VOL 10, NO 26 ■ JULY 8, 2011 / 6 TAMMUZ, 5771 WWW.THEJEWISHSTAR.COM

Local football coach in Jerusalem Page 3 Entebbe: our mission today Page 6The Best of my Worst: Krantz speaks Page 8 Ask Aviva: Too frum? Page 13

THE JEWISH STAR

By Rebecca Hia

On a windy day this past February, 44 Jewish teenagers from the New York area stood upon Har Herzl, Israel’s larg-est military cemetery, to gain a broader understanding of Israeli casualties and the brutal truth of fi ghting to protect one’s country. The teenagers were part of the Write On For Israel high school Israel advocacy program, meeting with

Israeli offi cials, IDF soldiers, and media correspondents.

At the cemetery, the Write On For Israel chapter encountered an Israeli couple mourning the loss of their son, Erez Derie, 21, who died shortly after a military operation in 2006, in the city of Jenin. Penina, Erez’s mother, invited the students to discuss her son’s life and the impact of his death on his family. She shared that Erez was a paratrooper

and was killed just a few days before his 22nd birthday. While listening to the heartfelt sobs of his mother, she spoke of her dream to dedicate a Torah scroll in memory of her son. The students made a promise to help the family realize that dream.

The group, whose mission is to train high school students to become Israel advocates on college campuses through journalism and public speaking, decided

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Shabbat Candlelighting: 8:11 p.m. Shabbat ends 9:19 p.m. 72 minute zman 9:41 p.m. Torah Reading Parshat Balak

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Photo courtesy of the Derie family

Paratrooper Erez Derie z”l at the Kotel Plaza.

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I went to the ohel on Gimel Tammuz

Divide and inspireBy Shira Nesenoff

Rebbe Menachem Mendel Shneerson zt’l was a prominent chasidic rebbe who led the Chabad movement. In order to spread his message of Jewish outreach, he sent out Chabad emissaries all over the world to in-spire Jewish communities of all sizes. On July 5, the Rebbe’s Gimmel Tammuz yahrtz-eit, when I walked through a line separat-ing male and females all leading towards an extravagant grave, confl ict arose in my head as to what to say as I approached the ohel. I planned on a series of tehillim to re-cite in order to keep occupied and focused. Finally after walking down the narrow row I approached the Rebbe’s grave. There were women all with heads bent into siddurim, rocking back and forth. Suddenly I felt I could no longer breathe. Something was blocking the passageway from my lung to my mouth. I swallowed and tears rolled down my face. Maybe it was my contact lens both-ering me, or the wind drying out my eye, but

Photo by Adam Nesenoff

Lubavitch hasidim gather at the ohel.

Continued on page 3

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From Scotland to Cedarhurst: songs with dedicationBy Sandy Eller

The fi rst thing you notice when you talk to singer Sholom Jacobs is the accent.

I couldn’t quite place it. Perhaps English? A bit South African maybe?

I was wrong on both counts. The son of Chabad shluchim, Jacobs, 33, was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, where he began his musical career as a child singing in shul, school choirs and concerts ran by his father. Jacobs left Scotland at 16, spending three years learning in an Israeli yeshiva before fi -nally settling in New York.

While Jacobs’ home is in Cedarhurst, his music has taken him to many exotic desti-nations. Not only has Jacobs served as the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur at Chabad of Long Island, he has also taken the amud on the Yomim Noraim in Glasgow at the Giffnok and Newlands Hebrew Con-gregation, the largest Orthodox synagogue in Scotland, where he was accompanied by a ten man choir. Jacobs has performed in conventional and off the beaten path venues, including numerous concerts in Poland and England.

“I try to bring music to places that can’t afford the big shows,” Jacobs said. “A lot of places don’t have fi fteen to twenty thousand dollars for a concert, but for just a fraction of the cost we can bring beautiful Jewish music to people who can’t afford the big names.”

Jacobs’ fi rst album, a collaborative effort with fellow musician Aryeh Pearlman came about after the pair did a kumzitz together in England.

“I had been working on a solo album for

Photo courtesy of Sholom Jacobs

Sholom Jacobs with his wife, Pessy and children, Shmuel, Chana and Dina.

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to take on a new responsibility. “Although not the mission of the program, our students were able to connect with a grieving Jewish family,” Linda Scherzer, the Director of the Write On For Israel New York Division, said. “When Write On For Israel began ten years ago, buses were exploding in the heart of Is-raeli cities and yet Israel was being blamed for the collapse of the peace process. Today, while the security situation is less tenuous, Israel’s detractors continue to vilify and dele-gitimize the state of Israel, making the need for Israel advocates on college campus at least as great today as it was a decade ago.”

This upcoming year marks the program’s tenth anniversary in preparing Jewish teen-agers for the diffi cult task of defending Israel on college campuses. Israel defamers have now embarked on a mission to cause Jewish students to be confl icted about their support for Israel. The struggle to remain a supporter has become increasingly diffi cult with events such as Israeli Apartheid Week plaguing uni-versities across North America.

The Write On For Israel program has pro-duced legions of pro-Israel activists on col-lege campuses and continues to do so amidst dwindling patronage and heightened anti-Is-rael sentiments. The organization recognizes that the fate of the Jewish future rests in the hands of today’s youth who will grow up and

become the next leaders, politicians, and re-porters. “I fi ght for our country here in battle and you fi ght for our country in your schools and in the media; both of us are necessary,” the IDF general at the Golani Base told the Write On For Israel students in February.

This week marks the launch of the “Write On For Erez” summer campaign. This cam-paign’s goal is to raise $40,000; enough to pay for the Torah scroll which the Derie fami-ly will dedicate to their synagogue in Ma’aleh Adumim.

The Write On For Israel students hope to complete this project in time for Rosh Hasha-na, so that the family can look forward to a year full of blessings and Torah learning for their community. The students have raised $14,000 so far and hope to see this project into fruition to fulfi ll their commitment to the Derie family’s dream.

Write On For Israel believes that Israeli soldiers fi ght for Jews across the world to be able to have a homeland, and therefore Jews cannot turn down a plea from any of their brothers.

The following Long Island students are members of the Write On For Israel program and the “Write On For Erez” Torah project: Jonathan Beer- Woodmere, Rivka Cohen- West Hempstead, Elana Dure- Woodmere, Alison Freudman- Great Neck, Adam Hecht- Great Neck, Daniel Koas- Huntington, Ahava Muskat- Oceanside, Michael Weiss- Roslyn

Heights, Aaron Wolff- Great Neck, Marissa Young- West Hempstead.

For more information about the “Write On For Erez” Torah fund, please contact Re-becca Hia at hiar@bxscience.edu. For more information about the Write On For Israel program visit www.writeonforisrael.org.

Rebecca Hia is a senior at the Bronx High School of Science and lives in Kew Gardens Hills, New York. She is a member of the Write On For Israel program, President of the Bronx High School of Science’s Judaic Cultural Soci-ety. She is the New York Jewish Student Union Coordinator, and a regional board member of NCSY.

Continued from page 1

By Sergey Kadinsky

Avigdor “Randy” Yonah grew up in a state that prized football, but with few Jews around, his observance of Torah was a pri-vate affair, known to only a few. After a de-cade of growth in his Orthodoxy, Jonas is set to return to Jerusalem on Aug. 3 for his sec-ond year as the assistant coach of the Jerusa-lem Lions football team, living his dream of football greatness in the holy city.

“I’ve coached Texas high school football for 20 years. Nobody knew I was Jewish,” Yonah, 58, said. Feeling confl icted between the sport and his faith, he snuck in a bottle of grape juice, challah, and candles to his coach’s offi ce, he made the blessing. “No-body was allowed in my offi ce, but one day a senior player walked in and asked me what this was.” Hoping to avoid a religious debate in the heavily Christian community, Yonah said that he was praying for his Fort Stockton team to win.

As his observance grew, he left the Tex-as panhandle and football for Forest Hills, where he met his wife Denise Temime. Born to a Moroccan Jewish family and raised in Israel, her world was very different from Jo-nas, who grew up in an intermarried house-hold. Yonah appreciated the richness of Jewish life in New York, while homesick for football. “I’d watch two games every Sunday and the Monday night game. To Denise, they all looked the same.”

The couple took an active role at their Queens synagogue, but Yonah’s newfound observance pulled him towards greater spiri-tual heights as he spent months volunteering in Israel, expressing a desire to make aliyah.

“When I got there, I camped out in Tzfat for a week, then I took a bus to Jerusalem. I passed by a fi eld near the Central Bus Station and I thought I heard a punt, then a whistle. It’s a very distinct sound. The sound of foot-ball,” Yonah said. Peering over the fence, he caught an Israeli high school team playing American football at Kraft Stadium, which was built by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

On his second night in the holy city, Yonah saw the semi-pro Jerusalem Kings, followed

by the Lions on his third night. The match was made, as Yonah approached the coach to talk football and was hired as the Lions’ offensive coordinator last summer. Settling in Ma’aleh Adumin, he changed the gentile Jonas last name to the Hebrew Yonah.

While baseball in Israel came with hype followed by a fi nancial collapse in 2008, foot-ball is limited to a tight following of sabras and olim, which Yonah credits for its sur-vival. “These players grew up watching the game at home at 4 a.m. One of our players owns the Lion’s Den, a football bar,” Yonah said. The coach estimates average game at-tendance at 300, which balloons to 1,400 during playoffs.

The eight-person teams of the Israel Foot-ball League play under NCAA rules, and a schedule around the military reservists on the team. “A big war can stop the season. Most of my team served in Lebanon and Gaza. It bothers them that they are always on call,” Yonah said. The league launched in 2005 and expanded to its eighth team, the Herzliya Hammers in 2008.

As Yonah prepares for his August return to Israel, his wife will be joining him, having re-tired from her career as a clothing designer. But Denise won’t be the only woman in his new Israeli life. “This year we are starting women’s tackle football,” Yonah said, describ-ing a new program for college-age players. “They’re way more aggressive than the men. When they run, they put their faces right in it.”

Queens coach makes pass to Jerusalem

Photo by Sergey Kadinsky

Avigdor Yonah and his wife Denise Temime, are making aliyah to Jerusa-lem, where he will be coaching the Je-rusalem Lions team.

Any and all donations are ap-preciated and tax deductible for 2012. All checks should be ad-dressed to Rambam Mesivta. Memo: Write On For Erez Please mail checks to: Rabbi Yotav Eliach (Write On For Israel’s Core Educator) 15 Frost LaneLawrence, NY 11559Rabbi Eliach can be contacted at: ravyotav@rambam.org

A Torah for the memory of Erez

Photo by Rebecca Hia

Members of Write On For Israel con-sole Erez’s mother at his graveside

that was not it. Something about this scene had touched me.

The Rebbe’s soul had already been a strength in my life. He had sent out my Chabad rabbi to Stony Brook, a town on thenorth shore of Long Island, where I nowdaven, enjoy shabbos meals and celebrate holidays. It is because of this Rebbe that I sayModeh Ani when I arise and when I say Sh-ema before I sleep.

Many believe that Rebbe Shneerson’s ac-complishment was that he spread Yiddishkeit by dividing up the rabbis into different re-gions of the world, but his real accomplish-ment was that he brought unity to a divided nation. Not unity by bringing Jewish com-munities together, but rather internal unity amongst all Jews.

He taught that real unity and wholenessin oneself can be found through recognizing one’s relationship with the One above. In the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Album,a man asks his dying teacher, what are you most afraid of about dying? The teacher pon-ders this question then proceeds to answerthat he is not afraid of passing, he is afraid of passing twice. The teacher goes on to saythat it is one’s second death that marks his soul and his wisdom not being remembered that most scares him. Although thousands may visit the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s grave on Gimmel Tammuz and all year long, this soulhas not passed on for his spirit and messagestill live clear and loud in this world.

This week Shira Nesenoff begins her journey in Israel with 40 JSU teenagers as an NCSY TJJAmbassador.

Rebbe’s inspiration at the ohelContinued from page 1

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Opinion

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 David F. Nesenoff Assistant Editor Sergey Kadinsky Account Executives Helene Parsons Hy Spitz Sandi Stanger Contributors Rabbi Avi Billet Jeff Dunetz Samuel Fisher Brigitte Fixler Rabbi Noam Himelstein Alan Jay Gerber Zechariah Mehler Aviva Rizel Ariel Rosenbloom Intern Rachel Green Editorial Designer Alyson Goodman

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The liberals call them conservativesAnd the hard liners call them leftistsThe free thinkers call them close-mindedAnd the open-minded call them Reconstructionists

The traditionalists call them Renewal And the Orthodox call them ‘chiloni’The secularists call them right wingAnd the Reform call them ‘haredi’

The observant call them ‘apikores’And the modern call them black hatThe non observant call them religious nutsAnd the ‘seruga’ call them ultra this and ultra that

The kibbutzniks call them ChasidimAnd the settlers call them MesoratiThe progressives call them ZionistsAnd the Conservatives call them ‘dati’

The religious call them ‘baal teshuva’And the zealots call them trueThe shomer shabbos call them ‘mechalel’And the anti-Semites just call them “Jew”

DAVID’S HARP

David F. Nesenoff

I t seems as if the straw has broken the camel’s back. According to multiple sources, Democrats of the Jewish faith are waking up to the fact that

Barack Obama is not a friend of Israel. And many of them are considering holding back their campaign donations and their votes back from the President’s re-election campaign. Giving further credence to the reports, the re-election campaign is taking additional steps to “spin” the administration’s Israel story to make it seem more favorable to the Jewish State.

Ben Smith of Politico interviewed dozens of Jews who supported the President in 2008 and reported this typical story.

“David Ainsman really began to get worried about President Barack Obama’s standing with his fellow Jewish Democrats when a recent dinner with his wife and two other couples — all Obama voters in 2008 — nearly turned into a screaming match.”

Ainsman, a prominent Democratic lawyer and Pittsburgh Jewish community leader, was trying to explain that Obama had just been of-fering Israel a bit of “tough love” in his May 19 speech on the Arab Spring. His friends disagreed — to say the least.

One said he had the sense that Obama “took the opportu-nity to throw Israel under the bus.” Another, who swore he wasn’t getting his information from the mutually despised Fox News, admitted he’d lost faith in the president.”

But it wasn’t just this par-ticular speech, it seems as if it is a cumulative effect of all of the times Obama has thrown Israel and its leaders under the

bus since he was elected president. “It’s less something specifi c than that these inci-

dents keep on coming,” said Ainsman.Ainsman is correct. Obama’s “war on Israel” be-

gan just a few days after his inauguration with the appointment of Samantha Power to the National Se-curity Council (Power once famously called for an invasion of Israel to force her to accept a peace plan.) And was quickly followed up with his Cairo speech where he downplayed the role of terrorism, made Hamas seem like a rowdy boys glee club, called for the internationalization of Jerusalem, and used the Palestinian party line (that Israel owes its existence to the Shoah) to describe the Israeli presence not only in the Judea and Samaria but its VERY existence at all.

Perhaps in response to the reports or due to some internal polling, the President’s re-election campaign is planning to send out surrogates to go on the of-fensive against pro-Israel groups critical of the presi-

dent’s Israel policy.According to the Washington Post this Obama

Jew-squad will include Jewish Obama fundraisers, such as former Conference of Presidents leader Alan Solow, former U.S. Reps. Mel Levine and Robert Wex-ler, and billionaire Penny Pritzker, whose fundraising rolodex was a major factor in the 2008 campaign.

This group of house-Jews will work hard to con-vince that Obama is really pro-Israel, but short of Bobby Ewing stepping out of the shower and claim-ing the last two years were just a bad dream, or lying, I am at a loss at how they will be able to convince people that the President is really a buddy of the Jewish State.

The effort to make this point will also be proactive with surrogates publishing op ed pieces that repre-sent the White House’s point of view. It will include a renewed effort to highlight other aspects of Obama’s record that have gone under-discussed, like increased military cooperation between Israel and the United States.

But this point is very true, the fact that this is be-coming a key effort of the Obama administration is more proof that the re-election campaign is either losing Jewish money or internal polls are beginning to show that many Jews are considering either vot-ing GOP or at the very least not voting for President in 2012.

The truth is even hard-core pro-Israel Jews do not vote on only one issue. The only Democrat that didn’t receive the majority of the Jewish vote was Jimmy Carter when he ran for re-election. Certainly Israel wasn’t the only reason that 55% of American Jews voted against Jimmy Carter in 1980. But, just as what happened 31 years ago, Barack Obama’s anti-Israel policies are causing liberal Jews to take the rose-tint off their glasses and evaluate what has hap-pened since January 2009. Despite that Obama will most likely receive the majority of the Jewish vote, albeit a smaller percentage than in 2008, but should trends continue (and depending who the GOP nomi-nates) many Jewish Democrats may “skip” the Presi-dent line at the voting booth and concentrate on the remaining candidates.

While Jews do not make up a major segment of voters, they could be making the difference in key battleground states such as Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Ohio.

Whether the President’s PR Hebrew hit squad is successful or not, its formation is an indication that the reports are true, the reelection committee is get-ting a bit nervous about losing the Jewish vote in 2012.

Jeff Dunetz is the Editor/Publisher of the political blog “The Lid” (www.jeffdunetz.com). Jeff contributes to some of the largest political sites on the internet in-cluding American Thinker, Big Government and Big Journalism. Jeff lives on Long Island.

Are Jewish voters abandoning Obama?

POLITICO TO GO

Jeff Dunetz

Yankie & Luzer

Name calling

Rachel Green, our summer intern The Jewish Star staff welcomes RachelGreen as our summer intern. Rachel grewup in Woodmere and is a junior at North Shore Hebrew Academy. When Rachel is not practicing journalism with the North ShoreNotes, she is an accomplished artist. Welook forward to her reporting and editing.

My Shabbos timer became shomer Shabbos

The Kosher Critic Zechariah Mehler is off this week. His column will return next week.

By David F. Nesenoff

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I remember it like it was yesterday. While millions of Americans celebrated their na-tion’s independence, we were all glued

to our radios and television sets waiting for news of the fate of the Israeli hostages hi-jacked on an Air France jet and being held captive in Uganda.

The terrorists, who had already separated the Israeli hostages and those Jewish sounding names in a selection reminiscent of darker times, had announced they would start mur-dering hostages unless Israel started releasing terrorists. Technically, this was a French issue, as the Air France jet was French sovereign territory, but it was clear no one (save the brave Air France crew) was sending anyone into harm’s way for a planeload of Jews and Israelis; once again, the Jews were alone.

With their back up against the wall, and a disaster in the making, Israel dared to dream the impossible. Israeli commandos, fl ying 2000 kilometers over enemy territory, landed Hercules planes deep in the heart of Africa, taking over the Entebbe (Uganda) air-port and freeing the hostages. In 90 minutes that electrifi ed the world, some 200 modern day heroes risked everything to take a stand: 30 years after the Holocaust, the world was made to take notice: Jewish blood was no longer free for the taking. And Jews every-where walked a little taller

This past week marked 35 years since that historic raid on Entebbe, and it is worth con-sidering one of the questions that still rever-berates from that raid.

In 1948, we built this state, were willing to suffer and even die for it, because there was no other choice. But today there is a choice. In fact, there are lots of them. A Jew can go to America, to the West, to the East, even back to Germany.

So with a nuclear Iran around the cor-ner and a missile’s launch away, Hezbollah threatening an Islamic terror state to our north, and the post Arab Spring uncertainty to our south maybe we should be asking our-selves: why are we here? Why should we be willing to die for this? Why do we need the State of Israel? Do we need a Jewish state?

After all, a Jew today can live a wonderful Jewish life in many different places all over the world, with wonderful Jewish schools, plenty of kosher restaurants, an abundance of beautiful synagogues and close-knit Jew-ish communities, with wonderful homes and great jobs, and they don’t have to be willing to die for it! So why should we? Why not go to America?

To be sure, there are many here in Israel (I would posit most Israelis) who believe that we do need a Jewish State. Indeed, the two issues that form a consensus amongst the overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis are that Arab refugees and their offspring can-not be given the right of return, and that we should not give up Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. Both of these consensus issues are clearly about the need for a Jewish state. Yet most Israelis cannot articulate why we need a Jewish state.

At Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem’s Old City, we have a leadership training program both for post high school students spending a year with us before heading off to college as well as for rabbinical students in our fellow-ship program, looking to gain skills towards becoming better educators and leaders. And one of the topics that comes up consistent-ly is the need to be organized, in order to achieve one’s goals.

In order to accomplish anything in this world, you need to know your mission, or goals; you need to have defi ned what you are trying to accomplish. And you need a system to accomplish it.

The fi rst thing G-d does upon creating mankind is to place us in the Garden of Eden. In our synagogues, the Torah scroll, which contains the essence of our mission as a peo-ple, has a very specifi c place, in the Ark, be-cause anything which does not have a place, cannot fulfi ll its mission. The fi rst thing G-d asks of the very fi rst Jew is to take a journey, to a very specifi c place where this people can best achieve its goals.

People are often confused regarding the Jewish people because they are unclear as to whether we are a religion or a nation. A re-ligion is a collection of beliefs. But a nation is not a nation unless it has a place. We are both a religion as well as a nation. And for a variety of reasons which stem back 4000 years to the time when we fi rst received our mission, this land is our place. And it is only in this place that we can achieve our mission.

Thousands of years ago, a rag-tag band of former slaves accepted a mission; to make the world a better place; to be a light unto the nations; to be a partner in making this world a better place for all human beings. And in order to be such a light, we need to be a model, a visible example of what the world could be. And we can only be that light, that model, in this place.

Long ago, we forgot our mission; we lost our sense of purpose and as such we lost our

G-d given right to be in this place, and were forced to wander the face of the earth, scattered amongst the nations, unable to ful-ly achieve our purpose.

Today, after two thousand years of wan-dering and dreaming, we have come home, to the place where we can fi nally return to our mission, our calling to helping to build a better world. And the world needs us to achieve that mission, not just for the Jewish people, but for human beings everywhere. Every nation is created by G-d, and thus ev-ery nation has a purpose, and this is ours: to make the world a better place; to be a light.

Thirty-fi ve years ago on a lonely strip of runway deep in the heart of Africa, a small band of brave men rekindled that light for all the world to see, and as a result the world became a better place. We owe it to the mem-ory of those that fell then, and since, to make sure that light continues to grow, here, in the land of Israel today, and every day.

And every Jew everywhere owes it to our future generations, and to the world, to at least consider, that maybe it is time to come home, and be a part of that light.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

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

Beyond Entebbe: our mission

Opinion

FROM THE HEART OF JERUSALEM

Rabbi Binny Freedman

a while,” Jacobs said. “Aryeh and I had been singing together for years. We sang at a hotel in England and someone suggested we do a duet album. We released Pi Shnayim, a col-lection of Yossi Green songs with music by Moshe Laufer, in 2005.”

Two years later, Jacobs released another album, titled A Gut Yohr. Arranged by Avram Zamist, it features selections highlighting the music of Shabbos and the Yomim Tovim.

Jacobs, producer of the album as well as one of the vocalists, described it as “songs of our past, with the voices of our future,” and in fact, several singers in the album have since made Jewish music albums, including Eitan Katz, Jonathan Shlagbaum and Yumi Lowy.

This past year found Jacobs, not only trav-eling all across the United States performing at Shabbatons and concerts, but in Scotland and Poland as well. In fact, this was the third time that Jacobs, together with Zamist, has gone back to Poland to perform. Jacobs has never gone to visit any of the former concen-tration camps in Poland, saying he prefers to inspire the living. He estimates that there are approximately six to eight thousand Jews living in Poland.

Jacobs and Zamist are already working on a Chanukah tour for next winter and so far, it

looks like the Jewish community of either Ar-gentina or Russia will be hearing the music.

“Having worked and performed with Sho-lom for over 10 years, I can truly say that heis one of the most dedicated, professionalartists I have ever worked with,” Zamist said. “Whether performing in Milwaukee, Wiscon-sin or Krakow, Poland, Sholom brings an en-ergy that audiences simply fall in love with. His unique and warm voice adds to his per-formances and recordings alike.”

Jacobs is now hard at work on his third al-bum under the direction of producer and Ce-darhurst neighbor Avi Newmark. The album,which aims to inspire, features a number of moving English songs: one about an autistic child, another in honor of Jacobs’ parents and all the Chabad shluchim in remote loca-tions and the third song is dedicated in mem-ory of nine-year-old Levi Yitzchak Wolowik, son of the Five Towns shluchim, who passedaway unexpectedly two years ago.

Jacobs is hoping to see the album in stores sometime around next Chanukah.

Sandy Eller is a freelance writer who haswritten for various newspapers, magazines and websites in addition to having written song lyrics and scripts for several full scale productions. She can be contacted at sandy-eller1@gmail.com.

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Mensch on the street By Ariel Rosenbloom

Would you make aliyah?

“Yes, because I could daven to Hashem at the Kotel.”

AZI BARAFF3 years old, Yeshiva Darchei Torah, Far Rockaway

“Yes. The reason is at the end of the day, but before the end of days, we all should.”

DAVID MANNfi nancial advisor, Lawrence

“Yes, I would want to live in Israel. I went there for a summer with my family and we had a great time.”

LAUREN SAND8th grade, HAFTR, Woodmere

“Yes, one day. For now I’m going on NCSY Ambassadors for the summer.”

SHIRA NESENOFF12th grade, Ward Melville, Stony Brook

“I would make aliyah because it’s my home-land, my culture, and the place I feel safest in.”

REBECCA HIA12th grade, Bronx Science High School, Kew Gardens Hills

“Yes, I plan on making aliyah within the next 5-10 years. It’s where all the Jews should be; it’s a religious imperative.”

SHELLEY COHENspecial needs consultant, Manhattan

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By Sergey Kadinsky

One year ago, the Queens-raised Goldy Krantz, 30, took stock of her most unusual shidduch dates and stories of her friends’ dates, putting them in print as Best of my Worst. Since then, she has become a sought-after speaker at singles events, even while insisting that her views are personal and by no means an indicator of her expertise on the topic. The social worker took time from her dates to sit down with this author for a chat.

Sergey Kadinsky: How do you promote your positive view on dating without put-ting down the bad dates, those that disap-point?Goldy Krantz: I don’t feel that people will want to read about misery, this is about ex-perience that people can relate to. I have friends who have been let down by shidduch dating. Hopefully people can laugh because I’m not crying over these experiences.

SK: Suppose a date does not do well, how do you break up with someone without hurting their feelings or leading them on further?GK: First, I would never text someone, it’s very impersonal. You have to feel the per-son and not do it in a rude way. Recommend them to a friend, be up front and don’t play with someone’s emotions. End it in a posi-tive way.

SK: I’ve noticed that in your book, you of-ten comment on your dates’ driving, espe-cially if they drive too slow.GK: Sometimes the girl feels like the guy is

in control. He drives, he pays, and if it’s not shayach, how do you end it? You’re at their mercy. Hopefully, it’s not so horrible that you would jump out of the car.

SK: How should the man approach the fi rst date, so that he could make it to sec-ond and beyond?GK: The fi rst couple of dates are to see if you can stand being together. You don’t know whom you are dating. If it’s coffee, it’s fi ne, just don’t overstay your welcome. Hold a lit-tle back so that you will have something to discuss on your second date.

SK: Back to the book. The date you had with Dave of Belle Harbor. The man spent the date tearing into his grandmother who has Alzheimer’s and his “ugly” older sister who is still single. How did you deal with that?GK: First of all, the names and towns have all been changed. I was disgusted by him, but my friend kept telling me to understand him. He thought he was funny. I kept an open mind. You have to know that you gave it your all and did not let it pass. With one date re-cently, I was having a good time and over-looked a big issue. I looked at the person and what could be and whether I said no for the right reasons.

SK: You live in Kew Gardens Hills. Not ex-actly Upper West Side when it comes to singles events.GK: This community enables networking. My [married] friends invite me over and they have single friends. Living with families gets you down to tachlis.

SK: For those who are single beyond 30, or divorced with children, how are they holding up?GK: I have one friend who gets depressed. She only goes to shuls and restaurants where nobody knows her. Only in the frum com-munity do they ask what is wrong with her. That’s the mentality.

SK: Since your book came out, are you overwhelmed with shidduch offers?GK: I’ve gone out with some of them. I re-cently spoke in Florida to a packed room of 100 people. They did not expect Goldy to be a real person. Someone I met in Florida told me to read this book, not knowing I am the author.

SK: And how is the book working out for you?GK: Eichler’s in Borough Park was not sure if

the book was right for their audience. They put it in a back shelf in saran wrap and it still sold out several times. People found it eye-opening. One girl who is not Jewish said thatbad dates are universal and she is not alone. Even though some Jewish publishers did not publish my manuscript, they were fascinated and asked me if they could share it with their children.

SK: Can I take a photo for my paper?GK: Let’s not. I like to keep people guessing-it adds intrigue. They’ll come to my speakingengagements.

When Goldy fi nds her bashert, don’t expect a book. She vows to keep the simchah private.Best of my Worst can be found in most lo-cal Jewish bookstores and through her sitewww.bestofmyworst.com. A portion of the book proceeds go to a Hachnasas Kallah Fund to assist couples with wedding costs.

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W ith the advent of the month of Tammuz now almost a week behind us, it is time to consider some of the better quality literature that will surely help us to un-

derstand the themes that make this season the most somber on the Jewish calendar.

Last year the Orthodox Union, together with Koren Pub-lishers, published a Kinot based upon the works of Rabbi Jo-seph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l. This same collaborative has once again come to produce an elegant and informed compendi-um of inspirational readings timely geared to the Shiva Assar B’Tammuz to Tisha B’Av period, with a brief concluding essay

for the 10th of Av.This small 125-page collection of

meditations, “In The Narrow Places,” was written by writer and educator Dr. Erica Brown.

The book presents to the reader a short essay for each of the twenty-one days of the three-week observance. Ac-cording to Brown, this work was aimed to help us better understand what we lost as a nation both historically and in current application, thus justifying the mournful tone. This is especially need-ed given the distance in both time and on the ground realities that have made for us Jews today experienced in the contradiction of mourning for a Jerusa-

lem that we see today in full bloom, while the Temple Mount still stands in ruins.

Most of the essays are themed to Biblical texts that are found in our sacred liturgy on the Sabbaths and fast days of this time of year. Halachic citations and discussions are not given much play in a book that is intended for inspiration, solace, and comfort.

In reading through this work one will note the skilled use of verses from Eicha, the Book of Lamentat ions, as well as

various verses from the liturgy of Tisha B’Av itself, all woven together to bring a practical application of what this season meant to both our ancestors and to our-selves.

Much use is also made of aggadita, rabbinic par-ables and lore. The prophets are represented promi-nently by the works of Jeremiah and Isaiah whose works are the centerpiece of haftorah readings at this time of year.

Just about all of the essays dwell upon the deep relationship between G-d and the Jewish people, and of the impact that that relationship sustained by the destruction of both Temples and the abrogation of Jewish political sovereignty.

Each essay is followed by a specifi c meditation themed to that day’s reading,

building a balance of mood and spirit each day. The book’s introduction, ”When Memory Speaks” sets up for the reader a mature and well thought out presentation as to what the three weeks truly have come to represent to our people, throughout two-millennium. The mood and setting is sober lacking the almost fairy-tale style that is common in many other works. There are no collective guilt trips laced with bogus legends to be presented here as historical fact. Truly, this book’s mature present-ment is meant to teach and inspire rather than to scare and admonish.

Dr. Brown concludes her opening essay with the following observation:

“Many Jews today, even committed, observant Jews, do not engage in ‘G-d-talk.’ Perhaps these essays will help us along in these conversations.”

And conversations they are, taken together with the OU’s “Koren Mesorat Harav Kinot,” one’s observance of this somber season will truly be in-formed, intellectually and emotionally enhanced.

The Kosher Bookworm

A broad view of narrow places

Alan Jay Gerber

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B ilaam desperately wants to go with King Balak’s men to fulfi ll what he be-lieves is his destiny to curse the Jewish

people. Knowing of his own relationship with G-d, however, he will not accept the job until he is given permission from G-d. He makes this quite clear to Balak’s fi rst agents.

Yet when G-d fi nally does acquiesce, saying, “If the men have called you specifi -cally, go with them with the understanding

that you’ll only be able to say what I tell you to say,” (22:20) why does He then get an-gry when Bilaam goes? (22:21-22)

The answer lies in a subtlety that is lost in an English translation. G-d made it very clear to Bilaam that “You will not go ‘imahem.’” (22:12) However, the permission He grants is to ‘go ‘itam.’” (22:20)

Two Hebrew words for “with” are “im,”

ayin mem, and “et,” alef tav. “Et” has other meanings in the Torah as well, such as “to, in, or from,” and it most often appears as a grammatical tool connecting a verb to its ob-ject, or preceding a noun. According to the Even-Shoshan Concordance, the “et” mean-ing “with” appears hundreds of times in Tanakh. Is there a difference between the “with” of “im” and the “with” of “et”?

In the context of Bilaam’s assignment, there seems to be a big difference. Bilaam fi rmly believes that G-d is “imo.” (22:19) Whatever that relationship may be, G-d in-structs him not to have a similar relationship with Balak’s emissaries, “Lekh itam.” Bilaam seems to ignore this when he goes “im” them – thereby fueling G-d’s anger and causing the angel to stop him on the road. After the en-tire donkey/angel incident, however, Bilaam is instructed by the angel to go “im” Balak’s offi cers. (22:35)

What changed?I think that G-d assigning to go “et” them

implies there will be a distance between the prophet and those hiring him. That Bilaam will only say what G-d lets him say is under-stood when the prophet goes in accompa-niment because it’s a job (“et”) as opposed to he is putting his heart and soul into the assignment (“im”). While not comparable (because murder is murder) one might sug-gest a hired assassin who kills for a paycheck versus one who does it because he enjoys the thrill of the kill are not to be judged by others the same way.

In response to the fi rst envoy sent to him, Bilaam was told he could not go and could not curse the people. In 22:12-13, Bilaam only mentioned that he could not go, and left out that he could not curse the people. Similarly, once Bilaam was given permission to go, he never let on to the offi cers that he was constrained in what he could say. He went “im” them because he wanted, heart and soul, to be with them, and he believed

he’d be able to do what he wanted.Only after the encounter with the angel,

when the instruction regarding what he’d be able to say was repeated in stronger terms (22:35) was he able to express to Balak (22:38) that he’d only be able to say what G-d allows him to say. And this is why he could be given permission to go “im” the emissaries, because now, no matter what his heart and soul will dictate, he under-stands and makes it understood that he may personally want to do exactly what Balak wants him to do, but he will only be able to do what G-d allows him to do.

In addressing this question, the Netziv shares his own ob-servations about the differenc-es between going “et” versus going “im.” Following on his coattails, perhaps in the spe-cifi c context of people traveling together, this distinction applies. Those who go “et” oth-ers, are walking on the same path, but their minds are in different places. Those who walk “im” others, not only share a physical space but also share a mental and perhaps spiritual state of being.

People who go “et” others (different mindsets) in the Torah include: Terach with his family on the way to Haran; Lot going with Avram on his continued journey to Canaan; Lot immediately before the fi ght that caused him to separate from Avraham;

Avraham with his lads to sacrifi ce his son. Avimelekh and company, as they depart from Yitzchak after making a treaty; Yaakov and his sons when they went to Egypt, all with different hopes for the future; the Egyptians who came with Yosef to bury Yaakov.

People who go “im” others (same mind-set) in the Torah include: Lot going with Avram after theevents in Egypt (after seeing G-d help Avram in a tight situa-tion) [soon after, Lot separates “me’imo” to move to S’dom]; Avraham accompanying the angels on their way to destroy S’dom; Lot and his daughters escaping from S’dom; Eliezer and the servants looking tofi nd a wife for Yitzchak; Rivka’s choice to go with Eliezer to be Yitzchak’s wife; Yaakov with Lavan (until he is no longer “imo” (Bereishit 31:2); 400

men with Eisav; the brothers of Yosef when they go to bury their father.

It is interesting to note that like Bilaam, Lot is the main fi gure who jumps back and forth. Perhaps this is because, like Bilaam, he was an opportunist who came close when it was good for him, but distanced himself when things did not work out.

Both kinds of relationships are healthy and normal when they are utilized in the contexts in which they are meant to take place. May we merit to have an equal and consistent bal-ance of “et” and “im” relationships.

Parshat Balak

Relationships with “with”

Rabbi Avi Billet

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CelebratingOur 24th Year

WE DO REPAIRS

July 11Meet candidate GoldfederFRIENDS OF PHIL GOLDFEDER is holding a public campaign kickoff for Y. Philip Goldfeder’s State Assembly candidacy at the home of Rabbi Zvi Bloom, located at 509 Cedar Hill Road in Far Rockaway. A lifelong resident of Far Rockaway, Goldfeder currently serves as intergovernmental affairs director for Senator Charles Schumer. The free event begins at 8 p.m. For more information, contact 347-766-3674

Concert by the seaYOUNG ISRAEL OF LONG BEACH is holding a public outdoor concert featuring Carlebach-style cantor Yehuda Green. The free event begins at 7 pm. and will take place on the Boardwalk at Long Beach Boulevard. The event is part of the City of Long Beach’s Summer Concert Series. For more information, contact 516-431-2404.

Hipsters & Hasids exhibitJ GREENSTEIN GALLERY, located at 417 Central Avenue in Cedarhurst is hosting painter Elke Reva Sudin, who will display her portrait series Hipsters & Hasids, on daily life scenes from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sudin will be speaking about her art at this event. Sudin is a graduate of Pratt Institute and is a member of the board of Jewish Art Salon. The public exhibit begins at 8 p.m. For more information, contact 516-295-2931.

July 12Controversies in vaccination GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE, located at 26 Old Mill Road in Great Neck, is hosting Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman, who will speak on the topic “From Smallpox to Swine Flu: Issues and Controversies in Vaccination” Rabbi is an associate professor of emergency medicine and history of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His research is devoted to the interface of medical history and Jewish law. This free public event be-gins at 8:30 p.m. and is part of the synagogue’s Summer Learning Program series. Fore more information, contact 516-487-6100

July 13-15Cedarhurst sidewalk saleCEDARHURST BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT is holding its Sidewalk Sale, with deep discount sales, music, food, and other entertainment. The event will take place at Cedarhurst and Central Avenues. The fair hours are on July 13 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; on July 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and on July 15 from 10 a.m. to closing. For more information, contact Teri Schure at info@shopce-darhurst.com

July 14-15, 17Book, music and movie FairJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF WEST HEMP-STEAD, located at 711 Dogwood Avenue in West Hempstead, will be hosting a Book, Music and Movie Fair.

The fair begins on July 14 with a preview sale from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be a $5 admis-sion charge for the fi rst two hours. Admission is free following this and on all the dates of the event. The fair runs until 5 p.m. on all dates. Dor more information, contact 516-481-7448.

July 17Formula for a successful relationshipCHAZAQ is hosting noted lecturer Rabbi Label Lam at Congregation Beth Gavriel, located at 66-35 108 Street in Forest Hills. Rabbi Lam will be speaking on strategies for successful relation-ships. Refreshments will be served at this free public event, which begins at 8:15 p.m. For more information, contact 917-617-3636

July 18The key to shalomCONGREGATION SHAARAY TEFILA, located at 25 Central Avenue in Cedarhurst, is hosting Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, who will speak on the keys to peace within family relationships. The event is part of the larger Mishmeres HaSholom initiative that promotes the study of shmiras lalashon. Rabbi Rietti is a senior lecturer at the Gateways organization and director of teacher training at Mishkan Yecheskel. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $18. For more informaiton, contact cr@hasholom.org

July 29Boardwalk Shabbat dinnerBACH Jewish Center, located at 210 Edwards Boulevard in Long Beach is holding its annual summer boardwalk dinner. Some 300 partici-pants are expected for its Friday night rooftop Shabbat service, followed by an elegant outdoor meal on the Long Beach boardwalk. The event is led by Rabbi Eli & Beila Goodman, and Azi & Jes-sica Cutter. Reservations are required. The cost is $30 for adults and $20 for children. Visitors are encouraged to call Allegria Hotel for special event-related rates. For more information, con-tact 516-897-2473 or visit www.BachYouth.com.

ON THE

CalendarSubmit your shul or organization’s events or shiurim to jscalendar@thejewishstar.com.

Deadline is Wednesday of the week prior to publication.

By David Benkof

Across1. Whence Ruth5. One way to pay10. Declines14. First Israeli NBA’er Casspi15. Russian villa16. Niger neighbor17. Black-Jewish actress (“Gimme a Break”)19. Google founder Sergey20. They may be grassy21. Like “Schindler’s List”22. Pulitzer-winning Ferber23. Kissing disease25. Psychiatrist-rabbi Abraham27. She played a Hasidic dry cleaner on “Curb Your Enthusiasm”31. Hebrew you?32. DC arm of Reform Judaism33. Kind of kugel38. Neuter40. His wife turned into a pillar of salt42. Sitting spot43. Tarnish45. “This is Spinal ___” (Reiner fi lm)47. Niggun48. Danish pianist-humorist51. Consider55. Ego56. Bit of “La Juive”57. Actor Arnold59. ___ rod (Exodus prop)

63. Noodges64. “The great prose writer of Russian Jewry”66. Itsy-bitsy biter67. “Thou Shalt Not Covet” (___ Command-ment)68. ___ Scotia69. Make eyes at70. Syria, perennially71. ___ kosher (observe dietary laws)

Down1. Brother2. Gathering clouds, say3. He sang of Alice4. Host of “Real Time”5. He played Lou Grant6. Beetle, e.g.7. “I’m Not Rappaport” has two8. Case for a blade9. Well earned10. Fire remnant11. Allen Ginsberg and Yehuda Amichai12. Flip one’s lid?13. Revelation spot18. Blockage24. One kind of law26. Eve’s grandson27. Frolics (about)28. Big-ticket ___29. Rabbi Judah Ha-___30. “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” actor Disick34. He found Anne’s diary35. Gloomy36. ___ Island Jewish Hospital37. It’s used in a duel39. XVI times VI41. New Mexico art community44. One of the seven nations of Canaan46. Sermonizing49. “The ___ People”50. Yak51. Hora alternative52. Zoo critter53. Politician-archaeologist Yadin54. Garbage58. Place for a comb60. Mitch Miller instrument61. Actress Campbell (“Party of Five”)62. What Zsa Zsa Gabor gave a cop65. Kind of card

Answers will appear next week

Last week’s answers

The Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle

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Dear Aviva,My wife and I just moved to a wonder-

ful Jewish community. We are very happy with our new home and our new friends. However, we generally feel like we are the most right wing of our group and it bothers us. We can’t be 100% sure of some of our friends’ kashrus, a lot of my friends don’t go to minyan (and when they do, they shmooze throughout!) and a lot of them are more caught up in drinking than giving divrei to-rah at the Shabbos table. I know I must sound very judgmental, since we are all on different levels of hashkafah (philosophy) and we do like our friends; we just feel like they are not a good infl uence on our family. What to do?

-Frummy Friend

Dear Frummy Friend,I like your problem. I really do. I think it is

so great to have a social circle that is colorful. It’s the best show of true Ahavas Yisrael and it keeps minds fl exible. I also like that you are not trying to be m’kareiv your friends. It sounds like you are accepting of who they are and you are not trying to change them.

It also doesn’t sound like they are trying to change you either, which is good.

So you can go to minyan by yourself, try to sit around people who match your kava-nah caliber. And if no such person exists in your shul, you may want to look into other ones.

In terms of their kashrus, you will have to ask a Rav about that. I wouldn’t want you to compromise on your bein adam l’makom. Something that you need to be fl exible with is bein adam l’chaveiro.

Do they know that you are more to the right and uncomfortable with certain things? In my experience, a more eclectic group knows who the prudes are and usually does their best to protect them from the less straight-laced aspects of socializing. For ex-ample, do they go to Atlantic City and not even invite you? Or do you fi nd you have to always make excuses to extract yourself from ‘objectionables’? If it seems like they just don’t get it and you are hemming and haw-ing your way through muddled alibis, then it will be a bit harder.

You will have to fi nd a way to do things so that they don’t get offended. Let’s say you want a dvar Torah during the Shabbos meal and you are eating out. Don’t step up to the pulpit and give a formal dvar Torah like you

might in your own home. Instead, couch it in the conversation and keep it super short. Tie it into a joke and then no one will snort at you.

With regard to children, you can’t shield them from everything. My position is that it is far safer for a child to be lightly exposed to something under your care so that you can dialogue about it later. “Avi, were you surprised when Eli’s daddy changed into shorts after shul?” Or, “I know it was hard for you not to play baseball when everybody else did. What was going through your mind? Were you too scared to tell them that you stopped playing Shabbos baseball a few years ago?”

As long as your kids are not being exposed to too much, I think you should maintain these friendships. The thing that you do need to strengthen is your level of love and happi-ness in your own home. That is a good way to inoculate a child from looking elsewhere.

Getting together on Shabbos is good be-cause then you don’t need to worry aboutthe more liberal censorship of DVDs and vio-lent Wiis. Another idea that comes to mind is highlighting your similarities. Wouldn’t it bea nice message to the kids if you all banded together for some sort of universal Jewish cause? Head a letter writing campaign to free Jonathan Pollard, hold a bake sale for Chai Lifeline, or organize a bike-a-thon to equallybenefi t all the shuls in the neighborhood.

This is good. I wish everyone had an op-portunity to show their kids how they loveand accept all Jews. But make sure your kidsknow that you love and accept them themost.

-Aviva

Aviva Rizel is a Marriage and Family Ther-apist in private practice who can be reached at AvivaRizel.MFT@gmail.com.

Ask Aviva

Friends “frum” the neighborhood

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered gratitude to the volun-teers of the ZAKA Search and Rescue Organization at his offi ce on July 4. Netanyahu welcomed ZAKA’s chapters from U.S., Britain, France, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and its newest chapter from Belarus. In Israel, ZAKA is a participant in the extensive nationwide Turning Point 5 civil defense ex-ercise.

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Congregation Havurat Yisrael, a mod-ern Orthodox synagogue in Forest Hills, has found a temporary home while their new synagogue is being built.

Since a construction accident by their neighbor damaged their 70th Avenue build-ing in 1998, Havurat Yisrael has been a shul without a home.

Over the past decade, the congregation hop-scotched to different locations around Forest Hills. Since 2005, the congregation shared space with Agudas Achim, a shtiebl at 108-11 69th Road, while holding Shabbat services at the Touro College building at 71-02 113th Street.

Now, they have a one-stop site at 68-60 Austin Street for all their classes and servic-es, at the heart of the neighborhood’s com-mercial hub. In the meantime, construction continues on its original address.

“We hope the building will be done by Passover or the summer of 2012. Construc-tion and excavation have already begun,” said the Argentinian-born Rabbi David Al-gaze, who has been with the shul since its inception.

The new synagogue will be 6,000-8,000 feet in a 6-fl oor building, sharing space with

condominiums, storefronts, and a garage. Zoned for mixed-use, the site underwent

several designs over the past decade, offering hope and disappointment. Rabbi Algaze in-sists that the current work on the site is fi nal. “We’ve signed the contract and the construc-tion work has begun.”

Havurat Yisrael was created in March 1981 by congregants from the nearby Forest Hills Jewish Center. The shul kept the diver-sity of the Conservative synagogue alongside an adherence to halacha. “It offers the at-mosphere and inspiration that people need,” Rabbi Algaze said.

Services were fi rst held at a former movie theater while the synagogue on 70th Avenue was being built, according to President Jack Goldhaber.

Havurat Yisrael “is a place of inspiration, welcoming of everybody, acceptance and of teaching,” Rabbi Algaze said.

Havurat, as it is called, “has nice, gener-ous people who always invite me for Shab-bos. Very important are the kind people. They have many activities, including going to camp during the summer,” said Albert Yusu-pov who has been coming to the shul since 2000.

Havurat Yisrael is presently located at 68-60 Austin Street, store number 7.

Forest Hills shul takes a storefront

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Every minutecounts

Rabbi Noam Himelstein studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion and served in the Tanks Corps of the IDF. 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

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