december 23, 2011
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The Jewish Star December 23, 2011TRANSCRIPT
By Sergey Kadinsky
When Israeli naval commandos intercepted the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” in May 2010, worldwide con-demnation was swift. Reacting to the news, 5WPR executive Ronn Torossian called his contacts at the Is-raeli Ministry of foreign affairs. “Public relations shakes minds and builds brands. It took two days for the IDF to release a video of the raid in a world of blogging and tweeting,” Torossian said. “Israel has to do more to help itself.”
Torossian spoke on the failings of Israeli public re-lations at a Dec. 15 forum coordinated by Algemeiner weekly newspaper and its parent, the Gershon Jacob-son Jewish Continuity Foundation, at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Wall Street
VOL 10, NO 49 ■ DECEMBER 23, 2011 / 27 KISLEV, 5772 WWW.THEJEWISHSTAR.COM
Telethon highlights local talent Page 3 Dunetz: An ApPAULing candidate Page 5Bookworm: Good reads for Chanukah Page 15 Chanukah illuminated Page 18
THE JEWISH STAROpinion leaders offer their solutions to Israeli PR
Continued on page 17
Shabbat Candlelighting: 4:13 p.m. Shabbat ends 5:18 p.m. 72 minute zman 5:45 p.m. Torah Reading Parshat Miketz This week is Chanukah
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An illuminated welcome Richner Communications, our parent company, recently hosted a Chanukah/Meet the New Publisher party at Traditions Restaurant in Lawrence, where Karen C. Green was welcomed by local community leaders, including Rabbi Heshy Blumstein of Young Israel of Hewlett. Story, more photos, page 3.
Photo by Susan Grieco
By Brigitte Fixler
Every last seat was occupied in the Young Israel of West Hempstead kiddu-sh room on Dec. 18. The enraptured au-dience laughed and nodded their heads as they learned of one woman’s path to observant Judaism. Actress Mayim Bi-alik isn’t really a socially inept nerd… she only plays one on television.
Bialik, an actress on the hit show The Big Bang Theory, led the sold-out audi-ence along her journey from 14-year-old Blossom star to religious wife and mother. The program was the fi rst shul event of this magnitude to ever be com-pletely sold out, according to organizers from the YIWH Sisterhood.
Bialik, who was raised in a Reform household, started acting as a child. At the age of 12, she auditioned for Beach-es. Bialik got the part, and laughingly
told the audience that the fi lm came out the week of her bat-mitzvah.
“If there’s a moment you can pin-point where life will never be the same, that was it,” Bialik said. “The movie came out, and [afterwards] I was of-fered my own TV show [Blossom]. I didn’t picture I’d have my own show at 14.”
After fi nishing Blossom at the age of 19, Bialik went on to college at UCLA. She joined the Hillel to get involved socially, and it was there that she met a modern Orthodox rabbi for the fi rst time. Bialik gradually started learning more about Judaism, and formed sev-eral chevrutas.
As a child, Bialik had gone to He-brew school, and said she was “that kid who really liked it.” Yet, she didn’t learn much about her Jewish heritage
Mayim Bialik’s journey
Photo by Alyson Goodman
Mayim Bialik impressed the audiencewith her story of personal observance.Continued on page 8
Photo courtesy Baruch Ezagui
5WPR founder Ronn Torossian, Wall Street Journal opinion editor James Taranto, and prominent criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman.
Inside
The Jewish StarAsk Aviva 14Classified Ads 17Hebrew Only Please! 6Kosher Bookworm 15Kosher Critic 13Letters to the Editor 4Miriam’s Musings 14On the Calendar 16Parsha 6Politico to Go 5
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By Karen C. Green
Fulfi lling a desire to be there for people in their time of need, Lawrence resident Rabbi Elozer Kanner, has served as a volunteer for Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County for26 years,. Along with fellow coordinators Louis Wolcowitz and Mark Gross, Rabbi Kan-ner’s most recent campaign is aimed at deliv-ering the message that “They (Hatzalah) were there for me when I called them, they’re there for me even when I don’t need them. Rabbi Kanner points out that the potential for need is greater than actuality in every circumstance.
Hatzalah recently raised $750,000 to replace three ambulances. Their most recent campaign was dedicated to raising an additional $750,000 to replace 30 Lifepak 12s with 30 Lifepak 15s. Just about the size of a rollable suitcase, the Lifepak15 is a cardiac monitor that does a host of things that its predecessor could not . Rabbi Kanner is quick to make the point that many of us aren’t comfortable driving a car that is more than 5 years old, and we shouldn’t be compla-cent with a 15 year old piece of equipment that is crucial in saving a life. Paramedic Shlomo Katz appreciated the difference a cardiac moni-tor makes and undertook an initiative to raise the necessary funds. He went from shul to shul, lobbying for the need for funding and success-fully raised the requisite amount.
At the May fundraiser, Woodmere resident Charlie Harary noted that Hatzalah services ev-eryone, regardless of their fi nancial contribution to the organization. “There is no connection be-tween service and support,” Rabbi Kanner said. He also makes special mention of the rule that if a responder takes money, or a donation at a call, it’s grounds for immediate dismissal. “We are supported in advance to be prepared in case the public needs us, there is no quid pro quo.”
In 2010, Hatzalah responded to 4600 calls. Staffed with 100 trained responders, 23 of whom are paramedics or doctors, they are proud of their seven fully equipped ambulances, two housed in Woodmere, one in Belle Harbor and four in Far Rockaway.
Addressing a wide variety of medical con-cerns, some emergent in nature and some less acute, Hatzalah has responded to the latter concern by way of the Shabbos Taxi Voucher program. In conjunction with Towne Taxi of Lawrence, a person seeking medical attention but not acute may call this taxi service indicating that Hatzalah recommended them. Towne Taxi in turn bills Hatzalah. In many cases, a patient who gets brought in on Shabbat may have to go home. This program has cost Hatzalah upwards of $18,000 a year.
Looking ahead, Hatzalah’s latest undertak-ing is a two-year project to build a new building at its new location in Woodmere, at the inter-section of West Broadway and Grant Avenue. Having successfully battled in the courts against a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) pushback, Hat-zalah looks forward to begining construction, though no groundbreaking date has been set. Rabbi Kanner is adamant about Hatzalah’s sen-sitivity to the neighbors at its existing locations. “We come and go as quietly as possible.”
Hatzalah aims to go to the nearest hospital. “We walk a narrow line between patient safety and accommodating patient’s choice,” Rabbi Kanner said. “When it’s medically feasible we try to accommodate a patient choice.”
Consistent with Chanukah, celebrating the festival of lights, Rabbi Kanner implores resi-dents to have a well-lit and clearly visible home address sign or numbers. “We need to be able to fi nd you in order to help you!” He also stress-es the importance of checking the batteries on Smoke and Carbon Monoxide detectors. Lastly but very important, is the issue of unblocking caller IDs. When caller IDs are not blocked, Hatzalah’s Computer Dispatch System can be the difference in saving lives.
For more information about supporting Hat-zalah, please go to their website www.hatza-lahrl.org.
Hatzalah, as always, there for us
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The Jewish Star’s Meet the New Publisher Party hosted guests representing all facets of the community. Community leaders, Reb-beim, Village and elected offi cials, law en-forcement and valued merchants enjoyed a festive evening at Traditions Restaurant in Lawrence.
Richner Communications Presidents Stu-art and Cliff Richner joined all in attendance
in welcoming Karen Green to the paper. Karen welcomed guests who came out in
her honor and spoke of the importance of the local economy to Nassau County. Consistent with Chanukah, Green’s immediate vision for The Jewish Star is to illuminate the reader-ship and serve as a beacon of light to our communities.
Photos by Susan Grieco
Meet the Publisher
Stuart Richner, Cliff Richner, Karen Green enjoying the evening with LawrenceMayor Martin Oliner, Village of Cedarhurst Trustee Myrna Zisman and DistrictCourt Judge Andrew Engel.
Rabbi Gedalia Oppen, Principal of HAFTR HS, welcomes Karen Green.
The Green Mishpocha. Rachel, Rebecca, Benjamin and their father David express support for their mother, wife and new publisher.
Jonathan Greenstein, of J. Greenstein Gallery in Cedarhurst talks antique menorahs with Rabbi Anchelle Perl, and Cliff Richner.
One Israel Fund Executive Director Scott Feltman discusses security issues with Nassau County Detectives Association past president Tom Willdigg.
Representing Merrick, Congregation Ohav Shalom members Hope and Adam Greenberg wish Karen mazel tov.
Richner Communications Presidents Stuart and Cliff Richner host a lovelyevening in honor of Karen.
Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew J. Parise and Community Chest Executive Director Bob Block toast the new publisher.
Village of Cedarhurst Deputy May-or Benjamin Weinstock and Stuart Richner enjoy the evening.
Jerry and ‘Who’s In The Kitchen’ columnist Judy Joszef, Young Israel of North Woodmere executive board member Edy Blady, and West Hempstead residents Ilyce and Jerry Richter enjoying a great evening of laughter and celebration.
Victor Deutsch of Mister Promotions, JCRC LI rep David Neuman, Community leader Israel Wasser and Det Lt. Gary Shapiro of the NCPD’s Community Affairs unit.
Cedarhurst Village TrusteeMyrna Zisman shares a proudmoment with the new publisher.
Friends David and Judy Lazaros of JGL Interiors in Cedarhurst enjoy the evening’s festivities.
Sister and niece of the new publisher,Eileen and Caroline Billinson were sur-prise guests, all the way from Virgina.
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Opinion
By Malka Eisenberg
In a talk about the importance and symbolism of Chanukah and its ties to the Jewish home, Rabbi Zev Leff of Moshav Matityahu exhorted listeners to think, “I’m important because Hashem made me important and I have the responsibility to bring light outside to others. The Jewish home inspires us and inspires us to inspire others.”
On Dec. 7, Kehilas Bais Yehudah Tzvi in Cedar-hurst hosted a Rabbi Leff in a lecture sponsored by Project inspire, speaking on the history and lessons of Chanukah and the importance and its connection with the Jewish home. He noted the strength of the Bait Yehudi in protecting and uniting the Jewish fam-ily and the importance of projecting that holiness outside to positively infl uence others.
“When I moved to Eretz Yisroel about 30 years ago,” he recounted, “One of the great culture shocks was Chanukah. There were no latkes, just jelly do-nuts; it was really disturbing. Until I passed an army base and saw a sign that said, in Hebrew, ‘latkes.’” The Israeli driver noted that the sign said “to the ceremony” or “latekes” in Hebrew. “I’m sure that if you put a wick in a latke it will last for thirty days,” he continued but pointed out that the jelly donut is probably more signifi cant because it’s “what’s inside that counts.”
Rabbi Leff pointed out that the threat of the Greeks was in their infl uence even before their de-crees against Judaism, that they were not bent on physically destroying but rather spiritually destroy-ing the Jews. Their emphasis was on the importance of the physical, the antithesis of Judaism, noting that yavan spelled backwards is noy or beauty. The laws enacted by the Greeks were against Shabbat “the ne-shama of the world,” brit milah, “the body’s connec-tion to the Ribbono Shel Olam,” Rosh Chodesh since time is the “fourth dimension…we infuse time with holiness” and the purity and holiness of marriage, the foundation of kedushat Yisrael.
“When the Jews don’t appreciate what we have, Hashem has the goyim threaten to take it away so that we should appreciate it, “ said Rabbi Leff. “We were few and weak; they were many and strong. We had the spiritual edge; they had the physical edge. The spiritual is more signifi cant than the physical. A little bit of pure oil can accomplish a lot; a lot of impure oil can’t accomplish anything. It is the spirit of Hashem that pervades everything that makes the difference.”
Rabbi Zev Leff grew up in Miami, and received his semicha at Telshe. He made aliyah in 1983, set-tling in Moshav Matityahu, just outside of Modi’in,
where the Chanukah revolt began. He serves as the rosh yeshiva and rosh kollel at the yeshiva gedolah and kollel of Matityahu.
On its website, kiruv.com, Project Inspire is de-scribed as “a grassroots movement to unify the Jew-ish People by providing easy and inspiring ways to share the beauty and wisdom of our heritage with our fellow Jews.”
“It was really a development,” explained PI’s founder and director, Rabbi Chaim Sampson. “It took off in terms of our ability to bring the message to the community about four years ago, but it started before with holiday outreach campaigns.
The catalyst was, while working for Aish New York on the Upper Westside that I realized, as a talmid of Rav Noach Weinberg, zt”l, of Aish HaTorah, as he said, that every Jew that you bring back is a whole world and at the same time we are not winning the battle against intermarriage. I realized that we would only be successful if we reach out to the frum community which is 10 percent of the Jewish popula-tion that the non-frum, the 90 percent, are our re-sponsibility, our brothers and sisters, our family and share with them the beauty of Yiddishkeit.”
Over 6,000 people have attended Project In-spire’s kiruv training programs and many others are involved in their Shabbatons and holiday gift pro-grams. For more information call 646 291-6191 or go to kiruv.com.
Letters to the editorSolid Hebrew advice
To the Editor:Aviva Rizel assures one letter
writer, a recent college-age oleh, that those educators and infl uences who preached to him aliyah - but still haven’t done it themselves - most likely still cherish their core values, but have legitimate concerns that are keeping them right here in the dias-pora (Follow Me to Israel Dec. 16).
Finances, the ability to integrate into Israeli society, and the diffi cul-ties of being remote from family in the States are known factors that hinder aliyah plans, but so is lan-guage acquisition, which Aviva refer-ences briefl y in her column.
But there’s an area we can work on. True, ability with a second lan-guage, and language ability in gen-eral, will vary from person to per-son, but shouldn’t we feel a bit sad that fl uency in Hebrew, or at least a solid profi ciency, has still eluded so many day school educated Jews. Ivrit b’Ivrit curriculums, where they exist, have helped signifi cantly, but without additional in-school oppor-tunity to practice, and bereft of con-versational opportunities for adults, it’s unrealistic to expect many to feel comfortable in a Hebrew speaking environment, even if they are regular shul-goers and can recite pages of lit-urgy by heart with total comprehen-sion.
A post-high school year of study in Israel is a great place to improve one’s Hebrew skills, though it comes late in the educational trajectory. My year was spent at an Israeli yeshiva, Kerem B’Yavneh, and I was assigned to a Hebrew shiur for bnai chutz l’aretz (students from other coun-tries), as opposed to the English one down the hall. Our teacher spoke us-ing a level of Hebrew that we could for the most part grasp. But back in the dorm room, listening to news reports on the radio, I had trouble keeping up. Understanding the jokes was even harder. Fortunately, things got better during the year, and I achieved a fl uency in Hebrew in the years that followed, through con-versational use of the language and with reading involvement as part of regular Torah study.
I admit I had an edge: as the son of a linguist, I’ve inherited a knack with languages. Still, I won-
der if there might be more emphasis placed in all of our regimens for in-volvement with Hebrew? In school,at home, and in social groups (this paper, to its credit, has a Hebrew col-umn - instituted by the former editor who has since made aliyah). Families considering aliyah can start aug-menting Hebrew usage early on, but I also think that more immersion foreveryone will partially remove onenoted impediment to transitioning toIsrael, and foster more consideration of aliyah as a comfortable and desir-able life choice.
Judah S. HarrisPhotographer/Filmmaker
Kew Gardens Hills
Enchanted by Obama?To the Editor:I can acknowledge the fact that an
invitation to the White House is anhistoric event and that a gathering of Jews there to celebrate
Chanukah is signifi cant. But weJews have contributed a great deal tothe good of this country and shouldbe appreciated.
Mr. Ezra Friedlander seems to have been enchanted to be in thepresence of Pres. Obama and hiswife, and apparently the president’sliason to the Jewish community did his job well. As a “student of history,” Mr Friedlander, please rememberthe shameful disrespect shown toIsrael’s Prime Minister Netanyahu in this same White House as well asObama’s “I have to deal with him every day” disparaging statement toFrench President Sarkozy. And don’tforget Obama’s declaration that Is-rael’s ‘67 borders should be the basisof a peace agreement.
Had Obama seen fi t to visit Israelwhen he was in the neighborhood, he might have seen fi rst hand howunrealistic those borders would be!Mr. Friedlander tends to hyperbolewith his closing sentence “It was an evening to thank the Presidentof the United States for recogniz-ing our Jewish heritage and for that we have to be eternally grateful.” Itsounds almost as if he is a member of Obama’s re-election campaign staff!
Fay SladowskyLawrenceTHE JEWISH STAR
Independent and original reporting from the Orthodox communities of Long Island and New York CityAll opinions expressed are solely those of The Jewish Star’s editorial staff or contributing writers
Publisher and Editor Karen C. Green Assistant Editor Sergey Kadinsky Account Executive Helene Parsons Contributors Rabbi Avi Billet Jeff Dunetz Rabbi David Etengoff Rabbi Binny Freedman Brigitte Fixler Rabbi Noam Himelstein Alan Jay Gerber Zechariah Mehler Aviva Rizel Ariel Rosenbloom Editorial Designer Alyson Goodman Photo Editor Christina Daly
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Chanukah in Israel:
“There were no latkes!”
Photo courtesy of Project Inspire
Rabbi Zev Leff recently spoke in Cedarhurst on the signifi cance of Chanukah.
Rep. Ron Paul, a publishing failure
F or those of you that can remember life before blogs, you may also remember that people used to publish newslet-
ters on all topics. Forty years ago, Ron Paul launched a conservative newsletter. His newsletters were chock-fi lled with hateful
slurs, some signed by Paul, all appearing in his publication. What was written in those newsletters was nothing short of disgusting.
For example, his newsletter published a special issue of the Ron Paul Political Report on “racial terrorism” that analyzes the Los Ange-les riots of 1992. “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks three days after riot-ing began,” Paul wrote. “What if the checks had
never arrived? No doubt the blacks would have fully privatized the welfare state through continued looting. But they were paid off and the violence subsided.”
When defending gay-bashing comments by the late Andy Rooney of CBS, Paul’s 1990
newsletter notes that a reporter for a gay magazine “Certainly had an axe to grind, and that’s not easy with a limp wrist. Ho-mosexuals, not to speak of the rest of soci-ety, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities.”
In an undated solicitation letter for The Ron Paul Investment Letter, and the Ron Paul Political Report, the Congressman is gen-erous with his bigotry. “I’ve been told not to talk, but these stooges don’t scare me. Threats or no threats, I’ve laid bare the com-ing race war in our big cities. The federal-homosexual cover-up on AIDS (my training as a physician helps me see through this one)… The Israeli lobby, which plays Con-gress like a cheap harmonica.”
When Rep. Paul’s newsletters were re-published by the New Republic in 2008, he strongly denied authorship. The Con-gressman said he had never even read the newsletters, which were published under his name, by his company. Case closed, say his supporters.
Here’s the problem with Paul’s denial: When the newsletters fi rst became an issue during his congressional race in 1996, the Congressman didn’t deny them nor did he say he never read them. Back in 1996 Paul defended the articles saying they were taken out of context. But how could he know they were taken out of context if he never read
them?This leads to the real question, the one
that isn’t being asked. Is Ron Paul a big-ot who is lying about not writing, or even reading the newsletters he defended just a few years earlier? Or was Ron Paul lying when he defended them as his writing even though he never read them? The two are mutually exclusive.
If one believes Ron Paul when he says he didn’t write and never read those newslet-ters, then that person must also accept that he was a failure as a newsletter publisher, failing to check what was printed in his name. And when fi rst confronted about the hatred, responding by defending the news-letters he never read, foolishly making him-self look like a racist. Are those the actions of a man who is competent enough to be the Commander in Chief? On the other hand is
the man who spewed such hatred the right person to be leader of the free world.
One thing is certain the vast majority of Republicans and conservatives would be horrifi ed if Ron Paul won even one primary. Polls issued earlier this week that had him winning Iowa were seriously fl awed, about 30 percent of respondents did not vote in the 2008 caucuses. Iowans take their cau-cus very seriously and if someone avoided the caucuses last time, there is a very good chance they will avoid them this time and should not be counted as “likely caucus vot-
ers.”Ron Paul has a small, but rabid group of
supporters. He will always get those sup-porters but to most political conservatives, his bigotry is an embarrassment to the party. Chances are when you see the results from Iowa on Jan. 3, Ron Paul will be a distant third.
Jeff Dunetz is the Editor/Publisher of the political blog “The Lid” (www.jeffdunetz.com). Jeff lives onLong Island.
Opinion
POLITICO TO GO
Jeff Dunetz
The Congressman said he had never even read the newsletters, which were published under his name, by his company.
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There are a number of mitzvoth which appear in the Torah multiple times: Shabbat, holidays, kosher animals,
Shmittah (Sabbatical year), Eved Ivri (He-brew servant), not to “cook a kid in its moth-er’s milk.” Sometimes there are differences in the repetition, and the repetition usually serves a purpose.
When it comes to narrative, however, the Torah rarely repeats a story. Last week we read the story of Yosef and Potiphar’s wife, and when she told her husband the tale, we are told “She said, ‘This is what he did to me,’” (39:19) and as the text does not elaborate, we can assume she embel-lished the details. We need not know what she said, as all we need to know is that Yosef ended up in prison.
After Moshe is given the signs of the snake, the whitened hand, and to pour water from the river to turn it to blood before the people, he does so – the To-rah does not repeat the details (Shmot 4:30)
But the two most blatant examples of repeated narrative are the story of Eliezer fi nding Rivkah (Chapter 24) and Pharaoh’s dream here in Chapter 41.
In Eliezer’s retelling of his own story, he changes some details to make the story and the setup more palatable to Rivkah’s fam-ily. He achieves his goal: he convinces them of the divine hand in his trip, they agree to let Rivkah go with him, and Rivkah the wife for Yitzchak whom Eliezer was appointed to fi nd.
But in our narrative, Pharaoh’s dream is told to us, and then he repeats it to Yosef for interpretation with a few changes as well.
In his dream Pharaoh was standing “on the river,” the fi rst cows were “y’fot mareh,” the second cows are “raot mareh v’dakot ba-sar” and they stand next to the fi rst cows. The cows who were “raot mareh v’dakot ba-sar” ate the cows that were “y’fot hamareh”
In his retell Pharaoh stands “on the edge of the river,” the fi rst cows are “y’fot toar,” the second cows are “dalot, v’raot toar m’od, v’rakot basar,” and Pharaoh adds “I have never seen such bad looking cows in Egypt”. The cows who were “rakot and raot” ate the fi rst cows. The cows were completely swal-lowed, but it was not detectable because they looked as they had before [this last sentence is entirely new and was unapparent from the dream itself.]
In the second dream, the stalks are “bri-yot v’tovot” (healthy and good). The second stalks are described as thin and scorched by the east wind. They consumed the “healthy and full” stalks
In the retell they are “m’layot v’tovot” (full and good). The second stalks are described as thin and scorched by the east wind, but are also “tz’numot” (shriveled). They con-sumed the “good” stalks.
Why the differences? Unlike Eliezer, Pha-raoh isn’t trying to convince Yosef of any-thing. Or is he?
The Midrash Sechel Tov suggests Pharaoh dreamt the interpretation to the dream along with the dream, but forgot it. How else could he know that Yosef’s interpretation was the correct one? Surely others tried interpreting it for him. Once he heard Yosef’s interpreta-tions, however, it triggered the memory, and he knew it was correct.
This line of thinking makes a lot of sense when we consider that Yosef’s interpretation should have ended with verse 41:32 when he said “The reason that Pharaoh had the same dream twice is because the process has al-ready been set in motion by God, and God is rushing to do it.” But Yosef continued and said, “Now Pharaoh must seek out a man with insight and wisdom, and place him in charge of Egypt.” How did he get away with this bold statement?
Because when Pharaoh fi rst laid eyes on Yosef, a memory was triggered that told him “This is the man who will interpret, this is the man I must keep close to me.”
In other words, Pharaoh wanted Yosef to interpret correctly and to suggest a man be appointed, and Pharaoh presented the dreams with his own commentary in order to help Yosef produce the interpretation Pha-raoh could not pull out of his subconscious mind.
First impressions are very powerful. Sometimes you meet someone for the fi rst time and feel kinship, or feel this person is a person you’d like to get to know better. And sometimes there’s a feeling you can’t put your fi nger on that tells you this person will be a lifelong friend. There are many married couples who will tell you “they knew” when they fi rst met, even if they did not hear bells and whistles or experience what Hollywood calls “love at fi rst sight” (a concept I don’t believe in).
Because Pharaoh wanted this encounter to work out (as he immediately set in motion in 41:38-35), he took the steps he needed to in order to give Yosef the chance to “earn” being close to him, the reward he carried for the rest of their days.
Parshat Miketz
At fi rst sight
Rabbi Avi Billet
Hebrew only please!A Jewish newspaper should have a Hebrew column. So here it is. We will try to maintain a level of vocabulary so that it will be easy
enough for students to read and interesting enough for those more fl uent to enjoy.
Chanukah: a celebration of the home!
This week’s Hebrew column is on three levels of Chanukah lighting as written in the Gemara,and the importance of lighting the candles at home. Rabbi Himelstein is a Gemara instructor at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem, and lives with his wife and six children in Neve Daniel, GushEtzion.
By Rabbi Noam Himelstein
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Sunday evening’s Kulanu Scholarship Dinner at The Sands of Atlantic Beach at-tracted over 550 supporters who came out to honor The Glaubach Family, Jonathan Cooper, and Rachel Schreiber, recipients of the Amudei Chesed, Professional Achieve-ment, and Volunteer Recognition awards, respectively. This year marked the fi rst time that Kulanu presented both the Professional and Volunteer awards. Proceeds from the dinner are earmarked for tuition assistance for school, camp, holiday respite, Sunday re-spite and for all the social service programs Kulanu provides. “Literally every student is affected by the success of the dinner,” says Beth Raskin, Executive Director. Guests at the celebratory dinner were treated to the comedic entertainment of Elon Gold, famed televison personality.
Although the dinner has passed, it’s still possible to make a contribution to the Schol-arship Fund. Please contact Denise Perci-balli, Mindy Rosengarten or Beth Raskin at 516-569-3083.
at home. Like many American Jews, Bialik is the granddaughter of immigrants who came to the United States just before the Holocaust began. Bialik’s maternal grandmother had lost many family members in the violence and pogroms that characterized Europe at the time.
“The Judaism I grew up with was very complicated by the sadness that my mother’s parents experienced,” said Bialik. “[How-ever,] there were remnants of [my mom’s] Orthodoxy. We had two sets of dishes, and I thought they were breakfast and dinner dishes. It was never explained.”
Bialik’s decision to start living a more observant way of life was particularly chal-lenging, given her career. Hollywood is not known for being consonant with a Torah way of life. And yet, as fans of The Big Bang The-ory will know, Bialik’s character is dressed in a modest skirt every week.
“Especially because of the industry I work in, tznius is something that really appealed to me initially and still does,” said Bialik. “[I always] had a sense of not feeling comfort-able in a lot of ways women are expected to behave and be presented.”
Bialik is fortunate in that her character, a socially awkward scientist named Amy Farrah Fowler, can get away with wearing frumpy skirts and sweaters. The fact that Bialik holds a real-life PhD in neuroscience can’t have hurt her chances when it came to being cast as Fowler.
“When I auditioned for the character, I wore a long pencil skirt and nerdy cardigan. Often with Big Bang, the way they see you [at the audition] is the way they [have you dress on the show],” said Bialik. “There’s kind of a “look” each character has that they don’t deviate from.”
As part of the event, the YIWH Sisterhood also launched a drive to donate children’s books to local hospitals. Event organizer Sari Kahn and fellow shul member Eve Baruch came up with the idea after Baruch had to take her son to the emergency room one eruv
Shabbat. When Shabbat started, and Baruch could no longer distract her son with the TV, she asked the nurse for some books. The nurse only had two books in the entire ER for children.
The Sisterhood decided to start a collec-tion that will provide books to Mercy Medical Center, Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center at LIJ (Schneider’s), and Winthrop-University Hospital. There will be a drop box in the shul and at upcoming sisterhood events over the next month.
For more information about the book drive to support local pediatric emergency rooms, please contact Sari Kahn at [email protected] or 516-662-6095.
Frum TV actress speaks
By Sergey Kadinsky
On an unusually cold night on Dec. 18, in the fi elds of Islip, a television production studio was rocking a mix of Yiddish classics, reggae and a bagpiper for Rabbi Anchelle Perl, highlighting the numerous causes in which he has sunk his efforts. “It’s an unbe-lievably huge undertaking,” said musical di-rector Steve Bill. “It’s fi lling up four hours of broadcast time live and motivating people to pledge”
Down the hall from the studio, Far Rocka-way resident Rabbi Yitzy Bald practiced with his 14-member New York Boys Choir for their fi rst-ever Telethon appearance. “Every mo-tion interprets a word of the songs. Choreog-raphy is very extensive and theatrical,” Rabbi Bald said. Alongside his role as a coach for the choir, his songwriting resume includes top names including Dovid Gabay, Morde-chai Ben Dovid and Avraham Fried.
In another room, a family band from Far Rockaway was practicing while recording their music onto a laptop. “There is nothing people want more than entertainment. This is why last year Rabbi Perl rode in to the
telethon on a motorcycle in a leather jacket,” said Yosaif Krohn He understands that peo-ple will tune into this.”
Rabbi Perl’s other past fundraising antics include piloting a hot air balloon, driving a racecar on Jones Beach, and holding a Jew-ish wedding ceremony on air for a couple wishing to renew their vows by the laws of Moses and Israel.
Broadcast on WLNY TV10/55, the pre-Chanukah benefi t raked in $498,205 for Chabad’s National Committee for the Fur-therance of Jewish Education and Chabad of Mineola, both of which are chaired by Rabbi Perl. Within his local Chabad House, programs include hospital and prison chap-laincy, holocaust education, and assistance for the unemployed. Rabbi Perl noted that funds going to Chabad benefi t Jews and non-Jews, as exemplifi ed in his annual Good Deed Awards, which are open to Long Island youths of all backgrounds.
The Telethon was not entirely entertain-ment; it highlighted benefi ciaries of the funds, including domestic abuse survivors, two of whom testifi ed on Rabbi Perl’s coun-seling as a member of the Nassau County
Coalition Against Domestic Abuse. Actors re-enacted their ordeals in graphic short fi lms.
Among the musicians, bagpiper Corey McCluskey was asked by emcee Mickey B whether he had a Bar Mitzvah. A Catholic, McCluskey was discovered by Rabbi Perl at a 9/11 ceremony, and asked to perform at the Telethon. His parents stood alongside younger Chabad rabbis, sharing in their joy at their son’s fi rst telethon, which reaches an audience of 10 million.
Looking at posters of past telethons in the studio hallway, Rabbi Leibel Cohen pointed out that each year the set design is differ-ent. He has been a “dancing rabbi” at the show for 12 years, fl ying in from California to reconnect with his mentor. “He gives him-self over to everything that he does,” Rabbi Cohen said. “Everyone feels that he is their personal rabbi.” On the poster from fi ve
years ago, Rabbi Yossi Mendelson of ForestHills dances with other rabbis. Rabib Cohen remembered him as a learning partner andcamp counselor. “We’re like one big family,” Rabbi Cohen said.
East Meadow resident Joseph Rothkowitz, 25, remembered becoming childhood events with Rabbi Perl. “On his Matzah Factory, he transformed local supermarkets. We all knewhim as kids.” Together with bandmates from Long Beach West Hempstead and Far Rocak-way, Rothkowitz’s band RockaZion blendsreggae with Jewish spiritual themes.
Among the emcees announcing the pledgeresults, Oceanside resident Kive Strickoffpraised Rabbi Perl for his ability to reinventthe message of giving. “He brings everyoneform all walks of life together, across thespectrum He identifi es with the people of this island.”
Chabad telethon touts local talent
Photo by Sergey Kadinsky
Chabad Telethon emcees Kive Strickoff and David Weiss stand with Rabbi An-chelle Perl at the studio set for the annual televised fundraiser.
Continued from page 1
Photo by Alyson Goodman
After her speech, Bialik met with fans to take photographs and answer ques-tions.
Photos by Susan Grieco
Simeon, Baruch, and Cory Glaubach, recipients of the Amudei Chessed Awardfor demonstrating family efforts and commitment towards Kulanu.
Rachel Schreiber, 17, has been volun-teering with Kulanu since age 7.
Kulanu Annual Scholarship Dinner
Beth Raskin shares a proud momentwith colleague Jonathan Cooper.
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By KAREN [email protected]
Sunrise Day Camp, the Friedberg JCC’s program for children with cancer and their siblings, is more than a summer activity; it’s a year-
long labor of love for many individuals who are committed to helping make the lives of young people happy. From its inception in 2006 as a day camp with the special mission of helping to brighten the lives of sick children with sum-mer activities — all free of charge — Sunrise Day C a m p , l o c a t e d a t the 300-acre Henry Kaufmann campgrounds in Wheatley Heights, has evolved into a year-round effort to assist its camp-ers and their families. This year, Richner Communications, Inc. donated editorial cover-age, printing and market-ing services, along with publicity about Sunrise’s fundraising efforts to sup-port the camp’s impor-tant contributions to our communities. Sunrise has quadrupled its enrollment — from the 96 who attended in its first year to the 451 kids who participated in the 2011 summer camp season — and has extended the camp experience by hosting get-togeth-ers throughout the year. These include Sunrise Sundays at the Friedberg JCC’s Oceanside facility, where campers recon-nect with friends and counselors and par-ticipate in various activities, and school vacation programs. And for those who are unable to partici-pate in one of the camp programs due to treatments or hospitalization, Sunrise comes to them. Volunteers from Sunrise on Wheels, an in-hospital outreach pro-gram, visit four area hospitals several times during the week throughout the year. The supportive volunteers help young patients and their families endure treatments and doctor visits with enjoy-able activities and positive reinforcement. Sunrise Day Camp is a community effort that relies on the generosity of its volunteers and supporters to enable the camp and its related programming to continue. The camp’s major fundraising events, the Friends of Sunrise Cocktail Party and Auction (scheduled for March 22, 2012) and the Samuel Levine Memorial Golf Classic (Aug. 13, 2012) take place annually, along with various gatherings in Manhattan and throughout Long Island during the year. In June, shortly before the start of camp each season, families and friends come out to the campgrounds for Sunrise’s annual Walk to Help the Sun Rise, a non-competi-tive fundraising walk involving three dif-ferent courses for all ages. This year’s walk-athon recorded its largest attendance ever,
with more than 1,100 people participating. Richner Communications, publisher of the Herald newspapers, The Riverdale Press, the Oyster Bay Guardian, The Jew-ish Star, PrimeTime Xpress, and other products, through its REACT committee, selected Sunrise Day Camp as the organi-zation it would sponsor in 2011 and donate its staff ’s time and talents to. REACT, or Richner Employees Assisting Communi-ties Together, was formed in 2010 to seek out an organization doing great things that
could benefit from donat-ed editorial coverage, printing and marketing resources the Heralds could provide. Richner’s REACT committee want-ed to make a positive dif-ference in the lives of peo-ple in our coverage com-munities. All of the space allocated i n o u r n ew s papers throughout the year, all of the stories written, all the efforts put into helping campers create a camp newspaper, all the fundrais-ing material design, cre-ation, printing and inser-tion were provided at no
charge to Sunrise. “It has been a privilege to shed light on all the good deeds that Sunrise does for its campers and their families. As these stories have unfolded, readers have come to know
this extraordinary institution that contrib-utes so much to Long Island,” said Stuart Richner, who co-publishes Herald Commu-nity Newspapers with his brother, Cliff Richner. “I’m glad that Richner Communica-tions created the opportunity for its employees to help others in need by apply-ing our skills and the company’s resources in this way,” said John O’Connell, the Her-ald’s executive editor. “This gave us a chance to tell readers of the great work Sunrise Day Camp is doing, and to actual-ly help them continue the valuable service they perform. I feel we have been given a gift to be able to help.” Throughout the year, we have provided Herald readers with in-depth coverage of Sunrise Day Camp, through articles on Sunrise Day Camp’s enthusiastic campers and their brave battles with cancer, devot-
ed staff and dedicated volunteers, along withreports on Sunrise on Wheels and year-round activities. Sunrise’s fundraising cam-paigns have been highlighted in the Herald,including extensive coverage of the Walk toHelp the Sun Rise. Other projects includedthe design, production, printing and distri-bution of this week’s holiday donation enve-lope, along with the publication of thecamp’s first newspaper, the Sunrise Herald. The Sunrise Herald was an intensivesummer-long project in which Richner staffvisited the camp weekly during July andAugust to introduce the campers to commu-nity journalism. Members of the Heraldteam spent one day a week at the camp-grounds, introducing the children to thebasics of producing a newspaper. The news-paper was written by the kids and pro-duced and printed at Richner’s GardenCity corporate offices and printing plant. “Having the kids take ownership andget involved in something new to campwas exciting,” said Amy Pilott, assistantcamp director and walkathon director.“They really got into the whole processin a way we never expected them toembrace it. They were so proud of theirwork and really happy to have somethingto share with their families at home.” The Richner staff was equally proudto have participated in the project. “Working with REACT and SunriseDay Camp has been an amazing experi-ence for me,” said Photo Editor ChristinaDaly, a member of the REACT committee,who not only photographed the campers inaction, but also instructed them on thebasics of photography. “I was able to workone on one with some of the kids, helpingthem to take photos. To see the excitementon all their faces when they finally saw thenewspaper they had worked so hard onwas wonderful. We went there to teachthem about newspapers, but I think theyended up teaching us something much moresignificant.”
Richner Communications’ REACT Commit-tee is seeking suggestions of significantprojects and organizations that are strivingto do great good within the Herald coverageareas, so that they may be consideredf o r s u c h s p o n s o rs h i p i n 2 0 1 2 .Email [email protected].
Brightening Sunrise Day Camp’s yearRichner’s REACT helps JCC’s programfor kids with cancer
YOU CAN HELP
Readers will find a donation envelope in this week’s Herald in which to make a contribution to Sunrise Day Camp, or a display advertisement in next week’s issue with donation instructions. Consider making a donation this holiday sea-son to help bring sunshine into the lives of families coping with cancer.
Courtesy Sunrise Day Camp
CAMPER Kendall Curnuck, 8, of Rockville Centre, and counselor Rachel Bernstein enjoy their day at camp.
Christina Daly/Herald
LOGAN BRANDT, 5, of Patchogue, shows off his flashy moves to fellow camper 9-year-old Saul Rockmore (seated), of Roslyn Heights, and staff member Tori Kroll.
N o one told me that when I entered into adulthood I would end up attending a large number of Chanukah/Holiday
parties in which I was asked to bring a rea-sonably priced gift. This year I have decided to give the gift that everyone loves, choco-late. Now it is my humble opinion that if you are buying someone a present of chocolate, then you need to make sure that the choco-
late you give is of a quality and stature that makes it worthy of be-ing called a gift; and I believe that no brand of gourmet chocolate that represents that ideal more then bou-tique chocolatier Mi-chel Cluizel.
I have written about Michel Cluizel before in my latest Kosherfest review for their truly decadent chocolate truffl es. So not long after the kosher food show, I found myself in Michel Cluizel’s shop, located at Fifth Avenue
at 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, so that I could further sample their wares. The store is small but elegant, with a distinctly French feel. The granite counter is lined with choc-olate delicacies, each of which are freshly made on site. I sampled a wide range of the company’s chocolates, each of which were so unique and singularly delicious, that it de-serves a separate article of its own.
My favorite individual chocolate was the
Earl Gray truffl e, which is a fantastic amal-gamation of dark chocolate and traditional English tea. The rich dark chocolate serves as a velvety base for the truffl e, and the won-derfully earthy tea fl avor mellows the bitter-ness that is present in all dark chocolates. I loved this truffl e not just for it’s originality, but because of how well balanced the fl avors were. It wasn’t overly sweet, and it hit a per-fect note of sweet, earthy, bitter and rich.
A close second is the passion fruit-fi lled chocolates. While normally fruit-fi lled choco-lates tend to be overly fl oral, Michel Cluizel’s dedication to using only the freshest ingre-dients has given them the ability to create a fruit cream that is fabulously decadent, and possess a bright vibrant fruity fl avor. The cream’s fl avor was as fresh as if I was eating an actual passion fruit surrounded by mar-velous dark chocolate.
What makes Michel Cluizel a next level chocolate maker is that they don’t just manu-facture chocolates. They apply their passion and skill to the production of some of the fi n-est pastries I have ever eaten. What makes their offerings even more mind blowing is that all of their kosher pastries are parve, and yet in a blind taste test you would be un-able to tell the difference between, say their non dairy chocolate ganache and one that was made with cream. This makes for simply decadent pastries that I would happily eat as the fi nishing note to any meal.
In particular, I found Michel Cluizel’s Na-poleon to be out of this world. It was sensa-tionally creamy with the kind of fl aky crunch that I thought was unattainable without using butter as an ingredient. It was sweet without being overly so, and it paired per-
fectly with the expertly made espresso that they make at the chocolate shop.
Also of tremendous note is their three fl a-vors of eclair, chocolate, vanilla and coffee. The eclairs are just perfection. The dough is light and somehow buttery, and the cream is rich and fl avorful. It’s one of the better eclairs that I have ever eaten, and even as I write this I can’t help but marvel at the fact that it was parve.
So if you have a holiday party to attend in the next few weeks, consider purchasinga box of Michel Cluizel’s amazing chocolatesfor your friends, loved ones or coworkers,and I guarantee that the reaction you see asthey receive it will outdo that of any holidaychotchke you would otherwise buy.
Zechariah Mehler is a widely published foodwriter and expert in social marketing. Followhim on Twitter @thekoshercritic
Chocolates for Chanukah
THE KOSHER CRITIC
Zechariah Mehler
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Dear Aviva, I will not give out my age or my gender. I
merely would like to put out there that I feel under-appreciated and unloved.
-Itty-Bitty
Dear Itty-Bitty,
Man, you make it tough for me, leaving out all the details! (Or perhaps, “Lady”?) But that’s ok, I will use this as an opportunity to stretch my advice columnist abilities to see if I can meet this challenge that you set for me, oh friendly foe of mine…
And that’s exactly what life should look like for you—a friendly foe. It should be a challenge to meet goals and you should be meeting many of them. You should not be looking at life’s diffi culties as a sign to throw in the towel. When the going gets tough, work harder!
Just wanted to make sure that you are productive and functional in general, be-cause if you are not, it is likely that you are not appreciating yourself and that you are not loving yourself, even though you make it sound to me that you are under-appreciated by someone else. If you don’t have the self-appreciation thing going for you, no matter what others do for you, no matter how much people try to appreciate you, you will feel under-appreciated.
It’s like if I have a violin. This violin is my self-concept. I am not always bowing it or plucking it to make it sing, but it is always there. If someone comes over to my violin with a humming pitch-fork, one of my strings will resonate and vibrate. When the pitch-fork leaves my earshot, I am still soothed from my resonating violin string.
But what if my violin strings snapped? Maybe they were worn away, or maybe they were wound too tight. What happens when someone comes close to me with a humming pitch-fork? My ears perk up—Music! I am sa-voring every single sine and cosine of those sound waves. I am tingly all over. And then, it starts to fade, and the pitch-fork has left my surrounds. And what am I left with? Silence. Dead silence. Silence that existed before, but that I was not aware of because I did not yet have the beautiful contrast of music. And it is quite a painful silence because now that I know what music is, I also know that I cannot make music—I don’t have strings.
Now the nimshal: The humming pitch fork is an outsider’s compliment or show of appreciation, or even an act of love. It makes an impact on you. When it is over, you either
are able to hold on to it and add to it usingyour own high sense of self-worth. Or, if youhave no strings and cannot reenact that elu-sive sound, you are down and out, lookingfor some noise to replace it.
So ask yourself, does your violin have strings? If it does, that’s awesome! But nowwe have to fi gure out more.
Are you expressing to those who under-value you the disappointment you feel? This should ideally be done soon after you felt neglected. If I were to ask the people closeto you, “Does Itty-Bitty feel like you love andappreciate Itty-Bitty?” Would they say “To-tally!”? If so, then you have to start learninghow to recognize signs of feeling the disap-pointment (resentment is a sign that you’vebeen disappointed for a few minutes). Once you know that you were let down and howyou were let down, you need to assert your-self in a non-aggressive, non-attacking man-ner. If you don’t feel safe to, try telling the people close to you, “I want to tell you how I feel, but I don’t feel safe telling you.” Thatlet’s a lion’s claws retract and will at leasthelp the person be aware that you are morefragile than he/she thinks.
Make it clear that you need the person to say or do x. Clarifying your needs boosts thelikelihood of having them met.
Finally, if you feel like you are constantlytrying to accommodate and please a particu-lar person, but you objectively do not get pos-itive feedback, you may be in an unhealthyrelationship with the person. If you can neverdo anything right, you’re being played.
So play your own music.
-AvivaAviva Rizel is a licensed Marriage and Fam-
ily Therapist in private practice in Lawrence.She can be reached at 347-292-8482 or [email protected].
Ask Aviva
When you feel unlovedI ’m obsessed with reading… a great book, an interesting magazine, my favorite newspa-pers, comics, emails, Facebook updates and
tweets. When I was a kid I read cereal boxes, just to keep busy while enjoying breakfast. There were puzzles on the back, things to send away for or even a pop single to cut out and play on the record player (does anyone remem-ber that? I once got an Archies song). Lately I’ve gotten into reading food labels because I’m also obsessed with eating well.
As a mother running a kosher home, I’m used to reading cans, bottles and cartons. When I shop, I need to check for kosher symbols and study ingredients to identify a product as dairy or pareve. When I host a guest with food al-lergies or any restricted diet, I have to search for offending ingredients. Besides that, there is also a warning list of other items that may possibly have contaminated the cooking envi-ronment! And I won’t even attempt to go into the new moralistic food labeling, eco friendly, humane, etc…
I was always what my son calls “meat con-scious”, not all-out vegetarian, but about 90 percent. To this day I haven’t been able to give
up certain Cuban dishes I grew up eating, so I make an exception for those. I make a request to my mom to cook those for me on spe-cial occasions. I have been spotted succumb-ing to particularly deli-cious barbeque aromas though I usually settle for a veggie burger and grilled vegetables.
Shabbat meals in our home usually consist of dairy dishes and fi sh. I joke that we eat fi sh on Friday like good Catho-lics. I have experiment-ed with making a tasty
pareve cholent using meaty mushrooms, soy or wheat gluten. But the best part of the cholent, in my view, is the potatoes. I’ve been tempted to try to trick a meat eating friend to see what they think, but I’m not sneaky enough. Some actually really like my cholent! The downside of a dairy shabbat is having to warn my guests to stay away from the meat Kiddush at shul, the upside is having real ice cream for dessert.
It used to be diffi cult to fi nd decent vegetar-ian food on menus, now it’s much easier to go out to eat. A bit tougher is explaining my pro-clivity to carnivorous friends and family. Label-ing myself vegetarian may make me sound like a “holier than thou” health nut, as if I only eat rice and beans and salad, but of course that’s ri-diculous. Haagen Dazs and dark chocolate are my favorite treats. I tell myself I gain calcium from the fi rst and antioxidants from the latter, but vegetarian, like kosher doesn’t necessarily imply healthy!
Despite my sweet tooth, I have long been cultivating the awareness to choose nutritious foods. Ever since our fi rst child was born, I began scouring labels for preservatives, fl uo-rescent colors and unnatural fl avorings. When buying prepared foods, I eyeball ingredients for items I cannot pronounce which are usually the ones of which to be wary.
My oldest son and I joined a playgroup in Queens in the late 1980s with friends who de-cided to form our own mini food co-op. There was an alar scare at the time; a toxic ingredient found to be in apple juices our toddlers were drinking. Specialty food shops were rare then and even more expensive than now, due to lower demand. The only way we could afford organic apple juice was to buy in bulk from a supplier. We added on other healthy and or-ganic products and felt good about our ingre-dients. We shared recipes and I began cooking
delicious dishes from the Moosewood cook-book, my vegetarian bible.
Today we have many more options. Grocery stores carry more “whole foods” and healthier products and produce departments carry or-ganic and locally grown fruit and veggies. We have our own seasonal outdoor greenmarket in Grant Park, and others beyond in Rockville Centre, Long Beach and Union Square. It’s great to be able to eat what was picked and trucked in that very morning from the east end of Long Island. Cherry tomatoes, corn and beets have never tasted so good!
Although my middle son insists that every-thing in creation is “natural” because if you go back far enough all ingredients do actually originate from nature, I’m not so sure.
So I’m not just worried about what we in-gest. I’ve extended my vigilance to products like shampoo, soap and detergents. We’ve all been warned to immediately remove the plas-tic off dry cleaned clothes to air out the toxic chemicals. I mostly buy clothes that don’t need dry cleaning. We’ve switched to an “organic dry cleaner” (an oxymoron since they still use chemicals) and our suits no longer get that un-mistakable odor. I’m trying to cut out paraben and other poisons from our grooming prod-ucts.
Each person’s diet is based on a very per-sonal choice or need. Individual’s tastes are unique and can change. I’ve seen that in my own home when I keep preparing a specifi c dish I know a family member loves, until sud-denly I’m told to stop making it. It has lost favor and fl avor for that person. I’m learning not to take offense, though it’s hard for this Jewish mother to deal with food rejection. It’s quite disheartening to lovingly prepare what I be-lieve is a delicious nutritious meal and then see someone look disgusted, or quietly refrain from eating. I try to remember it may have nothing to do with my cooking!
When my kids were younger and com-plained about something I served, I told them our kitchen isn’t a diner and I’m not a short order cook (though as a typical mom, I have catered to their specifi c tastes often enough to have been the cause of this problem!) I often urge them to try one taste of something new, since they may fi nd they suddenly like it. They groan at me but sometimes (rarely) it’s actu-ally true!
I gave plenty of trouble to my own mom as a child and teen. I was an extremely picky eater, shunning meat and fruit. But I was allowed to eat what I did like from the meal and could enjoy dessert no matter what. As I matured, I expanded my food choices. I remember “dis-covering” tomatoes, mangos, avocados and yo-gurt during a summer in Israel when I was 18 and being amazed at how delicious they were. These foods had always been staples at home. I could have never dreamt of eating Israeli salad for breakfast in Brooklyn. Somehow ev-erything seemed more delicious in Israel, and that opened the door for me to become a more adventurous eater.
We can only try our best with food as with everything else. Diets are diffi cult and reject-ing bad choices is challenging. We have been charged with taking care of our bodies, by our doctors and rabbis. The great Rambam himself gave us specifi c advice about healthy eating habits, in the days when food was more natu-ral, so imagine how careful we must be today. We should prepare our food as a labor of love, but no matter what we eat, let’s enjoy our food and partake together joyously; after all, eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Be’tayavon!
Miriam Bradman Abrahams is Cuban-born, Brooklyn-bred and lives in Woodmere. She orga-nizes author events for Hadassah, reviews books for Jewish Book World and is very slowly writing her father’s immigrant memoirs. She is teaching yoga at Peaceful Presence Yoga Studio.
MIRIAM’S MUSINGS
Miriam Bradman Abrahams
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I begin this essay with the following little known episode that is truly a Chanukah themed saga. Rabbi Elchanan Samet of
Yeshivat Har Etzion in his study on the Book of Psalms writes, “In Natan Sharansky’s book, “Fear No Evil” [Public Affairs, 1998], the book of Tehillim plays an important role in the account of the diffi cult years of his im-prisonment until his release.”
Further on in the narrative Rabbi Samet relates the following incident just prior to Sharansky’s fi nal release by his communist captors. “On the fl ight from Moscow that was
to bring Sharansky to East Berlin, the person in charge of the fl ight appeared suddenly from behind a curtain and announced in a solemn voice: ‘Sharan-sky, Anatoly Borisov-ich. I am authorized to declare to you that by order of the Pre-sidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for conduct unworthy of a Soviet citizen, you have
been stripped of Soviet citizenship and as an American spy you are being expelled from the Soviet Union.’”
“Sharansky responded with a counter-declaration, in which he denied being an American spy. ‘I sat down with the sound of fanfare in my ears. I knew all along that this day had to come. And now I took the Psalm book and turned to Psalm 30, which I long
ago decided to recite at the moment of my release. ‘A Song of David at the dedication of a house.’ It began. Now I was reading these words en route to my own house in Jerusa-lem!”
Rabbi Samet concludes by stating that, “At this point in the book, Psalm 30 ap-pears, transcribed in short lines as a poem of thanksgiving, the psalm that Sharansky deemed most appropriate for this exalted moment.”
Elaborating on this point further in his commentary Rabbi Samet states that, “The fact that Psalm 30 is a thanksgiving psalm of an individual did not interfere with its adoption as a national psalm of thanksgiv-ing [as part of the Chanukah observance] On the other hand the Hasmoneans may have found in our psalm unique expression of the speed of the rescue from the jaws of death, of the changing of mourning into gladness and dancing. Thus they may have viewed this psalm as fi tting for the feeling of their sudden rise from political and religious servi-tude to national and religious emancipation.”
As a footnote, Rabbi Samet adds the fol-lowing caveat, ”Similar consideration on the individual level brought Natan Sharansky to adopt this psalm as a thanksgiving psalm for his sudden liberation.”
It should be understood that the recitation of Psalm 30 at the end of the daily Chanukah services has become a universal practice. Ac-cording to Ezras Torah Luach, this psalm is recited every Chanukah morning after servic-es, and according to the “Luach Hashanah” of the Conservative tradition, in addition to the
morning service, it is repeated at the conclu-sion of each evening service.
This liturgical tradition is further ex-plained by numerous English language com-mentaries who detail both the theological and historical background of this tradition.
According to “The Bible / Psalms with The Jerusalem Commentary” [Mossad HaRav Kook, 2003] by Amos Hakham, the tradition has been to recite this psalm as the psalm of the day since the destruction of the Second Tem-ple, as cited in tractate Soferim and Pesikta Rabbati.
Further, according to this source, “If we assume that this psalm was recited on Hanuk-kah in the Temple, it would stand to reason that the Has-moneans said it on Hanukkah because they interpreted the dedication, ‘a song of dedica-tion of the house,’ as an allu-sion to their own rededication of the Temple.”
Accordingly, as time went on, with the exception of Chabad, this evolved into its adoption, with variations, as the established liturgy during the entire festival.
Rabbi Avi Baumol, in his commentary, “The Poetry of Prayer”, [Gefen Publishing, 2009] notes the following:
“Originally there were certain traditions that included the recitation of Psalm 30 only during the eight days of the Chanukah fes-
tival. In fact, Rabbi Avraham Berliner, who discusses the late insertion of the psalm into the liturgy, writes that at fi rst, starting withthe Sephardic tradition, it became standardto Pesukei d’Zimra only on Chanukah……
“Berliner continues that the tradition of reciting it on Chanukah spread to other sid-
durim, but without theintroduction informing people to recite the prayer only on Chanukah. As a result only in the last fewhundred years has thispsalm become standard for everyday prayers in all sid-durim. While Berliner attri-butes this to faulty editing,perhaps there was anotherreason why this mizmor,at fi rst regarded as a Cha-nukah mizmor, merited a place in the daily liturgy.”
Further on Rabbi Bau-mol notes that the theme of Psalm 30 is a natural to the themes of Chanukah. “It istherefore quite appropriate
that Psalm 30 which illustrates the strugglein King David’s life, should be recited duringChanukah. At a time in history when thereis a surge of effort to rededicate the physicalhouse of G-d, we delve deeper, realizing that the true triumph was the rededication of themetaphorical houses guarding the people’ssouls, Chanukah thus celebrates body and soul working in tandem to live a life of godli-ness and eternal praise of G-d.”
Alan Jay Gerber
The Kosher Bookworm
Chanukah literature for inspiration and history
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Dec. 24Singles Chanukah concertORTHODOX UNION is holding a Chanukah concert for singles featuring C Lanzom, Nochi Krohn and Yisroel Juskowitz at Congregation Oheb Zedek, located at 118 W.95 Street in Manhattan. The event is cosponsored by the matchmaking website Saw You At Sinai. The concert costs $25 at the door, $20 online, and $15 with student ID. To register, visit www.oucommunity.org or call 212 613 8300
Dec. 25Founders of the ChurchCONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM, located at 390 Broadway in Lawrence, is hosting Shuli Taubes, who teaches bible and Jewish philosophy & com-parative religion at SAR. Taubes will be speaking on the topic “The Founders of the Church: Rab-binic Double Agents?” Taubes holds an MA from Harvard School of Divinity and she received her BA in history and religion from Barnard College. The event begins at 9:15 a.m. for more informa-tion, contact 516-569-3600 ext. 21.
Uncle Moishy concertYOUNG ISRAEL OF WOODMERE is hosting a concert for children by Uncle Moishy and his Mitzvah Men. The event begins at 10:30. Advance tickets costing $13 may be purchased at local retailers Judaica Plus, Seasons, Kitov and Oh Nuts! Tickets at the door cost $20. For more information, contact 516-295-0950
Dec. 26Chanukah on IceCHABAD OF HEWLETT is holding a fi rst-ever ice
menorah for Hewlett, at Grant Park Ice Skating Rink, off Sheridan Avenue. The event begins at 2 p.m. with the ice menorah to be lit at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.JewishHewlett.com or contact 516-295-3413.
Dec. 27Lander Chanukah lectureLANDER COLLEGE FOR MEN, located at 75-31 150
Street in Kew Gardens Hills is holding a Chanukah lecture featuring its Beis Medrash L’Talmud Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Ephraim Tanenbaum, who will be speaking on the topic “Chanukah in Halacha.” He will be followed by Beis Medrash L’Talmud Mash-giach Ruchani Rabbi Moshe Bamberger who will be speaking on the topic “Chanukah in Hashkafa: Your Money or Your Life.” The event is cospon-sored by Chazaq and Queens Jewish Community Council. Open to men and women and begins at 7 p.m. For more information, contact 718-285-9132 .
Dec. 28If you are in IsraelONE ISRAEL FUND is conducting an excursion of sites in Israel integral to the Chanukah story. Led by Shilo founder and tour guide Era Rapaport, sites include Psagot, Maale Levona and Modiin. The trip costs $75 for adults and $65 for children. Era Rapaport, who was among the founders of the present Shilo community, will serve as the tour guide. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. at Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem, returning at 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact 516-239-9202 or visit www.oneisraelfund.org/daytrips/chanu-kahtrip.asp
OngoingCalling all Senior Song Birds THE JCC OF THE GREATER FIVE TOWNS, located at 270 Grove Avenue in Cedarhurst, hosts a choir for seniors every Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. for a joyful hour of singing with choir master Zvi Klein.We sing songs in all languages and we perform for local venues. There is a $5.00 optional con-tribution requested per session. For information please call Sheryl at 516-569-6733 ext. 222.
Parkinson’s Support GroupTHE JCC OF THE GREATER FIVE TOWNS, located at 207 Grove Avenue in Cedarhurst, hosts every Tuesday a Parkinson’s Support Group from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The purpose of this group is to bring together Parkinsonians, spouses and their fami-lies in order to help them better understand the nature of the condition, gain confi dence and join in community activities. For further information, please contact Cathy Byrne at 516-569-6733 ext. 220.
Photo by Susan Grieco
Rabbi Zalman Wolowik greeted visitors at the Levi Yitzchak Library in Cedar-hurst on the one-year anniversary since its opening. Right, Caroline Malihi of West Hempstead and her children Re’i, 3 and Lizyat, nine months, enjoy the Jewish online resources and books that the library offers.
ON THE
CalendarSubmit your shul or organization’s events or shiurim to [email protected].
Deadline is Wednesday of the week prior to publication.
By Yaakov Hawk
It has been just over a week since Orthodox Jewish reggae star Matisyahu, tweeted a photo of his newly-shaved face, bare of his trademark beard and peyos along with a message that he is changing his image.
When Matisyahu Miller started becoming more connected to his Jewish roots 10 years ago, he started growing a beard and peyos, both integral parts of Chassidic Judaism. Now, he has decided to shave away his facial hair, but his decision does not come as an attempt to cut himself off from his Juda-ism. In a blog statement following the shave, he wrote, “I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules — lots of them — or else I would somehow fall apart. I am reclaim-ing myself” now it seems that he is breaking free, trying to live and be a good person without necessarily requiring strin-gent rules that do not inherently make you a better person. As avid fan Shira Jason pointed out “A beard does not defi ne a person, it is a physical not spiritual thing” not having an outer feature does not mean you are lacking on the inside.
As Matisyahu rose to the forefront of the reggae scene, his facial hair became less his religion and more his identity, causing many to question if this is the real Matisyahu. As critic Daniel Seriadski wrote in HEEB magazine, Matisyahu’s “iconic hasidically - garbed appearance was oft stated to have had more to do with his rise to stardom than his talent alone”. Many others believed as well, that it was not the real Matisyahu performing on stage. After shaving his beard he showed the world indeed it was not the full him, and admit-ted to his fans, “Sorry folks, all you get is me…no alias”.
After this radical change, many people are skeptical about Matisyahu’s future as a successful artist and his ability to in-spire other Jews. Many critics considered his beard a novelty and are now doubtful about the prospects of future success, but Matisyahu assured his fans that this will be “an amazing year fi lled with music of rebirth”. A testament to his contin-ued success with his new look is evident in his nearly sold out “Festival of Lights” concert series, that has been illuminating Chanukah for thousands of fans across the country.
By Michael Sosnick
This past week at HAFTR has been very energetic. From col-lege acceptances to the Panim El Panim trip, to the Chanukah holiday, the hallways have been brimming with excitement.
This week a group of students acting as school representa-tives went on a trip called Panim El Panim to Washington, DC. Panim El Panim literally means Face to Face, but it’s really a trip for Jewish students to learn how to lobby for what they believe in. Sydney Hecht, an 11th grader who went on the trip said, “On Panim el Panim I was able to come face to face with many Jewish teens from all different states. We were taught how to advocate for what we believe in. I even got the opportunity to meet with my representative in Congress, Carolyn McCarthy, about issues that I believe are important.” The trip was split up into three main parts: service, talking with your representative, and learning groups. The students went to an animal shelter and the Wider Circle, which gives furniture to the less fortunate. The students sat down with
Carolyn McCarthy to talk about issues that are taking place right now. The students also went to learning groups andlearned about Occupy Wall Street and other events in ourcountry. It’s really important that Jewish students learn howto advocate; because of our small size we need more peopleto make a difference. I think that this trip was a really excel-lent opportunity and a great step in the right direction ofinforming the new Jewish generation of the problems it willinevitably face.
Getting back an acceptance or a rejection from a collegeis a scary and momentous occasion. So, it’s not hard to be-lieve that it caused quite the commotion at HAFTR this week.Students were anxiously waiting to receive their letters orwaiting to hear the news from a friend. However, there arestill people who haven’t heard back yet, so we will just haveto wait and see what happens next.
Lastly, it’s Chanukah, a creative holiday for HAFTR. The student treasurer Justin Merkin, an 11th grader, said that“We came up with some really interesting ideas and we hopeeveryone will love them. I can’t give anything away becauseit’s a surprise.” One can only imagine how they’re going totop off last year’s amazing Chanukah. Chanukah is an amaz-ing time of year where families get together to light candles, eat jelly doughnuts, and spin dreidels for snacks.
By Natan Farber
Four Receive full YU ScholarshipsIt was a banner year for DRS applicants planning to at-
tend Yeshiva University’s Honors College Program. In recog-nition of their excellent academic performance and leader-ship abilities, four students recieved full tuition scholarships. David Beer, Eli Lonner, Yonatan Mehlman, and Dani Schein-man will attend the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program within Yeshiva College with full tuition 4-year scholarships, where they will be exposed to an intense cur-
riculum that focuses on extensive writing, research, andanalysis, and provides opportunities for unique academic ex-periences, including courses abroad, research positions, andinternships. We congratulate our students and are proud oftheir accomplishments.
Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman addresses Junior ClassLast Sunday, our 11th graders had the tremendous zechus
of hearing from a huge Talmud Chacham, Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman. Rabbi Hartman is a renowned scholar most fa-mous for his commentary on the teachings of Maharal ofPrague. Rabbi Hartman has written over 10 volumes on thewritings of the Maharal, and has made the often diffi cultteachings of the Maharal more clear and accessible for all tolearn; he also heads the Hasmonean Beis Hamedrash in Hen-don, London. Rav Hartman spoke to the boys about makingtheir Chanukah holiday more meaningful.
A king without his crown?
DRS Happenings
HAFTR highlights
Journal opinion page editor James Taranto and prominent Lawrence-based attorney Benjamin Brafman joined Torossian at the dais. “You have a naval blockade of Gaza,” Brafman said. “But how many people knew about the blockade before the fl otilla?” As a solution, Brafman compared Israel’s han-dling of the affair to the Cuban missile Crisis of 1962, where President John F. Kennedy provided advance warning to Soviet ships that they would be intercepted if they at-tempted to reach Cuba. The ships turned back.
Taranto was equally brash in his account of Israeli reactions to attacks, recounting the 2003 death of pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer when she attempted to prevent a demolition of a terrorist hideout in Gaza. “Corrie was this dopey 23-year-old and I wrote ‘terror advocate dies in accident,’” Taranto said. “I described her in conde-scending terms as foolish.” Taranto won-dered out loud whether it would be pos-sible for Israeli spokespeople to be as blunt in their accounts of the country’s enemies. Brafman agreed with Taranto that Israel’s handling of military topics is poor, in light of its stellar reputation worldwide on tech-nology and medicine. “Most anti-Semites are comfortable having a Jewish doctor, but Israel needs help condemning the bad guys.”
Like Torossian, Brafman took Israel ad-vocacy into his own hands. “When Sderot was under rocket attack, I spoke up publicly on YouTube because I did not feel that the
consul’s offi ce was doing a good job.” On presidential candidates, Torossian
said that while New Gingrich’s now-famous statement on the Palestinian people was “wonderful” for Israel, he could not be more Zionist that the Israeli leadership, which de-clared its support for an eventual Palestin-ian state. “You can’t be more catholic than the pope, but there’s no question that on any serious republican candidate, for Israel, is better than Obama,” Torossian said.
Countering established views of Israel in the mainstream press requires events to happen, educating reporters, and fi nancial muscle, the panelists said. When Roger Co-hen of New York Times praised the loyalty of Iranian Jews to their government, it took anti-regime protests in Iran to change Co-hen’s views, but Taranto noted that for the most part, opinion columnists such as Nich-olas Kristof and Tom Friedman as “pretty set in their opinions.” Torossian said that the reporter’s desire for objectivity means that for Reuters, the Hamas fi ghter will always be a militant and never a terrorist. Brafman said that where libel lawsuits are ineffec-tive, withholding advertising could make the difference.
Algemeiner Director Dovid Efune con-cluded the discussion, noting that today’s news in online and instant, with Huffi ng-ton Post as its biggest example of success. “We need a multitude of voices online and then we will have a powerful impact on the Google News search engine track,” bumping stories supportive of Israel to the top of the list.
PR voices on IsraelContinued from page 1
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Chanukah lights up the South Shore
Photo by Ron Manfredi
Chabad of Mineola’s Rabbi Anchelle Perl lit the six-foot tall menorah he donated to Eisenhower Park at a Chanukah celebration on Tuesday.
Photo by Monica Rzewski
Dubi, 12, and Aaron Fischman with Rabbi Zalman Wolowik and Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew J. Parise.
Photo by Monica Rzewski
Chaya 10, Avigayil 19, Shani 8 Roth showed off their dreidels while enjoyed some doughnuts at the Hewlett lighting.
Photo by Jon Premosch
Rabbi Yitzchak Goldshmid of the Chabad Outreach Center lit the meno-rah at Valley Stream Station Plaza at sundown on Tuesday.
Photo by Monica Rzewski
The newest Chabad in Nassau County lit the fi rst public menorah in Hewlett.
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