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EVENTS &
CELEBRATIONS
A SUPPLEMENT TO THE JEWISH STANDARD SPRING 2015

SHOULD WE TOUGHEN OR BABY OUR KIDS? page 6

ROCKLAND: ANSWERS ON WHY JEWS LEAVE SHULS page 16
HOW TO BUILD AN AMERICAN SHTETL page 36

Englewood Is for Kids

A Camping We Will Go
Dollars and Sense
Supplement to The Jewish Standard June 2015

MAY 29, 2015

VOL. LXXXIV NO. 36 $1.00

IN THIS ISSUE

NORTH JERSEY

84

2015

JSTANDARD.COM

Reporting from the fields

The wild tales of

Catch the Jew author
Tuvia Tenenbom page 26

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Rosemarie F., 85, breast cancer survivor and Senior Olympic gold medalist

What if
a hospital, understanding that hearing the word cancer has the potential
to break the human spirit, built an entirely new Cancer Treatment and Wellness
Center ? Home to the most sophisticated diagnostic and treatment technology,
and powered by a team of specialists who champion your care. Helping you
triumph over lifes most daunting challenges one more reason to make
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
your hospital for life.

2 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Page 3
Photoshopping the face of Israels government
Another group of women in powerful positions,

another group of charedi Orthodox papers erasing them.

After each new Israeli government is sworn
in, its ministers pose for a group photo with the
president. This years photo features Israels three
women ministers in the middle row Culture and
Sport Minister Miri Regev, Justice Minister Ayelet
Shaked, and Senior Citizens, Minorities and Gender Equality Minister Gila Gamliel.
Regev, Shaked, and Gamliel all are smiling.
But if you saw the photo on charedi news site
Bhadrei Haredim, you wouldnt know that. Their
faces are all blurred out.
Of course, its not only womens faces that are
problematic for some charedi Jews. So a revised
version blurred the bared legs that were left visible in the first picture.

Blurring, though, ultimately is for amateurs; it

shows that something is being hidden. So kudos
to the charedi paper that, doing the editors of
the Great Soviet Encyclopedia proud, edited the
women out of the picture entirely, replacing them
with male ministers who had stood at the edges
of the shot. If nothing else, it made for a slightly
more compact picture.
But in a reminder that the awesome powers of
Photoshop can be used for good, one Facebook
wag came up with a way to be sensitive to charedi sensibilities without misogyny. She replaced
the faces of all the ministers men and women
alike with those of Muppets. Frankly, thats the
image of a diverse, multicolored, warm and fuzzy
Israeli government we all can rally behind.
LARRY YUDELSON & BEN SALES/JTA WIRE SERVICE.

Montana man shoots bartender

over non-kosher drink
A man from Montana was
charged with attempted homicide for shooting a bartender who
served him a non-kosher drink.
Monte Leon Hanson, 59, allegedly shot Joe Lewis, who is also his
neighbor, and killed Lewis dog the
morning after the bartender made
Hanson a red beer beer and
tomato juice at his Hamilton bar
using the Clamato tomato drink
rather than tomato juice. One of
the ingredients in Clamato is clam
broth.
When Hanson learned the drink
was made with Clamato he became angry, saying it was against
his religion, according to the affidavit, The Missoulian reported.
Early the next morning, on May 9,
Hanson reportedly followed Lewis
when he left their apartment building
to take out his dog. Another neighbor
then heard four to six gunshots. He
found Lewis holding his dog, dead
from a gunshot wound to his head.

Lewis also was injured from the gunshots.

Lewis had been carrying the dog,
who had a leg injury, which protected
him from some of the bullets.
Hansons bail was set at $250,000.
JTA WIRE SERVICE

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call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe
Candlelighting: Friday, May 29, 8:01 p.m.
Shabbat ends: Saturday, May 30, 9:09 p.m.

German neonatologist, 102,

receives Ph.D. denied by Nazis
A 102-year-old German
neonatologist passed her
doctoral defense exam,
nearly eight decades after
the Nazis denied her the opportunity to take the test.
Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport,
a former professor of pediatrics and head of the neonatology department at Berlins
prominent Charite Hospital,
passed the exam at the University of Hamburg on May 13.
She completed her thesis on diphtheria in 1938, but Nazi authorities refused
to allow her to take the oral exam because her mother was Jewish.
Syllm-Rapoport, who retired in 1973,
will receive her doctoral certificate next
month.
This is about principle, not about

me, she told the Daily

Tagesspiegel. I did not
defend the work for my
own sake; that whole
situation was not easy
for me at 102 years old.
I did it for the victims.
The university wanted to
make amends for wrongs
and has shown great
patience, for which I am
grateful.
Syllm-Rapoport immigrated to the
United States in 1938 and was required
to study for two additional years to be
certified as a doctor, despite graduating from a German medical school.
She married in 1946 and the couple
returned to Germany after her husband
fell victim to the anti-Communist witchJTA WIRE SERVICE
hunt of the 1950s.

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unrestricted right to edit and to comment editorially. Nothing may be
reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. 2015

CONTENTS
NOSHES ...................................................4
ROCKLAND .......................................... 16
OPINION ...............................................20
COVER STORY .................................... 26
GALLERY .............................................. 38
TORAH COMMENTARY ................... 39
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ....................40
ARTS & CULTURE ............................... 41
CALENDAR .......................................... 42
OBITUARIES ........................................ 45
CLASSIFIEDS ......................................46
REAL ESTATE......................................48

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 3

Noshes

I will not use any of the Yiddishisms

Rahm Emanuel taught me because I want to
be invited back.
President Barak Obama, speaking at Congregation Adas Israel in Washington,
referring to his notoriously vulgar former chief of staff (now Chicagos mayor).

ENTOURAGE 2.0:

Piven pivots
to big screen
Entourage, the
HBO show that
ended in 2011,
returns as a feature film
it opens on Wednesday, June 3. The series
ended with super-agent
Ari Gold (played by
JEREMY PIVEN, 49)
becoming a film studio
head. The movie has Ari
risking his career by
greenlighting a big-budget film starring Vincent
Chase (Adrian Grenier),
his biggest former client.
The whole TV cast is in
the film, including
EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI,
37, as Sloan, who played
the girlfriend of Chases
business manager, Eric,
and was pregnant when
the series ended; SCOTT
CAAN, 38, as Scott Lavin,
a ruthless actors agent,
and MARTIN LANDAU,
86, as Bob Ryan, a
former top producer who
still has irons in the fire.
The TV series was
noted for cameos of real
celebs playing themselves or, in a few cases,
as with SETH GREEN,
41, and BOB SAGET, 59,
playing weird versions
of themselves in longer
scenes. The movie has
a busload of celebs doing cameos, including
Saget, Dallas Mavericks
owner MARK CUBAN, 57,
and supermodel EMILY
RATAJKOWSKI, 23.
Entourage was cre-

ated and largely written by DOUG ELLIN, 47,

and Ellin also wrote and
directed the movie. A
little checking reveals
that while Ellin says he
grew up celebrating just
a couple of Jewish holidays, he is really active
now in speaking engagements before Jewish
and pro-Israel groups
all around the country. I
give Ellin props for creating perhaps the only
all-Jewish power couple
on TV, Ari Gold and his
wife, Melissa. Mrs. Gold is
played by actress Perrey
Reeves, who isnt Jewish. But Reeves, aided
by good writing, does a
great job in depicting a
Jewish woman who has
a Jewish persona but is
not a stereotype and isnt
just an appendage of her
hard-charging husband.
On April 29,
James Corden,
the new host of
the Late Late Show on
CBS, referred to singer
Nicki Minajs appearance
at a bar mitzvah and said
that his show would try
and top that. He then
said, Were asking you,
parents, to send a video
telling us how James,
Reggie, and all of The
Late Late Show can
possibly help make your
familys bar or bat
mitzvah one sure to
make headlines. Instruc-

Jeremy Piven

Emmanuelle Chriqui
Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones helms

Hot Girls Wanted

Doug Ellin

Jeffrey Tambor

tions on how to submit a

video scrolled underneath his statement.
Now, this request has
got some publicity in the
general media and the
Jewish press, but as of
May 20, just two videos were submitted to
YouTube. Maybe entries
are going to the other
approved platforms
Twitter, Instagram, and
Tumblr. But clearly, you
still have time to be considered, so go to YouTube and enter just this:
#CordenMitzvah Bonus:
If you submit a video and
win the contest, you and
your family will instantly
become Garden State
Jewish celebrities wor-

thy of a mention in this

column!
Variety recently
featured an
article about the
May 19 appearance of
the cast and crew of the
Amazon series Transparent at the Paley
Center in New York.
Transparent star
JEFFREY TAMBOR, 70,
who plays a transgender
Jewish character, Maura,
said that he was throwup nervous about the
scene in which he came
out to his daughter. He
explained that he was
thinking, I need to do it
correctly for the (transgender) community,
because lives are at

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

On May 29, Netflix is premiering Hot Girls Wanted,

a documentary that screened at Sundance. It is a serious
look at the largely unregulated amateur porn industry
and the filmmaker is actress/writer RASHIDA JONES,
39. (The daughter of actress PEGGY LIPTON, 68, and
musician Quincy Jones. Rashida is perhaps best known
for her role on Parks and Recreation.) Jones other
films include the excellent 2012 Celeste and Jesse,
which she co-wrote. She is now co-writing Toy Story 4.
N.B.

stake.
Tambor, who won a
Golden Globe for playing
Maura, was much more
upbeat about series
creator JILL SOLOWAY
picking him for the role
and the role itself: Every
daydream I had is coming true now. Im very
grateful. Meanwhile,
Soloway, 49, explained
the series origin: Her father, psychiatrist HARRY
SOLOWAY, came out as
transgender to her in a
phone call about three

years ago and about 10

seconds after, I was writing a show in my head,
she said. By the way, she
calls her father Moppa,
the same term Mauras
children use.
Of course, the reporters asked if Bruce Jenner,
who recently came out
publically as transgender,
has seen the show. Yes,
he and the rest of the Kardashians have seen it, and
it has helped Bruce feel
more comfortable coming
N.B.
out, Soloway said.

California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at

[email protected]

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Raise $180.
Make an Amazing Mitzvah Happen.
Wheels for Meals A Ride to Fight Hunger is
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Ride. Donate. Support.

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To register visit www.ridetofighthunger.com

JFS is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. All donations to JFS Wheels
for Meals - A Ride to Fight Hunger are 100% tax deductible.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 5

Local
Should we toughen or baby our kids?
Panel at Emanuel at Franklin Lakes to look at innocence, experience, expectations
JOANNE PALMER

ay you begin with the assumption

that just about everything in life
demands a balance between work
and pleasure, home and office, family and friends, saving and spending, responsibility and heedlessness, tradition and change.
Thats just part of being an adult. Maybe you
can call it the balance between pleasure and
pain.
But what about children? What about adolescents? What do they have to balance? What
do we as their parents have to balance for
them?
Thats what Rabbi Joseph H. Prousers latest panel, Preserving Youthful Innocenceor
Teaching Adult Responsibilities What Do We

Its like the old

joke Today I am a
man tomorrow
its back to eighth
grade.
RABBI JOSEPH PROUSER

Owe Our Children? will explore.

Rabbi Prouser, who heads Temple Emanuel
of North Jersey in Franklin Lakes, said that we
parents, educators, leaders, and the community in general have two very different
sets of responsibilities toward our children.
One is to teach them adult responsibilities, to
help them grow up, he said. The other is the
critical responsibility to protect and preserve
their innocence, to keep them as children so
they can have a full, wholesome experience
of childhood.
Both goals are legitimate, and they are in
tension, he said.
In the Jewish community, I think we tend to
downplay the virtue of wholesome innocence,

and to welcome kids to a mature and worldly

experience earlier than we ought to, without
thinking about the consequences, he continued. I would like us to focus on what we are
doing best, and how we might do it better.
Is the dilemma different in the Jewish
world than in the broader outside one? Im
not sure, he said. But with so much attention in Jewish education circles placed on the
bar and bat mitzvah, I think a lot of the issues
are expressed with that demographic, and
that is where we can clearly see the fault line
between preserving innocence and cultivating
experience.
Its like the old joke, he went on. Today
I am a man tomorrow its back to eighth
grade.
Soon after the last fountain-pen retort dries
up, the next hurdle arises. College applications. But its not just the process of getting
into college, Rabbi Prouser said. Its the process of building up a resume. It starts with getting into the right preschool.
Its an issue that the Jewish community
should be aware of, he said.
Dr. Gary Mirkin, a Great Neck-based pediatrician, has known Rabbi Prouser for decades;
in fact, it was Dr. Mirkin who provided Rabbi
Prouser with much of the medical information
Rabbi Prouser used in his groundbreaking,
strongly pro-vaccination paper for the Conservative movements Committee for Jewish
Law and Standards.
I have seen a lot of the freedom that parents give children, and the balance between
freedom and direction, Dr. Mirkin said.
There are always some parents who swing
too far in one way, and others who go too far
the other way. The general trend seems to be
toward too much direction, but there always
are exceptions to the rule.
As stressful as becoming a bar or bat mitzvah might be, there are so many other pressures put on children and teenagers that he
thinks that particular pressure might be overstated. Younger teens are so consumed with
the core curriculum, and with the growing

Who: Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser will moderate

What: A panel discussion, Preserving Youthful Innocenceor Teaching Adult
Responsibilities What Do We Owe Our Children? featuring Jules A. Gutin, Amy Lefkowitz,
Dr. Gary S. Mirkin, and Joel Wiest.
Where: Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, 558 High Mountain Road, Franklin Lakes
When: Monday, June 1, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
For more information: Email [email protected] or call (201) 560-0200
What: Gala dinner
When: June 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, 558 High Mountain Road, Franklin Lakes
For more information: Email [email protected] or call (201) 560-0200

6 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

There are always

some parents who
swing too far in
one way, and
others who go too
far the other way.
The general trend
seems to be
toward too much
direction.

Rabbi Joseph Prouser

DR. GARY MIRKIN

emphasis on seemingly near-constant testing I have seen a lot of psychiatric issues

with testing, he said and with older kids
so overwhelmed with college, he thinks the
pressures of becoming bnai mitzvah are relatively minor.
Joel Wiest of Kinnelon, the lone non-Jew on
the panel, is an old friend of Rabbi Prousers;
the two both work with the Boy Scout movement. He brings at least two perspectives to
the evening that are not only fascinating but
also unusual.
Mr. Weist works for Toys R Us Im on
the finance side, so I dont develop products,
but I do get to work in an office that we decorate with toys, he said. Its a real whimsical
atmosphere; we are focused on bringing joy
into the lives of children and families. He is
also a Mormon bishop. I did a mission to Holland and Belgium, and came home and got
married, he said. We have four kids and 10
grandkids.
We are very family-focused most cultures
and religious traditions are and children are
very important to us. Positioning them to succeed in life is very important to us. So there
is a burden placed on parents, to prepare our
children to make good decisions, so they can
be happy as adults. There is also a responsibility for us as parents, within the four walls
of the home, to create an environment where
there is a lot of joy.
There is a tension, because being happy
over the long haul means being responsible,
so you can learn to be responsible. You cant
have dessert at every meal. Thats the tension
I hope to explore with the panel.
This is not just talk for Mr. Wiest. His church
has assigned him a big and new job. Although
most Mormon churches use the geographically
based parish model you go to the church
near you he will open a congregation, called
the Caldwell Young Single Adult Ward, aimed

Jules Gutin

Amy Lefkowitz

Dr. Gary Mirkin

Joel Wiest

Local
specifically at young people. So if you
are between 18 and 30 and unattached
and live in Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, or
Essex counties and of course if you are
Mormon this is where you will go to
church.
Another panelist, Jules Gutin of
Teaneck, will be a particularly special
guest. Mr. Gutin grew up at Temple
Emanuel, first as an active congregant,
part of an active family, and then as a
youth leader, when the shul still was in
Paterson.
On June 7, Mr. Gutin will be honored
at Emanuels annual gala dinner. Before
that, though, he will talk on the panel.
Mr. Gutin worked at the New Yorkbased international office of United Synagogue Youth, the Conservative movements youth group, for 43 years; for 22
of them, he was USYs director. My experience is primarily with teenagers, except
for my own four children, he said. I will
spend a few minutes talking about what
I learned over the years in dealing with
Jewish teenagers. A lot about teaching
them adult responsibility, at least from
my point of view, has to do with respecting teenagers, trusting them with responsibility, and making them aware of the

world around them, particularly about

some of the things that might not be evident to them.
What about the other side of the tension, the innocence? I am talking about
one particular age group, but I dont
know that in todays world there is much
innocence left by the time they reach 14
or 15, he said. A lot of that has to do
with the world we live in rapid communications, social media, all the things that
are around them. I dont know that we
were always as aware of things in my own
teenage years. There were a lot of things
that just werent part of the conversation.
But in a sense, the lack of innocence
is not necessarily always a bad thing.
Heightened awareness allows us to be
able to discuss those aspects of life more
openly, and allows people to make more
rational decisions if we handle it properly, and can use it properly in terms of
teachable moments, and of the advice
and guidance we can give them.
The fourth panelist, Amy Lefkowitz, is
the deputy mayor of Fair Lawn, an attorney who specializes in family law, the
daughter of a rabbi, and the mother of
a 4-year-old. As a law student she did a
great deal of work with battered women,

But I dont know

that in todays
world there
is much
innocence left
by the time they
reach 14 or 15.
JULES GUTIN

and now, as a divorce lawyer, she sees the

effect of family stress on children.
Although it is easy and old-school
to tell children You dont have to
worry. Mommy and Daddy have grownup problems, but we both love you, that
approach is more theory than reality, Ms.
Lefkowitz said. Then they hear their
parents on the phone. Parents, the judicial system, and the judge try to protect
children, but it is hard.
Children know more than they
should, Ms. Lefkowitz said. Aside from
what they might see or hear at home,
social media makes it much harder to

keep information private. Parents post

things, she said. Then when the kids go
to school, another kid will say My mom
saw a picture of your mom with her new
boyfriend and the kid will say What
do you mean? My mom doesnt have a
boyfriend!
There are many ways to help children
deal with real-world problems, but deciding which methods to use is not easy
either. Many of us are quick to send
children to therapy but what kind of
therapy? she said.
There is also the question of what to
tell children about their parents problems with drugs or alcohol. What if a
parent is arrested for DWI? Ms. Lefkowitz said, and no, the Jewish community is
not immune from such problems.
There is also the question of how
to broach subjects that children have
seen on the news. Her daughter heard
a little bit about the Amtrak derailment,
Mr. Lefkowitz said. How much more
should she know? What is the balance
between unvarnished truth and comforting understatement? Between fear
and risk-taking?
More tensions. More grist for discussion at the panel.

trADItION. eXPreSSION. refLeCtION.

ThIS
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Community Senior Health Fair

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12:30 4:30 PM
Over 30 vendors helping to promote
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Blood Drive, Audiology, Massage, Chair Yoga, Tai Chi,
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JEWISH STANDARD MAY
29, 10:56
2015AM7

Local

Yvette Tekel, 1925-2015

Community mourns loss of beloved leader active in anything Jewish
LOIS GOLDRICH

he loss of Yvette Tekel will be

keenly felt throughout our community and beyond its borders.
Indeed, the words family,
friends, and colleagues across communities, across organizations used to describe
Ms. Tekel who recently moved to Fort Lee
from Haworth paint a picture of a woman
who brought joy and inspiration to all who
knew her.
She was a five-foot giant, said her husband, Louis, singing the praises of his nearly
90-year-old wife to Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, who conducted Yvettes funeral on May
20 at Temple Emanu-El of Closter. The couple had been married for 68 years.
Lou, who worked in the linen business and
was a decorated hero of World War II, was
chairman of the Yvette fan club, Rabbi Kirshner said. He supported her and stood by her
side in all her many charitable endeavors.
That support went both ways. While it was
Lou who served on the Board of Governors
of the Jewish Home Foundation, Yvette was
always by his side, even coming to board
meetings, said Melanie Cohen, the Jewish
Home Familys executive director. They
were both extremely interested. You always
saw them together.
A member of the Hadassah National
Boards Honorary Council as well as past
president of the organizations Northern
New Jersey region, Yvette Tekel was the first
president of the Womens Division of UJA/
Federation of Northern New Jersey. She was
also president of the Rockland County Jewish Home for the Aged in Suffern, N.Y., which
includes both the Esther Gitlow Towers,
named for Yvettes mother, and the Yvette &
Louis Tekel Senior Residence. Cohen pointed
out that Yvette and Lou were an integral part
of building and expanding the facility.
She was an amazing woman, Rabbi Kirshner said. She was active in anything Jewish. Not only was she the queen of Hadassah right out of central casting, but her
activities spanned the alphabet soup of Judaism. Her physical challenges never stopped
her. She was always optimistic, cheerful, and
smiling. Whats more, he said, when help

Yvette Tekel
was needed, she never said no.
Yvette breathed Yiddishkeit, said the
rabbi. She was indomitable. A special soul.
Yvette Gitlow, originally from Rockland
County, met her husband in Spring Valley.
Her strong philanthropic drive was due in
no small part to the influence of her own
mother, Esther Gitlow, Rabbi Kirshner said.
Indeed, Ms. Cohen added, the funding for
Rocklands Jewish Home came from the Gitlows, who were very active in the Spring Valley Jewish community.
Gale S. Bindelglass of Franklin Lakes
recalled a car ride with Yvette. We talked
about mothers and how to make gefilte fish,
said Ms. Bindelglass, who co-chaired JFNNJs
Womens Philanthropy Spring Luncheon in
2011, when Yvette received the groups inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.
She said that on her way to shul, her
mother would drop off Shabbat packages for
the needy, Ms. Bindelglass continued. Her
mother was very charitable. Yvette spoke
about mother with such reverence and a
sense of embodying what her mother was for
her. And she carried it on in a beautiful way.
Yvette was an inspiration. She strengthened the fabric of the Jewish community,
one person at a time, said Rabbi Kirshner,
noting her strong influence on her daughterin-law, Jill.
She had a wonderful relationship with

Jill, Ms. Cohen said. You would have

thought she was her daughter. Not only
that, but the mother-in-laws philanthropic
impulses rubbed off on her.
Ms. Cohen said that the Tekels were active
with the Jewish Home here even before it
moved to Bergen County, when it was still in
Hudson.
They had a special relationship with
Chuck Berkowitz, then its executive director, because there was a lot of collegial back
and forth when Mr. Berkowitz helped them
with their efforts in Rockland.
When we opened the facility here in 2001,
the Rockland County Jewish Home, as it has
become known, became a supporter of the
Jewish Home at Rockleigh, and we have a very
special relationship, Ms. Cohen said. Yvette
and Lou were donors from the start for this
facility and have continued with capital funding. They were loyal annual supporters.
Ms. Cohens relationship with Yvette, however, also was personal.
In the early 1970, I was in college but
my parents lived in New Milford, she said.
Yvette was involved in Northern Valley
Hadassah. Since there then was a growing Jewish population in the Bergenfield,
Dumont, and New Milford area, Yvette
reached out to women to start a Hadassah
chapter Tri-Boro Hadassah. She was the
driving force in getting that chapter started.
She became good friends with my mother,
who became very active in Hadassah, and

when I graduated from college, I became a

life member of Hadassah.
Later, when Ms. Cohen married and
moved back to the area, she became president of the chapter. My friendship with
Yvette grew, she said. Years later, when she
became involved in the Jewish Home, I was
using the skills Yvette taught me as a volunteer leader and fundraiser. Yvette was my
mentor.
And then There were Yvette and Lou at
the Jewish Home.
The couples distinguishing feature, Ms.
Cohen said, was that when they became
involved in a cause, it was never peripherally.
They were all in or they didnt get involved.
Whether Hadassah or the Jewish Home,
once they decided to commit, it was a total
commitment.
She gave her undivided attention to
every cause she was involved with, Ms. Bindelglass said, adding that when UJA Federation of Bergen County & North Hudson
merged with the Jewish Federation of North
Jersey, the womens groups of both organizations led the way.
She showed so much love, Ms. Bindelglass said. Inviting younger women to join a
longtime informal social group known as the
Birthday Bunch, she always said, were so
glad you came in. She was so overjoyed that
young people would come. Her most obvious
power was that she exuded love, she had a
smile for everyone.

Yvette and Louis Tekel, foreground, with their daughter-in-law and son, Jill and
Harvey Tekel.

ONLY TWO WEEKS TO GO!! Ride! Walk! Donate! Volunteer!

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8 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Local
Nobody could say no to Yvette, she said, pointing to
Ms. Tekels success at fundraising. You felt joy in saying
yes to her.
When Ruth Cole of Ridgewood, a former president of
the of the New Jersey Association of Jewish Federations
and longtime Hadassah leader, was becoming president of the Northwest Bergen Chapter of Hadassah in
the 1970s, Yvette was already a leader in the regional
[Northern New Jersey] area.
The two subsequently became friends but in the
beginning, Ms. Cole said, she remembers Yvette as
the master builder of the region for newly employed
women. She said if we wanted to move up to the
regional board level, she would make meetings in the
evening. She saw there was a need.
In A Tapestry of Hadassah Memories, Yvette,
founder of Hadassahs Northern Valley chapter, wrote
that her mother had founded a chapter in 1948, after the
creation of the State of Israel. So, Ms. Cole said, it was
particularly meaningful for Yvette to have her mother
install her as president of the New Jersey chapter. And
with Yvettes own daughter there, three generations of
life members stood together at the installation.
She was so proud, Ms. Cole said, adding that she
would also be proud to know that her daughter-in-law
Jill, now a leader in the regional organization, will speak
in her stead at the upcoming 40th anniversary celebration of the Tri-Boro chapter.
Ms. Cole, who spoke at Ms. Tekels funeral, credited
her friend with developing many first-time activities
and events for Hadassah. She was beginning to show
her pioneering spirit, coming up with innovative methods of reaching out to new people, said her longtime
colleague and friend.
She was like a coach, mentor, guide, and pied piper.
She attracted people to follow her and to feel like they
could do it. She wouldnt let them fail. She had tremendous empathy and understanding of character. She
treated each person in an individual manner.
According to Ms. Cole, Yvette also was fantastic at
fundraising; she raised millions of dollars for Hadassah.
Even more, wherever she worked, she made friends
and kept them. Indeed, she said, the line at the funeral
for greeting the mourners was so long, you didnt
know where the end was.
She was a community builder, a leader who went
beyond leading, Ms. Cole said. People wanted to emulate the goal she was setting. She was a motivator. She
helped people understand how they could make a contribution to Israel and the Jewish people.
Describing her friend as a woman with determination, courage, and perseverance, Ms. Cole said Ms.
Tekel had the special gift of being able to both give love
and receive it. She wasnt just a caregiver. She was graceful when people offered help. She could look through
the eyes of another person.
In her Tapestry article, Yvette ended by writing,
And I loved every minute of it, Ms. Cole recalled.
And we loved every minute of being part of her circle of multitudes of friends who tried to walk in her
shoes.
An enormous void will be left behind, she added.
That void must be filled by all who admired her and
felt that she was setting the pace. It is a legacy we must
continue.
Yvette Tekel is survived by her husband, Louis; children, Harvey Tekel and Tova Szporn; daughter-in-law
Jill Tekel, grandchildren Erica, Adam, Rachael, and
Joshua; and great-grandchildren Zachary, Zoe, and Hannah. Contributions in Yvettes memory may be made to
Yvette Tekel Memorial Fund, c/o Hadassah, 40 Wall St.,
P.O. Box 1100, New York, NY 10268-1100.

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Local

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10 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Mark, Danielle, and Rachel Samitt

Mark the SPOT

Family of melanoma victim works
with hair stylists to raise awareness
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

ess than two years have gone

by since Rachel Samitt noticed
a suspicious mole under the
wet hair on her dads sunlit
scalp after a swim in the familys Woodcliff Lake pool.
Though Mark Samitt immediately made
an appointment with his dermatologist,
the skin cancer his daughter saw took his
life on May 6. He was 52.
Mr. Samitts tragic death makes this
Sundays cut-a-thon all the more poignant and vital. Mark the SPOT, a
program he launched with his wife,
Gayle, and daughters Rachel and Danielle, in partnership with the Melanoma
Research Foundation, will be held at six
Pascack Valley-area salons. Its goal is to
teach hairstylists that If you spot something, say something.
Mark the SPOT educates stylists about
how to identify possibly cancerous marks
on their customers heads or necks and
how to communicate their findings in a
way that does not panic but encourages
the customer to seek medical attention.
The first salon to host a training session
was Mania Hair Studio in Park Ridge.
Owner Phil Mania lost his own father to
melanoma at a young age.
Melanoma, the most serious form of
skin cancer and the most common cancer in young adults, is on the rise. The
American Cancer Society estimates that
during 2015, 137,310 new cases of melanoma 63,440 noninvasive (in situ) and
73,870 invasive will be diagnosed in the
United States.
Rachel Samitt chose to take on an
optional senior project at Pascack Hills
High School as a way of devoting more
time to the cause.
The cut-a-thon was my dads idea,
said Rachel, 18. The money is going

partially to awareness campaigns to teach

people how to protect themselves against
skin cancer, and partially to researching a
cure for melanoma. My dad was involved
in some clinical trials, and I learned that
this research is very important.
The entire family worked hard on planning the cut-a-thon, even as Mr. Samitts
condition worsened. As soon as shiva
ended, Gayle Samitt and her daughters
got up and plunged back into the project.
My dad really loved that we spent
time together on this, said Rachel, who is
chapter president of Pascack Valley Bnai
Brith Girls and organized a dance that
raised $15,000 for breast-cancer research
earlier this year. This was a passion for
both of us. Until he couldnt, he put so
much into it. He was guiding me, and now
its my place to run with it, which is kind
of hard but I have to.
Its hard but it was so important to
him and to us, Danielle, 15, said. We
dont want anyone else to deal with skin
cancer; we want to prevent it so he didnt
die in vain.
The sisters have been working as a team
to increase awareness and publicize the
cut-a-thon in the two Pascack Valley high
schools and in area hair salons. Teachers
are handing out fliers, and one even collected money from her class to contribute
to the cause.
In the past few days Ive been making sure the participating salons have
what they need and are telling their clients about it, Danielle said. Ive been
emailing them checklists of what to do in
advance.
Gayle Samitt said that soon after his
diagnosis, her husband asked his own
stylist if she would alert a client upon
finding a suspicious skin marking, and
she said no. Shed be afraid of causing
embarrassment.
SEE MELANOMA PAGE 35

Local

Daniel Nachum, 17, explains his hands-free activity pack to staff members
at Joseph M. Sanzari Childrens Hospital at Hackensack University Medical
Center. The project helped him obtain Eagle Scout rank.

Making sick kids

a little bit happier
Tenafly Eagle Scout, remembering what it
feels like, cheers them on with special packs
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

aniel Nachum of Tenafly, 17,

recently became an Eagle
Scout, the highest rank
attainable in the Boy Scouts
of America.
This is remarkable, given that less
than 10 percent of Scouts achieve this
milestone.
Even more remarkable is that Daniel
survived a childhood bout with cancer
and decided to dedicate his Eagle Scout
community-service project to pediatric
oncology patients at the Joseph M. Sanzari Childrens Hospital at Hackensack
University Medical Center.
For me, this decision was a nobrainer because I was treated there for
leukemia and remain a patient there
at Cure and Beyond, said Daniel, who
has lived in town all his life and is now
a junior at Tenafly High School and a
member of Boy Scout Troop 86.
In remission since he was 7, Daniel nevertheless remembers that being
hooked up to an IV limited his ability
to hold activity books and other items
meant to keep him busily amused during long hours in treatment.
My idea was to create a hands-free
activity pack filled with items to entertain or at least pass time for the kids,
he said. I wanted to make something
that they could attach to an IV pole,
carry over their shoulder, wrap around
the hospital bed, or even clip on to

something.
Daniel spent many hours researching how to turn his concept into reality.
Once I had my prototype, I presented
it to staff at the hospital. We visited the
inpatient floor and tested the unit out.
Within a week the hospital approved my
idea.
On April 6, following continued communication with the staff and many
hours of work, Daniel delivered 100
hands-free activity packs to the childrens hospital. The clear plastic, wipeclean box can be attached to an IV
pole, bedframe, or wheelchair with a
metal carabiner clip and Velcro. I also
installed a shoulder strap using Velcro
and compression straps, Daniel said.
An outpatient could carry it by its
handle.
There are four different types of colorcoded packs: one each for younger boys,
younger girls, older boys, and older
girls. The basic items contained in each
pouch are a sketchpad, glow-in-the-dark
Shutter Shades (popular louvered sunglasses), a friendship bracelet, an Uno
card game, sticker sheets, and a personal
letter from a Boy Scout.
Daniels fellow Scouts helped him
assemble all 100 packs over the course
of two weekends, assembly-line fashion. One person measured the Velcro,
another cut it, another attached the
compression strap, and so on. Another
person did quality assurance to make
SEE EAGLE SCOUT PAGE 19

A Great Time

to save up to $8,000!
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summer months (JunAug move-in) and well waive
our community fee A savings of up to $8,000!
But the savings is just the beginning of whats great here.
As a resident at the newly awarded Advanced Standing
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5/21/15
10:12 AM11
JEWISH STANDARD MAY
29, 2015

Local
Law Journal pays tribute to Burstein
with lifetime achievement award

JFS bike route to be dedicated

in memory of Cindy Pikul

Last years teen Chabad honorees.

Cindy Pikul

GBDS gala
features CNN
correspondent
The memorial lotus symbol will be
used on Wheels for Meals jerseys.

Photos courtesy JFS

opportunities are available. For information, email barbara.bender@yahoo.

com. JFS is also seeking volunteers to
work at the ride. To learn more, go to
www.ridetofighthunger.com.

Srivki Weisberg

Valley Chabad will laud teen leaders

More than 100 teens will be honored at
Valley Chabads Teen Leadership Tribute
luncheon on Sunday, May 31, at 11:45 a.m.,
at the Terrace in Paramus. The event will
recognize the volunteer participants in
Valley Chabads five Teen Leadership Initiative programs: Friendship Circle, Linking Hearts, CTeen, JLI Teens, and Eternal
Flame.

12 Jewish Standard MAY 29, 2015

Daniel Tratt, who lost the use of his legs

after being injured in a fall while in college
and now participates in triathlons and
sporting events to inspire young people to
reach their potential, is the guest speaker.
For information on the lunch or ad journal, call (201) 476-0157 or go to www.valleychabad.org/teenlunch.

Earlier this month, the Academies at

Gerrard Berman Day School in Oakland celebrated its 29th anniversary
with a gala. CNNs chief congressional
correspondent, Dana Bash, left, spoke
at the gala, which honored Drs. Laurie Nahum and Richard Krieger, pictured with her,
for their years of involvement and dedication to the school.

Local, Israeli doctors join forces

The medical task
force of the Jewish Federation of
Nor thern New
Jersey and Partnership 2Gether
N a h a r iy a p re sented three
lectures where
doctors from
From left to right, Dr. Leonid and Helen Kogan, Dr. Assi
Israel join local
Drobot, Susan and Dr. Deane Penn, Dr. Sharon Scherl,
physicians to
and Dr. Tzvi Small
discuss medical
breakthroughs.
Most recently, at the Alpine home of
plastic and reconstructive surgery, along
Dr. Deane and Susan Penn, the group
with nonsurgical approaches to appearance enhancement.
offered a discussion of developments in

Torah scroll dedication on Shabbat

The Chabad Jewish Center of NWBC in
Franklin Lakes will celebrate the dedication of a new Torah scroll donated by
Craig and Ruanne Sher of Wyckoff in
honor of their son Davins bar mitzvah,
Saturday, May 30, at 10:30 a.m. All are

welcome to the Torah welcoming ceremony; a celebratory luncheon will follow

at noon.
For information, call (201) 848-0449
or email [email protected].

Elisa Berger

Jewish Family Service of Bergen and

North Hudson will dedicate the threemile course in the upcoming annual JFS
Wheels for Meals A Ride to Fight Hunger in memory of former participant/
race marshal/nutrition advocate Cindy
Pikul, who died in July.
The symbol of a lotus flower bearing her name will be on the rides jerseys and medals. The course is dedicated to Ms. Pikul as a tribute to her
three years of volunteerism and spirit.
The lotus blossom was chosen by Team
TBW, whose members also participate
in Wheels for Meals, to honor her spirit.
She was also a member of Team TBW,
out of the Tenafly Bicycle Workshop.
The fifth annual Wheels for Meals
A Ride to Fight Hunger will be on
Sunday, June 14, the weekend before
Fathers Day, at the Jewish Home at
Rockleigh. The ride, a major fundraiser
for Jewish Family Service of Bergen
and North Hudson, supports initiatives
that fight hunger in Bergen County
Meals on Wheels and the food pantry,
which serve a diverse range of area residents. Event coordinators are expecting more than 500 riders to raise over
$150,000.
Last year, JFS delivered 28,000 nutritionally balanced meals to the homebound elderly and disabled.
Cyclists may register for the fundraiser alone or as teams, for courses
ranging from 3 to 50 miles, depending
on age and ability. There also will be a
fun walk for people of all ages.
Corporation sponsorships and vendor

Former New Jersey AssemblyEnforcement Commission,

man Albert Burstein received
and he was a member of the
the New Jersey Law Journals
Election Law Revision Committee, the Capital Budgeting
Lifetime Achievement award
and Planning Commission,
for his decades-long service
and the Public Employees
and contributions to the field
Relations Study Commission.
of law in New Jersey.
He also is a former chairman
Ms. Burstein, of the Hackensack office of Archer &
of the State Commission of
Albert Burstein
Greiner, is 92 and still practicInvestigation Review Coming law.
mittee, the New Jersey Law Revision
He received the Chevalier of the
Commission, and the Bergen County IIB
Legion of Honor for his bravery on the
South District Ethics Committee, and is
battlefield as a soldier fighting the Gera former member of the Law Journals
mans on French territory during World
editorial board.
War II. He was a member of the New JerDuring is 60 + year career as a pracsey General Assembly for 10 years and
ticing attorney in New Jersey, he has
served as chairman of the Assembly Edureceived many awards, including Lawcation Committee and a term as majoryer of the Year from the Committee on
ity leader. He has served on many other
Professionalism in 1999, and the Daniel J.
committees and commissions, includOHern professional award from the New
ing as commissioner of the Election Law
Jersey Bar Association in 2006.

upcoming at

Kaplen

JCC on the Palisades

top films you may Have missed:

Women in Love, Dir. Ken Russell

Women in Love

Join us with Harold Chapler, who will introduce

this award-winning romantic drama about best
friends who fall in love with a pair of sisters,
until life takes their relationships in markedly
different directions. Film followed by an optional
discussion. Coffee and light snacks included.
Mon, Jun 22, 7:30 pm, $5/$7

Family Caregiver Training

Arm yourself with essential information, acquire

day-to-day strategies and skills, and learn how
to properly prepare for a new role as a caregiver
for a loved one. Topics to be addressed include
recognizing early warning signs of Alzheimers
and dementia and techniques on how to best
deal with them. Hear from Eldercare law experts;
get advice for proper legal and financial planning,
and learn essentials of monitoring associated
health issues.
4 Tuesdays, Jun 15, 22, 29 & Jul 6, 7-8:30 pm,
$80/$100

JCC U Spring Term

Keep learning

Jaws, Dir. Steven Spielberg

Stay involved in the developments

that shape todays world with Dr. John
Schiemann, who will discuss the recent
Senate Intelligence Committees report
on the CIA detention and interrogation
program. And then, Fordham Professor,
Brian Rose, will lead the afternoon with a
talk about Steven Spielberg, George Lucas
and the Blockbuster Phenomenon.
To register visit jccotp.org/jccu or
call Kathy at 201.408.1454.
Thur, Jun 11, 10:30 am-2:15 pm, $32/$40

ADULTS

mUSic

Shirah Choir

bernie and rutH WeinflasH zl

memorial concert

A night of beautiful Jewish choral music

performed in memory of Bernie and Ruth
Weinflash zl, Shirahs founding supporters
and guiding spirits. Led by founding director
and conductor Matthew Lazar, and associate
conductor Marsha Edelman. Cantor Israel
Singer, guest soloist.
Sun, Jun 14, 7 pm, $8/$10
Pre-concert reception for sponsors: $360
Post-concert dessert reception sponsored by
the Weinflash family

Kaplen

Support Group for the

Recently Widowed

WitH Judy brauner, lcsW tHerapist

This bereavement group provides an

opportunity to share your feelings
with others that understand. Therapist
Judy Brauner will help you talk about
the changes in your family life, social
relationships and sense of self. Make
warm and enduring friendships that
will help you heal. Registration required.
Call Esther at 201.408.1456.
7 Mondays, Jun 8-Jul 27 (No session 7/13),
6:15-7:45 pm, $115/$140

mUSic

Master Class with

Violinist Almita Vamos

Gain insight in the music and the artistic process in this

intimate, public coaching by Almita Vamos, professor
of violin at Northwestern University and the Music
Institute of Chicago. Part of the Thurnauer School of
Musics Sylvia and Jacob Handler Master Class series.
Thur, Jun 11, 4-7 pm, Free, suggested donation $10

to register or for more info, visit

jccotp.org or call 201.569.7900.

JCC on the Palisades taub campus | 411 e clinton ave, tenafly, nJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 13

Local

Jewish Home Foundation Golf, Tennis,

and Card Outing is a hole-in-one
The Jewish Home Foundation of North
Jersey held its 21st annual Golf, Tennis,
and Card Outing at the Montammy Golf
Club in Alpine on May 18, celebrating the
Jewish Home Familys centennial. The
sold-out outing, with more than 200 participants, included a fun-filled day with
golf, tennis, social and ACBL-sanctioned
bridge, canasta, mah jong, and networking. There also was a buffet lunch, a cocktail reception, and a gourmet dinner.
Participants bid on a range of goods and
services at a silent auction and bought
tickets for a 50/50 raffle. The winner of
the raffle, Lou Romano Sr., took home
a grand prize of $20,900, and the mens
division of the golf tournament.
Howard Chernin and Warren Feldman
co-chaired the outing, and they announced
at the dinner that together they raised

$160,000 for programs funded by the Jewish Home Foundation. Nearly 25 volunteers
helped the staff oversee the days events,
the two men said, and they also thanked all
the volunteers, staff, and supporters.
The Jewish Home Family and its member entities, Jewish Home at Rockleigh,
Jewish Home Assisted Living, Jewish
Home at Home, and Jewish Home Foundation, are not-for-profit organizations,
providing long-term care, sub-acute care,
outreach programs, and outpatient services for the elderly and their families
in Bergen, North Hudson, and Rockland
counties. The Jewish Home Familys mission is to develop and oversee the very
best of care, services, and advice for the
elderly and their families at home and in
their facilities, now and in the future, consistent with Jewish tradition and values.

Dr. Larry Katz, event co-chair Warren Feldman, Mike Gunther, and Adam Gunther
enjoy the golfing.
PHOTOS BY MARK S. CUNNINGHAM

Tennis participants include co-chairs Barry Wien, top row, third from left, David Edelberg, front row, right,
and Susan Penn, front, center.

Lou Romano Jr., left, with raffle winner Lou Romano Sr. and Jewish Home Family
President/CEO Carol Silver Elliott.
14 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Jane Rak, Susan Wells, Shelli Bettman, and Ann Denson tee up for a worthy cause.

Event participants Lucille Amster, David B. Follender, Warren Feldman, and

Myrna and Yale Block.

Thank You
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Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey

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Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey Federation Full House
thanks these generous sponsors of
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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 15

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Rockland
Why do they leave?
Federation study examines Rocklands non-Orthodox synagogues
LARRY YUDELSON

hy do synagogue members stop paying their

dues?
Its an important question for all synagogues to ask.
But it is a particularly important question for the non-Orthodox synagogues
of Rockland County, where changing
community demographics have led to
shrinking memberships and synagogue
mergers.
Thats why the Rockland Jewish Initiative, a project of the Jewish Federation of
Rockland County, commissioned a survey of attitudes of synagogue leaders,
members, and former members.
The results of the survey were released
in March, and published at http://
jewishrockland.org/rockland-jewish-initiative. In coming weeks, Cantor Barry
Kanarek, the initiative director, said he
will meet with synagogue leaders to discuss the report and what actions to take
based on it.
Cantor Kanarek said the most important finding is that Jewish involvement is
more episodic and more informal than in
the past.
Thats not unique to Rockland County,
he said. Its a national trend. We see
that happening in the Christian world as
well.
The challenge is this: We need to
make changes in our synagogues, and
how we structure our synagogues, to
accommodate that, he said.
Dr. David Elcott was one of the consultants who conducted the survey. He is
the Henry and Marilyn Taub Professor of
Practice in Public Service and Leadership
at New York Universitys Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
He has specialized in advising Jewish
communities about how to involve baby
boomers in Jewish life.
People are joining less, he said. The
idea that you join some place and are
connected to it from cradle to cemetery,
that notion Catholic parishes had, has
pretty much evaporated. People dont
speak that language.
Or more precisely, fewer people speak
that language.
In some ways the Jewish community
shows more robust affiliation than organizations like the PTA or the Kiwanis, Dr.
Elcott said.
The survey had three components.
First came interviews and focus groups
with 27 leaders of the countys 12
non-Orthodox synagogues rabbis,
16 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Dr. David Elcott

presidents, board members. Then came

a survey of about 1,000 current members
of those synagogues. Finally there was a
survey of a harder-to-reach population,
about 100 former synagogue members.
So: How are synagogue members different from former synagogue members?
Not significantly, it turns out, in terms
of their Jewish identity.
Of current synagogue members, 91 percent say being Jewish is very important,
with the remaining 9 percent describing
it as somewhat important. Thats a
higher percentage than is found among
the former synagogue members, but
nearly three-quarters of the ex-members
also feel that being Jewish is very important, with a further 25 percent checking
off the somewhat important box. Only
2 percent said being Jewish is not very
important.
Whereas 50 years ago intermarriage and disaffiliation meant you were
doing everything you could to abandon
your Jewish identity, that is not the case
today, Dr. Elcott said. Thats a very
important awareness, one the leadership of the synagogues have to take into
account.
Instead, the st arkest difference
between members and former members
came when asked to agree or disagree
with this statement: I prefer not to commit to being involved with organizations
on any long term basis; I just get involved
when or if I am interested.
Only 25 percent of synagogue members agreed with that statement, with
57 percent disagreeing strongly. By contrast, only 16 percent of former synagogue members disagreed strongly, and

67 percent two thirds! agreed.

Synagogues need to examine bold
approaches, the report concluded. We
have seen that departure from the synagogue does not automatically signal a severing of ties to or interest in Jewish life.
Patterns and connections change, and
people shift how they use their time. The
door, then, is not closed completely, and
efforts at reconnecting are warranted
and potentially promising.
The report also looked at at-risk synagogue members those most likely to
leave in the future. Significantly, it found
a major disconnect between, on the
one hand, they way synagogue leaders
perceived both their congregations and
those members who dropped out, from,

on the other hand, the way those members who left explained their decision
and described their former synagogues.
Synagogue leaders explained that
those who left did so because their children had become bar or bat mitzvah, and
because they didnt want to pay dues.
Both of those are more complex, Dr.
Elcott said. The financial question is seldom an issue of saying we dont have the
money to pay dues. It is that they have
many things theyre interested in doing,
and synagogue is not a high enough priority to pay for.
In fact, the top reason for leaving given
by former synagogue members was a lack
of connection with clergy. While three
quarters of synagogue leaders strongly

Rockland

agree that when needed I have felt

cared for by clergy, and 64 percent of
current members also agree strongly,
only 16 percent of former members
agree strongly. Nearly half 46 percent
of former members disagree, compared to only 8 percent of current members who dont feel cared for by clergy.
There was a similar, though less
intense, disagreement between members and former members about
whether clergy make an effort to get to
know people in the congregation.
And, perhaps not surprisingly, twice
as many current members report having many friends in the synagogue (38
percent) as do former members (16
percent).
There was disagreement even on
the seemingly objective question of
whether synagogues get in touch with
people who chose not to renew their
memberships.
Two thirds of former members
report that no one got in touch with
them when they left their synagogues.
One quarter said they got a telephone
call, 4 percent were visited in person,
and 13 percent got a letter or email.
In contrast, synagogue leaders all
said that they have a program to connect with former members, and that 95
percent of them get in touch by phone,
25 percent in person and 55 percent by
letter or email.
What emerged is two different views
of the synagogue: One by the leadership and the core members, and one
by the former members.
The wide gap separating the views
of leaders from those who are peripheral or outside the orbit of the synagogue may be surprising to leaders,
the report said. It is clear that the
insiders who feel at home with the
language, programs, experiences and
relationships that the synagogue offers
feel close to the center, and their identity is firmly based in the synagogue
whatever their personal practice. Yet
synagogues tend to speak only to that
ever-shrinking core. It is crucial that
communications, programs and mission statements be based on a broader
reading of peoples goals, interests, priorities and willingness to be connected.
Without this, there is a chance that
the target audience of participationbuilding efforts will not be attracted or
interested. This requires creativity and
some possible risk taking as financially
challenged synagogues try to expand

The wide gap

separating the
views of leaders
from those who
are peripheral
or outside the
orbit of the
synagogue may
be surprising
to leaders.

The federation can lead the way and serve

as a clearing-house/convener for volunteer
initiatives, reaching out to organizations
elsewhere in Rockland County, both interfaith and secular.
Will the survey and the subsequent
report change Rocklands synagogues?

While its too soon to tell, Dr. Elcott said

synagogue leadership was very receptive.
You didnt get people resisting, he said.
People were very attentive and moved
immediately to think about the implications, what can they learn from the results.
There wasnt any resistance.

their communities.
Dr. Elcott said that he encouraged synagogue leaders to pay more
attention.
One way is to ask, he said. Engage
congregants. Board members should
spend their time calling 16 families on
a semi-regular basis, and ask them what
theyre like and what theyre doing as
synagogue members. Ask them what
would they like to have happen in the
synagogue, as opposed to thinking that
if only the rabbi gave a slightly better
sermon, or had a better program, all
the problems would be solved.
Dr. Elcotts report offered some suggestions for new directions the synagogues could explore to retain present
members and perhaps win back former
ones.
One approach is to help people make
friends. Programs that build social
connections will benefit the synagogue
and strengthen personal ties of members. This goes beyond the important
task of welcoming people at services
or other programs and could include
more in-depth connections like placing or inviting different congregants
to Shabbat dinners at other members
homes. The various home-meal groups
could reconvene at the synagogue for
a larger group activity or celebration,
the report suggested.
Another is for the synagogues to
become centers of activism both
Jewish and non-Jewish. Respondents
expressed significant interest in different kinds of volunteer engagement.
These projects offer an ideal way to
encourage former members to reconnect with synagogues and other Jewish
institutions with no strings attached.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 17

Rockland
A talk
by Shavit

JFS gala unfolds

this weekend

Center features
handbag bingo

Ari Shavit, Israeli journalist and author of the

New York Times bestseller
My Promised Land: The
Triumph and Tragedy
of Israel, is the keynote
speaker at the Rockland
community celebration
on June 8. The event held
by the Jewish Federation
of Rockland County and
annual meeting, is at Town & Country
in Congers at 7 p.m. A private meet-andgreet/book signing with Shavit begins at
6:30.
There will also be a buffet dinner, auction, and recognition of students who are

Rockland Jewish Family Service holds

its annual gala on Sunday, May 31,
at 5:30 p.m., at the Comfort Inn in
Nanuet.
This years honorees are Alfred and
Rene Weiner, Maria F. Dowling, CEO,
and Rachelle Rosenberg, who will
receive the Mary Ellen Sher zl Volunteer of the Year award. Call (845) 3542121 or go to www.rjfs.org.

The Nanuet Hebrew Center offers a

special bingo evening on Wednesday,
June 17. Doors open at 7 p.m., and
games begin at 7:30. Participants have
the opportunity to win prizes, including designer handbags. The synagogue
is at 411 S. Little Tor Road in New City.
Call 708-9181.

graduating from Rockland Federations

Leadership Development Institute and
Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish
Learning. Tickets to the event can be purchased online at www.jewishrockland.
org/events.

Tee-off and support Federation

Jewish Federation of Rockland County
holds a charity golf outing at the Tuxedo
Club in Tuxedo, N.Y., on Monday June
15. Check in is at 10 a.m., and the outing begins at noon. The day includes 18
holes of golf with cart, breakfast, lunch,

cocktails, dinner, prizes, and an auction.

Proceeds will benefit the Jewish Federation of Rockland County. For information, call (845) 362-4200, ext. 113, or
email [email protected] or
[email protected].

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18 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Chabad Rockland serves new cookbook

The Jewish Womans Circle of the Chabad Center
of Suffern has published
A Taste of Chabad a
Treasured Collection of
Recipes From Chabads
Shabbat Dinners, Programs, and Community Members. Recipes
feature some of Rebbetzin Devorah Ganczs
favorites.
The spiral-bound,
hard- covered cookbook was professionally published and
includes transliterated blessings on
foods, a table of contents, index, helpful
cooking hints, color photos of Chabad
of Sufferns events, and recipe category
dividers. Categories include Appetizers &
Beverages, Soups & Salads, Main Dishes,
Breads & Rolls, Desserts, Cookies &
Candy, and This & That, which includes

sauces, pancakes, relish,

and marinade.
The monthly group,
made up of women of
diverse affiliations and
backgrounds, regularly
participates in fun workshops, some exploring
Jewish themes. Programs
include Herbal Oil Bottling and Aromatherapy,
the Art of Floral Arrangement, Pina Colada Spa for
the Soul, and an Evening
of Chocolate Fondue.
Check online at the Cooking with Beth
blog at www.jstandard.com for recipes
from the book.
To order a copy or for information,
call Devorah at (845) 368-1889, go to
www.JewishSuffern.com, or email [email protected].

Photo exhibit retraces struggle

of Jewish refugees in Cyprus
The New City Jewish Center holds an
opening ceremony on Thursday, June
11, at 7:30 p.m., for a photo exhibit
mounted by the Consulate General of
Cyprus in New York and American Jewish Committee Westchester/Fairfield.
The 44-photo exhibit depicts the struggle of refugees to make aliyah to Palestine after the Holocaust.
Speakers include Vasilious Philippou,

Cypruss consul general in New York;

Amir Sagie, Israels deputy consul general in New York, and Marvin Weiss,
who was a volunteer on a ship carrying
refugees to Palestine that detoured to
Cyprus.
The event is co-sponsored by the synagogue, the Holocaust Museum and Study
Center in Suffern, the AJC and cConsulate general of Cyprus.

Benefit+ brunch will aid museum

The annual benefit brunch for the Holocaust Museum & Center for Tolerance
and Education is scheduled for Sunday,
November 8, at 10:30 a.m., at Rockland
Community College in Suffern. This

years honorees are the Sasson family;

American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Brett Stephens is the keynote speaker.
For information, call (845) 574-4099 or
email [email protected].

;
.
r
.

Local
Eagle Scout
FROM PAGE 11

sure every pack was up to standards and had every item

that belonged in it, he said.
In addition, Daniel unexpectedly obtained 36 Patient
Pods. These are soft, wipe-able pouches, prepacked with
hand hygiene tools, a notepad and a pen. They have a
message clip and display area and are meant for hospital patients to keep their personal items safely within
reach, attached to a bedrail, walker or wheelchair.
I had contacted CEO Pat Mastors of Patient Pod
because the clip they use was very conveniently
designed to connect to IV poles, Daniel explained.
I asked her if I could get the clips via donation or
discount, but it was patented specifically for Patient
Pods. However, she was kind enough to donate 36
Patient Pods instead. We will give those to teenage
patients.
Daniel managed to get most of the supplies donated
or discounted. He got in touch with AC Moore for the
sticker boxes, Mattel for Uno and Hot Wheels products, JLC for carabiners, and Coleman for compression
straps. For items he had to buy, he used funds raised
from a campaign he launched on the crowd funding
website GoFundMe.
I didnt expect to reach my GoFundMe amount at all,
but in three days I made more than my target of $2,700,
Daniel said. With nearly $3,000 in donations, he even
had extra money to donate to the Tomorrows Childrens
Fund, the nonprofit organization supporting pediatric
cancer patients at the Hackensack hospital.
Because of hospital regulations, Daniel wasnt permitted to hand the packs out directly to patients. I wish I
could have seen their faces, but I understand where the
hospital was coming from, he said.
The staff at the medical center welcomed the project.
It was a pleasure working with Daniel on his Eagle
Scout project, Ellen Goldring, the section chief for
Child Life/Creative Arts Therapy, said. He took such
care in ensuring that the project truly met the needs of
our patients.
He knew what children need because he remembers
being there, she added.
Daniel was able to draw from his personal experience in designing these activity packs. He knows what
it is like to be a young patient connected to an IV pole in
a hospital room for a length of time. They are designed
with an understanding of child and adolescent interests.
They are so well organized that the child life team can
easily grab one for a patient, only needing to know age
and gender.
The packages make life easier for the staff as well, she
said. They do not need to go through multiple toys and
supplies to find items to soothe, distract and keep the
patient engaged. The packs support a basic component
of child life, providing opportunities for patients to play
and express themselves.

Daniel and his family his father, Jacob, his mother, Harriett, and
his older sister, Kayla are members of Temple Sinai in Tenafly. He
is a member of the Reform movements youth group and participates in its annual Midnight Run, where the kids collect clothing and
food and drive it to Manhattan on a school bus to deliver at distribution checkpoints for the homeless. He also volunteers at the soup
kitchen in Hackensack on Thanksgiving.
As a Boy Scout, one of the major things I do is volunteer on a
constant basis, he said.
Another activity dear to Daniels heart is the yearly Artworks
Express Yourself event sponsored by the Naomi Cohain Foundation
for children affected by life-threatening illness, as well as their families.
He participated in the first Express Yourself when he was 5. Then, he
displayed a painting of a mask hed made in art therapy. After contributing artwork for a few years, he shifted into performing jazz, ragtime,
Beatles, and Billy Joel hits on the piano at Express Yourself.
It shows my artistic side to people who are going through, or did
go through, something similar to what Ive gone through, or have a
child who is no longer with them, along with doctors and others who
helped cure me, Daniel said. Its half a thank-you and half to show
that just because youve been diagnosed with something that might
be life-changing, it doesnt mean you cant continue to express yourself in many different ways.
As for the Eagle Scout project, he said, For me, it has been an
incredible journey and a meaningful way to give back and make
some sick children a little happier.

L Shana
L Shana
Tovah!
Tovah!
When Daniel was 5, Abigail Klein Leichman,
who wrote our story, interviewed him for
this story in the Bergen Record.

Wishing you
a sweetyou
newa sweet
year. new year.
Wishing

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and Steven
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L. Rosenthal,
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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 19

Editorial
See you on Fifth Avenue

ts not every day that you get to

walk up the center of Fifth Avenue.
For a second, forget even that its
a parade for Israel. Note, for that
second, that its a Sunday in late May, and
somehow most years that Sunday is a glorious day, sun-dappled green and gold. The
manicured perfection of Central Park is on
your left and the haughty beauty of the elegant old apartment buildings, unaffordable
except to lords of the universe, is on your
right, as you march uptown, as if by right, in
the middle of the street.
And, of course, it is the Israel parade.
It brings together a vast range of Jews,
from centrist Orthodox to socialist, from
bent-over but beaming seniors to babies
babbling in their strollers, from Russians
from Brooklyn to hard-core Bronx boosters to suburbanites from an entire ring
around the city, from north Jersey to
Rockland to Westchester to Connecticut to Long Island and back around and
down to south Jersey. Some come from
farther away, too; from the Catskills and
Massachusetts and Philadelphia and
points further west and south.

There will be music some from floats,

some from marchers, some blared through
microphones. Some people will dance.
Israel might be beleaguered and you
do have to go through security to get to
the parade but you can never feel it at
the parade. (Neturei Karta will be there,
dressed in black, shouting slurs, but they
are too pathetic to taint anyones mood.)
Instead, on that sunlit afternoon, you feel
part of something big but familiar, at one
with your distant, still-undiscovered cousins. Disagreements? Just family matters.
And the more of us who come, the
better.
The Jewish Federation of Northern New
Jersey is sending a delegation, which is set
to leave the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
in Tenafly at 11:30. For more information
or to make a reservation, go to the federations website, www.jfnnj.org. Some
local shuls and schools are going too. And,
of course, any parade needs spectators;
standing and watching everyone go by is
fully as fascinating as walking yourself in
fact, everyone should try both.
JP
See you at the parade.

Survey says

lose readers of this newspaper

may have noticed a new Rockland section showing up the
last week of each month. Bringing Rockland news into a northern New
Jersey publication makes a lot of sense.
Many of us drive across the county line to
shop in the Palisades Mall on Sunday. And
the needs and concerns of Jews of the suburban New York towns of Rockland County
are not all that different than those of the
Jews of the suburban New Jersey towns of
Bergen County.
Thats particularly true of this months
news from Rockland. On page 16 we
report about a survey commissioned by
Rocklands Jewish federation about the
attitude of synagogue leaders, members,
and crucially ex-members. Why do

Jewish
Standard
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 837-8818
Fax 201-833-4959
Publisher
James L. Janoff
Associate Publisher Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle

some people stay synagogue members for

life while others leave as soon as their last
child becomes bar or bat mitzvah?
As we report, the findings accord with
trends in Jewish life across America.
Theyre certainly as true in New Jersey
as they are in New York. In trying to find
out what makes members different from
non-members, the Rockland Jewish community has taken a giant step toward making the changes that will keep more people
involved in our synagogues and in our Jewish community, even as belonging and
membership mean less to generations
that get their entertainment via YouTube
rather than a monthly cable bill. For that,
all of us south of the New York-New Jersey
border should be deeply grateful.


Editor
Joanne Palmer
Associate Editor
Larry Yudelson
Guide/Gallery Editor
Beth Janoff Chananie
About Our Children Editor
Heidi Mae Bratt

jstandard.com
20 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

LY

Correspondents
Warren Boroson
Lois Goldrich
Abigail K. Leichman
Miriam Rinn
Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman
Advertising Director
Natalie D. Jay
Classified Director
Janice Rosen

Elie Wiesel discusses

repentance with Governor
Chris Christie

ur annual Champions of JewGovernor Christie asked him what

ish Values gala is this week. ennobles a leader. How can he learn to
Elie Wiesel is receiving the
be effective in the long term? Prof. Wiesel responded, When you discuss polonce-in-a-generation Light
icy always ask the question, What about
of the Jewish People award, presented
morality? What is the correct moral dimenby Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, and
sion in all of these discussions? It was a
Governor Chris Christie is delivering one of
stark response, delivered gently, and the
the keynote addresses. I wanted the two of
governor nodded his head in agreement.
them, Gov. Christie and Mr. Wiesel, to meet
Governor Christie immediately turned to
before the dinner.
Iran and Americas nuclear deal. Prof. WieI have taken many leaders to meet Elie
Wiesel. Cory Booker was probably the first, sel acknowledged that this had been a painful and personal issue for
but that stretches back 25 years,
him, given his close relato when Cory was president of
tionship with President
my student organization, the
Obama. Together with our
Oxford LChaim Society. When
organization, The World
she was nominated as American ambassador to the United
Values Network, he had
Nations, and came under attack
taken out several newspaper advertisements,
from Jewish organizations for
strongly opposing the deal
implying that Israel is capable
and demanding that Iran
of a genocide against the Pales- Rabbi
tinian people, I took Samantha
not be allowed to remain
Shmuley
Power to meet the legendary
nuclear. The deal, made
Boteach
face of the six million. Three
America appear weak, a
months ago, I took Senator Ted
supplicant prepared to
Cruz, who told Prof. Wiesel how his father
capitulate to Iranian demands and allow
had been imprisoned in Cuba. Now it was
them a nuclear infrastructure, Prof. Wiesel
the turn of my own governor and friend.
said.
Political leaders are surrounded by adviThe governor cited a speech he had given
sors and pollsters. They are instructed to
recently, which emphasized the same point.
do whats politically expedient. Much more
Governor Christie said that he believed
important, of course, is that leaders meet
that when America retreats from the world
the great sages of our time, people who can
stage, the void is filled with chaos and mayhem. He offered an around-the-world tour
offer a world-historical context to policy.
of troubled hotspots, including Egypt, JorWhen I suggested to Gov. Christie that
dan, Syria, Iran, Nigeria, and Yemen, that
he should meet Prof. Wiesel, the governor
was thorough and erudite.
agreed immediately.
I wanted the conversation to address
He arrived alone. No advisors. No security they all remained outside. The gover- some of the more challenging issues now
nor was in a reflective mood. He sat humbly
in the governors public life. I said to Prof.
before Wiesel, as if he were a student.
Wiesel that Mr. Christie is known for his
Prof. Wiesel began to impart the hall- strength. People admire him because of
mark wisdom that has made him one of the
his no-nonsense approach, his candor. But
most respected human beings alive.
that could also be a liability, with hostile
Shmuley Boteach of Englewood is the founder of the World Values Network and the
author of 30 books, including The Fed-up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of
Tragedy and Suffering. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

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G
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Opinion

Taking inspiration
from Norpacs mission
to Washington

Governor Chris Christie, left, met recently with Elie Wiesel, center, and Rabbi
Shmuley Boteach.
media portraying Christie as a bully. How
does one project strength while also respecting its limits?
Prof. Wiesel said, and Mr. Christie immediately concurred, that it is situational. Strength
must be projected to establish order. It must
be held in reserve at other times. But when
it came to confronting bad guys, Prof. Wiesel
said that the Jewish people had learned that
strength is the only posture.
Prof. Wiesel asked Governor Christie if he
wished to be president. The governors tone
of voice changed. He reached deep into himself and became very introspective. He spoke
of his wife and his children. He spoke of the
journey he had been on during the past few
years. He said that when he ran for the New
Jersey governorship against an opponent who
outspent him, few gave him a chance at victory but six months after he won, people
already were speaking of him as a potential
president.
Such stuff can go to your head. It was challenging to process such high expectations. Mr.
Christie said he chose not to run for the presidency in 2012 because he did not feel ready.
I looked in the mirror and I did not see it, I
did not feel it. Now, I feel a greater maturity
that has come with challenging circumstance.
The governor said he did not so much wish to
be president as believe that perhaps he had
qualities that could prove useful at this juncture in history.
Prof. Wiesel asked Mr. Christie which president he admired. The governor responded,
Ronald Reagan, because he knew when
to compromise. Prof. Wiesel spoke of his
respect for the Great Communicator, and of
their close friendship, while also acknowledging the time he challenged Mr. Reagan over
his visit to Bitburg cemetery. He mentioned
his famous words to Mr. Reagan: That place
is not your place, Mr. President.
Prof. Wiesel told the governor he should
create a circle of intellectuals, wise and
learned men and women, people with whom
he could be completely candid. Meet with
them regularly, at least once a month. Let
them bring the benefit of scholarship to your
endeavors. But it wont work unless youre
completely honest with them. The governor
nodded in agreement.
I raised the issue of repentance. I mentioned to Prof. Wiesel the considerable flack

the governor was taking over the closing of

the George Washington Bridge. Successive
investigations had thus far shown there was
no proof whatsoever that the governor knew
of the closures. Still, the public was suspicious. How does one repent, do teshuva, for
something that one is sure one did not do but
which the public believes one is still responsible for?, I asked.
Prof. Wiesel said the answer to this question of teshuva was so important to him that
he would join Gov. Christie on a public stage
to discuss the issue. I asked Prof. Wiesel if he
were serious, and he said that he was. It was
an important issue, central to leadership, he
said, and it ought to be discussed.
It was left to me to organize the panel. I
have started the process. No doubt it will be
riveting.
Finally, we discussed Israel. Governor
Christie spoke of the challenges facing the
Jewish state amid Middle Eastern chaos and
rising global anti-Semitism. He told Prof. Wiesel that should he choose to run for office, and
should he win, he would be the best friend
Israel ever had in the White House. He was
emphatic on that point. America needs a
strong president and Israel needs a friend
that always stands by its side, Mr. Christie
said. My belief is that many of the groups creating terrorist mayhem will think differently
if someone with absolute resolve is in office.
More than an hour had passed. The governor got up to leave. He seemed deeply moved
to have engaged in a spiritual and philosophical discussion with the living face of the martyred six million and a great conscience of
mankind.
We left the office together. A considerable
security presence and a small convoy of black
SUVs awaited the governors emergence. On
Madison Avenue several people came over to
greet him. Im from Jersey, one man said.
Youre doing a great job.
Governor Christie thanked him. He then
turned to me, put both his hands on my
shoulders, looked me square in the eye, as
he is wont to do, and said, Thank you, my
friend, for giving me one of the great privileges of my life.
An hour later he texted the same message, and we spoke again by phone that night.
What a truly profound experience, Mr.
Christie said. What an amazing man.

amily vacations
Imagine the logistics
certainly pro of a fully immersive onevide more relaxday experience, providing interactions.
ing transportation, food,
Family missions provide
briefings, and meaningful
more meaningful, longexperiences for each participant. The Norpac leadlasting experiences.
ership team, with dediOur family traveled
cated volunteer support,
together to Washington,
Jeremy J.
ensured impressive and
D.C., for the Norpac misFingerman
sion last week. Being
flawless execution.
After an early morning
part of a record-breaking
minyan, we boarded our
1500-person mission made
bus from Englewood at 6 a.m. Norpacs
the effort seem all the more important.
president, Dr. Ben Chouake, provided
And for our two teenagers, we provided
a personal briefing, and we were given
a fascinating and awe-inspiring experience in current events, political science,
updated information to prepare for our
history, economics, foreign policy, pubCongressional meetings. Our rabbi, Shmlic speaking, and the democratic system,
uel Goldin, interacted with our kids,
all in one single (and very long) day!
encouraged them, and made them feel
The Norpac mission mobilizes a
special for participating. When we arrived
cross-section of our broad community.
at the Washington Convention Center, we
We come from various political backfelt the importance of the mission, as
grounds but we are united in agreement
everyone gathered to hear inspiring and
on the importance of a strong U.S.-Israel
passionate words from Senators Mark
relationship and we are committed to
Kirk (R-Illinois), Ben Cardin (D-Maryland)
ensuring bipartisan support for that
and our own Robert Menendez (D-NJ.)
SEE NORPAC PAGE 23
relationship.

Jeremy and Gail Fingerman with their children, Zalman and Esther, on the
steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 21

Opinion

Penning our stories

he last time I got a fountain pen was for my bar

mitzvah.
That line was uttered
during the two-part season finale of the ABC
television networks popular series Once
Upon a Time, which aired on May 10. It was
a little inside joke inserted by series creators
Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who cowrote the episode; both of them may well
have received fountain pens as gifts for
their own bar mitzvahs. There was a time
when a fancy fountain pen was as commonplace a gift as savings bonds for bar mitzvah
boys, so much so that an often repeated bar
mitzvah joke was, Today I am a fountain
pen. (This was a play on the clich declaration Today I am a man, this being a time
before the bat mitzvah was fully instituted
as an egalitarian religious practice.) Michael
Hilton, in his book Bar Mitzvah: A History,
reports that in July 1946, Barry Vine of New
Haven Connecticut, received sixteen fountain pens as gifts! Now thats the write stuff!
Once Upon a Times bar mitzvah boy
was played by the actor Patrick Fischler,
who perhaps is best known for his role as
the Jewish comedian Jimmy Barrett on the
recently concluded AMC series Mad Men,
and who also appeared on the series Lost,
a series that Kitsis and Horowitz previously
had worked on as writers. Fischlers character was introduced in March, during the
final story arc of the series fourth season,
first through references to a mysterious
Author whose writings set the course of
the series storybook characters, such as
Snow White, Prince Charming, Rumpelstiltskin, Captain Hook, Robin Hood, Maleficent, and Regina (aka the Evil Queen, Snow
Whites nemesis); as The Author he also
had the power to rewrite their stories, and
change their fate.
By the end of the season, we learned that
the Author is a title and status that has
been bestowed upon many different people, that this particular Author is named
Isaac, that his last name is Heller (possibly
a tribute to Jewish novelist Joseph Heller of
Catch-22 fame), that he was from Brooklyn, and that back in 1966 he was a novelist
who was having great difficulty getting anything published, working to support himself
selling television sets, a job at which he was
also unsuccessful. Selected to become the
next in a long line of magical authors, he
is asked to select a pen to use, prompting
his remark about his bar mitzvah. Although
that comment was the only instance in
which the character was directly identified
as Jewish, his name, voice, place of birth,
look, and manner all allude to his ethnicity,
and presumably his religion.
Part of the humor of the bar mitzvah
comment comes from the incongruity of
inserting a bit of Yiddishkeit into a series
that remixes characters from Disneys animated films, most of whom are derived
from European fairytales and folklore.
22 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Patrick Fischler as Jimmy Barrett

(Disney owns Once Upon a Times television network, ABC.) After all, even during
the two decades that Michael Eisner was
CEO of the Walt Disney Company, the film
studio added no characters to its pantheon
like Fievel Mousekewitz of Stephen Spielbergs An American Tail. And we certainly
dont expect to see anyone named Cohen or
Levy in Cinderella, Peter Pan, Beauty and
the Beast, or Frozen.
There is, however, a long tradition of
inserting inside jokes that only Jews could
appreciate fully into Hollywood films. My
all-time favorite is in the 1936 Marx Brother
movie Animal Crackers, when the cast
sings, Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the
African explorer, and Groucho responds,
Did someone call me schnorrer? I also
love the subtle jab in the 1930 science fiction
musical Just Imagine, in which characters
from the future explain that people drive
planes instead of cars, planes with names
like Rosenblatt, Pinkus, and Goldfarb. In
response, the distinctly Jewish character
from 1930 remarks (in reference to the automakers anti-Semitism), It looks like someone got even with Henry Ford!
No doubt there also was a degree of
identification between Kitsis and Horowitz, as the creators of Once Upon a Time,
and their character, Isaac Heller, as The
Author of the storybook tales that seal the
fate of the series heroes and villains. And
perhaps making Heller a villain involved a
bit of self-deprecating humor. Certainly,
it was ironic that Isaacs status as The
Author is revoked for changing the heroes
and villains stories. That is exactly what
Kitsis and Horowitz have done in the series,
not the least by making both types of characters less black and white, more morally
ambiguous, and therefore more realistic.
Still, portraying Once Upon a Times
only Jewish character as a villain is more
than a little problematic. There are echoes
of Shakespeares Shylock in the explanation that Isaac gives to Snow White and

Pasternak. No doubt a full

Prince Charming, that it was
listing of every Jewish nova lifetime of bad bosses who
elist, short story writer,
fancy themselves heroes,
poet, playwright, screenpushing around people like
writer, comics writer, and
me, that led him to resent
writer of nonfiction would
the heroes and identify with
strain even the Google
the villains. The problem with
search engines enormous
having only one Jewish character in a popular narrative is
capabilities. Interestingly
Dr. Lance
that the characters Jewishness
enough, Googles list also
Strate
becomes more than an indiincluded King David, Josevidual attribute. Instead, the
phus, Maimonides, and
character becomes a represenPaul the Apostle, and it
tation of the Jewish people as a whole, in
is certainly worth noting in this context
this case a negative representation, indeed,
that the Christian Gospels are to a large
a negative stereotype.
extent the product of Jewish authors, their
But there is nothing negative about the
impact immeasurable.
Jewish connection to the role of The
So maybe a fountain pen isnt all that terrible a gift to give on the occasion of a bar
Author after all. On Rosh Hashanah and
or bat mitzvah? Certainly, research indiYom Kippur, we pray that we may be
cates that in the classroom, learning and
inscribed in the Book of Life for a good
retention is greater for students who take
year, and we wish the same for others. In
notes by hand as opposed to on laptops
our tradition, God is an author, indeed,
and tablets, and there is much to be said
The Author, an understanding that has
for taking pen in hand in regard to creativbeen adopted by the other Abrahamic
ity. Our tradition of writing extends from
religions. Of course Moses, our greatest
Torah and Tanach to Talmud and Zohar,
prophet, was also a writer, and through
from Maimonides and Karo to the writings
the Torah and the Tanach, we became
of our modern rabbis and lay leaders, from
the first people to write our own historical narrative. And the stories our ancesthe Reform, Conservative, and Recontors wrote have changed the course of
structionist branches as well as the Orthodox, and to the secular, scholarly, popuhistory for the entire world, and continue
lar, and artistic works of Jewish authors
to capture the imagination of billions of
all around the world. With the magic of
people.
the pen, we can continue to be authors of
Upon doing a search for Jewish
our own history as a people. And with the
authors via Google, a listing of authors
magic of the pen, we can inscribe our own
frequently mentioned on the web
names into a personal book of life that we
appeared, and included 50 names, including Phillip Roth, Saul Bellow, Franz Kafka,
each can write for ourselves.
Bernard Malamud, Sholem Aleichem,
Anne Frank, Joseph Heller, Isaac Asimov,
Dr. Lance Strate of Palisades Park is a
J. D. Salinger, Elie Wiesel, Isaak Babel, Ayn
professor of communication and media
Rand, Primo Levi, Marcel Proust, E. L. Docstudies at Fordham University in the
torow, Amos Oz, Arthur Koestler, LeonBronx and president of his synagogue,
ard Cohen, Theodor Herzl, Ruth Prawer
Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia. He is
Jhabvala, Gertrude Stein, Emma Lazarus,
the author of Amazing Ourselves to Death:
Art Spiegelman, Tony Kushner, and Boris
Neil Postmans Brave New World Revisited.

Opinion
Norpac
FROM PAGE 21

On our way to Capitol Hill, we passed

the Newseum, which opened in 2008 and
celebrates the freedoms and protections
guaranteed to us under the first amendment to the Constitution. The words of that
amendment are carved in the stone faade,
reminding us of the blessings of living in the
United States. Freedom of religion. Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. My
kids were reminded of their lessons from
the classroom, prominently positioned on
Pennsylvania Avenue.
We met first with Congressman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) who had just returned from
his first trip to Israel. Before we could get
started, Congressman Stivers shared his
impressions, his keen insights and understandings, and his strong support for Americas critical ally in the Middle East. He listened intently as my kids then presented
our perspective on the Iran nuclear negotiations, and he agreed with them fully.
In the hallway, we experienced the origins of the term lobbying. We ran into
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as he was
on his way to a vote on the house floor. He
graciously spent a few moments with us,

listening to our key priorities and especially

thanking our kids for taking the time and
making the effort to travel to Washington to
participate in our democratic system.
We then walked across Capitol Hill to
the Senate side for our meeting with Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio.) He, too, had just
returned from Israel, and shared his observations and reflections on his trip. The
senator made a big impression on our kids,
thanking them not only for coming to Washington but also for advocating effectively on
an issue about which they truly care.
Spending the day on the Norpac mission
brought me back to my own experiences
working on Capitol Hill in the early 1980s,
when I had served as a legislative assistant
to a member of Congress. While I remember meeting with constituents, I really dont
remember meeting with many teenagers
who made the effort to come to Washington, a point I reinforced with my kids. I
remember the majesty of Washington, the
energy of the Congress, and the importance
of our work. I also remember feeling very
privileged to have a small role in shaping
U.S. legislative policy at such a young age.
As we embarked on our bus ride
back home, we marveled about the day,
and about how truly fortunate we are.

We pray that by
working together
citizens and
elected officials
we will find
peaceful
resolutions to the
global conflicts
we face.
Face-to-face meetings with members of
the U.S. House and Senate. The freedom to
speak our minds and raise our voices. The
ability to wear our kippot proudly in the epicenter of U.S. power and decision-making.
We commented on the personal decency
and genuine interest shown by these elected

representatives. We noted how they decorated their offices with personal memorabilia from their home states and districts.
And we remarked on their reliance on
young, energetic, smart staff members to
keep them up-to-date on the legislation and
issues raised.
My wife and I hope our two teens long will
remember this inspiring and fully immersive family mission. We hope that as they
chart their life paths, they will be particularly appreciative of the opportunities we in
the United States have to express ourselves
directly before our elected representatives.
We pray that by working together citizens and elected officials we will find
peaceful resolutions to the global conflicts
we face.
Jeremy J. Fingerman is the CEO of the
Foundation for Jewish Camp. He lives in
Englewood with his family, where he is vice
president of Congregation Ahavath Torah.
Write to him at [email protected].

Opinions expressed in the op-ed and letters columns are not necessarily those of the Jewish
Standard. The Jewish Standard reserves the right to edit letters. Be sure to include your town.
Email [email protected]. Handwritten letters will not be printed.

A TRIBUTE TO
ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
HONORARY CHAIRS

TRIBUTES

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger

Elie Wiesel

Roger Ailes
William J. Bratton
Amb. Franois Delattre
Cardinal Timothy Dolan
Thomas L. Friedman
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HOST
Joel Klein
Jon Meacham
Eboo Patel
Amb. Ron Prosor
Rabbi Arthur Schneier
Diane Von Furstenberg

Katie Couric

For further information, please contact: Daniela Reik at 212-885-7855 or [email protected]

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 23

Letters
Never on a Saturday

Congratulations to American Pharoah

and his Sabbath-observing owners on
their victories (Weve got the horse right
here, May 15). The Ten Commandments,
the Torah reading for the first day of Shavuot, states in the Fourth Commandment that on Shabbat You shall not do
any work, you, nor your son, nor your
daughter, your manservant, nor your
maidservant, nor your ANIMALS, nor the
stranger within your gates.
A race horse is trained vigorously
throughout the week. On Shabbat,
should it be saddled, be made to carry
more than a hundred pounds on its
back, be raced and whipped in order to
win millions in prize money? Or does
the animal have the right to a day of
rest, as dictated by the Torah? Is the
Shabbat of a Jew violated if the animals
he owns are forced to labor on the day
of rest?
Elliott Shoenfeld
Englewood

Reading Nostra Aetate

Nostra Aetate (Nostra Aetate 50

years later) is a truly marvelous and

revolutionary document. Since most

Catholics do not read it, I have always
believed that awareness (and acceptance) of it would be enormously
enhanced if it would be included as a
preface to all Catholic bibles.
Jerrold Terdiman M.D.
Woodcliff Lake

I feel that there was provocation by

the soldier but it was the over-the-top
reaction by the police that need adjudication, as well as the rush to judgment
that followed.
Howard Schnoll
Oakland

What really happened

In the May 8 issue of the Standard, Robert Isler attempted to excoriate Peter
Beinart and also took a swipe at J Street
(In every generation). Although Mr.
Beinart has spoken at J Streets conferences and is a widely respected member of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement, he does not speak for J Street,
and J Street does not agree with him on
every point.
While Mr. Beinart feels that the
BDS movement may be appropriately
applied to products from the West Bank
or places under Israeli military occupation, J Street does not support the use of
BDS anywhere.
Stuart Kaplan
Teaneck
Chair, Northern NJ
Chapter, J Street

My wife and I were visiting in Israel

when the Ethiopians protested there
(Why Ethiopian-Israelis took to Tel
Aviv streets, May 8). I was a little concerned that the the article left out what
I had seen several times on Israeli television during our stay.
One police officer approached the
uniformed Ethiopian-Israeli soldier
from the left of the TV screen, grabbed
the bike, and moved it to the right by
the handlebars. Then he turned to his
left, walking away from the bike and the
soldier. He never touched the soldier.
It appeared that the soldier said something, and the police officer turned
around 180 degrees, charged the soldier, and starting the fight. The second
police officer joined the ensuing melee.

No BDS for J Street

kaplen

Racism and Jews

In The North, the South, the Civil War,

and us (May 22), Rabbi Eric Wisnia is
reported to have developed a lifelong
obsession with the Civil War.
He and I have several things in common. We grew up in racially sensitive
areas of Pennsylvania, a fact that may
explain our historical interests. We
share a belief in revisionist history. And
we are intrigued by the Jewish dimension of this period.
The Civil War was not civil. South of
the Mason-Dixon line (which bisects
New Jersey), its other name was the War
Between the States. It was in Pennsylvania, specifically on a small hill in Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 2, 1863,
that the Union was preserved. The man
responsible was General Joshua Chamberlain. I am able to say that I slept in
Chamberlains house (not during his
life, of course).
Rabbi Wisnia correctly views both
sides as participating in the evil of slavery. But even with the end of the WBS
in 1865, it took another 100 years for
Jim Crow laws to be wiped out. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, and New Jerseys

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24 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Letters
ratification of the 13th Amendment in
1966, mark that coming of age.
One thing that was not mentioned
in the article was the active support
of southern Jews for the Confederacy.
Judah Benjamin, the first Jewish U.S.
senator (1852), was a wealthy slaveowner who became Jefferson Davis
secretary of state. Benjamin was
instrumental in obtaining European
(British) financing for the southern
secession. He fled the United States
after the war and never returned.
Partially as a result of the alliance of
Jews with the Confederacy, U.S. Grant
issued his infamous General Order No.
11, effectively the first governmentendorsed pogrom against the Jews.
Abraham Lincoln quickly rescinded
the order, and in later years, Grant
became the first U.S. president to ever
attend synagogue services (at Adas
Israel in Washington, D.C.).
This letter is not intended to be
just another history lesson. It is also a
warning. Jews are not immune to racism. Our dislike and fear of the other
has afflicted Israel for millennia. The
Torah continually issues injunctions

to treat the ger, the stranger, as one

of our own, since we too were strangers in a strange land.
In our time, people of Am Yisrael
must re-examine our relationship with
the Afro-American community. Race
tensions are rising in America. Which
side are you on? I believe that both
Rabbi Wisnia and this writer would be
proud to walk side by side with Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel, and once
again pray with our feet.
Eric Weis
Wayne

More on Zahal Shalom

Thank you so much for your coverage

on our program with Zahal Shalom,
the disabled Israeli veteran program
(Indescribable connection, May
22). There was no website or Facebook page mentioned in the story,
however.
Anyone who would like to
know more can reach us at www.
ZahalShalom.com or Zahal Shalom
on Facebook.
Debbie Zingler
Ramsey

Mazal tov to Wendy Federman on

her FIVE 2015 Tony Award nominations as co-producer of the new
Broadway shows An American in
Paris, Something Rotten! The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time, Wolf Hall, and You
Cant Take It With You.
She is pictured with Robbie
Fairchild, Tony Award-nominee,
for Best Actor in a Musical in An
American in Paris; Christian Borle and Brian dArcy James, Tony
Award-nominees for Best Actor
and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (and stars of TVs Smash)
in Something Rotten! and with
Alex Sharpe, Tony Award-nominee for Best Actor in a Play for
The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time.
Federman is a multi Tony,
Drama Desk, Drama League, and
Outer Critics Circle award-winning producer. She is now an 18time Tony Award-nominee.

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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 25

Cover Story

Tuvia Tenenbom in Ramallah, near a

border crossing, at a clash between
IDF soldiers and Palestinian youth.

Master W
of
disguise

JOANNE PALMER

Unmistakable Tuvia Tenenbom,

journalist extraordinaire,
discusses his sad findings
about Israel, Europe,
Germany, and anti-Semitism

26 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

hen you try to imagine a crusading

journalist, someone who would
go undercover, assume false identities, pretend to be someone
other than who he is, you probably would imagine
someone who does not look like Tuvia Tenenbom.
You might expect a master of disguise, able to
change his appearance at will, or maybe someone
nondescript, mousy, too boring to describe.
Thats not Tuvia.
Tuvia who will speak at Temple Emanu-el of
Closter this Shabbat morning is not tall, but he
is broad; when I met him, he wore a white billowy
button-down shirt, open enough to display the
thick gold chain around his neck, wild-and-crazyguy style. His thicket of hair is an unlikely yellow,
his glasses a lovely pink. A near-visible fog of cigarette smoke surrounds him at all times, even when
he is not smoking.
Tuvia not only loves to smoke, he loves to eat;
even more than that, it seems, he loves to explore,
to ask questions, to ask forbidden questions, to follow paths that intrigue him, and to explore them
even more avidly once they are marked as off limits to him.
Tuvia he uses first names for everyone he
interviews in his book, Catch the Jew, so I think
I will too is a native Israeli, although he left
decades ago and now divides his time between
Germany, where he is a columnist for Die Zeit;
New York; and airplanes and hotels in other parts

of the world, alluded to with a hand-wave but not

listed. The degrees he earned from Touro College
and New York University in literature and mathematics, and the work he does as the founder and
executive director of the Jewish Theater of New
York, have provided him with a unique set of tools
as a journalist.
Tuvia has spent a great deal of time in the Middle East. He knows a great deal about Arab culture, and he speaks fluent Arabic.
Those facts, along with his academic background, gave him the tools he needed when his
publisher sent him to Israel to write an impressionistic book about what he saw there. The fact
that I studied computer science and literature
added a lot, he said. It showed me that everything has a reason.
In Catch the Jew, which has been described
accurately as a work of gonzo journalism, Tuvia
went all over the country, touring both the obvious places and the places no one goes. When he
spoke to Jews, he was Jewish; when he was with
Palestinians or the European NGO volunteers or
staffers with whom he spent a great deal of time,
he was Tobi the German, or occasionally Tobias
the Austrian.
Thats where the theatrical background came in.
Tuvia always played a part, even if the part he was
playing was himself.
At first, Tuvias Die Zeit-sponsored trip was
light-hearted; at the beginning of his book, his
absolutely deadpan prose, all short sentences and
affectless wonder, poked fun at everyone. Soon,

d
w

Cover Story

though, his mood darkens.

To be blunt because the book is 463
pages but this piece is not the real
story is the international campaign that
puts Israel in the worst light, Tuvia said.
What I found out is that the European
human rights activists are doing their best
to destabilize Israel, to teach the Palestinians how to fight Jews, and if they dont
hate them enough, to make them hate
them more.
Yes, this sounds like standard rightwing rhetoric, but the thing is, Tuvia is not
a standard right-winger. In fact, he is not
a right-winger at all, and this is not at all
what he expected to find. I didnt have an
ax to grind, he said.
Tuvias reporting style is to begin somewhere, with someone, and then to follow
the story from person to person, from recommendation to recommendation, introduction to introduction.
From a Jewish woman he met at a Jerusalem dinner party, Tuvia wangled a meeting with Hanan Ashrawi, the PLO spokesperson, at her office in Ramallah. There,
he previews for the reader the technique
he will use throughout the book. Columbolike, he asks questions so obvious that generally no one asks them, and that the person to whom he is talking does not at all
want to answer.
Ms. Ashrawi, for example, is Christian.
She does not like to discuss the status of
Christians in Ramallah they used to
make up about 20 percent of the population, but now are down to about 2 percent.
Instead, because she believed that he

Tuvia, aka Tobi the German, drapes his arm around his friend-for-a-day-or-so,
Jibril Rajoub, and waves a Palestinian flag. They are in the village of Bilin.

was a German Christian, she connected

him to other Palestinians. That opened
the door, he said. I was Tobi the German who cared about last names? The
moment people like you, they like you.
He met many Palestinians, as well as
many Europeans who were in Israel to do
earnest good work for the non-governmental agencies Tuvia gradually came to see as
damaging for Israel. He admired much of
what he saw as Palestinian culture, particularly its pride. Israeli Jews have much less
of that pride, he says.
Those Palestinians knew him as Tobi.
Did it take courage for him to meet them
as he pretended to be someone he wasnt?
Did I risk my life? he asked rhetorically.
You bet I did. Every time. But you cant
think about it. If they found out who I was,

I would be dead. Palestine is Judenrein.

He told a story about an adventure
excuse me, an exercise in journalism in
Jordan. Someone invited my wife and
me. We were with about 20 people, and in
the middle of it, the host looks at me, and
says here Tuvia flicks at his ear Your
ear. I think, from your ear, that you are
not a German. You are a German Jew. And
everybody stops eating and looks at me.
What will I say? Will I deny it? If I say
that Im Jewish, of course, its all over. So I
look at him, and I say, You. You have thin
lips. Who has thin lips?
Homos have thin lips. Gays. You are a
homo. And who are the homos? Jews. Jews
are homos. So what are you doing in this
holy land of Islam?
Everybody starts looking at him. In

fact, he does not really have thin lips, and

gays do not have thin lips anyway, but in
that culture, what you say, what comes out
of your mouth, becomes reality. I said he
has thin lips so he has thin lips. In that
moment I made it up I made it all up
and it became reality.
How did he get out of it? He had to allow
both of them to save face. I thought about
who hates the Jews. I thought of the Poles!
So I said, My father was a Polish priest.
And he says, Ah, now I see. You are Polish!
Welcome, brother!
Why does he do these things?
My job as a journalist is not to take
things at face value.
I have been to events that journalists
write about, but I am the only one from
the press who is there. Everyone else is on
the bus, and the next day they write about
what happened from a press release. That
is not journalism.
When he was in Israel, Tuvia went to
places other journalists did not go. Not
the left-wing journalists, and not the rightwing journalists, he said. Both sides are
ideologues, and both make up facts. But
how can you write about people you dont
know?
Among the many things he saw, he said,
is that Hebron is a booming city. Journalists are shown the 3 percent of the city that
is desperately poor. That is where the few
Jews who stay there live; the stores there
are all closed and there are few signs of
life. The rest of the city is dotted with villas built with donated European money,
he said. And what is true of Hebron is true

s
-

a
e

r
,
s

d
,

Tobi the German (or was it the Austrian?) poses in front of Al-Quds University in
Abu Dis. A partial list of funders is on the wall behind him.

In Dimona, Tuvia stands with Theodor Herzl, who does not talk back.

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 27

Cover Story
of Jericho and Ramallah as well, he added.
All you have to do is go there, and you will
see it.
Of course, it is not easy for Jews to go
there.
Among the Palestinians with whom he
spent time was Jibril Rajoub, the Palestinian militant. When I interview a person, the first thing I say is, Please tell me
if you will allow me to interview you,
Tuvia said. What you will say will be in
the book. That is the only official thing I
say. Sometimes it takes only a few seconds
before we are talking to each other like
human beings.
It is hard to interview someone you
dont like. No matter what their political
persuasion, it is hard.
I liked Jibril a lot. I connected with him
on very deep levels. He wants to kill me
today he tried to lure me to Ramallah
when the book came out but I still like
him, even despite that.
The result of all the interviews was an
understanding that Tuvia did not expect
and does not want.
I am not a right-winger and I am not a
left-winger and I am not a centrist. I dont
believe in anything except facts. I am not a
rabbi. I am not an imam. I am not an optimist. My job is not to make you feel bad.
My job is to tell you what I found.
What he found is Europeans financing
groups that feed Arab hatred of Israel,
and that feed self-hating Israelis hatred of
Israel as well. He found Europeans who go
to Israel secure in their prescient knowledge of what they will see, and he found
them seeing those very things. He found
Europeans financing violence against Jews.
He found a toxic blend of Jewish introspection (and it all has to do with them, he adds
most Israeli Jews dont actually know
any Palestinians) and Arab pride and, yes,
European anti-Semitism. He found that
although many countries finance antiSemitic NGOs, the country that sends the
most money is Germany.
Now, he wrote, he understands why
the Europeans are not coming to Israel
for its beaches anymore. Its much more
exciting to catch a Jew than to catch the
sun. Its called habit. You can pause your
hatred because of an uncomfortable Auschwitz moment, as the Europeans did a
few decades ago, but to completely erase
the habit of hatred is a much harder task.
One of the surprises to come from the
books publication has been its popularity, he added. Although it has vanished,
nearly ripple-less, after some bad press

Tuvia reports from the field, not via press release; here, he is with a Bedouin
family.

from Jewish publications in this country,

it has been a best-seller in Germany; in
Israel, Haaretz, the left-wing daily, gave
me the best review, Tuvia said. The radical left paper in Germany gave it an unbelievable review. In the beginning, the ones
who reviewed it were conservative, but at
the end of the day, the left did too.
My events in Germany are packed,
Tuvia said. People are standing. And its
not because of me, but because finally
there is a Jew who can stare at them and
say, You are anti-Semitic not because of
your grandparents, or your parents, but
because of you.
This is what I found out. Can you
explain to me why you are obsessed
with the Jews? If you really care so much
about human rights, why dont you care
about human rights any place else in the
world? Why dont you care about whats
happening in Chechnya? Dont you know

that the whole Arab world is in shambles?

Dont you care? Dont you care about the
Yazidis?
But you really dont care. But if one
Palestinian is hurt, you think its okay to
blow up a train in Jerusalem. I just want
you to explain why, when there is so much
injustice in the world, even if you think
that Israel is so unjust, why do you care
only about injustice in Israel?
Why can you tell me who is the defense
minister in Israel, but not in Germany?
What is this obsession?
Tuvia Tenenbom left Israel depressed.
Not personally he is about to start a new
project, an Alexis de Tocqueville-esque
journey around America, following the
flow of meetings and connections. But he
is profoundly unnerved about what he saw
in his native country.
I am not going to give anyone any slack,
he said. My job is not propaganda. I find a

rabbi who is doing horrible things, who is

stealing from the poor, I will write about it,
and I will condemn it. I dont care.
I write about what I see. It is my job to
be honest, and I have been honest.
This book is a jaccuse, aimed at the
so-called human rights activists. In their
activism, Jews are not human. That is
the amazingly missing part. After all the
months there, I found out that there is one
agenda, and that agenda is catch the Jews.
The Jews are misbehaving, doing
something criminal, something illegal.
They are being bad. That is the job.
You cant trust western media. It is a
huge conspiracy. I dont believe in conspiracy, but I believe in facts. You cant
just write what you wish it to be.
Or, as he wrote, toward the end of his
book, during a trip to Jordan, in emotional language that is a real break from
the flat, faux-childlike tone of the rest of
the book:
I stand in Aqaba, facing Israel, and I
stare at the landscape across from me on
the other side of the Gulf. I feel my heart
beating fast. There, on the other side, is
Israel. I have, by now, spent months in
Israel, spoken to hundreds if not thousands of its people, and all of them are
now so far away.
From afar, looking at Israel, now just
a tiny spot, I entertain the thought that I
could fit the whole of Israel into the palm
of my hand. What would I do, I ask myself,
if Israel indeed landed in the palm of my
right hand? Would I keep it close to my
heart, or would I throw it into the water
in disgust?
So small, my Palestine, so small, my
Israel!
I stare at the tiny country in my hand
and I want to talk to it, but my lips dont
move. Only my eyes speak to it, my wet
eyes.

Who: Tuvia Tenenbom

What: Will speak at Shabbat morning
services this week, May 31
Where: At Temple Emanu-el, 180 Piermont Road, Closter
Why: He will talk about his book,
Catch the Jew
For more information: Call (201) 7509997 or go to templeemanu-el.com.
28 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Tobi the German, Jibril Rajoub, and Jibrils security take a long walk through the West Bank.

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Opinion

The legacy of Robert Wistrich, worlds

leading scholar of anti-Semitism

he cemeter y in
by email, as well as on the
Jerusalems Givat
phone and on his visits to
Shaul neighborNew York. I dont mind
hood was bathed
admitting that I was awed
in the fading sunlight of a
by Robert, and could never
late May afternoon. Silently
quite believe that he considand steadily, the column of
ered my own modest conmourners wound their way
tributions on the subject of
towards an open grave, suranti-Semitism the lonBen Cohen
rounded by glinting white
gest hatred, as he famously
headstones, inhaling the
termed it worthy of his
heady scent of the cypress
attention. After all, Id been
trees that flourish on the adjacent hillreading his work since I was a schoolboy,
sides. As the mourners came to a halt, a
beginning with his book on the Bolshevik
rabbi recited the Jewish memorial prayer,
revolutionary Leon Trotsky, whose ideas I
El Male Rachamim, his sorrowful tones
became infatuated with during my precopunctuated by the crunch of the gravel
cious teenage years.
underfoot and the gentle sobs of the famIn the short period that I knew him, I
ily of the deceased.
learned much from Robert, the author of
The mourners, of whom I was one, had
nearly 30 books and countless academic
come in tribute to one of the greatest Jewpapers, newspaper articles, and speeches.
ish intellectuals of the last century. Many
Above all, I understood through him that
of us had flown thousands of miles to be
it is possible to be both an unapologetithere. I think its reasonable to say that
cally proud Jew and an incisive writer and
for all of us, the reality of our loss became
thinker. Robert spoke with the accent of
apparent only at that moment, as the grave
an educated, erudite Englishman, yet his
was filled with fresh earth. It was true, termaterial and spiritual home was in the
ribly, shockingly true. We really were saycity of Jerusalem, rather than a salon in
ing our final farewell to Professor Robert
Bloomsbury.
Wistrich.
Again through him, I understood that
I learned of Roberts death on Tuesday
Jewish history is also general history, that
afternoon, May 19. Less than 24 hours
it is impossible to understand the trials of
later, I was on a plane from New York to
a people locked in their diaspora without
Tel Aviv. In my seat, a novel open on my
an intimate knowledge of the prevailing
lap, I found myself reading the same senpolitical forces around them. Whatever
tence over and over again. Consumed
the subject the ideology of Marxism, the
by sadness and unable to concentrate, I
twists and turns of European nationalism,
closed my book, swallowed a sleeping pill,
the profound existential threat posed by
and woke up shortly before we landed at
radical Islamism, the laboratories of Jewish
Ben Gurion Airport.
intellectual life in Paris or Vienna or BudaFor the last three years, I was fortunate
pest or Moscow you could always rely
to enjoy the friendship and intellectual
on Robert for unrivaled, unique insights.
support of Robert, unquestionably the
Robert spent the bulk of his academic
worlds leading scholar of anti-Semitism.
career at Jerusalems Hebrew University,
We had first met in person at a conferwhere he directed the Vidal Sassoon Interence in London where Id presented a
national Center for the Study of Anti-Semipaper, and we continued our relationship
tism. In my experience, most people, upon
hearing that such a center is named after
a man primarily associated with grooming and beauty, react with bemusement,
amusement, or some combination of the
two. But actually, there was a very good
reason for that center. Sassoon had come
of age in London just after the Second
World War, when he actively participated
in running street battles with Sir Oswald
Mosleys fascist Blackshirts, who were
attempting a resurgence then. Thanks to
Sassoon and his Jewish comrades in the
43 Group whose name derived from
the fact that there were 43 of them in the
room above an east London pub where
the group was launched these odious
and deceitful bigots received a hiding,
both physically and politically, from which

Above all, I
understood
through him that
it is possible to
be both an
unapologetically
proud Jew and
an incisive writer
and thinker.

30 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Robert Wistrich

thankfully they never recovered.

Sassoon was absolutely driven by
the sense that one had to do something
because anti-Semitism was always there
beneath the surface, Robert told me for
an article I wrote for Tablet just after Sassoon died. It wasnt an academic point of
view, it was a moral one, based on his own
experience.
Despite his enviable academic credentials, much the same could be said of Robert himself. He was a man who understood
that deciphering anti-Semitism is only part
of the challenge; leading the fight against
it is arguably more important. Robert did
this with extraordinary energy and commitment. Indeed, on the day that he died
from a sudden heart attack, at the tragically
young age of 70, he was on a visit to Rome
to address the Italian Senate on the subject
of the rising anti-Semitism in Europe.
Now that he is gone, there is an aching
void in his stead. I can think of nobody
not an academic, not a journalist, and certainly not any of our Jewish leaders who
can fill his shoes. But I know, too, that the
fight against the ugly libels that bedevil
our people goes on. That we must defeat
those who dress up their hatred of the Jewish people in the language of anti-Zionism
with the same vigor, and even ruthlessness, that was adopted by the 43 Group.
That we are on the side of truth, and that
is why we will win.
Even as I grieve for the death of my dear
friend and mentor, and the wonderful
family he leaves behind, I give thanks for
his scholarship and his example. Robert
may be gone, but in the enormous volume
of work he bequeathed, he continues to

DOUGLAS GUTHRIE

He was a man
who understood
that deciphering
anti-Semitism is
only part of the
challenge;
leading the fight
against it is
arguably more
important.
guide us. Thus do I offer these lines from
the great English poet, W.H. Auden, as a
fitting epitaph.
When faith is firm, and conscience
clear/And words of peace the spirit cheer/
And visioned glories half appear/Tis joy,
tis triumph then to die.
Bless you, Robert. Baruch dayan
haemet.
JNS.ORG

Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org

& The Tower Magazine, writes a weekly
column for JNS.org on Jewish affairs and
Middle Eastern politics, and his work
has been published in Commentary, the
New York Post, Haaretz, The Wall Street
Journal, and many other publications. He
is the author of Some of My Best Friends:
A Journey Through Twenty-First Century
Antisemitism.

Jewish World

BDS on
campus
When does anti-Israel
become anti-Semitic?

Students hold
signs at a rally
outside One
Illinois Center
in Chicago.

Dan Pine
Liana Kadisha, a senior at Stanford University, says some
Jewish students on her campus feel they have to hide
who they are.
The 22-year-old knows of several who tuck their star
of David necklaces inside their shirts, self-conscious
about drawing attention to their Jewish identity.
Thats not the only worry for Jews at the bucolic Palo
Alto campus.
Last month, Molly Horwiz, a Jewish candidate for the
Stanford student senate, found herself grilled by members of a campus club who questioned her ability to
think independently because of her Jewish identity,
she said. Days later, vandals painted swastikas on a Stanford frat house.
Those incidents followed a student senate debate
over an Israel divestment resolution in February. The
bill passed on a second vote, after failing in a first round.
The night of the first vote, one of the pro-divestment
students got up and shouted Long live the intifada and
stormed out of the room, Kadisha recalled. That was
extremely disturbing.
After the resolution passed, more than 150 current
and former faculty members and researchers signed an
open letter condemning the single-minded ferocity
of the divest-from-Israel campaign on their campus. Its

Something bad
is happening on
American campuses,
and its not unrelated
to the anti-Israel
boycott, divestment,
and sanctions
movement.
goal, the letter claimed, wasnt to open up discussion
on these complex matters but to dictate simple, outright
excoriation.
Steven Zipperstein, a Stanford professor of Jewish culture and history, helped craft the letter, saying that the
tenor of the campus debate on Israel was worrying.
I understand why Israeli politics would enrage, he
said in March. Im enraged by many of the politics in
Israel. But the fact that outrage against Israeli politics
is the one issue that captured more attention at Stanford than any other political issue in the last 30 years, as
stated by our president thats bizarre.
Something bad is happening on American campuses,
and its not unrelated to the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. A survey by the Louis
D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law found
that 54 percent of Jewish college students experienced

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Jewish World
or witnessed anti-Semitism on their campuses during the 2013-14 school year,
including incidents of harassment, violence or a hostile environment.
Incidents can range from swastikas
scrawled on frat houses to student committees questioning whether Jewish students are fit to serve in student government. The latter occurred earlier this
year at UCLA as well as Stanford, though
university administrators immediately
intervened in both cases and the inquisitorial students apologized.
It could be worse. At a university in
Durban, South Africa, one student government body called for the expulsion
of all Jewish students on the chance they
could be Zionists.
In this country, experts agree, such
incidents tend to occur on campuses
with an active BDS presence.
On its face, the BDS movement formally organized in 2005 to oppose Israels policies toward the Palestinians. The
idea is to put political and economic
pressure on Israel, publicly, in order to
force an end to the occupation, among
other stated goals. Tactics include boycotting goods made in Israel or the settlements; barring Israeli academics from
international conferences and pressuring international artists and scholars not
to visit Israel; and, on campus, putting
forward student resolutions asking universities to divest holdings in companies
that do business with Israel.
However, BDS critics including some
who are critical of Israeli government
policies believe the movements true
aim is not to pressure Israel, but to eradicate it.
As former Harvard President Larry
Summers once said of BDS, it is antiSemitic in effect if not intent.
BDS is a concerted campaign by people who seek the elimination of the State
of Israel, said Rabbi Doug Khan, executive director of the San Francisco-based
Jewish Community Relations Council. At the very least, its a nonviolent
means to a violent end.
Critics of BDS link the movement
to overtly anti-Semitic activity, pointing, for example, to swastika graffiti
that emerges after divestment bills are
passed or not passed. Jewish supporters of BDS dismiss these charges, calling
them desperation tactics by pro-Israel
advocates who want to shut down any
criticism of Israel.
Theres no evidence of any kind that
[swastika graffiti] has anything to do
with the Palestinian solidarity movement, said Rabbi Alissa Wise, co-director of organizing for the Oakland-based
Jewish Voice for Peace, which endorses
BDS. Its sloppy and unethical to suggest a connection. [Pro-Israel activists]
use [anti-Semitism] to deflect a conversation about what is happening inside
Israel, over policies that are discriminatory, violent and deny basic human

rights to Palestinians.
It is true that the vandals who scrawled
swastikas at Stanford last month and on
the walls of a Jewish fraternity at U.C.
Davis in January never have been caught,
and no one knows their motives.
But sentinels on the lookout for antiSemitism believe the BDS movement
must accept its share of blame for the
increase in incidents and overheated
rhetoric. They say the movement hides
its true agenda, which they contend is
anti-Semitic at its core.
Correlation is not causation. But when
it comes to BDS and anti-Jewish rhetoric,
some Jewish community watchdogs see
the two overlapping too often.
Seth Brysk, the Anti-Defamation
Leagues Central Pacific regional director, makes his living detecting anti-Semitism. The ADL does not level the charge
or use the term lightly, he says but BDS
matches the description.
The positions of BDS leaders advocating the unqualified right of return of
all Palestinian refugees [to Israel], a onestate solution, would lead to the demise
of Israel as a Jewish state, Brysk said.
People who advocate that promote an
idea that at its core is anti-Semitic.
Though he concedes that not every-

BDS critics
including
some who are
critical of Israeli
government
policies believe
the movements
true aim is
not to pressure
Israel, but to
eradicate it.
one involved in BDS is anti-Semitic,
Brysk cites examples of supporters
using incendiary rhetoric, expropriating Nazi terminology to describe Israel
and Israelis. For example, he says, some
BDS adherents charge Israel with perpetrating a holocaust against Palestinians, and he points to a new anti-Israel
term du jour Zizis, short for Zionist
Nazis, used to describe Israelis and their
supporters.
Even when activists temper their
rhetoric, Brysk says the BDS movement
makes anti-Semitic acts and speech
acceptable and more inevitable, creating an atmosphere that normalizes antiJewish behavior.
It takes an extremely one-sided
approach to a complex problem, and
rather than really engage in peaceful

s
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e
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Jewish World
protest, its a disingenuous and prejudiced
movement, he said.
Roz Rothstein, founder and director of the pro-Israel nonprofit StandWithUs, employs a litmus test to determine
whether criticism of Israel veers into antiSemitic speech: the three Ds of delegitimization, demonization, and double
standard. Those are key parts of the
State Departments official definition of
anti-Semitism.
If you apply the three Ds, you can see
that [BDS] does qualify, Rothstein said.
The movement targets [only] Israel,
blaming it for the lack of peace. The movement conveniently does not discuss its
goal, which is not peaceful coexistence.
Rothstein points to some of the more
extreme examples of imagery seen in antiIsrael protests: posters that replace the
six-pointed Jewish star with a swastika,
blood-spattered Israeli flags, or political
cartoons that contort Israeli leaders into
hook-nosed ghouls out of the pages of the
Nazi propaganda sheet Der Strmer.
The Jewish star to the Jewish people
signifies their religion, she said. Its very
scary. People dont understand how egregious this is.
Such imagery may disturb, but the First
Amendment protects anti-Jewish speech,

Students demonstrate for BDS at the White House in 2010.

no matter how hateful. And there is little

university administrators can do to stop it,
one of them notes.
Im a First Amendment maven, said
Mark Yudof, the former president of the
University of California and a professor of
constitutional law. An ardent supporter of

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Israel who is active in the Bay Area Jewish community, Yudof says that fact in no
way diminishes his stance on this issue. I
believe in free speech. I honestly believe
people can be highly critical of Israel and
not be anti-Semitic. Its painting with too
broad a brush to say everyone who doesnt

agree with you on policy toward Israel is

tarred and feathered with anti-Semitism.
Still, though he defended free speech
and peaceful protest during his tenure
as U.C. president, Yudof always found
the BDS movement and its agenda
contemptible.
You get suspicious sometimes, he said.
Ive listened to the narratives. Sometimes
its not that Israel is wrong or it should do
this or that. The [BDS] narrative is that
Jews are too powerful, too privileged, have
too much influence with Congress and the
media. It strikes me as containing an antiSemitic element.
Yudof once met with indignant proPalestinian students, who told him he was
wrong to defend the free speech rights
of Israel supporters because the First
Amendment is only for marginalized people, and not privileged people like Jews.
If anyone is marginalized, Tammi Rossman-Benjamin would say that it is the proIsrael college student. The U.C. Santa Cruz
Jewish studies lecturer, co-founder of the
Amcha Initiative, which combats anti-Semitism on campus, believes that sticking up
for Israel has grown dangerous.
The nonprofits website has a tracker
monitoring anti-Semitic incidents on campus. Since January 2014, the tracker has

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Jewish Standard MAY 29, 2015 33

Jewish World
logged 29 incidents of swastika graffiti on or
near American campuses, among them U.C.
Berkeley, U.C. Davis and Stanford.
Its becoming more clear, more explicit
every day, she said of the link between BDS
and anti-Semitism. What used to be Israel
Apartheid Week is now called Anti-Zionism
Week. No more Lets criticize the policies of
the government of Israel. Now it becomes
opposition to Israels very existence.
And because making Israel disappear
would require the disappearance of 7 million Israeli Jews, that would amount to antiSemitism, Rossman-Benjamin argues.
There is a certain hostile environment
for Jewish students who identify with the
Jewish state, she said. So when there are
divestment resolutions, you have a climate
that is actually toxic. It spills over into acts
against Jews. In the minds of those carrying
out BDS activities, its about the Jews, the
Jewish state, and the Jews who support the
Jewish state. It cant be a coincidence.
Jews who are active in BDS say their very
presence in the movement disproves the
charges of anti-Semitism.
You have StandWithUs and Amcha,
that use a claim of anti-Semitism as a
political weapon, said JVPs Wise. That
desensitizes people to actual incidents

of anti-Semitism and makes it harder for

those of us concerned with Jewish safety
and anti-Jewish oppression to counteract
and address it. To me it reads as a last-gasp
attempt to maintain the status quo of Israeli
right-wing policy.
Gabi Kirk, 24, echoes Wises sentiments.
A San Jose native and former counselor at
Camp Tawonga, Kirk most recently served
as JVPs campus liaison. Though she left
the organization last month, she still agrees
with its criticism of Israeli policy and considers BDS a legitimate tactic.
Not only does she believe BDS is not
inherently anti-Semitic, she thinks the status quo the Israeli government maintains in
the Palestinian territories incites anti-Jewish
sentiment more than any campus campaign
could do.
We believe ultimately that occupation,
militarization, and systems of apartheid
harm everyone, Kirk said. They harm
Jews by eroding moral values and pitting
people against each other.
Kirk said that any time she encounters
anti-Semitism from within the BDS movement on campus, she calls it out. When
someone spouts anti-Semitic tropes, she
tries to explain that their actions are no
different from Islamophobia and other

Even as the BDS

movement gains
strength on
many campuses,
particularly in
California, proIsrael activists
note examples
of growing
pushback.
forms of bigotry. Anti-Semitism exists, she
added. We dont deny that.
Kahn says JCRC works to combat BDS on
campus. But the organization also wages the
fight in other arenas, such as liberal Protestant denominations, labor unions, and even
grocery stores.
He cites past victories, such as persuading Sonoma County not to cancel a contract for buses made by a company that
does business with Israel, and convincing

San Franciscos Rainbow Grocery co-op to

resume stocking Israeli goods, which had
been targeted for boycott.
But he concedes the battle is growing
tougher. Kahn estimates the number of proBDS organizations in the Bay Area has risen
from 60 to 130 in the past five years. Outside
some campus actions, Kahn says one of the
most notorious local anti-Semitic incidents
was last summers Block the Boat campaign
at the Port of Oakland, which turned away
an Israeli-owned cargo ship under the banner Zionism is not welcome in Oakland.
To Kahn its a short hop, skip, and jump to
a banner that one day could read Zionists
not welcome in Oakland.
The JCRC counter-strategy has been to
expose extremism. In 2010, the pro-Palestinian Christian organization Sabeel, which
promotes church divestment from Israel
and companies that work with Israel, held
its biennial in San Anselmo, with more than
450 attendees and dozens of sponsors.
Kahn says the thrust of the conference was
to advocate for BDS.
They had many speakers who wanted to
see no Israel, he recalled. We sent a large
delegation, not to make waves but to attend
every session. JCRC then shared what
it heard at those sessions with sponsors,

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Jewish World
which led to many pulling their sponsorships from the
next conference after we exposed how extreme [the
organization] was.
As for BDS on campus, Kahn acknowledges that antiSemitism likely does not animate a majority of activists,
but he worries anyway. As a textbook case he points to
the chain of events at U.C. Davis, which passed an Israel
divestment resolution in January, immediately followed
by a Facebook posting from one of the bills proponents
claiming Sharia law has come to Davis and the swastika scrawled on a Jewish fraternity.
The vitriol injected by the BDS movement, the repetitious espousal of hate for Israel and its supporters,
potentially creates an atmosphere in which an individual may get his or her wires crossed and engage in a
blatantly anti-Semitic act, such as painting a swastika,
Kahn said.
Whoever perpetrated the act ultimately bears
responsibility. By the same token, people who so readily create a hostile atmosphere for pro-Israel and Jewish
students on campus cannot ultimately absolve themselves of responsibility, either.
By aligning with BDS, Kahn says, Jews such as Wise
and Kirk and organizations such as JVP merely provide
the movement with a veneer of diversity.
Wise counters by noting that JVP has grown in the
last few years to 30 chapters, with 200,000 supporters
who donate or take action of some sort. That adds up
to many Jews who, presumably, do not consider themselves anti-Semites.
I would never advocate anything that I think would
do harm to Jews, Wise declared. One of my biggest pet
peeves is when people accuse me of that. If I believed
the work I was doing was putting my family and friends
in Israel in harms way, I wouldnt do it.
Even as the BDS movement gains strength on many
campuses, particularly in California, pro-Israel activists
note examples of growing pushback.
Student councils at UCLA, U.C. Berkeley, and U.C. Santa
Barbara have adopted the State Departments definition
of anti-Semitism (including the three Ds), though how it
might be enforced on campus is unknown. Supporters of
BDS, furthermore, believe this definition would silence
legitimate criticism of Israel.
A biennial global forum for combating anti-Semitism
just wrapped up in Jerusalem, recommending that governments and websites around the world adopt new,
more stringent standards for hate speech.
The ADL has launched a program, Words to Action, to
push back against anti-Semitism and inoculate younger
generations against it. It is designed to teach high school
and college students how to differentiate between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti-Semitic speech, actions
and symbols, and how to respond.
Yudof has been consulting with organizations such as
the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation to devise
strategies to combat BDS. He urges a more aggressive,
national approach. Thats the StandWithUs modus operandi, with its marked presence on campuses in terms
of student volunteers, staff and educational materials.
The tide may be turning.
In recent weeks, divestment was rejected at Bowdoin College in Maine, Princeton University, San Diego
State University, the University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, and U.C. Santa Barbara, as
well as the general assembly of the Student Senate for
California Community Colleges (resolutions did pass
at Oglethorpe University in Georgia and Earlham College in Indiana).
In California this month, 57 rabbis from across the
state joined 23 Jewish organizations in writing to U.C.
President Janet Napolitano, drawing her attention to

anti-Semitism on U.C. campuses and urging the

system to adopt the State Departments definition
of anti-Semitism.
Kahn believes that the majority of college students are not very engaged in Middle East politics,
but says that with enough effort, a convincing proIsrael message might sway the persuadables.
Increasingly [students] know that a tiny fringe
is trying to push the campus in a direction that is
both divisive and embarrassing when it engages in
this blatantly biased beating up of Israel, Kahn said.
Theres an opportunity for Jewish students to build
coalitions that may address anti-Semitism and this
broader challenge around anti-Israel activity.
At Stanford, even though the divestment resolution passed, pro-Israel activists took heart from the
backlash that followed not only the open faculty
letter opposing the resolution, but a petition signed
by thousands of students concerned over what they
felt the resolution, and the BDS movement, might
portend.
Theres a small but very strong group of Israel
supporters on campus, said Kadisha, the Stanford
senior who formed Coalition for Peace to work
against future divestment efforts. I have total faith
that they will continue to educate the campus and
have this conversation in the best way possible
going forward. Instead of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students fighting each other, there should be
a place where their interests are one and the same.
jweekly.com/ JTA Wire Service

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He knew that stylists can
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yourself.
Mr. Samitt, a Harvard Business School graduate and former corporate executive who
started his own managementconsulting firm in 2011, found
the Melanoma Research Foundation a very willing partner
for Mark the SPOT.
He was able to do a tremendous amount in the short time
he had, Gayle said. The president of MRF, Steve Silverstein,
lives here in Woodcliff Lake
and he wanted Mark to serve
on the board once he was well.
My husband truly was an inspiration to anyone who knew

him.
Seven local salons are participating in the Mark the SPOT
program: Mania Hair Studio
in Park Ridge, Maireads Hair
Salon in Hillsdale, De Beaute
Grand Salon & Day Spa in Montvale, Suzannes Hair & Colour
Room in Oradell, Michelles
Salon in Woodcliff Lake, BBC
Salon in Tenafly, and Robins
On Broadway in Hillsdale.
The cut-a-thon will take
place at all the salons except
BBC on May 31 from 11 a.m. to
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haircuts and blowouts, and $15
for children under 10. Appointments are strongly encouraged.
We want to roll it out to
other salons. Our goal is to
have it become a national program, said Ms. Samitt, whose
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Jewish Standard MAY 29, 2015 35

Jewish World

How to build
an American shtetl
See: Bloomingburg, N.Y.
URIEL HEILMAN
BLOOMINGBURG, N.Y. This is how you
launch a chasidic shtetl in 21st-century
America.
Step 1. Find a place within reasonable
distance of Brooklyn where the land is
cheap and underdeveloped.
Step 2. Buy as much property as you can
in your target area if possible, without
tipping off locals that you plan to turn it
into a chasidic enclave.
Step 3. Ensure the zoning is suited to
chasidic living: densely clustered homes
big enough for large families and within
walking distance of the communitys vital
infrastructure.
Step 4. Build the infrastructure: Houses,
a synagogue and study hall, kosher establishments, a mikvah. Lay the groundwork
for a school. Launch a shuttle service so
chasidim who dont drive or dont own
cars can get from the new shtetl to shopping outlets and other chasidic communities in the region.
Step 5. Market to the chasidic
community.
Step 6. Turn on the lights.
That, essentially, is the playbook developer Shalom Lamm is following for what
is shaping up to be Americas newest chasidic shtetl the town of Bloomingburg in
upstate New York.
Located in Sullivan County, about 80
miles north of Brooklyn, Bloomingburg is
a tiny village of 400 people, dotted with
small farms, run-down homes, and a couple of old churches. Theres just one stoplight, and theres not much to the small
businesses clustered around it: a hardware
store, bank, tattoo parlor, barbershop, and

Shalom Lamm has completed 51 of

396 planned units in Chestnut Ridge,
where the homes are suited to chasidic needs.
36 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

thrift shop.
This is the way things were for decades
until Lamm the son of Rabbi Norman
Lamm, Yeshiva Universitys president
from 1976 to 2003 came to town a few
years ago and started snapping up properties as if they were sample-sale sweaters.
He bought the white house with blue
shutters and a front porch just across from
the barbershop. He bought the Hickory
apartments just off Main Street, adjacent
to a trailer park. He bought the hardware
store and a pizza shop. He bought a large
warehouse built to house antique cars with
the idea of turning it into a girls school.
Lamm didnt stop there. He bought a
group of farms on 200 acres of unincorporated land about half a mile from the
stoplight, and in 2006 he got the village to
annex it and rezone it for residential development in exchange for building a new $5
million sewage treatment plant for the
area. He bought the airport in the nearby
village of Wurtsboro. He bought 635 acres
five miles away. He also bought a house
for himself in Bloomingburg and moved
in. (Lamm also lives in West Hempstead,
on Long Island.)
Soon, changes started happening in the
village.
Homes were fixed up and repainted.
The Hickory apartments, originally built as
a senior housing development, were renovated and turned into 12 units, with a synagogue and study hall built in a basement.
Most notably, in 2012 rows of attached fivebedroom townhomes began going up on
the 200 acres he had gotten rezoned from
agricultural the first of at least 396 units
planned for construction in a development Lamm dubbed Chestnut Ridge.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, just about a
two-hour drive away, Yiddish-language
newspapers began to run advertisements
touting a new chasidic housing development going up in Bloomingburg. The ads
noted its location near the Catskill Mountains and just 30 minutes north of the Satmar village of Kiryas Joel, home to more
than 20,000 chasidim.
Once the locals upstate caught onto
what was happening when Chestnut
Ridge broke ground in 2012 opposition materialized almost immediately.
Village meetings were organized, accusations flew, angry protesters took to the
streets, and lawsuits were filed. The town
of Mamakating (pop. 12,000), in which the
village of Bloomingburg is located, tried to
annex the village so that it could gain zoning power over Bloomingburg and thwart
the chasidic-friendly construction, but the
bid failed.
Lamm and his defenders, including the

Chaim Friedman, his wife, and their two children moved to Bloomingburg from
Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 
PHOTOS BY URIEL HEILMAN

public relations consultant he eventually

hired, cast their opponents as anti-Semites
or anti-chasidic, and that characterization
seemed apt to some people. The window
of the kosher grocery was repeatedly shattered, and some early protests outside
Shabbat prayer services included antiJewish epithets.
But for many locals, it was a case of notin-my-backyard syndrome: They lived in a
quiet, albeit poor, country village, and the
dense housing and chasidic influx would
indelibly alter Bloomingburgs character.
They believed that Lamm and his investment partner, Kenneth Nakdimen, had
hoodwinked the village into annexing and
rezoning the agricultural land he was turning into a dense residential development.
Last month, Mamakating and Bloomingburg filed a federal lawsuit against Lamm,
accusing him of fraud, bribery, racketeering, voter fraud and corruption of public officials. They say he bribed a former
mayor, used a frontman to help mislead
the village about his intentions for Chestnut Ridge, and engaged in racketeering by
promoting an enterprise that was corrupt
on many levels. Lamm denies the accusations and has filed lawsuits of his own
against the town.
If Bloomingburg was going to look like
any of the other chasidic communities
north of New York City New Square,
Kiryas Joel, or the hamlet of Monsey in
Ramapo there were plenty of cautionary tales to give local residents pause.
Overcrowding in those places was taxing
local infrastructure to the breaking point,
and in Ramapo the school board had been
taken over by a chasidic majority that was
stripping local public school budgets and
selling off public school buildings to yeshivas at cut-rate prices.
For the chasidim, the appeal of Bloomingburg over Brooklyn was clear. It offered
much cheaper living, less congestion, and
fewer of the sorts of urban temptations
that could ensnare a devout Jew. With so
few residents, the village also offered the
prospect of something else: political power

that could give local chasidim nearly unfettered control over their own destiny.
It wasnt long before the first chasidic
families began to arrive.
Some were older couples from points
south looking for a quiet place near the
mountains in which to spend summers
or weekends. But soon full-timers started
coming, too mostly young families from
Satmar and other Hungarian chasidic sects
looking for more affordable alternatives to
Brooklyns Williamsburg neighborhood
and a quieter lifestyle than that available
in Kiryas Joel or in Monsey, the sprawling
Orthodox stronghold in Rockland County
an hour to the south.
Bloomingburgs first chasidic pioneers
arrived to find almost no Orthodox infrastructure in place. There wasnt much
suitable food available locally one early
newcomer quipped that the only produce
available at the local grocery store was
two-week-old tomatoes and kosher food
had to be delivered by special order from
Kiryas Joel or nearby Middletown. There
was no weekday minyan. There was no
womens mikvah (and there still isnt the
zoning appeals board has rejected Lamms
site for one).
Then, last summer, the city got its first
kollel a Jewish study collective where
men learn Torah full time and receive
stipends in return from community supporters (in this case, apparently, Lamm).
Lamm also bought a 22-seat minibus and
a passenger van and began running shuttles to large shopping areas and to Kiryas
Joel, where some of Bloomingburgs adults
work and kids go to school.
By fall, there were enough Orthodox
families in Bloomingburg to support a
daily minyan. Weekday services start at 9
a.m.
Mendel Kritzler, 25, moved to Bloomingburg with his wife and three boys from
a fourth-floor walkup in Williamsburg in
mid-April. Now he lives in a ground-floor
apartment within walking distance of
everything he needs: the shul and study
hall where he spends his days, the kosher

Jewish World
grocery Lamm opened up right before Passover, and
the new chasidic day care that now has 10 kids enrolled
between the ages of 3 and 4. He doesnt own a car.
I was a little nervous before coming here, but
since I moved Ive really been enjoying it; its the Garden of Eden, Kritzler said. Its quiet. Theres peace
of mind. Its much, much cheaper half the price of
Williamsburg.
Lamms rentals begin at $350 per month for small
one-bedrooms and go up to $1,200 for large three-bedrooms. One of his tenants noted that unlike her landlord
in Monsey, Lamm isnt so strict about the rent.
At the now fully occupied Hickory apartments, young
chasidic women gather in the late afternoons and sit
on plastic lawn chairs, rocking infants in their laps and
watching their toddlers run around while they chitchat in the springtime sun. Once a month, the chasidic
women in town get together in someones house or the
local kosher pizza-and-sandwich shop for an evening
devoted to bonding, noshing, and spiritual inspiration.
A recent gathering featured slides on the Jewish value
of modesty.
The men studying at the kollel come home in the early
afternoon for a break. Some walk up the hill to the small
kosher grocery, where the shelves are well stocked but
the aisles mostly empty of customers. Those who commute to work in Kiryas Joel generally are home by early
evening.
Despite the sleepy feel in town, theres a sense of
excitement among the chasidim a feeling that theyre
the trailblazers in a noble experiment of establishing a
new outpost for chasidic life in New York State.
Im the pioneer, really, said a young Belgian-born
chasid named Yossele, who added his was the second
family to move in full-time.
So far, only 27 chasidic families live full time in the village, according to Yechiel Falkowitz, a 22-year-old chasid
who moved in last summer and compiled a head count
of the families in early May. Another 20 or so families
live in Bloomingburg part time, he said. Lamm, who is
the landlord of all but a handful of the chasidic families
homes, says that there are about 40 to 50 Orthodox families in Bloomingburg, about 176 people in all.
(The true chasidic population of Bloomingburg is the
subject of a legal dispute. Over the winter, the county

board of elections challenged the eligibility of more than

150 people, almost all of them chasidim, barring them
from voting in local elections, and said it would remove
them from voter rolls. Chasidim responded with a civil
rights lawsuit against the board.)
The main obstacle to growth now is the town of
Mamakating and the villages government, which has
declined to grant certificates of occupancy for the 51
townhouses at Chestnut Ridge that have been move-in
ready for months, according to Lamm. Without those
certificates, Lamm cant close the sales of the homes.
Almost nothing gets permitted, Lamm said. I get
the sense that theyd like us to give up, but thats not
in the cards.
Lawyers for Mamakating and Bloomingburg say modifications are needed to bring the homes up to code first,
and that the process for evaluating the homes and granting certificates of occupancy is underway.
If Lamms vision comes to fruition, there soon will
be hundreds more chasidic families in Bloomingburg
maybe thousands.
At Chestnut Ridge, the newly built 2,800-squarefoot attached townhomes look like theyre straight out
of a brochure for the American dream, with identical
facades, fresh white garages, and bright green lawns.
Inside, the dcor is bright, modern, and spacious, with
9-foot ceilings, an upstairs laundry room, and kitchens
with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
The houses also have all the accouterments chasidim,
with their large families and Orthodox practices, might
desire. The kitchens feature two stoves, sinks, ovens,
and microwaves one each for dairy and meat. Theres
an outdoor sukkah deck just off the dining room. There
are sinks outside the bathrooms for ritual hand-washing,
and a small room near the front is designed for a miniature library or study.
The five bedrooms upstairs have sleeping space for
up to a dozen. The master bathroom easily fits two fullsized beds chasidic couples do not share beds during
womens menstrual periods and for a week afterward
and the walk-in closet in the master bedroom is big
enough for a crib, which Lamm doesnt doubt chasidic
parents will notice when their babies are born.
The homes are priced between $299,000 and
$334,000. Once the remaining 350 or so houses are
built, there will also be four playgrounds for the kids.
Many longtime Bloomingburg residents say theyre taking a wait-and-see
approach, even as theyre still stinging
from the way Lamm got his housing
development approved. They blame
Bloomingburgs former mayor for
agreeing to the deal and say the village population was told the site was
going to be a golf course surrounded
by luxury homes, not dense development suited to chasidic needs.
It was a shady deal. The politicians
we had here threw us under the bus,
said Patti, the owner of a village thrift
Twelve chasidic families live in the Hickory Street apartments,
shop, who like all the locals interwhere chasidic women gather in the late afternoons to chitchat.
viewed for this story and many of the

chasidim asked that her last name not be used. After so much
conflict and bad press, people here are wary of reporters.
Patti lives across from the Chestnut Ridge development,
which she said has dramatically altered the local landscape.
I used to look at farm fields every day, with silos and animals
grazing, she said. Now she looks out at Lamms townhouses.
Despite her misgivings, Patti says shes reserving judgment
about whats to come.
Things are definitely going to change. Whether itll be for
the better or worse its too soon to tell, she said. Its in limbo
right now. 


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Gallery
1

5
n 1 Eighth-graders from the Academies at Gerrard
Berman Day School, including Ethan Holland and Raphael Burnstein of Suffern, N.Y., and Rachel Egenberg
of Montebello, N.Y., visited the Kotel, lunched in Beduoin tents, climbed Masada, celebrated Yom Hazikaron
at Mount Herzl, rafted down the Jordan River, and explored Ben Yehuda Street during their two-week trip
to Israel last month. The schools annual eighth grade
trip to Israel is the culmination of a Judaic studies program that starts in nursery school. COURTESY GBDS
n 2 The Bergen County Chabad CTeen groups celebrated
Pesach Shaini, the second Passover. They played paintball at Paintball Depot and had a barbecue at an area
lake. Rabbi Yosef Orenstein of Valley Chabad in Woodcliff Lake, shown here, was joined by groups led by Rabbi
Mendy Lewis of Chabad of Old Tappan, Rabbi Yitzchiak
Gershovitz of Lubavitch on the Palisades, and Rabbi
Michoel Goldin of Chabad of Teaneck. This was one of

38 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

many collaborative efforts among the eight Chabad centers in Bergen County. COURTESY CHABAD BERGEN COUNTY
n 3 Charlie Rose interviewed Henry Kissinger at the Museum of Jewish Heritage A Living Memorial to the
Holocaust, to mark the 70th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. From left, MJHNYC trustee Ann
Oster of Englewood, Dr. Kissinger, Robert Morgenthau, Nancy Kissinger, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Lucinda
Morgenthau, MJHNYC trustee Rita Lerner of Englewood Cliffs, and Dr. Cliff Salm, at the reception.
n 4 The JSS of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah
hosted Harry Ettlinger, second from right, the last of
the Monuments Men. The group recovered precious
art and artifacts stolen by the Nazis during WWII.
Rabbi Arthur Weiner is to his left. David Shulman and
Marty Basner, the mens club chairs and event organizers, are at the far left and right. COURTESY JCCP/CBT

6
n 5 Participants in Rabbi Benjamin Yudins weekly womens
class on Sefer HaChinuch recently celebrated reaching
the 100th mitzvah, which is about the garments worn
by the High Priest during the Temple service. The Sefer
HaChinuch is a compilation of the 613 mitzvot in the order in which they appear in the weekly Torah reading.
The class meets Wednesdays at 9:15 a.m. at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fair Lawn. COURTESY SHOMREI TORAH
n 6 Ori Goldshtrom, a student at Gan Aviv Fair
Lawn, celebrated Yom Yerushalayim, in front of the
Kotel created by his class. COURTESY GAN AVIV

Dvar Torah
Parshat Naso superheroes/superparents/special needs

merica has a fascination with

Unlike the parents of fictional superhesuperheroes. Spider-man,
roes, these parents will not see their chilSuperman, the Avengers the
dren with special needs grow up to fight evil
list goes on and on. Of course,
and save the world from disaster. In many
Hollywood keeps on churning out films
cases, these parents worry whether their
about superheroes to feed Americas
children will ever be able take care of themappetite.
selves, let alone take care of others. They
Superheroes are characters to be
worry that when they themselves die, their
admired and emulated. They are brave,
children with special needs will be lost.
Rabbi
bold, and true and yet it is interesting
As the head of Jewish Family Services in
Benjamin
and important to note that in many of the
Tampa, Florida, I had the honor of workShull
stories of their early years, the issue of
ing with parents of adult children with
Temple Emanuel of
special needs arises, often placing a spespecial needs. I heard their heart-wrenchthe Pascack Valley,
cial burden on their adoptive parents. For
ing stories their troubles and fears and
Woodcliff Lake,
example, Supermans adoptive Earth parlaments. I, therefore, offer this message
Conservative
ents must cope with his special powers, as
with humility and with trepidation, not
the ancient Greek hero Hercules mortal
really having walked in their shoes.
parents must cope with his.
It seems to me that the greatest task, especially for
The haftarah for this Shabbat tells a similar tale. Taken
these superparents but certainly for all parents, is to
from the book of Judges, it describes the circumstances
believe in a God Who, as the Mishnah in Sanhedrin
of the birth of Samson. The first Jewish superhero,
states, made each human being the same and each
Samson has great strength, but also special needs and
human being uniquely different. Using the image of
requirements. He must not drink intoxicants, not cut
making coins, the mishnah states, When a human
his hair, nor come into contact with the dead. Samsons
being stamps many coins from one mold, the coins
mother is to follow similar restrictions during her pregall resemble one another. But the Holy One fashioned
nancy. His good and caring parents, like the parents of
each of us in the stamp of the first human being, and
other superheroes, must realize that their child has a
yet we are all different. Therefore, every single person
special purpose and that they must give their child over
is obliged to say, for my sake the world was created.
to that special purpose.
To realize that within every person, from the superYou could say that all of us are like parents of superheabled to the disabled, there is Gods image, equal and
roes. Each of our children has special needs and issues
full, and there is also a uniqueness in them that is crethat make them unique and different. Our task is to help
ated just for this world that is the task of parents of
them discover their unique place in the world.
children with special needs and, for that matter, the task
But there are those in our community who are more
of all parents.
like the parents of superheroes than the rest of us, who
Rabbi Justin David, author of the Life Lights pamcarry greater burdens and challenges because their chilphlet Raising a Child with Special Needs and a pardren are different. These are parents of children with
ent of a child with Aspergers Syndrome, comments on
particular special needs, developmental or physical
our mishnah: I have always loved this teaching and
disabilities.
it means something very different to me now that my

heart opens and breaks for my son. It means that difference

among people, all differences, including our children with
special needs, are occasions for awe and wonder. It compels
me to understand that my sons Aspergers Syndrome is integral to who he is, and therefore essential to the contribution
he makes in the world.
We recognize on this Shabbat the wonder of being a parent, expressed so beautifully in our haftarah with the story of
the grateful Manoah and his once-barren wife. We recognize
today the pain and heartache of being parent of a child with
very special and demanding needs. We recognize today the
challenge and holy task of being a parent of any child, opening
our eyes and hearts to his or her own special abilities, gifts,
and place in this world. And finally, we recognize today the
gift of Judaism that has bequeathed to us a God Who blesses
each one of us with the divine image and with our own special
place and unique contribution to this world.
In Parshat Naso, we find Birkat Kohanim, the priestly benediction. It begins, Yivarechecha HaShem, May God bless
you One commentator, Ha-amek Davar, interprets this to
mean, May God bless you according to your needs the student with intelligence, the merchant with business acumen.
On this Shabbat Naso, when we think of the challenges of children with special needs and their parents, we pray that we as a
community will have the compassion and the decency to better
welcome them and support them. We pray that God will bless
all of us and our families according to our needs, special and not
so special, as well.

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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 39

The kidnapping and murder of our boys, Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaer
and Naftali Fraenkel, marks one of the more difficult moments in
Israels modern history. However, out of this bitter tragedy came a
spirit of unprecedented unity amongst the Jewish people.

Crossword
PAPA, CAN YOU HEAR ME? BY HARVEY ESTES
EDITOR: [email protected]
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: MANAGEABLE

On the boys first yahrzeit, join us at our Unity Day Chesed Fair as we
ensure that this sense of unity remains alive through the Jewish
value of chesed.
Meet with various Israeli non-profit agencies to explore ways that
everyone can join together, get involved and support Israel through
acts of chesed.
Agencies attending include: Aleh Israel Foundation, American Friends of
Migdal Ohr, Bat Melech, Boys Town Jerusalem, Leket, Lemaan Achai,
NORPAC, One Family Fund and Yad Leah.

Unity Day Chesed Fair

Wednesday, June 3rd
6:00 9:00 pm
The Frisch School
120 W Century Road
Paramus, NJ 07652

Contact us: [email protected] | 201-244-6702 | www.areyvut.org

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40 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Across
1 Like one who says slichah
6 Rothschild of the House of Lords, and
others
12 Supporter of Israel in the Reagan
cabinet
16 Milchig liquid
17 Where to find soc.genealogy.jewish
18 Sarah Silvermans Best Writing award
19 Kubrick coup
21 Crowd response after a goal by Yossi
Benayoun
22 Become meshuga
23 Verbally broke a commandment
24 Drum for an Allen Ginsberg reading
25 Species in a 1998 DreamWorks
Animation film promoted by CEO
Jeffrey Katzenberg
26 Gibes from anti-Semitic children, e.g.
28 Dont ... mar the ___ of your beard
(Leviticus 19:27)
29 Amount of paper needed to photocopy the entire Talmud
30 Michele of Glee
31 Kabob holders
35 Investing some shekels in
40 Emulates Adrien Brodys character in
The Pianist
41 Ma, who in 2013 performed with
Holocaust survivor George Horner,
and others
43 Sitar-playing friend of violin virtuoso
Yehudi
44 Night author Wiesel
45 Extinguished, as menorah candles
47 Fantasia on Jerusalem the Golden
composer Charles
48 Adonai, my ___ and my redeemer
(Psalms 19:14)
49 Most kleyn
50 Use it to eat kreplach at a picnic
51 Gilgul is the Jewish belief in these
53 Affiliation of David Brat, who
defeated Eric Cantor in the 2014
Republican primary
55 Folower of 53-Down
56 Toy ___ (dreidel container, perhaps)
58 Attack like the lion of Judah?
61 Impact sounds in a Dave Berg cartoon
63 Backtalk from Vidal?
67 Ape in 19-Across
68 Make up a phrase about shekels?
69 Film director Nora
71 Put your HeBrew orders on them
72 Cynthia Ozick story
74 When doubled, yada yada
75 Ride its Silver Meteor from NYC to
Miami
76 Shaped like eggs for a shakshuka
77 Name suffix for Zionist Szold
78 Kosher ___ (slang for Jewish mob)
79 Israels northern one is with Lebanon

Down
1 Where Daniel Barenboim directs, with
la
2 Welles, who wrote Citizen Kane with
Herman J. Mankiewicz
3 It might end a fast
4 What Kenny Bernstein does
5 Aseret ___ Teshuva (Var.)
6 Baseball commissioner Selig
7 Sanctuary
8 Contents of bags, for Sandy Koufax
9 Late ___ Tay-Sachs disease
10 Candles for Chanukah, e.g.
11 Source of non-kosher meat
12 1st century king of Judea
13 Shaft ___ the Jews (spy paperback)
14 It can be graven
15 Israelis may call them shwarma
20 Animal that frolics in the vasser
24 Oh, where have you ___ my blueeyed son? (Bob Dylan)
27 Power sources at Battery Park
Synagogue?
29 Matter at court, to Alan Dershowitz
30 Group of names for Schindler
31 Climber who shleps up Everest
32 Weight measures in Tel Aviv
33 The Alhambra Decree, for one
34 Regular reading
35 Locks without keys
36 Who never calls or writes Joyce
Antler
37 For His anger is momentary, but His
___ lasts a lifetime (Psalms 30:6)
38 Unlike many Mossad activities
39 Like traveling in the Gaza Strip, e.g.
41 Support for a bill in the Knesset
42 Sound track cries, to Mel Blanc
45 Billy Wilders Sunset ___
46 Panel maker Stan
50 ___ shiva (honored the dead)
52 55-Across, in the Septuagint
53 Letter that has the value of 9
54 City of the Kristallnacht burning of
the Great Synagogue
56 Pictures on a synagogue bulletin
57 Shed at El Al
58 Grant shalom to
59 Elevate, as Elohim
60 Chance to get a hit for Hank
Greenberg
61 Blockhead
62 Abraham Regelson and Dalia
Rabikovich
63 What chasidic men dont do to their
beards
64 Cedar-lined spot
65 Film based on a 1953 Ferber novel
66 Like a look from Ralph Fiennes in
Schindlers List
70 Bk. of wise sayings
72 Enjoy the beach at Eilat
73 APB letters held by Elena Kagan?

The solution to last weeks puzzle is on page 47.

Arts & Culture

The best Herman Wouk story
(almost) no one has read
STEVE NORTH

here were countless welldeserved tributes to Herman

Wouk on his 100th birthday,
which fell on Wednesday, May 27.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning American
Jewish author will be celebrated for his
classic works, such as Marjorie Morningstar, The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of
War, and War and Remembrance. In
1959, when I was 6 years old, his first work
of nonfiction, This is My God: The Jewish
Way of Life, assumed a prominent place
on my parents bookshelves, and I have it
in my home today.
Remarkably, Mr. Wouk still is writing,
and his new book, Sailor and Fiddler:
Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author, will
be released later this year. In a statement
issued by his publisher, Simon & Schuster, Mr. Wouk said Ive lived to a great
age, and for that I thank Providence. To
the readers whove stayed with me for the
long pull, my warm affection, and I hope
youll enjoy the light-hearted memoir
about my writings.
Amid all the praise for the memorable
literature Mr. Wouk has created, I would
like to pay tribute to him for a short story
an extremely short story that he wrote
46 years ago. It was never published, and
its likely that only one person other than
me ever read it. And I shouldnt have.
It was a hot July day in 1969, and everyone at Camp Ramah in Palmer, Massachusetts, had stayed up late the night before
to watch history being made. We had seen
Neil Armstrong take that one small step for
a man, one giant leap for mankind, on a
tiny black-and-white TV with a rabbit-ears
antenna, perched on a wooden chair on
the porch of our dining hall.
But now we were back to our normal
routine, and I was assigned to pick up the
Herman Wouk wrote a postcard to his son about Neil Armstrongs
days mail for the three bunks of boys in
first steps on the moon.
my division. During my walk back from
the camp post office across the field, I
started sifting through the various items, looking to see
sound, and how the earth shook below his feet.
if Id received anything that day, and one postcard caught
Knowing of Wouks towering reputation, I was quite
my eye. Dated July 16, it was from Herman Wouk to his son
exhilarated to be privy to this meant-to-be-private paragraph. And being a good Jewish boy, I also felt deeply
Joey, who was in the next bunk over from me.
guilty that Id read someone elses mail.
Wouk and his wife had been invited to the Kennedy
So, very belatedly, Id like to say to Joey: Im sorry. And
Space Center for the blastoff of Apollo 11, and he described
to Herman on his 100th birthday, Id like to say: Until 120,
the event in vivid detail to his son. I dont remember his
Mr. Wouk, and thank you for writing the best postcard I
exact words, but I recall being captivated by the evocative
JTA WIRE SERVICE
have ever read.
language he used to convey the intensity and excitement
of that profoundly moving moment at 9:32 a.m., when
the spacecraft cleared the tower and roared towards the
Herman Wouk, pictured here in Jerusalem in
heavens. He spoke of the flames and smoke, the immense
1955, turned 100 on Wednesday. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 41

Calendar
Rockleigh, 10-11:30 a.m.
Topics include long term
care options, financial
planning, legal concerns,
and the personal toll
of caregiving. Shelley
Steiner, (201) 784-1414,
ext. 5340.

Saturday
MAY 30

Dr. Jon Greenberg

Biblical/Talmudic
Teaneck tour: Dr. Jon
Greenberg, biblical and
Talmudic botanist and
author of Torahflora.
org, leads a botany
neighborhood walking
tour. Meet at the corner
of Belle and Sagamore
avenues, 4 p.m. www.
Torahflora.org.

Marty Schneit
Jewish New York: Marty
Schneit, a licensed New
York City tour guide,
discusses how Jewish
America started in New
York, at the Suffern
Library, 1:30 p.m. 210
Lafayette Ave., Suffern,
N.Y.

Thursday
JUNE 4
Elisheva Levi
Shabbat in Teaneck:
Architect Elisheva Levi
discusses Rebuilding
In The Face of The
Ruins Lessons from
Moshe Rabbeinu, Naomi,
and Rabbi Akiva, at
Congregation Rinat
Yisrael, 6:45 p.m. She is
also board director of
the American Friends of
Bat Melech, a domestic
violence shelter for
religious women in Israel.
389 W. Englewood Ave.
(201) 837-2795.

Sunday
MAY 31

Cantors Ilan Mamber of Temple Beth

Rishon in Wyckoff, right, and Mark
Biddelman of Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Lake are
among the performers at a concert on Sunday, June 7
at 7 p.m., at Temple Emanuel. The concert will celebrate
Cantor Biddelmans 48 years with Temple Emanuel.
Other participants include colleagues and friends of
Cantor Biddelmans, including Cantor Ted Aronson,
cantor emeritus of Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange,
Cantor Charles Romalis of Temple Beth Tikvah in
Wayne, the New Jersey Cantors Concert Ensemble,
and Temple Emanuels adult choir. Refreshments. 87
Overlook Drive. (201) 391-0801.

JUNE

Ave. (201) 796-5040 or

www.fljc.com.

JUNE 1

Jonathan Taylor
Music in Ridgewood:
At Temple Israel, a
congregant, pianist
Jonathan Taylor, plays
Beethoven, 3 p.m.
Reception with artist
follows. 475 Grove St.
(201) 444-9320.

Circus in Fair Lawn:

Benjamin N. Cardozo
Lodge, Knights of Pythias,
hosts the Alain Zerbini
Circus at Memorial School,
with shows at 3:30 and
5:30 p.m. Tickets available
in advance at Kosher
Nosh in Glen Rock and
New Bennys in Fair Lawn.
Cardozospeaks@hotmail.
com.

Joshua Cohen
COURTESY ADL

Dr. Ben Nelson

Talking about Malamud:
The Fair Lawn Jewish
Center/Congregation
Bnai Israel holds its
year-end Book and
Lunch program as
Ben Nelson discusses
Bernard Malamuds
The Assistant, noon.
Nelson is a professor
emeritus of English and
comparative literature,
Fairleigh Dickinson
University. 10-10 Norma

42 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Global anti-Semitism:
Joshua Cohen, the AntiDefamation Leagues
New Jersey regional
director, discusses ADL
Global 100: An Index
of Anti-Semitism, the
magnitude of antiSemitism around the
world, at the Kaplen
JCC on the Palisades
in Tenafly, 7:30 p.m. 411
E. Clinton Ave. Esther,
(201) 408-1456.

Discussing Orthodoxy:
Anshei Lubavitch in
Fair Lawn continues
Torah Studies @ The
Table with a discussion,
Stand Up and Fight
Why Orthodoxy Is
Not Complacency,
led by Rabbi Avrohom
Bergstein, 8 p.m.
Course runs through
June 29. 10-10 Plaza
Road. (201) 362-2712
or Rabbibergstein@
flchabad.com.

Wednesday
JUNE 3
Caregiver support in
Rockleigh: A support
group for those caring
for the physically frail or
people with Alzheimers
disease meets at the
Gallen Adult Day
Health Care Center at
the Jewish Home at

Temple Emeth offers

family services, 7:30 p.m.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322 or www.
emeth.org.

Shabbat in Closter:
Temple Beth El offers
services led by Rabbi
David S. Widzer and
Cantor Rica Timman,
with music by jazz/
classical guest artist,
Bill Ware, 7:30 p.m. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112 or www.
tbenv.org.

Sunday
JUNE 7
Atlantic City trip:
Hadassahs Fair Lawn
chapter takes a trip to
the Taj Mahal casino.
A bus leaves the Fair
Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation Bnai Israel
at 8:30 a.m.; breakfast
served onboard at 8.
$30; includes $30 slot
play money. Bring ID.
10-10 Norma Ave. Varda,
(201) 791-0327.

Rummage sale in
Closter: The sisterhood

Monday

Shabbat in Teaneck:

Book discussion in
Wyckoff: Natalie Heller
moderates a discussion
of My Promised Land
by Ari Shavit for a
meeting of the Readers
Circle at Temple Beth
Rishon, 7:30 p.m. Dessert
and coffee. 585 Russell
Ave. (201) 891-4466 or
www.bethrishon.org.

Friday
JUNE 5
Shabbat in Fort Lee:
JCC of Fort Lee/
Congregation Gesher
Shalom offers BBQ
Before Barechu and
a Shabbat Together
musical Shabbat service.
Dinner at 6 p.m.; service
at 7. 1449 Anderson
Ave. Reservations,
(201) 947-1735.

Shabbat in Woodcliff
Lake: Temple Emanuel of
the Pascack Valley offers
young family services
with Rabbi Benjamin
Shull and Cantor Marc
Biddelman, 6:45 p.m.
87 Overlook Drive.
(201) 391-0801 or www.
tepv.org.

of Temple Beth El
of Northern Valley
holds its semi-annual
rummage sale, 10 a.m.noon, and 1-3 p.m. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112.

Shul open house: The

Clifton Jewish Center
holds an open house
with a reception,
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; it
includes information on
the synagogues Hebrew
school, building tours,
and opportunity to meet
lay and religious leaders.
18 Delaware St. Karen,
(973) 772-3131.

A cappella in
Hackensack: Wide
Variety, a seven-member
a cappella group,
performs songs from
the 1960s to 1980s
at Temple Beth El,
2 p.m. 280 Summit Ave.
(201) 342-2045.

Dinner in Franklin
Lakes: Chabad of
NWBC holds its annual
benefit dinner & evening
of entertainment,
celebrating 15 years of
service to the community,
at the Chabad Jewish
Center, 5 p.m. Cocktail
reception, auction, and
comedy by Johnny
Lampert. 375 Pulis Ave.
(201) 848-0449 or www.
galadinner.org.

Calendar

Sunday
MAY 31

Conference at YU:

Israel parade: New

Yorks Celebrate Israel
Parade, the worlds
largest public gathering
honoring the State of
Israel, celebrating its 51st
anniversary, marches
up Fifth Avenue from
57th to 74th streets,
11 a.m.-4 p.m. A one-mile
fun run beginning at 11,
following the parade
route, is new this year.
Grammy Award-winning
violinist Miri Ben-Ari
is among the headline
entertainers. Check
local synagogues, JCCs,
and organizations for

Yeshiva Universitys
Zahava and Moshael
Straus Center for Torah
and Western Thought,
in partnership with
Mosaic and the Tikvah
Fund, offer a conference,
What America Owes
the Jews, What Jews
Owe America, at
Congregation Shearith
Israel, 4-8:30 p.m.
Participants include
Brandeis University
Professor Jonathan
Sarna, Dr. Eric Nelson,
Dara Horn, Norman
Podhoretz, Rick Richman,
and Rabbi Dr. Meir
Soloveichik. Moderated
by William Kristol.
2 W. 70th St., New
York City. Information,
[email protected].

Yiddish concert:

conducted by Binyumen
Schaechter with soloists
including Di Shekhtertekhter and Cantor
Joel Caplan, presents
From Paris to Peretz:
A Musical Tour, at
Symphony Space, 2537
Broadway at W. 94th
St., Manhattan, 4:30 p.m.
(212) 864-5400, www.
TheJPPC.org, or www.
SymphonySpace.org.

Singles
Sunday
MAY 31
Singles dance and
dinner in Clifton: North
Jersey Jewish Singles 4560s at the Clifton Jewish
Center offers a social,
dance with a professional
DJ, and buffet dinner
with dessert, 5:30 p.m.
18 Delaware St. Karen,
(973) 772-3131 or join the
group at www.meetup.
com.

The Jewish Peoples

Philharmonic Chorus,

Mock trial: Jews vs. Rebecca and Jacob

Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah
presents a family-friendly day on Sunday,
June 7, when questions about the lawfulness of some of the actions of some biblical
personalities will be considered, and the
audience will help decide the verdict.
Jury selection is at 4:45 p.m., the call
to order at 5, and a verdict will be read at
6:30.
The charge is conspiracy. Did Jacob and
Rebecca conspire to deceive Isaac? Did
Isaac really bless the wrong son? Is Esau
really so innocent in all of this?
Attorneys for the prosecution and the
defense will make their cases and call
their witnesses. A judge and jury will rule,
based on the evidence.
The mock trial is based on a recent one
where attorneys Eliot Spitzer and Alan

Dershowitz disputed the guilt of Abraham

in the binding and near sacrifice of his son
Isaac.
In Mahwah, Rabbi Joel Mosbacher will
be Isaac; Rabbi Daniel Kirzane will be
Esau; educator Rebecca McVeigh will be
Rebecca; and senior youth group vice
president Ari Mosbacher will be Jacob.
Three lawyers will play the court officials
Amy Littman as presiding judge, Barry
Cassell as prosecuting attorney, and Jack
Schulman as defense attorney. The jury is
the shuls congregation everyone 10 and
older.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a
non-perishable food item to donate to Mahwahs Center for Food Action. The shul is
at 280 Ramapo Valley Road. Call (201) 5121983 or go to www.BethHaverim.org.

Photo exhibit at bergenPAC

marks Aphasia Awareness month
The Bergen Performing Arts Center in
Englewood will display Edward W. Morgan Photography in the Intermezzo Gallery on the second floor from June 130.
The gallery is open during box-office
hours. A reception will be held on Tuesday, June 2, at 6 p.m.
The show is in conjunction with
National Aphasia Awareness Month.
Edward Morgan of Hawthorne, a photographer, has been living with aphasia
after suffering a stroke during a road race
when he was 33. To help overcome aphasia, he has worked with the Adler Aphasia

PHOTO COURTESY JHR

In New York

participation information.
In honor of Israel and the
parade, the Empire State
Building will shine in blue
and white lights the night
before. celebrateisraelny.
org or (212) 983-4800.

Metropolitan Klezmer

Jewish Home bills joyous sounds

operetta, oratorio, and
Joys of Jewish Music: Old
cabaret throughout the
World and New Klezmer to
United States and Europe.
2nd Avenue featuring Cantor Elizabeth Sternlieb, Lee
Elizabeth Sternlieb is a
Schwartz, and Metropolitan
cantor and educator at
Klezmer, is set for Sunday,
Sinai Free Synagogue and
May 31, at 2:30 p.m., at the
recently recorded a CD of
Jewish Home at Rockleigh. It
American jazz standards.
is the Jewish Home Familys
Metropolitan Klezmer
13th annual Myrna and Alan
was hailed as one of the
Cantor Elizabeth
Cohen Centennial Spring Yidfinest American Klezmer
Sternlieb
dish Concert.
bands by Songlines
Lee Schwartz, cantor emerMagazine.
itus of Sinai Free Synagogue in Mount
Refreshments will be served. JHR is at
Vernon, N.Y., has appeared in opera,
10 Link Drive in Rockleigh.

OU hosting Shabbaton on campus life

The Orthodox Unions Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus presents a
community engagement weekend in
Teaneck at congregations Bnai Yeshurun, Rinat Yisrael, and Keter Torah from
June 12 to 13.
The presenters include OU-JLICs
national director, Rabbi Ilan Haber;
Rabbi Yaakov and Racheli Taubes,
OU-JLIC educators at the University of

Pennsylvania; Rabbi Adam and Sara

Frieberg, OU-JLIC educators at Rutgers
University; and Rabbi Noam Friedman,
OU-JLIC educator at Columbia University/Barnard College.
The Shabbaton is for anyone who is
interested in learning more about Orthodox life on the secular college campus.
For information email Hani Lowenstein
at [email protected].

Announce your events

We welcome announcements of upcoming events. Announcements are free. Accompanying 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:
 Jewish Media Group
NJ
[email protected] 201-837-8818
EDWARD W. MORGAN

Center, transforming his life through

photography.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 43

Jewish World

Obama at Adas Israel

I have same high expectations of Israel as I do of U.S., he says
RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama
has a message for American Jews: I dont
shy away from disagreeing with Israel publicly, because I care about Israel and our
shared values.
The president marked Jewish American
Heritage Month with a speech at Washingtons oldest Jewish congregation, Adas
Israel, last Friday. His remarks glided from
the triumphs of American Jewish accomplishment to Jewish involvement in the
civil rights movement.
When it came to Israel, Obama was, as
usual, unstinting in his pledge to protect
the interests of the Jewish state. He noted
that he and Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu still disagree over how best to
keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He said, I will not accept a bad deal
in nuclear talks now underway between
Iran and the major powers.
It was when Obama addressed Israels
treatment of the Palestinians that his tone
became less effusive and more chastising a necessity, he said, that arose out

Most of the
audience at the
Conservative
congregation
appeared to
applaud and cheer,
but a significant
minority remained
silent.
of the very values he admires about Israel.
Obama spoke about how as a young man
he came to know Israel through the images
of kibbutzim, the heroes of the 1967 SixDay War, and the ideas of the blooming of
the desert and remaking the world.
And to a young man like me, grappling
with his own identity, recognizing the
scars of race here in this nation, inspired
by the civil rights struggle, the idea that
you could be grounded in your history, as
Israel was, but not be trapped by it, to be
able to repair the world that idea was liberating. The example of Israel and its values was inspiring, Obama said.
So when I hear some people say that
disagreements over policy belie a general
lack of support of Israel, I must object,
and I object forcefully. For us to paper
over difficult questions, particularly about
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or about
44 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Rabbi Gil Steinlauf greets President Obama at Adas Israel Congregation in

Washington on May 22.
RON SACHS

settlement policy, thats not a true measure of friendship.

It is precisely because I care so deeply
about the State of Israel its precisely
because, yes, I have high expectations for
Israel the same way I have high expectations for the United States of America that I feel a responsibility to speak out
honestly about what I think will lead to
long-term security and to the preservation
of a true democracy in the Jewish homeland, he continued
Most of the audience at the Conservative congregation appeared to applaud
and cheer, but a significant minority
remained silent.
Obama returned many times to the
golden age of black-Jewish cooperation, the
civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s,
finishing the speech with an anecdote about
jailed freedom riders singing Adon Olam
to the melody of We Shall Overcome and
blacks joining Jews in wearing what they
dubbed freedom caps they were kippot.
Obama wore a white kippah as he delivered
his speech from the bimah, and members of
the audience appeared visibly moved.
From Einstein to Brandeis, from Jonas
Salk to Betty Friedan, American Jews have
made contributions to this country that
have shaped it in every aspect, Obama said,
referring respectively to physicist Albert
Einstein, Supreme Court Justice Louis
Brandeis, the creator of the polio vaccine,
and the pioneering feminist.
And as a community, American Jews
have helped make our union more perfect, he said. From the founding members of the NAACP to a Freedom Summer
in Mississippi, from womens rights to gay

rights to workers rights, Jews took the heart

of biblical edict that we must not oppress
a stranger, having been strangers once
ourselves.
Obama also argued in his speech that
the same values that require speaking out
against the scourge of anti-Semitism
resurfacing in Europe also require speaking
out at times on behalf of Palestinians.
The rights I insist upon and now fight
for, for all people here in the United States,
compels me then to stand up for Israel and
look out for the rights of the Jewish people,
he said. And the rights of the Jewish people
then compel me to think about a Palestinian
child in Ramallah that feels trapped without opportunity. Thats what Jewish values
teach me.
In an interview last week with journalist
Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic who also
is an Adas congregant Obama said that
Netanyahus rhetoric before Israels election

in March and the composition of his new

right-wing government were concerning.
When, going into an election, Prime
Minister Netanyahu said a Palestinian
state would not happen under his watch,
or there [was] discussion in which it
appeared that Arab-Israeli citizens were
somehow portrayed as an invading force
that might vote, and that this should be
guarded against this is contrary to the
very language of the Israeli Declaration
of Independence, which explicitly states
that all people regardless of race or religion are full participants in the democracy, Obama said, according to Goldbergs transcript. When something like
that happens, that has foreign-policy consequences, and precisely because were
so close to Israel, for us to simply stand
there and say nothing would have meant
that this office, the Oval Office, lost credibility when it came to speaking out on
these issues.
In that interview, Obama noted, as he has
before, his continued popularity with American Jews, and this was in evidence during
the speech. He drew repeated rounds of
applause, especially when he spoke of the
need to criticize Israel constructively.
Obama remains profoundly unpopular in
Israel.
Samantha Kreindler, a photographer
from Philadelphia who drove in for the
speech, said she sought greater debate on
Israel within the Jewish community.
I have so many friends who blindly
believe, and I understand that, she said.
But no one is right all of the time.
Notably, the White House invited Israeli
Ambassador Ron Dermer to the speech an
effort, perhaps, to move past hard feelings
after Dermer helped orchestrate Netanyahus speech in March to Congress focusing
on the flaws of Obamas approach to Iran.
But Dermer was not there. An Israeli official
said that the ambassador was out of Washington on a previously scheduled trip.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Magazine

JUNE 19TH

Invitations, Venues, Caterers

Florists, Formal Wear,
Entertainment, Photographers
To advertise, call

201-837-8818

or email [email protected]

JTA WIRE SERVICE

Obituaries
Cantor Lawrence Avery

Cantor Lawrence Avery, 88, of Teaneck, died May 21. He

was the former cantor at Beth El Synagogue Center of New
Rochelle, N.Y.
Predeceased by his wife, Saralee, he is survived by his
children, Adina Avery Grossman (Harman) of Teaneck,
and Lisa Avery-Peck (Alan) of Framingham, Mass.; a
sister, Mimi Kohn; and grandchildren, Gabrielle, Lev, and
Hannah Avery-Peck, and Eli and Zoe Grossman.
Services were at Beth El Synagogue Center;
arrangements were by Gutterman and Musicant Jewish
Funeral Directors, Hackensack.

Elizabeth Rosenblum

Elizabeth Rosenblum, 97, of Cliffside Park, died May 15.

Predeceased by her husband, Henry, she is survived
by her children, Andrew, Veronika Riemer, and Agnes
Marton; grandchildren, Deborah Marton, Judith Siegel,
Sherri Marton, Kenneth Siegel, Michael Marton, Roslyn
Rosenblum, Matthew Rosenblum, and Bryan Rosenblum;

and great-grandchildren, Lola Newman, Henry Newman,

Theo Anderson, Stella Anderson, Kaitlin Siegel, Jadin
Siegel, Maryn Rosenblum, and Max Rosenblum.
Contributions can be sent to the Joint Distribution
Committee, HIAS, or the Alzheimers Foundation.
Arrangements were by Gutterman and Musicant Jewish
Funeral Directors, Hackensack.

Bernice Vaiman

Bernice Vaiman, 88, of Boynton Beach, Fla., formerly of

Monroe Township and Ridgefield, died May 22.
Predeceased by her husband, Nathan, and a daughter,
Linda Halpern, she is survived by a son, Ted (Kelly); her
partner, Abraham Rubin; a sister, Myrna Einbinder (Dr.
Karl); grandchildren, David (Trish), Stefany (David), Craig
(Candice), and Lindsay (Ethan); and great-grandchildren,
Nathan, Lyla, Charly, Ella, Ryan, and Samantha.
Donations can be made to New Jersey Special Olympics.
Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.

Obituaries are prepared with information

provided by funeral homes. Correcting errors is
the responsibility of the funeral home.

Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc

Jewish Funeral Directors

BRIEFS

Anne Meara, wife of Jerry Stiller

and mother of Ben Stiller,
dies at 85
Anne Meara, the wife and
comedy partner of Jerry
Stiller and the mother of
actor and director Ben
Stiller, died on Saturday
in Manhattan. She was 85
years old.
Meara and Stiller were
married for 61 years. Born
and raised as Roman Catholic, Meara converted to
Judaism in 1962.
The couples relationship was the basis for
their best-known comedy routine about Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, a short Jewish man and a
tall Catholic woman who had nothing in common but
loved each other deeply.
In a 1977 People interview, Tablet reports, Meara
explained that she became a Jew because I wanted my
children to know who they were.
In addition to her longtime comedy pairing with Jerry
Stiller the couple appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show
36 times Meara maintained her career as an actress,
receiving an Obie Award, Golden Globe, four Emmy
Award nominations and a Tony Award nomination.
She appeared on several television series, including
Rhoda, Archie Bunkers Place, Sex and the City
and Oz. She also appeared on the soap opera All My
Children.
She had a memorable role as teacher Mrs. Sherwood
in the 1980 movie Fame, and also shared the screen
with her son Ben in The Night at the Museum.
Annes memory lives on in the hearts of daughter
Amy, son Ben, her grandchildren, her extended family and friends, and the millions she entertained as an
actress, writer and comedienne, a statement from the
JTA WIRE SERVICE
family said.

1,000-year-old Jewish marriage

contract goes on display in
Jerusalem
In honor of the wedding season that began after Lag
Bomer this month, the National Library of Israel is
launching an exhibition about the ketubah, the Jewish
marriage contract, featuring a rare 1,000-year-old copy
that testifies to the presence of a Jewish community in
11th century Safed.
The ketubah, written in Aramaic, has been dated to
Nov. 28, 1023. It was written in what was then the city of
Tzur. The scribe is named as Yosef Hacohen, son of Yaakov, and the couple is named as Natan Hacohen, son of
Shlomo, and Rachel, from Safed.
This is one of the first and only existing artifacts that
testifies to the Jewish community in Safed during that
period, said Dr. Yoel Finkelman, the National Librarys
Judaica curator.
He said all ketubahs include a section detailing the husbands duty to provide for and take care of his wife and
outlining what her rights are in the event of divorce.
Along with that, some included additional sections. For
example, a well-off family may offer to provide more financially in order to marry a woman from a well-respected
JNS.ORG
family, or a family of Torah scholars, he said.

Israeli unemployment rate drops

to historic low of 4.9 percent
Unemployment in Israel has fallen to an all-time low, the
countrys Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday.
According to the bureaus data, the April jobless rate
was just 4.9 percent, below the psychological threshold
of 5 percent. Unemployment among men dropped from
5.2 percent in March to 4.9 percent in April, and unemployment among women dropped from 5.4 percent to 4.7
percent in the same months.
The report also said the number of employed Israelis
reached an all-time high in April of 60.9 percent, or 3.64
million, and the workforce now numbers 1.9 million men
and 1.74 million women. Workforce participation in March
JNS.ORG
was 60.2 percent.

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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 45

Classified
Israel Apt. For Sale

Help Wanted

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Rachel S (Exclusive Realtor)
[email protected] or
011-972-522869065

Vacation Home For Rent

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Tele: 908-315-3217

Cemetery Plots For Sale

BETH-EL Cemetery - 6 beautiful
plots at $1000.00 each. Please call
Howard at 201-914-8975

Help Wanted

(201) 837-8818

Situations Wanted

BOOKKEEPER Experienced.
Must be knowledegable in
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Must have experience in office
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[email protected]
MASHGIACH
Glass Gardens Shoprite is currently seeking a Fulltime Mashgiach for our Paramus store.
Salary commensurate with
experience.
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Fulltime health benefits
All interested candidates
should apply online at
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201-843-6616

YBH OF PASSAIC seeks the

following afternoon positions:
Middle School Science
(Earth Science/Chemistry)
Middle School Language Arts
Boys Jewish Music
(1 day a week)
Masters & experience preferred.
Prospective candidates should
send resumes & references to:

[email protected]

3RD TO 8TH GRADE TEACHERS

Due to increased enrollment,
openings for teachers for 2015-2016 school year
Elementary grades 3 - 5
Junior High School Language Arts, Math and Science
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Bachelors degree preferred in Education. Alternate route
acceptable. Experience is a must.
email resume: [email protected]
fax:
973-778-5697

Situations Wanted

ARE you elderly and need

someone to take care of
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Call Carol
201-357-2088
646-705-2050
I am honest, loyal
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CHHA looking for live-in/out position; nights also. 25 yrs experience,
excellent references, own car. 908581-5577; 908-499-4402
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COMPANION: Experienced, kind,
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time work. Weekends OK. Meal
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COMPANION Looking for employment, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. - preferably 12
midnight - 8 a.m. Will help with
housekeeping, laundry, etc. 201281-9853.

EXPERIENCED
BABYSITTER
for Teaneck area.
Please call Jenna
201-660-2085
FORMER employer will give references! I am a Caregiver/Companion looking for Full-time, Live-in/out
position. Lt housekeeping & cooking. Willing to travel. 917-4067269
I am looking for HOME CARE position to care for elderly. Monday-Friday.
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WE will do all your errands including doctor appointments, shopping,
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Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. 201741-3042
WARM, loving, caring Aide available to do elder care. Experienced,
reliable, excellent references. Livein or out. 908-342-9422
A caregiver with over 10 years experience looking to care for elderly
Monday thru Friday/daytime. Reliable! Very good references! Drives!
551-404-2349

ACADEMICS AT GERRARD BERMAN DAY SCHOOL

seeks
Full-time Math Teacher for middle school and coordinate

grades 1-5 math program
Full or part-time - Judaic Studies Teacher for elementary grades
Full-time Language Arts Teacher for middle school and
coordinate 1-5 LA program
Half-Time -
Grade 3 Secular Teacher. Strong reading and math
skills required.
Technology skills, Communication skills, Team player required.
Salary depending on experience and training.
Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to:

[email protected]

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bal. checkbook,
bookkeeping
Resolve medical
insurance claims
Free Consultation

Home Health Services

BERGEN HOME CARE &

NURSING, INC.
For all
your Home Care
and Nursing Needs
We have the best
RNs and HHAs
Free Consultation
Competitive rates
CHHA Classes

201-342-3402

Cleaning & Hauling

RICKS SAME DAY SERVICE

CLEANOUT, INC.
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We clean up:
Attics Basements Yards
Garages Apartments
Construction Debris
Residential Dumpster Specials
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Established 2001

SENIOR CITIZENS 10% OFF

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the Junk Man

Home Health Services

ROYAL HEARTS HEALTHCARE
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Rate: $16.00 to $18.00 per hour
Live-in $150/day
Best Care with Compassion,
Kindness, Humility, Gentleness
and Patience.
862-250-6680
[email protected]

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

WE CLEAN OUT:
Basements Attics
Garages Fire Damage
Construction Debris
Hoarding Specialists
WE REMOVE ANYTHING!

Call today for a FREE estimate

201-661-4940

Home Improvements

BESTof the BEST

BH

Antiques

NICHOL AS
ANTIQUES
Estates Bought & Sold

Fine Furniture
Antiques
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U
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Home Repair Service

Painting
Carpentry
Kitchens
Decks
Electrical
Locks/Doors
Paving/Masonry
Basements
Drains/Pumps
Bathrooms
Plumbing
Maintenence
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TOP CASH PRICES PAID

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FREE APPRAISALS TUESDAYS FROM 12-2

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MAZON IS ending hunger making a difference tikkun olam

keeping kids healthy nutrition for seniors sustenance
tzedakah fostering responsibility raising awareness soup
kitchens food banks food pantries social justice selfempowerment partnering for change advocating for people in
need building a robust emergency food network encouraging
public policy reform a legacy of giving promoting health and
well-being tribute cards fulfilling a jewish tradition making
an impact optimism nourishment pursuing justice working
to end food insecurity meeting basic human needs nutrition
and health education initiatives a strong safety net providing
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THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY
WORKING TOGETHER TO END HUNGER

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10495 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 47

Real Estate & Business

Community programs at Holy Name Medical Center

The Center for Healthy Living (CHL) at
Holy Name Medical Center will be offering a variety of community health classes,
health fairs, screening events, workshops
and support programs, and health counseling on site at its 718 Teaneck Road,
Teaneck campus, as well as at communitybased venues. To view the full calendar,
visit holyname.org/events. Most events are
free, unless otherwise noted. To register,
call (201) 833-3336.
The Center for Healthy Living is also
offering Stay Healthy 101, a speaker
series aimed at preventing illness and
promoting wellness through education.
To arrange a customized presentation for
your organization by one of Holy Names
health care experts, please contact Linda
Lohsen, BSN, RN, director of the Center
for Healthy Living: (201) 833-3000, ext.
7332; or [email protected].

Lose weight
through hypnosis
Tuesday, June 9, 79 p.m.
Fee: $70
Call (201) 833-3336 to register.
This two-hour weight reduction program

48 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

teaches behavior modification and uses

hypnosis to help you make permanent
lifestyle changes that will reduce your
weight gradually and naturally. The program is conducted by a certified hypnotist
and includes a 30-day reinforcement CD,
a series of behavior modification cards for
daily positive reinforcement, and free reinforcement sessions for one year.

Hypnosis can aid

smoking cessation
Tuesday, June 16, 79 p.m.
Fee: $70.
Call (201) 833-3336 to register.
This two-hour program teaches behavior
modification through hypnosis without
using scare tactics or gloomy statistics to
help you stop smoking. It focuses on the
pleasure and increased self-esteem you
can attain as a non-smoker....without
withdrawal symptoms or gaining weight.
The program is conducted by a certified
hypnotist and includes a 30-day reinforcement CD, a series of behavior modification
cards for daily positive reinforcement, and
free reinforcement sessions for one year.

Beat the heat:

preventing illnesses
Thursday, June 18, 78 p.m.
Speaker: Judy Kutzleb, DNP, RN, CCRN,
APN, Primary Care, Holy Name Medical
Center
Location: Holy Name Medical Center
Marian Hall
Fee: Free
Call (201) 833-3336 to register
As summer approaches and the weather
becomes warmer, it is important to be
aware of heat-related illnesses that can
affect you and your family. Such illnesses
can be prevented by use of sunscreen/sunblock and staying hydrated. We invite you
to join us and learn more about how to
recognize, prevent, and treat these heatrelated illnesses, especially heat stroke,
which is the most common, and life-threatening when left untreated.

Diabetes seminar
answers all questions
Wednesday, June 24, 78:30 p.m.
Speaker: Mark Wiesen, M.D., Endocrinologist, Holy Name Medical Center
Location: Holy Name Medical Center

Marian Hall
Fee: Free
Call (201) 833-3336 to register
Dr. Mark Wiesen will address everything
you want and need to know about diabetes
including how to best manage the disease.

Can you hear me now?

Addressing hearing loss
Thursday, June 25, 12 p.m.
Speaker: Samuel Fox, Sc.D, F-AAA, Doctor
of Science in Audiology, Englewood ENT
Fee: Free
Location: Holy Name Medical Center
Marian Hall
(201) 833-3336 to register
Hearing loss affects an estimated one-third
of Americans between the ages of 65 and
75 and nearly one-half of those over 75
have experienced some degree of hearing
loss, according to the National Institutes
of Health. Although age-related factors are
the primary cause of hearing loss, heredity, noise exposure and ear wax build-up
can contribute as well. We invite you to this
discussion on hearing loss, hearing aids,
and technological advances that can help
prevent further loss. We are offering a free

Real Estate & Business

hearing screening for the first 15 registrants, and will
provide vouchers for all other participants to obtain a
free screening at Dr. Foxs office in Englewood.

OPEN HOUSES
SUNDAY, MAY 31

Diabetes CORE class schedule

TEANECK

June 16 and 17, 12:303:30 p.m.

Free support groups
Bariatric support group
Meets monthly in Marian Hall. Call (201) 833-3336 for
details, dates and times.

Bereavement support
(201) 833-3000, ext. 7580, for more information.

Other support groups

Breast cancer support group meets twice monthly in
Marian Hall, first and third Wednesdays, 5:307 p.m.
(201) 833-3336 for more information.
Cancer support group meets twice monthly in Marian Hall. Second & fourth Wednesday, 45:30 p.m.
(201) 833-3336 for more information.
Caregiver support group meets monthly in DayAway, 725 Teaneck Road, Teaneck.
First Wednesday, 12 p.m. (201) 833-3757 for more
information.
Diabetes support: Second Wednesday, 12 p.m. (201)
833-3371 for more information.
New moms group: (201) 833-3124 for more
information.
Pregnancy and newborn loss support: (201) 8333058 for more information.

Enjoy the
Celebrate Israel
Parade!

773 John St.

$449,000

619 Palisade Ave.

201.692.3700 | Vera-Nechama.com

584 Kent Ave.

Celebrate Israel Parade

FORT LEE - THE COLONY

The Height of Luxury

$379,900

Teaneck. Move in
ready 3 bed/2.5 bath
colonial, X lg living
room and den with
surrounding windows
and built ins, formal
dining room, eat-in
granite kitchen,
solid wood dove tail
cabinets, double sinks. Finished basement with wood
tile flooring. 3 spacious bedrooms include an en suite
MBR with beautiful master bath and his/hers double
closets. Full attic for storage with Bessler stairs. New
windows, heating system-gas furnace, roof. Hardwood
floors throughout. Corner property. Fenced in yard with
play set. PRICED TO SELL $468,000

2-4 PM

$329,900

3-5 PM

Classic Colonial. 60'x150' Prop. Updated Granite Kit, LR/

Fplc, Form Din Rm, 1st Flr Brm/Vault Ceil, Fam Rm/Skylites/
Sldrs to Deck. 2nd Flr: 2 Brms, Full Bath. H/W Flrs. Gar.

298 Carlton Ter.

$369,000

3-5 PM

Charm Tudor. EF, Lg LR/Fplc, Den, FDR, Brkfst Area. 3 Brms,

2 Baths. Fin Bsmt. 2 car Gar. Beaut Oak Flrs.

1085 Magnolia Rd.

$449,000

3-5 PM

W Englwd Area. Beautifully Updated 3 Brm Tudor. Liv Rm/

Fplc, Din Rm/Slid Doors to Deck, Beaut new Eat In Kit, 2.5
New Baths. C/A/C.

OPEN HOUSE

Contact 201-981-2068

BERGENFIELD
$860,000

3-5 PM

Spacious Colonial. Tea/Bgnfld Border. Great attention to

details. H/W Flrs throughout. 5 Brms, 3.5 Baths. Ent Foyer,
LR, FDR, Ultra Mod Eat In Kit open to Great Rm. Fin Bsmt/
Fam Rm.

ALL CLOSE TO NY BUS / HOUSES OF WORSHIP /

HIGHWAYS / SHOPPING / SCHOOLS & NY BUS

1Br Convertible. Hi floor. Renovated. Freshly painted.

Move-in. Priced to sell. $99,900
2Br 2.5 Baths. High floor. Renovated. All river views.
A must see. Wont last. $299,900
3Br 3.5 Baths. Extended kitchen, laundry and more.
Fabulous SE view. $699,000

201-461-6764 Eve
201-970-4118 Cell
201-585-8080 x144 Office
[email protected]

$499,900

175 Cherry Ln.

TM

Broker/Associate

2-4 PM

Charm CH Col. Custom Built. Parklike 175' Deep Prop. Grand

LR/Fplc, FDR, 1st Flr Brm & Full Bath. Kit/Bkfst Rm to Fam
Rm. Encl Porch/Den, Cov Patio. 2nd Flr: 4 BRs, Dress Rm, 2
Full Baths. Part Fin Bsmt/.5 Bath. 2 Zone C/A/C.

141 Rector Ct.

Allan Dorfman

1-3 PM

Mostly Brick Cape. Oak Flrs. LR/Fplc, DR, Encl Porch, Fam
Size Country Kit. 4 Brms, 2.5 Baths. Fin Bmt. Gar. Close to
Cedar Ln.

For Sale by Owner South of Cedar Lane

Residential and Commercial

4 Highwood Avenue
Tenafly, NJ 07670
201-569-6300
201-370-7089 direct
mcspiritbeckett.com
[email protected]

$290,000

Move In Ready 3 Brm Colonial. H/W Flrs. Ent Foyer, LR/

Corner Fplc, DR, Den, Mod Eat In Kit. Finished 3rd Flr. Nat
Woodwork. 2 Car Gar.

705 Larch Ave.

Servicing All of Bergen County

1-3 PM

C Club Area. Mint Cond Cust Cape. LR, Din Rm, Updated Isle
Kit open to Vaulted Ceil Fam Rm/Skylites/Deck. 3 Brms, 2
Baths. Bsmt. Gar.

For Our Full Inventory & Directions

Visit our Website
www.RussoRealEstate.com
CLOSTER

STATELY

$1,700,000

Spectacular 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath colonial on beautiful East Hill cul-de-sac, 2 story marble
foyer, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen w/butlers pantry, family room w/fireplace,
master suite w/spa bath, high ceilings, gleaming hardwood floors,
finished lower level.

ALPINE/CLOSTER
TENAFLY
RIVER VALE ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS TENAFLY

894-1234
768-6868

CRESSKILL
Orna Jackson, Sales Associate 201-376-1389

666-0777

568-1818

894-1234 871-0800

2014
READERS
CHOICE

FIRST PLACE
REAL ESTATE AGENCY

(201) 837-8800

www.jstandard.com
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 49

Real Estate & Business

SELLING YOUR HOME?

Call Susan Laskin Today

To Make Your Next Move A Successful One!
BergenCountyRealEstateSource.com

Cell: 201-615-5353

2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

NVE-2754 Lending Ad 5x6.5_NVE-2754 Lending Ad 5x6.5 4/1/15 10:23 AM Page 1

Looks like you could use

some extra bedrooms.

The Better Hearing Institute located in

Washington D.C. wants to raise awareness of understanding and protecting
your hearing as well as providing information about todays hearing aids.
The ability to hear is gift. Its something to value and protect. After all, anyone can lose their hearing at any time in
life.
While many things outside our control
can cause hearing loss, one thing over
which we do have some control is noise.
Noise threatens our hearing because we
hear sound when delicate hair cells in our
inner ears vibrate. This creates nerve signals that the brain understands as sound.
If we overload these delicate hair cells
with exposure to loud noises, we damage
them. This results in sensorineural hearing loss and often tinnitus or ringing in
the ears. The hair cells that vibrate most
quickly and that allow us to hear higherfrequency sounds like birds singing and
children speaking usually become damaged, dying first.
In addition to excessive noise from
construction, rock music, or gunfire, for
example the main causes of hearing
loss are aging, infections, injury to the
head or ear, birth defects or genetics, or
totoxic reaction to drugs.

The improving technology

RATES AS LOW AS
7-Year Fixed

NVE. Great mortgage rates...

lots of options.

Hearing loss and hearing aids

%
%
2.375
2.600
Rate
APR*
Rates valid on Loan Amounts Up To $500,000

Technology and consumer electronics

are transforming peoples lives, adding
ease and enjoyment to daily living. The
same is true for hearing aid technology.
Todays state-of-the-art hearing aids
are highly effective, sleek, and sophisticated wearable electronics that can help
people stay actively connected to life
and to those they love.
Many of todays hearing aids allow
users to hear from all directions, in all
sorts of sound environments, and even
underwater. They are digital, wireless,
can connect directly to your smartphone
or television, and can be as discreet or
as visible as you like. Whether they sit
discreetly inside the ear canal, or wrap
aesthetically around the contour of the
outer ear like the latest fashion accessory, todays high-performance hearing
aids amplify life.
Here are six little-known facts about
todays modern hearing aids:

1. Theyre virtually invisible. Many of

todays hearing aids sit discreetly and
comfortably inside your ear canal, providing both natural sound quality, and
discreet and easy use.
2. They automatically adjust to all
kinds of soundscapes. Whether youre
after the ability to discern comments at
an all-staff meeting, easy conversation
in a crowded restaurant, or the chirp
of crickets on a late summers evening,
recent technological advances have
made hearing aids far more versatile
than ever before and in a broad range
of sound environments.
3. There is something for just about
everyone. Todays hearing-aid options
are amazingly varied. Designers offer
styles for the fashion conscious, the
trendsetter, the partygoer, the intellectual, the active sports enthusiast, the
cautious grandmother, the romantic, the
weekend warrior, and even the guy just
tired of turning up the volume on the TV.
4. Water, sweat, and dust are no problem while wearing them. Waterproof,
digital hearing aids have arrived. This
new feature is built into some newly
designed hearing aids for those concerned about water, humidity, and dust.
This feature suits people who work in
demanding environments, as well as
those with active lifestyles like swimmers, skiers, and sports enthusiasts.
5. They love smartphones, computers, and other prized electronics. Wireless, digital hearing aids are now the
norm. That means seamless connectivity from smartphones, MP3 players,
computers, FM systems, televisions,
and other beloved high-tech gadgets
directly into your hearing aid(s), at volumes just right for you.
6. Theyre always at the ready. A new
rechargeable feature on some newly
designed hearing aids allows you to
recharge your hearing aids every night,
so theyre ready, ramped up, and waiting
for you in the morning. Theres no more
fumbling with small batteries. Just place
the hearing aids into the charger at night,
and in the morning, theyre ready to go.
For more information, contact Deborah Marcus, MS CCC-A at Audiology
Associates of North Jersey in Teaneck NJ
at (201) 928-0808

Is your house feeling a little cramped? NVE has great mortgage rates and a variety of
options that can help kick-start your expansion plans into high gear. Our Mortgage Specialist,
combined with NVEs local decision makers, will make the whole process
smooth and hassle free.
Call our Mortgage Loan Relationship Manager today at
201-816-2800, ext. 1230, or apply online at nvebank.com
BLOG

*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR is accurate as of 4/1/15 and may vary based on loan amounts. Loans are for
1-4 family New Jersey owner-occupied properties only. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. As an
example, the 7-year loan at the stated APR would have 84 monthly payments of $12.93 per thousand borrowed based
on a 20% down payment or equity for loan amounts up to $500,000. Payments do not include amounts for taxes and
insurance premiums, if applicable. The actual payment obligation will be greater. Property insurance is required. Other
rates and terms are available. Subject to credit approval.

Bergenfield I Closter I Cresskill I Englewood I Hillsdale I Leonia I New Milford I Teaneck I Tenafly

50 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015

Help JulieDance send children

with cancer to Broadway
JulieDance, the charitable foundation
of Miss Pattis School of Dance in Midland Park, is seeking donations to sponsor trips to New York City in July for two
groups of children afflicted with cancer.
They will be bused to New York City
to see the Broadway show Aladdin.

Donations can be mailed and made

payable to JulieDance, 85 Godwin Ave.,
Midland Park, NJ 07432. Contributions are fully tax-deductible. For more
information, call (201) 670-4422 or visit
juliedance.org.

The Art of Real Estate

NJ:
NY:

Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
TENAFLY

P
AR RIM
EA E
!

201.266.8555
T: 212.888.6250
T:

TENAFLY

J
SO UST
LD
!

201.906.6024
M: 917.576.0776

Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ

M:

TENAFLY

TENAFLY

J
SO UST
LD
!

J
SO UST
LD
!

Unique Contemp. Fab open floor plan. $1,890K

Pristine 4 BR/2 BTH East Hill Colonial.

Gorgeous 4 BR/4 BTH Colonial. Prime area.

Old Smith Village. Impeccable Colonial.

ENGLEWOOD

ENGLEWOOD

ENGLEWOOD

ENGLEWOOD

J
SO UST
LD
!

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

O
SU HO PEN
ND US
AY E
24

O
SU HO PEN
ND US
AY E
35

Young modern home. Beautiful finishes.

Great 5 BR/3.5 BTH Colonial. $1,175,000

164 GLENWOOD ROAD $898,000

421 LEWELEN CIRCLE $1,325,000

TEANECK

TEANECK

TEANECK

TEANECK

SO

SO

LD

CO

NS NE
TR W
UC
TIO

LD

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

N!

Charming brick & stone Colonial Cape.

Exquisitely renovated Center Hall Colonial.

Time to customize. Oversized lot. $929,000

Exquisite Tudor. 6 BR/5.5 BTH. $1,200,000

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

CENTRAL PARK

BUSHWICK

CHELSEA

J
SO UST
LD
!

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

Gorgeous 3 BR/3.5 BTH renovated brownstone. The Hermitage. Incredible condo. $1,050,000

UPPER WEST SIDE

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

Gorgeous 4 BR/3 BTH. Stellar views. $12,995/mo

MIDTOWN WEST

J
SO UST
LD
!

Modern design. Open floor plan.

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

J
SO UST
LD
!

2-family. 4 BR/2 BTH. Central loc. $850,000

The Marais. Luxury penthouse. Fab location.

UPPER WEST SIDE

WILLIAMSBURG

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

The Apthorp. 4 BR/3.5 BTH. $26,000/mo

SO

LD

Stylish luxury bldg. Heart of Brooklyn.

Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!

www.MironProperties.com
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 29, 2015 51

STORE HOURS

646 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666

SUN - TUE: 7AM - 9PM

WED: 7AM - 10PM
THURS: 7AM - 11PM
FRI: 7AM - 2 HOURS
BEFORE SUNDOWN

Tel: 201-855-8500 Fax: 201-801-0225

5 5

2 4
FOR

2 4
FOR

Fresh

Whole
Chicken

Chicken
Stir Fry

$ 19

$ 99

Cut in 1/4s & 1/8s

Lb

Lb

Family Pack

Extra Lean

Starkist
Chunk Light
Tuna

2 $6 2 $6 2 $1 79
3

16.9 OZ
24 PK

Chewy or Chocolate Chip

Nabisoc
Chips Ahoy
Cookies

$ 79

11.7513.72 OZ

DAIRY

Assorted

Simply Lemonade
or Limeade

2 $5
59 OZ

FOR

Assorted

Save On!

Wesson
Canola
Oil

Original & Seedless

Mikee
Teriyaki
Sauce

Batampte
Half Sour Pickles

2 $6

Breakstones
Butter

FOR

FOR

8 OZ

2 $5

Firm & Extra Firm Only

Nasoya Organic
Tofu

2 $3
14 OZ
FOR

8 OZ

2 $4
Assorted

La Yogurt
Yogurt

2 $1
6 OZ

FOR

Save On!

Original or Buffalo

Sabve On!

Sabra
Salads

2.25 OZ

FOR

20 OZ

FOR

2 $5 99
15 OZ

$ 79
32 OZ

Kettle Corn
Gourmet
Popcorn

Kikkoman
Soy
Sauce

48 OZ

Quarters

Sweet & Salty

Regular & Light

$ 99

Assorted

2 $5
FOR

Seasons
Marinated
Artichoke Hearts
12 OZ

Pretzel
Crisps

Original Only

Hunts
BBQ
Sauce

99

1.5 OZ

Enchilada

Blooms
Tortilla
Chips

FROZEN

6 PACK

Pretzel
Bites
12 OZ

FOR

Seapointe
Edamame
14 OZ

2 $4
FOR

Save On!

Bellacicco

Garlic
Bread

2 $5
2 PACK

FOR

Morningstar Farms

Griller
Crumbles

2 $7
FOR

1499
LB.

Scottish
Salmon

1199

Original

Osem Breaded
Chicken Flounder
Consomme $ 99
LB.
14.1 OZ

LB.

Check Out Our New Line of Cooked Fish

HOMEMADE DAIRY

Save On! 15 Inch

Stella Doro Pizza

Swiss Fudge $ 99
Cookies

2 $6

8 OZ

FOR

$ 99

6 PACK

Pepper Crusted
Tuna

12 OZ

ea.

FISH

99

Gardein

12 OZ

895

Guldens $
Spicy Brown
Mustard

$ 99

ea.

Tempura
California Roll

Lb

7 Grain Crispy
Tenders or Chickn
Patties

$ 99

2 $6

$ 49

FOR

Pizza
Squares

2 $5

YoKids
Smoothies

9-10.2 OZ

Macabee

Super Soft

Assorted

Flatout
Foldits

FOR

Assorted

FOR

5 Grain or Pizza Crust

3 $1 2 $5

Dozen

16 OZ

FOR

1 OZ

$ 79

Friendship
Cottage Cheese

Fruity or
Cocoa
Pebbles
15 OZ

FOR

Natures Yoke
Large
White Eggs

Post Cereal

2 $3 2 $7

FOR

Save On!

32 OZ

Fresca,
Classic or
Diet Coke
2 LTR

625

Lb

ea.

Tuna Roll

$ 99

Lb

99

Save On!

75
4
Cooked
$

Stuffed Lamb
Breast

Gatorade
Drinks

18 OZ

Crispy
Onion Roll

Ready To Bake

Fruit Punch or Frost

Glacier Freeze Only

99

2 $5

$ 99

Lb

FISH
`
SUSHI

$ 49

Lb

lb.

Organic Girl
Salads

Beef
Stew

White Meat
Chicken Shwarma

5 OZ

FOR

lb.

$ 29

American Black Angus Beef

Ready To Bake

Ground
Shoulder

In Water

8 OZ

FOR

Lb

Hunts
Tomato
Sauce

5 LB

$ 99

69

$ 99

$ 49

Lb

Reg. & No Salt

Save On!

Osem Mini
Glicks All
Mandel
Purpose Flour
14.1 OZ

Crystal Geyser
Water

Black Beauty
Eggplants

Middle
Chuck Steak

$ 99

$ 99

GROCERY

Save On!

Great on the Grill!

American Black Angus Beef

Deckle
Roast

Flank
Steak

Lb

FOR

FOR

FOR

American Black Angus Beef

American Black Angus Beef

$ 99

Save On!

5 5

lb.

Organic

Plum
Tomatoes

Cedar Markets Meat Dept. Prides Itself On Quality, Freshness And Affordability. We Carry The Finest Cuts Of Meat And
The Freshest Poultry... Our Dedicated Butchers Will Custom Cut Anything For You... Just Ask!

Fresh

Chicken
Cutlets

646 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666

201-855-8500 Fax: 201-801-0225
www.thecedarmarket.com
[email protected]

3 $5

FOR

MARKET

Blackberries

Romaine
Hearts
3 Pack

Honeydew
Melons

Crisp
Cucumbers

Butterfly

99

Sweet

Cool

Loyalty
Program

FOR

at:
Visit Our Website om
et.c
www.thecedarmark

646 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666

201-855-8500 Fax: 201-801-0225
www.thecedarmarket.com
[email protected]

MARKET

TERMS & CONDITIONS: This card is the property of Cedar Market, Inc. and is intended for exclusive
use of the recipient and their household members. Card is not transferable. We reserve the right to
change or rescind the terms and conditions of the Cedar Market loyalty program at any time, and
without notice. By using this card, the cardholder signifies his/her agreement to the terms &
conditions for use. Not to be combined with any other Discount/Store Coupon/Offer. *Loyalty Card
must be presented at time of purchase along
with ID for verification. Purchase cannot be
reversed once sale is completed.

Fresh Picked

CEDAR MARKET

Yellow
Nectarines

California

Grape
Tomatoes

Pineapples

MEAT DEPARTMENT

Loyalty
Program

Sweet

Sweet

10 $2

CEDAR MARKET

ORGANIC ORGANIC ORGANIC

PRODUCE

Fine Foods
Great Savings

ORGANIC ORGANIC ORGANIC

Sign Up For Your

Loyalty
Card
In Store

Sale Effective
5/31/15 - 6/5/15

12.4 OZ

Birds Eye Steamfresh

Whole
Green Beans

EACH

BAKERY

15 oz

Marble

Chinese
Cookies
Reg. Cheese
Delkelech

FOR

Dole

Whole
Strawberries

2 $6
16 OZ

FOR

15 oz

PROVISIONS
Traditional or
Hot & Spicy

Joburg Gourmet
Sausages

2 $4 $749
12 OZ

4
$ 49
6
$ 49
7
$ 49

Sponge
Cake

12 OZ.

Aarons Chicken
Bologna

99

We reserve the right to limit sales to 1 per family. Prices effective this store only. Not responsible for typographical errors. Some pictures are for design purposes only and do not necessarily represent items on sale. While Supply Lasts. No rain checks.

4 OZ