SWEET TAKES ON THE PROPHETS IN FAIR LAWN page 6

TALKING NORTH KOREA AT JCC U IN TENAFLY page 8

ORTHODOX RABBI TO TEACH AT RIVER EDGE REFORM SHUL page 11
NEW YORK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS page 53

JANUARY 19, 2018

VOL. LXXXVII NO. 18 $1.00 86 2017
7

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A Rembrandt in a
Teaneck basement
l Three Jewish brothers from
Teaneck can paint the town red
after discovering that a paint-
ing that languished beneath
their ping pong table for years
— and that they thought opti-
mistically might be worth a few
hundred dollars — is an original
Rembrandt.
It sold for $1.1 million at auc-
tion, according to Fox Business
Network’s “Strange Inheri-
tance” series. But it turned out
to be worth even more.
The Dutch master painted
“Unconscious Patient (Allegory
of Smell)” in the 1620s, when
he was just a teenager, as part
of a five-painting series about
the senses. It shows two men
holding smelling salts under the
nose of an apparently uncon-
scious woman.
It seems that Ned, Roger, and
Steven Landau’s grandfather
had bought the painting from
an unknowing dealer before the
Great Depression; it’s also likely
that he didn’t spend much for
it. The painting went from their
grandfather to their grand-
mother to their mother, who
Page 3
died in 2010.
Most of their mother’s be-
longings were sold in a garage
sale after her death, but one
of the brothers, Ned, thought
the painting — which found a
home under a ping pong table
in Roger’s basement — might
be worth something. They
held onto it, but they did not
particularly like it. They left it
where it was. But then, when
Roger moved the table and
saw the painting again, the
brothers decided it was time
to appraise it.
They asked John Nye, an
appraiser, to value the work.
His estimate: a few hundred
dollars.
What Nye missed was the
monograph RHF (“Rembrandt
Harmenszoon fecit,” meaning
“Rembrandt, son of Harmen,
made this”) in the upper right “I even forgot when the auc- until the hammer came down quite well.’”
corner. tion was happening,” Roger in favor of the Frenchman. The The Frenchman said that he
The brothers asked Nye and said, as reported by Fox Busi- price — $1.1 million. had been looking for this paint-
Company to auction the paint- ness. “It was Yom Kippur and I “Maybe one, two days after ing for some time. But that
ing. The bidding started at don’t answer my phone.” Yom Kippur I returned John’s didn’t mean he held onto it. He
$250. But some of the bidders A French bidder offered call,” Roger said. “I asked, ‘Oh, sold it to a Rembrandt collec-
recognized that the work was $5,000, then got into a bid- so how’d the auction go?’ and tor, reportedly for $4 million.
unusual. ding war with a German buyer he said, ‘Well, it actually went SUE SURKES/TIMES OF ISRAEL

Candlelighting:

Big fun with tiny tomatoes
l Israelis love their tomatoes. They
eat them whole, sliced, diced, raw,
and cooked. Nearly half of Israelis,
according to a survey taken a couple
of years ago, said tomatoes are their
favorite vegetable (okay, it’s techni-
cally a fruit, but never mind), and that
they eat some almost every day.
Many of those Israelis must have
been pleased at the announcement
earlier this week that Israeli farmers
have developed what they believe is
Israel’s — and perhaps the world’s —
tiniest tomato.
According to its developers — the
agriculture tech company Kedma,
based in the southern Arava desert
— the “tipa tomato” or “drop tomato”
is about the size of a blueberry and is
also the sweetest tomato on earth. It
comes in red and yellow varieties.
The seeds for the new tomatoes
were obtained from a company in
Holland. Farmers in Israel, with the
help of the Central and Northern Ara-
va Research and Development Center,
modified the tomato to withstand the
dry desert air.
The producers said that they in-
tended the tomato for Israeli con-
sumption, but the new breed has got-
ten plenty of attention worldwide.
Of course, normal cherry tomatoes
are already small — so what can you
actually do with a tomato that’s even
tinier? Here are some options.
Any-time-of-day snack: The to-
mato’s producers think that Israelis will
just pop them in their mouths as con-
venient snacks. But those Israelis who
don’t particularly like tomatoes — and
there are some — might need some-
thing more gimmicky.
“Tomasins”: If you were to dry these
tomatoes, could they become the
tomato version of raisins, perfect for
snacking and baking?
The perfect Israeli salad addition:
Chopped tomato pieces are an es-
sential part of the classic Israeli salad.
But if chefs just used these mini to-
matoes in their salads, there would
be no need for chopping — and they
wouldn’t make such a juicy mess in
their kitchens.
Chocolate chip substitute: How
about dumping a cup of the minus-
cule tomatoes into a savory muffin
recipe? Or even substituting them
for chocolate chips in your favorite
cookie recipe?
It’s worth noting that the cherry
tomato is not an Israeli invention, as
some people have claimed. It may
actually date back to 15th century
Aztec Mexico, or even earlier. Yellow
cherry tomatoes first were culti-
vated in Europe in the 16th century,
according to the British Tomato
Growers Association.
Israelis were instrumental, however,
in helping cherry tomatoes become
a staple in European and American
kitchens by the 1990s. In the 1970s, a
British grocery chain enlisted Israeli
scientists to develop a sweet, shelf-
stable version of the food that could
be grown in neat rows — and the rest
is history. That’s why Israeli Prime Min-
ister Benjamin Netanyahu felt confi-
dent enough to stand before the U.N.
General Assembly in 2015 and declare
that the cherry tomato “was perfected
in Israel, in case you didn’t know.”
MARCY OSTER/JTA
Friday, Jan. 19, 4:40 p.m.
Shabbat ends:
Saturday, Jan. 20, 5:43 p.m.
ON THE COVER: Rachel Zatcoff and
Glenn Seven Allen in the Folksbiene’s
first musical in its new home, “The
Golden Bride.” PHOTO BY MARK GUREVICH
CONTENTS
NOSHES���������������������������������������������������������������4
BRIEFLY LOCAL����������������������������������������������16
COVER STORY������������������������������������������������20
CHANGE YOUR LIFE������������������������������������ 25
JEWISH WORLD��������������������������������������������40
OPINION�����������������������������������������������������������44
D’VAR TORAH������������������������������������������������� 51
THE FRAZZLED HOUSEWIFE������������������� 52
CROSSWORD PUZZLE�������������������������������� 52
ARTS & CULTURE������������������������������������������ 53
CALENDAR������������������������������������������������������54
OBITUARIES���������������������������������������������������� 57
CLASSIFIEDS�������������������������������������������������� 58
REAL ESTATE���������������������������������������������������61
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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 3

Noshes
“Many esoteric hints indicate the road to
the Third Temple will be paved with
train tracks.”
— From a report on the new high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem rail line in Breaking
Israel News, a website that connects current events to biblical prophecies

EYES ON THE PRIZE:

The SAG awards

to roll Sunday
The Screen chances now are doomed. Semitic views and didn’t
Actors Guild Unlike the Globes and like Jews to run impor-
awards will be Oscars, the SAG gives tant things or be in their
presented on Sunday, awards for best ensem- clubs — but they were
January 21, at 8 p.m., on ble cast (one award for horrified by anti-Semitic
TBS and TNT. Golden films). The cast of “Lady violence and sometimes
Globe winner JAMES Bird” is nominated for did the right thing, like
FRANCO, 39 (“The best film cast award and helping refugees.
Disaster Artist”), is the nominees include Almost everyone
nominated for lead actor Timothée Chalamet, praised Seth
in a film, as is TIMOTHÉE BEANIE FELDSTEIN, 24, Meyers for his
CHALAMET (“Call Me By and ODEYA RUSH, 20. skillful hosting of the
My Name”). ALISON There are two ensem- politically charged
BRIE, 35 (“Glow”), is ble awards for TV: best Alison Brie Marc Maron Beanie Feldstein Golden Globe awards.
nominated for best comedy series and best Meyers appeared on
actress in a comedy drama series. The com- “The Ellen Show” a few
series. LARRY DAVID, 70 edy series cast award days before the Globes
(“Curb Your Enthusi- nominees include “Curb and talked about his
asm”), and MARC Your Enthusiasm” (Larry 2-year-old son, ASHE. As
MARON, 54 (“Glow”), are David, SUSIE ESSMAN, I’ve written before,
nominated for best actor 62, and JEFF GARLIN, Meyers, who had one
in a comedy series. 55); “Blackish” (TRACEE Jewish grandfather, wed
Real-life news aside: ELLIS ROSS, 45); “Glow” attorney ALEXI ASHE,
Shortly after the Golden (Alison Brie, 35, Marc 33, in a Jewish ceremony
Globes ceremony, James Maron, and JACKIE in 2013. I gather they are
Franco was hit with TOHN, 36, who plays the raising Ashe in his
claims of inappropri- Jewish character Melanie mother’s faith, because
ate behavior from five Rosen); and “Orange is Meyers talked about their
women. His attorney the New Black” (LAURA Odeya Rush Jackie Tohn Noah Schnapp Chanukah celebration
denied the claims, but PREPON, 37, NATASHA with Ashe. Ashe isn’t
Franco appears to be LYONNE, 38, and YAEL and NOAH SCHNAPP, 13, Lesser playing MacMillan. said that. MacMillan was completely fluent in
refraining from public STONE, 32. Stone is an is competing with those The only Jewish-related saying that establish- English yet, let alone
appearances and was Australian Jew). shows. I first became thing I knew about Mac- ment WASPs who went Hebrew. But as the video
a no-show at the Crit- In what may be a aware of Schnapp when Millan was an anti-Se- to the fancy school Eton Meyers showed the
ics’ Choice awards, held first, British Jewish ac- he voiced Charlie Brown mitic comment he made were being replaced by “Ellen” audience re-
on January 11, although tor ANTON LESSER, in “The Peanuts” movie when Margaret Thatch- upstart, mostly Jewish vealed, the toddler tries
he won the award for 65, is nominated as a (2015). He got a big ca- er appointed a large foreigners. I looked Mac- hard. The video showed
best actor in a comedy cast member in two reer boost with his now number of Jews to her Millan up and learned Alexi lighting the 8th
film. Voting for the SAG (best cast) nominated large role as Will Byers cabinet. He said, “It looks that privately he made night Chanukah candles
awards ends on January drama series: He plays in “Stranger Things.” He like there are more Old anti-Semitic remarks as Ashe sang the
19. Most SAG members Qyburn, the evil aide was born in America, Estonians in the cabinet throughout his career. blessing using nonsense
vote online, so late vot- of evil Queen Cersei in but Schnapp’s parents than Old Etonians.” As to On the other hand, Mac- syllables that captured
ers may doom Franco’s “Game of Thrones,” and are Canadian Jews from the Jews in the cabinet, Millan, I also learned, the rhythm of the prayer,
chances for a SAG award. he plays Prime Minis- Montreal. His mother is it’s much more likely that housed some German even if he didn’t really
Expect a spate of news ter Harold MacMillan in of Moroccan Jewish an- their ancestors actually Jewish refugees on his know the words. (See it
reports about whether “The Crown.” “Stranger cestry. were from neighboring estate during the 1930s. yourself — enter “Seth
Franco appeared at the Things,” whose cast in- Historical aside: I Lithuania — but the re- MacMillan, I realized, was Meyers’ Son Is a Hanuk-
SAG awards, and whether cludes WINONA RYDER, thought it ironic when mark wouldn’t have been like so many upper class kah Pro” in YouTube’s
his Oscar nomination 46, PAUL REISER, 60, I realized it was Anton as meanly clever if he’d Britons. They held anti- search engine.) –N.B.

Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at
Middleoftheroad1@aol.com

4 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018

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Local
Character matters, the prophets say
This year’s Sweet Tastes of Torah includes a talk on prophetic literature;
also havdalah, dessert, and dancing
JOANNE PALMER
In some ways, everything is different this
year.
In other ways, things are the same; we
build on successes and learn from mis-
steps. The Sweet Tastes of Torah, the
annual program that offers the commu-
nity workshops with local rabbis, all of
them members of the North Jersey Board
of Rabbis, has been going strong for almost
a decade now. About 18 Conservative and
Reform rabbis will teach two sessions of
classes on February 3 at the Fair Lawn Jew-
ish Center (see box).
But this year, in response to the
increased urgency that many people feel
to do something, to understand more
about what they can do and to know more
about the Jewish context that can nourish
their instincts and actions, Sweet Tastes of
Torah is reshaping the evening.
It will begin with the usual spirited
Havdalah, and it will end with the usual
and much-anticipated dessert, as well
as Israeli folk dancing (to even out the
dessert), but it will include a keynote
address, which will provide the focus for
all of the first session’s workshops and
some of the second.
The keynote speaker is Rabbi Barry
Schwartz, who heads Congregation
Adas Emuno in Leonia and is the CEO
and editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publi-
cation Society. In what must have been
his abundant spare time (assuming that
either he never sleeps and has figured out
a 36-hour day), he has written “Path of
the Prophets.” The latest of his books —
he wrote a children’s book, “Adam’s Ani-
mals,” that came out in October — looks
at some of the prophets — both the obvi-
ous ones, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Eze-
kiel — and biblical figures who were not
Who: The North Jersey Board of
Rabbis sponsors
What: Sweet Tastes of Torah
Where: At the Fair Lawn Jewish
Center, 10-10 Norma Avenue
When: On Saturday evening,
February 3; doors open at 6:30 and
Havdalah is at 7.
How much: $15 per person until
January 31; $20 at the door
For more information, including
a list of breakout sessions and
teachers, and to register: Go to
sweettastesoftorah.weebly.com or
Google “sweet tastes of torah 2018”
6 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
called prophets but who functioned in
that way, characters including Judah, the
midwife Shifrah, and Ruth.
Although Rabbi Schwartz worked on
his book for five years, he said, and there-
fore he began the work well before today’s
political situation evolved, “it just so hap-
pens that it’s coming out at a time when
we are so conscious of the ethical issues
that are swirling around the presidency
and also the #MeToo movement. This invi-
tation to deliver the keynote came smack
at the time when the Harvey Weinstein
story was just breaking, and it seemed that
every day there was a new story.
Because his book is about prophecy —
and about ethical living, which prophecy
demands — it seemed absolutely timely, he
said, and that is a great sadness. “I thought
that I was writing it in order to make my
contribution to the conversation about
the prophets,” he said. “They inspired me
when I was younger, and I wanted to do
that for the new generation.
“So many people try to read the proph-
ets, and their eyes glaze over. So much of
it is written in high rhetorical style, in a
poetical prose that is very hard to digest.
I wanted to write a book that makes the
prophet’s works, and even their lives,
accessible and relevant and compelling.”
He talked about his book’s structure,
and how the workshops at Sweet Tastes
will mirror that structure.
“The book is divided into three sections
— justice, compassion, and faith — reflect-
ing Micah’s admonition to ‘do justice, love
mercy, and walk humbly with your God,’”
Rabbi Schwartz said.
“Certainly we are seeing ethical crises
of leadership, particularly political and
sexual in nature; these crises are hap-
pening so fast that we can hardly keep up
with them. My thesis is that the prophets
of ancient Israel brought forth an ethical
revolution, and we need to retrieve their
often overlooked or forgotten messages
today. It will help inform us, perhaps it will
help steady the ship.
“Part of what I will raise in the keynote
is that it is not enough for us to lament
what is going on. It is not enough for us
to raise our concerns and then move on.
In some ways, that is putting our heads in
the sand, and the prophets would say no,
that is not enough.
“We very much need to hear the pro-
phetic message that every person has a
responsibility to do their part. The proph-
ets didn’t turn their ire just on the leaders,
but on the people as well, and in some
Rabbi Schwartz with a book by Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel.
ways that is even more daring. If the lead-
ers are making a mistake, we need to speak
truth to power, but we also need to speak
truth to the people, and to understand, as
Rabbi Heschel put it, that especially in a
democratic society, not all are guilty, but
all are responsible.”
Rabbi Heschel, of course, is Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel, the 20th cen-
tury Jewish theologian and political advo-
cate whom Rabbi Schwartz counts as
among his inspirations. So, he said, was
the rabbi of the shul to which his family
belonged when he was growing up, in
Croton-on-Hudson in New York. “Rabbi
Michael Robinson, of blessed memory,
was a disciple of Heschel’s, and one of the
dozen Reform rabbis who were arrested
with Martin Luther King in St. Augus-
tine,” he said. “He was a true advocate
for social justice, and I grew up with him,
listening to him quote King and Heschel
and the Hebrew prophets.
“It was JPS that published Heschel’s
book “The Prophets” in 1963, and I feel a
great kinship as the head of the JPS with
Heschel’s work.”
Rabbi Schwartz begins each of his chap-
ters — each dedicated to one official or
unofficial prophet — with a biographical
sketch based on the information available
in the Bible and fleshed out by his imagina-
tion. “I combine biography and theology
by taking an episode from their lives that
illustrates what their lives were about,” he
said. “Sometimes the biographical bits in
the text are sparse, but I elaborate on it by
what I call creative first-person midrash.
I have the prophets themselves speaking
in the first person, and I take some poetic
license to do it.”
Among the prophets Rabbi Schwartz
writes about are Judah, who walks the
“path of repentance,” he said. “Judah is
the first character in the Bible who under-
goes what we think of as repentance, and
he changes.” And then there is Caleb the
spy, “who had the audacity and the cour-
age to stand up to his fellow spies, and he
countered their terribly pessimistic report
about the land they were about to enter
with a more optimistic report. He was an
example of someone whose spirit gave
him the ability to stand forward.
“And the prophets are not all doom
and gloom,” Rabbi Schwartz continued.
“Some of it is about compassion, forgive-
ness, kindness, and hope. All of this is
very much part of the prophetic message.
That’s the second group, compassion. And
then there’s the third one, walking humbly
with your God. That’s the path of joy and
faith and humility and wisdom; it’s more
about internal characteristics.”
So, will his keynote address at Sweet
Tastes of Torah be overtly political? It
probably depends on how you define
political, and for that matter how you
define overt.
“I definitely will reference what is going
on today,” Rabbi Schwartz said. “I am
going to recall the names of so many peo-
ple caught up in scandal today, without
dwelling on any of the particular individu-
als or the details of their stories. But I do
want to begin by painting a picture of the
sordid state of affairs. I certainly will men-
tion political figures and the figures in the
worlds of entertainment and the like who
have been caught up in political and sexual
scandals, without going into detail.
“And then I will move directly to the
message of the prophets, which is about
not making ethics peripheral. They should
be central to our lives.
“Character truly counts. To all those
who say that our leaders’ character does
not matter, the prophets would say that
you can never separate character from
the office. It’s reaffirming an old-fashioned
message, that leadership is not just about
a person’s ability, but about that person’s
character. It’s not just about their ability
but also their integrity.”
And then, of course, after all the discus-
sion and soul-searching, there always is
dessert.
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Local
Know your enemy
JCC U speaker talks about North Korea, and the dangers it presents
JOANNE PALMER
The most important thing to know, Dr.
Tom Grunfeld said, is that Kim Jong-un
is not a madman. In fact, his actions are
rational, given the choices he has.
Wait. What? And who is this Dr. Grun-
feld anyway?
Dr. Grunfeld is a SUNY distinguished
teaching professor at Empire State College
of the State University of New York. He
specializes in East Asian studies, and has
made many trips to the region, as well as
to other places around the world. Although
his particular focus generally is on China
and Tibet, he also studies North Korea; in
fact, and unusually, he’s been there.
So when he talks about the dangers of
misunderstanding Kim, as he will at the
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades on January
25 (see box), he knows what he’s talking
about.
“There are two things that are going on
in the major media,” Dr. Grunfeld said.
“One is the cartoonization of the North
Korean leadership. That is very danger-
ous. When you don’t take an opponent
seriously, you can’t really deal with him.
“The United States had contempt for the
Vietnamese when it was in Viet Nam, and
so did the French before them. And they
both lost.”
He is not saying that Kim is anything but
monstrous, he added. Nonetheless, “it is
quite brilliant, in fact, what he is doing,
from his perspective. Heightening tension,
and then agreeing to talks. It’s very clever.”
CNN quoted Condoleezza Rice, Presi-
dent George W. Bush’s secretary of state, as
making the same point last week, he noted.
Meanwhile, the United States is over-
riding South Korea, because “the United
States just wants to be in control,” he said.
“That’s part of American exceptionalism,
the idea that we know what’s best for you.
It happened in the Korean War, it hap-
pened in Vietnam; it happened repeatedly
and it continues to happen.
“It is at our peril if we don’t understand
who our opposition is, because then we
can’t make serious, coherent, practical,
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is,
“What are you doing for others?”
Become a volunteer. Join a committee. Donate your time and resources.
Offices in Teaneck, Wayne and Fair Lawn • 201-837-9090 • www.jfcsnnj.org
8 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
This March, Dr. Tom Grunfeld was in Israel.
do-able options to fight it. Telling Kim to
demilitarize before talks isn’t rational. You
don’t go into talks by first saying that you’ll
have to give up all your leverage, and then
we’ll talk. No one would do that.
“If you’re so weak that you’d do that,
then what is the point of talks? Then
there’d be nothing to negotiate. So the
first thing we have to do is understand
Kim’s perspective.”
The next thing Americans should under-
stand about the situation in North Korea
is its history. “The history is talked about
in academic and foreign policy circles,
and it’s no secret, but the average person
doesn’t know it,” Dr. Grunfeld said. “Twice
— in 1994 and in 2003 — North Korea
agreed to freeze its nuclear program, and
both times the United States backed away.
So in fact it has been willing to stop the
program in return for things it needed.
“In 1994 the North Koreans had a deal;
they didn’t have a single bomb or mis-
sile then. The IAC sent people there, the
Koreans locked up the labs and closed up
all the sites. But when George Bush came
into office they tore up the agreement, and
the IAC got kicked out and the locks were
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Answer the Question...
thrown away and they reopened the sites,
and they developed the missiles.
“A few years later there was an agree-
ment, first with Clinton and then with
Bush — and then the neocons sabotaged it.
“So it’s not that they’re madmen.”
It is not at all that he is defending North
Korea, Dr. Grunfeld added. “It is a terrible
place. But in terms of the nuclear agree-
ment, they have acted rationally. They
have certain goals, and they are willing to
compromise to meet those goals.”
What are those goals? “Power,” he said.
“The family — three generations of Kims
now — just want to stay in power.”
They are despots, he said; most of the
country lives in absolute poverty but the
inner circle does better, if not actually
well. (The family itself does quite well,
thank you.) “The Kims are absolute rul-
ers. They may have advisors, but in the
end they make all the decisions. And we
don’t know how they make them — we
never have had a high-ranking defector. It
is a very tight circle. The CIA doesn’t talk
to me, but my guess is that the CIA does
not have anyone in that circle.”
North Korea is “incredibly weak,” he
continued. “I don’t know what the annual
income is, but I think it’s under $1,000 a
year. They have serious food problems.
This new year’s message hinted at those
problems, which is extraordinary. The
people are stunted. The place is dirt poor.
They have nothing to protect themselves
with except this nuclear program.”
About 10 years ago, Dr. Grunfeld went to
North Korea. It’s hard but not impossible,
he said; when he went, there were about
The Kims are
absolute rulers.
They may have
advisors, but in
the end they
make all the
decisions.
2,500 tourist visas available each year, for
visitors from around the world. There is a
separate visa pool for Chinese and ethnic
Koreans, he added.
He went alone, not on a tour, because
he wanted to see as much as possible; he
stayed for the maximum time allowed
— nine days. He had two minders and
a driver; “they were with me 24 hours a
day,” he said. “I wasn’t allowed out with-
out them.”
There were two hotels in Pyongyang;
the one where he stayed, which had 40
stories, had very few guests. The minders
stayed in the hotel with him, but not in
his room. His room had electricity; theirs
did not. But most of the country has no
electricity — the internet has many pho-
tos of North Korea at night, a black hole
surrounded by the lights of neighboring
countries — so they were used to it, Dr.
Grunfeld said.
At one point he circumvented the
rules because he was invited to din-
ner at the Swiss embassy; he was picked
 @
Local
Free! Open to the Public!

s a t t e r
d ay h e ch
up and brought back home by a Swiss driver, not a S u n S c
North Korean. “Because they were diplomats, they
have a different status,” Dr. Grunfeld said. “The dip-
lomats also had internet access, which most people
don’t have. The elite in North Korea, though, do have
intranet access,” which allows them onto the coun-
try’s internal internet but not to the electronic world
beyond its borders.
“They” — his minders and driver — “were very
unhappy with my visiting the embassy, and they were
very glad to see me back, because if I had done some-
thing wrong, they would be punished.”
Although his minders were obtrusively by his side
most of the time, they were not allowed to eat with
him; that would make the sort of impersonal relation-
ships that were mandated harder to maintain.
Only the elite are allowed to live in the capital city,
Pyongyang; life there is better than outside the city,
but it’s not good, Dr. Grunfeld said.

a d
He has a striking memory from his stay there.

he
“I saw trucks running on wood,” he said. “They have

A
big oil drums in the back; some of them used coal, and
some of them used wood.

A M sts
“I have been in Afghanistan. I have been in Bangla-
ti
E
desh. I have seen poor countries. This country is really
n
Scie e)
ST
poor. It is really very poor. And all it has to protect
ou ng
rad
l
itself is nuclear weapons.

l or Y G
u
Does Dr. Grunfeld have any hope? “It depends on f th
ties h5
F ivi g
the day,” he said. “It depends on what the president
t ou
says.”
s- on Ac re-K thr
Overall, he’s worried. “We have no idea of what our
d or P
policy is,” he said. “One day the president says that Han a t f
we’re talking to them, and the other day he says we
are not. One day Rex Tillerson,” the secretary of state, (Gre
“says we’re talking to them, and the next day the presi-
dent says we’re not. Sunday
“The irrationality is on the president’s part, not on
Kim Jong Un’s. January 28 | 10-11:30 AM
“Until now, there was a policy about North Korea. Stretch your child’s imagination
We might have disagreed with it, but there was a pol-
with these hands-on design
RSVP
icy. This is the first time that we have had no coher-
ent policy.” thinking activities: www.ssdsbergen.org/sundays

• Make a density rainbow

Who: Dr. Tom Grunfeld • Create a glacier with slime Solomon Schechter
What: Will talk about North Korea at the JCC U
Where: At the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, 411
• Build a popsicle-stick bridge, Day School of
and more...
East Clinton Avenue in Tenafly
Bergen County
When: On Thursday, January 25, at 10:45 a.m.
Director of Academic Affairs
How: The JCC U costs $35 for members, $42 for 275 McKinley Avenue,
nonmembers. There are four meetings in the win- Andrew Katz will lead our family-
ter term; the cost for all four is $115 for JCC mem- friendly Sundays@ Schechter
New Milford, NJ 07646
bers, $145 for nonmembers.
And also: The JCC U is two sessions per meetings;
program.
at the second session, beginning at 12:45, Dr. Jer-
emy Dauber, a charismatic and charming speaker
who grew up in Teaneck and teaches at Columbia,
will talk about Jewish humor.
Find out about our inquiry-based approach
The JCC U offers coffee before the first speaker,
beginning at 10:30; participants are encouraged
and warm, inclusive community. Age three
to have lunch, on their own, between the two ses- through Grade 8. For more information or
sions. to schedule a tour, email us at
To register or for more information: Go to the admissions@ssdsbergen.org
JCC’s website, www. jccotp.org, and click on
Adults, then Lectures and Learning, and then JCC
U, or call Kathy Graff at (201) 408.1454.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 9

Local

Learning past differences

Tikvah Institute sets up new program for non-day-school students at Yale
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

What does Jewish thought say about big ques-

tions regarding public and social policy, eco-
nomics, history, war, and statesmanship?
Select yeshiva high school juniors and seniors
have had the opportunity to learn, discuss, and
debate such issues for the last six summers at
the Tikvah Institute for High School Students,
held on the campus of Yale University in New
Haven, Connecticut. The session this year is set
for June 24 through July 8.
This summer, working in partnership with
the Maimonides Fund, Tikvah is adding a paral-
lel track for Jewish students in public and non-
Jewish private schools. It will be called the Mai-
monides Scholars program.
The new program’s goal “is to train these
students to take on leadership positions in the
Jewish community on campus and beyond, by
teaching them a broader base of knowledge and
wisdom through history, politics, and philoso-
phy,” said Rabbi Mark Gottlieb of Teaneck, dean
of the Tikvah Institute for High School Students.
The institute is one of a number
COURTESY TIKVAH INSTITUTE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

of programs run by the Tikvah

Institute, a philanthropic foun-
dation whose mission is to foster
intellectual, religious, and politi-
cal leadership development for
the Jewish people and state.
Rabbi Gottlieb, formerly prin-
cipal of Orthodox schools includ-
ing the Maimonides School in
greater Boston and Yeshiva Uni-
versity’s high school for boys,
said the Maimonides Scholars
Program is not a religious out-
reach program but rather the
realization of his ambition to
address the interests and needs
of young Jewish thinkers outside
the formal Jewish high school Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is the dean
education system. of the Tikvah Institute for High
“We aim to reach these stu- School Students.
dents where they are, showing
them the sophistication and beauty of Jewish thought in a
nondenominational way,” he said. “We will have teachers
representing different denominations, and students won’t
be expected to adopt Orthodox practice. We don’t intend
to convey an exclusive or monolithic view of Judaism.
When students are exposed to Jewish texts and ideas that
speak to them, we expect they’ll grow closer to Judaism,
wherever they are in their practices and beliefs.”
Each track will accept 60 students who are assessed as
exceptionally “passionate about ideas, reading, and debat-
ing contemporary ideas, questions, and policy.”
While the Tikvah Scholars and Maimonides Scholars
sessions will be separate and geared to each cohort’s edu-
cational background, there will be integrated experiences,
including a debate workshop. Both cohorts will be pro-
vided with kosher cuisine and a choice of non-mandatory
Shabbat options for prayer, meditation, and study.
All 120 students are urged to “see each other as real
allies in the struggle to represent and live their Judaism
in a deep, sophisticated, and proud fashion, building
Students of diverse backgrounds will learn together as Maimonides Scholars.
up to the time when they arrive at college who has a master’s degree in divinity from Harvard and
together,” Rabbi Gottlieb said. teaches Bible and Jewish identity at SAR High School in
Graduates of Jewish schools aren’t nec- Riverdale, N.Y.
essarily better equipped for philosophical Other seminar leaders or guest lecturers this summer
challenges they will encounter in secular include National Jewish Book award-winning authors Dan-
higher education, he added. “Most Jewish iel Gordis and Dara Horn; former NYU President John Sex-
day schools spend a lot of time teaching Jew- ton; Michael Doran, an expert in U.S. policy toward the
ish texts and preparing kids for college, but Middle East, radical Islam, and the Arab-Israeli conflict;
spend less time on the space between Jew- Tulane professor of philosophy and Jewish studies Ronna
ish thought and the contemporary world. Burger; Darren Staloff, professor of history at City Col-
The students come out with a strong Jewish lege and City University of New York; and Kate Havard, a
identity, but when confronted with intel- research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democ-
lectual counter-narratives and social and racies specializing in economic warfare.
moral trends opposed to tradition — includ- “It’s an exciting group of people and will lead to a
ing questions having to do with Zionism, vibrant learning environment where students can ask
sexual ethics, and pluralism — they struggle tough questions,” Rabbi Gottlieb said.
to respond in a thoughtful and sophisticated way.” An essay contest launched in honor of the inaugural
The sense of community and the experience of learning Maimonides Scholars Program asks juniors and seniors
ideas of substance are what led Jared Mayer, a member of from public and private non-Jewish high schools to con-
the 2013 cohort of Tikvah Scholars, to continue participat- sider “What does it mean to be both an American and
ing in Tikvah programs during his gap year in Israel and a Jew? How do these two identities inform each other?
during college at Johns Hopkins, where he is a senior phi- How do they complement each other — and how are
losophy major. they in tension?” The submission deadline is January
“It inspired in me a great sense of intrigue in Jewish 22; the first prize is $5,000 and a scholarship to the Mai-
questions and ideas that I would later pursue during my monides Scholars Program. Three runners-up each will
time in college,” Mr. Mayer, who grew up in East Bruns- receive $1,000 and a scholarship to the Maimonides
wick and whose family now lives in Teaneck, said. “It pro- Scholars Program.
vides an introduction to great Jewish and Western texts Applications for Tikvah Scholars will be accepted until
and ideas as well as a community of like-minded people February 4, and for Maimonides Scholars until February
for kids who feel drawn by these big questions but have 16. The total cost for either program is $400, which cov-
little to no outlet in high school to pursue them.” ers a portion of the actual costs for books, materials, and
Lecturers and seminar leaders in the summer program food. All other onsite program expenses, including hous-
include at least two others with roots in Teaneck. They are ing, are fully subsidized. Merit- and need-based financial
Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, professor of Jewish history and aid is available.
Jewish thought at Yeshiva University and senior scholar For more information or to apply, go to www.Mai-
at its Center for the Jewish Future, and Shuli Taubes, monidesScholars.org.

10 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018


Submission
Orthodox rabbi explains personal autonomy vs.
communal survival to Reform group in River Edge
JOANNE PALMER
Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter of Teaneck is Orthodox, and
the university professor of Jewish history and Jewish
thought and senior scholar at the Center for the Jewish
Future at Yeshiva University.
Rabbi Paul Jacobson of River Edge is Reform; he leads
Temple Avodat Shalom there.
Perhaps surprisingly, the two rabbis not only know
each other, but are friends. They met in Israel at a con-
ference in 2009, when Rabbi Jacobson was a fellow as
part of the Nachum Goldmann International Fellowship,
run by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture,
and Rabbi Schacter was a teacher there. Rabbi Jacob-
son considers Rabbi Schacter to be a mentor, and Rabbi
Schacter speaks warmly of the time they and their wives
spent together in Australia, where Rabbi Jacobson, who
was born in Marlboro, had held a pulpit, and where Rabbi
Schacter was on a speaking tour.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, Rabbi Schacter will
teach and lead a discussion at Avodat Shalom. The pro-
gram is called Java Nagila; it is, Rabbi Jacobson said, “the
Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter Rabbi Paul Jacobson
temple’s quarterly Sunday morning schmoozefest” — Java
is not a typo but a nod to the coffee that fuels it — and this
month it will be the venue for a serious discussion. (See
box for details.)
“The title of the program is Orthodox and Reform
Local
Judaism — Our Shared Past, Present, and Future,”
Rabbi Jacobson said. “We have had much interest in
our congregation in interfaith relations, and now there
has been interest in intrafaith relations as well, in order
to have us understand each other on a deeper level. So
I asked Rabbi Schacter if he would come to speak, and
he said yes. We are very excited about having him.
“Our goal is to heighten the discussion of pluralism
and the different possible interpretations and opportu-
nities and approaches to Jewish life. There is a question
about how many Orthodox Jews do we know person-
ally, and how many of them have we had a chance to
have a dialogue with. I asked Rabbi Schacter to come
so we could speak face to face with someone who rep-
resents that part of the Jewish community, so we could
open that dialogue.”
His own relationship to the Orthodox community is
close and deep, Rabbi Jacobson added; his sister-in-law
and her family belong to that community, and so do many
of his friends in Sydney. “They have been welcoming and
embracing and supportive and open to dialogue,” he said;
he is hoping that his congregation will come to feel as
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 11
Local

VOL
U NTE
ER
MA
CAL EK
JAN
. LS!
28 U IGN
From left, Yocheved and JJ Schechter and Lisa

S and Paul Jacobson in Sydney last year.

201 VOL P TO
much warmth toward the Orthodox world as he does.
Rabbi Schacter welcomes the opportunity to pres-

8 SUP
ent Orthodoxy, in all its unyielding beauty, to Rabbi

UNT
Jacobson’s Reform congregation. “I feel that there is

SUN ER
too much distance between the different denomina-
EE jfnn
j .o r
g /s R
tions in the American Jewish community,” he said.
upe “We need to talk to one another, to understand one
rsu

DAY
nda another.
y “I feel that Orthodoxy is highly misunderstood in

FED JEWI
the liberal community, and I welcome the opportu-
nity to explain myself and the tradition to which I am

ERA SH
committed, and to do so with truthfulness, and with
depth, and with sophistication, and to engage in a

50 EISENH TION
serious discussion with Jews who I consider to be seri-
ous, Jews who are interested in and caring about their
own Jewishness and the future of the American Jewish
community,” he said. “We are living in a time when
most American Jews are not denominationally affili-
D O RIV
ated at all, and those who are affiliated essentially are

E, P WER struggling to hold on to a tradition in a way that will be

ARA resonant with and in consonance with and certainly to

the extent to which it is possible, not in tension with
MU
Judy Taub Gold S contemporary culture.
“We have extremely different perspectives, and we
Dr. Bram Alster disagree fundamentally on many important issues,
but it is important to speak to each other. I always have
Co-Chairs welcomed the opportunity to engage in conversation
with members and leaders of the liberal community
throughout the course of my career. I believe that
speaking and understanding is centrally important for
the future of our community.”
He makes it clear that to speak is not to yield, and to
explain is not to relax. “I think that Orthodoxy gets a
CO N TAC T L AU R I E S I E G E L | l a u r i e s @ j f n n j .o rg | 2 01 - 8 2 0 -395 6 bad rap,” he said. “I think that Orthodoxy is perceived
as not being in sync with contemporary American cul-
ture but as representing values that are at odds with
contemporary culture.
JS-1*
“And I think that to some extent that is the case. And
TALKING TAXES AND
KLEZMATICS ARE COMING
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JANUARY 12, 2018

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individualism and the Orthodox believe in commu-

An immigrant’s tale
nity; the American need for freedom of choice and
Visit www.thejewishstandard.com and click on the Orthodox need, as Rabbi Schacter puts it, for
submission.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY There are some basic principles, he said. “Do I
accept that there need to be certain aspects of the tra-

JewishStandard
dition that I will commit to, even if they are difficult
N E W J E R S E Y R O C K L A N D
Jonathan Lazarus
remembers his

for me, because there is something more important to

y
grandfather’s journe
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED page 18
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1086 Teaneck Road
Jewish Standard

12 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018

 Local

me than my feeling good about the tradition? There is

the sense that I am giving up something for the sake of
ensuring that there is something more important that
will be transmitted.
“I believe that Orthodoxy is extremely important as
a vehicle to ensure the future viability of our commu-
nity,” he said. “Even if there are members of the lib-
eral community who choose not to live that lifestyle, I
believe it is incumbent on me to try at the very least to
help that community understand what it is that Ortho-
doxy represents.
“My question is the question of sustainability,” he
continued. “What can we do as a religious commu-
nity to establish a commitment to a religious commu-
nity that is sustainable in the next generation? Should
we not insist on some red lines that we transmit to
our children and our students that are not negotia-
ble? If everything is negotiable, then ultimately what
does Judaism represent?
“And if it can mean whatever we want it to mean,
then what core values are there that represent this
tradition?
“This is why I believe that Orthodoxy, as challenging
as it sometimes may be, will provide that continuity. I
will want to engage members of this congregation in a
discussion about their perspectives on this question.”
He understands the struggle, he said; he is part of
the outside world as well as the Jewish community. “I
am the product of American culture in the second half
of the 20th century,” he said. “I was born and raised in
America; I have a doctorate in near eastern languages
from Harvard, and I have been living deeply in con-
temporary culture. So I appreciate and understand the
value of individualism, and the all-pervasive nature of
the force and power of individualism in contemporary
American culture.
“But I think that if a religious tradition is to be sus-
tainable, the key question is how do I ensure that it
gets transmitted to the next generation. It is not which
part of the tradition I choose to engage in because it is
most meaningful to me.
“I submit to what I believe to be divine authority. I
submit — I am more than happy to sacrifice my individ-
uality for the sake of what I believe will best perpetu-
ate this extraordinarily blessed, rich, and meaningful
religious tradition.”
There is no small measure of irony in making a
personal choice for submission, thus giving up per-
sonal choice. Rabbi Schacter knows that. “My own
personal theolo�y is that I have chosen to abdicate
my freedom of choice when it comes to my religious
commitments,” he said. “To me submission is cen-
tral, and I think that part of the reason why Ortho-
doxy is misunderstood is because it is so radically
countercultural.”
He is looking forward to a discussion of these values
and choices, of individuality versus submission. “This
is not a top-down talk,” he said. “It is not a lecture. It
is a conversation. I hope that it will be frank and open,
and I have no doubt that it will be respectful. It cer-
tainly will be respectful from my side.”

Who: Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter

What: Will teach and discuss “Orthodox and More than 412,000 likes.
Reform Judaism: Our Shared Past, Present, and

Like us on
Future”
Where: At a brunch at Temple Avodat Shalom, 385
Howland Avenue in River Edge
facebook.com/
When: On Sunday, January 28, at 9:30 a.m.
For more information: Call the synagogue at (201)
489-2463.
Facebook jewishstandard

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 13

Local
Shabbat for Scouts
Franklin Lakes shul offers Havdalah, dancers, and dessert to all scouts
JOANNE PALMER
W
hen most of us think about the Boy Scouts,
the word “Jewish” doesn’t immediately
spring to mind.
When some of us — those of us Anglo-
philes who read about the Victorian and Edwardian periods
(yes, granted, a subset of those of us who occasionally might
think about the Boy Scouts) — think about the movement’s
founder, Lord Baden Powell, with the big moustache and
the funny hat and the many titles and the military history
and the African conquests and the muscular Christianity, we
don’t think about Jews at all. There seems to be no room for
Jews in this particular blinkered vision of scouting.
Who: Rabbi Joseph Prouser of Temple Emanuel of
North Jersey
What: Invites all scouts and everyone at all scout-
adjacent to Scout Sabbath 2018
Where: At Temple Emanuel, 558 High Mountain Road
in Franklin Lakes
When: On Saturday, February 3, at 7 p.m.
How much: It’s free; reservations are recommended
but not necessary
For reservations: Email Rabbi Prouser at
rabbi@tenjfl.org or call (201) 560-0200.
Born into literature
Hartman scholar to talk about relationship between Israeli literature and life in Closter
LARRY YUDELSON
R
achel Korazim’s work in teaching Israel through
literature is her second career.
After retiring from the Jewish Agency for Israel
— career number one — she went on to create
dozens of educational units showing different aspects of the
Israeli experience through the works of its writers and poets.
She does this work for Jerusalem’s Shalom Hartman Institute,
and at time, such as next Shabbat, as a scholar-in-residence in
places like Temple Emanu-El of Closter. (See box.)
Yet if you ask her when her connection to Israeli literature
was forged, she’ll point to a moment back before her first
career at the Jewish Agency, before she earned her doctorate
in education, before the year she spent in Montreal, back, in
fact, to before she was born.
Really.
Who: Dr. Rachel Korazim
Where: Temple Emanu-El of Closter,
180 Piermont Rd., Closter
What and when: She will give three talks
On Friday, January 26, at 10:30 a.m., “Echoes of the
Holocaust in Modern Israeli Literature” with Sisterhood
Study Group
Later that day, at 7 p.m., “Israel diaspora Relations —
Changing Narratives”
And on Shabbat morning, January 27, 9 a.m., “Voices and
Languages — Fragile Identities in Modern Israeli Poetry”
14 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
But that’s inaccurate. There is a
great deal about scouting that is Jew-
ish, according to Rabbi Joseph Prouser,
who not only leads Temple Emanuel of
North Jersey in Franklin Lakes but also
is a lifelong scout who now is the move-
ment’s chief Jewish chaplain as head of
the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.
Religion is deeply important to the Boy
Scouts, Rabbi Prouser says, and so is inclu-
siveness. So are Jews.
That’s why he is taking the Scouts’ Sab- Rabbi Joseph Prouser
bath, set for the weekend of February 3-4,
and calling that Saturday night, which will
begin with Havdalah, Scouts’ Shabbat.
It’s a way to bring together all kinds of scouts — active who are who they are at least in part because of the
ones, from Cubs to Eagles, and former ones (who are called
“scouters,” Rabbi Prouser said); boys and girls; Tzofim,
Israeli Scouts, as well as American ones; and mainly Jewish
ones but possibly some non-Jews as well.
To that end, the chair of the National Islamic Committee
on Scouting, Syed Ehtesham Naqvi of Wayne, who will be at
the shul, offering greetings from his community.
The program is also a way to bring together all kinds
of Jews; because the evening starts after Shabbat ends,
Jews from across the county, and representing the entire
spectrum of Jewish life, can get to the shul in time for
the program.
“The love of poetry runs deep in my fam-
ily,” Dr. Korazim said. “I was exposed to it
before I was born.”
That, in fact, is how she got her name.
Here’s the story she tells about her mother,
a Holocaust survivor from Hungary who
made aliyah “before the state of Israel was
born” and found herself lost on a kibbutz.
“My mother was a poetry lover,” Dr.
Korazim said. “She knew absolutely no
Hebrew. She could not find any other per-
son in the kibbutz she could speak Hungar- Dr. Rachel Korazim
ian with, except for one young woman. She
asked the other woman: Do the people around here have
poetry like we used to have in Hungary? Can you bring me a
poem and try to explain it to me in Hungarian?”
This was when Dr. Korazim’s mother was pregnant with
her.
“This young woman brought my mom a poem by a poet-
ess known as Rachel.” Rachel Bluwstein had made aliyah to
Israel at the beginning of the 20th century. Her weekly poem
in a newspaper, Davar, made her a pole star of the Hebrew-
language poetic firmament.
That first Hebrew poem Dr. Korazim’s mother had retold to
her in Hungarian “was about a barren woman who wanted to
have children and could not,” Dr. Korazim said. “This woman
wanted to encourage my mother, to say, ‘Look how fortunate
you are. You are going to have a baby, while this other woman
had it even harder.’”
Whether or not that cheered up the new immigrant — and
And non-scouts are welcome as well,
Rabbi Prouser said. In fact, it’s open to
everyone; it’s a way to showcase the scout-
ing movement. “And it’s a way to get scouts
of all sorts together in a religious context,”
he said. “It is a movement-wide annual
activity of longstanding. It was around
when I was a kid, and I think for decades
before that, but this is the first time that I
am doing it. I want to be sure that there is
a Jewish observance.”
He hopes that scouting alumni will
come because “it would be valuable for
the kids to see adults, in all walks of life
and professions, particularly in the Jewish community,
scouting experience.”
The evening will begin with a short, dramatic Havdalah
— and of course dessert — and then a performance by the
Medicine Wheel Dancers, a group of Boy Scouts from
northern New Jersey who are part of an internal honor
and service society called the Order of the Arrow. “It’s
a very talented and entertaining dance group,” Rabbi
Prouser said. “They do Native American dances, in cos-
tume; it’s a 45-minute performance.” (Yes, there are some
problems with cultural appropriation, he conceded, and
it’s a slightly questionable matter, but the scouts are well
aware of the issue, and handle it with sensitivity.)
whether or not she was further cheered by
learning then of the poet Rachel’s death at 40
from tuberculosis — this first Hebrew poem
and its author made an impact.
“I am named Rachel after that poet,” Dr.
Korazim said.
“In that poem, the woman says, ‘Had I a
son, I would call him Uri.’” Uri is the title of
the poem, which was made into a song by
Achinoam Nini. “I called my first born after
that child the poet Rachel did not have.”
Yet if Dr. Korazim was born into literature,
her turn toward it as a means to talking about
Israel came some 30 years ago, when she was a Jewish Agency
emissary in Montreal.
“Life was very different in the 80s,” she said. “We didn’t
have the social networks and the cheap phone calls. The dis-
connect from home was very difficult for me and my family. I
felt my disconnect from Israeli literature. I wrote to my friends
back home and asked them to send me new, interesting books.
“Soon, word got around Montreal that I had the new books
from Israel. First it was my Israeli friends who asked me to get
together for reading.” This couldn’t be a standard book club
where everybody read the book, since the books were so hard
to obtain. “I just had the one copy.
“Later, my non-Hebrew-speaking friends asked me about
the books. We studied homemade translations.
“One of the participants in those English-speaking groups
told me how meaningful it had been for her to get introduced
to modern Israeli literature. She said, ‘It was as if I had invited
 Local

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In the International Jamboree in Japan three
years ago, an Indonesian scout is flanked by
Rabbi Prouser, left, and Archpriest Eric Tosi,
national chaplain for Christian Orthodox scouts.

Everyone is welcome, Rabbi Prouser said, and he’s

particularly eager for scouts and prospective scouts and
parents of scouts and scouters to come, to be reminded
of the pleasures of scouting and to share them.

my listeners to my living room back in Israel and let them

listen to the intimate Israeli discourse, the kind of things
Israelis are saying to each other when you diaspora Jews
are not listening.””
This inspired Dr. Korazim to create her educational ses-
sions — dozens of them are on YouTube — for “people who
want to get to know Israel from a different angle: listening
to the Israeli discourse through Israel.
“Israeli society is pretty complex,” she said. “I want that
sense of complexity to come through. I collect pieces of
literature that talk against each other.”
One session she will present in Closter will look at the
impact of the Holocaust on Israeli society.
Another will examine the clash of the “very mainstream
Israeli demand that immigrants leave behind everything
and forget their culture and language” with the reality of
how the ancestral languages seep through in the poems of
the children or grandchildren of immigrants “who want to
get in touch with the earlier existence.”
Dr. Korazim brings in excerpts from authors who are
published in translation as well as from younger writers
for whom she provides her own translations. She also
brings along the Hebrew original. “Although we always
study in English, occasionally I will point to difficulties in
translation,” she said.
And if the idea of spending an hour or two discussing
literature brings back bad high school flashbacks?
Don’t worry.
“Normally I start sessions by asking how many hated
it back in high school or college when their literature
teacher asked them what did the poet mean. A third will
raise their hand and say they used to not like poetry and
literature and school,” she said.
“It’s not going to be like that. Just come and expe-
rience it.”

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 15

Briefly Local
Sports night features Simms and Simms
The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly
will host its first annual “Sports Night of
Champions” on Tuesday, February 13, at
6 p.m. The evening will include a stroll-
ing dinner, live auction, awards ceremony
honoring community leaders, scholarship
presentations to high school athletes, and
guest appearances by Phil Simms, the two-
time NFL Super Bowl champion and Super
Bowl XXI MVP, and Chris Simms, a nation-
ally celebrated NBC football commentator,
will support JCC scholarships .
The evening also will celebrate the
life and legacy of Joseph Taub, a former
co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and a
founder of Automatic Data Processing,
who will be remembered with the JCC
Lifetime Achievement award in recogni-
tion of the tremendous impact he had
​ J Yachad event co-hosts Zvi and Sharonne Rudman, left,
N
with NJ Yachad director​Chani Herrmann​, ​and co-hosts Ilana
and Jeff Gdanski​. PHOTOS BY ABBIE SOPHIA PHOTOGRAPHY
Englewood fundraiser for Mendal Balk Yachad center
The Mendel Balk Yachad Adult Commu-
nity Center, which opened in Teaneck
last year to support adults with disabili-
ties, has attracted many participants,
including Sara Gdanski, a former stu-
dent at the Frisch School in Paramus.
Her enthusiasm for the center spurred
her parents, Ilana and Jeff Gdanski, to
host an event, along with Sharonne and
Zvi Rudman, at their Englewood home to
help introduce the center to their com-
munity. The first-of-its-kind center is a
social spot where both Yachad members
and high school and college students
can spend their evenings enjoying art,
basketball, pottery, theater, and activi-
ties geared toward Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math education.
On January 6, the Gdanskis welcomed
New Jersey Yachad staff and their own
neighbors for a successful parlor meet-
ing to support the center. The guests
included Rabbi Zev and Chana Reichman
of East Hill Synagogue and Rabbi Men-
achem Genack of Congregation Shomrei
16 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
on underserved youth in the area of
athletics.
“We are proud to remember Joseph
Taub as a dear friend,” the JCC’s CEO, Jor-
dan Shenker, said. “His long-lasting impact
on our JCC and this community will live
on in our hearts and memories. He made
dreams of a better life possible for count-
less youth and it is a privilege to honor him
at our first annual Sport Night of Champi-
ons, which is so closely connected to his
lifelong love of sports and his desire to do
for others.”
Gordon A. Uehling III, founder of
CourtSense, will be honored with the JCC
Emerging Leader award in appreciation
for his inspiration and guidance to thou-
sands of aspiring young athletes in the
community.
Avi Tsadok of Englewood, a NJ Yachad member, with
guests from the Englewood community.
Emunah, both in Englewood. The Balk
family has matched donations pledged
at the meeting.
Chani Hermann, New Jersey Yachad’s
director, talked about inclusion, which
is the Mendel Balk Yachad Community
Center’s mission. “What makes this cen-
ter so attractive is that along with superb
programs, it provides dinner for its mem-
bers as well as transportation home, free-
ing up parents for other responsibilities,”
she said. “What’s more, the center offers
a warm and welcoming place for people
to build relationships, develop a sense of
community and independence, and help
them grow into meaningful adulthood.”
New Jersey Yachad offers both a vari-
ety of inclusive programs for people with
special needs and emotional support for
all members of the family. Opening the
new center was one of Yachad’s most
substantial undertakings in this last year.
“The Yachad Center not only offers
important services to kids with spe-
cial needs, but also offers incredible
PHOTOS COURTESY JCCOTP
Phil Simms Chris Simms
The JCC will present its first Scholar
Athlete awards to Tobias Zypman of
Cresskill High School and Alexandra
George of Northern Valley Regional
High School at Old Tappan. Both high
school seniors will receive $3,600 college
scholarships to recognize their athletic
opportunities for the entire community
to stay involved,” Ilana Gdanski said. “It
truly becomes a part of your life.”
Sharonne Rudman volunteered to co-
host the meeting after seeing the impact
the center has had on so many people.
“I recently attended a Yachad Shabbaton
at my shul — East Hill Synagogue — and
noticed that a lot of the kids that hang
out at the center were there,” she said.
“Seeing those kids and teens interact and
getting to know each other was so heart-
ening. I wanted to build on that experi-
ence by getting together with parents
who have children eligible to volunteer
at the center and letting them know just
how much it helps our kids.” High school
students and young adults can join mem-
bers daily by volunteering for, or partici-
pating in, a variety of activities.
“Fundraisers like this one are vital,”
Ms. Herrmann said. “The costs of run-
ning the center are high and continue to
climb as Yachad meets the needs of more
and more community members. This
excellence, academic achievements, and
contributions to building stronger com-
munities through youth leadership. Run-
ner up and honorable mention scholar-
ship awards will be given to four other
seniors.
The evening is sponsored by Michelle
and Scott Tesser and family. The event
board includes its chair, JoJo Rubach,
Kenny Albert, Noah Garden, Jeff Kurtz,
Steve Rosner, Danny Rubin, Craig Silver,
Gordon A. Uehling III, Tracy Wolfson, and
Barry Zeller. Early bird general admission
dinner tickets are $180 per person through
January 22; $250 per person after. Student
admission is $50. For information, includ-
ing sponsorship opportunities, and tickets,
go to jccotp.org/sportsnight or call Michal
Kleiman at (201) 408-1412.
Rabbis Zev Reichman and
Menachem Genack
fundraiser helped the center to keep its
doors open while maintaining the high-
est quality programming with appropri-
ate staff ratios.”
“The event was a special opportu-
nity for the Englewood community to
learn more about the center and show
their support. Community-building and
inclusion starts with us. Having the first
fundraiser for the center in Englewood
was moving and significant because the
center was named in memory of Men-
del Balk, z”l, who lived in Englewood.
His family still lives there and are active
members of the East Hill Synagogue,”
Ms. Gdanski said.
The Mendel Balk Yachad Adult Com-
munity Center is at Heichal HaTorah,
70 Sterling Place in Teaneck. It is open
Monday through Thursday, from 4 to 7
p.m. For more information, go to www.
yachad.org/newjersey/englewood2018.
For more information about getting
involved at the Center, email Racheli
Israeli at israelir@ou.org.
“ YU’S CAREER CENTER AND
ALUMNI NETWORK HAVE BEEN “
INVALUABLE IN SECURING MY
GOLDMAN SACHS INTERNSHIP.
Isaac Shulman, Mathematics Major, Class of 2017
YU Master’s Candidate in Mathematics 2019
RIETS Semicha Candidate 2019

At Yeshiva University, career success is a joint endeavor between students,

the Career Center and a powerful alumni network of 60,000 people across
all industries, who are motivated to help YU students. Through career planning,
resume coaching, interview seminars, and on-campus recruiting, Career
Center counselors guide students through internships, first jobs and on to
distinguished careers. Within six months of commencement over 90% of
YU graduates are employed, in graduate school or both.

Learn more about Isaac and other dynamic students at yu.edu/myyustory

www.yu.edu | 646.592.4440 | yu.edu/apply

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 17


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18 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Briefly Local
From left are Martha Cohen, Jan Seligman Weiss, Gale S. Bindelglass,
Susan Benkel, Bruce Brafman, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle,
Ariella Noveck, Stan Goodman, Simone Wilker, and Ron Rosensweig.
JCRC Advocacy Day
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Jewish Federation of Northern New
Jersey ( JFNNJ) recently marked Advocacy Day. A group from the JCRC met with two
members of the New Jersey General Assembly, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri
Huttle and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson. They discussed concerns including
homeland security, anti-Semitism, senior care, and Israeli technology.
Standing, from left, are Arielle Noveck, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson,
Rabbi Steven Sirbu, Ron Rosensweig, Gale S. Bindelglass, and Bruce Braf-
man. Stan Goodman, Simone Wilker, Susan Benkel, Sima Kern, Jan Selig-
man Weiss, and Martha Cohen are seated. PHOTOS PROVIDED
MICHAEL LAVES
Esther and Morton Fridman, Professor Sarah Rindner, Rabbi Daniel Fridman,
Debbie Laves, and Vincent and Carol Master.
Book discussion in Teaneck
Congregants and friends came together The club will meet again on Sunday,
to discuss Franz Kafka’s book “The March 3, at 8 p.m., to discuss “The Aleph
Trial” at the Jewish Center of Teaneck
on January 7 at the shul’s Leaves of Faith
and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges,”
focusing on stories that appeared in the
book club. Professor Sarah Rindner and
Rabbi Daniel Fridman lead the discus-
originally anthology “El Aleph.”
For more information, call (201)
sion on Kafka’s iconic work in a religious
Jewish context.
833-0515.
UPCOMING AT KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades
Winter/Spring Registration Open!
Sign up for programs for all your kids under
1 roof. Whether your child is sporty, artsy, sciencey,
virtually a fish, a ballet dancer, or loves the
spotlight - we have the perfect class for them.
Classes begin Jan 28.
Check out our website at jccotp.org/children to
see the complete schedule.

Family Fun Day

SPONSORED BY NEIL KLATSKIN SUMMER CAMPS

Enjoy an afternoon of fun camp activities including

sports, dance, drama, art, science, technology, as well
as face painting, balloon making, and more! Meet our
camp directors and camp specialists and explore all
the incredible summer opportunities for toddlers
thru teens.
SIGN UP FOR ANY JCC CAMP OR JCC MEMBERSHIP
AT THE FUN DAY AND RECEIVE VALUABLE 1-DAY
ONLY DISCOUNTS!

Sun, Feb 4, 1-3 pm, Free and open to the community

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MUSIC ADULTS KIDS

Gift of Music Tickets on Sale!
Join us in celebrating Leonard Bernstein at
100 and the Music Discovery Partnership
with the Englewood Public School District
at 20 at the Annual Thurnauer School of
Music‘s Gala Benefit Concert. Honoring
Tracey Blumberg and featuring Mezzo-
Soprano Naomi Louisa O’Connell and
outstanding Thurnauer Ensembles.
Sun, Feb 11, 4 pm
Visit jccotp.org/gom for tickets
JCC U—Winter Term: Keep Learning
FIRST SESSION JANUARY 25: Prof. A. Tom
Grunfeld examines US/Korean relations,
especially North Korea’s nuclear program; and
Columbia Prof. Jeremy Dauber traces origins
of Jewish comedy – from biblical times to
the age of Twitter. Register online or call
Kathy at 201.408.1454.
Thursdays: Jan 25, Feb 8 & 22, Mar 8,
10:30 am-2 pm; 4 Thursdays $115/$145;
1 Thursday $35/$42
Snow Tubing at Campgaw Mountain
Sign your children up for a fun night out at one of
our area's top snow tubing destinations! We provide
transportation to Campgaw and snack.
Grades 3-7, Sat, Feb 10, 7-10 pm, $50/$55
TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFO
VISIT jccotp.org
STAY IN THE KNOW! LIKE US ON
facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP

KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades TAUB CAMPUS | 411 E CLINTON AVE, TENAFLY, NJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 19
Cover Story
‘If I were a
Rothschild’
Fiddler on the Roof is back again – this time in Yiddish
JOANNE PALMER
H
ow much symbolism can one musical
carry?
“Fiddler on the Roof ” is more than 50
years old by now, and according to Zalmen
Mlotek of Teaneck, the artistic director of the National
Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, there hasn’t been one
day of those five-decades-plus when there hasn’t been
some production, at some level of professionalism (or
not), in some more-or-less obscure corner of the world.
It’s universal! It’s particular! It’s about Jews! It’s
about everyone! It’s about community! It’s about
exile! It’s about parents and children! It’s about love!
It’s about the lack of love! It’s about the deliberate
snuffing-out of love! It’s about arranged marriages! It’s
about love matches! It’s about intermarriage! It’s about
life! It’s about death! It’s about Cossacks!
20 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Not to be too portentous, it’s about the human condi-
tion — with singing and dancing, sometimes with per-
formers wearing really great, really high leather boots.
Now, from the company’s still-fairly-new home, right
beside the always stirring green bulk of the Statue of
Liberty, her torch ever high even when the poem at
her base is honored only in the breach, the Folksbi-
ene, under Mr. Mlotek’s direction, is going to present
“Fiddler” in Yiddish. In some ways, it will be a return
to the musical’s roots, which are deep in the Sholom
Aleichem Yiddish short stories that gave birth to the
show’s characters and some of its plotline.
The production right now is closer to the
dream of its producers than it is to a pol-
ished, finished product; the Folksbiene is
looking for a director, and then casting will
begin. There is a deadline, though — Mr.
Mlotek plans to open the first preview on
July 4, because there is that glorious and
stern symbolism pushing down on him,
inspiring him.
“The journey to decide to do the play
came first, of course,” he said. “When we
think about a Jewish play or a Jewish musi-
cal in English, of course ‘Fiddler’ is the
show that immediately comes to mind.
That’s because of its genesis in Yiddish.”
That’s true for everyone, but it’s particu-
larly true for him. “Since it was first pro-
duced in Yiddish in the 1960s, in Israel, it
always has had a special place in my heart.”
The Folksbiene’s
Amerike: The Golden
Land opened last July 4.

He was able to hear that early produc-
tion, he said, “because my family would
get the latest recordings from Israel in Yid-
dish.” His parents, Joseph and Eleanor
Chana Mlotek, were preeminent Yiddish-
ists, so when something happened in the
Yiddish theater, they knew about it.
“Fiddler” was a natural show for Israel.
“It was 1966, and it was barely 20 years
since the Shoah,” Mr. Mlotek said. “Israel
was full of Yiddish-speaking survivors and
their children, so you could imagine how
much of a hit it was, not only in English
and in Hebrew, but also in Yiddish. It was
successful to the point where they pro-
duced an LP” — that’s a long-playing vinyl
record, children — “and it’s still available,
and easily downloadable. It’s a wonderful
recording, and it’s one that’s stayed with
me for all these years.”
So now “Fiddler” is a natural for the
Folksbiene, but it is also the largest and
most ambitious production the com-
pany, which is building on the success of
its first production in its new home, “The
Golden Bride,” in 2016, and last summer’s
“Amerike: The Golden Land,” has ever
mounted.
“It’s still within our off-Broadway and
nonprofit status,” he said. “And we are
counting on the support of our commu-
nity to understand that we are reaching
even higher than we have reached in the
last few years.”
The theater at the museum seats 400
people, “but by the time we are finished
with the stage and the pit, it will hold more
like 350,” Mr. Mlotek said. He assumes that
the cast will be about 25 actors, and the
orchestra will have about 12 musicians.
That’s about half the number that a Broad-
way stage would hold, but it’s huge for the
Folksbiene. It’s somewhere on the cusp of
large and intimate. “And that’s the beauty
of it,” Mr. Mlotek said.
The Folksbiene will use the original
Yiddish “Fiddler,” the same one that the
Israelis used half a century ago (and of
Zalmen Mlotek of Teaneck is the Folksbiene’s artistic director.
course as always it will use supertitles). It
was translated by Shraga Friedman, who
was born in Warsaw in 1923, survived the
Holocaust, “and made a career for him-
self in Israel as an actor, director, writer,
and translator” until he died there in 1970,
Mr. Mlotek said. He translated into both
Hebrew and Yiddish. He must have been
extraordinary; to be a Polish-born Yiddish
speaker-turned-Israeli fluent enough in
English to be able to translate the tongue-
twisters of, for example, “My Fair Lady”
into Hebrew is rare.
(According to a 2012 story in Haaretz,
Mr. Friedman, working with Dan Almagor
in 1963, translated “The Rain In Spain”
into Hebrew with these lines: A Hebrew
equivalent eluded Almagor until his co-
writer Shraga Friedman proposed the
following: “Barad yarad bidrom sfarad
ha’erev” — literally, “Hail fell last evening
in southern Spain.”
“It’s a genius solution because it fits the
music perfectly, conveys the same general
idea of the original phrase, and allows
Eliza’s pronunciation to ultimately morph
from the deep gutteral “R” to the rolling
“R” sound that defined elevated Hebrew
at the time, thus demonstrating her prog-
ress,” the story’s writer, Brian Schaefer,
wrote.)
“The Yiddish translation of Yiddish
is so rich!” Mr. Mlotek said. “It is not lit-
eral, which makes it much more interest-
ing. Here is a survivor who came from a
religious home, looking at this text, and
translating and refining the Yiddish. And
of course because Yiddish is so infused
with Hebrew, that it is a beautiful blend-
ing of a real authentic Yiddish spoken at
that time.”
He gives one example, the song “If I
Were a Rich Man.” Shraga Friedman used
Sholom Aleichem’s version, “If I Were
a Rothschild.” (It’s so easy to hear Zero
Mostel rolling that rich word around his
mouth and easing it out with ironic awe.)
So it seems as if maybe this production
will lean away from the universal and into
the specific, doesn’t it? No, not really, Mr.
Mlotek said. “We are not going to do any-
thing different with the material. We are
going to present ‘Fiddler’ as Jerome Rob-
bins directed it, as Joe Stein and Sheldon
Harnick and Jerry Bock wrote it, as Har-
old Prince produced it. We are going to
present that version, which became so
ingrained in the consciousness and in the
hearts of thousands and millions of people
around to the world to audiences today.”
But — but — but. “But by bringing it in
Yiddish, it brings it that much closer to
the original conceit of the writer, Sholom
Aleichem.
“When the Japanese produce it” — as
Japanese companies famously have done
— “they always say that we can’t believe
that it was in English. That’s because they
hear it as a statement about Japanese fam-
ily relations and culture and sociology.
“In some ways, as my executive director
says, we will be bringing ‘Fiddler’ home
because we are presenting it in the lan-
guage that Sholom Aleichem originally
wrote the stories.”
Tickets for the “Fiddler” preview will go
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 21
Cover Story
PHOTOS BY VICTOR NECHAY/PROPERPIX
on sale for museum and Folksbiene mem-
bers on` February 11; on that day the Folks-
biene also will present a concert of early
Yiddish theater and vaudeville music.
Chris Massimine is the Folksbiene’s
CEO. As many people wonder but most
likely few are impolite enough to ask, Mr.
Massimine is not Jewish. He is, however,
in love with the Folksbiene, whose admin-
istrative ladder he climbed inexorably and
very quickly, and whose mission resonates
with him.
“The Folksbiene is the last one standing
of the Second Avenue theaters,” he said.
“And it is both the longest consecutively
producing arts institution in the United
States and the oldest continually operat-
ing Yiddish theater in the world.
“I love the theater, and I also find that
the Folksbiene is a cause that resonates
with me.”
Why is the Folksbiene putting on a Yid-
dish-language “Fiddler”? “It was a natural
thing to do,” Mr. Massimine said. “It was
taking a show that was derived from the
culture and the language and the stories of
Sholom Aleichem and giving them a home-
coming.” It wasn’t any one person’s idea,
he said, but had been floating unmen-
tioned in the Folksbiene’s air for some
time. “And finally some one of us spoke it,
and said that this is the right time to do
this, and it made sense. It’s so right and so
rich and so different.”
Why is it right? “It was targeted to the
times it was written in. The story that we
have is culturally specific and universally
resonant. It is a story not just of tradition
y Cover Story
and change but of survival. People from
all over have had all these challenges.
Everyone at some point or other has been
removed from their homeland and had to
deal with a shifting world.
“And of course this is the National Yid-
dish Theatre, and we are part of the Immi-
grants Rights Coalition, and I am chairing
it,” he continued. Immigration is an emo-
tionally contentious issue now; the Folks-
biene was a theater for immigrants, and
that truth remains, even as the complex-
ions and ethnicities and backstories of the
immigrants change, and as the Statue of
Liberty no longer lights the way to their
first steps on American soil.
Immigration, and the emigration that
necessarily precedes it, are complex and
emotionally demanding and draining
experiences, Mr. Massimine said, and “Fid-
dler” gets it. “When people think about
‘Fiddler’ they think that it’s all joyous, but
it’s not,” he said. “It’s a cautionary story,
and it has much darkness in it. That’s the
exciting thing.
“We are bringing back home something
that is historically contextual, and that
brings us back to the story at a time when
it’s more necessary than ever to have this
kind of response.”
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1 22 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Tovah Feldshuh performs at an earlier Folksbiene show.
Mr. Massimine’s path into the theater
was unusual.
“I am from Franklin, which is in
between Princeton and New Brunswick,
and here’s the thing,” he said. “My senior
year of high school, in 2003, I was the
class president. And our treasury had
been robbed — you put the money you
collected in water jugs then, you didn’t
k a r t i n g
201.333.7223
have a bank account, and someone went
off with it — and it was my responsibility,
so I had to come up with a plan.
“I had been a company management
fellow at the Brook Arts Center in Bound
Brook — essentially I was learning the ropes
of theater operations. So I said, ‘We have
to do something, so let’s put on a show!’”
He was in the right place. Before it was
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turned into the arts center, the building
that housed it “was a performing arts
space, and the first midnight theater that
showed ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ It
was the first theater in the country, even
before it started in the Village.
“So I said okay. It was the first year
after the Broadway production celebrated
some kind of anniversary year, so I went to
the owner, and said ‘I want to put on the
Rocky Horror Picture Show. They hadn’t
done it for a couple of decades — the the-
ater kept flooding, so they had sold it.
“So I said, ‘Okay, let’s try it,’ and before I
knew it I’d produced my first Equity show,
I produced my first benefit, and my senior
class didn’t have to raise a cent ever again.
“At the ripe old age of 18 I got my
first chops with a professional theater.”
Did the adults around him help? Not so
much, he said.
So from that experience Mr. Massimine
went to NYU, where he had planned to
become a biochemical engineer, and actu-
ally began the coursework in that field. But
how are you gonna keep them down in the
lab, once they’ve produced a show? He
was bored, and switched to dramatic liter-
ature, much to his parents’ dismay. It was
a far less practical major. Next, he got a
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masters’ from NYU in comparative lit-
erature. “That’s another reason I really
love the Folksbiene,” he said. “When
you study comparative literature you
are looking at things in more than one
language, and you can see the differ-
ences. You can look at the original and
the translation and see how different
they are.”
After he completed graduate school
in 2006, the enterprising Mr. Massi-
mine went on to work in advertising
and then in video games; he met a
lot of people, made a lot of connec-
tions, and eventually started his own
marketing and communications firm.
“I did that for about a month before
the Folksbiene grabbed me,” he said.
Three people made three different
imploring phone calls, asking him to
interview there. He did, he was hired,
he accepted, and he moved up and up
and up.
“I love it,” he said. “It is near and
dear to my heart. And the people
I work with — they are my second
mispocha.”
Mr. Massimine is Italian Catholic.
“There are so many similarities” to
Jewish culture, he said. “It is such a
1ST ANNUAL
rich, wonderful, welcoming culture.
And that culture paired up with per-
forming arts, and with the fact that it
is a real cause — it is a language and
a culture that is thriving now, thank
goodness, but it is always on the brink
of not knowing what comes next.
“Preserving it is important, and I feel
like I’ve found a cause,” he continued.
“It’s important because if we are going
to know where we’re going we have to
know where we came from. And the
origins of this theater are important to
me — it was the first theater of social
change in America. It represented the
immigrant masses who came here.
It represented women when women
were not allowed to go out unchaper-
oned. It represented the gay and les-
bian community when they were not
allowed to come out. And then it rep-
resented the people who those in gov-
ernment refer to as the others.
“This was the first progressive
theater, and that is something that
demands both memory and praise.
“The culture behind it is so open
and so rich and so lively and so giving.
Coming here was a no-brainer for me.
I was sucked in immediately.”
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Mr. Massimine is always moved by
the Statute of Liberty; he is so moved,
in fact, that he detours from what
would be a more direct route so that
he can see it on his way to work. “It
is a reminder of all the freedoms that
are supposed to be inherent in this
country,” he said. “‘Fiddler’ is even
more relevant now than ever, because
we are in a state of crisis, with things
seeming to change all the time, with
no reason.
“This time now is in many ways par-
allel to the time of ‘Fiddler,’ with the
relocations, the desolation. It is impor-
tant for me and my staff, for many of
us, to look at that beacon of hope, and
realize that there still is hope.
“This is not a time to back down. It
is a time to be unified and engaged for
change, and we are the first theater of
social change. This is not something
we do out of necessity. We do it out of
duty.
“For 103 years we have spearheaded
something, and we will do it for the
next 103 years. We can perform in
front of a group that can foster and
lobby for change.
“It is the voice of the people.” Chris Massimine is the theater’s CEO.
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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 23
Local

Israeli Olympic skating team performs at the Ice House

Five Israeli athletes and other Olympians
from around the world will perform in “Ice
Dreams” at the Ice House in Hackensack
on Saturday, January 27, at 6 p.m.
The Ice House, which runs a figure skat-
ing program at its training center, will send
10 athletes — five are from the Israeli team
—to Pyeongchang, South Korea, in Febru-
ary for the 2018 Winter Olympic games.
The January 27 performance is an Olympic
send off celebration, and it also marks the
Ice House’s 20th anniversary.
“The most powerful and enduring
brands and businesses are built from the
heart, and they are real and sustainable,
the Ice House’s CEO, Rob Bakos, said. “The
strength and passion that our staff and ath-
letes endure is authentic and that of a true
foundation. We are thrilled to be able to
say that we have sent a team of skaters
to every single Olympic games since we
opened our doors.”
“Here at the Ice House, we are so proud
to have five members of the Israeli Olym-
pic figure skating team,” Olympic coach
Craig Maurizi said. “We have skaters come
The Israel Olympic ice skating team with coaches.
here from all over the world to train with
the best coaches, in one of the most elite
training facilities in the country.”
“The atmosphere at Ice House is
impeccable compared to that of skat-
ing facilities around the world,” added
PHOTO PROVIDED
Nine Petrenko, an Ice House coach and
choreographer. “We not only have ready
and available ice time whenever we need
it, but also have off-ice facilities on the
premises and an incredible support staff
on hand.”
The Israel Olympians are Alexei
Bychenko — singles; Paige Connors and
Evgeny Krapolski — pairs; and Adel
Tankova and Ronald Zilberberg — ice
dance. Galit Chait coaches all of them.
Switzerland’s Olympian is Alexia Paganini
— singles, coached by Craig Maurizi. Nicole
Rajic — singles, coached by Igor Krokavec
— is the Slovakian Olympian. Coach Niko-
lai Morozov will oversee Canadian Olympi-
ans Kaitlin Weaver and Andrew Poje for ice
dance and Brandon Kerry from Australia
for singles.
The Ice House is the home of more than
60 accredited coaches and it has housed
Olympians since its doors opened in 1998.
Based in Hackensack, the Ice House runs
one of the largest learn-to-skate programs
in the country and has done so under the
direction of Craig Maurizi since 1998. Over
the years, the Ice House has been home to
more than 60 Olympic and world competi-
tors, including Sarah Hughes, Miki Ando,
Daisuke Takahashi, Johnny Weir, Sasha
Cohen, and Oksana Baiul.
For tickets, call (201) 487-8444, ext. 232.

“May all our dreams and prayers come true”

“‫”שימלאו משאלות לבנו‬

Sunday Evening, February 25, 2018

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Marriott Glenpointe Hotel, Teaneck, NJ
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Yaakov Guttman
SINAI alumnus & star of this
year's feature documentary
Shomer She'erit Yisrael
www.sinaidinner.org • 201-833-1134 x105
Inserra Supermarkets, Inc.
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at the SINAI Dinner INCLUSION BY DESIGN®
TRANSFORMING LIVES
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he rose to
It is only through
Shimmy Stein Special tribute in memory of create his your compassion and generosity
our beloved Associate Director
Jacob Weinstein, A"H
own destiny that our vital work
can continue.
We accept gifts of appreciated securities

24 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018

Change Your Life
How to thrive in this broken world
RABBI RACHEL BARENBLAT
W
e live in a world of
trauma and tragedy and
outrage and constant
micro-aggressions. As
we start 2018, we look back at a year of
hurricanes and wildfires and mass shoot-
ings, of renewed bigotry by the powerful
and institutionalized violence against the
weak. It was a year that seemed a never-
ending battle, whether against the worst
impulses of our leaders, the weaknesses
of our friends, or of a natural world
pushed to the breaking point by genera-
tions of our abuse.
And yet, we begin again, because we
survived 2017 and 2018 lies ahead. How
can we not only live but thrive in this
world? I don’t have a single simple answer.
But here are seven suggestions.
Kindness.
Be kind to yourself in whatever ways
you can. Notice your internalized voices
of critique — maybe you knock yourself
26 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
for not having the spaciousness to pay
enough attention to the brokenness of
the world, or maybe you knock yourself
for not being able to make enough of a
difference. Those voices can be helpful,
up to a point. But they can also harm. Tell
your internal critic to take a break, and be
kind to yourself. Maybe that means taking
a few extra minutes to put on lotion and
be grateful to and for your body. Maybe it
means a cup of tea, or a walk in the fresh
air. Maybe it means clean sheets on your
bed and the laundry folded, or a bouquet
of flowers on the table. Do the little things
you can to be good to yourself, to replen-
ish yourself.
Temima Danzig, LCSW
Psychotherapist
121 Cedar Lane, Suite 2B
Teaneck, NJ 07666
TemimaDanzig.com
201.357.5796
Boundaries.
Maintain good boundaries. Maybe that
means being attentive to your social media
use, or your consumption of news. Maybe
it means taking one day a week away
from news altogether. (I suggest Shabbat,
for reasons that are probably obvious.) If
there are people in your life who deplete
you, try to find ways to minimize contact
with them. If the twenty-four hour news
cycle is wearing you down, take a break
from it. If the omnipresence of misogyny
and antisemitism fill you with despair (as
they do me), find a way to turn away from
them and focus elsewhere for a while.
This may feel like a luxury, but it’s actu-
ally a survival tool. Maintain good bound-
aries around your body, your heart, your
mind, and your spirit. This will help you
stay intact.
Balance.
Seek balance in your life. Maybe this
means work / life balance. Maybe this
means balance between engaging with the
broken world, and seeking respite from
Adjustment to
Chronic Illness
Stress Management
Anxiety
Depression
Life Transitions
Relationship Issues
Conflict Resolution
Grief & Loss
Work/Career Issues
Social Challenges
LGBT Issues
 Change Your Life

the brokenness. Maybe it means balance between
reading the news and reading a novel. Maybe it means
balance between focusing outward (on the world, on
the work that needs to be done) and focusing inward
(on your own heart and soul.) It can be tempting to
throw yourself wholly into engaging with the broken
world — there is so much that needs to be repaired!
There are protests to attend, letters to the editor to
write, worthy candidates to support, hungry people
to feed, systemic injustice to unravel. But if you throw
all of yourself into that work all of the time, burnout
is inevitable.
means making regular time for meditation or contempla-
tive practice. Maybe it means regular liturgical prayer - or
spontaneous prayer, whenever you feel called to speak to
the divine. Maybe it means spiritual direction, discerning
the presence of God in your life. Maybe it means talking with
Shechina in the front seat of your car. Open yourself to pres-
ence and let yourself be sustained thereby.
May our abraded places be balmed, and our hearts
be strengthened.
(These seven suggestions map to the set of seven quali-
ties that the Jewish mystical tradition says we share with the
divine - the seven “lower sefirot.”)
Rabbi Rachel Barenblat serves as spiritual leader of
Congregation Beth Israel (North Adams, Mass.). She is a
Senior Builder at Bayit: Your Jewish Home and is author of
five volumes of poetry including the forthcoming “Texts to the
Holy.” Since 2003 she has blogged as The Velveteen Rabbi.

Endurance.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. The great struggles
for justice, civil rights, safety in all four worlds (physi-
Welcome Home to
cal, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual), human
progress - these are long and their work will not be
complete in any of our lifetimes. Find a rhythm that is
sustainable and that sustains you. That rhythm might
be six days of work, one day of Shabbat. It might be
setting aside time each week for justice work - or set-
ting aside time each week for not doing justice work.
The work of healing our broken world is enormous.
It needs all of us, but it can’t be accomplished single-
handedly by any one of us. And if we don’t engage in
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In 2018, a strong resume
will get you everywhere
J
SANDRA LESHAW
ewish Family & Children’s Services In early
2016, JFCS, Jewish Family & Children’s Services
of Northern New Jersey (then JFS of Bergen &
North Hudson) kicked off Re-Launch Career Ser-
vices, an initiative offering one-on-one career counsel-
ing services to unemployed and underemployed mem-
bers of our community. We have provided guidance
and coaching in the various aspects of a job search,
including resume building, cover-letter writing, net-
working, interviewing skills and confidence-boosting
to well over 200 clients. Perhaps most importantly,
JFCS offers these no-fee job search services in addi-
tion to its clinical services, ultimately providing a wide
net of personal and professional support for those in
our catchment area.
Many of Re-Launch’s clients have been hired – some
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Facial, or some are less-than-perfect, but in all cases, the transi-
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Extension and a strong resume has been the starting point.
$60
To the hiring manager or recruiter, a resume reveals
a vast amount of information, much of which is not
about the candidate’s specific skills or experience. A
resume shows:
• If you are organized in your thought processes (pro-
viding clarity around what you did and when);
• If you have good attention to detail (consistency of
language and proper spelling and spacing);
• If you have a sense of aesthetics (enough white space
and a balanced, attractive, easy-to-read document);
• If you can present your case to those not necessar-
ily familiar with your background (limiting or defining
acronyms and industry-specific terminology).
A resume should stand on its own without additional
explanation. It should be a pleasure to hold in hand,
offering an easy flow of information.
Express your accomplishments in terms of “Action-
>Result” where possible. Avoid long lists of responsibili-
ties — that is a job description. Rather, highlight your
accomplishments and successes.
Hiring managers believe that those who present a
focused, professional resume will likely perform on
the job in a focused, professional manner. With that in
mind, here are some resume basics around the art and
science of expressing who you are and how you can
add value.
Let’s start from the very top. Although your name
should stand out nicely, it’s not a marquee and you’re
not starring in Gone with the Wind. I would avoid a
24-point font size. Although there can always be excep-
tions, in general, I recommend a font size of 14- or
16-point for your name, with 10 for general content and
12 for your section heads (Professional Experience, Edu-
cation, etc.).
City and state are important so the reader knows you
are a commutable distance, but in this age of electronic
communication, there is no longer a need for your
street address. If you plug your address into Google, a
picture of your residence appears, and that’s too much
More than 412,000 likes.
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information to put out there on a resume. The words
Email and Phone should not precede that contact infor-
mation. There is a big difference between Email: Sally@
XYZ.com and just Sally@XYZ.com. It depicts you as
much less tech savvy and oh-so-2005.
While we’re on the topic of email, best to steer away
from yesterday’s standard providers AOL or Yahoo,
and use Gmail. Format your email address as close to
FirstName.LastName@Gmail.com as possible. Also, an
email address is not the forum to be too personal: no
democratsrule@xyz.com, huntingdeer@xyz.com or
sexysally@xyz.com.
LinkedIn address — Yes! Include it if you have a good
LinkedIn profile. A potential employer is likely to look
you up anyway, but it’s nice to include the direct link in
your contact information as well.
A Professional Profile is a short statement about
who you are and what you offer; it typically stands
alone following your contact information. It is most
useful for career switchers to convey their transfer-
rable skills. A Professional Profile is different from the
old-fashioned Objective Statement, which basically
said: I want this kind of job to round out my experi-
ence. Conversely, the Professional Profile provides a
written snapshot of what you offer and how you can
add value. It should not be filled with “soft skills” like
creative, passionate, driven, smart, sensitive, thought-
ful, keen attention to detail, nose to the grindstone,
and great communication skills. Resumes are often
rife with these distracting “soft skills” both in the Pro-
fessional Profile and throughout the text, but here is
perhaps the most important take-away I can offer:
Focus on proving those soft skills in the content of
your resume, not stating that you have them. In other
words, show, don’t tell.
Tell is when a candidate indicates that they are terrific
at customer service. Show provides an example of how
they won over customers through metrics, quantities,
actions, and results.
Tell: “Excellent customer service skills”
Show: “Increased customer re-orders by 50 percent
over a six-month period.”
The best resumes, like great stories, are those that
maximize the impact of every word. By leaving out
powerless phrases about what you think of you (Tell),
you leave room to delve into Action->Result statements
(Show) which exemplify what you did. HR people
strongly believe that past experience is the best indica-
tor of future performance. So allow the resume reader
to extrapolate out your skills and strengths from the
record of your successes and accomplishments. If you
“Won the ABC Sales Award”, then I believe you are a
strong sales person. Show me, don’t tell me.
And in the end, when you wind up with a great
resume, or need some help getting there, please feel
free to show me.
Happy job searching and happy 2018.
Sandra Leshaw is the director of Re-Launch Career
Services at the Jewish Family and Children’s Services of
Northern New Jersey.
facebook.com/jewishstandard
 Aaah-sisted Living
Lester Style
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Our residents enjoy:

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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 29

Change Your Life
Time for a change
How hiring a professional caregiver can improve everyone’s health
C
hange can be difficult and often only occurs when the current situation is taking a toll, it may be time to make
the status-quo becomes untenable. If you are one of a change.
the more than 43 million Americans who provide It is well documented that family caregivers are at an
care to a loved one, 2018 may be the year to make increased risk for psychological and physical illness. The
a change that will improve your health and the health of the stress of caregiving can lead to depression and other men-
person you are caring for. If you are feeling overwhelmed and tal health issues, and increases the risk of a compromised
immune system. The physical demands of caregiving,
coupled with caregivers’ tendency to neglect their own
needs, often lead to deteriorating health. One way to pro-
tect your health is to share the caregiving. This can often
loving south florida! be accomplished by hiring a certified home health aide
through an agency. While the aide’s primary purpose is to
provide care to the frail and elderly, family caregivers can
also reap the benefits of having an aide in place.
Hiring an aide reduces both the physical and emo-
tional tolls of caregiving. Professional aides are trained
in providing personal care. You will no longer have to
worry about the physical demands associated with mov-
ing, dressing and bathing your loved one. The presence
of an aide also gives the family caregiver the gift of time.
Find your place is the sun. With an aide in place, family caregivers have opportu-
Call Phyllis Futeran MalMuth, Realtor ® nities for respite and have breaks to do things on their
own. This can include exercising, going to the doctor,
Buying or Selling, attending a meeting for work, or just enjoying down
I get results!
time. The flexibility to take care of your own needs along
with the peace of mind of having proper coverage can
I continue to close for my clients. reduce your stress level.
Waterfront • Country Clubs Having time to care for oneself improves mental and
Active Adult Communities physical health of both the elderly client and the family
caregiver. In addition, families often report improved
Call me today! relationships with their loved ones when a professional
P: 561.265.1121 • C: 561.926.4715 aide is added to the caregiving team. Rather than being
phylfut@gmail.com
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30 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
pre-occupied with a never-ending to-do list, children
can again visit with their parents, rather than worry-
ing if lunch has been made or the laundry has been
done. Families can focus on emotional relationships
rather than care needs. Parent-child boundaries can
also be maintained or restored when children are not
responsible for their parent’s personal care.
It can be challenging for family caregivers and their
care recipients to accept help, especially in a culture
that values independence and the “can do” spirit.
Suggesting that an aide be hired can be further com-
plicated by family expectations and feelings of guilt.
Many family caregivers feel it is their responsibility
to tend to your loved ones’ needs. In reality, how-
ever, hiring an aide is likely to improve your health
and the health of your loved one. The addition of an
aide insures that your needs, as well as the needs of
your family member, are taken care of. Reducing your
stress and improving your health will improve your
ability to be an effective caregiver and will increase
the chances that you will be able to provide care this
year and beyond. Change can be difficult and cause
feelings of uneasiness. Ultimately, however, this is a
change that is beneficial to all.
Freedom Home Healthcare, located in Hackensack,
is a CHAP-accredited Health Service Firm. Founded
in 2003 by a group of dedicated and compassionate
experts in geriatrics, Freedom represents more than
200 years of professional experience in aging and pro-
vides care in private homes, hospitals, and facilities.
You can learn more at freedom-homehealthcare.com
or by calling (201) 883-1200
Stronger Together event
to empower women
through self-defense
and health screening
Women are invited to attend “Stronger Together,” a
free event focused on women’s health, motivation,
and empowerment. The Cancer Support Community
of Holy Name Medical Center is hosting the event on
Wednesday, January 24 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
in the lobby of Westy Self Storage at 65 Commerce
Way in Hackensack.
Holy Name gynecologic oncologist Dr. Maria
Schiavone will discuss cervical cancer, one of the
most common female cancers, screening recom-
mendations, early detection, prevention, and treat-
ment. The talk will be followed by an interactive
self-defense class designed to promote a healthier,
stronger sense of self.
Healthy food and refreshments will be provided.
To register, visit holyname.org/strongertogether
or call (201) 833-3336.
 Change Your Life

Learn about independent and assisted living options

and dementia care at Whippany senior living community
The Lester Senior Housing Community in Whippany available in the Memory Care Suite. These short-term stays Family Jewish Community Campus. It is one of four senior
will host open houses on Wednesday, January 24 and include many of the amenities that full-time residents enjoy, living communities owned and managed by the Jewish
January 31 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Seniors and their and those who would like to make Lester Senior Hous- Community Housing Corporation of Metropolitan New Jer-
family members are invited to tour the distinctive ing Community their permanent home may do so based sey ( JCHC). For more information about the Memory Care
senior residence, including the new Memory Care on availability. Suite, respite stays or the community’s independent and
Suite. The tour will start in the living room off the The Lester Senior Housing Community is located at 901- assisted living options, contact David Rozen or visit www.
lobby of the community’s Heller Independent Living 903 Route 10 East in Whippany, on the Alex Aidekman jchcorp.org.
Apartments, where light refreshments will be served.
To RSVP for the open house, contact David Rozen at
(973) 929-2725 or davidr@jchcorp.org.
Visitors will have a chance to get information about:
• Memory Care at Lester — Available for adults ages
62 and older with a dementia-related diagnosis. The
community’s caregivers provide highly personalized
care that focuses on the individual’s well-being at
all times in intimate, supportive surroundings. This
person-centered dementia care supports each resi-
dent’s specific needs with a focus on comfort and
calm while also engaging each person with meaning-
ful activities.
• Short-term respite stays — Seniors can sample
the Lester lifestyle with a short-term respite stay in
LEADING THE NATION IN NEUROSURGERY
the Weston Assisted Living Residence. These accom-
modations are for seniors who need some help with
the tasks of daily living and are available for anywhere
from ten days to two months. Respite stays are also
Among the Top 5% of U.S. Hospitals

2018 Healthgrades® Recognitions

Adler Aphasia Center
welcomes yoga
enthusiasts
Adler Aphasia Center will be holding its fourth Yog-
Aphasia! event to raise awareness about aphasia at its
flagship center in Maywood on Saturday, February 3
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Guest instructor will be Kris-
tine Deer, founder, CEO, and designer of K-DEER, a
luxury activewear brand made 100 percent in the U.S.
YogAphasia! is a vinyasa yoga class for all levels and
will be followed by yoga nidra at the center. Attendees
should bring their own mat, towel, and water. Chair
Yoga will also be available for those with disabilities
Top quality care.
and for anyone else in the community who wishes to
participate. The center is located at 60 West Hunter Again and again.
Avenue in Maywood and free parking is available on
the premises.
The Valley Hospital has been recognized by Healthgrades for superior clinical
Following the yoga session, attendees will have the
performance in neurosurgery.
opportunity to win door prizes, enjoy healthy food
and drinks provided by local businesses, and browse For two consecutive years, Valley has received the Healthgrades Excellence Award
an array of products from local vendors who will be and achieved distinction as a Five-Star institution for cranial neurosurgery.
participating in the event.
Limited space is available. $20 suggested donation In addition, Valley is the only hospital in New Jersey to be named among
if you register by Wednesday, January 31st. Suggested the top 5% of hospitals in the nation for cranial neurosurgery in 2018,
donation at the door is $25. To register for the event, and has been among the top 10% in the nation in this category
call Stephanie Perna at (201) 368-8585 or email her at for two consecutive years. Giving you the highest quality
sperna@adleraphasiacenter.org. neurosurgical care is our top priority. We believe it is
why patients choose us. Again and again.

ValleyHealth.com

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 31

Change Your Life

Innovative Pilates program

at Jewish Home at Rockleigh

C
reative new ways of providing
rehabilitation programming
keep our residents and staff
engaged at the Jewish Home at
Rockleigh. When physical therapist Har-
riet Surdi mentioned that she is Pilates-
certified, we seized the opportunity to
figure out how to integrate Pilates into
our rehab gym routines. Harriet has been
a physical therapist for the past 30 years
and has worked at the Jewish Home for
Brightview. five years. Her long-time interest has
mind arthritic conditions and coordina-
tion. Residents report greater strength,
flexibility, and muscle endurance by
practicing the Pilates moves. Posture
and balance are improved. This is espe-
cially important to help prevent the
incidence of falls. Older runners, golfers
and tennis players are examples of cli-
ents Harriet enjoys treating. Her aim is
to keep this population active. She also
has extensive experience working with
athletes, including elite marathon run-

Bright Life! been in rehabilitation of athletic older

adults. She has been certified as a Pilates
instructor since 2012 and specializes in
post-rehabilitation Pilates for orthope-
dic and neurological conditions. Harriet
says, “Age is irrelevant when it comes to
Pilates. Whether someone is recovering
from a total joint replacement or a spinal
surgery or trying to avoid surgery, anyone
can benefit from this program.”
Pilates was developed in the early
1900s by Joseph Pilates, a physical fit-
ness instructor. As an orderly in a Euro-
Discover exceptional senior living pean hospital during World War I, Joseph
used mattress boxsprings to keep patients
for Mom and Dad active. He fabricated a machine to exer-
cise while in bed and accelerate healing.
• Respectful, customized care In 1926, he opened a New York “body-
conditioning gym” using the apparatus
• Cultural and social events he developed. Many dancers and fitness
Inspiring • Experienced associates aficionados embrace this program. Core
ners and Olympians, and bringing them
back to peak performance after injuries.
Our rehab team now uses special
equipment such as a Pilates Barrel and
Spine Corrector Arcs to assist in spinal
alignment and improve coordination.
The Pilates Springboard and Pilates
Chair are used by our sub-acute and
long-term residents, Gallen participants,
and outpatient rehab patients.
Results have been remarkable. Harriet
said, “One of my residents was able to
return to tennis and world travel after
an infected total knee replacement.”
The program has been adapted to our
Parkinson’s residents as well. Harriet is
proud of helping improve general health
and wellness to promote healthy aging
and maintain independent living.
Ilana Dallas, director of rehabilita-
tion at JHR, comments, “By using Pilates

Bright Lives • Luxury amenities

for All Our • Gourmet meals
Residents • Specialized dementia
care neighborhood
Call Richard and Lindsay to
schedule your personal visit.
201.817.9238
55 Hudson Avenue • Tenafly, NJ 07670
www.BrightviewTenafly.com
Pilates principles include breathing, con-
centration, centering, and control. In
sync with our Parkinson’s efforts, many
of which center on controlling breathing,
Pilates was quoted as saying, “Above all,
learn how to breathe correctly.” While
similar to yoga, Pilates is a safe, non-
impact exercise program emphasizing
core (abdomen, obliques, lower back,
thigh, etc.) and spinal stability with arm
and leg mobility. Specifically, bending,
reaching, lifting, and stair climbing are
improved with the use of Pilates.
At JHR, Harriet has mentored our
therapists to execute a Pilates program
designed specifically with the older adult
in mind. Exercises are modified for the
needs of the aging population keeping in
methods, we are able to address the
whole body. That’s different from tradi-
tional exercise methods that are more
isolating. Our new equipment and tech-
niques will allow us to achieve results
that other therapy methods cannot.”
The therapists on our team are enthu-
siastic about the program. They have
experience in different settings and
tell us that the Jewish Home is unique
because we keep adding new modali-
ties and we are incorporating up-to-date
techniques.
As Joseph Pilates said, “Change hap-
pens through movement, and movement
heals.” Our aim is to transition our resi-
dents and community back to peak per-
formance and a more balanced body.

32 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018

HER JOY.

In perfect harmony.
YOUR PEACE OF MIND.

NEXT-GENERATION ASSISTED LIVING

MEMORY CARE IS NOW OPEN

Progressive, personalized care.

Experienced, compassionate people.
True, enduring peace of mind.

Learn more about Bergen

County’s only assisted living
memory care center by visiting
HarmonyVillageParamus.com or
calling 551-276-7200.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 33


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34 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Change Your Life
Breaking up is hard to do
Do you stand in front of your closet and
look at items that you know in your heart
that you will never wear? If you are like
most women, you probably have several
(dozen) items that you bought because
you loved them, but to this day, even
though you’ve tried them on a few (hun-
dred) times, you just can’t quite find the
(Resident, Lillian Grunfeld with her daughter, time or place to wear them. Sound famil-
Dir. of Community Relations, Debbie Corwin) iar? Don’t worry — you are not alone.
So why, we ask, do men not go through
this? Well for a few reasons. First of all,
men do care about what they wear, but
they aren’t wearing 4- to 6-inch heels.
Most of their shoes are comfortable and
THE PROMENADE
AT CHESTNUT RIDGE
easy to walk in. Their pants don’t hug
every curve (or emphasize every bump),
168 RED SCHOOLHOUSE RD. and they don’t really have to worry that a
CHESTNUT RIDGE, NY 10977 friend might have seen them in that suit
at another event. Not to say that men get
845-620-0606
away with everything, but their issues
PROMENADESENIOR.COM with clothing are different than ours.
Lucky guys! (Of course we absolutely
cannot condone wearing your pants up
to your chest or socks with sandals – but
that’s a whole different column.)
The late Nora Ephron wrote a great
PROMENADESENIOR.COM book about aging and how women deal
with all of the trials and tribulations
of getting older: “I Feel Bad About My
Neck.” Fashion and our wardrobe are
two of those issues. Gravity is a b——ch.
Truth be told, women today are aging
much better than the generation before
us. We run to the gym, to our Pilates,
yoga, boxing, and whatever class to
reverse the pull of gravity and for the
most part it helps. We eat less processed
foods, stay out of the sun, and bathe in
moisturizer. But it still won’t make that
Serving
Servingthe
theJewish community
Jewish community item in your closet that you probably
ofofBergen
BergenCounty
County for
for1213years
years should have never bought look great. So,
maybe it’s time to do a cleanse.
All certified home health aides
• Certified home
licensed, bonded and criminal
health aides
background checks New medical director of female pelvic medicine
• Licensed and bonded and reconstructive surgery at Valley Hospital
RN supervision & coordination
• RN supervision Valley Health System is pleased to
announce the appointment of Dr. Cristina
and coordination
Hourly, live-in and respite care Saiz as medical director of female pelvic
medicine and reconstructive surgery (uro-
• Hourly, live-in
24/7 live on-call service gynecology) at Valley Medical Group.
and respite care Dr. Saiz holds dual board certifica-
tion in obstetrics and gynecology and in
Complimentary
• C social work
omplimentary female pelvic medicine and reconstruc-
services
social work services tive surgery. She specializes in urogy-
necology, which is the care of women
• C oordination of
Linkages to other elder care with pelvic floor disorders, such as
pelvic organ prolapse, urinary inconti-
services with other
options nence, overactive bladder, painful blad-
elder care providers der syndrome, and recurrent urinary
tract infections.
Dr. Saiz has expertise in robotic sur-
gery and specializes in minimally inva-
sive urogynecologic procedures. She
offers a broad array of surgical and non-
surgical treatment options for women
At eDesigner Resale, we have become
the therapists of those closet break-ups.
Women come to our store, torn because
although they really want to keep things
status quo, the item still doesn’t fit, it’s
too short, too long, too tight, too loose,
or just really doesn’t look quite right. Or
the shoes look great — if you can be car-
ried into the restaurant and never have
to go through the pain of actually trying
to walk in them.
When our clients bring in something for
consignment that they are unsure about,
we make them put it on and offer advice
on how they can make it work. We can
refer a tailor, or help them coordinate
something that might pull it together, but
if it’s a no-go, we nicely let them know
that as well, and try to come up with
something that will make the break up
a bit easier (kind of like a rebound out-
fit). That’s one of the pluses of having in-
house stylists.
As one of our clients wrote recently,
“the ladies operating the boutique are
stylish, sometimes too honest, with
class, taste, and an incredible eye for
clothing that is complementary for
you. What every lady needs to know is
answered here. What to keep, recycle,
accessorize, slenderize and accentuate.
Visiting eDesigner Resale is a group prac-
tice to present you to a brand new you.”
So, bite that bullet, do that purge, and
when you are ready, come visit us for
some free fashion tips on how you can
be the best you in 2018.
eDesigner Resale is at 720 Anderson
Avenue in Cliffside Park. It is open Tues-
day – Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sat-
urday 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sun-
day and Monday. Call (201) 943-3401 for
more information.
with pelvic floor disorders.
Pelvic floor weakness is a very preva-
lent problem, affecting about 25 percent
of women. “Despite how common it is,
women often don’t feel comfortable
talking with their doctors about it. It’s
still a ‘big taboo’,” Dr. Saiz said. “I want
women to know that they need not suf-
fer in silence, that there are a wide range
of treatments available, and that I am
here to help.”
Dr. Saiz’s office is located on the sec-
ond floor of The Valley Hospital Kraft
Center, 15 Essex Road in Paramus. To
make an appointment with Dr. Saiz, call
(201) 221-0504. To learn more about
urogynecologic services at Valley, visit
ww.ValleyMedicalGroup.com and click
on Women’s Services in the Services &
Specialties drop down menu.
 Change Your Life

Valley named among nation’s best
hospitals for bariatric surgery for
third consecutive year
The Valley Hospital has been named one
of America’s Best Hospitals for Bariatric
Surgery by the Women’s Choice Award
program for a third consecutive year.
Valley is one of 422 U.S. hospitals that
have met the highest standards for bar-
iatric surgery set by The American Col-
lege of Surgeons and the American Soci-
ety for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery,
placing it among the top 9 percent of
more than 4,800 U.S. hospitals reviewed.
“We are proud to be recognized as
one of the nation’s best hospitals for
bariatric surgery,” said Dr. Melissa Bag-
loo, director of the Center for Metabolic
and Weight-Loss Surgery. “We are com-
mitted to helping our patients achieve
optimal weight loss, plus a healthier and
more enjoyable quality of life, by deliv-
ering outstanding and compassionate
care that follows the highest standards
set for bariatric surgery.”
Bariatric surgery on patients who are
obese and unable to lose weight using
traditional healthy lifestyle methods can
have a major positive impact on their
longevity and ability to fight disease.
An American Society for Metabolic and
Bariatric Surgery study found that the
risk of death from any cause is consider-
ably less for patients who have undergone
surgery than for individuals affected by
severe obesity who have never had bar-
iatric surgery. The data shows that cancer
mortality is reduced by 60 percent for
bariatric surgery patients. Mortality as
a result of diabetes and heart disease is
reduced by more than 90 percent and 50
percent, respectively.
“There are many women who struggle
with their weight, especially as they age.
For some, diet and exercise alone aren’t
enough and they need to turn to bariat-
ric procedures to reduce their weight
for their overall good health,” said Delia
Passi, founder and CEO, Women’s Choice
Award. “As the FDA approves more bar-
iatric procedures and treatment options
increase, the Women’s Choice Award is
helping women make educated, confi-
dent decisions about where they should
go to get the very best care.”
Valley’s Center for Metabolic and
Weight-Loss Surgery focuses on pro-
viding a multidisciplinary approach
to bariatric surgery, offering patients
personalized surgical options and a full
spectrum of medical and support services
their weight-loss journey and handle health
insurance and other financial issues.
to assist them in improving their health. For more information about the Center
In addition to Dr. Bagloo, the patient care for Metabolic and Weight-Loss Surgery at
team includes Dr. Bellorin-Marin, a bariatric The Valley Hospital, visit http://www.val-
nurse practitioner, a bariatric nutritionist, leyhealth.com/Obesity or call the center at
exercise physiologists, psychologists and a (201) 251-3480. Free informational sessions
dedicated office staff to help patients begin and personalized consultations are offered.
Dental Care for the Whole Family
Achieve the confidence and
positive attitude that comes
with a beautiful smile. We will
customize your care according
to your needs and desires.
Specializing in chipped,
cracked, and worn teeth,
dentures, and implants, with
care for your whole family.
Diane Jonas, DMD
General Dentistry
Daniel Feit, DMD
Prosthodontist
NJ Specialty Permit 5007
19 Franklin Street • Tenafly, NJ 07670 • (201) 569-4535

MIRIAM APARTMENTS at 2014 2015 2016

DAUGHTERS OF MIRIAM CENTER READERS’

CHOICE
READERS’
CHOICE
READERS’
CHOICE

THE GALLEN INSTITUTE

Apartment Features:
• 24 Hour Security
• Beauty/Barber Shop
• Healthcare Counseling
• Housekeeping
• Kosher Dinner Meal
• Rabbi & Synagogue on-site
• Recreational Activities
In a beautiful, suburban setting, experience privacy in your one bedroom apartment with supportive services • Shabbot Elevators
while remaining independent with dignity. Apartments are available to seniors age 62 and over and/or • Social Services
persons with mobility impairments. The Miriam Apartments, located on the 13-acre campus of Daughters of • Transportation Assistance
Miriam Center/The Gallen Institute, are just over five miles from Routes 4 and 17 and directly off the Garden
State Parkway. In addition, we are easily accessible from the NJ Turnpike, Routes 80, 46 and 3 and less than For a tour and/
15 miles from New York City. Independent living at the apartments is just one facet of the continuum of care or application call
offered at Daughters of Miriam Center. Whatever your needs might be — independent living, rehabilitation, (973) 253-5311
or skilled nursing care — the Center offers it all, in a Jewish environment, in one location. All apartments are unfurnished.

135 Hazel Street, Clifton, NJ 07011 · (973) 253-5311 · www.daughtersofmiriamcenter.org

Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen Institute is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 35

Change Your Life

OUTSTANDING
SKILLED

• Skilled and experienced caregivers Change your

• Warm, home-like environment life at Brightview
New Jersey and New York seniors and their families
• Serving Bergen County for more say they can’t get enough of Brightview.

than 40 years Brightview Tenafly and Brightview Paramus were

incredibly well-received when they opened in 2015
and 2016, respectively. Now, with Brightview Lake
• Special diets/kosher meals Tappan, Brightview is opening in Orangeburg, New
accommodated York, this fall.
Make life bright and discover the carefree life-
style, personalized services, and incredible amenities
Ask about our respite care program! at Brightview.
Brightview is committed to creating vibrant senior
living communities by providing excellent service and
133 County Rd. Tenafly, NJ • 201.567.7800 • www.countymanor.com quality care. With the innovative SPICE philosophy,
Brightview incorporates five dimensions of wellness
— Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Cultural, and Emo-
tional — so residents can lead their best, most fulfilling
lives possible.
Plus, Brightview’s all-inclusive monthly rental – with
no large entrance fee — makes Brightview especially

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appealing. For those needing additional support, our
comprehensive and personalized care plans address
residents’ individual desires, wishes, and care needs.
Brightview Tenafly features Assisted Living apart-
ment homes and Wellspring Village, Brightview’s
Excellence in fashion eyewear innovative program and specialized environment
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est Avenue.
And, Brightview Lake Tappan will feature Indepen-
Go crazy with colors from dent Living, Assisted Living, and Wellspring Village.
The Welcome Center for Lake Tappan is now open

iGreen! and apartment homes are filling quickly. Make your

appointment today to visit the Welcome Center at 61
Hunt Road in Orangeburg, New York.
Over 100 color patterns For more information, visit www.brightviewsenior-
to choose from. living.com or find Brightview on Facebook at face-
book.com/BrightviewSeniorLiving

Dr. Steven D. Starkman, O.D.

489 Cedar Lane, Teaneck Is there a fortune
201-836-9199 in your attic?
Who knew? There was a Rembrandt recently found
Eye Examinations amongst inherited collectibles owned by Teaneck
brothers. Do you have old paintings, watches, coins,
Contact Lenses judaica, jewlery, and other items of interest that you
wonder about their value?
Bogota Antiques & Estate Buyers makes house calls,
Mon. 12–5 • Tues., Wed., Thurs 10–5 gives free estimates and pays cash on the spot for sin-
Fri. 10–2 • Sun. 11– 2 gle items to entire estates. Call Conrad at 917-887-6465
Shomer Shabbos to schedule an appointment. He will travel anywhere
NJ Lic. #0A 4411 within the tri-state area.

36 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018

 Change Your Life

A mixed bag
RICHARD PORTUGAL
Mixed bag is such an intriguing analogy.
Take a brown bag, dump in whatever
you wish, shake it and, voila, a mixed-
bag of contextual substance. The results
are dependent on your point of view, the
“stuff ” in the bag, and how it pours out.
Such a simple concept and yet such a com-
plex result.
It is a new year and we have just
celebrated a crossover into new possibili-
ties and an endless horizon. Yet, we also
review the past year and the conclusion is
usually a “mixed bag.” There were highs
and lows, successes and failures, and glo-
rious prospects and inglorious missed-
opportunities. As a new year presents a
gleaming way forward, the review of the
previous year is usually a “mixed bag.”
And is not aging a mixed bag? It can be so
beautiful: a graceful entrance into our elder
years — years supported with rich experi-
ence, clarity of interpretation and thought,
buoyed by family, and graced with finan-
cial stability and societal acceptance. And
yet into the bag is poured life’s ironic pre-
dilections: medical issues, family distress,
financial insecurities, physical weakness,
and mental anxieties. The golden years seem
to be more the tarnished years — but that
would be the logical result of a mixed bag.
But once the contents are spilled out,
can they be intellectually and physically re-
sorted to bring some order to life’s new mix-
ture? Can we restructure the assumptions
of our youth to the realities of old age? That
depends on your point of view!
As a youth, old age was far in the distance.
Like an automobile trip, the destination
seemed forever cloaked in the misty horizon.
“Are we there yet?” was my ceaseless yelp.
And now we are there! In a trip that seemed
to lay far in the future, our destination has
arrived. During the trip, we were promised a
safety net—a net constructed of guaranteed
medical care, retirement without financial
restraint, good health and well-earned des-
erts. But what has ultimately poured from
the bag is a mixed blessing. On one hand,
we have lived multiple decades whereas
many do not get that chance. But on the
other hand, this is no quiescent retirement.
These years are fraught with problems that
demand our active participation, not the
leisurely pace associated with life’s golden
years. Financial issues, medical issues, psy-
chological issues, and physiological issues
all pour forth in too much abundance from
the mixed bag. It seems like our golden years
are no different from our growing years with
problems anticipated and unanticipated
springing forth from all directions. Except
now we are just older!
I have a client in her late seventies who,
when we first meet, had lost her husband
of over fifty years but a short six months
before. She suffered from arthritis, spoke
softly, had A-fib, and had an overall weak-
ness both physically and spiritually. She had
lived a wonderful life, but her senior years
were proving difficult. She was depressed
and seemed deflated and dispirited. Yet, she
had appraised her mixed bag and decided
to re-sort the contents. Although real life
issues were abundantly prevalent, she had
decided to confront those issues. She had
decided to regain control of her senior
years; she had decided to live, not afraid,
but with abundance!
Now that client is once again driving a
car; she is walking with a proper gait and
balance; her strength, both leg and upper
body, has significantly developed; and
her speed, reflexes and coordination have
improved dramatically. She realized that
aging offers a mixed bag of pitfalls and
potentials and she made a conscious deci-
sion to take control of her life. Her future
years continue to offer challenges; her
medical issues will remain a concern; and
her financial situation will require con-
stant re-evaluation. But she is in control of
her life. There may come a time when that
control will be taken from her, whether
from the mere passage of time or the
insidiousness of various medical issues.
Yet between today and the ultimate intru-
sion of time, she will make the most of her
mixed bag.
Perhaps that is all any of us can do. Per-
haps that is all any of us should do. Perhaps
it is all just a mixed bag—to be re-poured,
re-sorted, and re-examined anew!
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.

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Change Your Life

Englewood Hospital announces executive leadership appointments

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center has appointed
Dr. Stephen Brunnquell as president of its physician net-
work and Dr. Hillary Cohen as vice president of medi-
cal affairs.
Dr. Brunnquell’s position has been created in response
to a shifting healthcare model in which hospitals are part-
nering with physician practices to provide care to the com-
munity. In his new position, Dr. Brunnquell will serve as
the liaison between providers and MDPartners, the physi-
cian network of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center,
which, in less than six years, has grown to become a $100
million enterprise comprising close to 400 providers with
75 locations in six counties. For Dr. Brunnquell, who will
step down from his current position of vice president of
medical affairs at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center,
the decision was easy. “I am humbled to take on this role
and to help continue to shape and grow this great group
of doctors,” says Dr. Brunnquell. “As the industry contin-
ues to change, it is imperative that hospitals and health
systems have a firm grasp on the issues, concerns, and
happenings of their physicians — who better to understand
and appreciate that than a physician.”
Dr. Cohen, who is currently chief of emergency medi-
cine, has been selected to take on the role of vice presi-
dent of medical affairs following the transition of Dr.
Brunnquell. In her new role, Dr. Cohen will serve as a
linkage between the medical staff and executive leader-
ship of the hospital, with particular emphasis on popu-
lation health and projects related to clinical care and
efficiency throughout the continuum. Dr. Cohen will
also serve as medical director of Englewood Hospital
and Medical Center’s clinically integrated network. “As
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center continues
to grow and expand services beyond the walls of
the hospital, it’s important that high-quality care
remains at the forefront,” says Dr. Cohen. “It’s an
honor to assume this position and work with our
medical staff to continue to enhance our services
across our organization.”
“Dr. Brunnquell and Dr. Cohen have both brought
invaluable expertise, leadership acumen and passion
to their current roles, and we’re delighted to welcome
them to these new leadership positions,” says War-
ren Geller, president and CEO of Englewood Hospital
and Medical Center. “Having Dr. Brunnquell and Dr.
Cohen in these new roles will be a great asset not only
to our medical center, but the patients and communi-
ties we serve.”

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 Change Your Life

Meal planning made easy

JANET BRANCATO, MS, RDN Refer to any grocery store circulars to extra flavor and then just cook the meal

W
e all know that cooking is
much healthier than fre-
quent eating out or take
out because a home cook
is more in control of the ingredients and
portions. Unfortunately, it can be much
easier with a busy schedule to do the lat-
ter. I have many clients that struggle with
planning, shopping, and cooking during
the week, when the schedule is fast paced
and time is limited.
As a nutritionist, I try to come up with
practical solutions that can take the stress
out of cooking with some simple strate-
gies. You will also find that cooking at
home is more cost effective, so you will be
saving money and time!
It’s best to plan meals and snacks for the
week ahead on the weekend when there
is some extra time available. Look at the
calendar or your planner, and then glance
at the week ahead. Jot down some meal
ideas for each day, and then take a quick
inventory to see what you already have
and what is needed for the planned meals.
see if there are any sales on needed items
or even to get inspired based on the week’s
sales. Once you have taken inventory, cre-
ate a shopping list. Always shop from a list
to stay focused on needs of the household
rather than impulse buying.
I also recommend that you get the whole
family involved with the meal process by
involving them in the planning, shopping,
and cooking. Keep the shopping list in a
visual place so everyone can contribute to
meal ideas.
Flipping through cook books, maga-
zines, or websites can also give you great
meal ideas. Try one new recipe per week
if you feel like you’re in a meal rut. Some
great websites for recipes include eatin-
gwell.com, cookinglight.com, and meat-
lessmonday.com.
Choose simple, healthy recipes for meal
planning that make extra for leftovers. Try
to include a lean protein, vegetables, leafy
greens, and a whole grain like brown rice,
quinoa, or whole grain pasta. If you are
trying to lose weight, you can leave out or
portion a half cup cooked serving of the
whole grain starch. Enjoy some fresh fruit
for dessert!
Try to do some cooking ahead of time
such as roasting a big batch of vegetables
and using them for multiple meals. Cook-
ing soups, chili, or casseroles can be good
for leftovers or to freeze for future meals.
If you choose to freeze any leftovers, make
sure to label them with the date. You can
marinate or season the night before for
when you get home. Your dinner will taste
great because the entire flavor will have
infused into the food overnight! Cooking
doesn’t have to be complicated, keep it
simple and tasty with lots of seasonings like
garlic, onions, citrus, etc.
You can also check out some meal kit
delivery services that send the recipe,
instructions, and foods needed for a deli-
cious, healthy meal. These services can be
very helpful when you need new meal ideas
or just a bit of extra help on busy nights.
As a home cook, it will feel good know-
ing you are using fresh, quality ingredients
that the entire family will love.
If you are interested in meeting with a
nutrition coach to learn more about a wide
range of personalized services including
menu planning, refrigerator makeovers,
supermarket shopping, advice about what
to order in restaurants, personal chef
referrals, lunch box ideas, collaborative
cooking instruction, and recipes, please
contact Joe Juliano, DTR, nutrition and
wellness manager, at 201-447-8093 or
jjulian@valleyhealth.com.

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Jewish World

Will Abbas’ explosive comments kill the peace process?

RON KAMPEAS and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Also
silent are (characteristically) Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-

ISSAM RIMAWI/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

WASHINGTON — The Oslo Accords? “Killed,” the Palestinian
Authority president says, blaming Israel.
The Israeli prime minister says the Palestinians are now
“unmasked” — but naturally he blames the Palestinians.
Notably, the United States is silent.
The P.A. president, Mahmoud Abbas, delivered a rambling
address of more than two hours to the Palestine Liberation
Organization’s Central Council last weekend.
“Today is the day that the Oslo Accords end,” he said.
“Israel killed them.”
Abbas blamed the restrictions under which his Palestin-
ian Authority operates and what he regards as Israel’s unre-
strained occupation activity.
“We are an authority without any authority and an occupa-
tion without any cost,” he said.
His remarks drew condemnation across the Israeli and U.S.
Jewish spectrum, including from groups that have not hesi-
tated to criticize the Israeli government for recalcitrance in the
peace process. The groups and the Israeli government were
especially outraged that Abbas rejected Jewish connections
to the land of Israel and claimed that Zionism was “a colonial
project that has nothing to do with Judaism.”
President Donald Trump, a target of wrath in the Abbas
speech, typically is quick to jab back at insults, but this time
he said nothing. Neither have two others called out in the
address: Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the United Nations,
law, who is charged with reviving Israeli-Palestinian talks, and
(uncharacteristically) Jason Greenblatt of Teaneck, the Trump
administration’s top Middle East negotiator and avid tweeter.
The silence suggests that the Trump administration
has not written off the Kushner-led effort to revive Israeli-
Palestinian talks entirely. Greenblatt was headed to Israel
this week and would remain through Vice President Mike
Pence’s visit next week. A spokesman for Kushner and
Greenblatt did not return a request for comment on the
Abbas remarks.
So what did Abbas say and what did he do? How is Israel
responding? And is the peace process dead?
What Abbas said: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
In addition to discounting the legitimacy of a Jewish speaks at a session of the Palestinian Central Coun-
state in the region, Abbas counted out a role for the Trump cil in Ramallah in the West Bank on January 14, 2018.
administration in restarting the talks.
“Any future negotiations will take place only within the United Nations agency that administers aid to Palestinian
context of the international community, by an international refugees and their descendants, but a spokeswoman said it
committee created in the framework of an international was because Trump wants other countries to increase their
conference,” he said. “Allow me to be clear: We will not assistance to UNRWA, not to punish Abbas.)
accept American leadership of a political process involving What does Abbas’ speech mean?
negotiations.” Not a lot. Abbas has not been this blunt about declaring
Abbas is furious with Trump for his recognition of Jerusa- Oslo dead, nor has he been as adamant about decentraliz-
lem as Israel’s capital last month, and for his threats to cut ing the traditional U.S. role as mediator. But none of this is
funding to the Palestinian Authority. (This week, the Trump new: When the peace process is on the skids, Abbas reflex-
administration froze more than half of its funding for the ively has blamed its structure, which he says favors Israeli

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 Jewish World

settlement expansion and Palestinian disempowerment,
and called for a diminished U.S. role.
“It is impossible, and I repeat — it is impossible — to return
to the cycle of negotiations that failed to deal with the sub-
stance of the matter and the fundamental question,” he told
ISSAM RIMAWI/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES
J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group that
has focused its criticism on the Israeli and U.S. governments
in recent months, called the speech “unacceptable.” Abbas’
frustration, the group said, was “no excuse for calling into
question either the Jewish connection to, or Palestinian rec-
comments — but he has not proposed any changes in Israeli
policy, nor any departure from the Kushner peace initiative.
Netanyahu’s reaction, notably, was jammed into a video post-
card greeting from India, where he otherwise extolled the vir-
tues of touring that country.

the U.N. General Assembly in September 2014, after the col-
lapse of the Obama administration-led peace talks earlier in
the year, and the Gaza War that happened in the summer
of the same year. He also called for a greater U.N. role in
peacemaking.
Abbas subsequently retreated from that posture, embrac-
ing renewed talks under the Trump administration. Nota-
bly, the PLO has not taken substantive steps to end the
peace process. (A subsequent vote by the Central Council
recommending an end to recognition of Israel was nonbind-
ing and symbolic.)
So why is this speech attracting so much attention?
Abbas resurrected just about every anti-Jewish trope in
the Palestinian nationalist playbook. He said that there was
no Jewish connection to Israel, that Zionism was a European
colonialist plot, that Jews preferred Hitler’s Europe to the
renascent Zionist project in Palestine, even that Israel is
drugging Palestinian youths.
“We condemn unequivocally President Abbas’ recent
statements rejecting the Jewish people’s connections with
Israel, denying the legitimacy of a Jewish State of Israel, and
promulgating conspiracy theories about the creation of the
State of Israel,” the Reform movement said in a statement.
“Such statements and actions undercut possibilities for a
peace process that alone holds the path to a viable and inde-
pendent Palestinian state.”
ognition of, the state of Israel — or for language and propos-
als that are justifiably earning widespread condemnation.”
But like his declarations of the death of the peace pro-
cess, none of Abbas’ gibes were new. They have cropped up
repeatedly in Palestinian propaganda, especially after nego-
tiations go south. Following the collapse of the 2000 Camp
David talks, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stepped
up his claims that Israelis falsified archaeological evidence
of a Jewish past in the land of Israel. Arafat’s wife, Suha, was
infamous for her spurious allegation that Israel somehow
was poisoning young Palestinians.
What stood out in Abbas’ speech was how he com-
piled a golden oldies collection of anti-Jewish myths and
fabrications.
“What we heard yesterday from Mahmoud Abbas was ter-
rible,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin told a delegation of
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “He returned
back to the ideas he expressed decades ago, when they were
no less terrible. To say Israel is the result of a Western con-
spiracy to settle Jews in land belonging to Arab populations?
To say that the Jewish people has no connection with the
land of Israel? He forgot many things, and said exactly the
things that led him to be accused years ago of anti-Semitism
and Holocaust denial.”
How is Israel’s government reacting?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Abbas’
“He has revealed the truth,” Netanyahu said of Abbas. “He
has torn off the mask and shown to the public the simple truth
that I have been working to instill for many long years: The
root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians is their
steadfast refusal to recognize the Jewish state in any borders
whatsoever.”
How is the United States reacting?
Abbas said of Trump, “May your house be demolished.” It’s
not clear whether he was referring to the White House or to
Trump Tower, or if he was wishing for an end to the Trump
dynasty. In any case, Trump and his spokesmen seemed
unfazed.
“Clearly emotions are running high in the region and we
certainly accept that,” said Heather Nauert, the State Depart-
ment spokeswoman. “I’d like to caution folks in the region
and particularly Mr. Abbas that some of those things [he said]
would be considered inflammatory and inciteful and divisive.
We would like to see a peace process go forward.”
Indeed, Greenblatt’s first stop when he gets to Israel will be
to meet with representatives of the Quartet, the grouping of
the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United
Nations that guides the peace process.
“Jason will be attending a regular meeting of the Quartet
envoys to exchange information and continue our engage-
ment on advancing peace,” a senior White House official said.
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 Jewish World
Mathilde Krim speaks at the amfAR New York Gala in New York on
February 10, 2010. 
Mathilde Krim, prominent
ONWARD ISRAEL AIDS researcher, 1926-2017
Dr. Mathilde Krim died at home on Long
Island last Monday, January 15. She
was 91.
The researcher founded the AIDS
Medical Foundation in 1983, at a time
when widespread homophobia ham-
pered people from speaking out about
AIDS, a disease that mainly affected gay
and bisexual men.
In 1985, the foundation merged with
other groups to form amfAR, the Foun-
dation for Aids Research, for which Dr.
Krim served as founding chairwoman.
make your dream come true Dr. Krim, who was active in the civil
and gay rights movements, was awarded
intern in your field of study in Israel a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000
Spend summer 2018 living and working in the center of Tel Aviv by President Bill Clinton for her work in
Build your resume | Experience Israel AIDS research.
Dr. Krim was born in Como, Italy, in
June 6 - July 31, 2018 1926 to parents who had both Catholic
Apply Today! and Protestant relatives but later took an
www.onwardisrael.org/NNJ interest in Judaism. Dr. Krim converted to
Rolling Admissions: November 15, 2017 - March 15, 2018 Judaism before her 1948 marriage David
Danon, an Israeli doctor and military
Cost: $500
commander whom she met while study-
Includes: housing, food stipend, and program costs.
ing at the University of Geneva. Dr. Krim
Participants are responsible for arranging their own flights.
received a doctorate in biology from the
ACCOMMODATIONS
university, at a time when few women
Modern building in the heart of Tel Aviv. Live with Onward Israel participants from across the US.
Open to students, ages 19-27, from northern New Jersey. held such degrees. The couple moved to
Israel in 1953, where Dr. Krim did research
Ethan Behling | EthanB@jfnnj.org | 201-820-3955
at the Weizmann Institute of Science in
Transforming
Live Together Rehovot, but later they divorced.
When she lived in Switzerland, she
Onward Israel program is operated through a partnership between the helped the Irgun buy arms from one-
Beacon and Shapira Foundations and other leading philanthropists, time French resistance fighters and ship
Masa Israel Journey, The Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish Federation
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42 Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018
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them to pre-independence Palestine.
She retained her strong connections to
Israel after she left Israel, and continued
to be an active fund-raiser for the Jew-
ish state.
In 1957, she married Arthur Krim, an
American Jewish entertainment lawyer,
who was a trustee of the Weizmann Insti-
tute. She relocated to New York, where
her husband lived, and led research at
the Sloan-Kettering cancer center. She
would meet patients there who where
suffering from a skin cancer associated
with AIDS.
The Treatment Action Group, an orga-
nization promoting HIV/AIDS research,
praised Dr. Krim’s work in a statement.
“I genuinely believe that we wouldn’t
be where we are today without Dr.
Krim’s brilliance, determination, and
mobilization,” said Tim Horn, the
group’s deputy executive director of HIV
& HCV Programs. “Beyond her unparal-
leled contributions to HIV/AIDS research
fundraising and awareness, she was an
interminable source of strength, sup-
port, and wisdom for countless activists
over the years.”
Andy Humm, a gay rights activist and
co-host of the TV program GAY USA,
wrote on Facebook that Dr. Krim was a
“tireless brilliant, calm, steady voice for
healing, research, compassion and jus-
tice. Millions owe her their lives.”
 JTA Wire Service

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ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL
“One of America’s largest retirement vil-
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introduced next year. US firm Voyage
said it will start rolling out the service
at The Villages, Florida, which is home
to 125,000 senior residents. It said the
scheme, spanning 750 miles of road,
would be the “largest by area size” in the
world.” — BBC
“Good morning, Passen-
ger Nussbaum.”
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“Don’t be alarmed. My name is
Burgundy Altima, license number
AZX-11B, and I am here to take you to
the pharmacist.”
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over the headrest. Of course, I couldn’t
see my husband either, he should rest in
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to think of it, you never see a driver
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the top of a steering wheel.”
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“Don’t get fresh. I didn’t get to be 84
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“What is this, Minnesota? I would
have brought an extra sweater. Oy, look
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I knew boys like you who
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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 43
Editorial
How to say it?
I peddles dangerous
t used to be that we writers and edi-
tors at Jewish newspapers knew
what we could say.
We did not use profanity.
We did not use contractions, we did not
use slang, we did not use nicknames. We
wrote everything out in very long form.
We wrote in the third person. (If we could
have, we would have written in the 93rd
person.) We were pompous, perhaps even
ponderous, but we also were polite. Very
very polite.
Things have changed. We use contrac-
tions. We use slang. We use short sen-
tences. We write in the first person singu-
lar (even though here I’m writing in the
first person plural — but whoops!). We
try not to be pompous. We try not to be
ponderous. We might not always succeed,
but we try.
Despite all that, we do hope that we’re
still polite.
But how are we supposed to report on
the world around us?
Yes, this part is about our president.
How do we report on what he said?
What do our readers want? We could use
asterisks to replace some of the letters in
the four-letter word he used, or we could
call it the place that a barnyard epithet
could fall into (or, in the alternative version,
the place where the barnyard epithet lives).
We’re a weekly, so we know that all our
readers and all their reading-age children
will have read the unvarnished, un-aster-
isked, un-gussied-up version of what he
said, so in some senses our decision mat-
ters less. It’s the daily media, the up-to-the-
second online news sources, that really
have to worry about that decision. And it’s
the on-air reporters and podcasters who
have to figure out exactly what to say.
So really we could skip it.
But there is something that we really do
have to say. That is that our ancestors — our
parents, or grandparents, or great-grand-
parents — came from those s-hole places.
They came from obscure villages in the
Pale of Settlement, in central and eastern
Europe, where life was hard and it coars-
ened the people who lived there (and yes,
Jews could be coarse too).
You look at pictures of some of the Jews
Jewish Editor
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Standard Associate Editor
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James L. Janoff
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Marcia Garfinkle
thejewishstandard.com
44 Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018
of eastern Europe, and you see dirt and
desperation. You look at their eyes and
you see the same despair that you see
now in the unwanted immigrants from
Africa; fear and hope fighting hard with
each other.
When they got here, they were not wel-
come. They were among the unwanted
who were told dismissively not to bother
applying for jobs.
They often brought children with them
— those were our parents or grandparents
or great-grandparents — who were too
young to remember much about the old
country, too young to have any choice in
where they were taken. Those children
grew up to be citizens of the United States.
They were the Dreamers of their day, and
we should not forget that.
They were the tired, the poor, the hud-
dled masses yearning to be free that the
Statue of Liberty welcomes with her lamp.
Had they been sent back, many of us
would not be here. That is a simple and
incontrovertible truth.
We also think of the irony that it was
not one of those s-hole countries that
created and carried out the Shoah. No,
it was a clean, efficient, well-educated,
thoroughly modern state. Germans were
welcome here.
It is the immigrants from poor countries,
who come here fueled with desperation
and hope, who are determined to make
their way here, to learn and to earn, and
have good lives, or at least give good lives
to their children — immigrants like our
ancestors — who have succeeded here, and
who have given birth to us. It is something
we owe them to remember.
Here at the Jewish Standard we try not
to be political — it is far too divisive — and
we will continue that attempt. We know
that the immigration laws need a great
deal of revamping. But we look at the
attempt to turn away the immigrants who
need us, who are drawn by this country’s
promise, by its founding ideals, who might
not resemble our ancestors physically but
who have the same ambitions, needs, goals,
and dreams as they had, and we hope that
they are allowed to enter and then to stay
in this golden, golden land. —JP
Correspondents
Warren Boroson
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Truth regardless of consequences
Alan Dershowitz
Qatari propaganda
I
was profoundly shocked to learn that
a colleague and friend that I greatly
admire, Professor Alan Dershowitz,
became the latest Jewish junketeer
to succumb to the lure to visit Qatar and be
duped to parrot the emirate’s propaganda.
It is sad that someone so renowned for fight-
ing anti-Semitism — and a hero to so many,
myself included — would enable the Qataris’
anti-Semitic belief that Jews are
so powerful in the United States
that convincing prominent Jews
of the virtue of their cause will
lead them to provoke a change
in U.S. policy.
Professor Dershowitz is
known for sometimes working
for unsavory characters, based
on the attorney’s mantra that
the U.S. constitution guaran- Rabbi
tees everyone a fair trial and the Shmuley
right to a defense. The emir of Boteach
Qatar, however, is not an Ameri-
can citizen and is not entitled to
these protections. He is, in fact, a dictator; the
State Department Human Rights Report says
his government “prohibited organized politi-
cal parties and restricted civil liberties, includ-
ing freedoms of speech, press, and assembly
and access to a fair trial for persons held under
the Protection of Society Law and the Combat-
ing Terrorism Law.” The report also says that
women’s participation in society is “limited by
cultural discrimination” and that “trafficking
in persons” is an ongoing problem.
These are all the human rights abuses that
Dershowitz normally fights against. How can
he defend such an unsavory regime?
By far the most outrageous comment Der-
showitz made, however, was that “Qatar is
quickly becoming the Israel of the Gulf States,
surrounded by enemies, subject to boycotts
and unrealistic demands, and struggling for
its survival.”
This is an absolutely shocking statement
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the author of 31 books, including his most recent, “The Israel
Warrior’s Handbook.” Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
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that must be totally and completely rebutted.
He is comparing Israel, a democracy, to an
autocratic regime that has exercised “full exec-
utive power” since 1868 and whose constitu-
tion “provides for hereditary rule by men in
the emir’s branch of the Al Thani family.”
He says that Qatar, which is surrounded
not by enemies, but by friendly Arab/Islamic
countries engaged in a temporary political dis-
pute, is similar to Israel, which
has fought multiple wars with its
neighbors and remains threat-
ened by Islamic radicals, terror-
ists, and countries such as Iran.
He compares the boycott of
Qatar, which is maintained by
its neighbor Gulf states based
only on their unhappiness
with the emirate’s policies and
support of terrorism with the
international anti-Semitic cam-
paign to boycott Israel based
on its existence.
Dershowitz claims that Qatar,
ranked the richest country on the planet by
Forbes, with no one threatening its existence,
is struggling for survival like Israel, a country
that has been threatened with genocide by
terrorists and neighboring states for nearly
70 years.
I am in shock.
In an effort to appear tough on the Qataris,
he says he asked them about all the allegations
made against them and declares them inno-
cent of all charges. I doubt Dershowitz is as
naïve when defending clients who also declare
their innocence.
He makes Qatar sound like some pathetic
victim of crimes committed by bullies. He
complains that the Saudis are leading the
campaign to boycott “their tiny neighboring
state” and asserts this is immoral and ille-
gal. One may always question the morality of
blockades, but they are not illegal; they are a
recognized tactic in economic and shooting
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Editor Emeritus
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Max Milians (1908-2005)
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Ceil Wolf (1914-2008)
Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson
 Opinion

wars. Israel and Egypt are currently
blockading Gaza, which is neither
illegal nor immoral and recognized as
justified because of the threat posed
by the terrorist leaders committed to
Israel’s destruction.
Those same Hamas terrorists have
been receiving financial support
from Qatar, which has allowed them
to continue to manufacture rockets
to fire at Israelis and tunnels to infil-
trate Israel with the intent of kidnap-
n ping or murdering Jews. Dershowitz
- raised the issue with his hosts who
- told him they were only providing aid
to build homes, schools and hospitals.
He rightly noted “money is fungible
and that funds given for humanitarian
purposes can then free Hamas to use
- other funds to support terrorism.”
The Qatari response was that their
activities are “coordinated” with
- Israel. He admitted he could not con-
- firm this, but found their case more
credible than that of the Saudis. But
Saleh Al-Arouri after being expelled
in 2016 from Turkey. Two weeks after
this legislation was introduced, he,
along with other Hamas terrorists, was
expelled from Qatar.”
The Qataris told Dershowitz that the
United States had told them to allow
the Hamas leaders to live in Doha. This
seems preposterous, especially given
that President Trump complained
about Qatar funding terror “on [a]
very high level” and said during his
trip to the region that funding for radi-
cal ideologies had to stop. His lawyerly
response to his hosts’ assertion, like
several of the others, was that these
“factual issues should be subject to
objective verification.”
Dershowitz also seemed to swallow
the ridiculous argument that Qatar has
improved ties with Iran out of neces-
sity because of the boycott imposed by
its Gulf neighbors. One reason for the Rabbi Daniel Fridman, left, civil rights activist Theodora Lacey, and Teaneck’s Mayor
boycott was Qatar siding with the radi- Mohammed Hameeduddin stand together at the Jewish Center of Teaneck as they
cal Shiite regime in Tehran over their commemorate Martin Luther King Day. Michael Laves

f it is not only the Saudis who have
y accused them of supporting Hamas.
Their support for Hamas is well
Sunni neighbors who are being threat-
ened by Iran. They were not forced
into the arms of the Iranians, they vol- Bending toward justice

documented. In 2007, Qatar was one
of the only countries to support the
coup that allowed Hamas to seize
- control of the Gaza Strip from the
Palestinian Authority. In 2012, Qatar
pledged $400 million to support
r, “reconstruction” in Gaza and has
y been the largest single donor to Gaza
, the past five years. Qatar also has pro-
y vided a haven to Hamas terrorists,
y including their political leader Khaled
y Mashaal. Any observer of Hamas will
note that the money they are given is
used to build terror tunnels to murder
, Israelis and to buy rockets to destroy
Israeli cities.
- Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick
of Pennsylvania and Dan Donovan of
New York wrote an op-ed a few weeks
ago noting that “Qatar is the master of
playing all sides.” They said the emir-
ate’s strategy is to “pursue good rela-
tions with the United States, make
g false promises about combating ter-
- ror, lavishly fund western universi-
f ties and business projects — all while
a quietly financing and promoting ter-
ror, allying with Iran, and leveraging
an American air base as an insurance
policy against punishment for pro-
moting terror.”
Qatar’s duplicity is one reason the
country has been targeted by Congress.
The Palestinian International Terror-
ism Support Prevention Act, intro-
duced late last year, would impose
sanctions on countries that support
Hamas and extremist terror opera-
tions. The proposed legislation had
an almost immediate impact. Accord-
ing to Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
“When the bill was introduced, Qatar
was hosting senior Hamas terrorist
untarily embraced them.
Dershowitz’s defense of Al-Jazeera is
particularly galling. I understand that
he is a believer of freedom of speech,
but that again is an American value,
not a Qatari one. He claimed that the
English channel is “generally fair.” The
other Gulf states do not consider the
propaganda channel fair at all. It is
certainly not fair to Israel, which it
has accused of “ethnic cleansing” and
“mass atrocities” against Palestinian
Arabs. Israel has threatened to ban
the network because of its incitement.
Even the United Arab Emirates said
that Al-Jazeera had “promoted anti-
Semitic violence by broadcasting ser-
mons by the spiritual leader of the Mus-
lim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi.”
Qaradawi, he said, had “praised Hitler,
described the Holocaust as ‘divine pun-
ishment,’ and called on Allah to ‘take
this oppressive, Jewish, Zionist band
of people… and kill them, down to the
very last one.’”
It is astonishing that Alan Dershowitz,
a man I deeply respect for his princi-
ples and defense of Israel, has allowed
himself to become a mouthpiece for
Qatar. The fact that someone of Der-
showitz’s stature would come back
from his visit parroting its views only
emboldens the Qataris to persist in the
tactic of offering Jews free propaganda
trips and hiring more Jewish operatives,
like Nick Muzin, to whitewash their
support of terror. If the Qataris are so
worried about their reputation and
their survival, however, they would be
better advised to stop supporting ter-
rorism and sever ties with Iran rather
than continue to seek out influential
Jews who they mistakenly think can
help them end their isolation.
L
ast Sunday evening, January 14, the lifetime, and for which he gave his life, that brings
Jewish Center of Teaneck hosted a us here this evening.
community-wide Martin Luther King We gather, representing the diverse communi-
Jr. lecture. The keynote speaker was ties within Teaneck, as Dr. King would have it, not
Theodora Lacey, whose activism stretches back as partisans, divided along lines of religion, race,
to the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. She or political orientation, but united by a common
was a close family friend of both Dr. King, and vision of the significance of civil rights, of human
Rosa Parks, and she told the story of her civil rights, and of the values of empathy, tolerance,
rights activism over the last many and harmonious coexistence.
decades to a crowd that included Dr. King was very fond of quot-
the majority of the Teaneck Town ing the Unitarian minister Dr. The-
Council, Mayor Mohammed odore Parker, who said that “the
Hameeduddin, Deputy Mayor moral arc of the universe is long,
Dr. Henry Pruitt, and community but it bends towards justice.”
leaders from the African American Fifty years since his death, we
community. Mayor Hameedud- celebrate — we rightly celebrate
din gave introductory remarks — the many advances that have
stressing the importance of har- been made over the last half cen-
mony and tolerance in this age of Rabbi Daniel tury in the quest for civil rights
inflamed rhetoric. Fridman and racial justice. In a world in
The evening was held in com- which there still are Charlottes-
memoration of Dr. King, and as villes, surely we have not yet real-
a communal statement that hate ized the full fruits of Dr. King’s
does not — and never will — have a home here in dream “that all of God’s children should know
Teaneck. the full meaning of liberty,” but it must be said
This is the talk that I gave: that we are closer today.
Dear Friend, As we are in a house of worship, let us never
We are gathered tonight to celebrate the legacy forget that the root of the struggle for civil
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and it is altogether rights and racial justice is the fact that each
fitting that we do so, this year in particular, one and every human being has been created in
half century since his tragic murder. the image of God. To quote from our cele-
The Hebrew Bible refers to a 50-year period as brated rabbinic text, Pirkei Avot, how precious
an eternity, a world of time, an olam. And it is pre- and beloved is each human being, for he or
cisely the passage of time, and the risk of forget- she has been created in the image of God.
ting the lessons that Dr. King embodied in his own See Justice page 47
The opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors, not necessarily those
of the newspaper’s editors, publishers, or other staffers. We welcome letters to the editor.
Send them to jstandardletters@gmail.com.

Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018 45

Opinion
Helping by teaching
W
ith the election of Phil Murphy to the gov-
ernorship of New Jersey and the recent
Martin Luther King civic holiday, it is
important we in the Jewish community
continue to support non-profits in our local communities.
Both of these events are admonishments, the first
because Murphy campaigned on a platform of higher
taxes, higher spending, and more regulation that will
hurt the state economy by chasing away jobs and peo-
ple. This will make it harder to live in our state, espe-
cially for the blue-collar and service-industry working
class. The second because Martin Luther King Jr. was
Joshua Einstein is a founding member of the Hudson
County Regional Jewish Council, an elected member of
the New Jersey Republican State Committee, sits on the
executive board of the New Jersey State Young Republicans,
and has been published in more than 14 newspapers and
websites on Jewish and political topics.
The all-too-real Trump effect
N
o, I haven’t become a Trump lover. The presi-
dent’s pathological narcissism continues to
irritate my sensibilities, but I feel that we need
an honest examination of the Trump hysteria.
Rodney Dangerfield said, “I told my psychiatrist that
everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous, every-
one hasn’t met me yet.” But everybody has met Trump, in
person, on TV, or through his tweets. He is everywhere,
seemingly occupying far too much of our time and space
in our minds on a daily basis.
We cannot open a paper or turn on a TV without daily
reports of Trump’s latest twitter rant commanding our
attention, making it all sound like doom and gloom is right
around the corner. Let’s be frank, while some of his deci-
sions may affect us, I think that the predicted calamities
brought by him are more of a myth that we are busy per-
petuating. The cold spell in the Northeast and the fires in
California are true calamities that have affected large num-
bers of people, yet Trump, with his tax plans and his infa-
mous wall, will not alter our lives, as much as we love to
be enraged about — unless we are Salvadoran immigrants
or DACA Dreamers.
When Ronald Reagan was elected, I recall rampant
jokes about having a cowboy in the White House. We ridi-
culed his unsophisticated intellect and his simplistic Holly-
wood deliveries, but in retrospect, whether we agree with
his philosophy or not, he is considered by many on both
sides of the aisle to have been an important president.
Trump is not Reagan, but after a full year in office, he
is the president most of our country loves to hate. And
hate him they do — according to Quinnipiac University
and other pollsters, more than 55 percent of our popula-
tion not only disapproves of our president, they outright
We cannot open a paper or turn on a TV without
daily reports of Trump’s latest twitter rant
commanding our attention, making it all sound like
doom and gloom is right around the corner.
46 Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018
an advocate for the civil rights of our fel-
low Americans, which, while realized in all
legal senses, still is lacking for many from a
societal perspective. In doing so — in con-
tinuing to support local nonprofits — we
have an obligation to remember that the
highest form of tzedukah (charity), accord-
ing to the great sage Maimonides, is to help
someone before they become in need.
We must remember that the best donation Joshua
is one that provides a grant or loan, a job, Einstein
or helps recipients learn skills in order that
they may not become dependent on outside
assistance.
That the Jewish community engages in this type of
charity internally is without a doubt. There are numer-
ous Jewish organizations that work within the commu-
nity to train and help impart the skills needed to thrive
economically. Yet when it comes to the non-Jewish world,
despise him.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Hatred
paralyzes life; love releases it. Love lights
more fires than hate extinguishes.” Another
similar quote suggests: When you hate you
feel miserable, when you love you feel won-
derful, it’s your choice. And famously, the
Torah explicitly prohibits hatred of our fel-
low man in the verse: “Thou shall not hate
thy brother in thine heart.” Soli Foger
I agree with many of the descriptions
about his personality, his attitude, his tweets,
his arrogance — but why bother investing so much of our
energy in hating Trump? Just as he continues to undo
President Obama’s legacy, Trump’s policies are likely to
be reversed by the next president.
Neither Nancy Pelosi nor Mitch McConnell, both old-
fashioned and irrelevant to millennials, stir up nearly the But when we deteriorate to a zero-sum game and winner-
same emotional attention. Simply put, hating Trump has
become a national pastime, though I doubt that it helps
anybody feel better.
Worse yet, American politics has deteriorated in recent
years into an openly hostile sport. Unfortunately, fringes upcoming future.
of both the Democratic and the Republican parties dom-
inate politics. They’ve been raising their vocal hatred to protests and divergence of opinions, as long as they are
dangerous levels against Presidents Bush, Obama, Clin-
ton, or Trump, and are adamant in imposing their views
about immigration, welfare, international involvement,
trade, and environmental policies. This disrupts gover-
nance, which is perilous to our democracy. What began
as open hatred for Trump during his candidacy has
morphed into hatred toward his supporters. Millions of
Americans have been openly called ugly names, just for
both in governmental advocacy and in sup-
port of local non-profits, we have a greater
hill to climb in order to live up to the high-
est form of tzedukah. Too many children
and adults are being left behind in deplor-
able conditions and in great emotional
despair (caused by a lack of self-worth) due
to the lack of meaningful work and economic
self-sustainability.
Fortunately, in every town, city, and
county across our state there are a great
many non-profits that work with young peo-
ple to help them develop the tools for suc-
cess; also there are many non-profits that work with adults
in order to retrain them for a modern economy. Many
non-profits are bloated, both in terms of a mission creep
that has diluted their original and noble purpose, and in
terms of an overgrown staff that has watered down their
impact. Yet between the behemoth-like and seemingly
being Trump’s political base. It is not only
prejudicial and divisive, but the journalists
who engage in such name-calling have both
a greater moral responsibility and a limited
view of our political process.
Politics are dominated by what social
theorists call political opportunity theory,
which argues that our political structure is
the outcome of social movements whose suc-
cess or failure is affected by political oppor-
tunities. Many groups, including the middle
class, minorities, women, evangelical Chris-
tians, and other groups, fight for representation. It is a
healthy process, whereby our politics are dependent on
compromises and give-and-take. It is only through their
peaceful resolution that we arrive at a higher plateau and
feel a unity of purpose as a country and as a civic society.
takes-all divisiveness, we feel hopeless, and such dissen-
sion becomes the breeding grounds of disruption in our
society. The distance between discord and violence is get-
ting smaller, and we may find more riots and unrest in the
I disagree with many of Trump’s policies and I welcome
based on civil disagreement. However, we need to under-
stand that when we devolve into hatred, and when we rid-
icule our opponents, we become part of the same destruc-
tive process that we abhor.
I recently listened to Professor Alan Dershowitz’s com-
ments about how the very drive to diagnose our presi-
dent’s mental condition, without ever meeting him in per-
son, is undoing democracy itself. It is no different than
the way Russia, China, or the social policy of apartheid
in South Africa used to segregate people they disliked. He
said, “Everybody knew who Trump was. I voted against
him, but he hasn’t changed.” After all, people did the same
to Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, and as such, the
left’s record of trying to undo the country’s choices is not
something to be proud of. It is getting quite tiresome. The
25th Amendment cannot be invoked because we don’t like
the person, his politics, or his style. “Vote against him,
fight him politically, but don’t try to undo his personality

We must remember that the best donation is one
that provides a grant or loan, a job, or helps
recipients learn skills in order that they may not
become dependent on outside assistance.
immortal large non-profits addicted to never-means-
tested government grants are actual grassroots organi-
zations that are responsive, nimble, and able to change
in order to achieve their goals.
One such local non-profit is True Mentors, a Hobo-
ken-specific seven-year-old non-profit that has one
professional staff member and an ever-growing ros-
ter of amazing volunteers who run a unique one-
on-one mentoring program for children, a rare paid
on which basis he was elected,” Dershowitz concluded.
In his book “The Complacent Class,” Tyler Cowen
argues that Trump may be responsible for the greatest
political awakening in this century, possibly as great,
if not greater, than the one during Obama’s election in
2008. Cowen saw complacency as the greatest enemy
in our country, with the millennial generation disillu-
sioned and avoiding participation in the political pro-
cess. However, after Trump assumed power, millenni-
als and other groups have become more involved than
ever, mostly in order to stop him, thus reinvigorating
the democratic process. When we talk about stopping
Trump, it is popular to compare him to Hitler or Stalin.
But let’s be honest — while some of us many not like
him, Trump is neither.
And finally, we should discuss the Jewish implications.
Many of us appreciate Trump’s stand on Israel and his
recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, but that doesn’t
mean that all Jews or Israelis accept everything that
Trump says, or that we approve of his many horrendous
expressions. Still, we need to be honest and sensible.
Today, I read some Israeli feedback to Michael Wolff ’s
book “Fire and Fury,” and their reactions were sobering.
They raised doubts about the author’s credibility and
showed skepticism that the White House was drafting
a plan that considered putting Judea, Samaria and the
Gaza Strip under Jordan and Egypt’s control. “I guess
it’s possible that Bannon may sit in a dark room with a
board and Middle East map and think that’s how things
work,” read one of the comments.
I was especially surprised when I read one com-
menter’s list of Trump’s accomplishments: “Biggest
tax reform in 30 years, strongest stock market ever,
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, support
for the Iranian people in their confrontation with
their tyrannical government, military defeat of ISIS
in Iraq and Syria, and reinstatement of US support
in the Arab world. That would be a solid first year
record for any president.”
I disagree with some of these accomplishments, or
their political sensibilities, such as throwing 22 million
Americans out of the health care system, increasing
taxes on the middle class, and raising the deficit. All
of these policy changes are designed to lower taxes
on the wealthy and large corporations, repeating the
internship for high school students, and a weekly
enrichment club.
This type of non-profit exemplifies the highest form
of tzedukah because it works to give people the skills
they need to develop their full potential and so become
full members of society, who can support themselves
and give back.
This is the type of non-profit the Jewish community
should support.
foolish benediction of previously failed trickle-down
economics. I also have no idea how his support of pro-
testers in Iran has helped them. The fact is that they’ve
been crushed, with many dead and imprisoned. But
we cannot deny that this is a remarkable list. Even if
he were to accomplish only half of it, it would still be
a notable record.
I read the New York Times and the Washington Post
daily, and their repeated attacks on our president make
me feel embarrassed by this obsessive culture of hatred.
Sure, Trump is the proverbial bull in a china shop,
although Washington has long become a bullfighting
arena rather than a civilized sanctuary. Nevertheless,
Trump definitely has a unique vision for America, with
which many of us may disagree, but we need to remem-
ber that democracy is built on the wide swings in our
political sensibilities. We keep making up and changing
our collective mind over our costly involvement as the
policemen of the world, our trade policies, and our eco-
nomic priorities. Presidents have always done their job,
in the way they see their mandate.
Whether we like it or not, Trump is going to be our
president for the next three years. He is not likely to
get impeached or re-elected, but if we want to have an
impact on his decisions, it will not happen by express-
ing our abhorrence. My father once told me: “You don’t
bark back at a barking dog.” I don’t mean to call our
president names, but even if he’s a proven liar, what
will we gain from continuously attacking him? Taking
the moral high ground might be the only to stop this
downward spiral and give cooperation a chance. We
need to start building trust in this country, no matter
who is in office.
Our anathema to our president reminds me of the
comedian Andy Dick’s famous line, “People love to hate.
I have a love-hate relationship with the world. The world
loves to hate me.” I wonder if we’ve gotten ourselves a
little too mired in a destructive cycle from which there
are not likely to emerge any real winners. As a matter of
fact, we may out-Trump Trump himself with our own
unpleasantness.
Soli Foger, an architect, and his wife, Dr. Tani Foger, have
lived in Englewood for 27 years. They have four sons and
four grandchildren.
Opinion
Justice
from page 45
When a human being is discriminated against in crimi-
nal justice, in education, in employment, in housing, it
is not an affront only to that person, to his family, to
his particular group of origin, but to the Creator who
endowed him with that inalienable dignity. And to know
God, as the prophet Jeremiah taught us, is to know that
“the wise man should not gloat of his wisdom, nor the
warrior of his strength, nor the rich man of his wealth,
but in this alone should a man be praised, to be wise,
and to know me, for I am the Lord, who does kindness,
righteousness, and justice in this world, for it is these
that I desire, so said the Lord.”
In this perilous time, when we so painfully hear entire
continents and countries derided in terms that are not
fit to be repeated in polite company, let alone the sacred
space of a house of worship, we dare not ignore what Dr.
King would have called the fierce urgency of the moment.
In particular, as a grandchild of a Holocaust survivor
whose parents and extended family were brutally mur-
dered by the Nazis, in part because they had nowhere to
go, I know all too well that the odious notion that certain
countries or even continents are filled with undesirable
people is an attack not only against Africans or Haitians
but against humanity itself.
As Dr. King taught us in his Letter From a Birmingham
Jail, when he was questioned about the propriety of his
involvement in matters of racial justice occurring there,
he wrote, “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all
communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and
not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We
are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in
a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly,
affects all indirectly.”
And so today let it be said that I am not only an Ortho-
dox rabbi and a Jew and an American, but on this Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day, I am a Haitian and an African as well.
As my Hebrew Bible has commanded me, “Tzedek tzedek
tirdof ” — “Justice, justice, you must pursue.” And as my
Talmud has taught me, “If the rabbis remain silent, one
may infer that they too are in agreement.”
We shall not remain silent until people already on
these shores, and those eager to come to these shores,
are judged not based on the color of their skin or their
country of origin but on the content of their collective
characters.
We must remember that the moral arc of which Dr.
King spoke does not bend on its own, the way a planet
or moon effortlessly arcs around its orbit, propelled
along by the forces of gravity between massive celes-
tial bodies.
As Dr. King himself said, “Human progress is neither
automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal
of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the
tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated
individuals.”
So let us take up the baton from the fallen hand of
that tireless, passionate, and dedicated man, so cruelly
cut down on an April night in Memphis a half-century
ago, and carry it forward. Let us move forward together
with our brothers and sisters of every race, faith, and
creed, guided along our collective path by the beacon
of righteousness and justice, the beacon that will bring
forth the light that will dispel the darkness, as Dr. King
taught us.
And on that day, when we finally shall have overcome,
we will understand anew that great biblical verse, “And
the Lord saw the light, and it was good.”
Daniel Fridman is the rabbi of the Jewish Center of Teaneck.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018 47
Opinion
Jews must fight for free speech
A
s American Jews, we have grown used to having
the right to say what we please.
But an ongoing legal battle will have major
implications for the rights of Jews to run orga-
nizations in accordance with their consciences. The Jewish
community must organize now in defense of free speech
and religious liberty, both to secure its own interests and for
the sake of our broader society.
The case in question involves pregnancy crisis centers
that provide mothers with financial, emotional, and some-
times medical support so that they can choose life over
abortion. Naturally, these institutions tend to harbor moral
or religious objections to abortion and therefore generally
do not discuss or post signs to advertise it as a viable alter-
native. You might think that this choice is protected under
the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, but cities
and states have recently tried to compel pregnancy centers
to promote the availability of abortion. The Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals struck down such a regulation on free
speech protection grounds, but the situation was very dif-
ferent in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Ninth Circuit recently upheld a California law that
requires pregnancy crisis centers to advertise state-funded
abortions — when their very raison d’etre is to promote
other alternatives. The law further requires that the adver-
tisement be made in 13 languages, needs to be in the largest
font of any material disseminated by the center, and must be
made available at the beginning of the organization’s deal-
ings with the client. This draconian requirement, passed by
a legislature with a pro-abortion agenda, effectively under-
mines the ability of pregnancy crisis centers such as the
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates — which has
over 100 centers in California — to effectively and indepen-
dently offer their own advice to women as they see fit, and
without violating their consciences.
Make the workforce American again
I
n April, the president signed the “Buy American and
Hire American” executive order, which directed the
departments of state, justice, labor, and homeland
security — which oversees the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services — to “suggest reforms” that would
ensure “H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or
highest-paid petition beneficiaries.” The order makes
no immediate changes to the work visa program, but
instructs the federal agencies to “propose new rules and
issue new guidance,” and to supersede existing guidance
“if appropriate.”
The H-1B visa program is one of the most employment
visas that employers in the United States use most heav-
ily. The program allows U.S. companies to employ for-
eign workers temporarily in specialty occupations, which
include jobs in technology, engineering, science, architec-
ture, accounting, and business, among others. Many of
the most notable and profitable tech companies, including
Microsoft, Google, and Apple, hire large numbers of H-1B
workers. Each year, 85,000 H-1Bs are available to compa-
nies, according to a ceiling set by Congress. (Of those visas,
65,000 are for people who have earned at least a bach-
elor’s degree in a specialized field of study, and 20,000 for
people who hold a master’s or higher degree issued by a
U.S. college or university.) The visa remains valid for three
years, with extensions available for up to six years, but
48 Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018
NIFLA is currently appealing to the Supreme
Court. The outcome of the case will determine
how easily government mandates can require
organizations to promote the opposite mis-
sion for which they were formed — or risk
shutting down entirely.
For centuries, American Jews have estab-
lished institutions that allowed them to func-
tion as a small community within a larger
American community. These included syna- Rabbi
gogues, schools, cemeteries, burial societies, Mitchell
libraries, lodges, social service organizations, Rocklin
charities, community centers, and even hos-
pitals. Sometimes these were created by
choice, other times as responses to discrimination. Unde-
niably, American Jews have been able to fully participate
in civil society without compromising our Jewish identity.
But without the ability to express its Jewish identity in Jew-
ish institutions — including engaging in practices conform-
ing to our religion and morality — our community will be
greatly hindered.
Despite the decline of many Jewish institutions over the
years — a phenomenon largely due to the acceptance of Jews
into all facets of American society — the ability to operate
Jewish values-driven organizations remains as vital as ever
to Jewish continuity. Orthodoxy, the only growing denomi-
nation in America, is dependent upon communal institu-
tions that send the message that it is possible to offer a full
range of services in America without any compromise of
passionate devotion to Judaism.
To this end, Orthodox Jews have a particular need for
protection — the same protection that NIFLA is asking for
in its lawsuit: the freedom to promote a message without
being forced to comply with a governmentally favored
alternative. When a government forces a Jewish service
H-1B holders who have begun the employ-
ment-based green-card process can renew
their visas indefinitely under certain cir-
cumstances. Although it is difficult to deter-
mine exactly how many people in the United
States now are here on H-1B visas, analysts
estimate that there are about 650,000 to
900,000 recipients.
USCIS and DOS officials are scrutinizing
H-1B visa petitions more closely, and have Michael
been denying the petitions and H-1B visa Wildes
applications more frequently since the “Buy
American and Hire American” executive
order was issued. Foreign nationals already in the United
States whose employers wish to extend their visas also
are facing challenges. From January to August 2017, the
number of Requests for Evidence USCIS issued on H-1Bs
petitions increased by 44 percent compared to the same
period last year. Furthermore, 86 percent of H-1B peti-
tions were approved in October 2017 and 82 percent were
approved in November 2017. By comparison, 93 percent
were approved in October 2016, and 92 percent were
approved in November 2016. Ben Johnson, the executive
director of the American Immigration Lawyers Associa-
tion, said, “The goal of the administration seems to be to
grind the process to a halt, or slow it down so much that
provider to promote something that runs
counter to its goals, organizational morale is
undermined, and the mandate helps foster
the false impression that it is not possible to
be fully American and fully Jewish at the same
time. Moreover, imposing these requirements
is just plain wrong. No one should be forced
to sacrifice their free speech rights for the
sake of a majority opinion.
Let’s consider a few examples of how gov-
ernmentally compelled speech could affect
other Jewish organizations. Many Orthodox
communities run rapid-response ambulance
services, usually under the name Hatzolah,
which often have an unparalleled response time by relying
upon volunteers embedded throughout the community.
Assuming they are effective, would it be appropriate for a
government to force Hatzolah to advertise another EMS sys-
tem as an alternative? Should private rabbinical courts be
required to advertise civil courts? Should Jewish rehabilita-
tion centers or hospice programs be required to advertise
secular alternatives? Finally, what about In Shifra’s Arms, a
Jewish organization that provides support for women with
unplanned pregnancies?
Orthodox Jews are particularly vulnerable to majority
messages because they exist as an independent commu-
nity that is in many ways separate from the rest of Ameri-
can society. To thrive, they must be free to cultivate their
differences. While the cultural trend disfavoring tradition-
alist religion may be against Christian groups right now,
there is nothing preventing it from turning against Jewish
issues like circumcision and kosher slaughter. Indeed, the
latter is already banned in several European countries,
and has been legally challenged multiple times in the
United States.
they achieve a reduction in legal immigration
through implementation rather legislation.”
Another recent change to employment-
based petitions is the newly required inter-
view. As of October 1, 2017, USCIS began con-
ducting in-person interviews of applicants
who apply to adjust their status to lawful
permanent resident based on an approved
immigrant petition (Form I-140). Visa holders
who are derivative beneficiaries of the prin-
cipal (that is, spouse and children who are
21 years old), refugees, or asylees also have
been required to undergo in-person inter-
views when they apply for lawful permanent residence.
Although the in-person interview is not a new proce-
dure, USCIS has been waiving the interview requirement
for nearly all employment-based adjustment of status
applications because the interviews tended to cause a
significant backlog in case processing and waste valuable
resources — personnel, time, and funding. According to
the USCIS Office of Public Engagement, which held a tele-
conference on October 11, 2017, called “Expanded Use of
In-Person Interviews,” applicants for adjustment of status
should expect significantly longer processing times as the
USCIS begins scheduling applicants and their derivative
beneficiaries for interviews.

Orthodox Jews have begun to real-
ize this vulnerability. The Orthodox
Union, Agudath Israel of America, the
Rabbinical Council of America, the
National Jewish Commission on Law
and Public Affairs, the Rabbinical Alli-
ance of America, and the Coalition for
Jewish Values have all taken stances
in a variety of religious liberty cases.
This effort ought not to be limited
to the Orthodox, however. It should
involve a broad cross-section of Jews
representing our communal interest.
For this reason, I have co-founded
Jews for Religious Liberty, a non-
denominational Jewish group filing
amicus briefs to bolster religious lib-
erty in federal court cases. We have
worked with many of these organiza-
tions and with Jews of other denomi-
nations in this cause. Our latest suc-
cess involved partnering with the
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in
lawsuits that successfully convinced
FEMA to change its policy denying
houses of worship equal chances to
apply for disaster relief money. Yet
there is much more to be done, and
Jews for Religious Liberty, soon to
be incorporated as the Jewish Coali-
tion for Religious Liberty, will seek
to spread awareness of these critical
issues and build alliances to protect
and advance religious liberty through-
out the entire Jewish community.
As an employment based immi-
gration firm, we see that our clients
have faced a heightened number
of H-1B RFEs as well as scheduled
interviews for their adjustment of
status applications. These policy
changes have and will continue to
cause significant disruption and
hardship for many people. Employ-
ers who wish to hire employees
through the H-1B program now may
be forced to hire unqualified work-
ers or wait for indefinite periods
for their employees to receive work
authorization. And now, when they
are required to go to USCIS inter-
views, both the principal applicant
and his or her spouse must take at
least half a day off from their jobs,
and children will lose at least half a
day of school.
What BAHA fails to take into
account, in addition to the issues
raised above, is that people who
enter the United States through any
employment-based nonimmigrant
Opinion
One of the greatest tragedies we
face as Americans right now is an
apparent partisan division over First
Amendment rights. We see it in lower
court judicial rulings against free
speech and freedom of religion. We
see it in divisions between Demo-
cratic and Republican lawmakers over
what used to be a national consensus
behind Religious Freedom Restora-
tion Acts to protect religious liberties.
And perhaps most ominously, we
see it in data showing the public’s
(and especially college students’
and millennials’) low opinion of
free speech. We are witnessing the
tragic weakening of the spirit of clas-
sical liberalism that we have taken
for granted in this country for some
time. As a community that has so
benefitted from the protection of reli-
gious liberty, Jews have a particularly
important role to play in supporting
a revival of the spirit of freedom that
makes this country so great. It’s time
to take up that mantle.
Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin is a resident
research fellow at the Tikvah Fund. He is
also a chaplain with the rank of captain
in the New Jersey Army National Guard
and a doctoral candidate in U.S. history
at the City University of New York.
He lives in Teaneck with his wife and
two daughters.
visa already have undergone exten-
sive vetting in order to secure the
visa and enter the country. Requir-
ing such people to undergo fur-
ther scrutiny and extensive waiting
periods will do little, if anything,
to detect and prevent fraud or
criminal activity. The expanded
use of in-person interviews and
scrutiny of the H-1B program only
will serve to stretch beyond capac-
ity the human capital, resources,
and finances of an already over-
whelmed and under-supported
immigration system.
Michael J. Wildes of Englewood,
the managing partner of Wildes
and Weinberg, is a former federal
prosecutor and an adjunct professor
at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School
of Law in Manhattan. From 2004
through 2010, he was the mayor
of Englewood; he and his family
are members of Congregation
Ahavath Torah.
How dare you?
I would like to express my outrage and disap-
pointment about “Frum times in Teaneck High”
( January 12).
I cannot view the article in any other light
other than as an attack on the Jewish day school
system. You proudly have the word “Jewish” in
the title of your paper, and yet you feel no hesi-
tation in attacking our Jewish day school system
through printing the clearly very biased quotes
from those you interviewed. I have worked in the
Jewish day school system for 22 years and have
been privileged to work aside the best trained
professionals in the American educational sys-
tem. They come to school day in and day out to
support the students who need extra support, to
educate and protect children when it comes to
bullying behaviors, and to assist parents in help-
ing their children. As I continued reading the arti-
cle, over and over the quotes you used were not
about how their child needed more, but rather
about how terrible Jewish day schools are. I do
feel for the parents you interviewed who were
unable to access the services they needed, but to
print such disparaging comments about the Jew-
ish day school system is unpardonable.
There is a plethora of research which indicates
the importance of a Jewish day school education
in ensuring students’ engagement with Judaism.
Those who attend Jewish day school are involved
in Jewish activities and worship in much higher
percentages than their peers who do not attend
a Jewish school. How could anyone with any jour-
nalistic integrity print an article that indicates
anything different? I am a proud graduate of a
Jewish day school, as were my parents and even
my grandmother in pre-war Hungary. My chil-
dren are now proud attendees as well, who love
school, their teachers and feel they are treated
with respect by their teachers and peers. I am a
proud educator in a Jewish day school, and feel it
is a privilege each day to see the daily educational
miracles our teachers accomplish.
I think you owe the entire Jewish day school
system a retraction, and you should feel ashamed
of the lashon hara you did print.
Aliza Frohlich, Teaneck
Thank you!
I enjoyed reading “Frum times in Teaneck High.”
It’s nice to get such positive confirmation that
the Teaneck School District continues to serve a
diversified population.
Howard Rose, Teaneck
Trustee, Board of Education
More on unsung
hero Jan Zwartendijk
Your readers will be interested to know that for
Boys Town Jerusalem and its extended family
of supporters and friends, Jan Zwartendijk was
anything but “unsung” (“In Japan, discovering
the unsung Dutch hero behind Sugihara’s res-
cue of Jews,” January 12). Thanks to a tip from
Holocaust scholar Dr. David Kranzler z”l, we
became aware of his life-saving efforts in 1996,
established contact with his family, and sub-
sequently honored him posthumously at gala
dinners in both New York and Holland. We also
paid him a tribute at Boys Town Jerusalem and
at the Mir Yeshiva, where those whom he saved
found their ultimate salvation.
Letters
We dubbed him “Angel of Mercy” and estab-
lished the Jan Zwartendijk Humanitarian Award
in his honor. Jan Zwartendijk embarked on his
holy mission simply because it was the right thing
to do. This became the criterion for future recipi-
ents of this award.
Boys Town Jerusalem also played a key role in
having Yad Vashem recognize Jan Zwartendijk as
one of the Righteous Gentiles.
Anyone interested in receiving more informa-
tion is invited to write to me at rgray@boystown-
jerusalem.org
Rabbi Ronald Gray, Mannattan
Executive VP
Boys Town Jerusalem Foundation of America
Art through the ages
I enjoyed reading “Art Through the Ages”
(December 29). Kudos to all the ladies who
made this possible, and especially to the nine
sixth-graders. The idea to pair youngsters with
seniors at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh through
art, such as clay, wood, paper, and origami, is
unparalleled.
Art is therapy and it is an extension of life. The
children, as well as the seniors, will gain so much
from their mutual conversations and imagina-
tion. Teachers shape the lives of children, and
what a unique idea to have each child paired with
a resident or two to create items of Jewish signifi-
cance. The children who commit one Sunday per
month to the art encounter are very special.
All the parties will gain great pleasure and
more importantly be a source of Jewish knowl-
edge. Our Hebrew legacy lies in the theme of art.
My best to all the participants.
A world without art — I don’t think so!!
Grace Jacobs, Cliffside Park
Israel does not need us
“Israel needs us” is the opener of Rabbi Aryeh
Meir’s opinion piece, “Toward a meaningful
Israel-diaspora partnership” ( January 12). He
then lays out a plan for American Jews to help
Israel, not with donations, but with support of
organizations with questionable agendas when
it comes to Israel’s welfare and security. Endors-
ing the efforts of organizations such as the New
Israel Fund, Bt’selem, and Breaking the Silence,
among others, raises the question whose side is
he on, anyway?
These groups self-brand as human rights orga-
nizations but repeatedly have been shown to be
politically motivated, with a bias against Israel.
Bt’selem, for one, was exposed as the primary
source for Richard Goldstone of the infamous
Goldstone Report. We all know how that turned
out. New Israel Fund is frequently a chief finan-
cial supporter of left-leaning organizations with
their own agendas.
Nowhere in the piece is acknowledgement of
two realities: One, the current “occupation” is the
result of decades of Palestinian refusal to make
peace with Israel. How else does a tiny country
survive with a “neighbor” interested only in its
destruction? Two, the present government has
been democratically elected so, like their policies
or not, the majority of Israelis appear to be con-
tent. If not, they can vote Likud out at the next
election. American Jews have no part in this. No,
Israel does not need us.
Gail Abramson, Teaneck
Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018 49
Opinion

Iran has a foreign policy doctrine

I
n a bid to show the world recall the fawning of the West Euro-
what responsible, con- pean nuclear disarmament movement
sidered c itizens they over the Soviet Union. In this view, the
are, Iran’s leaders last problem is not the peaceful, reasonable
week hosted their annual, glori- Islamic Republic, but a Western policy
ously named “Tehran Security that is in thrall to the agenda of — as Jack
Conference.” Straw has said on more than one occa-
You will have to figure out for sion — the “Israeli lobby.”
yourselves why anyone would In the wake of the recent anti-regime
want to exchange insights on Ben Cohen demonstrations that erupted in dozens
security with a regime whose ter- of Iranian towns and cities, Iran’s West-
ror footprint extends from Bue- ern apologists have reinforced this line
nos Aires to Beirut. But for the ruling mullahs, clearly this
of argument, presenting Rouhani as an
was a big deal, which is why the conference was addressed agent of change who wants to reach a
by, inter alia, President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister historic understanding with the West,
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian military’s Chief of Staffand variously belittling the protests as
Mohammad Bagheri, and the Iranian parliament’s Speaker being about economic issues alone, or
Ali Larijani. being overly provincial, or being played
But it clearly wasn’t a big deal for the rest of world. How-
up more by Western opponents of the
ever much the Iranians like to brag, and whatever ludicrousregime than by Iranians themselves. Iranian President hassan rouhani addresses the united nations
picture is presented by Press TV and the regime’s other The flip side of this is the rosy Iranian general assembly on sept. 20, 2017. U.N. PhOTO/cia PaK

propaganda outlets, the Tehran Security Conference sim- view of regional and international rela-
ply doesn’t attract the presidents and prime ministers who tions, as presented at the conference in Tehran: Iran is fight- left bereft by its inept, avaricious Gulf monarchies,
turn up at Davos or the Munich Security Conference. Those ing Sunni Islamist terrorism; Iran is protecting vulnerable Eslami argued, “resistance, as the most important
foreign dignitaries who did appear were, shall we say, of aminorities; Iran is a needed counterweight to the corrupt model arising from the new conditions in the region,
certain vintage — people like Jack Straw, a former British Saudis; Iran best represents the aspirations of the Palestin- has been able to introduce itself as a successful and
foreign secretary, and Massimo d’Alema, a former Italian ians, whose plight still defines the core of the Middle East’s efficient model in the face of those models that have
prime minister. problems; Iran’s growing power guarantees a multipolar, been borrowed from the West.”
Whether or not these names remain familiar, they form and therefore safer, international system. “The doctrine of resistance, as a new framework
an integral part of the international echo chamber that urges Dig into this perspective a little more, and you find that that has been put forth by Iran in official circles during
faith in the “reformist” leanings of Rouhani. Jack Straw, for
there’s actually a doctrine to describe it — or at least the recent years has been able to show a good performance
example, has traveled to Tehran on many occasions, never beginnings of one. A paper delivered to the Tehran confer- in practice and is now viewed as an efficient model by
failing to make the sorts of comments (for example, prais- ence by Mohsen Eslami, an Iranian political scientist, named regional states and nations,” Eslami continued. But
ing the “lighter atmosphere” in Iran on a visit in 2014) that
it the “State-Resistance Doctrine.” In a turbulent Middle East what does the doctrine actually involve? According to
Eslami, “nation-states embark on strengthening their
national solidarity by putting emphasis on the three
major elements of military power, indigenous econ-
omy and national culture. At the same time, they take
Sweet Tastes of Torah steps to bolster their defensive deterrence in the face
of external aggressions while boosting their power
Community-wide evening of education
both inside and outside their borders through making
Presented by the North Jersey Board of Rabbis their governments resistant.”
NEW YEAR, NEW FORMAT! To summarize, then. Place the military and its
budget at the summit of the state. Work to achieve
The Ethics-Driven Life some form of autarky. Enforce state-approved edu-
cation, culture, and religious activities, and elimi-
In an age of endless scandal, the words and the examples of the nate nefarious foreign influences. Finance and train
prophets offer us an alternative—an ethics-driven life. Our military proxies in neighboring countries to follow
KEYNOTER, Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz, brings ancient wisdom to life in a your model.
in a new way. Breakout sessions to focus on prophetic voices regarding on It does all sound terribly familiar, doesn’t it? But
repentance, wisdom, righteousness, civil disobedience, forgiveness, more to the point, to anyone who has remained
protest, and more! unmoved by the Western embrace of Iran during
the last decade, none of it is surprising; if anything,
Saturday, February 3 @ 6:30 p.m. the doctrine is quite elegantly put. The point is, this
Fair Lawn Jewish Center, 10-10 Norma Avenue, Fair Lawn is the vision of foreign policy put forth at a regime-
sponsored parley. These are the principles that guide
$15 per person pre-registered by January 31; $20 per person at door Rouhani and Zarif as much as the Islamic Revolution-
ary Guard Corps in dealing with the outside world.
Through its own words, the Iranian regime gives the
Program and online credit card registration at lie to Western claims of “moderation.”
www.sweettastesoftorah.weebly.com Keep an eye out for the coming manifestations of
Or mail your check, payable to the North Jersey Board of Rabbis: the “State-Resistance Doctrine.” You never know — it
32 Franklin Place, Glen Rock, NJ 07452 might turn out to be the source of the Islamic Repub-
Name(s): _____________________________________________ Email: _________________________________________
lic’s coming collapse. JNs.ORG
Phone: ________________________________________________ Cell: ______________________________________
For security reasons, please include names of ALL attendees when registering
Ben Cohen writes a weekly column on Jewish affairs and
Middle Eastern politics. His work has been published
Questions? 201.652.1687 sweettastesoftorah@gmail.com in Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, the Wall
Street Journal, and many other publications.

50 Jewish standard JanUarY 19, 2018


Bo: The power of letting go
“Say your piece!”
“Speak your mind!”
“Stand up for yourself.”
These are all lessons that we are taught
regarding self-advocacy and advocacy for
other people or causes. I sign petitions and
deliver sermons and create educational
curricula based on doing what I think
is right and how I can help give voice to
marginalized people in our communities.
When we believe in something so much,
when we value something so special (espe-
cially our loved ones), it’s in our nature to
never give up. To keep trying. To fight for
justice. And for most of my life, that’s what
I’ve done. Maybe some of you fall in my
camp.
And then I look at Moshe.
As we gear up in Parashat Bo for the
eighth plague, locusts, we see how Moshe
functions as the middle man. God tells
Moshe to tell Pharaoh, “Let My people
go.” And if not, says Moshe, there will be
locusts that will destroy your land and fill
all your palaces and Egyptian homes.
And then… Moshe stops.
The Torah says: “With that, he turned
and left Pharaoh’s presence” (Exodus
10:6). According to Abarbanel (15th
D’var Torah
century, Portugal), this is a authority to “get some- shelf, so, he grabbed it from her. This time,
detail that occurs with no other thing done.” the girl, “using her words” said “that’s not
plague. But in this case, power nice” — and turned the other way.
With that, he turned and left was in Moshe’s strategy She turned away and left the boy’s
Pharaoh’s presence. Wow. and that strategy involved presence.
We could look at Moshe and letting go. Moshe turned and left Pharaoh’s pres-
say: “How could he do that?” I once saw two young ence, too.
“How could he just say a few children, a boy and a girl, My life has not been short on moments
words and then just leave?” Did playing together. They had of trying to influence others. It’s at the
he really put his all into rescu- Rabbi a hard time sharing a toy. core of what I do as a rabbi. As parents,
ing the Israelites from slavery? Jennifer The boy took it from the or professionals, or friends, we feel pas-
Isn’t the future of his people Schlosberg girl and, upset, the girl hit sionate about something and want others
resting on his convincing Pha- Glen Rock him. Naturally, the boy hit to feel or act in similar ways, to believe
Jewish Center,
raoh to do the right thing? How Conservative
her back, and eventually in our cause. But the moment that I find
could Moshe just leave? both started to cry. myself trying to convince someone else of
According to the Ramban Our instincts, even as what’s good for them is the moment I lose
(12th century, present-day Spain), Moshe a child, teach us to defend ourselves. To my power.
purposefully left without Pharaoh’s per- stand up for ourselves. The little boy, who just took the book
mission and without waiting for an answer So I approached the little girl and I said right out of the girl’s hands, looked at the
from him. Moshe, remembering how to her, “What do you think would happen little girl, who just turned away. He was
fearful the Egyptians were from the last if you just didn’t hit him? What would hap- dumbfounded. He had a look of disap-
plague, wanted to give Pharaoh’s courtiers pen if you ignored him?” With tears in her pointment on his face, as if to say, “I just
a chance to convince Pharaoh that Moshe eyes, it was difficult for her to hear me, but made you mad! Aren’t you going to do
(and God) meant serious business. Moshe I think she did. something about it? Why aren’t you giving
used his power. And then it happened again; this time, me any attention?”
Society often teaches us that power is with a book. The girl, trying to ignore the The little girl just smiled.
about finding ways of getting our way, of other child, grabbed a book from the shelf. There is power in her silence.
convincing (or coercing) others of a par- Of course, that’s the only book the boy There is power when we turn and leave.
ticular outcome, of using our power or wanted from the hundreds of others on the There is power in just letting go.

Israeli high court says improving Western Wall egalitarian section key
JERUSALEM — During a four-hour session on the issue of
prayer rights for women at the city’s Western Wall, Isra-
el’s Supreme Court indicated that physical upgrades to the
section set aside for egalitarian prayer is key to satisfying
the government’s suspended agreement with the liberal
Jewish groups.
The judges, sitting in an expanded seven-justice panel,
criticized the state for not preventing violence and con-
frontations during the monthly prayer services of the
Women of the Wall in the regular women’s section.
Attorneys for the government told the justices that the
state would spend some $7 million to expand and improve
the egalitarian plaza at the southern end of the Western
Wall. The justices called on the state to move forward
quickly with this part of the plan.
In June, the cabinet suspended the deal passed in 2016
as a result of negotiations between the Reform and Con-
servative movements, the Women of the Wall, the Jewish
Agency for Israel, and the Israeli government. The sus-
pension came after the government’s charedi Orthodox
coalition partners pressured Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to scrap the agreement. The plan also would
have included a common entrance to the Western Wall
plaza for all three sections and a public board to oversee
the egalitarian prayer space and would include represen-
tatives of the non-Orthodox movements and Women of
the Wall.
The justices questioned whether the parts of the agree-
ment that do not have to do with the physical structure
of the egalitarian section were essential to providing the
women with a place to pray in the style that they wanted.
Members of the Reform movement hold Torah
scrolls during a prayer service at the public square in
front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on
November 16, 2017.  NOAM RIVKIN FENTON/FLASH90
“Does lack of a joint entrance change your rights?”
Supreme Court President Justice Esther Hayut report-
edly asked. Meanwhile, Justice Noam Sohlberg report-
edly asked: “What has to be done to satisfy you? For the
Western Wall rabbi to personally present you with a Torah
scroll?”
Justice Yitzhak Amit reportedly asked why the section
had to be designated as state-sponsored, the Jerusalem
Post reported. “You don’t need the legislature to tell you
it’s the Western Wall, it is the Western Wall. Everything
we’re talking about is symbolic. Even if it’s not recognized
in law, it is the Western Wall,” Amit reportedly said.
The court watched video clips of the violence against
the women who pray monthly, sometimes with a Torah
scroll, in the women’s section, and against their support-
ers. The justices called on the state to do more to prevent
the attacks.
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, president and CEO of the Israel Move-
ment for Reform and Progressive Judaism, said in a state-
ment that the “actions of the government over the past
two years show that it obviously intends to keep the exist-
ing egalitarian platform completely separate from the
Kotel, without using the appropriate budgets and without
representation for the groups using the egalitarian plat-
form in the governance of the site.
He added: “It is our belief and hope that when the
Court sees the partial and unsuitable plans of the gov-
ernment, it will decide that its conduct discriminates
against millions of Jews in Israel and throughout the
world. We will continue to operate both in the legal and
public spheres in order to achieve the desired reality
where every Jew and every Jewish community can pray
according to their traditions at the Kotel in a respectful
and egalitarian manner.”
Women of the Wall chairperson Anat Hoffman said in a
statement: “Today’s hearing deepened and amplified the
understanding that the original Kotel Agreement solution,
which came out of discussion and compromise, is the only
fair solution to all. The solutions offered today would all
be submission to an extreme ultra-Orthodox minority
which took over the most valuable national resource that
belongs to Am Yisrael and all Jews around the world.”
 JTA WIRE SERVICE

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 51

Crossword
“LUMINARIES”
BY YONI GLATT, KOSHERCROSSWORDS@GMAIL.COM
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MEDIUM
Across
1. Apple or tomato
6. Intensifies
10. Like an unclosed honey pot
14. End of a shoelace
15. Emperor whom the Talmud says
became a proselyte
16. He played Kane’s Wayne
17. Goldie Hawn’s daughter
19. Sean Connery, for one
20. Holy Land abbr.
21. Daughter involved in a property dis-
pute
22. Like lox
24. He’s appeared many times with Rogen
and Banks
28. “One sec,” online
29. Candy-___
30. Like Solomon as king, compared to
his son
33. Friend of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern
36. “Magniv!” (In the 1960’s)
38. One is made on chametz
39. Adam’s 930, e.g.
40. Anderson who often casts Jason
Schwartzman
42. HaZikaron preceder
44. Mossad counterpart: Abbr.
45. Future tulip, say
47. Homerian exclamation
49. More likely to stay home from work
51. Belgian shoe
53. Sherpas, nationally
55. Persian, e.g.
56. Israel’s most famous woman
59. “All in the Family” role
62. “Hawaii Five-0” actor Daniel ___ Kim
63. ___ L’Tzedek
65. Many millennia
66. The themers in this puzzle or what
you get when you properly connect
the two sets of circled ABCs
70. “E.T.” transport
71. Neighbor of Saudi Arabia
72. Country where Modi is in
73. Chutzpah
74. Jacob’s twelve
75. Makes like Haman
52 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Down
1. “The Open Window” pen name
2. Audibly shocked
3. ___ Orthodox
4. Chabad capital?
5. Biblical suffix
6. Over ___ (sign-off)
7. ___ Kiddushin (wedding leader)
8. Where some athletes go
9. Jacob’s twelve
10. Takes in, like the tribe of Simeon into
Judah
11. His name reversed is a game
12. Soothing ointment
13. Abbr. after many a general’s name
18. Lacking a G or an R
23. Deg. for Bloomberg
25. ___A (Bruin’s sch.)
26. ‘20s movie mogul
27. “Band of Brothers” event
31. First name behind “A Jew Today”
32. Stern (nautically)
33. Montreal Canadiens, familiarly
34. Mayim, in Spain
35. Living comic legend
37. Amounts of medicine
41. Zemer
43. Kunis of “Family Guy”
46. Ludlum’s “Identity” and “Ultimatum”
48. Progress
50. Heroic Heston role
52. Friday letters that precede “F”
54. Area west of the Mississippi
57. Perform better than
58. A Jewfro or hazel eyes
59. Says loshon hara, perhaps
60. Princess who can fly through space
(apparently)
61. “This is ___ for Superman!”
64. Levin and Glass
67. Rock genre
68. Jacob’s was injured by an angel
69. 56-Across hosted it on Oct. 7, 2017
The solution to last week’s
puzzle is on page 58.
The Frazzled Housewife
I used to like apples…
A
pparently I am a negative
person. My son told me this. start drinking because they were waiting
And some other people.
Every morning, when I wake
up way earlier than I want to, I do say
“Modeh Ani…” I thank God that I can get
up and walk around and breathe in the
air. I really do. But then, a few moments
later, reality sets in.
And in the spirit of negativity, I would “appointment” isn’t for three years. So
like to talk about the Apple store. Last
week, I shared with you how
I hate football and I hate
math. This week, you get to
hear how I hate the Apple
store. It is the bane of my
existence. Really and truly.
If I was being positive,
I would say I am so grate-
ful that I have a car that
can take me to the mall. I
have legs that can walk me Banji
inside. I have a mouth that Ganchrow
I can talk to the Geniuses
who work in this place that
drives me absolutely mad!! Darn, that
negativity always creeps in. So to all of
you positive people, and you know who
you are, what am I supposed to feel when
I have wasted six and a half hours of my
life in the Apple store???? Those are
hours that I am never getting back. Ever.
When I am lying on my deathbed, hope-
fully well medicated and surrounded by
my family, who hasn’t deserted me for
being so crazy, can I get those six and a
half hours back???? No, I cannot.
I hate the Apple store.
I am sure you are so curious as to why
I have spent so much time at the Apple
store. (I am actually starting to wonder
if I am giving them free advertising by
mentioning them so often. Who am I
kidding? They don’t need any advertis-
ing because they have no competition!!!)
Son #3. His stupid computer. As
much as I don’t understand football, I
understand this whole technology stuff
even less. An apple is supposed to be a
healthy snack, not a complicated piece
of machinery that is designed to break
so you have to buy a new one. Anyway,
something about it performing slowly
(welcome to my world, I am slow every
day, do I need a Genius?). We make an
appointment. Why? So you can get there
and wait at a table for the next available to sell you because those things would do
Genius. I think they got rid of the genius just as much. But she “tried”…..
So to all of you positive people,
and you know who you are,
what am I supposed to feel when
I have wasted six and a half hours
of my life in the Apple store????
bar because people were tempted to
there so long.
Here is our Genius, fresh out of kin-
dergarten, and he has all the answers.
Nothing is wrong with your computer.
Hallelujah! I can fix it for you. And he
does, after two hours. And 36 hours
later, it stops turning on. And the next
boymom of the year shows up at the mall
at 9:36 a.m., before the
store opens, because she is
so afraid that her kids are
going to put her in a nurs-
ing home. Which they are
anyway. But you all have
read that line before.
Did you know that if you
show up at the Apple store
before it opens, you get an
appointment right away? It
was like stand-by for show
tickets. I actually felt like I
pulled one over on Apple.
I did not. Genius #2 (not to be confused
with son #2, who is a genius because he
convinced his father to let him stay in
Israel two more months…I digress, sorry)
informed me, after another two hours,
that the “blah blah blah blah 475 dollars
blah blah new computer blah blah.”
Fast forward to two days later, when
I bring son #3 in for a new computer.
There is a wait to buy new products —
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! Two and a
half hours later, after explaining that the
computer worked before we brought
it in initially, we were the owners of a
brand new Mac Something or Other —
and were told to call customer service
because they would give us some sort
of financial dispensation for what hap-
pened with the computer.
End of the story? I have been on hold
with customer service for more than
three hours….Ladies and gentleman, I
was in labor for less time with son #3.
I can no longer look at an apple.
Now I know why Adam and Eve got in
trouble….
Banji Ganchrow now has the phone
number of the most powerful person at
Apple customer service. She also has
some tokens and a bridge that she wants
 Arts & Culture
The 27th New York Jewish Film Festival
ERIC A. GOLDMAN

T
his year’s 27th New York Jew-
ish Film Festival has a well-put-
together mix of new documen-
taries, film narratives, short
films, and works by new filmmakers. It is a
return to a world-class festival after a few
years of errant choices, where films with
questionable Jewish content were shown
and odd showcases that had no real Jew-
ish content were the norm. The selection
committee this year did a marvelous job of
selecting fine cinema with Jewish content
from around the world — I counted more
than 15 countries — providing a great lens
on the diversity of the Jewish people.
Much to its credit, the festival also is pro-
viding an opportunity to see many of the
great Israeli film classics that recently were
restored in Israel; it also, and as usual,
gives us the chance to examine works with
the filmmakers present. Kudos to festival
director Aviva Weintraub and selection
committee chair Rachel Chanoff.
Counterclockwise from above,
The festival opened with a screening of
scenes from “Late Summer Blues,”
Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s “Raz-
“The Invisibles,” and “Sammy Davis, Jr.:
zia,” a fascinating look at Moroccan life
I’ve Gotta Be Me.”
and culture as reflected through five differ-
ent personalities. The mix of characters,
which includes Joe the Jewish restaurateur,
provides an alluring look at the majesty
of Casablanca. Daniel Najenson exposes
a long-known but rarely discussed turn
of the 20th century Buenos Aires Jewish
prostitution ring in his acerbic Argentin-
ian documentary “The Impure.” “The
Invisibles,” a German film by Claus Raifle,
sheds light on the story of 1,700 Jews who
hid in Berlin during World War II — it’s an
unimaginable story, but it’s true. “Sammy
Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me” is a dazzling
documentary by Sam Pollard about the tal- a standout performance by Israeli Arab
ented black Jewish performer whose work actor Salim Dau (seen most recently in
enthralled three generations. I really liked “Fauda”) probably is Israel’s most potent
the choice to show the documentary “The dark comedic touch, as an Arab laborer Jewish, is a fitting tribute to the great actor anti-war film of all time. Renen Schorr’s
Prince and the Dybbuk,” by Piotr Roso- hired by a progressive Israeli is accused of Jeanne Moreau, who died this summer. “Late Summer Blues” was a groundbreak-
lowski and Elwira Niewiera, about the Pol- a crime. In the German/Israeli co-produc- Maya Zach’s 24 minute “Counterlight,” ing 1988 film about a group of high school
ish director Michal Waszynski, who hid his tion “The Cakemaker,” Ofir Raul Graizer inspired by poet Paul Celan, rounds out seniors about to go into the army. Schorr
Jewish origins. Waszynski, who directed sensitively tells the story of a gay German the selection of newer Israeli films. explored the motivation of young Israelis,
one of the great Yiddish films, “The Dyb- baker and his encounter with the Israeli Three Israeli classics recently restored in a few of whom were questioning whether
buk,” had identity issues, and the docu- widow of the man they both loved. Chen Israel are being screened at Lincoln Cen- army service might be avoided. The film
mentary is nicely paired with that 1937 film Shelach’s documentary “Praise the Lord” ter. Gilberto Tofano was brought from Italy was one of the first to question compul-
at the festival. There will also be a world digs deep into how pig farming and the to Israel in 1969 to make “Siege,” the first sory military service and the Zionist ideal
premiere of Alexander Rodnyansky’s 1990 sale of pork in Israel questioned some of Israeli film to look at the impact of war on of being ready to die for your country.
“The Mission of Raoul Wallenberg,” a the very tenets of the Zionist state. Amos women. The film, with an outstanding cast The New York Jewish Film Festival is at
movie that explores the mysterious disap- Gitai, one of Israel’s foremost filmmakers, — Gila Almagor, Yehoram Gaon, and Dahn Lincoln Center and is a co-production of
pearance and death of the diplomat, who gives us “West of the Jordan River,” the Ben Amotz — is about how her husband’s the Jewish Museum and Film Society of
is one of the Righteous Among the Nations. festival’s closing night film, his attempt to closest friends keep the widow of a soldier Lincoln Center. It goes through January 23.
And if you are in the mood for a good sus- give voice to Israelis and Palestinians deal- killed in the Six Day War from moving on
pense thriller, catch “Across the Waters” ing with Israel’s control of the West Bank. with her life. Rafi Bukaee’s 1986 “Avanti Eric Goldman teaches at Yeshiva University
from Danish filmmaker Nicolo Donato. Gitai’s 2008 film, “One Day You’ll Under- Popolo” struggles to look at war and how and Fairleigh Dickinson University. His
This year, as usual, Israel is well repre- stand,” about a middle-aged French busi- enemies somehow can relate and con- interview show, “Jewish Cinematheque,” is
sented. Tzahi Grad’s “The Cousin” delves nessman’s discovery of wartime letters nect when they find themselves together on the Jewish Broadcasting Service and is
into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a that shockingly shows that his mother was after a conflict. This brilliant film, with available on most cable systems.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 53

Calendar by congregant Paul
Friday  Aronsohn, a former
Ridgewood mayor.
JANUARY 19 475 Grove St. www.
synagogue.org.
Shabbat in Wayne:
Representatives of Teen Idol in Teaneck:
Passaic County CASA, The annual Teaneck
a child advocacy non- Teen Idol contest is at
profit organization, talk Teaneck High School,
about the organization’s 8 p.m. Anthony Johnson
work during services of Channel 7 “Eyewitness
at Temple Beth Tikvah, News” will emcee and
7:30 p.m. Jessica Felicia Temple, a stand-
Mickley, the group’s out contestant from “The
community outreach Voice” last season and
coordinator, will lead a former Teaneck Idol
a Q&A and discussion. contestant, is among
950 Preakness Ave. the judges. Contestants
(973) 595-6565 or www.
templebethtikvahnj.org.
are from public,
private, and religious
schools. Visit www.
Saturday  teaneckcommunitychorus.
org or call
JANUARY 20 (201) 390-8683.
Sunday  County’s Ethical Culture Society and
JANUARY 21
Party showcase in
Central Jersey: Party
Showcase has an event
at Congregation B’nai
Israel in Millburn, 11 a.m.-
2 p.m. New Jersey’s
#1 party showcase for
help planning a bar/
Shelby Klein
bat mitzvah, wedding,
sweet 16, or party, offers
25 vendors including
DJs, photographers,
videographers, party
and photo favors,
entertainers, balloon
specialists, invitations,
photo booths, variety
entertainment, and a
kosher caterer. Gourmet
food served. 160 Millburn
James Thebery Ave. (908) 665-4165 or
partyshowcase.com.
Shabbat in Ridgewood:
Temple Israel & Jewish
Community Center hosts
a disabilities awareness
panel discussion, noon,
after services. Program
will focus on services
available in Bergen
County to people with
all kinds of disabilities. Ballet in Franklin Lakes:
Shelby Klein, LSW, Temple Emanuel of North
president/CEO of the Jersey screens a video
Adler Aphasia Center of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan
in Maywood, and Lake,” 1:30 p.m. Ice cream
James Thebery, MA, and popcorn. Canceled if
CSW, director of the the weather is bad. 558
Bergen County Office of High Mountain Road.
Disability Services, will (201) 560-0200 or www.
speak. The discussion tenjfl.org.
will be facilitated
54 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Genealogy in Wayne:
The Jewish Genealogical
Society of North Jersey
meets at the Wayne
YMCA for a discussion,
“Portuguese Jews: A
Sephardic Journey,”
with Dolce Vieira,
2:30 p.m. Refreshments.
The Charles & Bessie
Goldman Library will be
open for resources and
socializing at 2. 1 Pike
Drive. (973) 595-0100; or
Susan, (732) 412-7606,
President@jgsnj.org, or
www.jgsnj.org.
Tuesday
JANUARY 23
Blood drive in Teaneck:
Holy Name Medical
Center holds a blood
drive with New Jersey JAN. Dr. Joseph Chuman, leader of Bergen
30
Blood Services, a
division of New York professor of human rights at Columbia
Blood Center, 2-8 p.m.
718 Teaneck Road. University, will lead a study group, “The
(800) 933-2566 or www. Global Refugee Crisis: Why People Leave,” for the
nybloodcenter.org. Bergen County section of the National Council
of Jewish Women on Tuesday at the lower level
C
Torah study in Wyckoff:
Temple Beth Rishon conference center at the Shops at Riverside in A
continues a Torah study
mini-module, led by Hackensack, 1 p.m. Light refreshments. (201) 385-4847 e
O
Rabbi Lois Ruderman, or www.ncjwbcs.org.
7:30 p.m. 585 Russell t
Ave. (201) 891-4466 or F
bethrishon.org. starring comedian Uncle
Shabbat in Wyckoff: i
Saturday  Temple Beth Rishon
Floyd, with comedians
a
Wednesday  JANUARY 27 offers services led by
Steve Marshall and
Inna Swinton, 7:30 p.m. c
JANUARY 24 Rabbi Ziona Zelazo, Admission includes b
including meditations spaghetti dinner.
with music and self- I
Café Europa in Teaneck: 475 Grove St. www.
Café Europa, a social reflection, 10-11 a.m. synagogue.org. m
Bring a mat and water;
program sponsored d
no prior meditation
by Jewish Family &
Children’s Services of experience. 585 Russell Sunday  w
Northern New Jersey for Ave. (201) 891-4466 or JANUARY 28
Holocaust survivors, with bethrishon.org. t
generous funding from
Tu B’Shevat in New Stephen Flatow in e
the Claims Conference, Westfield: Stephen
City: The Nanuet Hebrew
meets at Temple Emeth, Dr. Rachel Korazim Flatow tells his story
Center has Mincha,
11:30 a.m. Kosher lunch to the Israel Support
4:15 p.m.; Tu B’Shevat
and a program with Shabbat in Closter: Committee of Central
seder, 4:45; Ma’ariv and
Israeli scouts. 1666 Dr. Rachel Korazim is New Jersey at Temple
Havdalah, 5:30; screening
Windsor Road. Shari scholar-in-residence at Emanu-El, 2 p.m. In 1994,
of “Sing” movie and
Brodsky, (201) 837-9090, Temple Emanu-El during his 23-year-old daughter,
karaoke at 6:30, with
ext. 237, or sharib@ services that begin at Alisa, was murdered by
pizza, popcorn, and ice
jfcsnnj.org. 9 a.m. She is a freelance Palestinian terrorists.
cream. 411 South Little
Jewish education Tor Road. (845) 708-9181 To get justice from Iran,
consultant specializing in or www.nanuethc.org. which financed the
curriculum development attack, Flatow fought
for Israel and Holocaust Comedy in Ridgewood: the State and Justice
education. 180 Piermont Temple Israel & JCC in departments, the courts,
Road. (201) 750-9997 or Ridgewood’s Brandeis and some of Europe’s
templeemanu-el.com. Men’s Club presents an largest banks, until he
adults-only comedy night won. Light refreshments.

756 E. Broad St. Conrad
Nadell, (908) 531-8228.
Music in Teaneck: The
Teaneck Community
Chorus presents its
winter concert, “Music
Lessons — Broadway’s
Words of Wisdom,”
3 p.m., at Teaneck
High School. www.
teaneckcommunitychorus.
org.
In New York
Monday  Seniors meet in Suffern:
JANUARY 22
Book talk: Award-
winning writers Dara
Horn (“Eternal Life”)
and Ruby Namdar (“The
Ruined House”), sit down
with Sandee Brawarsky
of Teaneck, the Jewish
Week’s culture editor,
to discuss their careers,
inspirations, and Jewish
identities, at the Museum
of Jewish Heritage —
A Living Memorial to
the Holocaust, 7 p.m.
Presented in partnership
with The Jewish Week.
36 Battery Place.
www.mjhnyc.org or
(646) 437-4202.
Thursday  Singles
JANUARY 25
Book talk: Author Alan
Kaufman discusses
his memoir, “Jew Boy,”
at the Museum of
Jewish Heritage — A Kaplen JCC University registering
Living Memorial to
the Holocaust, 7 p.m. The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in
Presented in partnership Tenafly is registering for its JCC Univer-
with Young Friends of
the Museum. 36 Battery sity, an adult education program that
Place. www.mjhnyc.org offers participants the opportunity to
or (646) 437-4202. rekindle past passions, ignite new inter-
ests, meet new people, and stay involved
in the developments that shape today’s
world. Top professors and experts talk
about topics including literature, art,
Sunday  film, science, psychology, and politics.
JANUARY 21 Enrollment is open for a four-session
winter term. On January 25, Professor A.
Singles 65+ of the JCC
Tom Grunfeld, who has been to North
Rockland meets for Korea, returns to JCC U to discuss “The
lunch at Sutter’s Mill, United States and North Korea — A Tense
noon. 214 Route 59, Relationship,” and Dr. Jeremy Dauber
Suffern, N.Y. Individual
checks. Seymour,
of Columbia will take on “Jewish Com-
(845) 848-2038. edy: A Serious History.” On February 8,
commentator psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz
discusses “The Power of Different: The
Link Between Disorder and Genius.” Will
Friedwald, who has written nine books
Calendar
on music and popular culture, will talk
about “The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal
Albums.” On February 22, local author
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, a former
Google data scientist and who now is a
lecturer at Wharton, will discuss “Every-
body Lies: What the Internet Can Tell Us
About Who We Really Are,” and Profes-
sor Brian Rose will talk about “The Holly-
wood Star System.” March 8 brings Tobi
Kahn, the renowned painter, sculptor,
and art lecturer, whose full-day program
is “Looking at Israeli Art.”
JCC U happens on Thursdays; it begins
with coffee and conversation at 10:30
a.m. Morning presentation runs from
10:45 to noon; lunch (buy or bring your
own) is from noon to 12:45 p.m.; and the
afternoon presentation is from 12:45 to
2. To register, go to www. jccotp.org or
call Kathy Graff at (201) 408-1454.

Announce your events

We welcome announcements of upcoming events. Announcements are free. Accompanying
Cookbook/foodie event in Fair Lawn photos must be high resolution, jpg files. Send announcements 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Not
every release will be published. Include a daytime telephone number and send to:

As part of Jewish Federation of North- pr@jewishmediagroup.com • 201-837-8818 x 110

ern New Jersey’s annual “One Book,
One Community” year-old celebration,
the Maurice M. Pine Public Library in
Fair Lawn hosts “Prepare it and Share
PE N !
it.” The event will be on Monday, Janu-
ary 22, at 7 p.m. Participants are wel-
OW O
come to pick a recipe from this year’s
book selection, “Zahav—A World of
N Thousands of Combinations
Unique and Healthy Toppings * Homemade Dressings
Israeli Cooking” by Michael Solo-
monov and Steven Cook,” prepare a
dish and bring it to the library to share Choose a Delicious
with the community.
A copy of the book is at the reference desk on Level D. There is no fee but reserva- Fresh Salad from our Menu
or Create Your Own
tions are required. For information, call Leslie Kruegel at (201) 796-3400 ext. 2 or
email leslie.kruegel@fairlawn.bccls.org.

Open house for

Ben-Gurion medical school
Join members of the New York-based
Ben-Gurion University’s Medical School
for International Health’s admissions
team, along with some of its alumni, for
an open house on Tuesday, January 23,
at 6:30 p.m., in New York City.
MSIH is a four-year North American-
style medical school that incorporates
global health coursework into all four
years of the curriculum. It offers small
classes and a challenging program that
prepares students to practice medicine
in the United States and around the
world. Is is an English-language track
program in the Faculty of Health Sci-
ences at Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev and it is affiliated with Colum-
bia University’s College of Physicians
and Surgeons. The first three years of
instruction take place in Israel; fourth-
year clinical electives are at Columbia
University Medical Center and other
affiliated hospital locations in North
America, including Mount Sinai. The
school has a New York-based electives Fresh and Healthy Garden Salads,
coordinator who supports students Grain Bowls, Soups, and Sandwiches
who seek electives at other institutions
as well. Fourth-year students complete
an eight-week clerkship with an under-
served community at approved sites
throughout the world. Students are pre-
pared to take the USMLE Steps 1 and 2,
and complete residencies in the United
182 West Englewood Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666
States and Canada. The 2017 residency
201-837-9900
match rate was 90 percent.
For the location and more infor-
E mail: info@vinaigrette-nj.com
mation, email msihadmissions@ ORDER ONLINE www.vinaigrette-nj.com
post.bgu.ac.il. under supervision of RCBC

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 55

Jewish World
A son of refuseniks chronicles
the slow dissolve of Russia’s Jews
PENNY SCHWARTZ
BROOKLINE, MASS . — When Maxim
Shrayer went to Moscow for a five-day visit
at the end of October 2016, his itinerary
included a trip to the Jewish Museum and
Tolerance Center.
Shrayer, who emigrated from Russia to
the United States with his refusenik activ-
ist parents 30 years ago, is an acclaimed
scholar of Jewish-Russian literature and
culture as well as an award-winning writer
on the Jewish-Russian émigré experience
(“Waiting for America: A Story of Emi-
gration” and “Leaving Russia”) and of
a work of short fiction (“Yom Kippur in
Amsterdam”).
He took a cab to the museum, where he
delivered a literary paper at the Moscow
International Conference on Combating
Anti-Semitism that was organized by the
Russian Jewish Congress, the World Jewish
Congress, and the city of Moscow.
But the next day, on the advice of his
longtime friend, the prominent filmmaker
Oleg Dorman, who still lives in Moscow,
Shrayer returned to the museum. This
time he took a tram.
As the No. 19 tram approached the stop
for the museum, which opened in 2012, a
pre-recorded voice announced the stop as
the Palace of Culture of MIIT, Museum and
Tolerance Center. As Dorman had warned
him, the word “Jewish” was left out of the
museum’s name.
The mystifying omission was unsettling.
Was the word Jewish dropped deliber-
ately? Was it a linguistic nuance, Shrayer
wondered, or did it have larger and more
worrying meaning?
Shrayer discusses the mystery — along
with the history of the No. 19 tram and
the evolution of the Jewish neighborhood
it passes through — in an early chapter of
“With or Without You: The Prospect for
Jews in Today’s Russia” (Academic Studies
Press). Shrayer’s book adds to his reputa-
tion as a go-to scholar and commentator
on Jewish-Russian life and culture.
In November, Shrayer, a professor of
Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at
Boston College, where he co-founded the
university’s Jewish studies center, was
named the director of the new Project on
Russian and Eurasian Jewry at Harvard
University’s Davis Center, in partnership
with the Genesis Foundation.
Until now, Shrayer has shied away from
probing one question that has been ever-
present for him: Why do Jews stay in Rus-
sia? Had the time come to write an elegy
for Russian Jewry? For him, even consid-
ering the question has been a source of
emotional conflict.
He used the trip to the Moscow confer-
ence as a jumping-off point for a kind of
fact-finding mission, probing the subject in
56 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Visitors to the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow look at one of
the many sculptures depicting the history of Jewish life in Russia.
Maxim Shrayer sits in his office at
Harvard University. LEE PELLEGRINI
a series of interviews with Jewish friends,
new acquaintances, and leaders of Russia’s
Jewish community.
The result is a slim, engaging, and ele-
gant read that goes beneath the surface to
reveal a multilayered portrait of Jewish life
in Russia today. The people he interviewed
include Berel Lazar, whom the govern-
ment recognizes as the chief rabbi of Rus-
sia; Anna Bokshitskaya, a journalist and
executive director of the Russian Jewish
Congress; and even a couple of non-Jewish
Russian expat clowns who now live in the
United States and entertain their Russian
audiences with Jewish-inflected shtick.
On a recent afternoon, Shrayer sat down
at a favorite cafe in this suburb near Bos-
ton, home to a large Jewish population,
where he lives with his American-born
wife, Karen Lasser, a physician, and their
in the country is increasingly politically
suffocating.”
In the book’s chapter on anti-Semitism,
Shrayer reports the recent findings of
COURTESY OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM AND TOLERANCE CENTER
the public opinion study conducted by
the Levada Center, a Russian nongovern-
ment research organization, that found
attitudes toward Jews in Russia have
improved dramatically over the years,
and that overtly negative views about
Jews are at an all-time low.
Nonetheless, the study found, there are
reasons to be cautious, particularly on the
views within certain populations groups.
This rings for true to Shrayer, he said.
Anti-Semitism is a kind of leitmotif
that ran through his interviews and con-
versations. “There wasn’t a person who
dismissed it,” Shrayer said. At the same
time, it is not the most pressing issue for
many of the people he interviewed, he
observed.
The numbers are telling, he said. There
two school-age daughters, Mira and Tati- are now about 170,000 Jews in Russia,
ana. Shrayer’s parents, David Shrayer- according to Mark Tolts, a Hebrew Uni-
Petrov and Emilia Shrayer, both literary versity demographer. That’s a tenth of
lights in Russian literature, live nearby. the community’s size in 1989, as counted
Parents and son have collaborated on in the last Soviet census. Combined with
several books, including the most recent, an aging population, low birth rate, and
“Dinner With Stalin,” a collection of stories increased immigration to Israel, Shrayer
by David Shrayer-Petrov. wonders what the county will look like
“With or Without You” is a departure in 50 years.
from decades of Shrayer’s earlier writing “Jewish faces and Jewish names are
on the Jewish presence in Russia, much starting to vanish from the Russian main-
of it based in the 19th and 20th centuries. stream — from literature, the arts and the
Those were stories of the past, he said. entertainment industry, but also from the
“The mantra for me had always been, I achievement rolls of science, medicine
was writing about the past, the Jews’ Rus- and the humanities,” he writes.
sian and Soviet past, because in a sense I Has Shrayer overcome his sense of the
have moved on,” Shrayer said. “I did not divide between him and the Jews who stay
feel that the story of Jews who remained in in Russia? As a result of his research, he
Russia was my story. And he added that he is both more emotionally connected, but
was “always puzzled why these Jews who also, paradoxically, more disconnected.
were still there had stayed.” “There’s a feeling of not quite mourn-
Shrayer’s working method involved ing, but certainly a feeling of deep sad-
Mira, the older of his daughters, who ness,” he said. “It’s coming from a place
was 10 when she accompanied him that is somewhere deep inside.”
on the trip. She is a constant pres- It brings Shrayer back to the Jewish
ence, both a witness and an addressee Museum and Tolerance Center, whose gal-
through the book, he suggested. As they leries and exhibits shed light on the story
walked around the city together, Shrayer of Jews in Russia. “It’s a great museum,”
described to her what it had been like for he said. But in part, it’s a museum of those
him growing up and what it was like for who stayed, for those who stayed — and
Jews during the Soviet period. for their countrymen. Among the muse-
The result is part historical and cultural um’s exhibits, pictured on the jacket of his
investigation, and part memoir and travel- book, are life-size plaster casts of Jews in
ogue, he said. period garb — all as white as ghosts.
Shrayer said the responses of the peo- Shrayer learned recently that the audio
ple he interviewed formed three groups: recording on the No. 19 tram, as well as
Jews who identify religiously and are the sign on its stop, have been changed,
committed to the continuity of Jewish and riders now hear and see the full name
religious and communal life; others who of the museum. He’s not claiming it’s his
stay for personal circumstances — elderly doing — that would be extremely chutz-
parents, perhaps, being in a mixed mar- pahdik, he said.
riage, or owning a lucrative business; and Nonetheless, he added, the correction
those who may leave but not because suggests to him that the story of Russia’s
they are Jews, but “because the situation Jews resists closure. JTA WIRE SERVICE
 Obituaries

Roslyn Bloom
Roslyn Bloom, née Sadinoff,
85, formerly of Teaneck,
died January 15.
Predeceased by a brother,
Frank Sadinoff, she is
survived by her husband,
Dr. Alan; children, Jordan,
Sherry, and Lee (Lisa); a
brother, Sy Sadinoff; and a
grandchild, Max.
Donations can be sent
to the Jewish Center of
Teaneck or National
Council of Jewish Women.
Arrangements were by
Gutterman and Musicant
Jewish Funeral Directors,
Hackensack.
Ethel Deutsch
Ethel Deutsch, 89, of Rock-
leigh, formerly of the Bronx
and Manhattan, died Janu-
ary 13.
Predeceased by brothers
Arthur and Benjamin, she is
survived by a sister, Shirley
Donations can be
made to Jewish Family
& Children’s Services of
Northern New Jersey.
Arrangements were by
Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.
Herbert Krieger
Herbert Krieger, 92, of
Lake Worth, Fla., River
Vale, and Fair Lawn, died
January 12.
A CPA, he was a founding
partner of Krieger, Mintz &
Rosenfeld, past president
of the Paterson B’nai B’rith
Lodge #143, vice president
of the Wayne YM-YWHA,
leader in UJA in north
Jersey, and president of his
condo association in Lake
Worth.
He is survived by his
wife, Gloria; children,
Beth Deutchman (Ira), and
Marc (Pat); a sister, Irma
Feffer; grandchildren Jeff,
Irving Kornstein
Irving Kornstein, 94, of
Tenafly, died January 9.
Born in Newark, he was a
World War II Navy veteran,
and before retiring, he was
a manufacturer in the letter-
ing business.
He is survived by his
wife, Gloria, née Siegel;
children, Howard of Boca
Raton, Fla., Robert of New
York City, and Adrienne
of Jericho, N.Y.
Arrangements were by
Eden Memorial Chapel,
Fort Lee.
Marvin Schwartz
Marvin Schwartz, 90, of
Wayne, formerly of Fair
Lawn and Paterson, died
January 14. Following his
military service, he had a
40-year career as a medical
technologist.
He is survived by his
wife, Yolanda; children,
#WeRemember Holocaust memorial
campaign spreads to 45 countries
The World Jewish Congress has launched
a global campaign encouraging millions of
people to use social media to raise aware-
ness about the Holocaust. It’s tied to Inter-
national Holocaust Remembrance Day,
which falls on January 27.
The campaign calls on people in every
country to hold up a sign with the words
“We Remember,” and post it on Facebook,
Instagram, or Twitter, using the hashtag
#WeRemember.
The campaign took off last week and
already has spread to 45 countries.
“Anti-Semitism is more prevalent today
than it has been at any time since World
War II, and bigotry and discrimination still A woman holds a “We Remember” sign
rear their ugly heads all around the world. as part of the World Jewish Congress’s
This is why we all must declare, together, social media campaign. Facebook
that we remember,” the WJC’s CEO, Robert
Singer, said. up “We Remember” signs.
Holocaust survivors, lawmakers, gov- WJC President Ronald Lauder said it is
ernment ministers, and religious leaders the responsibility of the young generation
from around the world, as well as soccer to teach their friends about the horrors of
and basketball stars, have joined the proj- hatred and spread the message that “never
ect and have been photographed holding again” means “never again.” JNS.ORG

Peters; nieces and nephews,
Madelynn (Neil), Jonathan
(Beth), Helaine (Ken),
Michael, Peter (Lori), and
Meredith; and great-nieces
and great-nephews.
Arrangements were by
Robert Schoem’s Menorah
Chapel, Paramus.
Helen Goldstein
Helen Joseph Loew Gold-
stein, 95, of Teaneck,
formerly of Fair Lawn, died
January 11.
Predeceased by her
husbands, Bernard Loew
and Bernard Goldstein, and
Emily, Doug, Kate Groob Debra Berlinger (Alan),
( Jason); nephews, nieces, and David (Inez);
and cousins. grandchildren, Joshua,
Donations may be made Jason and Julia Berlinger;
to Jewish Federation of and step-grandchildren,
Northern New Jersey, Dustin and Zack Steiner.
Anti-Defamation League, Donations can be sent
or Scleroderma Founda- to the Alzheimer’s Associa-
tion Tri-State Chapter, Inc. tion. Arrangements were by
Arrangements were by Robert Schoem’s Menorah
Robert Schoem’s Menorah Chapel, Paramus.
Chapel, Paramus.
Robert Schoem’s Menorah Chapel, Inc
Jewish Funeral Directors In loving memory of
Family Owned & managed
Generations of Lasting Service to the Jewish Community

a son, William Loew, she is
survived by children, Nancy
Richter (David); daughter-in-
law, Andrea Loew; grand-
children, Lisa, Jason (Ale-
sia), Bryan (Bonnie), Daniel
(Rachel), and Jacob; and five
great-grandchildren.
Obituaries
are prepared
with information
provided by
funeral homes.
Correcting errors
is the
responsibility
of the
funeral home.
Al Sokolow
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Advance Planning Conferences Conveniently Arranged
at the Funeral Home or in Your Own Home
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Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018 57

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Jewish Standard JANUARY 19, 2018 59

Jewish World
Art studio in Berkeley combines painting and prayer
BEN SALES
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA — In the middle of a tradi-
tional Friday night service in this artists’ district in the
crunchy mecca of Berkeley, California, a group of 40
worshippers paused their prayers to gather around a
group of “found objects”: an empty picture frame, fake
flowers, a doorknob.
Each attendee then sought out an object that for what-
ever reason he or she felt called to. Each told the group
what that object said about her or his own personal life
journey. Then the group kept praying.
Around the worshippers was what looked like a
mix between a small synagogue and an art classroom.
Above a hand drum, rows of pastel drawings hung
loosely on string under a bright sign with the words
“Works in Process.” A library mixing Jewish texts and
books on art and psychology was nearby. Across the
room, freestanding shelves offered glue, glitter, pens,
scissors, and other art supplies.
Some of the worshippers had made the artworks on
the wall. Others had come for the prayers, which — like
many other informal Jewish prayer groups — mixed folk
tunes and melodies by Shlomo Carlebach. But for the
Jewish Studio Project, which hosted the service, the goal
was to show the worshippers that those things aren’t so
different: that prayer can be art, and art can be prayer.
“The first role God had was as creator, and then, later,
we learn we were made in the image of this divine thing
whose role it is to create,” said Jeff Kasowitz, who co-
founded the Jewish Studio Project with his wife, Rabbi
Adina Allen. “Our belief and value is that each one of us is
inherently creative, even if we think we’re not.”
Allen and Kasowitz founded the Jewish Studio Project
in 2015 to merge their enthusiasm for traditional Jewish
study and ritual with their love for art. The project is hard
to define, exactly: It’s an art studio, but it doesn’t teach art our bones.”
techniques. It hosts Jewish prayer and study, but it’s not a
minyan or congregation. Its first immersive retreat starts
this month, but the participants aren’t all coming from
one community or workplace.
Instead, the project hopes to create a new entryway
to Jewish spirituality: not just through the prayer book,
the Talmud, or a social service mission, but through the
Maya Abramson, the studio manager of the Jewish Studio Project, sits in its art space, called Studio Am.
60 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018
Rabbi Adina Allen and her husband, Jeff Kasowitz, found-
ed the Jewish Studio Project in 2015 as a way for Jews to
gain access to their religion through art. PHOTOS BY BEN SALES
process of making art. The couple use a mix of earthy
language and new-age phrases — Kasowitz likes the term
“spiritual technology” — to describe what they see as
an emotional way of gaining access to Jewish life. They
warmly finish each other’s sentences.
“The way we use creative process is a way of seeking
new information, new insight, and ideas that aren’t read-
ily available at the intellectual surface,” Allen said.
Kasowitz jumps in: The art is “a technology to kind of
leave the head and tap into information that we have in
The organization regularly hosts open hours in its space,
called Studio Am (the Hebrew word for “people”), where
people can come and make art as they wish. But their
flagship exercise is called the “Jewish Studio Process,” an
art, writing, and study program Allen and Kasowitz have
run for groups in their studio and across the country. The
process begins with traditional Jewish hevruta learning,
where people pair off to delve into Jewish texts on a
particular theme.
The group then focuses on a certain word or phrase
they studied — what they call an “intention” — and
each person makes art based on it for an hour. The
goal is not to create a finished product but to engage in
the act of accessing an idea by making art. To that end,
participants are told not to comment on each other’s
work, and to “follow pleasure” — to do something that
makes them feel fulfilled. They finish the process by
describing their art through free-association writing.
“We’re not so much about art as we are about acti-
vating creativity,” Kasowitz said. “We’re not teachers
of art technique. We’re facilitators of spiritual process
and creativity activation. We believe deeply that when
our creativity is activated, really good things happen
in the world.”
Both Allen and Kasowitz came to found the project
in part because of their dissatisfaction with traditional
Jewish institutions. Allen loved her Jewish summer
camp as a kid but didn’t find the same kind of meaning
in synagogue. She was ordained at Hebrew College, a
non-denominational seminary near Boston, in 2014.
Kasowitz, who comes from a career in the nonprofit
world, grew up in a traditional Conservative home,
and met Allen as he was branching out into Renewal
and other alternative Jewish movements.
But as much as the couple is creating a new entry point
for people to connect with Judaism, they also want to
encourage more Jews to connect with art. That’s some-
thing Allen says makes people feel intimidated. So far,
4,000 participants have taken part in its programs,
which they also have brought to mainstream Jewish
organizations like Hillel and Hebrew Union College, the
Reform seminary.
“So many people come to our work who I don’t think
would normally do creative things, and they’re drawn in
by the Judaism,” she said. “We always talk about, ‘Raise
your hand if you were traumatized by your fourth grade
art teacher who told you you’d never be an artist,’ and it’s,
like, always half the group.”
The mainstream movements have caught on to a degree
to using art as a gateway to Jewish involvement. Versions
of an “Artists’ Beit Midrash” — projects combing art and
Jewish learning — have been held at Teaneck’s Congrega-
tion Beth Sholom, Manhattan’s Temple Emanu-El Skirball
Center, Chicago’s North Shore Synagogue Beth El, and the
Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee.
The Jewish Studio Project is also in many ways another
of the many independent, progressive Jewish communities
that have sprung up across the country in the past couple
of decades. It hosts High Holiday services with eclectic mel-
odies and a mix of traditional liturgy and contemporary
readings. It hosts occasional Shabbat services. It has classes
on the weekly Torah portion and programs in advance of
major Jewish holidays that combine art and study.
But Carle Brinkman, a friend of Allen and Kasowitz who
regularly attends Jewish Studio Project programs, says
that even though the organization deals with the same
themes as other Jewish groups, it’s getting at them in a
way that feels new.
“Engagement in Jewish text, ritual and tradition in this
nonverbal way helps me access ideas and feelings and
concepts — internal wisdom that the art making can tap
into,” she said.
When groups work with paint in the studio, she says, it
feels like praying: “We ask for what we want, need, need
to discuss, and then we need to let it go and see what gifts
come back.” JTA WIRE SERVICE
  Real Estate & Business/Change Your Life
YU launches MS in biotechnology
management and entrepreneurship
Yeshiva University’s Katz School has launched a master’s
degree in biotechnology management and entrepre-
neurship. The new program bridges biotechnology and
science with practical business skills to prepare students
for commercializing biopharmaceuticals and devices,
managing product and customer development, over-
seeing compliance and regulatory issues, and managing
clinical trials in the biotech and pharma industries.
“The MS in Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship is
an exciting program designed for students who want to
become entrepreneurs and product/project managers in
technology and science-based fields,” said Dr. Herman
Weiss, practitioner-in-residence for the new program.
“Where scientists are developing life-changing health
and pharma innovations, there is often a disconnect
between science, productization, and market devel-
opment. This program provides students with hands-
on mastery of what needs to be done at every stage in
the process, whether in an existing company or in a
startup environment.”
As a result, Weiss explained, “graduates will be armed
with solid knowledge of the techniques used in modern
biotechnology as well as a comprehensive business edu-
cation that will help them identify market opportunities,
bridge the relationship between scientists and manag-
ers, and participate in biotechnology projects that
change people’s lives.”
Jewel Spiegel Gallery
partners with
Adler Aphasia Center
Jewel Spiegel Gallery, at 30 N. Dean Street in Engle-
wood, has partnered with Adler Aphasia Center in
Maywood to sell the center’s handcrafted jewelry, and
jeweled desk sets and barware items, all created by
stroke and brain injury survivors with aphasia. Adler
Aphasia Center is an innovative post-rehabilitative
therapeutic program that addresses the long-term
needs of people with aphasia and their families.
The center’s Something Special program is a cut-
ting-edge, member-run, vocational program that
offers center members an opportunity to craft gifts
and jewelry, participate in business development, and
build partnerships with area businesses to sell their
products. All proceeds support Adler Aphasia Cen-
ter’s Scholarship Fund.
Jewel Spiegel Gallery has been serving Bergen
County with fine custom picture framing and antique
prints and gifts for 52 years in Englewood, offering
expertise in framing, restoration and conservation.
The partnership was initiated by gallery owner Jewel
Spiegel after a center presentation at a recent Engle-
wood Rotary Club meeting, where she generously
offered her retail storefront to promote the non-prof-
it’s Something Special program.
With 2.5 million people diagnosed with aphasia in
the U.S., Adler Aphasia Center is the only center of its
kind in New Jersey, an area with an estimated 70,000
people living with aphasia. The program is considered
the world leader in long-term, post-rehab community-
based care for people with aphasia and their families.
FORT LEE – THE COLONY
“All our faculty work in the industry, and many have
A FABULOUS LIFESTYLE AWAITS YOU
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Applications are currently being accepted for the
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yu.edu/katz/graduate/ms-biotechnology.
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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018 61
Real Estate & Business/Change Your Life

Open house for Ben-Gurion University’s My glasses are fine.

Medical School for International Health
Join members of our New York based
admissions team, as well as an MSIH alum-
nus, as we provide information about the
Medical School for International Health.
MSIH is a four year, North American-
style medical school that incorporates
global health coursework into all four
years of the medical school curriculum,
offering small classes and a challenging
program that prepares you to practice
medicine in the United States and around
the world. MSIH is an English-language
track in the faculty of Health Sciences at
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and is
affiliated with Columbia University’s Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons.
The first three years of instruction take
place in Israel, while fourth-year clinical
electives take place at Columbia Univer-
sity Medical Center, as well as other affili-
ated hospital locations in North America
including Mt. Sinai. There is a New York
based electives coordinator who sup-
ports students who seek electives at other
institutions as well. Fourth-year students
complete an eight-week clerkship with an
underserved community at approved sites
throughout the world.
Students are prepared to take the
USMLE Steps 1 and 2, and complete resi-
dencies in the United States and Canada.
The 2017 residency match rate was 90%.
Event is Tuesday, January 23, 6:30-8
p.m. New York City. RSVP msihadmis-
sions@post.bgu.ac.il for address location.
Why do I need an eye exam?
DR. STEVEN D. STARKMAN, O.D.
I have heard this expression many times
over my professional career, but how
do you know when it’s time to have
your eyes examined? Many people are
under the impression that if they can
see through their glasses (or without
any glasses at all) that their eyes are in
fine condition, yet that assumption is
very deceiving. Visual acuity is very
important. It is a measure of one’s abil-
ity to discern the details of objects being
viewed, and affects our ability to func-
tion and learn. Those who see “clearly”
are certain of their ability to function
in their environment, but still know
nothing about the health of their eyes.
The real question they should be ask-
ing is: “Once I know I can see, are my
vision before leaving the unfortunate
victim completely blind. The only way
to rule out glaucoma is to have the intra-
ocular pressure checked, a required test
as part of a regular eye examination in
the State of New Jersey.
Another eye condition that may have
no symptoms is “Lattice Degeneration”.
While not necessarily dangerous, this
common retinal finding, (which also has
no visual symptoms) but could lead to
retinal detachment should be checked
regularly and monitored for tugging or
traction on the retina that could lead to
retinal tears or detachment.
These are just a few examples of the
conditions we monitor in virtually every
regular eye examination. There are

SELLING YOUR HOME? eyes healthy?”

Many eye diseases affect vision. Cor-
neal disease, macular degeneration,
retinal detachment, floaters, cataracts
can all cause noticeable reductions in
visual acuity. Those who experience
these symptoms will often consult their
optometrist or ophthalmologist for help.
However, there are many conditions
which have more subtle or no symptoms
at all.
People with glaucoma typically expe-
rience an elevation in eye pressure of
which they are completely unaware;
there is no symptom in most cases, and
vision is unaffected until the late stages
of the disease. Yet left unchecked, glau-
coma will radically constrict the field of
many potentially dangerous eye condi-
tions that would not affect your vision,
so how often should you get your eyes
examined? The answer is that children
should be examined before they start
school, or sooner if parents suspect a
problem. Even if your vision seems nor-
mal to you, annual eye health checkups
should be a regular part of your overall
health plan. Annual exams by a qualified
optometrist or ophthalmologist will help
assure your long term eye health.
Dr. Starkman has over 30 years
experience in the treatment and
management of eye disease and disorders
of vision; he practices in Teaneck at Czin
Optical, which he owns.

Bar-Ilan University cancer research

project named top Israeli breakthrough
Call Susan Laskin Today
To Make Your Next Move A Successful One! A compound that disables cancer cells, Nanotechnology and Advanced Mate-
developed by a Bar-Ilan University rials (BINA) and dean of The Mina and
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An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC. as the top scientific breakthrough of the ences. Having revealed a “trio” of pro-
year in Israel. Bar-Ilan Professor Uri teins that appear to play a pivotal role

J J
J
Nir identified an enzyme called FerT in in the onset of various cancers, Dr. Nir

immy im
im
the energy-generating mitochondria of
metastatic cancer cells. When he tar-
geted FerT in lab mice, the malignant
cells soon died, preventing the cancer
is now dedicated to the development of
novel anti-cancer drugs that will target
these key regulators.
Other scientific breakthroughs on

the Junk Man from metastasizing.

the
the
Using advanced chemical and robotic
Israel21C’s top-13 list include a new
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RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL RESIDEN approaches, Nir’s lab team developed

a synthetic compound, which caused
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Israel21c is a non-partisan, nonprofit
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and this compound completely cured Established in 1955, Bar-Ilan Univer-
WE RECYCLE W
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them with no adverse or toxic effect,”
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planned over the next 18 months.
Dr. Nir is director of the Nano
which combines cutting-edge scientific
research with education steeped in Jew-
ish values.
We do not transport solid or hazardous waste We Medicine do Center at the Institute
not of trans

62 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 19, 2018

IT’S BE

A WEEK!