North Jersey Jewish Standard, February 13, 2015

8/9/2019 North Jersey Jewish Standard, February 13, 2015

1/52

A look at wh Jewish laand ar

Jewish schoo have to s

about vaccin

JSTANDARD.COM

201584NORTH JERSEY

A VISIT TO FRANCE page 7

DECODING ESTHER’S SECRETS page 10

THIS BUS IS BOUND FOR SHABBOS SERVICES page 12

‘GETT,’ A FILM OF RELIGIOUS BUREAUCRACY page 43

FEBRUARY 13, 2015VOL. LXXXIV NO. 21 $1.00

pa

J e w i s h S t a n d a r d

1 0 8 6 T e a n e c k R o a d

T e a n e c k , N J 0 7 6 6 6

C H A N G E S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D

Vax

factsandreax


2/52

2 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 13, 2015

What ifa hospital, understanding that two hearts often beat as one, could maintain

a level of excellence for years on end, resulting in a 100% patient survival rate

for isolated coronary artery bypass surgery?* At Englewood Hospital and Medical Center

we start each day questioning the status quo, asking “What if” – and then

innovating to make it happen. Because we want to be

your hospital for life.

Brian and JoAnn of Red Bank, NJ

l , i i ,


3/52

Page 3

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 13, 2015

PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT: (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747) is pub-

lished weekly on Fridays with an additional edition every October, by

the New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck,

NJ 07666. Periodicals postage paid at Hackensack, NJ and additional

offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Jersey Jewish

Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Subscription

price is $30.00 per year. Out-of-state subscriptions are $45.00,

Foreign countries subscriptions are $75.00.

The appearance of an advertisement in The Jewish Standard does

not constitute a kashrut endorsement. The publishing of a paid

political advertisement does not constitute an endorsement of any

candidate political party or political position by the newspaper or

any employees.

The Jewish Standard assumes no responsibility to return unsolic-

ited editorial or graphic materials. All rights in letters and unsolic-

ited editorial, and graphic material will be treated as uncondition-

ally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject

to JEWISH STANDARD’s unrestricted ri ght to edit and to comment

editorially. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without writ-

ten permission from the publisher. © 2015

NOSHES .................................................

OPINION ................................................

COVER STORY ....................................

FINANCE

& CHARITABLE GIVING ................... 3

GALLERY ..............................................4

TORAH COMMENTARY ....................

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ....................4

ARTS & CULTURE ..............................4

CALENDAR ..........................................4

OBITUARIES ........................................4

CLASSIFIEDS ......................................4

REAL ESTATE ......................................4

For convenient home delivery,

call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe

CONTENTS

Candlelighting: Friday, February 13, 5:10 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, February 14, 6:11 p.m.

Le’Or wants tolight up policy debate●When we hear of a new Jewish orga-

nization starting up in these recession-

ary times, our first question often is:

What are they smoking?

In the case of the year-old Le’Or, theanswer is pretty obvious. Its tag line is

“Illuminating Jewish Perspectives on

Drug Policy Reform.”

“Our goal is to erode the stigma, so

that the Jewish community at large

can see that supporting marijuana

legalization is not just the right thing to

do, it’s the Jewish thing to do,” said Roy

Kaufmann, who founded Le’Or with his

wife, Claire.

Speechwriter for Oregon’s governor

by day, the Israeli-born Kaufmann, 36,

is a staunch opponent of America’s

decades-long War on Drugs. Launched

by President Richard Nixon in the 1970s

and expanded during the Reagan era,

the ongoing drug war has resulted in an

unprecedented number of U.S. citizens

— and a disproportionate number of

African-American males — being sent

to prison for drug-related offenses.

The seeds of Le’Or — “to illuminate”

in Hebrew — were planted when the

Kaufmanns began to lament the lack

of Jewish communal involvement in

pushing for marijuana legalization.

“There’s a disconnect between the

civil rights issue and the number of

Jewish people who, let’s be honest,

enjoy the cannabis plant,” said Claire

Kaufmann, now a marketing and

branding consultant for the burgeoning

cannabis industry. “It seems to me to be

a contradiction.”

Specifically, it outraged the couple

that while white Americans —

themselves included — could casually

smoke marijuana and get away with it,

their black counterparts were far too

often arrested and incarcerated for the

same low-level crime.Roy Kaufman led the first campaign

to legalize marijuana in Oregon. He

was struck by how few rabbis and

Jewish communal leaders jumped on

board. After the failed bid, he turned

to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Company

for seed funding to back his idea for a

Jewish pro-cannabis group.

Dr. Bronner’s has played a leading

role in hemp and marijuana legalization

efforts since 2001, when David

Bronner, the company’s president and

grandson of the spiritually minded

German-Jewish soap maker, launched

a successful lawsuit against the Drug

Enforcement Agency to allow hemp

imports into the United States. The

Vista, Calif.-based company uses non-

psychoactive hemp oil imported from

Canada in its all-natural line of soaps.

Bronner, 41, was raised Protestant,

but he also grew up reciting the Shema,

and he said he feels a strong connection

to his Jewish roots. His grandfather’s

universalist “All-One” message — touted

on famously wacky soap labels with

references to Rabbi Hillel and Jesus —remains at the core of the company’s

progressive philosophy.

But the opponent of marijuana

reform with the deepest pockets also

is Jewish: billionaire Sheldon Adelson,

who pumped $5 million into the

campaign to defeat a Florida ballot

initiative that would have legalized

medical marijuana. The casino

mogul’s Israeli-born wife, Miriam, is a

drug addiction specialist who runs a

rehabilitation center in Las Vegas and

believes that marijuana is a “gateway

drug” to harder, more dangerous

substances — a belief that legalization

advocates dispute, citing studies to the

contrary. (One study estimated that 60

percent of casino revenues come from

players with a gambling addiction.)

While its cause is different from

other Jewish organizations, perhapswhat makes Le’Or most unique is that

it proudly displays a photograph of

President Nixon on its “about us” page,

along with a quote from a conversation

between Mr. Nixon and top aide H.R.

“Bob” Haldeman, recorded by the Oval

Office taping system:

“You know, it’s a funny thing, every

one of the bastards that are out for

legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the

Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob,

what is the matter with them?”

REBECCA SPENCE/JTA WIRE SERVICE

A long correction for a small error● They say you learn

the most from your

mistakes.

As mistakes go,

one in a movie

review two weeks

ago was minor.

Eddie Cohen,

one of the four

first members of

the Israeli air force

mentioned in our

review of the new

film “Above and

Beyond,” may not,

in fact, have been an

Israeli.Like the Americans profiled in the

film, he was a foreign volunteer — in

his case, from South Africa.

Not a big mistake — but an

important one for one of our readers,

who, as it turns out, was Eddie

Cohen’s cousin. (The cousin prefers

to keep his own name out of this

paper. “I’m private,” he said.)

Eddie Cohen had qualified as a

pilot in the South African air force

after the end of World War II, his

cousin told us. When Israel’s war of

independence broke out in 1948, he

was among the 800 South Africans

who went north to fight for Israel — a

disproportionately large delegation,

which was nearly a quarter of all the

foreign volunteers.

Whether Mr. Cohen would havereturned to South Africa or not we’ll

never know. He was the first casualty

of the nascent air force, killed when

his plane was shot down over the

Negev.

Neither his plane nor his body were

discovered until a couple of years

later. Our reader remembers that Mr.

Cohen’s squad mate Ezer Weizman

called Mr. Cohen’s parents andasked them to come to Israel for the

funeral. (Weizman would command

the Israel Air Force between 1958

and 1966 and then serve as Israel’s

president from 1993 to 2000.)

Our reader remembers visiting his

cousin’s grave on Mount Herzl during

a 1955 visit to Israel.

Our reader left us with this

memory of his cousin from before

the war. There was an ice skating

rink right outside of town. And

Eddie Cohen was a champion skater.

Skaters would skate up a ramp and

jump over barrels. And no one could

fly over more barrels than Eddie

Cohen.

And one more bit of family lore.

Eddie Cohen’s sister married a man

named Lubowitz and they had a son

named Manfred. Manfred Lubowitz

went on to record hit records

under the name Manfred Mann. The

most successful was a cover of the

song “Blinded by the Light” by a

young New Jersey musician, Bruce

Springsteen.

Amazing how much you can learn

from one small mistake.

LARRY YUDELSON

Ezer Weizman


4/52

Noshes


“Niggunim [are] Chassidic melodies that soundsimilar to the scene in Star Wars when thebad guy’s ship is arriving.”– Singer and former chassid Matisyahu, in an essay describing his escape

from the “cage” of strict Orthodoxy timed to promote his new single

Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard

tion. SNL and NBC have

been very quiet about

what the special will

contain (new stuff or

mostly clips?). However,

most of the guest list has

been leaked. The

following tribe members

will be on the special:

Two — JERRY SEIN-FELD and PAUL SIMON— were not cast mem-

bers. The other three

— ADAM SANDLER,ANDY SAMBERG, andMAYA RUDOLPH — were.

Beside those three,

here are the past 40

years of Jewish cast

members (main cast

or “featured player”):

LARAINE NEWMAN,GILDA RADNER, AL FRANKEN, HARRY SHEARER, SARAH SIL-VERMAN, BILLY CRYS-TAL, CHRISTOPHER GUEST, VANESSA BAY-ER, RACHEL DRATCH,

JON LOVITZ, CHRIS KATTAN, ROB SCHNEI-DER, PAUL SHAFFER,BEN STILLER, ROB-ERT SMIGEL, GILBERT GOTTFRIED, and ALAN ZWEIBEL. FYI: Kattanis the son of a Jewish

father and non-Jewish

mother and always has

been secular. Likewise,

the secular Christopher

Guest has a non-Jewish

first name, but his moth-er is an American Jew

and his father is a British

Jew. He actually holds

the title of 5th Baron of

Haden-Guest. It’s a com-

plex story — but suffice

it to say it is not an old

title — it was created in

1950 so Guest’s grandfa-

ther, a big Labour Party

supporter, could sit in the

House of Lords and help

balance out other par-

ties’ members.–

– N.B.

Brett Gelman

THE GUYS:

Brett, Felix, Oscar back in limelight

Tony Roberts

Neil Simon Lindsay Sloane

Comedian BRETT GELMAN, 38, whoco-stars in the FX

series “Married,” co-

wrote and co-stars in a

new special for the

“Adult Swim” corner of

the Cartoon Network.

“Dinner with Brett

Gelman’s Family” will

premiere on Friday,

February 13, at 12:30 a.m.

(DVR it!) This live-action

special, which probably

will have a lot of Jewish

content, co-stars Patti

Lupone as Gelman’s

mother and TONY ROBERTS, 75, as his dad.Roberts had big roles in

several WOODY ALLEN films.

A new version of

“The Odd Couple,”

the famous 1965

stage show written by

NEIL SIMON, now 87, willpremiere on Thursday,

February 19, on CBS. The

show stars Matthew

Perry (“Friends”) as

Oscar, a slovenly, long-

divorced sports writer,

and Thomas Lennon as

Felix, a neat-freak

photographer. As you

probably know, they areold friends; when Felix’s

wife leaves him, he

moves into Oscar’s

apartment. LINDSAY SLOANE, 37, plays Emily,who lives in Oscar’s

building and attracts the

guys’ romantic attention.

Sloane has been a TV

guest star or series

regular since she was a

teen. She was a star of

“Grosse Pointe,” a

short-lived but critically

praised series that was a

parody of “Beverly Hills,

90210.”

Because it is such a

great joke, I have little

doubt that a segment

from the original play

will make the new series.

Felix starts leaving Oscar

notes reminding him to

do chores. Finally, Oscar

blows up at Felix and

says, “You leave me little

notes on my pillow. I told

you 168 times I can’t ..

stand .. little notes on

my pillow! ‘We are all outof Corn Flakes. [signed]

F.U.’ It took me three

hours to figure out that

‘F.U.’ was Felix Unger!”

Neil Simon says that

many people have spec-

ulated that he gave Felix

Unger that name simply

to set up this joke. Simon

denies it, though. He says

that the joke came to

him way after he created

a character whose initials

are “F.U.”

“Saturday Night

Live,” which was

created in 1975 by

LORNE MICHAELS (bornLorne Lipowitz), will

celebrate its 40th

birthday with an anniver-sary special that will air

on NBC on Sunday,

February 15, at 8 p.m.,

with a red carpet special

starting on NBC at 7 p.m.

Michaels has been the

producer of the show for

most of its long run. (He

wasn’t its producer from

the fall of 1980 until the

spring 1985) and he is

very much a hands-on

executive. He has the

ultimate say in cast

hiring, firing, and promo-

‘Slap’ may resoundas a big hit on NBC● An eight-part miniseries, “The Slap,” started last nigh

— Thursday, February 12, at 8 p.m. on NBC. It’s based o

a big Australian novel and TV series of the same name.

NBC is clearly trying to compete with HBO with this

prestige series: LISA CHOLODENKO, 50 (“The Kids a

Alright”), who got a Golden Globe nomination for HBO’

“Olive Kitteridge,” is the principal director and JON ROBIN BAITZ, 53, a respected playwright and the cre

ator of TV’s “Brothers and Sisters,” wrote the pilot. The

title refers to what develops when a man slaps a child h

isn’t related to at a suburban barbecue. Co-stars include

Peter Saarsgard (MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL’s husband)

and Uma Thurman (whose non-Jewish maternal grand-

father fled Nazi Germany rather than betray his Jewish

business partner).

– N

Lisa Cholodenko

California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at

[email protected]

Special 0.99%Financing*

Now thru March 2nd

UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY

2 MONTH PAYMENT CREDIT*

2 YEARS PRE-PAID MAINTENANCE*

*On select models

Discover.

benzelbusch.com

t t t . :


5/52

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 13 , 2015


6/52

Local

6 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 13 , 2015

Family pays tribute to Tikvah programRamah’s special needs initiative spurs their son’s personal and Jewish growth

LOIS GOLDRICH

For the past ive years, 20-year-

old Adam Berzin of Ramsey

has spent his summers at

Camp Ramah Wisconsin, at the

camp’s Tikvah program.

Created more than 40 years ago and

offered at nine Ramah camps in the

United States and Canada, Tikvah wel-

comes children, teens, and young adults

with a wide range of learning, develop -

mental, cognitive, and social disabilities,

“enhancing Jewish identity and teach-

ing Jewish values in a supportive, inclu-

sive, fun environment,” according to its website.

Parents Rita and Mitch Berzin clearly

believe that the program more than ful-

ills this commitment.

“We make the effort to send Adam

to this program, which is so far away,

becaus e the effec ts on his self-esteem,

independence, and identiication with

the Jewish community have been so

powerful,” Ms. Berzin said. While other

Ramah camps have programs of this

kind, “what made this one unique for us

was that it was more inclusive.”

Adam has high-functioning autism, she

said. “He’s not so below his peers that he

needs a tremendous amount of support,

but he needs more than his typical peers

and he needs to be challenged. This program included him so he didn’t feel he

was in a parallel camp,” but rather one

that fully included him, where he did not

feel “separate.” The Berzins also chose

the Wisconsin camp because it offers the

program to people in Adam’s age group.

“He loves it,” she said, recalling that

one year she put Adam in a camp that

was geog raph ically clos er but not as

inclusive. “It didn’t group kids according

to their abilities,” she said. “It put them

all together.” After that summer, “Adam

was lobbyin g to go back” to Ramah,

despite the fact that usually “he’s not a

self-advocate. He really wanted to do it .”

Adam lives for his summers, she said,

telling people that “his summer home is

at Camp Ramah Wisconsin.”The camp “plays to the kids’ strengths.

At school, he never quite felt like he quite

it in; he was used to being told what he

couldn’t do, not what he could do” she

said, noting however that Adam, who

plays saxophone, participated in the

Ramsey High School marching band. At

camp, “they had him play the ‘Star-Span-

gled Banner’ before a big baseball game.

They picked out what he likes and let him

excel at it.

“There are programs for children withdisabilities in this area, but few if any that

include the children with their typical

peers,” she continued. “Generally they

are segregated programs, but that’s not

what the real world is like. Finding inclu-

sive experiences for children is dificult,

especially for teens and young adults

who are not greatly impaired. Inclusion is

what I think Ramah Wisconsin does well.

The children are so well integrated that

they really feel as if there are no differ-

ences. And the typical peers start to see

that the Tikvah campers have strengths

and good qualities.”

Over the Martin Luther King weekend,

Adam and two other campers from New

York and New Jersey went to Chicago to

attend a Tikvah/Atzmayim Shabbaton.(Atzmayim is the vocational arm of the

special needs program.)

“The excitement in my home was pal-

pable for weeks,” Ms. Berzin said. “He

had a great time, and it was an experi-

ence that has energized him to return to

camp for the Atzmayim vocational pro-

gram this summer.”

The Shabbaton was special, among

other reasons, because “he got to fly

on a plane back and forth. [Kids] need

to separate from their parents. We maycoddle them too much. This was a great

opportunity for him.”

Getting to the airport too late to meet

the other campers and counselors out-

side, Adam’s parents took him to the

security gate. He navigated through secu-

rity by himself and found his friends at

the gate waiting for him to board.

“He did it,” his mom said.

Ms. Berzin said Adam, who graduated

from Ramsey High School — “where we

fought to have him mainstreamed” — now

attends a transition program. She hopes

that he will attend college next year.

“Camp has been good preparation for

that,” she said, adding that he’s learned

to ask for help when he needs it.

People with Adam’s disability “tend tohave a lot of anxiet y,” she said. “They’re

afraid of trying, afraid of failing.” But

when Adam comes home from camp,

he brings with him a growing sense of

independence.

“Things he would not attempt at home,

he had to do at camp,” she said. “He had

to work in the kitchen packing lunches,

so I told him if you could do it there, you

can do it here. They also had to clean

their cabin.”

Adam comes home from camp wi

more self-esteem,” she said. “You cou

just see that he was more of his own pe

son. He didn’t seem to need as muc

prompting and encouragement.”

On the Jewish front, although Ada

had a bar mitzvah, “and did well, the

was not much to conne ct him” to th

Jewish commu nit y after that , said h

mother. “At Ramah he put on teillin an

did morning prayers. He loves Shabba

You can see a greater sense of [Jewis

identiication.”

Ms. Berzin said that because “kids wi

learning and emotional differences ha

trouble with change,” it is particularhelpful that Adam generally can look fo

ward to seeing the same campers an

counselors year after year. “It provid

continuity,” she said. His move to the voc

tional program will also be smooth sin

last year’s Tikvah program was “pre-voc

tional,” and Adam spent one day a week

the camp ofice, distributing mail.

“It will be an easier transition,” h

mother said, noting that he will be li

ing with other campers in an arrang

ment that resembles a college dorm. T

group will be responsible for planni

and making meals and will be “treated

staff more than as campers.”

Ms. Berzin believes this will help Ada

when he goes to college.

“We’re looking for a program withfocus on work skills,” she said. “This w

help prepare him for that.” His camp l

ing arrangements also will help him pr

pare for living in a dorm.

It also helps that throughout the yea

Tikvah campers “get together weekly o

Sunday evenings for an online Shavu

Tov talk,” she said. “It’s run by the cou

selors who usually have a theme th

discuss and relate to the campers’ dai

lives. Then they all speak regarding the

week. It’s something that keeps them a

connected, since they are from differe

states.”

Adam also participates in commun

activities. He plays with teen jazz grou

at the music school at the Kaplen JCC o

the Palisades in Tenafly “to keep his skiup,” Ms. Berzin said. That’s because the

aren’t enough people with musical abi

ties in his transition program.

“He has also discovered the Chaba

Friendship Circle and has a student com

visit him once a week,” she said. And wh

he’s not a good it for the group’s comm

nity events, he volunteers with Chabad

Woodcliff Lake’s sports league. In add

tion, he volunteers one day a month at th

Mahwah Center for Food Action.

Adam Berzin, right, celebrates bowing with Joseph Eskin, head of the Tikvah pro-

gram at Camp Ramah Wisconsin.


7/52

Loca

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 13 , 2015li i li i

%3 0O F F !%3 0O F F !Every Book! Every Sefer!If it’s Printed…It’s On Sale…Even Cookbooks!

i

Join Us For Our 9th Annual Book & Seforim SALE!

AMAZING ARTSCROLL SHAS SALE

ENGLISH TALMUD BAVLIFULL-SIZE SET list price $2,999

NOW ONLY $1,899COMPACT-SIZE SET list price $2,499

NOW ONLY $1,575

HEBREW TALMUD BAVLIFULL-SIZE SET list price $2,650

NOW ONLY $1,625COMPACT-SIZE SET list price $2,149

NOW ONLY $1,340

a n y w h e

r e i n t h

e

c o n t i n e

n t a l U. S

. A.

AND NOW, EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE JUDAICA HOUSE:

SALE THROUGH SUNDAY, FEB. 22478 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ · www.judaicahouse.net · (201) 801-9001

FIRST PERSON

French Jews face

uncertain futureA look at some stories from a local leaderDR. LEONARD A. COLE

In the wake of the terror attacks at the

Charlie Hebdo magazine ofice and

the Hyper Cacher grocery store — a

kosher market — I participated in a

Jewish Agency mission to Paris.

Our delegation of Americans and Israelis

arrived last week to show solidarity with the

French Jewish community. We also sought

to better understand the threat of height-

ened anti-Semitism in France (and, indi-

rectly, elsewhere in Europe). We met with

more than 40 French Jewish community

leaders and activists, all of them open tosharing their concerns.

On January 7, Islamist terrorists murdered

a dozen Charlie Hebdo staffers as retribution

for the magazine’s cartoon depictions of the

prophet Mohammed. Two days later, another

terrorist held a bunch of Jewish grocery

shoppers hostage, killing four, which French

President Francois Hollande acknowledged

as an “appalling anti-Semitic act.”

Following the attacks, an anti-terror

march in Paris drew more than a million

participants. Led by Hollande and other

world leaders, including Israeli Prime Min-

ister Benjamin Netanyahu, many in the

crowd held signs declaring Je Suis Charlie

(I am Charlie). A few signs said Je Suis Juif

(I am a Jew). But despite the commendable

show of unity and of respect for the attack

victims , t he threat of terrorism remains

undiminished. Given the rise in anti-Sem-

itism, the Jewish community seems espe-cially vulnerable.

The Jewish population in France is about

500,000 and shrinking. The Muslim popu-

lation is 5,000,000 and growing. These

trends are sources of anxiety for many

French Jews as they weigh their options.

Sandra Charabi, 29, is a survivor of

the Hyper Cacher attack. As we stood in

front of the grocery store, now closed,

she recounted her harrowing experience

there. Sandra, who has long, straight black

hair and an open, friendly smile, had just gone into the stor e; she was tryi ng to

decide what to buy for Shabbat dinner

when a gunman entered, shooting . Amid

the chaos and yelling, she and four or ive

others ran downstairs to the basement.

She locked herself in the toilet, where she

remained for ive hours, when inally t

police ended the siege.

Sandra still is frightened. As a result

the attack, a life in France no longer seem

possible. She and her boyfriend soon w

immigrate to Israel.They will not be alone. In 2014 som

7,000 French Jews made aliyah, more th

double the previous year’s number. Wi

assistance from the Jewish Agency, 15,00

are expected to make aliyah this year.

Dr. Leonard A. Cole of Ridgewood at the memorial to victims of the Charlie

Hebdo attack in Paris. LEONARD CO

SEE FRENCH JEWS PAGE 4


8/52

Local


Are the w inter blues

getting you down?

Do you find yourself not wanting to get out of bed?

Are you lacking in energy?

Having difficulties concentrating on every day tasks?

Are you withdrawing from friends and family?

These can all be signs of Seasonal Affective Disorder —also known aswinter depression. JFS has compassionate mental health clinicians on

staff to help you manage these overwhelming feelings.

For more inf ormation on our serv ices please contact us at 201-837-9090 or v isit our website at w w w.jf sbergen.org

State of the Jewish nationFilmmaker presents pro-Israel documentary in Teaneck

ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

Award-winning documentary producer-

director Gloria Greenield will be in Teaneck

on February 24 for the screening of her new-

est work, “Body and Soul —The State of the

Jewish Nation,” at 7:45 p.m. at the Teaneck

Cinemas on Cedar Lane.

The ilm examines the profound connec-

tions between the Jewish people and the

land of Israel over the past three millennia,

through interviews with historians, archae-

ologists, political scientists, religious leaders,

and international law and media experts.

Among the 16 interviewees in the ilm are

Harvard professors Ruth Wisse and Alan

Dershowitz; the UK’s former chief rabbi,

Lord Jonathan Sacks, Israeli archeologists

Israel Finkelstein and Aren Maeir; ProfessorEugene Kontorovich of Northwestern Univer-

sity School of Law, and Itamar Marcus, direc-

tor of Palestinian Media Watch.

Ms. Greenield, founder of

the nonproit Doc Emet Pro-

ductions in Lexington, Massa-

chusetts, said she began con-

ceptualizing the ilm toward

the end of 2012 as an antidote

for Jewish illiteracy, particu-

larly in the Diaspora. (“Emet”

means “truth” in Hebrew.)

“By ‘Jewish illiteracy’ I am

referring to the lack of knowl-

edge about our more than

3,500-year-history, about our

litury and about our texts,”

she said. “At a time when the enemies of the Jewish people and Jewish state are engaged in

a vigorous campaign to erase our history and

fabricate pseudo-history, multigenerational

ignorance of what it means to be a member

of the Jewish people — of who we are, and

where we came from — makes us dangerously

vulnerable.”

The ilm project also attempts to “re-

polish the honor of Zionism, which is the

national liberation movement of the Jewish

people, and to expose the vicious campaign

to destroy the Jewish people through the era-

sure of our history,” she added.

Ms. Greenield sowed some 30 years of

strategic planning, marketing, publishing,

and management expe-

rience into the founding

of Doc Emet Productions

in 2007. As former executive director of theDavid Project, she launched groundbreaking

Israel advocacy training programs for Ameri-

can students in Israel.

Doc Emet’s irst two releases were “The

Case for Israel — Democracy’s Outpost” and

“Unmasked Judeophobia” a ilm about the

resurgence of lethal Jew-hatred around the

world.

“Body and Soul” premiered in Jerusa-

lem last October. It was followed by a post-

screening discussion with Robert Wistrich,

Yoram Hazony, and Eugene Kontorovich,

moderated by journalist Melanie Phillips.

Its North American premiere, at Symphony

Space in Manhattan, was emceed by Bret

Stephens of the Wall Street Journal.

Patty Borodach of Teaneck, who

attended the Manhattan screening, said

that the experts in the ilm “all had moreor less the same message about the historic

Jewish claim to the land and how that has

developed over time. But they were many

different voices — male and female, young

and old. It wasn’t didactic like a history les-

son. It was people speaking from the heart

and from the mind in a way that was easy

to absorb.”

Ms. Borodach added that she was pleas-

antly surprised at the makeup of the audi-

ence. “It was a very diverse audience

in terms of age and religious leanings,”

she said. “I had expected to see only the

Orthodox.”

Ms. Greenield said she is getting positive

feedback about “Body and Soul” from Jewand gentiles alike. She wants the ilm to

seen by “everyone from policymakers

educators to students to good and dece

people.”

“Even those who self-identify as adv

cates of Israel require much deeper unde

standing of the centrality of the land

Israel to Jewish identity, of the intellectu

history of the development of Zionism, an

of the legal history of Jewish rights to sove

eignty in the land of Israel,” she added.

The ilm has been shown in Texas, A

bama, Washington, Michigan, Indiana, a

Vermont and is scheduled to be screened

Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Car

lina, Washington D.C., New York, Connec

cut, California, New Hampshire, Canad

South Africa, and England over the next femonths. It will be shown in New Brunswi

on February 26 and in Jersey City on Ap

19, and will be available soon with subtit

in seven or eight languages.

The Teaneck screening of “Body an

Soul” is sponsored by the New Jersey cha

ter of the Zionist Organization of Ameri

and American Friends of Yeshivot Bn

Akiva. The latter organization supports

network of 74 schools throughout Israel.

“American Friends of YBA is excited

promote ‘Body and Soul,’ which reflec

the values of modern Zionism,” Americ

Friends of Bnei Akiva’s associate directo

Natalie Sopinsky, said. “This the Bnei Aki

ideoloy — the unbreakable Jewish bond

the land of Israel, the ancient history an

eternal spiritual connection, and the moern call to all Jews to support the Jewi

state with their heart and their hands.

“I’m sure American Jews will enjo

this ilm, and will ind it educational an

enriching.”

The Teaneck screening will be follow

by a discussion with Ms. Greenield, an

preceded by a private wine and sushi rece

tion for sponsors paying $36, $75, or $12

General tickets cost $12.50 until February

or $15 afterward. DVDs of the documenta

will be available for $14.95.

For more information, go to www.bod

andsoulthemovie.com, or email the ZOA

[email protected], or call (201) 4241825.

Gloria Greenfield’s “Body and Soul” will be screened in

Teaneck on February 24.

Gloria Greenfield


9/52


PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE

WWW.JFNNJ.ORG/FILMFESTIVAL

OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

Jewish Federation

ISRAEL FILM FESTIVALOPENING NIGHT

SATURDAY, MARCH 7 | 9PM

HILL STARTTENAFLY CINEMA 4

SUNDAY, MARCH 8 | 7PM

IS THAT YOU?RIDGEFIELD PARK LUXURY CINEMAS 12Discussion with “Is That You” actress Suzanne Sadler

TUESDAY, MARCH 10 | 7PM

SUPER WOMENWAYNE YMCA

Discussion with Boris Fishman, author of “A Replacement Life”

THURSDAY, MARCH 12 | 7:30PM

CUPCAKESKOLO KLUB, HOBOKEN

Young Professionals Event


THE GREEN PRINCEKAPLEN JCC ON THE PALISADES

Discussion with counterterrorism

expert Olivier Guitta,

Managing Director at GlobalStrat

MONDAY, MARCH 16 | 7PM

HILL STARTRAMSEY THEATRE

Discussion with George Robinson,

film critic with The Jewish Week

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 | 7PM

GETTTEANECK CINEMAS

Discussion with Rabbi Jeremy Stern,

Executive Director, Organization for the Resolution of Agunot


ZERO MOTIVATIONKAPLEN JCC ON THE PALISADES

Discussion with Bur Ashrov,

Captain (Res.) in the IDF Spokespersons Unit

LESLIE BILLET, ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL CHAIR

DANIT SIBOVITS

DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ISRAEL ENGAGEMENT

[email protected] | 201-820-3907

Between 89th and 90th

Thank you to

our sponsors


10/52

Local


• Strength • Core • BalanceCognitive Fitness1 on 1 Training(Couples Welcomed)

We’re Here To Help You

We Bring Fitness To You!

www.FitnessSeniorStyle.com

All in the comfort of your home!Call to Schedule Your Personal Evaluation

201-937-4722®

MS Dement ia

FibromyalgiaP ar k insons

C hr o ni c D i se ase

S tro ke

Avi & ShneurFASKOWITZ

p r e s e n t

Passover Director

DAVID GROSS

Host

JEFF BRAVERMAN

DAIL YLI VE MUSIC

B y World Famous

JONA THANR IMBER Gf rom Naf shenu

Orchestra

7 1 8-969-9100 | inf o@ma je st i c r e t r e a t s .c o m | w w w.majesticre trea t s

. c o m

Mitchell First continues his sleuthing

of spellings and historical clues in

“Esther Unmasked.”

ExploringmysteriesLocal scholarunearths cluesto textual andhistorical questions

ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

Was Purim heroine Esther a real person

or a igment of the Jewish imagination?

According to Teaneck’s Mitchell First,

Queen Esther and King Achashverosh

can be identiied with the Queen Ames-

tris and King Xerxes Greek historians

have mentioned.

How he reaches this conclusion is

outlined in his newest book, “Esther

Unmasked: Solving Eleven Mysteries of

the Jewish Holidays and Litury,” pub-

lished by Kodesh Press, released this

week just in time for the annual Yeshiva

University book sale that continues

through February 23.

Ten of the essays in this heavilyresearched antholoy have already been

published in earlier forms in such peri-

odicals as Hakirah, Biblical Archaeoloy

Review, AJS Review, and Journal for the

Study of the Old Testament, as well as

online at seforim.blogspot.com.

Several of Mr. First’s articles are the

irst of their kind, no pun intended.

Especially groundbreaking are his

identiication of Esther in secular

sources; the origins of the fast (ta’anit)

of Esther; his discovery of an alternativ

Hebrew spelling of the famous phra

“l’taken olam” from the Aleinu praye

usually cited as a source of the mode

Jewish value of “tikkun olam,” repairi

the world, and the implications of h

inding that the order of the Hebrew le

ters “ayin” and “peh” were reversed

ancient Israel.

Mr. First, an attorney by professio

and a Jewish historian by avocation an

academic training, says that it took a v

lage to produce the book. That villa

is populated by fellow members of th

township’s Congregation Beth Aaro

where he often has lectured on his stu

ies over the last two decades with th

encouragement of its former spirituleader, Rabbi Ephraim Kanarfogel, an

now by Rabbi Laurence Rothwachs.

“If I lived on an island, I could nev

have accomplished any of this,” he sai

naming the most influential Beth Aaro

contributors to his research and th

development of his ideas as Sam Bor

dach, Rabbi Moshe ( Jordan) Yasgu

Rabbi Ezra Frazer, Rabbi Mordy Frie

man (now in Israel), Meylekh Viswanat

and Allen Friedman.


11/52

Local


A Member of The Jewish Home Family®

201.666.2370 www.jhalnj.org685 Westwood Avenue, River Vale, NJ 07675

Lauren Levant, Executive Director, Jewish Home Assisted Living

Come Homefor the Holiday.

Have plans for Passover? Consider yourself invited to

Jewish Home Assisted Living, where you can spend the

entire eight days as one of the family. Take part in our

famous gourmet Seder. Read from the Haggadah andsing favorite Passover melodies with your new-found

friends. Break the matzah and enjoy home made charoset

prepared by one of our very own residents.

Did we mention your family is also welcome to join us

for the Seder? Plus, your eight-day stay with us includes

a cozy studio apartment, delicious Kosher for Passover

meals served in our warm and welcoming dining room,

and a full schedule of intriguing activities. What could

be more inviting?

Make your reservations to join us this Passover by calling

Anette McGarity at 201-666-2370.

“Rabbi Yasgur walked home from

shul with me for years and was willing

to listen to me ramble on about the ori-

gin of Ta’an it Esther, no matter what

season it was in the Jewish year,” Mr.

First said. “He also shared his own var-

ied and creative insights and tremen-dous library with me.”

His curiosity about the authentic

wording of Aleinu was piqued when he

happened to sit in a pew next to Yehiel

Levy one day and saw that Mr. Levy’s

Yemenite prayer book contained a dif-

ferent spelling of “l’taken olam.”

A talk by Rabbi Rothwachs is what

motivated Mr. First to research the

Mishnaic interpretation of the phrase

“Arami oved avi” from the Passover

Haggadah. That is in the book, too.

“Beth Aaron members sometimes

pointed me to articles and sources that

I was not aware of, and it was always

benei cial to hear their different per-

spectives on whatever issue I was work-

ing on,” he said.“Esther Unmasked” has a preface

by R abbi Hayyim Angel, the national

scholar at the Institute for Jewish Ideas

and Ideals at Yeshiva University.

“Mitchell First … forthrightly ques-

tions several basic traditional Jewish

assumptions and demonstrates why

they often lack a sound foundation,”

Rabbi Angel wrote in the preface. “He

then combines extensive research into

primary sources, the contributions of

other contemporary scholars, and his

own original ideas to build stronger

structures in the pursuit of truth.”

Mr. First, whose earlier book, the

1997 “Jewish History in Conflict,” dealt

with rabbinic chronoloy, says he did

not set out to produce a book aboutmysteries. Many Beth Aaron congre-

gants, however, said that they had won-

dered about the same questions he was

researching and speaking about at shul.

Turning each oral presentation into a

fully footnoted essay took another four

to six months.

“I was just fortunate to be able to ind

the time and have the necessary schol-

arly background to delve into these top-

ics; I have a master’s degree in Jewish

history from YU’s Bernard Revel Gradu-

ate school,” Mr. First, who earned his

law degree at Columbia University,

said. “Because I am not an academic, I

had no deadlines and was not forced to

publish prematurely. This gave me the

patience to come up with strong, well-researched answers to the mysteries.”

The identity puzzle to which the

book ’s tit le refe rs rest s on the gen-

eral assumption that Esther’s name

does not appear in secular sources.

Mr. First found that by the mid-19th

century, scholars agreed that Achash-

verosh was the king whom the Greeks

called Xerxes. But the identiication of

Esther with Amestris, Xerxes’ queen

as described by Herodotus, was rarely

suggested because of certain passages

in Herodotus that made the identiica-

tion problematic.

“What I discovered is that it is very

easy to identify her with Esther,”

Mr. First said. “The name essentially

matches — MSTR vs. STR; the ‘is’ at theend of Amestris is just a sufix added

by the Greeks . On c lose analysis, the

dificulties raised by the passages in

Herodotus are easily surmountable.”

Before so many sources were avail-

able online, Mr. First spent many Sun-

days in the libraries of Yeshiva Uni-

ver sit y and the Jewi sh Theolo gical

Seminary. These days, YU will email

scholarly articles for free, and there

are websites devoted to developments

in Jewish scholarship, such as thetal-

mudblog.wordpress.com and genizah.

org, the latter containing fragmentsfrom the Cairo Genizah that shed light

on early liturgical versions.

In addition to written resources, he also

emailed professors across the world with

speciic questions. “Most have responded

and been very helpful,” he said.

His most surprising discovery con-

cerned the authentic spelling of the

famous phrase in Aleinu. His research

led him to understand that the prayer

originally referred not to “repairing”

the world under divine sovereignty but

to “establishing” a world under divine

sovereignty. “Tikkun olam may be a

widespread concept in Judaism, but it

is not found in Aleinu,” he concluded.

In addition to the subjects mentioned

above, the book examines the origin ofthe word “mechilah” (forgiveness); the

meaning of the cryptic Mishnaic state-

ment “Ani Ve-Ho,” recited in the Suk-

kot litury; the meaning of the names

“Maccabee” and “Chashmonai” in rela-

tion to Chanukah; what may have moti-

vated the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus

to issue harsh decrees against the Jews,

and the early wording of the Hagga-

dah’s Four Questions. (Spoiler: it used

to be three, not four.)

Mr. First, anattorney by

profession and a Jewish historian

by avocationand academictraining, saysthat it took a

village to produce

the book.


12/52

Local


Take the Shab-bus‘Horizontal Shabbat elevator’ picks up congregants in North Bergen and Cliffside Park

LARRY YUDELSON

You’ve been walking to synagogue every

Shabbat for years. For decades.

Now your shul is closing. Well, “merg-

ing.” But all the services are taking place in

the other partner in the merger, the syna-

gogue that’s just a bit stronger than yours,

that has been able to keep a rabbi on its

payroll.

But that synagogue is ive miles away.

Five miles is too far for a comfortable

Shabbat morning stroll.

What are you to do?

Are you just going to stay home on

Shabbat?

Are you going to go against your con-

science and start driving on the Sabbath?You raise these concerns with the rabbi

of what would be your new synagogue.

It turns out that the rabbi has been

worrying about the same thing.

“It was weighing on my mind,” said

Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer of Temple

Israel of Cliffside Park and — pending reso-

lution of merger negotiations — Beth El of

North Bergen, both Conservative congre-

gations. “These people would be left with-

out a shul if we merged, and the merged

shul would be in Cliffside Park.”

So Rabbi Engelmayer made you a

suggestion.

“What if I could come up with a halachic

alternative that would get you to shul?” he

said.

And to convince you that his offer islegit, he promises to run his proposal by

Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz of Teaneck, who

is on the faculty at the Jewish Theological

Seminary and until recently a member of

the Conservative movement’s Committee

on Jewish Law and Standards.

Rabbi Engelmayer’s idea: “A Shabbos

elevator, except instead of going vertically,

it goes horizontally.”

A Shabbos elevator, common in Israeli

hotels, is an elevator programmed to run

continuously up and down the building,

stopping at every floor. No one has to press

a button to open the doors.

Since Rabbi Engelmayer can’t build a

subway line connecting Hudson and Ber-

gen counties, his horizontal Shabbos ele-

vator is a Shabbos bus. The Shab-bus, ashe calls it, is not, as of now, a bus; it’s a

six-seat cab with a non-Jewish driver, hired

from a local cab company. Like the Shab-

bos elevator, which stops on every floor,

the Shab-bus stops at every stop along its

run and waits for two minutes — whether

or not anyone is getting on or off. Like an

elevator, it takes the same route and makes

the same stops in both directions. It makes

two runs in the morning, and then two

runs after services.

In coming up with the idea, Rabbi Engel-

mayer reached back to the days when

he studied in the Orthodox yeshiva that

ordained him.

“One of the things we were taught once

which always stuck with me is that there’s

no issur — no prohibition— on going on a bus on Shabbos. The prohibition is getting

on the bus if nobody else is at the stop, or

getting off if there’s no one else on the bus,and, obviously, paying for it,” he said.

Those who ride the bus sing its praises.

“I love it. What can I tell you?” Myra

Beth Brodsky said. She lives in Guttenberg,

a four-block-wide town in Hudson County

next to North Bergen, and has been a

member of Beth El there “since forever.”

She walked to Beth El. “I like waking,

but it’s too dangerous to walk from here to

Cliffside Park,” she said.

“It’s very convenient, very comfortable,

and the drivers are exceedingly nice,” said

Pearl Sodow, who has lived in Cliffside

Park for 40 years. She and her husband

use the bus now. Before, sometimes they

would walk to synagogue and sometimes

they would drive.

The question of a Shabbos bus has been a matter of sporadic discussion

among experts in Jewish law over the

decades. In 1930, Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel,

the Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel, told a

rabbi in Bombay that Jews could ride a

trolley to and from synagogue if it were

driven by non-Jews, made no stops spe-

ciically to pick up Jewish passengers,

traveled through predominately non-Jew-

ish neighborhoods, and did not require

the Jewish riders to pay a fare or carry

a ticket. Later, however, he reversed this

decision.

Rabbi Uziel’s ruling was cited in the

1980s in a responsum by the Union for

Traditional Judaism, a group that broke

from the Conservative movement in oppo-

sition to its decision to ordain women asrabbis. (Rabbi Rabinowitz, by contrast,

had advocated for women’s ordination on

the Law Committee.) The union’s Rabbi

David Novack admitted that “a halachic

case could be made, at least in theory,

for permitting a Shabbat bus,” but ruled

against it.

More recently, an Orthodox rabbi, Jack

Simcha Cohen, wrote a halachic defense

of the idea in his book “Shabbat, The Right

Way: Resolving Halachic Dilemmas.” Rabbi

Cohen, who was born in Asbury Park a

died last summer, was rabbi emeritus

Congregation Aitz Chaim in West Pal

Beach, Florida, the irst Orthodox syn

gogue in Palm Beach County.

“I’m looking at the greater good,” Rab

Engelmayer said. “Shuls drying up incommunity is a tragedy, especially if the

are people in the community who need

go to shul. We have people coming no

from North Bergen who hadn’t come

shul in years.”

Besides letting people who couldn

walk come to shul, the Shab-bus servi

also provides a safer way to get to shul f

people who are happy to drive on Sha

bat, even though they can no longer dri

safely. “If I can prevent them from doin

that then that would be wonderful,” Rab

Engelmayer said.

He would like to expand the service in

Edgewater.

The obstacle, however, is money. T

$100 weekly fee for a cab is a strain on th

synagogue’s budget. A full van would co$300 or more weekly. “That’s not the kin

of money we have right now,” said Rab

Englemayer, who is seeking donors for t

bus.

Meanwhile, the Shab-bus and th

merger with Beth Israel has infused h

congregation with new life on Shabb

morning.

“We used to average 25 people, now w

average around 40,” he said. “It’s real

wonderful to see.”

What if I couldcome up with

a halachic

alternative that would get

you to shul? RABBI SHAMMAI ENGELMAYER


13/52


Owned and Managed by the Jewish Community Housing Corporation of Metropolitan New Jersey

Wouldn’t You Feel BetterKnowing Mom or Dad is WellCared For While You’re Away?

The Lester Senior Housing Community

903-905 Route 10 East, Whippany, NJwww.jchcorp.org

Weston Assisted Living Residence

When caregivers are unavailable or family members are away,there’s no need to stress about the care of your loved ones.

We offer short-term respite stays in our beautiful Judy & Josh Weston Assisted Living Residence.

ese accommodations, for seniors who need some help with the tasks

of daily living, are available from 10 days up to two months and provida true home away from home amidst luxury surroundings.

Relax … We Have a Respite Stay Apartment Waiting at our Weston Assisted Living Residence

Respite stays at Weston Assisted Living Apartments include:· A fully decorated and well-equipped apartment

· ree delicious meals a day in our elegant dining room

· An assistance alert pendant

· Wellness Services and access to our professional nursing team

· Full range of programs and activities

· Transportation to area shopping centers and outings

· Concierge service

To learn more about our short-term respite stays,call David Rozen at 973-929-2725 … and enjoy your stay!

Voted Best Choiin Senior Living


14/52

Local


CASHFOR ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

ANTIQUE &

ESTATE BUYERSBuying anything old. One piece or house full.

Will Travel. House Calls.

346 Palisade Ave, Bogota, NJ

HOUSECALLS

We Buy Gold and Silver Coins Jewelry, Dishes, & Glassware

Watches • Old Toys • Stamp CollectionsHummels & Lladros • PaintingsSports Collectibles • Antique Furniture

Records • CamerasMusical Instruments

Pocket WatchesLamps • Comic Books

TOP $ PAIDFOR JUDAICACOLLECTIBLES

Mili tar y

Collec tions

Wan tedS words,

Kni ves,

Helme ts, e tc.

ANTIQUE &

ESTATE BUYERSBuying anything old. One piece or house full.

Will Travel. House Calls.

346 Palisade Ave, Bogota, NJ

201-880-5455CELL 917-887-6465

201-880-5455CELL 917-887-6465

201-880-5455CELL 917-887-6465

201-880-5455CELL 917-887-6465

201-880-5455CELL 917-887-6465

201-880-5455CELL 917-887-6465

Teaneck DentistDrs. Bloch, Gertler and FrohlichGeneral Dentistry

100 State St., Teaneck, NJ 07666www.teaneckdentist.com

Checkup Party! Sunday, September 7, 2008, 8:50 AM to 1 PM

64 kids, 8 hygienists, 4 doctors, 1 magician, tons of giveaways!

Don’t miss it! call today! 201-837-3000

If you have been to our office, you have seen the collages ofhappy faces of Checkup Parties past.Checkup Parties always fill up early, so call today to make

sure your family is not left out.

Sunday, March 15, 8:50 am to 1 pm

Checkup Parties always fill upearly, so call today to make

sure your family is not left out.

See our video on YouTube!

Like us on

New location, bigger crowdsfor Royal Wine’s koshersampling extravaganzaED PERETZ

If there was a theme for this year’s

Kosher Food and Wine Experi-

ence, it might be Go Big Or Go

Home.

Restaurateurs and winemakers show-

cased innovations and old favorites at

Royal Wine Corp.’s annual extravaganza.

KFWE drew about 2,500 people to NewYork’s Metropolitan Pavilion on Monday,

its biggest crowd yet. Last year, organiz-

ers had a yacht docked at Chelsea Piers

to accommodate overflow from the

2,000-plus crowd. After several years at

the Piers, the event moved to the Pavil-

ion this year to accommodate the ever-

growing interest.

“The atmosphere is more alive,” said

Mordy Herzog, Royal Wines’ executive

vice president. “It was great every year,

but there’s more room, so people are

more relaxed.”

There are ive other KFWEs around

the world, in Israel, England, Minne-

sota, Miami, and Los Angeles, with two

more U.S. additions slated for next year.

But New York is the home turf for Bay-onne-based Royal Wine, which marked

its ninth KFWE in the city.

With more than 30 restaurants, cater-

ers, and specialty food stores at the

showcase, food seemed to take the spot-

light. But it’s still a wine show, and Royal

had plenty of wines and spirits to high-

light. The trend in kosher wine right now

seems to point to France, according to

Mr. Herzog.

“It shows our palates are maturing,”

he said. “People are more open minde

interested in trying new product

Whites are coming back, France is co

ing back, but more importantly peop

are willing to try more.”

For those who couldn’t make it ou

below is a sampling of new and differe

tastes at this year’s KFWE.

Selection BokobsaChateau La Tonnelle

This cabernet sauvignon and merl

blend has been aged for 12 months in t

barrel, resulting in a smooth, light fr

flavor. It retails for $30-$35.

Eau-De-Vie De FigueThe distillation process removes alc

hol from brandy and leaves a smoo

flavor. For this ive-time distille

brandy, Bokobsa raised the alcohol co

tent from 37 percent to 45 percent. Th

extra distillations have removed muc

of the alcohol that scratches the thro

but left a lot of flavor, which comes

it passes down the throat, said Lion

Bokobsa, whose family has been ma

ing wine since the 1860s. This brandhas been in development for two yea

and will be available for retail in a fe

weeks at approximately $35.

Elvi WinesThis Spanish winery has been maki

kosher wine since 2003. The Heren

Rioja Semi recently joined its line of He

enza Riojas. The Semi is aged six mont

in oak and at least six months in the bo

tle. The Herenza Crianza Rioja is ag

Visitors at this year’s Kosher Food and Wine Experience sample the wares


15/52

Local


© Kraft Foods

POLLY-O String Cheese is a wholesome snack, POLLY-O is 100% real cheese, made with no artificialflavors or preservatives. So you’ll feel good about giving it to your family for a snack or on-the-go treat.

Since POLLY-O has so many great varieties to choose from, you’ll be pulling strings all day!

THE ONLY MAINSTREAM STRING CHEESE BRAND CERTIFIED KOSHER BY THE U .

OH YES, WE DID.

NOW U

KOSHER!

428 Hillsdale Ave., Hillsdale, NJ 201-664-4100 · www.yarndiva07642.com

• Handmade Dolls

• Handcrafted Jewelry

Gift Certificates

FINE YARNS · PATTERNS

15% OFF$25 purchase or moreCannot be combined with

other offers. Exp. 3-2-15

two years in oak, while the Herenza Reserve Rioja is

aged three years.

Silverleaf Caterers“Our concept is taking non-meat items and turning

them into a main dish,” said Silverleaf’s David Heisler.

“I use it as a challenge.”Silverleaf showcased three unusual dishes to meet

that challenge:

•The All American: A hot dog, spicy fries, and

ketchup wrapped in pizza dough.

•BBQ Sundae: A scoop of mashed potatoes and

bourbon barbecue pulled brisket topped with gravy

and served in a parfait dish.

•Pastrami Chicken Waffle: A pastrami and green

onion waffle triangle with “buttermilk” fried chicken

topped with a balsamic glaze.

The dishes were specially created for the KFWE and

will soon make their way to Silverleaf’s menus.

Abeles & HeymannA&H was formed by Leopold Heymann and Oscar

Abeles — Mr. Heymann’s widow, Sophie, has just

stepped down as the mayor of Closter. The company’s

hot dogs can be found in supermarkets across thecountry. It’s the kosher dog of choice at the Yankees’

and Mets’ ballparks, and also the Teaneck Doghouse.

Co-owner Seth Leavitt of Englewood showed off the

Hillside-based company’s new beer- and whiskey-fla-

vored dogs, which have been on the market for about

a year.

“We were trying to ind a trend we can start,” he

said. “We thought whiskey and beer infused hot dogs

would be a great alternative to a regular hot dog.”

PalisadiumOwner Joseph Abadi has been to KFWE a few times

but this is the irst year as an exhibitor. “It’s a bunch of

people that just want good food,” he said. “People like

good food with their wines.”

The Cliffside Park catering hall, which offers a

glatt kosher menu, showcased chicken lollipops in

spicy mango salsa and a braised short rib and risotto ball.

“Plates have been flying off the table,” Mr. Abadi

said early in the evening. “We made about 2,500 of

each hors d’oeuvre and hope we have enough.”

Gemstone Catering Amid the booths of sushi, pastrami, desserts, and

innovatively prepared but otherwise standard dishes

something not typically found on the kosher scene

stood out: Quince Wood Smoked Rocky Mountain

Oysters, aka, bull testicles. Halfway through the night,

Gemstone was sold out of the delicacy.

Cake & Co.This is the second year at KFWE for Krystina Gianaris,

owner of Teaneck’s Cake & Co. The excitement of last

year drew her back, she said, and she came with wine-

infused desserts created just for this event: chocolatecake with a merlot-infused custard and a vanilla cake

with a white zinfandel-infused mousse.

SprinklesPareve mocha ice cream, Kedem grape juice sorbet

offered a sweet respite for palates overwhelmed by

savory meats. The Sprinkles team is just happy to

meet people at KFWE, co-owner Ari Hoffman said.

Sprinkles makes pareve ice creams and sorbets from

its Hackensack-based factory for its ive stores in the

metro area.


16/52

Local


Ma’ayanot dinner set for March 7Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in

Teaneck will hold its annual scholarship

dinner on Saturday, March 7, at Congrega-

tion Keter Torah in Teaneck. Seven people

will be honored during the evening.

Rena and Menachem Schnaidman will

receive the Keter Shem Tov award for

their commitment to Ma’ayanot’s mission,

growth, and success. Rena Schnai dman

has been an active Parent Council mem-

ber, sta rte d an ear ly versio n of the

school’s Parnes Hayom program, served

on the Ma’ayanot’s Middle States Accred-

itation Committee, and is a supporter of

the school’s Adult Education Program.

Menachem Schnaidman has served on

Ma’ayanot’s executive board, has been

its inancial secretary and president, and

has sat on the inance and development

committees.

Chani and Rabbi David Moss will receive

the Amudei Ma’ayanot award for their

commitment to ensuring a Ma’ayanot

education is available to all, regardless

of inancial need. He has worked on the

school’s annual dinner committee for

many years and is chair of the school’s

Menachem and Rena Schnaidman Rabbi David and Chani Moss Ari and Sharon Wieder Rabbi Donny Besser

Ben Porat Yosef students attend U.N. ceremony marking Holocaust Junior high students at Ben Porat Yosef

in Paramus visited the United Nations last

month, where they heard Israeli President

Reuven Rivlin and others mark the Inter-

national Day of Commemoration in Mem-

ory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

In addition to hearing President Riv-

lin, who delivered part of his speech in

Hebrew, the students listened to presen-

tations by United Nations Secretary-Gen-

eral Ban Ki-Moon, Holocaust survivor Jona

Laks, and the Holocaust Educational Trust

ambassador from the United Kingdom,

Charlotte Cohen.The students were particularly taken

by Mrs. Laks’ story and message. She

implored them, as part of the next genera-

tion, to take seriously their responsibility

never to let this dark chapter in history

repeat itself.

“The Holocaust didn’t have to hap-

pen then, and we have to make sure that

it does not happen in our generation,”

sixth-grader Aliza Cohn of Bergenield

said. “We have the responsibility to make

sure of that.”

The students were also moved by Ms.

Cohen, 17, who is a youth adviser to the

United Kingdom Holocaust Commission.

She was appointed to that position by Prime

Minister David Cameron. The students felt

empowered listening to a person close to

their own age speak in front of a large audi-

ence about tolerance, acceptance, and the

signiicance of education in countering neg-

ative stereotypes and impressions.

Attending this ceremony gave the stu-

dents a sense of history and also inspired

them to realize their own ability to impact

the world. “It was amazing to sit in t

same room where so many importa

decisions happened in our history,

hear how people sympathize with the h

tory of the Jewish people, and to gain

understanding of how we can make a d

ference,” eighth-grader Ariel Chechik

Bergenield said.

Teaneck shul honors Project Ezra guestsCongregation Beth Sholom in

Teaneck welcomed more 50

guests from Project Ezra, an inde-

pendent, nonproit grassrootsorganization serving the frail

elderly on New York’s Lower East

Side. More than 30 volunteers,

from ages 6 to 76, helped serve

lunch and spend time with the

guests. Entertainment was by the

Bergen County chapter of HaZa-

mir: the International Jewish High

School Choir, as well as Cantor

Estelle Epstein, Glenn Shepard,

and Rabbi Ned Soltz.

development committee. She has been

member of the board and the executi

board, where she is a vice president; s

also chairs both the governance and nom

nating committees.

Sharon and Ari Wieder are being reco

nized as Parents of the Year for their devtion to enhancing Ma’ayanot’s academ

community. Ari Weider has served on t

board and Sharon has been an active P

ent Council member, where she served

vice president for two years. They ha

worked together on the school’s annu

dinner and recruitment committees.

Rabbi Donny Besser, the school’s mas

giach ruchani and Talmud and hal ac

teacher, will receive the Teacher of t

Year award.

All funds raised will help underwri

Ma’ayanot’s scholarship program, whi

awarded more than $1 million to famil

in inancial need this iscal year. For info

mation, email Pam Ennis at ennisp@ma

anot.org or call (201) 8334307, ext. 265.


17/52

Loca


ויעשו

דה ו

שלם חת לעשות רצונך ל

5775 annual dinner ~ march 14, 2015 ~ 9:00pm

congregation ahavath torah

FRANCINE AND AARON STEIN

guests of honor

RACHAEL AND DOV EISENBERGER

young leadership award

SHOSHANNA AND RABBI MORDECHAI GERSHON

harbatzat torah award

ם

please rsvp by visting ww w.ahavathtorah.org

Goodmorning

Israeli fresh fruit available

in major supermarkets in

East USA

in every single

piece

| www.mehadrin.co.ilSunrise | Medjoul Dates | Orri | SharonRed Grapefruit

Friends of IDF to hearwounded copter pilotThe New Jersey chapter of Friends of the IDF will gather

on Thursday, February 19, at 8 p.m. at Congregation

B’nai Tikvah in North Brunswick. Noam Gershony, a

veteran of the second Lebanon war, who won a gold

medal in wheelchair tennis at the 2012 Paralympics, is

the guest speaker. He was severely wounded while serv-

ing as an Israel Defense Forces Apache helicopter pilot.Today, Mr. Gershony travels the world, sharing his

triumphs, and serving as an inspiration. The shul is at

1001 Finnegan Lane. For information, emai l FIDF’s New

Jersey director, Howard Gases, at Howard.Gases@idf.

org, or call him at (646) 2749650.

Presidents’ Day service will featureGettysburg Address in Hebrew

Temple Emanuel of North Jersey will

hold its second annual Presidents Day

service on Monday, February 16, at 8:30a.m., followed by breakfast. The tradi-

tional service will include the Gettysburg

Address, translated into Hebrew, set to

haftarah trope, and chanted, in tribute

to the prophetic quality and moral clar-

ity of Lincoln’s words and leadership.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn of Ridgewood,

State Senator Loretta Weinberg, Bergen

County Freeholder David Ganz, Bergen

County Freeholder Tracy Silna Zur, NJ

State Assemblyman Robert Auth, and

Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City all

are expected to be at the service. Robert

Yudin, the chair of the Bergen County

Republican Organization, and that body’s

executive director, Karen O’Shea, will be

there as well. Guests will offer greeting

the breakfast or take roles in the servi

itself.

The shul’s Torahs adorned in red,

white, and blue.

Holocaust memorial observanceneeds candle-lighting familiesThe Jewish Community Council of Greater

Teaneck will hold its annual observance of

Yom Hashoah on Thursday, April 16, at 7:30

p.m. at Teaneck High School. The keynotespeakers, Nancy and Howard Kleinberg,

met in Bergen-Belsen, where Nancy saved

Howard’s life. For up-to-date information on

the memorial, go to www.teaneckyomhas-

hoa.org. A reception for survivors and their

families will be held at 6.

The Holocaust Commemoration Com-

mittee is looking for six families to serve as

candle lighters in the program. To qualify,

there must be representatives of three gen-erations, including a survivor, from each

family who are willing and able to partici-

pate. For information and to participate,

call Regina Koenig at (201) 3871511 or email

[email protected].

Noam Gershony

COURTESY FIDF

Keep us informedWe welcome photos of community events. Photosmust be high resolution jpg files. Please include adetailed caption and a daytime telephone. Mailedphotos will only be returned with a self-addressedstamped envelope. Not every photo will be published.

[email protected] NJ Jewish Media Group1086 Teaneck Rd., Teaneck, NJ 07666(201) 837-8818


18/52

Editorial

1086 Teaneck RoadTeaneck, NJ 07666(201) 837-8818Fax 201-833-4959

PublisherJames L. Janoff

Associate Publisher EmeritaMarcia Garfinkle

EditorJoanne Palmer

Associate EditorLarry Yudelson

Guide/Gallery EditorBeth Janoff Chananie

About Our Children EditorHeidi Mae Bratt

CorrespondentsWarren BorosonLois GoldrichAbigail K. LeichmanMiriam RinnDr. Miryam Z. Wahrman

Advertising DirectorNatalie D. Jay

Business ManagerRobert Chananie

Classified DirectorJanice Rosen

Advertising CoordinatorJane Carr

Account ExecutivesPeggy EliasGeorge KrollKaren NathansonBrenda Sutcliffe

International Media PlacementP.O. Box 7195 Jerusalem 91077Tel: 02-6252933, 02-6247919Fax: 02-6249240Israeli Representative

Production ManagerJerry Szubin

Graphic ArtistsDeborah HermanBob O'Brien

Credit ManagerMarion Raindorf

ReceptionistRuth Hirsch

JewishStandard

jstandard.com

FounderMorris J. Janoff (1911–1987)

Editor EmeritusMeyer Pesin (1901–1989)

City EditorMort Cornin (1915–1984)

Editorial ConsultantMax Milians (1908-2005)

SecretaryCeil Wolf (1914-2008)

Editor EmeritaRebecca Kaplan Boroson

Jewish experiences

First, please permit me to write in the

irst person. I could say that we have

had a busy weekend going from one

extraordinary Jewish experience

to the other — and that would be accurate,

because my husband went with me — but the

implied we of that sentence sounds more gran-

diose than is good for me. (Or for us.)

Assuming that permission is granted, please

let me tell you about my weekend.

From Friday night to motzei Shabbat, my

husband and I joined 350 others at the Shabba-

ton at Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck.

You may say that the Conservative move-

ment, to which Beth Sholom belongs, is in

great trouble. United Synagogue, which speaks

for its shuls, is ever-shrinking and seems inca-pable of attracting any but the most unfavor-

able publicity; Koach, its college program, was

discontinued, and USY, its jewel, has gotten

itself into trouble over a clumsily worded state-

ment about interdating.

But none of that resonates in any way at

Beth Sholom.

The Shabbaton offered three time slots

for classes. Altogether, including sessions for

kids, there were 48 separate meetings. Each

one was taught by a shul member. And the

wild profusion of riches overwhelmed. Andy

Silow-Carroll on Jewish jokes. Rabbi Eliezer

Diamond on irony in Talmud. Rabbi Rebecca

Sirbu on the makeup of the Jewish community.

Dr. Benjamin Sommer on the biblical origins of

kabbalistic theory. Dr. Eitan Fishbane on mysti-

cism. Rabbi Cathy Felix on Jews in the Civil War.

And that, by the way, was a random list of

offerings.

Shabbat included performances by the chil-

dren’s choir, Tziporei Shalom, as well as one

by the adults, and a song they sang together. It

ended with four personal stories, each extraor-

dinarily moving, culminating in Irina Katz’s

personal story of leaving the Soviet Union,

going irst to Israel and then to Fair Lawn. We

all sat open-mouthed, barely breathing as she

spoke.

Every shul claims to be warm and welcom-

ing; that is, in fact, practically a mantra, voiced

even by places that are frigidly off-putting.

Beth Sholom truly is those things, and intellec-tually and spiritually compelling as well.

That was my irst weekend experience.

Next came the panel at B’nai Jeshurun in

Manhattan, which attracted many people from

this side of the river to listen to second-wave

Jewish feminists Judith Plaskow and Letty Cot-

tin Pogrebin, Orthodox feminist Elana Sztok-

man, Orthodox Rabba Sara Hurwitz, and Stern

College’s Professor Joy Ladin, the irst (and I

assume the only) openly transgender woman

to teach at an Orthodox institution, among

many others.

It provided a wide-ranging exposure to ideas

being widely discussed, debated, even iercely

argued in the Jewish world right now.

Last, we went to the dinner honoring the

Sinai Schools. The Sinai program takes stu-

dents with disabilities and places them inmainstream Jewish schools while educating

them using programs tailor-made for each

child. It is an extraordinary model, inclusive as

appropriate and separate as necessary, done

with love, care, and a huge amount of thought.

The expertly made videos shown through-

out the presentation — which was mercifully

short and therefore breathtakingly tasteful —

were particularly moving because they man-

aged the dificult balance between kindness

and sugarcoating. The videos did not down-

play the dificulties, but they gave hope.

Perhaps the most heartrending of all the

wrenching videos was the story of Nathaniel

Richman Cohen, who died in 2007, when he

was 21. Nathaniel had suffered from Duch-

enne muscular dystrophy, a progressive dis-

ease that doomed him to an early death. Hisparents knew that, but they never gave up

on him. They fought for him and loved him.

Sinai Schools helped Nathaniel get meaning,

purpose, friendship, community, and struc-

ture, just as it does for all its students. Just as

any good school does.

The dinner drew together a huge range

of people, mainly but not exclusively from

the local Orthodox world. In fact, you could

make the argument that the dinner itself

modeled on a small scale the inclusion/sep-

arateness dynamic that makes the school so

strong.

Three communities. Each different, each

strong, each proud, each wonderful.

-JP

KEEPING THE FAITH

The mediais not themessage,it’s the mess

Topping the news this ye

and especially this week

— the news.

That is not good new

for anyone, because we depend o

the media to be the great safeguar

of democracy.

The recent Ebola scare is an exc

lent example. For several wee

Ebola-related reports dominat

the news, including such broadc

come-ons as “how to avoid contraing Ebola on subways and in ele

tors — at 11.”

News outlets knew there th

was no possibility of an Ebola e

demic, and every story carried

throwaway line saying so, but t

barrage of Ebola-related stories a

how they were played or display

scared so many people that near

40 percent of Americans feared

Ebola outbreak was imminent. Th

wrote Maggie Fox, a senior heal

writer for NBC News, on NBC’s w

site, “might be our fault. Us, as

the news media, and the enterta

ment media.”

The Ebola scare was good for r

ings, which translates into proiIn the news business, business

business.

We often see this when it com

to weather reporting — and I do n

mean the recent mostly respo

sible warnings about a monst

storm. I refer, instead, to the kin

of broadcast come-ons used in t

Ebola scare: “There’s a hurrican

in the forecast — at 11”; “A storm

Shammai Engelmayer is rabbi of

Temple Israel Community Center

| Congregation Heichal Yisrael in

Cliffside Park and Temple Beth El

of North Bergen.

18 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 13 , 2015

Vaccinate your kids

We understand why someparents are afraid of getting

their children vaccinated.

First, it’s unpleasant. It

scares small children, and it hurts them, and

sometimes they run low-grade fevers for the

next day or so, and it makes them crabby. Chil-

dren come to distrust their doctors and their

ofices because they get hurt there. All in all,

it’s an experience parents would like to avoid.

Secondly, although the myth that vaccines

cause autism has been roundly debunked, it

lingers (particularly because often, and coin-

cidentally, symptoms of autism surface just

around the time children are vaccinated).

There is so much that is unpredictable andscary about raising children. Having a child

turn out somehow to be … off … is a huge fear.

It is better to blame it on an outside experi-

ence, something pushed on you, than it is to

think that it’s in your genes, or in your environ-

ment, or somehow in your stars.

Thirdly, few of us — and certainly no one

young enough to have a child young enough

to vaccinate — remember how serious measles

could be. We have no innate fear of it. So it’s

spotty. Big deal. Stay out of school a few days,

try not to scratch, and it’s over. The truth that

measles can kill, and can leave some of its liv-

ing victims brain-damaged, seems like a scare

tactic, even though it’s the truth.

But the unpleasantness passes quickly, vac-

cines do not cause autism, and measles do kill.

It is a Jewish value to take care of yourselfand your children, and of the larger commu-

nity. In this case, although the effort is made

to put those two at odds with each other — a

parent’s right not to vaccinate is at war with

the community’s right to herd immunity — that

is not right. Parents have the responsibility not

to fall for anti-science conspiracy theories that

tell them that to vaccinate their children is to

give in to some outlandish plot. Parents have a

responsibility to themselves, to their children,

and to their community that demands that

they vaccinate their children.

We hope that our community takes that

responsibility to heart. —JP


19/52

Opinion

commute in the morn-

ing for some — at 11.”

Too often, a hurricane is

in the forecast, but it is

so far offshore that the

only thing we will expe-

rience is some mild rain.As for that stormy com-

mute, it will happen —

somewhere else.

Then there is the

Brian Williams news

cycle circus. The NBC

Nightly News anchor and managing

editor was caught in a 12-year-old lie

meant to augment his credibility as a

fearless reporter — that he was on a

Chinook helicopter that took ire in

Iraq in 2003. He was an hour away

from the attack. Williams has been

suspended without pay for six months

by NBC News.

Hyped-up come-ons and souped-

up “reporting creds” are not the most

dangerous concern, however. High inthe news recently — and especially in

the last week, as the number of cases

climbed above 100, including the most

recent addition of a 1-year-old Jersey

City child — is the current measles out-

break, which began in December.

Measles was supposed to be just a

bad distant memory in the United

States. That it may be making a come-

back, we are told by nearl y every

responsible source, is because an

increasing number of parents have

refused to allow their children to be

vaccinated. They base their objections

mainly on a 1998 study that was pub-

lished in the British medical journal

the Lancet. The study of just 12 chil-

dren purported to show a correlation between the measles vaccine (which

also protects against mumps and

rubella, or “German measles”) and

autism.

The study was under attack from

the time it was published. In 2010, it

was proven an “elaborate fraud,” as

another British medical journal, BMJ,

put it following its own investigation

in 2011. Nevertheless, as BMJ said in

an editorial, “the damage to public

health continues,” in part “fueled by

unbalanced media reporting….”

There is no “vaccine controversy.”

The measles vaccine does not cause

autism in anyone. That is the only

thing the media should report. It is

just not what sells newspapers andspikes broadcast ratings. Anti-vac-

cine proponents continue to per-

petuate the autism myth virtually

unchallenged in print and on the air.

Equally dangerous — or perhaps

even more so because of the role it

surely plays in keeping peace from

break ing out betwe en Israe lis and

Palestinians — is the story told in

an article recently published by

online in Tablet. Written by a former

reporter for the Asso-

ciated Press, Matti

Friedman, the article

exposed how outright

hostility towards Israel

— and Jews — at the AP

and other major mediaresults in routine dis-

tort ions and fa lse

reporting that demon-

izes Israel and fuels the

growing anti-Isra

North Jersey Jewish Standard, February 13, 2015

Documents

Transcript of North Jersey Jewish Standard, February 13, 2015