October 19, 2012

By Malka Eisenberg

It’s a unique club that no one wants to be part of, but once you join, you are a member

for life. One in eight. That’s the “club” and the chance of a woman getting invasive breast cancer at some time during her life, accord-

ing to the American Cancer Society (ACS). And although they also cite the death rate from the disease as one in 36, they note that

By Malka Eisenberg

Arlen J. Specter, who was Pennsylvania’s longest serving United States Senator, fi rst

as a Republican, and ending as a Democrat, died at his home in Phila-delphia on Oc-tober 14th from complications of n o n - H o d g k i n s Lymphoma. He was 82.

Spector was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants who later moved to

Russell, Kansas, where Spector graduated from high school. The family moved to Philadelphia when the children reached

marriageable age, since there where no other Jews in Russell. After graduating from University of Pennsylvania in 1951 and from Yale Law School in 1956, he opened a law practice, Specter & Katz, with Marvin Katz. Spector married Joan Levy in 1953; they have two sons.

Arlen Specter served as assistant coun-sel on the Warren Commission investigat-ing the circumstances of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, joining with others in formulating the “single bul-let theory.”

A Democrat from 1951 to 1965, he switched to the Republican Party and was the 19th District Attorney of Philadelphia, in offi ce from 1966 to 1974. He ran un-successfully for other political positions and won a U.S. Senate seat in 1980. He was elected to fi ve terms, serving 30 years. He was considered by many accounts to be a moderate Republican and opposed the appointment of Robert Bork to the Su-

preme Court in 1987 and “aggressively” questioned Anita Hill leading to Clarence Thomas’s appointment to the Supreme Court in 1991.

Specter switched to the Democratic Par-ty in 2009 and lost his Senate seat in the Democratic primary in 2010.

“I knew him for many years when I was a volunteer in his fi rst race as District Attorney in Philadelphia,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Ameri-can Jewish Organizations. “We kept in touch over the years and worked closely on many issues. He felt deeply as a Jew, was a devoted American and a respected Senator.”

Hoenlein pointed out that “one of his unique contributions was the immigration issue.” He sponsored what became known as the “Specter Amendment” and when he left the Senate, it became known as the Lautenberg Amendment. It enables “Jew-ish refugees and others particularly from Iran but also elsewhere to expedite their immigration to come to the U.S.” explained Hoenlein.

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ARLEN SPECTER

Photo courtesy of Sharsheret

Team Sharsheret at a recent Breast Cancer Walk

Tiny hero stands tallBy Karen C. Green

“The fi rst thing I do when I speak at anevent is check out the box that I stand onbecause they don’t realize how short I am.I call it the Bar Mitzvah box, that boys usu-ally stand on when they speak,” said Dr.Ruth Westheimer, a Holocaust survivor. Shewas preparing for her keynote speech at theFriends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)dinner held on Tuesday night at Fresh Mead-ows Country Club in Great Neck. Over 500prominent lay leaders and supporters fromacross Long Island came together to pay trib-ute to the women who serve in the IDF. The

Photo by Aron Michael

Dr. Ruth Westheimer was the keynotespeaker at Tuesday’s FIDF event.

Continued on page 3Continued on page 14

New programs for breast cancer

The election season is becoming an all out brawl between the candidates; each one is trying to paint a picture of the bet-ter America he will create in less than four years. Something is wrong with that philoso-

phy, but it is hard to re-ally put your fi nger on it after being indoctrinated with the short-term fi x for so long. Our lead-ers, instead of looking at Israel as a strategic ally in a troubled region, or the little democracy that needs protecting, may be able to learn a real lesson from Israel about how to establish and run a coun-try that is living for today while truly building for future generations.

The debate over the benefi t or usefulness of green initiative continues as we spend more money on fuel every week. In reality, little has been done here to push forward a viable alternative energy policy for the every-day consumer. Sure there have been those publicly discussed initiatives where govern-ment funded green companies have subse-quently failed, but in practical terms, not much is happening to encourage the use of alternative energy. Why?

Even at current levels, fuel in the U.S.A is less expensive than in other countries. A ma-jor factor in price gaps between fuel prices in different countries is government policy. The United States and many European nations heavily tax gasoline, sometimes with those taxes making up as much as 75 percent of the cost. Filling up the same 39-gallon tank of an SUV in Venezuela will run about $3.50; yes, that is not per gallon, but the entire bill.

In Norway, it would be closer to $400. Here in the States you may pay about $160.

In some South American and Middle East nations, oil is produced by a government-owned company, and local gasoline prices are kept low as a benefi t to the nation’s citi-zens. Norway, on the other hand, which has a good amount of oil reserves of its own, of-fers no subsidies at all and uses the money it raises on fuel to subsidize social spending like free college education and national in-frastructure.

A Bloomberg ranking shows that Israel has the third highest priced gas at nearly $9.50 per gallon, making it more critical of an issue. So what do we see in a country that has only 500 electric cars on its roads? It already has a robust network of electric refi ll and battery swap stations that can service 50 times the number of vehicles in service.

The roads of New York and America are fi lled with taxis and many fl eet cars, such as police and offi cial government vehicles that are increasingly hybrid vehicles. It has become the thing to do, as many individu-al consumers now drive Toyota’s hybrids, Ford’s, GM’s, Nissan’s and the like – almost as if it were a symbol of evolution and class. But when we see cars such as the Chevy Volt undersell, or the Nissan Leaf not impress-ing, and we know that often necessity is the mother of invention, or in this case, action; we have to look at whether we here are yet at the stage where alternative energy is a criti-cal need.

The Volt is overpriced and the cost does not yet seem to meet the expected savings, and the lack of availability or convenience of charging stations makes some fear break-ing down with no quick options. With fuel, remember, the worst-case scenario may be a

Inside

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Continued on page 17

Opinion

The Israel that can help the United States

Juda Engelmayer

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evening’s honorees included two outstand-ing women from the Long Island commu-nity: Lana Bakhash, who is a founder of the Babylonian Jewish Center in Great Neck, and Stacey Bernstein Malakoff, who is the Execu-tive Vice President and CFO of the Hospital for Special Surgery and is involved in Temple Beth El of Great Neck, UJA, Sid Jacobson JCC and Shalva in Israel.

Dr. Ruth, as she is commonly referred to, is best known for having pioneered talk-ing explicitly about sex on radio (Sexually Speaking) and television.

Born in 1928 in Frankfurt, Germany, she lived with her parents and grandmother in an Orthodox home. She was an only child and was sent to Switzerland by her parents at the age of 10. Her parents perished in the Holocaust and thereafter she lived in an or-phanage. Dr. Ruth moved to then Palestine to join the Haganah (Israeli Freedom Fighters) where she fought for Israel’s independence in 1948 as a trained sniper.

Also present at the gala was Ethiopian-Israeli IDF Offi cer, Lt. Rachel Samani, who serves as a platoon commander in the Edu-cational Corps where she manages four of-fi cers. Rachel participated in FIDF’s Amir Course, which helps integrate Ethiopian Is-raelis into military and civilian society. “The FIDF gave me the tools and skills to get into the system. What a difference the support means to someone like me,” expressed Ra-chel. Joining Rachel at the event was her fel-low soldier and IMPACT Scholarship recipi-ent Yonatan Benjamin Asseraf, who served as a combat soldier in the Paratrooper’s Brigade in the IDF during the Second Lebanon War

and now studies law at the IDC in Herzliya. Yonatan received an OZ medal, an award of excellence, for his participation in the Sec-ond Lebanon War. “FIDF’s IMPACT scholar-ship gave me the ability to earn a degree in

law. It helps out soldiers who come from low income families,” noted Yonatan.

The event, chaired by Edeed Ben-Josef, and emceed by Martin Rosenman raised over $700,000 for the FIDF.

By Sergey Kadinsky

A wartime diplomat dubbed the “Iranian Schindler” was honored by the Nassau Memorial & Tolerance Center as part of a larger effort to raise awareness of its work in the local Persian community. On Sunday, the center hosted Dr. Fariborz Mokhtari, author of a book on Abdol-Hosse-in Sardari, the junior envoy who saved hundreds of Jews in Nazi-occupied France by issuing Iranian passports and convincing Nazi officials that Persian Jews were racially Aryans who hap-pened to be practicing Juda-ism. “The Iran in which I grew up was tolerant. I heard stories of Iranians helping Jews during the Second World War and I wanted proof,” Mokhtari said. Mokhtari immigrated to the United States during the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and teaches at National Defense University in Wash-ington. He be g an his research on Sardari at the National Archives and then tracked down individuals rescued by Sardari, as well as members of the diplo-mat’s family. “He cultivated relations with Nazi and Vichy officials,” Mokhtari said. “He knew that the Nazis had based their policy on the dubious notion of blood and Iranians

who practiced Judaism were Aryans who were following the prophet Moses.” Mokhtari’s biography of Sardari, “In the Lion’s Shadow,” published by The History Press in 2011, connects the diplomat to a cen-turies-long tradition of tolerance in Iran, reaching back to Cyrus, who issued a procla-mation on a clay cylinder providing religious tolerance following his conquest of Babylon.

A replica of the Cyrus Cylin-der from the British Museum is on display at the Holocaust center. Although only 150 Iranian Jews had resided in Paris at the time of the Nazi invasion, the city’s Jewish population also included Jews from Cen-tral Asia and the Caucasus. Partnering with Ibrahim Morady and Dr. Asaf Atchil-di, a Bukharian Jew and community leader, Sardari submitted documents to Nazi officials testifying that Cen-tral Asian Jews were actually the Jugutis, a made-up term that described Persians who practiced the “Mosaic” faith.

Deprived of his income, Sardari remained in Paris and issued somewhere between 500 and 1,000 blank Persian passports to other local Jews facing deportation, including Ashke-nazim. Like other neutral diplomats, he risked his career. Sardari applied to Yad Vashem in

April 1978 for recognition, but because his life was not at risk, he did not receive the same honor as Oskar Schindler, among other Righteous Gentiles listed by the Israeli Holo-caust memorial center. Following the Islamic Revolution, Sardari was denied pension and his properties in Iran were confiscated. He died in London in 1981. Alongside the lecture, a special exhibit on Sardari displayed objects loaned by relatives of Sardari, and the Senehi, Cohanim and Mikaeloff families, whose relatives were res-cued during the war. Among the museum’s supporters, Great Neck lawyer Sean Sabeti, a Muslim who immigrated during the revolution, said that the exhibit serves to show that there was once an Iran that tolerated other faiths. “Ahmadinejad used devilish words on the Holocaust and I was very disturbed. I took it upon myself to educate people,” Sabeti said. “The idea is to bring in more Persian Ameri-cans, not just Jews, and show what happened during the war.” The lecture and exhibit was attended by local Persian Jewish activists, including art-ist Josephine Mairzadeh, who contributed a painting for an exhibit accompanying the lecture. Her portrait highlights Norooz, the Persian New Year holiday. “It’s a transparent holiday celebration by Zoroastrians, Mus-lims and Jews, it encompasses all peoples of Iran,” Mairzadeh said. In contrast to other local Holocaust memorial events, which sometimes feature representatives from the German, Polish or

other European governments, no Iranianofficials were invited to the lecture. Jericho resident Cheryl Garber describedSardari’s use of Nazi racial doctrine as “bril-liant and brave,” and praised Mokhtari’sbook. “Every page is full of history andshows that the Holocaust affected so manycultures,” noted Garber. The exhibit “Iranian Schindler” runsuntil December. For more information, visitholocaust-nassau.org

Iranian diplomat honored at Nassau Holocaust Center

Continued from page 1

Tiny hero stands tall at FIDF event

Photo by Sergey Kadinsky

Dr. Fariborz Mokhtari, dubbed “IranianSchindler” signs his book at NassauMemorial and Tolerance Center event.

Photos by Aron Michael

Dr. Ruth Westheimer receives a warm greeting by Lt. Rachel Samani and Yo-natan Benjamon Asseraf who sang the praises of the FIDF and their programs.

Honorees Lana Bakash and StaceyBernstein Malakoff are recognized.

Committee Member Larry Horn ofGreat Neck expressed his support.

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Opinion

Any sports fan will tell you that if you leave the game talking about the umpire or referee, that offi cial did an awful job. The same thing goes when talking about political debates.

Candy Crowley was more than a modera-tor at the Hofstra town hall type debate, she was an active participant, not allowing Rom-ney to answer Obama’s attacks, even fact-checking the GOP candidate using incorrect facts.

When the Hofstra debate was over nine-ty-eight minutes after it began, nothing had changed. President Obama displayed more energy than in the fi rst debate and Gover-nor Romney was still strong. But support-ers of Obama left the debate still supporting Obama, supporters of Romney still supported the GOP candidate and I would guess that un-decided voters remain on the fence.

Romney scored points, scoring big on the economy and gas prices. The President, with help from the moderator, won on Libya.

This may have been the most contentious presidential debate on TV since they were re-started in 1976. For much of the debate, it seemed as if the candidates were in each oth-er’s faces. It was painfully obvious that these were two powerful men with a total mutual distain, each trying to out-“testosterone” the other.

The most controversial part of the debate began with Romney’s response to Obama’s answer to a Libya question:

ROMNEY: Yeah, I -- I certainly do. I cer-tainly do. I -- I think it’s interesting the presi-dent just said something which is that on the day after the attack, he went in the Rose Gar-den and said that this was an act of terror. You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror. It was not a spontaneous demonstration.

OBAMA: Please proceed.ROMNEY: Is that what you’re saying?

OBAMA: Please proceed, Governor.ROMNEY: I -- I -- I want to make sure we

get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.

OBAMA: Get the transcript.CROWLEY: It -- he did in fact, sir.So let me -- let me call it an act of terror-

ism -- (inaudible) --OBAMA:Can you say that a little louder,

Candy? (Laughter, applause.)CROWLEY: He did call it an act of terror.

It did as well take -- it did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea of there being a riot out there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.

This one exchange was the main topic in the spin room after the debate.

John Sununu, Romney surrogate and for-mer New Hampshire Governor said, “The moderator and the President were dead wrong.”

“The President threw the world out in his statement at the Rose Garden but never said it was an act of terrorism. And two weeks afterwards the President said, not in a news confereance, not in a passing com-ment but went to the UN and at the UN, six times blamed it on the video. It was the most dishonest statement I have ever heard by a president in a presidential debate.”

I asked him about the Crowley interrup-tion:

“Candy was wrong and Candy had no business doing that and she didn’t even keep the time right.”

Jen Psaki, an Obama campaign spokes-person, praised Crowley and gave two oppos-ing answers to my questions about the Beng-hazi attack. She said that Obama called the attack an act of terror, but when I asked why the President kept positioning the attack as a response to the now infamous anti-Muslim you tube movie trailer when the State De-partment had a video tape that day showing that there was no protest in Benghazi, she answered that “at that point the information was still coming in and no one was really sure what it was.”

Well, if no one was sure what it was, then how did he call it a terrorist attack?

The day after the terror attack in Beng-hazi, President Obama gave a Rose Garden Speech of 801 words. He mentioned the

word terror once near the end of his speech but not in reference to the horrible attack.

During that brief statement, President Obama referred to Benghazi as: An attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi; this outra-geous and shocking attack; attack; terrible act. Obama called the people who perpetrat-ed the attack “the killers who attacked our people.” He did not call them terrorists.

In the fourth paragraph of that Rose Gar-den speech, he alluded to the anti-Muslim video. Obama knew at the time (and we know now) that the video had nothing to do with the attack:

Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justifi cation to this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to un-equivocally reject these brutal acts.

In the sixth paragraph, Obama used the “T” word in a general way:

No acts of terror will ever shake the re-solve of this great nation, alter that charac-ter, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.

As late as September 20th on Airforce One the Administration was not calling it terror-ism:

From the gaggle on Air Force One, en route to Miami, 9/20/2012 [a White House Press Release]:

Q: Can you -- have you called it a terrorist attack before? Have you said that?

MR. CARNEY: I haven’t, but -- I mean, people attacked our embassy. It’s an act of terror by defi nition.

Q: Yes, I just hadn’t heard you --MR. CARNEY: It doesn’t have to do with

what date it occurred.Q: No, I just hadn’t heard the White

House say that this was an act of terrorism or a terrorist attack.

Words are important, especially for this President. If Obama wanted to call the at-tack terrorism he would have, but he avoided calling the Benghazi attack “terrorism.” And John Sununu was correct: Candy Crowley was way out of line.

In the end Candy Crowley agreed. Ap-pearing on CNN after the debate, Crowley said:

“I think actually, you know, because right

after that, I did turn to Romney and said youwere totally correct but they spent two weekstelling us that this was about a tape and thatthere was this riot outside of the Benghaziconsulate, which there wasn’t. So he wasright in the main, I just think that he pickedthe wrong word.”

This issue will be revisited this coming Monday when the two meet up on the thirdand fi nal debate of 2012. The topic this time will be foreign policy. The format will be abit different as the two will be sitting next to each other and the moderator across a table.

Jeff Dunetz is the Editor/Publisher of thepolitical blog “The Lid” (www.jeffdunetz.com).Jeff contributes to some of the largest politicalsites on the internet. Jeff lives on Long Island.

THE JEWISH STARIndependent and original reporting from the Orthodox communities of Long Island and New York City

All opinions expressed are solely those of The Jewish Star’s editorial staff or contributing writers

Publisher and Editor Karen C. Green Assistant Editor Malka Eisenberg Account Executives Helene Parsons Charles Slamowitz Contributors Miriam Bradman Abrahams Rabbi Avi Billet Jeff Dunetz Juda Engelmayer Rabbi Binny Freedman Alan Jay Gerber Rabbi Noam Himelstein Judy Joszef Editorial Designers Kristen Edelman Alyson Goodman Photo Editor Christina Daly

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POLITICO TO GO

Jeff Dunetz

Hofstra debate winner: testosterone

Photo by Jeff Dunetz

John Sununu at the Presidential de-bate at Hofstra University.

Letter to the editorKudos to R’ Avi Billet

To the Editor: Rabbi Avi Billet’s column of

October 12, 2012, “The Crouching Sin,” is one of the most courageous and meaningful columns I have seen in a long time. This extension of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein’s interpretation of the Cain and Abel story, and his ap-plication to the “external” idolatry we now worship, whether the black hat –black suit uniform, the elimination of women (and even young girls) in photographs, the obsession with let-tuce, broccoli and strawberries, and so on, has become an absurd refl ec-tion of our Orthodox practice. The soul is lost to the details – and we all know that “the devil is in the details”

to quote a common proverb, and the devil is “crouching” to ensnare us.

I am reminded that when my sis-ter’s (A”H) son was to be married,the mechutanim refused to place her name on the wedding invitation, as itsinsertion would refl ect a lack of mod-esty (“Tzinius”). She was adamantand two sets of invitations were print-ed: the groom’s invitation with hername, the bride’s without her name. As luck would have it, the bride’s fam-ily ran out of invitations and it had toviolate the modesty rule by “borrow-ing” a number of the forbidden invita-tions. This attitude is not only avodahzara but sheer, unfounded, “shtus.”

My hat is off to Rabbi Billet – but Ikept my yarmulke.

SIMON B. GLUCK

W ith the world swirling around us with the turmoil of violence and murder, all at the behest of governments and

their terrorist surrogates, it behooves us to take a close look at the biblical saga of the Tower of Babel and its role, in antiquity, as the harbinger of the totalitarian rule that has become commonplace today. This week’s essay will be devoted to reviewing several works that deal with this theme from our re-ligious perspective.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, in “From Adam To Abraham” that appeared in “Abra-ham’s Journey” [Ktav, 2008] edited by Rabbi

Reuven Ziegler, Dr. Da-vid Shatz, and Dr. Joel Wolowelsky, goes into deep theological detail regarding the role that the Tower of Babel saga played in the develop-ment of totalitarianism in human history. Rab-bi Soloveitchik noted the following concern-ing that generation:

“This society is ruled by power-hungry men who want to pos-sess and own the indi-

vidual – or rather to deprive the individual of his soul, to depersonalize him and convert him into a machine, into an object. It is out to organize and convert mankind into an army and to introduce uniformity. It does not believe that each individual has his own ap-proach to life and his own unique talents.”

Rabbi Soloveitchik notes further:“The builders of the Tower of Babel deper-

sonalized man so thoroughly that they would

ignore a man who fell off the building, but would cry when a stone or a brick fell.”

On the same theme, Prof. Israel Laulicht of Bar Ilan University, in an essay titled, “The Generation of the Tower of Babel – A New Era in World Management,” ob-serves:

“Let us pause for a moment to consider, what would have happened if all mankind had been under a proletarian dic-tatorship such as the commu-nist regime in the former So-viet Union or in China. We may reasonably assume that such a regime would not have disin-tegrated so quickly; rather, it would have become more and more corrupt and rotten. The communists, like the generation of the Tower of Babel, truly wor-shipped materialism, technol-ogy, and public strength, while taking lightly the life of the individual and waging a battle of annihilation against faith in G-d. Both regimes were alike in that their ideological platform appeared benign and positive.”

In a footnote the author notes:“The parallels between the views on so-

ciety and faith held by the generation of the fl ood and those held by the communist re-gime was noted some twenty-fi ve years ago by Rabbi Menachem Ben-Zion Sacks in his book, ‘Menachem Zion’.”

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, in his work, “Torah Lights: Bereishis – Confronting Life, Love, and Family” [Maggid, 2009] makes note of this same brick falling incident by stating:

“Hence, the Almighty decides to ‘confuse

their speech, so that one person will not un-derstand the language of the other.’ Such a punishment perfectly fi ts the crime; after all, a totalitarian state, united in order to estab-lish a collective name, has neither the energy

nor the motivation to empa-thetically hear or sensitively in-ternalize the individual needs of anyone else….And such an in-human and godless society must be stopped in its tracks before it does even greater damage.”

Rabbi Riskin gives an even more contemporary image to this incident quoting the follow-ing verse, and observing:

“And the earth was corrupt before G-d, and the earth was fi lled with violence.”

“The picture which emerges is that of godlessness which leads to lawlessness, and anar-chy which breeds giants, chil-

dren of ‘the lords’ or ‘demi-gods,’ who seize whatever goods or good-looking people they wish, a situation of ‘whomever is more pow-erful, triumphs,’ a society of ‘might makes right.’ The giants and demi-gods are reminis-cent of the Aryan Ubermenschen, the Nazi ‘supermen’ who believed it was their right to rule the world. The ancient society evoked by the biblical text is remarkably similar to the society of Nazi Germany which – as a fascist, totalitarian state – enslaved and murdered those non-Aryans they considered inferior, especially the Jews.”

Rabbi Riskin’s teachings on this extends itself to other totalitarian ideologies, includ-ing Islamic fundamentalism, that have to be read completely in context to be fully appre-

ciated. They foreshadow times that have yetto disclose their purpose. Rabbi Riskin trulydemonstrates that the events at the tower surely serve as a harbinger for our own days,today, and in the many days to come.

I would like to conclude with the teach-ings of Rabbi Michael Hattin, who, in hisessay “Rejecting Totalitarianism,” from hisrecent work, “Passages” [Urim, 2012] writes:

“The massive building projects that havealways typifi ed totalitarian regimes, whetherancient or modern, are all quite similar in pro-gram and in form to the ‘tower that reachesto the heavens.’ The awesome expendituresof human effort and capital used to realizethese grandiose schemes have been matchedonly by a corresponding indifference to thevalue of individual human life and to its in-violability. In radical forms of totalitarianism,such as communism or Nazism, an individual is meaningless and his personal creativityis a crime. Value of the person is calculated solely according to collective needs and na-tional goals. Obviously, under such a regime, the state-sponsored service of G-d, the godsor even the lack of gods, is going to be super-fi cial, manipulative, and harsh.”

Rabbi Hattin cites in contrast:“In the Torah’s vision, every person and

every nation has a special role to play in theunfolding saga of human history, and eachone is called upon to forge their unique re-lationship with G-d. We may not surrender our individual identities or national cultures in the name of an overwhelming unity whichcannot save.”

Please re-read these words very carefully. Consider seriously their total relationship to the title of this week’s essay and consider theevents around us, both domestic and foreign.

An ancient Chinese curse states, “Mayyou live in interesting times.” We indeedlive in interesting times. However, in our re-ligious tradition, these times are not a curse, for they represent an opportunity and a fore-shadowing of the salvation that awaits us all.

Alan Jay Gerber

The Kosher Bookworm

The Tower of Babel and its Totalitarianism Tradition

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This Shabbat marks the Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Klonimus Kalmish Shapira, the Piaseczne Rebbe, murdered by the Nazis on the 4th of Cheshvan 1943. His deep understand of psychology and of the human spirit, brought forth in his books, are today becoming ever more popular in Jewish circles, as they tackle issues which are to-day as relevant as ever. And it was an incredible moment when the Rebbe, after many of his close family members had already been killed by bombing, was able to walk into Shul the night of Yom Tov, and in front of thousands of followers, begin the services in the sweet melody of Yontif ...

The fortitude of the Piaseczne Rebbe

Rabbi Noam Himelstein studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion and served in the Tanks Corps of theIDF. He has taught in yeshiva high schools, post-high school women’s seminaries, and headed the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Melbourne, Australia. He currently teaches at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusa-lem, and lives with his wife and six children in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion.

By Rabbi Noam Himelstein

He looked like a teenager, until he began to tell his story, and then his face took on a sadness that aged him….

Avi (not his real name) had only recently fi nished his regular army stint in the IDF, and was due to fl y to South Africa as part of a very special educational mission to work with less-affi liated Jewish teens in South Af-

rica.The night before his

fl ight, he received a phone call with emer-gency call-up orders, and the next morning, instead of buckling his seatbelt on an airplane, he found himself on the Lebanese border at the beginning of the second Lebanon war in the summer of 2006.

For a few weeks his battalion was kept in reserve, as the high command debated when and how they would best be needed.

Finally, the Battal-ion commander gathered them all together one afternoon and announced they were being given a twenty hour leave to see their families; it was clear they would be head-ing into Lebanon the next day, and they all headed home with heavy hearts and much anticipation.

For Avi, it was one of the most intense experiences he had ever had. The abrupt call-up had left him without any chance to say goodbye to his friends and family, includ-ing siblings who had been away from home, and when the family heard he was coming home for an evening, everyone dropped ev-erything, and the evening turned into a mass reunion.

It was very clear to all present that this goodbye was different from anything they had ever experienced before, as they might never see each again. How, indeed, do you say goodbye to your son who is headed back to combat, in war-time?

The following morning Avi’s father insist-ed on driving him up to the border, and was uncharacteristically quiet the entire drive up; Avi understood his father was trying to keep it together, and neither one of them wanted to ‘let the fl oodgates open’….

When they arrived at the base, Avi’s dad got out of the car to say goodbye and give his son a farewell hug, and it was then that Avi saw the tears in his father’s eyes…. How, after all, do you say goodbye to your son, knowing you may never see him again? And how do you say thank you to your father, for a lifetime of love, when you only have a mo-ment to say it?

And as Avi walked through the base park-ing lot towards the main gate, he passed a very pregnant young woman, sitting in her car weeping, having obviously just bid a similar farewell to her husband, and then he passed a set of parents in a long powerful embrace with their son, and then he looked around the massive parking area, suddenly realizing that for as far as his eye could see, there were hundreds of cars, repeating this very same scene.

This week’s portion, Noach, contains one of the most challenging stories in the entire Torah: the story of the Flood.

Essentially, G-d created a world and placed us in it, but somehow we messed it up and G-d decided to destroy the world and

start over.But if G-d needs to destroy the world,

then obviously the experiment (of creating the world in the fi rst place) failed, which seems to imply that G-d had an idea that didn’t work! But of course, this makes no sense, because if G-d knows everything, then G-d knew this wouldn’t work, so why create it in the fi rst place?

One might suggest that part of the process of creation, and particularly the ongoing and ever-unfolding drama of the creation of the world is precisely for mankind to experience the world that didn’t work so that it could be destroyed and a newer model created (after the fl ood) which did work.

However, even assuming the validity of this process, the question as to the nature and scope of this destruction still stands.

When G-d decides to destroy the world, He doesn’t just destroy mankind, but in fact all of creation:

“And Hashem (G-d) said I will erase man whom I created from the face of the earth, from man to animal, to the creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky for I have relented that I made them….” (Bereishit (Genesis) 6:5)

Why must all the animals and indeed all life be destroyed? After all, if it is man who has become destructive, why are the animals to blame?

Indeed, it seems that there is something signifi cant to be discerned from the focus on the animals here, especially when one con-siders that G-d commands Noach to bring a pair of creatures from every living species (6:19-20) of bird and animal into the Ark. Why on earth does Noach need to spend what will amount to an entire year living in an Ark which is essentially the largest zoo in history?

The Mishna (Rabbinic teaching) in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) teaches that there were ten generations from Adam till Noach, and ten generations from Noach till Abraham (perhaps suggesting that Noach was a pivotal link in the history of the world.) And the To-rah delineates the generations as they were born both in Genesis 5 (which lists the gener-ations from Adam till Noach) and in Genesis 11 (which lists the generations from Noach till Abraham).

And the way in which these generations are listed follows a very specifi c pattern:

“And Adam lived thirty and one hundred years and gave birth… and his name was called Shet. And the days of Adam after giving birth to Shet were eight hundred years and he had (many) sons and daughters. And all the days of Adam that he lived were nine hundred and thirty years and he died.” (5:3-5)

And each of the ten generations between Adam and Noach follows this same pattern, concluding with how long the total life span of said individual was.

However, in the delineation of the genera-tions from Noach (after the fl ood) till Abra-ham, the fi nal verse, listing the total life span and the individual’s death, is missing. Why the difference?

Perhaps this is the key to understanding the totality of the story of the Flood.

Before the Flood the listing of generations is focused very much on each individual: on the totality of his life and the fact that he died. But after the Flood, it is not the indi-vidual that is important, but rather his place in the chain that brings the world forward, closer to the generation of Abraham.

Perhaps what is really different in the

FROM THE HEART OF JERUSALEM

Rabbi Binny Freedman

Learning to live together in the world

Continued on page 12

O f all the Biblical heroes, those we might call the “good guys,” Noach gets the worst rap. When we are fi rst intro-

duced to him, we are told he was a tzaddik (righteous man) “in his generation.” Rashi famously pounces on the added term, sug-gesting that he was a good guy in his genera-tion alone, but had he lived in the generation of Avraham, he would not have been a per-

son of signifi cance. Some further

note that Noach never prayed for or interced-ed on behalf of the peo-ple of his generation, in any manner similar to Avraham’s protests on behalf of the doomed inhabitants of Sodom (see Rabbenu Bachaye on 6:14, for example). He may have taken his time building the ark, but as Bill Cosby noted in his popular “Noah”

routine, if people asked him why he was building the ark, his response did not exactly inspire repentance (as is indicated by Rashi’s “’Perhaps’ they’d repent” in 6:14).

The Midrash Rabba compares the Torah’s depiction of Noach to how it depicts Moshe. Noach starts as an “Ish Tzaddik” - a righteous man (6:9), but is last depicted as an “Ish Ha’Adamah” - a man of the earth (9:20). While being a man of the earth is not particularly a bad thing, it seems to be a step down from his original status. And once one considers that the epithet comes even after he has offered sacrifi ces to his G-d, the evi-dence is reproving in his disfavor.

Moshe, on the other hand, is de-picted in his early days as an “Ish Mitzri” - an Egyptian man (Shmot 2:19), while at the end of his life he is called an “Ish Ha’Elokim” - a man of G-d (Devarim 33:1). His life seems to be a progression to greater holiness.

These critiques may refl ect per-sonality traits of Noach. He listened to G-d’s instructions, but did not have the wherewith-al to confront or inspire people, or to teach them to be more G-dly. He may have been a tzaddik when others were around, but maybe the same personality trait did not hold wa-ter when Noach is the “only” human being around (aside from his immediate family) after the fl ood.

While I can not defend Noach against these accusations, I would like to share a defense pointed out by the Kli Yakar, which adds to Noach’s esteem even beyond the To-rah’s “And Noach found favor in G-d’s eyes.” (6:8)

Towards the end of Chapter 6, G-d tells Noach, “And you will take for yourself of all kinds of edible foods. You will gather it to you. And it will be food for you and for [the animals].” (6:21)

Says the Kli Yakar: “Taking for yourself implies ‘from your own and not from the [food] of others.’ This was to remind No-ach not to think that just because everyone else will die soon and will have no need for their money or property, that everything in the world was available to him for the tak-ing.” The miracle, he explains, is that Noach’s personal rations – from what he personally owned – suffi ced for all those on the ark,

man and beast, for one year. This is quite signifi cant. Noach is

living in a time in which “Chamas” – robbery – is rampant. The fact that this does not even register as a possibility for him, he being the only one who understands that G-d will be destroying the world, and how truly “you can’t take it with you” applied to the people of his generation, is a remarkable trait for a person living in that time period.

Think about it. Adam and Chava “stole” from the tree from which they were forbid-

den to eat. The Slonimer Rebbe (Nesivos Shalom) points out a remarkable difference between the offerings of Kayin and Hevel, that Kayin brought from “the fruit of the earth” (4:3) while Hevel brought from “the best of his sheep” (4:4). The source of Hevel’s offering was his own property! Kayin’s offer-ing may not have been “his!” It may have been stolen!

Noach did not descend from Kayin. Nonetheless it is noteworthy how the concept of taking “that which does not be-

long to you” is a fl aw which affl icted even the fi rst humans on earth. But Noach over-came, and did not have that temptation. Thisallowed him to even hold back from takingfrom those who would never miss it.

The message is simple. Noach is a tzad-dik in the fi rst part of the parsha because henever let money, or the pursuit of money, getin the way of his relationship with G-d and other human beings. Any food ultimatelybrought aboard the ark was either grown byhim or purchased honestly.

Parshat Noach

In defense of Noach

Rabbi Avi Billet

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As a psychology major and 2012 graduate of Stern College, Debra knows firsthand that a YU undergraduate

education is an excellent foundation upon which to build a successful career: this fall she’s pursuing a graduate

degree in occupational therapy at NYU. In fact, 90% of Stern College graduates planning a career in health

sciences were accepted to a graduate school of their choice last year.* Call our Office of Admissions at 212.960.5277 to schedule a preliminary consultation and start your remarkable journey today.

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YU educated, Health Sciences bound.Meet Debra from Hillside.

Just when I thought I had heard every adventure about my husband’s youth, he came up with another one over the

weekend. While sitting around our dining room table with good friends, he recalled a weekend, long ago, at a hotel in the Catskills.

His dad had become very involved in Ram-bam Yeshiva and the entire family was going to the yearly weekend retreat. Jerry and his brother were very excited, as they had been to Grossinger’s and loved time spent in the

huge indoor pool. Be-ing that the weekend was taking place in the early spring, they looked forward to swimming indoors. Once they arrived and checked in, they went in search of the indoor pool, as this was their fi rst visit to this hotel. To their dismay they were told that the ho-tel did not have one. Hmmm, the prospect of spending the entire

weekend without a pool on a Rambam re-treat with his parent’s friends, Rabbaim and board members, suddenly didn’t appeal to Jerry and his brother very much. His dad told the boys to go upstairs and unpack with their mom and he would try to scout out some fun activities for them.

Those of you who knew Jerry’s dad, know that he not only made the best of every situa-tion, he also made it a lot of fun. When some-

thing didn’t go as planned, he would always say “life is beautiful” followed by “don’t be upset.” Although Mr. Joszef, a’h wasn’t famil-iar with the movie, Life is Beautiful, he was very much like the lead character in the fi lm, an Italian Jewish man who tries to protect his son’s innocence during his internment at a Nazi concentration camp by telling him that the Holocaust was an elaborate game and he must adhere very carefully to the rules to win. He didn’t dwell on the horror of the situation, he tried to make it as pleasant as could be for his son. So it wasn’t surprising when Jerry’s dad returned to their room a half hour later with a huge grin on his face, exclaiming “put on your bathing suits, kids, I found a small indoor pool.” He didn’t have to ask twice. Within two minutes, both boys were in bathing suits, towels in hand and a ball to play catch with. Their dad led them downstairs, past the locker room to a waiting area of sorts. There, on line, were men of all ages, some with towels around their waist, many with nothing on at all. The boys looked on with horror. This was not what they had envisioned. This was nothing like Grossing-er’s. “They’re naked!” the boys exclaimed to their dad. To which he replied, whispering, “Don’t worry, some men swim naked, but we will be in a private room, just the three of us, we won’t be with them. After what seemed like an eternity, it was their turn. They were led to the “indoor pool room.” “This room is tiny,” said Jerry, “and the stairs take up half the pool.” His dad assured him that it would still be fun and to check out how nice and warm the water was. So there they were, the

three of them in the mikvah (unbeknownst to the boys). Jerry and his brother played catch and took turns throwing the Spalding ball against the walls. After a few minutes they realized it was also fun to stand on the top step and jump down to the water. Just as they were starting to enjoy themselves there was banging on the door, “Hey, let’s go, time’s up.” His dad replied, “Ok, just a few more minutes --there are three of us in here, you know.” Jerry, who found it a chal-lenge to swim the length of Grossinger’s pool underwater while holding his breath, found it a breeze to do here. He could do at least 10 laps without coming up for air. When the banging on the door became deafening, Mr. Joszef said it was time to let the other men have a chance in the “pool.” As the boys walked past the men remaining on line, Jerry said, “You should really try out the indoor pool at Grossinger’s. It’s much better than this one, but I’m warning you, you have to wear bathing suits there.”

Just as Mr Joszef, a’h, found a substitute for the indoor pool, and made sure his sons had fun, I thought I would share a recipe with you that mimics a yummy, fattening po-tato kugel, has a minuscule amount of fat, few calories, but tastes just as delicious.

ZUCCHINI KUGEL INGREDIENTS■ 8 large green zucchini (the size of an

English cucumber) peeled and cut into chunks

■ 5 extra large egg whites■ 1 packet artifi cial sweetener of your

choice (if you wish, you can substitute 1 tspof sugar)

■ 1 packet “Washington’s Rich BrownSeasoning and Broth” (can be purchased at Gourmet Glatt)

■ ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper■ 1 teaspoon salt■ 1 large onion peeled and dicedPam

CRUMB TOPPING■ 3 Tbs. Kellogg’s Corn Flake Crumbs (60

calories)■ 3 Tbs. French’s Fried Onions (68 calo-

ries)■ Crunch both between your fi ngers and

scatter on top of the kugel

DIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 350 degrees.Boil the zucchini, onion and salt for 20

minutes, and drain very well, as zucchinishold a lot of water.

Place the egg whites, Washington brownbroth packet, artifi cial sweetener and pepper,followed by the zucchini in a blender. Blendtill smooth. If you don’t have a blender youcan use an immersion blender stick, which works just as well. Place in an ovenproofdish and top with crumb topping. Bake, un-covered, until set, approximately 45 min – 1hour.

Serves 10. Approximate calorie count perportion is 60.

Judy Joszef can be reached at [email protected]

Who’s in the kitchen

Substitute adds taam, substracts calories

Judy Joszef

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A new Jewish camp is slated to open its doors in the summer of 2014, but it might be a little different from the summer camps that many of us remember. Unlike the Sloppy-Joes-and-tetherball camps from days of yore, Camp Zeke will offer gourmet cuisine and a personalized schedule focused on active liv-ing and culinary arts.

After eating a breakfast of organic fresh fruits and strawberry French toast souffl é – made with local, cage-free eggs, of course – campers will choose from energy-fi lled ac-tivities like capoeira, Israeli dance, strength training, and yoga. Gone are the days when playing traditional competitive sports was the only way to have an active summer. And if you thought cooking at camp meant mak-ing greasy burgers on outdoor grills, think again. At Zeke, campers will have the oppor-tunity to put on an apron and cook elaborate dishes with a professional chef.

“Active living and whole foods have be-come really popular,” explains Founder Lisa Kravitz. “We’re catering to families who bike or hike together, enjoy farmers’ markets, cre-ate meals with fresh, local ingredients, or just want to learn more about holistic well-ness.” Recognizing the lack of camps serving this demographic, the Foundation for Jew-ish Camp, Jim Joseph Foundation, and AVI CHAI Foundation accepted Camp Zeke into their “Specialty Camps Incubator.” As part of this program, the camp will receive $1.16 million dollars over the next fi ve years, along with extensive support from experts in Jew-ish camping. The foundations’ goal is to cater to Jewish kids and teens who choose not to attend traditional camps.

“Many kids want an active summer but don’t like playing sports,” explains Founder and Director Isaac Mamaysky, “and many other kids love the idea of cooking with a real chef in a professional kitchen.” Camp Zeke will offer both of those things in an en-vironment where all the food is healthy. “Of course, we’ll still have the delicious foods that kids love,” explains Isaac, “but the pizza will be made of whole wheat dough, and the ice pops will be made of real fruit – and that’s something parents can love too.”

While active living and nutrition have re-cently become hot topics, the idea for Zeke fi nds its roots in ancient Jewish teachings of shmirat haguf, or taking care of the body. The name, Zeke, is an abbreviation for the Hebrew name Yechezkel, which connotes im-mense strength. “That’s our motto,” explains Lisa, “strengthening the Jewish people, one camper at a time!” It is no surprise, then, that Zeke’s kitchen will be strictly kosher. The camp will also emphasize the connection between physical and spiritual wellbeing. As one famous Jewish thinker put it, “only if the body is healthy is it an effi cient instrument for the spirit’s activity.” Camp Zeke plans to help campers embody these words.

The Zeke team is fi nalizing plans for a site located near the New York Metropolitan Area. Camp Zeke is holding kickoff events focused on fi tness and nutrition in commu-nities across the country. To join their mail-

ing list or learn more about the camp, visit campzeke.org. You can also follow Camp Zeke on Facebook (facebook.com/campze-ke) and Twitter (twitter.com/campzeke).

Summer camp focuses on active living and nutrition

Looking for a few good writers:The Jewish Star invites you to write about your

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contact us at:[email protected]

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As a Yeshiva College graduate, and current rabbinical student at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary

(RIETS), Yair knows firsthand that a YU undergraduate education is an excellent foundation upon which to

launch a successful career: in 2013 he will enter Harvard Law School. In fact, 97% of law school applicants from

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YU educated, Harvard Law bound.Meet Yair from Queens.

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world before the Flood, and the new reality afterwards, is the relationship between man-kind and the rest of creation.

When the world is created, human beings are the fi nal pinnacle of creation, and the entire world is really created just for them. In fact, the Torah points out (see 2:5 and Rashi ad loc.) that prior to man’s creation the plants and grasses of the fi eld did not sprout forth as there was no rainfall, because man had not yet been created. In other words, the world existed to benefi t man, so if man didn’t yet exist there was no point yet to creation.

Thus, when G-d decides to destroy man-kind, in essence there is no longer any pur-pose to the world, which may be why the ani-mals and all life are destroyed as well.

But something has to change, so Noach and his family spend an entire year in an Ark full of animals: because in that Ark, Noach learns that as much as the earth was created for us, we also need the earth, and we are all living, ultimately in one great ark.

There is in fact a beautiful Midrash (Rab-binic teaching) that has Shem (the son of Noach) describing to a young Avram what it was like to be in the Ark:

“Avraham asked Malki-Tzedek (Shem): ‘How did you merit surviving in the ark?

‘Through giving (tzedakah)’ he responded.‘But what kind of tzedakah could you do

on the Ark? There were certainly no poor people there!’ asked Avraham, to which Shem responded: ‘Tzedakah for all the animals; we never slept, spending instead our entire time taking care of all the animals!” (Midrash Te-hillim 37:1)

In other words, the Torah describes that

the world was destroyed because of robbery and adulterous behavior, all of which are the self-centered actions that result from a society based on self. If the world is created for me, then ultimately I am all that matters. So the ark became the incubator for a whole new world where man would learn to live in harmony with the entire world.

Ultimately it is not that Noach and his ark save all the animals; rather, all the animals in the ark is what will save Noach.

There is no experience in Israel that breaks down our boundaries more than war. And in a lonely parking lot full of people ex-periencing the same moment of pain, there were no lines, because all the differences were left at home.

The Jews (and non Jews) who fi lled that parking lot were left wing and right, ‘reli-gious’ and less so (whatever that means), with kippot and without, and of every back-ground imaginable.

Today, more than ever, we need to re-member that we are all really one family, and that all of us, in this great ark we call a world, need to work a little harder at learn-ing to live, love, and even let go, together.

Shabbat Shalom,R. Binny Freedman

Rav Binny Freedman, Rosh Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem’s Old City is a Company Com-mander in the IDF reserves, and lives in Efrat with his wife Doreet and their four children. His weekly Internet ‘Parsha Bytes’ can be found at www.orayta.org

B y the time of this printing we’re (hope-fully, safely!) home sweet home, back to our New York family, after a dozen

stops around Israel. We are now processing, regrouping, recollecting and washing piles of post-trip laundry. Since that tedium is not

fi t for print, instead I hope you’ll indulge my descriptions of our post Sukkot travels, the last leg of our trip.

The sun didn’t wake us during our fi rst morning back in Tel Aviv; instead we opened our eyes to a dark cloudy sky. This was surely going to ruin my dream of spending one day soaking up vi-tamin D and swimming in the beautifully hued warm Mediterranean.

We felt the air get heavier, then watched the clouds suddenly spew out a torrential down-pour. The roads immediately fl ooded, the sand fi lled with huge puddles and the sum-mer dust turned into mud.

This was Tel Aviv’s “yoreh” - its fi rst rain of the season. The just reinstated, seasonal prayer for rain seemed to have been immedi-ately answered! And my wish was fulfi lled, too, because within the hour, the clouds moved on, the water receded and the beach

lovers and “matkot” players reveled. We were awakened each morning in Is-

rael by the early dawn light, but in Tel Aviv, by the “clok, clok, clok” of the paddle game ubiquitous along Israel’s shoreline. Thank-fully, the matkot players are all expert level, sparing us from getting hit in the head by that speedily whacked dense ball. A walk on the beach is lovely, but the tayelet was safer as we walked miles from the Namal, the Tel Aviv port at the north end, down to Jaffa at the southern point. The ever awesome sunset was the prize for our exercising efforts.

Onward with David’s auntie and cousins from Nahariya to kibbutz Beit Alfa near Sa-chne for the weekend, which in Israel means Thursday night through Shabbat. We passed beautiful scenery on our drive to the kibbutz, and noticed the white cotton fi elds ready to be picked. We learned that the “yoreh” had not yet fallen in this part of the country; all these plants must be harvested before the rainfall so as not to spoil the crop.

Friday was a beautiful day for swimming in Sachne’s pools, fed by springs whose temperature stays constant throughout the year, comfortable and refreshing. The water is inhabited by small fi sh hanging around the steps, waiting to nibble human feet. This encouraged me to swim more en-ergetically than usual since movement kept my body fi sh-free. We rode two hours back to Nahariya for a nostalgic night at Auntie Esther’s home.

Our trip from Nahariya to Jerusalem was complicated by train stoppages and major Sunday morning traffi c on the fi rst day the country returned to “business as usual” after the holiday period. As we crawled south-ward in a taxi down to the closest working station, I heard the radio list traffi c warnings about nearly every numbered highway. Kiry-at Motzkin station was mobbed by soldiers and other commuters. We and our ever-pres-ent bags were pushed onto the train along with the crowds.

In Tel Aviv, we got seats on bus number 480, express to Jerusalem. The ride into Jerusalem always feels special. As the bus climbs upward, the quality of the air and scenery seem to as well. Jerusalem is a regu-lar city with residential neighborhoods, but it is also a unique, incredible place. We walked countless kilometers, explored the old shuk, rode the new light rail, visited the Kotel and museums.

Restaurants abound and the warm weath-er invites outdoors seating. We rejoiced in our extended summertime as much as pos-sible, knowing that we’re returning to fall and the cold winter. We ate our way through this city much as we did in Tel Aviv; falafel, kubbe, Israeli and Greek salads, fresh fruit smoothies, cafe hafuch and iced caffes (ice cream included), homemade hummus and local olives. Luckily, we walked off the calo-ries!

We envisioned, awaited and planned this

trip for so long that it’s hard to believe it isalready just a memory. It was my husband’s decade long dream to have a lengthy vaca-tion in Israel during the chagim, and we tried to make it come true. Though nothing can beperfect, many things happened exactly as wemeticulously mapped out, while some ideaswent by the wayside due to lack of time ormomentum, and still others simply didn’twork out. A few days feeling sick, messed uptrain schedules and three nights in a bad b &b, were annoying but minor inconveniencesthat couldn’t possibly ruin the experience asa whole.

Our main motivations for this Israel visit were to spend time with our daughter, visitwith family and friends, and rediscover the eternal connection we have to our “homeaway from home.” Those goals we certainlyaccomplished, along with so much more tocontemplate and absorb. We feel blessed tohave been able to realize this one version ofan Israel dream, crisscrossing the country,seeing some of the land and its people.

Until next time, we bid Israel and ourmishpacha “shalom u’lihitraot!”

Miriam Bradman Abrahams is Cubanborn, Brooklyn bred and lives in Woodmere.She organizes author events for Hadassah, re-views books for Jewish Book World and is very slowly writing her father’s immigration story. She is teaching yoga at Peaceful Presence Yoga Studio. [email protected]

MIRIAM’S MUSINGS

Miriam Bradman Abrahams

Home away from home, home sweet home

This year HAFTR Middle School imple-mented the Olweus Bully Prevention Pro-gram. Last year, the HAFTR Olweus Bully Prevention Coordinating Committee, com-posed of administrators, support staff, teachers, and parents underwent an in-tensive two day workshop given by a cer-tifi ed Olweus trainer. This September, the Committee provided an intensive one-day training for all HAFTR Middle School Staff. Mrs. Yali Werzberger, HAFTR’s Director of Student Services and School Psychologist, is the Program Coordinator for the Olweus Bully Prevention Program. She provided a comprehensive explanation of what the Ol-weus Bully Prevention is, why it is so effec-tive, and how it differs from other programs that schools use to prevent bullying. Mrs. Jennifer Toscano-Phillips, BOCES School Psychologist, presented next, and discussed characteristics of students who bully and are victimized, as well as those who simply observe the bullying. Mr. Yeshaya Lieber, Dean of Encouragement, spoke next about the school-wide level aspects of the Olweus Program. He analyzed positive and negative consequences to address bullying, and pre-sented HAFTR’s school rules against bully-ing. Ms. Rebecca Zweibon, HAFTR’s Social Studies Teacher discussed the classroom-level components of the program. She later

met with individual teachers who will holdclassroom meetings with their studentsthroughout the year, which is instrumen-tal in creating a sense of community andcohesion among students. Rabbi Avi We-ber, Judaic Studies Teacher, meanwhile,taught teachers how to intervene with theindividual students who bully or are bul-lied, and help teachers practice interven-ing on the spot when they witness bullying.Lastly, Mrs. Estee Herskovics, BOCES SocialWorker, stressed the importance of partner-ing with community organizations to helpprevent bullying. She also discussed work-ing with parents whose children bully oth-ers or are victims of bullying. On Friday,October 12th, HAFTR Middle School held akick-off event to introduce the program toits students. At this assembly, the four Ol-weus “School Rules Against Bullying” wereintroduced through videos that studentscreated. The videos were both fun and in-formative. A fi fth rule, Ve’ahavta Le’reachaKamocha (love your neighbor as you loveyourself) was added, to help students un-derstand that combating bullying is an in-tegral part of Jewish beliefs. Each studentwas provided with a “band against bullyingbracelet” as the end of the program. Stu-dents are now looking forward to beginningclassroom meetings on bully prevention!

HAFTR Middle School Unveils the Olweus Bully Prevention Program

Learning to live togetherContinued from page 6

By Karen C Green

Felicia and Mark Bernstein of Woodmere, New York celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son Sammy in Israel at the Zikkim army base near Ashkelon. The Succos celebration which was coordinated by The International Young Israel movement’s Ruby Davidman To-rah Scrolls for the IDF project symbolized their love of Torah, the State of Israel and the brave soldiers of the IDF.

Sammy read his Torah portion at the syn-agogue on the base, followed by a breakfast in the succah. More than 500 soldiers stood

at attention as Sammy and his family exited the succah in recognition of the Torah Scroll that was dedicated in memory of Sammy’s grandmother, Roslyn Feder. Joyous dancing followed with Sammy, his father Mark, and Sammy’s grandfather Morty Feder.

IYIM Israel President Ceec Harrishburg presented certifi cates to Sammy and his par-ents to commemorate the special occasion. In addition, the commander of the base pre-sented Sammy with a plaque expressing ap-preciation from the unit.

Mazel tov to Sammy and the entire Bern-stein/Feder mispochas !

Bar Mitzvah, emphasis on the mitzvah, and simchat Torah

Bar Mitzvah boy Sammy is joined by his father Mark, and grandfather Morty Feder at the joyous celebration dedicating a Torah in memory of Roslyn Feder

The Bernstein and Feder Mishpocha including Mark Bernstein, Lisa Bernstein,Henry Bernstein, Morty Feder, Felicia Bernstein, Nikki, Bar Mitzvah boy Sammy,Dani, Kelly, Jamie

Photo courtesy of the Bernstein family

Soldiers at the Zikkim army base near Ashkelon added ruach to the celebration

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the death rates have been going down, attrib-uting that to earlier detection and better treatment. Currently, there are over 2.9 million U.S. survivors of the disease, notes ACS, but they are not alone. Various organizations offer support and are rolling out some new pro-grams this October, Breast Cancer Aware-ness Month, to help those facing the specter of breast cancer. Two of these include Sharsheret and Chabad of Merrick-Bellmore-Wantagh (MBW). Sharsheret, Hebrew for “chain,” supports women and families, of all Jewish back-grounds, facing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. All Sharsheret programs are open to all women and men, said Elana Silber, director of opera-tions. Founded in 2001, it is a national not-for-profit organization that offers support, information, resources, and education princi-pally to women diagnosed with breast cancer or at increased genetic risk. They have field-ed over 24,000 inquiries, and have over 1650 peer sup-porters in 43 states across the country. On October 21st, Team Sharsheret will be joining the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in NYC with pre-walk family activities at 8:30 am in Central Park at the 69th Street and 5th Avenue entrance. On November 7th, Sharsheret is “kicking off a new program that will help families fac-ing financial crisis due to illness with a free, live round table discussion,” explained Sil-ber. “Taking Control of Your Financial Health During and After a Health Crisis Live Roundtable Discussion,” will be held at 7 pm at the UJA Federation of New York at 130 East 59th Street, Room 710, New York City. “While advances in medical technology mean Jewish women may have a better chance of physically surviving serious ill-ness, the overwhelming financial issues asso-ciated with treatment and recovery can be devastating to their financial health, particu-larly during these challenging economic times,” said Silber. “The new financial pro-gram will not only equip women and fami-lies with information, but also with the tools they need to proactively address their long-term financial, insurance, and estate needs.” Panelists include a financial advisor, a dis-ability lawyer, an insurance expert and an estate planner. A live question and answer session will follow the presentations. A tran-script of the roundtable will be accessible online, noted Silber. The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC) awarded a federal grant to Sharsheret to develop a program to provide support and educational resources for young Jewish breast cancer survivors and their families. The program, “Thriving Again: Life After Breast Cancer for Young Jewish Women,” received $305,049 for first year fund-ing and will be fully funded by the CDC. It will deal with life after breast cancer for young women, including its effect on careers,

relationships, reproduction, health, finances and the increased risk of breast cancer and other cancers in Jewish families. Although it is aimed at Jewish women, the program will be easily adapted for other cultural and ethnic groups. “We are honored to have been selected by

the CDC to launch this critical survivor-ship program,” said Sharsheret

Founder and Executive Director Rochelle Shoretz, herself a two-time breast cancer survivor, diag-

nosed at age 28. “As more young Jewish women live beyond a breast cancer diagnosis, the Thriving Again program, made possible with CDC’s support, will enhance the quality of life for thousands. Sharsheret’s expertise in serv-

ing young women and Jewish women has been recognized in a

federal platform that will enable us to develop core programming to

benefit not only the women in our community, but the larger com-

munity of young breast cancer survivors nationwide.”

Sharsheret also has an interactive map on their website where viewers can click and find pro-

grams, events and peer vol-unteers all across the United

States. T h e Chabad of MBW will hold a “Journey for a Purpose” women’s evening on October 25th to support those facing breast cancer and launching “Circle of Hope,” an organization to provide financial help, emo-tional support and preventative health semi-nars for breast cancer patients and their fam-ilies. The Circle of Hope will provide various forms of help including monetary assis-tance, rides to the doctor or hospital, sum-mer camp scholarships for patients’ chil-dren, monthly support groups, preventative testing, educational seminars, a wig bank and makeup lessons for those undergoing chemotherapy. The Journey for a Purpose will feature a presentation by Dr. Ruth Oratz, an oncologist at New York University’s Lan-gone Medical Center. “Sharsheret doesn’t offer medical advice or medical referrals,” pointed out Silber, “we offer support, information and education.” She said that Sharsheret strongly recom-mends that patients speak with a health care professional regarding any medical ques-tions. She noted that “many women, while still undergoing treatment, call to offer sup-port and strength by sharing their experi-ence as peer supporters. Sharsheret offers support at every stage--before, during and after diagnosis, even during the survivorship years.For more information contact Sharsheret at 866-474-2774 or on their website at www.sharsheret.org.For updates and information on the Merrick-Bellmore Circle of Hope, visit www.Circleof-HopeMerrick.org. For further information about the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, please contact Chana at [email protected] or (516) 833-3057.

News for breast cancerContinued from page 1

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RE-ELECTJUDGE ANDREW M. ENGELDISTRICT COURT JUDGE

VOTE NOVEMBER 6TH, 20126AM - 9PM

• Presently presides over more than 1,000 DWI cases in Nassau County.• Trial and Appellate Attorney for 25 years.• Jewish Lawyers Association Board Member.• Dean, Nassau Academy of Law 2010-2011.• President, Nassau County District Court Judges’ Association 2011-2012.• Found ‘Highly Qualified’ by NYS Independent Judicial Election Qualifications Commission

• Found “Well Qualified” (highest rating) Nassau County Bar Association.

Paid By The Committee to Re-Elect Judge Andrew M. Engel

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*Paid For By The Committee to Re-Elect Judge Sullivan

By Malka Eisenberg

According to the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention (CDC), more than one third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese, medical costs in 2008 related to obesity were $147 bil-lion and obese people spent $1429 more than normal weight people on health issues.

“Unfortunately, in the Jewish community, obesity is not addressed,” said Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, executive vice president and chief ad-ministrative offi cer at Mercy Medical Center. He noted that Mercy has a “very comprehen-sive” bariatric, or weight-loss, surgery pro-gram that has done 3000 procedures since it opened in 2003 with over 125 done per year. Bariatric surgery is done on patients who are overweight by 100 pounds or more and have failed to lose weight on diet and exercise regi-mens or medications.

The overeating that leads to obesity is a psychological issue that requires behavior modifi cation, explained Glatt, and “eating is like smoking.” He also said that this is not for people with a metabolic problem. These pro-cedures are not for most people and not “le-chatchila (fi rst option),” continued Glatt, but it is a “medically signifi cant procedure and hala-chically and medically appropriate for a pa-tient where all other options have failed, then it is a halachically and medically indicated procedure.” He stressed that there are “rigid criteria to make sure that the right patients get the surgery and the wrong patients don’t get the surgery.”

“It’s always reasonable to discuss these things with your local rav,” said Glatt, “and it should be done if there is any halachic doubt

in your mind. In general, weight loss surgery is halachically permitted when it is medically indicated.”

When a patient has a BMI, a Body Mass Index, of over “30 with one medical problem related to obesity or greater than 40 BMI with no medical problems,” explained Dr. Shawn Garber, Director of The New York Bariatric Group and Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Mercy Medical Center, the patient is a candidate for bariatric surgery.

“There are many reasons that patients are obese,” said Glatt. It could be metabolic he said, but it’s “usually from overeating, poor nu-trition choices, with caloric intake more than the caloric requirements.”

Weight loss surgery is only for obese pa-tients and involves one of three possible pro-cedures. The patient losses weight either by making the stomach smaller by using an im-planted medical appliance as in gastric band-ing, by removing part of the stomach, as in sleeve gastrectomy or by making a smaller stomach pouch bypassing part of the stomach and connecting to the middle part of the small intestine as in gastric bypass surgery. Studies show that following surgery, patients maintain their weight loss and show a decrease of obe-sity related diseases.

Patients come for treatment, explained Garber, “because they are uncomfortable with their weight, they are developing medi-cal problems related to obesity like diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, high cholesterol, joint problems, and their lives are severely limited by their weight. We perform virtually scar less single incision Lap-Band and sleeve gastrectomy as well as laparoscopic gastric

bypass surgery. We do mostly Lap-Band and sleeve gastrectomy because they are the safest procedures.”

The program is “high quality,” emphasized Glatt, with “very experienced surgeons…deliv-ering a supreme outcome in a high complica-tion fi eld.” He pointed out that the bariatric section in Mercy has specially sized wheel-chairs, lifts to help the patients up and about after surgery, gurneys for larger sized patients, special equipment and staff experienced in the use of this equipment. “They do it regularly and have the equipment there all the time and a capable and knowledgeable staff to take care of such patients. They are in a separate area when they come out of the operating room and most go home the next day and return as an out patient to a private doctor’s offi ce and not the hospital for follow-up. “

The surgery “doesn’t allow the patient to ‘pig out,’” stressed Glatt. They are on a “life-long diet, that’s the nature of the disease, of obesity.” The procedure is a “tool, it doesn’t cure it but it helps you control it. The patient is counseled on diet and exercise. The repeat surgery rate is low; the procedures have a good success rate. The key component is be-havior modifi cation assisted by psychologists and counselors.” Garber concurred, “Most patients will lose an average of 60% of their excess weight after weight loss surgery. De-pending on their motivation, they can do bet-ter or worse. It is important for patients to re-member that bariatric surgery is a tool and not a cure for obesity and that they need to work with the surgery to get the best results.”

“Most patients maintain their weight loss long-term as opposed to non-surgical diets

where most patients regain their weight,”stressed Garber. “Surgery is different thandieting because we give them a tiny stomachpouch and physically restrict how much a per-son can eat. If they eat too much they willvomit. Also patients report they feel much lesshungry after surgery as well. Non-surgical di-ets patients are always hungry and eventuallywill just start eating more.”

When asked about reports of depression,malnutrition and osteoporosis in bariatric pa-tients, Garber said, “Depression is commonin 98% of patients who suffer from morbidobesity, so that is not a result of surgery butsomething they had prior to surgery. As faras malnutrition and osteoporosis, which areextremely rare, we monitor our patients veryclosely and do blood tests to recognize anyproblems and correct them promptly.” Henoted that he never had a problem of suicidaltendencies in his patients. “We have a multi-disciplinary team including psychologists andnutritionists that work at The New York Bar-iatric Group.”

Both Glatt and Garber touted the expertiseof the staff and benefi ts of treatment at Mercy.“At Mercy we have one of the largest experi-ences and largest practice in the Northeast forbariatric surgery. We are also the only pro-gram on Long Island to offer the virtually scarless single incision laparoscopic Lap-Band andsleeve gastrectomy surgery which results inless scarring and less pain than the traditionallaparoscopic surgery. The program at Mercyhas also been ranked in the top 5% of bariatricsurgery programs in the United States for thepast six years in a row with the lowest compli-cation rates.”

Helping the obese at Mercy MedicalTH

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Oct 20Making Marriages Great!

National Council of Young Israel and Young Israel of Jamaica Estates present the Highly Ac-claimed Shalom Workshop

Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, MAEsther Friedman, MSW - DirectorYoung Israel of Jamaica Estates83-10 188th StreetJamaica, New York Pre-registration requiredFree for YIJE members; $15 per couple for

nonmembersFor more information 212-929-1525 or js-

[email protected] online at www.youngisrael.org/marriage

Levi Yitzchak LibraryThe Lion of Judah - a documentary written

and directed by Matt Mindell, which tells the story of Holocaust survivor and local resident Leo (Leibel) Zisman.

Followed by a question and answer period and book signing with Mr. Zisman

Admission: $18 per person* $25 per couple**Includes a copy of I Believe: the Story of One

Jewish Life by Leo ZismanFilm starts at 8:30 p.m.

Oct 21First Annual Masbia Bike Tour

Featuring three different rides for different levels including a ten mile family ride through Prospect Park. Registration fee includes t-shirt and gear. All proceeds go directly to feed the hungry. www.masbia.org

Ride and registration at Brizzi Park, 10th avenue and 43rd Street

Borough Park, BrooklynTo register go to www.crowdrise.com/mas-

biabiketour. Email [email protected] for more information.

Yeshiva University 7th Annual Fuld Family Medical Ethics Society

ConferenceOut of the Ashes: Jewish Approaches to Medi-

cal Dilemmas Born out of the HolocaustHuman experimentation, mental health of 2nd

and 3rd generations.9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.Yeshiva University, Wilf Campus located at

500 West 185th StreetPre-registration required. Register online at

www.yumedicalethics.com

‘Think Israel’ conference Organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh and The Jew-

ish Agency for Israel, the conference, which is geared for Jewish students and young profes-sionals, will focus on careers and life in Israel, and feature various workshops addressing Jobs in Israel, Higher Education, Building your Community, Social Justice, Israel Engagement and more. The event will also include an Israel Fair where people considering Aliyah will be able to meet with potential employers as well as a special workshop for physicians. There will also be a Tweet-up focusing on using social media to bridge the connection between Israel and the Diaspora. The ‘Think Israel’ conference (www.nbn.org.il/thinkisrael), which is expected to draw hundreds of attendees, will incorporate various

breakout sessions covering a wide array of Aliyah and Israel related topics, including break-ing into the Israeli job market, higher education and social action in Israel, army service in Israel, exploring The Jewish Agency’s Masa programs and a special presentation by Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director Yehoshua Fass. The event can be followed on Twitter at #thinkIsrael. The conference will take place at 1:00 p.m. at the UJA-Federation of New York offi ce.

Oct 23AMIT Greater Long Island Gala

New Horizons for ChildrenPaying Tribute to Outstanding Long Island

HonoreesKeter Shem Tov Award will be presented to

Barbara Nordlicht, a resident of Long Beach. Regional Honorees include Sheri Feldman, West Hempstead, Nancy Karp of Lawrence, Faye Krawitz of Plainview, Hope Berger Nathan of

Lawrence, and Eva Torczyner of Oceanside Eliza-beth Luxenberg of Great Neck, a member of the Midreshet AMIT class of 2012, will be presenting the Dvar Torah, in honor of the program’s fi fth anniversary. Midreshet AMIT in Jerusalem is a program for post high school young women that combines a year of intensive Jewish studies with working with foster children in the care of AMIT. Shlomit Ebbin, daughter of Chevi and Rabbi Ira Ebbin of Congregation Ohav Sholom in Merrick, will speak about her experiences participating in AMIT’s twinning program.

The Sephardic Temple775 Branch BoulevardCedarhurst, NY Cocktails 6 p.m. Program and Dinner 7:15 p.m.

Oct 28Hachnasas Sefer Torah

The Esformes Sefer Torah In memory of Harav Shlomo Freifeld, zt’lDedicated by Rabbi Morris and Delecia

Esformes9 a.m. Shiur by Rav Naftali Jaeger

12 noon K’sivas Osios1:30 p.m. Torah Procession accompanied by

Live MusicStarting at the corner of Nassau Expressway

and Cedar Lawn Avenue2:30 p.m. Seudas Mitzvah For opportunities and information, please callRabbi Moshe Rubin516-239-9002 ext 124

For Women Only - Infor-mation Session

The Impact of Breast and Ovarian Cancer on the Jewish Community

Young Israel of West Hempstead in conjunc-tion with Sharsheret is sponsoring a free infor-mative session. Shera Dubitsky, Sharsheret’s Clinical Director will be speaking. Handouts of prevention/signs/symptoms, etc. Discussion and question and answer period will follow. Refresh-ments will be served.

Sponsorships in honor of a survivor or in memory of a loved one. Reservations preferred, but all are welcome at the door.

For more information, please contact Betty Aboff at 516-996-6309 or email [email protected].

Hachnassat Sefer TorahDedication of a Torah in Memory ofRabbi Dr. Noah and Pearl Rosenbloomthe Parents ofMichaelle Gorman & Leah BulkaProcession12:30 PM from Central Avenue &Prospect Avenue to theWoodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care

CenterRefreshments Will Be Served

Gala Classical ConcertPianists, Arbie Orenstein and Audrey

Schneider as well as distinguished guest art-ist, fl utist Keith Underwood will perform. The program will consist of piano compositions by Chopin, Schubert, Debussy and Ravel, as well as fl ute works by Barber, Rachmaninov, Bloch and Schulhoff. There will be a collation following the concert and all concert ticket holders are invited.

Tickets are for the concert are $20 each and $15 for students. If you would like to be a patron, for $100 you will get 4 tickets for reserved seat-ing and also have your name in the program.

For additional information and/or to purchase tickets, call Fran Welner at 516-485-1682 or the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead offi ce at 516-481-7448.

The Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead is located at 711 Dogwood Ave, West Hempstead.

Oct 30Breast Cancer Screen-ings

From the NUMC Mammography Van9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noonEast Rockaway Recreation Center/John Street

Complex17 John Street, East RockawayFor additional information, or to make an

appointment, please callLegislator Howard Kopel’s offi ce at (516)

571-6207Appts are scheduled on a fi rst come, fi rst

served basis

Woodmere Fire Department is hoping that the community comes out Motzei Shab-bat for an evening of laughter in support of the Department.

ON THE

CalendarSubmit your shul or organization’s events or shiurim to [email protected].

Deadline is Wednesday of the week prior to publication.

long walk with a gas can. In contrast, with electric vehicles, it may be a costly tow and an overnight charge with a standard outlet if a quick charge is not close by. Similarly, the cost of solar panels for individual homes in the U.S. is so high, that the breakeven cost when compared to regional electricity prices comes only after ten or more years.

In Israel, a startup called Better Place Inc. opened two new battery replacement stations, one on Israel’s Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway 1 and one on Kvish Shesh (Road 6). Both Israel and the company view the opening of these stations as important steps toward the completion of the north-to-south network of battery replacement stations.

It has already invested in 40 battery re-placement stations, and the simple automatic replacement takes about fi ve minutes. Cur-rently, there are only 500 electric cars on Is-rael’s roads – just 500. Yet, the company has confi rmed that it has signed agreements with more than 60 other companies to buy elec-tric cars and move their own business model while affecting the use of gas for transporta-tion.

Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky believes that “It’s important for us to have a presence on the country’s main roads, which will strengthen drivers’ coverage range of electric cars…, with the vision of a smooth and continuous ride.”

That is forward thinking that we are not getting in the U.S.

When watching the debates and under-standing the election process, Americans know that the economy is the leading factor for most of the electorate today. Yet, priori-ties are telling. At the most recent debate,

President Obama and Mitt Romney arguedover gas prices and policies that drive them.They both debated and disputed the wisdomof investing in green initiatives, but there isa looming defi cit, uncontrolled spending andeven foreign policy and the wars on terror tonavigate. That makes ideas such as real solu-tions for green initiatives less popular.

American politicians today focus most oftheir actions and policies on short-term pro-grams that will get them through the nextelection. There are just too many bigger is-sues to tackle.

In Israel, however, when it only has thematter of perpetual terror looming from itsbordered neighbors; economic disparity thathas about half the country on public supportand not sharing in the military service burden which causes a sizable civil rift; the threat of devastation from Iran’s leaders; and the cha-otic divisions within Israel’s government thathas lead to the call for early elections before the governing coalition collapses, to namejust a few of the issues, Israeli businesses and what is working within the government man-age to focus attentions on long term planningthat will bring costs down, create new jobs,and make it energy independent sooner thanmost.

Israel faces existential threats daily whiledealing with a growing civil divide among its citizens and it builds as if it will endure for-ever. What can American leaders learn fromlittle Israel?

Juda Engelmayer is an executive with theNY PR agency, 5W Public Relations

Israel helping the U.S.

SUSSMAN, SANTINO, KOPEL SALUTE JEWISH WAR VETERANS FOR CELL PHONE PROGRAMTown of Hempstead Senior Councilman Anthony J. Santino and NassauCounty Legislator Howard J. Kopel joined members of Jewish WarVeterans Post #717 to recognize Alvin Chanon, a post member whoorganized and ran a highly successful “Cell Phones for Soldiers”program, where local residents donated unneeded cell phones andaccessories for current, active duty military across the globe.Our nation’s warriors were then able to communicate with theirfamilies and loved ones more easily than before.Pictured (L to R) are Lawrence School Board member Dr. David Sussman, Jewish War Veterans Post 717 member Jack Gurau, Jewish War Veterans Post 717 Vice Commander Alvin Chanon, Jewish War Veterans Post 717Vice Commander Rudy Schwartz, Senior Councilman Anthony J. Santino and Legislator Howard J. Kopel.

Continued from page 2

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How To SurviveYour Child’sBig Day!

Party SwagFor

Bar & Bat Mitzvah • Quinceañera • Sweet 16

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MERCHANDISE MART

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EMPLOYMENT

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AIRLINES ARE HIRING- Train for hands on Aviation Career. FAA approved pro- gram. Financial aid if qualified- Job Place- ment Assistance. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance (866)296-7093

CAMP DIRECTORNorth Shore Hebrew Academy seeks an

experienced Camp Director to run all aspects of its N'Shama Day Camp

operation. Please email letter/resume to: Arnie Flatow, Executive Director

[email protected]

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HOME HEALTH AIDES: Immediate Work!

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Miscellaneous For Sale

Help Wanted

ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE from home. *Medical, *Business, *Criminal Justice, *Hospitality, Job placement assistance. Computer available. Financial Aid if quali- fied. SCHEC certified. Call 888-201-8657www.CenturaOnline.com

SAVE ON CABLE TV-Internet-Digital Phone. Packages start at $89.99/mo (for 12 months.) Options from ALL major ser- vice providers. Call Acceller today to learn more! CALL 1-877-736-7087

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Credit Financial

CREDIT CARD DEBT? LEGALLY HAVE IT REMOVED! Need a minimum $7,000 in debt to qualify. Utilize Consumer Protec- tion Attorneys. Call now 1-866-652-7630 for help.

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Education

AIRLINES ARE HIRING- Train for high paying Aviation Maintenance Career. FAA approved program. Financial aid if quali- fied- Housing available. CALL Aviation In- stitute of Maintenance (877)818-0783

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CLASSIFIEDSTo Advertise In This Section, Call 516-632-5205

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Richner Communications, Long Island's largest publisher of commu-nity news, is looking for an innovative, strategic and business-minded individual to lead our efforts as we transition from traditional newspa-per publishing to interactive electronic media. (Visit our main website at www.LIHerald.com.)

We need someone with an entrepreneurial mindset to help us develop a viable business model that allows us to monetize our web presence while attracting and delighting readers and advertisers with compelling content and features, coordinate our social media presence and for-mulate and execute our mobile strategy. You will be building our digital department from the ground up.

• Qualifi ed candidates should have the following experience/skills:

• 2+ years of hands-on experience in online/interactive/digital media

• 2+ years of management and sales experience

• Knowledge of social media, mobile and email marketing

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment

• Outstanding presentation and negotiation skills

• AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, an entrepreneurial, innovative mind set - a true self-started, who can take new online opportunities from concept to completion with an eye on the bottom line.

Richner Communications is a family-owned publisher of 28 weekly community newspapers, shopping guides and affi liated websites. We offer a friendly, informal environment in our state-of-the-art offi ces in Garden City, salary, paid time off, excellent health plan and 401(k).

Qualifi ed Candidates should email a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF ONLINE MEDIA

SELLING YOUR HOUSE?

Run Your Ad in The Jewish Star

Just Call Our ClassifiedDepartment at516-632-5205

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The Jewish StarJust Call Our Classified

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NEED A CAR?Find it in the HERALD Classifieds.

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THE AMIT GREATER LONG ISLAND GALA TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012

THE SEPHARDIC TEMPLE775 BRANCH BOULEVARDCEDARHURST, NY

7 CHESHVAN 5773COCKTAILS AND BOUTIQUE 6PMPROGRAM AND DINNER 7:15PM

UTSTANDING LONG ISLAND HONOREES

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EVA TORCZYNER

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YOU CAN MAKE A RESERVATION ONLINE AT WWW.AMITCHILDREN.ORG/GIFTS. CLICK ON EVENT REGISTRATION.

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Our 1st graders receive their first Siddur

Technologically Equipped Classrooms

Mr. Randolph Ross, General Studies Principal • Rabbi Adam Acobas, Associate Principal, Middle School • Mr. Arnie Flatow, Executive Director

Join Us at our OPEN HOUSE for all gradesMonday, October 29th • 7:30 PM

Cherry Lane Campus • 16 Cherry Lane, Great Neck, NY 11024To RSVP, please contact Judy Smilow • (516) 487-8687 x 128

To arrange for a personal tour, please callFor grades Toddler – K,

Mrs. Elana Helfgott, Early Childhood Directorat (516) 487-8687 x156

• A nurturing and stimulating

Early Childhood Program

• Extensive extra-curricular programs

• Individualized attention with remedial

and enrichment programs

• A wide variety of Chesed and community

outreach programs

• Transportation available from Nassau &

Queens

For grades 1-8, Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin, Head of School/Rosh Ha’Yeshiva

at (516) 487-9163 x 126

North Shore Hebrew AcademyGreat Neck, Long Island

• A Modern Orthodox Ivrit B’Ivrit Limudei Kodesh Program

• An outstanding General Studies curriculum with Great

Neck schools’ educational standards for learners at all levels

• NY State test scores among the highest in the district

• Dedicated and caring faculty

• A curriculum of Torah values

• A love of Torat Yisroel, Medinat Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael

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First Grade 11 + 12 = _________Second Grade 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 = _________Third Grade How much is 99 plus 99 plus 99?Fourth Grade Count by 13/4 from 0 to 7.Fifth Grade Which is greatest: 17/18, 23/30 , or 18/19? (Explain how you got your answer).Sixth Grade Halfway through the second quarter, how much of the game is left?Seventh Grade How much is 61/2% of 250?Pre-Algebra On a certain map, 6 inches represents 25 miles. How many miles does 15 inches represent?Algebra When you take 3 away from twice a number, the answer is 8. What is the number?Geometry What is the Absolute Value of the point (3,4)?

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