COLlive Magazine - Tishrei 5781

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M A G A Z I N E FROM THANK YOU QUARANTINE TO HASHEM: Survivor Stories FREEDOM Homeschooling Tips REBBE'S ACRONYM Torah for Healing Impact on Shidduchim

MY TUMULTUOUS JOURNEY

MAKING PESACH

Personal Story

Preparation Advice The Chef's Recipes and more!

OVERCOMING TRAUMA

OUR SHULS 5 MiniCommunities Thrive

ROSH HASHANA MEALS 3 Recipes + Prep Tips with Popular Food Bloggers Chanie Apfelbaum and Rochie Pinson

ISSUE 5

TISHREI 5781 / SEPTEMBER 2020

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MAKE ONE CONTRIBUTION, G E T T H E M I T Z VA H E V E RY S I N G L E D AY OF THE YEAR Chaz Ch haz a al tea each ch us th the e grea grrea at im mpo port rttan a ce e of th the he mi m tz tzva va ah o tze of zeda daka da ka ah a an nd enco en nco courrag ged us to t do so o daily aily ai y.

Th he Re Rebb bb be,, est stab ab a bliish shed ed a uniqu niiqu q e fu und nd,, in n 195 953, 3, wh hic ich h ensu en nsu ure es th hat at we pe p rf r or orm m th he mi m tz zva vah h of tz zed edak akah ak ah ah— h—ev ever erry si ery s ng ngle le day y of th he ye year ear ar..

Make Ma ke k e one n con ontr trib tr i ut ib utio io on to Ker eren en Hassha han na, in na n an amou am ount ou n cor nt orre resp re sp pon o di ding ng to th the e nu umb mber err of days days da y in t e ne th new w ye year arr (35 3 3)), an nd mo oniies es fro rom m th the e fu f nd wil illl b dis be istr trib tr ib but uted ed on yo your ur beh hal alff tw wic ice e da dail iilly, bef efor ore or e shac sh acha ac h ri ha riss an and d be befo fo ore e min i ch cha, a, for cha ari rita ta tabl ab blle pu p rp rpos osses oses e .

A we be As egi g n th he ne new w ye year a ,c ar co ontri ntri nt r bu ute e to th the he Ke Kere ren re n Ha ash han ana a da ail i y tz t edak ed dak akah ah fun und, d forr d, your yo urse ur self se lff and forr all you o r fa ami mily y mem mbe ers r .

With Wi th ble essin sssings in ngs g fo orr a

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CONTENTS TISHREI

16 23 31 39 4 COLlive Magazine

Thank You Hashem Covid Survivors Speak

10

Tishrei with the Rebbe

42

Photos of the Year

44

Peaceful Meal Prep Tips

47

Artful Sukkahs

60

Roasted Snapper + Simanim Board

63

Stuffed Squash + Simanim Rice

66

Challah Pudding & Stuffed Apples

Our Shuls COLUMNS

5 Mini Communities

6

From the Publisher

8

Dvar Malchus

Mica Soffer

From the Rebbe

On the Force

14

Weekly Features

28 Years at the NYPD

35

Education

53

Ask the Therapist

56

Health

70

Dining Out(doors) List

74

Humor

78

Important Numbers & Zmanim

Sharing is Caring Dressing with Dignity

On COLlive.com

Rabbi Levi Kaplan

Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch

Sara Chana Silverstein

Mordechai Shmutter

wishes you and your family a

On behalf of hundreds of families in our community, THANK YOU to all our donors for your generosity and support this Tishrei and all year long.

Chevra Simchas Shabbos V’Yom Tov Feeding Crown Heights families since 1978 Help feed families in our community.

Donate today at: www.CSSY.org/Tishrei

Or mail your donation to

CSSY 593 Montgomery St. Brooklyn, NY 11225

FROM THE PUBLISHER MICA SOFFER

EDITOR Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin ASSISTANT EDITOR Toiby Hayes CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chanie Apfelbaum Goldie Gross Libby Herz Avraham Lobock Rochie Pinson Gitty Rapoport Mordechai Schmutter Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch Danit Schusterman Rabbi Levi Kaplan DESIGN Toiby Hayes PHOTOS JEM Shmuel Amit Menush Amit Sholem Srugo COVER PHOTO Sholem Srugo

ADVERTISING Phone: 718-679-9450 ext. 2 Email: ads@COLlive.com EDITORIAL INQUIRIES OR SUBMISSIONS Phone: 718-679-9450 ext. 1 Email: Editor@COLlive.com COLlive Magazine is published in print periodically by the Collive Media Group Inc. and is distributed free in Brooklyn, NY. COLlive does not endorse any products or services reported about or advertised in COLlive Magazine unless specifically noted. The acceptance of advertising in COLlive Magazine does not constitute a recommendation, approval or other representation o quality of products or services, or the credibility of any claims made by advertisers including, but not limited to, the kashrus or advertised food products. The use of any products or services advertised in COLlive Magazine is solely at the user’s risk and COLlive accepts no responsibility or liability in connection therewith.

6 COLlive Magazine

The other day, I took a walk with my daughter Lulu, who is 9 years old. The streets were bustling again with people back from the country and children who concluded a much-needed camp experience. Passersby greeted each other cheerfully and children happily darted about near the famous 'Dreidel' at the Jewish Children's Museum. Minyanim were back in shuls and stores were reopen for business.

phone calls about guests to host for Shabbos and Yomtov meals and we know of many who are struggling more than ever to make ends meet.

“It’s like before corona,” my daughter commented happily.

Together we observed how nice it was to see people again and the friendly way with which everyone greeted each other.

It's like the new year is bringing hope for a better year with it.

He quoted from Sefer Hasichos 5751 (1991) in note 94 on page 214 where the Rebbe says: The Hebrew word ~-ahf (spelled aleph pey) means anger and wrath. The opposite of that is pey aleph which is an acronym for “pelaos arenu” (wonders I will show).

We are indeed beginning the year 5781 ~ with prayers for a good year, or at least a better one. I’m sure you’ve seen the memes going around about this past year packing so much in it that a separate history chapter will need to be written about each season.

But let’s be honest. We know that Tishrei this year won't be the same. Our basement isn’t lined up with wall-to-wall beds, we haven’t been receiving

That is why it was so encouraging and uplifting to hear the acronym for the new year - and it was suggested by the Rebbe himself, as Rabbi Shmuel Butman told on the weekly Shabbos Night Live program on COLlive.com.

It is a most appropriate message. We are concluding a year filled with pain and challenges of many different forms (some within our control and some beyond). What the world needs now are the wonders that Hashem will show with the coming of Moshiach. May it happen speedily in our days.

Wishing you all a Shana Tova U’mesuka and refuah shleima to all those who need it,

Mica Soffer FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

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718.679.9450

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Ksiva V'chasima Tova! may you have a happy and healthy sweet new year Moshiach NOW!

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Photo courtesy of JEM

By the grace of G-d In the Days of Selichoth, 5724 [September, 1964] Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing!

One of the main distinguishing features in the creation of Man is that Man was created single, unlike other species which were created in large populations.

This indicates emphatically that one single individual has the capacity to bring the whole of Creation to fulfillment, as was the case with the first Man, Adam. No sooner was Adam created on that first Rosh Hashanah than he called upon, and successfully rallied, all creatures in the world to recognize the Sovereignty of the Creator, with the Call:

New Year, Renewed Powers A letter from the Rebbe about the power of the individual as emphasized by Rosh Hashana

8 COLlive Magazine

Come, let us prostrate ourselves, let us bow down and kneel before G-d our Maker!

For it is only through "prostration" — selfabnegation — that a created being can attach itself to, and be united with, the Creator, and thus attain fulfillment of the highest order.

Our Sages, of blessed memory, teach us that the first Man, Adam, was the prototype and example for each and every individual to follow: "For this reason was Man created single, in order to teach you — one person equals a whole world", our Sages declared in the Mishnah.

This means that every Jew, regardless of time and place and personal status, has the fullest capacity (hence also duty) to rise and attain the highest degree of fulfillment, and accomplish the same for the Creation as a whole.

Rosh Hashanah — the anniversary of the first, and single, human — reminds every Jew of this duty.

Rosh Hashanah disproves the contentions of

DVAR MALCHUS

"This means that every Jew, regardless of time and place and personal status, has the fullest capacity to rise and attain the highest degree of fulfillment" those who do not fulfill their duty with the excuse that it is impossible to change the world; or that their parents had not given them the necessary education and preparation; or that the world is so huge, and one is so puny — how can one hope to accomplish anything?

Rosh Hashanah offers the powers needed to fulfill this duty, because on this day the whole of Creation is rejuvenated; a new year begins, with renewed powers, as on the day of the first Rosh Hashanah.

This is borne out by the prayer which each one of us prays in the evening, morning and afternoon prayers on Rosh Hashanah: Establish Thy reign upon all the world... that every

creature shall know that Thou didst create it.

The fact that each one of us prays for total Divine Sovereignty and the identity of each created thing with its Creator is proof that the attainment of this is within reach of every one of us.

There were times when the said idea, namely, the ability of a single individual to "transform" the world, met with skepticism, and demanded proof, etc.

However, precisely in our generation, unfortunately, we do not have far to seek to be convinced of this. We have seen how one individual had brought the world to the brink of destruction, but for the mercies of the King of the Universe, Who ordained that "the earth shall stand firm; shall not fall."

If such is the case in the realm of evil, surely one's potential is much greater in the realm of the good. For, in truth, Creation if essentially good, and therefore more inclined towards the good than the opposite.

May G-d grant that everyone, man or woman, should firmly resolve on the day of Rosh Hashanah to give full expression to the spirit of Rosh Hashanah, as indicated above; and that these resolutions should be carried out in the actual everyday life of the coming year.

This means that everyone should cultivate submission to G-d in all aspects of the daily life, through the fulfillment of G-d's Mitzvoth, to the fullest extent of "Know Him in all thy ways," and may everyone accomplish this also for his environment.

Reprinted with permission from Chabad.org Tishrei 5781 Edition 9

Tishrei with the Rebbe COURTESY OF JEM

The eve of Yom Kippur is a very busy day, yet the Rebbe would make time to distribute “Lekach – honey cake” with blessings for a sweet new year.

9 Tishrei, 5750 - 1989

On Hoshana Rabah, the culmination of the “Days of Judgement”, the Rebbe would once again distribute “Lekach – honey cake” with wishes for a sweet new year.

The Rebbe stands in front of a quorum of “judges” as he recites the customary “Hataras Nedarim – Annu ment of Vows”.

21 Tishrei, 5742 - 1981

29 Elul, 5737 - 1977

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Rebbe would stand outside his study and accept petitions for blessing for a sweet new year.

Chassidim would wait in line for the special merit of making the required blessing while holding the Rebbe’s own “Arba Minim – Four Kinds”.

18 Tishrei, 5748 - 1987

10 COLlive Magazine

29 Elul, 5736 - 1976

On the last day of Sukkos, while holding the Four Kinds, the Rebbe looks on as the Torah scrolls are returned to the ark following the customary “Hoshanos”.

FLASHBACK

21 Tishrei 5740 - 1979

Tishrei 5781 Edition 11

FLASHBACK

The Rebbe turns towards photographer Levi Freidin as he distributes wine after the Simchas Torah holiday.

Levi’s trip to experience Tishrei with the Rebbe became a personal tradition which he continued for the next sixteen years.

23 Tishrei, 5736 - 1975

12 COLlive Magazine

Some time during the holiday of Sukkos in 1973, Photographer Mordechai Baron captured this unique photo of the Rebbe walking to his Sukkah.

5744 - 1973

Lekach 21 Tishrei, 5741 - 1980

As Chassidim sing joyous songs, the Rebbe distributes wine with special words of blessing for each person. At the end of the night, the Rebbe recites the After Blessing.

3 Tishrei, 5748 - 1987 At the ďŹ rst opportunity after Yom Kippur, Chassidim gather outside 770 to erect the Rebbe’s Sukkah.

11 Tishrei, 5737 - 1976

The Rebbe leads the prayers on the Yahrzeit of his mother, Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson.

Panim

6 Tishrei, 5740 - 1979

29 Elul, 5736 - 1976

Tishrei 5781 Edition 13

W E EK LY FEATURES

ON COLLIVE.COM

14 14 COLlive COLlive Magazine Magazine

Tishrei 5781 Edition 15

MIRA CLES THANK YOU HASHEM (AND HIS ANGELS)

Photo by Menush Amit

4 SURVIVORS OF COVID-19 SPEAK ABOUT THE HARDSHIPS, THE KINDNESS, THE LESSONS AND THE MIRACLES THEY EXPERIENCED * AS TOLD TO DANIT SCHUSTERMAN

ALONE BUT WITH OTHERS: SHLOMO RECU

I had already been quarantining for a few months before I started feeling symptoms of Covid. My son had undergone his 2nd open heart surgery in Boston, so my family had been wearing masks and gloves with avid hand washing routines for a few months before coronavirus was even mentioned.

On March 17, I came down with a fever. My body felt miserable.

I was coughing a lot and found it difficult to breathe. On March 23, I went to the hospital. The first week I was conscious. In the next 2 weeks, I was put

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into an induced coma and onto a ventilator. I stayed in the hospital for a total of 9 weeks.

My memories of being in the hospital are few, but I do remember the feeling of loneliness. For 8 weeks, I was alone in a hospital room. I found it ironic how people will pay

extra money for a private room in a hospital, yet I would have given anything for a roommate, just another person to talk to. None of the patients had anyone with them. We were completely at the mercy of the staff, the doctors and the nurses.

There were some amazing doctors and nurses who treated me with so much care, so much patience. They were invested in my healing.

They would speak to my wife and keep her up to date about exactly what was happening, what medication I was on, how I was doing.

There was a physician assistant (PA) who would check in on me all the time. She would FaceTime my wife so she

Unfortunately, there were also doctors and nurses who seemed so overwhelmed and cold. They treated me more like a burden, like they were agitated any time I needed anything. These doctors wouldn't return my wife's phone calls. I had to wait 2-3 hours when I called for them.

S

While in the hospital, Rabbi Shimon Hecht would try to visit me but was not allowed past my doorway because of the isolation precautions.

Volunteers from the Gedaliah Society brought me packages. There was so much happening behind the scenes that I only heard from my wife.

Dr. Elie Rosen and Yingy Bistritzky are truly incredible people. The rehab center that they arranged was absolutely a magical place.

So much healing and growth happened through this rehab.

When I’m asked how I got

Upon returning home from the hospital, Shlomo Recu jams out with fellow musicianss and community members who showed up to great him

through this, I say there was no logic involved. I had no reason to believe this, but I just knew I was going to survive this. I knew I would get out and I would be okay. I remember a friend calling me and telling me that hundreds of people are saying Tehillim and davening for my refua. I remember thinking, ‘why are they davening for me? I'm going to be okay. They need to daven for the people who are really sick!’ I only realized how close to death I really was once I began to truly get better.

I used to live my life planning each day by the minute. I'd calculate my days so that every moment was utilized. This experience has taught me that ‘I need to take my foot off the gas.’

Hashem is clearly in charge.

I learned that I have limits.

All I can do is my best and to go with the flow.

I also realized that we are all dealing with something.

Coronavirus is just one of the things that we dealt with. We need to have respect for each other and to know each other. We need to be there for each other because we really don't know what each other is going through. When we know each other, we can be there for each other, we can help each other.

FEATURE

Photo by Menush Amit

can see and speak to me - even when I was on the respirator. There was another incredible woman named Jeanette, a patient care technician. She worked in the ICU and showed so much compassion to me and to my family during what seemed like some of our darkest moments.

HIS WIFE, CHAYA RECU My baby had just survived his second open-heart surgery. Now my husband was in a medically induced coma on a ventilator. My only contact with him and how he was doing was through the hospital. How did I survive this? Hashem sent the most amazing people into our lives.

Friends and neighbors would drop groceries on my doorstep all the time. Bikur Cholim of Crown Heights are angels in disguise. Dinner was dropped off at my home every night. I couldn't believe that people who had no idea who I was were taking the time to make my family a delicious hot dinner. Two good friends of mine arranged to have a nutritious breakfast dropped off for me every day for a month. It didn't seem real.

While Shlomo was in a coma, Dr. Rosen encouraged me to FaceTime with him. This proved to be essential.

When it came time to get Shlomo off the ventilator and the doctors had a few consecutive days of failed attempts, I talked him through it over FaceTime for 3 hours. Baruch Hashem, it worked.

When I felt I just couldn't take it anymore, I would call the Gedaliah Society’s mental health hotline. They were always so discreet and I felt like they were giving me a lifeline.

The Jewish community as well as the Crown Heights community is just amazing. You don't know how amazing they are until you need them. And they show up. To this day, when we walk down the street we have random people greeting us, smiling, wishing us well. It is something I will always be humbled by.

Tishrei 5781 Edition 17

FEATURE

NOT TOO OLD TO RECOVER: CHANA LIPKIND

While in the ICU, I remember many hallucinations. I remember one day hearing two voices. One male and one female.

The male was saying to leave the ventilator in, and the female was saying to take it out. Baruch Hashem, it was taken out and I was slowly on the road to recovery.

After I returned home, I had 6 weeks of physical therapy. I really thrived through this. It really helped my healing process.

Interestingly, one of my biggest challenges throughout this experience was the following: I am 77 years old. I have never

Photo by Shmuel Amit

In the beginning, I started feeling not well. My health deteriorated pretty fast after that and I don't remember much of the experience in the hospital. I know I was on a ventilator and was intubated.

care in the hospital.

What got me through the long and lonely days in the hospital was having somewhat of a routine. I didn't allow myself to dwell on the fact that I wasn't home with my children.

Photo by Mo Gelber There was no thought of myself as an ‘old lady.’ end in sight. I didn't know if But in the hospital and in rehab, I was going to be there for I was treated like one. I was three more days or three more constantly told by the doctors months. My daily routine really and therapists how lucky I was, helped me through this. I was and how so many people ‘my very blessed to have excellent age’ did not survive this. It took a

18 COLlive Magazine

lot of work on my part to get out of the mindset of ‘old lady’ and get back to my usual self.

My husband passed away 24 years ago. I have since been in the mindset that ‘I can do this. I can deal with this. I will deal with my emotions but I still need to keep going.’ This really helped me get through so many difficult moments.

I really had an amazing team running the show while I was out of commission.

My oldest daughter worked round the clock researching an experimental drug. My youngest daughter kept the house in order and made sure to pay the bills. I had people from all over the world davening for me.

To this day, I am still humbled just thinking about how many people davened, sent flowers, candy, and showed they cared in all different ways.

Today, I am so much better. I definitely feel tired and achy sometimes and get some brain fog. But for the most part, I am slowly getting back to myself. We don't know much about this virus. We don't know if we can get it again or not. We need to be responsible.

There are no guarantees that this can't happen again, so we have to be careful.

THE MIRACLE MEZUZAH: ELIEZER GOLD

Photo by Sholem Srugo

I came down with the virus on Purim.

After 9 days at home, it reached the point that I had to go to the hospital. The first 4 days they put me in an isolation room by myself.

As everyone knows, no visitors were allowed. It came to a point where there was no choice and I had to go on a ventilator and go into the ICU. I was in the hospital for 7 weeks. Yet, from the first day that I came down with the virus, until several days after coming off the ventilator, which was about 44 days, I only remember about 2 hours. Typically someone on a ventilator does not remember what happened. I had some hallucinations where I felt an ongoing battle for my life, but apparently something was pulling me back here. I now know it was the constant tefillos and mitzvahs being done for my refuah.

I am so humbled and grateful to all those who davened and worked for my recovery. Thank G-d, I don’t remember that time, so I’ll let my wife relate some of what happened.

HIS WIFE, BASYA GOLD During this time Rebbetzin Ashkenazi of Kfar Chabad called to say hello, and I told her what was happening in Crown Heights and that my husband was in the hospital.

After hanging up, the Rebbetzin opened an Igros Kodesh. She called me back and said that it had been written to check the tefillin, Rashi

Tishrei 5781 Edition 19

and Rabbeinu Tam, and to check the mezuzahs.

This was at the height of the pandemic in Crown Heights, and everything had closed. All sofrim were at home and not going into their offices. My son located a sofer who agreed to help. I called him, and he decided to take the tefillin first. He checked them and even though they were kosher, he suggested to add a hiddur to them. The hiddur that he suggested took about 10 days due to the process involved, and in the meantime, he started to check a few of our mezuzahs.

During this time, Rebbetzin Ashkenazi was calling me nearly every day to see if it was taken care of. It was before Pesach, the tefillin were a long process, there were many mezuzahs to check, and the sofer was limited in the available time. The sofer asked a Rav if he could continue to check the mezuzahs during Chol Hamoed.

The Rav told him to check only 2, one bedroom and the one on the front door. The mezuzah to the bedroom was fine, but when the sofer opened the mezuzah of the front door of the house it was completely posul. Much of the ink in the ayin had completely fallen off. The ayin was in the word nishbah in the 2nd paragraph of Shema, that Hashem promises long life on the land.

The mezuzah was an absolutely beautiful mezuzah and had been very mehudar, but we were told that apparently weather conditions had caused the ink to pull away from the parchment.

Meanwhile, in the ICU, the doctors were having a difficult time weaning my husband from the ventilator. They had made many attempts but there were always problems, and after about 12 days of being on a ventilator, they had to put in a trach, as a person cannot be on a ventilator more than two weeks without having a tracheostomy. Rebbetzin Ashkenazi, bless her, kept calling me and could not understand what was taking so long. She later explained that she opened the Igros a second time, and the answer was to follow up and find out if what was supposed to be done was taken care of.

As soon as the sofer found the posul, I gave him another mezuzah to replace it. On Sunday Chol HaMoed, a resident doctor at the hospital told me they would try a weaning trial in the morning, and that he wanted me on the phone to speak to my husband in the hopes that it would facilitate the weaning. This was already after 24 days on a ventilator with multiple attempts to wean him with no success. On Monday morning I waited for the call, and ended up waiting the whole day as there was no way to reach the resident doctor.

Finally, on Monday at around 5:00

Photo by Sholem Srugo

20 COLlive Magazine

PM, the sofer called me and said that he checked the replacement mezuzah for the front door and that he is coming over to put it up in 10 minutes. Just as the sofer rang the doorbell, the resident doctor from the hospital called to have me on the line for the start of the procedure. I couldn’t go to the door so I sent my son in law, who was staying in the house, to go take care of the mezuzah with the sofer.

My daughter and son in law were witnesses that from the moment the sofer drilled that mezuzah in the doorpost and the sound could be heard throughout the house, that was the moment that things turned around. That was the beginning of my husband getting better. That was Monday, Chol Hamoed Pesach around 5:00 PM. The breathing trial was successful and Baruch Hashem on Wednesday, Shivi Shel Pesach, he came off the ventilator completely.

On Thursday, the last day of Pesach he came out of the ICU, Baruch Hashem.

I must credit Rebbetzin Ashkenazi for her amazing concern and persistence in getting the mezuzahs and tefillin checked.

I had so much going on, and checking the tefillin and mezuzahs is always a massive undertaking, but only because she kept calling was I able to focus on that.

The sofer was very sympathetic, and even though he was closed, and had very limited time because of Pesach, he went way above and beyond the call of duty, working days and through

FEATURE nights to get things done.

The extraordinary ahavas Yisroel at this time doesn’t cease to amaze us. There were so many people all over the world davening and saying Tehillim. It was an actual lifesaver for which we are forever grateful. We personally witnessed the great power of Torah, tzedaka and tefillah, and how it literally saved my husband’s life and all the others who made it back. This is a

time people will never forget, and it is engraved in our memories.

Multitudes of people spent their days in davening, learning, giving tzedaka and saying tehillim for those who needed a refuah shleima. Was there ever such a time that so many people from all over the world were davening for so many people with such heartfelt prayers?

We must remember all those kedoshim who we unfortunately lost, and our hearts go out to

their families and loved ones.

Our only solution and consolation will be Moshiach and the geula haamitis v’hashleima. We must demand the geula just as we demanded mercy and rachamim from Hashem during those dark and miserable days.

It is an appropriate time to tell this story as we are in the month of Elul when it is customary to check our tefillin and mezuzahs. May we be blessed with a k’siva V’chasima Tova L’Shana Tova uMesuka!

DISCOVERING THE CROWN HEIGHTS HEART: LEAH R. On March 15, both my husband and I got sick. We are in our early 30s and were both unable to get out of bed for 2 weeks. We had all the symptoms of Covid. Fever, sweating, chills and aching all over. There are actually no words that can convey what we went through on paper. There was no night or day. There was no ‘you’ or ‘me’.

There were three days where I actually slept on the bathroom floor because I couldn't get up and my husband was too weak to help me. I was not having trouble breathing. But I was having a lot of trouble staying alive. Hatzalah came and wanted to take me to the hospital. I just burst into tears. There were so many people who had succumbed to this virus, I was terrified. I had young children at home, the youngest, my 4-month-old baby with health issues. Hatzalah arranged to have an IV brought to my house so I did not have to leave my children and go to the hospital.

This happened at the very beginning when we had no information. I was unable to nurse my baby. I was unable to change my baby. But I couldn't drop him off at friends or family either. Amazingly, my children really took care of each other during this time.

There were days when I didn't know if I would make it. Both my husband and I are not from Crown Heights. I always knew before but this experience solidified just how fabulous the Crown Heights community is. I don't think we would have had the support we had if we lived anywhere else in the world.

Every single day, food, kids activities, baby formula, even baby clothes for my fast growing baby were dropped off. If I needed anything, I just had to send one text and it was dropped off outside my front door.

The Gedaliah Society created a hotline right away. This type of infrastructure does not exist anywhere else.

Every other community followed what we did.

After 3 weeks, I started to recover. I usually have full-time cleaning help but with Covid, our cleaning person did not come. I remember when I finally had the energy to walk around, I was in shock yet still so thankful as to what my house looked like. I had no idea if my kids had bathed for two weeks, but my baby didn’t have a scratch and everyone looked healthy.

Even after 5 months I have still not fully recovered. This virus is not as simple as we think. I am not back to my old self. It takes a bigger physical toll on us then we can imagine. I am in a much better place now, but going forward, we have to proceed with caution. It is very important that we do our research and realize how real this virus is. We still don't know a lot.

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With the immense growth of the shechuna, a new series "Our Shuls" was launched on community news service COLlive.com featuring profiles of the local shuls, the driving forces behind them and the communities they created. Here are the most recent shuls featured.

The Mitzvah Center Crown Heights is made up of dozens of micro-communities built over decades of friendships and experience, and their members might say it needs patience and dedication. If you go to the Mitzvah Center on Troy avenue, though, you might have a different answer.

The Mitzvah Center is a place of boundless energy that has built a burgeoning community in four short years. Any conversation with the remarkable “Founding Fathers” of this Shul makes it clear that this is a special place.

“Instead of being on autopilot,” Gabbai Yossi Mahpour says, “we are always trying to do new things.” The Mitzvah Center offers a constantly evolving carousel of events, helps community members connect, and keeps everyone in touch with their Mitzvah Center app.

That energy is what fueled Mahpour, Shul president Yossi Chayo, and a few others to start Chayo the Shul back in Elul of 2016. “We were hanging out at someone’s house on Shabbos afternoon,” Chayo said, “and we thought, why not make a place that we can Daven and connect together?”

The founders of the Shul were young, 20 years old on average, but they were driven by vision and tenacity.

They made a Whatsapp group that cost $200 to join, and started

construction. By Rosh Hashana they opened their small basement Shul to 60 members. By Yom Kippur, that number went up to 80.

The Mitzvah Center has been running off that boundless energy since that afternoon, and they have discovered that it is infectious. Less than a year into the Shul’s existence they ran into their first major snag.

The summer was coming and they needed air conditioning.

Most would have gone dumpster diving for the cheapest option, but that isn’t the Mitzvah Center’s style. Instead, they got a huge air conditioning unit for ten thousand dollars, assuming that they would figure out a way to pay for it.

Within 24 hours, the community had it covered. “And these are single guys,” Chayo says, “the donations were small.”

Today the Mitzvah Center is at a beautiful home on 328 Troy Avenue, which they acquired in October of 2017. The young men approached this new location with their trademark grit and zest, transforming a broken down 99 Cent Store between President and Union into a magnificent Shul and Simcha hall.

When they started the founders were all young and single, but as they get older the dynamic has changed. The Mitzvah Center has grown to 150 members, half of

our

What makes a community?

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whom are married, and the Shul has had to accommodate the growing number of women in attendance.

This past Rosh Hashanah they noticed that there was not enough space for the women, and they immediately set into high gear working on renovating the Shul. The newest renovation, that will be completed before Rosh Hashanah of this year will include a women’s restroom and an expanded women’s section.

Chayo also realizes the importance of friendships

Getzel's shul

in binding the community together. He encourages his members to host large meals at their homes so that people can get to know one another. They also launched their first women’s event, a hamantash bake, this Purim. For the Mitzvah Center to provide the type of community that they are hoping to build, both men and women have to have a way to connect.

The Mitzvah Center is a constantly evolving place that manages to continue attracting people with their innovative programming and welcoming atmosphere. It will be amazing to see what these remarkable men continue to do.

The images are familiar: the elderly Chossid, wrapped in his Tallis, rocking back and forth as he digs to eradicate the last vestiges of some negative trait; the young man, pacing across the worn marble, trying to wrap his mind around a Kabbalistic concept from the Shiur; businessmen, setting aside the worries and travails of the week to gather strength from the mystical beauty of Shabbos.

This is Getzel’s Shul.

Among the oldest Shuls in Crown Heights, Getzel’s Shul has provided

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a place for generations of Chassidim to reflect and grow for nearly 40 years. It continues to attract new members.

“It is a place that young people bring their children to show them what an authentic Chassidishe Shul looks like,” Gabbai Zalman Goldstein says. “It is a place where people complain that the Shiur Chassidus isn’t long enough.”

Getzel’s Shul was started by Rabbi Avrohom Plotkin in the early 1980’s as a small Shul in his basement on President street between Brooklyn and New York.

They were only a few members back then, but among them were a number of illustrious and significant attendees.

On Friday nights, Rabbi Yehuda Kalman Marlow would daven there, and deliver a Shiur on Hilchos Shabbos.

Another regular member was R’ Sholom Ber Gansburg who, as a Ben Bayis of the Rebbe’s household, would often tell the Rebbetzin about his Minyan.

This fact led to an astounding moment when the Rebbe gave a bottle of wine for the Shul at Kos Shel Brocha. While the Rebbe would often give bottles for Chabad Houses or Shuls in other communities, this was the only local Shul to which the Rebbe gave wine.

Although the connection was never stated explicitly, it has been presumed that the Rebbetzin passed the positive reports she had received from R’ Sholom Ber Gansburg to the Rebbe.

From the beginning, it was clear that there was something special about this Shul. People would step in for the Shabbos farbrengen (on the weeks that the Rebbe was not farbreinging in 770), and they would keep

on coming. The warmth and authentic Chassidishe environment soon drew in a large crowd, many of whom still attend the Shul until this day.

When the Yeshiva began renovations on 1414 President Street about 20 years ago, they offered the basement as a space for Rabbi Plotkin’s Minyan on condition that they renovate it as well. It was at this point that the president of the Shul, R’ Shaya Boymelgreen, Boymelgreen chose to dedicate it in memory of his wife’s grandfather, R’ Getzel Rubashkin.

Rubashkin “The name fits the Shul,” Goldstein says, “Reb Getzel was a warm, authentic Chassidishe Yid, and the Shul is just that.”

Today, Getzel’s Shul continues to be a haven of authenticity.

Shabbos davening is preceded by a well-attended Shiur in Likkutei Torah and Torah Ohr, and inspired by a Shabbos drasha by Rabbi Efraim Mintz. After davening they Mintz hold a weekly Farbrengen, a passionate expression of Chassidishe warmth that can continue deep into Shabbos afternoon. Between Mincha and Maariv they join together in celebrating Shabbos with Seder Niggunim and the recitation of Chassidus.

without grandstanding.

“There are no Baalei Gaivah, no fighting,” one member noted. Members of the shul anonymously provide a network of support for people within the community, helping people with their rent and providing loans to help with Simchas.

From its humble beginnings in the small basement across the street from the Rebbe’s home to its place today as one the hidden gems of the Crown Heights community, Getzel’s Shul perhaps bears one of the closest resemblances of the shtiebel in the Shtetel in Russia, where R’ Getzel Rubashkin was raised.

"from the beginning, it was clear that there was something special about this shul"

The Chassidishe warmth is reflected not only in the way the congregation of Getzel Shul’s davens and learns, but in the way they act to one another. “There is quiet chessed,” Shloime Ezagui says. As one of the Shul’s core members, he often helps people donate to one another anonymously. “A young man was sick,” he said, “and within 2 or 3 hours we had raised close to $5,000.”

In true Chassidic fashion, this Chessed is always performed Tishrei 5781 Edition 25

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bais gimpel

The two minyanim were only a few doors away from one another, but they had a deep and profound commonality. “We wanted a place where everyone felt comfortable.”

Beis Gimpel Chaim-Shmuel Leib, or just Beis Gimpel, has become a Crown Heights institution for hundreds of residents living on New York and Brooklyn avenue, but when the two small Minyanim that comprised its core members began, nobody would have imagined the impact it would have.

The first Minyan began about 15 years ago, when Reb Shmuel Leib Strauss began to have trouble making his way to Shul on Shabbos. A group of friends, Brashevitsky took the including Shmuli Brashevitsky, initiative of helping him with a Minyan. It wasn’t easy – many of the members were walking quite a distance – but they knew Reb Shmuel Leib needed a Minyan.

In 2012, nearly 3 years after Reb Shmuel Leib passed away at the young age of 66, a group of young men began a Minyan with the mission of building a Shul in which everyone felt comfortable and at home. They started small, with a group of friends that included Shloimy Greenwald Dahan, and slowly grew. Only a and Shaul Dahan few doors away from one another, the idea that they combined with the dwindling Beis Shmuel Leib seemed natural.

By 2014, their small Minyan had become a vibrant community that needed a new home, which they found at 309 New York avenue. As a community, they fundraised to renovate the bottom floor of the building into a beautiful shul and the Nemes simcha hall. The dedication, a landmark event highlighted by a lavish dinner and a performance by beloved singer and Green was incredibly composer Yossi Green, moving to those founding members.

“For me,” said Gabbai Shaul Dahan, “the moment that they brought the Torah in, dedicated to my grandparents, was particularly moving.” The Torah, and the shul, had been dedicated in memory of Reb Gimpel Orimland and Reb Chaim

26 COLlive Magazine

Gastfrend and the fact that this Torah Gastfrend, would be used in this space was profound.

It brought to mind the story of his wife’s grandfather, Reb Gimpel Orimland, who had bid a considerable amount on one of the Hakafos in 770 on the Rebbe’s recommendation. After the following year saw him enjoy considerable success, he asked the Rebbe to suggest a bid the next year. The Rebbe recommended a paltry sum.

Stunned, he asked the Rebbe the reason for the enormous drop.

The Rebbe replied, “the idea is to give Tzedakah when you don’t have.”

Six years later, the Shul continues its mission of building a home where everyone had a Minyan. They have two Shachris minyanim, along with Mincha and Maariv, and an Ein Yaakov Shiur twice a week. A shiur Friday night draws in many from around the neighborhood, while a Shabbos morning shiur in Likutei Torah in English at 8:45 am, children’s program, and beautiful Kiddush after davening keeps the Shabbos day Minyan crowded. The Shul even hosts a successful Sunday Kollel in honor of beloved educator, Reb Mordechai Tzvi Greenwald Greenwald, with topical Shiurim and a hot breakfast served. The Shul, which is beautifully Sufrin, maintained by Shul treasurer Mendel Sufrin is also rented out regularly as a popular venue for L’Chaims and other events.

Reb Gimpel’s shul draws in everyone.

“It is a place where everyone feels comfortable,” Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald said. “We have people ranging from about 18 to people in their sixties and seventies. Religious, non-religious – everyone is welcome.” The way Shmuli Brashevitsky put it, “we have 9-year-olds and ten-year-olds, and we have their great-grandparents.”

While most would be satisfied with the Shul’s success, Shloimy Greenwald says that they are hoping to expand their space. With hundreds of people passing through their doors on a weekly basis, he says, “We’re bursting at the seams.”

Lefferts Shul

The Lefferts Shul lies at the intersection of history and modernity. It has evolved from one of the first Shuls in Crown Heights to becoming a bastion of the Crown Heights renaissance of the past decade. This incredible story can be traced back to a group of brave Chassidim and their dedication to the Rebbe’s vision.

Congregation Adas Yisroel – Beis Midrash Eliyahu Nachum, affectionately known simply as, “the Lefferts Shul”, became a Lubavitch shul in 1975.

Crown Heights, formerly a home to Jews of nearly every type of Orthodoxy, was rapidly transforming. The other communities, many of whom had lived in Crown Heights since the twenties, were fleeing en masse in the face of plunging real estate prices and skyrocketing crime rates.

It took the Rebbe’s wisdom to see that Crown Heights had to remain a home for Chassidim, and it was on his instructions and encouragement that the Lubavitch community of Lefferts Shul began.

Shul president Reb Dovid Rimler and his wife moved to

"we wanted a place where everyone felt comfortable" Lefferts Avenue in 1969. Calling it “the good old days,” he noted that “Lubavitch was hardly represented” in the neighborhood.

At the time, the shul was called Kahal Adas Yi’Raiyim. It was Teitelbaum. run by the Chentzkovicher Rov, Rabbi Shmuel Teitelbaum Rabbi Teitelbaum was an affiliate of Satmar, but ran his own small Shul out of the first floor of his home.

With the rise in crime, Rabbi Teitelbaum decided that he

would move out of Crown Heights, but the Lubavitcher members of the Shul advocated that the Shul remain. On the last day of Pesach in 1969, the Rebbe began speaking of the “veritable plague…of selling Shuls and Batei Hamidrash to non-Jews.”

For Rimler and his fellow Chassidim, this meant that the Shul on Lefferts could not be abandoned. Together with Langsam, Rabbi Moshe such luminaries as Rabbi Yechezkel Langsam Levertov, Rabbi Zalman Gurary, Levertov Gurary Rabbi Mottel Chein and Sklar the Chassidim that lived on Rabbi Eliyahu Nachum Sklar, Lefferts Avenue began working to rebuild the Shul.

In those early days, the Shul membership was dwindling, but their dedication to the Rebbe kept the Chassidim on the block waiting for a Minyan, or standing on the street to gather passers-by. As time passed, however, the Shul grew, and by 1975 they were able to offer to buy the building from Rabbi Teitelbaum. Rabbi Teitelbaum was eager to be rid of the building, and he issued them an ultimatum: they had to both take the mortgage and pay him the sum of $9,000, or he would sell the Shul, which meant the Shul could end up being purchased by a nonJewish buyer.

With a considerable donation from Rabbi Zalman Gurary to start them off, the group of impassioned Chassidim went door-to-door to collect the rest of the money.

Rabbi Eliyahu Nachum Sklar, the beloved Chossid of the Freidiker Rebbe and the Rebbe, recommended that they name the new Shul Adas Yisroel.

By 1988 the Shul community was thriving, now boasting two Minyanim and a warm and vibrant place for people to Daven. Before Rosh Hashanah of 5749, the Rebbe declared that year to be Shnas Habinyan, and encouraged Shuls to make efforts to expand. The Chassidim of Congregation Adas Yisroel took this call to action and began to fundraise. As he did for anyone that agreed to expand, the Rebbe personally gave them 100 dollars. The community collectively raised $125,000 to expand the Shul, while Rabbi Zalman Gurary donated funds to renovate and expand the Mikvah.

In 1990, Rabbi Sklar, a pillar of the community, was tragically

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killed in a hit-and-run on Eastern Parkway on his way to the Kollel Chabad Melavah Malkah at Ohelei Torah. Rabbi Sklar was the gabbai of the Shul, and his loss was devastating. The community honored him by changing the name of the Shul to Congregation Adas Yisroel-Beis Midrash Eliyahu Nachum.

Today, the Shul continues its mission to accommodate those following the Rebbe’s directive to strengthen Crown Heights. In the past decade, many young families have been renting and buying homes closer to East Flatbush, and they have looked to Lefferts Shul as a center of Yiddishkeit.

Lefferts Shul is the closest Mikvah to East Flatbush, the Shul originally drew many people for that reason, but the Shul continues to work to make people comfortable.

In recent years, the facade of the Shul has been renovated as a replica of 770 Eastern Parkway. They made Mikvah membership fully automated and enhanced the Mikvah facilities. They also began a Seforim collection, expanding their library to provide people with a place to study. The Shul now has four Shachris Minyanim, nightly Shiurim, and a constant flow of Chavrusas coming in to learn. On Shabbos, Oholei Torah Mashpia Rabbi Nachman Schapiro delivers the weekly Drasha, as well as reciting a Ma’amer Chassidus on Shabbos afternoon.

the besht 28 COLlive Magazine

Is there a Shul where a former Democratic Congressional candidate can daven alongside a group of Biyaler Chassidim? Can a Shliach feel comfortable sending a community member to the same Shul that a group of visiting bochurim from Lakewood attend? Is it possible for a Chossid battling through a Shachris to share a table with folks attending Shul for the first time?

The Besht might just be that place.

On an average Shabbos, you will find a diverse group of Jews gathered at the Shul. There will be some that come for the inspiring davening, others for Rabbi Shmuel Kuperman’s Kuperman fascinating speeches, and a fair few for Yossi Lifshitz’s Lifshitz herring Hahn’s cholent. The Besht offers and Shmuel Hahn something for everyone.

Beis Shmuel Tanchum, or “the Besht”, has earned a unique place in the diverse tapestry of the Crown Heights community. In a little more than a decade, it went from a weekly shiur to become a welcoming home for hundreds of Jews.

The shul was originally founded in 2009

by Rabbi Yehoshua Werde in an attempt to engage friends that had wandered from the derech with chavrusa learning.

The address was 510 Empire Blvd., which is now home to Werde’s current organization Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs (CHYE).

Sruly Clapman, Clapman a friend of Werde, was recruited to help with its operation.

With time, Clapman has taken over full responsibility as President of the Besht.

It has since moved down the block to its current location at 563 Empire Blvd where it has an active shul on Shabbos and yomim tovim.

Clapman says they help cover the rent by renting the hall that can seat 100 people for events and simches. “The most common simches by us are Bas Mitzvahs and Brissim,” he says. “We also had interesting rental requests such as for a wedding, a Shloshim, a parent-teacher

Rabbi Kuperman.” Rabbi Kuperman was giving a weekly Gemara Shiur at the time, and at the community’s behest, he accepted the role of Rabbi.

It has been 9 years, and the Shul has grown exponentially. With the help of

"The shul was originally founded in an attempt to engage friends that had wandered from the derech with chavrusa learning" meeting and pop-up shops.”

The shul’s first Rov Rabbi Mendel Kalmanson moved on Shlichus to England in Elul of 2011, leaving the young Shul with the daunting task of finding a Rav. “We brought in big names,” Clapman recounts. “The community asked for

Director Yitzi Shollar and Gabbai Yisroel Pekar, the Besht has become a mainstay of the Crown Heights community. The Shul hosts a lecture series between Mincha and Maariv on Shabbos day, bringing in guest lecturers to speak on a variety of topics.

During the week, Rabbi Kuperman continues

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to give his weekly Gemara Shiur every Tuesday night. Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Besht also boasted an extremely popular Thursday night Kollel. They hope to bring the Kollel back soon, they told COLlive.com.

didn’t want the Besht to be another schmoozing shul, that once you have children, you find a different shul where you can actually daven.”

About the policy, Clapman admits, “I can’t say it’s totally silent but it’s quite effective.”

The Besht is a warm and vital place for anyone in search of a community. It provides a home and a sense of community for hundreds of people who could not find that anywhere else.

Second, “There is a Rov,” Clapman points out. Rabbi Kuperman’s speeches draw many.

With his trademark mix of humor, passion, and impressive scholarship, Rabbi Kuperman holds his congregants spellbound as he weaves a powerful and practical lesson from the Parsha.

“I started attending the Besht as a single bochur,” a community member relates. “I was looking for a place that I could be a part of. I have been part of that community through my engagement, marriage, everything. This is a place that thousands of people have filtered in and out of, but they all think of it as home.”

What is the magic formula?

“First,” says Clapman, “it’s a non-talking Shul.”

The Shul’s no talking policy provides a sense of sanctity to the davening and a space for authentic growth, he says. “Rabbi Kuperman

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“And there is a huge Kiddush,” Clapman explains the third reason. At the Kiddush, the community connects over delicious salads and cholent, Farbrenging together and drawing inspiration for the coming week.

The Besht is planning to have davening for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and seating reservation for Tishrei will soon be available.

There will be plenty of seating for women and a children’s program.

COMMUNITY

by Avraham Lobock

One of the first assignments given to NYPD Detective Vinny Martinos when he first transferred to the 71st Precinct, was to stand guard outside a Jewish home in the Crown Heights neighborhood.

Martinos first joined the force in 1992, training at the 76th precinct in South Brooklyn. In 1993, he was transferred to the 71st in central Brooklyn which covers the southern portion of Crown Heights, Wingate, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

Halberstam Ari's mother, during Halberstam, that time. "I’ll always remember when her son was shot," he says.

"Today, I consider Devorie family, but back then she didn’t know me. She would come to offer me tea. She just lost her son, and yet, in that heartwrenching time, she was showing such hospitality.”

Photos by Menush Amit

Detective Vinny Martinos recaps 28 years in the service of the NYPD. One of his memorable moments happened recently

That initial courtesy has developed into an ongoing

A short while after that, on March 1, 1994, Lebanese-born terrorist Rashid Baz opened fire on a van of 15 Lubavitch yeshiva bochurim crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, injuring 3 of them and killing 16-year-old Ari Halberstam.

Halberstam As a beat cop, patrolling the streets of Crown Heights, Martinos was stationed outside the Halberstam residence being visited by a slew of elected officials and community members during the Shiva.

Martinos vividly remembers the kindness shown by Mrs. Devora

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A Retirement Salute event for Det. Vinny Martinos at the Jewish Children's Museum in Crown Heights was attended by community activists, elected officials, members of the NYPD and special guest NY Police Commissioner Dermot Shea

"when g-d wants to intervene, he intervenes in the most amazing ways" collaboration for the benefit of the Jewish community in Crown Heights with Martinos being appointed in 1999 as community affairs officer and Halberstam becoming an outspoken law enforcement activist, 71st Precinct Clergy Liaison and an honorary NYPD Commissioner.

The connection came full circle this past month when Martinos announced his retirement. Halberstam organized hosted a community farewell salute at the Jewish Children's Museum, co-hosted by Mica Soffer, CEO and Publisher of community news service COLlive.com.

It was an appropriate send-off for Martinos who has taken an active role in protecting the community - at times, almost paying a personal price. One such example was in the 90s at the height of the crack epidemic. Under the orders of the Giuliani the police at the 71st newly elected mayor, Rudy Giuliani, Precinct were tasked with cleaning up the streets.

"I’ve been shot at, but the bullet only hit my car," he recalls one instance. "And then there was a woman who threw a molotov cocktail at my partner and me. I happened to turn just in time to see the molotov cocktail coming at us. When G-d wants to intervene, He intervenes in the most amazing ways: the wad of toilet paper that had been used as a fuse

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sputtered out, leaving us unscathed. G-d had a plan for me, and He wasn’t ready for it to end yet."

Martinos has indeed worked to make the most of the time granted to him. In addition to crime prevention and responding to the local waves of anti-Semitic attacks, he helped facilitate major public events and communal affairs.

One of those events was the Great Parade on Eastern Parkway which restored the annual Lag BaOmer event to its previous glory. "Many coordinators with the NYPD insisted that it could not be done, but I knew it was important," he says. He sat down with community leaders and organizers and planned the event from start to finish.

Another major annual event was the West Indian Day Parade and the pre-parade J’ouvert on Labor Day. He mentions with pride that, since 2017, there has not been a shooting during the happening. Historically, this has been an extremely violent event in Crown Heights, but the 71st precinct brought the violence down dramatically.

Preventing violence against the Jewish community has been a big part of Detective Martinos' job. When the “knock-outs” began in 2014, the police department stepped into high gear to protect people from physical attacks. They added patrols at the street corners and made dozens of arrests.

“When it turned out that it was kids doing it, we went to the schools," Martinos says.

"We gave lectures and classes at the schools and explained what they were doing. Kids don’t realize the effect of their actions. That pretty much stopped it.”

2014 also saw the shocking stabbing of Levi Rosenblatt in 770 Eastern Parkway. With all the rumors swirling around, many feared that it was a terrorist attack, and Martinos was tasked with easing tensions in the Jewish community. “We explained that the threat was gone, and we were able to put the community at ease.”

Over the years, he worked closely with community institutions and schools and individuals such as Halberstam, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin of the CHJCC and Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, among many others in Krinsky the Jewish as well as in the West Indian and black communities.

"The more people I have under my tent, the better off I am," he explains as his motto.

One of the most memorable moments of his career only happened this past year during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the passing of Rabbi Leibel Groner, one of the most Groner prominent figures of Lubavitch of the last generation who served as the Rebbe's longtime secretary.

Martinos was tasked with making funeral arrangements and found it difficult to conceal

his personal feelings. "I always turned to Rabbi Groner for perspective and input into the Chabad community," he says.

"The way the whole community came out for the procession was something that I'll never forget. I cried as well,” he says.

Throughout his illustrious career, Detective Martinos saw easing tensions between the diverse communities as one of his primary accomplishments.

He would often have to negotiate among community leaders, trying to make sure that everyone was happy. "I had to make decisions that are best for everybody. With G-d watching me, I’ve been able to find a balance with the community."

Martinos left the force at a time when it is under heavy scrutiny and dealing with financial cutbacks. "Politicians tear down the building without having blueprints for a new one," he says in reference to calls to Defund the Police.

He notes that 2020 has seen 5 homicides and 28 shootings in the 71st Precinct alone, up from the 2 homicides and 11 shootings in 2019 at the same date. Other precincts are much higher.

But as a resident of New York, Martinos doesn't give up on the Big Apple. "My family lives here, I live here. You guys live here. We have to go out and vote. We need to make it better." Thanks to him, Crown Heights is better than it was.

"the way the whole community came out for the procession was something that I'll never forget"

Changing of the Guard: Outgoing Detective Vinny Martinos visits the Rebbe's Ohel with incoming Community Affairs Officers Mike Baratta and Charles Davis

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THE

INEFFECTIVE TECHNIQUe in the Classroom A reflection on a valuable lesson learned early on that’s valuable to the world

By Rabbi Levi Kaplan, Principal of Cheder Chabad in Monsey

In my first years as a Rebbi, I would use a technique in my classroom that I later learned was ineffective. On occasion, I would punish my class for a wrong done by only a few, or even one student. I would say: “Due to some students not doing their work, the class will lose a few minutes of recess.” The students would grumble and I thought, this is really effective, look how upset they are getting. I got them where it hurts.

Little did I realize how detrimental this approach was, the students were upset because what happened was unfair and wrong.

When people see someone in a position of authority being unfair they stop trusting them.

The simple mistake in approach cost me a relationship with my students. Actually, there was no relationship. They were stuck with me and I was stuck with them. How horrible.

This technique isn’t something I thought hard to develop. I saw it used and thought to apply it in my class. I never stopped to examine its use.

Today, I know that speaking to an entire class is

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EDUCATION easier than confronting a single student. However, taking the easier route poisons the entire group.

One day, sitting in a workshop, the presenter told us never to use this technique. The presenter reasoned with us, you have a class where the majority is on your side, they participate in class, follow the rules and are helpful, while only a fraction of the class requires disciplinary action.

Don’t allow the way you treat your class to be dictated by the minority, the presenter told us.

This made sense. I walked out and told myself to always keep this core idea in mind, even as my role changed.

Today, as a principal, if there is a small percentage of the Cheder that might require focused areas of support. I would not put a message in the school handbook if only a small number of parents need to hear that message. The school handbook is intended for the entire parent body and should include all the rules and procedures of the school, but procedures relating a fraction of students don’t need to be there. Don’t distill distrust to all parents who support you in order to avoid a face to face conversation with a few dissenting parents.

This core idea applies in the family setting, at work, everywhere. Imagine a boss lecturing his entire staff about being honest with clocking into work only once they are ready to work when this isn’t an issue with the vast majority of the employees.

You get the picture.

"if a rebuke is being heard by others, it is no longer constructive" 36 COLlive Magazine

The discussion happening in our country is a reflection of a bad technique being used in a classroom. A single individual is perceived to have done something wrong, and instead of dealing with the individual, we paint an entire department, for that matter, an entire country as being guilty of a particular offense. What is the result? We have poisoned the relationships of an entire country. We have planted distrust and instilled deep-seated hate into the hearts of an entire country.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that one must learn a lesson in the service of Hashem from everything they see and hear. Many lessons can be learned from what we see today. I wish to share one lesson here. When there is something in our surroundings that we are required to fix, when a student is giving us a hard time, when a child is disrupting a home, take the more difficult and only effective path.

Always speak to the person where the issue is at and only when you are alone with them, don’t reprimand them publicly. Don’t set a new policy for everyone, etc. to deal with an issue that only affects a few. Keep matters focused on the small pool of people they directly affect.

In every challenging situation, we should first consider all those who support us, how many are willing to help us and then deal with the individual issue from the position of support and power.

Taking this approach benefits all of us by adding peace and keeping criticism constructive.

The Gemara says, one should love rebuke, for as long as there is rebuke in the world there is pleasantness in the world. The rebuke the Gemara speaks of is constructive criticism. If a rebuke is being heard by others, it is no longer constructive.

In a similar vein, in the “Rules to the Educator,” the Previous Rebbe speaks about how important it is for the mechanech to be trustworthy. One who cannot be trusted is no longer a mechanech.

He might be an instructor of knowledge but he is no longer in a position of influence.

“The words of wise men are heard in quiet,” Koheles says. May each of us find the areas in our lives where we could increase our focused efforts and rather than taking the easy route, we can do the right thing bringing peace and tranquility.

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—Renee Muller, author of Ourr Table This book is an absolute masterpiece... Every recipe is ac accompanied by PDJQLƓFHQW SKRWRJUDSK\ DQG KRZ WR JXLGH 7KH EHDXWLIXO LQV QVLJJKWV WKDW DUH masterfully woven throughout this book will be an inspiration fo for you to beocme a “Rising” master and partake in the mitzvah of challahh.

—Rivky Kleiman, co-author of The Beis Yaakov Cookbook and author of Simply Gourmet four-strand

Challah Basket

page 306

wreath challa h

Triple Twist Challah Rolls

page 299

version a harvest wreath

1.

version b full circle

2.

3.

4.

5.

Everything Topping

recipe on page 121

CHALLAH LEFTOVERS

To have Rochie lead your Challah Bake, give Inspirational Talks for Women & Braiding Demos visit: therisinglife.net /contact

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1 10

THE T H HE E STO O RY ORY Y OF CH C A LLA LLAH

Follow Rochie on Instagram for weekly parsha and challah inspiration @rochiepinson

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CHESED

In Proper Form

Back to school means back to uniforms and 2 caring women are ensuring that students are dressed with dignity

Photos by Shmuel Amit

by Libby Herz “What do I do with all these uniforms?” asks Shaina, a mother of three Bais Rivkah girls. While her daughters’ uniforms are in good condition, they have outgrown them. The sisters are three sizes apart, so hand-medowns don’t work either. Additionally, the family’s apartment is small with no room to store the extra clothing.

But Shaina’s biggest problem is the one that has been gnawing at her all summer long. Shaina’s husband lost his job due to the Coronavirus, and the family struggles to afford the basics. One uniform set costs close to $150 per child and buying two sets equals $300 per child. How is she going to afford new uniforms for each girl?

Sisters-in-law Mrs. Rochel Lustig and Mrs. Chanie Karp have the solution. For the past ten years, the duo has been running a uniform gemach out of Lustig's home on Crown Street. “We give out $10,000 worth of merchandise every year,” Mrs. Lustig says. “We carry Beis Rivkah skirts, sweaters, and shirts for every grade.”

The uniform gemach was opened 10 years ago in memory of Rabbi Avrohom

Tishrei 5781 Edition 39

Sometimes when people buy their daughter's uniforms, they buy an extra shirt or skirt and drop it off at the door"

Karp z”tl, the esteemed maggid shiur of Daf Yomi for close to 30 years in the Lubavitcher shul in Montreal, Canada.

"A daf yomi lending library and online platform were created in my father’s honor,” she says, “but I wanted to do something on my own.”

Pondering ways to support the community, the sisters-in-law noticed that some Bais Rivkah girls were showing up on the first day of school wearing disheveled uniforms. The shirts didn’t fit properly; skirts had torn hems, and buttons were missing. “I have six girls of my own and I teach in a school,” says Mrs. Lustig. “I was able to see the need.” The desire to help each girl feel good about herself led to the opening of the uniform gemach.

The uniform gemach takes hours of time, but it is a labor of love. First,

40 COLlive Magazine

community members discreetly drop uniforms at the Gemach door. Then the selection process begins. Together, the sisters-in-law sift through each piece of clothing and closely examine every part from top to bottom. Only those that pass inspection are added to the inventory. “If it’s not in tip-top condition,” says Mrs. Karp, “We don’t give the uniform out.”

Then, they send each item to the cleaners for a professional clean and press. But that’s not all. They spend hours sewing up hems and missing buttons.

Each uniform goes through this rigorous process before it is placed on the rack, ensuring that each girl walks out of the gemach with impeccable items.

One advantage of running a uniform gemach is that uniforms never get dated. “The uniforms stay the same

CHESED from year to year,” says Mrs. Karp.

“Nobody knows if someone is wearing last season’s skirt.” Each girl can feel good wearing a freshly pressed and laundered uniform skirt even if it was bought in 2018 or 2019, as the style has stayed the same. This factor helps many girls walk into school on that first day with dignity; assured that her uniform looks polished and new.

To set up an appointment, call 718-493-1740 (all appointments are confidential).

The sisters-in-law have received much positive feedback from teachers, parents, and students. “When parents buy uniforms there is a limit to what they can afford,” Mrs. Lustig says. But the uniform gemach allows girls to take out multiple uniform sets. This way, each uniform can be cleaned on a regular basis. “We've gotten reports that kids have been coming into school looking a lot neater,” she says.

Throughout the years, many people have lent support to the uniform gemach. Regency Cleaners, Little Toes, and Mrs. Shaina Pevzner all provide for

the gemach in various ways. Individuals from the community make contributions that benefit the gemach tremendously.

“Sometimes, when people go to buy their daughter's uniforms, they buy an extra shirt or skirt and drop it off at the door,” says Mrs. Karp. Others drop off bows and school supplies. “Younger girls feel so special when they can choose a matching bow.” Once, an anonymous donor gave the gemach a large supply of briefcases fully loaded with pencils, crayons, and notebooks.

During these trying times, the uniform gemach proves to be crucial in helping provide dignity and financial ease to both students and their parents. At the same time, many are looking for a place to donate used uniforms in excellent condition. Whether it is to drop off a uniform or borrow one, this team of sisters-in-law is there, waiting to help each girl feel beautiful and special. All you need to do is call.

Tishrei 5781 Edition 41

YEA EA 578

42 COLlive Magazine

For over 10 years, COLlive has asked our contributing photographers to select a memorable photo from that year. Here are the picks of '80

HE

F

HOTO

MENUSH AMIT This photo that I took of R’ Aron Baitz when he returned home after a very serious bout with COVID 19 meant so much to me for 2 reasons. It was really moving to see a Jew returning home to his overjoyed family, but it also demonstrated the amazing support of our wonderful community who all showed up to greet him as well.

SHMUEL AMIT

Last Purim, I had the privilege of participating in the activities of my brother-in-law Rabbi Itzik Sandroy, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Chabad in Mitzpe Yitzhar, who because of Coronavirus restrictions, was the only one who received permission to enter the IDF base in Samaria. The fact that he was able to enter was certainly because of the power of doing the shlichus of the Rebbe. For me, it was one of the most magical moments of the year.

SHIMI KUTNER

After a long day of work, and photographing the incredible Simchas Beis Hashoeva celebrations, I was finally home and editing the photos taken that day, when I heard a Farbrengen going on outside. Despite being tired from the day, I was able to run out and capture this special moment, which is my favorite shot of the year.

MENDY HECHTMAN

I was at the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise and was able to snap this photo of the magnificent background of a low and rare cloud cover.

SHOLEM SRUGO

This picture is my favorite because it is very different from all the other photos I usually take.

This was a very difficult photo to capture because I had to line up over 200 people, all from different locations in the world and all in a different physical and spiritual stage in life. They put all their differences aside and celebrated Rosh Hashana united as one. In this photo one sees the uniqueness of the Jewish people, how we can all unite as one.

Tishrei 5781 Edition 43

THE DEAL WITH THE MEAL PRACTICAL TIPS FOR CREATING PEACEFUL, STRESS-FREE, & BEAUTIFUL ROSH HASHANA (& TISHREI) MEALS

BY DANIT SCHUSTERMAN We have all just experienced a collective world trauma. With Rosh Hashana coming up, I have spoken with three very wise women who all offer their sage advice in turning what could be a very stressful, exhausting and overwhelming experience for many of us into a peaceful, stress-free and beautiful Rosh Hashana (and any Yomtov) meals.

Rivky Levy, Levy a certified life coach in Crown Heights, Hindy Cohen, Cohen a certified parenting coach and Shlucha, Sara Hecht, Hecht color analyst and personal shopper from Crown Heights, all discuss how we can change the way we approach the High Holidays, on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.

PROPER PLANNING: Hindy: I like to sit down and Hindy: plan my menu a few weeks

44 COLlive Magazine

in advance. If you have a large freezer, there are so many dishes you can make in advance and freeze. Examples are roasts, challah and certain kugels - they freeze beautifully.

You can also prepare schnitzel

and knishes and freeze them raw, thaw it and fry/bake it the day of Yomtov. It saves so much time and clean up and you are still serving fresh delicious food. The more you can plan and make in advance,

TIPS the more time and stress you will save yourself closer to Yomtov. There are also many dips you can prepare up to a week in advance. All you will need to focus on the day of Yomtov will be the fresh salads.

touch would they like to add.

Rivky: If you enjoy being fancy in the kitchen, by all means, enjoy it! But there is no rule that says every dish you make for Rosh Hashana needs to be extravagant and timeconsuming. You do not need 5 different side dishes and 8 different salads. Keep it simple and use your time wisely.

Sara: If there is one dish that is your specialty, make that the focus of the meal. Everything else can be simple. It is also nice to buy a beautiful new serving dish to beautify the table. You can serve a simple dish on a gorgeous plate and it will look beautiful. You can use beautiful disposable tablecloths, plates and cutlery and still have a gorgeous table. The texture and material of your tablecloth can also make all the difference in the presentation of your table.

DELEGATE & EMPOWER THE KIDS: Rivky: This is a great opportunity to bond with our children. If they want to, let them into the kitchen and bake, or cook a delicacy of their choice. Don't let the focus of what a mess they will make ruin the opportunity for them to shine. When your child brings their dish to the table, they will beam with pride.

Hindy: If you are able to, get as much cleaning help as you can. Delegate age-appropriate jobs to the kids. They are more capable than we think.

It's also important to empower our children going into Rosh Hashana. Talk to them about what they would like to do to make Rosh Hashana special in the home, what personal

SPRUCE-UP THE TABLE:

Sara: Beautifying your Yomtov table can get overwhelming and stressful with the endless options and colors. A good way to simplify this would be to create a color palette for the table. Choosing 4 colors one of which will be (gold or silver which is for cutlery) will give your table a sophisticated look and leave you your sanity and satisfaction that your table looks beautiful. An example would be gold, cream, blush, and beige. Pay attention to detail: add splashes of color with colored glasses or perhaps a colored napkin. Let the orals do the work. Flowers make spaces come alive through the colors they exude and the shapes they create.

MAKING IT

WORK WITH GUESTS: Hindy: Know yourself and your family. If having guests for the evening meals is too overwhelming, with overtired kids, then do not do it. Invite all your guests for the day meals.

Rivky: Don't be shy about asking your guests to bring something. If you don't enjoy making desserts, ask them to bring a dessert. If you don't like making kugels, ask them to bring a kugel. Make it work for you. Guests are only too happy to be helpful.

A friend of mine asks me to bring her cut and washed lettuce whenever she invites us for a meal. This helps her

REWARD YOURSELF WITH SOMETHING SMALL Tishrei 5781 Edition 45

TIPS

tremendously and it's really no problem on my end. The important thing is to know what you want and need and to ask for it.

OUR SELFCARE: Rivky: Make time for yourself over Yomtov. If taking a walk or a nap will recharge you, take the time to do it. Plan it in advance, have some of your older kids watch the younger ones.

Sara: Reward yourself with something small. Purchase a new lipstick, make a scheduled appointment for a mani-pedi (so that it’s not something left for last-minute), or buy yourself that pair of earrings you’ve been eying for a while. It’s the small things that leave us feeling good and energized to go into Yomtov mode.

Nothing is more important than a woman feeling beautiful and let's be honest, we’re all in better moods when we like how we look.

OUR SPIRITUAL SELF-CARE: Hindy: I enjoy listening to

46 COLlive Magazine

shiurim on the weekly parsha or upcoming Yomtov while I cook. It enriches me to learn some deep insights. I will also print out a few interesting articles to read over Yomtov which help me feel present and in the moment.

Rivky: I try my best to make time to daven. It makes me feel good and it's very beautiful for our children to see us, their mothers, connecting to Hashem.

Hindy: I like preparing everything in the morning before I go to shul, so when we all get home, the table is set, the salads are ready, the food is hot and we are ready for kiddish. This is also helpful as I am able to focus on my davening and not worry about what needs to be done when I get home.

‘JUST GO WITH IT’: Rivky: The house will never be perfectly clean. If you are calm and happy, the kids will remember a calm and happy mother and a calm and happy Rosh Hashana. If you are stressed out and exhausted with a spotless house and fancy foods, your kids will remember the stressed-out mother, not the spotless house and fancy food. So begin the year with a smile.

DON'T BE SHY ABOUT ASKING YOUR GUEST TO BRING SOMETHING

ART

Past and Present by goldie gross

Two-tone T wo o-tto tone ton ne ca canvas anvas tarps mounted on tubular poles. Vinyl-covered fiberglass panels held together by a matte aluminum frame. A roll-up roll up bamboo mat retrieved from the corner of the basement: these are the trappings of the modern Sukkah.

But were things always this way? The answer is a resounding no.

The Sukkahs that dot Jewish backyards, roofs, and porches are inherently modern inventions, a contemporary way to celebrate an ancient holiday. So how were Sukkahs built in past generations?

One of the best ways to study the practices of the past is through art (their halachic status is beyond the scope of this article). For looking at medieval times, illuminated manuscripts serve as a helpful guide for getting an idea of how holidays were celebrated. Engraved works (prints) rose in popularity with the rise of printing and also offer a more detailed picture than miniature paintings in manuscripts can offer. Finally, we are lucky to have some surviving examples of Sukkahs from Eastern Europe that weren’t destroyed during the Holocaust.

A number of Italian illuminated manuscripts contain illustrations of Sukkahs. One Italian siddur from 1383 shows several suggestions of a Sukkah, but not a complete picture of how it would have been built [Figure 1]. In this illustration, we see three pointed trefoil arches. These elements belong to a Gothic style of architecture, something of an “ecstatic Classicism.”1 This style is a sort of revamping of more traditional forms with an emphasis on soaring arches, columns, and points, a “mysticism made possible by advances of engineering” that began in the middle of the 12th century.2 Whether this painting is a peek from the square-headed window of an Italian home or a peek into an architecturally complex Sukkah is hard to tell.

Figure 1: Forli Siddur, 1383, British Library

The plant-based sukkah, the one smuggled out of Germany, the attic sukkah in Belarus, the stained glass porch Sukkah in Poland and Sukkah City in Manhattan

Tishrei 5781 Edition 47

Another illustration in an Italian manuscript from 1374, several years earlier, shows us a more complete Italian Sukkah. This painting shows both a Sukkah and a man in profile with a lulav and esrog [Figure 2]. This Sukkah, which looks like it could be hexagonal in shape and is only visibly furnished with a bench, is very botanical, reflecting Ezra’s commandment to “go out to the mountain and bring olive leaves and leaves of oil trees, myrtle leaves, date palm leaves, and leaves of plaited trees, to make booths, as it is written.”3 Indeed, a Sukkah must be made of organic materials, as it is written directly in Devarim: “You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkot for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.”4 This has been interpreted to mean that “the Sukkah must be from materials similar to whatever you’ll pick up from your threshing floor.”5 We see that the Sukkah in this painting adheres to the pasuk, using plant matter that was hardly altered for this construction.

Figure 2:

Another work in a northern Italian machzor shows both a completed Sukkah and a Sukkah in progress [Figure 3]. Interestingly, although these Sukkahs have no walls, they are written underneath text that lays out specifications for what the walls of a Sukkah should be.6 The completed Sukkah on the left shelters a family, and one of its sides features an arch for additional support. The boys on the right appear to be a medieval variation of modern-day Sukkah-building bochurim.

Figure 3:

Figure 2 (above): Pisqei Rabbi Yeshayah Aharon, 1374, British Library Figure 3 (below): Northern Italian machzor, c. 1465–1470, National Library of Israel

48 COLlive Magazine

Moving forward a few hundred years, we find Sukkahs that bring illuminations to life by painting them on their walls in the tradition of painted wooden shuls popular in Europe between the 1600s and the 1800s (many of these shuls were destroyed during the Holocaust).7 One surviving Sukkah is the Deller Sukkah, commissioned in the second half of the 19th century by the Deller family in Fischach, Germany [Figure 4]. This Sukkah was smuggled out of Germany in 1935 by a family immigrating to Israel that took it with them in a crate packed with their belongings.8 One wall features a painting of Jerusalem copied from a lithograph by rabbi and artist Yehosef Schwartz; on other walls are scenes of Fischach and its local people.9 Interspersed amongst these scenes are images of various holidays copied from seforim printed in Sulzbach in 1826. 10 Another Sukkah like this, which currently lives in Paris’s Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, also connects Israel with the old country. Unlike the Deller Sukkah, the Sukkah in Paris, created in southern Germany or Austria for a wealthy family in the middle of the 1800s, more visibly links these two distinct places, smoothly transitioning Jerusalem gates to European houses in a corner of the Sukkah [Figure 5].11 The painting of Jerusalem here, too, was inspired by a lithograph by Rabbi Yehosef Schwartz.12 When these Sukkahs were filled with families and tables, the lower portion of their walls would be hidden from sight, which explains why these paintings only begin a few feet off the ground.

Both of these Sukkahs clearly emphasize their commissioners’ connection to their towns and to Israel, and also bring a sense of permanence to a structure designed to be temporary. These Sukkahs’ numbered panels reveal their intended longevity;13 they were designed to be taken apart and put back together year after year, and one can only wonder how many more Sukkahs like these were commissioned and lost.

While

these

two

Sukkahs

both

have

ART extraordinary interiors, their exteriors are plain.

What architectural innovations were developed in pursuit of the ideal Sukkah? Today, some choose to install retractable roofs or skylights in their homes that allow them to turn a room into a Sukkah as needed. This practice dates back to at least the 1700s. In the 1724 edition of Paul Christian Kirchner’s Jüdisches Ceremoniel, an expository book on Jewish customs in Germany in the early 1800s, a series of etchings prepared

by Johann Georg Puschner illustrate Jewish life.

Figure 5: Sukkah, mid-19th century, painted conifer, approximately 87 x 112 inches, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, Paris,

Figure 4: Deller Sukkah, second half of the 19th century, oil on wood, approximately 79 x 114 x 114 inches, The Israel Museum

In the book’s print about Sukkos, we see attics built specifically for use during this holiday [Figure 6].

Furthermore, in photography, we see that this was also the custom in some parts of the shtetl, for example in Ivanava, now in Belarus [Figure 7], and in Eisiskes, now in Lithuania [Figure 8].

In parts of Poland, especially in Płock, where Jews were once required to file permits to build Sukkahs, a number of 19th century Sukkahs still stand today.14 These Sukkahs jut freely from the sides of houses or are supported by pillars, and one of the most interesting Sukkahs still in existence from Płock long stood at the corner of Tumska & Królewiecka streets [Figure 9]. The intricate stained glass and cozy construction would have made this Sukkah a treat to look at in its heyday. This dilapidated Sukkah was acquired by the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw in 2017, which intends to restore and

"One of the best ways to study the past is through art" Tishrei 5781 Edition 49

ART

exhibit the Sukkah.15 Now, in the 21st century, it can feel like a lot of the attention to detail and labor that made Sukkahs unique is lost. This is not without its perks: having a Sukkah is easier now than ever, and thus more accessible to more Jewish people. However, at times, it feels as though nearly all Sukkahs follow similar unimaginative templates and are more like temporary tents than sacred structures.

Figure 6: Johann Georg Puschner, Das Lauberhütten Fest, c. 1924, print, in Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Nürnberg: Peter Conrad Monath, 1724), University of Chicago Library

Figure 7 (above): Sukkot in Iwanowa, 1916, postcard, National Library of Israel Figure 8 (below): Yitzhak Uri Katz, Members of the Lubetski Family Stand Outside their House, 1931, photograph, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,

50 COLlive Magazine

There have been a number of initiatives in recent years to try and combat this. Sukkah City is perhaps the best-known of these efforts [Figure 10]. Twelve winning Sukkahs were chosen from over 600 entries to stand for two days in Union Square, with the People’s Choice winner (chosen from over 17,000 ballots) remaining up for the duration of the holiday.16 The twelve winners, some Jewish, some not, totally reimagined what a Sukkah can be within the confines of Halacha (using some loopholes that I don’t quite have the certification to qualify as either Kosher or not), including a Sukkah topped simply by a log with holes drilled through it [Figure 11].17 The People’s Choice Sukkah, designed by Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan, is an explosion of marsh grass and phragmites [Figure 12]. The architects designed this work, titled Fractured Bubble, with a Sukkah’s ephemerality in mind, drawing inspiration for this design from a bubble.18 Sukkah City had a far-reaching influence, provoking a large response from both Jewish and secular media sources. For several of the architects, this was their first time building a Sukkah; doubtlessly, for many visitors, this was the first time they interacted with a Sukkah.

Sukkah City also served as an impetus for a wave of Sukkah design competitions that continue until today. Similar competitions have popped up in Detroit, Dallas, Saint Louis, and Toronto.

Figure 12: Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan, Fractured Bubble design, 2010, digital file,

Figure 9: Sukkah in Płock on the corner of Tumska and Królewiecka streets, JewishPlock.eu

Closer to home, Rabbi Herschel and Raiza Malka Hartz of Chabad of Inwood organized Sukkahwood for the past three years (unfortunately, this year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic) [Figure 13]. Rabbi Hartz, inspired by Sukkah City, felt the need to organize Sukkahwood because he noticed that for many people, “art is something outside the purview of a religious lifestyle.”19 Rabbi Hartz and Raiza Malka, who received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, sought to rectify this by founding Jewish Uptown Arts and hosting events like Sukkahwood and the Uptown Jewish Film Festival in order to “put on the same programming that other Jewish organizations who are not inclined religiously [put on]... but put it on with very proud, Jewish,

Figure 10

ly programming.”20 and family-friendly Indeed, as the curator rator for the first and ood, I can say with second Sukkahwood, d) confidence that (admittedly biased) Sukkahwood and events like it help us ate to our history and re-imagine and relate arly how changes in traditions, particularly the circumstances that governed Jewish life changed the way we celebrate our ys today. holidays

Figure 11: Kyle May and Scott Abrahams, LOG, 2010, cedar wood and laminated glass.

Figure 13: Shayna Denburg, Chained Together, 2017, wood, hooks, rope, plants, chain, and paint

Tishrei 5781 Edition 51

ART

Goldie Gross is an artist, curator, and student of Art & Business at Baruch College where she founded The Art Club. A member of The Met Collective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, she curated and co-produced exhibitions for the Jewish Art Salon and the annual Sukkahwood.

Endnotes 1

Denis R. McNamara, A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical Architecture (New York: Rizzoli, 2017), 38.

2

ibid., 38, 171.

3

Shulamit Laderman, “The Sukkah as Sacred Architecture,” in Jewish Religious Architecture, ed. Steven Fine (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 357-358; Nechemiah 8:15.

4

Devarim 16:13.

5

Tzvi Freeman and Chananya Groner, “Sukkology 101: Sukkah Building Basics From the Inside Out,” accessed August 24, 2020, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2720149/jewish/Sukkology-101.htm.

6

Laderman, “The Sukkah as Sacred Architecture,”358.

7

Mimi Levy Lipis, Symbolic Houses in Judaism: How Objects and Metaphors Construct Hybrid Places of Belonging (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011), 49.

8

Richard McBee, “Deller Succah Paintings At The Israel Museum,” RichardMcBee.com, September 30, 2001, https://richardmcbee.com/writings/jewish-art-before-1945/item/deller-succah-paintings.

9

“Sukkah,” The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, accessed August 24, 2020, https://www.imj.org.il/en/ collections/199807.

10

“Sukkah,” The Israel Museum.

11

“Hut for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkah),” Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, last modified May 14, 2020, https://www.mahj.org/en/discover-collections-key-works/hut-for-the-feast-of-tabernacles-sukkah.

12

“Hut,” Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme.

13

Lipis, Symbolic Houses in Judaism, 50.

14

“The Sukkot of Płock,” JewishPlock.eu, Nobiscum Foundation, October 13, 2019, https://jewishplock.eu/en/ plock.eu/en/ the-sukkot-of-plock/.

15

“The Sukkot of Płock.”

16

Ariel Kaminer, “Injecting a Sense of Play in Religious Tradition,” New York Times, Sep. 24, 2010, https://www. nytimes.com/2010/09/26/nyregion/26critic.html.

17

Heather Ring, “Sukkah City,” Archinect, September 17, 2010, https://archinect.com/features/article/101234. tures/article/10123 234 4..

4

18

Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan, “Fractured Bubble,” Sukkah City, accessed August 24, 2020, https:// sukkahcity.com/sukkah/fractured-bubble.php.

19

Rabbi Herschel Hartz, voice message to author, August 23, 2020.

20

Rabbi Herschel Hartz, voice message to author, August 23, 2020

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ADVICE

ASK THE THERAPIST WITH RABBI DANIEL SCHONBUCH, LMFT

OVERCOMING COVID ISOLATION TRAUMA DEAR RABBI SCHONBUCH, MY CHILDREN HAVE BEEN AT HOME FOR MONTHS AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS OF ISOLATION AND LONELINESS. CAN THIS TRAUMA CONTINUE FOR YEARS?

Dear Parent, Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. There is no question that as the

Covid-19 virus progresses we are facing more trauma than ever. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It can also leave you feeling numb,

disconnected, and unable to trust other people.

Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated

Tishrei 5781 Edition 53

can result in trauma, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized.

Emotional and psychological trauma can be caused by

happen to anyone, you’re more likely to be traumatized by an event if you’re already under a heavy stress load, have recently suffered a series of losses, or have been traumatized before—especially if the earlier trauma occurred in childhood. Childhood trauma can result from anything that disrupts a child’s sense of safety, including: an unstable or unsafe

TRAUMA We all react to trauma in different ways, experiencing a wide range of physical and emotional reactions. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to think, feel, or respond, so don’t judge your own (or your children’s) reactions or those of other people.

Your responses are NORMAL

"THERE IS NO 'RIGHT' OR 'WRONG' WAY TO THINK, FEEL, OR RESPOND, SO DON'T JUDGE YOUR OWN REACTIONS OR THOSE OF OTHERS" one-time events, such as an accident, injury, or a violent attack, especially if it was unexpected or happened in childhood. Trauma can also be ongoing, such as living through a virus, being in a crime-ridden neighborhood, battling a life-threatening illness or experiencing traumatic events that occur repeatedly, such as bullying, domestic violence, or childhood neglect.

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND THE RISK OF FUTURE TRAUMA While traumatic events can

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environment, serious illness, witnessing or experiencing violence or neglect.

Experiencing trauma in childhood can result in a severe and long-lasting effect.

When childhood trauma is not resolved, a sense of fear and helplessness carries over into adulthood, setting the stage for further trauma.

However, even if your trauma happened many years ago, there are steps you can take to overcome the pain, learn to trust and connect to others again, and regain your sense of emotional balance.

SYMPTOMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL

reactions to ABNORMAL events. Don’t be ashamed if you are experiencing emotional symptoms such as denial, or disbelief, confusion, difficulty concentrating, anger, irritability, mood swings, anxiety and fear, guilt, shame, self-blame, and feeling disconnected or numb.

OVERCOMING TRAUMA Trauma disrupts your body’s natural equilibrium, freezing you in a state of hyperarousal and fear. As well as burning off adrenaline and releasing endorphins, exercise and movement can help repair your nervous system. There are three ways to overcome the challenge:

ADVICE

1.

EMDR (EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING) EMDR uses eye movements and revisiting trauma to help alleviate distress and traumatic feelings. It allows the brain to reprocess from a more objective perspective and resume its natural healing process. Many of my clients will feel results and relief after a few sessions enabling them to lead more balanced lives and feel more emotion freedom and happiness.

2.

SOMATIC EXPERIENCING

The Somatic Experience approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. It focuses on the physical sensations which remain in the body after the trauma. It is by all means, a gentle therapy that does not revisit trauma. Rather, it helps a person reorganize their physical sensations and uncouple of them from their fears. For many people, somatic experiencing is able to undo some of the habits that were formed from the initial trauma such as tensing muscles, tightening of one’s breath and holding onto physical and emotional pain.

3. LOGOTHERAPY Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl remains best-known for his indispensable 1946 psychological memoir Man’s Search for Meaning - a meditation on what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught him about the primary purpose of life: the quest for meaning, which sustained those who survived.

For Frankl, meaning came from three possible sources: purposeful work, love, and courage in the face of difficulty. In examining the “intensification of inner life” that helped prisoners stay alive, he argued that life can have meaning even in the most miserable of circumstances and that the motivation for living comes from finding that meaning.

To learn how to find meaning in suffering (and overcoming Covid-19 trauma), I suggest that the best place to start is by reading Frankl’s book.

Countless individuals, including adults and teens, have reported finding tremendous solace and relief from his ideas.

REDUCING ISOLATION Most importantly, many people who have experienced trauma feel

disconnected, withdrawn and find it difficult to connect with other people. People that suffer from trauma tend to withdraw, feel depressed and isolate themselves.

Instead, they need to connect to others face to face to help them heal. Keep in mind that connecting with others doesn’t have to involve talking about the trauma. Comfort comes from feeling engaged and accepted by others.

If your children continue to feel the trauma of the current pandemic, I highly suggest you try to have them engage more frequently with friends (even if they have to by Zoom). If their trauma continues, offer them the opportunity to meet for a few sessions with a trauma specialist who can teach them some key skills to move out of their emotional freeze towards greater connection and happiness.

Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) is renowned for treating trauma and improving the emotional lives of individuals, couples and families. He is the author of 4 books and is now launching a new program to teach people how to coach others to overcome trauma.

For more information visit www.torahpsychology.org or call 646-428-4723.

Tishrei 5781 Edition 55

Ready for flu season? boost your immune system with the help of honey and molasses

medicinal honey

By Sara Chana Silverstein Honey’s healing properties have been touted for generations.

Modern science shows that honey contains antioxidants, acids, proteins and minerals that help heal and strengthen our bodies, and honey can also fight bacterial infections thanks to its antimicrobial properties.

And notwithstanding the fact that most colds and flus are caused by viruses, people world-wide would claim that

honey helps with colds, sore throats, and coughs.

In partial support of this assertion “Studies have shown that honey is a potent treatment for nighttime cough. In one study of 130 children aged 2-17 with runny nose and cough were randomized to receive nightly doses of buckwheat honey, artificial honey-flavored cough medicine (dextromethorphan), or no treatment. On a parent-rated symptom scale, honey was found to be the most helpful in reducing nighttime cough and improving sleep in children with upper respiratory infections, and other studies have shown that honey helps diminish the intensity and duration of winter coughs”.

Now, by adding herbs to ordinary honey, we can further boost the palliative properties that are already found in honey turning it into “medicinal honey” for the winter months. Honey naturally comes in a variety of flavors and each flavor has

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HEALTH different medicinal properties due to the flowers the bees suckle from. Buckwheat honey seems to work best for coughs, sage honey for sore throats, and wild flower honey helps with a stuffy nose and allergies. Now to these natural healing properties of honey you can add herbs like onions or garlic, medicinal spices like sage or thyme, healing berries like elder berry, or healing plants like echincea, yerba santa, or usnea. Any medicinal honey is easy to make and you can customize it to your personal physical challenges and taste.

For coughs try onion honey. Onion honey is suggested if you tend to be challenged with winter coughs. Place into a glass bowl a layer of sliced onions and pour honey onto them until they are covered with a layer of honey. Then cover the bowl with either a plate or plastic wrap and let it sit on the kitchen counter overnight. By morning the honey will begin to turn into syrup.

You can leave this mixture right on the counter and take one tablespoon two times a day as a preventative or up to four times a day if you are already ill. If you will not use up your onion honey mixture within the week, it is best to strain out the onions and put the honey in a glass container to keep in the refrigerator.

For sinus infections try garlic honey. Garlic honey is recommended if you tend to get sinus infections.

You can follow the same procedures as above, just using garlic instead of onions. If you suffer from both sinus and coughs you can mix both onions and garlic in the same bowl with honey.

winter molasses power drink

For sore throats try sage honey. Adding the herb sage to your honey will help with sore throats.

You can either sage in its dried form, fresh form or in a grain alcohol tincture (once the herb has been steeped, the alcohol loses its potency).

The best way to use the dried or fresh herb is to lightly heat up the honey in a good quality sauce pan, made either of glass or stainless

steel, and then pour in the sage. Since your goal is to dissolve the herb into the honey, and not to cook the honey, keep the cooking flame small.

Continue to lightly heat the honey until either the dried or fresh herb has wilted, or in the case of the tincture, until it has dissolved into the honey. Let the honey mixture cool, and in the case of the herbs, strain them and put them into a glass jar to be stored in the refrigerator.

For kids colds try tasty honey medicinal mixes.

Recommended only for children who are more than one year old, honey mixtures are a great way for children to take herbs. Making a medicinal honey is a fun activity for kids

because they love assisting in its preparation and watching as the herbs melt into the honey.

And more often than not, they will be happy taking their “herbal honey” because they helped make it.

For children’s honey, follow the same procedure that is written above but instead of the onions and garlic, choose gentle kid-friendly herbs like elderberry, lemon balm or linden flowers. I also like to add cinnamon sticks or vanilla beans for an extra pleasant flavor with medicinal benefits.

Elderberry is a great source of vitamin C and is an antiviral, lemon balm is calming and antiviral, and linden flowers help with fevers and flu. Cinnamon tastes great and also helps with stomach flus and vanilla, well vanilla is just yummy.

Another natural remedy that can be found in the kitchen, and is referred to as the ‘poor man’s tonic’, is blackstrap molasses. One tablespoon of blackstrap molasses a day can actually provide the body with up to 20% of the recommended daily value of many vitamins and minerals including: iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and cooper and manganese. Iron provides energy and boosts metabolism.

Copper helps the human body utilizes iron, eliminate free radicals and produce melanin. Calcium is needed to promote: healthy teeth and bones, blood-clotting

Tishrei 5781 Edition 57

HEALTH

abilities, enzyme activity and toxin removal.

Manganese helps to synthesize fatty acids used by the nervous system. So, if blackstrap molasses was not found in your kitchen before, it should be now.

benign tumors.

Molasses is a byproduct of the sugar distillation process in which sugar cane is refined into sugar. During the processing, cane juice is heated, sugar crystals are extracted, and black strap molasses is the result of the third distillation in the course of extracting sugar.

And here is how it is done:

Among the many health benefits of blackstrap molasses is its ability to help with the following conditions: anxiety, anemia, pain from arthritis, constipation, heart palpitations, and it’s also been claimed to help restore gray hair back to its original color. Along with helping to alleviate these conditions, blackstrap molasses can also be used for improving ulcers, psoriasis, varicose veins, dermatitis, rheumatism, and even

Black strap molasses can be added to cookie batters, beans and soups; however, the easiest way to include molasses into your daily routine is to make it into drink.

In a coffee mug add one tablespoon of organic black strap molasses, one tablespoon of organic honey, next add boiled water and mix well. If you chose to, you can lighten the drink with either: rice, soy, almond, or hemp milk. Make this blackstrap molasses quaff your morning drink and enjoy the burst of energy you will feel as you begin your day. You will be happy to know that you are giving your body a burst of its needed vitamins and minerals.

So, this winter, be both prepared and be proactive. Spread medicinal honey on your toast, and start each day with your powerful molasses drink and be equipped to conquer the world this winter.

Sara Chana Silverstein, IBCLC, RH (AHG) is the only frum Master Herbalist in the United States. She has been featured in international media teaching people how to safely integrate alternative medicine with conventional medicine. She is also a Lactation Consultant and has helped over 28,000 babies nurse. Her book, "MOODTOPIA: Tame your moods, de-stress and find balance using herbal remedies, aromatherapy and more" has been a bestseller on Amazon.com. She can be reached moodtopiabook@gmail.com

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KOSHER

Tishrei 5781 Edition 61

KOSHER

DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together pomegranate molasses, and silan.

2T olive oil,

2.

Place carrots on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle mixture over carrots and season with salt and pepper.

3. Roast for 20-25 minutes until starting to caramelize. (Make sure to toss them halfway through for even roasting ) 4.

Wrap beets individually in aluminum foil and place in roasting pan roast for 40-50 minutes. (Beets are fully roasted when an fork pierces them easily.)

INGREDIENTS

lb carrots, 2” of stems still attached T olive oil T pomegranate molasses T silan small to medium sized beets leeks, sliced vertically Salt and pepper to taste

) whole red snapper or branzino, butterflied T olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

cloves of garlic minced shallots sliced cup fresh herbs, oregano, basil, parsley orange, sliced

Pomegranate seeds Chopped parsley

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5. Place sliced leeks in another roasting pan, drizzle with 2 T olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes until caramelize and edges are starting to char.

6. To prepare the fish raise oven temperature to 425. Rinse well and pat dry, cut 3 diagonal slices in both sides of the fish. Rub olive oil on outside of fish and season with salt and pepper.

7. Flip open fish and rub olive oil on the flesh and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle garlic and shallots on both sides. Add herbs and orange slices and close fish.

8. Place fish on roasting pan and roast for 20-35 minutes depending on the size of your fish. (If fish is 1 to 1 and 1/2 lbs it should be done by 20 minutes if larger it might need 25-30 minutes- fish is done when the flesh flakes easily when a fork is inserted) 9.

Place fish with roasted vegetables on a serving board. Drizzle the juices from the carrots over the beets and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley

Photos by Chanie Apfelbaum

with Simanim Jeweled Rice Chanie Apfelbaum is a food blogger, recipe developer and food photographer who shares her love of food, family and tradition on her popular Instagram platform @busyinbrooklyn, as well as on her blog, www.busyinbrooklyn.com. She is the author of the best selling cookbook, Millennial Kosher (Artscroll Mesorah Publications) and is currently working on her second book, to be released by Ç% +$,(' (-- +7 %% U

Tishrei 5781 Edition 63

Serves 10

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp autumn breeze, the beauty in the changing leaves and the bounty of pumpkin season. This festive recipe makes the most of the fall harvest and is filled with symbolic foods that are traditionally eaten during the High Holidays.

For the squash: acorn squashes (approximately 1 ½ lbs. each)

cup olive oil

cup honey tsp cinnamon salt and pepper, to taste ¡ Preheat oven to 425 degrees. ¡ Cut the squash in half from root to stem and scoop out the seeds. ¡ Place the squash cut side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet. ¡ Brush the squash with olive oil, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon. ¡ Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Roast the squash until forktender, about 35-45 minutes.

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KOSHER

· In a 6 quart pot, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, leek and garlic and saute until softened.

for the rice: tbsp olive oil cup shredded carrot leek, white and pale green part only, sliced lengthwise and thinly sliced cloves garlic, minced lbs. ground beef tsp allspice tsp cinnamon

tsp cloves

· Add the beef and cook over mediumhigh heat until no longer pink, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks. · Add the allspice, cinnamon, cloves, salt, pepper and rice and stir until incorporated. · Add the stock and water, bring to a simmer and cook, covered, over low heat until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, approximately 20 minutes. · Add in the raisins and cover for an additional 10 minutes. · To serve, stuff the acorn squash with a heaping cup of rice. · Top with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and parsley. Serve warm.

NOTE: to toast the pine nuts, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pine nuts out on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes until lightly browned and toasted.

tsp kosher salt tsp freshly ground black pepper cups basmati rice cups chicken stock cup water cup golden raisins cup toasted pine nuts (see note) cup pomegranate seeds cup parsley, roughly chopped

Tishrei 5781 Edition 65

We’re back at pre-Tishrei, and while many things in the world feel crazy and different now, this at least is something we’ve done before.

We know what’s ahead, and part of that is the sheer quantity of cooking and baking that will happen in our kitchen between now and Shmini Atzeres. As you may know from my cookbook, Rising - I'm more into serving the food than spending all day cooking it. So, I love myself a hack that allows one recipe to do double (or even triple!) duty.

Photos by Menush Amit

CleaR oUt tHe fRozeN cHallAh fRom yOur fReezEr aNd mAke oNe rEcipE tO dO dOublE (oR eVen tRiplE!) dUty

A note about making challah: While making challah can feel like a big deal to many people, I hope that many of you have tried it and realized that it’s not that big a deal, (especially if you’ve taken a challah class with me!) and even more importantly, it’s the most rewarding to serve, and also - it’s a mitzvah! So, I hope you don’t need more convincing that challah is a worthwhile endeavor this Tishrei. It is also a minhag that the most important time to separate challah with a bracha is in the Aseres Yemei teshuva. So if you’ve been holding off until now, go ahead and put up a full batch of dough and get in your challah mitzvah now!

This recipe assumes that you, like myself and so many others, are putting up big batches of challah. My classic recipe (using a 5 lb bag of flour) makes 8 challahs, and very often a few of those find their home in my freezer to patiently await their turn. Pre-Rosh Hashanah I like to take them all out and restock the freezer with round Tishrei challahs. But what to do with all those lovely challahs?

They can get new life as incredible Rosh Hashanah desserts, perfectly themed and extremely delicious. You can make these desserts with spelt challah, whole wheat challah, or any challah you may have on hand (even store-bought challah!)

What I love about these is there’s basically one recipe, and it can be used 3 different ways.

Rosh Hashanah dessert? Done and Done.

May your new year be as sweet and rewarding as these desserts, and may we celebrate this Tishrei with Moshiach.

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bY RochIe PinsOn RochIe PinsOn iS a rEbbeTzin aNd sHlucHa iN dOwntOwn BrooKlyn. She iS aLso a mOtheR, aRtisT aNd aUthoR oF tHe wOrld s mOst gOrgeOus aNd cOmprEhenSive cHallAh cOokbOok RisiNg! The Book oF ChalLah. (FeldHeim, 2017) RochIe bRingS a uNiquE bLend oF wIsdoM, sPiriTual aWareNess, aNd dOwntO-eArth pRactIcalIty tO tHe mItzvAh oF cHallAh. Her vOice iS hUmorOus aNd wIse, aNd hEr eNergY iNfecTiouS, aNd sHe lEctuRes aNd lEads cHallAh wOrksHops aNd sEminArs aRounD tHe wOrld.

You cAn fOlloW hEr aNd hEr cHallAh jOurnEy tHrouGh hEr wEbsiTe aT wWw.tHeriSingLife.nEt aNd oN iNstaGram @rOchiEpinSon

KOSHER

1.

UpsiDe dOwn CaraMel ApplE aNd PomeGranAte PuddIng Cake

This rEcipE iS tHe bAsis fOr aLl 3 rEcipEs bElow. The tExtuRe oF tHe cAke iS rEallY sPeciAl, sOmetHing oF a cRoss bEtweEn a pUddiNg aNd a cAke. Don't tEll aNyonE tHat iT's mAde oF lEftoVer cHallAh, aNd wAtch tHeir eXpreSsioN aS tHey tAke tHeir fIrst bIte. This iS a tRuly uNusuAl aNd bEautIful dEsseRt. InstEad oF uSing a pArve mIlk, yOu cAn uSe tHe CaliFia Farm cReamEr (wHich iS a cOmbiNatiOn oF aLmonD aNd cOconUt cReam) It's sUpreMely rIch, aNd tHey cOme iN mAny fLavoR cOmbiNatiOns wHich aDds tO tHis aLreaDy dElicIous rEcipE. I tRied iT uSing tHe PecaN CaraMel fLavoR, aNd iT wAs iNcreDiblE. EnjoY!

EquiPmenT:

For CaraMel:

8” or 9” springform pan (or round baking pan)

· cup Brown Sugar

Small saucepan Medium mixing bowl

· cup Unsalted Margarine (I used Earth Balance with very good results) · tsp cinnamon

IngrEdieNts:

· tsp vanilla

· whole Granny Smith Apples, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/4” thick slices

· tsp salt

For GarnIsh: · cup pomegranate arils, for garnish · Powdered sugar, for garnish · Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream, or whipped cream

Tishrei 5781 Edition 67

KOSHER

fOr tHe pUddiNg cAke:

for cream option!)

· loaf Challah, diced into 1/2” cubes. (If you have challah in your freezer, it slices the easiest when slightly frozen) The drier the challah the better! So use leftover challah, or leave the challah out a while after dicing.

· large eggs

· cups Parve milk (soy, almond or coconut whatever your preference, or see recipe description

· cup granulated sugar (if using a sweetened creamer, reduce sugar by 1/4 cup) · teaspoon vanilla extract · teaspoon ground cinnamon

DireCtioNs

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Slice the Apples

2. Spray your springform or round cake pans with

6. Pour caramel sauce into the bottom of the

nonstick cooking spray. Place springform or round baking pan in a larger pan, like a 9X13 or a baking tray. Just in case there is any leakage, this will protect your oven.

prepared round pan. Layer sliced apples on top in a single circular layer.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until combined.

Place the challah cubes in the custard mixture.

Gently press the challah down to fully submerge in the custard. Allow to soak while preparing the caramel and apples.

4. Prepare the caramel: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt all caramel ingredients together.

As it begins to melt, stir constantly to prevent it sticking, and cook until slightly bubbling. About 2 minutes in total.

7. Add the soaked challah, pouring in the last of the liquid at the end.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour until the pudding cake is puffed and golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

9. Cool for a few minutes before running a knife along the edges (if not using a springform) and inverting the cake onto a serving platter.

10. Garnish with pomegranates and powdered sugar. Serve warm (if possible!) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

This rEcipE sHoulD mAke aT lEast 8-12 rAmekIns dEpenDing oN tHe sIze. FollOw tHe iNstrUctiOns aS aBove bUt dOublE tHe cAramEl rEcipE:

1. Using half of the caramel, divide evenly into greased ramekins.

2. Add 1/2 cup parve cream (like Califia farms, or coconut cream) to the reserved caramel, and warm through, to make it more liquid and easier to pour.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

2.

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tHe iNdivIduaL vErsiOn

4. Serve (warm if possible) with a scoop of ice cream on top and top with the reserved caramel sauce

3.

cHallAh pUddiNg sTuffEd aPpleS

DireCtioNs:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F 2. Using a corer, melon baller or cookie scooper, scoop out a nice sized cavity in each apple. Leaving at least 1/2” of apple all around. Be careful not to go through to the bottom of the apple, but be sure to remove the core and seeds. If the apple seems like it might tip over, you can trim a little off the bottom to help it stay upright.

3. Prepare the challah custard mixture as above.

4. If using pecans, stir in the pecans.

5. Generously stuff apples with bread mixture, IngrEdieNts: · Large cortland apples · Pecans, roughly chopped (only use if not making this for Rosh Hashanah)

mounding it on top. This top will get all crispy and delicious, so be generous!

6. Set in 9- by 13-in. baking pans, you will need 2 or 3, or use a larger roasting pan.

7. Bake until each apple is very tender when pierced, about 1 hour; check after 40 minutes and tent loosely with foil if they're getting dark.

8. Serve (warm if possible) with ice cream and the caramel sauce.

Tishrei 5781 Edition 69

CATEGORY

Dining Out (doors)

Crown Heights: Abe’s Corner Address: 674 Rogers Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11226 Phone: (718) 684-7828 Outside seating available Capacity: 30 Guests RSVP Required

Alenbi Address: 887 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225 Phone: (347) 529-3739 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 50 Guests

Are you itching to eat out after months of isolation? COLlive.com compiled a list of kosher restaurants and eateries in Crown Heights, Flatbush, Manhattan and the Five Towns that have outdoor seating.

Bakerie

We’ve been going through Covid for quite some time now. We’ve had to change many things about our daily life. This includes some of the smaller things we once took for granted. A simple trip to a nice restaurant. A Sunday outing with the family, or a nice dinner out.

Basil

As we continue to hope and daven that things get better, there is some good news. New York has been continuing to open in phases, and many of these small areas of life are coming back. We look forward to updating you on which places are open.

Address: 191 7th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215 Phone: (718) 422-0801 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 40 Guests

Address: 252 Albany Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 Phone: (718) 693-8248 Outside seating available.

Capacity: 50 Guests Address: 270 Kingston Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 Phone: (718) 285-8777 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 60 Guests

Bison & Bourbon

Boeuf and Bun Address: 271 Kingston Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 Phone: (718) 221-8900 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 40 Guests

COLlive.com presents a list of places in the New York area that have outdoor seating, and how much capacity each place can accommodate outside.

Grüit

Please note: We recommend calling ahead if you have a larger party or have any additional questions. We do not take responsibility for the kashrus standards of each establishment.

Address: 252 Empire Blvd, Brooklyn, NY 11225 Phone: (347) 846-0622 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 70 Guests

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Izzy’s Smokehouse

Falfamania

Address: 397 Troy Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11213 Phone: 347-425-0524 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 30 Guests

Addres: 4305 12th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11219 Phone: (347) 566-3121 Outdoor Seating Available in the back

Mozzarella Address: 265 Troy Ave Brooklyn, NY 11213 Phone: (917) 633-6770 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 24 Guests

Boro Park: Corner Cafe Address: 2 Ditmas Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11218 Phone: (718) 435-2233 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 5 Tables Flatbush:

Spoons Flatbush Address: 2923 Avenue J Brooklyn, NY 11210 Phone: (718) 377-7373 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 10 Per Table Call ahead for larger capacity.

T-Fusion Steakhouse Address: 3223 Quentin Road Brooklyn, NY 11234 Phone: (718) 627-8325 / (718) 998-0002 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 50 Guests

Bordeaux Steakhouse Address: 1922 Coney Island Ave Brooklyn, NY 11230 Phone: (718) 942-4040 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 50 Guests

Bravo Pizza Brooklyn Address: 902 Kings Highway Brooklyn, NY 11223 Phone: (347) 702-5121 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 2 Tables

Main House Kosher Bar & Restaurant Address: 6001 Strickland Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11234 Phone: (718) 673-8773 Capacity: 120 Guests

Five Towns Chimichurri Charcoal Kitchen Address:450 Rockaway Turnpike Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone: (516) 371-3600 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 5 Tables

Cork & Slice Address: 477 Chestnut Street Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Phone: (516) 837-7788 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 30 Guests

Doma Land + Sea Address: 490 Chestnut Street Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Phone: (516) 881-7712 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 80 Guests

Prime Bistro Address: 305 Central Avenue – Lawrence, NY 11516 Phone: (516) 374-7772 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 20 Guests (Call ahead to expand)

NYC Kosher in Midtown Address: 43 East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016 Phone: (212) 725-8100 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 8 Guests

Le Marai Address: 150 W. 46th Street New York, NY 10036 Phone: (212) 869-0900 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 60 Guests

Mr. Broadway Address: 1372 Broadway, New York, NY 10018 Phone: (212) 921-2152 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 60 Guests

Tishrei 5781 Edition 71

Noi Due Cafe (and Meat Karne) Address: 143 W 69th St New York, NY 10023 Phone: (212) 712-2222 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 30 Guests

Reserve Cut Address: 40 Broad Street, 2nd Level New York, NY 10004 Phone: (212) 747-0300 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 20 Tables

Talia’s Steakhouse Address: 668 Amsterdam Ave. New York, NY 10025 Phone: (212) 580-3770 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 24 Guests

Tiberias Restaurant Address: 45 East 34th St. New York, NY 10016 Phone: (212) 481-4222 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 40 Guests

UN Plaza Garden Address: 845 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 Phone: (212) 223-1801 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 50 Guests

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Wolf & Lamb Steakhouse NYC Address: 16 East 48th Street New York, NY 10017 Phone: (212) 317-1950 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 24 Guests

Staten Island Dairy Palace Kosher Pizza and Dairy Restaurant Address: 2216 Victory Blvd, Staten Island NY 10314 Phone: (718) 761-5200 Outside Seating Available Capacity: 25 Guests

72 COLlive Magazine

HUMOR

Use Your Head

By Mordechai Schmutter

Despite their seriousness, there are funny things my family and I say and do during the yamim noraim The yamim noraim are a serious time, and we do a lot of things in all seriousness.

But in all seriousness, it’s sometimes difďŹ cult for our kids to tell which things are minhagim and which we just happen to do. So you should really take the time to talk to your kids about it. Sooner than later, especially if your minhag is not to talk on Yom Kippur.

35

Here are typical things my family and I do during the yamim noraim: 74 COLlive Magazine

1.

We have a minhag to polish our silver before Yom Tov because Rosh Hashanah is the time to polish your silver.

Metaphorically. But also physically. Pesach was 6 months ago, and no offense, but you’ve been making things filthy. And anyway, I always mean to polish the silver before Pesach, but then I realize, “Why do I need to polish my chometzdikke silver that I’m putting in a breakfront that I am then covering with foil?”

2.

We have a minhag, once we’re paying for seats, to be very conservative over which of our kids will actually sit for all of davening. (“Nah, Shmuly doesn’t need his own seat. He’ll just sit in mine and I’ll stand over him. He’s only here for the parts I need to stand for anyway.”)

3.

I have a minhag to wonder why I have to buy seats for Yom Kippur, when on Tisha B’Av I can just bring my own.

4.

My students have a minhag to ask me for mechilah, because in the 5 days of school we’ve had so far, they’ve done so much to me that mechilah is really their only option.

5.

They have a minhag to do this before Rosh Hashanah and then AGAIN before Yom Kippur.

6.

I have a minhag that my Hataras Nedarim group somehow ends up being the one with seven guys.

7.

We have a minhag to come home on Rosh Hashanah night and entirely butcher saying “L’shana tovah” to the women and toddlers, making it obvious that we have no idea of how Hebrew grammar works (“L’shana tovah tikasavna…

Nu?...No?”) while the women all laugh because they all took dikduk in school and we never make them butcher a Gemara in front of us. We should probably look in the machzor, because the most polite way to say, “Have a good year,” is with our nose in a sefer.

8.

My kids have a minhag on the first night of Rosh Hashanah to say things like, “I’m starving; I haven’t eaten all year!” “You smell like you haven’t showered since last year!” “This food tastes like it was made last year!”

9.

I have a minhag to have no idea how to cut a round challah. Do I cut it like a pie?

Do I cut it like a normal challah so that some people get a huuuuuuuuuuge slice? There is no good way. I think I’m supposed to cut it horizontally like a roll, put some honey in the middle, and let everyone else cut their own challos.

10.

We have a minhag to not be sure whether to put honey on the challah and then figure out how to give it out, or to pass the challah around followed by the honey dish so half the people take a bite before realizing that they’re supposed to be waiting

for the honey. Sometimes they go around the table in opposite directions.

11.

My wife has a minhag to make some raisin challos, and the kids have a minhag to throw a fit about it because raisins are not that good with mayonnaise.

12.

We have a minhag to leave bits of challah in the honey so it’s less appealing for subsequent meals.

13.

We have a minhag, as we eat the date, to tease someone at the table about shidduchim.

14.

I have a minhag to buy tongue for Rosh Hashanah, because it’s a lot better than fish head, but then I buy a fish head too because that’s what my father does.

15.

We have the minhag to try cooking the fish head in all different kinds of sauces and brines, and the fish head has a minhag to always taste the same, regardless.

16.

We have a minhag to cut a whole bunch of jelly fish in half and then give out the heads as treats on Rosh Hashanah. We’re never sure when it’s okay to serve the tails, though. One year we’re going to give them to everyone we know for Shalach Manos.

17.

I have a minhag to put a piece carrot over the fish eye so he’s not looking at me.

Tishrei 5781 Edition 75

HUMOR

18.

We have a minhag that, by the time we finish eating the simanim, we have no room for the rest of the meal.

19.

I have a minhag, since I paid for a seat, to pay attention for all of davening so I can get my money’s worth.

25.

My minhag is to forget that we say Baruch Sheim out loud on Yom Kippur until the entire tzibbur launches into it when I’m well into V’ahavta.

any of my kids are.

31.

We have a minhag to not be sure the second night whether we’re also supposed to do simanim too, or just the new fruit.

26.

32.

I have a minhag to take a nap on Yom Kippur during the break, despite the fact that I feel worse when I wake up than I did before I went to sleep. I think it’s the nap.

I have a minhag every year to be mekabel that I’m going to start davening with the proper kavana. Then I think, “Just because I have time to daven with proper kavana today, when the chazzan is singing, doesn’t mean that I’m going to have this kind of kavana on work days.” And I go back and forth about it, and then I realize that the chazzan has done like 6 pages without me.

22.

27.

33.

20.

We have a minhag to look at the clock as we finish davening, because we just know people are going to ask.

21.

I have a minhag to encourage my kids to say the paragraphs in the machzor that have bigger fonts. I personally have no idea which to pick and choose, but the typesetter probably knew what he was doing.

23.

All the shuls I’ve davened in have a minhag that when there’s a part of davening that the chazzan is supposed to say three times and then everyone else is supposed to say it three times, for everyone to launch into it after he says it just once because his pause is too long.

24.

We have a minhag, when the chazzan sings really long, to count how many pages are left. As if the amount of pages left has any bearing on how long the chazzan is going to stretch a given word.

76 COLlive Magazine

I have a minhag, when I’m saying that paragraph before shofar blowing that I have to say seven times, that I secretly use my fingers to keep track. And then to forget halfway throgh whether I’ve been putting up fingers at the beginning of the paragraph or at the end.

28.

I have a minhag to suddenly remember after the chazzan makes the bracha for shofar that there are a million instructions about davening that I haven’t told my kids.

29.

My shul has a minhag to give out paper towels for Va’anachnu Kor’im. And to save them from year to year. Is your shul as generous?

30.

I have a minhag to look up after Tashlich and realize I have no idea where

I have a minhag to define “new fruit” every year as “a fruit that we have never eaten ever in our entire lives,” and to come home with something before Yom Tov that we cannot eat without first printing out instructions.

I once came home with something called a monster fruit, and then I learned that if you eat it wrong, it can make your mouth bleed. But so can a pineapple.

We have a minhag that, in addition to whatever weird new fruit I buy, we also eat star fruit.

34.

I have a minhag – seeing as experts recommend that we drink 8 cups of water every day – to drink 16 cups right before Yom Kippur.

35.

We have a minhag to break our Tzom Gedalyah fast on leftovers from the three-day Yom Tov. (“Tzimmes and Fish Head? No thanks. I think I’ll fast another day.”)

Mordechai Schmutter is a freelance writer and a humor columnist for Hamodia, COLlive.com and other publications. He also has six books out and does stand-up comedy. He can be contacted at mschmutter@gmail.com

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