OurChildren

Our
About
Chanukah RABBI KENNETH BRANDER HEADS TO ISRAEL page 6
Gift Guide Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

THE STORY OF GAUCHER'S DISEASE page 10

THE BROTHERS MAIMONIDES page 12
'THE MIGHTY ATOM' page 41

IN THIS ISSUE Chanukah Lights

86
Combating Winter Ills Water for Africa

NOVEMBER, 2017
Holiday Gratitude

NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Supplement to The Jewish Standard December 2017

VOL. LXXXVII NO. 10 $1.00 2017

7

NORTH JERSEY THEJEWISHSTANDARD.COM

Secret
sharer
Paul Caine knew
his grandfather
was a hero.
He didn't know
he smuggled
guns to Palestine.
Page 24

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 upcoming at Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
Saturday Night at the J
childrens cooKie swap
Calling all winter bakersjoin our Cookie Swap event!
Children will break into teams and complete a different
cookie recipe that well supply. At the end, all the
teams will swap cookies so each child can take
home a container filled with a delicious mix, plus all
the recipes to bake everything again at home! Dinner
included.
Grades 2-6, Sat, Dec 9, 7:30-9:30 pm, $45/$50

Chanukah Seminar
rabbi reuven Kimelman

Which is more important: Chanukah or Purim?

Join us for a lively discussion led by the JCCs
Scholar-in-Residence.
For more information or to register,
call 201.408.1429.
Wed, Dec 6, 8:15 pm, Free

Infant/Toddler CPR & First Aid

Learn prevention, recognition and treatment of
first aid emergencies. Topics covered will include

Infant
choking and common first aid emergency handling
with hands-on practice on mannequins. This is a
non-certifying course, which is perfect for parents,

Toddler
grandparents and caregivers!
Thur, Nov 30, 7:15-9:15 pm, $10/$15
Register: jccotp.org/parenting-special-programs

CPR

COMMUNITY kIds MUsIC

shirah presents:
Lights! A Winter concert
Celebrating Chanukah and More!
Enjoy highlights from the Jewish choral
tradition with music in Hebrew, English
and more!
Supported by founders Bernie and Ruth zl
Weinflash and their SHIRAH Fund in Tribute to
Matthew Lazar, the Ethel and Irving Plutzer Fund
for the SHIRAH Choir, and the Rhoda Toonkel
Fund for the SHIRAH Choir.
Marsha Bryan Edelman, Conductor
Sun, Dec 3, 2 pm, $16/$20
Winter Break Vacation Camps
when school is out let the Jcc fill
your childs day with fun!
ages 2-4: Build fundamental skills across a
variety of sports.
grades K-5: Trips to the Ice House, Space
Odyssey, the movies, Tenafly Police and Fire
Departments followed by sports, art, and
swimming fun at the J. Extended care available
till 6 pm Tue-Thur. (Trip locations subject to
change)
Tue-Fri, Dec 26-29, 9 am4 pm,
$85 per day by Dec 15, $100 after
Gift the Gift of Music with Private
Music Lessons at Thurnauer!
Better than any of-the-moment toy, learning to play an
instrument is the gift that lasts a lifetime. Take private
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Sign up today! JCC membership not required.
Visit jccotp.org/thurnauer to see all offerings
to register or for more info
visit jccotp.org
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2 Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017

What can we do with the turkey poop?
None of us want to think too hard about the
turkeys we eat on Thanksgiving. We especially
dont need to think about the excrement they
produce.
But what if that excrement could help halt cli-
mate change?
According to researchers at Israels Ben-Gurion
University, turkey excrement along with waste
produced by other poultry, like chicken could
partially replace coal as an energy resource and
reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
Treated excrement from turkeys, chickens and
other poultry, when converted to combustible
solid biomass fuel, could replace approximately
10 percent of coal used in electricity generation,
reducing greenhouse gases and providing an
alternative energy source, the university said in
a news release.
As the release explains, scientists led by Ph.D.
candidate Vivian Mau and Professor Amit Gross
converted turkey poop to biomass fuel to test its
potential. By heating it through a process called
hydrothermal carbonization, or HTC, they mim-
icked the formation of coal and turned the excre-
ment into hydrochar.
Page 3
The hydrochar was encouraging: It yielded 24
percent more energy than a similarly sized batch
of coal and produced less of the harmful com-
pounds methane and ammonia. The process also
did not mean reinventing the wheel.
Poultry waste hydrochar generates heat at
high temperatures and combusts in a similar
manner to coal, an important factor in replacing
it as renewable energy source, Mau and Gross
wrote.
The Israeli method solves two issues how
to produce energy and how to clean up after
poultry.
Hydrochar already is being produced from
various kinds of plants around the world, but
those crops take a deep toll on land, water, and
fertilizer resources. And getting rid of poultry
excrement in the traditional ways causes environ-
mental problems.
Over a quarter million turkeys are produced
each year in the United States, and 100 six-week-
old broilers can provide about 30 to 35 pounds
of manure per day.
Scientifically speaking, thats a lot of poop.
GABE FRIEDMAN/JTA WIRE SERVICE

British Library publishes Canada stamps out Chanukah

trove of Hebrew manuscripts
The British Library launched a new
website showcasing 1,300 Hebrew
manuscripts, ranging from ancient
Torah scrolls and prayer books to
philosophical, theological, and scien-
tific works.
The new site is the librarys first bi-
lingual online collection, allowing us-
ers to search for scans of the manu-
scripts in Hebrew and English. It is at
www.bl.uk/hebrew-manuscripts.
The British Library holds one of
the worlds greatest collections of
Hebrew manuscripts, said Ilana
Tahan, lead curator of the librarys
Hebrew and Christian Orient Collec-
tions.
Digitizing and making these beau-
tiful and very important items avail-
able online is a huge step forward
in opening them up to international
scholars and a wider public audience.
We hope that by providing access to
the articles and collection highlights
in Hebrew as well as English, we will
make them accessible to even more
people, allowing them to learn more
about our incredible collection of He-
brew manuscripts.
Maimonides Mishneh Torah, 1472
pelled from their homeland.
It is considered to be the most ac-
complished dated manuscript of the
Portuguese school of medieval He-
brew illumination, Tahan said of the
three-volume Bible.
Canada Post issued its first marked Chinese New Year
Chanukah stamp this week.
The domestic stamp, whose
since 1997but that is a
mostly cultural rather than a
design includes a Chanukah religious holiday.)
menorah and a star of Da- According to Jim Phillips,
vid, is the first regular-issue Canada Posts director of
stamp honoring the Jewish stamp services, the new Cha-
Festival of Lights in the cor- nukah stamp is a trial, meant
porations 150-year history. to gauge market interest in
The Chanukah stamp is an annual Chanukah offering.
part of a Canada Post initia- If all goes well this Cha-
tive to recognize holidays nukah season in terms of
reflecting Canadas multicul- demand, well issue the same
tural diversity as the country Chanukah stamp for the next
celebrates its sesquicenten- three years, before deciding
nial this year. Two other stamps were whether to do a new design after that,
issued in 2017 as part of this effort, one Phillips said.
honoring the Muslim holidays of Eid Canada Post has made 3 million Cha-
al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and another nukah stamps. They are sold in packs
(a joint issue with India) for the Hindu of 10 for $8.50. If we sell half of these
holiday Diwali. this year, that would be a big success,
Until this year, Canada Post has not said Phillips, who thinks the stamps will
commemorated any religious holidays appeal to a broad range of Canadians,
other than Christmas. The corpora- not only Jews who live in major urban
tion has issued Nol-themed stamps communities.
annually since 1964. (Canada Post has RENEE GHERT-ZAND/TIMES OF ISRAEL
For convenient home delivery,
call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe
PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747)

The works searchable on the site in-
clude the Hispano-Moresque hagga-
dah from 13th century Spain, an illus-
trated edition of Maimonides Code of
Law from 15th century Portugal, and
the Lisbon Bible from 1482, 14 years
before the Portuguese Jews were ex-
Candlelighting: Friday, November 24, 4:13 p.m.
Shabbat ends: Saturday, November 25, 5:15 p.m.
The London-based librarys collec-
tion of approximately 3,000 Hebrew
manuscripts dates back to the li-
brarys establishment in the 18th cen-
tury. It started digitizing them in 2013
and is not halfway done yet.
RAPHAEL AHREN/TIMES OF ISRAEL
CONTENTS
NOSHES ...............................................................4
BRIEFLY LOCAL .............................................. 15
ROCKLAND ...................................................... 18
COVER STORY ................................................ 24
JEWISH WORLD ............................................ 27
OPINION ...........................................................34
DVAR TORAH ................................................ 39
THE FRAZZLED HOUSEWIFE ...................40
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ................................40
ARTS & CULTURE ...........................................41
CALENDAR ...................................................... 42
OBITUARIES .................................................... 45
CLASSIFIEDS ..................................................46
REAL ESTATE..................................................48
is published weekly on Fridays with an additional edition
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JEWISH
JEWISH
STANDARD
STANDARD
NOVEMBER 3, 2017 3
MARCH24,
Noshes
You might just say its as American as
cranberry brisket.
Leah Koenig, writing in Tablet about the tremendous capacity within the
Jewish community to evolve, while continuing to honor tradition, in an
article called How Cranberries Found a Place at the Jewish Table.

UNKRICH DIRECTS:

Coco charms
with musical note
Coco is an (short for Room 237).
animated film from
Disney/Pixar
studios. Capsule plot:
12-year-old Miguel
dreams of becoming an
accomplished musician
like his idol, the late
musician Ernesto de la
Cruz but his family has
a generations-old ban on
music. He ignores this
and journeys to the Land
of the Dead, where he
meets Hector, a charm-
ing trickster, and togeth-
er they unlock the real
story behind Miguels
family history. (Opens
November 22)
Hispanic actors voice
all the characters. LEE
UNKRICH, 50, directed
the film and co-wrote
the story that is the basis
for the flicks screenplay.
Unkrich won the Oscar
for best animated film in
2011 (Toy Story 3, which Jeremy Bloom, a top
he produced and di-
rected). Hes co-directed
many other Pixar hits. Lee
and his wife, LAURA, are
members of a San Fran-
cisco-area synagogue.
By the way, while Un-
krich is associated with
charming family fare, he
says that the first film
that made him want
to make movies was
The Shining, the clas- provide electricity to
sic STANLEY KUBRICK
horror picture. He saw
it when it opened in
1980 he was 12. He
puts references to The
Shining into all his films.
For example, in Toy
Story 3 theres a license Cumberbatch plays
plate that reads RM 237
Unkrich recently said
that there are Shining
references in Coco,
but he wouldnt dis-
close them before the
film opens. Lee Unkrich Aaron Sorkin
Mollys Game,
directed and
written by AARON
SORKIN, 56, is based on
the real experiences of
Molly Bloom, now 39.
When she was 26, she
became the target of an
FBI investigation be-
cause she ran an under-
ground poker empire for
celebrities and the
Russian mob. Bloom, the
daughter of a Jewish Asher Angel
father and a non-Jewish Barbra Streisand Ezra Miller
mother, is played by
Jessica Chastain. Her original screenplay is by Flashs alter ego, Barry
father, played by Kevin MICHAEL MITNICK, 34, Allen, might be dropped More Hebrew
Costner, is a major
character in the film. I
the author of several hit
regional theater plays.
in the final cut. Mea
culpa. I misread some- superhero news
know Mollys brother, (Opens November 24.) thing. The website
On November 22, GeekNation made the Captain Marvel, another blockbuster comic-based
snow skier and former Netflix will begin series of events clear. movie, is set to open in 2019. Basic plot: A young boy
NFL player, identifies as a streaming Barbra: Theres a scene where named Billy Batson is transformed into superhero Capt.
Christian. Not sure about The MusicThe Allen tries to explain Marvel when he says: Shazam! Variety reports that
Molly. (Opens November MemriesThe Magic! away his resemblance to ASHER ANGEL, 15, has been cast as Batson. You might
22.) This concert film was a young guy in a photo.
know him as co-starring character Jonah Beck on Andi
The Current War made during BARBRA His questioner knows the
tells the story of STREISANDs last photo shows the Flash Mack, a hit Disney Channel series.
the battle between concert tour. Streisand, without his costume. Last March, Arizona Jewish Life profiled the young
Thomas Edison and 75, is joined by many Allen replies that the guy actor. According to that story: In December 2015Asher
George Westinghouse celebrity guests, includ- in the photo looks like became a bar mitzvah at his home in Paradise Valley
about whose system ing Seth MacFarlane, him (Hippie, long hair, (AZ). He didnt have time to attend Hebrew school, so his
would be chosen to Jamie Foxx, Alec very attractive Jewish vocal coach, Michele Kahn, helped him prepare. Asher is
Baldwin, Hugh Jackman boy), but isnt him. glad he followed through and reflects on his religion. [He
homes and businesses in and Melissa McCarthy. Miller, GeekNation says,
says]: What Judaism means to me is being born to this
the late 1880s. Sounds Justice League ad-libbed that the Flash
dry but this was a opened last week is Jewish and this ad lib family and it pulls them together and keeps them close.
battle royal, with some to mixed reviews. In did make the final cut. So (JOSHUA RUSH, 15, who plays Cyrus Goodman, another
really weird twists. my last column, I said the Flash, who wasnt major Andi Mack character, also is Jewish).
Michael Shannon plays that co-star EZRA identified as Jewish in N.B.
Edison and Benedict MILLER, 25, who plays comics, now is the first
the Flash, indicated that clearly Jewish superhero
Westinghouse. The the Jewish identity of the on the big screen. N.B.

Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at
Middleoftheroad1@aol.com

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Local
Taking over Riskins business
Teanecks Rabbi Kenneth Brander named new head of Ohr Torah Stone in Israel
LARRY YUDELSON
K
enneth Brander wasnt
sure he wanted to be a
rabbi when he applied to
rabbinical school.
Thirty years later, its pretty clear
that the rabbinate was a good match
for his talents. After he was ordained at
Yeshiva Universitys rabbinical school
in 1986, he worked at Lincoln Square
Synagogue in Manhattan before going
to the Boca Raton Synagogue in Flor-
ida in 1991. In 2005 he was tapped by
Richard Joel, then the new president of
Yeshiva University, to head the schools
new Center for the Jewish Future, relo-
cating from Florida to Teaneck.
And now he is leaving his post as
YUs vice president for university and
community life to follow Rabbi Shlomo
Riskin at the helm of Ohr Torah Stone,
the complex of Israeli educational
institutions that Rabbi Riskin founded,
and from which he is retiring.
Thats how Rabbi Branders rabbinic
career looks today. But back in 1984,
in his senior year at Yeshiva College,
he was a computer science major who
had taken courses at NYUs Courant Insti-
tute of Mathematical Sciences and spent a
summer working at Bell Labs. The lure of a
career in computer science was real.
So too, though, was the lure of Talmud
study. More than that: Rabbi Brander had
taken on the privileged role of shamash,
assistant, to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the
rav, the towering leader of Yeshiva Univer-
sitys modern brand of Orthodoxy. The Rav
was an octogenarian, beginning to show
the effects of Parkinsons disease as well as
of age. He would retire two years later.
The rav lived in Boston in 1941, when
he was appointed to replace his recently
deceased father on the YU faculty. He
never relocated. For all his decades at YU,
he was a commuter, coming at the begin-
ning of the week, leaving on Thursday
evening, and spending his weeknights in
a small apartment on the ground floor
of one of the schools dormitories. Dur-
ing his last years, when his health began
to decline, an assistant would stay in the
apartment with him.
In 1984, Kenneth Brander was that
assistant.
So when Kenny, as he was known then,
started working on his application to YUs
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Semi-
nary, unsure whether that was the path for
him, he left the application on the dining
room table in the ravs apartment when he
went to class.
6 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
Rabbis Shlomo Riskin and Kenneth Brander
I came back from my college class, and
there was a handwritten letter of recom-
mendation from the rav, Rabbi Brander
recalled last week. Any questions about his
career path were put aside. That nailed
it, he said.
I actually asked for the original back. I
still remember the rabbinical school dean
telling me, You realize your letter of rec-
ommendation will be worth more than
your smicha, the ordination certificate
he eventually would receive.
What did Rabbi Brander get from his
years by Rabbi Soloveitchiks side?
Those people who spent time with
Rabbi Soloveitchik privately know that the
greatest piece of Rabbi Soloveitchik was
not just his unbelievable knowledge of
Torah and general knowledge, but his car-
ing for people, Rabbi Brander said. He
cared greatly for people. Not just those
people who played leadership roles in the
Jewish community. Not just for Jews. For
every single human being.
He knew the names of the children of
the person who cleaned the apartment.
He wouldnt walk on a floor that was wet
because he didnt want the person who
washed the floor to think he didnt appre-
ciate their work.
When someone asked a question and
he knew they would be troubled by the
answer he would give, he lost a nights
sleep the night before. He cared for
people, Rabbi Brander said.
Rabbi Soloveitchik would tell stories of
his grandfather, Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. One
story had Rabbi Chaim allowing the towns-
people to provide him with a woodshed
full of firewood, only on the condition that
it would be open to anyone who needed
some wood. In another, when a fire struck
the town and poor peoples houses werent
being repaired, Rabbi Chaim moved out of
his own home and slept on the porch of
one of the burnt buildings.
Ill never be one of Rabbi Soloveit-
chiks greatest intellectual students, Rabbi
Brander said. I was too young to be in
that category, only studying with the rav
for a couple of years before he retired. I
did see his humanity. His humanity was
unbelievable.
It reminded me, both as a rabbi in
Boca and at YU, that its not about build-
ing buildings, not just making grand state-
ments, its really about the capacity to
use the roles that you have to change the
lives of the individuals and to care for the
individuals.
As for Rabbi Branders own grandpar-
ents both sets went through the Shoah
in different ways, he said.
Rabbi Branders fathers family came
from Poland. His grandparents gave his
father and his aunt to gentiles to keep
them safe after the Nazis came. My father
grew up as a Christian, he said. He had
blond hair and blue eyes so he could
go to church. After the war, the chil-
dren were reunited with their parents.
His mothers family came from Ger-
many. His grandfather was saved by
the bedbugs that infested his bedroom.
Because of the bedbugs, he wasnt at
home the night the Nazis came and
took Rabbi Branders great-grandpar-
ents. He obtained forged papers to
escape to London. Along the way, he
met Rabbi Branders grandmother.
They married probably in London.
By the time they made it to America,
my grandmother was pregnant with
my mother. His father, who arrived
when he was 14, had celebrated his bar
mitzvah in a Displaced Person camp.
Rabbi Branders parents didnt
speak much about the Shoah when he
was growing up, first in Detroit, then in
Queens. For high school, he went to a
local black-hat high school that left him
uninspired. A year in Israel at a Zionist
hesder yeshiva, however, was a trans-
formational experience in my life, he
said. I saw the ability to celebrate
Torah and service in society. He was
inspired by a Talmud teacher who was
a paratrooper, and by the combination of
Torah study and religious Zionism. That
led him to Yeshiva College.
Toward the end of his rabbinic stud-
ies, Rabbi Brander started working at Lin-
coln Square Synagogue in Manhattan, the
American congregation that Rabbi Riskin
founded. Then Rabbi Saul Berman, Rabbi
Riskins successor, left, and the congre-
gation asked Rabbi Brander to step in as
interim rabbi. Rabbi Riskin was kind
enough to spend some time with me in
helping me prepare, he said. Lincoln
Square Synagogue had 1,600 families. I
was 27 years old. He was very kind and
helpful to me.
Rabbis Riskin and Brander remained in
contact with each other over the years.
Rabbi Riskin grew his Ohr Torah center to
encompass 24 institutions that included
high schools and post-high school yeshivas
for men and for women as well as centers
engaging with the larger issues of Israeli
society, as Rabbi Brander put it.
And then, earlier this year, Rabbi Riskin
asked for a meeting.
Im 78 years old, Rabbi Riskin told
Rabbi Brander. I want someone to con-
tinue my legacy.
Rabbi Riskin wanted to step down from
the leadership of the institution he had
founded to spend more time teaching
and writing.
SEE BRANDER PAGE 8
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Local
Brander
FROM PAGE 6
Rabbi Brander discussed it with
his wife, Ruchie. It wasnt a hard
decision. Two of their five children
and one of their two grandchil-
dren live in Israel.
Looking back at his years as a
Yeshiva University administra-
tor, the work hes most proud of
involved working with people. The
entire student experience at YU has
changed, he said. Service learn-
ing, engaging with the larger soci-
ety, going to Guatemala thats now
part of the DNA of YU.
When he started offering these
opportunities, the student news-
papers made fun of the endeavor.
Now, its become part and parcel
of the YU weltenschaung, he said.
Basically, its a whole new para-
digm, that service to society.
There are literally thousands of Rabbi Branders father brought these books made for DP camp residents to America.
students who have worked in pub-
lic schools, or helping kids in inner cities who are most familiar with those branches
go to college, or using music therapy, or
doing midnight runs where they deliver
winter coats and food all within the con-
text of the halachic responsibility to do
that, he said.
And the university has taken the human
needs of its students more seriously. Res-
ident advisors are now trained to be 911
responders, to deal with mental health
crises in a whole bunch of different ways,
Rabbi Brander said. Ive had the privilege
of working with students and watching
them grow, helping them through difficult
times, and then being asked to perform
their weddings.
As he sees it, for YUs students, The
journey of self exploration is the most
important journey they can be on,
whether they work in Thailand or around
the country or in Kiryat Gat.
He is quick to point out that these
accomplishments were not his alone. He
worked with colleagues, and under the
overall direction of Richard Joel, who
hired Rabbi Brander at the beginning of
his presidency and who retired over the
summer.
When Rabbi Brander talks about his
new position, about Ohr Torah Stone,
its clear that here too what excites him
about the institution is the different ways
it touches people. And for those people
Honoring our Past... Celebrating our Future!
Please join us as we honor
8 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
of Ohr Torah like Midreshet Lindenbaum,
which educate students from the diaspora,
its reach into Israeli society and beyond
comes as a surprise.
Ohr Torah Stone has 12 campuses and
many programs.
It has a program that sends Israeli rabbis
and their wives to Jewish communities in
South America and Europe, and a similar
one that sends them to various commu-
nity centers within Israel. There are six
high schools that educate young people
to be connected to their Judaism. There
are programs, some for men and some for
women, where Israeli high school gradu-
ates study Torah and volunteer in a pre-
army gap year. There are high schools and
junior high schools. There is a rabbinical
seminary. There is a hesder yeshiva, where
men alternate army service with Torah
study and secular college classes and
some Tai Chi that is thrown in as well.
As he learns about the programs, Rabbi
Brander is finding ideas he would like to
spread throughout the Jewish world.
Theres the school in Karmiel, in the Gal- Jewish law.
ilee, where young men study the Talmud
based on the cycle of the year, rather than
the rotation of tractates chosen by the
leading yeshiva of the 19th century.
Theres a creative edge there, he said. in Egypt or Ukraine.
I think theres a whole bunch of sixth and
Elaine Adler
Dana and James Adler
Allyn S. Michaelson
Stop&Shop Corporation
To RSVP please visit jfcsnnj.org or call 201-837-9090
seventh and eighth grade students, and
high school students and college students,
who might benefit more from studying
that way than the classical way.
After all, At YU, the rav taught totally
different tractates than what everyone else
learned.
That school in Karmiel, he said, is the
sort of yeshiva where students take out
musical instruments during their lunch
breaks and prepare for morning prayers
with half an hour of yoga.
On the other side of town, I saw a tre-
mendous amount of creativity in how a
womens yeshiva prepares women to go
into the army. They want them to under-
stand the notion of mesora, tradition. To
do that, the school set aside an hour a week
where students research a book of Jewish
law or thought that reflects their roots.
Perhaps their grandparents town is men-
tioned, or perhaps the connection is closer.
I met a young lady whose grandfa-
ther was a rav, a rabbi, in Egypt, Rabbi
Brander said. She was learning about her
grandfathers customs, how he dealt with
With more than 52,000 Hebrew reli-
gious books digitized on HebrewBooks.
org, its easier than ever to find the obscure
tract that your great grandfather published
Theyre teaching them the tradition
Sunday, December 3, 2017
5:30pm
Edgewood Country Club, River Vale, NJ
not just by expanding their knowl-
edge of halacha and Talmud and
Tanakh, but by expanding their
roots, Rabbi Brander said. Ive
never seen that.
Rabbi Branders transition to Ohr
Torah Stone will begin in earnest in
February, when hell start spend-
ing 10 to 12 days a month in Israel.
Rabbi Riskin plans to step down in
August. In the time until then, Rabbi
Brander wants to meet the stake-
holders in Ohr Torah Stone. He also
wants to meet with people in the
broader Jewish community around
the world, to get ideas on develop-
ing community. I need to be edu-
cated, he said. I want to hear.
Hes started writing down new
ideas, filling notebooks with plans
and objectives and deliverables. Its
clear from the scope of these pre-
liminary thoughts that he sees Ohr
Torah as big enough to influence
Israeli society. OTS is illuminating
the relevance of authentic Torah Judaism
in the modern world and making a trans-
formative impact on Jewish life, learning
and leadership, proclaims its website.
Rabbi Branders question is just how that
should happen in the years ahead.
That, and starting to prepare for his fam-
ilys move to Israel. What to leave behind?
What to take?
Not all that long ago, Rabbi Branders
parents moved from their house in Queens
to Long Island, to be in a smaller place,
closer to their daughter.
Five days before the movers were com-
ing, my parents children and grandchil-
dren descended upon the house. My chil-
dren and I packed up my fathers seforim,
his Jewish books, he said.
He discovered copies of the seforim
that the Joint Distribution Committee had
sent to the DP camps, including a copy of
the talmudic tractate of Megillah and the
book Mesilat Yesharim Paths of the
Just. They were printed cheaply, on paper
barely better than newsprint.
Those books certainly are going to
Jerusalem.
My father also gave me the suitcase he
had when he came over from Europe to
America. Rabbi Brander said. Its very
obviously American army issue. I told my
wife that when we make aliya, Im going to
use that as my carry-on piece.

Relaunching a community
Jewish Community Center of Northern New Jersey launches its new model
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
T
he tagline of the newly launched Jewish Com-
munity Center of Northern New Jersey is
Community/Connections/Values.
The group is the virtual successor to the
brick-and-mortar Bergen County YJCC in Washington
Township, which closed in August 2015.
We are creating a unique JCC model, which will go
into our neighborhoods and communities to create and
implement programs, Abby Leipsner, the centers chief
executive officer, said on conference call on Monday
that announced the new initiative. Well have no mem-
bership fees, because we will be operating as a virtual
organization.
She said that the new JCC-NNJ will develop top-notch,
innovative, and meaningful programs. Those are the pro-
grams in which people who live in the JCCs catchment
area have expressed interest during the discussions and
focus groups held over the last two years.
Those programs will be delivered in public and syna-
gogue spaces in micro-communities of 2,000 to 6,000
Jewish households, rather than in a central location.
Over the next five years, our goal is to increase our
events and classes to provide programming from Mah-
wah to Hackensack, New Milford to Oakland, and all 34
Local
towns in between, Ms. Leipsner said. We with new parents and introduce them to
believe in todays society we need to meet other families raising Jewish children in
you in your neighborhood. the same neighborhood.
Participants will pay per program or To further serve young families, the
activity. A Friends of the Jewish Commu- centers board is working with educa-
nity Center of Northern New Jersey orga- tional consultants to create for-profit
nization will accept donations in return for early-childhood centers in four or five
discounts on programming. communities over the next few years. Ms.
The new venture is to be funded with Leipsner said that everything from infant
grants, donations, and the proceeds of the care to extended day options is being
$9 million sale of the 80,000-square-foot considered.
Pascack Road YJCC building to Bethany Abby Leipsner Although JCCs traditionally have been
Church last June. An additional fundrais- associated with physical fitness facilities,
ing campaign is planned. the new virtual entity will emphasize social and educa-
Ms. Leipsner said that a $1 million budget for the upcom- tional programming.
ing year will be directed toward new or relaunched pro- At recent focus groups with new moms, the word con-
grams for young families, tweens and teens, adults, and nection was seen as the most vital part of our future, Ms.
seniors, with a particular emphasis on the first and last Leipsner said. Many people met lifelong friends at the
categories. Bergen County YJCC. We will continue to build connec-
Senior activities, including holiday parties and group fit- tions by bringing people together, establishing real rela-
ness classes, held at Temple Beth Or in Washington Town- tionships, linking people, places, and thoughts, connect-
ship for the past two years, are more popular than ever, ing you to a fantastic speaker, book or idea about Judaism,
she said. Because the synagogue building is up for sale, and providing volunteer opportunities for you to enhance
alternative venues are being sought for the future. your life and the life of others.
One new program beginning in the JCC-NNJ is called The YJCCs roots go back 100 years to its first location
JFamily Ambassadors, in which volunteers will engage SEE COMMUNITY PAGE 14
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JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 12:07 PM9
24, 2017
Local
Gaucher disease Type I
A triumph for science and the biotechnology industry
MIRYAM Z. WAHRMAN PH.D.
T
he story of Gaucher Type 1 is a
story of triumph for science and
for the biotechnology industry.
There are approximately
6,000 patients in the United States who
have been diagnosed with Gaucher dis-
ease. Over the past three decades, Gau-
cher has changed from an untreatable and
life-threatening disease to a treatable and
manageable chronic condition, and it is
possible that people who have been diag-
nosed with it can live a normal life. Scien-
tific breakthroughs in biochemistry and
genetics, and the development of medica-
tions to overcome the genetic defects, has
enabled this impressive progress.
My parents never knew they had the
gene, Michael Adam Smith said, but they
are both carriers.
I was 18 years old, in my freshman year
at Syracuse University, and had very bad
knee pain. I had to use crutches because it
was so bad. I went to various doctors, and
they couldnt figure it out.
Mr. Smith, who is Jewish and grew up
in Paramus, came home from college to
consult with specialists, and he ended up
at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Man-
hattan. They werent sure, and did diag-
I was 18 years old, in my
freshman year at Syracuse
University, and had very bad
knee pain. I had to use crutches
because it was so bad. I went
to various doctors, and they
couldnt figure it out.
nostic tests, including a bone biopsy, as
the original thinking was cancer, he said.
Leukemia.
They were talking about chemo all
the scary things, he continued. They
didnt know what it was. It really freaked
out my parents. It wasnt fun for me
either.
The doctors discovered an infection
deep in his knee, which was treated with
intravenous antibiotics. After other tests
ruled out cancer, Mr. Smith finally was
diagnosed with Type 1 Gaucher disease. I
was on IV at home for six weeks, and the
leg is all fine now. It could have been sig-
nificantly worse. Im pretty healthy. I had
the absolute best-case scenario, from my
perspective.
Besides the knee pain, Mr. Smith also
suffered from lethargy, and, he reported,
my spleen and kidneys were very
10 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
enlarged, three to four times their normal
size. Fortunately, he got the diagnosis of
Type 1 Gaucher in 2009, a very opportune
time. I got into a clinical trial that was just
starting, he said. The clinical trial was a
great experience. They take good care of
you.
He joined the clinical trial at Mount
Sinai, where a new drug developed by
Sanofi Genzyme Corporation was being
tested. Up to that point the treatment for
Gaucher was intravenous infusion of a
drug every two weeks. The new medica-
tion in the clinical trial was in pill form,
one or two pills a day, Mr. Smith said. I
was in the clinical trial for a few years. It
was a great success. Now I dont often talk
about Gauchers, as I consider it a back-
ground disease.
According to the website of the National
Gaucher Foundation (www.gaucherdis-
ease.org), 95 percent of Gaucher patients
in western countries have Type 1 Gaucher.
That form of the disease also happens to
be the most common Jewish genetic disor-
der; it is estimated that about one in 450
Ashkenazi Jews have the disease.
Gaucher is caused by a mutation in the
GBA gene, which makes an important pro-
tein, glucocerebrosidase, an enzyme, or
biological catalyst, needed by cells. An
astonishing one in 10 Ashkenazi Jews may
be carriers of a mutation of the GBA gene.
We inherit two copies of most of our genes
one from each parent so a person who
inherits one faulty copy and one healthy
copy is a carrier, and does not have disease
symptoms.
Those who inherit two flawed copies of
the gene have the disease.
According OMIM, the official database of
all human genetic variants (Online Mende-
lian Inheritance in Man, www.omim.org),
the GBA gene is made up of 10,414 DNA
base-pairs, or letters of the genetic code,
that direct the formation of the enzyme
glucocerebrosidase. That enzyme is a pro-
tein made up of 515 amino acid building
blocks. In the N370S mutation, which is
the most common GBA mutation in Ashke-
nazi Jews, there is one single base change
in the entire DNA sequence that leads to
Michael Smith
production of a defective protein. When
the mutated protein is made, a mistake
appears at position 370 of its 515 amino
acid residues. The amino acid aspara-
gine (abbreviated N) is switched for serine
(abbreviated S), hence the mutation is des-
ignated by the name N370S.
People with Gaucher Type 1 do not make
enough functional glucocerebrosidase, an
enzyme that is needed to destroy a fatty
chemical called glucocerebroside. When
that fatty chemical builds up in organs and
bone marrow, it can lead to enlargement of
the spleen and liver. That, in turn, reduces
the production of blood cells, causing ane-
mia and fatigue. Patients also make fewer
blood platelets, which can affect blood
clotting, and leads to frequent bruising,
nose bleeds, and excessive bleeding after
surgery or childbirth. When glucocerebro-
side accumulates it can also reduce blood
flow to bones, hence the bone pain, degen-
eration of bones, and greater tendency for
bone breakage.
The National Organization for Rare
Disorders (https://rarediseases.org) lists
and describes Gaucher as a rare disorder,
because there are relatively few cases in
the United States. Since it affects small Dr. Balwani said. In Type 2 and Type 3
numbers of people it is considered an
orphan disease. That is an important
designation, because the Orphan Drug Act
of 1983 provides incentives for pharmaceu-
tical companies to develop drugs to treat
such conditions; normally companies tend
to be less interested in developing drugs
for small numbers of patients.
Fortunately, despite the relative small
demand, research on the disease has led
to astounding success.
In 1991, Ceredase, the first success-
ful drug for Gaucher, was developed and
approved by the Food and Drug Admin-
istration. The drug is a form of the nor-
mal functional enzyme, derived from
human placental tissue. When patients
Dr. Manisha Balwani
were infused with Ceredase the proce-
dure provided them with the enzyme
they were missing. It was a solution to
the genetic defect. A few years later,
recombinant DNA technology was used to
develop a synthetic form of the enzyme,
Cerezyme. Enzyme replacement therapy
using Cerezyme became the standard of
care for patients for the last two decades,
and although it still is the drug of choice
for many Gaucher patients, a new drug,
Cerdelga, which the FDA approved in
2014, has proven to be a vast improvement
for many patients. Cerdelga is in pill form
and so does not require infusion. Cerdelga
involves a new biochemical approach, sub-
strate reduction therapy, which partially
blocks the formation of glucocerebro-
side in the first place, leading to reduced
buildup of the fatty chemical that causes
all the problems.
Michael Smiths doctor, Dr. Manisha Bal-
wani, associate professor of genetics and
genomic sciences at Mount Sinai Icahn
School of Medicine, specializes in treating
patients with Gaucher disease.
Almost all patients with Type 1 Gau-
cher can live a normal life with treatment,
there are neurologic limitations that cant
be treated. Both Type 2 and 3 are more
severe, and neither is found at high inci-
dence in Jewish populations.
While Mr. Smiths parents originally did
not know that they were carriers, many
Jewish couples opt to test for carrier sta-
tus for a host of genetic disorders. The
way we diagnose patients is changing, Dr.
Balwani said. Almost all Jewish couples
have preconception screening, so parents
know if they are carriers. Pregnancies are
also screened for couples who are carri-
ers, and if a couple learns their fetus has
Type 1 Gaucher, they may choose to con-
tinue or to terminate the pregnancy. But
having a therapy available that alleviates

most symptoms is a game-changer. In
my experience, Ive not had a couple
who have chosen to discontinue the
pregnancy, Dr. Balwani said.
She explained that carrier couples
also can opt for PGD, or preimplantation
genetic diagnosis, in which the couple
goes through in vitro fertilization, and
embryos are tested in the laboratory.
Healthy embryos are chosen for trans-
fer and develop into a pregnancy, thus
eliminating the risk of having a child
with Gaucher.
Dr. Balwani and her colleagues are
concerned about the cost of pharma-
ceuticals for treating Gaucher. Its one
of the most expensive treatments, she
said. We make sure the treatment is
really justified. Its important to make
the right diagnosis and decision about
treatment, as early treatment prevents
irreversible complications, she contin-
ued. The decision when to treat is done
on a case-by-case basis, because some
but not all patients need treatment
right away. If it is progressing we ini-
tiate treatment. For younger kids, we
take the familys opinion into account.
If theres a risk, we are more likely to
insist on treatment.
Dr. Balwani explained that there is
a spectrum of severity for the disease
and for its time of onset. If a patient has
two copies of N370S, its the milder
end of the spectrum. A person also
could inherit one copy of N370S from
one parent and a more severe muta-
tion in the GBA gene from the other. In
those situations, the disease tends to
appear earlier and be more severe. The
average age of onset for those with two
copies of the N370S mutation is 20, but
there are people who develop symp-
toms in their early teens and others
do not develop them until they are in
their 80s. For late onset, when diag-
nosis is in their 80s, with a slightly low
platelet count, we just follow them, Dr.
Balwani said. Those patients are moni-
tored but not necessarily treated.
As Michael Smiths experience shows,
not all physicians are aware of Gaucher,
so they may miss the diagnosis. Its
important to raise awareness of this dis-
order, Dr. Balwani said. Patients have
been to hematologists without diagnosis,
so its important for physicians to know.
They need a complete assessment and
follow up, and [its critical to] treat them
before complications develop.
Another surprising development is
the discovery of a link between Gau-
cher and Parkinsons disease. Type
1 Gaucher patients have a higher risk
of Parkinsons disease, she said, and
we dont have good treatment for
Local
Many of our merchants throughout the Cedar Lane
Gaucher-related Parkinsons disease. Business District are collecting for the U.S. Marines
One study reported that 10 percent of
Gaucher patients will develop Parkin-
Toys for Tots Program
Donations of new unwrapped toys can be made at:
sons by they time they are 80, and Marine Collection Day
other studies show even higher risks. The marines will be accepting direct donations at a
Carriers also are at increased risk to tent in the Pedestrian Plaza on F r i d a y , December15th
from 1-4pm.
develop Parkinsons. This connection In-Store Drop-off
has led to research studies on the Par- Bring your donation to any of our participating stores until
kinsons protein and how it interacts December 20th. Cedar Lane Merchants will be available to collect
with the GBA gene, and such research for the program.
may lead to better understanding of the A&S Comics
American Legion Post 128 New to You Consignment
mechanisms of both diseases. Back in Touch Massage Therapy Parisian Cleaners
Bischoffs Confectioner y Provident Bank
Michael Smith, who now is 27, takes Budget Print Copy Center/DP Graphics UPS Store
just one pill a day, and although hes a International Beauty Supply/Salon
J&J Pharmacy/Liquors
little lethargic at times, Its really not Jet Cleaners
a scary disease, he said. I keep in my Maadan
mind that Im not perfectly healthy, but I Come to The Maadan Potato Latke
dont describe myself as being sick. Eating Contest In the Pedestrian
Since it is a genetic disease, Mr. Smiths Plaza, Sunday, December 10th at
family members have been informed and 10am
0003402327-01 NJMG
tested. His sister and their cousins do not
have Gaucher. Mr. Smith says that Gau- Sponsored by the Cedar Lane Management Group
www.cedarlane.net
cher does not affect his social life. Im
single and dating. If I had HIV I would
feel strongly that I would have to tell my
date right away. But Gaucher is not com-
municable, and doesnt affect my quality
of life. I think about it, but its not some-
thing I would mention on the first date.
Its not a red flag. Its something like I
have blond hair and blue eyes.
I will have to consider it when I have
a wife and want kids.
Drug therapies for Gaucher are
very expensive; treatment costs up to
$200,000 a year. Its really great that
there is a treatment because its an
orphan disease, and not very common,
Mr. Smith said.
I think its important for the govern-
ment to ensure that orphan diseases
are looked at. There is a responsibility
to those who are not so fortunate. Ive
never needed anything in my life. My
parents have good insurance. But there
are people who cant fend for them-
#GivingTuesday
selves, so there has to be some incentive #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the
for Sanofi to make the drug, for the com- power of social media and collaboration.
pany to care. After he aged out of his
parents plan, I was on Obamacare at It inspires people to take collective action to improve their
age 26, and the drug was covered. communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and
In most other countries the govern- causes they believe in and help create a better world.
ment takes over coverage until a new job
is found, he continued. No one should #GivingTuesday demonstrates how every
have to determine if healthcare is an act of generosity counts!
option. The thought of that is chilling. I
think that were supposed to be the best
country in the world.
www.jfnnj.org/donate
Jewish Standard science correspondent
Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman of Teaneck is a
professor of biology at William Paterson
University of New Jersey and author of
The Hand Book: Surviving in a Germ-
Filled World, which provides tips on how
to avoid infections.
JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 11
Local

The brothers Maimonides

New book shines light on the relationship between law, business, and family
LARRY YUDELSON

I
ts always Moshe Maimonides who
gets all the attention. But what about
his little brother, David?
David was a merchant; its pos-
sible that his international jewel business,
run on behalf of his family, is what sup-
ported Moshe after they escaped from
Spain and during their first years in Cairo.
Tragically, David died in 1170, in a ship-
wreck on his way to India.
This saga had an impact on Jew-
ish law, Dr. Mark R. Cohen argues.
Dr. Cohen, professor emeritus
at Princeton, is an expert on the
Cairo Geniza. Thats the hoard
of a thousand years worth of old
books, letters, and contracts that
provides a unique window on Jew-
ish life in the Middle Ages. Among
its treasures are letters between the
Maimonides brothers.
His most recent book, Mai-
monides and the Merchants, zooms
in on the legal rulings of Moses Mai-
monides, as he is known in English Dr. Mark Cohen
or Rambam, which is short for
Rav Moshe ben Maimon, his Hebrew
name and in particular on how he
modified talmudic commercial law to
account for the way international busi-
ness worked in the twelfth century.
Dr. Cohen will talk about his book
at the Jewish Theological Seminary in
Manhattan next month. (See box.)
Maimonides and the Merchants
grew out of Dr. Cohens work on an
earlier book, Poverty and Charity
in the Jewish Community of Medieval
Eypt. That book used the Geniza documents to show the Geniza, he said.
how poverty expressed itself in the Jewish community, Dr. Cohen focused on commercial
and how charity was organized, Dr. Cohen said. law, since we know so much about
Which led him to the Mishneh Torah, the legal code Jewish commerce as a result of the
written by the communitys best-known rabbi, Moses Geniza documents. Maimonides
Maimonides. Passages about charity in the Mishneh Torah and the Merchants brings many
had puzzled commentators, who couldnt figure out how examples of how Maimonides inno-
Maimonides derived his rulings from talmudic precedent. vated in his rulings to reflect his time
It turned out, Dr. Cohen discovered, that rather than and place.
reflecting the Talmud, those passages reflected the real- Economic life had changed for
ity of how the Cairo Jewish community handled charity. the Jews since the Talmud was com-
That opened up an interesting avenue of explora- posed. The earlier Babylonian Jews Letter from David Maimonides to his brother Moses, explaining that he
tion. I thought it would be interesting to examine Mai- dealt with only local or regional mar- is disregarding instructions and going to India. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
monides statements regarding other legal categories in kets. Cairo was a hub for international
comparison with what we know about Jewish life through trade. Jews like the Maimonides brothers made their living This is the stuff of commercial law. Beginning in the
buying and selling goods imported from great distances. eighth century, Islamic jurists started figuring out how to
Who: Dr. Mark R. Cohen Jews were deeply involved in the India trade, Dr. adjudicate these disputes, and to categorize the relation-
What: Book discussion, Maimonides and the Mer- Cohen said. Jews traveled by ship across the Indian ship between investors and their agents.
chants: Jewish Law and Society in the Medieval Muslim Ocean. They traded mostly on the western shores of India. The Talmud deals with commercial law regulating dis-
World After a certain period, they went back to Eypt and sold putes between business partners. The agents, however,
When: Monday, December 4, 7:30 p.m. their wares, or they sent their wares with agents. differ from partners in that theyre not co-investors with
Of course, sometimes there were problems. The agent the enterprise, Dr. Cohen said. Instead, in Maimonides
Where: The Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080
Broadway, Manhattan might have failed to deliver the merchandise in time, or time, the agent would do favors for the investors, who
the goods might have been lost at sea, or they might have then reciprocated these favors at another time.
How much: Admission is free, but reservations are re-
turned out to be worthless when they reached Cairo. Maimonides and his predecessors needed to find a way
quired at bit.ly/JTSCohen
Whose fault was that? Who was responsible for the loss? to incorporate this into the halacha, so Jews wouldnt go

12 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 Local
Sandi M. Malkin, LL C
Interior Designer
(former interior designer of model
rooms for NYs #1 Dept. Store)

A letter from Moses For a totally new look using

about his brother,
David Maimonides your furniture or starting anew.
The greatest misfortune that has befallen me
during my entire life worse than anything else Staging also available
was the demise of the saint, may his memory
be blessed, who drowned in the Indian sea, car-
rying much money belonging to me, him, and to
973-535-9192
others, and left with me a little daughter and a
widow. On the day I received that terrible news
I fell ill and remained in bed for about a year,
suffering from a sore boil, fever, and depression,
and was almost given up. About eight years have

GRAND OPENING
passed, but I am still mourning and unable to

!
accept consolation. And how should I console
myself? He grew up on my knees, he was my
brother, he was my student.

OF OUR NEW SHOWROOM

From Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders,
edited and translated by S. D. Goiten

to Muslim courts to arrange their agency relations.

When a dispute arose between a Jew and a Muslim,
it had to be decided in the Muslim shariah court
which would send a Jewish litigant to the synagogue if
he was required to take an oath. In a dispute between
two Jews, the rabbinic court had jurisdiction if the
litigants agreed to it.
In the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides railed against
Jews who went to the gentile courts. But railing alone
couldnt keep them away. If the rabbis couldnt figure
out how to deal with the new agency relations, the mer-
chants would go to the court that would.
Dr. Cohen devotes a chapter of his book to a dis-
cussion of agency. Some questions that courts had
to decide: Did the agent make a good-faith effort
to follow instructions? Was the loss unavoidable?
Or was the loss the result of the agents nefarious
negligence?
The Talmud provided that in certain cases, such
questions could be answered not by a detailed foren-
sic investigation, but by having the responsible party
take an oath attesting to his good faith efforts to do his
job properly. Those cases, however, did not include a
commercial agent.
Enter the Rambam, who ruled that the agents could
be compelled to take an oath asserting their inno-
cence. He, in effect, incorporated a custom of the
W
sand & r e
Muslim and Jewish merchants into a larger talmudic
scheme, Dr. Cohen wrote. e
Practically, this meant that Jewish merchants didnt your exi nish
s
have to resort to a Muslim court to extract an oath hardwooting
from their agents.
Problem solved. DIRECT LINE oors!
d

CARPET
Dr. Cohen speculates that this type of agency
arrangement was something that Moses Maimonides
knew firsthand.
We have to consider the possibility that Mai-
monides engaged in agency in his own merchant New
life with his brother, David, Dr. Cohen wrote. If Location! VINYL | CARPET | HARDWOOD
so, he must consistently have played the role of sta-
tionary investor, with his brother acting as agent, run-
ning the family business of importing precious gems
from India. This arrangement would explain how Mai-
monides could have made a living and still had time
for his scholarship.

JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 13

Local

Moving forward
Wyckoff Township committee member breaks several glass ceilings
LOIS GOLDRICH real estate law at the firms of Olshan LLP everyone, in both parties, is to keep taxes

F
or a long time, Melissa Ruben-
stein of Wyckoff felt that Jews
should be more active on the
municipal level.
It was important to me, Ms. Ruben-
stein said. She was born in Queens but
when she was a child her family moved to
Bergen County first to Park Ridge and
then to Montvale. Growing up, I felt that
there was a sort of segregation between
the Jewish community and municipal life,
she said. My goal was to integrate that.
And now she has.
On Election Day, Ms. Rubenstein was
voted onto the Wyckoff Township Commit-
tee. She is the first Jew ever to sit on the
committee, and the second woman there
in the last 84 years.
Ms. Rubenstein moved to Wyckoff
nearly four years ago and immediately
became active in the town, at first by join-
ing the local moms Facebook page to
learn more about the community. Now,
shes also the treasurer on the board of the
Wyckoff Newcomers and Neighbors Club
and on the community service committee
of the Realsource Board of Realtors. She
has volunteered at the Paramus Veterans
Home and in various Rebuilding Together
home renovation projects, and she is an
active supporter of the Wyckoff YMCA, the
local schools, and the Wyckoff Education
Foundation.
Trained as a real estate attorney she
received her law degree from Fordham
University School of Law and practiced
and Kaye Scholer LLP in New York City
she later became a realtor with REMAX in
Wyckoff.
Wyckoff is a wonderful place to raise
a family, Ms. Rubenstein said. The
people make the town. Its a big mix a
lot of longtime residents but also tons of
new families. Her own family includes
her husband, Sam, whom she described
as incredibly supportive, and their two
children, Jillian, 4, and Lucas, 6.
Ms. Rubenstein recalls that one mom
on the Facebook page joked that Wyckoff
moms run the town. That was great, she
said. Nevertheless, she pointed out, while
there are many women on the board of
education and the PTO, if you look at the
township committee, all five members are
men. Theres only been one woman in the
last 84 years. Thats not a statistic Im in
favor of.
As for being the first Jew to serve on the
committee, Ms. Rubenstein said shes not
sure why thats so. Im not sure if Jewish
residents ever run, she said. By running
and winning she hopes to show her chil-
dren that there is no separation between
the Jewish community and the rest of the
town. Certainly, she said, I have felt abso-
lutely comfortable here as a Jew. Theres
always a place to go to. She attends pro-
grams at both Temple Beth Rishon in
Wyckoff and Chabad-Lubavitch of North-
west Bergen County in Franklin Lakes.
This is the first time Ms. Rubenstein
has run for office, she said, but her inter-
est in politics goes back to a two-summer
she be its only Jew and its only woman,
Melissa Rubenstein
internship in the Ridgewood office of the
late Congresswoman Marge Roukema, a
Republican legislator for 22 years.
Ms. Rubenstein, who will be sworn in
on January 1, is under no illusion that she
will feel at home in her new position right
away. I think I will feel uncomfortable at
first, she said. In any new role, it takes
time to get to know other members and
the government. I think it will be some-
thing to learn about.
Wyckoff is an incredibly well-run town,
with one of the lowest municipal tax rates
in the county, she added. The goal of
as low as possible.
The Wyckoff Township committee is
partisan, and has had only one Democrat
for the past nine years and that was its
first Democrat, she said. Not only will
she also will be only its second Demo-
crat. Although the Democrats remain the
minority party on the committee, well
try to work together to get things done.
Ms. Rubenstein hopes that the things
she talked about during her campaign
will bear fruit. The main thing we talked
about was mayoral selection, she said.
Currently the mayor is chosen by the
township committee. I want to make sure
its the peoples choice, to see more trans-
parency. Committee meetings are not vid-
eotaped, she said. While this is troubling
to the young generation who are used to
tuning in to see whats going on it also is
problematic for seniors, who may not be
able to get out. I want them to be able to
log in and watch.
Ms. Rubenstein said that she encourages
more women and more Jews to take part
in municipal government, whether by run-
ning for an office or by working on a com-
mittee, whether it is parks and recreation,
planning, or environmental. I think its
important because diversity of opinion is
always important, she said. Although she
will be the newbie on the township com-
mittee, she believes she will be listened to.
Its incredibly rewarding to be involved
in the community and to know as many
people as possible, she said.

Community West wood Communit y Cen-

COMING IN DECEMBER FROM PAGE 9
Chanukah Greetings in Hackensack. For the last two
December 8 years, the administration has been
realigning its goals and reim-
Healthy Living aging its future through surveys
December 15 and meetings with residents, Ms.
Leipsner said.
Brides Magazine At its height, the YJCC had 1,800
December 29 member units. That number had
About Our Children dwindled to less than 800 when
the YJCC closed, in the face of
Education & Enrichment more than $1 million in operating
December 29 losses.
Rockland County Section Ms. Leipsner said that there are
December 29 25,000 Jews in the catchment area,
but the Jewish Community Center
To advertise of Northern New Jersey also seeks
call to serve Jewish and non-Jewish
201-837-8818 x 121 residents, so the numbers are
really unlimited.
email Two Chanukah programs are
natalie@jewishstandard.com coming up one, for young
families, on December 10 at the
ter and another, for seniors, on
December 14 at Beth Or. Smaller
grassroots Chanukah gatherings
also are planned through JFamily
Ambassadors.
Ms. Leipsner announced that
the Open Hearts Open Homes pro-
gram is continuing for its 17th sum-
mer. Twenty Israeli teens affected
by terrorism will stay with local
host families for three weeks.
We strongly believe that there
is an important place in our com-
munity for our organization as a
central resource for Jewish pro-
gramming for all residents, the
JCC-NNJs board chairman, Barry
Kissler, said.
The JCC-NNJ will distribute
updates and any other news that
develops through its social-media
and grassroots networks in coming
weeks.

14 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 Briefly Local

JF&CS gala set for December 3

Phil
Goldschmiedt
and his wife,
Rochelle, flank
Congressman
Eliot Engel.
COURTESY NORPAC
Congressman Eliot Engel
is Norpac guest
Phil and Rochelle Goldschmiedt hosted a Norpac pro-Israel event for Congressman
Eliot Engel (D-NY) at their Teaneck home. Mr. Engel, at 14-term representative and
the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, traveled to Israel with
President Barack Obama.
Jewish Family & Childrens Services of Stop & Shop Corporation has become
Northern New Jersey will host its inau- a true friend to JFCS with its commit-
gural gala on Sunday, December 3, at ment to giving back to the community.
Edgewood Country Club in River Vale JFCS has received generous financial
as it pays tribute to several outstanding support from Stop & Shop, and the
honorees. company also has donated thousands
Elaine Adler is a longtime supporter of pounds of food to the agencys food
of Jewish Family Service and many pantry.
other community organizations, as was For information and tickets, go to
her late husband, Michael. The Adlers www.jfcsnnj.org or call Jaymie at (201)
work in creating the Adler Aphasia Cen- 837-9090, ext. 212.
ter has changed the lives of many peo-
ple who lost their ability to speak after a
stroke or other brain injury. The Adlers
son, Jim Adler, and his wife, Dana Post-
Adler, are leaders in Jewish Federation
of Northern New Jersey and many other
local organizations.
Allyn Michaelson, past president of
Jewish Family Service of North Jersey,
led the agency as it and Jewish Family
Service of Bergen and North Hudson
combined to cre-
ate Jewish Family
& Childrens Ser-

PHOTOS COURTESY JF&CS

vices of Northern
New Jersey. She
also is an active
leader at JFNNJ
and at Temple
PHOTOS COURTESY MDA

Beth Sholom in
Fair Lawn.
Elaine Adler with Jim Adler and
Allyn Michaelson his wife, Dana Post-Adler.

Esther and Elie Y. Katz Kent Swig

Magen David Adom gala this week

A gala set for November 30 will feature
the consul general of Israel in New York,
Ambassador Dani Dayan, and will recog-
nize MDAs paramedic heroes, including
Director-General Eli Bin.
American Friends of Magen David
Adom will celebrate its annual MDA New
York Gala at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in
Manhattan on Thursday, November 30,
at 6:30 p.m. The gala will recognize the
lifesaving work of MDAs first responders
in Israel.
It will honor Elie and Esther Katz
with the Young Professional Leadership
award and Kent Swig, a leading com-
mercial and residential real estate inves-
tor in New York, with AFMDAs Vision-
ary award. Mr. Katz, a former mayor of
Teaneck who now is its deputy mayor,
and his wife, Esther, are avid MDA
supporters.
More than 411,000 likes
Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/jewishstandard
Ambassador Dayan will speak, and
television journalist/social entrepreneur
Jessica Abo will host. MDA officials will
include Director-General Eli Bin, Chief
of Staff Uri Shacham, Chief Information
Officer Ido Rosenblatt, and paramedic
Yair Schussheim.
Proceeds will go toward MDA ambu-
lances, emergency medical supplies,
and the construction of its new Marcus
National Blood Services Center. This
state-of-the-art underground facility
the worlds first will protect Israels
entire blood supply from terror attacks
and natural disasters while continuing
to provide 100 percent of all the blood
for the Israel Defense Forces and 97
percent of the blood used by Israels
hospitals.
For more information, go to www.
afmda.org/ny-gala or call (646) 388-7508.
Mike Pompeo and Sergeant Benjamin Anthony.
Our Soldiers Speak gala dinner
Earlier this month, more than 700 guests
were at the New York gala dinner for Our
Soldiers Speak honoring Joe and Trina
Cayre, Dr. Jana Kohl, and David and Karen
Rosenberg. CIA director Mike Pompeo, the
keynote speaker, talked about the ongo-
ing close relationship between the United
States and Israel. Other speakers included
Major General Avshalom Peled, the com-
mander of the Israel National Police Train-
ing Academy, and Colonel Richard Kemp,
the former commander of British forces in
Afghanistan. Sergeant Benjamin Anthony,
founder and director of Our Soldiers
Speak, also spoke.
Our Soldiers Speak brings high-rank-
ing uniformed commanders and offi-
cers from the IDF and the Israel National
Police to speak at college campuses,
brief congressional and other govern-
mental leaders, and make presentations
at community and synagogue programs.
For more information, go to oursoldiers-
speak.org/main.
JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 15
Briefly Local
U.S. Olympic gymnast visits Schechter
U.S. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman
talked about what she called Les-
sons of Struggle and Grit with Solo-
mon Schechter Day School of Bergen
County students last week. Acknowl-
edging her innate fear of heights and
her coachs playful ribbing, when he
called her the most uncoordinated
Olympic athlete hed ever known,
three-time gold medalist Aly Raisman
challenged students during her visit
to the New Milford school last week to
work hard in pursuit of their dreams
and never to give in to failure.
When I was 7 years old, I was the
worst gymnast in my class, Ms. Rais-
man told a group of more than 300
first- through eighth-grade students.
Everything took me longer to learn
than my other teammates.... When
you are playing sports, when you are at
school, when you get your math or Eng-
lish test back, dont look at your class-
mates and compare your grades; just
focus on how you are doing. I learned
that valuable lesson throughout my life.
Its not about competing with someone
else; its about doing the best you can.
If you do that, thats all you can ask of
yourself. Ms. Raismans visit coincided
with the launch of her book, Fierce:
How Competing for Myself Changed
Everything.
Students learned firsthand from the
23-year-old champion about rebound-
ing from failure, the power of posi-
tive thinking, and the value of man-
higut (leadership), concepts that align
with Schechters school-wide Midat
HaHodesh (value of the month) pro-
gram. Each month, the school focuses
on key values whose roots are found in
the field of positive psychology, which
researchers have found to promote pos-
itive well-being.
As a school rooted in inquiry-based
student-centered education and a holis-
tic approach to instruction, SSDS con-
tinues to develop new and innovative
programs to further its mission of creat-
ing independent, creative, and worldly
16 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
Aly Raisman
thinkers dedicated to Jewish values,
traditions, and Israel. Bringing what
the school calls experts, eyewitnesses,
and role models into the classroom
provides more structure and support
to its educational philosophy.
Schechter regularly welcomes sci-
entists, politicians, philanthropists,
and volunteers who use their profes-
sional or personal experiences to give
students a first-hand look at a topic of
study.
They include New Jersey Chief Justice
Stuart Rabner, internationally known
soccer coach Avram Grant (Ghana,
Chelsea, and Portsmouth, United King-
dom), and Canadian rap artist and First
Nation Broadcaster Wab Kinew.
As a member and captain of the win-
ning 2012 Fierce Five and 2016 Final
Five U.S. womens Olympic gymnas-
tics team in London and Rio de Janeiro,
Ms. Raisman has racked up many suc-
cesses. She won gold medals in both
team and floor competitions in London
in 2012, as well as a bronze medal on
the balance beam; this made her the
most decorated American gymnast at
the Olympic Games. During the 2016
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won a
gold medal in the team event, becom-
ing, along with teammate Gabby Doug-
las, the only Americans to garner back-
to-back team gold medals.
Temple Beth Sholom veterans program
Temple Beth Sholom and the Fair Lawn
Jewish Center/CBI co-sponsored a veter-
ans recognition program for Veterans Day.
From left are FLJC/CBI executive vice pres-
ident/program co-chair Craig Mon; Com-
mander Ed Rosenblatt of the Jewish War
Veterans Post 651; the keynote speaker,
U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Stephen Har-
ris; Fair Lawn councilman Marc Zharnest,
Fair Lawns Mayor John Cosgrove; Rabbi
Alberto (Baruch) Zeilicovich of TBS; Coun-
cilwoman Lisa Swain; Rabbi Ronald Roth
Rabbi Harcsztark among award-winners
Rabbi Tully Harcsztark, founding princi-
pal of SAR High School in Riverdale, N.Y.,
was among three Jewish educators who
received the Covenant Foundations 2017
Covenant Award.
The Covenant Foundation is a program
of the Crown Family Philanthropies. Mem-
bers of the Crown family, including Steven
Crown, Keating Crown, and Steve Robin-
son, presented the awards. Each of the
2017 recipients received $36,000 and each
of their institutions was awarded $5,000.
Established in 1991 to honor and cele-
brate educators who have made an impact
on Jewish life through innovative practices
and models, the Covenant Award is pre-
sented to three educators every year. The
winners are chosen after a rigorous selec-
tion process. Recipients have distinguished tutes and training at Matan in New York
themselves in many realms, including
classroom teaching, family education,
dance, music, visual arts, adult education,
tikkun olam, storytelling, inclusion, work
on college campuses, curriculum design,
leadership, and professional development.
Guided by the leadership of Rabbi Harc-
sztark, the founding principal, SAR High
School has become a national model of
Jewish education. At SAR, the integra-
tion of general and Judaic studies reflects
Rabbi Harcsztarks ideal of education as
a fusion of horizons. Each activity at
SAR, from Israeli dancing to discussions
of midrash mixed with literary theory to
pick up games of field hockey and soccer,
PHOTO COURTESY TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM
of FLJC/CBI; FLJC/CBI president Michael
Baer; TBS program co-chair Allyn Michael-
son, and Cantor Ted Prosnitz of TBS.
The JWV Post 651 posted colors, Mayor
Cosgrove presented a proclamation, Rab-
bis Zeilicovich and Roth spoke, and Can-
tor Prosnitz led the singing of the Armed
Forces medley. Corporal Harris enlisted
after high school and served in both Iraq
and Afghanistan. He attends William Pat-
erson University and works with returning
veterans.
are imbued with a climate of deep respect
as students, faculty, and staff are invited
to engage in open and honest intellectual
exploration.
As he accepted the award from Steven
Crown, Rabbi Harcsztark talked about that
integration of theory and practice. The
Torah that we learn shapes the way we
see the world, and the world within which
we live shapes the way we understand
our Torah, he said. This is a vibrant and
dynamic process that makes all members
of our community of learners into forg-
ers of Jewish life and culture, responsible
for the future of the Jewish people and our
own communities.
The other awardees are Meredith Eng-
lander Polsky, national director of insti-
and developmental support coordinator at
Temple Beth Ami Nursery School in Rock-
ville, Md., and Dr. Jane Sherwin Shapiro,
co-founder of OROT: Center for New Jew-
ish Learning in Skokie, Ill.
We are so inspired by the work of our
2017 Covenant Award honorees, Barbara
Goodman Manilow, president of the Cov-
enant Foundations board of directors,
said. Each one is transforming the world
of Jewish education with creativity, opti-
mism, and dedication to moving the bar
forward. Its a tremendous privilege to sup-
port their work and count them amongst
an illustrious cohort that has now grown to
78 educators strong.
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Rockland
Volunteers from the Orangetown Jewish Center at the Beit Lid memorial; the ladder stretches to the heavens behind them.
Rabbi Craig Scheff enjoying grapes.
18 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
Giving thanks in Israel
Orangetown Jewish Centers
12th pre-Thanksgiving trip
provides intense emotional experience
JOANNE PALMER
O
ver the 12 years that members of the
Orangetown Jewish Center have been
going to Israel just before Thanksgiv-
ing, spending an intense five days
working, giving, learning, and growing, some ele-
ments have remained the same, and some always
are different.
The trip began in 2006, right after Hurricane
Katrina a disaster to which four community
members responded not only with a desire to
help, but with actual physical labor. A group went
to New Orleans to work on cleanup.
Jeff Steinberg, one of our members, came to
me and said, I am going to New Orleans, and I
feel that we also should be going to Israel, the
synagogues rabbi, Craig Scheff, said. And so on
Yom Kippur that year, I got on the bimah, and
to my own wifes surprise, I said, I am going to
Israel in November to help rebuild the North,
which had been affected by the war with Leba-
non that summer.
The week before Thanksgiving seemed to be just
the right time.
Now, all these years later, there is a core group
who has been on most of the trips; this year, of
the 17 people who were there the whole time and
the five who joined for parts of it, many had been
on at least 11 of the 12. Some, on the other hand,
were there for the first time; newcomers always
are welcome.
What is most remarkable about this trip is that
it is entirely geared toward giving, Rabbi Scheff
said. We do not visit with officials. We do not get
recognition. This is hands-on work. We get our
hands dirty.
Every year, the group goes to Kfar Ahava, a
place for at-risk children who are placed with fos-
ter families in this village, which is outside Haifa,
 Rockland
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Rockland

Sunrise Camp walk

Haylee Bueno, front
right, a camper at
raises needed funds
Sunrise Day Camp- A walk to benefit Sunrise Day Camp-Pearl River, held
Pearl River, and her at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds last month,
family participated in drew more than 500 participants and raised more
SunriseWALKS-Pearl than $154,000. Sunrise Day Camp-Pearl River, a mem-
River last month. ber of the Sunrise Association, is the only full summer
day camp in the world for children with cancer and
their siblings, and it is free to participants.
The mission of the Sunrise Association is to bring
back the joys of childhood to children with cancer and
their siblings worldwide, through the creation of day
camps, year-round programs, and in-hospital recre-
ational activities, all offered free. Sunrise Day Camp-
Pearl River finished its fifth summer this year. There are
now seven Sunrise Association Day Camps three in
New York (Long Island, Pearl River, and Staten Island),
Wishing Everyone three in Israel (Beit Yehoshuah, Beer Sheva, and Ramat
Best Wishes A Very Happy
Yochanan), and one in Baltimore Horizon Day Camp.
An eighth camp will open in Atlanta next year. Sunrise
for a Chanukah
Association Day Camps are affiliated with 30 renowned
hospitals and medical centers around the world.

Happy For more information, go to www.sunrise-walks.

org/pr or sunrisedaycamp-pearlriver.org.
The Board of Directors
Chanukah Mount Moriah Cemetery
National Council of Jewish Women 685 Fairview Avenue, Fairview, NJ 07022 Journalists debate
Rockland Section
24 Hour phone 201-943-6163
www.mountmoriahcemeteryofnewjersey.org left vs. right
www.ncjwrockland.org On Tuesday, November 28, at 7 p.m., journalists Jon-
athan Tobin and J.J. Goldberg will bring their Left
vs. Right: The Battle for Israels Soul debate to the
Rockland Jewish Community Campus. They will talk
to leaders of Rocklands Jewish agencies and Board of
Rabbis synagogues at a debate hosted by the Jewish
Federation & Foundation of Rockland County (www.
jewishrockland.org).
Jonathan Tobin is the opinion editor for JNS.org
and the senior online editor and chief political blog-
ger for Commentary magazine. J.J. Goldberg was the
editor of the Forward, where he now is a columnist.
In a spirited but civil debate, Tobin and Goldberg will
talk about Israel, peace in the Middle East, BDS, and

L Shana
President Donald Trump. The two journalists have

L Shana
been taking their program to institutions across the
United States, pleasing audiences with the civility of
their debate. Tobin and Goldberg will take questions

Tovah! A
from the audience as well.

wishes you a Tovah!

Senator Carlucci The Rockland Jewish Community Campus is at 450
West Nyack Road in West Nyack. H
A

Joyous & Healthy Honoring unsung heroes

Wishing you
Chanukah a sweetyou
Wishing newa sweet
year. new year. Rockland Jewish Family Service will hold its Unsung
Jamie and Steven Dranow Larry A. Model Harvey Schwartz Heroes brunch on Sunday, December 3, at 10 a.m., at
Gregg Brunwasser Jamie and Steven
Michael Dranow General
L. Rosenthal, Larry A.Manager
Model Harvey Schwartz
Gregg Brunwasser Michael L. Rosenthal, General Manager the Rockleigh. Honorees include Eve Freeman of the
As your local Dignity Memorial providers, we wish you the best this Rosh Hashanah. RJFS staff, community volunteer Malki Gartenberg, T
Candlelighting
As your
We reaffirm our local Dignity
commitment Memorial
of service

providers,
to the we wish you the best this Rosh Hashanah.
Jewish community. board of directors member Judy Hoffman, and Paul
We reaffirm our commitment of service to the Jewish community.
Van Alstyne of the Rhoda Bloom Kosher Food Pantry.
november 24 .......................................
Hellman-Garlick Memorial 4:13 Chapel
Hellman MemorialHellmanChapels Memorial Chapels Hellman-Garlick Memorial Chapel A journal will be published to go along with the
december 1 .......................................... 4:10
15 State Street 15 State Street Spring Valley, NY 10977 1300 Pleasantville NY
Spring Valley, NY 10977 1300 Pleasantville Rd. Briarcliff Manor, Rd. 10510
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 brunch, and proceeds will benefit the programs at
december 845-356-8600 914-762-5501 4:09
845-356-8600 8 ......................................... 914-762-5501 RJFS. For more information, call (845) 354-2121, or go
december 15 ........................................ 4:10
Our affiliate Jewish Memorials of Rockland a complete full service monument and inscription provider.
to www.rjfs.org.
Our affiliate Jewish Memorials of Rockland a complete full service monument and inscription provider.
Large display on premises. 845-425-2256
Large display on premises. 845-425-2256
Hellman Memorial Chapels
15 State Street Spring Valley, NY 10977
www.thejewishstandard.com
DignityMemorial.com
www.jewishmemorialsofrockland.com 845-356-8600
DignityMemorial.com www.hellmanmemorialchapels.com
www.hellmanmemorial.com
www.hellmanmemorialchapels.com

20 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

BVK SCI #9a JobBVK SCI #9a

No 025012 JobHashanah
Rosh No 025012
adRosh
5 x Hashanah ad 5
5 8/18/05 V2x5
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 Rockland

94 Demarest Mill Road, Nanuet, 94 Demarest Mill Road, Nanuet, NY 10954

NY623-5800
10954
9494Demarest
Phone (845) Mill
94 Road,
Demarest
623-5800 Nanuet,
Mill
Fax
Phone
Road,
(845) NY
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Nanuet, 10954
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Demarest MillNY
623-5800 www.Rocklandbakery.com
10954
Fax
Road, (845) 623-6921
Nanuet, NY 10954
Phone (845)
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94 623-5800
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Demarest Fax
Mill Fax
94 Demarest Mill Road, Nanuet, NY 10954
Phone www.Rocklandbakery.com (845)
Road, (845)
623-6921
Nanuet, 623-6921
94 Demarest Mill Road,
94Nanuet, NYMill
Phone
Demarest 10954
(845) 623-5800
Road, Nanuet, NYNY
www.Rocklandbakery.com
Fax 10954623-6921
(845)
10954
Phone (845)Phone (845) 623-5800 Fax (845) 623-6921
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Phone (845) 623-5800 Fax (845) 623-6921
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Happy Chanukah
HappyHappy Happy
Chanukah Chanukah
Chanukah
Happy
Happy Chanukah
Chanukah
Film screening and Happy Happy Chanukah
Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
discussion with producer Happy Chanukah
Last month, the Orangetown Jewish
Center screened the documentary Dis-
to kill each other, works to foster mutual
respect and understanding despite very Happy Chanukah
turbing the Peace, which chronicles real differences. Enjoy Your Holiday with Rockland Bakery's Bread, Rolls, Cakes,
the inception and growth of the Israel- After the screening, director and co- and Pastries. Our entire line of baked products are certified Kosher.
based movement called Combatants for producer Stephen Apkon and co-pro- Enjoy Your Holiday with Rockland Bakery's Bread, Rolls, Cakes,
Peace. The group, made up of Israelis ducer Marcina Hale facilitated a ques- Enjoy
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Senior residence open house

The Esplanade at Palisades holds an open
house on Sunday, November 26, from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. The luxury senior residence
at 640 Oak Tree Road in Palisades offers
Chanukah in Montebello
Congregation Shaarey Israel offers a
community Chanukah family celebra-
tion with music, table magic, balloons,
crafts, dreidel games, a performance by
Hebrew school students, menorah light-
ing, latkes, and jelly donuts, on Tuesday,
many amenities, including three kosher
meals served in its dining room every day.
Enjoy Your Holiday with Rockland Bakery's Bread, Rolls, Cakes,
For information, call (845) 359-7870 or go and Pastries. Our entire line of baked products
WELCOME are certified
CENTER Kosher.
NOW OPEN
to www.esplanadeatpalisades.com.
Enjoy Your Holiday with Rockland Bakery's Bread, Rolls, Cakes,
and Pastries. Our entire line of baked products are certified Kosher.
December 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. The shul
is at 18 Montebello Road in Montebello.
Everyone is welcome. It costs $10 a per-
son with a $25 family maximum. For
information, call (845) 369-0300 or go
to www.shaareyisraelrockland.org.
The Most Exciting New Retirement Community
Is Coming to Rockland County.

Abigail Miller joins the Brightview is bringing

Holocaust museum as education director carefree, resort-style living Call Cindy or Gina
Abigail E. Miller, a doctoral candidate and Tapper Fellow at with no large entrance fee to schedule your visit.
the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at
Clark University in Worcester, Mass., is the new director of
to Rockland County. 845.203.2338
education at the Holocaust Museum & Center for Tolerance
Brightview Lake Tappan
and Education in Suffern.
Her research explores the development and use of Holo- offers access to tri-state
caust memory in Argentina. She has presented her work shopping, culture, and
across the country and internationally and has taught at entertainment, and endless
Trinity College, the University of Hartford, and West Virginia on-site opportunities for a
University. She also works with several initiatives to provide
teacher training to improve curricula related to teaching Abigail E. Miller
rewarding retirement.
about the Holocaust and genocide in secondary schools.
Reserve your apartment
now to enjoy exceptional 31 Hunt Road Orangeburg, NY 10962
Food demo and tasting December 12 savings. www.BrightviewLakeTappan.com
Rockland Jewish Family Service and Malki Chef Alexander Remer. It costs $36 per per-
Gartenberg host the chefs table at Fire- son, with donor and sponsor levels offered.
side Kosher Restaurant in Monsey at lunch To register call (845) 354-2121, ext. 177, or
on December 12 at noon. The event features email msherman@rjfs.org. Independent Living Assisted Living Dementia Care

JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 21

 RJS-20
We wish you Rockland
and your family
a Very Happy
Holiday Chanukah!
Greetings
Rabbi Brian Leiken Cantor Anna Zhar
and The Entire TBS Family

Brandeis suspends partnership with

228 New Hempstead Road
109 Route 59 Monsey, NY (845) 356-7100
Wishing You and Your Family
Wishes all
Palestinian school after Nazi-style rally
a Happy
New City, NY 10956 Brandei s Universit y on Monday
(845) 638-0770 announced the suspension of its partner-
Chanukah
www.tbsrockland.org ship with Al-Quds University following a
recent Nazi-style rally at the Palestinian
school in Jerusalem.
At the November 5 rally, Al-Quds
students wore black military gear,
carried fake automatic weapons, and
gave the Nazi salute.
While Brandeis has an unwavering
commitment to open dialogue on
difficult issues, we are also obliged to
recognize intolerance when we see it,
and we cannot and will not turn a
blind eye to intolerance, Brandeis,
which had partnered with Al Quds since
2003, said in a press release. As a result,
Brandeis is suspending its partnership
with Al-Quds University effective
immediately. JNS.org

Jewish education initiatives get

$4.5
The million
group fromin Jim
poses together Joseph Foundation
a vineyard.

The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Jewish Education at Stanford University.

Foundation awarded Orangetown
more than $4.5 children with disabilities.
We continue to be inspired by
ORANGETOWN JEWISH CENTER
OR million to Jewish academic FROM institutions
PAGE 19 theBy the end of the
determined, five days,work
innovative we are
of
ANGETOWN JEWISH CENTER service,
and programsand itatgives leadership
its October 2013lessons
board all like family.
these and other And the relationships
grantees, saidstay
Al
Rabbi Craig Scheff Rabbi Paula Mack Drill
8 Independence Avenue Orangeburg, NY 10962 www.theojc.org
to these young
meeting. Somepeople, and teaches
of the recipients them
include strong
Levitt,during the year.
president of the Jim Joseph
An Egalitarian Conservative Congregation Serving Rockland and Bergen Counties about
Brandeis the University,
love of the landthe and theHistory
Facing history Another advantage
Foundation, is that people
which prioritizes are
support
of
andthe state, National
Ourselves Rabbi Scheff said. We
Foundation, and seeing
for JewishIsrael from a different perspec-
learning.
picked grapes and
the Consortium cleaned Studies
of Applied up grape- in tive, a perspective that touristsJNS.org dont
Best Wishes for a Very vines to provide room for the new grapes
to grow in the year ahead.
usually see, and that a federation trip
will not necessarily give you. Even our
Healthy and Happy Chanukah
Congregation Shaarey Israel They also went to a memorial at Beit congregational family trips dont have
The Traditional Synagogue Netanyahu to Abbas:
Lid, just outside Netanya. It is the site this intensity.
of Rockland County of a 1995 mass killing. It was built in This is a model for other communi-
extends our best wishes to the Come to Knesset, I will visit Ramallah
memory of the 21 soldiers and one civil- ties, he concluded. Israelis always are
gh ow
Ma f

d ian whoFrench
were President
killed at the bus stop blown
Letsaway when they hear what
comewe
gl

the an entire Jewish Community During Francois Hol- break the stalemate; to
wa r m t h
t

li
y

ea
o

landesback
there, visitattothe
thebeginning
Knesset on of Monday,
the time the Knesset
are and I say
doing. They will you
comemust
to Ramallah,
be crazy
ch c a nd le you
y

for a very Happy Chanukah

ha
pp
ma

ey e Israeli suicide
when Prime Minister
bombers Benjamin Netan-
were blowing Netanyahu
to come here said
in in a statement
this way itsdirected
neither
our m ho Reuven Stengel, Rabbi
k

yahu offered up Palestinian Authority at Abbas, Israel Hayom norreported.

he art and h themselves at bus stations, Rabbi particularly cheap physically easy
t.

d
an

yo r ig Menachem Bazian, Cantor President

Scheff said.Mahmoud Abbas the same to go to Israel for such a short time, and
ur Ch anuk ah b
JNS.org
Mimi Marenberg, President opportunity.
It is a magnificent and somewhat jar- to give up sightseeing and shopping for
ring memorial. work and they cant thank us enough
It is a ladder, with 22 sculptures lining for giving so generously, without any
Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey
We invite you to join us on
it. It is large; it extends into the sky, and expectation of getting anything back.
Monday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 pm for
Proudly
our Annual
18 Montebello Rd.
Serving New Yorks 17th Congressional District
Community AJC praises U.S. terror designation
it is not supported by anything.
Montebello, NY
Chanukah Celebration
PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY LOWEY FOR CONGRESS
(845) 369-0300
for Nigerian group
It is ramrod straight, set at an
go to www.congshaareyisrael.org for details angle. As photographs show, it
The
is American
stark Jewish Committees exec-
and stunning. designation both recognizes the reality
utive director, David
We helped decorate some ofHarris, praised the of the threat Boko Haram presents and
U.S. State Departments
the mosaics that surround the designation of gives a boost, we hope, to the Nigerian
Best Wishes for a Very Nigerias Boko Haram
sculpture, and we did it with
rorist organization.
as a foreign ter- governments efforts to defeat this
terrorist scourge.
the help of some of the children
Healthy and C A F E Chanukah
Happy Boko Harams murderous
from Kfar Ahava, who joined us
in Nigeria, targeting Christians
attacks
in
Boko Haram, which is linked to
al-Qaeda, has repeatedly attacked
Wishing everyone there, Rabbi Scheff said.
particular, have been
He hopes that next November, a deep concern Christian targets and government offices
for a long time, Harris said.
as the trip celebrates its bar mitz- The U.S. since its formation in 2001.
a Happy Chanukah
JNS.org

vah year, everyone who ever has

been on any of the trips will join
Homemade Latkes & it, as well as new people who will
be moved by the experience.
Applesauce, Sufganiyot Netanyahu, Yaalon focus on Palestinian
There are many advantages
throughout the incitement in soldiers murder
to this model, Rabbi Scheff said.
eight days of Chanukah The people on the trip, who are
Responding to last weeks fatal
feelstabbing Yaalon said, We must remember that
Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey of
Assortment from
of
their 40s
19-year-old
to their
Israel
70s,
Defense Forces sol- the terror of individuals unaffiliated with
so close to each other. They are
Delicious Challahs
Proudly Serving New Yorks 18th Congressional District dier Eden Atias by a Palestinian
sharing a mission and by that teenager, an organization mostly derives from
PaiD for aND authorizeD bY LoweY for CoNgreSS Israeli Prime Minister
I mean a higher purpose. They Benjamin Netan- the hard incitement of the Palestinian
170 N. Main St., New City, New York yahu said, We hope and
are sharing vulnerabilities, doing look forward Authority, which during negotiations
(845) 323-4582 chanalee@thechallahfairy.com to achieving true peace,
things that they are not neces- but incitement with Israel continues to educate youths
Open Sun 9:30-2:30 Mon-Thurs 6:30-6:30 Fri 6:30-3 in the Palestinian Authority
sarily comfortable doing. Things must stop. to admire terrorists.
Under the supervision of Rabbi Zushe Blech Cholov Yisroel Israeli Defense Minister
like farming, or like working with Moshe (Bogie)
Two women work on a mosaic at Beit JNS.org Lid.
www.jstandard.com
22 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

20 ROCKLAND JEWISH STANDARD DECEMBER 2013

 To Brighten the Festival of Lights

79
with

Rokeach
Chanuka
Candles
44 Ct.
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Where Available
3/$
with

Gelt Coins
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Manischewitz

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with AdvantEdge Card

Price Chopper
Smoked Salmon
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99
Kedem Manischewitz
Sparkling Juice Potato Pancake Mix Limit 1 Price Chopper coupon per customer, per offer, per day; may be combined
with one manufacturer coupon per product purchased, unless prohibited.
3 Lb.
25.4 oz.
Select Varieties
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Void if copied or altered. Offer effective Sunday, November 12 thru Saturday,
December 23, 2017 in our Price Chopper, Market Bistro and Market 32 stores.
Bag
CLU#
MANUFACTURERS COUPON EXPIRES 12/23/2017 MANUFACTURERS COUPON EXPIRES 12/23/2017
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with AdvantEdge Card

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Kedem
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Osem Mini Mandel
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Void if sold or transferred. Consumer pays CRV and sales tax. RETAILER: We will reimburse you for the face value of this coupon plus 8 handling, provided you Osem Bamba Snack 2 1/4" MinimumU.S.#1
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Limit 1 Price Chopper coupon per customer, per offer, per day; may be combined
with one manufacturer coupon per product purchased, unless prohibited.
Void if copied or altered. Offer effective Sunday, November 12 thru Saturday,
December 23, 2017 in our Price Chopper, Market Bistro and Market 32 stores.
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JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 23

Cover Story
My grandfather did what?
Discovering an ancestors exploits,
including running guns to Israel,
through luck and the internet
JOANNE PALMER
F
or many people, just being at the
2009 World Series would have
been enough. Dayenu.
Make it be the sixth game of
the series. Dayenu.
Say youre a Yankees fan, and theyre
playing at home in the Bronx, and youre
Paul Caine at the Yankees game
where his curiosity was sparked by a
policemans badge; inset, two shots
of his grandfather, Wolf Silberstein.
24 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
sitting way up front. Got it. Dayenu.
Um, the Yankees win the game, they win
the series, and you are right there. Abso-
lutely and entirely dayenu. Its enough.
What else could there be. (Be quiet, Mets
fans! This part of the story just isnt for you!)
Say that youre Paul Caine of Tenafly.
You pay close attention to detail. (And it
shows; if youre Paul, youre a high-level
entrepreneur who went from a top job at
Bloomberg Media to exciting new high-
tech ventures, and you devote a great deal
of your time and energy to philanthropy.)
So if youre Paul, youre loving the game,
but youre paying attention to everything
around you. And you notice the badge
number on the police officer who is patrol-
ling right in front of you.
Its a familiar number. Its just one digit
off from the badge number of the money
clip you carry every day. Its a replica
of your grandfathers New York Police
Department badge, and you know it well.
Okay, so youre not Paul. But there is
Paul, at the World Series eight years ago,
staring at this cop and his badge.
Paul didnt know very much about his
grandfather, Wolf Herman Silberstein,
badge number 17954. His mother, Pearl
Silberstein Caine, was an only child, who
adored her father he was my best
friend, and he was my hero, she said
but she was only 11 when he died, right in
front of her, in 1948.
But Paul had the internet, curiosity, and
energy not a lot of time, but how long
does it take to ask google a question? so
he started researching. I was on a con-
ference call, and I was bored, so I started
playing with Google, he said.
And then he kept going.
He learned that his grandfa-
ther not only was a hero, who
had been awarded a medal by
the NYPD after a poolroom hold-
up, but he was so well respected
that he earned a heros blue
funeral, and at that funeral the
fact that hed been involved in
running guns to the nascent
state of Israel leaked out, was
covered up, and then has stayed
pretty well hidden until now.
So what was Patrolman Wolf
Herman Silbersteins story?
Wolf Silberstein was born on
the Lower East Side in 1906,
somewhere in the middle of
eight children, and grew up
there and in Brooklyn. He was
a fairly tall, athletic, rangy, and
handsome man, conventionally
Irish looking, which perhaps Patrolman Silbersteins badge and the medal he was
might have propelled his inter- awarded for his off-duty heroism in a pool room.
est in the police force, which
for generations was filled with Irishmen.
As he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
in 1934, in a story that Paul found in JTAs
archives, I realized a childhood ambition
when I became a policeman. I never had
another ambition.
There were not many Jews on the police
force, and it was not immediately welcom-
ing. His family had to chip in to buy his
uniform and badge, Paul said.
In 1933, according to the JTA story, Wolf
had the adventure that earned him the
police departments medal of honor in
1934. The department handed out only
two of those awards a year; it was its high-
est, for extraordinary heroism at immi-
nent risk of life, the story tells us.
Wolf was in a licensed pool room, while
I was off duty and in civilian clothes, he
said; note his emphasis on how legitimate
both the place and his presence there were.
The story is worth quoting in detail. JTA
tells us that Patrolman Silberstein spoke
quietly and in genuine modesty. In fact,
he was reluctant to discuss the incident
at all.
This is what he said: He was in the room
when In walked three men with revolvers
in their hands. They ordered those who
were in the room about 35 altogether
to move back against the wall and hold
your hands up.
While I was moving back with the oth-
ers, I drew my service revolver. One of
the bandits had jumped onto a chair in
the rear of the room and stood facing the
crowd, brandishing his revolver.
At this time I stepped away from the
until years later, when she discovered
the certificate in a drawer and asked her
mother about it. She also eventually saw
a photograph of New York Citys mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia pinning the medal on
Wolf, who towers over him.
As strong as Patrolman Wolf Silberstein
appeared to be, his heart was not. He had a
minor heart attack in the summer of 1948,
and then in November he had the major
heart attack that killed him, at home, with
his traumatized daughter looking on.
He died on Thanksgiving 1948.
Because Wolf had won the medal of
honor, and because he was both respected
and loved, and because all evidence points
to his having been charismatic, he was
given what is called a blue funeral.
Police officers who are killed doing their
jobs were offered blue funerals, and so too
were a few other officers, whose heroism
and stature seemed to demand it. Blue
funerals were so called because of the sea
of blue uniforms that pack the pews and
the graveside; they draw not only at-atten-
tion police officers and high officials but
crowd and fired a shot at the bandit on also politicians and reporters. They were
the chair. He doubled up, stepped off the a major big deal.
chair, and I fired another shot. He then ran Wolf Herman Silbersteins blue funeral
along the wall opposite me, endeavoring was in late November 1948, just days after
to escape. I followed. When he was near added, and she remembers that at least Thanksgiving. He was buried in Queens,
the door I had to fire a third time, after once hed shown it to her, to demystify it. in the Shomrim Societys cemetery, sur-
which I apprehended the bandit and took I always remember how handsome rounded by the graves of other Jewish cops.
his revolver. my father was in his uniform, she said. I It was at his funeral that another part of
As the police citation noted, Wolf left would be playing in the street when hed his story was briefly uncovered and then
out a number of facts. All three men kept come home, and I would run to him and quickly buried again. Its only resurfacing
firing. When he was asked, he said, Well, jump into his arms. He took me rowing in now, in bits, as Paul works to unearth it.
they fired a number of shots at me. None, Central Park. He was a wonderful father. As he researched his grandfather online
however, took effect. and dug up stories not only from
He killed the man on the the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,
chair; the other two escaped. an agency that has streamlined
Many years later, his widow, its name to its initials, JTA, and
Pearls mother, Ruth Ginder I realized a childhood still provides us with national and
Silberstein, told her grandson,
Paul Caine, that she had been
ambition when I became international Jewish news that we
publish today, but also from such
at the pool hall that night. (She a policeman. I never had papers as the Brooklyn Eagle,
never told her daughter that
story; Pearl heard it only from
another ambition. which covered his grandfathers
adventures in some detail he
her son, and it is an astonish- came across his name in a 1995
ment to her. She doesnt know what to Crown Heights was a Jewish neigh- Jerusalem Post story about Leon Katz.
make of it.) borhood then, as it is now, although the Mr. Katz, another former New York City
Ruth told Paul that when the robbers Lubavitch presence was not as strong then policeman and a onetime inspector gen-
told everyone to line up against the wall, as now. We were not religious, Pearl eral of the citys prisons, who made aliyah
she was scared to death, but he whis- said. We never belonged to a synagogue, in 1981, talked about how he put together
pered to her to wait until he went for his but I remember that he used to tell me that a group of other city cops who had, not to
gun he was left-handed, and it was on his he was going to shul. But he never brought put too fine a point on it, smuggled guns to
right side and then to run. She did, and me or my mom. mandatory Palestine as it fought for free-
was able to get out of there. If her parents were Zionists, Pearl didnt dom from the British.
The Silbersteins lived in Crown Heights, know it. They did not talk about Israel. Wolf Silberstein was one of those cops.
and Wolf, who spent his whole career as a And that wasnt all they didnt talk about. The nascent state of Israel badly needed
patrolman, worked in Canarsie. He used As she grew up, Pearl had no idea that guns; representatives of the Irgun and
to work nights, so Id hardly see him, her father had fought a gun battle in a pool Teddy Kollek, who later became Jeru-
Pearl said. He would always sleep with his hall, or that hed won a medal of honor for salems amazingly longtime mayor, was
gun under his pillow. It wasnt loaded, she it. She did not know anything about that involved as well quietly asked American
JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 25
 Cover Story

Jewish representatives for help. Some of the weapons came

from Jews who happened to have them and were willing to
donate them. But that wasnt enough. So Mr. Katz and his
group came up with a plan.
Veterans returning from World War II (a war that Wolf
was too old to fight) often brought back guns, both their
own and weapons that they took from the enemy as sou-
venirs. That was illegal, but they were promised that they
would not get into any trouble, that no questions would be
asked, should they turn them in as they disembarked in
New York from the boats taking them back home.
Those guns were to go back to the army, or to be dis-
posed of in other legal ways.
Instead, many of them were siphoned off into a ware-
house on the Lower East Side and then shipped off to
Israel. The warehouse was in the basement of the Stan-
ley Friedman Association, a brownstone named after
a friend who had died in the war, Pearl said. They did
charity work there.
The police brass knew about it, Paul said, but they
chose to look the other way. They felt sympathy for the
Jewish fighters trying against towering odds to make their Wolf Silberstein sits proudly at the wheel and stands with a man his grandson thinks might be Leon Katz.
own state in the aftermath of the war.
A shipment of guns was set to go to Israel, and one day
a box that was going onboard a banana boat fell, and guns
fell all over the dock.
A foreman called the police, and said We thought we
were shipping bananas, but theyre guns. And the police-
man he called said Dont worry about it.
That should have been the end of the problem. But no.
The shipping company reported it to the FBI, Paul said.
The police said to the FBI, we have this. Its our jurisdic-
tion, but the FBI said no no no, well investigate it. They
went to the pier to check it out.
And then my grandfather got tipped off, Paul said.
According to the stories online, there is a long and tan-
gled web of possible betrayals and saves and cover-ups
and turnarounds, all hard to parse, but the upshot of it is
that indeed Wolf Silberstein and his friends heard about
what was happening.
The FBI agents were two Irish guys, and when my
grandfather heard about it, he and his friends went and
intercepted those two agents, and they went to a bar with
them, and they drank together, and they bonded on their
mutual hatred of Britain.
And in the end most likely many drinks later the
Irish gents decided to drop the case.
Soon afterward the operation ended; in May 1948, the
state of Israel was born. And just months later, Wolf Silber-
stein died. He never got to Israel.
I remember his funeral vividly, Pearl said. It was
overwhelming, because there were thousands of police-
men there. The streets were lined. And I was out of it.
She and her mother soon moved from the Brooklyn
apartment where she had seen her father die to Forest
Hills, in Queens. And although her parents had spoken
to each other in Yiddish a language she never learned
once my father died, my mother never spoke Yiddish
again, Pearl said. Ruth, who died in 1990, at 79, didnt get
to Israel until she was in her 60s; when she was there, she
was greatly moved by it, her daughter reports. Paul Caine is flanked by his parents, Don and Pearl, in his Tenafly home.
Meanwhile, back at the Shomrim Society cemetery in
Queens, the rabbi who spoke at Wolfs graveside funeral, So the story was buried with my grandfather. he did not know until much later had housed the guns
Mitchell Eskolsky, talked about the gun-running. It was not Pearl Silberstein went on to marry Don Caine; the en route to Israel.
wise. The police brass was there, Paul said. The mayor Caines brought up their family Paul and his two sisters, As astonished as Paul was to learn about his grandfa-
was there. And the rabbi tells the story about my grand- Wendy Kastan and Dana Caine-Sheinbaum in Woodcliff thers exploits, Pearl was even more so. She has remained
fathers bravery. Lake and now live in Wanaque. Don is a dentist who did close to her fathers memory throughout her life. She has
The crazy part is that this was a story that no one some volunteer work at the one-time Sidney Friedman a keepsake in her bag, a flattened penny in a small silver-
knew. And there were many reporters there, because it building, which by then had become the Oscar Ginder colored horseshoe-shaped frame that her father gave her.
was a blue funeral. They wanted to write the story, but the building, after her mothers family. The clinic was named I have carried this around since 1947, she said. I was so
police brass and the mayor used a lot of political capital to after Wolf Herman Silberstein; in all the time he worked excited when he gave it to me.
make sure that it was never written. there, Don said, he never went into the basement, which I have never lost it, and I never will.

5 26 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Chanukah
Gift Guide

NOVEMBER, 2017
CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 3

Chanukah 2017
Chanukah, Chanukka, Hannukkah, merchants and online sources.
Hanukkah, or Hanukah however you How about framing a special
spell it, [HEBREW] is a joyous eight-day print or photo you have? Who
celebration. The most widely used in wouldnt welcome a smart
the United States are Hanukkah fortwo cabriolet car? Dont forget
and Chanukah. the gift baskets and food items too
This year the holiday be- good to pass up!
gins at sundown on So heres to Chanukah, and to
Tuesday, December 12 all the special things that make holi-
(24th of Kislev) with the day memories. Most synagogues have
eighth candle lit a week Chanukah celebrations and most towns
later on Tuesday, December 19 offer candle lighting ceremonies on mu-
(1st of Tevet). nicipal grounds. Read about them in upcoming Jewish
The holiday celebrates the victories of the Standard issues.
Maccabees who fought to save the Jewish people from Lets also think about our comrades in the IDF in
the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. The Hebrew word cha- Israel and in the U.S. Armed Forces, the modern-day
nukah means dedication. The name reminds us of the Maccabees, who are living under tense circumstances
re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following and wish them shalom.
the Jewish victory and celebrates the miracle of the oil With best wishes for a truly joyous festival of lights,
in the Temple lasting for eight days.
The celebration of Chanukah centers around the Beth Janoff Chananie and family
lighting of the chanukiah, the nine-branched menorah
evoking warmth and joy for fami-
lies; the eating of holiday foods,
like potato pancakes (latkes) and
jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) deep-
fried in oil, recalling the the oil
from the Temple menorah; and
special songs and games.
Chanukah also brings the joy of
giving and receiving presents.
Sit back, relax, and read through
this Gift Guide. Think about things
you might like to receive and
what you might like to buy for
others.
Donations are the gifts that
keep on giving. Consider making
one to someones favorite charity
or to a synagogue or cause where
they volunteer or support.
When buying a gift for a child,
always buy an extra to donate to
the many community toy drives for
the less fortunate. It is also won-
derful to have a child pick a special Here is a small collection of some menorahs and Judaica items found
gift to donate to such causes. recently at National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Sections
This years Chanukah Gift Guide Bergenfield Thrift Store. There were many to choose from -- everything
features some an amazing meno- from traditional to oil. Every one of them has a story; every one has a
family memory. When inviting family and guests over, think about extra
rah created by Gary Rosenthal,
menorahs for all. What a wonderful place to shop and support the work
beautiful jewelry, childrens gift of NCJW-BCS.
items, accessories, books, and gift
ideas including massages and spa 75 S. Washington Avenue, Bergenfield
(201) 385-4847, www.ncjwbcs.org/thrift-shop
indulgences, shoes, from local
4 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Chanukah Blessings
Chanukah Songs
The Dreidel Song
I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay,
And when its dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!

Chorus:
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
I made it out of clay
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
Now dreidel I shall play

It has a lovely body

With legs so short and thin
And when it gets all tired
It drops and then I win!

Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel

With legs so short and thin,
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
It drops and then I win.

My dreidels always playful

It loves to dance and spin
A happy game of dreidel
Come play now, lets begin
(chorus)

Sevivon, Sov Sov Sov

Sevivon, sov sov sov,
Chanukah hu chag tov
Chanukah hu chag tov
Sevivon, sov sov sov.
Chag simcha hu la-am
Nes gadol haya sham
Nes gadol haya sham
Chag simcha hu la-am.
bartenura rose bucket poster sizes.indd 1 11/3/17 10:33 AM
 6 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017
The 25th annual Bergen
County Chanukah Toy Drive is
underway. Donations of new
and unwrapped toys and gifts
for children and young adults
going through trying times are
welcome. The deadline to do-
nate is Tuesday, December 5.
The drive is a collaborative
effort across many Jewish
The gift of reading schools, synagogues, and
Check local Judaica, specialty shops, book stores, organizations. Toys are dis-
and some big box chain stores for Chanukah gear tributed to many charities and
for infants, children, and adults. Here, Rebecca organizations for Chanukah
Shara Jay, 4, daughter of Rachel and Adam Jay parties at sites including, Chai
of Springfield, is all decked out in her special Lifeline, Tomorrows Childrens
Chanukah tee shirt while reading Shmelf the Institute/Hackensack
Hanukkah Elf by Greg Wolfe. Visit local book University Medical Center,
stores for Chanukah books for children and fabu- Jewish Family & Childrens
lous recipe books for yourselves. Services of Northern NJ,
Tomchei Shabbos of Bergen
MZ WALLACE BAGGALLINI LAFONN
be adorable
PIETRO ALESSANDRO WHITING & DAVIS ELIZABETH & JAMES
HERVE CHAPELIER MALI MICHELLE CHARLES GARNIER
NJs Best Kept Secret!
Jewelry, Handbags
& Accessories
17 North Dean St. Englewood, NJ marcia's attic for kids
201-569-5150 29 n. dean street englewood, nj
LODIS RAY BAN TASHKA ALEXIS BITTAR 201-894-5701
County, Project Ezrah, JADD-
group homes, Bikur Cholim,
Bris Avrohom, Yachad, Sinai
Group Home, Friendship
Circle, Ohel Childrens Home,
OTSAR, Shelter Our Sisters,
Chai4ever, Ishine, Teaneck
& Bergenfield PAL, and
Sharsheret.
Teanecks Judaica House
and Zoldans Judaica Center
and the Kids Therapy Place in
Bogota all have toy drive drop-
boxes and offer a 10 percent
discount on items purchased
in the store for the drive. For a
list of participating organiza-
tions and drop-off sites, go to
BCToyDrive.com. For infor-
mation or to volunteer, email
Joysklar@gmail.com.
CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 7

Adopt Dont Shop

Pets make wonderful gifts but you
have to choose them carefully and
be sure they will be cared for. A
local animal shelter or pet rescue
group (some bring animals to local
pet stores for adoption) is a good
place to start looking. The dogs
pictured, Cocoa, 4, and Cupcake,
8, two of the beloved pets of the
Chananie family of Paramus, were
both adopted. Visit a local dog park
and ask people about their dogs.
Cats are easier to care for, some-
thing to keep in mind when choos-
ing a pet for a child. Fish and birds Cedar Lane Management
are also pets to consider. Come shop, dine and enjoy Cedar Lane, Teanecks
main drag. There is something for everyone for
Chanukah stamps each of the eight days of Chanukah everything
from a pickle on a stick to assorted candy, baked
The U.S. Postal Service sells Chanukah
goods, Judaica, clothing, jewelry, yarn from around
Forever stamps available nation-
the world, and so much more. And dont forget gift
wide created by William Low of
certificates available from Cedar Lane merchants.
Huntington, N.Y. They feature an il-
www.cedarlane.net, (201) 907-0493
lustration of a menorah in the window
of a home. The eight nights and days
of Chanukah begin on the 24th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar,
this year beginning at sundown on December 12. The first-day-of-
issue stamp dedication ceremony took place last year at Temple
Beth El of Boca Raton.

Happy Chanukah!
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We also carry an impressive
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STORE HOURS: MONDAY-SATURDAY 10-6
8 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Gifts, Gifts, and More Gifts

Books and Greetings

Books and Greetings in Northvale
has 80,000 titlesbooks for ev-
eryone on your holiday list, along
with Papyrus cards, toys from
Lego and Melissa and Doug, Lafco
Candles, soaps, lotions, scaves,
hats, and gloves, faux fur cozy
slippers, Conrads Chocolates
from Westwood, and some of the
most unusual, creative gift items
youll ever find, all in one place.
Free gift-wrapping.
Northvale Square
Shopping Center
271 Livingston Street, Northvale
(201) 784-2665,
www.booksandgreetings.com
The Austin Tie Dye
Company
The Austin Tie Dye Company has
amazing items all made by hand in
Austin, Texas. Here is one of their
best-sellers, a 47 x 47-inch single lay-
Antiques
er blanket made from bamboo, in a Collectibles Mall
gorgeous rainbow tie dye. No two are
Beautiful antiques bought and sold
ever alike, though similar, due to their
under one roof.
hand-dying process that creates one-
174 Route 17 North, Rochelle Park
of-a-kind designs and color mixing.
(201) 880 9080, www.antiquesmallnj.com
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10 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Portage &
The Jewelry Box
New Jerseys best-kept secret
for jewelry, handbags, and
accessories is Portage & The
Jewelry Box. In business for 18
years in Englewood, this boutique
has something for everyone, from
classic styles to the latest trends!
Featured designers include Alexis
Bittar, Officina Bernardi, Elizabeth
and James, Liquid Metal, Charles
Garnier, MZ Wallace, Pietro
Alessandro, Baggallini, Tashka,
Whiting & Davis, and many more.
Portage is known for its expansive
J&J Pharmacy
selection of evening bags and
fashion jewelry in Bergen County. J&J Pharmacy, your family pharmacy, offers
Patrice or Hilda will help you Personal Pharmacy Management with RefillRx
accessorize your holiday outfit and a free delivery service. The store also carries
as well as help you pick that milk, dairy, and grocery items, vitamins, a notary
perfect gift for all on your holiday public, 50 percent off greeting cards, Melissa &
list! Personalized service and Doug and Alex Toys, and Lottery.
527 Cedar Lane, Teaneck
complimentary gift-wrapping.
(201) 836-7003, www.jandjdrugstores.com
17 N. Dean Street, Englewood
298 State Street, Hackensack
(201) 569-5150,
(201) 820-3360, www.jandjdrugstores.com
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 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 11
Janusz Korczak Menorahs
Jewishgiftplace.com
Gary Rosenthal made the Janusz
Korczak menorah exclusively for
the Jewish Gift Place. It is a scale
model of the Last Journey, the
7 x 20 sculpture on display at
the Holocaust Resource Center of
Temple Judea in Manhasset, N.Y.
Janusz Korczak was an eminent
doctor, writer, educator, philoso-
pher, and childrens rights advocate
who gave his life for his children.
When the German police sieged
the Warsaw Ghetto, Korczak led the
200 children out of the orphanage
in the ghetto that he oversaw. He
led the line holding one child in his
arms and holding another by his
hand. The children marched, hold-
ing their favorite toys and books (as
the menorah depicts). They were all
murdered at Treblinka.
The mission of the Manhasset cen-
ter is to educate young and old about
the evils of prejudice, to teach the les-
sons of the Holocaust, and to combat
ignorance, hatred and violence.
The menorahs shown above sell
for $118 and $180 with 100 percent of
the proceeds going to the Holocaust
Resource Center. There is also a
synagogue menorah, which is 22
x 15 x 4 and weighs 12 pounds. It
costs $540.
The menorahs are sold online
only at www.jewishgiftplace.com/
Janusz.html.
12 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Shop & Dine

locally on
CEDAR LANE
in Teaneck
this Holiday
Season
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Salons Gifts Judaica Pickles Movies & More
A&S Comics Couture de Bride Manor Shoes Repair Sciarra & Company
Aaryan Bhavan Creations Fine Marburn Shear Design
Veggie House Haircutting Inc. Curtain Warehouse Shellys Vegetarian
Als Charcoal Pit CVS Pharmacy Marlon by Mishoe Restaurant
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Angelos Tailor Dance Art Max Dollar and Deals Straight Nappy
Annapurna Indian Creative Center Mei Salon Subway
Grocery & Catering Design by Flora Mortgage Apples Cakes Sweets on Cedar
Aquarius Health Foods Direct Line Mr. FreshCut T-Mobile
B. Dinelli for Hair Carpet & Flooring Taipei Noodle House
Nail Garden
Back in Touch Dovids Tate Academy
New Asia
Massage Therapy Fresh Fish Market
Chinese Takeout Teaneck Cinemas
Bettinas Boutique Elite Nails
New Teaneck Teaneck Locksmith
Bischoffs Confectionery Empire Hunan II Fish Market
Teaneck Nails
Brier Rose Books Enterprise Liquors New to You Consignment
The Stable
Budget Print Copy Estihana Noahs Ark Home and Garden
Center/DP Graphics Fifth Avenue Haircutters OnPoint Fitness Studio Threading Station
Butterflake Bakery Five Star Coffee Shop Pickle Licious Three Star Bagels
BV Tuscany Restaurant FrameWorks Pizzalicious Tiger Lily by Encke
Carlyz Craze IHOP Pottery, Paint & Love UPS Store
Castillo Salon International Beauty Purple Lily Art Studio Veggie Heaven
Cedar Lane Furs Supply and Salon
Rainbow Jewelry Verizon Wireless
Cedar Market J & J Pharmacy/Liquors & Watches
Victors Pizzeria
Chonji Academy J R Coiffure Hair Salon Raven Hair
Walgreens
of Martial Arts Janet Joyner Reginas Tailoring/
Photography Yarn Dezous
Club FIT of New Jersey Bridal Boutique
Judaica House Yosi Unisex Salon
Cohen Invitations Rocklins Paper & Cards
& Stationery KFC Zoldans Judaica Center
Sababa Grill
Coliseum Pizzeria Lark Street Music Sal & Pimienta
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14 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Build-A-Bear Workshop
This year, Build-A-Bear Workshop has the perfect furry
friends for Chanukah. Pawlette, is pictured dressed in a
blue and silver holiday dress with silver sparkle bow flat
shoes. Lil Hazelnut Cub is wearing a blue Hanukkah
T-shirt with denim jeans and black canvas high tops.
All bears come with a birth certificate to personalize.
Build-A-Bear also has many other teddy options in
their workshops located in local malls. You can person-
alize the teddy bear with clothing and accessories to
make the perfect unique gift. Every furry friend has a
heart inside with a special wish from its creator. Visitors
make their very own teddy bears and other stuffed
animals by choosing, stuffing, stitching, fluffing, and
dressing them. The animal creations also make won-
derful gifts all year long. www.buildabear.com.
Emporio
Nardellis collection of fine leathers makes the
perfect gift. New this season is the Nardelli
weekender garment bag/tote, a full size garment
bag that turns into a stylish weekender tote bag.
The weekender is on sale now for $249 and a special
introductory three-piece package, including a
toiletry bag and tie case is just $299.
215 W. Englewood Avenue, Teaneck
201-530-7300
www.emporioclothing.com

Red Velvet Luxe

All Diamond Hoop Earrings
40% to 60% off retail!
Diamond jewelry puts the
finishing touch on any out-
fit, from the most elegant
evening gown to a stylish
pair of jeans and trendy top
for a Saturday night dinner
with friends. This holiday
season diamond hoops have
grown in size and vary from Veras Boutique
very thin micro pave hoops, Stop at Veras Boutique for a wide selection of com-
to full cut diamonds placed fortable, stylish winter-ready footwear. Our stock in-
inside out with lots of sparkle cludes waterproof, fleece-lined and Gore-Tex boots
and bling. Red Velvet Luxe and shoes. Be fitted by our knowledgeable staff in the
has a huge selection of dia- best of this seasons footwear. We carry brands and
mond hoops all ready to be styles in a wide range of widths, gifts and accessories
wrapped up and yours for the holidays. too. Some of the popular brands include, Arcopedico,
59 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood Comfortiva, Rieker and Vionic.
(201) 689-1800, www.RedVelvetLuxe.com 459 Route 17 South
Hasbrouck Heights
201 288 3727, Verasboutique.com
CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 15

Benzel-Busch Motor Car Corp.

This Chanukah consider the all-new Model Year 2017 smart fortwo
cabriolet at Benzel-Busch. With all new styling, a wider exterior and
more interior space, new engine, and new six-speed dual-clutch au-
tomatic transmission, you will experience a smooth ride in comfort.

BILL SHAW PHOTOGRAPHY

Drop the top down in 12 seconds even at its top speed of 96 mph
and then be the envy of everyone as you fit in the smallest of park-
ing spaces. Forming a barrier between you and all else on the road,
everyone in the passenger compartment is always protected with
smarts Tridion Cell made from high-strength steel. The all-new model
year 2017 smart fortwo cabriolet starts at $18,900 but hurry in now
through January 3rd and lease it for $229/mo. for 36 months and 10K
mi/yr. with $1,523 due at signing. Ask your Benzel-Busch Account
Representative for details when you visit us today and Define the Way A new tallit, handmade kippah,
You Drive. Benzel-Busch was awarded the Sales and Service Laureates or set of tallit clips makes a great
Award from Mercedes-Benz for excellence in customer service. Chanukah gift!
28 Grand Avenue, Englewood
Tallis Lady
(800) 836-0945, Benzelbusch.com
Lisa Prawer, The Tallis Lady sells
beautiful styles of tallitot from art-
ists in the United States and Israel in
a variety of colors and fabrics. She
designs her own wire-beaded and
Swarovski crystal kippot for women
and also sells handmade tallit clips
in contemporary styles. There are
unlimited choices that are perfect
for men, women, bar and bat mitz-
vah. Call for an appointment to visit
Lisas studio in Bergen County or
shop online. Always take 10 percent
off the retail price. Good customer
service is a primary goal for The
Tallis Lady and if you desire her
help, she will always do her best to
guide you in the right direction.
(201) 321-4995
e designer www.theTallisLady.com
e designer Resale, Bergen Countys luxury consignment store info@theTallisLady.com
in Cliffside Park has some great items for the holidays. From
left, Jimmy Choo pumps, Hermes Evelyne 1 bag, Cartier Red
Crossbody bag, Rene Caovilla evening shoes, Louis Vuitton
tote, Moschino wool and leather chain bag, Chanel tote, and
Chanel blue tweed pumps.
720 Anderson Avenue, Cliffside Park
(201) 943-3401, www.edesignerresale.com
16 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Exuvius Upper Hand Playing Cards

Exuvius is an innovative designer
of thought-provoking products.
With the launch of their Upper
Hand Playing Cards, you can learn
the skills and charm they need to
gain the upper hand in life. This
black and white combo two-deck
set features the classic card suits,
but has paired them with corre-
sponding categories of knowledge
to master. The cards have a poker
hand border, matte finish, and
smooth gliding feel for luxury at its finest. It also functions as a usable
set of playing cards and is available as a single deck in either black or
white as well as a combo set.
www.exuvius.com

On The Table
On The Table offers a wide variety of unique gifts
including Judaica. The store specializes in table-
top items, tablecloths, hostess and teacher gifts,
bridal registries, and even jewelry. Great gifts at
great prices! Come shop early for Chanukah.
1454 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck
(201) 342-1089
Gift of Life
Share the giving spirit of Chanukah and the holiday season by
donating blood or platelets.
Everyone is busy this time of year, and it gets dark so early that it
feels like there is even less time, but the need for blood remains.
Check local blood banks New Jersey Blood Services,Community
Blood Services, or the American Red Cross for donation times.
And while youre at it, sign up to become an organ donor. Thats
the ultimate gift of life.

Give the gift of comfort this season!

Savvy Chic Experience comfort in each step with Aetrex Shoes

Consignment CHELSEA

Boutique The healthiest shoes youll ever wear

FIRST PLACE
CONSIGNMENT
SHOP

ADDISON

30 Cottage Place Ridgewood, NJ

201-389-6900
www.savvychicconsignment.com
Mon 10-5 Tues 11-6 Wed 11-6
Thur 11-7 Fri 11-6 Sat 11-5 ENGLEWOOD STORE WILLOWBROOK MALL
Sunday Closed 2 South Dean Street 1400 Willowbrook Mall
Englewood, New Jersey 07631 Wayne, New Jersey 07470
 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 17

W I N T E R

Dress Coats Car Coats Parkas Suits Sport Jackets

Pants Shirts Ties Shoes Accessories

SALE STARTS
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 22nd.
OPEN THIS SATURDAY NIGHT*
NOVEMBER 25th, 6:45 to 11:00
*Boro Park store will not be open Saturday night

EMPORIO
BORO PARK: 5020 13TH AVENUE, 718.972.4665 | FLATBUSH: 1505 CONEY ISLAND AVE. 718.676.7706 | LONG ISLAND: 467 CENTRAL AVENUE, 516.295.5006
LAKEWOOD: 1700 MADISON AVENUE, 732.987.9480 | TEANECK: 215 W. ENGLEWOOD AVENUE, 201.530.7300
18 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Savvy Chic Consignment Boutique Chanukah

Savvy Chic candles for
Consignment
Boutique offers
charity
The Ultimate in Sharsheret
Luxury Designer Sharsheret is featuring
Consignment. Chanukah for a Cause
Whether you candles, making the world
are looking to a better place one light
buy Chanel, at a time. They are avail-
Louis Vuitton, or able at many synagogue gift
Hermes, or sell shops and in some larger
Chanel, Louis retail stores. To read about
Vuitton, or Sharsheret, the national
Hermes, Savvy not-for-profit organization
Chic Consignment is the answer. As the top-rated consign- that supports young Jewish
ment store in Bergen County, we are your resource for all things women facing breast cancer,
designer. Designer handbags, shoes, clothing, accessories, and go to www.sharsheret.org.
jewelry fill the chic boutique. Our savvy shoppers know we are
their ultimate destination for a huge selection of designer con-
signment. So whether you want to add to your collection or sell
an item to make room in your closet for something new, Savvy
Chic Consignment is the solution. We make consigning as easy Kosher Troops.com
as 1,2,3! and shopping a unique and fun experience. Stop in Kosher Troops.com, supporting our troops one
today to see our constantly changing selection. package at a time, also offers Chanukah for A Cause
30 Cottage Place, Ridgewood candles. Koshertroops was founded to help improve
(201) 389-6900, www.savvychicconsignment.com the morale and welfare of members of the USA
armed forces. The organization sends holiday care
packages that include items that will help them cel-
ebrate the Jewish holidays and Shabbat so that they
RCBC feel connected to the Jewish community while away.
Go to KosherTroops.com.

Clothing for Women and

Children of All Ages
It's a sweet world after all Carlyz Craze
Carlyz Craze is
a fashion-filled,
clothing store
for girls, teens,
Everything and women. Our
you need selection ranges
from everyday
to celebrate basics to seasonal
trendy styles with
the miracle a modest angle.
of Chanukah We keep a steady
flow of new mer-
chandise and offer
great accessories
too. Come in and
OPEN NOVEMBER 25 MOTZEI SHABBOS have fun browsing
or let us help you.
201-833-9950 LOCAL
We strive to give
198 W. ENGLEWOOD AVE. DELIVERIES our customers an enjoyable shopping experience.
WE SHIP 472 Cedar Lane, Teaneck
TEANECK, NJ 07666 THRU USA (201) 342-3398, www.carlycraze.com
ORDERS@THEWORLDOFGOODIES.COM
 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 19

UPCOMING EVENTS and SPRING 2018 SNEAK PEEKS

SAT., DECEMBER 2, 2017 MARRIED TO BROADWAY
SHARP THEATER 8:00 P.M. In Married to Broadway, Ron Sharpe and Barbra
TICKETS: $40/36/30 Russell, along with friends, share their love of Broadway
Children under 17: $20 musicals by performing the big show-stopping
numbers that are audience favorites around the world.

SAT., DECEMBER 9, 2017 AN IRISH CHRISTMAS: AN NOLLAIG

SHARP THEATER 4 & 8 P.M. Eileen Ivers and the Immigrant Soul return to the Berrie
TICKETS: $35/32/25 Center to capture the spirit and magic of the season in
Children under 17: $18 their heartwarming holiday show. Eileen Ivers will
change the way you think about violin.

SAT., JANUARY 20, 2018 BALL IN THE HOUSE

SHARP THEATER 8:00 P.M. This Boston-Based a cappella group makes music
TICKETS: $35/32/25 thatll move ya with a beatbox, vocal bass, and cool
Children under 17: $20 harmonies to create a sound thats hard to believe.

SAT., MARCH 3, 2018

MACK BRANDONS GOSPEL EXPLOSION
Share the joy of Gospel music as Mack Brandon brings
SHARP THEATER 8:00 P.M.
TICKETS: $30/27/24
his fabulous choir back to the Berrie Center for another
Children under 17: $18 unforgettable interactive experience.

SUN., MARCH 4, 2018 CHERISH THE LADIES

SHARP THEATER 3 & 7 P.M. For the past 30 years, Cherish the Ladies has become
TICKETS: $35/32/25 one of the most engaging and influential ensembles in
Children under 17: $18 the history of Irish music.

SUN., MARCH 11, 2018

YESTERDAY AND TODAY: THE INTERAC-
SHARP THEATER 7:00 P.M. TIVE BEATLES EXPERIENCE
TICKETS: $38/35/30 A unique audience interactive concert experience,
Children under 17: $20 where everyone has a story or particular memory
attached to the legendary music of The Beatles.

SAT., APRIL 28, 2018

CROCE: TWO GENERATIONS OF AMERI-
SHARP THEATER 8:00 P.M. CAN MUSIC
TICKETS: $45/40/35 The son of Jim Croce, A.J. Croce has made his own
Children under 17: $30 musical mark, charting on seven radio charts, including
top 40. This show features hits by both A.J. and his Father.

*** ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL. NO EXCHANGES. NO RETURNS.***

Tickets available at the Box Office: 201-684-7844 or @
www.ramapo.edu/berriecenter
20 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Get Creative

Marcias Attic
for Kids Frame It

CHILDRENS AUTHORS
Marcias Attic for Kids Meet & colors and prints, magic Frame It has been in Fair Lawn since 1974, owned and
has the best selection Greet
of Four sequin pillows, bracelets operated by Gail Stussi-Lettera for the last 32 years.

Artie Bennett Alison Formento

holiday gifts for kids of all
ages.Some of this seasons
and back packs, .and
amazing fox fur slippers
She originally purchased the frame shop from her late
brother, William Stussi. Frame It prides itself on being

Irene Breznak Patricia Intriago

most sought after items in- in the yummiest colors! If able to handle anything from one frame to 1,000 frames.
clude drones, slime, you are lucky enough to be They cut wood and metal frames and mats to any size.
Ages putty,
squishies, cool3inflatable
- 10
sleds, and tech accesso-
Sunday, Nov. 13th Noon
heading someplace warm
for a break from the cold,
You can also frame it yourself and purchase a metal
frame and assemble it at home for a special savings.

SHAQUILLE ONEAL ROSEMARY WELLS

ries. Also popular are Swell they even have a fantastic Our convenient Fair Lawn location attracts customers
bottles in all the newest selection of cruise wear. from all over Bergen and Passaic counties. Visit www.
FrameItFairLawn.com and print out a coupon.

My Story
29 North Dean Street, Englewood 34-06 Broadway, Fair Lawn
(201) 894-5701, www.marciasatticforkids.com Author of
(201) 797-1333, www.FrameItFairLawn.com

Shaq Uncut Max & Ruby

Visit our newly
Childrens Books
Tickets Required
EXPANDED LEGO
Sat., Nov. 19th
Tues., Nov. 15th 7PM
DEPARTMENT!
12 Noon

80,000
ELF Book
Meet &
ON Greet
Meet
ROBERT
Titles and
CHILDRENS
THEFourSHELF SABUDA
So Much More!
AUTHORS
Artie Bennett Alison Formento
Author Signing
CarolBreznak
Irene V. PatriciaAllIntriago
Of His
Aebersold
Ages
3 -
Bags
10 Sunday, Nov. 13thGreat
Noon Books
SHAQUILLE ONEAL ROSEMARY WELLS
Saturday, Dec. 3rd 10am Sun., Dec. 4th 12 Noon
Soaps, Lotions
& Candles

PETER My YARROW
Story RANDY
Happy FENOLI
Author of
Adorable Pillows

Gifts
of Peter, Paul
Shaq Uncut Max
Chanukah
Of The&TLC
RubyShow
To Please
& Mary Scarves
Childrens Books
Tickets Required
PERFORMING
Say Yes
Sat., Nov. 19th Everyone Plus
Tues., Nov. 15th 7PM
WITH HIS To The
12 Noon FREE
GUITAR Meet Dress
ELF ON THE St.,
Wed.,
For
SHELF
the Baby Dec.

271 Livingston Author

ROBERT 201-784-2665
7th 7pm
Northvale
SABUDA
Whimsical Menorahs
Thurs., Dec. 8th Wine
6pmWardrobe
Gift Wrapping
Free Parking
Signing
(Next to Applebees)

Carol V.
www.booksandgreetings.com

All Of His
Aebersold Great Books
Saturday, Dec. 3rd 10am Sun., Dec. 4th 12 Noon
 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 21

Footwear

Aetrex
At Aetrex they believe that a healthy body starts from
the ground up. Aetrex shoes proudly feature the
Aetrex Healthy 3 components,including orthotic
support for balance and alignment; memory foam
cushioning for comfort; and anti-microbial technol-
ogy to keep feet healthy and clean. They also feature
foot scanning technology that allows you to deter-
mine your foot size, arch type and pressure points, to
help you find the best shoes to fit your lifestyle.
16 E. Palisade Avenue, Englewood
(201) 408-4765, www.Aetrex.com
Jewelry
Callahan Jewelers
Callahan Jewelers offers fine jewelry and giftware at discounted
prices. Callahan Jewelers and the Callahan family have been
providing a personal and reliable jewelry experience in Northern
New Jersey for 36 years. They provide everything from engage-
ment rings to high-end diamond and gemstone jewelry, sterling
silver jewelry, giftware, watches, custom orders, repairs, ear
piercings, watch battery changes, and more.
220 Closter Dock Road, Closter
(201) 768-6136, CallahanJewelers.com

5 Continents
at

Kosher Gourmet Candy

Nuts Dried Fruit
Gift Baskets Nut Trays Happy
Marzipan Chanukah

10% OFF
Total Purchase Baskets made
Exp. 1/31/18
We ship throughout the U.S. to order

65 Honeck Street, Englewood 201-567-4274 Monday-Friday 10-5

22 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Food indulgences
Pickle Licious
Pickle Licious is a family-run
business based in Teaneck.
They are known for their
small batch, New York-
style pickles, pickled con-
diments, olives, relishes,
tapenades, and hummus.
Newer items include
California Grown Olive Oil,
Balsamic Vinegar, and a fresh
Sea Salt Bar. There more than six-
varieties of cold pressed olive oils
including garlic, jalapeno, and
basil. Gourmet Sea Salts range World of Goodies
from Himalayan to Black Truffle. Visit the newly renovated World of Goodies store
Pickle and olive platters are in Teaneck for Chanukah sweet treats. Youll find
the perfect gift for Shabbat more chocolate, candies, dried fruits, and fresh
and all occasions. Under RCBC nuts. There are custom and ready-made gift bas-
supervision. kets for every occasion including a new baby,
384 Cedar Lane, Teaneck wedding, or b'nai mitzvah, as well as Chanukah
(201) 833-0100 parties, hostess gifts, favor bags/boxes for parties,
www.picklelicious.com candy buffets, and much more to sweeten your
day. Corporate accounts welcome.
198 W. Englewood Avenue, Teaneck
(201) 833-9950
www.Instagram.com/theworldofgoodies

The Best Selection of

Tallitot and Kippot Anywhere!

Come get all your unique Chanukah

Exquisite Styles for Men, Gifts for All Ages Under One Roof
Women, Bar and Bat Mitzvah
Beaded, Crystal and
Toys Jewelry Place Setting
Crocheted Kippot Collectibles Sports Memorabilia
Mention this ad for and Much, Much, More!!!
10% OFF Gift Certificates Available!
201-321-4995 201-880-9080
174 RT. 17 North, Rochelle Park N.J
Lisa Prawer - Glen Rock, NJ
antiquesmallnj/facebook
www.thetallislady.com prayershawl@aol.com www.antiquemallnj.com
 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 23

ENTER TO WIN!
CHANUKAH GIFT
GIVEAWAY
Exclusive Janusz Korczak
menorah made by Gary Rosenthal
from JewishGiftPlace.com
Value $180

Plus
$50 Gift Card from Matisse Chocolatier
$50 Gift Card from Estihana Restaurant
Chanukah Build-A-Bear
Gift Card from the Teaneck Doghouse
Pickle Platter from Pickle Licious
Kosher Kurls Hair Products
Upper Hand Playing Cards by Exuvius

All entries must be received by December 15.

One per person or family.

Name ______________________________________________________________
Street ______________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ________________________________________________________

Winners will be chosen Phone ______________________________________________________________

in a random drawing Email _________________________________________________________

from all entries Mail to Jewish Standard, 1086 Teaneck Rd, Teaneck, NJ 07666 or fax to 201-833-4959 by Dec. 15.
I authorize you to add my name to the Jewish Standard e-mail newsletter list.
received by Dec. 15, 2017.
24 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017

Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts has been baking delicious items for more than
60 years. Nothing pairs with coffee like a donut. Stop in to one of Five Continents
these kosher locations near you. Gift cards available for everyone Five Continents located at the Marlow Candy
on your list. Factory, has a wide selection of Chanukah gifts,
386 Franklin Ave., (at Ivy Plaza), Wyckoff, (201) 891-1133 kosher candies, nuts, marzipan, dried fruits, and
525 Cedar Hill Ave., Wyckoff, (201) 612-7600 cookies. Other choices are sugar-free, nut-free,
886 Prospect St., Glen Rock, (201) 612-9090 gluten-free, and low calorie. There is a fabulous gift
754 Franklin Ave., Franklin Lakes, (201) 891-6545
selection if you need a sweet treat to grab and go.
233 North Franklin Turnpike, Ramsey, (201) 327-2828
Gift wrapping and shipping are available.
22-20 Fair Lawn Ave., Fair Lawn (inside Exxon), (201) 791-5500
65 Honeck Street, Englewood
527 River Drive, Elmwood Park, (201) 791-3113
(201) 567-4274, marlowcandy.net
2284 Route 4 West, Fort Lee, (inside Shell) (201) 242-1400

Yachad Gifts
Yachad Gifts has gift
baskets for all oc-
casions and offers
customized ones
as well. There is an
affordable array of
themed, custom,
and ready-made gift
baskets for friends and
family. The wide selec-
tion includes wines, cof-
fee, gourmet chocolates,
Manischewitz candies, fruit, and nuts for all budgets and occa-
With the holiday spirit of family and sions. Some items include free shipping.
togetherness in mind, Manischewitz Yachad is the Orthodox Union agency dedicat-
offers three interactive, do-it-yourself ed to enhancing the opportunities of individuals
Chanukah dessert-making kits: a donut with disabilities, promoting inclusion and inde-
one, one to create a Chanukah house, pendence through an array of integrated activi-
and one with Chanukah cookies with ties, and ensuring participation in mainstream
decorating icing. Check local kosher Jewish life. The gifts are assembled by Yachad
markets and supermarkets. Go to members, who are involved throughout the
www.manischewitz.com for recipes. process. Visit www.YachadGifts.com or call toll-
free, (855) 505-7500. Speak to a designer about
customizing baskets to fit your needs.
 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017 25

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Only $19.95 (reg. $30.90) plus FREE Shipping and handling to the 48 contiguous states.

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Offer expires 12-31-2017. Some restrictions apply.
26 CHANUKAH GIFT BOOK 2017
Time to relax
The Fountain Spa
Luxury you would find only at a fine resort!
A gift certificate to The Fountain Spa remains high on
the list of favorite gifts to receive. The gift of relaxation,
rejuvenation and a wonderful de-stressor. The Fountain
Spa is consistently voted Best Spa in Bergen County.
Gift certificates are available in person, online, or can be
sent as an eGift. The Perfect Gift for Everyone on your list!
The Shops at Riverside
Route 4 West at Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack
Route 17 North at Franklin Turnpike, Ramsey
(201) 327-5155, www.thefountainspa.com
Classic potato latkes
from Kosher.Com
Main ingredients:
5 potatoes
1 small onion
12 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pepper to taste
Chop onion by hand very finely and place in a
large bowl. Prepare a bowl with water and ice
cubes in it. After grating potatoes (by hand/
food processor), thinly or thickly depending on
preference, put them in the bowl. Drain the grat-
ed potatoes in a salad spinner or wrap them in
a clean towel a few handfuls at a time and wring
out the towel very well (over the bowl of water)
until not a drop of water is left. Quickly add the
potatoes to the bowl of onions. Add remaining
ingredients and mix well.
Back in Touch
Massage Therapy
Therapists at Back in
Touch Massage Therapy
have been providing thera-
peutic and relaxing mas-
sage sessions since 2001.
They offer a Continuing
Wellness Program with
low-cost monthly sessions.
Go online to schedule
your appointment/s or to
purchase gift certificates.
Check their website for
more information.
427 Water Street
Teaneck
(201) 836-0006
www.backintouchteaneck.com
Kosher Kurls
Davida of Davida Aprons offers the
Kosher Kurls Trio, three fun and
functional hair products for back-to-
school, the upcoming holidays, and
everyday use.
The Kosher Kurls (www.kosherkurls.
com) leave-in shmear conditioner, a best-seller on Davidas
website, is made in the United States and promises to control
frizz, a problem for many people when the weather is humid.
Instructions call for washing and conditioning your hair, towel
drying it, and then, while it is still damp, putting a bisel of
Kosher Kurls in the palm of your hand and schmuching and
crunching it into your hair. You can turn your head upside
down, add the conditioner, shake your head, and then throw
your hair back. Kosher Kurls sulfate-free shampoo and every-
day deep conditioner are recommended.
The website, www.davidaaprons.com, offers a special price
on all three that includes shipping. Check out the site for
some great holiday gift-giving ideas, too.
Heat a heavy cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan.
Add oil for frying any oil that wont burn easily at high
heat, i.e. canola, peanut, or corn. Allow to heat up to the
point at which it shimmers and thins out. Turn the heat to
medium/high.
Fry, using about 1/4 cup of batter per latke. Remove the
latkes to paper towels to drain. Allow 30 seconds or so
between batches to let the oil heat back up to right tem-
perature, especially if youre adding oil.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and/or applesauce
on top or on the side. Sprinkle with chopped chives or
parsley if desired.
Courtesy Mishpacha Magazine and Brynie Greisman.
Find more recipes, cooking videos, and cooking short-
cuts for Chanukah and all year long at kosher.com.
 Gift Cards
available for
everyone on
your list.
Under supervision of
KOSHER * Rabbi Isaiah Hertzberg
386 Franklin Ave., (at Ivy Plaza) Wyckoff 201-891-1133*
525 Cedar Hill Ave., Wyckoff 201-612-7600*
886 Prospect St., Glen Rock 201-612-9090*
754 Franklin Ave., Franklin Lakes 201-891-6545*
233 North Franklin Tpke., Ramsey 201-327-2828*
22-20 Fair Lawn Ave., Fair Lawn (Inside Exxon) 201-791-5500*
527 River Drive, Elmwood Park 201-791-3113*
2284 Rt. 4 W., Fort Lee (inside Shell) 201-242-1400*
1132 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 310-576-9200
13300 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 424-835-4096
6201 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 323-536-9220
W h e r e L u x u r y L i v e s
OurChildren
Our
About
Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

Chanukah Lights
Combating Winter Ills Water for Africa
Holiday Gratitude
Supplement to The Jewish Standard December 2017
 THE CHILDRENS CENTER
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2 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017
 OurChildren
About
Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

December 2017

Mitzvah across the Globe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Teaneck tween helps bring water to Sudan

Greatest Chanukah Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..6

Using the holiday to teach gratitude

New Media at School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Gerrard Berman amps up its library

Honing Parenting Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Going from good to excellent

Combating Winters Ills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Preventing the seasons sicknesses

!
Many Menorahs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Special shapes to light up the holiday
All new
! Generation G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 experience!
Home schooling, a solution for some

Top Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Great picks for December
Newer, Better, More Spectacular!
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Thrilling New Rides!
Things to do this month
Giant Slides Giant Spider
Obstacle Course Mountain
Simchas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..15 Air Cannon Alley and Slide
Celebrating our childrens milestones Sports Arena And More!

MissionStatement Birthday Parties!

Giant indoor inflatables
About Our Children is designed to help Jewish families in our area live healthy, positive lives that make the most of Private bounce and party rooms Spider Mountain
the resources available to them. By providing useful, current, accurate information, this publication aims to guide
Hassle-free, easy to plan!
parents to essential information on faith, education, the arts, events, and child-raising in short, everything that
todays Jewish family, babies to grandparents, needs to live life to the fullest in North Jersey and Rockland County.
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OurChildren
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James L. Janoff Natalie Jay Ed Silberfarb
Publisher Advertising Director Adina Soclof
Heidi Mae Bratt Peggy Elias Contributing Writers
Editor
Coming next month:
Janice Rosen Tina Fineberg
Deborah Herman Brenda Sutcliffe Cover Photo
Art Director Account Executives

About Our Children is published 11 times a year by the New Jersey/Rockland Jewish Media Group,
1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666; telephone: 201-837-8818; fax: 201-833-4959.;
Education and enrichment
e-mail: AboutOC@aol.com.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017 3


O Learn About The Revolution In
h, you beautiful doll.
There was Mary Poppins.
There was Hi Heidi. There was
Playtime Tubsy.
Three iconic dolls from my child-
hood, all different, all cherished.
As a girly girl I loved my dolls. They
were my playmates, my hair and fash-
ion subjects, and my training ground in
future nurturance.
Hi Heidi was the first of the trium-
virate. She was a blonde doll who lived
inside a plastic pocketbook case. The
main attraction of Hi Heidi was that she
would wave her hand in an upward ges-
ture when the button on her belly was
pushed. Hi Heidi was so often in a state
of greeting that she must also have
been gesturing bye because, after
all, how many times can one say hi?
While I would help her greet, it wasnt
her friendly nature or penchant for wel-
coming that made me love her.
It was her name! Her name was Hei-
di, and so was mine! To my preschool
sense of affirmation, owning a popular
doll that shared your name was the win-
ning ticket.
Then there was Mary Poppins, a
doll who captured the image of the
Saturdays and Sundays
in November and December
at 11 a.m.
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Early Bird Registration for 2018
Spring & Summer Theater Workshops
Black Box Performing Arts Center (GPS: 290 Walraven)
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4 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017
musings fromTHERE
the ISeditor
AN ALTERNATIVE
popular elegant, magi-
cal English nanny. I got
Mary Poppins at the
same time my brother
got a Secret Sam Spy
kit. I must admit, at first
I thought his briefcase
full of toy equipment
for espionage was more
exciting than my um-
brella-toting, bonnet-
clad doll. She couldnt
shoot bullets out of her
high-button boots the
way the Secret Sam at-
tache case did. But I came to love Mary
Poppins because she reminded me of
Julie Andrews, my favorite actress, who
played her in the movie.
Last came Playtime Tubsy. I got
Playtime Tubsy near the end of my doll-
playing period. I remember my ambiva-
lence about asking my parents to buy
her, but I didnt want to miss the chance
to have this doll. Playtime Tubsy came
with her own bathtub. She looked just
like a baby. The thing about Playtime
Tubsy was that when she was put in
the water, her arms would move up
and down and her hands would splash
the water. She was like an average 19-year-old as opposed to
playing! At the time, a non-realistic body image, Rebecca Ru-
the mechanism that bin, the Jewish American Girl doll, who
HEBREW SCHOOL Education
made Playtime Tubsy lived in the early 20th century and longed
splash was consid- to be an actress, to name a few.
ered ingenious. It had But some things never change.
something to do with Playing with dolls may be sweet and
In Bergen County
the water seeping in fun, but research also suggests benefits
the doll as she sat in beyond a cuddly toy.
the bath, causing a Dolls can help youngsters problem
signal to create move- solve with pretend play.
ment in her arms. Youngsters can develop fine motor
Once she left the wa- skills by arranging and dressing and
ter, the signal would fussing over the dolls.
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE
change and the doll Dolls can help develop language
would stop splashing. skills through the talk and mimicry.
These dolls were Chanukah gifts to Dolls can help prepare a youngster
me from my parents. for a sibling. A doll can help a shy
During the Festival of Lights in our child become more outgoing. Children
LearnAboutTheRevolutionIn
home, the gold standard for gifts was can learn empathy and nurturance
gelt, money. But some years we would with dolls. And a doll also can help a
get presents. Until today, those gifts child feel safe.
are wrapped with indelible memories. So thank you, Mar y, Tubsy,
HEBREWSCHOOLEducation
Memories of affirmation, of identifica- and Heidi.
tion, of communication, and more. And thank you, Mom and Dad.
What of the dolls that are given to Wishing all a Happy Chanukah.
our own daughters and our sons today? Cheers,
InBergenCounty
These dolls reflect our cultural and demo-
graphic changes: the Barbie doctor doll,
the Lammily doll proportioned to look
REGISTRATION OPEN
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE
Learn About The
A Creative andRevolution
Exciting In
HEBREW SCHOOL
HEBREW SCHOOL Education
Education
In Bergen
for Children in County
Grades 3-7
JEWISH Y UTH
ENCOUNTER PROGRAM
Classes meet Sunday mornings
Big Brothers/Sisters mentor each student
Bar & Bat Mitzvah Preparation
Monthly Family Programs
Located in Teaneck (Torah Academy)
No synagogue affiliation required
Contact Dr. Deborah Rapps, Director
201-833-JYEP(5937)
Or visit us at www.JYEP.org
or email debby@jyep.org

Teaneck Tween Brings
Water to South Sudan
S
ometimes one book can make all the
difference in world.
In 1985, the African country of
Sudan was wracked by civil war. Millions
died and more were displaced, fleeing to
refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, and
neighboring countries. Among those who
fled the war-torn desert were thousands
of children, mostly boys, some as young
as 5, who became known as The Lost
Boys of Sudan.
Salva Dut was one of those boys. As
an 11-year old in southwest Sudan, he
first fled to Ethiopia. Later, as a teenager,
he led 1,500 Lost Boys hundreds of miles
through the southern Sudan desert to the
Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Relocat-
ed to the U.S. in 1996, Mr. Dut now leads
Water for South Sudan, Inc., a non-profit
he founded in 2003.
His story is told in the bestseller, A
Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park,
a book that was read by 12-year-old Hai-
ley Diamond in her book club at Yeshivat
Noam. The book was a page-turner and a
life-turner for the Teaneck youngster, who
has taken on the task of helping to bring
fresh water to Sudan as part of her bat
mitzvah project
Hailey, a sixth grader, who loves read-
ing about other cultures, never imagined
how a book, taught in the book club by
Margi Saks, would open her eyes and cre-
ate this drive.
I was so surprised to hear about how
people live, said Hailey. While we can
turn on our faucets and get clean drink-
ing water, life in the Sudan is very differ-
ent. For much of the year the land is dry
and people have to leave their homes and
families behind, and women and children
are forced to walk hours every day to col-
lect water. The water they find is often
dirty and many people die from the water
or the trek to get water.
Water is usually something we take
advantage of, she said. It takes me a
few seconds to get water from my sink.
But in the book we meet an 8-year-old
girl named Nya who walks eight hours
a day, every day, just to get a little bit of
bad, contaminated water. I couldnt be-
lieve this happens now in 2017. When I
finished the book I just wanted to help in
any way I could. I was overwhelmed with
the amount I thought I needed to raise to
make an impact, but I read on their web-
site that small amounts make a huge dif-
ference, even $10 can change a life, and I
launched my campaign.
Hailey and her mother, Stefanie Dia-
mond, contacted Water for South Sudan,
based in Rochester, N.Y., and launched a
Hailey Diamond, right, with Salva Dut at their recent meeting.
fundraising page. She emailed family and
friends apprising them about the dire situ-
ation in South Sudan and asked for dona-
tions. The Teaneck tween also launched a
party business, where she donated mon-
ey she makes by working at local birthday
parties. And she will continue her fund-
raising efforts, asking others to contribute
the money they spend in a week on non-
water drinks, such as sodas, iced tea, etc,
to the cause.
According to Water for South Sudan,
during the November-to-May dry season
in South Sudan most sources of surface
water dry up. This forces millions of
South Sudanese each year to leave their
village homes in search for water. Some
have to abandon their homes and move
all together while others, usually, women
and children, are forced to trek miles
every day to collect water from ponds,
marshes, ditches, or hand-dug wells.
This water is often contaminated with
disease-causing parasites and bacteria.
The results are pain, sickness, even death,
especially among infants and children.
Villagers have no choice about what they
drink. Water, however tainted, is needed
to live. The hunt for water prevents vil-
lages from building stable, basic infra-
structure such as schools, markets, and
medical clinics. Even when villages are
able to build clinics or schools, the build-
ings can stay empty for up to six months
a year because the dry season forces vil-
lagers to find water.
When women and children are forced
to walk up to eight hours a day for wa-
ter, they are unable to do anything else.
This demanding, time-intensive regimen
OurChildren
About
makes getting an education difficult if not
impossible. This is why most children and
especially women in South Sudan do not
even have an elementary education.
According to Salva Dut, Where safe,
clean water flows, education, economic
development, and health spring up. Safe
water brings new hope and opportunities
to South Sudans people, empowering
them to change their lives.
Stefanie Diamond, who has a photog-
raphy business, said she and her family
are extremely proud of Hailey, who is pre-
senting the issue to students at SAR Acad-
emy and at Noam.
So often kids are focused on the
tangible in their every day lives, Ms.
Diamond said. For Hailey to think of oth-
ers and see this need thousands of miles
away, and that she, as an 11 or 12 year old
can make a difference is very special. We
need not only to help those in our com-
munity, but to go outside our community
and as Jews help others who are different
from us.
Ms. Saks, the teacher who ran the
small group of students in their bi-weekly
book club said, As a teacher, this book
made a deep impression on me. I wanted
my students to understand the hardships
that some people deal with on a daily
level and take a moment to think about
the modern conveniences that we give no
thought to or have appreciation of in our
daily lives.
Hailey recently had the opportunity
to meet Mr. Dut, who thanked her for tak-
ing it upon herself to help. When he met
her he told her: Hailey, it is because we
have kids like you, who care about oth-
ers, that the world is still spinning. Our
purpose is to help others, and we are so
grateful to you and proud of everything
youve done.
After the meeting with Mr. Dut she
said she felt amazing and empowered
to change other peoples lives, and
it feels even better that I dont know
them personally.
This issue may not directly affect you
or me, said Hailey. But thats what makes
it all the more important. Its our job to
make the world a better place, and we need
to start with empathy. Caring about people
we dont know and helping improve their
quality of life will change the world.
So far $1,600 has been raised. Haileys
ultimate goal is to dig a well, which costs
$15,000. To donate to Haileys bat mitzvah
project visit https://www.crowdrise.com/
water-for-south-sudan-haileys-bat-mitz-
vah-project/fundraiser/haileysbatmitzvah
or email stefdiamond@gmail.com.
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017 5
OurChildren
About
Chanukah Is a Great Time
To Teach About Gratitude
A D I N A S O C LO F
P
arents are often shocked at their
childrens lack of gratefulness. And
when Chanukah comes around and
they have gotten all their presents, their
bratty, entitled behavior can be even
more noticeable.
Parents are confused: Why arent my
kids happy with what they have? Why
this incessant need for more? Why are
they so ungrateful?
Wanting and desiring things is a very
human trait. We have basic drives and
one of them is the drive to acquire. This
drive is what ultimately causes us to be
curious about our world. It fuels our ambi-
tions and makes us passionate about life.
But left to its own devices without any at-
tempt to rein it in can lead to unhappiness
and dissatisfaction in life.
Our job is to channel their desires
into normal proportions by not giving our
children everything they ask for.
This is what we are seeing in our
children. It is the drive to acquire in an
unadulterated form. It is quite normal for
youngsters to want things and because
of their poor impulse control they need
to have it right now. Our job as parents is
to channel their desires into normal pro-
portions by not giving our children every-
thing they ask for.
What about teens? Havent they
grown out of this?
Teens are also still learning to curb
their drive to acquire. Not only that, stud-
ies have shown that keeping a gratitude
journal helps most adults and even col-
lege students feel happier and more grate-
ful. But when those same studies were re-
peated on teens, there was no significant
increase in their happiness or their ability
to be happy for what they have.
Experts suggest the reason behind
this. Being grateful for what one has
means that you are beholden to the peo-
ple who give you so much; in a teens case
those people are their parents. Teens are
in the process of individuation, trying to
find themselves, and this often results in
pushing their parents away. Their very
real need for independence means that
they would rather feel self-reliant than
grateful to the adults in their life.
So how can we effectively teach our
kids to appreciate what they have?
Here are four simple ways to help
teach our kids to be grateful:
Respect their struggle and learn to
say no
When children and teens are asking us for
6 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017
the latest electronic game, toy or stuffed
animal, we dont need to get upset with
them for their endless, insatiable desires.
Its normal. Understand this hunger for
stuff that your children exhibit. Instead of
getting upset when they start in with their
complaints and requests, view them with
compassion. It is very hard to want things
that you cant have. However, we need to
remember that we do not need to give in
to their urgent pleas. We are the ones re-
sponsible for helping them channel their
desires into normal proportions. We can
and should say no. If they hear that you
actually care about how they feel, they
will be able to accept your no gracefully.
It can sound like this:
Child: Why cant I have the newest
(fill in the device)? All my friends have
them! Why do I always have to be the odd
man out!?
Parent: You sound frustrated, you re-
ally would like that new (whatever). It can
be hard to want things and not get them.
Sadly, you will not be getting it.
Redirect inappropriate behavior
You bought me a green notebook! I asked
for red!
But this isnt my favorite flavor
ice cream!
I told you to pick me up at 1pm and
you were late!
Although they might sound bratty
and spoiled, we want to avoid labeling
our kids in such negative ways. We need
to recognize that most kids and teens
have a hard time understanding an-
others feelings. This makes them look
selfish. They also dont have the easiest
time regulating their feelings, so when
they are disappointed, (by not getting
their favorite ice cream, or the red note-
book) they may just blurt out exactly
what they are feeling.
We need to train our kids to act ap-
propriately and respectfully to us. We also
need to teach them to express their disap-
pointment and their needs in a polite way.
We can also point out how their behavior
affects others.
Teach them to be grateful instead
of entitled. You can gently say: I ex-
pect when I buy you a notebook, even
if it isnt the color you like, that you say
thank you.
Teach them to express their disap-
pointment and needs. You can empathize
and state your expectations and model
respectful language: You sound disap-
pointed about the ice cream. However,
when someone buys you something you
need to say thank you. Next time this hap-
pens you can say, Thanks Mom, next time
you go, can you get me chocolate?
Teach them to understand how
their behavior affects others. You can
talk about your feelings, empathize and
model respectful language: I feel frus-
trated when I am spoken to in this way.
I am sorry for being late, I am sure you
were worried. Next time, you can say:
Mom, I worry, when you dont come on
time. Please let me know if you are going
to be late
Make sure to teach your young chil-
dren to say thank you. If they balk in front
of the overbearing relatives or the store
clerk, pull them aside and gently say, I
know its uncomfortable to say thank you,
but I know you want to be polite and that
is the polite thing to do.
Since my husband is the primary
breadwinner in our family, whenever I go
on a shopping trip with my kids I have
them call my husband to say thank you
for what they have bought. I explain,
Daddy works hard everyday so we can
buy the things we need, lets give him a
call to say, thank you.
Talk about what you are grateful for
Have you ever given this lecture to your
kids: You should appreciate what you
have, there are people starving in Africa!
There are children who are just happy to
play with sticks and rocks! This tactic
just makes kids feel guilty, defensive, and
angry, not more grateful.
Its more effective if we talk about our-
selves and what we appreciate.
The other day, I received a phone call
from someone who was collecting tzeda-
kah for a family that has fallen on some
difficult times. I got off the phone visibly
Adina Soclof is the director of Parent Outreach for A+ Solutions, facilitating How to Talk
So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk workshops as well as workshops based on
Siblings Without Rivalry. For more information, including booking her for speaking engage-
ments refer to www.parentingsimply.com or www.thinkaplus.com.
distressed and my daughter asked what
was wrong. I told her that there was a fam-
ily that was having some sad problems
and they needed tzedakah. When I hear
stories like these I just thank God for all
we have, I said to her. I feel so grateful
for our loving, healthy family.
The indirect lessons taught through
our own actions and words pack a bigger
punch then a moral lecture.
Be a role model
Children do as we do, not as we say. We
need to check our own actions first. Are
we acting in grateful ways?
Do you:
Say thank you to the postman, the
store clerk, and your friends.
Thank your spouse for making dinner,
taking out the garbage, cleaning a clogged
drain or for making the phone call to Aunt
Ethel, something you really didnt want
to do.
Complain about all the things you
dont have.
Run out to buy the latest gadget or
fashion accessory?
Enjoy the simple beauty around you
and share it with your children. The sun-
sets, the sun shining on the snow, laugh-
ing babies and blossoming trees.
Creating an environment in your
home where kids see a living example of
gratefulness will go a long way in teaching
your kids to appreciate what they have.
Chanukah is a time of miracles. Yes, it
might seem impossible but kids can learn
to be grateful with what they have when
we learn respect their struggle and say
no, redirecting their inappropriate behav-
ior, avoiding the lecture and being a role
model of appreciation.

New Media Center at Gerrard Berman Day School
H E I D I M A E B RAT T
I
ts high-tech learning time at the Academies at
Gerrard Berman Day School as it unveiled a
newly equipped and expanded library and me-
dia center to keep pace with 21st century learning.
The Oakland school has received a matching
grant totalling $75,000 from the Legacy Heritage
Fund to renovate the schools library/media center.
These funds help provide cutting edge technology
for students in early childhood through 8th grade.
The new media center is the latest example of the
commitment to enhancing academic curriculum
through technology, officials said. Students at the
Academies at Gerrard Berman Day School are
taught computer science, digital design techniques,
and engineering practices. The lessons advance
their skills in problem solving, analysis, critical
thinking and persistence.
We realized that as time marches on into the
21st century the students needs have changed
and we were fortunate enough to receive a grant to
renovate the space and add technology resources
for our students, said Robert Smolen, the head
of school.
The Academies at GBDS was a beneficiary of
the Legacy Heritage Funds effort to support Jew-
ish education. The fund contributed $37,500 to the
OurChildren
About
project that converted the Jewish day schools li-
brary into a new Library/Media center equipped
with new desktops, laptops, iPads for learning flex-
ibility in and out of the classroom.
As a result of the upgrade, every classroom
and staff member will have greater connectivity
electronically, instructionally and remotely. Stu-
dents and teachers can use the library/media cen-
ter for instruction and develop further technology
skills. Students will be able to create presentations
and access web-based resources that are displayed
in the library/media center. The level of communi-
cation and data transfer between the classroom
and the library/media center will be increased and
teachers and the librarian/media specialist will
develop new computer skills that will enhance in-
struction and library usage.
In addition, said Mr. Smolen, the librarys
books, classroom textbooks, research material and
other reading and resource materials are online for
the learning flexibility and convenience of students.
While the new center has progressed the
school digitally and technologically, Mr. Smolen
added that Gerrard Berman still has 4,000 books
in its library to continue to promote literacy the
old-fashioned way.
Heidi Mae Bratt is the editor of About Our Children. Children at Gerrard Bermans library/media center.
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017 7
OurChildren
About

From Good to Great

Honing a Set of Parenting Skills
A D I N A S O C LO F them, You cant be too hot, its cold outside, You cant
be fullyou only ate one bite of your sandwich. The

P
arenting is one of our toughest jobs. When we fact is, we dont know how another person can feel, even
leave the hospital with our baby safely ensconced our own children. We need to teach our kids to trust their
in his or her car seat, we are on our own. Theres own gut and instincts; it will serve them well when they
no instructional manual, no degree we need to have. It need to make tough decisions without us. To do that,
seems as if parenting is all on-the-job training. It doesnt its better to say, It feels cold to me, but not to you
have to be. Heres a short primer on things you need to everyone feels things differently. Or One bite of that
know to raise children in a positive, healthy way. sandwich is enough for you, you know how to read your
hunger signals
1. Bring Jewish values and traditions
into your home 7. Shower your children with love
Teaching children to embrace Jewish values and tradi- Children need their parents attention to thrive. They
tions is one of the best gifts we can give our children. also need to know that we love them just the way they
The Jewish faith introduced the world to the importance are. To do that, we want to try to spend time with them
of family, kindness, justice, peace, charity, honesty, and on their terms. Find out what they love to do, whether
so much more. These are bedrock principles that will en- its going to their favorite ice cream store, playing their
sure that your children will behave with integrity. Jewish favorite sport with them in the backyard, or even reading
traditions, Shabbat and the holidays, prayer, and other respectful, and loving, we need to be kind, respectful, and the same books they are reading and discussing them.
rituals lend stability, unity, and a strong sense of identity. loving. They need to see us living our Jewish values, by And enjoy spending time with them! Its important to tell
These are essential ingredients in building emotionally giving charity, promoting peace in our interactions with your children that you love them, I am so happy that
healthy children. others, and by being truthful (no lying about their age to God gave you to me; I love being your mother/father
get the discount at the amusement park.). and to demonstrate that love with physical affection like
2. You are the best teacher hugs, kisses, and ruffling their hair.
Children do what we do, not what we say. If we want to 3. Children are not natural listeners
be a good role model for our kids, we need to walk the We are often surprised, indignant, and angry when our 8. Know your childs strengths
walk and talk the talk. If we want our children to be kind, child doesnt listen to us. The fact is, it is hard for kids to Every person is created with their own strengths and
listen to all the things that they need to do. From morning talents. As parents, our job is to help our child discover
to night, they need to listen to instructions given to them those strengths and talents.
Gymnastics Silks & Hammocks & Lyra by adults. They are not being bad; they often dont have We can ask ourselves:

Cresskill the attention, energy, or will to follow through. Instead of What is my childs strength?
Dance Acting Musical Theater Voice Choreography

Fencing Princess Dance and more age 2-1/2 to adults

getting mad, focus on helping your kids listen, make eye What characteristic of my child brings me joy?

Performing Arts contact when giving instructions, validate their feelings,

I know its tough to stop playing with your Legos to get
300 Knickerbocker Rd Cresskill ready for bed Or make it fun: Lets pretend we are
airplanes and fly to the car.
IMAGINE YOUR CHILD,
4. They test limits
DANCING, SINGING, Children need rules and limits that are fair and consis-
LEARNING AND HAVING tent. It makes them feel safe, secure, and encouraged.
FUN IN THE ARTS! When we are wishy-washy with our rules, kids feel root-
less and dont know what to expect. When children fight
the rules, they are really testing us to see if we actually
mean what we say. We need to stick to our guns and gen-
tly and respectfully enforce the rules that we have for
our family.
5. Most children respond well to positive
reinforcement
Your best bet to having great children is to give them
loads of attention when they are behaving in positive
waysfor example, when they get into bed on time,
brush their teeth, and come when they are called. Ironi-
cally, we usually give our kids more attention when they
REGISTER NOW are misbehaving. When we give attention to a kids nega-
Classes are filling fast! tive behavior, we inadvertently reinforce their negative
behavior. When we only focus on their positive behavior,
Go to cresskillperformingarts.com we reinforce their positive behavior. It takes a while to
to reserve your spot for a Trial Class. retrain our brains to look for the positive, but it is well
Questions? worth the effort.
201 390-7513 201 266-8830
6. Let them experience their own feelings
studio-info@cresskillperformingarts.com Children need to own their own feelings. You cant tell
www.cresskillperformingarts.com
What gives my child the most joy?
What comes easy to them?
They might be very different from what we expect.
A father who values academics might have a child who
loves the arts or vice versa.
Children thrive and flourish when they feel that
their authentic selves are valued and appreciated by
their parents.
9. Foster independence
We need to live our lives as parents knowing that our
children are only ours for a short time. Our job is to teach
them to go out into the world and make their mark, and
contribute to our society in positive ways. We need to
teach them to think independently and have the tools
they need to make good decisions. We need to find ways
to encourage their autonomy by asking their opinions,
What do you think would be the best way to schedule
our day? Give them choices, Do you want to wear your
green or blue shirt today? and responsibility and chores
around the house.
Parenting is indeed a tough job, but it is also one of
the most rewarding. And you are uniquely suited to raise
your kids.
Adina Soclof is the director of Parent Outreach for A+
Solutions, facilitating How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and
Listen So Kids Will Talk workshops as well as workshops
based on Siblings Without Rivalry. For more information,
including booking her for speaking engagements, refer to
www.parentingsimply.com or www.thinkaplus.com.

8 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017

 OUR GREAT BIG
CHANUKAH GIFT Lets Get Lit!
GIVEAWAY CO M P I L E D BY H E I D I M A E B RAT T

F
un and funky menorahs not only light up the night and help celebrate the eight-day
holiday of Chanukah, but light up our imagination. These menorahs are just a few
bright ideas.
Shalom Gift Card
Sesame Teaneck
6 DVDs $50
Doghouse Finger puppet menorah candles? A handy
Complete Set Gift Certificate Restaurant
idea and perfect for those too young for the
real thing.
from
Estihana
Restaurant

Hard Candy
Eau de Parfum Girling Up
& Book by
Body Mist Mayim Bialik

Chanukah
Build a
Bear

Hand-Dyed
I Got You Bamboo Blanket The wheels on the bus, oh, we mean the roof on
Something From
the bus! Antiqued metal candle cups rest on the
rooftop of this vintage-style yellow school bus The holiday seems to be over in a flash, as fast as
Baking Mold Austin by Copa Judaica. this retro Vespa-style Scooter Menorah by Copa
Judaica.
& Recipe Book Tie Dye Co.

Courtesy of About Our Children and our Advertisers

Random drawing from all entrees received

will be held Monday, December 15.
To enter, just fill out the form below and return it by mail or fax. Winners will be
Youll never forget Chanukah with
notified by phone or email. this Elephant Menorah. Just a good
reminder of the happy holiday.
Name ______________________________________________________________

Street ______________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip ________________________________________________________

Phone ______________________________________________________________

Email _______________________________________________________________ Lotta latkes light

the night with
Age of Child (Children) _________________________________________________ this conversation
piece latke pan
Mail to: hand-painted
New Jersey/Rockland Jewish Media Group, menorah by Zion
1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Or fax to: 201-833-4959 Judaica.
By December 15, 2017
Menorahs available at www.moderntribe.com

10 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017

1 2

3 1. Students at the Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies participated in

Mitzvah Day recently. Students went to the Jewish Federation of Northern New
Jersey headquarters in Paramus where they packed activity bags for teens battling
cancer, sorted and packed baby clothing to be sent to Israel, and memory books for
Alzheimers patients. Another group went to Mevo Fresh Roots Farm in Mahwah to
plant, weed, and prepare the ground for winter.
2. Middle school students and Chani Gurkov of The Friendship Circle of Passaic
County partnered with residents of Sienna Village in Wayne for an evening of
socializing, crafts and fun for its first Heart to Heart meeting.The students helped the
seniors make jars of sugar scrubs to use on their skin for the winter.
3. Sixth grade religious school students at Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley
participated in the Kehillah Partnership with nine other congregations in the
northern New Jersey area. Teachers, students and presenters came together to share
knowledge, meet new friends, and have a fun experience.

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ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017 11


The Mom and Pop School
The One Happening at Home
E D S I L B E R FA R B
R
abbi Leib has a masters in
Jewish education and gained
smicha three years ago. His
wife Sadie teaches art and computer
graphics in the local school system
where she gets health benefits for
herself and her family. Also, she is
working towards a masters degree in
education. They have three children,
Molly, 5, Reuben, 3, and Obie, 1.
Leib likes to teach, but may
have to take a dreary job as school
administrator. He and Sadie would
be working full-time to provide pri-
vate school for Molly and Reuben
(about $20,000 each in a yeshiva)
and costly child care for Obie.
Whoa there, says Leib. Were
outsourcing our children, work-
ing full-time so someone else can
raise them.
Thus began Rabbi Leibs one-
room schoolhouse, which expands
to the bedroom, porch, and kitchen.
Molly, who reads at a second-grade
level, sits at the child-size table with
Arnold Lobels Frog and Toad se-
ries. Sometimes she takes a break
and reads to Reuben, who wants to
hear the same stories over and over
again. He has already memorized
The Little Engine That Could and
Goodnight Moon.
Reuben is at work on counting
and letter recognition. He counts to
five accurately. Good correct, he No place like home to learn the ABCs and more.
says and then to ten with a few mis-
takes, Bad correct.
A video helps with letter recognition. Theres the one
that shows each letter animated. An ANT is crawling on
the tree. An APPLE falls from the tree. ADAM finds the AP-
PLE. Each A word brings a chorus of shrieks and cheers.
Reuben knows about half the letters, Leib says.
The kids are now playing. Nothing should be rushed.
Let them enjoy the moment.
For arithmetic theres the basic picture book. (If you
have five bunny rabbits and three run away, how many
do you have left?), but Leib also makes use of a more
sophisticated instrument, an abacus with red and white
beads that Molly can manipulate for multiplication, no
longer the dreary rote memorizing of the times table.
When I was doing multiplication, I didnt know what
I was doing, Leib says. Until I studied for the Graduate
Record Exam I didnt know what math was all about.
Even penmanship is in the curriculum. I would like
to go to the playground, Molly writes. Her handwriting
needs improvement, says Leib, who points out letters
that are not the same size and words that run together.
He explains spacing the width of her pinky. We soon find
12 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017
GENERATION G
out that handwriting these days means printing, not cur-
sive. Cursive may come later or not at all, says Leib.
The old-fashioned longhand has become the victim of the
word processor.
Meanwhile, Obie may be playing, taking a nap, or learn-
ing baby sign language with Leib signaling up, down, ent method for the English alphabet. He has ordered a set
eat, and drink. Reuben is watching his ABC video. The of letters printed in sandpaper. Leib would like to do the
day is not all schoolwork, though. After a one-on-one learn-
ing session with Molly, Leib calls for a play break. There
are at least one or two play breaks, perhaps outside. It
depends how much weve covered. There are also arts
and crafts. The current project is weaving a lanyard.
A criticism of home schooling is isolation and lack of
socialization. A large classroom isnt a good social set-
ting. Its more like a mob, says Leib. I was a teacher. I happy environment. When you push the curriculum, you
was unhappy with the classroom model. It brings out the
worst in kids, like Lord of the Flies. The teacher rules by
force and the kids learn by fear, and theres no longtime
relationship with a different teacher each year.
A better social situation is with two or three friends.
We might spend Shabbos with other families who have
kids Mollys and Reubens age. Molly did a sleepover Sat-
urday night with one.
In a home school, siblings get
to know each other. After all, theyre
going to spend the rest of their
lives together.
But kids will be kids. There was
the time Reuben, angelic-looking
with long, blond hair, threw a toy at
Leib for reasons his father couldnt
figure out. Then he did it again. The
problem was then solved. He just
wanted to be held, Leib said.
Even Molly, who seems never
without a smile and a hug for all, has
her contrary moments, like dump-
ing piles of books on the floor and
refusing to put them away.
Then theres lunch. Leibs menu
involves a mandatory vegetable fol-
lowed by a favorite like toast with
jam, pasta, or even a potato pan-
cake for Molly and Reuben. Obies
meal is more specialized. He is
breast-fed, not one of Leibs kitchen
skills. No problem. Sadie expresses
milk to leave for him before she
goes to work.
In a yeshivas early learning,
Yiddishkeit is part of the program.
Is it neglected in Rabbi Leibs
home school?
We learn about the holidays,
English first and Hebrew later. Mish-
na first and Chumash later. Mishna
is easier, with simple words and
pictures, like Mishna Succah, for
example. Its more age appropriate.
Often with Chumash, the student
just repeats after the teacher. Better
to learn Hebrew from story books.
A traditional way to introduce a three-year-old to He-
brew letters is to coat the letters with honey, and have
the child trace the aleph bet with his finger, thus associat-
ing the sweetness of the alphabet. Rabbi Leib has a differ-
same for the Hebrew letters. The youngster would learn
by touch as well as sight, but not by taste, and it would
be less messy.
Leibs home school program covers the essentials,
but he disavows the need for a structured curriculum.
My goal is not so much covering the material in a formal
curriculum, but rather to create a warm atmosphere, a
lose the learning.
Ed Silberfarb was a reporter for the Bergen Record in New
Jersey, then the New York Herald Tribune, where he was City
Hall bureau chief. Later, he was a public information officer
for the New York City Transit Authority and editor of one of its
employee publications.
 OurChildren
About

TopChoices D E C E M B E R 2 0 17
CO M P I L E D BY H E I D I M A E B RAT T

Jazz Clarinetist
Mr G Concert Celebrates Oran Etkin Concert
Chanukah
Renowned jazz clarinet-
ist Oran Etkin founded
Timbalooloo to immerse
Join Latin Grammy-winning chil- children and their families
drens musician Mister G (Ben in the beauty and excite-
Gundersheimer) for an interactive ment of a range of musical
and high energy Chanukah con- traditions through music
cert with music spanning genres classes, concerts, and
from bluegrass to bossa nova, funk albums. Mr. Etkin returns
to folk. Hear new twists on holiday to The Jewish Museum
songs from his Parents Choice with fresh stories and
Gold award-winning album, The songs after a fall tour to
Mitzvah Bus, along with catchy Zimbabwe and Kenya.
tunes from his many bilingual Families will embark
albums including Los Animales, on an interactive musi-
which will have kids, parents, and cal journey through the
grandparents dancing in the aisles. African landscape. Sing,
Great for children 3 to 8 years old. Sunday, December 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. dance, drum, and dis-
Scheur Auditorium, The Jewish Museum,1109 Fifth Ave., Manhattan. 212-423-3200, cover how Etkins friend
www.thejewishmuseum.org. Clara Net (his clarinet!)
can talk musically with
various traditional African
instruments, creating
exciting music that transcends borders. Great for children 2 through
7. Monday, December 25, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Scheur Auditorium,
The Jewish Museum,1109 Fifth Ave., Manhattan. 212-423-3200,
www.thejewishmuseum.org.

Junie B. Jones The Musical

at Black Box Performing Arts Center
Junie B. Jones The Musical, the heartwarming adaptation of the best-selling book series by
Barbara Park, is playing Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. at Black Box Performing Arts Center. Its
the first day of first grade, and a lot is happening: Junie B.s very best friends have found new pals
to hang out with, the words on the blackboard are fuzzy and nonsensical (could this mean she
needs ~gasp~ glasses?!?), and Junie B. must find a way to let her talents shine at the big Kickball
Tournament. Join Junie B. as she navigates the ups and downs of the school year, featuring a lov-
able cast of characters, memorable songs, and dances that will make you want to jump up and
join in! This comical musical is sure to delight audiences of all ages. Black Box Performing Arts
Center, 200 Walraven Drive, Teaneck. 201-357-2221.
These Guys Still
Got the Beat
Using nothing more than the human voice, a clean-cut presentation, and
a little Jewish humor, The Maccabeats are able to connect with fans of all
backgrounds and ages. This all-male a capella group was originally formed
in 2007 as the student vocal group at Yeshiva University in Manhattan.
Theyve since traveled the world delighting audiences with their artistry.
They are coming to bergenPAC in Englewood just in time to usher in
Chanukah. Wednesday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m. bergenPAC, 30 North
Van Brunt St., Englewood, 201-227-1030, www.bergenpac.org.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017 13


The Good Life With Kids
DECEMBER
To Our Readers: This calendar is a day-by-day schedule of events. Although all information is as timely as we can make it, its a good idea to call to
verify details before you go.
Tuesday, November 28
Parenting Series at Beth Aaron: Rabbi Larry
Rothwachs will offer a lecture series, Perspectives
on Jewish Parenting in an Ever Changing World
at 8:30 p.m. The series is free and open to the
public. Topic: Parenting on Purpose: The Goals,
Objectives and Measures of Jewish Parenting.
Congregation Beth Aaron, 950 Queen Anne Road,
Teaneck. For information office@bethaaron.org.
Saturday, December 2
Havdalah in Woodcliff Lake: A havdalah service
is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. for families with chil-
dren 8 years old and younger, featuring the music
of Matty Roxx. Rabbi Monosov and Cantor Sokoloff
will join in. After havdalah there will be a story and
a treat. Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley, 87
Overlook Drive, Woodcliff Lake. 201-391-0801,
www.tepv.org.
Sunday, December 3
Chanukah Program at JCC/Congregation Beth
Tikvah: The Jewish Community Center of Paramus/
Congregation Beth Tikvah is holding a free
Chanukah Sunday Special as part of its Hebrew
School program. Children ages 4 through 8 are
welcome to hear the story of Chanukah, make a
usable Chanukiya, decorations and eat sufganiyot.
From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. 304 East Midland Ave.,
Paramus. 201-262-7733, edudirector@jccpara-
mus.org.
Menorah Workshop: The Friendship Circle of
Passaic County will be holding a free workshop
from 10 a.m. to noon. Youngsters can build their
own menorahs. This is an all-inclusive event at
Totowa Home Depot, 545 U.S. 46, Totowa. Enjoy
Chanukah treats, music and refreshments. RSVP
at fcpassaic county.com or 973-694-4970.
Wednesday, December 6
Preschool Storytime at the Library: Children age (fried doughnuts). No charge. Congregation Bnai
3 1/2 to 5 are invited to a preschool story time.
From 3 to 4 p.m. Teaneck Public Library, 840
Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201-837-4171.
My First Book Club: This club is for children in family-oriented event featuring food, music and
kindergarten or first grade. The club will read a hands-on activities. For children 3 to 10. From 10
book in preparation for the meeting, discuss and a.m. to noon. Free for children and grandchildren.
do crafts and other activities. From 4 to 4:45
BAR MITZVAH LESSONS
Given by Bruce Friedman
201-655-8074 bif061980@gmail.com
Learn Torah and Haftorah portions
Cantillation notes for Torah and Haftorah
Instruction for putting on Tefillin
Find out where the cantillation notes originated from,
why they were necessary, and other interesting facts.
14 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN DECEMBER 2017
p.m. Teaneck Public Library, 840
Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201-837-
4171.
Thursday,
December 7
Teens Book Club: The Newbery
Book Club at the Teaneck Public
Library is for graders 6 through 8.
Members read and discuss pos-
sible award winners. Meets one
Thursday a month from 4 to 5
p.m. Advance registration. Teaneck
Public Library, 840 Teaneck Road,
Teaneck. 201-837-4171. See Chanukah on Ice, Tuesday, December 12
Friday, December 8
Shabbat and Pre-Chanukah Event: Drums,
puppets, prayers, and stories will be part of
Congregation Bnai Israels family service for
children ages 7 and under from 6:30 to 7:30
p.m. The theme for this service will be Enjoying
Shabbat and Looking Forward to Chanukah!
Congregation Bnai Israel, 53 Palisade Ave.,
Emerson. 201-265-2272, office@bisrael.com,
www.bisrael.com.
Saturday, December 9
Kids Music and Songs: Come and listen to great
music while enjoying the atmosphere at this
Friendship Circle event at the Chabad Center in
Passaic County. Event goes from 7 to 8 p.m. 194
Ratzer Road, Wayne. Registration fcpassaiccounty.
com or call 973-694-6274
Sunday, December 10
MusicTalks at Bnai Israel: Enjoy a concert for
the whole family. MusicTalks features young musi-
cians who use a blend of music and conversations.
Join the musical petting zoo and eat sufganiyot
Israel, 53 Palisade Ave., Emerson. 201-265-2272,
office@bisrael.com, www.bisrael.com.
Latkapalooza!: Get ready for Chanukah at this
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place,
Manhattan. 646-437-4202, www.mjhnyc.org.
Big Bird, Batman and
Bnai Torah: Discussion at
Congregation Beth Aaron
with Dr. Shalom Fisch who
will discuss Big Bird, Batman,
and Bnai Torah: Using TV and
Comic Books to Educate and
Inspire Children 7:30 p.m.
Decades of research show that,
just as negative media can influ-
ence kids negatively, positive
educational media can make a
significant contribution to chil-
drens learning, behavior, and
growth. 950 Queen Anne Road,
Teaneck. 201-836-6210.
Tuesday,
December 12
Chanukah on Ice: Chabad
Centers of New York City invite
you to skate away the first night
of Chanukah. Chanukah on Ice
OurChildren
About
To Add Your Event to Our Calendar
Send it to:
Calendar Editor
About Our Children
New Jersey/Rockland Jewish Media Group
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 0766 AboutOCaol.com
or fax it to: 201-833-4959
Deadline for January issue (published December 29):
Tuesday, December 19
Tuesday, December 19
Night of Giving: Congregation Bnai Israel hosts
a Night of Giving from 5 to 6 p.m. Open to all
school-aged children, attendees will light Chanukah
candles, sing s ongs, enjoy latkes and apple sauce,
and participate in a craft to be donated to people
in need. Attendees are also invited to bring and
donate a new book and/or a new pair of pajamas
for a child up to 18 years for the Pajama Program.
Congregation Bnai Israel, 53 Palisade Ave.,
Emerson. 201-265-2272, office@bisrael.com,
www.bisrael.com.
Parenting Series at Beth Aaron: Rabbi Larry
Rothwachs will offer a lecture series, Perspectives
on Jewish Parenting in an Ever Changing World
at 8:30 p.m. The series is free and open to the
runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Wollman Rink in Central
public. Topic: The Spirit of the Law and the Law
Park, Manhattan. Food, music and skating for all to
of the Spirit: Fostering Spirituality in Our Children.
celebrate the first light. $25 skate rental; $18 no
Congregation Beth Aaron, 950 Queen Anne Road,
skate rental. Entrance fee slightly higher at door.
Teaneck. office@bethaaron.org.
Wednesday, December 13
Wednesday, December 20
Preschool Storytime at the Library: Children age
Preschool Storytime at the Library: Children age
3 1/2 to 5 are invited to a preschool story time.
3 1/2 to 5 are invited to a preschool story time.
From 3 to 4 p.m. Teaneck Public Library, 840
From 3 to 4 p.m. Teaneck Public Library, 840
Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201-837-4171.
Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201-837-4171.
Friday, December 15 Friday, December 22
Chanukah Dinner at Bnai Israel: The Mens
Shabbat in Closter: Temple Beth El invites the
Club of Congregation Bnai Israel hosts its annual
community to join them for a Shabbat Evening
Chanukah Shabbat dinner with latkes, songs,
Service at 7:30 p.m. led by Rabbi David S.
games and activities for the whole family. $14 per
Widzer and Student Cantor Julie Staple. 221
adult, $8 per child, $40 per family. Congregation
Schraalenburgh Road, Closter. 201-768-5112. www.
Bnai Israel, 53 Palisade Ave., Emerson. 201-265-
tbenv.org www.tbenv.org. 201 768-5112.
2272, office@bisrael.com, www.bisrael.com.
Chanukah at Temple Emeth: Temple Emeth holds Monday, December 25
its annual family Shabbat service for Chanukah
Spend the day at the museum: The Museum of
at 8 p.m. The service will feature the music of the
Jewish Heritage offers a day-long event from 10
Temple Emeth Band. A 6 p.m. dinner will precede
a.m. to 6 p.m. Adult and family-friendly tours with
services. Dinner $30 adults; $10 children 4 to 12.
Bring menorahs, candles, friends and a can of non-
museum admission. Children 12 and younger are
free. Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place,
perishable food for the Center for Food Action.
Manhattan. 646-437-4202, www.mjhnyc.org.
1666 Windsor Road, Teaneck. 201-833-1322,
www.emeth.org.
Tuesday,
Shabbat/Chanukah in Closter:
Temple Beth El in Closter invites
December 26
the community to 101 Menorahs, Parenting Series at Beth
a family-friendly Shabbat-in- Aaron: Rabbi Larry Rothwachs
Chanukah Service at 6:45 p.m. will offer a lecture series,
led by Rabbi David S. Widzer, Perspectives on Jewish
Parenting in an Ever Changing
Rabbi Beth Kramer-Mazer and
World at 8:30 p.m. The series
Student Cantor Julie Staple.
is free and open to the public.
Bring your Chanukah menorah
Topic: Stepping In and Stepping
and seven candles (one for the
Aside: Inspiring Independence
Shamash!) to the Temple as we all
in a Scary World. Congregation
light our menorahs together. 221
Beth Aaron, 950 Queen Anne
Schraalenburgh Road, Closter. 201-
Road, Teaneck. office@bethaar-
768-5112. www.tbenv.org www.
on.org.
tbenv.org. 201 768-5112.
Sunday, Friday,
December 17 December 29
Build Lego Menorah: Join in to Shabbat in Closter: Temple
build the tallest menorah with Beth El invites the commu-
Legos. This family event will take nity to join them for a Kabbalat
Shabbat Service at 6:30 p.m.
place at 4 p.m. at Temple Beth
Tikvah, 950 Preakness Ave., 221 Schraalenburgh Road,
Wayne. Join Lego Guro Architect, Closter. 201-768-5112. www.
tbenv.org, www.tbenv.org. 201
Stephen Schwartz for this event.
$45 per family. Dinner included. 768-5112.
973-595-6565, www.temple-
bethtikvahnj.org. See Build Lego Menorah,
Sunday, December 17

Simchas
B'nai Mitzvah
JACK BELLANTONE
Jack Bellantone, son
of Andrea and Michael
Bellantone of Wyckoff and
brother of Nora, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah on
October 21 at Temple Beth
Rishon in Wyckoff.
ISABELLE BENEDICT
Isabelle Benedict, daughter
of Julie and Jeffrey Benedict
of Woodcliff Lake and sister
of Jack and Samantha, cel-
ebrated becoming a bat mitz-
vah on October 28 at Temple
Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley in Woodcliff Lake.
DYLAN COCHIN
Dylan Cochin, daughter of
Stephanie and Glenn Cochin
of Woodcliff Lake and sister
of Perri, celebrated becoming
a bat mitzvah on November
11 at Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff
Lake.
OurChildren
About
AUSTIN STEINER
Austin Steiner, son of Nancy
Steiner of River Edge and
David Steiner of Teaneck, cel-
ebrated becoming a bar mitz-
vah on October 28 at Temple
Emeth in Teaneck.
JORDAN TOBIAS
and Paramus, and Gloria and
the late Melvin Lieberstein of Jordan Tobias, son of Sherri
Paramus. MAX NUSSBAUM SAMUEL SHULMAN and Daniel Tobias and brother
Max Nussbaum, son of Pilar Samuel Shulman, son of Amy of Sara, celebrated becoming
and Gary Nussbaum of and Seth Shulman of Upper a bar mitzvah on October 28
Mahwah, celebrated becoming Saddle River and brother of at Congregation Beth Sholom
a bar mitzvah on October 21 Rachel, celebrated becoming in Teaneck.
at Barnert Temple in Franklin a bar mitzvah on November
Lakes. 19 at Temple Emanuel of the SYDNEY WEITZNER
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Sydney Weitzner, daughter of
Lake. Andrea and Michael Weitzner
of Tenafly, celebrated becom-
BENJAMIN DOBRINER
ing a bat mitzvah on October
Benjamin Dobriner, son of 28 at Temple Beth El of
Ericka and Kenneth Dobriner Northern Valley in Closter.
of Upper Saddle River and
JOSHUA FISHMAN
brother of Sydney, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah Joshua Fishman, son of
Pamela and Simon Fishman
Send us
on November 2 at Temple
of Oakland and brother of your simchas!
Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley in Woodcliff Lake. Matthew, celebrated becom- We welcome simcha
ing a bar mitzvah on October announcements for
JESSIE POLSON
7 at Temple Beth Rishon in births and bnai mitzvah.
Wyckoff. Jessie Polson of Woodcliff Announcements are sub-
Lake, daughter of Lori Polson SOPHIE STARR ject to editing. There is a
and Steven Polson and brother Sophie Starr, daughter of $10 charge for photos.
of Benjamin, celebrated Melissa and David Starr of Photos must be high reso-
becoming a bar mitzvah on River Vale and sister of Evan, lution jpg files.
November 18 at Temple celebrated becoming a bat
Emanuel of the Pascack Valley mitzvah on November 4 Call (201) 837-8818 for
in Woodcliff Lake. at Temple Emanuel of the information.
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Email to
Lake. pr@jewishmediagroup.com
KATE FEINER
Kate Feiner, daughter of Drs.
Shoshana and Leonard Feiner
HARRISON
of Ridgewood and sister of
PARTY
KESSLER-STEIN
Amelia and Ella, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on Harrison Kessler-Stein, son
October 15 at Temple Beth of Judy Kessler and Bill Stein
Rishon in Wyckoff. of Hawthorne, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah on
November 18 at Temple
JOANNE DISTASI OF STOLEN MOMENTS, INC.
Beth Rishon in Wyckoff.
GIULIANNA MARIE STUDIOS
JORDANA FERGANG
Jordana Fergang, daughter
973-661-9368
of Cantor Barbra Lieberstein
JOSHUA KRAKOVSKY
and Scott Fergang of Ramsey
and sister of twins Sara Joshua Krakovsky, son of
and Joshua, 15, celebrated Jenny and Isaac Krakovsky of
becoming a bat mitzvah on Franklin Lakes and brother of
October 28 at Temple Beth Jessica, celebrated becoming
Rishon in Wyckoff. As a a bar mitzvah on November
tzedekah project, she col- 11 at Temple Israel & Include:
lected coloring books, cray- Jewish Community Center in 1 hours of skating (during public session)
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ons, toys, and gifts cards for Ridgewood. Off ice party attendant
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Pizza and soda
out of Hackensack University Personalized Carvel ice cream cake
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parents are Madlyn and the Birthday child receives FREE Ice Vault T shirt
late Larry Fergang of Mahwah,
formerly of Monroe Township
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Their troubled brother wandered into Gaza
Now his Ethiopian-Israeli family wants U.S. help to get him back.
RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON Ilan Mengistu knows his pitch to res-
cue his brother, Avera, should be a no-brainer to Jews
pidyon shvuyim, the redemption of the hostage, is
among the greatest of commandments.
But Mengistu also knows that the story he has to tell
is not the straightforward narrative longed for by those
who would do good: Avera was not a soldier, nor was he
captured, exactly.
Instead, he crossed into the Gaza Strip of his own
volition.
Mengistu came to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.,
last week with his mother to raise awareness of the
plight of his brother, who has been held captive, pre-
sumably by Hamas, since September 2014. Meeting with
Jewish organizations and lawmakers, the pair are hoping
for the kind of activist and diplomatic pressure that res-
cued the Mengistus from a repressive regime in Ethiopia
and brought them to Israel on Operation Solomon in the
early 1990s.
For that to happen, Mengistu knows he must start at
the beginning of a difficult tale: The birth 31 years ago in
Ethiopia of a brother so beloved his mother named him
after an Amharic word for light.
They say a name shapes an identity, Mengistu said,
meeting a reporter last week in a hotel lobby here. Avera
was ebullient and loving, his brother recalled. He was
the light in our house. We would feel him around the
Shabbat table and on holidays.
Light nourishes but also fades: Avera Mengistu, suf-
fering from a mental disorder, managed to keep it
under control as long as his older brother, Michael, was
around. He, his five other brothers, and their three sis-
ters idolized Michael, who Mengistu says served in Isra-
els esteemed Golani unit and imposed army-like disci-
pline at home.
In 2012, Michael, deep into an ascetic journey, starved
himself; he was hospitalized but still he died. Thats
when Avera began to fade.
He was institutionalized twice over the next two
A relative, protesting in Israel on August 17, 2015, wears a shirt with a picture of Avraham Mengistu.
 JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Jewish World
years, but each time he was released within less than Jewish and in need of rescue from the repressive regime in
two weeks. And then, on Sept. 7, 2014, Avera left the power at the time. There is a deep connection between the
familys Ashkelon home and walked into the Gaza Strip. Jewish community here and the Ethiopian Jewish commu-
He was imprisoned by Hamas, the terrorist organiza- nity, he said.
tion controlling Gaza. Mengistu had indications from Yonit Fenta, a relative and an activist helping the family, trans-
Averas Hamas captors that his brother was alive, but lated the conversation into Amharic for Agamesh Mengistu, the
since then, nothing. mother of Ilan and Avera. Among American Jews, I can sense
The family heeded Israeli government pleas to keep mercy, said Agamesh Mengistu, who listened quietly through
quiet for 10 months. The less publicity, Israeli authori- most of the interview, which was conducted in Hebrew.
ties told them, the likelier his release. SEE BROTHER PAGE 44
After 10 months, despairing, the family asked to go
public. They reached out to an array of human rights
organizations and the International Red Cross. They
received assurances, but they did not get sustained
exposure of Averas plight.
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Human Rights Watch put out a report, Mengistu
said, and smiled, unable to add much more. The Red Tables & Chairs - all sizes, all styles
Cross also has said that it is dedicated to securing
the release of Avera Mengistu and Juba Abu Ganima, Traditional. Modern.
another Israeli taken captive after entering Gaza.
Mengistu skates close to expressions of disappoint- Contemporary.
ment throughout the interview: with the Red Cross;
with the Israeli government; with his brothers care-
givers, who kept releasing him back to the family; with
the soldiers who watched his brother crossing into the
Gaza Strip (its on video) and did not stop him; even with
Avera. But then he backs away.
The day the Shabak [Israels internal security ser-
vice] came to me, I thought, Gaza, really? Avera, you
could have gone anywhere, Mengistu said. But when
someone is undergoing a breakdown, their ability to
think clearly is clouded. You cant judge.
Whats important, he said, is what happens next.
The Mengistus want what happens next to be along
the lines of the dedicated campaign that brought about
the familys aliyah to Israel in 1991, with the Operation
Solomon airlift.
It dawned on the family that a driving factor in the
Ethiopian aliyah was the American Jewish community,
which in the 1970s and 80s argued to a sometimes reluc-
tant Israeli government that the community was indeed
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Jewish World

Can a Jew from liberal Miami Beach

be Floridas next governor?
Philip Levine is betting yes
AMY SHERMAN

MIAMI One candidate for governor is a

former congresswoman and the daughter
of a former governor and U.S. senator.
Another candidate is a mayor who
grew up in a blue collar African-American
family.
A third, a political newcomer, is a Har-
vard graduate who builds affordable
housing.
Florida has been known as a place
where candidates of diverse backgrounds
make a name for themselves. But in state-
wide races it generally hasnt included
Jews, at least in recent decades.
Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip
Levine, a wealthy businessman with a
knack for drawing attention to himself and
his citys struggles with climate change,
is hoping to become the exception. With
Florida set to elect a new governor in 2018,
Levine is the only candidate among the
serious contenders who is Jewish.
While some political observers question
whether a Jew from liberal Miami Beach
can win in a state that hasnt elected a
Democratic governor since 1994, Levine
sees that as nonsense.
I knew this African-American guy,
believe it or not, who won the state twice
and was elected president of the United
States twice, and an older Jewish guy Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine speaks at the Miami Convention Center on December 2, 2015. MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES

almost got the Democratic nomi-

nation for president, he says. groups, the percentage of Jews in the general election.
(Barack Obama carried the state in who vote is higher, around 5 Gelber, who now is the mayor of Miami
the 2008 and 2012 elections. In the to 7 percent, says University of Beach, says Democratic voters look for a
2016 Florida Democratic primary, Miami demographer Ira She- candidate who checks certain progressive
Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders skin, who studies the Jewish boxes such as favoring abortion rights.
in a landslide.) community. The majority of They wont make a decision based on reli-
The last Jews elected statewide Jewish voters are Democrats. gion. Levine is a successful businessman.
were in the 1970s: U.S. Sen. Rich- Florida has had only one That will be more defining to him than his
ard Stone and Attorney General governor with Jewish roots, religion, Gelber says.
Robert Shevin. according to the Jewi sh Levine had his bar mitzvah at Temple
Stone, now 89 and living in Museum of Florida-FIU. David Solel in Hollywood and now is a mem-
COURTESY PHILIP LEVINE

Maryland, says being Jewish wasnt Sholtz, who served as governor ber of Temple Beth Sholom, a Reform
an obstacle to running statewide. from 1933 to 1937, was born to synagogue in Miami Beach. He says reli-
The main hurdle was being from Jewish parents but considered gion wont play a role in his campaign. I
Miami Beach. It can be done, as himself Congregationalist, believe that the most important tenet of
Ive shown, but people are nor- according to an article in the my philosophy is to do the right thing, he
mally more comfortable with a Jewish Daily Bulletin in 1932. says. I attribute it to my inner core my
nearby neighbor running for office Philip Levine with Isaac Meir Lau, the former chief Ash- A few Jewish Democrats inner compass not to religion.
than someone from a longer way kenazi rabbi of Israel, on board El Als first direct Miami- have run statewide in recent In 1990, with $500 capital, Levine
away, he said. Tel Aviv flight in nine years on November 4, 2017. years, but they all lost. In the launched a business from a studio apart-
The saying in Florida is that the 2014 Democratic primary for ment on Ocean Drive that provided mag-
more north you go, the more south you go campaign in Florida. A candidates abil- governor, former state Sen. Nan Rich of azines and TV programming on cruise
which means that voters in the conser- ity to appeal to diverse voters across the Broward County, in the south, lost to for- ships. The company later grew to amass
vative northern part of the Sunshine State state is more important than their racial or mer Gov. Charlie Crist, a former Repub- a revenue of about $400 million. He later
may not relate to candidates from liberal religious background, she says. lican, who then lost to Republican Gov. sold the company and is now CEO of Royal
South Florida. About 3.3 percent of the population Rick Scott in the general election. In 2010, Media Partners, which provides media to
Successful candidates must appeal to in Florida is Jewish. Since half the Jews two Jewish Democrats competed in the Royal Caribbean Cruises.
the factions of voters across the state, said in Florida are over 65, and Jews histori- primary for attorney general: The winner, After spending $2 million of his own
Ashley Walker, who ran Obamas 2012 cally vote in higher numbers than other Dan Gelber, lost to Republican Pam Bondi money and winning the Miami Beach

28 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 Jewish World

mayors race in 2013, Levine grew a national profile
by becoming an expert on how local government can
respond to climate change and calling out President
Donald Trump to do more.
Shortly before Trump took office, Levine wrote an
op-ed in Time calling on the president-elect to pro-
tect Floridas coastline. As I have said many times,
the ocean is not Republican or Democrat, he wrote.
While we bicker over the science and solutions, it will
only continue to rise.
primary will face an uphill battle to beat the Republican.
The GOP front-runner, state Agriculture Commissioner
Adam Putnam, has raised more than $16 million through
his committee since 2015.
Although Democrats hold a slight edge over Republicans
in registration in Florida, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is the lone
Democratic statewide officeholder. But Democrats see signs
of hope in the swing state, where Trump won by a percent-
age point and now has negative approval ratings.
Levines main liability is his temperament. He has lashed
out at the media, blocked access to critics on social media,
and went on a Facebook rant against Airbnb earlier this
year. He also pushed for a ban on liquor sales after 2 a.m.
on Miami Beach, which voters rejected overwhelmingly.
Levine says voters are looking for a candidate who has a
track record of getting things done.
It doesnt matter if the right candidate for governor is
Chinese, African-American, or Jewish, he says. Its not
a matter of religion or ethnicity. Its a matter of being the
right candidate. JTA WIRE SERVICE

In June, Levine hosted the U.S. Mayors Confer-

ence and showed off the citys efforts to curb flood-
ing by investing $500 million on pumps and raising
streets. Levine, who is friendly with the Clintons and
was a Hillary Clinton surrogate during the campaign,
brought former President Bill Clinton to speak at the
conference.
Levine has a gift for drawing attention to himself. He
landed an interview on CNN after he chartered a flight
carrying 7,000 pounds of supplies to help San Juan, in
response to the hurricane that slammed Puerto Rico.
He also bashed Trumps response to the island. Demo- Israel Innovation
and Investment Forum
crats are courting Puerto Rican voters because they
are a growing population in Florida.
Where is the federal government and the leader-
ship at the top, like Dwight Eisenhower and FDR? he
said on CNN. This was an invasion. This is a war. Our A great evening for the community to come together and
territory was attacked by a natural disaster. Treat it learn about investing in Israeli innovation.
like a war. Help these people.
Levine says he is a strong supporter of Israel a rela-
tionship that began one summer when he visited there
while studying at the London School of Economics.
I landed in Tel Aviv, he says. I had no place to
stay. I had a telephone number of a distant cousin I
never met. I had to close the deal on one call. If I didnt
close the deal I would be sleeping on Tel Aviv Beach.
I spent two weeks on their couch. That was the
beginning of my first experience in Israel. I had the
most remarkable two weeks.
He has returned to Israel many times, most recently
this month, after helping convince El Al to start offer-
ing a direct flight from Miami to Tel Aviv after a nine-
year hiatus.
It began in my conference room and culminated in
the inaugural flight Saturday night, Nov. 4, he said. I
had the owner of El Al sitting to my right, and the chief
rabbi of Israel sitting on my left.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a former Ashkenazi chief
rabbi of Israel, took part in the inaugural festivities.
David Maimon, who was president and CEO of the
publicly traded El Al, announced his resignation ear-
lier this month.
The Democratic primary field for Florida governor
already was crowded with contenders when Levine
officially announced his candidacy on November 1.
He faces former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who rep-
resented northern Florida for one term and is the
daughter of Bob Graham, a former U.S. senator and
governor of Florida; Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gil-
lum, and Orlando businessman Chris King. John
Morgan, a wealthy trial lawyer who bankrolled the
states medical marijuana amendment, may enter
the race as well.
No candidate has emerged as a clear favorite, but
Levine leads the pack in fundraising. He launched his
All About Florida PAC in June 2016, more than a year
before he officially became a candidate. He has raised
about $5.7 million through October, slightly less than
half from himself.
Im very comfortable putting in $50 million, he
says.
The Democrat who emerges from the August 2018

JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 29

Jewish World
Reform leaders pushed and shoved by Western Wall security
JTA STAFF
JERUSALEM Rabbi Rick Jacobs and other Reform Jewish
leaders were pushed, pulled, and had clothes torn by secu-
rity guards as they tried to pray at the Western Wall Plaza in
Jerusalem last week.
The guards and charedi Orthodox worshippers tussled
with the group as it entered the main entrance to the Western
Wall plaza with Torah scrolls. The guards said it was illegal
TALLESIM CLEANED SPECIAL SHABBOS RUSH SERVICE
30 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
to bring the scrolls into the main plaza. Reform lead-
ers accused the charedi administration of the holy site,
which employs the guards, of denying their right to free-
dom of prayer.
Jacobs said that during the clashes, a guard put his
finger on the trigger of a bottle of pepper spray, and put
it up to Jacobs face. Jacobs suit jacket was ripped on
the side as guards shoved him and pressed their bodies
on his.
The guards were really pushing hard, Jacobs said.
The guard who was standing right in front of me took
his pepper spray and put it right in our face.
Israeli Reform chief Gilad Kariv, speaking to Israels
Hadashot news, accused the administration of acting
like thugs and said the violence will not stop us from Netanyahus government for backing out in June from a
fulfilling our right to pray at the Western Wall.
The Reform group began their prayer in Robinsons
Arch, a non-Orthodox section of the holy site to the
south of the main plaza. Then they tried to enter with
the Torah scrolls. They ended up finishing the ser-
vice in the main plaza, in a large tourist area that is
removed from the wall but adjacent to the Orthodox
areas for men and women. A group of charedi protest-
ers also shoved some of the worshippers then, accord-
ing to Jacobs.
The group included the entire board of the Hebrew
Union College in Jerusalem, which had just ordained
four new rabbis, and members of Women of the Wall,
the feminist prayer group.
The brief fracas caused no injuries.
Administrators accused the non-Orthodox Jews
of flouting the rules of the main plaza, with the aim
of creating a provocation and using it to push public
relations.
This provocative act at the Western Wall plaza, a
place of unity, was a physically and verbally violent cam-
paign at the site, the Western Wall Heritage Founda-
tion said in a statement. We protest this unacceptable
WE OFFER REPAIRS
AND ALTERATIONS
We want your business and we go the extra
mile to make you a regular customer
behavior, the violence, and strongly condemn it.
The Western Walls main plaza, administered by the
Heritage Foundation, requires men and women to pray
separately and bars women from using religious items,
including Torah scrolls. It prohibits visitors from bring-
ing their own Torah scrolls in an attempt to prevent
women and non-Orthodox Jewish groups from using
them in services at the site.
Jacobs said that the Reform worshipers never were
aggressive, we never threw any punches, we were very
determined.
The non-Orthodox groups repeatedly have challenged
the rules, leading to sometimes violent confrontations.
They also have criticized Prime Minister Benjamin
2016 agreement to expand and upgrade the Robinsons
Arch prayer section at the southern end of the Western
Wall. The charedi parties in the governing coalition had
demanded the move.
We belong there, we have a right to be there, and the
Jewish people and state of Israel will be strengthened
when the country, the Western Wall, is truly welcoming
to Jews of all beliefs and practices, Jacobs said. Things
are not fine. Were not going back. Were not going to
take bread crumbs and say that Robinsons Arch is good
enough.
At the Jewish Federations of North Americas annual
General Assembly in Los Angeles last week, the board of
trustees passed a resolution calling on Israel to reverse
its divisive and damaging steps to freeze the Western
Wall deal.
That week, Netanyahu addressed the controversy in a
speech at the closing session of the conference.
Israel is the home of all Jews and it must remain
so, he said. I believe that the Jewish people are all
one family. I believe that Israel is the home of all Jews
and that all Jews should have access and prayer at the
Western Wall. JTA WIRE SERVICE
Rabbi Rick Jacobs,
center, Rabbi Anat
Hoffman, and other
non-Orthodox
Jews clash with
security guards at
the entrance to the
Western Wall plaza
in Jerusalem on
November 16, 2017.
NOAM RIVKIN FENTON/
FLASH 90
1245 Teaneck Rd.
Teaneck
837-8700

Judaism is the star at a Bible museum built by Hobby Lobby
RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON As the Burning Bush crack-
les, God is heard.
Mow-zes, God says, in the mysterious mid-
Atlantic accent that Hollywood once trained its
actors to use the one Anne Baxter as Nefer-
titi used to summon Charlton Hestons Moses
in the 1956 blockbuster The Ten Command-
ments. Mow-zes, Mow-zes.
That epic, earnest, and seemingly endless
film has much in common with the Museum of
the Bible, the $500 million extravaganza gifted
to the National Mall by one of Americas lead-
ing evangelical families, the founders of the
Hobby Lobby chain.
The museum celebrates Jews and Judaism
as the noble, beloved, and even feared ante-
cedents to Christianity, and argues that its best
modern expression is in the State of Israel. And
it makes the case that the Bible is not merely to
be studied but to be believed.
Speaking at the dedication last Friday, Ste-
ven Green, the president of Hobby Lobby and Kids can be Samson bringing down the walls at Courageous Pages, the play area
the museums chairman of the board, said at the new Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
museumgoers should come away realizing that
the Bible has had a positive impact on their lives in so
many different ways, and when they leave they will be
inspired to open it.
It especially celebrates the Bibles Jewish origins, nota-
bly those made manifest in modern Israel. The dedica-
tion included a rabbi, Israels ambassador to the United
States, the Israeli minister of tourism, and the director
of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
At times, the event seemed like a pro-Israel gala. Ron
Dermer, the Israeli ambassador, celebrated the museum
as a signifier of the Jewish claim to Jerusalem. The Bible
nurtured Jews through 2,000 years of exile until they
were able to rebuild the original DC Davids Capital, American as someone named, well, Charlton Heston.
he said.
Amanda Weiss, the director of the Bible Lands Museum in Jeru-
salem, leads a tour through an exhibit her museum is lending to
the Museum of the Bible.
Jewish World
had two overarching criteria: Will
this lift up the Bible, and will it lift up
people?
The museum employs scholarship
to make that case. We engaged lead-
ing scholars around the country,
Green, the scion of the family that
runs the Hobby Lobby chain, said in
a news briefing.
But scholarship alone wouldnt sell
it, so like most contemporary muse-
ums, there are plenty of experiential
exhibits. If you put a Bible under a
glass case in a language I cant read,
it will only hold my attention for so
long, Green said.
Judaism as parent suffuses just
about every exhibit, including
one that media and special guests
walked through earlier this week:
The Hebrew Bible. Its an immersive
30-minute stroll through animations
and special effects illustrated by sup-
ple, handsome animated Hebrews.
PHOTOS BY RON KAMPEAS (The Burning Bush, a riot of bright
yellow light in a darkened room, was
Yariv Levin, the tourism minister, read a letter from genuinely thrilling.) Thats more than twice as long as the 12
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sent warm 1/2-minute immersive New Testament experience.
greetings from Jerusalem, the eternal and undivided On the fifth floor of this six-floor mammoth, comprising
capital of Israel. much of a Washington block, are artifacts contributed by Isra-
The deference to Judaism is evident in the museum els Antiquities Authority. The exhibit is permanent, but the
logo, a B flat on its face resembling the tablets of the Ten Israeli authority will rotate the items, about 1,500 at a time.
Commandments, and the museum store, where Star of The debt to Judaism is seen in the kosher-style food at
David pendants glitter next to crucifixes. If you have $80 Manna, the rooftop restaurant run by a couple who wrote
to spare, you can choose a crucifix or Chanukah meno- The New Jewish Table cookbook. (Two kosher items per
rah made from Jerusalem stone, facing each other on meal will be available at the restaurant.)
the same shelf. SEE BIBLE MUSEUM PAGE 44
The museum also makes the Bible as unmistakably
One permanent exhibit is dedicated to the biblical
underpinnings of the abolition of slavery
and of the civil rights movement.
The U.S.-born Dermer picked up on
the theme of his native land as a nation
whose origins were in the Bible. Those
ideas inscribed in your founding docu-
ments and etched on your statues are
not merely the values of America, they
are the values of the Bible, he said in his
address.
Scholarship at the museum is perva-
sive, but employed a la Cecil B. DeMille:
to prove the Bible is not just compelling
but true.
A day at the museum officials say a
thorough tour would take 72 hours may
leave you smarter about the Bibles ori-
gins, the museums stated agenda. But
you may also suspect that the goal of this
newfound knowledge is to encourage
not critique but belief. The approach is
closer to a seminary than a religious stud-
ies department.
Bergen County Resident
Executive Director Tony Zeiss was
unambiguous about the museums
Anna Pasternak
desired effect at the dedication cere- Writes Her Memoir
mony. This is a day to rejoice, it is the
Lords day! he said. Available at Amazon.com
Designers of the museum, he added, BarnesandNoble.com
JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 31
Jewish World

How Israeli women techies

are opening Silicon Valley doors for each other
BEN SALES

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. Before she

boarded the plane from Israel to
Silicon Valley, Darya Henig Shaked
already was bucking stereotypes
about women in tech.
Among married Israeli techies in
the Bay Area, its assumed that the
man in the marriage was the one
who obtained a work visa to come
to the United States, bringing his
wife along with him. In several
interviews with a reporter, Israeli
men in tech referred to the wives

BEN SALES
of their colleagues as plus-ones,
not the reason the family moved
from Tel Aviv to Palo Alto.
But Shaked was no plus-one. Women at work in Icons communal workspace.
In the early 2000s, she had
served as an adviser to then-Prime
Minister Ehud Barak before becom- Darya Henig Shaked is the founder of
ing involved in Israeli venture capi-
COURTESY OF DARYA HENIG SHAKED

WeAct, an organization that brings Is-

tal funding for tech enterprises in raeli female entrepreneurs on network-

COURTESY OF YASMIN LUKATZ

sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, she
and her husband, Eyal Shaked,
also a tech investor, decided to
move to Silicon Valley to immerse
themselves in the tech scene. And
when they made the move, it was
on Shakeds visa.
Shaked appreciated the local
professional culture, where peo-
ple were happy to provide each other
with advice, access, and connections.
But she saw firsthand that lots of Israeli
women had trouble gaining access to those
connections, even as their male peers
succeeded.
What I understood is that theres an
opportunity, theres a treasure trove of
a helping community [in Silicon Valley]
more even than in Tel Aviv, Shaked said
in an interview at a cafe here, blocks from
one of the biggest tech incubators in Sili-
con Valley. I felt there was an opportu-
nity that women founders werent aware
of. I thought I could easily make it avail-
able for them.
Months after arriving, Shaked founded
WeAct, an organization that brings
Israeli women who founded startups on
missions to Silicon Valley to meet inves-
tors, officials at tech giants like Face-
book and Google, and other entrepre-
neurs. So far, she has brought 50 women
on three weeklong trips. Shaked also is
opening a shared workspace for female
entrepreneurs.
Shaked is one of several Israeli women
and men working to advance other
Israeli women in the notoriously male
world of tech. Most of these initiatives,
from venture capital investment to infor-
mal meet-ups, center on the idea that if
women can obtain the tools and reach the
players they need in the tech world, they
will succeed more while inspiring other
women entrepreneurs.
Why is it that women choose not to be
founders of companies and are not going
into tech? asked Shuly Galili, a founding
partner of UpWest Labs, a venture capi-
tal firm that funds Israeli startups looking
to expand to Silicon Valley. Is it because
theres no room for it? Is it because there
are less role models, where someone can
say, So-and-so did it. I can do it, too?
There needs to be a lot more exposure.
About a fifth of the startups funded by
UpWest have female founders, compared
to 9 percent of startups as a whole, accord-
ing to a report by the Harvard Business
Review. Those sparse statistics also play
out at tech conventions, which can be
overwhelmingly male.
Boaz Katz, a co-founder of Bizzabo,
which facilitates tech for large events,
posted indignantly on Facebook last week
that a tech conference in Israel had nearly
no women.
There are 200 people here, he wrote.
Guess what? There are only two women
here. Two. Everyone else is men The only
thing going through my head is the word
shame. We should be ashamed of ourselves
that this is the situation in our industry.
After seeing the post, a friend of Katzs,
tech entrepreneur Yonatan Zur, started a
project called Lets Get to 51%, which aims
to make that the percentage of women
ing missions to Silicon Valley.
Yasmin Lukatz is the founder of ICON, a
nonprofit that connects Israeli entrepreneurs
to resources and investors in Silicon Valley.
founders in tech. The project allows
women entrepreneurs to schedule meet-
ings with experienced Israeli and Ameri-
can tech executives who have reserved
slots in their schedule for that purpose.
By the morning after the Katz post, 17
people had offered meetings. Two days
later the number was around 80.
Everyone understands theres a prob-
lem and is willing to help, Zur said.
Israelis note that mandatory service in the
Israel Defense Forces, which affords women
tech training, may give them a leg up in the
field. The elite intelligence unit 8200, a kind
of prep school for Israels startup scene, has
a large percentage of women.
Yasmin Lukatz, the founder of Icon, or
Israel Collaboration Network, a nonprofit
that connects Israeli entrepreneurs to
resources and investors in Silicon Valley,
said Israeli women arent fazed by men she
called douchebags.
They are strong even when theyre
being discriminated against by an inves-
tor who wants to meet them in a bar,
she said in an interview at the expansive
and glitzy campus of the JCC in Palo Alto,
itself a testament to the Jewish and Israeli
money washing into Northern California.
Theyre strong and will not be intimi-
dated by it, and know their worth.
Icons partners include the JCC, various
tech and law companies, the Israeli-Amer-
ican Council, and the Israeli governments
economic mission to the west coast.
But female activists added that the
onus shouldnt be only on women to
break into tech. Shaked said its hard
even for women entrepreneurs to leave
behind the traditional expectations for
a wife and mother. The trips she offers
are a week long, she said, in part because
women have hinted to her that they
wont leave their children for more than
a week.
Shaked knows the feeling and wishes
men would share the responsibilities of
parenting more equitably.
I know men want to play a key role in
their families, she said. I hope men will
say, I dont want to go more than a week.
I wish there werent these problems, to
educate women to not be in the house for
more than a week.
Lukatz added that male employers
should look harder for qualified women
to hire.
Womens empowerment is not just
for women, but the men need to see it,
too, she said. Men who complain that its
hard to find women engineers to hire, she
added, need to persist.
Dont give up just because its chal-
lenging, Lukatz said. Think about your
daughter. Once men become fathers to
girls, they work harder on creating a bet-
ter world for their daughters.
JTA WIRE SERVICE

32 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 Congratulations to Jewish Standard editor
Joanne Palmer, winner of two first-place
Rockower Awards for Excellence
in* Jewish Journalism.
JS-12
JS-14*

L oca l t Loca l
e
ut o f t h e p arents clos
Coming o Parents
place of a more stand

of LGBT
ard talk on the Torah
portion. First Rabb

ox parents ard issues to light

FROM PAGE 12
i Goldin talks, then
answers questions
So, with all his preco he

t for Orthod
posed by his listen
nceptions about his ers.
h own state of advan
The first town hall

Eshel retrea tes community, brings

ced acceptance, Steve
was about wome
got to the retreat,
and the third will n n,
and Friday night,
be about conversion
balat Shabbat was
The secon d, last Kab
Kab- .

children crea religious services

LGBTQ Jews. Leah,
one of the most movin
Shab bat, was abou
I have ever experience
Steven, and the Prag-
d.
g t
Everyone sang, full
ers had some influe
nce over that.
throated, full voice
and you could just
First, he allowed d,
the families to post
feel the fellowship,
LMER even though youd
flier about the upco a
JOANNE PA never met most of
ming retreat. Next,

I
before. It was so movin
at the town hall, them
ox and he called on Dr.
g.
eas y bei ng Ort hod for the first quest
Eshel is very discre Prager
ts not
y bei ng the Ortho- ute ents we met at the
speec
ion. I gave a 10-mi
et. There are par
par- n-
it eas h, and
gay. Nor is ,a first retreat who are
it was extremely
n, a lesbian not out in their comm
received, he said. stillwell
of a gay ma One guy told me,
unity. As the paren
dox parent person, or
a of gay children, it
weeks later, that I three
ts
transgender had really clarified
really did provide
bisexual, a space. The feelin
confusing issues g of fellowship was
for him. I started
a safe
some
que er. eer thankpowerful. out
very by
self-identified
ing Rabbi Goldin,
is hard; qu and I told him that
the language out -of- He can bring some I wished there were
(See? Even ent al, and
of that feeling home
.
100 Orthodox rabbi
s
ms har sh, jud gm , alth oug h I occas ional ly
lead servi ces at
in America today
offering people like
see to define vat Torah, and I Aha
Aha- chance to speak. me a
well as hard apply occasionally read I thanked him for
bounds, as people who the Torah, he said. from an exception to the being
fortably by I was afraid that rule.
its used com es.)
they might not let
me We are definitely
in
themselv ani-
any more, if they a better place than
that label to time, the org
knew. But everyone
was very open and
we were a few years
ago, or even last year,
Naomi Oppenheim
the fourth
of Teaneck is anoth
In May, for port understanding. Dr. Prager said. I retreat. er parent who finds
rily is a sup do see progress. Never community at the
which prima r- There are paren theless, [Leah] and -
zation Eshel, Ort hod ox Jews, is offe when they
ts at Eshel who
say and I are,
[Steve] and Jeann
ie some thing
LGBTQ munitys come out as parents of I think, the only famil to be ignored.
system for tha t com childr LGBT have ies that ment
retreat for en, that is, not as them come out publicly in this You have to figure out ion that Rabbi Goldin
ing its yearly lesbian they are selves gay or
shunned by their
gregation. We know huge con-
that there are other
approach will be. what your his position. All of
had evolved in
them used that word
e
parents. ly con ferenc munity. We didnt com
com- Its a shonda. s. His approach, Rabbi I think that the rabbi .
sts a mo nth er
have any of that. Goldin continued, has to be honest,
It als o ho ng wit h many oth Jeannie Prager, who
has been
Rabbi Goldin talks
about the issue very
includes allowing
gay men and lesbia
Rabbi Goldin said.
He has to be comp
ents, alo going ns

JS-1*
to to as-
the box for
the Eshel retreat with carefully, attempting join his community, sionate. He has to
call for par als ; see her husband since to avoid the many with the caveat that recognize the strugg
and referr began, stressed the it landmines its easy it does not becom They have to see that le.
resources nity. One of the
importance of comm
u
u-
to trip over.
It cannot imply accep
e a public statem
ent. it is very personal.
ation. Im not really sure There are a great

JS-28
more inform who find the best things about I have changed on tance of anything many biological,
ny parents, Orthodox is gettin being this issue, other larger. He does not ological, and cultu soci-
It attracts ma a g the community than that my positi think it is his busin ral factors at work
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she
as have become more ons to check on peopl ess added, and that , he
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no nju dgm say, When of the community, There are lines that than he would check more complex. I
ny of them right
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balm. As ma
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kids come airless, lose that. Its just you lines are not just mine. for an aliyah as a Sabba number of people
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stifling place. who go to
the ent at the Eshel
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om separated and
May 2016

public abo e, and of wh husband did this made it with him. But
my child. That is shock time as we can. At mind-boggling to

C
om they lov before they with identifying
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Leah and her
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is lesbian, wh they are of
their
identified it at shul or found myself y, and you
can NORTH JERS
le who go to the
rabbi maintain the tradit r hits the road, where es that gender is
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85
Her hus pri . We did nt wif e said t if she tradit ional when a dime nsion
much a sur d tha values and laws and gay
children).
the response they couple wants
APRIL to it. If you creat
three other Steven, as it wasnt as her friends , she said.
But then I realize might get. rules and VOL. LXXX to22,
join201
as a6 fam- e a society
come. And The y were afraid regulations that ily, he where you say that
cou ple , Leah and of as bisexual, so . Im not sure pon se we would get Ste ven rea lly need to go. that theyd lose have characteriz
ed
said. ThisV point
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tradit ion across time. lemat
TH EJ EW ic. They can join as
ISH individuals, but
there2016 are no limits. That
certainly is not
m, to t sex ght har - fee ling ST AN
we will cal
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do not feel
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cat
The depth
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.CO M consonant with Jewish
sat there we
some
that most peo
Judaism has to be values.
er, but they il I had to. els first retr that ded him. I recognizable to our label as a family. How that I can
their daught because the
y
didnt unt went to Esh ased to find for
It took them years Rabbi Goldin recen
there astoun
to be able to tell their grandparents and
. So much
this will play out tly announced that
es. Thats not spectrum. I . I was ple h the time, he said
friends that their the same time our at terms of how we in in a year and a half,
tic, she said

Maxwells
use their nam and its not common wit for the whole
daughter Tamar was grandchildrens Juda- deal with this unit he will leave his posi-
say fiercely, of things in
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nt tell
les- ism has to be recog
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ir own com having made
I have not
blems were learned with once a week for 20
le he So how
s. We could
do you balance worked this out well years, so that he
y feel that the ause other parent about any- t all our pro those needs, deal enough yet. Child and his wife, Barba
because the I thought tha rry-she said. He just could years, with ren
them, but bec
ra,
a place to talk
changing times and
t she was ma
of gay couples alway can make aliyah. This
way. It was
sang,
at the same time main-
not accept Everyone mirror, tha
not say it to them s will be welcome, decision, made with

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Everyoneed, full
forme r son talk abo rear vie ow shi e
about their nted to the great fell e her wedding, I said core values? e they can celebrate becau se he is so inte-
they worry the right thing we wa , and it made guy, with a y. toI him, Its now Belonging is one their smachot at the gral to Ahavat Torah
ich is farther to for the same reason ing a great she wa s on her wa the words out. or never. He finally got ments of the of the critic al ele- shul, but it is not clear , and Ahavat Torah
is
communit y, wh
full th ro at was there
nce. graduate sch
ool
more than
I wa2005s That was in Septe
mber
Jewish experience
, Rabbi
how their paren ts will join them. so centr al to his life, is huge news
both for
d you
BT Goldin continued. his community and
a huge differe cted me far ; Tamar has been It is important that
than theirs. former son
-in- w other LG happily married If you have a group the Orthodox com- for the larger one.
t I didnt kno guess it affe
fond of their
voiced, anst feel
ever since then, and people who say they of munity be welcoming of course it affects And
They still are n able It wasnt tha it didnt trou- it. - her parents have shed feel unwelcome, to the parents of gay his ability to contr

Haggadah
not bee . An d to adm pub lish or ol the
they suspec
t has course I did willing in legal their reticence. that they are not a part men and lesbians, Rabb direc tion the community
en yer, works
could ju ship.
law, whom died, people. Of different wh Steven, a law us
us- of the community, i Goldin said. I will take. He is
his marriage way. But its said, the ind Recently, Leah and Steven and the Prag-
then we have the challe was very pleased aware of that irony
about why
that they were comfo as he speaks.
e reason, he
nge of dealing with
to be open any ble me in any the trajector
y you rt-

the fellow
cause him ing; for som biaersns.met with their rabbi, Shmu it. able enough to appro Still, that is the future
not want to ld. Its not men and les el Goldin. ach me and discu . For now, people
and they do e tha t the details its your chi . attr act s many gay pan y is Rabbi Goldin has
so begun How do you deal
with
it with me. ss have to understand
that one
ow try s com a series indiv of the reasons
They assum to foll
VEN
that of what idual s in
uld say thi
STE
more pain. ir identity cle
ar expect life hodox. In
he calls
men town halls, when
our community who I feel they need to I did the town hall
will make the er still is Ort - People wo a lot of gay the minyanim that make he gathers all the same time expre
are gay, and who
at
know that the rabbi is because it is impo
r-
Her daught . So I knew
is thinking about tant for them to hear
of their story fine ny other par so these things and
, and they are
ss a keen desire their rabbi struggling
nt from ma gay! he said
up his more than
mu nity bee n dia gnosed is differe fted , mit ted rela tionships, 700-family congr remain part of the to gling with them. strug- with the issues, and
com she dri egatio Instea
to their own
Ortho
er also had way, kids have and women
in com would n together after dox community? d of just thinking to hear what goes into
Her daught ich derail
ed
met, whose a away, but it Shabbat services and talks about issues How do we balan that the door is close the rabbis decision-m
. She lives nt blow me
ce our boundarie
with that. aro und the ir now jor dep ression, wh e tha n ents weve
is obs erv ant the ide a did she d said it in the issue of
s with that there is
d, they should feel
said. It is
aking process, he
centers with ma bigger issu She d ier if inclus ion? It is a challenge, an evolu tion. not arbitr ary. It does take a
Their story ho got marrie
d to was a much Leah said. its really har so much eas e
from colleg SH STANDARD APRIL 15, 2016
not lot
have been
In fact, all four of things into consi
her life, and arily zvot life, and
14 JEWI
s not necess
deration. It is an ongo-
daughter, w was home
of the paren ts
shomer mit T. Its did
32-year-old e, and we had alit y, but wa if you are LBG 19, when she Tracing a ing struggle.
leg the bisexu . ce to go at was 26 and
t out of col ity, Leah said com- n, not when
she
a man straigh thing to her sexual finding a pla you can be Pas
no idea wh
atsoever tha
t she was any
think she kne
w. connected
Her daught
er is now stu
dying at Par
des,
sion, hard to find
a place where
s not an issu
e at Pardes
. They at intersessio
married to
a man. from Tenne sover staple
Tarrytow ssee through
straigh t, Leah said. I she had a red fro m the depres fortable. It RE NT S PA
SE E PA
GE 14
but ove a
as bisexual, and in Israel, rec mo ve. Its been are welcomin
g. Leah
She ide ntif ies
college, but
we didnt kno w
full of hope
for her nex t
parents hop
e less comfor
table than n and Tea
girlfriend in She wo uld come to d slo g, tho ugh, and her
ke it easier Steven was neck
friend. part har t will ma
she was a girl part that nity suppor page 28
t, but the girlfriend that commu
Sha bba
wn to us.
wasnt kno
2016
D APRIL 15,
STANDAR
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FIRST PLACE FIRST PLACE

Award for Excellence in Award for Journalistic Excellence
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Coming out of the parents closet Maxwells golden Haggadah
Joanne Palmer Joanne Palmer

Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017 33

Editorial
Thanksgiving
a time for family secrets?
A O
s we celebrate Thanks-
giving this long, autum-
nal weekend, as leaves
crunch and winds blow
and the idea of snow seems less and
less unseasonable, we spend more
time inside, with relatives, and that
inevitably leads to stories.
One of the many things I have
learned through my work at the Jew-
ish Standard is that everyone has
a story. Some of them are not out-
wardly exciting, some are full of odd
coincidences or twists of fate, some
involve interesting or wise or very
bad decisions. Some involve secrets;
sometimes those secrets out them-
selves, and at other times it takes
the internet and our good friend
Google. And some include wild, mad
adventures.
We want to hear your stories!
Who knew who possibly could
have known that there are not one
but two local Jewish families whose
father or grandfather were not only
New York City police officers to
be specific, in both cases, a New
York City patrolman who were
awarded medals of honor from the
police commissioner for acts of brav-
ery, but who also hid those awards
from their children? Whose daugh-
ters stumbled across the certificates,
years later, when it was too late to
ask their fathers about it?
But its true.
In August, I heard from Roberta
Seltzer, whose father, Morris
Abramowitz, had won a certificate
for heroism from the New York City
police department.
When he read the story about
Robertas father, Paul Caine called
to tell me about the exploits of his
grandfather, Wolf Silberstein.
There are significant differences
between the stories, but there are
many similarities as well, and those
are fascinating. Both men were said
to have looked Irish, and therefore
Jewish Editor
Joanne Palmer
Standard Associate Editor
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Community Editor
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Beth Janoff Chananie
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Heidi Mae Bratt
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James L. Janoff
Associate Publisher Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle
thejewishstandard.com
34 Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017
to have fit easily into the overwhelm-
ingly Irish police department. Both
decided to remain patrolmen. Both
hid the evidence of their brav-
ery, and how that bravery was
recognized.
Why?
When you reconstruct a persons
life, motivation is the hardest thing
to figure out. It leaves no hard shell,
no physical evidence. All we can do
is imagine and invent and we do.
We often have no idea why people
do what they do, but the very human
impulse that moves many of us is to
try to figure it out. We try to imagine
ourselves into other peoples lives,
and that act of imagination is the
beginning of empathy.
And then, of course, there is the
lure of the story.
We invite our readers to tell us
your stories. If your family story can
be turned into a story for our read-
ers, wed love to tell it.
This also is the weekend when
we Americans tell the story of our
nation, of how we came to be.
Thanksgiving is a secular feast with
religious overtones; we share food
and drink and companionship;
we share goodwill with family and
friends, even if at times we have to
force it; when everything goes well,
we share memories and laughter and
sadness and hope and joy.
American life right now seems to
be devolving into tribalism, into red
and blue teams, into people who
might shriek across the divide but
never try to reach across it. We hope
that this weekend, as the charm of
Thanksgiving lingers, we try to talk
to each other, with love, with open
ears and open hearts.
We also would like to remind our
readers that the period for enrolling
in the Affordable Care Act will end
on December 15. If you live in New
Jersey and need health insurance,
do it soon. It is important. JP
Correspondents
Warren Boroson
Lois Goldrich
Banji Ganchrow
Abigail K. Leichman
Miriam Rinn
Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman
Advertising Director
Natalie D. Jay
Classified Director
Janice Rosen
Truth regardless of consequences
Our misplaced obsession with peace
ur world idolizes peace and tran- that blacks would not enjoy full equality in the
quility. From peacemakers who South until nearly 100 years later, through the
seek to bring harmony between civil rights movement.
nations to new-age gurus who The warrior who desperately wishes to
teach people to meditate and find inner har- change his spots and become a peacemaker
mony, ridding the world of tension is all the has many modern guises as well. Near the
rage. Trumps threats to North Korea for its end of his life, Douglas MacArthur suggested
nuclear bellicosity are contrasted with Presi- that America and other great powers adopt
dent Obamas more conciliatory and therefore laws that would forever ban all war. The cata-
positive approach. strophic consequences to world freedom had
Countries like the United States, which for the United States embraced the doctrine of
years have been fighting terrorism in Iraq the old warhorse is scarcely imaginable. Such
and Afghanistan, are increasingly self-imposed restraint likely
reviled, while countries like Can- would have seen the Soviet
ada, which seem docile by com- Union take over even Western
parison, are respected. Europe, and after that, Islamic
To be sure, the warrior still has terrorists would take over the
his place in the world, but only as Middle East. In the same vein,
a placeholder for those who will MacArthurs five-star colleague,
make peace. Indeed, it is the soldier General Dwight D. Eisenhower,
who ultimately silences his weapon famously warned, at the end of
and makes peace with his enemies his presidency, against the hege-
whom the world admires. Military Rabbi mony of the military-industrial
men like Yitzchak Rabin of Israel, Shmuley complex, an industry that made
who eventually become peacemak- Boteach Eisenhowers victory in the Sec-
ers, are heroes both in life and in ond World War possible. Per-
death, which explains why so many haps because he was stung by
warriors trade military glory for an incomplete accusations of belligerency, Ronald Reagan
peace. actually discussed giving up Americas entire
The stinging accusations of Civil War butch- nuclear arsenal.
ery leveled against Ulysses S. Grant led him, Robert Oppenheimer, Joseph Rotblatt,
in his run for president in 1868, to campaign and other architects of the Manhattan Proj-
under the slogan Let us have peace. Grant ect spent the rest of their lives campaigning
saved the Union with his military genius. But for the abolition of the very atomic weap-
he wanted to be remembered not as a warrior ons they had created. This, in turn, followed
but as a peacemaker. Therefore, in his rush to the famous example of Alfred Nobel himself,
be forgiving and accommodating, Grant pur- who, after inventing dynamite, sought to find
sued deliberately moderate policies in the redemption in the establishment of the Nobel
reconstruction of the South that backfired and Peace Prize.
led to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, which ter- Of course, Israel has the example of the
rorized and murdered blacks and whites alike. great victor of the Six Day War, Yitzchak Rabin,
Although Grant approved the punitive Force transforming himself from conqueror into
Acts of 1870 and 1871 to curb the violence and peacemaker with the Oslo accords, which for-
was authorized to declare martial law, he did ever shall be remembered as one of the most
so only once, in South Carolina. He was ada- calamitous miscalculations of any government
mant that his new reputation as peacemaker in modern history.
should supersede his former reputation of From Moshe Dayan to Ehud Barak, some
combatant. The direct and tragic result was of Israels greatest warriors later have taken
The opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the
newspapers editors, publishers, or other staffers. We welcome letters to the editor. Send them to
jstandardletters@gmail.com.
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momentous, even reckless gambles for peace, almost
as if to prove that they were far more adept at placat-
ing their enemies than fighting them. More recently
there is the example of Ariel Sharon, once Israels
greatest general, forcing an evacuation of Gaza that
would lead to three wars after Hamas took over the
territory.
The error of all these great men was not to under-
stand that the fight against evil can be righteous when
used to protect human life and liberty. Abolishment
of war cannot precede the abolishment of evil. Hence,
the ancient biblical prophecy of swords being beaten
into ploughshares is concurrent with the wolf lying
down with the lamb, a metaphor for the menacing
claws of tyrants and terrorists being permanently
expunged.
If only these men had read their Bibles, they would
have encountered the example of David and Solomon.
King David was a man of war who spent his life fight-
ing Israels enemies. When he was given some respite
from his foes, he asked God for permission to build
the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, saying that here he was
living in a magnificent palace while Gods holy ark
resided in a tent. But God denies his request. His son,
Solomon, who would be a man of peace, would build
the Temple.
While David was a great psalmist, he was primar-
ily the warrior who carved out a Jewish kingdom
against implacable enemies. For this reason, God did
not allow him to build the holy Temple in Jerusalem,
telling him that his mission was to ensure that evil
men shall not oppress [My people] any more as in
the past. The conquering of Israels foes by David
would then facilitate the mission of Solomon: He
shall build a house for My name, and I will establish
his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:10,13). The Temple
cannot be built by someone who shed so much blood,
even when doing so was just.
You would imagine, therefore, that the reputation of
Solomon, the man of peace, would exceed that of his
father, the man of war. But the Messiah, who will one
day bring an everlasting epoch of peace to the world,
is always referred to as the son of David rather than the
son of Solomon, even though that description would
be equally appropriate. Why? Because those who fight
evil make peace possible. While your enemies still are
armed with evil intent, you must remain like David.
The truth of the warrior against evil being regarded
as greater than the peacemaker who follows comes
from the examples of George Washington, Abraham
Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill,
all of whom fought wars against tyranny, thereby facil-
itating an eventual peace.
Lincoln is considered to be Americas greatest presi-
dent because he fought the evils of secession and slav-
ery. He had many opportunities to make peace with
the South and let it go its own way, but he refused to
do so. Churchill is Britains greatest statesman because
he battled the satanic forces of Nazism and facilitated
Western European peace till this day. He too was given
the opportunity of making peace with Hitler and sav-
ing the British empire. But he would never counte-
nance Europe or the rest of the world being consumed
by darkness.
The most celebrated people in history are those who
fought and defeated wickedness. Those who appeased
it are remembered in infamy.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood is the author of 31
books, most recently The Israel Warrior. Follow him
on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
Opinion
Wholly individual strength
I
m bad at math my 8-year-old daughter
complains.
It takes me a long time to do my home-
work and I cant do the problems in my head
like Caleb, her older brother, she says. Though her assess- perfectly with the values of whatever slice of society I find
ments tell a very different story, there is no
convincing her that she is mastering the
concepts with fluency, because all she sees
is that other kids finish their work before she
does.
This is just a few days after Caleb, my
10-year-old, to whom everything academic
seems to come naturally, said matter-of-
factly to my whole family, Im the sports
kid in the family. Asher the oldest sibling
is the smart one. Cheryl
My four children all are so different from Rosenberg
each other, each with incredible strengths,
varied perspectives on life, and of course
unique challenges. When I describe them, the things that
stand out to me are very different from how they view
themselves. I see each of my children as a compilation of
every wonderful attribute that they express, every positive edge of Torah (which I lack in comparison to most in the
aspect of their being, whether it is one childs kindness,
anothers strong will, his musical talent and appreciation, deliver compelling and thoughtful words that are tied to
her fierce commitment to all that is fair and just.
They each have something individual and distinct to
offer the world. And yet it often feels as though each of
them only sees their perceived weaknesses in comparison
to those around them.
How death with dignity undermines
life with dignity a Jewish approach
S
upporters of euthanasia and assisted suicide have
been making inroads in Western Europe and
North America for years.
In the United States, they tend to
argue that a free society must allow medical
doctors to help people preserve their dignity
through suicide. In Europe, they have gone
so far as to argue that doctors and govern-
ments ought to intervene to prevent par-
ents from providing their own children with
medical treatment. While it has mainly been
Christians who have opposed the death
with dignity or right to die movement, Rabbi
including in high-profile cases like those of Mitchell
Brittany Maynard and Charlie Gard, tradi- Rocklin
tionalist Jewish groups such as the Rabbini-
cal Council of America have joined Chris-
tians in the fight.
There are Jewish imperatives to oppose death with
dignity and a right to die, reasons that are respon-
sible for the development of the idea of human dignity
and the sanctity of human life within Western civilization.
Let us consider what traditional Judaism has to say about
death, so that we understand why it so strongly opposes
Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin is a resident research fellow at the
Tikvah Fund. He is also a chaplain with the rank of captain
in the New Jersey Army National Guard and a doctoral
candidate in U.S. history at the City University of New York.
He lives in Teaneck with his wife and two daughters.
This phenomenon pains me, but it is not surprising.
After 36 years of growing and changing and learning about
myself and my own strengths, I still often feel pulled into
the trap of needing these qualities or skillsets to line up
myself surrounded by in a given moment.
As a woman with my feet in many different
worlds, it often feels as though I constantly
am struggling to define my strengths inde-
pendently, before others push me in a differ-
ent direction.
When I am asked to speak at Jewish events
or to Jewish organizations, I often am asked
to include a dvar Torah (words of biblical
teaching) in my presentation. Its such a sim-
ple and pure request, and yet every time it
leaves me feeling as my kids often must feel.
I feel as if all my strengths, and everything
else that I bring to the table, are not enough.
I must speak not only about my experiences and per-
spectives as a leader, a community organizer, an elected
official, and a mother, but I also must have the knowl-
observant Jewish community) as well as the eloquence to
both the historical texts and the subject matter at hand.
Though I am there in front of these rooms for all the
right reasons, which should make me feel proud, instead
I feel inadequate because I am focused on the exact
See Story strength page 37
glorifying it or rendering it innocuous.
During the High Holidays, Ashkenazi Jews contemplate
death in one of their liturgys most somber
and well-known prayers. Unetaneh Tokef
describes how we might die: who by fire and
who by water, along with many other pos-
sibilities. Ysoscher Katz of the open Ortho-
dox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah has suggested
deleting or qualifying it, and the Reform
movements new High Holiday prayer book
appends a Carl Sandberg poem and the fol-
lowing words of inspiration: I speak these
words, but I dont believe themclearly
theres no scientific foundation Yet Leon-
ard Cohen, hardly a religious traditionalist,
wrote Who by Fire based on the dread-
filled Jewish prayer, modernizing the lyrics
to include who by barbiturate. He understood that the
prayers message, even for the nonbeliever, is that life and
death ultimately are out of human hands. Human action
can hasten or delay death, but it is God who, in the words
of another prayer, brings death and grants life.
By contrast, the new euthanasiasts wish to take
this power and deliver it to into the hands of man. If
unchecked, their efforts will result in this Divine preroga-
tive devolving not to the individual, but to doctors and
bureaucrats.
Lets first consider some of the ways that the right-to-die
movement seeks to sanitize or dignify death.
See dignity page 36
Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017 35
Opinion
Lessons from running
R
unning for Hoboken City Coun-
cil was an exhaustingly enjoy-
able experience.
Though I ran in the June pri-
mary for Republican state committeeman
from Hudson County I won the city
council race was my first real and substan-
tive taste of local politics. I lost, but near
as we are to Thanksgiving and Chanukah,
I am inclined to reflect on what I came to
value during the race in relation to both
holidays.
Thanksgiving, the American civic holi-
day in which we gather with family and
friends to give thanks, is a time of reflec-
tion. Chanukah, the Jewish religious holi-
day we commemorate by lighting the cha-
nukiah the Chanukah menorah is a
celebration of the Hasmonean-led Jewish
fight for independence against the Seleu-
cid empire, one of the Hellenist succes-
sor states to the empire of Alexander the
Great.
During the campaign, and in particu-
lar when I was engaging in dialogue with
potential voters, I learned to be more
Dignity
from page 35
First, there is euthanasia and assisted
suicide, along with a general preference
for non-treatment in hospitals. Hav-
ing worked as a member of the clergy at
healthcare facilities for years, my col-
leagues and I have witnessed a genuine
culture of death, wherein too many of
those who ought to be healers instead
become agents of death. Some are well-
meaning, seeking to help patients avoid
what they believe to be needless suffering.
Others may be motivated by financial con-
siderations, such as saving medical facili-
ties money. Whatever the rationale, too
many of us have witnessed premature hos-
pice visits and recommendations to with-
hold treatments. It is becoming normal for
hospitals to starve, dehydrate, or suffocate
patients to death by withholding nutrition,
fluids, or oxygen from people who would
live with them, because there is no obliga-
tion to artificially supply someone with
lifes basic needs.
Patients with dedicated families tend
to fare far better than those left alone at
the mercy of healthcare facilities. Too
many caregivers and even family mem-
bers justify these practices, and some-
times explicit support for euthanasia and
assisted suicide, by arguing that many
patients are better off dead, since they
have insufficient quality of life to justify
their continued existence.
Another argument for assisted suicide
and euthanasia is that patients suffering
from unbearable pain ought not to suffer.
36 Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017
appreciative of peoples time. On Thanks- trail, the lesson we learn about appre-
giving, we gather with friends and family ciating others time, and of connecting
to enjoy the time we have together, and to through engaged and civil discourse, is
remember the positive blessings we have
in our lives. When I was campaigning, I
knocked on many doors,
and I met many people who
looked at those of us doing
the knocking as if we were
home-intruders-to-be. I also
met many other people, who
actually opened their doors
and engaged with us.
In conversation with vot-
ers, it was important to focus
on the significant issues, Joshua
those that relate to the indi- Sotomayor-
vidual voters, and to suss out Einstein
areas of agreement. In lieu of
doing so, it was important to
remember that you can disagree without
being disagreeable. The many guides to
surviving Thanksgiving with friends and
family who have different political per-
spectives make the same point. Whether
from Thanksgiving or from the campaign
This is a more difficult argument to dis-
miss, and we shall address it shortly.
To understand why these arguments
are not compelling, as well as why they
inherently undermine support for life, we
should consider several points.
First, there is the slippery-slope argu-
ment, which many Christian critics have
raised. There is much truth to the argu-
ment, seeing as euthanasia proponents
have begun to offer their services to the
mentally ill in Europe. There is no clear
point at which an argument about a right
to die ought to end. Indeed, there is no
logical reason why, if there is a right to
die, society ought to do anything to dis-
courage people from committing suicide.
Instead of treating suicide as an inappro-
priate temporary solution to a permanent
problem, or a symptom of a treatable psy-
chiatric condition, we would need to treat
it as both a rational decision and a legiti-
mate right.
But then we ought to consider why this
slippery slope exists in the first place. And
here Judaism is particularly helpful, with
its teaching that there is nothing digni-
fied about death. A Jew cannot die with
dignity; he can only live with dignity. Our
deaths are dignified not by the circum-
stances in which they occur, but by the
extent to which we sacrifice our living
moments for what is right. Pagans, includ-
ing ancient Mesopotamians, Greeks, and
Romans, all believed death with honor
usually characterized by death in battle
to be far superior to ordinary death. How
people died was far more important than
one we should remember all year round.
As an independent candidate running
by choice, without a mayoral
candidate heading the ticket,
nor with running mates for
the other open City Council
seats, I learned the tangible
challenges that standing up
for your own principles can
carry. (This is not to demean
other candidates who ran
as a slate, and with a may-
oral candidate, because they
believed in the messages of
their tickets.) From finding
likeminded fellow travelers,
creating cost-effective ways
to spread the message, and living off the
pre-existing landscape by using earned
media (articles and issue-oriented op-eds)
to boost the campaign, these were the pri-
mary trials of taking a stand for clean and
commonsense local government.
how they lived. Not so for Judaism, which
emphasized that the content of life is what
matters, and that even martyrdom is char-
acterized by sacrificial dedication rather
than glory.
This difference of opinion had major
ramifications. For instance, while Romans
Judaism is
particularly
helpful, with its
teaching that
there is nothing
dignified
about death.
commonly glorified suicide, Jews vehe-
mently opposed shortening a life, even for
a short period of time.
The death with dignity movement
seeks to fulfill an age-old pagan impulse: to
control the circumstances of death to give
it meaning. This is, however, an attempt to
escape what Judaism teaches us: that there
can be no death with dignity, only life with
dignity. That death is tamei impure. It
is the skull on the Renaissance scholars
desk, reminding him of what Ecclesias-
tes teaches us: the sorrowful yet inspiring
reality that precisely because life is fleet-
ing, every moment ought to be cherished
and lived to its fullest.
Just as the Hasmoneans had had enough
of what they perceived to be sold-out Hel-
lenized Jewry, so too did I with the wrong-
headed local political elite. Unlike the
Hasmoneans, I did not have to fight my
enemies in battle, nor would I have been
inclined to kill those with whom I disagree,
yet the institutional challenge of building
an ideological insurgency runs through
both my failed (but educational) council
run and their successful expulsion of the
Seleucids.
The Thanksgiving message of appreciat-
ing what we have and the Chanukah theme
of taking a stand and fighting for your own
independence may seem antithetical, but
it took a City Council campaign to teach
me that they are in fact complementary.
Wishing all a chag sameach!
Joshua Sotomayor-Einstein is a member of
the Hudson County Regional Jewish Council
and a Republican state committeeman. He
founded the Moishe House in Hoboken in
2007 and his work has been published in
more than 13 papers and websites.
Aldous Huxleys savage in Brave New
World insisted to his societys death with
dignity practitioners that Shakespeare
was right in warning that death is black as
night, something to be feared rather than
dismissed. To argue otherwise is a fatal
conceit for true human dignity, resulting
in undervaluing the importance of living
every moment of life to its fullest.
This is not to minimize the existence
of heartrending cases involving pain and
suffering. But attempts to end pain do not
justify creating a legal regime to enlist the
help of healers in support of those who
resort to extreme measures. Judaism is
full of extreme examples of Jews who took
their own lives in unusual circumstances,
from the Roman occupation to Masada to
the Crusades. But we ought to emulate
medieval Jewish commentators, who dis-
couraged such behavior while refusing to
condemn the heroes of the past. It is not
our place to judge those who made diffi-
cult choices in the face of challenges that
we do not face. But at the same time, we
ought not normalize the extreme. If we do
so, we will undermine appreciation for the
infinite significance of life.
We ought to encourage our loved ones
to live, and mourn when they feel they
cannot. Creating deadly legal channels
offers only a false sense of human dignity.
What people do in extreme circumstances
is not the business of the law. By making
the killing of the innocent the business
of the law, instead of fostering individual
dignity, we instead turn the law against
human dignity.
 Opinion

On achieving our potential

T
here is a famous Rashi in the
beginning of parashat Chayai
Sarah that explains why the
Torah enumerates Sarahs age
as one hundred years, twenty years and
seven years instead of writing it simply as
127 years.
Rashi says that the repetition of years
divides Sarahs life into three periods, each
with its own uniqueness. At 100 she was as
sinless as a 20-year-old, because until the
age of 20 a person does not suffer heav-
enly punishment. And at 20 she still had
the wholesome beauty of a 7-year-old, who
does not use cosmetics and whose beauty
is natural.
I believe that Sarah got to that level of
purity and integrity because she con-
stantly worked on herself. Sarah was not
born this way. I am sure that she had con-
stantly to battle to make the right choices,
but through time she built herself to
become Sarah Imenu.
In fact, none of the patriarchs and matri-
archs were born righteous. For example,
Abraham was called Evree, which trans-
lates into the Hebrew. Evree comes
from the word ever, meaning one side. The book talks about Rabbi Yaakov Kami-
In other words, Abraham was on one netzky, Rabbi Nathan Kaminetzkys father,
side as a monotheist, and the rest of the who is the revered rosh yeshiva of Yeshi-
world was on the other side vat Torah Vedaat, as well
as polytheists. In order for as other great rabbis, all
Abraham truly to believe in describing their lives and
one God, he was challenged how they became leaders.
10 times. Sarah was chal- Many rabbis banned this
lenged by having Hagar and book, saying that it belittles
Yishmael around. Rivka and the rabbis by describing
Yitzchak had to leave the land them as human beings.
of Canaan because there was When this ban was
a famine. Rachel and Leah announced, I said in a ser-
had to deal with the deceitful Rabbi Ilan mon to my congregation
father with whom they grew Acoca that I disagreed with it, sim-
up. Even our great prophet ply because I felt that it was
Moshe did not become our important to educate peo-
master and leader overnight. It was ple that these rabbis were human beings,
only after he showed concern for the and they got to the level where they were
well-being of the Jewish nation that God revered because they worked hard to
approached him. Even then, Moshe is put achieve that. They did exactly what Sarah
to the challenge by both God and the Jew- and other Torah personalities did.
ish nation. Only after that did he become That actually would encourage us to
Moshe rabbenu. emulate them and try to reach to their
There is a two-volume book, published level. If we would portray these Torah
in 2002, called The Making of Gadol, that giants as perfect, that would not give us
was written by Rabbi Nathan Kaminetzky. any way to even try to work on ourselves.
We simply would give up.
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light
bulb, went through 1,000 experiments
before he finally was successful. When one
of his close friends told him that after so
many failures it was time to give up and
move on, Mr. Edison replied that he had
found another way in which his invention
will not work, and that knowledge would
bring him closer to be successful.
For me, there is a clear message. Each
and every one of us was born to get to his
potential. We will get there through hard
work and great persistence.
This is what makes Judaism so special,
and this is why I chose this path, where
I could work on my midot and inspire
others as well to do so by being a living
example.
Let us all take this message to heart and
inspire our children, family, and friends to
grow and achieve their potential.
Ilan Acoca is the rabbi of the Sephardic
Congregation of Fort Lee, rav bet hasefer
of Ben Porat Yosef in Paramus, and the
author of The Sephardic Book of Why.

Strength
from page 35
intersection of their values and my weakness, especially as compared
to the many scholars who generally fill rooms in these institutions.
Dont get me wrong. It is a beautiful tradition to include words of
Torah at a Jewish gathering. I wouldnt mind if they asked if someone
else at the event could give a dvar Torah before or after I speak. But it
is precisely this concept the idea that we must be good at everything
to be truly smart or capable, that we cant merely offer up to the world
only that at which we excel that leaves our children and us feeling as
though we are never quite good enough, and especially that we are not
as good as the person next to us, who probably has the exact skillset
that we are lacking.
By way of another example, there is a woman I know who I find to be
incredibly accomplished and inspiring. She is an attorney and a writer
and a moving speaker. But she will never host a meeting or an event in
her house because she cant bake. She spends so much of her time
avoiding any scenario where her glaring weakness will be displayed
to the world that she barely even recognizes how much she has to offer.
My dream for my children is that when they are adults, they will
live in a world where they can feel good about everything that they
offer. Period. I want them to see how talented, beautiful, and inspir-
ing they are without ever comparing themselves to others around
them who are also talented, beautiful, and inspiring, but in com-
pletely different ways.
I want them to see themselves as I see them, as everything they are,
and nothing they are not. Perhaps the more we model that truth as
adults, without ever feeling inadequate because of the gap between our
talents and others, the more likely it is that our children will believe
that everyone has something completely awesome and unique to offer
to the universe.
Cheryl Weiner Rosenberg lives in Englewood; this month she was elected
to represent the first ward on the city council. She has four children
who attend Ben Porat Yosef, where until June she was the president of
the board of trustees. She is a lifelong activist on progressive issues and
recently completed the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program.
Letters
Jews have reasons turned down and arts, physical education, librar-
to oppose the eruv ies, and so on have suffered. Budgets have been
Regarding the Statement of principles regarding rejected because the religious Jewish community
civil discourse (November 10) while I totally does not send their children to the public schools
agree about the need for high standards of dis- and so votes no to the budgets. Towns have suf-
course and kindness, the onus should not be put fered due to not enough property taxes being col-
on the opponents of the eruv without providing lected, due to homes being designated as reli-
the reasons behind their feelings, which is not nec- gious institutions.
essarily anti-Semitism. Thats especially true since We know anti-Semitism exists; however, please
some of the residents are Jews. There is real cause be mindful to both sides of a story. It would be
for concern about the eruv, based on the state of good to hear from the members of the Jewish
the towns and schools in Rockland County. community who have very real concerns about
The public schools especially have suffered tre- their communities.
mendously, and the children who need the most Sandra Kleinman
help have been hurt the most. Budgets have been Old Tappan
Dont forget
to enter our
Chanukah
Gift
Giveaway
contests in the
Chanukah
Gift Book
and
about Our
Children!
Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017 37
Opinion

The ultimate victory of an African tyrant

W
ho made all of the follow-
ing statements?
Gay people are worse
than dogs and pigs. I keep
pigs, and the male pig knows the female
one.
I am still the Hitler of the time. This Hit-
ler has only one objective: justice for his
people, sovereignty for his people, recog-
nition of the independence of his people
and their rights over their resources.
Only God, who appointed me, will
remove me.
White farmers are so hard-hearted, you
would think they were Jews.
Were it not for the reference to pig farm-
ing, you might guess that such statements
had been uttered by a Muslim leader like
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
or Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. But the man who spoke these
words, the man who now finds himself
under house arrest in the same country
where he proclaimed himself a Hitler,
is the ailing 93-year-old dictator of Zimba-
bwe, Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
If the initial reports from Harare turn
out to be correct, Mugabes removal after
37 years of savagely repressive rule is the
consequence of a coup, rather than a
democratic revolution. Specifically, its a
coup against the looming succession of
Mugabes second wife, Gracea vicious,
deeply corrupt woman who is given to Robert Mugabe addresses the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2017.
beating and humiliating her
house servants when she is against dissidents that esca- When we are reduced to looking at dicta- evolved into an undisguised kleptocracy,
not out of the country, away lated into genocidal mass tors through the lens of historical analysis, with psychological fear, state brutality, and
on shopping trips to Givenchy murder in the northern ter- rather than placing them on trial in the halls violence by pro-government vigilantes the
in Paris. ritory of Matabeleland in of justice, we are compelled even more to three main instruments of control.
If that is the case, it may 1983 to 1984. These atroci- consider the role of our own governments It wasnt until 2002 that the European
well be that Mugabes succes- ties were an early warning of and societies in perpetuating their rule. Few Union imposed a regime of travel restrictions
sor, the recently sacked Vice where Mugabe was headed would dispute that Mugabe was a target of and sanctions on Mugabe and his lieutenants,
President Emmerson Mnan- but few people thought he moral opprobrium in the West, but that was but the dictator still was spotted at United
gagwa, will allow his former would last as long as 2017 about as far as it went. He was protected by Nations gatherings in New York and Rome
boss to live out his remaining Ben Cohen without ever relenting on his meetings at international organization were
months on earth in out-of- brutality. conveniently exempted from the ban. In
sight luxury. If we are to judge Mugabes 2015, perhaps as a gift to mark Mugabes 90th
That is not how it should end for a man
who committed genocide, took a leaf out
entire career, its tempting to conclude that
he looked contemporaries like Ronald Rea-
A close ally of year, the EU lifted most of these restrictions
in recognition of his status as chairman of the
of Stalins book by plunging his country gan, Margaret Thatcher, and Nelson Man- the Palestinians African Union. As for the Western left and the
into a deliberate famine, and conducted
campaigns of ethnic cleansing against both
dela in the eye, and outmaneuvered and
outlived all of them. Even if by some mir-
and of Yasser post-colonial nations, Mugabe was seen as an
anti-imperialist hero in many of these circles.
Zimbabwes desperately poor black urban acle he is sentenced for his crimes, prison Arafat personally, Had Western nations gathered to bring him
underclass and the once-wealthy commu-
nity of white farmers. A man such as Rob-
for him will be a gilded cage. But the likeli-
hood is that he will see out his days with-
Mugabe down, he doubtless would have become an
icon of the anti-war movement.
ert Mugabe, guilty of grave crimes against out ever being held accountable. occasionally A close ally of the Palestinians and of Yas-
humanity, belongs in a prison cell.
There is a chilling passage in the excel-
In my view, the worst aspect of Mugabes
ultimate victory against civilized values is
made anti-Semitic ser Arafat personally, Mugabe occasionally
made anti-Semitic remarks about Jewish
lent biography of Mugabe by the British the example it sets. In Venezuela, Presi- remarks about money and influence. Anti-Semitism was
journalist Martin Meredith, in which the
dictator, during his first year in power,
dent Nicolas Maduro has absorbed more
from Mugabe than from his own tyrannical
Jewish money and marginal to his actions, but it seems to have
played a roleas it does with most dictators
promised his party comrades, We will predecessor, Hugo Chavez, the conviction influence. in shaping his view of the world.
kill those snakes among us, we will smash that brazen, thuggish brutality and con- After all, it goes with the territory.
them completely. However, as Meredith tempt for legal norms is the key to regime the Soviets for the first decade of his rule,
writes, Mugabes first victims were not survival. Maduro is unlikely to join Mugabe and Western capitals never considered Zim- Ben Cohen writes a weekly column on Jewish
whites, but the Ndebele and Kalanga in the club of dictators who got away, but babwes misery after the Cold War ended as affairs and Middle Eastern politics. His work
peoples. there is now no reason to believe that Syr- a major threat to peace and security. If, in has been published in Commentary, the New
Thus was born the Gukurahundi, or ias Bashar al-Assad wont join him there Eastern Europe, communism was replaced York Post, Haaretz, the Wall Street Journal,
Peoples Storm, an ostensible campaign eventually. by multiparty democracy, in Zimbabwe it and many other publications.

38 Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017


Vayeitzei: Leaving and going
T
his weeks Torah portion
begins by telling us that Jacob
both left Beer Sheva and that
he went towards Haran. The
Beis HaLeivi points out that sometimes
you leave a place to get away from there,
other times you have to go somewhere
and the only way to get there is by leav-
ing the place youre in. Here, Yaakov
needed both to leave and to go. He was
fulfilling the mitzvah of honoring each of
his parents kibud av vaeim with each
of these actions.
What is the lesson of this observation
about how Jacob both left and went? In life
we often win while losing at the same time.
Its better if we can win and win, but that
is only rarely possible. Yaakov won doubly
by the effects of his actions, leaving Beer-
sheva to obey his mother, and going to
Haran to obey his father.
This relates to the beginning of the por-
tion of Masei toward the end of Bamidbar,
BRIEFS
German court in favor of
Kuwait discrimination
against Israelis
A district court in Frankfurt, Germany,
ruled in favor of Kuwait Airways in a dis-
crimination case brought by an Israeli pas-
senger who was barred from boarding his
flight due to his nationality.
The Frankfurt court noted that Kuwait
bans all of its citizens and companies from
doing business with Israelis. The court stated
that while it didnt evaluate whether this
law makes sense, the airline would have
risked repercussions that were not reason-
ablesuch as such as fines or prison time for
employeesfor violating the Kuwaiti statute,
The Associated Press reported.
Last month, German Federal Minister of
Transport Alexander Dobrindt ordered an
investigation into whether Kuwait Airways
violates air traffic laws through its ban on
Israelis.
The Lawfare Project, a nonprofit that
provides legal assistance to the Israelis
who were banned from traveling, called
the Frankfurt courts ruling an obvious
instance of anti-Semitism.
This is a clear-cut case of bigoted, anti-
Semitic discrimination, said Brooke Gold-
stein, executive director of The Lawfare
Project. To see a Jewish person banned
from exercising his freedoms in Germany
in 2017 is chilling enough. To see that dis-
crimination whitewashed and legitimized
by a German judge is grotesque. JNS.ORG
Dvar Torah
which starts by saying that
the Jewish peoples leaving
the places they camped was
for the purpose of getting to
their new destinations. Then
the Torah reverses the order
and says the destination list
was structured according to
their leaving other places.
Perhaps these two framings Rabbi Neil
show that from Gods per- Fleischmann
spective, the point was that Jewish studies
teacher and
they had to get to their next guidance counselor
station, which by necessity at the Frisch
meant they had to leave the School, Paramus,
Orthodox
place where they were. On
the other hand, the people
were always restless. From
their point of view, they just needed to
get out of where they were regardless of
where they would end up.
Sometimes we need to move toward a
destination, and we mistakenly feel that
India reportedly cancels
$525 million missile
deal with Israeli firm
India has cancelled a $525 million missile
deal with Israel, in a development that
goes against the grain of the growing rela-
tions between the two countries, Indian
media reported Monday.
Indias 2014 deal to buy Spike anti-tank
missiles from Israels Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems has been overturned,
The Indian Express reported. Instead,
Indias Defense Research and Develop-
ment Organization reportedly plans to
develop and produce its own antitank mis-
sile domestically.
In April, Israel Aerospace Industries
signed agreements amounting to $2 billion
with India, including a $1.6 billion contract
to deliver a medium-range surface-to-air
missile defense system and a $400 million
deal for a long-range surface-to-air missile
system.
Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi
visited Israel in July. It was the first such
trip by a sitting Indian head of state. Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
scheduled to visit India next January.
India is Israels 10th-largest trade part-
ner worldwide and its second-largest trade
partner in Asia. In 2016, trade between
Israel and India amounted to $4 billion.
 JNS.ORG
this destination is all that
matters. We can pay sorely
for focusing solely on our
desire to move on, even if
moving forward is the right
the Divine thing to do.
We can fail to enjoy the
process of moving forward
or the moment were in, a
time that has its own integ-
rity and upon which well
one day look back with
fondness. It is a shame not
to appreciate the here and
now, which will too soon
be later.
A related idea arises in
this portion when Leah
names her fourth son. She names him for
the gratitude she feels in having a child.
For the first time in naming her child she
did not focus on hope for the future, and
pray that her husband would feel more
Cathay Pacific airline
to open Israel office,
upgrade Tel Aviv-Hong
Kong route
Cathay Pacific, the flagship airline of
Hong Kong, is set to launch an office in
Israel as well as daily Tel Aviv-Hong Kong
flights beginning in 2018.
The companys agenda is to allocate
airliners to destinations for which we see
strong demand, and it can therefore be
assumed that we will also increase the fre-
quency of the flights to daily, said Cathay
Pacifics Israel manager, Jonathan Bailey,
Globes reported.
Cathay Pacifics first flight to Israel
landed at Ben Gurion Airport in March.
The airline now offers around four to
six weekly flights between Tel Aviv and
Hong Kong, and uses the environmentally
friendly 280-seat Airbus A350 planes on
the route. Next year, the airline may intro-
duce Airbus A350-1000 planes for the
Israel route, increasing seating capacity
by 10 percent, according to Globes.
The [Israeli customer] segment that
surprised us was business class, both in
comparison with other countries and with
the forecasts, Bailey said. Demand for
business class was huge. The feeling is that
the passengers, especially businessmen
who fly a lot, appreciate what they get for
their money.
 JNS.ORG
JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 39
love for her. Rather than focusing on
where she wanted to go, Rivkah appre-
ciated where she had gotten to, and she
thanked God.
The mishna in Avot says Hevei goleh
limkom Torah Exile yourself to a place
of Torah. There are two halves here.
Theres Hevei goleh, and theres Limkom
Torah. Getting away from bad influences
is one half while going to a positive place
is the other required piece if we seek spiri-
tual success.
On a broader scale there is the concept
of sur meirah vaasei tov, keep away
from bad and do good (as put by King
David). As much as possible in all we do we
should be sidestepping the negative road-
blocks in life and building up the positive
influences that are everywhere.
May God bless us with success in effec-
tively departing and going at the same
time, embracing the positive in life, as we
move ever forward.
PA threatens to sever
communication with
Trump over closure of
PLOs DC office
The Palestinian Authority threatened to
sever communication with the Trump
administration if the U.S. follows through
with a threat to shutter the office of the
Palestine Liberation Organization in
Washington.
The Palestinian threat came after the
U.S. State Department declined to renew
the operating permission for the PLOs
office for the first time since the 1980s.
PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat called the
move very unfortunate and unaccept-
able, and accused the Trump administra-
tion of capitulating to Israeli pressure.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed
the Palestinians that the decision came in
response to statements made by Abbas at
the United Nations General Assembly in
September, when the PA leader called on
the International Criminal Court to prose-
cute Israeli officials. American law specifies
that the PLO mission in Washington should
be shuttered if the Palestinians initiate legal
action against Israel at the ICC.
The State Department clarified that the
offices closure could be waived within 90
days if President Donald Trump deter-
mines the Palestinians have entered into
direct, meaningful negotiations with Israel.
 JNS.ORG
Crossword
40 BY YONI GLATT
The Frazzled Housewife
KOSHERCROSSWORDS@GMAIL.COM
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: CHALLENGING

A very Brady Thanksgiving

H
appy Thanksgiving! phones, for those of you too young to
I find there is a lot of pres- know about anything that came before
sure around this holiday. the smart phone.) And we told them.
The commercials on tele- Kids, we are going on a cruise and we
vision of families coming together sur- leave on Sunday!
rounded by perfect lighting, stuffing that In my mind I had played out the sce-
looks too good to be true, and biscuits. nario. My beautiful boys telling me how
The pressure!!!! Which side of the family much they loved me and what wonder-
do you go to? I imagine there are families ful parents we are and how they can-
that have everyone together. That is what not wait to go away and spend quality
I dream of having. time together.
Since everything is sup- This was not
posed to be about creating the reaction.
beautiful memories, I asked Son #1 was upset
son #3 what his most memo- because he was going to
rable Thanksgiving was. His miss the Vikings game,
response? When we went son #2 was upset because
on the cruise. Ah yes, the son #1 was upset, and son
Thanksgiving cruise of 2010. #3 was afraid to break
Lets go back in time. I was the trend that his broth-
turning 40 and I thought Banji ers started, so he, too,
I wanted diamond studs. Ganchrow was disgruntled.
(Please dont judge. If you Really?? This is how you
knew me, you would know are reacting to going away?
that I dress like a homeless person. This, I gave up diamond earrings for this? Hus-
of course, comes from having a mother band #1 and I looked at each other and
who was and is, til 120, perfectly acces- just started laughing. In our wildest
sorized.) In any event, after thinking dreams, we never thought this would
about it, I decided that instead of ear- be the reaction, so it was just funny. We
Across Down
rings, I wanted the five of us to go away knew that our kids werent acting like this
1. King for 40 years 1. The ___ Curse (Dashiell Hammett
6. Home on the range novel) together on a cruise. After all, time goes because they were spoiled. Our vacations
11. Ashcroft and Holder, for short 2. Tolstoys Karenina by so fast. Soon they would be out of have consisted of driving for hundreds of
14. ___ in the hole 3. Distillery items the house and we would only see them miles to watch baseball games and stay in
15. Husbands chayil 4. Baseball great often referred to once or twice a year. (I am exaggerating. I motels that have other peoples socks left
16. Kosher charger mononymously
hope.) Cruises are relatively economical, in the beds. (Dont ask. I am the best mom
17. Where Jews wandered for 40 years 5. Wallace of E.T.
19. Oscar winner Mahershala 6. Be rife (with) and I am just so selfless that I wanted my EVER.) We chalked it up to them just not
20. Jewish leader, once 7. Eppes follower family to enjoy a vacation. realizing how to react.
21. Blessing ender 8. Connor McDavid of the Stars, e.g. Husband #1 and I decided that we In the end, the cruise was just what I
22. Monastery man 9. Always, to a poet were going to wait to tell the kids. We had hoped. A week of bonding. A week
24. No-goodnik 10. James of jazz
wanted to surprise them, like in those of sharing beautiful sunsets with my kids,
26. Easters beginning? 11. Lawrences land
28. Organization that spreads ha Torah 12. Half of wet-weather wear Disney commercials. You know the ones, and a week that apparently left an indel-
29. Judge for 40 years 13. Horse workers where the parents tell the kids to wake ible impression on them as well.
33. They need 40 seahs of water 18. He died with Korach up because they are going to Disney Well, at least on son #3. I didnt ask the
35. Portfolio part, in brief 23. Gemara locale World, and the kids start screaming with other two because they werent home.
36. Knowing, as a secret 25. Grande of song
joy and excitement. So a few days before But, we will assume they feel the same.
38. Expected 27. Free (of)
39. Lav ___ (approximately) 29. Carried out we were to leave, we told the boys that I hope.
41. Judge for 40 years 30. Stat. for Scott Feldman we had something to tell them. We gath- My most memorable Thanksgivings
43. Doughnut finish 31. Tu ___ ered them around the kitchen table and were driving out to Brooklyn, to my
47. Opposite of a ques. 32. Furrow maker I pressed record on my really cool digi- dads parents. Every other year my aunt
49. Sported 34. Shabbat side dishes
tal camera. (Cameras came before smart and uncle and cousins from Virginia
51. Winnie-the-Pooh baby 37. Dodgers div.
52. Navi who didnt eat or drink for 40 40. Option for flight options would be there, and it was something
days 42. Apple letters we all looked forward to. And since
56. King for 40 years 44. Give an uzi to my grandparents werent kosher, they
58. Robe for Caesar 45. Jerusalem has a Biblical one used to have the whole meal catered by
59. Kwik-E-Mart clerk 46. Many, many years
61. 90s show seaQuest ___ 48. Shecket! A week of this place in Brooklyn. The stuffing was
incredible. Heavenly. My brother and I
62. He played Sully
64. Olympics blade
50. Where to get a quick buck?
52. Fuel gas bonding. A dreamed of it all year long. He still tries
66. Stone who recently played King
70. Shanah, in Spain
53. Rental car
54. Snub, in a way week of sharing to replicate it. The place is no longer in
existence, so we will never know what
71. Noah experienced 40 days of it
74. ___ Yisroel
55. Knocks over
57. Burn the 34-Down
beautiful sunsets really was in it.
75. Cosmetician Elizabeth
76. Particular parah
60. Outcome of many a Maccabee battle
63. A cereal elf
with my kids, But we have the memories.
Heres hoping that your Thanksgiving
77. Able was I ___... 65. 11,000-foot Italian peak and a week that was memorable.
78. It can be a pizza alternative or a pizza
topping
67. Spiegelman classic
68. Marceau, e.g. apparently left Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck remembers
79. He spends 40 day intervals with G-d 69. Santa ___ (hot winds)
72. Girls light name an indelible her first Thanksgiving, when she and
73. Adlon of Better Things, for short
impression on husband #1 spent the entire night
defrosting the turkey in cold water.
The solution to last weeks puzzle is on page 46. them as well. Good times!

40 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 Arts & Culture
The Mighty Atom
CURT SCHLEIER

B
efore there was Superman there
was Joe Greenstein.
And if you think the story
of an infant rocketing to earth
from an exploding planet, raised by a
small-town farmer and his wife, fighting
for truth and justice and the American
way, is hard to believe, well, to quote Al
Jolson, you aint seen nothing yet.
Greensteins life is told in an engaging
documentary called The Mighty Atom,
the nickname earned by the 54, 140-
pound very unlikely strongman.
It may not be much of a reach to sug-
gest (as the filmmaker does) that because
Supermans creators, Jerry Siegel and
Joe Schuster, were Jewish, maybe they
knew about Joes feats. It probably is
going a bit overboard to imply that they
patterned the Man of Steel after the
diminutive strongman who bit through
steel. But then again, the filmmaker, Steve Among his feats, Joe Greenstein pulled cars with his hair. Below right, Joe with chain in his teeth.
Greenstein, is Joes grandson.
For the record, thats not a misprint.
Joes strongman feats included biting
through a chain, bending horseshoes
and pulling cars and trucks using ropes
attached to his hair or in his mouth.
Greenstein was born in Suvalk, Poland,
in 1893. He was sickly when he was young,
suffered a variety of respiratory ailments,
and was diagnosed with consumption
thats what they called tuberculosis then
when he was 14. He was given four, maybe
five years to live.
Sneaking into a traveling circus, he met
the shows strongman, a Russian who Even before the IDF, Green-
went by the name Champion Volanko. stein proved that conven-
Volanko, who was Jewish, felt sorry for tional wisdom wrong. The film
Greenstein and took him under his wing. recounts an episode where Joes strongman
Greenstein joined the circus, and using
Volankos training regimen (as well as
Greenstein came across a Bund
meeting sign that read No Dogs
feats included
dietary and breathing techniques he sup- or Jews Allowed. He ripped it biting through a
posedly picked up in his travels through
Asia) apparently was able to prove the doc-
down, and when the attendees
came out to challenge him, he
chain, bending
tors diagnosis wrong. took them all on with a bat. A horseshoes and
After about 18 months on the road,
he returned to Poland, got married, and
Hank Greenberg bat.
Greensteins specialties, in
pulling cars and
started a family, but because of ever-pres- Steve Greenstein, Joes grandson addition to bending metal, trucks using
ent anti-Semitism, emigrated to the United
States, landing in Galveston, Texas. Mighty Atom. Thats because the thing that
were pulling heavy objects
(cars, trains) with his teeth and banging a
ropes attached
He opened a gas station. Thats where, made Joe unique beyond his strength was nail into wood using just his hand. He even to his hair or in
according to legend (and Steve Green-
stein), fate intruded. Harry Houdini was
how small he was.
As Edward Meyer, a Ripleys Entertain-
stopped a small plane with his hair.
He used his various platforms the
his mouth.
one of the passengers in a car that had a ment executive, notes in the film, in the vaudeville stage, county fairs to preach
flat near Joes station. Greenstein changed worlds strongest man competitions, typi- the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise. Americas Got Talent in 2014 and pulled a
the tire without benefit of a jack. He simply cally the contestants all are around 350, Oh, and also a line of elixirs he developed. 3,500 pound car with his teeth.
lifted the car with one hand and put the maybe even 400 pounds. A small guy is Joe continued to entertain until just The Mighty Atom is harmless fun. It
tire on with the other. always going to steal the show, he said. a few months before he died in 1977. He wanders a bit and the viewer never is com-
The groups manager was so impressed, Greenstein was also unique because, as often appeared with his sons, who seemed pletely sure what is fact and what is hyper-
he signed Greenstein as a client and a few people stereotypically note, Jews are to have inherited his strength gene. His bole. But true or not, its nice to think we
booked him on tour as wait for it the not a people known for physical strength. son Mike was 93 when he appeared on had our own Superman.

JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 41

Calendar
DEC. The Maccabeats will perform an eclectic array of songs at the
Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood on Wednesday,
6 December 6, at 7:30 p.m. The all-male a capella group originally
formed in 2007 at Yeshiva University. Its played sold-out shows
to thousands across the world. For tickets, go to www.ticketmaster.com or
call the box office, (201) 227-1030.
Friday
NOVEMBER 24
Shabbat in Jersey
City: Bnai Jacob
hosts a potluck dinner
celebrating Shabbat, led
by Rabbi Aaron Katz,
7 p.m. Bring a favorite
dish; no meat. 176 West
Side Ave. Reservations,
(201) 435-5725 or Info@
bnaijacobjc.org.
Saturday
NOVEMBER 25
Films in Teaneck:
Congregation Beth Aaron
sponsors a screening
of Little Dictator,
Persian Lullaby,
and Gravediggers
Daughter, from the photographer/raconteur
Maaleh School of Dick Stanton is the guest
Television, Film & the Arts
in Jerusalem, 8:30 p.m.
Films in Hebrew, with
English subtitles. 950
Queen Anne Road.
42 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
Shalom presents visiting
scholar Rabbi David
Fine of Temple Israel &
JCC in Ridgewood with
a new series, Judaism
& Christianity: The
History of a Challenging
Relationship.
Refreshments at
12:30 p.m. Series
Rabbi Larry Rothwachs continues December 7.
1449 Anderson Ave., Fort
Jewish parenting: Rabbi Lee. (201) 947 1735.
Larry Rothwachs begins
a series, Perspectives Mah-jongg fundraiser
on Jewish Parenting in Alpine: Jewish
In an Ever-Changing Federation of Northern
World, with a discussion, New Jersey holds Mah
Parenting on Purpose: Jongg With Meaning, a
The Goals, Objectives mahj-athon including
and Measures of cocktails, dinner,
Jewish Parenting, at entertainment, and
Congregation Beth raffles, at Montammy
Aaron in Teaneck, Golf Club, 6:30 p.m.
8:30 p.m. The series Proceeds will benefit
continues December 5, children and women in
19, 26, January 2, and 9. need. (201) 820-3930
950 Queen Anne Road. or www.JFNNJ.org/
(201) 836-6210 or www. mahjongg.
bethaaron.org.
Friday
Wednesday
NOVEMBER 29
DECEMBER 1
Caf Europa in Teaneck:
ABBIE SOPHIA
Caf Europa, a social
program sponsored
by Jewish Family &
(201) 836-6210 or www. Media with a new Childrens Services of
Film in Paramus:
bethaaron.org.
The JCC of Paramus/
series, The American
Jewish Experience
Northern New Jersey
Congregation Beth for Holocaust survivors,
Sunday Tikvah shows The
through Cinema.
Refreshments at
funded in part by the
Claims Conference and
NOVEMBER 26 Bands Visit as part of 12:30 p.m.; lecture, The Dr. Marc Brettler
its Jewish Film Festival, the Jewish Federation
Immigrant Experience:
hosted by Cantor Sam of Northern New Jersey, Shabbat in Fort Lee:
Senior residence Hollywoods Filmmakers
Weiss, 8:15 p.m. East meets at Temple Emeth, The CSI Scholar Fund
open house: The & Immigrants; Struggles
304 Midland Ave. 11:30 a.m. Kosher of the JCC of Fort Lee/
Esplanade at Palisades With the Tensions
(201) 262-7691. lunch and a musical Congregation Gesher
holds an open house, of American Life, at performance by Kosher Shalom presents Dr. Marc
11 a.m.-1 p.m. 640 Oak 1. Series continues Jazz. 1666 Windsor
Tree Road, Palisades, N.Y. Tuesday December 5 and 12. 1449 Road. Shari Brodsky,
Brettler as scholar-in-
residence for Weekend
(845) 359-7870 or events@ Anderson Ave., Fort Lee.
esplanadeatpalisades.
NOVEMBER 28 (201) 947 1735.
(201) 837-9090, ext. 237, with the Bible, a series
or sharib@jfcsnnj.org. of four lectures exploring
com.
many aspects of the
Rabbis roundtable in
Wyckoff: Rabbi Stephen
Painting and wine Bible, beginning tonight
Monday Wylen concludes a
in Fair Lawn: Bris
Avrohom hosts Paint
with dinner and services,
6 p.m. 1449 Anderson
NOVEMBER 27 roundtable discussion your own, with wine,
Ave. Dinner reservations,
series on Jewish Religion 8 p.m. 30-02 Fair Lawn
in the First Century (201) 947-1735.
Nature still life photos: Ave. Reservations,
The Fair Lawn chapter Sects with a discussion, (201) 791-7200.
Shabbat in Closter:
of Hadassah meets at Hillel and Jesus, at
Temple Beth El holds
Temple Beth Rishon,
the Fair Lawn Jewish
Center/CBI, 1 p.m. Nature Dr. Eric Goldman 7 p.m. 585 Russell Ave. Thursday services led by Rabbi
David S. Widzer and
Lens on America: The
(201) 891-4466 or www. NOVEMBER 30 student cantor Julie
bethrishon.org.
CSI Scholar Fund of Staple and featuring
speaker. Refreshments.
the JCC of Fort Lee/ Judaism & Christianity: the Shabbat Unplugged
10-10 Norma Ave. The CSI Scholar Fund
Congregation Gesher Band, members of
(201) 796-5040 or of the JCC of Fort Lee/ the congregation,
Shalom presents Dr.
l.felner@att.net. Congregation Gesher and clarinetist Ben
Eric Goldman of Ergo

Baron, 7:30 p.m. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112.
Saturday
DECEMBER 2
Shabbat in Closter: Dr.
Steven Bayme is scholar-
in-residence at Temple
Emanu-El during services
that begin at 9 a.m. Dr.
Bayme is director of the
Contemporary Jewish
Life Department of
the American Jewish
Committee and of the
Koppelman Institute on
American Jewish-Israeli
Relations. 180 Piermont
Road. (201) 750-9997 or
templeemanu-el.com.
Shabbat in Teaneck:
Shera Dubitsky is
scholar-in-residence
at Congregation Keter
Torah for Sharsherets
Pink Shabbat, inspired
by Rochelle Shoretz,
zl . She will discuss
Empathy: Standing in
Someone Elses Shoes
during services at 9 a.m.
A special pink kiddush
follows; attendees are
encouraged to dress
in pink. 600 Roemer
Ave. (201) 907-0180 or
ketertorah.org.
Casino night in Wayne:
Mitchell.borger@gmail.
com with questions.
www.templebethtikvahnj.
org.
School open house in
Hartsdale: Schechter
Westchester holds
an open house for its
middle school, grades
6 to 8, 9:30 a.m.-noon.
Brunch served. 555 West
Hartsdale Ave., Hartsdale,
NY. (914) 948-8333.
www.THINK.
SchechterWestchester.
org, or www.
schechterwestchester.
org.
Gift boutique in Glen
Rock: Come to the Glen
Rock Jewish Center for
a holiday gift boutique,
11 a.m.-4 p.m., with
clothing jewelry, books,
Judaica, and accessories.
682 Harristown Road.
(201) 652-6624 or
office@grjc.org.
Book discussion in cack Valley in Woodcliff Lake went on the
Teaneck: The Jewish
Center of Teaneck hosts
the Leaves of Faith book
club with a discussion of
stories from S. Y. Agnons
A City in its Fullness.
8 p.m. 70 Sterling Place.
(201) 833-0515.
Discussing Islam in
Teaneck: The adult
Susan Golden COURTESY NCJWBCS
Hard hat tour
Members of Temple Emanuel of the Pas-
Hard Hat Tour of Ellis Island. The tour,
newly open to the public, included areas
of the 750-bed Ellis Island Hospital, includ-
ing the infectious and contagious disease
wards, kitchen, mortuary, and autopsy
rooms, as well as the laundry building,
which has much of its original equipment
still in place. At its peak of operation in the
early 20th century, the hospital was the
Calendar
NCJW studies effects
of climate change on
world environment
The Bergen County section of the National Council of Jew-
ish Women will present The Effects of Climate Change on
the World Environment and Human Health on Tuesday,
November 28, at 1 p.m. at Temple Emeth, 1666 Windsor Road
in Teaneck.
Susan Golden will discuss the causes of global warming,
the way it affects our lives, and methods that might mitigate
its effects. Ms. Golden, who was trained by former U.S. Vice
President Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project, chairs the
Paramus Environmental Commission and is a volunteer with
the Hackensack Riverkeeper.
For more information, call (201) 385-4847 or go to www.
ncjwbcs.org.

Temple Beth Tikvah
hosts a casino night
fundraiser at the shul,
7-11 p.m. Admission
includes catering by
the Brownstone, glass
of wine or beer, soft
drinks, and dessert
buffet. 950 Preakness
Ave. (973) 595-6565 or
templebethtikvahnj.org.
Sunday
DECEMBER 3
Walk in Wayne: Temple
Beth Tikvahs monthly
dog-friendly walk
through Laurelwood
Arboretum in Pines Lake
is at 9:30 a.m., weather
permitting. Walk on
unpaved, well-maintained
trails with several
modest hills. Children
welcome. Sturdy shoes
and baggies for dogs
required. Meet at the
Sensory Garden located
between the two parking
lots. 725 Pines Lake Drive
West, Wayne. Email
Announce your events
We welcome announcements of upcoming events. Announce-
ments are free. Accompanying photos must be high resolution,
jpg files. Send announcements 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Not
every release will be published. Include a daytime telephone
number and send to:
pr@jewishmediagroup.com 201-837-8818 x 110
education committee
of Congregation Rinat
Yisrael in Teaneck
presents Professor
Charles Selengut,
authority on Islam,
discussing The
Many Faces of Islam:
How Modernists,
Traditionalists, and
Militants Face the Islamic
Future, 8 p.m. 389
West Englewood Ave.
(201) 837-2795.
Singles
the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. It will begin
Sunday
DECEMBER 3
Senior singles meet in
West Nyack: Singles
65+ meet for a social
get-together with
refreshments, at the JCC
Rockland, 11 a.m. Tony
Braccia will sing Sinatra
songs. 450 West Nyack
Road. $8. Gene Arkin,
(845) 356-5525.
COURTESY TEPV
largest public health service facility in the
United States.
Artists 4 Israel gala to benefit children in crisis
Artists 4 Israel will hold its first annual gala benefitting
the Healing Arts Kits and people who are helping pre-
vent PTSD in children in crises in Israel and around the
world. The gala, set for Monday, December 4, will be at
with cocktails, a silent auction, and hors doeuvres at
6:30, and includes a program led by Craig Dershowitz,
Artists 4 Israels executive director, and the opportu-
nity to take home one-of-a-kind pieces of art and luxury
items.
Bruce Robinson, Rena Grosser, and Hayeem Rudy
will be honored for their contributions to the Healing
Arts Kits, an emergency first aid kit designed to stop the
onset of new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in A Healing Arts Kit recipient. PHOTO PROVIDED
children living in crises situations. It was designed by
a consortium of psychiatrists, therapists, artists, and in crisis, help stimulate healing, and begin the therapeu-
emergency medical personnel in honor of the late Jef tic process immediately.
Campion, a 9/11 first responder, artist, and hero. This was the root of what became the Healing Arts
A fireman by day and artist by night, Mr. Campion Kits. The program is used in Israels schools, community
ran into the World Trade Center three times on Septem- centers, hospitals, and ambulances and is being sought
ber 11. On his third mission, he recovered a man who in America, beginning with a pilot program in Chicagos
was badly injured, brought him to safety, and noticed a dangerous South Side. Vincent Santorella, a host com-
young child staring at him. The child seemed physically mittee member from Newark, is working to have kits
uninjured, but the scarring and trauma was visible in his distributed in Newark and Paterson as part of a Tikkun
eyes. Mr. Campion met with a group from Artists 4 Israel Olam-style program.
who had been to Israel, painting bomb shelters on both Mr. Campion survived 9/11 but died in 2014 as a result
Israels north and south borders for children running of the physical and emotional trauma he suffered then.
from Syrian and Hamas rockets. The artists were deter- For more information, go to www.Artists4Israel.org or
mined to create a product that would distract children www.healingartskits.org.

JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 43

Jewish World
Agamesh Mengistu and her son Ilan are in Washington, D.C., on November
17, 2017. 
Brother
FROM PAGE 27
The family hopes for the kind of sustained
campaign that keeps the issue in the public
eye as a means of getting through to govern-
ments that have influence on Hamas, such
as Qatar and Turkey.
We need the Jewish community and
the American government if were going to
release him, Fenta said.
Ilan Mengistu said they have been heart-
ened by their reception here, on a visit
arranged by the Israeli government and the
Jewish Agency for Israel. It included meet-
ings at the Jewish Federations of North
Americas General Assembly last week in Los
Angeles, and meetings with congregational
rabbis in Washington and Los Angeles.
They have also spoken with StandWithUs
and J Street about advocacy campaigns. The
two groups usually are on opposite sides of
the pro-Israel spectrum the meetings are
an indication of the breadth of the causes
appeal.
Advocating for Mengistus return is an
issue we hope will bring people and orga-
nizations from across a broad swath of the
BRIEFS
Egypt briefly opens Gaza border
after PA assumes control of Rafah crossing
Egypt opened its Rafah border crossing
with the Gaza Strip for three days start-
ing Saturday, after the Gaza-ruling Hamas
terror group handed over administrative
control of the checkpoint to the Palestin-
ian Authority earlier this month.
Hamass move was part of the imple-
mentation of its Palestinian reconciliation
deal with PA President Mahmoud Abbass
Fatah party.
The terror group removed its forces
from Rafah, and now PA security
forces stand guard with a framed por-
trait of Abbas hanging on the crossings
gates adjacent to a portrait of Egyptian
44 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017
RON KAMPEAS
Jewish community together, J Street spokes-
woman Jessica Rosenblum said.
Jason Greenblatt of Teaneck, President
Donald Trumps envoy to Middle East peace,
met with the family and posted a photo on
his Twitter page. Thats an important signal
from the Trump administration figure who
is closest to the Palestinian Authority and
has worked to ease economic strife in the
Gaza Strip.
Today I welcomed the family of Avera
Mengistu to the White House, Greenblatt
wrote. Avera has been held by Hamas in
Gaza for over 1,000 days since he disap-
peared in September, 2014. It is outrageous
that Hamas will not let him return home or
communicate with his family.
They have also met with lawmakers,
including Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.),
Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), and Ed Royce (R-Calif.),
the chairman of the U.S. House of Represen-
tatives Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as
with staff from the office of Sen. Ted Cruz
(R-Texas).
Its not easy repeating this story again
and again, Ilan Mengistu said. It requires from the Bible, crediting Hazael, an
emotional strength. We get love, and it gives
us strength. JTA WIRE SERVICE
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Egypts government played a central
role in mediating the recent reconcilia-
tion pact between the rival Palestinian
factions, and is expected to arbitrate
additional talks in Cairo during the com-
ing weeks regarding the expansion of the
PAs rule in Gaza.
The Palestinian unity deal, announced
in October, will see Fatah end sanctions
on Hamas in return for allowing the PA to
regain full control of Gaza by Dec. 1. The
Israeli government reacted to the unity
deal by calling for Hamas to disarm and
recognize Israel. JNS.ORG
Chanukah menorahs and crucifixes vie for space at the Museum of the Bibles
gift shop.
Bible museum
FROM PAGE 31
Judaism and its origins in Israel are
evident as well in a temporary exhibit,
through May, organized by Jerusalems
Bible Lands Museum, which served as
a consultant to the D.C. museum.
It is there that a viewer gets to the
crux of what makes this museum dif-
ferent from all others. An exhibit of
finds from Khirbet Queiafa, a village
dating to the time when King David is
purported to have ruled, begins with a
replica of the Tel Dan Stele. The stone
table validates, to a degree, the his-
torical accuracy of the battle of Jez-
reel, where Yoram, king of Israel, and
Ahaziah, king of Judah, were killed, as
recounted in 2 Kings 9.
The stele is important because it
contains the oldest reference to King
David, who lived two centuries or so
earlier. It establishes that David likely
was a real person. But it also diverges
we can show that he lived.
Aramaic king, and not Jehu, the Israeli
Campus BDS resolutions
rejected in Maryland, adopted in Michigan
On the same day that the University of
Marylands student government over-
whelmingly rejected a resolution to
divest from companies doing business
with Israel, the student government at
the University of Michigan voted in favor
of a pro-BDS measure last week.
The University of Maryland resolution
failed to reach a vote in the schools stu-
dent legislature on Nov. 15, after more
than 1,000 students signed a petition
rejecting the BDS movement.
I couldnt be more proud of stu-
dents for their collaboration and hard
work in standing up against this hateful
king, with the victory.
The real stele is at the Israel Museum
in Jerusalem, where a docent will
explain how the radically different
accounts at once validate the ancient
Jewish presence in the land and also
support the notion that the Bible is less
revealed truth than it is a political doc-
ument written by the ultimate victors.
In this exhibit, the accompanying
text refers only to a different version
appearing in the Bible. MiYoung Im,
the museums antiquities curator, who
trained first as a theologian in Korea
and then in Israel as an archaeologist,
said she appreciated the stele both as
a Christian and as someone trained to
view artifacts as a scholarly outsider.
Nonetheless, she said, the signifi-
cance of the stele for the new museum
was not in how it differed from the
Bible, but how it validated it.
We want to show how this exhibit
relates to the time of David, she said.
We cant prove where David lived
 JTA WIRE SERVICE
campaign, said Ben Brownstein, the
Mid-Atlantic campus director for the
pro-Israel education organization Stand-
WithUs. Students recognized the need
to focus on bringing people together,
instead of fueling hatred on campus and
in the Middle East.
At the University of Michigan, the pro-
BDS resolution was approved after more
than a dozen failed attempts to pass it
since 2002. The measure garnered 23
votes in favor, 17 against and five absten-
tions, following a heated debate that
continued into the early morning hours.
 JNS.ORG

Marc Hecht
Marc Jeffrey Hecht, 70, of Hackensack, died
November 9.
Born in Englewood, he was a University of
Cincinnati graduate and was a warehouse manager
for automotive parts.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Barbara
Ruth Blacher-Hecht.
The funeral was held at Cedar Park Cemetery
on November 21. Arrangements were by
Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors,
Hackensack.
Rita Hofstatter
Rita Sue Hofstatter, ne Shamroth, 71, of Garfield,
formerly of Fair Lawn and the Bronx, died
November 18.
Predeceased by a sister, Karen Schulman, she
is survived by children, Tina Giliberti (Louis), and
Amy Baker (Harry III); grandchildren, Melissa and
Harry Baker; and a nephew, Andrew Schulman.
Donations can be sent to the American Diabetes
Association or St. Jude Childrens Research
Hospital. Arrangements were by Robert Schoems
Menorah Chapel, Paramus.
Samuel Person
Samuel Person, 86, of Fort Lee, died November 11.
An Air Force Korean Conflict veteran, he was
a CPA.
He is survived by his wife, Joan, ne Faber; sons,
Laurence and Louis; and three grandaughters.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.
Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc
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Alberta Pomerantz
Alberta Pomerantz, 90, of Stamford, Conn., died
November 16.
She was a member of Workmens Circle Branch
59 in Jersey City.
A daughter, June Smith of Connecticut, and three
grandchildren survive her.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

Obituaries are prepared with

information provided by funeral homes.
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46 Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Tr a d i t i o n ! Best Wishes
for a
Happy
Chanukah
May Your Home be

Chanukah Season
Blessed
with Joy and Peace
this

Wish your family, friends, -NAME-

-NAME-

Jewish Standard readers $36 Ad #3 - 31/8"w x 2"

Ad #1 - 1 /2"w x 2"d d
1
$72

and customers a
Happy Holiday in our We wish

Chanukah Wishing the Jewish

You a Community

Greeting
Joy-Filled a Very Happy
Chanukah Chanukah -NAME-

Section
Ad #4 - 5"w x 2"d $135

SAMPLE 1/4 PAGE

DECEMBER 8 -NAME-

You can have your Ad #2 - 1.5"w x 3"d $54

own personal greeting

(see samples at right)

YES, I WOULD LIKE

A CHANUKAH GREETING
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5
(or call 201-837-8818 for other sizes)

Wording ________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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Happy
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Chanukah
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Fax to 201-833-4959 or mail (with a check if you prefer) to:

The Jewish Standard 1086 Teaneck Rd. Teaneck, NJ 07666
-NAME-

DEADLINE DEC. 4 Ad #5 - 5"w x 6"d $350

Jewish Standard NOVEMBER 24, 2017 47

Real Estate & Business

New compound kills cancer cells energy-generating system

An enzyme found only in metastatic cancer cells and normal sperm cells forms basis for promising treatment
approach developed by Israeli researchers
ISRAEL21C STAFF devised a synthetic compound to disable shortage of basic nutrients like glucose. enzyme called FerT in the energy-
the enzyme. One way they do this is by reprogram- generating mitochondria of metastatic
An enzyme normally found only in sperm When they metastasize (leave the pri- ming their energy-generation system, cancer cells. When they targeted FerT
cells is the same one that enables cancer mary tumor and spread to other organs), said Professsor Uri Nir of Bar-Ilan Uni- in lab mice, the malignant cells were
cells to metastasize throughout the body, cancer cells must improvise to survive and versity in Ramat Gan. sapped of energy and soon died.
according to an Israeli researcher who has flourish under harsh conditions such as a Nir and his team identified an When the scientists searched for a

Jimmy the Junk Man

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
J
Jim
im
RESIDEN
the
the
WE CLEAN OUT: WE
Basements Basements
Attics Garages Fire Damage Att
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Construction De
WE RECYCLE W
CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE CALL TODAY
201-661845-600-5941
201-661-4940 - 4940 201- 6 Dr. Uri Nir (fourth from right) and his lab team.
We do not transport solid or hazardous waste
We do not trans

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48 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 COME TO FLORIDA THANK YOU!
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similar enzyme in the mitochondria of other body
cells, they found it only in sperm cells.
Nir reasons that this may be because sperm cells
the only cells that must function outside the body
they came from are similar to metastatic cells
in their need to generate energy under difficult
conditions.
Once they have entered the female birth canal,
where there is no blood supply for them, they produce
and expend enormous amounts of energy under very
extreme or abnormal conditions, said Nir.
We found that very aggressive metastatic cancer
cells looked for and identified this sperm-specific
protein, learned how to produce it and harnessed
it in order to potentiate their mitochondria and
produce energy under very harsh conditions, Nir
explained.
E260 defeats FerT
(Office) 201-794-7050 (Cell) 201-819-2623
SPECIALIZING IN ACTIVE ADULT, COUNTRY CLUB
AND BEACHSIDE COMMUNITIES
Russo Real Estate Presents
Kathleen Wicklund, Realtor Associate
Kathleen Wicklund, Realtor Associate, is a
lifelong resident of Teaneck, New Jersey. She and OPEN HOUSE
her husband, Don, are raising their twins, Charles
and James, who are currently Juniors at Teaneck
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26
High School. Kathleen has been a Realtor for
nearly 25 years in Bergen County.
t TEANECK t
Kathleen is currently Teaneck High School PTSO & Project
Graduation Co-President. She served as Teaneck Community Chest
Secretary, Teaneck Community Charter School TCSCO Co-President
and was elected to serve as Board of Trustee member (Secretary to the
Board). She currently drives the senior citizen bus at Saint Anastasia
R.C. Church.
She and her parents have been active in community service for
over 50 years.

Using advanced chemical and robotic approaches,
Nirs lab team developed a synthetic compound,
E260, which can be administered orally or by
injection.
When introduced into metastatic cells in culture
or mice with metastatic tumor, E260 enters the mito-
chondria and binds with the enzyme FerT, inhibiting
its activity and causing a complete collapse of the
entire mitochondria power station.
Nir said that metastatic cancer cells actually
attempt to decompose and rebuild damaged mito-
chondria but expend a fatal amount of energy in the
process.
We have treated mice with metastatic cancer
and this compound completely cured them with
no adverse or toxic effect that we can see. We have
Metastatic cancer
cells actually attempt
to decompose and
rebuild damaged
mitochondria but
Kathleen Wicklund, Realtor Associate
873 Teaneck Rd. Teaneck, NJ 07666
Ofc: (201) 837-8800 x 34 Cell: (917) 694-3042
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expend a fatal (201) 837-8800

Daniel M. Shlufman
amount of energy in Larry DeNike
President Managing Director
the process. MLO #58058
ladclassic@aol.com
MLO #6706
dshlufman@classicllc.com
Sign up for the
also checked several normal cells and they are not Classic Mortgage, LLC
affected, reported Nir. Serving NY, NJ & CT Jewish Standard
Thus, E260 is a new anti-cancer agent which
imposes metabolic stress and cellular death in can-
25 E. Spring Valley Ave., Ste 100, Maywood, NJ daily newsletter!
201-368-3140 MLS
cer cells. www.classicmortgagellc.com #31149
Nir and his team plan to pursue Phase 1 clinical tri- Visit
als within the next 18 months.
www.thejewishstandard.com
The research was published recently in the journal
Nature Communications. The authors include Nir as and click on
well as Bar-Ilan life-sciences researchers Yoav Elkis, More than 411,000 likes.
Moshe Cohen, Etai Yaffe, Shirly Satmary-Tusk, Tal
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JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 49

 NVE-3462 Fall Mortgage Rate Change Ad 5x6.5_NVE-3462 Fall Mortgage Rate Changes Ad 5x6.5 10/23/17 1:47 PM Pa

Real Estate & Business Our mortgages are ripe for the picking.

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*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR is accurate as of 10/23/17 and may vary based on loan amounts.
Loans are for 1-4 family New Jersey owner-occupied properties only. Rates and terms are subject to
change without notice. The 7-year loan at the stated APR would have 84 monthly payments of $13.12
per thousand borrowed based on a 20% down payment or equity for loan amounts up to $500,000. The
15-year loan at the stated APR would have 180 monthly payments of $7.03 per thousand borrowed based
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2017 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
Bergenfield I Closter I Cresskill I Englewood I Hillsdale I Leonia I New Milford I Teaneck I Tenafly
An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

Wishing the Entire Community a Happy Thanksgiving

LE LE LE LE
SA SA SA SA
F OR F OR FOR FOR

Tenafly Fort Lee Paramus Englewood

25 Franklin Century Towers Duplex 468 Nevada 71 Glenwood

LE
SA LD LD LD
OR SO SO SO
F

Demarest Tenafly Teaneck Englewood

95 Knickerbocker Road 10 Surrey Lane 655 Ogden 160 Van Nostrand

Ayelet Recipient of the NJAR Circle of Excellence

Hurvitz Sales Award 2012-2016
Broker/Salesperson Sterling Society Award Winner
2014-2016
Exceptional Service, Five Star Professional Award Winner 2016
Exceptional Results
Direct: 201-294-1844
Alpine/Closter Office: 201-767-0550 x 235
ahurvitz12@yahoo.com www.ayelethurvitz.com

50 JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017

 The Art of Real Estate
Ruth Miron-Schleider Making your real estate dreams come true
Broker/Owner
Is our passion and our mission!

Call us today for your complimentary consultation!

Office: 201.266.8555 Mobile: 201.906.6024
Ruth@MironProperties.com
www.MironProperties.com JEWISH STANDARD NOVEMBER 24, 2017 51
 MARKETS
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