flintstones, with Fred’s feet pedaling through the bottom of the car. Nor should it be that when I get in the car, one of my children inevitably screams, “c’mon car!” like a moment from The Little Engine That Could.

I called the service center, as the car is still under warranty, and the woman who answered said she remembered me. Of course she did – we have been in numerous times over the last couple of months and we just picked the car back up less than two weeks ago after a mechanic claimed he found “nothing wrong with it.” When I explained that the issue was not resolved and the car still was having trouble starting, she told me she would not take the car back for servicing.

“What?!” I said. “You are refusing to service my car?” The answer was “yes,” and she explained that two mechanics were out, the center was completely backlogged and she had been instructed not to schedule any more cars for servicing for at least a week. Shocked, I then did the most logical thing I could think of: I asked her for her cell phone number. “You want my phone number?” she asked, very confused, and I told her I did.

“But why?” she asked and I explained. “That’s so when I can’t start my car and I am stuck somewhere and am in labor, I know just who to call to come get me.” After a bit of a pause, she then asked me to hold on a moment so she could see what she could do.

Moments later, she got back on the phone and asked me to call back the next day to speak to the manager. No problem, I replied, at which point she asked me if I was expecting my first child. “No,” I said, “my sixth,” to which she exclaimed after putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, “What?! Why aren’t you staying in bed in your ninth month instead of driving around town?” I explained that with five other children, life had to go on and there was no time for lounging in bed, eating cookies. A little annoyed at this point, I said, “Now, do you understand why my car should be the LEAST complicated thing in my life?”

Suffice it to say that the manager was less than excited to speak to us nor was he happy to see us when we came into the service center. The welcome we received was the equivalent to Gaddafi’s arrival on US soil.  After taking the keys from us yet again, he reminded us the deal we had made over the phone: if he found nothing wrong with the car as he did ten days before, I was going to pay for the car rental they had arranged. It was a bet I was willing to make.

Less than twenty-four hours later, he called me at home.

“Mrs. Wallach,” he said. “Your car needs some serious work and you are not crazy.”

I laughed for a while and told him I knew I wasn’t crazy and said I was happy we were now on the same page. After he finished reviewing the long list of problems with my car, I confirmed that he, in fact, would be covering the cost of the rental, which he said he obviously would. I then and asked why, if they had the car ten days before, did they not find anything wrong with it and now, it sounded like my car was on life support.

“Well,” the manager explained, “there are some better doctors out there and some not better doctors, and the same is true about mechanics.”

Now I was silenced.

“That,” I said, “was a very good answer.”

Game, set, match.  Winner: Mike and the Mechanics.

MLW

Dear That’s Life,

Scene: A family meal 35 minutes before the beginning of Yom Kippur:

A niece who shall not be named is asked by her mother to leave the table or apologize to all present after she manages to touch most

Backyard bullies on Wikipedia

By Ari Lieberman

In the course of doing research on the Second Lebanon War, I came across a Wikipedia article called “2006 Lebanon War.” Instinct told me to ignore the article and move along but curiosity drew me in. Little did I know at the time that this curiosity, which has gotten me into trouble in the past, would introduce me to the dark side of Wikipedia.

Wikipedia describes itself as a “multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based mostly on anonymous contributions.” It is “written collaboratively by an international (and mostly anonymous) group of volunteers.” Anyone with Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia claims 65,000,000 monthly visitors as of 2009 and is rapidly gaining acceptance by university students and media alike.

The Wikipedia homepage adds that, “anyone is welcome to add information, cross-references, or citations, as long as they do so within Wikipedia’s editing policies and to an appropriate standard. Substandard or disputed information is subject to removal. Users need not worry about accidentally damaging Wikipedia when adding or improving information, as other editors are always around to advise or correct obvious errors, and Wikipedia’s software is carefully designed to allow easy reversal of editorial mistakes.”

Innocent enough, I thought.

The 2006 Second Lebanon War was one of Israel’s most controversial wars. There were operational as well as political failures, mostly due to inexperienced political leaders who lacked focus and fortitude. However, in the final analysis, the war was a strategic victory for Israel and a defeat for Iran, Syria and its terror proxy, Hezbollah.

* Israel killed 600-1,000 Hezbollah guerillas (and captured five) and established a kill ratio of at least 6 to 1 and possibly as much as 10 to 1.

* When the war ended, the Israeli Army was in control of every single Hezbollah stronghold in the sub-Litani region. Hezbollah did not conquer a millimeter of Israeli soil.

* The Israeli Air Force destroyed Hezbollah’s long-range missile stockpiles in the first hours of the war thus depriving the organization of a valuable strategic asset.

* Israeli commandos landed at whim in the heart of Hezbollah’s strongholds of Baalbek and Tyre, killing several dozen Hezbollah operatives and evacuating safely from the combat zone without taking any casualties.

* Hezbollah’s entire military infrastructure in South Lebanon was destroyed along with its HQ and other important facilities in South Beirut.

* Lebanon itself suffered billions in damage, felt most keenly by Shiites whose close proximity to the theater of operations rendered them most vulnerable. Three years after the war, in which Israel barely suffered a scratch, Lebanon’s Shiites are still picking up the pieces.

* Hezbollah’s border provocation against Israel lacked strategic purpose; the resulting war exposed the worst that Hezbollah had to offer. Syria and Iran can no longer use Hezbollah as a deterrent against an Israeli first strike.

* The most important achievement was the forcible deployment of some 15,000 Lebanese troops backed by Europeans along the border. It is the first time since the mid-1960s that the Lebanese Army has exercised any meaningful sovereignty in South Lebanon. Gone are the days where Hezbollah guerillas can menacingly march right up to the border and click away with their surveillance cameras and equipment.

In short, the war established a new reality and essentially forced an unconditional surrender on Hezbollah. Aside from the usual kooks and crackpots and a few Arab apologists like Roger Cohen and Norman Finkelstein, no one takes seriously the Hezbollah claims of “divine victory.” Even Nasrallah himself came close to admitting defeat when he acknowledged that he badly misjudged Israel’s response and would not have embarked on the kidnapping operation had he known it would lead to war.

In light of Wikipedia’s stated editing policy, it did not surprise me to find that its piece on the Second Lebanon War read like a Hezbollah recruiting poster. Israel’s achievements were glossed over or omitted entirely; its failures were stressed and highlighted. The converse was true for Hezbollah. It almost seemed as if by war’s end Hezbollah troops were marching on Tel Aviv.

I decided that something had to be done to restore balance and so began my Wikipedia journey and my discovery of its Islamofacist underside.

My initial edits were small, well sourced, cross-referenced and dealt with one minor point that occurred before the commencement of hostilities and a few post-war occurrences. My strategy was to start small, to test the waters, and progressively make larger and more substantive edits.

Within minutes of my upload, my edits were deleted. Being a novice to Wikipedia, I thought I had made some technical mistake in the upload process so I uploaded again only to have the edits deleted once more. I then saw a message in my Wiki “talk page” — the rough equivalent of an inbox — that said that my edits were being deleted for violating neutrality. The message came from someone identified by an Arabic screen name. Some quick research revealed that he was a Wiki “site administrator” and had a long history of anti-Israel bias on Wikipedia.

I would not accept conclusory explanations for his reversions and demanded clear and concise reasons for his actions. He responded that my edits made the Israel Defense Forces sound “too heroic” and “sounded like an army press release.” Concerning the post-war edits, he claimed that since they happened after the war, they were irrelevant. However, his reasoning here contradicted the format of the article itself, which had a specific section dealing with relevant post-war occurrences. The only discernable difference between my post-war edits and those already existing in the article is that my edits were adverse to Hezbollah while those already existing were adverse to Israel. It seemed that any edit that favored Israel, regardless of its veracity, did not sit well with the “site administrator.”

I countered, he counter-countered and this back and forth wrangling went on for quite some time, until he finally relented and my edits were allowed to pass, albeit heavily modified.

I subsequently made additional, more substantive edits to the “Second Lebanon War” as well as the “Gaza War” (Operation Cast Lead) which drew heated debate and scathing criticisms by what I call the Wikipedia Jihadi Mafia, who swarmed on me like bees to honey, attacking and dissecting every aspect of my proposed changes. Exhausting as it was, I stood my ground and provided well-sourced information for all my edits. Ultimately, most of my edits passed muster and squeezed through, though, again, they were heavily altered and modified.

Today, when you go on to Wikipedia’s “Gaza War” site, you can read favorable quotes from defense analysts Tony Cordesman and Colonel Richard Kemp detailing the lengths to which the IDF went to minimize collateral damage. You will also find detractors and critics of the now infamous Goldstone report, which is essentially a 575-page blood libel against the IDF. You will read negative revelations about Marc Garlasco, one of Goldstone’s sources and a former Human Rights Watch military analyst, who was belatedly suspended by HRW on account of his fetish for Nazi memorabilia. I counterbalanced unfavorable bias sources about Israel with opinions by Charles Krauthammer, Michael Totten, and John Keegan. I also listed documented efforts Hezbollah took to conceal their losses in the Second Lebanon War. Islamofacism is alive and well at Wikipedia, but as with all backyard bullies, if you stand your ground and don’t give in, they relent.

Ari Lieberman is an attorney and a student of Israeli military history. He lives in Brooklyn.

By Ari Lieberman

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

In the course of doing research on the Second Lebanon War, I came across a Wikipedia article called “2006 Lebanon War.” Instinct told me to ignore the article and move along but curiosity

I’m thinking: Why I’m a fan of the UN

By Micah D. Halpern

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

I am a member of a small select group. I am one of few people who believe that the United Nations serves an important purpose.

I am not blind; I am not deaf and I am certainly not dumb to the vitriol spewed forth from the imposing glass building that graces the East River and causes New York’s traffic to jam. But when I weigh the benefits reaped by the nations of the world against the anti-Semitic, anti-Zionistic, anti-West hatred spewed forth in the great public halls of the United Nations, the positive outweighs the negative.

For better and for worse, the United Nations levels the playing field and every country is treated equally.  But that is not why I am a fan.

Equality among men, or, in this case, nations, is a credo we try to instill in our children. It is a fallacious credo. In the General Assembly, Muammar Ghaddafi of Libya is accorded the same respect as Gordon Brown of England. Actually, right now, he is accorded more respect because the current president of the Assembly is from Libya, so Gaddafi is a little more equal than other nations but, then again, England is a member of the coveted Security Council — and Libya is not.

The United Nations gives voice to those countries around the world which have no voice, to the countries whose voices would otherwise never be heard, to the countries with names difficult to pronounce and which we would be hard pressed to locate on a map. In the United Nations the powerless perceive themselves to have power. That explains why so many anti-Western resolutions are proposed in the General Assembly. In the end, the resolutions have no legal value and the debates are simply rants, a way in which to vent, to let off pent up frustrations and to safely chastise bigger and stronger nations.

Only the Security Council has international power, only the Security Council can control and deploy forces. And only sanctions emanating from the Security Council can be imposed. The permanent members of the Security Council truly guide the world. But that does not explain why I am a fan.

The United Nations provides military aid, economic aid and food to countries in need. The United Nations has goodwill ambassadors who canvass the globe helping people in need. The United Nations gives medicine and technology to nations in need.  But even these non-political dimensions of the United Nations are not what makes me a fan.

I believe that the United Nations serves an important purpose because it is the only place in the world that fosters informal diplomacy. In corridors and in corners, over coffee and tea, in hushed voices and through third parties, ideas and agenda are floated. The seeds of the future are sown behind-the-scenes in the United Nations. Agreements that will shape the world are first floated in conversations during informal meetings. There are no banner headlines, very few leaks and almost no significant political risk. The machismo and bravado strutted about in the General Assembly, the Security Council, and high-profile committees, is absent in the dimly lit corridors of the United Nations.  Governments are not toppled; agreements are conceived.

A conversation in a United Nations elevator can change the world.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator.

Read his latest book THUGS.

He maintains The Micah Report at

I am a member of a small select group. I am one of few people who believe that the United Nations serves an important purpose.

I am not blind; I am not deaf and I am certainly not dumb to the vitriol spewed

Seidemann: Content and confident in the Sukkah

From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

Rosh Hashana, I’m too scared to eat. Yom Kippur, I’m not allowed to eat. Sukkos, I can eat what I want but not where I want. Passover, I can eat where I want but not what I want. And on Shavuos, I’m just too tired to eat.

16 ways you know Sukkot is coming to Israel

By Judy Lash Balint

Now that's some esrog: Arba Minim (the four species) on sale on a Jerusalem street (Photo by Judy Lash Balint)

By Judy Lash Balint

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

1. The clang of metal poles and the sounds of hammering are practically constant as Jerusalem’s apartment dwellers hurry to erect their sukkot and squeeze them into small balconies, odd-shaped gardens and otherwise derelict rooftops.

2. The tourists have landed! Overwhelmingly religious, English and French speaking, they jam the city’s take-out places and restaurants, and may be seen in packs wandering up and down Emek Refaim and at the glitzy Mamilla Mall, talking to their friends on their cell phones at the top of their lungs.

3. Almost every non-profit group worth its salt has scheduled a fund-raising and/or familiarization event for the intermediate days of Sukkot, aimed at capturing the attention of the wealthy temporary Jerusalem residents.

4. Real estate agents are taking a deep breath before their busiest week of the year as they prepare to pitch their over-priced wares to eager foreign buyers. Each of the many luxury residential building projects around town has managed to put up billboards depicting the completed construction and inviting prospective buyers for a tour of an unfinished building site.

5. You can’t get on a bus without being poked in the rear a dozen times with someone’s stray lulav.

6. The sweet smell of etrogim in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda (Yehuda Market) is overpowering. Huge crowds descend on a lot on Jaffa Road near the market to vie for the most shapely lulav and etrog.

7. One enterprising bookstore is offering “Machzor rentals” for tourists who inadvertently left their holiday prayer books at home.

8. You’ve never seen such gaudy sukkah decorations in your life — unless you’ve been to Walmart on Christmas Eve. In Meah Shearim kiosks manned by charedim are selling gold, green and red tinsel hangings — exact replicas of decorations for a different holiday in the old country.

9. Huge piles of schach (palm fronds for the roof of the sukkah) cover major city squares, and citizens are invited to take as much as they need for free.

10. The usual throngs of are expected at the Western Wall for the thrice-yearly observance of the ancient ritual of Birkat Cohanim — Blessing by the Priests — that takes place during the intermediate days of Sukkot.

11. Empty city lots all over Jerusalem are taken over to sell sukkot of every size and description. Some are marketed by large companies and feature the latest space-saving technology and hardiest materials, while others are simpler affairs made of tubular piping and plastic walls. Every kosher restaurant in town has a sukkah of some kind and each boasts bigger and better holiday specials to entice customers.

12. Since the entire week of Sukkot is a national holiday you’ll have a tough time deciding which festival or event to take part in.

13. Touring the country is another favorite Sukkot activity and every political group is promoting trips to “See For Yourself.” Chevron is a perennial favorite for the intermediate festival days as the Isaac Hall in the Cave of the Patriarchs that’s normally off-limits to Jewish visitors is open for the holiday.

14. Not to be left out are those tenacious Christian friends of Israel — the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) will bring 5,000 members from 80 nations to attend their 30th annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration. The Christian contingent dressed in costume of their country of origin will also take part in another annual Sukkot event, the Jerusalem March, where tens of thousands march through several routes in the capital. Organizers claim that the Christian event will pump $10 million into the local economy, taking up 15,000 hotel room nights during their stay. Not everyone is happy about the Feast, however. A few years ago Israel’s Chief Rabbinate’s Committee for the Prevention of the Spread of Missionary Work in the Holy Land issued a ruling forbidding Jews from participating in the Jerusalem march organized by the ICEJ. The committee wrote in its decision, endorsed by both chief rabbis that Halacha forbids Jews to participate in any of the Christian sponsored gatherings. Still, this year, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin will host a sukkah reception for the delegates at ICEJ headquarters.

15. Another prominent group of tourists set to arrive are refugees from the young American frum singles scene who make an annual migration to Jerusalem from the Upper West Side for Sukkot. Discreet meetings of earnest, well-scrubbed, modestly dressed twenty-somethings take place in all the major hotel lobbies.

16. And speaking of refugees — spare a thought for those 1,700 families expelled from their homes in Gush Katif back in August 2005. More than four years on and hardly any of them are living in permanent housing. More than 1,500 former Gush Katif residents are still unemployed. Several have died at young ages and many couples have divorced due to the economic and social pressure and the uncertain future they face. Neither they nor the Israelis in and around Sderot, who despite the Gaza pullout continue to live under the threat of Hamas shelling, will need to be reminded of one of the essential messages of the Sukkot holiday — the flimsiness of our physical existence and our reliance on G-d for sustenance and shelter.

Judy Lash Balint is the author of Jerusalem Diaries: What’s Really Happening in Israel and a contributor to the Fodor’s Guide to Israel. She blogs at jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com

1. The clang of metal poles and the sounds of hammering are practically constant as Jerusalem’s apartment dwellers hurry to erect their sukkot and squeeze them into small balconies, odd-shaped gardens and otherwise derelict rooftops.

2. The tourists have landed! Overwhelmingly religious, English and French speaking, they jam the city’s take-out places and restaurants, and may be seen in packs wandering up and down Emek Refaim and at the glitzy Mamilla Mall, talking to their

My heritage on YouTube

In my view

By Anya Sedletcaia

Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

There was a song that my grandmother used to sing to my sister and me whenever we visited her. I never knew all the words but I always remembered the tune, and I remembered that it included something about “Kinderlach” and “Alef Beis.” I was able to find a video of the song on YouTube

This ain’t your bubbe’s cookbook

New kosher cookbook for the iPhone

By Etta Chinskey
Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770

By Etta Chinskey

Some iPhone users may swear their phone does everything but the dishes. The popular Apple cellular phone still can’t do dishes but it can cook. Kosher.

Just in time to cook for everyone who can squeeze into your sukkah, there’s a new application for the iPhone and iPod touch called Kosher Cookbook. It offers 300 kosher recipes by gourmet chef and food writer Gloria Kobrin, shopping list plans and 50 customized meal plans for Shabbos and Yom Tov.

Users can search for recipes by ingredients or by food type, ranging from tofu to pasta to all types of meat (“except pork,” one oddly disappointed reviewer noted on the iTunes store). Personal meal plans can be constructed based on favorite recipes, and dishes can be sorted by serving size. Harried Erev Shabbos shoppers can access recipes and revise shopping lists (viewable by store aisle or by recipe) right in the produce section. Local shoppers have an added advantage as the application is supported by Brach’s Supermarket.

Kosher Cookbook is the creation of Alex Libkind of North Woodmere. He’s the CEO of Valley Stream-based APPsolute Media, where the application was developed and where the cookbook is updated regularly, According to Libkind, new dishes and images are added daily.

“What we discovered is that the iPhone is an absolutely new platform for the on-the-go consumer,” said Libkind. “Why I really pushed the Kosher Cookbook on the iPhone is that it’s an appliance. You can go to this phone and do exactly what you want, whether it’s to find directions, a movie or a recipe.”

Libkind founded APPsolute Media this year. He also co-founded Zodiac Interactive, an Emmy award-winning company that built the user-interface for iO digital television. He hopes to feature other cookbook authors in Cookshelf, the platform used for Kosher Cookbook, and is currently in talks with publishers to use either entire books or samples in the app.

A cookbook for the iPhone is a logical step, according to Kobrin.

“Many young people don’t have large cooking spaces, so having this small machine is very efficient and leaves you room for many other things,” she explained.

“As both a busy mom and a personal chef, I’ve got to say this could really save me time,” said Jordana Hirschel, a gourmet chef based out of Long Island,

“Cookshelf” is available for $4.99 at the iTunes store. The online reviews have been positive so far and the application has made it to iTunes’ coveted “Hot List”.

“The best organized app ever” one user declared.

Moshe Kimmel, a 19-year old aspiring chef from Far Rockaway was impressed by the idea. “It leaves more room on the counter for the ingredients and helps you not to carry a big pad of paper in the supermarket,” he said.

He was disappointed that Sprint, his phone carrier, doesn’t offer the iPhone.

“It makes me want one,” he said.

Additional reporting by Stephen Bronner

A screenshot from the Kosher Cookbook for iPhones

Some iPhone users may swear their phone does everything but the dishes. The popular Apple cellular phone still can’t do dishes but it can cook. Kosher.

Just in time to cook for everyone who can squeeze into your sukkah, there’s a new application for the iPhone and iPod touch

See The Jewish Star as it appears in print for 10-2-09

Click here for the print edition of The Jewish Star for 10-2-09

Most-hated family in America visits Great Neck

(Hint: it’s not hard to understand why they’re so unpopular)

Margie Phelps, daughter of the hate group's founder, and her nephew, 7, in Great Neck, NY Friday afternoon (Photo by Andrew Vardakis for The Jewish Star)

By Michael Orbach

Special to the web — Sept. 25, 2009 / 7 Tishrei 5770

Noah Phelps, 10, of the Westboro Baptist Church wasn’t exactly sure why he was at the protest in Great Neck. Wearing a purple t-shirt and matching purple hat, he held an Israeli flag loosely in one hand; occasionally, deliberately, he stepped on it.

“I’m here, pretty sure I’m here, it’s because of the Jews. I don’t know.”

His Aunt Margie resembled a walking billboard, holding four signs with messaging including “God hates Israel” and “Obama is the anti-Christ.” An Israeli flag

Thousands protest at United Nations

Two members of StandWithUs on stage

Rambam, HAFTR, Shalhavet lead cheers

By Michael Orbach

Special for the web on September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Several thousand protesters, including students from a number of local yeshivot, gathered at the United Nations Thursday to protest the visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The protesters filled Manhattan’s 47^th street between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenue and police closed down the block. At the rally, organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council, the most impassioned

Sabbath House opens at Winthrop-University Hospital

Relative stuck in the hospital for Shabbos? The Winthrop Sabbath House, located adjacent to the Winthrop-University Hospital campus in Mineola, offers accommodations for up to five families at one time. The house was dedicated on July 7th and opened this past week. It is equipped with a kosher kitchen, Shabbos candles, siddurim and timers to turn lights on automatically in the afternoon and off at night. There will be a sukkah in the backyard. In addition to kosher food for patients, Winthrop now offers glatt kosher meals for visitors, available in the lobby, as well as a Shabbos elevator. (Above, l.-r.) The Reverend Jill M. Bowden, Director of Pastoral Care and Education at Winthrop; John F. Collins, President & CEO; Charles M. Strain, Chairman of Winthrop’s Board of Directors; Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Cong. Beth Sholom of Mineola; Amy Wolin, Assistant Vice President of Patient Financial Services at Winthrop; and Mineola Mayor Jack Martins.

Opinion: Bring them a Kugel

“New” trend in psychology really an old mussar concept

By Michael J. Salamon
Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

The New Year has begun. We are involved in prayer and good deeds. We are more introspective than usual. We even try our hardest to eliminate or at least limit Lashon Hora. All are excellent and productive ways to enhance ourselves and the quality of our lives. Psychologists see this as part of their stock in trade. A new phrase in the field has emerged in recent years referring to this idea. Positive psychology is the study of how character, good feelings, inner strengths, resilience, creativity, wisdom and virtue develop in individuals and communities. The three central points of this new positive psychology are optimistic emotions, developing positive traits and constructive community institutions. If I may, positive psychology is not a new idea but rather a form of mussar focusing on personal discipline, healthy virtues, ethics and consideration for others.

I applaud attempts to become a better person and hope they are not limited to New Year’s resolutions rapidly overlooked once the holidays are over. To help us accomplish positive change I would like to make a simple suggestion. As we make vows to change our behaviors I would suggest that we all spend a little more time not just on actions but on words. That is, I would like to strongly urge us to think before we speak. This, of course, is not a new idea, either. I am not claiming that it is. I am only restating the concept because I have accumulated some statements that I have heard from people in the last year that have had fearful consequences, even when they were not meant quite the way they were perceived. The mussar texts tell us of the power of words but we often cannot relate to the concept. So allow me to give you just a few examples of how we might do better.

“I will not let my son go out with that girl. She has no father.” This line was said to the widowed mother of the young woman. The mother had lost her husband and her children lost their father to a terrible illness. The comment was not said maliciously. It was said to justify a horribly mistaken notion that because the young woman’s father passed away she might carry a genetic abnormality that would pass the disease to all of her future children. Both the woman and her mother were scarred not just by the idea but by the painful sentence itself. Not every thought we have is necessarily true. Not every thought we have must be said aloud.

“I heard that he lost his job so I brought him a sweet lukshen kugel.” I guess the person was well intentioned but stop a moment and think about it. If you just lost your job would you need or even want a kugel? Would you want someone telling their friends that they brought you a kugel under these circumstances? It is a sociological fact that people define themselves in large measure by their jobs. Someone who just lost their job is suffering an immediate blow to their ego. Their sense of direction and accomplishment, even basic identity, is threatened. Bringing a kugel is perhaps a nice gesture but not what a person who is so at odds needs. It is viewed perhaps as a minimization of the loss. What this person truly needs is someone who will quietly listen for a while. Once the initial loss is accepted try to help this person network — help them find agencies, institutions or individuals who can help them back into the work force. And only after you do that, ask them if they even like kugel before you drop one off.

The line I still hear that really is most upsetting is this: “it doesn’t happen in our community.” Abuse happens in all communities. We have our share of pedophiles, thieves, schemers and general low-lifes. To pretend otherwise is to ignore, even repel those who have been hurt and abused. The extension of the argument that it doesn’t exist in our community is that “surely the rates are much lower by us.” We do not know this to be true but even if it is we still cannot dismiss the fact that problems occur and that we are obligated to deal with them, not sweep them under the rug and pretend that they do not exist.

If we set up some simple guidelines for the words we choose to use we can go a long way toward helping ourselves and others, even our institutions to become more welcoming, more nurturing and more positive. And, isn’t that what the Yomim Norim are really about!

Dr. Salamon is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the founder and director of the Adult Developmental Center in Hewlett, NY. His recent books include, The Shidduch Crisis: Causes and Cures [Urim Publications] and Every Pot Has a Cover: A Proven Guide to Finding, Keeping and Enhancing the Ideal Relationship [Rowman & Littlefield].

Michael J. Salamon

The New Year has begun. We are involved in prayer and good deeds. We are more introspective than usual. We even try our hardest to eliminate or at least limit Lashon Hora. All are excellent and productive ways to enhance ourselves and the quality of our lives. Psychologists see this as part of their stock in trade. A new phrase in the field has emerged in recent years referring to this idea. Positive psychology is the study of how character, good feelings, inner strengths, resilience, creativity, wisdom and virtue develop in individuals and communities. The three central points of this new positive psychology are optimistic emotions, developing positive traits and constructive community institutions. If I may, positive psychology is not a new idea but rather a form of mussar focusing on personal discipline, healthy virtues, ethics and consideration for others.

I applaud attempts to become a better person and hope they are not limited to New Year’s resolutions rapidly overlooked once the holidays are over. To help us

Editorial: White House meddling in Albany

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

It is beyond discussion that David Paterson’s term as governor is a monumental disappointment. Few if any serious people suggest bright prospects for improvement.

Letters

He really thought that?

To the Editor:

Shmuly Yanklowitz is being either disingenuous or exceedingly naive when he professes to have thought that President Obama’s healthcare plan was something that Orthodox Jews would “join together” to support (Choose life; In my view; Sept 18, 2009).  Orthodox Jews, in general, tend toward both political and economic conservatism, so the idea that they would join en masse to support a government takeover of 16% of our national economy, on terms that would add at least a trillion dollars to our national debt, is dubious.

As to the substance of his article, it is neither appropriate nor helpful for Mr. Yanklowitz to try turning his politically liberal position in the national healthcare debate into a halachic issue. Mr. Yanklowitz is certainly entitled to his opinion about the President’s proposals, but attempting to delegitimize the opposing view on the grounds that it somehow violates Jewish law serves only to stifle, rather than foster, healthy political debate.

Moreover, Mr. Yanklowitz’s underlying assumption that Obamacare would “propel America toward a sustainable system of universal healthcare” and “help America become a society that can heal all of its sick” is, unfortunately, not grounded in reality. What the Administration’s proposals would do is move us incrementally in the direction of a Canadian single-payer system or the functional equivalent thereof.   That system, according to the most recent annual report commissioned by an alliance of doctors’ groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, has produced median waiting times of six weeks for patients with major depression to see a psychiatrist, 24 hours for hospital emergency room admissions, and seven weeks (!) for cancer patients in need of radiation therapy. (See Little Improvement in Medical Wait Times: report, National Post, June 18, 2009)

Is this the kind of care that we want for our own families? Is this really the reform that is “demanded by Jewish law,” as Mr. Yanklowitz contends? To me, Jewish ideals are best furthered by an honest shakla ve’tarya (give and take) regarding the actual policies under consideration, rather than by resort to broad generalizations of ethical principles or meaningless platitudes about our “deepest religious communal values.”

Steven Wilamowsky

Lawrence

The other side of the coin

To the Editor:

A story is told about Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev who passed a stable on his way to shul and found wagon drivers wearing tallis and tefillin while preparing their horses. “Mi K’amcha Yisrael,” “Who is like your people, Israel?” he is said to have exclaimed. “Even while Jews are engaged in such mundane pursuits they envelope themselves in tefillin.” On Erev Rosh Hashana, I would have liked to see words of encouragement and hope more like those of Reb Levi Yitzchok and not those of your op-ed writer’s “Summer of our Shame” (Meir Weingarten; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ten years ago my wife and I heard a family psychologist who advised parents to find two good things our children did each day and to tell them. That’s still good advice for a Jewish newspaper in Elul. I see much that we Orthodox Jews can be proud and even boast of right here in the Five Towns.

Eighteen years ago there was no such thing as a Kollel Boker until Sh’or Yoshuv and Rabbi Moshe Dov Stein, zt”l, started it. Daf Yomi, yes, but no place formally to learn b’iyun. Today, between 4:30 and 7:00 a.m. over 70 men learn there regularly in different groups, and I know of three Kollel Bokers in other shuls.

Every morning on my way home at 9:00 a.m. there are scores of women parked along Broadway for their communal davening; on Rosh Chodesh, the street is packed.

This past Tisha B’Av, the shuls were full of people viewing the Chofetz Chaim video series.

A few weeks ago my neighbor was locked out of his house and in 20 minutes two nice guys from Chaverim were there to jiggle the lock and let them in.

The word “Hatzalah” is enough.

We have two volunteer fire departments.

The public school system seems to be earning higher test scores despite (or maybe because of) the Orthodox board members. They did not dismantle the public school system as predicted.

When I walk to shul on Shabbos a local doctor usually has two baby strollers parked outside his front door, seeing worried mothers and their children early Shabbos morning — many of whom are not his regular patients.

This year The Eliezer Project was started to help our neighbors who have lost their jobs.

Rabbi Reisman’s Agudah is raising money to pay a full-time shidduch coordinator.

In the last year-and-a-half my wife lost both her parents. The amount of food and assistance extended to us was awesome.

I know of someone in Lawrence who lent out his pool to a Chassideshe organization from Williamsburg working with off-the-derech kids.

Last week, I went to a wedding of two young people who, despite hardships, exhibited such chein and spiritual growth that it epitomized the eternal Yiddishe flame burning in every Jewish heart.

In my 20 years in the Five Towns, I have seen high school boys staying in Yeshiva till 11:00 p.m. every night to finish difficult gemorahs when they could be home watching TV. In that same time I have seen TV-watching, hanging-out boys grow up in Israel, to become masmidim in the Mirrer, Lakewood, YU and Ner Yisrael.

Twenty years ago, despite having two eruvs, I wonder how many people even knew of their boundaries or of the difficulty of constructing an eruv, but now kollel men who went to local high schools and now learn in the Yeshiva of the Five Towns printed a book with photographs and explanations about the eruv, and work tirelessly, without fanfare, to make modifications to improve our Shabbos observance.

As a Five Towner, I am very proud to be a part of a community that takes kashrus, Torah and being a good neighbor so seriously.

Mi K’amcha Yisrael.

Abba Shmuel Novak

Lawrence

But wait, there’s more

To the Editor:

Just a note in connection with Debby Rosenfeld’s excellent article regarding the new power of attorney statute in New York (Power of attorney law changed; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ms. Rosenfeld mentioned that a “statutory major gifts rider” is now needed if the principal wishes to enable his agent to make gifts to third parties equal to or greater than the $13,000 annual exclusion amount.

The statute is actually even more draconian than that. A statutory major gifts rider is required to enable an agent to make gifts of any amount greater than $500 per recipient per year. And a technical corrections bill currently pending before the state senate would limit such gift-giving ability to a maximum aggregate total of $500 per year (for all gifts combined) unless a statutory major gifts rider is executed.

Daniel Yarmish

Woodme

He really thought that?

To the Editor:

Shmuly Yanklowitz is being either disingenuous or exceedingly naive when he professes to have thought that President Obama’s healthcare plan was something that Orthodox Jews would “join together” to support (Choose life; In my view; Sept 18, 2009).  Orthodox Jews, in general, tend toward both political and economic conservatism, so the idea that they would join en masse to support a government takeover of 16% of our national economy, on terms that would add at least a trillion dollars to our national debt, is dubious.

As to the substance of his article, it is neither appropriate nor helpful for Mr. Yanklowitz to try turning his politically liberal position in the national healthcare debate into a halachic issue. Mr. Yanklowitz is certainly entitled to his opinion about the President’s proposals, but attempting to delegitimize the opposing view on the grounds that it somehow violates Jewish law serves only to stifle, rather than foster, healthy political debate.

Moreover, Mr. Yanklowitz’s underlying assumption that Obamacare would “propel America toward a sustainable system of universal healthcare” and “help America become a society that can heal all of its sick” is, unfortunately, not grounded in reality. What the Administration’s proposals would do is move us incrementally in the direction of a Canadian single-payer system or the functional equivalent thereof.

That system, according to the most recent annual report commissioned by an alliance of doctors’ groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, has produced median waiting times of six weeks for patients with major depression to see a psychiatrist, 24 hours for hospital emergency room admissions, and seven weeks (!) for cancer patients in need of radiation therapy. (See Little Improvement in Medical Wait Times: report, National Post, June 18, 2009)

Is this the kind of care that we want for our own families? Is this really the reform that is “demanded by Jewish law,” as Mr. Yanklowitz contends? To me, Jewish ideals are best furthered by an honest shakla ve’tarya (give and take) regarding the actual policies under consideration, rather than by resort to broad generalizations of ethical principles or meaningless platitudes about our “deepest religious communal values.”

Steven Wilamowsky

Lawrence

The other side of the coin

To the Editor:

A story is told about Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev who passed a stable on his way to shul and found wagon drivers wearing tallis and tefillin while preparing their horses. “Mi K’amcha Yisrael,” “Who is like your people, Israel?” he is said to have exclaimed. “Even while Jews are engaged in such mundane pursuits they envelope themselves in tefillin.” On Erev Rosh Hashana, I would have liked to see words of encouragement and hope more like those of Reb Levi Yitzchok and not those of your op-ed writer’s “Summer of our Shame” (Meir Weingarten; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ten years ago my wife and I heard a family psychologist who advised parents to find two good things our children did each day and to tell them. That’s still good advice for a Jewish newspaper in Elul. I see much that we Orthodox Jews can be proud and even boast of right here in the Five Towns.

Eighteen years ago there was no such thing as a Kollel Boker until Sh’or Yoshuv and Rabbi Moshe Dov Stein, zt”l, started it. Daf Yomi, yes, but no place formally to learn b’iyun. Today, between 4:30 and 7:00 a.m. over 70 men learn there regularly in different groups, and I know of three Kollel Bokers in other shuls.

Every morning on my way home at 9:00 a.m. there are scores of women parked along Broadway for their communal davening; on Rosh Chodesh, the street is packed.

This past Tisha B’Av, the shuls were full of people viewing the Chofetz Chaim video series.

A few weeks ago my neighbor was locked out of his house and in 20 minutes two nice guys from Chaverim were there to jiggle the lock and let them in.

The word “Hatzalah” is enough.

We have two volunteer fire departments.

The public school system seems to be earning higher test scores despite (or maybe because of) the Orthodox board members. They did not dismantle the public school system as predicted.

When I walk to shul on Shabbos a local doctor usually has two baby strollers parked outside his front door, seeing worried mothers and their children early Shabbos morning — many of whom are not his regular patients.

This year The Eliezer Project was started to help our neighbors who have lost their jobs.

Rabbi Reisman’s Agudah is raising money to pay a full-time shidduch coordinator.

In the last year-and-a-half my wife lost both her parents. The amount of food and assistance extended to us was awesome.

I know of someone in Lawrence who lent out his pool to a Chassideshe organization from Williamsburg working with off-the-derech kids.

Last week, I went to a wedding of two young people who, despite hardships, exhibited such chein and spiritual growth that it epitomized the eternal Yiddishe flame burning in every Jewish heart.

In my 20 years in the Five Towns, I have seen high school boys staying in Yeshiva till 11:00 p.m. every night to finish difficult gemorahs when they could be home watching TV. In that same time I have seen TV-watching, hanging-out boys grow up in Israel, to become masmidim in the Mirrer, Lakewood, YU and Ner Yisrael.

Twenty years ago, despite having two eruvs, I wonder how many people even knew of their boundaries or of the difficulty of constructing an eruv, but now kollel men who went to local high schools and now learn in the Yeshiva of the Five Towns printed a book with photographs and explanations about the eruv, and work tirelessly, without fanfare, to make modifications to improve our Shabbos observance.

As a Five Towner, I am very proud to be a part of a community that takes kashrus, Torah and being a good neighbor so seriously.

Mi K’amcha Yisrael.

Abba Shmuel Novak

Lawrence

But wait, there’s more

To the Editor:

Just a note in connection with Debby Rosenfeld’s excellent article regarding the new power of attorney statute in New York (Power of attorney law changed; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ms. Rosenfeld mentioned that a “statutory major gifts rider” is now needed if the principal wishes to enable his agent to make gifts to third parties equal to or greater than the $13,000 annual exclusion amount.

The statute is actually even more draconian than that. A statutory major gifts rider is required to enable an agent to make gifts of any amount greater than $500 per recipient per year. And a technical corrections bill currently pending before the state senate would limit such gift-giving ability to a maximum aggregate total of $500 per year (for all gifts combined) unless a statutory major gifts rider is executed.

Daniel Yarmish

Woodme

The Kosher Bookworm: Readings for Yom Kippur and Sukkos

With Rosh Hashanah behind us, we now look to the upcoming solemn observance of Yom Kippur and the joyous commemorations of Sukkos.

As with any Jewish observance, literature keyed to the themes of the day abound. These suggestions should enhance both your observance and understanding of this season’s holy days.

One of the central Biblical readings of Yom Kippur’s afternoon Mincha service is the recitation from the Book of Jonah. In her essay on Jonah in her recent book entitled, “The Murmuring Deep” [Schocken Books 2009], Dr. Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg candidly states that, “The book of Jonah is the most enigmatic of biblical narratives. Its central mystery — Jonah’s flight from G-d — haunts the narrative till the end. Classical interpretations have offered to resolve this enigma and its satellites, proposing straightforward meanings for the text. But the text will not yield to such solutions; its meaning both invites and eludes interpretation.” The rest of her essay on Jonah serves to clarify and elucidate further on this observation.

Further on in her essay on Jonah’s behavior and motives, Zornberg cites the following observation from one of the greatest contemporary interpreters of our religious tradition.

“The posture of standing-before-G-d that is prayer,” writes Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner, [Pachad Yitzhak, Rosh Hashanah, 5] is a state that remains unbroken even after the words have ceased. It is a posture of intimacy with G-d that ends only when one moves one’s feet and withdraws — ‘like a student who separates from his teacher’. For this reason, one who travels far to reach a synagogue, even though there is another closer at hand, receives reward; the journey is not simply a means to fulfilling the mitzvah of prayer, it is part of the process of growing intimacy, of approaching G-d.” Zornberg skillfully links this classic teaching to Jonah’s behavior in his encounter with G-d.

Zornberg skillfully weaves between traditional and modern interpretations of the Jonah saga to arrive at a rather unique and very different interpretation of what she perceives as the hidden message in this story, which serves as a special demonstration of man’s encounter with the deity and the role that prayer plays in it, as well as its role in enhancing man’s capacity to repent.

This should enhance your appreciation of the Book of Jonah and to view its basic themes in a mature and informed manner. When reading Zornberg keep a Tanach close at hand, as you will need them, frequently.

Another take on Jonah is from a commentary by Dr. Uriel Simon in English translation [The Jewish Publications Society, 1999] from the series “Mikra Leyisra’el: A Bible Commentary for Israel.” One fascinating observation in the introduction deals with the views such personalities as Maimonides, Abravanel and Ibn Ezra, as well as other traditional commentators, had on the content and deeper meaning of the Jonah story. You will be surprised at what they ‘really” had to say on the book’s content and theme.

Rabbi Yisrael Reisman, in his “Pathways of the Prophets” [Mesorah, 2009], deals with the topic of Teshuvah. He cites an interesting anecdote concerning Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s role in encouraging yeshiva students to set higher goals for themselves, to strive to become gedolim. In a timely suggestion, Rabbi Reisman links that educational effort to how people should set goals in terms of Teshuvah. He links this to his shiur dealing with the prophet Yirmiyahu, of the tragic figure he was in the Bible, and how he dealt with his fate.

From so tragic a figure, Rabbi Reisman sets forth a series of contemporary vignettes that demonstrate how we can all learn from the prophet’s example on how to cope with adversity, including the proper path to effective Teshuvah.

After reading this book you might wish to consider joining the many others in our community who get together on Motza’ei Shabbos to view and learn from Rabbi Reisman’s weekly shiurim.

The reading from Megillat Koheles, Ecclesiastes, during Sukkos serves to break up any overindulgence in joy and boisterous behavior. Its somber and sober message reflects a mood counter to the basic spirit of the holiday, especially that of the upcoming Simchas Torah celebration. This was a deliberate decision by our sages.

The following from Dr. Michael Fox’s interpretation of Ecclesiastes [JPS, 2004] should further prove this point from a contemporary source that will surprise some. Consider the following quote and, as you read it, try to guess its source.

“Ecclesiastes was written to defend two doctrines of natural philosophy: providence and immortality of the soul. Koheleth shows the inadequacy of worldly wisdom when this is not supplemented by the superior truths of revealed religion, as imparted in the Torah.”

“Koheleth is in dialogue with skeptics and unbelievers, some of whose statements he cites in order to refute or to expose their unfortunate consequences. The book’s conclusions: We should choose the middle path and develop all our faculties; the Torah calls for a balance between fear of G-d on the one hand and love and joy on the other; and pursuit of wealth is acceptable if combined with the study of Torah and good deeds.”

After reading this observation one can speculate that its author was an advocate of a chareidi-based point of view. Alas, the source of this quote was none other than the famous Moses Mendelssohn, the leading philosopher of Jewish modernism at the turn of the 18th to 19th centuries. His tradition-based observation may prove to be a surprise to some, but in truth, this was a reflection of his true philosophy of our faith.

Other commentaries and observations to be found in this volume will enable you to come to view Koheles in a very different and more respectful light. Read and learn.

As we are about to hear our rabbis’ Shabbos Shuvah deroshos (lectures) and prepare for the observance of Yom Kippur, may I take this opportunity to extend to all our readers a G’mar Chasimah Tovah and may you all have a meaningful fast.

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Alan Jay Gerber

With Rosh Hashanah behind us, we now look to the upcoming solemn observance of Yom Kippur and the joyous commemorations of Sukkos.

As with any Jewish observance,

Changes at the top

The Eliezer Project and Tova Mentoring Program appoint new directors

By Michael Orbach

Two Jewish organizations in the Five Towns are beginning 5770 with new leaders.

Andrea Borah, the director of the Tova Mentoring Program for more than a dozen years, has taken a position as science coordinator at Bnot Shulamith for Girls. At The Eliezer Project, co-founder Samuel Bergman is leaving his position as executive director to return to his legal practice.

Veteran Tova employee Yehuda Klinkowitz has been promoted to acting director; at The Eliezer Project Bergman will be succeeded by Gideon Bari.

Tova provides mentors to at-risk teens and younger students. It has been hit hard by the economic crisis and by a loss in government funding, according to board member Richard Altabe. Months ago Tova began sharing space with its sister organization, Cahal, and found it could no longer afford Borah, its longtime leader.

“It was a question of our inability to fund her at the salary she deserved,” stressed Altabe.

“Once we hit the financial crisis of last year we knew we had to create a new reality,” Altabe said. The change in Tova’s structure, he said, was a year in the making. Klinkowitz, he said, hasn’t had a significant salary increase in three years.

“He [Klinkowitz] believes in it and he’s done a great job of getting new people involved.”

Borah said there are no hard feelings.

“Tova is a great organization and Yehuda’s been involved for a very, very long time,” Borah said.

She said that she had been in touch with Klinkowitz the week before and was “having a blast” at her new job.

Klinkowitz described the promotion as bittersweet.

“It’s a little hard for me. I always thought I’d work alongside Andrea,” Klinkowitz said.

In the three months since his promotion took effect, Klinkowitz has brought in a new president, Yitz Mendlowitz, and is working to assemble a new board of directors. Tova held two well-attended events over the summer, according to Klinkowitz, including a lecture given by Rabbi Yaakov Reisman, rav of Agudath Yisroel of the Five Towns in Far Rockaway.

Klinkowitz said his plans for Tova include “outsourcing” some of the Tova mentor training by bringing in specialists to talk to mentors about topics like bullying, self-confidence and sexual abuse. So far this year 32 Tova mentors are working with 74 children. New mentors include people who themselves once had Tova mentors, Klinkowitz said.

“Many know what it did for them and they want to give back that feeling — hopefully they can be that role model and help somebody that needs something,” he explained.

The goal of Tova will remain the same, Klinkowitz asserted. Tova will mentor “good kids who have something in their lives amiss. Instead of waiting for the crack to open we want to prevent it.”

The Eliezer Project, which aids families in financial need, began last year in response to the economic crisis. Bergman, who announced his resignation in an email on Erev Rosh Hashanah, co-founded the organization alongside Dovid Friedman of Lawrence and David Pollack of Woodmere.

“I have throughout my tenure deemed it a special privilege to head up The Eliezer Project and leave with a sense of satisfaction that we have made a real difference,” Bergman wrote.

He concluded that he hoped that the organization would continue to help those in need, “until it is hopefully out of business for lack of clientele.”

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Two Jewish organizations in the Five Towns are beginning 5770 with new leaders.

Andrea Borah, the director of the Tova Mentoring Program for more than a dozen years, has taken a position as science coordinator at Bnot Shulamith for Girls. At The Eliezer Project, co-founder Samuel Bergman is leaving his position as executive director to return to his legal practice.

Yitz Mendlowitz, Eli Klinkowitz, Richard Altabe, and Shimmie Ehrenreic of Cahal

Veteran Tova employee Yehuda Klinkowitz has been promoted to acting director; at The Eliezer Project Bergman will be succeeded by Gideon Bari.

Tova provides mentors to at-risk teens and younger students. It has been hit hard by the economic crisis and by a loss in government funding, according to board member Richard Altabe. Months ago Tova began sharing space with its sister organization, Cahal, and found it could no longer afford Borah, its longtime leader.

“It was a question of our inability to fund her at the salary she deserved,” stressed Altabe.

Gideon Bari

“Once we hit the financial crisis of last year we knew we had to create a new reality,” Altabe said. The change in Tova’s structure, he said, was a year in the making. Klinkowitz, he said, hasn’t had a significant salary increase in three years.

“He [Klinkowitz] believes in it and he’s done a great job of getting new people involved.”

Borah said there are no hard feelings.

“Tova is a great organization and Yehuda’s been involved for a very, very long time,” Borah said.

She said that she had been in touch with Klinkowitz the week before and was “having a blast” at her new job.

Klinkowitz described the promotion as bittersweet.

“It’s a little hard for me. I always thought I’d work alongside Andrea,” Klinkowitz said.

In the three months since his promotion took effect, Klinkowitz has brought in a new president, Yitz Mendlowitz, and is working to assemble a new board of directors. Tova held two well-attended events over the summer, according to Klinkowitz, including a lecture given by Rabbi Yaakov Reisman, rav of Agudath Yisroel of the Five Towns in Far Rockaway.

Klinkowitz said his plans for Tova include “outsourcing” some of the Tova mentor training by bringing in specialists to talk to mentors about topics like bullying, self-confidence and sexual abuse. So far this year 32 Tova mentors are working with 74 children. New mentors include people who themselves once had Tova mentors, Klinkowitz said.

“Many know what it did for them and they want to give back that feeling — hopefully they can be that role model and help somebody that needs something,” he explained.

The goal of Tova will remain the same, Klinkowitz asserted. Tova will mentor “good kids who have something in their lives amiss. Instead of waiting for the crack to open we want to prevent it.”

The Eliezer Project, which aids families in financial need, began last year in response to the economic crisis. Bergman, who announced his resignation in an email on Erev Rosh Hashanah, co-founded the organization alongside Dovid Friedman of Lawrence and David Pollack of Woodmere.

“I have throughout my tenure deemed it a special privilege to head up The Eliezer Project and leave with a sense of satisfaction that we have made a real difference,” Bergman wrote.

He concluded that he hoped that the organization would continue to help those in need, “until it is hopefully out of business for lack of clientele.”

That’s Life — So last year

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Whether you are one to not wear white after Labor Day or insist on wearing a felt hat to shul on Rosh Hashanah regardless of the temperature, preparations for any holiday includes shopping for clothes. Online or in person, clothing shopping is a part of the preparations for Rosh Hashanah, along with buying a new fruit

Only Simchas

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Engagement

n Engagement of Tzemach Klar (New York, NY) & Dafna Segev (New York, NY) — Sept. 13, 2009

n Engagement of Lauren Paige Fields (Atlanta, GA) & Michael Ryan Karafiol (Manhasset, NY) — August 2009

Birth

n Birth of Baby Boy to Moshe Dovid and Miriam Rochel (Alter) Massouda (Miami Beach, FL) — Sept. 14, 2009

Engagement

Engagement of Tzemach Klar (New York, NY) & Dafna Segev (New York, NY) — Sept. 13, 2009

Engagement of Lauren Paige Fields (Atlanta, GA) & Michael Ryan Karafiol (Manhasset, NY) — August 2009

Birth

Birth of Baby Boy to Moshe Dovid and Miriam Rochel (Alter) Massouda (Miami Beach, FL) — Sept. 14, 2009

Halpern: The truth about war

William Tecumseh Sherman took over for General Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Northern forces in their battle against the South. Sherman holds a proud place in American history. He was bold, he was brave, and he was brutally honest.

It was General Sherman who coined the phrase “war is hell.”

Some sources assert that the phrase was first said by Sherman on June 19, 1879 in Michigan at the Military Academy commencement. Others say that it was in 1880, at the Ohio State Fair. Whether it was Michigan or Ohio, it doesn’t really matter. Sherman was talking about Atlanta. Sherman was referring to the burning of Atlanta.

On September 10, 1864 General Sherman sent a letter to the mayor and city council members of Atlanta. He wrote: “you cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.”

Sherman demanded that everyone be removed from Atlanta — everyone, including the woman, the elderly and the infirm — even those who would die because they were forced to move. And then William Tecumseh Sherman burned the city of Atlanta.

“War is cruelty.” That is true and that is probably why there are essential rules for fighting wars the “Jewish way.” In his Law of Kings, Maimonides has an entire section dedicated to Jewish war. Today, Israel, like most Western countries, fights according to a prescribed set of rules. That is what makes us who we are, it is what separates us from our enemies.

I read all 575 pages of the Goldstone Report, the report issued by the United Nations investigating human rights violations during the Gaza War, the report that resulted from the investigation that was chaired by a Jewish judge named Richard Goldstone from South Africa who, earlier, played a very important role in the Milosovic prosecutions.

I found the report problematic.

I found that the report simply glossed over the fact that Israel was fighting a defensive war. I found that the report only superficially acknowledge that Israel was fighting a war against terrorists who hid behind and took refuge from and sought safety among civilians.

I agree that it is important to police not only non-democratic countries but also Western democracies and to question their methods of war. But we must acknowledge that it is almost impossible for any Western nation to fight the terrorists who will seek refuge and safety behind civilians. The Geneva Conventions placed responsibility for the safety of civilian populations squarely on the shoulders of the non-uniformed combatants who sought refuge among the general population.

Every army has problematic renegade soldiers. In every war mistakes are made. And sometimes, those mistakes involve civilian losses. The big question and the question that was, unfortunately, never asked by the Goldstone Report was: what were the intentions of the soldier who fought this war?

The intention of Hamas and of all terrorist fighters is to murder as many civilians as possible. It is their intention; it is their objective; it is their raison d’etre.

The intention of the Israelis were to target Hamas, not civilians. Even though civilians were hurt and even though civilians were killed that distinction is what differentiates terrorists from civilized countries.

If a war among equals is hell, imagine how much more hellish it is for a Western civilization to battle against a terrorist enemy. Israel deserves better from the United Nations.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Read his latest book THUGS. He maintains The Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com

by Micah D. Halpern

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Micah D. Halpern

William Tecumseh Sherman took over for General Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Northern forces in their battle against the South. Sherman holds a proud place in American history. He was bold, he was brave, and he was brutally honest.

It was General Sherman who coined the phrase “war is hell.”

Some sources assert that the phrase was first said by Sherman on June 19, 1879 in Michigan at the Military Academy commencement. Others say that it was in 1880, at the Ohio State Fair. Whether it was Michigan or Ohio, it doesn’t really matter. Sherman was talking about Atlanta. Sherman was referring to the burning of Atlanta.

On September 10, 1864 General Sherman sent a letter to the mayor and city council members of Atlanta. He wrote: “you cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.”

Sherman demanded that everyone be removed from Atlanta — everyone, including the woman, the elderly and the infirm — even those who would die because they were forced to move. And then William Tecumseh Sherman burned the city of Atlanta.

“War is cruelty.” That is true and that is probably why there are essential rules for fighting wars the “Jewish way.” In his Law of Kings, Maimonides has an entire section dedicated to Jewish war. Today, Israel, like most Western countries, fights according to a prescribed set of rules. That is what makes us who we are, it is what separates us from our enemies.

I read all 575 pages of the Goldstone Report, the report issued by the United Nations investigating human rights violations during the Gaza War, the report that resulted from the investigation that was chaired by a Jewish judge named Richard Goldstone from South Africa who, earlier, played a very important role in the Milosovic prosecutions.

I found the report problematic.

I found that the report simply glossed over the fact that Israel was fighting a defensive war. I found that the report only superficially acknowledge that Israel was fighting a war against terrorists who hid behind and took refuge from and sought safety among civilians.

I agree that it is important to police not only non-democratic countries but also Western democracies and to question their methods of war. But we must acknowledge that it is almost impossible for any Western nation to fight the terrorists who will seek refuge and safety behind civilians. The Geneva Conventions placed responsibility for the safety of civilian populations squarely on the shoulders of the non-uniformed combatants who sought refuge among the general population.

Every army has problematic renegade soldiers. In every war mistakes are made. And sometimes, those mistakes involve civilian losses. The big question and the question that was, unfortunately, never asked by the Goldstone Report was: what were the intentions of the soldier who fought this war?

The intention of Hamas and of all terrorist fighters is to murder as many civilians as possible. It is their intention; it is their objective; it is their raison d’etre.

The intention of the Israelis were to target Hamas, not civilians. Even though civilians were hurt and even though civilians were killed that distinction is what differentiates terrorists from civilized countries.

If a war among equals is hell, imagine how much more hellish it is for a Western civilization to battle against a terrorist enemy. Israel deserves better from the United Nations.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Read his latest book THUGS. He maintains The Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com

Seidemann: Asking the right question

The nerve of him. In the middle of the Rosh Hashanah service. In the middle of Unasaneh Tokef, the prayer I wrote about last week. In the middle of the most frightening prayer of the day, this guy is making noise. Not a small amount of noise, a loud noise. Disturbing noise. I pick my head up from my prayer book, and scan the room to my left, where I believe the noise is coming from.

Through the maze of talleisim (prayer shawls), I can’t pinpoint the exact location of the disturbance. I can’t even discern the precise nature of the noise, other than to note a loud, shrill sound. My ears were able to sift through the other sounds, few as they were, and I, and hundreds of others, am stunned at what was playing out before our eyes and our ears.

A grown man, weeping, crying, sighing. Not the oft-injected fake cry we have all heard from those trying to impress fellow worshippers. Not the “almost cry, more of a krechtz.” No, this was a complete, full cry that went on and on and on. It was like the cry of a person who just heard bad news, perhaps of the loss of a loved one.

But as I stood there, I sensed this cry was even deeper.  It’s one thing to cry about the past. This cry seemed to be about the future, about his future. I became instantly paralyzed, physically and mentally, as were other people in the immediate vicinity. Why was he crying like that? What did he know about his present condition, physically, financially, spiritually that would play out in the coming year? What was wrong with this man? What did he sense about his new year?

And then it really struck me. The question was not why he was crying. The real question was, why wasn’t everyone else crying? Why wasn’t I shuddering in fear? I actually sensed a collective sense of lacking in at least those assembled in my row.

It’s two days later as I write this and I’m still not back to myself. Part of me was stoic anyway on account of the solemnity of the day, before the disturbing “wake up call.” Part of me was propelled into my own state of panic, like the gentleman whose sobs were a set of human shofar blasts. And the remaining part of me is still in a panic about why I wasn’t originally moved to a state of panic as that man was. So a week before Yom Kippur I am fidgety, anxious and as uneasy as ever.

There is a dual message in the Shofar formulation of the Tekiah-Shevarim-Teruah-Tekiah. On one hand the single blast then the broken blasts and finally the single blast is a promise from above: our lives are going along just fine, and then the disaster arrives and interrupts our serenity, fragmenting our lives like the broken sounds of the Shevarim-Teruah. At the end, another Tekiah, a unifying blast, will be sounded. In the end, G-d promises, all will be fine as before the interruption. That lesson is from G-d’s perspective.

But there is another lesson, one from man’s perspective. And it’s not as rosy. All too often we glide through life unaffected by turmoil. Then we encounter difficulty, we are momentarily moved, but within minutes we are back to the Tekiah, back to life as usual, without any recognition of the bumps in the road, as if the Shevarim-Teruah never happened.

So where are the cries? Where are the sobs, the worry, the demonstrations, and the outrage from our leaders and from the rest of us about issue after issue that ought to make us shudder?

Where are the cries about the Jewish poor? Where are the cries about the ill? Who is seeking out Jewish shut-ins? Think they don’t exist? Think again.

Where are the cries about Central Avenue on a Saturday night and all of the ensuing problems?

Where are the cries about an Iranian Holocaust denier who is closer then ever to making good on his threat to wipe Israel off the map? Where are the cries about a one-time advisor to President Obama who suggests that if Israel dares to strike Iran the United States should shoot down the Israeli planes?

Where are the cries about an administration that seems bent on bending over backwards to embrace Muslims at Israel’s expense?

Where are the cries over the same Holocaust denier who revels in that role, and is then afforded a podium at the United Nations to spew his venom?

Oh yes, there are Jewish groups and individuals aware of all of the above that do their best to press the fight.

But it’s not enough. More of us must take on more causes and be more vocal.

Where are the cries?  Why haven’t our elected officials criticized the U.N.’s Goldstone report that found Israel guilty of war crimes? Did any one of our elected officials demand any sort of action in response?

So in a few days, we will beat our chests over and over and over again, sin after sin after sin. Where is the gossip? We know where it is. Where are all the violations we committed, those between man and G-d, and those between man and his fellow man? We know where all of those are. To those questions, we know the answer. Those sins stare us in the face. But the haunting, still unanswered question, at least for me, as we approach Yom Kippur 5770, is where are the cries of those that had a voice, but chose to cry in private, if at all?

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann & Mermelstein.  He can be reached at (718) 692-1013 and at ds@lawofficesm.com.

From the other side of the bench

by David Seidemann

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

David Seidemann

The nerve of him. In the middle of the Rosh Hashanah service. In the middle of Unasaneh Tokef, the prayer I wrote about last week. In the middle of the most frightening prayer of the day, this guy is making noise. Not a small amount of noise, a loud noise. Disturbing noise. I pick my head up from my prayer book, and scan the room to my left, where I believe the noise is coming from.

Through the maze of talleisim (prayer shawls), I can’t pinpoint the exact location of the disturbance. I can’t even discern the precise nature of the noise, other than to note a loud, shrill sound. My ears were able to sift through the other sounds, few as they were, and I, and hundreds of others, am stunned at what was playing out before our eyes and our ears.

A grown man, weeping, crying, sighing. Not the oft-injected fake cry we have all heard from those trying to impress fellow worshippers. Not the “almost cry, more of a krechtz.” No, this was a complete, full cry that went on and on and on. It was like the cry of a person who just heard bad news, perhaps of the loss of a loved one.

But as I stood there, I sensed this cry was even deeper.  It’s one thing to cry about the past. This cry seemed to be about the future, about his future. I became instantly paralyzed, physically and mentally, as were other people in the immediate vicinity. Why was he crying like that? What did he know about his present condition, physically, financially, spiritually that would play out in the coming year? What was wrong with this man? What did he sense about his new year?

And then it really struck me. The question was not why he was crying. The real question was, why wasn’t everyone else crying? Why wasn’t I shuddering in fear? I actually sensed a collective sense of lacking in at least those assembled in my row.

It’s two days later as I write this and I’m still not back to myself. Part of me was stoic anyway on account of the solemnity of the day, before the disturbing “wake up call.” Part of me was propelled into my own state of panic, like the gentleman whose sobs were a set of human shofar blasts. And the remaining part of me is still in a panic about why I wasn’t originally moved to a state of panic as that man was. So a week before Yom Kippur I am fidgety, anxious and as uneasy as ever.

There is a dual message in the Shofar formulation of the Tekiah-Shevarim-Teruah-Tekiah. On one hand the single blast then the broken blasts and finally the single blast is a promise from above: our lives are going along just fine, and then the disaster arrives and interrupts our serenity, fragmenting our lives like the broken sounds of the Shevarim-Teruah. At the end, another Tekiah, a unifying blast, will be sounded. In the end, G-d promises, all will be fine as before the interruption. That lesson is from G-d’s perspective.

But there is another lesson, one from man’s perspective. And it’s not as rosy. All too often we glide through life unaffected by turmoil. Then we encounter difficulty, we are momentarily moved, but within minutes we are back to the Tekiah, back to life as usual, without any recognition of the bumps in the road, as if the Shevarim-Teruah never happened.

So where are the cries? Where are the sobs, the worry, the demonstrations, and the outrage from our leaders and from the rest of us about issue after issue that ought to make us shudder?

Where are the cries about the Jewish poor? Where are the cries about the ill? Who is seeking out Jewish shut-ins? Think they don’t exist? Think again.

Where are the cries about Central Avenue on a Saturday night and all of the ensuing problems?

Where are the cries about an Iranian Holocaust denier who is closer then ever to making good on his threat to wipe Israel off the map? Where are the cries about a one-time advisor to President Obama who suggests that if Israel dares to strike Iran the United States should shoot down the Israeli planes?

Where are the cries about an administration that seems bent on bending over backwards to embrace Muslims at Israel’s expense?

Where are the cries over the same Holocaust denier who revels in that role, and is then afforded a podium at the United Nations to spew his venom?

Oh yes, there are Jewish groups and individuals aware of all of the above that do their best to press the fight.

But it’s not enough. More of us must take on more causes and be more vocal.

Where are the cries?  Why haven’t our elected officials criticized the U.N.’s Goldstone report that found Israel guilty of war crimes? Did any one of our elected officials demand any sort of action in response?

So in a few days, we will beat our chests over and over and over again, sin after sin after sin. Where is the gossip? We know where it is. Where are all the violations we committed, those between man and G-d, and those between man and his fellow man? We know where all of those are. To those questions, we know the answer. Those sins stare us in the face. But the haunting, still unanswered question, at least for me, as we approach Yom Kippur 5770, is where are the cries of those that had a voice, but chose to cry in private, if at all?

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann & Mermelstein.  He can be reached at (718) 692-1013 and at ds@lawofficesm.com.

How I learned to dance

Shared humanity in an African village

By Gilah Kletenik

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

No one would accuse me of being a dancer. In fact, I’ve been diagnosed with that special syndrome called “rhythm deficiency.” Which is why, in retrospect, it seems decidedly ironic that one of my most uplifting moments transpired on the dance floor. Of course, this was no ordinary dance floor.

It was a sandy desert ground in the village of Darou Mouride, located in rural Senegal, Africa, and this kind of dance, not to mention the music, was certainly nothing I’d ever experienced before — after all, this was our first day in Senegal. To welcome us, the villagers greeted us with a dance. But, it isn’t the novelty that made this experience so memorable. Rather, it’s the authenticity

Got five minutes?

By Michael Orbach

There’s a joke told about a radio announcer and a rabbi.

One Shabbos morning, the rabbi gives a speech that goes on and on for 45 long minutes. After davening, one congregant, a radio announcer, approaches the rabbi and tells him he’d like to offer him a slot on the radio, but could only put him on for two minutes or so. Could the rabbi, the announcer asks, get his point across in such a short time?

Dreaming of fame and fortune, the rabbi shouts, “Yes!”

The radio announcer looks at the rabbi sadly and asks, “Then why didn’t you?”

That joke, half-serious or not, is the pitch for a new website JWisdom (www.jwisdom.com), that features lectures from rabbis and scholars from all over the world with one catch: each must take no more than 11 minutes, and most are much shorter. A version of the rabbi-radio announcer joke actually appears on the website. According to founder and editor-in-chief Binyomin L. Jolkovsky, a former contributing editor to the Forward and publisher of the Jewish World Review (www.jewishworldreview.com) and Political Mavens (www.politicalmavens.com), the site’s original tongue-in-cheek tagline was “our rabbis know when to stop.”

Jolkovsky spent the last two years challenging rabbis across the globe to get their point across in not much more time than it takes to make the Shabbos morning announcements.

“I believe it was Rabbi Yisroel Salanter who said if you don’t move forward you move backwards,” Jolkovsky, who is from Brooklyn, told the Jewish Star. “I think there tend to be a way to compartmentalize your behavior and you can’t do that with spiritual growth, it has to be something we’re willing to take stock of on a daily basis.  I just don’t see people listening to forty-minute shiurim, especially when cell phones are going off and people are talking in the audience. It’s possible, but to the average person I don’t see it happening.”

His answer to this was what he calls a “godcast” — small doses of Jewish spirituality on a daily basis. JWisdom is also a tribute to Jolkovsky’s late father; his father’s death at a well-known hospital was at the center of a successful malpractice lawsuit, the proceeds of which are funding JWisdom. His father loved shiurim, Jolkovsky says, and would walk miles on Shabbat to attend one.

“I decided I’d do something constructive instead of becoming embittered; thinking along some of these lines. His death really pushed me to go forward,” Jolkovsky maintained.

So far the site has over 250 lectures from both men and women, from famous lecturers like Rabbi Abraham Twerski to Rabbi Jonathan Rietti as well as a number of less well-known contemporaries. Several local personalities are featured, including Rabbi Dovid Fohrman and Rabbi Eytan Feiner of the White Shul in Far Rockaway. While Jolkovsky hesitates to describe the site as modern orthodox, he says that each lecture is from “a traditional Jewish viewpoint.”

“If a person does not believe they have a personal relationship with G-d they should not be listening to people on this site,” Jolkovsky said.

The lectures, he says, stress what he calls “positive Judaism.” He hopes the site will appeal across the religious spectrum. Jolkovsky noted that he has already had web traffic from chaplains.

“I think Judaism is the ultimate contemporary religion and I think it has a message in how to approach modernity,” Jolkovsky explained. “The point is that Torah values should not be limited to a Beis Medrash, and this site is clearly an exponent of these values. It should teach you the values and give you a moral backbone, whether issues of marriage, philosophy, love, or faith.”

Gavriel Aryeh Sanders is a former Baptist minister who converted to Judaism and currently lives in the Five Towns. In addition to being the announcer who intros and outros each piece on JWisdom, a dozen of his own lectures are currently available on the site. It is far more challenging to say less than more, he said.

“I had a mentor that taught me: Don’t speak just to say and don’t speak just to be heard. Speak to be remembered. I keep those words in mind.”

JWisdom’s got something for you

by Michael Orbach

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

There’s a joke told about a radio announcer and a rabbi.

One Shabbos morning, the rabbi gives a speech that goes on and on for 45 long minutes. After davening, one congregant, a radio announcer, approaches the rabbi and tells him he’d like to offer him a slot on the radio, but could only put him on for two minutes or so. Could the rabbi, the announcer asks, get his point across in such a short time?

Dreaming of fame and fortune, the rabbi shouts, “Yes!”

The radio announcer looks at the rabbi sadly and asks, “Then why didn’t you?”

That joke, half-serious or not, is the pitch for a new website JWisdom, that features lectures from rabbis and scholars from all over the world with one catch: each must take no more than 11 minutes, and most are much shorter. A version of the rabbi-radio announcer joke actually appears on the website. According to founder and editor-in-chief Binyomin L. Jolkovsky, a former contributing editor to the Forward and publisher of the Jewish World Review and Political Mavens, the site’s original tongue-in-cheek tagline was “our rabbis know when to stop.”

Jolkovsky spent the last two years challenging rabbis across the globe to get their point across in not much more time than it takes to make the Shabbos morning announcements.

“I believe it was Rabbi Yisroel Salanter who said if you don’t move forward you move backwards,” Jolkovsky, who is from Brooklyn, told the Jewish Star. “I think there tends to be a way to compartmentalize your behavior and you can’t do that with spiritual growth, it has to be something we’re willing to take stock of on a daily basis.  I just don’t see people listening to forty-minute shiurim, especially when cell phones are going off and people are talking in the audience. It’s possible, but to the average person I don’t see it happening.”

His answer to this was what he calls a “godcast” — small doses of Jewish spirituality on a daily basis. JWisdom is also a tribute to Jolkovsky’s late father; his father’s death at a well-known hospital was at the center of a successful malpractice lawsuit, the proceeds of which are funding JWisdom. His father loved shiurim, Jolkovsky says, and would walk miles on Shabbat to attend one.

“I decided I’d do something constructive instead of becoming embittered; thinking along some of these lines. His death really pushed me to go forward,” Jolkovsky maintained.

So far the site has over 250 lectures from both men and women, from famous lecturers like Rabbi Abraham Twerski to Rabbi Jonathan Rietti as well as a number of less well-known contemporaries. Several local personalities are featured, including Rabbi Dovid Fohrman and Rabbi Eytan Feiner of the White Shul in Far Rockaway. While Jolkovsky hesitates to describe the site as modern orthodox, he says that each lecture is from “a traditional Jewish viewpoint.”

“If a person does not believe they have a personal relationship with G-d they should not be listening to people on this site,” Jolkovsky said.

The lectures, he says, stress what he calls “positive Judaism.” He hopes the site will appeal across the religious spectrum. Jolkovsky noted that he has already had web traffic from chaplains.

“I think Judaism is the ultimate contemporary religion and I think it has a message in how to approach modernity,” Jolkovsky explained. “The point is that Torah values should not be limited to a Beis Medrash, and this site is clearly an exponent of these values. It should teach you the values and give you a moral backbone, whether issues of marriage, philosophy, love, or faith.”

Gavriel Aryeh Sanders is a former Baptist minister who converted to Judaism and currently lives in the Five Towns. In addition to being the announcer who intros and outros each piece on JWisdom, a dozen of his own lectures are currently available on the site. It is far more challenging to say less than more, he said.

“I had a mentor that taught me: Don’t speak just to say and don’t speak just to be heard. Speak to be remembered. I keep those words in mind.”

Parshat Ha’azinu: Unblinking, heaven and earth bear witness

There are a number of verses in Tanach that call upon the heavens and the earth to bear witness, or to at least lend an ear to the proceedings. In the Torah, they are all in Devarim: 4:26, 30:19, 31:28 and 32:1 — the last one is the first verse in Ha’azinu.

In Navi, the most famous example (because it is the second verse of the haftarah of Shabbos Chazon) is in Yeshayahu 1:2.

Commentaries discuss why the heavens and earth are appointed witnesses. They last forever (Rashi); they can give reward or mete out punishment (also Rashi); they include the angels and all of humanity (Ibn Ezra); Moshe was close to the heavens at that point in his life (Rabeinu Bachaya); The heavens house all souls and earth houses physical bodies (Sha”kh).

In anticipation of Yom Kippur, many of us look back on the previous year and reflect. We may have had a good year — births, bar or bat mitzvah, a wedding. Maybe your child graduated, you graduated, or someone began a new chapter in life, in a new job, profession, or vocation.

Some of us may have had a difficult year — financial setbacks, unemployment, a death in the family, disappointment in schooling, a breakup of an intense relationship.

I have never been a fan of finger pointing. In the sociological history of Judaism, different generations have tried to blame the ills of their times on certain behaviors of the Jewish community.

Perhaps most famously, the destructions of the two great Temples in Jerusalem were blamed, respectively, on murder, idolatry and promiscuity (Temple I) and on baseless hatred (Temple II). As these reasons come from the prophets and the rabbis of the Talmud, who contained a different gestalt of G-d than exists today, we can accept these as truth.

But when modern ills are blamed on certain misdeeds, it takes a certain faith in those making such proclamations to accept their postulations as truth.

So instead of blaming bad tidings on talking during davening or mixed dancing at weddings or co-ed pizza stores, let us just say good things sometimes happen and bad things sometimes happen.

And yet, there is one thing we all do that is so hard to overcome. So difficult that I feel if we were to improve in this area, the merits in our favor could only stem the tide for the good.

Close to half of the “Al Chets” we recite in Viduy on Yom Kippur relate to this one overarching theme of bad behavior. Yes, there are admissions we make to bad business ethics and to not being careful regarding the food we put in our mouths. But the major theme that repeats itself over and over is similar lack of care regarding what comes out of our mouths, also known as lashon hara.

As clichéd as it sounds, it is the truth.

Perhaps this is why we call upon the heavens and earth to bear witness. Of all witnesses in the world, the heavens and earth see what they see, observe what they observe, but they do not have the power of speech. They cannot speak ill of the things we say or do. They can merely bear witness and act accordingly, as per the whim of the Creator of the World.

Furthermore, the first verse of our parsha reads: “Listen heaven! I will speak! Earth! Hear the words of my mouth!” (Devarim 32:1)

When we specifically call upon heaven and earth to hear the “words of my mouth” as they bear witness, would it not behoove us to be certain that the “words of our mouths” are worthy of being heard by witnesses who last forever and who will never forget the things we’ve said?

It is extremely hard to check ourselves and to consider everything we say all the time, before we say it. So let us start small. Would we want what we say to be repeated? Would we say it in front of the person about whom we are speaking? Is our conversation serving a purpose beyond idle chatter?

When the answer is “no,” it is better not to say it. Remember, the heavens and the earth are bearing witness.Parshat

Parshat Ha’azinu

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Rabbi Avi Billet

There are a number of verses in Tanach that call upon the heavens and the earth to bear witness, or to at least lend an ear to the proceedings. In the Torah, they are all in Devarim: 4:26, 30:19, 31:28 and 32:1 — the last one is the first verse in Ha’azinu.

In Navi, the most famous example (because it is the second verse of the haftarah of Shabbos Chazon) is in Yeshayahu 1:2.

Commentaries discuss why the heavens and earth are appointed witnesses. They last forever (Rashi); they can give reward or mete out punishment (also Rashi); they include the angels and all of humanity (Ibn Ezra); Moshe was close to the heavens at that point in his life (Rabeinu Bachaya); The heavens house all souls and earth houses physical bodies (Sha”kh).

In anticipation of Yom Kippur, many of us look back on the previous year and reflect. We may have had a good year — births, bar or bat mitzvah, a wedding. Maybe your child graduated, you graduated, or someone began a new chapter in life, in a new job, profession, or vocation.

Some of us may have had a difficult year — financial setbacks, unemployment, a death in the family, disappointment in schooling, a breakup of an intense relationship.

I have never been a fan of finger pointing. In the sociological history of Judaism, different generations have tried to blame the ills of their times on certain behaviors of the Jewish community.

Perhaps most famously, the destructions of the two great Temples in Jerusalem were blamed, respectively, on murder, idolatry and promiscuity (Temple I) and on baseless hatred (Temple II). As these reasons come from the prophets and the rabbis of the Talmud, who contained a different gestalt of G-d than exists today, we can accept these as truth.

But when modern ills are blamed on certain misdeeds, it takes a certain faith in those making such proclamations to accept their postulations as truth.

So instead of blaming bad tidings on talking during davening or mixed dancing at weddings or co-ed pizza stores, let us just say good things sometimes happen and bad things sometimes happen.

And yet, there is one thing we all do that is so hard to overcome. So difficult that I feel if we were to improve in this area, the merits in our favor could only stem the tide for the good.

Close to half of the “Al Chets” we recite in Viduy on Yom Kippur relate to this one overarching theme of bad behavior. Yes, there are admissions we make to bad business ethics and to not being careful regarding the food we put in our mouths. But the major theme that repeats itself over and over is similar lack of care regarding what comes out of our mouths, also known as lashon hara.

As clichéd as it sounds, it is the truth.

Perhaps this is why we call upon the heavens and earth to bear witness. Of all witnesses in the world, the heavens and earth see what they see, observe what they observe, but they do not have the power of speech. They cannot speak ill of the things we say or do. They can merely bear witness and act accordingly, as per the whim of the Creator of the World.

Furthermore, the first verse of our parsha reads: “Listen heaven! I will speak! Earth! Hear the words of my mouth!” (Devarim 32:1)

When we specifically call upon heaven and earth to hear the “words of my mouth” as they bear witness, would it not behoove us to be certain that the “words of our mouths” are worthy of being heard by witnesses who last forever and who will never forget the things we’ve said?

It is extremely hard to check ourselves and to consider everything we say all the time, before we say it. So let us start small. Would we want what we say to be repeated? Would we say it in front of the person about whom we are speaking? Is our conversation serving a purpose beyond idle chatter?

When the answer is “no,” it is better not to say it. Remember, the heavens and the earth are bearing witness.

Ba’al Teshuvah 101, the online course

Former Aish HaTorah program offers college credits to seekers

By Laura Turetsky

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Back in the day the best way to become a Ba’al Teshuvah was to show up at the Kotel looking lost or like you were searching for something. Not anymore. Why bother schlepping a heavy backpack or sleeping in youth hostels when you can learn about Judaism online?

Jerusalem Online University (www.jerusalemonlineuniversity.com), originally known as AishCafe when it was founded in 2007, offers three interactive Jewish video and audio courses. College credit is available for two of them; cash stipends are also available.

Students are responsible for tests and papers, said Rabbi Raphael Shore, the website’s founder, but “nothing too grueling,” so as to “keep the courses interesting and exciting.”

All three courses, Judaism 101, Israel Inside/Out, and Positive Psychology and Judaism, are open to Jews and non-Jews, students and non-students; the latter two courses are accredited by Touro College.

AishCafe was originally a project of Aish HaTorah, but as the program developed, “I realized that the university could have a much greater impact, and gain greater academic credibility, if it featured more diverse talent — professors and lecturers from all religious and political angles,” Rabbi Shore said.

When it became “clear that this could only be achieved if the university was re-launched as an independent project,” the Aish HaTorah affiliation was jettisoned and the project re-launched as Jerusalem Online University.

To qualify for a cash stipend that, in Rabbi Shore’s words, “is specifically designed to make a natural progression from coursework to activism,” students commit to completing an extra project in conjunction with their respective campus Hillel or campus rabbi. Projects can be anything from organizing a Shabbat dinner to running an Israel activism program. “The idea is to turn inspiration into action,” he explained.

Alternately, students can opt for cash credit to subsidize an organized trip to Israel, such as Birthright or Hasbara Fellowships.

Shore claims JOU has met with significant success. Among previously unaffiliated students who have taken the online courses, he claims that nearly three quarters have developed a relationship with a campus rabbi; almost a third have gone on an educational trip to Israel with their rabbi; thirteen-percent have increased Shabbat observance. JOU also claims to have measured a thirteen-percent increase in the number of participants who said they would only date and marry Jews.

“The whole program in general is geared towards instilling both knowledge as well as pride in Israel and Jewish background,” Rabbi Shore said.

Leiberman: Delusions of Victory

By Ari Lieberman

n October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur Day, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated assault against Israel. Under cover of heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and stormed Israel’s neglected Bar-Lev fortifications. Several hundred miles to the north, a thousand Syrian tanks accompanied by anti-tank guide missile squads crashed through the Golan Heights. Facing them were a mere 177 Israeli tanks.

After 18 days of bitter fighting, the picture on the ground appeared vastly different from those first precarious days. In the North, the Syrians were in full retreat. Their destroyed and abandoned tanks littered the Golan and the Israelis stood a mere 20 miles from Damascus. The situation for the Egyptians was no better. The bulk of their army was trapped and surrounded by the Israel Defense Forces and there was nothing to stop the Israelis from advancing on Cairo. In fact, the Arab situation was so dire that the Soviets threatened direct military intervention unless Israel stopped its offensive, prompting the U.S. to heighten DEFCON readiness and place its 6th Fleet on alert.

Strangely, October 6 is marked yearly as a holiday in Egypt. There are military parades and patriotic songs play over government controlled radio. Egyptians are taught that the Yom Kippur War, or as they call it, the Ramadan War, was an Egyptian victory. Despite the fact that their army was hopelessly trapped, despite the fact that the IDF was operating with impunity over a large swath of land in Africa, despite the fact that the Egyptians suffered tens of thousands dead and wounded, despite the fact that their Syrian allies suffered equal devastation and despite the fact that the Soviets had to bail them out (again), the Egyptians still call it a victory. Strange, indeed.

Fast-forward nine years. On June 6, 1982 the IDF invaded Lebanon. Within six days, its forces swept aside PLO and Syrian resistance and were on the outskirts of Beirut, trapping some 7,000 PLO fighters in the Lebanese capital. Within two months, the PLO was expelled from Lebanon and banished to scattered destinations throughout the Middle East. Their humiliating exit from the Lebanese capital was accompanied by celebratory gunfire as if they had achieved a glorious victory. So many bullets were fired into the air that dozens of Fatah terrorists were injured by falling lead. Yasser Arafat even compared the Battle of Beirut to the Battle of Stalingrad. Obviously, nobody had told Arafat that the Russians actually won that battle.

On July 12, 2006, twenty-four years after the First Lebanon War, Israel was again forced to fight a war in Lebanon, this time against a foe called Hezbollah. The war was sparked by a serious Hezbollah border provocation.

After 33 days of fighting, the IDF was in control of every single Lebanese village in the sub-Litani region (from Israel’s northern border to the Litani River near Tyre). Hezbollah lost a third of its elite fighting force and by some estimates, up to a thousand killed in action. Damage to Hezbollah’s infrastructure was equally severe and the billions the terrorist group and its Iranian sponsors spent in developing its military capabilities went up in smoke. Whole Shi’a neighborhoods were obliterated and, despite the passing of three years, the scars of war are still evident throughout Lebanon. Hezbollah was pushed away from the border and the organization was forced to allow the Lebanese Army to deploy there in its place, something its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed he would never allow. Pouring salt on Hezbollah’s wounds, UNFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was enlarged and now included a big European contingent led by French and Italian troops. The new reality meant that Hezbollah could no longer operate with impunity in the sub-Litani region, as this would necessarily invite confrontation with the Lebanese Army and the Europeans. Moreover, Iran and Syria had hoped to utilize Hezbollah as a deterrent against any Israeli strike against those rogue countries. By prematurely provoking a fight with Israel without strategic purpose, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria exposed their hand and gained nothing. The Israeli home front absorbed the worst that Hezbollah had to offer and escaped relatively unscathed.

Political commentators, academics and defense analysts have, for the most part, recognized the Second Lebanon war as a strategic loss for Hezbollah and a victory for Israel. Indeed, Nasrallah himself, facing growing domestic criticism, admitted that he vastly underestimated the strength of Israel’s response and stated that he would not have provoked Israel had he known that it would lead to war. Yet shortly after offering this humbling statement, Nasrallah boasted (from his underground hideout) that Hezbollah had scored a “divine victory” over Israel.

What leader apologizes for and doubts the wisdom of starting a war that leads to “divine victory” for his people? Perhaps Michael Young of Lebanon’s “Daily Star” summed it up best when he wrote, “one dreads to imagine what Hezbollah would recognize as a military loss.”

In December 2008, just two years after Nasrallah’s colossal blunder, 26 years after the PLO’s humiliating Beirut expulsion and 35 years after Egypt’s disastrous Yom Kippur misadventure, Hamas decided that it, too, wanted to join the Arab humiliation club. It violated an agreed-upon ceasefire by unilaterally firing deadly rocket salvos at Israeli towns. In the three weeks of war that followed, Israel killed 709 Hamas combatants including senior commanders and bomb makers for losses of 9 IDF soldiers, a kill ratio of nearly 80 to 1. Hamas failed to hit a single Israeli tank and its “fighters” chose to run or surrender rather than fight. Yet in the midst of a smoldering Gaza with his guerilla fighters in tatters and scattering in different directions, Ismail Haniyeh emerged from his underground hospital bunker (after Israel had already left, of course) to declare victory over the Zionists.

Once again Israel had scored a major military and strategic victory and once again an Arab leader defied logic and reality by declaring victory over the “Zionist imperialists.”

Aside from being motivated by a hatred of anything not Islamic, these wars demonstrate another common theme: the Arabs live in a state of perpetual delusional fantasy. Their reality is so steeped in fantasy that it almost makes Disney’s Alice in Wonderland appear as reality. But there is logic behind this absurd, seemingly bizarre and irrational behavior.

The Islamic antagonists facing Israel and the West are indoctrinated in a convoluted mixture of radical Islam, extreme fanaticism and a depraved hatred of anything un-Islamic. Some refer to this as Islamofacism. Admitting defeat would require the Arabs to acknowledge that within a sixty-year span, they have been defeated nine times by the non-believing heretics. This, in turn, would undermine the core of their belief system. After all, how could Allah abandon them nine straight times? Unless of course, Allah doesn’t adhere to the corrupted form of Islam they espouse. That would mean that everything they were spoon-fed from birth, all the hate and religious fanaticism, was a lie and their sacrifices were in vain. No virgins awaited them in paradise.

Thus, denial runs deep in the Islamofacist mindset. Seemingly bizarre claims of “divine victory” or ludicrous comparisons with Stalingrad are more than empty rhetoric. They are coping mechanisms designed to deal with a reality they prefer to ignore. Until this bankrupted belief system is rejected by level-headed, moderate Muslims, the Arabs are likely to continue experiencing defeat and likely to continue proclaiming phantom victories while their people live in abject poverty and die by the tens of thousands.

The problem with Arab denial

By Ari Lieberman

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Ari Lieberman

On October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur Day, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated assault against Israel. Under cover of heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and stormed Israel’s neglected Bar-Lev fortifications. Several hundred miles to the north, a thousand Syrian tanks accompanied by anti-tank guide missile squads crashed through the Golan Heights. Facing them were a mere 177 Israeli tanks.

Afte 18 days of bitter fighting, the picture on the ground appeared vastly different from those first precarious days. In the North, the Syrians were in full retreat. Their destroyed and abandoned tanks littered the Golan and the Israelis stood a mere 20 miles from Damascus. The situation for the Egyptians was no better. The bulk of their army was trapped and surrounded by the Israel Defense Forces and there was nothing to stop the Israelis from advancing on Cairo. In fact, the Arab situation was so dire that the Soviets threatened direct military intervention unless Israel stopped its offensive, prompting the U.S. to heighten DEFCON readiness and place its 6th Fleet on alert.

Strangely, October 6 is marked yearly as a holiday in Egypt. There are military parades and patriotic songs play over government controlled radio. Egyptians are taught that the Yom Kippur War, or as they call it, the Ramadan War, was an Egyptian victory. Despite the fact that their army was hopelessly trapped, despite the fact that the IDF was operating with impunity over a large swath of land in Africa, despite the fact that the Egyptians suffered tens of thousands dead and wounded, despite the fact that their Syrian allies suffered equal devastation and despite the fact that the Soviets had to bail them out (again), the Egyptians still call it a victory. Strange, indeed.

Fast-forward nine years. On June 6, 1982 the IDF invaded Lebanon. Within six days, its forces swept aside PLO and Syrian resistance and were on the outskirts of Beirut, trapping some 7,000 PLO fighters in the Lebanese capital. Within two months, the PLO was expelled from Lebanon and banished to scattered destinations throughout the Middle East. Their humiliating exit from the Lebanese capital was accompanied by celebratory gunfire as if they had achieved a glorious victory. So many bullets were fired into the air that dozens of Fatah terrorists were injured by falling lead. Yasser Arafat even compared the Battle of Beirut to the Battle of Stalingrad. Obviously, nobody had told Arafat that the Russians actually won that battle.

On July 12, 2006, twenty-four years after the First Lebanon War, Israel was again forced to fight a war in Lebanon, this time against a foe called Hezbollah. The war was sparked by a serious Hezbollah border provocation.

After 33 days of fighting, the IDF was in control of every single Lebanese village in the sub-Litani region (from Israel’s northern border to the Litani River near Tyre). Hezbollah lost a third of its elite fighting force and by some estimates, up to a thousand killed in action. Damage to Hezbollah’s infrastructure was equally severe and the billions the terrorist group and its Iranian sponsors spent in developing its military capabilities went up in smoke. Whole Shi’a neighborhoods were obliterated and, despite the passing of three years, the scars of war are still evident throughout Lebanon. Hezbollah was pushed away from the border and the organization was forced to allow the Lebanese Army to deploy there in its place, something its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed he would never allow. Pouring salt on Hezbollah’s wounds, UNFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was enlarged and now included a big European contingent led by French and Italian troops. The new reality meant that Hezbollah could no longer operate with impunity in the sub-Litani region, as this would necessarily invite confrontation with the Lebanese Army and the Europeans. Moreover, Iran and Syria had hoped to utilize Hezbollah as a deterrent against any Israeli strike against those rogue countries. By prematurely provoking a fight with Israel without strategic purpose, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria exposed their hand and gained nothing. The Israeli home front absorbed the worst that Hezbollah had to offer and escaped relatively unscathed.

Political commentators, academics and defense analysts have, for the most part, recognized the Second Lebanon war as a strategic loss for Hezbollah and a victory for Israel. Indeed, Nasrallah himself, facing growing domestic criticism, admitted that he vastly underestimated the strength of Israel’s response and stated that he would not have provoked Israel had he known that it would lead to war. Yet shortly after offering this humbling statement, Nasrallah boasted (from his underground hideout) that Hezbollah had scored a “divine victory” over Israel.

What leader apologizes for and doubts the wisdom of starting a war that leads to “divine victory” for his people? Perhaps Michael Young of Lebanon’s “Daily Star” summed it up best when he wrote, “one dreads to imagine what Hezbollah would recognize as a military loss.”

In December 2008, just two years after Nasrallah’s colossal blunder, 26 years after the PLO’s humiliating Beirut expulsion and 35 years after Egypt’s disastrous Yom Kippur misadventure, Hamas decided that it, too, wanted to join the Arab humiliation club. It violated an agreed-upon ceasefire by unilaterally firing deadly rocket salvos at Israeli towns. In the three weeks of war that followed, Israel killed 709 Hamas combatants including senior commanders and bomb makers for losses of 9 IDF soldiers, a kill ratio of nearly 80 to 1. Hamas failed to hit a single Israeli tank and its “fighters” chose to run or surrender rather than fight. Yet in the midst of a smoldering Gaza with his guerilla fighters in tatters and scattering in different directions, Ismail Haniyeh emerged from his underground hospital bunker (after Israel had already left, of course) to declare victory over the Zionists.

Once again Israel had scored a major military and strategic victory and once again an Arab leader defied logic and reality by declaring victory over the “Zionist imperialists.”

Aside from being motivated by a hatred of anything not Islamic, these wars demonstrate another common theme: the Arabs live in a state of perpetual delusional fantasy. Their reality is so steeped in fantasy that it almost makes Disney’s Alice in Wonderland appear as reality. But there is logic behind this absurd, seemingly bizarre and irrational behavior.

The Islamic antagonists facing Israel and the West are indoctrinated in a convoluted mixture of radical Islam, extreme fanaticism and a depraved hatred of anything un-Islamic. Some refer to this as Islamofacism. Admitting defeat would require the Arabs to acknowledge that within a sixty-year span, they have been defeated nine times by the non-believing heretics. This, in turn, would undermine the core of their belief system. After all, how could Allah abandon them nine straight times? Unless of course, Allah doesn’t adhere to the corrupted form of Islam they espouse. That would mean that everything they were spoon-fed from birth, all the hate and religious fanaticism, was a lie and their sacrifices were in vain. No virgins awaited them in paradise.

Thus, denial runs deep in the Islamofacist mindset. Seemingly bizarre claims of “divine victory” or ludicrous comparisons with Stalingrad are more than empty rhetoric. They are coping mechanisms designed to deal with a reality they prefer to ignore. Until this bankrupted belief system is rejected by level-headed, moderate Muslims, the Arabs are likely to continue experiencing defeat and likely to continue proclaiming phantom victories while their people live in abject poverty and die by the tens of thousands.

Dudu Fisher sings, as soon as he escapes from the mall

 

By Michael Orbach

It seems that you can be a world-famous cantor and stage performer, but like most other Jewish husbands, when your wife and daughter want to go shopping at Westbury Commons, you’re still stuck.  

“I am here at Starbucks. On the internet,” Dudu Fisher lamented to the Jewish Star. 

Fisher, one of Israel’s best-known singers, has appeared on Broadway and London’s West End in Le Miserables, and performed for former President Clinton, the British royal family and the pope. He was on his way back from his annual Yomim Nora’im job at Kutsher’s Hotel in the Catskills, where he has led High Holiday prayers for the last twenty-seven years. 

“That’s a lifetime,” Fisher said. “For the last ten years, I talk about Kutsher like [Isaac Bashevis] Singer said about the Yiddish language: the Yiddish language is dying for the last hundred years, but it’s still alive. The Catskills are dying already for twenty years and the Kutsher’s is [still] running. I’m very happy for them and happy to be here. Every time I come here I feel Dirty Dancing, especially since Patrick Swayze died.” 

“It’s brings back memories of the heyday of the Catskill Mountains; it’s a world that has vanished.”

Fisher began singing with his grandfather who was a ba’al tefilah. His first musical memory is his grandmother singing to him in Yiddish. After serving the Israeli army’s rabbinical choir during the Yom Kippur War, Fisher began what would become a long cantorial career, first in Tel Aviv’s Great Synagogue, then as cantor in shuls across the world. Over the years Fisher has produced over forty albums of music in Hebrew, English and Yiddish as well as a successful line of DVDs for children. He has also appeared off-Broadway in Never on Friday, his one-man show about his experience as a Shomer Shabbos performer. Fisher is currently on tour across America and will perform in three shows in New York and New Jersey at the end of October. He spoke to the Jewish Star about theater, being religious, and if he’ll ever return to the theatrical stage.

Jewish Star: When did you first know you wanted to go on stage? 

Dudu Fisher: In the rabbinical choir of the Israeli defense forces, that was the first time I experienced the feeling of the stage, and since then it’s never left me. Even when I became a cantor, I was always dreaming about the stage. Sometimes when I finished a service in South Africa, people started to applaud and the shamas starts to shout [for them to stop]. I always used to say in my head: ‘Let them applaud!’ I guess I was always dreaming about stage, but I didn’t know where it was going to take me. Thank G-d it went for me very well. 

JS: Is it hard being a Shomer Shabbos singer?

DF: I can probably say I have the title of the Sandy Koufax of the theater. I was the first one on Broadway to have a contract that excludes me playing on Friday and Shabbat; I was the only one and even not to me after. So now the only dream of mine is to open a show, a one-man show on Broadway; I hope I’m on my way. 

JS: What is your show about?

DF:  It’s a gathering of the Jewish people. In times [like these] we need to be together, to come to hear my stories: the story of my life and my father’s survival; he built the country with his bare hands, the story of Jerusalem and the songs of Israel, I think it’s time to get together. We don’t live in the greatest time. 

JS: Do you think it’s a dangerous time to be Jewish? 

DF: I don’t think it’s a dangerous time; we live right now in a very difficult time for Israel. Not for Jews around the world. We might have another time when the Jews will have to run away; now we have a country — a place where every Jew is welcome. We are a strong country and I don’t think it’s a dangerous [time] for the survival [of the Jewish people]. When we are together, when we are one, we are like a hand. When the hand is open every finger has a different shape, but when you close the hand the fingers looks like they are all even. Together we have the power to do things that we cannot do separate. 

JS: What is the feeling towards President Barack Obama in Israel?

DF: Most Israelis do not like Barack Obama because they feel the pressure is very high. Without going into politics, they are not very happy with what’s going on now. 

JS: You sang for former-president Bill Clinton when he came to Israel. Do you think you’ll sing for Obama?

DF: I sang for him [Clinton] when he was here. Barack Obama, if he calls me, I’ll come and sing for him songs which come from the heart. 

JS: As one of the best-known performers of Yiddish songs, what are you feelings toward the language? Is Yiddish dying? 

DF: We’re not going to lose the language, it’s being spoken in Borough Park and Williamsburg, but we’re losing the culture, the stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Sholom Aleichem. You cannot translate Yiddish to any language. There are such great lines that can’t be translated. My grandmother, she said, ‘Whenever you go sing, sing at least one Yiddish song,’ and I really do it. I always sing Yiddish. I really love the language and I think if I can contribute one thing to this language to stay alive, then I am very grateful to do it.

JS: Is there any type of music you prefer to sing? My nephews like your kindergarten tapes.

DF: It’s funny. Sometimes when I come to concerts, even in Israel, some of the young people think I started my career as a children’s singer. They don’t really know I’ve been a cantor, that I’ve been in Broadway. I prefer to come to Israel to rest and shoot the movies. The concerts I used to do around the world, now, I’ve started going back [to perform in Israel]. 

JS: What was your most challenging role? Jean Valjean in Le Miserables? 

DF: There’s no doubt, Le Mis. It was my first role on stage and I got the part without taking any acting lesson. I was a cantor. I went to the stage of the theater directly from the bima of the shul. It was a very big surprise that the director that came to Israel from London chose me to do it. I knew I was the only one who could do it. My manager thought I was crazy. But when I saw [Le Mis] for the first time in 1986 [in London], when the curtain opened I knew this was my life and this was what I had to do. No one else believed it and when the offer came from Broadway it was a shock to everyone including me and when they accepted that I couldn’t play on Friday or [the] Saturday matinee the shock was even greater. 

JS: Do you see yourself playing Jean Valjean again?

DF: No. I did it three years in Israel and a year in Broadway then a year in London and 4-5 months in America. That’s enough. To tell you the truth I did really want to do many roles. I wanted to do Phantom of the Opera. I was accepted but the Friday night off — [Andrew Lloyd] Webber didn’t agree. I grew out of it. I’m enjoying so much doing my own shows. 

JS: Do you see your role in Israel, as a Yiddish singer and a son of a Holocaust survivor, as somewhat emblematic?

DF: I think so. Most of my generation, all my friends, are people like me that grew up second-generation in Israel and second-generation of Holocaust survivors. Those are the people who built the country. I think I definitely am representing the generation who not only had to live with the horror stories of the Holocaust and also had to fight so many wars since the [beginning] of the state of Israel. I have lost so many friends; my kids went to the army and lost their friends, but hopefully there will be an end. England was fighting France and now they’re talking to each other. Not long ago there was a world war and countries bombed by Germany are now [in the] European Union. We have to be optimistic, otherwise the continuous war goes on and on. The question is till when will our children be sacrificed on the mizbe’ach (altar) of war? You must be optimistic. 

JS: What was the highlight of your career so far? 

DF: I felt very special not long ago when the pope came to Israel and I was chosen to sing for him. I knew that just before [the pope] came on stage, he met Gilad Shalit’s parents and I felt that maybe I can help; maybe when he hears the song ‘Bring him home’ from Le Mis, it will open his heart and maybe, I don’t know if he can — if anyone can — pressure Hamas to release this poor guy there. When [the pope] jumped out of his chair and shook my hand, I felt I moved something in him. I could just be fooling myself but I felt something happened to him. By Michael Orbach

It seems that you can be a world-famous cantor and stage performer, but like most other Jewish husbands, when your wife and daughter want to go shopping at Westbury Commons, you’re still stuck.  

“I am here at Starbucks. On the internet,” Dudu Fisher lamented to the Jewish Star. 

Fisher, one of Israel’s best-known singers, has appeared on Broadway and London’s West End in Le Miserables, and performed for former President Clinton, the British royal family and the pope. He was on his way back from his annual Yomim Nora’im job at Kutsher’s Hotel in the Catskills, where he has led High Holiday prayers for the last twenty-seven years. 

“That’s a lifetime,” Fisher said. “For the last ten years, I talk about Kutsher like [Isaac Bashevis] Singer said about the Yiddish language: the Yiddish language is dying for the last hundred years, but it’s still alive. The Catskills are dying already for twenty years and the Kutsher’s is [still] running. I’m very happy for them and happy to be here. Every time I come here I feel Dirty Dancing, especially since Patrick Swayze died.” 

“It’s brings back memories of the heyday of the Catskill Mountains; it’s a world that has vanished.”

Fisher began singing with his grandfather who was a ba’al tefilah. His first musical memory is his grandmother singing to him in Yiddish. After serving the Israeli army’s rabbinical choir during the Yom Kippur War, Fisher began what would become a long cantorial career, first in Tel Aviv’s Great Synagogue, then as cantor in shuls across the world. Over the years Fisher has produced over forty albums of music in Hebrew, English and Yiddish as well as a successful line of DVDs for children. He has also appeared off-Broadway in Never on Friday, his one-man show about his experience as a Shomer Shabbos performer. Fisher is currently on tour across America and will perform in three shows in New York and New Jersey at the end of October. He spoke to the Jewish Star about theater, being religious, and if he’ll ever return to the theatrical stage.

Jewish Star: When did you first know you wanted to go on stage? 

Dudu Fisher: In the rabbinical choir of the Israeli defense forces, that was the first time I experienced the feeling of the stage, and since then it’s never left me. Even when I became a cantor, I was always dreaming about the stage. Sometimes when I finished a service in South Africa, people started to applaud and the shamas starts to shout [for them to stop]. I always used to say in my head: ‘Let them applaud!’ I guess I was always dreaming about stage, but I didn’t know where it was going to take me. Thank G-d it went for me very well. 

JS: Is it hard being a Shomer Shabbos singer?

DF: I can probably say I have the title of the Sandy Koufax of the theater. I was the first one on Broadway to have a contract that excludes me playing on Friday and Shabbat; I was the only one and even not to me after. So now the only dream of mine is to open a show, a one-man show on Broadway; I hope I’m on my way. 

JS: What is your show about?

DF:  It’s a gathering of the Jewish people. In times [like these] we need to be together, to come to hear my stories: the story of my life and my father’s survival; he built the country with his bare hands, the story of Jerusalem and the songs of Israel, I think it’s time to get together. We don’t live in the greatest time. 

JS: Do you think it’s a dangerous time to be Jewish? 

DF: I don’t think it’s a dangerous time; we live right now in a very difficult time for Israel. Not for Jews around the world. We might have another time when the Jews will have to run away; now we have a country — a place where every Jew is welcome. We are a strong country and I don’t think it’s a dangerous [time] for the survival [of the Jewish people]. When we are together, when we are one, we are like a hand. When the hand is open every finger has a different shape, but when you close the hand the fingers looks like they are all even. Together we have the power to do things that we cannot do separate. 

JS: What is the feeling towards President Barack Obama in Israel?

DF: Most Israelis do not like Barack Obama because they feel the pressure is very high. Without going into politics, they are not very happy with what’s going on now. 

JS: You sang for former-president Bill Clinton when he came to Israel. Do you think you’ll sing for Obama?

DF: I sang for him [Clinton] when he was here. Barack Obama, if he calls me, I’ll come and sing for him songs which come from the heart. 

JS: As one of the best-known performers of Yiddish songs, what are you feelings toward the language? Is Yiddish dying? 

DF: We’re not going to lose the language, it’s being spoken in Borough Park and Williamsburg, but we’re losing the culture, the stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Sholom Aleichem. You cannot translate Yiddish to any language. There are such great lines that can’t be translated. My grandmother, she said, ‘Whenever you go sing, sing at least one Yiddish song,’ and I really do it. I always sing Yiddish. I really love the language and I think if I can contribute one thing to this language to stay alive, then I am very grateful to do it.

JS: Is there any type of music you prefer to sing? My nephews like your kindergarten tapes.

DF: It’s funny. Sometimes when I come to concerts, even in Israel, some of the young people think I started my career as a children’s singer. They don’t really know I’ve been a cantor, that I’ve been in Broadway. I prefer to come to Israel to rest and shoot the movies. The concerts I used to do around the world, now, I’ve started going back [to perform in Israel]. 

JS: What was your most challenging role? Jean Valjean in Le Miserables? 

DF: There’s no doubt, Le Mis. It was my first role on stage and I got the part without taking any acting lesson. I was a cantor. I went to the stage of the theater directly from the bima of the shul. It was a very big surprise that the director that came to Israel from London chose me to do it. I knew I was the only one who could do it. My manager thought I was crazy. But when I saw [Le Mis] for the first time in 1986 [in London], when the curtain opened I knew this was my life and this was what I had to do. No one else believed it and when the offer came from Broadway it was a shock to everyone including me and when they accepted that I couldn’t play on Friday or [the] Saturday matinee the shock was even greater. 

JS: Do you see yourself playing Jean Valjean again?

DF: No. I did it three years in Israel and a year in Broadway then a year in London and 4-5 months in America. That’s enough. To tell you the truth I did really want to do many roles. I wanted to do Phantom of the Opera. I was accepted but the Friday night off — [Andrew Lloyd] Webber didn’t agree. I grew out of it. I’m enjoying so much doing my own shows. 

JS: Do you see your role in Israel, as a Yiddish singer and a son of a Holocaust survivor, as somewhat emblematic?

DF: I think so. Most of my generation, all my friends, are people like me that grew up second-generation in Israel and second-generation of Holocaust survivors. Those are the people who built the country. I think I definitely am representing the generation who not only had to live with the horror stories of the Holocaust and also had to fight so many wars since the [beginning] of the state of Israel. I have lost so many friends; my kids went to the army and lost their friends, but hopefully there will be an end. England was fighting France and now they’re talking to each other. Not long ago there was a world war and countries bombed by Germany are now [in the] European Union. We have to be optimistic, otherwise the continuous war goes on and on. The question is till when will our children be sacrificed on the mizbe’ach (altar) of war? You must be optimistic. 

JS: What was the highlight of your career so far? 

DF: I felt very special not long ago when the pope came to Israel and I was chosen to sing for him. I knew that just before [the pope] came on stage, he met Gilad Shalit’s parents and I felt that maybe I can help; maybe when he hears the song ‘Bring him home’ from Le Mis, it will open his heart and maybe, I don’t know if he can — if anyone can — pressure Hamas to release this poor guy there. When [the pope] jumped out of his chair and shook my hand, I felt I moved something in him. I could just be fooling myself but I felt something happened to him.

 

Known for his voice and Sabbath observance

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

It seems that you can be a world-famous cantor and stage performer, but like most other Jewish husbands, when your wife and daughter want to go shopping at Woodbury Commons, you’re still stuck.  

“I am here at Starbucks. On the internet,” Dudu Fisher lamented to the Jewish Star. 

Fisher, one of Israel’s best-known singers, has appeared on Broadway and London’s West End in Le Miserables, and performed for former President Clinton, the British royal family and the pope. He was on his way back from his annual Yomim Nora’im job at Kutsher’s Hotel in the Catskills, where he has led High Holiday prayers for the last twenty-seven years. 

“That’s a lifetime,” Fisher said. “For the last ten years, I talk about Kutsher like [Isaac Bashevis] Singer said about the Yiddish language: the Yiddish language is dying for the last hundred years, but it’s still alive. The Catskills are dying already for twenty years and the Kutsher’s is [still] running. I’m very happy for them and happy to be here. Every time I come here I feel Dirty Dancing, especially since Patrick Swayze died.” 

“It’s brings back memories of the heyday of the Catskill Mountains; it’s a world that has vanished.”

Fisher began singing with his grandfather who was a ba’al tefilah. His first musical memory is his grandmother singing to him in Yiddish. After serving the Israeli army’s rabbinical choir during the Yom Kippur War, Fisher began what would become a long cantorial career, first in Tel Aviv’s Great Synagogue, then as cantor in shuls across the world. Over the years Fisher has produced over forty albums of music in Hebrew, English and Yiddish as well as a successful line of DVDs for children. He has also appeared off-Broadway in Never on Friday, his one-man show about his experience as a Shomer Shabbos performer. Fisher is currently on tour across America and will perform in three shows in New York and New Jersey at the end of October. He spoke to the Jewish Star about theater, being religious, and if he’ll ever return to the theatrical stage.

 

Jewish Star: When did you first know you wanted to go on stage? 

Dudu Fisher: In the rabbinical choir of the Israeli defense forces, that was the first time I experienced the feeling of the stage, and since then it’s never left me. Even when I became a cantor, I was always dreaming about the stage. Sometimes when I finished a service in South Africa, people started to applaud and the shamas starts to shout [for them to stop]. I always used to say in my head: ‘Let them applaud!’ I guess I was always dreaming about stage, but I didn’t know where it was going to take me. Thank G-d it went for me very well. 

JS: Is it hard being a Shomer Shabbos singer?

DF: I can probably say I have the title of the Sandy Koufax of the theater. I was the first one on Broadway to have a contract that excludes me playing on Friday and Shabbat; I was the only one and even not to me after. So now the only dream of mine is to open a show, a one-man show on Broadway; I hope I’m on my way. 

 

JS: What is your show about?

DF:  It’s a gathering of the Jewish people. In times [like these] we need to be together, to come to hear my stories: the story of my life and my father’s survival; he built the country with his bare hands, the story of Jerusalem and the songs of Israel, I think it’s time to get together. We don’t live in the greatest time. 

 

JS: Do you think it’s a dangerous time to be Jewish? 

DF: I don’t think it’s a dangerous time; we live right now in a very difficult time for Israel. Not for Jews around the world. We might have another time when the Jews will have to run away; now we have a country — a place where every Jew is welcome. We are a strong country and I don’t think it’s a dangerous [time] for the survival [of the Jewish people]. When we are together, when we are one, we are like a hand. When the hand is open every finger has a different shape, but when you close the hand the fingers looks like they are all even. Together we have the power to do things that we cannot do separate. 

 

JS: What is the feeling towards President Barack Obama in Israel?

DF: Most Israelis do not like Barack Obama because they feel the pressure is very high. Without going into politics, they are not very happy with what’s going on now. 

 

JS: You sang for former-president Bill Clinton when he came to Israel. Do you think you’ll sing for Obama?

DF: I sang for him [Clinton] when he was here. Barack Obama, if he calls me, I’ll come and sing for him songs which come from the heart. 

 

JS: As one of the best-known performers of Yiddish songs, what are you feelings toward the language? Is Yiddish dying? 

DF: We’re not going to lose the language, it’s being spoken in Borough Park and Williamsburg, but we’re losing the culture, the stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Sholom Aleichem. You cannot translate Yiddish to any language. There are such great lines that can’t be translated. My grandmother, she said, ‘Whenever you go sing, sing at least one Yiddish song,’ and I really do it. I always sing Yiddish. I really love the language and I think if I can contribute one thing to this language to stay alive, then I am very grateful to do it.

 

JS: Is there any type of music you prefer to sing? My nephews like your kindergarten tapes.

DF: It’s funny. Sometimes when I come to concerts, even in Israel, some of the young people think I started my career as a children’s singer. They don’t really know I’ve been a cantor, that I’ve been in Broadway. I prefer to come to Israel to rest and shoot the movies. The concerts I used to do around the world, now, I’ve started going back [to perform in Israel]. 

 

JS: What was your most challenging role? Jean Valjean in Le Miserables? 

DF: There’s no doubt, Le Mis. It was my first role on stage and I got the part without taking any acting lesson. I was a cantor. I went to the stage of the theater directly from the bima of the shul. It was a very big surprise that the director that came to Israel from London chose me to do it. I knew I was the only one who could do it. My manager thought I was crazy. But when I saw [Le Mis] for the first time in 1986 [in London], when the curtain opened I knew this was my life and this was what I had to do. No one else believed it and when the offer came from Broadway it was a shock to everyone including me and when they accepted that I couldn’t play on Friday or [the] Saturday matinee the shock was even greater. 

 

JS: Do you see yourself playing Jean Valjean again?

DF: No. I did it three years in Israel and a year in Broadway then a year in London and 4-5 months in America. That’s enough. To tell you the truth I did really want to do many roles. I wanted to do Phantom of the Opera. I was accepted but the Friday night off — [Andrew Lloyd] Webber didn’t agree. I grew out of it. I’m enjoying so much doing my own shows. 

 

JS: Do you see your role in Israel, as a Yiddish singer and a son of a Holocaust survivor, as somewhat emblematic?

DF: I think so. Most of my generation, all my friends, are people like me that grew up second-generation in Israel and second-generation of Holocaust survivors. Those are the people who built the country. I think I definitely am representing the generation who not only had to live with the horror stories of the Holocaust and also had to fight so many wars since the [beginning] of the state of Israel. I have lost so many friends; my kids went to the army and lost their friends, but hopefully there will be an end. England was fighting France and now they’re talking to each other. Not long ago there was a world war and countries bombed by Germany are now [in the] European Union. We have to be optimistic, otherwise the continuous war goes on and on. The question is till when will our children be sacrificed on the mizbe’ach (altar) of war? You must be optimistic. 

 

JS: What was the highlight of your career so far? 

DF: I felt very special not long ago when the pope came to Israel and I was chosen to sing for him. I knew that just before [the pope] came on stage, he met Gilad Shalit’s parents and I felt that maybe I can help; maybe when he hears the song ‘Bring him home’ from Le Mis, it will open his heart and maybe, I don’t know if he can — if anyone can — pressure Hamas to release this poor guy there. When [the pope] jumped out of his chair and shook my hand, I felt I moved something in him. I could just be fooling myself but I felt something happened to him.

Touro College sets succession plan

By jewish star staff writer

The nation’s oldest serving college president has announced his successor but said he has no plan to retire just yet.

Dr. Bernard Lander, 94, president of Touro College, has named Dr. Alan Kaddish as Senior Provost and Chief Operating Officer. He is to become president when Lander takes on a future role as chancellor. Prior to joining Touro, Kaddish was the senior associate chief of the cardiology division at Northwestern University and the director of the cardiovascular division.

Lander founded Touro College in 1971 and maintains a schedule of eight-and-a-half-hour days. He was candid about how long he intends to continue in his present role.

“Life will determine it,” Lander told the Jewish Star in a joint conversation with Kaddish. “As long as I live, I work.”

Slightly hard of hearing, Lander explained that he selected Kaddish based on Touro’s plan to purchase the New York Medical School, one of the oldest and largest private medical schools in the country. It will make a sizable addition to the network of 29 schools Touro already operates in four states and overseas, including two colleges of pharmacy and three colleges of osteopathic medicine.

“He’s a logical man to develop that process,” Lander explained about Kaddish.

In 1971, at the age of 55, Lander, a former sociology professor, began Touro with a class of thirty-five students in rented space in Midtown. Since then, the school has expanded to over 17,000 students in its undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and Lander is still full of ideas about how to continue to expand.

“An international school for students of all types and all qualities and religious tradition,” he proposed. “There is a large interest and there are thousands of young men on March of the Living and Birthright. They get excited about Jewish life and then they return to America and go on to their regular lives.”

One of Lander’s proudest achievements has been to provide a college education for religious Jews.

“We have made it kosher for Jewish yeshiva boys to continue college and Chasidim to start,” he said.

Kaddish, a Yeshiva University graduate, is Orthodox like Lander.

“I have a lifelong commitment to Torah and learning and I hope that experience and my desire to promulgate Jewish life throughout the world will help me [reach] these goals,” Kaddish explained.

He said that he would continue the goal of  “providing a quality education for Jews and non-Jews alike, but with a Jewish focus in mind, and education for all.”

Kaddish will also need to begin a substantial fundraising effort for the medical school, something that Touro previously has not had to do.

Looking back, Lander has few regrets.

“This is life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, you move forward. You always look ahead.”

By Jewish Star Staff Writer

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Dr. Bernard Lander and Dr. Alan Kadish

The nation’s oldest serving college president has announced his successor but said he has no plan to retire just yet.

 

Dr. Bernard Lander, 94, president of Touro College, has named Dr. Alan Kadish as Senior Provost and Chief Operating Officer. He is to become president when Lander takes on a future role as chancellor. Prior to joining Touro, Kadish was the senior associate chief of the cardiology division at Northwestern University and the director of the cardiovascular division.

Lander founded Touro College in 1971 and maintains a schedule of eight-and-a-half-hour days. He was candid about how long he intends to continue in his present role.

“Life will determine it,” Lander told the Jewish Star in a joint conversation with Kadish. “As long as I live, I work.”

Slightly hard of hearing, Lander explained that he selected Kadish based on Touro’s plan to purchase the New York Medical School, one of the oldest and largest private medical schools in the country. It will make a sizable addition to the network of 29 schools Touro already operates in four states and overseas, including two colleges of pharmacy and three colleges of osteopathic medicine.

“He’s a logical man to develop that process,” Lander explained about Kadish.

In 1971, at the age of 55, Lander, a former sociology professor, began Touro with a class of thirty-five students in a building in Midtown. Since then, the school has expanded to over 17,000 students in its undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and Lander is still full of ideas about how to continue to expand.

“An international school for students of all types and all qualities and religious tradition,” he proposed. “There is a large interest and there are thousands of young men on March of the Living and Birthright. They get excited about Jewish life and then they return to America and go on to their regular lives.”

One of Lander’s proudest achievements has been to provide a college education for religious Jews.

“We have made it kosher for Jewish yeshiva boys to continue college and Chasidim to start,” he said.

Kadish, a Yeshiva University graduate, is Orthodox like Lander.

“I have a lifelong commitment to Torah and learning and I hope that experience and my desire to promulgate Jewish life throughout the world will help me [reach] these goals,” Kadish explained.

He said that he would continue the goal of  “providing a quality education for Jews and non-Jews alike, but with a Jewish focus in mind, and education for all.”

Kadish will also need to begin a substantial fundraising effort for the medical school, something that Touro previously has not had to do.

Looking back, Lander has few regrets.

“This is life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, you move forward. You always look ahead.”

See The Jewish Star as it appears in print for 9-25-09

Click here to see The Jewish Star print edition for 9-25-09

Calendar

For a complete listing of upcoming community events, including items that didn’t make it into the print edition, go to www.thejewishstar.com.

Cedarhurst- The JCC of the Greater Five Towns  has scheduled “Aerobics and Sports for Girls”, with coach Sharon Rothchild, for Fridays, beginning September 25, 2009, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., at Temple Israel, 140 Central Avenue, Lawrence.  For fee and/or further information one may call the JCC office at 569-6733.

Cedarhurst- The JCC of the Greater Five Towns is offering “The World of Newspapers,” an after-school enrichment program for children in grades 3 – 6.  The group will meet every Wednesday, for 10 weeks, from 5 to 6:30 p.m, beginning Wednesday, October 14, 2009.   For fee and/or further information please call 569-6733, ext. 204.

Hewlett- Mesivta Ateres Yaakov’s Women’s League and Student Government are proud to present “Comedy Sportz” the nationally acclaimed comedy troupe. This hilarious improvisational show is open to boys and men of the community. Show will take place Wednesday, October 7th- Chol Hamoed at 8:00 pm at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov- 1170A William Street in Hewlett.  Admission $15.00 per person.  Contact  516-603-8141 or email MAYComedy@AteresYaakov.com

New York City— The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services will be holding its 22nd annual conference on Bikur Cholim on Sunday, November 8th at the UJA Federation at 130 East 59th Street. The all day conference will include a keynote address by Rabbi Aaron Glatt M.D., workshops and presentations by Dr. David Pelcovitz and Rabbi Jay Schwartz. Registration is required. Cost $36

Woodmere- Thursday, Sept. 24- Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard-  Carpe Diem – Teshuva Today –   A pre-Yom Kippur Kumsitz by  Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf

Woodmere- Shabbos, Sept. 26- Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard-Shabbos Shuva. Neila:  The End Or Just The Beginning? by Rabbi Hershel Billet, following 5:45 PM Mincha

Cedarhurst- Chabad of the Five Towns will present a Farbrengen: The 6th of Tishrei for men, commemorating the yartzeit of Rebbetzin Chana, the mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe OB”M.   September 24, at  8:15 pm. @ Chabad.

Cedarhurst- Yom Kippur at Chabad of the Five Towns on September 28th.   Services at HAFTR High School, 685 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst. For a complete schedule see the Holiday Guide available at Chabad. Contact 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Cedarhurst- Chabad of the Five towns will begin its Friendship Circle-Holiday Program Holiday program for our special needs children and their families. Reservations required. At 1:30 pm. For more information contact 516-295-2478*13 or  email Batsheva@chabad5towns.com

Far Rockaway – Rabbi Eytan Feiner’s Machshavah Shiur in Sifrei Maharal on Chumash and Mo’adim for men and women has resumed. Tuesday evenings 8:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Congregation Kneseth Israel, 728 Empire Ave., Far Rockaway.  For more information call (718) 327-0500 or www.whiteshul.com.

Cedarhurst – The JCC of the Greater Five Towns “Sunday Funday” program begins in October.  “Clay Creations” is one of our new programs for children grades 4 and up.  For further information please call the JCC office at 569-6733, ext. 218.

ONGOING EVENTS

Stony Brook- Sexual abuse and abduction prevention educational workshops- Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center is now offering age appropriate sexual abuse and abduction prevention educational workshops for children, teens and adults. We’ll come to your school or community organization. We’ve educated over 50,000 Long Island children and parents in public and private schools and in community organization! Call our Helpline for more information or to schedule a workshop today (631)-689-2672

Cedarhurst – The Beis Medrash of Cedarhurst holds a Flexible Morning Learning Program Mon. to Thurs. from 10:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. There are shiurim and chavrusas in Chumash, Gemara, Halacha and Chovos Halevavos. Learners may come and go as they please. The Beis Medrash of Cedarhurst is located at 504 W. Broadway (off the corner of W. Broadway and Cedarhurst Ave.) Contact Rabbi Moshe Kaufman at (718) 471-2780 moshehkaufman@gmail.com.

Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770

Cedarhurst- The JCC of the Greater Five Towns  has scheduled “Aerobics and Sports for Girls”, with coach Sharon Rothchild, for Fridays, beginning September 25, 2009, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., at Temple Israel, 140 Central Avenue, Lawrence.  For fee and/or further information one may call the JCC office at 569-6733.

Cedarhurst- The JCC of the Greater Five Towns is offering “The World of Newspapers,” an after-school enrichment program for children in grades 3 – 6.  The group will meet every Wednesday, for 10 weeks, from 5 to 6:30 p.m, beginning Wednesday, October 14, 2009.   For fee and/or further information please call 569-6733, ext. 204.

Hewlett- Mesivta Ateres Yaakov’s Women’s League and Student Government are proud to present “Comedy Sportz” the nationally acclaimed comedy troupe. This hilarious improvisational show is open to boys and men of the community. Show will take place Wednesday, October 7th- Chol Hamoed at 8:00 pm at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov- 1170A William Street in Hewlett.  Admission $15.00 per person.  Contact  516-603-8141 or email MAYComedy@AteresYaakov.com

New York City— The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services will be holding its 22nd annual conference on Bikur Cholim on Sunday, November 8th at the UJA Federation at 130 East 59th Street. The all day conference will include a keynote address by Rabbi Aaron Glatt M.D., workshops and presentations by Dr. David Pelcovitz and Rabbi Jay Schwartz. Registration is required. Cost $36

Woodmere- Thursday, Sept. 24- Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard-  Carpe Diem – Teshuva Today –   A pre-Yom Kippur Kumsitz by  Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf

Woodmere- Shabbos, Sept. 26- Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard-Shabbos Shuva. Neila:  The End Or Just The Beginning? by Rabbi Hershel Billet, following 5:45 PM Mincha

Cedarhurst- Chabad of the Five Towns will present a Farbrengen: The 6th of Tishrei for men, commemorating the yartzeit of Rebbetzin Chana, the mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe OB”M.   September 24, at  8:15 pm. @ Chabad.

Cedarhurst- Yom Kippur at Chabad of the Five Towns on September 28th.   Services at HAFTR High School, 685 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst. For a complete schedule see the Holiday Guide available at Chabad. Contact 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Cedarhurst- Chabad of the Five towns will begin its Friendship Circle-Holiday Program Holiday program for our special needs children and their families. Reservations required. At 1:30 pm. For more information contact 516-295-2478*13 or  email Batsheva@chabad5towns.com

Far Rockaway – Rabbi Eytan Feiner’s Machshavah Shiur in Sifrei Maharal on Chumash and Mo’adim for men and women has resumed. Tuesday evenings 8:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Congregation Kneseth Israel, 728 Empire Ave., Far Rockaway.  For more information call (718) 327-0500 or www.whiteshul.com.

Cedarhurst – The JCC of the Greater Five Towns “Sunday Funday” program begins in October.  “Clay Creations” is one of our new programs for children grades 4 and up.  For further information please call the JCC office at 569-6733, ext. 218.

ONGOING EVENTS

Stony Brook- Sexual abuse and abduction prevention educational workshops- Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center is now offering age appropriate sexual abuse and abduction prevention educational workshops for children, teens and adults. We’ll come to your school or community organization. We’ve educated over 50,000 Long Island children and parents in public and private schools and in community organization! Call our Helpline for more information or to schedule a workshop today (631)-689-2672

Cedarhurst – The Beis Medrash of Cedarhurst holds a Flexible Morning Learning Program Mon. to Thurs. from 10:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. There are shiurim and chavrusas in Chumash, Gemara, Halacha and Chovos Halevavos. Learners may come and go as they please. The Beis Medrash of Cedarhurst is located at 504 W. Broadway (off the corner of W. Broadway and Cedarhurst Ave.) Contact Rabbi Moshe Kaufman at (718) 471-2780 moshehkaufman@gmail.com.

Fringe Baptist group to bring hate to Great Neck

Protests planned next week in Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan

By Michael Orbach

Special to the web on Sept 17, 2009 / 28 Elul 5769

Shirley Phelps Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church hate group, based in Topeka, KS.

A fundamentalist church from Topeka, Kansas plans protests at Jewish locations in Great Neck, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan for three days beginning Thursday, September 24th.

The Westboro Baptist Church, led by Rev. Fred Phelps and composed largely of his family members, has been in the news with its protests at funerals of AIDS victims and American soldiers killed in action, holding signs with messages such as “God hates America” and “God hates fags.” While the church has mainly protested what it perceives as homosexual targets

A Jewish-American portrait of familial love and legacy

By Etta Chinskey

Tickling Leo is a powerful film about the aftermath of the terrible choices Jews were forced to make during the Holocaust. It follows a family whose complicity in Rudolph Kastner’s train continues to keep them estranged from one another. The bitter legacy of Kastner’s train — which left Hungary for Switzerland with 1700 handpicked Jews as part of a deal Kastner made with the Nazis — in turn keeps the family alive but is also the very thing that keeps them from truly living.

The narrative opens in Central Park, where Zak (Daniel Sauli), the youngest of the Pikler men, and his girlfriend Delphina (Annie Parrisse), celebrate their growing affection for each other. After a troubling phone call from his uncle about his father’s declining mental health, Zak takes Delphina on a road trip up to the Catskills to meet his father.  Delphina is both intrigued and concerned about Zak’s father Warren, an aging poet played by Lawrence Pressman, and her presence slowly allows him to reveal the secret behind his silence.

While limited flashbacks keep the story rooted in its horrifying past, the movie is really the story of three generations of Jewish men who have been unable to communicate with each other in the absence of the women they have loved; and In many ways, this movie is simply a story about fathers and sons. It is both an epic tale of survival and a deeply intimate series of scenes about how secrets can unravel a family.

Centered around the time of Yom Kippur (apt, as the New Year looms), the script deals with themes of confession and redemption, and ultimately judgment,  as each character eventually pays for their sins. The movie is a lesson in patience.  Each character in the movie seems to have waited a life-time to get where they are in this moment, so it only seems fair that the audience experiences that same gnawing anticipation.

As the journey reaches its climax, we are introduced to the eldest Pikler, Emil (Eli Wallach), and the final secrets spill out into Zak’s open hands. Once Zak has this knowledge he is both freed from the weight of his father’ hurtful behavior, and equally trapped by the legacy that his grandfather unveils. Though Delphina is the most likable character throughout the film, it is Zak who we are ultimately beholden to by the end of the film. As American Jews, Zak’s journey is the one that we most deeply recognize. And like Zak we are both relieved and repulsed by the secrets that are finally revealed.

This haunting film, written and directed by Jeremy Davidson, was shot in a record 14 days, is acted beautifully by a committed cast recognizable from various Law and Order episodes. It feels more like a play than a movie. Tickling Leo, will not fill you with the same pride and triumph that Defiance so sweetly delivered, but it will show you another side to the story of Jewish survival. A side that is not nearly as grand, but just as important to remember.

A review of Tickling Leo

By Etta Chinskey

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Tickling Leo is a powerful film about the aftermath of the terrible choices Jews were forced to make during the Holocaust. It follows a family whose complicity in

Report from White House at Red Shul

 

by Michael orbach

In July, President Barack Obama hosted fifteen Jewish leaders in the Roosevelt room of the White House. A picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt hung over the mantle, as is traditional during Democratic administrations. It replaced the picture of Theodore Roosevelt who, after eight years above the mantle, now hangs on the southern wall.

In his opening remarks the President stressed that he was a friend to Israel and had always been, but Israel must make concessions in order to be recognized by moderate Arab states. Stephen Savitsky, president of the Orthodox Union, who sat directly across from the President, had the last question. 

  “I’m trying to understand what moderate means,” Savitsky asked, “Egypt today was caught in the Rafah crossing smuggling thousands of missiles that could hit Sderot—”

   “Not Sderot,” the President corrected, “Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva.” 

   “What is an appropriate response?” Savitsky demanded. The President, according to Savitsky, sighed.  

On Tuesday, September 9th, three months after the meeting at the White House, President Savitsky visited the Red Shul, Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi of Cedarhurst, to describe his encounter with President Obama. The audience of fifty offered a cold reception to Mr. Obama’s Mideast strategy. 

Standing at the bima with a Siddur in his hand, Savitsky began his speech with the story of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s remarks upon his return from a shuttle diplomacy mission to the Middle East. Asked to describe his visit in one word, Kissinger replied, “Good.” Asked to describe it in two words, he said, “Not good.” Savitsky then continued with a quote from the Pesukei D’zimra portion of the morning prayers that summarized his feelings about the president: Have no faith in nobles.

Savitsky described the president in the now-mandatory terms: “gracious,” “charming,” and “confident.” According to Savitsky, President Obama said that America must have a new role as an “honest broker” to get the moderate Arab states “to say publicly what they’re saying privately,” as opposed to the role America had under former President Bush. 

“Look, we had eight years where there was no question on whose side we were on, and where did it get us? Are we any closer?” the president said, according to Savitsky.

In response to a nuclear Iran, a notion that sent shudders through the Red Shul, Savitsky explained that the president believed in “economic sanctions,” but not a timetable. 

When asked when the president would go to Israel again, President Obama responded that a picture of him with a yarmulke at the Kotel is hanging on a wall at Al Jazeera.

“They think I go there three times a day,” the president said dryly. 

Savitsky contrasted the meeting with President Obama with a meeting with former President Bush that took place shortly before he left office. When one of the delegates asked President Bush why he was so relaxed, Mr. Bush joked, “If you want me to lie, it’s yoga. But really, I believe in G-d. I believe I have a mission.”

The current administration believes that if Israel makes concessions it will be recognized.

“I said to [OU Washington Director] Nathan Diament, what’s plan B?” Savitsky said. “They just say no. Plan A will work.”

Savitsky took time to reprimand White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel. 

  “They all say he’s a foul-mouthed person and as a Jew, a menuval [a disgusting person]. I find it offensive. He’s a mishneh l’melech [advisor to a king], the language he uses… I think it’s very unbecoming as a Jewish person.” 

Questions from the audience were all variations on the same theme: “Do you think he’s lying?” “Is Rahm Emanuel a self-hating Jew?” And one man delivered his own mini-lecture, demanding to know, among other things, why Obama attributed a quotation from the Talmud to the Koran. 

To a question about Jonathan Pollard, Savitsky said that the best opportunity to win his release had passed with the end of the Bush administration and, “I don’t think it’ll ever happen.”

After the speech some quiet moderates spoke to the Jewish Star. 

“I’m a Republican,” said Abe Zelmanovitz, an attorney and the chairman of the Red Shul, wearing a green Hermes tie. “Pragmatically [Obama] is looking for a different approach. The right-wing perspective is he’s out to get us. I don’t think that. He’s looking at this through a different angle.”

“We believe in Obama,” observed Paul Gross, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Cedarhurst. “He means well. He’s sincerely trying for peace. I think it’s a problem with the Orthodox community that they’re anti-Obama. It doesn’t speak well for the Orthodox to be so anti-Obama, because it can backfire. I like Obama and people give me heck.”

But to some in the Red Shul, it seemed, Orthodox fears about the Obama administration have come to pass and crystallized into despair. 

“I hope the next four years go by fast,” said Judy Greenberg. “I have no faith. The feeling of gloom and doom is upon us.”

Offering a more tempered approach, Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, the rav of the Red Shul, quoted from Proverbs, that a king’s heart is in Hashem’s hand. President Harry Truman, who recognized Israel immediately after the United Nations partition vote in 1948, Rabbi Feitman observed, was no friend of the Jews either. 

OU head recounts meeting with the President

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

In July, President Barack Obama hosted fifteen Jewish leaders in the Roosevelt room of the White House. A picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt hung over the mantle, as is traditional during Democratic administrations. It replaced the picture of Theodore Roosevelt who, after eight years above the mantle, now hangs on the southern wall.

In his opening remarks the President stressed that he was a friend to Israel and had always been, but Israel must make concessions in order to be recognized by moderate Arab states. Stephen Savitsky, president of the Orthodox Union, who sat directly across from the President, had the last question. 

“I’m trying to understand what moderate means,” Savitsky asked, “Egypt today was caught in the Rafah crossing smuggling thousands of missiles that could hit Sderot—”

“Not Sderot,” the President corrected, “Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva.” 

“What is an appropriate response?” Savitsky demanded. The President, according to Savitsky, sighed.  

OU President Stephen Savitsky before the ark in the Red Shul

On Tuesday, September 9th, three months after the meeting at the White House, President Savitsky visited the Red Shul, Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi of Cedarhurst, to describe his encounter with President Obama. The audience of fifty offered a cold reception to Mr. Obama’s Mideast strategy. 

Standing at the bima with a Siddur in his hand, Savitsky began his speech with the story of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s remarks upon his return from a shuttle diplomacy mission to the Middle East. Asked to describe his visit in one word, Kissinger replied, “Good.” Asked to describe it in two words, he said, “Not good.” Savitsky then continued with a quote from the Pesukei D’zimra portion of the morning prayers that summarized his feelings about the president: Have no faith in nobles.

Savitsky described the president in the now-mandatory terms: “gracious,” “charming,” and “confident.” According to Savitsky, President Obama said that America must have a new role as an “honest broker” to get the moderate Arab states “to say publicly what they’re saying privately,” as opposed to the role America had under former President Bush. 

“Look, we had eight years where there was no question on whose side we were on, and where did it get us? Are we any closer?” the president said, according to Savitsky.

In response to a nuclear Iran, a notion that sent shudders through the Red Shul, Savitsky explained that the president believed in “economic sanctions,” but not a timetable. 

When asked when the president would go to Israel again, President Obama responded that a picture of him with a yarmulke at the Kotel is hanging on a wall at Al Jazeera.

“They think I go there three times a day,” the president said dryly. 

Savitsky contrasted the meeting with President Obama with a meeting with former President Bush that took place shortly before he left office. When one of the delegates asked President Bush why he was so relaxed, Mr. Bush joked, “If you want me to lie, it’s yoga. But really, I believe in G-d. I believe I have a mission.”

The current administration believes that if Israel makes concessions it will be recognized.

“I said to [OU Washington Director] Nathan Diament, what’s plan B?” Savitsky said. “They just say no. Plan A will work.”

Savitsky took time to reprimand White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel. 

  “They all say he’s a foul-mouthed person and as a Jew, a menuval [a disgusting person]. I find it offensive. He’s a mishneh l’melech [advisor to a king], the language he uses… I think it’s very unbecoming as a Jewish person.” 

Questions from the audience were all variations on the same theme: “Do you think he’s lying?” “Is Rahm Emanuel a self-hating Jew?” And one man delivered his own mini-lecture, demanding to know, among other things, why Obama attributed a quotation from the Talmud to the Koran. 

To a question about Jonathan Pollard, Savitsky said that the best opportunity to win his release had passed with the end of the Bush administration and, “I don’t think it’ll ever happen.”

After the speech some quiet moderates spoke to the Jewish Star. 

“I’m a Republican,” said Abe Zelmanovitz, an attorney and the chairman of the Red Shul, wearing a green Hermes tie. “Pragmatically [Obama] is looking for a different approach. The right-wing perspective is he’s out to get us. I don’t think that. He’s looking at this through a different angle.”

“We believe in Obama,” observed Paul Gross, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Cedarhurst. “He means well. He’s sincerely trying for peace. I think it’s a problem with the Orthodox community that they’re anti-Obama. It doesn’t speak well for the Orthodox to be so anti-Obama, because it can backfire. I like Obama and people give me heck.”

But to some in the Red Shul, it seemed, Orthodox fears about the Obama administration have come to pass and crystallized into despair. 

“I hope the next four years go by fast,” said Judy Greenberg. “I have no faith. The feeling of gloom and doom is upon us.”

Offering a more tempered approach, Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, the rav of the Red Shul, quoted from Proverbs, that a king’s heart is in Hashem’s hand. President Harry Truman, who recognized Israel immediately after the United Nations partition vote in 1948, Rabbi Feitman observed, was no friend of the Jews either. 

Seidemann: Another year, come and gone

Well, it’s been a year now since we last prayed for a year of peace, prosperity and blessing. And by all measures, it has been a most difficult and troubling year. The forces of good are still doing battle with the forces of evil and no end is in sight. The economy has not improved yet; Jewish institutions are hurting and families are struggling to survive on many fronts.

As 5770 approaches, I feel frustrated about battles I thought I had won on a personal level; battles this nation has fought; battles Israel has wrestled with for years — I thought all of that was behind us, but they still exist.

Frustrated that Israel still has to defend its right to exist and that we still must combat the myth that “we” stole “their” land, that we are terrorizing them, that we are practicing apartheid. Concerned that most Jewish high school students probably do not possess the information and/or desire to set the world straight.

Worried that morality is being redefined.

Dejected that as the Jewish year 5669 draws to an end, there seems no let up from tragedy. Just the other morning there was a Torah dedication ceremony in a town near here to commemorate the life of a mother of six who passed away at the age of 45 from cancer. The very same town is still reeling from the passing of a 13-year-old girl who just didn’t wake up this past Friday morning. It goes on and on and on.

Financial ruin for many while others, who still have money “party on” as if nothing has happened. Where is the modesty, the humility, which used to be the hallmark of the Jew? Since last Rosh Hashanah, when we intoned Unesaneh Tokef, the haunting “who shall live and who shall die” prayer, I know of people that have suffered through every one of the afflictions set forth therein.

I know of those who passed before their time. I know of those who drowned, if not in water, then in emotion. I know of families that suffered serious fires, and those that felt the piercing pain of a sword — a surgeon’s blade. You and I both know of those who are hungry and thirsty here in our own backyard; “Mi Bachenek”— people who have choked, and  “Mi Baskeela” — kids from our neighborhood who get “stoned” on a regular basis.

“U’mi Yetareif” — I know families that no longer live together in harmony, and families that have been literally Yetareif, torn apart. Continue reading the Unesaneh Tokef — not the Hebrew, but the English. I know that we all know — still know — those who have become impoverished and those who have been degraded, either through their own less-than-honest deeds, or by being shunned by a social circle because they no longer can afford to “keep up.”

So with all of this misery, with more questions than answers, with a year of prayer and practice behind us, why go on? Why not give up? Why? Because for all the bad I’ve seen, I’ve seen the good as well. Yes, I’ve heard of a drowning, but I’ve seen more babies emerge from the waters of their mother’s womb. Finding the good, finding the blessing, is more difficult than finding the bad but it can be found.

And if your neighbor is in pain and you don’t have the magic to change his fate than at least, at the very least, join him in his pain. That, too, is a blessing as the following story reveals.

The couple had been engaged for a few weeks when a problem in the girl’s past was revealed. The problem was of a nature that the upcoming marriage was rendered prohibited by Jewish law. They sought out one rabbi after another. Each time the p’sak, the ruling, was the same. It would be forbidden for these two Jews to marry one another.

Finally, they were able to meet with Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. He heard their story, asked a few questions and wrung his hands. The ruling was the same. Exasperated, they cried out to Rav Shlomo Zalman, “Isn’t there anything you can do for us?” “Yes,” said Rav Shlomo Zalman, “I can cry with you.” And so they did, the three of them, for close to half an hour.

Within days a previously unknown document surfaced from the young lady’s home country that put to rest any questions about her pedigree. The couple was married a few days later.

Cause and effect? Believers will say yes, cynics will say coincidence. Irrelevant, I say. The happy ending was not the point of the story. And if you thought it was, like I did the first time I heard it, you need to hear the story again.

A single individual may not possess enough of his own tears to be inscribed in the book of life for 5770. But when we add our tears to our neighbor’s tears, I think G-d has no choice but to cry as well and lift His pen and inscribe all of us in the book of all that is good.

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann & Mermelstein.  He can be reached at (718) 692-1013 and at ds@lawofficesm.com.

From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Well, it’s been a year now since we last prayed for a year of peace, prosperity and blessing. And by all measures, it has been a most difficult and troubling year. The forces of good

Opinion: A positive beginning

Life is funny. Some of the most optimistic and positive people I have met and interviewed are people who have lost everything, yet are able to pick up the pieces of life and shine light into other peoples’ lives.

I don’t have to go far to find people I admire. My father was orphaned at the age of eleven, and while he had an extremely difficult childhood, somehow he turned into this kind, generous man who always finds the good in people. He always focuses on the positive, and on what he has going for him as opposed to what is missing. It is a true talent. He’s also always willing to give people a chance.

One day he caught the kid who was spraying graffiti on his office building, and called the police. It was a teenager, a first-time offender, a kid with no father. Instead of pressing charges, my father gave him a job, and took him to lunch, trying to give him guidance and goals. The police officers were shocked. Dad simply responded, “Everyone needs a second chance.”

Rosh Hashanah is here once again and it’s our second chance to reflect on the past and become better people. It’s not an easy task to figure out what to do to make our lives different and better, but the one thing I have learned is the more positive I am, the happier I am, despite not always getting what I want.

Rebbitzen Esther Jungreis, a Holocaust survivor, has a magnetic energy about her that draws people into her world. She explained to me how her past influenced her future.

“Everyone is impacted by their backgrounds,” she explained. “Hungary was the last country to be invaded by the Nazis, but prior to the occupation, Jewish young men were deported by Hungarian zsandars (police) to slave labor camps, and Szeged became a staging area for these boys. My father visited them, but he was searched. My parents came up with the idea that I would accompany my father, and in the lining of my coat, my mom would place medicines, letters from families and food. Thus, as a young child, I learned that we are our brother’s keepers, and we have a responsibility to the Jewish people.”

So while events of the past might pull you down, it seems the most optimistic people take even the most trying experiences and turn them around to bring light into the world.

In 1973, Rebbetzin Jungreis started Hineni, one of the first Jewish outreach organizations. Her goal was to stop the escalating assimilation — the spiritual Holocaust that was decimating American Jewry.

“My message is simple — know the Torah and study it from beginning to end. The book will speak to you. It will tell you how to live and what to do,” said Jungreis.

Another role model for me is Gerda Weissmann Klein, whose memoir, All But My Life, became the Academy Award-winning short documentary, One Survivor Remembers. Weismann Klein is a Holocaust survivor who lost her entire family in the concentration camps. She worked tirelessly to change the world; from alleviating hunger to spending time with teenagers, as she did with the kids who, years ago, experienced the horror of the Columbine massacre.

She personally knows pain, suffering and loss. She has taken these experiences and empathizes with people who have suffered all sorts of abuse.

Weissmann Klein told me “pain should not be wasted.”

“It should be used to reach out to someone else,” she explained. “You not only help the other person you alleviate your own pain.”

About a year ago, I was invited to Gerda Weissmann Klein’s home to have lunch with eight women and with Carolyn Jessop, the New York Times best-selling author of the book Escape, which chronicles her abusive experience with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At the age of eighteen, Jessop became the fourth wife of a 50 year-old man. She had 8 children in fifteen years. She told us hair-raising stories about her life and escape from years of living in fear and abuse.

Because of Weissmann Klein’s own experience, she reaches out to people like Jessop as well as to the student who writes her letters looking for advice and guidance on finding the light when darkness seems to be prevalent.

Weissmann Klein explained, “There is something called the magic of life: [it’s] concealed hope. You look inwards; in most cases, people can focus on the good, especially if they are free. They are still better off than most people in the world. All you need to do is turn on the television and see people running from burning villages, fleeing with their children.”

Rosh Hashanah is a time of reflection and a time to make changes. There is definitely something to be learned from people who have not only survived adversity, but also found ways to thrive and impart wisdom.

I always look to a quote I read in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem that exemplifies the worldview of my father, Rebbitzen Esther Jungreis and Gerda Weissmann Klein: “Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle.”

Masada Siegel lives in Scottsdale, AZ. She can be reached at Fungirlcorrespondent@gmail.com

By Masada Siegel

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Life is funny. Some of the most optimistic and positive people I have met and interviewed are people who have lost everything, yet are able to pick up the pieces of life and shine light into

In my view: Choose Life

By Shmuly Yanklowitz

hen the Obama administration announced that it would prioritize health care reform and seek to propel America toward a sustainable system of universal health care, I thought: finally an issue on which Orthodox Jews can join together to support reform. After all, the Torah and rabbinic writings unequivocally enjoin us to heal the sick and to enable the sick to be healed. If the secular state was championing an issue that speaks to our deepest religious communal values, there could only be cause for celebration.

And yet, recent articles and discussions suggest that, to the contrary, the majority of the Orthodox Jewish community has taken a stand in opposition to the proposed reforms that would help America become a society that can heal all of its sick. Are these dissenters cynical to proposals such as the nonprofit health care cooperative or a public insurance plan? Regardless of the reasoning, the Torah has been excluded from this discourse. Let’s consider what the Torah has to say about health care.

The Talmud (Gittin 61a) teaches us explicitly that we are equally responsible for the health of non-Jews as we are for Jews. Similarly, the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 336:1) explains that not only is it a mitzvah to heal the sick, but if health services are withheld, it is likened to the act of shedding blood. Beyond medical assistance, we are required by Halacha to provide necessary drugs, and it is strictly forbidden to charge more than an appropriate price for medicine (Yoreh Deah 336:3). While health care reform is undeniably an immense task, it is one that is demanded by Jewish law. However, upon whom specifically does this responsibility fall?

A brief glance at the great twentieth-century Jewish legal authorities is enlightening. Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer 5:4) rules that the community must set up collective funds to ensure that all sick can receive necessary care and sustenance. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchat Shlomo v. 2, 86:4) further explains that the obligation actually may fall directly upon individual citizens to care for those in our communities. Rabbi Shlomo Goren and Rabbi Chaim David Halevy, however, argue that the obligation is not a communal one; instead, it is incumbent upon the government to ensure that all citizens have access to adequate medical care. Rabbis Moshe Tendler, Yehudah Amital, and leaders of the Agudah have offered support for the needs of universal coverage.

Despite the various interpretations, what is clear from all sources is the exceptionally high priority Jewish law places on caring for the sick (Jew and gentile alike) and the call for collective responsibility. While the communal fund (kuppah) from which general Jewish needs were provided in prior times no longer exists, as American citizens, we are privileged to have access to the most powerful government in the world.

Whatever opinions we form about health care reform, we need to take seriously the fact that the Torah has a clear approach — and we need to acknowledge to ourselves and to our communities when we bypass that approach. The consequences of ignoring the ethical values that emerge from our tradition are dire for many of our fellow citizens — Jews and non-Jews alike — where an estimated 16 percent of Americans (47 million) are uninsured.

Now is the time. The United States ranks 45th among nations in life expectancy; falling behind 44 other nations (including Iceland and Jordan) that offer some form of universal health coverage. The Institute of Medicine, which is federally chartered, has concluded that over 22,000 deaths are directly caused by the lack of proper health coverage and access to needed care. Additionally, the nation annually experiences around 750,000 bankruptcies in response to medical expenses not covered by insurance, leaving more than 2 million people — taking into consideration affected family members — tragically at a loss. And that was before the recession.

In a country of such wealth, how has the United States allowed this situation to develop? In a time of historically unprecedented Jewish influence, how has this not been at the top of our community’s agenda? Do the ancient values of Jewish law not speak to the contemporary crisis? Now is the time for an Orthodox response to this crisis. By not acting, we ourselves become implicated. On health issues, the rabbis remind us of the biblical command: “Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa”— Do not stand by the blood of thy neighbor!

Some cynics suggest that serious health care reform is only a project of the liberals, but that is shortsighted. Jews of all political persuasions have been leaders in establishing retirement homes, hospitals, and other health institutions in America for more than a century. Now the test is to hear the commanding ethical voice at one of the most crucial times in American history, when Jewish influence is at an all-time high.

I exhort the American Jewish community to join the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, the United Jewish Communities, and the National Council of Jewish Women, among many other organizations at the forefront of the health care debate. With the entirety of the Jewish community behind us, we can ensure that Congress enacts a health care reform bill that secures all Americans and entitles everyone to adequate and comprehensive health care. Beyond our own Jewish self-interest to provide for our most vulnerable, we should take heed of the moral imperative of ancient tradition: “Choose life!”

By Shmuly Yanklowitz

Issue of September 19, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

When the Obama administration announced that it would prioritize health care reform and seek to propel America toward a sustainable system of universal health care, I thought: finally an issue on which Orthodox Jews can join

Opinion: We are all captives

Recently, the national media was drawn to the story of Jaycee Dugard, the victim of a decades-long kidnapping.

But in a story-behind-the-story, the NY Times reported that although Jaycee suffered sexual abuse, neglect and emotional manipulation — to an extent hard to imagine — therapists say the biggest challenge facing Ms. Dugard might be switching families. Her captor was her primary relationship, and the father of her two children and “separation may be difficult for all of them,” said one child expert.

“…[I]t is an extreme version of a phenomenon that is really not that uncommon: a child engaged in an abusive relationship when young and, not knowing any better, coming to accept it as their life, adapting as best they can,” offered another expert.

Obviously, this is a horrifically extreme case and cases like these will always attract attention, but how do we account for the intensity of interest? The San Jose Mercury News reports that tele-diva Oprah Winfrey wants to interview Dugard.

“I want that interview,” she was quoted as saying emphatically. “This is the one that I want.”

How do you explain the fascination?

Even given the unusualness of the case, many seem to identify with Jaycee. Yes, in a subtle sense we may all be prisoners — prisoners of our experiences, to be precise. Not only are we prisoners, but even when we are free, we still (unconsciously) attach to our psychological captors. The philosopher John Paul Sartre once famously remarked that we are condemned to be free. We don’t always want to be free.

This brings to mind a famous parable quoted by Rabbenu Yona in Shaarei Teshuva about a group of robbers who were imprisoned by the king. They dug a tunnel out of their cell and escaped, but one of the group remained. The warden came and saw that there was a tunnel dug and yet this one man remained. He struck him with his staff. “Imbecile,” the warden said. “How is it that a tunnel is dug in front of your eyes and you did not quickly escape?”

Nearly every day we are offered escape routes, but we won’t take them. We seem profoundly attached to the prisons of our past experiences, mistakes, even sins.

This may be one of the reasons that we repeat the past. We repeat the good and we repeat the bad, but we repeat. We are in a sense, at least when it comes to the bad, repeat offenders. We ingeniously take the present and turn into a repetition of our early life and it seems to be beyond our control even as we do it.

For example, a relative of mine, Eric*, is cheap as the day is long. I knew his father, a Holocaust survivor, very well. He was a tailor from Lodz, Poland. He constantly was patching up his son’s old clothes, counted the minutes that his son spent using hot water in the shower and would charge him for phone calls that Eric would make. When Eric would reach across the table to take a hunk of bread, his father would whack him.

Yet, this horrific treatment only served to slightly dim the fierce father-son attachment. Now more than 20 years after his father’s death, Eric is unfortunately as close to his father as he ever was. Already on his third marriage, each of his relationships has been disfigured by his cheapness. I remember that his first wife was “forbidden” to have any household help even though she had given birth just that week. At the same time, Eric is a marvelously creative, successful, and honest human being.

A friend of mine who I met in a psychological training group is a talented, capable man and would seem to be a natural leader. He is personable, smart and projects confidence. Yet despite these obvious qualities he says, “My life is like a haiku poem with two words: second place. No matter what I do, say, or even how hard I try, I always come in second. This is my fate,” he says, baring the hurt just beneath his exquisite good nature.

Over time in the group, it emerged that his father, who raised him and loved him, was competitive beyond measure. When they would play ball, the father had to win. He had to be the one to throw the ball harder, faster and farther. As if this weren’t enough, in nearly every situation and interaction, dad had to show his superiority. My friend was an adored and loved boy but with one unspoken condition: he must remain forever a pretender, never a contender.

Nor is the compulsion to repeat confined to the negative. A man I know is a ba’al tzedakah — very charitable — but not by “choice.” His father, a Polish Jew, became very rich in the button business, and loved to give away money. Various people, from ne’er do wells to illustrious rabbis, came to him for donations. They would stream in to his office every working day, all day, and receive monetary gifts large and small, and make great displays of gratefulness. There wasn’t a cause that his father didn’t like, from the rinky-dink to august museums and universities. When his father died, he felt “compelled” to live his father’s life and continued this worthy but rather odd form of daily theater. He is a warm and wonderful human being who takes pleasure in philanthropy, but there is an unstated shadowy depression that hangs over him. It is possible that this “depressive shadow” may have something to do with his addiction to painkillers. He would do well to “look” at himself, but instead he just goes on automatic.

It makes you think: why bother going forward if our past is our only future?

Don’t despair. There are ways to avoid repetition, but it’s not easy. If you can afford to, you can hire someone to review your life with you and bring it down to slow-motion frames. This is commonly known as psychoanalysis or psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy. When you catch the repetition in progress, if you talk about it enough, you can turn the ship around even in rough waters. The Yetzer Hora is a skilled and nearly implacable foe, but when all efforts are marshaled against him, he can be tamed.

*Names and some identifying details have been changed

Dr. Simon Yisroel Feuerman is the Director of the New Center for Advanced Psychotherapy Studies (NCAPS) and a Professor of Psychology at Kean University.

By Simon Yisroel Feuerman

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Recently, the national media was drawn to the story of Jaycee Dugard, the victim of a decades-long kidnapping.

But in a story-behind-the-story, the NY Times reported that although Jaycee suffered sexual abuse, neglect and emotional manipulation — to an extent hard to imagine — therapists say the biggest challenge

Opinion: Summer of our shame

With the Days of Judgment upon us, it’s appropriate that we awaken unpleasant memories of recent events in the hope that by so doing we will undertake to better ourselves in the future.

This summer Orthodox American Jews “sanctified” G-d’s name publicly in many ingenious ways. The following all happened during a 30-day span starting at the end of July. We’ll start slow and build up steam as we move along the Chilul Hashem trail.

A Monsey couple was arrested for defrauding the government in Medicaid and other federal assistance programs.

A Chicago businessman fled to Israel in 2003 after being convicted of tax fraud. Seems you just can’t put a good man down; this summer, he was at it again. “Ex-Chicago rabbi indicted in tax-fraud case arrested in Israel,” read The Chicago Tribune headline of August 4th.

A former leader of the New Square community evaded prosecution as a party to the multi-million dollar “Pell Grant” fraud by hiding in Israel since 1997. This August, he was finally extradited to the US where he awaits trial. (These last two give a whole new meaning to Israel being a place where Jews can run to in times of trouble)

Fortune Magazine ran a feature story detailing the “fabulously brazen” diversion scheme run by an Upper West Sider, identified as an observant Jew. The scheme netted her huge sums of money. To me, the “fabulously brazen” moniker should be applied to the following quote in the same article: “(She) enlisted her rabbi … to convince a judge that she not be required to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. Orthodox practice … forbids women from wearing slacks or pantsuits… and any skirt or dress shorter than ankle length would reveal the bracelet … complicating her efforts to get a new job.” After 12 years of Jewish education, it’s good to see that she was makpid (strict) about not wearing pants.

Moving right along.

As part of a plea bargain (we just love bargains, don’t we), the Spinka Rebbe pleaded guilty to his part in a money laundering conspiracy that had been working it’s magic for over ten years.

And of course, the big hit of the summer season — a line of black suits and hats, beards and payos being paraded across millions of television screens worldwide for charges ranging from money laundering to organ trafficking.

The great achdus we’ve sought for thousands of years is finally here: Sephardim and Ashkenazim, Chasidim and Misnagdim all working together for a common cause.

Remember, all of this happened during 30 consecutive days this summer.

How ashamed are we?

Publicly, you might find some lip service being paid to more “ethical behavior.” Privately, however, there’s lot of talk that sounds like this: we’re very “frum,” in many cases “frummer” than our parents. Didn’t you notice how many stores are now exclusively Cholov Yisroel, Pas Yisroel and Kemach Yashan? Look how the sheitel stores no longer post pictures of women in their display windows.

Some neighborhoods are so “frum” that they now have not one contested eruv, but two contested eruv’im.

How ashamed are we? The only real measure of our shame is the intensity of actions that we are taking to guarantee that events like these never happen again. We must learn how G-d wants us to act in our monetary and business dealings. More accurately, we, and our children, must know how to answer: “What does G-d demand of us in our daily transaction?”

Let’s boil it down to some specific examples of things that we don’t want to hear, and that, for some unimaginable reason, were never taught to us in Yeshiva.

Most major poskim [halachic decisors] consider the following activities to be prohibited by Torah law. One who commits them violates an issur d’oraysa [negative Torah commandment] of gezel [theft]: back dating a sales receipt to be eligible for the “90 day” warranty; copying software; “ripping” a CD from a friend; parking in a store’s lot when not shopping in that store; purchasing an item of clothing with the intent of wearing it to an event and then returning it for a full refund.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine how many issurim [negative commandments] we transgress every day that we aren’t even aware of.

Two suggestions come to mind. Rabbis should teach these Halachos in their weekly sermons and shiurim. (I promise you that all your congregants know by now that you want them to spend more time learning; what they sorely need to hear from you is that signing a false tax return is Assur). Schools need to add the “Halachos of Money” to their curriculum, alongside and with the same emphasis as the Halachos of tefilah [prayer] and kashrus.

When lying about a child’s age to get a discount is as repulsive and reprehensible to us as eating a McDonald’s cheese burger (both issurim d’oraysa), then we’ll know that we’re on the right track to finding favor in G-d’s eyes.

Meir Weingarten is President of Ariel Tours, a leading tour operator to Israel. He is also a public speaker and commentator on Israeli affairs heard on Kol Israel’s Reshet Bet, on the nationally syndicated Mike Gallagher Show, and internationally on JM in the AM with Nachum Segal.by

By Meir Weingarten

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

With the Days of Judgment upon us, it’s appropriate that we awaken unpleasant memories of recent events in the hope that by so doing we will undertake to better ourselves in the future.

This summer Orthodox American Jews “sanctified” G-d’s name publicly

The Shofar’s blast: an abrupt, tragic realization

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik recounted a personal episode that took place shortly after his wife passed away.

As the rain and wind blew through the window of his room, half-awake, Rabbi Soloveitchik jumped to close the window. He thought

Fair carnival day

Issue of Sept. 18, 2009 / 29 Elul 5769

Cedarhurst Community Chest Fair 9-13-09 (Photo by John O'Connell)

Abundant sunshine made Sunday perfect for carnivals and a fair in the Five Towns. HAFTR held it’s 12th Annual Back to School Carnival on campus (bottom left and right)  while Yeshiva of South Shore had its carnival in Hewlett. The Cedarhurst Community Chest Fair, sponsored in

Kid-friendly Jerusalem

By Michael Orbach

Looking for something good to do with your children over Sukkoth in Israel? Perhaps an art workshop in the Islamic Museum of Art or a Bible Lands tour where actors dressed as Abraham and Isaac lead children on a scavenger hunt of biblical proportions? Or perhaps a wood working class in a cozy store in Katamon known as Gheppeto’s Workshop?  Look no further than Joanna Seybern, who made aliyah from Los Angeles two years ago.

“Jerusalem, is very kid-focused and there’s a lot of events. People take their kids out till eight or nine o’clock at night. But you have to check three newspapers and four different websites. I basically do all the legwork,” said Seybern.

She runs Fun in Jerusalem (www.funinjerusalem.com) a website  that lists the best activities for children in Jerusalem. She started the website as a project for a social media marketing class in June and since then it has blossomed to a full-time job for the mother of two.

“I had been keeping notes looking for what to do, and I would put up the information that I had. I sent it out to a couple of friends and it just grew; people kept on saying it’s fabulous and it became the central feature of the blog. “

She says that while she features popular events like museums and theatres, she also tries to focus on some little known gems like the bird observatory in Talpiyot, and kite festivals around the city. Seybern also says that there’s no end of theater for children in Jerusalem. Most of it is in Hebrew, though, which Seybern says has helped her children adjust to the move.

“When you live here you hear that there isn’t a lot of culture in Jerusalem compared to Tel Aviv, but for children I’ve found there is so much stuff, and just not enough time to do it.”

The difference, she says, between children’s activities in America and in Israel, is that in Israel they focus on the Jewish holidays.

“You really feel the Jewish calendar here and the events are totally around it,” Seybern explained. “As soon as the summer ends, it’s chagim and as soon as chagim end it’s all about Chanukah and after Chanukah, Pesach.”

For Sukkoth, Seybern recommends the Singing Bus that travels around the Old City Walls and a stop at Ir David (City of David) where she says her kids always have a good time.

“I saw someone on the street, she knew who I was,” Seybern recalled. “She screamed across the street: ‘You saved my summer!’”

Online source for childrens’ activities in the holy city

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Looking for something good to do with your children over Sukkoth in Israel? Perhaps an art workshop in the Islamic Museum of Art or a Bible Lands tour where actors dressed as Abraham

Editorial: Courtesy, professionalism and respect

Issue of September 19, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Remember the Iraqi guy who threw his shoes at President Bush?

Letters to the Editor 9-18-09

Young Israel

more important than ever

To the Editor:

I read with interest Jonathan Bell’s letter to the editor “Is Young Israel redundant?” (September 4, 2009). As a Jewish “activist” (so I’ve been called), I have always sought to bring together various groups and also wondered about the need for such a large array of Jewish organizations.

In this instance, however, I believe he is totally misguided. The Orthodox Union and National Council of Young Israel have different philosophies. An example of this is the now infamous invitation to a meeting of Jewish organizations with President Obama. Obama invited the OU but not Young Israel, for the same reason he didn’t invite the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), but invited J Street.

The Young Israel is independent, outspoken, and actively pro-Israel in the policies, programs and ideas that it brings to its synagogues and that resonate with its membership. The OU is much less outspoken. Perhaps its presence was designed to lend an aura of legitimacy to a meeting with leftist organizations such as J Street — designed to rubberstamp Obama’s policy that is the antithesis of what most, if not all, Orthodox synagogue members support.

The Young Israel is even more important today in its mission of promoting Orthodox Jewry and in being a clear, decisive, and most importantly, unambiguous voice championing the Orthodox community’s strong support for Israel.

The Young Israel and ZOA deserve our community’s continued support and thanks for articulating our concerns and being our voice.

Rubin Margulies

Manhattan Beach

Missed a hero

To the Editor:

“In Search of Jewish Heroes” (September 11, 2009) is a wonderful article highlighting a lot of the great work of the nominees in the Jewish Community Heroes contest. I do want to point out one quote which is quite inconsistent with the majority of the article:

“Following close behind Yanklowitz, another nominee was selected for being head counselor of Camp Stone.”

I am curious as to why this sentence was put into the article? Unlike all the other people mentioned this person is left nameless and, indeed, the reason for their nomination is not even accurate.

Her name happens to be Sharon Weiss-Greenberg and she was nominated because of her work in inspiring young Jewish people, many girls, to serve the Jewish community and find meaning in their lives. Over the years she has worked with thousands of young Jewish students and now is the Director of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at Harvard University.

You did not have to include her in the article but once you did why did she receive such unequal treatment compared to everyone else discussed?

Rabbi Ben Greenberg

Cambridge

The author is the Co-Director of The Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at Harvard University

Why didn’t Bush

prevent 9/11 attack?

To the Editor:

I am perplexed by your editorial, “Keep the change, Mr. President” (September 11, 2009).

One argument I don’t understand is your statement that “(w)e have gone eight years without another attack on US soil,” which you attribute to “the tough minded approach taken by former President George W. Bush from the first hours after the Sept. 11 attacks until he left office.”

If we accept the thesis that Bush’s post-9/11 tactics kept us safe from attacks post 9-11, that begs the question: why didn’t he implement these tactics pre-9/11, and thus prevent on his watch the biggest security failure in the history of our nation?

The next statement that bewilders me is that President Obama has issued “unseemly, toadyish comments about Islam.” Bush repeatedly stated that Islam is a religion of peace, and indeed tried so hard to appease Muslims he earned condemnation from Daniel Pipes (http://www.danielpipes.org/4739/shoeless-george-bush-discusses-islam). If that is not “unseemly, toadyish,” I don’t know what is.

Lastly, you conclude that, “eight years after Sept. 11, 2001, on President Obama’s watch, the world is even less safe than it was before.” George W. Bush was in office for 234 days before 9/11, and thus by your logic, “kept us safe for that long.” If, G-d willing, we do not sustain another terrorist attack, would you be willing to admit that President Obama has kept us safe longer than President Bush did? Somehow, I suspect you’ll rationalize a reason not to.

Carl Maltzman

North Woodmere

Editor’s note: The writer chooses not to acknowledge that the editorial called the world under President Obama less safe than before specifically in reference to the President’s apparently failing effort to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state.

More precious to G-d

To the Editor:

Listening to the news this week, I heard a story that deeply impressed me, especially at this time of year.

A young lady living in Manhattan is a cancer survivor. She awakens early each morning to walk to the river. There in the serenity of nature and the peaceful silence of the still-sleeping city, she offers a short prayer to G-d in her own words thanking Him for letting her live.

I began to wonder: which was more precious in the eyes of heaven? The simple, heartfelt “thank you” of this sincere young woman, said in the solitude of the morning at the riverbank, or the rushed, lightning-fast, half-understood, prayers, mechanically read without conviction at the services I attend each morning, accompanied by the disturbing chatter and background noices of uninterested congregants?

Don’t we have anything to say “thank you” for?

Nathan Finkiel

Cedarhurst

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Young Israel more important than ever

To the Editor:

I read with interest Jonathan Bell’s letter to the editor “Is Young Israel redundant?” (September 4, 2009). As a Jewish “activist” (so I’ve been called), I have always sought to bring together various groups and also wondered about the need for

Local businesses helping Hatzalah

Parlor meetings a success in Woodmere and Cedarhurst

By Mayer Fertig

Two local businesses are encouraging customers to help support Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County.

The Tiger Schulmann’s martial arts school in Cedarhurst will donate $25 to Hatzalah for each customer who signs up for a trial program, which provides orientation, a uniform and two weeks of classes for $59.

The school’s Floyd Martin made the announcement Sunday onstage at the Cedarhurst Community Chest Fair.

“I saw that Hatzalah is in dire need and I want to do my part,” Martin told The Jewish Star. He has never called Hatzalah himself but said family members in Brooklyn have called for help in the past.

“When we all need them, we want them to be here,” he said. Tiger Schulmann’s is located next to Gourmet Glatt.

A popular hair salon on Central Ave, Elements, is also running a promotion to benefit Hatzalah.

Owners Danny Roselli and Stephen Gold are raffling off various services offered at their shop. Customers must write a check to Hatzalah to enter the raffle.

Roselli and Gold wanted to do something to express their appreciation to the community where they make their living, Roselli told The Jewish Star. “The people in this neighborhood have been so good to me,” he said. “They don’t have to. There’s plenty of other shops and I appreciate it.”

Gold suggested a gift to Hatzalah. The idea resonated with Roselli for several reasons, he said, the first being his friendship with Mark Davidman a”h, who died in an accident  two years ago.

“He used to ride a motorcycle and I ride a motorcycle. When he passed it really hurt me. I’m not Jewish and I’m not Orthodox, and he was one of the first people who made me see that Orthodox people are like everybody else,” Roselli said.

Davidman was an active Hatzalah member, also a factor for Roselli, who lost his father to a heart attack at a young age some 20 years ago.

“I was pumping away on his chest and they couldn’t help me,” he said, referring to a local volunteer ambulance corps in Brooklyn that didn’t offer early morning coverage.

“There was a recording on the answering machine — ‘We’re sorry, at this time we cannot take your call because we have no volunteers,’” he recalled. The squad had responded to help his father through nine previous heart attacks but on that occasion, the final one, Roselli called 9-1-1.

New York City’s emergency medical services were notoriously slow in those days, and “EMS came about a half hour or 45 minutes later,” Roselli said, too late to help his father, who was just 51 when he died.

“Hatzalah is not just for the Jews, it’s for everyone, and not everyone understands that,” Roselli said. “When you call them, they’ll come and they’ll take you to any hospital you want. And the more I learned about Hatzalah, I couldn’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t support it. “

“When mayhem is happening all you care about is that the ambulance is going to get there,” he added. “It’s very important to have a service like that and not many communities have that kind of service.”

A series of five fundraising parlor meetings for Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County were held in Cedarhurst and Woodmere Sunday night and deemed a success by organizers. More than 200 people turned out — mostly younger members of the community, as  hoped. “Dollar amounts were generous and well above average,” reported Rabbi Elozer Kanner, a Hatzalah coordinators.

Last week The Jewish Star reported that Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau faces a $250,000 deficit for 2009.

A sign for the Hatzalah raffle hangs in the window at Elements on Central Avenue.  (Photo by Sue Grieco for The Jewish Star)

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Two local businesses are encouraging customers to help support Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County.

The Tiger Schulmann’s martial arts school in Cedarhurst will donate $25 to Hatzalah for each customer who signs up for a trial program, which provides orientation, a uniform and two weeks of classes for $59.

The school’s Floyd Martin made the announcement Sunday onstage at the Cedarhurst Community Chest Fair.

“I saw that Hatzalah is in dire need and I want to do my part,” Martin told The Jewish Star. He has never called Hatzalah himself but said family members in Brooklyn have called for help in the past.

“When we all need them, we want them to be here,” he said. Tiger Schulmann’s is located next to Gourmet Glatt.

A popular hair salon on Central Ave, Elements, is also running a promotion to benefit Hatzalah.

Owners Danny Roselli and Stephen Gold are raffling off various services offered at their shop. Customers must write a check to Hatzalah to enter the raffle.

Roselli and Gold wanted to do something to express their appreciation

Raffle entries on a shelf at Elements (Photo by Sue Grieco for The Jewish Star)

to the community where they make their living, Roselli told The Jewish Star. “The people in this neighborhood have been so good to me,” he said. “They don’t have to. There’s plenty of other shops and I appreciate it.”

Gold suggested a gift to Hatzalah. The idea resonated with Roselli for several reasons, he said, the first being his friendship with Mark Davidman a”h, who died in an accident  two years ago.

“He used to ride a motorcycle and I ride a motorcycle. When he passed it really hurt me. I’m not Jewish and I’m not Orthodox, and he was one of the first people who made me see that Orthodox people are like everybody else,” Roselli said.

Davidman was an active Hatzalah member, also a factor for Roselli, who lost his father to a heart attack at a young age some 20 years ago.

“I was pumping away on his chest and they couldn’t help me,” he said, referring to a local volunteer ambulance corps in Brooklyn that didn’t offer early morning coverage.

“There was a recording on the answering machine — ‘We’re sorry, at this time we cannot take your call because we have no volunteers,’” he recalled. The squad had responded to help his father through nine previous heart attacks but on that occasion, the final one, Roselli called 9-1-1.

New York City’s emergency medical services were notoriously slow in those days, and “EMS came about a half hour or 45 minutes later,” Roselli said, too late to help his father, who was just 51 when he died.

“Hatzalah is not just for the Jews, it’s for everyone, and not everyone understands that,” Roselli said. “When you call them, they’ll come and they’ll take you to any hospital you want. And the more I learned about Hatzalah, I couldn’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t support it. “

“When mayhem is happening all you care about is that the ambulance is going to get there,” he added. “It’s very important to have a service like that and not many communities have that kind of service.”

Parlor meeting organizer and Hatzalah member Meir Krengel (second from left) with host Ushi Klein (second from right) and Hatzalah supporters at one of five parlor meetings held on Sunday night. (Photo courtesy Hatzalah of Rockaways and Nassau County)

A series of five fundraising parlor meetings for Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County were held in Cedarhurst and Woodmere Sunday night and deemed a success by organizers. More than 200 people turned out — mostly younger members of the community, as  hoped. “Dollar amounts were generous and well above average,” reported Rabbi Elozer Kanner, a Hatzalah coordinator.

Last week The Jewish Star reported that Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau faces a $250,000 deficit for 2009.

At one of five parlmor meetings for Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County, Sunday night Sept 13, 2009 at the home of Surie and Ushi Klein

Hatzalah supporters at one of five fundraising parlor meetings held Sunday night Sept 13, 2009 in Cedarhurst and Woodmere to benefit Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County. Hatzalah member and one of the meeting organizers, Moshe Ratner, is second from right. (Photo courtesy Hatzalah)

At a fundraising parlor meeting held Sunday Sept 13, 2009 to benefit Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County. Rabbi Elozer Kanner, one of the Hatzalah coordinators (left) with supporters of Hatzalah. (Photo courtesy Hatzalah)

For additional stories from Sept 18 edition click below on archive for ‘September 2009′ and scroll down

Kosher Bookworm: A prayer-intensive experience

Perhaps no other holiday season in the Jewish calendar is as prayer-intensive as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Each of these holidays has a unique prayer and liturgy to the themes and spiritual quests of each day. Inherent with each are the motifs of repentance and new beginnings.

Rabbi Chaim Friedlander zt”l, the famed mashgiach of the Ponovezh Yeshiva was a keen interpreter of the liturgy of the holiday season. His annual shiurim for many years focused upon the tefilot of the machzor, especially that of the various and diverse amidot.

Several years ago Feldheim Publishers, in cooperation with the Friedlander family, issued a bi-lingual edition of Rabbi Friedlander’s shiurim of these tefilot entitled, “Rinas Chaim: Understanding the Tefilot of the Yamim Noraim.”

Within this volume is a wealth of commentary reflecting Rabbi Friedlander’s finest shiurim. These involve detailed interpretations of the entire musaf amidah service from the beginning berachot and the special insertions that are unique to the themes for this time of year, that penetrate to the very heart of the amidah.

A detailed forty-page interpretation of the Birkas Kedushas HaYom  is followed by an even more extensive, one hundred page plus, commentary of the heart of the Rosh Hashanah musaf service, keyed to the tri-partate of Malchuyos, Zichronos, and Shofaros.

Each section is given a very special treatment. To summarize it here would do injustice to its content. This has to be seen and read in the original to be appreciated.

In this writer’s opinion, this work is one of the finest ever published on the machzor liturgy.

To better understand where Rabbi Friedlander was coming from consider this: Rabbi Friedlander was a student of the teachings of the great Rav Eliyahu Dessler and Rav Eliyahu Lopian, whose works he later edited; both eminent sages of blessed memory.

This work is the first of three to be issued in English, the other being on Divine providence [hashgachah], and the third on trust in G-d [bitachon].

The next work to be reviewed is Artscroll’s “The Wisdom in the Hebrew Months” by Zvi Ryzman. From the outset I must caution you that this book is not an easy read and not meant for casual reading. The work’s detailed  formulations involve not only an extensive use of rabbinic sources but also mystical and kabbalistic writings that deal with various aspects of the Jewish calendar.

This work is really two books in one. The first is titled, “The Months of the Tribes,” linking each month of the year with the twelve tribes of Israel. The second section, “The Months and the Name of Hashem,” is the kabbalistic part of the work.

At this time of year, this volume merits your attention for its special treatment of the months of Elul and Tishrei. Nowhere have I ever seen these months given so deep an analysis with the spiritual “tools” that Ryzman utilizes.

“Days of Awe, Days of Joy” is an extensive English compilation of Chabad Chasidic insights into the festivals of the month of Tishrei. Compiled by Rabbi Eli Friedman and translated by Binyamin Kaplan, this classic covers an extensive array of topics, lore and law, as reflected in the Chabad tradition. However, this book of over 350 pages makes for an excellent resource for reading and learning for every Jew, no matter what belief. If you see it, buy it. The joy and knowledge that you will gain from this will surely help enrich your appreciation of our faith, especially at this sacred time of year.

Finally, and on the lighter side, we have Joe Bobker’s  humorous, yet learned volume, “From Fasting to Feasting: A Unique Journey Through The Jewish Holidays” [Geffen Publishing]. This book is appropriate to this time of year inasmuch as the first one hundred pages deal with this season’s observances.

As noted, this book views our calendar in a humorous vein.  Mr. Bobker says “all my books are written with one purpose only: to educate in a humorous manner in order to ‘prove’ that living a Torah life can, and should be, fun. There is too much seriousness in the Torah world. Life is meant to be enjoyed. In  fact, when it comes to Jewish festivals, joy and good cheer, are, according to the Talmud, ‘mitzvas!’”

These words give you a clear picture as to what motivates Joe Bobker’s work. When you read him carefully you will come to see that this is no crass work but is indeed a serious method of teaching the themes and experiences of our faith with a smile and a hearty laugh.

Given all  that  we  are  facing , as Jews and as Americans, a good laugh is in order.

May I conclude with a quote from my good friend Rabbi Eliyahu Safran who wrote the following in a recent essay, titled, “Designing Your Own Calendar.”

“Let us approach the beginning of this new  year by resolving to author and design our own days and calendar. Let us not be enslaved to pre-designed schedules and preordained programs, timetables and resolutions. Let’s not just tear off and discard precious and valuable time, never to be be retrieved.

“May the year 5770 calendar be designed with care, adorned with precision and love, accompanied with health, happiness and contentment — so that our individual and collective accomplishments are many, Shana Tova.”

To which I can only add, Amen.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

No other holiday season in the Jewish calendar is as prayer-intensive as

That’s Life: Again, don’t judge a book by its cover

Dear That’s Life,

It’s a long story… But it’s a good one.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. How many times have I said that? More times than I care to remember. But as I often do in this column, I have a confession to make: I literally judged a book by its cover and it was a huge mistake.

Weeks ago, a friend of mine finished reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks while she was at my home for Shabbat. Raving about it, she offered it to me but I passed — the cover looked dry and from the title I assumed it was yet another book on the plight of the Jewish people and I was not in the mood. However, you know what happens when you assume…

Whenever I finish reading a book, I initial and date the inside cover. It is almost my way of demonstrating a kind of ownership of the text, as it reminds me of where I was and what point of life I was at when I read the book. But this ritual only happens when I’ve finished reading it cover to cover — only then do I really feel like a book is mine or that it is a part of me.

I started a book last week which, within the first page, required me to look up at least four words, leading me to simply place the dictionary on my stomach, keeping it close by for easy access. When would I have ever come across the word mahout before? Or myna? Or caravansary? My point exactly. When I realized carrying a complete (unabridged) dictionary with me was impractical, I knew I needed a book I could take with me in my bag that was a little less labor intensive, i.e. no reference material necessary. The next day, when I went to Barnes and Noble, I picked up a number of different titles and for some reason (and I cannot tell you why) seeing it out of the corner of my eye, I added People of the Book to the top of my heap.

Sitting on the train, only ten pages in, I was hooked. To quote one of the best cinematic lines of the past thirteen years, it had me at ‘hello.’ I connected to this book almost instantaneously when I realized that the book in question referred to in the title was the Sarajevo Hagaddah. I automatically thought of my mother. Growing up with a mom who is a curator,  the story of the Sarajevo Hagaddah is one that I had heard numerous times. Little did I know that the book in my hand would be about both the semi-fictionalized journey of this precious tome and the numerous people who were responsible for saving it from the hands of the Nazis and somehow, about me as well.

The fictional conservator of the Hagaddah mentions early on that she does not like to “erase” traces of a book’s past and while some might replace sections of a piece in order to make it perfect once again, a book’s stains or imperfections are actually a sign of its history and part of its story. I appreciated that and noted that the way I date my books is a way of tracing my own history as a reader in the library I keep at home.

I searched the back of the book to get some more information about the author. Was she Jewish? What was her background? Reading the afterword, I became more and more intrigued, strengthening my connection to this book that I had not wanted to read. The author referred to a time period known as Convivencia, an era in Spanish history when Jews, Muslims and Christians all coexisted in peace – and the title of an exhibit my mother had done in 2007. Coincidence? Maybe. But then I read on — and the author thanked my aunt, my mother’s sister, by name. No more coincidences —this book and I were linked for sure.

I called my aunt at her office the next morning and she called me back while I was at work. Harvard University popped up on the caller ID. “ Aunt Judy,” I said as I answered the phone, “if I had a dime for every time ‘Harvard’ showed up on my caller ID…” “You’d have a dime?” she responded. We both laughed and began to discuss the book.

She gave me details about some of the research the author had done under her tutelage and the people the author had met along the way. Timing is everything: someone who also happened to be doing research at Harvard at the same time as Brooks was a butterfly specialist and taught her about the parnassius butterfly, which has a prominent role in the storyline. Had they never met, would that butterfly not have made it into the story? Would its wing not have graced the cover? Would the butterfly as a symbol for the unique, arduous and dangerous journey the Hagaddah took have ever been had the author and this authority on butterflies never met? My mind raced. “Oh!” my aunt added, “I put Brooks in touch with your mom — I don’t know if they even connected but I knew your mother could be a good source for her.” I was done.

Speaking to my sister-in-law that night, I began to tell her this crazy story. “I have to tell you about my book,” I told her. But once I mentioned the book’s title, she stopped me. “Wait!” she said. “That’s my book.” Perplexed, and a little annoyed that someone was taking else was taking ownership of something I really felt was mine. I said, “Really? And how is that?!” She then began to explain how she became connected as well and the time in her life that she read it. From completely different points and angles, we had both connected to this novel. It seemed we were both ‘people of the book’ as well.

Holding my copy in my hand but not having finished it yet, I did something which for me was radical and unheard of: I signed and dated the cover. As far as I was concerned, it was already mine even before it was finished. After all, it was (almost) love at first sight.

MLW

Dear That’s Life

One of my family’s favorite activities when we’re away on vacation or on a day in the city is checking out the local bookstores, new and used. Every Main Street has one and we love browsing, making for a nice break of quiet time from the busyness of driving, touring or other activities.

This year we eagerly sought out bookstores more than ever, as it hit us again that we have no book shop to return to in our own hometown. The Five Towns is home to the people of the book — how ironic is it that we have lost our beloved bookstore with seemingly no hope of a replacement coming to the area.

Our book store was filled with all ages of avid readers, buying and browsing. There were many friendly folk who would, along with the knowledgeable staff, eagerly recommend a title or two. I was happy when my kids spent some of their Friday afternoons there bringing home something special to read on Shabbat. It was my favorite place for buying gifts and the one shop where I never regretted a purchase. It’s still hard to believe that we have to drive to Valley Stream, or further, just to buy a bestseller or a classic.

Buying on Amazon may be cheaper, but a virtual experience is just not the same as the feel and smell of a book. I love the library, but sometimes you just need an instantly gratifying book-buying fix.

Miriam Bradman Abrahams

Woodmere

Dear That’s Life,

As for going green, I’m all for it.

We recycle our plastics, sort our trash and newspapers, and even try to reuse our Ziploc bags. We’ve switched from plastic to a sundry assortment of reusable bags and have even considered buying a hybrid. We use the power save bulbs, have gone paperless at the office and wanted to go paperless at home — but then what does one do about toilet paper?

Being that I was not limited by time restraints on a holiday, I decided to push the envelope (a virtual one, not a paper one) a little further on the Sunday before Labor Day by trying to do my errands using my bicycle instead of my car. Things were going well — I was able to exchange my daughter’s cellphone without a mishap and even picked up a few groceries and placed them directly in my backpack (no plastic bags). I made my final stop at the bagel store where I picked up some bagels (in a paper bag, of course) and remembered that my mother requested a ‘good’ cup of coffee.

Emboldened by the fact that I was still running under an hour, I thought nothing of balancing the cup of coffee in my right hand while wearing a backpack filled with the above on my back. I then proceeded down the sidewalk and was about to enter into traffic at the curb. Just in front of me, a few feet away, an aide was wheeling a woman in a wheelchair. I began to proceed slowly, calculating the needed speed and maneuvers necessary to pass them safely on the right, thinking that the tree that was also coming on the right would already be safely behind us.

I would have made it. However, the couple in front of the lady in the wheelchair stopped abruptly to window shop. Realizing that I could not pass between the lady and the tree, I squeezed the the front brake and screamed, coming to an abrupt stop and began to fall off my bike. Thinking that the weight of my backpack was the only thing preventing me from going over the handlebars, I was surprised and shocked to see a skeletal hand reaching out from the wheelchair holding on to my arm. The sweet elderly woman, with her apparent strength and excellent reflexes, was the only thing that kept me from becoming another “green” causality.

I was grateful and mortified at the same time.  When the couple in front heard me scream, they turned around and began helping me right myself. After profusely thanking the lovely women and apologizing to her and her aide, I hopped back on my bike, coffee in hand, and headed home.

Shaken but not deterred, I arrived home and thought how I could possibly explain to my mother where the other half of the cup of coffee went. Then I thought, “Recycle, reuse, REDUCE!” Less water, less waste, less coffee? My mom wasn’t so sure, but she felt it was a good cause.

Gail Siskind

Woodmere

By Miriam L. Wallach

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

Dear That’s Life,

It’s a long story… But it’s a good one.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. How many times have I said that? More times than I care to remember. But as I often do in this column, I have a confession

Guy that binds

Extending life of old books for fraction of replacement cost

By Judah S. Harris

As the Yomim Tovim approach, Jewish souls aren’t the only things being tested. Worn and torn, yellowed pages, pages missing, and cracked spines; seforim are being given their last shot.

“I have found that about 80 to 90 percent of books that are deemed ‘shaimos’ can be instead fixed and returned to proper use,” says Marc Sommer, founder of a book repair and reinforcement service called Restorim’ Seforim. “In our throw-away society, I’m proud to see that prayer books, many of which were donated in memory or in honor of someone, can be brought back to life.”

Shuls invest between $5,000 and $25,000 on Siddurim (prayer books) and Chumashim (bibles), depending on the size of the shul, Sommer estimates; bindery has become a big business. Sommer, 51, is a New Jersey resident and a former professor of humanities and social sciences at West Point and at the Stevens Institute of Technology, but bookbinding is his passion.

Ripped books are “not conducive for prayer or learning, and not befitting the image of something that should be part of a House of G-d,” asserted Sommer.

His part time business of book binding, which he started some 20 years ago, has become increasingly lucrative, as the replacement costs of seforim have risen. A new Siddur can cost over $30; Chumashim, Machzorim, and tractates of Gemara are even more costly.

“Synagogues and yeshivas are spending more and more money to constantly replace older and damaged books with new ones. It’s worth their while to try and save what they can,” advised Sommer, who said he can restore and reinforce about 250 books a day, on average. He does the work on premises, usually completing a shul or yeshiva in a week or two.

Sommer uses a composite of glues and adhesives, a technique of pressure dynamics, and a keen eye for detail — and charges just $3.00 per book, regardless of size, condition, or work required.

“I can also include a one-year written guarantee on my work — something even new book publishers can’t do!” laughed Sommer.

Publishers have addressed concerns about durability and have made improvements in recent years. Mesorah Publications, publisher of the ArtScroll series, has been using a side-sewing technique “since 2002 or 2003,” according to Benjamin Seror, the company’s binding manager for the past nine years.

Side-sewing uses drilling and thick thread, usually of nylon, to bind together sections of a book. The cost for the added reinforcement is a loss of flexibility; getting the book to lay flat is challenging. Seror maintains that rebinding of books prepared with the side-sewing technique is not needed and that further drilling will only damage the original holes.

Sommer doesn’t limit his work to shuls and yeshivas. He also does book binding for churches under a different company name: Book Savior.

“Same price, same service, same guarantee… just a different Testament,” he quipped.

Sommer’s favorite story involves a job at a Greek Orthodox church about ten years ago. After fixing up the church’s regular prayer books, he was approached by a “high ranking individual” of the Greek Orthodox Church, who asked if he could repair a book of “true historical significance.”

“He told me, through an interpreter, how this Bible was saved by Greek partisans during WWII. It was smuggled out to avoid it being seized by advancing Nazi forces that wanted it only for the valuable jewels that adorned it. It was obviously their most cherished possession, and it needed to be reinforced to be used again,” Sommer recalled. He said he could fix it for the same price as the other books, $3.00.

After the repair was completed and the official inspected the Bible closely, the official returned to Sommer and asked him to clasp his hands. The official then blessed him in Greek, which his assistant translated.

“As this young man is of ‘The People of The Book,’” the assistant explained, “so he should be blessed with his gifted hands to continue to supply this service to all people of faith!”

The church has recommended business to Sommer over the years.

Restorim’ Seforim offers a trial binding session, where Sommer will do a few books as a free sample of his work. He can be reached at (201) 837-0489. Judah S. Harris is a photographer, filmmaker, speaker and writer. His work can be seen at www.judahsharris.com/visit.

Worn and torn seforim are often discarded unnecessarily (Photo by Judah S. Harris)

By Judah S. Harris

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

As the Yomim Tovim approach, Jewish souls aren’t the only things being tested. Worn and torn, yellowed pages, pages missing, and cracked spines; seforim are being given their last shot.

“I have found that about 80 to 90 percent of books that are deemed ‘shaimos’ can be instead fixed and returned to proper use,” says Mark Sommer, founder of a book repair and reinforcement service called Restorim’ Seforim. “In our throw-away society, I’m proud to see that prayer books, many of which were donated in memory or in honor

See The Jewish Star as it appears in print 9-18-09

Click here for the print edition of The Jewish Star for 9-18-09

It started with screaming

Neo-Nazis assault Woodmere residents visiting Hungary

By Michael Orbach

A Woodmere couple has learned first-hand that Jews may no longer be very welcome in Hungary.

Nat and Tova Farago were on a weeklong visit to Hungary to visit the graves of Nat’s parents before Rosh Hashanah. In Budapest, on Shabbos, September 5th, they walked to Keren Ohr Chabad, a shul about forty-five minutes away from their hotel. Afterward, while walking down a crowded main street with two Chabad students, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a group of forty Neo-Nazis.

“They were spitting at us and cursing at us in Hungarian: ‘Dirty Jews, go home! ‘We’re going to break your bones!’” Farago recalled days later.

The couple did not respond to the taunts; after dousing them with beer and spit, the skinheads left. Five minutes later, as they continued down Karoly Street, the four Jews found themselves surrounded by a second group of Neo-Nazis that did much the same thing.

After the second incident, shaken up, Farago found a police car and told the officers what happened. Their response shocked him even more.

“He said ‘things like this happen,’ and didn’t take any report,” Farago said.

After he returned to America, a friend emailed to Farago pictures the incident he’d found posted on a Hungarian Neo-Nazi site.

With a prominent Jewish community, Hungary has seen an upswing in racist and anti-Semitic incidents across the country. Dr. Shimon Samuels, director for international relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, described Hungarian anti-Semitism as “ongoing,” and said that the country is “sinking into an abyss of hate.”

“Anyone who’s identifiably Jewish by garb or by behavior might want to reconsider visiting Hungary at the moment,” Samuels told the Jewish Star.

Hungary’s relatively large Jewish community, numbering over 100,000 individuals, was able to rebound faster than communities in other Eastern European countries after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Anti-Semitism there was kept quiet while Hungary attempted to become part of the European Union and NATO, but since Hungary successfully joined those organizations, anti-Semitism and racism have resurfaced.

“Racism has come forward and it’s been exacerbated by anti-Gypsy feelings,” explained Samuels. “In countries when you don’t have a Jewish communities, Romas have replaced the Jews.”

In turn, this has strengthened the far-right political party, Jobbik, which many have accused of being fascist and anti-Semitic. Jobbik is connected to the Magyar Guard, a descendent of the Arrow Cross militia that assisted the Germans in deporting over 400,000 Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. While the group is officially banned, Samuels said they march openly.

The rabbi of Keren Ohr Chabad, Rabbi Shmuel Glitsenstein, said that anti-Semitism has recently worsened.

“Look, this is only starting a year ago. They never did like the Jews but it wasn’t very strong and now they start and make a lot of rallies. It’s very bad. It’s not simple to be Jewish now and look like a Chabad rabbi,” he said.

Victoria K., who grew up in Budapest and met the Farago family on their trip, dated the recent increase in anti-Semitism to political developments in 2006. She asked that her last name not be used for security reasons.

“After came the economic crisis and then it got even worse. In recent years it’s stronger than before and anti-Semitism is louder and more widespread. It’s become a fashion to be anti-Semitic and to be nationalistic,” she said, adding, “This kind of nationalism is not about the love for the country but for the hate against other people.”

Recently, after disrupting a gay pride parade, a band of 500 Neo-Nazis and skinheads set fires in the city’s Ghetto area and attacked identifiably Jewish Hungarians and foreign tourists visiting the Budapest Jewish Cultural Festival.

In mid-August, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Gordon Bajnai, called on the police to use all legal means to prevent Hungary from becoming a “stomping ground” for international neo-fascist and skinhead groups.

Rabbi Zev Wineberg, rabbi of the Chabad of Long Island City, who spent a year in Hungary in 1998 as part of his smicha program, said it was a “beautiful place,” though he added that because he didn’t know the language he didn’t feel any anti-Semitism.

“If someone cursed us out we didn’t know.”

He recalled taking 400 school children on a field trip. Nearly all the parents called him individually to ask that their child not wear a yarmulke. When the day ended some of the parents saw Wineberg wearing his yarmulke and they began to cry.

“They didn’t think they could walk around Budapest as Jews and not be afraid,” Wineberg said. “I’m sure it’s changed dramatically since then. I think for the better.

The day after Farago was assaulted, Sept. 6, the Dohaney Street Synagogue celebrated its 150th anniversary, and the National Bank of Hungary issued a memorial coin with an image of the synagogue.

“Despite two world wars and the horror of the Holocaust…the synagogue has never ceased to operate as a religious center for the Jewish community,” Hungarian Chief Rabbi Robert Frolich said.

Farago, who was raised in Hungary, said the experience during his trip brought back memories.

“I lived through this type of thing, but not like this,” said Farago. “If you read history in the twenties and the thirties when anti-Semitism started in Hungary, this is exactly the way it started. It started with screaming.”

Nat Farago (right) and Zalmy Cohen surrounded by skinheads. Photo taken from a Hungarian Neo-Nazi website.

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769

A Woodmere couple has learned first-hand that Jews may no longer be very welcome in Hungary.

Nat and Tova Farago were on a weeklong visit to Hungary to visit the graves of Nat’s parents before Rosh Hashanah. In Budapest, on Shabbos, September 5th, they walked to Keren Ohr Chabad, a shul about forty-five minutes away from their hotel. Afterward, while walking down a crowded main street

Holocaust denial advertisement in the Harvard Crimson

by Michael Orbach

Oops. Has the Harvard Crimson, the Daily Harvard paper since 1873, gone a bit too liberal? Apparently.

Two days ago they published this advertisement paid for by the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust, that questioned whether the Holocaust existed. 

“At the close of WW II it was claimed that four million victims were exterminated at Auschwitz alone… can you provide with proof, the name of one person killed in a gas chamber at Auschwitz?” 

Just delightful. The ad also lists the name of the founder and sole member of the CODH, one Bradley Smith, a notorious Holocaust denier. And just for a nice bit of irony: the adjacent advertisement was for a John F. Kennedy Forum,”Justice: What’s the right thing to do?”

Probably not print the ad in the first place. 

Maxwell Child, Editor-in-Chief of the Crimson apologized the following day in an op-ed, stating that it was an oversight and the printing of the ad was a “miscommunication”. The Crimson received the ad during vacation and decided not to print it. However in the three weeks between submission and publication “the decision fell through the cracks” and the Crimson forgot the Holocaust happened.  

Though there is some good news. 

“We have made sure that the rest of the ad’s planned run has been terminated, and any money that has changed hands in exchange for the ad to date will be returned,” wrote Child.

Great, so not only did Smith get an ad in the Crimson, he got it for free. 

Maybe the Crimson should donate the money to the Simon Wiesenthal Center or the ADL. 

 

(hat tip Ivy Gate, On Harvard Time)

Hatzalah of Rockaways-Nassau in need of financial rescue

Newly-founded young leaders group responding to the call

By Mayer Fertig

Many Jewish organizations have found themselves in need of financial rescue this year; more than a few have cast their predicaments in life and death terms. In at least one case, it’s no exaggeration. Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County, which answers about 3,000 emergency calls annually, is facing a quarter million dollar deficit for 2009 and is urgently asking for help.

“We are at a real deficit of $250,000,” Rabbi Elozer Kanner, one of the Hatzalah coordinators, told The Jewish Star. “The bank is borderline overdrawn from day to day. We release dribs and drabs to pay our bills based on what is in the bank.” Hatzalah had $10,000 in the bank as of Friday, he said.

Perhaps to demonstrate that from adversity arises opportunity, a young leadership group  has formed and will hold five simultaneous parlor meetings on Sunday in Cedarhurst, Woodmere and North Woodmere.

The purpose is “to reach out to the people who will be the pillars of the community in the next 20 years,” explained Moshe Ratner, a member of the committee and a Hatzalah volunteer. Most members of the committee are not Hatzalah members.

“There is a whole committee of young men who are stepping up to the plate and saying, ‘What can we do to help?’ Its really very gratifying,” said Rabbi Kanner, who bears much of the fundraising burden himself.

Mendy Haas, Shalom Jacobs, Alon Goldberger, Aron Solomon, Avi Goldstein, Moishe Reich, Sholom Jacobs, Uri Dreifus, Avi Dreyfuss, Ushi Klein, Elliot Gluck, Jeremy Frenkel, Dovi Faivish, Yisroel Wasser, David Sokol, Moishe Reich and Avi Kahn are also on the committee. Two others, Meir Krengel and Avi Davis, are also Hatzalah volunteers.

Most of the group lives in Cedarhurst and Woodmere, where fundraising efforts are being concentrated, “because a lot of the support for the [annual Hatzalah] barbeque doesn’t come from here,” explained Ushi Klein, 33. “The age group at the barbeque is usually much more mature.”

Rabbi Kanner agreed.

“Traditionally, much of our support came from Far Rockaway, Lawrence and from [the] middle-aged and older,” he said. “Young people are facing the challenges of tuition, families, parnasah [livelihood] problems and, what should I tell you? They’re obviously finding it hard.”

Only twenty percent of families in the Hatzalah database have written a check to the organization this year; overall fundraising is down about thirty percent in 2009, Rabbi Kanner said.

In addition to the overall drop in contributions, the deficit is also attributable to the recent purchase by Hatzalah of a site in Woodmere where a new ambulance garage and training center is planned. $200,000 was raised for the purchase; another $400,000 was taken from the operating budget and only some was replaced.

Two ambulances, including one that is brand new, are currently parked outside the Edward Avenue Shul, just off Peninsula Boulevard. Hatzalah would like to get them indoors, both in order to protect the vehicles, which are valued at about half a million dollars, and to protect “medications on board the ambulances [that] are sensitive to extremes of heat and cold,” said Rabbi Kanner. In addition, snowfall slows ambulance response, he said, when ambulances are parked outside. “When you have the ambulance inside, you come and you drive off,” rather than first having to brush the snow off, he explained.

Hatzalah will have a hearing before the Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals in November. If it goes well then a groundbreaking and a fundraising campaign will follow, Rabbi Kanner said. “If neither the community at large, nor an individual [steps up] to the plate then we will not be able to build this building.”

The garage portion of the facility is to be named after Mark Davidman, a”h, a Hatzalah member who was killed in a motorcycle accident and “is sorely missed,” Rabbi Kanner said. He expects to name the training facility after a different individual designated by a donor.

“Although we look forward to building a new building, we’ll always remember with gratitude the hospitality that has been provided to our ambulances by the Edward Avenue shul,” Rabbi Kanner added.

The young leadership committee of Chevrah Hatzalah doesn’t plan to stop with the parlor meetings,  Ushi Klein explained.

“My hope is to form a young initiative committee for Hatzalah to host a separate event every year specifically targeted to these communities and to people who don’t normally go to the barbeque at The Sands.”

Klein is grateful to Hatzalah for treating his daughter after an accident in the home one Friday night last year and hopes others will attend the parlor meetings on Sunday evening and bring their checkbooks. “Whatever they can give will be appreciated,” he said.

“It’s not so much dollars and cents as community-wide support — that’s what we’re looking for,” Ratner said.

“Everyone will agree that there is a very large younger crowd moving in, and they seem to take it for granted that, wherever you move from, Hatzalah is just a resource in the community. As people move in, the call volume goes up, and it translates into money. Every oxygen mask, every diesel fill-up … it’s never been like this … even the hospitals are surprised. They think we’ve changed our destinations. We haven’t changed anything. We’re just going there more often.”

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Hatzalah of The Rockaways and Nassau County Ambulance (Photo courtesy theyeshivaworld.com)

Many Jewish organizations have found themselves in need of financial rescue this year; more than a few have cast their predicaments in life and death terms. In at least one case, it’s no exaggeration. Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County, which answers about 3,000 emergency calls annually, is facing a quarter million dollar deficit for 2009

Got Cholov Yisroel? What Rav Moshe Feinstein said about milk in the US

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l was a “one-of-a-kind” leader. With his complete mastery of the Talmud and rabbinic literature, the late Gadol Hador used his brilliant mind to process all the information he had, brought to his decisions a sensitivity to the realities of our daily existence, and balanced an accepted following by Jews on all points of the Torah-observance spectrum.

He was careful to learn as many practical details as possible of the circumstances of the questions posed to him, as he applied unchanging halakhic principles in the pursuit of his innovative halakhic conclusions.

Rav Moshe composed a number of responsa on the subject of Cholov Yisrael (Jewish milk) and Gevinat Yisrael (Jewish cheese). As kosher cheese rules are a more complicated subject than milk in general, the remainder of this essay will deal solely with Rav Moshe’s comments regarding milk.

In the first responsa on the subject, Yoreh Deah I:47 [Sivan 5714, June 1954] he articulates two points in particular, focusing on the unique experience of Jews in the United States.

The first point: Jews may only consume milk that comes from kosher animals. United States law dictates that dairy farms may only produce cow milk. Were a dairy farm to get caught milking other animals, their multi-million dollar business could be shut down. As the government does monitor, and as free-market enterprises are not interested in being closed down by the government if they can avoid it, we can be sure that the milk in this country comes from cows and is therefore kosher.

The second point: Some people will opt to “be machmir,” to specifically seek milk processed under Jewish supervision. Piety to a particular set of rules as a matter of sincere religious commitment is commendable. Rav Moshe writes that others who witness scrupulousness in observance of this dictum should not consider it to be arrogance or haughtiness.

Rav Moshe preferred Cholov Yisrael personally, but unequivocally said that commercially manufactured milk in the United States, as subject to US laws, was one hundred percent guaranteed to be from cows. [He repeats his suggestion to be stringent about Cholov Yisroel at the end of Yoreh Deah II:31, after he again confirms his belief that milk in the United States is not considered to be Cholov Akum, gentile milk, whose origin is unknown.]

Explaining his reasoning, Rav Moshe points to the first comments of the Shulchan Arukh in Yoreh Deah 115, invoking a principle from Shavuot 34a that “knowledge is like testimony.” If a Jew does not monitor the milking process done by a non-Jew, the milk is unfit (not kosher) for Jewish consumption. However, if other factors demonstrate that the milk comes from a kosher animal, the Jew may consume it.

In contemporary terms, if there is only a cow in a room and a non-Jewish worker enters with an empty bucket in order to milk the cow, a Jew observing these details can be sure when the non-Jewish person emerges that the milk in the filled bucket is from the cow — even if the Jew did not actually monitor the milking. This is particularly true if the non-Jewish worker understands the Jewish supervisor might enter the room at any time to check his progress.

He brings other examples of this principle as well. The last Tosafot in Yebamot 45b records that a convening Rabbinical court need not witness a female convert’s immersion in the mikveh (which would be highly inappropriate for obvious reasons) because they “know” she immersed. Similarly, a husband may reunite with his wife after she returns from the mikveh, because he “knows” she immersed.

Avodah Zara 34b describes a circumstance in which the sought product’s market price is lower than a product that might be substituted in its place. The purchaser can be sure the product purchased is what he believes it to be. No merchant would sell a more expensive product at the price of the cheaper item, just to “get you.” Translation: If cow milk is more readily available than camel milk (and therefore cheaper), no dairy farm will substitute what they market as cow milk with camel milk just so Jews will unknowingly drink camel milk.

In response to challenges on this subject (Yoreh Deah I:48), such as that a fine for tomfoolery is minimal, Rav Moshe staunchly defended his assertion that the milk is kosher because, were the milk coming from any animals other than cows, the trickery would require a lot of bribery and cover-up to hide the truth.

In the summer of 1970 (Av 5730), Rav Moshe composed a responsa (Yoreh Deah II:35) encouraging Rabbi Y.D. Leiner who had asked about making a special effort to provide yeshiva students with Cholov Yisrael, even though it is typically more expensive than regular milk. In his letter to Rabbi Leiner, two points are worthy of note.

In places where it is considerably more difficult to obtain Cholov Yisrael, presumably because of distance and/or added expense, there is no need to be stringent about it — neither for students nor individuals.

The other point Rav Moshe emphasizes when encouraging use of Cholov Yisrael in a yeshiva is “chinukh,” or the need to educate our children to be concerned about prohibitions. In other words, if children are only exposed to the idea that “all milk is kosher,” they will become desensitized to the fact that this is not so, and will not learn to be scrupulous and attentive to the laws of kosher milk, for example, when traveling abroad where there could very well be a problem.

An equivalent example of education (though Rav Moshe does not mention this) would be for a community with an eiruv to make sure it is down once or twice a year, to remind people that the laws of Shabbos prohibit carrying outside unless the area is cordoned off as a halakhic private property.

In conclusion, Rav Moshe personally drank Cholov Yisrael and encouraged others to “be machmir” if they could. At the same time, he believed that all milk manufactured by public companies in the United States (as opposed to milk produced by private farmers) was unquestionably kosher.

Jews in the US can comfortably choose to purchase either, and those who prefer one type of milk or the other should not look askance at those who choose differently than they do. Everyone is consuming kosher milk.

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l was a “one-of-a-kind” leader. With his complete mastery of the Talmud and rabbinic literature, the late Gadol Hador used his brilliant mind to process all the information he had, brought to his decisions a sensitivity to the realities of our daily existence, and balanced an accepted following by Jews on all points of the Torah-observance spectrum.

He was careful to learn as many practical details as possible of the circumstances of the questions posed to him, as he applied unchanging halakhic principles in the pursuit of his innovative halakhic conclusions.

Rav Moshe composed a number of responsa on the subject of Cholov Yisrael

Teacher-student kidney transplant a success

First Person: Watching and waiting while a friend saves a life

By Miriam L. Wallach

It was over a year in the making or, some might say, two lifetimes.

The successful transplant of Jennifer Perretti’s kidney to Kevin Federman O’Brien happened last Thursday, nearly a year after their story was first told in The Jewish Star and several months later than planned. Dr. Perretti, the director of student services at HAFTR Middle School, taught O’Brien in summer school for two years. Last summer he became seriously ill, prompting a search for a kidney donor that ended when she was found to be a near-perfect match.

It was a smooth drive from Woodmere to Manhattan — it would have been strange to hit traffic at 4:45 a.m., even on the Van Wyck. While walking back to the hospital after parking my car, I was taken by the stillness of the city, as if I was awake but the rest of the world was still asleep. The hospital was far from quiet, however; while I was the only person entering through the visitor’s line, it could have been two o’clock in the afternoon.

I explained to the security guard that I was there to be with my friend while she donated her kidney. Seemingly unimpressed, he handed me a visitor’s pass and motioned toward the elevator. “Third floor,” he said. It occurred to me that he was not being rude; he’d simply heard it all before.

“I guess that happens here all the time,” I said, “and I’m just going to go home and have an iced coffee when this is all over and things like this are just going to keep happening in this building, right?” He smiled, looked me in the eye and said, “Exactly.”

Four transplants were scheduled for that day, a nurse on the surgical team told me, not including unscheduled organ recoveries that might lead to transplants in other locations. How many transplants did they do a year at this hospital, I asked?  “Oh, I could not say for sure,” she responded, “but a LOT.” The enormity of this left me humbled and awed. To remove an organ from a living body and place it in another, while ensuring both that the donor’s body continues to function and that the recipient’s body would adapt — this is more than just skill and precision, intense training and immense intellect. It is nothing short of a miracle.

I was not there that day as someone who was covering a story. My friend made me promise I would be there. If she could be a woman of her word on a much grander level, then so could I. “You can’t let them kill me on that table,” she had said repeatedly over the year, “I have too much to do.”  Those are heavy words to hear from anyone, let alone a single parent of a seven year-old boy. But as we sat opposite each other in the waiting room at the ungodly hour of 5:45 am, a devout Christian reciting Psalms in English and an Orthodox Jew reciting Tehillim in Hebrew, I had a sense that the divine intervention which allowed Jennifer and Kevin to meet and to be perfect matches from the beginning of their days on earth was also going to make sure this day was a success.

I hugged Jennifer before she went into the operating room, told her how proud I was of her and how what she was doing was incredible. She is a woman of her word; she made a commitment to Kevin and stuck to it. After all, she reminded me more than once over the past year, she too is a parent and hoped that someone else would do the same for her son.

She was still unnerved that her surgeon was not Jewish —     something I found amusing and which she had mentioned a number of times over the year — but she apparently compensated by making sure that the two people she brought with her that morning were both Jews. “Steinberg and Wallach,” she said, nodding in affirmation that her choices had been deliberate. When a young man with a kippah walked into the room, she had let out an, “Oh, thank G-d” and told me that seeing a yarmulke made her feel much better. I was, frankly, stunned. Being surrounded by Jews, she told me, made her feel better. Finally, dressed in a surgical gown, with her hair back in a cap, she was anxious as the surgeons led her out of the pre-operative area, but who would not be? Had she been completely calm, I would have been worried.

As I sat for hours with the O’Brien family, a report on CNN about kidney trafficking caught our attention. I had already seen the report when Jennifer and I sat in the same spot waiting to hear that they were ready for her. Kevin’s family could not have been more thankful that she had been a match. After the failure of an earlier transplant they were informed that, statistically, the wait for a cadaver kidney that would be a match for Kevin could be up to eight years. Who could know if they would have that time? With the report on in the background, they appreciated the lengths that people went to, both to save their own lives or those of their loved ones, and they thanked G-d for Jennifer and for their healthcare coverage.

By 4:00 pm, we were able to see her. The surgery had gone very well. She was still groggy when I brushed her hair back with my hand and told her she was a champ and a hero.  Her eyes were closed but I knew she heard me, as she took my hand and said, ‘thank you,’ over and over again. Most importantly, I was able to tell her that the surgery had been a success, that the O’Briens had received word that the kidney was working well and already producing urine. “You did it,” I said to her, “and I am so proud of you.” Then it was time for me to leave, and leave her alone with her family who had also been waiting to see her.

When I walked out of the hospital, I took notice of an enormous sign that hung from the pedestrian walkway that connected sections of the medical center. It read, “Amazing Things Happen Here.” That was an understatement.

I spoke to Mrs. O’Brien the next day. She told me that Kevin was doing well and that his urine output was perfect. The ‘Asher yatzar’ prayer, I explained, is said after each visit to the bathroom as thanks to G-d for allowing the body to function properly, and in recognition that nothing should be taken for granted. After what she has been though with her son for his entire life, she appreciated that wholeheartedly.

By the time this article is published both donor and recipient are expected to be recuperating in their own homes, making complete recoveries. While they will lead separate lives, they will share a lifelong bond that began in a summer school classroom, where one was a teacher and the other a student, and ended with scars on their abdomens and imprints on their hearts.

As for me, I have no scarring and all of my organs are intact. And yet I will always remember the day I saw the hand of G-d as plainly as I could see the nose on my face.

“We are at a real deficit of $250,000,” Rabbi Elozer Kanner, one of the Hatzalah coordinators, told The Jewish Star. “The bank is borderline overdrawn from day to day. We release dribs and drabs to pay our bills based on what is in the bank.” Hatzalah had $10,000 in the bank as of Friday, he said.

Perhaps to demonstrate that from adversity arises opportunity, a young leadership group  has formed and will hold five simultaneous parlor meetings on Sunday in Cedarhurst, Woodmere and North Woodmere.

The purpose is “to reach out to the people who will be the pillars of the community in the next 20 years,” explained Moshe Ratner, a member of the committee and a Hatzalah volunteer. Most members of the committee are not Hatzalah members.

“There is a whole committee of young men who are stepping up to the plate and saying, ‘What can we do to help?’ Its really very gratifying,” said Rabbi Kanner, who bears much of the fundraising burden himself.

Mendy Haas, Shalom Jacobs, Alon Goldberger, Aron Solomon, Avi Goldstein, Moishe Reich, Sholom Jacobs, Uri Dreifus, Avi Dreyfuss, Ushi Klein, Elliot Gluck, Jeremy Frenkel, Dovi Faivish, Yisroel Wasser, David Sokol, Moishe Reich and Avi Kahn are also on the committee. Two others, Meir Krengel and Avi Davis, are also Hatzalah volunteers.

Most of the group lives in Cedarhurst and Woodmere, where fundraising efforts are being concentrated, “because a lot of the support for the [annual Hatzalah] barbeque doesn’t come from here,” explained Ushi Klein, 33. “The age group at the barbeque is usually much more mature.”

Rabbi Kanner agreed.

“Traditionally, much of our support came from Far Rockaway, Lawrence and from [the] middle-aged and older,” he said. “Young people are facing the challenges of tuition, families, parnasah [livelihood] problems and, what should I tell you? They’re obviously finding it hard.”

Only twenty percent of families in the Hatzalah database have written a check to the organization this year; overall fundraising is down about thirty percent in 2009, Rabbi Kanner said.

In addition to the overall drop in contributions, the deficit is also attributable to the recent purchase by Hatzalah of a site in Woodmere where a new ambulance garage and training center is planned. $200,000 was raised for the purchase; another $400,000 was taken from the operating budget and only some was replaced.

Two ambulances, including one that is brand new, are currently parked outside the Edward Avenue Shul, just off Peninsula Boulevard. Hatzalah would like to get them indoors, both in order to protect the vehicles, which are valued at about half a million dollars, and to protect “medications on board the ambulances [that] are sensitive to extremes of heat and cold,” said Rabbi Kanner. In addition, snowfall slows ambulance response, he said, when ambulances are parked outside. “When you have the ambulance inside, you come and you drive off,” rather than first having to brush the snow off, he explained.

Hatzalah will have a hearing before the Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals in November. If it goes well then a groundbreaking and a fundraising campaign will follow, Rabbi Kanner said. “If neither the community at large, nor an individual [steps up] to the plate then we will not be able to build this building.”

The garage portion of the facility is to be named after Mark Davidman, a”h, a Hatzalah member who was killed in a motorcycle accident and “is sorely missed,” Rabbi Kanner said. He expects to name the training facility after a different individual designated by a donor.

“Although we look forward to building a new building, we’ll always remember with gratitude the hospitality that has been provided to our ambulances by the Edward Avenue shul,” Rabbi Kanner added.

The young leadership committee of Chevrah Hatzalah doesn’t plan to stop with the parlor meetings,  Ushi Klein explained.

“My hope is to form a young initiative committee for Hatzalah to host a separate event every year specifically targeted to these communities and to people who don’t normally go to the barbeque at The Sands.”

Klein is grateful to Hatzalah for treating his daughter after an accident in the home one Friday night last year and hopes others will attend the parlor meetings on Sunday evening and bring their checkbooks. “Whatever they can give will be appreciated,” he said.

“It’s not so much dollars and cents as community-wide support — that’s what we’re looking for,” Ratner said.

“Everyone will agree that there is a very large younger crowd moving in, and they seem to take it for granted that, wherever you move from, Hatzalah is just a resource in the community. As people move in, the call volume goes up, and it translates into money. Every oxygen mask, every diesel fill-up … it’s never been like this … even the hospitals are surprised. They think we’ve changed our destinations. We haven’t changed anything. We’re just going there more often.”

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

It was over a year in the making or, some might say, two lifetimes.

The successful transplant of Jennifer Perretti’s kidney to Kevin Federman O’Brien happened last Thursday, nearly a year after their story was first told in The Jewish Star and several months later than planned. Dr. Perretti, the director of student services at HAFTR Middle School, taught O’Brien in summer school for two years. Last summer he became seriously ill,

Help families in economic crisis with a Rosh Hashana greeting in The Jewish Star

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In search of Jewish heroes: Jewish Community Heroes

By Michael Orbach

Its might be the first Jewish American Idol contest or perhaps it’s just the cleverest membership recruiting campaign the Jewish community has seen in years.

On August 4th, the United Jewish Communities launched Jewish Community Heroes, an online contest for voters to decide which heroic nominee will receive a $25,000 prize. While the contest is a way to acknowledge leaders inside the Jewish community, the contest also has another agenda: to ensure a supply of future volunteers for the United Jewish Communities.

“The Jewish Federation has been along a good, long time,” explained Adam Neusner, web content manager for the United Jewish Communities, who is overseeing the project. “We have a very devoted following but we wanted to make sure that’s the core for the next hundred years and all range of people are aware of the good the Federation is doing. We want to make sure we’re relevant and so it’s very important we’re speaking to all generations. We set out to do that and we flashed on the JC heroes.”

Even those who don’t win gain something, according to Neusner.

“Volunteering is thankless,” he explained. “What we’re trying to do is something that can say thank you, and have people all over the world say thank you.”

Voters can pick the top-ten, but as a Simon Cowell-like reality check, a panel composed of business experts and social entrepreneurs will decide who eventually gets the $25,000 check when the contest ends in October. Blue State Digital, the marketing firm whose online campaign helped President Barack Obama win the 2008 election, is running the contest which, since its inception, has seen over 220 nominees and over 150,000 votes. While many are repeat voters — voters can cast one ballot a day — the contest has given the UJC a new pool of potential recruits.

Neusner was open to criticism that the competition is merely a popularity contest, with the truly biggest heroes not necessarily making the top ten.

“The ones that make the final ten are the ones who aggregate a big group of people, so the most organized one will be the best on the leader board,” he said. “But those that don’t [make the leader board], will feel good about being nominated. It’s an acknowledgement that someone wanted to share the amazing things they’re doing. I’m not too worried if popularity decides what pool of ten people they pick from, because they will still pick up something great.”

His personal favorites so far, he said, were Ari Teman, founder of Jcorps, which has thousands of Jewish teenagers volunteering across the United States, and Robert Lappin of Massachusetts, a philanthropist who sends teenagers to Israel, even during the last year after his fortune was decimated by Bernard Madoff.

The top twenty contain a mix of activists with Yonah Bookstein, the founder of Jewlicious Festival, which attracts over 1000 Jewish students from across the United States, Canada, and Israel, leading by a hefty margin. The nominees come from across the US and Canada, from Flower Mound, Texas, to Salt Lake City, Utah, and even Honolulu. Some of the nominees are genuine community heroes while others seem to have been nominated simply for existing. One hero was nominated for taking care of his chronically ill wife.

Joe Klein, the 14 year-old Five Towns resident who directed “Surviving Surviving,” a documentary that revealed poverty among Holocaust survivors, said he had no “clue” as to how he got nominated.

“I’m happy that somebody nominated me,” he told the Jewish Star. “I’m happy that it’s all over the world and I’m happy that people see the story behind this and realize the value and maybe people will donate money to help these people live longer.”

Shmuly Yanklowitz, the head of Uri L’Tzedek, an organization that promotes social justice inside the Orthodox community, and who is currently in sixth place with eight thousand votes, was modest about the contest.

“The real heroes are the Jewish educators, parents, mentors, partners, and donors that have made possible the successes of these selected Jewish community builders. There are hundreds of thousands of unrecognized heroic individuals who equally deserve this award,” said Yanklowitz via email.

Following close behind Yanklowitz, another nominee was selected for being head counselor of Camp Stone.

Friendless people need not apply

By Michael Orbach

Perhaps to demonstrate that from adversity arises opportunity, a young leadership group  has formed and will hold five simultaneous parlor meetings on Sunday in Cedarhurst, Woodmere and North Woodmere.

The purpose is “to reach out to the people who will be the pillars of the community in the next 20 years,” explained Moshe Ratner, a member of the committee and a Hatzalah volunteer. Most members of the committee are not Hatzalah members.

“There is a whole committee of young men who are stepping up to the plate and saying, ‘What can we do to help?’ Its really very gratifying,” said Rabbi Kanner, who bears much of the fundraising burden himself.

Mendy Haas, Shalom Jacobs, Alon Goldberger, Aron Solomon, Avi Goldstein, Moishe Reich, Sholom Jacobs, Uri Dreifus, Avi Dreyfuss, Ushi Klein, Elliot Gluck, Jeremy Frenkel, Dovi Faivish, Yisroel Wasser, David Sokol, Moishe Reich and Avi Kahn are also on the committee. Two others, Meir Krengel and Avi Davis, are also Hatzalah volunteers.

Most of the group lives in Cedarhurst and Woodmere, where fundraising efforts are being concentrated, “because a lot of the support for the [annual Hatzalah] barbeque doesn’t come from here,” explained Ushi Klein, 33. “The age group at the barbeque is usually much more mature.”

Rabbi Kanner agreed.

“Traditionally, much of our support came from Far Rockaway, Lawrence and from [the] middle-aged and older,” he said. “Young people are facing the challenges of tuition, families, parnasah [livelihood] problems and, what should I tell you? They’re obviously finding it hard.”

Only twenty percent of families in the Hatzalah database have written a check to the organization this year; overall fundraising is down about thirty percent in 2009, Rabbi Kanner said.

In addition to the overall drop in contributions, the deficit is also attributable to the recent purchase by Hatzalah of a site in Woodmere where a new ambulance garage and training center is planned. $200,000 was raised for the purchase; another $400,000 was taken from the operating budget and only some was replaced.

Two ambulances, including one that is brand new, are currently parked outside the Edward Avenue Shul, just off Peninsula Boulevard. Hatzalah would like to get them indoors, both in order to protect the vehicles, which are valued at about half a million dollars, and to protect “medications on board the ambulances [that] are sensitive to extremes of heat and cold,” said Rabbi Kanner. In addition, snowfall slows ambulance response, he said, when ambulances are parked outside. “When you have the ambulance inside, you come and you drive off,” rather than first having to brush the snow off, he explained.

Hatzalah will have a hearing before the Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals in November. If it goes well then a groundbreaking and a fundraising campaign will follow, Rabbi Kanner said. “If neither the community at large, nor an individual [steps up] to the plate then we will not be able to build this building.”

The garage portion of the facility is to be named after Mark Davidman, a”h, a Hatzalah member who was killed in a motorcycle accident and “is sorely missed,” Rabbi Kanner said. He expects to name the training facility after a different individual designated by a donor.

“Although we look forward to building a new building, we’ll always remember with gratitude the hospitality that has been provided to our ambulances by the Edward Avenue shul,” Rabbi Kanner added.

The young leadership committee of Chevrah Hatzalah doesn’t plan to stop with the parlor meetings,  Ushi Klein explained.

“My hope is to form a young initiative committee for Hatzalah to host a separate event every year specifically targeted to these communities and to people who don’t normally go to the barbeque at The Sands.”

Klein is grateful to Hatzalah for treating his daughter after an accident in the home one Friday night last year and hopes others will attend the parlor meetings on Sunday evening and bring their checkbooks. “Whatever they can give will be appreciated,” he said.

“It’s not so much dollars and cents as community-wide support — that’s what we’re looking for,” Ratner said.

“Everyone will agree that there is a very large younger crowd moving in, and they seem to take it for granted that, wherever you move from, Hatzalah is just a resource in the community. As people move in, the call volume goes up, and it translates into money. Every oxygen mask, every diesel fill-up … it’s never been like this … even the hospitals are surprised. They think we’ve changed our destinations. We haven’t changed anything. We’re just going there more often.”

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

It might be the first Jewish American Idol contest or perhaps it’s just the cleverest membership recruiting campaign the Jewish community

S’lichos: The song of the schulklopfer

By Moshe Weiss

y the light of the silvery moon, the shadow of the schulklopfer loomed large as he made his way through the shtetl, pausing at the doorsteps of his congregants’ homes just long enough to tap their doors and windows. Two taps for morning services; three or more, depending on occasion and local custom, for a different service.

But this night, there was no mistaking the number of taps, or the service to which congregants were being summoned. Even before the dwellers within each home heard the klop of the schulklopfer, they heard the haunting melody by which they were awakened just one year ago. “Shtet auf, shtet auf kinder, shtet auf la’avodas ha Boray. Shtet auf tzu S’lichos.”

“Wake up, wake up children, wake up to serve the Creator. Wake up for S’lichos.”

The most famous schulklopfer, albeit posthumously, was the great-grandfather of the Romantic era composer Felix (born Jakob) Mendelssohn. But Menachem Mendel, who served as schulklopfer in the small city of Dessau, Germany in the late 17th century, followed a tradition that long preceded him.

Sefer ha-Maharil, a compilation of the religious observances and rites of 14th and 15th century Ashkenaz Jewry in the home and synagogue, explicitly describes the role of the schulklopfer, relating that except on the Ninth of Av, the schulklopfer would daily summon the congregation for services. And though the term itself dates from the 13th century, the office of schulklopfer, and the rites in which he engaged, may be almost two millennia old, as alluded to in Talmud Yerushalmi (Beitzah 5:2).

S’lichos, an order of emotionally stirring and deeply moving penitential prayers, some as old as the first century, most composed in the 12th through 13th centuries, are recited on fast days throughout the year. (This explains the custom some have of fasting on the days preceding Rosh Hashanah, when s’lichos are recited.) There are more than 2000 s’lichos, composed by more than 250 authors, among them famous pay’tanim (poets) including Rashi, Sa’adya Gaon and Solomon ibn G’birol, composer of perhaps the most famous piyut (poem) of all, Adon Olam.

But the S’lichos service that inaugurates the Yomim Noraim, the Days of Awe, is particularly remarkable for its poignancy, and most notable for the depth of emotion it conveys. Humility and reflection, forgiveness and introspection — these are the themes of S’lichos — as we beseech Hakadosh Baruch Hu — the Holy One, blessed be He — for mercy. Indeed, it was specifically in order to prepare for, and create the penitential mood of Aseres Y’may Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Penitence, that the S’lichos days, and the chanting of the S’lichos liturgy, were instituted as a preamble to the ultimate Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

For many chazzanim, this writer included, S’lichos night, its soulful poetry and plaintive nusach, are the liturgical and musical highlights of the High Holy Days. And who can blame us for feeling this way? According to the midrash (Tanna d’Vay Eliyahu Zuta), “…The Holy One, blessed be He, descended from the mist like a shliach tzibur enveloped in his tallis, and, standing before the ark, revealed to Moses the order of S’lichos (see also T.B. Rosh haShanah 17b).” That image alone, at the same time both tender and powerful, is a compelling metaphor for the S’lichos service.

A haunting chant, the “s’licha mode,” is used throughout the service, as emotionally charged musical cadences expressively rendered by the shliach tzibbur highlight the gripping liturgy composed by the pay’tanim. In the Yemenite tradition, a blast of the shofar is part of every S’licha service, and in all traditions, much of the S’lichos liturgy is recited responsively. No matter which tradition, the searing power of an age-old text rendered through millennia-old nusach instills a mood of solemnity designed to inspire all to greater spiritual heights as the Yomim Nora’im approach.

Today, the only remnant of the schulklopfer may be an 18th century Hungarian schulklopfer’s shofar-shaped mallet on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. But though the medium of the schulklopfer of old may have been replaced by e-mail and fax, instant messages and texts, neither his chant, nor his message, have been forgotten; indeed, the wake-up call of the S’lichos is ever so necessary, no less today than yesteryear.

If you listen very closely on your way to shul this Motza’ei Shabbos, you too might just hear the melancholy tune of the schulklopfer of old: “Shtet auf, shtet auf kinder, shtet auf la’avodas haBoray. Shtet auf tzu S’lichos.”

In my view

By Moshe Weiss

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

By the light of the silvery moon, the shadow of the schulklopfer loomed large as he made his way through the shtetl, pausing at the doorsteps of his congregants’ homes just long enough to tap their doors and windows.

A new read on Jewish life: Alana Newhouse and Tablet Magazine

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

The staff of Tablet Magazine were prepped and ready to launch their website. It was Monday, June 8, 2009, and Tablet had been in production for the last six months; the staff was itching to finally put the site up. The problem: a freak electrical storm was causing power outages all over New York City. But the staff was undeterred and at 2:30 Tuesday morning the site went live. Moments later, as the staff gathered in one of the Tablet offices, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

“Someone joked, ‘If I was an atheist, I’d have to believe now.’” Alana Newhouse recalled three months later in her spacious, cluttered office on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan. “Someone else joked that it was like G-d giving the tablets again… It was a moment of real connection.”

In the months since the site went online, Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life (www.tabletmag.com), has steadily attracted readers from across the Jewish spectrum. The site is a product of Nextbook, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting Jewish culture. The web magazine focuses on three different areas: news and politics, arts and culture, and life and religion, and has come to be regarded as a think tank for what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. It employs thirteen staff members and includes contributing editors like Seth Lipsky, who founded The Forward and later The New York Sun, and the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

For Newhouse, running Tablet could be seen as the culmination of a career, though she points out that it’s hard to call it a culmination of anything when she’s only 33.

“It’s been a dream,” she said. “Tablet brought together so many streams I opened up throughout my life.”

Newhouse grew up in Lawrence and attended HAFTR. With an Ashkenazic father and Sephardic mother, Alana divided her time between Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence and the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst, a mix, she says, that defined her sentiment towards Judaism.

“It forced me to engage in both traditions and it made legitimate everyone else’s engagement with Judaism. Do you have a genuine interest in your Jewish identity? If yes, then I’m interested in you,” Newhouse said. “How you manifest that interest is something I can agree with or disagree with.”

After graduating from HAFTR High School in 1993, she went to Barnard University, a time she described as pivotal in her intellectual development. After a stint working for political consultant David Garth, Newhouse returned to Columbia for a journalism degree. While she originally wanted to go into magazine editing, she took a job as an intern at The Forward.

“I felt like I was raised intellectually on The Forward,” Newhouse explained. Her father was a charter subscriber since the paper’s founding in 1990, though she added that her family subscribed to a number of Jewish newspapers including The Jewish Press.

After her internship ended Newhouse became a staff writer for the paper and, under the tutelage of Ami Eden and Andrew Silow-Carroll, became the Arts Editor at age 27. During her widely acclaimed tenure, she started a line of Forward imprints with W.W. Norton. In 2007, with longtime Forward archivist Chana Pollack, Newhouse published the first book, A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward.

She says that the most inspiring moment for her was going through the Forward archive and finding a letter from then Vice President Harry Truman to his former haberdashery partner, a Jewish man named Edward Jacobson. The letter wasn’t under Truman’s name though.

“It was filed under Jacobson,” Newhouse said, “Not that the relationship [of readers of the Yiddish Forward] was provincial; they had a universe and it was unique and interesting.”

Newhouse was passed over for the position of Editor-in-chief in 2008, a decision a writer for the Huffington Post said could have been the “dumbest media move of the year.” Newhouse moved to Nextbook months later and began preparing to launch Tablet, to replace Nextbook’s earlier website. If anything, she says, her job has deepened her connection to Judaism.

“It hasn’t felt like a conflict. Examining my Judaism hasn’t made me want to abandon it. It made me want to engage with it more,” said Newhouse.

Regarding the principle of Lashon Hora, Newhouse was more direct.

“A big part of your job is speaking about other people — sometimes ill. I think we balance speaking ill with the good of the community,” she explained. “We know that journalism can be radioactive, so we try to use it sparingly and responsibly.”

Newhouse’s office is a reflection of her interests, both Judaic and secular. In one corner, a legless, armless mannequin bedecked in plated gold chains and a Star of David necklace keeps watch, while across the room, an encyclopedic volume of Joyce Carol Oates’ short stories rests on a Philip Roth novel. Behind her desk, a red and white poster outlines the laws of Muktzah (Shabbos prohibitions).

The poster was a gift from her parents when she was in first grade. She even has a favorite, which she pointed out on the yellowed poster: Muktzah machmas kis, a prohibition on objects whose main use and value is forbidden on Shabbos. Examples on the poster included a hammer, a checkbook and a slaughtering knife. For Newhouse, in a complicated world, it’s an easy law to observe.

“I never really carry my slaughtering knife with me,” she said with a laugh.

The staff of Tablet Magazine were prepped and ready to launch their

View through the office door at Tablet Magazine's Manhattan headquarters. (Photo by Michael Orbach (c) 2009 The Jewish Star)

website. It was Monday, June 8, 2009, and Tablet had been in production for the last six months; the staff was itching to finally put the site up. The problem: a freak electrical storm was causing power outages all over New York City. But the staff was undeterred and at 2:30 Tuesday morning the site went live. Moments later, as the staff gathered in one of the Tablet offices, a bolt of lightning

That’s life: Adventures in apple picking

Adventures in Apple Picking

Dear That’s Life,

Elul brings with it a number of different rituals. From blowing the shofar on a daily basis to saying selichot in the days leading up to Rosh Hashannah, people prepare themselves for the yomim noraim in many ways. As for us, we go apple picking.

Years ago we decided that it was important for our children to know that fruit came from trees — not from supermarkets. So, in addition to the special recipes I make specifically for this yom tov and the cinnamon and sugar challah I bake only for Rosh Hashannah, we take a drive out to the eastern end of Long Island and pick our own apples.

The orchard we go to is also part of the ritual. We have tried others before settling on this one and because of the apple orchard, the berry picking, the fresh flowers we can cut and the corn maze, everyone has a good time. Plus, some of the best pictures we take all year are taken on the day we pick apples.

Labor Day weekend out in the Hamptons was going to bring some additional traffic and although the orchard is technically in Water Mill, it is nestled in between all of these hot spots.  The parking lot was pretty full when we pulled up and we noticed an increase in customers the likes of which we were not accustomed. Clearly, we were not going to be alone with the Macintoshes.

We were picking our Galas as my youngest son threw himself down on the ground in a tantrum (prompting me to audibly exclaim, “Man down!” as I am accustomed to doing), while an attractive couple wearing sunglasses tried to maneuver around us and avoid stepping on the Wallach who was beating the ground with his fists. While I did not recognize her, I knew in an instant that the man in the khaki shorts was Rocco DiSpirito, celebrity chef and television personality. For those of you who are big fans of food television programming like I am, then you can appreciate my excitement as I began to silently freak out. (And to those of you who said, ‘What’s a Rocco?’ Just trust me that this is a big deal.)

No, I did not ask him for an autograph and no, I did not stop and take a picture with him. I’m a New Yorker, for pete’s sake, and we take things like this in stride. Of course, I did text as many people as I could think of who would appreciate the moment, but besides that, I stayed cool.

When my husband went to pay for all we had picked, he asked the proprietors if they had noticed Rocco. “Rocco, who?” was the response he got, but they did tell him Katie Couric had been there last week and some of the women from the Housewives of New York City reality show had been there that morning. Ironically enough, despite her annual income, Katie only had $60 on her and could not cover the $130 bill she had racked up. I guess she did not know that they did not take credit cards at the farm. She had to be directed to the nearest ATM. Had she asked me, I would have told her: cash or check only.

MLW

Expect the

unexpectable

Dear That’s life

After spending much of Sunday afternoon in the city, I opted to walk home from the Rosedale train station to enjoy the moderate weather. Being rather familiar with the area, as a lifelong resident and atuned with a city mentality, I ventured homebound taking in the quiet remnants of the day. Keeping my relatively brisk pace, despite a heavy backpack, I was well on my way when a car driving in the opposite direction slowed to a stop. At first I thought maybe they were lost and needed directions, but I quickly realized that they stopped because of me. The conversation went by quickly, while I was asked if I needed a ride and if I was comfortable walking in the area — I noted that I live right over the border in Nassau, expressed gratitude to the anonymous young frum couple for offering a ride, that I was fine and that I grew up in Rosedale and they need not worry. The last glance I caught before the couple drove off when I declined the ride was of slight confusion. Many newcomers don’t realize that the synagogue that they pass when driving on Francis Lewis Boulevard once housed a successful congregation and that Rosedale had an active, nice sized Jewish community and there are families still there.

I’d like to express great hakarat hatov to the couple that stopped to offer me a ride, it put a smile on my face and reminded me I will always be a Rosedale kid.

Tina Weiss

Valley Strea

“We are at a real deficit of $250,000,” Rabbi Elozer Kanner, one of the Hatzalah coordinators, told The Jewish Star. “The bank is borderline overdrawn from day to day. We release dribs and drabs to pay our bills based on what is in the bank.” Hatzalah had $10,000 in the bank as of Friday, he said.

Perhaps to demonstrate that from adversity arises opportunity, a young leadership group  has formed and will hold five simultaneous parlor meetings on Sunday in Cedarhurst, Woodmere and North Woodmere.

The purpose is “to reach out to the people who will be the pillars of the community in the next 20 years,” explained Moshe Ratner, a member of the committee and a Hatzalah volunteer. Most members of the committee are not Hatzalah members.

“There is a whole committee of young men who are stepping up to the plate and saying, ‘What can we do to help?’ Its really very gratifying,” said Rabbi Kanner, who bears much of the fundraising burden himself.

Mendy Haas, Shalom Jacobs, Alon Goldberger, Aron Solomon, Avi Goldstein, Moishe Reich, Sholom Jacobs, Uri Dreifus, Avi Dreyfuss, Ushi Klein, Elliot Gluck, Jeremy Frenkel, Dovi Faivish, Yisroel Wasser, David Sokol, Moishe Reich and Avi Kahn are also on the committee. Two others, Meir Krengel and Avi Davis, are also Hatzalah volunteers.

Most of the group lives in Cedarhurst and Woodmere, where fundraising efforts are being concentrated, “because a lot of the support for the [annual Hatzalah] barbeque doesn’t come from here,” explained Ushi Klein, 33. “The age group at the barbeque is usually much more mature.”

Rabbi Kanner agreed.

“Traditionally, much of our support came from Far Rockaway, Lawrence and from [the] middle-aged and older,” he said. “Young people are facing the challenges of tuition, families, parnasah [livelihood] problems and, what should I tell you? They’re obviously finding it hard.”

Only twenty percent of families in the Hatzalah database have written a check to the organization this year; overall fundraising is down about thirty percent in 2009, Rabbi Kanner said.

In addition to the overall drop in contributions, the deficit is also attributable to the recent purchase by Hatzalah of a site in Woodmere where a new ambulance garage and training center is planned. $200,000 was raised for the purchase; another $400,000 was taken from the operating budget and only some was replaced.

Two ambulances, including one that is brand new, are currently parked outside the Edward Avenue Shul, just off Peninsula Boulevard. Hatzalah would like to get them indoors, both in order to protect the vehicles, which are valued at about half a million dollars, and to protect “medications on board the ambulances [that] are sensitive to extremes of heat and cold,” said Rabbi Kanner. In addition, snowfall slows ambulance response, he said, when ambulances are parked outside. “When you have the ambulance inside, you come and you drive off,” rather than first having to brush the snow off, he explained.

Hatzalah will have a hearing before the Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals in November. If it goes well then a groundbreaking and a fundraising campaign will follow, Rabbi Kanner said. “If neither the community at large, nor an individual [steps up] to the plate then we will not be able to build this building.”

The garage portion of the facility is to be named after Mark Davidman, a”h, a Hatzalah member who was killed in a motorcycle accident and “is sorely missed,” Rabbi Kanner said. He expects to name the training facility after a different individual designated by a donor.

“Although we look forward to building a new building, we’ll always remember with gratitude the hospitality that has been provided to our ambulances by the Edward Avenue shul,” Rabbi Kanner added.

The young leadership committee of Chevrah Hatzalah doesn’t plan to stop with the parlor meetings,  Ushi Klein explained.

“My hope is to form a young initiative committee for Hatzalah to host a separate event every year specifically targeted to these communities and to people who don’t normally go to the barbeque at The Sands.”

Klein is grateful to Hatzalah for treating his daughter after an accident in the home one Friday night last year and hopes others will attend the parlor meetings on Sunday evening and bring their checkbooks. “Whatever they can give will be appreciated,” he said.

“It’s not so much dollars and cents as community-wide support — that’s what we’re looking for,” Ratner said.

“Everyone will agree that there is a very large younger crowd moving in, and they seem to take it for granted that, wherever you move from, Hatzalah is just a resource in the community. As people move in, the call volume goes up, and it translates into money. Every oxygen mask, every diesel fill-up … it’s never been like this … even the hospitals are surprised. They think we’ve changed our destinations. We haven’t changed anything. We’re just going there more often.”

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Dear That’s Life,

Elul brings with it a number of different rituals. From blowing the shofar on a daily basis to saying selichot in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, people prepare themselves

Lawrence schools seek court costs from litigious parents

By Michael Orbach
Issue of September 11, 2009 / 22 Elul 5769

After being targeted by repeated lawsuits, the Lawrence School District is going on the offensive.

No patience for Daf Yomi?

Tanach study program launching in Five Towns

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Is seven-and-a-half-years too long to wait? The Young Israel of North Woodmere may have a Torah study program for you. Beginning next week, an innovative program titled Tanach Beshana, aims to teach the

Kosher Bookworm: A myth destroyed

Perhaps one of the most nefarious myths of World War II was that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was the one who liberated the Jews from the Nazi evil and ended the Holocaust.

I call this a myth because based upon three works not only was Stalin not the grand liberator as some of my friends regard him as, but the opposite is the historical reality. These books, “Stalin’s Other War: Soviet Grand Strategy, 1939 – 1941” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) by Albert L. Weeks, “The Dictators” (WW Norton 2004) by Richard Overy, and “WWII Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, The Nazis and the West” by Laurence Rees (Pantheon Books, 2008) prove that if not for Stalin there could never have been a Holocaust in that time and possibly not in any time.

Another irony: despite the hot rhetoric that both Hitler and Stalin spewed forth against each other throughout the 1930’s, both Nazism and Communism had more in common as governing ideologies than is commonly believed. These two totalitarian twins ruled much in the same fashion and their murderous ways set a new standard in the history of cruelty.

Seventy years ago this past Sunday, according to the Jewish calendar, Nazi Germany invaded Poland thus beginning the Second World War and the end of over three million Polish Jews.

None of this could have happened if the Communist dictator, Joseph Stalin, had not willed it. The Hitler-Stalin Non-Aggression Pact of August 1939 enabled the Nazis to invade Poland and divide the country with the Soviets, thus assuring a quiet eastern front so that Germans could better fight and vanquish the western European powers of England and France.

Without the guarantee that the Soviets would be neutralized in that conflict, the Nazis would have been unable to conquer Poland and thus come to liquidate the Polish Jews who would come under their immediate rule. That is a simple fact.

But, there is more. Not only were the Nazis enabled to start the Holocaust on the cusp of the Yomim Nora’im of 1939, the Nazis were assisted both economically and militarily by their newfound Stalinist Communist allies.

These three books published over the past decade touch upon this little-known historical irony, and it behooves us to consult these works and gain benefit from the scholarship of their gifted authors. By doing so, we will effectively inoculate ourselves from the false notions that anti-Semitism is an exclusive property of the political right, whereas in truth, the political left, unto this day, has much to commend itself in the field of Jew-hatred.

Each of these books cites specific information that state, in effect,  had it not been for Soviet assistance, any notion of a Holocaust would have remained a Hitlerian fantasy relegated to the “safe” pages of Mein Kampf.

Consider the following  gleaned from these books:

According to Weeks, “In 1933-34 Lev Lebedev, a Communist Party Central Committee apparatchik in Moscow, visited Berlin on a secret mission to study Gestapo techniques. This was followed by transfer to the Germans of the table of organization used by the Soviet Commissariat of Internal Affairs [NKVD] for establishing Soviet labor camps as well the design for mobile, poison gas ‘liquidation wagons’, invented in the USSR and used against recalcitrant peasants in Stalin’s collectivization drive.”

This transfer of technology enabled the Nazis to deploy the Einsatzgruppen units during the opening years of their occupation of Poland and later, the Baltic states and Ukraine. Further, the whole scheme for the establishment of slave labor camps comes from those shared Soviet plans.

According to Weeks, the Soviets provided the following food and materials to the Nazis during their occupation of Poland,  thus making said occupation more deadly to that country’s Jews.

They are as follows: [in part] “900,000 tons of phosphates; 100,000 tons of chrome ore; 500,000 tons of iron ore; and….. 1,000,000 tons of grain; 900,000 tons of mineral oil; 200,000 tons of cotton.”

Other items included huge quantities of lumber, rubber, and other raw materials.

Now fancy that. Indeed this was no humanitarian mission by Stalin, but rather a cold, calculating effort at assisting the Nazi war machine.

Overy, in his book, noted that a comprehensive trade treaty further supplemented the original military pact on February 11, 1940 involving the exchange of more Soviet raw materials and food to the Nazis, for German machinery and military equipment.

These agreements further solidified Nazi rule in Poland and represented the immediate doom of over one half the number of Jews who were to perish in the Holocaust.

Rees’ volume not only reiterates the above, but also goes into great detail as to the political dynamics that were being played out at this time by these two former adversaries. This dynamic, as seen in hindsight, only further serves to warn us as to what our enemies are capable of doing to us using the guile of diplomacy and deceit.

Finally, as if the above should fail to chasten us, may I suggest a good reading of “Kiddush Hashem: Jewish Religious and Cultural Life in Poland During the Holocaust” by Shimon Huberband, Hy”d, [Yeshiva University Press, Ktav, 1987].

This most sacred book details first-hand accounts of the perilous experiences of Polish Jewry during the first months of the Nazi invasion of their towns, homes and institutions.

Translated from the original Yiddish, these accounts go into great detail of the decimation, in stages, of the quality of the spiritual life of Polish Jews, especially in their observances of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos. The author’s comments, notations of the human sufferings; the deprivations as well as the sacrifices made to observe the mitzvos of shofar, lulav, and esrog go right to the heart of any sensitive Jew at this time of year.

Taking all the above in perspective, if you have the opportunity, read and come to better appreciate the liberties we enjoy today in this blessed land. Also, as a lesson from the historical events detailed above, please come to appreciate our true friends, and be wary of those who in the depth of their hearts wish us only ill. We must forever guard ourselves from those who utter with ease, false platitudes disguised in eloquence and emotion, for from these are to be found our true enemies.

Stalin’s role in the beginning of the Second World War

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Perhaps one of the most nefarious myths of World War II was that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was the one who liberated the Jews from the Nazi evil and ended the Holocaust.

I call this a myth because based upon three works not only was Stalin not the grand liberator as some of my friends regard him as, but

Letters to the Editor 9-11-09

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Defending Kennedy

To the Editor:

I am writing to comment on the Kosher Bookworm’s article: “The Kennedy legacy: American tragedy or betrayal?” (September 4, 2009). Kennedy was highly supportive of Soviet Jews and was an early and courageous visitor of refuseniks and dissidents when he was in the USSR. In 1978, Hubert Humphrey (D-MN) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) came to long-time refusenik Alexander Lerner’s apartment to discuss how the U.S. Congress could help refuseniks be granted the right to emigrate. When Kennedy returned two years later, Lerner invited Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner to join the discussion focusing on the plight of dissidents in jails, labor camps and psychiatric hospitals.

Typical of his support for people afflicted with health problems was Kennedy’s successful effort to enable the Katz family to emigrate. Their infant daughter Jessica had a malady which prevented her from absorbing anything except baby formula that was unavailable in Russia. The story was chronicled in the American press and recently on CNN: www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/26/littlest.refusenik.kennedy/index.html

In a JTA article on August 26, Eric Fingerhut wrote: Kennedy “was one of the earliest, strongest champions on behalf of Soviet Jewry,” said Mark Levin, executive director of NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia. “He was always proactive and didn’t wait for NCSJ and other organizations to come to him — he was always looking to see where he could make a difference.” Levin noted that whenever Kennedy met with Soviet officials, in Washington or in the Soviet Union, he would bring lists of those he wanted to see released. “He never forgot we were talking about individuals and families,” Levin said.

I hope this helps set the record straight.

Philip Spiegel

Florida

The writer is the author of Triumph Over Tyranny: The Heroic Campaigns that Saved 2,000,000 Soviet Jews (Devora Publishing; 2008)

To the Editor:

A simple Google of Kennedy/Soviet Jews will reveal countless instances in which the late Senator Kennedy directly helped alleviate the plight of Soviet Jews, and many quotes from Israeli leaders praising Sen. Kennedy’s efforts. It’s incredible that Alan Jay Gerber (“The Kennedy legacy: an American tragedy or betrayal?”; September 4, 2009) could fantasize an opposite view. Opinion, by all means; unfortunately, his column possesses no semblance of reality.

Irv Lichtman

Oceanside

Zero-sum game

To the Editor:

There are inconsistencies in the August 28 issue (Editorial) that I feel compelled to address.

When Orthodox members of the community felt they were not represented on the Lawrence School Board, they nominated and elected representatives that they felt would share their views. Other voters feel that things are being done in their names (to paraphrase your editorial) by a president and administration they didn’t endorse or vote for. A judge wisely threw out their frivolous lawsuit, supporting the right of a legally elected administration to act in accordance with their perceptions of sound school administration.

On the other hand, your editorial complaint about an administration that “we didn’t endorse or vote for” denies the right of the duly elected administration to act in accordance with its own judgment. The American public decided that the Republican candidates were not the “people’s choice.”

Having gone from a barely-elected majority to a “vocal minority,” Republicans are doing all they can to discredit President Obama and, in the words of one Senator, “bring him down.” And having gone from a majority to a “vocal minority,” the non-Orthodox litigants in the school board case are trying to bring down the elected school trustees.

Neither group of “anti’s” is good for America and both ignore the fairness of a democratic electoral system. And, to quote William Shakespeare, I wish “a plague on both their houses.”

Leon Schwarzbaum

North Woodmere

More Secular Education

To the Editor:

I tend to be pretty direct, so forgive me if I seem impolite. I trust that Dr. Yitzchok Levine (“Less secular education is the answer”; August 28 2009) does not hold a doctorate in education, for that would be most unfortunate. I read with disbelief that reduced secular education for our children in yeshivas is an acceptable alternative for him.

I was raised in the south Bronx, a son of two poor Holocaust survivors, who couldn’t even afford shares in Co-Op City, thereby keeping me in East Tremont until 1973 — a desert for Caucasians, let alone Jews. I traveled to a Talmud Torah on the Grand Concourse. Thankfully, I was admitted to Bronx High School of Science (also, I might add, attended by Rabbi Yaacov Lerner of Young Israel of Great Neck!), for I was zoned for one of the worst high schools in the City.

My daughter attends North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck. You can be sure that I would not have her there were it not for its quality secular education alongside full religious immersion. Yes, for her Bat Mitzvah at women’s tefillah, she read from the Torah as well as any ba’al Koreh.

Before I went into financial management 10 years ago, I worked for 20 years at senior levels in city, state and federal government and hired many, many people. I can’t tell you how frequently I came across poor writing skills from our yeshiva graduates, as well as a good many other secular deficiencies. We need to continue to improve secular studies, not “dumb down” the Jewish community. Our greatest sages learned from the collected wisdom of the ages, alongside our holy Torah. We as a people have always added civilization’s best to our tradition and breadth of knowledge. Possessed of this knowledge, we contributed more than any other people to civilization.

The financial problems experienced by Jewish day schools (admittedly accentuated by the economy, Madoff, et al) is more than anything else a problem of “every Jew making Shabbos for himself.” Instead of cutting down our children’s worldliness, we need a national board of Jewish education, a bit like the Canadian model: centralizing personnel placement, payroll, procurement, standardization, etc. All our schools can have their own communal boards, but we require a national movement to centralize Jewish education. Imagine the savings and resulting benefits to our children’s education from a centralization of administration, city-by-city or state-by-state.

Yes, the charedim will still want to be on their own, but for the future of quality education in a Jewish environment, serious reflection by the rest of us on centralization will be required.

Dumbing down and ghettoizing our Jewish people is not the answer.

Tradition need not be sacrificed to this end.

Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld

Great Neck

The writer is a Trustee of the City University of New York

Something isn’t kosher

To the Editor:

In view of the requirement to show concern for one’s fellow Jews’ money, I feel compelled to apprise you of the following situation.

I purchased some chopped meat last week at one of the three local kosher supermarkets. The sticker had printed on it a weight of exactly 1 pound. When I brought it home and weighed it on my kitchen scale, it displayed a weight, with the packaging, of only about 14.5 ounces. When I brought it back to the supermarket, they confirmed the short weight.

The person in charge explained to me what causes this. He said that they calibrate their scales on Friday afternoon. Since, he continued, they have to rush home for Shabbos they don’t have time to make sure that their scales are accurately calibrated.

Aaron M. Bernstein

Lawrence

Singles stay home

To the Editor:

I read Etta Chinskey’s article (Long Island’s Singles Go West; August 28 2009) and sympathize with her situation. There definitely is more pressure on religious singles to marry at a young age than secular singles. After all, “pru urvu” [be fruitful and multiply] is the first mitzvah in the Torah.

I am a married West Sider and over the past 30 years have observed the West Side become the capital city for Orthodox singles from all over the world. However, I would discourage Orthodox singles from moving to the West Side.

In this community of singles there is a lot of Hachnosos Orchim [hospitality]. My friends and I host many singles for Shabbos and Yom Tov, hoping that they will meet their bashert at the Shabbos table, but it rarely happens. There is lots of camaraderie and socializing among singles but these friendships usually do not end in marriage. The singles feel very comfortable on the West Side because it’s a community of singles and a way of life but they do not necessarily move to the next stage. This comfort zone is almost a deterrent to marriage and singles who wish to marry might  be better served by living in a neighborhood where there is pressure to marry.

Karin Feldhamer

Manhattan

NCYI reevaluated

To the Editor:

My admiration to Mr. Jonathan Bell for his courage and insight calling for the reevaluation of a National Council of Young Israel and Orthodox Union merger (Letter to the Editor; Sept. 4, 2009), realizing that the NCYI is no longer what it was. With NCYI’s abolition of delegate meetings as well as regional and national conventions, the Council is no longer accountable to its membership and in turn, its member synagogues. Adding the National Council’s irrelevancy on the social and political scene, is all the more reason to seek a merger with the OU.

Some 18 or 19 years ago, at the behest of the president of the Orthodox Union, my father, Rabbi Ephraim Sturm, was asked to prepare a position paper for an OU/NCYI merger. The plan had 3 phases which called for joint ventures, followed by a merger of the lesser departments with the larger departments of the other, and then, the final phases of unity. Since the Council’s then-president rejected the paper outright, there was no need for an OU response.

Today unity is much more difficult. The NCYI’s excellent financial position with millions of dollars in the bank gives it a negative incentive to merge. However, Mr. Bell may be successful in abolishing the Council’s mandate of branch dues in favor of the OU’s position of free synagogue affiliation and  individual (not synagogue) voluntary membership dues. This can be achieved by a strong leader or core group encouraged by a groundswell response of the Young Israel membership. Otherwise Mr. Bell’s courageous observation will be just a cry in the wilderness of indifference.

Ava Sturm Strauss

Far Rockaway

Parsha responses

To the Editor:

I very much enjoyed Rabbi Billet’s article on Shiluach Hakan (“Baby birds and their mothers”; August 28 2009). His words beautifully articulate the issues I have had with understanding this mitzvah for years. I have no ready answer for you except that at the very least it seems to me that if you don’t need the eggs/baby birds leave the nest alone. But I am not sure that I am correct. More senstive minds than mine disagree.

Elliot Goldofsky MD

Great Neck

To the Editor:

I don’t know if I have a “good answer” to the questions posed by Rabbi Billet (Baby Birds and Their Mother; August 28 2009), but I do have a different perspective.

Rabbi Billet concludes that shiluach haken (the law requiring sending the mother away before taking eggs or young birds from a nest) cannot be based on compassion to animals because the Mishnah (Berachot 5:3) states, “One who says (in prayer) ‘Your mercy is demonstrated through the treatment of the mother bird’ is to be silenced.” But the Talmud (Berachot 33b) gives two possible reasons why this prayer may be objectionable. One interpretation (which Rabbi Billet accepts) is that the prayer suggests that G-d’s laws are based in mercy rather than fiat.

The other interpretation is quite the opposite — that the prayer is objectionable because it implies that G-d is more merciful to one species than another. Maimonides (Guide For The Perplexed 3:48) accepts this latter interpretation, because Maimonides argues that all Torah

commandments have reasons (note Bamidbar Rabbah 19:6 says that G-d revealed the reason for the Red Heifer to Moses).

Rabbi Billet’s more powerful point is that it would have been more merciful to forbid disturbing the nest altogether (see Ikkar Tosafot Yom Tov on Berachot 5:3). But sometimes the Torah limits its demands on humanity, knowing that our capabilities are limited (see Maimonides, Guide 3:22, discussing why G-d commands animal sacrifice when the practice has many troubling theological implications). Many (e.g. Rav Kook) have argued that the very permission to eat meat is a divine concession to human needs. Perhaps G-d made a judgment that requiring shiluach haken, rather than asking for the nest to be left alone, would be the best way to get the most compassionate behavior out of the most number of people.

Rabbi Noah Gradofsky

Temple Israel of Long Beach

Defending Kennedy

To the Editor:

I am writing to comment on the Kosher Bookworm’s article: “The Kennedy legacy: American tragedy or betrayal?” (September 4, 2009). Kennedy was highly supportive of Soviet Jews and was an early and

Editorial: Keep the change, Mr. President

Issue of September 11, 2009 / 22 Elul 5769

A lot has happened in the eight years since Sept. 11, 2001. Children too young to remember much about that day entered high school this week. Two wars were launched

Seidemann: Standing before the true Judge

In close to 20 years of “lawyering” I would estimate that I have appeared in front of at least 100 different judges. Municipal court, civil court, Supreme Court, district court or the appellate division; New York, New Jersey or San Juan; each judge is so different. Learning what they want, what they tolerate and how they want me to present my argument is almost as important as knowing the law itself.

I have encountered judges that have made it clear that they want to hear from me, and those that were really not that interested. I have pleaded on behalf of clients in front of justices who were guided by the voice of mercy and in front of others who were guided by the stern hand of justice.

The overwhelming majority of judges I have encountered are sincerely interested in dispensing justice after a complete, fair and impartial hearing on the issues. And while bound by the ethos of justice, they do find the window to flavor the justice with a bit of compassion. Every once in a while, however, I stand on the other side of the bench from an individual whose temperament would suggest that it is time to exchange the judicial robe for a bath robe.

Sometimes I will bounce from courtroom to courtroom on the very same day, presenting before judges that want matters in a polar opposite fashion. On days like that, it’s difficult to think straight. I recall once, many years ago, standing in front of a judge with a client on sentencing day.

“Tell me,” said the judge. “Tell me why I should not sentence your client to jail.”

“Your honor,” I began. “All of his role models are in jail. Send him there and you can be sure he will follow them until the end of time. Your honor, you and only you can break the cycle.”

“Instead, your honor, sentence him to new opportunities. Sentence him to new role models. Sentence him to a job. Sentence him to an education. Sentence him to new responsibilities. Sentence him to a chance at a brighter future. Until now, your honor, he has lived a life of taking what he wants. Sentence him to a life where he can learn to exchange his wants for needs.”

I must have spoken for at least twenty minutes after which the judge sentenced my client. What a contrast to the Judge that we will all face in just over a week. No confusion as to what He wants. No question that mercy will triumph over the strict administration of justice. Instead of handing out “sentences,” this Judge hands out books, volumes filled with opportunities for the prospect of a better future.

And what does this Judge want in return? Simply for us to view Him as a father. For if we view Him as a father then all of humanity is our brother. And if all of humanity is our brother, then we must sublimate our “wants” for the “needs” of our brothers and sisters. Give your brother what he needs and in all likelihood you will be rewarded with what you want.

And so it happened, not in some shtetl in Eastern Europe two hundred years ago, but in our very own neighborhood a few weeks ago. Not involving two elderly Torah scholars, but rather a 10-year-old boy and his 20-year-old friend.

The 10-year-old, a student at a local yeshiva, had enough. Too much school, too much religion, too much studying, too much Chumash, too much Halacha. When the school year closed, so did his heart. Off came the tzitzis; off came the yarmulke. The Siddur would remain closed at least till the new school year in September. Or so he thought. This 10-year-old got a volunteer job at a camp for needy children. One of the counselors was a 20-year-old yeshiva boy and the two of them became instant friends. They began to talk and talk and talk some more. About what you ask? About everything but religion.

The 20-year-old sensed that his 10-year-old friend was searching and they talked some more. Within ten days the yarmulke reappeared on the younger boy’s head and his tzitzis reappeared as well. He reopened his Siddur earlier than planned.

Near the end of camp the 10-year-old turned to his new mentor and remarked, “We spent the entire summer talking about me. What about you? What are you doing in September?”

“Well I wanted to return to Yeshiva in Israel for a second year but it’s expensive,” said the 20-year-old.

“How expensive?” asked the little man.

“Very expensive,” replied the 20-year-old. “I am a few thousand dollars short.”

“Exactly how much more money do you need?” asked the 10-year-old.

“Approximately $2,000.”

That was the end of the conversation and they went back to playing basketball.

A few days later, on the last day of camp, the little boy handed his new best friend an envelope. Inside was a check for $2,000. An accompanying note from the little boy’s grandfather thanked the 20-year-old for giving his grandson what the little boy “needed.” It concluded with best wishes for a year of study in Israel, which is exactly what the 20-year-old “wanted.”

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann & Mermelstein.  He can be reached at (718) 692-1013 and at ds@lawofficesm.com.

From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

In close to 20 years of “lawyering” I would estimate that I have appeared in front of at least 100 different judges. Municipal court, civil court, Supreme Court, district court or the appellate division; New York, New Jersey or San Juan; each judge is so different. Learning what they want, what they tolerate and how they want me to present my argument is

I’m Thinking: The wrong type of tzedakah

The High Holidays coincide with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan this year. Judaism follows the lunar calendar and adds a month to compensate for leap years. The Hijrah, the Islamic calendar of Islam, follows the moon but does not add the extra time so Jewish and Muslim holidays are not always celebrated at the same time of year. In other words, according to strict Islamic tradition, a person ages faster in Islam than they do in Judaism or in Christianity.

Like Elul, Ramadan is a month dedicated to introspection and soul searching. In Judaism, it is called t’shuvah.

Ramadan is a month long fast. Followers fast during the day and eat at night, after sundown. The month concludes with a three day feast called Eid el Fitr. Eid means festival and fitr means to break the fast. It is incumbent upon Muslims to give sadaqah during al Fitr. Sadaqah, in Arabic, is derived from the exact root as the Hebrew word tzedakah. Sedaqah is one of the five pillars of Islam and adherents give charity so that everyone, rich or poor, can celebrate with an end-of-month festival. They also give gifts to family and friends.

This past week al Qaeda, arguably among the most devout followers of Islamic tradition, promised to deliver a Ramadan present to the world, their own version of sedaqah.

There is no doubt that Islam emerged from Judaism. And there is no denying that both religions share remarkable teachings, especially in their rejection of paganism. When Mohammed began his movement he was responding to the pagan environment around him. The prophet rejected pagan traditions. At the same time, he was enormously influenced by the monotheistic Jewish tribes who were also rejecting the pagan values of Arabia. In his travels Mohammed learned much from the Jewish communities he visited and borrowed from their traditions.

Originally, the Islamic fast lasted for a single day, as does Yom Kippur. Originally, Islam prayed toward Jerusalem not toward Mecca. And originally, Islamic prayers were held three times a day, not five as they are until today.

The differences came about after Mohammed approached Jewish tribes and asked them to join him. The Jews of Arabia flatly rejected Mohammed. In response, Mohammed fundamentally altered the relationship between Judaism and Islam. Instead of following in similar traditions, Mohammed one-upped the Jews. Your fast is one day long, ours is one month, you pray three times a day, we pray five, etc.

There has evolved in Islam a stream of extremism that is gaining more and more of a stronghold. Historically, Islamic extremism had been forced off to the side, but it is now finding a more central voice in religion and in politics. Al Qaeda is one of those voices.

And despite the teachings of sadaqah and introspection and the imperative to account for one’s deeds, a group of Islamic leaders interpreted the Ramadan period as an essential time to fight for Islamic honor. The belief is that a person who dies fighting in the defense of Islam during Ramadan receives extra special rewards in the afterlife.

The present which al Qaeda promised us is assumed to be a public address by a senior leader and a planned terrorist attack of large proportions. Not t’shuvah, not tefila, just the al Qaeda version of sadaqah.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Read his latest book THUGS. He maintains The Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com

By Micah D. Halpern

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

The High Holidays coincide with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan this year. Judaism follows the lunar calendar and adds a month to compensate for leap years. The Hijrah, the Islamic calendar of Islam, follows the moon but does not add the extra time so Jewish and Muslim holidays are not always celebrated at the same time of year. In other words, according to strict Islamic tradition, a person ages faster in Islam than they do in

Opinion: America’s chance to capture Darfur killer

By Rafael Medoff
Issue of September 11, 2009 / 22 Elul 5769

The same week that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez denounced Israel as “genocidal,” he invited a genuine perpetrator of genocide, the president of Sudan, to attend a summit in Caracas.

Hypocritical? Outrageous? Offensive?

All of the above. But Chavez also may have inadvertently created an opportunity for the United States or its allies to take a major step towards ending the Darfur genocide.

Chavez announced last week that Israel’s “genocidal government” is “a

Crossword Puzzle for 9-11-09

By Matt Gaffney

Issue of Sept. 11, 2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Across

Crossword Answer Key for 9-4-09

1 Larry Gelbart’s pride
5 Hoover et al.
9 Use an Uzi
14 Fashionable periodical
15 Charles Lamb’s pen name
16 ___ fear (is intrepid)
17 Portrayer of Happy and Billy
18 Well, to Sephardim
19 Example of monotheism
20 Moshe Sharett’s predecessor and successor
23 A as in Asch
24 Marx’s hue
25 Like the Hamptons
29 “Scarborough ___”
31 Cigar remains
34 “Home ___”

Parsha Nitzavim-Vayelech: Life and Good vs. Death and Bad

In the context of thoughts on why “Tisha B’Av precedes Va’etchanan,” I raised the halakhic discussion point that Nitzavim is always read before Rosh Hashana (Shulchan Arukh 428). The Pri Megadim (in Eshel Avraham) points to the comments of the L’vush, who gives two reasons why Nitzavim precedes Rosh Hashana.

The first is more obvious. When one takes a cursory glance at Devarim chapter 30, the root word “shav” — return — appears seven times. This chapter (and the parsha in general), says the L’vush, raises important issues of “teshuvah,” or repentance. It is a perfect prelude to the Day of Judgment.

The second reason looks at some of the other parashot that appear in the list of the Shulchan Arukh, notably the rule regarding Tisha B’Av and “Bamidbar precedes Shavuos.” Devarim is read before Tisha B’Av because it includes Moshe rebuking the people, setting the stage for the gloomy nature of 9 Av. Bamidbar serves as a buffer between the tokhacha of Bechukotai and the holiday of Shavuos. Similarly, Nitzavim serves as a break between the tokhacha of Ki Tavo and Rosh Hashana.

Both Ki Tavo and Nitzavim have elements of rebuke. One might suggest Ki Tavo should specifically precede Rosh Hashana, to keep us in the right mood for the Day of Judgment. But the L’vush says Nitzavim is the parsha of choice for this week, because though it contains rebuke that we need, it does not contain curses, which are the last things we need leading into Rosh Hashana.

Compare Devarim 11:26 — “See that I am placing before you both a blessing and a curse” — to Devarim 30:15 — “See! Today I have set before you [a choice] of life and good, versus death and bad.”

In both cases, the Torah states that the way to receive the preferred first option is through observance of the Law, while the second one will come about through a conscious choice not to listen to the word of G-d. In our parsha, the “curse” option is removed, and is replaced with “death and bad.”

Wouldn’t “death and bad” be the ultimate curse? Before we consider the everlasting bliss the soul experiences in the world to come, “death and bad” represent the end of the human experience that we all cherish. Not using the word “k’lalah” (curse) does not count for avoiding curses in Nitzavim if the option given is, in essence, a curse.

In Devarim 30:19, the Torah seems to indicate that the choices it gave us in 30:15 were indeed a blessing and a curse, but it tells us to choose life. The Dubno Maggid asks, “Why does it not say to choose ‘life and good’ as had been originally suggested?”  He answers that people may not necessarily know what will be good for them, so they are better off just choosing a generic “good life” than specific things they think will be good. Put faith in G-d that He will give you things that are good for you.

If we are now choosing life because G-d tells us to, and if the curse “option” isn’t really an option anyway, why was it on the table to begin with? Would anyone who values life consciously choose “death and bad” when “life and good” are equally available?

The Akeidat Yitzchak suggests that the verse refers not to a curse brought on as a punishment of G-d, but to a death brought about due to a person’s life choices. Some people choose to live life to the fullest and make the Torah and mitzvot central to their existence, and some people choose to live such that, “even when they are alive, they are dead.”

Is it a curse to live a life devoid of G-d, spirituality, and the pursuit of deeper fulfillment? Is it a curse to look to billboards, movie stars and athletes for role models as opposed to your parents, your neighbors, teachers, and rabbis? Is it a curse to view summers and vacation days as times to get away from Torah study and shul commitments?

Some may look forward to these possibilities and may or may not be joking when they say, “All of those things are a blessing! Ha ha!”

Nitzavim is read before Rosh Hashana to remind us that the choice we are making is not just to ask G-d to allow us to survive until next Rosh Hashana. We are actively choosing to live a holy existence, in which we are committed not just to achieving “life and good” but to avoiding the stagnation that comes with choosing a life that is spiritually dead.

In this light, “death and bad” might not be a curse or punishment from G-d. But as a choice of how to live, it holds no redeeming qualities.

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of September 11,  2009 / 22 Elul 5769

In the context of thoughts on why “Tisha B’Av precedes Va’etchanan,” I raised the halakhic discussion point that Nitzavim is always read before

On the Calendar 9-11-09

Issue of September 11, 2009 / 22 Elul 5769

Woodmere - Shabbos, Sept. 12, 5:35 p.m. at Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard. Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf offers a Women’s class on Parting Thoughts from Pirkei Avot; then, between Mincha and Maariv, Rabbi Hershel Billet on Symbolism, Superstition and Spirituality in the

See The Jewish Star as it appears in print 9-11-09

Click here for The Jewish Star print edition for Sept 11, 2009

Myths, Illusions and Peace by Dennis Ross and David Makovsky

Interview with David Makovsky

September 6, 2009 / Online exclusive / thejewishstar.com

David Makovsky is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy and an adjunct lecturer at John Hopkins University. Together with Dennis Ross, who served as the chief negotiator for the Israeli Palestinian conflict under both Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and who currently serves in the State Department, he authored Myths, Illusions and Peace (Viking). The book aims to correct a number of misconceptions about the Middle East both from the neoconservative perspective and the realist view, as well as offer some novel solutions to the conflict in the region. Makovsky, who is Orthodox and lives in Washington, DC spoke to the Jewish Star about the book.

Jewish Star: What your goal in writing the book?
David Makovsky: We felt that there were certain myths handed down from generation to generation and new myths being accepted without being questioned. We felt that there was a need to assess those assertions and puncture them when it was required

Back to school 2: Good touch, bad touch

How to talk to your kids about a touchy subject

By Mayer Fertig

Beyond the new clothing, a knapsack and school supplies they buy for their young students, moms and dads need to consider if their children are equipped with the information they’ll need to protect themselves from an adult, or even another child, who seeks to betray their trust.

“Parents need to teach their children about good touch and bad touch,” said psychologist Michael Salamon of ADC Psychological Services in Hewlett.

“Use themselves and their medical doctors as an example,” he suggested, “how the doctor will never examine them without Mommy or Daddy in the room, and anyone who wants to touch them, unless Mommy or Daddy says it’s okay, they should stay away and tell Mommy and Daddy about it.”

Second grade is the latest age to have that conversation, Salamon said, and it should be repeated “at every age”; another therapist suggested children first receive age-appropriate warnings about abuse when they are as young as four years old.

Context is important, stressed Dr. Asher Lipner, vice president of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, and a therapist in private practice. “Don’t make it out of the blue — ‘Everything’s fine in life, nobody’s going to hurt you but watch out for sexual abuse.’

“You have to teach your kids about their rights,” he urged, “that they have the right to expect that nobody will hurt them physically, or emotionally or even spiritually.”

Children should be told, “If a kid or an adult tries to get you to do something you don’t want to do, you have the right to say no if it is something which is invading your privacy, such as touching you in your private place or touching them in their private place,” Lipner explained.

A patient who suffered abuse as a child “focused her chinuch so much on this, and in a positive way,” Lipner said, “that your body is special and a gift from Hashem; that your private places are especially yours, and that nobody is even allowed to look.”

A child’s vulnerability to predators is dependent to a great extent on the manner in which he or she is treated by their parents, said Lipner. He recalled an incident in which a six-year-old girl scared off a would-be abuser by saying, “That’s stupid and I’m calling the police.”

“If parents are overly dictatorial, if parents are neglectful, if parents rationalize that kids don’t have the same needs as adults for autonomy, for being heard, then the kids are going to believe that people have the right to tell them what to do,” Lipner said. They may believe “that adults have more rights than them, and therefore if an adult wants to touch them…”

“Parents have to treat their kids with a respect that doesn’t always come naturally,” he added, “because we all have the potential to selfishly put our needs before the needs of people who are more vulnerable — and children especially — because we mistakenly think that their emotional needs are not as strong or as important as those of adults.”

By Mayer Fertig

Issue of September 4,  2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Beyond the new clothing, a knapsack and school supplies they buy for their young students, moms and dads need to consider if their children are equipped with the information they’ll need to protect themselves from an adult, or even another child, who seeks to betray their trust.

“Parents need to teach their children about good touch and bad touch,” said psychologist Michael Salamon of ADC Psychological Services in Hewlett.

“Use themselves and their medical doctors as an example,” he suggested, “how the doctor will never examine them without Mommy or Daddy in the room, and anyone who wants to touch them, unless Mommy or Daddy says it’s okay, they should stay away and tell

Back to school 2: Picking up the slack

By Michael Orbach

A yeshiva high school for boys in Brooklyn is stepping up to offer a Jewish education to teens that, for financial reasons, might otherwise be headed for public school.

“I didn’t realize it was real,” said Rabbi Moshe Rubin, dean of administration for the Torah Academy of Brooklyn, referring to an article in The Jewish Star two weeks ago about parents who face a real choice between paying the mortgage and paying yeshiva tuition.

“It’s a shame and it’s a terrible indictment on the situation, really, that people should have to stoop to that level.” Alumni in the Five Towns called the article to his attention, he said.

Torah Academy of Brooklyn, which opened in 1981, charges $14,000 for tuition. Families that are able to pay the full tuition are expected to do so, Rabbi Rubin said.

“That’s what we ask for and we expect people to respect it if they can — they want their kids to have a good education. But we understand that people have large families and have different circumstances and they can’t all come up with the necessary [funding]. We understand that and don’t think the kids should suffer for that.”

The yeshiva is willing to do whatever is necessary to keep boys from going to public school.

“We’re primarily concerned about kids opting for public school and we’re willing to go to the nth degree to have that not happen. Whatever that will take… whatever scholarship,” Rabbi Rubin explained, emphasizing the words ‘whatever scholarship.’

50 boys attend the high school; another 80 are enrolled in the yeshiva’s post-high school beis medrash program. The school could immediately accommodate another 40 male high school students, effectively doubling the school population, Rabbi Rubin said, without increasing the yeshiva’s fixed costs. The school has 25 teachers including rabbeim and instructors from the public school system who teach secular subjects.

Torah Academy of Brooklyn High School has been supported primarily by outside fundraising since the day the school opened and boasts an impressive track record.

“We’ve never refused anyone for financial reasons,” Rabbi Rubin said.

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

A yeshiva high school for boys in Brooklyn is stepping up to offer a Jewish education to teens that, for financial reasons, might otherwise be headed for public school.

“I didn’t realize it was real,” said Rabbi Moshe Rubin, dean of administration

Back to school 2: What’s new in High Schools and Colleges

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov will continue the learning support program it introduced last year; several young rabbeim are available to help students learn.

“In addition to the obvious educational benefits, these talmidei chachomim acted as superb role models for our impressionable young men,” explained the Menahel, Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe.

Four AP courses will be offered and two of the Mesivta’s instructors will be department coordinators in the areas of Language Arts and Mathematics. The Mesivta will resume its weekly publication of student-written Divrei Torah that is distributed in Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn. Chesed projects with Ohel-Beis Ezra and Chayeinu will resume ,as will sports and academic programs, including softball, volleyball, mock trial and Torah Bowl.

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The Davis Renov Stahler High School for Boys

DRS is welcoming its largest ever freshman class — 90 students from 14 different elementary schools. The new 9th graders will bring the total number of students attending DRS to 330 this coming year.

College students will have a new yeshiva program available to them this at DRS. The post-high school learning program is, “an opportunity for them to learn and to be around a yeshiva environment, even if they’re going to secular college,” explained Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky. The college students will  learn and hang out with the high school students.

DRS will expand its science research program under the leadership of Dr. Robert Winston. In the program’s fledgling year, five sophomores won awards in statewide science competitions. DRS is adding its 13th Advanced Placement course, AP English in the 11th grade. Not one to miss the technology wave, DRS will be using two Twitter accounts, drsalumni and drshalb, to keep in touch with alumni and current students, respectively.

Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf is joining the faculty. He is the newly named Rabbinic Associate at Young Israel of Woodmere.

On the extra-curricular front, Motza’ei Shabbat Basketball Intramurals will begin their second season; a DRS fencing team will begin to compete this year.

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Hebrew Academy of Five Towns and Rockaway High School

It’s gearing up to be a busy year at HAFTR High School.

After Advanced Placement exams and the senior courses are done in the spring, seniors will become interns.

“They’ll be meaningfully engaged in a life preparatory experience,” said General Studies Principal Naomi Lippman. The school is planning to match internships with students’ preferences, from working in hospitals to corporations to local businesses.

HAFTR hosted 34 young people from Sderot for several weeks last spring; and students will once again be in touch with their Sderot counterparts thanks to a donation of video conferencing gear from Woodmere-based Quantalytics Inc.

“The video conferencing equipment will help to develop and sustain relationships with students who were here last year and [allow] newer students to be able to connect … with their counterparts in Israel,” Lippman explained.

HAFTR alumni attending universities in New York will return to the school each week to teach a Friday morning shiur. “It’s very nice to get the alumni back and to show kids what role models our graduates are,” Lippman said.

For students who want more than the standard Regents curriculum but don’t wish to take Advanced Placement exams, the school plans to offer an honors level program in all AP subjects.

Rabbi Steven Moskowitz, the director of student activities, will begin the year on a high note, working with students to build and decorate a sukkah for each Ohel-Beis Ezra group home in the area. His students will also help make a wedding for a bride who grew up in foster care. They’ll bake for the wedding, purchase all the Judaica necessities the young couple will need, and even throw a Sheva Brachos celebration at the Carlos and Gabby’s restaurant in Brooklyn. Students raised the required funds before the summer by selling snack food and beverages in the school.

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Hebrew Academy of Nassau County High School

HANC High School will offer female students a class in Talmud as an alternative to a class called Torah She’bal Peh (The Oral Law).

“We believe that this will allow those women who are so inclined to pursue and build upon the Gemara skills they have developed in our Middle School,” explained Principal Rabbi Moshe Stavsky.

Also being introduced this year, “Torah Umada Institute,” a series of lectures and workshops given by leaders in the pursuit of Torah and the sciences. The progamn will also include on-site visits to facilities at the cutting edge of research and higher learning. Students will then create projects based on their studies to present to the school community.

Two new AP courses, Chemistry and Astronomy, are being introduced, and HANC has been selected to participate in the prestigious Gildor Science competition sponsored by the Gruss foundation. The E2K Science and Math enrichment program is being expanded and Smart Boards have been installed in seven additional classrooms in time for the new school year.

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North Shore Hebrew Academy High School

Enrollment is up to 400 boys and girls in the North Shore Hebrew Academy High School and there will be six daily minyanim. The Mesivta program is expanding to include son and daughter learning programs for parents, and the Bechina Yerushalmit program for accelerated students will begin in the ninth grade.

The secular studies program is expanding as well with the launch of research programs in math and engineering. Advanced Placement Physics will be added to an already long list of AP courses; archeology classes are being offered in conjunction with Israeli high schools.

Every classroom at North Shore Hebrew Academy High School will be equipped with a Smart Board. The school plans to begin setting up teleconference chavrusas (study partnerships) for high schoolers with yeshivas in Israel.

“Our goal is the get to the heart as well as the brain of all of our students,” said Headmaster Dr. Daniel J. Vitow. “We want them to love what they are learning both in Limudei Kodesh and secular studies so we can develop a balanced, rational, modern Orthodox young man or young woman, able to be frum and yet engage the modern world comfortably.”

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Rambam Mesivta

Rambam Mesivta (and sister school Shalhevet) are on their own now, led once more by Rabbis Zev Friedman and Yotav Eliach.

Rabbi Friedman will give a shiur to eleventh graders; Rabbi Eliach will teach Hashkafa (Jewish philosophy) to eleventh graders in addition to the course he customarily leads on Zionism. Freshman will hear shiurim on Tefilah (prayer) and Parshat Hashavua (weekly Torah portion).

“There’s a need to build on skills so the kids can understand the meaning of the davening and the halachic details; the same thing applies to the Parshat Hashavua,” said Rabbi Friedman.

The school is installing Smart Boards, upgrading the laboratory and adding a computer course that will focus on hands-on media. Last year, instead of a school newspaper, the school produced a newscast with students as “roving reporters.”

A shiur for alumni will be offered twice a week instead of once; a shiur for parents will be offered as well. Conference call technology will be employed to allow students who live outside the local area to participate in shiurim offered at night.

“We’re looking forward to a very productive, successful year,” Rabbi Friedman said.

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Shalhevet High School for Girls

After a question of whether Shalhevet High School for Girls would continue, the school will inaugurate its second class of girls in a new location at Temple Hillel. Parents helped close a nearly $150,000 budget gap through donations and cost-cutting measures to keep the school open minus its previous association with HAFTR.

“What’s really unique about Shalhevet is the amazing parent body,” explained the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Zev Friedman. “Over these past few weeks [they] have put in so much in terms of their own time and financial help… in so many different areas, it is inspiring. It sets a tone for the very positive and united commitment that the parents have, working as a team to build a Torah institution.”

25 girls from more than 15 elementary schools comprise the incoming freshman class.

“I think what unites them — the group of diverse girls from different communities — is wonderful middot, a sense of mission they have, realizing that school is more than just learning pages and curriculum but a sense of being a Bas Torah, and that the world is open to them, all professions, and they have a mission to go out and make a Kiddush Hashem, whatever they do, and they can pursue excellence in a warm non-competitive atmosphere,” said Rabbi Friedman.

A new Torah She’ bal Peh class will be given by Rabbi Friedman. In addition to learning practical Halacha the course will also focus on the 613 mitzvot using the Sefer HaChinuch and the Rambam as a springboard for analysis. Moms will be invited to join their daughters on Fridays for a shiur on contemporary halacha; Rabbi Yotav Eliach and Mrs. Mindy Schachar will teach weekly seminars on Zionism, and the school plans to expand its sports and chesed activities. Each student will receive a laptop. Shalhevet also plans to continue offering a course in Arabic that was popular in the school’s first year.

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Yeshiva University

The first new building in 20 years on Yeshiva University’s Wilf Campus in Washington Heights will officially open its doors on Sept. 13. The Glueck Center for Jewish Study, a 60,000 square foot, modern, glass and stone multi-use facility will be dedicated at a ceremony that day beginning at 9:30 am.

The Legacy Heritage Foundation is providing two grants to Yeshiva University. The first will enable nine students at Stern College for Women to take a new concentration in Jewish education within the Jewish Studies major. The second, The Legacy Heritage Training Fellowship, will fund five qualified recent graduates to teach at schools across North America while studying towards master’s degrees at YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.

The Sy Syms School of Business is launching the Center for Professional and Executive Education – it is intended to further expand the scope of a Syms education beyond undergraduate programming. The center will offer post-graduate education and professional development to meet the needs of business professionals, particularly in the Jewish community.

The Immigration Justice Clinic at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law recently released the first public study of the home raid operations of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and found that widespread constitutional violations. Based on the study, the New York Times branded the raids, which occurred in Nassau County, as “tactical failures as well as moral outrages.” The clinic provides legal representation to indigent immigrants facing deportation and represents immigrant community-based organizations on litigation and advocacy projects.

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Touro College

With the health care industry showing resistance to the current economic slump Touro’s School of Health Sciences has seen a 30 percent jump in applications. Its major programs – Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Nursing – are all fully enrolled for the fall semester. In order to meet demand Touro has added weekend and evening classes to its undergraduate programs for the first time.

Veterans of military service in Iraq and Afghanistan will be eligible for scholarships valid in any of Touro’s undergraduate programs; up to 25 will be awarded.

Lander College for Men in Queens will hold a Mathematics Olympiad designed to stimulate interest in the study of mathematics among yeshiva high school students. It is open to all full-time yeshiva high school students in the US and Canada, and will provide a first prize of $1,000. Lander’s second annual Student Entrepreneur of the Year Competition will begin on November 25th. The program has been designed to help foster innovative ideas and inventions from yeshiva high school students in the metro New York area. Five finalists will present their product or service to a panel of judges consisting of senior business leaders and young, successful Jewish entrepreneurs. Three winners will be named and awarded prizes of $1,500 for 1st place, $1,000 for 2nd place, and $500 for 3rd place.

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Queens College

Queens College’s reputation as a commuter school is at risk. The university’s first residence hall has opened, named the Summit, with 506 beds. Each suite is equipped with a kitchenette, a common living area and a bath. The recently renovated science building Remsen Hall will also re-open this semester with new state-of the laboratory facilities.

Queens College welcomed a new provost, Dr. James Stellar, a neuro-psychologist, who is the former dean of Northeastern University’s College of Arts and Sciences. When he taught at Harvard he received the Phi Beta Kappa Outstanding Harvard Teacher of the Year Award.

This summer QC students conducted research on faculty-lead projects in Israel, Turkey, Ethiopia and Greenland.

The Queens College Center for Jewish Studies plans a number of events beginning on Wednesday, October 14, with a lecture by Professor Marion Kaplan titled “Dominican Haven: Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust.” A succeeding lecture on October 28th, to be given by Professor Daniel Tzadik, will focus on the relationship between Jews and Iran, in “Iran Shi’ah Islam and the Jews.”

Issue of Sept. 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov will continue the learning support program it introduced last year; several young rabbeim are available to help students learn.

“In addition to the obvious educational benefits, these talmidei chachomim

Dear That’s Life: Almost there

Dear That’s Life,

Isn’t this break between camp and school fun?

It’s always a challenge to find daily activities to keep the kids occupied, especially after they are used to the fun-filled, packed days of a camp schedule. “What are we doing tomorrow?” is a question I have become accustomed to hearing but, nevertheless, it is still incredibly irritating. I am not Julie the Cruise Director and there will be no shuffleboard on the Promenade Deck. Some days, we just all have to lay low. That’s the activity.

All work and no play do make for a dull life and so there are some activities planned. Having bought tickets in advance, in an effort to plan something exciting, we went to see the Gazillion Bubble Show in Manhattan. If you have not seen it, you should know that it is exactly what it sounds like: over an hour, a woman, who has dubbed herself a ‘bubble artist’ (no comment), blowing and doing tricks with bubbles. It happens to be pretty interesting for a while, although my husband wanted to know why our kids could not just do this in our backyard.

Varying in age, some of my children enjoyed it more than others. It was when the ‘artist’ brought different audience members on stage that I thought the show was the most entertaining. In her admittedly broken English, she chose certain young children on stage to help her with her act. She said she was looking for ‘big smiles’ and despite their great efforts and Cheshire-like grins, no Wallach child was chosen. Her loss.

Each child, however, was asked the same questions:  what is your name and where are you from? The volunteers were all able to answer the first part without a problem, but it was the second question that tripped them up. Actually, it is not that straightforward of a question.

One small boy had no clue where he came from. One girl said she came from her mommy and daddy. Another boy said he came from New Jersey. My son, however, was still wondering what his answer should be if he were to be chosen from the audience for the next round. “Mommy, where do I come from?” he asked me, and before I could even answer, he responded, “Do I come from the Kotel?” Smiling, I said, “No, you do not come from the Kotel.” And then quickly he tried again. “Oh! Do I come from Hashem?” he asked. “Yes, you do,” I responded, only to add, “but I think for this show, you can just say you come from Woodmere.”

That seemed to suffice.

MLW

P.S. There is no five-second rule, under any circumstance, if your ice cream falls on the sidewalk in Manhattan.

Dear That’s Life,

I spent the summer working as a counselor at a local day camp. One of my camper’s parents had some interesting pet names for her daughter, so when I received a text message reading, “Is e/t okay?” — I made an assumption. Well, we all know what happens when we assume.

Later at dismissal, I asked the mother — “Did you really call your daughter E.T.?”

As cute as E.T. the extra-terrestrial may have been and as cute as her daughter was — she assured me that I need to work on my texting language — as we all know “e/t” means everything.

Yes everything was okay!!!!

Another language story — our lifeguard asked me to do a “background check” on one of my campers. I looked at him quite strangely to try to figure out why I would need to do a background check on one of my campers. The lifeguards face said it all. I needed to check a diaper!

Lisa Fishbein

Woodmere

Issue of September 4,  2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Dear That’s Life,

Isn’t this break between camp and school fun?

It’s always a challenge to find daily activities to keep the kids occupied, especially

Editorial: Ted Kennedy remembered in mixed messages

he swell of emotion and affection that has followed the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy may have caught some of us by surprise. Perhaps those born after the Camelot years don’t quite get the Kennedy thing.

It’s been said often that Americans born during or before the 1960s viewed the Kennedys as akin to American royalty. Those born later, however, never experienced the nirvana that seems to have been the JFK presidency or the tragedy of his assassination, or the redoubled tragedy just a few years later when the late president’s brother Robert was also cut down by an assassin’s bullet.

We know only of a famous family that seems to have something of a black cloud hanging above it – Joe Jr., who died in air combat in WWII, JFK, RFK, Chappaquiddick, William Kennedy Smith, a family wild child accused of rape in the ’90s, JFK Jr., killed in a plane crash with his young wife – to name some of the lowlights.

To a certain, unkind, extent, for those who came of age after 1969, Ted Kennedy himself, the last son of Camelot, could be reduced to a punch line, to morbid jokes about Chappaquiddick. To those Americans who don’t remember the senator before that night when he saved himself and left a young female aide to die, he has never seemed to be presidential timber, despite what his brothers were or might have been.

This week we have two front-page articles looking back on the life and work of Senator Kennedy and his relationship with American Jewry. David Seidemann, in his column From the other side of the bench celebrates Kennedy’s life, and how a man born to great privilege fought for those who were not so fortunate – fought, in his own words, “for as long as it takes,” in a senatorial career that is truly one for the ages.

Very much on the other side of the bench, so to speak, is a sharply worded analysis by Kosher Bookworm columnist Alan Jay Gerber, writing about an episode that was little-known in Kennedy’s lifetime but that may very well serve to tarnish his posthumous reputation and affect the way in which history remembers him.

Despite the wealth and the fame it couldn’t have been easy to be a Kennedy. Whatever mistakes he made in his life, Senator Kennedy – a Liberal’s Liberal, the Lion of the Senate – certainly worked hard at being a force for good in America, and for that, in death, he deserves to be remembered well. <!– AddThis Button BEGIN –>

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

The swell of emotion and affection that has followed the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy may have caught some of us by surprise. Perhaps those

Seidemann: As long as it takes

From the other side of the bench
By David Seidemann

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Long before Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” our rabbis taught us, “All is judged by the end.” In more modern times, at least from a political standpoint, Ted Kennedy said, “As long as it takes.”

Whether you liked him or not; agreed with him or disagreed

The Kennedy legacy: American tragedy or betrayal?

By Alan Jay Gerber

With the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy the United States has lost one of its most colorful and controversial political figures of this generation. Yet as the nation both mourned and was intrigued by his political and personal persona, there remained a few untied and loose historical threads that have as yet to be addressed.

What I wish to bring to your attention will be somewhat controversial and a bit complicated. What is to follow concerning the relationship between Senator Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Yuri Andropov will reflect negatively on the Kennedy legacy. Yet, as we assess those who call themselves friends of the Jewish people we must look at the entire picture, especially as to how they comported themselves with our enemies behind our backs.

Our history reflects a very fragile existence, and it is on our friends that we have come to depend for support and succor in times of need and distress. Their integrity can become a matter of life and death concern to us; the truth will help us to avoid, in the future, false friends and bogus promises.

As events in Washington unfold before our eyes, and as we watch with deep consternation the behavior of a president whose policies we question and whose motives we suspect, the following narrative should serve as a stern warning.

Ted Kennedy posed himself as a friend of our people, yet in my perusal of the most recent literature on the cause of Soviet Jewry I found his activism, when contrasted with other American political leaders, to be most wanting.

Among the books referenced for this essay are, “From Exodus to Freedom” by Rabbi Dr. Stuart Altshuler of Chapman University, where Kennedy’s name as an active player on behalf of Soviet Jewry is referenced only once! Dr. Fred Lazin of Ben Gurion University, in his book, “The Struggle for Soviet Jewry in American Politics,” cites Kennedy twice, once as a footnote.

The premier book on this subject, “Silent No More: Saving the Jews of Russia,” by Dr. Henry Feingold does not even once make note of Kennedy’s efforts on behalf of our brethren in the then-Communist empire. Not even once is he noted, not even as a footnote.

For all the talk and bombast about Kennedy by our Jewish leaders this past week, how many were able to cite substantive facts concerning Kennedy’s assistance, where it made a difference, on really Jewish issues? In this I include the Soviet Jewry crisis that enveloped our community’s attention for over twenty-five years, till the fall of the Communist empire.

This past weekend The New York Post reprinted an article from Forbes.com by Peter Robinson concerning an episode in American-Soviet relations. It involved some very questionable behavior by Kennedy that was never denied by the late senator.

Robinson cited an excellent book by Dr. Paul Kengor of Grove City College, titled, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism” (HarperCollins, 2006). In this book’s appendix is found the complete “Text of KGB Letter on Senator Kennedy,” a letter written by then KGB head Viktor Chebrikov to then Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, dated May 14, 1983.

This letter was first released, in part, to the public by a London Times reporter named Tim Sebastian, in 1992. Dr. Kengor reprinted the entire text in his book, with all the shocking details. It will be posted online at www.thejewishstar.com.

According to Kengor, Kennedy was very much opposed to Reagan’s aggressive defense posture and policies against the Soviet Union. Accordingly, going through his pal, former US Senator John Tunney, Kennedy approached the KGB to inform them of his hostility toward Reagan’s policies and of the need for cooperation between them to staunch Reagan’s efforts at a strong defense posture against the Soviets.

This daring approach, especially on the cusp of the 1984 presidential elections, would indeed have created shockwaves within the American political establishment had it been disclosed at that time. But it was not until the fall of the USSR that these files were opened to western scholars.

Among the offers made to the Soviet leader was an effort to coordinate American media to enhance Andropov’s image to the American people. What motivated Kennedy’s pro-Soviet behavior in this matter is not explained. What we have here is the KGB leader’s interpretation of the approach. If his account was accurate, and Kennedy never disputed this, what we have here is the senator actively engaging Communist leaders in order to influence the 1984 presidential elections.

My question is as follows: What really attracted Kennedy to the likes of a Yuri Andropov, himself a former KGB chief? This is indeed most mystifying. These actions could not have been taken in a vacuum. Somewhere down the line there must have been some history between these two about which we are still unaware. We will have to leave this to future historians to research and to their books that we may someday review.

Nevertheless, the one question that I would like to answer here, in part, is who was Yuri Andropov and how does he come to be of a concern to us Jews?

Let me attempt to answer this by giving you a few basic facts about this aging, powerful, Soviet leader who was destined to serve for only 18 months.

According to Dr. Lazin, anti-Semitism increased substantially under Andropov’s brief rule. The tone set by Andropov throughout his bigoted career no doubt helped enhance this behavior and attitude by the Communists toward the Jews in the Soviet Union.

According to Dr. Feingold, Andropov was blamed by then Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev on March 20, 1973 for mishandling the nefarious “head tax” required of Jews, as payment to Soviet authorities for their free education, prior to leaving the workers’ paradise. Because of the onerous financial burden it posed, this tax prevented many Jews from leaving in a timely fashion. By the way, Brezhnev’s concerns were far from humanitarian. This tax was a public relations fiasco to the communists in the West, and that was what grieved the Soviet leader.

Further proof of Andropov’s high regard for Jews was his opinion of one of the great heroes of Soviet Jewry, Natan Sharansky, whom he considered to have behaved “indecently” in court and who was therefore sentenced to 13 years of deprivation of freedom and three additional years in prison.

Feingold hints that a death sentence could have been imposed but for the intervention of cooler heads.

Of Andropov not much more is known, but for a man, a veteran of the governance of Stalin, one can only guess what other political and humane charms he must have exercised as KGB head. To him murder was a legitimate function of political power. One should not be surprised about this when we consider that one of his prime political mentors was that great humanitarian Laverenti Beria. All this begs the following:

How could such a personality attract the political confidence of a Ted Kennedy?

And further, can this relationship help now to explain the cool and distant demeanor that Kennedy reportedly exercised in his activities on behalf of Soviet Jews?

And finally, if it were not for Kennedy’s timely endorsement of Obama, there would not have been an Obama candidacy and presidency. What was the ideological affinity between these two men, behind closed doors, that brought about this political alliance, and does this help explain, in part, Obama’s rather cool and distant attitude toward the six million Jews in Israel?

I wonder, and so should you.The

The Kosher Bookworm

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of September 4,  2009 / 15 Elul 5769

With the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy the United States has lost one of its most colorful and controversial political figures of this generation. Yet as the nation both mourned and was

I’m thinking: Delegitimizing Denial

by Micah D. Halpern

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Anyone who denies the Holocaust has an agenda. The agenda is never about the truth, never about correcting history or about lending voice to an element of history that was simply written out. It is about using the Holocaust as a

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz: Kodak Moments with your kids … priceless

Time, not money: Kodak Moments with your kids . . . priceless

By Rabbi Yakov Horowitz

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Several weeks ago, my wife and I were hiking in a state park near our home when we heard the music of children’s laughter off in the distance. We veered off the path to follow the source of the sounds, and found a thirty-something charedi man wading

Letters to the Editor 9-4-09

Stop the chain

To the Editor:

Abuse is more common in the Jewish community than most people think it is. How can I say that? Well, I am a survivor of abuse, and including myself, I know of five people who were abused within a two-block radius. That is five people too many. Dov Hikind reported getting hundreds of calls from abuse survivors. This means there are probably thousands of Orthodox Jewish people who were or still are being abused.

The abuse that I suffered could have been entirely prevented if I had been educated about this topic at a young age. I went through the Bais Yaakov system and not one teacher discussed this topic. If I had been told the basics about the difference between good touch and bad touch, then my abuse wouldn’t have started in the first place.

As a result of not knowing, I suffered in silence for four terrible years. I am now traumatized for life. I get triggered every single day. Even just walking out of my house brings horrific memories to my mind. I now suffer every day from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

Schools need to teach their students about this topic. Parents also must be educated, especially about the warning signs and symptoms of abuse. Without knowledge, the chain just continues. Shoving the topic under the rug does not make it disappear. Is the Jewish community afraid that something terrible will happen if they educate their children? I asked my therapist why she doesn’t go to schools to teach children, on a basic level, about the topic of abuse. “Schools forbid me from coming,” she replied. Atrocities are being committed because Jewish children are not being educated on the topic of abuse.

The writer Guy Finley once said, “Trying to forget a fear is like trying to hold an inflated basketball under the water. It takes all of your strength and attention, and in time it must pop to the surface.” Making believe that abuse doesn’t occur in the Jewish community makes the situation worse. It rears its ugly head in other ways. For me, my body is covered in scars since that was the only way I knew how to deal with so much inner pain.

The chain can be broken if our Jewish children are educated. Education is the only road to prevention. Without education, the chain just continues. Do something about the situation. Stop the chain. Today.

Editor’s note: Name withheld by request due to the sensitive, highly personal nature of the letter.

Is Young Israel redundant?

To the Editor:

I recently had to drastically cut back on household expenses due to the current economy. One cost-cutting measure was to eliminate redundant services, in this case my home phone line. It was no longer worth the cost even though I had the number for years and most of my friends and family knew it instead of my mobile. I simply informed them to use the new mobile number.

We have a similar situation with the Orthodox Union and National Council of Young Israel. The shul I daven at is a member of both. It is simply not worth paying dues to two redundant organizations. At a recent meeting of Jewish organizations with President Obama, it was the OU that was invited, not Young Israel. Even though Young Israel shuls share a common name they tend to have very little to do with each other and, in most cases, are quite different in Hashkafa. My Young Israel and others in this area keep hearing about situations at Young Israel shuls in other parts of the country that we have nothing to do with. National Council is supposed to deal with that but seems to do very little for the dues we send them.

A practical solution would be for the OU to acquire the Young Israel label and close down or merge the redundant services. The shuls would keep their name and make only one dues payment instead of two. Otherwise, it may not be worth keeping the Young Israel name we have had for years. It would be like giving up our home phone number — it is just not worth the cost.

Jonathan Bell

Cedarhurst

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Stop the chain

To the Editor:

Abuse is more common in the Jewish community than most people think it is. How can I say that? Well, I am a survivor of abuse, and including myself, I know of five people who were abused within a two-block radius. That is five

Parsha Ki Tavo: Hitting in secret

By Rabbi Avi Billet

The imaginative among us will conjure up a scene of the curse that appears in 27:14: “‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

Picture a holding cell, with a blindfolded prisoner tied to a chair. An assailant comes, hits the trussed up victim, and leaves him there to wallow in his pain. Or perhaps, we can imagine a dark alley, where a criminal blindsides his intended victim, whether to rob him or for some other reason (or for lack of reason).

In either instance, the attacker is cursed. Give a person a chance to fight, a chance to defend himself. Or, better yet, leave him alone.

Rashi, who is a little more homiletical in his interpretations, says this “striking down in secret” refers to the sin of Lashon Hara. When your friend is not near you, the things you say which have a damaging impact, even when said in private with only one other person, can have repercussions we can not anticipate. “So-and-so is not such a good doctor.” “I once had a bad experience with so and so, so that means the person is always bad and worth avoiding.” “Did you hear that she is getting divorced? It’s true!”

All of these comments lead to more speculation and unnecessary negative comments about others, even and especially when they’re true.

The Ktav V’Hakabalah focuses on the word “Re’ehu” — one who strikes down “his neighbor” — saying the word is specific. A person who is not your “neighbor,” or in a more exact definition of the word, your “friendly or beloved” neighbor, i.e. someone who is anti-friendly, who is abrasive and difficult, is not included in this prohibition. He quotes the Jerusalem Talmud that allows a person to speak ill of those who are confrontational, as long as your intentions are for the sake of heaven and to promote peace between other peoples.

He continues and explains that this prohibition is different than other Lashon Hara prohibitions we may have seen before, because similar commandments warn against speaking Lashon Hara in front of the object of discussion. Here the discussion is about speaking Lashon Hara in secret — which may be a warning against spreading the “avak lashon hara” — the “dust of Lashon hara.”

Examples of the dusty lashon hara include: telling a tale, as if you don’t know whom the tale is about (even though it is obvious, and everyone else knows); saying “Don’t talk about Jeff. I don’t want to know what happened with him”; saying nice things about Fred in front of someone who hates Fred will only cause the ‘enemy’ to say bad things about Fred; telling a parent something bad about his or her child “just so you should be aware” makes them feel doubly horrible.

It is also possible that our original images and the interpretations introduced by Rashi and expanded by the Ktav V’Hakabalah can be combined to give us a new approach.

We can have wonderful things to say about others, and we can make every effort to never violate someone else’s body using physical violence. But what about the things we do in our innermost hearts? What about when we think evil thoughts, or pray that evil things happen to someone else? What about when we take measures — without using any lashon hara — to cause a competitor’s business to fail?  There are ways to hit people secretly which are underhanded, dirty and downright cruel.

What about when we keep secrets from our spouses, the kind that would be extremely hurtful were they to be out in the open?

There are secrets that exist between two people, and there are secrets which a person holds deep within his or her own heart. The former will most likely not remain a secret, and the latter does nothing to advance good relationships between people, and to promote peace in our lives and our communities.

When the Torah talks about secretive sins, sometimes the secret is between us and God.  Avoidance of this curse is realized when there are no secret feelings, and no secret intentions to harm anyone else.

Parshat Ki Tavo

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

The imaginative among us will conjure up a scene of the curse that appears in 27:14: “‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

Picture a holding cell, with a blindfolded prisoner tied to a chair.

In response to your query: a parsha followup

When you ask a question sometimes you get a very good answer. And sometimes you get two very good answers from two prominent rabbonim.

My thanks to Rabbi Kenneth Auman and Rabbi Natan Slifkin. In light of the comments of the Rambam and Chasam Sofer, we can redefine the source of the difficulty I posed last week regarding treatment of baby birds (Parshat Ki Tetzei; Baby birds and their mothers; August 28, 2009). When the Torah says, “Send away the mother bird and take the children,” the second half of that statement is a suggestion of what to do in the

event that you need and can use the eggs or baby birds. The mitzvah component is merely to send away the mother bird, which will eventually return, in order to see what is in her nest. Through this, we either learn to be compassionate, or kabbalistically send a message to God to be compassionate to us, or we enjoy a good breakfast, or we just get mitzvah points which will help us merit extended days. But we are not commanded to take the birds to complete the mitzvah.

A.B.

No eggs, no mitzvah

To the Editor:

See Tshuvot Chatam Sofer Chelek 1 (Orach Chaim) Siman 100, where he appears to state that normative Halacha follows the Chachomim. If one is not interested in taking the chicks or the eggs, there is no mitzvah to send away the mother.

Rabbi Kenneth Auman

Young Israel of Flatbush

A different interpretation

To the Editor:

According to most Rishonim (Rambam, Rashbam, Chizkuni, Ramban, Ralbag, Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher) the mitzvah of shiluach hakein is indeed about compassion. They explain away the Mishnah’s statement that, “One who says ‘Your mercy is demonstrated through the treatment of the mother bird’ is to be silenced,” as meaning that G-d did not command this mitzvah out of His mercy upon the bird, but rather to teach us mercy; or, that this Mishnah follows an alternate viewpoint.

The rationale behind the mitzvah is as follows: In earlier times, when food was not as plentiful as it is today, most people would seize the opportunity for a free meal. Eggs would be a delicious treat, and some people might even want to eat the chicks. The Torah commands us to restrain our desires; it forbids us from taking the mother too, and even when taking the eggs or young, we must send away the mother bird to spare her the distress of seeing her young being taken. But if one has no desire for the eggs or young (as would be the case today) there is no mitzvah to take them; one simply leaves them all alone.

Rambam agrees that not everyone will be tempted to eat chicks, and sees this as part of the idea: “He [Hashem] also forbade slaughtering an animal and its young on the same day, to take care to avoid slaughtering the young before its mother’s eyes, for the distress caused thereby to animals is great… This is also the reason for sending away the mother bird from the nest, for the eggs on which the mother nests and the fledglings that need their mother are not generally fit for food; and when a person sends off the mother and she goes away, she will not be distressed at seeing her young taken. And since that which would be taken in most instances is not fit to be eaten, for the most part there will be reason to leave everything.” (Guide for the Perplexed III:48)

An entirely different perspective was presented in the Zohar, which states that the mitzvah functions to cause the mother bird distress, causing her angel in Heaven to protest to G-d, Who wonders why nobody is protesting on behalf of the Jewish People in exile, and as a result decides to have compassion on them. According to this approach, the mitzvah is about causing pain to the mother bird rather than minimizing it. Furthermore, following this approach, one should send away the mother bird even if one has no desire for the young. While some attempt to reconcile the Zohar with the aforementioned Rishonim, the truth is that they reflect fundamentally different approaches to Torah as a whole and this mitzvah in particular. I have just finished writing an extensive study of this topic that I hope to publish soon.

Rabbi Natan Slifkin

Issue of September 5 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

When you ask a question sometimes you get a very good answer. And sometimes you get two very good answers from two prominent rabbonim. 

Opinion: Rationalizing Riots

By Dr. Michael Salamon

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

On July 14th, Jerusalem Police arrested a charedi woman whose son had been hospitalized in Hadassah hospital. The woman was arrested based on suspicions she was abusing her son. It is difficult to comment on this case without knowing all

Slice of Life: Salad Dressings

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

By Eileen Goltz

Some lucky individuals are blessed with the proverbial green thumb, others, not so much. While my friend Donna tills and toils every summer to produce

Sign of the times: Jerusalem for the long term

Sign of the times

Keeping Jerusalem (and Tel Aviv) united for the ‘Long Term’ was on Dr. Paul Brody’s mind when he snapped this picture from a cab on his way out of Ben Gurion Airport. Brody, a resident of Great Neck, accompanied former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on a mission sponsored by the Jerusalem Reclamation Project/Ateret Cohanim. Huckabee made news during the trip when he told a reporter a two-state solution “would be impractical” in the Middle East. “The Jewish people should be allowed to live in any part of the Land of Israel,” Huckabee said.

Issue of September 4,  2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Keeping Jerusalem (and Tel Aviv) united for the ‘Long Term’ was on Dr. Paul Brody’s mind when he snapped this picture from a cab on his way out of Ben Gurion Airport. Brody, a resident of Great Neck, accompanied former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on a mission sponsored by the Jerusalem Reclamation Project/Ateret Cohanim. Huckabee made news during the trip when he told a reporter a two-state solution “would be impractical” in the Middle East. “The Jewish people should be allowed to live in any part of the Land of Israel,” Huckabee said.

Photo by Dr. Paul Brody

Free Jewish TV on LI

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

A Jewish TV channel is now available on Long Island on free cable. Cablevision customers can now watch Shalom TV on Long Island, in

On the Calender 9-4-09

For a complete listing of upcoming community events, including items that didn’t make it into the print edition, go to www.thejewishstar.com.

Woodmere – Shabbos, Sept. 5, 5:45 p.m. Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard. Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf on Emulating the Divine, V’Halachta B’Drachav (a special program for Young Marrieds) at 4:00 p.m.; Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt on Teshuva in the age of Twitter.

Riverdale, NY – A kosher, gluten-free baking class for women and girls will take place on Tuesday evening, September 8, 2009 at 7:15 p.m., at 5235 Arlington Avenue in Riverdale, New York. It will feature Raisin Challah (with gluten free oat flour), Mississippi Mud Bars, and cream-filled chocolate cupcakes. To register, please call 718-601-6138 or e-mail elaine10471@yahoo.com.

Woodmere – Shabbos, Sept. 12, 5:35 p.m. at Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard. Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf offers a Women’s class on Parting Thoughts from Pirkei Avot; then, between Mincha and Maariv, Rabbi Hershel Billet on Symbolism, Superstition and Spirituality in the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur Services.

Woodmere – Motza’ei Shabbos, Sept. 12, Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard – Professor Efraim Inbar, Director of Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University, on Israel’s Strategic Environment: Examining Israel’s strategic position among its immediate neighbors, the Greater Middle East and Internationally. 9:45 p.m., before first Selichos (Selichos at 10:30 p.m.); then, at 11:45 p.m., Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb on Teshuva means change, followed by Selichos at 12:50 a.m.

Woodmere – Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:00 a.m. – Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb leads a guided tour, visiting local Kivrei Tzaddikim (including rabbanim, chassidic rebbeim, roshei yeshiva, rebbetzins such as the widow of the Chafetz Chaim, and major figures in American Jewish history). Learn and be inspired by their biographies, bring a tehillim, pen and paper for ‘kvitlach’, and a camera. Transportation will be provided. Limited space available. RSVP: HindySchif@aol.com or call 516-457-2629.

Woodmere – Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8:00 p.m. at Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard – Rabbi Hanoch Teller lectures: Life is a Credit Card: Preparation for Yamim Noraim.

Cedarhurst— The Five Towns Democratic Club and the East Rockaway-Lynbrook Democratic Club are hosting a Candidates Meeting on September 14th at 7:30 PM to introduce the Democratic candidates for the Town of Hempstead: Kristen McElroy for Hempstead Supervisor and Jean Brett-Leach for Hempstead Town Board Councilperson. Also speaking will be Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback. There will be a Question & Answer opportunity after the candidates speak. At Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, 1125 Broadway, Hewlett. For more info contact Stephen Anchin, Club President 516-330-7799 or steve.anchin@gmail.com.

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will present  “Food for the Body & Soul” Rebbitzin Rivkah Kotlarsky on September 16, 2008. Join our group of devoted women who gather together each week to learn about the weekly Torah portion and time related events with Rebbitzin Kotlarsky. @ Chabad.

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will present Chessed Night for children in grades 3-6 on September 16, 2009. Children in grades 3-6 come to Chabad and prepare for Rosh Hashanah by helping others. @ Chabad from 6:00-7:15 pm

Cedarhurst— Rosh Hashana at Chabad of the Five Towns. Come to Chabad and pick up your Holiday Guide. Services will be held at HAFTR High School, 685 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst.    For a complete schedule and times of services please refer to the Holiday Guide

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will present Women’s Circle: An evening of inspiration “My Mumbai Experience”. Hear Hillary Lewin’s firsthand account of life in Mumbai with Rabbi Gavriel & Rivky Holtzberg HY”D on September 22, 2009. At the home of Batsheva Medows, 28 Lotus Street, Cedarhurst at 8:00 pm. Contact 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will present a Farbrengen: The 6th of Tishrei for men, commemorating the yartzeit of Rebbetzin Chana, the mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe OB”M.   September 24, at  8:15 pm. @ Chabad.

Cedarhurst— Yom Kippur at Chabad of the Five Towns on September 28th.   Services at HAFTR High School, 685 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst. For a complete schedule see the Holiday Guide available at Chabad. Contact 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will be holding a Fabrengen dinner at 8:15 on September 6, in honor of the birthdays of the Baal Shem Tov and the Baal HaTanya. At Chabad, 74 Maple Avenue, Cedarhurst. Contact 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will be holding a Welcome Back Family BBQ & Club Sign Up Party on September 7th. Come to Chabad where you can meet & greet your friends and other Chabad families that you may not have seen all summer and sign up for our new and exciting youth & teen clubs for the new school year. It’s an opportunity to provide your children with age appropriate activities that promote their love for Judaism. You must be pre-registered in order to participate in the program. At Chabad, 74 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst from 5:00-7:00 pm. Contact 516-295-2478 or www.chabad5towns.com

Cedarhurst— Chabad of the Five Towns will be holding a Birthday Shabbat for children born in the Hebrew month of Tishrei on September 12th, 2009.

All children who have their Hebrew birthday in the month of Tishrei join together to celebrate their special day by sharing a birthday cake @ Chabad, after morning services.

Cedarhurst- Chabad of the Five Towns will be holding Selichot services on September 12, 2009 at  11:00 pm & 1:00 am @ Chabad.

Cedarhurst-Chabad of the Five Towns will begin it Hebrew School on September 13th. Join Chabad’s Hebrew School of Champions, a most innovative Sunday school for girls & boys ages 5-13.  Pre-registration required. @

Chabad. Contact Rabbi Meir @516-295-2478* 19 or fivetownshebrewschool.com

Cedarhurst-Chabad of the Five towns will have a Sofer-Scribe in residence. Bring your Mezuzahs and Tefillin to be checked by a reputable sofer on September 13, 2009 @ Chabad.

Cedarhurst-Chabad of the Five towns will begin its Friendship Circle-Holiday Program Holiday program for our special needs children and their families. Reservations required. At 1:30 pm. For more information contact 516-295-2478*13 or  email Batsheva@chabad5towns.com

Far Rockaway – Rabbi Eytan Feiner’s Machshavah Shiur in Sifrei Maharal on Chumash and Mo’adim for men and women has resumed. Tuesday evenings 8:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Congregation Kneseth Israel, 728 Empire Ave., Far Rockaway.  For more information call (718) 327-0500 or www.whiteshul.com.

Cedarhurst – The JCC of the Greater Five Towns “Kosher Culinary Institute” cooking classes are scheduled to begin Wednesday, September 9, 2009.  The class meets at 10:00 a.m.  Pre-registration is required.  For further information please call the JCC office at 569-6733.

Cedarhurst – The JCC of the Greater Five Towns invites its “LIFE” members to a BBQ on Sunday, September 13, 2009, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., to be held at the JCC, 207 Grove Avenue, Cedarhurst.  For further information and/or to register please call 569-6733, ext. 205.

Cedarhurst – The JCC of the Greater Five Towns “Sunday Funday” program begins in October.  ”Clay Creations” is one of our new programs for children grades 4 and up.  For further information please call the JCC office at 569-6733, ext. 218.

Lido Beach – Lido Beach Synagogue will be holding a Rosh Hashanah seminar Wednesday evening, September 9th at 8 PM with Rabbi Mehlman. He will be discussing the whys and wherefores of the High Holidays. At Lido Boulevard and Fairway Road. Contact 516-889-9650

ONGOING EVENTS

Stony Brook- Sexual abuse and abduction prevention educational workshops- Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center is now offering age appropriate sexual abuse and abduction prevention educational workshops for children, teens and adults. We’ll come to your school or community organization. We’ve educated over 50,000 Long Island children and parents in public and private schools and in community organization! Call our Helpline for more information or to schedule a workshop today (631)-689-2672

Cedarhurst – The Beis Medrash of Cedarhurst holds a Flexible Morning Learning Program Mon. to Thurs. from 10:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. There are shiurim and chavrusas in Chumash, Gemara, Halacha and Chovos Halevavos. Learners may come and go as they please. The Beis Medrash of Cedarhurst is located at 504 W. Broadway (off the corner of W. Broadway and Cedarhurst Ave.) Contact Rabbi Moshe Kaufman at (718) 471-2780 moshehkaufman@gmail.com.

Issue of September 4, 2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Woodmere - Shabbos, Sept. 5, 5:45 p.m. Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Boulevard. Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf on Emulating the Divine, V’Halachta B’Drachav (a special program for Young Marrieds) at 4:00 p.m.; Rabbi Dr.

Does it do a body good? An inside look at Cholov Yisroel

By Michael Orbach

Issue of September 4,  2009 / 15 Elul 5769

Cholov Yisroel milk has the dubious reputation of not only being the most expensive milk on the market, but of also possessing the absolutely uncanny ability to spoil in the time it takes to get from the checkout lane to the car.

Cholov Yisroel, which translates literally from the Hebrew as Jewish milk, is differentiated from regular milk -referred to in halachic literature as cholov stam (plain milk) or cholov akum (Gentile milk) — by the presence of two Jewish witnesses who observe the milking to ensure that no milk from non-kosher animals

See The Jewish Star as it appears in print 9-4-09

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