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New Jersey Jewish Standard - 9/28/2012
New Jersey Jewish Standard - 9/28/2012
New Jersey Jewish Standard - 9/28/2012
NEW JER S EY
September 28, 2012 Vol. LXXXII No. 1 $1.00
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Sukkot
Understanding the holiday Hosting heavenly guests Shaking your lulav Decorating your sukkah Growing etrogim
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hen Menorah Winston sings the classic song of the Yiddish theater, Rumania, Rumania, at the Fort Lee Public Library on Sunday at 2 p.m., pay close attention. Because the nostalgia of the song, which composer Aaron Lebedeff first recorded in 1925, applies to Winston as well. She was born and grew up in Bucharest, Romania. Winstons memories include the opportunity to shake hands with Israeli leaders Menachem Begin and Moshe Dayan when they visited Bucharest in the 1970s and the synagogue choir she was in sang for them. She remembers as well singing a solo in the choir welcoming visiting Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. He dropped his fork, she said. Together with the Yiddish theater, her youth choir put on shows for Purim. We celebrated and made jokes about our rabbi, Rabbi Moses Rosen, the countrys chief rabbi from 1948 until his death in 1994. The choir toured Romania, singing Israeli music and Yiddish songs. People in our community traveled two or three times a year to Israel, and always brought back cassettes and records, she said. Despite the cultural freedom, there was an inherent tension in being Jewish in Romania in those years. We were basically torn apart between the school the Communist regime said God did not exist and our rabbi, who gave sermons on how to stay close to our tradition and how to acknowledge Gods existence, she said. After high school, she emigrated first to Israel, and then to the United States, where she studied singing at the Manhattan School of Music, and later trained as a cantor at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. Now, though, she finds that her operatic experience and classical hazzanut is less desired by congregations than what she calls summer camp music. She finds part-time work as a cantor; this month she led services in Boise, Idaho, during the High Holy Days. I continue to apply for cantorial jobs, she said. Its a great love for me to serve a Jewish community.
-Larry Yudelson
CANDLELIGHTING TIME: FRIDAY, sEpT. 28, 6:25 p.M. sHABBAT ENDs: sATURDAY, sEpT. 29, 7:22 p.M.
PUBLISHERS STATEMENT Jewish Standard (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747) is published weekly on Fridays with an additional edition every October, by the New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Periodicals postage paid at Hackensack, NJ and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Subscription price is $30.00 per year. Out-of-state subscriptions are $45.00, Foreign countries subscriptions are $75.00. The appearance of an advertisement in The Jewish Standard does not constitute a kashrut endorsement. The publishing of a paid political advertisement does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate political party or political position by the newspaper, the Federation or any employees. The Jewish Standard assumes no responsibility to return unsolicited editorial or graphic materials. All rights in letters and unsolicited editorial, and graphic material will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject to JEWISH STANDARDs unrestricted right to edit and to comment editorially. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. 2012
In regard to kapparot, if one is not a vegetarian, that person is being highly selective in criticizing a centuries-old ritual. Alan M. Levin, Fair Lawn
Community
Organizations pitch in to aid Yemenite immigrants
Marla Cohen
ine Yemenite families brought to Monsey, N.Y., three years ago as refugees have found themselves in need of additional financial assistance since an organization that had provided them with aid has dropped out of the picture. Local organizations and people, including some in northern New Jersey, have been pitching in to assist the families, by either donating funds or adopting by providing financial assistance, transportation and any services that can help them, according to Leslie Goldress. She is a member of Bais Torah, a Monsey synagogue that has adopted one of the families. The Yemenis have needed help with their rent, yeshiva tuition, and other financial obligations, since the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, which had been assisting them, stopped paying several months ago, said Goldress, who is also a member of Rockland Jewish Family Services board of directors.
They are Jewish families that are trying to make and live a Jewish life against all odds. They have a face. Its not like giving to a faceless charity. These are people in our community who are suffering, and its our obligation to be there and do what we can to help them make a successful life.
Adele Garber
They receive a stipend from the county for rent, but it in no way pays the rent, said Goldress, who was drawn to the plight of the Yemenis, and then found herself sorting through their school and rent obligations. In every single month, they are short. The money stopped in May 2011. Thats when UJO disappeared. UJO is a Williamsburg-based social service organization connected to the Satmar chasidim that assists with immigration and resettlement, among other needs. A call to the organization was answered and forwarded to its executive director, Rabbi David Niederman. His voicemail recording said that Niederman is unavailable indefinitely and directed the caller to an e-mail address. E-mails to that address went unanswered. Goldress has sought assistance from area synagogues and other organizations so that the Yemeni families will not be evicted and the children can continue attending their yeshivot. The schools say that they will not accept the children back or take new kids [as the younger ones become school age] unless someone vouches for them, she said. The nine families represent more than 60 people,
ranging from infants to adults. Some of the families have as many as 14 children, while others have only two. One family lives six to a room, according to Goldress. While the school-age children have picked up English quickly, the adults speak little, if any. Some barely know how to hold a pen, and a television was a foreign curiosity to them, Goldress noted, and so they have been unable to find employment, other than cleaning and odd jobs. The Federation Employment and Guidance Services health and human services provided assistance to acculturate the families, including English instructions, but their language skills remain very poor, she said. Goldress has sought help from a variety of organizations. Congregation Shaarey Israel, a traditional synagogue in Montebello, N.Y., decided to adopt one of the families recently. Before Rosh Hashanah and the new school year, the congregation raised money to buy shoes and school supplies for the children, as well as diapers, toiletries, and other clothing. Members also have helped with assorted bills, according to Elly Egenberg, a chair of the shuls Temani committee. (Temani is Hebrew for Yeminite Jews.) There is still so much to do, Egenberg said. Just like when my grandparents came to this country, there were people waiting for them to help them navigate the ways, the road. Thats what Shaarey Israel wants to do for this Yemenite family. Goldress has been raising funds from individuals and organizations to pay off the nearly $11,000 owed in back rent for 16 months, when UJOs involvement stopped, she said. She has received some funds from the Good People Fund in New Jersey, which provides small grants for a variety of tzedakah projects; as well as the Jewish Federation of Rockland County; the Orangetown Jewish Center, and the New City Jewish Center. This is such a funny melding of cultures and Jews, said Rabbi David Berkman of the New City Jewish Center, who provided assistance from his discretionary fund, as did the synagogues rabbi emeritus, Henry Sosland. Yemenite Jews, brought over by Satmar, supported by Conservative Jews, its really kol yisrael arevim zeh bzeh, Berkman said, using the Hebrew phrase all Jews are responsible for one another. At OJC, the issue was brought to the congregations Chesed Committee, which normally handles internal tzedakah projects, according to co-chair Adele Garber. The group is putting together a committee to oversee greater involvement with one of the families, but for now the congregation has donated clothing, school supplies, and toys. One of the Hebrew classes may adopt a family, helping to meet some of its food and Chanukah needs, she said. They are Jewish families that are trying to make and live a Jewish life against all odds, Garber said. They have a face. Its not like giving to a faceless charity. These are people in our community who are suffering, and its our obligation to be there and do what we can to help them make a successful life.
The Yemenis journey began seven years ago when a first wave was resettled with the help of the Satmar chasidim in Monsey. In 2008, the situation in Yemen worsened for the Jews when a local leader, Moshe YaishNahiri, was murdered there by a Muslim fundamentalist. In 2009, the Yemenite government paid to relocate the citys Jews to the capital, Sanaa, to protect them, although many Jews refused to move. The Jewish Agency for Israel launched a clandestine operation to bring the community to Israel. The group that came to Monsey had family in the area, but their destination proved controversial at the time. There were accusations in the media and from some Jewish groups that Jewish Federations of North America, then known as United Jewish Communities, which was the umbrella organization for the North American Jewish federation movement, was working with anti-Zionists. This was reference to UJO of Williamsburg, which while not a specifically Satmar organization, has strong ties to the community. (Satmar is one of the largest group of chasidim, with large communities in Brooklyn and Kiryas Joel in upstate New York, as well as in Monsey. The movement is known for its anti-Zionism.) The resettlement effort relied on the cooperation of several organizations working with the U.S. State Department. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the New York Legal Assistance Group and FEGS health and human services system, in particular, played large roles in the resettlement, and continue to provide some ongoing legal assistance. Yes, we are working with this group of refugees, said Olga Avrasina, a senior attorney at the NYLAG Immigration Protection Unit. The funding is over, but the need is not over. It is ongoing. NYLAG has assisted with passport, visa, and green card applications, as well as complicated name procedures involving name changes on legal documents, where spellings did not match, Avrasima said. The organization also is helping two daughters of one family resettle in Monsey the two young women now live in London. The Yemenite Jews are no strangers to resettlement. From 1949 through 1950, a secret joint operation involving the imam who ruled North Yemen, the British authorities in Aden, the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee whisked nearly 50,000 Yemenite Jews from their homes to Israel. The operation is also known as On Wings of Eagles, and it is one of the romanticized stories of the early days of Israels founding. Goldress is hoping other synagogues and organizations will pitch in and aid the Monsey group with their ongoing needs. If other congregations could adopt some of the families, as they did during the influx of Soviet Jews in the 1990s, the families futures would be more secure. They are so appreciative of whatever we do for them, Goldress said.
heoretical bonds between people are very good things. We are all Jews, so we all care about each other. We are American Jews with a deep connection to Israel, so we care about Israelis. But there is nothing like the bonds that develop between Israeli teenagers and American adults old enough to be their parents, when those teenagers spend three weeks living in the adults houses. Those bonds which are both tight and real, and therefore tend to be long-lasting as well are what develop through Project Open Hearts, Open Homes, a program of the Bergen County Y in Washington Township. For 11 years, the Jewish community center has been bringing young teenagers who have been affected by terrorism here for three-week stays. The adults with whom they live take care of them as they care for their own children. The teenagers weekdays are occupied by the programs at a travel camp; the adults and the larger YJCC community fill their weekends, and the parents do normal parent jobs, packing their lunches, doing their laundry, and ferrying them back and forth from camp and to and from all the other activities that give them a full view of Jewish life in the United States. It has affected Amy Wexlers life. Wexler and her husband, Rob, who live in Woodcliff Lake, have hosted on and off since 2006. Ive hosted six kids, and through the program Ive hosted a total of 13, she said, explaining that her close relationships with the children she housed led to invitations that were proffered to siblings and other relatives that, in turn, led to even more relationships. Another Israeli teenager she hosted was a counselor. Im still in touch with all of them, she added. In fact, she is so close with some of these Israelis that two of them two of my girls, as she puts it came to New Jersey for the wedding of one of the Wexlers daughters. Theyve become my family, she said. Relationships are strengthened by Skype, the voiceover-Internet service that facilitates inexpensive overseas video calling. As technology has advanced, the onceamazing e-mails and text messages are supplemented by live action. It all helps keeps strong feelings alive. The teenagers who come to New Jersey originally the program accepted applicants who were between 12 and 14 years old, but now the participants are between 14 and 16 all have been affected by terrorism, Wexler said. Theyve lost a parent or sibling, or are dealing with some kind of post-traumatic stress. The towns the teens come from tend to be working class. The visitors speak English, but most have not been to the United States before this trip. Without the program, they might never have made their way here. When they come here, they are emotionally needy and vulnerable. Im the mother of four, and I cant even imagine my own kids going through this, Wexler said. I know it sounds crazy that inside of three weeks you can make this attachment, but its three weeks of them living with you, breathing with you, eating and sleeping with you the way your own children do, she continued. Im the one doing their laundry. When theyre sick, Im the one taking their temperature and giving them medicine. Im the one kissing them good night when they go to sleep, and wishing them laila tov good night. Wexler thinks that it might be time for her and her husband to pull back a bit from the program. A piece of my heart gets torn out every time they leave, she said. When I drove my kids back to Kennedy airport, it was pathetic. We were sobbing and holding onto each other. This was the first year Mindy Schultz and her husband, Jeff, who live in Fair Lawn, hosted, but it is unlikely
Idan, left, and Gil, right, as they prepare to leave their new American family, the Schultzes. Courtesy the shultz
family
that it will be the last. The program houses two teens of the same gender with one set of temporary parents, so the Schultzes offered hospitality to two boys, Idan, 15, and Gil, 14 1/2. (They are at an age when the half-year matters.) I feel like I made lifelong connections, Mindy Schultz said. One of them has parents from Ethiopia, and the other has a Moroccan background. We had wonderful Shabbats with them, and we introduced them to our extended family and friends. I asked Idan if he feels relaxed with us. He comes from Sderot; the sirens go off there almost every day and have for the last 10 years. (The sirens warn of missiles that are lobbed at Sderot from across the border in Gaza.) They have 15 seconds to get to the bomb shelter everyone has a bomb shelter in his house. There are girls on the trip from Netivot, she said parenthetically. They have a whole 30 seconds to get the bomb shelter. So when I asked Idan if he felt more relaxed, he said yes but no, because my family is still there. Theyre always thinking about their families. But theyre fun-loving, she continued. And their families have not been to the United States. There are screening programs for the teenagers; they are checked not only for physical fitness and for Englishlanguage ability, but also for psychological resilience. The trip is a wonderful opportunity, but only for teenagers who are ready to be away from home for so long a stretch and who have the capacity to become connected so intimately to strangers. It is not always easy, particularly not at first. This is the first time most have been out of the country at all, and away from their parents, Wexler said. If theyre dealing with major stuff, it can be trying. It is what you make of it. I tend to be a demonstrative person, and so I dont wait. My kids come, and Im greeting them right off the bus with hugs. Other people might be more formal, shaking hands instead of hugging, but thats not my way. Our kids get it right away. This is a family. These are loving people. Even though the teenagers speak English, language can be a problem at times. Wexler dealt with it by learning Hebrew herself, through federation-sponsored programs, but, she said, when necessary, there is always sign language and pointing. In the end, everyone understands each other. The program is funded privately, by the host families and through private donations, and it is administered through the YJCC.
Amit and Dana Dahan with Amy and Bob Wexler, who hosted them on Open Hearts, Open Homes. They have returned for the Wexlers daughters wedding.
Courtesy the wexler family
Amit Dahan signs Genna Wexler and Josh Prells ketubah. Courtesy the wexler family
The Dahan sisters with their American family, the Wexlers. Courtesy the wexler family
hen a group from Temple Israel and Jewish Community Center in Ridgewood went on a trip to Israel this summer, the age range was wide there was an 86-year-old woman and a seven-year-old girl, and about 28 people in between. Tina Polen, at 70, fits nicely into that range, toward the top, but still below it. She stands out in another way, though. She is a church-going, choirsinging, cross-wearing African-American Southern Baptist. Polen has been the custodian at Temple Israel for about 24 years; she began there part-time before she retired as an administrator she worked for IBM, and then for Pascack Hospital. In addition to her work at Temple Israel, she also is a caretaker for a 13-year-old boy with autism. She is a presence at the shul Im there on Friday and Saturday, I work with the children, I know just about everyone at the shul, and they know me, she said. Tina will sit at the back at services and follow along, Temple Israels rabbi, David Fine, said. She is well-loved by the community, and she never has traveled outside the country. She is a religious Christian. I thought it would be a lovely thing if we could bring her along. Finances posed no problem. It was the easiest fund-raising I ever did, Fine said. I asked at a board meeting, and I asked a few other people. Everyone I asked opened their hearts and their checkbooks. Twenty-six families donated to send Polen to Israel, and the tour company, Israel Tour Connection in Livingston, offered a special rate because the owner thought it was a beautiful thing, Fine said.
The trip was a fairly standard 10-day synagogue jaunt, the culmination of an adult education course on Israel that Fine had taught. There were a few additions, though; we planned special stops, so that when we drove to Tiberius from Haifa, we stopped at Nazareth to see the Church of the Annunciation, and [we took] a tour of the old city. I usually take my groups to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, but this time we stopped for longer, he said, and the discussion included the stops of the Via Dolorosa, known as the Twelve Stations of the Cross, supposedly marking Jesus walk to Golgotha, the site of his execution. It is a must stop for Christian pilgrims. Polens reaction to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre surprised Fine. The ornamentation, the candles, the incense she said that it seemed like a different religion to her, he reported. The churches there are different than the ones Im used to, Polen confirmed. Theyre well, theyre gaudy, with all the crystal and the chandeliers and things hanging from the ceiling. Even the Catholic churches Ive been to havent had all that. The church is said to be where Jesuss body was taken after he died. That really didnt excite me, because it was unbelievable to me, Polen said. Back in the day of Jesus, I dont believe that they had all that stuff. But when I went to the Garden Tomb, I could believe it. Some Christian folklore holds that the Garden Tomb is where Jesus was buried. The site, run by a British-based group, reflects a much more Protestant aesthetic; it is low-key and natural, and, of course, it is outdoors. Fine took Polen and a congre-
gant to see it on their last day in Israel. Its very quiet, Fine reported. It is just a tomb in the rock, with a sign that reads, He is not here for he is risen. Around the outside is where they believe Golgotha is. Tina was overcome, he said. There were times when the two worlds Polens and Fines came together unexpectedly. When we went to Ashkelon, there were a number of African Americans who had converted to Judaism and moved to Israel, Fine said. They belong to Kehillat Netzach Israel, the Conservative/ Masorti synagogue in Ashkelon. (Masorti is the name the Conservative movement uses outside North America; it means traditional.) Temple Israel is a Conservative synagogue, so the group spent Shabbat at Netzach Israel. And then they made us a karaoke celebration on motzei Shabbes. That was an easier connection for Tina to make, instead of always being with Israeli sabras or American Jews. They tried to talk me into staying, Polen added. No matter who you are, you can always find a connection in Israel, Fine continued. You always find someone who can give you a feeling of connection. Its not a strange place with camels and Arabian nights; its a place where real people live, people like us. Thats always a feeling I try to get across. For her part, Polen was thrilled by the trip, a voyage that she never thought shed make; in fact, the only time shed ever been out of the country before was on a Caribbean cruise. I started opening my eyes wide, and it was interesting to see the differences in the countries, she said. I thought it would be more modern. There are parts
Rabbi Fine, tour guide Issa Abdullah, and Tina Polen outside the Church of the Nativity david fine
that are really very modern, but not all of it. The thing that really got me was when we went up to the top of the Golan Heights. Im afraid of heights, but it was amazing. All the different layers of Herods amphitheater amazing. And the Dead Sea amazing. We went up on Masada; at my age, I took the cable car up, but I walked down. When we were in Jerusalem, we went to the Western Wall and the southern wall, and we had a service at Robinsons Arch for kids who had just become bar mitzvah, Polen said. It was warm and fulfilling. Everyone was happy; no one was saying Im bored. And we went to the Western Wall, and I said my little prayers there, the same way everyone else did. It was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to discover the interconnections of the Christian heritage and ours, Fine said. Its always wonderful to be in Israel with family and friends, but to have an interfaith trip with a believing Christian who was in Israel for the first time was really very powerful.
412 likes. Rivka Goldstein wrote: In our yearbook (76) she writes a quote, When you educate a man, you have an educated man, but when you educate a woman, you have educated a family. Amanda Bier Lyman wrote: She touched thousands of girls and their families with her compassion, guidance, honesty and wisdom. She was always available for every girl and treated us all like her own daughters. Ms. Neuburger said that at the funeral last Friday in Brooklyn, she heard several Bruriah graduates around her begin sentences with: If it werent for Mrs. Newman... ending with speculation such as ... I would be the biggest loser, or ... I wouldnt be religious. I owe her everything, Ms. Neuburger said. Formerly a computer programmer, she was invited to Bruriah more than 20 years ago to teach one class and Mrs. Newman wanted her to teach on a more regular basis. It took five years of persuasion before she accepted the offer. I was not a good teacher at the beginning and she really nurtured me, Ms. Neuburger said. She believed in me. Mrs. Newman is survived by her husband, Dr. Avigdor (Victor) Newman, and their sons Rabbi Eliyahu Newman, Rabbi Dovid Newman, Rabbi Yehuda Newman, and Rabbi Yaakov Newman, and their daughter, Shlomis Peikes.
s uk kot
Naturally relevant
why now, more than ever, we need sukkot and its down-to-earth benefits
Shammai EngElmayEr
f all the antiquated customs in Judaism, the ones related to Sukkot probably are the most embarrassing for modern Jews. Imagine, goes the reasoning, COmmentary having to participate in such ludicrous rituals as waving palm branches decorated with willows and myrtle, and connected, no less, to the worlds most expensive lemon, the citron. Leviticus 23:40 states, And you shall take on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. Yet, say the naysayers, not only does the way this law is observed smack of some pagan tree-hugging, but the Torah probably never meant for its words to be taken in this way. They point to Nechemiah 8:15. Go out to the mountain, the people are told, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written [in the Torah]. Obviously, the argument goes, the so-called four species were meant as the construction material for the booths. That, of course, brings up the whole booths thing, especially sitting outside on a cold night in early autumn, eating elegant dinners in shabbily constructed shelters with insufficient space and uncomfortable chairs, dead leaves dropping into the soup and bees circling ominously nearby. More to the point, in this Golden Age of Deconstruction, the whole premise of the festival is a pious fraud. After all, the Israelites never dwelt in booths, but in tents and they certainly did not live in the prefabricated fiberglass sukkot so favored today. Also, the evidence is as clear as the night sky above the sukkah that (a) this festival came very late, (b) its roots are to be found in pagan agricultural ritual, and (c) its Exodus connection was forced. In talmudic times, the debate raged between two prominent Tannaim (Land of Israel rabbis of the mishnaic period), Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva. Their debate is found in a discussion in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Sukkot regarding the validity of sukkah coverings. At issue was a general rule cited by a mishnah on 11a: The sukkah covering must be something that grew in the ground and that remains in its natural state. A gemara on 11b tells us that this is correct according to him who says that [the booths referred to in the Torah were] clouds of glory [this is Rabbi Eliezers view], but according to him who says [the Israelites] made real booths for themselves [meaning Rabbi Akiva], what is there to say [by way of explanation]? For we were taught: For I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths. These [booths actually] were clouds of glory, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But Rabbi Akiva says, They made for themselves real booths. Once again, the Book of Nechemiah is cited. Here is all of what 8:14-17 has to say: And they found written in the Torah, which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the people of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim and publish in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. So the people went out, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the
10 Jewish standard sePteMBer 28, 2012
Sukkot reflect their owners tastes and imaginations through the decoration process.
roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the House of God, and in the open space of the Water Gate, and in the open space of the Gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of those who had returned from [the Babylonian] captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths; for since the days of Joshua, son of Nun, to that day the people of Israel had not done so. If the laws of Sukkot went unobserved since the days of Joshua, meaning for at least 600 years or more, they probably did not exist at all until Nechemiah and Ezra, Nechemiahs colleague and the religious leader of Israel at that time. Aside from the Torah, whose authorship is suspect as far as people making such arguments are concerned (many credit Ezra with seaming it together from strands of documents reflecting varying Israelite traditions), there is almost nothing in the rest of the Bible to confirm the existence of Sukkot. In Judges 21:19-21, for example, there would even be an indication that, at best, Sukkot was nothing more than a local agricultural feast, probably related to the grape harvest, in which the highlight was young women dancing. And they said, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beit El, on the east side of the highway that ascends from Beit El to Shechem, and on the south of Livonah. Therefore, they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances. (It is because the Torah refers to Sukkot as a feast to the Lord that this scene in Judges is considered to be a version of it.) How can we cling to such absurdities, the argument goes, and still call ourselves modern? That is the wrong question. How can we not cling to them is far more appropriate. Forget the question of the origins of Sukkot or even whether the Torah wants us to shake our lulavim or use them to build our sukkot (and never mind that would mean having to use glorified lemons as building materials, which would make for a pretty mess; the Torah, after all, includes the citron in this alleged construction list). It is just this kind of minutiae that distorts the Torahs purpose. In this case, literally, we cannot see the forest for the trees if we get bogged down in this way. Sukkot does not belong to the ancient world, just as Shabbat does not. Rather, the seven days of Sukkot may be the most important seven days on the Jewish calendar (yes, seven; Shmini Atzeret is a separate festival tacked on to the end of Sukkot) precisely because of its rituals, as these have come down to us.
Sukkot, above all else, is about the natural order of the world and the Creator whose word caused it all to come into being. We live in an age when people get their e-mail streaming into devices nestled in their coat pockets, and where they can sit on a beach and still answer memos, write reports and participate in business conferences. There is no escape from the workday world, and technology, rather than simplifying our lives, only complicates them further. We are so far removed from the real world that it is only half in jest that my late wife once suggested changing who brings forth the bread from the earth to who brings forth the bread from the bread machine. Bread comes from the earth, not a machine, but only if we understand the process by which seeds of wheat become slices of pumpernickel. There is a world out there that goes underappreciated and undervalued. Sukkot like Shabbat forces us to recognize that world and how much we still need it. This festival forces us to consider nature as part of our very being; indeed, as part of the essence of our being. Shabbat is probably the most environmentally protective day there is. It demands that we forego technology and smell the roses. Sukkot brings that message home for an entire week and adds layers to it by interconnecting species, and then putting us in the midst of once-living things and insisting that we dwell therein, as part of it all. (That technology has compromised even this - with canvas and fiberglass booths, and bamboo mats replacing ferns and leafy branches as covering only demonstrates how sorely we need this message of Sukkot.) There is nothing antiquated or embarrassing about Sukkot. There is nothing fraudulent about it, either. For example, the prophets make clear over and again that the Israelites time and again abandoned the Torah in many ways since the days of Joshua. That they abandoned Sukkot, as well, does not prove that Sukkot did not exist. That Sukkot may have been observed around the cultic shrine at Shiloh, but not in other parts of the Land of Israel, may actually be an affirmation that the festival is Mosaic in origin. A place such as Shiloh was certain to have attracted a more observant citizenry, loath to abandon Gods law in any of its aspects. In fact, there is much that is quite modern and appealing about it, just as there is much that is modern and appealing about Torah law in general. We just need to open our eyes and our minds a bit wider, and take the blinders off, to see the truths that are still to be found there.
s uk kot
he custom of shaking the lulav in all directions to each of the four points of the compass, and then up and down originally symbolized an acknowledgment of Gods all-encompassing presence. But in chasidic thought, the practice took on other symbolic, spiritual meanings. Chasidism brought the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah to the masses, reinterpreting longstanding traditions and imbuing them with the spiritual meaning.
We dont know when to love and how to love and we always put so many borders in the wrong place.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
For Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, the shaking of the lulav was a meditation that could last half an hour. Each direction had significance; each represented a different
prayer, the wish for a different blessing to think of the limits, the judgments in for the coming year. And in the years that your life. Are your circumstances too I prayed at his synagogue before his death confining? Do you need more boundarin 1994, the lulav ceremony was, for me, ies, or fewer? Do you need more strength? the most meaningful of the services of This is an opportunity to invite God to this holy day season. help you fix the limits in your life. I have adapted his teaching as I reNext, face straight forward, the direcmember hearing it and as I have posted it tion symbolized by tiferet, or beauty. on my website, mishpacha.org. This is the ideal of balance, where the First, face right. Right in kabbalah sigbeneficence and the boundaries are in nifies the attribute of chesed kindness, their proper proportions. It is symbolized mercy, overwhelming beneficence. Its a by Jacob, who fathered the Jewish people. reminder of Abraham, master of hospitalReflect: What do you need to bring bality. Facing right, slowly shaking the lulav ance in your life? in and out three times, think about all the Then, look up. Can you connect with chesed, the giving in your life, and pray to God? Whats the holiness you need in Shlomo Carlebach God to perfect it. Do you find it too hard your life? How high can you rise this year to be generous? Or are you suffering from an excess of spiritually? generosity, of kindness, of love? We dont know when Then, aim down. This is a chance to pray for groundto love and how to love and we always put so many boredness, to reflect on your foundations. And its about ders in the wrong place, Carlebach said. Facing right, your ability to find the buried treasures, under your feet; pray for God to grant you the proper measure of chesed. the truths buried in the dirt. Then face left. Left in Kabbalah is gevurah Finally, face backwards and wave the lulav in that strength, strict judgment, limits. Gevurah is symbolized direction. The essence of repentance, Carlebach taught, by Isaac bound for sacrifice on Mount Moriah, unis being able to go back and fix your past. This is a prayer flinching, accepting of judgment. Take this opportunity that your past be fixed by your coming to terms with it.
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heyre the ideal high-energy, lowThe full explanation of his reasoning, maintenance guests. along with Hebrew and English liturgy, can In a tradition going back at least be found at http://bit.ly/js-neohasid. 700 years, on each of the seven days of The Conservative movements Sukkot a different Biblical hero is invited Rabbinical Assembly took a historical into the sukkah. rather than a kabbalistic approach in its Theyre known as ushpizin, from the selection of seven women. It chose Sarah, Aramaic term for guests. (Linguistically, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Miriam, Devorah, ushpizin is related to the English words and Ruth. A full ushpizin ritual with comhospice and hospitality.) mentary, from the Conservative prayer The idea first appears in the Zohar, the book Or Hadash, can be downloaded from best known and most important text of http://bit.ly/js-hadash. Jewish mysticism. For the Zohar, the magic Chabad-Lubavitch has a related tradiof the guests is symbolic: seven days of tion of celebrating each day of Sukkot the holiday correspond to seven Biblical Rabbi Alan Brill with a mention of one of the rabbis in its characters. chasidic dynasty, beginning with the Baal When a man sits in the shadow of faith the Shekhinah Shem Tov, founder of chasidism. spreads Her wings on him from above and Abraham and Their souls come and enjoy the sukkah with us, tofive other righteous ones of God (and David with them) gether with regular ushpizin, said Rabbi Ephraim Simon make their abode with him A man should rejoice each of Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County in Teaneck. day of the festival with these guests, writes the Zohar. Each one of the rebbes in Chabad has taught a treThe Sefardim invited the guests in the order of their mendous amount of Torah. They serve as our inspirakabbalistic symbolism: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, tion, he said. Aaron, Joseph, and David. Rather than ritually inviting each days rebbe, a dvar Torah is dedicated to him either a story about him or a piece of Torah taught by him. Similarly, Simon said, the seven original patriarchs are marked with a dvar Torah. The key to opening up the spiritual doors is all through Torah, he said. The Zohar is clear, however, that the sukkah table is not only for spiritual guests. The host must help the poor to rejoice. Why? Because the portion of the celestial guests whom he has invited belongs to the poor, writes the Zohar. It continues: But let him not say I shall eat and be Rabbi Alan Brill satisfied and take my fill first, and then give to the poor what is left over. The guests should come first. And if he makes them rejoice and satisfies [the poor], the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoices with him. The Ashkenazic halachic authorities edited the list Rabbi Alan Brill, a professor at the graduate departinto chronological order. They invite Abraham, Isaac, ment of Jewish-Christian studies at Seton Hall University, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. notes the similarity of this piece of the Zohar with earlier In recent years, there has been a desire to invite feteaching of Maimonides: When one eats and drinks, one male Biblical archetypes as well. Enumerating these ushmust also feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow, and pizot, however, is a matter of dispute. other unfortunate paupers. But one who locks the doors One ritual draws on the Talmud (Megillah 14a-b), of his courtyard, and eat and drinks with his children and which lists seven prophetesses: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, wife but does not feed the poor and the embittered soul Hannah, Abigail, Hulda, and Esther. By the 13th cen this is not the joy of a mitzvah, but the joy of his belly tury, the prophetesses already were linked to the seven (Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Festivals 6:18). sephirot. Brill said the Zohar is following one of its basic prinA poster with these figures along with Biblical ciples, that which occures on earth has a parallel above. verses, and the Hebrew invitational phrase is available Youre inviting supernal guests assuming youre going to at ushpizot.org. invite below, he said. But this list is rejected by Rabbi David Seidenberg In other words, while youre serving the needy at your of the Neochasid.org web site, who writes, This order table, youre also serving heavenly beings. doesnt feel to me like the one we should base ushpizin Over time, though, the ritual shifted from being about on, however. the poor to being about the ushpizin, even as the meanHe notes that only one of the matriarchs is representing of sefirot increasingly took on connotations of pered, and the three very strong correspondences between sonal character traits, he said. the sefirot with Leah, Rachel, and Tamar are left out. If youre inviting the downtrodden and lonely on Instead, he invites Ruth, Sarah, Rivkah, Miriam, each day of Sukkot, its not about your personal feelings. Devorah, Tamar, and Rachel. The meaning has shifted to symbolism and identifying Ruth represents chesed, he writes, pure kindness with archetypes. and trust, devoting herself entirely to being Gods inI think people like the Zohar more than they like strument and Naomis support, the one who chooses to the poor, unfortunately, Brill said, adding that its not be Jewish (to speak anachronistically) without any adjust the poor who should be invited, but the lonely, the vantage or self-interest, motivated strictly from within downtrodden, the embittered. Those we certainly have herself, like Abraham. in suburbia.
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The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation will hold Walk for Life on Oct. 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Pier Village in Long Branch. This walk is the only one in New Jersey dedicated solely to raising awareness and funds to expand the worldwide bone marrow registry. The walk is in memory of Mel Cohen of Ocean, who was the executive director of Jewish Family & Children Services of Monmouth County for 30 years before retiring in 2006. Three months after his retirement, he needed a bone marrow transplant, which was found through Gift of Life. As a tribute to his memory, all net proceeds raised at the walk will be used to underwrite the laboratory costs associated with tissue-typing new donors so they can be added to the registry. It costs $54 to process each sample; the goal is to sponsor more than 1,000 volunteer bone marrow donors. Call 800-9MARROW or www.giftoflife.org.
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of who wins in November, the administration in Washington will not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; it will not move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; it will not support the expansion of settlements in the west bank; and it will not sanction unilateral military moves by Israel against the Palestinians or the Iranians. On the other hand, regardless of who wins in November, the administration in Washington will continue to protect Israel at the United Nations; will maintain a strong security relationship with Israel; and will continue to lavish massive amounts of U.S. aid on Israel, at least so long as Tea Party candidates who object to all foreign aid do not get themselves elected to Congress. In other words, it really does not matter whether President Barack Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney wins in November, as far as Israels security is concerned. So there is no reason why Israel needs to be such a large focus of the campaign. In fact, there is a downside to involving Israel. Because he feels compelled to demonstrate how supportive he truly is toward Israel, Obama at times makes statements that may come back to haunt him in a second term, should he receive one. That is because he will have lost some credibility as an honest broker in negotiations for having taken so strong a position favoring Israel. Romney, for his part, feels he must counter Obamas clearly strong record of support for Israel militarily, in the area of security cooperation, and at the United Nations. And so he put his potentially presidential foot in his mouth when he expressed no support for a two-state solution and no confidence in negotiations. If he sticks to his word, he will have limited any freedom of action he may have had in trying to bring a resolution to the IsraelPalestinian conflict. Such positioning on the part of both candidates can only hurt Israel in the long run. Israel will be in good hands regardless of who wins in November. We accept that. So please, candidates, keep Israel out of it for the rest of the campaign.
Sixty years later, recalling the historic agreement for German restitution
Saul Kagan
NEW YORK As the founding executive director of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, I remember just how difficult the issue of negotiating with Germany was within the Jewish world 60 years ago. In Israel in particular, it was a subject of enormous controversy, both political and FirsT Person moral. Yet as far as we in the negotiating delegation were concerned, we did not come just to seek financial help to assist the victims of the Shoah. For the first time in the history of the Jewish people, we came forward to advance legal and moral claims on the country that had perpetrated crimes against us, in this case the successor state to the Third Reich. For the Jewish people, persecuted and homeless for two millennia, this indeed was a unique moment in its history.
For the first time in the history of the Jewish people, we came forward to advance legal and moral claims on the country that had perpetrated crimes against us, in this case the successor state to the Third Reich.
Saul Kagan
Our organization was formed in 1951 following a landmark speech by West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer that signaled Germanys readiness to address its responsibility for the acts of the Nazi regime. We chose our groups name very deliberately. We wanted to ensure recognition that although material claims could be addressed, the moral claims of the survivors and indeed the entire Jewish people never could be resolved. Negotiations among representatives of the Claims Conference, the State of Israel, and West Germany began in March 1952. For these talks, the Dutch government gave us an old medieval castle called the Oudkasteel at the edge of the Hague. Two anti-Nazis headed the German delegation: Franz Bohm, a Frankfurt University professor of civil law whom American forces had freed from a Gestapo jail, and lawyer Otto Koester, who had been a leader of the Protestant resistance to the Nazis.
Saul Kagan was the founding executive director of the Claims Conference and served as the organizations professional leader for 47 years. He remains a special consultant.
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he most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. So said a unanimous United States Supreme Court in a decision authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in the 1919 case Schenck vs. the United States (249 U.S. 47). A number of letter-writers argued that our editorial calling for an investigation of the producers of a film that disparaged the founder of Islam was a chilling call for abrogating free speech. That film, let us recall, cost the U.S. ambassador to Libya his life and the lives of three other consular employees. To date, it also has cost the lives of over 50
people, who died in the rioting and violence that the film unleashed. The producers of the film unashamedly declared that they expected a violent reaction and even welcomed it. We went into this knowing that this was probably going to happen, said Steve Klein, an Evangelical Christian anti-Muslim activist and a self-described consultant on the film. If that is the case, then the films producers were falsely shouting fire in a theater. Innocent people died. Free speech is not the issue here. The issue here is whether the film was deliberately meant to bring on the violence that led to the deaths. If yes, then the only issue here is murder.
Correspondents Ken Hilfman Abigail K. Leichman Science Correspondent Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman About Our Children Editor Heidi Mae Bratt Advertising Director Natalie D. Jay Classified Director Janice Rosen Advertising Coordinator Jane Carr Account Executives Peggy Elias George Kroll Karen Nathanson Brenda Sutcliffe International Media Placement P.O. Box 7195 Jerusalem 91077 Tel: 02-6252933, 02-6247919 Fax: 02-6249240 Israeli Representative
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There were no handshakes, no banter that first day. The atmosphere was official and chilly. We somehow had the feeling that we were not alone in this room; somehow we felt that the spirits of those who could not be there were with us. After that very solemn start, the talks engendered a proper working relationship in personal contact and discussions. The German delegation would meet mornings with the Israeli delegation and afternoons with Claims Conference representatives. The Claims Conference and Israeli representatives would meet at the end of each day and coordinate positions. Among the three groups we created a foundation of friendly and civilized human relationships. We worked throughout the spring and summer, and you dont spend all those months together, night and day, without developing a normal rapport and relationships. At times we were deadlocked. Nachum Goldmann, representing the Claims Conference, would fly to Germany to meet with Adenauer, and the two would resolve the dilemma. For six months we wrestled with trying to create the basis both for compensation and for the principle of a small measure of justice that had to be the underpinning for all the efforts. Clearly we never believed that we could attain any sort of true justice, so any sort of payments, no matter the amount, always would be symbolic in nature. In September 1952 we signed the agreements by which West Germany promised to enact legislation that would provide individual compensation to Holocaust survivors, provide funds to the Claims Conference to help Holocaust survivors outside of Israel rebuild their lives, and provide funds to the State of Israel. Signed in Luxembourg by Adenauer, Goldmann, and Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett on behalf of Israel, the agreements laid the foundation for the ensuing 60 years of seeking a small measure of justice for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. The agreement was for $821 million. Since then, Germany has paid $70 billion in compensation to Jewish victims of Nazism. Adenauer and Goldmann remained in touch, periodically vacationing together in Switzerland. From 1952 onward, the Claims Conference has worked with every German government to press its demands and to ensure that the commitment that the German government had undertaken in Luxembourg would not remain paper on the shelf of an archive. After six decades of continuous, intense efforts to fulfill, expand, and implement the basic principles that are contained in the Luxembourg agreements, we should mark them. We dont celebrate necessarily. We mark them, properly and appropriately. When I look back now and think about being present at negotiations and the signing of the Luxembourg documents, I think not about writing history but about learning from experience to continue to energize our efforts going forward. At the Claims Conference, we knew at all times that there cannot be full indemnification for the survivors personal suffering. We also knew there was no way that the material losses could be fully compensated. So we had to focus on the optimum that could be attained while continuing to pursue expansions. We have done this now for 60 years. But our mission and our responsibility are by no means finished. They must continue for generations and generations to come because above and beyond our efforts to advance the demands of the survivors, there are lessons that have to be carried forward, beyond the Jewish world, in the hope that the more the world will learn what the Holocaust was all about, and how just prejudice can turn into hate and land in the crematoria of Auschwitz, the better it will be not only for the Jewish people but for the world at large. So we must continue.
JTA Wire Service
n the Book of Leviticus, Moses tells the Israelites that beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (counting from the month of Passover), You shall live in booths [sukkot] seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the Lord your God (23.42-43). The most remarkable aspect of Sukkot in Israel, for someone who observed the holiday in a variety of locations in the States before making aliyah, is that the idea of obeying Moses can seem like a pleasant one. Whether Sukkot comes out at the end of September or during October, the climate in Israel is perfect for being outdoors, especially at night. You never have to worry about rain, and even if the sun is still hot during the day, there usually is enough of a breeze to make a meal inside the sukkah (which by Jewish law must contain more shade than sun) seem more like a picnic than an onerous religious ritual. Jews in the States usually are not so lucky. In Miami, for example, where I lived for six years before making aliyah, Sukkot occurs in the middle of summer (summer in Miami goes from mid-April through early November). Daytime Sukkot meals in Miami leave you drenched in sweat, and many families eat part of these meals indoors. At the other extreme there are my cousins in Chicago, whose most vivid memories of Sukkot are of eating soup with gloves on, hovering over their steaming bowls for warmth. And it often happens that in many parts of the States the rabbis brief remarks on erev Sukkot sound more like Notes From the Rain Bunker, covering such topics as Kiddush in drizzle and when to throw in the towel. In Israel, the weather is so nice (and the perceived danger from gentiles nonexistent) that it is indeed much more common to find people doing what Moses had intended: living in the sukkah. There are people who move their dining-room tables and chairs into the sukkah, along with their china-laden buffet. At night, these people will not make do with sleeping on air mattresses. They will move their whole beds outside to their sukkah. There is just one problem with the pleasant weather in Israel on Sukkot it ruins a popular rabbinical teaching. Remember the reason given for the booths in Leviticus? The sukkot are reminders of the temporary booths used in the Exodus from Egypt. A classic rabbinical question, therefore, is: if so, if the booths are connected to the Exodus, then why was the Sukkot holiday not assigned to one of the months more immediately following Passover? Here is the traditional answer: Celebrating Sukkot in the late spring or early summer would not demonstrate a Jews commitment to Judaism. After all, the whole world enjoys going outside at that time. But when Jews build their temporary huts in the fall and must fight the elements, they show that they are doing so not for pleasure but because they are following Gods commandment. What are we to say, then, about Sukkot in Israel? Given that September and October are just as mild as May or June, perhaps we should move Sukkot there to its proper historical place in the year? Aside from the fact that I believe the chief rabbinate would tend to give a little more weight to centuries of Jewish custom than to the arguments of this column, I like to think of this situation as our chance in Israel to show solidarity with you in the diaspora. Happy Sukkot!
*** On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering Numbers 29.35. Growing up in America, I always knew about the concept of yom tov sheni shel galuyot. According to this tradition, for each holy day of a festival, two are celebrated by Jews who live outside Israel. I always wondered, however, about Simchat Torah. On the other festival holy days (the first day of Sukkot, the first and last days of Passover, and Shavuot) it was clear to me that the second day outside Israel basically was a duplication of the first. But after the seven-day holiday of Sukkot (one holy day plus six days of festival in Israel, two holy days plus five days of festival outside of Israel), we Jews in the diaspora celebrated Shmini Atzeret (the eighth day of assembly) and Simchat Torah on the eighth and ninth days, respectively. Unlike the other second days, this seemed to be an example not of mere duplication but of a separate second day holiday Simchat Torah. What then, I wondered, went on in Israel? If Israelis did not have two holy days at the end of Sukkot, when did they celebrate both Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah? Since I will be celebrating my 16th Simchat Torah in Israel this year, I think I finally have grasped what goes on here during this holiday. (Believe it or not, the process took me a few years.) For the ritually curious, all of the rites that are celebrated in the diaspora over two days are packed into one day: the special prayer for rain, the Yizkor memorial prayer and the hakafot (circuits) with the Torah scrolls all occur on the one day of Simchat Torah in Israel. Yes, for all intents and purposes there is no Shmini Atzeret in Israel. There is only Simchat Torah. Its true that the liturgy speaks not of Simchat Torah but of the holiday of the eighth day of assembly, but the central rite of the holiday, the completion of the Torah cycle with the reading of the end of Deuteronomy and the renewal of the cycle with the reading of the beginning of Genesis, carries the spirit of the day. An interesting aspect of Simchat Torah is that it provides the only case where Israel alone repeats a major holiday rite. I am talking here about hakafot shniyot, a second night of dancing with the Torah, that has come into vogue throughout Israel. Hakafot shniyot take place this year on Monday, Oct. 8, the evening after Simchat Torah in Israel, a time that technically is weekday here. Because of this, the hakafot are accompanied by live music. The custom is helped by the fact that children do not have school the next day (and thus many people take off from work). In Givat Zeev, the music is provided by a local professional keyboard player, accompanied by a number of other musicians. (The number is dependent both on the municipalitys financial situation and on whether a mayoral election is approaching). I have no idea exactly what percentage of Israeli Jews celebrate Simchat Torah. I do know that as a religious person, its nice for me to live in a country where my local town government sponsors hakafot shniyot. Yet, as usual, I will be bothered by the fact that practically all of the people who will be celebrating hakafot shniyot will be religious. There are both religious and cultural reasons to dance with a Torah, and indeed, in the States early decades, secular and religious Israelis danced together at hakafot shniyot. I look forward to a return to this tradition. Happy holidays.
Jewish standard sePteMBer 28, 2012 15
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Dont keep swinging those chickens
How wonderful to read an articulate piece supporting the protests against using chickens in kaporot (Chickening out, Sept. 21). We live in the 21st century and understand that chickens, as well as all other species, have feelings and thoughts, like we do. All the great spiritual teachers have taught that compassion is the highest human value. Imagine what a wonderful world wed have if everyone were compassionate and empathetic to all creatures, including all humans. of a segment of Orthodox Jews (which is highly constitutionally suspect). The State Department of Health could license mohalim and provide for periodic health inspections to make sure the mohalim do not spread disease to the newly born infants. In regard to kaparot, if one is opposed to this ritual, the logical position is to ban the eating all of meat. If one is not a vegetarian, that person is being highly selective in criticizing a centuries old ritual. need to decide who to support based on facts instead of their political ideals
Our government tries to portray those who seek our subjugation as friendly people who just have a different lifestyle that we must understand and allow to continue. In the editorial we are told that the violence is certain, if certain products are produced that the Islamists find objectionable. What a condemnation of a large segment of the world. They urge authorities to launch hate crimes investigations against the makers of the film. I dont remember the Jewish Standard calling for hate crimes investigations against the artists who created works of art that were anti-Christian and exhibited in a New York museum. Should Christians riot and murder to show their displeasure? Demonstrations began on Sept. 11, yet few in our government would link the attacks to 9/11. No linkage, just the reaction to a film we were told. When will they shout out, the film was an excuse. The time has come to stop coddling those who seek to destroy our way of life and us.
Opinions expressed in the op-ed and letters columns are not necessarily those of The Jewish Standard. Include a day-time telephone number with your letters. The Jewish Standard reserves the right to edit letters. Write to Letters, The Jewish Standard, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666, or e-mail jstandardletters@gmail. com. Hand-written letters are not acceptable.
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Cover story
SUKKOT
Designing the dream sukkah
AbigAil Klein leichmAn
auling out the same old boxes full of paper chains, Indian corn, and plastic fruit that youve hung in your sukkah for years on end? Does your temporary backyard booth need a professional overhaul this Sukkot? We asked some local interior designers how they would jazz up a sukkah the thatch-covered shelter that stands in for both the Israelites desert dwellings before reaching the Promised Land, and the huts where they collected and tithed the harvest for a festival of thanksgiving once they had begun tilling the soil.
inside or nice plastic copies of those items to glam it up and make it glow. For lighting, Id like to see a chandelier or a string of lanterns instead of the fluorescent light most of us use including me. Fruits and vegetables, organic fall foliage are really pretty in a sukkah to bring in autumnal oranges, browns, and greens. For seating, picnic benches with cushions can be nice, with perhaps some bigger comfortable outdoor chairs at the heads of the table. Pillows bring color into the sukkah and make it plush. You can find many pillows in outdoor fabrics at Target or Home Depot for just a few dollars.
Fairy lights add just the right touch to any sukkah. (Available at www.etsy.com)
Many websites offer ideas for whimsical and economical sukkah decorations aimed at involving children in the process. Torah Aura Productions suggests using shiny stickers, or sparkling beads and gems stuck on with tacky glue, to decorate old CDs that can be hung from the schach; or fashioning wind chimes by hanging strawberry baskets upside-down with beads, bells, nuts, bolts, and washers strung from the holes. Creative Jewish Mom describes how to make decoupage napkin plaques using paper napkins with pictures of the fruits
and grains indigenous to Israel grapes, olives, dates, figs, pomegranates, wheat, and barley. The Juggling Frogs blog recommends using fusible beads little plastic tubes that melt when ironed to make colorful tiles spelling out relevant biblical passages, such as Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. And there is nothing wrong with simply hanging posters of Israel, Rosh Hashanah greeting cards, and paper chains. Just be sure to use waterproof paper or cover them in plastic so rain does not spoil your dream sukkah dcor.
The four species. From left to right etrog, hadassim, lulav, aravot. Wikimedia
Commons
Matt Bycer crouches next to the etrog plants on his farm in Scottsdale, Ariz. havie Lieber
trees. With each tree capable of producing up to 40 fruits, he hopes his sales soon will number in the thousands. After getting married in 2010, Bycer moved the plants outside to a makeshift greenhouse with walls covered in foil. He inspects them every day. To keep his crop organic, Bycer uses chemical-free pesticide alternatives, such as fish oil soap or nicotinebased insecticides. He plants the etrog seeds in small pots right after Sukkot and incubates them inside, then moves the plants outside once they start sprouting six months later. The community here has been so supportive, he said. Everyone donates their etrog to me after Sukkot so I can plant their seeds. Etrogim grow best in 95-degree temperature; Arizona highs can soar well into the triple digits. So Bycer shields his plants with a shade structure and special cloth, and he sprays them constantly with specialized water. When winter sets in and the temperatures drop to near freezing, Bycer wraps the plants in Christmas lights to keep them warm. I really have to spend a lot of time being on top of them, he said. All it takes is one day of bad weather, even if its a drop too cold or the sun hits a tree too long, and the whole plant can die. And all it takes is one spider mite to eat the plant and its done. And, of course, because Jews cannot agree on which etrog variety is optimal, Bycer has planted an array of specimens: the Moroccan etrog, which has an hourglass-like strip around the middle; Chazon Ish or Balady etrogim, which are covered in bumps and are very popular; Yanover or Diamente etrogim, which are greener and smoother; and Yemenite etrogim, which are significantly larger than average. Once the trees begin to produce fruit, Bycer hopes to supply underserved communities throughout the United States that dont have easy access to etrogim. Bycer says his wife, Elly, encourages his etrog venture, although shed prefer hed spend less time outdoors and more time helping with their 6-month-old daughter, Nava. Never mind that I smell like fish oil from inspecting the leaves so much, Bycer said, my wife tells me she knows it makes me happy because Im always smiling when Im out there.
JTA Wire Service
ou may only know them from shul or Hebrew school, but the four species of Sukkotetrog, lulav, hadassim, and aravotare all very interesting plants in their own right. Here are their stories:
Citron (Etrog):
The most fragrant and eye-catching member of the group, the citron has a fascinating story. While it is certainly one of the oldest Jewish ritual objects, the citron is also among the most ancient of fruits on earth. Based on its molecular structure, horticultural scientists have deduced that the citron is one of the four naturally occurring ancestors of all other known citrus fruits. Experts trace the citrons origins to southeast Asia, where it continues to grow in the wild. It seems that originally the citron was cultivated in the Mediterranean region primarily for its medicinal and hygienic utility. According to the 4th century BCE Greek writer Theophrastus, the extract of the citron was applied to clothing as an insect repellant, swallowed to induce vomiting after ingesting poison, or gargled to improve bad breath. Today, the citron figures into various global cuisines. Succade, a candied jelly substance made from the fruits inner rind, is used in cooking the world over. Citron jam and pickled citrons are common in India and Pakistan, and in Korea candied citrons are used to make a popular kind of tea. Fast fact: The variety of citron that grows in Israel goes by the common name Balady Citron, deriving from an Arabic word for native.
than 20 times in the Quran, the date palm carries important symbolic value in all three of the Abrahamic faiths. In Judaism, it is the centerpiece of the lulav bundle; Christians commemorate Jesus entry into Jerusalem by carrying palm branches in a procession on Palm Sunday; and Islamic tradition likens the palm tree, whose leaves do not wither and fall off, to a person who is steadfast in his or her faith. Fast fact: Though the date palm is thriving, at least a hundred other types of palms around the world are now considered endangered. Nine have become extinct only recently. Find out more at World Wide Fund for Nature, wwf.panda.org.
with Aphrodite, goddess of love and pleasure. Roman gardens were considered incomplete without myrtle, and it was planted wherever in the world Roman aristocrats settled . Within Jewish tradition, the importance of the myrtle goes beyond the lulav bundle. The Talmud (Ketubot 17a) relates that wedding guests, even esteemed rabbis, would pick up myrtle twigs and dance in front of the bride for her enjoyment. Jewish mystical sources suggest that the myrtles fragrance is that of the Garden of Eden, and recommend its use in the Havdalah ceremony. Fast fact: The species of myrtle used as hadassim is known as common myrtle or true myrtle.
MYRTLES (Hadassim):
The myrtle belongs to large family of flowering plants whose roster includes eucalyptus, cloves, allspice, and guava. Like the citron, the myrtle is a plant long cherished for its beautiful form and pleasing fragrance. In Greek mythology, myrtle was a sacred plant associated
WILLOWS (Aravot):
Willow trees are a common sight across the northern hemisphere, and their expressive, drooping form has made them a favorite subject of artists and poets through the ages. Aside from its striking image, the willow has been cultivated for thousands of years for religious, me-
dicinal, and manufacturing purposes. The oldest known fishing net in existence, dating back to 8300 BCE and found in Finland, was constructed from willow branches. Native Americans depended on willow trees to provide salicin, a natural substance very similar to aspirin. In Chinese culture, the willow figures prominently in rituals intended to ward away roaming spirits. Today, willow wood is still used in the production of a number of items, including brooms, furniture, and cricket bats. Fast fact: Interestingly, the common Hebrew word for willow, arav, may have originally referred to a different species. In Psalm 137, arav is the name given for trees growing along the river bank in Babylonia. In all likelihood this was referring to the Euphrates poplar, which grows abundantly along its namesake river and is a cousin of the willow we use on Sukkot.
JNS News Service
Bin Kagedan has a masters degree in Jewish thought from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
N aT iON a l
We think history is not competitive, and acknowledging the truth of others history doesnt denigrate yours.
Malcolm Hoenlein
Last September, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York Courtesy u.n.
However, Irans nuclear aspirations are not the only item with that country, adds Daniel Mariaschin, executive vice president of Bnai Brith International. In meetings with diplomats, he will press not only on Tehrans nuclear pursuits but also its domestic human rights abuses, as well as its support for international terror and Syrias repressive Assad government. This is a regime that has a bloody record wherever you look, he said. Other top issues for American Jewish groups include the Palestinian push for nonmember state status, anti-Sem-
Dancing, singing and torah swinging ! OCTOBER 8th at 6:45 pm Discussion about domestic violence with the films producers OCTOBER 14th at 7:30 pm
Rabbi Craig Scheff Rabbi Paula Mack Drill Cantor Noam Ohring 8 Independence Avenue Orangeburg, NY 10962 www.theojc.org An Egalitarian Conservative Congregation Serving Rockland and Bergen Counties
their citizens. Iran 180 also is visiting area college campuses with its #UNwelcome campaign, which includes a large effigy of Ahmadinejad. Students are urged to handcuff themselves to the puppet and disseminate photos of it on social media sites. Ahmadinejads visit is prompting other Jewish activism as well. The Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center has filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Manhattan demanding that the Warwick Hotel, where Ahmadinejad is staying, deny the Iranian leader a room. In a statement, the group said the room should be given to Stuart Hersh, a Shurat HaDin client still owed a $12 million judgment against Iran after he was injured in a 1997 Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem. Hoenlein also hopes to draw attention to the plight of some 800,000 Jews who lived in Arab countries when Israel was founded in 1948 and then fled their homes. A program on the topic at the U.N. on Monday drew about 300 people, including a number of ambassadors and other diplomats, he said. We think history is not competitive, and acknowledging the truth of others history doesnt denigrate yours; theres no reason to oppose this, Hoenlein said. One effort, he added, will be to ask the U.N. to establish a documentation center on the plight of the Jewish refugees. There also will be a push to end U.N.sponsored groups considered hostile
to Israel, such as the Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. We could go through a list of people looking for statehood, but only for the Palestinians do they have this special arrangement, Mariaschin said. They have conferences, photo exhibits, publications and its time to shut that down. Mariaschin said such efforts only delay Arab-Israeli peacemaking due to their biased message. Also on the mind of Jewish groups in their meetings will be the efforts of some courts and legislators to ban Jewish ritual circumcision and kosher slaughter of animals. Earlier this year, in a ruling that outraged Jewish and Muslim groups, a court in Cologne, Germany, said that a nonmedical circumcision of a minor was a criminal offense. Germanys government has spoken out against the law and is working on legislation to counter it. The state of Berlin passed a law affirming the legality of circumcision but restricting its exercise to doctors. Several other European countries, including Holland, have seen efforts to ban shechitah, kosher ritual slaughter, due to claims that it creates unnecessary suffering for the animals. If governments are serious about the strength of democracy, freedom of religion has to be a foundational principle, Salberg said, and efforts to ban ritual circumcision and slaughter violate that JTA Wire Service fundamental right.
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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a rally in Nashua, N.H., in early September.
marC nozeLL via Creative Commons
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munal leaders stressed that the pursuit of peace should not be postponed, although they were not inclined to criticize Romney. To let it fester is not in the best interests of Israel, said Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation Leagues national director, adding that he believed Romney meant well in his remarks at a May 17 fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla. Israels government wants to pursue peace and they want to believe there is a partner, Foxman said, citing the little noticed but successful ongoing security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the west bank. Its not in Israels interest to kick it down the road, not only in terms of self-interest but in terms of its relationship to the civilized world. Without directly criticizing Romney, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the Union of Reform Judaisms new president, said that U.S. leadership required action in the short term, not just the long term. We need to do concrete things every day, not naively and not with sacrificing the safety and security of Israel although safety and security for Israel means two states, Jacobs said. Our tradition requires us to do difficult things in the world. There is no benefit to delaying. Jacobs said that even when peacemaking was stalled, the parties could undertake incremental actions. When it is not the right time, you can put things in place to move it to the right time, he said. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the American Jewish Committee declined to comment on Romneys remarks. Some have noted that the Republican nominee did not rule out the possibility of achieving IsraeliPalestinian peace in the future. The initial portions of Romneys remarks that were released by Mother Jones magazine, which had obtained the secretly recorded video from the Florida fundraiser, were truncated. The full video was released shortly thereafter and included what could be seen as Romneys vision of how the United States can foster the conditions for an eventual peace by being a resolute ally of Israel. I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, Theres just no way, Romney said in the remarks as first released at the $50,000-a-plate dinner. And so what you do is you say, You move things along the best way you can, he continued. You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to
see ROMNEY page 27
Im a big believer in not creating a false set of expectations, but Im also a believer in that if you think something is stuck, you come up with an approach and try to change the dynamic.
Dennis Ross
While opponents to a two-state solution within the Republican Party have grow louder, Romney is not considered to be among their ranks. Romneys surrogates worked successfully to prevent language calling for two states from being pulled out of the partys platform. Daniel Mariaschin, Bnai Brith Internationals executive vice president, said he understood Romney not to mean that he was abandoning peacemaking, but that he was acknowledging other crises had superseded its importance in the Middle East. Events have pushed the issue to the outside, said Mariaschin, citing Irans acceleration of its nuclear program and the unrest in much of the Arab world, particularly Syria. He noted renewed Palestinian plans to push for statehood recognition at the United Nations that have frustrated the Obama administration, as well as Democrats and Republicans in Congress. As long as the Palestinians are not fighting to get back into the circle of peacemaking the prospect for intensifying the process is not there right now, Mariaschin said. Romneys remarks on the peace process, however, were criticized by Democrats. This guy wants to be president of the United States? Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Middle East subcommittee, said. There are problems between Jews and Muslims and this Mormon throws a Hail Mary? said Ackerman, who is retiring this year and has excoriated all sides the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians for not seizing opportunities for peace. In a series of interviews with media outlets, Dennis Ross, the former Middle East adviser to President Obama and the administrations most frequent intermediary with Israel, seemed to suggest that Romneys remarks were not helpful. Im a big believer in not creating a false set of expectations, but Im also a believer in that if you think something is stuck, you come up with an approach and try to change the dynamic, Ross, counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Huffington Post. If you basically just say its all hopeless, you just make hopelessness a self-fulfilling prophecy. But a fellow veteran U.S. Middle East negotiator, Aaron David Miller, struck a more sympathetic chord. To me, the idea that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement may not be possible is simply an acknowledgement of reality, Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told the Huffington Post. In my view, the emperor has been seen to have no clothes on this issue for quite a number of years.
Miller said he thought that if Romney is elected, he would tend toward the low end in the spectrum of U.S. engagement with the issue, what I would call benign neglect but that even Romney would have to find some way of management. While centrist Jewish groups have not issued statements in response to Romneys remarks, groups on the left and right were not so reticent. Americans for Peace Now and J Street, which have pushed for aggressive U.S. action to advance a two-state solution, were strongly critical of the comments. In dismissing the possibility of achieving peace and expressing readiness to simply sit back and wait for the conflict to resolve itself, Romney has articulated a view that is fundamentally anti-Israel, APNs president,
Debra DeLee, said in a statement. Pro-Israel means being committed to the achievement of peace for Israel, no matter how difficult it may be to achieve or how distant a solution may appear. DeLee called on Romney to repudiate his remarks. But the Zionist Organization of America said it agreed with Romneys premise. Governor Romneys remarks indicate that were he to be elected president, he might be willing to do what President Obama and his predecessors, Republican and Democratic, have not done to act on the realities of the Palestinian situation and apply real, sustained pressure on the Palestinian Authority to change its ways, the ZOAs national president, Morton Klein, said.
JTA Wire Service
When deciding on a school for our children, we chose a place that not only excelled in academics, but more importantly, emphasized character. BPY
stresses the importance of being a good person, teaching children to look out for each other and be a part of their community. The first time Vered went to pick a snack as a Shabbat Ima she was so concerned about the different allergies of the kids in her class; she wanted to be sure that each child would be able to partake. It was so touching! BPY teaches the children to respect all Jewish customs, and to appreciate their beauty. The children accept and learn from one another, a very important lesson that is often hard to learn as an adult. When it was time to think about whether to send our youngest to nursery at BPY, there was no question about it. As a sibling, she was already an integral part of the school and part of the family, known by the teachers and always greeted with the same warmth that is given to each student. The qualities that are taught and exemplified at BPY are those we wanted our children to model from a young age.
OPEN HOUSE
Tuesday, October 30th 8PM
2012
READERS CHOICE
e-
3 Years in
ow
Meet-the-Artist Reception
On display October 3-28 Sunday, October 14, 1-3 pm
I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. This quote by the 19th century philosopher Frederic Nietzsche embodies the unbridled enthusiasm Dee has for life and the arts. This zeal propelled her to pursue visual art photography, resulting in exhibits and recognition from the Smithsonian Online Magazine Devoted to her social work profession, photography has served as a venue through which she expresses her creativity, her talent and artistic flair.
Free and Open to the Community Waltuch Art Gallery - 2nd floor
Skippyjon Jones
Theaterworks USA present:
An award-winning, sold-out musical from NYC based on the classic children book by Judy Schachner. Skippyjon Jones, s a cute little Siamese cat with a wild imagination, dreams of being a dog. He decides to become El Skippito Bandito a Chihuahua, who is the greatest sword fighter in Mexico and his adventures begin!
Group rates available! Tickets sold at JCC front desk No refunds/exchanges. Limited space! Call 201.408.1493
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades | 411 E. Clinton Avenue | Tenafly, New Jersey 07670 | 201.569.7900 | www.jccotp.org
lac
st
aR
Red States, Public Affairs Blue States & the Jewish State
The Musical
Stay after Gil Hoffman is the chief political correspondent wa r d s to wa and analyst for The Jerusalem Post. tch th Well-connected to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, e presi denti Hoffman has interviewed every major figure across al deba te! the Israeli political spectrum, has been interviewed by top media on six continents, and is a regular analyst on CNN, Al-Jazeera and other news outlets.
Sponsors: Berit & Martin Bernstein Open Forum Endowment Fund, JCRC, Center of Israel Engagement of the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ.
$9 JCC members, $13 non-members For more information call Robyn at 201.408.1429.
Find us on facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP
Gei Oni
In Hebrew/Yiddish with English Subtitles
Kolnoa
Life in Stills
Documentary in Hebrew with English Subtitles
$10 JCC members $12 non-members Monday Showing: Free for JCC members $10 non members
At the age of 96, Miriam Weissenstein faces a new chapter in her life. When the Photo House containing her late husband Rudis life work was destined for demolition, Miriam knew she needed help. Under the cloud of a family tragedy, a special relationship is forged between Miriam and her grandson, Ben, as they join forces to save the shop and its nearly one million negatives that document Israels defining moments. Ben and Miriam embark on a heartwrenching journey, both humorous and touching, that teach some valuable life lessons.
For tickets and information please go to www.jccotp.org/kolnoa or email Aya, ashechter@jccotp.org or call 201.408.1427
Kristallnacht Commemoration
film screening at the JCC:
In Darkness
with English Subtitles Rated R
with author
Daniel Paisner & Krystyna Chiger, a child survivor Sunday, 11/4, 1-4 pm
Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Film in 2012. In Darkness, based on a true story, is directed by Agnieszka Holland, director of Europa Europa. Leopold Socha, a sewer worker in a Nazi occupied city in Poland, encounters a group of Jews trying to escape the ghetto. He hides them in the sewers beneath the city. The film is an extraordinary story of survival as these men, women and children all try to outwit certain death. Following the film, meet Krystyna Chiger one of the suvivors. She will be interviewed by Daniel Paisner, co-author of The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocausts Shadow which recounts her story of survival. Book sale and signing The first 25 people to register will receive a free copy of the book. $10 JCC members $12 non-members
Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean & Founder of The Simon Wiesenthal Center will introduce the film.
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades | 411 E. Clinton Avenue | Tenafly, New Jersey 07670 | 201.569.7900 | www.jccotp.org
A weekly class providing a warm and joyous environment for children to develop and enhance their Jewish identity.
crafts cooking games singing & music Jewish values holiday traditions & stories
Tuesdays, 10/16 5/7, 3:45 5:30 pm
(no class on 12/25, 1/1, 2/19, 3/26, 4/2)
Open to families not yet affiliated with a synagogue Children with special needs are encouraged to participate in all JCC programming and classes. Please contact Shelley Levy, Director of Special Services 201.408.1489 for a consultation to ensure appropriate placement.
Tuition for the 2012-2013 year: $1500 per child member $1800 per child non member
Never Again.
This program is managed by
For more information contact Judi Davidsohn Nahary, Director of Youth Services 201.408.1470
Living Well Now - Strategies for a Healthy Mind, Body & Heart
Featuring
Support Groups
Therapist
For those recently widowed. An opportunity to share your feelings with others that understand. Talk about the changes in your family life, social relationships and sense of self. Make warm and enduring friendships.
at 201.408.1405 or WELL@jccotp.org
$115 JCC members $140 non-members Registration required, call Esther at 201.408.1456
Find us on facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades | 411 E. Clinton Avenue | Tenafly, New Jersey 07670 | 201.569.7900 | www.jccotp.org
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades | 411 E. Clinton Avenue | Tenafly, New Jersey 07670 | 201.569.7900 | www.jccotp.org
Find us on facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP
lnguageldy@aol.com
Cell: 201-739-9309 Haworth, NJ
Daniel Stegman, MD
Bradford Tannen, MD
Cornea Specialist, ABO Retina Specialist, ABO
201-286-9898
DavidsDogTrainingNJ@nj.rr.com DavidsDogTrainingNJ.com
nown for her irreverent comedy, Sarah Silverman is now raising awareness about church-state separation. Along with comedian Russell Brand and a group of musicians, the Jewish comedian is headlining Voices United, a nationwide series of grassroots concerts and live shows, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1. Sponsored by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Voices United features Brand, Silverman, Catie Curtis, Janis Ian, John McCutcheon, Mary Gauthier, Guy Davis, Roy Zimmerman, and Natalia Zukerman. Americans United represents members and supporters in all 50 states who come from different religious, political, and philosophical viewpoints, but share a belief that preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation is the only way to ensure religious freedom for all. Among its activities, Americans United opposes prayer in public schools, school voucher initiatives in the states, and faith-based initiatives in government. Born into a Jewish family, Silverman grew up in a secular household in New Hampshire. Her mother, Beth Ann Halpin, worked as presidential candidate George McGoverns personal campaign photographer, and her father, Donald Silverman, was a social worker who ran the discount clothing store Crazy Sophies Outlet. Sarahs sister Susan is a rabbi who lives in Jerusalem. In a recent interview, Silverman told Church and State, a magazine published by Americans United, that her sister helped get her involved in Voices United. My sister Susan is friends with singer/songwriter Catie Curtis and passed along an email from her about Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and I knew right away I wanted to be involved, Silverman said. Church-state separation is a part of what this country was built on. It wasnt until the 50s that God (the Christian God) was wedged into government and the Pledge of Allegiance. This country was built by immigrants and founded by people who intended it as a place where everyone is welcome and all religions and nationalities are accepted and respected. Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, considers Silverman the perfect headliner for the Voices United series. Ive always considered Sarah a marvelous comedienne, Lynn said. She did a wonderful job in films and on television and Im delighted shes part of this effort. Shes edgy, as good comics need to be. Called irreverent, fearless, and hardcore, Silverman has built her career by not shying away from controversial topics. Known for diving right into issues of race, religion and sex whether it be on Saturday Night Live or her Comedy Central show The Sarah Silverman Program Silverman will perform at Voices Uniteds grand finale event in Los Angeles on Oct. 1. At the 2011 Presidential Conference in Israel, Silverman told Israel television news host Yigal Ravid that she supports solar power as a project on which Israelis and Palestinians can work together as a peace-building exercise. When I think about peace and I think about the Jews and the Palestinians I think the only real solution is the classic buddy-movie formula, Silverman said. You take two enemies and they are forced to work together on some common goal and in the end they realize they arent that different. Right? So theyve got to come together either for some common goalhow about solar power? How about solar power!? How about powering
Sarah Silverman
the world with this beautiful sun they share? Comedian Elon Gold a rising star in his own right from appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Bones said that he grew up with Sarah in comedy in New York 20 years ago and always had great admiration and respect for what she does. It was really cool to see the girl at the comedy clubs who didnt care she was offending people with her edgy jokes and getting more gasps than laughs, parlay that same irreverence into an awesome career, Gold said. Every time I watched her go up I recall watching in amazement and thinking, shes so brave to get up there and say the edgiest stuff and not let the audience response get to her. If anything she reveled in the shock of it all. Nowadays, audiences everywhere get it and she kills wherever she goes because they know what to expect and just enjoy the great comedy, he added. Back then it was, whos this pretty, young, nice Jewish girl with the potty mouth? How could she says those things?! Those things were funny then and theyre funny now. The only difference is, now theyre cracking up and shes become one of the brightest stars in comedy. Americans Uniteds Lynn said that in member surveys, nearly one-third of the membership of Americans United identifies as Jewish. That number has seen a large increase during the last few decades, he said. This increase is not only about thinking about Nazi Germany, but thinking about what America was like for Jewish-Americans in the 1940s and 1950s, when anti-Semitism was rampant in this country, Lynn said. Throughout the world where Jews are a minority group, culturally or religiously, they face the same kinds of difficulties. Although Silverman said she does not practice religion, she frequently mines Judaism for material. Culturally, I cant escape it, she told the New York JNS Wire Service Times in 2008. Im very Jewish.
U.S. takeover of Bnai Brith pension plan raises questions on groups future
Neil RubiN
WASHINGTON The United States governments recent takeover of Bnai Brith Internationals pension plan, which is more than $25 million in debt, raises serious questions about the long-term viability of the once-giant 169-year-old Jewish organization. The plan, which has about 500 participants, has $55.6 million in liabilities but only $30.1 million in assets. On Sept. 11, the federal governments Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. said it would assume control of payments and raised questions about Bnai Briths future. The agency stepped in because Bnai Brith wouldnt have been able to pay its bills or stay in business unless the plan was terminated, it said in a posting that day on its blog. PBGC was created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to protect pension benefits in private sector-defined benefit plans. In response to an interview request, Bnai Brith sent JTA a statement that read, in part: The determination of the Trustees of the plan to seek the assistance of PBGC was based upon a determination that this was a necessary step to protect the interests of current and future retirees under the plan. Asked for more clarification of what the move meant for Bnai Briths overall finances, a spokeswoman said the organization would not make further comment. Michael Faulkender, an associate professor of business at the University of Maryland, could not comment on the specifics of the Bnai Brith situation, but he did say that the move definitely creates concern about the long-term health of the agency because the PBGC would expect the company to make the pension whole if they had the ability to do so before stepping in and taking over. He added, It would not at all be a surprise if they have other significant liabilities. In February 2011, Bnai Brith filed a distressed application with the PBGC, informing the agency that it could not fulfill its plans obligations, a PBGC spokesman told JTA. After PBGC determined that Bnai Brith indeed could not meet its financial commitment, it took over the plan in August of this year. In this case they really tried their best to support this pension plan, the PBGC spokesman said. What with the economy being what it is for charitable organizations and donations, its difficult. They applied for protection from us and we were there to support them as we should be. The PBGC guarantees all pension benefits up to the legal limit of $54,000 per year for a 65-year-old, according to congressional regulations. Bnai Brith has a vaunted history in American Jewish life, having started the Anti-Defamation League, the Bnai Brith Youth Organization, and what is now Hillel: The Foundation for Campus Jewish Life. All three have left the parent organization and now operate independently. The social activities of many hundreds of Bnai Brith fraternal lodges, such as bowling leagues and community volunteer projects, were a staple of organized American Jewish life throughout much of the 20th century. But membership, which in the 1970s was said to have stood at 500,000, has waned substantially. No current figures were available. In 2002, the organization sold its eight-story headquarters in Washington and moved into a suite of nearby offices. Today the organization is known for its lobbying on issues such as health care, human rights, and advocacy for Israel. It also runs 29 nonsectarian senior housing facilities in the United States and Canada. In March 2011, Bnai Briths then-president, Dennis Glick, resigned abruptly from his volunteer position after being indicted on five counts, including federal charges of tax fraud. Glick, a certified public accountant, was found guilty last October of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws and willfully preparing false tax returns. At the time, a Bnai Brith spokeswoman said that Glicks legal problems were private and had no connection to the organization.
JTA Wire Service
Domaine Netofa
Netofa, Lower Galilee
Sandy Cardin, left, of the Schusterman Foundation, talks with David Olds at the child maltreatment conference in Tulsa Neil RubiN
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16 young Israeli and American researchers. Each will be matched with two well-known experts. Our main goal was to lay the basis for future collaboration between the United States and Israel, and I feel we got it, Ben-Arieh said. The Nurse Family Partnership created by Olds, now the director of the University of Colorados Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health in Denver, focuses on pre- and post-natal home visits. It is one example of programs that might gain more attention with the emerging collaboration between academics and practitioners. It now serves 23,000 families a day in 400 counties in 41 states. Such initiatives are critical on many levels, according to Neil Guterman, dean of the University of Chicagos School of Social Service Administration. Child maltreatment is a primary source of many of the deepest social problems that we face, whether its crime or substance abuse or mental illness, Guterman said in an interview. We now know that childrens maltreatment also has a significant impact on all the major medical and health outcomes, and even strongly predicts life expectancy. Given this, we should all pay attention because its a huge drain on our economy and broader well-being. Dr. Cindy Christian, director of the Safe Place program at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, offered another indication of the impact that academic work can make. Showing graphic slides of bruises, and various X-rays and CAT scans, she explored how the marks of diseases and actual physical blows can be confused. You need to know that there are some diseases out there that sometimes look like child abuse, she said, showing a brain scan that revealed excess fluids. When I look at this brain, I dont say, Oh my God, look at that abusive head trauma, but Oh my God, look at that brain. You may see an abnormal CAT scan and be fooled by these metabolic diseases that look like fractures in children. While the conference did not have a specific Jewish component, for many of the participants and its organizers, the broader application of Jewish values was clear. Schusterman said her passion for the topic is totally Jewish and goes back nearly five decades, when she moved to Tulsa as a newlywed and began volunteering at a police-run shelter through the National Conference of Jewish Women. Guterman, who did postdoctoral work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the 1992-93 academic year, said the reason he went into the field is because of our own collective historical experience with traumatic victimization. So its not a surprise that there are a number of Jews in a field dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable, he said. To me this work is a form of tikkun olam, repair of the world. When asked how he thinks the Jewish communal social services delivery system handles the issue, he said, Within the Jewish community there seems to be a beginning and growing awareness and willingness to deal with victimization when it occurs in the family.
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In Jerusalem, Israeli President Shimon Peres meets with Brad Ausmus, the manager of Israels team in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier and a former Major League catcher. Kobi Gideon/ GPo/FLASH90/JTA
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the European Championship, where it placed second. Kurz also is counting on a proposed baseball stadium in the Tel Aviv suburb of Raanana to jumpstart the sports popularity in Israel. The $4 million project would include a gym, a clubhouse, a place where guys want to come. Youve got to have a place where guys can hang out, talk to each other, learn, he said. Unlike Kurz, Robbins doesnt see success in the WBC as a catalyst for growth here. Rather he envisions a program that would bring baseball to schools through a team of coaches. The league will start to snowball if a couple thousand children nationwide get a taste of baseball, he said. Its getting out there and showing those kids how fun it is, Robbins said. Youre not going to do it by having them see the game. They have to feel what its like to catch a ball, to hit a ball. Watching games can help, though, said Arye Zacks, who coaches two teams in central Israels Modiin, because it exposes young fans to the array of possible scenarios in baseball. Theres a lot of baseball situations that the kids dont recognize because it hasnt happened to them in a game before, he said. A kid growing up surrounded by baseball, theyre familiar with it because theyve seen so many games on TV.
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says, shaking his head after the patient leaves. Later he tries to persuade a patient who is on a spiritual journey purification to drink cough syrup despite the small amount of alcohol it contains. Next, three young men storm into the clinic, leaving a bloody trail. They stepped on broken glasses upon entering a nearby lake, which they used as a mikvah, or ritual bath, for a purifying dip before the holiday. Locals scatter the shards deliberately along the banks, Schpitz says. Outside the stitching room, three asthma patients inhale fumes from a row of buzzing nebulizer machines. During the holiday, the clinic will treat several heart patients and evacuate one of them to Kiev. But mostly the clinic treats cases of indigestion, diarrhea, ingrown toenails, scrapes, and blisters. Yeah, we get lots of nudniks, Yunis says, using the Yiddish term for pains in the neck. Landesman has been running Umans Rosh Hashanah clinic for the past few years. In his regular life he works for United Hatzalah, the Orthodox Jewish emergency services organization also known as Hatzolah. Along with the Orthodox rescue and relief group ZAKA, Hatzolah provides most of the clinics annual budget of approximately $70,000. A native of Monsey, N.Y., now living in Israels Galilee region, Landesman first came to Uman as a kitchen worker 17 years ago. It was shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain that Rosh Hashanah started
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to turn into a massive pilgrimage holiday here. The clinic was established the following year in a rented apartment by Rabbi Menachem Mann, a well-known and well-connected Breslaver from Israel. Schpitz, who has experience working with charedi Orthodox patients, was its first nurse. This year marked the first time that the clinic operated from a prefabricated
house inside the main compound of the World Breslav Movement, which coordinates much of what goes on in this Uman neighborhood. Klein says he sees the clinic as a religious mission. After the holiday comes the day of reckoning, Klein says, referring to Yom Kippur. Just like all the others here, I came to get the best lawyer in the world, Rav Nachman, to argue for me.
Greater Teaneck 12th Annual Simchat Beit Hashoava Greater Teaneck Simchat Beit Hashoava
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JEWISH FEDERATION WANTS TO HELP YOU FIND THE ONE PERFECT SCHOOL FOR YOUR CHILDREN
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3
Nursery2 - 8th grade, Boys & Girls At GBDS, every child counts 45 Spruce St., Oakland, NJ 07465 Contact: Susan Scher: sscher@ssnj.org 201-337-1111; www.jewishschoolnj.com
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23
Yavneh Academy
Pre K 8th grade, Boys & Girls Achieving excellence in Judaic and general studies through creativity and warmth, small group instruction, development of middot, ahavat Yisrael, and Hebrew language mastery. E. 243 Frisch Court, Paramus, NJ Contact: Ruth Roth, Ruthr@benporatyosef.org 201-845-5007, ext. 16, www.benporatyosef.org
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24
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9th - 12th grade, Boys Where academic excellence, Torah and warmth meet to educate the next generation of Bnai Torah and Jewish leaders 1600 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck, NJ Contact: Donna Hoenig: donna.hoenig@tabc.org 201-837-7696 ext. 107, www.tabc.org
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7
8:00 - 10:00 pm
Nursery - 8th grade, Boys & Girls Inspiring Tomorrows Leaders 53 South Woodland Street, Englewood, NJ Contact: Erik Kessler: ekessler@moriahschool.org 201-567-0208 ext. 376, www.moriah.org
Yeshivat HeAtid
SUNDAY OCTOBER 28
1:00 pm
Pre K - 2nd grade, Boys & Girls A groundbreaking new model for high quality, affordable Jewish education. Open House: Congregation Rinat Yisrael 389 West Englewood Ave., Teaneck, NJ Contact: Ora Kornbluth: orakornbluth@yeshivatheatid.org 201-374-2272, www.yeshivatheatid.org
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11
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9th - 12th grade, Boys & Girls Acknowledge Him in all your ways 120 West Century Road, Paramus, NJ Contact: Rabbi Jonathan Schachter: admissions@frisch.org 201-267-9100, ext. 345, www.frisch.org
Nursery - 8th grade, Boys & Girls Promoting Torah scholarship and academic excellence within a nurturing and caring environment 666 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge, NJ Contact: Mrs. Tamar Kahn: tkahn@rynj.org 201-986-1414; www.rynj.org
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 29
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Yeshivat Noam
Pre K 8th grade, Boys & Girls Excellence, Innovation and Inspiration in Torah and Academics 70 West Century Road, Paramus, NJ 07652 Contact: Ruchie Wiesel: admissions@yeshivatnoam.org 201-261-1919 ext. 380, www.yeshivatnoam.org
Busy 3s - 8th grade, Boys & Girls An award-winning, innovative Jewish education that integrates an inquiry-based, global-success curriculum with traditional Jewish values and strong character education. 275 McKinley Avenue, New Milford, NJ Contact: Sarah Sokolic: events@ssdsbergen.org 201-262-9898 x 203; www.ssdsbergen.org
Jewish Federation
Dvar Torah
Consider the modern sukkah as a structure of ingathering
Sukkot Lois Goldrich, Jewish Standard contributing editor
ukkot, one of the most joyous and enriching festivals on the Jewish calendar, begins on the 15th day of Tishrei; this year, Sunday night, Sept. 30. The holiday, which continues for seven days, is known by a variety of names: Zeman Simchataynu, Day of Rejoicing; Chag Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles, reminding us that our ancestors lived in huts or booths throughout their 40-year sojourn in the desert; and Chag HaAsif, the Feast of the Ingathering, since this is also a harvest holiday, falling at the time when crops were gathered. Without doubt, the major symbol of the Sukkot festival is the sukkah, the booth or tabernacle. In Leviticus 23:45 we read: I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. It is fairly simple to understand why our ancestors, in their journey to the Promised Land, had to live in these fragile, temporary dwellings. They were moving from place to place and had to be able to set up their dwelling places quickly and with relative ease. It is less clear why we are commanded today to dwell in such booths during Sukkot. Why isnt it sufficient to prepare special holiday meals, say the proper blessings, and eat in our homes? In addressing this question, our rabbis and scholars have tended to look beyond the simple physical requirement that we eat in a temporary dwelling consisting of at least three walls and a roof the roof not being attached to the walls and have concentrated instead on the ethical and moral 1essons associated with eating in this structure. Maimonides, for example, holds that the purpose of the sukkah and of remembering the days of the wi1derness is to teach us during our days of prosperity to remember our days of adversity. He reasons that we
will thus be induced to thank God repeatedly and to thereafter lead a modest, humble life. Another interpretation is voiced by the medieval moralist Isaac Aboab: The sukkah is designed to warn us that man is not to put his trust in the size or strength or beauty of his home, though it be filled with all precious things; nor must he rely upon the help of any human being, however powerful. But let him put his trust in the Great God whose word called the universe into being, for He alone is mighty, and His promises alone are sure. Mordecai Kaplan, one of the 20th centurys most innovative Jewish thinkers, suggested that reliving their wilderness experience, in which life was purer and freer than what they later experienced in Canaan, was bound to place the Jews in a frame of mind which enabled them to detach themselves from the order of life they had come to accept as normal and to view it critically. Pondering these various interpretations as set forth by our Sages, I have created a Sukkot fantasy, which I invite you to share. Let us imagine what would happen if certain people were forced to celebrate Sukkot and fulfill the commandment to dwell in the sukkah for the duration of the holiday. Lets look first at those who ignore the environment. Imagine the board of Exxon forced to abandon their airconditioned or heated homes, cars, and offices. Might these people then recognize the interdependence of natural forces and the need to fight all forms of environmental pollution? What about politicians and world leaders? Forced to leave their sheltered government offices, protected by thick marble walls and security guards and cameras, might these people, by eating outside with invited guests, as is customary on Sukkot, come into greater fish, Murrays Sturgeon Shop whitefish and Zabars cream cheese. The basket also included a free ticket to the offBroadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes and a brochure for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, which focuses heavily on the Holocaust. Ahmadinjad has publicly denied that the Holocaust took place. Ahmadinejad addressed the General Assembly on Wednesday, which coincides with the solemn Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
contact with their constituents and learn firsthand of their concerns? Lets turn our attention to those who champion a continued military buildup and the further development of nuclear arms. Forced to enter into the vulnerable world of a sukkah, might they begin to appreciate the concept of Sukkat Shalom that ultimately, we are all equally vulnerable, and that it is only by pursuing constructive, not destructive, endeavors that true peace might be achieved? How about those who ignore the plight of the homeless? Forced to leave the warmth of their dwellings, might they appreciate that, unlike the pious of past generations, we choose only to eat in the sukkah, not to live in it, even though this structure is much more habitable than the places now occupied by many living on our nations streets? As to those who ignore their history, forced to eat in the sukkah and to celebrate the custom of the ushpizin the invitation to our ancestors to join with us in the sukkah might these people come to appreciate the heritage of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel, and Leah and others invited each day, demonstrating the continuity of the Jewish people? Finally, lets imagine a sukkah filled with those whose actions divide the Jewish people. Forced to celebrate the holiday and gather together, as well as to gather together the four species comprising the lulav and etrog, might all Jews recognize in this, the Feast of the Ingathering, that we must emphasize those factors that unite us as a people rather than those that unnecessarily divide us? Certainly, this fantasy gives us much to consider. May we all, celebrating Sukkot beneath the same sky, learn from this experience to enhance our lives and the lives of all Israel and all humankind. inside its gates, according to The Associated Press. The U.S. Justice Department tried for years to strip Breyer of his citizenship and deport him, in a case reminiscent of John Demjanjuk, a Cleveland-area autoworker who was deported for lying about his service on his citizenship application. A German office that investigates alleged former Nazis has asked prosecutors to charge Breyer with being an accessory to murder for the killing of some 344,000 Jews at Auschwitz. The office has called on prosecutors to extradite him to Germany to face trial, according to the AP . Breyer told a U.S. court that he was an Auschwitz perimeter guard, but denied serving in the area of the death camp. He said he deserted in August 1944, which U.S. Army intelligence disputes, the AP reported. In 2003, a U.S. court ruled that Breyer could remain in the United States because he joined the SS as a minor and could not be held legally responsible for his particiJTA Wire Services pation, according to the AP .
ou might say that Dena Levie is a cut above the rest: The Teaneck-based artist has created paper cuts for Michael Douglas, Bette Midler, Steven Spielberg, and Matisyahu.
Now, Levie has created a design depicting the Friday night Kiddish (blessing over the wine) that will be displayed at the Jewish Childrens Museum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The 40something mother of four said she was thrilled
when museum officials, who found her on the web, commissioned the design last February. It took two months to finalize the sketch and another three to complete the cutting, drawing, and painting of a round paper cutting with the text of the kiddish on the inside. I drew five circles or petals, coming off the middle to depict the five themes in the kiddush, she said. Where it says (in the Kiddish text) that Hashem commanded us to do mitzvot, I drew many mitzvot tefillin, megillah, mezuzah, lulav and etrog, shofar, Levie said. And where it says we should remember creation, I put the seven days of creation. While many other paper cutters work from pre-made patterns, Levie, who works out of a studio in her home, creates her own original designs by hand.
The ancient art form which can be traced back to the first century in China requires the artist to cut intricate patterns with an X-acto knife. A simple design can take a few hours; a highly detailed work can take several weeks. And Levie has to really be careful: one slip of the hand and her entire piece is ruined. The result of her painstaking labors is well worth the trouble a fragile, lacy design that is breathtaking to behold. Levie taught herself the art nearly 18 years ago, after her oldest daughter was born. Her husband, Mark, bought her a book about papercutting with the assumption that it would be a fun project for his artistically gifted wife during her maternity leave. But once Levie started papercutting she never stopped. She made paper cuts for relatives, friends and neighbors. Soon her phone was ringing with requests and she subsequently left her day job as a computer programmer to devote herself full time to the craft. Shes since made more 1,000 pieces, including wedding and bar mitzvah invitations and new years cards, family trees, ketubot, and CD covers (including for Matisyahu). The latest piece has a unique resonance in her life as a Jew. I loved making this piece because I used a piece of text from the siddur and made it come to life, she said. I now feel a connection every Friday night when I listen to the Kiddush.
Dena Levies design for the Kiddish features five circles or petals. It will be displayed at the Jewish Childrens Museum in Crown Heights.
Calendar
saturday [sept. 29]
Havdalah and camp fun The Glen Rock Jewish Center offers a Havdalah service, campfire, and sing-along at Camp Veritans in Haledon, 7:15 p.m. (201) 652-6624.
n chose e Ophir
Yiddish Broadway: A Tribute to Molly Picon and Fanny Brice, 2 p.m. Winston has had a career as an opera singer, recitalist, and cantor in Romania, Israel, and the United States. (201) 592-3614, ext. 4010, fortlee. bccls.org, or www.menorahwinston.com. Jewish genealogy Judy Salomon from the Jewish Genealogical Society of North Jersey talks about genealogical research and how to begin looking into your Jewish roots at Temple Beth-El of Jersey City, 3:30 p.m. (201) 333-4229 or office@betheljc.org. Sukkot in Fair Lawn Temple Beth Sholom offers sukkah decorating and pizza, 4-6 p.m. (201) 797-9321. Sukkot in Closter Temple Beth El of Northern Valley hosts an open house, 4 p.m., followed by pizza in the sukkah and a brief family service at 5. (201) 768-5112 or www.tbenv.org. Sukkot in Jersey City Jersey Tribe (20s & 30s from across New Jersey) and Temple Beth-El host Samosas in the Sukkah, beginning with an Indian buffet dinner, 5:30 p.m., outdoor services with guitar, and dessert. (201) 333-4229, www.jerseytribe. org/contact, or office@betheljc.org. Sukkot in Franklin Lakes Barnert Temple celebrates with pizza in the sukkah, 5:30 p.m., and a family-friendly celebration. (201) 848-1800 or barnerttemple.org.
Caregivers support A support group for caregivers for people who are physically frail or suffering from Alzheimers meets at the Gallen Adult Day Health Care Center at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, 10-11:30 a.m. The film Annas Story will be screened, followed by a discussion on end-of-life decision making. Monthly discussion topics include longterm care options, financial planning, legal concerns, and the personal toll of caregiving. Shelley Steiner, (201) 7841414, ext. 5340.
Ruth Cole Hadassah meets Northern New Jersey Region of Hadassah holds its board of directors meeting at the Bergen County YJCC in Washington Township, 7 p.m. A panel of speakers will discuss Women in Advocacy: Issues We Face as Jewish Women. Panel members include Rule Cole of Ridgewood, who is national Hadassahs United Nations chair and president of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations. Jill Tekel of Livingston, Northern New Jersey Hadassahs advocacy coordinator, is the moderator. Refreshments at 7. (973) 530-3996 or nnjregion@ hadassah.org. Sukkot in Wayne The mens club of Congregation Shomrei Torah offers Sake, Soba, and Sushi in the Sukkah, 6:30 p.m. Dinner is followed by a brief Maariv service at 8. (973) 696-2500 or www. shomreitorahwcc.org.
monday [oct. 1]
Senior program in Wayne The Chabad Center of Passaic County continues its Smile on Seniors (SOS) program at the center, 11:30 a.m., with Sukkot lunch. Chani, (973) 694-6274 or Chanig@ optonline.net.
YMCAs of the Oranges is a proud partner of the YM-YWHA of North Jersey. (973) 5950100, ext. 250. Candidates forum in Mahwah The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jerseys Jewish Community Relations Council and The Jewish Standard co-sponsor a forum for the candidates for Congress from the 5th District, Rep. Scott Garrett (R) and Adam Gussen (D), at Temple Beth Haverim Shir Shalom, 9:30 a.m. Light breakfast; dietary laws strictly observed. Joy Kurland, (201) 3946, or joyk@jfnnj.org. Play group in River Edge Shalom Baby of UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey offers Shalom Baby Sukkot/Simchat Torah playgroup for moms and dads of newborns or newly adopted babies, through age 3, to connect with each other and the Jewish community, at Temple Avodat Shalom, 9:30 a.m. Administered by JFNNJs Synagogue Leadership Initiative, funded by the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation. (201) 8203904 or nancyp@jfnnj.org. War veterans meet in Teaneck The Teaneck/New Milford Post #498 Jewish War Veterans offers a breakfast meeting at the American Legion Building, 9:30 a.m. Prospective members welcome. Past Commander Stan Hoffman, (201) 836-0814. Sukkot in Wayne The Chabad Center of Passaic County holds its Grand Breakfast in the Sukkah with rolling video truck, petting zoo, and arts and crafts, 10 a.m. Chani, (973) 694-6274 or Jewishwayne. com. Simchat Torah in Jersey City Temple Beth El offers a family holiday program, The Joy of the Torah, 7 p.m. (201) 333-4229 or office@betheljc.org.
In new york
sunday [sept. 30]
wednesday [oct. 3]
Childrens program Shalom Baby and the Gerrard Berman Day School Solomon Schechter of North Jersey in Oakland join to offer the Shalom Baby Sukkot playgroup for tots with their moms or caregivers, 9:30 a.m. Nancy Perlman, (201) 820-3904 or nancyp@jfnnj.org.
thursday [oct. 4]
Sukkot in Fort Lee The sisterhood of Congregation Gesher Shalom/JCC of Fort Lee meets to celebrate the holiday with dinner, 6:30 p.m. (201) 947-1735. Open house in Closter Temple Beth El of Northern Valley hosts an open house with coffee, conversation, and an opportunity to meet the new rabbi, David S. Widzer, 7:30 p.m. (201) 768-5112 or www.tbenv.org.
Courtesy MJHNyC
frIday [oct. 5]
Shabbat in Emerson Congregation Bnai Israel in Emerson celebrates Sukkot with Shabbat dinner, 6 p.m., in the sukkah. (201) 265-2272 or www.bisrael.com. Shabbat in Jersey City Congregation Mount Sinai offers Shabbat Sukkot Daven-and-Dine, at a congregants home in Jersey City Heights, 7:30 p.m. www. MtSinai.net or Rabbi Shlomo Marks, RavShlomo.MtSinai@gmail.com. Hot Peas N Butter perform at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. In honor of Sukkot, the concert will feature songs linked to nature, as well as such catchy numbers as Moishe the Camel and tunes from their new album of classic lullabies, Catchin Some Peazzz. (212) 423-3337 or TheJewishMuseum.org/familyconcerts. Courtesy JewisH MuseuM
38 Jewish standard sePteMBer 28, 2012
Ruth Gruber The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust celebrates the 101st birthday of the pioneering journalist, humanitarian, and feminist Ruth Gruber. Bagel brunch, noon. After the documentary Ahead of Time: The Extraordinary Journey of Ruth Gruber is screened at 1 p.m., Gruber will discuss her life and work. (646) 437-4202 or www. mjhnyc.org.
sIng le s
sunday [oct. 14]
Community service in River Edge Jewish Federation of Northern New Jerseys young leaders 22-30 group, eNgageNJ, partners with the Friendship Circle and Hillel of Northern New Jersey, at the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, 2-4 p.m. Kimberly Schwartzman, (201) 820-3936.
sunday [oct. 7]
Y open house The Wayne YMCA holds a membership open house to celebrate Healthy Kids Day, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The Metro
Carole Walter
teMple israel
Courtesy
will make one of three recommendations for next steps. Those who show obvious potential will advance to a second or final casting call on Nov. 4. Those with talent who could benefit from some extra coaching will have the opportunity to be coached on their performance pieces or presentations, so they can be better prepared to perform in the final audition on Nov. 4. Auditions will be held in the Eric Brown Theater at the JCC. Call Inbal at (201) 409-1493.
refrigerator stocked. Deb Ross continues the legacy begun by her late mother of delivering apples and honey to patients before the start of Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Shalom Fisch, son of the late Rabbi Stanley Fisch, Holy Names first Jewish Chaplain and Molly Fisch, a former Holy Name pharmacist, blows Shofar for patients every Rosh Hashanah. Dr. Jarrett enthusiastically supports the concept of a Sukkah for Holy Name. Its another vehicle for being welcoming to our incredibly diverse community and another opportunity for us to learn about one another. We cant change the world, but we can ensure that in our little community, we respect one another. Sister Breda Boyle, Director of Pastoral Care, explains that providing a Sukkah for our Jewish staff and patient family members is very much in keeping with the Holy Name tradition of caring that addresses the medical, cultural and spiritual needs of every patient and our Mission to serve every member of our community. The Holy Name Sukkah was purchased from Sukkah Depot by arrangement with the Judaica House on Cedar Lane. Students from Maayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls made decorations which they will hang in the Sukkah, under the guidance of Mrs. Ivy Weiner, Maayanots Community Service Coordinator.
For information regarding Holy Name Medical Center programs, services, or physicians, please contact 1-877-HOLY NAME (1-877-465-9626) or visit holyname.org.
Lifecycle
mazal tov
Mazal tov to Bob Nesoff of New Milford, who will be listed again in Marquis Whos Who in America. He has been included in that book since 1999 and has been listed in Marquis Whos Who in the Media and Communications since 1998. An award-winning journalist, Nesoff is the author of the novel Spyder Hole, which tells the story of a secret international force of counterterrorism operatives working to stop terrorists from detonating nuclear bombs in New York and London. Nesoff has served multiple terms as president of the New Milford Jewish Center. He heads a commit-
oBituaries
Edwina Aronson
Edwina Lee Aronson of Paramus died on Sept. 21. She is survived by her husband, Gerald; children, Nancy (Jay), and Wayne (Nanci); a sister, Sydelle; and grandchildren, Elena, Jamie, David, and Joel. Arrangements were by Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Paramus. tee that is working with the Jewish Community Center of Paramus to merge the two institutions. He also has served as president of the Working Press Association of New Jersey and the North Jersey Press Association.
Loretta Carmel
Loretta Carmel, 87, of Elmwood Park died on Sept. 14. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
mazal tov
Four students at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy/ Yeshiva University High School for Boys have been named semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship program after performing well on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying tests. They are, from left, Dovid Schwartz of Teaneck, Yisroel Snow of Edison, Nathaniel Piskun of Tenafly, and Yosef Sklar of Teaneck. The awards are given annually to students with the highest PSAT/ NMSQT selection index scores in critical reading, mathematics, and writing skills, qualifying them for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship program.
Sandra Cohen
Sandra T. Cohen, ne Seidman, of Ortley Beach, formerly of Jersey City, died on Sept 21, her 70th birthday, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Born in Jersey City, she was a substance abuse counselor for the State of New Jersey before retiring. She is survived by her husband, Jerry; children, Stacy Garsson of Marlboro, David of Short Hills, and Brian of Paterson; a brother, Alan Seidman of Florida, and six grandchildren. Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels, Fort Lee.
Bnai mitzvah
Elliot Efrat
Elliot Efrat, son of Anat and Aviv Efrat of Paramus, celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah on Sept. 22 at Temple Israel & Jewish Community Center in Ridgewood.
Michele Weiss
Caption
PHOTOCREDIT
Judy Cummins
Michele Morelli-Weiss celebrated becoming an adult bat mitzvah on Sept. 15 at the Glen Rock Jewish Center. She participated in a bicycle tour across Iowa for her bat mitzvah project, and raised more than $10,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Iowa City. Judy Cummins, 89, of Fort Lee, formerly of Teaneck, died on Sept. 21. Predeceased by a daughter, Pamela C. Levenstein, and a brother, Irwin Mautner, she is survived by her husband, Henry, and a grandchild, Lauren Levenstein. Arrangements were by Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, Hackensack.
Exclusively Yours
Marcie Eisenstein
Marcie A. Eisenstein of Totowa, formerly of Wayne and Pompton Plains, died on Sept. 21. She was the office manager for her husband, Dr. Elliot Eisenstein. Along with her husband, she
is survived by sons, Carl and Matthew Krommenohl of North Bergen, and six stepchildren, Sheryl, Debra, Alan, Michael, Jonathan, and Robert. Donations can be sent to a charity of choice. Arrangements were by Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Paramus.
Harold Silverstein
Harold L. Silverstein, 90, of Hackensack, formerly of Jersey City and Teaneck, died on Sept. 16 in Hackensack. A World War II veteran, he was the chief operating officer of Automatic Vending. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Florence, ne Frank; sons, Dr. Richard (Nadine), and Dr. Gerald; a brother, Edwin (Lynda); grandchildren, Elyse Sentner (Grant) and Dr. Cheri Silverstein (Dr. Yariv Fadlon); and a great granddaughter, Chloe Fadlon. Contributions can be sent to Jewish War Veterans c/o Jewish Federation of
Northern New Jersey. Arrangements were by Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, Hackensack.
Nathan Weiss
Nathan Weiss, 88, of Fair Lawn died on Sept. 13. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Obituaries are prepared with information provided by funeral homes. Correcting errors is the responsibility of the funeral home.
Lorraine Friedman
Lorraine Friedman of River Edge died on Sept. 13. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
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Hundreds of families flocked to the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly for its annual Open House on Sunday, Sept. 9. Everyone was a JCC guest for the day. New and prospective members toured the facility, swam, worked out in the adult and youth fitness centers, attended sample classes, and met with JCC staff to learn about programs that the JCC will offer in the fall. Courtesy
The building is home to 7-year-old Zoey Komninos, who has been confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy. JFNNJs Bonim Builders and volunteers from Habitat for Humanity have been working together on the Zoey Project since April. They hope to have Zoeys house ready for occupancy in October. Courtesy JFNNJ
JCCotP
Seventh graders at the Moriah School prepared for the High Holy Days with a program by Rabbi Shalom Baum of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck. Courtesy
4 5
Children at the Helen Troum Nursery School at Temple Beth Sholom of Fair Lawn listened to Rabbi Alberto Zeilicovich blow the shofar in preparation for Rosh Hashanah. Courtesy tBs Jewish Brownie Troop 4643 of the Gerrard Berman Solomon Schechter Day School in Oakland worked on painting badges with local artist Roz Altman. The troop meets once a month and is open to second-andthird graders. Courtesy BarBra LieBersteiN
Moriah
Jewish Federation of Northern New Jerseys eNgageNJers spent part of the Sunday morning before Rosh Hashanah putting the finishing touches on a twostory addition to a house in New Milford.
44 Jewish standard sePteMBer 28, 2012
RE A L ESTATE & b u S i n E SS n oT E S
The pots come in several vivid colors. Greenbos unique design won a Red Dot Award. A nifty space-saving idea for patio gardens.
Kloosterman
At 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) deep, the pots can hold longer-rooted vegetables like tomatoes. A gravitybased system holds the planter in place, and an additional fixture can be fastened on to make sure the planter will never fly away. A special tray locks in the bottom to ensure that
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ardens growing on your patio or deck can get a facelift this year with a new planter from Israel that just won a prestigious design award. The Greenbo concept might seem trivial, admits Liron Golan, the companys marketing and sales consultant, but so did the zipper when it was first invented. The colorful, strong Greenbo planter can be attached to an array of perimeter areas in your home or apartment, from the white picket fence to the wide patio railing. It can even work in interiors. To date, around 250,000 units have been sold at about $25 apiece. So excited is the design world by this Israeli invention that on July 2 Greenbo became the second Israeli company ever to win a Red Dot Award, the design industrys Oscar equivalent (the first was plastics manufacturer Keter). Golan says that other winners included Apple and Mercedes Benz not just the big fish; they are the whales, as he puts it. Golans wife, Maya, is co-founder of the four-year-old company, along with Roy Joulus, his good friend from the high-tech world. The company is based in Petah Tikvah, and the products are manufactured nearby in Caesarea. Joulus father works for the company as well, so its more like a startup family company, says Golan. Golan explains how the company idea began: Roy studied design, and later he and I worked together in the high-tech industry. He had this fantastic idea about putting a planter over a railing to save balcony space. His idea came to him when was living in Tel Aviv in a crowded and urban environment where every bit of floor space matters. The planters are currently on sale in select locations on three continents. In the United States, Home Depot carries them in its New York-area stores and online, and a distributor is helping Greenbo reach specialty garden centers on the East Coast. A deal for West Coast retailers should make them available there in the fall. In Europe, the planters can be purchased at Carrefour stores. The plan is to keep Greenbo a blue-and-white company that will maintain its manufacturing in Israel while exporting abroad. About 75 percent of all planters sold so far have gone to the export market, with the remaining 30 percent bringing some new color to Tel Aviv, otherwise known as the White City. Vertical gardens and patio gardens are becoming especially popular now among environmentally conscious consumers, who are attempting to reduce their foods travel miles by planting more herbs and vegetables at home. The Greenbo planter, though not made from recycled materials, provides a pretty and functional alternative to the terracotta or green plastic plant pots that take up valuable space on small patios. Window boxes dont have enough soil and the most problematic part of them is the metal hangers that rust and scratch your railing, says Golan. This is what we wanted to create an alternative for. Thats the How come nobody thought of that before? idea.
excess water and soil wont leak onto your patio, or your neighbors. For investors keen on funding the next zipper, Greenbo is looking for an additional $3 million to $5 million in capital. We are always looking for investment, especially in the US, says Golan.
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ot everybody dreams of owning a McMansion in a planned community where every natural resource was razed to set it up. Do you spend your weekends watching This Old House or Flip This House? Do you dream of finding the perfect diamond in the rough that can be polished into a showpiece? Or are you a first-time homebuyer on a severely limited budget? A fixer-upper could be the answer to your prayers. Almost any previously owned home will have things that need to be taken care of before you can sign on the dotted line. So what differentiates that from a true fixer-upper? A fixer-upper generally requires more work be it redecoration, redesign, or reconstruction and instead of the current owners of the property fixing what is damaged, you will be buying it as is. Most, but not all, fixer-uppers are in livable condition. The upside to this is that a fixer-upper will be cheaper than a house thats ready to go. For as much as the term is bandied about, finding a fixer-upper can be problematic. First, find out whether there is a real estate agent in your area who specializes in fixer-uppers. This person will have the inside track as to whats on the market and whether its worth investing in. Being able to see the potential in a fixer-upper can be difficult. There may be a lot of cosmetic damage or ugly and outdated appliances and decor. Those are the easy fixes. Full home inspections are important in any homebuying situation, but they are absolutely necessary with a fixer-upper. An inspection could uncover something that turns what you thought would be a quick fix into a potential money pit. Things to be on the lookout for that would exponentially raise the price of any refurbishing you might do:
An electrical system that needs to be updated. This is something to be especially wary of if you are looking at homes that are more than 50 years old. Electrical usage has changed vastly in recent years, and rewiring an old house is costly and time-consuming. Possible sabotage of the property. With more and more people being forcibly evicted from their homes, many are venting their frustrations on the properties. Though a lot of the damage done is cosmetic (graffiti, stealing hardware off doors and cabinets, holes in the walls, etc.), there are those who want to be sure the home is unlivable for the next occupant. Other potentially costly home repairs: low water pressure, horizontal cracks in the foundation, and water leaks. Any good home inspector will be able to identify high-cost problems. Once youve found a fixer-upper you feel comfortable with, you will need a way to finance the repairs. Generally, youll want to prioritize any repairs; not everything has to be done at once. Anything you can do yourself (pulling up carpet, removing wallpaper) will save you lots on labor. Do you feel comfortable laying tile or have the know-how to knock down a wall? Make sure you know what youre doing; paying someone to redo what youve messed up can be costly. The Federal Housing Administration, which is a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, offers a federally subsidized loan that can help buyers finance repairs. The loan, called a 203(k), rolls the cost of the home repairs into the cost of the house and allows the buyer to tap into the full money for the repairs for just the cost of the down payment. Copyright 2012 Creators.Com
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