North Jersey Jewish News, May 30, 2014

Temple Emanuel in
Woodcliff Lake
honors
Hungarian-born
Rabbi Andre Ungar
JSTANDARD.COM
2014 83
AT EMETH, EARLY CHILDHOODS END page 8
PICKING UP THE HOLY TONGUE page 10
SHAVUOT: DOING DAIRY, REREADING RUTH page 28
J e w i s h S t a n d a r d
1 0 8 6 T e a n e c k R o a d
T e a n e c k , N J 0 7 6 6 6
C H A N G E S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D
A suburban
rabbi with
continental
flair
page 20
MAY 30, 2014
VOL. LXXXIII NO. 38 $1.00
NORTH JERSEY
L
ook for it in our M
ay 30 issue
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LUXURY
HOMES &
INVESTMENT
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A special issue of The New York Jewish Week,
North Jersey Jewish Standard and the New Jersey Jewish News
Bat Yam:
The New
Israeli Riviera
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Boom
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Is Israel The
Promised Land
For Investors?
page 6
Bat Yam:
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IN THIS ISSUE
2 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 30, 2014
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NOSHES ...................................................4
OPINION ................................................ 16
COVER STORY .................................... 20
SHAVUOT ............................................. 28
GALLERY .............................................. 32
TORAH COMMENTARY ................... 35
CROSSWORD PUZZLE .................... 36
CALENDAR .......................................... 38
OBITUARIES ......................................... 41
CLASSIFIEDS ...................................... 42
REAL ESTATE ......................................44
CONTENTS
COVER PHOTO BY JERRY SZUBIN
To the moon, Moses!
It is not in heaven, Moses told the
Jewish people in Deuteronomy chap-
ter 30, referring to the Torah, that
you should say: Who shall go up for
us to heaven, and take it for us.
That may have been true back
then.
But now inventor and en-
trepreneur Paul Aouizerate
wants your help in putting
a Torah in the heavens.
Mr. Aouizerate is
heading a proj-
ect that would
place a Torah
scroll on
the moon,
in a capsule
that would
protect it from
radiation and tem-
perature extremes for at
least ten thousand years.
At torahonthemoon.com,
the plan is described as a values-
driven space initiative that would
celebrate the ancient books innu-
merable contributions to morality,
justice, education, culture, art and
sciences.
And yes, there are philanthropic
opportunities: The website promises
that People around the world will be
able to purchase letters that relate
to their name, family, interests and
dreams.
According to a report in New Sci-
entist magazine, the Tel Aviv-based
project was rebuffed in its efforts to
find passage to the moon aboard
SpaceIL, the private Israeli venture
that aims to win the $20 million prize
offered by Google to the first pri-
vately funded group to land a robot
on the moon, travel a third of a mile,
and send back two videos before the
end of 2015.
The Spain-based Barcelona Moon
Team
would not
comment on
rumors that it
was negotiating
to blast off the sefer
Torah, but the Euro-
pean Space Agency
confirmed that it would
be testing the hardiness
of the capsule that would
carry the scroll.
Mr. Aouizerate de-
scribes his goal as one of cultural
preservation. The Torah scroll would
be only the first of three planned
lunar launches of sacred scripture;
he hopes to subsequently send the
Hindu Vedas and the Chinese I-Ching.
These three texts are among
Earths most ancient documents, cre-
ated over 3,000 years ago, he told
New Scientist. They are significant to
billions of people.
This would not be the first time that
Moses words made it into heaven.
Three Apollo missions carried mi-
crofilm copies of the full King James
translation of the Bible to the moon.
In 1971, Apollo 15 commander David
Scott left a red leather Bible behind
in the control console of an Apollo
moon buggy.
And in 2003, Israeli astronaut Ilan
Ramon took a small Torah scroll with
him on his ill-fated mission on the Co-
lumbia space shuttle.
LARRY YUDELSON
THE GLOBALIZATION OF ISRAELI
GASTRONOMY (PART 1)
Mao-Maoing the
moo catchers
It would have seemed like a natural
fit in, say, 1949.
Then the headlines could have
read: Chinese Communists take over
Zionist cow co-coop.
But there werent really any work-
ers rejoicing when Tnuva, the Israeli
dairy company founded as a coop of
Jewish collective farms and agricul-
tural settlements in 1926, was bought
earlier this month by Bright Food
Group, a company owned by the
nominally Communist Peoples Re-
public of China.
Tnuva still holds the dominant
share of the Israeli cheese and yogurt
market, and it is regulated in Israel as
a monopoly.
In 2006, the kibbutzim and
moshavim sold the majority of Tnuva
to a British-based private investment
group, Apax, for more than $1 billion,
retaining a minority share. It is Apaxs
shares that Bright Food bought.
The sale has brought protest from
Israeli politicians.
What kind of normal country
entrusts its food security and its en-
tire dairy industry to China? is how
Knesset Membor Shelly Yachimovich
of the Labor party responded to the
announcement.
Bright Food has promised to keep
Tnuvas operations in Israel, and un-
der the control of an Israeli CEO.
It reportedly is interested in Tnuva
dairy technology; Israels cows live
in a climate similar to much of China,
but produce at least three times as
much milk.
LARRY YUDELSON
THE GLOBALIZATION OF ISRAELI GASTRONOMY (PART 2)
Hummous maker says regulate me
If Sabra Dipping Co. has its way, the
use of chickpeas and tahini in making
hummous will become U.S. law.
The hummous manufacturer, which
is co-owned by PepsiCo and the
Israel-based Strauss Group, has filed
a petition with the Food and Drug
Administration to create a standard
defining which dips are considered
hummous.
The standard Sabra is seeking
would mandate that hummous be
comprised pri-
marily of chick-
peas and contain
no less than 5 per-
cent tahini. The 11-
page proposal asks
that hummous be
defined as the semi-
solid food prepared
from mixing cooked,
dehydrated, or dried
chickpeas and tahini with
one or more optional ingredients,
according to a news release it issued.
Similar standards exist for other
condiments, such as ketchup, mus-
tard, and mayonnaise.
As the popularity of hummous
has soared in the United States over
the past decade, the name has been
applied to items consisting primar-
ily of other ingredients, Sabra chief
technology officer Tulin Tuzel said
in the statement. From black beans
and white beans to lentils, soybeans,
and navy beans, everyone wants to
call their dip hummous.
Sales of hummous have soared in
the United States over the last
decade, and Sabra con-
trols about 60 percent of
the market, according to
Information Resources Inc.,
a Chicago-based market
research firm.
JTA WIRE SERVICE
Candlelighting: Friday, May 30, 8:01 p.m.
Shabbat ends: Saturday, May 31, 9:10 p.m.
Correction
A headline describing an upcoming circus event that was published in last weeks
About Our Children misidentiied its location. The Kelly Miller Circus show will take
place on Sunday, June 22 at noon and again at 4 p.m. on the grounds of the Bergen
County YJCC, 605 Pascack Rd., Washington Township.
Noshes
JS-4*
I was stunned by how many Israeli politicians are
going to prison. When you ask an Israeli politician what
his cell number is, it has a whole other meaning.
Jay Leno, during his stint as host for first Genesis Prize ceremony
in Jerusalem last week.
Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard
lifted from a 1968 tune
that California wrote and
Zeppelin band mem-
bers heard every night
for months when they
toured with Californias
band, Spirit.
Even if they dont get
the injunction, the heirs
may well prevail after a
full trial or via a lucrative
settlement. Led Zepplein
already has lost several
copyright infringement
suits brought by other
musician/composers
claiming the band lifted
their work, too.
Born Randy Wolfe
in California, Randy
California drowned
while saving his young
son from drowning. His
stage name was given
to him by Jimi Hendrix.
He played in a band with
Hendrix during the sum-
mer of 1966, and Hen-
drix dubbed him Randy
California to distinguish
him from another Randy
in the band. Spirit is best
known for their monster
1968 hit, I Got a Line on
You, which Randy wrote.
N.B.
Sarah Silverman
SARAHS RULES:
At the movies
with asides
Sean Penn
Justin Timberlake performed this week in Israel
Seth McFarlane,
the creator of
Family Guy, is
the director, writer, and
star of A Million Ways to
Die in the West, opening
today. He plays Albert, a
cowardly sheep farmer
whose girlfriend leaves
him after he chickens
out of a gunfight. When
a mysterious woman
(Charlize Theron) rides
into town, she helps him
find his courage and they
begin to fall in love. But
Alberts moxie is tested
when her husband, a
notorious outlaw (Liam
Neeson), comes to town.
Some comic relief is
provided by SARAH
SILVERMAN, 43, who
plays Ruth, the fiance
of Alberts best friend,
Edward (Giovanni Ribisi).
Ruth is a prostitute, but
she wont have sex with
Edward because, as
Silverman recently told
David Letterman, Were
Christians and were not
married. On another
topic, Silverman told Let-
terman that she recently
found her name in a
definition of offensive
in a textbook. Tongue-in-
cheek, she added, Hitler
and DON STERLING are
too likeable to be listed.
But I am the meaning of
offensive.
Meanwhile, Theron,
38, is on the cover of
this months Vogue, and
inside she opened up for
the first time about her
romantic relationship,
now about six months
old, with SEAN PENN,
53. She said they had
been good friends for 18
years before their platon-
ic relationship became
romantic. She says: It
just kind of naturally hap-
pened, and before I knew
it, I was in something
that was making my life
better.
As I write this, it is
still possible that
an injunction will
be issued to prevent the
release of a remastered
version of Led Zeppelin
IV, which includes their
iconic 1971 tune, Stair-
way to Heaven. Finally,
the heirs of guitarist
RANDY CALIFORNIA
(1951-1997) are bringing
a legal action to ob-
tain royalties for what
has seemed obvious to
many for decades that
much of Stairway was
Angela is all geared up
for Driving Miss Daisy
Movie theaters in Tenafly and Edgewater are present-
ing special screenings of Driving Miss Daisy this com-
ing week and next.
No, this isnt a reshowing of the Oscar-winning 1989
ilm (based on ALFRED UHRYs 1987 play). Rather, it
is a ilm record of the play as it was presented on the
Australian stage last year. Angela Lansbury, now 88, stars
as Daisy Wertern, a proud Southern Jewish woman, with
James Earl Jones, now 83, co-starring as Hoke, her com-
passionate chauffeur.
Lansbury recently told a British paper: I saw the origi-
nal stage production of Daisy and loved it. Afterwards,
I met Alfred Uhry, and we came to an agreement that
some day I would play Daisy. Years passed. Then it was
suggested that I do it in Australia, of all places, alongside
James Earl Jones. Im not exactly a spring chicken, but I
thought: Australia why not? What a wonderful place
to go and try something. The great thing about theater,
you see, is that its all about illusion. At my age, I simply
cant get away with playing a 72-year-old woman like
Daisy in the movies. But on stage, with make-up, I can.
So the theater, really, is the only place older actresses
can still work. N.B.
Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones in
Driving Miss Daisy. JEFF BUSBY
California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at [email protected]
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Going for perplexity
Dr. Micah Goodman brings his post-modern Maimonides to Teaneck
LARRY YUDELSON
T
he video burst on YouTube in
September 2011 with an abun-
dance of enery and good cheer.
Dip your apple in the honey,
sang the young Israelis, in a parody filled
with catchy music, dancing, shofar blow-
ing, humor, adorable children, and even a
Jedi battle. The video, so far viewed more
than 3 million times (a lot for a Jewish holi-
day video even though it is far below the
665 million views of the Shakira song it is
based on) was credited to the Fountain-
heads of the Ein Prat Academy.
The what?
Ein Prat, says Dr. Micah Goodman,
the academys founder and head, is the
yeshiva I would have loved to learn at. Dr.
Goodman will be speaking in Congrega-
tion Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck at 8:45 Sun-
day evening.
Ein Prat opened in 2006. It is coed,
unlike the yeshiva where Dr. Goodman
studied during his army service, and
unlike the yeshiva high school founded by
Rabbi David Hartman where he had stud-
ied before that. It brings together secular
and Orthodox Israelis for intense and brief
exploration of what Dr. Goodman calls
the modern Jewish Israeli identity. Like
a traditional yeshiva, its classes include
chevruta study, where students study and
discuss texts in pairs. But a yeshivas sylla-
bus of Talmud and Bible is one of only four
prongs of Ein Prats curriculum, which also
includes the great works of Western civili-
zation, including Shakespeare, Aristotle,
and Homer; Israels political issues, such
as its conflicts with the Palestinians and
Iran and question of religions and state,
and the study of martial arts and yoga.
Ein Prat offers no degrees. In that sense
its a yeshiva, with study of Torah lishma,
for its own sake, for the sake of expand-
ing students minds and developing who
they are, Dr. Goodman said. Ein Prat has
a term that run for the 40 days before Yom
Kippur, and others that run a standard
four-month semester. Participants attend
after their army service and range in age
from 21 to 29. After studying at Ein Prat for
one term, students move on and out.
We want our graduates to be out in
Israel, trying to spread the word that
theres a different way to be an Israeli, Dr.
Goodman said.
The Fountainheads is one example of
the growing network of graduates at work.
So too is a project launched this year,
Ten Days of Gratitude, which aims to
transform the ten days between Yom Has-
hoah, Israelis Holocaust remembrance
day, and Yom Haatzmaut, Israels Inde-
pendence Day. Just as the traditional Ten
Days of Repentance creates a period of
introspection leading into Yom Kippur, the
Ein Prat alumni behind the project want to
create a period of appreciation.
They have a vision that one day Israelis
will start thanking each other before Yom
Haatzmaut, Dr. Goodman said.
We want to promote a Zionism of grati-
tude, not pride. The Israeli story, like also
our personal story, can fill us with pride.
Gratitude is an alternative. Both gratitude
and pride are an awareness that some-
thing great happened to us. Pride is taking
credit for it. Gratitude means something
happened to you, but not because of you,
he said.
Dr. Goodman earned a Ph.D. in Jewish
thought at the Hebrew University. (His dis-
sertation is on the philosophy of history in
Maimonides and Nachmanides). Besides
heading Ein Prat, he is a fellow at the
Shalom Hartman Institute and a teacher
at Hebrew University, both in Jerusalem.
He teaches Judaism in the public arena,
with a television program on the weekly
Torah portion and two published books
that turned meditations on key works of
medieval Jewish philosophy into surpris-
ing bestsellers.
In writing The Secrets of The Guide
for the Perplexed, Dr. Goodman says he
tried to stick to the big, big questions as
he tried to flesh out from the Guide for
the Perplexed what is interesting for Israe-
lis in the 21st century.
At the core of the book, to be published
in English next year by the Jewish Publica-
tion Society, is the idea that Maimonides
philosophical work wasnt written to
guide people out of their perplexity. It
was written to guide people into perplex-
ity and help them deal with perplexity, to
leverage perplexity into becoming sensi-
tive human beings.
When you ask the greatest questions
possible, and youre trying to find out
the great enigmas of life, and suddenly
your mind reaches a wall, you under-
stand there is something very big here you
cant understand. In that awakening, two
things happen. One is that you are aware
of your boundaries. At the same time, you
are aware that there is something beyond
you. There is a sense of the transcendent,
of mystery, what Heschel called radical
amazement. Rambam Maimonides
was thinking of something like that when
he was speaking of perplexity.
Perplexity is about having mystery in
our life that instills a sense of meaning in
our life, he said.
Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill of Teaneck, a pro-
fessor of religion at Seton Hall University
who has written about Dr. Goodman on
his blog, contrasts Dr. Goodmans work
on Maimonides to the work of Rabbi David
Hartman, whose Maimonides: Torah and
Ein Prat first entered American awareness with its 2010 Rosh Hashanah video.
The Secrets of The Guide for the Per-
plexed by Dr. Micah Goodman
Local
JS-7
JUNE 1 11am to 4pm 57th-74th St on Fifth Ave NYC
CelebrateIsraelNY.org
Join the conversation
Facebook: CelebrateIsraelParade
Twitter: @celebrateisrael
#TogetheronFifth
A project of: Special thanks to:
Dont miss the 50th Annual Celebrate Israel Parade, the worlds largest public
gathering in celebration of Israel led by a delegation of Knesset Members,
featuring SpaceIL, and performances by Israeli recording artists Chen Aharoni,
Hagit Yaso, DJ Mr. Black; and SOULFARM.
Tune in to watch the Parade live on FOXs My9 or on the web, starting at noon.
DISCUSSION
Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and
the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict
Author John B. Judis in conversation with
MJH Director David G. Marwell, Ph.D.
SUN | JUN 1 | 4 P.M.
$20, $15 members
FATHERS DAY PROGRAM
Knish: In Search of the
Jewish Soul Food
Author Laura Silver in conversation
with food writer Gabriella Gershenson
SUN | JUN 15 | 2:30 P.M.
$15, $12 members
FAMILY PROGRAM
Almost Summer Celebration
Concert * Storytelling * Art Activities
Lawn Games * Picnicking
SUN | JUN 8 | 11 A.M. - 2 P.M.
Free
FREE SUMMER FILM SERIES
Close Encounters of
the Spielberg Kind
Eight iconic films by Steven Spielberg
EVERY WEDNESDAY JUN 25AUG 13
6:30 P.M.
Jewish Culture
THIS
IS
TRADI TI ON. EXPRESSI ON. REFLECTI ON.
Downtown
LOWER MANHATTAN | 646.437.4202
MORE PROGRAM & EXHIBITION INFO
@ WWW.MJHNYC.ORG
Public programs are made possible through a generous gift
from Mrs. Lily Safra.
N
O
W

O
N

S
T
A
G
E
Philosophic Quest was published in 1977.
Hartman viewed Maimonides as teach-
ing us about rationality, this-worldly
endeavor, universalism, and understand-
ing Torah philosophically, Rabbi Brill
said. Goodmans Maimonides is skepti-
cal and therapeutic, seeking to embrace
the yearnings and messiness of life while
teaching us to heal ourselves.
Dr. Goodmans second book concerns
another 12th century classic, Rabbi Yehuda
Halevis Kuzari. Presenting the guide to
young Israelis, Dr. Goodman said, was
only a partial story, because Maimoni-
dean rationalism is only a part of who I
am, of what Judaism is. Rabbi Yehuda Hal-
evis critique of rationality is also part of
what Judaism is. I had to write the second
book that completes the first work.
There were two main points he wanted
to make with his second book.
The first: Rationalism is not rational.
Rationalism means that you believe in the
capacity of your intellect. Rabbi Yehuda
Halevi argues that you can believe in many
things, but to believe in your intellect is
not rational.
He tries to prove that rationalism is
not rational. He tries to promote a world
where were aware that irrational things
exist and have effects on us even though
we cant understand them. Unlike Mai-
monides, hes not afraid of imagination.
He wants to bring our intellect and our
emotions together.
Dr. Goodmans second point concerns
the format of the Kuzari, which is cast as
a philosophical dialogue between a Jewish
scholar and a gentile king.
I argue that the scholar is not the only
person who expresses Halevis opinion
both characters express Halevis opinion.
The book promotes a strong sense of Jew-
ish uniqueness, and some would say chau-
vinism. At the same time, it says we should
be guided by a gentile king. Thats the per-
plexity of the Kuzari.
His next book will be The Last Speech
of Moses, an exploration of the philoso-
phy underlying the Book of Deuteronomy.
Moses realized the greatest challenge
for the Jewish people is becoming power-
ful, he said. How do Jews become pow-
erful without being corrupted? Im trying
to listen to how Moses guides the people.
Dr. Goodmans parents were Americans
who moved to Israel in 1969. His parents
met working for the Peace Corps in Bolivia.
His mother converted from Catholicism.
He was born in 1974. As a child, he found
the mixture of a Catholic grandmother,
American parents, and Israeli Orthodox
friends to be confusing.
But as he grew older, it also became
more exciting, he said. This mixed back-
ground is part of my passion and curiosity.
Coming from diverse worlds helped me
create bridges between worlds.
Im trying to offer an alternative way of
being a Jewish Israeli.
Theres a new hunger in Israel for Juda-
ism, especially for Jewish philosophy. Its
not channeled to halacha, to law; its chan-
neled to ideas.
Israelis are becoming Jewish. Its becom-
ing their core identity. Thats something
very exciting in Israel, and the success of
Ein Prat is a testimony to that happening.
Save the date
Who: Dr. Micah Goodman
What: A talk on The Collapse of Israels Secular-Religious Divide
and the Emergence of a New Zionist Paradigm
Where: Congregation Rinat Yisrael, 389 West Englewood Ave., Teaneck
When: 8:45 p.m., Sunday, June 1
How do Jews
become
powerful
without being
corrupted?
Im trying to
listen to how
Moses guides
the people.
DR. MICAH GOODMAN
Local
JS-8*

1 in 5 individuals struggle with some form of mental illness.
Each of us knows someone with mental illness.
Mental illness does not discriminate.
Jewish Family Service of Bergen and North Hudson is a licensed
mental health agency providing individual, family, couple, group and
play therapy.
For help please call 201-837-9090 or email [email protected]
Do empty pockets make cold hearts?
Teanecks Temple Emeth shutters early childhood program at last minute, enraging parents, staff
LARRY YUDELSON
C
an the bottom line be the only
line for a Jewish organization?
That question is being asked
in response to Temple Emeths
abrupt announcement that its early child-
hood center will not open in the fall.
The classrooms used by the early child-
hood program in Teaneck, which serves 2-
to 3-year-olds, instead will be rented to the
board of education in nearby Bergenfield
for that towns special education program.
The decision, announced in a Saturday
night email, left parents furious, particu-
larly because registration at some other
programs already had closed.
We told the parents the same week the
deal was concluded, said the congrega-
tions Rabbi Steven Sirbu. An opportunity
came to the boards attention about two
month ago and it needed full vetting.
Its a sad time for everybody at Temple
Emeth, because weve enjoyed having
these children in our building. Education
is an important part of our mission. Its sad
for us that were losing this piece of our
programming.
A lot of parents are upset with us for
making this decision so late in the year.
I can certainly relate to that, because
Im a parent and it would throw off my
plans if this happened to me. But the
demographics have changed, so that we
just couldnt get enough people to come
through our doors and take advantage of
our programs.
The money it gets from renting the space
will bring financial stability to the syna-
gogue, which last year ran a deficit, Rabbi
Sirbu said. If the early childhood center
been operating at full capacity, there would
have been no need to rent out the space.
Instead, enrollment is only at 68, half
of capacity, according to Amy Abrams, a
member of the Temple Emeth board and
head of its space optimization task force.
She said that when the task force first
was created, it wasnt looking to replace
the early childhood program but to find
supplemental income.
The early childhood
center was only using half
of the space, Ms. Abrams
said. We were hoping we
could design something
where we could use the
other half of the classroom
wing. If we were looking
to toss the early childhood
center and start over, we
would have made the con-
nection with Bergenfield
much earlier.
Instead, the task force only learned that
Bergenfield was looking for classrooms in
late March, she said.
If we could have fixed the timing,
believe me we would have. We honestly
did not know we had a deal until the Ber-
genfield board of education agreed to the
agreement in principle. We still dont have
a signed lease. We did talk about trying to
share space and defer closing early child-
hood for a year. Unfortunately those were
not options. We had talked a number of
time about putting the entire process off
for a year. They were not in a position to
do that.
The synagogue officials also knew that
the early childhood program had been
founded, more than 20 years ago, as a
feeder to move young families toward syn-
agogue membership. But that trend has
decreased until we dont have any poten-
tial member families that Im aware of in
the program at the present time, Rabbi
Sirbu said.
While the program has been adapting to
its increasingly Orthodox and Conserva-
tive constituency, it recently experienced
a really big drop off from what we had
been anticipating in enrollment, said Ms.
Abrams.
She attributed that in part to an
increased focus by Orthodox day schools
on their nursery schools, encouraging
parents to go there to be assured of getting
a place for kindergarten.
As to whether Temple Emeth should have
put the needs of the early childhood fami-
lies and staff ahead of the congregations
immediate bottom line,
I dont really know what
to make of that, she said.
We certainly arent look-
ing to hurt anybody or
inconvenience anybody
and we truly do regret the
timing. As people who are
responsible for the future
of our temple, this was not
an opportunity we could
pass up.
But talk of the syna-
gogue having acted responsibly doesnt sit
well with parents at the Early Childhood
Center, who speak lovingly about the pro-
gram and its staff, and bitterly about Tem-
ple Emeth.
Im sure they didnt consider the par-
ents or teachers or administrators or any-
body, because the way they made the deci-
sion was so haphazard, said Devin Cohen
of Teaneck, whose son Zevi, now 6, spent
two years there, and whose daughter
Amira, who just turned 3, is enrolled for
the summer and would have been enrolled
for the fall.
Mr. Cohen found a place for Amira at the
nursery school at the Solomon Schechter
Day School of Bergen County, where her
brother goes to school.
Mr. Cohen said that his synagogue, Con-
gregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, was
put in a similar situation about a year ago,
when the idea of closing the synagogues
Hebrew school came up. The school had
been losing money.
We took the time to think through
what this meant to us as a society and as a
Jewish community, said Mr. Cohen, who
since has joined his Beth Sholoms board.
The ultimate conclusion we came up with
was its not about dollars and cents,
Temple Emeth, he said, completely lost
sight of their duty to the Jewish commu-
nity, and theyve done a lot of damage that
cant be undone.
To just take this rash decision and say it
has to happen now and without warning,
I couldnt have in good conscience voted
that way.
You have to be a human being first.
Ive made many decision in life that have
adversely affected my bottom line, but I
have to be able to sleep at night.
Rabbi Gavriel Bellino is another angry
parent. He too has a 3-year-old, Keshet, in
the early childhood center; an older son,
Honi, also used to go there.
He is the rabbi of the Sixth Street Syna-
gogue in Manhattans East Village, and he
that said his communal experience gives
him some insight into Temple Emeths
choices.
I understand how professional Jews
operate, Rabbi Bellino said. I understand
the incompetence of volunteers. This
seems rather cold-hearted. You dont tell
someone on May 18 that theyre not com-
ing back the next year.
There are people who have worked
there for 10 years plus; to find out in the
middle of May that they wont be return-
ing seems crazy to me. If they told them
in March or February that this was in the
works, they could have begun to move
elsewhere. This left everybody optionless.
I feel terrible for the parents and kids
who dont what to do.
I understand these sort of hard deci-
sions. As a professional Jew, I get that.
Sometimes our institutions have to run like
families, and sometimes they have to run
like businesses. That said, theres a higher
standard for these sort of these decisions.
I think they could have acted a bit more
like a family.
This speaks to desperation and incom-
petence, and I think theres a lot of that
there.
I understand the predicament the tem-
ple is in. Theyre largely irrelevant in this
community. They know their building in a
few years will be either an Orthodox syn-
agogue or a breakaway from the Korean
church across the street.
This lets them last an extra five years,
he said.
(Two of the angry letters the Jewish
Standard received about the closing are
on page 19.)
Rabbi Steven Sirbu
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How to learn Hebrew
Confronting American Jews linguistic illiteracy, many programs offer help
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
C
an you read a Hebrew newspa-
per or order a meal in an Israel
restaurant? If youre like the
vast majority of American Jews,
the answer is no.
Half of Jews (52%), including 60% of
Jews by religion and 24% of Jews of no
religion, say they know the Hebrew alpha-
bet, according to last Octobers Portrait
of Jewish Americans, the famous study
released by the Pew Research Center.
But far fewer (13% of Jews overall,
including 16% of Jews by religion and 4%
of Jews of no religion) say they understand
most or all of the words when they read
Hebrew, the report continues.
Alarmed by this finding, the World Zion-
ist Organization, the Israeli Education Min-
istry, and several partner organizations
recently launched the Hebrew Language
Council of North America to help more
Jews become conversant in the language
of their literature, lore, and land as well
as the language of their peers in Israel.
Nationwide, many communities are
considering how to incorporate Hebrew
language more fully in family education,
bar and bat mitzvah training, and Israel
programming.
The Jewish Federation of Northern New
Jersey has offered ulpan (Hebrew instruc-
tion) sessions on beginner, intermediate,
and advanced levels for many years. The
classes meets once a week for 28 weeks
at locations including the federations
Paramus office, the Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades in Tenafly, the Bergen YJCC in
Washington Township, and the Fair Lawn
Jewish Center.
Liran Kapoano, director of the federa-
tions Center for Israel Engagement, says
the sessions begin in the fall after the Holy
Days, and average 80 to 100 people each
year.
Its always good for a community to
have a language to tie them together,
he said. Hebrew is a great unifier, and
allows us to reach people in the commu-
nity who are interested in learning Hebrew
and may be interested in Israel as well, so
its an opportunity for us to bring them
into our Israel-related committees and
programming.
Many other North Jersey residents take
advantage of a variety of Hebrew courses
they can work on from home, whether
they are kits with CDs and workbooks, pre-
recorded podcasts, or live sessions with
teachers via Skype or a similar platform.
Dr. Richard Gertler of Teaneck said he
began studying with eTeacher about eight
years ago, and knows several other local
people who use this live online service.
Ive always loved Hebrew and majored
in it in college, but that doesnt make me
a Hebrew speaker or fluent reader, Dr.
Gertler said. I wanted to build my vocab-
ulary. So when I got a solicitation on email
to learn Hebrew with eTeacher, I took a
free trial class and decided to enroll.
At first he was part of an online class,
taught by a teacher in Israel, which began
with eight students and dwindled down.
For a period of time there was me and
an anthropology professor from Fairleigh
Dickinson whose Hebrew is very good, but
once his schedule changed and he couldnt
make that time slot, I switched to a one-on-
one weekly session, he said.
Because of his work schedule, the
classes begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time, 4 a.m.
Israel time. Dr. Gertler and his teacher
read Israeli newspapers and have started
on modern Israeli literature. He prepares
for two hours before each session.
It has improved my Hebrew a lot, said
Dr. Gertler, who has visited Israel about
20 times in those eight years two of his
children and their families live there.
I used to hold back from serious
Hebrew discussions because of vocabu-
lary I didnt understand, and now I have
more confidence to express myself, he
continued. I still prefer doing contractual
stuff, like renting cars, in English. But Ive
learned a lot of everyday terms I wasnt
familiar with.
A few programs are tailored to give a
Hebrew boost to visitors while they are
in Israel.
Yoel Ganor, co-founder of Ulpan-Or in
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, says it is possible
even for people with no prior knowledge
of Hebrew to learn basic reading, writ-
ing, and verbal communication in Ulpan-
Ors one-week Sabra Hebrew Immersion
Program.
Verbal communication is key, and
our methodology is based on that, he
said. We base lessons on audio, and
more recently video, and then the read-
ing and writing accompany it. By giving
opportunities to use the vocabulary imme-
diately in real-life situations, we saw this
process does not have to take several
months.
The daily schedule consists of three
hours of one-on-one study in the morning,
and another two or three hours of inter-
active outdoor activities in the afternoon;
those activities include, for example, visit-
ing a caf with the teacher and conducting
all conversations in Hebrew.
Margot Reinstein of Teaneck, a day-
school graduate who already knew some
Hebrew, took the Sabra course before
beginning her yearlong masters degree
program at Hebrew University.
It was really fun, and included com-
ponents of practicing writing and mainly
practicing speaking, with a workbook
you can download on your phone, she
said. The teacher takes you to different
places and pretends to be a tour guide,
in Hebrew. It was a really good week.
For somebody who already has a basis of
Dr. Richard Gertler of Teaneck now feels more confident participating in Hebrew conversations after studying the language
through Ulpan-Or computer courses. RABBI MARK BAUMAN
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Hebrew, it jogs your memory and helps you improve
quickly.
Ms. Reinstein went on to enroll in the universitys
three-day-a-week ulpan. If youre looking to really
improve, you need a long-term ulpan, but if youre
here on a trip or want to improve a little, the Ulpan-
Or program gives you tools you can continue to use
afterward, she said. They help you figure out what
you need to work on, whether grammar or some other
aspect of the language.
Ulpan Aviv in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Ulpan
Israeli in Netanya offer other rapid language-acquisi-
tion programs in Israel that are geared to tourists.
Keeping up language skills at home can be accom-
plished with a variety of online options.
Shimshon Young of Jerusalem started out a few
years ago by offering Instant Hebrew, a two-hour
instructional video available online and in CD form.
From there, he expanded to a prerecorded online bib-
lical Hebrew course, hebrewbible.co.il.
Most people on the Internet wanting to learn
Hebrew really want to read Jewish texts, said Mr.
Young, an American migr. Its not that hard for an
adult to learn to read Hebrew because the concept of
reading is not new.
More recently, Mr. Young and a colleague devised
hebrewclasses.co.il, a prerecorded online series of
lessons intended to help you to learn both biblical
and modern Hebrew much faster than you ever have
before.
He said that the overall majority of subscribers live
abroad, and only about half of them are Jewish. We
have tested our new teaching methods with hundreds
of people at live webinars and with dozens of paying
students, he said. The feedback has been great.
Among many other online and/or Skype options are
Hebrew Podcasts, LearnHebrewPod, HebrewPod101,
Hebrew-Courses.com, and Live-Hebrew.Net.
In 2012, Yoel and Orly Ganor introduced Ulpan-Ors
web-based Hebrew study program to educators from
Torah Academy of Bergen County, the Frisch School,
Maayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, the Solo-
mon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, and the
Moriah School of Englewood. This program is used in
middle schools and high schools in several English-
speaking countries.
Mr. Ganor believes Hebrew is vital for all Jews.
Hebrew is an objective by itself, but we see ourselves
as ambassadors of Hebrew as the national language
that brings Jews closer to their identity and to Israeli
culture, he said.
If youre here on
a trip or want to
improve a little, the
Ulpan-Or program
gives you tools you
can continue to
use afterward.
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Traffic safety project
captures top prize
Fair Lawn resident aims to save lives
LOIS GOLDRICH
C
ars have a clear advantage over
pedestrians. When an automo-
bile particularly one that is
speeding hits a person, it is
not the car that will suffer.
While this may be obvious, neverthe-
less it is corroborated by statistics. Accord-
ing to the National Highway Trafic Safety
Administration, 4,743 pedestrians and
726 bicyclists were killed in crashes with
motor vehicles in 2012.
In 2013, Aviv Butvinik of Fair Lawn, a
senior at Montclair State University, read
an article about such a crash. A family had
tried to cross a street when a fast-moving
car ran into them and killed them.
I wanted to create something that
could help prevent this from happening
again, said Mr. Butvinik, who is majoring
in industrial design. Cars driving uphill at
night cannot see pedestrians crossing the
road up ahead. Likewise, the pedestrians
crossing the road cant see the cars com-
ing up the hill down below.
In an area like Bergen County where
many people walk back and forth from
synagogue at all times of day and on vary-
ing terrains the problem is particularly
pressing.
Spurred by his desire to help, Mr. But-
vinik created the Heads Up Pedestrian
Alert System, winning irst prize in the
nationwide Designs for Safety Competi-
tion sponsored by the World Trafic Safety
Symposium. In April, he received his prize
at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.
Industrial design is about creat-
ing solutions to peoples problems
with things, said Mr. Butvinik, who
took home $4,000 of the $5,000 prize
money. The remainder goes to his
school. (A statement from the college
notes that this is the third consecutive
year one of its students has taken home
irst prize in this competition.)
I always liked building things, he
said. But while he had always intended to
create regular products, such as wrist-
watches, his yearlong work on the proj-
ect has deinitely inspired me to work on
safety.
The pedestrian alert system, which
he said can be implemented relatively
easily, involves LED lights and a warn-
ing siren.
We already have the ability to do
it, he said, noting that some pedes-
trian signals already have speakers and
Aviv Butvinik of
Fair Lawn and a
senior at Montclair
State University,
developed the Heads
Up Pedestrian Alert
system, left.
Industrial
design is about
creating
solutions to
peoples
problems with
things.
AVIV BUTVINIK
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lights. They just have to program in
the device I designed.
Pointing out that some accidents
come about because of a blind spot
caused by the slope of a hill, Mr. But-
vinik said his system would alert pedes-
trians to cars coming up the hill so fast
that they cant stop. When the pedes-
trians see the flashing lights and hear
the warning siren, they will know they
should immediately evacuate the area.
He explained that his system employs
three piezoelectric strips, which mea-
sure a vehicles speed. If the car is going
too fast to stop in time, it will set off the
warning signals.
As he created his system, Mr. But-
vinik did a good deal of research, con-
sulting news articles and conducting
interviews to ensure that his plan was
understandable, as he put it.
I had tons of other ideas, but all
those went into the trash, he said,
explaining that they werent plausible
or feasible. Instead, I kept developing
the idea, and inding new solutions.
Hes been inspired to think more
about the safety ield, Mr. Butvinik
added. I hear more and more stories
about things that happen on the road. I
believe in helping people.
The need to design objects with
users safety in mind applies to other
areas as well.
With kids toys, for example, the
parts must be large enough so the kids
dont swallow them, he said. With
road safety, the system has to be under-
standable, so you get it with one glance.
The goal is to save lives.
Mr. Butvinik said the project was
hard work, and it still is not inished.
Even after designing his system, I con-
tinued to develop it. I could still rework
the entire project.
He said he doesnt know if his system
ever will be implemented, but he hopes
that the idea will gain traction. At any
rate, he said, most innovations take at
least ive years to develop and produce.
The best part of winning is know-
ing that the company that is sponsor-
ing the grand prize now knows about
the system, he said. They may even
have the money to create it. That is
very exciting.
A poster describing Aviv Butviniks solution to the challenge of preventing
pedestrian deaths.
Industrial
design is about
creating
solutions to
peoples
problems with
things.
AVIV BUTVINIK
Local
JS-14*
Frisch breakfast is a knockout
Dmitriy Salita, the champion boxer who
has forged a path as a successful Orthodox
professional athlete, spoke to a crowd of
more than 300 fans, parents, coaches, and
athletes at the Frisch Schools fifth annual
sports breakfast on May 18. Mr. Salita
described how he was exposed to Ortho-
doxy when he emigrated from Odessa to
the United States, and he detailed how he
successfully meshed a professional boxing
career with his religious observance.
The breakfast recognizes the accom-
plishments, dedication, and support of the
Frisch School Cougar family. Frisch athlet-
ics boasts 26 boys and girls varsity/junior
varsity teams in more than 10 sports. The
breakfast included a special presentation
of a championship banner to the 1982-
83 Frisch boys varsity basketball team,
Frischs first boys Yeshiva High School
League champions.
The breakfast is the culmination of the
Support the Cougar grant-matching
campaign run in conjunction with the
AVI CHAI Foundation. The grant focuses
on using social media to tell the story of
Frisch athletics in order to raise funds in
support of the athletic program. For every
dollar raised through the annual breakfast
and the associated Support the Cougar
campaign, AVI CHAI matched dollar for
dollar up to $500 per individual gift. Gifts
can still be made at sportsbreakfast.frisch.
org.
Rabbi Josh Wald, left, Frisch Schools
mashgiach ruchani (spiritual supervi-
sor), with professional boxer Dmitriy
Salita.
JFS Bergen/North Hudson to meet
for annual showcase of services
Jewish Family Service of Bergen and
North Hudsons annual meeting is set for
Monday, June 16, at Holy Name Medical
Center, 718 Teaneck Road, in Teaneck at
6:30 p.m.
The meeting gives JFS the opportu-
nity to showcase the array of social ser-
vices the agency offers and also kicks off
the Celebrating 62 Gala planned for
November 16 at the Rockleigh. In addi-
tion, the Lifetime Volunteer award will
be presented and there will be an update
on the Wheels for Meals Ride to Fight
Hunger, which is set for Sunday, June
15, and will begin at the Jewish Home at
Rockleigh.
For information, call (201) 837-9090
or go to www.jfsbergen.org.
Yeshivat Kerem BYavneh
honors local couples at dinner
The 44th annual Yeshivat Kerem BYavneh
dinner is set for Monday, June 16, 18 Sivan,
at the Museum of Jewish Heritage A Liv-
ing Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhat-
tan. A buffet dinner is at 6:15 p.m., the
program/video presentation at 7:45, and
dessert at 8:45.
Simcha and Elisheva Goldstein of Ber-
genfield, (KBY 1997-1998), will receive
the Ambassadors of Torah award. The
Rabbinic Alumnus award will go to Rabbi
Ari and Michal Zahtz of Teaneck (KBY
1997-1998), and the Young Alumnus award
will be presented to DJ and Chaviva Alter
of Passaic (KBY 2006).
Dinner co-chairs are Emanuel Adler,
Benyamin Kaminetzky, and Yigal Marcus.
The ad deadline is Friday, June 6. For
information, call (718) 645-3130 or go to
www.kby.org/go/dinner.
AFHU hosts scholarship luncheon
American Friends of the Hebrew
University will hold a stu-
dent scholarship luncheon on
Wednesday, June 18, at Le Jar-
din Restaurant in Edgewater.
The event, the first of its kind
by AFHUs New Jersey region,
hosted and chaired by Lucille
Amster of Fort Lee, will fund
scholarships for students at the
Koret School of Veterinary Medi-
cine at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem in Israel. Yvette Tekel and Mar-
tha Zilbert are the luncheons co-chairs.
Mrs. Amster is an active member of
AFHUs national Board of Regents. For
decades, she and her late husband, Dan-
iel, have been champions of Hebrew
University students and
university benefactors,
providing generous
support for animal wel-
fare at the Koret School
of Veterinary Medicine,
the only facility of its
kind in the Middle East.
Dr. Gillian Dank,
Israels foremost vet-
erinary oncologist and
a Koret School alumna
and lecturer, will be the luncheons guest
speaker. The kosher-style luncheon will
begin at noon.
For information, call (201) 399-4633,
email [email protected], or go to
www.afhu.org.
Lucille Amster
JFNNJ charity poker event is a winner
Jewish Federation of Northern New
Jersey held its second annual Fed-
eration Full House at the Alpine
Country Club in Demarest on May 22.
Daniel Herz, Steve Rogers, and David
Smith chaired the event along with
committee members Jared Bluestein,
Clive Gershon, David Graf, Dennis
Gralla, Eric Kanefsky, William Rose,
Jason Schwartz, Barry Slivka, and David
York. Event proceeds provide support
to federation programs.
Charlie Harary at Shaarei Orah
for series of Shabbat talks
Charlie Harary is the scholar-
in-residence May 30-31 at Shaa-
rei Orah, The Sephardic Con-
gregation of Teaneck. He will
speak four times over Shabbat
Nasso; erev Shabbat after Min-
cha, 7 p.m., Tapping into the
Energy of Shabbat; Shabbat
morning approximately 10:30
a.m., Most Essential Trait of
a Jewish Leader; pre-Mincha
talk, 7 p.m., Sefirat HaOmer: The Train-
ing Program for Jewish Greatness, and,
following Mincha at 7:50, How to Access
Your Potential.
Mr. Harary is a clinical professor of
management and entrepre-
neurship at the Syms School
of Business at Yeshiva Uni-
versity and a senior lecturer
for the Orthodox Union, Aish
Hatorah, and NCSY. He is a
member of the OUs executive
board and the founding chair
of its Young Leadership Cabi-
net. He is also a member of the
Conference of Young Jewish
Presidents and the CEO of H3 Capital LLC,
an advisory and investment firm in New
York. The shul is at 1425 Essex Road. For
information, call (201) 833-0800 or www.
sephardicteaneck.org.
Charlie Harary
FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS SEE PAGE 34
JS-15*
O
p
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n

f
o
r
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bh summer ad.indd 10 5/26/14 4:19 PM
Editorial
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Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson
TRUTH REGARDLESS OF CONSEQUENCES
The Bibles song
of erotic lust
All of Torah is holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy
of Holies.
Rabbi Akiva, Yaddayim (3:5)
For all our material prosperity, for all the wealth
the modern world has created, for all the diseases it
has cured, for all its technological marvels, something
essential is missing.
Were successful. But were also medicated, material-
istic, and divorced. A listlessness infects our existence.
Betraying a marriage often is more exciting than honor-
ing its commitment. Watching a movie together passes
as a shared romantic experience.
Eroticism, that very marrow of existence, the thirsty
desire to uncover lifes secrets, is noticeably absent.
Last week I published my newest book, Kosher Lust.
The backlash to my assertion
that intense desire is not just
necessary by holy has been
ferocious, and might just
have touched a nerve.
Judaisms holiest book,
according to the Talmud, is
the Song of Solomon, which
is a long erotic lust poem.
On its face, the Song is the
Bibles least worthy work.
Read the verses. Youll be
scandalized.
Oh, that you would kiss
me with the kisses of your mouth! For your love is bet-
ter than wine (1:2).
Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies Your lips distil nectar, my
bride; honey and milk are under your tongue (4:5,7,9-11).
Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a
master hand. Your navel is a rounded bowl that never
lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encir-
cled with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle How fair and pleasant you are, O
loved one, delectable maiden! You are stately as a palm
tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will
climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches. Oh,
may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the
scent of your breath like apples, and your kisses like the
best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is author of 30 books,
including his newest work, Kosher Lust: Love is Not the
Answer. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
JS-16*
Anti-Semitism in Belgium
F
our Jews shot dead in the
lobby of a Jewish museum in
downtown Brussels raises the
bold reality of growing Euro-
pean anti-Semitism.
On Sunday, more than 1,000 people
protested against the recent killings.
With similar demonstrations of solidar-
ity in Paris, the killings also attracted
condemnation from Israeli Prime Minis-
ter Benjamin Netanyahu and from Pope
Francis, who was visiting Israel.
Jews and non-Jews were urged by the
Brussels Jewish Community Centre to
show that we not allow ourselves to be
intimidated by anti-Semitism.
The crowd observed a moment of
silence as it listened to Avraham Guigui,
Brussels chief rabbi, recite the Kaddish.
The killings came about two weeks
after the Anti-Defamation League
released its poll, the Global 100 Index
of Anti-Semitism, which reported that
27 percent of Belgian adults harbored
strong anti-Semitic views.
The killings also raised the level
of fear among European Jews, who
watched with concern as right-wing
political parties made gains in Sundays
European and local elections.
Clearly there is justification for their
fear.
The rise in Europe of openly anti-
Semitic political parties, the prolifera-
tion of clearly anti-Semitic expressions
on social media platforms and the dis-
turbingly high levels of anti-Semitic
attitudes in many places in Europe
contribute to a witches brew of hate
in which those who are inclined to
engage in violence against Jews can
find encouragement, (ADL) National
Director Abraham H. Foxman said in a
statement.
Its one thing for governments to say
they wont tolerate the hate, as the Bel-
gium government has done. Its going
to take more than talk to rein in those
who carry anti-Semitism beyond sting-
ing words to acts of murder.
Certainly the severe lessons Europe-
ans learned in the 20th century should
be more than enough to guide Euro-
pean leaders to accept nothing short
of zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or
hatred towards any religious or ethnic
group. - PJ
Celebrating Israel together
T
he Celebrate Israel parade
is a statement of unity and
community.
It is also a celebration of
springtime.
And it is fun and that matters too.
The walk up Fifth Avenue, from 57th
to 74th streets, is glorious. On your left
as you march (or stroll or skip or saun-
ter) up the avenue, Central Parks trees
are great green-and-brown towers. On
the right, we look at the great avenues
elegant apartment houses, great state-
ments of wealth and power, made in an
age when such things were expressed in
a code unlike the ones we know today,
when stonemasons and artists were
given free rein.
And then the street itself is lined with
cheering onlookers, waving flags, boost-
ing up babies, smiling.
The marchers and spectators repre-
sent all parts of Jewish life. Some are
from Israel, some come from other
parts of this country, but most come
from all corners of the tristate area,
across every bridge and through every
tunnel. It seems that all of New Jersey
is represented, down its southernmost
tip and across it to Philadelphia; Long
Island buses in hosts of people, and oth-
ers come from the wilds of northwest-
ern Connecticut.
A sociologist of the modern Jewish
condition could have a field day with
the people on Fifth Avenue. Some
women and girls wear skirts, some wear
jeans, some wear shorts. Some have
scanty tops, others have long sleeves.
Most of the men and boys have covered
their heads, but not all, and head cov-
erings run a gamut, from black hats to
knit kippot to baseball caps to motor-
cycle helmets. (Those generally are on
the motorcycle riders; there usually is
a group of them, often with big Jewish
stars on their bikes or their leather jack-
ets.) There are elaborate floats and small
straggly groups, there are small children
holding up big banners for short times.
There are the Russians, proudly identifi-
able by their signs. Schools, shuls, feder-
ations, fraternal groups, affinity groups
everyone shows up.
We wouldnt all speak to each other,
but somehow we march together.
The groups represent a huge spec-
trum of beliefs, joined in a love for
Israel but not in how they define that
love and how they think it should work
out in practice. On this day, that doesnt
matter.
There often is a group of men,
dressed all in black, standing off to a
side, holding a sign denouncing Israel
and all the rest of us, proclaiming Zion-
ism to be a sickness. Naturei Karta.
They are cordoned off by the police as
they shout at the rest of us; we try to
ignore them, and usually in a block we
have forgotten them, swept away as we
are in the whirl of color and sound.
There are many delegations going
from our community. Among them is
the Jewish Federation of Northern New
Jersey. Everyone is welcome to join the
federations delegation. A bus will leave
from the JCC of Paramus, at 304 E. Mid-
land Ave., at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $18
per person, $65 per family, which cov-
ers the bus fare, a T-shirt, and snacks.
For more information or to register, call
Joyce at (201) 820-3907 or email her at
[email protected]. -JP
Rabbi
Shmuley
Boteach
TRUTH REGARDLESS OF CONSEQUENCES
The Bibles song
of erotic lust
All of Torah is holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy
of Holies.
Rabbi Akiva, Yaddayim (3:5)
For all our material prosperity, for all the wealth
the modern world has created, for all the diseases it
has cured, for all its technological marvels, something
essential is missing.
Were successful. But were also medicated, material-
istic, and divorced. A listlessness infects our existence.
Betraying a marriage often is more exciting than honor-
ing its commitment. Watching a movie together passes
as a shared romantic experience.
Eroticism, that very marrow of existence, the thirsty
desire to uncover lifes secrets, is noticeably absent.
Last week I published my newest book, Kosher Lust.
The backlash to my assertion
that intense desire is not just
necessary by holy has been
ferocious, and might just
have touched a nerve.
Judaisms holiest book,
according to the Talmud, is
the Song of Solomon, which
is a long erotic lust poem.
On its face, the Song is the
Bibles least worthy work.
Read the verses. Youll be
scandalized.
Oh, that you would kiss
me with the kisses of your mouth! For your love is bet-
ter than wine (1:2).
Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies Your lips distil nectar, my
bride; honey and milk are under your tongue (4:5,7,9-11).
Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a
master hand. Your navel is a rounded bowl that never
lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encir-
cled with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle How fair and pleasant you are, O
loved one, delectable maiden! You are stately as a palm
tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will
climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches. Oh,
may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the
scent of your breath like apples, and your kisses like the
best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and
Opinion
teeth.. Come my beloved, let us go forth into the fields
There I will give you my love (7:1,2, 6-12).
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods
drown it (8:1-2, 7).
The erotic nature of the book has lead to a determined
effort to allegorize its meaning. The Middle Ages scholar
Saadia Ben Joseph described the Song of Songs as a lock
to which the keys have been lost.
But here is its secret:
God is a scorching fire, the Creator a raging inferno.
He is discovered not in the monotony of subsistence but
in the ecstasy of living.
Moses first encounters God in a burning bush. The
Torah is given on Shavuos in a raging conflagration. And
our relationship with God and with all things must be
suffused with passion.
How many people have complained that religion
turned them off? They went to synagogue to find spiri-
tual heights but drifted into a coma instead.
If Nietzsche was right that God is dead, it is only
because we have killed Him off. We took a wondrous
Creator and converted Him into a haunting spirit. We
replaced the grandeur of Judaism with the monotony
of minutiae. We dont pray because we have a fire burn-
ing in our hearts but because we have debts burning in
our pockets. Our prayers are shallow attempts at deal-
making, our faith a cynical business transaction.
Along comes the Song and challenges us to feel for
God what a man feels for a woman. The Song challenges
us to be erotically charged in every religious commit-
ment. A man who is obsessed with a woman thrills
to the mere brush of her touch. Every interaction is
charged with lust. The human gravitation to God should
have shades of the erotic.
Lust is curiosity incarnate, Eros the manifestation of a
desire to know. It is the woman who awakes not groggy-
eyed but, in the words of the Psalmist, with a rush to
greet the dawn, the discovery of a new day.
We Americans suffer not from physical privation but
from spiritual scarcity. Today offers not the mysteries of
tomorrow but the routines of yesterday. It is a cynicism
captured powerfully in Ecclesiastes: What has been is
what will be, and what has been done is what will be
done; there is nothing new under the sun (1:9-10).
Plato maintained that sexual attraction should not be
consummated as it would obviate hunger. Satiation is
the enemy of lust, routine the adversary or Eros.
The Bible says that sex is knowledge. In Song of Solo-
mon the two lovers are described as being in a perpet-
ual state of frustrated desire, confronted constantly with
obstacles to consummation. I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone. I sought him,
but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer
I am sick with love. (5:2-8).
Kosher Lust is a study of the three principles of
erotic desire found in the Song. The book seeks to
extract the fire of lust and use it to ignite the spark of
marriage.
A recent study found that many American wives
undress in the bathroom rather than in front of their
husbands because of how their men dont stare at them
when they are exposed. Perhaps we need more voyeur-
ism in marriage, husbands who are forced to steal peeks
at their wives nakedness.
By recapturing the erotic we regain the desire to know.
The Song of Solomon tells us a magical story of a man
and a woman who have but one desire to explore one
another.
For more than 3,000 years we Jews have been in a
relationship with God but have yet to learn the most
valuable lesson of all to know how much we dont
know.
JS-17*
Who stands at Sinai?
Anne, are women part of the covenant? a student asked
early in the first semester the first time I led a seminar on
the Jewish lifecycle for first-year rabbinical students at the
Jewish Theological Seminary.
My visceral reaction cannot be printed in a family
paper, but as a longtime teacher, I knew better than to go
with that. Instead I turned the question back to the group.
To my unexhibited surprise, a number of students ques-
tioned the basis for womens inclusion. What texts demon-
strate that women were part of the people Israels special
relationship with God?
It was the fall of 1999. I had naively assumed that the
war was over: women had been admitted to JTSs rab-
binical school 15 years earlier. In my immediate circle
my daughter, my sister, myself we assumed that Jewish
women had the same rights and responsibilities as men.
There were and still are some outposts in Masorti/
Conservative Judaism where this is not the case, but there
were not a lot of them even then. Why raise the question?
Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah,
marks a covenant experience. Really, it is the covenant
experience, because, unlike Gods previous promises to
the patriarchs, it involves the
whole people Israel.
Or does it?
God tells Moses how the peo-
ple should prepare for Gods
descent onto Mount Sinai:
Go to the people and warn
them to stay pure today and
tomorrow. Let them wash their
clothes. Let them be ready for
the third day; for on the third
day the LORD will come down,
in the sight of all the people, on
Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:10-11).
There it is, completely clear, God wants kol haam all
the people to prepare. Logically, then, the covenant
is with all the people women and men, young and old.
But it turns out to be not so simple. In relaying Gods
words to the people, Moses changes them. Moses came
down from the mountain to the people and warned the
people to stay pure, and they washed their clothes. And
he said to the people, Be ready for the third day: do not
go near a woman (Exodus 19: 14-15). Moses says haam
the people, not kol-haam all the people.
Even more striking is his addition: Do not go near a
woman. In other words, Moses was speaking only to the
men. So where were the women? Were they not present
at Sinai? Are Jewish women part of the covenant? Are
they bound by the same commandments that bind Jewish
men? If their responsibilities and rights are different, are
they equal? Can separate be equal?
These are topics that continue to exercise the Jewish
community in many ways. Just a month ago the Masorti/
Conservative movements Committee on Jewish Law and
Standards addressed the issue and came to an unequivo-
cal conclusion. The question posed is: Are Jewish women
responsible for observing the mitzvot from which they
traditionally have been exempted? The response is a
strongly argued and wide-ranging teshuvah (rabbinic
responsum) written by Rabbi Pamela Barmash, associ-
ate professor of Hebrew Bible and biblical Hebrew at
Washington University in St. Louis. Her conclusion is
that the exemption of women from fulfilling many of the
commandments was based on their subordinate status.
Women are no longer considered subordinate in the Jew-
ish community. Therefore women are obligated just as
men are, except when anatomy intervenes. Therefore,
synagogues and schools should educate and encourage
women of all ages to acknowledge their commandedness
and begin or expand their acceptance of mitzvot [com-
mandments] from which they traditionally have been
excluded.
The overwhelming acceptance of Rabbi Barmashs argu-
ment is reflected in the fact that 15 members of the CJLS
voted in favor; there were three abstentions and three
negative votes. (To read the full teshuvah, google Rabbi
Pamela Barmash and Women and Mitzvot.)
When we think about the breadth of the question, some
major underlying issues come to the fore. Although they
cannot be explored in depth in the scope of this column,
they are worth considering.
First, Hebrew is a gendered language and its binary.
Every noun, adjective, and verb is either masculine or fem-
inine. The masculine plural is used for groups that include
men and women. Thus there is no real equivalent to the
English person. The closest Hebrew can get is adam, a
masculine noun that variously means male, human, or
Adam. We might also try ben-adam, which compounds
the issue by adding ben (son of ). Masculine is the default
choice, so when, for example, we say the Shema and
encounter the word veahavta and you shall love the
text does not reveal whether that singular masculine verb
requires only men to love God or whether women are sim-
ilarly enjoined. It is hard to determine whether a particu-
lar mitzvah applies to men or both women and men based
on the biblical text.
Second, at least since the time of the Mishnah, which
was edited by the mid-third century C.E., women theo-
retically have been exempted from a category of mitzvot
that require someone to perform an action at a specific
time. These mitzvoth often are referred to as time-bound
positive commandments. For the purposes of this column,
suffice it to say that the reasons for this exemption are
somewhat elusive. Rabbi Barmash argues that the issue
was womens subordinate social standing. Further, there
are positive time-bound commandments that clearly do
apply to women, including Shabbat and holiday candle
lighting. Whatever the reason, no matter how porous the
category, the net result is that women, because they tra-
ditionally have not been commanded to perform these
mitzvot, often have been barred from performing them.
Perhaps for us, as early 21st century Jews, the most puz-
zling piece is the principle: Greater [is the merit of ] the
one who is commanded [to perform a mitzvah] and does
so than [the merit of ] one who is not commanded yet
performs [it]. In many ways that is counterintuitive for
us. Isnt the person who puts on a tallit out of a personal
desire to be enfolded in this symbol of Gods embrace
worthy of more praise than someone who does so just
because s/he is ordered or commanded to do so? Jewish
tradition says no, that fulfilling divine commandments
acknowledges the Command-er, God, as the source of the
commandment. Living a life shaped or defined by sacred
commandments is the ultimate goal. Thus, if a woman is
not commanded to fulfill a mitzvah, her mitzvah lacks
something.
Bottom line: Rabbi Barmashs teshuvah changes the
basis of womens commandedness from opt in to opt
out. Whereas previously a woman might, according to the
tightly argued and widely accepted teshuvah by my friend
and colleague Rabbi Joel Roth, voluntarily accept a hiyyuv,
an obligation, to fulfill one or more of the commandments
from which women have traditionally been exempted,
Rabbi Barmashs teshuvah maintains that women today
are obligated to fulfill all the commandments, which they,
Dr. Anne
Lapidus
Lerner
SEE SINAI PAGE 18
Opinion
JS-18*
Greetings, nods, and the art of saying pajamas
W
alking through the streets
of Teaneck this past Shab-
bos, I started thinking
about a good Shabbos
game my brothers and I used to play each
week as we made our way across town.
Pjms.
My 11-year-old brother snickers once the
man who had barely looked up from the
sidewalk as he passed but still managed to
mutter something resembling gdshbs
under his breath is well behind us.
A second opportunity arises. Two
women, power-walking, speed past us on
the left. Theyre absorbed in conversa-
tion, but one nods and the other throws a
quick Good Shabbos over her shoulder.
Pjms, my brother mumbles. Quickly. It
has to be said quickly for both full effect
and so as not to be discovered. The women
continue on, oblivious to this wordplay.
A minute passes. An approaching teen-
ager with hands in his pockets eyes us from
afar and abruptly crosses to the other side
of the street. My brother scowls, a pajama-
moment taken away from him.
Shabbat shalom. This from a smil-
ing woman who started eye contact well
before her approach.
Theres no real way to fake a Shabbat
shalom. But its been said well above a
whisper, and proudly, and kindly, and
prepared in advance, so to us it deserves
an equally respectful response. Shabbat
shaloms are often like that;
Im not quite sure why that is.
Good Shabbos, my
brother responds, this time
audibly and un-pjms-like.
Shabbat shalom, I reply.
It feels unauthentic to say
these words, as Im from a
good Shabbos kind of fam-
ily. Still, I answer her in kind,
out of respect: maybe she has
a pet peeve about how peo-
ple respond good Shabbos to her Shab-
bat shalom. Who knows? Everyone has a
pet peeve these days.
This brief, polite exchange seems to
actually discourage my brother and makes
me momentarily question the basis for his
pajama game. Weve come to expect pass-
ersby to be less respectful than that. This
woman has ruined all the fun.
A family friend, accompanied by a few
other adults, smiles and gives a quick wave
as they approach. He pauses his conversa-
tion mid-sentence and offers an obliga-
tory: How are you?
Good, says my brother.
Good, I repeat.
Well, good, good. Tell your folks I say
hello.
Okay.
All right. Good, good. And off they go.
Another minute. A family of five wad-
dles past, one behind the other.
Pjms, I try, seeing that my brother
has lost some of his steam. No response.
Averted eyes. Not even a nod. Good Shab-
bos, I announce. They continue on.
uh...or not? They either dont hear or
they dont acknowledge. Not a backwards
glance. My brother and I exchange looks.
Maybe the pjms game isnt quite over yet.
Just another Shabbos afternoon wander-
ing through suburbia.
Okay, fine. The scene above didnt actu-
ally happen, in that exact order. But ver-
sions of these scenarios happen just about
every single Shabbos, and Id bet that a lot
of you know exactly what I mean. So can
we please talk about this for a minute? Is
there some kind of appro-
priate passing-someone-on-
the-street-on-Shabbos-eti-
quette that Im missing here?
Has saying good Shabbos
become so mundane in our
little world that the phrase
has fallen both flat and on
deaf ears?
Now of course, there may
be a reasonable explana-
tion as to why a snubbee
shouldnt take a good-Shabbos-snub per-
sonally. Perhaps the snubber is physically
preoccupied, like for example, parents
making sure their children dont run too
far ahead or wander into the street. Thats
perfectly understandable. But when the
alleged snubber is too entranced by the
three-lot houses lining Boardwalk and
Park Place to pay attention to anything
else? Or theyre in a rush and have nei-
ther the time nor the capability to utter
two courteous words? It does happen,
you know. Shabbos greetings, too heavy
to bear, are sometimes discarded entirely.
Its OK to good-Shabbos-snub someone if
youre snubbing everybody, no?
Or perhaps the supposed snubber is
mentally preoccupied. The factors within
this territory are endless, ranging from the
mundane to the serious, and Im not even
going to cross the border to take a look.
But its possible and often the case that
someone is so lost in thought that he or
she neither hears the greeting nor notices
from whom it was uttered.
Which relates to a person who looks dis-
traught, or maybe just seems to be having
a bad day. In such cases, a sincere Have
a nice day might be a good add-on to a
clearly spoken good Shabbos. Unless
you know the person. If you do, maybe a
more in-depth conversation is in order. Or
a sincere invitation to talk at a specific later
date. Or anything that shows that you care
and really do want him or her to have a
good Shabbos, not just a pjms.
Which leads to yet another custom I
just dont get, similar to whats mentioned
above: the in-passing Hey, how ya
doing? Such as:
How are you?
Good.
Good.
Awkward pause.
Great.
Okay, well, nice seeing you.
Do you really want to know how I am right
then? Or when, more likely, you continue on
your way before I even have a chance to lie:
Just fine, thanks? Yes, I know Im reacting
literally to a colloquialism, but I just dont
like it and Im sure many of you out there
would agree. Its like when people literally
think that saying literally is literally gram-
matically correct. I should just leave it alone,
I suppose. At least its not a gdshbs mum-
ble, or worse yet, a good-Shabbos-snub.
I have some friends who stop and really
chat, sincerely, for various lengths of time,
depending on the relationship between the
good-Shabbos-ers. My sister-in-law takes
the cake on this one. Even if with just an
acquaintance: A big smile. A good Shab-
bos! A specific Whats going on with
inquiry. A Have a nice day! Now thats the
way to do it. And if theres no extensive con-
versation, a plain old good Shabbos! is no
small feat.
I try to give benefit of the doubt. There
are many reasons why, physically or men-
tally, the alleged snubber might be preoc-
cupied. Maybe its best to go according to
the principle that you should never judge a
person until you walk a mile in his or her
shoes. Which, of course, is another possi-
bility: the woman in the 5-inch heels who
barely notices anything at all as she scolds
herself for not carrying along flats.
Which reminds me of yet something else.
Maybe, possibly, the other person just flat-
out doesnt like you.
In which case: a pjms right back at ya!
Dena Croog of Teaneck is a writer and
editor whose work has focused primarily
on psychiatry, mental health, and the book
publishing industry. More information is
available at http://www.denacroog.com.
Dena Croog
like men, can decide whether or not to act
on. Thus, just as there are many Jewish
men, obligated to pray daily in a tallit and,
except on Shabbat and holidays, in tefillin,
choose not to do so, the same will obtain
for women.
This decision makes little difference in
my daily life; I had long since been con-
vinced by Rabbi Roths teshuvah to opt
in and accept the obligation to perform
these commandments, even before I
started actually doing so on a regular,
daily basis. In the course of time, however,
I had rethought the issues and concluded,
without the brilliance and thoroughness
of Rabbi Barmashs teshuvah, that Jewish
women are inherently commanded. After
all, Genesis 1:27 records that God created
an adam, a human, an earthling, both male
and female, without hierarchy. Further,
most compellingly, the text of the open-
ing verses of the Shema (Deuteronomy
6:4-9), for example, moves from requiring
the acknowledgement of Gods unique-
ness and our love of God directly both
clearly incumbent on men and women
to enjoining teaching Gods command-
ments and binding them on our hands and
foreheads. All of the second-person refer-
ences are in the masculine singular. It is
illogical to assume that the former two are
required of women and men and the latter
only of men.
Rabbi Barmashs teshuvah provides a
legal and conceptual basis for equalizing
the commandedness of women and men,
while also acknowledging both that there
has to be an exception for caregivers, male
or female, of the young, the sick, and the
elderly, and that it will take some time for
women raised without these expectations
to adjust to them.
Rereading the biblical description of
what happened at Sinai, I would suggest
that God intended that the full covenant
include both women and men. Moses, as
he often did, modified Gods words. I dont
pretend to know why. Perhaps Moses,
grounded in the realities of the exodus
journey, felt that Gods will was aspira-
tional, unrealistic. This Shavuot we finally
may have come to the point when we are
ready to take on the full meaning of the
Sinai experience, one that embraces all of
the people Israel.
Dr. Anne Lapidus Lerner of Teaneck, the
Jewish Theological Seminarys first women
vice chancellor, is an emerita member of
the JTS faculty and a research associate
at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at
Brandeis University.
Sinai
FROM PAGE 17
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my brother.
Good, I repeat.
Well, good,
good. Tell
your folks I say
hello. Okay.
Letters
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Anti-Semitism in France
Eric Weis wrote a letter defending the
French while ignoring the significant rise
in anti-Semitism in France (The French
and the Jews, May 23). He berated those
who say the French are anti-Semitic. What
would he call the Jews who were stabbed to
death outside their synagogue on Saturday
night? Perhaps Mr. Weis does not wear a
kippah and prides himself on being a spiri-
tual Jew. I know of too many Jews who lived
there and state unequivocally that wearing
a kippah in public is asking for it.
Michael Seelenfreund
Teaneck
Angry at Emeth
I am writing to express my feelings about
the sudden closing of Temple Emeths Early
Childhood Center. Last Saturday night, the
board sent an email out to current and
future parents stating that after 20 years,
the early childhood center would be closing
its doors in the fall. Many of us enrolled our
children in November and were extremely
shocked and saddened by this news.
We view ourselves as our own commu-
nity, or even a family. With two children
in Temple Emeth, I have forged extremely
strong relationships with other parents as
well as staff. The expression It takes a vil-
lage to raise a child has come out of my
mouth many times, and the best part is that
I knew I had that built-in village in Temple
Emeth. We truly feel as if our family is being
torn apart.
Temple Emeth was so unique because
Sharon Floch, the director, was flexible
and understanding of every familys
needs. Now parents scrambling for spots
in other programs are no longer afforded
that luxury. The biggest embarrassment
is that this was done so late in the year.
Parents are not able to research pro-
grams and enroll where their childrens
needs will be best met. Empty spots in
programs are a rarity in late May. There
is new economic hardship as many pro-
grams are significantly more expensive. I
have experienced scheduling conflicts as
plans for my other children were based
on Temple Emeths hours for next year.
Teachers are left unemployed and are
seeking new jobs. They are literally in
competition with each other for the few
early childhood spots that are available.
The community has been so support-
ive. Many schools are opening new sec-
tions and doing everything that they can
to accommodate entire classes so late
in the game. Early childhood directors
were answering their phones and emails
late Saturday night and through the
weekend. We even hope that they will
employ some of our teachers to teach
the new sections.
The Temple Emeth board should be
embarrassed that they have abandoned
their community. They are losing young
membership. In the past I have made sure
that my family has attended and supported
the religious schools events, such as the
Purim carnival, because we were a part of
this special community.
While this deal may have been necessary,
the timing of it truly feels like a betrayal of
the early childhood staff and students.
Jennifer Babich
Teaneck
I am writing because of shock, anger and
profound sadness upon the news that Tem-
ple Emeth will be closing its doors come
August 15. For the past six years, all three of
my children have received an excellent edu-
cation and a love for Judaism. My youngest
child was in her last year of the program,
so this sudden closure does not affect me in
terms of her placement for next year, but it
affects me as a human being. The way the
president, Paula Dillon, Rabbi Sirbu, and
the board of trustees went about informing
the parents and staff about the closure was
nothing less then deplorable.
An extremely cold, unfeeling email
went out on Saturday night, May 17,
informing parents that they apologize
for the inconvenience but the over-
20-year-established school program
would be closing at the end of the sum-
mer. No explanation was given however,
in the email they patted themselves on the
back and took a dig at the Orthodox and
Conservative community by saying how
they have adapted our curricula to the
changing demographics and needs of the
community. Rabbi Sirbu himself is even
quoted in a local paper as saying that since
the school does not feed into the temple
anymore, they see no need to continue it.
It wasnt until the next day that we found
out the temple decided to rent the class-
room space to the Bergenfield board of ed
a public school, not even in their town!
Yes, we understand the temple was hav-
ing financial issues, but there is a way to go
about closing a school to be a mensch
about it. That is to not close a school with
only a few weeks left in the school year,
where you have been running registra-
tion for the next year since October. When
all surrounding programs are full. Where
registration for public school has been
closed for two weeks. When families have
to now split their 2- 3- and 4-year-old chil-
dren between 2 different school, because
of space issues. Where teachers who have
given you 10, 15 even 20 years of dedicated
service will now be struggling to find jobs.
Some of these teachers are the sole bread-
winners in their family. How is it right to
treat them like garbage? Board of educa-
tions are also not known for their snap
decision-making this process of seeking
renters had to be going on for quite some
time, at least months, perhaps years. Why
did the temple allow registration at all? Had
we been informed in September, or even
January, that this would be the last year,
people would be sad, but no one would
have this sense of anger and injustice we
are all feeling.
Rachel Jacobs
Teaneck
Cover Story
JS-20
Rabbi
Andre Ungars
career crossed
continents,
spanned
streams
JOANNE PALMER
R
abbi Andre Ungar, a courtly
man with a spade-shaped
beard and impeccable man-
ners, speaks with what seems
at first to be pure and crystalline Queens
English, precise and beautiful.
Listen carefully, though, and you hear
something else underneath, something
somehow both more and less familiar.
Its a Hungarian accent, giving depth
and context to his speech.
Rabbi Ungar, rabbi emeritus of Temple
Emanuel of the Pascack Valley in Woodcliff
Lake, is a complicated man, an intellectual
with a well-earned passion for social jus-
tice and a life that took him to five coun-
tries in four continents before allowing
him to settle here, in this one.
He retired nine years ago after 41 years
at Temple Emanuel; he will be honored
there this Sunday, June 1, as he writes the
last letter in the shuls new Torah scroll,
itself the product of 15 months of commu-
nal work. (The ceremony is set to begin at
1:45.)
Rabbi Ungars story began in 1929 in
Budapest, where he was born into a fam-
ily that was wealthy, well educated, and
deeply connected both to the Jewish com-
munity and to Hungarian society. His
fathers father, Reuven, was an Orthodox
rabbi who served the small town of Mag-
tedeny for 50 years; of his eight children,
all the girls became teachers. One son was
a doctor, another one was a dentist. Two
were lawyers. One of those lawyers, Bela
Ungar, was Andres father.
His mothers father, Ignatz Rujder, was
a rich man, the kosher sausage king of
eastern Europe, Rabbi Ungar said. Like
many descendants of European families
From Budapest
Cover Story
JS-21
From Budapest to Woodcliff Lake
who were wealthy before the Holocaust,
he can talk about his familys lost wealth
with detachment. That world no longer
exists.
My mother, Frederika Rujder Ungar,
was an elegant grande dame, a house-
wife European-style, with furs and crys-
tal and a great earthy wisdom, he con-
tinued. She went to the opera at least
once a week; she kept up with the theater
and fashion. She would read the latest
books by and against Freud. Her circle
was made up of other women like her,
wealthy modern Orthodox Jews, assimi-
lated, far from any ghetto, but still some-
what apart.
She was very beautiful not quite a
Gabor, but very beautiful. (The Gabor
sisters, glamorous, lovely, self-parody-
ing Hungarian Jews, immigrated to the
United States before the war and made
names for themselves.) I never found
out what her real hair color was bronze,
or red, or brown. It varied.
She was a very kind-hearted woman,
Rabbi Ungar continued.
My father, though, was a real intellec-
tual through and through.
Andre Ungar had a brother, George,
and a sister, Judith. We had a very happy
childhood, he said.
But, of course, history caught up
with them.
Hungary was a little island of
freedom in the 1920s and early
30s, and then it began clouding up
as Germany became stronger, he
said. Refugees came from Czecho-
slovakia and Poland, but we always
thought that it could never happen
to us.
And then, on March 19, 1944,
the Germans conquered Hungary,
their supposed ally, and within
a matter of days the yellow star
appeared, and a couple of weeks
later the ghetto was established.
That was the beginning of the
short and brutal end of most of the
Hungarian Jewish community. But
not of the Ungars. Bela Ungar was
prescient.
My father made a very momen-
tous decision, his son said. We
would not go into the ghetto we
would go into hiding.
Bela Ungar found an apartment at the
other end of Budapest from where the
family had lived the poor, non-Jewish
side of town and from about May
1944 to January 1945 we stayed indoors,
although their mother would venture out
to the local shops to buy food. Bela had
provided the family with false papers, so
they were able to pretend not to be Jewish.
We spent a lot of time playing ping pong
and reading my fathers library, which he
managed to bring with him, Rabbi Ungar
said. Except for the Jewish books
which would have been a dangerous sign
of his true identity. We put those books
in a case entrusted to the janitor and of
course they vanished, Rabbi Ungar said
ruefully.
The family had only one close call.
Once, there was a raid on a Friday
night, after the candles had been put
away. Three Arrow Cross thugs banged
on the door at about midnight, said they
were beggars, demanded to be let in. (The
Arrow Cross were Hungarian Fascists, and
notoriously brutal and anti-Semitic.)
My father put on a show, said How
dare you bang on the door and wake my
family in the middle of the night? and they
were cowed and left.
My father fainted after they left.
Rabbi Andre Ungar in 1986, marking his 25th
year at Temple Emanuel.
Andre Ungar at 2, at 13, and at about 12, with
his brother, George, and his sister, Judith. The
Ungars had an idyllic Hungarian childhood until
the Nazis interrupted it.
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Rabbi Ungar does not call
himself a Holocaust survivor.
Some members of his family
were victims of the Shoah, but
many survived through strata-
gems like the one his father
devised. He is clear and explicit
and grateful about the differ-
ence between his experiences
and those endured by most
European Jews, and about
how lucky he was. He doesnt
even talk much about the war,
he said, because I havent
the right to talk about it, com-
pared to the people who went
through unbelievable hell. Out
of the 800,000 Jews in Hungary
before the Nazis invaded, less
than 200,000 survived.
For us, it was a great adven-
ture, he said. We were rather
comfortable. We would stand
on the balcony and watch Budapest burn as the Ameri-
cans bombed it. We had a little radio. It was a crime to
listen to the BBC, but we did.
Of course, we never found out about the Shoahs true
scale until afterward. There were rumors about camps
and extermination, but many Hungarian Jews thought
it was an exaggeration. It makes no sense to kill us. We
could understand taking us and making us work but
killing us? And the reports from the BBC were sketchy.
They could keep up with some developments, though.
We had some inklings of the war coming closer and
closer, and by December of 1944
we heard the Russian guns com-
ing from the east, he said.
The Russians came, and they
liberated us. They also liberated
all the watches available, which
we gladly gave them. And then
they gang-raped the janitors
wife. He was an anti-Semite, but
she was a nice girl.
We were walking up and
down in the snow-covered yard
while three or four Russians
had their time with this young
woman. We felt terribly pained
for her but to see her husband
walk up and down and smoke
while it was happening for a
teenager, this is all mysterious.
After liberation, the family
went to a country town in the
Hungarian plain, Kecskemet
now a tourist destination,
popular for its beauty because there was food avail-
able there. Budapest was on the verge of starvation.
There, he went back to school, as he had not done dur-
ing the months in hiding. Until then his schooling had
been exclusively among Jews; now he went to a public
school, under Catholic auspices, that included among its
students Protestants and the few Jewish children whose
families returned. For the first time, I had very dear
Christian friends, he said.
Soon, Rabbi Ungars father, who was extraordinary,
his son says, became the director of the provincial divi-
sion of the American Joint Distribution Committee,
and shortly afterward the family moved back to Buda-
pest. (Later, he also was the legal adviser to the Israeli
embassy there.)
Budapest was free then, Rabbi Ungar said. The
Russians hadnt officially taken over yet, and there was
freedom of speech and assembly.
He finished school there, was accepted by the Univer-
sity of Budapest, and planned on making aliyah after
graduation but then he got an offer he couldnt refuse.
The youth movement Bnei Akiva invited some young
European Jews to Manchester, England, for six weeks
Andre Ungar at 17.
After the war,
the family
returned to
Budapest.
Here, from left,
Judith,
Frederika,
George,
Andre, and
Bela pose for
a portrait.
We would stand
on the balcony
and watch
Budapest burn as
the Americans
bombed it.
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Pretzel Rings
Cover Story
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during the summer, to study Jewish
history, Bible, and other subjects on a
rather advanced level, he said. He had
studied English in Hungary and was
fairly fluent, so language was not a bar-
rier. The program was coed there
was a nice girl there we all drooled
for without saying so and it was a
whole new world.
So this young man who had never
been away from his family was on his
own, in a postwar world, in bombed-
out but recovering England, in a world
in which Israel had been created. Every-
thing was new.
Soon after he got to England, a let-
ter from his father pointed out that the
Russians had taken over Czechoslova-
kia, and it seemed inevitable the Hun-
gary would be next. He should stay in
England.
He had a temporary student visa,
but England needed agricultural work-
ers. Conveniently enough, Bnei Akiva
had established two collective training
farms in England, preparing young Jews
for their future on kibbutzim in Israel.
Andre Ungar went to Thackstead,
Essex, and I worked harvesting wheat
and digging ditches.
Two of my illusions were broken at
that place. The first one was about phys-
ical labor, which I was doing for the first
time in my life. I hadnt played sports,
and I had asthma. I learned that physi-
cal labor is hard, and not congenial.
Second, the English countryside is
gorgeous, but after two weeks of it dawn and sunset
became routine, and taken for granted, just as it is here
in Bergen County.
Third, collective living is for the birds, so my dream
of going to Israel changed. I still wanted that but the
idea of kibbutz living became very questionable.
He has one particularly fond memory of the farm.
When Israel was established, we danced all night, he
In 1942, Bela and Andre Ungar vacation in Czechoslovakia.
After the war,
the family
returned to
Budapest.
Here, from left,
Judith,
Frederika,
George,
Andre, and
Bela pose for
a portrait.
It was when he went to school for a term in Kecskemet after the war that Andre Ungar studied with non-
Jews for the first time. Here, he is in the top row at the far left, standing in front of a door.
Cover Story
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said. The amazing thing is that the
British were detested for their policy
during and after the war vis--vis Pal-
estine, yet in England, Zionism was
particularly free, unhampered, and
uncriticized.
For the next 10 years, Rabbi Ungar
lived in England. I loved it, he said.
The language, the manners. He
left the farm and enrolled in Jews
College, part of University College
London. The school taught Hebrew
and Aramaic, and it also functioned
as a sort of rabbinical seminary. It
granted divinity degrees but not
smicha it did not ordain rabbis.
That, Rabbi Ungar said, is because
once you are a rabbi, you can
poskin you can make halachic
decisions. That was reserved for
the chief rabbi and very few others.
The majority of rabbis, as doctors of
divinity, could not make those deci-
sions, which kept the system hierarchical, orderly, and
deeply British.
He taught Hebrew school, something he deeply
detested, because, as he said, I was absolutely awful.
He tells stories of going to the heart of Londons East
End, the old Jewish neighborhood. The day before he
took over the class himself, he visited. It was a dingy
room and a man arrives wearing a greasy Homburg and
carrying a rolled umbrella. He smashes it on the desk
and says shut up, in a ripe Cockney accent. Fifty noisy
children freeze. And then one of the kids moves, and he
hit him, and said here Rabbi Ungars accent changes
from upper-class to Cockney Git back where you
belong.
Every time the children made any sound, he says
shut up.
It was Dickensian.
When Rabbi Ungar showed up in class, he began by
telling the children that there are various ways of teach-
ing and learning. Your previous teacher had his own
style. I want to treat you as partners in a sacred enter-
prise. By the end of the session, the roof was shaking.
Conceding that he was not a good match for a rowdy
inner-city school, Rabbi Ungar was dispatched to a
school in a cushy suburb, where he worked for Rabbi
Isaac Swift, who later became the long-time rabbi of
Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood.
Eventually, Rabbi Ungar earned his degree, but my
sense of commitment to Orthodoxy had changed a great
deal, he said. He had always been drawn to philosophy,
and eventually enrolled as a full-time philosophy stu-
dent at the university; as a result, I developed theologi-
cal problems. He became a vegetarian then I have
been for 67 years, he said with pride and the system
of animal sacrifice was deeply troubling to him. So were
things like the ordeal of jealousy, and the supposedly
sacred acts like destroying all the Midianites.
He investigated Reform Judaism, which is like the left
wing of the Conservative movement here, met Rabbi
Harold Reinhart and Rabbi Leo Baeck, and found them
very congenial, he said. He was married by then, and
he became an assistant to the rabbis and then an assis-
tant rabbi at the West London Synagogue. In 1954, he
earned a doctorate in philosophy, he was ordained as a
rabbi, and his daughter, Michele, was born.
It was time to move on.
At that point, Britain was still the head of an empire,
and Jewish communities went to London to find their
rabbis, he said. I remember seeing an ad in the Jewish
Chronicle Londons weekly Jewish newspaper for
the Jewish community in Christchurch, New Zealand.
He was offered jobs in two shuls, one in Perth, Austra-
lia, and the other in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They
both sounded exotic the end of the world, he said. He
asked his father, who by then had moved to Israel, with
the rest of the family. He said that South Africa seems
a little closer, but watch out for cannibals and lions,
so Andre, Corinne, and Michele Ungar got on a plane.
When they got off in Port Elizabeth, half my congrega-
tion was there to meet me, he said. I was carrying my
black Homburg; I never wore it there.
The community was welcoming, and the synagogue
was charming. The young family was set up in a nice
apartment in the good part of town until they got their
bearings. Sitting in the kitchen was a young colored girl
God forbid we should have to cook for ourselves. We
engaged her, and she stayed for the duration. They were
outraged that we paid her more than the going rate
which was still shamefully little. Soon they had a house
and two full-time servants.
And then I began to make trouble, Rabbi Ungar said.
In a Passover sermon published in a newspaper, he
said that the holiday is about freedom. To discriminate
against people on the basis of color is ethically wrong
and unacceptable.
I began to say things that were critical of apartheid.
I began to have some friends who are not white. I took
lessons in Xhosa, the local black language, although
people thought that instead I should have been learn-
ing Afrikaans.
The Ungar siblings Andre, Judith, and George stand together
once again in 2000.
JS-25
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Some congregants were sympathetic,
he said, and others wrote his beliefs off
to his youth and inexperience, but oth-
ers thought that he and his ideas endan-
gered them.
After about a year and a half, he was
served with an expulsion order that gave
him six weeks to leave the country. Luck-
ily, he already had realized that he did
not belong in South Africa, so he had
found himself a new job in London, as
the rabbi of St. Georges Settlement Syn-
agogue in Whitechapel.
As upscale as West London Synagogue
had been, this one was downscale. It was
a challenging job; Rabbi Ungar thrived,
but eventually found it time once again
to move on. He went back to West Lon-
don, but increasingly he craved some-
thing new.
He heard from a new synagogue in
Toronto called Temple Emanuel, a
breakaway from a well-established, well-
known Reform shul astonishingly named
Holy Blossom Temple. They said that if
you are willing to take a bet on us, we
will take a bet on you, so once again, he,
his wife, and his daughter got on a plane
and got off in a new world.
This job did not last long. They saw I
had a yarmulke and a tallit on for the ser-
vice, and they thought, What have we
got? It was a misunderstanding about
definition. Emanuel had wanted tradi-
tional Reform, which it defined, quite
reasonably, as Classic Reform. Rabbi
Ungar defined traditional Reform as
the nearly Conservative version he knew
from England.
I arrived in the summer, and we
found out before the High Holy Days that
there was a huge gap between what I
wanted and what they wanted. We were
very civilized and decent about it, but
we decided that this experiment wasnt
working.
Eventually he became associate rabbi
at Temple Bnai Abraham in Newark,
working for Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who
was famous for his outspoken work sup-
porting civil rights. Although Rabbi Prinz
was ordained by the Reform movement,
Bnai Abraham was Conservative, and
Rabbi Ungar realized that I found the
modern wing of the Conservative move-
ment more congenial to me than the
Reform. I found American Reform too
extreme and mainstream Conservative
a little too right-wing for my tastes. He
joined the Rabbinical Assembly, thus
officially joining the Conservative world.
Rabbi Ungar was in Newark from 1959
to 1961, learning from Rabbi Prinz. He
lectured all over the country about civil
rights and South African Jewry; he was a
freedom rider.
I was one of the 20 rabbis who went
to Birmingham to help register voters,
he said. At an RA convention, one of
our friends came to a meeting and said,
I have an invitation to go and so we
did. (Readers should note that despite
Rabbi Ungars low-key tone, going on
those marches was dangerous. The luck-
ier ones got arrested; the less lucky were
beaten.)
And then we came to a point where
it was clear that I was ready to serve my
own congregation, Rabbi Ungar said. He
was offered a job at Temple Emanuel,
then in Westwood, and he took it.
He stayed there for 44 years. Very
happy years, he said.
He was divorced soon after the move
to Westwood. He met Judy Bell, origi-
nally from Houston, a Fulbright scholar
then just back from her studies in India.
The two soon married, and are the par-
ents of three sons, Ethan of Talmon,
Israel, and Eli and Ari, both of Engle-
wood. (He also is the grandfather of 17
and the great-grandfather of two. I am a
very rich man, he said, beaming.)
When he got to Emanuel, he made it
egalitarian. Thats something I brought
with me from South Africa, he said, and
he faced little opposition when he made
the change.
About 30 years ago, the shul moved
from the building in Westwood, which
it had outgrown, to Woodcliff Lake. We
walked from the old synagogue to the
new one, with a band playing, and syn-
agogue presidents, old and new, carry-
ing the Torah scrolls, he said. It was a
memorable day.
He also taught at many local colleges
during his time at Emanuel, and wrote
many articles for Jewish journals.
In 2005, Rabbi Ungar retired. Since
then he has been reading, learning,
studying, thinking also babysitting,
and taking great pleasure in the young
life of his huge and expanding family.
I am very grateful to have had so
many good breaks, he said.
That kind of comment is pure Andre
Ungar, many of his colleagues say; he is
characterized not only by a startlingly
strong intellect and great breadth of
knowledge, but also by genuine modesty.
He was the most amazing person to
work with, Marjorie Shore, the admin-
istrator of Emanuels religious school,
said. He is kind, intellectual, and inspir-
ing. You could go to him with a mundane
problem or the most complicated, and
he would try to help you. He was the
heart and soul of Temple Emanuel.
And then
we came to a
point where it
was clear that
I was ready to
serve my own
congregation.
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JS-27
When I first came to work here, more than 30
years ago, I remember that the first time I met him
I was so intimidated. We were sitting in a classroom,
on kids chairs, and he was larger than life, and I was
so tongue tied. But he couldnt have been nicer. He
and his wife are special people.
Cantor Mark Biddleman worked with Rabbi Ungar
for 40 years. Emanuel is a unique place, he said.
Rabbi Ungar had an unusual take on what suburban
Judaism should be, and he was able to follow it.
People were entranced with his talking. He is
incredibly gifted, with a tremendous presence. He
never spoke from a prepared text the most he ever
used was just a couple of notes scribbled on the back
of an envelope. And in the entire time I worked with
him, I heard him repeat maybe three or four ser-
mons. Once we had two weddings and a funeral in
one day a wedding, a funeral, and a wedding and
he didnt repeat himself at all in the weddings.
Hes not good at small talk, but you could talk to
him about anything. He engages on whatever level
youre on. He never shows off.
Andre Ungars son Ari said that not only does his
father have a great intellect, and not only has he
enjoyed much professional success, but he is a fun-
damentally good person. He and his father discuss
philosophy and religion, ranging far beyond Judaism.
He is very open to discussing new ideas. He is not
dogmatic.
And he knows a lot, but he is never a show-off. It
often becomes clear how much he knows in certain
areas, but he always wants to learn from other people
as much as to have other people learning from him.
His fathers English manners and sense of decorum
extended to synagogue services as well. He wanted
people to be both prompt and quiet. He said that
he always knew when non-Jews were in the syna-
gogue because they came on time and they kept their
mouths shut, Mr. Ungar said. He meant that as a
compliment.
He would sometimes stop the service when peo-
ple were too noisy. Once, after he did that, my mom
said, Andre, I understand that they were talking
but they were the bar mitzvah family. But my father
believed that the rules applied equally to everyone.
Mr. Ungar, like Cantor Biddleman, knew that Rabbi
Ungar almost never repeated a sermon. He remem-
bers one exception to that rule, a speech that his
father repeated on purpose. He has a great sense of
humor, and appreciated the synagogue member who
upon hearing the deliberately repeated sermon 25
years after it first was given said, in effect, Rabbi
you are a great speaker, but I didnt like that speech
25 years ago and I dont like it now.
He was not only a loving father but a dutiful one
as well, carrying out obligations in places he knew
little about. He doesnt have a sports background,
Mr. Ungar understated. As a student in the Frisch
School in Paramus, Mr. Ungar was on the 1991 bas-
ketball team that made it to the Yeshiva League cham-
pionship game in Madison Square Garden, facing the
Yeshiva of Flatbush. My father brought a book to the
game, Mr. Ungar said. Afterward, he asked me how
the game went. I said that we won. By one point.
And he understood that that was good.
My father tries to do what he thinks is right,
and people respect him for it, Mr. Ungar said. He
doesnt do things not to be popular, but he doesnt
have the need that most people have to conform to
what other people do.
He is a terrific dad, and I am very lucky that hes
my father.
www.jstandard.com
DAVID S. ZINBERG
T
here are many
reasons given
for eating dairy
on Shavuot, but
most leave the intellectual
appetite unsatisied.
The custom is recorded
in the halachic literature as
early as the 12th century,
and it is widely observed by
both Ashkenazim and Sep-
hardim. But despite being a longstanding and widespread
tradition, its meaning remains obscure.
Many of the authors who refer to the practice seem
strained to provide multiple explanations, and for good
reason: Dairy simply is absent from the list of Shavuot
themes mentioned in biblical and early rabbinic sources.
There is no clear connection between dairy and the wheat
harvest, the offering of two wheat-bread loaves and irst
fruits in the Temple, and the revelation on Mount Sinai.
Symbolic foods abound in Jewish holiday traditions, but
unlike those we eat on Passover and Rosh Hashanah,
nowhere in the Torah or Talmud do we ind anything
about dairy on Shavuot.
In the absence of any obvious link to the holiday, several
have been proposed. Perhaps the most popular reason
the one many of us heard as children goes as follows:
After Moses received and delivered the law at Sinai,
including the mandate to observe kashrut, the Israelites
were forced to abandon their now-treif meat vessels, and
to observe short-term vegetarianism until those dishes
could be rendered kosher. We thus commemorate the
acceptance of the Torah by eating dairy.
The merit of this explanation is that it ties the dairy cus-
tom to the acceptance of the Torah, the most prominent
feature of Shavuot. While the Bible calls Shavuot the fes-
tival of reaping, on our religious calendar we celebrate
Shavuot as the anniversary of the covenant between God
and Israel. In the Shavuot prayers, for example, the holi-
day is nicknamed the time of the giving of our Torah.
Its popularity notwithstanding, the treif-dishes theory
is far-fetched and unconvincing. In fact, it is a relatively
recent explanation; it irst appears in print only in 1821, in
a chasidic antholoy titled Geulat Yisrael, several centu-
ries after the earliest sources mention the practice.
Indeed, the key to understanding the custom may lie in
earlier medieval sources, which refer not only to milk, but
to milk and honey.
The fourteenth-century Kol Bo, for example, provides
the following reason for dairy: It is also customary to eat
honey and milk on Shavuot because the Torah is com-
pared to honey and milk. As it is written, Honey and milk
are under your tongue (Song of Songs 4:11).
This interpretation is based on an allegorical reading of
the Song of Songs, a ubiquitous theme in Jewish tradition.
The Sages took the tongue of the Songs beloved woman
as a symbol of the Israelites faithful declaration regarding
the law, to obey (irst) and (then) understand, and as a
metaphor for the sweetness of Torah study among their
descendants. Thus, the Kol Bo links the custom of eating
milk products more precisely, foods made with milk and
honey to the giving of the Torah, the holidays central
religious motif.
But milk and honey carries additional symbolic mean-
ing in Jewish tradition. It is, of course, a biblical expression
for the Land of Israels agricultural bounty. Throughout
the Bible, the phrase a land flowing with milk and honey
appears many times as the motto of the Land of Israel.
In fact, Deuteronomy 26:910 highlights milk and honey
at the conclusion of the irst fruits confession in the Tem-
ple: He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a
land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring
the irst fruits of the soil which You, O Lord, have given
me. The offering of irst fruits naturally elicits praise and
thanksgiving by the donor for the land and its produce.
Shavuot is the season to celebrate the Land of Israel and
its many gifts.
Both aspects of milk and honey, then, animate Sha-
vuot. Just like the two other major festivals on the Jew-
ish calendar Passover and Sukkot Shavuot has both
agricultural and religious-historical signiicance. Passover
is the Festival of Freedom, but it also celebrates the begin-
ning of the grain harvest. Sukkot marks the joyous end of
the fruit-gathering season (especially for grapes) but also
commemorates Gods sheltering the Jewish people after
the Exodus and throughout their sojourn in the desert.
Likewise, on Shavuot we celebrate the two most precious
gifts received by the Jewish people the Torah and the
Land of Israel.
The origin and meaning of the Shavuot dairy custom,
I believe, lies in the deep connection both natural and
symbolic between milk, honey, the Land of Israel, and
the Torah.
Why we no longer eat honey with milk on Shavuot
remains an open question, and we can only speculate
about the answer. In certain parts of Europe, perhaps,
honey was more readily available than milk. Dairy would
have stood out as the distinguishing feature of the festive
meal. Of course, it is impossible to be certain.
In any event, on many levels, the dairy custom remains
a beautiful and meaningful feature of Shavuot and possi-
bly less obscure than it may appear.
David Zinberg lives in Teaneck with his wife and three boys
and works in inancial services. His blog is Realia Judaica.
Holiday Feature
JS-28*
I
ts the holiday that marks the
giving of the Torah, when the
Israelites massed at the bottom
of Mount Sinai to the sound of
lightning and the sight of thunder.
(And no, thats not a typo; its the
synesthesia that the chance to be
so close to God and to wonder and
mystery evoked.)
Its a holiday whose traditional
meals generally are a dairy feast,
going from richness to richness until
they culminate in cheesecake.
Its also the holiday that we mark
in shul by reading the Book of
Ruth, whose story is a profound
reflection on love, otherness,
despair, community, maternity,
and belonging among many other
things.
Here are two takes on Shavuot,
and two recipes to accompany
them. -JP
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In search of dairys meaning
JOANNE PALMER
The book of Ruth is of course a story about
choosing about choosing us. Its read, cor-
rectly, as the story of a woman who forsakes her
own people to join the Israelites, leaving famil-
iarity and safety for the terrifying rollercoaster
life of a Jew, becoming the ancestor of King David
as her reward.
That is a beautiful and satisfying story.
But I read mysteries, not works of uplift, and
to anybody brought up on Sherlock Holmes and
his descendants, a question intrudes itself
why does no one seem to see Naomi and Ruth
together? Why, when they walk back to Beth-
lehem, do the women talk only to and about
Naomi? Why does Ruth vanish from the story
as soon as she gives birth to a child, which is
given to Naomi? Why do the women talk only to
Naomi about the baby? Why are the two women
together in Bethlehem only when they are alone?
Go back to Naomi and her husband, Elimel-
ech, that righteous man who decides to decamp
from Bethlehem, the house of bread, when it
became breadless, and to take his wife and sons
with him. Elimelech soon dies in Moab, and so eventu-
ally do Naomis two presciently named sons, the sickly
Mahlon and Chilion. Naomi is left with her two daugh-
ters-in-law, Orphah and Ruth.
So how old is Naomi? Old, we assume, or at least
middle-aged; who else has married children? But wait.
We dont know how old Naomi was when she left Beth-
lehem, but we know that people married young. We
know her sons were married, but we know that par-
ents betrothed children when they were very young.
The text does not betray any surprise that the sons
died childless. So, rethink.
Naomi was very young when she went to Moab; ten
years later she was still young enough to bear children.
Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to be mar-
ried, she tells Orphah and Ruth. But then, in the very
next breath, she reconsiders. Even if I thought there
was hope for me, even if I were married tonight and I
also bore sons, should you wait for them to grow up?
Physically, there is hope. Emotionally, there is none.
Her daughters-in-law are children; they are still vir-
gins; their marriages were not consummated; their
mothers will take them back. Naomi is aged by misfor-
tune, by grief, by death, but not by time. She is not old.
Next comes the one stretch in this retelling, the one
place where a leap of imagination is demanded. Imag-
ine, then, that after Naomi tells her daughters-in-law
to go, hoping theyd stay, after Orphah thinks better of
staying and goes, Ruth makes that same choice.
Something snaps in Naomi.
And then something reconigures.
Fine, theyre gone. Ruth, gone. Orphah, gone.
Mahlon, Chilion, Elimelech, gone gone gone. The only
one left is Naomi.
And shes going too. Shes going home. Shell make
the journey alone except if she can split herself. She
can separate out the young part, the physical part, the
part still capable of bearing a child, of having hope,
The three faces of Ruth
A new look at the relationship between Ruth and Naomi
from the defeated part.
Wherever you go, I will go, Naomi tells herself, breaking
into poetry as she has broken into bits. Wherever you lodge,
I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God
my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
She has decided that she can rely on absolutely no one
but herself. So what if she talks to herself on the long walk
home? Who cares?
The texts narrator used the plural to describe what
happens next. When they arrived in Bethlehem,
it says, the whole city buzzed with excitement.
But the women know better. Can this be Naomi?
they ask. Shes alone.
And when she answers, she makes it clear that
she knows about changing identities. Call me
Mara, bitter, she says. Who is she now? Naomi,
whose ways are pleasant? Ruth? Or Mara? Or all
three at once?
When she arrives alone in Bethlehem, it is the
time of the barley harvest. Everyone young is out
in the green and gold ields, under the blue sky
with its white clouds; dark hair, red hair, yellow
hair, brown and blue and green eyes, gold and sil-
ver and lapis jewelry jangling as they stoop to pick
the crops. The English translation of the book of
Ruth often describes the workers in the ield as ser-
vants, but in the Hebrew each servant is a naar.
A youth. The ields are alive with the young, who
are as bright, as shiny, and as fertile as the crops
they pick.
And Ruth, who still is young, tells withered, bit-
ter Naomi that she would like to go to the ields
too. Yes, daughter, go, Naomi tells herself, and
off she goes, back straight, eyes gleaming, because
after all it is spring, to glean behind the reapers, leaving the
room empty.
As luck would have it, the text tells us, the ields just
happen to belong to Boaz, a relative of Elimelech, one of
the few people who could save Ruth or Naomi. But is that
luck? Naomi may see through Ruths eyes, but its her own
brain at work.
Boaz notices Ruth. She is demure; she intrigues him.
Ruth in Boazs Field, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (17941872),
is in Londons National Gallery. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
This essay irst appeared in the journal Conservative
Judaism.
SEE RUTH PAGE 31
Holiday Feature
JS-30*
And from Favorite Recipes From
Congregation Gesher Shalom
Cheesecake
Shirley Weinstocks cheesecake
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese (take it out of
refrigerator 1 hour before to let it get soft)
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon each grated lemon and orange
rind
2 egg yolks
5 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups kosher graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
Crust: Place graham cracker crumbs in 9-inch spring pan. Pat down tightly and chill in freezer
for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until light and
fluffy. Mix in sugar and flour and continue beating. Mix together grated rinds and the yolks
and add to mixture. Add whole eggs, one at a time and beat. Stir in the heavy cream and mix
briefly. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 15 minutes at 475, then reduce
to 200 degrees and continue to bake for 1 hour. When done, turn off oven. Let cool in oven
for 1 hour then remove and let stand at room temperature for one hour. Then refrigerate.
Here are two sure-to-please dairy recipes to help us celebrate Shavuot in style.
BETH JANOFF CHANANIE
Blintz souffl
Ingredients:
12 blintzes (buy a variety,
but always include cheese)
1 stick unsalted butter
4 eggs
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups sour cream
Preheat oven to 350
degrees. Melt the butter
(use a little less if you feel it
is too much) in the bottom
of a 9- by 12-inch casserole.
Place blintzes in pan. Try to line them up by type (i.e. blueberry in one
row, cheese in another, cherry in another, etc.).
Put all the other ingredients in the blender on whip. Pour mixture
over blintzes. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Serve hot.
Fair Lawn, Anshei Lubavitch
of Fair Lawn, Chabad
When: Part I begins 11:59 p.m.-1:45 a.m.;
Part II is 2-3:45 a.m.
What: Rabbi Avrohom Bergstein discusses Secrets
in Stone in Park I and Talmudic Take in Part II.
Best to RSVP: [email protected]
Refreshments
Fort Lee, Chabad of Fort Lee
When: 11 p.m.-4 a.m.
What: Rabbi Meir Konikov leads a discussion,
From Sinai to Cyberspace.
Refreshments
Franklin Lakes, Temple Emanuel
of North Jersey, Conservative
When: Tikkun study program: 7-10:40 p.m. Evening
Service: 8-8:30 p.m.
What: Faculty, graduates, and students from the
Academy of Jewish Religion tackle a range of
Shavuot-related topics.
Refreshments: Dairy buffet throughout the evening.
Glen Rock Jewish Center, Conservative
When: 8:15 p.m. to around 9:45.
What: A Nation of Farmers and Prophets:
Re-discovering Shavuot, and the Jewish holidays,
and the connection between nature and Jewish
history. Taught by Rabbi Tow.
Refreshments
Paramus, Jewish Community Center Of
Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah,
Conservative
When: Family Shavuot program: 6-7:30 p.m.
Pre-Shavuot study 8-9. Tikkun Leil Shavuot: 9:15.
What: A new and different Shavuot experience with
creative programming for families, those who cant
stay out too late, as well as traditional Tikkun Leil
Shavuot. RSVP only for the family Shavuot program
6-7:30 p.m., 201-262-7733
Refreshments
Woodcliff Lake, Valley Chabad
When: 10:30 p.m.
What: All night study of the Book of Ruth with
Rabbi Dov Drizin.
Refreshments
Last week, we offered a list of choices for Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the late-night or all-night study that traditionally celebrates the giving of the Torah. That list was
complete as of press time; here, we update it.
Holiday Feature
JS-31*
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RABBI ADIN EVEN-ISRAEL
STEINSALTZ
Listen to me, daughter, he says to her. Daughter!
Thats what Naomi calls her thats what she calls
herself when she talks to herself, alone, aghast and a
bit thrilled. Dont go to glean in another ield, Boaz
continues. Dont go elsewhere. Stay here, close to my
girls. So how old is Ruth now? How old is Naomi? She
seems to be one of the girls. And its bright daylight
out. Boaz can see her.
He knows her to be a foreigner, and he admires
her strength and courage. He tells her what he knows
about her, how she left your father and mother and
the land of your birth and came to a people you had
not known before. That was true of Ruth; it was true
of Naomi as well, going in the other direction, toward
Moab, before everything was lost.
She stays near him; dip your morsel in the vine-
gar, he tells her, at least in translation sounding for a
moment more like an 18th-century rake than an elder
at an Israelite harvest. She does as she is told, and goes
home full, with much to share.
At home, Ruth and Naomi talk to each other: Naomi
counsels herself from her store of hard-gained advice
as the Ruth part of herself, still giggly and excited, dis-
counts what she knows to be true. But something is
changing. Ruth and Naomi want the same thing. They
are no longer so different. They want to be married
with marriage comes at least some security, at least
for a while, at least when compared to not being mar-
ried. So Naomi tells Ruth what she has learned about
snagging a man.
This night, this mistress of disguise covers up still
further; after bathing she anoints herself and dresses
up, in preparation for being anointed and then
undressed by someone else. Then she follows her own
advice. She went out stealthily and uncovered his feet
and lay down. In the middle of the night, the man gave
a start and pulled back there was a woman lying at
his feet! A woman, moreover, who immediately asked
him to spread your robe over her.
Clearly this was no quaint threshing-floor custom. If
it had been, if women routinely were strewn about at
mens feet, Boaz would not have been surprised. But
there is no reason to assume that it was not his feet
that were uncovered, that a foot is a biblical euphe-
mism for a penis just as surely as a limb was a Victo-
rian euphemism for a leg. Feet and legs are symboli-
cally important to Jews that is how we leave home,
that is how we come back home, that is how Abram
and Sarai left home, how Naomi went to Moab and
came back to Bethlehem. All on foot. Just a little later
in the book of Ruth, in fact, Boaz declares his willing-
ness to redeem Ruth by taking off his sandal in public,
uncovering his foot. So its as logical for Ruth to have
uncovered the organ of going as the organ of coming.
It is dark. Ruth Naomi is shrouded by that
darkness.
But what Boaz says next that makes it clear that he
sees her anyway. Your latest deed of loyalty is greater
than the irst. You have not gone after young men,
poor or rich.
Boaz, old and rich, expects youth to trump wealth,
there in the ield of youth. He is grateful to Ruth; he is
grateful to Naomi, who after all is not old. He will do
anything for her. And Ruth Naomi is not old, but
she is older than the young people, the terribly young
people, who surround her. She knows so much more
than they do; she knows so much more than she hopes
they will ever have to know.
Boaz takes care of the redeeming kinsman (unusu-
ally, he, unlike the women in the story, is unnamed).
Then Boaz married Ruth; she became his wife, and he
cohabited with her. The Lord let her conceive, and she bore
a son. Then Ruth disappears from the text; she is referred
to once more, by function (the baby is born to your daugh-
ter-in-law, who loves you, but thats the same sleight of
hand thats been going on all along). After that, Ruth is gone.
Gone like Elimelech, like Mahlon and Chilion, like Orphah.
Gone. Vanished. Disappeared.
But the baby! The women, that Israelite chorus, gush and
coo. Blessed be the Lord, who has not withheld a redeemer
from you today! they tell Naomi. Naomi held it to her
bosom the better to feed you with, my dear! She became
his foster mother, we are told, and when the women give the
baby a name (and when the women give the baby a name?!),
Obed, they say, A son is born to Naomi!
And there it ends. No more Ruth; after this, there is not
even any more Naomi. We go straight to the genealoy, the
King Jamesian list of begots that move us from Obed to his
son, Jesse, to David the king. No more mothers, no more
chorus of women. Just the end of Naomis story and the
continuation of ours.
Ruth
FROM PAGE 29
Gallery
JS-32*
n 1 The Jewish Educa-
tional Center Yeshiva
of Elizabeth held its an-
nual Lag Bomer parade
at Nomahegan Park
in Cranford on May 18.
Nearly 500 people came
to the parade; proceeds
benefit the yeshivas
PTA as it helps to de-
velop new programming.
DR. HARRIS SALTZBURG
n 2 The sisterhood of
Temple Sinai of Ber-
gen County ended the
year with its annual
membership brunch.
The Cinco de Mayo
theme celebrated the
bonds of sisterhood and a new gen-
eration of leadership. Marci Ginz-
burg and Alyssa Mogensen, vice
presidents of programming are at
the left and far right; they join the
outgoing president, Karen Miller, and
the newly inducted president, Anne-
Marie Bennoun. OPHELIA A. YUDKOFF
n 3 Residents at the Jewish Home
at Rockleigh performed in The
Golden Age of Hollywood on May
15 for other residents, their families,
and staff. The performers rehearsed
weekly with Marilyn Bell, a graduate
of the Musical Academy of Dramatic
and Theatrical Arts in New York City,
who donates her time to this event.
The show was performed again on
May 22 at the Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades in Tenafly and will be played
again on Sunday, June 1, at 2 p.m.,
at the Jewish Home. Courtesy JHR
n 4 Gan Aviv Fair Lawns Prachim
class danced around a pretend bon-
fire for Lag Bomer. COURTESY GA
n 5 Students at the JCC of Para-
mus/Congregation Beth Tikvah
Hebrew school enjoyed a game
of Twister during the schools an-
nual Jeff Rosenberg Memorial Sports
Day and Lag Bomer barbecue.
n 6 Nearly 450 seniors attended the
20th anniversary of the Kaplen JCC
on the Palisades Esther and Julius
Adler semi-annual Yiddish concert,
which showcased Zalmen Mloteks
Magical World of Yiddish Song. The
series, established by Mickey Taub
in 1984 in memory of her parents, is
free and includes lunch. COURTESY JCC
n 7 More than 500 people, including
members and students at Lubavitch
on the Palisades, representatives
of Tenaflys police and fire depart-
ments, the towns mayor, and its
council members marched through
the streets of Tenafly in celebration
of Lag Bomer. After the walk there
were rides, a barbecue, a bonfire, live
music, and entertainment. Rabbi Mor-
dechai Shain, LPS executive director is shown
with Tenaflys Mayor Peter Rustin. DIANE LEVY
n 8 Jewish and Muslim students from the Solo-
mon Schechter School of Manhattan, the Islamic
Leadership School, the Kinneret Day School, and
the Al-Ihsan Academy, all in New York, learned
about each others heritage at the Museum of
Jewish Heritage A Living Memorial to the Ho-
locaust, as part of the Interfaith Living Museum,
a program created by the museum and funded
by the Leo Rosner Foundation. ELENA OLIVO
1 2
3
4
5 6
7 8
JS-33
TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFO, VISIT
jccotp.org OR CALL 201. 569.7900.
UPCOMING AT
KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades TAUB CAMPUS | 411 E CLINTON AVE, TENAFLY, NJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
Thurnauer School
of Music
Open House
Explore how Thurnauer can help your
child discover the world of music!
Tour the school, come to a recital,
meet the faculty, staf and families,
vist our instrument petting zoo.
Jun 1, 1-3 pm, Free
Public Aairs:
The Middle East Unraveled
WITH HOWARD STOFFER
Hear how the unraveling of neighboring
countries surrounding Israel has created a
fundamental dilemma that is being debated in
national security circles in Israel and elsewhere.
Dr. Stofer is a professor and senior advisor to
the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task
Force in the UN. Sponsored by the Edwin S.
Soforenko Foundation and the Berit and Martin
Bernstein Open Forum Endowment Fund.
Mon, Jun 2, 7:30 pm, $3/$5
Free Community Theater
Come see the incredibly talented students of the JCC Drama
School perform. Call 201.408.1493 for reservations or more info.
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
presented by Advanced Musical Theater Workshop
Mon, Jun 9, 7 pm
Alice in Wonderland presented by Stage Right
Fri, Jun 13, 5:30 pm
Annie presented by Performance Workshop
Tue, Jun 17, 6:30 pm
ADULTS ADULTS ADULTS
JCC University
TOP PROFESSORS AND EXPERTS
PRESENT ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS
Keep learning as Joshua Gleis, PhD,
International Security Consultant and
Political Risk Analyst presents The Latest
Developments in Middle East Hot Spots,
Syria and Iran and Douglas LeClaire,
Instructor and Guest Lecturer at School
of Visual Arts and One Day University
presents The World of Short Film.
Call Kathy at 201.408.1454.
Thurs, Jun 12, 10:30 am-2:15 pm
From exciting summer-long full-day camps to week-by-week
sports, specialty camps, dance, drama and music camps, travel
camp and everything in betweenthe JCC has it all. Dont miss
out...sign your camper up TODAY!
HAVE SUMMER
CAMP PLANS?
HAVE SUMMER
CAMP PLANS?
THERES SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE @ JCC SUMMER CAMPS.
EGL Foundation Computer
Learning Center FOR ADULTS 40+
Microsof Excel 2007
Classes meet in our fully equipped computer facility. Each
student has the use of an individual computer and receives
a detailed course manual. Call Michelle at 201.408.1496 for
more info and additional classes ofered.
4 Tuesdays, Jun 3-24, 1:30-3:30 pm, $50/$70
JS-34
Local
Anne Frank Center to recognize
hidden children of the Holocaust
The Anne Frank Center USA will present
its Spirit of Anne Frank awards to the hid-
den children of the Holocaust on Thurs-
day, June 12, at Espace, 635 W. 42nd St.
in Manhattan. The evening begins with a
cocktail reception at 6 p.m., followed by
dinner and awards at 7.
For i nf ormat i on, go to www.
annef rank. com or emai l gal a@
annefrank.com.
Chabad to celebrate three women
Lubavitch on the Palisades will hold
the Chabad Womens Circle 16th
annual womens dinner, He Trans-
forms the Barren Women into the
Joyful Mother of Children, on June
2 at the Beth Aharon Forem Chabad
House in Tenafly, beginning at 7 p.m.
The dinner will honor Riva Ozcakir,
Sophia Rudiak, and Mariette Warner
for their devotion, dedication, and
hard work.
Riva Ozcakir, born in Istanbul,
Turkey, got involved at Lubavitch on
the Palisades when she enrolled her
daughter Kayla in LPS for kindergar-
ten. She still attends a weekly class for
women on Tanya and volunteers to
run library and book club programs
for the elementary school.
Sophia Rudiak was born in Pet-
ach Tikvah, Israel, to an Iraqi family.
She and her family moved to Tenafly
in 2001 and joined Lubavitch on the
Palisades in its early days. She has
worked in many different capacities
at Chabad for the past nine years
as a camp counselor, Hebrew school
teacher, and CSS security volunteer on
Shabbat.
Mariette Jeffers Warner was born
and raised in Tarrytown, N.Y., in a
devout Roman Catholic family. After
meeting her future husband, she
converted to Judaism and became
involved with LPS. Their children
attended yeshivot from pre-K through
high school. For information, call
(201) 871-1152.
Riva Ozcakir Sophia Rudiak Mariette Warner
SSDS kids are stock market whizzes
Stock market mavens Zach Kauderer,
Noah Randman, and Justin Yehuda, sev-
enth graders at the Solomon Schechter
Day School of Bergen County, reached
the top 10 in the Securities Industry and
Financial Markets Associations Capitol
Hill Challenge stock market game. They
earned a 42 percent return on a hypo-
thetical $100,000 online portfolio, beat-
ing out more than four thousand other
teams including high schools teams
nationwide. The boys head to Wash-
ington on June 11 for a special awards
ceremony on Capitol Hill. Representa-
tive Scott Garrett, (R-5th Dist.) the SSDS
team sponsor, came to the school to con-
gratulate the winners. The SIFMA Foun-
dations annual Capitol Hill Challenge is
a national financial education compe-
tition for middle and high schools that
reaches all 50 states and their members
of Congress.
Noah Randman
and Justin Yehuda,
left, and Zach
Kauderer, right, flank
Representative Scott
Garrett (R-5th Dist.).
Representative
Garrett, Don Cutler,
SSDS faculty adviser;
and Melanie Mortimer
of SIFMA.
New president for Beth Or
Roger Gross of Woodcliff Lake, incoming
president of Temple Beth Or in Wash-
ington Township, was among 100 presi-
dents and presidents-elect from Reform
congregations throughout North Amer-
ica who recently went to Atlanta for the
16th annual Scheidt seminar. The semi-
nary offered discussions on solutions
to everyday congregational problems,
explorations of Torah-based governance,
and advice on how to improve leadership
skills, network, and share successful pro-
gram ideas.
Mr. Gross and new board members
were installed during a special Shabbat
service on May 16. Terms will begin on
July 1. For information, call (201) 664-
7422 or go to www.templebethornj.org.
Rabbi Aaron Panken, president of the Hebrew Union College
- Jewish Institute of Religion, left, with Roger Gross and Rabbi
Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Scholarship
breakfast at TABC
Rachel Friedman and Suzy Schwartz will
be honored at the Torah Academy of Ber-
gen Countys scholarship breakfast on
Sunday, June 15, at the Teaneck school.
The breakfast will begin at 9:30, and
funds raised will benefit student schol-
arships. For reservations and informa-
tion, go to tabc.org/scholarshipbreakfast,
email executive director Teri Normand
at [email protected], or call (201)
837-7696.
Keep us informed
We welcome announcements of events. Announcements are free. Accompanying photos must
be high resolution jpg les, and allow at least two weeks of lead time. Not every release will be
published. Please include a daytime telephone and send to:
NJ Jewish Media Group
1086 Teaneck Rd., Teaneck, NJ 07666
[email protected]
(201) 837-8818
Dvar Torah
JS-35*
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2014 / 18 SIVAN 5774
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, Manhattan, New York
Ambassadors of Torah
SIMCHA & ELISHEVA GOLDSTEIN
Bergenfield, NJ (KBY 1997-98)
Rabbinic Alumnus
RABBI ARI & MICHAL ZAHTZ
Teaneck, NJ (KBY 1997-98)
Young Alumnus
DJ & CHAVIVA ALTER
Passaic, NJ (KBY 2006)
Greetings from Rav Mendel Blachman, t"yhka, Senior Overseas Ram
Michael Hochstein Emanuel Adler Benyamin Kaminetzky Yigal Marcus
President Dinner Co-Chairman
Couvert $225 per person
6:15 pm Buffet Dinner
7:45 pm Program with special video presentation / 8:45 pm Dessert
RSVP www.kby.org/go/dinner or 718-645-3130
Ad deadline is Friday, June 6.
s
ww
xc
44th
Annual Dinner
YESHIVAT
KEREM BYAVNEH
1138-KBY_10x6.5_JS 5/16/14 12:33 PM Page 1
Shavuot
A
t the foot of Mount Sinai, as the
Jewish people stood eager to
receive the Torah, a fascinating
dialogue with God took place.
I swear, the Midrash relates God as
saying, I will not give you the Torah,
unless you provide worthy guarantors
who will assure that you will observe its
laws.
Our forefathers! replied the Jews,
eager to receive the Torah.
But God declined. Your guarantors
themselves require guarantors! was Gods
reply.
Our prophets. How about them? they
offered.
Again God rejected their offer.
At last the Jews declared, Our children
will serve as our guarantors!
They truly are worthy guarantors,
replied God. Because of them I will give
you the Torah.
This raises some questions.
Why were children accepted as guaran-
tors and their elders rejected?
Would it not make more sense to have
the senior rabbis and intellec-
tuals who can fully grasp the
depth and meaning of the text
be the ones to carry the tradi-
tion through the generations?
Why choose children, with
their minimal interest and
understanding of Jewish life?
Id like to suggest t wo
answers to this.
First, children have a unique
way of approaching learning.
A child isnt shy to ask ques-
tions when seeking to learn
and understand, but he or she
is aware that his or her wis-
dom and knowledge is limited and there-
fore (occasionally) accepts what the par-
ent or teacher says. While questioning,
understanding, and finding deeper mean-
ing in the laws, stories, and conversations
discussed in the Torah is important, the
Midrash may be telling us the particular
importance in approaching Torah the
way a child does, with simple faith and
acceptance.
A second poi nt the
Midrash is teaching is that
it is the children not the
senior rabbis with graying
beards, nor the commu-
nity leaders and activists
who have the opportunity
and the strength to actively
preserve the Torah and
strive to live by its ideals
and values.
Empowering the next
generation of young adults
to come to develop a pas-
sion for active Jewish life
and an appreciation for the
meaning and backgrounds of our tradition
is not just one among many tasks for the
Jewish community; it is our most central
one.
In the time I spend with youth and teens
in my community, I am made aware of
this reality constantly. These young men
and women are tomorrows leaders of the
Jewish community and the world. It is so
very important that we imbue in them
the beauty of the tradition and practice
that make up what being Jewish means.
We must constantly engage them on their
level, find creative and intelligent ways to
pique their interest, and ignite the innate
spark found in each neshama or soul.
This coming Wednesday morning, as
we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, Jews
around the world will gather in shuls to
hear the Ten Commandments just as they
were given on Sinai from the Divine.
For this reason, the Lubavitcher Rebbe
made a point of encouraging everyone,
especially children, to come to synagogue
on Shavuot and hear the Ten Command-
ments. Being present when the Torah is
read is not simply recalling history but
making sure we hear the Torahs message
of living a committed and connected Jew-
ish life.
Go ahead, find a synagogue in your area.
Bring your family out and celebrate with
your children and family this wonderful
though sadly often under-celebrated
holiday. May you and your family receive
the Torah anew with much happiness.
Rabbi Yosef
Orenstein
Teen director,
Valley Chabad,
Woodcliff Lake
Holiday Features
JS-36
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ONE CENTER STREET, NEWARK, NJ
For tickets and full schedule visit njpac.org or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC
Broadway at Moorland
just got WICKED!
A concert under the stars at Moorland Farm
featuring Tom Wopat, Liz Callaway
and Stephen Schwartz
(creator of Wicked and Pippin)
Thu, June 5 at 7:30pm
RAIN: A Tribute to
The Beatles
Celebrate the 50th
Anniversary of The Beatles
rst album and rst
appearance in
North America!
Tue, June 10 at 7:30pm
Il Volo
The Italian pop vocal
trio seen on PBS and on
tour with Barbra Streisand
Sun, June 15 at 7pm
Earth, Wind & Fire
September,
Lets Groove,
Shining Star and more!
Thu, June 19 at 8pm
Fri, June 20 at 8pm
Pat Metheny
Unity Group
Bruce Hornsby
performing with
Sonny Emory
Campre Tour 2014
Fri, Aug 8 at 8pm
NJPAC_jewishmedgroup_5x6.5_ad_5-30.indd 1 5/19/14 3:19 PM
Crossword BY DAVID BENKOF
Across
1. Prelude ___ Kiss (Craig Lucas play)
4. Cohen on ice
9. 2009 book The End of Jewish ___:
Snapshots of a Post-Ethnic American
Judaism
14. Seph. alternative
15. Tichel (___ covering worn by some Orthodox
women)
16. Any Womans Blues author Jong
17. Grp. for Orthodox clergy
18. Jerry Lewis musical
20. What Allen Rosenberg did to win the Gold
in the 1955 Pan American Games
22. Note from a proofreader at the Jewish
Journal
23. Tried to catch fish on the Kinneret, one way
26. It sometimes comes befoe Hamotzi
31. They might refer in Yiddish to their tantes
33. Award won by Asimov
34. Womens cause for Betty Friedan
36. Left-wing painter of social realism Ben
38. SawYouAtSinai offering
39. Part of a saying by a sailor cartoon created
by Fleischer Studios
41. Talmudic tractate about fruit trees
43. Ian Kinsler move on the diamond
44. Jot on the Hebrew letter yod, e.g.
46. National Catholic Center for Holocaust
Education (___ Hall U. feature)
48. Jamie Geller, also known as the Jewish
Rachael ___
49. Ski category of Israels Olympian Vladislav
Bykanov
51. Jason Robert Browns Tony-winning musical
of 1998
53. Religious proto-Zionist Judah
55. Orange is the New Black actress Lyonne
58. Wadi Sofa and Aswan, e.g.
60. One of Gads brothers
61. Mayor of Americas third most-populous city
67. ___ Miss Hillel (Jewish organization in
Oxford, Mississippi)
68. Winona of Girl, Interrupted
69. Egyptian leader who called Jews descen-
dents of apes and pigs
70. Key to Rashi
71. Places Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were kept
72. Violate the Eighth Commandment
73. Bat ___ (voice from Heaven)
Down
1. Kind of card some people connect with
Kabbalah
2. In 2014, The Lady in No. 6: Music Saved My
Life won one for Best Documentary Short
3. Former president of Israels Supreme Court
4. Blazing ___ (Film starring Gene Wilder)
5. Jewish boarding school in N. Carolina
6. Ikey, Mikey, Jakey, ___, were the boys who
eat no ham!
7. Some of these quarters arent kosher
8. Jerusalem yeshiva Netiv ___
9. Violated a covenant
10. Noahs was notable
11. Have reason to wear a kittel, one way
12. Bandmate to Gene of KISS
13. Brandeis U. dorm helpers
19. Predecessor at the Fed to both Ben and
Janet
21. Los Angeles philanthropist Broad
24. Rumbulas ___ (Documentary about the
1941 murders of Latvian Jewry)
25. Words that began all the letters to Abigail
van Buren
27. Atypical rhyme scheme for Biblical poetry
28. 1970 Alvin Toffler book
29. She wears the same robes as Ruth in D.C.
30. Simon Rex persona Dirt ___
32. Bring along
34. Famous yeshiva town in Prussia
35. ___ to my God (Psalms 77:2)
37. Israeli name for Anatoly
40. Jewish voice actress Kunis (Family Guy)
42. Salsa alternative
45. My Everything Jewish Pocket ___
(Behrman House products)
47. Academy Award winner Portman (Black
Swan)
50. Just the facts, ___ (Dragnet catchphrase
from Jack Webb)
52. Roles for Steven Hill and Judith Light on
their Law and Order franchises
54. Alternatives to rabbis
56. ___, gorgeous! (Fanny Brices comment to
herself when looking in the mirror)
57. Some names for God ___ and Shaddai
59. It practically shut down Jerusalem on
December 13, 2013
61. JTS alternative
62. Knesset vote
63. Kind of cholesterol elderly Ashkenazi Jews
often have a lot of
64. Linda Lavins Alice worked at his diner
65. Orthodox social justice organization ___
LTzedek
66. Supposed power of Erik Jan Hanussen,
Hitlers psychic (abbr.) The solution for last weeks puzzle
is on page 43
White wines for Shavuot
JAY BUCHSBAUM
Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, is the day,
according to tradition, when the Jewish
people received the Torah. There are many
venerable customs associated with this hol-
iday, including serving dairy foods at the
holiday meals. The ish, cream sauces,
blintzes, and cheesecakes that are typi-
cal Shavuot fare demand good white
wines. And nobody makes a better
(or more affordable) variety of kosher
white wines than the Herzog Wine
Cellars.
Joe Hurliman, Herzogs head wine-
maker, has a special touch with
white wines. His whites are all
crisp and fruity, with nuanced fla-
vors, and range from light-bodied
and bone-dry to full-bodied and
super-sweet.
If you like your wines dry, start
your Shavuot meal with Baron
Herzog Sauvignon Blanc. Its a
crisp, dry, straw-colored wine
with fruity flavors and aromas
of pears, lemongrass, and Meyer
lemons, and a hint of spice. Its a
great accompaniment for salads
and lighter ish dishes.
For something a bit sweeter, try Baron
Herzogs Chenin Blanc. This frequent
award-winner is semi-dry and has bright,
fruity flavors of orange, pineapple, kiwi,
and passion fruit, with a lovely touch of
honey on the inish. This wine would be
perfect to serve with a cold fruit soup.
Try one of Herzog Wine Cellars excel-
lent Chardonnays to accompany rich
main courses, such as poached salmon
in cream sauce. Weinstocks Cellar Select
Chardonnay is a straw colored, medium-
to-full-bodied wine, which has flavors
and aromas of apples, pears, quince,
and toasty oak, with notes of vanilla
and cream. Pair your cheese blin-
tzes or cheesecake with Herzogs
Late Harvest Orange Muscat. Its a
sweet, light-orange-blush colored
wine, with a medium body and a
grapy flavor with elements of cit-
rus, lichee and apricots. And after
the table is clear, enjoy a glass of
Herzogs Late Harvest White Ries-
ling, the perfect inish to a rich
dairy meal. This super rich, sweet,
full bodied white has a nose of lav-
ender, lime, and kumquat, and a
nutty, toffee flavor, with elements
of pineapple and orange.
JS-37
Opinion
Is Rockefeller Brothers Fund
consciously funding delegitimization?
T
he Rockefeller Broth-
ers Fund is one of
the more august
grant-making insti-
tutions in the United States. It
was founded in 1940 by the sons
of legendary oil tycoon John D.
Rockefeller, who was Ameri-
cas irst billionaire, and a man
whose political reputation was
distinguished by his support for
the Union during the Civil War,
as well as his commitment to educational opportunities for
African Americans. The fund always has been a progressive
enterprise, with a current emphasis on good governance,
environmentalism, and the promotion of peace.
It is in that latter category, an area that the fund calls
peacebuilding, that serious concerns have been raised
regarding its funding commitments to NGOs working on
the Arab-Israeli conflict. NGO Monitor an Israel-based
organization dedicated to analyzing the activities of civil
society groups working in the Middle East, along with
those groups funders has just published a report that
casts doubt on RBFs goal to promote a more just, sustain-
able, and peaceful world, for the simple reason that many
of the Middle Eastern beneiciaries of its largesse demon-
ize the state of Israel in stridently anti-Zionist terms.
For example, Breaking the Silence, a small group of
left-wing former IDF soldiers who accuse Israel of com-
mitting war crimes during its 200809 defensive operation
against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, has received $145,000
from RBF. A commentary and opinion website called +972
(named after the international dialing code for Israel) has
received $130,000 from the fund. +972 regularly publishes
articles endorsing the analoy between Israel and the
apartheid regime in South Africa, and recently plastered
its front page with articles about the Nakba the Ara-
bic word for catastrophe that is employed by Palestin-
ian propagandists to describe the creation of the state of
Israel. Among +972s contributors is the odious Yossi Gur-
vitz, who recently tried to persuade me via Twitter that
Judaism is a racist religion, drawing on the discredited
tropes of Soviet Communist anti-Jewish literature to make
his case. +972 has also cross-posted content co-written by
the anti-Semitic American writer Max Blumenthal.
The Middle East Policy Network, a group that touts
the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as
the most effective and strategic campaign for [Palestin-
ian] refugee return at present, has received $30,000
from RBF. The Institute for Middle East Understanding, a
similar organization that describes the entire territory from
the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan as governed by
Israeli apartheid, has received $50,000.
These are colossal sums, especially when one consid-
ers the relatively small size of these NGOs. There is also the
larger question of why RBF deems them worthy of funding,
since their stated goals are aimed at fundamentally under-
mining Israels security, and the methods used to pursue
them draw on the standard arsenal of delegitimization
boycotts, insistence on the right of return for the descen-
dants of Arab refugees, and the portrayal of Israels creation
as the Middle Easts original sin.
Moreover, as NGO Monitor President Gerald Steinberg
pointed out to me in Jerusalem last week, the road that RBF
is now traveling was previously traversed by another major
funder, the Ford Foundation, which rapidly changed direc-
tion when it realized that the promotion of peace and the
promotion of delegitimization are polar opposites.
In 2001, the U.N. organized a massive anti-racism con-
ference in Durban, South Africa, which was really the begin-
ning of BDS and delegitimization, Mr. Steinberg said. You
had 5,000 NGO representatives using terms like apartheid
and genocide against Israel. And it was funded primarily by
the Ford Foundation.
The Ford Foundations credibility was initially damaged
by its association with the Durban hatefest, Mr. Steinberg
continued. To Fords immense credit, however, it publicly
acknowledged that mistake and pledged never to repeat it.
In 2003, then Ford Foundation President Susan Berresford
announced that no grants would henceforth be awarded to
organizations supporting terrorism, bigotry, or the delegiti-
mization of Israel.
Mr. Steinberg and NGO Monitor would like to see the RBF
engage in similar reflection. That will not be easy for many
reasons, principal among them that Daniel Levy, a founder
of the left-wing lobbying group J Street, which is another
recipient of RBF funds, just happens to be an RBF trustee.
Levy also sits on the board of directors of another Israeli
group that receives RBF funds and also is heavily involved
with the New Israel Fund, which works with many of the
radical NGOs backed by RBF money.
Mr. Steinbergs attempts to seek clariication from RBF
were met with what he described as pro forma responses
basically reiterating what they say in their guidelines and
on their website, but no explanation of what seems to be
a very blatant contradiction between those guidelines and
what they are actually doing.
I also sent emails to RBF oficials Stephen Heintz and Ari-
adne Papagapitos requesting similar clariication. In their
response to me, RBF did not address the substance of the
NGO Monitor report, merely saying, We respectfully dis-
agree with your assessment of the contributions our grant-
ees are making in support of the goal and strategies of our
Peacebuilding Program and toward peacebuilding activities
in the region.
Given this reply, it isnt possible to determine whether
RBF is simply misguided, as was the Ford Foundation,
or, as insinuated above, it endorses the goals of the
extremist groups it funds. What we do know, though,
is that the delegitimization of Israel requires money. If
diehard opponents of Israel are receiving six-igure sums
for their activities from RBF, that will build many things
but peace isnt one of them.
JNS.ORG
Ben Cohen is the Shillman analyst for JNS.org and a
contributor to the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, Haaretz,
and other publications. His book, Some Of My Best Friends:
A Journey Through Twenty-First Century Antisemitism, is
available through Amazon.
Ben Cohen
A demonstration in London calling for a boycott of Israel on January 3, 2009.
CLAUDIA GABRIELA MARQUES VIEIRA VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Many of the Middle
Eastern beneciaries
of [the Rockefeller
Brothers Funds]
largesse demonize
the state of Israel
in stridently
anti-Zionist terms.
Calendar
JS-38*
Friday
MAY 30
Shabbat in Glen
Rock: The Glen Rock
Jewish Center holds a
family Shabbat service,
5:30 p.m., followed by a
catered dinner at 6. 682
Harristown Road. (201)
652-6624.
Shabbat in Closter:
Temple Beth El offers
services led by Rabbi
David S. Widzer and
Cantor Rica Timman with
the Shabbat Unplugged
Band, 7:30 p.m. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112 or www.
tbenv.org.
Shabbat in Wyckoff:
Temple Beth Rishon
holds its annual
Volunteer Recognition
Shabbat, led by Rabbi
Ken Emert, Cantor Ilan
Mamber, and Kol Rishon,
the congregations
adult choir, 8 p.m. The
Volunteer of the Year
award will be given to
Louis Milowsky and Eric
Levy. Special recognition
will be awarded to the
congregations oldest
member and soloist of
the Kol Rishon Choir,
Arthur Mamber, the
cantors father, who
will be celebrating his
100th birthday on that
day. Dessert and coffee
reception. (201) 891-
4466 or bethrishon.org.
Shabbat in Englewood:
Congregation Kol
HaNeshamah hosts a
Shabbaton with guest
scholar-in-residence Dr.
Sharon Keller, on the
premises of St Pauls
Church, 113 Engle St. Dr.
Keller, author/lecturer/
professor of Bible and
ancient Near East,
centers her presentations
on From Passover to
Shavuot: Sex, Murder,
and More Sex. On
Friday, she will speak at
9 p.m., and she will be at
the teen Shabbat caf
during Shabbat morning
services at 11 a.m. Dr.
Keller will speak again at
1:15 p.m. (201) 816-1611,
[email protected], or www.
khnj.org.
Sunday
JUNE 1
War veterans meet
in Hackensack: The
Teaneck/New Milford
Post #498 Jewish War
Veterans meets for
breakfast at the Coach
House Diner, 9 a.m.
Prospective members
welcome. Route 4 East.
Past Commander Stan
Hoffman, (201) 836-0814.
Rummage sale in
Closter: The sisterhood
of Temple Beth El
of Northern Valley
holds its semi-annual
rummage sale, 10 a.m.-
noon and 1-3 p.m. 221
(201) 768-5112.
Finishing the Torah
in Woodcliff Lake:
Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley completes
its two-year Torah
writing project with a
community celebration,
1:45 p.m. The last of the
text will be inscribed by
rabbi emeritus Andr
Ungar. Refreshments.
87 Overlook Drive. (201)
391-0801.
Flower making for
women: The Jewish
Womens Circle of
the Chabad Center of
Passaic County offers
an evening of art, fun,
and inspiration, creating
flower arrangements
and gathering dairy
recipes for Shavuot, at
the Chabad Center of
Passaic County in Wayne,
7:30 p.m. For those 9
and older. $10. 194 Ratzer
Road. (973) 694-6274 or
jewishwayne.com.
Monday
JUNE 2
Book discussion: The
Fair Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation Bnai Israel
holds its Book and
Lunch program with a
discussion lead by Ilene
Wolosin on Dara Horns
book, A Guide for the
Perplexed, noon. Lunch
served. 10-10 Norma Ave.
(201) 796-5040.
Family caregiver
training in Tenafly:
The Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades begins a four-
session course to prepare
people as they face their
new role as caregivers
for a family member.
Through June 23,
7-8:30 p.m. 411 E. Clinton
Ave. Judi Nahary, (201)
408-1450.
Tuesday
JUNE 3
Shavuot in Paramus:
The JCC of Paramus/
Congregation Beth
Tikvah offers a Taste of
Shavuot, for children,
6-to 16-years-old, with
families, 6-7:30 p.m.
Light dairy dinner, close
look at a Torah, learning,
and ice cream sundaes.
Following Minchah at
8, there will be an early
learning session, followed
by a later one at 9:15.
Yom Tov dairy delicacies.
East 304 Midland Ave.
(201) 262-7733 or
edudirector@jccparamus.
org.
Shavuot in Closter:
Temple Beth El has a
Shavuot service led by
Rabbi David S. Widzer
and Cantor Rica Timman
with confirmation and
Yizkor at 7 p.m. 221
(201) 768-5112.
Shavuot in Emerson:
Rabbi Debra Orenstein
of Congregation Bnai
Israel leads an interfaith
learning session and
conversation about
Shavuot, 7:30 p.m. Dairy
foods and refreshments,
including cheesecake,
afterward. 53 Palisade
Ave. (201) 265-2272 or
www.bisrael.com.
Shavuot in Ridgewood:
Temple Israel & JCC
offer services, 8 p.m.,
and Tikkun Leil Shavuot
(Shavuot night of study)
with Its Greek to Me and
Other Translations of the
Hebrew Bible. Second
day Shavuot services on
Thursday, 9 a.m., with
Yizkor at 11. 475 Grove St.
(201) 444-9320.
Shavuot in Teaneck:
The Jewish Center of
Teaneck offers services,
8:05 p.m., gourmet dairy
meal by Premier Caterers
including cheesecake,
at 9:30, and Tikkun Leil
Shavuot, led by Rabbi
Lawrence Zierler, asking
Does God Still Matter
in Religious Belief and
Practice? at 10:15. Dinner
$25 a person. 70 Sterling
Place. (201) 833-0515 or
www.JCoT.org.
Shavuot in Tenafly:
Rabbi Mordechai Shain
at Lubavitch on the
Palisades helps uncover
answers to the Ethics
of Insider Trading and
the Ethics of CEO
Compensation, based
on Maimonides, Jewish
law, and the 613 mitzvot,
10:30 p.m.1 a.m., and
14 a.m. Cheesecake and
ice cream. 11 Harold St.
(201) 871-1152 or www.
chabadlubavitch.org.
Shavuout in Teaneck:
Congregation Netivot
Shalom offers Tikkun
Leil Shavuot with Rabbi
Nathaniel Helfgot,
and a special shiur for
fifth- to eighth-graders,
11-11:30 p.m. At 11:45 p.m.,
Rabbi Helfgot will discuss
Squeezing Ten into Two:
What Did the Luchot
Really Look Like?
At 12:45 a.m., Pamela
Scheininger presents
Does God Meddle?
An Examination of
Sources on Hashgacha
Pratit. At 1:45 a.m.,
Fred Schulmans topic
is The Paradoxes
and Contradictions of
Shabbat in the Torah.
At 2:55, Ronnie Perelis
will talk about Like
Lightening on a Dark
Night: Ephemeral
Enlightenment in
Maimonides. At 3:55,
Jonathan Dauber will
tackle The Torah of
the Messiah: The Baal
Shem Tovs Meeting
with the Messiah, and
Schahararit follows at
5 a.m. Refreshments. 811
Palisades Ave. (201) 801-
0707.
Wednesday
JUNE 4
Shavuot in Paramus:
The JCC of Paramus/
Congregation Beth
Tikvah offers a Shavuot
luncheon following
services, 9 a.m. East 304
Midland Ave. (201) 262-
7733 or edudirector@
jccparamus.org.
The teen department at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in
Tenafly hosts Artists for the Starving, a gallery reception/art
sale fundraiser, on Sunday, June 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The
show features artwork donated by Agora Gallery, a prominent
contemporary gallery in New York City, as well as art by students at
Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest and other talented
community teens and adults. All the proceeds will be donated to the NJ
Anti-Hunger Coalition. The program was created by Tamir Cohen, a NVRHS
Demarest sophomore who attended the JCC Commit Fellowship, where
he designed a social action project. (201) 408-1470, [email protected], or
www.crowdrise.com/ArtistsForTheStarving/fundraiser/tamircohen.
JUNE
8
Tamir Cohen

JS-39*
Shavuot in Tenafly: Hear
the Ten Commandments
and make your own
ice cream sundaes
at Lubavitch on the
Palisades. Three
programs, 10:30 a.m. for
all; 4 p.m. for children, and
6 p.m. for teens. 11 Harold
St. (201) 871-1152 or www.
chabadlubavitch.org.
Shavuot in Woodcliff
Lake: Temple Emanuel
of the Pascack Valley
offers Blessing the
Bikkurim (babies 1 year
old or younger) led by
Rabbi Benjamin Shull,
9:30 a.m. Evening service
at 8 p.m. Yizkor on
Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
87 Overlook Drive.
(201) 391-0801 or www.
temple-emanuelpv.org.
Shavuot in Wayne:
Chabad of Passaic
County hosts a
community Shavuot
dinner, 5:30 p.m. Hear
the Ten Commandments,
eat a dairy meal, make
use of the childrens
programming, and enjoy
an ice cream party. 194
Ratzer Road. (973)
694-6274 or Chanig@
optonline.net.
Friday
JUNE 6
Shabbat in Wayne:
Congregation Shomrei
Torah holds a tot
Shabbat for children in
nursery school to second
grade and their families
with Rabbi Randy Mark,
5 p.m. 30 Hinchman Ave.
(973) 696-2500 or www.
ShomreiTorahWCC.org.
Shabbat in Jersey City:
Rabbi Debby Hachen
leads First Friday... Eat,
Pray ... Shabbat, with a
potluck dinner, 6:30 p.m.,
an all-ages service at
7:30, and Oneg Shabbat.
2419 Kennedy Boulevard.
(201) 333-4229 or
[email protected].
Shabbat in Woodcliff
Lake: Temple Emanuel
of the Pascack Valley
holds a service for young
families, 6:45 p.m. 87
Overlook Drive. (201)
391-0801.
Shabbat in Closter:
Temple Beth El installs
its new board during
services, 7:30 p.m. 221
(201) 768-5112.
Sunday
JUNE 8
Breakfast/
entertainment
in Jersey City:
Congregation Bnai
Jacob continues its
Lox N Learning series
with Mokum and
Medienne Growing Up
in Jewish Amsterdam,
a musical presentation
by Barbara Haimowitz
with keyboard and guitar
accompaniment, 10 a.m.
Lox and bagels and
desserts from Jewish
Amsterdam. $5 donation
requested. 176 West Side
Ave. (201) 435-5725 or
bnaijacobjc.org.
In New York
Sunday
JUNE 1
Israel parade: New
Yorks Celebrate Israel
Parade, the worlds
largest public gathering
honoring the State of
Israel and celebrating
its 50th anniversary,
marches up Manhattans
Fifth Avenue, from
57th to 74th streets,
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Check
local synagogues, JCCs,
and organizations
for participation
information. The parade
will be televised live
by WWOR-TV My9
from noon2 p.m. and
streamed online at
celebrateisraelny.org.
Singles
Sunday
JUNE 1
Singles meet in
Caldwell: New Jersey
Jewish Singles 45+ meet
to play a version of The
Dating Game, have
lunch, and mingle at
Congregation Agudath
Israel, 12:45 p.m. $10. 20
Academy Road. (973)
226-3600, ext. 145, or
[email protected].
Sunday
JUNE 8
Senior singles meet in
West Nyack: Singles
65+ meet for a social
event/bagels & lox get-
together, at the JCC
Rockland, 11 a.m. 450
West Nyack Road. $8.
Gene Arkin, (845) 356-
5525.
Comedy in NYC: Its
About Time Jewish
Singles partners with
Geoff Koles The
Funniest Jewish
Comedian of The
Year Contest at the
Broadway Comedy
Club, 6-9 p.m. Special
singles tables and guest
comedians. Its About
Time Jewish Singles
is a modern Orthodox
all-Jewish organization
that holds functions
for Jewish singles 35+
in New York and New
Jersey. 318 W. 53rd St.,
between Eighth and
Ninth Avenues. (973) 851-
9070 or grin31@gmail.
com.
Music school open house June 1
The Thurnauer School of Music at the
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly
will let children look at and touch some
musical instruments and will offer sam-
ple music classes during a spring open
house, set for Sunday, June 1, from 1 to
3 p.m. Families who register on June
1 will receive special discounts for the
season.
We are very excited to host this
biennial event as both a fun and infor-
mative means for introducing prospec-
tive students to the unique sense of
wonder, camaraderie, and achievement
that come through the study of music,
said Dorothy Kaplan Roffman, the music
schools founding director.
For information, call (201) 5697900,
ext. 375, email [email protected], or
go to jccotp.org/thurnauer.
Tee off in July at YJCC golf outing
This years Bobbie Berkley YJCC Golf
Outing is set for Monday, July 14, at the
Mountain Ridge Country Club in West
Caldwell.
For information, call the Bergen
County YJCC at (201) 6666610 or go to
www.yjcc.org.
Dancers rehearse for Everlasting Love.
The choirs of St. Pauls MARC DENNIS
Concert features Hebrew selection
St Pauls Episcopal Church in Englewood
presents its annual spring concert on
Sunday, June 8, at 4 p.m.
Among the selections is the Hebrew
song Al shlosha dvarim by Allan Naplin.
The choir, accompanied by percussion,
bass, and piano, is conducted by St. Pauls
music director Mark Trautman
The building is at 113 Engle St. Call
Mark Trautman at (201) 5683276, email
him at mtrautman@stpaulsenglewood.
org, or go to stpaulsenglewood.org.
Everlasting Love billed by
bergenPAC dance students
The Performing Arts School at ber-
genPAC presents Everlasting Love,
beyondDANCEs year-end produc-
tion, on Sunday, June 8, at 3 p.m.
Students will perform their latest
ensembles, including Colorblind,
Candyman, and Dont You Worry
Child, recently given awards by the
United States Tournament of Dance
Competition.
Tickets are available at www.tick-
etmaster.com or www.bergenpac.
org, or at the box ofice, (201) 227
1030.
Announce
your events
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ments of upcoming events.
Announcements are free.
Accompanying photos must
be high resolution, jpg les.
Send announcements 2 to 3
weeks in advance. Not every
release will be published.
Include a daytime telephone
number and send to:
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pr@jewishmediagroup.
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Facebook.
Jewish World
JS-40*
REPORTERS NOTEBOOK
Billionaire debutantes
Russian philanthropists take Bloomberg to the ball
AMI EDEN
JERUSALEM There were ballerinas, a full
dance ensemble, soloists, a harpist, a video
tribute to Jewish luminaries in many fields, a
multimedia orchestra performance celebrat-
ing the enduring light of creation, a speech
from the prime minister, stand-up from Jay
Leno, and an audience packed with top Jew-
ish communal movers and shakers from both
sides of the Atlantic.
Officially, it was a night at the Jerusalem
Theater to honor former New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the first $1
million Genesis Prize for embodying Jewish
values in achieving excellence in the spheres
of business, politics, and philanthropy. Mr.
Bloomberg made a day of it, appearing with
Jerusalems Mayor Nir Barkat to discuss
urban innovation and holding a briefing with
the media before showing up for the grandi-
ose ceremony to take home what some are
calling the Jewish Nobel.
Mr. Bloomberg is used to occupying cen-
ter stage in his many day jobs but in the
Jewish world, not so much. Before becom-
ing mayor in 2002, he was the founder of a
major financial software and media com-
pany, and his public Jewish and Israel pro-
file admittedly was limited. And other than a
handful of high-profile trips to Israel (accom-
panied by sizable philanthropic gifts to Israeli
health care and emergency services), things
didnt change much during his three terms as
mayor of New York.
So the festivities in Jerusalem provided a
unique chance for official Jewishdom to cele-
brate Mr. Bloomberg as one of its own. But he
wasnt the only debutante at the ball it was
also a coming-out party of sorts for the orga-
nizers, the Russian businessmen-philanthro-
pists behind the Genesis Philanthropy Group.
They have been on the scene for nearly
a decade, but most of their philanthropic
resources and energies have been dedicated
to supporting Jewish identity-building initia-
tives for Russian-speaking Jews around the
world. The launch of the Genesis Prize was
aimed at influencing the wider Jewish world,
inspiring Jewish pride among young people
by shining a spotlight each year on one Mem-
ber of the Tribe who has made a big impact
in the world.
As with much of what they do, they did it
big. For starters, there was the $1 million in
prize money and a $100 million endowment
to back it up, plus a formal partnership with
the prime ministers office and the Jewish
Agency for Israel. The prize selection pro-
cess boasted two living Jewish legends, Natan
Sharansky and Elie Wiesel. Then there was
Mr. Bloomberg himself and his willingness
to embrace the role. And, finally, the packed
celebration in Jerusalem.
Along the way, some commentators and
communal insiders scratched their heads.
Why do we need a Jewish Nobel? (Or, as Leno
quipped, isnt the Nobel the Jewish Nobel?)
What exactly are the Jewish values being rec-
ognized? Isnt there someone more deserving
(or more in need of the money)?
Some answers emerged, but they prob-
ably will provoke as many questions as they
resolved.
The prize honors a laureate whose
actions, in addition to their achievements,
embody the character of the Jewish people
through commitment to Jewish values, the
Jewish community and/or to the State of
Israel.
Asked about what Jewish values he held
dear, Mr. Bloomberg offered up honesty,
charity, hard work, and the responsibility to
make the world a better place for future gen-
erations. Of course, he quickly added, they
just as well could have been Christian, Mus-
lim, or Hindu values.
Mr. Bloomberg praised Israel and talked
fondly about his Jewish upbringing, which
set him on the path to success. But he noted
repeatedly that the values he absorbed as a
child could have come from any culture or
religion.
No one religion has a lock on great peo-
ple or terrible people, Mr. Bloomberg said
at a news conference preceding the award
ceremony. The values I learned from my
parents are probably the same values I hope
Christians and Muslims and Hindus and Bud-
dhists teach to their people.
In selecting Mr. Bloomberg, the Genesis
Prize selection committee chose a fellow
billionaire who is perhaps better known for
defending Muslim rights than Jewish ones. As
mayor, he was a strong defender of plans to
build an Islamic cultural center near Ground
Zero in Lower Manhattan, a controversy he
brought up at the news conference.
There was a brouhaha in New York when
they wanted to build a mosque near the
World Trade Center, he said. If Im going to
be able to build my shul, they need to be able
to build their mosque.
Mr. Bloomberg has visited Israel several
times, including in 2009, when he came to
show solidarity with the countrys embattled
towns during the Gaza war that year. Last
week he paid tribute to the country, asking,
If the dream of Israel can be realized, what
dream cant be? He dismissed anti-Israel
boycotts as an outrage.
But he also made sure to emphasize his
universalist bent.
We are as one with this city and this
country as we can be, to build a brighter
future for everyone, he said. With
enough hard work and faith in our convic-
tions, we can build a better world for our
children and their children.
Mr. Bloombergs universalist pronounce-
ments were in many ways echoed by Genesis
officials.
Mr. Bloomberg had said last year that he
would use the $1 million to promote Israeli-
Palestinian business cooperation. But at the
news conference, he said the Genesis group
had dissuaded him from that course, urg-
ing him instead to fund the Genesis Genera-
tions Prize, which will provide 10 grants of
$100,000 each to candidates with the best
big ideas guided by Jewish values that ben-
efit the world. Non-Jews will be eligible for the
grants. In fact, at the briefing with reporters,
Genesis Philanthropy Group co-founder and
CEO Stan Polovets said he saw the day when a
non-Jew would win the Genesis Prize.
In his address at the award ceremony, Gen-
esis Philanthropy Group co-founder Mikhail
Fridman said Judaism is a roadmap to suc-
cess in life, with a unique ability to inspire
innovation.
Our forbearers have left us something far
more valuable than land, castles or titles,
Mr. Fridman said. They left us the word, the
book, and a set of values and rules which, if
understood correctly and applied diligently,
lead to the ultimate reward in life a sense of
fulfillment and self-actualization. JTA.ORG
Ben Sales contributed to this report.
Michael Bloomberg, right, receives the Genesis Prize from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, as Genesis
Prizes chairman, Stan Polovets, looks on. HAIM ZACH/GPO/FLASH 90
Obituaries
JS-41*
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402 PARK STREET, HACKENSACK, NJ 07601
ALAN L. MUSICANT, Mgr., N.J. Lic. No. 2890
MARTIN D. KASDAN, N.J. Lic. No. 4482
IRVING KLEINBERG, N.J. Lic. No. 2517
Advance Planning Conferences Conveniently Arranged
at Our Funeral Home or in Your Own Home
GuttermanMusicantWien.com
Our Facilities Will Accommodate
Your Familys Needs
Handicap Accessibility From Large
Parking Area
Conveniently Located
W-150 Route 4 East Paramus, NJ 07652
201.843.9090 1.800.426.5869
Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc
Jewish Funeral Directors
FAMILY OWNED & MANAGED
Generations of Lasting Service to the Jewish Community
Serving NJ, NY, FL &
Throughout USA
Prepaid & Preneed Planning
Graveside Services
Gary Schoem Manager - NJ Lic. 3811
Melvin Gold
Melvin Leonard Gold of Teaneck, 88, formerly of West
Orange and Israel, died on May 26.
He was a 1947 University of Pennsylvania graduate
and a U.S. Navy World War II veteran. He was an
actuary at The Prudential in Newark, worked at
Migdal Insurance in Israel, founded Melvin L. Gold &
Associates, an actuarial consultancy, and served on the
board of Presidential Life for many years.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Shifra, ne
Gerber; children, Charles (Anne Kohn) of New York
City, Neil of Fair Lawn, Ronald (Betsy August Gold) of
Saddle River, and Nina Ron (Raviv) of Fair Lawn, and
seven grandchildren.
Contributions can be sent to Young Judaea or the
National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene. Arrangements
were by Robert Schoems Memorial Chapel, Paramus.
Elaine Grant
Elaine R. Grant, ne Felton, 84, of Fort Lee, died on
May 24.
Born in New York City, she was a homemaker.
Predeceased by a brother, Lawrence Felton, she is
survived by her children, Miles, Alan, and Neil, and
one grandchild.
The family will receive friends on Sunday at Eden
Memorial Chapels, 327 Main St., Fort Lee.
Richard Grossman
Richard Grossman, 76, died on May 22.
A University of Michigan graduate, he owned the
Tool Chest in Emerson before retiring and served on
the board of education in Hillsdale and Pascack Valley
Regional.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara, children,
Cheryl Frayne (Mark) of Ontario, Sharon Shane of
Massachusetts, and Seth (Liz) of Ridgewood; a brother,
Edward of Los Angeles, and seven grandchildren.
Donations can be made to Pascack Valley/Northern
Valley Hadassah, the Chromosome 18 Registry, or
Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Arrangements were by
Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Paramus.
Ruth Misler
Ruth Misler, ne Siegel, 91, of Clifton, formerly of Pembroke
Pines, Fla., and Brookline, Mass., died on May 12.
She was an active member of the Colony Point
Condominium Association and was an ORT board member.
Predeceased by her husband, Carl, in 1992 and a son,
Michael, in 2010, she is survived by her children, Karen
Feigenbaum (Barry) of Teaneck, and Joel of Asheville, N.C.;
seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Donations can be sent to the Daughters of Miriam
Center in Clifton. Arrangements were by Jewish Memorial
Chapel, Clifton.
Rose Schwartz
Rose Schwartz, ne Golub, 92, of Fort Lee, died on May 27.
Born in New York City, she was a bookkeeper.
Predeceased by her husband, Jerome Ouslander in 2011,
she is survived by a son, Michael, of Weston, Mass., and
three grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.
Obituaries are prepared with information
provided by funeral homes. Correcting errors is
the responsibility of the funeral home.
BRIEFS
IDF budget cuts mean
no money for elements that
produce security?
The Israel Defense Forces will begin ceasing various activi-
ties as of early June, while certain military functions such as
vehicle repairs are expected to dwindle, defense officials said.
The significance of the emerging 2015 budgetary outline is
that we will not be able to begin the year at all, Defense Min-
istry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Dan Harel told military
correspondents at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Mon-
day, Israel Hayom reported.
According to Harel, There will be money for elements per-
taining to rehabilitation and retirement, because that is the
law, but we wont have money for the elements that produce
security. Untouchable portions of the IDF budget include $2.1
billion for pensions and $320 million for soldiers salaries dur-
ing their mandatory service.
The IDF budget is expected to drop from the current annual
level of $7.63 billion to $6.45 billion in 2015. JNS.ORG
Prosecutors office: Brussels
Jewish museum shooting
likely a terrorist attack
The shooting that killed four people at the Jewish Museum of
Belgium in Brussels last weekend likely was a terrorist attack,
said Wenke Roggen, a spokesperson for the Belgian Federal
Prosecutors Office.
A 30-second video released by police shows a man taking
a rifle out of a bag and shooting into a room before promptly
leaving the scene.
The analysis of the first images seems cold-blooded and
apparently determined, Roggen said Monday at a press con-
ference. It took less than 90 seconds. This combined with
the fact that the shots were fired inside the Jewish museum
makes us believe that the crimes were committed with a ter-
rorist motive. JNS.ORG
Conservative Jews call out
synagogue umbrella over vote
in favor of J Street
An advertisement signed by more than 70 Conservative
Jews called out the movements synagogue umbrella organi-
zation for its recent vote in favor of J Streets application to
join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations.
The adwhich appeared Thursday in the New York Jewish
Week, The Jewish Press (New York), The Jewish Advocate of
Boston, the Washington Jewish Week, and the Baltimore Jew-
ish Times said J Street has accused Israel of war crimes, gives
a platform to advocates of the movement to boycott Israel,
and has called on the U.S. not to veto U.N. resolutions that
criticize Israel.
The signatories said they were greatly saddened that the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism voted for J Street,
whose Conference of Presidents bid failed after garnering only
half of 34 votes needed to gain admission into the 50-member
Conference.
When the USCJ voted for J Street to be admitted to the
Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, it acted contrary to
the support for Israel we find so important in the Conserva-
tive movement, the ad, sponsored by Jews Against Divisive
Leadership, said. We dont feel that your vote represents the
views of the vast majority of Conservative Jews. JNS.ORG
Classified
JS-42
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SITUATIONS WANTED
201-894-4770
Tyler Antiques
Established by Bubbe in 1940!
Antiques Wanted
WE BUY
Oil Paintings Silver
Bronzes Porcelain
Oriental Rugs Furniture
Marble Sculpture Jewelry
Tiffany Items Pianos
Chandeliers Bric-A-Brac
Shomer Shabbos
[email protected]
Sterling Associates Auctions
SEEKING CONSIGNMENT AND OUT RIGHT PURCHASES
Sculpture Paintings Porcelain Silver
Jewelry Furniture Etc.
TOP CASH PRICES PAID
201-768-1140 www.antiquenj.com
[email protected]
70 Herbert Avenue, Closter, N.J. 07642
ANTIQUES
Fuel surcharge added up to 10% Additional charge may be applied to credit card payment
CAR SERVICE
CONDOS FOR SALE
WOODLAND PARK, N. J.
Gated Community
Khov @ Great Notch
2 Bdrm, 2 Bth w/extras
Balcony w/open view, Garage,
Clubhouse,Indoor/Outdoor Pool
$359,900
Call Al 973-943-9999
CEMETERY PLOTS FOR SALE
. Cemetery Plots
Beth El/Cedar Park
Paramus, N. J.
Gravesites Available
$1050 ea.
Double Crypts Also Available
Call Mrs. G 914-472-2130
914-589-4673
BETH EL, Paramus. 4 plots in
Hackensack Hebrew Institue sec-
tion, block 24. Asking $9,000/nego-
tiable. Call 561-926-1841 (C); after
30th of May 561-479-3682
CRYPTS FOR SALE
SAVE UP TO 20%
Double Crypt, Bldg #1,
Sanctuary Abraham & Sarah
New Cedar Park,
Paramus, N. J.
201-482-8096
brand new condiion, never used
HELP WANTED
REAL ESTATE COMPANY
looking for a
Hebrew Speaking
Bookkeeper
Real Estate experience a plus!
email:
[email protected]
TEACHERS, Part Time
Immediate openings for this
year as well as coming school
year. Boys Elem/Jr High Gen
Studies Div.
Experienced Only!
Northern NJ., Mon-Thurs
afternoons. fax: 973-472-7438
email : [email protected]
HELP WANTED
YBH of Passaic seeks a
1st Grade Morah
for September 14.
Applicants should fax resume
cover letter, certifcation and
references to:
973-777-9477 or
email: [email protected]
YBH of Passaic seeks the
following Teachers for Sept 14:
MS LA Boys & Girls Positions
MS Math (P/T)
Girls MS Ivrit
Elem Gen Stud PM Positions
Girls Music Teacher
Girls Art
Teacher Assistants
Masters Degree,
Cred & Exp prefd
Supportive & collegial work envt
Applicants should fax resume
cover letter, certifcations &
references to: 973-777-9477 or
email: [email protected]
SITUATIONS WANTED
ARE you elderly and need some-
one to take care of you? Call Carol
646-705-2050; Judy 917-392-4880.
I am honest, loyal and trustworthy.
SITUATIONS WANTED SITUATIONS WANTED
RICHALEX DIGNITY
Provides Certifed
Home Health Aide Services
Assistance w/bathing
Hsekeeping Companionship
Errands Meal Preparation
Laundry Medication reminder
Compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness & patience.
862-250-6680
AN experienced European woman
willl clean houses/apartments and
do some laundry one day a week
or every other week. Own car.
Great references & rates. 201-313-
0849
CNA looking for full-time emplo-
ment to care for elderly. 5 years
experience! Reliable! English
speaking! Willing to do light house-
keeping and cooking. 347-251-
9455
EXPERIENCED, Private CARE-
GIVER/COMPANION with excel-
lent references. Live-out. Available
anytime. Caring, friendly, reliable;
drives own car. Call 201-334-8860;
Ft.Lee area
CHHA looking to care for the elder-
ly or sick. Experienced! Reliable!
Speaks English! Will do light
housekeeping & cooking. 973-519-
0611; 201-688-6637
DAUGHTER
FOR A DAY, LLC
LICENSED & INSURED
FOR YOUR
PROTECTION
Case Management
Handpicked
Certified Home
Health Aides
Creative
companionship
interactive,
intelligent
conversation &
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Lifestyle Transitions
Assist w/shopping,
errands, Drs, etc.
Organize/process
paperwork,
bal. checkbook,
bookkeeping
Resolve medical
insurance claims
Free Consultation
RITA FINE
201-214-1777
www.daughterforaday.com
Est. 2001
CLEANING SERVICE
POLISH CLEANING WOMAN
- Homes, Apartments, Offices-
14 years experience, excellent
references.
Affordable rates!
Izabela 973-572-7031
Estates Bought & Sold
Fine Furniture
Antiques
Accessories
Cash Paid
201-920-8875
T U
NICHOLAS
ANTIQUES
CLEANING & HAULING
JIMMY
THE JUNK MAN
Low Cost
Commercial Residental
Rubbish Removal
201-661-4940
VENDORS
CNA/CHHA, female looking for po-
sition to take care of elderly. Live-
in/out. Experienced, patient,
friendly, reliable. References. 201-
681-1712
.Its not too early to be part of our
HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE
to be held at
Congregation Beth Sholom
Teaneck, N. J.
Nov. 2, 2014 10 a.m-4 p.m
VENDORS
to reserve a spot
call: Cindy 201-907-0305
email:
[email protected]
sponsored by Sisterhood
SITUATIONS WANTED
PARTY
PLANNER
Call us.
We are waiting for
your classifed ad!
201-837-8818
Classified
JS-43
Solution to last weeks puzzle. This weeks puzzle is
on page 36.
ANTIQUES
Jewish Music with an Edge
Ari Greene 201-837-6158
[email protected]
www.BaRockOrchestra.com
Free
Estimates
Roof
Repairs
201-487-5050
83 FIRST STREET
HACKENSACK, NJ 07601
ROOFING SIDING GUTTERS LEADERS
HACKENSACK HACKENSACK HACKENSACK HACKENSACK HACKENSACK
R RR RROO OO OO OO OOFING FING FING FING FING
C CC CCO OO OO. .. ..
INC. INC. INC. INC. INC.
ROOFING
MOHELS
HANDYMAN
Your Neighbor with Tools
Home Improvements & Handyman
Shomer Shabbat Free Estimates
Over 15 Years Experience
Adam 201-675-0816 Jacob
Lic. & Ins. NJ Lic. #13VH05023300
www.yourneighborwithtools.blogspot.com
HOME IMPROVEMENTS
BEST BEST
of the
Home Repair Service
Carpentry
Decks
Locks/Doors
Basements
Bathrooms
Plumbing
Tiles/Grout
Painting
Kitchens
Electrical
Paving/Masonry
Drains/Pumps
Maintenence
Hardwood Floors
NO JOB IS TOO SMALL
24 Hour x 5 1/2 Emergency Services
Shomer Shabbat Free Estimates
1-201-530-1873
BH
General Repairs
PAINTING/WALLPAPERING
CHRIS PAINTING
INTERIOR/EXTERIOR
SHEETROCK
Power Wash & Spray Siding
Water Damage Repair
201-896-0292
Expd Free Est Ins
Complete Kitchen &
Bath Remodeling
Boilers Hot Water Heaters Leaks
EMERGENCY SERVICE
Fully Licensed, Bonded and Insured
NO JOB IS TOO SMALL!
201-358-1700 Lic. #12285
APL Plumbing & Heating LLC
CHICHELO
RUBBISH REMOVED
973-325-2713 973-228-7928
201-704-0013
Appliances
Furniture
WoodMetals
Construction
Debris
Homes Estates
Factories Contractors
MOHEL
Rabbi Gerald Chirnomas
TRAINED AT & CERTIFIED BY HADASSAH HOSPITAL, JERUSALEM
CERTIFIED BY THE CHIEF RABBINATE OF JERUSALEM
973-334-6044
www.rabbichirnomas.com
SITUATIONS WANTED
mazon.org
Every day, hungry people have to make
impossible choices, often knowing that,
no matter which option they choose, they will
have to accept negative consequences.
It shouldnt be this way.
MAZON is working to end hunger for
Rhonda and the millions of Americans and
Israelis who struggle with food insecurity.
Please donate to MAZON today.
We cant put off paying my moms
medical bills and her oxygen, so we
struggle to get enough to eat.
- Rhonda
2012 MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger/Barbara Grover
Real Estate & Business
JS-44*
Links Residential Sales Associate
Daniel Lorch and Director of Opera-
tions Ed Abramovitz.
Links Residential Sales Associates
Michelle Wasserlauf and Rena Strulowitz.
Rachel Katz of RLK Interiors, Links Residential Broker
Owner Marc Stein, and Doreen Darquea, broker manager
of the new office.
Links Residential Broker Associate Liora Kirsch,
Broker Manager Doreen Darquea, and Sales Associate
Michelle Wasserlauf.
Wendy Dessanti honored
Wendy Wineburgh Dessanti,
a broker/sales associate in
the Weichert Realtors Tenafly
office, was honored recently by
Temple Emeth in Teaneck for
her past presidency and more
than 20 years of leadership,
dedication, and service.
State Senator Loretta Wein-
berg and Assemblyman Gor-
don Johnson presented a state proclamation to Dessanti
and other honorees at Temple Emeths Biennial Gala on
May 3. Dessantis community involvement also includes
volunteer work as a member of the Teaneck Advisory
Board for Community Relations and president of both
the Teaneck PTO Council and Whittier PTO.
Dessanti has received many real estate industry
awards, including Office Top Producer for March
2014, NJAR Distinguished Sales Club, Circle of Excel-
lence, New Jersey Monthly Five Star Award, Weicherts
Presidents and Executive Clubs, and many office and
regional awards during her career.
Dessanti can be contacted at (201) 310-2255 / (201)
569-7888 x192 or via email [email protected]
Links Residential celebrates
opening of Paramus/Maywood office
More than 300 people attended the May
1 celebration held by Links Residential to
mark the opening of the firms second office
The new office, located at 946 Spring
Valley Road, Maywood, reflects Links Res-
identials growth into a popular boutique
real estate firm whose goal is to link buy-
ers and sellers through an honest and
seamless relationship.
JS-45*
Allan Dorfman
Broker/Associate
201-461-6764 Eve
201-970-4118 Cell
201-585-8080 x144 Ofce
[email protected]
FORT LEE - THE COLONY
1 BR 1.5 Baths. Updated. 39' terrace. Sunset
view. $139,000
New listing. 1 BR 1.5 Baths. Renovated
kitchen and baths. Hardwood oors
throughout. $165,500
1BR 1.5 Baths. Renovated. Full river view.
Gorgeous sunrise. $289,000
New listing. Largest 2 BR 2.5 Baths. Sunrise
and sunset terraces. Priced to sell. $399,000
High oor. Gut renovation with laundry. Open
kitchen. 52' terrace with views from the GW
Bridge to lower Manhattan. Must see.
$624,900
Serving Bergen County since 1985.
Real Estate Associates
Ann Murad, ABR, GRI
Sales Associate
NJAR Circle of Excellence Gold Level, 2001, 2003-2006
Silver Level, 1997-2000, 2002,2009,2011,2012
Direct: (201) 664 6181, Cell: (201) 981 7994
E-mai l : anni eget si t sol d@msn. com
123 Broadway, Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677
(201) 573 8811 ext. 316
Each Ofce Independenty Owned and Operated
ANNIE GETS IT SOLD
EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY
HOUSING EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY
Orna Jackson, Sales Associate 201-376-1389
TENAFLY
894-1234
TM
CLOSTER LOVELY $589,000
Enjoy 1 floor living in renovated East Hill ranch, living/dining room w/fireplace,
updated eat-in kitchen w/granite counters & high-end appliances opens to large
fenced yard w/flowering trees & plants, sun-filled glass
solarium, paver patio, near all.
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS
568-1818
TENAFLY
894-1234
CRESSKILL
871-0800
ALPINE/CLOSTER
768-6868
RIVER VALE
666-0777
For Our Full Inventory & Directions
Visit our Website
www.RussoRealEstate.com
(201) 837-8800
READERS
CHOICE
2013
FIRST PLACE
REAL ESTATE AGENCY
All Close to NY Bus / Houses of Worship / Highways /
Shops / Schools
TEANECK OPEN HOUSES
28 Minell Pl $449,999 2-4PM
Lov 3 BR Col. EH, LR/Fplc, DR, Gran Kit/Bfst Island, French
Drs to Deck & Beaut Landscap Yard. Full Bsmt/Fin Rm. H/W
Flrs, Gar, Sprinks. Also for rent @$3,150/mo
271 Queens Court $469,900 12-2 PM
Colonial on 75 X 195 Lot. Lg Liv Rm/Fplc, FDR, Den/Fplc,
Eat In Kit, Screened Back Porch/Fplc. 3 Brms on 2nd Flr + 1
Brm on 3rd Flr + 1.5 Baths. H/W Flrs, C/A/C, 2 Car Gar.
2 Westview Ter. $199,900 1-3 PM
Needs Work. Bring Your Builder. 203K Mtg Will Help! Charm
Col. LR/Bay Window, Den, Din Rm, Lg Rm for Your New Kit.
2nd Flr: 2 Lg Brms. Walk Up to Floored Attic. Det Gar. Priv
Backyard. Quiet Street.
418 Woods Rd. $329,000 1-3 PM
Charming Tudor. Ent Foyer, Liv Rm/Custom Built Fplc, Din Rm,
MEIK, Heated Sun Porch. 3, 2nd Flr Brms. Full, Part Fin Bsmt.
C/A/C, 1 Car Gar.
605 Albin St. $429,900 1-3 PM
Spacious Colonial. Lg Liv Rm/Fplc, Lg Fam Rm, Form Din
Rm, Granite Eat In Kit/Dbl Sinks, Full Pantry, Powder Rm.
Master Suite/Bath/Dbl Closets, 2 More Brms + 1 More Bath.
Recroom Bsmt. H/W Flrs, Fenced Yard, Att Gar.
279 Queens Ct. $469,900 1-3 PM
Colonial on 75 X 160 Lot. Great for Extend Fam! Ballroom
Sized LR/Sldrs to Party Deck, FDR, Mod Kit open to Fam Rm.
3 BRs on 2nd Flr + 1 BR on 3rd Flr + 2.5 Baths. 6 Zone Heat,
C/A/C, 2 Car Gar.
377 Beech St. $499,000 1-3 PM
Beaut Updated & Exp Col. 150' Prop. Encl Prch, Sunlit LR/
Fplc, FDR, Updated Kit/Bfst Rm, Sunlit Great Rm. Super Mstr
Ste/Bath + 3 BRs + 2.5 more Baths. Fin Bsmt. C/A/C.
676 W Englewood Ave. $389,000 2-4 PM
W Eglwd Col. Mind Cond. LR/Fplc, DR, Screened Porch,
MEIK. 3 BRs, 1.5 Newer Baths. Fin Bsmt. C/A/C. Gar.
792 Hartwell St. $419,900 3:30-5:30 PM
Lovely Colonial in Country Club Sec. LR/Fplc, Form DR, Gran
Eat In Kit/Bkfst Area, 3 Season Por. 2nd Flr: 3 Brms + Newer
Full Bath. Part Fin Bsmt/Den & Full Bath. Newer Wins &
C/A/C. 1 Car Gar.
BERGENFIELD OPEN HOUSE 1-3 PM
376 Greenwich St. $439,000
Expanded S/L. Open Flr Plan. LR, DR, Mod Granite Kit. Sldrs
to Deck. 3 Brms, 2 Baths. Grnd Lev Fam Rm. Gar.
Serving Bergen County Tenafy/Teaneck Of ce
Elliot W. Steinberg (201) 446-0839
Emily R. Steinberg (201) 446-1034
NOW Is Te Time To Sell!
Call for a NO OBLIGATION
CUSTOM MARKET ANALYSIS
Links Residential Sales Associate
Daniel Lorch and Director of Opera-
tions Ed Abramovitz.
Wendy Dessanti honored
Wendy Wineburgh Dessanti,
a broker/sales associate in
the Weichert Realtors Tenafly
office, was honored recently by
Temple Emeth in Teaneck for
her past presidency and more
than 20 years of leadership,
dedication, and service.
State Senator Loretta Wein-
berg and Assemblyman Gor-
don Johnson presented a state proclamation to Dessanti
and other honorees at Temple Emeths Biennial Gala on
May 3. Dessantis community involvement also includes
volunteer work as a member of the Teaneck Advisory
Board for Community Relations and president of both
the Teaneck PTO Council and Whittier PTO.
Dessanti has received many real estate industry
awards, including Office Top Producer for March
2014, NJAR Distinguished Sales Club, Circle of Excel-
lence, New Jersey Monthly Five Star Award, Weicherts
Presidents and Executive Clubs, and many office and
regional awards during her career.
Dessanti can be contacted at (201) 310-2255 / (201)
569-7888 x192 or via email [email protected]
Robert Rey appointed to
Mutual Bank Council
Robert Rey, president and CEO
of NVE Bank in Englewood, has
been appointed to the Indepen-
dent Community Bankers of
Americas newly formed Mutual
Bank Council. The Mutual Bank
Council was established by ICBA
as a forum to discuss and review
issues affecting mutual member
institutions as well as increasing
mutual institution awareness.
Mr. Rey joined NVE Bank in 1998 and has served as
executive vice president, chief operating officer, and
chief financial officer before being named president
in January 2011.
The Independent Community Bankers of America
is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of
the community banking industry and its membership
through effective advocacy, best-in-class education, and
high-quality products and services.
JS-46
EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY
The Residences at Fair Lawn Promenade is the new prestigious address in Bergen County, setting the
standard for upscale apartment living in a vibrant mixed-use community. Located within walking distance
to NJ Transits Radburn Train Station, Fair Lawn Promenade offers shopping, restaurants and many
conveniences right at your doorstep.
Daytime Concierge / Fitness Center / Landscaped Amenity Deck / Assigned Covered Parking / Elevators
Controlled Building Entry Access / Individually Controlled Central Air & Heat / 9' Ceilings / Patio
Balcony / Granite Kitchen Countertops / Stainless Steel Appliances / In Suite Washer & Dryer
201-398-0944/www.FairLawnPromenadeNJ.com
GPS use: 16-31 Route 208 North, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
Email: [email protected]
1 Bedroom from $1,900/month 2 Bedrooms from $2,500/month 3 Bedrooms from $3,600/month
THE RESI DENCES AT FAI R LAWN PROMENADE
NOW LEASING
L I V E , S H O P, D I N E & WO R K . . .
5 Promenade Boulevard, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
FLP-JS10x6.5AD-052114.qxp_RoundTopAd 5/21/14 11:58 PM Page 1
SELLING YOUR HOME?
Call Susan Laskin Today
To Make Your Next Move A Successful One!
2014 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.
Cell: 201-615-5353 BergenCountyRealEstateSource.com
[email protected] www.MironProperties.com
[email protected] www.MironProperties.com/NJ
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.
Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!
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266 BROAD AVENUE
ENGLEWOOD
566 RIDGELAND TERRACE
ENGLEWOOD
401 DOUGLAS STREET
ENGLEWOOD
200 S. DWIGHT PLACE
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ENGLEWOOD
133-A E. PALISADE AVE
ENGLEWOOD
94 GLENWOOD ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
471 TENAFLY ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
212 MAPLE STREET
U
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1
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ENGLEWOOD
154 MEADOWBROOK ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
280-290 EAST LINDEN AVENUE
ENGLEWOOD
98 HILLSIDE AVENUE
ENGLEWOOD
285 MORROW ROAD
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ENGLEWOOD
10 LEXINGTON COURT
ENGLEWOOD
35 KING STREET
ENGLEWOOD
184 SHERWOOD PLACE
ENGLEWOOD
215 E. LINDEN AVENUE
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ENGLEWOOD
185 E. PALISADE AVE, #D5B
ENGLEWOOD
400 JONES ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
350 ELKWOOD TERRACE
ENGLEWOOD
248 CHESTNUT STREET
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Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ
NJ: T: 201.266.8555 M: 201.906.6024
NY: T: 212.888.6250 M: 917.576.0776
ENGLEWOOD SHOWCASE
AYELET HURVITZ
Realtor
Direct: 201-294-1844
Alpine/Closter Ofce:
201-767-0550 x 235
www.ayelethurvitz.com
NJAR
Circle of Excellence Sales

Award
, 2012-2013
Coldwell Banker Advisory Coun-
cil, 2013
Member of NAR, NJAR,
EBCBOR, NJMLS
Bilingual in English/Hebrew
Licensed Realtor
in NJ & NY
open house sunday, June 1 1-4 p.m.
260 speer, englewood, nJ
Beautiful Tudor on Englewoods
East Hill. 7 bedrooms. 5 baths.
On an acre land. $1,825,000
Like us on Facebook.
JS-47
[email protected] www.MironProperties.com
[email protected] www.MironProperties.com/NJ
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.
Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!
ENGLEWOOD
266 BROAD AVENUE
ENGLEWOOD
566 RIDGELAND TERRACE
ENGLEWOOD
401 DOUGLAS STREET
ENGLEWOOD
200 S. DWIGHT PLACE
G
R
E
A
T
P
O
T
E
N
T
I
A
L
!
B
E
A
U
T
I
F
U
L
C
O
L
O
N
I
A
L
!
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
S
T
A
T
E
-
O
F
-
T
H
E
-
A
R
T
!
ENGLEWOOD
133-A E. PALISADE AVE
ENGLEWOOD
94 GLENWOOD ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
471 TENAFLY ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
212 MAPLE STREET
U
N
D
E
R
C
O
N
T
R
A
C
T
!
J
U
S
T
L
I
S
T
E
D
!
O
P
E
N
H
O
U
S
E
S
U
N
D
A
Y

1
-
3
J
U
S
T
L
E
A
S
E
D
!
ENGLEWOOD
154 MEADOWBROOK ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
280-290 EAST LINDEN AVENUE
ENGLEWOOD
98 HILLSIDE AVENUE
ENGLEWOOD
285 MORROW ROAD
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
ENGLEWOOD
10 LEXINGTON COURT
ENGLEWOOD
35 KING STREET
ENGLEWOOD
184 SHERWOOD PLACE
ENGLEWOOD
215 E. LINDEN AVENUE
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
ENGLEWOOD
185 E. PALISADE AVE, #D5B
ENGLEWOOD
400 JONES ROAD
ENGLEWOOD
350 ELKWOOD TERRACE
ENGLEWOOD
248 CHESTNUT STREET
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
S
O
L
D
!
Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ
NJ: T: 201.266.8555 M: 201.906.6024
NY: T: 212.888.6250 M: 917.576.0776
ENGLEWOOD SHOWCASE
JS-48
So silky. So rich.
get the 5th free!

T
h
e

B
e
s
t Meats In
T
o
w
n
!

Sun - Mon: 7am - 6pm Tue: 7am - 7p Wed - Thu: 7am - 9pm Fri: 7am - 4:30pm RCBC
201.837.8110 [email protected] 1400 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck, NJ
Etended Shavuo Hours!
Silky cheesecake, creamy soups, savory lasagna & sweet blintzes. The fnest
dairy dishes start at Glatt Express! From gourmet cheeses from France, Italy &
Israel to fresh dairy products worth savoring & cooking, we have everything
youll need to create a gourmet Shavuos. This Shavuos, indulge in the best! Express Your Side! Silky
Sunday, June 1 - 7am - 8pm
Monday, June 2 - 7am - 9pm
Tuesday, June 3 - 7am - 4:30pm
So Shavuos.

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