WOMAN OF THE BOOK - Amazon S3

Unwritten ChaptersYochanan Gordon 17

Bureaucracy, Part 2Hannah Reich Berman 29

MindBizEsther Mann, LMSW 34

It’s All Over NowPhyllis J. Lubin 38

The Tuition ChallengeEli Shapiro 40

Somewhere To Eat

At the Chol HaMoed Sukkos Sefer Torah dedication and ChanukasHaBayis in Rehovot, Israel (L–R): Mr. Kurt Rothschild, president of

Mizrachi Canada; Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel, Rosh Yeshivas Mir; RavSimcha Kook; and Yossi Stern with his sons. See Page 43

Rav Kook Draws A Crowd

B Y Y A I R H O F F M A N

The halachic laws regarding awoman’s obligation to pray haveperhaps been somewhat enig-matic. We have all heard thatwomen are exempt from time-bound mitzvos. And yet,although the mitzvah of daven-ing is a daily obligation, with dif-ferent times of the day associat-ed with different tefillos and therecitation of the Shema in themorning and evening, numerousposkim, including the Mishnah

LAWS OFDAVENING

Continued on Page 9

LIFE IN THEBERKSHIRES

WOMAN OF THE BOOK

B Y M I C H E L EH E R E N S T E I N

If you’ve wondered whereI’ve gone, or if any of you areeven now wondering who inthe world I am (although Ithought I had become quite apublic figure through my writ-ing for the Five Towns JewishTimes!), then please allow me toreintroduce myself. My name isMichele, I’m originally from theFive Towns, and, after writingfor the 5TJT for several years, I

Hakafot Sheini were joyously celebrated by 20,000 participants at theLiberty Bell Garden in Jerusalem, sponsored for the 28th consecutive year

by Eugen Gluck (2nd from left), Jean Gluck, and family of Forest HillsGardens, major benefactors of Bet El and many other important Jewish

causes. Mr. Gluck is flanked by (R–L) Dr. Meyer Abittan and Dr. PaulBrody, holding Torahs, and by his grandson Marc Yehaskel, husband of

granddaughter Davida Friedman Yehaskel, all of Great Neck. The Hakafotwere a tribute to the memory of Dr. Maurice A. Jaffe.

Continued on 1

B Y L A R R Y G O R D O N

Now that President BarackObama has won the 2009 NobelPeace Prize without attainingany tangible peace to speak of,does Israel specifically need tobe concerned?

Like most of the questionsemanating these days from theMiddle East, the precise answerto that query is both yes and no.It’s important to note severalthings about the meaning of themuch-coveted award beinggiven to Mr. Obama at this stageof his presidency. First, thePeace Prize itself has now been

as seriously downgraded as acommon stock on some foreignmarket. An award once present-ed and assigned to statesmenfor courage and initiative in thediplomatic arena has nowbecome the number one objectof derision by television’s late-night comics. How far themighty have fallen.

Mostly unknown about thislatest Nobel decision is thatthe nominations are made inFebruary of each year, and the

Up Close And PersonalWith Rachel Friedman

B Y R O C H E L L EM A R U C H M I L L E R

When Rachel Friedman grad-uated from Columbia LawSchool in 1985, she embarkedupon a path in corporate law,feeling certain that she hadfound her professional calling.Years later, however, on materni-ty leave and the mother of twosmall children, she felt that

Continued on Page 6

B Y L A R R Y G O R D O N

It was supposed to be a sim-ple, uncomplicated conclusionto a day full of hustle and bustle.All we wanted to do wasrecharge our exhausted systemsand garner some much-neededenergy for moving on to the restof the day and night.

The objective, after yet anoth-er day of stepping out of the safeand customary routine, was tofind a restaurant in the city witha sukkah suitable for a meal on

this day out with the family.Granted, there is no shortage ofexcellent glatt-kosher restau-rants in New York City. But, Ihave to admit, finding one ofthose restaurants with a sukkahproved, for some reason, to beunusually challenging.

It’s important that the readerunderstands that we were hun-gry and tired after a long day ofdoing various things. There’snothing like a delicious hot

Continued on Page 13Continued on Page 16

CANDLE LIGHTINGOctober 16 – 5:54 PMOctober 23 – 5:44 PM

Israel, Obama, And Peace

A JERUSALEM SIMCHAS TORAH

Celebrating the Sukkos holidayat Woodmere Rehab.

See Page 64

Bat Mitzvah of Sophia Srulowitz.

See Page 78

Lev Leytzan Europe tour.See Page 44

VOL. 10 NO. 3 28 TISHREI 5770 ,hatrc ,arp OCTOBER 16, 2009$1.00 WWW.5TJT.COMSee Page 31

INSIDE FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE

Rachel Friedman

PhotoByAsherH.Abittan

2 October 16, 2009 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES October 16, 2009 3

assessment of the candidates beginsshortly thereafter. This means that Mr.Obama, who was inaugurated onJanuary 20 of 2009, was in the WhiteHouse for no more than about twomonths when he made it onto the com-mittee’s short list of viable candidatesfor the prize.

One thing is certain—back in Februaryor March he had accomplished even lessthan he has achieved today, some ninemonths down the road. One can onlyconclude that the Nobel committee wasoverwhelmed and even stupefied by theObama rhetoric about his impractical andunworkable vision of the future underhis national and global leadership.

Another way of viewing the events ofthe past few days is that the Nobel com-

mittee may have been patronizing Mr.Obama—and, through him, all of us herein the United States. The pressure on thepresident is mounting, and may continueover the next several days, to reject theprize and urge the committee to presentit to one of the over 200 candidates thatwere being considered for the award.

While it is natural to admire NobelPrize winners—the award comes alongwith a check for $1.4 million—one had to

sit up and take notice with a little morethan the usual amount of skepticismwhen the Peace Prize (of all things) wasawarded to Yasser Arafat—the founderand initiator of modern terrorism—backin 1994. Obviously those who make up themembers of this committee have a skew-ered and agenda-driven way of viewingwhat it means to be a pursuer of peace.

And that agenda has to have a greatdeal to do with Israel. After all, regardlessof the many locations on the globe thatare in need of diplomatic troubleshoot-ing, Mr. Obama has set his sights on theIsrael-Palestinian situation and has beenmost vigorous when it has come to mak-ing demands on Israel. Perhaps it is inObama that the Europeans see theAmerican leader who can finally be force-ful with Israel even if it requires doing soin an unbalanced and unfair fashion.

Past presidents have alluded to theway they believe the State of Israelshould be handled, but very few havebeen so emphatic. And that involvespressing Israel to relinquish territory andplace the country and its people in dan-ger because, in the long run—the think-ing goes—that is the best thing for thefuture of Israel. This position, as Mr.Obama has referred to it, can be definedas harboring feelings of close friendshipto Israel and genuine concern about theJewish State’s security.

Following this absurd line of think-ing leads to the conclusion that the lessof Israel there is, the more secure shewill automatically become. Now thatposture is potentially tough enough on


FROM THE EDITORContinued from Front Cover

Continued on Page 8

Around The Five Towns 43

Aliyah ChronicleShmuel Katz 20

Ask The SenseiWarren Levi 28

Classified Ads 70

Daf Yomi InsightsRabbi Avrohom Sebrow 41

The DishElke Probkevitz 31

Five Towns SimchaProLux Studio 78

Hock Of The RockEli Shapiro 40

Insights On The TorahR’ Ben Tzion Shafier 32R’ Tzvi Hersh Weinreb 53The Chassidic Masters 60

The Legendary . . .. . . Danny O’Doul 22

Luach 9

MindBizEsther Mann, LMSW 34

Mother’s MusingsPhyllis J. Lubin 38

PuzzleYoni Glatt 73

Real EstateAnessa V. Cohen 35

That’s The Way It Is!Hannah Reich Berman 29

Travel 36


Israel without countless numbers ofIsraelis supporting these positions aswell. But that is precisely what Israel isdealing with and why this attitude is sodangerous.

The Peace Prize, however, adds a newdimension to the puzzle. These prizeshave traditionally been awarded for pastaccomplishments. But by making Obamathe winner without any peace accom-plishments under his belt, he may feelunusual pressure to live up to what theprize has always represented.

Granted that Mr. Obama finds him-self in very unusual circumstances atthe moment. His popularity, which sky-rocketed during his campaign for thepresidency and in the immediate after-math of his inauguration, has seriouslywaned. Not only that, but the nationalmedia, once his staunchest and mostardent supporters, is now conspiring—and in some cases leading the charge—in his deconstruction.

Has the media that made Obamapresident turned on him? No, not at all.The case here is that, first and foremost,the media is pro-media before it is pro-Obama or pro-anything else. Thatmeans that if the next big story is pick-ing apart the Obama administration’spolicies and positions, that gets priorityover making Mr. Obama the best thingthat has happened to this country inthe last hundred years.

Dismantling the Obama mystiquehas unfortunately become job numberone these days, as stories of this kind

tend to generate their own momen-tum. Under different circumstances,attaining a Nobel Peace Prize shouldhave helped to stem this downwardtide. But the selection is so absurd thatit leaves the observers and punditswith no choice but to poke mercilessridicule at the president.

Rarely if ever has a Peace Prize, or anyNobel Prize, been awarded to someonebased on his or her potential to achieve.The history bears testimony to the con-trary. The dangerous thing about thesecircumstances—combined with Obama’sexisting policy—is that all too oftenwhen Washington has had to achieve aquick foreign-policy objective, it has setits sights on Israel.

Interestingly enough, it was earlierthis week that Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas said to a Lebanesenewspaper that he had given up on theexpectation that Mr. Obama would suc-cessfully pressure Israel, and that Obamahad caved into Israeli pressure and is nolonger demanding a halt to settlementconstruction. This may or may not betrue, and is also—if true for now—cer-tainly subject to change in the future.

One comic said it best last weekwhile commenting on the criticism thatMr. Obama had not accomplished any-thing but still received this much-covet-ed recognition. He suggested thatBarack Obama is indeed not withoutaccomplishment: His biggest accom-plishment so far: winning the NobelPeace Prize.” v

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome [email protected].

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FROM THE EDITORContinued from Page 6


Berurah, require that women daven.What are their obligations exactly?

What if they generally attend a class, forexample, and are running late? Shouldthey skip parts of their regular daveningroutine? And why are women exemptfrom time-bound mitzvos anyway?

There are at least two explanations forthe idea, which is mentioned inKiddushin 29a, that women are exemptfrom time-bound mitzvos. The first expla-nation is that women are generallyentrusted with the important task ofoverseeing the spiritual development ofthe children of the family as well as tak-ing care of the physical needs of the fam-ily. (See Avudraham in his commentaryon the siddur.)

The Maharal (Derashos al HaTorah, endof Sefer Be’er HaGolah, page 28, cited inPinas HaHalachah) explains that womenare on a higher spiritual plane and can

Women And DaveningContinued from Front Cover

28 Tishrei

Friday, October 16Daf yomi: Bava Basra 56

Z’manim*:Earliest tallis/tefillin: 6:14 am

Sunrise: 7:08 am

Latest Shema:

M. Av. 9:17 am

Gr’a 9:53 am

P’lag ha’minchah: 5:03 pm

Candle Lighting: 5:54 pm

29 Tishrei – Shabbos

Saturday, October 17Shabbos Parashas Bereishis

Blessing of Chodesh MarCheshvanShabbos ends**:

6:53 pm

72 min. 7:24 pm

30 Tishrei – 1 Cheshvan

Sunday–Monday, October 18–19Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan

5 Cheshvan

Friday, October 23Daf yomi: Bava Basra 63

Earliest tallis/tefillin: 6:21 am

Sunrise: 7:15 am

Latest Shema:

M. Av. 9:20 am

Gr’a 9:56 am

P’lag ha’minchah: 4:55 pm

Candle Lighting: 5:44 pm

6 Cheshvan – Shabbos

Saturday, October 24Shabbos Parashas Noach

Shabbos ends**:6:43 pm

72 min. 7:14 pm* from MyZmanim.com

** add a few minutes for tosefos Shabbos according to

your minhag

Municipal CalendarFor 5 Towns and NYC

October 25Saturday night/Sunday: Daylight SavingTime ends (set clocks back 1 hour)

CALENDARLUACH

Oct. 16-Oct. 25ZIP Code: 11516

Continued on Page 10


more easily achieve d’veikus to Hashem. Awoman can therefore achieve her OlamHaba even without the time-boundmitzvos and without the toil that isinvolved in immersion in Torah studies.

Specific Laws And CustomsModeh Ani. The Mishnah Berurah rules

(1:8) that women are obligated in thetefillah of “Modeh Ani” upon wakening.When it comes to hoda’ah, giving thanks,women are just as obligated as men. (Wesee that a woman who has given birth isobligated in thanks.) It seems that unlessthey have a minhag otherwise, theyshould recite the standard nusach of“Modeh” and not “Modah,” the femaleconjugation of the verb (based uponEishel Avraham, O.C. 46).

Netilas Yadayim. Women must alsoritually wash their hands, netilas yaday-im, in the morning upon waking up. Likemen, they can do so after Modeh Ani. If awoman will not be able to daven theother berachos in the morning, sheshould recite the berachah of Al NetilasYadayim immediately after washing or, ifshe needs to use the facilities, she shouldrecite it with Asher Yatzar afterward (seeM.B. 1:4 and B.H. “Afilu”). If she will bereciting the other berachos in the morn-ing, she should wait to recite theberachah of Al Netilas Yadayim with dav-ening. The berachah of Elokai Neshamahshould also be recited by women. Itshould ideally be said along with AsherYatzar (M.B. 6:12).

Birchos HaShachar. Women are obli-

gated in the recitation of the MorningBlessings (M.B. 70:2). Even though theymay be considered time-bound mitzvos,women are included in these blessingsbecause they were established basedupon the order of the world and its con-duct—how mankind benefits daily.

Birchos HaTorah. Women should saythe Blessings of the Torah, includingBirkas Kohanim and Eilu Devarim (select-ed passages of the Mishnah) that comeright afterward in the Siddur (S.A. 47:14). If,however, one did not say it and subse-quently recited Ahavah Rabbah and the

Shema in her regular davening routine,she should not later recite the BirchosHaTorah (see Yeshuos Yaakov 47:8; the rea-son is that her recitation of Kerias Shemais probably considered to be “learning,”since she recites it on account of minhagand not obligation.)

Korbanos. The Mishnah Berurah rules,like the Magen Avraham (47:14), thatwomen should recite the korbanos sec-tion of davening—Parashas Olah,Parashas Tamid, and the Ketores. Thosewho follow the Shulchan Aruch HaRav(Lubavitch women) only have to recite

the Korban Tamid (SAR 47:10).Pesukei D’Zimrah. The Mishnah

Berurah rules that women should recitePesukei D’Zimrah (MB 70:2). This is theminhag of most women who daven regu-larly. Lubavitch women are not obligatedin reciting it, but may do so if they wish(SAR 70:1).

Shema. Although technically womenare exempt from reciting Shema, theShulchan Aruch rules that it is proper toinstruct them to accept the yoke of heav-en with the recitation of at least the firstpasuk. The minhag has spread, however,

to recite all three paragraphs of theShema and its blessings. The section afterthe Shema known as Emes V’Yatzivshould also be recited. Since women areobligated in the tefillah of ShemonehEsreih, they should also place Geulah(the section after Shema) next to tefillah(i.e., Shemoneh Esreih) in their davening.They must therefore recite the sectionsright after the Shema and before theShemoneh Esreih.

Shemoneh Esreih. The MishnahBerurah rules that women should recitethe Shemoneh Esreih for Shacharis and

Minchah (M.B. 106:4) since tefillah is arequest for mercy. (It may be true forMa’ariv, as well, but the minhag has notbeen like this.)

Tachanun. Women are exempt fromthe recitation of Tachanun (ResponsaMachazeh Eliyahu No. 20, as cited inPinas HaHalachah, p. 40). Women havenever accepted the tefillah of Tachanunupon themselves, and the minhag is thatthey do not recite it.

Ashrei and U’va L’Tzion. Women areexempt from reciting these latter tefillosas well (See Machazeh Eliyahu). The rea-son is that the prayer of U’va L’Tzion wasinstituted so that K’lal Yisrael would beinvolved in a minimum of Torah studyeach day. The latter Ashrei was institutedto make a separation between the tefillahand the latter Kedushah in U’va L’Tzion.Therefore, women are exempt from bothof these tefillos.

Shir shel Yom. Since the recitation ofthis tefillah was established based uponsaying the prayers on the korbanos whenthey are brought in their proper time (seeMaseches Sofrim 18:1) and women are obli-gated in the recitation of korbanos, it islikely that they are likewise obligated inthe Shir shel Yom. Women should there-fore recite this tefillah if possible.

Aleinu. The Levush (O.C. 133:1) explainsthat the prayer of Aleinu was establishedto recite praise and thanks for Hashemafter Shemoneh Esreih just as the PesukeiD’Zimrah was established prior toShemoneh Esreih. Since this is the caseand the Mishnah Berurah does rule thatPesukei D’Zimrah should be recited by

Women And DaveningContinued from Page 9


Women should place Geulah (the

section after Shema) next to tefillah (i.e.,

Shemoneh Esreih) in their davening.


up and left New York for the great state ofMassachusetts, thinking I’d find somesolitude and try and write the greatAmerican novel, or perhaps just a book,and at the same time ponder my life a bit.

So I’ve been pondering for quite awhile, and what my pondering has ledme to was that I missed writing for the5TJT, which led me to asking the publish-er, Larry Gordon, if I could come back tothe paper and return to my readership(y’all know who you are), of whom I’vealways been so fond (I’m hoping it wassomewhat mutual). So here I am, back atya, and ready to rock ’n’ roll.

Living in the Berkshires has presentedopportunities I’ve never encounteredbefore, some of which have enriched mylife considerably, and others which havequite possibly turned me into an obses-sive-compulsive personality, if I wasn’tsuch a person before I moved here (quitequestionable).

Stop & Shop has become my stompinggrounds for all manner of food and drink.When I was a resident of New York City, Iwould be in and out of the supermarketin a jiffy. Well, maybe not a jiffy, but cer-tainly no more than an hour. But thosewere kosher supermarkets where I couldbuy whatever my heart desired. At Stop &Shop, not only do I spend time looking atthe nutritional and fat content of myselections, but I walk up and down the 20or so aisles checking everything thatlooks good (most things) for their koshercertification.

I could be standing in the snack aisle for

an hour, reading labels, checking forkashrus qualifications, and reading theingredients. For those of you who wonderhow I’m spending my time in theBerkshires, there’s your answer. You canprobably reach me most hours of theweek on my cell phone at the Stop & Shop.Okay, I do exaggerate. But it’s truly amaz-ing how many food items that were not

kosher when I was little, or didn’t evenexist back then (well I’m not that old), notonly do exist, but exist as perfectly kosheritems. It makes me want to try a new thingeach time I’m in the store. But don’t fret; Ihold back, mostly. But I do spend an inor-dinate amount of time at Stop & Shop, sali-vating and wishing human beings abovethe age of 20 could eat whatever they wantand not gain an ounce. If only.

On the plus side of living here, I havebecome an athlete (maybe subconscious-ly in preparation for being able to eat

Life In The BerkshiresContinued from Front Cover


Only two types of spider

bites could potentially

kill you; the rest are

painful but harmless.

That made me feel so

much better—not!


whatever I’d like at Stop & Shop).Really—a true athlete. I can be foundoutdoors many hours of the day, doingsome physical activity. In NYC, I went tothe gym (boring!), but didn’t venture out-side much for my workouts. Here, I amalways outdoors. Whether it’s runningfor 5-plus miles (obsessive, perhaps—ormaybe just loving the “runner’s high”),biking for anywhere from 8 to 18 miles,or hiking, I have truly come to appreciateliving in an area where the outdoors ismy playground.

It’s inspiring really, because when Ilived in New York, I rarely ran, didn’t bikemuch, and never hiked, except for theoccasional trip to Bear Mountain, twice ayear at most. Here, on a typical Sunday, Istart my day biking and end it on top of amountain I’ve hiked so many times Icould do it in my sleep. I have storiesgalore about my most recent acquisi-tion—a cool road bike—but I must savethose for another time, as that would bean article in itself. I don’t want to over-whelm you before you have the chanceto get used to me all over again.

Looking at me as a kid, you’d think I’dbe the last person to ever end up athletic,or even remotely interested in workingout, or in sports of any kind. I was neverpicked first for teams, never cared aboutgym class (except in that it wasn’t graded),and couldn’t believe that in Stern CollegeI still had to take gym—for credit!

In my twenties I belonged to a gym,but it did not become part of my charac-ter in the slightest. And now I can’t imag-

ine who I’d be if I wasn’t this persondreaming about running on the beach, ormaybe trying for a half marathon. It’samazing how people can change—anddo change. I certainly have.

Not only has physical fitness becomeenjoyable for me, but it makes me astronger person, both physically andmentally. When I’m on my last breath,and there are still two miles left to myrun, it is my mind that allows me to fin-ish, more so than just my body.Philosophical, but true. “Mind over mat-ter” has never made more sense to methan in the area of physical fitness andchallenging myself.

And, speaking of challenges, in NewYork I never (not once!) filled up my owngas tank. I don’t think I’d even haveknown how. But here in the Berkshires, ifI want to drive, I have to be a self-servegal. And so I’ve become one. I stand at thecar with the gas nozzle in one hand, theother hand on my hip (ok, that’s pushingit, but it sounded good), looking like aself-serve professional. I’m even thinkingabout charging to fill up other people’scars, should they be from New York andnot have the slightest inkling of how todo so. This could be the start of a new andprosperous career! Ok, kidding. But really,I’m now more independent in so manyways, small and large.

When I got a spider bite on one of myrecent summer hikes, I didn’t panic—well, not much anyway. Just in case youdon’t know about spider bites, they reallyhurt. (I deal pretty well with physical pain;emotional, not so much . . .) I had nevergotten a spider bite before, so my firstthought was, “Oh, no—tick bite!” And if

you live in an area where tick bites are notuncommon (such as the Berkshires), youknow the fear of getting one.

But a tick bite isn’t painful; a spiderbite is (I learned this online). When Ishowed someone the bite, they said,“Yup, spider bite. Those are seriouslypainful.” I went home and Googled “spi-der bites” and saw that only two types ofspider bites could potentially kill you; therest are painful but harmless. That mademe feel so much better—not! My point is,I was hiking alone, got bitten, didn’tpanic (except for checking out the bite forinflammation every two minutes), fin-ished the hike (with perhaps more anxi-ety than I had started the hike with), andsurvived quite well my first (and hopeful-ly last) spider bite.

I have many stories I could share withyou about my “adventures” in theBerkshires—that is, if you’ve missed meenough to want to begin reading aboutmy life travails, again. Life is never boringwhen you’re, well, me.

I’ve missed you all, my faithful readers,and hope to reconnect with you.Meanwhile, let’s hope I make it throughtick season, swine-flu season, and thecoldest summer/fall I have ever experi-enced in my entire life, bar none. As Iwrite to you on the last day of September,my thermostat is set to high and I amwearing a sweatshirt over my pajamas. Idetect an icy winter ahead, but storiesgalore to amuse you and to satisfy yourcuriosity about life in the Berkshires.

Till next time. v

Michele Herenstein is a freelance journalist livingin the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. She canbe reached at [email protected].

Life In The BerkshiresContinued from Page 11

women, it seems that they should recitethe Aleinu as well.

ConclusionsWith this brief overview, we can now

return to our original questions aboutwhether a woman who is running late forclass should skip portions of davening.While it may not be found in theShulchan Aruch, there is a general obliga-tion mentioned by almost all of thegedolei ha’mussar and roshei yeshiva ofour generation that each and every stu-dent should feel an obligation to keep thesedarim of our schools and our yeshivos.

Classes, shiurim, and sedarim shouldstart on time, and it is each student’s obli-gation to help maintain an atmosphere ofpunctuality and timeliness. That beingthe case, young ladies in high school orseminary should make every effort tocome on time so they can daven properlyand not be late for class.

In the event that she is on time and shecannot keep up with the davening, sheshould recite the berachos and the kor-banos at home and skip the sections afterShemoneh Esreih. Later, after class, sheshould recite Aleinu and the Shir shel Yom.

Schools should also be careful toensure that the students have sufficientdavening time. It is important to remem-ber that the purpose of tefillah is to fur-ther the unique d’veikus Bashem thatK’lal Yisrael has enjoyed since the dawnof Jewish history. v

The author may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

Women And DaveningContinued from Page 10


meal and something cool to drink after along busy day in and around the city. Butthis year, unlike previous years, we justcould not get it right.

I don’t frequent the city’s eateries, soI’m not up on the latest opportunities fordining indulgence or the newfangledeateries that one may find on the kosherlandscape in Manhattan. So I was at acomplete loss when it came to trying tofigure which of these restaurants fea-tured a sukkah.

Under such circumstances—and withabout a half dozen people depending onus to figure out where to eat—we had totap into our not-so-vast experience, staywith fundamentals, and try to rely onwhat worked in the past. One of thoseplaces in whose sukkah we’ve dined inpast years was My Most Favorite Dessert,which is now known as My Most FavoriteFood, in midtown.

I recalled that they had the mostquaint and comfortable sukkah, whichmade dining in that environment a pleas-ure. While driving home from upstate,where we had gone for a trail of easy butvery scenic hiking, we all agreed that wecould not go wrong with My FavoriteFood, even though some in the smallgroup expressed a preference for meatrather than dairy cuisine.

We parked our car on the periphery ofthe busy midtown area, and I figured Iwould call ahead for a table in thesukkah, just in case there was a long waitor a reservation was required. With greatpresumptuousness, I asked the young

lady on the phone whether there was await to be seated in their sukkah. “Oh,”she said, “we don’t have a sukkah.” I saidsomething partially inane, such as “Butyou always had a sukkah”—as if that wasgoing to help my plight at that moment.

She explained that the building fromwhich they rent the restaurant space didnot allow them to build a sukkah on thesidewalk in front of the eatery this year. Ihad considered My Favorite Food a solidchoice. Feeling a bit disappointed andeven abandoned—not to mentionsukkah-less—it was time to move on.There was obviously no recourse, justsome momentary bewilderment andthen it was on to Plan B.

The alternative was to be a little morecertain this time, and call ahead to makesure that wherever we ended up eatingdinner would indeed have a sukkah bigenough at least to accommodate the menin our party.

I called Mendy’s on 34th Street—they

always serve great-tasting deli and otherdishes—and asked the heavily accentedman who answered the phone whetherthere was a sukkah we could use for din-ner. He said that yes, they did have asukkah at what sounded like their loca-tion at East 29th Street and LexingtonAvenue. That’s interesting, I thought for amoment; I didn’t know that Mendy’s hada restaurant at that location.

It was less than 20 minutes later thatwe found street parking again, this timeon nearby East 28th Street, and walkedover to the corner of Lexington and 29th.As far as I could see, there were a numberof stores there—a florist, a grocery, and anail shop—but there was no Mendy’s,that was for sure. I called the number Ihad in my cell phone to ask the manwhere exactly the restaurant was,because we were all looking around butdidn’t see it.

Apparently he was able to understandwhat I was saying much quicker than Iwas able to comprehend the point hewas attempting to make. I listened insemi-disbelief as he told me that therewas in fact no Mendy’s where I wasstanding, but there was a sukkah downthere, and all we had to do was orderfrom the East 34th Street restaurant andthey would send the food down to thesukkah by cab.

I wanted to say that this guy on thephone had to be kidding me or pullingsome kind of Sukkos joke on us. But Iknew he had no reason to do that. Therewas a sukkah down there, which we stillcould not find, and the restaurant wasonly about a half dozen blocks away, butwe were not going to consider the possi-bility of walking up there and then back

BAGEL STOREContinued from Front Cover


There was a sukkah

down there, which we

still could not find,

and the restaurant was

only about a half

dozen blocks away.


again—that is if we could find the sukkahat all—in order to get this dinner done.But then again, I wondered, perhaps thisis the ultimate fulfillment of the directiveto dwell in a temporary structure on thisholiday. So temporary and flimsy was thissukkah we were searching for, that it maynot even exist.

We were considering ordering over thephone and having them ship it down tous, where we would eat in the sukkah.But what sukkah, and where was it? Ifinally understood the guy on the phoneto be saying that it was in a synagogue. Ofcourse I knew that it wasn’t in a shul, butthat there must have been a shul nearbythat had a sukkah that Mendy’s cus-tomers had authorization to use.

A little further down East 29th Street,toward Third Avenue, I discovered thenondescript facade of a building with aMagen David above the front door. “Aha,I found it!” I shouted to the others in mydining-party-cum-search-party. Westepped inside the front door and askeda young man at a coatrack whetherthere was a sukkah there that we coulduse. He pointed to a doorway at theback of the long hallway, explainingthat it was back there.

As we walked through the building, wearrived at a table where a woman wasseemingly selling admission to thesukkah. “Are you here for the barbecue?”she asked. I responded that we were thereto eat our food from Mendy’s in theirsukkah, if that was okay with her. “Well,why don’t you eat with us,” she suggested,

adding that if it’s not too late we couldcancel the Mendy’s order and dine withthe shul. Almost impulsively I did cancelthe Mendy’s order, but only because wedecided we did not want to wait for thefood to arrive, which we figured wouldtake at least another hour.

We took a look in the sukkah, whichwas rather crowded—and, according tomy instantaneous analysis of the situa-tion—with not that much food left. Sowhat did we do next? We went with thesure thing, since I don’t think that any-one in our party would have been ableto take any more of this continuouslyunfolding gastronomic saga. We calledKosher Delight to make sure they had asukkah with no misunderstandings.That is, a real sukkah within just a fewfeet of the food. We scooted up there,and there it was right before our veryeyes—the sweetest sight to behold atthat time.

The KD sukkah was on top of a flatbedtruck parked in front of the store onBroadway. It was good solid burgers,franks, and fries—a long way from thetilapia, quinoa, and broccoli we werethinking about eating two or so hoursearlier. If there is a moral to this story, itis that you’re not going to find a comfort-able sukkah in back of or in front of anyrestaurant, no matter how good the foodis. The additional lesson, I believe, is thatif you want to eat out on Sukkos, eat rightoutside your own home, in your veryown sukkah, where it is unlikely therewill be any surprises like the ones weendured last week. v

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome [email protected].

BAGEL STOREContinued from Page 13


something was missing. In spite of herskill at juggling her religious, family, andprofessional responsibilities, Mrs.Friedman wanted more. She wondered,“When I look back at my life when I am80 or 120, what contribution will I havemade?”

Soon after, Mrs. Friedman started audit-ing classes in Bible. She then immersedherself in the serious study of the Bibleand classical Jewish texts and ultimatelyearned a master’s in Bible from YeshivaUniversity. Mrs. Friedman began teachingin formal and informal settings and soonrealized that teaching Torah, rather thanpracticing law, was her life’s calling.

A distinguished teacher, author, andlecturer, Mrs. Friedman was recentlynamed Associate Dean and Chair ofTanakh Studies at Drisha Institute. Inaddition to her administrative duties, shecontinues to share her passion for Torahwith her many students. She recentlylaunched an exciting new CD series,focusing on Sefer Bereishis. The series willdemonstrate the many ways that Biblicalnarrative captures the ambiguities of thehuman experience with remarkablenuance. The first tape explores theCreation narratives, offering a fresh per-spective on two great dichotomies in thehuman experience—the creation ofAdam and Chava and the emergence ofgood and evil.

“For me, blending Torah scholarship andacademic skills and using this synthesis toteach Bible and Jewish studies to diverseaudiences is a raison d’être,” Mrs. Friedman

explained. “Teaching Torah has brought mea sense of fulfillment and purpose in myprofessional and family life, although it isoften demanding, even more so than law,and requires personal sacrifice.”

Returning to graduate school as amother, particularly after having been outof school for over five years, was daunt-ing. Tests, papers, and interacting withpeers who had not yet been out in the“real world” all proved to be a challenge

“The hours are more numerous even ifless circumscribed. The perception that itis easier to teach Jewish studies than towork in the business world is illusory.Research and preparation can be an all-weekend and all-night job. Preparation ofa 90-minute shiur can be the equivalent ofwriting a 25-page paper. And it is done onan almost daily basis! This does not takeinto account the many hours spent withstudents in guidance and instruction.”

For Rachel Friedman, the intangiblerewards of teaching Torah are infinite.

“The excitement of a spirited classroom,of students who probe, question, andoffer creative insights . . . the knowledgethat what goes on in the classroom willresonate in and enrich their personallives . . . a sense of having a lastingimpact on the future of the Jewish com-munity—these are powerful sources ofsatisfaction.”

Mrs. Friedman explained the reasonfor the renaissance of interest in Torahstudy that has transpired in the last half-century, particularly within the interna-tional Orthodox community. “Why? Theanswer is clear. The Torah speaks to all ofthe people all the time—it is a timelesslens into the nuances and challenges ofeveryday human experience.”

Drisha Institute is a center for theadvanced study of Jewish texts. It is dedi-cated to teaching Torah to women as ameans of strengthening Jewish life, andbuilding more knowledgeable and com-mitted Jewish communities. Drishastrives to transform Jewish life throughengagement in intellectually challengingand serious programs of Jewish learning.Through Drisha’s many classes and pro-grams, the institute affords students theopportunity to rigorously encounterJewish thought and teachings.

Graduates of Drisha’s full-time programsserve as educators, scholars, and leaders inthe Jewish community and the world atlarge. Creating opportunities for women inJewish scholarship, education, and leader-ship, Drisha Institute is located at 37 West65th Street in Manhattan, between CentralPark West and Columbus Avenue. To obtainfurther details, write to [email protected] call 212-595-0307. v

Woman Of The BookContinued from Front Cover

Preparation of a

90-minute shiur can be

the equivalent of

writing a 25-page paper.

And it is done on an

almost daily basis!

Ten Years Of Nishmat’s KerenAriel Yoatzot Halachah Program

B Y T O B Y K L E I NG R E E N W A L D

Along with the laws of Shabbatand kashrut, the laws of taharatha’mishpachah, family purity, areamong the linchpins of the Jewishhome. Those of us who have theprivilege of being the parents ofmarried children who adhere metic-ulously to halachah have the z’chutto share with them both the joyand—sometimes—the struggles.

About four days before the mar-riage of one of my daughters, shecalled me into her bedroom. Shewas standing nervously by the win-dow, not sure of her halachic status.I gave her my own opinion that itwas okay. “But why wonder?” I said.“There is a yoetzet halachah wholives five minutes away.”

We called up a rebbetzin from anearby community, who is also arenowned Tanach teacher and oneof the graduates of the Nishmat pro-

An AdvisorOf Her Own


B Y Y O C H A N A NG O R D O N

Every year, with the comple-tion and renewal of the Torahreading cycle, I face the samequestions: Why did Adam andEve have to eat from the Tree ofKnowledge? Why did Cain killAbel? Why did all the succeedinggenerations keep driving theglory of G-d out of the lowerrealms the way they did? Werethey unaware that not onlywould their actions be recordedin the Torah, but that the lawsthey transgressed were the veryfabric used in creating this world?

Had Adam and Eve and alltheir successors refrained fromacting on those evil tempta-tions, we would be living in aperfect world. We see how onesmall evil act can snowball intoan entire world becoming filledwith zealotry and crime untilthe point of basically no return.G-d is the designer of all design-ers. He brought the entire worldinto existence and had a sym-metrical plan for all eternity,and we fickle human beingsstood in the way of His plan.

The angels made this claimwhen they spotted MosheRabbeinu in the Heavenly palacewhen he was preparing toreceive the Torah to give it overto the Jewish nation. Theyturned to G-d and asked whatconnection mortal man haswith the infinite wisdom of G-d.The Jews will receive the Torahand they will not always keep allthat is written within. Is it reallyworth all the aggravation tosend the Torah to the lowerworlds, despite all the risksinvolved? But G-d counteredtheir claim by explaining thatthe amount of joy that Hereceives when we mortal menfulfill His infinite word is cer-tainly worth all the risksinvolved. The angels, for allintents and purposes, are unableto desecrate the word of G-d, sotheir fulfillment of what is writ-ten in the Torah carries little sig-nificance. On the other hand, itbrings immeasurable pleasure toG-d when we, who are naturallydrawn toward sin and tempta-tion, push aside our apparentwill to fulfill G-d’s will instead.

We may try to place blame onpeople of previous generations

for putting us where we aretoday. But the truth is that alongwith sin came the opportunityto repent and to fix what hadpreviously gone wrong. Sostrong is this concept of teshu-

vah that one who has trans-gressed with rebellious intenthas the ability not only to gainatonement, but even to gainmerit for all that he has donewrong in the past! Furthermore,

through the concept of thetransmigration of souls knownas gilgul, we have the ability torepent for the misdeeds of thepast, being that we and they areone and the same. This is per-haps the reason why our Sagessay, “Any generation that hascome to pass without rebuild-

ing the Holy Temple is responsi-ble for its destruction.” Thatseems kind of unfair! However,had we repented, the HolyTemple surely would have beenrebuilt. The fact that we are stillin exile seems to suggest that



Unwritten Chapters Of History


gram for yoatzot halachah. She washome and told us to come right over.

The young rebbetzin said everythingwas fine, explained to my daughterwhy, and then proceeded to have a 20-minute conversation with her aboutthe specific question and the laws ofnidah in general. She put my daughterthoroughly at ease, and even thoughmy daughter had studied all the lawswith a very learned former teacher ofhers, there was something in the levelof expertise of this yoetzet halachahthat apparently surpassed it.Knowledge, I thought, truly is power.

I confess—I sat there and was guiltyof desecrating the TenthCommandment, the one that instructsus: Do not covet. I coveted the experi-ence that that daughter and all otherdaughters of Israel could now have,one that I and my female peers did nothave—the possibility of receiving adefinitive answer to a question regard-ing nidah from a woman.

True, there were some questionsthat the rebbetzins, or wise womenwith whom we studied before ourweddings, could answer. And we hadbeen taught by them that there wasnothing to be embarrassed about if wehad to ask a rav a question on nidah;that it was all halachah and that therav treated our questions like anyother halachic question. But logic andfeelings did not coincide.

As Rabbanit Chana Henkin, whofounded the program in 1997, said in atelevised interview, “It is a sea change.”

The Nishmat Keren Ariel fellowshipprogram for yoatzot halachah is a two-year program that entails more than1,000 hours of the highest level studiesin the field of Jewish law—the sametraining Israeli rabbinical studentsreceive to handle these areas—as well

as supplementary studies in women’shealth and psychology, an elementunique to Nishmat. It is headed byRabbi Yaakov Varhaftig and RabbiYehuda Henkin. Graduates are tested bya panel of halachic experts, includingRabbi Yitzhak Halevi, Rabbi ShlomoLevy, and Rabbi Eliezer Damari.

The program runs in strict compli-ance with halachah and has strong

support of hundreds of rabbis fromthe Torah-observant world, say theNishmat spokespeople, who alsoemphasize, “Yoatzot halachah do notreplace rabbis. They work in tandemwith rabbis on an ongoing basis incommunities in Israel and abroad toease the observance of and remove theguesswork from the laws of taharatha’mishpachah.”

In 1999, Nishmat presented the firstyoatzot halachah certificates to TovaGanzel and Dr. Deena Zimmerman. Atthat time, the certifying rabbis stipu-lated that the authority of these yoat-zot, and all others who would follow,would need to undergo a revalidationprocess every ten years. There havebeen 61 qualified yoatzot graduated. Atthe celebration on October 11, it was

announced that the original ten-yearlimit on certification has been offi-cially lifted.

“Because we understood the historicand political significance of creatingwomen halachic experts—we werestepping where no one had in 3,000years—we chose to proceed with cau-tion,” said Rabbi Henkin. “Now, tenyears later, the yoatzot halachah pro-gram is no longer just a promisingexperiment—it is a vibrant reality forthe Jewish people. The achievementsof the yoatzot are great, and their posi-tive effect on the community at large isso clear that we are removing thisrestriction permanently.”

Regarding the good experience ofdealing with yoatzot, Bet Shemesh res-ident Sara K. Eisen says, “I’ve askedquestions that I probably would havejust never asked and, instead, beenneedlessly stricter on myself. There’sno way I would ever ask intimatequestions of a rabbi. I’d rather—anddid choose in the past—ignoranceand inconvenience over what I viewas an inappropriate demand onwomen otherwise schooled in mod-esty: to share very private things witha man. Having a yoetzet halachah inBet Shemesh has been liberating,comforting, humanizing, educational,and even inspirational.”

Yoatzot halachah have alsoaddressed more than 100,000 inquiriesvia Nishmat’s Golda Koschitzky tele-phone hotline and Nishmat’s interac-tive website (www.yoatzot.org). v

An Advisor Of Her OwnContinued from Page 16

The program runs in strict

compliance with halachah and

has strong support of hundreds

of rabbis from the

Torah-observant world.

we are in a sense OK with whatwas done in the past, since wehave not done that which is nec-essary to correct it.

Anyone who does not believethat the Torah is eternal and car-ries messages and lessons for allof eternity has outright deniedthe most basic and essentialtenets that all of Judaism isbased on. The Baal Shem Tovwrites that someone who readsthe Megillah backwards has notfulfilled his obligation to readthe Megillah. One who reads theMegillah—or any one of theparashios of the Torah, for thatmatter—as a story of the past oran outdated and inapplicablemessage has not fulfilled hisobligation. Not only are theactions of Adam and Eve, Cainand Abel, Noah and his genera-tion, and Abraham and his gen-eration inscribed and recordedin the Torah, but in fact ourevery action and every thoughtfor good and consequently forevil is recorded in the Torah. Asour Sages, in their wisdom, havesaid (referring to the Torah),“Turn it over and over, becauseeverything is contained in it.”

u u u

I remember the fatefulShabbos when the news spreadof the assassination of YitzchakRabin. I believe I was in eighth

grade at the time. Just as quicklyas the news of his death was trav-eling, the Bible codifiers weresaying that the event was record-ed in the very portion that wehad read that Shabbos. I am notgetting into the Bible codes orwhether I do or do not like them,etc. We have to realize that everythought that passes through ourmind, every word we utter, andevery action that we commit hasbeen recorded in the Torah andwas used as the very fabric to cre-ate our world.

Perhaps this is what our Sages

refer to as the light that G-d hidfor the righteous at the very out-set of creation. Perhaps this iswhat Rambam meant when hesaid that everyone’s name is hid-den somewhere in the Torah,which carries their singular andunique mission that they werecreated to accomplish. The nameof a person given by the parentsthrough Divine interventionsheds light on a person’s quintes-sence. And if someone is privy,through utilizing this hiddenlight, to figure out what his orher purpose in this world is, they

should be blessed. They havesurely done all they can to bringabout the rebuilding of the HolyTemple and the resurrection ofthe dead. It is incumbent uponus to gain inspiration from theseangels among men, and to fol-low in their footsteps, bringingour world closer to perfection.

The only way to ultimatelyreach such a lofty level is to real-ize and internalize that ourevery thought, word, and deedhas been recorded and thateverything we do and say playsa vital role in the destiny of this

world. Not to place blame onwhat happened in the past, butto take a deep look at what liesahead for our future and thefuture of our people. And so, if Iever have placed blame onAdam and Eve, Cain and Abel,etc., I am committed to puttingforth my utmost in correctingwhat has gone wrong and whathas been wrong in order tobring the world back to perfec-tion and the beginning of truejoy and happiness, when we arereunited with our Father in HisPalace once again. v


Unwritten HistoryContinued from Page 17


B Y S H M U E L K A T Z

I had outlined a great article for thisweek. Chol ha’moed in Israel is always atreat, especially when the yomim tovimboth land on Shabbat so we get a fullweek of chol ha’moed. Between con-certs and the perennial ATV trip, wealways have things to do and fascinat-ing places to go.

However, I am also busily adjustingto a new travel schedule. My position atMachon Puah will require much moretravel than I have been used to (nofewer than ten trips a year, versus threeor four). In the past, I had been able to

prepare for each trip as its own unit andschedule my time in the weeks leadingup to the trip. This year, with tripsscheduled to the USA in October,November, December, and January—aswell as an anticipated trip to Englandsometime in November–December—Ineed to start thinking two and threetrips ahead in order to make sure I max-imize my efforts. And I have not been

doing that.So I will instead share an invitation

with you—an invitation to meet someof the players in Bet Shemesh and findout for yourself what their vision is forthe future of Bet Shemesh.

As some of you might already know,the mayor of Bet Shemesh, MosheAbutbul, will be visiting the Five Townson Tuesday evening as part of an inter-national tour he is conducting to gener-ate interest in the growth and develop-ment of Bet Shemesh. Shalom Lerner(the guy I voted for in the mayoral elec-tions) will be on the trip as a member ofthe city council coalition. Part of theirfocus on this tour is generating furtherinterest in Bet Shemesh as a destinationfor olim and investment.

As you know, Goldie and I have beendebating our personal long-term plansfor the past several months. Without apermanent solution for housing, wehave been weighing the pros and consof staying in Bet Shemesh versus leav-ing. It is a very difficult consideration.After all, we have planted roots withour neighbors and with our shul. Ourchildren are extremely happy here andhave terrific friends that they aren’texcited about leaving behind. Perhapsmost importantly, the community wasincredibly supportive in a tangible waywhen Goldie was ill, similar to thetremendous emotional and spiritualsupport we got from our friends in theFive Towns.

We know the system here (at leastenough to get around in it). We have aroutine and quality of life that is terrif-ic and provides us with great satisfac-tion. So leaving would be tough. Yet, asyou know, I have grave concerns overthe future of Bet Shemesh and thedemographic shift that is being pro-

Meet The MayorB Y L A R R Y G O R D O N

After all these years of so many of ourfriends and neighbors—from here inthe Five Towns, Brooklyn, Queens, andaround the city—picking up and mov-ing to Bet Shemesh, finally BetShemesh is going to be arriving here.No, no one we know of is moving back(and if by chance someone is, there willnot be a big parade or a marching bandwaiting for them at JFK).

What is taking place next week inCedarhurst is that the mayor and twodeputy mayors of Bet Shemesh willbe in town to bring us up to date onwhat just might be Israel’s fastest-growing city. Chances are that ifyou’re contemplating aliyah over thenext few years, you must havethought about or considered theoption of moving to Bet Shemesh.

Just outside the perimeter ofJerusalem, the bustling city of BetShemesh is no more than a 20-minuteride from the center of the capital, mak-ing it both attractive and convenient for

Everything YouAlways WantedTo Know AboutBet Shemesh


We need you in Bet Shemesh;there is no question of that.


residents to remain attached toJerusalem while living just a short dis-tance away. There is a great deal of activ-ity taking place in Bet Shemesh as thecity grows and seeks to naturally identi-fy itself in some fashion. As a result,today’s Bet Shemesh features bothdiversity and controversy.

A great deal of that controversydeals with the future heart and soul ofthis city, though there seems to beplenty of room as well as potentialresources to allow all communities tobe accommodated by the municipali-ty. Our columnist Shmuel Katz haswritten extensively about the chal-lenges that face residents of BetShemesh, and he reviews some ofthose issues in his Our AliyahChronicle column this week.

The three elected officials who aretraveling to New York to represent BetShemesh include the mayor of the city,Moshe Abutbul; the vice mayor and acity councilman, Shalom Lerner; and citycouncilman Dovid Weiner. They will be

in Cedarhurst on Tuesday, October 20, at8:30 p.m. at the home of Duvie andMaxine Somerstein in Cedarhurst. All arewelcome to attend, and there will be nofundraising at this event.

On this trip, the delegation will alsobe in China; Florida; and RocklandCounty, New York. The delegation flewearlier this week to Hangzhou, China,which has a sister-city relationshipwith Bet Shemesh, explained Mr.Lerner. The city has begun striking upthese types of international relation-ships because of the goodwill it gener-ates and the business opportunitiesthat it fosters as well.

The delegation will be in Hangzhoufor a few days, travel to Shanghai forShabbos, and then back for a day toHangzhou, where there is no Jewishpopulation. The city is about a hun-dred miles from Shanghai. Followingthe visit to China, the group is sched-uled to arrive on Monday in the U.S.,where they have a similar type of twin-city relationship with Cocoa Beach,Florida, which is outside Orlando.Then it’s on to Cedarhurst for the meet-ing Tuesday night at the Somersteinhome, followed by a trip to Ramaponear Monsey, where Bet Shemesh alsohas a sister-city relationship.

The main focus of next week’s FiveTowns meeting is for those with aninterest in Bet Shemesh to explorewith its municipal leaders all that thecity has to offer—for those who livethere presently as well as for thosewho hope to make the city their homesomeday. v

There is a great

deal of activity

taking place in Bet

Shemesh as the

city grows.

Well, I’ve finally figured it out. I nowknow what The Five Towns urgentlyneeds: a really catchy nickname, amoniker, that can generate excitementamong residents and visitors alike. Weknow that New York City is the “BigApple” and New Orleans is the “Big Easy,”but what about us?

What name can appropriately conveyour communal spirit of hopeful opti-mism, deep spirituality, and rampant,out-of control consumerism? How about. . . the Big Esrog? Yes, the Big Esrog—asymbol of beauty, perfection, style, andopulence, yet also of contemplative spiri-tuality and adherence to religious obser-

vance. It’s big and it’s yellow; it’s kind of atribute to our communal driving ethos ofgoing through the yellow light—andgoing fast before it turns candy-apple red.

And, speaking of candy-apple red, nowis the busiest time for dentists, ophthal-mologists, dry cleaners, and diabetes spe-cialists—the week after the holiday ofSimchas Torah. How did the confec-tionary industry court the medical com-munity and lobby for the custom of ply-ing our youngsters with enough sugar torun half the trucks in Brazil and armingthem with enough pointy stick flags toskewer Chavez, Kadhafi, andAhmadinejad? And, then of course, there

are the dreaded candy apples. What evildentist persuaded his wife to concoctsuch a dangerously effective tooth extrac-tor? Or was it a bigoted Bavarian confec-tioner who was just “doing his job”?

Whatever the origin, the hazardousflag on a stick/candy apple on a stickhas become the symbol of what itmeans to be young on Simchas Torah.We adults also have a symbol for theholiday, and it too is on a stick—actual-ly on two sticks—the Torah! Yes,besides its holy purpose as a day ofcandy, wooden weapons, and morecandy, the day also celebrates our neverending cycle of studying Torah. And,yes, we do celebrate the Torah. Weparade with it, we dance with it, andwe read from it, all while wearing a“house tallis” studded with plasticforks and spoons!

Well, you have to expect thosehopped-up little sugar fiends to dosomething with all that glucose,sucrose, and fructose flowing throughtheir insides. Moses may have shat-tered the first set of Holy Tablets, butyou can’t just bean somebody else’s

punk kid with a plate of kugel!Some of you may know that I am leg-

endary for only drinking O’Doul’s Non-Alcoholic Beer and not partaking of anyalcoholic beverages. This makes me anextremely popular guy at simchas, whereI sometimes serve as designated driver.On Simchas Torah, I also serve as a sort ofstate-of-the-art alcohol sensor, who candetect even the smallest amount of wineon the breath of any potential punk kid. Iam also trained to know the differencebetween a common “sugar rush” and theearly stages of a florid “alcohol blush.”

And, speaking of potential punk kids, Itook my b’chor, Corey, for a late-nightburger at Burger’s Bar at 11:00 p.m. onMonday night because he decided to skipdinner earlier and I still hadn’t eaten mysecond supper yet. Well, we just beat theteenage dinner rush at 11:30 p.m., becausewhile we were eating a busload of hungry“yutes” descended on BB with the forceand veracity of a cloud of locusts.

Which got me to thinking—why doesThe Avenue have a curfew that most six-year-olds would protest as way too earlyfor going to bed? Why don’t they keep itopen to, say, 2:00 a.m.?

This would be great for business. Allthose potential punk kids stoked ongrilled meat and succulent fried pota-toes would just love to go next doorand shop at Morton’s, if only it wereopen. Maybe they would go to theQuickie Mart for a scratch-off lotteryticket and a copy of “Vorts Illustrated.”Even Judaica Plus could benefit, in casesome yute just got ketchup on his onlypair of tzizis or just got caught withouta kippah by his father’s friend—whojust told the potential punk kid to goout and buy a yarmulke or he wouldnarc on him to his dad.

Just think of the possibilities! Couldyou imagine 50 kids popping into Oh!Nuts at midnight? Or teenage girlsrushing in at 1:45 a.m. to Jildor’s to buyan “emergency pair” of Uggs? Even theFourth Precinct police officers andCedarhurst meter maids would appreci-ate the extra action and revenue-build-ing opportunity. Hey, Cedarhursttrustees and all you BIDders, I trustyou’re listening!

This will be only the first step. Laterwill come the casino-hotels, nightclubs,and all-night seforim stores with round-the-clock daf yomi and all-you-can-eatbuffets. We will need more parking—maybe even a multistory indoor munici-pal parking complex. And, shuttles, defi-nitely shuttles—or even electric trolleys.Yes, and rickshaws—we need high-schoolkids operating rickshaws on TheAvenue—so that the yutes can have somefun “chariot racing” each other via rick-shaw. Oh, and we can even have a tram,like on the boardwalk in Wildwood, N.J.Nights in the Big Esrog will be shakinglike a lulav by the time I get under waywith my agenda!

So, next time someone asks you whereyou live, don’t say “The Five Towns”—instead proudly proclaim, “The Big Esrog,home of the Avenue That Never Sleeps!”Soon we will be as important a destina-tion as New York City and a rollicking, hottown like New Orleans. Oh yes, andremember . . . what happens in the BigEsrog stays in the Big Esrog!

This is The Legendary Danny O’Doulsigning off and wishing you a Great GoodShabbos. v


The Big Esrog And The Avenue That Never Sleeps


posed by the current mayorand the Ministry of Buildingand Housing. I am also frus-trated by the lack of achdut inthe city and the friction thatexists (thankfully for now it isnot being expressed) betweenthe various communities.

I believe that the future ofBet Shemesh could be bright . .. or perhaps not. And a lot ofthat future is tied to the peoplewho will be coming to meetyou this week. So please take aminute to stop by and meet thecity officials who are there andask them serious questionsabout the future of our city. Itcould continue to be a greatdestination for olim—but ourvoices need to be heard.

When the mayor invites youto consider investing in infra-structure, make sure he knowsthat it needs to be invested forall demographic groups, notjust his own. When he talksabout the diversity of the city,ask him why he supports vastexpansion in the city for onlyone of the demographic groupsinstead of continued propor-tional growth designed tomaintain the demographic bal-ance that currently exists. Askhim what the plans are for con-tinued investment in newneighborhoods for the religiousZionist and the non-religiouscitizens of the city. And payattention to his answers.

We need you in BetShemesh; there is no questionof that. Yet we have a responsi-bility of providing you with aplace that you (and I) can con-tinue to feel comfortable liv-ing in and be proud of. Makesure that the people makingthe decisions for my future (aswell as all of your friends—those who live here and thoseof you who have not yet madethe step up) know that thepartnership they seek is notone-sided.

You can be part of the solu-tion for all the residents of BetShemesh and help us continueto be a beacon for Anglos andnative Israelis alike who sharesimilar values and desires tobe a part of the JewishNational dream. The first stepof the process happensTuesday. Take it. v

Shmuel Katz works at Machon Puah.Shmuel, his wife Goldie, and their sixchildren made aliyah in July of 2006.Prior to his aliyah, Shmuel was theexecutive director of the Yeshiva of SouthShore in Hewlett. You can contact him [email protected].

Our Aliyah ChronicleContinued from Page 20

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?

E-MAIL US AT [email protected]


B Y S A M U E L S O K O L ,S H E C H E M

On Wednesday, October 7, hundreds ofpilgrims made their way into the ancientcity of Shechem, known to the Arabs asNablus, to pray at the gravesite of theBiblical figure Yosef haTzaddik.

The visit was timed to coincide withthe fifth night of Sukkos. According to tra-dition, seven Biblical figures, known asthe ushpizin, come to visit the sukkos ofthose observing the holiday, with Yosefarriving on the fifth night.

Groups of pilgrims come monthly,escorted by Israeli security forces in heav-ily armored bulletproof buses. Accordingto the Oslo Accords, the PalestinianAuthority is required to grant Jews freeaccess to the site. However, in 2000, afteryears of repeated attacks on worshippersand attempts by Fatah terrorists to takeover the tomb, then Prime Minister EhudBarak ordered a withdrawal and surren-dered the holy site to the PA.

After the withdrawal, Arabs burnedKever Yosef, destroying the adjacent OdYosef Chai Yeshiva complex and smash-ing the dome above the gravesite.

Currently, visits must be coordinatedwith the army, which secures the area byimposing a curfew and escorts buses of

pilgrims to the shattered structure. Onlythree buses are allowed in at a time. Dueto the volume of worshippers, the armyescorts people into the tomb in shifts.

Members of the Shomron municipalcouncil set up a sukkah next to the kever,

serving refreshments for those who cameto pray. In the courtyard of what wasonce the yeshiva, several meters awayfrom the tomb itself, a musician played

traditional Jewish melodies while a mixof worshippers, from Chassidim to casu-ally dressed settlers, danced together in acircle, singing holiday songs.

The Five Towns Jewish Times spoke withDavid Ha’ivri of the Samaria Liaison Office

regarding the visit. He stated, “On the onehand, we’re very glad that we have theopportunity to visit Kever Yosef about oncea month. We are very grateful to the IDF

command for facilitating this visit and, aswe can see, thousands of people fromaround the country are eager to take part inthe prayers at Kever Yosef. On the otherhand, the situation is still very disgraceful.Kever Yosef is standing in ruins. It has beenterribly desecrated by the Arabs inShechem. We need to cause a situationwhere we can renovate and show our hon-ors to Yosef, to G-d, and to the Jewish peo-ple. We must reclaim Kever Yosef for theJewish people in order to reestablish theyeshiva, and open up Kever Yosef to Jewishvisitors at any time during the day,throughout the week.”

In November 2007, Gershon Mesika waselected as mayor of the Shomron regionalcouncil and immediately petitioned thelocal military command to allow him andhis staff to visit Kever Yosef in order to holda special thanksgiving prayer session.Afterwards, Mesika negotiated with thearmy to allow for monthly pilgrimages tothe tomb. Every month, thousands of peo-ple rush to register for one of several hun-dred highly prized seats on specially char-tered buses. This was a welcome changefor the Jewish community, after sevenyears without access to the holy site.

Mesika commented that while almosta thousand people came to Kever Yosefover the holiday, thousands more would

Why Make The Ushpizin Come To You?Pilgrims Bring Sukkah To Kever Yosef

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, son of Shas party spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, leading prayers atKever Yosef in Shechem.

PhotoBySamuelSokol

certainly come were the IDF to permit it.The mayor decried that fact that Jews areforced to visit one of their holiest siteslike “thieves in the night.”

Currently, the Israeli Defense Forcesonly allow pilgrims access to the site afterdark when the area is easier to secure.The route leading to the tomb complex islined with Palestinian Authority flags andposters of terrorists belonging to the Arabmilitias that operate in the area.

Mesika quoted an ancient traditionthat states that Kever Yosef “is one of thethree places where the non-Jews cannotdeceive the Jewish People by saying thatthey stole it from them” due to it beingrecorded in scripture that the area waspurchased by the Jewish people.

The Palestinian Authority has claimedthat Kever Yosef is in fact not a Jewishshrine, but rather the burial place of aMuslim sheikh. However, the PA has a his-tory of denying the historical connectionsbetween the Jewish people and holy sites.

The Palestinian Authority has deniedthat the Temple ever existed in Jerusalem.The Palestinian authority has recentlyincited riots in order to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Adnan Husseini of theWaqf, the Islamic trust responsible foroverseeing the mount, has called Jewswho ascend to the Temple Mountextremists and blamed the recent vio-lence on their presence.

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, former Knessetmember and son of Shas spiritual leaderRav Ovadia Yosef, attended the festivitiesat the tomb. As he led prayers, peoplecrowded around him, jostling to snappictures. He commented on the signifi-cance of visiting Kever Yosef on the nightin which Yosef is said to visit the sukkosof Jews all over the world. “We remindourselves of Yosef, not just in theorywhen we invite him into our sukkos, butwe visit him in his place so that [themerit] of Yosef haTzaddik will guard overall of Israel.”

When asked if he believed that Jewswould soon be able to visit the tomb dur-ing the day, the rabbi responded, “We

hope that today Mashiach will arrive andredeem us and we will arrive here duringthe day as we once did, without fear.” v



Q. Dear Sensei Warren: I have lost 10pounds, and although I receive compli-ments on a daily basis and my clothes fitme better, I cannot see a difference in mybody when I look in the mirror. Would aloss of 10 pounds make a dramatic differ-ence in the way that you look?

A. Well done on losing 10 pounds!While diet and exercise play an impor-tant role in weight loss, you also need toexercise your “mental body” by chang-ing the manner in which you look atyourself. Losing weight does not neces-sarily change the way you feel about

yourself or how others feel toward you.Anyone, and not just people who havelost weight, can improve their bodyimage, no matter what their bodyweight and shape is.

Critically evaluate your self-esteem. Asyour body image and self-esteem are per-ceptions, they are not based solely onyour physical appearance. Changing yourbody will not necessarily change yourbody image or your self-esteem unlessyou also change your perception aboutyour body.

Decrease negative self-talk. When youlook in the mirror, strive to find thingsyou like about yourself instead of thingsyou want to change.

Learn to like yourself, whatever your

shape and size. Accept what is, instead oflonging for what is not.

Take care of yourself on the inside first.Learn the basics of good nutrition andexercise. If you concentrate on yourhealth, you will feel healthier and yourappearance will take care of itself.

Set realistic goals about your bodyshape. We all have a genetic factor whenit comes to size and shape. v

Warren Levi has been teaching martial arts tochildren and adults for over 17 years and holds afifth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate. He hasa bachelor’s degree in physical education/exercisephysiology. Warren has held many seminars onsubjects such as self-esteem in children and teens,behavior and discipline, praise vs. punishment,career motivation, goal-setting, and self-defense.He can be reached [email protected] or 516-569-0808.

Exercises For Your Mentality

Part 2A recap of Part 1 of this tale:Shortly after I lost my best friend in the

world, my Hubby, I was forced to startmeeting new challenges. First amongthem was a call to our local Social Securityoffice. And a challenge it was! I was givenan appointment and told that I needed tobring in my original marriage certificate.Not being able to find it, I called the coun-ty clerk’s office to get it and was told tocome pick it up or apply for it by mail.Neither option was particularly appealing,as a trip to that part of Manhattan is aschlep that leaves a lot to be desired.Additionally, I’d heard horror stories frompeople who had made that trek and, oncethere, got a runaround that had themgoing from office to office for hours.

On the other hand, doing it by mailwould mean a long delay. I didn’t intend todo it by mail, but I asked to have the appli-cation form sent anyhow—just in case!

Then I called the Social Security officeonce again to see if I could get around theissue. I did have a copy of my marriagecertificate, but not the original. It was dur-ing that second call that I was informedthat a “religious” certificate would sufficebecause someone would translate it.Overjoyed, as I did have my ketubah, Imade an appointment to come in with it.

And now, Part 2 . . .On September 10, I drove to the Social

Security office, where, to my surprise, myname was called within ten minutes.Ketubah in hand, I was ushered into theinner sanctum, that very private place towhich only a few select and privilegedpeople are admitted.

My original English marriage certifi-cate, which mysteriously disappeared,will undoubtedly be found only after I nolonger have need for it. But I had my orig-inal ketubah as well as a copy. Because theoriginal was in fragile condition, I left thatin the car and took the copy inside withme. In short order, Mr. W (I choose not touse his last name) informed me that acopy wouldn’t do; he needed the original.

“No problem, sir,” I answered smugly.“It’s out in my car. I’ll bring it in. But it’s inpoor condition, so please handle it gen-tly.” He threw the same answer back atme: “No problem.”

I watched him as, without so much asa glance at this original, which he hadinsisted upon having, Mr. W proceeded tophotocopy it. I could have handed himthe original Gettysburg Address and hewould have done the same thing withit—make a copy for office use! I wantedto ask why he couldn’t have used mycopy, but I kept my mouth shut. It wasdifficult in the extreme, but I did it.

I remained seated at his desk while heasked me so many questions that I wastempted to ask if he was writing a book.But once again I kept my mouth shut. Iwas getting good at it! Remaining silenthas never been my strong suit, and Ithought how proud Arnie would havebeen. Thirty minutes later I was on my

way home, secure in the knowledge thatI could now cross this project off my to-do list. It was one week before RoshHashanah. “A good omen,” I said aloud tono one in particular.

The omen didn’t quite work out. Onthe Friday before Yom Kippur, I receiveda two-page notice in the mail explainingthat there was a problem with my appli-cation. In bold print on the bottom ofpage one was the following:

PENALTY FOR PERJURYYou declared under penalty of perjury

that you examined all the information onthis form and it is true and correct to thebest of your knowledge. You were told thatyou could be liable under the law for pro-

viding false information.See Next PageNervous, I couldn’t turn the page fast

enough. On page two, it was the first linethat jumped out at me: “Photocopies ofany document are unacceptable”! And onthat same line was a handwritten noteexplaining that the document I had sub-mitted was not a marriage certificate! Inearly exploded with rage. What happenedto the translator who was supposed tovouch for the fact that it was exactly that?

I immediately called Mr. W, whoinstructed me to ignore the letter. “It’s aform letter,” he assured me. “Your applica-tion is being processed. Just ignore thatletter.” I knew he was wrong. “Mr. W,” Iwhined, “my name, as well the explana-tion that my document is unacceptable,are written in! This is not a form letter.”He didn’t give an inch. I may as well havebeen talking to Bugs Bunny. “No, no, no,”he said. “I’m telling you that notice meansnothing.” Now that I think of it, I wouldhave been better off if I had been talkingto Bugs Bunny!

My hands were tied. There was noth-ing to do but wait it out. I tried to ignore

my common sense and allow myself tobe lulled into a false sense of security.That security, however, was short lived.

On Sunday, preoccupied with thoughtsof Kol Nidrei that evening, I didn’t remem-ber to listen to my voice mail until lateafternoon. What I heard made my stom-ach drop: “Good morning Mrs. Berman.Mr. W at the Social Security office here.There does seem to be a problem withyour marriage certificate after all. Pleasecall me back as soon as possible.” Themessage had been left on Shabbos morn-ing. I would have to wait until Tuesday toreturn the call. Only someone with thesame compulsive nature that I have beenblessed with could possibly understandhow this griszured me.

Since Yom Kippur was upon us, I fig-ured that this too was an omen (I’m bigon omens), and I vowed to slip in an extraprayer: I would ask for the restraint not totear this man’s head off when I nextspoke to him.

On Tuesday, I called Mr. W and demand-ed an explanation. I got it. “Your ketubah is


Bureaucracy Alive And Well



not a valid marriage certificate.Our translator tells us that,according to the wording, it’sonly a promise of marriage.” Itoccurred to me that possibly theperson who did the translatingwas fluent in Spanish rather thanHebrew. But, once again, I heldmy tongue. By this time I had per-fected the dual art of self-controland silence.

Instead, I said, “That ketubahwas handed to me as I stoodunder the chuppah with my hus-band. It has to be a marriage cer-tificate.” Apparently I was whin-ing again, and this time it was get-ting on Mr. W’s nerves. He said,“I’m sorry, Mrs. Berman, but thedecision is final. Your ketubah isonly a promise of marriage, and Icouldn’t change that fact even if Ihad been at the wedding myself.”I wanted to howl in frustration.And then I thought, “My father,may he rest in peace, gave a checkto the rabbi who married me andHubby. Maybe he should havegiven a promissory note instead.”

Now it was back to squareone. I would, after all, need todeal with that other augustorganization—the office of thecity clerk of New York. I wouldneed to fill out their form.Aarrgghh! I usually don’t do wellwith application forms.

Luckily, the one that was sentupon my request was easyenough even for the likes of me,so I filled it out and mailed itback, along with a copy of my dri-ver’s license and a money order.And now I am doing what I don’tdo well. I am waiting!

The gentleman I spoke with atthe clerk’s office had informedme that it would be six to eightweeks before I received the cer-tificate. When I asked why itshould take that long for some-one to put a piece of paper in themail, his response was a snippy“Mrs. Berman, you’re not the onlyone, you know. We get requestslike this from all over the world.”

And it wasn’t long after thatwhen Mr. W handed me thatsnippy line about not being ableto help me even if he had beena witness at my wedding! Thatmakes two putdowns in asmany weeks! I don’t like put-downs. I also don’t like bureau-crats. Right about now, I’mbeginning to hate them. This isnot a good thing, coming on theheels of Yom Kippur.

When I do receive my marriagecertificate, via snail mail, andwhen I bring it to the local SocialSecurity office for further process-ing, then—and only then—will Ireceive Arnie’s Social Security ben-efits. In the meantime, like myketubah, it’s just a promise. Hubbywould have loved this! vHannah Berman lives in Woodmereand is a licensed real-estate brokerassociated with Marjorie HausmanRealty. She can be reached [email protected] or 516-902-3733.

THAT’S THE WAY IT IS!Continued from Page 29

How Meat And Poultry Fit In Your Healthy Diet

These days, it seems like we’re morecarnivorous than usual. Between all theyomim tovim, we hardly have a chance tocome up for air from all the rich, heavymeals presented before us. Although wemight not need to eat half a cow and acouple of chickens per person in twodays’ time, we can include them in a well-balanced healthy diet. When you followthese methods to cut the fat, meat andpoultry can be both a tasty and healthypart of your meal.

Meat and poultry are valuable sourcesof protein and other important nutrients.They also can be high in fat, addingunhealthy saturated fat and cholesterolto your diet. Higher-fat meat and poultryalso tends to be tastier, but with a fewsimple tricks and tips you can have itboth ways—taste and health.

When selecting cuts of meat, look forkey words, such as “lean,” indicating cutsthat are lower in fat. Some of the leanerkosher cuts of meat include beef chuck,beef or veal shoulder, silver-tip, and top-of-the-rib. The leanest poultry is whitemeat from the breast, with no skin. Vealin general is a leaner alternative to beef,having a lower fat content while being agreat source of protein. Ground poultrycan have as much fat as ground beef—or

more—because it often includes darkmeat and skin. To make the leanestchoice, choose ground breast meat orlook for lean ground chicken or turkey. Ifyou can’t resist the higher-fat choices, usethem as an occasional indulgence ratherthan a regular option.

When preparing meat and poultry,make sure to cut off any visible fat.Marinades are a great way to tenderizemeat and keep it moist while cooking.They also can enhance flavor that may belost when you trim fat and remove skin.Choose low-fat marinades, such as mix-tures of herbs or spices with wine, soysauce, or lemon juice. Low-fat cookingmethods include grilling, broiling, roast-ing, sautéing, and baking. Cooking meltsaway much of the fat in meat and poul-try, so when you cook it in the oven, besure to put it on a rack on a baking pan sothe fat drips away.

I love roasting a whole chicken.Cooking it whole on the bone with theskin results in very juicy and deliciouschicken, and it is virtually foolproof toprepare. To save on fat and calories,remove the skin and the fat underneathbefore eating. That way you can have theflavor without the added fat and calories.

Portion control is key when consum-ing meat and poultry. Reducing your por-tion size reduces your fat and cholesterol

intake. Don’t exceed three ounces ofmeat, which is about the size of a deck ofcards. A serving of poultry equals half of aboneless skinless chicken breast or oneskinless chicken leg and thigh. Two thinslices of lean roast beef equals a servingof meat. Remembering that almost anyfood is fine in moderation allows you toenjoy life’s culinary pleasures and stayhealthy, too.

Veal Shoulder With PorciniMushrooms, Garlic, And Rosemary

This dish needs to be made a day inadvance, so there is not much preparationneeded on the day of serving.

Ingredients:3/4 oz. package dried porcini mushrooms5 large garlic cloves1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves1 tsp. kosher salt1/2 tsp. ground black pepper5 lb. veal shoulder roast, tied to hold shape1/4 cup olive oil4 cups low-sodium chicken broth1/2 cup dry red wine1/2 cup drained chopped canned tomatoes3 Tbsp. tomato paste1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegarDirections:Preheat oven to 350°F. Grind mush-

rooms to powder in food processor orblender. Coarsely chop garlic, rosemary,thyme, salt, and pepper in processor. Setaside 1 tablespoon garlic mixture; pressremainder, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, into cen-ter of veal through openings of string. Coatoutside of veal with mushroom powder.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medi-um-high heat. Add veal to pot. Brown on

all sides, about 5 minutes. Add reservedtablespoon of garlic mixture and anyremaining mushroom powder to potaround veal and stir 1 minute.

Arrange bones around veal. Add broth,wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, and vinegar.Bring to boil. Cover; place in oven and roastuntil veal is tender, turning veal every 30minutes, about 2 hours. Cool veal uncovered1 hour, then refrigerate covered for 24 hours.

Scrape off fat from surface of sauce.Transfer veal to cutting board. Removestrings and cut veal crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Overlap slices in largebaking dish.

Boil sauce until reduced to 3 1/2 cups,about 20 minutes. Season to taste withsalt and pepper. Spoon sauce over veal.Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake veal covereduntil heated, about 35 minutes, and serve.

Eating quality, delicious meals is easy when allthe work is done for you. Hire a personal chef toprepare your dinners, Shabbos meals, or smallparties. For more information, contact Take HomeChef personal chef services by calling 516-596-8865, writing to [email protected], orvisiting www.TakeHomeChef.net.



Self-Image: The Basis For It All

B Y R ’ B E N T Z I O N S H A F I E R

“In the beginning, G-d created the heav-ens and earth.”

—Bereishis 1:1The Torah is a law book, not a story-

book. The Torah begins with these words,telling us the order of Creation. Rashipoints out that the Torah should havebegun with the first mitzvah and contin-ued with a list of all the positive and neg-ative commandments. A detailed descrip-tion of the order of Creation should nothave been a part of the Torah.

Rashi answers that the Torah began bytelling us that Hashem created everythingso that we would have an answer to theclaim that the nations would formagainst us. If the gentile peoples wouldsay to us, “You are thieves. You stole theland that belongs to the seven nations,”our answer is, “It says in the Torah thatHashem created the heavens and theearth. It is His world. He created it, andHe gave it to whom he saw fit.”

The Siftei Chachamim explains thatRashi’s question cuts to the core purposeof the Torah. The Torah is the guidebook

for life, a compilation of the laws andprinciples that govern our actions.Ultimately, it is a book of laws. Therefore,all the stories that are told throughoutBereishis—from Adam and Noach onthrough the Avos—simply don’t belongthere. Granted, they contain valuable les-

sons to teach us, but those lessons couldhave been written in a book on the levelof the Nevi’im, not in the Torah itself. Thereason they became part of the Torahitself was that since Hashem began withchronicling the acts of Creation, it wasappropriate to maintain that style, so theTorah continued with the various storiesas they occurred.

Essentially, Rashi’s question is that thevery nature of the Torah was changedfrom a law book to a history book. Whymake that change? Rashi answers that itwas all changed so that if the gentiles say,“You are thieves,” we could simplyrespond, “Read the Bible. Hashem createdthe heavens and earth and gave it to us.”

The Torah was written exclusively forYisrael. There are two significant prob-lems with this Rashi:

1. The Torah is the exclusive propertyof the Jews. It was written for the Jews,and it is unique to the Jews. It wasn’t writ-ten for the gentiles. We cannot assumethat the gentiles will read the Torah,much less abide by it. More than that,they have no right to read the Torah; it isthe private heritage of the Jewish nation.

So how can Rashi say that this is theanswer to the goyim, when the Torah isn’tin their purview?

2. If the sole reason Hashem beganwith Creation was so that the gentileswon’t say that we stole their land, then itseems, that Hashem failed, so to speak.The single most repeated claim that theworld has against the Jews today is exact-

ly that: We stole their land. We took awaythe Palestinian homeland. We have noright to be there. If the entire reason thatHashem changed the Torah was toanswer the gentiles, it doesn’t seem tohave succeeded. So what does Rashimean, “It is to answer the gentiles”?

The answer to these questions is con-tained in Rashi’s use of the pasuk fromTehillim, “The power of His acts He didtell to His nation.” Like the rest of theTorah, this lesson is not for the gentiles; itis for us. If the gentile nations accuse usof stealing their land, we need to have theanswer, not for them, but so we cananswer ourselves. It is a foregone conclu-sion that the gentiles won’t listen to theTorah. The issue is us. Will we feel justi-fied and correct, or will we feel like wehave stolen their land? This issue is so sig-nificant that Hashem changed the verynature of the Torah—to let us know weare not thieves.

A person’s thoughts define him. If wetake this concept to its logical conclu-sion, we see a tremendous insight intohuman nature. Rashi is telling us that allof the lessons that we learn from theAvos—the concepts of mussar, self-improvement, and perfection of our mid-dos—are very important, but they couldhave been put in a separate book.

However, the issue of not viewingourselves as thieves is so fundamentalthat it merits changing the entire Torah.This is because the way a person viewshimself is what he becomes. If a personviews himself as a thief, he will live upto that image. If the Jewish nationviewed themselves as crooks, dishonest-ly living in someone else’s land, they

The Shmuz On The Parsha

Hashem changed the very natureof the Torah to let us know we are

not thieves.


could never have become the chosennation. Their tainted view of themselveswould have greatly limited their abilityto become great people, and that is sosignificant that it is worth changing theentire Torah for.

This concept has a specific message tous. Some people are concerned aboutstealing because “What will the gentilesthink about us?” While that may be avalid concern, there is a much biggerissue at stake: how will I view myself? IfI act as a thief, I am a thief. That actiondefines me, and creates the image ofmyself that I hold. That damage can be fargreater than the single act of stealing.

There is also a larger lesson to learnfrom this Rashi. One of the characteristicsthat all successful people possess is apowerful sense of self-worth. To reachgreatness, a person must believe in him-self. He must trust in his inherent worthand his ability to succeed. If this key com-ponent is missing, all the talent in theworld will not help, because he will nothave the drive to reach for the heights heis capable of. This concept is so intrinsicto greatness that Hashem changed thevery nature of the Torah, all to keep oursense of dignity and worthiness intact. v

The Shmuz on the Parsha, a compilation on theentire Chumash is now available, atwww.theShmuz.com, by calling 866-613-8672, orin sefarim stores worldwide.

s”xc

And Hevel, he alsobrought of the

firstlings of his flockand of the fat parts

thereof; and G-d paidheed to Hevel and to

his offering (Bereishis 4:4)

By the same token, every-thing that is for the sake ofG-d should be of the bestand most beautiful.When

one builds a house ofprayer, it should be more

beautiful than his owndwelling.When one feedsthe hungry, he should feedhim of the best and sweet-est of his table.When one

clothes the naked, heshould clothe him with the

finest of his clothes.Whenever one designatessomething for a holy pur-

pose, he should sanctify thefinest of his possessions, asit is written (Vayikra 3:16),

“All the fat is to G-d.”

(Maimonides)


Dear Esther,I am 52 years old and feel like I’ve

made a real mess of my life. I’ve beenmarried twice and divorced twice. Bothtimes I made such horrible choices, itboggles my mind. I have one child frommy first marriage and three from my sec-ond. My children have a lot of issues—some probably genetic and some due tothe crazy childhoods they had to enduredue to my recklessness.

I’ve made some nice friends over theyears, but never worked at holding on toany of them and I now feel pretty lonelyand isolated. This became clear to merecently when I had a serious medical sit-uation and was lying in my hospital bedfor days with hardly a visitor.

I don’t have much family, but my rela-tionship with them has gotten betterover the years—though I can’t say we areextremely close. We go through themotions and try to do the right thing,but I don’t think they really understandme and I think they are all busy withtheir own struggles. I guess you couldsay that I come from a very dysfunction-al background.

Over the holidays, I have found myselfbecoming very introspective, and I amsaddened about all the time I’ve wasted

and all the mistakes I’ve made. I feel sostuck and unsure of where to go.

I’m not even sure why I’m writing toyou or what I expect you to tell me. I takefull responsibility for all the jerks I datedand wasted time with. I take full respon-sibility for not being home enough formy children. I take full responsibility forhaving to move my family from neigh-borhood to neighborhood, time and timeagain, just when they seemed to be final-ly adjusting to a new location.

So now what? I feel like a good por-tion of my life is over and I’m tired andfeeling very worn out. Well, I guess I’mlooking for some inspiration. Got any toshare?

TiredDear Tired,I would be very hard-pressed to find

a single person who doesn’t haveregrets and remorse over some of thedecisions they’ve made during theirlifetime. You, my dear, have a cup thatrunneth over! How hard it must be foryou to feel that way and to be so verynegative about so many decisionsyou’ve made. What an enormous bur-den you are carrying.

I have no doubt that if we looked close-ly at your childhood and upbringing and

your own genetic markers, we could mostlikely figure out what influenced many ofthe decisions you made. In hindsight, it’salways a lot easier to connect the dots andunderstand why patterns emerge. But thebottom line is that at the age of 52 yousound as though you have finally decidedthat your life is ready for a majormakeover, because what you’ve beendoing until now has simply not beenworking for you or for your children.

Perhaps the most important thing Ican remind you of is that every day is anew day. Each day brings us the opportu-nity for a new beginning, a fresh start.What has happened in the past cannot bere-scripted, but you can decide this veryminute to begin approaching life in ahealthier, happier way. It’s never too lateto be the mother you want to be, thefriend you want to be, the spouse youhope to be, and the person you are meantto be. So often we don’t even recognizeour own enormous potential. We all haveso much locked up within ourselves thatcan be successfully tapped into—if wework hard enough and cleverly enough.

Regarding the “mess” that you view asyour life, though it must be very painfulto assume responsibility for that, perhapsit would be helpful if you can find somemeaning from all that has happened toyou and your family. As hard as it mightbe to hear, maybe you had to experienceeverything you did in order to be the per-son that you are today, to bring your fourchildren into the world, and to finallytake stock of who you are and where youshould now be going. Maybe you willwind up being an inspiration to others, sothat they don’t have to feel as lost as

you’ve felt for so long.In the meantime, welcome to the next

chapter of your life. Now that your eyesare wide open, consider the many possi-bilities that lie ahead of you. Decide whatyour immediate goals should be andwhat you would like your long-term goalsto look like. Seek help from people youadmire. It’s hard to make the changes Ibelieve you want to make without a solidsupport system cheering you on.

Try to reconnect with those wonderfulfriends who came in and out of your life.Great friends are usually not only happybut also excited to pick up where theyleft off. Don’t feel embarrassed or uncom-fortable about making the call. Just pickup the phone, and I believe you’ll all bethrilled to hear one another’s voices afterall this time. Real friends are forgiving,understanding, and loving.

Look for the strengths within yourfamily members. It sounds as though youdon’t view them as the healthiest bunch,but that doesn’t mean they don’t all havetraits that you can enjoy and benefitfrom. And, like you, they too may be ontheir own personal journeys and mayalso be growing. Show up for one anoth-er and provide the encouragement thatyou all no doubt can use.

It’s the beginning of a new year.Believe in yourself and your ability toturn it all around. Now that you’re fullyawake, the possibilities are endless.Good luck.

Esther

Esther Mann, LMSW, is a counselor and life coachin Lawrence. Esther can be reached at 516-314-2295 or [email protected]. She works withindividuals, couples, and families.

In recent years, an increasing numberof entrepreneurs have chosen to buysmall properties for rental investments.As opposed to apartment buildings withnumerous units, these investors havechosen to purchase smaller properties—one- or two-family homes, an apartment,or even a series of apartments—with theidea of renting them out over time torealize a profit.

Some investors make only a smalldown payment and take out a largemortgage whose monthly paymentswill be small enough to be covered byany rental income that can be realizedon a monthly basis. They hope that overtime the rent received will cover themortgage payment and expenses of theproperty so that it will “pay for itself”over the years.

“Pay for itself” is an interestingexpression. It means that the investor ishoping that he will get a good renterwho will dutifully pay the set rent eachmonth, that the rent will also beenough to cover the investor’s expens-es, including his mortgage, and that theunit will stay occupied and continue inthis fashion for the many years it will

take the investor to pay off the mort-gage and then realize his goal of anearned investment.

In principle, this sounds great.Hopefully, most of the time it workswell. But sometimes certain situations

arise that gum up the works, and theyshould be taken into consideration inadvance, just in case. Although youmight find a great tenant to rent yourspace and everything might go well forthe first few months or even years, this

tenant may decide to move and thenyou might have an empty rental for amonth or more, which means that thecosts and expenses for that period willhave to be covered by you, the investor,until you find a new tenant.

A tenant who seemed wonderful atfirst may turn out to be not so greatwhen he suddenly stops paying his rent.Then several issues may come into play.First, in order to get rid of a non-payingtenant, you have to go to court to havehim evicted, which may take severalmonths. In the meantime, you, theinvestor, have to absorb any expensesgenerated from this property, sincethere is no rent coming in at that timeto cover the expenses.

Does this mean that investments ofthis kind do not pay or are not worththe effort? On the contrary—they canwork out very well if planned properlyand if all the possible situations thatcan arise are taken into consideration

prior to any purchase. If you are consid-ering buying for investment, as with anyother business, you must take all possi-bilities into consideration and calculateyour costs and expenses accordingly torealize the best potential on your real-estate investment. v

Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is alicensed real-estate broker and a licensed N.Y.S.mortgage broker with over 20 years of experience,offering full-service residential and commercialreal-estate services (Anessa V Cohen Realty) andmortgaging services (First Meridian Mortgage) inthe Five Towns and throughout the tri-state area.She can be reached at 516-569-5007 or via herwebsite, www.AVCrealty.com. Readers areencouraged to send questions or comments [email protected].


The investor is hoping that he will get a good renter who will dutifully pay the set rent

each month.

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It’s not uncommon in CostaRica to see macaws perchedwith friends in a tree on the sideof the road or crocodiles in theriver alongside it. Both are intheir natural habitat. Lizardsslither everywhere, and hugespiders (3 inches) weave webs tocatch their prey. Each day was aNational Geographic experiencethat both awed and humbled.Ticos (the term natives use torefer to themselves) often saythat something is pura vida,meaning “pure life.” But it’s somuch more than that. In CostaRica you will be amazed by thesimple harmony marking thecoexistence of man and nature.Although Costa Rica is a smallcountry, it is known for itsdiverse flora and fauna. Youwon’t be disappointed.

Costa Rica does not have astrong transportation infrastruc-ture, so I recommend making


Costa Rica:‘Pura Vida’

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arrangements ahead of time as part ofyour land package. I wouldn’t want totrust a GPS with unmarked roads. Mosttravel books will advise you to land inSan Jose and get out of there as quickly aspossible. San Jose has a reputation ofbeing a high-crime city. In addition, it isvery difficult to orient yourself geograph-ically, since there are no street signs.Addresses are given based on the distancefrom landmarks big and small (e.g., 50meters west of the CitiBank).

However, if you are looking for a goodplace to stop for Shabbat, it’s the onlyplace that will be accommodating. It willalso break up the travel time between

your other destinations. You can also visitthe Poás Volcano, the Irazú Volcano, orCartago, the former capital of Costa Rica,which are all about an hour to an hourand a half away.

Costa Rica has approximately 4,000Jews. Despite the small community, thereare a number of kosher restaurants,including a kosher Burger King. The mainsynagogue, Shaare Zion, has a beautifulnew building. If you intend to go for serv-ices, you must make a reservation andsend a copy of your passport three days inadvance (no exceptions!). Since the Israeliembassy bombing in Argentina 15 yearsago, most Latin communities are strict

about security. For more informationabout the Jewish community, places tostay near the synagogue, and a kosherrestaurant list, visit www.CentroIsraelita.com. There is also a Chabad House(www.ChabadCostarica.com).

Arenal Volcano, one of the country’sbiggest tourist attractions, is an active vol-cano. It first erupted in modern times in1968, after 400 years of being dormant,leaving a path of destruction. Peopleflock to get a glimpse of the lava emerg-ing. Some days, getting a glimpse of thevolcano proves tough, as clouds can rollin and shift more than in San Franciscoor London. It’s only one of 17 volcanoes

across the country. While in Arenal, youcan hike through Arenal Reserve, go zip-lining at an altitude of 2,000 feet, and goto the hot springs. You can check outmore activities available in that region byvisiting www.arenal.net.

I found that tickets could be purchasedin the town of La Fortuna more cheaplythan at the website or the hotel. Forinstance, the Baldi Hot Springs, which


The Arenal Volcano. A kosher Burger King in Costa Rica.


A capuchin monkey in Manuel Antonio National Park.

I catch a glimpse of Rochel’s profilein the light of the moon as she discon-nects the shower-curtain rings holdingthe canvas to the frame of the sukkah,and I can’t help but have a lump in mythroat. The dismantling of the sukkahwalls is the final symbol that this holi-day season has concluded.

“V’samachta b’chagecha”—and youshould be happy in your holiday! Oneof Yussie’s favorite holidays of the yearis Simchat Torah. He seems proud as aking while he plants himself atopLenny’s shoulders (and then Naftali’s,when Lenny’s shoulders begin to ache).The smile on his face is contagious:even those who have not yet found thejoy in the holiday can’t help but smilethemselves!

Of course even when Yussie wanted totake a break from the dancing, the never-ending supply of food at Chabad of theFive Towns kept his attention.

Food. What is it about yom tov foodin particular that ruins my best WeightWatchers intentions? It’s not fair of meto blame my lack of control on yom tovper se, but the allure of the foods nottypically found in my usual Shabbos

fare does water the palate. Stuffed cab-bage, a variety of kugels, all sorts ofcookies and cakes, and—the SimchatTorah specialty—the sparkling redcandy apples staring at me at everyturn caused my discipline to waver!

The good part of the whole layout ofthis past yom tov period was that the

actual yomim tovim (aside from chol ha’-moed) took place on weekends, therebyoffering me Monday through Thursdayto recoup from my “oversights.”

And it’s not as if I didn’t try! I evenforced myself to do the treadmill thispast week for 30 whole minutes! And

one beautiful chol ha’moed afternoon Imanaged to load the bicycle into thetrunk of the van for Lea to ride as Iwalked alongside her on the board-walk. It was refreshing to be backalongside the shore, and Lea and I hadour exercise while enjoying the beauti-ful fall weather.

Of course, with the yeshiva kids offfor an entire week, we had manyopportunities to do some shopping. Imanaged to entertain the kids, while atthe same time “save money” with twotrips to Costco and another trip to BJ’s.We stocked our shelves with massiveboxes of healthy cereal and evenhealthier fresh strawberries and mel-ons. And walking up and down thelong aisles searching for “bargains” hasto count as exercise!

As I sit here musing about the pastweek, I certainly have very fondmoments to put into the memory box ofmy mind.

“Eat in sukkah today?” was Yussie’sdaily question this past week. With ajacket to keep him warm, he enjoyed

joining his Daddy for his meals alfrescomost mornings. Personally, I utilized myexemption from that requirement forthe morning and afternoon meals, butjoined Lenny for dinner in “Café Lubin”in the sukkah on the patio. Somehoweating under the stars brought me clos-er to the spirit of Sukkot.

And how about the continual gameof Who Made Which Decoration? Alas,most of the decorations originate fromthe younger members of the Lubincrew simply because the wear and tearof being in the outdoors for an entireweek caused most of the older cre-ations to be permanently retired.

And so, as I finalize this column onColumbus Day morning (another excusefor the kids to be off from school) andsee the shell of the sukkah still standing,I am at ease. Although the yom tov peri-od has ended for now, the leftovers liveon—and I am exempted from preparingdinner for this evening! v

Phyllis Joy Lubin is an attorney with Rosenfeld &Maidenbaum, LLP, who resides in Cedarhurstwith her husband Leonard and six children:Naftali, Shoshana, Rivka, Rochel, Yosef, and Lea.She welcomes your questions and comments [email protected].


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The sparkling red candy applesstaring at me at every turn caused

my discipline to waver!

It’s All Over Now

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And she took of itsfruit, and did eat

(Bereishis 3:6)

What was the tree from

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I’llai says it was grapes... Rabbi

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has 25 pools ranging in temperature from90°F to 159°, cost only $18 in town. Stay ina hotel near La Fortuna for easy access totheir humble shopping area and nightlife.

Another popular stop on the CostaRican trail is Manuel Antonio NationalPark (www.ManuelAntonioPark.com),located on the Pacific coast. On the way,stop in Jaco, a surfer town. Originally abanana plantation, the park was estab-lished about 80 years ago to protect thesquirrel monkey. You will find thecapuchin and howler monkeys there. It’sworth touring the park with a guide, whowill bring along a telescope to help yousee the rich wildlife there.

From land crabs and iguanas to three-toed sloths, you will be amazed at everyturn. The best time to hit the park is inthe morning so you can enjoy goodweather on any of the four idyllic beach-es there. You have to bring food with you,and there are no lockers at the park. Makesure your food is sealed, because themonkeys are notorious for opening upbags and stealing food and cameras fromvisitors. While in the area, you can go sail-ing, kayaking, snorkeling, and more. Theclosest town is Quepos, but I did not findany tourist attractions there.

Although there are only two seasons inCosta Rica—the rainy season and the “lessrainy” season—weather shouldn’t be adeterrent. My friend and I zip-lined in therain and loved every moment. The mostexpensive part of the trip will be the activ-ities, which are charged in U.S. dollars.Most stores will also accept payment indollars without a problem, so it’s not neces-sary to exchange money. In today’s eco-nomic climate, Costa Rica is a much cheap-er option than Europe, so take advantageand don’t miss this opportunity! v

Florence Broder ([email protected]) is aJewish communal professional with a passion fortravel.

Costa RicaContinued from Page 37

The Hock Of The RockI know it’s been a while, and I apolo-

gize. When eager readers of this finenewspaper would search in vain for thelatest news and notes from yours truly,the collective sigh of disappointment wasaudible throughout the Five Towns,Rockaways, and beyond.

While I have been meaning to write, ithas just been very busy. In recent monthsI have been doing a lot of driving and,thanks to my trusty GPS, I have beenrouted 100 miles out of the way onlyonce. I was reminded of the old days andthe pre-road-trip excursions to the AAAoffice on Seventh Street in Garden City. Irecall being in line with other soon-to-betravelers, waiting to tell the employeeabout my destination, hundreds if notthousands of miles away, and trustingthat he or she would be able to create thefastest, most direct route to my destina-tion and organize it into a neat TripTik.

TripTiks would be assembled bypulling hundreds of little individual mapsegments from their shelves on a hugewall and placing them in an order thathopefully connected each segment to thenext and ultimately took you to yourdesired destination. If there was a mis-take or a sequence error, you would mostlikely find out somewhere in rural WestVirginia, miles from the nearest gas sta-tion or pay phone. But now, with GPS,there is less need to worry about routeand more opportunity to listen to music,

which I will get to in a later edition ofThe Hock.

I think the lesson we can take from allthis is that often we need help, advice,guidance, and direction when gettingfrom point A to point B. This applies onboth an individual and communal level. Ithink we are all aware of the difficultiesthat we are facing right now in the finan-cial realm. Organizations such as theEliezer Project and the Community

Assistance Fund have been quick toassemble resources to meet the needs ofthose who have had significant shifts intheir cash flow, employment status, andexpenses.

Arguably, one of the top three expens-es for Jewish families today is the cost ofa Jewish education. There has been aflurry of articles in recent months about

the “tuition crisis” and its effects. Whilethere appears to be a renewed interest inthis area, the issue of the tuition chal-lenge is not a new one, as evidenced bya 1968 Jewish Observer cover asking howto address the enormous cost of Jewisheducation.

I call it the “tuition challenge” because,as someone recently pointed out to me, acrisis is something that occurs rather sud-denly, as opposed to a long-term funda-

mental issue. What we are seeing withtuition is a long-term fundamental issuethat has recently become more compli-cated as a result of a global financial cri-sis. With that said, the approach to deal-ing with a fundamental issue needs to bedifferent from the approach to dealingwith a crisis.

So, what to do about the tuition challenge?

There is currently a group of con-cerned parents and community leadersin the Five Towns and Rockaways whohave been working for many months tocreate the framework for a centralizedtzedakah fund that would help reducethe cost of tuition for families whilegenerating more revenue for the com-munity’s schools. This Jewish EducationFund (JEF) paves the way for a singularorganization to represent the needs ofthe Jewish education community—without regard to educational philoso-phy, but rather as a community thatcares for one another and the value ofJewish education.

This is predicated on the idea that thesuccess of Torah education is a commu-nal concern and not just a parent’s con-cern. Perhaps one of the greatest cultureshifts that needs to take place is for theidea to become entrenched that allmembers of a community—parents,grandparents, and non-parents alike—share the responsibility for the success-ful continuity of Jewish education andthe Jewish people.

I encourage our communal leadershipto join the leadership of the Vaad RosheiYeshiva of Torah Umesorah in their decla-ration that “in today’s climate, tzedakahgiven to mosdos of Torah learning consti-tutes both the support of our schools andthe support of our talmidei chachamim,and that it must take precedence amongour charitable donations.” For many, thechallenge may not be one of finances, butrather a challenge of priorities.

On the other side of the tuition chal-


The Tuition Crisis Challenge


All members of a community sharethe responsibility for the

successful continuity of Jewisheducation and the Jewish people.

In 2005, Roy Pearson, who had beenout of work for about three years, wasappointed to be an administrative lawjudge. He had gained weight, and he real-ized he needed to have his suit pants letout. He brought in a pair of pants to bealtered, and he planned on wearing themthree days later. But, a couple of dayslater, he was told that they weren’t ready.And the day after that, they werenowhere to be found.

Pearson claims that Soo Chung, theproprietor, promised to keep looking forthem. But when he returned to the storea week later, Chung tried to give himwhat she said were the missing trousers.But Pearson said they were not the pantshe had left to be altered. Not only was thepattern different, but the pants profferedas his also had, of all things, cuffs. Onlyonce in his adult life, he said, had heworn cuffed pants, and never, he suggest-ed, would he have so altered his treasuredHickey Freeman suit.

Pearson wrote to the Chungs, demand-ing $1,150 to buy a new suit. When theChungs did not respond, Pearson swunginto action, filing a $67 million lawsuit

(the demand was later decreased to $54million) that would eventually make himthe talk of the town and provide fodderfor comedians. The case was eventuallydismissed. His appeals case likewise wentnowhere. To make matters worse forPearson, he was again unemployed. InMay 2008, he sued the District ofColumbia for wrongful termination afterthe district declined to reappoint him tohis prior position as an administrativelaw judge. That case was dismissed aswell. Supposedly, Pearson is now takinghis wrongful termination lawsuit to theFederal court of appeals.

Now let’s suppose that the customerwho was given the wrong pants did notsue the dry cleaners, but instead tookthem home. May he use those pants,which he knows are not his? Further, ifthe true owner comes to him to claim hispants, may he withhold them until hisown pants are found?

A similar case was brought to theauthor of Terumas HaDeshen. He ruledthat someone may not use a garmentwhich was mistakenly given to him by alaunderer. Further, he certainly may not

withhold the garment until his own gar-ment is located. What right does he haveto hold someone else’s garment for hisown selfish reasons?

The Terumas HaDeshen bases hisdecision on a Gemara in Bava Basra.The Gemara says (46a) that if a utensilwas accidentally switched at a houseof mourning or a wedding, you maynot use the remaining utensil withoutpermission.

A similar situation is very common ininclement weather: A person comes toshul with a raincoat, only to discover onhis departure that there is a similar coatto his own left on the rack. Facing theprospect of walking home in the rain,

his judgment may be easily clouded. It isvery clear from the Gemara that youmay not use an item without theowner’s permission just because hetook yours.

The Gemara offers no exception tothis rule. However, modern poskim have

noted some leniencies. If the coat leftbehind has the owner’s name in it (or isany way recognizable), and the individ-ual who wishes to use the coat knowsthat the owner would surely let him usehis coat and other similar items withoutexplicit permission, then it is permittedto do so.

Further, the Pischei Choshen offersanother leniency in a situation whereenough time has elapsed that the personwho took the wrong coat surely realizedhis mistake. In that case, it can beassumed that he would consciously per-mit the stranded shul-goer permission touse his coat. Indeed, he can rely on thisassumed permission without actuallyhearing it.

However, from my own experiences Iknow that this is not always the case. Ivividly recall having my Shabbos coatswiped by a congregant. There was onecoat left lying on a bench near where mycoat was after everyone had left. Thenext Friday night, I saw my coat on thebench and replaced it with the leftovercoat. I watched to see the wearer’s reac-tion after davening.

He buttoned the coat, looked it overwith an inquisitive look, shrugged hisshoulders, and went home with it. Henever consciously realized that he hadtaken my coat or that his coat had beenreturned. I would not have been permit-ted to use his coat while he was usingmine. So what should I have done?Perhaps sue for $67 million. v

Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at EitzChayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempsteadand is an outreach professional at JEP of LI. Hecan be contacted at [email protected].


If The Suit Fits...

He never consciously

realized that he had

taken my coat or that

his coat had been

returned.


lenge is the role that schools play in theirstrategic planning to reduce expensesand increase non-tuition revenues. This iswhere Yeshiva University’s Institute forUniversity–School Partnership steps in.Since this past December, the institutehas run a number of programs in the FiveTowns and Rockaways on the topic ofschool affordability.

The goal has been to help schoolsidentify and implement research-basedand data-driven practices to the busi-ness of education. While some pro-grams have focused on energy efficien-cy and cost reduction, others havefocused on major donor cultivation anddesignated giving.

In a number of cases, YeshivaUniversity has engaged in more compre-hensive consultancies with yeshivasand day schools, helping those schoolsassess the effectiveness of the entireeducational delivery mechanism—everything from the back-office struc-ture to how the board of directors func-tions—to save money without sacrific-ing educational quality. While the insti-tute’s work has been most prominent inour area, their school affordability teamhas been doing similar work throughoutthe country.

Perhaps what has been most remark-able about Yeshiva University’s work istheir ability to bring a diverse range ofpeople and schools into one room toaddress a challenge that belongs to all ofus. This is what the Jewish EducationFund, the Community Assistance Fund,the Eliezer Project, Achiezer, and manymore are all about—Jewish people help-ing Jewish people. Could it be any sim-pler than that? v

Eli Shapiro can be reached at his group “I lovehock of the rock” at facebook.com.

HOCK OF THE ROCKContinued from Page 40

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Rehovot Yeshiva Paving The WayFor Mashiach

The jewel of the mainly secular Israelicity of Rehovot, which sits atop the high-est hill in the city, shone forth its bright-est rays this Sunday as the MeorHatalmud Yeshiva celebrated the openingof its new wing amidst much fanfare.

The multimillion-dollar complex, com-plete with lecture rooms, dining room,and sizeable beis midrash, was financedin large part by Torah philanthropistsYossi and Ruchi Stern.

Many local and foreign dignitariesgraced the town with their presence. Theyeshiva’s 400-plus boys joined hands andhearts with hundreds of others to cele-brate this momentous occasion withgreat fervor.

The electric atmosphere grew, aidedby musical accompaniment, as eachscroll was brought in and housed in thenew ark.

Tasteful but practical décor and interi-or design, coupled with sturdy marblefloors, mark the style of the modern-day

yeshiva, whose corridors are built to bewell used by the increasing number ofyoung men to soon fill it.

During the celebration dinner, whichwell over a thousand supporters attend-ed, Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, ChiefRabbi of Rehovot, expressed his apprecia-



Mr. Mendy Kein with Mr. Yossi Stern.

HaRav Shteinman affixing a mezuzah at the entrance.

The rav speaking at the meal.

The main entrance to the building.

tion to the donors for this outstandingshow of unity and vision. Had the yeshi-va not been built, Rabbi Kook said, howwould he answer the Mashiach whenasked whether all that Rehovot has toshow for itself is the famed WeitzmanInstitute for Science, but no yeshiva? Hewould have been obligated to tell him toask the wealthy of the generation whythey had not helped build Torah educa-tion in the city. “Now,” he said with pride,“it will be my honor to show him thegreat yeshiva complex looming big onthe map of Rehovot.”

Rabbi A. Leib Shteinman opened theevening, followed by various other well-known rabbanim. Guest speaker Mr. KurtRothschild, president of MizrachiCanada, praised Rabbi Kook for hisboundless love of K’lal Yisrael and EretzYisrael. Likewise, Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro,the rosh yeshiva of Mercaz HaRav inJerusalem, was greatly inspired to see thisgroundbreaking event in the city ofRehovot. v

Lev Leytzan Clowns: CrossingBorders, Bringing Hope

“Good health and happiness in 5770!”We all wish it for each other, and here—in the U.S. in the 21st century—we knowhow to pursue it. There are some bleakplaces in the world, though, where thereis little hope for either good health orhappiness. There, the New Year mightelicit nothing more than a sigh from peo-ple who have been oppressed for genera-tions. There, there’s no such thing as a vis-

iting nurse or a walk-in mental-healthclinic. There, often there isn’t even amother or a beloved grandmother to turnto. There’s only lethargy and a grim out-look born of having no control over thecourse of one’s life.

With the goal of bringing joy, laugh-ter, and hope to some of these people,the young adult clowns of Lev Leytzantraveled this past summer to some ofthese most affected of places, bringingwith them their red noses, floppy shoes,polka-dotted pants, and a whole lot ofgood spirit!

Under the auspices of its AmbassadorProgram, directed by Beth Friedlander,Ed.M., LMSW, Lev Leytzan: TheCompassionate Clown Alley, Inc. trav-eled this past August to Budapest,Hungary. The program, accompanied byexecutive director Neal C. Goldberg,Ph.D., brought an extraordinary troupe:Zachy Adler (DRS-HALB), Adam Gindea(Columbia University), ShlomoGolombeck (Mesivta Ateres Yaakov), YoniKatz (DRS-HALB), Simcha Lustig (Yeshivaof Far Rockaway), and Aron Martin(Yeshiva of Far Rockaway).

Lev Leytzan’s Ambassador Programidentifies emotionally needy communi-ties overseas and brings Lev Leytzan’sunique brand of relief to their people.Ms. Friedlander notes that in EasternEurope there remains an unaddressedcommunitywide malaise of post-trau-matic stress disorder resulting from theterrors of the Holocaust and years ofCommunist rule.

“When you walk on the street inRomania or Hungary, you do notencounter the good cheer and ease that


AROUND THE FIVE TOWNSContinued from Page 43

Balaint Haz, Budapest: Zachy Adler, Adam Gindea, Aron Martin, Shlomo Golombeck.

Madarasz Children’s Hospital, Budapest: Shlomo Golombeck and Yoni Katz.


you find here,” she says. “You find peo-ple who seem perpetually sad and bur-dened, uncomfortable and unsure. Theyare starving for positive human contactand yearning to form memories of expe-riences that bolstered them. They needthese to counter memories of a lifetimeof experiences that left them feelingbroken.” With vast social servicesdeficits in these countries and mosthumanitarian organizations sendingonly material items, Lev Leytzan’sclowns are a perfect fit.

This summer’s trip brought the clownsto a variety of Hungarian institutions,from nursing homes and hospitals to aJewish festival, the world-famousBudapest Circus, and a one-of-a-kind sum-mer camp for Jewish children living indistress in many Eastern European coun-tries. The clowns’ mission began at theBudapest JCC, entertaining a large groupof kids from troubled homes. The impro-vised antics were a welcome change ofpace for the children and a spectacle theyare sure to remember.

Later, the therapeutic clowning con-tinued with individual visits to Holocaustsurvivors in their homes. One womanwas disabled and infirm, living in a sixth-floor walk-up apartment, unable to leaveher home. When first encountered, thepain and loss in her life were visible onher face. Remarkably, after enjoying theclowns’ antics, the woman pleaded forreassurance that the pictures takenwould be sent to her. “I want to remem-ber! I want to remember!” she cried.From her exclamations the clownslearned the enduring value of their work:what is important is not just the momen-tary distraction that the performancesprovide, but also the ongoing memory ofnurturing contact that they leave behind.

The trip continued with more thera-peutic clowning, more bonding, andopportunities for the clowns to maketheir own memories as they visited therestaurants, museums, and special quar-ters of Budapest.

The clowns of Lev Leytzan weredelighted to bring happiness to a placewhere it is a scarce resource and to beable to leave some of it behind in thememories of those they touched.Advisory Board member Jeremy Garbernotes, “We are very proud of ourAmbassador Program as it is a naturalextension of the therapeutic clowningservices Lev Leytzan volunteers havebeen providing to local hospitals andhealth-care centers for the past six years.Our hope is that with continued financialsupport we will be able to bring theAmbassador Program to other needycommunities overseas.” v


YCQ Students Build Sukkah For Seniors

In anticipation of Sukkos, the sixth-grade students from the Yeshiva ofCentral Queens (YCQ) visited the resi-dents of the Meadow Park Rehabilitationand Health Care Center in Flushing tohelp them prepare for the holiday. Thisprogram is just one example of YCQ’sinnovative teaching methods. YCQ’s qual-ity religious and general studies programswill be on display during the school’supcoming interactive Kindergarten OpenHouse, to take place on Sunday morning,November 8, at 10:00 a.m. YCQ is locatedat 147-37 70th Road in Kew Gardens Hills.

After the boys built the sukkah, theysang and danced with the seniors. Thenext day, the sixth-grade girls from YCQwent to Meadow Park and decorated thesukkah. The girls also did art projectswith the seniors and interacted withthem individually.

“The simchas yom tov and radiantsmiles that the YCQ children regularly

bring to our residents is a true illustrationof inspirational chesed and chinuch,” saidAkiva Rudner, the assistant administratorof the Chai Traditions Program at theMeadow Park Rehabilitation and HealthCare Center.

“At YCQ, education is not solely limitedto classroom instruction,” said RabbiMark Landsman, the principal of YCQ.“Interactive and intergenerational pro-grams that empower our students to doacts of kindness for others and to learnfrom people with vast life experience arean invaluable educational tool. We prideourselves on employing an array of teach-ing methods intended to impart strongTorah values and a solid ethical andmoral base to our students so that theycontinue to grow academically, socially,and religiously.”

Parents are invited to bring their chil-dren with them to the kindergarten openhouse so they cam experience a hands-on, interactive program with YCQ’s talent-ed early childhood staff.

The YCQ Open House will feature guid-ed tours of the school and a simulatedfirst-grade lesson for parents, which will

include a session on YCQ’s progressiveHebrew immersion program. While theparents are occupied with the program-ming relating to the adults, their childrenwill enjoy interactive lessons with YCQ’skindergarten staff.

YCQ, which initially opened in 1941,features smart-board technology in everyclassroom, a state-of-the-art science lab,and a fully equipped computer lab. Theschool also offers an assortment of after-school programs and clubs, includingmishmar, chess, band instruction, fenc-ing, dance, and much more. Free trans-portation to YCQ is available fromQueens, the Five Towns, WestHempstead, and Great Neck.

For more information about YCQ andthe November 8 Open House, call Mrs.Sharon Korn, YCQ’s early childhood direc-tor, at 718-793-8500 ext. 29, or [email protected]. v

Local Financial Adviser Kive I. Strickoff Meets WithMembers Of Congress

Kive I. Strickoff, CPA, of StrickoffFinancial Services, LLC, met with mem-bers of Congress in Washington, DCrecently as part of the FSI 2009 AdvocacySummit, an important gathering of inde-pendent financial advisers.

FSI—the Financial Services Institute,headquartered in Atlanta—is the advoca-cy and membership organization forindependent broker-dealers and inde-pendent financial advisers. The FSIAdvocacy Summit includes Capitol Hillvisits with important senators and repre-sentatives.

This year, Capitol Hill visits took placeon September 30. Mr. Strickoff was one of118 FSI members who met with 110Congressional representatives and staffmembers. Mr. Strickoff was on the NewYork State team and met withRepresentative Carolyn McCarthy andthe staffs of Representatives Chris Lee,John Hall, Charles Rangel, and Peter King.

“The Advocacy Summit is an impor-tant opportunity for independent finan-cial advisers to discuss the issues of ourbusiness with members of Congress andto communicate and clarify how inde-pendent advisers’ service literally mil-lions of American investors,” saidStrickoff. “In a year that has includedmajor high-profile proposals for financialservices reform, it’s vital that we discusswith our elected representatives theeffects various proposals could have onour clients. In particular, we’re concernedabout proposed legislation that couldthreaten the independent status of thou-sands of financial advisers and some ofthe provisions in the administration’sframework for reforming the regulationof our business.”



YCQ sixth-graders visiting with seniors before Sukkos.

In July, a bill was introduced thatwould change the IRS rules for workerclassification. While the bill, HR 3408, isintended to address worker classificationproblems in other industries, it couldresult in independent financial advisersbeing reclassified as employees of theindependent broker-dealers with whichthey are affiliated. “This would dramati-cally alter the relationship I have with mybroker-dealer and my clients,” saidStrickoff. “I’m an independent businessowner operating with the flexibility andfreedom to serve my clients in ways thatare best for them. Becoming an employeeof a broker-dealer would change theequation by removing much of my inde-pendence.”

The administration’s regulatory reformproposal, released in June, would, accord-ing to Strickoff and FSI, result in addition-al new layers of costly regulation whiledoing little to close the current gaps inregulatory oversight that allowed BernardMadoff and others to operate their Ponzischemes. FSI is calling for a new “univer-sal standard of care” designed to ensuretransparent business relationships, effec-tive client disclosures, and efficient, low-cost investment solutions.

“Our message on Capitol Hill was two-fold,” said Mr. Strickoff. “We asked membersof Congress to ensure that independentfinancial advisers are not included in HR3408, and that regulatory reform includespecific language on a universal standard ofcare that is client-centric and understand-able to middle-class investors such as myclients. Both of these are very important toindependent financial advisers helpingclients with their financial goals.”

The independent broker-dealer mem-bers of FSI serve more than 152,000 inde-pendent financial advisers who are regis-tered with the Financial IndustryRegulatory Authority (FINRA). These advis-ers serve more than 14 million Americanhouseholds. In the U.S., approximately42.3 percent of all practicing advisers whoare FINRA-registered operate in the inde-pendent broker-dealer channel. Membersof Congress with whom FSI members metserve on House and Senate committeesimportant to the independent channel,including the Senate Finance Committee,Senate Health, Education, Labor, andPensions Committee, House Ways andMeans Committee, and House Educationand Labor Committee.

More information on Mr. Strickoff’spractice can be found at www.strickoff.com. v

OU Communal Program On Health Care, October 18

With health care being one of today’smost significant issues, the OrthodoxUnion, in conjunction with the YoungIsrael of Woodmere, will present thehalachic view of health care, to be heldSunday, October 18, at 8:00 p.m. at thesynagogue. A question-and-answer ses-sion will follow. The Young Israel ofWoodmere is located at 859 PeninsulaBoulevard.

The program will be led by RabbiAaron E. Glatt, MD, assistant to the rabbiat the Young Israel of Woodmere, presi-dent and CEO of New Island Hospital,and professor of clinical medicine at NewYork Medical College.

“Health care is on everyone’s mindtoday, but what does Jewish law say onthe matter?” asked Frank Buchweitz, OUNational Director of Programs andSpecial Projects. “Rabbi Glatt, M.D., ahighly respected rabbi and physician, willshed light on what halachah says on thistopic. This is a free program open to theentire community.”

Ma’ariv will proceed and follow the

program. For more information, contact212-613-8300. v

Amit 2009 Annual Dinner,November 8

The 2009 Amit Annual Dinner hasbeen scheduled for Sunday evening,November 8, at 5:00 p.m., at the GrandHyatt New York. Hundreds of members,friends, and supporters of Amit fromthroughout the tri-state area are expectedto attend. All proceeds will benefit Amit’snetwork of schools and programsthroughout Israel, which in recent yearshas grown to encompass more than20,000 students, from kindergartenthrough junior college.

Honorees include Rabbi and Mrs.Zipporah Marans of Cedarhurst; Arthurand Hattie Dubroff of West Orange, NewJersey; and William and RonnieSlochowsky of New York City.

The 2009 Annual Dinner is beingchaired by Ina and David Tropper ofRiverdale. The co-chairs are MarionCrespi of Cedarhurst; Adrianne and AviShapira of New York City; and Robyn andBruce Shoulson of West Orange.

For further information and reserva-tions, please call Amit at 212-477-4725.

Amit enables Israel’s youth to realizetheir potential and strengthens Israeli soci-ety by educating and nurturing childrenfrom diverse backgrounds within a frame-work of academic excellence, religious val-ues and Zionist ideals. v

HAFTR Hawks Vs. Frisch CougarsAt MSG, October 18

The HAFTR Hawks of Lawrence, led byCoach Joey Hoenig, are set to take on theFrisch Cougars of Paramus, led by CoachAvi Borenstein, this Sunday, October 18, asthe preliminary game to the Knicks vs.Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv game inMadison Square Garden.

Both Frisch and HAFTR look likestrong Yeshiva League contenders thisyear. HAFTR has been ranked third in pre-season yeshiva league polls and Frischhas been ranked fourth. In addition to agreat Garden event, the two schools haveundertaken this as a chesed charity proj-ect to raise funds for a notable charity in


Richard Ketchum, FINRA CEO, and Kive Strickoff.


Israel. Proceeds from the ticket sales fromthe Frisch-HAFTR and Maccabi Electra-Knicks game will once again benefitMigdal Ohr, Israel’s largest orphanage,which provides a nurturing home andoutstanding education to over 6,500 neg-lected, at-risk, underprivileged, and newimmigrant children.

Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv, the legendaryIsraeli basketball team, is making anencore appearance at Madison SquareGarden on Sunday, October 18, when theytip off against the New York Knicks.Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv has won aremarkable 47 Israeli championships, 36national cups, and 5 European cups. Theyalso beat the Toronto Raptors 105–103 inOctober of 2005, becoming the only non-American team to ever defeat an NBA teamon North American soil. For more informa-tion, please visit www.migdalohr.org. v

Marathon Minyan, November 1For the 27th consecutive year, the ING

NYC Marathon on November 1 will fea-

ture am organized, international morningminyan for the convenience of the manyJewish runners who are expected to com-pete in the 40th running of this worldfamous event.

To be held with the permission of theNew York Road Runners Club, the tradi-tional morning service will commencepromptly at 8:00 a.m. in the marathonstaging area at Fort Wadsworth, StatenIsland. Check out information boothsand site map for the precise location.

Minyan Participants are requested tobring their own prayer books, tefillin, andtaleisim. v

Open House For Manhattan HighSchool For Girls, October 20

By Mimi SamuelsIf you live in the Five Towns, why

would you want to send your daughter toManhattan every day for high school,when there are options available locally?Manhattan High School, also known asMachon Yaakov Lebanos, with RebbetzinRuthy Assaf as its principal, might bedescribed as an “Ivy League” Bais Yaakov.Their classes are small, limited to two

classes of 25 students to a grade. Theadministration and staff are tops in theirfield and are closely involved with everystudent to make their four years in highschool a warm and meaningful learningexperience.

There is something for everyone atManhattan High School. The limudeikodesh classes are taught by experiencedrole models and respected rebbeim, whowill inspire your daughter and instill herwith a love for Hashem, a love for learn-ing, pride in her role as a Jewish woman,and a desire to live a Torah lifestyle. Thesecular studies department, with MissEstee Friedman as the general studiesassociate principal, is accredited byNYSAIS and all courses are designed tobuild and develop each student’s skills incomprehension, technology, and academ-ics. Students have the opportunity tobegin college-level work throughadvanced placement courses and univer-sity partnership programs. Your daughtercan graduate with as many as 45 collegecredits.

If your daughter likes music, art, litera-ture, dance, drama, or photography, there

are elective courses and extracurricularactivities that offer every girl an opportu-nity to develop her talents and skills.

MHS does not have a uniform. Theystrongly believe in teaching a bas Yisraelto dress appropriately for life, not just forschool. Their dress code incorporates allhalachic and hashkafic rules and allowsthe girls’ true refined personalities toshine through.

Located on East 70th Street betweenLexington and Third Avenues, MHSattracts students from the entire tri-statearea. What better way to broaden yourdaughter’s horizons than to send her toschool with girls from as many as 18 dif-ferent neighborhoods, all while enjoyingthe benefits of the history and culturethat New York City has to offer?

Ask any of the more than 100 girls thathave traveled from the Five Towns toManhattan High School and they will tellyou that it’s worth the trip!

On Tuesday, October 20, David andMimi Samuels are scheduled to hold aninformal open house evening to meetsome of the administrators, teachers, andstudents of MHS at their home at 126Monroe Street in Lawrence. v

YU Presents “Heroes And VillainsIn Tanach,” November 1

Yeshiva University (YU) invites the pub-lic to attend a yom iyun [day of learning]entitled Heroes and Villains in Tanach onSunday, November 1 at YU’s Wilf Campus,500 West 185th Street, New York, NY. Theday will begin with registration at 9:15a.m. and conclude at 1:30 p.m., followedby Minchah.

The first shiur will begin at 9:30 withRabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, UniversityProfessor of Jewish History and JewishThought and senior scholar at YU’s Centerfor the Jewish Future (CJF), addressing“Must Biblical Heroes Be Perfect?”Following Rabbi Schacter, participantswill be able to choose from a variety oflectures focusing on a broad range of bib-lical characters and interesting topics.

The yom iyun will feature noted rabbisand scholars including Rabbi KennethBrander, the David Mitzner Dean of CJF;Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, founder of theTanach Study Center; Dr. David Berger,dean and Ruth and I. Lewis GordonProfessor of Jewish History at YU’sBernard Revel Graduate School of JewishStudies; and Dr. Smadar Rosensweig, pro-fessor of Bible at YU’s Stern College forWomen.

The event is free to YU students with a$5 suggested donation for all others.Refreshments will be served. The yomiyun is a project of YU’s CJF and the Officeof Student Affairs. For dedication andsponsorship opportunities please call 212-960-5400, ext. 6728 or e-mail [email protected]. v

Chesed And Simcha InfuseShalhevet Sukkot Celebration

Just before the Sukkos break, ShalhevetHigh School ninth graders went togetherwith their teachers, Morah ChaniSchwartz and Morah Andrea Schulman, toSouth Nassau Hospital in Oceanside to dothe mitzvah of bikur cholim. There theywere met by Rabbi Yaacov Schwartz, thechaplain at the hospital, and coincidental-ly Morah Schwartz’s husband, whobriefed the girls regarding the halachos ofvisiting the sick. Then they divided intogroups and visited the Jewish patients on



all the floors. They reminded the patientsof the upcoming chag, and some of themsaid a mishebairach with their Jewishnames. Many were visibly moved by thevisits, and expressed their appreciationwith smiles and uplifted moods. Indeed,the girls themselves felt the significanceof this important mitzvah. For many, itwas their first experience with bikurcholim in a hospital.

Phyllis Citera, director of volunteerservices at the hospital, took much timeout of her day to escort the girls through-out the entire visit. She also explainedhospital protocol to the students andemphasized the importance of propersanitation, including making good use ofthe Purell stations situated throughoutthe hospital! Parent volunteers drove andchaperoned the girls.

On Thursday night during Sukkos,Shalhevet celebrated its second annualSimchat Beis Hashoeivah at the sukkah ofRabbi and Mrs. Schwartz in Lawrence.Hapina of Cedarhurst did an excellentcatering job and the girls really enjoyedthe kabobs and other delicacies.Somehow everyone fit into the Schwartz’sbeautiful sukkah and enjoyed divrei Torahfrom Rabbi Friedman, Rabbi Schwartz,and Shalhevet student Ruchie Einhorn.Meira Glass, a talented musician, playedlively music as the girls danced in thebackyard. Later in the evening, Meira ledeveryone in a heartfelt kumsitz on thepiano. Several Shalhevet girls performed afew songs with gorgeous harmony. A greattime was had by all.

Shalhevet is now gearing up forShabbaton ’09 this Shabbos October 16-17and Open House on November 15. v

Be’er Hagolah Annual Evening OfMusic And Entertainment To RaiseFunds For Tefillin Campaign,November 7

For well over a decade, Be’er Hagolahhas been bringing together young cou-ples from the Five Towns, Flatbush,Queens, and Monsey with the purpose ofraising funds for the purchase of tefillinfor bar mitzvah boys in Be’er Hagolah andto assist in the yeshiva’s scholarship fund.

These events consist of original enter-taining programs, delicious food, and aChinese auction. Entertainers such asAvraham Fried, MBD, Yeedle, and manyothers have graced the stage of the yeshiva.Those couples who have attended look for-ward to the next year’s event, knowing thatthey can enjoy an exciting evening withfriends while supporting the yeshiva.

Be’er Hagolah, with an enrollment ofnearly 600 children, boys and girls, in sep-arate divisions, grades pre K through 12, isa kiruv yeshiva catering to the needs ofchildren from unaffiliated families, manyof them Bukharian or Russian.

Children who are devoid of any knowl-edge of Yiddishkeit begin the road tobecoming bnei Torah, learning aleph-beis,and continuing on to a full yeshiva cur-riculum. In addition, the yeshiva arrangesfor a bris milah for the boys and namingceremonies for the girls, when necessary.There are bar mitzvah celebrations andultimately weddings. Mezuzos andShabbos/yom tov needs are also providedfor their families.

Although the cost of educating a childat Be’er Hagolah is upward of $6,000 forelementary school and $10,000 for highschool, most of the students’ families areon scholarships with some paying as lit-

tle as $250 a year and others paying noth-ing at all. No child is turned away due tohis or her parent’s inability to pay eventhat little tuition. The yeshiva, therefore,relies heavily on charitable contributionsto continue their crucial work.

Many of the yeshiva’s graduates havealready established Torah homes of theirown but, for every boy and girl whobecomes a Shomer Shabbos, there arethousands of children who have neverentered a yeshiva or shul, and will likelynot be given that opportunity unless Be’erHagolah recruits and accepts them.

This year’s event is scheduled forMotzei Shabbos, November 7 at the Be’erHagolah campus at 671 Louisiana Avenuein Brooklyn. Doors open at 7:30 for thebuffet dinner followed by the show. Theshow will feature a megastar who willprovide musical entertainment and agroup of young men famous for enter-taining crowds worldwide, who are flyingin from Venice, Italy for an unusual showfeaturing acrodunking.

For more information, contact Be’erHagolah at 718-642-6800 or [email protected]. v

My Madraigos RetreatBy Joshua Friedman“Thank you Rabbi Silver (and to all

those involved) for making my RoshHashanah such an awesome and mean-ingful experience. The families I met, thedavenings I experienced, the lectures Iheard, the wonderful food I ate, thesinging, the dancing, the non-judgmentalenvironment. Props to you. Can’t wait tillnext year!”

For over eight years Madraigos hasbeen the address in our communitywhere young adults can turn for helpwith their spiritual and emotional strug-gles. Through comprehensive program-ming, diverse and engaging recreationalactivities, hands-on crisis counseling, andby working in concert with communityresources, families, and schools,Madraigos has been instrumental in redi-recting hundreds of youth back to thepath of Torah and personal success in life.

In response to calls by Madraigos stu-dents and members for another RoshHashanah program, and following theincredible success and impact of lastyear’s Rosh Hashanah Retreat, Rav Dov

Silver, shlita and a group of dedicated vol-unteers worked diligently to assemble,raise funds, and do all the legwork neces-sary to pull together the sort of RoshHashanah event that transforms lives andis remembered by all.

This year, the retreat took place at thebeautiful Clinton Inn Hotel in Tenafly, NJ.The event was designed to enrich andinspire young people who benefit from awarm and welcoming yom tov atmos-phere, and/ or might not feel comfortableor be able to attend shul and yom tovmeals otherwise. Gracious families joinMadraigos for the chag, and in turn theprogram caters to the specific needs ofthese families. From babysitting to pro-fessional day camp services, parentinglectures to special kid’s meals, they don’tmiss a beat. The sacrifice these familiesmake, leaving their regular seats at shul tocome along, is truly invaluable to creatinga real and genuine yom tov experience. Inevery sense the success of the retreat is acomplete combined effort of the familiesand Madraigos members’ willingness to



join us with an open mind and the tire-less work of a few amazing volunteers.

The effort, Baruch Hashem, was wellworth it, and positive feedback from allthe participants has been overwhelming.Here is one of the letters that havereached our desk in the past week:

Dear Rabbi Silver,I wanted to thank you from the bottom

of my heart for a wonderful RushHashanah, which was planned so careful-ly and with so much thought to meeteveryone’s needs.

It was a very positive experience for meto spend a Rosh Hashanah surroundedwith normal families, rather than feelingintimidated, which is how I usually feel asa young adult recovering from alcohol anddrug abuse as well as the many things thatI went through in my life both personallyand with the Jewish system.

Especially when holidays come I alwaysget these mixed feelings of “I love G-d, andI want to get closer to Him,” and on theother hand when I go to a regular shul I feel

not wanted or that people are judging me.And I must share with you that for the

first time in my life I felt comfortable,accepted, and loved by people I just met. Allthey want is to also get closer to G-d and Ican imagine that it was hard for some ofthem to understand where my friends andI are coming from.” v

Children Take Action For School Choice

Elisheva Greenberg, Mushky Meer,Liba Weiss and Rina Ahuva Hendrie, 11-year-olds from Morristown, visited therecording studio of Radio 970 The Appleto record the opening of a radio spot torun round the clock on this popular radiotalk station. The ad is addressed to voterswho seek to take back government onbehalf of the people, including the rightof parents to raise and educate their chil-dren with minimum interference. Thechildren open the ad with the recitationof the Pledge of Allegiance. The ad is readby leading school choice advocate formermayor of Jersey City Bret Schundler andasks voters to support the 42 New JerseyAssembly candidates committed to

school choice.Barry Funt, candidate for New Jersey

Assembly from District 27, said,“Citizens for Assembly,” comprised of 42Assembly challengers—one more thanan Assembly majority—is committed toschool choice. “Free enterprise and com-

petition is precisely what is needed togreatly improve our educational systemand reduce costs.”

At a recent press conference held at thesteps of the New Jersey State House, Funtstated, “Across New Jersey, regularCitizens from all walks of life are stand-ing up and making their voices heard.Taxpayers, homeowners, and hardwork-ing families have had enough, and theyare ready to take our government back.Citizens for Assembly is not about careerpoliticians or more of the same emptyrhetoric—it’s about electing legislatorswho will truly represent regular Citizens.”

The Morristown children are fromfamilies comprising Parents for FreeChoice in Education, which has beenadvocating federal civil rights legislationto require equitable funding for all chil-dren, including those attending privateand religious schools. Israel Teitelbaum,cofounder of the group, addressed a pub-lic forum recently held at the MasonicMeeting Hall in Morristown. “It is nowclear that those running our state andfederal government are determined toprevent school choice from happening.Our only chance is to elect those coura-geous citizens who have joined forces totake back government on behalf of thepeople. We need to support them onbehalf of our children and grandchil-dren.”The radio spot reads: “New Jersey,if you’ve had it with self-interested politi-cians and runaway government, then wehave a unique opportunity to start over.Forty-two challenger candidates who’venever held state office, most running forthe very first time, have joined togetherunder a 10 point platform to end NewJersey’s culture of corruption and makeNew Jersey affordable again. These candi-dates are not professional politicians,they’re ordinary people like you and me,and fully representative of New Jersey’srich diversity.

“Learn about them at Citizens forAssembly.Com, where you can read abouttheir Common Sense Pledge.

“With your vote, these candidatescould become a majority of the StateAssembly, end New Jersey’s recklessspending, lower New Jersey taxes, andrestore limited government.

“The power to have citizen-led govern-ment rests with you, New Jersey.

“Winning now can be a prelude to a cit-izens’ movement taking Congress in 2010.

“Visit Citizens for Assembly.Com—andgive these citizen candidates your vote!” v



(L–R): Elisheva Greenberg, Mushky Meer, Liba Weiss, and Rina Ahuva Hendrie, 11-year-oldsfrom Morristown, at Radio 970.


New Old Drug Fights Colon CancerA new Tel Aviv University drug, based

on an older generation antibiotic, mayprovide doctors with an effective andinnovative method of treating colon can-cer in both its incipient and full-blownstages—and minimize the need forpainful, uncomfortable colonoscopiesand surgical polyp removal.

Dr. Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld of TAU’sSackler School of Medicine has shown inpreclinical studies that a common antibi-otic can suppress the growth of coloncancer polyps in mice. Her aim is to refor-mulate the drug for use as a preventativetherapy—or, in stronger doses, in combi-nation with chemotherapy and radiationto fight existing cancers until they’regone. The current formulation reducedthe size of the polyps in about 80% of themice she studied, and on average the ani-mals lived 30% longer than those whowere not given the antibiotic.

“My experience shows that colon can-cer is particularly aggressive,” says Dr.Rosin-Arbesfeld. “Our new drug may beable to slow down polyp growth so that itnever manifests to full-blown colon can-cer.” She is currently preparing the resultsof her recent study for an upcoming issueof the journal Gut.

The antibiotic acts in a genetic fashion.In diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF) andmuscular dystrophy, antibiotics from theaminiglycoside family can repair dam-aged or mutated DNA. For her new study,Dr. Rosin-Arbesfeld looked at a closely-related but less toxic family of antibiotics

from the Macrolide family that achievesthe same therapeutic results.

Dr. Rosin-Arbesfeld focused on a geneassociated with colorectal cancer, theAPC gene, and noticed that the mutationtypes in colorectal cancer are similar tothose in the CF gene. Noting that old gen-eration antibiotics are effective in fight-ing CF, she studied its effects on coloncancer as well. She found that the drugpartially repaired faulty genes in micewith colon cancer. Benefits from usingold generation and out of circulationantibiotics means that the new therapywill not interfere with current antibioticsused for today’s bacterial infections.

At first she thought about using theantibiotic as a preventative therapy, butlater investigated its efficacy in treatingfull-blown cancer and found it similarlyeffective.

Ramot, TAU’s commercial transfercompany, has filed for a patent for thenew use, and because the antibiotic hasalready been on the market, Dr. Rosin-Arbesfeld expects the new drug could bedeveloped quickly. The preclinical resultsare encouraging and Ramot is currentlytalking with potential partners to bringthis drug to experimental trials inhumans, a critical step before it can bemade more widely available.

“For many years it’s been known that aspecific family of antibiotics does morethan kill bacteria,” says Dr. Rosin-Arbesfeld. “They affect biological systemsin the body and repair mutated genes. Indirecting my work towards the treatmentof cancer, I can help save lives.”

Dr. Rosin-Arbesfeld’s research has beenfunded in part through generous scholar-

ships and donations from the Coltonfamily in the U.S. v

Priority-1 Announces Opening OfResearch Institute

The Priority-1 Research Institute is thefirst dedicated center for scholarlyresearch on the challenges facing thesocial, psychological, and educationaldevelopment of youth in the OrthodoxJewish community. The institute con-ducts and publishes high-level studies onthe social and educational experience ofJewish youth, aimed at offering realunderstanding of today’s challenges, andbrings together the brightest and mostdedicated professionals to offer concretesolutions. The core philosophy of theinstitute is that the most effective solu-tions are based on the real life experi-ences of the children, parents, teachers,and administrators who currently com-bat these challenges on a daily basis.Detailed primary research into thesedaily experiences is our best chance todevelop real expertise for the future.

The institute is directed by Dr. YakovLowinger and overseen by an advisoryboard of prominent scholars and mentalhealth professionals. Current boardmembers include Rabbi Dr. Jerry Lob, Dr.David Pelcovitz, and Rabbi Dr. Tzvi HirshWeinreb. The board will review theresearch published through the instituteand also analyze current literature pub-lished by other organizations on topicsof interest to the institute. Thus theinstitute plans not only to promote itsown research, but to serve as a clearing-house for all the important work beingdone in the field. An inaugural event

marking the opening of the institute isplanned for 2010.

The institute mirrors the outlook of itsparent organization, Priority-1, whichworks to ensure that future generations ofJewish youth grow up in a world wherethey are truly valued and respected, andwhere they are emboldened to successful-ly withstand the most dangerous, and toooften deadly, pressures emanating fromsecular culture. While Priority-1 has insti-tuted its unique approach in its schools,and has had success through its trainingseminars and conferences in influencingother institutions, the time has come forthe production of serious research on theissues facing our youth and schools. Thisresearch will help to develop innovativesolutions that may be vital in turning thetide of young people abandoning produc-tive lifestyles, and that are sensitive to thecontext of yeshiva environments inwhich many of these solutions will beimplemented. It will do so by pinpointingand analyzing key risk factors, which willensure that our prevention and problem-solving efforts are targeted to those areaswhere they will have the greatest impact.

This unique, knowledge-basedapproach will address all major aspects ofthe problem: prevention, detection andearly intervention, and crisis interven-tion. It will combine the meticulousnessof scientific research with the Torahinsight and sensitivity and proven credi-bility of Priority-1. It is thus truly a projectfor our times. For dedication and othersponsorship opportunities, please con-tact 516-295-5700, ext. 23. v




B Y R A B B I T Z V I H E R S HW E I N R E B

G-d’s Beginning, Man’s Beginnings“In the beginning, the Almighty created

the heavens and the earth.”—Bereishis 1:1.

How is this beginning different fromall other beginnings?

This week’s Torah portion, the veryfirst of the yearly cycle, tells of the begin-ning of the cosmos and prompts us toreflect upon other beginnings, humanbeginnings, more familiar to us.

When we contemplate those otherbeginnings, with which we are much bet-ter acquainted, we cannot help but won-der whether there even is such a thing asa true beginning, of a process which real-ly begins from square one, without a pastor history which precedes it. Is there sucha thing as a new chapter in life which isutterly new and not influenced andstrongly connected to some pre-begin-ning past? Do we ever really start any-thing totally fresh, purely new?

I don’t think we ever do, and I submitthat a quick survey of the beginnings weknow, from the trivial to the very mean-ingful, will support my contention.

Is the beginning of a new baseball sea-son really a new beginning? Or does eachathlete bring to the season many of theskills perfected in past years along withthe marks of old injuries?

A new college semester is exciting andfeels fresh and new. But every studentcomes equipped with past learnings andingrained study habits, and rare indeed isthe professor who doesn’t recycle at leastsome of his old lectures.

History is rife with examples of revolu-tions heralding complete change andinnovative reforms. But history has alsodemonstrated how often, at the firstmoment of challenge and crisis, the newregime falls back upon the same old andtired techniques of government. TheFrench Revolution, which promised somuch in the way of a new beginning,eventually reverted to the same abuses itfought to replace.

Even the birth of a new human life isnot a totally new beginning. Each new-born boy or girl carries the genetic codeof generations gone by. The old concep-tion that each of us begins life as a tabularasa, or blank slate, has long been aban-doned as naive and fallacious. We arebuilt on ancient foundations.

And so it is in the entire realm ofhuman experience. There are no totallynew beginnings. There are only newchapters, subtly but profoundly shapedby what has come before.

This is the human condition. None ofus is truly autonomous. No man is anisland. We are all little more than a com-posite of the forces of our past and thepressures of our present. We are contin-gent beings, dependent upon so muchthat is external to us.

How different is the beginning ofwhich we read this week! It is a begin-ning out of nowhere, out of nothing, exnihilo. “Yesh me’ayin.” Something out ofnothing. A “big bang” if you will, withabsolutely no precursor.

“In the beginning…” With these open-ing Biblical words the Torah lays downthe fundamentals of Jewish theology andJewish anthropology. Jewish theology:There is a Creator who created a totally

new world, a world without precedentand without earlier stages, at a momentin time freely chosen by Him. And aJewish anthropology: Man is incapable of

creating that type of beginning. G-d istruly autonomous. Man, not at all. He is acontingent creature.

Rambam puts it well when he describesthe Almighty as independent of the world,

but the world as dependent upon Him.G-d is the Creator and Man the Creature.From this insight it is a logical next to theGerman theologian Schleiermacher’s defi-

nition of perfect worship as a feeling of“creature-ness,” of “kreatur-gefuhl.”

This beginning lesson in theology willstand us in good stead as we progressthrough the yearly cycle of the Torah andencounter this Higher Power again andagain in so many and varied ways. And itshould stand in us in good stead as wecope with our own private existentialstruggles. As we read in the book ofKohelet just a few short days ago: “For G-dis on high and you are down below, there-fore let your words be few…”

Indeed, G-d’s beginning is very differ-ent from our beginnings. How exciting isthe prospect now before us as we beginthe yearly Torah cycle. How exciting toobserve this world newly created “yeshme-ayin,” out of nothing,” as it not onlybecomes something, but develops into asomething of dazzling complexity, infi-nite wonder, and perpetual surprise.

So stay with us as we continue ourjourney, week by adventurous week. v

Rabbi Weinreb is president emeritus of theOrthodox Union. To read more articles and essaysby Rabbi Weinreb, visit his blog atwww.ou.org/rabbi_weinreb.


Person In The Parshah

Is there such a thing as a chapter in

life which is utterly new and not

influenced and strongly connected to

some pre-beginning past?

B Y S T E V E N G E N A C K

The Torah begins with the word“Bereishis.” Within the word Bereishis isthe root word “rosh” translated to mean“the mind” to convey that in the begin-ning the mind must control the body.The mind must prevent irrationalthoughts and behaviors from dominat-ing a person’s inner being. Once the mindis in control there are two paths to comeclose to G-d.

These two paths both involve creativemaneuvering, which is also hinted to inthe first two words of Bereishis, “In thebeginning G-d created…” These first twowords of the verse can be interpreted as,“In the beginning comes creativity.”

The first creative path that one maytake to come close to the Shechinah isthrough the study of Torah, the blue-print of creation, in tune with the say-ing, Kudsha Brich Hu, Orayata, VeYisraelChad Hu; (G-d, Torah, and Israel areone). An alternative path would be tocontemplate the wonderment ofnature, which requires one to be intune with his subconscious and outersurroundings leading to a firm bondwith the Creator.

The first path of creativity is throughthe study of Torah in tune with theKabbalistic tradition that says, “G-dlooked into the Torah and created theworld.” Not only was the Torah the blue-print of creation, but it sustains us on a

continuous basis, as the verse says,(Yirmiyahu 33:25) “Koh amar Hashem, imlo brisi yomam valaylah chukos shamay-im va’aretz lo samti,”—thus saidHashem, if My covenant with the nightand with the day would not be; had Inot set up the laws of heaven and earth.The Gemara (Pesachim 68b) understandsthis verse to mean that if not for theJewish People engaging in Torah study,the world would not have reason to bein existence.

One might find this path difficult onthe assumption that the Torah isuntouchable and beyond reach. But thisis not the case. It remains accessible toanyone who wants to connect with it.As the verses point out, “lo ba-shamayimhi,”—It (the Torah) is not in Heaven, butremains accessible and close to you.(Devarim 30:12). (See Bava Metziah (59b)

that substantiates that the concept loba-shamayim hi is referring to the Torahbased upon a Talmudic debate withinthe Sanhedrin between Rabbi Eliezerand Rabban Gamliel regarding the puri-ty of a particular oven. Rabbi Eliezer wasso sure that his opinion was correct thathe called upon nature to vindicate hisposition and had a “bat kol” (heavenlyvoice) announce that he was correct.Nevertheless the rabbis weren’t swayedby the heavenly voice because the Torahis not in the heavens, lo-ba-shamayim hi.Contrast this with the Ramban on theTorah that holds lo-ba-shamayim hi isreferring to teshuvah.)

The universality and proximity of the

Torah is further alluded to in Nev’imwhere it says, “O all who thirst, come forwater,” (Yeshayahu 55:1) which is inter-preted to mean; “Just as water goes fromone end of the earth to the other, so doesTorah go from one end of the earth to theother; Just as water is a life source, so isTorah a source of life; Just as water is freeto all, so is Torah a free commodity.”(Shir

HaShirim Rabbah 1:19)Still, it can be a daunting task to delve

into a text that serves as the blueprint ofcreation. Luckily, we can look to Avraham,the father of humanity, who achieved thesame end result of coming close to G-d,but through a different avenue of experi-ence, besides the Torah itself (though hedid voluntarily follow all of its precepts).

In a generation dominated by idolworship, Avraham not only defied kingsand smashed idols but successfully con-verted many idolaters to believe in theoneness of G-d. Where did this strengthcome from? What was Avraham’s secretin bringing a generation to submit beforeone G-d?

Before providing an answer, it’sworthwhile to elaborate upon a storyrecorded in the Gemara. The Gemara(Ta’anit 21a) relays the story of RabbiYochanan and Ilfa, two great Amoraim,who decided to leave yeshiva and enterthe professional world.

On their way, they stopped to eatunder the shade of a rickety wall. Duringthis break, Rabbi Yochanan heard twoangels conversing with each other andsaying, “Look at these two. They are leav-ing eternal life for the life of themoment. Let us push the wall and doaway with them.” The other replied, “No,leave them alone. One of them is des-tined for greatness.”

Rabbi Yochanan heard the words ofthe angels. He surmised that since he andnot Ilfa was privy to the conversation,the message was for him. RabbiYochanan returned to yeshiva, perse-vered, and became the rosh yeshiva andgadol hador while Ilfa became a shipping


Mind Over Matter

Avraham’s confidence translated intoan undeniable power to influenceand shape the belief system of a

whole generation.

merchant, though he remained wellversed in the Torah.

The obvious question is how it could bethat Rabbi Yochanan heard the murmur-ing of the angels and not Ilfa. It may besuggested that Rabbi Yochanan was wiredinto the moment and ready to receive sub-liminal messages that came his way.Though he was leaving the yeshiva, heremained cognizant of his circumstances.He was in touch with his inner voice andaware of the enormous decision he wasundertaking. Because he had a strongsense of identity and was in tune withhimself, he was able to take advantage ofthe moment and become rosh yeshiva.

In this light, the greatness of Avrahamcan be understood. Avraham was so intune with himself and his outer sur-roundings that he only needed to tuneinto the voices in his head. He recognizedthe intricacies of creation and was confi-dent to believe in one G-d. His confidencetranslated into an undeniable power toinfluence and shape the belief system ofa whole generation.

The Rambam captures the spirit ofAvraham and writes (Mishneh Torah,Laws of Idol Worship 1:3) “As this rockwas weaned [i.e. when Avraham grewup] he began to question with his intel-lect, although he was still small, and hethought day and night, and wondered,how is it possible that the universe (lit.spheres) continually functions, withouta visible leader (or master, driver)? Who‘spins’ it, since it certainly cannot spinitself? His heart questioned and under-stood, until it grasped the truth, andknew that which was right, the properunderstanding: And he knew there was a

single G-d, who controlled the universe,and He created all, and there was no G-dbesides Him.”

In a similar vein, the Midrash points toAvraham’s ferocious drive and curiosity.The basis of the Midrash is derived fromthe verse, “G-d spoke to Avraham”(Bereishis 12:1). Rabbi Yitzchak said: It is asif one traveling from place to place saw apalace in flames and asked, “Could it bethat the palace has no master?” Suddenly,the master of the palace appeared andsaid, “I am the master of the palace.” Soto: because Avraham our father asked,“Could it be that the world has no mas-ter?” G-d appeared suddenly to him andsaid, “I am the master of the world.”(Yalkut Shimoni, Bereishis 12:1).

Avraham realized that he lived in a“palace” of good fortune. He followed hisinner voice and didn’t take anything forgranted. Due to his unwavering belief sys-tem, G-d unmasked Himself and spoke tohim directly.

The first word, Bereishis, encapsulatesthe word “rosh” emphasizing that themind must be the first filter of allthoughts. The mind has the power tocome close to the Creator in two ways. Itcan engage in Torah study and mergewith the Divine through a text thatserved as the blueprint of the universe.Alternatively, the mind can tune into itsown “voices” that point to the beauty andwondrous nature of creation. Either waya creative approach must be utilized tomerge with the Creator since “In thebeginning comes creativity.” v

Visit the author’s blog atwww.stevengenack.wordpress.com.


The Schottenstein Edition InterlinearChumash 5 Volume Slipcased Set. TheTorah, haftaros, and five Megillos with aninterlinear translation and a commentaryanthologized from the rabbinic writings.The prayer of thousands has already beenenhanced by the revolutionarySchottenstein Edition Interlinear Siddur.Now with the release of the fifth andfinal volume (Sefer Devarim) of theSchottenstein Edition InterlinearChumash, countless men and womenwill find their reading and study of theTorah similarly enriched.

Featuring a patented “arrow system”that gently guides the eye right-to-left forthe Hebrew text and left-to-right for theEnglish translation, the interlinear chu-mashim ensure that the reader’s concen-tration is always focused on the appropri-ate line during the Torah reading or at anytime. And with the translation alwaysright in front of the reader’s eyes, he isless likely to be distracted by an unfamil-iar Hebrew word or phrase.

Each volume in the InterlinearChumash includes insightful commen-tary culled from classic sources andadapted from the popular Stone Editionof the Chumash, interlinear haftaros,

helpful diagrams and illustrations, andlarge-size Hebrew lettering that makes iteasier to read the Chumash, TargumOnkelos, and Rashi’s commentary.

The Essential Malbim. Flashes ofInsight on Bereishis/Genesis, The KohnFamily Edition. Since its publicationalmost a century and a half ago, the Torahcommentary of Rabbi Meir Leibush benYechiel Michel—Malbim—has made amajor contribution to our understandingof the Torah. A master of textual analysis,Malbim examines the nuances and sub-tleties of every word of Torah, discoveringlayers of meaning and revealing impor-tant and profound ideas and concepts.However, because the poetic and oftencryptic style that characterizes much ofhis work has made translation extremelydifficult, almost all of Malbim’s writingshave been inaccessible to the English-speaking public.

Until now.Crafting a series of essays based on the

essentials of Malbim’s commentary onSefer Bereishis, Rabbi Reuven Subar andRabbi Mendel Weinbach, rosh yeshiva ofYeshivas Ohr Somayach, have at lastopened this treasure trove of Jewishthought to a wider audience. Whether

Malbim is examining the purpose ofreward and punishment or discussing thenature of Avraham Avinu’s greatness, hisinsights give us a better understanding ofthe depth of Torah thought and the pro-found meaning inherent in each holy word.

The Six Constant Mitzvos, Based on aSeries of Lectures by Rabbi YitzchokBerkowitz. The classic work SeferHaChinuch enumerates six mitzvos that aJew is commanded to constantly fulfill,without cessation. Yet how is it possibleto fulfill even one mitzvah, let alone six,every moment of every day of our lives?

That’s a question that Rabbi YitzchokBerkowitz, a world renowned rav andposek, has answered in a series of lectureshe’s given at his Jerusalem kollel. Now,thanks to a nearly two-year collaborativeeffort by Rabbi Shai Markowitz, an alum-nus of the kollel, and Rabbi YehudaHeimowitz, a talmid chacham and talentedwriter living in Eretz Yisrael, these brilliantand potentially life-transforming shiurim

have been brought to the printed page.In this new book, each of the six

mitzvos is examined in depth, and chap-ter reviews offer practical suggestions forincorporating them into our daily rou-tines. The chapter reviews also include afascinating look at the cumulative effectof practicing the six constant mitzvos—the creation of a new and powerful atti-tude towards life that is reflected in everyaspect of our avodas Hashem.

Aleinu L’Shabei’ach: Bereishis, Wisdom,Stories, and Inspiration. Few contempo-rary books have had the impact that AleinuL’Shabei’ach has had on the Torah world.Tens of thousands of copies have beenread, re-read, and cherished by men andwomen from all walks of Jewish life.

And now, at last, an English-languageedition by Rabbi Moshe Zoren is avail-able. Based on the private writings, shi-urim, and conversations of Rav YitzchokZilberstein, a son-in-law of Rav Elyashiv,shlita, and a noted rav and posek in hisown right, Aleinu L’Shabei’ach is a remark-able compendium of Torah wisdom, mus-sar, and stories of great men and women.

And what stories they are. Connectedto pesukim in each parashah, they take usfrom the study halls of Europe to a rebbet-zin’s kitchen, from the streets of Bnei Brakto the royal court of the Queen of Austria.And in every case, they teach us the truemeaning of emunah and bitachon.

Indeed, every word of AleinuL’Shabei’ach challenges us to strive for abetter and deeper understanding of theCreator’s presence in our lives. v

To view more Artscroll offerings, or to make apurchase, please visit www.artscroll.com or yourlocal sefarim store.


ArtScroll New Releases

A master of textualanalysis, Malbim

examines thenuances and

subtleties of everyword of Torah.


B Y D A V I D B E D E I N

News that President Obama receivedthe Nobel Peace Prize elicited a gasp fromthe anchor of the afternoon newsreel ofIsrael Broadcasting Authority Radio onFriday—“Well, now that is a surprise,” shesaid with some spontaneity.

Within an hour of the announcement,Reuven Rivlin, veteran speaker of theIsrael Knesset Parliament, warned that“someone who gets a peace prize shouldnot force-feed Israel with his version ofpeace,” going on to say that he hoped thatthe peace prize would not inspire the pres-ident to “dictate a peace accord to Israel.”

Israel has reason to be concerned.The committee that awards the Nobel

Peace Prize is composed of officials fromthe Norwegian political elite, as opposedto other Nobel Prizes for excellence in sci-ence, education, health, or other scholar-ly concerns.

The announcement of this prizeoccurs at a time that Norway remainsalmost the only European nation to rec-ognize, aid, and abet the Hamas regime inGaza, at a time when Norway sanctionsboycotts of some Israeli companies, andat a time when Norway openly fundsmovements in Israel that advocate theexpulsion of Jewish communities fromJudea, Samaria, the Golan, and Jerusalem.

Things are so bad between Norway andIsrael that the Israeli Foreign Ministry isnow considering filing a formal request toexpel Norwegian peacekeeping observersfrom Hebron.

In other words, for many Israelis, theNorwegian endorsement of the peace ini-tiatives of President Obama reads like akiss of death for Israel, conveying a mes-sage that the U.S. should lead the worldcommunity to establish a Palestinianstate, even if that state would launch aer-ial attacks on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport,much as the Palestinian entity in Gazanow fires freely on S’derot and theWestern Negev.

Will the Nobel Peace Prize give PresidentObama the leverage that he needs to lowerthe boom on Israel? Time will tell. v

David Bedein is the Middle East Correspondentfor the Phila Bulletin. He is also the director ofthe Israel Resource News Agency and the Centerfor Near East Policy Research. To learn more visitwww.IsraelBehindTheNews.com or [email protected].

Nobel PeacePrize For Obama:Perspective FromJerusalem

Norway remainsalmost the only

European nation torecognize, aid, and

abet the Hamasregime in Gaza.

B Y C J S R U L L O W I T Z

G-d has blessed me with,among many other things, won-derful friends who challenge meto think and provoke me toimprove. During Elul, I called upone such friend and, simply toinitiate conversation, askedhow he was doing. He answeredme in a grave tone: “TheDirector has me playing the roleof someone who is having a badday.”

My friend, whose hashkafahrests upon a bedrock belief that“all the world’s a stage,” sees

himself as nothing more thanan actor in G-d’s Divine play oflife. He would never come rightout and say “I’m having a badday,” as that would, in his view,indicate a lack of faith that “Kolde’avad Rachmana letav avad—Everything G-d does is for thebest.”

We all have our good daysand our “bad” days, as well asplenty of nondescript days toround out the calendar, but myfriend’s description of his day—his attitude toward what hadbeen a setback in hisparnassah—got me to rethinkhow to approach each day, andhow to prepare for the new year.

The Talmud states,“Mezonosav shel adam ketzuvimlo meiRosh Hashanah—A per-son’s livelihood [for the year] is

set on Rosh Hashanah.” Thisalone should impel all of us totake seriously our prayers on

the Yom Hadin. But more impor-tant than the actual words weread from the Machzor is the

attitude we need to reinforce onRosh Hashanah and carry withus throughout the year.

Rav Chaim Friedlander, in hisclassic work, Sifsei Chaim,writes that the operative wordon Rosh Hashanah is not teshu-vah, but malchius. The mainobjective is not so much to askfor things or to beg forgivenessfrom G-d, but to acknowledge G-d’s complete control over theworld. “First and foremost, wemust desire that through us,through all our actions, HisKingdom will be revealed.” Wespend much of these first twodays of the year in prayer,declaring G-d’s sovereignty.

As a financial adviser, thereis very little about my liveli-hood that I control. Rumors tothe contrary notwithstanding,

I have no influence on thedaily direction of the financialmarkets. I cannot foresee whena client will drop a million dol-lars into my lap for investment,or when a client who had pre-viously done so will ask for itall back.

All I can do is show up at theoffice, read the financial papers,talk to clients and prospectiveclients, and behave honestlyand ethically. This is my hishtad-lus, the sum total of how I “earn”a living. The actual dollaramount that flows from thesebehaviors into my paycheck isentirely at G-d’s discretion. Thusthe greatest advantage of myoccupation is that I am privi-leged to see the Hand of G-d sup-porting me every day.

As we begin to crawl outfrom last year’s economic melt-down, even those who earnedthe proverbial “steady” pay-check have lost their jobs, hadtheir salaries reduced, or other-wise borne witness to the reali-ty that we are all dependentsolely on G-d for our daily bread.

Last year, after the marketbegan its drastic decline, I had asignificant setback with mybiggest client, who liquidatedhis entire portfolio on the firstday of chol ha’moed Sukkos. Iwent into Simchas Torah with-out much joy, and tried veryhard to change my mood, fullyaware that whatever G-d hadplanned for me, I needed toembrace it. But the intellectualrecognition of something doesnot induce an abrupt emotionalresponse.

During yom tov, the rav of myshul spoke of the verse inDevarim with which we beginthe hakafos—“Atah hareisaladaa’s ki Hashem hu haElokim;ein od milvado—You wereshown in order to understandthat Hashem is the Lord; there isnothing but Him.” The ravencouraged us to focus on thosethree words as we sang them,“Ein od milvado,” and to imbibeits meaning—our need to relyon G-d exclusively.

The first question that one isasked in the afterlife is,“Nasasa venasata be’emu-nah?—Did you conduct yourbusiness faithfully?” The sim-ple translation means, Wereyou honest in business? But Ibelieve that emunah here ismore accurately understood asfaith in G-d. In other words, didyou conduct your businessdealings with the faith that G-dwas overseeing your success? Ifso, you would have no reasonto cut corners. You would notbe anxious as to when yournext client would arrive. Youwould not be overly worried byfinancial setbacks.

This year, may we all embracethe message of malchius, bow-ing before the crown of ourCreator, recognizing that “ein odmilvado.” v


Hishtadlus:A Perspective

The actual dollar

amount that flows

from these

behaviors into

my paycheck is

entirely at

G-d’s discretion.

B Y Y O N A S A N K L E I N

There are different types of “SimchasTorah.” There is the unparalleled spiritualdelight derived from ameilus b’Torah. Andthere is the physical expression in thedancing and music that form an essentialcomponent of the simchas ha’chag on

Shemini Atzeres.The spiritual and physical forms of

simcha are truly complementary, andboth gushed forth in abundance atDirshu’s first-ever simchas beis ha’shoe-vah, which drew roshei yeshiva,

mashgichim, and bachurim from an esti-mated 50 yeshivos across Eretz Yisrael.

“It is hard to explain to someone whoisn’t here,” says Rabbi NossonRabinowitz, a Dirshu activist for morethan 10 years, “but the best example I cangive you is that if you go to a chasunah,the bachurim from each yeshiva dance in

their own circle. Look around heretonight. There are hundreds, maybe evenmore than a thousand bachurim. Rightthere—a bachur from Ponevezh is danc-ing with a mashgiach from Belz and all ofthe circles are intermingled. It is all inter-

connected like I’ve never seen before.This is a simchas beis ha’shoevah for theTorah itself!”

The simcha was spread throughouttwo large halls in Bnei Brak’s HeichleiMalchus. Tens of leading roshei yeshivaarrived, representing all streams ofYiddishkeit, including the roshei yeshiva

of Yeshivas Ponevezh—HaRav GershonEdelstein, shlita, and HaRav Baruch DovPovarski, shlita. The rosh yeshiva of BeisMedrash Elyon, HaRav Dan Ungarisher,shlita, also attended, as did the mashgiachof Orchos Torah, HaRav Chizkiyahu

Mishkovsky. Among the leadingmashgichim from the Chassidishe worldrepresented were HaRav Chaim AvrahamVizel of Yeshivas Chochmei Lublin; andHaRav Yehuda Aharon Stern of YeshivasVishnitz Bnei Brak. HaRav BetzalelPinchasi of Bircat Ephraim, shlita, wasamong the prominent Sephardi roshei

yeshiva in attendance.Music was provided by the renowned

singer Shlomo Cohen and the orchestraof Ami Cohen. The Cohens are unrelatedbut have become two of the most sought-after performers in the yeshiva world. v


A Simchas Beis HaShoevah For The Torah Itself

At the Dirshu simchas beis ha’shoevah in Bnei Brak.

And G-d said to Kayin…“When you tillthe earth, no longer will it yield itsstrength to you; you shall be a wandererand vagabond in the land.”

—Bereishis 4:9–12And Kayin knew his wife, and she con-

ceived and gave birth to Chanoch. [Kayin]was then building a city, and he called thecity after the name of his son, Chanoch.

—4:17The Torah names three of Adam’s chil-

dren: Kayin (Cain), Hevel (Abel), and Sheis(Seth). Two of them—Kayin and Sheis—survived to marry and establish progeny.Generations later, Noach, a descendant ofSheis, married Naamah, a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Kayin;Noach and Naamah, and their three chil-dren and daughters-in-law, were the fam-ily chosen by G-d to survive the Flood andregenerate the human race. So Kayin andSheis are the respective maternal andpaternal grandfathers of every humanbeing alive today.

Quite a mixed legacy, one might say.

Kayin, banished to a life of wanderingand homelessness for his murder ofHevel, is the essence of volatility androotlessness. As for Sheis, the Torah tellsus virtually nothing about his life andperson, but his very name connotes sta-bility and constructiveness: Sheis, say oursages, was so named because upon himthe world was founded (“sheis” is Hebrewfor “to set” or “to establish”). After thekilling of Hevel and the banishment ofKayin, human civilization finally found astable peg in Sheis.

Kayin, the disrupter of life; Sheis, thepatriarch. Kayin, the nomad; Sheis, thesettler. Indeed, these two modes of beingconverge in every man. At the heart of thehuman psyche is the yen for stability—the gravitation to roots, civilization, andproductive life. Yet no less entrenched inour souls is the quest for transcendence:the drive to escape the strictures ofordered life to soar, unencumbered byfunction or identity, in unboundedflights of spirit.

Historically, the world undergoes phas-es of Kayinian volatility before settlingdown to ordered productivity. Thus wehave 10 generations of violent, explosivelife before the Flood, to be replaced bythe stable order of the post-Flood world.On a more general level, we have the first25 centuries of human history, which theTalmud describes as a time when theworld trembled, bereft of foundation andfocus. It finally subsided upon the Divinerevelation at Mount Sinai, where G-dcommunicated His blueprint for creationand empowered man to harness thediverse forces in His world to harmo-nious ends. On the personal level, the sta-bility and productivity of our adult yearsare preceded by the quests and agitationsof youth.

The Three PillarsBut Kayin and Sheis are more than two

stages in historical and personal develop-ment; they also represent two approach-es to everything we do, two strains inevery human endeavor and experience.

Let us consider the three activities thatour sages call the three pillars of life:Torah study, prayer, and the observanceof mitzvos. In each, there is the construc-tive Sheisian approach and the escapistKayinian way.

Torah is our guide to life (the veryword “torah” means instruction). So tostudy Torah is to learn how to live, tomaster the code that facilitates the opti-mal development of our inner poten-tials and the world’s resources. Torahstudy, then, is a most Sheisian endeavor.But there is also another mode of Torahstudy: learning for the sake of learning,

for the sole aim of acquiring the wis-dom of Torah and cleaving to its Divineconceiver. Thus the Torah scholarexplores the rationale behind rejectedminority opinions with the same fervoras he examines the final ruling, andpainstakingly analyzes hypotheticallaws which will never have occasion tobe implemented in actuality. Indeed,the highest level of Torah study is Torahfor its own sake. This is Torah asGrandfather Kayin would study it: as afreeing of the mind from the narrowconfines of concrete reality.

Prayer also includes these two con-trasting aims. On the one hand, theessence of prayer is that man ask G-d forhis daily needs. The solemn Amidahprayer, which is the climax of everyprayer service, is basically a list ofrequests to the Al-mighty: requests forwisdom, health, sustenance, atonement,and redemption. This is prayer as the pro-curement of the ingredients of life. But


From The Chassidic Masters

The Legacy Of CainTorah is ourguide to life

(the very word“torah” meansinstruction).

there is also another dimension to prayer:prayer as the endeavor to transcend themundanities of physical life; prayer as thesoul’s striving to escape the trappings ofmaterial identity and commune with hersupernal source.

The same duality is implicit in themitzvos, the Divine commandments. Onthe one hand, the Midrash states that G-dcommanded the mitzvos in order torefine His creatures—to cultivate thegood in our character and weed out thebad, to civilize society and sanctify life.Indeed, our sages describe the purpose ofcreation as G-d’s desire that man, throughhis observance of the mitzvos, shouldmake for G-d a dwelling place in the phys-ical world—i.e., he should cultivate theworld’s potential for goodness and per-fection, developing it into an environ-ment that is hospitable to the Divineimmanence.

On the other hand, the mitzvah is alsodescribed as a pure expression of Divinewill, transcending all rationale, motive,and utility. We do a mitzvah because G-dcommanded it, not for its impact—prag-matic or spiritual—on our lives. In thissense, the mitzvah is the ultimate act oftranscendence: man rises above hiswants and desires—above all materialand social considerations, above his veryconception of self—to subjugate his egoto the Divine will.

Torah study, prayer, and mitzvosembrace the totality of life: the mind’squest for truth, the heart’s quest for con-nection and relationship, and the questfor realization through deed. And themotor of life is driven by the polar impe-tuses for transcendence and immanence,

involvement and withdrawal, being anddissolution—the dual imprint of Kayinand Sheis in our spiritual genes.

The Two ChanochsInterestingly, Kayin and Sheis each had

a descendant named Chanoch (Enoch).More interesting is the fact that eachChanoch stands for the very opposite ofwhat his ancestor represents.

What do we know of Chanoch, the sonof Kayin? Only what he meant to hisfather. To cite Bereishis 4:17: “And Kayinknew his wife, and she conceived and

gave birth to Chanoch. [Kayin] was thenbuilding a city, and he called the city afterthe name of his son, Chanoch.”

Kayin fathering a child? Kayin buildinga city? In this one verse, we meet a Kayinengaged in most un-Kayin-like activity,creating a life and a settlement—bothnamed Chanoch.

Sheis’s great-great-great-grandsonChanoch strikes a similar contrast to hisancestor. This Chanoch had a short life—a mere 365 years, compared with the 900-year life spans of his contemporaries. As

the Torah tells it, Chanoch walked with G-d; then he was no longer, for G-d hadtaken him. Our sages explain thatChanoch had secluded himself from hiswicked generation, disdaining all involve-ment with the outside world. Still, beingthe only righteous man in his generationmeant that he was in perpetual danger ofbeing corrupted. It is for this reason thatG-d took him before his time, lest he, too,fall to iniquity. This Chanoch is every-thing that Sheis is not: escape from mate-riality, escape from society, and, finally,flight from life itself.

What does this tell us about theKayin and Sheis within us? That theseare not to be two segments of a bifurcat-ed self, each with its distinct areas andmoments of life. Rather, the Kayin in usis to be tempered with the constructive-ness that his Chanoch represents, whileour stable Sheis is to be charged withthe transcendent energy that hisChanoch embodies.

Chanoch (“chanoch” is from theHebrew word for “education” or “train-ing”) is thus the mitigating element in

both our dissolution-tending and being-tending selves. It is the element in thetranscendental study of Torah thatemphasizes that Torah is also a goal-ori-ented program for life; that even as it isstudied for the sole purpose of abnegat-ing the self and cleaving to G-d, it mustnever be studied as Divine theory, but asG-d’s instructions for how life is to belived. Indeed, without such groundingand focus, the Kayinian Torah scholarwould not achieve true transcendence:to truly escape his own ego and connectwith G-d, he must study G-d’s Torah on G-d’s terms—and it is G-d who structuredHis Torah so that its “bottom line” is theinstruction of earthly life. Were theKayinian scholar to ignore this aspect ofTorah out of a personal preference for itstranscendent essence, he would beindulging his ego with his Torah study,rather than superseding his ego. So theChanoch element in transcendentTorah-study is not merely a curbinginfluence to temper its extremes, butalso an indispensable component of itstranscendent aim.

In the pragmatic study of Torah,Sheis’s Chanoch represents the emphasisthat while Torah is a guide to life, it isalso infinitely greater than life, its ration-ality and practicality but an extraneouscapsule for its supra-rational essence.Indeed, the Sheisian Torah scholar wouldbe incapable of mastering the pragmaticelement of Torah without this transcen-dental component; one cannot renderrulings in Torah law (halachah) unlessone is proficient in all areas of Torah,



Kayin and Sheis each had a descendantnamed Chanoch (Enoch). Each Chanochstands for the very opposite of what his

ancestor represents.

including its most theoretical and mysti-cal aspects. Furthermore, because Torahis the essentially supra-rational wisdomof G-d, human intellect alone is not suffi-cient a tool to fathom it: ultimately,Torah understanding is a gift from G-d,granted to those who dedicate them-selves to know His truth and serve Hiswill. So unless one has wholly subjugat-ed his ego to the Divine will, he cannotbe sure that his halachic conclusionsindeed reflect G-d’s program for life onearth rather than his own reasoning andprejudices. Again, the contrasting ele-ment (the Chanoch) is not merely to pro-vide a qualifying balance to the Sheisianmode of Torah study, but is integral to itsvery stability and constructiveness.

The same is true of the other two pil-lars of life: prayer and mitzvos. The mosttranscendent flights of Kayinian prayermust be with a mind to return to earth;simply escaping one’s material identitywill not bring one any closer to G-d if theDivine will is that man should serve Himas a physical being with a physical life. Inthe words of our sages, “While praying,one should set his eyes downward andhis heart upward”—even as the heartsoars in the ecstasy of prayer, it must bewith the intention to apply the experi-ence to earthly life. On the other hand,when a Jew requests his needs from G-d(the Sheisian aspect of prayer), he must beever conscious of the ultimate purposefor which he desires health and wealth—to be able to serve His Creator. Thus, thevery act of procuring the resources of

material life is permeated with the objec-tive to rise above it; physical existence isnot an end in itself, but a means to a tran-scendent goal. In the words of RabbiSchneur Zalman of Liadi, “The materiali-ty of a Jew is also spiritual.”

Regarding the mitzvos, the Kayinianendeavor to cleave to G-d through thefulfillment of His will can be achievedonly through the physical acts andobjects—and the discipline, order, andattention to detail—that the mitzvosrequire. If a single drop of ink is missingfrom one letter in one’s tefillin; if one’slulav falls one millimeter short of itshalachically-ordained length; if theShema is recited a single second after itshalachically-ordained time—no mitzvahhas been performed, and no transcen-dence has been achieved. On the otherhand, the development of the physicalreality—the Sheisian objective of themitzvos—can be optimally achieved onlyby one who is forever seeking to escapeit. One who is comfortable with his cor-poreal self—one to whom the materialreality seems fine the way it is—willnever truly improve it; to effect truly con-structive change in the world, one mustrise above it, recognize its deficiencies,and be driven to improve them.

So the escapist nomad and the realistdeveloper in us are integrally inter-twined: no Kayin is truly Kayin withouthis Sheisian Chanoch, and no Sheis iscompletely Sheis without his KayinianChanoch. Every quest for truth must tran-scend the preconceptions of conventionand ego, but must also test its viabilitythrough application to concrete reality.Every effort to sustain life must be per-

meated with a sense of meaning and pur-pose that transcends mere existence, butthe highest spiritual goal must enlist thematerials of earthly life as the imple-ments of its realization. Every deed mustbe driven by a transcendent vision, butmust also follow an ordered, pragmaticcourse if its endeavor is to succeed and itsimpact is to endure.

Vacillating WordsIndeed, this integration of transcen-

dence and immanence is woven into thevery fabric of our existence. For theDivine act of creation is a synthesis ofthese contrasting tendencies, each equal-ly crucial to the nature of reality as weknow it.

The cardinal law of existence is that“There is none else beside Him” (Devarim4:35)—that G-d is the ultimate and exclu-sive reality. Every existence—indeed, thevery concept existence—is but an expres-sion of His all-inclusive being. And yet,we not only sense that we exist, but alsoperceive ourselves as self-contained, inde-pendent entities. In order for this senseof self to be possible, the Divine act ofcreation must effect an illusion of dis-tance between the created and theirCreator. This is the deeper significance ofthe Torah’s description of creation asDivine speech (G-d said, “Let there belight,” and there was light; G-d said, “Letthe earth sprout forth vegetation, Let thewaters spawn living creatures, Let therebe luminaries in the heavens,” and trees,fish, and stars came into being). Speech isa communication to someone or some-thing outside of the speaker; in creatingthe universe, G-d contrived an audi-

ence—a reality that is, at least in its ownperception, distinct from Himself—towhich to speak a world.

At the same time, nothing can existindependently of Him. This, too, isimplicit in the metaphor of speech: asspoken words are utterly dependentupon the continued involvement of theirspeaker to create them (the moment westop speaking our words dissipate tonothingness), so, too, is the world utterlydependent on G-d’s continued involve-ment to grant it being and life. As RabbiSchneur Zalman of Liadi writes in theTanya, “these words and letters [of theDivine utterances of creation] stand firm-ly forever within [every creature] and areforever clothed within [them] to givethem life and existence… For if these let-ters were to depart even for an instant, G-d forbid, and return to their source,all…would revert to naught and absolutenothingness, and it would be as if theyhad never existed at all…” So the world isbound in a self-abnegating relationshipwith G-d, as mere words being generatedby His speech of creation.

Thus, the Divine energy flowing fromCreator to creation is forever vacillatingbetween the tendency to supply us withselfhood and apartness of being and thetendency to overwhelm us with the iden-tity-obliterating omnipresence of itssource. This translates into the to-and-fromovement that pervades the created real-ity: the pulse of time, the throb of life,and the perpetual agitation from tran-scendence to immanence and back againin the human soul. (Chabad.org) v

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.


CHASSIDIC MASTERSContinued from Page 61


Mazel tov to Mr. and Mrs.Warren Levion the birthof their sonRaphael.

Meir Shalev, One Of Israel’sLeading Authors, To HeadlineEvent In Forest Hills, November 15

One of Israel’s most celebratedauthors, Meir Shalev, will be the featuredspeaker on Sunday, November 15, at 2:00p.m., at the 14th Annual Author’s Café ofthe Central Queens YM & YWHA in ForestHills. A critically acclaimed, international-ly bestselling author, Meir Shalev’s firstbook, The Blue Mountain, was one of fiveall-time top Israeli bestsellers. He willspeak on his latest book, A Pigeon and aBoy, which won last year’s NationalJewish Book Award. Shalev’s work hasbeen translated into 20 languages and herecently won the Brenner Prize, Israel’stop literary award, in addition to otherinternational literary awards.

One of Israel’s most popular authors,Shalev is also a commentator with theIsraeli daily newspaper, Yediot Aharonotand has written several books of nonfic-tion. His latest novel, a book club favoritein the United States, weaves together twolove stories separated by half a century.During the 1948 War of Independence—atime when pigeons are still used to deliv-er battlefield messages—a mortallywounded pigeon handler dispatches onelast pigeon to the young woman he hasloved since childhood. A contemporarystory weaves in and out of the earlierstory, with both tales focused on how wefind a sense of home.

The Author’s Café is a benefit for theHevesi Jewish Heritage Library of theCentral Queens YM & YWHA. Tickets to

the event, which includes a kosherdessert reception and live music, are $18in advance, $21 at the door. The event is atMachane Chodosh, at 67-29 108th St. inForest Hills. Seating is limited. For ticketsor directions, call 718-268-5011, ext. 151, ore-mail [email protected]. The CentralQueens YM&YWHA is a non-profit Jewishcenter offering recreational, educational,cultural, and social events to enhance thequality of life in the Central Queens com-munity. The Y is an agency of UJA-Federation. v

Lander College AnnouncesGoldfinger Memorial MathematicsContest For High-School Students

Touro College’s Lander College for Men(LCM) has announced its inaugural JacobGoldfinger Memorial MathematicsContest. The competition is open to full-time yeshiva high school students in theUnited States and Canada who are 19 andyounger as of December 31, 2009.Participants can register and start prepar-ing for the contest as early as October 12,but must register for the contest no laterthan November 15, 2009.

The contest is designed to broaden andenrich yeshiva high school students’knowledge of mathematics and toenhance their mathematical creativity.

“We believe this is the first suchnational contest designed specifically foryeshiva students in the United States,”said Dr. Moshe Sokol, dean of LCM. “Forgenerations, Jews have excelled in mathe-matics and their mathematical knowl-edge and creativity has greatly benefittedhumankind. Unfortunately, the study ofmathematics has declined both in the

Jewish and the secular arenas, though theworld has become more complex andknowledge of mathematics has becomemore critical.”

Dean Sokol added that this mathemat-ics competition is more than just a con-test in that LCM is partnering with yeshi-va high schools in providing enrichmentmaterials for their use.

The contest examination will be basedon preparatory reading material to beprovided to all participants in advance viaa password-protected site on the Internet.The preparatory material will consist ofreadings, challenging problems, and theirsolutions. The material is divided intolearning modules and participants arestrongly encouraged to complete them inaccordance with a schedule on the web-site.

The final examination will be adminis-tered on Sunday, March 14, 4:00-6:00 p.m.EST and final results will be announcedapproximately two weeks after that date.Three prizes will be awarded: the firstplace prizewinner will receive $1,000; thesecond place winner $350; and the thirdplace winner $150.

Dr. Morris Snow, associate professor ofmathematics at LCM and contest chair-man, said that the field of mathematics isan exciting and lucrative place to be fortoday’s college graduates.

“There is a growing need today forInternet-age mathematicians, statisti-cians, and data analysts,” said Dr. Snow,adding that the subjects the contest cov-ers are probability, which is the basis ofall statistical analysis; mathematicalinduction, a powerful methodology formathematical proofs; and methods of

problem solving.“Statisticians and data analysts can

look forward to rewarding careers in aca-demia, at Internet search engine compa-nies, at insurance companies, within theU.S. government, and at top Americancompanies such as I.B.M., to name a few,”Dr. Snow said.

The Prize Advisory Committee, whichhelped design the contest and providedthe overall guidance on content andstructuring of the exam, consists of Dr.Sylvain Cappell, Silver Professor, NewYork University Courant Institute ofMathematical Sciences and chair, NewYork University Faculty Senate; Dr.Wallace Goldberg, professor of mathe-matics and chairman, mathematicsdepartment, Queens College; Dr. NouriLevy, deputy chairman, mathematicsdepartment, LCM; Dr. Stanley Ocken, pro-fessor of mathematics, City College ofNew York; Micah Segelman, Ph.D. candi-date in statistics, University of Rochester(formerly instructor of mathematics atYeshiva Chofetz Chaim and Shevach HighSchool); Dr. Moshe Snow, associate pro-fessor of mathematics, LCM; and Dr. JoelWolowelsky, dean of faculty and instruc-tor of mathematics, Yeshivah of Flatbush.

Born in Poland in 1914, JacobGoldfinger immigrated to the U.S. afterlosing his entire family in the Holocaust.The father of two children, grandfather ofnine, and great-grandfather of 15, he didnot have a formal education but pos-sessed a very sharp mind and an excep-tional aptitude for mathematics until hisdeath at 93. His son, Solomon Goldfinger,senior vice president and senior advisorto the president at New York Life




Insurance Co., is a member ofthe Board of Trustees of TouroCollege.

Further information aboutthe contest can be found atwww.landermathcontest.org.

Lander College for Men/BeisMedrash L’Talmud, located inQueens, N.Y., is committed to thepursuit of excellence in Jewishand academic studies in a per-sonalized environment.Established in the fall of 2000,the purpose of LCM is to providea superior college education forstudents committed to seriousbeis medrash learning in anatmosphere of Torah. v

And G-d said,“Let there be

light!” and therewas light

(Bereishis 1:3)

The Midrash com-pares G-d’s creationof the universe to

the work of a humanarchitect.When aperson wishes to

build something, firsthe fixes his purposein his mind.Then he

starts his labor.

“Let there be light”was the first state-ment in Creation,

because “light” is thetrue purpose of exis-

tence: through thestudy of Torah andthe fullfilment of

mitzvos, Divine radi-ance is revealed.

“Light” is the pur-pose of existence as

a whole. Further,each individual is amicrocosm of theworld. “Light” is

therefore the pur-pose of each Jew:

that he or she trans-forms his or her sit-uation and environ-ment from darkness

and negativity tolight and goodness.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)


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Co-op Woodsburg, Woodmere TheMayfair — Grand 3 BR, 3 bth, hugeLR/pillars, separate large DR, den,EIK, renovated. Qualified only. Reduced$490 516-295-7776, agent co-op

Co-op Woodmere — Open House 10/18141 Wyckoff Pl. 12-3Spacious 1BR apt. Move in condition.Under market value . . . . . . . . . $125KWoodmere — 5BR, 3.5bths, oversizedproperty. Excellent location. Near all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $539KDalia Fritz Realty 516-374-4411

Law: Hi Ranch. Must see, 4br, 2.5bth,

fam rm, CAC, 2 car garage, large

prop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $800sKCed: Nu2Mkt, 2Fam, 3br/3br, 2fpl,

deck, all new, grt loc, full bsmt $795KCedarhurst: CH col., new quality

construction. 7 bedroom, 4.5 bths, den,

LR, DR, oversized gourmet, granite

EIK, huge FDR, 9' ceiling, finished

basement prime location.

Asking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.25M5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Lawrence — NU 2 Mkt. Col., Brk.,Large property, near ALL, 5Br, 3.5Bth,Den, full bsmt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.9MCall 516-322-3555Lawrence: OURS ONLY!!

BRICK, C/H COL, Stately BRICK, w/oldworld charm, Hi ceilings, 6Br, 4.5BTHS, Kosher Eik, Lg. FDR, Library,Fin. Bsmt., Lg Prop., WALK ALL.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $995K5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Lawrence — Wonderful c/h col. house

on the nicest cul-de-sac there is. Brand

new kitchen, finished basement. Asking

$875K Call 516-902-0936

Woodmere/Cedarhurst Oppty!12,000 sq. ft. approx. 90’x150’, Colonial,

17 rooms, full bsmt. with hi ceilings,

clean 2 car garage plus storage, 6 space

parking, 2 family, professional use,

accountant, Esq., medical and/or educa-

tional and religious uses. Grand colonial

with charm and great possibilities.

Available at once . . . $875K Negotiable

Owner 516-322-3555

Far Rockaway: 2 Family. All NU,3 over 1 Bdrm, 3 full baths. GreatLocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $599KCall 516-322-3555

Lawrence — Coop Rental. 1BR. 1NU

Bth, LR, DR, EIK. . . . . . . . . . . $1,3005Town Homes ** 516-569-5710

Cedarhurst — All new, bright 3 BR, 1.5

bths, ground floor apt in 2-family house,

LR, FDR, EIK/ w new appliances, new

carpet, w/d included, yard and parking.

Walk all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,250

5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Cedarhurst: 1st Show

1st FLR, FDR, 2BR. 2BTHS Terrace.

Views of Gdns, W/D

Lo maint, Grt. loca’n, Walk all . . $319K

5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Lawrence — 18 Berkley Place

Center hall col., 4 BR, 3 bths, stunning

cul-de-sac, best location . . $4K monthly

Call Irene 516-652-7099

Far Rockaway — Lg. Hse Rental: 4br,

2bth, bsmt., hi-ceilings, NU bths, W\D.

Call 516-322-3555

Century Village, Boca Raton —

furnished 2 BR, 2 full bths, LR, DR,

enclosed porch, kitchen, close to tem-

ples, second floor. Minimum of 4 months.

518-438-8003

North Wdm. — house rental. Hi-ranch

in MIC. 4 br, CAC, den, on quiet street.

5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Reads Lane — Short Term: Immediate-

June 30. Spacious comfortable corner

home. 4 BR, 3 bth, EIK, LR, DR, high

ceilings, huge backyard. 718-637-1471

Cedarhurst — House Rental LR/FDR,

den, 3br, 2.5bth, Fin. Bsmt . . . . . $2,300

Call 516-322-3555

Far Rockaway — Large One Bedroom

Apartment for rent. Beautiful elevator

bldg. Nice tenancy. Great location at

Neilson and Cornaga, near Shor Yoshuv,

transportation, and shopping.

Asking $1,100. Call 718-692-2525 ext. 180

Madison Area — Immaculate 3 bed-

room duplex, Large LR, DR, EIK Move-

in condition!! Front/back porches

Hardwood floors $2,200 (optional base-

ment) 917-371-7982 lv mssg

Valley Stream: Nu 2 Mkt. Brick ranch,

great condition, quiet street. Nu EIK,

LR, Den, Lg Prop . . . . . . . . . . . $409KFor Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,5005 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

COMMERCIAL REALESTATE FOR RENT

COMMERCIAL REALESTATE FOR RENT

COMMERCIAL REALESTATE FOR SALE

Rockville Centre — 3,500 sq ft, fully

wired for Web, partitioned, will divide.

Call 516-322-3555

Far Rockaway — 2 Huge Office Spaces.6,000 and 2,500 Sq Ft. 2nd Floor. NearSubway & LIRR. Build to Suit. Can bedivided. Owner 917-359-9776

Far Rockaway commercial space.

Brand new construction. Ideally suited

for medical professional offices or com-

munity facility. High ceilings. Very

bright and airy. Many amenities, ocean

views, reasonable rent. Call WeissmanRealty Group, LLC 516-791-6100

Prime location on Central Ave. Approx.1,200 sq. ft. 3 offices, conference room,secretary area, 2 private bathrooms.Elevator bldg. Call 917-417-5725

Beautiful 12 family apt. building, in the

heart of Far Rockaway, stable tenancy,

income producing. Call

Weissman Realty Group 516-791-6100

5 Towns Jan Kalman RltyBusiness OpportunityCed. — Upscale Shoe Store. 2,000 s.f.Red! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40KCed. — Renov Hair/Nail Salon. 550 s.f.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50K

Commercial & Prof’l RentalsCed. — Prof’l Office space. 400 s.f.Sublease. 3rms & recept area. $600Hew. — Prof’l office ste. 6rms, 1,400 s.f.Handicap access/Elev $3,500Wdm. — Storefrnts. From 340 s.f to1,400 s.f. From $1,000 to $3,400Call Rick 516-319-2506www.JanKalman.com

Cedarhurst: Office rental: Executive 2

Bths, Fully Web wired, 1,250 sq. ft.,

CAC. 5TGR 516-322-3555


Deadline for

Advertising

in the

Classifieds for

Next Week is

Tuesday,

October 20

5:00 P.M.

Call

516-569-0502

MISCELLANEOUSCLASSIFIED ADSContinued from Page 71

LOST AND FOUND

FOR RENT

FOR RENT FOR RENT

Bayswater — Beautiful sunnyApartment For Rent. 5 big rooms, 3 BR,New house Large Dining/LR, EIK,Laundry Room. 2 Baths, Frum Block,MIC, Reasonable price. 347-234-5599

Cedarhurst — NU House, CH Col., LR,FDR, Kosher EIK, Den, 4BR., 3BTHS.Bsmt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,200

5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Florida — Sunny Isles BeachWinston Towers, 2br 2bth, ocean andbay views, new, kosher kitchen, pool &sundeck, health club. Young Israel 1/2block. Call 347-776-1918

Lost on 9/18/09 gold round hoop earringon Main Street or vicinity in KewGardens Hills. Call 718-261-8610

Cedarhurst — Garden apt. Nu 2 Mkt.

2BR. 2Bth, Mint, 1st Flr, heat & prk

incld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,5005Town Homes 516-569-5710

Bayswater — 1 BR, w/d, frum neigh-bors, private entrance, great kitchenprivate backyard. 516-374-3635

Far Rockaway — apt for rent. 3 BR,new construction. Near all. New appli-ances. First floor. . . . . . . . . . . . $1,525Call 516-445-4048 ask for Barry

Miami Beach, FL — Tower 41. Ocean

view, 1 BR apt, 2 bths, updated kitchen,

terrace, restaurant, shul, health club,

parking, furnished. Avilable now.

Seasonal. 917-407-4169

Far Rockaway — 1 BR apt for rent.

Good condition. Elevator building.

Cornega and Neilson. Includes heat and

hot water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $975Call 718-692-2525 ext. 211

Alexander Hotel, Miami Beach By

owner Two bedroom/two bathroom new

kitchen, plasma TVs, Magnificent view

of ocean/ bay. Available for Winter

Break, etc.

[email protected] or 718-930-6800

Boca Raton — condo. Seasonal rental. 2BR/ 2 bths, new kitchen, granite coun-tertops, stainless appliances, screenporch, new furnishings, tennis court andswimming pool, gated community, closeto shops and beach. 201-670-6146

Far Rockaway — 1, 2, and 3 BR apart-

ments. Some balconies. New kitchens,

lots of closets, 24 hr doorman, security

cameras. Close to White Shul, Shor

Yoshuv and train. Call Sherri

516-297-7995Far Rockaway — On beach. Brand new

building, 1 & 2 BR available. Granite

kitchens, balconies with water views,

Shabbos elevator, w/d hookup, parking.

No renter’s fee!

Far Rockaway — Beautiful 2 bedroom

apt, 2nd floor, recently updated, conven-

ient location, available immediately

Asking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,350Weissman Realty Group, LLC 516-791-6100

Kew Garden Hills. Beautiful fully reno-

vated 1 family home, detached 40x100. 4

BR, 2.5 bath, finished basement, back-

yard, patio, driveway, garage. Best

location. $3500/mo, buy $770K.

Call Aaron: 917-519-6110

Hillel Realty Group

Atlantic Beach — Newly renovated fur-

nished home on exclusive beach block.

4 BR, EIK, LR, DR, den w/ bar, 2-car

garage, igp, and backyard. Available

for winter or year-round rental.

Call 516-316-7721

Far Rockaway/West Lawrence —Studio apt for rent. Private house, goodlocation, near Shor Yoshuv, synagogues,yeshivos, and public transportation.Good for office. 718-337-5753 or 347-461-6034

Cedarhurst — Nu House CH Col. LR,

FDR, Kosher EIK, Den, 4BR, 3BTHS.

Bsmt. For Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500

5 TOWN HOMES 516-569-5710

Ocean Corp. Houston, Texas. Train forNew Career. Underwater Welder,Commercial Diver, NDT/Weld Inspector.Job placement and financial aid forthose who qualify, 1-800-321-0298


Center For Return: Sukkah At Bowling Green Park A Huge Success!

Hundreds of people enjoyed the music and balloons, took the Arba Minim, and ate lunch at the CFR sukkah in Bowling Green Park. Better yet, many weredelighted to learn about the CFR TorahLunch classes throughout the city.


Across1. Handle6. Smoosh into10. Little13. Cartoon Oil14. ___ ___ the plate! (two

words)16. Not home17. Chaim Witz19. Tolkien creature20. View21. Poem from Keats, perhaps22. Prayer with “riv”23. Word oft said by Mr.

Simpson24. What one might have done

in 14-Across25. Iliad setting27. Gary Weinrib30. 17 Tammuz, e.g.33. ____ a job or house35. Draw36. Type of market37. Tops (two words)38. Latino wolf?40. Talk idly41. Coffee option42. ___ Nuevo State Park43. Electric serpents

44. Actor Rob45. Robert Zimmerman49. “___ hope ___” (“That would

be good”)51. Cheer52. Hurt54. Group of 95 Indonesian

islands56. Calgary’s airport (abbr.)57. Avian or stomach60. Converter Carew61. Issur Danielovitch64. Wonder65. Slumdog setting66. Talked to67. Tavern68. U.S. Island territory69. The Dark ___ (King opus)

Down1. Fire fuel2. General Robert (two words)3. Mode of transportation for

Tarzan4. Very old name5. Successfully auctioned off

again6. Genre for 27-Down7. Drink for Jack Sparrow

8. Nucleus locale9. Endangered aquatic mam-

mals found in Florida10. Allen Konigsberg11. Currency in Finland12. Burn in15. Former Soviet big shots18. “___ ___ it!”24. Separated26. Odd27. Jerome Silberman28. Zeppo Marx’s character in

Duck Soup29. Vowel refrain of a nursery

song31. Signet32. Some guitar notes33. Go to sea34. Mountain with a no?38. Working39. Yoko of note46. Flood control construction

(2 words)47. Squared toy?48. Biblical insect50. Asian alcohol52. Saudi, e.g.53. Where Des Moines is55. Hindi dialect

57. Run smoothly58. Jenny or Havasu59. Name for some Internet

sites?62. Korean car63. Gov. letter agency

5TJT Puzzle Page: Aka

Solution on Page 78.

B Y Y O N I G L A T T

B Y D R . A L E X G R O B M A N

At a time when the American Jewishcommunity organizes annual marches insupport of Israel, it is important to remem-ber that marches are a fairly new phenom-enon. The Rabbis’ March on WashingtonDC on October 6, 1943 was the only publicdemonstration by American Jews to high-light the issue of rescue.

After the Bermuda Conference in April1943 failed to solve the refugee crisis, res-cue became a major concern for theAmerican Orthodox Jewish community.The U.S. and British arranged the confer-ence seemingly to address the crisis ofwartime refugees, but this was a pretenseto appease those demanding action.

Dressed in long, dark rabbinic attire,the rabbis walked from Union Station tothe Capitol Building. There, RabbisEliezer Silver, Israel Rosenberg, andBernhard Louis Levinthal led a recitationof Psalms. Peter Bergson (Hillel Kook),who was head of the EmergencyCommittee to Save the Jewish People ofEurope, introduced them to VicePresident Henry Wallace and a number ofCongressmen.

Bergson enlisted the rabbis and theAmerican Jewish Legion of Veterans forthe march. He expected the Americanclergy would join, but none did. Only theUnion of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. andCanada, the Union of Hassidic Rabbis,and a commander of the Jewish Legionparticipated. The modern OrthodoxRabbinical Council of America sent RabbiDavid Silver, Rabbi Eliezer Silver’s son.

White House adviser Judge SamuelRosenman told the president that those“behind this petition” were “not represen-tative of the most thoughtful elements inJewry.” The “leading Jews” Rosenmanknew opposed the march, but he admit-ted failing to “keep the horde from storm-ing Washington.”

A number of Jewish congressmen hadattempted to dissuade the rabbis frommarching. This backfired whenCongressman Sol Bloom, chairman of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee, arguedthat, “It would be undignified for theseun-American looking rabbis to appear inthe nation’s capital.”

At the Lincoln Memorial, the rabbis—who had declared a fast day—prayed forthe welfare of the armed forces and theJews of Europe and a quick Allied victory.Then they walked to the White Houseand prayed outside the gates. Thoughthey expected to meet with the President,they were told he was unavailable. Laterthey learned he went to Bolling Field AirForce Base for a minor ceremony to avoidmeeting them.

William D. Hassett, Roosevelt’s corre-spondence secretary, claimed that thenewspaper correspondents, who left themarch to accompany the president,deprived the rabbis of publicity. TheYiddish press disagreed.

Samuel Margoshes, editor of the liber-al Yiddish daily Der Tog, noted that theenormous attention the rabbis receivedin Washington was important because“tens of thousands of bystanders… got toknow, possibly for the first time, that mil-lions of Jews were being killed in Nazi-held Europe and that millions more werein jeopardy. Also, that the Jews of

America, profoundly agitated by what(was) happening to their kin, were appeal-ing to the Government and people of theUnited States for help in saving theirbrethren from imminent doom.”

Margoshes said the procession ofOrthodox rabbis in their Hasidic garb andround plush hats evinced such “interest,wonderment” and “respect.” There “wassomething of the quality of a religiousprocession that characterized theRabbinical Pilgrimage and compelled therespect of every passerby.”

The Vice-President accepted a RescueMemorandum from Rabbi Silver onbehalf of the Agudas Harabonim. Thepetition stated: In view of this tragicemergency, it is a holy obligation to takedrastic steps to save the Jewish people.America was asked to:

1. To adopt immediate and practicalmeasures of rescue and to use all possiblemeans to end the murders committed byNazi criminals.

2. To warn Germany and all that every

atrocity and crime perpetrated againsttheir Jewish residents, whether by gov-ernments or private individuals, will beheld against them and that, likewise,every act of kindness toward their unfor-tunates will not pass unnoticed.

3. To send ships with food and med-ical supplies to the Jews starving in ghet-tos, under the supervision of a neutralcommission or through the InternationalRed Cross.

4. To influence and persuade neutralcountries to allow the Jewish refugeeswho flee from the Nazi sword to seeksecurity within their borders and to guar-antee to these countries the means for thetemporary maintenance of these refugees.

5. To open the gates of the UnitedNations to provide havens therein, and tofacilitate the entry into our land, theUnited States of America, of those whocan escape the Nazi terror.

6. To open the doors of Palestineimmediately to these refugees.

7. To create a special intergovernmen-

tal agency to save the remnant of Israel inEurope with powers and means to act atonce on a large scale.

Rabbi Aharon Kotler, one of the preemi-nent Orthodox rabbis of his generation, wasprobably the only major Orthodox rabbinicfigure not to attend the march. Dealing withthe plight of the Jews in the public forumwas inappropriate, because he believed thenations of the world reveled in the Jews’tragedies. The most suitable means ofprotest was to focus anger and frustration atthe members of Congress. Only quiet diplo-macy could succeed.

Without such prodding in this case,the American government might neverhave acted. John Pehle, who served as thefirst director of the War Refugee Boardsaid, “Only when the matter [of rescue]was brought to the President forcefullydid Roosevelt react.” v

Dr. Alex Grobman is a Hebrew University trainedhistorian. He is the author of a number of books,including Nations United: How The U.N.Undermines Israel and The West, DenyingHistory: Who Says The Holocaust NeverHappened and Why Do They Say It? and aforthcoming book on Israel’s moral and legal rightto exist as a Jewish State.


The Rabbis’ March On Washington, October 6, 1943


In The Sukkah At Woodmere Rehab

On Wednesday, October 7, lunchwas served in the sukkah for the

residents of WoodmereRehabilitation and Health Care

Center. Rabbi Gregg Ackerman andhis daughters Stephanie and

Melanie sang holiday songs with theresidents and assisted them withthe blessings on the sukkah and

lulav-and-esrog. All who attendedthis festive luncheon had a

wonderful time.Pictured on the front cover of this

issue is Sophie Blum.

Helen Litfin

Julia EhrenwertBrenda Kalman Belle Haims

Morris Greenstein

(L–R): Sabina Finkelstein, Leba Sonneberg, Stephanie Ackerman, RabbiGregg Ackerman, Melanie Ackerman, and Rabbi Abraham Morgenstern.


An Ageless Tradition

The newly married Arielle Spern (née Weinberg) and Moshe Spern lunchedwith Arielle’s 101-year-old great-grandmother, Ruth Meyberg. They joined

Arielle’s grandparents, Marion and Nathaniel Lazan, in their Hewlett sukkah.Ruth is a Holocaust survivor, as is her daughter, Marion, noted co-author of

the award-winning memoir ‘Four Perfect Pebbles.’ Marion, a nationallyknown speaker about the Holocaust, has spoken to upward of one millionstudents and adults over the past 20 years throughout the United States,

Germany, and Israel.


The Bat Mitzvah of Sophia Srulowitz,

daughter of Natashaand Eli Srulowitz of

West Hempstead andgranddaughter ofMeyer and Esther

Srulowitz of Long Beach and

Margarita and BorisShakhnovich of

Seattle, took place atCongregation OhelDavid & Shlomo inManhattan Beach,

Brooklyn, onSeptember 7. Sophiais pictured with her

parents and siblings,Emanuel and Daniel.The guests danced to

the music of MalkaEntertainment andenjoyed a delicious

lunch catered by Zami Caterers.

A Five Towns SimchaPhotos By ProLux Studio

Puzzle appears on page 74.

Solution To This Week’s 5TJT Puzzle:Aka

WOMAN OF THE BOOK - Amazon S3

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