JS-1*

NEW JER S EY January 18, 2013 · Vol. LXXXII · No. 17 · $1.00

81 2012
JSTANDARD.COM

JewishStandard
It’s party time!

Israelis go to the polls on

Tuesday to elect 19th Knesset
COMMUNITY
Helping synagogues
move into the 21st century 6, 7
ARTS AND CULTURE
Israeli theater of the deaf and blind 53
 NY BOARD OF RABBIS PRESENTS

David Broza
LIVE AT TEMPLE EMANU-EL OF CLOSTER

Concert to Benefit New Jersey Hurricane Sandy Victims

Sunday, Feb. 10th / 1 Adar

6:00pm Concert
VIP Reception after the Concert

Tickets
$50 each

VIP Ticket Packages

$360: 2 Tickets + Signed CD
$500: 2 Tickets + Signed CD
+ VIP Reception with Artist
$ 1,000: 2 Premiere Tickets (first 3 rows)
+ Signed CD + VIP Reception with Artist

Invited Guests
Governor Christie
Senators Lautenberg & Menendez
Congressmen Garrett, King & Pascrell

To purchase tickets
please contact
Jessica Di Paolo
at 212.983.3521
or jdipaolo@nybr.org

2 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

Contents FYI
A taste of cholent
LARRY YUDELSON

I
t’s the quintessential arc of our times: from an
Occupy Wall Street protest to a reality television
cooking show.
The star in this drama: Jeanette Friedman’s cholent
recipe.
Friedman, a New Milford writer, editor, and frequent
contributor to this newspaper, will be appearing — briefly
— on “The Taste,” a cooking show premiering on ABC on
Tuesday night.
Friedman was one of 16,000 people who sent an
e-mail to apply to compete. For the initial interview,
LOCAL LOCAL she made the pareve cholent she had prepared for the
Jewish Occupy Wall Street events organized by her son,
URJ helps Reform SLI helps local area Dan Sieradski, in 2011, served with a kick — a salsa.

synagogues reach out 6 synagogues rethink She served it in a blue-stemmed martini glass on a
white plate with a red spoon.
membership 7 Friedman and her cholent passed the first audition.
For her second dish — prepared at home — she vid-
eoed herself preparing a light summer brunch of beef
tongue, lean pastrami, and Israeli and potato salads.
The screen test earned her a visit from a film crew,
who came out to her house, interviewed her, and
LOCAL watched and tasted as she prepared chicken, matzah
ball soup, unstuffed cabbage, chocolate rugelach, and
Board of rabbis jalapeno kugel with mushroom sauce.
And then came the call. “The Taste” flew her out to Los
sets Saturday night Angeles, one of 60 initial contestants who each would have half
an hour to make a signature dish in an initial hurdle designed to
of Torah study 8 whittle the field down to 16.
Friedman’s chosen dish: her jalapeno kugel.
But how to prepare and bake a kugel in only 30 minutes?
“I used a muffin tin. All I had to prepare was a single spoonful,”
she explained.
Asked to explain her dish, she outlined the history and varieties
of the traditional Eastern European casserole, and how she modi-
fied a salt and pepper version by adding jalapenos.
“You should have stuck to tradition,” she was told. She didn’t
make the cut.
But she’s not disappointed. “I’m already a winner” for making it
on the air at all, she said.
“What kind of child of survivors would I be if I bitched and
moaned about losing?”
And the taste of Hollywood’s “Taste” has given her a new dream:
A cooking show where she cooks her guests’ favorite comfort food
“and then we sit and shmooze about their life.”

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PAGE 15

“See, we told you so” is exactly

the right response to make
ARTS & CULTURE regarding the nomination of
Theater of the Sen. Chuck Hagel
ARTS & CULTURE
deaf and blind 53 Harry Lerman, Paramus
Living with a lapsed
CANDLELIGHTING TIME: FRIDAY, JAN. 18, 4:38 P.M.
Chabad rabbi 49 SHABBAT ENDS: SATURDAY, JAN 19, 5:41 P.M.

NOSHES .................................................................................................. 4
OPINION...............................................................................................12
ARTS & LEISURE ...........................................................53
LIFECYCLE................................................................................... 56
PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT
Jewish Standard (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747) is published weekly on Fridays with an additional edition every October, by the
New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Periodicals postage paid at Hackensack, NJ and
additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ
07666. Subscription price is $30.00 per year. Out-of-state subscriptions are $45.00, Foreign countries subscriptions are $75.00.

COVER STORY...................................................................... 16
CHANGE YOUR LIFE ............................................ 29
TORAH COMMENTARY ..................................52
CLASSIFIED ...............................................................................58
GALLERY.........................................................................................60
REAL ESTATE ........................................................................ 61
The appearance of an advertisement in The Jewish Standard does not constitute a kashrut endorsement. The publishing of a paid
political advertisement does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate political party or political position by the newspaper,
the Federation or any employees.
The Jewish Standard assumes no responsibility to return unsolicited editorial or graphic materials. All rights in letters and unso-
licited editorial, and graphic material will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and
subject to JEWISH STANDARD’s unrestricted right to edit and to comment editorially. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in
part without written permission from the publisher. © 2013

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 18, 2013 3

 It took a

new left knee

for Karina to realize

we had a leg up
on other hospitals.

Karina had suffered debilitating arthritis for years, following a car accident and
subsequent knee surgery as a teenager. Later, a partial knee replacement didn’t
provide the results she’d hoped for. But after a total knee replacement by Holy
Name Medical Center’s orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Hartzband, Karina stands
ready to resume the active life she once knew. “Holy Name is phenomenal,” said
Karina. “It’s totally different from any other hospital I’ve known. The nurses come
when you call them, everyone is smiling, the physical therapists are amazing, the
rooms are great and everything is so clean. It’s been a really positive experience.”

Are you ready to start a healthy new chapter in your life?

Visit holyname.org/bonejoint or call 1-877-HOLY-NAME (1-877-465-9626).

Healing begins here • 718 Teaneck Road • Teaneck, NJ 07666

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 5

Community
URJ unveils ‘communities of practice’
Local shuls to participate in experimental outreach program
Lois Goldrich
W
hile many synagogues generate creative
ideas for growing their membership, they
often lack the resources to implement them.
To address this issue, the Union for Reform Judaism
has created the “communities of practice” program,
bringing together 37 congregations around the country
to share ideas and experiment with new strategies. Two
of them are local — Temple Beth El of Northern Valley in
Closter and Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia.
“We believe that the relationships built among the
… participants will support creation and innovation
through a new paradigm,” said Vicky Farhi, co-director of
the URJ’s Expanding Our Reach initiative. “No longer will
congregations need to experiment on their own to create
change.”
Farhi said the idea is for congregations to work
together for 18 months — through personal meetings
of congregational staff and lay leadership as well
as online gatherings — to “push the boundaries of
existing congregational efforts, experiment in their own
“It’s an opportunity to share
experiences, learn together, experiment
together, and have a network of both
faculty and experts to rely on, as well as
other congregations.”
— Rabbi David Widzer
communities, receive peer support and guidance along
the way, create congregational changes, and garner skills
that will benefit all areas of congregational life.”
The first three communities of practice — Emerging
Young Adult Initiatives, Successfully Engaging Young
Families, and Pursuing Excellence Through Your Early
Childhood Center — will launch later in January,
focusing on ways to invite the participation of specific
demographic groups.
An additional group, Reimagining Financial Support
for Your 21st-Century Congregation, will launch in
March. Two URJ professionals will moderate each
group, with URJ faculty and outside experts providing
knowledge as needed.
Farhi said congregations had to submit applications
to participate, with each required to meet a set
of criteria laid out in an introductory webinar. In
addition, congregational boards had to pass resolutions
supporting participation.
The first face-to-face meeting will take place later
in January at a URJ-sponsored conference in Chicago.
Additional meetings will take place on-line, with
subsequent in-person gatherings at the organization’s
biennial in San Diego as well as at the conclusion of the
program.
Rabbi David Widzer, religious leader of Temple
6 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
Rabbi David Widzer Rabbi Barry Schwartz
Beth El of Northern Valley in Closter, said he thinks
it is a “fabulous opportunity” for his congregation to
participate in the early childhood center initiative.
“Even though no one solution is going to fit every
congregation, we can certainly learn from one another,”
he said. “It’s an opportunity to share experiences, learn
together, experiment together, and have a network
of both faculty and experts to rely on, as well as other
congregations.”
Widzer said his congregation already has a “first-
rate early childhood center, recognized throughout the
area. It’s not a question of not doing well but rather an
opportunity to take something we’re rightfully proud of
and make it even better.”
The rabbi said the congregation, with approximately
325 member units, always has been innovative in its
approach to early childhood education, “seeing what our
families need and how we can best respond.”
He cited, for example, a recent move to include the
school’s before-care and after-care programs in the cost
of synagogue membership.
“We recognized that many who would otherwise
choose a Jewish nursery school education for their
children would have to go elsewhere because their needs
couldn’t be met,” he said, noting that regular nursery
hours might not be enough for single working parents.
“So we made it free as an advantage of membership in
the congregation. We want families to be able to have
that access to early Jewish childhood education.”
Widzer said that when URJ was organizing the
communities of practice project, “we leapt at the
opportunity,” choosing nursery school director Amy
Nelson and board member Michael Weitzner to
represent the synagogue in the project.
“Those two will head up our involvement, but I
foresee a good number of congregants being part of the
brainstorming, learning, and experimenting,” Widzer
said.
“We’re honored to have been selected” for the
program, he added. “We’re proud of our program and
we take this as an accolade. But more than that, we’re
excited at the opportunity to continue to enhance our
offerings to help families in the area make Jewish choices
and feel connected with our congregation and the Jewish
community.”
Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia has been
selected for the young families initiatives. Its rabbi,
Barry Schwartz, is excited about his congregation’s
participation in the project.
“I think the URJ has come to realize that they need to
put congregations that share the same needs and same
challenges together,” he said. “That’s what this is about.
Small congregations like ours have one set of challenges;
large congregations have another.”
While Adas Emuno, founded in 1871, is what Schwartz
calls “a wonderful little congregation,” with some 100
member units, it nevertheless embraces members of all
ages, including 70 children.
But with no preschool — and with what the rabbi
described as “demographic challenges” — it is not easy to
attract young families with children.
“We have a declining number of young families
because the Jewish population in this part of the
county is diminishing,” he said. Still, membership has
been steady, “and we want to keep that base. We’ve
been around 140 years. We want to make sure there’s a
generation to take our place.”
Noting that his synagogue serves people beyond
the immediate neighborhood, Schwartz said the
congregation is eager to attract families that are not
yet affiliated with the community, including interfaith
families.
School director Annice Benamy and congregational
leader Rebecca Kind Slater will represent the synagogue
in URJ meetings, traveling to Chicago later this winter to
participate in the inaugural conference. Both, he said, are
professional teachers.
“They’ll be talking to congregational staff and leaders
with expertise in this area,” he said. “Why not learn some
of the best practices?”
The rabbi said discussion of the issue has already
begun, and the congregation has initiated a series
of tot programs, including offerings on Shabbat and
holidays as well as field trips. He said that young families
particularly enjoyed the shul’s recent Chanukah party, at
which he played guitar, “did a Chanukah rap, and showed
them my dreidel collection.
“We’re trying to develop family-friendly programs,”
he said, pointing out that the shul is employing different
communications strategies, including social media, town
listserves, local newspapers, and parenting publications.
“We have to grow more sophisticated,” he said. “We
have to go out to where the people are.”
This year, the congregation’s Hebrew school
launched a series of family enrichment activities. Once
a month, the rabbi chooses a different grade and leads a
discussion.
“Last Sunday I met with third-grade parents to
do a Jewish family inventory,” he said. “I listed 20
material objects and 10 observances and each family
did an inventory exercise. They scored themselves and
compared scores. It led to a provocative discussion of
what distinguishes a Jewish home.”
Schwartz said the URJ initiative will “help us come
up with a comprehensive strategy [to be] an inviting
institution for young families. But whether it will lead to
the establishment of a preschool or day care or ‘mommy
and me’ program remains to be seen. I’m supportive of
the URJ’s efforts.”
Time for Jews to lose the dues?
Synagogue Leadership Initiative looks to alternative models of affiliation

Larry Yudelson

H
ow well is your synagogue’s business model hold-
ing up?
That’s the unexpected question being ad-
dressed by a series of programs from the Synagogue
Leadership Initiative this year.
Synagogue leaders regularly discuss how their roof,
air-conditioning system, clergy, and religious school are
doing.
But discussing the broader question of a business
model — defined as how an organization creates, delivers,
or captures value (and not only financial value) — is an
unfamiliar undertaking in an institution that has tradition
as a core paradigm.
In fact, the general model of synagogue affiliation —
you pay dues for the privilege of membership — is so
familiar that it has been taken for granted for generations.
However, as Lisa Harris Glass points out, very few com-
panies that are successful in 2013 are running on the same
business model as 1963, if they even existed back then.
Glass heads the Synagogue Leadership Initiative, a
project of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey
and the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation.
Last year, SLI’s programs looked at how different
generations within a synagogue relate to the institution
in different ways. This year, the focus is on
what is called “Synagogue Next,” helping
synagogues evolve “without defining what
the next is,” Glass said.
One way for a synagogue to change its
business model, Glass said, is through “sig-
nificant sustainable collaboration” — where
a synagogue joins with similar institutions
to share expenses. In a panel discussion
Monday night, representatives of area syna-
gogues heard firsthand stories of religious
school collaboration, of synagogues of dif-
Lisa Harris Glass
ferent denominations sharing a building
and a sanctuary, and of a synagogue that
merged with neighboring institutions.
Another focus has looked at shifts in the business
model that a congregation can undertake on its own,
by changing from the traditional dues and membership
model of affiliation used by every synagogue in the re-
gion, bar one, to what Glass calls “alternative models of
affiliation.”
In November, SLI convened a panel discussion pre-
senting four other models of affiliation.
In the “fair share” model, members pay a fixed per-
centage of their income instead of a fixed
fee (and have the option of asking the
synagogue’s adjustments committee for a
break).
The “free will” model goes further:
Members are told what their per capita
share of synagogue expenses are, but
whether they pay less or more is up to
them.
In what Glass calls the “tapas” model,
members pay separately for different
services — like at a Spanish tapas res-
taurant, where diners order small serv-
ings of many different dishes. That’s the
one model that has a local implementation: The Sha’ar
Communities, headed by Rabbi Adina Lewittes.
“I don’t know how viable that is for an existing tradi-
tional synagogue,” Glass said. “It seems difficult to imple-
ment if you have a building to support.
“The idea is figuring out a way where people can take
advantage of the pieces they want and not the pieces they
don’t want, and to thereby change the economic picture.”
And then there’s Glass’s own favorite, one she devel-
See Dues page 26

Study the Hebrew Scriptures

at Bergen Community College
Spend a semester reading, thinking about,
and discussing the Old Testament, also
called the Hebrew Bible, one of the central,
foundational texts of our civilization.
Discuss such questions as: How was the
world created? Why was Abraham willing
to murder his beloved son Isaac? What do
the Ten Commandments really say?
Sign up for “The Hebrew Scriptures” at
Bergen Community College.
Course Number: PHR-125-001
Spring 2013, Monday and Wednesday,
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
General Education Diversity Course
Humanities Elective 3 credits
Instructor: Dr. Alan Kaufman, Professor of
English, Religion, and Philosophy

w w w.berg en. edu

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 7

Dues from page 7
oped herself — the “investor model.” Rather than chang-
ing the actual way in which a congregation handles its
finances, this model changes the meaning assigned to
money paid by members and so changes the relation-
ship between congregations and their congregants.
Don’t think of your synagogue payments as a monthly
bill, this model advises. And don’t think of your congre-
gants’ payments as dues. They are not something that is
“due” to the synagogue.
Think of dues as investments — payments into the
present and future of a cause in which you as a syna-
gogue member believe.
“They’re giving a big chunk of their discretionary in-
come,” Glass said. Therefore, synagogues have to “move
to a framework of gratitude and appreciation from one
of expectation and entitlement.”
After a year of paying a monthly membership bill,
she said, members will ask of their shuls. “Do you send
me a thank you note? What did you do to recognize my
commitment?
“It wasn’t easy to write that check every month.”
The investment congregants make in their synagogue
isn’t measured only in money. It’s measured in time as
well — in the time spent within the synagogue each year,
and the accumulated years.
Over time, that investment adds up. Glass believes it
should be recognized and appreciated properly.
It might seem that shifting to a fair share model —
26 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
where dues vary based on income — would be the easi-
est change to make. But in the discussions hosted by SLI,
including a presentation from the head of synagogue in
GoldsteinJEWELRY AND COUTURE
Saratoga, N.Y., that had implemented a fair share model,
it proved the least popular. SALE
“People don’t want the synagogue to know how much
money they make,” said Stephanie Hausner, who works
for SLI as a synagogue change specialist. “There’s a pri-
50% Off ALL
vacy issue.”
Additionally, “how much do you make?” becomes one ME & RO
of the first conversations a synagogue has with prospec- AND MISUKI
tive members. “That’s not exactly a great way to build a JEWELRY
relationship,” Glass said.
Instead, for some synagogues, initial discussions of
fair share dues lead to the more radical — but not neces-
sarily less feasible — idea of free will dues.
25% Off
ALL IN-STOCK
To those who sit on synagogue boards, worrying
GOWNS
about the shul’s budget, the notion of making dues vol-
untary initially sounds crazy. MOTHER Of THE BRIDE/GROOM
In fact, though, most Christian congregations fund COCKTAIL DRESSES
themselves through voluntary dues. A recent study by SUITS
the Forward found that Jewish and Christian congrega- BAR/BAT MITZVAH MOM DRESSES
tions raised equivalent amounts from their members,
proving no advantage to the membership method.
INCLUDING NEW ARRIVALS
And some congregations have found that moving Alterations not included.
away from membership has succeeded in reversing rev- Sale ends february 16
enue declines.
“They got the same income, but it changed the con- 88 ENGLE ST. · ENGLEWOOD · 201.871.8774
versation,” Glass said. “People were opting in, and the
community was saying, ‘Thank you for your generosity.’”
Sweet Taste of Torah
Local program draws students from across northern New Jersey for a Saturday night of study
Joanne Palmer
S
hlomo Carlebach’s favorite time was dusk, reports
Rabbi Gerald Friedman.
“It’s the last summoning of all the little vapors
of Shabbes, all of them finally coming home to rest in this
very intense, strange, and liminal time,” Friedman, rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth Sholom of Pascack Valley in Park
Ridge, said.
If you loved Carlebach, the charismatic and influential
rabbi whose music is played so frequently in so many
places that it often seems organic rather than composed,
or if you are intrigued by the idea that Shabbat changes,
strengthens, and sweetens as it draws toward its end ev-
ery week, or if you love Friedman’s teaching style, full of
the insight gained by his chasidic background, infused
by his warmth, then you might want to consider taking
his course, “Shlomo Carlebach’s Favorite Niggun,” at the
Sweet Taste of Torah, set for February 2 at Temple Emeth
in Teaneck.
Perhaps your musical tastes run more to Stephen
Sondheim. You’re in luck! David Bockman, rabbi of
Congregation Beth Shalom in Pompton Lakes, is a seri-
ous Sondheim savant. He will be teaching “Disappearing
Mountain: A Sondheim Sinai.”
Both courses, along with 18 others, make up the Sweet
Taste of Torah, a program spearheaded by the North
Jersey Board of Rabbis, with the cooperation of the Jewish
Federation of Northern New Jersey and many congrega-
“There is tremendous talent in our
community. We are energized by each
other, when we feel that we’re part of a
larger whole.”
— Rabbi Benjamin Shull
tions that fall within the federation’s catchment area. The
program, running for its fourth year, begins with Havdallah
at 6:50 and then offers participants 10 course selections for
each of two sessions. Food and the chance for everyone to
talk to each other end the evening.
It generally draws between 200 and 300 people who
come from about 20 communities.
Sweet Taste of Torah is similar to other programs in
other places. They’re often called Torahthons, and the
federation offered an earlier version a decade or so ago,
but for the past four years it has been put together by a
group of NJBJ rabbis. Four rabbis are the core of that group
— Friedman, Bockman, Rabbi Leana Moritt of Jewish
Thresholds, and Rabbi Benjamin Shull of Temple Emanuel
Rabbi Gloria Rubin looked at movies as midrash.
8 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
Last year, Rabbi Rob Scheinberg talked about the many meanings of Hatikvah.
All photos courtesy of the North Jersey Board of Rabbis
of the Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Lake, who also is presi-
dent of the NJBJ. The four are the steadiest participants in a
group that meets every Friday to study.
• because it is good to hear fresh voices.
“We learned that when people study together on a regular
basis, they can do other things together,” Shull said. In this
case, what they did was a significant job of organizing; they
hired a coordinator, raised funds, attracted teachers, found
synagogues that would let them use the facilities, gathered
students, and began.
“The program is an evening of studying Torah —Torah
in the broadest sense,” Shull said. Broadly defined, Torah
encompasses all Jewish wisdom and learning, starting with
the literal Torah — the five book of Moses.
Most Torahthon programs tend to hire well-known
scholars and teachers, who give keynote talks. The Sweet
Taste of Torah takes another tack. There is no out-of-town
headliner. All the classes are taught and the panels peopled
by local rabbis.
This benefits both the rabbis and the other participants.
“There is tremendous talent in our community,” Shull
said. “We are energized by each other, when we feel that
we’re part of a larger whole.” In fact, because each rabbi
teaches only once, each is free to go to another course in
the other session as a student, and many take advantage of
that opportunity.
“Rabbis tend to be isolated in their own congrega-
tions, and this tends to break that down, so it’s sort of for
Rabbi Joel Mosbacher led an emotionally moving ses-
sion on the music of Debbie Friedman.
our health too,” Shull said. “And people like hearing other
people’s rabbis.” To some extent, that is because “no man
is a prophet in his own city,” he said, but it’s also simply
The program eases the burden of adult education,
which traditionally has problems attracting enough stu-
dents to make a range of courses viable. “If on average we
each bring 10 to 12 students to Sweet Taste of Torah, we
have a critical mass,” Shull said.
One challenge to the planners is finding a location cen-
tral enough to draw people from across the area. This is
the second year the program has been held in Teaneck; in
other years it’s been in Fair Lawn and Ridgewood.
“We would really like to be able to broaden and deepen
the program, and to do that we’d have to institutionalize
it,” he said. “That’s something we have to work on.”
This year, the evening’s theme is the encounter on
Mount Sinai, no matter how you define that encounter,
understand the parties to it, or situate it in time or space.
Most, although not all of the sessions, will approach the
theme in some way, direct or not.
Shull will lead a panel discussion called “Is Torah from
Sinai or from Zion? diaspora Versus Israel as Spiritual
Center.”
•
Moritt remembers the buzz the program generates. “When
we come together as a community there is a real energy.
When we first started it, we had no idea how many people
would come, but so many did, and it just kept growing.
“There was a real excitement around the study; be-
tween sessions people would gather and compare notes.
See Torah page 51
What: Sweet Taste of Torah
When: Saturday, February 2; registration 6:30 p.m.;
Havdallah 6:50; snow date February 9
Where: Temple Emeth, 1666 Windsor Road, Teaneck
How much: $15 per person pre-registered by
Thursday, January 31; $20 at the door, cash or check
only
How to pre-register: Go to www.jfnnj.org/sweettorah
or send a check payable to the North Jersey Board of
Rabbis to 32 Franklin Place, Glen Rock, NJ 07452.
For more information: Call Nicole Falk, the program’s
coordinator, at (201) 652-1687
Torah from page 8
There was a richness and diversity of opinions and of top-
ics, and people were studying with people they don’t usu-
ally mix with.”
She was particularly struck by the participants. “We
know that most people heard about it through their syna-
gogues, but at least in the group I taught there were people
who didn’t have a regular synagogue. This gave them an
opportunity to sample what’s going on — to get their feet
Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick tackled returning to God.
Rabbi Barry Schwartz detailed some of the great debates that have enriched Jewish life.
wet — to get a taste of Torah!”
She has taught a course that she’s called “Jewish
Bedtime Stories and Rituals.” “One of the things I looked at
is the Bedtime Sh’ma,” she said. “It’s been excised from all
the liberal siddurim. You see it only in Orthodox shuls. It’s a
daily teshuva practice, where you let go of the day, empty-
ing yourself of the things that might plague you at night, so
you wake up refreshed and renewed.
“My guess is that liberal shuls dropped it because
they’re not comfortable with the angel talk,” she said. “You
don’t usually hear it from non-Orthodox rabbis. But she
thinks the message is profound, so her students heard it
from her. “It’s a way to shake things up,” she said.
• things,” Friedman continued. “The individual and the
Friedman, who will teach about Carlebach’s favorite nig-
gun, said, “I have a love affair with seuda shlishit” — the
third meal of Shabbat, the low-key one that you eat once
you’ve stuffed yourself with food all day, the one that ush-
ers out Shabbat and tells you that the week and the real
world are about to start again very soon.
“I think he said he understood it’s kind of a great rev-
elation,” Friedman said. He had known Carlebach, and his
course is based on a conversation the two shared. “I think
he saw it, and dusk on Saturday night, as a time for both
finding your own soul and for activating it with others. You
can locate your Jewish self and your Jewish past, so it won’t
be so distant from you.
“We Jews work on Shabbes. It’s not the work of work,
but there’s still work. God worked too on Shabbat, not on
new stuff but finishing old stuff.” The end of Shabbat, he
said, is when “God could finally kick back and say that his
work really is something else.
“It’s not a time to wrestle with God, or with yourself. It’s
a time for contacting the self and saying ‘Umm, you did
good.’
“I see Sweet Taste of Torah as an integration of two
community. At Sinai, we stood in our individuality, with
one heart. It was all individual people in the context of the
tzibbur — the community.”
And to move from the sublime to the mundane — from
Sinai to Teaneck — “We get the community feeling most
strongly when the class is over and we spill out into the
halls,” he said.
•
Bockman will teach about Sinai as he teaches about
Sondheim.
“‘The Pacific Overtures’ is about the opening up of
Japan to the world,” he said. “The pivotal moment in the
play is when the foreigners are about to set foot in Japan.
They make a treaty with the Japanese, but the Japanese
have built a special treaty house on the beach, and put
mats on the beach leading up to it.
“When the foreigners left after concluding the treaty the
house was dismantled and the mats were taken up. The
Japanese were able to tell themselves that the foreigners
had never even set foot on Japanese soil.
“I noticed that Mount Sinai is the one meeting place
between God and human beings, but even during that
meeting the mountain is completely covered with clouds
and fog.” His course is built on that perception.
Bockman is in charge of finding rabbis and helping
them decide what to teach.
“This shows that there are at least 22 rabbis in our com-
munities who really care about teaching — who really love
it — and that there are hundreds of people who want to
come out. There is a kind of electricity there. It fits in with
the theme of Sinai. All the people were all together. That
doesn’t happen all the time.”

David’s Dog Training SEE WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK

pi m c ry

1/ 5
Ex xa pe ua
l
re s ia
/3 $2

Obedience Training for Dogs

13
E S Jan

Education for Humans IN THE JEWISH STANDARD

s1

BLOGS
jstandard.com/blogs
“ Your Other
Family Doctor”
201-286-9898
DavidsDogTrainingNJ@nj.rr.com
DavidsDogTrainingNJ.com

• State of the Art • Drop Off • Accessible Parking

Technology Appointments • Outdoor Courtyard
• Extended and • House Calls for Patient Exercise
Sunday Hours • Pet Daycare • Special Feline Ward
• Emergency Care • Boarding • Grooming Services

1680 Teaneck Rd, Teaneck · 201-837-3470

www.jstandard.com www.BergenVet.com
Sun 9-1 · Mon, Tues, Thurs 8-8 · Wed 8-2 · Fri- 8-4 · Sat closed

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 51

WE CAN’T SCORE A
TO CHDOWN
WITHOUT
U

Super Sunday

JANUARY 27
is in the air.
Smell here

sign up to make calls!

JFNNJ.ORG/SUPERSUNDAY
for more information contact Dana Garay
201-820-3937 • danag@jfnnj.org
Howard Chernin | Matthew Libien
Amy Shafron Jewish Federation
OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
Super Sunday Chairs

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 9
 USY to offer its first
Poland tour for adults
Signature teen trip is now available to those over 24
Lois Goldrich
S
ince 1986, United Synagogue Youth
has brought thousands of teens
to Poland to explore Jewish life,
past and present. Now, says Jules Gutin of
Teaneck, USY’s former international direc-
tor, adults can take the same trip.
USY is run by the United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism.
“For a long time, we had considered
running a Poland program for adults,
modeled after the week in Poland for
USYers,” Gutin said. “Parents of kids who
Jules Gutin
have gone said, ‘Why not run a program
for us?’ And alumni from the 1980s said they wanted
to go back and see what’s changed. It’s a completely
different experience now.”
The adult trip, scheduled for July 1-8, will include
visits to Warsaw, Crakow, Lublin, and Lodz, as well as
to concentration camp sites in Majdanek, Auschwitz/
Birkenau, and Treblinka. Unlike the teens, who
participate in Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar and
Eastern Europe/Israel Pilgrimage, the adults will not go
on to spend a week in Israel.
“There’s a dual purpose to the trip,” said Gutin, who
will lead the Poland visit. “You can’t avoid the Shoah
side, because the most prominent Shoah sites are in
Poland. It’s an important part of the overall experience.
But the other area of emphasis is the rich history of
Judaism up until that point.
“There’s centuries of history — a lot
more so than in most places ... And
more [sites] are being restored by
Jewish organizations and the Polish
government.”
— Jules Gutin
“There’s centuries of history — a lot more so than
in most places,” he continued, citing preserved
synagogues dating back to the Middle Ages. “And more
are being restored by Jewish organizations and the
Polish government.”
Tour members not only will visit synagogues and
other Jewish historical sites, but they also will go to
Crakow’s annual Festival of Jewish Culture, including a
klezmer concert in Szeroka Square.
“It’s in the square in the heart of the old Jewish
quarter,” Gutin said. “It attracts thousands and features
klezmer musicians from all over the world.” The adult
group will also get to spend Shabbat with USY’s Eastern
Europe/Israel Pilgrimage cohort.
Register For Classes Today Gutin pointed out that Poland has changed
dramatically since 1986.
“Access to Jewish historical sites is much more
significant, and the country has become much more
westernized,” he said. He noted that a new Museum
(201) 503-8326 of the History of Polish Jews, which is inside what had
bergenPAC.org/education been the Warsaw Ghetto, is scheduled to open in April,
marking the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising.
Gutin said that the itinerary of the Poland seminar
bergenPAC | 30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631 | www.bergenPAC.org
10 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
has changed each year since its inception,
broadening as new sites become
available. While every group visits the
concentration camps noted above, some
also go to Sobibor. All trips include stays
in Warsaw, Lublin, and Crakow.
The July trip will bring adults to those
three cities as well as to Lodz, “where
there are amazing things to see,” Gutin
said.
According to Gutin, the Jewish
community in Poland is relatively
small, with different estimates placing
it between 6,000 and 10,000. Still, he said, “There’s a
lot going on in major cities, especially Warsaw and
Cracow. The JCC in Cracow is affiliated with the world
JCC movement and is housed in a beautiful modern
building.”
He said he hasn’t seen a change in the trip’s
emotional impact on participants over the years,
“though we’ve never done it with adults.”
“We don’t play on the emotions,” he said. “We
guide, but we allow the sites to speak for themselves.
Everyone reacts differently. We make sure the kids feel
comfortable, but we know that some will react more
strongly than others.”
“We can’t predict how the adults will respond,” he
said. “That will depend on age and experience.” Like the
teens, it is likely that most of them were not born until
after the Shoah, but some are likely to have immediate
family members who either died or were survivors of
the Holocaust.
“That will personalize it more,” Gutin said.
Gutin said that while other groups conduct Jewish
heritage tours, and many visit Poland, it appears
that the people most interested in his trip are those
who have a connection to USY programs, whether
personally or through their children . Still, he stressed,
the trip is not limited to that group. The minimum age
for participants is 24, and there is no upper age limit.
Gutin said the adult tour will build on the experience
USY has gained over the years.
“We don’t have to tweak it so much,” he said, adding
that he has often taught the same material to both teens
and adults. “They respond differently, but they are just
as eager to absorb information.”
He noted that different people will have different
reasons for wanting to make this trip.
“Many can trace their ancestry to family members
who lived in what is now Poland,” he said, and —
time and schedule permitting — there may be an
opportunity to fit in visits to shtetls of particular interest
to participants.
In addition, he said, “There aren’t all that many
places where one can have a three-dimensional
connection to the Shoah, as opposed to reading about
it in books. It’s one thing to see physical evidence of
the horrors of the Shoah, but one gains a much greater
appreciation of that event beyond cold numbers when
one understands to some degree what was destroyed,”
he said.
“It gives a greater appreciation of what can exist in a
Jewish community. It was so diverse — there’s so much
to learn from it.”
For more information about the trip, go to www.usy.
org/escape/poland/adults.
Br i ef ly lo ca l

Legos help build

Shevy and Eddie Solomon
a better world
The Gerrard Berman
Day School – Solomon
Schechter of North Jersey
in Oakland is holding a
“Build a Better World”
event on Monday, Martin
Luther King Jr. Day. From
9 a.m. to noon, children,
Stacy Maza Rabbi Jonathan Carol Izzuolino
Schachter Photos courtesy Moriah
5 to 12, will work in small
groups building windmills

Moriah chooses honorees for March 2 dinner
The Moriah School will host its annual dinner on
Saturday, March 2, at 8:30 p.m. at Congregation Keter
Torah in Teaneck. Honorees include guests of honor
Shevy and Eddie Solomon of Englewood; Stacy Maza of
Englewood, who will receive the Moriah Association of
Parents MAP award; the alumni award honoree, Rabbi
Jonathan Schachter of Teaneck, Moriah 1990; and Carol
Izzuolino of Rockland County, who will get the Rabbi J.
Shelley Applbaum award.
Shevy Solomon has been on the Moriah board
for more than 10 years, chaired the communications
committee, and has been a member of the executive
committee. Eddie Solomon has been a member of
Moriah’s technology and finance committees and has
been a board member at Congregation Ahavath Torah in
Englewood. The Solomons received the Ahavath Torah
Young Leadership award in 2003. Eddie Solomon also
was an early supporter of Project Ezra.
Stacy Maza is a former MAP president, chair, and
co-chair. Her community activities include serving as
sisterhood president and treasurer at Ahavath Torah, as
chair and volunteer at the kosher kitchen at Englewood
Hospital and Medical Center, as a board member of the
Frisch Parents’ Association, and as member of Hadassah,
Amit, the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades performing arts
committee, the Teaneck Women’s Soccer League, and
Emunah.
Rabbi Jonathan Schachter teaches Gemara and
Tanach at the Frisch School, where he also serves as
with 50,000 Legos. There
will be a separate enrich-
director of admissions. He heads the Bnai Yeshurun teen ment activity for children
minyan and is head of the boys’ sports program at Camp 4 and younger in the
Morasha. school’s Early Childhood
Carol Izzuolino, who had been a math teacher Center. Parent participa-
at Moriah for 26 years, coaches her students in tion welcome, but not required. Call Amy Shafron at
competitions, including the stock market game. She is (201) 337-1111 ext. 302, go to ashafron@gmail.com, or
the math coach for Moriah’s E2K team, an enrichment www.jewishschoolnj.com.
program that sends students to compete with children
from other schools, and has traveled to Israel three
times with Anastasia Kelly, chair of Moriah’s science
department.
For information, call the school’s development
OU presents live webcast
director, Nila Lazarus, at (201) 567-0208, ext. 373, e-mail
her at nlazarus@moriahschool.org, or go to www.
on Israel election
Rabbi Avi Berman, executive
themoriahdinner.org.
director of OU Israel, will an-
chor an Israeli election night
program, “Live from Jerusalem,
Emerson shul collecting toiletries It’s Election Night!” on Tuesday.
The OU webcast, broadcast
for shelter, Jewish Family Service with Arutz Sheva, Israel National
News, live from the Israel Center,
The Social Action Committee of Congregation B’nai
will be on www.ou.org and www.
Israel in Emerson is collecting dental hygiene products
israelnationalnews.com, 9 p.m.
and toiletries during its annual Mitzvah Day Collection Rabbi Avi Berman
to 2 a.m. Israel time, (2 to 7 p.m.
Drive, through February 3. Items will be donated to the Courtesy OU
Eastern Standard Time).
Family Promise shelter in Hackensack and Jewish Family
Service of Bergen and North Hudson in Teaneck. Items
can be dropped off at the temple, 53 Palisade Ave. in
Emerson. Call (201) 265-2272 or www.bisrael.com. See Briefly Local page 52

Celebrate! Sweet Tastes of Torah

Rhythm and Music of Jewish Life Preliminary Program
online credit card registration

Sweet Tastes of Torah www.jfnnj.org/sweettorah

Checks should be made payable to:

A community night of study, discussion,
North Jersey Board of Rabbis
music, and fun! 32 Franklin Place, Glen Rock, NJ 07452

Saturday evening, February 2 @ 6:30 pm

Name(s):
Snow date: February 9
Temple Emeth Address:
1666 Windsor Road, Teaneck
City:
Musical Havdalah @ 6:50 pm
Choose from 20+ classes State:
Dessert and schmoozing to follow
Zip:
$
15 per person pre-registered by Jan 30
$
20 at the door Phone:
Questions?
sweettastesoftorah@gmail.com Cell:
201-652-1687
Email:
Presented by the North Jersey Board of Rabbis with follow us!
support from Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey
and local synagogues
www.jstandard.com Jewish Federation
OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

www.jfnnj.org
Facebook: Sweet Tastes of Torah
twitter.com/sweettorah

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 11

ed i to r ial Religion’s most
The Israeli elections repellant idea
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

S
ometimes, from the safety of America, the Israeli Union, some from other farflung places across the world,

electoral system looks like democracy run amok.
We Americans look at it from the security of
our binary system — in primaries, the extremes run
against the center, someone wins and everybody else
loses; in general elections, Republicans run against
Democrats, someone wins and someone loses. General
elections always are on election day. Each office has its
own term. The system has its pitfalls, certainly, but lack of
structure is not among them.
The Israeli elections, on the other hand, seem to be an
adventure in extreme parliamentary democracy, unlike
the English model unmoored to geographic particulars
smaller than the state itself. It’s like a vast science experi-
ment. The Petri dish that is the land of Israel, filled with
the agar of Jewish longing for it, was stocked with sturdy
pioneers, Zionist ideology, Jewish theology, socialist un-
derstandings, European customs, and the worldview of
the Jews and Arabs who already were there. That by itself
was a heady mix. As time went by, infusions of more and
more immigrants, some Shoah refugees and survivors,
some from Arab lands, some from the former Soviet
T
each with their own customs; increasingly inflexible the- he most dangerous and
ology; an always present and ever increasing threat from offensive of all religious
hostile neighbors; increasing distance from the rest of the ideas is that innocent peo-
world, and a changing relationship with supporters in ple suffer because of their sins.
North America all went into the mix. This notion, so easily abused,
It’s volatile. But we’re not done. makes victims into criminals,
The political system that allows minor parties to exert denying them divine sympathy or
major influence, forcing the oddest of bedfellows into human compassion.
the unlikeliest of alliances, is hard at work in this Petri We’ve heard it all before.
dish, bubbling away in the process, right now, of produc- Why was there a Holocaust?
ing an election that is so puzzling to us that it is virtually Because German Jewry assimilated and abandoned
impossible for many of us to figure out what we’d do were their faith. They desecrated the Sabbath. They ad-
we there. In some ways, it seems closest to the raucous opted Germanic names. They married out. They want-
primaries at the very beginning of our presidential cam- ed to be more
paigns, when many of the candidates are unknown and TRUTH   German than
most of the politics are retail. But those elections often REGARDLESS   the Germans.
revolve around single issues; the upcoming Israeli elec-
tions will not.
OF CONSEQUENCES In the words of
one of the great-
The stakes in this election are high. We hope that est Jewish sages of prewar Poland, Rabbi Elchanan
Israelis will have the clarity of vision and wisdom to allow Wasserman, who was executed by a Nazi firing squad,
the best possible coalition to be formed. “The fire which will burn our bodies will be the fire that
restores the Jewish people.”

Three American lives

Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the Satmar rebbe, felt that the
Holocaust was a punishment for secular Zionism. Jews
can return to Israel only when God himself redeems
them. Rabbi Menachem Hartom said the exact opposite.
Jews were punished by God for being too comfortable

T
hree American lives, each very different from the
other but embodying different parts of the classic
arc of triumph and despair, present themselves to
us this week.
The first, Lance Armstrong, is at first glance classic
tragedy. The hero strives, reaches, arrives, overreaches,
and falls; both his rise and his fall are driven by some-
thing inherent within him. For Armstrong, it seems to
have been the need to use his magnificent athleticism
to be faster, stronger, and always to win. When you look
more closely, however, you see not nobility but nastiness,
self-righteousness, and betrayal. He is not heroic.
Aaron Swartz, z’l, also was an American classic, a
young man of extraordinary talent, charisma, and pas-
sion. His accomplishments are astounding, although,
unfortunately, for those of us who are completely at
home with our electronic devices and can bend them
to our will but have no idea how they actually work, it is
hard to understand them fully, much less explain them.
His work, though, particularly with developing RSS,
helped shape the Internet as we know it.
Swartz was an activist and his passion was for free
information; it is possible to have no opinion on ex-
actly how right he was in his demands to see that he was
hounded unbearably because of them. He was 26 years
old and facing the possibility of decades in prison.
He suffered from depression, and in the end his de-
mons got him. He killed himself. He struggled heroically,
he accomplished more in his short life than most of us
would were we given four or five lifetimes, and in the end
he lost.
Among the many lessons to be learned from his life is
the deadly power of depression; how hard it is to climb
out of its black slippery underground lair, and how im-
portant it is to recognize it.
Swartz was Jewish; we do not value him more for that
but we do mourn him particularly because of it.
For those of us old enough to remember her story,
Katie Beers’ triumphant re-emergence perhaps is not
surprising although it is entirely miraculous.
When she was 9 years old, Beers (let’s call her Katie;
she was a child) was imprisoned by a family friend (so-
called family, so-called friend) in a bunker he had built
just for her. Before that, her life had been the stuff of
Victorian nightmare; her mother a malevolent monster,
her grandmother worse, her world squalid, sharp-edged,
and unforgiving. When she was discovered and rescued,
she emerged from her pit seemingly both sane and cen-
tered. She was adopted by a family who protected her
privacy and loved her; now, married, a mother, appar-
ently still sane and centered, she has come forward again
to tell the next installment of her story.
Katie Beers is not Jewish, but her story, with its arc
from degradation to the pit to redemption and love,
reverberates for us. It is in some ways the quintessential
Jewish story.
in Germany and abandoning their attachment to Israel,
their ancient homeland.
One rabbi who lectured in my community not
long ago said, before a crowd of hundreds of modern
Orthodox Jews who barely found his words objection-
able, that one can see how lax Jews were in their obser-
vance in Germany from the women who were about to
be gassed in Auschwitz. Pictures have them standing na-
ked, after the SS removed their clothing, and they are not
even trying to cover up in front of the German soldiers.
Here was a rabbi finding fault with Jewish women who
were about to be murdered along with their children,
which just goes to show that the belief that suffering re-
sults from sin can lead to shocking anti-Semitism.
Ideas like these are not only repulsive, they are factu-
ally inaccurate. The majority of Germany’s Jews, who
supposedly incurred the divine wrath through sin, sur-
vived the Holocaust. They knew who Hitler was and had
a few years to get out. The people who did not know that
Hitler was coming for them were the chasidic Jews of
Poland, with long sidecurls and beards, who had no idea
that Hitler planned to invade Poland on September 1,
1939. They were devout in the extreme. So what was their
sin? And what of the 1.5 million dead children. Of what
were they guilty?
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s latest book is the newly released “The
Fed-up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy
and Suffering.” Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

Correspondents Account Executives Production Manager

Jewish
Executive Editor Founder
Shammai Engelmayer Ken Hilfman Peggy Elias Jerry Szubin Morris J. Janoff (1911–1987)

Standard Editor Abigail K. Leichman George Kroll Graphic Artists Editor Emeritus
Joanne Palmer Science Correspondent Karen Nathanson Deborah Herman Meyer Pesin (1901–1989)
Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman Brenda Sutcliffe Bob O'Brien
1086 Teaneck Road Associate Editor City Editor
Teaneck, NJ 07666 Larry Yudelson About Our Children Editor International Media Placement Bookkeeper Mort Cornin (1915–1984)
(201) 837-8818 Heidi Mae Bratt P.O. Box 7195 Jerusalem 91077 Alice Trost
Guide/Gallery Editor Editorial Consultant
Fax 201-833-4959 Tel: 02-6252933, 02-6247919
Beth Janoff Chananie Advertising Director Credit Manager Max Milians (1908-2005)
Fax: 02-6249240
Publisher Natalie D. Jay Marion Raindorf Secretary
Contributing Editors Israeli Representative
James L. Janoff Warren Boroson Classified Director Receptionist Ceil Wolf (1914-2008)
Associate Publisher Lois Goldrich Janice Rosen Ruth Hirsch Editor Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle Miriam Rinn Advertising Coordinator Rebecca Kaplan Boroson
Jane Carr
jstandard.com

12 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

 Op-ed
Are these rabbis seriously suggesting that because
of assimilation, God decided to ghettoize, wrack with
disease, gas, and ultimately cremate six million Jews?
And if that’s true, is He a God worthy of prayer? And do
we have any right to condemn six million people whom
we did not know to murder in the assumption that they
were so horrendously sinful that they and their children
warranted extermination?
No. This theology is an abomination. It rejects the
very name of the Jewish people, Israel — “He who wres-
tles with God.” A Jew must struggle with God in the face
On Jews with Guns
of seeming divine miscarriages of justice.
What does Abraham do when God threatens to de-
Dr. Stephen Glicksman
stroy Sodom and Gomorra, even though God had said,

I
“Their sin so grievous?” Abraham thunders at the heav-
’ll tell you when I first realized that the self-described response to someone who disagreed with him about his
ens: “Will the Judge of all the earth not Himself practice
“gun nuts” in our community are, indeed, “nuts.” chosen hobby, and it was based not on the rationale for
justice?” (Genesis 18:25).
It happened at my Shabbos table, about three the disagreement put forth, but on an assumed and pre-
The same is true of the prophet Moses. How does the
years ago. We were discussing one of the community so- formulated view that actually was not presented. There is
great redeemer react when God threatens to destroy the
cial ills of the time, as we tend to do every once in a while. a word for that sort of response: Irrational.
children of Israel after the sin of the golden calf? Does
I don’t recall specifically what issue we were tackling I hadn’t really thought about that conversation in a
he bow his head in submission before God’s declaration
around the cholent bowl, but I believe the conversation while; other, more pressing community ills were uncov-
that the people are sinful and deserving of destruction?
took place around the time that the Orthodox Union ered and had to be dealt with. But, in response to the
No.
decided to take on kiddish clubs in an attempt to prevent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,
Moses, in one of the most haunting passages of the
teen drinking. gun control and gun rights have become hot topics
Bible and one of the most eloquent defenses of human
I should bring up at this point that as a developmen- again. Many people are viewing the recent shooting as a
life ever recorded, says to God, “Now, forgive their sin —
tal psychologist working in the Orthodox community, watershed event, a point in history when meaningful gun
but if not, blot me out, I pray you, of the Torah you have
I probably spend more time than most people dealing regulation actually might gain popular support.
written” (Exodus 32:32).
with the repercussions of some of our community’s so- The change that I see in our culture as a result of the
The Bible is clear: “The secret things belong to the
cial ills, and trying to figure out how we might be able shootings, however, has been much more harrowing.
Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and
to minimize their impact on individuals or on the com- Following the lead of the National Rifle Association,
to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29). God
munity as a whole. Admittedly, I also probably have it seems that the spokespeople for gun enthusiasts no
is in charge of the hidden things. Why does He allow
something of a skewed view on some societal issues, longer present their disagreements with gun control
humans to suffer unjustifiably? What goes on in secret
and sometimes may view certain woes as more preva- measures as having to do with sports or culture but in-
behind the partition of heaven? Well, that is of no hu-
lent than they might seem to others. I probably interact stead with protection. The mantra has become “The only
man concern. But the revealed things, this is our area
a bit more than most with people affected by drinking, thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy
of focus. A parent is mourning the death of a child. A
drugs, or eating disorders, and I sometimes get a heads- with a gun.”
woman is crying over the loss of her husband. Why did
up about what the next scandal might be. And I tend to The message is not “I need my gun because I like
they die? As far as we are concerned, for no reason at
have strong opinions about how we can best protect our shooting at targets” or “I need my gun because I like
all. In the revealed here and now, their suffering served
children. shooting at deer” but “I need my gun because I need to
no higher purpose. Suffering is not redemptive, it is not
At any rate, after the conversation about teen drink- shoot the bad people when they try to hurt me.” And
ennobling, it is not a blessing, and it teaches us nothing
ing, or gambling, or people cheating on their taxes, or that, I believe, is a frightening philosophy when shared
that we could not have learned by gentler means. It’s
whatever it was had ended, I made the following predic- by people who are armed and irrational.
Christianity, rather than Judaism, that says that some-
tion: Within ten years, a teenager will bring a gun into a When Bill Clinton went duck hunting to show that his
one has to die in order for sin to be forgiven. We Jews
local yeshiva. A guest asked me why. proposed assault weapons ban was not attempting to
reject any idea of human sacrifice.
I told him that I had heard about the local Orthodox take away the guns of law-abiding sports enthusiasts, the
Some cite the Talmud (Shabbat 55a): “No death
Jewish gun club, and if we can assume that parents are message resonated with many law-abiding adult hunt-
without sin; no suffering without iniquity.” Or again: “If
taking their kids to the shooting range, and that guns in ers. Now that message appears to be irrelevant. In recent
a man sees that he is afflicted with suffering, he should
houses therefore will become more prevalent, and that weeks, I have not heard anyone speak against gun con-
examine his deeds, as it is said, ‘Let us search and try
teenage angst will remain a normal aspect of adolescent trol with the old-school argument that “If you take away
our ways, and return unto the Lord’ (Lam. 3:40).” The
development, then I would assume that at some point my assault weapon, next you will take away my hunting
Talmud adds: “Suffering is due to evil deeds or neglect
some local teenager whose parent has a gun will figure rifle.” Instead, the argument seems to have become “If
of Torah study.” But all these pronouncements apply to
out how to get that gun and how to use it to scare off a you take away my assault weapon, I won’t be able to
our own suffering. If something bad happens to us we
bully, or threaten a competitor, or just try to look cool. I shoot people with it if I need to.”
have the right to examine our actions. But our assump-
did not predict a Columbine-type shooting or anything If that becomes the new norm for gun ownership, if
tion of everyone else must be that they are righteous
overly gory; I just predicted that within a decade a teen- that is the message that gun owners in our community
and their suffering is undeserved.
ager would bring a gun to a local yeshiva. begin to teach their children on their way to the shoot-
Any attempts to infuse suffering with rich mean-
Little did I know at the time that one of the guests ing range, and if we start to premise the rationality of
ing shows callous indifference to the heartache of
at our table indeed was a self-described gun nut. But it gun ownership on the grounds that guns really are for
fellow humans. Suffering does not leave us ennobled,
wasn’t his love of the sport of shooting and my complete shooting people — it’s just a question of figuring out who
empathic, or wiser. Rather, it leave us broken, morose,
distaste for it that led me to believe that this was not a is a bad and when the threat is substantial enough to
and bitter. And if I’m wrong and suffering is such a
person likely to engage in a rational conversation about demand action — then I think the threat of gun violence
great teacher, than why is it that any responsible par-
the subject; rather, it was his response to my prediction. only will become greater.
ent would exert every effort to save their child from
What he said was, “Laundry detergent is also dangerous. Perhaps there is a point upon which I could agree
suffering?
Do you think people shouldn’t have laundry detergent in with the pro-gun lobby. It has become very popular
As for the rabbis who say that Jews are sinful and de-
their homes because it is dangerous?” to express the belief that it is not gun laws that need
serve to die, they make me miss the Lubavitcher rebbe
The reason that his response shocked me so much reforming, but rather laws related to the treatment of
even more. I can still close my eyes and see him, well
was because it meant that he was having a completely mental illness. I would agree that keeping guns out of the
into his late 80, pounding the table in public with all
different conversation inside his head than I was having hands of even law-abiding citizens with mental illness is
his might. “How long?” he would cry. “How long?” How
at the table. I had never said that people shouldn’t keep a good idea. I would point out, however, that paranoia
long will Israeli soldiers die in defense of their home-
guns in their homes because I feared that a 3-year-old also is a diagnosable mental illness. So perhaps we can
land? How many more Jews will be dismembered by
might stumble upon it, load it, cock it, and accidently satisfy everyone’s concerns by accepting the suggestion
murderous bombs? Why has the Messiah not yet come?
shoot someone. Nor was I concerned that a teenager of the pro-gun lobby, as long as they agree to more
And how can anyone calling himself a rabbi have the
going through a hard time in school would sneak some comprehensive mental health testing amongst their
chutzpah to ever justify the death of innocents?
laundry detergent into a building and threaten to pre- own.
treat the stains on a bully’s shirt. In other words, this par- As for my prediction, I still have seven years in which I
This column is dedicated to the memory of Machla
ticular gun nut’s response to my prediction had nothing hope to be proven wrong.
Debakarov, the mother of a close friend of Rabbi Boteach.
at all to do with my prediction. Instead, it was a kneejerk
Dr. Stephen Glicksman lives in Teaneck.

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 13

Saying Kaddish Remember Dr. King for
for Newtown battling hate against all
Robert Kanter
T F
here have been at least 62 mass shootings in
America in the last 30 years; 247,131 fatal shoot-
ings in 8 years.
For the past several days, the Kaddish that
Conservative Jews traditionally say on Yom Hashoah and
Yom Kippur, from the machzor Sim Shalom, has been
echoing around my brain. Here, a transliterated inter-
pretation based on that Kaddish seeks to remember 17 of
those mass murders.
The sh’loshim for Newtown, Connecticut, was yester-
day, January 17.
Yit-gadal Watkins Glen
v’yit-kadash Edmond
sh’may raba Binghamton
b’alma dee-v’ra che-ru-tay Garden City
ve’yam-lich mal-chutay Jonesboro
b’chai-yay-chon uv’yo-may-chon Manchester
uv-cha-yay d’chol beit Yisrael, Columbine
ba-agala u’vitze-man ka-riv, Oak Creek
ve’imru amen.
Y’hay sh’may raba me’varach le-alam uleh-almay
alma-ya.
Yit-barach v’yish-tabach, Lancaster
v’yit-pa-ar v’yit-romam Salt Lake City
v’yit-nasay, v’yit-hadar Virginia Tech
v’yit-aleh v’yit-halal Fort Hood
sh’may d’koo-d’shah, Tucson
b’rich hoo. layla Oakland
meen kol beer-chata v’she-rata, Aurora
toosh-b’chata v’nay-ch’mata, Clackamas
da-a meran b’alma, Newtown
ve’imru amen.
Y’hay sh’lama raba meen sh’maya v’cha-yim aleynu v’al
kol Yisrael, ve’imru amen.
O’seh shalom beem-romav, hoo ya’ah-seh shalom
aleynu v’al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvay tevel, ve’imru
amen.
Robert D. Kanter, an Emmy Award-winning film and television
producer, also has produced a number of television specials
and projects for such nonprofit organizations as Hadassah and
UJAFederation of New York.
www.jstandard.com
14 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
Kenneth Jacobson
or those of us who closely follow the prog-
ress in America in the battles against racism
and anti-Semitism, the observance of the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this year has particular
relevance.
First, the King holiday, which is observed on Monday
this year, reminds us of two significant anniversaries sur-
rounding the civil rights leader. It is the 50th anniversary
of his historic “I Have A Dream” speech at the Mall on
Washington and the 20th anniversary of the first time
that all 50 states in the union observed the holiday.
Second, while leading the monumental struggle for
civil rights in this country, King never equivocated in de-
nouncing anti-Semitism.
“The segregationist and racists make no fine distinc-
tion between the Negro and the Jews,” he said bluntly.
And in a letter to Jewish leaders just months before
his 1968 assassination, King said, “I will continue to
oppose it [anti-Semitism] because it is immoral and
self-destructive.”
The message — that it is never enough for Jews and
Jewish organizations to condemn anti-Semitism — re-
mains terribly important for the country. Important lead-
ers from all communities must follow King’s lead.
More specifically, King’s condemnation of anti-Semi-
tism was and is important for his own African-American
community. For too long, levels of anti-Semitic attitudes
have been too high. And some African-American cultural
figures utter sentiments about Jews and Jewish power
that remain very troubling.
Not only did King react against blatant anti-Semitism,
but early on he anticipated the more sophisticated
versions. In an appearance at Harvard, as reported by
the scholar Seymour Martin Lipset in his book “The
Socialism of Fools,” King responded to a hostile ques-
tion about Zionism, “When people criticize Zionists they
mean Jews; you are talking anti-Semitism.”
Third, King understood the importance of standing
up for other minorities, both as a value and to strengthen
support for his work on behalf of African Americans.
Perhaps King’s greatest legacy was his conviction that
justice for black people could not be achieved in a vacu-
um, that all Americans must live free from oppression in
order to guarantee freedom.
Why was obtaining civil rights for African Americans
so important to the American Jewish community?
Because it was the right thing to do, and because it was
good for all and built coalitions in fighting all forms of
prejudice.
Fourth, King knew that power politics were impor-
tant to bring change. Speeches, marches, demonstra-
tions and sit-ins were all about power politics. But he
profoundly understood that in the end, appealing to the
moral values, the goodness, and the long-term interests
of those who needed to change — that is, appealing to
the white majority — was the key to changing society.
In the long run, changing hearts and minds through
education and appealing to the best instincts of America
is the real solution.
Fifth, the civil rights revolution led by King also further
opened up America for Jews and is one of the key reasons
why today American Jews are the freest community in
the 2,000-year history of the diaspora, and why things
are so much better for Jews today than they were 60 or
70 years ago. Civil rights legislation allowed Jews to chal-
lenge their exclusion. Even more, the revolution changed
society in a way that being different and expressing your
differences was no longer a liability.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work in seeking
equality for all was consistent with the values expressed
by the Jewish sage Hillel two millennia ago: “If I am not
for me, who will be?” We must have pride and stand up
for our own.
“If I am only for myself, what am I?” To be fully hu-
man, we must go beyond our own problems and stand
up for others.
“If not now, when?” Justice delayed is justice denied.
These values were King’s values. Too often we stray
from them in society today. This 50th anniversary of his
“I Have a Dream” speech is a good time to recommit to
those things that brought us all together.
Kenneth Jacobson is deputy national director of the Anti-Defa-
mation League.
Letters
Jewish mothers, “your child” shows that the product of
such a union is classified as a descen-
Jewish children dant of the grandparents — that is, that
such children are Jewish from birth.
traveling the path less traveled, and for
that I applaud him.
I have a doctorate in clinical psychol-
ogy, and have used this to bridge the gap,
so to speak. Working in the field of psy-
chology for the last 20 years, I have come
to generalize the findings of my research
of veterans into the general population.
similarities. I think his article is a call to
action, in which he has demonstrated
how moving beyond the confines of our
own minds and expectations opens a
vast world of endless possibilities.
Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D.,
NCC, CTS
CEO/President
The most robust factor in emotional Hearts Toward Home International
healing is a sense of affiliation and social Bellingham, WA
support. I have the privilege of working
directly with the Department of Defense

While the letter from Shel Haas in your
January 11th issue contains several
factual errors, the most grievously mis-
leading is the statement that the Torah
says that Jewish (Israelite) status is based
upon the faith of the father, and that the
rabbis changed it.
Firstly, the Torah says no such thing
— ever. The Torah specifies patrilineal
descent to determine a person’s classifi-
cation only in the cases of the Kohanim
and the Levi’im.
Secondly, the matrilineal descent
law is derived logically by the rabbis
directly from the Torah. Deuteronomy
7:3 forbids parents from entering their
male or female children into intermar-
riage. Verse 4 states “For he will cause
your child to turn away from after me
and they will worship other gods...” The
“he” obviously is the non-Jewish man
married to a Jewish woman, and the
fact that their offspring is referred to as
Were they not, they couldn’t “turn away”
from Judaism. Because there is no corre-
sponding verse for non-Jewish mothers,
their offspring are not Jewish from birth.
As Charles Krauthammer has said on
at least one occasion, “When it comes to
determining Jewish status, the father is
nothing more than an appendage.”
Gary M. Rosenberg
Englewood
Being open to others
I found “In defense of public service” by
Dovi Meles (January 11) to be well writ-
ten, honest, and an on-target opinion
piece. It sounds to me like Mr. Meles
marchs to the beat of his own drum,
Opinions expressed in the op-ed and letters columns are not necessarily those of The Jewish Standard. Include a day-time
telephone number with your letters. The Jewish Standard reserves the right to edit letters. Write to Letters, The Jewish Standard,
1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666, or e-mail jstandardletters@gmail.com. Hand-written letters are not acceptable.
on various military bases around the
globe, conducting pre- and post-de-
ployment workshops for all branches
of service. Putting pieces of lives back
together after life-changing events is
vital to healing, and maintaining a posi-
tive perspective is the fuel that puts it
into motion. This is why I was so moved
by what Mr. Meles so eloquently wrote
about the importance of tolerance, and
of moving closer together in order to
form alliances and strength from which
we all will benefit. He has said that all
people should reach across the aisle
and form an understanding and aware-
ness of other people’s beliefs, culture,
and religion. The only way we broaden
our perspective is to open our hearts
and marvel at our uniqueness and our
We told you so!
“See, we told you so” is exactly the right
response to make regarding the nomi-
nation of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to
be the next Secretary of Defense (“The
hassle over Hagel,” January 11). Why else
would President Obama select Hagel, a
man of questionable and controversial
opinions about Israel, Iran, and identify-
ing terrorist organizations to this critical
position?
I am not calling Obama or Hagel anti-
Semitic or anti Israel, but I strongly feel
that their policies weaken our ability
to prevent a nuclear Iran, defeat our
enemies, and protect our allies.
Harry Lerman,
Paramus

NJ Summer Camp Fairs State-Of-The-Art

Imaging
Comprehensive
Breast Care Services
…Connecting great kids with great camps Open 6 Days/Week Same-Day
Day and Evening Screening & Diagnostic
Appointments Available Mammogram Results
Come find
a great OPEN HOUSE
summer camp! Saturday, Jan 26 • 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Shops at Riverside, • All are welcome
Route 4, Hackensack • Physicians and Nurse Practitioners available for one-on-one Q&A
• Staff will explain and demonstrate state-of-the-art imaging technology
Sunday, January 27, 2013 • Informational breast-health videos
East Hanover Ramada Inn and Conference • Tour the facility
Center, 130 Route 10 W., East Hanover • Refreshments and giveaways

AMI offers many of the services available at Englewood Hospital’s premier

Meet Camp Directors from all kinds of
summer camps and programs…
For more info, additional NJ
camp fairs, and directions:
FREE Leslie Simon Breast Care and Cytodiagnosis Center as well as high-quality
ADMISSION body imaging, including: MRI, 64-slice CT, virtual colonoscopy, bone densitometry,
Noon to 3 pm ultrasound (including vascular), and x-ray.
Bring this ad
for a Free Gift! 452 Old Hook Road • Suite 301 • Emerson, NJ
One gift per family. 201-262-0001 • EnglewoodHospital.com
Limit first
100 families.
www.njcampfairs.com
Jewish standard JanUarY 18, 2013 15

Knesset
elections
A reader’s guide
Ben SaleS
R
emember the second U.S. presidential
debate in October, when the incum-
bent, Barack Obama, and the chal-
lenger, Mitt Romney, stood about six inches
from each other, with one interrupting the
other at every turn?
Add about a dozen candidates, take away
the formal rules of debate, switch to Hebrew —
and you’ve got a fairly good approximation of
the tenor of Israel’s current election campaign.
Israel’s parliamentary system, in which
voters choose a party instead of a candidate,
makes for some narrowly focused parties and
strange bedfellows, though factions do tend
to fall in with their natural political allies.
Parties submit lists of candidates and their top
choices are seated in proportion to the party’s
total share of the vote.
This year, 34 parties are vying officially for
the Knesset in Tuesday’s elections, though
only about a dozen are likely actually to cross
the threshold necessary to win seats. They fall
broadly into the following major blocs.
right wing
Major parties: Israel’s biggest political bloc,
the right wing, has led the polls throughout
the campaign and almost definitely will lead
the next coalition. Its flagship party is a merger
of two factions: the right-wing Likud and
the hard-line Yisrael Beiteinu. Likud favors
a tough foreign policy and has presided over
an expansion of Jewish settlements in the
west bank. On economic policy, the party
tacks conservative, promoting free markets,
privatization of state industries, and reduced
regulation.
Yisrael Beiteinu, originally founded as a
party for Russian immigrants, has attracted
a broader base with hard-line nationalist
rhetoric, a secularist agenda, and calls for
universal army or volunteer service.
An upstart challenger to Likud-Beiteinu
16 Jewish standard JanUarY 18, 2013
Cover story
is Jewish Home, a hawkish pro-settler party
that also favors some progressive economic
policies. Historically a religious Zionist
party, Jewish Home has broadened its base
successfully this cycle and has an excellent
shot at a third-place finish.
People to watch: Benjamin Netanyahu, the
Likud chairman and current prime minister,
almost certainly will win another term.
Netanyahu, 63, has relentlessly sounded the
alarm on Iran’s nuclear program and shaped
Israel’s supply-side economic policies. He was
first elected prime minister in 1996, lost the
1999 election, and made a comeback in 2009,
winning his second term.
Avigdor Liberman, Yisrael Beiteinu’s
chairman, was Israel’s foreign minister until he
resigned following his indictment for fraud and
breach of trust in December. An immigrant
from Moldova, Liberman, 54, advocates hard-
line foreign and domestic policies.
Naftali Bennett, a high-tech entrepreneur
and a past leader of the settlement movement,
is the charismatic new chairman of Jewish
Home. Bennett, 40, has changed the image
of the party from a sectarian religious Zionist
faction to one that courts Jewish Israelis of all
stripes.
Moshe Feiglin, 50, has led a revolution
within Likud, driving a sharp turn to the
right that has led to the rise of other hawkish
politicians and has nudged out moderates. He
is 14th on the Likud list and almost certain to
gain a Knesset seat.
Center
Major parties: Israel’s most fragmented politi-
cal bloc, likely headed for the opposition, the
center has three major — and largely similar
— parties. Labor, Israel’s founding party, has
pushed progressive socialist policies. Yesh
Atid, a party of political neophytes, empha-
sizes middle-class tax cuts and mandatory
if israeli political parties were characters on the simpsons...

army or volunteer service for all Israelis.
Hatnua, also founded last year, supports
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and a
two-state solution.
Kadima, the largest party in the
Knesset and the ruling party from 2006
to 2009, largely has been discredited
and may not cross the 2 percent vote
threshold necessary to win a seat in the
Knesset.
People to watch: Shelly Yachimovich,
52, a former television journalist, is
the Labor chair and has shifted the
party’s focus from a two-state solution
back to the progressive socioeconomic
policies that once defined it. She has
been criticized for barely addressing
diplomatic policy, though she recently
vowed not to join a Likud-Beiteinu
coalition.
Yair Lapid, 49, another former TV
journalist and the head of Yesh Atid,
announced his entrance into politics
early last year amid hype that his party
could rival Likud. Lapid is the son of
former journalist and politician Tommy
Lapid.
Tzipi Livni, 54, chairwoman of
Hatnua, has shifted from right to center-
left during a lengthy political career.
Originally a senior politician in Likud,
Livni followed former Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon to Kadima in 2005 and
served as foreign minister from 2006 to
2009. She resigned from Kadima last year
after losing the chairmanship in the party
primaries.
Left wing
Major parties: As Labor has tacked to the
center, the standard-bearer of the Zionist
left has become Meretz, a party that ad-
vocates Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,
equal rights for all Israeli citizens, far
greater separation of religion and state,
and progressive economic policies. To
Meretz’s left is the non-Zionist, com-
munist, Arab-Jewish Hadash, which also
advocates equal rights and progressive
economics but does not prioritize Israel
remaining a Jewish state.
People to watch: Zahava Gal-on,
Meretz’s chairwoman, immigrated to
Israel from Russia as a child and has been
an outspoken supporter of civil liberties
since she first entered the Knesset in
1999. Hadash’s chairman, Mohammed
Barakeh, has been indicted for alleged
violence at protests, but also has earned
praise for visiting Auschwitz in 2010.
Hadash’s third in line, Dov Khenin, is a
well-known leftist activist who ran for
mayor of Tel Aviv.
Charedi party aims attack ad
at Euclid’s geomety
Charedi orthodox
Major parties: The two main cha-
redi parties are the Sephardic Shas and
United Torah Judaism, a merger of a few
Ashkenazi charedi parties. UTJ’s main
issues are government support for yeshi-
vot (including stipends for full-time stu-
dents), continued charedi control of the
chief rabbinate, social services for their
often low-income charedi constituents,
and continued exemption of full-time ye-
shiva students from military service. Shas
advocates a more moderate versions of
those policies as well as social services for
Israel’s poor families, many of whom are
Sephardic and vote for Shas even though
they are not charedi.
Am Shalem, a new breakaway party
from Shas, was founded last year and
opposes much of the charedi agenda,
advocating military or volunteer service
and the elimination of subsidies for most
full-time yeshiva students. It is considered
a long shot to win any Knesset seats.
People to watch: Aryeh Deri, one of
the three leaders of Shas, won 17 seats for
the party in 1999’s Knesset elections, only
to wind up in prison on charges of bribery “Euclid. No, it’s not the name of a medicine,” reads this ad by the United Torah
a year later. Now the charismatic Deri Judaism charedi party. “It’s a Greek mathematician that your son will study
instead of Mishna.” It warns that a government without the party would force
is free to run again and has retaken the charedi children to study secular subjects.
See Elections page 18
In Israeli elections, Netanyahu and
right-wing coalition seen cruising to encore
Ben Sales
TEL AVIV — Uncertainty is an inherent condition election has come not from his traditional sparring
of democratic politics, but one outcome is all but partners on the left but from the right, where the
certain in Tuesday’s Israeli elections: the right wing hawkish Jewish Home Party has enjoyed a meteoric
will win and the left wing will lose. rise in the polls.
Almost every party acknowledges that the The ascent of Jewish Home has been the biggest
merged Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu factions will story of the campaign. When elections were called in
take the most seats and be the standard-bearer of October, pundits expected the religious Zionist party
the next coalition government. For the fifth straight to win seven or eight seats. Now most polls have
election, the center-left Labor will likely lose as the number at 14 or 15, and it is on track to be the
Likud or an offshoot runs the state. Naftali Bennett, Knesset’s third-largest party.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Likud prime chairman of the Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett, a
right-wing Jewish
minister, almost definitely will win another term. Home party newcomer to politics — he has had a successful
Likud-Beiteinu is expected to win 33 to 38 seats in high-tech career and held leadership positions in
the 120-seat Knesset, nearly twice as many as the likely runner- the settler movement — has engineered the gain by courting
up, Labor, which should receive 17 to 20. secular right-wing voters and adopting some progressive
The virtual certainty of this outcome, and the right wing’s economic policies.
bold self-assurance in its face, has reduced a fragmented But Bennett is no moderate. He opposes the creation of a
center-left to shambles. Labor and two new parties, Yesh Palestinian state under any conditions and has said he would
Atid and Hatnua, have similar agendas that focus largely on disobey a military command to dismantle settlements, though
socioeconomic issues, yet every unification effort has ended in he later walked back from that position.
recriminations. And among the three parties only Hatnua has The party’s fortunes will depend on whether voters trust
anything to say about the diplomatic future of the state, and it’s Bennett’s promises of tighter security and cheaper housing, or
led by a former rising star of the right. remain wary of a party that skews far right on certain national
Netanyahu’s biggest challenge leading up to the January 22 See right wing page 20
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 17
Elections from page 17
helm at Shas, along with Eli Yishai, the current interior
‘You’re not Jewish?’ ‘Now I am!’
minister, whose policies are decidedly right wing.
Haim Amsalem, a former member of Shas, is now
a thorn in that party’s side with his new faction, Am
Shalem. Amsalem hasn’t pulled his punches, relentlessly
criticizing Shas and claiming in his ads that Maimonides
would vote for him.

Israeli Arabs
Major parties: Arab parties never have served in a coali-
tion government and historically have underrepresented
the Israeli Arab population, which is about a quarter of
the country. The two Arab slates in this election are the
secular Balad, which is explicitly anti-Zionist and be-
lieves that Israel should be a state of all its citizens, and
Ra’am-Ta’al, an alliance of the religious Ra’am and the
secular Ta’al that is not as explicitly anti-Zionist.
All of the parties favor better treatment of Israel’s
Arab minority, a two-state solution, and peace with
neighboring Arab countries.
People to watch: As no Israeli government has
included Arab parties, their main purpose is to speak
up for Arab-Israeli rights and against what they see as
Jewish discrimination. Two of the most outspoken Israeli
Arab members of Knesset have been Ta’al leader Ahmad
Tibi, a former adviser to Palestinian Authority President
Yasser Arafat, and Hanin Zouabi of Balad. Both at times
have been disqualified from running for Knesset as a A blonde stereotypically Russian-looking bride dials her cell phone and receives a faxed conversion under
result of anti-Zionist statements, but the bans have been the chuppah in a video by the Sefardi party Shas. The Knesset elections board soon banned the ad for
overturned by Israel’s Supreme Court. being racist.
JTA Wire Service

N.J.-born candidate aims for Knesset seat

Gil Hoffman

JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has had
members from almost 50 countries around the world —
some of which no longer exist.
But until now only one was a New Jersey native.
That was Newark-born Marcia Freedman, who served
from 1974 to 1977 as a representative of the Civil Rights
Movement, which now is part of Meretz.
That could change in the January 22 Israeli election,
when New Brunswick-born environmentalist Alon Tal
hopes to become not only the second New Jersey-born
Knesset member, but also the first American-born MK
since the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, whom,
ironically, Tal helped prosecute when he worked for the
Israeli attorney general.
An environmental law professor at Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev and chair of Israel’s Green
Movement, Tal is a Knesset candidate for Hatnua, the
party formed by Israel’s former foreign minister, Tzipi
Livni.
Tal is the 13th candidate on the party’s list, which
received 11 seats in a poll published last week by the
Israeli news portal Walla. To help his party gain support,
Tal has canvassed the country, taken bike rides to the
Knesset with Livni and other candidates, and debated
other American-born candidates from other parties.
“I think Tzipi Livni would make a much better prime
minister” than Benjamin Netanyahu, Tal said. “She has
gained experience, and polls show more than half of
Israelis want her to be in charge of Israel’s foreign policy.
She can lead Israel to an agreement with the Palestinians
that can guarantee Israel’s future as a Jewish-democratic
state.”
Gil Hoffman is Israel correspondent for the New Jersey Jewish
News.
New Jersey-born candidate Alon Tal heads his par-
ty’s efforts to advance religious pluralism in Israel.
Courtesy NJJN
Tal was born Albert Rosenthal in New Brunswick’s
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in 1960, back
when it was known as Middlesex Hospital. His father
worked at Squibb Pharmaceuticals and his mother
studied at Rutgers University.
The family moved to North Carolina when Tal was a
child but he maintained his connections with New Jersey,
Many years later, two of his books were published by
Rutgers University Press.
“I still have fond memories of growing up on
Livingston Avenue,” Tal said.
Tal, who moved to Israel in 1980, earned a law
degree from the Hebrew University and a doctorate in
environmental science and policy from Harvard. One
of Israel’s leading environmentalists, he founded the
Israel Union for Environmental Defense and the Arava
Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura.
Three other parties are offering candidates who
are former Americans: Atlanta-born Jeremy Gimpel is
running in the religious-Zionist Bayit Yehudi; Boston-
born Kahanist Baruch Marzel is a candidate in the new
Strong Israel Party; and Rabbi Dov Lipman, a fervently
Orthodox rabbi from Maryland, is a candidate on Yair
Lapid’s new secularist Yesh Atid list, which shares his
aversion to Orthodox coercion.
‘Dream of peace’
Each of the candidates has put an emphasis on repre-
senting American immigrants to Israel in the Knesset.
Livni appointed Tal to head her party’s efforts to advance
religious pluralism in Israel and its campaign among the
country’s Anglos.
That has special meaning for Tal, who is a committed
Masorti, or Conservative, Jew and the gabbai (sexton)
of the Masorti Shalhevet Hamaccabim synagogue in
Maccabim-Re’ut, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. His
17-year-old daughter recently was harassed by police for
wearing a tallit at the Western Wall.
“She got a sad lesson on how religion works in this
country,” Tal said. “I am concerned about the extremism
that has captured governmental institutions and
delegitimized us.”
Tal said that Livni shares his concerns. He said she
describes herself as a Masorti Jew and that her sons
attended the Masorti movement’s Noam youth group.
If he is elected, Tal hopes to organize the first
egalitarian minyan in the Knesset synagogue. He said he
See TAL page 20

18 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

 “You don’t stop laughing
because you grow old.
You grow old...
because you stop laughing.”

We take that adage to heart at Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation. In addition to
being in the heart of the bustling South Orange neighborhood -- near restaurants, parks, the
library, a movie theatre, supermarket and doctors offices -- we offer residents the opportunity
to enjoy a more carefree lifestyle. This includes kosher dining, transportation, a live-in super
and medical professionals on-site, as well as a reason to keep laughing.

We invite you to an Open House

W
January 24, 2013 (5:30-7:30 p.m.)
Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and participate in a drawing for a digital camera

Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation

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

110 Vose Avenue, South Orange

RSVP 973.763.0999

Scan to learn more about us

www.jchcorp.org
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 19
Tal from page 18
would give Livni the first aliyah.
“I am thrilled to be in a party led by someone who
understands that Jewish tradition can be manifested
in more than just an Orthodox tradition and that there
is room for all expressions of religious affiliation in our
country,” Tal said of Livni. “She had the opportunity to
become prime minister, but she refused to capitulate to
ultra-Orthodox blackmail.”
When he campaigns among American immigrants,
he tells them that the U.S.-Israel relationship has gotten
worse, as result of Netanyahu’s perceived connection to
the Republican Party and his problematic relationship
with President Barack Obama.
Tal is especially appreciative that Livni adopted
his environmental agenda. He said the Netanyahu
administration failed to fight pollution and make
progress on other environmental causes.
“Livni has ‘green’ in her DNA,” Tal said. “There has
never been a large party that cared about environmental
issues.”
Despite his party’s declining poll numbers, Tal said
he is convinced that he will become a Knesset member
on Tuesday. If he does, he promises to celebrate with
a Knesset “hootenanny” starring his Arava Riders
bluegrass band.
“Many people are still undecided,” Tal said. “I am an
optimist, and so is Tzipi. I am not willing to give up on
the dream of peace that we pray for. Israel’s diplomatic,
social, and environmental problems can be solved. Israel
just needs the kind of vision to get us beyond the present
situation.”
Right wing from page 17
security and religious questions.
As the fortunes of Jewish Home have risen, those of
Yesh Atid have declined. Expected to be a major story in
the campaign when it launched in April, Yesh Atid was
founded by Yair Lapid, a former television journalist and
son of the late secularist politician Tommy Lapid. But
its poll numbers have fallen in response to infighting in
the centrist camp and Lapid’s unwillingness to discuss
diplomatic and security issues.
Polls now show the party taking about 10 seats,
but if Yesh Atid gains 12 or 13, it will mean that Lapid’s
economic message has struck a chord as Israel confronts
a budget deficit of more than $10 billion.
If voters perceive Lapid as unprincipled or
inexperienced, especially on matters of diplomacy and
security, they may turn to the one centrist party focused
on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations: Hatnua, which
was founded and is led by Tzipi Livni, a former Kadima
head and ex-Likud minister.
Livni has spent the entire campaign bashing
Netanyahu for his alarmist and isolating rhetoric on
national security. But she has not vowed to oppose his
coalition and could give him cover to move forward on
negotiating a peace agreement with the Palestinians if he
chooses.
Hatnua has polled numbers that are similar to Yesh
Atid’s. If it reaches the teens, it could indicate that a
constituency still exists that supports peace negotiations.
A mediocre Hatnua showing would confirm many
Israelis’ perception that the conflict will not be resolved
in the coming years.
What Livni really wants is a coalition without
Netanyahu, led either by her or by Labor chair Shelly
Yachimovich. Seeking to harness the energy of 2011’s
social protests here, Labor has presented itself as the
alternative to Likud-Beiteinu. Yachimovich said recently
that she would not join a Netanyahu-led coalition,
in a move that would seem to consign Labor to the
opposition.
Labor has avoided discussing Israel’s diplomatic
future, which seems to have disaffected some voters,
and almost certainly it will take fewer than 25 seats. That
would be an improvement on last election’s 13 but still a
decline for a party that once dominated Israeli politics.
As Livni, Lapid, Yachimovich, and Bennett jockey
for potential spots in a Likud-led Cabinet, one political
bloc’s numbers is likely to remain fairly stable. Charedi
Orthodox parties have 15 seats now, and that number
is expected to slightly increase. The charedi platform,
however, has become increasingly unpopular, as more
and more Israelis oppose full-time yeshiva students
receiving government stipends while avoiding the
nation’s mandatory military conscription — concerns
that have animated Yesh Atid’s campaign, among others.
A sliver of hope for a centrist victory does exist, with
Livni and Yachimovich still campaigning as if they
have a shot at the premiership. According to two polls,
approximately 20 percent of voters remain undecided. If
those votes all go to centrist parties, the centrists may be
able to cobble together a governing coalition.
At this point, though, it looks like a fantasy for Labor,
which leaves it in the same place it’s been since 2001:
figuring out how to fit into a Knesset where the right runs
the show.
JTA Wire Service

EMUNAH of America
is proud to announce that the
2013 Jerusalem Prize
was awarded to Emunah in recognition
of the important work being done at the
Emunah Children’s homes and Emergency Shelters
In recognition of the work being done at:
Achuzat Sarah • Bet Elazraki • Neve Michael • Sarah Herzog
Neve Landy • Emergency Shelter for Children at Risk
Emergency Shelter for Infants and Children at Risk
Emergency Shelter for Young Women at Risk
Emunah Children’s homes serve as a loving home and a
therapeutic, educational and social framework for hundreds
and thousands of children struggling with personal or family
related crises.
‫בס“ד‬

ęĕĘĥđĤĕ
Jerusalem ĝĜė
Conference
‫שנה עשירית‬
Te n t h A n n u a l

‫טבת תשע“ג‬
(2013 ‫)ינואר‬
‫פרס‬
ęĕĘĥđĤĕ
‫התשע“ג‬
EMUNAH of America, 7 Penn Plaza, NYC 10001 • Fran Hirmes, National President
ĦČĒč ģĜĞđĚ
212.564.9045 www.emunah.org

ĤĞđĜĐđ ęĕďĘĕĐ ĕĒėĤĚĘ

20 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

ÄĐĜđĚČÅ Ęĥ ĐēđđĤĐ ĕĤĠėđ

JS 011813_JS 011813 1/16/13 4:39 PM Page 1

January 18th, 2013 Shevat 5773 | ‫ תשע ”ג‬Welcome | ‫ברוכים הבאים‬

2012

READERS’
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
1 CHOICE your Center for Life
st lac

ow
e- aR
P
3 Years in The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
is a barrier free and handicapped
accessible facility.

Public Affairs
Cooking with JoJo Elections in Israel
Super Bowl, with Gil Lainer,
Consul for Public Diplomacy
Cajun Style
Tuesday, January 22, 7:30 pm
Monday, January 28, 7-9:30 pm Elections will take place in
Israel on January 22, 2013
and
Join us for this unique class of kosher Free en
tailgating and party recipes. Op e
h
to t nity
• Sriracha Garlic Lime Chicken Wings mu
Com
• Korean Short Ribs
• Kosher Sausage and Peppers This is the 14th consecutive government in Israel that will
• Jambalaya and more be conducting an early election without completing its term.
New Orleans favorites Gil Lainer, from the New York-based Consulate General of
Israel, will analyze and discuss the results of this election.
$55 JCC members Sponsored by the Berit and Martin Bernstein Open Forum Endowment Fund
$70 Non-members and the Edwin Sorforenko Foundation.
For more information or to register For more informtion call Aya at 201.408.1427
call Judy at 201.408.1457 or Michele at 201.408.1496

2012

e w Yo u ! a t t h e J CC
Pl
READERS’
CHOICE New Year, N
1
st

ow

ac aR
e-3
Years in

• Cutting edge strength training, resistance, cardio & spin equipment

Join in January • Free! More than 70 group exercise classes
& get ONE MONTH • Free! orientation & fitness assessment
• Basketball, racquetball & tennis courts
FREE!* • Youth Fitness Center & exercise classes for ages 6-13
Individual, family, youth & senior • CPR-trained swim instructors & lessons for all ages
membership options available. • Luxurious Spa Center
Offer applies to a 12 month membership. • Infant & Toddler Center and Nursery School
Not to be combined with other offers.
Offer open to new members only. • Neil Klatskin Day Camp ACA accredited
Restrictions apply. • Outdoor water park & pool
No building fund or bond required.
*Restrictions apply

201.408.1448 | join@jccotp.org | www.jccotp.org

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades | 411 E. Clinton Avenue | Tenafly, New Jersey 07670 | 201.569.7900 | www.jccotp.org Find us on
facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 21

Meet Yitzhak Shamir’s son, Yair
Ben Sales

TEL AVIV – Yair Shamir says he doesn’t discuss
hypotheticals.
For the Israeli Air Force commander turned technocrat
turned politician, these topics include how to respond to
settlement evacuations or achieve Palestinian statehood,
a fracture in the U.S.-Israel relationship, or Yisrael Beiteinu
chairman Avigdor Liberman’s departure from politics.
Shamir, the 67-year-old son of the late Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir, is the hard-line Yisrael Beiteinu’s No. 2.
With Liberman, the former foreign minister, under indict-
ment for fraud and breach of trust, he is the de facto heir
apparent to one of Israel’s largest political parties.
Assuming that mantle would be quite a shift for Shamir,
who entered politics only last year. He served as a pilot and
officer in the IAF for 25 years before moving on to private
business. Until 2011 he was chairman of Israel Aerospace
Industries, the country’s leading aircraft manufacturer.
Before that he was an executive at El Al Israel Airlines, a
large telecommunications firm, a venture capital fund, and
a computer equipment company.
Entering politics was a “nationalist decision,” Shamir
said, a choice “to give my coming years to strengthen Israel
on the national level and not on the private level.”
Last year he was appointed deputy to Liberman in
Yisrael Beiteinu, a party that originally focused on Russian
immigrant concerns but since has attracted Israelis with
nationalist views from other backgrounds. Shamir tries to
avoid talking about the party without Liberman.
“The press is trying to create a rivalry between us,”
Shamir said. “I’m almost convinced that he’ll come out
innocent. A public figure who is found guilty in court
shouldn’t be a public figure, but everyone needs to follow
his own conscience.”
That attitude fits into Shamir’s overall political philoso-
phy. He professes deep respect for pluralism and democ-
racy while also opposing a Palestinian state — a position
that puts him at odds with Liberman. Liberman has called
for redrawing the borders between Israel and a future
Palestinian state in the west bank to include more Jews and
exclude as many Arabs as possible.
Shamir follows in the ideological footsteps of his father,
who served as prime minister from 1986 to 1992 and died
last July. As leader of the Likud party, the elder Shamir op-
posed any compromise with the Palestinians, even after
the outbreak of the first intifada, and strongly supported
west bank settlement expansion.
“I see him as my lighthouse,” Shamir said of his father. Yair Shamir, son of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, is
“A lighthouse isn’t the nicest building. It’s a simple building second on the hardline Yisrael Beiteinu’s Knesset list.
but it stands on a cliff and always shines its light, in bad Courtesy Yair Shamir
and good weather. It’s not shaken by a storm or a calm sea.”
Like his father, Shamir wants Israel to hang tough in When it comes to opposing a Palestinian state or settle-
the constantly unstable Middle East. His top priority as ment evacuations, Shamir says the state of Israel deserves
a politician, he says, will be to contribute his business the entire land of Israel and sees no reason to be concil-
experience to government by strengthening the country’s iatory as long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains
infrastructure and economy. intractable. That’s why he treats a scenario of settlement
“The only way to maintain the land and the people is evacuations and Palestinian statehood as a hypothetical.
to be strong economically and militarily,” he said. “When “Right now there’s no hocus-pocus solution,” Shamir
you look at who Israeli politicians are, there isn’t enough said. “The Arabs there who call themselves Palestinian,
representation of industry and agriculture, the people that they’ll stay or go, but we’ll definitely stay. We need to keep
are really doing anything.” building in the land.”

FULL MENU AVAILABLE

On Martin Luther King Day, Children Ages 5-12
BURGERS TACOS

Build a Better World HOT DOGS BURRITOS

at STEAKS WRAPS

DELI PASTA

HOT SOUPS CHINESE

SALADS SUSHI

Solomon Schechter of North Jersey LOW CALORIE MENU

AVAILABLE
Come connect with LEGOS
and with peers in small groups,
during a phenomenal WINDMILL
WORKSHOP courtesy of architect
Stephen W. Schwartz, founder
of Building Blocks. Parent
participation welcome. Each LEGO ry 23
sday, Janua
windmill will be 2-3 feet tall. Wedne
ary 20 to
y, Janu
January 21 · 9am-Noon Sunda

VERED
COOPERATIVE LEARNING,
D D E L I
GREAT FUN & BIG RESULTS
GREAT FO
O
O Y O U R DOOR!!
T
LITTLE BUILDERS ALSO WELCOME!
9 2 - 7 7 2 2
201-6
Children ages 2-4 will enjoy LARGE LEGOS & et
erience.n
interactive play in our Early Childhood Center.
e www.k
osherexp
onlin pm
Parent participation invited (not required). or order vere d by 6:00
m - Deli
45 Spruce Street Order by 2:00 p
RS ONLY
Oakland, NJ CREDIT CA
RD ORDE
R
$ 1 5 PER ORDE
www.jewishschoolnj.com DELIVERY
CHARGE

OR DISC
OUNTS ACCEPT
ED
LS
NO SPECIA
Please RSVP to Amy
at 201-337-1111 ext. 302
or ashafron@gmail.com 669 Cedar Lane - Teaneck, NJ 07666 like us on facebook
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE R.C.B.C.
/ /
ktrah ,p ,uerh ,ehsc vyhja gashxj
www.facebook.com/kosherexperience

22 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

 Shamir seems like a throwback to the Likud of his
father’s time — a party committed to Greater Israel. And
while he isn’t traditionally observant, Shamir calls him-
self a “believing Jew.” He supports the Chabad-Lubavitch
movement and keeps a copy of the Tanya, its principal
philosophical tract, on his desk, along with a Bible.
Yisrael Beiteinu has merged lists with Likud for the up-
coming elections, but Shamir says the present-day Likud
has lost sight of what’s important to Israel’s growth: immi-
gration and settlement. As a party founded by Russian im-
migrants, Yisrael Beiteinu was attractive to Shamir, he said.
He runs an organization called Gvahim that specializes in
helping academics immigrate to Israel.
“There’s no future without immigration, if the majority
of the Jewish people aren’t here,” Shamir said. He stopped
short of calling for mass immigration from the United
States, which has the largest Jewish community in the dias-
Yair Shamir, son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak
pora by far, though he said he would be happy “if millions Shamir, speaks at a news conference in Jerusalem in
came here.” October. Yonatan Sindel/Flash90/JTA
One possible reason Shamir may be on Yisrael
Beiteinu’s list rather than Likud’s is that Likud holds pri- than any other faction, and that its emphasis on leadership
maries for its Knesset list, while Yisrael Beiteinu candidates lets it stay true to its principles — the principles, he says,
are handpicked by Liberman, aided by a committee. that have always made Israel strong.
“The biggest advantage Yisrael Beiteinu has over “Everyone attacks Liberman, that he’s the party, but [ph
anyone is that you have to talk to one person instead of why don’t they attack Yair Lapid or Tzipi Livni, who [ca
Avigd
150,000,” said pollster Mitchell Barak, a former adviser weren’t elected?” he said, referring to the founders of Benja
under Likud Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “There are a the centrist parties Yesh Atid and Hatnua, respectively. Servic
lot of backroom deals when it comes to being elected to “Yisrael Beiteinu is still young, still hungry. It sets clear
Knesset” in primaries. lines.”
Shamir feels that Yisrael Beiteinu is no less democratic JTA Wire Service

Liberman says he will resign from politics if convicted

JERUSALEM – Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor
Liberman, under indictment for fraud and breach of
trust, said he would resign from politics if he is convicted.
Liberman, who remains head of the Yisrael Beiteinu
party and is No. 2 on the combined Knesset list of his
party and Likud behind Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu for the January 22 elections, said in an Army
Radio interview on Monday that he would step down
even though it is not required by law.
He would have to resign if a conviction includes moral
turpitude.
Liberman resigned as foreign minister at the end of
December, shortly before his indictment on the charges
of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly advancing the
position of Zeev Ben Aryeh, Israel’s former ambassador
to Belarus, in exchange for information on an investi-
gation against him. The charges came after Attorney
General Yehuda Weinstein closed a 12-year probe of
Liberman in other cases on December 13.
Liberman’s statement that he would resign if convict-
ed follows statements last week by his party’s No. 2, Yair
Shamir, son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir,
that Liberman should resign if he were to be found guilty.
“A public official who faltered while in public service Avigdor Liberman and Benjamin Netanyahu
must make way for those who have not,” said Shamir, JTA Wire Service

formerly an executive with El Al. “Whether the offense

carries the designation of moral turpitude or not is
irrelevant.”
“I agree with him,” Liberman said on Army Radio. “I
think that there have to be clear norms. Even if there is
no moral turpitude, I will not continue in politics. There
must be clear norms.”
He added that Shamir will not be penalized for his
comments.
“I have no problems with what Shamir said, and
Shamir will without any doubt have a senior role in the
Likud Beiteinu government,” Liberman said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon reportedly is
the state’s key witness in the Ben Aryeh case, and report-
edly will testify against Liberman during the trial. Shortly
before the indictment was formally issued, Liberman
announced that Ayalon would not be included on the
Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset list for the January elections.
Ayalon stayed on at the Foreign Ministry even though
Liberman stepped down.
JTA Wire Service

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 23

Hagel gains key support from Jewish Dems
as the nomination battle intensifies
Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON – Even as critics intensify their efforts to
depict him as unfit to protect the U.S.-Israel relationship,
Chuck Hagel has convinced several of the most prominent
Jewish Democratic lawmakers to endorse his nomination
to lead the Pentagon.
Since rumors of his nomination first surfaced in
December, opponents have argued to varying degrees that
Hagel is anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic. At the center of
many of the attacks has been his 2006 comment to an in-
terviewer that the “Jewish lobby” intimidates many people
in Washington.
In recent days, Hagel has secured endorsements
from three of the most identifiably Jewish and pro-Israel
Democratic lawmakers: Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), as well as Rep. Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the
Democratic National Committee.
The endorsements follow several discussions with law-
makers during which Hagel is said to have expressed regret
for the “Jewish lobby” comment. In those discussions, he
also assured lawmakers that he is committed to preventing
Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“In our conversation, Sen. Hagel made a crystal-clear
promise that he would do ‘whatever it takes’ to stop Tehran
from obtaining nuclear weapons, including the use of mili-
tary force,” Schumer said in a statement about his Monday
meeting with Hagel. “He said his ‘top priority’ as secretary
of defense would be the planning of military contingencies
related to Iran.”
President Barack Obama’s formal nomination of Hagel
on January 7 only intensified the battle lines over the for-
mer Nebraska senator and Vietnam War hero.
That day, one of his most prominent critics, Elliott
Abrams, told NPR that Hagel “appears to be” an anti-Sem-
ite. Less than a week later, on the January 13 broadcast of
“Meet the Press,” one of Hagel’s more prominent defend-
ers, Colin Powell, called such attacks “disgraceful.”
Powell’s rejoinder was all the more extraordinary
because he and Abrams were the top shapers of foreign
policy in the George W. Bush administration — Powell as
secretary of state in the first term and Abrams as the dep-
Chuck Hagel speaking at the announcement of his
uty national security adviser who took the lead on Middle
nomination as secretary of defense on January 7,
East issues. as President Barack Obama and Homeland Security
“When they go over the edge and say because Chuck adviser John Brennan look on. Brennan has been
said Jewish lobby he is anti-Semitic, that’s disgraceful,” nominated as CIA director. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty
Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley
Powell said. “We shouldn’t have that kind of language in
our dialogue.”
There was little sign that the sharp exchanges would New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, also a Democrat, and tell
fade before Hagel’s confirmation hearings, which are them not to confirm Hagel.
likely to take place as early as next month. The Emergency “Ask them to put country ahead of party,” the ad said.
Committee for Israel, a group that has consistently op- The Zionist Organization of America and Christians
posed Obama’s Israel policies and backed only GOP candi- United for Israel continue to advocate against Hagel on
dates, ran a full-page ad in the New York Times on Tuesday, Capitol Hill and through social media. On Tuesday they
urging readers to call Schumer and the junior senator from were joined by one of the pre-eminent political action

Jewish Federation
OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

Calling all artists

People: a Common Thread

Explore the people and the common

You are cordially invited to celebrate
with SINAI Schools at our
thread that runs through the people of
northern New Jersey and Nahariya, Israel Annual Benefit Dinner
GUESTS OF HONOR
Be one of two winners
who will travel to Israel to LISA & LOWELL BARON
participate in the L’Kavod Ul’ Tiferet Award
Partnership2Gether RACHEL & MICHAEL DUBE
exhibit in Nahariya, May, 2013. Ohr HaChaim Award
All art will be displayed RABBI DR. WALLACE GREENE
Kaplen JCC on the Palisdes Poel Tzedek Award
March 3 - 13
and DEBBIE & NEIL KAPLAN
Belskie Museum of Art & Science Ahavat Chesed Award
March 17 - April 7

SUNDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 10, 2013

Deadline: February 18 Buffet Dinner at 4:45 PM • Program Promptly at 6:30 PM
For more information on how to MARRIOTT GLENPOINTE HOTEL
submit your art, please contact Teaneck, New Jersey
Sarit Ron, SaritR@jfnnj.org COUVERT: $250 per person • $500 per couple

201-833-1134, ext. 105 · 201-837-1848

All art will be featured online
on our Partnership2Gether www.sinaidinner.org
site and Facebook pages.

24 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

committees, NORPAC, which asked its activists to tell their
senators that they oppose Hagel’s nomination.
Liberal Jewish groups such as Americans for Peace Now,
J Street, and the Israel Policy Forum have backed Hagel.
Centrist groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the
American Jewish Committee at one time seemed poised to
fight the choice — but not now.
For example, in letters to Democratic senators before
the formal nomination, AJC pressed them to urge Obama
not to nominate Hagel. Since the nomination, however,
the group has said it is “concerned but does not formally
oppose the nomination.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has not
made any public statement on the matter, and Hill insid-
ers say its officials also have been silent on Hagel in their
private encounters. Josh Block, the former AIPAC spokes-
man who now runs the Israel Project, has been directing
reporters to material critical of Hagel, but from his private
e-mail account.
Hagel, meanwhile, has granted very few interviews — a
JTA request is pending — but has reached out to top Jewish
lawmakers to explain what appear to be past equivoca-
tions on Iran policy and to apologize for remarks in which
he referred to an “intimidating” Jewish lobby.
“After speaking extensively with Sen.
Hagel by phone last week and after
receiving a detailed written response to
my questions late today, I will support
Sen. Hagel’s nomination as Secretary
of Defense.”
— Sen. Barbara Boxer
Calling the term “Jewish lobby” a “very poor choice of
words,” Hagel said in a letter to Boxer that “I used that ter-
minology only once, in an interview. I recognize that this
kind of language can be construed as anti-Israel.”
He delivered a similar apology over the phone last week
to Wasserman Schultz, a flag bearer for Jewish causes
among Democrats — it was her freshman legislation that
established Jewish Heritage Month in 2006.
“He realized some of the things he had said previously
were offensive and inappropriate,” Wasserman Schultz
said.
Hagel already had the backing of two leading Jewish
senators, Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif,), but insiders considered Schumer’s endorsement
critical. Schumer has noted repeatedly to Jewish audiences
that his name derives from the Hebrew word “shomer,” or
guardian, and that he sees Israel’s security as his calling.
Boxer also is a go-to Jewish lawmaker. Last year, she was
the lead on a bill that enhanced the U.S.-Israel security
relationship.
“After speaking extensively with Sen. Hagel by phone
last week and after receiving a detailed written response to
my questions late today, I will support Sen. Hagel’s nomi-
nation as Secretary of Defense,” Boxer said in a release late
Monday. “First and foremost, he has pledged without res-
ervation to support President Obama’s polices — policies
that I believe have made our world safer and our alliances
stronger.”
Beyond his remarks about a “Jewish lobby,” the issues
that had exercised Boxer and Wasserman Schultz, as well
as some pro-Israel groups, had to do with Hagel’s past
skepticism about the efficacy of unilateral sanctions as a
means of keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,
as well as his wariness of a military option in the same case.
In his letter to Boxer, Hagel reiterated his preference for
multilateral sanctions, noting his past support, but added
that unilateral sanctions in some instances were “neces-
sary.” He did not mention the possibility of a strike.
But Wasserman Schultz said that in her phone call with
Hagel, “he said that all options should be on the table, in-
cluding a military option.”
In both interactions, Hagel also noted his solid Senate
record voting to fund defense assistance to Israel.
Wasserman Schultz pressed Hagel to explain why he
had not signed a number of letters organized by the pro-
Israel and Jewish communities, particularly an American
Jewish Committee-backed letter in 1999 asking Russian
President Boris Yeltsin to address the rise of violent anti-
Semitism. The letter drew 99 signatories out of 100 sena-
tors; Hagel was the only one to pass.
The Florida lawmaker told JTA that she was satisfied
with his response — that as a senator he preferred not to
write foreign leaders, but over the years wrote Presidents
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to express his concern
about anti-Semitism overseas.
Nonetheless, his insistence on standing apart appar-
ently gave Wasserman Schultz pause.
“I told him, when it’s 99 to 1, everybody can’t be wrong,”
she said.
Left untreated in Hagel’s interactions with Wasserman
Schultz and Boxer was the hostile worldview that critics
have said holistically underpin Hagel’s history with Israel
and its supporters.
“This is not a mere choice of words,” wrote Jennifer
Rubin, the Washington Post’s conservative blogger, refer-
ring to Hagel’s apology to Boxer for using “Jewish lobby.”
“Hagel said that the Jewish lobby ‘intimidates’ lawmak-
ers,” wrote Rubin, a mainstay of the effort to keep Hagel
from the top defense post. “Which lawmakers? Was he
intimidated?”
Hagel made the “Jewish lobby” comment in an inter-
view with Aaron David Miller, the author and former U.S.
peace negotiator. Hagel also told Miller in the same inter-
view that he was an “American senator,” not an Israeli one.
In her JTA interview, Wasserman Schultz paused before
answering whether she agreed with Hagel that the pro-
Israel lobby intimidates. She repeated the question and
then said, “In our conversation he expressed regret and
was apologetic that the reference was hurtful.”
Boxer in a conference call said those who read imputa-
tions of disloyalty against pro-Israel groups into Hagel’s
remarks “were reading too much.”
“I don’t think he thinks people are less loyal,” she said,
adding, “I don’t agree with what he said; I was concerned
with what he said.”
Boxer noted that Hagel’s letter to her had arisen out of
a conversation she had with Hagel. She thought it was im-
portant to get his thoughts in writing, and he agreed.
“He told me, if there’s one thing in his life that he could
take back, it’s that,” the California senator said.
Writing to Boxer, Hagel did not precisely retreat from
his impassioned comments in 2006, when he said during
Israel’s war with Hezbollah that “extended military action
is tearing Lebanon apart, killing innocent civilians, devas-
tating its economy and infrastructure.”
Instead, he said that in that war, “Israel was defending
itself” but added, “these attacks were not perpetrated by
the Lebanese government, which remains an important
partner to the United States.”
JTA Wire Service
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 25
A refugee girl gets a helping hand from representatives of HIAS and the United Nations refugee agency.
Courtesy HIAS
March deadline looms on funds
Across the country, Jewish groups brace for possible sequester cuts
Gil Shefler
A
pregnant Darfuri woman at a refugee camp in
Chad, a Latino senior citizen living below the
poverty line in the Bronx, and an elderly Jewish
immigrant from the former Soviet Union living in Boston.
They may not know it, but these people all are
beneficiaries of programs run by Jewish organizations
with public money.
And if Congress can’t reach a deal to avoid the so-
called sequester by March 1, many of these programs
could be severely scaled back, if not terminated.
“Both our international and national work can be
impacted,” said Mark Hetfield, the interim president
of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which provides
medical kits to mothers of newborn children in Chad,
among other services. “It could cause some really serious
cuts to the programs, but we still have no idea what they
might be.”
HIAS is among the dozens of Jewish organizations
grappling with the potential loss of federal funds
from the so-called sequester, a measure adopted by
the U.S. Congress last year to force itself to confront a
hemorrhaging national debt and return the country
to sound fiscal footing. Unless a budget compromise
could be found, draconian across-the-board cutbacks
of 8.5 percent were to have taken effect automatically on
January 1, as the country went over the so-called fiscal
cliff. The impact of those cuts was designed to be so
devastatingly painful that in effect Congress would force
its own hand.
Despite the self-imposed deadline, however, intense
negotiations failed to produce the desired outcome. In
late December, Congress agreed to raise new revenue
by increasing taxes on affluent Americans but put off
decisions on spending cuts. The lawmakers also pushed
the sequester deadline back to March 1.
As the new deadline nears, some Jewish organizations
are preparing for the worst, identifying nonessential
services to be axed while lobbying federal officials to
protect vital programs.
Hetfield says HIAS’s most vulnerable operations
are in Ecuador, where the agency helps refugees who
fled fighting between government and rebel forces in
Colombia, and Chad, where it provides aid to fugitives
from Sudan’s neighbor, the war-torn Darfur province.
“These are programs I think will be targeted more
deeply because they are not emergency refugee
maintenance programs,” Hetfield said. “But cutting a
program might create an emergency.”
Other HIAS operations, such as the agency’s refugee
resettlement program, also are in limbo.
Robert Marmor, executive director of HIAS’s Jewish
Family Service of Western Massachusetts, says his staff
recently helped an Iraqi mother and her three daughters
file a request for reunification with the family’s father.
The successful completion of that process would depend
on continued funding from the federal government.
“The worst-case scenario would mean no new
refugees, and that would be the worst, especially for
families that are waiting for relatives,” Marmor said.
Budget cuts have forced Valeriya Beloshkurenko, the
director of the Met Council’s Home Services department
in New York, to let more than half her staff go in the last
two years. Approximately 50 percent of her remaining
budget comes directly from the federal government,
and the other 50 percent that comes from city and state
sources also is at risk.
Beloshkurenko manages a team of three handymen
who help low-income seniors with everyday home
maintenance tasks throughout New York City — things
such as installing door knobs and locks, changing light
bulbs, putting grab bars in bathrooms, and opening
clogged drains.
“When our team shows up the people we help,
whether they are Latinos in the South Bronx or Russian
Jews in Brighton Beach, are so grateful,” Beloshkurenko
said. “I cannot tell you how many thank- you letters we
receive.”
See march deadline page 28
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 27
A HIAS volunteer teaching English to refugee children in Ecuador. Steve Latimer A HIAS meeting with community elders at a camp in Chad, where HIAS is providing
for HIAS services to Darfuri refugees. Courtesy HIAS

March deadline from page 27

Susan Rack, the director of Covenant House, a B’nai
B’rith-run home for the elderly in Boston, has a staff of
10 nurses and maintenance workers caring for more
than 300 tenants, mostly Jewish immigrants from the
former Soviet Union. Although the home is in relatively
good financial standing thanks to a recently awarded $3
million grant, the current cutbacks might force Rack to
reduce salary costs.
“Do we do it by cutting everybody’s hours or by
cutting one person?” she said. “I’m not sure.”
B’nai B’rith runs 38 such homes across the United
States, and their directors are likely to face similar

Boca Raton Resort
t Hotel Excelsior
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA • A Waldorf Astoria Resort rt
Palatial resort exudes luxury & beauty. Gorgeouss
half-mile stretch of pristine private beach. Towerr
building completely renovated. 30 clay tennis courts..
2 championship golf courses. World class spa..
PRESTIGE CATERERS - NK GLATT SUPERVISION
Rye Town
R wn Hilton
WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK • Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach
WE
30 minutes from NYC. Situated on 45 lush acres. Newly
renovated
re spacious and elegant guest rooms & suites, all with
luxurious
lu amenities. Indoor swimming pool and whirlpool,
expanded
e fitness center & indoor tennis complex.
PPRESTIGE CATERERS - ORB GLATT SUPERVISION
Arizona Bi
Biltmore
e staff to bring you the finest Pesach cuisine.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
A SUPERVISION BY RABBI GARELIK OF MILAN
World-class resort on 39 lush acres. 8 swimming pools, 6
whirlpool spas, bicycles, jogging paths, 7 tennis courts, twoo
18-hole championship golf courses. State-of-the-art complex..
In cooperation with VIP Passover
DANZIGER CATERERS - PHOENIX VAAD HAKASHRUTH
2013
VENICE, ITALY
Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach
MULTI-MILLION EURO RENOVATION IN PROGRESS
This world renowned 5 Star, beachfront resort
features beautiful amenities, fabulous swimming
pool, tennis courts and many exciting activities.
Complimentary shuttle boat to & from San Marco
Square. Gourmet cuisine, religious services, and
esteemed scholar-in-residence & orator, Rabbi
Adam Mintz of Manhattan, enhance your Pesach
experience.
We are excited that our culinary team will be
collaborating with Ariel Porat, Executive Chef of
the Dan Accadia Herzliya, Israel, and his excellent
dilemmas if federal spending on the elderly is cut.
“If the sequester were to go into effect in two months
from now, that could affect our ability to serve residents
we already have as well as bring new residents,” said
Rachel Goldberg, B’nai B’rith’s director of aging policy.
In the buildup to the March 1 deadline, B’nai B’rith,
the Jewish Federations of North America, and many
other Jewish groups are lobbying lawmakers in a bid to
blunt reductions. In those efforts, Goldberg said, they
have found friends and foes on both sides of the aisle.
“At this point, parties themselves have pretty
interesting patterns within their caucuses,” she said.
“We’ve seen within the Republican Party there were
disagreements. We’ve walked into Democratic offices
and found less friendliness than expected, and the other
way around.”
When approaching politicians, Goldberg says, the
most important thing to stress is that “spending cuts do
not fall disproportionately on low-income citizens and
elderly-spending programs.”
JTA Wire Service

PGA National Resort

INCRED
LOW PR LE
STARTIN
IB
RICE!
G AT ON
Check weekly
for recipes at
2 ,565 EU LY
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA • Entire Hotel Kosher for Pesach PER PE
RS
RO
RSON
(INCLUDES
AAA 4-Diamond world-class luxury resort. Each room and TAXX & SER
VICE CHARGE
S)

suite features a private balcony. Five tournament-ready

golf courses, 19 tennis courts, and a European Spa.
In cooperation with Kosherica www.jstandard.com
“Cooking with Beth”
CATERING BY RANDY ZABLO & HIS TEAM FROM
FOREMOST RAM CATERERS - ORB GLATT SUPERVISION

blog

Leisure Time Tours NEW YORK 718-528-0700

www.leisuretimetours.com TOLL-FREE 800-223-2624
28 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
 Whether your goal is to enhance your health, promote your
Whether
sense your goal
of well-being, or is to enhance
enliven your health,
your self-image, promoteexist
local resources your
sense to
ofguide
well-being, or enliven
you in your journey.your
In thisself-image, localyou’ll
special section, resources
find exist
to guide you
someinuseful
your tips
journey.
to helpIn this
you specialyour
transform section,
life. you’ll find
some useful tips to help you transform your life.
Living life unleashed
smell everything. He moves slowly from one luscious gar-
Joanne Palmer bage bag to the other. If there is a dead pigeon or squirrel
or rat on the street (that doesn’t happen often but sig-

I
t’s not that I want to go outside at 5:30 in the morning.
I don’t ever really want go out then, and most cer-
tainly I don’t want to at this time of year, when I know
that the sun won’t rise for more than an hour and a half and
the chill will insinuate itself between my fingers and my
gloves and leave my hands clumsy with cold.
But I have to go outside. I have no choice. My 5-year-old
Tibetan terrier, a smallish dog, black and white and fuzzy
all over, spotted so that once a little girl who saw him asked
her mother “Why does that doggie look like a cow?,” and
my boarder dog, my parents’ flood refugee, a squat, charm-
ing 2-year-old mutt with enough personality to make up
for the leg length she’s missing, are dogs. Therefore, they
are not toilet trained. Not going out with them simply is not
an option.
So I put on my tights and two pair of sweat pants and
warm boots and shirt and hooded sweatshirt and fleece
and gloves and winter coat, parboil in the elevator, and
then head on out, juggling my iPhone, earbuds, and dog
treats, occasionally sticking the wrong thing in my ear.
And then I get outside.
At this time of year the air is thin and clear and the sky is
a very dark blue that lightens almost imperceptibly. Every
shadow cast by every streetlight is distinct. Sometimes the
moon is huge and low in the sky. It’s quiet. Sometimes a car
will go by; sometimes I pass people delivering newspapers.
Occasionally I see other dogwalkers. Mainly, though, the
city is mine.
I live on the Upper West Side, and in the early morn-
ings I walk north on Riverside Drive, with the river invisi-
ble beyond the trees on my left but the lights of Edgewater
and Guttenberg shining beyond them, and the city asleep
on my right. I walk up past Columbia and then turn by
Grant’s Tomb and come back down along the top of the
park. Then I can see the river glinting, and sometimes
huge boats, their lights sparingly hung at front and at
back, hulk and loom. Sometimes they glide by like ghost
ships. I see River Road alight along the Hudson, the dark
of the cliffs above, and apartment buildings starting to
spark to life at the top.
Walking with dogs is not the same as walking alone. I
have to accommodate not only my own needs — which is
to walk straight ahead very fast — but theirs. Darcy pulls on
her leash, straining to run, diverting to say hello to any dog
she sees. (My niece named her after her heartthrob, Mr.
Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, but Jane Austen would not
see the similarity. Darcy the man was handsome, remote,
glacial, hiding shyness behind arrogance. Darcy the dog
is promiscuous in her affections, tail-waggy, loving, hiding
nothing behind anything. Of course, she really can’t hide
anything. She is a dog.)
Reggie, on the other hand, has an absolute need to
nificantly more often than never) he will find it and have
to be dragged from it. Evidently believing that his urine
is golden, he will walk for blocks before finding the right
place to spray it.
I move down the street sandwiched by dogs, Darcy
straining at the leash in front of me, Reggie ambling crook-
edly behind.
The city allows dogs off leash in at least some parts of
most parks from nine at night until nine in the mornings,
and I often take advantage of that. On Sunday mornings I
take the dogs to Central Park, where my friend Susan, her
dog, Maccabee, and the two of us walk for hours, talking,
talking, talking, and then calling for the dogs. On nice days
there are so many dogs gamboling and people talking,
walking, running, biking, rollerblading, and otherwise
amusing themselves that it looks like an updated version
of a work by Hieronymus Bosch. For years now together
we have watched the seasons change in the extraordinary
work of combined nature and art that is Central Park.
The dogs love it too. There are so many piles of stuff to
investigate, so many dogs to sniff at, so many puddles of
mud to roll in. (Oh, no, Reggie! Stop that now!!) It’s hard to
predict when dogs will run but sometimes something just
clicks and they go. They run in great glorious circles, legs
flat out so it looks as if they’re flying, just a few inches off
the ground, their ears flowing in the wind. To look at them
is to feel the joy of their muscles as their pent-up energy is
released.

!
It’s heartening, too, to see how the dogs always come
Kills 99.9% of Germs On Contact
W
back. They know where home is, and who loves them. They

E
are astonishingly like small children in the playground,

For Up to 6 Hours!
N
absorbed in their games, but checking every few minutes
to make sure their grown-ups are still there.
We always are still there.
Including rhinovirus, rotavirus, H1N1 Swine Flu, For me, dog walking is perfect.
norovirus, MRSA, VRE, bacteria, fungi, molds and yeast It’s exercise, but it doesn’t feel like it; you are taking care
of the needs of a living being for which you are entirely
• Fully compliant with all applicable guidelines and responsible — but you’re taking care of your own at exactly
regulations (FDA, CDC, ADA) the same time.
• Meets FDA requirements for healthcare personnel It gets me out at times when I otherwise would be in,
and then I get to own the streets as I never could when I
handwash and surgical scrub have to share them.
• Non-irritating. Triclosan free It gives me time to think — although I bring my iPhone
and earphones often I don’t use them, or turn it on but
• Superior performance in every application then realized that I’ve tuned it out. I use the time and the
hypnotic effects of the walk to think. I write much of what
CAN YOU later goes on my computer in my head as I walk; in fact,
most of this piece came to me on Riverside Drive. And it
AFFORD AN OUTBREAK? also gives me time to listen to aubiobooks. I’ve become a
Hospitals HighSchools Theaters Clinics great customer of audible.com. Walking is a perfect way
Elementary Schools Gyms Bathrooms Stadiums to listen to books; you don’t have to concentrate as in-
ShoppingMalls Planes Trains Automobiles Camps tensely as you often do when you’re driving, and you can
Nurseries Restauraunts Children SuperMarkets make your walk as long as want when you realize that you
Elderly DrugStores GasStations SportingArenas absolutely must hear the end of the story. All you have to
BusShelters DayCares Army Navy Airforce do is adjust the volume when trucks rumble by.
FoodService CruiseShips FastFood I know that some people don’t like dogs. They find
them a huge responsibility. That is true. They find that
they make the house harder to clean, and sometimes it
can smell like dog. That is true as well. They say that it is
For information and to order contact Jay Harmon 914-523-4000 expensive to pay for food, dogs, visits to the vet, and stays
email: hygiene@optonline.net at a kennel or with a dogsitter. Yes, also true. But there are
Hospital inquiries welcome! so many tradeoffs!
Not only do dogs provide you with a foolproof reason
ANTI-MICROBIAL to go out and walk, they also give you pure and uncompli-
u Antiseptic u Antiseptic Lotion cated love, which clearly does not replace the human love
u Antiseptic Foaming Soap you get from other people but complements it perfectly.
u Surgical Scrub Once you have come back home to be greeted by your
dog at the door, smiling at you, wagging his tail, loving you
“No comparable product is capable of providing the no matter what, you (and by that I suppose I mean I, but
degree of the long term protection exhibited by the I also mean you) realize that no life is entirely complete
Zylast® hand sanitizers.” Haskins Labs, Pace University without a dog.

30 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

 ‘Weight Loss Warren Geller named president and CEO of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center

l
for Life’ The Englewood Hospital and Medical
Center Board of Trustees announced that
the current executive vice president and
transition to the foundation. It has moved
up this plan to be effective one year earlier,
allowing Geller to lead the medical center at
-
e
Choosing the right surgeon chief operating officer, Warren Geller, has a pivotal time as it embarks on a major ex-
DOES matter! been named president and chief executive pansion plan. Also, this will permit Duchak
officer of Englewood Healthcare System and to devote his full time to the foundation.
t Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. Geller joined Englewood as executive

I
f you’ve been struggling with weight loss for years, The current chief executive officer, vice president and chief operating officer
we can help. Weight loss isn’t just about looking Douglas A. Duchak, will transition to a new in 2009. He was previously a senior vice
good. It’s about your overall well-being. Obesity role in fundraising, as he joins the team at president at Northern Westchester Hospital
puts you at risk for severe health problems and hampers the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and was a director for 10 years at Mount
your quality of life. Foundation. Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan. In his
Warren Geller
Weight Loss for Life is an innovative, multi-disci- The EHMC board announced last May previous role at Englewood Hospital, he
I plinary weight loss surgery program operating at both that as part of its leadership succession plan, Geller would was responsible for day-to-day operations and many of
New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University assume this role on January 1, 2014 and Duchak would Englewood Hospital’s recent strategic initiatives.
, Medical Center and The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.
1369_Final Ad:Layout 1 1/13/12 9:35 AM Page 1
We can help you make the most rewarding personal
transformation, resulting in more energy, better health,
and improved self-esteem.
As pioneers in the field of bariatric surgery since
r 1996, our team has performed more than 5,000 sur-
geries, helping both men and women conquer severe
obesity and experience extraordinary benefits. Weight
loss surgery has been shown to cure diabetes, reduce
hypertension, and help people live longer, richer, and
more fulfilling lives.
t You are a candidate for surgery if you have a body
mass index (BMI) of 40, or a BMI of 35 with health prob-
lems such as diabetes, hypertension, heart conditions,
m arthritis, or other problems.
The new minimally invasive surgeries we’ve helped
to develop — and are now teaching to surgeons all over
the country — have proven to be the safest and most ef-
fective. Our program is nationally recognized as offering
the only long-term solution to severe obesity.
Weight Loss for Life has been honored by the Ameri-
can College of Surgeons and the American Society for
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) as a Bariatric
Center of Excellence operating at the highest level. All of
our surgeons are on the faculty of Columbia University
College of Physicians & Surgeons, one of the nation’s
top medical schools, as well as on the staff of New York-
Presbyterian, repeatedly chosen as one of “America’s
, Ten Best Hospitals,” according to U.S. News and World
Report.
At Weight Loss for Life, you will be cared for by world-
e
t
e
class bariatric surgeons 24/7 and by specially trained
nurse practitioners and nutritionists. Ongoing support
groups and behavioral health counseling emphasize
the right eating habits and exercise routines and help
Weight Loss for Life
If you are constantly struggling with your weight, you're not alone. At the Columbia University
, you maintain your weight loss over time.
t Choosing to undergo weight loss surgery is one of Centers for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery, we regularly help seriously overweight adults for
the most important decisions you will ever make. At whom every diet they tried has failed. Our surgeons are distinguished leaders, innovators, and
Weight Loss for Life, our experts perform the four most
educators in the field of bariatric surgery. We have helped more than 5,000 people achieve and
effective weight loss procedures: gastric bypass, adjust-
able gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, and duodenal maintain weight loss through a combination of strategies and long-term, personalized care.
u switch. After careful consultation, you and your physi- Whether you see our world class physicians just over the George Washington Bridge at
cian will choose the one that’s right for you. NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center or at The Valley Hospital in
For further information, call New York-Presbyte-
Ridgewood, New Jersey, you will be making the right choice to attain your weight loss goals.
rian/Columbia University Medical Center, (212) 305-
t 4000, or The Valley Hospital Center for Metabolic and
t Weight Loss Surgery, (201) 251-3480.
s

n
- 212.305.4000 201.251.3480
e

www.jstandard.com The Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, NYC
The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ
e www.obesitymd.org

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 31

 Israeli vets formulate
START THE NEW YEAR WITH A NEW LOOK!
new vaccine for dogs
A serendipitous lab discovery led to a breakthrough
vaccine for a fatal tick-borne disease. Now investors
are sought to take it commercial
Abigail Klein Leichman
D
r. Shimon Harrus did not intend
to find the world’s first vac-
cine against canine monocytic
ehrlichiosis (CMT), a sometimes fatal
tick-borne disease in dogs. Instead, he
DAILY was attempting to determine how long
SPECIAL 2012 ticks must be attached to a dog’s fur in
Shampoo, order to transmit CMT.
“I was using bacteria I cultured in my
Cut READERS’ lab, and all of a sudden I realized the two
and CHOICE dogs in our experiment did not become
sick, and the ticks I put on the dogs did
Blow Dry not become infected,” Harrus says. “Then
35
FIRST PLACE
Japanese
Keratin Treatments
Line Straightening
Score Hair $ HAIR SALON we performed a big study and we realized
something important was going on.”
Full Service Salon The remarkable results of the experi-
ments done by Harrus and his lab partner,
352 Broad Avenue · Leonia 201-944-3461 Dr. Gad Baneth, over the past four or five
Open 7 Days · Sun 9-6 · Mon-Sat 9-7 years are outlined in a December 17, 2012
s taken article in the journal Vaccine.
d commits Harrus is dean of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem’s Koret School of
cal imaging. Veterinary Medicine in Rehovot. Baneth is
mize the use a professor of veterinary medicine at the
ts today. Welcome to Teaneck Radiology Center school.
Harrus explains that CME is preva-
offering the best of both worlds. lent worldwide, and currently cannot be
prevented aside from tick control. If dogs
become infected, they must undergo a
• The expertise of radiologists from both lengthy course of antibiotic treatment.
Columbia University Department of Radiology
Welcome to Teaneck Radiology Center “The vaccine developed by Profs.
and University Radiology Group Harrus and Baneth is the first vaccine to
offering the best of both worlds. prove effective against this disease,” said
• A community outpatient imaging center where Yaacov Michlin, CEO of Yissum, the uni-
versity’s technology transfer company.
• T he expertise of radiologists from both
you get personalized attention “The current lack of vaccine for CME,
Columbia University Department of Radiology the growing awareness of the market
poinTmenT and University Radiology Group and the growing market needs make this
500 • A
community outpatient imaging center where
invention particularly attractive, and
Yissum is currently looking for commer-
you get personalized attention cial partners for further development and
commercialization purposes.”
A bite from a brown dog tick passes
Ehrlichia bacteria into the dog’s blood-
stream. The disease may be acute or
chronic. In the acute stage, several weeks
A new smile for a new year at Teaneck Dentist
Are you thinking of revolutionizing your
smile?
Teaneck Dentist has an array of op-
tions, from whitening, veneers, crowns,
implants, Invisalign, and Snap-on-Smile
to help you achieve a new look.
By correcting or improving the shade,
shape, spacing, height, or width of your
MRI · CT · Pediatrics · Mammography · Ultrasound
teeth, Teaneck Dentist can transform
DEXA (Bone Densitometry) · X-ray · Fluoroscopy your smile into your best asset.
An increasingly popular choice for
699 Teaneck Rd · Teaneck, NJ · 201.836.2500 improving a smile is porcelain veneers.
www.teaneckradiology.com These are thin shells of ceramic that bond
directly to the front and top surfaces of
M R I • CT • Pe d i a t r i c s • M a m m o g r a p h y
32 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
U l t r a s o u n d • D E X A (B o n e D e n s i t o m e t r y )
ck, NJ 07666 X- r ay • F l u o ro s c o py
201.836.7921
after infection and lasting for up to a
month, the dog will have fever and low-
ered peripheral blood-cell counts. Some
dogs progress to the chronic phase, which
can lead to low blood-cell counts, bone
marrow suppression and bleeding, often
resulting in death.
The potential vaccine was developed
from Harrus and Baneth’s proprietary at-
tenuated strain of Ehrlichia canis. They
and their doctoral students assessed the
formula on 12 dogs divided into three
groups. Four dogs were inoculated (vac-
cinated) with the attenuated Ehrlichia
strain twice, four dogs only once and the
last group of four dogs served as the con-
trol group.
The vaccinated dogs showed no clini-
cal signs of disease after the inoculation,
suggesting that the novel vaccine is safe
and does not induce adverse effects.
When the dogs were later infected with
a virulent Ehrlichia field strain, the con-
trol dogs all developed a severe disease,
whereas only three of the eight vaccinated
dogs presented mild transient fever and
the rest remained healthy.
Harrus says funding is needed for con-
tinued research before the vaccine can be
commercialized.
“We need to make sure it works against
other strains, we need to learn the mecha-
nism by comparing the attenuated strain
against wild strains, and we have many
other research questions.”
Now in his sixth year as head of the vet-
erinary school, Harrus says his research is
so important to him that he gave up most
of his clinical work at the vet school’s af-
filiated animal hospital in order to remain
active in the lab. His areas of interest are
infectious and vector-borne diseases; how
fleas and rodents carry and transmit dis-
ease to animals; and the Bartonella bacte-
ria that cause diseases such as cat-scratch
fever. Israel21c.org
the teeth. They are an ideal choice for im-
proving your smile because of their sim-
plicity and versatility. With veneers as an
option, there is no reason to put up with
gaps between your teeth, or teeth that are
stained, badly shaped, or crooked.
Doctors Bloch, Gertler, and Frohlich
are all highly qualified and skilled in the
field of porcelain veneers. You can see
examples of their work at www.teaneck-
dentist.com. To explore further, call (201)
837-3000. Teaneck Dentist is located at
100 State St. in Teaneck.
 Change your address, Change your life.
-

-
a

At the community voted “Best Retirement Community” by Jewish Standard readers

F I V E S TA R P R E M I E R R E S I D E N C E S O F T E A N E C K
-
,

#1 READER'S
- CHOICE FOR
BEST
d RETIREMENT
d COMMUNITY
!
-

-
n
y

t Your address is the place you’re proud to welcome friends and family – where
everything has its place, from your favorite easy chair to your most treasured
heirlooms.
w
Bring everything you love to your new address, and let our Five Star service
-
make life even better.
• Five Star dining with a varied • Religious programs, including
655 Pomander Walk
menu to appeal to all tastes weekly Shabbat services
Teaneck, NJ 07666
• Convenient Monthly Rentals, • Independent and assisted living
201-836-7474 with no buy-in with 24-hour nursing in assisted
www.FiveStarPremier-Teaneck.com • A schedule of activities including living
frequent outings to NY/NJ attractions
CALL 201-836-7474 TO TOUR AND DISCOVER YOUR
©2013 Five Star Quality Care, Inc. NEIGHBORS’ TOP CHOICE FOR A FIVE STAR RETIREMENT.

INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING

Voted “Best Retirement Community,” 2012 and “Best Independent Living,” 2011, by Jewish Standard readers.

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 33

Job#: PRT130101 De: mdk Colors Notes:
Size: 10x13 Ae: jm
C M Y K
Publication: Date: 01.11.2013
 21 st Century Dermatology LLC
Specializing in 2012
Medical and Cosmetic
READERS’
CHOICE
Dermatology for Adults
FIRST PLACE
and Children DERMATOLOGIST
Marcy Goldstein, MD
1 W. Ridgewood Avenue, Suite 305
Paramus, NJ
(201) 445-8786
Most insurance accepted
Physical and Occupational Therapy
in the comfort of your own home!
• Fall Prevention and Balance Training
• Treatment for Back, Neck and Joint Pain
• Endurance and Muscle Strengthening
• Rehab Programs for Parkinson’s, Stroke,
and other Neurological Conditions
• Post Orthopedic Surgery Rehab
WE ACCEPT MEDICARE AS WELL AS MOST INSURANCES
Highly recommended by many local physicians
201-833-0234
1060 Main Street, River Edge, NJ · bthrehab.com
34 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
What’s keeping you from
reaching your fitness goals?
Lelia Marcus
T
here are many common miscon-
ceptions, misinformation, and
misunderstandings about how to
lose weight. For example, I want to loose
belly fat, so I should do a lot of sit-ups,
right? Or, I’m doing all kinds of cardio but
I’m not losing weight. What’s wrong?
Here’s the real story: Sit-ups don’t help
you lose belly fat. You can target specific
muscles but you cannot target a specific
area to lose fat. Where you loose fat first,
second, third, and last is hidden in your
genetic code. Wherever it went on most
recently is where you will loose it first.
Wherever it has been the longest, is where
it will come off last.
You need to be actively involved
in three areas to loose body fat —
cardiovascular exercise, weight training/
resistance training, and controlling what
you put in your mouth.
Cardiovascular exercise: Here’s an
area of misconception. Many people
think they need to go as hard as they
can to loose weight. If you are sweating
buckets, that’s good, right? Wrong. Going
as hard as you can and sweating buckets
usually indicates that you are exercising
at a higher intensity than is healthy for
you. The key to loosing body fat with
cardiovascular exercise is keeping your
heart rate in your target heart rate zone.
Staying in your zone strengthens your
heart, lowers your cholesterol, releases
endorphins (those happy hormones),
increases circulation (which also
increases the available nutrients to your
extremities), burns calories, and burns
fat.
Weight training/resistance training:
The more tone your muscles are, the
higher your metabolism is. The higher
your metabolism is, the more calories you
burn while you are sitting on the couch or
even sleeping. Toning/building muscle
A community for healing at Elisha’s Gate
For many people, the experience of
sickness, loss, or mourning can raise
questions of faith and meaning, both
existential and spiritual. Often these
prompt the beginnings of a journey into
tradition and community. Others with
established connections to Judaism of-
ten discover their own community lacks
the resources to offer meaningful sup-
port during these moments, leaving the
individual feeling the paradox of isola-
tion within the community.
Elisha’s Gate of Wholeness and
Healing seeks to reach out to individu-
als and families during these critical
moments.
Capturing the opportunity to con-
sider one’s relationship to faith and tra-
helps keeps your bones strong. Having
tone/strong muscles helps you feel like
you are a superhero when you easily
have the strength to do your day-to-day
activities like carrying heavy groceries.
You may just end up looking like a super
hero too.
Controlling what you put in your
mouth: I’m not talking about a diet
although that may be appropriate
for some. I’m talking about increased
awareness of what is going in your mouth
as opposed to mindless eating. Look up
the nutritional charts of your favorite
food. How large is a serving? How many
calories are in a serving? How much fat?
How much salt? How much sugar? What
are the ingredients? You may change
some of the things you eat simply by
learning more about them. Perhaps the
serving size is much smaller than you
imagined. Sometimes those small bags
of chips are technically three servings!
Maybe that healthy looking yogurt is
much higher in calories, fat, and sugar
than you thought. Crackers are another
innocent looking food. Check the
package.
The bottom line is: calories in, calories
out. The food you eat minus daily activity
and exercise. The more muscle you have
on your body, the more calories you burn
at rest. It takes time and discipline. You
can do it. The more regularly you exercise,
the more you will be pleased with the
results and the more you will want to do
it. It becomes a constructive, affirming
cycle.
Happy exercising!
Lelia Marcus is an AFAA-certified personal
trainer. For more information, call (201) 657-
8507 or visit http://TeaneckPersonalTrainer.
com.
dition and the legacy one hopes to pass
down to children and grandchildren is
another focus of this unique commu-
nity. Our programs and services seek
to provide opportunities for people to
craft their personal Jewish narratives and
teachings in a way that can be meaning-
fully transmitted to loved ones, friends
and colleagues.
Elisha’s Gate of Wholeness and
Healing is one of the many and varied
portals into Jewish life and community
offered by Sha’ar Communities.
For more information, go to http://
shaarcommunities.org e-mail info@
shaarcommunities.org, or call (201)
213-9569.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 35
 Just ask Sisyphus
‘I Should Have Richard Portugal

Made This Move T

o arduously push a heavy rock up a
hill, only to have it roll back down,
burden that makes all the difference. Are
we Sisyphus or Atlas? Do we approach our

Years Ago’
We hear this all the time. Many of our independent
seniors say they were tired of feeling isolated
in their home, or living too far away from the
children, or not having things – like delicious
meals, a full schedule of activities, friends – easily
accessible. Only they didn’t know where to go or
were afraid to make changes.
Fear no more.
and then have to start again is an
ironic parody to an exercise routine. Just
ask Sisyphus! In Greek mythology, Sisyphus
was a king punished by the god Zeus for his
unabashed hubris by being compelled to
roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to
watch it roll back down, and to repeat this
action forever. Sisyphus was consigned to
an eternity of useless efforts and unending
frustration. Do not many seniors regard
exercise and old age with the same wary
attitude?
Every senior was once 30 years old.
They were young, aggressive, and imbued
with a spirit of boundless optimism. Young
bones, effortless walking, energy to spare,
illimitable strength and a ceaseless eye
focused upon the future — that seems to
be a recipe for youth. Sisyphus is not their
seer, but rather Atlas, who can uphold the
weight of the world while standing tall in
the sunshine.
Many seniors cast a suspicious eye
upon aging. They feel it robs them of those
very qualities which imparted a lifelong
concept of themselves. They feel no longer
self-conceptualized. They are now defined,
by themselves and society, as old, past their
prime, useless, and at the precipice of the
end game. Well, no wonder they can be
depressed and self-limiting!
Yet, a senior can still be an Atlas. We
are bequeathed life’s complications just
as when we were 30. It is how we lift the
burdens as if a useless effort, or shoulder
our loads with courage and optimism?
There is no doubt that seniors have
their own set of issues. Illness and disease
can sap the very soul of you. Financial and
family issues can add even a greater mag-
nitude of worries. But to be an Atlas, you
must believe that you can still dominate
and control what seems a diminishing life.
Atlas has strong legs and powerful shoul-
ders. It enables him to dominant his world.
Follow his example and control the weight
of your world.
I have witnessed seniors who have
Parkinson’s and MS, who suffer from
strokes and heart attacks, and who are en-
cumbered by fibromyalgia and dementia
exercise to remain strong and control their
activities of daily living. They do not view
their efforts as useless. Rather they view
their efforts as self-affirming and prideful.
They exercise to remain strong, to counter
osteoporosis and to be as self-sufficient
as possible. Illness, pain, discomfort be
damned. They will balance their world
upon strong shoulders and not permit the
boulder to roll back down the hill.
Richard Portugal is the founder and owner of
Fitness Senior Style, which exercises seniors
for balance, strength, and cognitive fitness in
their own homes. He has been certified as a
senior trainer by the American Senior Fitness
Association. For further information, call (201)
937-4722.

That’s the Pointe. Englewood Hospital and Medical Center trains

surgeons from abroad in robotic techniques
Heritage Pointe. A group of surgeons from Latin America
recently traveled to Englewood Hospital and
Join Us on Thursday, January 24th Medical Center to learn advanced robotic sur-
for a presentation on the current value of gold, silver, gery for the treatment of cancer.
Nine surgeons from Brazil, Argentina,
gems and other estate jewelry. Puerto Rico, Chile, and Venezuela watched
live from a conference room as Dr. Michael
Stifelman performed a complex procedure to
remove a tumor in a patient with kidney cancer.
During the interactive training session, Dr.
Stifelman discussed each step of the surgery as
he navigated four surgical robot arms.
“We have built an extremely successful
robotic surgery program using the da Vinci Si
For a tour call Joel Goldin at 201-836-9260 HD system, a revolutionary technology that
www.heritagepointeofteaneck.com .com has enhanced our precision in treating patients
with kidney, prostate and gynecologic can-
cers,” explained Stifelman. “We want patients
worldwide to experience the benefits of this
technique and are proud to serve as a model of a
successful robotic surgery program.”
Upon completion of the live surgery,
Stifelman also demonstrated how robotic sur-
gery can be used in general procedures. Visiting
surgeons had the opportunity to observe a sec-
ond operation to treat a patient with a horseshoe
kidney, a congenital disorder that causes the
kidneys to fuse together. The minimally inva-
sive technique allows for better outcomes, less
pain, and a shorter recovery period.
“This latest advancement is a game changer
in terms of the way we perform surgery,” said
Stifelman. “Our humanistic approach to high-
quality patient care certainly gives us an added
edge, which was extremely important to incor-
porate into the training session.”

Get in touch with natural pain relief

A Full Service Independent Heritage Pointe of Teaneck Back in Touch Massage Therapy in
Rental Retirement Community
600 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck, in business for 11 years, uses nat-
ural and specific bodywork techniques to
bring long-term pain relief. Therapists are
trained to uncover and release long-held
tightness, increasing range of motion, and
to ease th pain associated with stressed
36 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
and overused muscles and joints. Readers
are invited to come in for a free five-minute
chair massage.
Back in Touch Massage Therapy is lo-
cated at 427 Water St., Teaneck. Call (201)
836-0006, or www.backintouchmassageth-
erapyNJ.com
 THERE’S A TREASURE IN YOUR BACK YARD
by Jenny Brown

My name is Jenny and I have been a member of Feminine Fitness since August 2012. My good friend and
co-worker Janet introduced me to your fine establishment and unmatched support system. I just wanted
to reach out and thank you!

My husband’s cousin and the best man at our wedding past away a little over a year ago. He was that guy
with the shoulder to lean on when you were down, the smiling face that made the bad days better, the
life of the party, the person you could never imagine living without. Ryan was someone my husband and I
imagined growing old with...so the day Ryan died – I died.

I ate my troubles away. I gained over seventy pounds in less than a year. And I absolutely hated myself. I
couldn’t fit into the airplane seat and I barely fit in the chairs at work. I was FAT! My doctor told me I was
morbidly obese. My sugar levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol were all elevated. I went from a healthy
person in her twenties to an unhealthy and extremely sick individual in a few short months. I was literally
slowly killing myself. My life had become so out of control – and I needed to do something and FAST!

That was when Janet introduced me to Z and Yaz and Adeena and Karla and Velma and all these
amazingly supportive women I now have in my life. In a little less than 5 months, I have lost 65 pounds
and I’m finally human again. I can play with my three-year-old-son, who was previously begging me to
play with him. I have a whole new outlook on life. Although I am learning to give myself credit, I am forever
indebted to Feminine Fitness and the wonderful group of women you have chosen to run it.

Adeena invited me to all of her classes and encouraged me throughout the entire process of getting
accustomed to the gym once again. I can recall one day asking her if she thought I could take a class
because of the difficulty...Appalled she screamed; “Now why would you think you couldn’t do it! Of course
you can”! And I did. Yaz and Z always have smiling faces and supporting me every step of the way. They
talked to me about health and fitness and it really helps being able to relate. In the Step n’ Strength class
one day – Velma said, “I feel honored to have you in my class.” I thought it was such a beautiful thing to
say to someone.

Karla literally went above and far beyond for me, and still does. She has become the core of my support
system. She has become that person outside of my husband that I can count on. She gave me her
phone number and told me to call or text anytime. She has made this journey such a great endeavor
and celebrated with me through each and every small victory. Throughout hurricane Sandy, Karla never
clocked out and made sure I was keeping on track. She listens and cares and understands where you’re
coming from.

The group of women that work at Feminine Fitness has changed my life in ways I didn’t know was
possible and I don’t know how I could ever repay them. These women have been my life after death. They
have helped me become that strong and confident wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, cousin, and niece
that was hiding behind all that fat. I am so proud and thankful that I am member at Feminine Fitness. You
are blessed to have a staff like yours and I am blessed to have them all in my life.

I am forever indebted to Feminine Fitness and its supportive staff.

To read more testimonials go to www.FeminineFitness.com click on Testimonials and get your 7 day pass.

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 37

Parkinson’s treatment may boost creativity
An Israeli neurologist compiled studies on patients who suddenly started drawing,
sculpting or writing while on dopamine-stimulating drugs.

Abigail Klein Leichman

I
sraeli neurologist Dr. Rivka Inzelberg “I saw it was becoming such a phe- and summarizes all the ism or gambling.”
noticed for years that patients taking nomenon, and I looked in the literature knowledge thus far accu- One of the case studies
dopamine-stimulating medication to to see if anyone ever worked on this,” mulated about this phe- she read involved a medi-
control symptoms of Parkinson’s disease she says. “I found many articles about nomenon. In the article, cated Parkinson’s patient
didn’t bring her the customary box of patients who have become artists in the she also brings up related who painted compulsive-
chocolates at holiday time. Instead they context of being Parkinsonian.” questions about the role ly around the clock, but
brought drawings, sculptures, or poems Inzelberg has now written her own ar- of dopamine — ­ a brain stopped when the dosage
they’d created despite never having been ticle, soon to be published in the journal neurotransmitter that is was reduced.
artistically inclined before. Behavioral Neuroscience, which reviews lacking in people with Inzelberg stresses that
Parkinson’s — on human not all Parkinson’s patients
creativity. on dopamine-stimulating
Inzelberg, who treats drugs develop creativity
Gastroenterology 140 Sylvan Ave., Suite 101A-101B Dr. Rivka Inzelberg’s
patients at the Joseph Sagol area of interest is dis- or impulsiveness. She and
Internal Medicine Englewood Cliffs, NJ Neuroscience Center at eases of the aging brain. several colleagues are cur-
Sheba Medical Center and rently building a battery
teaches at the medical school of Tel Aviv of tests to measure creative skills and
AdvAnced GAstroenteroloGy of BerGen county, P.A. University, says the connection between impulse control in order to figure out why
dopamine and artistic tendencies has some patients on dopamine stimulants
Richard K. Chessler, M.D. been observed for years. develop these traits while others do not.
Barry M. Zingler, M.D. The artist Vincent Van Gogh suffered “This is important for a better under-
Mitchell K. Spinnell, M.D. from schizophrenia, which is character- standing of the neurological basis of cre-
ized by the overproduction of dopamine. ativity in ‘normal’ humans. Is it possible
Michael E. Meininger, M.D. And psycho-stimulants such as cocaine something else aside from dopamine is
Marc A. Fiorillo, M.D. and Ecstasy increase activity of dopamine influencing this?” asks Inzelberg.
in the brain. Her main area of interest over the past
“People think these drugs help them 25 years of her medical practice has been
Tel: 201-945-6564 become more creative, but there is no diseases of the aging brain, including
Fax: 201-461-9038 www.gimeds.com systematic study that checked this, except both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Each
anecdotal studies among addicts showing of these conditions affects millions of
creativity or a high self-measure of tal- people worldwide.
ent,” cautions Inzelberg. “I’m interested in the epidemiology of
Too much dopamine may also cause the disease, what changes its onset and
impulsive behaviors, because this brain course; genetic factors that influence the

Be a part chemical is responsible for reward-driven

behavior and pleasure seeking.
“The feeling of happiness from
course of the disease; and also concomi-
tant diseases.”
She explains that people with

of our Family…
rewarding activities is transferred by
dopamine in the brain,” she explains.
“It is possible that in patients with
Parkinson’s, when they take these drugs
to ease their muscle disability, a side ef-
fect can be a need to do things that bring
pleasure in a hyper way such as hobby-
Parkinson’s disease seem to be protected
from all kinds of cancer except for skin
cancer; they actually have a higher risk
of developing skin cancer. “If we can find
why they have such low rates of almost
every cancer, this would be significant for
saving lives,” Inzelberg says.

THE

E SPLANADE
C H E S T N U T R I D G E
LUXURY ASSISTED LIVING
(Resident, Lillian Grunfeld with her daughter,
Dir. of Community Relations, Debbie Corwin) Minds, not just medicine
Hope Quality Patient Care means
staying healthy with healthy relationships
…where our residents maintain the level of independence
they desire while receiving the care they need. Hope Quality Patient Care strives to keep patients to receive them:
clients and patients active in their sur- • Having close relationships with
• Family owned community roundings with kindness and care, em- family and friends;
powering them to identify their interests, • Allowing them to feel in control of
• Spacious, fully furnished apartments experiences and philosophies of life. their decision-making;
• Daily Lifestyle Activities to enrich mind, body & spirit The Esplanade at Chestnut Ridge Hope’s aides and staff strive to maxi- • Encouraging ability to manage
168 Red Schoolhouse Rd. mize physical and mental functions of strong feelings and impulses;
• RN Director of Wellness Program
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 patients so that they may continue to • Maximizing choice to ensure they
• Respite Program available 845-620-0606 participate in social networks and lead have freedom of mind;
• Licensed by NYSDOH www.EsplanadeChestnutRidge.com independent, purposeful lives. They aim • Giving them a positive view of
not only to increase patient longevity but themselves and confidence in their
• Conveniently located on the Rockland/Bergen border
also to increase the number of healthy strengths and abilities, and
Come F and active years of their lives. • Allowing them to find a positive

Visit our other locations at

eel Our Warmth Hope Care believes the following will
decrease the level of stress in the lives of
meaning in their life despite any
difficulties.
www.PromenadeSenior.com their patients and works for each of their

38 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

Women’s Digital
Imaging of Ridgewood
chosen for fitness Lelia Marcus E L E C T R O LY S I S
P E R M A N E N T H A I R R E M OVA L
research study Certified Personal Trainer
http://LeliaMarcus.com • 30 years of experience

TKL
Research, a clinical research orga- 4 toning/sculpting • State-of-the-art equipment
nization (CRO) serving the phar- 4 post physical therapy • Sunday hours
maceutical, biotechnology, medical 4 weight loss
device, and consumer health care industries, is conducting
an investigational research study for a protein supplement 4 pre/post natal SUSAN KELSTEIN
and has chosen Woman’s Digital Imaging of Ridgewood
(www.womensdigital.com) to give participants a DEXA TrainingForResults@yahoo.com · 201-657-8507 201-801-0333
Total Body Composition Exam at the beginning and con-
clusion of the study.
DEXA total body composition is a quick and painless
exam in which an overhead scanner assesses the ratio of
fat to muscle throughout the body. The study needed the
most accurate method of determining body composition An invitation from
CareOne at Teaneck —
for participants and determined that DEXA was more ac-
curate than other common measurements such as skin
fold caliper and Body Mass Index (BMI). Women’s Digital

Healthy Kosher Cooking

Imaging of Ridgewood is one of the only facilities in the
area with DEXA Total Body Composition Analysis.

with Susie Fishbein

“DEXA Total Body Composition Analysis is like a GPS
for fitness,” said Dr. Lisa Weinstock, director of Women’s
Digital Imaging of Ridgewood. “With health and fitness,

Wednesday, Feb. 20th

as in travel, you have to know where you are to map where
you want to go. DEXA tells you where you have too much
fat in your body so you can plan an exercise program to
eliminate it.”
Body fat isn’t simply a matter of aesthetics but of health.
7-8:30 p.m.
CareOne at Teaneck
Weinstock gives an example of a patient who was under-
weight but had a fat percentage on the high side. “If you are

544 Teaneck Road, Teaneck

a woman who weighs only 98 pounds yet you have a body
fat measure in the 40s, you’re at the same cardiac risk as
a woman who weighs 300 pounds.” She said the opposite
scenario is also important to know. “I have a patient who
is heavy but works out several times a week and has good
muscle mass. She is at less of a risk than the thin woman
with not enough muscle!” Both patients had BMI measure-
ments that were inaccurate.
Weinstock recommends a DEXA total body exam for
anyone who wants a more accurate ratio of muscle to
fat. Personal trainers use DEXA analysis to plan exercise
programs for clients. Physicians and nutritionists also use
DEXA to assess patients with a wide variety of medical con-
ditions from obesity to anorexia.
For more information about DEXA Total Body
Composition Analysis, or to make an appointment, con-
tact Women’s Digital Imaging, 79 Chestnut St., Ridgewood,
at (201) 444-4484.

How Reiki relieves stress Join us and Kosher by Design author Susie Fishbein, as she
What happens when we bump a knee? We instinctively
put our hands on it to make it feel better. Reiki works the
same way to relieve the “ouches,” or stresses, in our lives.
demonstrates her time-tested methods of preparing and serving
As a psychotherapist and Reiki master, Jennifer Graf
offers stress relief two ways.
delicious meals, followed by a book signing. Space is limited so
You may have difficulty sleeping, have headaches,
unwarranted fears, poor concentration, learning difficul-
respond early!
ties, indigestion, colds, or eating, drinking and smoking

RSVP by February 13th to

issues. Reiki helps you experience your feelings, open
your heart, and let go of stress. Reiki is recommended

amarkowitz@care-one.com
before and after surgery, is used along with other conven-
tional treatments, and maintains energetic balance that
can help in illness prevention.
Mind-body techniques such as guided imagery and
breath work may also be explored off the table and on the
couch for a pyschotherapeutic approach. CareOne at Teaneck • 544 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666 • 201-862-3300
For more information, call (917) 562-0590 or www.
jennifergraf.net. 479564

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 39

Allendale raises awareness for American Heart Month
Senior campus advocates healthy lifestyle through proper diet, exercise

F
ebruary is American Heart Month, and not just
because of Valentine’s Day. It’s the time to recog-
nize the strides being made to reduce the risks
of cardiovascular disease. The Allendale Community
for Mature Living, a leading provider of continuing care
retirement living, is raising awareness by encouraging
seniors to be heart healthy through proper diet and
regular exercise.
The most common type of heart disease in the
United States is coronary artery disease, which can lead
to a heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). Every year about 610,000
Americans have a new heart attack and an estimated
325,000 have a recurrent attack. Many first-ever heart
attacks or strokes are fatal or disabling, so prevention is
critical.
Heart disease is the leading killer among both men
and women aged 50 and over. To improve cardiovascular
health and reduce the risk of dying from heart disease
or stroke, health professionals at Allendale recommend
regular check-ups with a personal physician to monitor
glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.
“Although these seem quite simple, you’d be surprised
by the number of people who fail to make an annual
physical exam appointment and, as a result, are at risk
for stroke, heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure, or
diabetes,” said Dr. Stephen Sherer, medical director
for The Allendale Community, and a board-certified
cardiologist and internist.
According to the CDC, making the following choices
can also help reduce the risks:
• Follow your doctor’s instructions and stay
on your medications.
• Eat a healthy diet that is low in salt, total fat,
saturated fat, and cholesterol, and rich in fresh
fruits and vegetables.
• Take a brisk 10-minute walk, three times a day,
five days a week.
• Don’t smoke. If you smoke, quit as soon
as possible.
An in-depth interactive Heart Attack Risk Assessment
survey can be found online at www.heart.org. The tool is
designed to help assess the risk of having a heart attack
or dying from coronary heart disease in the next 10 years.
Regular physical activity is essential to healthy aging.
It can reduce the risk for heart disease, as well as lower
blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels. The CDC
claims that moderate-intensity aerobic activity, like brisk
walking, is generally safe for most people. Even taking
up activities such as gardening, dancing, or taking the
stairs instead of the elevator will provide positive health
benefits. Seniors should check with their doctor before
they start any exercise program.
According to the National Institute on Aging, older
adults who are inactive lose ground in four areas that
are important for staying healthy and independent:
endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. Exercise
and physical activity helps to maintain or at least
partially restore those four areas. For more information
visit nihseniorhealth.gov.
“There’s a lot that seniors can do to stay heart healthy,”
said Jolanta Giancarlo, vice president of The Allendale
Community. “And it’s part of our mission to educate
people about the importance of making smart lifestyle
choices. It’s never too late to start.”
Developed in stages beginning in 1967, The Allendale
Community for Mature Living pioneered modern-day
eldercare. Today, the continuing care senior campus
remains physician-owned and operated, housing four
full-service residences. In addition to The Atrium,
where residents can utilize long-term care insurance
and veteran’s benefits as partial or full payment for the
monthly rental fee, The Allendale Community includes
Carlton Court, a memory-care neighborhood; The
Allendale Nursing Home, a Medicare-certified skilled
nursing facility; and The Rehabilitation Center at The
Allendale Community, which provides subacute services
to people of all ages who have suffered an illness or
injury.
Located in a quiet suburban neighborhood in
Allendale, just off Route 17 South, the community
also offers a respite short-term stay program as well
as the Senior Social Club, an adult day program. For
more information about The Allendale Community
for Mature Living, call (201) 825-0660 or visit www.
allendalecommunity.com.

YOU’RE INVITED TO OUR Wishing you a

W
“
OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, January 26th, 1-3pm
Happy Passover a
Hw
t
$100 OFF! The Chateau
ANY PACKAGE* At Rochelle Park “
r
T
*For New Clients Only 96 Parkway
Rochelle Park, NJ 07662 3
After
Alaris Health at The Chateau 201 226-9600

96 Parkway
Sub Acute
At Rochelle Park
· Rochelle
Rehabilitative Park,
Care NJ · for
Center 201-226-9600
Hospital After Care
A
Sub Acute Rehabilitative Care Center for Hospital After Care
After care is so important to a patient’s recovery … once a patient is released from the
“My body has become more lean, fit and toned.
I physically and mentally feel so much better. All of
try and regain their strength and independence. 96 Parkway
hospital the real challenges often begin – the challenges they now have to face as they

Rochelle Park, NJ 076

the components of the program worked for me especially
the accountability. I love the staff and the support they Here at The Chateau we combine the very same sophisticated technologies and
give to me to maintain my new healthy life style.” techniques used by leading hospitals with “hands on” skilled rehabilitative/nursing care.
Sub Acute care ensures that patients return home with the highest degree of function

CALL TO FIND OUT MORE!

- Lisa

Before
possible.

Our Care Service …

201 226-9600 W
(201) 399-7200 3
 Ventilator Care/Vent-Dialysis
 IV Therapy
 Tracheotomy Care 2
 Physical, Speech and Occupational Therapy

Sub Acute Rehabilitative Care Center forE1

 Physician Supervised Wound Care
®
 On-Site Internal Medicine Physicians
Small group personal training  24 Hour Nursing Care
Your training is now complete!
2
getinshapeforwomen.com Career and Franchise Opportunities Available
For more
For more information,
please
information,or
call
Rochelle our please
Park,
ortotoschedule
Admissions
schedulea tour
call ourDepartment
of of
a tour Alaris
TheHealth
AdmissionsatDepartment
Chateau
201 336-9317
at at
The ChateauPark,
Rochelle
at 201 336-9317
at

40 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 After care is so important to a patient’s recovery … oncew
hospital the real challenges often begin – the challenges t
try and regain their strength and independence.
 Tu Bish
What?
Studies show that good hearing is critical
for emotional, physical, and financial success.

This is a perfect time to assess your hearing and consider

a hearing device that, like a seed in the ground, is planted
deep inside the ear canal and completely invisible.

“Wearing Siemens Cielo hearing
aids has opened up a whole new
world for me. I should have done
this years ago.”
- Carolyn
“Audiologist services are first
rate. The Lyrics make me feel
30 years younger.”
- Elizabeth
“I’m on the phone all day and I was having a
hard time hearing. With the patience of a saint
my doctor straightened out my hearing.”
- Joel
“On my birthday I wished I never had to wear
my hearing aids again. With the Lyric my wish
came true.”
- Jenny

Michael Scherl, M.D. James Lee, M.D. Lori Roses, AuD Donna Szabo, AuD
WESTWOOD NJ # 916 NJ# 489
354 Old Hook Road
201-666-8787
Call for your appointment today
ENGLEWOOD
163 Engle Street and find out how our team of
201-569-6789 doctors of audiology & physicians
www.northernvalleyent.com can help optimize your hearing.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 41
 SAVINGS FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Pinkie Nails
Manicure &
UV Gel New test by ENT and Allergy Associates
Hot Stone

2012
Pedicure

$20 20% OFF

Color Gel
helps diagnose, prevent oral cancer

A
PRESENT COUPON
mother of three in her early forties. An engineer the BrushTest, the patient was diagnosed with oral cancer
READERS’
CHOICE 680A River Rd. New Milford, NJ in his mid-fifties. An artist in her late thirties. Oral early enough that it potentially saved his life.
(Next to Burger King. Parking in rear)
FIRST PLACE cancer is rising among women, non-smokers “Finding pre-cancer in a patient who is in his early
NAIL SALON 201-265-7300 OPEN 7 DAYS
and young people. ENT and Allergy Associates (ENTA) and forties is, unfortunately, no longer as uncommon as it
OralCDx are working together to reduce the rate of the used to be,” explains Scher. “Studies have shown that an
disease. In fact, in the year since the OralCDx BrushTest increasing number of younger people are diagnosed with
ComForcare became available through ENTA’s 130 physician/36 clini-
cal office practice, the partnership has helped save dozens
oral cancer largely due to the human papilloma virus
(HPV) and other unknown risk factors.”
Home Care of lives. To date, the OralCDx BrushTest has detected over
When Dr. Daniel Grinberg, an otolaryngologist at 50,000 abnormalities, helping to prevent thousands of
Assisted Living in Your
ENTA’s West Nyack, N.Y., office, noticed a small white cancers and potentially saving thousands of lives.
Own Home spot on the tongue of one of his patients, he brushed OralCDx BrushTest (www.thebrushtest.com) is an easy,
• Personal Home Health Care
Serving Bergen, it with the BrushTest. The laboratory result showed painless and definitive way for doctors to test the common
• Meal Preparation
Passaic & Hudson abnormalities, and the non-smoker, who is in her forties, small white and red oral spots that most people have in
• Light Housekeeping
Counties was subsequently diagnosed with oral squamous cell their mouth at one time or another. The BrushTest is used
• Medication Reminders
carcinoma, skin cancer of the mouth. The patient’s early to determine if a common oral spot contains abnormal
• Hourly & Live-In
201-820-4200 • Licensed, Bonded & Insured
diagnosis not only likely saved her life, but also potentially cells (known as dysplasia) that, if undetected, may develop
saved her from years of aggressive and debilitating into oral cancer. The OralCDx BrushTest is a non-invasive
treatments. test for oral pre-cancer and cancer.
“We are seeing an increasing number of non-smokers ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP (www.entandallergy.
with oral pre-cancer and cancer,” says Grinberg. “The com) is the largest and most comprehensive ear, nose,
Specializing in the OralCDx BrushTest makes it possible for me to test throat, allergy and audiology practice in the nation with
diagnosis and treatment
of all disorders of the common looking spots that I see, even if the patient has no 36 offices and over 130 physicians. Each location provides
foot and ankle
known risk factors.” access to a full range of services. The practice has a clinical
ERIC S. ROSEN, D.P.M. Dr. Daniel Scher, who practices in ENTA’s Wayne office, alliance with the Mount Sinai Hospital for the treatment
Associate, American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons
Assoc., American Coll. of Foot & Ankle Orthopedics & Medicine had a similar experience with a non-smoking patient of diseases of the head and neck and a partnership with
Associate, American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine
who does not routinely drink. Scher noticed a red spot the American Cancer Society to educate and treat patients
24 Godwin Ave., Midland Park, NJ · 201-444-7999
288 Boulevard · Hasbrouck Hts., NJ · 201-288-3000 on the patient’s tongue and brushed it. As a follow up to with smoking disorders and cancer.
MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED · HOUSE CAllS
Evening Hours
Office Hours By Appointment

Are You Caring For An Aging Parent or Loved One?

Touro proposes plan for new medical school in Catskill region
A & T Healthcare Plans were announced this month that would allow the
long-vacant Horton Hospital complex in Middleton, N.Y.,
“Home Healthcare with Dignity” to be reborn as a regional medical and educational cen-
Help is a phone call away ter anchored by Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
• FREE Pre-Nursing Assessment • 28th Year in Business (TouroCOM), an affiliate of New York City-based Touro
• RNs, LPNs, Live-Ins, HHAs • Familiar with kosher supervision College and University System. The final approval process
• Hospital Sitting & Home Care • We accept Medicaid, Private Insurance, for the new school is under way.
• Always a Nurse On Call CDPAP, TBI and NHTD Waiver When fully operational, the new medical school would
enroll more than 500 students and occupy up to 110,000
201-541-7100 New Jersey
Accredited square feet of space in the complex. In addition to the
845-638-4342 Rockland JCAHO medical school, a portion of the space may be devoted to
other health science-related schools.
Touro would enter into a long-term lease with the prop-
Pain Relief is an erty’s owner, The Danza Leser Group, and would invest $24
million to renovate the facility. Boosted by $1 million from
Appointment Away the State of New York’s Regional Council Program, the ini-
tiative would create some 800 jobs.
to our county and look forward to their success in our
community.”
“The health indicators for our region are as bad as the
worst places in the United States,” said Dr. Ron Israelski, a
prominent physician in Orange County who helped make
this medical school possible. “So in addition to the na-
tional trend that we need more doctors for an aging popu-
lation, we need more schools for doctors. With TouroCOM,
we address local needs of good health and quality higher
education while giving a boost to the region’s economy.”
“Our approach to medical education is strongly con-
nected to community service and community engage-
ment,” said Dr. Robert Goldberg, dean of TouroCOM. “We
look forward to working in close cooperation with a broad
spectrum of local constituencies to make long-term im-
provements in health outcomes throughout the region.”
“Osteopathic medicine places special emphasis on

$10 OFF
“Expanding Touro’s College of Osteopathic Medicine
in the former Horton Hospital site would offer a rare op-
portunity to meaningfully improve the health care and
A Full Price educational systems and provide an economic boost to
teaching and learning in the areas of primary care, and
adopts a holistic approach to the patient,” said Dr. Jay
Sexter, CEO of TouroCOM. “Medical students nationwide
are increasingly turning to osteopathic medicine because

One Hour Massage an underserved area of New York State,” said Dr. Alan
Kadish, president and CEO of Touro College and University
System. “This planned extension of TouroCOM’s main
May not be combined with other offers. Exp. 2/28/13
campus would help ensure that the Hudson Valley and
Catskill regions have sufficient physicians to meet the
Pain Relief is our priority! growing needs in the coming decades.”
• Headaches/Migraines Currently located on Harlem’s 125th Street, TouroCOM
• Back pain/Sciatica would offer a four-year degree program for physicians
• Neck and shoulder at the new campus, the school’s largest-ever expansion.
stiffness TouroCOM is also considering the inclusion of train-
back in touch • Repetitive strain injuries ing physical and occupational therapists, nurses and
Massage Therapy pharmacists.
“Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine would pro-
427 Water St. • Teaneck, NJ • 201-836-0006 vide our residents with quality health options while
(a few steps off Cedar Lane) adding much-needed jobs to our region,” said Orange
www.backintouchmassagetherapynj.com County Executive Edward A. Diana. “I welcome them
of its capacity to enhance the healing process. The Hudson
Valley region would reap the benefits.”
Touro College and University System is one of the larg-
est health care educational systems in the nation and of-
fers a wide array of degree programs in medical and health
sciences fields. In addition to colleges of osteopathic
medicine in New York City and the one in Middletown, the
Touro system also includes colleges of osteopathic medi-
cine in Nevada and California.
Touro has colleges of pharmacy in both New York and
California, as well as graduate and undergraduate schools
of health sciences on Long Island, in Manhattan, and in
Nevada and California. Together with New York Medical
College, Touro College and University System educates ap-
proximately 5,300 health sciences students annually.

42 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013

Study shows Zylast antiseptic products kill more
than 99% of E. Coli, other bacteria on contact
A
new round of extensive time-kill testing on
Zylast antimicrobial products showed that
more than 99.99 percent of disease-causing
germs were destroyed within 15 seconds, making Zylast
the most effective antimicrobial on the market. The
Zylast products, including an alcohol-based antisep-
tic, a water-based antiseptic lotion, and a foaming
hand soap, were tested against a range of 25 different
bacteria.
The list of bacteria tested is standard, and was de-
veloped to ensure a broad, representative spectrum
of organisms was evaluated. Among the bacteria
tested were E. Coli, a leading cause of food poisoning,
S. Pneumoniae, a primary source of pneumonia and
meningitis, and Acinetobacter baumannii, a drug-
resistant bacteria that causes many fatal hospital infec-
tions and is prevalent in soldiers wounded in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Two of the most prevalent and dangerous of these
drug-resistant bacteria are Methicillin-Resistant S. au-
A recent investigation demonstrated the shortcom-
ings of standard alcohol sanitizers. Encompassing 91
separate facilities, the study, published in the Journal
of Infection Control, showed that long-term care facili-
ties that relied on alcohol sanitizers were six times more
likely to suffer a Norovirus outbreak than those rely-
ing on handwashing alone. Homes that used alcohol
sanitizers were more likely than not to have an outbreak
within the year. This can be explained by two factors:
alcohol sanitizers have no persistence, and are often
ineffective against viruses.
This combination of rapid, broad-spectrum kill and
persistence has significant clinical importance. Using
a product with persistence was shown to decrease
illness-related absenteeism in elementary schools by 42
percent (Dyer et al), as compared to 0-19 percent with
alcohol alone. In a pilot hospital study of more than
6,000 patients, hospital-acquired infection rates were
reduced by 44 percent across three different wards us-
ing the Antiseptic.
Zylast is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of
a full line of antiseptic products for use by health care
professionals, businesses and consumers. Zylast prod-
ucts, based on proprietary and patented combinations
of pharmaceutical ingredients, are owned by Innovative
BioDefense Inc, a privately held company headquar-
tered in Lake Forest, Calif.
For information or product ordering, contact Jay
Harmon at (914) 523-4000 or e-mail hygiene@opton-
line.net. Hospital inquiries are welcome.

MAYWOOD PHARMACY
reus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci
(VRE). Testing was performed with the Zylast Antiseptic
against both. Not only did the Antiseptic destroy more
than 99.99 percent of these bacteria on contact, it was
still killing more than 90 percent of both VRE and MRSA
one hour after it was applied.
All Zylast products have been shown to be persistent
for six hours, and now have demonstrated rapid, broad- Take the stress out of medication!
spectrum kill as well. In-vitro testing on skin substitutes
has shown that all Zylast products are still killing at or
above 97 percent of disease-causing bacteria at one
PRESCRIPTION PACKAGING
hour, and remaining above 90 percent at four hours
after application.
DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR
When the Zylast Antiseptic was tested, it was shown
to be more than 100 times more effective against
All medications arrive in
Norovirus than alcohol alone (Liu et al, BioScience
Results). Previous testing has also been performed
sealed “blister” packages
against the H1N1 flu, where the Zylast Antiseptic killed
99.99 percent of the virus within 15 seconds. • For breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime
Innovative BioDefense Inc, the creators of Zylast, be-
lieve the combination of increased immediate kill and
• Color coded
long-lasting persistence can significantly reduce infec- • Easy to open
tion rates in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and
businesses. The Zylast products were 100 times more • One month supply
effective than necessary to exceed the FDA Healthcare
Personnel Handwash requirement, and passed the
• Free delivery
Surgical Scrub test as well. • We contact your doctor(s)
“The Zylast line of products was developed to pro-
vide both immediate and persistent protection against to provide coordinated drug
germs,” said Dr. Robert Sloane. “Competing alcohol therapy for optimal care
sanitizers only kill bacteria until the product evapo-
rates, after about 15 seconds. This greatly limits their • We accept all major insurance,
effectiveness ‑— immediately after application, hands
can again become contaminated. As many bacteria third party plans, Medicare Part D
become drug-resistant, hospital-acquired infections and Medicaid
become even more dangerous — 90,000 people are
killed by these infections each year in the United States • Open 7 days
alone.”
Studies have shown that even in hospitals, health-
care workers only comply with hand hygiene protocols Surgical Supplies · Vaccinations · Diabetes Supplies
about 50 percent of the time, leaving patients vulner-
able nearly half the time. Pharmacists:
Time-kill testing is specified by the FDA, and is a Ari Fishkin PharmD - (R. Pic.)
laboratory test designed to determine how well, and Veera Reddy N. - (R.Ph & Business Manager)
how long, a given product eliminates bacteria. A known
amount of the bacteria is put into a solution of the an-
timicrobial product and left for the specified time — 15, Maywood Pharmacy
30, or 60 seconds — and then counted to determine 102 West Pleasant Ave. · Maywood, NJ
how effective the agent was in destroying the microbe.
The testing was performed by one of the foremost inde- 201-880-5290 · Fax: 201-880-5291
pendent microbiology labs in the country, BioScience Mon-Sat 9-7 · Sun 9-3
Laboratories.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 43
Good news for knees
In a groundbreaking advance, a novel Israeli implant provides
a scaffold for the body to regenerate true joint-protecting cartilage.

Abigail Klein Leichman

I
f you get a cut, break a bone or scrape an elbow,
your bloodstream brings the injury all the neces-
sary nutrients for healing. But if your cartilage gets
damaged, you’re out of luck. This flexible soft tissue that
cushions joints — especially in the knee — has no blood
vessels and therefore little ability to heal itself.
However, a privately held Israeli medical device
company is now offering a safe and effective novel off-
the-shelf cartilage regeneration solution in a global
market worth an estimated $1.6 billion annually.
CartiHeal’s trademarked Agili-C can be implanted in
a single-step arthroscopic procedure. In clinical studies,
it was shown to regenerate true hyaline cartilage (the
most abundant type of cartilage in the human body)
after six months.
Founder and CEO Nir Altschuler says that this is a
breakthrough in the field — the “Holy Grail” in orthope-
dics — because other experimental treatments generate
only “hyaline-like” cartilage, which is actually a non-
lasting fibrous tissue rather than the real deal.
“Our clinical results, to date, confirm rapid cartilage
and bone formation, as clearly visible on MRIs and
X-rays,” says Altschuler. “Patients are reporting signifi-
cant improvement in pain level and return to normal
function, including sports.”
The implant has earned the European Union’s CE
Mark of approval, and the company is currently run-
ning post-marketing clinical studies at leading centers
in Europe.
Going beyond pain relief
There are approximately 1.2 million cartilage repair
procedures performed annually worldwide, and these
surgeries mainly aim for pain relief since it hasn’t been
possible until now to regenerate true hyaline cartilage.
Altschuler says Agili-C has the potential to heal the
problem at an early stage and halt further joint degen-
eration, and therefore might have the potential to pre-
vent the need for more radical procedures, such as knee
replacement, down the road.
The implant provides a scaffold that enables stem
cells to climb up from the bone marrow, form vessels
within the scaffold and regenerate tissue, Altschuler
explains.
Within a few months, the top layer becomes cartilage
while the bottom layer becomes bone — each identical
to the body’s own tissues. The regenerated cells gradu-
ally dissolve the implanted scaffold and the joints are
nearly as good as normal.
The first patient to receive Agili-C was a 47-year-old
Slovenian man, a former athlete whose knee cartilage
was damaged due to a volleyball injury six years before
the June 2011 surgery. Unable to enjoy sports, he suf-
fered on and off from knee swelling and pain.
Six months after receiving the Agili-C implant, the
patient was on the ski slopes. A year from his surgery,
he completed a 180K cycling marathon, according to
company officials.
“The X-ray and MRI images are promising,” says
Altschuler. “At six months you can see signs of cartilage
formation and at a year it is nearly fully regenerated.
The newly formed cartilage is hyaline cartilage, the
body’s native cartilage, distinguished by its specific type
of collagen.”
Altschuler founded CartiHeal in 2009 as a port-
folio company of Peregrine Ventures’ Incentive
Technological Incubator. Today, CartiHeal is backed
by a recent financing round of up to $10 million from
Accelmed, Access Medical Ventures and Elron.
Israel21c.org

The Flu is Here

Jacqueline Kates, Community Relations Coordinator - Holy Name Medical Center

TV and press coverage of this season’s flu
outbreak make it very clear – “The flu is
here: BIG TIME,” to quote Dr. Thomas Birch,
President of the Medical Staff at Holy Name
Medical Center and an infectious disease
specialist. As have other hospitals in New
Jersey and throughout the country, Holy
Name Medical Center has seen a significant
increase in influenza-like illness.
Every flu season, Holy Name prepares to
ramp up for a higher volume of patients,
both in our emergency department and
our inpatient beds, if necessary, and we
staff accordingly. The public can be assured
that the Medical Center is well prepared to
treat patients throughout flu season, but an
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall... unexpectedly early and severe flu season
can place added strain on the facilities and
facilities to limit the spread of flu, including
increased use of masks and respiratory
equipment as well as isolation of patients.
The precautions are important, since
individuals with the flu are contagious
24 hours before they are symptomatic.
You can help to prevent the spread of
flu. To protect yourself and others, the
New Jersey Hospital Association urges
residents of New Jersey to take common-
sense precautions:
• Wash your hands often.
• Cover your mouth when sneezing
or coughing.
• Stay home from work or school if you
are sick.

A Home for all Seasons staffing levels. A triage system is used to

ensure that the most serious patients get the
• Don’t visit patients at the hospital if you
are not feeling well.

care they need first. Most importantly, if you haven’t gotten a

n Spacious studio, one-
and two-bedroom suites.
n Daily recreation and
cultural programs including
lectures, day-trips, movies,
crafts and entertainment.
n Three kosher meals
served daily in our elegant
dining room.
AT PALISADES
A LUXURY SENIOR RESIDENCE
640 Oak Tree Road
Palisades, NY 10964
call us for a personal tour today
(845) 359-7870
At the Esplanade at
Palisades, our residents
stay happy, healthy, active
and involved with an array
of wonderful programs.
Come see why we have set
the standard for affordable,
luxury senior living.
Patients with flu-like symptoms should
first seek the advice of their primary care
provider, who, in most instances, can deliver
the healthcare services needed to treat
the flu. However, if you become acutely
ill with the flu – with such symptoms as
constant vomiting or difficulty breathing,
or symptoms that temporarily improve but
return with a higher fever and a cough that’s
worse, you should seek emergency care.
We take careful precautions within our
flu shot, it’s not too late. According to public
health officials, this year’s combination of
flu vaccine has been very effective against
the strains of flu circulating this season.
The flu shot is especially important for
people over age 65, people with chronic
health conditions that could be aggravated
by the flu, as well as people who spend
time with infants less than 6 months of
age or with individuals who have a chronic
condition or compromised immune system.

A Scharf Family Residence... the most trusted name in Senior Care for over fifty years.
For additional information or for a physician referral, please call 1-877-HOLY-NAME (1-877-465-9626)
AT PALISADES
www.esplanadeatpalisades.com or visit holyname.org.

A LUXURY SENIOR RESIDENCE

44 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
Probiotics
Those active cultures may help digestion
and the immune system
Chandra Orr
W
hether it is yogurt that makes
you fit or pills with active cul-
tures, companies claim that
these beneficial bacteria help regulate
digestion, boost the immune system and
even reduce lactose intolerance. But, do
we really need this stuff? Well, yes and no.
The human body is home to some
100 trillion bacteria — that’s 10 times the
number of cells in the human body — and
among them are hundreds of strains of
good bacteria. Most people enjoy a healthy
colony of helpful microorganisms in their
digestive tract, renewed through foods like
cheese, yogurt, bananas and sauerkraut.
“There should be more than 550 kinds
(of good intestinal flora) in our gut totaling
about 6 pounds,” says Nancy Parlette, a
certified digestive health specialist with the
Loomis Institute. “They feed off the fiber
in our foods and are a huge part of our im-
mune system.”
It’s a naturally occurring symbiotic re-
lationship. These beneficial bacteria aid in
digestion by fermenting unused nutrients.
They also destroy harmful bacteria, bolster
the immune system and produce vitamins
like biotin and vitamin K — and we’re not
the only species that rely on microflora for
proper health.
Cows, for example, get the bulk of their
nutrients from the microbes in their four-
chambered stomachs rather than from the
food they eat directly. The bacteria ferment
and digest cellulose in plants, and the cow
absorbs the nutrient-rich byproducts. They
also absorb the microbes themselves as
they die off, which supply additional pro-
tein and energy.
Green iguanas, too, rely on microorgan-
isms to break down the fibrous plant mate-
rial that comprises the bulk of their diet
—- and the species has developed a rather
unsavory strategy to seed their systems.
Babies frequently nibble on the excrement
of adult iguanas, which contains enough
of the beneficial bacteria to jump-start a
colony.
Thankfully, humans have more palat-
able options for bolstering good bacteria.
Of late, grocery shelves are packed with
all manner of foods and supplements in-
tended to replenish our digestive systems.
Over time, a poor diet, stress and the use of
certain medications can kill off beneficial
bacteria in the gut.
“We either starve them to death by not
eating anything with fiber or we kill them
off by taking all the pills or treatments like
antibiotics, antacids, steroids, chemother-
apy, and radiation,” Parlette explains.
Medical research has shown a strong
correlation between healthy, active colo-
nies of microflora and healthy bodies
— there is even evidence to suggest that
a daily probiotic supplement can allevi-
ate chronic conditions like irritable bowel
syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and lactose
How can you help a
loved one facing illness?
Enter Elisha’s Gate of Wholeness & Healing.
Discover creative Jewish rituals and spiritual
fellowship for times of illness and transition.
Sha’ar Communities offers diverse opportunities
for engagement in Jewish tradition. For more info:
201-213-9569 or www.shaarcommunities.org.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is a leading teacher, speaker, writer, and creative voice
in the reimagination and revitalization of Jewish life.
Sha’ar Communities. Choose your gate. Open your soul. Find your community.
intolerance. Research also shows a possible
link between probiotics and a reduced
risk of colon cancer, obesity, urinary tract
infections, tooth decay, skin problems, and
allergies.
“Probiotics have not classically been TOUCHING
proven to help in many of the disorders of
digestion. There have been no classic stud- HEARTS
ies which compare them against a placebo
with a measurable endpoint that proves
probiotics are better than a placebo,” says
Dr. Jorge E. Rodriguez, author of “The
Acid Reflux Solution” and a frequent guest
HopeQualityPatientCare
Hope
on the TV shows “The Doctors,” “Good
Morning America” and “The View.”
“That being said, there are many meta “We care as much as you do”
analysis that show that probiotics may help
treat H. pylori ulcers, diarrhea due to an- Telephone: 201-952-7002
tibiotics, colon cancer and irritable bowel Fax:
syndrome,” Rodriguez says. “I tell my
973-777-5168 Specialized care for ones
with alzheimers, dementia,
patients to go ahead and take them along hopepatient@yahoo.com autism, celebral palsy, ms,
with accepted, proven medical therapy. It www.hopepatientcare.com and parkinson
can’t hurt.”
Different strains of probiotics offer dif-
ferent benefits, so be sure to read the label
carefully when choosing a supplement or
supplemented food. The packaging should
include the types of bacteria included
and define the potency by billions of cells,
which will determine how much you need
to consume to reap the benefits.
Parlette recommends a multi-strain,
daily probiotic supplement that contains
both lactobacillus for the small intestine
and bifidobacterium for the large intestine.
For daily maintenance, choose a regimen
that contains 20-50 billion cells.
Supplements typically offer more bac-
teria for the buck than supplemented
foods like yogurt, cheese and cereal. The
fine print in one yogurt commercial, for
example, states that it must be eaten three
times a day to get the full benefits, while
most supplements found in the vitamin
aisle pack all you need into one small pill.
To get the most out of the supplements,
cut back on sugar and white flour, which
feed the harmful bacteria, Parlette says.
Instead, focus on a diet rich in fruits, veg-
etables, whole grains, and legumes, which
contain the fiber to feed the beneficial
bacteria.
Also, eat plenty of naturally probiotic-
rich foods like cottage cheese, bananas,
artichokes, pickles, sourdough bread, and
miso soup. Creators.com
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 45
A Reason to Smile
Have the smile of your dreams
with porcelain veneers.
FREE CONSULTATION
Photo of Our Patient
TEANECK DENTIST
Richard S. Gertler, DMD, FAGD
Michelle Bloch, DDS
Ari Frohlich, DMD
Visit us on Facebook
100 State Street · Teaneck, NJ
201.837.3000
www.teaneckdentist.com
Convenient Morning, Evening & Sunday Hours as airway reflux and silent reflux. Silent reflux describes
0003384451-01_0002872222-01.qxd 10/24/12 9:41 AM Page
LCSW
PSYCHOTHERAPY
& REIKI
Individual and couples counseling
and stress reduction techniques.
Tenafly, NJ • 917-562-0590
46 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
Controlling acid reflux
Identifying the clues and treating the causes of indigestion
Diane Schlindwein
S
ixty-four-year-old Kate Levin knows to avoid eating co-author of the book “Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet
any tomato-based sauce products in the late after- Cookbook & Cure.” The book is a crash course on acid
noon or early evening. “If I eat anything with a red reflux, which covers the history of the disease and helpful
sauce — spaghetti, pizza, whatever it might be — I’ll have hints.
indigestion all night and won’t be able to sleep.” Koufman recommends a two-week “acid detox.” For
Levin also sometimes suffers from a nagging cough that 14 days, avoid consuming any acidic foods, and fill your
her doctor says is caused by acid reflux. “My doctor has meals with fish, poultry, tofu, melons, bananas, oatmeal,
given me some medication to take, and sometimes when I whole-grain breads and cereals, mushrooms, and greens.
don’t take the medicine I can really tell the difference,” she “Eat close to the earth — things like grain, poultry, fish,”
says. she says. “Grains are good; almost all vegetables.” Avoid
Indigestion problems aren’t limited to seniors. John fried food, chocolate and soft drinks.
Lund, 24, also has acid reflux. A fit, athletic law enforce- Another New York-based physician, Dr. Nieca Goldberg,
ment professional, he takes a specialist-prescribed
medication every day. Lund says knowing his paternal
author of “Dr. Nieca Goldberg’s Complete Guide to
Women’s Health,” also recommends avoiding peppermint,
grandfather died of esophageal cancer at age 55 makes tak- caffeinated drinks, citrus juices, tomato juice, and fatty
ing care of his acid reflux now, as a young man, especially foods.
important. Goldberg says when she was younger she suffered with
Levin and Lund are two of the almost 125 million acid reflux in the form of a sharp pain in her chest as well
Americans whose source of misery begins with the con- as a “sick feeling.” “I was starting my practice, working on a
sequences of what they eat. There are several kinds of acid research project, and generally juggling several heavy balls
reflux, explains Dr. Jamie Koufman, a pioneering laryn- simultaneously,” she writes in her book. “I was drinking a
gologist and director of the Voice Institute of New York. great deal of coffee.
Koufman says a backup of the stomach contents into “I went to my doctor, who diagnosed acid reflux and
the throat causes laryngopharyngeal reflux, or LPR, the suggested appropriate medication. I got better, but having
medical term for reflux in the throat. LPR is also known the pain of acid reflux made me more aware of how fright-
ening such chest pain can be.” She says gastrointestinal
when a person is unaware that the problem is actually acid reflux disease, or GERD, is often cured with a combination
reflux and1may think they have postnasal drip, allergies or of medications and lifestyle changes.
asthma. Both Koufman and Goldberg recommend “closing the
Koufman, who is also a professor of clinical otolaryn- kitchen” after 8 p.m., as late-night meals and snacks pro-
gology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of the New York voke indigestion. “Eating earlier in the evening will allow
Medical College, has been studying the frightening 850 the stomach to empty before you lie down to sleep,” says
percent increase in reflux-related esophageal cancer and Goldberg.
3384451
the acidification of the American diet since the 1970s. “Raise the head of the bed to keep the esophagus above
AccordingGRAF,
to JENNIFER
Koufman, the clues lie in the tissues of the stomach,” Goldberg says. “People who sleep on their
the larynx, or voice box, that show evidence of a diges- left sides seem to do better than on their right.”
tive enzyme called pepsin. Pepsin is manufactured in the Other quick fixes include giving up smoking, avoiding
stomach, and SWEETWOOD
the backflow of stomach acid and pepsin is wearing clothing that is too tight, and giving up exercising
corrosive. 201 DEC directly after a meal, says Koufman.
Symptoms of reflux are hoarseness, chronic throat- Finally, Goldberg recommends maintaining a healthy
vm choking episodes, trouble swallowing, a
clearing, cough, weight and letting your doctor know if you are following
lump-in-the-throat sensation, postnasal drip, sinusitis, the above-mentioned recommendations and are still hav-
asthma, sore This ad is copyrighted
throat, heartburn, by
andNorth Jersey
indigestion. ing symptoms of acid reflux, GERD or LPR.
Media Group and may not be repro-
Eating carefully is important, says Koufman, who is the Creators.com
duced in any form, or replicated in a
similar version, without approval from
North Jersey Media Group.
HERE’S TO A HAPPIER, SLIMMER NEW YOU!
Join in
January
for
$ 0 ENROLLMENT FEE
& GET 1 MONTH FREE!
ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT to SAVE BIG!
With new membership. See gym for details. OFFER EXPIRES 1/31/13.
o n u s !
BMAD MONDAYS IN JANUARY! anuary and
onday in J
in on ANY M 5,
ay you $give you
Jo SM
w e ’ l l p
ing fee &
lp us waive your process ! FAIR LAWN • 18-01 Pollitt Drive
2 MO NTHS FREE / 2 1 &
m de
Seeegygmyfor
11/&281/2o8nonlyly.. Se
fotair ls.details.
LIVE
CLASSES
RIVER201-773-6040
EDGE • 201-342-0494
New meNemwbme
y.ly.VVa
nlon
ersmboers
d o n 1
allidi on 1/7, 1/1 4, 1/2
COMING SOON!
Join online fairlawnnj.retrofitness.net
hackensacknj.retrofitness.net
0003427299-01 RETRO FITNESS FAIR LAWN 5.00 x 6.00" 1/17/13 LeBlanc CNE, HAWG PU W/CHANGE Laz
This ad is copyrighted by North Jersey Media Group and may not be reproduced in any form, or replicated in a similar version, without approval from North Jersey Media Group.
The empty square in the center of Brussels’ Maimonides educational complex. pho-
tos by Cnaan Liphshiz

Jews move, schools

periled in Belgium
France and Holland also experience
a flight from the urban centers
Cnaan Liphshiz

BRUSSELS – On the third floor of the
Belgian capital’s oldest Jewish school,
Jacquy Wajc pauses to listen to the eerie
silence that hangs in the hallways.
Established in 1947 as a testament
to Belgian Jewry’s post-Holocaust re-
vival, the Athenee Maimonides Bruxelles
school once accommodated 600 stu-
dents in its spacious building in down-
town Brussels but now has only 150.
Enrollment entered a free fall 10 years ago
as Jews left the area for the suburbs and
were replaced by immigrants, many of
them Muslims, who made Jewish parents
believe the area was unsafe.
“It breaks my heart,” says Wajc (pro-
nounced “vights”), president of the
Maimonides school. “I remember when
you couldn’t hear a thing this time of the
day over the raucous PE class.”
As anti-Semitic attacks spiked dur-
It’s not only Brussels. Across Europe,
Jews have quietly abandoned long-in-
habited neighborhoods in central urban
areas for remote suburbs.
Unlike in the United States, where the
Jewish flight to the suburbs often was part Join us for our
of a larger migration of the affluent from 11th year in Florida!
increasingly crime-ridden inner cities, in
Europe the wealthier urban precincts are
typically the more central ones. But in a
number of cities, neighborhoods once
teeming with Jewish life have become
no-go zones for Jews — especially if they
wear a kippah.
The Jewish population of 80,000 in
Marseille, France, has almost completely
cleared out of the heavily Muslim city Hosted by JEFF BRAVERMAN
center it inhabited until the 1980s. Similar DAVID GROSS returns as our Passover Director
migrations have taken place in another RABBI MARK DRATCH heads our Scholar-in-Residence Program
French city, Lyon, as well as in Amsterdam
and even Antwerp — home to one of the

ing the second Palestinian intifada in
the early 2000s, parents who themselves
were proud Maimonides alumni enrolled
their children elsewhere, citing security
concerns. With fewer students, the school
went massively into debt; Maimonides
now owes various government bodies a
total of $8 million.
This year, Maimonides’ staff has
stepped up efforts to find an alternative
locale in the suburbs. If their bid fails,
the school may shut down later this year,
Wajc said — a development that would
complete the silent exodus of Jews from
central Brussels.
“The story of Maimonides is the
story of Brussels’ Jewish community
and its growing unease in the city,” said
Joel Rubinfeld, a Maimonides alumnus
and co-chairman of the Brussels-based
European Jewish Parliament.
last European Jewish communities to live
and work almost exclusively in an urban
center.
“It’s not happening everywhere but
is happening in France, Belgium, and
Holland,” said Dina Porat, head of Tel
Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the
Study of Contemporary European Jewry.
“Some leave to improve their quality of
living, others because they feel unsafe as
Muslims move in. For some, it’s a combi-
nation of both.”
Since the second intifada began, at-
tacks against Jews have more or less
doubled in France, Spain, and the
Benelux, where a total of 600,000 Jews
live. Between 2009 and 2011, the Belgian
government agency that monitors anti-
Semitism recorded an average of 82 inci-
dents a year, double the level recorded in
See belgium page 48
www.AlizaNugielDesigns.com
Beach Front 4-Star Resort & Spa
Featuring Our Majestic Beach Service
World Class Fine Dining, Tiny Tots Program
Daily BBQs, and Magnificent Daily Kids’ Entertainment & Shows
Tea Rooms Petting Zoo & Pony Rides
Local Excursions, Casino, Outdoor Water Sports Beach Extravaganza
Movie Theater, Nightly Shows & More on Chol Hamoed
Little Tykes Playground, Full Court We’ve Doubled the Size of Our
Basketball, Billiards, Ping Pong, Foosball... Tea Room!
Teen Program Led by Ari Gottlieb
Now Offe
Day Camp Directed by CME Credring
Debbie Gold its!
GLATT KOSHER SUPERVISION
For more information:
718-969-9100
www.majesticretreats.com
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 47
Belgium from page 47
2002-04. Most of the incidents occurred
in Brussels.
“Walking with a kippah is unsafe in
many other European cities,” Rubinfeld
said.
Even before last year, when a Muslim
extremist murdered three Jewish chil-
dren and a rabbi at a Jewish school in
France, security was very tight around
Maimonides, Wajc said. Since then, the
police have beefed up their presence
outside the school, an 80,000-square-foot
complex that looks more like a top-secret
military facility than a school.
Maimonides has no windows and its
exterior is fitted with armor plating. Its
massive metal doors have no markings.
The entrance leads to an inspection zone
where security guards and cameras wel-
come arrivals from behind bulletproof
glass.
Such intensive measures weren’t
necessary in 1945, when Seligman
Bamberger, an educator who survived the
Holocaust, first laid the groundwork for
what would become Maimonides.
“He placed a table and a chair on the
platform of the Gare du Midi train station
and asked random children if they were
Jewish,” Wajc recounted.
Within two years, Bamberger had at-
tracted 100 children, whom he taught in
a local community center. In 1947, the Children playing in a physical education class at the Maimonides school in Brussels.

Goldman & Goldman Construction school was established formally at its cur-
rent address near the train station.
attitude to Jews,” said Agnes Bensimon,
an employee of the Israeli Embassy in
"Quality craftsmanship The area used to be “the ideal location” Brussels and a former member of the
for a Jewish school, Wajc said, because Maimonides parents association. “On top
at affordable prices" of the approximately 100 Jewish families of that, it’s just like any other poor urban
Kitchens • Bathrooms who lived nearby and sold produce in the area.”
commercial area. Dozens hung on until During the second intifada, assailants
Roofing • Siding • Windows the early 1990s, but now only three Jewish attacked Bensimon’s son, Nethanel, in
Finished Basements families remain, he said. the metro station. Similar attacks were
As their children and businesses grew,
Heating • Air-Conditioning the Jews from the station area began mov-
carried out against a number of other
Maimonides students. The school re-
Energy Conservation ing to the greener and more affluent sub- sponded by instructing students to dis-
Shomer Shabbos Robert Goldman
urbs of Forest and Uccle, said Rubinfeld, embark at a more distant station and walk
who is a former president of the CCOJB the distance to school.
Fully Insured Cell: 732-600-0229
umbrella organization that represents Location and language are not the
NJ Lic #13vh04252700 Office: 201-530-5285 Belgium’s 20,000 French-speaking Jews. only differences between Maimonides
Please visit customer testimonial page www.Goldman&Goldman.com Two more Jewish schools opened to and Brussels’ other Jewish schools.
FEBRUARY IS
We beat Home Depot kitchen installation estimates by 20% accommodate the new arrivals: Ganenou, Maimonides does not accept pupils who

N AT I O N A L P E T
the largest, with about 600 students, and are not Jewish according to halachah,
the smaller Beth Aviv. Both schools teach Jewish law. With Belgian Jewry’s esti-

D E N TA L M O N T H ! ! ! in French, while Maimonides teaches

its Francophone pupils in Flemish from
mated 40 percent intermarriage rate, this
further diminishes the pool of potential

15% OFF
S c h e d u l e a F R E E D e n t a l E va l u a t i o n the third grade on — an approach that is students.
f o r y o u r p e t b y o u r s t a f f T O D AY ! ! ! important for bridging the cultural divide “The assimilation makes me very
between the country’s Flemish speak- uncertain about the future 35 years from

10% ANIMAL
TEANECK OFF
DENTAL PROCEDURE SPECIAL
ALL DENTAL SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
ers and its French-speaking Wallonians,
Rubinfeld said.
Meanwhile, Arab immigrants gradu-
now,” Wajc said. “But here and now it
means we’re not competing with the oth-
er schools as we appeal to parents with

CLINIC AND SPA ally took the place of the departed Jews.
Today, the area around Gare du Midi is
0003235969-01
different sensibilities. Only a few years
ago there were enough of them.
TEANECK ANIMAL
Family Friendly Petcare considered
TEANECK unsafe,
ANIMAL especially
CLINIC & SPAafter dark. “They will once again send their kids

CLINIC AND SPA

Proper dental care is as
OPEN
2/9/12 “The area has an immigrant popula-
tion that doesn’t have a very favorable
2.00 x 5.00"
to us — if we get out of here in time.”
JTA Wire Service
important for your Family
pet asFriendly
it is forPetcare 7 DAYS A M. NICASTRO/ J. STRSKO
you. More than a cosmetic Dr. Init Rybak • Veterinarian WEEK
issue, HAC, RPK, LEOL, SBR, SBRT
1154 Teaneck Rd., Teaneck
bad breath and discolored teeth
201-530-5833
can be a sign of serious disease. • www.teaneckvet.com PU W/CHANGE Laz

50% OFF
Teaneck
The most frequently diagnosed This ad is copyrighted by North Jersey Media Group
Englewood
health problem for pets is oral and may not be reproduced in any form, or replicated
in a similar version, without approval from North Jersey Media Group.

disease. PleaseThe
call Exam Fee
to schedule
d.

for Your 1st Visit.

kR

an appointment.
nec
Tea

For
t Le Fort
eR

1154 Teaneck Rd.

d. Lee

Teaneck 50% OFF

201-530-5833 The Exam Fee for
Your 1st Visit
www.teaneckvet.com One coupon per client. New clients only.

The main cafeteria of Brussels’ Maimonides school.

We offer repairs 1245 Teaneck Rd.

and alterations
Teaneck
We want your business and we go the extra
Tallesim Cleaned • speCial shabbos Rush seRviCe mile to make you a regular customer 837-8700
48 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
‘Jijitsu Rabbi and
the Godless Blonde’
a journalist experiences chasidic life
in an odd Couple Brooklyn setting
CHAVIE LIEBER
W
hat would happen if a pretty,
well-educated, secular jour-
nalist experiences a horrible
breakup, finds herself broke, and ends
up living with a jujitsu-practicing athe-
ist rabbi in a chasidic neighborhood in
Brooklyn?
So goes the hilarious “Jujitsu Rabbi
and the Godless Blonde,” a new book
by Rebecca Dana, a disgruntled fashion
reporter for the Daily Beast who is forced
to seek shelter in Crown Heights solely
because of its affordable rent.
Smart and biting, the book describes
what happens when Dana’s aspirations
suddenly come crashing down and how
the world of Chabad-Lubavitch helped
her get back on her feet.
Dana writes in a style similar to David
Sedaris’, her prose peppered with amus-
ing anecdotes about bat mitzvah lessons,
her lonely childhood in Pittsburgh, and
a search for some trace of humanity in
the cutthroat world of Tina Brown’s Daily
Beast.
The book does not offer a road map
to spiritual growth or self-discovery, but
it does provide one paradigm for how a
generation raised on the
daydreams of Nora Ephron
and Carrie Bradshaw can
find meaning beyond a
life of shoes, parties, and
bacon.
Chavie Lieber: Can you
give us a quick elevator
pitch about what the book
is about?
Rebecca Dana: The book
is the nine months I spent
living in the Lubavitch cha-
sidic community in Crown
Heights, Brooklyn. I was
roommates with a 30-year-
old bass-playing, jujitsu-practicing,
lapsed ultra-Orthodox rabbi while work-
ing as a fashion reporter for Tina Brown.
The book sets up the contrast, and in
some cases the comparison, of these two
very different worlds that are geographi-
cally jammed right against each other.
On the one hand, I talk about the sort
of glitzy, glamorous media and fashion
world of Manhattan, and on the other
hand this very traditional, very religious
world of Brooklyn. Only a half-hour on
the subway train separates them, and
yet they couldn’t be more different. It’s
a funny, “Odd Couple” story of me liv-
ing with this rabbi, of all people, and our
cultural exchange: He would invite me to
Shabbat dinner and events in the com-
munity because I was curious about the
life they were living, and I, in turn, would
take him to movie premieres and events
Now opeN!
Paramus Antiques
Estate Buyers FREE
APPRAISALS
Paying Cash for:
Dishes • Glassware • Watches
Stamp Collections • Old Toys • Lamps
• Paintings • Dolls • Hummels
Jewelry - Rings, etc. • Flatware • Coins
Antique Furniture • Trains
Pocket Watches • Diamonds • Rugs
Buying Musical Instruments of All Kinds
We will turn your old stuff into cash!
Please call or stop in.
Buying Anything old!
one piece or a House Full
will Travel - House Calls
300 Route 17 North, Paramus
(3/4 mile north of Century Rd.)
Store: 201-967-0222 · Cell: 201-334-2257 Ask for Paul
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6-pm, Sat 9-9, or by appointment
Journalist Rebecca Dana chronicles her
time living with a lapsed Chabad rabbi
in Brooklyn in her new book, “Jujitsu
Rabbi and the Godless Blonde.”
TERRY GRUBER
in Manhattan because he
was curious about the
secular life.
CL: This book has a re-
ally loaded title and could
be misleading for anyone
looking for a martial arts
book, a religion book or
a fashion book. Why the
complicated title?
RD: After I wrote my
90-page book proposal, my
literary agents told me to
come up with a title. I was
suggesting very milque-
toasty neutral things. I
lived on Crown Street in Brooklyn, so I
suggested calling it “Crown Street,” and
my agents said no to all literary sugges-
tions. Finally I suggested calling it “Jujitsu
Rabbi and the Godless Blonde,” which I
thought was the most ridiculous, literal
version. And they said, “Actually, yes!” It’s
kind of a mouthful, I know, but it also
makes it stand out. I hope it hints at the
humor of the book but will also be taken
seriously.
CL: Can you tell us about your strug-
gles in the book?
RD: I came to New York from
Pittsburgh with a very clear idea of the
person I wanted to be. I had a very lonely,
sad childhood, and part of what kept me
going was this fantasy of being this per-
son I was going to be when I was an adult.
see JIJITSU RABBI page 50
Jewish standard JanUarY 18, 2013 49
ISRAEL WITH LOVE
Jijitsu Rabbi from page 49
Tour Guiding The fantasy came from the books and magazines I read,
& Event Planning the movies I watched, and the culture I absorbed as an
only child, and I fell for a particular vision of adult life in
I’ll help you at every step of the way to create the
I’ll help you atofevery step of the personal
way to New York. And it’s relatable to anyone who wants to live
Israel experience your dreams! Warm,
a glamorous life, where you’re thin and you’re pretty and
service! Onnie Schiffmiller, Licensed Tour Guide
create the Israel experience of your you go to fabulous parties and you wear fabulous shoes.
onnie@israelwithlove.net
dreams! Warm, Skype:
www.israelwithlove.net personal service!
onnie.schiffmiller1 It’s a familiar fantasy that writers write about, like
Carrie Bradshaw and Nora Ephron, and I dreamed of this
Onnie Schiffmiller, Licensed Tour Guide version of life. I got really close to this imaginary dream,
onnie@israelwithlove.net I got close to living my life to the way Carrie Bradshaw
aste
www.israelwithlove.net Skype: onnie.schifmiller1 wrote it, and after I had a horrible breakup, the thing I
T
found is that all this stuff didn’t make me happy. There
was low-grade dissatisfaction I was feeling, and all this
stuff didn’t add up to the perfect life I imagined I would
be living.
CL: I kept waiting for the book to have a religious con-
clusion or moment of self-discovery. Why didn’t you talk
about that?
Cheese
RD: I think there’s an impulse in writing books like this
to land on easy answers for things, to go someplace and
then have an easy solution to something. I wanted this
book to feel ruthlessly authentic, and the truth is, I saw
part of the community that made me feel envious, but I
didn’t feel any easy embrace of Chabad or any desire to
be in that community. Many of my experiences in the
Chabad community help me realize what I was missing
more than providing me with a clear path toward a solu-
tion. I think a lot of books try to artificially create solu-
tions and I thought that would be an easy way out.
CL: The book talks a lot about the Chabad com-
munity, from gender roles to quoting the Lubavitcher
rebbe. Did you do a lot of research or are they your own
observations?
RD: I did a little research. I want to stress that this isn’t
a recorded book about Chabad. I don’t want anyone to
w w w. t n u va . co m
think I did extensive research into Chabad. I talked a lot
to my rabbi roommate, and I also read a great book, “The
Rebbe’s Army” by Sue Fishkoff. I also read local publi-
cations and spoke to some people in the community.
Also, when I quote the Lubavitcher rebbe, I got it from
pamphlets. There’s always pamphlets floating around the
neighborhood, and I read them with general interest in
what they had to say.
CL: Do you think your book will offend the Chabad
community?
RD: I don’t know. I hope not. I think it’s a fair depiction
B r i ef
Israeli film ‘Fill the Void’ takes prize at Palm Springs festival
LOS ANGELES – The Israeli movie “Fill the Void” was
named the best foreign language film at the Palm Springs
International Film Festival in southern California.
The FIRESCI, or International Federation of Film
Critics Prize, for the Israeli entry was announced Sunday
at the conclusion of the 11-day festival and assuaged
some of the disappointment at the movie’s failure to
make the shortlist for the Academy Awards. The film beat
out entries from 41countries for the Palm Springs prize.
Though not as prestigious as the Oscars or as well
known as the Cannes or Venice film festivals, the Palm
Springs event is considered the primary U.S. venue for
the screening of foreign movies. This year, the festival
screened 182 films, including 42 of the 71 foreign lan-
guage movies submitted in the Oscars competition.
“Fill the Void,” written and directed by Rama
Burshtein, examines profound issues of faith and con-
duct within the charedi Orthodox community in Tel Aviv,
as viewed from an insider’s perspective.
The festival jury praised the movie for “portraying
a culture usually depicted in stereotypical terms with
subtlety, sympathy and sensuality, and employing a style
that is intimate but not intrusive.
50 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
of the experience I had there and I try to present a fair to
generous depiction of what life in the community is like.
But it’s truly a book about the dozen or so people I got to
interact with there.
CL: In the book, you talk about going to a religious
program in the Chabad community. What was that expe-
rience like?
RD: I went to a really great program called
Yeshivication run by an organization in Crown Heights
called Machon Chana. They were really sweet and wel-
coming to me, even though I was not a typical member of
the school. At this point in my life, things might change,
but my views of Judaism and the role it plays in my life
are pretty well established. I knew going into the Chabad
classes that I wasn’t going to suddenly become a person
of faith. I wasn’t going to go to shul and I wasn’t going to
become a devout Jew.
I will admit to some prejudice going into the school.
I always had a prejudice against more religious Jews.
I’m a Jew, and I live in a world of secular, enlightened
Manhattan Jews, and I think a lot of us instinctively feel
a little ashamed of the more traditional people who live
across the bridge. It seemed to me like they were restric-
tive and abusive to women; it seemed like it was from
another era. When I moved there, I was initially scared of
them and I was really judgmental. But once I got to know
them more, I became curious about who they really were.
I did Yeshivication not because I thought it would turn
me into a believing, observant Jew but because I thought
it would teach me about who these people are. And one
of the things I got out of being in Crown Heights was a
discovery of the humanity in the community. I made
quick, unfair generalizations about them.
CL: Looking back, do you see your time in the Chabad
community as part of your spiritual journey?
RD: I’m not sure if I’d call it a spiritual journey, but
living in Crown Heights completely changed my life. I’m
a completely different person. Outwardly, my life might
look quite similar, but now I try to be a better person and
value community and humanity, the way Chabad helped
me to see.
The experience made me realize there was a compo-
nent of service missing from my life. It’s hard to draw a
linear conclusion, but I can say that being in that com-
munity helped me see that the job I was doing before was
not enough. Now I try a bit harder to be a nicer person,
and I’m much more family oriented than I was before.
But like I said, this book isn’t about finding easy answers.
JTA Wire Service
“Fill the Void” has won seven Ophir Awards, Israel’s
equivalent of the Oscars, and received high praise at the
Toronto, Venice, New York and Sao Paulo film fests.
Hadas Yaron, who portrays an 18-year old girl torn by
the choice of a future husband she chooses and another
preferred by her family, won the best actress award at the
2012 Venice Film Festival.
Also honored this year in Palm Springs was the
Holocaust-themed Serbian film “When Day Breaks.” In
the film, directed by Goran Paskaljevic, an elderly music
professor who has always considered himself Christian
discovers that he is the son of Jewish parents who left
him with a farmer’s family and later perished in the
Holocaust.
As the stunned professor wanders through present-
day Belgrade, he finds that few people remember the war
years or that the city’s neglected fairgrounds served as a
concentration camp for the local Jews. With his musician
friends, he sets about to establish a memorial at the site.
Like the professor, “I cannot NOT remember,”
Paskaljevic said in an interview. “If we forget the crimes
committed during World War II, and later in Bosnia, that
opens the door to new crimes.”
d’ va r to rah
Parashat Bo: Free at last, God Almighty, free at last
Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot
Congregation Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, Orthodox
M
any of us have had the opportunity in the last
few weeks to see the wonderful, historical-
ly-based film “Lincoln.” In this film, director
Steven Spielberg presents a riveting picture of the ins and
outs of how President Lincoln cajoled, maneuvered, and
manipulated the legislative process to ensure passage of
the 13th Amendment. This watershed amendment abol-
ished slavery in our country once and for all, enshrining
the slavery ban as a formal part of our legal heritage and
not just a wartime executive order as had been expressed
in the Emancipation Proclamation.
Unfortunately, as we know from subsequent American
history and as alluded to in the movie, the abolition of
slavery did not bring an end to racism and did not usher
in an era of totally equality, enfranchisement, and full
acceptance of African-Americans as equal citizens in all
aspects of life with all rights and responsibilities.
Too many people in society focused only on the aspect
of “freedom from” slavery — to use the terminology
of Erich Fromm and Isaiah Berlin — without allowing
former slaves and their families to truly experience the
true freedom which is “freedom to,” that is, the freedom
to shape their destiny and assume all the rights and
responsibilities of human agency.
The African-American struggle in this country was,
as is evidenced from a cursory study of the inspired
sermons and speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
profoundly influenced by the Exodus narrative of the
Torah. The theme of the oppressed nation yearning for
freedom and being released from bondage resonated
deeply in the ranks of slaves and abolitionists alike.
And ultimately, as time went on, people slowly (too
Briefly local from page 11
JLI ethics courses scheduled
at two teaching locations
Living with Integrity, a Rohr Jewish Learning Institute
course, fulfilling 10.8 CLE (9 ethics) credits, is offered in
six morning or evening sessions in Franklin Lakes and
Oakland.
The Franklin Lakes course starts on Wednesday,
January 30, at 8 p.m., at the Chabad Jewish Center in
Franklin Lakes. The Oakland course begins on Monday,
February 4, at 9 a.m., at the law firm of Cleary, Giacobbe,
Alfieri, Jacobs in Oakland.
Living with Integrity challenges students to articulate
their opinions while providing tools and guidance culled
from Talmudic principles and Jewish wisdom to help
navigate common ethical challenges.
Like all JLI courses, Living with Integrity is designed
to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge,
from novice to scholar, and is open to attorneys and all
members of the public.
Call (201) 848-0449 or go to www.chabadplace.org or
www.myJLI.com.
www.jstandard.com
52 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
slowly) came to understand that the passage of the 13th
Amendment was just the first step to true freedom.
This very message is embedded in the Torah portions
that we have been reading the last few weeks. They
emphasize precisely the point that freedom involves
not just “freedom from” but “freedom to.” When Moses
appeared before Pharoh in his very first visit he did not
simply demand “Let My people go” but rather: “So says
the Lord: Let My people go that they shall may worship
Me.” God breaks through the distance of transcendence
to redeem His people so that they will be able to
consecrate themselves to His service and create an ideal
society animated by striving for holiness and ethical
monotheism.
In this week’s parasha, Parshat Bo, the people
receive their first set of commandments as a people,
as a collective. According to the plain sense of the text,
the first mitzvah the Jewish people receive is that of the
Paschal sacrifice. Even prior to the actual Exodus, prior
to the liberation from bondage and leaving Egypt, Am
Yisrael is to experience a national experience of service
to God. Indeed the term “Avodah” service is used for
the first time in our parasha in relation to the world of
Torah and mitzvot. Even while readying themselves for
physical freedom, the Torah sets up a paradigm where
the people are already involved in the next steps, the
step of “freedom to,” of freedom to actualize the great
spiritual potential that God has given to the Jew to
connect to His maker and each other through sacred
moments. As a number of modern writers have noted,
the Paschal sacrifice, the Korban Pesah, involves turning
one’s very house, one’s home, into a mizbei-ach, an altar,
Coach records 250th win
Bobby Kaplan of Teaneck
recorded his 250th victory
coaching the Frisch School’s
girls’ varsity basketball team
when they won the game
against Rae Kushner Yeshiva
High School on December 9.
Kaplan has been coaching the
team for the past 23 years and
has coached more than 1,200
games over his 43-year career. Bobby Kaplan Photo
During his coaching tenure provided
at Frisch, “Coach K” has won four girls’ Yeshiva
League championships. He also won three league
championships coaching the Frisch boys’ varsity from
1988 to 1994.
In addition to coaching, Kaplan recently published a
basketball handbook titled “BBall Basics for Kids.”
Support groups for caregivers
Those providing care to spouses who are chronically ill
or incapacitated are invited to join Jewish Family Service
of North Jersey’s Spousal Caregiver’s Support Group.
Melanie Lester will facilitate the group that addresses the
stresses and personal challenges that come with caring
for a loved one.
JFS also offers another caregiver support group for
with the ritual of the sprinkling of the blood taking place
on the very doorpost of the home and the roasting of
the meat and its consumption taking place in its four
walls. Each and every family on that night of glory, that
night of Exodus so many centuries ago, affirmed that
they were ready for more than physical freedom from
bondage. They were ready to enter into a covenantal
relationship with God. They would be free-willed beings
who would embrace the opportunities, the rights and the
responsibilities that God would share with them as they
would make the trek from Egypt to Sinai.
As we read through these parshiyot and think
about our own lives, we too need to consider our own
journey, our own spiritual Exodus. The chasidic masters
often noted that the Hebrew word Mitzrayim, Egypt,
is associated with the Hebrew words meitzar, in the
narrows. Each of us is often boxed in and trapped in our
own personal Egypt of material and existential pressures,
of conformity, of expectations, and of anxieties and
slavish servitude to external pushes that shape and limn
the contours of our religious lives. We, too, often yearn
and should yearn for the freedom from peer pressure and
from the rat race and from a corroding materialism. But
in that pursuit we need to keep our eyes on the prize. We
are not simply running away from something, but rather
we need to embrace a freedom that contains in it ethical
responsibility. We hope and pray for a freedom that
leaves us with a heightened awareness of God in our lives
through mitzvot and reflective thought, of shared love
and concern for others, of living full Jewish lives that give
us purpose and meaning as we go about the small and
grand moments of our lives.
Valley Chabad will sponsor
teen series on anti-Semitism
Jewish high schoolers can explore anti-Semitism in an
interactive learning series sponsored by Valley Chabad.
The program, “SuperJew: The Miracle of Jewish Survival,”
includes six classes that will address reasons for anti-
Semitism, assimilation, lessons from the Holocaust,
the meaning of “chosenness” in Judaism, and how to
embrace Jewish identity in a modern world.
The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute produced the
program.
The six-week Sunday evening program will be at
Valley Chabad starting January 27. For information, call
Rabbi Yosef Orenstein, director of the Valley Chabad
Teen Leadership Initiative, at (201) 476-1057, email him
at rabbiyosef@valleychabad.org, or go to valleychabad.
org/teens.
adult children of aging parents. The group, facilitated by
Lisa Clare, will provide participants with an opportunity
to share challenges they face and offer support and tips
to one another.
Contact Lester at mlester@jfsnorthjersey.org or Clare
at lclare@jfsnorthjersey.org; or call (973) 595-0111. Pre-
registration is required.

For Israeli
theater troupe,
believing requires
neither seeing
nor hearing
Deborah Fineblum Raub
T
ry to imagine what it’s like to live
your life not hearing or seeing.
Imagine the difficulties of com-
municating with the other inhabitants of
your world, who all seem to be chattering
away and interacting in ways that make
little sense to you.
Then, increase your challenge expo-
nentially by landing yourself onstage. As
an actor, it’s now your job to communi-
cate with others and inspire in them a
deeper understanding of your life and
the fundamental human condition that,
after all is said (or communicated in some
other way) and done, unites us all.
Arts & culture
Now you have the makings of high
drama.
American audiences will be able to
bear witness to what happens next. The
Nalaga’at Theater, the only troupe in the
world whose actors are deaf and blind, is
leaving its comfortable home in the Israeli
port of Jaffa to perform “Not by Bread
Alone” at the NYU Skirball Center for
the Performing Arts in Manhattan from
January 16 to February 3.
The Nalaga’at Deaf-Blind Acting
Ensemble was founded in 2002 by Adina
Tal to integrate deaf-blind people into
the community, promote their needs and
The Israeli Nalaga’at theater troupe is
made up entirely of blind and deaf actors.
Courtesy Nalaga’at Center
aspirations, and provide them with the
opportunity to express themselves in a
creative way. A key component of Tal’s vi-
sion is giving audiences a wholly unique
and powerful theater experience, one that
will linger in their consciousness long af-
ter the curtain falls.
Described as “a magical journey that
spans various stories, dreams and loca-
tions,” “Not By Bread Alone” features
11 deaf and blind actors. It has been
performed not only in Israel, but also in
South Korea and London. (In the British
newspaper The Guardian, a reviewer, Lyn
Gardner, wrote that its production is “a
test of theater itself, the way good work
can communicate across the boundaries
of darkness and silence.”) This also will be
the Nalaga’at’s third visit to New York, fol-
lowing one in 2005.
During the course of the show, audi-
ences should not be surprised to hear the
beat of a drum on stage occasionally. This
cue announces the start of a new scene to
actors who can neither see nor hear the
drum but can feel its vibrations.
This kind of deepening awareness
about the creative force of sensory adap-
tation will also go well beyond what hap-
pens onstage. On tap for the public will be
replicas of Nalaga’at’s two Jaffa eateries,
which will be open both before and after
the show. At Kapish Café, all waiters are
deaf and communicate with the guests in
sign language, teaching them a different
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 53
form of communication. At the BlackOut,
guests dine in absolute darkness, and
blind waiters serve as their guides.
The object of both the play and the
dining experiences is to create a power-
ful and visceral understanding of what
it’s like to live your entire life without two
of our most important senses, said Tal,
who continues to guide the troupe as the
Nalaga’at Center’s artistic director and its
CEO.
“And what excites me most about the
upcoming production in New York is,
each time another person sees the amaz-
ing things our actors accomplish onstage,
our dream becomes more of a reality,” Tal
said. “As we reach new audiences, and
as they open their minds and hearts to
another way of living, more and more
people from all over the world are making
it their dream as well.”
In addition, Skirball will host a festive
gala night as an awareness- and fund-
raiser for the not-for-profit Nalaga’at
Center on January 23. That evening, the
performance will be followed by a cock-
tail reception.
“Not by Bread Alone” is performed dai-
ly until February 3, except for Fridays and
Mondays. To learn more or to buy tickets,
go to http://nyuskirball.org/calendar/
notbybreadalone or call (212) 352-3101
or (866) 811-4111. For details about the
January 23 gala, e-mail talia@nalagaat.
org.il or call 646-862-1847.
JNS.org Wire Service
Calendar
friday [january 18]
Shabbat in Washington Township Temple
Beth Or celebrates Mishpacha Shabbat
for families with young children, 6 p.m.;
regular services at 8. 56 Ridgewood Road.
(201) 664-7422 or www.templebethornj.org.
Shabbat in Closter Rabbi David S. Widzer
and Cantor Rica Timman of Temple Beth
El are joined by the religious school’s
fifth grade and Rinat Beth El junior choir
for a family service, 6:45 p.m., preceded
by a Shabbat dinner at 5:45. 221
Schraalenburgh Road. (201) 768-5112.
Shabbat in Jersey City Temple Beth-El
hosts its annual service in tribute to Martin
Luther King Jr., 7:45 p.m. Marcia Lyles,
Jersey City superintendent of schools, is the
guest speaker. 2419 Kennedy Boulevard.
(201) 333-4229 or www.betheljc.org.
saturday [january 19]
Havdalah/bingo/ice cream The Jewish
Community Center of Paramus offers
Havdalah services followed by family bingo
and make-your-own sundaes, 7 p.m. $5 per
person; includes prizes and refreshments.
(201) 262-7691 or julieleopold@yahoo.com.
Jennifer Green Courtesy Temple Israel
Music in Ridgewood Temple Israel and JCC
of Ridgewood kicks off its second season
of “Winter Music Saturdays” with cellist
Jennifer Green and pianist Kai Pangune Kim
playing a classical chamber music program
featuring works by Ernst Bloch, J.S. Bach,
Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Alexander
Glasunov. Havdalah at 7:30 p.m.; concert
follows. 475 Grove St. (201) 201-444-9320
or www.synagogue.org.
Comedy in Teaneck Mordechai (Mike)
Schmutter invites all comedians to
join him for stand-up comedy at
the Teaneck General Store, 8 p.m.
502A Cedar Lane. (201) 530-5046 or
www.teaneckgeneralstore.com.
Café night in Fair Lawn The men’s club
of Temple Beth Sholom and the Fair
Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation B’nai
Israel co-sponsor Café Night/Battle of
the Bands at TBS, 8 p.m. Dance to the
music of A Touch of Gray and the Prospect
Medical Orchestra. Snacks and desserts;
BYOB (kosher). 40-25 Fair Lawn Ave.
(201) 797-9321.
54 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
sunday [january 20]
Book club in Paramus Beth Chananie
facilitates a discussion on “Defending
Jacob” by William Landay at the Jewish
Community Center of Paramus, 10 a.m.
Brunch. Donation suggested. East 304
Midland Ave. (201) 262-7691.
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
Rabbi Steven Sirbu leads a discussion
about Dr. King’s legacy at Temple Emeth in
Teaneck’s B’yachad breakfast, 10:30 a.m.
1666 Windsor Road. (201) 833-1322.
Concert in Wayne The YMCA of Wayne
continues its Sundays Backstage at the
Y series with a performance by the Steve
Alexander Trio, with jazz pianist Steve
Alexander, trumpeter/cornetist Stephen
Baldalamenti, and drummer Stew Shiffer,
11:45 a.m. 1 Pike Drive. (973) 595-0100,
ext. 257.
Film in Franklin Lakes Temple Emanuel
of North Jersey screens “A Brivele De
Mamen,” produced in Poland before the
Nazi-Soviet invasion, 2 p.m. Yiddish with
English subtitles. Refreshments. 558
High Mountain Road. (201) 560-0200 or
www.tenjfl.org.
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. The
Oakland-Franklin Lakes Interfaith Clergy
Council offers communal sharing, prayer,
and song, followed by a potluck supper, at
Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, 5-7 p.m.
747 Route 208 South. (201) 848-1800 or
www.barnerttemple.org.
monday [january 21]
Avinoam Segal-Elad
Discussing Israel Fair Lawn Hadassah
meets at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation B’nai Israel, 1 p.m. 10-10
Norma Ave. Fair Lawn. Avinoam Segal-
Elad, the Jewish Federation of Northern
New Jersey’s shaliach, describes “The
Judiciary System in Israel.” 10-10 Norma
Ave. Varda, (201) 791-0327.
tuesday [january 22]
Tai Chi in Bayonne The Chai Café of the
Jewish Family and Counseling Service of
Jersey City, Bayonne, and Hoboken and
the Arthritis Foundation continue Tai Chi
for Health, a gentle exercise program for
people 60+, at the JCC of Bayonne, 10 a.m.
1050 Kennedy Boulevard. (201) 436-6900,
(973) 765-9050, or www.jfsmetrowest.org.
Robert Egan Photo provided
Author for NCJWBCS event Robert Egan,
owner of Cubby’s BBQ in Hackensack and
co-author, with Kurt Pitzer, of “Eating with
the Enemy,” speaks at a meeting of the
National Council of Jewish Women Bergen
County Section, 12:30 p.m., at Temple
Emeth, Teaneck. 1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 385-4847 or www.ncjwbcs.org.
wednesday [january 23]
Israel seminar in Franklin Lakes Rabbi
Elyse Frishman leads a session on “Power
and Powerlessness” at 7:30 p.m. at
Barnert Temple. 747 Route 208 South.
(201) 848-1800.
thursday [january 24]
Networking in Short Hills The Jewish
Business Network meets with the
Tribe and members of Temple B’nai
Jeshurun, 8 a.m. 1025 South Orange Ave.
www.jbusinessnetwork.net.
Book discussion in Washington Township
Temple Beth Or’s People of the Book series
meets to discuss “The Zookeeper’s Wife,”
8 p.m. Copies of book available for $10.
56 Ridgewood Road. (201) 664-7422 or
www.templebethornj.org.
friday [january 25]
Game event Mah jongg, canasta, bridge,
and Scrabble players are invited to the
Bergen YJCC in Washington Township
for “Game On,” with breakfast, games,
socializing, and lunch, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Carol Berliner and Karen Feltman are
event chairs. Proceeds will benefit YJCC
programs. (201) 666-6610, ext. 5812.
The Jewish Museum in Manhattan presents “Animals Illuminated Family Day,” a
multigenerational party celebrating its exhibition, “Crossing Borders: Manuscripts
from the Bodleian Libraries,” Sunday, January 20, noon to 4 p.m. Activities
include two performances by Father Goose, pictured, a drop-in art workshop,
original puppets and costumes with the Puppeteers’ Cooperative, calligraphy
demonstrations, and family tours. Adults are asked to accompany their children.
(212) 423-3200 or TheJewishMuseum.org/specialfamilydays. Courtesy JM
Shabbat in Franklin Lakes Barnert Temple
offers Shabbat Shirah/Tu Bi-Sh’vat seder,
7 p.m., with a potluck seder. 747 Route
208 South. Natalie, (201) 848-1800 or
ncohen1847@barnerttemple.org.
Shabbat in Jersey City Congregation
B’nai Jacob and Temple Beth-El Friday
hold their second annual joint Shabbat/
Tu Bi-Sh’vat seder, at TBE, 7:30 p.m. 2419
Kennedy Boulevard. (201) 333-4229 or
office@betheljc.org.
Shabbat in Closter Temple Beth El hosts a
Shabbat Shira spiritual service, 7:30 p.m.,
with guest violinist Sheryl Staples. 221
Schraalenburgh Road. (201) 768-5112.
Shabbat in Leonia Congregation Adas
Emuno offers services, 7:30 p.m., followed
by a Tu Bi-Sh’vat dessert seder. 254 Broad
Ave. (201) 592-1712 or www.adasemuno.org.
Shabbat in Wyckoff Temple Beth Rishon
offers a Shabbat of Song, 8 p.m., with
the Kol Rishon and Zemer Rishon choirs,
instrumental accompaniment by guitarists
Cantor Ilan Mamber and Mark Kantrowitz,
pianist Itay Goren, violinist Sylvia Rubin, and
percussionist Jimmy Cohen. 585 Russell
Ave. (201) 891-4466 or www.bethrishon.org.
saturday [january 26]
Shabbat in Short Hills The Union for
Reform Judaism hosts a Shabbaton
at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun,
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Jews from the Reform
Northeast region gather for an inspirational
day of learning, prayer, music, and food.
1025 South Orange Ave. (973) 379-3177.
Shabbat in Teaneck The Jewish Learning
Experience offers an educational Shabbat
prayer service at Congregation Beth
Aaron, 9:45 a.m. All welcome to sing a
selection of prayers, some in English, and
some in Hebrew — with transliterations
available — including discussion and
commentary. Zvi Weissler will read from
the weekly Torah portion. Shabbat morning
youth groups for children. Rabbi David
Pietruszka, (201) 966-4498, rabbip@jle.org,
or www.jle.org.
Latin music/dance/food in Closter Temple
Beth El of Northern Valley celebrates
the Latin Jewish connection with music,
dancing, and food, 7 p.m. Salsa music by
vocalist Kike Cruz and the Orquestra Royal,
dance instructors from Anchor Dance
Studio of Oradell, Latin food, (not kosher),
and sangria. 221 Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112 or www.tbenv.org/music.
Music in Jersey City Con Vivo performs at Children’s concert in Tenafly Temple Fifth Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. sunday [january 20]
Temple Beth-El, 7:30 p.m., as part of the Sinai of Bergen County’s Early Childhood Doors open at 8:30 p.m. The OU Singles
temple’s Contemporary Concert series. Center hosts a winter concert with the Dirty Connection is a division of the OU Square dance/brunch The North Jersey
The trio includes pianist Denise Fillion, Sock Funtime Band, 3:30 p.m. 1 Engle St. Department of Community Engagement. Jewish Singles group (45-60) at the Clifton
oboist Karisa Werdon, and violinist Amelia (201) 568-3035. 5 East 62nd St. (212) 613-8300 or Jewish Center hosts a square dance with
Hollander. Wine, soft drinks, and sweets at Women’s book club The Chabad Center www.oucommunity.org. brunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dancing with
7. Raffle prizes. 2419 Kennedy Boulevard. of Passaic County offers a discussion professional caller Ron Kapnick. Martine,
(201) 333-4229 or office@betheljc.org. on Alex Witchel’s book, “All Gone,” at (973) 772-3131 or www.meetup.com (use
a private home in Wayne, 7:30 p.m. group name).
sunday [january 27] Refreshments. Chani, (973) 694-6274 or
chanig@jewishwayne.com.
Blood drive in Franklin Lakes
Barnert Temple hosts a blood
drive, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Si ngles
www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation-
sponsor. (201) 848-1800.
Concert in Wayne The YMCA of Wayne saturday [JANUARY 19]
continues its Sundays Backstage at
the Y series with a performance by jazz
vocalist Laura Hull, 11:45 a.m. 1 Pike Drive.
(973) 595-0100, ext. 257.
Camp fair The New Jersey Summer Camp
Fair is at the East Hanover Ramada Inn and
Conference Center, noon-3 p.m. 130 Route
10 West. www.njcampfairs.com.
U.N. Holocaust Remembrance Day Milton
Ohring commemorates the Holocaust with
an audiovisual slide presentation about
18 pieces that he created in stone and
metal at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
in Tenafly, 1:30 p.m. Holocaust programs Manischewitz Cook-Off offers $25,000 grand prize
are sponsored by the Martin Perlman & Jo- The Manischewitz Cook-Off contest For information, visit the cooking with
Ann Hassan Holocaust Education Institute Beatles tribute The Orthodox Union Singles
Endowment Fund. Robyn, (201) 408-1429 Connection invites singles of all ages to is back for its seventh year. Its $25,000 Beth blog at www.jstandard.com or go to
or www.jccotp.org. a Beatles extravaganza featuring “Come grand prize package includes cash, http://www.manischewitz.com/assets/
Together,” a Beatles tribute band, at the Maytag appliances, and a trophy. Entries cookoff2013/index.php.
will be accepted until February 4.

“HILARIOUS!”
– New York Daily News – The Village Voice
– The New York Times – Backstage – Variety

”A KOSHER PICKLE
BARREL OF LAUGHS!
Five terrific performers. Fiendishly madcap.”
– New York Daily News

”YOU’LL LAUGH
YOUR TUCHUS OFF!
This show could run forever.”
– Variety

February 12
The Westside Theatre, 407 West 43rd Street
Telecharge.com / 212-239-6200
www.ojtjonstage.com
OJTJ.5x7-Jewish.4C.indd 1 5/25/12 2:42 PM Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 55
Lifecycle
B’nai mitzvah
Michael Aksen
Michael Aksen, son of Irina and
Leonard Aksen of Fair Lawn
and brother of Mark, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah on
January 12 at Glen Rock Jewish
Center. His grandparents are
Yefim and Yevgeniya Markman
of Fair Lawn and Nina Aksen of
New York.
Celebrate your simcha
We welcome announcements of readers’
bar/bat mitzvahs, engagements, marriages
and births. Announcements are free, but
there is a $10 charge for photographs,
which must be accompanied by a
stamped, self-addressed envelope if the
­photograph is to be returned. There is a
$10 charge for mazal tov announcements
plus a $10 photograph charge.
Please include a daytime telephone
number and send to:
NJ Jewish Media Group
1086 Teaneck Rd.
Teaneck, NJ 07666
pr@jewishmediagroup.com
MOHEL
Rabbi Gerald Chirnomas
TRAINED AT & CERTIFIED BY HADASSAH
HOSPITAL, JERUSALEM • CERTIFIED BY
THE CHIEF RABBINATE OF JERUSALEM
(973) 334-6044
www.rabbichirnomas.com
56 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
Sarah Fishbein
Sarah Fishbein, daughter of
Leslie and Eric Fishbein of
Harrington Park and sister of
Jake and Rachel, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on
January 12 at Temple Emanu-El
in Closter.
Edward
Friedman
Edward Friedman, son of
Elizabeth Friedman of Cresskill,
celebrated becoming a bar
mitzvah on January 12 at
Temple Emanu-El in Closter.
Sofie Kravitz
Sofie Kravitz, daughter of
Wendy and Michael Kravitz of
Norwood, celebrated becom-
ing a bat mitzvah on January 12
at Temple Beth El of Northern
Valley in Closter.
Whole
Wheat
Cracker
Daniel Sedaka
Daniel Sedaka, son of Jennifer
Chais of Fair Lawn and brother
of Cobey, celebrated becoming
a bar mitzvah on January 12 at
the Fair Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation B’nai Israel.
Jacob Ziff
Jacob Ziff, son of Bonnie and
Robert Ziff of Ramsey and
brother of Michelle and Rachel,
both 7, celebrated becoming a
bar mitzvah on January 12 at
Temple Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley in Woodcliff Lake.
Obituaries
Robert L.
Birkhahn
Robert Birkhahn, 49, of
Lopatcong, formerly of Wyckoff,
died on January 9 in Miami, Fla.
A graduate of George
Washington University in
Washington, D.C., he was the
vice president of Affinity Federal
Credit Union in Basking Ridge.
He is survived by his wife,
Nanette; parents, Iris and
Leonard Birkhahn; children,
Zachary, Taylor, Jake, and Max;
and a brother, David (Julie).
Donations can be made
to the American Diabetes
Foundation. Arrangements were
by Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.
Susanne
Friedman
Susanne Friedman of Monroe
Township and Lake Worth, Fla.,
died on January 13 in Florida.
She was a member of the
Wantagh Jewish Center in
Wantagh, N.Y., for more than
40 years.
Predeceased by her hus-
band, Harry, she is survived by
a daughter, Deborah Barbash
(Richard) of Old Tappan; sons,
Marc (Daniella) of Potomac,
Md., and Leonard of Chicago,
Ill.; grandchildren Scott (Tamar),
Josh (Laura), Daniel, Avital, Yael,
and Eran; and a great-grandson,
Matthew.
Donations can be sent to the
National Kidney Foundation in
New York. Arrangements were
by Robert Schoem’s Menorah
Chapel, Paramus.
Harriet
Greenberg
Harriet Greenberg, neé Reiser,
93, of Paramus died on January
14.
Predeceased by her hus-
band, Philip, she is survived
by her children, Eileen
Stanley, and Robert (Linda);
four grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Louis
Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Florence R. Isaac
Florence Isaac, 87, of
Paterson, died on January 11.
Arrangements were by Louis
Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Phylene
Kligerman
Phylene Kligerman of Fair
Lawn died on January 9.
Arrangements were by Louis
Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Jules H. Masel
Jules Masel, 85, of Rockaway
Township, formerly of Paramus,
died on January 14.
A World War II Army vet-
eran, he was a graphics de-
signer before retiring, and was
co-founder of the East Jersey
Chapter of Trout Unlimited and
Bergen County SHHH (Self Help
for The Hard of Hearing), and a
former member of the Paramus
Environmental Commission.
He is survived by his wife,
Joan; daughters, Abbe Gore of
Taft, Calif., and Gwen Bauman
(Russell) of Landing; a brother,
Dr. Sheldon of Aventura, Fla.;
and three grandchildren, Andy,
Eric, and Melissa.
Arrangements were by Louis
Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Helen Nowak
Helen Nowak, née Weintraub,
89, of Fair Lawn, formerly of
Paterson, died on January 10.
A Holocaust survivor, she was
predeceased by her husband,
Nathan, son Stuart, and grand-
daughter, Becky. She is survived
by daughter-in-law, Debbie;
son, Stanley (Laurie); daughter,
Gale Bindelglass (David); grand-
children, Jason, Jordan, Eli,
Lindsay, Jamie, Evan, and Perry;
and great-granddaughters,
Ariana and Emerson.
She and her husband were
former members of the Fair
Lawn Jewish Center.
Donations can be made to
the Holocaust programs of the
Jewish Family Service of North
Jersey, Wayne.
Arrangements were by
Robert Schoem’s Menorah
Chapel, Paramus.
Lee Parvin
Lee Parvin, 86, of Wanaque, formerly of Fair Lawn, died
on January 15.
Predeceased by her husband, Leonard, she is sur-
vived by her children, Charles (Ann) of South Carolina,
Steven (Mary) of Rockaway, Jill Moskowitz (Marvin) of
East Brunswick, and Tammy Klein (Richard) of Franklin
Lakes; a brother, Alan Canell (Helene) of Boynton Beach,
Fla.; and six grandchildren.
Donations can be sent to the American Heart
Association. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban
Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Leon Leyson, the youngest person Robert Schoem’s Menorah Chapel, Inc
on Schindler’s list, dies at 83
Jewish Funeral Directors
Family Owned & managed
The youngest person saved by German industrialist Generations of Lasting Service to the Jewish Community
Oskar Schindler has died. • Serving NJ, NY, FL & • Our Facilities Will Accommodate
Leon Leyson, whom Schindler called “Little Leyson,” Throughout USA Your Family’s Needs
• Prepaid & Preneed Planning • Handicap Accessibility From Large
died of lymphoma on January 12 in Whittier, Calif., the • Graveside Services Parking Area
Los Angeles Times reported. He was 83 years old.
Gary Schoem – Manager - NJ Lic. 3811
Leyson was 13 when he went to work at Schindler’s
factory in Krakow, Poland, where he had to stand on a Conveniently Located
W-150 Route 4 East • Paramus, NJ 07652
box to operate the machinery.
201.843.9090 1.800.426.5869
He was a high school educator for nearly four de-
cades and rarely spoke about his Holocaust experiences

Dr. Howard A. Schwartz
Dr. Howard A., Schwartz, 68, of Upper Saddle River died
on January 10.
Predeceased by his wife, Rita, née Blumenthal, he is
survived by sons, Andrew (Alexis) and Steven (Sasha); a
brother, Irwin (Janice); and two grandchildren, Ruby
and Jack.
He earned his degree from Fairleigh Dickinson
University School of Dentistry and was a periodontist in
Englewood. He was a former president of the New Jersey
Dental Association.
Donations can be sent to the Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society Donor Services, Pittsfield, Mass. Arrangements
were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Sara Tseytina
Sara Tseytina of Fair Lawn died on January 9.
Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.
This week’s
until the 1993 release of the Academy Award-winning
film “Schindler’s List.” Following the interest gener-
ated by the Steven Spielberg movie, Leyson traveled
throughout the United States telling his story.
Two of Leyson’s brothers were killed in the Shoah,
including one whom Schindler added to his list but who
refused to get off the train to Auschwitz because his girl- Established 1902
friend was not on the list, according to the Los Angeles
Times. Schindler placed Leyson’s mother and two other Headstones, Duplicate Markers and Cemetery Lettering
siblings on the list of 1,100 Jews, along with his father, With Personalized and Top Quality Service
making it one of the few families that he protected. Please call 1-800-675-5624
Leyson’s siblings later immigrated to Israel.
www.kochmonument.com
Leyson criticized the film for emphasizing
Schindler’s womanizing and profiteering instead of his 76 Johnson Ave., Hackensack, NJ 07601
decency and compassion, the newspaper report said.
In 1949, Leyson immigrated to America and later
fought in the Vietnam War. He taught machine shop
and was a guidance counselor at Huntington Park High
School, retiring in 1997.
He was the father of two and grandfather of four.
We offer a variety of grief support booklets
from Life LightsTM series.
This collection is designed to help those who
have experienced the loss of a loved one or

Torah commentary Obituaries

are experiencing end-of-life issues.

Please call or visit us to obtain a complimentary

is on page 52. are prepared with information provided by
booklet to help you cope with or preempt the
funeral homes. Correcting
complex emotions that you may be experiencing.
errors is the responsibility
of the funeral home.

GUTTERMAN AND MUSICANT

JEWISH FUNERAL DIRECTORS
800-522-0588

WIEN & WIEN, INC.

MEMORIAL CHAPELS
800-322-0533
Community Owned & Operated Non Profit Since 1921
Chapel Services from $3,950.00* 402 PARK STREET, HACKENSACK, NJ 07601
Graveside Services from $3,800.00* ALAN L. MUSICANT, Mgr., N.J. Lic. No. 2890
*Services include professional charge, chapel or graveside charge, wedge pine unfin. casket, MARTIN D. KASDAN, N.J. Lic. No. 4482
religious prep, shroud, Shomer (1 shift), refrigeration (24hr.), local removal, grave marker, IRVING KLEINBERG, N.J. Lic. No. 2517
memorial pkg. & local hearse charge. Does not include cash disbursements
such as cemetery fees, death certificates, gratuities, etc. Prices effective until 3/1/2013. RONALD BLOOM, N.J. Lic. No. 4545
(Advance Planning Director)
Allen Edelstein, Manager • NJ License #3402 GuttermanMusicantWien.com
841 Allwood Road, Clifton, NJ 07012
(973) 779-3048 www.JewishMemorialChapel.org

Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 57

 JS-34

Classifieds
Florida Condo For Rent
alexander Hotel, Miami Beach
Help Wanted Tutoring Situations Wanted
A CARING experienced European
Situations Wanted
chha available 7A.M. to 7P.M. or
(201) 837-8818
Situations Wanted
beautiful 2 BDRM, 2 Bth on the
beach. Strictly Kosher! Low floor. After School Sitter
• MATH TUTOR •
Middle/High School Subjects
woman available now to care for
elderly/sick. Live-in/Out. English
7P.M. to 7A.M., Monday to Friday.
6 years experience, own car, DAUGHTER
FOR A DAY, LLC
Call 516-313-2151 SAT • ACT speaking. References. Driver’s lics. speaks English. Juliana 973-289-
(pick up at school) Licensed NJ MathTeacher/MBA Call Lena 908-494-4540 3757
Monday -Thursday First Session $25.00
vacation CONDO- 3:30 - 5:15 P.M. References available
DELRAY BEACH Carol Herman caregiver/hha experienced. CHHA looking to care for elderly or LICENSED & INSURED
Friday
Magnificent new 55 plus com-
munity. Beautifully furnished 1 1 P.M. to variable times
201-599-9415
carolherman1@gmail.com
Looking to care for elderly or
housekeeper. Monday-Friday.
children. Live-in/out or overnight
.Lt. cooking. 7 years experience. FOR YOUR
Bedroom. Great location! Near
Live-out. English speaking. Simone
973-816-5671
Reliable. Own car. 201-375-1169
PROTECTION
Beach, Shopping, Restaurants. Position available
Reasonable! Available March CHHA looking to care for elderly or • Case Management
thru April (1 mo. minimum) starting immediately caring, Reliable lady looking for children. Live-in. Experienced, very • Handpicked
215-576-0559 Englewood location Situations Wanted weekend Saturday & Sunday posi- reliable, good references. Own car
Certified Home
27 years experience as a tion. Available also 12 hr shift at w/valid lics. Speaks English. 609-
Call 732-991-6697 night. References! Drives! 201- 456-9637 Health Aides
Nurse’s Aide. Excellent references.
Cemetery Plots For Sale Live out/in. I have a valid driver’s 741-3042 • Creative
Part-time salaried registered license. 201-870-8372 HHA looking for position as Com- companionship
Beth El Cemetery, Paramus, N.J. Caring, Reliable, Experienced panion. Live-in/out. Experienced! interactive,
Block 13, line 2, plots 24 & 25. Two nurse needed for growing Ber- Caregiver/Companion seeking job Reliable! English speaking! Call
graves $2,000 ea or 2 for $3,000. gen County home care compa- to care for elderly. Hourly or Live- 917-214-9227; 347-325-3275 intelligent
ny. Good team and interperso- companion/na Flexible hours; conversation &
smergel3@gmail.com in. 201-893-2765
nal skills needed. Car required. part-time or fill-in. Medical referen-
Lics. CNA/HHA experienced in social outings
Help Wanted Homecare experience a plus. ces upon request. 201-833-2317
nurturing Parkinson/MS/Dementia/ • Lifestyle Transitions
Call 917-880-1177 Stroke patients. Also experienced
CASHIER with rehab patients. Live-out. Drive • Assist w/shopping,
Part-time/full-time Car For Sale to appointments, errands. Referen- errands, Drs, etc.
wanted in Fort Lee kosher ces. English speaking. 201-357- • Organize/process
food store. Flexible hours. 5670
paperwork,
Friday a must!
Please email resume to:
D ! Marketing MANAGER bal. checkbook,

L
Do you need a Marketing bookkeeping
paylessglatt@gmail.com

SO
Manager that can increase
your market share?
• Resolve medical
Award winning Business Mar- insurance claims
keting Manager with an exten- Free Consultation
Car Service sive career in product Market-
ing, product & lifecycle manage-
ment, new product launches, RITA FINE
marketing strategy, team lead-
ership & development, & sales. 201-214-1777
Seeking new position, please www.daughterforaday.com
call 201-444-8850, ext. 15 or
email: scgarr@yahoo.com
Car For Sale
2003 Mazda Tribute. V6 engine. Four wheel drive.
Power windows. Sun roof. New tires. Serviced every Antiques
3,000 miles. Original owner. Great condition.

Advertise & Get Results! NICHOL AS

Fuel surcharge added up to 10% · Additional charge may be applied to credit card payment
ANTIQUES Call us.
Call 201-837-8818 to advertise Estates Bought & Sold We are waiting
Fine Furniture
Antiques T Antiques U
for your
Accessories
Cash Paid classified ad!
We pay cash for
Antiques Wanted 201-920-8875 201-837-8818
Antique Furniture
Top Prices Paid Used Furniture Sterling Associates Auctions
• Oil Paintings • Silver
Oil Paintings SEEKING CONSIGNMENT AND OUT RIGHT PURCHASES
Sculpture • Paintings • Porcelain • Silver

• Bronzes • Porcelain Bronzes ❖ Silver Jewelry • Furniture • Etc.

Porcelain ❖ China TOP CASH PRICES PAID

• Oriental Rugs • Furniture 201-768-1140 • www.antiquenj.com
• Marble Sculpture • Jewelry Modern Art sterlingauction@optonline.net
70 Herbert Avenue, Closter, N.J. 07642
• Tiffany Items • Pianos Top Dollar For Any Kind of Jewelry &
Chinese Porcelain & Ivory
• Chandeliers • Bric-A-Brac Family Busineess Established Over 60 Years
Essex Antiques
ANS A
Tyler Antiques Over 25 years courteous service to tri-state area
WE BUY OLD FURNITURE:
MAHOGANY/FRENCH/CARVED
PROMPT, COURTEOUS SERVICE
• Established by Bubbe in 1940! • We come to you ❖ Free Appraisals  Bedroom & Dining Room Sets · Pianos
Shommer Bronzes · Marbles · Persian, Oriental Rugs
Call Us! Shabbas
Any Condition · Paintings & Prints

201-894-4770
Lamps · Fine China · Bric-A-Brac · Porcelain
201-861-7770 ❖ 201-951-6224 Old Fountain Pens · Gold, Silver & Custom Jewelry
WE BUY ENTIRE CONTENTS OF HOMES & ESTATES
Shomer Shabbos www.ansantiques.com 100 Dorigo Lane Secaucus, NJ · 973-930-1118 · 800-318-3552

58 Jewish Standard January 18, 2013

 JS-35

SituationS Wanted
perSonal organiZer
I’ll organize your
Kitchen and Bathroom
and help you declutter your
closets and basement.

Experienced, References,
Reasonable Rates

201-755-8980 We don’t blame you for feeling tired of

channahsumner@gmail.com
hearing stories about the ever-growing
pRODUcTiOn/SOURcing
number of families struggling with hunger.
MAnAgeR
Cut & Sew Knitwear
Can you imagine
exhaustion
Manage production time tables
Product dev., communicate
w/design, tech, merchandising
& sales. Source new factories.
the
of a constant
Willing to travel. 201-921-7177

SaleS, Marketing, BusDev

prof w/deep exp in media (pub-
lishing, film, TV), technology, fi-
struggle to put
nancial serv, & new media/inter-
net start-ups seeks opportun-
ties. Market research, planning, food on the table?
campaign dev., communications
strategy, writing, design, prod., Photo licensed under Creative Commons from flickr user [auro].
pitch dev., PR, sales, busdev,
fundraising, pitching, closing,
consulting. Fortune 55 & SME,
Join MAZON’s effort to ensure that no one goes hungry.
incl Times, Morgan Stanley,
NewsCorp, Avenues World Help us transform how it is into how it should be.
School, USA Israel & EU. P.O. Box 894765
linkedin.cm/in/adammrosenberg Los Angeles, CA 90189-4765
Donate to MAZON today. 800.813.0557 | mazon.org

driving ServiCe
BLUE SKIES CAR SERVICE
Come Drive with Us in Comfort
Trips to Airports, Cruise Terminals, Flooring Handyman Painting/WallPaPering PlumBing ruBBiSH removal
Schools, Theatres, Weddings
7-passenger 2011 Honda
Best Lowest Rates American Oak Your Neighbor with Tools AccuPro Painting, LLC APL Plumbing & Heating LLC CHICHELO
Home Improvements & Handyman Meticulous & Professional Complete Kitchen & RUBBISH REMOVED
Commercial Insurance
Les Weiss 201 835 2352 Hardwood Floors Bath Remodeling Appliances
les165@optonline.net 25 Years of Experience
Shomer Shabbat · Free Estimates Commercial & Residential Boilers · Hot Water Heaters · Leaks Furniture
Over 15 Years Experience
Installation of All Types of Adam 201-675-0816 Jacob Interior, Exterior, EMERGENCY SERVICE
Fully Licensed, Bonded and Insured
Wood · Metals
Decks, & Garage Floors Construction
Furniture rePair Carpets, Floors & Borders Lic. & Ins. · NJ Lic. #13VH05023300 NO JOB IS TOO SMALL!
Debris
Staining & Refinishing
www.yourneighborwithtools.blogspot.com
(201) 658-3437 201-358-1700 · Lic. #12285 Homes · Estates
Complete Repair Service AccuProPainting@gmail.com Factories · Contractors
FUrnitUre doctor Quality Products Haworth, NJ 973-325-2713 · 973-228-7928
Why Buy New?
Repair The Old! Free Estimates Home imProvementS David Polifroni 201-704-0013
Repair • Refinish Fully Insured
BEST BEST
B”H

Free Estimate Oakland · Rutherford of the

PARTY
201-384-4526 201-651-9494 · 201-438-7105 Home Repair Service
Carpentry Painting
Decks Kitchens
Locks/Doors Electrical
Get results!
PLANNER
Basements Paving/Masonry
Bathrooms Drains/Pumps

rooFing
Plumbing
Tiles/Grout
Maintenence
Hardwood Floors
General Repairs
Advertise on
ROOFING · SIDING
HACKENSACK GUTTERS · LEADERS NO JOB IS TOO SMALL this page. To advertise call 201-837-8818
24 Hour x 5 1/2 Emergency Services

Free ROOFING
OOFING Roof
Shomer Shabbat Free Estimates
201-837-8818
Estimates CO. Repairs 1-201-530-1873
INC.
201-487-5050 83 FIRST STREET
HACKENSACK, NJ 07601

Cleaning & Hauling Home imProvementS

Jewish Music with an Edge
Rick’s SENIOR CITIZENS
10% OFF!
SAME DAY
SERVICE
Goldman & Goldman Construction
"Quality craftsmanship at affordable prices"
Ari Greene · 201-837-6158

CLEANOUTS INC.
AGreene@BaRockorchestra.com
Kitchens • Bathrooms www.BaRockOrchestra.com
Roofing • Siding • Windows
RUBBISH REMOVAL Heating • Air-Conditioning
WE CLEAN UP
• Attics • Basements • Yards
WE REMOVE
• Pianos • Furniture
Finished Basements • Energy Conservation AviMusic
M&aza Orchestra
Entertainment
• Garages • Apartments • Junk • Appliances Shomer Shabbos Robert Goldman
• Construction Debris • Demo Work Fully Insured Cell: 732-600-0229 Bands | DJ | Dancers | Shabbat Acapella
Hottest Hits • Classic Rock • Israeli • Klezmer
NJ Lic #13vh04252700 Office: 201-530-5285
Residential Dumpster Specials • 10 YDS • 15 YDS • 20 YDS www.avimazaorchestra.com
Please visit customer testimonial page www.Goldman&Goldman.com 732-342-9766
(201) 342-9333 · (973) 340-7454 Freedom from high prices and low quality craftsmanship!

Jewish standard January 18, 2013 59

GA LLERY
1

2 3 4

1 The Bergen Sharks, the Bergen County YJCC’s

competitive swim team, took first place in the
YM-YWHA Swim League All-Star Meet held at the
Raritan Bay YMCA on December 9. Teams competing
were JCC of Central New Jersey, Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades, JCC of Middlesex County, Shimon and Sara
Birnbaum JCC, YM-YWHA of Union County, and JCC
MetroWest. The Sharks broke seven meet records, along
with eight of their own team records. COURTESY YJCC

2 Local college students were among 115 participants

on Jewish National Fund’s Alternative Winter Break
trip to Israel. Each participant raised $1,100 to fund
JNF’s Blueprint Negev campaign. Local students at
Neot Kedumim, include, from left, Shachar Avraham of
Fair Lawn and Binghamton University; JNF’s regional
director, Jocelyn Inglis; Lauren Blachorsky of Paramus
and Dalya Arussy of Fair Lawn, both students at Queens
College; and Cody Gecht of Paramus and Binghamton.
COURTESY JNF
5
3 Yavneh Middle School students decorated
snowflakes as part of an international campaign to
create a “Winter Wonderland” in the new Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Monroe, Conn. DEBBIE ABRAMOWITZ
5 Teens from Temple Emanu-El of Closter’s F2F/USY
group gathered for their annual Build-A Bear mitzvah
4 Herman Negreann, a longtime member of Temple
Beth Or in Washington Township, received the
shul’s Chai Hamsa award on January 8. It is given to
event in the Palisades Mall. The group made 19 stuffed
animals, which will be donated to Englewood Hospital and
Medical Center’s pediatric wings and emergency room.
members who perform exceptional acts of kindness. COURTESY EMANU-EL
He is flanked, from left, by Irene Bolton, the director of
Life Long Learning; Teddy Fine, a congregant and the
shul librarian; Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick; congregant Isabel
Kurlan, and Cantor Regina Hayut. A leaf was dedicated
6 Ari Quinn, Mendel Drizin, and Max Miller are pictured
at the Castle Fun Center in Chester, N.Y., during a
trip from Valley Chabad Camp Gan’s winter break session.
in the library in honor of Negreann and his great Valley Chabad teachers and youth directors Rabbi Yosef
granddaughter, Temima Etka Negreann. COURTESY TBO and Estie Orenstein led the trip. 6

60 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 18, 2013

R EA L   E STAT E & busin ess notes COME TO FLORIDA
Specializing in Country Club,
Active Adult & Beachside Communities

Total Boox totally rethinks e-reading Advantage Plus

Need ‘volumes’ for a desert island? Take them all FORMER NJ
601 S. Federal Hwy
Boca Raton, FL 33432
and pay only for what you use with new Israeli app RESIDENTS
SERVING BOCA RATON, Elly & Ed Lepselter
DELRAY AND BOYNTON BEACH (561) 826-8394
Brian Blum AND SURROUNDING AREAS

W
hat books would you take with you if you were
stranded on a desert island — if you had an
e-book reader and unlimited battery power?
You’d probably want a whole virtual bookshelf. But that
would cost a pretty penny and you might not finish every-
thing before you got rescued.
Successful Israeli serial entrepreneur Yoav Lorch wants
you to have that bookshelf – and to only pay for what you
actually read. That’s the concept behind his latest startup,
Total Boox, a “pay as you go” platform that tracks how
many pages you’ve viewed and charges only for content
consumed.
It’s a model whose time has come, Lorch contends.
“‘Pay first, read later’ made sense with printed books where
you have to cover your costs. But in the world of digital
books, the idea is counterproductive. It discourages read-
ers from exploring.”
Total Boox, due to launch in early 2013, is a mobile
app with an Android version currently in beta and one for
Apple on the way. Once you’ve installed the app, you sim-
ply choose the books you want.
Total Boox tracks how long you linger on a particular
page. If it senses you’re really reading and not just skim-
ming through, the app charges you for the percentage of
the book you’ve read. You never pay more than what you’d
have spent to buy the book up front.
Total Boox has lots of other nifty features such as the
ability to create book “playlists” you can share with friends.
They can then download the playlists — and the entire
bookshelf – to their device at no risk. After all, you only pay
for what you read.
Choose from 7,000 titles
with minimum balance plan
As with SkypeOut, the Internet telephone system’s plan for
calling non-Skype phones for a fee, with Total Boox you
must pay a minimum amount in advance that gets drawn
upon as you read. When you get low, Total Boox asks you to
top off your balance.
Lorch has considered implementing an unlimited plan
— all you can read for $20 per month, perhaps — but ques-
tions whether what works for mobile web browsing will
work the same way in the world of books.
Total Boox is a radical rethinking of the electronic read-
ing model, so it’s not surprising that the biggest publish-
ers haven’t signed on yet. But Total Boox has some of the
bigger independents on board — Sourcebooks and F+W
Media, among others. The Total Boox system currently
offers 7,000 titles, and splits revenues with the publishers;
there is no upfront fee to publishers to partner up.
Lorch, 59, has been around the publishing block a few
times. He studied economics and philosophy in univer-
sity before turning to writing — he’s done translations,
written for TV and the theater in Israel, and published six
books in Germany (where his family is from). He joined
the Israeli printing technology heavyweight Scitex at the
height of its 1990s success, then started a Scitex spinoff
called PressPoint that built digital point-of-sale newspaper
kiosks.
He was also the founder of Zlango, a startup that cre-
ated a new iconic language for smartphones. The company
raised a significant amount of venture capital and is still
going strong.
Once the system has proven itself, Lorch is confident
that another element of Total Boox will enthrall the big
leagues: The best reading analytics in the business.
“We provide publishers with detailed information about
who reads what, when, where and how,” he says. “We know
more about what people are reading than anyone. And we
share this with the publishers. Amazon doesn’t.”
Which brings up the Amaz-elephant in the room: Total
Boox cannot be used on a Kindle. “Amazon is a closed JAN 20TH OPEN HOUSES
shop. They’ll never let us onto the Kindle,” Lorch admits. 1533 Rugby Rd, Tnk $829,000 12:00-2:00pm
While Amazon represents the biggest part of the mar-
1292 Taft Rd, Tnk $395,000 12:00-2:00pm
ket, it’s not alone. As more and more people buy iPad
Mini’s and seven-inch Android tablets as their e-readers, 11 Frederick Pl, Bgfld $949,000 12:00-2:00pm
the Total Boox app may just find a home on a few desert 101 Wilbur Rd, Bgfld $395,000 10:00-12:00pm
islands out there. 243 Walton St, Englewd $439,000 2:00-4:00pm
Israel21c.org
SOLD WEEK OF JAN 13TH!
72 Rector Court, Bergenfield
BY APPOINTMENT - BERGENFIELD
Camp Veritans prepares True CH Col in private setting! 9 ft ceilings, Chef's
Kitchen/cherry cabinets adj to Great Rm/Fplc. Ensuite
for summer 2013 activities Guest Br w Bath on Main Lvl, 6 add’l brs - $1,179,000
Camp Veritans, an ACA accredited summer day camp for
children entering kindergarten through 10th grade, is get-
FOLLOW TEAM V & N ON
ting ready for another summer to remember. FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
In addition to its Red Cross swim program, a variety of www.vera-nechama.com
sports options, and go-carts, the camp also offers a top-
notch ropes/challenge course with both high and low 201-692-3700
elements. Campers can test their skills on the inclined
log ladder, switch to the two-line traverse leading to the
catwalk 30 feet up, and continue to the multi-vine. They
complete the circuit with an exciting ride on the zip line. Open Houses Sunday Jan. 20 · 2-4 PM
The staff at Camp Veritans has planned new trips and
programs so kids will have the best summer ever. They
provide an environment where campers build their self-
esteem through fun, while making friendships and lifelong
memories.
Attending a summer day camp like Camp Veritans is a
great way to create positive experiences for your child.
Camp Veritans will be holding walking tours Sunday,
February 3, March 3, and April 14 between 10 a.m.
and noon. Call the office to reserve a place in the tour.
Additional dates and times can also be scheduled.
To find out more about Camp Veritans, call (973) 956-
1220 or visit www.campveritans.com. Camp Veritans is lo-
cated at 225 Pompton Road in Haledon, next to entry gate 1100 SUSSEX ROAD $340’s
number one of William Paterson University. Mint cond. 3 bdrm 2.5 bath colonial. (Huge Master bedroom)
LR/fplc Den Formal DR Mod eat in kit. 3 season porch. Game
TM
Rm bsmt. Det Gar
1101 DARTMOUTH STREET $420’s
Lovely Street. Great for extended families. Lg LR/fplc Den
Formal DR Deck. 3 bedrooms 3.5 baths (inclds master). Fin
bsmt. Att Gar.
736 MILDRED STREET $1,125,000
Beautiful street in the Hospital area. 286’ deep private parklike
prop., Charming 5 bdrm 3 full/2 half bath Tudor Colonial. Grand
LR/fplc Den + Florida Rm. Brkfst rm. Vaulted ceiling great Rm/
fplc. 5 rm Prof office suite/ Potential In-laws suite. 2 car gar
For Our Full Inventory & Directions 2012
CLOSTER SOPHISTICATED $1,075,000
Well maintained colonial on beautiful tree-lined cul-de-sac in desirable East Hill Visit our Website READERS’
location, 2 story foyer, family room with floor-ceiling brick fireplace, kitchen with
island, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, lower level with media room, www.RussoRealEstate.com CHOICE

Total Boox is based at TheTime incubator, with a staff office & 3 car garage, almost 1/3 private acre. FIRST PLACE
REAL ESTATE AGENCY
of eight people in the company’s Tel Aviv office. Lorch is in
ALPINE/CLOSTER
TENAFLY RIVERVALE ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS TENAFLY CRESSKILL
the process of raising a $1 million round now from private Orna Jackson, Sales Associate 201-376-1389 (201) 837-8800
894-1234
768-6868 666-0777 568-1818 894-1234 871-0800
investors.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 61
Clean fuels made in N.J. with Israeli talent and financing
Primus Green Energy, soon to make alternative jet and auto products,
is backed by the renewable energy arm of the Israel Corporation
Abigail Klein Leichman
I
sraeli-financed Primus Green Energy process can use a variety of feedstocks,
in New Jersey has set its sights on including pelletized wood waste or en-
making cost-efficient and clean alter- ergy crops, Primus is focusing for now on
native liquid transportation fuels derived cheaply obtained natural gas.
from natural gas and biomass. “We’re completing a full-scale dem-
George Boyajian, vice president for onstration plant in Hillsborough, which
business development, says that the comes on line April 1 and will produce
company is about to close a deal with “a drop-in gasoline and jet fuel from
major global airline.” natural gas. And then we expect to
Though the company’s proprietary break ground for our first commercial
Primus Green Energy Chairman Dr. Yom-Tov Samia, front middle, with guests
including former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio, at his left, at the company’s
demo plant dedication. The beakers contain wood pellet feedstock and Primus’
93-octane gasoline.
plant in the fourth quarter of 2013,” says
Boyajian.
Last June’s dedication of the $8 mil-
lion demo plant, which can produce
33 liters of gasoline per hour, was high-
lighted by a test drive of an automobile
powered with 93-octane fuel made from
natural gas and biomass.
The future commercial plant will pro-
duce annually about 25 million gallons
of biofuel from natural gas-derived syn-
gas, taking advantage of the low prices
EnglEwood East hill of domestically abundant natural gas.
Majestically set on rarely available 4.3 acres. This stately colonial home offers 9 bedrooms and 6.5 The cost of production is expected to be
Vincent Volpe, Jr. baths, 7 fireplaces, tennis court, indoor and outdoor competitive with petroleum-based fuels.
640 Palisade Avenue pools, cabana and carriage house with 4 car garage. The patented process used by Primus
Englewood Cliffs, NJ Mature fenced grounds with gated entry. Near houses
of worship. Not offered for sale in over 45 years! was developed by co-founder Moshe
201-567-8700 Ben Reuven, a Princeton University-
educated engineer who is now CEO at
Verdant Aerospace in Princeton. The
SELLING YOUR HOME?
same process can also produce aromatic
chemicals needed for the production of
plastics and rubber.
“The chemical steps we go through
in our process are well understood, but
the method by which we implement
them is unique,” says Boyajian. “What
we’re doing is a big step in the evolu-
tion of making gasoline, and we make it
more efficiently so we get greater yields
at a lower cost. We have a very talented
group of engineers doing R&D toward
that goal.”
The Israeli connection
Much of the management staff at Primus
is Israeli. President and chairman of
the board Yom-Tov Samia, a retired
two-star major general in the IDF, was
formerly CEO of the Baran Group, the
largest planning and engineering group
in Israel. Vice president Arie Toren came
up through the ranks at Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems. Chief technology of-
ficer Eli Gal is a Technion-Israel Institute
Call Susan Laskin Today of Technology-trained expert in coal
To Make Your Next Move A Successful One! and biomass gasification processes, air
pollution control, clean-tech and water
SusanLaskinRealtor.com Cell: 201-615-5353
treatment. COO Sam Golan was formerly
©2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.
62 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013
general manager of Cimatron Israel.
Ben-Reuven began the company in
2007 with real-estate developer Shlomo
Schattner, former deputy director of
Israel’s Office of Budget Management.
The two men put together Ben-Reuven’s
expertise with Schattner’s connections
in the Israeli corporate world, and the
result was Primus Green Energy, solely
funded and majority owned by IC Green
Energy, the renewable energy arm of the
publicly traded Israel Corporation.
“Through a series of discussions
and ultimately the investment from IC
Green, they came to the conclusion that
the best product to pursue was ‘drop-in’
gasoline,” says Boyajian. “There is no
such thing as finished gasoline. It’s a
blendable component to which they add
ethanol, dyes and sometimes detergent.”
The fuels produced from the Primus
STG+ technology are virtually indistin-
guishable from petroleum-based fuels
and can be used directly in engines as a
component of standard fuel formulas,
he adds. The technology does not require
any changes to engines, fuel delivery in-
frastructure or consumer behavior.
Boyajian, who holds a doctorate in
geophysical sciences, explains that the
Primus methanol-to-gasoline process
results in converting high-yield syngas
first into methanol and then into light
high-octane gasoline without the need
for separation or further treatment.
Most competitors using biological
methods produce an intermediate prod-
uct, such as biobutanol, which must be
synthesized and refined before it can be
used as fuel.
If the airline deal goes through, it
may be possible for the Primus drop-in
jet fuel to be certified in the next year
or two for use in commercial jetliners.
Meanwhile, IC Green Energy has invest-
ed another $12 million in Primus Green
Energy, bringing its total investment in
the company to $40 million.
Israel21c.org
 We specialize in residential and commercial rentals and sales.
We will be happy to assist you with all your real estate needs.
Jeffrey Schleider NJ: T: 201.266.8555 • M: 201.906.6024 Ruth Miron-Schleider
NY: T: 212.888.6250 • M: 917.576.0776
Broker/Owner Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY Miron Properties NJ
FORT LEE FORT LEE FORT LEE $299,000 FORT LEE
SO LE NO LE
LD AS RT AS
ED PA HBR
! RK ID ED
! ! GE !

WHITEMAN HOUSE, #7-I THE PALISADES, #4102 2200 N. CENTRAL RD, #14-K BUCKINGHAM TOWER, #706
A jewel. Updated unit. Beaut. 2 BR. Penthouse floor. Great 3BR corner unit. Renov. 2 BR/2 BTH w/terrace.

ENGLEWOOD $1,275,000 ENGLEWOOD $659,000 ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS $1,350,000 ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS

DO TO B CO BE SO
W RIC NS AU
LO UBL NH K TR TIF LD
T! E OU UC UL
TIO !
SE N!
!

60-64 HILLSIDE AVENUE 133-A E. PALISADE AVENUE 48 VAN NOSTRAND AVENUE 35 KARENS LANE
6 BR/6.5 BTH. Home office. 3 BR/2.5 BTH corner unit. Magnificent brick Colonial. Fr. Colonial. Babbling Brook.

CROWN HEIGHTS CHELSEA EAST VILLAGE $800,000 TRIBECA $3,985,000

LE LIS JUS
C
AS SO RE OMM
ED LD ST E
AU RC TE T
! ! RA IAL D!
NT /
!

817 ST. JOHN’S PLACE 456 WEST 19TH STREET 90 EAST 10TH STREET 110 DUANE ST, #PH3S
2 BR. Central location. 1 BR Condo. Doorman bldg. 1200 sq. ft. + bsmnt. Back patio. Posh Penthouse. Prestigious loc.

GREENPOINT CLINTON HILL UPPER EAST SIDE GREENPOINT

SO CO UN LE SO
LD NT DE AS LD
! RA R ED !
CT !
!

199 HURON STREET 157 WAVERLY AVENUE 101 EAST 116TH STREET 126 INDIA STREET
2 BR w/private roof deck. Spacious loft. 1,000 sq. ft. Renov. w/SS appliances. Development lot. Prime area.

CHELSEA WILLIAMSBURG WEST VILLAGE $540,000 DUMBO

CO UN
NT DE
LE LIS JUS SO
RA R AS TE T LD
CT ED D! !
! !

451 WEST 22ND STREET 490 METROPOLITAN AVENUE 165 CHRISTOPHER ST, #LN 205 WATER STREET
“Prettiest block in Chelsea”/TimeOut NY Commercial. 690 sq. ft. Prime block. Doorman bldg. Steps from Pier. Brand new construction.

Contact us for your complimentary consultation

Jeff@MironProperties.com · www.MironProperties.com
Ruth@MironProperties.com · www.MironProperties.com/NJ
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013 63
 RCBC
*

Your one stop

super shop for
all your kosher
needs!

Paskesz
Quaker Life Cereal Lieber’s Animal Crackers Marshmallows
All Types - 13 oz 13 oz Reg/Mini
$3.29 2 for $5 $1.99

Les Petites Fermieres Les Petites Fermieres

Shredded Cheese Sliced Cheese Fresh & Tasty Near East Rice Pilaf
All Types - 8 oz All Types - 6 oz Orange Juice - 64 oz All Flavors
$2.89 $2.89 2 for $5 $1.99

Buitoni
Pasta Sauce Amnon’s Regular Pizza Apple & Eve
All Flavors Frozen - 36 oz Apple Juice - 64 oz
2 for $5 $9.99 $2.99
* While supplies last the week of January 20.

1400 Queen Anne Rd · Teaneck, NJ · 201-837-8110

Mashgiach Temidi / Open 7:00 am Sunday through Friday · Now closing Friday at 2:00 pm
64 Jewish Standard JANUARY 18, 2013