$1.00 WWW.5TJT.COM !jna dj VOL. 6 NO.

36 5 SIVAN 5766 JUNE 1, 2006

INSIDE
From The Editor
Larry Gordon 6
Aliyah Chronicle
Shmuel Katz 19
Now I Know Why
Hannah Reich Berman 32
The 15-Minute Chef
Jamie Geller 36
MindBiz
Esther Mann, LMSW 47

Concert Chairmen Joseph Frager

and Paul Brody. See Page 38

Bar Mitzvah of Sholom Kanner.

Simchas: See Pages 45 & 78

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov Honors.

See Page 44

CANDLE LIGHTING
June 1 – 8:01 PM
June 2 – 8:02 PM
June 9 – 8:06 PM
Torah Scrolls by C.H. Nathan. This and other Judaica works are available at www.judaicartexchange.com
2 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 3
4 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 5
 al wandering—the doing little or noth-
ing—became a thing that identified a
certain type of individual, and the com-
mitment to aimlessness became the aca-
P.O. BOX 690 LAWRENCE, NY 11559 demic equivalent of pursuing an
516-984-0079
advanced degree in absolute confusion
editor@5TJT.com
advertise@5TJT.com about what to do with one’s young life.
LARRY GORDON I believe that being in school is like
Publisher/Editor oxygen for children up until the age of
ESTA J. GORDON
Managing Editor
YOSSI GORDON
Only For The Children about eighteen. Remove them from
school, and you are removing their sup-
ply of oxygen. As you can see, the result
Director of Sales Too many children who belong inside mer yeshiva student myself, and as a is the creation of a very dangerous situa-
CHANA ROCHEL ROSS the walls of yeshiva classrooms have casual observer of what is currently tak- tion. A child needs help breathing in the
Editorial Assistant apparently either been maneuvered out ing place in our Jewish communities. As tools and ingredients that form and result
SIDI BARON, YAKOV SERLE, JERRY MARKOVITZ or have voluntarily opted out, and that is far back as I can recall, there were always in an adult life. You know what happens
Sales Representatives
the primary cause of a situation that is kids who dropped out from yeshiva for when someone is deprived of oxygen for
SHMUEL GERBER
Chief Copy Editor
already of crisis proportions. Some will one reason or another. In the yeshivas I too long a period of time.
say that our yeshivas’ inability to handle attended, there were very few such kids But, you’re thinking, not all these
MICHELE JUSTIC, YEHUDIT SANDERS
Copy Editors a certain type of child has left them with over the years; but they did exist, and we kids who are out of school simply opted
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
no choice but to insist that, for the bet- were aware of them. And it really didn’t out. Many of them were asked to leave
Irwin Benjamin ter good of the majority of yeshiva stu- make a big difference how we as or, as it’s more commonly referred to,
Hannah Reich Berman dents, some of these kids just not attend. teenagers viewed the role of school in our they were thrown out of school. Even if
Rabbi Arye Z. Ginzberg Frequently, decisions of this type young adult lives. that’s the case, there is still no reason
Yochanan Gordon
Michele Herenstein may solve just part of a problem while I recall viewing those situations as for them not to be in some kind of
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky leaving unanswered what this child is unfortunate, and understood that no school environment. This means that
Esther Mann supposed to do with the remainder of matter how much I may have disliked the child or teen can be in any number
Rochelle Miller
Arye Nisonson
his or her adolescent educational school, felt uninterested in what the of specialty yeshivas or even, if need be,
Paula L. Simmonds years. When these children cannot rebbi was teaching, or been complete- in public school (if absolutely no yeshi-
DOV M. GORDON find an alternative educational institu- ly bored with some of the subjects in va can be found). This idea of living and
Operations Director tion in which they are welcome and school, this was the place that I being on the street should be both intol-
IVAN NORMAN, IRA THOMAS comfortable, the result is too often the belonged and I had a commitment to erable and unacceptable to all.
Staff Photographers realization of a parent’s worst night- stay the course and see high school Still, for some reason we accept the
FRANKEL & CO., CREATIVE DESIGN LLC mare, and a serious collective prob- through to its conclusion. situation as it is. I can recall that the few
Design & Production lematic situation which does not Somehow, over the last 10 years or times my friends either cut school or cut
TALIYE CORLEY reflect well on all of us as members of so, it became okay to beg off from out early on some days, they were always
Art Director
a community renowned for chesed, attending yeshiva and “opting out” for a in fear of being caught on the street by
The Five Towns Jewish Times is an independent weekly news-
paper. Opinions expressed by writers and columnists are not outreach, and caring for our fellow young life filled with aimlessness, misdi- truant officers and either reported or
necessarily those of the editor or publisher. We are not Jew, no matter what their age. rection, and a year or so or more of somehow labeled as truants. This classi-
responsible for the kashrus or hashgachah of any product or
establishment advertised in the Five Towns Jewish Times. I can only comment on these matters doing and accomplishing almost noth- fication would be recorded on a school
as a parent of yeshiva students, as a for- ing. Even more than that, the intellectu- transcript and would not necessarily

6 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

bode well for future references or, once
you rethought the direction you wanted
your life headed in, if you wanted to pur-
sue some level of advanced education.
Frankly, I wasn’t really certain that
there was such a thing as being brand-
ed a truant, until years later when I
spotted a patrol car on a street in
Brooklyn, and on the side of one of its
doors were the words “City of New
York Truant Officer.” So I really never
understood, and still don’t understand,
how kids today can just take them-
selves out of school and say that school
is just not for them.
I’m trying to say two things here. One
is that having teens and others drop out
of school and get into trouble on some
level has always happened and will most
likely continue to happen. An educator I
spoke to last weekend told me that his
research had shown him that the very
same things drew kids out of the main-
stream in the European shtetl 60 and 70
and even more years ago. Kids were
drawn and taken by the ideas of the
New World—new ideas, “enlighten-
ment,” and other things that caught
their fancy or enchanted them.
The second thing, and perhaps more
important, is that even though these
things have happened and continue to
happen, our objective as a public and
as a community has to be that these
types of situations should not develop
and should be nipped in the bud when-
ever possible.
At the forum in Far Rockaway last
week, one of the speakers made the
point that every parent registering their
child for yeshiva should have to go
through some kind of series of parenting
courses. That suggestion might be a lit-
tle extreme and even unnecessary. I real-
ly do not know how to score or analyze
a parent’s performance, but I believe
that since all people were once children
themselves, they learned how to be a
parent from their parents, and their
mother and father learned the parenting
ropes from their own parents, and so on
down the line.
Certainly the parenting courses being
offered so widely these days cannot do
anyone any damage. There are, of course,
situations in which extenuating circum-
stances invade the family infrastructure,
and in these instances an intervention of
some sort may be helpful and even neces-
sary. Looking around, however, I cannot
accept at face value that parenting in gen-
eral has broken down so completely that
attendance in these courses should be a
prerequisite to allowing children to be
registered for yeshiva.
The events that occurred last week were
tragic. They were the worst display of the
system breaking down and failing some
young men. No one is comforted by the
fact that similar events occurred 10 or 20
or more years ago. But they do happen, and
they are no less sickening. Each time we
witness or hear about them, we have to
steel and strengthen our resolve and
become more determined than ever before
to reach out and help open our minds and
arms and not let up or forget about what
these young people—our children—may
be enduring. We can’t stop it completely,
but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. ❖
Larry Gordon can be reached for comment at
editor@5tjt.com.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 7
 Thoughts From The Peanut Gallery
BY DEBBIE BINDLER AND
FAYA COHEN
Our Far Rockaway/Five Towns
community is justly proud of the
many acts of chesed done on an indi-
vidual and institutional basis. The
needs addressed cover many areas.
There is provision for the material
and physical needs of the members of
our community, whether temporary or
long term. Among the litany of needs
that our community has diligently
attempted to address, we would like
to highlight a particular area that is
largely unmet, perhaps because it is
so labor-intensive and requires a sus-
tained commitment of time.
There are children of all ages in
this community who could use a big
brother or big sister—whether or not
they already have one. Some need an
adult mentor even if they are part of
an intact family, and all the more so
if, unfortunately, they do not have a
mother or a father at home for vari-
ous reasons.
Even seemingly intact, fully func-
tioning families have many stressors,
which affect even children who are
outwardly well adjusted. If it is hard
to imagine the daily toll of dealing
with chronic illness, unemployment,
disability, divorce or death, how much
harder is it to imagine the daily toll of
the less visible problems of family
strife, emotional or psychological
impairment, or subtle learning issues
that don’t fit into any formal category?
Whatever the case, these families
would greatly benefit from having an
older friend to play with a child in
need of extra support—someone to
learn with, do homework with, or just
spend time with.
These concerns are not new, but
recent tragic events in our communi-
ty have brought home to us the
importance of paying attention to the
children who get lost in the crowd
when young, but as adolescents get
noticed for the wrong reasons.
There are a number of wonderful
local organizations that have been
working with our youth, each in its
own way. While each of these organi-
zations does vital work, the need for
one-on-one attention vastly exceeds
the resources of paid professionals
(and the resources of families hiring
those professionals) and mentoring
organizations. This is the kind of
chesed that requires an ongoing com-
mitment of time that is probably not
feasible for anyone presently occu-
pied with significant family or work
responsibilities. Who might be able to
make a weekly commitment to
befriend another Jew? Those people
might include boys in high school and
beis midrash and girls in high school
and seminary, young married couples,
and empty-nesters and retired people.
In the event that there are available
volunteers, our next concern is to pro-
vide a clearinghouse for making these
connections. Our hopes would be for
each existing organization (education-
al and spiritual) to attempt to make
matches within its own ranks, or per-
haps with affiliated organizations.
8 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
It is one thing to make suggestions,
but quite another to do the hard work
of implementing them. Nevertheless,
we are making these suggestions, in
the hope that they will at least stimu-
late discussion and possible imple-
mentation by those who have the
wherewithal to do so.
We understand that our local
schools are already overburdened
with both ordinary and extraordinary
functions. Nevertheless, we see the
schools as a starting point for at least
the following forms of preventive
chesed:
1. Early childhood screening. It
seems that many adolescents who
don’t conform to the norm have some
history of learning difficulties that
were not adequately diagnosed or
addressed during elementary school.
It is important for schools and parents
to be partners in conducting a review
of the following basic concerns: (a)
Are the child’s basic skills on grade
level? (b) Is the child appropriately
interacting socially with his or her
peers? (c) Is the child fulfilling his or
her potential? This review is most
valuable in the early grades and early
on in the school year. The answers to
these questions are not usually clear-
ly stated in the typical report cards.
2. Peer tutoring/exchange of skills.
While most, if not all, of the girls’
schools have chesed requirements, the
boys’ schools, in contrast, generally do
not. Boys have as much of an obliga-
tion to do chesed as their female
counterparts, and they should be
encouraged by their schools to con-
tribute at least half an hour towards a
chesed requirement. The boys’ chesed
activities could include being a big
brother to a slightly younger boy, play-
ing with small children on a Friday
afternoon so that the parents can con-
centrate on Shabbos preparations, or
learning with a lonely elderly gentle-
man who can only find a chevrusa if
he is willing to pay for a tutor. Peer
tutoring, where classmates tutor each
other both in academic subjects and
in other skills areas such as sports,
chess, or other hobbies, should
become the norm in all schools.
3. Staff oversight. Ideally, every
school—boys’ and girls’—should have
a staff member in place to research
and follow up on the needs of its pop-
ulation, addressing the first two
points above. Shadchanus is usually a
term relating to marriage, but it can
be used in this situation as well.
We are blessed to live in a commu-
nity that rallies together with tremen-
dous achdus in times of crisis. It’s
time for us to bring that strength of
achdus to the fore and apply it toward
prevention. Many medical insurance
companies are slowly beginning to
understand the value of covering pre-
ventive medical treatment. Without
question, the mental health of our
youth can benefit from prevention as
well. Let us consciously look for and
try to prevent potential problems. Let
us make prevention our byword, and
work together to reach out to those
children who do not feel as if they fit
in—before it’s too late. ❖
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 9

Cheesecake, Soufflé, Blintzes,
And Kugel At Mount Sinai
Shavuos is here, which means that
it’s time for those cheese dishes.
Everyone knows what happened on
Shavuos—the Jews were commanded
to eat cheese. Right? Not exactly. As
you know, of course, Shavuos is that
beautiful Yom Tov that marks the day
on which the Jewish people, after a
torturous enslavement in Egypt, pre-
pared themselves very expeditiously—
in just 49 days (including week-
ends)—to receive the Torah from
Hashem at Sinai.
What a time that must have been to
be alive. My goodness—the sense of
triumph and accomplishment must
have been overwhelming. What a priv-
ilege it must have been to be chosen as
the generation that receives the Torah
from G-d at Har Sinai. The only possi-
ble thing close to that is to live in the
generation that sees the arrival of
Mashiach, for which we are very much
in the running. There are, of course,
those who maintain that living through
the times of Mashiach can be wrought
with great travail. But in the aftermath
of the Holocaust and the generally
10 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
painful past of the Jewish people, it
just might be that on that count we are
in a fairly good position.
So the Jewish people were
encamped at Har Sinai ready to receive
the Torah. This took place over 3,300
years ago. We know as a result of our
mesorah that the Torah came from
Sinai. But where did the first cheese-
cake come from (not to mention all
that lasagna)? A casual and unthinking
observer can easily conclude that eat-
ing cheese dishes is the focal point of
the holiday. In the food stores on
Central Avenue they are gearing up for
the run on cheese dishes at a pace
matched only by the demand for she-
murah matzah before Pesach.
The question remains: Is “Thou
shall eat cheese” one of the command-
ments? Well, it’s not among the first
Ten, and I’m fairly certain that it is not
included among any other of the 613,
either. The Torah mostly lets you eat
whatever you want, as long as it’s
kosher and so on. So where and how
did this whole cheese thing get started?
Actually now that I’m thinking about
it, the fact that we are so obsessed and
determined to consume the finest
cheese blintzes and kugels on Shavuos
is great proof that Torah is Divine (if
you need proof). After all, how do we
know that this event—the giving of the
Torah to Am Yisrael at Sinai—actually
took place when we say it did? I mean,
look, it was a pretty long time ago. The
cheese is the clincher. Our sages tell us
that “minhag Yisrael Torah hi”—a cus-
tom or a tradition of the Jewish people
is considered as if it were actually
Torah. So don’t take this cheese thing
too lightly. (Though you can use light
cheese to fulfill the requirements of
the custom.)
To grasp the concept of the minhag
to consume cheese products on
Shavuos, one must place oneself in the
shoes of the Jews who just exited Egypt
(providing you can imagine that they
had shoes. And that they only had one buried out here in the desert?” I don’t
pair of shoes each): The Jews are gath- know, but it seems that in those olden
ered at Har Sinai; they are there for the days G-d gave in to the Jews a lot. They
ceremony that will surround their would complain about water, and
receiving of the Torah. Mind you that instantly get water; they wanted meat,
one of the early complaints of the G-d sent them quail to satisfy their
Jewish people after being miraculously culinary desires; and so on.
liberated from their oppressors in Egypt So, we received the Torah, and one
was that they did not like the menu they of the things relevant to our eating
had to endure during the journey. habits governed by Torah is the fashion
Remember that they would fre- in which meat must be slaughtered
quently ask Moshe Rabbeinu why he and prepared. Considering that the
took them out of Egypt, and they Torah was just given a few hours or a
would consistently pose this inquiry in few days prior, and that Moshe did not
rather facetious and sarcastic context. yet have the opportunity to teach all
“What’s the matter,” they would say, the laws to everyone in a comprehen-
“weren’t there enough graves in sive fashion, the Jews had a problem:
Egypt?” In other words, “Did you take How do they slaughter (or shecht)
us out of Mitzrayim just to have us meat so that we comply with the
requirements of halachah as dictated much easier. I guess that’s just one of that accompany a physical existence. get yourself lost in the study of Torah,
by the newly introduced Jewish law? those things that fits into the category But we are finite, being in this beauti- and you can taste the G-dliness that is
Mind you that there was not yet any of “nothing is the way it used to be.” ful and intriguing materialistic and eternal.
organized rabbinate, there was no time I think the point is that without physical world. For some, that’s very Which brings us to the next unusu-
yet to enter into contract negotiations cheese blintzes and cheesecake, there frustrating and even disturbing. al thing about observing Shavuos. And
with rabbis, and there was no recog- is a remote chance that some people But not for the Jew—a Jew with that is the custom to stay up all night
nized va’ad. Later, when there was a would not accord Matan Torah the Torah. Torah is the key to eternity. on that first night of Yom Tov studying
functioning va’ad, an opposition to attention it should be accorded. Not When the Jews received the Torah at Torah. As you know, the origin of this
that va’ad developed under the leader- minhag is to provide a tikun, a rectifi-
ship of Korach, and you know how that cation, for the fact that the Jews at
story ended. Sinai overslept on the morning of
In any event, Moshe was the We have learned many times that some of our Matan Torah. Can you imagine that?
authority, and there was no need for The Jews are about to get the Torah
anyone else, as Moshe was in direct greatest tzadikim throughout the ages have from the King of all Kings Himself,
communication with Hashem. So and they can’t wake up, like a teenager
there they were: It was summer in the had high aspects of Torah revealed to them struggling to make it to yeshiva for
desert, and they were on a spiritual Sunday-morning minyan.
high, having just received the Torah.
They couldn’t ritually slaughter their
while they were asleep. Interestingly enough, however, the
Midrash states that the Jews slept so
animals, because they were not yet soundly and so peacefully on the
familiar with the intricacies of the morning of that first Shavuos that not
law. So they played it safe and ate only that Torah needs cheesecake to make Har Sinai, we accepted an invitation to even a fly was allowed to disturb
dairy products. I know; you’re won- it more palatable. Torah, for those who forever—just like G-d Himself. Of them. So the question is, if Hashem
dering whether everything was chalav understand, is the key to life’s ultimate course it’s not that simple, because was not happy with the fact that the
Yisrael, and I would speculate that, desire—and that is eternity. I think before we get there we have to experi- Jews had slept late, why did he not
yes, it was all chalav Yisrael. I mean, every thinking organism inherently ence and endure a life of physical and allow the flies to disturb them? Those
there was no Nestlé or Hershey yet, desires to be eternal; eternal without emotional travail and sometimes tor-
and Oreo cookies would not get an O- the burdens, obstacles, and troubles ment (make that often torment). But Continued on Page 12
U certification for a few thousand
years. And if every Jew milked his or
her own cow, then it was all chalav
Yisrael. Oh, what brilliant simplicity!
So the Jews played it safe, and
decided on this first Yom Tov of
Shavuos to consume dairy products.
They ate cheese and milk and things
of that nature. But did they have
cheesecake there? And what about
cheese blintzes? For the purpose of
this essay, it is important to assume
that they did indeed have cheesecake
and blintzes on that first Shavuos. It
is additionally important to note and
observe the way in which a Jewish
custom gets started, and the beautiful
way in which it is able to endure thou-
sands of years of exile, pain, and
uncertainty and for the minhag to
emerge intact.
And how does that wonderful and,
okay, cheesy tradition manifest itself in
these modern times? Well here in our
area, a careful survey of the tradition
has resulted in finding that thousands
of cheese blintzes are sold here in
Cedarhurst for Shavuos. That’s a stag-
gering amount of cheese and dough.
(Did I mention the dough?)
So the Jews, being the resourceful
people they are, figured that with all
the not yet fully understood detailed
laws of shechitah, they were better off
with simple dairy meals. Except that if
you ask the women and men who pre-
pare Yom Tov meals, they will tell you
that it is more difficult to prepare
milchig meals than the more straight-
forward meat meals. Of course, that’s
nowadays, when you can go into
Supersol and the cow is already
slaughtered and cut up into little
pieces and shrink-wrapped and vacu-
um-packed with a little price tag glued
to it. Unwrap the package, pop the
flanken into the oven, and you have a
meal (I think). Any gourmet baalabus-
ta will tell you that dairy meals are far
more difficult.
But don’t forget, in the desert if you
decided you were in the mood for steak
you had to go out and chase a cow
around. Same if you wanted lamb
chops. If you wanted sweet breads—
good luck. Dairy, in those days, was
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 11

HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE
Continued from Page 11
menacing desert flies could have
been used to wake up those lazy
sleeping Jews. But no, Hashem
allowed them to sleep undisturbed.
Chassidic thought explains that the
Jews’ oversleeping on Shavuos morning
was not because their alarm clocks did-
n’t ring or the roosters didn’t cock-a-
doodle-do. The Jews slept because they
understood that they were souls in
physical bodies and that the soul in this
world is restricted by being enclosed in
a finite body. To receive Torah, they
wanted to have their souls—which
ascend to Heaven during sleep—to
receive the Torah unencumbered.
We have learned many times that
some of our greatest tzadikim
throughout the ages have had high
aspects of Torah revealed to them
while they were asleep. Our forefa-
ther Yaakov saw the entire future of
what the Jews desired in unity as they
slept so soundly on the morning of
Matan Torah.
So if that’s the case and if this is
such a beautiful thing, why do we in
this day and age have to rectify this
alleged faux pas by desisting from
sleep on Shavuos night? And the
answer is that Hashem admired the
beauty of the Jewish intent to receive
Torah from Him at the highest level
possible. But this was not G-d’s pur-
pose of creation. Hashem created us
and gave us Torah and mitzvos so that
we can perform them here with our
bodies in a physical world, thereby
transforming mundane physicality
into great and high holiness. Our
function as flesh-and-blood humans is
to take the physical things that this
world has to offer and turn them
against their nature, making them
holy and fulfilling Hashem’s intent of
creating a lower worldly environment
suitable for Hashem to dwell in and
to cheesecake. And the question as to
whether your neshamah is capable of CALENDAR
LUACH
appreciating a really good piece of
cheesecake from Mom’s Pastries or
one of those Schwartz’s blintzes. There
are some cheesecakes out there that
are indeed heavenly, or at least they
taste like it. So maybe, just maybe, it’s June 1 – June 10
those carefully prepared sweet cheese ZIP Code: 11516
dishes which are the bridge between 5 Sivan – Erev Shavuos
the good taste of the physical and the Thursday, June 1
sweetness of the spiritual. Omer: 49
Whether you eat cheese on Shavuos Eruv Tavshilin
because you are reminded of how the Candle Lighting: 8:01 pm
ancient Jewish people denied them- 6 Sivan – 1st Day Shavuos
selves flanken and steak because of Erev Shabbos
their uncertainty regarding proper she- Friday, June 2
chitah or because you consume dairy Daf yomi: Shekalim 16
on Yom Tov to honor the land of milk Z’manim*:
and honey, your cheesecake, your Earliest tallis: 4:20 am
blintz, your soufflé, or your kugel is Sunrise: 5:26 am
connecting you to the depth and Latest Shema:
thoughtfulness of your ancestors—the M. Av. 8:33 am
Jews at Sinai. Gr’a 9:09 am
Chag sameiach to all. ❖ Candle Lighting: 8:02 pm

the Jewish people, from beginning amongst us, which was the intent at 7 Sivan – 2nd Day Shavuos
until the coming of Mashiach—but Creation. Shabbos
Larry Gordon can be reached for comment at
only when he was asleep. And this is Which oddly enough brings us back editor@5tjt.com. Saturday, June 3
Megillas Rus
Yizkor
Shabbos/Yom Tov ends**:
9:11 pm
72 min. 9:34 pm
8 Sivan – Isru Chag
Sunday, June 4
13 Sivan – Erev Shabbos
Friday, June 9
Daf yomi: Yoma 2
Earliest tefillin: 4:17 am
Sunrise: 5:24 am
Latest Shema:
M. Av. 8:33 am
Gr’a 9:09 am
Candle Lighting: 8:06 pm
14 Sivan – Shabbos
Saturday, June 10
Shabbos Parashas Naso
Pirkei Avos: Chapter 1
Shabbos ends**:
9:16 pm
72 min. 9:38 pm
* from MyZmanim.com
** add a few minutes for tosefos Shabbos according to
your minhag

Municipal Calendar
For 5 Towns and NYC
Thursday, June 8
NYC public schools: no classes.

WHAT’S
YOUR
OPINION?

WE WANT
TO KNOW!

CALL US AT
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12 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 13
 All Together, Now:
JCC, Kulanu, CAHAL, And TOVA Join Forces
BY PAULA L. SIMMONDS
The refrain “All together now…”
from a popular song aptly describes a
brand-new community effort involving
several well-known local organiza-
tions, including the JCC of the
Greater Five Towns, Kulanu, CAHAL,
and TOVA. These four groups have
joined forces to provide much-needed
services to Five Towns families with
children and teens on the autistic
spectrum, giving new meaning to the
concept of the whole being greater
than the sum of its parts.
Since each of these organizations
already delivers unique services to
the community, one might wonder
why they decided to work together.
Rina Shkolnik, executive director of
the JCC of the Greater Five Towns,
speaking for the group, explained the
reasoning behind the project: “The
community can and should come
together. When we work together, we
can do great things. Before this pro-
gram existed, there was a gap in aux-
iliary family-centered services for
those families affected by ASD
(Autistic Spectrum Disorder) syn-
drome. By coming together, we can
now provide services not only to the
special-needs child, but also to the
siblings and parents, with respite,
social activities, support, and educa-
tion. This group effort allows us to fill
the gap with new activities and serv-
ices, including babysitting, tutoring,
mentoring, information and referrals,
Teen Night, and family-centered
social events.”
Through this cooperative
program, each of the
four organizations hopes
to serve approximately
100 families on a
limited, first-come
first-served basis in the
Five Towns area.
Under the auspices of the JCC,
which manages the program, called
“Lemaan Mishpachotainu” (“For Our
Families”), the four organizations are
the recipients of a two-year grant
from the UJA designed to provide
services to families with at least one
special-needs child on the autistic

14 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

spectrum. Children vary from high-
functioning, who can be successfully
mainstreamed, to children with a
cluster of communication, motor, and
socialization-related symptoms that
may require round-the-clock care.
“Each organization takes responsibili-
ty for one particular piece of the pro-
gram. This is the first time that these
organizations serving different seg-
ments of the autistic population have
joined forces for the benefit of the
community,” said Ms. Shkolnik.
“Since the JCC is the organization
connected with UJA, we are oversee-
ing the entire program. Additionally,
we will offer recreational facilities,
staff, and equipment as our part of
the joint program.”
Kulanu will focus on helping chil-
dren and families by providing case
Rina Shkolnik
management and community sensitivi-
ty education, helping with social skills,
working with siblings, and leading lies living with these challenges. But
recreational activities for the entire since the needs of children on the
family. TOVA will provide ASD-specif- autistic spectrum can vary so widely,
ic training for the Big Brother/Big the program is highly specialized to
Sister mentoring programs, which will recognize and address the individual
be supervised by a licensed clinical needs of the families, each with their
social worker. CAHAL will participate own unique situation.
by providing direction for after-school Ms. Chana Pfeifer, director of spe-
tutoring services to children within the cial needs at the JCC, further out-
school system. lined the program objectives: to offer
Families with a child on the autistic a number of different activities, with
spectrum usually shoulder extra bur- the goal of reducing the isolation and
dens, which can create additional burden on families with ASD chil-
stressors for the entire family. Lemaan dren, and to provide a collaborative
Mishpachotainu was developed for the community effort for all in need. Ms.
Five Towns community to relieve Pfeifer said that very often the autis-
some of the day-to-day stress, while
improving the quality of life for fami- Continued on Page 16

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 15

All Together Now:
Continued from Page 15
tic child is “identified” for services,
but there is a need for sibling support,
in the form of fun, social activities,
and relaxation, as well.
Rina Shkolnik explained that
through this cooperative program,
each of the four organizations hopes to
serve approximately 100 families on a
limited, first-come first-served basis,
with activities and services tailored to
their unique needs. The program tar-
gets nursery-age children to teenagers,
and offers respite for the families, pro-
viding babysitting for autistic childlren
and their siblings.
Ms. Shkolnik added, “Our primary
goals are to raise awareness within the
community and to reduce the tension
and stigma that families with a child
on the autistic spectrum experience.”
What are these organizations able to
do with the grant that they weren’t
able to do before?
According to Shkolnik, “We weren’t
able to provide these ancillary support
services for the entire family. We can
now provide an organized program
and additional services which are typ-
ically very costly, while raising aware-
ness and public knowledge. This is
something we all need to work on
together to help. As part of our goal to
educate the community, we are plan-
ning an awareness week in
September, where we will reach out to
synagogues and provide speakers. In
addition, we plan on having a Sunday
Funday this summer at the JCC
16 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
Henry Kaufman campgrounds.” South Shore of Long Island and special-needs child and give them
Jonathan Cooper, Kulanu’s pro- Queens with support, referral activi- one-on-one attention.”
gram director of inclusion services, ties, consultation to area schools, CAHAL’s Naomi Nadata, program
described his organization’s role as respite/summer camp, information director, and Alice Feltheimer, educa-
one that fulfills the social and respite and referral, and support groups for tional coordinator, explained that
aspects, arranging sibling groups and siblings and parents. Kulanu also has they are very enthusiastic and com-
providing case management and a middle and high school called mitted members of the team, serving
trained specialized babysitters for the Kulanu Torah Academy. Tzippi children with learning disabilities in a
autistic child and siblings. A recent Posner, the Lemaan Mishpachotainu different segment of the population.
activity was Teen Night, staffed by coordinator at Kulanu, explained that Ms. Nadata said, “We see our role in
Kulanu counselors, during which consultative support services are this as giving insight into how some
teens shared pizza, played games, and available to area schools such as children learn differently and provid-
schmoozed with each other. HAFTR that are administering the ing outside support such as tutoring
and being in touch with classroom
teachers. We hope our students with
learning disabilities can be helped.
The children who CAHAL services
The CAHAL portion of the program is are children with different learning
styles who are in the academic
working with kids from grades 1 through 8, process, learning mainstream materi-
al in the schools.” The CAHAL por-
tion of the program is working with
but they are also now beginning a kids from grades 1 through 8, but
they are also now beginning a high-
high-school program for girls that will be based school program for girls that will be
based at TAG, and a boys program
based at Mesivta.
at TAG and a boys program based at Mesivta. “For Our Families” is a wonderful
opportunity to come together and reap
the benefits of the expertise of this
coordinated effort. To learn more
Another example provided by Mr. programs. about this program, send e-mail to
Cooper is Bowling Day, where “we Andrea Borah, director of TOVA, tzippi.posner@fivetownsjcc or call the
offered respite, support, and appropri- outlined her organization’s role in the JCC at 516-569-6733. ❖
ate social activities with staffing, joint program: “For this project, we’re
through planned activities, so families doing the mentoring for the children The JCC of the Greater Five Towns is a
could relax, have a good time, and feel in the program. With offices in the beneficiary agency of the UJA Federation of New
York, a member agency of the United Way of
comfortable.” Five Towns, Queens, and Manhattan, Long Island and the Jewish Community Centers
Kulanu is primarily a parent-driven TOVA mentors children from 1st Association, and an affiliate of the Five Towns
Community Chest.
organization that has been servicing grade to 12th grade. We train the Big Paula Simmonds is a contributing editor for the
children with special needs on the Brothers/Big Sisters to mentor the Five Towns Jewish Times.
Preparing For s”xc

The Invasion:
Hundreds Of Missionaries
Coming To New York
BY GAVRIEL ARYEH
SANDERS

Recently, the Five Towns Jewish Times

informed you that hundreds of “Jews for
Jesus” missionaries are preparing to
launch an unprecedented campaign
throughout the Jewish communities of
greater New York, including the coun-
ties to the north—Westchester,
Rockland, Putnam—all five boroughs of
New York City, and way out on Long
Island. Northern New Jersey and the
Jersey shore are on the missionary map,
as well. I’ve been in touch with a num-
ber of communal leaders, and can
assure you that this will not occur with-
out a decisive response from the greater
Jewish community. Nothing unites us
like a good communal threat.
The missionaries are coming with a
$3-million war chest to spend on
radio, TV, billboard, and print ads. You
can expect more mailings (like the one
that targeted over 80,000 frum homes
from Lakewood to Monsey two weeks
ago), phone calls to your home, con-
certs in parks, so-called Torah studies,
and a whole lot of very visible activity
on the streets, especially in the city.
While this really happens every sum-
mer—and has been for the last 33
years—it’s never been on this scale. And
why davka now? Because the sponsor- We will be open Thursday, Erev
Shavuos from 10:30am - 2:30 pm.
ing organization, Jews for Jesus, is con-
We will re-open Sunday, June 4.
cluding a five-year evangelistic outreach Happy Shavuos!!
to 65 Jewish communities around the
world. New York is the last and the
biggest. They are bringing in teams of
seasoned missionary leaders to lead
hundreds of volunteers. And they are
multilingual, since they are targeting
Russian, Hebrew, and Bukharian Jews,
as well as English-speaking Jews.
I’ve reviewed the statistics on this
five year campaign they call “Behold
your god”—I call it “Behold your
fraud”—and they really have done a
poor job in most cities, at least as far as
reaching Jews. With 48 cities reporting
statistics to date, they claim so far to
have converted 958 Jews from around
the world. That’s an average of 20 per
city. They claim to have converted
3,592 non-Jews in five years of effort—
that’s about 75 per city. And they’ve
spent millions and millions to do this.
You and I know that every neshamah
is precious to us—each one represent-
ing whole generations. For 958 Jewish
souls lost to be lost to deceptive mis-
sionary misrepresentations is a tragedy
and a travesty.
But when I look at this from a busi-
ness point of view, I think their “Behold
your god” campaign is a failure, and I
expect their New York efforts to be a
failure, as well. We’re not as naive as
they think we are. This is the most
Torah-centric Jewish enclave outside of
Israel itself. And missionaries going
door-to-door in Boro Park, Williams-

Continued on Page 18
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 17
Preparing For The Invasion
Continued from Page 17
burg, Crown Heights, New Square, and
Monsey are likely going to meet serious
and testy resistance.
I have to tell you a little something
about their message, their motivation,
and their mindset, though, just so you
understand where they are coming
from and how you can best respond—
or not respond.
They are convinced from reading
their bible that JC, whom they’ll call
Yeshua, is the messiah of the Jewish
people. They point to some 300
pesukim from Tanach to prove this.
They have proof texts. I call them spoof
texts. Most of them are mistranslated,
misquoted, taken out of context, and in
a couple of serious cases, non-existent.
They believe that the Jewish people
must have a chance to hear their mes-
sage so we can make a decision to
believe or reject their false messiah.
They believe that JC—Yoshke, Jesus,
whatever you want to call him—can’t
return to earth in his “second coming”
18 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
until the Jews as a nation respond posi-
tively to the message. They believe we
are in acharis hayamim—the end of
days—and that the millions of Jews will
come to believe in him.
Contrary to what some counter-mis-
sionary groups might suggest, they are
not cunning deceivers. I was one such
missionary for many years. I never took
a class in Bible College called “How to
Deceive the Jews.” I was a sincere
believer, not a cunning deceiver. And
so it is with these missionaries. They
really believe what they are saying. To
them, it’s true because they believe it.
After all, there are over a billion
Christians on the planet. How could a
handful of Jews be right about Torah?
They believe that the sufferings of
Jews over the last 2,000 years, includ-
ing the Holocaust, are a result of our
collective rejection of JC.
Underneath that, of course, is the
need to prove that we are wrong,
because they have a nagging ques-
tion—what if the Jews are right?
So in recent years, they’ve become
very sophisticated and have been data-
mining our mekoros and meforshim to
put together a whole new substrata of
proofs—really more spoofs. They are
quoting—or rather, often misquoting—
Rashi, the Rambam, Ramban, the Al-
shich, even the Vilna Gaon—all in a
quest to demonstrate that our heilige
sages knew that Yoshke was Mashiach
but engaged in a great cover up.
Now, what are they out to actually
accomplish in coming to your door, or
stopping you on the street, or sending
literature and audio/video media to
your home?
It’s very simple, and this is how you
can deal with them in a kind way.
There’s no need to be angry and com-
bative; that only reinforces their need
to feel and be persecuted. They love
that. Don’t give it to them.
First of all know this: Their primary
job during this 29-day outreach in New
York is to (1) give you something to read,
hear, or view and (2) to get your contact
information for follow-up. In most
cases, they have to do this within three
to five minutes. Much of the time,
they’ll be highly visible, wearing ridicu-
lous T-shirts that say things like “Jesus
made me kosher” and “Jews for Jesus.”
Should you encounter any of the
hundreds of missionaries planning to
be here throughout July, here are three
things to do and three things not to do.
1. If you meet them on the street, tell
them you are in a hurry. What can they
give you to read? Take their literature.
Take as much as you can get. Put it in
your pocket, your shoulder bag—what-
ever. Get all you can. If they resist,
remind them that their messiah said to
give to whoever asks of you. When you
leave them, go around the corner and
drop the material in the nearest trash
can. They usually go out to conduct
street outreaches in two to four hour
sorties. The sooner you exhaust their lit-
erature, the sooner they have to go back
to get more.
2. While most of these missionaries
will not be Jewish, perhaps one out of
four will be. The Jews amongst them
know very little about Torah Judaism.
What they are pushing is a bastardized
blend of Jewish ideas and Christian the-
ology. Ask the person if his or her moth-
er is Jewish. If they say yes, tell them
you know that the Jewish experience
they had growing up was probably not
much more than cultural Judaism. You
are a Torah Jew. Give them a phone
number of a kiruv organization like
Jews for Judaism or Aish HaTorah or
Outreach Judaism or Judaism’s Answer.
Pick one of these groups and have the
number on you to recommend.
3. When you meet one of these mis-
sionaries, or if they should come to your
door, say: “Oh, thank you for reminding
me! I was planning to send a contribu-
tion to Yad L’achim [or Jews for Judaism,
or whatever your preferred Jewish action
group may be].” Tell the missionary that
their visit to your door is a wake-up call
to do what you can to counter their
efforts. And then of course, do send it.
On the other hand:
1. Do not get into conversations
with them about interpretations of
who the messiah is. They are playing
verbal chess with you. They have
rehearsed for many hours on how to
lead you with questions. They are bet-
ter than a used-car salesman at this.
Don’t start with them.
2. Do not give them your contact
information. That is their main job.
They will turn that information over to
local churches and to local messianic
Jews to follow up with you in a month
or two after this campaign.
3. Do not give them mussar. You
won’t be speaking the same language
at all. By the same token, don’t be
mean, angry, or verbally abusive in any
way. Point to the mezuzah on your door
and tell them that any home with one
of these will not be interested in hear-
ing their message. A simple “No, thank
you” is enough. Don’t reinforce their
stereotype perception that Torah Jews
are angry and reactive.
Now, even though the “Behold your
god” campaign isn’t scheduled to begin
on the streets until July 1, it’s really
already begun in Jewish mailboxes. To
keep up-to-date with the campaign and
how you can prepare yourself and your
family, listen to the Gavriel Sanders
Show on Monday nights at midnight on
WSNR 620 AM or in the audio archives
at www.gavrielsanders.com. ❖
Our Aliyah
Chronicle
BY SHMUEL KATZ

Part 6: Going, Going…

In December of last year, we took a
day off and made a special trip to the
Jewish Agency to open our tik aliyah
(aliyah file). Any Jew is entitled to
automatic Israeli citizenship should he
so desire. The Jewish Agency is respon-
sible for the evaluation of each appli-
cant to determine if they are indeed
Jewish and thus entitled to automatic
citizenship under the Law of Return.
We met with our shaliach aliyah,
Yonati Greenfield, to discuss the vari-
ous issues facing our family. She was
extremely helpful to us in finding infor-
mation and in wading through the red
tape. Quite frankly, of all the current
olim I have spoken to, it seems as if our
processing was as simple as it gets.
Right off the bat, we discussed our
oldest son. At age 15, we feel that it is
unfair to force him to become an oleh
and Israeli citizen, especially since he
has already mapped out his schooling
and career choices for the next ten or
so years. In third grade he announced
that he would attend Harvard Law
School (recently changed to Yale) in
preparation for becoming the youngest
partner in his law firm’s history.
While we will certainly encourage
him to follow our example (and hope
that his friends will do so as well), we
feel that he is entitled to make his own
decisions in life and we therefore made
it a priority to arrange for the choice to
be his. This will happen when he turns
18. Our other children, being younger,
will not have a choice in this matter;
they will be Israeli citizens from day
one, with all the obligations and bene-
fits that come with citizenship.
This is the plan that we felt worked
for our family. As I have said before, I do
not believe there is a right or wrong.
Each person and each family has to
make decisions based on what they think
is best for themselves and their families.

Paperwork
With that settled, Yonati carefully
reviewed the documents that we had
prepared (our passports, original birth
certificates, marriage license, and a
letter from our rabbi certifying that he
knew both Goldie and me as well as
our families and that he could vouch
for our being Jewish). She noted what
documents were not originals and then
reviewed all the paperwork we needed
to prepare to qualify for aliyah.
Applicants for aliyah under the Law of
Return are issued a specific aliyah visa in
their foreign passport. Essentially, the
paperwork is required in order to apply
for an aliyah visa. When the paperwork is
approved, the visa is issued.
Each adult has to sign waivers and
consents that they understand what
the paperwork is for and that they
indeed are applying for Israeli citizen-
ship. Each member of the family (or
their parent/guardian) must sign a
medical form certifying that they are in

Continued on Page 20
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 19
Our Aliyah Chronicle
Continued from Page 19
good health.
I found the reason for the medical
form quite interesting. As you may know,
Israel has “socialized” health care, with
full coverage for every citizen. Apparently,
in recent years there have been olim who
have moved to Israel in order to get cov-
erage for expensive medical procedures
for which they have no medical coverage
in their home country, after which they
return to their country of origin. This
same thing is also done by Israelis who
have left Israel, which has resulted in the
Israeli Government legislating a manda-
tory waiting period before returning citi-
zens can get medical benefits.
In addition to the medical form,
each person who will be making aliyah
must complete and sign a visa applica-
tion in duplicate. Many of the forms
included a listing of the names and
ages of all siblings, so they took quite
some time to prepare.
With five children making aliyah,
this meant that we needed to fill out (i)
two waivers, (ii) two general aliyah
applications, (iii) seven medical forms,
and (iv) fourteen visa applications.
We set aside two hours on a motzaei
Shabbos to go to my office in the yeshi-
va and prepare the forms with no dis-
tractions. About 10 minutes before we
completed filling out the final set of
forms, I realized that we probably could
have saved ourselves a ton of writer’s
cramp had I simply scanned the forms
into the computer and just edited the
information for each child. Too late.
20 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
We ordered certified copies of our
missing papers, and in late January we
returned to Jewish Agency to give all
our papers to Yonati for processing.
Thankfully, we had actually prepared
the forms correctly, and within 10 days
we received notification that our aliyah
was approved.
I can tell you that many other olim
have a much harder time getting their
paperwork processed. Although we were
not required to (and I have no idea why),
“What are you doing here?
Are you making aliyah?” To which
he replied, “Yes, we are—and it is
all because of you!”
there is a certification known as “apos-
tille” certification that many people are
required to have put on their birth and
marriage certificates. This is a specific
type of certification that can only be
ordered through the city or state, and we
have been told it is a pain to arrange for.
Additionally, we know some families in
which a grandparent was an Israeli citi-
zen, which made one of the spouses
intending to make aliyah an Israeli citizen
as well. This puts them in a totally differ-
ent category of oleh, requiring not only a
different visa but also the issuance of an
Israeli passport for that particular person.
Other people have had difficulty
getting birth certificates, marriage
licenses, and even acceptable letters
from rabbis who can verify the lineage
of both parents as Jews. Thankfully, we
had none of these issues, and we were
approved very quickly.
With the notification of our visa
approval, we were also given instruc-
tions for how to get our visas processed
and put into our American passports.
Additionally, we had to notify Nefesh
B’Nefesh that our visas were approved
and get them a copy of our visas once
they had been issued, so that we could
get scheduled on an aliyah flight.
Before NBN, the Jewish Agency
would schedule flights for olim on reg-
ular El Al flights. Upon entering the
country, olim would first go to the for-
eign passport control area and then
proceed to a special office where they
would wait (seemingly for hours) for
their visas to be processed. NBN has
streamlined this process tremendously.
There is a common misconception
that Nefesh B’Nefesh is actually paying
the costs of the charter flights that are
leaving for Israel twice a month from
JFK this summer (as well as flights from
Canada and England). In truth, the
cost of a one-way ticket (except for a
$50 processing fee per ticket) is paid by
the government of Israel for each oleh
as part of the Law of Return.
What NBN does is to assemble all
the olim together in group flights that
the government pays for. They also
arrange for officials of the Interior
Ministry to be on the plane to process
each oleh’s paperwork in-flight, saving
countless hours of waiting in the air-
port upon arrival.
Olim are also entitled to free trans-
portation to their Israeli destination
upon arrival in Israel. Arrangements
for taxis/transportation for all their
olim is also a service provided by NBN
(among the countless other things that
NBN does for olim).
As NBN olim, we had much less to do
with the Jewish Agency than other olim.
Two weeks ago, we presented our pass-
ports at the Israeli consulate for process-
ing. We assumed that the consulate was
in its own building with soldiers posted
outside guarding it. Turns out, that is the
embassy. The Israeli consulate occupies
a floor in a midtown office building. They
have a special elevator which is guarded
and additional security outside the eleva-
tors on their floor. When we passed
through security, we entered a room that
could have doubled as a bank. There
were 20 or so bulletproof “teller” win-
dows manned by consulate employees.
 This, of course, being the Israeli con-
sulate, we had to wait on line to see
which window we would need to go to
wait on line at. When we got to the
“aliyah visa” window, there was no one on
line, but we were still told to take a seat
until we were called. I have no idea why.
Once we were called and organized
our visa photos (we need something like
10 passport photos for each person to
attach to the various forms we will have
completed by the time we get to Israel)
and documents, we were told to return
in no less than 10 days, as there was no
way we could get the visas stamped into
our passports that same day.
This week we will go back to the con-
sulate to pick up our passports with
visas (and will have done so by the time
you read this). We will copy the visas
and send the copies to NBN, and they
will literally make all the other arrange-
ments for our flight on July 5.
Housing
We hope to get a copy of our lease
this week. We might actually have
someplace to live (more details to fol-
low once the lease is signed). We
packed a few more boxes—our current
total is 26. We also signed up to march
with Nefesh B’Nefesh olim in the
Israeli Day Parade this Sunday.
This past Shabbos a friend of our
daughter came by the house. Her fami-
ly is also making aliyah on July 5. When
she saw me she excitedly announced,
“Mr. Katz—39 days!” I remarked to her
mother later that day that it is almost
like we are in a reverse sefirah, counting
down the days until we make the big
move. Only five weeks left.
near future. Yet, here was the husband at
a get-together for aliyah-bound couples.
So I turned to this fellow and said,
“What are you doing here? Are you
making aliyah?”
To which he replied, “Yes, we are—
and it is all because of you!”
I didn’t really believe him, but our
hosts assured me that this couple was
indeed planning to make aliyah this
coming September. Jennifer Airley
even mentioned that she had been
waiting for weeks to see the look on my
face when I heard the news.
I cannot describe the emotions I felt
at hearing his words. I was absolutely
stunned. The thought that this family
would even jokingly imply that I had
something to do with their decision
was overwhelming. I was literally
moved to hug this fellow and I was
trembling from nervous excitement.
I had no idea that this family was
even considering aliyah, and here they
were talking about their post-Shavuos
pilot trip to find a community to settle
in. Obviously this was something that
they had considered over time, and
clearly I had nothing to do with the
process, which is what I told him.
He assured me that I was wrong.
This is what he told me:
He and his wife have talked for years
about making aliyah. They have talked
about the need for parnasah and how to
make aliyah work for their family. Their
children were encouraging them to
make the move. But the task seemed
too daunting to them; without a job,
they didn’t really consider it an option.
Then they started reading these arti-
cles, and it didn’t seem so overwhelm-
ing (it really is—but once you put your
mind to it, things just happen). So they
gave Nefesh B’Nefesh a call and they
talked about jobs. After discussing it
with his boss, it seems that commuting
for 10 days a month will work for them,
and all of a sudden here they are plan-
ning a September departure to join us
this year. If all goes well, they will make
it official two weeks after Shavuos.
Even now, as Goldie and I talk about
this, we are literally close to tears as
we consider the profound impact our
words have had on this family. Goldie
even feels a sense of responsibility that
their aliyah be successful, as she would
feel terrible if we were responsible for
a negative outcome.
I wish I could take the credit. But the
credit really goes to Larry Gordon. He
came up with the idea for these articles
and he is the one who thought that this
very result would come from it. So I wish
a yasher ko’ach to Larry Gordon for com-
ing up with the idea for these articles, and
I hope to be able to wish an official Mazal
Tov to this family in two weeks or so. I
also hope and pray to be wishing many
more Mazal Tovs in the near future.
Until then I wish you all a Gut Yom
Tov and may we all be zocheh to cele-
brate the rest of our chagim together in
Yerushalayim—the capital of our holy
land, Eretz Yisrael. ❖
Shmuel Katz is the executive director of the
Yeshiva of South Shore. His wife, Goldie, is the
controller at Bnos Bais Yaakov. Together with
their six children (ages 1 to 15), the Katzes will
iy’H be making aliyah this July. Mr. Katz can be
reached at shmukatz@bigfoot.com.
In response to the many requests Shmuel has
had for reprints/copies of the prior articles, he
has published them on the web at
aliyahchronicles.blogspot.com.

The Aliyah Chronicles

Approximately seven and a half weeks
ago, I got a phone call from Larry
Gordon, the editor of the Five Towns
Jewish Times. He had an idea for a new
column that he wanted me to write. He
told me that there are more and more
people making aliyah from the Five
Towns, but there are surely even more
who are considering it and may be on the
fence. Furthermore, while we often hear
about people making aliyah, once the
people leave, there is very little personal
connection that we here in America have
to them in understanding the experience.
Larry asked me to write an aliyah jour-
nal about our experiences. His idea was to
personalize the process of making aliyah.
His only instruction to me was to try to
make the reader feel as if he or she were
standing right next to us as things unfold-
ed. He felt that this might encourage oth-
ers to consider aliyah or, at the very least,
give them a greater understanding of what
olim go through. “Who knows,” he told
me, “this just might be the thing that gives
someone the final nudge.”
This past Monday night, a group of
adults got together at the home of Robert
and Jennifer Airley in Cedarhurst. Each
one of those attending will be moving to
Israel this summer. (There will be anoth-
er get-together in mid-June; if you are
moving to Israel this summer and would
like to join us, please send me an e-mail.)
As Goldie and I entered the house, I
saw a very familiar face. I have known one
spouse of this couple since college, and
our children have played together over
the years as well. As far as I knew, this
family had no plans to make aliyah in the
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 21

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION? WE WANT TO KNOW!
E-MAIL US AT editor@5TJT.com
22 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
Midrashim and
Literal Truth
BY AVI GOLDSTEIN
There is a series of Torah
tapes to which we have put my
youngest son to bed this past
year. The series is wonderful,
bringing each parashah to life
for my son. When an adult
friend of mine was stumped by
a question at the motzaei
Shabbos father–son learning
program we attend, my six-
year-old had the answer!
Yet these tapes concern
me, because they are largely
based on the Midrash, and
they retell Midrashim as if
they are literal truth. I worry
that my son’s Torah educa-
tion will be distorted, as the
wrong balance is struck
between historical reality and
the lessons that Midrashim
attempt to teach.
In this light, I was thrilled
to read “The Dangers of
Midrashim” (Five Towns
Jewish Times, May 19, p. 64)
by Rabbi Pinchas Rosenthal,
the dean of the Torah
Academy of Long Island.
Rabbi Rosenthal’s thesis—that
Midrashim often are not to be
taken literally—is on the
mark. Unfortunately, many
rebbeim do not take the time
to differentiate allegorical
Midrashim from historical
truth. The error is compound-
ed by the fact that teachers
thereby fail to teach the mean-
ing behind the Midrashim.
The actual lesson is lost, while
its façade is taken as Torah
miSinai, and our talmidim
learn how to miss the point.
Simultaneously, students are
taught to believe that if one
questions the literal truth of
Midrashim, he is a heretic.
Le’havdil, the story of Alice
in Wonderland is written on
two levels. It is a children’s
fable, but it is also a political
satire. In like manner, the
Torah can be understood at
many levels, and many
Midrashim are also styled in
this fashion. Thus, one can
teach the Midrash that Moshe
Rabbeinu was 20 feet tall at a
simple level. For a six-year-old,
this may suffice. For a 20-year-
old, it is unacceptable! At some
stage, one must seek the les-
son behind the Midrash. And
even a six-year-old should be exposed to
such Midrashim only in moderation,
lest he or she lose sight of the reality
within which our ancestors lived.
I believe that two elements have led
to this regrettable misunderstanding of
Midrashim. The first element is the
intrinsically enticing quality of
Midrashim. To illustrate, let us take
the Midrash that when Yaakov Avinu
lay down to sleep at Beit E-l, he put
rocks around his head (Bereishis
In order to counter the
teaching method to
which children are
exposed, I have sought,
from when my kids were
young, to explain that
Midrashim are not
necessarily literal.
28:11). Each rock desired to be the
one upon which Yaakov actually lay his
head, so G-d fused them into one rock.
It is undeniably more exciting to teach
the Midrash kiphshuto, in its literal
form. How enthralling it must be for a
child to read about this miracle. If we
take the Midrash as allegorical, we are
forced to seek its intended message.
What do the Sages mean to imply
about the greatness of Yaakov? The
easy, fun way out is to teach the
Midrash literally and stop there.
The second element is our bias
toward Rashi’s exposition of the Torah.
Rashi’s importance cannot be empha-
sized enough. However, he does some-
times resort to Midrashim, especially
when he feels that they conform to his
stated intent of focusing upon the sim-
ple understanding of the text. (At the
beginning of Parashas Vayeishev,
Rashi’s grandson, the Rashbam, writes
that he took Rashi to task for not writ-
ing his commentary in a simpler way.
The Rashbam records that his grandfa-
ther conceded the point.)
When our children begin to study
Chumash with Rashi, rebbeim expose
them to the Midrashim that Rashi
brings, without bothering to note that
many Midrashim are to be taken figura-
tively. A prime example is Rashi’s com-
ment on the word “vachamushim” in
Parashas Beshalach (Sh’mos 13:18).
Rashi’s first explanation is the literal one:
that the Israelites were armed with
weapons and supplies when they left
Egypt. Rashi then proceeds to record
one of several Midrashim on
“vachamushim.” Extracting its root,
which is ch-m-sh, or “five,” he states that
only one of every five Israelites actually
left Egypt, with the remaining four-fifths
perishing during the Plague of Darkness,
out of sight of the Egyptians.
Inevitably my children have come
home from yeshiva with Rashi’s
Midrashic comment as the true mean-
ing of “vachamushim.” And yet, if this
Continued on Page 25
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 23
Do-It-Yourself Halachah
BY RABBI PINCHAS
CHATZINOFF
In our very capable, very accom-
plished Jewish community, there is a
disturbing trend among some toward a
cavalier, make-do attitude toward
halachah. The very fabric of our Torah
lives—complying with the Divine Will
as ascertained by our sages—requires
a commitment to truth and accuracy
that sometimes falls as a casualty of
the busy times in which we live.
Specifically, many people unfortu-
nately have become accustomed to
assuming that halachic decisions by
competent poskim are fungible and
interchangeable—a veritable mix-and-
match. Nothing could be further from
the truth. To ascertain the correct
halachah in a given situation, a poseik
must bring the breadth and depth of his
knowledge to a painstaking review of the
specific facts at issue. Knowledge and
sensitivity to which facts are critical and
which are superfluous comes only after
a thorough mastery of the halachic
sources and experience in addressing
that particular topic.
If the goal is truth and the correct
application of truth, then the danger of
people deciding halachah for themselves
acutely threatens that goal. A poseik may
decide two different cases—which, to
the untrained eye, seem to be identi-
cal—in very different ways. For instance,
one man may blunder in the kitchen
with a meat pot and a dairy spoon, and
24 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
his friend may make a similar mistake,
and assume that the halachic decision
obtained by the first man should apply to
the second. But this is simply not the
case. Halachic decisions may be affected
by such issues as the type of food, the
timing of the blunder, the impact, and
the persons involved.
There are additional pitfalls of
attempting self-determination of
halachah. In deciding any halachic
issue, one must assume that his judg-
ment may be impaired in reaching a
decision that affects his own life; it
suggests an obvious conflict of interest.
Moreover, a halachic ruling obtained
by one person may have the context of
being part of an overall halachic
approach of a particular rabbi. Thus,
when someone “borrows” some lenien-
cy, it may lose its integrity and context.
For example, a woman might attend the
mikveh and insist that certain cosmetic
appliances, like nail attachments, may
be left attached because her friend
obtained such a ruling from her rabbi in
a different setting, under different cir-
cumstances, as part of that rabbi’s over-
all approach to the issues; but this
woman knows only of the leniency of
which she wishes to avail herself.
Imagine if people were to treat a
medical dilemma in this fashion. Who
would consider it appropriate to self-
medicate or undertake certain medical
treatments based upon the fact that his
friend who had similar symptoms
received that medical advice? Certainly,
the patient should consult experts and
undergo all the necessary medical tests
to independently determine what condi-
tion is afflicting him. Who would take
medication based upon a friend’s sug-
gestion from her pharmacist without
consideration by an expert as to the
interaction of all the drugs she is already
taking? So, too, in the arena of
halachah: each of us must consult
experts in the field, provide them with
all the data, and not do it ourselves.
A story is told about Rav Moshe
Feinstein, zt’l, and a woman who
appealed to him for guidance, having
discovered that her post-war second
marriage—undertaken in reliance upon
her belief that her first husband had
been killed, and upon an apparent p’sak
halachah (halachic decision) allowing
the second marriage—was an error; her
first husband was indeed still alive. The
rosh yeshiva refused to accept her ver-
sion of facts, insisting that if the poseik
upon whom she had allegedly relied
had indeed issued such a heter (permis-
sive ruling), then this awful outcome
would never have happened. Rav
Moshe was certain that such an honest
rabbi would have been the beneficiary
of Divine assistance in rendering the
correct decision.
The woman broke down in tears,
confessing that she did not receive such
a ruling, but a friend had, and she had
determined that the circumstances, and
thus the decision, were the same. Her
error was indeed a tragedy.
Often, people feel intimidated or hes-
itant to ask their rav certain questions of
halachah, sometimes dealing with sensi-
tive issues, such as laws of family purity,
mikveh, and others. My rebbe, Rav
Nuchim Tzvi Kornmehl, zt’l, used to
urge rabbanim to take upon themselves
the burden of making this process easi-
er for people, giving encouragement and
putting people at ease. Further, it goes
without saying that a rabbi must make
himself as accessible as humanly possi-
ble to his kehillah, such that no one
should feel disenfranchised and without
options other than to take a guess at the
halachah.
This is particularly critical in deal-
ing with halachic inquiries surround-
ing taharas hamishpachah and mikveh
attendance, where time constraints
make a rabbi’s availability so crucial.
Women should never be in a position
of having to wait an hour at the mikveh
for guidance, or even worse, “borrow-
ing” a heter from a friend because a
rabbi was not available or because she
did not think it made any difference.
Finally, a word about rabbinic profi-
ciency is in order. Not every rabbi is an
expert in every halachic area, and even
the experts often need some time to
deliberate and check sources. It is far
more important to come to a correct
conclusion than an independent or
quick one. This is well known to the
rabbanim, and should be appreciated
by their congregants.
In the merit of our conscientiously
pursuing Hashem’s Will through
halachic observance, may our poskim
and leaders be granted with Divine
assistance and blessing. ❖
Rabbi Chatzinoff is the mara d’asra of the
Tifereth Zvi Yeshiva minyan in Cedarhurst.
Midrashim
Continued from Page 23
were meant to be understood literally,
several questions should arise. First, it
would mean that the Plague of
Darkness was actually much more a
plague for the Israelites than it was for
the Egyptians. Second, it would
require us to believe that the Egyptians
did not notice how 80 percent of the
Israelite population suddenly van-
ished! Third, it would be inconceivable
that just a few weeks later, a decimat-
ed Israelite population would go with
such joy into the wilderness. How, in
the face of this massive loss of life,
could they heartily celebrate the
Exodus? Finally, the Midrash records
other opinions that have a much small-
er number of Israelites escaping the
Plague of Darkness. One opinion is
that only one out of 50 left Egypt.
Another opinion is that one in 500 sur-
vived. And the Talmud, in Maseches
Sanhedrin (111a), writes that only 2
out of every 600,000 left Egypt!
For one thing, only one of these
can be literal. Moreover, if we take
the calculation in Sanhedrin literally,
it would require us to believe that
180 billion Israelites lived in Egypt.
Truly the Rambam is correct in writ-
ing that the literal approach to
Midrashim is a foolish one. (And yet,
many years ago I heard a rabbi in our
community say that this Midrash in
Sanhedrin is literally true!)
Meanwhile, the lesson of these
Midrashim is missed. How about the
following interpretation for the 1-in-50
version? We are taught that the
Israelites were mired in 49 levels of
impurity, out of a possible 50 levels.
The Midrash hints at this low spiritual
level by stating that one in 50 Israelites
left Egypt—that only 2 percent of
Israel’s spirituality had been preserved
during the Exile.
The result of literal teaching of
Midrashim is mind-boggling. Our chil-
dren grow up believing that the
ancients lived a fairy-tale existence.
On the aforementioned tape series,
the narrator, a highly respected rebbi
(and former teacher of mine), says that
during the Plague of Wild Animals, all
the world’s animals descended upon
Egypt, bringing along their local cli-
mates. Thus, where the polar bears
were it was icy cold, while where the
lions were it was hot. This is taught as
literal truth, in total disregard of the
much more likely alternative: that wild
animals native to Egypt served as G-d’s
instrument of punishment, without a
bizarre change in climate.
In order to counter the teaching
method to which children are exposed,
I have sought, from when my kids were
young, to explain that Midrashim are
not necessarily literal. I have pointed
out that the Talmud itself states: “The
rabbis spoke in exaggerated terms”
(Chullin 90b). I hope that other par-
ents are doing the same.
I have no doubt that Rabbi
Rosenthal’s brave piece (and this arti-
cle as well) will encounter fierce oppo-
sition. It is too bad that in some quar-
ters, in-depth Torah study has been
forced to yield to shallowness. ❖
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 25

From The Chassidic Masters
Underneath
The Mountain
On the sixth day of Sivan in the year
2448 from creation (1313 BCE), the
entire nation of Israel assembled at the
foot of Mount Sinai. There G-d chose
us as His people and we committed
ourselves to observe the laws of life as
outlined in His Torah.
The Talmud (Shabbos 88a) points
out, however, that nearly 1,000 years
were to pass before our covenant with
G-d was sealed. As formulated at Sinai,
the contract between G-d and Israel
contained certain vulnerabilities; in
fact, its very validity was contestable. It
was only nine and a half centuries
later, with the events of Purim, that
our acceptance of the Torah was estab-
lished upon an unshakable foundation.
The Torah tells us that prior to the
revelation at Sinai, the People of Israel
“stood beneath the mountain” (Sh’mos
26 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
19:17). How does one stand beneath a
mountain? The Talmud interprets this
to mean that “G-d held the mountain
over them like a barrel and said to
them: If you accept the Torah, fine; if
not, here shall be your grave.” But a
most basic rule of Torah law is that a
contract entered into under duress is
not binding; hence, concludes the
Talmud, there was a standing contest
to the legality of our commitment to
observe the Torah.
But during the events of Purim, the
Jewish people reaffirmed their accept-
ance of the Divine law without any hint
of coercion from Above. In the words of
Megillas Esther (9:27), they “established
and accepted”—meaning, says the
Talmud, that they established as valid
and incontestable that which they had
accepted a millennium earlier at Sinai.
The Dark Ages
At Sinai, G-d revealed His very
essence to man. As the Torah tells it,
“G-d descended upon Mount Sinai”
and we “saw the G-d of Israel.” On
that day, we were “shown to know that
G-d is the Supreme Being; there is
none else besides Him”; “Face to face
G-d spoke to [us], on the mountain,
from within the fire” (Sh’mos 19:20
and 24:10; Devarim 4:35 and 5:4).
In terms of any open signs of the
Divine presence in our lives, the events
of Purim were the diametric opposite
of the revelation at Sinai. G-d’s home
on earth, the Beis HaMikdash (Holy
Temple) in Jerusalem, lay in ruins, its
rebuilding, ordered 14 years earlier by
the emperor Cyrus, halted by
Achashveirosh’s decree. The era of
prophecy—G-d’s direct communica-
tion to man—was coming to a close.
We were in exile, at the mercy of our
enemies, and G-d seemed oblivious to
the fate of His chosen people. Even
the miracle of Purim was so complete-
ly clothed in natural events that G-d’s
guiding hand in all that occurred was
shrouded by the illusion of fortunate
coincidence. This is most powerfully
demonstrated by the fact that in the
entire Megillas Esther, there is not a
single mention of G-d’s name!
How did this spiritual blackout affect
our commitment to G-d? It spurred us
to what can be described as the greatest
demonstration of our loyalty to Him in
our history. For 11 months, a decree of
annihilation hung over the entire com-
munity of Israel. As Megillas Esther
relates, even after Haman had fallen
out of favor with the king and was
hanged, the decree he initiated
remained in effect; the only thing that
Esther was able to achieve was to pre-
vail upon Achashveirosh to issue a sec-
ond decree, in which the Jews were
given the right to resist those who came
to kill them. The first decree, calling
upon all citizens of the realm to annihi-
late the Jewish minority in their midst
on the 13th of Adar, remained in force
until that date, when the Jews were vic-
torious in their war against their ene-
mies, killing 75,000 of their attackers.
For that entire year, when being a
Jew meant that one’s life was free for
the taking by imperial decree, not a
single Jew broke ranks from his people
to seek safety by assimilating into the
pagan populace. In fact, Megillas
Esther records that that period saw
many conversions to Judaism! So
strongly did the Jews radiate their faith
in G-d and their confidence in His sal-
vation, that many of their neighbors
were motivated to join a people with
such a powerful and immutable rela-
tionship with G-d.
Therein lies the deeper significance
of the “coercion” to accept the Torah
at Sinai and the validation of our
covenant with G-d achieved on Purim.
At Sinai, we had no choice. Faced
with such an awesome revelation of
the Divine truth, one could hardly
doubt or dissent. In effect, we were
forced to accept the Torah; over-
whelmed and completely enveloped by
the Divine reality (“the mountain held
Continued on Page 30
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 27
Hidden Fruit
BY CHANA WEISBERG
It’s the last day of the Hebrew
month of Nissan. On this breezy,
spring day, the sun shines down
on us and the small, newly bud-
ded branches rustle. We are
walking around my neighbor-
hood in search of a fruit tree.
Today is the last day to recite a
blessing, whose opportunity
comes only once a year—the
blessing on a fruit tree that has
begun to bud, which can be said
only in the month of Nissan.
Given the varying weather
patterns in Toronto, it’s not
every year that our search for a
28 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
budding tree in April is suc-
cessful. With our mild past
winter, though, we are hopeful.
About a block from my
home, we spot it.
My children excitedly inform
me that they remember how the
small, aromatic red-and-green
apples swelled from this tree’s
branches last summer. We exam-
ine the tree closely; the little
flowers that will soon turn into
sweet, juicy fruit are discernable.
Our search is over.
My husband opens the sid-
dur (prayer book) for us to read
the blessing. This is not a bless-
ing we are familiar with, as it is
one that is said but once a year.
I read the words to myself
in Hebrew, translating silently
in my mind:
Blessed are You, L-rd our
G-d…who has not made His
world lacking in anything and
He created in it goodly creatures
and goodly trees to give pleasure
to mankind from them.
As I recite the words, I feel
every fiber of my being rebelling.
Has not made His world lack-
ing? Not lacking in anything?
My heart vehemently
protests as my memory conjures
up images from the past year…
We are standing just a few
blocks away, on a colder day but
at this same time of year, at the
funeral of a young father. I can
almost hear the sobs of his
young pregnant widow and the
silence of his toddler son, still
too young to fathom the impact
of these grave events.
I hear myself answering the
phone just a few weeks ago to
an urgent request for members
of the community to say
Tehillim. The prayers are for a
14-year-old boy diagnosed with
a brain tumor.
On my lips are still the
Tehillim I said this morning for
a very likable, special woman in
our community, currently
undergoing chemotherapy.
And my eyes still sting from
the funeral of an elderly
woman, a former kindergarten
teacher who, just over a week
ago, was finally but so sadly
released from her last years of
suffering and hospitalization.
And these are but the
recent memories, and just the
memories from my own little
circle of acquaintances. Just
within my own community.
What of the suffering of our
brethren elsewhere—homes that
were shattered, lives that have
crumbled, brave individuals who
have been reduced to tears?
What of all the many tragedies
the world over, young and old suf-
fering a whole score of sorrows?
This is a world that is not
lacking in anything? Am I
really expected to extol a
world where misery mingles
so easily with happy times?
We are now walking the short
distance back to our home. I see
children playing innocently
along the streets of our suburb.
My youngest child—my
baby—who just turned two,
comes out of our home to greet
me. This last year has brought
many changes for her, as well.
She has grown from a barely
crawling infant to a walking, talk-
ing, and quite independent tod-
dler. Gazing at her, I silently pray
that the coming year will signal
just as much continued growth.
She is a budding flower,
replete with potential, burst-
ing with energy and capability
just waiting to develop.
I think back to the budding
flowers on the fruit tree—their
potential so tightly wrapped, hid-
den within, a secret to the world.
Now it is a plain green bud, but
within is held a precious secret,
a key to joy and survival. It won’t
be for several weeks until it pro-
duces its aromatic, juicy fruits.
But right now, within that bud, is
contained all that power, all that
latent potential. To the naked
eye it looks unremarkable and
spare, but the discerning eye
sees life-giving treasure hiding
just beneath the surface.
Within my child—within
every child, within each of us—
lies, like the budding fruit flow-
ers on the tree, all that it takes
to make our world a perfect
world; a world of redemption; a
world of peace and unity; a
world without strife and misery.
Each of us holds the keys and
the prospects to make our bar-
ren world bloom into a redemp-
tive one. We need only have the
eyes to see and discern what lies
beneath the tiny bud of each of
our positive actions, and have
the courage to create a world
“that does not lack in anything.”
Because hiding within our
world is the potential each of us
has to palpably discover and
actualize the reality that our G-d
has not made His world lacking
in anything and has created its
goodly creatures and goodly
trees to give pleasure to
mankind. (Chabad.org) ❖
Chana Weisberg is the author of
Divine Whispers: Stories that Speak
to the Heart and Soul and three other
books. She is a noted educator and
columnist, and lectures worldwide on
issues relating to women, faith,
relationships, and the Jewish soul.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 29
INSIGHTS ON THE TORAH
Continued from Page 26
over them like a barrel”), we could not
but commit ourselves to our Divinely
ordained mission and role.
But a thousand years later, we reaf-
firmed this commitment under entirely
different conditions. The Divine pres-
ence did not hover over us, compelling
us to recognize its truth. On the con-
trary: the Divine face was hidden. We
were on our own, our commitment to
G-d deriving wholly from within—from
an inner choice to cleave to Him regard-
less of how invisible He remained to us.
So Why The Coercion?
This is not to say that on Purim a
new, valid contract replaced the origi-
nal, contestable one. If that were the
case, what was the point of the revela-
tion at Sinai? Certainly, the Torah was
a binding commitment between our-
selves and G-d for the 950 years from
Moshe to Esther. If we look closely at
the Talmud’s interpretation of the
verse from Megillas Esther, it says that
30 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
the people of Israel “established what
they had already accepted”: Purim was
the fulfillment and corroboration of a
truth that had already been imple-
mented at Mount Sinai.
That truth is that our relationship
with G-d is not bounded by reason. It
is not dependent upon our under-
We were on our own, our commitment to G-d
deriving wholly from within—from an inner
choice to cleave to Him regardless of how
invisible He remained to us.
standing of it, or even upon our con-
scious awareness of its existence. It
transcends our conscious self, residing
in the very core of our souls.
This was why we were compelled to
receive the Torah at Mount Sinai: not
because we would not have freely cho-
sen to do so on our own, but because a
consciously chosen commitment could
not begin to express the true extent of
our acceptance of the Torah.
Our covenant with G-d extends
beyond the finite world of our con-
scious desires, embracing the infinite
expanses of our supra-conscious self—
the supra-conscious self that always
sees G-d and is unequivocally aware of
His truth. At Sinai, this supra-con-
scious self was revealed. Our con-
scious self, occupying but a minute
corner of our soul, was completely
overwhelmed and its choice-making
mechanisms were completely silenced.
This was the true significance of
what occurred when we stood beneath
the mountain. But for many centuries,
the events at Sinai were open to misin-
terpretation. In our own minds, we
remembered the event as a time when
we were overwhelmed by the Divine
truth and compelled to accept it. Did
this come from within—from a place
in our souls not accessible by the con-
scious self? Or perhaps it came from
without, from an external force which
coerced us, against our own true will,
into our covenant with G-d?
Then came Purim, with its total
eclipse of all perceivable G-dliness. To
remain a Jew—to remain loyal to our
covenant with G-d—was a choice unin-
fluenced by any supra-conscious revela-
tions. By choosing to accept the Torah
under such circumstances, we affirmed
that this is the true will of the Jew. We
affirmed that our “coercion” at Sinai was
not against our will, but in complete har-
mony with our true desire. (Chabad.org) ❖
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe. Courtesy of MeaningfulLife.com.
“Cool Dessert”
Shavuos Recipes
From Elite
With Shavuos here, and summer
rapidly approaching, many amateur
and professional chefs are avidly
searching for new lip-smacking recipes
that they can quickly whip up in the
kitchen.
This year, the gourmands at Elite,
Israel’s premier chocolate and confec-
tions company, are offering several cre-
ative culinary ideas with a distinct
Mediterranean halva twist to millions
of consumers in the U.S., Israel, and
the UK. For Shavuos, one can prepare
cool and creamy rich desserts using
the finest Elite products, including
eight different kinds of chocolate bars
and halva, which are readily available
at local supermarkets and sweet shops.
Elite’s halva is known as a nutritious
Mediterranean treat that is also rich in
calcium content. Elite chocolate bars
and halva carry both the OU and
Badatz kashrus symbols.
Below are two of Elite’s most popu-
lar summertime dessert recipes that
are both fun and easy to make.
B’tayavon and Chag Samayach!
Chocolate-Halva Frozen Delight
(Dairy)
Ingredients:
15 oz. Elite halva
4 small containers sweet whipped
cream
9 oz. Elite chocolate spread

I am starting a brand-new business
and I don’t know if I should incorpo-
rate. What options do I have?
Your question may not necessarily
be simple to answer. You will need to
consider several things, and your
options are not confined to the ones
I’ll present in this column. You should
also consult with your accountant,
since there are tax implications.
If you are considering to incorpo-
rate, you should know that there are
certain similarities between a corpora-
tion and what is known as a “limited
liability company” (LLC). Both are
legal entities created by law and
involve state filings. Both help protect
your personal assets from your busi-
ness liabilities.
Both have very few ownership
Corporations are owned via shares of
stock; limited liability companies are
owned by membership interest.
Corporations are required to hold
annual meetings of shareholders and
directors and to keep written minutes
of each meeting. Limited liability com-
panies do not have this requirement.
restrictions and may be owned by non- A corporation is a separately taxable
U.S. residents, business entities, or entity where profits and losses are
individuals (except corporations with taxed directly within the corporation at
what is known as Subchapter S sta- the corporate tax rate, except
tus). As the needs of your company Subchapter S status. This can lead to
Corporations are owned via shares of stock; limited
liability companies are owned by membership interest.
change, the corporation can amend double taxation when corporate profits
the existing business structure or form are paid out to owners as individuals. A
a new business structure. limited liability company is a “pass-
There are also some differences that through” tax entity, and, like corpora-
you should be made aware of. tions with Subchapter S status, the
Corporations issue stock, while limited profit or loss generated by the business
liability companies do not. is reflected on the personal income-tax
return of the owners.
The Limited liability company com-
bines many of the advantages of a cor-
poration—such as limited personal lia-
bility—with the tax advantages of a
partnership. A limited liability compa-
ny offers personal liability protection
to all of its owners (called “members”
or “managers”). It may be treated like a
partnership or S Corporation for tax
purposes, allowing income or losses to
be reported on the member’s individ-
ual tax returns, thereby avoiding dou-
ble taxation. Both a corporation and an
individual can be owners of a limited
liability company.
If you are considering incorporating,
call my office for a consultation and we
will assist you in making your decision. ❖
The Law Offices Of Howard M. Adelsberg is a
full-service law firm with over 20 years of
experience, and handles a variety of legal matters
in the areas of personal injury, estate matters,
real estate transactions and litigation,
commercial litigation, and family law. You can
call the office at 516-569-6930.
Readers are encouraged to send questions to
HAdelsberg@Lawofhma.com or to Law Offices
Of Howard M. Adelsberg, 445 Central Avenue,
Cedarhurst, NY 11516.

Preparation:
Mix halva and contents from 2 con-
tainers of the whipped cream using a
blender until you get a smooth whip.
Pour into a long pan until it is half
full and place in freezer.
Melt the chocolate spread together
with another half container of
whipped cream, and whip the remain-
ing whipped cream until firm, then
fold chocolate mix into whipped
cream.
Pour into pan over halva layer.
Cover with saran wrap and place in
freezer for 6 hours.
Recommendation: Serve over halva
strips.

Halva-Chocolate Balls (Dairy)

Ingredients:
8 oz. Elite halva
4 oz. Elite bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. Elite milk chocolate
1 stick of butter
5 spoons confectionary sugar
1 cup milk
9 oz. Elite petibar biscuits

Preparation:
Melt chocolate (both types), butter,
confectionary sugar, and milk; cool.
Crush petibar (biscuits) and halva in
blender, place in large container, and
pour chocolate mix over it.
If the mixture is too wet, you may
add more biscuits. Cool the mixture.
Form balls out of the mixture.
You may cover or decorate the balls
with chopped walnuts.
Place in refrigerator for at least an
hour before serving. ❖

Deadline for Advertising

in the Next Issue is
Monday, June 5
at 5:00 P.M.
Call 516-984-0079

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 31


Now I Know Why
I’ve always assumed that an inher-
ently honest nature keeps one from
considering a life of crime. Recently,
however, I’ve had second thoughts
about that—at least in my case. To play
it safe, most bank robbers wear masks,
and now I understand that it just might
be the prospect of wearing a mask that
has kept me on the straight and narrow
all these years. I will testify to the fact
that while apnea and sleepless nights
are troublesome, wearing a mask is no
walk in the park, either.
After waiting for several weeks, I
received a call informing me that my
sleep mask was ready to be delivered.
Oh, joy! I made an appointment for the
following Tuesday. (My mother always
told me that Tuesday was a mazeldikeh
day, so I was optimistic.) About 2:00 in
the afternoon, on the day in question,
the doorbell rang. I’m one of those
people who are never lucky enough to
receive an early morning or late after-
noon delivery of anything. My mother
may have been right about Tuesday
being a mazeldikeh tug, but my own
personal mazel is such that a delivery
is always right smack in the middle of
the day, thereby ruining any plans I
32 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
might care to make.
I opened the door to a uniformed
gentleman. The fact that he had his
arms wrapped around two large boxes
didn’t escape my attention. So, instead
of the customary “hello,” my greeting
He showed me how to put it together, take it
apart, wash out the plastic container, attach the
hose, detach the hose, clean the filter, and
remove the container in order to fill it with water.
was more along the lines of “Uh-oh, this
isn’t going to be a simple thing.” I must
have said it aloud, because his first
words to me were, “Don’t let these boxes
worry you, ma’am. The equipment
inside is compact and simple to use.”
He was half right. The apparatus is
relatively compact. But, as for the “sim-
ple to use” part of his commentary, that
depends entirely on the user. I’m not
mechanical, nor am I the quick study I
once was, so, as he placed the boxes on
my kitchen table, my anxiety level
headed due north. I stood silently by as
he opened the boxes. The first thing I
noticed was a book sitting on top of a
machine that resembled a mini humid-
ifier. My new friend insisted it was a
booklet—probably because he thought
that if he called it a booklet, I would be
lulled into thinking that the material
inside was condensed and simple.
But I’m not that easy to fool. One
look at the thickness of this tome and
I immediately knew I was in trouble.
As is my custom, I went to the last
page first. I do this in order to make a
quick determination as to how much
reading I’ll have to do. I found out.
And my first thought was that anything
that requires 76 pages of description
and explanation is not for me. I said as
much to the man, who, by the way,
doubled as a technician. I made it
abundantly clear to him that reading
the booklet wouldn’t do the trick.
I asked him to give me a complete
demonstration of how to operate the
equipment, and my first thought was
that the guy was a prince because he
never batted an eyelash. In fact, he
was too calm about it. And that’s when
I realized that this was no surprise to
him. He hears this plea from everyone
who gets snookered into accepting this
face-mask business.
He showed me how to put it togeth-
er, take it apart, wash out the plastic
container, attach the hose, detach the
hose, clean the filter, and remove the
container in order to fill it with water.
He also answered my questions about
how often the water would need to be
replaced, how often to clean the filter,
and how often to wash the plastic.
After 30 minutes I finally let the guy
escape, but I didn’t think to write
down this information. So chances are
I’ll have to let my eyes tell me when
the water gets too low, when the plas-
tic looks yucky, and when the filter
looks dirty. Either I rely on my powers
of observation, or I read 76 pages, and
since I have no intention of doing the
latter, I guess I’ll have to eyeball it.
As of this writing, I’ve worn the mask
(for want of a more descriptive word)
exactly once, and what they say is true:
It will take time to get used to this. It’s
not nearly as uncomfortable as the one
I was forced to wear in the sleep lab.
But then it’s also not as comfortable as
sleeping without one. A clear plastic
hose, measuring two inches in circum-
ference and three feet in length, runs
from the humidifying machine to the
nasal plugs that rest just above my lip
and press into my nostrils.
 I had a hard time trying to sleep
with it, and being a restless sleeper
made it even more difficult. Every time
I wanted to turn over, I had to move
the hose. As I schlepped it from left to
right and then back again, it occurred
to me that if I wasn’t careful I might
accidentally compress the thing and
then there would be no air getting into
my nostrils, the nasal piece would act
as a plug, and eventually I would suf-
focate. It wasn’t a comforting thought.
But on the positive side, I realize
that, G-d forbid should a robber sur-
prise us in the middle of the night,
we’ll have nothing to worry about.
Under normal circumstances most
people appear defenseless when awak-
ened from sleep, but not moi—at least
not anymore. One look at me in full
regalia would scare the life out of the
most determined intruder.
If the first night is any indication of
what’s to come, I may have a major
problem. The purpose of wearing this
equipment is to help keep me breath-
ing, which hopefully will allow me to
sleep through the night. On my maid-
en voyage with the humidifier, hose,
and nose apparatus, I was so anxiety-
ridden that I didn’t sleep a wink. In
fact, I had less sleep last night than at
any time in the past five years. Not a
good sign. ❖
Hannah Berman lives in Woodmere and is a
licensed real-estate broker associated with
Marjorie Hausman Realty. She can be reached at
Savtahannah@aol.com or 516-902-3733.

And it came to pass on the third day...

(Bamidbar 19:16)

A Galilean scholar lectured before Rabbi Chisda:

“Blessed be the Merciful One who gave a three-fold Torah
(consisting of Torah, Prophets and, Scriptures) to a three-fold
people (comprising Kohanim, Levites, and Israelites) through a
third-born (Moses, the third child of Amram and Yocheved)
on the third day of the third month.”
(Talmud, Shabbos 88a)

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 33

 Dear Editor,
Since we made aliyah, I have really
missed your paper, especially the edi-
torials. Thanks for sharing it online at
5tjt.com!!
Robin Weinstein
Israel
Dear Editor,
Rav Aryeh Zev Ginzberg’s article
“Reading Is Believing” (on the cover of
last week’s Five Towns Jewish Times)
correctly warns us about the dangers
of lashon hara and slander that is read-
ily available in newspapers, magazines,
and websites. He points to Rav Chaim
Volozhiner’s comment on the juxtapo-
sition of the clauses of Lo seileich
rachil regarding not speaking slander
and Lo sa‘amod al dam rei‘echa regard-
ing not taking another’s life: Don’t
cause harm through your speech.
However, he could also have quoted
the Netziv (See Ha’amek Davar;
Ha’amek She’eilah, Parashat Vayikra
68:2) who explains that although there
is a prohibition of defamation (clause
1), that prohibition is overridden by
the obligation to save another or to tes-
tify in his behalf (clause 2). Thus, the
verse should be read, “You shall not go
up and down as a slanderer among
34 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
your people; but, nevertheless, you
shall not stand by the blood of your
neighbor (and you must speak out in
order to prevent harm).”
I do not challenge Rav Ginzberg’s
sensitivity to the laws of shemiras
ha’lashon, chas v’shalom! I am, con-
cerned, however, that there is more to
the issue than he allows in his article.
Lashon hara is a tool of abuse—both
when derogatory speech defames inno-
cent people, destroying their reputa-
tions, but also when warnings to
refrain from derogatory speech are
used to silence victims of abuse who
cry out for help. As careful as we must
be not to speak, listen to, or repeat dis-
paraging information when it is forbid-
den, we must not allow the threat of
speaking lashon hara to silence the cry
of innocent victims.
Victims of abuse need to speak out,
for all kinds of personal reasons, in
order to help themselves. Their sup-
porters need to speak out in order to
help them. And the community needs
to speak out in order to hold the perpe-
trators responsible and in order to pro-
tect other innocents from potential
harm. All must be diligent in meeting
the conditions required for such
Continued on Page 37
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 35
Secrets Of The 15-Minute Chef
We Could All Use A Little Help
BY JAMIE GELLER
Shavuos is here, another wonder-
ful Yom Tov that just seems to have
popped out of nowhere—or rather,
come in a flash along with this oh-so-
oppressive humidity and heat. I may
be slightly more sensitive to the tem-
perature, as I am as huge as a house
or as big as a barn (take your pick)
during the final days of my pregnan-
cy. While everything else seems to be
moving in super-fast-forward motion,
these last few days of my third and
final trimester feel like they are being
measured in months, not hours. And
now, I must cook, devise a game plan
for my daughter should I go into
labor on Yom Tov or Shabbos, and
figure out a way to feel normal and
not like a schmatte that’s been run-
ning ragged (or, as my favorite saying
goes, “like a chicken without a
head”) from one thing to the next.
I think the answer is to do special
things for myself and my family, take
time out, and lean on others as much
as humanly possible. There’s no shame
in that, you know: looking to others for
help, support, advice, babysitting
and—most importantly—sharing in
the cooking load. The more your
guests, friends, and family contribute
to the meal, the more heimishe it is.
You know people feel so happy when
they can be of help, when they can
36 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
bring their famous cheesecake (think
last week’s recipe), their to-die-for
lasagna, or just a couple of sodas.
A lot of us tend to be very control-
ling. Okay, I’ll admit it—we tend to be
control freaks. It’s that “my way or the
highway” mentality, the “if you want
something done, and done right, then
do it yourself” attitude, that “I need to
oversee every detail” approach to life.
Trust me—coming from a recovering
perfectionist, overachieving, obses-
sive, multitasking, “Jamie, you have
too much on your plate again” per-
son—that whole “I have to do it all”
style is completely overrated.
Here’s another favorite saying:
“Don’t be afraid to delegate.” I’ve
found that some of the most success-
ful people in the world, from corpo-
rate CEOs to mommies of 10, are
great delegaters. Those who can
relinquish the right amount of con-
trol and power to the right people, at
the right time, seem to get everything
done. And when it feels like every-
thing is crashing down on you and
there isn’t enough time to shop (let
alone cook), to sleep (let alone pam-
per yourself), or to even find some-
thing in your closet to wear (let alone
iron)—just delegate!!
My mother-in-law takes my daugh-
ter for a night here and there. This
past week, I used her expert overnight
babysitting skills to enjoy and cele-
brate my birthday with a nice dinner
and my even nicer hubby. My step-
mother-in-law, who is coming for
Shabbos and Yom Tov, is practically
cooking all the meals and will also
obviously be on hand should we go
into labor. And my mother has started
shopping for me this last month—
buying enough fresh (organic!—
woohoo, because she’s paying!) fruits
and veggies to feed my entire block.
So in the end, instead of everything
coming crashing down on me, it
seems to all be coming together. My
only remaining issue is finding some-
thing to wear in this heat. But you
know what? My new awesome neigh-
bor offered me her light Shabbos
maternity robe and, after writing this
article, I just may just go knock on
her door and take her up on the offer.
Here’s one more tip before I sign off,
especially if you don’t have as generous
of a mother-in-law, stepmother-in-law,
and mother (who lives for shopping for
organic produce, among other things):
When I do cook, I find that if I cook
something posh (British-talk for
“fancy”) then I need to cook less.
Which means that if the dish is some-
how special, unique, or out of the ordi-
nary, I feel less of a need to go over-
board with how many dishes I serve. So
here is a posh, and oh-so-delish (Jamie-
talk for “delicious”), gourmet dairy
salad that’s perfect for Shavuos. Enjoy,
and good Yom Tov.
Goat-Cheese Walnut Salad
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: none
Chill Time: none
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 5-oz. package mixed field greens
11⁄2 cups dried cranberries or
Craisins
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 51⁄2-oz. log soft fresh goat cheese,
crumbled
11⁄2 cups walnuts
For dressing:
21⁄2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
1
⁄2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
7 Tbsp. olive oil
1
⁄2 tsp. salt
1
⁄4 tsp. pepper
Steps:
1. Mix greens, cranberries, and
onion in large salad bowl.
2. Sprinkle cheese and walnuts over
salad mixture.
3. For dressing, mix vinegar, mus-
tard, and thyme in small bowl.
4. Gradually whisk in olive oil; sea-
son with salt and pepper.
5. Toss dressing with salad immedi-
ately before serving.
Tip: To bring out a nice roasted
nutty flavor, place the walnuts in a
shallow baking dish and roast them in
the oven for 10 minutes at 350°F.
Jamie Geller is an NYU graduate and former
senior writer/producer for HBO. She quit her job
to be a stay-at-home mom, publish a quick-recipe
cookbook, write newspaper and magazine articles,
host and produce a kosher food TV pilot, teach
dance classes at the local gym, and care for her
husband and baby girl in Far Rockaway.
Jamie’s cookbook will be released by Feldheim
during the Fall of 2006. You can contact her at
jamie@jamiegeller.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Continued from Page 34
speech, including knowledge of or ver-
ification of the facts, proper motiva-
tion, the curbing of personal animosi-
ties, no exaggeration, and the like.
Allowances must be made for persist-
ent rumors and circumstantial evi-
dence when their credibility meets
halachic standards.
Too often, our community, its lead-
ers, and its institutions have failed
those who were abused. I know this
firsthand from speaking to many credi-
ble victims. These victims have felt
ignored by the establishment and feel
they have no place to turn but to the
media. Some are appalled by this pub-
lic exposure of our failings in the news-
papers and invoke the principle of
h.illul Hashem, the desecration of G-d’s
Name, a value that obliges us to live in
ways that protect and enhance the rep-
utation and integrity of Hashem, His
Torah, and the Jewish people. Airing
our dirty laundry, they argue—especial-
ly in the general press—is deplorable.
Not surprisingly, this is one of the argu-
ments these very same people use to
prevent victims from coming forward
and speaking out in the first place.
I disagree with their argument. The
h.illul Hashem was not perpetrated by
the victims and those that speak out in
their defense; it was committed by
those rabbis or teachers when they
abused. The h.illul Hashem was perpe-
trated when those in positions of
authority and responsibility refused to
come to the aid of the victims. The
h.illul Hashem was perpetrated when
Jewish law was misinterpreted and
misapplied. The h.illul Hashem was
perpetrated when vulnerable girls and
boys, men and women, were sacrificed
on the altars of individual, institution-
al, and communal interests. Articles
such as those in New York magazine
and discussions on the web—and this
very article—would have been unnec-
essary if our community leaders would
have acted responsibly in the first
place. That is the real h.illul Hashem!
Ultimately we will be judged by how
we respond to the cries of victims and
what we do to protect them—or to pro-
tect ourselves. When we fail our peo-
ple and we undermine our faith, we
will be condemned. But while the
judgment of the general community
may be harsh, the judgment of Heaven
will be even harsher.
Rabbi Mark Dratch
West Hempstead

And all the people

saw the voices
(Bamidbar 20:15)

They saw what is ordinarily

heard and they heard what
is ordinarily seen.

(Midrash Lekach Tov; Rashi)

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 37

 Israel Day Gala Concert

Dr. Joseph Frager (L), chairman of the board of American Friends of Ateret
Cohanim, and Dr. Paul Brody (R). Both are chairmen of the Israel Day Parade
concert which will take place this Sunday, June 4, in Central Park.
Among the featured performers will be Shloime Dachs, Blue Fringe,
Shlomo Katz, and Yoni Shlomo.

38 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

 Back to the defendant (your hus- naps until the last guest has left, help-
band). It sounds as though he is some- ing with the cleanup—these are just
what of a hermit, and that’s working for some examples of what needs could
him just fine. But it’s not working for look like, and these concepts need to
you. He may never understand your be discussed up front.
need for people besides himself; he Many women reading this column
doesn’t have to understand that need. will be envious of the fact that you
But that fact shouldn’t stop you from seem to satisfy your husband so totally
Dear Esther, tacular. (Do you get the feeling I’m learning the art of negotiating. And and he only has eyes for you. In that
My husband of 24 years is very happy very fond of my female friends?) It that’s where compromise comes into respect, consider yourself very lucky.
to be with me and no one else. He never doesn’t sound as though you’ve made play. Surely, there are certain things he Some husbands demand to have
wants company. He doesn’t need people these connections for yourself, and wants from you, whether it’s to sit home guests every Shabbos, which would
to visit, and he’s never thrilled about perhaps you’re using your husband as with him several evenings a week doing lead one to wonder whether they dread
going out to other people’s homes. He’s an excuse for it not happening for you. crossword puzzles, or baking his being alone with their wives. It’s kind
always been this way, and even though So where do you begin? Getting favorite cake, or calling his mother five of sweet that yours enjoys being alone
I’m a much more social person, I’ve close to others can be challenging, but times a week. Find your leverage. with you so much.
kind of gone along with it. We were hardly impossible. You may consider The key is that he doesn’t have to He sounds like a good man who will
busy raising our children and the house joining a few women’s groups (such as want to have company, but he has to be open to a discussion and, hopefully,
never felt empty, so I wasn’t aware of Amit), or a book club, or a group that be a mensch about it and do it simply a working compromise. But regardless
our lack of good friends. does volunteer work. Any time you because it pleases you. Give to get. of how successful you are at negotiat-
Now, with our kids more or less out work or play side-by-side with others, One hand washes the other…you bake ing this area of your life, try to keep
of the house, I suddenly feel an enor- you have an opportunity to connect. his cake, he tells you how often he can forging ahead with your own relation-
mous desire to be with other people. I Take a chance. Ask someone out for tolerate Shabbos guests. Will once a ships. That work is yours, and yours
realize more and more how interesting lunch. Yes, there is the risk of being month work for him? Fine. After that, alone. But it is so very worth the effort!
everyone is in their own way, and I find rejected, but if you don’t take risks negotiate what having company means Esther
myself really wanting to get to know you’ll never advance your cause. But I to you. Spell out the parameters,
Esther Mann, LMSW has a private practice in
new people and, as you so often write doubt that your husband is really the because sometimes people can seem a Lawrence. She can be reached at 516-314-2295
about, “connecting.” one holding you back. bit dense. Being a gracious host, no or mindbiz44@aol.com.
I recently invited two couples over
for Shabbos lunch. It was going pretty
well, but then, as soon as we finished
benching, my husband got up and said
he needed to take a nap. I was horri-
fied. I think the two couples looked
surprised and suddenly got up to leave.
I think they felt as though they were
being kicked out of the house. I was
speechless, not knowing what to say.
Naturally, I was very embarrassed.
My husband is a nice guy in gener-
al, but just doesn’t need too many peo-
ple in his life. He doesn’t seem to
understand what my needs are all
about. I don’t know how to get through
to him. Though I seem to be enough
for him, he’s not enough for me
(though I do love him).
How can I get him to understand
that I’ve grown and want my home to
feel alive with friends and good times? I
feel lonely and am starting to resent my
husband for his isolation. I also feel
dragged down by him. My world is too
narrow and I’m ready for it to open up.
Any ideas for me?
Lonely

Dear Lonely,
How nice that you’re discovering the
importance of friends and delighting in
the special gifts that everyone has to
offer. It’s easy to be distracted from this
aspect of your persona while building a
life with a husband and raising kids.
Now that your children are grown, it’s a
perfect time to get to know yourself and
others better. One way of doing this is
by establishing close ties with female
friends, who can inspire you in ways
you never thought possible. They will
provide a shoulder to lean on when the
going gets rough, a person to laugh with
until your sides hurt, and someone who
can listen to you in that special way that
only a female friend can.
Though I want to address your hus-
band’s lack of interest in socializing, I
am first struck by the fact that you feel
you need him on board to make
friends. There are couple friends, who
are wonderful to have, but tend to be
“light” in nature, and then there are
those amazing “one-on-one” female
buddies, who can be intense and spec-
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 39

OHEL’S Next Tourney In Lawrence
On June 26
Nearly 150 golfers participated in
OHEL’s two annual Chol Hamoed golf
tournaments in Florida and California.
Both tournaments were played in
beautiful, sunny weather and featured
great food, prizes, and great giveaways
to all who participated.
Nearly 80 golfers participated in the
OHEL Invitational that took place at
the beautiful Doral Golf Resort and
Spa in Miami and was sponsored by
Meridian Capital Group. Each player
received deluxe golf club travel bags as
gifts. OHEL’s friend and benefactor,
Milton Cohen of UKT Tours, which
oversees the yearly Pesach program at
the Doral, provided a delicious lunch
and buffet dinner.
The winning foursome of the Florida
40 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
tournament was: Michael Pinewski,
David Neiss, Jacob Harman, and Evan
Honigsfeld. The winner of the JetBlue
Challenge was David Neiss.
Approximately 62 golfers played in
OHEL’s “California Classic” at the Ted
Robinson 27-Hole Golf Course,
Rancho Las Palmas Marriott Resort &
Spa in Palm Springs, California.
Hosted and sponsored by Chaim
Kaminetzky and Pesach With The
Chevrah,” this year’s successful tour-
nament was won by Robbie, Eric,
Judah and Adam Silverman.
The JetBlue Challenge winner was
Michael Greenspan; Meir and Robyn
Gelman of Los Angeles won the trip to
Israel sponsored by Pesach with the
Chevra and Binyamina Wines.
OHEL thanks Mordy Sohn and Ezra
Birnbaum, the chairmen of the Florida
and California tournaments respec-
tively, for all their help in making each
tourney a success. OHEL also thanks
“Lobo” for donating the golf balls used
in the tournament.
You can join OHEL for the upcom-
ing golf event on June 26 at The
Seawane Country Club in Lawrence.
Last year’s event was sold out, so regis-
ter today at www.ohelgolf.com.
The real winners of all OHEL golf
tournaments are the thousands of chil-
dren and families who depend upon
OHEL—they are the beneficiaries of
the day!
Read About A Good Explosion
By Rivki Rosenwald
“I’ve had it with rising gasoline
prices!”…“Is the U.S. left with no
choice but to negotiate with the
Hamas terrorists?”…“Is our govern-
ment taking any concrete steps to stop
the threat of a nuclear bomb from
exploding?”
Are these familiar anxieties and
frustrations that plague you?
Well, there certainly was a good
explosion last week in Washington
DC—where 550 motivated Jewish lay-
men, exploding with purpose and ener-
gy, were set loose through the halls of
Congress. NORPAC (a national organ-
ization for political action) brought
about 20 busloads of concerned men,
women and students (among whom
were many successful professionals
who wisely took the day off) to DC to
meet with our Senators and
Congressmen. The meetings were held
with one congressman or senator at a
time, with his/her complete attention
focused exclusively on the points the
individual groups were presenting.
So, what was being addressed? Bills!
Legislation that is pending right now in
Congress. Bills that affect the security of
the United States and Israel. Bills that
get buried on the bottom of the pile of
hundreds of bills up for legislation. We
show up to make things happen! We
cause the statesmen to focus on our
issues and get assurances that they will
vote for it. And by going there we break
through the personal malaise many of us
suffer—speculation, conversation and
frustration without action to stop the
problems and the threats we face.
We encourage our congressman to co-
sponsor such bills as the Palestinian Anti-
Terrorism Act, which would place strong
economic sanctions on Hamas until they
decry terrorism in their streets and insti-
tutions and further obligate them to rec-
ognize the right of Israel to exist as a
Jewish state; the U.S.–Israel Energy
Cooperation Act, which would fund joint
ventures between Israel and the U.S. to
find alternative sources of energy using
Israel’s proven scientific and technologi-
cal expertise; and the Iran Freedom
Support Act, which would penalize for-
eign companies that invest in Iran’s ener-
gy sector as well as provide assistance to
pro-democratic forces in Iran and would
fund independent broadcasters to Iran.
We elucidate the strong points of the bill
and explain why it should be passed—
now! We engage in dialogue that helps us
understand the thinking of our represen-
tatives and get an idea of where they
stand and who else’s support to seek to
help the bill get passed.
We met with over 400 Congressmen
and Senators. We exercised our demo-
cratic right to affect our present and
future. Everyone who went felt the opti-
mism of making something happen.
An extremely rewarding aspect of the
mission was the opportunity to bring
children along (from 8th grade to gradu-
ate students) and let them learn to lobby
their congressman directly, thereby gain-
ing the realization that they can take an
active role in affecting the course of their
lives and the actions of our country. It
was especially exciting for me to share
this with my eighth grader. Though she
will be going to Washington next week on
her graduation trip and learning much
about our government, her experiences
on that trip will not be comparable to
speaking directly to senators and con-
gressmen on vital issues.
Last year, only two people from Long
Island were among the group. This year
there were forty. Hopefully, next year
when NORPAC (a bipartisan group rep-
resenting Israel’s interests in the U.S.)
creates this pilgrimage opportunity again,
Continued on Page 42
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 41
AROUND THE FIVE TOWNS
Continued from Page 40
we Long Islanders will grab our children
and go join the explosion of energy. Thus
many more of us will be among those rac-
ing through the offices of congressmen
expending our energy lobbying for the
bills that affect us most. Trust me, these
are the kind of explosions we want to be
setting off.
If you would like further informa-
tion about NORPAC, visit their web-
site at www.norpac.net, or call 201-
788-5133. ❖
Rivki Rosenwald is an attorney who lives in
Lawrence with her husband and five children.
On Deathbed, Nazi Turns Over
Parchment Cut From Torah Scroll
On an official visit to Germany,
Motty Doten, head of Israel’s Galilee
Regional Council was approached by
Deter Hertzig, a member of the
German Bundestadt (parliament) with
an astounding story.
The German official’s father admitted
on his deathbed, that he had been a pilot
in Hitler’s Luftwaffe (air force) and had
bombed many synagogues. On one occa-
sion, he visited one of these synagogues
and found, strewn on the floor, a scroll
made of parchment, which he thought
would make good material for an I.D.
folder, and he cut a piece from the Torah
scroll for that purpose. Now, on his
deathbed, he asked his son to hand it over
to the first Jew he met and request that he
give it to a holy rabbi in Israel who would
surely know what to do with it. He
explained that, in an age of Holocaust
42 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
The excised piece of a Torah scroll that a Nazi made into an I.D. holder for himself is shown by
Rabbi Yitzchok Grossman of Israel to Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis at her Hineni Torah class as
another chilling reminder of the Holocaust and an important message for the Jewish people.
denial, he wanted the Jews to have proof
positive that it really happened. The Nazi
died soon after making that request.
Motty Doten gave the I.D. and wallet
made from the Torah Scroll to Rabbi
Yitzchok David Grossman, founder and
dean of Migdal Ohr in Israel. When the
rabbi read the words on the parchment,
he began to tremble. The terrifying pas-
sages were from the tochachah—the
chapter of rebuke in which the Torah
warns of terrible tragedies that will
befall the Jewish people if they abandon
G-d’s Torah (Devarim 28:57–62).
Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, herself a
Holocaust survivor, who was appointed
by President Bush to the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Council, said, “We cannot
simply attribute this to coincidence.
That Nazi could have cut a piece from
any part of the Torah, but G-d led him to
these terrifying passages, and it reaches
us now, when the president of Iran,
Ahmadinejad, Hitler’s successor, lays his
plans for a new Holocaust and threatens
to wipe Israel off the map.
Rabbi Grossman visited Rebbetzin
Jungreis’s Torah class in Manhattan,
the home of the internationally
renowned Hineni outreach organiza-
tion, and displayed the Torah wallet,
the Nazi I.D. Rabbi Grossman and
the rebbetzin explained the meaning
of these passages to hundreds of
young professional who gasped at this
proof-positive evidence of the
Holocaust and its implications for
today.
Alphonse D’Amato Receives 5T
Jewish Council’s Tenzer Award
Former New York Senator Alphonse
M. D’Amato will receive the Five Towns
Jewish Council’s Twelfth Herbert
Tenzer Memorial Legislative Award at
its annual breakfast. The event will be
held at Temple Hillel on Rosedale Road
in North Woodmere, on Sunday, June
11, at 9:30 a.m. The Tenzer family gen-
erously funds this event. Jeffrey S.
Wiesenfeld, Principal of Bernstein
Global Wealth Management, will make
the presentation.
The award is being given to Mr.
D’Amato in gratitude for his successful
effort, as Chairman of the United
States Banking Committee, to restore
assets to Holocaust survivors and their
heirs, ultimately forcing the Swiss
Banks to pay over $1 billion in restitu-
tion to survivors. He served as Special
Master in the Holocaust settlement
case with the German and Austrian
banks, having been appointed by the
United States District Court of the
Southern District of New York.
In 1995, Mr. D’Amato was selected
as the National Republican Senatorial
Chairman. His political skills have
helped elect scores of local, state, and
federal candidates to office. He is cur-
rently one of the most sought after
public policy and business develop-
ment strategists in the country. He is a
founding partner of Park Strategies
LLC, established in 1998, which has in Lawrence and was one of the founders
provided advice and counsel to its cor- of Congregation Beth Sholom in
porate clients throughout the nation. Lawrence, New York. He created the
During his tenure in the Senate (1981- Save the Children Foundation, which
1999), he served as Chairman of the rescued children from the Holocaust. He
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing was one of the founders of the United
and Urban Affairs, overseeing legislation Jewish Appeal; the America-Israel
affecting America’s financial institutions, Friendship League, where he served as
banking, public and private housing, President for over 25 years; Cardozo Law
urban development, and foreign trade School; Crown Heights Yeshiva; Friends
promotion. He served on the Senate of Survivors; the Jewish Community
Finance Committee, the Senate Relations Council; B’nai Zion, where he
Subcommittees on Health Care, was a National Vice President; the Salute
International Trade, and Taxation and to Israel Parade; the Long Island Lodge
IRS Oversight. He was the Chairman of of B’nai Brith; and Yeshiva University. He
the Commission on Security and and his wife Florence were actively
Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki involved in the Lawrence-Cedarhurst
Commission). He authored the Libya and Woodmere Chapters of Hadassah.
Sanctions Act to combat efforts by rene- He participated in the early efforts of the
gade nations to finance international ter- Five Towns Jewish Council. He was also
rorism through oil field development. the Chairman of Barton’s Candy
During his tenure on the Senate’s Caucus Corporation.
on International Narcotics Control, Mr. This event is free and open to the
D’Amato was a leader in the fight against public. For further information, call
illegal drugs. He has appeared frequently 516-374-6374. Linda Dascher, RN, (left), Peninsula Hospital Center’s vice-president of performance
improvement, and Edward Ozechowski (right), administrative director of cardio-pulmonary
in the Five Towns, most notably, when he services, present an achievement award to Jeanne Gilligan, RT, RRT (center) for her exemplary
accompanied President Ronald Reagan leadership and collaboration with the Intensive Care Unit staff as well as for her valuable service
to Temple Hillel and the home of its Continued on Page 44 in patient care rounds.
rabbi, Morris Friedman.
He was honored by the Conference
of Jewish Organizations of Nassau
County (COJONC) during its first din-
ner. He appears regularly on radio and
television. Mr. D’Amato and his wife
live in Island Park.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld is the son of
Holocaust survivors. He served in the
foreign counterintelligence division of
the FBI. He then became an assistant to
Congressman Thomas Manton and
Queens Borough President Claire
Shulman. He subsequently was
appointed Chief-of-Staff to Mayor
Koch’s Traffic Commissioner. At the
conclusion of the Koch Administration,
he became the New York Metropolitan
Area Executive Assistant to Senator
Alphonse D’Amato. He was responsible
for many of the Senator’s activities and
was his personal representative in the
eight counties of the downstate region.
In 1995, he became the Executive
Assistant to New York State Governor
George Pataki for the New York
Metropolitan Region. In 1999, he
became the New York City Regional
Director of the Empire State
Development Corporation. He is cur-
rently a member of the Board of
Trustees of the City University of New
York, the board of the United Nations
Development Corporation, and a
Commissioner within the Long Island
North Shore Heritage Area Planning
Commission. He also is the Director of
the Boards of the Long Island Chapter
of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of
America; New York Metropolitan
Region and National Governing Board
of the American Jewish Congress;
Berkshire Hills-Emanuel Camps;
Queensborough Community College
Holocaust Resource Center; Open
University of Israel; Folksbiene Yiddish
Theatre (as Chairman); North Shore
Hebrew Academy; Great Neck Arts
Center; Jewish Community Relations
Council of New York; and the Advisory
Board of the Rubin Museum of Art. He
lives in Great Neck, New York with his
wife and daughter.
Herbert Tenzer represented the Five
Towns Community during his two terms
in the United States Congress. He lived
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 43
AROUND THE FIVE TOWNS
Continued from Page 43
MAY Annual Dinner
Mesivta Ateres Yaakov of
Greater Long Island—Ruth and
Hyman Simon High School cel-
ebrated its third annual ban-
quet on May 10 at the Sands at
Atlantic Beach. Under the
dynamic leadership of its mena-
hel, Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe,
Ph.D., and its principal of gen-
eral studies, Rabbi Sam
Rudansky, Ateres Yaakov has
emerged as a vibrant Torah
institution that provides a supe-
rior Torah education supple-
mented by an outstanding gen-
eral-studies curriculum.
The smorgasbord provided The third annual dinner of Mesivta Ateres Yaakov took place on Wednesday, May 10, at the Sands at Atlantic Beach. Above, left: Honorees Barry and Robin
by Sharmel Caterers provided a Picker with Howard Weitzman, Nassau County comptroller. Above, right: Honorees, top row (L-R): Rabbi Menachem Brick, Baruch Singer, Howard Weitzman,
perfect backdrop for friends Leibel Zisman, Itzi Laub; bottom row (L-R): Leah Brick, Susie Singer, Myrna Zisman, and Irene Laub.

and family to gather before the

main banquet and program.
The delicious main course was
served as soon as the attendees
entered the main ballroom. The
program began right on sched-
ule. Following the recital of
Tehillim in an act of solidarity
with our brothers and sisters in
Israel, there was a surprise
presentation to the outgoing
co-presidents of the PTA, Mrs.
Goldy Friedman and Mrs.
Shari Weiss.
The spirit and love of
Torah was clearly evident as
those individuals who have
maintained a continuous and
deep involvement with
Mesivta Ateres Yaakov were
recognized. The banquet
chairmen, Dr. Steven Kadish
and Michael Salzbank, along
with the journal chairman,
David Portal, Esq., joined the
entire community in extend-
ing gratitude to Itzi and Irene
Laub, Guests of Honor;
Leibel and Myrna Zisman,
Grandparents of the Year;
Rabbi Menachem and Leah
Brick, Parents of the Year;
Barry and Robin Picker,
Amud HaTorah Awardees;
and Baruch and Susie Singer,
Amud HaChesed Awardees.
The video presentation,
which highlighted the unique
brand of chinuch that is pro-
vided at the mesivta, was
thoroughly enjoyed by all. In
addition, Rabbi Yaffe’s indi-
vidualized remarks prior to
each of the presentations
provided an intimate and per-
sonal touch that truly cap-
tured the warmth that perme-
ates everything that the
mesivta does. As one guest
commented, “you could feel
the tremendous warmth that
everyone involved in the
mesivta puts forth. From the
video, it was clear that they
truly are combining academic
excellence…in Torah learn-
ing and in the general stud-
ies, while maintaining the

Continued on Page 47
44 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
A Five Towns Simcha
Photos By Captured Images

Bar Mitzvah of Sholom Kanner

took place this past week on
Shabbos, Parashas Bamidbar, at
the Lawrence Country Club.
Inset: Sholom with his grand-
parents, Eli and Greta Hirmes.

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 45

46 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
AROUND THE FIVE TOWNS
Continued from Page 44
closeness of a family. In today’s cli-
mate, this is really amazing.”
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect
of the evening was the consideration
for the guests and supporters. The
entire program concluded punctually
as planned, and while the guests were
able to leave at a very reasonable hour,
many remained to partake of the
Viennese table and to savor the sweet-
ness of the evening just a little longer.
JCC Adult Education
The JCC of the Greater Five Towns
invites everyone to “Learn to Prepare
Super Summer Salads,” Wednesday,
June 7, at 10:00 a.m. The fee is $45.
These new salads will add color and fla-
vor to your table. Fennel mango salad,
spicy grilled corn salad with black bean
and roasted red pepper, and more!
This adult-education program is part
of the Kosher Culinary Institue for June
and July. The class will be held at 207
Grove Avenue, Cedarhurst. Pre-registra-
tion for all JCC classes is a must. Please
call Susan at 516-569-6733.
Shuvu School in Beer Sheva. Together,
they raised $4,000 for the Shuvu stu-
dents who are the children of Russian
immigrants from secular homes.
Rav Binyomin Kamenetzky, shlita,
who established the yeshiva in the fast-
growing Hewlett community in the
Five Towns area seven years ago, was a
friend of Rav Avrohom Pam, zt”l,
founder of the Shuvu Schools move-
ment in Israel. Rav Binyomin suggest-
ed to Rav Pam that yeshivos in the U.S.
should each adopt one of the Shuvu
schools and make it their ongoing
tzedakah project. Rav Pam was
impressed by this idea and comforted
that some of the fundraising burden of
Shuvu would be shared in this way.
Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky, rosh
yeshiva of Yeshivas Toras Chaim and
son of Rav Binyomin, explained: “The
learn-a-thon has become one of the
various annual fundraising events
through which all the yeshiva students
help their brothers in Israel, thereby
connecting students of Torah around
the world in the spirit of acheinu B’nei
Yisrael.” ❖

Chidon HaTanach
The Hebrew Academy of Long
Beach DRS Yeshiva High School for
Boys takes great pride in announcing
their representation in the interna-
tional Chidon HaTanach Bible
Competition next year. Yehuda
Grossman (’08) placed second in the
National Bible Contest on Sunday
May 14. The United States National
Bible Contest is coordinated by the
Jewish Zionist Education Department
of the Jewish Agency. Yehuda quali-
fied for this national contest by taking
and passing three qualifying regional
exams. These regional examinations
are administered to over 500 students
from around the country, representing
over 35 middle and high schools.
The national contest took place at
the Ramaz Middle School on May 14,
and Yehuda came in second place com-
peting against other finalists from
around the country. Yehuda was one of
only four students in the competition
moving on to the International Bible
Contest, which takes place in Israel
next Yom Ha’atzmaut. This interna-
tional competition brings together
contest winners from all over the
Diaspora and Israel for a two-week
Tanach Camp, during which they tour
the country and meet with important
government officials. The competition
itself is broadcast live on Israeli televi-
sion and is attended by the Prime
Minister of Israel. Congratulations to
Yehuda and his family on his success,
and hatzlachah in next year’s interna-
tional competition!

Dedicated Learning
A Pesach learn-a-thon was organ-
ized by Rav Shlomo Drebin, a rebbi at
Yeshivas Toras Chaim Of South Shore,
and talmidim from grades 5 through 8
joined in enthusiastically. Each pro-
cured sponsorship for every additional
period of learning that they completed
during vacation time. Their parents
were happy to support two such worth-
while causes—limud Torah and the
kiruv rechokim work undertaken at the
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 47
Direct From Jerusalem
BY SHLOMO WOLLINS
EDITOR, ISRAELREPORTER.COM
5TJT Update: May 28, 2006—In the
year 2004, as Ariel Sharon betrayed his
election platform and ordered the
strategic surrender of the Gaza Strip,
the spinmeisters worked frantically to
create a new poli-marketing term to
describe this most bizarre and unpre-
dictable turn of events. Due to the uni-
lateral nature of the Gush Katif sur-
render and the increasingly warlike
rhetoric issuing from the rising Hamas
power base, the Oslo-nian terminology
of “peace plan” was neither applicable
nor marketable to an Israeli population
thoroughly saturated in the blood of
the post-Oslo travesty. The term
“peace process” clearly implies an
active and willing partner in the
process, which even the surrender-
drunk, post-1967 Left could no longer
sell to the average Israeli voter.
48 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
And one day in the year 2003 or
2004, the term “disengagement” was
coined and applied to the unilateral
surrender of strategic southern Israel
and the wholesale and wanton
destruction of the 21 Jewish commu-
It sounds so positive and healthy, yet
“convergence” is a word-mask for a remarkably
Chamberlain-like surrender of highly strategic
land to the genocidal Hamas enemy.
nities that had flourished for decades
in that region. “Disengagement” is
defined as either “the breaking off of
military action against an enemy” or
“the act of releasing from an attach-
ment or connection.” No peace
process or deluded Oslo fantasies of
peace here—rather the end of engage-
ment; a divorce. And truly, what the
disengagement represented was the
beginning of a divorce process from a
fictitious marriage partner known as
the “Palestinians” and an aborted
wedding known as Oslo.
While it is rare to find a political
position that is 100 percent correct
or incorrect, the security arguments
of the proponents of the Gaza “disen-
gagement” have been proven to be
thoroughly bankrupt under a daily
rain of missiles emanating from the
“disengaged” Gaza.
And now, in the post-Sharon era,
the rise to power of Hamas has ren-
dered even the process of disengage-
ment to be a non-starter. While we
have defined “disengagement” as a
divorce, the terminology still implies
the existence of a partner to divorce
from. The democratic, landslide elec-
tion of Hamas unveiled the Arab popu-
lation as a toxic and adversarial entity;
any language of disengagement no
longer fit reality. So, the spin doctors
worked overtime and have applied a
new term, “convergence,” to what is
essentially a continuation of unilateral
surrenders such as Lebanon, Hebron,
Gush Katif, and now the Yehuda and
Shomron Biblical heartlands.
“Convergence” is defined as “a coming
together to unite a common interest or
focus.” It sounds so positive and
healthy, yet “convergence” is a word-
mask for a remarkably Chamberlain-
like surrender of highly strategic land
to the genocidal Hamas enemy.
The political advantage of the
term “convergence” is its implication
of an entirely internal process, one
that neither interacts with nor inter-
faces with another entity. Perhaps
what Olmert should be declaring
upon his “triumphant” return to
Israel is, “There will be convergence
in our time.”
I was one of many political analysts
in shock during Sharon’s betrayal of
the southern Gaza settlements, and
we all struggled to bring some under-
standing to this painful and historic
political Benedict Arnold. It was not
simple then, and it remains difficult
now to portray Sharon as an outright
coward and traitor. Let us theorize
the following: Sharon had been wit-
ness to a series of Prime
Ministerships that went down in the
flames of broken Arab promises.
One after the other—Peres,
Netanyahu, Barak—they all relied
upon Arab compliance to further
their political platforms, and all
resembled political Charlie Browns to
the “Palestinian” Lucy, pulling back
the football at the last moment.
Perhaps the calculating Sharon dis-
covered a new “unilateral” political
strategy for survival as an Israeli
Prime Minister, and that is: Don’t ask
for or rely upon agreements with the
Arabs. Certainly, all who were close
to Sharon make it clear that he did
not trust the Arabs in the slightest
measure. Little did Sharon figure
that his leadership would be cut short
by ironic and Divine intervention,
and not by Arab diplomatic betrayal.
Essentially, Sharon introduced a
new survival tactic for Israeli leaders,
a “political unilateralism” that is
structured to insulate Israeli govern-
ments from the two Arab constants:
terrorism and political obfuscation.
And we see that Sharon’s chief stu-
dent, Ehud Olmert, is following the
path of this delusional and defeatist
policy—a path laced with European
approval and 18 standing ovations
from a joint session of the two hous-
es of Congress. How the House of
Representatives passes the
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act by an
overwhelming 361-37 vote, and just
the next day applauds the Olmert
plan of terrorist appeasement and the
creation of “Hamastan” defies logic
and clearly reveals the Western psy-
chosis in confronting the Islamic reli-
gious jihad.
In 1937, David Ben-Gurion
declared as follows: “No Jew has the
right to surrender any parts of the
Land of Israel. No Jewish group has
this right. Even if all the Jews living
today want to surrender land, they
have no right to give up any amount
of land. This is the right of the Jewish
people in all generations to have this
land. Even at some time, if there will
be some who want to give up land,
they have no right and no authority to
do this to further generations. The
Jewish people are not obligated and
will not bend to any surrender. The
right to this land in its entirety is ours
for eternity. Until the complete
Redemption comes, we will not move
from this historical right.”
In July 2002, new Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert said in a
speech in New York City: “We are
tired of fighting, tired of being
heroes, tired of winning, tired of
striking at our enemies.”
Notice any change in the 65 years
between the statements? Ehud, if you
are tired, can we recommend an
extended hiatus from politics and
your charade of Jewish leadership
and statesmanship. Because, sir, the
Arabs are not tired of fighting and of
striking at Jewish targets, and they
smell victory in your “convergence” of
Jewish cowardice and unilateral
national surrender. ❖
Shlomo Wollins, based in Jerusalem, is the
founder and publisher of israelreporter.com. Mr.
Wollins has lived in Israel for over six years, and
has focused on the relevant issues for over a
decade. Mr. Wollins can be reached in Israel at
(0)54-7388-054 or at
shlomo@israelreporter.com.

And when you make Me an altar of stone, you

shall not build it of hewn stone: for if you lift
up your sword upon it, you have defiled it
(Bamidbar 20:22)

Iron was created to shorten the life of man,

and the Altar was created to lengthen the life of man;
so it is not fitting that that which shortens should be lifted
upon that which lengthens.
(Talmud, Middot 3:4)

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 49

 Cooking Concepts
Overcoming Kitchen Lingo!
BY NAOMI ROSS
Anyone who has ever looked for new
recipes, let alone tried to follow one, is
most likely familiar with a common
phenomenon. My students call this
“turn the page.” Ever look through a
cookbook and come across a new and
exciting recipe? You think, “Hey, I’d
like to try that.” With interest, you
start skimming the recipe to see what’s
involved. And then BAM! There it is,
an ingredient or a cooking term com-
pletely foreign to you, staring you right
in the face. Like a deer caught in the
headlights, you stop dead in your
tracks. Your initial enthusiasm fades,
you stop reading and…turn the page.
Ring a bell?
All too often, we let unfamiliar lingo
and ingredients stifle our kitchen cre-
ativity just because we are scared or
intimidated. We think it must be too
complicated; it must be a patchke. And
so we turn the page. Poached salmon
is one of the easiest things to prepare,
and yet when I ask my students if
they’ve ever attempted to make it, they
reply “No! It’s way too fancy—I don’t
even know what poaching is!” We get
caught up in the lingo and are afraid to
try, even though that recipe could be
our next great dish.
50 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
So how can we overcome this pho-
bia? Be adventurous! Be daring! Don’t
turn the page. Try it anyway.
Obviously, that is sometimes easier
said than done. How can you try a
technique with no knowledge of how
to accomplish it? First of all, keep
reading; many times, the recipe itself
will explain the term in the directions
and tell you what to do. And if not,
educate yourself! Most cookbooks
contain a whole lot more information
than just recipes. A good cookbook
can be home to glossaries, charts, and
explanations of ingredients. All you
have to do is look and explore for
more information. The Internet is
also a great resource for this kind of
thing. Your local supermarket grocer
is usually happy to guide you to a new
exotic ingredient, as well.
I recently taught a wonderful
recipe for pan-seared tilapia with
chile-lime butter. I know what you’re
thinking. “What? That sounds like
something I would order in a restau-
rant. I can’t make that at home. I
don’t even know what pan-searing is!”
Not so! You can make it at home, too.
It’s fast, it’s simple, and I will help
you troubleshoot your pan-searing
woes. My husband has informed me
that only I have pan-searing woes.
That may be, but here are some
pointers to help you get it right.
Pan-searing is a wonderful method
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. Flour
Rav Salomon To Speak In Lawrence
of cooking that uses high heat to 4 tsp. canola oil
quickly brown food in a skillet. It
seals in flavor by creating its own Directions:
crust. Perfectly pan-seared fish is Pat the fish dry; season with salt
moist and tender on the inside, gold- and pepper to taste on both sides of
en brown and delicately crisp on the fish. Dust with flour on both sides.
outside. Pan-searing is not sautéing. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large,
Both use skillets and only a small heavy nonstick skillet over moderate-
amount of fat; however, pan-searing ly high heat until just smoking. Cook
is over a higher heat and does not 3–4 pieces of fish, turning over once
involve frequent stirring, as does with a spatula, until golden and just
sautéing. It is best to leave it alone in cooked through, about 5 minutes (21⁄2
order to allow a crust to form. Here minutes per side). Transfer to a plate.
are some more tips: Cook remaining fish in remaining 2
• Get your pan hot! Make sure the teaspoons of oil in the same manner.
pan and oil are hot before you place Serve each piece of fish with a dol-
the food in the pan. When the oil lop of chile-lime butter.
begins to smoke, it is ready. Chile-lime butter can be made one
• Do not overcrowd fish in the pan. day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring
• Do not move fish until it’s time to to room temperature before serving.
turn the fish over.
• Do not overcook fish! Nobody likes Naomi Ross teaches Cooking Concepts, courses
on the fundamentals of cooking and Jewish HaRav Mattisyahu Salomon, shlita, will be the featured speaker at a breakfast reception benefiting
overcooked fish—it can be dry, mushy, homemaking skills. She can be reached at Vaad Nidchei Yisroel on Sunday, June 18, at 9:30 a.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey
rubbery, or even fishy flavored. Follow CookingConcepts@gmail.com. Eisenberg in Lawrence. Pictured above, Rabbi Salomon visiting a Vaad Yeshiva in Russia, where
the “10-minute rule” for foolproof fish: thousands of young Russian Jews continue to seek a Torah education.
1. Measure the thickest part of the
fish.
2. Cook fish for a total of 10 min-
utes for each 1 inch of thickness (5
minutes for each 1⁄2 inch).
3. Always check for doneness a cou-
ple of minutes before you think it
should be done. For example, a 3⁄4-inch-
thick fillet may take up to 71⁄2 minutes
total cooking time. If the first side is
golden brown in 3 minutes, check for
doneness 21⁄2 minutes after turning the
fillet over.
The flavored butter in this recipe is
perfect in combination with the
tilapia. If it’s at room temperature, it
will melt upon contact with the fish
and create a terrific flavor. Perfect for
Shavuos or any night of the week, this
recipe is light, delicious, and quick to
prepare. Don’t turn the page!
Experiment and enjoy!

Pan-Seared Tilapia With

Chile-Lime Butter
Serves 4–6.
Chile-Lime Butter:
Ingredients:
1 stick (1⁄2 cup) unsalted butter, soft-
ened (but not melted!)
2 Tbsp. shallots, finely chopped
2 tsp. freshly grated lime zest
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. minced fresh Thai chile or
serrano chile (preferably red but green
will work as well), including seeds*
1 tsp. salt

*Be careful when handling chili pep-

pers not to touch face or eyes, as they
contain oils that can burn the skin.
Wash hands with soap afterward (or
use gloves when handling them). The
heat of chili peppers is contained pri-
marily within the seeds. For more
spiciness, add more seeds. For a more
mild taste, remove some.

Directions:
Stir together all ingredients in a
bowl. Set aside.

Fish:
Ingredients:
6–8 pieces (5–6 oz. each) skinless
tilapia fillet
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 51
 What Is Torah?
BY YANKI TAUBER
The Torah is a guidebook. Valuable
things (lawn mowers, MP3 players,
minivans) come with a book of instruc-
tions on how to properly and optimally
use them. The same applies to the
details the commitments and duties
we assumed toward each other when
G-d chose us as His people and we
chose Him as our G-d at Sinai.
The Torah is identity. What con-
nects the black-skinned Ethiopian
Jew with the red-bearded chasid in

Torah is the Divine blueprint for creation, the

vision that illuminates the foundations of
existence, its purpose, and its significance.
To study and live Torah is to understand and
experience the soul of reality.

valuable (and complicated) thing we
call “life”—the Manufacturer enclosed
an instruction book.
The Torah is a contract. When two
people enter into a partnership, bind-
ing their financial futures to a joint
destiny, they draw up a contract that
spells out their respective duties and
commitments. When two people
marry, a marriage contract, called a
kesuvah, is drawn up that does the
same. The Torah is our marriage con-
tract with G-d, the document that
Moscow? What does the West Coast
Jewish filmmaker have in common
with his peddler grandfather or his
olive-growing ancestor? Nothing.
They share no common language,
facial features, or diet. Any two Jews
can be as culturally or even genetical-
ly diverse as any other two members
of the human race. But the Shema
recited today in a Canadian syna-
gogue is the same Shema that was
proclaimed in Egypt 3,500 years ago;
the criteria for the mikveh built at

52 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES


Masada are the same as for
the one that opened in Brazil
last week. Torah bridges con-
tinents and de-gaps genera-
tions to serve as our single
common expression of our
Jewishness.
The Torah is vision. Why
are we here? Where are we
going? “An architect who
builds a palace,” cites the
Midrash, “has scrolls and
notebooks which he consults
to know how to place the
rooms and where to set the
doors. So it was with G-d: He
looked into the Torah and
created the world.” Torah is
the Divine blueprint for cre-
ation, the vision that illumi-
nates the foundations of exis-
tence, its purpose, and its sig-
nificance. To study and live
Torah is to understand and
experience the soul of reality.
The Torah is daughter and
wife. The sages of the Talmud
offer a fascinating parable for
our special relationship with
G-d and the Torah’s role in
that relationship:
There was once a king
who had an only daughter,
and one of the foreign kings
came and married her.
When her husband wished
to return to his country, her
father said to him: “My
daughter, whose hand I
have given you, is my only
child; I cannot part with
her. Neither can I say to
you, ‘Do not take her,’ for
she is your wife. This one
favor, however, I ask of you:
Wherever you go to live,
prepare a chamber for me
that I may dwell with you,
for I cannot leave my
daughter.”
In the same way, G-d
said to Israel: “I have given
you the Torah. I cannot part
with her, and I also cannot
tell you not to take her. But
this I request of you:
Wherever you go, make for
Me a house wherein I may
dwell.”
What can be more powerful
than the bond between child
and parent? The one is the
very extension of the being of
the other. To the outsider they
may seem as two individuals,
but in essence they are one.
Indeed, we are referred to as
“children of G-d” (Devarim
14:1) in affirmation of the
absoluteness of our bond.
There is, however, one ele-
ment which the parent–child
relationship seems to lack:
the element of choice. The
child did not choose to be
the parent’s child. Nor did
the parent choose this partic-
ular individual to be his
child; if it were up to him, he
might have chosen someone
wiser, kinder, prettier, or
more talented. One can
therefore argue that while
the two are connected in
essence, they are connected
in essence only: the more
“external” trappings of per-
sonality—intelligence, char-
acter, physical attractiveness,
accomplishment; namely, the
very things that are often the
most “exciting” elements in a
relationship—are present in
the parent–child relationship
by default only, and thus lack
the meaningfulness and per-
sonal significance that are
attached to that which is
consciously and willfully
chosen.
Thus another metaphor
comes into play: that of the
relationship between a great
sage and his brilliant disci-
ple. Theirs is a relationship
that is predicated on each
other’s qualities. The love
and devotion of the disciple
are motivated by the sage’s
greatness; the teacher’s love
and devotion are motivated
by the disciple’s intelligence
and diligence. The teacher
and student have chosen to
bond with each other.
Yet the master–disciple
relationship obviously lacks
the essential nature of the
parent–child bond.
Now picture this: Imagine
that you are a great king, and
the most precious thing in
your life is your only daugh-
ter. And now you must
choose the man who will
become your son-in-law.
The Torah is G-d’s daugh-
ter. And the Torah is Israel’s
bride. In wedding the King’s
daughter we unite with her,
becoming one with that
which is one with Him. It is
an essential oneness, yet
also a chosen oneness.
(Chabad.org Magazine) ❖

And they
camped in the
desert
(Bamidbar 19:2)

In the ownerless
wilderness was the
Torah given to the
people of Israel. For
if it were given in the
Land of Israel, the
residents of the Land
of Israel would say,
"It is ours"; and if it
were given in some
other place, the
residents of that
place would say, "It is
ours." Therefore it
was given in the
wilderness, so that
anyone who wishes
to acquire it may
acquire it.

(Mechilta D'Rashbi)

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 53

Staying Safe
BY LEON ZACHAROWICZ, MD
A series of home invasions leaves
dozens of local victims frightened. The
vicious murder of an 81-year-old
Jewish man shocks apartment dwellers
in Washington Heights. Attempted
abductions of Jewish children in
54 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
Brooklyn alarm New Yorkers. A brutal
kidnapping of a 20-year-old Jewish girl
in Lakewood makes national head-
lines. A magazine article alleges
decades of abuse by a religious
teacher. These come in addition to vio-
lent crimes against Jews worldwide.
Recent violent crimes in Jewish
communities require a response. We
cannot keep our heads in the sand any
longer. While the statistics may not
seem alarming enough to warrant the
purchase of an armored Humvee or
lifetime membership in a martial-arts
club, many members of our local com-
munity could benefit from a height-
ened sense of caution.
This article will not discuss why bad
things happen to good people. The
answers to such questions are best left
to rabbis, spiritual advisors, and per-
haps philosophers. This article will
instead concentrate on how bad things
happen—and, more importantly, how
to lower the chances that you will be a
victim.
We live in a world filled with many
very good people, many people with a
combination of good and bad, and a
few purely evil people. These evil peo-
ple include essentially two-legged
predators—similar to the rodef of the
Torah—waiting for their chance to
harm someone else for their own grat-
ification or for no logical reason at all.
People who have not a single altruis-
tic bone in their body are often classi-
fied as psychopaths or sociopaths. A
recent chilling book, The Sociopath
Next Door, estimates that over one per-
cent of the population fits the
sociopath pattern. Sociopaths are espe-
cially dangerous because they appar-
ently lack a conscience, or yetzer tov.
While some of these miscreants are
easy to spot and avoid, the relatively
sophisticated sociopath “cases” his vic-
tim methodically until he strikes. In
addition to sociopaths, there are
sadists—people who get some sort of
thrill out of hurting others. Then, of
course, there are the hoodlums, ex-
cons, and assorted criminals. Finally,
there are those addicted to alcohol
and/or drugs, and the purveyors of
these substances. Overall, a small but
real percentage of people in the world
are “bad guys.”
I have, unfortunately, encountered
dozens of victims of violent crime, rang-
ing in age from infants to elderly adults.
No one is immune. The effects of life-
threatening events should not be
underestimated. Even among those
who survive seemingly intact, a large
number go on to experience post-trau-
matic stress disorder, a chronic and psy-
chologically crippling condition. Many
have altered relationships with friends
and family. Some become violent to
others. Childhood victims of chronic
violence often grow up to become per-
petrators of violence themselves, and
may also attempt to injure themselves.
How can one lower one’s chances of
being victimized by a violent crime?
There are a few essential steps to avoid
being “in the wrong place at the wrong
time” or in the vicinity of the “wrong”
person. In several public schools, vio-
lence prevention is part and parcel of the
curriculum. In our relatively sheltered
world, many people do not learn the sim-
ple steps that can lower their chances of
becoming another crime statistic.
One can categorize anti-violence
guidelines in many ways, including
looking at who commits such crimes
Continued on Page 56
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 55
Staying Safe
Continued from Page 54
and who are likely victims, when such
crimes are likely to occur, where
crimes often occur, and how someone
can react if a violent attack seems
imminent.
While this article will focus on low-
ering one’s chances of being victimized
by violent strangers, we need to keep
in mind that perpetrators of violence
may include acquaintances and even
family members.
This article will limit its focus to
physical violence, keeping in mind that
there are other ways that innocent
people can be hurt.
One important caveat: This article
contains general information only, and
cannot be relied on as specific advice
or for all situations.
Who
As former New York City mayor Ed
Koch once noted, most violent crimes
are committed by a relatively small
number of people—hardened crimi-
56 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
nals, in many cases—and frequently
involve other criminals as victims. A
recent New York Times article on who
commits murder in New York City and
who are the victims emphasized this
very same point, as does a new book by
David Buss, a psychology professor
who specializes in the study of murder
and its prevention.
So, avoid violent types and you
lower your chances of becoming
another one of their victims. Think
twice about whom you let into your
house or to work in your garden. It
might be worth it to pay a little more if
that means you will be dealing with a
more reputable company, such as one
that does background checks on its
prospective employees instead of pick-
ing up its “employees” off the street.
During the recent installation of a
bookcase in his home, bought at a
local store, someone I know chatted
with the men and discovered that
indeed one of the workers was picked
up off the street to help with the
installation. Needless to say, this per-
son was carefully watched, and his
access to the house was limited, by this
savvy homeowner.
If you encounter someone who acts
like he is on “The Sopranos,” it might
be wise to give this person some lee-
way rather than some lip. Actually, sev-
eral of the actors in this TV show have
reportedly been associated with violent
crimes, including the alleged murder
of a police officer. In this case, life
seems to mimic art. If someone looks
the part or acts the part, be on guard.
Bad guys also look for “easy marks.”
In addition to noticing people who
flash their money, jewelry, and expen-
sive items, they may focus on a person
who is so caught up in his or her cell-
phone conversation that the person is
not paying attention to what is other-
wise going on.
I have seen people answer and then
talk mindlessly on their cell phones,
while davening in shul and wearing
tefillin, and have witnessed numerous
near-accidents due to cell-phone use. I
imagine that there are probably people
out there who are so caught up in their
cell-phone conversations that, were
they to get mugged, they might hesi-
tate to end their conversation, prefer-
ring instead to hand over their purse or
wallet while chatting away. Use your
cell phone when appropriate, but be
alert to who might be in your vicinity.
Many community members are car-
ing and trusting individuals—be they
children, teens, or adults. While it is
great that so many community mem-
bers jump at the chance to help others,
in some cases this enthusiasm, coupled
with naiveté, can spell danger. Look
before you leap to do a good deed.
Some community members may wish
to give their credit-card numbers and
other identifying information to
strangers offering to “scalp” baseball
tickets on the FTS list—especially if they
use a Jewish-sounding name, which to
some makes these strangers seem hon-
est. However, if you reveal your home
address or other identifying information,
or if you open your door to strangers—or
even more so, leave it unlocked—you
increase the chances of being victimized
by a violent criminal. Some crimes are
simply crimes of opportunity. Limit the
opportunity, and you limit the chances of
being victimized.
Don’t be fooled by the garb worn by
bad guys. In religious communities,
good guys wear black—but so can bad
guys. It is not hard for an intelligent
bad guy to buy some black clothing
and a black hat to “fit in.” Judge peo-
ple by the context and their behavior;
do not judge people by their clothing
alone. Several infamous serial killers
reportedly dressed very well, lulling
their potential victims into a false
sense of security.
Unfortunately, as pointed out by
David Mandel of Ohel in a talk he gave
in the community a few years ago fol-
lowing a horrendous attack on a girl
walking to a local school, molestation
of children often is perpetrated by peo-
ple who know the child and not by
total strangers.
While many of us may welcome a
single fellow who volunteers to run the
Shabbos program for boys, or to coach
little league week after week, too few of
us wonder why that same person insists
on no adults being present, and very
few of us take even a moment to con-
sider what reason would someone like
this have to want to be around children
without getting paid. Many of us are
thrilled when our sons or daughters go
to a gym class, but how many of us
even know the background of the
instructor—besides the little that he or
his employer chooses to tell us?
It is a bitter truth that deviant people
take jobs and volunteer for positions that
give them access to children and teens.
Our schools, our JCCs, our rabbis, our
principals, and we parents are all “too
busy” and too trusting to do even mini-
mal background checks, let alone to
have a sense of caution. No wonder that
the average deviant will assault hun-
dreds of children before he is caught,
and even then often gets off scot-free—
to go on to another school or shul or
Jewish center and find more victims.
The special topic of domestic vio-
lence and domestic discord is beyond
the scope of this article. For detailed
information, contact the Shalom Task
Continued on Page 58
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 57
Staying Safe
Continued from Page 56
Force. Special cases such as bullying
in school—a problem which plagues so
many students in yeshivas and semi-
naries—will also not be discussed.
When
In general, nighttime and early
morning hours are often times when
violent crimes by strangers are com-
mitted. I say “often,” because there are
important exceptions, such as break-
ins—including home invasions—
which may very well occur in the mid-
dle of the afternoon, as happened to a
doctor friend of mine.
In many areas, most homicides, car
accidents, and acts of violence occur
late at night or in the early morning
hours, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
When I was in training to be a physi-
cian, we used to joke that late nights
on weekends were the hours when the
“Knife and Gun Club” would meet, as
victims of violence would be brought
in, one after another, to the hospital
trauma center.
To lower your chances of becoming a
crime statistic, don’t make unnecessary
trips outside during these late hours.
Indeed, Pirkei Avos warns the person
who goes out at night on a “solitary
path.” I realize that some people get
antsy late at night and really want to go
for a drive, but if at all possible, mini-
mize your late-night excursions.
I realize that this warning will do lit-
tle to dissuade teens from heading out
after 11 p.m., but nevertheless some
58 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
extra degree of caution is advisable. ly. Keep your phone charged up and, You can sometimes find out where
After all, criminal types are often better yet, have a car charger. high-crime areas exist in your area and
sleeping during the day and just start- If you can avoid going to an ATM in surrounding areas by reading local
ing out at night. A recent book on the middle of the night, or running crime reports in the newspaper, such as
gangsters describes their “schedule,” into the 24/7 shop at the gas station, or The Wave or the Nassau Herald, or even
which apparently includes sleeping going to get a newspaper at 1 a.m., you by politely asking a police officer. When
until noon or 2 p.m. (while the rest of may have a bit less cash overnight, a I travel, I usually ask the person at the
us are at work, in yeshiva, etc.). Then, bit less caffeine in your veins, or a bit hotel’s front desk as well as any police-
these bad guys slowly wake up, get less knowledge of how the Yankees man I encounter which areas of town
ready to go out, and eventually head fared, but you probably have a bit more are safe and which should be avoided.
out for their “business activities” late sense than some of your carefree On one occasion nearly two decades
at night, staying up until 5 to 6 a.m., neighbors, who may, G-d forbid, one ago, on the night before a medical res-
and then finally heading home. night run into the wrong person in one idency training interview, an acquain-
(According to this book, some gang- of these locales. tance and I started walking toward a
famous beach area in Los Angeles,
thinking we would enjoy a stroll on the
boardwalk. A police car with two of
Pre-program your cell phone to dial 911 with LAPD’s finest passed us; then it made
a sharp U-turn, and one of the officers
got out. He asked us who we were and
a single push of the button, and keep your where we were heading. After we
answered, the officer emphatically said
phone nearby. Some cell phones have global we would be crazy to walk on that
boardwalk at night. (Apparently, it was
position systems (GPS) which enable the 911 the “territory” of some ethnic gang.)
Surprised but thankful, we turned
operator to locate you very quickly. around and headed back to our lodg-
ings—and lived to tell about it!
Crimes tend to occur in the vicinity
of liquor and drugs. Ergo, if you go to
sters take time off on Sundays to be Where a club or bar where there are tough-
with their nuclear families.) Most crimes occur in certain areas, looking people drinking hard liquor or
If you must go out at a high-risk in geographic clusters. This, too, was going to the bathroom to use drugs,
time, it is probably a good idea to take emphasized in that recent New York don’t be surprised if your evening turns
an adult with you, and/or a cell Times report. Avoid these high-crime out much tougher than you had
phone. Pre-program your cell phone areas, and you should lower your planned. Even an innocent gathering
to dial 911 with a single push of the chances of becoming a victim. If the of friends can quickly turn violent if
button, and keep your phone nearby. downtown area in your town is a hang- alcohol or drugs are introduced. The
Some cell phones have global posi- out and crimes occur there, think Talmud tells the cautionary tale of the
tion systems (GPS) which enable the twice before traveling alone into or
911 operator to locate you very quick- through that area. Continued on Page 63
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 59
Pint-Size YKLI Sefirah Poster Contest Winners HAFTR Yom
Yerushalayim

Proud winners of the Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island Sefirah Midos Poster Contest (L-R): Sruli Vegh, Shlomo Zalman
Grumet, Daniel Klein, Aryeh Berger, Avi Gelfand, Ezriel Spinner, Eli Farkas, Shlomo Klahr, and Moshe Shalom Pfeiffer.

HAFTR nursery students

“rebuilt the Kotel” in honor of
Yom Yerushalayim. Amidst singing
and dancing, each child carefully
crafted two “stones” and
assembled the wall.

Deadline for
Advertising
in the Next Issue is
Monday, June 5
at 5:00 P.M.
Call
516-984-0079
60 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
HALB Yom Yerushalayim

Grandparents of the kindergarten children of HALB Lev Chana were invited to participate in hands-on
workshops with their grandchildren to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim. At left, Allysa Silvera and her grand-
mother, Mrs. Linda Mitgang, string a blue-and-white necklace. Center: Amiel Kerstein, his grandmother,
Mrs. Phyllis Kerstein, and great-grandmother, Mrs. Perla Topiel, design a picture frame. Above, right:
Chana Sigman and her grandmothers, Mrs. Fanny Malek and Mrs. Bonnie Sigman, make Israeli salad.

Scholarship
Finalist

Michael Kessler has been

named by The National
Merit Scholarship Program
as a Finalist.

HAFTR Student
In Government

HAFTR student Sam

Yusopov was invited to
participate in the ninth
annual Town of Hempstead
“Students in Government
Day” on May 17.
Students spent the day
learning about local
government, meeting with
Supervisor Kate Murray,
and touring Town Hall,
Norman J. Levy Park, and
the Conservation and
Waterways Department.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 61
62 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
Staying Safe
Continued from Page 58

violence that ensued when two sages

started imbibing alcohol on Purim.
When you are out and about, always
be aware of your surroundings. Does a
car or its occupants seem out of place?
Are people hanging around the street?
Is someone trying to get the attention
of passersby? Are things too quiet?
Develop a sense of “radar.” It’s not as
hard as it sounds.
When on the move, make sure to park
your vehicle in a well-lit spot, preferably
where other people come and go fre-
quently—such as near the entrance to a
mall or the elevators in a parking
garage—and, if possible, back your vehi-
cle into its parking spot so when you exit
you can do so quickly. Try not to park
next to a van or another large vehicle
which can block the view of passersby.
Always lock your vehicle, even if you
plan on being away just for a minute.
When walking to your car, keep your
keys in your hand, ready to open your
vehicle immediately. Scan the surround-
ings, and glance in the back seat. Be
especially careful in high-risk locations
such as near your car, house, or bank.
These are often areas where bad guys
will strike. Why? Like Willie Sutton, bad
guys go where the money is.
When walking in certain areas, it is
probably best to walk on the side of the
block facing oncoming traffic. This
way, you can see all cars as they drive
toward you, and someone up to no
good may have to stop his car and start
backing up to get close to you.
Develop a sense of personal space.
Anyone who enters within several feet of
you deserves your heightened attention.
If a stranger is walking toward you, even
if the person is talking in a calm manner,
or smiling, be at least somewhat on
guard. You can sometimes stop an
aggressive person with a stern voice com-
manding them to “Stop!” or “Get lost!”
Never get close to a vehicle that
seems occupied. Under no circum-
stances should you willfully get into a
stranger’s car, regardless of what the
person claims or threatens. Women
and teens should think twice about
getting into an acquaintance’s car, as
well. There has been at least one
recent case of an attack on a Jewish
child who entered a stranger’s vehicle
to “give directions.” ❖
Dr. Zacharowicz has studied and taught self-
defense and personal safety classes for years. He
recently earned his brown belt with Tora Dojo, a
martial-arts system founded by Professor Haim
Sober of Yeshiva University in 1967. For
comments or queries, or for information about
the upcoming June 11 martial-arts and self-
defense exhibition in the Five Towns, contact
VNishmartem@aol.com.

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 63

 Ending Gaza’s
‘Humanitarian
Crisis’
BY DAVID SINGER

There seems to be a general interna-

tional consensus that Gaza is gripped by
a growing humanitarian crisis that
requires the injection of large amounts
of international financial aid to prevent
a human catastrophe of massive propor-
tions. The international community sees
itself as trapped between a rock and a
hard place. It wants to grant such finan-
cial aid, but does not want to be seen to
be supporting the recently elected
Hamas government, since Hamas is list-
ed as a terrorist organization in most of
those countries whose financial assis-
tance is now being urgently sought.
Israel is under international pres-
sure to remit tax monies of $50 million
per month it has been collecting for
the Gazans. Israel objects to paying
this money to a government whose pol-
icy openly and uncompromisingly calls
for the destruction of Israel. Israel is
struggling to devise a means to get that
tax revenue to the civilian population,
even though it was that population
that elected Hamas to power, thereby
causing the current crisis.
Many question whether there is
indeed a humanitarian crisis or even the
threat of such a crisis in Gaza. An inves-
tigative journalist, Arlene Kushner,
claims that roughly USD 10 billion in
aid has been provided to the Palestinian
Authority in Gaza since 1993. Billions
of dollars in buildings, businesses and
agricultural enterprises and infrastruc-
ture were acquired for nothing following
Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza last year.
Much of this has been trashed in an
orgy of looting and mindless destruc-
tion. Muhammad Dahlan, former
Palestinian Minister of State for
Security, told London’s Guardian news-
paper in August 2004 that a total of
USD 5 billion in international dona-
tions “have gone down the drain and we
don’t know to where.”
Others compare the situation in Gaza
to the Darfur region in southern Sudan,
where emaciated children are dying
from lack of medical treatment, women
trek 50 kilometers to bring back food
and water for their children and villages
have been totally burned to the ground
with the village men being taken away
and slaughtered. Commentators point
to AIDS, drought and corrupt govern-
ments that have created a series of
humanitarian crises in southern Africa
that are far more serious than in Gaza.
Nightly, on our television screens,
we see pictures of angry Gazans
demonstrating at funerals of assassi-
nated terrorists or even fighting
between themselves. They all seem
well fed, well clothed and well armed,
hardly what one would expect to see in
a humanitarian crisis situation.
Perhaps one of the more bizarre sights
last week was the Hamas civil militia
sporting new guns and new uniforms
strutting the streets of Gaza City in
open defiance of the recognized secu-
64 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
rity forces. Where the money came
from to equip and outfit this smartly
turned out militia is unknown.
There is a huge arsenal of weapons
stored in Gaza, much of it allegedly pur-
chased with funds provided by the inter-
national community for the specific
purpose of improving the lives of the
civilian population. Offering to buy back
that arsenal from the armed militia
organizations presently operating under
a plethora of names and openly flouting
the authority of the government, pres-
ents an opportunity to bring this
“humanitarian crisis” to an end in Gaza.
It could also help to ease the ten-
sions between Israel and Gaza and
restore some authority to the govern-
ment in Gaza. Perhaps, it could even
provide the impetus for a return to the
Road Map sponsored by America,
Russia, the European Union and the
United Nations.
Australia introduced a gun buy-back
program 10 years ago after a massacre
in Tasmania led to public outrage and a
demand for action to prevent it hap-
pening again. At the end of the buy-
back, on 31 August 1998, Australia had
paid AUS $320 million for 643,726
firearms. True, the Australian buy-back
was not the success that was envi-
sioned and Australia has once again
seen a proliferation of guns in the com-
munity since the buy-back was com-
pleted. However, conditioning financial
aid on the surrender of weapons would
send a clear message to the Gazans
that they had a choice—to continue on
their present descent into anarchy and
self destruction, or to go down a differ-
ent path, forsaking armed confronta-
tion in favour of building a better life
for themselves.
The ground rules for surrender of
weapons could be drafted so as to pre-
vent the disclosure of the identity of the
organizations co-operating in the buy-
back. The monies paid would be given
to the organizations for distribution
among their members and supporters.
The government would have no interest
or claim on these monies since it had
no ownership in the weapons being sur-
rendered. The contributing countries
would be given access to monitor the
implementation of the program to
ensure the money was being distributed
to the civilian population. And finally,
the weapons themselves would be pub-
licly dismantled and destroyed—never
to be used again.
The Gazan economy would be reju-
venated by the infusion of these
monies into the system. A growing
market for goods and services, and
greater employment opportunities,
would be created. This would, in turn,
create revenue for the government in
the form of increased taxes, which
could be used to provide or improve
essential services such as roads, hous-
ing, hospitals and schools.
If this offer is refused, the interna-
tional community should spend its aid
money elsewhere, on the myriad num-
ber of humanitarian crises occurring
in other parts of the world.
If the Gazans turn down this offer,
then let them eat bullets, for they
would have brought this “humanitari-
an crisis” on themselves. (Arutz Sheva) ❖
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 65
 Torah Scrolls Make Trek Up Mountain,
Completing Masada Shul’s Restoration
BY SUE FISHKOFF On Shavuot eve, 2004, a ZAKA
group brought a donated Torah scroll
Most tourists who make the pilgrim- to Masada, carried it up the mountain,
age to Masada have seen the ruins of the and opened it at the top in a festive
2,000-year-old stone synagogue built by ceremony before handing it into
the Jewish Zealots who hid there from Campbell’s safekeeping.
the Romans for four years before com- After that night, Campbell kept the
mitting mass suicide in 73 C.E. scroll securely locked in his vault at the
It was a sad little building, without a
roof, its crumbled walls but a few feet
high. One had to imagine where the
worshippers stood to pray. What rituals
“But the importance
did they observe? What, if any, reli-
gious items did they have? of returning a Torah
Last year, the little synagogue was
restored. It now boasts a roof, door and to the exact same
small bookshelf. But the focal point is
along the eastern wall: an ark covered place where Eliezer
by a dark blue velvet curtain, which,
for the first time in two millennia, Ben Yair might have
houses two complete Torah scrolls.
“After 2,000 years, we brought back hidden his Torah
the Torah to Masada,” says Eitan
Campbell, director of the Masada scroll that night, that
National Park and a key figure in the
restoration project.
The impetus came three years ago
he could understand.”
from Yehuda Meshi Zahav, founder
and chairman of Israel’s ZAKA non-
governmental rescue and recovery visitors’ center at the base of the moun-
team. He had brought a team of ZAKA tain. When visitors asked to use it, he
volunteers to Masada for a sound and would let them take it up the moun-
light show, and noticed there was no tain, but he “didn’t feel good about it,”
Torah there. When people held a reli- he says. The Torah didn’t belong in a
gious ceremony atop the mountain, vault, it belonged on the mountain.
they had to bring their own scroll. “We realized it belonged in the

66 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

geniza,” he says, the small room
behind the ruined synagogue where
the Zealots buried their holy books.
That was where Yigal Yadin’s excava-
tion team found Bible fragments in
1963, including the famed “dry bones”
passages from Yechezkel.
“There were some obstacles,”
Campbell admits. One can’t keep a
Torah scroll in a ruin—it requires a
roof, floor and secure ark. And the
chief archeologist was “not too enthu-
siastic” at the idea of interfering with
the structure, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
“But the importance of returning a
Torah to the exact same place where
Eliezer Ben Yair might have hidden his
Torah scroll that night, that he could
understand,” Campbell says, referring
to the Zealot who led Masada’s defense.
South Florida philanthropist Warren
Struhl provided the funding for the syn-
agogue’s restoration. Struhl and three
colleagues forked over the $80,000
Campbell needed for the job, and
donated a second Torah scroll as well.
On September 26 at 3 a.m., more
than 600 men, women and children,
fervently Orthodox to secular, began to
dance and sing their way up the south-
ern slope of the mountain, carrying
both Torah scrolls to their new home
inside the restored synagogue. The
goings-on were streamed live over the
iIternet.
“It was a morning that anyone who
was there will never forget,” Campbell
says.
Israeli music legend David Broza,
who has held more than 20 concerts at
Masada since 1993, flew in from the
Canary Islands for the event. At sunrise,
he played a few songs—not religious
songs, he said, but the soulful, spiritual-
ly infused music for which he is known.
Last week, he was back at Masada,
showing it to his daughter and her
boyfriend. He and Campbell, who both
feel a strong attachment to the site,
sometimes sleep on the mountain. But
whereas Campbell is entranced by the
tragic history of the Jewish Zealots,
Broza says it’s the power of nature that
draws him back.
“There’s massive energy, the change
of light from 3 a.m. to sunrise” he told
JTA, reflecting on why he returns again
and again to hold concerts there.
“You let yourself get carried away,
you don’t really have control over your
emotions. And if the show is good, the
music takes you even further.”
Both Torah scrolls are now housed
permanently on the mountain. They
are used for morning prayers every
Monday and Thursday, Campbell says.
“Word has gotten out that the scrolls
are here,” he says. “We’ve closed the
2,000-year circle. If those last defend-
ers would know there’s still a Jewish
presence on Masada, it would mean a
lot to them.” (JTA) ❖
Sue Fishkoff, a special correspondent based in
Northern California, covers American Jewish
issues, with a special focus on Jewish identity
and affiliation. She also serves as a contributing
editor, responsible for coordinating JTA’s cover-
age of the former Soviet Union. She is a former
staff writer for the Jerusalem Post, has written
extensively for a variety of national Jewish publi-
cations and is the author of “The Rebbe’s Army:
Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch,” pub-
lished by Schocken Books.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 67
 The Alternative To The
Dreaded ‘Singles Shabbaton’
BY MICHAEL FELDSTEIN
Ask a group of typical Jewish singles
whether or not they like attending
“singles Shabbatons,” and chances are
that the vast majority will say that they
hate the experience. Yet singles
Shabbatons continue to be one of the
more popular venues for Jewish singles
to meet others.
Why do singles continue to flock to
such weekends even though they pro-
fess to hate them? Part of the reason
is that many singles really believe
that their future spouse might be at a
particular weekend—and that by not
attending a Shabbaton they are going
to miss out on their golden opportu-
nity. Advertisements for these week-
ends loudly claim “Meet your bash-
ert!”—and singles are more than will-
ing to plunk down up to $300 a per-
son in hopes of cashing in on the
claim.
Another reason is the numbers
game. Singles believe that if there are
lots of other singles in attendance, it
means that there is a better chance of
finding their soul mate there. Singles
tend to gravitate to the Shabbatons
with the largest number of people,
thinking that this will improve their
odds of finding a match.
Logically that may seem correct.
However, what’s the real success rate?
68 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
Virtually everyone who attends these
Shabbatons leaves generally disap-
pointed. Fortunately for the organiz-
ers, there always seems to be a new
group of singles interested in attending
the next Shabbaton.
Is there a better way to run a sin-
gles Shabbaton that participants will
enjoy more? Indeed there is. This past
year, I’ve personally helped organize
nine Shabbatons for singles through
an organization called End The
Madness (www.endthemadness.org).
And each one has been an unqualified
success, according to the feedback
provided by participants and the num-
ber of singles who have attended
more than one Shabbaton.
What made these Shabbatons differ-
ent than the typical singles Shabbaton?
First, the Shabbaton is held in a
Jewish community that has an active
synagogue (not in some hotel in the
Catskills), and activities and meals
are integrated with the rest of the
community. Past Shabbatons have
been held in Lawrence, Teaneck,
Passaic, West Hempstead, Stamford,
Elizabeth, and Monsey. Singles are
divided into groups of six (three men
and three women) for Shabbos meals,
which they eat at the homes of the
various hosts. This makes for a much
more natural and comfortable—and
less pressurized—environment for
singles to meet and mingle. Singles
also daven with the rest of the mem-
bers of the community, and partici-
pate in the rabbi’s class on Shabbos
and the shalosh seudos meal.
Second, the Shabbaton is intention-
ally limited. Only 48 singles can attend,
and applicants are carefully screened to
make sure they are the kind of people
with which other participants and
members of the community will enjoy
spending a Shabbos. Every one of the
Shabbatons that were planned has been
sold out—and there is always a waiting
list for singles to attend.
times recommend others that they
know as possible dates to those who
attended the Shabbaton. In addition,
community members enjoy hosting
meals because it allows them to do
something tangible for the singles
community.
The nice thing about this model is
that it doesn’t take a lot of work to
plan a Shabbaton. It can also be
accomplished by singles informally,
without an official organization.
You’ll need to find a point person in a
specific community to arrange hous-
ing and meals, and you’ll need a cou-

Because of the hospitality of community members in

providing meals to singles at their own tables, the
Shabbaton is usually priced at $25 per person,
which includes a Saturday night activity, as well.

Third, the Shabbaton does not cost
an arm and a leg. Because of the hos-
pitality of community members in pro-
viding meals to singles at their own
tables, the Shabbaton is usually priced
at $25 per person, which includes a
Saturday night activity, as well.
Finally, by interacting with mem-
bers of the community, singles
increase their own networking
opportunities. After meeting singles
over Shabbos, many hosts stay in
touch with their guests—and some-
ple of organizers on the singles side
to screen applicants, take reserva-
tions, assign participants to homes
for meals and sleeping, and plan the
program.
There is a better way to run a
Shabbaton for singles, and this con-
cept really works. Why not plan one in
your community this coming year?! ❖
Michael Feldstein serves on the Singles Task
Force of the Orthodox Caucus, and volunteers
for End The Madness. He can be reached at
mike38ct@aol.com.

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 69

70 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
MyAunt Evelyn
BY TOBY KLEIN
GREENWALD

They say that as we grow

older, we “become” our par-
ents, like when our daughter
leaves the house in the
evening and we say, “Take a
sweater!” Or the shock we get
when we hear ourselves
reminding our teenager that
the barbecue with his friends
should end at an hour that
will actually enable him to go
to school in the morning.
But I think I’m becoming
my Aunt Evelyn. My “Auntie
Evie,” one of my mom’s four
sisters, worked into her eight-
ies. But when she wasn’t in
the office, she was doing good
deeds. She never walked into
our house (or anyone else’s)
without opening her bottom-
less purse and pulling out
gum, chocolate, Kennedy
half-dollars, or the latest arti-
cle by one of her award-win-
ning journalist daughters. My
Aunt Evelyn had a wealth of
information about the com-
munity and the extended fam-
ily (not to be confused with
gossip, which I never heard
from her), but more than that,
she was a one-woman chesed
committee. If one of her rela-
tives or friends (or the mother
of a friend, or the second
cousin of a friend) needed a
prescription filled, letters
mailed, film developed, or a
piece of clothing exchanged at
the mall, Aunt Evelyn was
your woman.
But by far her most fre-
quent mitzvah was giving peo-
ple rides. I thought of Aunt
Evelyn recently, as I was on
my way home to Efrat, in
Gush Etzion (the Etzion
Bloc). Most people stop to
pick up hitchhikers at the
Gilo Junction, the last stop in
Jerusalem before one gets
onto the highway to Gush
Etzion. Our Gush Etzion bus
used to make stops in
Jerusalem, but they were
recently eliminated, so even
adults have begun to do what
was previously a mostly
teenage habit—they take a
bus to Gilo Junction and
hitchhike home from there. It
is a major headache, especial-
ly after shopping or a long day
at work.
When I stopped at a red
light in town, I noticed a few
women standing at a local bus
stop that I knew leads to Gilo.
People don’t usually give rides
to folks in the city, for securi-
ty reasons, but their head-
scarves and long dresses indi-
cated that they might be from
our neck of the woods. I rolled
down my window and asked

Continued on Page 72
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 71
 My Aunt Evelyn
Continued from Page 71

them where they had to go. “Gilo

Junction,” they answered. Nobody
lives at Gilo Junction; it’s only a hitch-
hiker’s stop. “No, where do you really
have to go?” “Carmei Tzur and Kiryat
Arba,” they replied. “Wait, I’ll pull
over,” I said.
They piled in with their packages,
offering enough blessings on my head
to last a lifetime, when I told them,
“I’ll take you all the way to the Gush
Etzion junction,” which was beyond
where I had to go, but was another
major stop that would mean a shorter
ride to their homes, and it was easy to
get a ride from there. They were over-
come with gratitude. Their children
were waiting at home, their packages
were heavy, it’s so hard to get a ride at
Gilo… I felt a warm glow.
We paused again at the Gilo junc-
tion to pick up a neighbor of mine, an
adult who doesn’t own a car. He was so
exhausted, he could barely talk. “I
hope you don’t mind that we’re taking
a detour by the Gush junction before
we go back to Efrat,” I said. “Are you
kidding?” he said, as he sank happily
back into the seat.
In the course of the ride, I played
Jewish geography with the women,
leading to the discovery that one of
them knew a daughter of mine, and
the other had a daughter who wanted
to audition for one of our local theater
groups. I continued up the highway,
passing Efrat on my left, drove on to
the Gush junction, and let them off to
the sound of more blessings.
I turned around and drove home.
My neighbor was getting ready to get
out at the crossroads closest to his
house, but I said, “I’ve brought you
this far, I’ll take you all the way.” I was
on a roll; I called my married daughter
who lives in a different part of Efrat.
Her husband was away for the night
for work, and I knew she’d probably

And there Israel

camped opposite
the mountain
(Bamidbar 19:2)

At all their other

encampments, the verse
says vayachanu (“and they
camped,” in the plural);
here it says vayichan
(“and he camped,” in the
singular). For all other
encampments were in
argument and dissent,
whereas here they
camped as one man, with
one heart.

(Mechilta; Rashi)

72 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

walk over to spend the night
at our house. “I’m already in
the car,” I told her; “I’ll pick
you up.”
And then the cap. Leaving
our little local shopping cen-
ter, I saw two women I know
from the senior’s club, where
I teach creative writing. They
were schlepping bags and
walking slowly. “Ride home?”
I offered. They got into the
car with effusive thanks.
They only live around the
corner; I didn’t think a ride
would be a big deal. I was
wrong. One of them said,
“He who saves one life, has
saved the world,” and when
she got out, told me, “I try to
be as independent as possi-
ble, but that walk, with pack-
ages, is a hard one.” “Just call
me if you need a ride next
time,” I told her. “If I’m
home, I’ll be happy to pop
you over there.”
It was when she got out of
the car that it struck me.
“That’s it,” I thought, “first I
turn into my mom, by telling
my daughters to take
sweaters, and now I’m becom-
ing my Aunt Evelyn.” When
Aunt Evelyn died, the funeral
home had to move the cere-
mony from the smaller chapel
to the larger one, usually used
for (G-d forbid) younger
deaths, or people who were
extremely important and well-
known in the community. I
live in Israel and couldn’t be
there, but my parents told me
that the crowds kept coming
and coming. Like the human
parade at the end of the film
Pay It Forward, no one imag-
ined how many lives Aunt
Evelyn had touched until they
saw the hundreds gathered at
her funeral.
Anyone who has buried a
loved one knows how it feels
to look at that casket and
think, “All that we take into
the next world are the good
deeds we have left behind.”
Aunt Evelyn’s daughters even-
tually moved from journalism
to more active public service.
Babs volunteered for various
presidential candidates, got a
law degree, and eventually
worked for the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Dolly
got a Ph.D. in public health
and is seeking a cure for
tuberculosis at the CDC. And
me? I hope that, some day (we
should all live till 120), when
the friends and family I leave
behind gather round, in addi-
tion to whatever else they’ll
have to say, they’ll be able to
say, “She gave people rides.”
You never know what will
make someone’s day.
And I learned that from my
Aunt Evelyn. ❖

Toby Klein Greenwald, when not

giving rides to people, is a journalist
(like her cousins), a theater director,
and the editor of WholeFamily.com.

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 73

 Mishael Heshin Lashes Out
At Chief Justice Aaron Barak
BY HILLEL FENDEL
Just-retired Supreme Court Justice
Mishael Heshin said what he really
thought about Chief Justice Barak’s
agenda—“civil rights win out over pre-
venting suicide bombings”—but then
apologized.
Heshin and Barak recently found
themselves on opposite sides regarding
the legality of a law forbidding Arabs of
the Palestinian Authority from becoming
Israeli citizens merely for having married
Israelis. Barak wrote the minority opin-
ion rejecting the law, claiming it violated
basic civil rights, while Heshin authored
the majority opinion in favor of it.
Barak “is willing to have 30 or 50
people blow up in suicide attacks, as
long as there are civil rights,” Heshin
told Haaretz.
After he saw the headline in print,
Heshin expressed remorse. Speaking
with Army Radio, Heshin said, “I haven’t
changed my mind, but the publication in
the press caused me great sorrow… It
would have been better had these things
not been said. I am someone who quick-
ly gets upset, and I am sorry about the
remarks that were publicized.”
Heshin explained that the remarks
were taken out of context: “I was
speaking like I was speaking with a
friend who knows that you don’t really
mean it. A friend understands that you
are angry at the idea, not at the man,
74 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
and he knows that you don’t mean
what you said in all its intensity.”
Heshin also elaborated on his recent
majority opinion:
“I’m not willing to take a chance. Not
in the Park Hotel [the site of the
Passover seder bombing in which 29
people were murdered], not in Haifa,
and not in exploding buses in Tel Aviv.
Why should I take a chance? We’re deal-
ing with an enemy state, no matter how
you look at it. After Pearl Harbor, when
the U.S. entered the war against Japan, I
don’t remember hearing that 10,000
Japanese were allowed to marry
Americans and come to America. It’s
inconceivable. If someone comes in and
cooperates with the terrorists and kills 4-
5 Jews or Arabs, Israeli citizens, I don’t
agree. Why do I have to? There is no
country in the world that has a constitu-
tional right to bring a foreigner in to the
country, and all the more so an enemy.”
Atty. Yitzchak Fuchs, one of the lead-
ers of the judicial battle against the
Disengagement, said, “The cat is now
out of the bag. Heshin’s resignation
allowed him to say what he wants, and
his remarks express the sentiments of
the public that is sick of Barak using his
position to promote his radical leftist
positions, at the expense of terrorist vic-
tims. How sad it is that a man like Barak,
a genius who could have been a great
Torah giant, served as the defender of
Israel’s enemies.” (Arutz Sheva) ❖
Jordanian Citizen Killed
In Gaza Strip Gun Battles
BY ARNON REGULAR
May 22—A Jordanian citizen was
killed today and three other people
were wounded, as a new Hamas-led
security force exchanged heavy fire
with gunmen near the Palestinian par-
liament building in Gaza, in a fresh
outbreak of internal violence.
Hospital officials identified the man
as Jordanian citizen Khaled Radaida, 45,
and said he was the driver of Jordan’s
ambassador in Gaza. The death brings to
eight the number of Palestinians killed
in internal fighting this month.
Witnesses said Radaida was driving
when he was hit. The ambassador,
Yehiya Qarallah, was not in the car at
the time. Under police escort, the
ambassador was taken to the morgue
of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital and iden-
tified Radaida. The diplomat sobbed as
he emerged from the morgue.
Hamas and Palestinian security forces
gave conflicting accounts of how the
fighting started. Security officials said
the incident began when members of a
new Hamas militia stopped a car carrying
members of the Preventive Security
Service, a branch loyal to Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Preventive Security officials said
Hamas militiamen fired at the car.
Earlier, witnesses had said the incident
began when Hamas gunmen patrolling
the streets came under fire and sought
cover in the abandoned building, from
where they fired back. A Palestinian
police cruiser trying to approach the
area came under fire, the witnesses said.
The fighting, which erupted in an
area between the Palestinian parliament
and police headquarters, involved Fatah
activists, Hamas activists, members of
the Palestinian security forces and mem-
bers of the new Hamas security unit.
The Hamas gunmen, holed up in an
abandoned building during the battle,
fired a rocket-propelled grenade and
threw two hand grenades at the police,
witnesses said.
Tensions between Hamas and Fatah
have threatened to explode over a sec-
ond assassination attempt against a
Fatah-aligned Gaza security chief in as
many days. The new fighting under-
scored fears that the spate of internal
clashes could lead to civil war. The
flare-up followed an overnight incident
in which a Palestinian gunman was
killed fighting between rival militias.
Witnesses said members of the new
force set up by the ruling militant Islamic
group returned fire as they took cover
inside a building near parliament after
coming under attack from unknown gun-
men. Bystanders fled the streets.
Hamas, which took power in March
after winning January elections,
deployed its new 3,000-strong force in
Gaza last week, prompting Abbas to
order police onto the streets too. Within
a barely day, the two groups had clashed.
Apparent assassination attempts on two
top Abbas commanders over the weekend,
in which one of the intended targets was
badly wounded, have stoked worries of fur-
ther internal violence, although Hamas
has denied any responsibility.
Ambush In Khan Yunis
The overnight battle between
Hamas and Fatah gunmen erupted
near the southern Gaza town of Khan
Yunis before dawn. Fatah said two of
its fighters were ambushed in their car,
while Hamas said the firefight was
triggered by Fatah’s attempt to kidnap
a Hamas member. A second Fatah gun-
man was wounded.
Today’s pre-dawn death brought to
seven the number of Palestinian gun-
men killed in internal strife in Gaza
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
since Hamas-Fatah violence erupted
earlier this month.
The confrontations were triggered,
in part, by Hamas’ decision to deploy
its own 3,000-strong security force,
parallel to the Fatah-dominated police
and security services.
Tempers were also running high after
two assassination attempts against
security chiefs loyal to Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
in recent days.
Palestinian security forces said
Sunday they had foiled an attempt to
kill a top commander loyal to Abbas. A
bomb weighing 70 kg (154 lbs) was
found and defused outside the Gaza
Strip home of Rashid Abu Shbak.
On Saturday, Tareq Abu Rajab, head
of General Intelligence in Gaza, was
badly wounded by an explosion in Gaza
that Abbas called an attempted assassi-
nation. An aide was killed. (Haaretz) ❖
June 1, 2006 75
Sleep, At A Time Like This?!
BY AYELET
After one very powerful Yom Kippur, I
was walking home to break my fast,
when I glanced in a fish store window
and I saw the sign. It said, “G-d Cares.”
“Wow,” I thought, with warmth in my
heart, “even the people in a New York
City fish store know that G-d cares!” I
walked on with a goofy grin on my face,
smiling at people as they passed by. This
appeared to be a wonderful way to scare
off the mightiest of New Yorkers, who
were crossing the street to avoid me. But
I didn’t mind—all I knew was, G-d cares!
I stopped dead in my tracks as I real-
ized that something seemed a little off.
(And no, it wasn’t the scent of New
Jersey, wafting through the Holland
Tunnel.)
Maybe it was the hunger, or the fer-
vor with which I had prayed all day
long in the synagogue, or perhaps I
76 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
had beaten my chest just a little too
hard, but something told me that
maybe I was delirious. Why on earth
would a fish store have a sign in the
The tradition on Shavuos is to stay up all night
and learn Torah, and then, in the morning,
we internalize the spiritual receiving of the Torah,
and eat cheesecake.
window that says “G-d cares”?!
Retracing my steps, I returned to
the fish store and took another look at
the sign in the window. Only this time
I carefully examined it. The sign really
said, “Cod Cakes.”
I laughed out loud as I walked on (it
didn’t matter at that point, did it?), and
I thought how funny it was that some-
times we just see what we want to see.
My euphoric state of a spiritual high
from the Yom Kippur sanctity had put
me in a space where everything I saw
was a Divine message.
But was it the lack of physical suste-
nance that caused me to be out of
touch with reality, or just the opposite?
Perhaps my participation in the
required fast was just the platform I
needed, availing me the opportunity to
be in touch with a higher reality.
Rather than accounting my experi-
ence to the after-effects of a long peri-
od of food deprivation, I would like to
think that seeing the Divine message is
possible everywhere in life, in the right
place and at the right time. And
Judaism gives me the formula to find it.
On Shavuos, we celebrate the festi-
val which happens after counting the
omer for seven weeks starting on
Passover. The tradition on Shavuos is
to stay up all night and learn Torah,
and then, in the morning, we internal-
ize the spiritual receiving of the Torah,
and eat cheesecake. (I don’t know
exactly why we do this, but I certainly
have an easier time doing anything
while eating cheesecake.)
The idea behind staying up all night
is that when the Jews actually received
the Torah, they were so excited about
their new acquisition that it was beyond
their imagination to actually get any
sleep. So they busied themselves with
learning all night long, in anticipation of
the final moment.
While I might rationalize that it would
be easier to celebrate a holiday on a full
stomach—or a full night’s sleep—per-
haps it is exactly the opposite.
The Jewish calendar is full of cycli-
cal occurrences which radiate energy
within each time period. It’s impossi-
ble to get the spiritual energy of
Shabbos on a Wednesday, or the free-
dom from Passover from eating matzah
in July.
Shavuos is the only Jewish holiday
that was instituted with no specific date.
It was marked as the end of the counting
of the omer, seven weeks from Passover.
We now know the exact date because of
the count. But it’s the time that makes all
the difference. Shavuos comes out at a
time in which the spiritual energy is
infused with the characteristic of “open-
ness” for the receiving of the Torah.
By staying up and harnessing the
power of this very special night, the
energy can open our hearts to receive
the Torah, our minds to contemplate
the effects it will have on our lives, and
our eyes to the miracles and wonders
that are available. And all this can only
happen at this auspicious time.
I’m waiting to find out what may be
the Divine message I can see on
Shavuos, and I won’t attribute it to
lack of sleep, but the availability of
openness of the moment. ❖
Daniel’s
one leg amputated at the knee.
An American teenager, a healthy,
athletic boy from sunny Florida, is
transformed in a split second into a
as the Sun Sentinel and the Miami wristbands imprinted with the words
Herald, and an AP story picked up by “Pray for Daniel.” The synagogue also
the Los Angeles Times (but by none of set up a fund through its website to
AP’s other major subscribers), the rest help assist the family with the extraor-

Story shattered vessel, a soul hovering

between life and death. More and
more parts of his body, instead of pro-
viding him with mobility and life sup-
port, turn against him, and are pared
of the mainstream American media has
ignored the continuing and profoundly
moving story of Daniel Wultz.
Is it because his parents, so focused
on praying for their broken son, will
dinary expenses it is suddenly facing.
Daniel’s parents, Sheryl (Sarah) and
Tuly, changed Daniel’s Hebrew name to
Chaim Meir Naftali. Following Jewish
custom, the word for life was added to
BY LORI LOWENTHAL away in an effort to save his life. not share his story with the media? the beginning of his name in an effort to
MARCUS Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the That is true, but there is quite a bit of guard him from further danger.
April 17 bombing. One of the terror information available about Daniel; How can it be that an American
Editor’s Note: Daniel Wultz passed group’s leaders expressed sorrow that information that fleshes out the cold Jewish teenager whose survival of a
away on May 14, 2006—shortly after Daniel had not been killed, according anonymity of just a name and home- terrorist bombing has been called a
this article was written. May his memo- to WorldNetDaily, one of the few town, information that one would miracle is something most American
ry be for a blessing. media sources to cover the story. think would draw the interest of caring media sources consider inconsequen-
It is a perverse human quality, but we Another Arab terrorist group seeking Americans; information that is likely to tial? Why was his story not newswor-
are drawn to news stories about human to share credit for the bombing interest news consumers, if only the thy—because Daniel Wultz was a
tragedies. Some characteristics of such extolled the double treat of having news sources would provide it. teenager, an American, and an
stories intensify the level of our interest: almost murdered an American and a Daniel Wultz had been a student of amputee, or because he was a Jewish
descriptions or pictures of gore or disfig- Zionist. Islamic Jihad threatened the David Posnack Hebrew Day Zionist? Or was it because the media
urement; pictures of grieving loved Americans and Jews everywhere, say- School in Plantation, Florida since ele- thinks we are only interested in the
ones; and some form of personal con- ing they are all legitimate targets. mentary school. One of Daniel’s pas- personal lives of homicide bombers
nection—no matter how indirect—to What American could hear this story sions was playing basketball; he played and their families? And whose fault is
those at the center of the tragedies. The and not become riveted, eager for competitively at his local YMCA. that? (Arutz Sheva) ❖
adage “if it bleeds it leads” condenses updates, eager to cheer his progress or The Wultz family synagogue,
Lori Lowenthal Marcus is a writer, a lawyer and
this notion to a pithy directive. despair at any further impediments? But Chabad Lubavitch of Weston, Florida, the President of the Zionist Organization of
Yet, the American media has failed to other than the Florida newspapers, such distributed blue and white rubber America, Greater Philadelphia District.
cover a story containing every item on
the sure-to-interest-newsreaders’ check-
list. I invite you to ponder why that is.
An Arab Palestinian homicide
bomber detonated himself at a falafel
stand in Israel on April 17, during
Passover. The murderer killed nine
innocent people and wounded dozens.
A broad range of news sources,
including USA Today, the New York
Times, the Washington Post, CBS, ABC,
CNN, and the Philadelphia Inquirer,
gave personal background information
about the bomber. We learned that he
was an Al-Quds University drop-out
and, incredibly, that he had been a
social worker. In his going-away video,
the murderer claimed he sought martyr-
dom on behalf of imprisoned Arab
Palestinians.
Satisfying its compulsion to draw par-
allels between Israeli and Arab
Palestinian suffering, at least one news-
paper—the Philadelphia Inquirer—
placed on page one of its April 18 edition
a photograph of an unnamed Israeli griev-
ing over the body of an Israeli victim.
Placed directly below that is a photograph
of the murderer’s mother wistfully hold-
ing two photographs—in one she is hold-
ing a rifle of her now-dead son.
Juxtaposing these photographs sug-
gests that there are victims on both
sides of the conflict in the Middle
East: Arab mothers grieve for their
dead sons and young Israeli men grieve
for dead Israelis.
I find this moral equivalence repulsive.
But let’s take one more step. If bleed-
ers are leaders, and some kind of per-
sonal connection with the bleeders
increases consumers’ interest in a news
story, then there is a follow-up story
from the April 17 bombing that should
have been all over the American media.
Daniel Wultz was a 16-year-old
Florida teen who accompanied his
father to Israel to visit relatives during
Passover. On April 17, Daniel and his
father were eating in one of the few
kosher shawarma restaurants in Tel
Aviv. Daniel was almost killed by the
homicide bombing. In a coma for two
weeks, Daniel’s spleen and one of his
kidneys had to be removed. Then, this
basketball-loving teenager had to have
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 77
 A Five Towns Simcha
Photo By Jeff Neckenoff

Bat Mitzvah celebration of Esther Aiga Sarah Rimler of Kew Gardens Hills
took place at Fresh Meadows Jewish Center; entertainment by Azamra DJ.
Mazal Tov to parents Debbie and Berish and brothers Ely, Menachem,
Simcha, and Meir. Miss Rimler attends Bnos Malka Academy in Queens.

78 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 79
For Olmert, Snub Of Russians
Could Come Back To Haunt Him
BY LESLIE SUSSER
By failing to include a single
Russian immigrant in his cabinet,
Ehud Olmert has made a major blun-
der that could shorten his term in
office, undermine his Kadima party
and hurt his plans for separation
from the Palestinians, senior Israeli
pundits say.
It was the first time since 1995 that
an Israeli prime minister has formed a
government without a representative
from the huge immigrant community
of more than 1 million. It was a mis-
take Ariel Sharon would never have
made, pundits say.
Outraged members of the Russian
community speak of a sense of
betrayal, and say Kadima may have
80 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
lost the Russian vote forever. More
immediately, Kadima’s Russian-
speaking Knesset members are
threatening to defy party discipline in
Since 1992, the Russian vote has
been crucial in determining the
outcome of Israeli elections.
key Knesset votes.
The upshot could be that Olmert
will have difficulty mustering a parlia-
mentary majority for his most impor-
tant policy initiative: his plan to with-
draw from large chunks of the West
Bank. And he might be forced to go for
early elections that he could lose.
During the coalition negotiations, it
seemed certain that there would be at
least one Russian immigrant minister.
If Avigdor Lieberman’s mainly immi-
grant Yisrael Beiteinu party joined the
government, there would be several;
and if not, Marina Solodkin, who was
sixth on Kadima’s Knesset slate, was
sure to be included in the party’s min-
isterial lineup.
But in the end none of this materi-
alized: The coalition talks with
Lieberman collapsed, and Olmert
failed to appoint Solodkin.
“There are no more portfolios,”
Olmert reportedly told Solodkin the
day appointments were made.
According to Solodkin, this was not
just a personal slight. The entire
Russian community, she says, feels
betrayed, insulted and humiliated.
It’s as if Kadima “slammed the door”
on “hundreds of thousands of Russian
immigrants looking for a political
home,” she told an interviewer from
the Ma’ariv newspaper.
Rina Greenberg, acting mayor of
Carmiel and one of Kadima’s unsuccess-
ful Russian immigrant candidates, was
even blunter: She told Olmert’s people
they were “committing political suicide.”
“In two years,” she declared, “there
won’t be a single Russian-speaker left
in the party.”
Since 1992, the Russian vote has
been crucial in determining the out-
come of Israeli elections. The Russians
have invariably voted for the winner—
Yitzhak Rabin in 1992, Benjamin
Netanyahu in 1996, Ehud Barak in
1999 and Sharon in 2001 and 2003.
They also have shown a readiness to
defect when they feel let down or
slighted: by Labor in 1996, Netanyahu
in 1999 and Barak in 2001.
Barak, for example, promised a
“civil revolution” to solve immigrant
citizenship, marriage and burial prob-
lems, but quickly shelved it to form a
coalition with the fervently Orthodox
Shas Party. “Ehud the first [a refer-
ence to Barak] took nearly two years
to betray us,” the Russians say;
“Ehud the second [meaning Olmert]
only two days.”
The Russian vote accounts for 18 to
20 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
In the March 28 election, the Russians
gave Olmert four or five seats: Without
them, Solodkin maintains, he would
not have beaten Labor’s Amir Peretz,
who got hardly any Russian support.
To win Russian votes, Kadima
included six immigrants on its slate
and had Solodkin at No. 6, high
enough to signal a guaranteed ministe-
rial post.
“The feeling in the Russian street is
that they used us and then discarded
us,” Solodkin said.
Most of the Russian vote went to
Lieberman, who got nine or ten
Russian seats. However, Lieberman’s
inflammatory positions on Arab
issues—he favors redrawing the bor-
ders of the state to exclude most
Israeli Arabs, and recently hinted
that Arab Knesset members who
maintain ties with Israel’s enemies
should be executed—meant that
Olmert would have been harshly crit-
icized had he included Lieberman in
the coalition.
Still, some people in Olmert’s camp
have been implying that Solodkin, who
was in charge of getting out the
Russian vote, could have done better.
At the start of the campaign,
Kadima’s position, with Sharon at the
helm, was much stronger. Polls
showed Kadima winning eight
Russian immigrant seats, ahead of
Yisrael Beiteinu with five. Indeed,
Sharon, who was extremely popular
among immigrants, was planning a
strategic partnership with them simi-
lar to the one Menachem Begin
enjoyed as Likud leader from the late
1950s with Sephardi immigrants from
North Africa.
The result of Russian immigrant
pique could be the formation of new
sectarian parties primarily representing
immigrant interests. If they lose the
Russian vote, Olmert and Kadima could
be in real trouble next time around.
Lieberman could be a major bene-
ficiary. His American spin doctor,
Arthur Finkelstein, is working on a
strategy designed to elevate
Lieberman to the premiership, based
on taking ultra-hawkish positions to
capture the leadership of the Israeli
right and winning over immigrants by
cultivating the perception that the
Israeli establishment doesn’t want
them as equals.
Olmert’s rejection of Lieberman as a
coalition partner and his failure to give
Solodkin a ministerial position played
into Lieberman’s hands, pundits say.
In the meantime, Russian anger at
Kadima knows no bounds. Party
activists are threatening to return their
membership cards en masse; immi-
grants who won Knesset seats on the
Kadima slate are talking about build-
ing a power base in the party that will
be able to exert leverage on the leader-
ship; and Solodkin says she wants to
form a forum of Russian Knesset
members from all parties.
More significantly, Solodkin and
Michael Nudelman, another Russian
immigrant legislator, reportedly are
talking to Lieberman about possible
future cooperation.
Should they decide to vote against
Olmert’s withdrawal, and recruit
other non-immigrant Knesset mem-
bers in the coalition who have doubts
about the plan, the consequences for
Olmert could be disastrous. The loss
of Kadima votes would make him
dependent on Israeli Arab parties,
and could trigger an erosion of public
and Knesset support for the plan.
That could force an election that
Olmert might not win without immi-
grant votes.
Why did Olmert get himself into
this vulnerable position—arrogance?
Shortsightedness? Inexperience at the
highest level? Confidence that success
in dealing with immigrant problems
will turn things around?
As far as the Russian immigrants are
concerned, it doesn’t really matter.
They’re determined to teach the prime
minister a lesson he won’t forget. (JTA) ❖
Leslie Susser is JTA’s diplomatic correspondent
in Jerusalem. Also the diplomatic correspondent
for the Jerusalem Report, he has covered the
peace process and Israeli domestic politics since
the early 1990s. Before that he was head of
English News at Israel Radio and night editor at
the Jerusalem Post. He is the author of the
recent Israel chapters in the Middle East
Contemporary Survey and the Encyclopedia
Britannica Yearbook, and co-author of Yitzhak
Rabin: Soldier of Peace. He has a Ph.D. in
modern history from Oxford University.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 81
82 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 83
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excellent salary. Contact Yosef
516-374-7070.

Electrician—Recessed lighting, ceil-

ing fans, security lighting, all electri-
cal repairs/installations. Telephone
lines. Switches and outlets installed
or replaced. Guaranteed. Shomer
Shabbos. Call Robert Schwartz
718-327-9320.

Amy’s Craft Kits To Go. I do the

work. You have the fun! Great for par-
ties, gifts, vacations. Camp packages
available. Summer craft classes. Call
516-489-1913.

84 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

 HELP
WANTED
Bookkeeper Assistant P/T.
Queens Special Ed pre-school.
Immed opening. Computer literate.
Proficiency in Excel a must.
Fax resume to Ann: 718-205-0178
or e-mail: jackdevctr@aol.com
Yeshiva in the Far Rockaway/Five
Towns area seeks an experienced
kindergarten Morah for September
2006. Please call 516-295-0815.
Secretarial Position Available
Secretary is responsible to maintain
smooth running of the office as well
as act as executive assistant to execu-
tives. Responsibilities include:
Receptionist, meet and greet guests,
travel booking, filing, internet
research, and oversee day to day run-
ning of office. Candidates should be
well-versed in MS Office (specifically
Word, Excel & Outlook), have a pleas-
ant phone manner, be Internet savvy,
possess outstanding organizational
and verbal communication skills, and
have the ability to work in a team
environment. Please fax resume to
516-295-7611 or e-mail
hr@heritageaffinity.com.
Teachers – General Studies
All boys Queens Yeshiva Pre-1A and
lower elementary grades for
September 2006. M-Th.12:00-4:00
PM, Fri. 10:30-1:00 PM. Excellent
opportunity for dynamic and creative
educators who would like to join a
great team in a premier school set-
ting. Must be certified and experi-
enced. Reply by fax or mail to:
Principal Yeshiva Tifereth Moshe
113-06 Abingdon Road
Kew Gardens, NY 11415.
Fax: 718-441-3962.
Part-Time to Full-Time Office
Help – looking to work 25-30 hours
per week, flexible hours, computer
experience, photography interest,
graphic/Photoshop experience
desired. Call Ira at 516-791-7230.
Five Towns Yeshiva looking for
Full time Academic Secretary
with strong computer background
including Microsoft Office, Davka
Writer, and DDC. Must be able to
multi-task. Fax resume
516-374-9376.
HELP
WANTED
Seeking enthusiastic, lively
college student to shadow 4-year-
old boy in typically developing pre-
school. Shadow will facilitate social
interactions with peers. Five mornings
a week 9:30-12:30. Please call
516-376-6244 and leave message.
Part time Great Neck–Seeking
experienced counselor who can be
firm and provide structure for young
adult female who lives in Great Neck.
Hours: from 4:45 p.m. weekdays.
Please call Annie at Ohel Bais Ezra at
718-686-3484.
Teachers - Preschool Morahs and
assts. for innovative, child-centered
yeshiva preschool for 2006-2007
school year. Excellent salary, fax to
212-874-5706 or e-mail
menahel@ykom.org
Office Position/Admin Assistant
Manufacturer/Importer in
Oceanside. Shomer Shabbos. Must
have good computer skills, including
Excel and Word. Accounting software
experience a plus. Basic Accounting/
Bookkeeping preferred. Full Time.
Please submit resume and salary
history to: Fax–516-977-3319
E-mail–hr@kantek.com
Busy Five Towns Medical Office
seeks part time receptionist.
Call 516-569-6996 or fax resume
to 516-791-7755.
Your Real Estate,
Service,
or Help Wanted Ad
Here Every Thursday
50,000 readers look forward to
what’s happening in the
5 Towns by reading
The 5 Towns Jewish Times.
Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.
1 Week ....................$35
2 Weeks ................$60
4 Weeks ..............$100
Weekly Ads of up to 25 words
Call: 516-569-0502
Fax: 516-977-0608
Or E-mail ads to:
5TJTads@gmail.com
Include payment info.
REAL ESTATE
FOR SALE
Walk To All from this beautiful JR4
converted to a small 2nd BR/Office
or DR. New Kitchen w/Pergo Flrs.
Updated Bath. Spacious Master BR
w/Custom Wall to Wall Closets.
Parking. Storage Bin. Reduced to
$229K! Owner Motivated and
Negotiable! Call Holly at Prudential
Douglas Elliman 516-456-2516.
Cedarhurst - Priced to Sell !
3BR, 2.5 bath, LR, DR, EIK.
Low $5’s. 550 Arlington Rd.
Owner 516-524-3059.
House for sale in Israel in Ramat
Beis Shemesh Aleph —
8 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, large EIK,
LR, DR, den, office, playroom, game-
room, central air/heat, 3 porches,
walking distance to all shuls. $599K
Call Yossi 516-557-3816.
Far Rockaway—Legal two family
four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, DR LR,
EIK, large deck, yard, garage, ground
floor rental, priced to sell $659K
negotiable Call 718-471-7153.
Best location - Far Rockaway/
West Lawrence - $715K
4+1 bedroom, 3 full baths, Beautiful
fin. basement, C/A, deck.
Call 917-642-3179.
New to market For sale by owner
—Lawrence. 4 BR, 3.5 BTHs, LR
with fireplace, FDR, EIK, den, full
finished basement with two bedrooms
and full bath $899K.
Call 516-554-1580.
Ramat Beit Shemesh/Modiin bar-
gain! Exclusive preconstuction spa-
cious cottage with garden start.
$310K. 4 rms apt start $175K.
Lemkin Realty 201-645-4083
www.lemkinrealty.com.
Lawrence Co-op For Sale—2 Large
Bedrooms, 2 Full Modern Baths,
Large Modern Kitchen with Dinette,
Many Extras. Walk to Shuls,
Shopping, LIRR. $375K.
Contact Ben 917-803-3029.
LAWRNCE CO-OP: NU 2 Mkt, 1st
Flr, 3Br, 2Bth, Fdr, Lr, Patio, W/D, lo
maint $439K. 5 TOWN HOMES
516-569-5710.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
REAL ESTATE
FOR SALE
5 TOWN HOMES
516-569-5710
NORTH WOODMERE:
Open House: 12-2
740 Eagle Drive $679K
Hi Ranch, 4+Br, 2.5 Bth, Over Large
Property.
LAWRNCE: NU Construc’n, 6Br,
5Bth, Lg. prop, Walk all, With all
goodies. Plans can be seen in office.
CEDRHRST: NU constrc’n, C/H
Col. 7Br, 4.5Bths, Lg. EIK, Prime
loc…$1,250K.
CEDRHRST: NU Renovt’d S/H,
5Br, 3Bths, 2 dens, LR w/fpl, full
bsmt, quiet street...$885K.
CEDRHRST: 2Fam, 3Br/3Br, 2Fpl,
Deck. All Nu, Great location,
Full bsmt...Bring Offers.
CEDRHRST: LgLr, Dr, EIK, Den,
5Br, 3bth, Skilits, Cabana, Lg prop.,
IGPool…$699K.
N. WDMR: HiRanch, 4br, 2.5bth,
nu kit, deck, over lg prop. $679K
N.WDMR: NU 2 Mkt, NU constrc’n,
C\H col 4Br, 3Bth, lg. granit kit, Full
bsmt, SD14…$929K.
HWLT: MIC, 3+Br, 2.5Bth, full
bsmt, Lg Prop. Priced to
Sell...$589K.
HWLT: Lg. C/H, Col. 4Br, 3Bth,
SD14, Lr, FDR, EIK, Den, Full bsmt,
All Systems, CAC, quiet tree-lined
street...$759K.
5 TOWN HOMES
516-569-5710
2 Co-ops — Lawrence —
Immaculate Junior 4 converted
second bedroom, fully renovated, new
kitchen appls with double sink and
kosher dw, indoor parking, walk to all.
Cedarhurst — Beautiful two bed-
rooms/two full baths, w/d, separate
dining room, lots of closet space.
Weisman Realty 347-752-0948.
Classified Ads are
Continued on the Next Page.
June 1, 2006 85
CLASSIFIED ADS
Continued from Page 85
REAL ESTATE
FOR SALE
Condominium For Sale – Far
Rockaway, Reads Lane property
Ground floor of a two unit dwelling,
3 1/2 bedrooms, eat-in-kitchen, living
room/dining room, 2 bathrooms, cen-
tral air, spacious yard, low taxes and
maintenance, near schools and shuls.
Please call 917-613-1399.
Beautiful 6 bedroom home, fully
renovated, full basement w/separate
entrance, huge property, heart of
Bayswater. Call Weisman Realty
Group 347-752-0948.
REAL ESTATE
FOR RENT
Office for rent – located on
Central Avenue. Entire second floor.
Excellent condition. Available June
first. Call 718-851-1688.
86 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
REAL ESTATE
FOR RENT
Far Rockaway – Lg. Hse Rental:
4br, 2bth, bsmt., Hi ceil’g, NU bths,
W\D. Call 516-322-3555.
5 TOWN HOMES
516-569-5710
CED: Col. Hse: 3br, 2.5bth,
Fin. Bsmt…$2,500.
Ground floor studio apartment
for rent in Lawrence with drive-
way. All new. $800 including utilities
except electric. Also, looking for
roommate for 3 bedroom apartment
above studio apartment. $600.
Call 718-810-0001.
Lawrence—2 Br, all nu apt., own
heat. Call 917-757-9351
Cedarhurst—Office For Rent
1000sf, all services, grt location, rea-
sonable rent. Call 516-322-3555
Rockville Center—Retail/Office
5000sf, all new, hi traffic, grt for
financial or furniture. Will divide.
Call 516-322-3555.
REAL ESTATE
FOR RENT
House For Rent Brooklyn
Madison Area—Immaculate 3 bed-
room duplex, Large LR, DR, EIK.
Move-in condition!! Front/back porch-
es. Hardwood floors. 718-645-0214.
Far Rockaway — Studio & one bed-
room apts available in beautiful eleva-
tor bldg (1st floor). Great location,
Neilson & Cornaga. Reasonable rents
include heat & hot water. Rent
Stabilized bldg. Call 718-377-0708
leave message.
Far Rockaway - Apt for Rent
3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths 1st floor of
2 family home Security system, CAC
w/d hookup. Great Location. Available
Sept. 2006 Call 516-967-1967.
Deadline for Classified Advertising
in the Next Issue is Monday, June 5
at 5:00 P.M. Call 516-569-0502
REAL ESTATE
FOR RENT
Bayswater For Rent - 3 Large
Bedrooms, 2 Full Baths, Large EIK
with d/w, with large LR/Dining Room
Area. Washer/Dryer. MIC. Excellent
block. Stunning View of Bay.
Ask $1,250. Call 718-471-1282.
Far Rockaway – 2br, semi-bsmt.,
washer/dryer, carpet, large EIK all
new, Beach 12 Street/Lanett Ave.,
pvt. house, light & airy, quiet block,
easy parking. $1,150.
Call 718-539-4472.
Large Studio Apt. for rent in
West Hempstead. Near the LIRR,
Shuls, and Shopping. Recently reno-
vated. Only $650/Month incl.
Utilities. Call 516-750-0531,
leave message.
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES June 1, 2006 87
88 June 1, 2006 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES