South Florida Jewish Times Issue 1

$1.00 WWW.SFLJT.COM !jnau raf dj VOL. 1 NO.
1 11 NISSAN 5770 um ,arp MARCH 26, 2010

See Page 92
INSIDE
Shidduch Crisis
Barry Holzer, MD 18
Dates And Double Dates
Hannah Reich Berman 34
MindBiz
Esther Mann, LMSW 36
Passover 1945
Dr. Rafael Medoff 66
Four Sons
Nison Gordon 69
One Israel Fund awards.

See Page 80
“Az Yashir” by Yonah Weinrib – The drama of K’rias Yam Suf is captured majestically in
The Illuminated Torah, wherein the twelve rows for the twelve tribes of Israel are depicted. Fruit trees and
water were miraculously provided, as the Pillar of Fire brought punishment upon Egyptians.
WHAT ARE YOU FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK OBAMA-LIVNI

DRINKING THIS BY LARRY GORDON COLLUSION
YU cholent champs.
SUSPECTED
See Page 67
PESACH? Pesach In Florida BY GIL RONEN
BY ZVI BORNSTEIN
Ever since the Jewish people sarily a trek that takes us into Twice in the course of two
My family’s tradition has packed up and hit the road for the desert (unless you are going weeks, Israel–U.S. relations have
always been to drink wines that first Passover celebration to Arizona). For those on the been strained when Israeli
from the Holy Land for Pesach. on the way out of Egypt, we just move, the direction most often media published news of techni-
After all, that is part of the story can’t seem to shake the habit. taken is south—and, in many cal approvals granted to building
of our redemption. However, up Not that it’s a bad thing by any instances, to our beloved South projects in eastern Jerusalem—
until 15 years ago the choices stretch of the imagination, but Florida. first in Ramat Shlomo and then
were really very limited. That as we inch our way toward I’ve spent a good number of at the Shepherd Hotel com-
was around the time that Pesach it is, for many, also time Pesachs in Florida, and I’ve pound. Both times, the leaks
Israelis discovered the joys of to break out the suitcases, just enjoyed every overheated came out just as Prime Minister
Marking 108th birthday of wine culture, and the quality of as our ancestors did more than moment. Why do we so crave Binyamin Netanyahu was about
Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt’l. Israeli wine improved. But it 3,000 years ago. Florida? What makes Miami to meet one of the United States’
See Page 89 wasn’t until 10 years ago that the For Jews on the move at this Beach and shemurah matzah two most senior officials: Vice
time of year, the movement is
CANDLE LIGHTING Continued on Page 14 not out of Egypt, nor is it neces- Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 13
MIAMI BEACH AREA
March 26 – 7:16 PM
March 29 – 7:18 PM
March 30 – 8:15 PM*
*or later
2 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES
SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 3
FROM THE EDITOR South Florida—and this includes and August. hotel for Pesach. Still, that would mean
Continued from Front Cover many areas beyond Miami Beach—has I know it is starting to sound as though that somewhere between thirty- and
become a home away from home for almost everyone in my cloistered world is sixty-thousand people are packing into
such a dynamic combination? Well, you Jews from all over the world. It has going to Florida or some other vacation Pesach hotels in New York, Florida,
would have to search all of our personal become so much of a bigger and better destination for Pesach, and that is clearly Arizona, California, New Jersey, the
family histories for the appropriate Poconos, and a variety of other luxury
insight. spots over the next week.
Let’s place the relationship of the I know some people that have not
Jewish people and South Florida in con- spent Pesach at home in more than 35
text. Simply stated, we have good reasons
for going there. Up here in New York, it’s
It’s not one of those American years. And I also know plenty of people
who have never spent Pesach away from
frequently damp and cold with even the their home and would not even consider
possibility of snow at this time of year. In locations that temporarily sets up it. Each feels strongly about their position
Florida, on the other hand, even though on the matter. Some used to say that
there was a pretty tough winter this year,
you can rest assured that come Pesach it’s
shop to make things user-friendly ensuring the stringencies of kashrus that
are central to a proper Pesach observance
going to be all warmth and sunshine. is just not possible away from home, in a
And warm and sunny on a festive holi- for observant Jews and is then just hotel preparing meals for a thousand peo-
day like the upcoming one is always ple or more.
preferable to cold, rainy, or snowy. But
our relationship with South Florida is not
as quickly dismantled. But the kashrus systems and proce-
dures in all these hotels have been
simply built on a tropical climate and a streamlined and perfected. Weeks prior
nice getaway from the freezing tempera- to yom tov, the kashrus staff is down
tures up north. It’s not one of those there scouring the kitchens, blowtorch-
American locations that temporarily sets tourist draw that it is an almost twelve- not the case. I have informally concluded ing the ovens, and carefully checking and
up shop to make things user-friendly for month-a-year place to take a vacation that only about 5 to 10 percent of the rechecking the thousands of pounds of
observant Jews and is then just as quickly in, despite the exceedingly high temper- Orthodox Jewish population in the U.S. foodstuffs that will make the culinary
dismantled. atures and elevated humidity in July makes the move into a usually pricey aspect of the chag fulfilling (or filling) and
enjoyable. There are strict controls on
what comes in and what goes out of
those kitchens. These days it’s not unlike
your own home.
Still, while Pesach at home costs a
great deal of money, going to a hotel
costs many times more. Many of those
who have the material wherewithal to
enjoy this type of indulgence see no rea-
son not to pack up and move into a
hotel for the chag.
This year, as was the case last year, per-
haps the best buys for Pesach away from
home are in Israel, where you can find
nice hotels to accommodate you for a lit-
tle more than $1,000 per person. Add air-
fare to that—and figure in the fact that
you are in Eretz Yisrael and not Broward
County—and you might have a pretty
good thing going there.
But let’s pay tribute for a moment to
those who are in the overwhelming
majority—those who will not be going
anywhere but from the kitchen to the
dining-room table and back over the hol-
iday. For them, the hard work started a
long time ago. There are the lists of fami-
ly and guests who will be joining the fes-
tival meals. There’s making sure there is
significantly more than needed, as is the
usual custom in our homes. And then the
cooking begins.
Beyond the focus of the great miracles
our people experienced during the
Exodus from Mitzrayim, the next big
thing was originally the succulent roast-
ed Paschal sacrifice, eaten without much
in the way of side dishes. My, how things
have changed since those days of that
massive Pesach take-out order!
Pesach is hard work, no matter how
you cut it. It requires weeks of prepara-
tion whether you are indeed going to
sunny Florida or staying closer to home
(or actually at home). So whether you’re
making a list of kugels your guests and
family will dine on or a list of which out-
fits to take along with you on your trip,
you are already deeply immersed in the
holiday preparations.
Either way, it will hopefully be a won-
derful yom tov for all, whether Jet Blue is
included in your plans or not. Chag
sameiach. ❖
Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at
editor@5tjt.com.
America’s relations with Israel; he’s trying
Collusion to organize Tzipi Livni’s campaign for
Continued from Front Cover
prime minister, or at least for her inclusion
President Joe Biden in the first, and in a broad-based centrist government,”
President Barack Obama in the second. Goldberg wrote. “The goal,” he explained,
Some nationalist analysts think this is “is to force a rupture in the governing
no coincidence, and the conspiracy theo- coalition that will make it necessary for
ries are making their rounds. One nation- Netanyahu to take into his government
alist newspaper sees collusion between Livni’s centrist Kadima Party . . . and form
Obama and Israeli opposition leader a broad, 68-seat majority in Knesset that
does not have to rely on gangsters, mes-
sianists, and medievalists for votes.”
Gilad Erdan, Minister ‘The Prophet Yoel’

Under the headline “The Prophet Yoel,”
Lord also noted that Reshet Bet govern-
for Environmental ment-run radio recorded MK Yoel Hasson,
a Livni confidant, predicting mysterious-
Protection, also said ly one week before Biden arrived in Israel
that “in the coming weeks it will become
that Tuesday’s news obvious just how flimsy the relations
between Netanyahu, the Europeans, and
was “left-wing spin.” the Americans really are.”
When asked, after the Biden flap, how
he had seemed to predict that such a cri-
sis was coming, Hasson “smiled mysteri-
Tzipi Livni (Kadima). Another news ously.”
source blames media mogul Arnon Lord’s conclusion: the affair was engi-
Moses, owner of Yediot Acharonot and the neered with Kadima’s help.
Ynet news website.
Amnon Lord, editor of the nationalist ‘Treason’
newspaper Makor Rishon, noted in a Meanwhile, Jerusalem city councilman
front-page article on Friday that Jeffrey Elisha Peleg suggested that the Israel
Goldberg of The Atlantic, who is close to Security Agency (Shin Bet) should launch
the Obama administration, hinted rather an investigation to find the individuals
broadly that Obama was behind the very responsible for news of the permits mak-
leak—regarding construction of 1,600 ing headlines when it did. “I would ask the
housing units at Ramat Shlomo—that ISA to find out who are those who believe
supposedly surprised the administration that Palestinian interests are more impor-
and made it so angry.
“Obama is not trying to destroy Continued on Page 28

hints of chocolate and a pleasant tart-
Passover Wines ness. Can be paired with medium fla-
Continued from Front Cover
vored grilled or sauced chicken or fish
country’s wine industry really gained sig- dishes.
nificant ground, driven by a young, inter- Binyamina Yogev Cabernet/Shiraz
nationally oriented generation. 2007. 50% Cabernet/50% Shiraz. Gemmy
From the northern elevations of the fruit aroma that displays ripe forest
866-978-6500 Galilee and the Golan Heights, to the berries against a soft backdrop of spicy
editor@SFLJT.com coastal plains and down to the Negev oak and a trace of vanilla. Soft silky tan-
ads@SFLJT.com
Desert in the south, Israel is making out- nins and a long finish. Medium bodied
LARRY GORDON BARRY APPEL standing wines with a distinctive style wine that will only get better in the next
Publisher/Editor Managing Editor
and taste. It’s an amazing turnaround for five years. Can be paired with steaks and
YOSSI GORDON, YOCHANAN GORDON
a land that has been mostly overlooked in well seasoned meat.
Sales Managers
the worldwide wine regions. I’m always Castel–Grand Vin. Aged for 24 months
CHANA ROCHEL ROSS
impressed by the leaps in quality that I’ve in French oak, unrefined and unfiltered;
Editorial Assistant
seen in the last 10 years. Finally, Israel is graceful and elegant with dominant tan-
SIDI BARON
YAKOV SERLE
starting to get recognized in the world’s nins. Full-bodied, bold, concentrated, and
Sales Representatives wine arena. The way I see it, it’s just with layers of aromas and flavors that
SHMUEL GERBER MICHELE JUSTIC another fine wine-producing Mediterra- linger on. Look for berries, plums, and a
Chief Copy Editor Copy Editor nean country. hint of olive and spices on the palate.
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS For your tasting pleasure, I have cho- This wine will grow the next five years
Hannah Reich Berman, Anessa V. Cohen, sen 10 Israeli wines that are exceptional and will go well with full-flavored beef or
Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg, Toby Klein Greenwald, Rabbi Yair Hoffman, in every way and display a nice balance of chicken dishes.
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Shmuel Katz,
fruit, oak, mineral elements, and firm Dalton–Matatia, 2006. A blend of 80%
Phyllis J. Lubin, Esther Mann, Rochelle Miller,
Elke Probkevitz, Naomi Ross, structures, as well as rich spicy notes. I’ve Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 5%
Dr. Rachael Schindler, Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow, also included my tasting notes for these Cabernet Franc. Developed in new
Rabbi Avi Shafran, Eli Shapiro, Ari Sher, value wines. Here they are in alphabetical French oak. Aromas of mint, leather, and
Fern Sidman, Samuel Sokol order: a hint of black currant. Nice balance
DOV GORDON, ELISHEVA ELEFANT Agur Kessem 2007. From the Judean between wood, acidity, tannins, and
Staff Graphic Artists Hills, Mata Vineyard. 40% Cabernet fruits with blueberry, black currant, and
IVAN NORMAN, IRA THOMAS Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Petite tangy citrus notes, Long finish with soft
Staff Photographers
Verdot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Various lasting flavors. Can be paired with a vari-
FRANKEL & CO. aromas of berries and plum, it’s a full-bod- ety of red meats and pasta.
Design & Production
ied, multidimensional wine that possess- Flegman–Merlot. Made like Merlot
TALIYE CORLEY es layers of berries, currant, and pleasant should be. Robust berries and forest fruit
Art Director
floral notes. Would pair well with rich with subtle hints of chocolate, cassis, and
SARAH GREENBAUM
meat and duck. earth. Rich oak and soft spice backed by
Assistant Art Director
Barkan Reserve Pinotage 2004. notes of plum and cherry. It’s velvety tan-
The South Florida Jewish Times is an independent weekly newspaper. Opinions expressed by writers and columnists are not necessar-
ily those of the editor or publisher. We are not responsible for the kashrus or hashgachah of any product or establishment advertised
Seasoned plum and raspberry bouquet. nins with a big finish. Made like old
in the South Florida Jewish Times. Structured and medium bodied with
rounded tannins, balanced with subtle Continued on Page 17

A constant fire shall
burn upon the Altar;
it shall never go out
(Vayikra 6:6)
“Constantly”—even on
Shabbat; “constantly”—even
under conditions of ritual
impurity; “it shall never go
out”—also not during the
journeys [through the desert,
when the Altar was covered
with a cloth of purple wool].
What did they do with the
fire during the journeys? They
placed over it a copper bowl.
(Jerusalem Talmud,Yoma 4:6)
Shabbat is when we disengage
ourselves from all things
material; “ritual impurity”
(tum’ah) represents an oppo-
site state—one of excessive
enmeshment in the mundane.
Yet the Torah instructs that
the fire upon the Altar must
be kept burning “even on
Shabbat” and “even under
conditions of ritual impurity.”
There are times when we
believe ourselves to be “above
it all” as the spirituality of the
moment transports beyond
the so-called trivialities of
physical life. Conversely, there
are times when we feel over-
whelmed by those very “trivi-
alities.” Says the Torah: the fire
on your internal Altar must—
and can—be kept burning at
all times. No moment in your
life is too exalted or too
debased to sustain your pas-
sion and enthusiasm in the
fulfillment of the purpose to
which you were created,
which is to raise up to G-d
the materials of your everyday
existence.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
“It shall never go out—also
not during the journeys.”
Special care must be taken
during the “journeys” of life—
the times that a person ven-
tures away from the home
environment that fosters his
character and integrity-so that
the fire in his soul should not
succumb to alien influences.
(Maayanei shel Torah)

Ateret Cohanim Expresses Disappointment Over U.S.–Israel Relations
The American Friends of Ateret new housing construction. Ramat intransigence of the Arabs and their open the State of Israel, but continues to meek-
Cohanim/Jerusalem Chai organization Shlomo, a Chareidi neighborhood in the expressions that nothing less than the ly wag a finger at Iran, we become the
has expressed its “great disappointment northeastern part of Jerusalem, has total destruction of Israel will suffice for laughing stock of the Moslem world.
and sadness” at the U.S. government’s approximately 18,000 residents. Once just them. When the Palestinian Authority And instead of praising the allotment
recent harsh verbal attacks against its a forested area, it is now a beautiful, built- urges the banning of Jews from their own of huge sums for the renovation of
closest Middle East ally, the democratic up area that, until the current “brooha City of Jerusalem and the U.S. administra- national heritage sites including the
State of Israel. For more than 30 years over nothing,” has never been questioned tion concurs in such discriminatory prac- Tomb of Rachel and Hebron’s Cave of
Ateret Cohanim has encouraged and sup- by anyone including the Palestinian tices, all Americans should consider that Machpelah (where both Moslems and
ported the establishment of educational Authority. to be a personal affront to their own Jews pray), the U.S. castigates Israel for its
institutions including yeshivas, nursery “provocations.” Sadly, when Palestinian
schools, day care centers, and play- TV incites Arab children to hatred of Jews
grounds throughout the Old City of and Israelis and encourages terrorism
Jerusalem. It is one of the leading groups When America flexes its muscles at its through its use of offensive cartoons with
that supports the right of Jews to live fuzzy bunny rabbits, no one in the
freely in all parts of their Holy City and friend but continues to meekly wag a Western World considers that to be
urges Arabs and Jews to live harmonious- “provocative.”
ly together. finger at Iran, we become the laughing Something is amiss here.
Targeting the legitimate construction With the greatest respect for our
of homes in portions of Jerusalem, from stock of the Moslem world. President, Barack Obama, the American
which the Jewish majority was forcibly Friends of Ateret Cohanim/Jerusalem Chai
evicted by Jordan in 1947 but liberated urges Mr. Obama and his administration
during the Six Day War, President Barack not to allow America’s friendship with
Obama and Secretary of State Hillary “The astonishing disrespect showed to beliefs of fairness and equality.” Israel to falter; nor should our country
Clinton shockingly lashed out at Prime Israel, particularly by Secretary Clinton,” It seems quite clear that in dealing embark on a path of appeasement that
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with said Jerusalem Chai Executive Vice with the State of Israel, the White House only encourages the Palestinians and other
unprecedented rhetoric and demands. President, Shani Hikind, “has infuriated is practicing a “double standard”—some- Islamic nations to believe that terrorism, or
Allegedly, the current crisis was prompt- many U.S. Senators and Congressmen, not thing this country has always deplored. the mere threat of the same, succeeds.
ed during Vice President Biden’s visit to to speak of the American public at large. While seemingly upset over legitimate Surrendering to the arbitrary and base-
Israel, when a lower echelon Israeli offi- “Indeed, we and they are extremely housing plans, the administration less demands of undemocratic and tyran-
cial announced plans to expand the dismayed,” Hikind declared, “that, in the remains surprisingly silent about the nical regimes at Israel’s expense is merely
northeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of quest for peace—however sincere that Palestinians’ failure to recognize Israel. It the selling of the American soul to those
Ramat Shlomo two years from now. may be—the leadership of our great ignores recent terrorist attacks on inno- who mock us. Only if America stands tall
Prime Minister Netanyahu promptly nation is quick to cast aside its long-time cent civilians and the rioting by Arabs a and proud and courageously adheres to
apologized for the poor timing of the friendship with Israel. The administra- few days ago, obviously emboldened by the biblical principles of truth, integrity,
announcement which, incidentally, did tion has disregarded the sovereignty of a the administration’s scolding. When and justice upon which it was founded
not violate the 10-month moratorium on fellow democracy; it has ignored the America flexes its muscles at its friend, will true peace be achieved. ❖

Full-bodied, with firm structure and soft
Passover Wines tannins, smoky wood, and plum and
Continued from Page 14
currant fruit flavors. This wine is
school Merlots. This wine will pair well designed for current drinking, but
with lighter meats such as veal and lamb should last well for the next five years.
or pasta. Will pair well with full-flavored beef,
Shiloh–Merlot/Shiraz 2005. From the grilled chicken, duck, or veal.
Judean Hills region, 82% Merlot, 18% Before you run out to the nearest
Shiraz. This is a medium-bodied Merlot liquor store, there is one final thought
that features bright, ripe cherry notes bal- I’d like to share with you. Like every-
anced by subtle toasted oak overtones thing else in the Middle East, Israel’s
and hints of vanilla and a soft, velvety wine culture is complicated, subject to
mouth feel. The Shiraz adds dark berry the ongoing conflict of the troubled
flavors and a hint of black pepper. Enjoy region. Many farmers and vintners have
the Shiraz-Merlot with duck, moderately to endure and endanger their lives
spiced chicken or rich pastas. because of the raining Katyusha rockets
Tzuba–Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. in the northern vineyards or the mortar
Another winner from the Judean Hills bombs and rocket shells in the South.
region, this full-bodied, rich wine is very For Israel’s budding wine culture, this
well balanced, with delightful aromas of collateral damage really wreaked havoc
roasted oak, dark berries, and smoky on the local economy. But despite the
notes. Ripe cherry characteristics and soft hardship, Israeli farmers continue to
silky-smooth tannins with a chocolaty sustain and preserve the vineyards, as
herbal finish. Has the potential to over- the vintners create a work of art.
whelm delicate dishes; best with rich So this Seder, as you fill up your glass
beef and lamb dishes. with wine, think of the Israeli farmers
Yarden Winery–Cabernet Sauvignon and their families. Leshanah haba’ah
2004. From the Golan Heights region this b’Yerushalayim! ❖
wine is aged for 18 months primarily in
small French oak barrels. Powerful mature
blackberries, cherry, cassis, and plum notes
with toasty oak, vanilla, and a nuance of At SFLJT.com
spices. It is full-bodied and concentrated you can enjoy articles
with a long complex finish. Will go well
with full-flavored foods, such as peppered in 3 ways:
grilled steak, roasted duck, or lamb.
Yatir Winery–Cabernet Sauvignon 1. Read
2006. Blended with 15% Shiraz, big 2. Print
vibrant wine displaying dark flavors, tar,
bittersweet chocolate, licorice, black 3. Email
currant, and dark roasted coffee beans.

Shidduch Crisis…The Next Chapter
BY RABBI BARRY HOLZER, MD apy, to have the best in the field train research experience with over 3,000 cou- but how they argue. Criticism, defensive-
our counselors. In order to share this ples. He is the author of 190 published ness, contempt, and stonewalling destroy
There is much written about the cur- with as wide an audience as possible, academic articles and author or co- marriages. Responding to your spouse,
rent crisis in the shidduch world, and Nefesh partnered with Yeshiva author of 40 books, including the New never ignoring even seemingly trivial
rightfully so. But, as therapists, we are University–Center for the Jewish Future York Times bestseller, The Seven conversation with your spouse, and giv-
often faced with the issue of helping (CJF), who eagerly embraced the oppor- Principles for Making Marriage Work. ing each other the gift of attention shows
successful shidduchim become success- tunity. CJF was interested not only in Together with his wife, Julie, they have your partner is important to you and
ful marriages. We are all aware of the ris- training it own alumni in pulpits across developed a two-day professional train- builds relationships. Other marriage tips
ing divorce rate in the frum community, the country and its shadchanim in ing that will equip a counselor with a from the Gottmans’ research include:
but solving that crisis has been elusive. YUConnects, but shares the vision of practical and highly effective approach • Seek help early. The average couple
There are programs to give couples bet- waits six years before seeking help for
ter skills before they get married, which marital problems (and keep in mind, half
are very helpful and need wider accept- of all marriages that end do so in the first
ance throughout the community. Once a seven years). This means the average cou-
couple is married and having problems The most successful couples are ple lives with unhappiness for far too long.
in their relationship, how do we help • Edit yourself. Couples who avoid say-
them fix the problems and be successful
in the difficult challenge of creating
those who, even as newlyweds, ing every critical thought when dis-
cussing touchy topics are consistently the
shalom bayis. happiest.
Most frum couples will turn to their refused to accept hurtful behavior • Soften your “start up.” Arguments first
rav to discuss the issues, and often having “start up” because a spouse sometimes
an experienced listener giving them good
advice based on a Torah hashkafah is from one another. escalates the conflict from the get-go by
making a critical or contemptuous
what they need. But too often today, the remark in a confrontational tone. Bring
problems are not easily solved. Whether up problems gently and without blame.
it be a rav or a marriage counselor or ther- • Accept influence. A marriage suc-
apist who is doing the work, satisfaction Nefesh of bringing this to the entire to guiding couples across the chasm that ceeds to the extent that the husband
rates are not very high. spectrum of Orthodoxy by subsidizing divides them. In this workshop, Drs. can accept influence from his wife. If a
In response to this crisis, Nefesh, the the cost. To this goal not only Nefesh John and Julie Gottman provide a woman says, “Do you have to work
International Network of Orthodox members, but all rabbis and rebbetzins research-based roadmap for helping cou- Thursday night? My mother is coming
Mental Health Professionals, decided it are being offered a significant discount ples to compassionately manage their that weekend, and I need your help get-
was time to bring the best training avail- for the two-day workshop, on April 18-19 conflicts, deepen their friendship and ting ready,” and her husband replies,
able to the frum community. Toward in New York, well below the usual fee intimacy, and share their life purpose “My plans are set, and I’m not changing
this goal, Nefesh contacted The the Gottman Institute charges in their and dreams. them,” this guy is in a shaky marriage. A
Gottman Institute, world renowned for own training in Seattle. Gottman’s research has shown that a
its research and training in couples ther- John Gottman has over 35 years of couple’s greatest problem is not conflict, Continued on Page 20

Shidduch: The Next Chapter hard for you”); making it clear you’re on
common ground (“This is our problem”);
issues by uncovering their underlying
dreams, history, and values; methods to
American Israelis
husband’s ability to be influenced by his
backing down (in marriage, as in the mar-
tial art Aikido, you have to yield to win);
help couples process their fights and
heal their hurts; and techniques for cou-
Express Full
wife (rather than vice-versa) is crucial
because research shows women are
and, in general, offering signs of appreci-
ation for your partner and his or her feel-
ples to deepen their intimacy and mini-
mize relapse.
Support For
already well practiced at accepting
influence from men, and a true partner-
ings along the way (“I really appreciate
and want to thank you for . . .”). If an argu-
Clinicians who take this workshop will
be equipped with new methods and tools Netanyahu’s Policy
ship only occurs when a husband can ment gets too heated, take a 20-minute to help couples break the cycle of criticism,
do so as well. break, and agree to approach the topic defensiveness, contempt, and On Construction
• Have high standards. Happy couples again when you are both calm. stonewalling. The goal is to have many rab-
have high standards for each other even • Focus on the bright side. In a happy banim and rebbetzins join clinicians in this In Jerusalem
as newlyweds. The most successful cou- marriage, while discussing problems, cou- training in April and that this be the part of
ples are those who, even as newlyweds, ples make at least five times as many pos- the recognition and response to this evolv- The American Israeli Action Coalition
refused to accept hurtful behavior from itive statements to and about each other ing crisis in our community, to strengthen (AIAC), on behalf of the more than
one another. The lower the level of toler- and their relationship as negative ones. the kedushah of marriage and make 250,000 Americans living in Israel,
ance for bad behavior in the beginning of For example, “We laugh a lot;” not, “We shalom bayis a focus of every Jew in the recently expressed its full support of
a relationship, the happier the couple is never have any fun.” A good marriage must entire frum community. For more informa- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
down the road. have a rich climate of positivity. Make tion about the two-day workshop, visit Netanyahu’s policy on residential con-
• Learn to repair and exit the argument. deposits to your emotional bank account. www.Nefesh.org or call 347-554-0258. ❖ struction in all of Jerusalem and wished
Successful couples know how to exit an In this inspirational two-day work- him success in his meetings in
Dr. Barry Holzer is a child, adolescent, and adult
argument. Happy couples know how to shop, clinicians learn new research- psychiatrist practicing in the Five Towns. He also
Washington D.C. this week. AIAC also
repair the situation before an argument based assessments and effective inter- has offices in Brooklyn and Queens and is a co- called upon Prime Minister Netanyahu
gets completely out of control. Successful ventions to help understand couples’ founder of Nefesh International.
Level 1: Bridging the Couple Chasm—Gottman
repair attempts include: changing the struggles; research-based strategies and Couples Therapy will be presented April 18–19 by
topic to something completely unrelated; tools to help couples successfully man- Nefesh International in conjunction with Yeshiva
using humor; stroking your partner with age conflict; skills that empower couples
University Center for the Jewish Future. It will be AIAC fully supports
held at Yeshiva University’s Belfer Hall, 500 West
a caring remark (“I understand that this is to dialogue about their worst gridlocked 185th Street, New York, NY.
this decision,
condemns the Obama
administration’s
criticism as an insult
to Israel and its
citizens.
not to make any further pre-peace-talks

concessions which would place the
Israeli population in jeopardy.
AIAC is a non-partisan, non-political,
issue-oriented NGO whose purpose is
to represent the united voice of the
more than 250,000 Americans living in
Israel on issues which affect Israel,
Israel-U.S. relations, and the Jewish
people worldwide.
Harvey Schwartz, AIAC chairman, stat-
ed that “Prime Minister Netanyahu is
embarking on what appears to be a fate-
ful trip to Washington D.C. under a cloud
caused by the Obama administration
with its recently uncalled for, unneces-
sary, and undiplomatically harsh criti-
cism of Israel for simply announcing the
approval of new residential construction
in its capital of Jerusalem. AIAC fully sup-
ports this decision, condemns the
Obama administration’s criticism as an
insult to Israel and its citizens, and reiter-
ates its call to President Obama to issue
an apology to Israel. Prime Minister
Netanyahu’s visit to the United States
provides a perfect opportunity for
President Obama to do so.”
“AIAC also expresses its appreciation
to the U.S. Congress and the American
people as a whole for their strong sup-
port for Israel during the Obama admin-
istration-induced crisis,” continued
Chairman Schwartz. “They recognize cor-
rectly that Israel is America’s best friend
in the Middle East and that the Obama
administration’s recent outbursts are
counterproductive, encourage terrorism,
and are an impediment to achieving true
peace among Israel and its neighboring
states. AIAC expresses its hope that the
Obama administration will align its poli-
cies with the desires of Congress and the
American people.” ❖
Sinning
Against
Singles
BY RABBI CHANANYA
WEISSMAN
We take for granted that trying to help
singles marry is a mitzvah. What most
people don’t seem to account for is the
fact that, like all mitzvos, there are param-
eters that define what constitutes per-
forming the mitzvah properly and what
can actually be a sin—even if one’s heart
is in the right place.
If one offers a sacrifice in the Beis
HaMikdash, he is performing a mitzvah.
If one offers the same sacrifice with the
same pure intentions outside the Beis
HaMikdash, he commits a grave offense.
Similarly, one can attempt to arrange a
shidduch and be performing a mitzvah,
but one can also be committing a terri-
ble sin that far outweighs his good
intentions.
The ways in which our community
sins against singles are many and wide-
spread. Because these sins are easily cam-
ouflaged as mitzvos, and because there
are so many nuances and subtleties
involved with helping singles, it is
extremely difficult for many people to
recognize that they may be sinning. It is
all too easy for one to rationalize his
behavior, especially when societal norms
favor “helping” singles in ways that are
not appropriate.
I will provide common examples of
this to help educate the community and
with hopes that those who are well-
meaning will refine the manner in which
they try to help singles. In addition, hope-
fully some people will realize that this
mitzvah is not for them, just as not all
mitzvos are intended to be performed by
all people at all times. Some people may
not yet be equipped to perform the mitz-
vah, and others would be best off avoid-
ing it altogether.
Individuals: Sins Of Speech

Well-meaning individuals sin against
singles with speech and action. They sin
with speech by making a variety of inap-
propriate comments, such as the follow-
ing common examples:
“Why aren’t you married yet?” This
generally comes from people who are
favorably impressed with a single they
don’t know very well. It is intended as a
compliment, as if to say, “You’re so ter-
rific I can’t believe no one snapped you
up!” While masquerading as a mitzvah
by supposedly complimenting the sin-
gle and boosting his self-esteem, it only
draws attention to the fact that he is
still single and puts him on the spot.
After all, how exactly is a person sup-
posed to respond to this? “Yes, I’m won-
derful, and I also can’t believe no one
wants to marry me.” This doesn’t exact-
ly brighten a person’s day.
Sometimes the same question is
asked, but as a genuine inquiry. The
questioner wants to help; he wants to
Continued on Page 22
only be ventured, with humility and hello, to get to know a certain man, misguided and uninformed, and the
Sinning Against Singles sensitivity, if the relationship with the since his wife is a shadchan. (I should damage from these remarks can be
other person and the situation call for have recommended an etiquette spe- tremendous and difficult to undo. True
know what’s holding the single back it. The above declaration is just the cialist for her, but refrained.) A stranger leaders know their limitations and don’t
from getting married so he can try to opposite; it is arrogant and insensitive, approached me and pronounced tread in areas outside their expertise
fix the problem. Needless to say, and it will only hurt, not illuminate. “Speedily! Speedily!” (I wished the without due diligence.
despite the good intentions, the ques- Generally people will make this same for him, though we probably had
tion is entirely tactless and bound to remark to lash out at a single and different things in mind.) Yet another Individuals: Sins Of Action
be hurtful. strike at a raw nerve, not to direct him distant acquaintance sat down next to Individuals sin against singles through
Furthermore, the question presup- on a productive path. They will ration- me and asked me straight off what action primarily in three ways. The first is
poses that there is a clear reason why alize otherwise, but this comment can hishtadlus I was doing. (My response: by setting them up in negligent fashion.
one person may have been fortunate to never be rationalized. “None of your business.”) It is not a mitzvah to set two people up
find the right person and get married on a whim with the rationalization that
while the next person has not been so “it’s only a date,” “you never know,” or
fortunate. That is far from true. Most “you can’t leave a stone unturned.” Save
singles don’t need to be fixed before the flippant attitude for your own shid-
they are marriageable, and plenty of
married people have tremendous prob-
We create dating events that duch search if you really believe in it, and
show a little more concern for the wel-
lems and issues that may make their fare of others.
relationships very unpleasant. If things resemble bad game shows and Bad experiences, and even a series of
worked out a little differently, plenty of neutral but unsuccessful experiences, can
singles would be married and plenty of
married people would still be single.
offer singles icebreakers suitable take a lot out of a person, and many such
experiences can be avoided by doing just
Hence, to presuppose that there is a a little homework. I am against the Secret
“reason” why someone is single is very for small children. Service-like investigations common in
shortsighted and even insulting. some circles, but one should take setting
Besides, even if there is a reason why people up seriously enough to get their
someone is single, what makes anyone so facts straight and put some serious
sure he is able to help—or that it is even thought into the matter. Ask the right
his business? “Im yirtzeh Hashem by you!” Singles Unless it is appropriate for fringe questions, pay attention to the answers,
“This is why you aren’t married.” This often bristle at this remark, which acquaintances and strangers to make sim- and never lose sight of what the other per-
is an incredibly presumptuous and offen- tends to come from people on the ilar well-intentioned comments to child- son is going through. Fail to do so, and it’s
sive comment that is nevertheless quite fringes of their life—if even that less couples, the severely ill, or those in a sin at worst, and a severely blemished
common. It is never appropriate for any- close—and only draws attention to dire economic straits, it is not appropri- mitzvah at best. Even if it works out, it’s in
one to say this to someone. Never. their single status. Personal remarks by ate to make such comments to singles spite of the effort, not because of it.
Unless one is a prophet, he cannot people on the fringes of someone’s life about their personal status. A little tact Individuals also sin against singles by
possibly know why anyone else is not are generally not appropriate, even if means more than a perfunctory blessing. broaching the idea of setting them up and
married, does not have children, or is well-intentioned. Rabbis and other people of influence then failing to follow through. It’s star-
otherwise not blessed in a certain fash- At one memorable wedding, a dis- should be especially careful before tling how common this is, and complete-
ion. The best anyone can manage is an tant cousin who has no relationship speaking about these issues. Much of ly inexcusable. Don’t start something you
educated guess, and even this should with me advised me, with barely a what is said by such people is terribly aren’t committed to seeing through.

A third sin is committed when people against singles. We create dating events that resemble sake of changing.
disparage singles’ ability to make proper Singles tend to be transient, and thus bad game shows and offer singles ice- Singles sin against themselves by fail-
decisions for themselves. There is a fine more commonly find themselves the breakers suitable for small children to ing to take charge of their personal lives,
line between offering well-timed advice new person in town—without the built- help lessen the pressure and awkward- and instead waiting for others to do
and meddling too closely in someone’s in companionship and social entry of a ness. Just not smart thinking. things for them. If the events out there
personal affairs, and many people don’t spouse. It is incumbent on every shul to The community sins against singles by are not to your liking, organize your own.
even recognize that such a line exists have some sort of welcoming committee driving them away from an observant If the community isn’t working for you,
when it comes to singles. If someone or similar mechanism to help new people lifestyle. I personally have encountered then work to change the community. If
decides not to pursue a relationship with feel at home and become integrated into more than a few people who drifted away you see someone interesting, strike up a
someone, for example, his decision the community. Singles don’t necessarily from observance because they felt they conversation with that person. If you had
should be respected, not become the need meals or shidduch dates, but they had to choose between being obser- a good time on the date, ask that person
basis for critical remarks. need to feel like a valued member of the vant—shidduch system and all—and ever out again, directly. It is normal to reject
A single should never be made to feel community. Singles flee to places like the getting married. No one should ever have and to be rejected. It is not normal to
like a chesed project or a lesser person. Upper West Side—no great sanctuary in to make such a choice. have a third party do the real communi-
One who sets singles up without show- its own right—because they are often The community sins against singles by cating for you.
ing them the same respect and regard made to feel unwelcome and disregarded repackaging the same failed ideas in dif- Singles sin against themselves by sub-
they would show a married adult is cer- in more family-oriented communities. ferent wrapping paper and presenting it stituting real hishtadlus with praying in
tain to sin repeatedly against them. I This has to change. as something exciting. Prior generations cemeteries, adopting strange pseudo-reli-
would advise such people to find a differ- The community sins against singles by did not know of a crisis of this nature, so gious customs, and trying far-fetched,
ent, safer mitzvah with which to occupy closing off natural meeting opportunities we should look to them for guidance painful things like degrading singles
themselves, and to leave this one to peo- such as wedding meals, concerts, and instead of pretending it was always done events. Acts of desperation such as these
ple with more refined character and other events at which there is no com- this way or, worse, claiming it has to con- are not hishtadlus; quite the reverse, in
interpersonal skills. pelling reason to fence men and women tinue to be this way. Nonsense. Things fact. True hishtadlus is taking normal,
off from one another. We do not have a had to change to become like this, and sensible measures to attain a goal while
The Community crisis of Jews acting inappropriately at they can just as easily change again—this putting one’s trust in Hashem.
The community at large sins against these events, so these suffocating, unnec- time for the better. I am optimistic that things really can
singles in a variety of ways. This “crisis” essary strictures that only create other change for the better. But it won’t happen
didn’t just appear out of thin air, after all. problems must be removed. Singles by itself or through an act of G-d. It will
Our community has gone off track, and The community sins against singles by Singles sin against themselves as well. only happen when singles, married peo-
unless it seriously changes course, the substituting natural meeting opportuni- They sin against themselves by allowing ple, and the community at large face up
problems will only continue. ties with all manner of degrading, ineffi- themselves to be degraded and mistreat- to the real issues and commit to mean-
The community sins against singles cient, and generally ineffective consola- ed because they are afraid of being stig- ingful changes. It can happen. It starts
first and foremost by trivializing the tion prizes. We don’t let singles meet one matized. They sin against themselves by with you.
problem. There is no one “problem”— another at the wedding, but we console doing all manner of things that aren’t true That’s a mitzvah. ❖
such as “singles are too picky,” “there them that maybe someone will take pity to themselves “for shidduch purposes,” as
aren’t enough men,” or everyone’s on them and set them up. No deal. if they wish to marry someone who does- Rabbi Chananya Weissman is the founder of
favorite scapegoat, “television”—that is We replace non-pressurized events n’t appreciate them for who they really EndTheMadness (www.endthemadness.org), a
volunteer effort to rehabilitate the culture of the
responsible for a culture that makes dat- with events that have married chaper- are. They sin against themselves by never shidduch world and www.hotkiddush.com, a
ing and marriage so difficult. To trivialize ones, shadchanim, and “facilitators,” lest developing a true sense of self and a sen- free networking site geared for the Orthodox
community. He blogs at
the problem is to ignore the real issues, singles talk to one another instead. Not sible derech that they can stick with www.daasyachid.blogspot.com and can be
and to ignore the real issues is to sin good enough. instead of changing things just for the contacted at admin@endthemadness.org.

fact of the rising is representative of the the matter of reading Megillas Esther. Our
hubris and ego that are a vital component Sages say that if one reads the Megillah
of humanity. It’s about our personal backwards, he is not considered to have
pride—the stature that we’ve developed performed the mitzvah of reading the
(or think we’ve developed) for ourselves, Megillah. Commentators interpret this as
and perhaps even excessive doses of self- meaning that one who views the events
esteem (something they say is in short of the Megillah as a series of events that
supply these days). These are all necessary happened to some other people at some
The Search For Chametz elements one needs in order to survive;

but at the same time, we have to measure
them carefully so as not to overdose to
other time is not observing the holiday
properly. And it makes a great deal of
sense, because why would someone want
BY LARRY GORDON superficial dietetic changes we make at the point of having too much pride or to read the Megillah backwards, anyway?
the midpoint of the month of Nissan. hold ourselves in too high esteem. On the matter of the Seder, though, we
The story is retold every year at this For many of us, the entire Pesach exer- And this is what the flip side of are challenged with entering into a frame
time about an elderly, holy Jew who cise is, to an extent, about searching— chametz—i.e., matzah—is all about: the of mind that places us there on the scene.
resided in just one room in a small not for just a few weeks before Pesach, failure to rise allows us to consider our- We are there in those final hurried
Russian town and the ordeal he endured but actually for months. We’re looking selves to be something that in essence we moments, as Jews packed up to leave
in his search for chametz on the night and searching for hotels to go to, and, really are not. The Jewish people were in their personal Diaspora that many con-
before the yom tov of Pesach. Though he once we find one, we start to shop like such a rush to leave the land of our sidered home and, despite the hardships
lived in just one small room, the search maniacs for clothing to wear l’kavod yom enslavement that the dough they intend- and discomforts, probably felt rather
took him all night, till the sun would rise tov and in accordance with the most ed to bake bread with for the trip into the accustomed to. We learned that we could
in the morning. As we become reorient- stringent formulas of holiday obser- desert had no time to rise, and therefore not have made it out of the Egyptian
ed with the concept of chametz this time vance. For those of us staying home, the we eat matzah on Pesach. We do so to exile on our own. We had no Torah yet,
of year, we learn from the story of this search for clothing is similar, though not commemorate those great days—the we were physically worn down, and the
rebbe that the search for chametz we tra- filled with the same inspired and reli- turning point that culminated in the cre- Egyptians did a pretty good job of inte-
ditionally conduct is not simply about gious zeal as for those traveling for the ation of the Jewish People after hundreds grating our young people and assimilat-
little pieces of bread, a wooden spoon, holiday. Additionally, for those spending of years of torturous physical exile. ing them into everyday life in Mitzrayim.
and a candle. yom tov at home, there is the inevitabili- One of the fascinating things—and Taking a further look into the story of
The elderly Jew’s search for chametz ty of guest lists, food lists, and meal always one of the great challenges— the Jewish experience in exile, we find a
took him through his little apartment as menus. So, in effect, the search for about Pesach is that according to Jewish deeper meaning to the tragic tale of how
well as through the year that had tran- chametz before the chag is really only the law and tradition, on the Seder night we Pharaoh chose to deal with the miracu-
spired, from the conclusion of the last culmination of months of searching for are obligated to view ourselves as if we lous numbers of offspring the Jewish
Pesach to the arrival of the new one. The one thing or another. actually were part of that great group women were producing—sometimes six
arrival of and the preparation for Pesach Certainly the most challenging search tour, that first Pesach away and on the children per birth. Pharaoh chose to com-
took him on a search for the chametz in is for the chametz in our hearts and road to redemption. Interestingly mand his people, in order to control the
his heart and in his mind, and all that the minds. In a way, this is a never-ending enough, the same thing is said about Jewish population, to simply toss all the
concept of chametz represents. The ideas process which has to entail a great deal of Purim—that we are required to view our- Jewish males to their death into the Nile
represented by the switch we make every introspection and, well, soul-searching. selves as having been saved from the evil River. Pharaoh’s plan for the Jewish future
year from consuming leavened bread to After all, this is what chametz really repre- decree of Haman just like out ancestors was far more complex than an ancient
matzah and matzah-based products is sents on an esoteric level. Being chametz, were more than 2,300 years ago. This is “final solution.” The Nile River was wor-
deep, and it represents more than the or leavened, means that it has risen. The brought down by our commentators on shipped as a god in Egypt, and it was the

source of livelihood for all of itself is derived from the chametz, and not just the annu-
that country’s people. It rarely Hebrew word “tza‘ar” or al perfunctory roundup of ten
rains in Egypt, and the fields “meitzar,” which means “that small pieces of challah or rye
that supply the grain and pro- which afflicts or constricts.” bread to symbolically demon-
duce for the country receive the Two times each day when we strate the gathering and the dis-
water they need only when the recite the third and final para- posing of the chametz from our
Nile crests and overflows, there- graph of the Shema, we say the ownership. It’s a good time to
by watering the fields. As a words, “I am the L-rd your G-d, look into our hearts and find
result, the Nile was the source of who has taken you out of the that which needs to be cleansed
all commerce throughout the land of Egypt, to be for you as a and excised. But the key is to
land of Egypt; it represented on G-d . . .” And this could very well look into our own hearts—not
all levels everything that was have a double meaning. On a those of our neighbors.
successful about the country. simple level, it references the The question is posed as to
Without the Nile, Egypt would watershed moment in Jewish why we burn all the utensils
cease to be a viable country. history—the Exodus from with which we ceremoniously
So, according to some, when Egypt. gather up the chametz during
Pharaoh demanded that his sub- On a more contemporary and the search. It’s understandable
ordinates throw the Jewish easily applicable level, that we have to burn the feather
male children into the Nile, he “Mitzrayim,” or that which con- and the wooden spoon, because
was not only ordering them to stricts us, is something we deal they actually come in contact
murder Jewish babies; he was with on various levels every with the bread, the chametz. The
also asking them to see to it that week and every day. That which question is, though, why do we
the Jewish children be thrown restricts us or troubles us or also burn the candle? After all,
into whatever the Nile repre- oppresses us in our everyday the candle did not come in con-
sented: commerce, socializa- lives—whether on a personal or tact with the bread at all; it only
tion, assimilation—everything professional level—can be hovered above the action to illu-
that makes a country workable viewed as our own personal minate the search. The answer
and functioning. Short of Mitzrayim from which our faith is that a candle or a light that
enslaving and torturing its Jews, in Hashem liberates us daily, finds chametz—and all its mani-
Egyptians wanted more than even constantly. Yes, there is a festations—by a Jew deserves to
anything else to integrate them Mitzrayim somewhere out there be burnt along with the
into all levels of their society. on the border with Gaza at the chametz.
Elsewhere, however, there were other end of the Sinai. And they Chag sameiach to all. ❖
other plans. have tunnels that are dug under- Comments for Larry Gordon are
So how do you sit at the Seder ground and through which welcome at editor@5tjt.com.
in 2010 and actually see, feel, armaments continue to be
and visualize yourself as having smuggled to terrorists who
been enslaved in Egypt—as hav- threaten, harm, and inflict pain
ing been one of the chosen on Jews up to this very day. And
members of the fledgling Jewish there is the Mitzrayim in which
nation that was actually scurry- our ancestors were actual slaves
ing on that first night of the very and in which countless male
first Pesach to scoot out of children were systematically
Mitzrayim so as not to become killed for no reason other than
irretrievably sunk down to a their Jewishness—and the liber-
level of spiritual contamination ation from which we mark and
that could never be recovered celebrate on the Seder night and
from? Our commentators tell us throughout Passover.
that had we not left Egypt at And we prepare for this
that specific moment, we may observance by searching for
have actually lost our chance to chametz. We search our homes
do so and would be gone as a and our offices, and we are also
people—forever. instructed to search our hearts
But is feeling that way on the and minds. Like Mitzrayim
Seder night actually doable, or is itself, chametz is an all-encom-
it nothing but indulgence in passing and pervasive concept.
some kind of virtual-reality exer- Maybe that’s why it is incum-
cise that was ahead of its time? bent upon us to search for, find,
How are we supposed to deal and destroy our own chametz,
with this stuff? We have a diffi- and there is no such custom to
cult enough time relating to search for your neighbors’ or
contemporary problems that friends’ chametz (which you
intimately impact on modern would no doubt have a much
Jewish life—like terror in Israel easier time finding). Chametz
as well as an upsurge in anti- represents hubris and conceit.
Semitism around the world. Can Matzah is representative of
we sit at the Seder table, humility—the nullification of
whether away or at home, and the self that facilitates the unity
actually place our lives in a and uniqueness of Am Yisrael—
3,000-years-ago context? the then newly created Jewish
I’m sure that many are able to People preparing to travel
do that, especially those who through the desert and encamp
have achieved the ability to at Mount Sinai to receive the
view all of Jewish life and Torah.
Jewish history as a mysterious We have learned that the cir-
yet uninterrupted continuum cumstances surrounding the
from the days of Adam and Eve redemption from Egypt are a
up until today. For others, how- forerunner to the circumstances
ever, it’s important to under- that will surround the ultimate
stand that the concept of and final redemption of the
Mitzrayim, Egypt, is not limited Jewish People, may it happen
to a geographical context of an speedily in our days. Perhaps an
ancient nation thousands of integral part of those circum-
years ago. The word “Mitzrayim” stances is our internal search for
Collusion
Continued from Page 13 The Bibi–Obama Meeting, From The Inside
tant than Israeli interests,” he told IDF BY LARRY GORDON attacks by Arabs in Israel and as a safe order to survive, Bibi will have to bring
Radio, saying that “treason” was involved. haven for perpetrators of terror. The the left-leaning Kadima party into the
The Jerusalem municipality issued a Perhaps feeling confident, charged, official, who asked not to be identified ruling coalition.
statement saying that the report regard- and energized in the aftermath of his because he was not authorized to Asked if Ms. Livni or even Labor leader
ing Shepherd Hotel was “distorted” and health-care victory earlier this week, speak on the matter, said that Ehud Barak in the role of Prime Minister
“is meant to stir up a provocation during President Barack Obama set his sights “demands are being made on could meet Obama’s demands, the
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit in Tuesday night and Wednesday on Netanyahu that cannot be met.” That American Jewish leader, who is close to
Washington.” Israel, attempting to impose his will means that if Netanyahu does accede the Netanyahu government, said that
“The plan was approved in July 2009 by and publicly humiliate Prime Minister they absolutely could not.
the local committee,” the municipality Benjamin Netanyahu. For now, the Netanyahu effort is to
noted. “Its approval was published in the As we went to press, Netanyahu was buy time and calm the difficult atmos-
media at the time. The landowners only paid still in Washington, working with his phere that has evolved over the last week
the fees on March 15, 2010, and approval was diplomatic staff in the hope of crafting For now, the or so. Support for Israel and Jerusalem is
granted automatically after that.” a statement that can both satisfy Mr. still rock-solid in Congress, and Israel
Gilad Erdan, Minister
Environmental Protection, also said that
for Obama and reduce the high tension that
for the first time in half a century stands
Netanyahu effort is needs to nudge the process closer to the
U.S. mid-term elections, as being pro-
Tuesday’s news was “left-wing spin.” He to endanger the unique relationship Israel generally translates into votes
called it “idle chatter that left-wing ele- between the U.S. and Israel. According to buy time and around most of the country. That’s an
ments are looking to use to muddy to American Jewish sources, “Obama is additional reason why Mr. Obama is in
Netanyahu’s name, even at the expense of turning the screws on Netanyahu, calm the difficult such a hurry to pressure Netanyahu into
ties with the U.S.” threatening the very nature of the concessions that cross Israel’s traditional
U.S.–Israel relationship.” According to atmosphere that red lines—as, politically speaking, time is
Was It Noni? this source, Obama wants an announce- of the essence.
News1, a news website owned and
operated by hard-hitting independent
ment from Netanyahu that says that
building in East Jerusalem will be imme-
has evolved over The Obama persona that is emerging
and his stance toward Israel is exactly
newsman Yoav Yitzchak, had its own the- diately halted for the duration of the what had been feared in the past,
ory regarding the embarrassing leaks. He negotiations between Israel and the the last week or so. though the hope was that the relation-
noted that the Shepherd Hotel leak was Palestinians. The source said that they ship would not come to this. According
first published in Ynet, and he cited believe that Obama specifically wants to the source, Obama lashed out at the
unnamed political sources that estimated Netanyahu to commit to reopening prime minister, assuring him of unprece-
that Arnon (Noni) Moses was trying to Orient House in East Jerusalem, which to Obama’s demands, his government, dented international isolation if he
bring down Netanyahu’s government. once served as the seat of what was which is held together by right-wing wouldn’t agree to the president’s terms.
Moses is waging a business war against a then an illegal Palestinian government parties, will not be able to survive. It is unlikely that will happen, and Israel
new rival, Yisrael HaYom, which threatens functioning in Jerusalem. And that is in part the objective of has to now prepare itself for what
his newspapers’ ascendancy in the Israeli Prior to the closing of Orient House Mr. Obama and Secretary of State should not really be considered such an
market. Yisrael HaYom is owned by by Israeli police about ten years ago, it Clinton—to manipulate the situation unusual place on the world stage—that
Sheldon Adelson, who is considered close was found to be functioning as a head- to the point where the Netanyahu gov- is, standing alone like the proverbial
to Netanyahu. (Arutz Sheva) ❖ quarters for the planning of terror ernment cannot survive—or, that in lamb surrounded by 70 wolves. ❖

V’Higadta L’Vincha:
Shuvu’s Pesach Preparations
“It’s a machloket between the Chazon known not just for the high level of its
Ish and Rav Chaim Na’eh. According to studies, both secular and of course
the Chazon Ish, a revi’it is 150 milliliters, limudei kodesh, but also for the emphasis
When Yonatan noticed how excited the

The children at Shuvu receiving their Pesach packages.
second-place winner was about the
camera, he happily switched prizes. shining stone. Not a day goes by without
reports in the daily papers in Israel
trips lasting several days). From experi-
ence, the schools knew that students
regarding violence in schools, alcoholism would fill up their canteens with noth-
among students, and tznius issues. The ing less than alcoholic beverages. Sadly,
daily paper Ma’ariv reported last week the school staff was not able to trust its
while according to Rav Chaim Naeh it’s placed on derech eretz. In the unfortu- that several schools in Israel forbade stu- student body, and they had no choice but
only 86, the gematriya of kos.” nate reality of the youth in Eretz Yisrael dents from bringing water canteens on
Although one might assume that these today, Shuvu children stand out like a their annual tiyulim shnati’im (school Continued on Page 32
words came out of a frum-from-birth reg-
ular yeshiva bachur, they were actually
just uttered last week by Yonatan
Geinkin, a seventh grader in the Shuvu
Rishon Letzion School, in response to a
question on a quiz of hilchos Pesach.
Yonatan grew up in a home foreign to
Yiddishkeit and knew practically nothing
about Judaism until just a few years ago,
when he joined Shuvu.
Yonatan and 14 other contestants
from his Shuvu Rishon Letzion School
and from the Shuvu Ashdod School con-
gregated in Rishon Letzion for the final
and public stage of the quiz—to test
their knowledge on the halachos of
Pesach, and to add to the knowledge of
their many classmates present in the
crowd. The quiz questions were present-
ed through short movie clips starring
the students of the class, making the
contest exciting and interesting for the
non-contestants as well. Everyone in
the crowd sensed the combination of
delight, even disbelief, and much, much
nachas, as they heard the children
answering with confidence and great
bekius.
A sign of the standing Shuvu has in
general, and in Ashdod and Rishon
Letzion in particular, was the atten-
dance of three gedolim at the event.
Hagaon Harav Yehuda Silman, shlita,
one of the great poskim in Bnei Brak and
the posek for Shuvu, was joined by the
Chief Rabbi of Rishon Letzion, Harav
Yehuda Volpe, shlita, and Chief Rabbi of
Ashdod, Harav Yosef Sheinin, shlita. All
three rabbonim were amazed at what
they were witnessing. Rav Silman could-
n’t get over the children’s knowledge in
general, and particularly their under-
standing of sha’ot zmani’ot regarding sof
zman achilas chametz and sof zman
hana’ah. “I didn’t expect Shuvu students
who only recently were introduced to
learning, to have such an understanding
of the halachah!” the rav remarked
excitedly. Rav Volpe and Rav Sheinin
were no less enthusiastic. They both
stood up and gave the children a
brachah that they should grow in Torah
and become true talmidei chachamim.
But it wasn’t just the Torah knowledge
displayed that was impressive. It was the
midos of the children as well. Shuvu is
The Super Popular Tuber
Potatoes are the most popular veg- results as the bakers.
etable in the world. They are available Here are some common varieties you
in hundreds of varieties, which vary in may have seen at the market:
size, shape, taste, color, and starch con- Russet. A brown-skinned, oblong
tent. You might think that all potatoes potato with a white interior, this is one
are basically the same, but there are dif- of the most popular potatoes. It has a
ferences that make one variety better rough skin with numerous eyes and can
for a particular cooking method than grow quite large. The russet is low in
another. For example, red potatoes are moisture and high in starch, making it
best for boiling, and russets are best for good for baking, boiling, and making
Fingerling potatoes
frying and baking. Potatoes are often french fries.

served as a side dish to meat and poul- Red. They are medium-sized with
try, but they are also used as a signifi- thin red skin and white flesh that has a
cant ingredient in many dishes, such as crisp, waxy texture. The flesh can have a
stews, soups, scalloped potatoes, and pink tint but is generally white. They
other casserole-type dishes. are good potatoes for boiling, steaming,
For all practical purposes, potatoes fall and roasting. They keep their shape
into two categories—baking potatoes and when cooked, which makes them a
boiling potatoes. The main difference good choice for dishes that have cooked
between the two types is the amount and potatoes in them, such as potato salad,
nature of starch each contains. scalloped potatoes, soups, and stews.
Baking potatoes are also called starchy Red potatoes are available throughout
potatoes. They tend to be long and have the year.
a coarse, cork-like skin. They are high in Yukon gold. This variety has a light
starch, with a dry, mealy texture; but yellow skin and a rich buttery flavor.
they turn light and fluffy when cooked. They are excellent for boiling and mak-
They are ideal for baking, mashing, and ing mashed potatoes, but are not as good
making french fries. They are light and as russet potatoes for baking. They are
fluffy when baked, light and creamy also more expensive than many com-
when mashed, and really the only potato mon potato varieties, but the flavor com-
worth frying. pensates for the price.
Boiling potatoes are also called New potato. Any variety of potato
waxy potatoes. They come in a variety that is harvested very early in its
of shapes and can be long or round. growth. The waxy skin of these small
They have a thin, smooth skin and an potatoes contains a high level of mois-
almost waxy flesh. They are relatively ture, while its sweet, tender white flesh
high in moisture and sugar, but low in contains a lower level of starch, making
starch. They are ideal for soups, it very suitable for boiling. New pota-
casseroles, potato salad, roasting, and toes can be boiled, baked, fried, or
barbecuing, because of their ability to roasted and are excellent as side dishes
hold their shape. or for use in potato salads, soups, stews,
There are some potatoes that fall in and casseroles.
the middle, or “all-purpose,” category, Fingerling. A small, narrow potato
such as the Yukon gold. They are more that is actually a very young tuber. The
moist than baking potatoes and will potato has a finger-like appearance
hold together in boiling water. They are and a firm texture that varies from
particularly well-suited for roasting, pan moist to dry, with a flavor that ranges
frying, and using in soups, stews, and from mildly sweet to rich and nutty.
gratins. They can be baked, mashed, and Like many other potatoes, the finger-
fried, but will not produce the same ling potato can be baked, boiled, fried,
grilled, roasted, steamed, or
sautéed. There are a variety of
different fingerling potatoes
available.
Purple. This unique-tinted
variety is a smaller oval-shaped
potato with a purplish black
outer skin and a vivid purple,
dense inner flesh. The odd-col-
ored meat adds a distinctive
look to any dish.
Whatever variety you pur-
chase, store your potatoes in a
cool, dry place. They will keep
at room temperature for up to
two weeks, and longer when
stored in cool temperatures. If
potatoes are purchased in a
plastic bag, remove them from
the bag and place them in a
basket or similar container so
they will have enough air cir-
culation. Do not store them in
the refrigerator, because the
cold temperatures will con-
vert the starches into sugar
and the potatoes will become
sweet and turn a dark color
when cooked.
Grilled Potato Salad

With Parsley Pesto
Ingredients:
11⁄2 pounds fingerling potatoes,
cut in half lengthwise
water
1 Tbsp. salt, plus 1 tsp., plus
more for potato water
6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. coarsely ground black
pepper, plus 1 tsp.
1
⁄4 cup pine nuts
11⁄2 cups fresh parsley leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 Tbsp. capers
Directions:
Preheat the grill or grill pan
to medium. In a large
saucepan, add the potatoes
and cover with water. Salt the
water and bring to a boil over
medium heat. Cook until
slightly tender; about 15 to 20
minutes. Remove the potatoes
from the water to a bowl and
let cool. Season with 3 table-
spoons of olive oil, 1 table-
spoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon
of pepper. Arrange on the pre-
heated grill and mark for 1 to 2
minutes on each side.
In a small sauté pan, toast
the pine nuts over medium
heat until lightly browned.
Add the parsley, oregano,
lemon juice, garlic, capers, 1
teaspoon of both salt and pep-
per, 3 tablespoons olive oil,
and the pine nuts to a food
processor. Pulse until the mix-
ture forms a smooth paste. Add
to the potatoes and toss to
coat well. Serve cold or at
room temperature.
Eating quality, delicious meals is easy
when all the work is done for you.
Hire a personal chef to prepare your
dinners, Shabbos meals, or small
parties. For more information, contact
Take Home Chef personal chef services
by calling 516-858-0215, writing to
elke@TakeHomeChef.net, or visiting
www.TakeHomeChef.net.
Shuvu
to provide the drinks them-
selves.
Contrast that to what
occurred at the hilchos Pesach
quiz of Shuvu. The third and
fifth place prizes were switched
by mistake, awarding the fifth
place winner an expensive MP4
and the third place with a less
expensive basketball. After
enjoying having the MP4 in his
possession for a mere few min-
utes, the fifth place winner real-
ized the mistake and went over
to the quiz judges on his own,
pointed out the mistake, and
exchanged the prizes.
The winner of the contest
also showed exemplary midos.
His first place prize was a very
sophisticated camera—some-
thing any teenager would
crave. But when Yonatan
Geinkin noticed how excited
the second-place winner was
about the camera, he happily
switched prizes.
Rav Yochanan Reiner, Rebbe
in the school and coordinator of
the quiz, commented later, “We
thought we were emotional see-
ing the children’s knowledge.
But seeing the love between the
students and the tremendous
midos they displayed after-
wards, made us even more emo-
tional. We were holding back
our tears.”
It is therefore no wonder
that parents are knocking on
Shuvu’s doors to join the
unique network of schools.
Even parents initially opposed
to their children’s learning
about Yiddishkeit, feel it’s
“worth the risk of becoming
frum,” if their children pick up
the Shuvu midos.
The quizzes on hilchos Pesach
which took place at several of
Shuvu’s schools were only the
culmination of the intense
learning of the halachos which
took place at the dozens of
Shuvu schools throughout Eretz
Yisrael in preparation for the
yom tov. As an additional tool to
assist the Shuvu teachers in this
mission, Shuvu’s educational
director, Mrs. Brocha
Weinberger, produced another
thick volume to add to her
series of teachers’ manuals, this
one on Pesach. The volumes
already published include top-
ics of Chanukah, Purim,
Shemittah, and more. These
manuals include much informa-
tion about the subject matter
presented in an entertaining
way for both the teachers and
students, including puzzles,
word games, etc. These manuals
have been received with
extreme enthusiasm by the
Shuvu teachers and principals
as they make the learning more
comprehensive and memorable,
in a clear and enjoyable way.
those cakes to justify a warning. If the that some people bake and then tell
packaging and labeling were up to me, I themselves—and anyone else who will
would alert consumers never to stand listen—that it tastes every bit as good as
near a flame after eating a slice! regular bread. I’m here to tell the truth. It
Of course this is not a long-lasting does not! Pesach rolls are okay, but let’s
problem, since nobody in his right mind not get carried away here. They’re not
would eat that stuff once Pesach is over. A great. If they were, people wouldn’t be
cake that we consider to be tasty during stocking up on the aforementioned
Pesach is treated like poison as soon as snacks as if they were going out of style.
Dates And Double Dates yom tov ends. The only sweets that are as
good after the holiday as they are during
Well, it’s here now. The eight days of
Pesach are upon us, and hopefully we’ll
For years, I had thought double dating was in advance of the date, and then there are it are the home-baked ones. I don’t know enjoy every one of those days, starting
something that happened when two cou- other times that I have found the milk to why this is, but it’s a fact. with the Sedarim. Once again, I must say
ples went out to a movie or dinner together. be perfectly fine several days after the that I don’t know many people who are
But what was, was. That is no longer what expiration date. What is up with that? happy to have two Seders. Because there
double dating means to me. It now has a How is one to know? was once a time when, outside of Israel,
totally new meaning, one that has nothing I believe the answer to that last question A cake that we the exact date wasn’t known, people held
to do with social dating or couples. is that one is not supposed to know! They two Sedarim. (Again with the double
Double dating is something that is don’t want us to know. It’s simply a hoax consider to be tasty dates!) And once we take something
printed on milk containers. Whether the perpetrated either by the dairy farmer or the upon ourselves, we’re not supposed to
milk is in a plastic bottle or a waxed card- bottler—or maybe both of them. It’s done during Pesach is stop doing it. So two Sedarim it will be for
board container, it always has two dates. just to drive me crazy. And it’s working! those of us who don’t live in Israel.
One date, the later one, appears to be for Now that it’s erev Pesach, the date non- treated like poison as Personally this will be a very challeng-
the rest of the cow-juice-drinking world sense is even more perplexing. I’ve been ing time for me. For the first time in 48
and the second date, the one I usually fail known to pick up a quart of milk on a soon as yom tov ends. years, Hubby will not sit, dressed in his
to notice, is for NYC (New York City). That Monday that has a date indicating that it splendid white kittel, at the head of the
second date is always several days earlier will be “good” only until Wednesday. But table to conduct our Sedarim. And, speak-
than the other. And it drives me crazy. Do not if it’s for Pesach! Oh, no—if it’s for ing once again of dates, our anniversary
the cows know something we don’t? Pesach, the product will be good straight I love shopping in the supermarkets would usually fall during Pesach. This year,
I’m never sure if I should pay attention through the middle of May. This is true of before Pesach just to see what people are nobody will wish us a happy anniversary
to the NYC date. I don’t live in NYC. I live cream cheese, cottage cheese, hard cheeses, stocking up on. From what I’ve observed, as they have every year. But it’s still our
on Long Island, so I should be able to eggs, and even milk. The rest of the it appears that people buy five times the anniversary. That won’t change, so: Happy
ignore that “short” NYC date. However, I chametz-eating year it doesn’t work like amount of nuts, candy, potato chips, and Anniversary, Arnie; and our entire family
live on the most westerly part of the that, and I for one would like to know why. potato sticks before Pesach they buy at will do its best to enjoy the Sedarim as we
island outside the five boroughs, and The same is true of cakes for Pesach. any other time of the year. It’s yet anoth- know you would want us to.
hence very close to NYC. So what is a per- The hard plastic domes that cover those er sweet mystery of life. Apparently, May we all—every one of us—enjoy
son to do? This person is never sure delicious-looking chocolate frosted cakes because there is no bread, there is a need them and have a chag kasher v’sameiach! ❖
about it. But my strong suspicion is that started to appear weeks ago, but their to feed our faces with other satisfying
none of the dates means anything—noth- labels indicate that they will be good for snacks. When I refer to not being able to Hannah Berman lives in Woodmere and is a
licensed real-estate broker associated with
ing, zippo, and zero. This is because there several weeks after Pesach ends. My guess eat bread, I mean real, honest-to-good- Marjorie Hausman Realty. She can be reached at
are times when I’ve had milk go sour well is that there are enough chemicals in ness bread, not those phony Pesach rolls Savtahannah@aol.com or 516-902-3733.

Others burst into tears remembering in
Shuvu the back of their minds the Seder night
they had experienced as children in com-
Other Chareidi networks have already munist Russia. All expressed sheer delight
voiced interest in these unique manuals, at the thought that the chain of tradition
realizing the great benefits to be reaped was being connected again. Their chil-
from them. dren were already returning home, and
If every Jewish child is in need of they knew deep down inside that it was
preparatory learning prior to Pesach, at affecting them as well.
Shuvu it’s even more crucial. It’s simply At these model Seders Shuvu also
imperative to have the students come into distributes packages of matzos, grape
the yom tov well prepared. After all, often juice, wine, and Haggadot translated
in Shuvu it isn’t the parents who clean the into Russian. Many Shuvu parents sim-
house, kasher the kitchen, and run the ply cannot afford these products.
Seder, but rather the little kinderlach who Others might have the means but not
assume the role of the head of the family. the push or knowledge to go out and
Instead of the chiyuv of “V’higadta purchase them. But the little children
L’vincha” on leil haSeder, at Shuvu it more are so interested in keeping the
commonly becomes a commandment on mitzvos! They are so desperate to also
the children of “V’higadta L’avicha.” eat matzah as they were taught in
As Shuvu’s founder, HaGaon HaRav school! Can we sit back while they are
Avrohom Yaakov HaKohen Pam, zt’l, in need? Thanks to Shuvu’s “Kimcha
envisioned, changing a family begins DePischa” program, thousands of
with the children. Once the children Jewish families in Eretz Yisrael are able
are brought closer to Torah and to eat matzah and other kosher l’Pesach
mitzvos through the classrooms, they products during the chag.
naturally and subsequently affect their We will sit down shortly and call out:
parents as well. “Kol dichphin yeisei v’yeichol,” All who
Besides learning the halachos in class, are hungry, let them come and eat. All
Shuvu also arranged model Seders in each who are needy, let them come and cele-
of its schools during the days before brate Pesach.
Pesach vacation. Some schools hosted This is Shuvu’s mantra. They wel-
these special meals on Friday mornings come those in need, both educationally
while others had them during the and physically. Anyone hungry for
evenings. They were scheduled specifical- Yiddishkeit, let them come and eat, with
ly to allow working parents to participate the chinuch Shuvu offers. And anyone
as well. The family members all sat who is needy physically, let them come
around beautifully set tables with matzos, too. All have to know that Shuvu is out
wine, charoses, romaine lettuce, and eggs. there for them, to guarantee everyone’s
For some parents it was the first time having both a chag kasher and a chag
they had ever observed a Seder table. sameiach. ❖

Dear Esther, My children are all married, I have a
How does someone know when it is fairly good job, and I’ve run out of excus-
the right time to pull the plug on a terri- es. And yet, here I am, stuck in the same
ble marriage? I think I knew from very situation, living with a man who feels
early on that my marriage was not work- like a stranger to me, and I’m not moving
ing at all. I never felt loved or happy. forward with my big dream.
Without putting too much blame on my I don’t know what I’m waiting for. I
husband, I think we were just not meant know I’m not going to get a sign from G-
to be a couple. We have very little in com- d anytime soon that it’s time to move on
mon and don’t really enjoy one another’s with my life, but somehow I just don’t
company. I don’t think either of us is seem to be able to break free from the
capable of giving the other one what they inertia that is holding me in place.
want or need. My husband is worse than I am.
When my children were very young, I Whereas at least I dream about a better
told myself that once they were all in life, I don’t think he even thinks about it.
school, it would be the perfect time to He seems to have accepted our marriage
call it quits. I would be able to go out and for what it is—nothing with nothing—
get a job and feel independent. But, of and goes about his business, not thinking
course, once I found my youngest in first that maybe we were both meant to live
grade, I somehow decided to push off the happier, fuller lives.
inevitable and decided I would wait until Sometimes I wish he would beat me or
all the bar mitzvahs and bas mitzvahs speak to me abusively, so that I’d have an
were behind us. After all, why diminish excuse and a justifiable reason to leave.
these important simchas? So I gave But since that’s not the case, and we’re just
myself a reprieve. two people who bring nothing into one
As you would expect, when I finished another’s lives, it makes it all very hard.
with my youngest son’s bar mitzvah, my I’m sure there are women reading my
oldest daughter was on the shidduch question and wondering what’s wrong
scene, and I felt that it wouldn’t be fair to with me and how dare I complain—
her to get divorced at that time. It sudden- women who actually live with abusive
ly became the right thing to do to wait men and think that I have no right to be
until all of our children were married off, kvetching about my marriage. But what
which I did. many people don’t understand is that it’s

like living with a corpse. There is no emo- Mrs.” might be a perk. Or, a perk may be their own, then I think it is important for that divorce is what you really want.
tion between us, certainly no love. I feel having someone to walk into a simcha you to look within yourself for valida- Usually, a life-altering move like get-
like I’m starving for companionship but with. A perk may be knowing that you can tion. Only you can truly appreciate the ting divorced is hard to do on one’s own.
it’s just not available to me. ask your husband to do the grocery shop- loneliness you are living with. Working with a therapist can help you
So getting back to my original ques- ping. Look honestly at yourself and your People may comment, people may see things more objectively, help you
tion, how do I light a fire under myself so marriage and determine whether the real judge, people may not understand. But look at how your life may play out,
that I can get on with my life? At this reason you haven’t, as you say, “pulled the they are not walking in your shoes; they enable you to act from a place of calm
point, I don’t even fantasize about meet- plug” on your marriage is because you are do not know your pain. It’s much easier and conviction, and, finally, empower
ing Prince Charming anymore. But noth- still getting something out of it. to devise and execute a plan when you you. And most important, you want to
ing is lonelier than being in a room with If you can honestly say that you aren’t aren’t bogged down by worries about make certain that there will be no regrets.
someone who barely knows you’re there. getting anything out of your marriage, what other people may say. Work toward Esther
I’d much rather be totally alone. How do that you’ve tried everything, and that freeing yourself from those concerns, and
I get myself to take the leap? you’re not overly concerned about how you may find that you’re finally able to Esther Mann, LMSW, is a psychotherapist in
Lawrence. Esther can be reached at 516-314-2295
Lonely your children will react since they are release the restraints that have been hold- or mindbiz44@aol.com. She works with
Dear Lonely, grown up and hopefully have wings of ing you down—again, if you are certain individuals and couples.
You pose an interesting question.
When is a marriage bad enough to war-
rant a divorce? When is it legitimate,
understandable, defensible, and neces-
sary? Before I attempt to answer those
questions, I have some questions of my
own. What is it that you are really look-
ing for from me and from the universe? Is
it permission that you are ultimately
seeking? Are you hoping for encourage-
ment? Do you want some kind of guaran-
tee that your life will be much improved
after the deed is done? Do you need affir-
mation that no one will blame you for
your action?
As you well know, divorce is a very seri-
ous thing. So first I have to wonder how
hard you have tried to find some com-
monality between yourself and your hus-
band, way before divorce started feeling
like your only solution. As you’ve men-
tioned, you’re not suffering because of
anything that your husband is doing to
you, but on the contrary, the lack of any-
thing he could be doing. There is an
extreme level of passivity that has clearly
taken hold of the two of you, and you’ve
both allowed yourselves to slip into your
own worlds, giving up on your marriage
so very early in the game.
As predictable as this question is, I have
to ask if the two of you have gone to mar-
riage therapy. Have you worked on your-
selves and your marriage? Have you both
put out the necessary effort that often res-
urrects hopeless marriages like the one
you describe? Even the best marriages
don’t happen without plenty of effort.
Lots of compromising from both husband
and wife are called for, and everyone must
be willing to go the extra mile to make it
work. Otherwise, you’re both just
observers of a relationship that never was.
If your answer is that you did go to
therapy; you did both put out effort; you
did both try your hardest to understand
and appreciate one another, and still the
marriage has no pulse, no life, no glue,
then I would say that it’s time to be hon-
est with yourself and figure out what the
marriage might be nevertheless offering
you, if anything.
Perhaps you’re still in the marriage
because it offers you some subtle perks
that you’re taking for granted. For exam-
ple, being seen as one half of a “Mr. &

Fire, Ice, Air:
The Memoirs Of
Rabbi Simcha
Shafran
Second week of October, 1939 (end of
Tishrei, 5700)
I realize now, 70 years later, how reason-
able my parents were that autumn day,
and how irrational and stubborn I was.
I cannot imagine what made me so
determined to board that train and go off
to yeshiva. I was 14 years old and had with
me only the clothes I was wearing, my
“What is there is
what remains vivid
in my father’s
mind. And I think
that gives it a deep
resonance.”
tefillin and a few apples my mother had

given me. How had I managed to convince
my parents to let me leave them and go my
own way—a mere month after the out-
break of the Second World War, after we
had been forced to flee our town and were
almost burned alive?
Whatever it was that pushed me, it was
the last time I would see my mother and
father, and it was my refusal to be sensible
that saved my life.
The above passage begins the narrative
of Fire, Ice, Air, the just-published person-
al recollections of Rabbi Simcha Shafran,
shlita. Subtitled “A Polish Jew’s Memoir of
Yeshiva, Siberia, America,” the book
recounts Rabbi Shafran’s life to date,
beginning with his youth in a Polish
shtetl; his joining the Novardhok Yeshiva
in Vilna shortly after the start of World
War II; his sojourn during the war years
in a Siberian work camp as part of a
group of young men and their rebbe,
Rabbi Yehudah Leib Nekritz, zt’l; his more
than half-century as rabbi of a Baltimore
Reach 150,000 readers

in the vibrant
South Florida
Jewish communities
from South Beach
to Boca Raton.
Visit
www.SFLJT.com

s”xc
congregation; and his continuing service

to the Baltimore community as the
administrator of the Baltimore Beis Din
and as a rebbe to many local Jews.
“It’s a deceptively short book,” says the
memoirist’s son, Rabbi Avi Shafran, who
assisted in producing the 200-page soft
cover book, working largely from inter-
views, including one by the Shoah
Foundation. “My father refuses to embel-
lish, or to imagine things that he cannot
remember. And so the book may seem
sparse on detail.”
“But,” he adds, “that provides it a cer-
tain strength and integrity. What is
there is what remains vivid in my
father’s mind. And I think that gives it a
deep resonance.”
The book was self-published, the
younger Rabbi Shafran notes further, as
“publishers are not very interested in
memoirs these days.”
That is unfortunate, he continues,
Pesach H
since “an entire generation of young peo- oli
We will day Schedule
ple has been born that has very limited be close
Mo d from
personal interaction, if any at all, with the and will nday, March 29
reopen W
generation of Jews who survived the ednesda
y, April 7
Holocaust years. !jnau r
“Fire, Ice, Air aims to do a small part in af dj
helping familiarize younger people with,
and further educate older ones about,
that era, through the story of one man’s
life experience to date, in Poland, Siberia,
and America.
“It is my father’s hope, and mine, that
his story will help contemporary read-
ers better understand and appreciate a
time in history that is not that far
removed in years from today but which,
in so many ways, is hard for most of us
to even imagine.”
Rabbi Shafran’s memoirs were recently
published by Hashgacha Press. Inquiries
from booksellers can be directed to hash-
gachapress@gmail.com. ❖

said, “I want you to lead the Jewish peo- bearing. So why did Hashem feel that it
ple out of Mitzrayim,” Moshe refused. He was necessary for him to take out the
was afraid that Aharon would feel slight- ashes each day to eliminate arrogance
ed. Up until that point, Aharon had been from his heart? The answer to this ques-
the leader of the nation, the one who tion is based on understanding the under-
brought the word of Hashem to the peo- pinnings of our relationship with
ple. Now his younger brother, unheard Hashem.
from for 60 years, would usurp that posi-
tion. As great as Aharon was, Moshe knew
The Shmuz On that he was still human and would feel

the pain of being displaced. Therefore,
Moshe wanted no part of it. The arrogant
The Parashah Hashem explained to Moshe that
while this might be a well-founded fear in
regard to the average person, because of
Aharon’s great spiritual stature, he was
person can’t be
Hashem And Man:
Master And Servant
each day “to lower himself and rid him-
self of the arrogance in his heart.”
above jealousy and competition, and this
wouldn’t cause him any pain. He had so
a servant of
This statement seems to imply that eliminated bad character traits from his
BY R’ BEN TZION SHAFIER
Aharon was arrogant, and that Hashem heart that he would feel nothing nega- Hashem.
The Kohein shall don a garment of felt he needed specific work to get rid of tive. When Moshe assumed this position
linen, and he shall don linen breeches on that sense of superiority. It is difficult to and Aharon set out to meet him, the
his skin, and he shall remove the ashes. imagine that Aharon HaKohein was a pasuk says, “It was with joy in his heart.”
—Vayikra 6:3 haughty individual, particularly when we Hashem was telling Moshe that
One of the daily activities in the focus on the Torah’s description of Aharon was in a different category of per- A servant needs a master and a master
Mishkan was taking out the ashes. The Aharon. son. He had mastered his nature. He was needs a servant. The Chovos HaLevavos
Chovos HaLevavos explains that Hashem A man of sterling character traits. like a malach in human form. Of all men, (Sha’ar HaChnah) explains a basic truism:
commanded Aharon to do this action When Hashem appeared to Moshe and Aharon wouldn’t be haughty and over- a servant needs a master, and a master
needs a servant. By definition, a servant
can’t be a servant without a master, and a
master can’t be a master without a ser-
vant. They are mutually dependent. With
that, he explains the danger of arrogance.
The arrogant person feels powerful,
mighty, and independent. These are not
the traits that one finds in a servant; quite
the opposite, these are the traits of supe-
riors, people who rule. These are the
traits of the master. For that reason, the
arrogant person can’t be a servant of
Hashem.
Hashem alone has the right to wear
the trait of ga’avah. He alone is mighty,
He alone is powerful, and He alone is
independent. Anyone else who harbors
these thoughts in his heart is “wearing
the King’s robes.” He views himself in a
manner that is false and delusional. More
significantly, in that state, he cannot
serve Hashem. “How can a person as
mighty, significant, and important as I
possibly have a master? I am the master!”
For this reason, arrogance utterly skews
the relationship of man with his Creator.
Its opposite, humility, is central to all avo-
das Hashem.
In no sense was Aharon haughty or
overbearing; he was among the most
modest of men. The problem was that his
role required even more. As the represen-
tative of the nation, he was going into the
Holiest of the Holies; any imperfection in
his intentions would have spelled an
imperfect avodah, so he needed to be per-
fect in his humility. To attain that state,
he needed a physical exercise. He had to,
so to speak, take out the garbage each
day. By doing this, any trace of independ-
ence was eliminated from his heart, and
he was able to reach that most elusive
understanding: “I am utterly, completely,
and totally dependent upon Hashem. I
am the creation, and He is my Creator.” As
great as Aharon was, he still needed
improvement in this area, and it was only
through concrete, physical actions that
he could reach a state of true humility.
Humility is the core of being an eved
Hashem. All of our avodas Hashem hinges
upon accepting Hashem as our Master.
While we may not be haughty, unless we
have worked on acquiring humility there
will be trace elements of arrogance in our
hearts, and these will greatly impede our
being subservient to Hashem.
They stop us from standing as
servants in front of our Master.
The only way to achieve true
humility is by being exposed to
life situations that allow us to
grow in humility. By being sub-
jected to the various situations
in life, where we come to recog-
nize that we are not mighty,
powerful, and independent, the
reality starts to seep in: I am a
mere mortal. Here for a few
short years, unable to even con-
trol my own existence, I am but
a creation dependent upon my
Master for my very existence.
To help us grow, Hashem will
often custom-tailor situations
for us. Not every circumstance
in life is pleasant, and not every
condition is something we
would wish for. Some situations
may be demeaning. It may feel
like you are being asked to take
out the garbage. You might even
feel indignant. “Hashem, why
are You subjecting me to this?
What have I done wrong to
deserve this?” The answer may
well be nothing. It wasn’t some-
thing wrong that you did that
brought this about. Rather, it
was something you did right,
some merit that you have that
allowed you to have this oppor-
tunity to acquire that rare com-
modity—humility.
Recognizing our need for sit-
uations that bring us to a sense
of dependence upon Hashem
can help us understand life, and
then we can use these situations
to grow and to accomplish our
purpose in Creation.
As there is much discussion
in the sefarim equating getting
rid of chametz with ridding our-
selves of the haughtiness in our
hearts, this is an appropriate
concept for Shabbos HaGadol. ❖
For more on this topic, please listen to

Shmuz #59: Humility—An Issue of
Perspective. The Shmuz, an engaging
and motivating Torah lecture that
deals with real-life issues, is available
free at www.TheShmuz.com. The
Shmuz on the Parsha book, a
compilation on all of Chumash, is now
available for purchase in your local
sefarim store and at TheShmuz.com.
Reach thousands
of readers.
Advertise in the
South Florida
Jewish Times.
Find out how
our sales team
can help you
reach your
advertising goals.
Call
866-978-6500
This One Is Free
There is an old joke: A doctor on his desk.
approaches a lawyer in shul and com- So why am I telling you this joke?
plains to him that every time he comes Because I am regularly approached by
into shul, he always approached by people asking me a variety of real-estate
someone wanting him to give them a questions, such as, “Where do you think
I do not think we can really call a

real-estate market that has lots of
people out there buying houses a
“down” real-estate market.
free checkup in shul. The lawyer told the real-estate market is going in the Five
him, “I used to have the same problem Towns today?”; “Do you think I should
also. Then one time after a guy asked put my house on the market now or wait
me for advice, I sent him a bill and he awhile?”; or “How much do you think I
never asked me again.” The doctor can get for my house?”
thanked him and thought this was a Now let me answer some of these
great idea. Monday, when he went back questions that I’ve been asked—free of
to work, he found a bill from the lawyer charge!

As to where the real-estate market is
going this spring, this is an answer that
requires some multifaceted replies. On
the one hand, in some areas of the Five
Towns, we are finding ourselves with a
lack of houses for sale for the numbers of
buyers out there who are ready, able, and
willing to buy houses as soon as they can
find the right house at the right location.
On the other hand, even when those
houses do become available and sell,
they are not selling at anywhere near the
prices sellers were receiving several years
ago at the height of the market, and it
does not look as if those prices are climb-
ing or will be climbing back up there any-
time soon.
Does this mean the real-estate market
is down? I do not think we can really call
a real-estate market that has lots of peo-
ple out there buying houses a “down”
real-estate market, and yet with prices
still fluctuating the way they are, what
kind of market would you call it?
It is possible that at least for the next
few years the market will not be one in
which if you wait it out prices will go
back up. Home prices will in all probabil-
ity continue to fluctuate, hopefully in the
range of where they are today and, if any-
thing, just tighten themselves up within
the next few years.
The days of huge jumps in house val-
ues will, for the present and probably for
the next five to 10 years, not be some-
thing just around the bend. Those hop-
ing to wait it out will, like everyone else,
have to make peace with the values
being what they are presently in the
neighborhood.
I hope to see those of you staying in
town enjoying Pesach—preferably with
the 70-degree weather we have had
recently. And for those going away for
yom tov, enjoy! ❖
Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a

licensed real-estate broker and a licensed N.Y.S.
mortgage broker with over 20 years of experience,
offering full-service residential and commercial
real-estate services (Anessa V Cohen Realty) and
mortgaging services (First Meridian Mortgage) in
the Five Towns and throughout the tri-state area.
She can be reached at 516-569-5007 or via her
website, www.AVCrealty.com. Readers are
encouraged to send questions or comments to
anessa.cohen@AVCrealty.com.
And the fire upon

the Altar shall be
kept burning in it…
and the kohen shall
burn wood on it
every morning
(Vayikra 6:5)
There is a fire of love for
G-d that burns within
every soul. It is the task of
the “Kohen”—the spiritual
leaders of the generation—
to feed and preserve
this fire.
(Alshich)

What’s With
The Fours?
BY RABBI AVI SHAFRAN
Despite the late hour and exhaustion

(not to mention wine), many a Jewish
mind has wondered long and hard during
a Passover Seder about all the Haggadah’s
“fours.” Four questions, four sons, four
expressions of redemption, four cups.
There’s clearly a numerical theme here.
We are teachers, to
be sure, but it is
not information
that we are
communicating; it
is identity.
The Haggadah, of course, is no mere

collection of random readings and songs;
it is a subtle and wondrous educational
tool, with profound Jewish ideas layered
through its seemingly simple text. The
rabbis who formulated its core, already
extant in pre-Talmudic times, wanted it
to serve to plant important concepts in
the hearts and minds of its readers—espe-
cially its younger ones, toward whom the
Seder, our tradition teaches, is aimed. And
so the author of the Haggadah employed
an array of pedagogical methods, includ-
ing songs, riddles, and puzzles, as means
of conveying deeper understandings. And
he left us some clues, too.
When it comes to the ubiquitous
“fours,” we might begin by considering
the essential fact that Passover is when
the Jewish people’s identity is solemnly
perpetuated; through observance of the
Seder, each Jewish generation inculcates
our collective history and essence in the
next. This is likely a large part of the rea-
son so many Jewish parents who are
alienated from virtually every other
Jewish observance still feel compelled to
have at least some sort of Seder, to read a
Haggadah, or even—if they have strayed
too far from their heritage to comfortably
confront the original—to compose their
own. (I once joked before an audience
that a “Vegetarian Haggadah” would like-
ly appear any year now, and someone in
attendance later showed me precisely
such a book—though it lacked the
“Paschal turnip” I had imagined.)
And so the role we adults play on
Pesach night, vis-à-vis the younger Jews
with whom we share the experience, is a
very specific one. We are teachers, to be
sure, but it is not information that we are
communicating; it is identity.
At the Seder, in other words, we seek to
instill in our children the realization that
they are not mere individuals but rather
parts of a people, members of a nation
unconstrained by geographical bound-
is in fact dependent on mothers. While a
Fours Jew’s tribal genealogy follows the pater-
nal line, whether a child is a member of
aries but linked by history and destiny. the Jewish people or not depends entire-
We impress on them the fact that they ly on the status of his or her mother.
are links in a shimmering, ethereal chain It’s only speculation, but the recurrent
stretching back to the birth of the Jewish numerical theme in our exquisite
nation, to when our people was divinely Haggadah, employed each year to instill
redeemed from mundane slavery in Jewish identity, might be reminding us of
Egypt and entered a sublime servitude of that. After all, the Haggadah has its own
a very different sort—to G-d—at Sinai. number-decoder built right in, toward its
So, on Passover, as we celebrate the end, where most good books’ keys and
birth of the Jewish nation and plant the indexes are found. We’re a little hazy once
seed of Jewish identity in the minds of it’s reached, after four cups of wine, but
smaller Jews, we are giving life—giving it’s unmistakably there: “Echad Mi Yodea”
birth, one might say—to the Jewish or “Who Knows One?”?the song that pro-
future. And, while it may be the father vides Jewish associations with numbers.
who traditionally leads the Seder, he is “Who knows four?”
acting not as teacher but rather in some- If you don’t, you can look it up. ❖
thing more akin to a maternal role, as a
© 2010 Am Echad Resources. Rabbi Shafran is
spiritual nurturer of the children present. director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of
According to halachah, Jewish identity America. The above essay was distributed in 2003.

South Floridians Fund Renewal Of Negev Town
BY SAMUEL SOKOL to Yeruham. He was slightly in shock but Needing a source of capital to fund his Miami Jews have sponsored events such
ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT approved my request and within a week revitalization efforts, the mayor decided as a Passover summer camp in the Golan
the procedure was completed. I to trade on his name and travel to Heights for Bnei Akiva youth group mem-
The Jewish community of South announced my resignation in the Knesset America to raise funds. Mitzna made sev- bers from Yeruham and summer activities
Florida has proven vital to efforts to revi- on the Wednesday of the following week eral fundraising trips, infusing much for the children of the community.
talize one of Israel’s poorest townships, and on Thursday I went to Yeruham.” needed capital into the local economy. The Jewish Federation runs programs
according to Yeruham mayor and former Using his extensive connections devel- Yeruham maintains ties with the “providing warm meals, enrichment pro-
Labor party chief, Amram Mitzna. oped over years of public service, first as a Greater Miami Jewish Federation grams, and assistance with homework for
Interviewed in the premiere issue of general in the Israeli Defense Forces and through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s at-risk youth,” as well as facilitating a
Eighteen Magazine, a quarterly journal of subsequently as mayor of Haifa and chair- Partnership 2000 initiative, which is twinning program, pairing Jewish day
arts, culture, and business based in Tel man of the Labor party, Mitzna canvassed JAFI’s “flagship program for connecting schools in Miami with schools in
Aviv, Mitzna described the dramatic turn- Yeruham, “enabling students to corre-
around that he engineered in a failing spond with one another and work on
Negev town and how his efforts were joint projects.”
aided by the Jewish Federation of Miami. Miami Jews have sponsored events such as a Passover Last year, the United Jewish
One of the first Negev development Communities (UJC), an umbrella organiza-
communities established by the nas- tion representing hundreds of Jewish com-
cent state of Israel during the 1950s,
summer camp in the Golan Heights for Bnei Akiva munities across the United States held a
Yeruham has a history of economic conference in Miami, initiated by the
issues. In recent years, the town with a youth group members from Yeruham and summer Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey
population of less than 10,000 has been and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation,
hemorrhaging residents as they are activities for the children of the community. regarding the future of the Negev.
unable to find work locally and leave Mitzna was one of the featured speak-
for greener pastures. In 2005, with the ers at the conference, enthusing that
collapse of the town’s economy, the “While so many people concentrate on
Israeli Minister for Internal Affairs the halls of power in Jerusalem. Fighting Diaspora Jewish communities with com- the major strategic, military, diplomatic,
appointed Mitzna the head of the local for as much funding as he could get, the munities in Israel,” boasting 44 partner- and geo-political issues of the Middle
regional council, replacing Baruch general turned mayor began to rebuild ships with some 550 Jewish communities East, it is indeed heartening to see com-
Elmakaias, the elected mayor. the infrastructure of Yeruham. throughout the world. mitted people focus on the Negev and its
Speaking with Israeli newspaper However, the town’s financial situa- According to the Greater Miami Jewish special needs.”
Haaretz, Mitzna said that he “read in the tion required more than the central gov- Federation, the relationship, which was “Now is the time to create real change,”
paper that the interior minister was ernment was able to provide. Mitzna was established in 2006, Mitzna’s second year said Mitzna. The residents of Yeruham
about to remove the Yeruham council ambitious. “[I] decided from the begin- as mayor of Yeruham, serves “to build believe that he has brought positive
and the chairman of the elected council. ning that our challenge is not just to meaningful relationships in order to change to their community, and a signifi-
I got on the phone to the minister, Ophir bring back normality,” he told Eighteen. strengthen both communities, and to fos- cant part of that can be attributed to his
Pines-Paz, and told him I was ready to “It was to put Yeruham on [a] runway ter and develop a love of Judaism, Israel, relationship with the Jewish community
resign from the Knesset tomorrow and go which will bring it to prosperity.” and the Jewish people.” of Florida. ❖

Florida Jews Mark Half A Century Of Chabad Activities
BY JESSICA NAIMAN Educational Center, what began Local residents attend a walk out of that office.” approximately 2,000 Jews scat-
as the Landow Yeshiva incorpo- Torah dedication ceremony in After living in Las Vegas for tered over the 40-some islands
Up and down both of rates a preschool, an elementary the early days of Chabad- many years and helping to that stretch into the Caribbean
Florida’s coasts and throughout school, the Beis Chana High Lubavitch activities in Miami. establish a Chabad House there, Sea reflects the faces of modern
its interior, Jewish travelers and School for Girls, and a rabbinical Feige Knight, who was Knight moved her own family Jewry in Florida. There, American
residents looking for kosher college. The complex serves known back then by the name back to Miami, where they retirees live out their golden
food, prayer services, or Torah approximately 800 students. Teri Veccica, was one of the attend The Shul, a Chabad- years, while Israeli expatriates
classes don’t have to look far. Along with the school, the Korfs’ first students at the yeshi- Lubavitch synagogue in Bal run tourist shops and families
With centers dotted all over the Korfs built a synagogue and a va. She was only six years old Harbour. vacation. “It’s a challenge, but a
map, from Tallahassee in the Jewish overnight camp. They when her non-religious family Today, Florida boasts the blessing,” said Yaakov Zucker,
north to Miami in the South, each led Torah classes. Rivka sent her to the school. third-largest Jewish community who arrived as a newlywed in
and some 145 locations in Korf earned fame among area “My mother and my grand- in the United States with about 1995, sent there by the Korfs and
between, Chabad-Lubavitch of women for her Saturday after- mother took me to the first 750,000 Jews. Some 180 Chabad- Rabbi Yosef Biston, executive
Florida has presided over half a noon classes on the weekly [Jewish] school they’d heard of Lubavitch emissaries are spread vice president of Chabad-
century of growth in the Torah portion and Pirkei Avot. opening in Miami Beach,” says throughout the state, including Lubavitch of North Broward and
Sunshine State. She also taught public school Knight. “Rabbi Korf is the reason Rabbi Yaakov and Chanie South Palm Beach. “We have to
A year after their marriage in students about Judaism as that I was able to get a Jewish Zucker, who direct the Chabad wear many different hats.”
1960, Rabbi Abraham and Rivka part of the release time pro- education. I hold him dear to my Jewish Center of the Florida Joy Emanuel-Kohen sends her
Korf uprooted themselves from gram at Miami-Dade Public heart, and I give him the credit Keys and Key West.
the tight-knit Chasidic commu- High School. for not allowing my mother to The Zuckers’ community of Continued on Page 57
nity in the Crown Heights sec-
tion of Brooklyn, N.Y., and head-
ed to Miami Beach on behalf of
the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M.
Schneerson, of righteous mem-
ory. What they encountered
was a South Florida community
on the verge of a vast transfor-
mation.
Until the 1940s, most of the
state’s Jewish residents were
concentrated in the northern
ocean port of Jacksonville, but
migration southward, coupled
with an influx of retirees from
out of state and a swell of
Jewish immigrants from Latin
America and the Caribbean,
established Miami as Florida’s
Jewish hub.
By 1960, the state had about
175,000 Jewish residents. In an
interview days before a gala
event celebrating his and his
wife’s launch of Chabad-
Lubavitch activities in Florida,
Abraham Korf remembered that
Miami had only three syna-
gogues. The state as a whole had
just two ritual baths. When he
arrived, milk adhering to the
strict kosher standard known as
chalav Yisrael was unheard of.
He found a local dairy and
supervised the milking of cows
himself.
Educationally speaking,
while Miami had modern
Jewish day schools, they didn’t
suit the needs of the growing
Korf family. So they started their
own, establishing the Landow
Yeshiva in 1966, reflecting a take-
charge attitude born in part by
the rabbi’s experiences learning
in secret underground Jewish
schools in the Soviet Union and
escaping the oppressions with a
fake Polish passport.
“It started off with six chil-
dren,” Korf, who also serves as
spiritual leader of Congregation
Beth Hamedrash Levi Yitzchok
in Miami Beach, said of the
school, “then, 32 children the
next year, then 67, and then
hundreds. As people started
hearing about it, it grew.”
Mirroring the growth of
other programs, today, under
the umbrella of the Lubavitch
Miami Resident Is Cholent Champ! to-head in a culinary battle to proclaim
A strange aroma filled the a true cholent champion.
Washington Heights air as hundreds of Students prepared their dishes the
students, faculty, and curious visitors night before using a variety of ingredients
filed into Yeshiva University’s Weissberg and techniques in an attempt to impress
Commons on March 11 for the 2010 the panel of discriminating palates.
Cholent Cook-off. Sixteen teams made The contest judges included Dr.
up of 64 students from the men’s under- Esther Joel, wife of YU President Richard
graduate schools, Yeshiva College, and M. Joel; Jeff Nathan, chef and restaura-
Sy Syms School of Business went head- teur (Abigael’s), TV personality, and
(L–R): Cholent Bowl Judges Alan Riesenburger, Elan Kornblum, Jeff Nathan,
Susie Fishbein, and Dr. Esther Joel.
author; Susie Fishbein, renowned tant for them “to be part of this because
kosher chef and bestselling author of it brings all of the students together and
Kosher by Design; Alan Riesenburger, shows the unity we have in our universi-
catering director and executive chef of ty. It also shows what great chefs we have
Fairway Market; and Elan Kornblum, among our students.”
president and publisher of Great Kosher After a three-way dead heat was
Restaurants magazine. announced, President Joel was called in
“One of the nice things about this to break the tie. Despite some humor-
year’s contest is that we tied it in with our ous attempts by the teams at winning
food drive for the Upper Manhattan Food over the president, Team Heerlijk,
Pantry,” said Jonathan Mantell, director Flemish for “delicious,” was crowned
of university housing and organizer of cholent champion.
the cook-off. “So that way it’s not just Jonathan Lamet, originally of Miami
about having fun, but it’s also about Beach, took home first prize in Yeshiva
thinking of other people.” University’s 2010 Cholent Cook-off. Along
Shloimie Zeffren, president of the with his three New York teammates, Eric
(L–R): Cholent Champs David Kupperman, Jonathan Lamet, Jason Wargon, Yeshiva Student Union—one of the Kupferstein, David Kupperman, and
and Eric Kupferstein. event’s sponsors—said that it was impor- Jason Wargon, Lamet beat out 15 other

teams in the contest, which required stu- and some secular holidays. People will be taryag@ou.org or visit www.ou.org. ❖ Initially, the yeshiva continued running it
dents to prepare their recipes starting the able to sign up on the OU’s website, as a hotel, but after they overcame the
previous day. The winning team mem- www.ou.org/taryag, and will begin receiv- Beis Moshe Chaim: final zoning hurdles, the transformation
bers were all awarded iPods. Second and ing the daily e-mails after Shavuot, the Florida’s Best-Kept Secret from HoJo to yeshiva began. The building
third prize went to teams Cholent holiday commemorating the revelation By Leo Chaim Goldfarb was painted. The restaurant was trans-
Fulfillment and the Maccabeans. of the Torah at Sinai. The public is It is one of Florida’s best kept secrets formed into the yeshiva dining room.
“This is like the biggest kiddush ever,” encouraged to register for this program that would be the envy of every bor- Trailers were purchased to be placed in
observed one student in attendance, online during the Sefirat HaOmer period ough in New York. And now, this best- the parking lot and attached together to
while reaching for his second serving. “It’s between Passover and Shavuot. kept secret is about to undergo some form a beis midrash (the same type of
a great opportunity for students to get Rabbi Abramowitz declared, “Just as major expansion. thing was done for one of the Lakewood
together and have a fun time.” ❖ the Jewish people needed more opportu- Yeshiva v’Kollel Beis Moshe Chaim is a batei midrashim). The hotel rooms were
nities to become familiar with Tanach remarkable institution that was launched redone nicely. There are rooms that serve
OU To Debut Taryag, Daily and Shnayim Mikra, they should also in 1974 under the able leadership of Rav as dormitory rooms for single students,
Explanations Of The 613 have the opportunity to become better Yochanan Zweig, a master Talmudist with and there are rooms that serve as apart-
Commandments acquainted with the 613 commandments a law degree to boot. Rav Zweig studied ments for married couples. The married
The Orthodox Union has long been of the Torah. It’s not enough just to know under Rav Yaakov Ruderman, zt’l, and couples just started moving in last week.
helping those in the Jewish community how many mitzvot there are; we have to under Rav Yaakov Weinberg, zt’l, as well. “We are very excited about the move
access concise, daily lessons in Nach internalize them if we want to under- He served as rosh kollel in Bais haTalmud and it has been a long time in coming,”
Yomi—the biblical books of Nevi’im (the stand how they impact our daily lives.” in Yerushalayim with Rav Dov remarked one insider. The dormitory stu-
Prophets) and Ketuvim (the Writings)— Rabbi Steven Burg, managing director Schwartzman, the son-in-law of Rabbi dents had moved in earlier and some of
and Shnayim Mikra, an online Torah- of the OU said, “We’re so pleased to be Aharon Kotler. Rabbi Zweig has a unique the married kollel students are planning
study program that derives its name from able to offer this program. The Taryag analytical approach that captures the on moving in after Pesach.
“shnayim mikra v’echad targum,” the obli- mitzvot are one of those things that most mind, imagination, and thoughts of his The yeshiva offers a bachelor’s and
gation to review the weekly Torah por- people know far more about than they students as well as his adult learners. His master’s degree as well as full rabbinic
tion twice in the original and once in actually know. The sefirah period, leading approach is to remain on the actual page ordination. It is anticipated that the new
translation. Now, the OU will focus on up to the holiday commemorating the of the Talmud, unfolding the latent facility will engender much growth for
helping those in the community learn Jewish nation receiving the Torah at Har processes of reasoning in the Talmudic the yeshiva. The yeshiva also offers
more about the 613 commandments of Sinai, is the perfect time to prepare our- text as well as the accompanying online classes and lectures. Classes
the Torah when it debuts its newest ini- selves for this undertaking.” Rishonim. Rav Zweig’s methodology gen- include broadcasts on live lectures on
tiative, Taryag (the acronym for 613), Rabbi Abramowitz will be utilizing the erally avoids the “Yeshivisha Reid” meth- such varied topics as Aggadata: ethics
which will allow people to sign up to Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos (Book of the ods common in other institutions of and philosophy from the Talmud (for
receive daily e-mails with concise but Commandments) as he writes each daily Talmudic learning. men), Torah psychology (for men), the
insightful explanations of the command- e-mail; Sefer HaChinuch (the Book of Rav Zweig’s ability to communicate ethical personality (for women), insights
ments from the Torah. Education) and Sefer Hamitzvos and impart the depths of Torah to into the parashah (for both men and
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, OU associate Hakatzar (the Abridged Book of those with a strong secular background women), and analysis of the weekly
director of the Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Commandments) of the Chofetz Chaim has brought thousands of people closer Torah parashah. For further information
Karasick Department of Synagogue are also sources that will be used. Rabbi to Torah. visit www.talmudicu.edu/community_
Services, will author the daily e-mails, Abramowitz is the author of The Nach So what’s the nature of the expansion? onlineclasses.php.
which will be presented in the order of Yomi Companion, volumes 1 and 2, and Formerly located in South Beach, the Howard Deering Johnson started off
the mitzvos of the Torah and will be sent The Shnayim Mikra Companion. yeshiva purchased a Howard Johnson
out for 613 weekdays, excluding Jewish For more information, contact located at the entrance of Miami Beach. Continued on Page 54

AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA ed by the acceptance of Rabbi Yosef
Galimidi. He was honored and intro-
Rabbis of Israel.
The cantor, Mr. Jonathan Hen, comes
Florida Hatzolah Answers The Call
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman
duced to the community at a breakfast from Israel. He is a protégé of Cantor The South Florida Jewish Times recent-
by borrowing $2,000 and setting up a prior to Passover, exactly two years ago. Yehezkiel Zion of Beth Torah. He has offi- ly spoke with Joseph Dahan, one of the
pharmacy with a soda fountain. Rabbi Prior to arriving to the synagogue, Rabbi ciated and was highly recommended by moving forces behind the new Hatzolah
Yochanan Zweig started off with ten stu- Galimidi was the rabbi of Shaare Ezra the famous cantorial synagogue in initiative that began here in January.
dents in a tiny building in South Beach. Sephardic Congregation, in Miami Beach, Jerusalem, Kenesset Ades. He has also per- SFJT: What is your role, exactly, in
Both have built remarkable edifices, one for 14 years. formed in Deal, NJ, Brooklyn, NY, and Hatzolah Florida?
in the realm of business and the other in Rabbi Yosef Galimidi was born in 1965, Hong Kong, China. He is organizing class- JD: I am the coordinator for Aventura,
the realm of Torah. ❖ in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was educated es for children, ages 6 to 11 years old, the PR Director, and, of course, a respon-
in Argentina, U.S., and Israel, and received many of whom don’t know how to read der, as we all are.
Beit Edmond Jacob Safra semichah from Rishon Lezion Chief or pray in Hebrew. SFJT: What was the need for a
Synagogue Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu and Rabbi Beit Edmond Jacob Safra is considered Hatzolah in Florida?
By Mr. Clement Soffer Yehuda Y. Yeruslavsky. the extension and presentation of the JD: The need was for a first-responder
Vice-President of the Synagogue He received a bachelor’s degree in reli- best and most beautiful synagogue that group of volunteers that bridged the gap
The Beit Edmond Jacob Safra gious studies from The Rabbinical the Syrian Sephardic community can and cut down the response time. Our
Synagogue, located in Aventura, Florida, College of America in Morristown N.J. He present to the Jewish world. It is blessed chances of getting where we need to get
was a project originally conceived by is also a hazzan and a ba’al koreh. He is with a great name. The community will to are much higher. Additionally, [we
Mr. Ralph Tawil, and later constructed fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, always be here for you in the truest sense wanted to ensure] the comfort level of
and completed by David and Pauline Hebrew, as well as some French and of Florida’s relaxation in the religious some of the elderly residents.
Braka and their son and his wife, Ivor Arabic, a perfect match for this affluent surrounding that we are accustomed in SFJT: Who was instrumental in form-
and Robin Braka. national and international Syrian our homes. No other vacation can offer ing it?
This synagogue is dedicated to the Sephardic community. He has officiated you what we can provide, under U.S. ter- JD: A gentleman by the name of Zalmy
memory of one of the greatest Sephardic in many countries including Israel, ritory—safety for yourself and your chil- Cohen—a very dedicated individual who
visionaries and Jewish leaders of the Venezuela, and Brazil. He is also a mem- dren in a turbulent world; a Jewish put in countless hours—and also Rabbi
20th century, Mr. Edmond J. Safra. The ber of the kashrut dept of the local neighborhood for your children in which Pinchas Weberman and our attorney,
Braka family pulled out all stops to build Rabbinate of Miami (KM), the eiruv, to congregate in and meet each other; Isaac Yaroslovitch, who was instrumental
a synagogue befitting this great philan- mikveh, and beit din rabbinate member. sunshine, palm trees, flowered streets, a in legalities and municipalities.
thropic world renowned benefactor of He has organized daily classes and shi- beautiful beach location in an economi- SFJT: What are the plans for the
the Jewish people. urim for men and ladies, as well as many cal trip in comparison to what the tours future?
The Safra Synagogue is a jewel located successful events. He is clearly on the charge, a fabulous synagogue, kosher gro- JD: We have 26 responders. We hope-
in the southeastern-most part of the U.S. way to great accomplishments. cers and butchers, and of course great fully will double that number before next
and a proud Sephardic house of worship Rabbi Galimidi, aside from his daily choices of kosher restaurants while you Pesach. Hatzolah works best when it is
that demonstrates and projects the beau- schedule of services and classes, also reside with us. deployed in masses.
ty and dedication of the Syrian Sephardic deals with different aspect of the commu- Our newest project is the building of SFJT: What places do you cover?
community. It reflects the Syrian community, including all lifecycle events, coun- the ladies mikveh and mikveh for dishes JD: We cover areas of North East
nity’s high standard of consecration to seling, guidance, referrals, etc. in the synagogue. Stay tuned for more Miami-Dade County, as well as select por-
the Al-mighty. Rabbi Galimidi comes to Florida with information. To learn more, visit Beit tions of the city of North Miami Beach
After a long and arduous search for a the highest recommendations of the Edmond J. Safra; 19275 Mystic Pointe Dr.; and the city of Aventura.
rabbi and a cantor befitting such a com- Sephardic Rabbinical Council of Aventura, Florida 33180, or e-mail
munity, the Safra Synagogue was reward- Brooklyn, as well as by the Great Chief rabbisafraaventura@gmail.com. ❖ Continued on Page 56
Your Event… Simply Spectacular
Carefully selected ingredients,

Immaculate presentation,
Attention to all details.
This is what separates us
from the rest.
lk
N E W S TA R
fine catered events
lk
T: 516 791.0100 T: 718 891.8100
C E R T I F I E D A N D E N D O R S E D B Y T H E K E H I L A H K A S H R U S

AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA SFJT: So has Florida Hatzolah kept
busy?
that would blend in perfect harmony, Menucha was in demand. “Eventually,”
said Eli, “I realized that Menucha would
excel in uplifting melodies, and inspire
JD: We have been keeping pretty busy us to greater heights. He wondered if he have to be my priority.” And so it was. The
SFJT: What training do you do? and have already influenced [the commu- could create a musical experience three Menucha vocalists were brought
JD: We are state-licensed certified nity], from pediatrics to geriatrics. We called Menucha. together to create a new album. The
EMT’s. There is EMT Basic, and have already made differences in pikuach If the Chevra represents Eli Gerstner’s result is the outstanding production
Paramedic. Everyone acts in the capacity nefesh. This is a vehicle for kiddush talent and creativity, then Menucha repre- called Menucha 2.
of EMT Basic, even though some of us Hashem, as well. sents his heart and his soul. “These are Unfortunately, Izzy passed away
are trained paramedics. The first training SFJT: Thank you so much; it has been a my personal favorites,” he says. The before the album was mixed, and he
that we received was at Darry University. pleasure speaking to you. music, the voices, the melodies. For me, never got to hear any of its songs. But
Our volunteers undergo significant JD: Likewise! ❖ Menucha is a labor of love.” The album Menucha 2 is unquestionably a tribute to
training. We visit hospitals, emergency was released and a core group of unwa- his memory in every sense of the word.
rooms, in addition to the classroom We All Need A Little Menucha vering Menucha fans was created. “It was amazing how much he believed in
time. We also have training in 911 ambu- A cozy leather recliner… a steaming Apparently the album has touched the it,” Eli observes. “It would never have hap-
lances to help learn and meet state cup of coffee…. A gentle summer breeze… hearts and souls of others as well. pened without him.”
requirements. We have dealt with life- A calm and peaceful interlude…These are Eli would have liked to continue focus- Izzy would have truly been proud.
threatening situations. the things that we just can’t seem to get ing on Menucha, but other projects kept Menucha 2 combines quintessential
SFJT: Who is the main poseik that you enough of. We’re so busy chasing our- getting in the way. When the Yeshiva Gerstner qualities with a soulful and
listen to for, say, hilchos Shabbos issues? selves that most of us don’t take the time Boys Choir was introduced, nobody inspiring message. There is almost con-
JD: Hatzolah’s rabbinic board is made to enjoy the world’s simple pleasures. If could have anticipated how it would elec- stant three part harmony throughout the
up of seven rabbanim: Rabbi Weberman, only we would have a little more trify its audiences. Eli found himself album—no gimmicks, no shtick, no high
Rabbi Galamidi, Rabbi Bensinger, Rabbi Menucha in our lives. immersed in YBC’s CD’s, DVD’s, and per- tech stunts. “Just three guys,” says Eli,
Marlowe, Rabbi Baumann, Rabbi Eli Gerstner Productions proudly pres- formances. The demand was overwhelm- “singing like they really mean it.”
Schmeltzer, and Rabbi Janowski. They are ents Menucha 2 Sh’ma Yisroel, available in ing. For the time being, Menucha had to Sh’ma Yisroel, the album’s title track, is
the halachic rabbinic board and ensure Judaica stores everywhere. In 2001 Eli take a back seat. most definitely the album’s breakout
that everything adheres to Jewish law. Gerstner created the Chevra. Its first The great Izzy Taubenfeld, a’h, song. It starts out upbeat with lots of gui-
SFJT: Do you have any ambulances or album was released and it took the world founder of Sameach Music, kept the tars and drums. Think chassanah ‘intro’
any plans for one in the future? by storm. Originally meant for a young flame alive. He would regularly urge Eli music. You can almost see the chassan
JD: We do not have any ambulances. contemporary audience, the Chevra to work on Menucha, recognizing the and kallah coming out for their first
The state of Florida does not allow any struck a chord with Jewish music listen- appeal of its heartfelt message. “Izzy dance. The song has plenty of flair. It’s
transport by anyone other than 911. We ers of all ages. It broke every previous used to tell me,” says Eli, “that Menucha leibedik and fun and exciting. And yet, it’s
come for the patients and deliver medical record in sales. It built an enormous fol- was his favorite.” But Eli was juggling not in your face. There’s something just a
services. lowing. Apparently, it was the sound that too many other projects, and once again little bit understated about it, making it
SFJT: Do you have any defibrillators? the world was waiting for. Menucha 2 was put on hold. accessible and acceptable to all. On the
JD: Yes, we all do. We also have oxygen, While he enjoyed the success of the Then a funny thing happened. About other end of the spectrum is Racheim,
trauma bags, obstetric kits, splints, and Chevra, deep down Eli had another idea four years after its original release, which is more hartzig, slow-paced, and
every type of trauma item you can imag- brewing in his head. He wondered if he Menucha suddenly took on a life of its meaningful. Yeshiva Boys Choir and its
ine. Medications, too. All of our equip- could take the concept of the Chevra own. People were calling from every- star soloist Yaakov Mordechai Gerstner
ment was acquired through community and combine it with a more traditional, where asking for Menucha to headline at join Menucha as guest vocalists in this
donations. There is no cost to those who more hartzig, and more soothing sound. concerts, to appear at special events, to
receive assistance. He wondered if he could create a group release another album. Suddenly Continued on Page 63

Chabad Activities
nine-year-old daughter to the Zuckers’
Hebrew school on Sundays, and attends
other programs and events with the rest
of her family of five. “You feel that connec-
tion in your heart and soul,” she said.
“They have a nice way of making it fun to
come to the synagogue. They’re very nice
people, happy [and] welcoming.”
He found a local
dairy and
supervised the
milking of cows
himself.
The Zuckers’ approach reflects that of

the Korfs, say those who know them. For
the Korfs and their family of five sons
and four daughters, “there was never any
concept of something outside our mis-
sion,” said Leah Jacobson, the couple’s
fifth child. “We all knew from the
moment we were born that everything
revolved around that,” added Jacobson,
who lives in Crown Heights and serves
as the secular studies principal at the
Beth Rivka girls’ high school. “We took
great pride in it.”
The children hardly saw their father
during the week, so the holy day of
Shabbat was a special time for the family.
He would catch up with them and quiz
them on their studies. Jacobson remem-
bers being one of the only visibly reli-
gious students at her parents’ school, but
it didn’t bother her. “We just knew it was
the reason why we were there,” she said.
“There was never any judgment.”
There also wasn’t much money. “We
lived on a shoestring budget,” explained
Jacobson. “But we had such inner pride in
what we were doing. That came from my
father. He lived it and breathed it.”
An example was when she was in her
second year of post-high school semi-
nary in New York and had a job teaching
fifth grade at a boys’ school. She earned
$15 an hour and was about to up it to
$25 when Beth Rivka offered her a job
for just $100 a week. She turned it down.
“Well, somehow my father got wind of
this,” she recalled. “I told him it didn’t
make sense to take the job and get a
quarter of the pay.” “Leah,” said Korf, “if
those were my calculations, the money,
I would never have gone [to Florida]. I
didn’t raise my children to make those
calculations.”
To this day, Korf maintains a hectic
schedule supervising activities in Miami,
running the synagogue, and helping
other emissaries throughout the state.
When a ritual bath opened in Key West,
he was there to help the Zuckers with the
grand opening.
When asked about the most rewarding
part of the job, he responds with humili-
ty, “that we’re emissaries and can do the
Rebbe’s work.” (Chabad.org) ❖
Agudath Israel Stresses Importance was what she wanted. The son lacked the
signed health care proxy that would have
tated patients. In the past, only where
there was “clear and convincing evidence”
made him the decision-maker for his that the patient himself would have
Of Halachic Living Wills mother’s treatment, and the law did not
identify who else should assume that
directed the termination of life support
could such treatment have been withheld
In an ominous new development, New Until now, he explains, New York State role. And so the hospital simply dis- or withdrawn. As the state’s highest court
York State law has now vastly expanded the law offered no mechanism for determin- missed the son’s protest. put it, “Nothing less than unequivocal
authority of health care providers to “pull ing who should make health care deci- Under the newly enacted law, if a proof will suffice when the decision to
the plug” on incapacitated patients—even sions for an unconscious patient who did patient does not designate an agent in
to withhold from them food and water, not designate anyone to make decisions writing, a designated-by-law relative or
thereby causing them to starve to death. should he or she be in such a state. That friend of the patient is automatically
Governor David Paterson has signed void did create problems, as evidenced by assigned the power to act as the patient’s
“Many doctors and
into law the Family Health Care a case brought to Agudath Israel’s atten- “surrogate” and make whatever health hospitals are no longer
Decisions Act, over the strong opposition tion a year ago. care decisions on his behalf.
of Agudath Israel of America and other A New York hospital placed a “Do Not But the new law creates its own prob- committed to the
groups who consider it an attack on Resuscitate,” or DNR, order on an elderly lems—some of them quite serious from
patients’ rights and personal autonomy. Orthodox Jewish woman’s medical chart the perspective of an observant Jew or concept of the sanctity
According to Rabbi Mordechai Biser, and then allegedly administered mor- anyone who feels that preservation of
associate general counsel of Agudath phine to hasten her death, over the even compromised life is a moral man-
of human life.”
Israel, the law, which the medical estab- strong objections of her son, her primary date. It radically alters the position the
lishment promoted for 17 years, was caregiver. The hospital claimed that the New York courts have taken for over 20
designed in part for a beneficial purpose. woman had told its personnel that this years regarding decisions about incapaci- terminate life support is at issue.”
The new law abolishes that standard,
empowering a surrogate—even one never
chosen by the patient—to make life-and-
death decisions for him, including the
withdrawal of food and water. While the
law does require the surrogate to make
decisions in accordance with the wishes of
the patient to the extent they are known,
and only authorizes the withdrawal of life
sustaining treatment under certain circum-
stances, if the wishes of the patient are
unknown or if there is a dispute among
family members, the law gives the surro-
gate sweeping powers over life and death.
Rabbi Biser, who fought the bill on
behalf of Agudath Israel for many years,
explains that now, if an incapacitated
patient did not designate a health care
agent or proxy in writing and has no legal
guardian, his automatic proxy for making
health care decisions will be his spouse. If
there is no spouse, the power is given to an
adult son or daughter. If there are no such
children, a parent of the patient is next in
line. In the absence of parents, the power
falls to an adult sibling—and if there are
none, to a close friend of the patient.
“No one should think that the new law
will not affect them,” warns Rabbi Biser,
and he urges members of the Jewish com-
munity to take immediate steps to protect
themselves and their families. “We have
dealt with many cases,” he recounts,
“involving disputes between family mem-
bers of a patient and a hospital, and
between family members themselves, over
health care decisions for incapacitated
patients. Until now, at least in New York
State, the ‘clear and convincing evidence’
standard enabled us to persuade hospitals,
and in some cases judges, to respect the
wishes of the family to keep patients alive.
Now, however, that standard has been
abolished, and the fate of incapacitated
patients will be largely up to the whim of
whoever happens to rank highest on the
new law’s ‘pecking order’ of surrogates.”
Rabbi Biser describes several of what
he calls “nightmare scenarios” that could
easily take place now in cases where inca-
pacitated patients lack a properly execut-
ed health care proxy:
• A recently married young man falls on
the ice and suffers a serious head injury
that leaves him unable to communicate.
His doctor says the condition is irre-
versible but his parents refuse to give up the new law, though, we might well have
hope and, in accordance with their family lost those cases—and those lives.”
rabbi’s ruling, want their son to receive all “But even under the new law,” the
possible medical treatment. The patient’s Agudath Israel attorney continues, “peo-
young wife, distraught at the prospect of ple still have a way to avoid an unchosen
remaining married to a possibly perma- surrogate from making health care deci-
nent invalid, orders the doctors to with- sions for them: Completing and signing a
draw life support. Under the new law, they health care proxy form that designates a
must follow her directive. decision-maker.”
• After a car accident, a mother of young No attorney is necessary to create such a
children is on life support; the hospital proxy, Rabbi Biser explains. “For observant
doctor says she is permanently uncon- Jews,” he says, “the simplest path is to con-
scious but other medical experts disagree. tact Agudath Israel of America and request
Her bitterly estranged husband, no longer a Halachic Living Will” that will ensure that
religiously observant and who has lived Jewish religious law will govern treatment
apart from her for some time but is not yet in case of incapacitation. Halachic Living
legally separated or divorced, holds the Wills for many states can be obtained by
power to “pull the plug” and has no com- calling Agudath Israel at 212-797-9000.
punctions about using it. “Then,” Rabbi Biser adds, “register the
• An observant elderly man whose only document with a national registry, which
adult son is no longer observant will Agudath Israel can help you do at no charge,
require a feeding tube to stay alive. He is and make sure that appropriate family
conscious and alert but cannot communi- members have a copy of the document.”
cate his wishes. The hospital doctor says Several years ago, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow,
that he has less than six months to live; the Novominsker Rebbe and rosh
other experts disagree. The patient’s sib- Agudath Israel, stated: “Every Jew in
lings insist that he would want to stay America should fill out and sign a
alive, but they have nothing in writing to Halachic Living Will. We are living in an
prove it. The son orders the doctors to era in which many doctors and hospitals
not place the feeding tube and to with- are no longer committed to the concept
draw intravenous hydration. They must of the sanctity of human life. Having a
comply, and the patient dies days later Halachic Living Will helps ensure that
from lack of nutrition and water. halachah will be upheld in life and death
“Lest anyone think these scenarios are health care decisions.”
far-fetched,” says Rabbi Biser, “Agudath A New York attorney who helped
Israel has been called in several cases sim- Agudath Israel develop its Halachic Living
ilar to the last one. And in each case the Will, Jonathan Rikoon, notes that it “fills
attorney we found for the family was a vital need.” “It is intended to be a legal-
able to persuade a judge to order the ly binding document that doctors and
insertion of a feeding tube over the objec- hospitals must respect. No observant Jew
tions of the patient’s adult child. Under should be without one.” ❖

A New Twist On
Spring Break
In Florida:
Volunteering
BY JACOB BERKMAN
Spring break is a tradition of sorts for

college students, but rather than partying,
57 Hillel members from seven campuses
headed to Miami earlier this month to
volunteer at a youth center in the down-
trodden Overtown district.
They spent a week engaged in com-
munity service projects working with
underprivileged communities. The
Overtown Youth center, built by former
Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning, is
located downtown in one of the city’s
worst neighborhoods. The 20-block
area, which was founded as a segregat-
ed, black neighborhood because of Jim
Crow laws, once was the center of
black culture in Miami. Now it is over-
ridden with drugs and has the highest
rate of violent crimes in the southern
Florida city.
Each morning, the Hillel students
worked in the sun building benches and
tables for an outdoor classroom for
nearby Dunbar Elementary School. In
the afternoons they tutored students at
the youth center. And at night they
reflected on the work they were doing
and the experience of learning up close
about what it means to be poor in the
United States. They also had a bit of free
time at nights and on Shabbat to see
Miami and, if they wished, to experi-
ence its nightlife.
The trip to Miami was a part of Hillel’s
Alternative Spring Break program, which
this year will involve 1,300 college stu-
dents from around the world spending
their vacations engaged in Jewish service
learning projects.
Such programs have been attracting
increasing philanthropic support
from funders who see them as a
potentially effective way of building
Jewish identity among high school
and college students.
It’s a trend that recently drew some
stiff criticism from Jack Wertheimer, a
professor and former provost at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Writing in Commentary, Wertheimer
criticized the idea of focusing more
attention and resources on creating
service projects aimed at helping non-
Jews. He took aim at the multimillion-
dollar endeavor Repair the World, a
nonprofit that aims to help create a
movement around projects such as
Alternative Spring Break. Repair the
World shot back that Wertheimer was
wrong—that, in fact, the organization is
spending millions to help build Jewish
identity and assist Jews in need, as well
as non-Jews.
As for Hillel, the campus organiza-
tion is working with several Jewish
groups—ones that you’d expect, includ-
ing the American Jewish World Service,
Jewish Funds for Justice, and the
American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee—to send some students
overseas and others to New Orleans. only a small part of his life—a part he center to Dunbar Elementary. “People a year of their lives immersed in
But in Miami, Hillel was working with a sees primarily as a way to meet people. were staring at us because we were Overtown.
very untraditional partner—City Year, a He has his Jewish circles and his non- white,” he said. Some 20 Hillel students Firestone—whose largest budget item
non-Jewish nonprofit. The two organi- Jewish circles. from Michigan State sitting in a circle at a is immersive Jewish programming, such
zations are teaming up to send a total Beresh, the son of an Israeli mother, field outside the youth center expressed a as the 10-day Birthright Israel and the
of 140 students to volunteer in some of said he chose to come to Miami to do similar sentiment. weeklong Alternative Spring Break—
the country’s worst neighborhoods not something meaningful with his free time. Wayne Firestone, Hillel acknowledged the real challenge of help-
only in Miami, but also in Los Angeles During his week stint, he tutored two International’s CEO, asked if the stu- ing students see service as a Jewish value
and New York. kids, a fourth-grader named Adom and a dents felt they had taken a risk by to be lived rather than merely experi-
Hillel believes that its partnership with third-grader named Javon. Adom wants to coming to Miami. Nearly all raised ences on a one-week trip.
City Year, which it piloted last year in be a doctor, and Javon wants to be a foot- their hands. Asked by an observer if After all, many of the scores of stu-
Tampa, is the first large-scale partnership ball player. “I expected them to be sad or they would consider coming to a place dents being flown into Miami for the
between a Jewish and non-Jewish organi- project do not volunteer during the rest
zation to create a Jewish service learning of the year on their home campuses. And
project. The term is used to describe a while many Jewish students came from
program, like the one in Miami, that com- out of town to help out, the Hillel at the
bines volunteer work with Jewish learn-
ing about why and how community serv-
At the discussion it was clear that University of Miami does not have any
involvement with City Year.
ice can be understood as an extension of Several participants in the Hillel
Jewish values. most of the students believed that program said that since arriving in
Depending on the subsidies each Miami, they had started talking about
school can raise, the program is a fairly
inexpensive way to enjoy what the stu-
helping the kids in Overtown was how to create volunteer opportunities
on their home campuses. And
dents say is a meaningful experience. For Firestone said that Hillel would like to
instance, the students who came to a Jewish ideal. make Miami and South Florida a hub
for a broader City Year-Hillel partner-
Miami from the University of Virginia
each paid about $200 to participate, ship that would allow for more oppor-
according to the school’s Hillel director, tunities for local students.
Jake Rubin. So while the debate has been over
Most of the students had never spent upset,” he said of the children, “but they like this to volunteer alone or with whether such programs should be
extended time in such an urban environ- were fun and are great kids.” one other person, only three raised focused on helping Jews or non-Jews,
ment. And for many of the participants, it Judging from the reactions and com- their hands. some Jewish service learning organizers
was their first serious introduction to ments of many participants, the key At the discussion it was clear that are beginning to wrestle with a possibly
Jewish learning and engagement with question was not the religious or ethnic most of the students believed that more difficult question: How do you
Jewish culture. identity of those being helped. Instead, helping the kids in Overtown was a convince students that volunteering to
Ziev Beresh, a freshman at Michigan for many of the Hillel students, the trip Jewish ideal. At the same time there help the less fortunate is a Jewish value
State University, said growing up in New to Miami was eye opening because it clearly was a large chasm between the that should be pursued all year, not just
Paltz, N.Y., he really didn’t practice much allowed them to step outside of their Jewish students in Miami taking part in as a component of a really neat trip?
Jewish ritual aside from lighting relatively privileged settings. a one-week highly organized program (JTA.org) ❖
Chanukah candles. He said that while he Beresh recounted that it felt dangerous and the City Year volunteers, who were This article was adapted from JTA’s philanthropy
is active with the campus Hillel, it is when the group walked from the youth about the same age but were spending blog, TheFundermentalist.com.

AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA starts with the following statement, “Or
le’arba’a asar,” To the light of the 14 of
yezter ha’ra, evil inclination. The thinness
of the matzah represents humbleness,
is compared to the candle, and the Torah
is compared to the light, to search for the
Nissan, we search the chametz; to the connected to the yetzer ha’tov, good chametz, in order to locate and remove
beautiful melody. The harmony is impec- light of the candle. The Talmud in instinct. Asks the Zohar, if this is the case, the chametz (yetzer ha’ra) of our homes,
cable, the message is unmistakable, and Pesachim 2A asks: what is the meaning of why does the Torah not prohibit the con- (our lives), we need the light to find it,
the inspiration is unbeatable. the word “or,” day or night? The conclu- sumption of chametz all year long, like which is the Torah.
Benny Taubenfeld is now the driving sion is that or means night. If so, why other prohibitions of the Torah? The Rabbi Haim Palagi, in Mo’ed Kol Hai
force behind Sameach and he is delighted does the Mishnah not start with the Zohar answers: One week of matzah has quotes the following statement from the
with the new Menucha album. “When I world liyla, which means night? The an effect on the neshamah (soul) of the Talmud in Sotah 21A, “ein aveirah
listened to the new CD for the first time,” Gemara answers, to teach us a most person that lasts for the whole year. The mechavah Torah,” No sin can extinguish
he says, “I was utterly amazed at the com- essential lesson: that a person should proof of this is the yom tov Shavuot. This Torah learning. He continues, “ein aveirah
positions and the music. Each song is never say something inappropriate, yom tov has an additional korban called mechavah tzedakah,” No sin can extin-
unique and there are so many excellent unpleasant, or negative. The Talmud sh’tei halechem, the offering of two loaves guish tzedakah, charity. Torah study and
ones to choose from. I expect this album brings down a proof from Noach. When of bread (chametz). The message of the charity go hand in hand.
to fly out of the stores as soon as it’s Hashem tells Noach prior to the flood: Torah is that, as long as the person is con- The Talmud in Bava Basra 10: Great is
released.” “Of the clean animal, of the animal that is nected to the Torah, we have the tools to the power of charity that hastens the
Menucha could not have happened not clean…” (Bereishis 7:8) The Torah adds fight against the yetzer ha’ra. The Zohar redemption. An important mitzvah to
were it not for the vibrant kesher eight letters in order to say einenah teho- calls the matzah: “The food of faith, the perform before Pesach is to give ma’ot
between its three members. “These three rah, which is not pure, instead of the food of healing.” chittim, which literally means money for
guys,” says Eli, “have a certain magic word temeya, impure. With this we are Additionally, we may be able to derive the wheat, i.e., to provide for the Pesach
together. The way they sing and harmo- able to understand the following: or, an extra lesson from the Mishnah in needs of the poor.
nize with each other, it’s really amazing.” light, is the essence of Pesach. With the Pesachim, “Or le’arba’a asar bodkin et May the merit of Torah study and char-
Danny Berkowitz, who lives in Monsey, is celebration of Pesach we derive energy ha’chametz le’or ha’ner: To the light of the ity hasten our final and long awaited
a distinguished member of Hatzolah. He for the whole year. 14 of Nissan, we search for chametz to the redemption. With best wishes for a
sings the lower pitched harmonies on the The Zohar in Shelah writes a very inter- light of the candle: The Talmud in Sotah Pesach kasher ve’sameach, Tizku lesha-
album. The warmth of his voice adds to esting concept about chametz and 21A states: “Or” means light…light means neem rabbot. ❖
the intrinsic beauty of the songs. Avi matzah. The rising of the chametz repre- Torah, as the pasuk states in Mishlei 6:23,
Schachter is married and has two chil- sent ga’avah, arrogance, connected to the “Kee ner mitzvah ve’Torah or,” The mitzvah Continued on Page 65
dren. He lives in the Five Towns. His inno-
cence and purity lend a certain whole-
someness to the album. Shlomo Schwed
is a true ben Torah sitting and shteiging in
yeshiva in Yerushalayim. He has an amaz-
ing voice and reaches high notes that no
one else can.
For more information about Menucha
2, contact EG Productions at 718-853-9403
or visit www.eligerstner.com. ❖
Pesach Message From Rabbi Yosef

Galimidi Of The Beit Edmond J.
Safra Synagogue
The celebration of Pesach is probably
the most observed holiday of the Jewish
calendar. What special power does
Pesach contains that makes it so unique?
Perhaps the message of Pesach is as fol-
lows: Pesach reminds us of our slavery in
Egypt, but also is our first redemption. In
Pesach the Jewish nation is born.
In Hebrew Egypt is known as
Mitzrayim, but the same letters with differ-
ent vowels can be read metzareem, nar-
rowness. David Hamelech in sefer Tehillim,
118:5, in the Hallel, which we will read
throughout Pesach states, “Meen hametzar
karatee kah,” from the narrowness (of dis-
tress) I called upon you, Hashem. He con-
tinues, “A’nanee, bamerchav Kah,” you
answered me with great amplitude, with
the breadth of Divine relief.
Pesach can be considered like a reset
button to our lives. We remove all dark-
ness, difficulties, and challenging
moments, and we bring G-dliness, light
into our lives.
The first Mishnah in tractate Pesachim
Reach 150,000 readers

in the vibrant
South Florida
Jewish communities
from South Beach
to Boca Raton.
Call 866-978-6500
AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA
A Floridian Pesach
By Eli Shapiro
Well, Hello South Florida. What an
honor it is to be in the inaugural edition
of the SFJT. By the time you are reading
this, I will be gone. Gone from my home
in New York, visiting y’all down there in
the Sunshine State and recreating the
exodus from Egypt by walking along the
sandy beaches of Florida.
From the beginning of Adar until
Pesach, we eagerly wait for our W-2’s,
1099’s, and other statements of income
from the previous year. Then we spend
hours searching for receipts and other
forms of documentation that will hope-
fully minimize the amount of coin we
owe to Uncle Sam or, in an even better
scenario, maximize the amount that
Uncle Sam owes us.
This year we can hope for a little more
money in our pockets than usual. Our
federal government, as part of its ongoing
economic stimulus plan, will send bil-
lions of dollars to millions of people
across the country, thereby encouraging
us to spend more and, ultimately, stimu-
late the economy. Although those checks
won’t arrive until June, between that and
the great refund that Aron at ADF Tax will
work hard to get for you, some big deci-
sions have to be made. Plus, free health
care is right around the corner.
You can go through this very paper
and find a whole host of ways to spend
your money. I personally am a big fan of
the Pesach hotel. I know there is much
debate over whether one can truly expe-
rience Pesach at one of these venues,
since cooking and cleaning—two big
features of Pesach—are not required.
However, if the goal of Pesach is to
experience a certain degree of cheirus
(freedom), then may I say, “Mission
accomplished.”
While the Pesach hotel options cover
the globe, there is a jewel in South
Florida that I have had the opportunity to
be a part of for the past three years, the
Ramada Plaza Marco Polo in Sunny Isles
Beach (North Miami Beach), Florida. As
with any organization, success or failure
results directly from its leadership.
Many have become familiar with
Yanni, who, with his sister-in-law Malka,
runs a fantastic program. Where to
begin? Let’s start with my favorite part,
the food. I religiously attend the 7:00 a.m.
Shacharis so I can be at breakfast. The
options at this most basic of meals are
staggering. Fruit, cereals, cheeses, eggs,
kosher l’Pesach bagels, lox, cream cheese,
and more. They even have omelet sta-
tions where a chef will make your eggs to
order, with a large assortment of add-ons
available.
Lunch is usually a full buffet, with
choices of fish, soups, and baked pota-
toes with all the toppings you can imag-
ine. The dinner menus take the cake (no
pun intended, but there are really great
cakes, too). When the waiter comes to
the table and asks you if you would like
the brisket, prime rib, duck, spring chick-
en, or flanken, the only thing you can
say is “yes.”
In addition to the regular meals, the
tearoom is almost always open, the lobby
area is stunning, and the rooms are well
Passover 1945: A Controversial Twist On The “Four Sons”
BY RAFAEL MEDOFF no author’s name, but it had all the dra- European Jewry. Jewish community over the future of
matic hallmarks of the Academy Award “There Were Four Sons” was illustrat- Palestine. The first three are different
Many of us recall the use of Passover winning screenwriter Ben Hecht, who ed by the famed artist Arthur Szyk, who, types of American Jews who opposed, or
themes in such Jewish political activity as was the most prominent of the Bergson in between drawing covers for Time and at least were uninterested in, the fight
the “Freedom Seders” of the 1960s Jewish for a Jewish state.
student movement or the “Let My People The “Wicked Son” represents the
Go” campaigns by Soviet Jewry protesters wealthy, assimilated Jew who actively
in the 1970s and 1980s. opposed Zionism. This Wicked Son
But the appearance of Passover
imagery in contemporary Jewish politics
This Wicked Son asks, “What is this asks, “What is this nonsense about a
Jewish nation and an independent
goes back much further than that. With homeland? When all this fuss blows
Passover approaching in 1945, Zionist nonsense about a Jewish nation over, let them return to the countries
activists in the United States undertook they came from . . .” “Answer him,” the
an information offensive that utilized the
holiday’s themes to challenge the small
and an independent homeland?” pamphlet continues, in the style of the
traditional Haggadah, that “since he
but influential segment of the Jewish elects to hold himself aloof from a phys-
community that opposed Zionism. ical concern about his brother’s plight,
Shortly before Passover 1945, the he has disqualified himself from a voice
Jewish activists known as the Bergson Group’s publicists. Hecht had previous- Collier’s and political cartoons for the in the life and death affairs of a foreign
Group issued a pamphlet that retold ly authored a series of attention-grab- New York Post, put his talents at the dis- and persecuted people.” The Jews in
the “four sons” portion of the Haggadah bing full page newspaper ads for the posal of the Bergson Group. Szyk’s “four Europe and Palestine fear his involve-
with a starkly modern twist. The book- group that stoked controversy by bold- sons” are taken straight out of the ment in their affairs “more than the
let, titled “There Were Four Sons,” bore ly criticizing Allied policy towards debates then raging in the American plotting of the anti-Semites,” since “the
adverse testimony of a supposed friend
can be as scriptures in the mouth of the
devil.” Szyk’s depiction of the Wicked
Son looks suspiciously like Joseph
Proskauer, president of the American
Jewish Committee, who was one of the
most prominent and influential anti-
Zionists of that era. Later the AJC would
change its position and support the cre-
ation of Israel, but at that point, in 1945,
it argued that the existence of a Jewish
state would compromise the status of
Jews in the Diaspora.
The next son, whom English-lan-
guage Haggadahs typically call the
Simple Son, is here called the
“Indifferent Son.” He appears to be a
middle-class Jewish businessman, wear-
ing a fedora hat and chomping on a
cigar. “Why don’t we leave well enough
alone?” he asks. “Aren’t we doing okay
here?” He worries that paying too much
attention to European Jewry might
“prod anti-Semitism here in America.”
“Answer him,” the Bergson pamphlet
instructs, that fighting for a Jewish state
would ultimately help decrease, not
increase, anti-Semitism. Achieving “free-
dom and safety for your less fortunate
kin in the death valley of Europe will
create a sound moral foundation for a
world order of peace and security,” and
that would include “banishing anti-
Semitism.”
Szyk’s “Uninformed Son” (whom most
Haggadahs call “the son who does not
know to ask”), wearing a laborer’s cap, is
the stereotypical Jewish workingman. He
says he cannot understand why the Jews
“complain against the British [administra-
tion in Palestine].” After all, “Do Jews not
have freedom there to live, work, sing,
play, and worship as they please?”
“Answer him that Palestine is far from a
land of freedom today,” the pamphlet
asserts. “In Palestine there are concentra-
tion camps” (meaning the detention
camps where Jewish activists were held
without charges), “torture chambers”
(Jewish militants were often mistreated
by their British captors), “ghettoes” (a ref-
erence to the curfews and other restric-
tions imposed on many Jewish neighbor-
hoods), and “explicit anti-Jewish laws”
AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA
appointed. Just picture having your Seder
next to a 30-foot-high wall of windows
overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. With top-
notch entertainment and activities on
chol ha’moed, a world-class day camp, and
a comfortable home-like atmosphere,
Yanni and Malka put together a remark-
able program everyone enjoys.
If you’re reading this and you are cur-
rently at the Marco Polo just take anoth-
er sip of your frozen smoothie from the
tea room, come visit me on the pool deck.
If you’re not already here, it’s not too late
to make reservations for the second days.
Well, back to my lounge chair overlook-
ing the Atlantic. Have a warm Pesach. ❖
It is offering that
ascends upon the pyre
of the Altar
(Vayikra 6:2)
Why is the word mokdah
(“pyre”) written in the Torah
with a miniature hei? To teach
us that the fire in one’s soul
should be understated; it
should burn within, but show
nothing on the outside.
(The Rebbe of Kotzk)
And the kohen shall

put on his linen gar-
ment, and his linen
breeches shall he put
on his flesh
(Vayikra 6:3)
“His linen garment”—this
teaches us that the priestly
garments must fit the kohen’s
measure, and must not drag
on the floor or be raised
above. (The word used here
for “his garment,” mido, liter-
ally means “his measure.”)
“And his linen breeches shall he
put on his flesh”—this teaches
us that there must be nothing
intervening between his flesh
and the priestly garments.
(Talmud,Yoma 23b; Rashi)
And he shall put off his

garments, and put on
other garments
(Vayikra 6:4)
Clothes in which he cooked
for his master, should not be
worn when serving a goblet
to his master.
(Talmud,Yoma 23b)

The Four Sons
In A Modern
Version
B Y N I S O N G O R D O N , A’ H
The answers that the Torah prepared

for the inquiring sons change throughout
the generations.
The world says new Haggadahs are
published each year because the wicked
son (rasha) of the previous year is now, a
year later, considered the wise one
(chacham). However, the assertions and
the questions of the four sons do not
change with the printing of that time.
They remain as foretold in the Torah in
parashas Bo when the Jewish people were
still in Egypt where the roles of three of
the sons were described: The wicked son,
the simple son (tam), and the son who
does not know how to ask (she’eino yodei’a
lishol), and concludes with the fourth one,
the wise son, who is first to appear on the
scene at the seder or in parashas
Va’eschanan, where Moshe, our teacher,
warns the Jewish people what awaits
them as an independent nation, before
entering the promised land.
Not only did the four sons not change
their roles, but hundreds of years later
we begin to understand them better and
to comprehend on a more profound
level the words that the Torah put into
their mouths.
Obviously, all the questions of the four
sons were not posed at the time when
the Jewish people were in Egypt or dur-
ing their sojourn in the desert but at a
later time. In general, the questions did
not even pertain to that time. Even the
simple son knew the answer to ‘what is
this?’ and even the one who did not
know how to ask grasped what was hap-
pening at that time. And what about the
wicked son? . . . At that time he was not
considered a heretic and he did not iso-
late himself. All he desired was some
meat and bread. He was contesting the
leadership of Moshe and Aharon. And our
perspective of the golden calf was revised
and was not considered to be plain idola-
try—as we understand it.
Each of the questions is prefaced with
the statement, “And it shall come to pass
when you enter into the land” or “It shall
be when Hashem will bring you into the
land.” Only when the Jewish people come
to Eretz Yisrael does the Torah provide the
father with the answers to the child who
does not know how to ask.
But when one peers deeply into the
words of the Chumash, one is immediate-
ly struck by the omission of one word in
the narrative of the wicked son—tomor-
row (machar, meaning the future). For the
simple son it is written, “And it shall be
when your son will ask you in the future
(machar), ‘What is this?’” (Sh’mos 13:14) For
the wise son it states, “When your son
should ask you in the future (machar) say-
ing . . .” (Devarim 6:20). However, for the
wicked son it states, “And it shall be when
your children will say to you, ‘what is this
service to you?’” (Sh’mos 12:26) without
the word machar which can be interpret-
ed as not looking toward a future.
It is possible to receive the impression
asks, “How can I help my fellow men in
“Four Sons” Europe and Palestine?” The pamphlet
answers him by urging him to “join this
(such as those prohibiting most Jewish crusade [for Jewish statehood] with all
immigration and land purchases). his heart and all his soul” and “add his
The Bergson Group’s “Wise Son” con- voice, his influence among friends, and
trasts sharply with the other three. He is every penny he can honestly spare . . .”
a Jewish soldier in the U.S. Army. He The long dark night of Nazi persecu-
tion was drawing to a close, and the sides such as “There Were Four Sons,”
struggle for a Jewish state was about to which invoked ancient imagery to sway
begin in earnest. It was a struggle waged hearts and minds. ❖
in Palestine with guerrilla warfare, on
Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S.
the high seas with refugee ships, and in Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies,
the court of public opinion with broad- www.WymanInstitute.org.

the Jewish people.
Modern Version Perhaps the Haggadah itself sheds light
on the answer. The author of the Haggadah,
that the wicked son appears on the scene though he shows that he is strict in regards
earlier than the others. It takes less time to the wicked son, he at the same time
to hear the questions of the wicked son expresses his concern on behalf of him. He
who immediately pushes to be ahead of seems to indicate that he is essentially not
the others. In the Haggadah, the wise son that wicked, rather, perhaps he is similar to
is mentioned ahead of the others; howev- the son who does not know how to ask. It
er, in reality, it is the wicked who seeks to states, “Therefore, you must answer him
ascend the dais to pose his poisonous bluntly and say to him, ‘Because of this G-d
questions. Only later (in the machar) did for me when I went out of Egypt.’”
meaning in the future, does the wise son These are the exact same words and the
present counter arguments to defend same pasuk with which we address the son
with all his might the work that the who cannot ask.
wicked son did to undermine it uncon- The Torah forewarns us that in all of our
tested for the longest time. passion and zeal we should deal sensitive-
It is remarkable that for the first time all ly with the wicked son, for his wickedness
four sons appear on the soil of Eretz Yisrael may not come from being deliberate or
where the eyes of G-d remain affixed, not contrary. Perhaps it is a result of his igno-
on the unseemliness of Egypt, not in the rance of his surroundings which was void
wilderness of the desert, but actually in the of Judaism. Therefore, he received a false
holy atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael. It is there concept of the Jewish people and the
that the wicked son comes with his ques- Jewish homeland and is in effect distanc-
tion, “Why do you need this” and “of what ing himself from those who should have
value is this?” brought him closer.
How is this possible? Why in Eretz And of further interest is the deviance of
Yisrael should there be grumbling with so language employed regarding the wicked
much force toward Hashem and His son as opposed to the others. What is writ-
Mashiach? Perhaps the answer lies in the ten in the Torah is what we should answer
tone of language used in addressing the the other sons. For the wise son, the pasuk
wicked son at the seder table. For the other states, “You shall say to your child ‘We were
sons the words are, “When the L-rd your slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Hashem
G-d shall bring you” (Devarim 7:1). The took us out of there with a strong hand.’”
other sons come with the knowledge that (Devarim 6:21). As for the simple son, it
it is the Master of the Universe that will states, “You shall say to him, ‘With a strong
bring them into the land of the hand Hashem removed us from Egypt,
Canaanites, the Hivites, Emorites, and the from the house of bondage’” (Sh’mos 13:14).
Jebusites; as He swore to the forefathers to Also for the son who does not know how
give the land which flows with milk and to ask it states, “And you shall tell your son
honey to their children. on that day, saying, ‘It is on account of this
However, in referring to the wicked son that Hashem did for me when I left Egypt’”
it only states, “And it shall come to pass (Sh’mos 13:8). There is a completely differ-
when you come to the land.” (Sh’mos 12:25) ent answer to the wicked son in the Torah
Therefore, it will seem to him that he has from the way it is written in the Haggadah.
come by himself (with his own power) but In Sh’mos 12:27 the Torah states, “You shall
in truth, it does state later in the chapter say, ‘It is a Pesach feast offering to Hashem,
“Which the L-rd will give you in accor- who skipped over the houses of the chil-
dance with the promise that he has made dren of Israel in Egypt when he smote the
to you”—that the land is his because the Egyptians, but he saved our household.’” To
Master of the Universe gave it to him. whom shall you tell the message of the
If we come to Eretz Yisrael without wicked son? It does not say, ‘You shall tell
“When the L-rd your G-d shall bring him,” rather, “You should say to your sons,”
you”—if we look at the Jewish homeland (ibid 26) as it does with the other three
as the Irish look at Ireland and the sons, it says, “You shall say to them,”—the
Vietnamese look at Vietnam then a gener- entire community. You should emerge
ation will come who speak the words of, from the narrow ‘four cubits’ of your own
“What does this service mean to you?”. table and tell everyone what Pesach is all
And will even begin to embrace gnawing about. Inevitably the wicked son will be
doubts as to their connection to the land influenced by his new surroundings that
and the land’s connection to them. will reach him.
After all, what can we possibly do with a Chase the wicked son from the
son like that? What and how can we possi- table? . . . G-d forbid! It states, “Say to
bly answer him? Chase him away from the them”—by saying and telling you shine a
seder table, G-d forbid! If the Torah places light onto the environment, the communi-
him at the seder table and the people give ty, and all of the wicked sons’ questions
thanks for the ‘tidings of the sons’ which will inevitably be answered. For it is very
they will have (Rashi Sh’mos 12:27), then no possible that he may be speaking as a
one has the right to chase him away. Even wicked son but in reality he is similar to
with all of his wicked questions, he is a son the child who just does not know how to
who is still loyal to his people and will go ask, stemming from his ignorance towards
in ‘fire’ for the Holy Land and for the holy Judaism. It is up to us to ensure that even
people. The generation which left Egypt the wicked son feels comfortable asking.
had to wander in the sands of the desert Generations come and generations go
because of the sins of the spies who were but the questions of the four sons remain
the great leaders of that time (Rashi the same, no matter what language the
Bamidbar 13:3). They disappointed and dis- generations possess, including the mod-
couraged the people when they were so ern-day sabra Hebrew.
very near the border of the Promised Land. Fathers should remember and diligent-
So, how can we chase them away from the ly rehearse the answers the Torah provid-
table, a Jewish table all year—such chil- ed many centuries ago. ❖
dren whose love for the land has no
This was originally published in the Algemeiner
bounds and whose self sacrifice, each and Journal, March 26, 1975, and translated from
every day, shows their love of the land and Yiddish by Victor Cohen.
ing gorgeous! They had risen beyond my we would indeed have dessert for
expectations, and I was excited to finally Shabbos (my kids and I have a habit of
finish the process with the baking. I have sampling the cookies beforehand). And
a system when it comes to the challah now we just had raw dough . . .
baking advised by my good friend Ruchie: What to do? A call to my neighbors,
the oven gets pre-heated to about 200 the Mosaks, cured the immediate prob-
degrees, and the challahs get put into that lem. We would be able to bake the chal-
warm oven for about 10 minutes, and lahs and cookies in shifts. Being that they
It’s Raining
then I raise the temperature to 350 live on our corner, Rochel devised a plan
degrees until the challahs are complete to transport all the challahs in less time:
(that time varies). The theory behind the cookie pans. We were able to transport
extra ten minutes in the warm oven is to four small challahs at a time. With both
Lea missed the bus today (Monday), but can’t say that I keep to the exact schedule give it the maximum rising possible of us working in unison, we transported
that’s O.K. I was all dressed and preparing all of the time, but I have a general sched- before the final bake. eight challahs at one time! Fortunately
for the arrival of the roofers, so I didn’t ule that has served me well until now. I As I began the procedure of carefully the weather was with us on Friday, and
mind driving her this morning. I’m not typically make my challah dough before I transferring the challahs into the warm we had fun walking to the corner with
quite sure what is involved in preparing leave on my errands and/or work for the oven, I noticed that the oven was not our stock. In a short time, less than an
for roofers because the work is all exterior morning. So you see, a quasi-schedule, warm. In fact, it was totally cold. I checked hour, we were able to bake all our chal-
and they already know what is being since I never quite know for sure when I to make sure I had the oven on bake (yes, lahs and our chocolate chip cookies.
replaced and/or repaired, so there is noth- will arrive at work, or complete my I often forget that vital ingredient). The Thank you so much for the kindness of
ing for me to actually do. But I needed to errands for that matter, but at least I usu- bottom oven was certainly set to bake, and our dear neighbors!
be prepared just in case my expertise was ally know that my dough is made and ris- in fact the red indicator light was on, signi- And so it is quite busy in the Lubin
required (no roofing expertise of course, ing! This past Friday, with guests joining fying that the oven was indeed on. I household these days. New carpet is being
but perhaps I would need to be on hand to us for Shabbos, I needed a bit more chal- thought perhaps the thermostat was possi- delivered for Rochel, Lea, and Rivka’s
sign off on any outstanding issues). lah than usual. With that in mind, I start- bly off the mark, so I raised the tempera- room tomorrow, the roof shall hopefully
As I turned on my cell phone as we ed my dough project a couple of hours ture all the way to 500 degrees, but it was be completed by Wednesday, and the new
were getting into the car, I noticed a voice earlier, and by about 6:30 in the morning, still cold. This oven was just not working oven is on its way hopefully before
mail message: It seems that the roofers the dough was on its way. In fact, I was so (my top oven is only good to heat things Thursday! And so today I am busy cooking
were not coming this morning after all— ahead of my usual schedule, that by 8:15 I up or to burn things i.e. the piece of chal- chametz, since when the new oven arrives
it was already drizzling, with heavier rain already had the challahs twisted and the lah dough). Yes, I know that I could have I do not plan on using it until we are com-
expected, henceforth not a great day for challah that was taken off as per run back to Gourmet Glatt at that point pletely pesadik. Chabad better have a good
exposing a bare roof! Unfortunately one halachah burning in the top oven, and and just purchased challah, but at this kiddush on Shabbos!
more thing that was to be accomplished my gefilte fish already boiled. point in my baking challah career I felt And so when it rains it pours, but at the
before Pesach that will have to wait until Before leaving the house, my hafrashat that I couldn’t break the chazakah as it end of the day I will have a perfect roof,
Wednesday (rain is expected for tomor- challah was nice and black and I was able were, and I needed to bake those challahs. clean carpet, and a totally pesadik oven in
row as well—let’s hope we will be rela- to put away my sort-of cooled fish. As After all, I had already recited the time for the holiday! It’s all good! ❖
tively leak free until the work is done). usual, time got away from me on Friday. hafrashat challah blessing!
Phyllis Joy Lubin is an attorney with Rosenfeld &
What is Murphy’s Law? If something Somehow between my typical trip to Another to-be-baked item: the choco- Maidenbaum, LLP, who resides in Cedarhurst
can go wrong, it will . . . or maybe also, Gourmet Glatt and unforeseen emergen- late cookies! I had prepared the dough with her husband Leonard and six children:
Naftali, Shoshana, Rivka, Rochel, Yosef, and Lea.
when it rains it pours (literally some- cies at work, I did not get home until the day before, but wanted to wait until She welcomes your questions and comments at
times)! I have a certain Friday schedule. I about 1:00 to find my rising challahs look- Friday to bake them to further insure that MothersMusings@gmail.com.

Blessing Of The Fruit Trees
I added these words to the scene.
Toward the end of the speech of Famine,
a spotlight came up on stage left, and a
young girl said, “Someday, the land of
Israel will be so replete with fruits and
BY TOBY KLEIN since the berachah can also be said on hair, he will be less of a “baby.” grains that neighbors will beg one anoth-
GREENWALD Shabbat, now that they have their own er, ‘Come and pick the fruits of my tree,
families it is often after lunch on a spring The Second Event before it breaks from the weight.’”
In the spring month of Nissan, we are Shabbat that they get up and declare, Last year, while co-author Yael Valier Art imitating life.
instructed to make a blessing the first “Let’s go to the Davids’ yard to say the and I were in the midst of writing the
time we see a fruit tree in bloom (Berachos berachah on their tree!” texts for the musical revue In Search of Starting Anew
43b). I would translate the blessing thus: But this year, our daughter Adina and Courage (to be performed by our women’s Later in that same play, Boaz says, “Ah,
“Blessed are Thou, L-rd of the Universe, her husband took their son, Yehonatan Raise Your Spirits Summer Stock Ruth—when I saw her in the field, and
who has seen to it that there be nothing Menachem, to make the berachah on this Company), it fell to me to write the solil- then, so hesitant, so noble, on the thresh-
lacking in His world, and Who created in last Sunday morning, which was also the oquy spoken by the Famine, which we ing floor . . . What chesed, what courage.
it good creations and good trees, in which day before his chalakah (or ufsherin, as it is had personified. Famine, outfitted in a The courage of Ruth, and the courage of
human beings can delight.” known is some circles)—cutting his hair, flowing black robe and dark makeup, rep- my people, to live through a famine, and
I discovered this blessing for the first carry on.”
time after living in Israel, though it is The month of Nissan is considered a
recited throughout the world. new beginning. A new beginning for
There is something evocative about the
blessing. After all, we do not make a bless-
“Someday, the land of Israel will be so trees. A new beginning for the Children of
Israel who left Egypt. And a new begin-
ing on the first vegetables or spices we see
pushing up through the ground, or on the
replete with fruits and grains that ning for anyone in need of it.
Enjoy the holiday! ❖
first appearance of wheat or other grain.
We do not bless a new baby chick or a calf. neighbors will beg one another, The author is a journalist, poet, and educational-
theater director.
What is it about the fruit trees? I
believe I found the answer through two ‘Come and pick the fruits of my tree.’ ”
experiences.
The first is a yearly occurrence in our
family. We have tried to grow fruit trees
in our yard in Efrat but have been unsuc- now that he has turned three years old. resented the famine that the Children of
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?
cessful, perhaps due to the position of For some reason I find myself binding Israel endured before leaving Canaan for WE WANT TO KNOW!
our yard which faces a strong western these two events together—the new Egypt, in the times of Joseph, and the
wind. From the time our children were blooming of the tree and the cutting of famine that caused Elimelech and Naomi UPLOAD YOUR
young, they have eagerly awaited spring Yehonatan’s glorious locks. to leave Bethlehem.
every year, in order to go to the home of They are both new beginnings. The In the midst of the writing, a neigh- COMMENTS AT
a neighbor who hangs a sign out by his tree belonging to the David family will bor had sent an e-mail to our communi-
cherry tree with the berachah on it. soon bring forth luscious, juicy cherries. ty list, pleading for people to come and
www.SFLJT.com
They have always treated this as an And as Yehonatan receives his first pick the apricots off his tree before the
event. It is not just a casual walk-by. And tzitziot, and his kipah will sit on shorter branches broke.

The Day I Watched
A Man Die
BY RABBI NOCHUM tion. On the first day we had 23 signa-
KURINSKY tures, day two we had 200, and on day
SHLIACH, PONTE VEDRA BEACH three 1,000. At about that time, many in
the broader Jewish community got
February 24. The call came in at about involved in the cause to encourage the
2:00 p.m. “Can you be with Mr. Martin governor to grant a clemency hearing to
Grossman during his execution?” Mr. Grossman. Leaders from Agudath
How can you say no? How can you say Israel, the OU, the RCC, many in the
yes? What can you say? After speaking to yeshiva world in Monsey and Lakewood,
my wife, I decided to go. I made a few and Satmar chassidim were getting
phone calls and found a companion for involved. It was simply amazing! The
the road, and off we went. Along the way, cause was taking a life of its own. Every
another friend offered to join, and the day e-mails were being sent out to thou-
three of us departed down the I-95 to the sands upon thousands of people from all
I-10 to be with Mr. Grossman. walks of life encouraging them to sign
A little background. the petition. At its close, the petition had
A few months ago, Rabbi Mendy Katz in excess of 33,000 signatures; many peo-
from Aleph sent out an e-mail to the local ple wrote personal notes. The achdus of
Chabad rabbis. In it was a very simple Klal Yisrael was heart-warming.
request. Due to the financial downturn, Just to give further insight into this, we
Aleph could no longer afford to send put together a website called savemartin
yeshiva students to all the prisons in grossman.com. While putting the site
Florida. Would any community be will- together, I realized in amazement that
ing to go visit a few prisons in their area? the man with the idea for the site was a
We volunteered. Rather, I volunteered Litvisher/yeshivish Jew, the man who
and subsequently invited members of paid for the site was a Satmar chassid and
our community to come along. here I was, a card carrying Lubavitcher
On our first visit, during Chanukah, shliach, working on the site through
our group was divided into pairs of two Chabad.org’s unbelievable server system.
for maximum efficiency. David Sall, a Incidentally, nearly 20,000 people logged
local psychiatrist, and Rabbi Menachem onto the site during the last week alone.
Mendel Lieberman, my lifetime friend That’s the background for today’s
and a local law student, teamed up; I part- events. I’m now on the way to the prison
nered with Dovid Moyer, a local financial with my two friends Dr. David Sall and
repair specialist and businessman. Our Rabbi Mendy Lieberman, who by divine
group went to a number of prisons that providence are the same two people who
day, including Union Correctional. visited Martin during Chanukah. I did not
Mendy and David went to death row. As specifically call them. I asked some oth-
you know by now, death row housed the ers first. As they say, a Jew plans and G-d
now world-famous Martin Grossman, a’h. laughs. I planned on spending my after-
Several days after our visit to death noon and evening with some teenagers at
row, the governor signed Martin’s death the local high school doing a Jewish teen
warrant and set the date of execution for group and helping my wife (who just had
February 16 at 6:00 p.m. Saddened by the a baby) give the kids dinner and do bed-
news, but not really sure what to do, I time. David was busy with some needed
kept about my daily business and even recreation and Mendy was at school.
went back to visit the prison one more None of us ever expected our day to turn
time with a group. out the way it did.
Sometime during January, Rabbi Katz We got to the prison and were told, as
called me. “Martin is going to die,” he expected, that only I could go in. Mendy
said. “What can we do to help him?” At and David were to wait with the media
first, I have to admit, I was hesitant. What across the street. I was escorted in and
could I do? I’m a local Chabad rabbi. This given the rundown. There was to be only
is for the national organizations. After respectful behavior. There would be no
reading the proclamation by Rabbi contact with Martin. No books or metal
Shochat of Los Angeles that one could were allowed in. I had the opportunity to
even violate Shabbos to save Mr. meet with and thank a few of the chap-
Grossman, I was convinced. lains and department heads who had
First, I called Rabbi Mendy Katz back been very helpful in our past prison visits.
and told him I was on board, but only to I also met Martin’s attorney. It was touch-
assist him, not to take charge of this. ing to be able to meet the man who put
Then, I called Rabbi Oirechman, the up such a fight for Martin over the years.
Chabad rabbi in Tallahassee, and asked if At about 5:30 we were escorted togeth-
he was on board. After giving it some er with all the other people who were to
thought, he said that he was fully on witness the execution. Amongst the
board. Now was time to get the plan in group were about seven or eight mem-
motion. bers of Ms. Parks’ family. There were a
Rabbi Katz put together a letter that number of state witnesses, and about six
most of the 150 Chabad rabbis in Florida or seven members of the press. We were
signed. Another letter was written by taken through the metal detectors and
Rabbi Zvi Biarsky, which many rabbis searched. We then passed through a num-
from every Jewish group signed as well, ber of security doors which I was all too
and they were both later hand-delivered familiar with from previous visits. The
to the governor by Rabbi Oirechman. mood was a mix. People were chatting
In addition, I started an online peti- nervously and were very cordial with
each other. I was so thoroughly about all of those people, those individu- The only visible part of him was his that which I remember and that which I
impressed with the Parks family and the als that the Rebbe had reached out to arm, in which was an IV that would do not.” He then said, “I would like to say
other people present. They handled through the years—one Jew at a time, deliver the sam hamoves, the poison, a prayer.” The officer said, “Okay.”
themselves so courteously despite the mostly through his shluchim. The Rebbe and his face. In the room with him At that point Martin says “Shema
obvious tension. loved every Jew. Here again there is one were a police officer and someone Yisrael Adon- Elokenu Adon- echod” in a
We were taken into a van and driven Jew sitting in a faraway place in middle of who stood with a paper and note- loud voice. And then he said something
to another section of the prison. We nowhere, no family with him, no love book, presumably recording every that I will never forget as long as I live.
were then escorted into a room at from the audience. He would have died detail of what transpired. The room “Ahavat Yisrael.”
about 5:45. The room was about 30 feet alone. The only person that cared about also had a large clock behind Martin At that point I began to weep so loud-
by 15 feet; it was lined with three rows him was the Rebbe, who sent Rabbi Katz as well as video cameras and micro- ly that the guy behind me asked me if I
of chairs, each about ten chairs deep. to spend four hours with him on his phones hanging from the ceiling. would like to leave. There are no words
On the last row, furthest from the dying day and me to be here while he Otherwise there were freshly painted to describe the way Martin died. Martin
front, sat the members of the media. In breathes his last breath. walls, a sparkling clean floor, and a committed a terrible crime, one that
front of them, the state witnesses, and I started to daven that whatever I one-way glass leading to a third room will haunt a family as long as they live.
in the first row was the Parks family But with those two words he showed
and myself. that “ein davar bo bifnei haratzon,” noth-
For 15 minutes you could hear a pin ing stands in the way of a man’s will.
drop in that room. Nobody looked at Martin died proclaiming his affection
each other. People sat in silence, just What am I doing here? Why would for Yisroel, his brothers and sisters
reflecting. I put on my ‘gartel’ (special throughout the world, more for G-d and
belt for prayer) and started to daven. his Torah as well. Martin died a repen-
First I said a number of prayers by heart Hashem want me to be here? tant man, but more than that. Martin
and then I started to say Psalms. I died a man that accomplished some-
became oblivious to my surroundings,
just simply lost in thought and prayer.
What purpose does this serve? thing that we as Jews have been trying
to do for nearly 2,000 years. He brought
Suddenly, I began thinking, What am I us together with true Jewish unity—
doing here? Why would Hashem want Ahavas Yisrael.
me to be here? What purpose does this Who knew a child born to an abusive
serve? After all, there is so much pain think, whatever I feel, should be what behind Martin. father and sick mother, a boy who
and hurt in this room; the Parks family the Rebbe would want me to think Martin did not look at the crowd nor could not make it through school, a
suffered terribly. They are obviously still and/or feel. What does Hashem want me at the police officer next to him. He just young man who shopped for drugs in
dealing with much of it. Tens of thou- to do now? I started to sing a niggun to stared up at the ceiling. There was his mother’s closet, a man who killed
sands of Jewish people throughout the myself based on the words “Kiayil taarog silence in the room. The tension was so someone—and not just a person, but a
world are sitting in prayer, hoping and al afikei mayim kein nafshi taarog eile- thick you could cut it with a knife. I for beautiful park ranger who was just
praying that Hashem will have mercy cho Elokim.” My soul wants to be with one was almost convulsing. The clock doing her job, while he was high on a
and grant Mr. Grossman reprieve. And you Hashem. read 6:02. cocktail of drugs, could have such an
much of that burden falls on my shoul- Almost immediately the curtain The officer asked, “Mr. Grossman, do incredible impact?
ders as the one Jew, the one rabbi, the opened and there was Martin in the you have any final words?” to which Martin died as a true ba’al teshuvah al
one ‘shliach’ of the Lubavitcher Rebbe next room. He was only four or five Martin replied “Yes.” Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying G-d’s name
sitting in this room. feet from us, but he was strapped Martin began, “I completely regret in public, the highest level a Jew can
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind down and covered up until his neck. everything that I did on that night, both reach on this earth. (Chabadbeaches.com) ❖

One Israel Fund Celebrates Its 16th Gala Anniversary Dinner
One Israel Fund’s 16th Gala deep appreciation for their work on was Mr. Khadavi’s presentation of the by violence and hatred every day. But we
Anniversary Dinner hosted hundreds of behalf of Ulpanat Dolev received the IAJF’s donation of $75,000. Mr. Khadavi also live in a world of everyday reality,
supporters from around the globe on Keter Shem Tov Award. took a moment to essentially chastise one that relies on growth and continuity.
Tuesday, March 16 at Terrace on the Park. “I remember Israel as a country that everyone, including those in the room, We live with and around Arabs who are as
The evening’s theme of Achdut (Unity)— hardly had anything to offer besides its for referring to the beautiful and thriving affected by the building freeze as [much,
Building Bridges, Bridging Gaps, was history, noted Dr. Hishaut, a resident of cities of Judea and Samaria as settlements if not more so than] we are. These people
most clearly illuminated by the deserving Lawrence, NY. “Back in 1949, Jerusalem . . . a term that implies transience. are builders and contractors whose liveli-
honorees, devoted to the safety and wel- was a hinterland—not unlike Monticello. The evening’s keynote speaker, Oded hoods have been grossly affected by this
fare of those 300,000 men, women, and But today [in Israel] there are booming Revivi, mayor of Efrat—a lawyer, a sol- building freeze. We find that the only
children that are the vanguard of Israel’s cities, successful manufacturing plants, dier, a father, a son, and a statesman—is ones satisfied with the current situation
security and sovereignty as a Jewish State. international corporate leaders . . . all truly an Israeli, not a mere settler. He in Judea and Samaria are those living
Dr. Yashar and Mrs. Perie Hirshaut built from nothing. One Israel Fund and came just days after the American vice thousands of miles away or those just a
were presented with the Bonei Yisrael the Jewish families of YESHA are commit- president’s visit to Israel; just days after few kilometers away waiting to destroy
Award. Steven Khadavi accepted the ted to that continued growth—to keep- the president’s disheartening remarks the lives of those, Jew and Arab, actually
Shomer Yisrael Award on behalf of the ing the flame alive and that’s why we are and offered a firsthand view of the strain living on the land in question. One Israel
Iranian American Jewish Federation of all here tonight.” of everyday life in his part of the world. Fund shines as a beacon in an ocean of
New York; and Sy and Carole Oshinsky in Contributing to the evening’s success He noted, “We live in a world threatened darkness. One Israel Fund stands shoul-
Steven Khadavi, Shomer Yisrael Awardee, presents check to One Israel Fund Executive
Vice President Scott M. Feltman for $75,000 to One Israel Fund on behalf of the Iranian
Bonei Awardees Dr. Yashar and Mrs. Perie Hirshaut flanked by One Israel Fund American Jewish Federation of NY. Steven and Scott are joined by (L–R) One Israel Fund
Israel Director Irwin Borvick (L) and Executive Vice President Scott M. Feltman (R). trustees Stanley Rosenberg and Jay Kestenbaum and President Steven S. Orlow.
Breaking News
SFLJT.com
IT’S FINALLY HERE!
The debut issue of the
SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES
Be a part of this exciting and diverse Jewish market.
Reach 150,000 readers in the vibrant South Florida

Jewish communities from South Beach to Boca Raton.
Find out how our sales team can help you reach your
advertising goals.
Please call 866-978-6500
PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

der to shoulder with the families of Judea
and Samaria offering life-giving and life-
saving support and security in these diffi-
cult times.”
Steven Orlow, One Israel Fund’s pres-
ident, echoed Mr. Revivi’s sentiments.
“These are perilous times,” he
remarked. “We must all commit our-
selves to the safety of our brethren in
Judea and Samaria. On behalf of our
staff and supporters I thank our deserv-
ing honorees for being shining exam-
ples of that commitment.”
Contributing to the evening’s success
was the presence of this year’s Yedidei
YESHA Award recipients: Jessica Adler,
Samuel Cohen, Yoni Friedman, Julianna
Gershbaum, Talia Gross, Joseph
Kestenbaum, Shira Levie, Tamar
Liberman, and Rachel Markowitz along
with the members of Girl Scout Troup 703
of the Young Israel of Hewlett: Michal
Beer, Ariella Borah, Avigail Borah, Kayla
Evans, Sara Evans, Avigail Feinberg, Esther The Yedidei Yesha awardees.
Fruchter, Samantha Lieberman, Talia
Lifshutz, Yonina Schwartz, Dalia
Szpilzinger, and Shoshana Weinstein. This their homes in Gaza during the summer ical centers, install playgrounds, or pro- committed to the modern-day pioneers
annual award is presented to students of 2005. Whether we build schools, med- vide life-saving security systems, we are who call YESHA their home. ❖
who raise funds and awareness on behalf
of our brethren in Israel.
“These dedicated and caring young men
and women are the cornerstone of not
just our organization, but Jewish life both
here and in Israel,” noted Scott Feltman,
One Israel Fund’s executive vice president.
“I always find it heartwarming to see so
many of our young people getting
involved because I know it truly inspires
those around them to do the same. Each
person in attendance has a child, grand-
child, family member, neighbor, or stu-
dent who could stand up here next year as
well. The students honored here tonight
are the impetus for future awardees.”
Another young face at the dinner was
Bat El Gimpel, an alumnus of Ulpanat
Dolev, a rehabilitation school in the
Shomron for abused and troubled jun-
ior and senior high school-aged women.
Bat El came to New York to share her
experiences and thank, not only One
Israel Fund and its supporters but also
the Oshinskys, who in 1988 founded
PROUD (Partners Reaching to Ulpanat
Dolev), the organization which supports
the all-girls ulpana.
“I came to Ulpanat Dolev at 14, a pret-
ty wild child with no family of my own
and no clues to my past,” she said. “Now
I’m 24 years old, independent, and get-
ting married this May and my Dolev fam-
ily will stand with me under my chupah.
I’m closing the circle of my past and start-
ing a new life for myself and my fiancé.
With the help of the Ulpanat Dolev fam-
ily and One Israel Fund, I am able to
stand on my own two feet with determi-
nation to succeed in life.”
One Israel Fund is more than just a
force for security and safety; it’s a means
of life-affirming wellbeing for the fami-
lies of YESHA. “One Israel Fund helps
keep Israel whole,’ said Sy Oshinsky.
“Ulpanat Dolev helps teenage girls that
come to the school with broken spirits
become whole again. The two were made
for each other.”
Funds raised at this dinner will help
One Israel Fund continue its efforts in
filling the gaps in essential security, med-
ical, educational, and social services that
are conspicuously lacking in YESHA, as
well as providing much needed support
to the families who were expelled from
each day of Pesach, the Torah is teaching The Midrash explains that just as the
us that the character of each day remains angels did not recite Hallel on the sev-
the same throughout the yom tov. enth day of Pesach (at night), we also do
However, the varied sacrifices of Sukkos not recite Hallel on the seventh day. The
reveal to us that each day of the holiday first obvious problem with this Midrash
is different from the others. is that it fails to explain why only half-
Therefore, in honor of the special Hallel is recited on chol hamoed. After all,
meaning of each day of Sukkos, repre- the Egyptians drowned on the seventh
Half And Half

sented by each specific sacrifice, a com- day not on chol hamoed. Some Acharonim
plete Hallel is recited. The latter days of explain that it would be inappropriate to
Pesach do not have this special character- recite full Hallel on chol hamoed and only
istic, consequently only half-Hallel is half-Hallel on the seventh day which is a
When we use the term half we don’t don’t say the first 11 pesukim of kepittel 115 recited. (Answer as explained by Rabbi Ari full fledged yom tov. This would seeming-
always refer to 50%. When someone is and 116, but we do recite the remainder. Z. Zivotofsky, Ph.D., in Jewish Action). ly lend more importance to chol hamoed
called a half-wit that doesn’t mean he The import of half-Hallel is that it is the When the Mishnah Berurah explains than to yom tov. Once we instituted that
has half of the intelligence of a regular Hallel that contains some half-chapters, why only half-Hallel is recited he offers a only half-Hallel should be recited on the
human. The intent is merely that he not that it is half of the original Hallel. totally different reason than the one seventh day, perforce Hallel had to be
has less than 100% of normal intelli- Why do we only recite half of Hallel mentioned in the Gemara. His source is a reduced on chol hamoed as well.
gence. When a store has a half-off sale, on the last days of yom tov? The answer Midrash quoted in the Beis Yosef (OC 490). However, why do we need an alternate
very often items are only discounted explanation for the recitation of only
20%. If you complain to the manager half-Hallel in addition to the one already
he will explain that the half-off mentioned in the Gemara Eiruchin? The
moniker refers to the never-used and
theoretical manufacturer’s suggested
We are not mourning the death of Kollel Iyun HaDaf offered the following
answer in their publication Thoughts on
retail price (MSRP). Finally, on Pesach The Daily Daf on Eiruchin. There are two
we supposedly break the middle the Egyptians who wanted to kill basic reasons for reciting Hallel. First, we
matzah in half, but who is able to pro- recite Hallel on festival days in order to
duce two perfect halves? Machine
matzah can be divided on the perfectly
us; rather we are signifying that praise Hashem as we celebrate His festi-
val. Second, we recite Hallel in order to
placed perforations, but with hand- commemorate a miraculous salvation
matzah you have no such luck.
On chol hamoed Pesach and on the last
the malachim did not sing Shirah. from danger.
The Gemara in Eiruchin is asking why
days of yom tov we recite half-Hallel. Half- we do not recite the full Hallel on all of
Hallel is more like 85% of Hallel. We just the days of Pesach because of the first
cut out 22 pesukim from the complete given in the Talmud (Arachin 10a-b) is that That Midrash references a fact in our reason since each day is a moed. The
Hallel. Once again the term half is not after the first day of Pesach, the Mussaf Gemara in Sanhedrin (39b). The Gemara Gemara answers that the ensuing days
used literally. Most likely the term half- sacrifices are identical each day, while on says that the angels wished to recite of Pesach are not considered independ-
Hallel originates from the fact that the Sukkos a unique Mussaf sacrifice is Shirah after the Egyptians drowned in ent mo’adim, as we see from the fact
two paragraphs that are skipped are pret- offered each day. The Mussaf sacrifices the Yam Suf but Hashem stopped them. that each day does not have its own
ty much the first half of two chapters in are indicative of the character of the yom Hashem said, “My creations are drowning
Tehillim. When we recite half-Hallel we tov. By mandating the same sacrifice for in the sea and you are reciting Shirah?” Continued on Page 86

tions. late. But we are one of the latest minyan-
Yes, we eat meals on every chag. I im in the area on Shabbat at 8:30, so this
know the old adage that describes 90% of was a big jump. As a matter of fact, last
Jewish holidays as “they wanted to kill us, Shabbat we started at 8:00 a.m. in order
G-d saved us, let’s eat!” Yet, on Pesach, to get to Shema on time. We are very par-
food is so central to the holiday that the ticular to make sure that there is enough
seder and the meals take on much more time to make Shema and adjust davening
meaning and are associated with much time for 10-15 weeks of the year because
Welcome Floridians! more emotional impact in my memory.

Of course, we also have some compli-
cations that you don’t. The kitniyot/non-
of it.
Each chag, I try to remember to write a
personal wish to my readers. I generally
South Florida—The weather is nice in rotation that allowed them to work kitniyot ingredients issue is a real pain. try to remind you that as a Kohein, I look
the winter and there’s Disney (which we longer individual days, but still be home Well, actually, that is really the only forward to bringing your yom tov korban-
miss terribly) nearby. But we have . . . on other days in order to get their houses advantage you have. ot at the rebuilt Beit Hamikdash on the
Israel. In any case, welcome to the South cleaned and readied. The local e-mail lists Another annoying thing is the clock upcoming chag. This Pesach, I will do the
Florida Jewish Times in its debut issue. are full of “where can I get” questions and change. Yes, you also changed the clocks same, but Machon HaMikdash: The
You now get to see why the Five Towns “what can I do” questions and the spirit of already. But you would think that a coun- Temple Institute has done me one better.
version is so lauded. yom tov is definitely in the air. try of Jews would get the concept of They are offering reservations for a por-
The next time you complain about the Interestingly, Pesach is the only chag delaying the change until after the seder tion of a Korban Pesach.
kids underfoot for a couple of days dur- in which the differences between Israel so that we could start (and finish) an hour As you know (or may not), on erev
ing your Pesach prep, remember what I and Chutz La’aretz (or Shmutz La’aretz, if earlier. We get it right in the fall, switch- Pesach we will sacrifice the Korban
am about to tell you. Our children, includ- you will) are minimized. OK. So we only ing to the early clock the week before Pesach in the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash
ing the youngest preschoolers all had off have one seder (which is huge) and we Yom Kippur. I am sure that the real reason (assuming Mashiach arrives) and the peo-
from school since last Friday—11 days have more chol hamoed. But Pesach has we lose out on Pesach is that it was made ple of Machon HaMikdash dedicate their
always been, at least to me, a tremen- as a trade-off for Yom Kippur. work and lives to preparing for the Bayit
dously exciting family experience. A time On the flip side, I was able to convince Shlishi. They want us to show our belief
when we really get together and spend the rabbi to start davening at 9:00 a.m. on
The Temple time together maintaining family tradi- the first day of Pesach. It may not seem so Continued on Page 86
Institute has done

me one better.
They are offering
reservations for a
portion of a
Korban Pesach.
before the chag (In Israel, they are in

school from Sunday through Friday). That
means we had to entertain them for a
week and a half in addition to preparing
for Pesach, working at our jobs, and doing
whatever else we might need to take care
of.
In order to get them out from under-
foot and keep them busy, many families
will send their kids to Pre-Pesach camps.
That’s right, camps. Enterprising teens
and owners of private preschools spend
the weeks leading up to Pesach distribut-
ing flyers and posting e-mail notices
about their “amazing,” “best,” “superfun”
and every other adjective you can name,
camp.
Parents, in a frenzy of calculation,
spend time analyzing the most important
factor to them: which camp will keep my
kid occupied for the longest amount of
time. Sometimes a trade off is made. For
instance, Moshe has a private basement
preschool that he goes to on early dis-
missal days and school vacations. He has
been in the same preschool since we
arrived in Israel. He loves the teacher and
is incredibly comfortable there. Although
we might have been able to find another
program for him that would be longer, he
stayed with Etti because it is simply easi-
er for us.
This is an exciting time here in Israel.
There is a frenzy of activity as the country
gears up for the chag. Relatives (not just
yours, but your neighbor’s as well) whom
you may not have seen in a while arrive
from distant shores. Cleaning,
cooking...the whole process is something
that everyone is involved with.
In our office, the secretaries made a
Puzzle Page: The Stars Of Pesach
BY YONI GLATT
Solution on Page 87.
Across 5. “Yeah, right!”

1. You might take them out in this paper 6. Indian garb
4. Grates, vocally 7. Stride
9. Another famous Moshe 8. Low-res and full color
14. Slice 9. Mark down
15. Pre- Passover Patriarch 10. 5th and Madison
16. Egg in early stages 11. First name of a Pharaoh actor, 1956
17. ___-Wan 12. a.k.a. Clay
18. Around 13. Religious enthusiast Flanders
19. Extremely cold 21. Pocket protector go-with
20. Pharaoh, 1998 22. Cornhusker st.
23. Plague locale, at times 25. Deposit usually spread by wind
24. Black or Caspian 26. Ohio Town
25. Former Chief Rabbi of Israel 27. ___ ___ Flour (Passover must)
28. Air and water 29. One to lend to Antony
33. With 72-Across, Moses (1981) 30. Old
35. ___ Miserables 31. Abode
38. Illegal foreigner 32. Anti-venom, e.g.
40. . . . ___ a rich man 34. Have
41. Dathan, 1956 35. Veggies at some Seders
45. Vase 36. Astronomer Hubble
46. Basic cake ingredient 37. Terrific
47. ___ -cone 39. Not happening
48. With 67- Down Moses, 1998 42. Baking soda appendage
51. Internet need, for some 43. Like the New Jersey Nets
53. NBC skit show 44. Anger
54. Pasture 49. Picks
56. Northern European capital 50. Ump
60. Aharon, 1998 52. Cosa Nostra
65. Destroy 55. Following
68. Indonesian island with a population 57. Not the quickest animal at the zoo
of 3 million 58. Jewish calendar?
69. Single 59. Signs
70. Decree 60. Athlete
71. Dodge 61. What a generous person does
72. What some people get over Pesach 62. Mid-East Sultanate
73. Gebrochts 63. Pack
74. Membership option 64. Sketched
75. a.m. and p.m. 65. “___ Not That Into You”
66. “Much ___ about . . .”
Down 67. See 48 Across
1. Tree dropping
2. Persian Gulf municipality
3. Calm
4. Loaded
DAF YOMI INSIGHTS on the day that the Egyptians drowned, rejoice at the downfall of our non- ALIYAH CHRONICLE
Continued from Page 82 why did the B’nei Yisrael during the year Jewish enemies. No such exception, Continued from Page 83
of Yetzi’as Mitzrayim sing Az Yashir on however, is extended to the malachim
unique korban (as does each day of the seventh day? (The Gemara in who are not members of the Jewish that the redemption is coming by reserv-
Sukkos). The Midrash, however, is Pesachim states according to Rabbi nation. They could not sing Shirah ing a share in a Korban Pesach. As far as I
addressing a different question: why do Elazar that they recited Hallel as well!) because Hashem’s creations were understand, they aren’t buying any ani-
we not recite the complete Hallel on the Furthermore, if we really are not sup- drowning. To commemorate the occur- mals, just making a commitment to you
last day of Pesach because of the mirac- posed to sing Shirah on the seventh day rence that the malachim did not sing that the animal will be available when
ulous salvation (k’riyas Yam Suf) that of Pesach, we should eliminate Hallel Shirah and to remind us of the accom- you need it. Kind of an “avoid the erev
occurred on that day (the second rea- altogether, not just subtract a few panying moral lesson, we curtail our Pesach rush—make sure you are covered
son)? The Midrash answers that since pesukim. Lastly, the Gemara states in recitation of Hallel on the seventh day and reserve now” message.
some of Hashem’s creations were Megillah that Mordechai kicked Haman somewhat by eliminating some Before you send me an e-mail or a let-
destroyed by this miracle, it is not fit- as he was stepping on him to get onto pesukim. We are not mourning the ter to the editor telling me that this is
ting to recite Hallel to commemorate the royal horse. Haman asked death of the Egyptians who wanted to kefirah or something of the sort, I want to
such a salvation. This clearly answers Mordechai, “Doesn’t your Torah say kill us; rather we are signifying that the state clearly that I am not advocating that
our first question as well. The reason ‘Don’t rejoice at the downfall of your malachim did not sing Shirah, and that people sign up for this. I did not person-
mentioned in the Midrash was only enemy.’?” Mordechai responded, “That Hashem shows compassion for all of his ally make a reservation. I believe that
meant to explain why we don’t com- is only for one’s Jewish enemies.” So creations. Therefore, half-Hallel on Hashem will take care of all our needs
plete Hallel on the seventh day of why should we curtail our recital of Pesach should be recited with complete when the time comes, or at least make it
Pesach, not chol hamoed. The complete Hallel at all because of the drowning of joy and exuberance and not in a half- possible for us to obtain the necessary
Hallel is not recited on chol hamoed the gentile Egyptians? hearted manner. Chag Kosher supplies. If he could miraculously make
because there was no significant mira- We are forced to conclude that in fact V’sameiach. May all your matzah be well sure that there was room for all those
cle that occurred on those days and we really should recite the full Hallel on done and not half-baked. ❖ who came to Yerushalayim for the chag-
their yom tov status does not require the seventh day in commemoration of gim in historical times, he can make sure
Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz
Hallel as explained in the Gemara in the great miracle Hashem performed for Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead that we all have an animal for Pesach.
Eiruchin. us. After k’riyas Yam Suf, the Jews recit- and is a rebbi at Mesivta Kesser Yisrael of But I do think the concept of anticipat-
Willowbrook. He can be contacted at
Some questions still remain. If we are ed Shirah. This is due to the fact that we ASebrow@gmail.com. Rabbi Sebrow would like ing the redemption is something that we
not supposed to recite Hallel or Shirah as Jews have a special dispensation to to thank Yakov Gross for his technical assistance. lack and could use more of. Perhaps
aliyah would be another way of express-
ing this feeling.
So I wish you and your families a ter-
rific Pesach. When you come to the Beit
Hemikdash to have your Korban Pesach
slaughtered, if I am on duty, I would be
thrilled to help you in this Avodah. On the
off chance that there is still no Beit
HaMikdash by the time that Pesach
arrives, let me wish you a wonderful chag
and my brachot for l’shanah ha’ba
b’Yerushalayim habenuyah!
I wish a mazal tov to our publisher,
Larry Gordon, upon the launching of his
latest venture, the South Florida Jewish
Times. Although it is not as impressive as
say, the Bet Shemesh Jewish Times, it is a
great step in providing news, community
information, and items of general inter-
est to a wonderful part of the country
(plus, my snowbird relatives can shep a
little nachas each week while they are in
their Florida houses). I view Larry as a
visionary with an unerring sense of what
the community wants to know and learn
about. I wish Larry and his family and the
5TJT/SFJT families continued success.
Kinneret Update: This will be one of
my final updates of the season. I may do
a rain season recap after Pesach, just to
summarize how we did this year. This
week, the Kinneret was down 4 cm to -
212.76 and looks to be at or near the high
point of the year. With the arrival of the
spring, the temps will warm up and the
rains will stop falling. We will probably
begin to see drops in the water levels over
Pesach. ❖
Shmuel Katz works at Machon Puah, a non-profit

fertility organization that provides (worldwide)
free halachic and medical counseling,
independent supervision of fertility treatments
and educational programming. Shmuel, his wife
Goldie, and their six children made aliyah in July
of 2006. Prior to his aliyah, Shmuel was the
executive director of the Yeshiva of South Shore in
Hewlett. You can contact him at
shmuel@katzfamily.co.il.
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?

WE WANT TO KNOW!
E-MAIL US AT
editor@SFLJT.com
Exiled Fiancé Of Slain Iranian Protester
Solution To This Week’s Puzzle: Brings Message Of Peace To Israel
The Stars Of Pesach BY SAMUEL SOKOL
ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT
Caspian Makan, former fiancé of mur-
Photo By Jossef Avi Yair Engel

dered Green movement protester Neda
Soltan, visited Israel this week, meeting
President Shimon Peres as a self-appoint-
ed “ambassador of the Iranian people.”
The exiled Iranian dissident billed him-
self as a “messenger from the camp of Meeting with President Shimon Peres.
peace” and expressed his admiration for
Israel’s respect for human rights. Israel’s
human rights record “stands in stark con- unarmed female, nobody can murder
trast to what occurs under the Iranian what she symbolized and represented,”
regime and its leaders,” said Makan. said Peres, meeting with Makan in
Makan’s fiancé, Neda Soltan, was shot Jerusalem’s Bet HaNasi. “You can murder a
in the chest and killed by a member of person, but not a spirit. One candle can
the Iranian Basij paramilitary force in scatter a lot of darkness. And this candle
2009, when it was deployed to quell mas- will not be extinguished. In this struggle,
sive civil unrest in Iran following a dis- I am sure that the progressive and moral
puted presidential election. Amidst alle- Iran will emerge victorious.”
gations of electoral fraud by presidential “I came to Israel as an ambassador of
incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sup- the Iranian people, as a messenger from
porters of opposition leader Mir-Hossein the camp of peace. I have no doubt that
Mousavi staged massive protests in the soul and spirit of Neda felt the sensi-
Tehran and other Iranian cities, in what tivity and warmth I received in this
came to be known as the Green meeting. The fight will go on,” Makan
Revolution. It was during one of these ral- replied.
lies that Neda Soltan, who came to be Peres expressed his “great respect for
known as “the face of the protests,” was the Iranian protesters who go out to fight
killed. The slain 27-year-old philosophy for freedom, unarmed, and receive in
student’s name means “voice” or “mes- return bullets in cold blood. I have no
sage” in Persian and her death was quick- doubt you will win. You represent a truth
ly taken up as a rallying cry for opponents that never grows old, a freedom that has
of the regime. no alternative.”
“What happened to Neda proves that Israel and Iran enjoyed mostly cordial rela-
Puzzle appears on page 84. even if someone can murder a young, tions prior to the 1979 Iranian revolution. ❖

BRS Loss Is YU Gain 108th Birthday Celebration
By Shelly R. LaVanesh The Boca Raton Synagogue, an
Change is occurring in Boca. Rabbi Orthodox Union synagogue, has approxi-
Josh Broide, the executive director of the mately 650 member families and has
Boca Raton Synagogue, is taking on a new undergone impressive growth since its
position in outreach with the Yeshiva beginning almost three decades ago. The
University program in the Boca area with shul has a dynamic and active sisterhood,
Rabbi Brander, formerly the rabbi of the men’s club, chesed committee, and an
Boca Synagogue. Rabbi Broide will stay enviable adult education program. The
on through June. shul also offers a Shabbat hospitality pro-
“Rabbi Josh Broide is good for the shul. gram and a bikur cholim committee. BRS
He will be missed. He was very good and also offers a unique Holocaust study pro-
very dedicated to the shul—a real gentle- gram called K.A.D.I.S.H., which stands for
man,” said Steve Peritzman, a congregant Keeping Alive with Dedication the
at the Boca Raton Synagogue. “He always Interest in, and the Study of the
has the best interests of the shul at heart,” Holocaust. The K.A.D.I.S.H. Holocaust
remarked a retired businessman who Memorial and Learning Center’s objec-
lives in the Boca area as well and is a tives are to preserve, commemorate, and
member of the synagogue. memorialize the memories of lives and
“Josh is an excellent and remarkable communities lost in the Holocaust; to
asset to any institution and his talents conduct educational programming about At a luncheon held in the New York State Assembly parlor in Albany, New
and skills will be used well by Yeshiva the Holocaust; and to fight bigotry and York, in celebration of the 108th anniversary of the birth of the late
University,” remarked a colleague of Rabbi promote tolerance through a variety of Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (L–R): Assemblyman
Broide’s. “It is good that at least he will events. Rabbi Broide was instrumental in Charles D. Lavine, Rabbi Shmuel Butman, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver,
remain in the Boca Raton community.” the growth of the synagogue. ❖ and Assemblyman David I. Weprin.
This is the offering of

Aharon and of his
sons … a meal offer-
ing perpetual, half of
it in the morning, and
half of it at night
(Vayikra 6:13)
The Kohen Gadol’s daily
offering was a meal offering,
the offering of a poor man.
This, for two reasons: that a
poor man bringing his pau-
per’s offering to the
Mikdash should not be
ashamed; and to awaken
humility in the Kohen
Gadol’s heart, with the
appreciation that before
G-d he is the equal of the
most impoverished of his
brethren.
(Abarbanel)
The kohen brought a meal
offering on the day that he
began serving in the
Mikdash, while the Kohen
Gadol brought one every
day. It is a mark of great-
ness that a person regards
his every day as a new
beginning in which he
strives to transcend all his
previous achievements.
(Maayanei Shel Torah)


South Florida Jewish Times Issue 1

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Descrição original:

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

South Florida Jewish Times Issue 1

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

$1.00 WWW.SFLJT.COM !jnau raf dj VOL. 1 NO.

1 11 NISSAN 5770 um ,arp MARCH 26, 2010

One Israel Fund awards.

WHAT ARE YOU FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK OBAMA-LIVNI

Gilad Erdan, Minister ‘The Prophet Yoel’

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 13

14 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 15

16 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 17

18 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

not to make any further pre-peace-talks

Individuals: Sins Of Speech

22 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 23

The Search For Chametz elements one needs in order to survive;

24 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

28 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

When Yonatan noticed how excited the

frying and baking. Potatoes are often french fries.

Grilled Potato Salad

34 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 35

36 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 37

tefillin and a few apples my mother had

Reach 150,000 readers

38 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

congregation; and his continuing service

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 39

The Shmuz On that he was still human and would feel

For more on this topic, please listen to

I do not think we can really call a

42 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a

And the fire upon

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 43

Despite the late hour and exhaustion

The Haggadah, of course, is no mere

48 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

50 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

52 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 53

Your Event… Simply Spectacular

Carefully selected ingredients,

54 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

56 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

The Zuckers’ approach reflects that of

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 59

Spring break is a tradition of sorts for

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 61

Pesach Message From Rabbi Yosef

Reach 150,000 readers

And the kohen shall

And he shall put off his

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 67

The answers that the Torah prepared

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 69

74 March 26, 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 75

SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH TIMES March 26, 2010 79

Be a part of this exciting and diverse Jewish market.

Reach 150,000 readers in the vibrant South Florida