New Jersey Jewish Standard, January 10, 2014

Englewood
brothers work to
save elephants
JSTANDARD.COM
2014 84
JANUARY 10, 2014
VOL. LXXXIII NO. 18 $1.00
GO TAKE A HIKE page 6
ZOA OPENS LOCAL OFFICE page 8
CELEBRATING TU BSHVAT page 28
NY JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL page 37
J e w i s h S t a n d a r d
1 0 8 6 T e a n e c k R o a d
T e a n e c k , N J 0 7 6 6 6
C H A N G E S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D
Hunted
for their
tusks
page 18
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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 10, 2014 3
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NOSHES ...................................................5
OPINION ................................................ 14
COVER STORY ..................................... 18
TORAH COMMENTARY ................... 35
CROSSWORD PUZZLE .................... 36
ARTS AND CULTURE........................ 37
CALENDAR .......................................... 38
GALLERY ............................................... 41
OBITUARIES ........................................ 42
CLASSIFIEDS ......................................44
HOME DESIGN .................................... 45
REAL ESTATE ...................................... 48
CONTENTS
Kippa conquers court
It was another giant leap for
yarmulke lovers, even if a dis-
appointing game for fans of the
Northwestern Wildcats.
On Sunday, freshman Aaron
Lieberman took to the court
for the final minutes of the
Wildcats game against the
Michigan Wolverines, which
Northwestern lost 74-51.
Mr. Lieberman, a graduate
of Valley Torah High School in
Los Angeles, failed to match
the record of the last kippa-
wearing gladiator to play on
the Ann Arbor court: In 2000,
Tamir Goodman of Towson
University recorded 9 points,
5 assists and 4 rebounds in 34
minutes in the Tigers 73-71 loss
to the Wolverines.
Mr. Goodman, however, though lauded
as the Jewish Jordan, was not playing
in the Big Ten Conference an important
distinction for some sports aficionados.
Mr. Lieberman thus became the first
player to wear a yarmulke in a game in
Big Ten Conference history according to
the Big Ten News Network and they
should know.
The 6-foot-10-inch Mr. Lieberman
reportedly has walked as far as eight
miles to attend Friday night practices.
And it seems that you dont have to
be an Orthodox Jew to shep naches at
Mr. Liebermans combination of religious
devotion and athletic ability. When Mr.
Lieberman spoke after a home game
last month about what its like for him
to be an Orthodox Jew playing major
college hoops, Northwestern handed
approximately 200 purple yarmulkes
with an N printed on them to people who
attended. LARRY YUDELSON & ADAM SOCLOF/JTA
Does her hijab help her hoops?
Is whats good for the hijab good for
the Jews?
Certainly, the hijab head covering
makes the yarmulke and the sheitel less
lonely in the world of religious garb.
Its acceptance in American public
spaces and sports parallels the
acceptance of the kippa in public.
So in that case, it was very good news
for the Jews indeed when Bilqis Abdul-
Qaadir, a senior guard for the Indiana
State Sycamores, notched a career-
high 26 points against Missouri Valley
Conference opponent Drake over the
weekend.
A transfer from Memphis now
competing in her final year of NCAA eligibility, Ms. Abdul-Qaadir has
worn a hijab on the court since high school, along with long sleeves
and leggings. Ms. Abdul-Qaadirs faith and celebrity have taken her to
the White House to break the Ramadan fast with President Obama.
As for how Aaron Lieberman and Ms. Abdul-Qaadir would fare in a
one-on-one face-off surely religious Jew and religious Muslim would
agree that that wouldnt be a modest contest.
LARRY YUDELSON & JTA WIRE SERVICE
The wide world of
head-covered sports
Israeli kippa ban suspended
in part after protests
Despite fears that yarmulkes
could serve as a gateway head-
gear for other religions religious
garb, Israels soccer association
has suspended its ban on its mi-
nor leaguers wearing kippot fol-
lowing protests by athletes and
politician.
The Union of Soccer Referees
had banned the headgear
recently, saying that it was
hewing to the rules of the FIFA
International Soccer Association,
but the protests were effective.
Until the end of the season,
the status quo will remain for
lower leagues, and any observant
player who chooses to play
with a kippa will be able to do
so, Israels Soccer Association
said Friday in a statement. The
association did not specify its
policy on major league games.
The new announcement
followed protests by several
soccer players and cabinet
minister Uri Orbach.
The regulation against wearing
head coverings is stupid, Mr.
Orbach, Israels kippa-wearing
minister for pensioners affairs,
said in an interview on Army
Radio Thursday.
Yariv Tefer, who heads Israels
union of soccer referees,
reportedly had justified the rule
by saying that while he and his
colleagues have the utmost
respect for religion, they fear the
policy permitting yarmulkes may
lead to problems down the road.
The Jewish religion is not the
only one, for there is Islam and
other religions, each with its own
symbols, and this must be kept
outside the playing field, he said.
Israeli media reported on the
new regulation after a player
from Jaffa, Yair Cohen-Tzedek,
protested against the prohibition.
According to Army Radio, he
asked teammates on the minor
league Maccabi Kabilio Jaffa
team and fans all to wear kippot
at matches as a sign of solidarity
with his campaign to have the
new regulation scrapped.
A spokesman for the referees
union told Army Radio that
league matches are conducted
according to FIFA regulations,
which determine what players
may wear on the field. No
headgear of any kind is on the list.
If FIFA issues a different
regulation, we will act
accordingly, the spokesman said.
JTA
JS-4

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Local
JS-6*
Take a hike, local writer says
Chazin to share walking stories at Teaneck synagogue
LOIS GOLDRICH
Self-styled walking man Daniel Chazin of
Teaneck has enjoyed hiking since he was
young.
But then, about 36 years ago, he
became a scoutmaster. He leads Troop
226, a shomer Shabbat Boy Scout troop in
Teaneck that is now the only shomer Shab-
bat troop in Bergen and Passaic counties.
That caused him to take his interest to a
new level.
I started to do it more, Mr. Chazin said.
And I liked it.
Mr. Chazin, who has served on the
board of the New York-New Jersey Trail
Conference for more than 30 years and
now chairs its publications committee,
said he became even more involved in hik-
ing after joining the conference.
Now, after completing several thousand
hikes, he has many stories to tell. On Janu-
ary 12 he will tell some of those tales, and
show photos of his adventures, at Congre-
gation Beth Aaron in Teaneck.
Exploring Hashems Beautiful World
jointly sponsored by the synagogue and
its mens club and set for just before Tu
BShevat will focus on walking opportu-
nities in the New York metropolitan area.
While he still walks for pleasure, Mr.
Chazin, author of the newly published
Hike of the Week: A Year of Hikes in the
New York Metro Area as well as a column
in The Record, now I usually try to com-
bine that with some kind of purpose so I
can write them up, he said.
His new book awakens the inner hiker
in all of us, provides trail descriptions for
walkers ranging from the novice to the
expert, and reveals the hidden gems that
can be found and traversed right in our
own back yard, he added.
Mr. Chazin has edited a number of other
guidebooks, including the Appalachian
Trail Guide to New York and New Jersey,
the New York Walk Book, and Harriman
Trails: A Guide and History. His descrip-
tions of more than 300 hikes in the New
York-New Jersey area can be found online
at www.nynjtc.org.
Mr. Chazin, who is a lawyer by pro-
fession as well as a walker by avocation,
insists that anybody can pick up and hike.
It doesnt require special preparation. The
most important thing is to be reasonably
well-dressed and have a good pair of foot-
wear. Of course, he conceded, a certain
amount of stamina is needed for more dif-
ficult hikes.
There are different levels, he said, not-
ing that over the years he has particularly
enjoyed walks in the Catskills. They have
some unique features. Its more challeng-
ing, more of a wilderness. I really enjoy it.
Ms. Chazin said he started taking pic-
tures some 50 years ago. When The
Record began to include photos with his
column 10 years ago, he started taking
photos on all of his hikes. Today he has a
library of pictures covering nearly all the
parks in the area that have hiking trails.
He generally does more than 100 hikes
a year.
I try to look for new things, he said,
pointing out that while other guidebooks
might have similar hikes in the same parks,
I often come up with hikes that use some
of the same trails but in a different man-
ner, so that my hikes are different from
theirs.
In his talk, Mr. Chazin will discuss both
his hikes and his books, using a Power-
Point presentation to illustrate his adven-
tures. He noted that he would be happy to
sign copies of his book at the event.
His most memorable hike, which
almost became a search and rescue mis-
sion, took place about 23 years ago.
I was in the Catskills with a friend and
his brother, Mr. Chazin recalled, not-
ing that his friend wanted to climb all 35
peaks in the area before the end of winter.
With eight peaks left to climb, he and his
friend hiked the entire day and evening
in 20 degree weather returning to their
car in the wee hours of the morning. Con-
cerned for their safety, and having already
returned to the car, his friends brother
already had called the police, who were
poised to begin a search. Fortunately, that
didnt prove necessary.
Mr. Chazin said he has taken his Scout
troop on hikes throughout the area, from
the Ramapos to the Catskills.
Its fun, they enjoy it, and its good
exercise, he said. You see some very
interesting places.
And that, he said, is why more people
should hike, perhaps starting by follow-
ing the descriptions of each walk he has
chronicled.
He noted that religiously observant peo-
ple are no exception, pointing out that the
assistant rabbi of Congregation Beth Abra-
ham in Bergenfield is an avid walker.
It just means that you dont go out on
Shabbat, he said. But there are Sundays
and all the other days.
Who: Daniel Chazin
What: Presenting Exploring Hash-
ems Beautiful World
When: Sunday, January 12, at 10 a.m.
Where: Congregation Beth Aaron,
950 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck
Why: To explore walks in the greater
New York metropolitan area
For more information call (201) 836-
6210.
Daniel Chazin
A climber atop Cats Rock on the Appalachian Trail in Pawling, N.Y.
The view from Wyanokie High Point in New Jerseys Norvin Green State Forest.
Local
JS-7*
Sunday, January 19 through W
ednesday, January 22
Kosher Experience
will have a Grab & Go Fridge
selling food daily at the
Bear Paw Sweets & Eats located
in the water park lobby
S
u
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a
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, J
a
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u
a
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y
1
9
th
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o
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W
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, J
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2
2
Through
a Glass,
brightly
Federation Israel
trip includes latest
technology
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
T
he promise of his first trip to
Israel and the opportunity
to share it with friends through
the futuristic Google Glass
device was tempting enough for North-
ern Highlands Regional High School ten-
nis star Robert Kresch of Allendale to
forgo the court and join his family on the
Jewish Federations of North Americas
winter family mission during the holiday
break.
He did pack his racket, only to find that
the busy itinerary left him no time to use
it. I got over that relatively quickly, he
said with a smile.
Robbie and his 12-year-old sister, Haley,
their mother, Cindy, and her fianc, John
Shine, were among seven families on the
unusual mission, and the only ones from
Bergen County. The others live in Essex
County, Seattle, New York, and Washing-
ton, D.C.
Aaron Herman, JFNAs director of mis-
sions and development, planned and led
the 10-day trip. He also is in the Google
Glass Explorer Program, tasked with test-
ing the wearable computer. Voice com-
mands activate the eyeglass device; the
wearer can direct it to take and share
images, get directions and translations
(Hebrew is not yet available), and find
online information (How old is the West-
ern Wall?), all without lifting a finger.
Mr. Herman and his marketing team
realized that Google Glass could greatly
enhance Israel missions for participants
and for their friends and relatives back
home, so they partnered with the Chi-
cago-based iCenter for Israel Education
to organize the pilot. Two of the beta
devices accompanied the travelers.
Whats the difference between tak-
ing a video on Google Glass and taking
a video on a smartphone? Its the point
of view, Mr. Herman said. You become
the tripod, and you can tell the story in a
unique way. Israel has a different mean-
ing to everyone, and you can capture and
share yours in real time.
Up to nine people anywhere can sign
into a live Google Hangout via smartphone
or computer to watch the shared footage
and interact with its creator. Content can
be posted directly to social media sites.
Mr. Shine described Google Glass as
revolutionary. Most of us are used to
picking up something in our hand and
bringing it to our eye, where now you
dont have to do that. If you are looking
out over the Dead Sea, for instance, you
can take videos instantaneously and talk
about the thoughts in your head in one
seamless action, instead of stopping and
reaching for your phone or camera, and
the whole moment is gone.
Cindy Kresch and Robert Shine with Robbie and Haley Kresch in the
Golan Heights. COURTESY OF JFNA
SEE FEDERATION TRIP PAGE 35
Local
JS-8*
Zionist on the Hackensack
Israel advocacy organization opens local office
LARRY YUDELSON
To paraphrase Billy Joel: Who needs an
office out in Hackensack?
The Zionist Organization of America
does.
The ZOA dates back to 1897; as Theodore
Herzls first Zionist Congress met in Basel,
a group of mostly New York-based Zion-
ist clubs came together as the Federation
of American Zionists. In 1917, under the
presidency of Supreme Court Justice Louis
Brandeis, the group changed its name to
the one it has today.
Now it has become the first national
Jewish organization to base a New Jersey
regional office in Bergen County.
Thats where the Jews are, its presi-
dent, Morton Klein, said.
This area has the deepest population of
potential pro-Israel activists who can join
forces with ZOA, said Laura Fein, the new
executive director of ZOA New Jersey. Ms.
Fein lives in Teaneck.
Ms. Fein is working to expand ZOA
membership and create a local board,
while organizing events and bringing
in speakers over the bridge from the
organizations national headquarters in
Manhattan.
The New Jersey office is the ZOAs sixth
staffed local office; six months ago the
organization opened one in San Francisco
to serve the west coast.
The ZOA already has members and lead-
ers in Bergen County. Perhaps the most
prominent is Dr. Benjamin Chouake, who
sits on the ZOA national board and also is
the president of Norpac, the Englewood-
based pro-Israel political action commit-
tee, which raises money to support politi-
cal candidates who support Israel.
We work with Norpac and AIPAC, said
Ms. Fein, who was an AIPAC campus rep-
resentative when she was an undergradu-
ate at Harvard.
ZOA is mainly a grassroots organiza-
tion, she said. Its not an organization
where you have to be a million-dollar
donor to have a voice. Our board has
donors of many levels, people whose ideas
and expertise and volunteerism is their
impact. For people who are looking to get
involved and make a strong impact on the
national level, ZOA is a wonderful entry, a
small organization where a person who is
motivated can rise up quickly.
Morton Klein is a perfect example,
she continued. He came out of nowhere
more specifically, president of a small
Philadelphia ZOA chapter and became
the president and look at the impact he
had.
It was just over 20 years ago, soon after
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Orga-
nization signed the Oslo accords, that Mr.
Klein took the helm of the ZOA. He made
the small organization a significant player
in Jewish organizational life by taking a
staunch position against the Oslo process.
The ZOA is more uncompromising in
the positions it takes, is how Ms. Fein
put it. It is often out in front of other,
larger, more mainstream Jewish organiza-
tions in terms of taking hardline positions
that eventually, many times, are proven
correct.
She said that ongoing U.S. negotiations
with Iran are a perfect example.
Many of the main Jewish organizations
Laura Fein
A rabbi for the troops
Popular IDF lecturer to speak locally
LARRY YUDELSON
Its a long way from Rabbi Shalom Ham-
mers home in Beit Shemesh to Bergen
County, where he will be speaking at
schools and synagogues next week.
But its arguably not as large as the spiri-
tual distance the Monsey-born, Yeshiva
University-trained educator bridges in
his daily life as a lecturer for the Israeli
army, speaking at several army bases each
weak.
He lectures on ideology, under the aus-
pices of the army rabbinate.
I give them something to aspire to. I
remind them of the great service theyre
offering the Jewish people, he said. The
soldiers need to be inspired, reminded of
why theyre doing what theyre doing.
The response he gets from the predomi-
nately non-religious soldiers to whom he
speaks is positive, he added.
I know how to build a rapport with
them. They appreciate my open-mind-
edness, that Im kind of grounded and
approachable. I dont speak to them. I
dont preach to them. My idea is to show
what we have in common and commend
them for their tremendous effort, he said.
Rabbi Hammer said he feels theres a
tremendous interest in Judaism from a
lot of secular Jews. Not in religion by
which he means religious practice but
in Judaism, meaning the texts and teach-
ings of the Jewish tradition.
Most Israeli Orthodox rabbis, however,
arent in tune with whats going on with
society here, he said. Theres a tre-
mendous disconnect between the secu-
lar Jews here in Israel and between the
rabbis. Even a lot of religious Jews feel a
disconnect from the rabbis.
Rabbi Hammer treasures the individual
connections he has made with the sol-
diers he teaches. Last Shabbat, he hosted
a soldier who was interested in experi-
encing a Shabbat and seeing what it is
about; over Sukkot he hosted soldiers,
for some of whom it was their first time
in a sukkah.
Recently, Rabbi Hammer decided to
start teaching at non-religious kibbutzim
and villages.
I decided to take my own initiative,
to show that we have a lot more in com-
mon than we think. We can use Judaism
as a common agenda and can agree to
disagree.
He has been calling up kibbutzim and
speaking to the person in charge of pro-
gramming cultural events.
The cold-calling works.
Most of them are very welcoming,
though theyre a little suspicious at first,
he said. They appreciate that I explain
that I have no religious agenda, no issue
of kiruv proselytization that I want
to demonstrate the unity of Am Yisrael
the Jewish people by showing Jew-
ish ideas.
I usually have a source sheet they read
along. I have lectures on the definition of
Jewish strength, on leadership in our gen-
eration, on agriculture in the Jewish per-
spective. I try to find topics that will attract
them.
I approach the topics from sources in
the Torah. I demonstrate that theres a
huge amount of intelligence and brilliance
and lessons you can learn from Torah.
There are things to learn from this special
book of ours. Whether you decide to be
religious or not thats your own busi-
ness, he said.
Rabbi Hammers entry to Israeli life
came years ago.
He had been studying there toward his
ordination from Yeshiva University when
he received an offer to teach at an Israeli
yeshiva high school.
Like anyone from a modern Ortho-
dox background, he said, he and his wife
dreamed about living in Israel. You dont
know its a reality until it happens. The
opportunity presented itself.
He threw himself into the Israeli edu-
cational world, which was not all that dif-
ferent from the one with which he was
familiar.
If youre good at teaching, if its natural
for you, you can do it anywhere, he said.
Rabbi Shalom Hammer
Local
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were asked by the administration to soften their stance
on sanctions while negotiations were underway, she
said. Many of those organizations did abide by that
request. ZOA never did that. For the ZOA, the truth
is the highest priority. Often the politics has come
around to follow our policy.
The ZOAs prime focus in the Arab-Israeli conflict is
uncovering the truth of the Palestinian position and
the whole Arab worlds position on Israel. In reality
their goal is to eliminate Israel and continue their cam-
paign of violence against Israel and the Jewish people.
Another area of ZOA activity has particular reso-
nance for New Jersey the battle against anti-Zionism
and anti-Semitism on college campuses. The ZOAs
legal department headed by Susan Tuchman of
Tenafly has spearheaded an effort to use federal
civil rights law to defend Jewish students on campus,
including at Rutgers University.
Ms. Fein was a college activist at Harvard, organizing
Jewish events during the time of the first intifata, in the
late 1980s. After earning a law degree at Columbia, she
worked in anti-trust law in Washington for a number
of years, eventually moving to New Jersey and starting
to raise a family.
As Mr. Klein noted, both in conversation and in the
press release announcing her hire, she sends her chil-
dren to Jewish day schools.
With her youngest child now in preschool, Ms. Fein
had been thinking of returning to work but thought
she might be better suited for Jewish communal
activism than returning to the legal world. When she
mentioned that to Mr. Klein, an old family friend, he sug-
gested she apply for the New Jersey ZOA position.
Ms. Fein first met Mr. Klein at her parents home in Cherry
Hill; He was a friend of my parents, who have been involved
with pro-Israel activities in their area for many years, she
said. More recently, she has been on several ZOA missions
to Washington.
These are fraught times for supporters of Israel, Ms. Fein
said.
The Middle East is falling apart, the Iran situation could
be devastating because it really doesnt look like theres
American or international will to try to stop them firmly
from getting nukes, and the current Administration has
changed the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways
that would be of concern to anyone who is pro-Israel, she
said.
But this is also a perfect time for those people who are
strong pro-Israel to speak up and increase their activism and
find their voice and let the world at large know how they
feel, Ms Fein concluded.
Who: Rabbi Shalom Hammer
What: Will give two public lectures
Lecture 1
What: Tu bShvat seder with the Jewish
Learning Experience
When: Tuesday, January 14, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Congregation Rinat Yisrael, 389 West
Englewood Ave., Teaneck
How much: $10; includes dinner
For information: 201-966-4498 or rabbip@jle.
org
Lecture 2
What: Current Challenges in Israel: Soldier
Identity, Morale, and the Future of the Jewish
State
When: Wednesday, January 15, at 8 p.m.
Where: Congregation Arzei Darom, 725 Queen
Anne Rd., Teaneck
Co-sponsor: Zionist Organization of America
How much: Free
For information: lfein@zoa.org
The challenges the kids are going through here are
the challenges kids go through anywhere.
He encourages Americans who plan to make ali-
yah and teach in Israel to consider teaching Israelis as
opposed to going only to institutions that serve visiting
Americans.
The Israeli school system can use more Americans,
with their professionalism, he said.
Local
JS-10
Creating a world
Englewood author releases first of planned young-adult trilogy
JOANNE PALMER
F
antasy writers get to create whole
worlds.
That used to be done entirely
on the page, and so through
the readers imagination. If the writer was
really good, and also really lucky, that world
could move to the screen but that would
come much later.
Now, though, technoloy allows a writer
to create a world that is not conined to a
flat, two-dimensional page, and the Inter-
net can enhance and expand it.
Elisa Freilich of Englewood says that it is
a wonderful time to write fantasy for young
adults; she loves creating worlds, and living
in them herself.
Her irst novel, The Silent Echo, was
published in September by Diversion
Books; it is available both in print and as
an ebook. Her website, www.elisafreilich.
com, ills out the characters backstories,
while videos there tell some of those stories.
Music is vitally important to her characters.
Her protagonist, she tells us, had been mute
until the story starts, and her best friend is
deaf, so both the reality and the symbolism
of music says much to them. Thats why the
website is loaded with music. And as soon
as the book was published, an audio version
was recorded as well.
Silent Echo is the irst book of a planned
triloy; the next book is due in the spring.
Ms. Freilich, 42, has created worlds for
herself as long as she can remember. When
she was a child, she knew that she would
write, but it wasnt until her two older
children went to sleepaway camp that
she wrote her irst book. It took only two
months to transcribe the stories she had
cobbled together in her head for so long.
And then, with the magical ease that so
rarely flows in real life, she found an agent
and then a publisher.
Ms. Freilich, then Elisa Frommer, grew
up in Monsey in a modern Orthodox family
happy, but increasingly out of tune with
the ever-more-black-hat community around
her. It was just not the right it for us any-
more, she said, so eventually, once she was
grown, the family moved to Manhattan. Still,
it was the right place to nurture her imagi-
nation, she said. I am so happy that I grew
up there.
As a child, Ms. Freilich was a constant
reader, in the classic style. We didnt turn
on lights on Shabbos, she said. I had a bath-
room of my own, so I would leave the light on,
and I would lie on the floor in front of that
light. She went to the Frisch School in Para-
mus, where she was the editor of the literary
journal. In my mind, when I see something
I always think to myself about how I would
write about it, she said. I see the color red,
and I think about how I would describe it.
At Boston University, she majored in eco-
nomics something I never even imagined
myself doing, she said, but the professor
whose courses she took was so good that
I just kept signing up for them, she said.
After graduation, she worked in marketing,
married David Freilich, an ophthalmologist,
had three children Abigail, 17; Charlie, 13;
and Juliet, 10 and moved to Englewood,
where the family belongs to the East Hill
Synagogue. Her father died 11 years ago
a shattering blow to the family but the
extended family is very close; she now lives
around the corner from her mother.
Ms. Freilich is a crafter as well; she sees
objects, brings them home, and makes art
from them.
All this background explains why, when
she inally found the time to write, Ms.
Freilich produced a fantasy illed with
music and art and Greek mytholoy,
springing out of her head almost as Athena
emerged from Zeuss. (Thankfully, minus
the hammer blow to the cranium.)
The music in Silent Echo is wide-rang-
ing. Im obsessed with music and lyr-
ics, with everything from Cole Porter to
Eminem. I love Marcus Mumford. I really
wanted to write a book about music, so the
natural thing was to write about a siren.
From there, she moved logically to Greek
mytholoy. I always loved mytholoy, so just
before I wrote the book, I reread the Odyssey.
Its an amazing read for an adult; Harry Pot-
ter for adults. Homer only writes about the
sirens for a few verses, she added.
So then I took these mythological crea-
tures and gave them my own stories, she
said. She was drawn to the Greek gods as
models because they are flawed. They
have love affairs. They hurt each other.
They protect each other. They are very
human superhumans.
Her heroine, Portia, has been mute since
just after her birth, when she cried once.
Her best friend is deaf. And then she gets
her voice back.
When she irst wrote the book, Ms.
Freilich used lyrics from songs she loved.
And then I got wind of one very important
word, she said. Copyright. So instead
of trying to get permission to use preex-
isting work a process that can be both
time-consuming and expensive I thought
okay, Ill just take these lyrics out and put
my own in. And I did.
There are now a few dozen lyrics that are
integral to the plot, and as it stands now, we
are running a contest for readers to send in
musical submissions for how they imagine
the music to sound. From that, we are hop-
ing to download a soundtrack.
Although there is nothing overtly Jewish
in Silent Echo, it is written by an obser-
vant Orthodox Jew, and it shows. The book
has a lot of romance, but it is clean, Ms.
Freilich said. There will be no premarital
sex in my book.
And I wanted to create an environment
where it was okay for kids to be smart and
enjoy their classes.
I set it in a private school because thats
what Im comfortable with, although not a
religious one. The kids there are into their
studies.
I was that way. I often couldnt wait to get
to class. I wanted my characters to be that
way too.
On the other hand, she does live in the
real world. There are a few places where
there are a few curse words. I davened over
those decisions but it has to sound natural
to a 16-year-old. A 16-year-old will not say
Oh, shoot. But in terms of a moral compass,
I feel that authors writing for young adults
have a responsibility not to say that there
are no rules.
In my mind, when I
see something
I always think to
myself about how
I would write
about it. I see the
color red, and
I think about how I
would describe it.
JS-11
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Low and moderate income units also available, as low as
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Dont Just Live Life
Love It!
Local
JS-12*
Local ORT chapter installing officers
The Englewood & Cliffs chapter of ORT
America will install its new officers
at Flemings Restaurant in Edgewater
at noon on January 13. New officers
include President Doris Levin and vice
presidents Alice Macri, Lynda Summers,
and Gloria Salit. All are welcome. For
information call Flora at (201) 638-0084.
Hadassah region honors
outstanding women
Hadassahs northern New Jersey region held
its myrtle wreath celebration on December 8
at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck. The
celebration honors each chapters women of
valor the outstanding woman selected by her
chapter in recognition of time and energy she
has devoted to Hadassahs projects.
The event was co-chaired by Laurie Green
and Sheri Taback of Wayne.
The region also bestowed its highest honor,
the 2013 Myrtle Wreath award, to Aviva
Kempner of Washington, D.C. Ms. Kempner is
an award-winning filmmaker, journalist, and
philanthropist who has devoted her life to mak-
ing films that focus on social issues. Her docu-
mentaries include The Life and Times of Hank
Greenberg and Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg.
She now is working on a film, The Rosenwald
Schools, about Julius Rosenwald and his work
in building schools for African-American com-
munities in the South in the early 20th century.
Hadassahs northern New Jersey region
encompasses 26 chapters, spans six New Jer-
sey counties and parts of Staten Island, and has
more than 11,000 members.
Loren Roth, president of Hadas-
sahs northern New Jersey re-
gion, left, with Barbara Rothstein,
named 2013s woman of valor for
Hadassahs Fair Lawn chapter.
COURTESY HADASSAH
Lubavitch on the Palisades dinner
Lubavitch on the Palisades will hold its
18th annual gala dinner and auction cel-
ebrating Chai - 18 Years, Sunday at 5
p.m., at the Rockleigh. Francine and Gary
Lahm, Orna and Ezra Sofer, and Elizabeth
and Jon Warms will be honored for their
service.
The Lahms have lived in Cresskill since
1999 and have been active with LOTP
since 2006. Together, they volunteer for
chessed projects and attend Jewish Learn-
ing Institute classes. Francine Lahm is
vice president of the New York chapter of
the Association of Legal Administrators.
Gary Lahm serves as the Bergen County
liaison for Autism NJ and delivers kosher
meals on wheels.
The Sofers have been active members
of Lubavitch on the Palisades for many
years. Through Orna Sofers work in real
estate, she has introduced many families
to LOTP who attend its community pro-
grams including preschool, elementary,
and Hebrew schools and summer camp.
The Warms have lived in Tenafly for
many years; they have belonged to the
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades for 46 years.
Liz Warms is active in the National Coun-
cil for Jewish Women and Friends of the
Tenafly Library. Jon Warms is a past pres-
ident of Bnai Brith of Englewood and
the Rotary Club of Tenafly. He teaches
computer classes at the Kaplen JCC and
is a three-time councilman on Tenaflys
Borough Council. He is also a member of
Tenaflys planning board, environmental
commission, and board of health.
For information, call Lubavitch on the
Palisades at (201) 871-1152 or go to www.
chabadlubavitch.org/dinner.
Francine and Gary Lahm
Elizabeth and Jon Warms with Rabbi Mordechai Shain
Orna and Ezra Sofer
R
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Jonathan and Leah Silver
Rosenbaum Yeshiva dinner on Sunday
The Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey
in River Edge will hold its 76th annual din-
ner on Sunday, January 12, at Congregation
Keter Torah in Teaneck.
The guests of honor, Leah and Jonathan
Silver, have been an integral part of the
growth and success of RYNJ. Jonathan Sil-
ver, the schools vice president of finance,
has served the yeshiva for the past 14 years
as a board member and treasurer. Leah Sil-
ver has been an eighth grade girls morah
(teacher) since 1997. The Silvers are the
parents of RYNJ alumi, Tzvi, 2007, Avital,
2009, and Margalit, 2012, as well as Liat,
grade eight, and Pinny, grade five.
Ann Robbins, RYNJs Associate Princi-
pal for General Studies, will receive the
Educator of the Year award. She is cited
for her great work ethic and standard of
excellence.
For information, call (201) 986-1414 or
visit www.RYNJ.org.
Ann Robbins
P
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T
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S
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Winter power
networking breakfast
Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey hosts
a power networking breakfast on Tuesday, Jan-
uary 14, from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m., at JFNNJ head-
quarters in Paramus.
Josh Gottheimer, author, former presidential
speechwriter to Bill Clinton, political commen-
tator, and technology executive, is the guest
speaker. He will present An Insiders Look at
Political Gridlock in Washington: Is There Any
Relief in Our Future?
Event chairs are Jason Shafron and Arlene
Weiss. The couvert is $36 a person and dietary laws will be strictly observed.
For information, call Devra Karger at (201) 820-3951 or devrak@JFNNJ.org
or www.JFNNJ.org/powerbreakfast.
Josh Gottheimer
COURTESY JFNNJ
JS-13
TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFO, VISIT
jccotp.org OR CALL 201. 569.7900.
UPCOMING AT
ADULTS
KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades
PARENTS
JCC University
WINTER SESSION BEGINS JANUARY 30
Meet new people and enjoy informative and
interesting presentations by top professors and
experts. Upcoming topics include Art Deco New York:
From the Chrysler Building to the Grand Concourse,
Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense, The Supreme
Court and Its Justices, and more. To register, contact
Kathy at 201.408.1454 or kgraf@jccotp.org.
4 Thursdays, Jan 30, Feb 13, 27, Mar 13, 10:30 am-2:15
pm, $110/$140
1 Thursday, $35/$42
Details
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDI AKA DOODLEHEDZ
Look. Step back. Get closer. Find something in the image
that you didnt see at rst glance. A string, the shape of a
particular bean, a spool of thread. Life is about the details.
These photos are snapshots of life taken by photographer
Randi Lauren Klein, who searches for details that exist in
everyday life. From the calles of Cuba to the Shouks of
Israel and then home to the streets of New York City. No
matter where you go, take the time to look for Details.
ON VIEW in the Waltuch Gallery throughout the month
of January.
College Admissions
Workshop
FOR PARENTS OF TEENS IN 10TH12TH GRADE
Abbie Rabin, Director of Personalized College
Consulting, LLC will ofer parents invaluable
advice and information on the college
admissions process and college life.
Topics include: Finding the best college t,
what schools really look for, and how much
test scores and GPAs matter. To register,
call Sara Sideman at 201.408.1469.
Sun, Jan 12, 3 pm, Free
iWorkshops
EGL FOUNDATION COMPUTER CENTER
FOR ADULTS 40+
Learn how to use your iPhone or iPad to their full
potential. For more information call Rachel Pasher
Eijkenaar at 201.569.7900, ext. 309.
IPHONE: 2 Thurs, Jan 16 & 23, 10:3012:30 pm, $20/$25
IPAD: 2 Wed, Feb 12 & 19, 1:303:30 pm, $20/$25
FILM
WINTER REGISTRATION
Sign up early to make sure you get the classes you
want! Classes begin week of Jan 26. Visit jccotp.org or
consult the program brochure for a full list of programs.
WAYS TO REGISTER
ONLINE visit jccotp.org
IN PERSON NEW Register at the main lobby front desk
during the following times: Mon-Thurs 9 am6 pm,
Fri 9 am12 pm, Sun 9 am5 pm
BY PHONE call 201.408.1448
Terribly Happy
A FILM/DISCUSSION SERIES
WITH HAROLD CHAPLER
A diabolical Danish comedy, adapted from a
novel by Erling Jepsen, that is a witty, expertly
constructed psychological thriller. It takes
place in a small town whose residents seem to
be harboring buried secrets. It begins when a
teenager is caught shoplifting and quickly involves
everyone in a wickedly entertaining lm whose
facetious tone is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock.
Mon, Jan 13, 7:30 pm, $3/$5
IS OPEN
Editorial
1086 Teaneck Road
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Publisher
James L. Janoff
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Joanne Palmer
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Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson
TRUTH REGARDLESS OF CONSEQUENCES
Why Eliot Spitzer
could not heal
T
he news that Eliot Spitzer and his wife,
Silda Wall, are divorcing occasioned, it
would seem, by his liaison with his former
spokeswoman is tragic, and not just for
them and their children.
What it demonstrates is that many men Anthony
Wiener is another example cannot heal even after
losing almost everything.
Nearly everyone believes that a man who cheats
on his wife does so primarily for sex. Men crave and
need variety. They are especially susceptible to the
erotic charms of a younger woman. Mystery solved.
When the Tiger Woods cheating scandal broke,
I was invited on CNN to discuss why he did it. The
other male panelist on the show piped up, Is this
some kind of puzzle? The guy is rich and famous. He
has unlimited access to all the beautiful women in
the world. And men want lots of women. So he slept
with anyone who was willing.
Theres your explanation. Its not deeper than
that.
It was my turn. In that
case, then why did Tiger
Woods cheat with the
same woman over and
over again? There was no
variety. All his girlfriends
were near exact copies
of his wife. They were all
blonde-haired, blue-eyed,
Nordi c- l ooki ng bomb-
shells. But he already had
that at home. If he was
looking for variety, where
was the Asian woman, the
brunette, the curvaceous plus-sized woman?
Men cheat not for sex but for validation.
The vast majority of husbands who are unfaithful
would never shoplift or steal a car. Rather, they are
broken on the inside and seek external validation on
the outside. Like flying buttresses on the outside of a
building, both Spitzer and Wiener needed political
office to prop up their broken sense of selves, which
is why, even after resigning from their posts, they
could not purge the bug from their system and had
to run again.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood soon will publish
his latest boo, Kosher Lust: Love is Not the Answer.
Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
JS-14*
A comics
gesture of hatred
M
any of us recently
learned a new word
from various media
sources: Quenelle.
The words true meaning in
French is fish dumpling.
Now, though, it has come to mean
a gesture one hand pointed down-
ward, the other touching the shoul-
der. Move the arm out and in front
of the head images of Nazi rallies
come to mind. In fact, French Inte-
rior Minister Manuel Valls is quoted
as calling it an inverted Nazi salute.
The gesture has been popular-
ized by Dieudonn MBala MBala,
a French stand-up comic, who says
that the quenelle isnt meant to be
anti-Semitic its really more of
a shove it gesture, aimed at the
French government.
Undoubtedly there were some in
1930s Germany who said that the
Heil Hitler gesture was nothing to
worry about.
But now people are taking photos
of themselves doing the quenelle in
front of synagogues or Jewish busi-
nesses. Theres even one photo of a
man doing the quenelle in front of
the Toulouse synagogue where Al-
Quaeda operatives murdered four
Jews in 2012.
We note, with some measure of
relief, that Frances top security offi-
cial wants to ban the comedian and
his unfunny gesture from any stage.
What is also scary is that groups
that otherwise hate one another,
such as Muslims and Frances far
right, are finding, through the
quenelle, that they have anti-Semi-
tism in common.
Indeed, even such sports stars
as the Belgian-born Tony Parker of
the NBAs San Antonio Spurs and
his teammate Boris Diaw, who is
French, have been photographed
doing the quenelle. Parker later
apologized, saying that he had
no idea that the gesture might be
anti-Semitic.
While we are all for freedom of
speech and the press, there is way
too much history in this part of
Europe demonstrating the ways in
which words and gestures can lead
to violence and marginalization. The
French Jewish community already is
embattled; often Jews in Paris both
natives and visitors find it prudent to
remove their kippot, for safetys sake.
Dieudonn has been convicted in
French courts on several occasions
for inciting racial hatred or anti-
Semitism. Hes been quoted as call-
ing 2014 the year of the quenelle.
This comedian isnt funny.
He should be booed offstage. And
we should not ignore the fact that
gestures such as the quenelle rep-
resent the lava-hot ooze of French
anti-Semitism, just looking for a
place to erupt.
-PJ
Freezing together
Y
ou look at numbers like 4.
Or 6. Or 8. Its childrens
ages, right? Or their grades
in school? Or womens
clothing sizes? Small women?
Um, no. Not this week. Although
it is entirely possible that by the
time you read this, on Friday or Sat-
urday, all these numbers will have
faded into an unpleasant memory,
they are the temperatures that con-
front us this week.
And, of course, we are lucky. To
our north and west, those numbers
4, 6, 8 had a minus sign in front
of them. Below-zero temperatures
tormented the Great Plains.
The improbable-looking weather
charts weve been seeing this week
recall the book of Jeremiah: And
the word of the Lord came unto me
the second time, saying: What seest
thou? And I said: I see a seething
pot; and the face thereof is from the
north. Except, of course, that this
week the pot contained nothing that
seethed. It just held ice.
We have learned a lot of new
vocabulary from this phenomenon
polar vortex, Blue Norther, weather
whiplash that have warmed the
hearts (if no other body parts) of
the weather poets among us. We
have yet more evidence albeit not
convincing enough for all of us of
global climate change.
But mostly we have learned, yet
again, that there are some things
that overcome all divisions. Ortho-
dox, Conservative, Reform, Recon-
structionist, secular; Jewish, Chris-
tian, Muslim, Hindu we all froze
together.
As unlikely as it seems, spring is
coming. Tu BShevat, its first harbin-
ger, starts on Wednesday night.
How wonderful it would be if
we could all keep the memory of
togetherness in adversity in mind
as we thaw.
-JP
Rabbi
Shmuley
Boteach
TRUTH REGARDLESS OF CONSEQUENCES
Why Eliot Spitzer
could not heal
T
he news that Eliot Spitzer and his wife,
Silda Wall, are divorcing occasioned, it
would seem, by his liaison with his former
spokeswoman is tragic, and not just for
them and their children.
What it demonstrates is that many men Anthony
Wiener is another example cannot heal even after
losing almost everything.
Nearly everyone believes that a man who cheats
on his wife does so primarily for sex. Men crave and
need variety. They are especially susceptible to the
erotic charms of a younger woman. Mystery solved.
When the Tiger Woods cheating scandal broke,
I was invited on CNN to discuss why he did it. The
other male panelist on the show piped up, Is this
some kind of puzzle? The guy is rich and famous. He
has unlimited access to all the beautiful women in
the world. And men want lots of women. So he slept
with anyone who was willing.
Theres your explanation. Its not deeper than
that.
It was my turn. In that
case, then why did Tiger
Woods cheat with the
same woman over and
over again? There was no
variety. All his girlfriends
were near exact copies
of his wife. They were all
blonde-haired, blue-eyed,
Nordi c- l ooki ng bomb-
shells. But he already had
that at home. If he was
looking for variety, where
was the Asian woman, the
brunette, the curvaceous plus-sized woman?
Men cheat not for sex but for validation.
The vast majority of husbands who are unfaithful
would never shoplift or steal a car. Rather, they are
broken on the inside and seek external validation on
the outside. Like flying buttresses on the outside of a
building, both Spitzer and Wiener needed political
office to prop up their broken sense of selves, which
is why, even after resigning from their posts, they
could not purge the bug from their system and had
to run again.
Op-Ed
Women are the ultimate scaffolding.
But because the brokenness is internal, no exter-
nal accoutrements can ever compensate for an
absent sense of self. Like a drug, the illicit liaison
can counter the pain only for so long, until it needs
to be consumed in ever greater quantity. That is why
men become womanizers or porn addicts.
Men cheat not because they dont love their wives
but because they hate themselves. Fifty-six percent
of men who cheat rate their marriages as happy
or very happy. Another study found that 80 per-
cent of cheating men had no interest in leaving their
wives. They have affairs not because their wives are
not loving but because their shattered sense of self is
resistant to real caring.
Conversely, men do not refrain from affairs
because they love their wives. On the contrary, often
a loving spouse unwittingly convinces her husband
that even if he cheats he will be forgiven. Rather, a
husband refrains from the deceit of adultery because
he has an inner commitment to moral behavior and
gets more pleasure from nobility of spirit than from
illicit sex.
What impedes any deep understanding of infi-
delity is the publics natural assumption that most
affairs are sexual when, increasingly, affairs today
are virtual and involve no physical contact. Many
affairs are conducted over the phone or by text, and
they are never consummated.
In truth, men have affairs not out of physical depri-
vation but emotional crises. Marriage counselor M.
Gary Neuman, a friend and fellow rabbi, found that
only 8 percent of cheating men cited sexual dissatis-
faction as the main cause of their infidelity; 48 per-
cent said their primary reason was emotional unhap-
piness. Furthermore, only 12 percent of the cheating
men described the other woman as more physi-
cally attractive than their wives, which puts the lie to
the commonly held wisdom that men are unfaithful
because theyre looking for younger, prettier women.
Men cheat not out of a sense of confidence but out
of a state of brokenness. Not out of a sense of how
desirable they are but out of a sense of what failures
they have become. And this is especially true of men
in the public eye, like Elliot Spitzer and Anthony
Weiner, who live in hypercompetitive environments
where they feel that they are only special so long as
they keep on winning.
The public makes the mistake of assuming that
powerful, successful men are the most confident,
that elite sport stars like Tiger Woods are unflappa-
ble, when precisely the opposite is true. Everyone
who seeks the spotlight, whether in sports, televi-
sion, or politics, does so to compensate for some
inner feeling of inadequacy. Their gnawing insecu-
rity becomes the very engine of their success. Thus,
they reason to themselves, if I become a rich busi-
nessman or a powerful politician, Ill finally be some-
body. But money and power are ultimately worthless
currencies when it comes to purchasing self-esteem.
Aristotle made clear more than two millennia ago.
Great men are always of a nature originally melan-
choly, he wrote. Outwardly successful men usu-
ally are inwardly broken in some way, manifested
in their reaching outside themselves for validation,
usually in the mistaken belief that external achieve-
ment will establish their value, when, in truth, only
wholesome relationships with God, our families,
and communities, based on faith, intimacy, and
authenticity, will give us the sense of significance
we so badly seek.
JS-15*
Murder by stoning
Palestinian terrorists forgotten weapon
T
he weapons used by Palestinian terrorists
against Jews are well known: suicide bombs, like
the one that killed my daughter Alisa in 1995;
knives, like the ones used to slaughter the Fogel
family in Itamar two years ago; rifles, like the one used in
the sniper shooting of the infant Shalhevet Pass in Hebron
in 2001.
Sometimes we forget that there is another terrorist
weapon that can be lethal: the rock. Last week, there
were two reminders of that
tragic fact.
One of the terrorists the
Israeli government released
last month was Taktuk Ibra-
him, who was serving a sen-
tence of life imprisonment for
his participation in the murder
of a 24 year-old reserve soldier,
Binyamin Meisner. In Febru-
ary 1989, Ibrahim and several
fellow terrorists lured Meisner
into an alley in Nablus, where
they ambushed him and stoned him to death. Binyamin
and his family had immigrated to Israel from Argentina.
They lived in the town of Kiryat Tivon, where Binyamin
was the star of the local water polo team.
By coincidence, on the same day that Meisners killer
went free, an Israeli military court convicted one of
the participants in the 2011 murder-by-stoning of Asher
Palmer and his 11-month-old son, Yonatan. Ali Saada
and his friend Waal al-Arjeh, a member of the Palestinian
Authority security forces, carried out the attack in Sep-
tember 2011. Three fellow terrorists helped with the plan-
ning. They decided to throw rocks from a moving car at
an Israeli car traveling in the opposite direction, because
the combined speed of the vehicles would increase the
damage they could do significantly.
Their target, Asher Palmer, an American citizen, was
driving on Highway 60, not far from his home in Kiryat
Arba. Yonatan was strapped in a baby seat in the back.
The two were on their way to meet Ashers pregnant
wife Yonatans mother when the terrorists struck.
The rocks smashed through the front windshield, hitting
Asher directly in the head and causing the car to crash,
killing both father and son. A Palestinian passerby, She-
hada Shatat, witnessed the attack. Instead of calling for
medical assistance, he stole Ashers wallet and gun and
fled the scene.
At least 11 other Israelis have been murdered by Pales-
tinian rock-throwers. In 1983, Esther Ohana, 20, was near
Hebron, on her way to her wedding rehearsal, when rocks
were thrown at the car in which she was riding. One rock
struck Esther in the head, and she died.
In 1990, a 4-year-old Arab boy was killed when he was
hit in the head by a rock thrown by Palestinians who mis-
takenly thought the car in which he was riding was an
Israeli auto.
Eleven year-old Chava Wechsberg was a passenger in a
car traveling in the Gush Etzion region in 1993, when Arab
rock-throwers attacked, causing the car to crash; Chava
was killed.
Many other Israelis have suffered severe injuries from
Palestinian rocks. In fact, not long before Binyamin Meis-
ner was stoned to death in that Nablus alley, another
young soldier, 20-year-old Dan Cohen, was permanently
paralyzed after being struck in the head and neck by
rock-throwers on the very same street.
Most Americans have no trouble recognizing the lethal
danger of rock-throwing. Recall the case of three drunken
teenagers who threw rocks at cars on the Capital Beltway
in Washington, D.C., in 1990. Thirty drivers and passen-
gers were wounded, including a girl who suffered irre-
versible brain damage. The attackers were convicted of
assault with intent to murder and each was sentenced to
40 years in prison. An editorial in the Washington Post at
the time correctly asked, Whats the difference between
assault with a deadly weapon a shooting and assault
with rocks that hit cars at potentially lethal speeds?
There is no difference, of course, to any reasonable
person. But theres a very big difference to New York
Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman and some of his
colleagues. In an April 2012 column, Friedman endorsed
what he called nonviolent resistance by Palestinians
and then listed boycotts, hunger strikes, and rock-throw-
ing as examples of such resistance.
A New York Times Sunday magazine cover story in
March 2013 glorified the Arab village of Nabi Saleh as a
center of unarmed resistance. Amidst his cheerleading
for brave young Arab demonstrators confronting cruel
Israeli soldiers, author Ben Ehrenreich mentioned in
passing that unarmed activity includes throwing rocks
or, as he put it, throwing stones while dodging tear-gas
canisters and rubber-coated bullets. The Timess bureau
chief in Israel, Jodi Rudoren, followed in August with a
page one story about a heroic Arab teenager who seem-
ingly has no choice but to throw rocks at Israelis. Its a
rite of passage, according to Rudoren. Her article was
headlined My Hobby Is Throwing Stones.
Rock-throwing is not non-violent. Its not unarmed
resistance. Its not a hobby a word that conjures up
images of playing chess or collecting baseball cards. Its
attempted murder.
Last months release of Binyamin Meisners rock-throw-
ing killer, and the conviction of one of the Palmers rock-
throwing killers, is a grim reminder of that truth.
JNS.ORG
Stephen M. Flatow of West Orange is an attorney. His
daughter, Alisa, who graduated from the Frisch School
in Paramus, was killed in a Palestinian suicide
bombing in 1995.
Stephen M.
Flatow
A Palestinian boy throws a stone at Israels
security fence. JUSTIN MCINTOSH VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Op-Ed
JS-16*
The stories of Menachem Stark
JOANNE PALMER
N
ew Yorks Mayor Bill de Blasio
won his office with his tale of
two cities.
Now, we all are watching the
unspooling of a tale of two stories of two
competing versions of one man and of
the reactions that flow logically from each
narrative.
Do we mourn the violent death of fam-
ily man Menachem Stark, a well-loved hus-
band, father of eight children, generous
and respected pillar of his community?
Or do we mark the unsurprising although
brutal and terrible murder of slumlord
and sleazy businessman Max Stark?
Do we think that the New York Post,
with its blaring headline Who Didnt
Want Him Dead? was playing on despi-
cable anti-Semitic stereotypes?
Do we think the Jewish community has
an obligation to close ranks to defend Mr.
Stark?
Lets try to unpack this a bit.
First, the Post.
The Post is a tabloid, vulgar and vital
down to its DNA. Remember The Front
Page? Or His Girl Friday? Those were
over-the-top but not inaccurate versions of
tabloid culture, then as now. Or, for that
matter, such gemlike headlines as Head-
less Body In Topless Bar? (That one is
from the Post, in 1982.) Or even Ford to
City: Drop Dead? (That headline, brilliant
in its passion and its compact thorough-
ness, was in the New York Daily News in
1975.) The pressures on a big-city tabloid
daily a news format now in its death
throes are immense. Thats true even if
that tabloid, unlike the Post, is not owned
by Rupert Murdoch, who probably could
turn a potato farm into a pressure cooker.
The headline did exactly what a head-
line should do. It made people notice the
newspaper, pick it up, and read the story.
Many members of the Satmar commu-
nity, along with the politicians who rep-
resent them, cried foul at the headline. It
would be easier to feel more sympathy
with them had they ever demonstrated a
similar sensitivity to such headlines when
they were directed at, say, black people.
Or Hispanics. Or Asians. Or standard-
issue non-Jewish white people. Or even,
for that matter, non-chassidic Jews. The
Post belittles and degrades the people
unlucky enough to end up pictured on its
front page routinely. It is an entirely equal-
opportunity offender.
Was it anti-Semitic to picture Mr. Stark
in his streiml, payes corkscrewing down
his face? Well, no. Thats what he looked
like. The outfit, it is fair to say, appears
outr to outsiders. That makes the front
page even more compelling.
There is no way to argue that what hap-
pened to Mr. Stark was anything other
than barbaric. He was kidnapped, suffo-
cated, and partially burned; his bruised
body was found stuffed in a garbage can
in a Long Island gas station. Every mans
death diminishes me, wrote the very non-
Jewish John Donne, expressing a Jewish
truth. We are all diminished by such evil.
Theres no argument there.
But who was he? According to the New
York Times which, despite its faults,
is not a tabloid Mr. Stark was widely
known as a slumlord, whose renters lived
in substandard conditions because he
chose not to provide them with the ser-
vices for which they paid him. He seems
to have taken advantage of the powerless,
something we Jews are mandated not to
do. He had declared bankruptcy; he was
known to be in financial trouble; he was
thought to hang around with hard, bad
men. It seems fair to say that outside his
community, his business ethics were
questionable.
We are told that inside his community
he was well respected; we are told, as if
of course it is always true, that his fam-
ily loved him. We are presented with sac-
charine and told that it is gold. In fact, we
have no idea about his relationship with
his family. What we do know is that start-
ing with Bereishit, in the very beginning,
our own texts teach us that families are
not necessarily happy. Thats why we have
novels, and poetry, and opera. We can
make no such assumptions, nor should we
be expected to make them. They also are
irrelevant. We cannot pursue with more
vigor murder victims whose families loved
them.
And then there is the question of anti-
Semitism. Mr. Stark seems to have lived
out many of the stereotypes that bedevil
us his business dealings were question-
able, and he seemed to have one set of
standards for his community, and another
for outsiders. And if anything has fanned
anti-Semitism, it is the spectacle of his
community and their politician friends,
demanding special treatment.
So in the end we see that a brutal, vio-
lent, and horrific crime has raised more
questions than answers. Maybe the only
conclusion we can draw now is that we
dont know enough yet to make assump-
tions, that crying anti-Semitism immedi-
ately is counterproductive, and that even-
tually the story will come out, as stories
always do. Until then, we should withhold
judgment.
Dont blame Hillel
Last November, when former
Knesset member and Jewish
Agency chair Avraham Burg
appeared at Harvard, a left-
wing Jewish group at the uni-
versity issued a news release
declaring Burg Barred from
Speaking at Harvard Hillel. The
campus newspaper reported
that Hillel Leaders Seek To
Open Discourse as Policy Bars
Speaker.
No, Burg did not speak at
Harvard Hillel, but rather in a dorm common
room. Because his appearance on campus
was cosponsored by a Palestinian group that
supports the movement to boycott Israel,
Harvard Hillel chose not to host his talk,
following guidelines set out by its national
movement. Those guidelines say that Hillels
will not partner with, house, or host organi-
zations, groups, or speakers that support
boycott of, divestment from, or sanctions
against the State of Israel.
Those guidelines, which also reject part-
nerships with those who deny the right of
Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic
state, are under scrutiny of late. Members
of the Swarthmore Hillel voted to reject the
national policy and instead declared they
would partner and dialogue with people
across the political spectrum, whether they
be Zionist, anti-Zionist, post-Zionist, or
non-Zionist. The Burg inci-
dent has been cited in most
articles about the controversy,
usually as an example of how
the Hillel guidelines are sup-
pressing dialogue over Israel.
Hillel has defended its
guidelines as a sensible way to
fulfill its mission, which is to
build an enduring commit-
ment to Jewish life, learning,
and Israel, as its president
and CEO, Eric Fingerhut, put
it this week. From this perspective, Burg
wasnt barred from Harvard Hillel; rather,
Hillel chose not to partner with a sponsor of
his talk. I cant think of a private organization
in this country religious, civic, social that
doesnt have parameters about whom it con-
siders a friendly or useful partner. The notion
of free speech was never intended to force
private organizations to make nice with
adversaries. As Matti Friedman reminds us
in Tablet, Anti-Zionism in 2013 is the belief
that this country Israel should not exist
that it should, in some way, be made not to
exist. Im sure most gay rights groups dont
cosponsor events with proponents of repar-
ative therapy that is, the eradication of gay
behavior.
Andrew Getraer, executive director of Rut-
gers Hillel, explained the guidelines to me
this way: If a student wants us to cosponsor
a speaker who is dealing with Israel from the
perspective that Israel has no right to exist
as a Jewish state, Hillel guidelines direct me
that I cannot cosponsor that event. Practi-
cally speaking, thats very useful. It gives our
students a sense of what Hillel stands for. We
want to engage Jewish students wherever
they are at, and with a wide range of options,
but we do have limits.
Nevertheless, critics of the guidelines say
they are censorship, pure and simple. This
is an attack on free speech in its most naked
form, said a Harvard student who felt Hillel
should have hosted the Burg appearance.
At heart, however, this is not a free speech
issue at all. Its really an internal Jewish debate
over how big the big tent should be. I sus-
pect that some of the Swarthmore students
and other critics of the Hillel guidelines arent
rebelling against Hillel, but against years of
Jewish education that offered a narrow view
of what was permissible or acceptable in talk-
ing about Israel. Jewish institutions, starting
with Hebrew schools and expanding out to
Birthright and the range of advocacy pro-
grams, do a great job in creating a sense of
pride in Israel and its accomplishments. They
are much less adept in conveying the com-
plexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or
discussing the kinds of wrenching internal
Israeli debates reported so vividly in Ari Sha-
vits new book, My Promised Land.
Some students exposed to these complexi-
ties as they emerge from the bubble of Jewish
education are clearly overcorrecting in the
interest of open debate. So too are Jewish
students whose only exposure to Israel, Get-
raer reminded me, is through the lens of con-
flict or criticism.
But Jewish organizations have also overcor-
rected: Seeing the rise in anti-Israel sentiment
on campus, they sometimes treat Jewish col-
lege students as victims and, worse, as chil-
dren who need the protection of adults who
know better.
Hillels, in this sense, are taking a hit for
the missteps of others. The Hillel guidelines
allow for a wide range of opinions and dis-
agreements within what strikes me as flex-
ible parameters they specifically encour-
age local Hillels to create their own Israel
guidelines that are consistent with this docu-
ment and reflect the local environment. That
leaves room for a Hillel to partner, say, with
a Muslim group on nonpolitical activities, or
entertain a debate on BDS short of sponsor-
ship. If some students dont feel safe in airing
their views, that may be the failing of the stu-
dent or professional leaders who interpret the
rules. And many of those leaders are prod-
ucts, I suspect, of Jewish upbringings that did
not value a full, probing dialogue on Israel.
If our educational and advocacy institu-
tions were more willing to discuss Israels
challenges as well as its triumphs, our college
kids would be better equipped to deal with
Israels critics and more willing to live within
the framework of the mainstream Jewish
institutions, starting with Hillel.
Andrew Silow-Carroll of Teaneck is editor-in-
chief of the New Jersey Jewish News
Andrew
Silow-Carroll
Letters
Corrections
JS-17*
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www.jstandard.com
Cover Story
In the cover story last
week, a sidebar about
Carey White featured a
photo of Dorothy Roff-
mans daughter, Sharon.
This is Carey White, who
has been a student of Ms.
Roffmans, a teacher in
her school, and now the
parent of another of her
students.
Carey White
Doing the math
Rabbi Shammai Engelmayers
column last week, Taking aim
at acceptable deaths, included
an arithmetic error; .0008 per-
cent of 317 million is 25,360.
That does not change the point
of the article that any number
of deaths can be acceptable,
Rabbi Engelmayer writes.
Insulting generalizations
In his response to a query concerning
the behavior of a specific rabbi in a Mid-
western city (Dear Rabbi, January 3),
Rabbi Tzvee Zahavy, whose smicha, like
mine, comes from Yeshiva University,
makes the following assertions concern-
ing Orthodoxy in general:
Orthodoxy maintains, first, that it
is the only true form of Judaism, that
all other varieties are falsifications of
the religion. Orthodoxy maintains, sec-
ondly, that Jews must shun other forms
of Judaism lest they be granted legiti-
macy. In the system of thought that jus-
tifies Orthodoxy, its okay to do what
needs to be done, and even to disrespect
other forms of Judaism, because the very
survival and future of Judaism (and the
world) hangs in the balance.
Were such insulting generalizations
printed about any of the other denom-
inations of Judaism, a public outcry
would ensue. It seems to me, however,
that Orthodoxy often is perceived as fair
game.
Lets get something straight. As an
Orthodox Jew and rabbi, I do believe
that my brand of Judaism is correct.
If I believed anything less, I would not
be true to myself. I would also expect
leaders of other denominations to
firmly maintain the correctness of
their approaches. That does not mean,
however, that I believe that Jews must
shun other forms of Judaism lest they
be granted legitimacy. It certainly does
not mean that I believe that its okay
to disrespect other forms of Judaism.
I and countless other rabbis and lay
leaders within the Orthodox commu-
nity place a high premium on interde-
nominational activities, discussions, and
programs. We preach and believe in the
value of all Jews in fact, in the value
of all human beings. To suggest that we
condone the disrespecting of other
forms of Judaism is downright disre-
spectful and insulting to us.
Compounding the problem is the
fact that these broad allegations were
printed, not in a personal opinion col-
umn but in a supposedly objective Dear
Rabbi column. Rabbi Zahavy rightly
claims that Our community benefits
greatly from those who reject divisive-
ness and narrow-mindedness and to
instead pursue comity and understand-
ing with vigor and persistence. I firmly
agree. I am hard-pressed, however, to
understand how his own column has
furthered those lofty goals.
I often have maintained that our
relationship with others in the Jew-
ish community should be guided by
the principle of valuing each others
contributions without totally validating
each others beliefs. I hope that future
columns will continue to reflect this
balance. The community expects and
deserves no less.
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin
Congregation Ahavath Torah
Englewood
Rabbi Tzvee Zahavy responds:
I am disappointed that Rabbi Goldin
twice uses the term insulting to charac-
terize my advice in his angry and defen-
sive response to my column. My objective
explanations, background, and advice are
based on many volumes of learned aca-
demic publications and on my extensive
and thoughtful experiences as a professor
and rabbi over four decades. My words
are chosen with great care, and my advice
intends to foster understanding and good-
will in our community.
In his response, Rabbi Goldin evades
the issue of my column. He does not tell us
whether he would attend a bat mitzvah to
which he was invited at a Conservative syn-
agogue and pray in the sanctuary with the
congregation, or whether he would stand
in the hallway, or whether he would make
an excuse and not attend the service at all.
My column aims at focusing on issues
by answering the questions of individu-
als who have the right to seek and receive
respect and dignity and meaning in their
lives through Judaism.
Cover Story
JS-18*
JOANNE PALMER
E
lephants arent particularly
human-looking. They dont
appear to be cuddly no one
would mistake a baby elephant
for a kitten or a fawn and they are too
odd to be easily anthropomorphized.
But they have something some
huge majesty that makes people fall in
love with them, especially if they are lucky
enough to see them in the wild.
Thats what happened to Max and Josh
Kauderer of Englewood, who were lucky
enough to go to East Africa with their fam-
ily two summers ago.
Max, who is now 17, was particularly
taken with the massive mammals. Once
he had been enchanted by the elephants
he saw, he learned more about them.
Beneath their entirely alien-to-human
appearance are some very human char-
acteristics. Before, I knew that they were
amazing, but I didnt know that they were
unique, Max said. But then he found out
that they can live up to about 80 years.
They can relate to humans, and they can
show emotion.
They have burial ceremonies when a
member of their family dies. They grieve;
they can play with other elephants. They
show signs of grief, passion, humor, coop-
eration, self-awareness, gratefulness. They
can use tools.
You can see an elephant building tools
out of basic items leaves and branches.
It can build a shovel, and a ball, and then
throw it to play with their kid.
I throw a ball for my dog to fetch. They
can do that too, throw a ball, but its a ball
theyve made.
They are amazing creatures.
Elephant Highway
Englewood brothers use
Jewish values to save animals
Cover Story
JS-19*
And then he learned more.
One day, we get back to the lodge, and
two park rangers come running into the
main room, he said. They both yell that
there had just been an elephant killed, just
a mile away from there.
He had not realized that elephants
were endangered, but he learned quickly.
Guides took him close to where the one
the rangers had told him about had been
killed. It was partially closed off, but you
could sort of see the elephant carcass, he
said. It was horrible.
Then I did some research, he contin-
ued. About 30,000 elephants are killed
each year. Thats one every 15 minutes.
Elephants are killed for their ivory tusks.
A poacher in Africa will get about $350 to
kill an elephant, Max said. That is about
$2 to $3 per kilo. By the time the tusks are
smuggled to Asia, now its main market, a
kilo will sell for over $8,000.
The profit margins are unbelievable.
The countries where the elephants are
killed are desperately poor, and although
ivory smuggling is illegal enforcement is
lax, so the trade continues.
Max is not judgmental about the
poachers, though. The people
in the villages who are killing the
elephants have nothing, he said.
They are choosing between their
babies and these elephants. If only
one can survive, its a no-brainer
what they will pick. Or what they
should pick.
The blame should be assigned to the
consumers who buy the ivory, he said;
meanwhile, the way to deal with this situa-
tion is to offer microfinancing. Invest in a
village, and that investment will expand to
the whole village, and then to the region,
he said.
This explanation seems fairly typi-
cal coming from Max Kauderer; it is a
combination of the emotional and the
well-researched, the subjective and the
objective, that has propelled him and
his brother to create Elephant Highway.
The organization, named after the wide
elephant-made path the creatures take
through the bush, works to save African
elephants.
It is based on a combination of Maxs
passion and Joshs technical expertise.
Max is the frontman, and Josh, 16, who is
more technically oriented, puts together
the website, www.elephanthighway.org,
and handles most of the back-office work.
The brothers go to high school at the
Fieldston School in Riverdale, N.Y., but
both went to the Solomon Schechter Day
School of Bergen County through eighth
grade; their 10-year-old twin brother and
sister are students there now. Part of their
drive for Elephant Highway comes from
what they learned at Schechter about
tikkun olam, the Jewish obligation to try to
change and better the world. They learned
as well about the human obligation to take
good care of animals.
The brothers researched how to set up a
nonprofit; Elephant Highway is now wait-
ing for the IRS to finalize its 501c3 status.
The website takes donations. It also sells
t-shirts, which the brothers arranged to
have printed in Orlando, Fla., as well as
beaded elephant-shaped key chains, hand-
made in a village in South Africa. We also
buy artwork from villagers in Tanzania
and Zambia, Max said.
The brothers also encourage theoreti-
cal elephant adoption. The money they
make, both from sending real objects and
overseeing the exchange of symbolic ones,
is donated to organizations in East Africa
Part of their drive
for Elephant
Highway comes
from what they
learned at
Schechter about
tikkun olam.
Max Kauderer, above, and his brother Josh, at right, started the nonprofit
Elephant Highway. ALL ELEPHANT PHOTOS BY JOSH KAUDERER
SEE ELEPHANT PAGE 20
Cover Story
JS-20*
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and South Africa that basically will save the elephants in
those regions, Josh said. The brothers have partnered with
four larger groups in this effort, he added. One of those
groups, the Kenya-based Big Life Foundation, employs 280
rangers. They have outposts and vehicles to protect 2 mil-
lion acres of wilderness. Their job is not easy, but with our
funds they can set up cameras.
The two young men have pressed their case by working
at local private homes in Riverdale. We go to local schools
and do some lessons. We go to nursing homes. We help
organize carnivals; through Elephant Highway we set up
assemblies at schools across the area, Max said.
I am very involved in film and video, Josh added. I make
videos for Elephant Highway that show the problem; I go to
assemblies about it with PowerPoint presentations.
They also tell the elephants story through social media,
according to Rabbi Adina Lewittes of Shaar Communities,
one of the two synagogues to which the Kauderers belong.
(The other is Temple Emanu-El of Closter.)
Elephant
FROM PAGE 19
It takes kids who know how to harness technology
and social media and put it to good use, beyond just
their own social use, to begin such a project, Rabbi
Lewittes said. Its a distinguishing mark of kids today,
who can see the power of social media. One of the
things I was most taken with on their website is the
list of organizations they were coordinating with. It
shows an awareness that none of us is saddled with
the responsibility of being the only answer.
Were all part of the answer, and part of that is part-
nering with other people, and seeing ourselves as part
of the puzzle.
The work the Kauderer brothers have been doing
also is very Jewish in many ways, Rabbi Lewittes said.
Its rooted in our tradition.
They grew up in a family culture where the parents
instilled in their children the sense that when there
is something you see that needs attention, no matter
who you are, you can find a way to make a difference.
In fact, you must do so.
Next, there is the question of personal responsibility.
We are not responsible for everything, but we are
responsible for those things that we have the capacity
to do, Rabbi Lewittes said.
Max and Joshs parents are Shari Levinthal and Ste-
ven Kauderer. They have always been kids who tried
to do stuff, Ms. Levinthal said. When they went to
Schechter, they saw all the tikkun olam that went on
there, and it became a part of them.
She was not surprised that her sons came home
from Africa appalled by the way elephants were being
killed off. What really impressed me is that Max and
Josh actually sat there and figured out what to do.
It was amazing.
They filled out the forms for the IRS 501c3. They did
it all themselves.
Im a lawyer, but thats not the kind of law I do.
They just did it they showed it to me days after it
was done.
And they sourced all the t-shirts. The funniest part
was to watch them try to figure out which colors go
together. For teenage boys, that was amazing.
She also has watched her sons make presentations
at fairs. At the fair in Tenafly, I saw Max had a crowd
of people around the booth, she said, They sold a
ridiculous number of shirts and bracelets. They made
$1,200 that day alone.
You can see their passion. They draw crowds
because theyre so excited, she said.
Jewish World
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Who can marry in Israel?
Meet the bureaucrat who decides
who can have a wedding in the Jewish state
BEN SALES
JERUSALEM To be married in Israel, immigrants
must prove their Jewish ancestry to the countrys chief
rabbinate.
Couples can solicit a letter from their hometown rab-
bis or present their parents Jewish marriage contracts.
Sometimes they even bring a Yiddish-speaking grand-
mother before a rabbinical court.
In the end, every claim has to pass through one man:
a midlevel bureaucrat named Itamar Tubul.
The soft-spoken 35-year-old is the rabbi who heads the
chief rabbinates personal status division. Thats a job
that places him at the center of a crisis brewing between
the chief rabbinate and the modern Orthodox commu-
nity in the United States.
In October, Rabbi Tubul rejected a proof-of-Judaism
letter from Avi Weiss, the liberal Orthodox rabbi who
leads the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the Bronx.
The move sparked widespread outrage because Rabbi
Weiss, a longtime leader who had vouched for the Jew-
ishness of many Israeli immigrants in the past, suddenly
found his reliability called into question.
Rabbi Tubul rejected the letter from Rabbi Weiss after
two members of the Rabbinical Council of America, the
modern Orthodox rabbinic organization of which Rabbi
Weiss is a longstanding member, questioned Rabbi
Weiss commitment to Orthodox Jewish law.
They said there were problems with his worldview,
Rabbi Tubul said. His system raised doubts regarding
his non-deviation from what is accepted in matters of
proof of Judaism and personal status.
The chief rabbinate says it is considering whether it
can trust Rabbi Weiss, who has pioneered a number of
controversial innovations in the Orthodox world, most
recently with his decision to ordain women as clergy
through a new religious seminary called Yeshivat Maha-
rat. Critics say the process for evaluating American rab-
bis lacks transparency and objective standards.
To make his recommendations, Rabbi Tubul relies on
a network of personal contacts. His first step is to confer
with judges on nine U.S. rabbinical courts approved by
the chief rabbinate. If the judges dont know the rabbi
in question, or if they doubt his credentials, they refer
Rabbi Tubul to local colleagues.
After soliciting their recommendations, Rabbi Tubul
accepts or rejects the letter.
There arent enough checks and balances in the
system, said Rabbi Seth Farber, the founder of Itim,
an Israeli organization that guides couples through the
chief rabbinates bureaucracy. This is all capricious. Its
all who they happen to know. Thats not a way to run a
state.
Rabbi Tubul said that he corresponds with at least
three rabbis about every American letter he investigates,
and that he never rejects a letter based solely on an ini-
tial negative recommendation.
We check every possibility to complete the puzzle,
he said. If someone says you cant trust [a letter], we
dont reject it. Sometimes there are interested par-
ties that we dont want to deal with, so we investigate
further.
In the wake of the Weiss decision, the chief rabbinate
has entered negotiations to give the RCA more say in
the evaluation process. According to a draft agreement
obtained by JTA, the chief rabbinate will consult with
the RCA on every questionable letter before making a
decision.
In addition, the RCA would provide the chief rabbin-
ate with a list of rabbis accredited to give proofs of Juda-
ism, marriage, and divorce.
For the chief rabbinate to rely more formally on the
RCA for approval of these letters is a question of help-
ing the process along, Rabbi Mark Dratch, the councils
executive vice president, said. Cooperation will help
both sides be able to serve more appropriately and pre-
vent the kind of embarrassment that exists from time
to time.
The RCA does not have the power to override Rabbi
Tubuls decisions. Ziv Maor, a spokesman for the chief
rabbinate, said that the RCA will be a partner in the pro-
cess, but final authority will still rest with Rabbi Tubul.
Nothing in the draft precludes individual rabbis
within the RCA from conveying their concerns about
other rabbis directly to the chief rabbinate. And while
Rabbi Dratch said that the organization stands by Rabbi
Weiss authority to vouch for Jewishness, he acknowl-
edged that most of the groups members do not support
Rabbi Weisss innovations.
A majority of RCA members feel that some of his
decisions are pushing the halachic red line or beyond
that, Rabbi Dratch said. Our goal is to be able to sup-
port the rabbis of the RCA, to be able to make sure
that their letters are accepted by the chief rabbinates
office.
Its unclear whether the reforms being developed
will satisfy the chief rabbinates critics, Rabbi Weiss
included. His lawyer in Israel, Assaf Benmelech, said
that formalizing the process even more could result in
the creation of more unnecessary bureaucracy.
Better, Mr. Benmelech said, for the chief rabbinate
simply to take a wider view of who counts as Orthodox.
When you have a known rabbi who knows Jewish
law, he should be trustworthy, he said. To place formal
boundaries is stupid. Its all about personal trust.
JTA WIRE SERVICE
Itamar Tubul, the head of the Israeli chief rab-
binates personal status division, decides which
American rabbis are qualified to vouch for the
Jewishness of Israeli immigrants.
Jewish World
JS-22*
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Boycott not happening
Still, academic groups
discussion raises hackles
RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON Until recently, the rule
of thumb in the pro-Israel community
was that the bigger the academic group,
the less likely it was to consider a boycott
of Israeli colleagues.
But with the 30,000-member Mod-
ern Language Association set to host
a panel on BDS at its convention this
week in Chicago, the rule may have to
be reconsidered.
Supporters of the boycott, divestment,
and sanctions movement have scored
some victories in recent months, mostly
among smaller groups. The American
Studies Association, which endorsed
a boycott resolution last month target-
ing Israeli academic institutions, claims
about 4,000 members.
Though the Modern Language Associ-
ation will not consider an outright boy-
cott of Israeli universities, it will consider
a resolution calling on the U.S. State
Department to oppose the arbitrary
denials of entry to American academics
seeking to teach or conduct research at
universities in the west bank and Gaza.
They proposed the travel resolution
as a fallback, said Cary Nelson, an asso-
ciation member and former president of
the American Association of University
Professors. Theyre trying something
else as a step toward a boycott resolution
the next time.
If they can win this, they will move
onto the next one.
In a conference call Tuesday orga-
nized by the Israel Action Network,
Dr. Nelson argued that the Modern
Language Association did not deserve
the scorn it has weathered for hosting
the panel, which will feature five BDS
supporters and no opponents. The panel
is among several hundred to be held at
the convention, and Dr. Nelson said such
panels typically reflect a single point of
view and are not debates.
The Modern Language Association
also already is on record opposing aca-
demic boycotts. In response to the
removal of two Israeli scholars from a
British journal, the group adopted a res-
olution in 2002 calling boycotts based
on nationality or ethnic origins unfair,
divisive, and inconsistent with academic
freedom.
Still, activists on both sides of the
issue say the success of individual boy-
cott efforts is less important than the fact
that boycotts are being discussed at all.
The mere calling for a boycott will
impede the free flow of ideas, Russell
Berman, a comparative literature pro-
fessor at Stanford University and a past
Modern Language Association presi-
dent, said on the conference call. The
calling of a boycott will have a chilling
effect on academic life.
Rosemary Feal, executive director of
the Modern Language Association, said
what is truly alarming is the notion that
just convening a panel implicates the
group as anti-Israel.
Its chilling, the idea that putting on
a session is wrong, that it signifies fore-
gone conclusions, Dr. Feal said.
Samer Ali, the associate professor of
Middle Eastern studies at the Univer-
sity of Texas in Austin who convened
Professor Cary Nelson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says
that if the Modern Language Association adopts a measure on academic
freedom in Israel, it could pave the way to a wider boycott of Israeli aca-
demia.
Jewish World
JS-23
the panel, said the point is to shed light on Israeli
practices.
I think the only tangible benefit to come out of aca-
demic boycotts of Israel (and the ASA vote, the MLA
roundtable, etc.) is generating discussion about the
daily effects of the occupation, he wrote in an email.
Far from sparking a wave of pro-boycott measures,
the vote by the American Studies Association has
engendered a broad backlash, with more than 100
university heads speaking out against it.
Some may argue that BDS is picking up momen-
tum, said Geri Palast, who directs the Israel Action
Network, an initiative of the Jewish Council for Public
Affairs and the Jewish Federations of North America.
The reality is that the broad academic community is
rejecting BDS in terms of its singling out one country
and saying there is only one narrative. We are winning
this debate.
Dr. Nelson said he would attend the BDS panel to
offer his opposition before heading to a nearby hotel
to speak on a panel organized by the campus group
Hillel and the Israel on Campus Coalition.
Notably, there were signs of disagreement between
academics opposed to BDS and pro-Israel groups over
how best to counter such resolutions. The Conference
of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations,
for instance, in its appeal to universities to reject the
American Studies Association boycott also called on
them to cut off the group.
I can understand that reaction, Dr. Berman said.
But I dont think I would want to elevate the principle
that political statements should be grounds for aca-
demic sanctions.
JTA WIRE SERVICE
BRIEFS
After 10 years, largest eruv
in U.K. going operational
The United Kingdoms largest eruv will be usable for the
first time this Shabbat.
The Manchester eruv took 10 years to plan and con-
struct and is the U.K.s most technically complex enclo-
sure, according to the London Jewish Chronicle.
Eruv experts from Jerusalem spent 10 days inspecting
the enclosure before declaring it ready for use on Fri-
day, the newspaper reported. The boundary is 13 miles
long and cuts across three boroughs of Manchester.
According to Jewish law, the eruv permits religious
Jews to carry items in public on Shabbat, including
pushing baby carriages.
Meanwhile, the Conference of European Rabbis has
published what it says is the first comprehensive list of
kosher products certified by European kashrut authori-
ties. The items are searchable by country, brand name,
food type, and kashrut authority.
This online resource is a fantastic example of how
modern technoloy can be used to make religious life
a little easier, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of
the Conference of European Rabbis, said in a statement.
The project comes following a huge amount of hard
work over recent months, and we will of course con-
tinue to update and improve it.
JTA WIRE SERVICE
Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/jewishstandard
JS-24
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has opened up a whole new
world for me. I should have done
this years ago.
- Carolyn
Audiologist services are rst
rate. The Lyrics make me feel
30 years younger.
- Elizabeth
Im on the phone all day and I was having a
hard time hearing. With the patience of a saint
my doctor straightened out my hearing.
- Joel
On my birthday I wished I never had to wear
my hearing aids again. With the Lyric my wish
came true.
- Jenny
Tu Bish
What?
Supervising license NJ #489
Day schools trying
to put new face on financial aid
JULIE WIENER
T
ehiyah Day School in El Cerrito,
Calif., had a problem.
Like many Jewish day schools
throughout North America,
Tehiyah has plenty of students from lower-
income families and a number from afflu-
ent ones. But it couldnt seem to recruit
and retain many middle-class students,
even as it devoted increasing amounts to
financial aid.
Middle-class parents felt they wouldnt
be considered for financial aid or were just
on the border of whether they could get
aid, said Bathea James, Tehiyahs head of
school. For many who felt they were rea-
sonably financially successful, to fill out a
financial aid form just wasnt something
theyd be willing to consider.
So last year, Ms. James tried a new strat-
egy: Instead of posting a single tuition
price and urging those who couldnt afford
it to apply for a scholarship, the school
now posts a tuition range, from $7,950 to
$22,450 for the 2014-15 academic year.
Known as indexed tuition, the plan per-
mits parents to pay reduced tuition. To
qualify for lower amounts, parents still
must submit financial forms not entirely
unlike what was required in the old aid
application.
So the change is more about presenta-
tion than substance. But Ms. James said
something about the system feels different.
Its a door opener for middle-income
families, she said. They say if its based
on what I can afford, lets at least have a
look at it.
In response to mounting concerns about
the increasing affordability of Jewish edu-
cation, day schools across North America
are experimenting with new approaches
to tuition and financial aid.
Some, like the Oakland Hebrew Day
School in California, have introduced
indexed tuition models, sometimes also
referred to as flex or sliding scale
tuition. Others have moved to cap tuition
as a percentage of family income.
The Solomon Schechter School of
Greater Boston launched its iCap program
in the 2012-13 term. It guarantees a fam-
ily will never be required to spend more
than 15 percent of its household income on
tuition. It means families with incomes as
high as $400,000 more than four times
SEE DAY SCHOOLS PAGE 26
Kindergarten teacher Nirit Yakov lights a menorah with Inbal Cohen, a student at
Tehiyah Day School in California. COURTESY OF TEHIYAH DAY SCHOOL
Jewish World
JS-26
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the median household income in Massa-
chusetts can still be eligible for financial
aid if they have three or more children
enrolled and have assets under a certain
threshold.
As with Tehiyahs indexed tuition, iCap
isnt actually costing the school any more
money; most families would receive simi-
lar assistance had they applied for finan-
cial aid under the traditional system. But it
does help with sticker shock, particularly
for families who by national standards are
far from poor but still struggle to cover the
cost of a Jewish day school education.
Most families in that high-end income
bracket dont even imagine they would
qualify for a scholarship, said Dan Perla,
program officer for day school finance at
the Avi Chai Foundation. The iCap pro-
gram, he said, makes it really easy and
really transparent.
Another Boston school, Maimonides,
is introducing a version of the program
next year. And the Avi Chai Foundation
is helping two other day schools Beit
Rabban in Manhattan and the Robbins
Hebrew Academy in Toronto pilot simi-
lar efforts.
Some schools are developing elaborate
and sometimes costly discounts designed
not just to attract new families but to
reduce attrition.
Hillel Day School in suburban Detroit is
launching a tuition subvention program
in 2014-15 that provides a tuition credit
to each student. The credit increases
by $1,000 each year a child stays in the
school, regardless of family income.
Milwaukee Day School tried a similar
approach, offering tuition discounts that
continue each year a student remains in
the school. The strategy resulted in the
enrollment of 55 new students last year.
That was one of the largest increases ever
seen by the school, according to Head of
School Brian King.
But the incentive, which was a one-time
offer available only to students enrolled
at the school during the 2012-13 academic
year, failed to arrest the schools long-term
decline in enrollment. The school now has
190 students, down from last years 208.
One approach Mr. Perla and other
experts generally discourage is across-the-
board tuition cuts, which they say can be
financially unsustainable and do not lead
to long-term enrollment gains. A recent
study of 200 schools conducted by Mea-
suring Success, a consulting firm special-
izing in data analysis for nonprofits, found
that contrary to conventional wisdom,
raising tuition does not lead to decreased
enrollment.
In addition, many point to the experi-
ence of several Cleveland-area Jewish day
schools, which collectively decreased
tuition in the early 2000s without seeing
an increase in enrollment or fundraising
revenues in the years that followed.
Two of the schools eventually raised
tuition again and now are initiating more
modest incentives, providing discounts
for Jewish communal professionals and
families that recruit other families.
JTA WIRE SERVICE
Day schools
FROM PAGE 25
Solution to last weeks puzzle. This weeks puzzle is on page 36.
Briefs
JS-27
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Dutch soccer team leaves
Israeli player at home
Dutch soccer club Vitesse has come under fire for its
decision to travel to Abu Dhabi without star Israeli
defender Dan Mori after United Arab Emirates officials
barred Mr. Moris entry.
According to the Vitesse spokeswoman Esther Bal,
the club originally had permission to bring Mr. Mori,
but UAE officials withdrew the guarantee the day
before the trip, DutchNews.nl reported.
As a football club, we steer clear of politics and reli-
gion, Ms. Bal said.
Israels Dutch embassy condemned the move, say-
ing such discrimination in sports is regrettable when
sports should be beyond politics.
Dutch nationalist politician Geert Wilders also
criticized the club. Vitesse did not have to go, Mr.
Wilders tweeted. They are now accepting the Emir-
ates Jew-hate. Cowardly. JNS.ORG
Pipe bomb thrown at Rachels
Tomb wounds Israeli man
An Israeli man was wounded in the face Monday after
a pipe bomb thrown toward the upper parking lot at
Rachels Tomb in Bethlehem exploded, Israel Hayom
reported. The bomb was thrown from the Palestinian
side of the complex.
The man, 25, had gone to the site to pray. The victim
refused to be taken to the hospital, and received medi-
cal treatment at the scene.
The past year has seen a rise in the number of secu-
rity-related incidents at Rachels Tomb, with Palestin-
ians hurling rocks, firebombs, and homemade pipe
bombs almost every day toward the walled complex.
JNS.ORG
Rabbi Ovadia Yosefs Talmud
to go up for auction
When Rabbi Ovadia Yosef died last October, he left a
unique Talmud set originally published in Munich in
1949. Later this month, the Kedem Auction House in
Jerusalem will publicly auction it. The 19 book set is
the first Talmud edition printed in Germany after the
Holocaust. Designed to commemorate the fact that it
was printed on German soil, it features illustrations of
a Jewish township and a concentration camp with the
caption, A labor camp in Ashkenaz in the days of the
Nazis, and a passage from Psalms (119:176) reading, I
have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant; for
I do not forget thy commandments.
The set is expected to fetch $40,000 to $50,000.
JNS.ORG
Netanyahu: No west bank
evacuations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at
a Likud party faction meeting on Monday that there
would be no evacuation of Jewish communities in the
west bank in a peace deal resulting from the current
U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations.
A settlement freeze during negotiations is not on
the agenda, Netanyahu said. The talks are not about
dismantling settlements. NS.ORG
Tu b Shvat
JS-28*
Israels ancient and historic trees
MICHAEL BROWN
I
n 2013, the Society for the Protection of Nature in
Israel published a survey of mature trees in Jerusa-
lem that was the most comprehensive of the recent
SPNI surveys, including some 4,000 trees, accord-
ing to the societys marketing and communications coor-
dinator, Danielle Berkowitz.
Many of the trees identified through such surveys have
rich histories and stories attached to them. In fact, hun-
dreds of trees throughout the Jewish state illuminate
fascinating aspects of Israeli history and culture. For Tu
bShvat, the Jewish Arbor Day, here is a small sampling of
those trees.
Gethsemane Olives
Behind a high-stone wall, just outside the Old City walls,
stand some of the most famous trees in Jerusalem, if not
the entire country. These trees, producing the olives of
Gethsemane, are set in a small grove revered by Christians
because of its connection to Jesus.
In 2012, the National Research Council of Italy, along
with researchers from several Italian universities, inves-
tigated the eight trees at the site. Samples of wood were
taken from several of the trees and carbon-dated to 1092,
1166, and 1198. That would make the trees at least 900
years old ancient by any standard.
It is possible that the trees could be even older. Olives will
readily sprout from the roots, so if the top growth of
the trees was cut down or died at some point, their
true age may not be accurately reflected.
Gush Etzion
The Lone Oak in Gush Etzion, halfway between Jeru-
salem and Hebron, has served as an area landmark
for more than 600 years. After the 1948 War of Inde-
pendence, it became a symbol of Jewish return to
the land.
Today, Gush Etzion is a collection of kibbutzim,
moshavim, and villages with more than 70,000 resi-
dents. Though the land was purchased in the 1920s,
the first successful settlements there started in the
early and mid-1940s. By 1947, the total population was
450 people.
On November 29, 1947, life at Gush Etzion changed
forever. On this date, the United Nations voted on the
plan to partition Palestine. Less than two weeks later,
the settlements found themselves under siege, and
over the next few months they were under continuous
attack. Within six months, hundreds of settlers had
been massacred or taken as prisoners. Their buildings
were completely destroyed, and thousands of trees
were uprooted.
During the 19 years that Gush Etzion area was under
Jordanian control, the Lone Oak was just about the
only identifiable landmark visible from the Jerusalem
hills. It came to symbolize the former residents desire
to return to their homes (and in fact today the oak is
the logo for the regional council).
After the 1967 Six Day War returned Gush Etzion to
Israel, the sons and daughters who had been evacu-
ated during the siege requested permission to return
to their lands. The first kibbutz there, Kfar Etzion, was
re-established in September 1967.
Hurshat Tal
Hurshat Tal is one of the northern jewels in Israels
national park system. Expansive lawns, together
with streams and pools of clear cool water, combine
to make this a particularly inviting spot. The park is
In Jerusalem, trees producing the olives of Gethsemane
are set in the small grove pictured here. The grove is
revered by Christians because of its connection to Jesus.
JUANDEV VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Lone Oak in Gush Etzion. YUVAL COOPERAN VIA PIKIWIKI ISRAEL
Tu b Shvat
JS-29*
THE ELISABETH MORROW SCHOOL
Morrow House Entrance at
480 Next Day Hill Drive, Englewood, NJ
www.elisabethmorrow.org
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014
9:00 11:00 a.m.
Presentation starts at 9:15 a.m., followed by campus tour.
To register, call 201. 568.5566 x7212 or
admissions@elisabethmorrow.org.
OPEN
HOUSE
ems_JewishStand_Quarter_12-5.indd 1 12/5/13 2:06 PM
OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
Jewish Federation
follow us!
www.jfnnj.org
Explore!
Building a Mishkan:
Making Room for God in Our Lives
Sweet Tastes of Torah
A community night of study, discussion,
music, and fun!
Saturday evening, February 1 @ 6:30 pm
Snow date: February 8
Fair Lawn Jewish Center
10-10 Norma Avenue, Fair Lawn
Musical Havdalah @ 6:50 pm
Choose from 20+ classes
Dessert and schmoozing to follow
$
18 per person pre-registered by Jan 29
$
23 at the door
Name(s):
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Cell:
Email:
Preliminary Program
online credit card registraton
www.sweetastesoforah.weebly.com
Checks should be made payable to:
North Jersey Board of Rabbis
32 Franklin Place, Glen Rock, NJ 07452
Questons? sweetastesoforah@gmail.com
201-652-1687
Sweet Tastes of Torah
Facebook: Sweet Tastes of Torah
twiter.com/sweetorah
Presented by the North Jersey
Board of Rabbis with support from
Jewish Federaton of Northern New
Jersey and local synagogues
readily sprout from the roots, so if the top growth of
the trees was cut down or died at some point, their
true age may not be accurately reflected.
Gush Etzion
The Lone Oak in Gush Etzion, halfway between Jeru-
salem and Hebron, has served as an area landmark
for more than 600 years. After the 1948 War of Inde-
pendence, it became a symbol of Jewish return to
the land.
Today, Gush Etzion is a collection of kibbutzim,
moshavim, and villages with more than 70,000 resi-
dents. Though the land was purchased in the 1920s,
the first successful settlements there started in the
early and mid-1940s. By 1947, the total population was
450 people.
On November 29, 1947, life at Gush Etzion changed
forever. On this date, the United Nations voted on the
plan to partition Palestine. Less than two weeks later,
the settlements found themselves under siege, and
over the next few months they were under continuous
attack. Within six months, hundreds of settlers had
been massacred or taken as prisoners. Their buildings
were completely destroyed, and thousands of trees
were uprooted.
During the 19 years that Gush Etzion area was under
Jordanian control, the Lone Oak was just about the
only identifiable landmark visible from the Jerusalem
hills. It came to symbolize the former residents desire
to return to their homes (and in fact today the oak is
the logo for the regional council).
After the 1967 Six Day War returned Gush Etzion to
Israel, the sons and daughters who had been evacu-
ated during the siege requested permission to return
to their lands. The first kibbutz there, Kfar Etzion, was
re-established in September 1967.
Hurshat Tal
Hurshat Tal is one of the northern jewels in Israels
national park system. Expansive lawns, together
with streams and pools of clear cool water, combine
to make this a particularly inviting spot. The park is
dotted with hundreds of huge Mt. Tabor
oaks, among the largest in the country.
According to local legend, 10 of the
Prophet Mohammeds messengers once
rested in Hurshat Tal. With no trees to
provide shade or hitching posts, they
pounded their staffs into the ground to
fasten their horses. Overnight, the staffs
grew into trees, and in the morning the
men awoke to find themselves in a beau-
tiful forest.
Bahai Gardens, Haifa
One of Israels major tourist destinations,
and a World Heritage site to boot, the
Bahai World Centre is an architectural
and landscaping masterpiece. Haifa and
its northern neighbor, Akko, have great
significance for the 5 million adherents of
this 19th-century religion.
The genesis of the gardens came in 1891,
when Bahai religious leader Bahaullah
and hi s son ascended the Carmel
mountain. Together, they walked until
they arrived at a small clump of cypress
trees. At that point, Bahaullah indicated
to his son that this would be the future
center of Bahai.
Today, the small clump of cypress trees
can still be found on the grounds of the
garden. They are little changed from how
they appeared more than a hundred years
ago.
So, next time you visit Israel and pass
by a gnarled ancient tree, take a moment
to reflect on the story behind it. Perhaps
it was planted by early Jewish colonists
working for the Turkish authorities, or
perhaps it has outlived whole towns or vil-
lages that existed on the same spot in pre-
vious centuries. At one point, it may have
been a landmark in an otherwise barren
countryside now crowded with buildings
and automobiles. Every tree has a story.
You just have to ask. JNS.ORG
An oak tree in Hurshat Tal. RAM EISENBERG VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The Bahai Gardens in Haifa. ZVI ROGER VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Tu b Shvat
JS-30*
Is proud to announce the winners of our
Inclusion Art and Essay Contest
Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 High School
1st Prize: $100 1st Prize: $250 1st Prize: $250
2nd Prize: $75 2nd Prize: $200 2nd Prize: $200
ART
Grades 3-5
1st Place - Adina Zahtz (RYNJ - 4th Grade)
2nd Place - Lily Levine (RYNJ - 5th Grade)
Grades 6-8
1st Place - Nina Gerszberg (JKHA - 7th Grade)
2nd Place - Anya Weitz (RYNJ - 7th Grade)
High School
1st Place - Carmi Kaye (Maayanot - 10th Grade)
2nd Place - Dalia Mermelstein (Maayanot - 9th Grade)
ESSAY
Grades3-5
1st Place - Rebecca Arian (JKHA - 4th Grade)
2nd Place - Avigayil Davidowitz (RYNJ - 3rd Grade)
Grades6-8
1st Place- Rivki Hook (RYNJ - 8th Grade)
2nd Place- Leora Shua (JKHA - 8th Grade)
High School
1st Place - Dafna Fliegelman (RKYHS - 12th Grade)
2nd Place - Rachel Ehrlich (Maayanot - 11th Grade)
Mazel tov to Grand Prize winner Rivki Hook
(selected by random drawing from the frst place winners)
Honorable Mention
Jacob Colchamiro, JKHA, 5th Grade
Avraham Frolich, RYNJ, 3rd Grade
Noa Garfnkel, RYNJ, 7th Grade
Judah Gross, SINAI@RYNJ, 7th Grade
Amira Isenberg, RYNJ, 6th Grade
Shoshana Jeselsohn, Maayanot, 9th Grade
Tamar Nissel, Maayanot, 10th Grade
Abigail Rubin, RKYHS, 11th Grade
Anny Safer, RYNJ, 7th Grade
Estee Shefey, RYNJ, 4th Grade
Soshie Weisz, SINAI Maor @ RKYHS, 9th Grade
Thank you to all of the students who participated, the teachers who encouraged them,
and to our partner schools for creating an inclusive community!
www.sinaischools.org
Half of each winners prize money will be donated by SINAI
Schools to a tzedakah or charity of the winners choice.
Thank you to our prize sponsors.
GRAND PRIZE
$5,000 towards a trip to Israel
(Sponsored by Joe Sprung and BearGivers Foundation)
PRIZES
Thank you to our judges:
Rabbi Shimshon Jacob - SINAI Graduate and Teacher at RKYHS Dr. Zvi Marans - President, Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey
Mr. Joe Sprung - Founder and President, BearGivers Foundation
Together We Are a Symphony
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
This contest, which was open to students in SINAIs ve partner schools, asked children
to consider what it means to be part of a school that includes children with different
abilities, and how inclusion impacts not only themselves but the entire community.
Tu bShvat in Israel
Bringing it all back home
DEBORAH FINEBLUM
Israelis know that every tree is precious.
When the pioneers of the Jewish state first cast their eyes
on the Promised Land, it was barren. There were no natural
forests. And now, just consider: Israel is the only country in
the world that ended the 20th century with more trees than
it started with. In just six decades, Israelis literally have sunk
down roots.
Of course, Israel did not accomplish this alone. Diaspora
Jews have grown up dropping coins into little blue-and-
white pushkes, coins earmarked for planting trees in Israel.
Many lucky enough to travel to Israel in their youth
recall sticking slippery little saplings into the ground,
knowing that each one made the fledgling Jewish state
that much stronger.
Each sapling and coin has done its part to green
the Jewish state. Since 1901, the Jewish National Fund
has planted more than 240 million trees indigenous
to the Middle East, including native oaks, carob, red-
bud, almond, pear, hawthorn, cypress, and the exotic
Atlantic cedar. JNF also has developed more than
250,000 acres of land and 1,000 parks.
Tu bShvat the Jewish New Year for trees, cel-
ebrated January16 this year grew out of the tithes
that Jews take from the produce grown in Israel. The
date when new fruits are officially assigned to the New
Year is the 15th of the Hebrew calendar month Shvat.
Today, Jews around the world mark Tu bShvat by
eating fruit, particularly the kinds mentioned in the
Torah as Israels natural gifts: grapes, figs, pomegran-
ates, olives, and dates.
But in Israel, where trees are a relatively recent mir-
acle, Tu bShvat isnt just a passing nod to our boughed
friends. Its a real live holiday, marked by countless
tree-planting ceremonies, ecological consciousness-
raising programs in schools and communities, and
seders for young and old alike minus the matzah. It
is in many ways a holiday ahead of its time, says one
Israeli rabbi.
Tu bShvat is really the celebration of spring time,
yet it is in the middle of the winter, because its really
the festival of faith, and particularly faith in the land of
Israel, Rabbi Binny Freedman, rosh yeshiva of Orayta
Yeshiva in Jerusalems Old City, said.
After all, it was in Israel that 17th-century kabbal-
ist master Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his dis-
ciples instituted the Tu bShvat seder, modeled after
the Passover seder. Here, each of the fruits and trees
of the Land of Israel were given symbolic meaning,
including fruits with hard shells, those with inedible
pits, and those that are completely edible.
In addition, four cups of wine or grape juice are
drunk in a specific order and in varying shades of red,
pink, and white, representing the cycle of life and
seasons.
For many years, the Tu bShvat seder was an impor-
tant event for the children in the elementary school
in Kfar Saba, where Israel Lenchner was principal.
They were among Israels poorest kids, the majority
of them from Ethiopian families. Five hundred years
ago, the rabbis of [Safed] would eat 34 fruits and veg-
etables that night, telling their stories and speaking of
their love for Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel), Rabbi
Two-year-old Hagai and his parents, Ofra and
Eyal, choose plants in a nursery in Eshtaol, Israel,
in celebration of Tu bShvat in 2011.
NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90
SEE TU BSHVAT PAGE 32

JS-31*
Many lucky enough to travel to Israel in their youth
recall sticking slippery little saplings into the ground,
knowing that each one made the fledgling Jewish state
that much stronger.
Each sapling and coin has done its part to green
the Jewish state. Since 1901, the Jewish National Fund
has planted more than 240 million trees indigenous
to the Middle East, including native oaks, carob, red-
bud, almond, pear, hawthorn, cypress, and the exotic
Atlantic cedar. JNF also has developed more than
250,000 acres of land and 1,000 parks.
Tu bShvat the Jewish New Year for trees, cel-
ebrated January16 this year grew out of the tithes
that Jews take from the produce grown in Israel. The
date when new fruits are officially assigned to the New
Year is the 15th of the Hebrew calendar month Shvat.
Today, Jews around the world mark Tu bShvat by
eating fruit, particularly the kinds mentioned in the
Torah as Israels natural gifts: grapes, figs, pomegran-
ates, olives, and dates.
But in Israel, where trees are a relatively recent mir-
acle, Tu bShvat isnt just a passing nod to our boughed
friends. Its a real live holiday, marked by countless
tree-planting ceremonies, ecological consciousness-
raising programs in schools and communities, and
seders for young and old alike minus the matzah. It
is in many ways a holiday ahead of its time, says one
Israeli rabbi.
Tu bShvat is really the celebration of spring time,
yet it is in the middle of the winter, because its really
the festival of faith, and particularly faith in the land of
Israel, Rabbi Binny Freedman, rosh yeshiva of Orayta
Yeshiva in Jerusalems Old City, said.
After all, it was in Israel that 17th-century kabbal-
ist master Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his dis-
ciples instituted the Tu bShvat seder, modeled after
the Passover seder. Here, each of the fruits and trees
of the Land of Israel were given symbolic meaning,
including fruits with hard shells, those with inedible
pits, and those that are completely edible.
In addition, four cups of wine or grape juice are
drunk in a specific order and in varying shades of red,
pink, and white, representing the cycle of life and
seasons.
For many years, the Tu bShvat seder was an impor-
tant event for the children in the elementary school
in Kfar Saba, where Israel Lenchner was principal.
They were among Israels poorest kids, the majority
of them from Ethiopian families. Five hundred years
ago, the rabbis of [Safed] would eat 34 fruits and veg-
etables that night, telling their stories and speaking of
their love for Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel), Rabbi
Tu b Shvat
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At Tu bShvat,
digging for
spiritual growth
EDMON J. RODMAN
LOS ANGELES While my neighbors were putting their
Christmas trees to the curb, in what seems like a ritual
of replacement, I was preparing to plant for Tu bShvat.
My friend Freda recently presented me a cutting from
an angels trumpet a small tree with beautiful, large,
pendulous white flowers that grows in her yard and
to observe the New Year of the Trees on January 16, I
wanted to get it in the ground.
Looking around the garage for a shovel, I wondered if
there were a Jewish ceremony for planting a tree.
A Tu bShvat seder introduces philosophical concepts
into the holiday. But could I skip the four cups of wine
you start with white and gradually add more red to each
cup and just do something shorter, and well, more
down to earth to help observe what some have called
Jewish Arbor Day?
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
has published a tree-planting service in a guide called
To Till and To Tend: A Guide to Jewish Environmental
Study and Action. Though tilling and tending sounded
like a lot more work than I was up for, I gave it a look.
There is an order to this, Gods universe, that is
beyond our comprehension, read a passage from the
ceremony. Picking out the right spot to plant had often
been beyond mine. Planting thorny rose bushes near the
free-standing basketball hoop in the backyard had been
one of my chief blunders. Another was not removing
a ficus tree; its roots are now cracking our brick patio.
Freda had told to me that her trumpet tree had done
well in a spot that was full sun to part shade. I found a
similar spot near a wall next to a bougainvillea vine that
when it flowers bathes the area in magenta.
Recalling my pruning battles with the spreading bou-
gainvillea, another passage from the service came to
mind: The world of nature was given to us to join with,
not to conquer.
Perhaps the trumpet tree it also spreads, Fredas
husband, Stuart, informed me would provide a more
natural way to control the quickly spreading vine.
Clearing the area of leaves and debris, I found some-
thing brown and pebbled sticking out from the ground.
Pulling it out, I realized it was a chewed-up football that
our dog, Oliver, used to bite and shake into submission.
Before lapsing into backyard nostalgia, I recalled what
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai had to say about tree-plant-
ing interruptions: If you are in the midst of planting a
tree and word reaches you that the Messiah has arrived,
do not interrupt your work. First finish your planting
and only then go out to welcome the Messiah.
Snapping back to my shovel, I began to dig. Almost
immediately, another line from the tree-planting
ceremony Take care not to spoil or destroy My world,
for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you,
from Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah assumed a different
shading as I struck a root from a nearby plum tree. Gaug-
ing that the loss would not be fatal, I chopped it out.
The services warning And do not wound your
neighbors, for they, too, are part of the interdependent
whole, reminded me that when you plant near a prop-
erty line, you are planting for two. Who could be upset
by the trees sweet-smelling flowers that are only fra-
grant at night? And by day, the angels trumpet called
to hummingbirds.
However, after some research I also discovered that
the angels trumpet, like other common landscape
plants such as azaleas, rhododendron, and oleander, is
poisonous if ingested. I would have to remember to keep
it from growing into their yard.
As I pulled the 2-foot shoot from the plastic pot, I saw
that it had already developed a good set of roots.
People can sense Gods presence in nature, read the
text. We pause in awe at natures elegance.
I lowered the plant into the hole, filling in around it
with a mixture of earth and potting soil.
Originally, we got this plant as cutting from our
neighbor, Stuart said a few days before I planted the
trumpet. I wondered how many generations this plant,
which is native to South America, had traveled to reach
my backyard.
Looking at my little plant that had been passed
down, I decided that while it is not exactly a renewable
resource, it is a source of renewed spirituality.
The service said that we protect the world by plant-
ing and by remembering and by connecting, from
generation to generation. As I watered the planting, I
wondered, once it grew large enough for a cutting, who
would be renewed by the next generation.
JTA WIRE SERVICE
Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish
life from Los Angeles. Write to him at edmojace@gmail.
com.
Edmon J. Rodman planted an angels trumpet at
an impromptu backyard service for Tu bShvat.
EDMON J. RODMAN
www.jstandard.com
JS-32*
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 10, 2014 31 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 10, 2014 31
Tu b Shvat
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Love, Loss and What I Wore
Celebrating Tu bShvat
DANIELA BERKOWITZ
Tu bShvat the trees new
year on the Jewish calendar
begins at sundown on Janu-
ary 15. The holiday celebrates
the beginning of the season
when trees will begin to blos-
som with beautiful flowers
and flavorful fruits, follow-
ing the cold and long winter
months.
In Israel and in Jewish com-
munities across the globe, Tu
bShvat is celebrated as the Jewish environ-
mental awareness day. The day honors the
seven species shivat haminim mentioned
in the Torah as particularly associated with
the land of Israel. They are wheat, barley,
grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and
dates. Sometimes Tu bShvat is celebrated
by having a seder, similar to a Passover
seder, where families, friends, and commu-
nity members join to ceremonially taste the
seven species in various
forms, enjoy some foods
of Israel, and discuss the
Jewish value of environ-
mental conservation.
One model for a Tu
bShvat seder celebra-
tion is to design a fruit
and nut platter, serve
some of Israels treats,
make a dairy appetizer,
and open a new bottle of
wine. Fruits and nuts can
be paired with cheeses,
including Tnuvas Labaneh soft cheese, goat
cheese, Kashkaval cheese, or feta cheese,
which make great additions to fresh sal-
ads. Tnuva products are in the dairy aisle
at local kosher specialty stores or gourmet
supermarkets.
Suggested Israeli wines include the Yarden
T2, a port-style wine with an aromatic mix
of ripe cherry and spice combined with
deep chocolate and a hint of smokiness.
Cream cheese stuffed figs
with nuts and date honey
Ingredients:
30 large figs
For the cream cheese filling:
16 ounces Tnuva original cheese spread
8.5 ounces heavy whipping cream
3.5 ounces sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 bags of vanilla sugar
zest of 1 orange or lemon
3.5 ounces toasted pine nuts
For the topping:
3 tablespoons date honey
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1.75 ounces roasted almonds, chopped
Instructions:
Slice open each fig with a cross shape so that it opens like a flower.
To prepare the stuffing, first beat the cheese spread with heavy whipping
cream. Add sugar, honey, vanilla sugar, and orange/lemon zest into the mix-
ture until it forms into a stiff cream. Fold in the toasted pine nuts and place
the entire mixture into a pastry bag.
To prepare the sauce, mix the date honey with balsamic vinegar in a small
bowl.
Place a dollop of cream into the center of each fig, drizzle a little sauce on
top, and sprinkle with toasted almonds.
The rich and concentrated wine is forti-
fied with brandy and aged for 26 months
in French oak barrels. Mount Hermon
White, a lighter table wine, is suggested
to accompany the stuffed figs (recipe
below). The wine has hints of citrus,
melon, peach, green apple, and tropical
fruits. Serve it lightly chilled with a few
frozen grapes in a glass for a Tu bShvat
treat.
Try this recipe to bring the Tu bShvat
festivities and the tastes of Israel into
your home.
Lenchner, who is now retired, said.
Thats why, for all the years I was the
principal, we always had the seder of Tu
bShvat.
But he didnt do it only for the chil-
dren. As important as it is for them to
know the stories, the wisdom and the
traditions that have been handed down
to us about the land, its just as impor-
tant for us that they know it, that they
truly love this land and this people, he
said. Thats why every year we made
sure they heard it, so they could grow up
appreciating what theyand we have
been given here.
The tree planting was an Israeli tra-
dition even before JNF got in on the
act. On Tu bShvat in 1890, Rabbi Zeev
Yavetz led his students on a first plant-
ing outing to Zichron Yaakov. In 1903,
JNF embraced the tradition; so did the
Jewish Teachers Union in 1908. A few
years later, JNF devoted the holiday to
planting eucalyptus trees in an effort to
drain the swamps and halt the malaria
that had attacked the communities in the
Hula Valley. In honor of the tradition of
this holiday of new beginnings, the lay-
ing of the cornerstone at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem took place on Tu
bShvat in 1918, as did those of the Tech-
nion - Israel Institute of Technology in
1925 and the Knesset in 1949.
These days, more than a million peo-
ple each year attend JNFs Tu bShvat
planting ceremonies in Israels largest
forests. But trees have proven not to be
immune to violence. In 2006, after the
destruction of 10,000 acres of forest by
Katyusha rockets, JNF launched Opera-
tion Northern Renewal to begin replac-
ing much of the topsoil that had been
burned away and replant the forest.
Through 2,000 years of exile we
never stopped believing that one day,
we would come home, Rabbi Freedman
said. Which is why this Jewish festival
is being rediscovered in Israel, because
anywhere else in the world it is by neces-
sity missing something. A celebration of
coming home makes the most sense
when you are home. JNS.ORG
Tu bShvat
FROM PAGE 30
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Tu bShvat seder showcases
environmental activism
DIANA BURMISTROVICH
A simple way to celebrate Tu bShvat, the Jewish New Year
for trees, is to grow a plant or eat some fruit.
Or you can try a Tu bShvat seder.
Tu bShvat needed a major ritual, and the seder provides
us with that, entrepreneur, educator, and blogger Rabbi
Jason Miller said. Based on the seder of Passover, this is an
educational forum and symposium in which we can discuss
and also recommit ourselves to the environment.
Kabbalists from the northern Israeli city of Safed created
the ritual of the Tu bShvat seder to cel-
ebrate the idea that even Gods small-
est creations are equal within natures
grand design. The initial ritual was
outlined in Peri Etz Hadar (Fruit of
the Goodly Tree), part of an anthology
called the Heindat Yamun.
While Tu bShvat is widely celebrated
in the Jewish world as the religions counterpart to Arbor
Day, fewer Jews employ the seder ritual on this occasion.
Many Jews are troubled by the seders apparent roots in the
texts written by followers of the 17th-cen-
tury false messiah known as Shabbatai Zvi.
Like the Passover seder, the Tu bShvat
version relies on reciting blessings and
drinking wine, with a greater emphasis on
fruit. Each group of fruit eaten at the Tu
bShvat seder represents different ways that
trees provide for us. Before eating each kind
of fruit, participants say a blessing and ask
a spiritual question related to that kind of
fruit.
To fully appreciate natures bounty, kab-
balists matched up Israels regional fruit to
symbolize the four physical elements: air, earth, water,
and fire.
Assiyah, or earth, is symbolized by fruits or nuts
with an outer shell and fruit within. This includes wal-
nuts, pomegranates, pistachios, and coconuts.
Yetzirah, or water, is symbolized by fruits with edi-
ble outer flesh and inedible cores. This includes cher-
ries, apricots, olives, and plums.
Briyah, or air, is symbolized by fruit that is entirely
edible. This includes apples, pears, figs, and raisins.
Atzilut, or fire, is not symbolized by fruit but by
things that represent Gods presence all around us. This
can include the aroma of pine, cedar, or spices.
It is no coincidence that the fruits included in the
seder dont fall far from the tree. The constant imag-
ery of trees is intended to invoke our connection to
the earth and our Jewish responsibility as its stewards.
Looking from the roots at the bottom to the fruits among
the leaves acts as a reminder that when everything is
connected, each small action by a human reverberates
throughout the universe.
Trees are so important in Jewish thought that the
Torah itself is called a tree of life. Perhaps this Torah
wisdom can help us think more wisely about using
these resources carefully and living in a more sustain-
able way, Dr. Akiva Wolff and Rabbi Yonatan Neri wrote
in Trees, Torah, and Caring for the Earth, part of Jew-
cologys Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment.
Though the origins of the Tu bShvat seder may be
hazy, the intention to deepen our connection with
nature and assure the preservation of its bounty has
lead to environmental activisms increased relevance
within the context of celebrating the holiday.
We are living in Gods creation, which makes us
equal to one another and makes us all equal in what
we need and what we share equitably, Sybil Sanchez,
director of the Coalition on the Environment and Jew-
ish Life, said. The seder is an important time to ritually
recognize our values, but it is also a time to take action.
For Tu bShvat last year, COEJL called for Jewish com-
munity leaders to sign its Jewish Environmental and
Energy Imperative, which asked Jews to reduce their
energy use by 14 percent by the fall of 2014. More than
50 Jewish leaders signed the pledge.
Honoring the holidays theoretical foundations, the
Israeli company SodaStream developed CO2-infusing
products to create soda and sparkling water at home,
in an effort to help the public reduce waste from bottles
and cans purchased at stores. According to statistics
from the U.S. Recycling Institute, more than 80 per-
cent of bottles in the United States do not get recycled,
instead ending up in landfills.
Incorporating environmental mindfulness can eas-
ily become part of Tu bShvat, said Ms. Sanchez, who
suggests checking whether your family is eating locally
sourced fruit, using ecologically well produced dishes
and dining ware, installing energy-efficient light bulbs,
and turning off appliances when they are not in use.
JNS.ORG
Tu bShvat seder fare in-
cludes dried fruit and nuts.
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Beshalach: Armed with merit
A
s t he parsha
relates to us the
final step toward
complete libera-
tion, the splitting of the sea,
there is a very enigmatic
verse: The Children of Israel
went up chamushim from
the land of Egypt. The term
chamushim is not a common
Hebrew word, leading many
of the classic commentators
on the Torah to offer expla-
nations of its meaning and its
relevance.
Rashi explains that the
word has a similar etymology as the word
chamesh, meaning the number five. He
goes on to explain that the verse is refer-
ring to the fact that only one-fifth of the
Jewish population actually left Egypt;
those that didnt believe or that didnt
want to leave died during the plague of
darkness.
Targum Yerushalmi, an
Aramaic translation of the
Torah written or compiled
from the Second Temple
period until the early mid-
dle ages, states that cha-
mushim means armed, not
with traditional weapons
per se, but rather with good
deeds.
A third explanation comes
from Targum Yonoson ben
Uziel, which says that cha-
mushim means they went
out with five children each.
What does it mean they
went out with good deeds? Our tradition
teaches us that the Jewish people were
assimilated into Egyptian culture to such
an extent that had God not taken them
out at that moment, they would have for-
ever been sunk into the moral deprav-
ity of Egypt. God therefore gave them
the mitzvot of the Pesach sacrifice and
circumcision in order to give them some
merits through which they could warrant
redemption.
What does it mean they had five chil-
dren? Does Targum Yonoson ben Uziel
mean to say every single family had the
exact same number of children? Thats
seems very unlikely, and even if true, why
would it be relevant?
Rabbi Yosef Salant gave a beautiful
explanation in his work Beer Yosef that
ties all three explanations together. While
its true that four-fifths of the Jewish peo-
ple perished in the plague of darkness, this
refers only to the adults, not the children,
who are obviously not punished for their
parents beliefs. So when every Jew finally
went out of Egypt, 80 percent of the chil-
dren were orphans. This means that the
one-fifth that exited Egypt took care of
their own families and four other sets of
children as well.
This explains their good deeds; they
looked beyond their own immediate
needs and the needs of their immediate
families and with great self-sacrifice took
it upon themselves to adopt and nurture
four other families of children. This then is
what Yonoson ben Uziel is saying: Not that
they went out with five children each, but
rather five sets of children.
The prophet Micah tells us that the mir-
acles that happened in Egypt will happen
again in the final redemption. The fact that
the Torah relates this incredible act of self-
lessness and sacrifice to us just before the
splitting of the sea is a message to all: The
secret to bringing about the final redemp-
tion is acts of goodness, sacrificing our
own comfort and needs to help others.
Open your Shabbos table to a new per-
son, make sure that your Pesach seder
this year includes someone who has never
experienced a seder or perhaps has no
place to go. Then you, too, can say that
you are ready to leave this final exile cha-
mushim armed with good deeds and
love of your fellow man.
Rabbi
Ephraim
Simon
Friends of
Lubavitch of
Bergen County,
Teaneck
Robbie was equally thrilled with a
much lower-tech adventure: an archeo-
logical dig at Beit Guvrin National Park.
This area encompasses the ruins of a
Judean city from the First Temple period,
957 BCE to 586 BCE.
We went into a cave where a family
from thousands of years ago might have
lived, he said. As we dug down, we
each discovered small pieces of pottery
and animal bones, and we were the first
people in thousands of years to uncover
these things. Then we crawled through a
tunnel that hadnt been excavated. It was
very cool.
The seven families visited tourist desti-
nations including Yad Vashem, Ein Gedi,
Mount Scopus, Jerusalems Old City, the
Tel Aviv Port, the Ayalon Institute secret
bullet factory from pre-1948, the Rabin
Center, the Golan Heights and Galilee,
two kibbutzim, and Tzippori National
Park, where Brookside Middle School
student Haley Kresch and a few of the
other kids celebrated becoming bar or
bat mitzvah.
The group ate dinner with an Arab
family; participated in the Galilee Circus,
a circus-arts project comprising 60 Arab
and Jewish children and teens; and went
on an ATV in the Galilee. They went to
federation-funded social projects such as
Leket, where they helped pick fruits and
vegetables to be distributed to the needy;
and an immigrant absorption center in
Safed (Tzfat), where they met new Israe-
lis from Ethiopia.
All of it was experienced and shared
with the help of Google Glass as well
as a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Smart
Watch, and GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition
Wi-Fi enabled video camera.
The advanced technology put an excit-
ing new layer on top of the core expe-
rience, but Cindy Kresch would have
signed up anyway.
My late husband was Jewish and I was
raised Catholic, said Ms. Kresch, who is
a member of Temple Beth Haverim Shir
Shalom in Mahwah. We wanted to raise
our children Jewish, and it was important
to me and my in-laws that my children
get to Israel. We wanted to experience it
Federation trip
FROM PAGE 7
Check weekly
for recipes at
www.jstandard.com
Cooking with
Beth blog
together. I have truly enjoyed everything
about this trip and I love that [my chil-
dren] felt a connection to the country
and their heritage.
Mr. Shine said that seeing Robbie
approach the Western Wall, hand in hand
with his cousin and his uncle, was a high
point of the 10-day trip. Just watching
him was probably a moment Ill never
forget, he said. And watching Haley
have her bat mitzvah here, the first in
the family hopefully these are tradi-
tions they can pass on to their children,
and Cindy and I have to make sure that
happens.
Asked what he would say to friends
about what its really like in Israel, Robbie
replied, I would tell them while you do
feel a slight bit of nervousness being so
close to the center of turmoil in the world
here, you feel safe. Its a modern country.
Even when youre traveling through the
west bank to get to Jerusalem, its worth
it to be in a place that almost every civi-
lization in history fought over and died
for.
I would tell people, You should just
come, Mr. Shine added. Its fair to say
well be back.
With or without Google Glass.
JS-36
Crossword BY DAVID BENKOF
Across
1. Simplest Hebrew verb construction
5. St. with The Holy Land Experience
Christian theme park
8. Oksana Baiul is an Olympic gold-
winning one
14. Show Boat playwright Ferber
15. Romanian-Jewish novelist Calugaru
16. African city with an Israeli embassy
17. Three-___ matzah holder
18. Brian Schatz is one for Haw.
19. Observed Yom Kippur
20. Oxford scholar fluent in seven
languages
23. Musical genre for Marty Friedman of
Megadeth
24. When the Kol Nidre is recited,
vis--vis Yom Kippur
25. Al Capps Daisy ___
28. Malamud novel set in Brooklyn
32. Sound at a bark mitzvah, perhaps
35. Jazz musician Friedman
36. Oy vey!
37. Unit for Rashida Joness sitcom The
Office
39. 29th of November and 14th of May are
important ones in Israeli history
41. Alma mater for Mayim Bialik and
James Franco
42. ___ Hushi (Haifa mayor for 18 years)
43. Bernard Madoffs is 150 years
44. Title for Natan Sharansky (abbr.)
45. Six-time Emmy nominee (Smash,
Will and Grace)
50. Character Gold on The Good Wife
played by Alan Cumming
51. Philadelphia Athletics player Limmer
52. Person using one step of a method for
preparing kosher meat
56. Publisher of Israel Matters by
Mitchell Bard
59. Hank who voices Apu on The
Simpsons
62. Hija Ke Yo ___ (Ladino song
meaning Daughter I Love)
63. Film historian Gerald who wrote
that Woody Allens career was
distinguished by the Jew-WASP
binary
64. Allen Ginsbergs astrological sign
65. Alma mater of Kennedy adviser Pierre
Salinger
66. Last word of Psalm 23
67. Participating in Birthright
68. ___ Pasuk (trope for the last word of
a verse)
69. Like the novel The Song of Hannah
Down
1. It meant little to Alfred Dreyfus
2. Charoset (___ containing fruits, nuts,
and wine)
3. Listen to my cry; lend ___ to my
prayer... (Psalms 17:1)
4. Item for Kinky Friedman
5. Rosh Hashana positive omen
6. Songwriter Lisa whose Stay (I Missed
You) hit number one
7. Writer Roiphe (Secrets of the City)
8. 2007 Israel Prize winner Alice
9. Couric and Holmes
10. ___ kodesh (holy ark)
11. Eilat goal
12. Pray for Jerusalem, to keep her ___
she fall.... (lines from the poem
Weep Jerusalem)
13. Bane of Roy Cohn
21. Hank Greenbergs type of bat
22. Shabbat observers
25. Salute to Israel Parade, e.g.
26. English-speaker in Israel
27. Mechon Hadar Rosh Yeshiva Tucker
29. Beverly Sills got her start on Major
Bowes ___ Hour
30. Dachau and Birkenau are oft-visited
Holocaust ones
31. Zeta Beta ___ (Jewish fraternity)
32. Yiddish writer Chaim (The Agunah)
33. Korach, famously
34. Friday the ___ Slept Late (Harry
Kemelman mystery)
38. ___ Cheshvan (fall month)
40. Branson, Missouri comedian Yakov
46. Prayer at the end of services
47. Industry introduced by South African
Jews
48. Wellness agy. once led by Milton J.
Rosenau
49. Revenge of the Lawn ___ (R.L. Stine
Goosebumps installment)
53. Yasmin Levys third album Mano ___
54. Delancey-___ (Lower East Side
subway stop)
55. Act as the Goldman family did toward
O.J. Simpson
56. Award for Amy Gottlieb and Sarah
Stern
57. Art Spiegelmans 1992 Pulitzer-winning
rodent novel
58. Mazel Tov! (I ___ happy for you!)
59. Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty
Years ___ by Hannah Trager
60. Its practiced by some Bu Jews
61. Size of a bat mitzvah gift, e.g.
The solution for last weeks
crossword is on page 26.
Name _________________________________________________________________
Street _________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ___________________________________________________________
Phone _________________________________________________________________
Email ___________________________________________________________
Mail to: Jewish Standard, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666
or fax to: 201-833-4959 by January 20, 2014.
*By entering this contest you agree to have your
name added to the Jewish Standard e-mail newsletter list.
Win Tickets to see the
HAIFA
Symphony Orchestra
of Israel
AT
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 5 8 pm
Four pair of tickets will be given away in a random drawing from all
entries received by January 20, 2014
Arts & Culture
JS-37*
The 23rd annual
New York Jewish Film Festival
ERIC A. GOLDMAN
I
f its January, then it must be the New
York Jewish Film Festival.
Since 1991, when a partnership
was forged between the Film Society
of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum,
New Yorkers have been able to see new
and exciting films from across the globe
that tackle stories of Jewish interest. Under
the skilled direction of Aviva Weintraub,
the festival has chosen a cross-section of
films, most of which will be screened for
the first time in the area.
When the Pew Research Centers sur-
vey of American Jews was released a few
months ago, many rabbis and commu-
nal leaders were distraught at the find-
ings, noting among other things that reli-
gion played a far less important role in
the identity of American Jews. The good
news, however, was that 94 percent of
American Jews say that they are proud to
be Jewish, and that has translated into a
growing comfort on their part with their
Jewish identity. In the world of cinema,
filmmakers, who only two generations ago
rarely expressed themselves Jewishly, now
increasingly explore Jewish life through
their work, and we see more fine films
that tackle important Jewish issues. With
more and better movies, Jewish film festi-
vals continue to grow and expand.
Now, the Jewish institutional world
finally is recognizing that these festivals
can be a vibrant force in building Jewish
community, particularly for the 62 per-
cent of U.S. Jews that Pew found to iden-
tify their Judaism as mainly a matter of
ancestry and culture. Today, there are
more than 100 Jewish film festivals in
North America, including an outstanding
Israel film festival in our own community.
Now through January 23, 49 features
and shorts from 10 countries are being
screened at the Film Societys Walter
Reade and Elinor Bunim Munroe theaters
at Lincoln Center.
After the United States and Israel, the
country with the most films in the festival
is France, represented by four narrative
works and one documentary. To this day,
France still struggles with its World War II
past. Diane Kuryss For a Woman begins
with the unsettling discovery of letters and
photos a daughter finds upon her moth-
ers death. Who was the mysterious uncle
in the photo? What happened during the
war that affected her parents relation-
ship? In Rue Mandar, Idit Cebula pro-
vides an interesting portrait of three sib-
lings, forced to confront a variety of family
issues when they come together for their
mothers funeral.
Anne Weil and Philippe Kotlarskis
Friends from France, which opens the
festival, brings us back to the 1970s, when
courageous emissaries from the west
smuggled Judaica to refuseniks in the
Soviet Union and brought Soviet Jewish
diaries and stories out with them, often at
great peril. The film conjures up memo-
ries of the Soviet Jewry movement, the
protests, and the people who traveled to
the USSR to bring in Yiddishkayt.
Ilan Duran Cohens The Jewish Cardi-
nal provides a fascinating study of Jean-
Marie Aaron Lustiger, a French Jew, a
child during the war, who converted to
Rue Mandar shows siblings confronting family issues.
Clockwise from left, scenes from The Jewish Cardinal, Rita Jahan Foruz, and When Jews Were Funny.
SEE FILM PAGE 48
Eric Goldman of Teaneck writes and
lectures on Jewish film. He teaches cinema
at Yeshiva Universitys Stern College for
Woman
Calendar
JS-38*
Friday
JANUARY 10
Shabbat in Franklin
Lakes: The Chabad
Center of NW Bergen
County holds its monthly
character tot Shabbat,
with songs, cartoon
character guests, food
crafts, and dinner, for
children up to 6, 4 p.m.
375 Pulis Ave. (201)
848-0449 or www.
chabadplace.org.
Shabbat in Closter:
Temple Beth El offers
informal tot Shabbat,
with songs, stories, and
crafts, with Rabbi David
S. Widzer and Cantor
Rica Timman, 5:15 p.m.
Optional monthly family
dinner at 5:45 and family
service at 6:45. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112.
Shabbat in Wayne:
The Chabad Center of
Passaic County hosts a
homemade Israeli-style
Hebrew school Shabbat
dinner with songs and
performances led by the
boys Hebrew school
class, 6 p.m. 194 Ratzer
Road. (973) 964-6274 or
www.jewishwayne.com.
Shabbat in Franklin
Lakes: Barnert Temple
offers Shabbat Shirah
musical services, 7 p.m.,
with a potluck supper.
747 Route 208 South.
Natalie, (201) 848-
1800, or ncohen1847@
barnerttemple.org.
Shabbat in Washington
Township: Temple
Beth Or offers Shabbat
Hallelu, a musical family
service that includes
singing, clapping, and
birthday blessings for
children, 7:30 p.m. The
Carillon Bells, a bell choir
from the Glen Ridge
Congregational Church
under the direction
of Temple Beth Ors
accompanist Thomas
Mustachio, will perform.
An oneg will follow. 56
Ridgewood Road. (201)
664-7422.
Shabbat in Woodcliff
Lake: Temple Emanuel
of the Pascack Valley
offers Shabbat Tikvah, a
service of inspiration and
renewal, 8 p.m. Chocolate
and other sweets at a
reception at 7:45 p.m.,
and optional discussion
in a quiet corner on
mending relationships
during the oneg. 87
Overlook Drive. (201)
391-0801.
Shabbat in Wyckoff:
Temple Beth Rishon
offers Shabbat Shira, a
service in song, 8 p.m.
Led by Cantor Ilan
Mamber and featuring
the Kol Rishon Choir with
soloist Jo-Ann Skiena
Garey; instrumental
accompaniment by
Ilan Mamber and Mark
Kantrowitz on guitar
and Jimmy Cohen on
percussion. Dessert and
coffee. 585 Russell Ave.
(201) 891-4466 or www.
bethrishon.org.
Saturday
JANUARY 11
Shabbat learning in
Teaneck: In honor of
the Jewish Federation
of Northern New
Jerseys One Book One
Community program,
Temple Emeth offers a
day of learning focused
on themes in the
selected book, By Fire,
By Water by Mitchell
James. Program begins
at 9 a.m. with Torah
study; four concurrent
programs at 10:30
include tot Shabbat; a
family activity; Longing
for Sefarad: Why the
Jews of Spain Matter,
by Florette Rechnitz
Koffler, professor emerita
of romance languages
and literature at Thomas
Aquinas College; and
Shabbat services. A
screening of The Key
from Spain: The Songs
and Stories of Flory
Jagoda will follow lunch.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322.
Sunday
JANUARY 12
Daniel Chazin
PHOTO PROVIDED
Author in Teaneck:
Daniel Chazin discusses
Exploring Hashems
Beautiful World at
Congregation Beth
Aaron in Teaneck, 10 a.m.
Light breakfast. 950
Queen Anne Road (201)
836-6210.
Tu BShevat in Fair
Lawn: The social action
and religious affairs
committees of the Fair
Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation Bnai Israel
offer a discussion, A
Modern Response to
Hunger and Food Waste
in the Land of Milk and
Honey, with Lauren
Yoked, executive director,
American Friends of
Leket Israel, 10 a.m. Leket
is the National Food
Bank of Israel. Attendees
are asked to bring
nonperishable canned or
packaged food to donate
to the Center for Food
Action. Refreshments.
10-10 Norma Ave. (201)
796-5040.
Tu BShevat in Wayne:
Temple Beth Tikvah
offers a Tu BShevat
seder, 10:30 a.m.
950 Preakness Ave.
(973) 694-1616 or
ww.tbtmembers@aol.
com.
Israel experience open
house: Teens and their
families are invited to
learn about different
organizations including
Israel Experience, Chetz
VKeshet, and Naale,
offering trips and short/
long term experiences
to Israel, at the YMCA
of Wayne, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
1 Pike Drive. Adi Rubin,
(973) 595-0100, ext. 228.
Sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Northern
New Jersey. The Metro
YMCAs of the Oranges
is a partner of the YM-
YWHA of North Jersey.
Kabbalah: The Glen Rock
Jewish Center continues
a Discover Kabbalah
course led by Rabbi Neil
Tow, through January 19,
11 a.m. 682 Harristown
Road. (201) 652-6624 or
email rabbi@grjc.org.
Toddler program in
Washington Township:
As part of the shuls
Holiday Happenings
program, the sisterhood
of Temple Beth Or offers
music, stories, crafts,
and snacks, all with a
Tu BShevat theme, for
2- to 6-year-olds and
their parents, 11:15 a.m.
56 Ridgewood Road.
(201) 664-7422 or www.
templebethornj.org.
Abbie Rabin
COURTESY JCCOTP
College admission
parent workshop in
Tenafly: Abbie Rabin
leads a college admission
workshop for parents
of 10th to 12th graders,
3 p.m., at the Kaplen
JCC on the Palisades.
Ms. Rabin is the director
of Personalized College
Consulting and founding
director of the college
guidance program at
Maayanot Yeshiva High
School for Girls. Sara
Sideman, (201) 408-1469
or ssideman@jccotp.org.
Workshop for
expectant parents:
The United Synagogue
of Hoboken continues
a three-part workshop
for expectant parents
on welcoming a Jewish
child, 7 p.m. 115 Park Ave.
(201) 659-4000 or www.
hobokensynagogue.org.
Monday
JANUARY 13
COURTESY JCCOTP
Feature film: The
Treasure Hunting in Film
series at the Kaplen
JCC on the Palisades
in Tenafly continues a
series, Top Films of the
Decade, with Terribly
Happy, 7:30 p.m. Harold
Chapler introduces
the film and leads the
discussion afterward. 411
East Clinton Ave. (201)
408-1493 or www.jccotp.
org/filmseries.
Tuesday
JANUARY 14
Networking in Saddle
Brook: The Jewish
Business Network meets
at Ameriprise Financial,
8:15 a.m. Park 80 West,
Plaza 2, 250 Pehle
Ave., Suite 500. www.
jbusinessnetwork.net.
Holocaust survivor
group in Fair Lawn:
Cafe Europa, a social
program the Jewish
Family Service of North
Jersey sponsors for
Holocaust survivors,
funded in part by the
Conference on Material
Claims Against Germany,
Jewish Federation of
Northern New Jersey,
and private donations,
meets at the Fair
Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation Bnai Israel,
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Rabbi Ely
Allen, director of Hillel of
Northern New Jersey, will
discuss Jewish Life on
the College Campuses.
Light lunch. 10-10 Norma
Ave. Transportation
available. (973) 595-0111
or www.jfsnorthjersey.
org.
Meeting for parents of
LGBTQ Jewish teens:
Shaar Communities
hosts a gathering of
the states first Jewish
LGBTQ teen initiative
at a private home
in Tenafly, 7:30 p.m.
JoAnne Forman, (201)
213-9569 or joanne@
shaarcommunities.org.
Prof. David Passig
PHOTO PROVIDED
Middle East: Prof. David
Passig, a futurist and
best-selling author, talks
about the future of the
Middle East at the JCC of
Fort Lee/Congregation
Gesher Shalom,
7:30 p.m. He also heads
Bar Ilan Universitys
graduate program
in communication
technologies and its
Virtual Reality Laboratory
in Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Light supper. 1449
Anderson Ave. (201)
947-1735 or anat@
geshershalom.org.
The YMCA of Wayne
begins its Sundays
Backstage at the
Y series with a
performance by pianist Vivian
Choi on Sunday at 11:45 a.m.
The Metro YMCAs of the Oranges
is a partner of the YM-YWHA
of North Jersey. 1 Pike Drive.
(973) 595-0100, ext. 257.
COURTESY WAYNE Y
JAN.
12
Calendar
JS-39*
OU group presents LinkedIn seminar
The Orthodox Union Job Board offers a
seminar on LinkedIn on Wednesday, Janu-
ary 15, at 5:30p.m., at OU Headquarters, 11
Broadway in Manhattan.
Allan H. Glazer will conduct the free
seminar. Mr. Glazer, who came from Zam-
bia, has been involved in sales and busi-
ness development in countries where he
has lived; that list includes South Africa,
Israel, Canada, and the United States.
The session will include discussion of
the basic ingredients of a solid profile;
whether you need endorsements or rec-
ommendations; how to use the informa-
tion technology highway to your advan-
tage; and how to network and create
relationships on LinkedIn;
To register, go to www.oujobs.org.
Wednesday
JANUARY 15
Nazi death camps:
Elana Flaumenhaft,
assistant principle of
Maayanot, is the guest
lecturer for an adult
study institute event,
with lunch, at Young
Israel of Fort Lee, noon.
Her topic is This Land
is My Land: A Study of
the Ties That Bind Us
to Eretz Yisrael. She is
also a recipient of the
prestigious Grinspoon-
Steinhardt Award for
Excellence in Jewish
Education. 1610 Parker
Ave. (201) 592-1518 or
yiftlee.org.
Tu BShevat in Franklin
offers a Tu BShevat
seder with fruits, nuts,
and music, 7 p.m. 747
Route 208 South.
Natalie, (201) 848-
1800 or ncohen1847@
barnerttemple.org.
Thursday
JANUARY 16
Networking in Short
Hills: The Jewish
Business Network
meets with members
of the Tribe and Temple
Bnai Jeshurun, 8 a.m.
1025 South Orange Ave.
www.jbusinessnetwork.
net.
Friday
JANUARY 17
Shabbat in
Washington
Township: Temple Beth
Or holds Mishpacha
Shabbat for very young
children and their
families, with songs
and Schmuley the Bear,
6 p.m. Regular services
at 8. 56 Ridgewood
Road. (201) 664-7422
or www.templebethornj.
org.
Shabbat in Fort Lee:
The JCC of Fort Lee/
Congregation Gesher
Shalom offers a Tu
BShevat seder and
supper, 6 p.m., and
Shabbat Together
musical service at 7:30.
1449 Anderson Ave.
(201) 947-1735.
Shabbat in Closter:
Temple Beth El
offers services, led
by Rabbi David S.
Widzer and Cantor
Rica Timman, with the
Shabbat Unplugged
Band, 7:30 p.m. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112 or www.
tbenv.org.
Shabbat in Emerson:
Congregation Bnai
Israel offers its annual
Freedom Shabbat
service honoring the
lives and messages
of the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and
Rabbi Abraham Joshua
Heschel, 7:30 p.m. Rabbi
Debra Orenstein and
Cantor Lenny Mandel
will lead the service
with participation of
Westwood area clergy,
different faith choirs,
and congregants from
their churches. 53
Palisade Ave. (201) 265-
2272 or www.bisrael.
com.
Shabbat in Glen Rock:
The Glen Rock Jewish
Center honors Martin
Luther King Jr. during
services, 8 p.m. 682
Harristown Road. Rabbi
Neil Tow, (201) 652-
6624 or rabbi@grjc.org.
Saturday
JANUARY 18
Shabbat in Fort Lee:
Congregation Gesher
Shalom/JCC of Fort Lee
offers tot Shabbat led
by Roberta Seltzer, with
songs, props, stories,
and a giant siddur,
11 a.m. Also a family
service led by education
director Cory Chargo.
1449 Anderson Ave.
(201) 947-1735.
Caf night in Fair
Lawn: The Mens Club
of Temple Beth Sholom
holds its annual Caf
Night featuring the
music of a Touch of
Gray and Plaza North,
8 p.m. Snacks and
desserts. BYOB (kosher
only, mixers will be
provided). 40-25 Fair
Lawn Ave. (201) 797-
9321 or mensclub@tbsfl.
org.
Trivia in Teaneck:
Temple Emeth presents
The Big Quiz Thing, a
night of trivia with a live
five-round multimedia
game hosted by a
professional quizmaster,
DJ, and assistant, 8 p.m.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322 or www.
bigquizthing.com.
Sunday
JANUARY 19
Torah yoga in Franklin
offers yoga, prayer,
and renewing body
and spirit using themes
inspired by the Jewish
calendar and teachings,
9 a.m. Bring a yoga mat
and wear comfortable,
nonrestrictive clothing.
747 Route 208 South.
(201) 848-1800 or www.
barnerttemple.org.
Film/discussion in
Leonia: Dr. Lance Strate
of Fordham University
introduces Hannah
Arendt, a new film
directed by Margarethe
von Trotta, and then
leads a discussion,
at Congregation
Adas Emuno, 10 a.m.
Dr. Strate, the shuls
president, is a regular
guest blogger for the
Hannah Arendt Center
at Bard College. The film
is in English, German,
Hebrew, and French,
with subtitles. Arendt,
a German-Jewish
philosopher and political
theorist, is considered
one of the leading
intellectuals of the 20th
century. Refreshments.
254 Broad Ave. (201)
592-1712 or www.
adasemuno.org.
Summer camp:
A representative
from Camp Harlam
in Kunkletown, Pa.,
a Reform Jewish
sleepaway camp, will
talk about summer
camp life at Temple
Beth Or, 10:30 a.m.
56 Ridgewood Road,
Washington Township.
(201) 664-7422, www.
harlam.urjcamps.org.
Football/Chinese food
in Emerson: The Mens
Club of Congregation
Bnai Israel shows
the NFL conference
championship game
and serves Chinese
food, 2:30 p.m. Board
games available for
anyone who is not
interested in the football
game. 53 Palisade Ave.
Reservations, (201) 265-
2272 or www.bisrael.
com.
In New
York
Sunday
JANUARY 12
Camp workshop
for special needs
participants: Rockland
Jewish Family Service
offers an open house
to learn about summer
camps for children
with social deficits
at Rockland Jewish
Community Campus
in West Nyack,
10 a.m.-1 p.m. This
summer RJFS will run
six-week programs for
children with social
deficits run by RJFS
therapists at Ramapo
College in Mahwah.
Discount for registering
at open house. (845)
354-2121, ext. 141,
mkoenig@rjfs.org, or
www.rjfs.org.
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ONE CENTER STREET, NEWARK, NJ
For tickets and full 201314 schedule visit njpac.org or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC
Sleeping Beauty
State Ballet Theatre
of Russia
Sun, Feb 9 at 3pm
All-Beethoven!
Royal
Philharmonic
Orchestra
Pinchas Zukerman,
conductor and violin
Fri, Jan 10 at 8pm
Part of the
Bank of America Classical Series
The Tenors
As Seen on PBS
Sat, Feb 15 at 8pm
All-Tchaikovsky!
St. Petersburg
Philharmonic
Orchestra
Yuri Temirkanov,
conductor
Denis Kozhukhin,
piano
Sun, Feb 16 at 3pm
Part of the
Bank of America Classical Series
Tonight!
The Peking Acrobats
& JIGU!
Thunder Drums of China
Sun, Feb 23 at 3pm
*
Use code: 4PACK.
Restrictions apply.
Family
4-PACK
$100!
*
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Celebration
Dance Theatre of
Harlem with
special guest speaker
Rev. Dr. DeForest B.
Soaries, Jr.
Fri, Jan 17 at 7:30pm
Presented in cooperation with the
Newark Unit of the NAACP,
celebrating 100 years.
NJPAC_jewishmedgroup_5x6.5_ad_1-10.indd 1 1/6/14 2:38 PM
Naomi Less
COURTESY MJHNYC
Family program/concert:
The Museum of Jewish
Heritage A Living
Memorial holds a family
day with music by rock
musician Naomi Less,
crafts and tours, 2 p.m. 36
Battery Place. (646) 437-
4202 or www.mjhnyc.org.
Singles
Sunday
JANUARY 12
Senior singles meet in
West Nyack: Singles
65+ meet for a social
event/brunch at the JCC
Rockland, 11 a.m. 450 West
Nyack Road. $8. Gene
Arkin, (845) 356-5525.
Singles meet in Caldwell:
New Jersey Jewish
Singles 45+ meets at
Congregation Agudath
Israel for Israeli dancing
led by Randi and Murray
Spiegel, and lunch, 12:
45 p.m. $10. 20 Academy
Road. (973) 226-3600 or
singles@agudath.org.
Sunday
JANUARY 19
Line dancing/brunch:
North Jersey Jewish
Singles (40s-60s) at the
Clifton Jewish Center
offers line dancing with
instructor Terri Defelice,
11 a.m. $5. Karen, (973)
772-3131 or join North
Jersey Jewish Singles at
www.meetup.com.
Calendar Calendar
JS-40*
Ice skate in
Westwood
The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades offers ice-skat-
ing for sixth and seventh graders at the Fritz Dietl
Rink in Westwood tomorrow 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
The group will have the entire rink to themselves.
Cost includes transportation to and from the JCC.
There will also be a raffle with proceeds going to
St. Judes Hospital. To register, call (201) 408-
1470, www.jccotp.org, or arobins@jccotp.org.
The Young Peoples Chorus at the Thurnauer School. COURTESY THURNAUER
Concert in Tenafly
The Young Peoples Chorus at the Thur-
nauer School of Music will perform a
winter concert at the Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades Taub Auditorium on Tuesday,
January 14, at 7 p.m. Choristers, 6- to
17-years-old, will sing a variety of works
from Hebrew songs. YPC@T is an affiliate
of the Young Peoples Chorus of New York
City, Grieco Choir, and McCloud Elemen-
tary School Choir.
For information, call (201) 408-1465 or
email ebrondolo@jccotp.org.
Jake Goodman in Kaddish
PHOTO CREDIT GABOR KARDOS
Get pampered for a cause
The Gerrard Berman Day School, Solomon
Schechter of North Jersey in Oakland will
host a womens event on Friday, January
17, 10 a.m. to noon, at Neiman Marcus in
Paramus. The event includes a kosher
brunch, fashion, entertainment, and
cosmetics.
Proceeds benefit the Academies at GBDS
education fund. Call Amy at (201) 337-1111,
ext. 206.
Challah baking in Woodcliff Lake
Valley Chabad of Woodcliff Lake begins Loaves of Love,
a four-session gourmet/learning series on January 16. The
challah baking course offers secrets of making great tast-
ing challah, creative braiding techniques, and the kabbal-
istic meanings behind the art of challah. All are welcome.
Classes will be at Valley Chabad, 100 Overlook Drive, from
4 to 5 p.m. It costs $5 per person. Call (201) 476-0157 or
email Maitel@Valleychabad.org.
Marci Spiro with dough
in a previous class.
COURTESY CHABAD
Book signing on Sunday
Coach Jonathan Johnny Halpert discusses his new self-pub-
lished memoir Are You Still Coaching? at the Teaneck General
Store on Sunday, at 9:30 a.m.
Dr. Halpert, the longest tenured mens basketball coach in
New York City history, wrote about his 42-year career at Yeshiva
University and the first Torah-sponsored basketball team. The
store is at 502a Cedar Lane in Teaneck. For information, call
(201) 530-5046.
Jonathan Halpert
COURTESY TGS
Like us
on
Facebook.
facebook.com/
jewishstandard
Kaddish
at the 14th Street Y
Kaddish, a play based on Nobel Prize-
winner Imre Kertszs novel Kaddish for
an Unborn Child, will run from January 10
to 13 at the Theater at the 14th Street Y. The
one-man show, featuring Jake Goodman and
directed by Barbara Lanciers, comes to the Y
following a critically acclaimed run in Buda-
pest in June. Tickets are $18 and can be pur-
chased at www.14streety.org/boxoffice or by
calling (800) 838-3006.
Gallery
JS-41*
N 1 Second graders, pictured at the
Lubavitch on the Palisades School, received
chumashim (Bibles) at a special ceremony
that included singing, learning, and a col-
lation. Also, first graders recently received
siddurim (prayer books). COURTESY LOTP
N 2 Moriah Middle School students cel-
ebrated rosh chodesh Shevat by partici-
pating in a special program based on the
book How Full is Your Bucket. Students
worked with their buddies from differ-
ent grades to discuss how they would
solve different dilemmas. COURTESY MORIAH
N 3 Ben Porat Yosef first graders re-
ceived their siddurim at a mesibat
siddur (siddur party) last month.
The students also performed a play
for parents and special guests. A fes-
tive collation followed. COURTESY BPY
N 4 Jewish Family Service of North Jersey
received a check from the Sal Lauretta
for Mens shop of Midland Park, which
sponsored Shop and Nosh benefiting
JFSNJ. From left, JFSNJ board mem-
bers Ron Rosensweig and Lynn Gold-
man are shown with Ralph Lauretta,
(Sal Laurettas son); JFSNJs president,
Sue Ann Levin, and its vice president,
Michael Goldberg. COURTESY JFSNJ
N 5 Participants in the Chabad of Pas-
saic Countys Winter Camp for Kids
enjoyed many activities in the program,
including making crafts, baking, exercis-
ing to music, having lunch, and a sci-
ence experiment shining pennies with
ketchup, pictured. COURTESY CHABAD
1 2
3
4 5
Obituaries Briefs
JS-42
Esther Annis
Esther Annis, 90, died on December 5 in
Tucson, Ariz.
Born in Brooklyn, she was a teacher in
New York City.
Predeceased by her husband of 53 years,
Herbert, she is survived by her children
Susan Hileman (Bill), Jeffrey (Terri Lynn),
and Jean, and eight grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Gutterman
and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors,
Hackensack.
Aliza Breidbord
Aliza Breidbord, ne Amity, 87, of Cedar
Grove, formerly of Cedar Knolls and Pas-
saic, died on January 3.
Born in Israel, she was a member of
Congregation Ahavas Israel in Passaic and
Congregation Beth Ahm in Verona. She
taught Hebrew at Yavneh Academy in Para-
mus for over 30 years. In retirement, she
was a volunteer teacher at Congregation
Beth Ahm.
Predeceased by her husband of 60
years, Aron, she is survived by her chil-
dren, Eleanor Silverman (Dr. Philip) of
Verona; Avi (Robin) of Livingston; Iris
Langman (Dr. Alan) of Mercer Island,
Wash.; six grandchildren; and one
great-grandson.
Donations can be made to the Jewish
National Fund or Friends of the Israel
Defense Forces. Arrangements were by
Jewish Memorial Chapel, Clifton.
Zelda Cohen
Zelda Duchin Cohen, 85, of Pompton
Plains, formerly of Cresskill and Cliffside
Park, died on January 1.
Born in Newark, she graduated Weequa-
hic High School and was a legal secretary,
travel agent, and then a consultant in her
husbands dental office.
Predeceased by her husband, Dr. Morris,
she is survived by her daughters, Robin
Cohen Goldman (Mark), and Jaye Cohen
Sauer (Barry); and four grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Robert Schoems
Menorah Chapel, Paramus.
Nat Getrajdman
Nat N. Getrajdman, 91, of Fort Lee, died on
December 27.
Born in Lublin, Poland, before retir-
ing he was president of Chelsea Labs in
Inwood, N.Y.
He is survived by his wife, Celina, ne
Litvak, and sons, Sergio, George, and Alex.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial
Chapels, Inc., Fort Lee.
Florence Konner
Florence F. Konner, ne Freedman, 94, of
Washington Township, died on January 2
at home.
After her husband Malcolm, who
owned Malcolm Konner Chevrolet and
other dealerships, died, she was one of
the first women to be appointed as dealer/
operator by Chevrolet Motor Division. She
was a director of the Paramus Chamber
of Commerce, a director of the Bergen-
Passaic Chevrolet Advertising Group, a
past trustee of the Bergen Pines County
Hospital Foundation, a member of the
Paramus Rotary, a life member of the
Bergen Museum of Art & Science, Rolls-
Royce Owners Club, Antique Car Club of
America, National Automobile Dealers
Association, New Jersey Car Dealers
Association, a life-time member of the
Automobile Hall of Fame, and a member
of the Edgewood Country Club. In
addition, she was a founding member of
the Jewish Community Center of Paramus
and a member of its board of governors,
and a member of Hadassah. She was
honored as one of the four-generation
family members of Temple Beth Rishon
in Wyckoff.
Predeceased by her husband, Malcolm
in 1983, and a grandchild, Lorin Konner
Sherman in 2001, she is survived by her
children, Linda Lee Sayer ( Jack) of Tucka-
hoe, N.Y., Kenneth (Phyllis) of Wyckoff,
R.J. of Ridgewood, and Gary (Cathleen)
of Airmont, N.Y.; grandchildren, Stacey
and Jeffrey Kuduk, Jonathan and Mar-
guax Sayer, Kim and Scott Rosner, Malissa
Blake, and Samantha, Malcolm, Jared,
Madison, and Cameron Konner; and
seven great-grandchildren.
Donations can be sent to the Lorin
Konner Sherman Fund, to benefit Bergen
County CASA, Hackensack, Arrangements
were by Robert Schoems Menorah
Chapel, Paramus.
Lenore Krigsman
Lenore Krigsman, ne Leibowitz, of Hack-
ensack, formerly of Bergenfield and Brook-
lyn, died on January 3.
Before retiring, she worked in accounts
receivable for the Borough of Tenafly.
She is survived by her husband, Harry;
children, Craig of Boston, and Tammy
Chesney (William) of Ramsey; a brother,
Stan Leibowitz (Roberta) of Coral Springs,
Fla.; two grandchildren, and a niece.
Donations can be sent to gastric cancer
research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Can-
cer Center, New York, or Temple Emeth,
Teaneck. Arrangements were by Gutter-
man and Musicant Jewish Funeral Direc-
tors, Hackensack.
Sofia Levert
Sofia Levert of Fair Lawn died on January
6. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban
Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Ruth Levy
Ruth Leah Levy, 82, of Washington Town-
ship, formerly of New York City, died on
January 4.
Predeceased by her husbands, Ber-
nard M. Levy and Warren H. Stroh, and a
brother, Martin Kolodny; she is survived
by her sons, Steven (Barcey), and Chuck
( Jodi); a sister in-law, Sandra Kolodny;
five grandchildren; step-children,
Michael Stroh ( Joanie), Dennis Stroh, and
Kevin Stroh; and two step-grandchildren.
Israel naming visitor center to honor
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
The soon-to-be-built visitor center at the
Hula Nature Reserve will be named after
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
in recognition of his ongoing friendship
with and support for Israel, when he vis-
its the Jewish state in two weeks, Israel
Hayom reported.
The center, established by the Jewish
National Fund, will be built from funds
collected in Canada at a fundraising event
that Harper attended. Prime Minister Ben-
jamin Netanyahu is expected to accom-
pany Harper during his visit.
JNS.ORG
Jonathan Sarna to head
Association for Jewish Studies
Brandeis Universitys Jonathan Sarna,
a professor of American Jewish studies
there, has been elected as the next presi-
dent of the Association for Jewish Studies.
Founded in 1969, the AJS focuses on
research and teaching in Jewish studies
and has nearly 1,800 members world-
wide. Dr. Sarnas father, Nahum Sarna,
was president of the association from
1984 to 85. I consider myself, for that rea-
son, the John Quincy Adams of the AJS,
Jonathan Sarna said, referring to the sixth
U.S. president, whose father, John Adams,
was the second president.
Dr. Sarna, an expert on American Juda-
ism, said his goals as AJS president are
one, to strengthen the financial base of
the association; two, to raise fellowship
funds for graduate students and to pro-
mote research; three, to survey the field
so as to better understand the needs of
our members; four, to work with the Jew-
ish Book Council to help promote our
members books. JNS.ORG
German op-ed: Israel cannot be a Jewish state
A German newspaper, Neue Osnabrcker
Zeitung published an op-ed last week
titled Israel as Jewish state: Unaccept-
able demand that has sparked outrage
in the German Jewish community. Author
Franziska Kckmann compared the recog-
nition of Israel as a Jewish state by the Pal-
estinians with the creation of either a the-
ocracy like the Islamic Republic of Iran or
an apartheid state where non-Jews would
become second class citizens.
Both versions are incompatible with
[Israels] claim to be a modern state, and
may not be accepted by the world com-
munity. As long as Israel provides such
unreasonable conditions, [its] assertion to
be interested in a two-state solution is not
worth nothing, Kckmann wrote, as trans-
lated from German by JNS.org.
A representative from Israels embassy in
Germany told the Jerusalem Post, Every
attempt to define Israel as a two peoples
stateand not to be defined as a Jewish
statemisjudges the reality and damages
the chances for success in the peace pro-
cess. Michael Grnberg, head of the Jewish
community in the city of Osnabrck, said
the article is a new form of anti-Semitism
and that the author denies Jews the right
to their own state. JNS.ORG
Jewish teens spend winter break
working in community service
Young Judaeas Alternative Winter
Break program sent more than 100
North American Jewish high school stu-
dents to work in community develop-
ment projects over winter break. One
group of students went to New Orleans,
where they helped renovate homes and
rebuild the parts of the city still affected
by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Another group traveled to Los Angeles
to volunteer in shelters and food banks.
Alternative Winter Break ensures that
participants develop a sense of building
community, get the chance to further
explore their Jewish identity, and ulti-
mately go home more committed and
better equipped to offer service where it
is most needed, said Andrew Fretwell,
Young Judaeas Alternative Winter Break
program manager. JNS.ORG
Patriarchs arrive in Bethlehem
to celebrate Orthodox Christmas
The heads of several ancient Eastern
Orthodox Churches arrived in Bethlehem
on Monday to celebrate the Orthodox
Christmas.
Patriarchs from the Greek Orthodox,
Assyrian, Coptic, and Ethiopian churches
arrived separately in various celebrated
processions to Bethlehems Church of the
Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Unlike Christians in the West who
follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate
Christmas on December 25, Eastern Ortho-
dox Christians use the older Julian calendar
and celebrate Christmas on January 7.
The Christmas celebrations come amid
tremendous upheaval for many Middle
East Christians especially Christians in
Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraqwho have
come under attack from Islamic extremists.
JNS.ORG
Obituaries
JS-43
MARTIN D. KASDAN
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such as cemetery fees, death certificates, gratuities, etc. Prices effective until 11/30/2014.
Vincent Marazo, Manager NJ License #3424
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(973) 779-3048 www.JewishMemorialChapel.org
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LOUIS SUBURBAN CHAPEL, INC.
Exclusive Jewish Funeral Chapel
Sensitive to Needs of the Jewish Community for Over 50 Years
13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West) Fair Lawn, NJ
Richard Louis - Manager George Louis - Founder
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Serving NJ, NY, FL & Israel
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Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc
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201-947-3336 888-700-EDEN
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Pre-Planning Specialists
Graveside and Chapel Services
Barry Wien - NJ Lic. No. 2885
Frank Patti, Jr. - NJ Lic. No. 4169
Arthur Musicant - NJ Lic. No. 2544
Frank Patti, Sr. Director - NJ Lic. No. 2693
. .......... .... ,....
Born in Brooklyn, she was a
Hunter College graduate. Before
retiring in 2003, she was a
first grade teacher at Memorial
Elementary School in Montvale
for 35 years. She was a long-time
member of Temple Emanuel of
Pascack Valley and Hadassah, and
worked to establish Pascack Valley
Hospital in the late 1950s.
Donations can be made to the
Montvale Educational Founda-
tion, Montvale,
Arrangements were by Rob-
ert Schoems Menorah Chapel,
Paramus.
Alan Marcus
Alan P. Marcus, 90, of Fort Lee died
on January 2.
Born in New York City, he was a
U.S. Army World War II veteran. He
was a real estate developer, builder,
and construction official in Engle-
wood Cliffs for 37 years.
Predeceased by his wife, Arlene,
he is survived by his children, Rich-
ard Marcus and Jill Skulnik, and two
grandchildren.
Donations can be sent to St. Jude
Childrens Reseach Hospital, Mem-
phis, Tenn. Arrangements were by
Gutterman and Musicant Jewish
Funeral Directors, Hackensack.
Joan Rose
Joan Rose, ne Markowitz, of
Fort Lee, formerly of Tenafly and
Elberon, died on January 5.
She is survived by her husband,
Arthur; sons Henry (Susan), Erwin
( Jan), and Allyn (Larry) grandchil-
dren and great-grandchildren.
Contributions can be made
to Hadassah or Jewish National
Fund. Arrangements were by
Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel,
Paramus.
Charlotte Schaechter
Charlotte Charne Schaechter, 86,
died on January 3.
Predeceased by her husband,
Mordkhe, she is survived by her
children, Rukhl of Yonkers, N.Y.,
Gitl Viswanath of Teaneck, Eydl
Reznik of Safed (Tsfas), Israel,
and Binyumen of New York City;
16 grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
Shiva will conclude in Teaneck,
today (Friday) through 3 p.m., and
on Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m.
Contributions can be sent to Jew-
ish Peoples Philharmonic Chorus,
www.thejppc.org; League for Yid-
dish, www.leagueforyiddish.org;
Yiddish Farm, www.yiddishfarm.
org; or Yugntruf Youth for Yiddish,
www.yugntruf.org. Arrangements
were by Plaza Jewish Community
Chapel, New York City.
Rose Schwartz
Rose Schwartz, ne Katz, 96, of
Rego Park, N.Y., died on January 6.
Born in New York, she was a
homemaker.
Predeceased by her hus-
band, David, she is survived
by her children, Richard (Sha-
ron), and Roberta Kaplan (Ken);
four grandchildren, and eight
great- grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Eden
Memorial Chapels, Inc., Fort Lee.
Frederick Sion
Frederick Fred Sion, 89, of Cliff-
side Park died on December 25.
Born in Bombay, India, he served
in the British Army during World
War II. He came to the United
States in 1947 and was a jeweler in
New York City.
Predeceased by three brothers
and two sisters, he is survived by
his wife of 63 years, Caroline, the
owner of Carols of Tenafly; a son,
David; and a daughter, Eva Sion
(Richard Ujari).
Contributions can be sent to
Temple Emanu-El in Closter.
Mildred Sterman
Mildred Millie Sterman, 85, of Fair Lawn, died on
December 31.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Benjamin;
children, Barbara (Michael), Martin (Annette), and Arlene;
a sister, Ethel Ziskin; and three grandchildren.
Donations can be sent to the American Society For the
Protection of Nature in Israel, Great Neck, N.Y. Arrange-
ments were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.

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JS-44
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Dont let cold weather
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Regardless of the time of year, if your roof becomes dam-
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Cold-weather roofing offers its unique challenges and
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Though the outside air temperature may be below
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Roofing Shingles Asphalt roofing shingles are the most
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JS-46
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How to clean fireplace doors
Several simple methods
to remove built up soot
SHARON NAYLOR
Y
our fireplace and hearth is a warm,
comfortable place to gather with
friends and family. With a roar-
ing fire crackling and cozy heat
emanating, is creates a wonderful atmo-
sphere of winter bliss. When all eyes are
on your fireplace, make sure the effect
isnt ruined by unsightly, dark soot and ash
stains on your glass fireplace doors. Over
time, glass doors can become darkened by
burning wood and from the chemicals in
faux logs. These ugly smudges take away
from the magic of your fireplace scene.
After all, glass doors are often slid closed
over an actively burning fire, and they are
kept closed when the fire is not lit for child
safety, preventing drafts up or down the
flue and for decor aesthetic.
No matter how much
soot your fireplace doors
have accumulated, they
can be cleaned easily using
your choice of several sug-
gested methods. Before you
begin, be sure to read your
fireplace owners manual to
ensure your cleaning meth-
ods dont invalidate your
warranty. Some compa-
nies specify which types of
cleaning procedures may be
used, on both new and older
models.
Cleaning icon Heloise,
from the Hints from Helo-
ise column and her book,
Handy Household Hints
from Heloise: Hundreds of Great Ideas
at Your Fingertips (Heloise.com) simpli-
fies the process with her advice to wash
with a solution of one tablespoon of sudsy
ammonia to each cup of water, or a cleaner
designed for this purpose. However, some
cleaners already have ammonia in them so
keep an eye out. Then, apply, let sit for a
couple of minutes, and then wipe off with
a paper towel. You may have to repeat to
get it all off.
For corners of the fireplace doors, effec-
tive tools include Q-tips or eye-makeup
sponge applicators. Pour a small amount
of cleaner into a bowl and use these small,
pointy tools to perfect the cleaning of cor-
ners or edges.
Always use soft cloths or paper towels to
scrub the soot and buildup, since abrasive
plastic scrubbers or wire brushes can eas-
ily scratch your fireplace doors, leading to
unattractive marring. They can even cause
greater soot issues in the future when ash
gets into the fissures created in the glass.
An exception to the no sharp objects rule
is if you have excessive amounts of black
soot and debris on your doors. In this case,
spray the area well and use a plastic, rather
than metal, paint scraper tool to clean off
the buildup. You dont want to slip and cut
yourself, or create cuts in the door glass.
If, while youre wiping soot away with
absorbent paper towels, you notice that
youre still not getting all of the soot off,
use a secret of fireplace shop owners: take
a section of wet newspaper and sprinkle
a little bit of ash from the bottom of your
fireplace on it. Then use this to scrub your
fireplace doors in a circular motion. The
ash provides enough friction to remove
stubborn soot particles that your cleaner
might not remove. Then, just spray and
wipe again for further cleaning success.
Allow the doors to dry completely even
after all of the soot appears to be gone.
Then give your doors another, fresh spray
of ammonia and water cleaning solution
on the front and on the back of each door
and wipe fully dry with a microfiber cloth
or with newspaper (paper towels can leave
lint.) This process can prevent window fog-
ging the next time you light a fire.
Still saddled with stubborn stains in the
corners and on the glass? Heloise says that
in extremely sooty situations, without first
applying ammonia sprays, remove the
doors, take them outside to a well-venti-
lated area on a warm afternoon, spray both
sides with a thick layer of oven cleaner, lay
them on newspaper and let them sit out-
side in the sun for a few hours. Rinse with
a garden hose, dry and rehang the doors.
One extra warning from fireplace shop
owners: dont attempt to clean doors while
a fire is dying down or while the glass is hot.
Cool cleaning solutions on hot glass can
cause the glass to shatter. And never spray
flammable cleaning solutions on the out-
sides of glass doors while a fire is lit inside.
That too is flammable.
Fireplace stores are the best sources for
special fireplace door cleaning solutions, so
keep them in mind no matter the level of
dirt on your glass fireplace doors.
CREATORS.COM
Clean fireplace doors for a beautiful hearth
CREATORS.COM PHOTO COURTESY OF PATIODECKHEARTH.COM
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Real Estate & Business
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Catholicism and eventually became a cardinal and advi-
sor to Pope John Paul II. I found this film most compel-
ling. There is a particularly compelling segment set in
1983, when Lustiger, struggling with his belief system,
goes to Auschwitz, the camp where his mother was mur-
dered. This religious man, brilliantly played by Laurent
Lucas, acknowledges that when he is there he could
recite neither the Kaddish nor the Lords Prayer. Some
might be troubled by a film about a convert, but Cohen
does a remarkable job in giving us a feel for how Lustiger
struggled with his dual identity, and the important role
he would play in forcing the Polish Catholic church to
acknowledge the Holocaust.
Marcel Ophulss new film, Un Voyageur (Aint Misbe-
havin), provides his own take on his father Maxs place
in cinema history, as well as his own. Ophuls is one of
my favorite documentarians, the filmmaker I credit for
turning France upside down with his accusatory 1969
The Sorrow and the Pity. That film forced the French
people to examine their wartime collaboration with the
Nazis. What a treat it is to see more of this incredibly
talented, opinionated, and likable artist.
For those of you with a special love for music, there
is Maurice Linnanes Amy Winehouse: The Day She
Came to Dingle, which provides some insights into
the talented vocalist, along with some fine music. Ayal
Goldbergs Rita Jahan Foruz, about the popular Ira-
nian-born Israeli singer, gives us an interesting perspec-
tive on how music can touch a broad swath of cultures
and has the capacity for transcending borders. Award-
winning Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox has provided dis-
cerning studies of Tel Aviv young people in such films
as Florentine and The Bubble. In Cupcakes, set in
the 1970s, he gives us a story of a group of friends who
come together to write a song in order to cheer up one
of their buddies. What this perceptive writer/director
really does is provide an analysis of Israeli youth today.
There are many other films worth seeing; many of
them documentaries. Diana Groos Regina does a ter-
rific job in bringing to life the story of Regina Jonas, who
was ordained as a rabbi in Berlin in 1935. Nili Tal stud-
ies the travails of Ukrainian women who married Israeli
men in her Ukrainian Brides: 13 Years Later. Dan Sha-
dur goes back to the time of the Shah, when Israel and
Israelis had a special connection with Iran, in Before
the Revolution.
Alan Zweigs When Jews Were Funny explores the
place of Jewish comedians in the 1960s and 70s. Zweig
asks some of the greats, including Jack Carter and
Shecky Green, what it was like to be a Jewish comedian.
Almost all of the older comics answer that they are not
Jewish comedians, but rather American comedians
who are Jewish. The dialogue with generations of come-
dians provides a fascinating take on Jewish comedy in
America.
Michal Aviad tells the stories of several of the woman
pioneers who made aliyah 100 years ago; she introduces
unbelievable footage and adds narration. What we glean
from the pioneers writing was the hope that they might
find equality as women in Israel. That has not quite
been realized.
One of this years curiosities is the fact that the films
submitted by both Israel and Palestine for Best For-
eign Language Oscar dealt with Palestinian informants.
Yuval Adlers Bethlehem, which won six Ophirs (Isra-
els Academy Award) did not make it to the list of nine
semi-finalists for the coveted award; Hany Abu-Assads
Omar did. Fortunately for us, Bethlehem will have a
sneak preview at the festival.
This years festival will offer a variety of beyond the
screen programs. Master Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai,
whose work is highly respected though Im not a big
fan and is a wonderful teacher, will present a master
class on Sunday, January 19. His new film, Ana Arabia,
will be screened in the festival. A new festival concept,
Guest Selects, allows an acclaimed filmmaker who has
had an effect on world cinema to select his or her favor-
ites. This year, it brings us two wonderful choices. Wim
Winders chose German director Pepe Danquarts Run
Boy Run, adapted from Uri Orlevs novel, about a boy
who escapes the Warsaw Ghetto into the woods. The
new film, which was much loved at last years Berlin
Film Festival, will be joined by Israeli Nir Bergmans
Broken Wings (2004), a personal favorite of mine,
about a family struggling to cope with the emotional
wreckage in their lives. There will also be screenings
of films by Otto Preminger, a symposium on identity-
driven film festivals, and an homage to graphic designer
and title artist Saul Bass.
As usual, there is a great deal being offered. Take
advantage of it! Act quickly; tickets quickly get khapped
up. So see a movie and join a growing community of
people who love Jewish movies. For more informa-
tion and tickets, go to www.FilmLinc.com or call
212.875.5601.
Film
FROM PAGE 37
Tenafly teens work to be performed by Chelsea Opera
Benjamin Wenzelberg of Tenafly has been composing since
he was five. Now at the ripe age of 14, excerpts from his first
opera, The Sleeping Beauty, is being performed in New York
City by the Chelsea Opera in collaboration with the Blooming-
dale School of Music.
This follows a piano/vocal concert of all of Act I of the opera
that took place this summer. Guest music director Lidiya
Yankovskaya will be conducting.
Benjamin first met Chelsea Opera when at age 10 he per-
formed the role of Amahl in their production of Amahl and
the Night Visitors and he is a frequent performer in their
concerts and productions. He is currently
performing in his fifth season with the Met-
ropolitan Opera Childrens Chorus, is a clas-
sical and jazz piano scholarship student at
the 92nd St. Y in Manhattan, and has stud-
ied composition since age 9 at the Juilliard
Pre-College. His portrayal of Miles in New
York City Operas The Turn of the Screw
last spring received rave reviews includ-
ing being featured in New York Magazines
approval matrix.
He was in his first production when he
was seven at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades as part
of Deb Roberts and Amelia DeMayos Performing Arts
Department and has been there ever since.
Last spring, Benjy became an ASCAP finalist for his
composition written for string orchestra and harp, An
Air to Air, and this October, his percussion
piece, The Storm, had its world premiere
performed by the NYU Percussion Ensem-
ble. He was also proud to sing a song cycle
he wrote based on the Iliad last fall at Juil-
liard and has composed numerous other
pieces. Benjamin is currently a conduct-
ing student with the New York Youth Sym-
phony. He hopes to have the opportunity to
conduct some of his own works one day.
Chelsea Opera is a professional NYC opera
company currently in its tenth season. Ben-
jamin is the first recipient of their Nicholas S. Priore
New Possibilities Fund established to help fund spe-
cial new projects and new works including Benjamins,
The Sleeping Beauty. For more information, visit www.
chelseaopera.org and www.benjaminwenzelberg.com.
Benjamin P.
Wenzelberg
JS-49
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Edward Maza wins
national achievement award
Englewood resident proves
dyslexia is no obstacle to educational success
Learning Ally, a 65-year-old non-
profit serving individuals with
learning and visual disabilities,
has bestowed its highest award to
Edward Maza of Englewood. Maza is
one of six students from across the
U.S. who will receive cash awards of
$6,000 and travel with their fami-
lies to be honored at Learning Allys
National Gala celebration in Wash-
ington, D.C., this April.
From an early age Maza struggled
in school, particularly with reading
and writing. Diagnostic testing in the
third grade confirmed that he had dys-
lexia. Learning that I had a disability
made me feel damaged and isolated,
he recalls. I will never forget the feel-
ing that there was something wrong
with my brain, that I was broken. But I
was determined to overcome my chal-
lenges. I had to work twice as hard as
everyone else to get half as far.
Maza remembers that homework
took him hours, though his friends
finished in a few minutes. Through
sheer effort and persistence, he was
able to catch up with his classmates
and excel in math and science, even
graduating as the valedictorian of
his middle school. His serious strug-
gles with reading, however, lasted
well into high school. Every day
I would walk into English with my
head down hoping the class would
go by without my teacher calling on
me to read aloud, he says. A turn-
ing point came when he began using
human-narrated audiobooks from
Learning Ally. Reading that seemed
totally daunting before became
enjoyable, and I gained confidence,
knowing I was finally able to keep
up with class assignments.
Despite his dyslexia, Maza has
shined in a full range of academics
and extracurricular activities, serv-
ing as the captain of his high schools
debate and swimming teams, and
graduating with a 4.0 GPA. In Feb-
ruary 2013 he was recognized by the
White House for his role in develop-
ing a Teen Leadership Conference
that brought diverse students to
work together on social issues fac-
ing all teens, including eating disor-
ders, teen pregnancy and more.
Most recently, at age 19, Maza is
spending an exciting year study-
ing in Israel, and plans to start his
freshman college year in 2014 pur-
suing American Studies at Yale
University.
Since 1959, Learning Ally has hon-
ored exceptional students who are
blind or visually impaired through
its privately endowed Mary P.
Oenslager Scholastic Achievement
Awards (SAA) for college seniors
and beyond. Hundreds of students
apply for these prestigious awards
each year and are selected by com-
mittees of Learning Ally volunteers,
board members, parents, educa-
tors, donors and staff. Students
are recognized for their academic
excellence, leadership, and service
to others; each award winner has a
long list of honors and accomplish-
ments, and has graduated with a
GPA above 3.0, with most near the
4.0 mark; and they have thrived
on their education paths thanks in
part to their use of accessible educa-
tional content and assistive technol-
ogy provided by Learning Ally.
For information about apply-
ing for Learning Allys National
Achievement awards, visit http://
NAA.LearningAlly.org/apply.
North Jersey
Public Policy Network
North Jersey Public Policy Network, the non-partisan
education network committed to education on pub-
lic policy challenges, will bring experts Andy Kroll of
Mother Jones and David Donnelly, executive director
of Public Campaign Action Fund, for an informative
presentation and discussion. Kroll and Donnelly will
discuss the issues surrounding moneys influence on
politics and offer solutions an engaged electorate can
consider. A question and answer session will follow
their presentations.
This program will take place Thursday, January
16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wilson Auditorium/Dickinson
Building at Fairleigh Dickinson University Metro Cam-
pus in Hackensack. The program is free and open to
all. Pre-registration is recommended with an rsvp to:
info@njppn.org.
www.jstandard.com
JS-50
AYELET HURVITZ
Realtor
NJAR
Circle of Excellence Sales

Award
, 2012
Coldwell Banker Advisory Council, 2013
Member of NAR, NJAR, EBCBOR, NJMLS
Bilingual in English and Hebrew
Licensed Realtor in NJ & NY.
Direct: 201-294-1844
Alpine/Closter Office:
201-767-0550 x235
www.ayelethurvitz.com
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20 HEDGEROW, ENGLEWOOD
275 ENGLE ST., ENGLEWOOD
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A longtime Tenafly resident and prior resident of NYC: Ayelet possesses a strong
knowledge of the neighborhoods, communities and schools in Bergen County. This
along with her professional experience working on Wall Street makes a tremendous
difference when assisting her clients, says Terri Buffa, branch Vice President of
Coldwell Banker, Alpine/Closter.
*Based on MLS Report 2013 Coldwell Banker LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark of Coldwell Banker
Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.
0003512670-01_0003512670-01 6/25/13 3:32 PM Page 1
AYELET HURVITZ
Realtor
NJAR

Award
, 2012
Direct: 201-294-1844
201-767-0550 x235
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0003512670-01_0003512670-01 6/25/13 3:32 PM Page 1
AYELET HURVITZ
Realtor
NJAR

Award
, 2012
Direct: 201-294-1844
201-767-0550 x235
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0003512670-01_0003512670-01 6/25/13 3:32 PM Page 1
AYELET HURVITZ
Realtor
Direct: 201-294-1844
Alpine/Closter Ofce:
201-767-0550 x 235
100 E. PALISADE - ENGLEWOOD
20 HEDGEROW - ENGLEWOOD 52 DWIGHT PLACE - ENGLEWOOD
100 E. PALISADE C2 - ENGLEWOOD 109 E. PALISADE - ENGLEWOOD
16 MALLARD COURT - ENGLEWOOD
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NJAR
Circle of Excellence
Sales Award
, 2012
Coldwell Banker Advisory
Council, 2013
Member of NAR, NJAR,
EBCBOR, NJMLS
Bilingual in English/Hebrew
Licensed Realtor
in NJ & NY
SELLING YOUR HOME?
Call Susan Laskin Today
To Make Your Next Move A Successful One!
2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.
Cell: 201-615-5353 BergenCountyRealEstateSource.com
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Spooked about buying a home?
B
uying a home can seem like a frightening expe-
rience especially in todays market but you
probably have nothing to fear, according to
Barbara Carrollo-Loeffler, director of residen-
tial and consumer lending for Provident Bank, the oldest
community bank operating exclusively in New Jersey.
Knowing your surroundings and understanding what is
real and what is not are the keys to taking the fear out of
the home-buying experience, said Carrollo-Loeffler. The
more you know before you actually start to look, the more
fear-less your experience will be.
To help shed some light on the process, Carrollo-
Loeffler offers the following responses to common
fears often expressed by potential homebuyers.
FEAR: I have no idea what Im doing.
RESPONSE: There are great resources available to
help home buyers learn as much as they can about
the buying and borrowing process, including the sim-
plest method talking with your local lender. There
are also home ownership counseling agencies and first
time home buyers seminars available throughout the
region. By taking advantage of these resources, poten-
tial home buyers can gain a better understanding of
the environment and where they stand in the process.
FEAR: I wont ever find what I want.
RESPONSE: If you have a pretty good idea about what
you want in a new homeand your parameters are
at least somewhat flexibleyou should be able to find
something close to what youre looking for, especially
in central and northern New Jersey. Its important
to make your key requirements known to both your
lender and your real estate agent.
FEAR: I feel like Im all alone.
RESPONSE: You are definitely not alone. Before you
even start your search, you should speak with a mort-
gage professional who can explain both what to expect
from the process, and what is expected of you, includ-
ing things like loan options and requirements, closing
costs, insurance and appraisals.
FEAR: I may have credit issues.
RESPONSE: If you feel you might have a couple of
skeletons in your financial closet, start the process
early and get a free copy of your credit report (avail-
able through the three major reporting agencies at
www.annualcreditreport.com). If there are issues,
work on repairing or correcting those issues. In many
instances, there are old debts or other errors that can
be removed from or corrected on your report.
FEAR: There is way too much paperwork involved.
RESPONSE: For most home purchases, there are only
four things borrowers need to get started. Please be
ready or expect to provide copies of the following:
Proof of Income - Most recent months paystubs
as well as documentation from other income sources
(investment property, alimony, child support, etc.).
Tax returns or W-2s for the previous two years.
Bank account and investment statements for the
past 2 months.
Documentation of existing loans or debt (latest bill
or annual statement).
Carrollo-Loeffler added that purchasing a home is,
above all, a positive, exciting experience, and poten-
tial homebuyers should make the most of the experi-
ence. She noted that Providents website offers addi-
tional tips on buying a home, as well as a detailed
infographic to help first-time homebuyers navigate
the process.
More information about Provident and its residen-
tial and consumer lending division is available at www.
ProvidentNJ.com.
Jeff@MironProperties.com www.MironProperties.com
Ruth@MironProperties.com www.MironProperties.com/NJ
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.
Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!
ENGLEWOOD
471 TENAFLY ROAD $418,000
ENGLEWOOD
Quaint Colonial. Expansion possibilities. $758K
ENGLEWOOD
401 DOUGLAS STREET $1,345,000
ENGLEWOOD
State-of-the-art estate. $2,400,000
O
P
E
N

H
O
U
S
E
S
U
N
D
A
Y

2
-
4
J
U
S
T
L
I
S
T
E
D
!
O
P
E
N

H
O
U
S
E
S
U
N
D
A
Y

2
-
4
P
R
E
S
T
I
G
I
O
U
S
A
R
E
A
!
TENAFLY
Picture perfect 3 BR/2 BTH home.
TENAFLY
Beautiful Contemporary on a cul-de-sac.
TENAFLY
Old world charm. Timeless elegance.
TENAFLY
One-of-a-kind manor. $3,748,000
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
J
U
S
T
S
O
L
D
!
A
L
R
E
A
D
Y
S
O
L
D
!
E
V
E
R
Y
L
U
X
U
R
Y
!
LEONIA
5 BR/4 BTH Colonial $3,900/MO
PARAMUS
Lovely Ranch. Wonderful property.
TEANECK
Vintage Colonial. Prime area. $649,900
TEANECK
Picturesque setting. Private oasis.
G
R
E
A
T
R
E
N
T
A
L
!
O
F
F
E
R
A
C
C
E
P
T
E
D
!
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
N
,
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
N
,
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
N
!
A
L
R
E
A
D
Y
S
O
L
D
!
CHELSEA
Spacious ex 1 BR. Chelsea gem.
MURRAY HILL
Magnicent loft living. Roof deck.
GREENPOINT
3,200 sq. ft. Greek revival details.
WILLIAMSBURG
Great duplex. Sleek 3 BR penthouse.
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
S
O
L
D
!
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
A
C
C
E
P
T
E
D
O
F
F
E
R
!
WILLIAMSBURG
Stylish building. Heart of Bklyn.
UNION SQUARE
1 BR/1.5 BTH duplex w/loft. $699,000
TRIBECA
Posh penthouse. Prime location.
CHELSEA
Grand 3 BR/2.5 BTH. $3,750,000
S
O
L
D
!
J
U
S
T
L
I
S
T
E
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
I
N
D
I
G
O
C
O
N
D
O
M
I
N
I
U
M
Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ
Remarkable Service. Exceptional Results.
NJ: T: 201.266.8555 M: 201.906.6024
NY: T: 212.888.6250 M: 917.576.0776
JS-51
Jeff@MironProperties.com www.MironProperties.com
Ruth@MironProperties.com www.MironProperties.com/NJ
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.
Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!
ENGLEWOOD
471 TENAFLY ROAD $418,000
ENGLEWOOD
Quaint Colonial. Expansion possibilities. $758K
ENGLEWOOD
401 DOUGLAS STREET $1,345,000
ENGLEWOOD
State-of-the-art estate. $2,400,000
O
P
E
N

H
O
U
S
E
S
U
N
D
A
Y

2
-
4
J
U
S
T
L
I
S
T
E
D
!
O
P
E
N

H
O
U
S
E
S
U
N
D
A
Y

2
-
4
P
R
E
S
T
I
G
I
O
U
S
A
R
E
A
!
TENAFLY
Picture perfect 3 BR/2 BTH home.
TENAFLY
Beautiful Contemporary on a cul-de-sac.
TENAFLY
Old world charm. Timeless elegance.
TENAFLY
One-of-a-kind manor. $3,748,000
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
J
U
S
T
S
O
L
D
!
A
L
R
E
A
D
Y
S
O
L
D
!
E
V
E
R
Y
L
U
X
U
R
Y
!
LEONIA
5 BR/4 BTH Colonial $3,900/MO
PARAMUS
Lovely Ranch. Wonderful property.
TEANECK
Vintage Colonial. Prime area. $649,900
TEANECK
Picturesque setting. Private oasis.
G
R
E
A
T
R
E
N
T
A
L
!
O
F
F
E
R
A
C
C
E
P
T
E
D
!
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
N
,
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
N
,
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
N
!
A
L
R
E
A
D
Y
S
O
L
D
!
CHELSEA
Spacious ex 1 BR. Chelsea gem.
MURRAY HILL
Magnicent loft living. Roof deck.
GREENPOINT
3,200 sq. ft. Greek revival details.
WILLIAMSBURG
Great duplex. Sleek 3 BR penthouse.
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
S
O
L
D
!
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
A
C
C
E
P
T
E
D
O
F
F
E
R
!
WILLIAMSBURG
Stylish building. Heart of Bklyn.
UNION SQUARE
1 BR/1.5 BTH duplex w/loft. $699,000
TRIBECA
Posh penthouse. Prime location.
CHELSEA
Grand 3 BR/2.5 BTH. $3,750,000
S
O
L
D
!
J
U
S
T
L
I
S
T
E
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
I
N
D
I
G
O
C
O
N
D
O
M
I
N
I
U
M
Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ
Remarkable Service. Exceptional Results.
NJ: T: 201.266.8555 M: 201.906.6024
NY: T: 212.888.6250 M: 917.576.0776
JS-52
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*While Supplies last the
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64 oz
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5 lb
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14 oz
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32 oz
McCain
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12 oz - All Types
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25 oz
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36 oz
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