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September 27 27 Elul, 5779 Parshat Nitzavim Candle Lighting: 6:32 pm
Issue #2 September 26, 2019 26 Elul, 5779
Caskey Torah Academy Celebrates a Chanukat Habayit and Hachnasat Sefer Torah By Nachi Troodler
S See ad on page 5
CANDLE LIGHTING
everal hundred people gathered at Caskey Torah Academy (CTA) in Wynnewood on Sunday, September 15, for a special Chanukat Habayit, which marked the exciting culmination of a construction project that completely transformed the physical building that houses the pre-K-8 school. In addition, the festivities included a Hachnasat Sefer Torah, which infused the program with an even greater degree of exhilaration. Under a bright sunny sky, parents and children watched as members of the community sat next to the sofer and helped complete the final letters of the new Sefer Torah, which was generously donat-
ed by Galitte and Bobby Den and family. The crowd then joined together in song as the Torah was danced to the CTA building under a special chuppah that enveloped it. Before entering the building, the procession paused for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony before heading to the gym, where the sound of joyous singing filled the air as people danced with the school’s Sifrei Torah. “Our parents have instilled in us a commitment to chesed and taught, through their actions, the importance of leading by example,” said Dr. Bobby Den. “When we heard about the school’s need for a new Sefer Torah, we could not pass up the opportunity. We are grateful for all that CTA has provided our children and
From L-R: Dr. Herb Caskey, Dr. Bobby Den, and Rabbi Zvi Chaim Pincus of Tiferes Stam
CONTINUED ON P. 16
Ahavas Torah Celebrates United Hatzalah: Saving Lives When Seconds Matter its Annual Dinner By Sam Maron
C
ongregation Ahavas Torah in Northeast Philadelphia celebrated its annual dinner on Sunday evening, September 8. The shul, which has been a mainstay of the Rhawnhurst community for the past four decades, honored Mr. and Mrs. Ziv and Helena Carmel. Ziv Carmel, who serves as the shul’s Gabbai Rishon, exhibited his sense of humor
while addressing the crowd of approximately 125 attendees, including the Carmels’ friends and family. “I know why we’re here,” he said. “Don’t think I don’t know that Helena and I are only here to help raise money for the shul. We’re just your one-night money objects.” But speaker after speaker disagreed with Carmel’s assessment of why he and his
CONTINUED ON P. 18
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The Erlbaum family visiting United Hatzalah’s headquarters in Israel. SEE STORY ON P. 19
PAGE 3
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3
W UPPING THE PRESSURE, RIVLIN INVITES NETANYAHU AND GANTZ FOR UNITY TALKS
(JNS and Israel Hayom) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, to his residence on Monday in an effort to sway the leaders of the two largest Knesset factions to form a unity government and end the political gridlock that has emerged from the country’s September 17 election. Netanyahu accepted the president’s invitation immediately, with Gantz accepting about an hour later. Under Israeli law, following a general election, the president must task a Knesset member with forming a new government. The president must choose the Knesset member that he believes has the best chance of winning a confidence vote in the Knesset plenum. In the Sept. 17 election, Blue and White and its allies got 54 seats, whereas Likud and its allies got 55. The Yisrael Beiteinu Party, which has remained uncommitted to either bloc, got eight seats, essentially holding the balance of power. When Rivlin completed his consultations with all the Knesset factions on Monday, more Knesset members had recommended Netanyahu as the next prime minister. But despite this apparent victory, Rivlin has not tasked Netanyahu with forming a government because Yisrael Beiteinu can still deny him the votes he needs for a Knesset majority. Netanyahu sounded an upbeat note after it emerged that he had won the most support among Knesset members and was thus first in line to form a government. He called on Gantz to join him in a unity government, despite the Blue and White leader saying previously that he would not sit in a government with Netanyahu while the prime minister faces potential indictment on corruption charges. “A broad unity government is the only feasible option,” said Netanyahu, calling on Gantz to compromise. “Let’s have a frank discussion. We wanted to form a right-wing government, but this was not within our reach,” said Netanyahu. “But Gantz also failed to win enough seats, so a unity government is the only option. We must resolve this impasse by meeting and talking, with an outstretched hand of reconciliation that would best serve our nation.”
RLD NEWSBRIEFS
ISRAELI BASEBALL TEAM QUALIFIES FOR 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS
(JNS) For the first time, Israel’s national baseball team will vie for gold at the Olympic Games, having qualified in a match against South Africa just days after Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram secured a place in the Olympics rhythmic gymnastics contest. Former Major Leaguer Danny Valencia hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning of a qualifying match in Parma, Italy, sealing the team’s place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo with an 11-1 win. Only six national teams will play in Tokyo, with Israel being the first to qualify. This will be the first time Israel has participated in a team sport at the Olympic Games since 1974. The team advanced to the Europe/Africa Olympic qualifier after finishing fourth in the European Championship on September 13. The majority of the Israeli national team are Jewish Americans or Israelis who live in the United States, including former professionals.
BRITISH PREMIER ATTRIBUTES ATTACK ON SAUDI OIL TO IRAN
(JNS) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that his country is “attributing responsibility with a very high degree of probability to Iran” for the September 14 drone and cruise missile strike against the world’s top-producing oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Britain had previously avoided attributing blame for the attack, which caused severe damage at the Abqaiq and Khurais plants, though Saudi Arabia and the United States quickly asserted that Iran was the culprit, based on evidence they claim to have gathered from the site and through intelligence reports. Houthi rebels in Yemen, backed by Iran, immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, however they are not believed to possess the technological sophistication necessary to have carried out the attacks. Saudi Arabia supports the Yemeni government and is accused of primary responsibility for a blockade of Yemen, which has led to widespread starvation. Speaking to reporters accompanying him on a flight to the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, Johnson said that Britain is considering taking part in a U.S.-led military campaign to increase defense for Saudi Arabia in the wake of the attacks.
Johnson also said Britain will work to calm Middle East tensions. Iran has denied committing the attacks against Saudi Arabia.
SYRIA SAID TO BE MOVING TROOPS, MUNITIONS TO ISRAELI BORDER
(JNS) The Syrian military has sent reinforcements to the Israeli border, according to a report by the U.K.-based NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Saturday. The report did not cite reasons for the move, but came just hours after Syrian state media reported the downing of an explosives-laden drone in the Mount Hermon region. Tanks, vehicles, troops, ammunition and arms were sent to the towns of Jamlah and Aabdyn near the Syria-Israel border, according to SOHR, which claimed earlier this month that Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah is attempting to wrest control of the Quneitra area from anti-Assad rebels. The human-rights group reported a “continuous state of lawlessness” in the area, which has suffered multiple attacks on proIranian and pro-Syrian regime officials and media in recent months. On Saturday, Syrian state media reported the downing of an explosives-laden drone in the Quneitra area, a few miles from the Israeli border. While Syrian authorities insinuated that the drone came from Israel, Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that the aircraft belonged to Iran, noting that it had come down in the same place from which Iranian-backed forces attempted to launch a drone into Israel in August.
U.S. SANCTIONS CENTRAL BANK OF IRAN, GOING AFTER SUSPECTED FUNDING LINKED TO TERROR GROUPS
(JNS) The United States has sanctioned the Central Bank of Iran, almost a week after the Islamic Republic attacked two Saudi Aramco facilities in which President Trump instructed the U.S. Treasury Department to “substantially” increase sanctions on the regime. The Central Bank has allegedly provided funding to Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its elite Quds Force, in addition to Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in Syria and
TABLE OF CONTENTS World Newsbriefs..........................................4 Publisher’s Perspective..............................8 Editor’s Note....................................................8 Letters to the Editor......................................8 Op-Ed..................................................................9 Israel News.....................................................10 Community News..................................11-23 New Family Spotlight......................... 21 It’s Right in Your Own Backyard by Carly Chodosh........... 22 Divrei Torah..............................................24-27 STA”M Matters by Rabbi Yonah Gross....................... 25 Torah from Eretz Yisrael by Rabbi Moshe Taragin...................27 Features........................................................... 28 Health & Wellness...............................29-30 Eating Disorders: What Causes Them? by Frani Pollack.................................... 29 The Biopsychosocial Jewish Brain by Dovid Halpern................................. 29 Food & Wine...........................................31-35 House to Home by House of Kosher and Esther Chana Schechter.......... 31 Sous Vide or Not Sous Vide by Jonathan Chodosh........................ 32 Recipes From The Rebbetzin........ 34 Fun Corner..................................................... 36 Schools......................................................37-39 Sports............................................................... 40 To Speculate or Contemplate by Rabbi Abraham A. Levene................ 41 Home & Living...................................... 42-43 Lebanon. Both the IRGC and Hezbollah are U.S.-designated terrorist groups. Additionally, the Trump administration sanctioned the National Development Fund of Iran and Etemad Tejarate Pars Co. The NDF has allegedly been a major source of foreign currency and funding for the IRGC-QF and Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), while Etemad Tejarate Pars is an Iran-based firm that has been used to hide financial transactions for MODAFL’s military purchases, including funds originating from the NDF.
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THE PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE
R
osh Hashanah is a time for reflection and introspection. We ruminate on our personal and public actions, our relationship with Hashem, and our sense of inner worth. The period of the Yamim Noraim is an opportunity to ponder life in a manner in which we do not often do during the balance of the year. As we engage in spiritual contemplation, one of the things that we ought to consider is the world in which we live. We are privileged to dwell in a nation where we are given the freedom to practice our religion without the fear of reprisal, and we are afforded liberties that Jews in other countries are not necessarily granted. However, as we consider how fortunate we are to live in a society where freedom of religion is sacrosanct, we cannot ignore the fact that there are individuals in our midst for whom anti-Semitism, racism, and hatred are ingrained in their very being. Sadly, we are reminded of this
frightening fact all too often. Last October, a man walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh during davening on Shabbat morning and murdered eleven people. Last April, a shooting at Chabad of Poway in California on the last day of Pesach left one person dead and several others wounded. This past July, a member of the Young Israel of Greater Miami was shot as he stood outside the shul waiting for minyan to begin. The notion that a House of Worship could be an attractive target for individuals with deep-seated hatred is extremely disturbing. The fact that someone could somehow rationalize walking into a place of prayer and transforming it into a bloody battleground is incomprehensible. Yet, we have tragically seen that our shuls, which we consider to be sanctuaries, are in fact susceptible to heinous acts of bigotry and violence. As a community, we must not ignore the chilling reality of this growing threat. That is not to say we should feel a sense of trepidation when we walk into shul. On the contrary, we should feel a sense of exhilaration and exuberance when we walk into
a Beit Knesset. However, amidst the spiritual elation we should enjoy while at shul, we must always be cognizant of the need to remain vigilant. As we spend a great deal of time in shul during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in addition to thanking Hashem for the wonderful blessings that He mercifully bestows upon us, we should also remember to thank the security guard who may be standing outside the shul and the Shmira volunteers who give of their time to help keep us safe. We cannot pretend that the vulnerabilities do not exist. Nevertheless, we cannot let fear consume us and deprive us of the wonderful feeling that should permeate our heart and soul while we are davening in shul. It behooves all of us to have both kavanah and a degree of caution while at shul. We do not need to be fearful; rather, we simply need to be mindful of what is happening around us. Wishing everyone a ktiva v’chatima tova. May the year 5780 bring peace, prosperity, health and happiness to our entire community and to Jews around the world. Nachi Troodler, Publisher
EDITOR’S LETTER
T
here is something about this time of year and the change of season that is comforting and predictable. Our kids resume their back to school routines, the natural landscape begins to change with the onset of cooler temperatures, and we start to focus on the upcoming Yom Tovim. The knowledge that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are just around the corner can fill us with both exhilaration and trepidation. One can easily become
overwhelmed when contemplating all the upcoming hours we will spend in shul as well as all of the time we will spend cooking. However, I prefer to view it as an opportunity. I personally look forward to spending quality time with my children over the Yom Tovim in a relaxed, tech-free environment. In fact, if all of my children happen to be home simultaneously for Shabbos at any other time during the year, I joke, “It feels like yontif!” There are many features in this edition of the Link which will help set the Yom Tov mood. I particularly found inspiration in the insight-
ful Divrei Torah, as well as the recipes for Rosh Hashanah dessert. I am seriously contemplating making the Pomegranate Chocolate Ganache… and I don’t even bake! If we reflect on all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon us this past year, it becomes easier to approach the Yom Tovim with gratitude and a fresh perspective. In this chaotic, fast-paced world, Shabbos and Yom Tov are our true treasures. I hope you enjoy them. Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova U’metuka. Lisa Stein, Editor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This paper is great! I read it cover to cover, and enjoyed everything from community goings-on, to halacha, health and the beautiful pictures that highlighted Jewish life throughout the Philadelphia community. The layout is clean and very well thought out. Thank you for creating an enjoyable and relevant source of information for all. Hatzlacha! Debbi Frankel, Bala Cynwyd, PA Thank you for this newspaper. Information about the Orthodox community in Philadelphia was severely lacking prior to your publication. It was refreshing to hear
8
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about events in our community. Keep it up. Michael Schuman, Center City, PA I finally found something to read on Shabbat that is fulfilling and engaging! Thanks to your newspaper, a long-time void has been filled. We are so lucky to have a newspaper to read, especially with articles written by so many familiar and new faces in our very own Jewish community. As I flipped through each page, I couldn’t help but feel truly proud and excited to live in such a thriving Jewish community, and Baruch Hashem, you have brought that to the forefront for everyone
now. Looking forward to continued growth and success for your publication. Amanda Israel, Lower Merion, PA Congratulations on a job well done. The first edition was jam-packed with great articles, editorials and ads! Looking forward to the next edition. Linda Dubin Garfield, Wynnewood, PA A nicely done first edition! The Philadelphia Jewish Link was easy to read and informative. I was pleased to see the inclusivity of schools and the breadth of
Founder/Publisher Nachman Aaron Troodler Editor Lisa Stein Associate Editor Gwen Horowitz Contributing Editor Meryl Troodler Layout & Design Adam Negnewitzky Jewish Link Marketing Solutions Bookkeeper Gila Negnewitzky Consultants Moshe Kinderlehrer Jewish Link Media Group Contributors Carly Chodosh Jonathan Chodosh Dovid Halpern David Magerman Sam Maron Ari Nestlebaum Dr. Frani Pollack Yaeli Sokolic PJL Media Group, LLC P.O. Box 956 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 www.PhillyJewishLink.com Phone: 484-424-5200 Email: publisher@PhillyJewishLink.com Advertising: ads@PhillyJewishLink.com To submit news, events and photos: news@PhillyJewishLink.com The Philadelphia Jewish Link welcomes letters to the editor, which can be emailed to editor@PhillyJewishLink.com. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and appropriateness. We do not welcome personal attacks or disrespectful language and replies to letters through our website comment feed will not be posted online. We reserve the right to not print any letter. The Philadelphia Jewish Link, an independent publication, promotes Judaism and Zionism, and vigorous debate on these topics. The opinions reflected in articles from our contributors do not necessarily reflect PJL’s positions. We reserve the right to accept or refuse submissions and edit for content and length. We also reserve the right to refuse advertising that in our opinion does not reflect the standards of the newspaper. We are not responsible for the kashrus of any product advertised in the Philadelphia Jewish Link. The PJL does not endorse any medical or nutritional claims by writers in our paper. The Philadelphia Jewish Link asks our advertisers to use pictures of women and men in their advertisements when women and men are mentioned.
geographical coverage. The Philadelphia Jewish Link was set up well and included a wide variety of Jewish community happenings and topics of interest. I am looking forward to seeing how the newspaper grows. Debbie Lurie, Bryn Mawr, PA September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
OP-ED
A ‘Unity Government’ Cannot Exclude Religious Parties Forcing the religious parties out of politics fails to address the reality that the religious sector is the nation’s fastestgrowing population, and as much a part of the fabric of Israel as secular kibbutzniks and everyone in between. By Alex Traiman of JNS
T
ry as some politicians might to make the current election about rifts between secular and religious Israelis, both the April and September polls were about a single issue: whether or not Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to serve as Israel’s prime minister. As part of a strategy to hurt Netanyahu and his preferred coalition partners, fiercely secular opponents have taken secondary aim at the politics of ultra-Orthodox political parties, while calling for a “secular unity government.” Since his foray into politics from his chair as a television presenter, Yair Lapid has been working to advance an anti-religious political agenda, just as his father, Tommy Lapid, did when he led the Shinui Party to 15 seats in 2003. The younger Lapid, running on a similar agenda, secured 19 seats in 2013 as head of the Yesh Atid Party, but fell to 11 seats in 2015 following a brief and relatively unsuccessful stint as finance minister. Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories Today, Lapid is co-leader of the Blue and White Party and, according to the terms of a conditional rotational agreement he signed with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, potentially a prime minister-in-waiting. Blue and White, a technical alliance between Lapid’s Yesh Atid, Gantz’s Resilience Party and the Telem Party under Moshe Ya’alon, was created with a singular goal in mind: to defeat Netanyahu— something no single party, including the left-wing stalwart Labor Party, was able to achieve in previous elections. In fact, many of Blue and White’s votes in April, as well as in September, came directly from Labor, which received 24 mandates in 2015, but collapsed down to six in April and September. That 18-mandate differential by all accounts went directly to Blue and White, and accounted for the majority of Blue and White’s 33 seats following the Sept. 17 elections. Avigdor Lieberman first entered the Knesset as part of the right-wing National Union Party that has typically been run by religious settlers. Even after Lieberman’s Russian-speaking Yisrael Beiteinu first ran as an independent party, Lieberman often joined right-wing coalitions supported by religious parties. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Leader of Yisrael Beiteinu Party Avigdor Lieberman (right) speaks with Yesh Atid Party leader Yair Lapid in the corridors of the Israeli parliament on Nov. 16, 2015. Photo by Miriam Alsterl/Flash90. In November 2018, Lieberman resigned as defense minister, citing a spat with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the nation’s response to the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu preferred a softer and more cautious approach, and imposed his will on his more hawkish defense minister. However, many believe that Lieberman resigned to get the jump on an early election season that was coming as part of Netanyahu’s strategy to insulate himself from pending indictments on multiple corruption charges. Following April’s elections and his initial endorsement of Netanyahu as prime minister, Lieberman refused to join a right-wing government, citing the inability of the government to pass a controversial law that would increase the number of religious conscripts to the IDF. Unable to forge a compromise within his right-wing camp—and without Lieberman’s critical five seats—Netanyahu fell one seat short of a majority and forced the dissolution of the Knesset just weeks after it had been sworn in. Throughout the September election campaign, Lieberman, like Lapid, has run on a secular political agenda. His recent maneuvers have secured Yisrael Beiteinu eight seats—three more than he achieved in April and two more than 2015. The otherwise small increases are noteworthy because the votes appear to have been siphoned away from Likud, which ended two seats behind Blue and White in the September elections, placing Netanyahu’s political future in doubt. Together with Lieberman, Israel’s right
wing would still produce a 63-seat majority. However, Lieberman, a longtime Netanyahu nemesis, seems intent on ending the reign of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Lieberman’s strategy has involved turning on his longtime religious political colleagues, who remain Netanyahu’s preferred coalition partners. Now, In the absence of a clear winner in the current election, both Lieberman and Lapid have been calling for a “secular unity government” to be formed by Blue and White, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu. The only problem with these calls is that they in no way represent a unity approach. The disagreements that many nonreligious Israelis and political parties have with haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties represent significant social issues. They center around long-standing political agreements that provide exemptions from military service to religious men; disproportionately large stipends to religious learning institutions that support a majority of religious men studying Torah full-time, instead of entering the workforce; and political monopolies over key state religious services, including kashrut certification, marriage, conversion and key holy sites, such as the Western Wall plaza. Failing to carefully address these issues fuels societal rifts that rise to the surface on an ever-increasing basis. As difficult to reach or implement in the short term as they may be, delaying resolutions will make future solutions even more complicated. Yet with significant geopolitical and security threats, economic challenges and the looming possibility of
a major post-Netanyahu leadership vacuum, the formation of the next government should not hinge on its ability to suddenly solve long-standing and complicated issues of religion and state. Furthermore, solutions to these issues cannot be imposed by secular Israelis intent solely on breaking the religiouspolitical structure, just as religious parties cannot blindly impose their will on a majority of Israelis who are uncomfortable with the status quo. Solutions also cannot be hastily imposed by a government that has yet to establish the stability requisite to deal with any major societal issue. Forcing the religious parties out of politics fails to address the reality that the religious sector is the nation’s fastest growing population and as much a part of the fabric of Israel as secular kibbutzniks and everyone in between. Solutions will come only from putting aside differences and working together for the collective good of society. Inherent in any solutions must be compassion for diverse religious and secular sectors alike, both of which are negatively impacted by the current political compromises. In addition, while the Likud itself is not a religious party, it is supported in large numbers by religious and traditional Israelis, meaning that it is not a classic secular party and is not advancing a secular agenda. Without the Likud, the secular parties are far from being a political majority. At a time of increasing political rifts and the seeming inability of either right or left to govern alone, unity and repairing fractures is necessary to keep Israel on a growth trajectory. An alliance between Blue and White, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu could legitimately be termed a politically centrist government and may represent a likely coalition outcome in the absence of a strong majority right-wing or left-wing bloc. Religious parties may or may not be part of the next government for a number of reasons. Yet there is currently no mandate in Israel for a specifically “secular” government, just as any political alignment that was specifically hinged on the exclusion of a particular sector could not be considered a “unity” government. Alex Traiman is managing director and Jerusalem Bureau Chief of Jewish News Syndicate
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ISRAEL NEWS
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UN Releases ‘Unprecedented’ Report that Links Anti-Semitism to BDS Movement The report also recommends that all member states adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antiSemitism. So far, 18 of them have done so. (JNS) sraeli, Jewish and pro-Israel groups all applauded the publication of an ‘unprecedented’ United Nations report on anti-Semitism, that, among other issues, links anti-Semitism to criticism of Israel and the BDS movement. “This report marks one of the first times the U.N. has addressed the issue of anti-Semitism in any detail,” said Anne Herzberg, Legal Advisor and U.N. Liaison at NGO Monitor. “The Special Rapporteur condemned the use of anti-Semitic tropes and denial of Israel’s right to exist by BDS activists. Importantly, the Rapporteur also recommends the IHRA definition as a useful tool in combating anti-Semitism. Hopefully, U.N. bodies, particularly the Human Rights Council, will follow the Rapporteur’s lead by adopting IHRA and ending their promotion of anti-Semitic tropes and attacks on Israel’s legitimacy.” The report, “Combatting Antisemitism to Eliminate Discrimination and Intolerance Based on Religion or Belief,” that was released by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, defines anti-Semitism as a global phenomenon—not one largely confined to the United States and Europe—as has been the case in many previous U.N. reports. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that the sources of anti-Semitism are varied, coming from the far right, from members of radical Islamist groups and from the political left. The report identifies violence, discrimination and expressions of hostility motivated by Jew-hatred as a serious obstacle to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief. It expresses “serious concern that the frequency of anti-Semitic incidents appears to be increasing in magnitude and that the prevalence of antiSemitic attitudes and the risk of violence against Jewish individuals and sites appears to be significant, including in coun-
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tries with little or no Jewish population.” Additionally, the report “notes claims that the objectives, activities and effects of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement are fundamentally antiSemitic.” The report recommends that all U.N. member states adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of anti-Semitism. So far, 18 of them have done so. “The Special Rapporteur recognizes that the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism can offer valuable guidance for identifying anti-Semitism in its various forms, and therefore encourages States to adopt it for use in education, awarenessraising, and for monitoring and responding to manifestations of anti-Semitism,” states the report. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, commented that “we welcome the release of this unprecedented report on the subject of anti-Semitism. The report reflects the organizational change towards Israel. The assertion that the BDS movement encourages anti-Semitism is an important U.N. statement. As I have said many times, anti-Semitism has no place in our society, and must be denounced everywhere and from every platform.” “Thanks to Ahmed Shaheed’s methodical and determined leadership, the U.N. finally is recognizing the severity of this ages-old hatred against Jews, and offering constructive guidance to member states on how to combat anti-Semitism effectively in their own countries and globally,” said Felice Gaer, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights. The World Jewish Congress also applauded the report’s release. “We hope that this report serves as
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COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS PHILLY FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE
The Philly Friendship Circle, which connects teens and young adults to youth with special needs and their families through a full range of social
offerings, recently held its first Sunday Circle of the year. Participants had fun in karate, drum circle, bounce house and making their own sensory goo.
BUSINESS ALLIANCE NETWORK GROUP
The Business Alliance Network Group (BANG) held a networking event at Citron & Rose Tavern in Bala Cynwyd on September 17. Approximately fifty people came to meet, network, exchange ideas, and grow their respective businesses through referrals at the event, which was sponsored by Amin Taghavi of Rock Hill Financial and organized by Anne Goldberg.
BOYS TOWN JERUSALEM
Each year, Boys Town Jerusalem’s Mid-Atlantic region remembers two beloved friends at the Annual Harry Levin/ Sam Rabinowitz Memorial Golf Outing. This summer’s outing, played at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, was a huge success, reaching a record 140 players and raising $169,000 for scholarship assistance for BTJ’s students. Since its founding in 1948, Boys Town Jerusalem has pursued its mission of turning young boys from limited backgrounds into young men with limitless futures. From Junior High through the college level, the three-part curriculum at BTJ - academic, technological and Torah - is designed to turn otherwise dis-
NCSY Over 100 people, including nearly 90 local teens and a number of NCSY advisors, gathered at the
September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
RABBI MANSOUR VISITS CHERRY HILL
advantaged Israeli youth into productive citizens of tomorrow.
From L-R: Justin Miller, Zac Miller, Brent Celek (a former player for the Philadelphia Eagles), Bob Miller, and Sam Miller home of NCSY of Greater Philadelphia’s Director Rabbi Yitz and Frimi Levi on Friday night, September 20, for a special Oneg. On Motzei
Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill welcomed Rabbi Eli Mansour on September 16 for a special program about preparing for the Yamim Noraim.
Henri C. Levit, Boys Town Jerusalem Mid-Atlantic Chairman Shabbat, 130 people joined NCSY of Greater Philadelphia for its annual Terror Behind the Walls event.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Family with Lower Merion Ties Spearheads New YU Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center By PJL Staff
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eshiva University recently announced the creation of the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The Center’s consequential mission will be to train both school and university educators in the field of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, with plans to offer graduate programs in the discipline, as well as to provide programming that seeks to combat contemporary prejudices and hateful ideologies. Emil Fish, a Holocaust survivor and the generous benefactor who made the Center possible, believes it is important to provide educators with the resources and programs needed to impart the relevancy of the Holocaust to a new generation of students who know less and less about this catastrophic period in contemporary history. By doing so, the Center will play an integral role in the Jewish future by promoting a deeper understanding of the past. The ultimate purpose of the Center is to apply the lessons learned from the Holocaust and other genocides to combat prejudices, hateful ideologies, and future atrocities. Fish, who came to Lower Merion in 2015 with his wife Jenny in order to be closer to his daughter Monique Mogyoros and her family, commutes between
Emil Fish Los Angeles and Lower Merion, as he still works on the West Coast. “I realized there was no large wellknown University Holocaust Center in America to train educators, and to me this was mind-boggling,” Fish said when asked by the PJL why he decided to get in-
volved with creating the Center. “The survivors are dying out and the story needs to be told through educators. I thought Yeshiva University, being a Jewish university, was an ideal place to house such an institution. We lost six million Jewish lives, including one million children, and I don’t think enough is done to educate the public about the consequences of what prejudice and disrespect of different religious backgrounds, cultures, and races can cause.” The Center, which will be located on YU’s Wilf Campus, will also conduct academic research and organize public events to further the goal of extending Holocaust education to people of all ages and backgrounds. By leveraging the uniquely qualified faculty and resources of Yeshiva University’s undergraduate, graduate and professional schools and affiliates, the Center will serve as an impactful and essential focus of research, education, teacher training and public programming around Holocaust and Genocide Studies. “At a moment when Holocaust education and awareness across the globe is transitioning from a pedagogy of living testimony to one anchored in memory, the Center—established through the visionary generosity of Emil and Jenny Fish—will serve a crucial role as a leader and role model for a new generation of Holocaust scholarship and education,”
said Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University. “My vision for the Center is that it will be a place to educate people about the Holocaust and to create a graduate program where educators can come and be trained in Holocaust education,” Fish told the PJL. “My hope is that these educators can then go into schools and universities and teach Holocaust studies and educate the next generation. The horrors of the Holocaust are going to be forgotten after the survivors are gone if we don’t make sure that Holocaust education is taught in schools and if universities don’t provide teachers with the tools needed to teach it properly.” Emil Fish, who was born in Bardejov, Slovakia, was sent with his mother and sister to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he was liberated in 1945. They later reunited with his father. The family emigrated to Canada and arrived in Los Angeles in 1955. Mr. Fish founded the Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee in 2006. Fish, who has an Engineering degree from USC, is the president of Fish Construction Co., Inc. and Regency Park Senior Living, Inc. He has served as president of several Jewish organizations in Los Angeles. In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
The Philadelphia Jewish Link had an opportunity to ask Emil Fish several questions concerning anti-Semitism today and his efforts relating to Jewish preservation and Holocaust education. PJL: At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise and religious intolerance is becoming all too prevalent, how important of a tool is education in combating bigotry? Emil Fish: The Holocaust is an important event to remember and understand not just because of the past, but because of its serious implications for today. It is crucial not just to remember the results of the Holocaust. It is imperative to remember the background and the environment that allowed such atrocities to take place. The culture and attitude at the time were things that contributed to the rampant anti-Semitism that existed in Europe, and education about how these religious intolerances led to horrible consequences throughout history is crucial for prevention in the future. Unfortunately, antiSeptember 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Semitism and religious intolerance never disappear, and we need to think about what we can learn from the past and channel that into prevention. We need to re-examine, research, and study the history of the Holocaust to understand how it was possible to kill six million Jews without having anybody in the world intervene. The challenge is to teach and explain the history of the Holocaust to students. As the survivor population gets smaller and smaller, we hope the students (from this generation) have the knowledge from the history of the Holocaust to make sure it will never happen again. Education is the fastest way to eradicate anti-Semitism. If we start teaching children when they are young to respect different religions, cultures and races, it
will help eradicate anti-Semitism. To accomplish this, we need to train teachers by attracting students to our Master’s and PhD programs. PJL: You have been very active in projects and organizations that focus on the preservation of Jewish history and Holocaust education. Why have you chosen to focus your effort and energy on these specific issues? Emil Fish: Jewish people believe in the preservation of our history, culture, and heritage. We learn from the past and we follow the traditions and practices of our ancestors. I have established the Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee and built a monument in order not to forget the victims of the Shoah, thus advancing the Holocaust Remembrance. I was born in the town of Bardejov in
Eastern Slovakia, population of 10,000, where out of approximately 3,000 Jews, 90% did not survive the Holocaust. As a survivor of Bergen-Belsen, over the past few decades, I have felt it was my duty to remember those who did not survive. Remember where they came from, what their lives were like, and who they were. It is our responsibility to preserve the heritage, memory and legacy of those who perished. It is common knowledge that the most fervent wish of the victims as they were led to the gas chambers was, “Do not forget us.” This is why I have dedicated the past 15 years of my life to advancing Holocaust remembrance. Anti-Semitism is deep-rooted and very hard to eradicate. We must remind the world the results of anti-Semitism to make sure the victims’ deaths were not in vain.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
A New Building for the Bensalem Jewish Outreach Center By PJL Staff
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ocated in southern Bucks County, the Bensalem Jewish Outreach Center (BJOC) is perhaps one of the Greater Philadelphia community’s best kept secrets. With an array of exciting and innovative programming, the BJOC is a multi-faceted organization dedicated to providing education and outreach to the Jewish community in and around Bucks County. The BJOC recently achieved its latest milestone, with the purchase of a new building to further expand their physical presence and enable them to enhance their various programmatic offerings to the community. Approximately four months ago, the empty BB&T Bank next to the Bensalem Jewish Outreach Center went up for sale. Although there was a large gap between the asking price and the amount that the BJOC felt it could pay, the two sides ultimately reached an agreement, with the caveat that they close on the property by September 13, or else the seller would renege. At that point, Rabbi Moshe Travitsky, head of the BJOC, went to work. Knowing that he had to raise funds to complete the purchase of the new building, he embarked on a capital campaign. As a result of his tireless efforts and the generosity of a wide group of donors, the BJOC raised the capital needed and closed on the building just prior to the deadline. “The whole thing is an open miracle,” said Rabbi Travitsky. “Hashem wanted us to have the new building and He made it happen.” “This is not just another building – it is a game changer,” Rabbi Travitsky added. “A lot of generous people helped make it happen.” The BJOC came about as a result of the unflagging dedication and dogged determination of Rabbi Travitsky and his wife, Malky. Rabbi Travitsky, who was born in Harrisburg, PA, attended Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, NY, and Yeshivas Mir in Jerusalem. He continued his studies at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ, where he received his smicha. Malky Travitsky, who hails from Forest Hills, NY, studied at Bais Yaakov Seminary in Jerusalem and holds a BS in Computer Science from Queens College. In 1996, Rabbi Travitsky assumed the position as Rabbi of Kehillas B’nai Shalom in Bensalem. Shortly thereafter, he embarked upon a campaign to build the
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Bucks County Mikvah and founded the Bensalem Community Kollel and the Bensalem Jewish Outreach Center. Malky Travitsky, who runs the busy Travitsky household and the BJOC office, also directs all of the women’s outreach activities in the community. The BJOC’s new building will be used
to house the Bucks County Hebrew School, which offers a fun and friendly program where children are proud of their Jewish roots regardless of their level of observance. There is also a strong emphasis on adult education. The Family Partnership Program provides parents with the opportunity to study in class
while their children are simultaneously learning with their peers. The synagogue on site, Kehillas B’nai Shalom, offers traditional and explanatory daily, Shabbos, and Yom Tov services. After davening on Shabbos morning, attendees are treated to a lavish kiddush. The BJOC also oversees a vibrant Kollel, where young men are immersed in full-time Torah study. The members of the Kollel also devote their evenings to studying with local community members, either in a group session or via one-onone study. Furthermore, the BJOC campus also features the Joseph and Martha Melohn Bucks County Mikvah, which is a beautifully designed, tastefully decorated, stateof-the-art mikvah, which attracts women from near and far. “Our goal is to help all Jews throughout Bucks County discover more about their heritage, and become more familiar with their traditions,” said Rabbi Travitsky. “By sharing the warmth and joy that learning and living a Torah life provides, we connect to Jews from all backgrounds and all affiliations.”
September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Vaad Harabbanim’s donors will merit a good year R' Chaim Kanievsky shlita
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September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
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COMMUNITY NEWS Caskey Torah Academy Celebrates a Chanukat Habayit CONTINUED FROM COVER are thrilled to show our hakaros hatov through this gift.” “We love CTA, which continues to provide our children with a wonderful education, a passion for Torah and a love of Judaism,” added Galitte Den. “As Torah is the heartbeat of CTA, we could not imagine this school without a Sefer Torah. Bringing a new Sefer Torah into the newly renovated CTA Beit Midrash was the crown jewel of this community-inspired transformation.” The celebration then moved upstairs to the beautiful new Beit Midrash, where the Sefer Torah was officially completed. While addressing the crowd after the new Sefer Torah was placed in the Aron Kodesh, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, said that, “It’s a pleasure to come into this building. I have been in this building many, many, times and I didn’t recognize the building. It’s like a new building altogether.” “Beyond the bricks of the building, we look at what this building stands for – a blueprint to building mensches, children for whom Torah is the center of their lives, where rebbeim and morot and teachers walk the halls and build relationships,” remarked Rabbi Isaac Entin, Head of School at CTA, during his address. “We have a beautifully fashioned building, but it is the beauty within the building that shines the brightest…It is with unbridled joy that we celebrate our Chanukas Habayis and place the heartbeat of our school into the Aron Kodesh.” The festivities then moved back outdoors, as people enjoyed some delicious food before being treated to a live concert by renowned Jewish music star Mordechai Shapiro. “This event was a celebration of how our community of supporters invested in the Orthodox day school that has been serving this region for over half a century,” said CTA President Dr. Nadav Schwartz. “It was a wonderful and fun-filled day that highlighted the dedication of our newly renovated building and the welcoming in of a brand new Sefer Torah. It was so inspiring to see our school community show their support and enjoy a beautiful and momentous occasion together.” Several years ago, it became apparent that the CTA building, which was constructed in the 1920s, no longer adequately met all of the needs of the school and its students. With the addition of new educational programs and professional positions over the course of many years, CTA required additional
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office, classroom, and function space. In addition, due to the age of the building, there were maintenance issues that needed to be addressed. Furthermore, it was apparent that school security needed to be bolstered. As a result, the lay leadership decided to embark on an ambitious capital campaign in order to raise the necessary funds to improve the school’s physical edifice. One of the highlights of the project was the construction of a small, 500 square-foot addition to the building which includes a new secure entrance to the school. Previously, individuals entered the building near the stairwell and were greeted by a security guard at a small desk. The new entrance introduces a vestibule where visitors are held in an air-lock until they are either buzzed into the administration office waiting area or sent back out the door. By being able to control entrance and egress, a safer and more secure environment was created. The main entrance was also equipped with a ramp system thereby making it handicap accessible. New ornamental fencing further protects the school building and playground areas from uninvited spectators and errant vehicles. Furthermore, the project focused on ensuring strict compliance to modern building code standards. The electrical system was replaced to minimize fire risk, and new fire suppression and alarm systems were installed. Doors and hardware were updated to provide better security and to facilitate easy opening for all users of the building. Every window throughout the school was replaced. A new elevator was installed to allow handicap access to the second floor teaching spaces. Wheelchair ramps and ADA compliant accommodations, as well as updated ADA compliant toilet rooms were installed as well. Additionally, CTA now has a new energy efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. “Our Chanukat Habayit was a joyous culmination of a multi-year, communitywide effort to renovate the old building that houses Caskey Torah Academy,” said Sara Bleier, a CTA board member who played an integral role in bringing the construction project to fruition. “This project represents a massive expression of love and trust from all the donors, and a manifestation of a belief in the school and in the community it serves. One man in particular, Dr. Herb Caskey, deserves recognition for his tremendous commitment to the next generation of Jewish education. In addition, all the teachers and administrators deserve acknowledgement
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Galitte and Dr. Bobby Den and family with Rabbi Zvi Chaim Pincus of Tiferes Stam
CTA Head of School Rabbi Isaac Entin dancing with the new Sefer Torah
From L-R: CTA President Dr. Nadav Schwartz and Dr. Herb Caskey
Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, dancing with Dr. Bobby Den and CTA Board Member Amir Goldman during the Hachnasat Sefer Torah September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
COMMUNITY NEWS
Jewish music star Mordechai Shapiro entertained the crowd at the Chanukat Habayit
CTA President Dr. Nadav Schwartz does hagbah and raises the new Sefer Torah following its completion
Caskey Torah Academy Celebrates a Chanukat Habayit
UN Releases ‘Unprecedented’ Report
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for their flexibility and sense of humor throughout the construction process. Thank you to every donor and every participant who made this all possible.” “We are so proud of our renovation and expansion which will serve our growing student body,” said Rabbi Entin. “Our students come to school excited and energized to start their day in a fresh and modernized building which allows our academic program to shine. Our building is poised to be a beacon for Torah education for years to come.”
an eye-opener to the United Nations and its member states and that they finally take concrete action to stem the surge of anti-Semitism across the globe,” said World Jewish Congress president Ronald S. Lauder. “We are grateful to have been able to take part in the facilitation of this research to ensure that the very real concerns facing our communities on a daily basis were not only taken into consideration, but also addressed as areas deserving of serious and direct attention.”
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CTA Head of School Rabbi Isaac Entin addresses the crowd during the Chanukat Habayit and Hachnasat Sefer Torah
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Honoree Ziv Carmel addresses the crowd at Congregation Ahavas Torah’s annual dinner credit: Ariel Boroda (AReal Photography & Video)
Ahavas Torah Celebrates its Annual Dinner CONTINUED FROM COVER wife were selected by the shul’s Board of Directors and Rabbi Mordecai Terebelo as the honorees for the shul’s annual dinner. “Ziv and Helena are tremendous role models for all of us,” Ahavas Torah President Yaakov Yermish said. “Whenever you ask them to do anything, they do it wholeheartedly… They never refuse. They are tremendous friends and Ba’alei Chesed.” “They are two people who are a real source of inspiration for our shul,” added Yermish. “Ziv has been Gabbai for the last six years and has been a Board Member at Large for the last two years. He is a very active member along with his wife, Helena, and they are both people I constantly find myself turning to for practical advice on how to advance ideas or approach things with our membership. They have a hand in almost every major event that takes place in connection with the shul, and for that alone I will always be grateful. They are not just innovators, but doers. They are both always there to pitch in.” Rabbi Terebelo agreed, citing Ziv’s
Dovid Garfinkel, who served as the master of ceremonies at Congregation Ahavas Torah’s annual dinner, addresses the crowd credit: Ariel Boroda (AReal Photography & Video) work as Gabbai Rishon and his efforts as the shul’s Baal Tokea on the Yamim Noraim. “When he first started blowing shofar for us, after his first Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, he told me, ‘Maybe find someone else,’” Rabbi Terebelo recalled. “I told him, no…you did very well…you’re it. That’s the kind of down-to-earth, modest, humble person he is.” The coming holiday season will be his third as the shul’s Baal Tokea, Rabbi Terebelo added. Full-Service Catering Available for Any Occasion Large and Small Events
Yermish also lauded Helena for her work in reinvigorating the shul’s Sisterhood. “She reached out to heretofore uninvolved women, got them involved and breathed new life into our Sisterhood.” “That’s the kind of first-rate volunteers they are. Ask either of them to do something for the shul and they get it done,” Yermish added. Noting how Ziv makes his presence known at nearby shuls, Rabbi Yitzchok Leizerowski, Morah D’Asrah of Congregation Bais Medrash Harav – B’nai Jacob, called him, “a member of my shul too…he comes by us and is just as at home there as he is with you.”
Honorees Ziv and Helena Carmel at Congregation Ahavas Torah’s annual dinner credit: Ariel Boroda (AReal Photography & Video)
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Rabbi Mordecai Terebelo addresses the crowd at Congregation Ahavas Torah’s annual dinner credit: Ariel Boroda (AReal Photography & Video) September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
COMMUNITY NEWS United Hatzalah: Saving Lives When Seconds Matter CONTINUED FROM COVER By Gwen Horowitz
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nited Hatzalah is Israel’s largest independent, non-profit, fully volunteer Emergency Medical Service organization. It provides the fastest emergency medical first response to all citizens in Israel, 365 days a year, for free. The organization is funded entirely by donations. Visitors to Israel can’t miss United Hatzalah’s iconic orange “ambucycles.” These motorcycles, which are retrofitted with all the lifesaving equipment found in an ambulance, are adept at weaving through urban traffic and narrow streets. They allow many of the organization’s 6,000 volunteer medics to respond to emergencies in an average time of three minutes across Israel, and 90 seconds in metropolitan areas. Eli Beer founded United Hatzalah at the age of 15. At the time, he was a volunteer medic and rode regularly in an ambulance. On one call, the ambulance he was riding in was delayed due to traffic and when he arrived on the scene, a seven-year-old boy had already died. This was the motivation for creating an organization dedicated to providing the fastest response time possible. Eli shared that United Hatzalah has lowered Israel’s emergency medical response time from 8-15 minutes or more, to its current three minutes or less, the fastest in the world. “It’s Uber for first responders. We stop wherever we are when the call comes and save lives.” United Hatzalah fields as many as 1,500 calls a day, and since its inception in 2006 has treated over 3.5 million people. On September 16, United Hatzalah held its first major fundraising event in Philadelphia at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The event featured cast members from the popular Israeli television drama series, Shtisel, who answered questions about the show posed by Rabbi Shmuel Lynn, the event’s moderator. Gary and Vicki Erlbaum, Philadelphiaarea philanthropists and community leaders, provided the impetus for United Hatzalah to host an event in their hometown. The Erlbaums visited the Hatzalah headquarters a couple of years ago on a family trip to Israel. They were so moved by the extraordinary impact the organization had on Israeli society that they made an immediate decision to donate an ambucycle. In his welcoming remarks, Gary said he will never forget how Eli Beer described the organization’s mission; “Think about each (person) like he is your own mother or father, run to him like he is your own son.” Shtisel tells the story of a fictional JewSeptember 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
From L-R: Neta Riskin, Dov Glickman, Ori Elon, Rabbi Shmuel Lynn United Hatzalah founder Eli Beer (center) with Philadelphia’s Bnei Akiva Shlichim Oded and Eliya Pe’er. Eliya’s mother is a United Hatzalah volunteer in Israel.
ish hareidi family living in Geula, Jerusalem. Created and written by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, it first aired in June 2013 on the Israeli network “yes Oh.” In the United States, the show is available on Netflix. The series follows the Shtisel family: patriarch Shulem, a rabbi at a neighborhood yeshiva; daughter Giti, who is dealing with marital problems; son Akiva, who struggles with passions which conflict with family expectations; and son Zvi Arie, the family peacemaker. Considered groundbreaking for its portrayal of an ultra-Orthodox family, Shtisel’s popularity has surprised everyone, especially its creators. During filming of an early episode, Neta Riskin (Giti Weiss) shared that she was upset by the timing of a scene. The script coordinator told her not to worry, saying, “no one is going to watch this anyway.” Event attendees Rodney
and Anne Elkin expressed sentiments common to many of the show’s fans. Rodney admitted that he and his wife had watched every episode, while Anne shared that they love the show because of the “humanity of the series” and how it “honors and does not denigrate” a family that struggles to balance religious obligations with outside pressures. The Annenberg Center crowd was excited to hear directly from the Shtisel actors. Asked why she attended, Merion Station resident Naomi Sved said she hoped to get “inside information” about the next season and was happy to support such a critical organization at the same time. Nina Dardashti echoed Naomi’s sentiments sharing that she loves the show and is curious about the characters and the actors’ take on them. Bala Cynwyd resident Isabelle Miller added that her only regret was that actor Michael
Philadelphia’s Bnot Sherut at the Shtisel event
Aloni (Akiva Shtisel) was not present. She finds the show compelling as it gives an honest and humanizing portrayal of a hareidi family facing the same everyday challenges we all encounter. Dov Glickman (Shulem Shtisel) shared a story about his personal connection to United Hatzalah. Two months ago, he sustained a serious head injury. United Hatzalah volunteers were on the scene almost immediately to provide treatment. His doctors said if it were not for the fast response time, Dov would not have survived. United Hatzalah relies on donations for its vital work and offers numerous sponsorship opportunities, including the ability to sponsor a “Day of Lifesaving.” Learn more about United Hatzalah’s work at https://israelrescue.org. Reflections on the Shtisel event by Professor Joel Hecker Netflix’s airing of Shtisel gave Englishspeaking audiences a glimpse into hareidi culture and lifestyle in Yerushalayim, but more importantly, a wonderfully written and performed sample of contemporary Israeli culture. The event at the Annenberg Center, featuring two of the show’s lead actors, provided the audience some insight into the actors themselves, as well as the experiences of making the show. For most North American Jews, the show provided the possibility of feeling connected to other Jews with whom they would never have a personal interaction. In contrast, the actors spoke about “getting into character,” the quality of the script, etc. What was most striking for this viewer is that for the actors it was not about their own Jewish identities at all, but rather about playing roles that they felt were well-written and interesting. Besides wanting to hear more from the actors, I would have liked to have heard these Israeli artists reflect on why they thought the North American audience was responding to something so different from their own engagement. On the same track, why might the casual viewer consider the show as an instance of nostalgia, rather than as evidence of the complexity of human characters their unlikability as well as their likability - regardless of the externals of garb and language.
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COMMUNITY NEWS Local Educator Becomes a Yoetzet Halacha By PJL Staff
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n her role as a Judaic Studies educator in the Lower Merion community, Stacey Goldman is well-known and well-respected. As a new Yoetzet Halacha, her ability to educate and impact others increases exponentially. Goldman, who has lived in Lower Merion for almost seventeen years, recently completed the Miriam Glaubach Center’s U.S. Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program at Nishmat and has been named the Yoetzet Halacha for Young Israel Aish of Las Vegas. In her new role, Goldman will address issues relating to the laws of family purity, as well as provide guidance in matters pertaining to family planning, infertility and psychological and physical issues related to family purity. The process to become a Yoetzet Halacha involves an approximately two-and-a-half-year program of intense study. Goldman noted that participants learn the full scope of Halacha from the Torah, Mishna, Gemara with the Rishonim, Tur, Beit Yosef, and Shulchan Aruch, all the way through to modern day poskim such as Rav Moshe
Feinstein and the Taharat HaBayit. In addition, there is a medical curriculum that encompasses women’s fertility, psychological, sexual, and physical health. “Twenty-three years ago, I was privileged to study at Nishmat in a program called the Machon Gavoha, which gave a monthly stipend for full-time, intense learning,” Goldman said. “During that year they were interviewing women for the inaugural class of Yoetzet Halacha fellows. The only reason I did not apply then is because I knew we were return-
ing to America in order for my husband to go to business school. My chavruta at the time, Tova Ganzel, went on to become one of the first Yoatzot Halacha. Rabbanit Henkin is truly one of my heroes in her ability to see a need in the Jewish community and develop a program of the highest standards to properly address the issue.” Stacey Goldman, who publishes reflective essays and articles on Jewish life and other topics, has taught Tanach for over fifteen years at Kohelet Yeshiva High School in Merion Sta-
tion, and previously taught at Maimonides High School in Boston. She has also taught at Aish HaTorah Philadelphia, the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, the University of Pennsylvania Hillel, Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia, and Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Goldman received her B.A. from Barnard College in Ancient Studies. She is married to Amir Goldman and is the proud mother of five delightful sons. “Las Vegas is a beautiful community filled with a vast array of Jews of all ages and stages, and the sincerity and commitment to growth through Torah and mitzvot is very inspiring,” Goldman said while discussing the impact that she hopes to have on the Las Vegas community as their new Yoetzet Halacha. “I am thrilled to work with the incredibly supportive rabbis to give women a comfortable address where they can ask any question they like in the areas of Taharat Hamishpacha and women’s health. I think having a Yoetzet Halacha can really impact the number of women asking questions and improve proper adherence to the mitzvot.”
Our Region’s 9/11 Memorials
9/11 Memorial in King of Prussia
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his past September 11 was the 18th anniversary of the World Trade Center terror attacks which killed 2,996 people. Memorial programs were held in Manhattan, Washington D.C., and around the country. Millions of people visit the World Trade Center site each year to pay their respects at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Philadelphia completed its own September 11 memorial in August of 2012 to honor all of the victims and heroes of the attacks. The names of the three Philadelphians who lost their lives at the World Trade Center are inscribed in granite blocks at the base of the memorial, which is located on the east side of the Schuylkill River, south of the Chestnut Street Bridge. A steel
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Philadelphia’s 9/11 Memorial I-beam from one of the Towers is part of the design. The three Philadelphians honored at the site are: Christopher Robert Clarke, Kevin Leah Bowser, and Jasper Baxter. The design features the steel beam, symbolically crashing down on a reflective granite base while pointing in the direction of the World Trade Center. Montgomery County has three 9/11
9/11 Memorial in Norristown memorials: one in Norristown outside the Montgomery County Courthouse dedicated in 2005; one in King of Prussia on the property of Fire Station 27 dedicated in 2011; and one in Conshohocken at the Washington Fire Company dedicated in 2015. All three memorials incorporate wreckage from the World Trade Center. Montgomery County lost eleven resi-
dents on 9/11, but the memorials were erected to honor all those individuals who lost their lives in the attack, as well as the heroic first responders. The Philadelphia Jewish Link honors the memories of all who perished on that tragic day, and is forever grateful to the thousands of first responders and the everyday heroes who did what needed to be done, no matter the cost. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
NEW FAMILY SP
TLIGHT
Rabbi Moshe and Yocheved Abrams (+ Gavriel and Yedidyah) Where did you grow up? Moshe: Pittsburgh, PA Yocheved: Boca Raton, FL Where did you move from? We moved from Washington Heights, NY (near Yeshiva University). Where did you move to? We live in Bala Cynwyd. When did you move here? At the end of July 2019. Why did you choose to move to this community? Growing up out-of-town and after
living near YU for a number of years, we were looking for a place to live with a high school where Moshe could teach and where we could be a part of a nice community. The Bala Cynwyd/Lower Merion community is a warm, inviting community with shuls, a kollel, and schools which successfully serves Jews of all different wavelengths. What do you do professionally? Moshe: Rebbe at Kohelet Yeshiva High School
Yocheved: Actuary at Lincoln Financial Group What are some of the things that you enjoy most about the Greater Philadelphia community? Friendliness of the members of the community, and easy access to shuls/ kollel/stores. What is a fun fact about your family that people may not know? We are a musical family – we both play the flute and enjoy singing, and Moshe plays guitar.
Rabbi Meir and Shoshana Freund + Sachi (Yissochar) Where did you grow up? Meir: I grew up in Cleveland, went to Ner Yisroel for High School and Yeshiva, and then was in Eretz Yisroel in Beis Yisroel for about four years before getting married. Shoshana: Originally from Far Rockaway. Went to the local high school (TAG) and then went to Darchei Binah for seminary. Thereafter, I attended school in Manhattan for Graphic Design. Where did you move from? When we first got married, we lived in Baltimore, where Meir was in Yeshiva and finishing his Master’s from Johns Hopkins. While there, Meir worked in TI and Shoshana worked in Bnos Yisroel. After that, we moved to Eretz Yisroel where we became the Av and Aim Bayit in Yeshivat Ashreinu in Beit Shemesh. We stayed there for a year before moving back stateside. Where did you move to? We looked at a few neighborhoods in Philly and ultimately decided to move to the Somerton area. When we took a pilot trip from Eretz Yisroel, we had looked at Philly and Kansas. We recognized that not
only did we need to settle on a location to live, but also a home. We found some really spacious, quiet, and affordable condos in the Somerton Jewish community and were able to move in soon after. When did you move here? Moving was a process. Shoshana was seven months pregnant when we left Eretz Yisroel. Given the nature of the timing, we officially moved into the neighborhood in July, but having our son in New York, we only really settled in after Sukkos. That was two years ago, in 2017. Go Eagles! Why did you choose to move to this community? We had looked at and lived in several communities already. The vibe that we got from the Somerton community was immediately one of warmth and helpfulness. Even on our pilot trip, several people took the time to sit with us and discuss all the ins and outs. On top of that, the well-developed Jewish infrastructure (shul, mikvah, kollel, kosher groceries, schools and daycare) and the mentality of communal growth seemed like an
Evan and Ariella Schechter Our musketeers: Sheva Elka Noach Where did you grow up? Evan grew up in Arizona. Ariella is from Far Rockaway, NY. Where did you move from? Phoenix, Arizona (a/k/a the desert!) Where did you move to? Cherry Hill, NJ When did you move here? August 2019. Why did you choose to move to this community? There’s a nice “out-of-town” feel but yet we feel close enough to friends and famSeptember 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
ily in NY. What do you do professionally? Evan: Attorney Ariella: Behavioral Health What are some of the things that you enjoy most about the Greater Philadelphia community? The Pennsylvania air. Moshe feels like he’s back in sleepaway camp! What is a fun fact about your family that people may not know? We met by “accident” and the rest is history! Come for a meal and you’ll get the full story. We love hosting!
amazing place to be a part of. What do you do professionally? Meir is the Philadelphia JSU (Jewish Student Union) Coordinator and runs programming and events for Jewish teens in public schools all across the Greater Philadelphia area. JSU is the public school division of NCSY. Shoshana is a freelance graphic designer and works full-time as the executive assistant at Congregation Beth Solomon. What are some of the things that you enjoy most about the Greater Philadelphia community? We really enjoy the dichotomy of the vibrant city life along with the leisurely aspects of a more rural setting. Having both a strong and cultural downtown, but also having a plethora of parks and open space nearby. On top of that, we don’t feel that there is a stigma in Philly to uphold a certain lifestyle more commonly associated with the tri-state area. It’s also a great location in proximity to New York, Lakewood, D.C,. and Baltimore.
A day spent discovering a new Pennypack Park and going to Rita’s is always enjoyable. #dillydilly What is a fun fact about your family that people may not know? This past summer actually marked 10 years since we met for the first time. Meir was working as the assistant chef in a camp and Shoshana’s mother was the chef. Years later, we ended up connecting and eventually married. We really see throughout our lives how each piece has been orchestrated to get to where we are now and every step along the way.
New Learning Program Opportunity in Cherry Hill By PJL Staff
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new and exciting Learning Program will begin in Congregation Sons of Israel after Sukkot for both men and women. The program will take place every Wednesday morning beginning at 9:30 am. There will be two onehour classes with a fifteen-minute coffee break. The first class, which will start at 9:30 am, will be given by Rabbi Ian Shaffer on the subject of “Megilat Esther - an in-depth analysis of this well-known story.” The second shiur will begin at 10:45 am and will be given by Rabbi Ephraim Epstein on the subject of “Exploring the
Origins of the Nation of Israel. The Imahot and Avot - The Patriarchs and Matriarchs, from a very different perspective.” Rabbi Ephraim Epstein is the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, NJ. Rabbi Ian Shaffer is a Professor and Lecturer in Bible Studies at Stern College for Women in Manhattan. The program will begin on Wednesday, October 30. For more information, to register for this program, or to ask about sponsorship opportunities, please e-mail Mr. Larry Miller at twinks-3043@msn.com or Rabbi Epstein at rabbiepstein@soicherryhill.org.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
It’s Right in Your Own Backyard! A Less Crowded Chol Hamoed By Carly Chodosh
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e’ve all been there. It’s Chol Hamoed, and you’re at the Philadelphia Zoo. Suddenly and seemingly without warning, three busses pull up to the zoo entrance, and what seems like the entirety of Williamsburg emerges. Or, you’re at the Camden Aquarium, and you see hordes of streimels and bekeshes – and you think – where did all these Yidden come from? Was I transported to New York without knowing it? And then you look at the skyline across the Delaware River and you know the truth – New York has been transported to Philadelphia. Don’t get me wrong – there’s something simply amazing about walking up and down the pathways at the zoo and finding your third long-lost cousin or seeing your roommate from seminary. It creates an amazing sense of achdus and provides so many opportunities for making connections and answering, “Do you know
where to eat around here?” But, it’s not for everyone. Some families prefer to have a quieter, more private Chol Hamoed experience off the beaten path. Here are some suggestions for activities in proximity to a sukkah or a day trip away that will typically be more low-key than a day at the zoo. While it may be busy with visitors from New Jersey and New York, it is important to note that the Please Touch Museum will have a sukkah available for patrons to use during the week of Chol Hamoed. Last year, they even supplemented their programming with meaningful activities for families surrounding the chag. In addition, for the second year in a row, Chabad of Fairmount will have a sukkah at the top of the Art Museum steps. Since the museum just reopened its historic North Entrance for the first time since 1975, it is the perfect opportunity to visit this landmark institution in Philadelphia. Since the Art Museum has art depicting sensitive topics, it may be best to do some research beforehand to see which exhibits are appropriate for the children in your party. If you’re more into a fun, yet creepy,
museum or your kids are into zombies and medical mysteries, check out the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. Once a privately-owned collection of medical specimens that all feature anomalies, it’s a museum that you’ll want to visit before you eat your lunch. From surgical tools of the early 1900s to preserved organs, you’ll be saying “ew” and “ah!” all the way through the museum. (Disclosure – this museum is not for Kohanim, in case that wasn’t clear. Also not recommended for children under age 7.) Also close to this public sukkah is popular Smith Memorial Playground, in the heart of Fairmount Park. Fun for all ages, this park features a splash pad during warm weather, and while the indoor playhouse is closed for renovations until November, the rest of the park is open (every day but Monday). On Tuesdays from 10 am-1 pm the park is closed to groups, making that day of the week a perfect one to take advantage of the park. If you don’t mind venturing a little further on Chol Hamoed and are okay with taking a half-day trip away from the closest sukkah, check out Sandy Hill Farm in
Plymouth Meeting. A mainstay at the Bala Cynwyd Fourth of July Parade, making a reservation at this farm ahead of time will be worthwhile. From half-hour trail rides for all ages to a petting zoo where you can feed and interact with real animals, you’ll feel close to nature without venturing too far from the city. Whether you prefer your Moed to be action-packed and adventurous or more subdued, these suggestions will help you get the most out of your day without sacrificing your proximity to a sukkah. Wishing all Philadelphia Jewish Link readers a shana tova umetuka, a year filled with fun and adventure found right in your own backyard! Carly Chodosh is a licensed Social Worker at Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Greater Philadelphia. Among other responsibilities, Carly facilitates Bloom MomChat meet ups at the JFCS Brodsky Center, from 9:30-11 am every Monday. This free meet up, for mothers of young children, supports dialogue and activities from a therapeutic perspective to provide an environment of growth and reflection for all. For more information, email cchodosh@jfcsphilly.org.
Free (or Nominal) Admission at Philadelphia Museums and Cultural Institutions Please Touch Museum: $2 tickets are available on the first Wednesday of each month. Children under age 1 are always free. Let the Philadelphia Jewish Link know about your favorite local places to visit for inclusion in future issues. Send your email to gwen@phillyjewishlink.com.
By Gwen Horowitz
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ome of Philadelphia’s best sites, museums, and events are accessible for little or no charge. With Fall approaching, this is a great time to get out and explore. Area residents probably know that must-see attractions like Independence Hall and Valley Forge National Historical Park are always free of charge. Lessknown is that several major museums and cultural institutions offer free or very low admission fees at select times. And, a growing number of libraries provide museum passes which can be checked out, free of charge, by anyone registered in their system. The Lower Merion Library System has a long list of great options including: The Academy of Natural Sciences, Battleship New Jersey, Chanticleer Garden, the National Museum of American Jewish History, the Tyler Arboretum, and many more. Their website has a complete list and details are available at all library branches. In Bucks County, residents can check out passes to a variety of museums and cultural sites at the Southampton Free Li-
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GABY SALKIN
brary. Full information is available on their website as well as at the library. Teens in Philadelphia, ages 14-19, can apply for a free STAMP (Students at Museums in Philadelphia) pass. This program’s mission is to increase teen access to Philadelphia’s arts and cultural institutions and events. Apply for STAMP at phillystamppass.org. Other museums and institutions with exceptional values are: Philadelphia Museum of Art: Pay What You Wish from 10am to 5pm on the first Sunday of each month, and 5pm-8:45pm every Wednesday evening. Kids under age 13 are always free.
Rodin Museum: Pay What You Wish at the museum (although there are specific suggested admission fees for patrons age 13 and older). The garden and courtyard are free year-round. Barnes Foundation: Free admission on the first Sunday of the month from 10am to 5pm. Children 12 and under are always free. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: The Alumni, Community Education, and Morris Galleries are always free. Other galleries have varying admission prices and PAFA offers a weekly free Meet The Artist program on Sundays as part of their Family Arts Academy.
Gaby Salkin brought a copy of the Philadelphia Jewish Link with him to school for “Tuesday Newsday” at the Early Childhood Learning Center at Adath Israel.
September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
COMMUNITY NEWS
2,500 Attend Orthodox Union’s Torah New York Day of Learning at Citi Field (Courtesy of the OU) orah took the mound at Citi Field in Queens, NY, on Sunday, September 22, as the Orthodox Union (OU) fielded a team of 29 internationally renowned scholars who led classes on a wide array of 31 subjects for approximately 2,500 participants at its third annual Torah New York event. The classes ranged from more traditional approaches on how to spiritually prepare for the Jewish High Holidays, to more modern issues like repentance in a time of social media, and the effects artificial intelligence will have on Shabbos observance in the future. In addition to lectures, the Semichas Chaver Program and Siyum attracted 400 people from 23 North American communities. There was also NCSY programming and a parallel interactive program for children ages 5-12. The OU, the nation’s oldest and largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization for Orthodox Jewry in America, also previewed a state-of-the-art app for daily Talmud study called “ALL DAF.” The app is expected to transform the way Daf Yomi is studied in the future with its interactive statistics, graphs, charts, videos,
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maps and biographies. It is expected to launch with the new seven-year learning cycle that begins in early January 2020. Sivan Rahav Meir, a well-known political reporter for Israel’s Channel 2 News who has a wide following for her views on the blessings and dangers of social media, told a packed audience of the pitfalls of wealth, privilege and unbridled access to social media. “It is no longer good enough to have Amazon, now you need Amazon Prime. We can’t even wait a week for a package to arrive, it has to be that day or at least the next. What does that say about our culture? This is the crisis of our generation. How do we learn to use social media for the good, but turn it off and away from things that distract us and our children,” she said. Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, an internationally acclaimed posek, author, educator and lecturer on helping shape the contemporary Jewish world, discussed how artificial intelligence could benefit halachic observance. While he cautioned about the impact robots might have on Shabbos in the home, he enumerated many benefits
that would enhance life for observant Jews in the future. The event also featured a screening of a never before seen recording of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik delivering one of his famed annual teshuva drashas. The blue-ribbon list of scholars who taught sessions throughout the day also included: Dr. Henry Abramson, Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Rabbi Eytan Feiner, Rabbi Dovid Fohrman, Rabbi Joey Haber, Charlie Harary, Rabbi Avraham Kahan, Rabbi Levi Langer, Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky, Rabbi Judah Mischel, Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger, Mrs. CB Neugroschl, Rabbi Shaul Robinson, Dr. Smadar Rosensweig, Rabbi Yonason Sacks, Rabbi Herschel Schachter, Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, Mrs. Dina Schoonmaker, Mrs. Shira Smiles, Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky, Mrs. Shani Taragin, Rabbi Ya’akov Trump, Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein, Rabbi Steven Weil, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Dr. Ora Wiskind, and Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf. “It is so exciting to observe the eagerness of our community to connect to Torah study and to a deeper understanding of their relationship to God,” said Orthodox
Union President Moishe Bane. “In these days immediately before the High Holidays, I cannot imagine a more profound message to God of our eagerness to connect.” “The comprehensiveness of Torah New York, the range of classes and the breadth of scholarship that reaches young children, teenagers and adults makes this such an important event for the Jewish community,” said Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Allen Fagin. “It is so heartwarming to see us transform Citi Field into a real field of dreams, and how Torah learning can raise and inspire our community.” Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union (OU), serves as the voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. As the umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, the OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY, Birthright Israel/Israel Free Spirit, Yachad and OU Press, among many other divisions and programs. For more information visit www.ou.org.
Gift Ideas for Shabbat and Yom Tov Hosts By Gwen Horowitz
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t’s a common question. You’ve received an invitation for a Shabbat or Yom Tov meal, and you wonder what gift will be appropriate to show your appreciation. With an increasing number of families facing food sensitivities or dietary restrictions, an edible gift may not be an option. Wine is a popular choice, but a guest may ponder which wine to purchase. Jack Levin of LeVin Company, a kosher wine merchant based in Merion Station, has some advice for the perplexed. If you don’t know your host’s preference, Jack asks what the buyer enjoys drinking. The first consideration is budget, and Jack says there are great options at every price point. Moscatos are always a popular choice with many costing under $15. In warm weather, rosés are an excellent option. For those wishing to spend more, Jack recommends Israeli wines from Yatir and Shirah. These wineries focus on quality and small production. Late Harvest wines such as sweet dessert wines September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
are a popular gift. Jack particularly likes the Herzog Late Harvest Orange Muscat. Flowers are always a welcome gift, especially when they arrive ready to be placed on the table. Ronit Snitman of Bala Cynwyd’s FlowerTales said that many people gravitate to glass or crystal vases. However, she recommends using a vase made of ceramic or other opaque material. Unless you are skilled at arranging the stems, an opaque vase will give a cleaner look to your centerpiece. Rebbetzin Rachel Gabay, the owner of the Jerusalem Israeli Gift Shop in Northeast Philadelphia, has helped community members find just the right gift since 1978. Her store is the destination point for those seeking elegant Judaica as well as a wide variety of items (including beautiful linens) made in Israel. The store also has a curated selection of wine. Rebbetzin Gabay shared, “I love when people come into my store excited to bring something special to their host. I try to help them to find something that fits their friend’s style. Israeli artists are creating different shapes with new mate-
rials for serving pieces. They are blending colors that are so beautiful and are perfect accents to traditional or modern tastes and most importantly can be used for all occasions. Of course, pomegranate designs add a spiritual touch of prosperity. Havdalah candles made from high quality wax are a good idea, and everyone can always use a new and beautiful netilat yadyim towel. Artists today
blend design and practicality even with something as simple as a salt and pepper shaker or serving utensils. We carry organic Israeli honey and wines that are diverse in blends and origins from Israeli wineries.” The most important lesson shared by all is that guests should not worry about what to give. The greatest gift is having friends and loved ones at our tables.
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From Good To Great By Rabbi Jonathan Bienenfeld
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abbi Yitzchak ben Maryon said, “The pasuk teaches you that if one is going to do a mitzvah, let it be done with his whole heart… If Aharon had known that Hashem would write about him, ‘Behold, [Aharon] comes forth to meet you,’ he would have greeted [Moshe] with musical instruments and dancing.” (Rus Rabbah 5:6) Among other examples cited, the midrash quoted above notes how differently Aharon HaKohen would have behaved in welcoming Moshe back to Mitzrayim had he considered that this episode would be written down. The midrash conveys a theme well worth our considering during this time of year: that the cameras are always rolling and the hard drive is always recording. Yet the midrash seems to harp on an unusual example to demonstrate this idea. If Aharon had been more mindful of his deeds being recorded, surely more would have changed than just his reception of Moshe. What about Aharon’s participation in the chet ha-egel? Or his lis-
tening to Miriam’s lashon hara about their brother? Why does the midrash focus on the relatively insignificant? Why the nitpicking? In the book, Good to Great, author Jim Collins and his research team report on hundreds of companies that were studied in order to determine what patterns of behavior were present in those that made the rare jump from merely “good” to genuinely “great.” In explaining why companies so rarely perform at their peak level, Collins summed up as follows: “Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great… We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.” I would argue that the midrash is making that exact same distinction: the difference between good and great. People who are good will reflect on chet ha-egel or listening to lashon hara about the greatest Jew who ever lived, and do teshuva. These are episodes that represent such obvious blunders, such self-evident misdeeds, that our natural tendency to be good will help us rise above them. To become great, however, a different strategy must be employed.
In truth, we are rarely impressed with “good;” we want “great.” Nobody turns off the Eagles game to go watch a bunch of yokels play in the park. Nobody buys tickets to the auto show hoping to sneak a peek at the new Nissan Altima. We don’t rave about average pizza or simply flying coach. When we encounter the average, the serviceable, the just-ok, we’re bored and unimpressed. Why then do we allow it of ourselves? Perhaps because we never really view ourselves in an objective light. We don’t stare our averageness in the face the way we do other people and other things. When we’re really bad, it startles us. When we’re ok, we don’t really notice. This is the message of the midrash: consider what it would look like if it was written down. View that moment as an objective bystander would. In the moment, Aharon HaKohen is just welcoming his brother back. It feels like a non-event, so it’s treated as a non-event. But when it’s written down, it becomes: “The Jewish savior returned to Egypt today to deliver God’s people from 210 years of slavery. He was greeted by his brother with a warm smile and a firm handshake.” Aharon was a great person; the midrash insists that this reception didn’t meet his own standards. And that’s precisely the power of this exercise.
So what about us? What if life’s nonevents became events? What if they were written down? “Woman muttered bracha before morning coffee.” “Man nodded aloofly as wife spoke to him while he checked email. (Email was of no consequence.)” Imagine replacing that with, “Woman closed her eyes and thanked Hashem sincerely for the blessing of a morning coffee.” “Man looked up from screen to fully engage with his life partner and showed his interest in her question.” It’s the difference between being average and being extraordinary. Between being good and being great. How do we get there? By remembering the advice of the midrash: realize that it’s being written down. Not only the bad, but even the good. If we can see our own lives written down, see those non-events as potential headlines, we’ll have uncovered the key to making the coming year about not just being good, but becoming truly great. Rabbi Jonathan Bienenfeld is the Rav of the Young Israel of Cherry Hill and a Rebbe at The Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia. Rabbi Bienenfeld co-hosts “The Portion,” a podcast available on all major platforms. You can listen to a collection of his shiurim at yutorah.org.
Yamim Noraim: A Return to the Very Beginning By Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl
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een through the lens of the Shalosh Regalim, the story told by the Jewish calendar spans some forty-one years. It begins with the plagues in Egypt, a process which the Rabbis say lasted about a year, and the ensuing freedom from bondage that is celebrated on Pesach. It continues with Shavuot which commemorates the events that took place some seven weeks later as the Jewish people camped at the foot of Har Sinai. And then, on Sukkot, we memorialize the forty years which followed as we traveled in the wilderness protected by the shechina of Hashem. Inserting the Yamim Noraim into the picture, however, causes a very different narrative structure to emerge. Although Yom Kippur is known as the date on which Moshe received the second luchot, at their core the Yamim Noraim are not about the events which took place in the midbar. They do, however, very clearly commemorate a different historical event. Three times over the course of Musaf,
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after each time the shofar is blown, the congregation say the words “ha-yom harat olam, ha-yom ya’amid ba-mishpat,” “today the world was created, today it will stand in judgement.” Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of the world. Unlike the Shalosh Regalim, Rosh Hashanah is not just about the Jewish people, but rather all of humanity. This universalist theme dominates the liturgy not only of Rosh Hashanah but of Yom Kippur as well. The Shemoneh Esreh for each and every tefillah throughout Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur begins with “u’vichen ten pachdecha Hashem elokeinu al kol ma’asecha v’eimatcha al kol mah sheh barata,” “And so place the fear of You, Hashem our God, over all that you have made and the awe of You over all You have created.” The Book of Judgement poignantly described in Unetaneh Tokef has “the signature of all mankind within it” and it is “all who have come into this world” who “pass before You like sheep.” In fact, even Sukkot has a distinctly universalist element to it. Chazal tell us that the seventy bulls sacrificed over the course of the holiday correspond to the seventy nations of the world. The mishnah in Rosh Hashanah tells us that the entire
world is judged with regard to rain, and thus sustenance, on the holiday of Sukkot. And the navi Zechariah tells of a day when all nations of the world will come together to celebrate Sukkot in Yerushalayim. Seeing Sukkot in this way allows us to offer a different narrative to the Jewish year- one that is remarkably similar to the narrative arc of the Torah itself. The Torah begins with the story of mankind. Its first commands are to all of humanity. Its first protagonists are the progenitors not of the Jewish nation, but of “many nations.” It is only in Sefer Shemot that the Torah narrows its focus to the particular story of the Jewish people. If we start at Rosh Hashanah, the story of the Jewish calendar proceeds in exactly the same way. We begin with the universal. A call for all humanity to heed the Torah’s most fundamental teachings of ethical monotheism: Hashem created the world and controls it, He imbued man with a tzelem Elokim deserving of unparalleled dignity, and He holds us accountable for the decisions we make and the actions we take. That brings us through Yom Kippur and Sukkot. It is only with Pesach, then, that the lens zooms in on the particular story of the Jewish people and their cher-
ished place amongst the nations of the world. That story culminates with the moment of revelation at Har Sinai that is retold and relived on Shavuot. Then, when summer passes, we go all the way back to the beginning. Not the beginning of the Jewish people, but the beginning of all people. And, not coincidentally, at the very moment we begin reading parashat Bereishit, we begin telling the story all over again. Seen from this perspective, the Yamim Noraim function as an annual reminder to step back and broaden our view. All too often the necessary and comforting closeness of our community can bring about a myopic view of what Hashem wants from us and where His domain lies. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, therefore, zoom us back out to ensure we don’t lose the forest for the trees. They remind us quite explicitly that just as we have obligations to Hashem as Elokeinu, “our God,” and to the Jewish people as acheinu, “our brethren,” so do we have obligations to Him as Melech Ha-Olam, “King of the World,” and to its inhabitants who are ma’asei yadav, the “products of His hands.” Best wishes for a ketiva v’chatima tova. Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl is Head of School at Kohelet Yeshiva. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
STA”M MATTERS
The Placement of the Mezuzah By Rabbi Yonah Gross
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y first article discussed the issue of identifying the front door of a home. This article will delve deeper into the doorway itself. On which side of the door should the mezuzah be placed? A mezuzah is placed on the right side of the doorway as one enters the room. We are commanded U’Ktavtam Al Mezuzot Beitecha, “you shall write it on the doorposts of the home” (Deut. 6:9). The Talmud (Menachos 34a) derives the word biascha which means “to come in” from the word beisecha and teaches that a mezuzah should be on the side of the door at which one begins to move. The Talmud assumes that people generally move first with their right foot (Rashi) and therefore requires that the mezuzah be placed on the right side of the door. This halacha applies to lefties as well, and a mezuzah placed on the left side does not fulfill the mitzvah. Defining where the right side of the door is can be confusing when what seems to be a large doorway is in fact rather narrow. One example is sliding doors where one of the panels is stationary. If that panel is on the right side, the mezuzah should be placed on the panel itself rather than on the doorframe (picture #1). Determining which is the side of entry between two rooms will be discussed in a future article. How far into the doorpost should the mezuzah be placed? The Shulchan Aruch (YD 289:2) maintains that the mezuzah should be placed under the lintel as close to the outside
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of the room as possible so that one will encounter the protection of the mezuzah as soon as he enters (Menachos 33b). Therefore, if the entryway has a very wide doorpost, the mezuzah does not get centered, but rather should be placed on the doorpost as close as possible to the outside of the room. There are some special cases to pay attention to: • A wide entryway which leads to a narrower door frame (picture #2). In such a case most authorities advise placing the mezuzah on the door frame itself and not on the entranceway (Sefer Hamezuzah 3:7). • A very narrow door frame with no room to place a mezuzah and still be able to close the door. This is very common in office buildings where there are glass doors and walls separating office spaces. In such a situation the mezuzah is placed on the outside glass of the wall as close to the door as possible. The issue of mezuzahs in offices is complex and will be addressed in a future article. How high should a mezuzah be hung? The Talmud (Menachos 33a) explains
Side door at Congregation Beth Hamedrosh that the mezuzah must be placed on the top third of the doorpost at least a tefach (4 inches) from the top. There are those who maintain that it should be hung at the bottom of the top third (Shulchan Aruch YD 289:2), and we should try to accommodate that opinion when possible. There are some exceptions: • A very tall doorway like you would see in institutional lobbies (picture #3) or old-style mansions. There are some who assume that the mezuzah should be in the top third even when the doorway is very tall (Yabia Omer 2:21 and others), but most opinions are that the mezuzah should not be above shoulder height even if that takes it below the top third of the doorway (Chovas Hadar 8:2:1). • Archways present a concern as it is difficult to determine what halacha considers to be the top of the door. It is often best to place the mezuzah a tefach below where the arch begins. A case where the arch begins very low is beyond the scope of this article.
Lobby of JFCS Brodsky Center • A doorpost that does not reach all the way to the lintel. This might be the case in kitchen entryways where the end of the kitchen counter forms part of the doorway. Most authorities assume that if the low doorway/counter is at least 10 tefachim (40 inches) high it is considered a doorway and a mezuzah should be affixed at least four inches from the top, even though it will appear to be very low. Rabbi Yonah Gross is the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Hamedrosh in Wynnewood, PA. He is also the founder of Mezuzah and More which checks and sells mezuzahs, tefillin, megillahs and Sifrei Torah. For more information visit mezuzahmore.com.
The Rosh Hashanah Seder
osh Hashanah minhagim vary. From dipping apples into honey to the New Year’s seders commonly observed by Sephardic and Mizrachi families, celebrations can be distinct. For those including a seder on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, blessings are said over foods which symbolize our prayers for the coming year. Many of these foods were chosen because their Hebrew or Aramaic names are similar to words which relate to the Rosh Hashanah prayers and all begin with the words yehi ratzon (may it be God’s will). Each blessing is recited while holding the relevant food in the right hand just before it is eaten and the term “seder” (order) is used because the blessings are recited in a specific order. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Known as simanim (signs), the special foods for a Rosh Hashanah seder are: • Apples dipped in honey or salt – Ashkenazim use honey to symbolize their wish for a sweet and good year while some Sephardic and Mizrachi communities dip the apple in sugar and salt because the table is akin to the altar and “With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.” Sugar is used in place of honey because of the mandate regarding the incense offering that “If honey were added it became ritually unfit.” • Carrots or fenugreek – that we should have a positive judgment (the Hebrew word for carrot is gezer, like ligzor, meaning to decree). • Leeks or scallions – that our enemies be decimated (the Hebrew name
for leeks or scallions is karti, which is like yikartu, meaning to be cut off). • Beets – that our adversaries be removed (the Aramaic word for beets is salka which is like lehistalek, meaning to retreat). • Dates – that our enemies be consumed (the Hebrew name for date is tamar, which is like tam, meaning to end). • Gourds or pumpkins – that our decree be torn up and our merits proclaimed to God (the Hebrew word for gourd or pumpkin is kara, which is like the word for rending). • Pomegranate – that our merits increase (there is a midrash that the pomegranate contains 613 seeds, symbolizing the 613 mitzvot). • Fish – that we be fruitful and multiply (the fish is a symbol of fertility and
bounty). • Sheep’s head – that we should be as the head, not the tail (this is also a reminder of the ram sacrificed in the place of Yitzchak at the Akedah). The Maharal of Prague said that reciting blessings and eating symbolic foods are not meant merely as wishes but to spur our small actions into meaningful ones throughout the year. Eating the sweet apple is a symbol of our wish for a sweet year but also a means of starting the new year with sweetness. Whether your custom is to sit or stand during shofar blowing, wear a kittel or white clothing, or dip your apple in honey or salt, the team at the Philadelphia Jewish Link wish you and your family a ketiva v’chatima tova – may you be written and sealed for good!
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DIVREI TORAH
“STAND Together or Stand TOGETHER” By Rabbi Shraga Sherman
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woman goes to the post office and asks for 50 Chanukah stamps. “What denomination?” asks the clerk. The woman says, “6 Orthodox, 12 Conservative, and 32 Reform.” The Torah portion of Nitzavim is always read on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah. It begins: “You are standing this day, all of you, before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, your children and your wives... both your woodcutters and your water-drawers that you should enter into the covenant of the Lord your God.” With these words, Moses brought the Jewish people into a state of collective and mutual surety. Indeed, our Sages declared, “all Jews are guarantors for
one another.” Let us examine the concept of this guarantee more closely. What exactly is a guarantor, and who is eligible to act as one? According to logic, only a person who is superior to another in a certain respect can provide a guarantee. Consider the example of the poor person who has requested a loan. If the lender cannot rely on the poor person’s ability to pay back the loan, they ask for a wealthy guarantor as collateral. This way, the lender is assured repayment. Conversely, it would be illogical to expect a poor person to act as guarantor for a rich person’s loan. This would not make sense, being that the poor person has less money to begin with. What, then, are we to make of the fact that “all Jews are guarantors for one another?” How is it possible that even the lowliest individual can act as guarantor for the greatest? Commenting on the verse “You are standing this day, all of you” Rabbi
Shneur Zalman, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Baal HaTanya, explained that Jews comprise a single entity. Metaphorically speaking, the Jewish people form one body, with each individual Jew being an integral part of the whole. A physical body is composed of many organs and limbs, each serves its own unique function. That the head is superior to the foot is obvious, but without the foot, the body is incomplete. A defect in the foot affects the entire person. The head suffers if any of the body’s limbs are flawed. In order to exist as a healthy entity, the body requires all of its organs to be in prime condition and to work in consonance. So too is it in regard to the Jewish people. There are many different types and categories of Jews. Some are on the level of “head,” while others may be said to be the “feet.” Nonetheless, each and every Jew is of inestimable value, an essential part of the Jewish people without whom the “body” of Jews would
be incomplete. For this reason, “all Jews are guarantors for one another,” as each individual possesses unique qualities which are necessary for the health and integrity of the whole. Not only does this require the participation of our “heads,” “elders,” and “officers,” but the “woodcutters” and “water-drawers” are no less important. This is the natural and healthy state of the collective Jewish body. Keeping this in mind as we daven on Rosh Hashanah will allow us to stand as individuals truly united as one. Kesiva v’chasima tova. L’shana tova u’mesuka. May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year. Rabbi Shraga Sherman, the Senior Rabbi at Chabad of the Main Line, grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and graduated from the Wharton School. He went on to receive smicha from the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva of Israel. Shraga and his family returned to Philadelphia in July 1991 as a Shliach of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory.
What’s New About Our New Year? By Sivan Rahav Meir
Weekly Dvar Torah
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new year begins. We are so used to this word, “new,” but the Torah asks us to stop and contemplate. To truly renew ourselves. What actually becomes “new” in our world and in ourselves, at this time of year? In Jewish sources we find three things that the sages ask us to contemplate each day as if they were new: 1. Torah: One of the most popular words in the book of Deuteronomy, which we read throughout the month of Elul is, “today.” Again and again, as we read about entering the Land of Israel, we are asked to relate to past events as if they are actually happening to us this very morning, and not three thousand years ago in the desert. “On this day the Lord your God commands you” (Deut. 26:16). Rashi comments, “Each day, let them (the commandments) be brand new as if you had just been commanded to perform them.” Elsewhere we read, “On this day you have become the Lord your God’s own people” (Deut. 27:9). Rashi, in the same spirit of perpetual renewal, comments: “Let every day be in your eyes as the very same day that you entered into a covenant with Him.”
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FROM ERETZ YISRAEL
Now is the most appropriate time of the year to refresh and renew our connection to the Torah, to think of the Torah as a gift that we received only today, and to determine how the new year will look when a completely new light of Torah, never seen before, glows from within it. 2. Land of Israel: The Land of Israel is the Promised Land, the Holy Land, but is it a new land? Indeed, we justifiably tell ourselves and the entire world that we have an ancient, historical right to this land. This is true, but we should never allow our relationship to the Land of Israel become old or stale. As the verse states, “And it will be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites as He swore to you and to your forefathers, and He will give it to you” (Exodus 13:11). Upon which Rashi elaborates, “‘And He will give it to you,’ that is, you should consider it as if He gave it to you on that same day and not as an inheritance from your ancestors.” It does not matter where we live. We must create a personal, living, breathing and emotional connection with the Land of Israel. We cannot rely only on what
we were told by our great-great-grandparents. Again, the months of Elul and Tishrei are the perfect time to think about how to bring a new and authentic connection to the Land of Israel into our lives. 3. Marriage and Family: Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, we received many instructions on married life and the education of our children– the questions children will ask, the answers we will give, and the manner in which we should educate them. And it is precisely here, in the place most comfortable and familiar to us, that we are called upon to find something new. Under the chupah (wedding canopy) we say, “Behold, you are now holy to me, with this ring, according to the religion of Moses and Israel.” A hundred years ago, Rabbi Tzvi Kunstlicher, from Hungary, in his book Be’er Tzvi, asked why we emphasize “according to the religion of Moses and Israel.” He answered that our marital relationship should be the same as our relationship to the Torah given by Moses to Israel– a relationship of daily renewal. That is, “every day should be like new,” as
new as the day you stood under the chupah. Here too, we need to devote time, thought and creativity to renew our passion and to renew ourselves internally, in the intimate surroundings of home. Our sages defined the biggest challenge of our times in this way: we should not take our greatest gifts –Torah, the Land of Israel, our families– for granted. The prevailing culture broadcasts a message that loyalty to a text (Torah), a land (Israel), and to fellow members of a covenant (family) are values that have vanished from the world. This culture sees newness as external to ourselves and not something to be sought or attained within. On Rosh Hashanah, we are called upon to find new meaning in those elements of our lives that have stood the test of time –in Torah, in the Land of Israel, in family life. May we have a good new year, a year of true renewal for all of us. Sivan Rahav Meir is an Israeli television and print journalist, author, radio and TV host. She is the World Mizrachi Shlicha to North America. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
DIVREI TORAH
Torah from Eretz Yisrael
Rosh Hashanah - The State of God in Our World By Rabbi Moshe Taragin
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e often cluster Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur into one lofty experience- the days of solemnity and gravitas. Though the two days share much in common, they also exhibit significant differences. Chief among them is the character of our encounter with God. On Yom Kippur we plead with a compassionate and forgiving God for the mercy we don’t deserve and for the rehabilitation of a relationship which we have compromised. On Rosh Hashanah, in addition to praying to a forbearing God, we primarily highlight God as Creator and King. On the anniversary of the world’s creation, we yearn for a future world in which His authority is unquestioned and unchallenged. On this day of longing for a world of Divine authority it is important to review the past year and gauge the “God Index.” Over the past year has God become more apparent and more visible in our world or less so? Which events and trends advanced His presence and which, sadly are still obscuring Him. During the passionate tefillah of U’netaneh Tokef we agonize: mi yishafel u’mi yarum, “who will rise and who will fall.” If we care about God we should also consider which events cause His presence to rise or augment and which cause that presence to decrease. 1. Israel As Israel is ground zero for the Divine presence, events in this land deeply impact the “state of God” in our world. The continuing emergence of the State of Israel on the world stage magnifies the presence of God and is a kiddush Hashem. We have developed into a world leader economically, technologically and militarily. Sharing our medical technology, agricultural advances, security measures and, in the near future, our energy, contributes to our national mission of improving humanity- both spiritually and physically. Our ability to sustain a robust democracy- even under significant security restrictions, is itself a kiddush Hashem. The two stalled Israeli elections over the past year shouldn’t be taken as a sign of a weak democracy. On a day-to-day basis freedom is upheld and national unity is tangible. Elections always polarize our dormant differences, but daily life in Israel remains harmonious and united by September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
common causes which supersede our differences. The recent softening of Israel’s diplomatic isolation perhaps foreshadows a growing acceptance of the State of the Jews in certain international arenas. So much of Rosh Hashanah imagery about the end of days surrounds the international acclaim afforded the Jews and their God. Even partial acceptance of the Jewish State – and even if this acceptance is based primarily upon pragmatic reasons is a welcome affirmation of the presence of Hashem in our world. Unfortunately, we still remain isolated in many circles and various movements defaming our nation seek to intensify and weaponize that isolation. Israel still faces continuous threats from Iran and her proxies of terror, but we trust God to defend His people and His land as well as protecting peaceloving citizens across the world from the continuing horror of terror. There are many cultures and streams of religion who choose only the Book of Death, but we continue to author chapters in the Book of Life. 2. Anti-Semitism Unfortunately, the past year has witnessed a dramatic global upsurge in anti-Semitism punctuated in the U.S. by the tragedies in Pittsburgh and Poway. In part, this surge reflects a general spread of hate-related crimes and hateful bigotry toward minorities. The world has become increasingly hostile toward the “other” and discrimination and exploitation of the “other” is incongruous with the society which the Torah envisions. The world still teeters dangerously between national identity and inclusion of the other, remaining unable to strike a healthy moral and political balance between these two important values. Periodically, this instability flashes into violence inflicted upon defenseless victims. We daven that this violence -both verbal and physical- should abate. However, anti-Semitism constitutes its own independent narrative and shouldn’t be collapsed into a more general narrative of racism and bigotry. The story of anti-Semitism is ancient and perennial and, as Chazal remind us, is woven into the fabric of human history. We are chosen by God to challenge the world to higher ground- morally and theologically. We are despised precisely because we represent the world’s conscience. Any attack upon a Jew is an attack upon God and as these attacks have increased the Divine Presence in this world is less visible.
It may be uncomfortable for some to interpret anti-Semitism historically, since it implies that humanity hasn’t fully advanced beyond primitive modes of cruelty and perhaps the world isn’t as enlightened as our impressive progress suggests. Furthermore, this view implies that, though anti-Semitism can be curbed and maintained, it cannot be fully resolved until history itself is resolved. 3. The 18th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spoke of the will to power as stronger than the will to life. His philosophy idealized “power” as an inherent human drive and an important social currency. Over the past forty years, societal trends have vested extraordinary power within exceptionally affluent individuals as well as within outsized or cultural celebrities or icons. The wealthy and the culturally iconic wield disproportionate power within popular culture. Sadly, and tragically, horrific crimes of exploitation and abuse have showcased the dangers of unbridled social “power.” Beyond these terrible cases, within society in general, the idealization of power has wormed its way into our consciousness. Phrases such as a “power nap” or a “power lunch” as well as the debate surrounding power within relationships, all reflect the unhealthy desire for power. As Jews, we live commanded lives summoned to duty by a Divine call. We don’t obsess over power, but rather embrace our identity as an oved Hashem called to service and mission. The Ketav Sofer once encouraged his community to fervently pray during the section of Ana to secure a financially successful year. That year, the community implored ana Hashem hoshia na, “please God assist us” with great dedication but unfortunately, they experienced an additional year of financial struggle. Facing the community’s complaints, the Rabbi clarified that he had referred to the phrase ana avda d’kudshah brich hu, “we are servants of God.” Mistakenly the people assumed he referred to ana Hashem hoshia na. A Jew exists to serve God not the inverse and our culture’s obsession with power ignores the builtin hierarchy between man and God. The internet has dramatically democratized the flow of information. We are no longer dependent upon conventional media syndicates such as newspapers and television stations. However, the proliferation of information has produced “information overload” and has blurred the differences between ac-
curate information and fake news. As my rebbe, Rav Lichtenstein zt”l, wrote, “falsehood has many tentacles” and once it penetrates one aspect of our lives it can spread to many others. We are quickly forgetting the differences between truth and fiction. Eric Hoffer, an American educator once remarked, “we lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” The confusion surrounding us affects both our honesty in our relationships as well as our honesty in self-assessment and introspection. During these Holy Days we refer to Hashem as the God of truth or Elokim Emet and we acknowledge that only a person of “honest heart” bar leivav, can ascend the Divine mountain. As our world shifts away from truth and toward falsehood and fabrication it turns further away from God. These are just three events and trends which impact our agenda of drawing God into our world. This is a yearlong agenda which crests on Rosh Hashanah when we recall the bookends of history: the day the world was created, when God’s authority was unquestioned and the Messianic Era during which His presence will be unmistakable. Still locked in history we await that moment while striving to advance this process. Kesiva v’chasima tova. Rabbi Moshe Taragin is a rebbe at Yeshivat Har Etzion, located in Gush Etzion, where he resides.
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FEATURES The Big Tech Addiction and Half Shabbos By David Magerman
O
ver the past decade, smartphones and social media platforms have transformed our lives, in good ways and bad. One of the negative impacts of the incursion of digital media in our lives is the phenomenon of “half Shabbos,” observing the laws of Shabbos with the exception of the prohibition against using electronic communication devices. As the scourge of “half Shabbos” infects our community, especially our teens, parents, educators, and community leaders are at a loss for how to reverse the trend. With the advent of the 2019 school year, the heads of school in Bergen County issued a joint statement on device usage. For the most part, it was a consolidation and repetition of the messages that have been repeated year after year: kids are being allowed to overuse their devices through lack of proper parental oversight. The key innovation of this statement, however, came in the form of “a call for changing parent behavior and parent modeling for our kids.” The critical observation in this addendum to the statement is as follows: “Without question, our children model what they see their parents do and device usage is no exception. We are calling today for parents to serve as ‘media mentors’ for younger children by serving as role models and guides.”
This message was specifically addressing parents’ device usage while acting as parents, but the message should be spread even more broadly. Children are consciously and subconsciously in training to become adults, and they are emulating all of the adults around them, including their parents, but also including teachers, rabbeim, extended family, and family friends. Their behavior on Shabbos is less an expression of their unwillingness to observe the laws of Shabbos and more an exhibition of their addiction to their devices, an addiction which is validated by the behavior of the adults in their lives during the rest of the week. What our children are recognizing and incorporating in their own lives is the accurate observation that many of the adults they encounter are addicted to their smart devices and the applications on them. Our children practice half Shabbos in part because we adults are living half lives. We are giving over more and more of our time to our digital existences: email, Facebook, online shopping, continuous online news reading, etc. We are as addicted to the tools of our digital lives as a drug user is to cocaine or heroin. It is imperative that we understand how this is happening. Just as drug dealers manipulate potential customers into becoming drug addicts, our digital addiction is intentionally injected into our lives by technology companies. Drug dealers offer “free samples” to lure people into addiction. Google and Facebook offer free accounts, but these accounts come with paid advertisements
and other ways in which human behavioral data is used to enrich the digital dealer. Drug dealers string users along with a sequence of increasingly alluring products to keep addicts coming back for more. Social media companies invented the “infinite scroll,” the technique of using a never-ending page of information that continues to grow as you scroll, based on psychological research that showed it would keep users on their site longer. Drug dealers give you products you don’t want or need, but that they know you will become addicted to. When Google recommends videos for you to watch on YouTube, it is not trying to inform you, but rather to keep you on its site, regardless of the impact on your knowledge or well-being. The lead engineer who designed Google’s YouTube video recommendation algorithm deliberately designed it to steer users to the “crazy” recommending more and more inflammatory, less accurate and less informative videos, since research showed that informative videos would satisfy users’ needs for information, whereas “crazy” videos will keep users on the site, diving down an endless rabbit hole of misinformation. This engineer is now acting as a whistleblower to expose these tactics to the public. Just as drug dealers manipulate the addictive qualities of their products to bring users closer and closer to irreversible addiction, app developers gamify their products, modifying the algorithms of their “games” in unfair ways, in re-
sponse to human behavior. If you love a challenge and keep playing a game when you fail, the games on these apps will get harder and harder. If, on the other hand, you keep playing as your scores go up and quit when you have a setback, the games will get easier and easier. The randomization of the games is not truly random. This is even true in socially competitive games. Think about that the next time you play Scrabble or Boggle online. The boards and tiles you receive are not random or fair. They are, however, designed to keep you playing the game. Look around you, at your behavior, at the behavior of other adults, and at our kids’ behavior, and think about how technology, including smart devices, social media, online news sources, and online shopping portals, have taken over and transformed our lives. Then think about how many “free” or inexpensive products we use from companies that have corporate valuations in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Microsoft. Apple. Amazon. Facebook. Google. These are the five most valuable companies in the world. And they got there by being the biggest drug dealers in the world. When our kids watch us addicted, how can we expect them to do anything but emulate our behavior? David Magerman is a co-founder and managing partner of Differential Venture Partners, an early stage technology venture fund manager. He is also a data privacy advocate and founder of Freedom From Facebook. He lives in Merion Station with his wife and four children.
I Don’t Mean to Eat and Pun By Ari Nestlebaum
O
n Rosh Hashanah eve, Jewish families across the world will sit down to perhaps the most wordplayintensive meal found on our festival calendar. The variations are endless, from the archetypal honey infused foods for a sweet new year to more eclectic presentations such as carrots, which either represent the Hebrew wordplay of gezer (carrot) and gezerah (decree) in a bid for a positive Divine judgment, or the Yiddish wordplay of mern (carrot) and mehr (more) in a symbolic wish for more of the good things in life. Some will serve the head of a fish or sheep, reciting the wish that the Jewish people be at the head (and not the tail) of society, while others may serve peas or beans (called rubia in the Talmud) in the hopes of increasing (Hebrew: ribuy) their blessings.
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Sephardic Jews may serve gourds, such as pumpkins or squash (known as k’ra’a in Hebrew), with the prayer that “yikaru l’fanecha z’chuyoteinu,” or “may our merits call out before You.” Not to be discounted, of course, are the many non-canon puns which will doubtless grace many Rosh Hashanah tables with similarly enthusiastic fervor. Someone will almost certainly mention how much they are hoping for a raisin celery (raise in salary) or comment on how much they want anti-Semites to lettuce live and just romaine calm. Pickle enthusiasts might pray they become a big dill in the community, and it rarely takes longer than a minute into the challah before someone says they’re “on a roll.” If that entire last paragraph caused you something akin to physical pain, you are not alone. Puns are somehow the
most simultaneously derided and celebrated form of humor across the Englishspeaking world, and they show no sign of riding off into the sunset anytime soon. From the enthusiastic wordplay of such playwrights as William Shakespeare to more modern visual puns such as the various Google logos, the fine art of presenting one thing and meaning another is a curiously persistent one. Of course, history is full of what your modern-day teenager might call “haters.” Notorious among these was 18th Century English writer/lexicographer Samuel Johnson, creator of the noted A Dictionary of the English Language, the most respected authority on proper use of the language until the arrival of the Oxford English Dictionary approximately 150 years later. It is Samuel Johnson whom people are quoting when they refer to punning as “the lowest form of humor.”
Samuel Johnson was a man with no patience for puns and considered them an exceptionally rude means of stopping the flow of a pleasant conversation dead. “To trifle with the vocabulary, which is the vehicle of social intercourse, is to tamper with the currency of human intelligence,” Johnson once wrote. “He who would violate the sanctities of his Mother Tongue would invade the recesses of the paternal till without remorse.” To paraphrase the eloquent rant above, Johnson is of the opinion that a person who would disrespect the English language is also the kind of person who would steal money from his father without batting an eyelash. Yikes. The truth is, though, that few languages are as much of a linguistic salad as the one in which this article is written. With as many homophonic and homographic
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Eating Disorders: What Causes Them? The Green Smoothie Challenge (Part 2 of a 3 part series on eating disorders)
By Christina Sciarretta By Dr. Frani Pollack
EW
henMarch, a friend it called tell me her very feelsto like I am daughter had been hospitalized pulling myself out of a pit of for an eating disorder, she was crappy health and way too understandably distraught. Yet, her burnmany months of about cold, herself dark, and damp ing questions were not weather, and if you live here at her child: “What did I do wrong? How did the shore, that the I cause this?”you It is know very easy for with parents to blame themselves all this kindsyear of mental weather we have for had, is no health issues. Theknow truth about is that you, kids but who different! I don’t come from good families can still develop it feels to me like it has been raining eating disorders. So what is the cause of for 87 years. I cannot understand these disorders? howIn people livethere in year-round rain, social work is a concept called like Seattle or London. We,approach. here in the ‘bio-psycho-social-spiritual’ Atlantic are beach It refers toCounty, the complexity of howpeople. illnesses are caused, and how should treatWe don’t thrive in they gloom andbedarked. An eating disorder is an illness that ness. We come to life in sun, sand, can be clearly understood through this and salty air. As such, I always find concept. myself needing a total recharge in March. That recharge comes in BIOLOGICAL theResearch form of now a giant cup fullisofa genetic green shows there awesomeness and good vibes. link to eating disorders. Those whose parents had eating disorders have a higher I use the month of March to replenrisk factor of developing them themselves. ish my depleted body with the vitaAlso, for at least some eating disorders there is a biological link. The Keys study, using volunteers (men who were underfed in a lab) during World War II, showed that undereating and a 10-15% weight loss from a normal body weight will increase depression, anxiety, and cause an obsessive focus on food. So, when a young girl, who may be somewhat concerned with her weight, loses 20 pounds, we may soon
find that the weight loss exacerbates her eating disorder. This may present itself in increased depression, anxiety, and food obsession. In bulimia, blood sugar imbalances due to overeating and fasting often contribute to binging and purging. Another biological concern is that we all have a set point weight. Traditionally defined, it is a genetically determined weight that one’s body will try to maintain for optimal health, and is often within a 15-20 pound weight range. Thus, three women who are all 5’3” may have different average set point weights ranging from 110 to 130, and even to 150. Although set points can be shifted in some circumstances, most people who try to go below their set points are at risk for eating disorders.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
There are a host of psychological causes that contribute to eating disorders. mins nutrients that themes it is missing, But theand main psychological we see due to the over-abundance of carbs are inclinations towards perfectionism, and sugar and lack anything green low self-esteem, poorofbody image, and challenges with coping and expressing or healthy… anyone else? Come emotions. There areEnter also other on, somebody! the possible Green psychological contributors like parental neglect, tense and problematic relationships with parents and family members, sexual and/or physical abuse, trauma, social isolation, and difficulties making friends. Often the focus on weight/thinness for anorexics and the time to think through binging and purging for bulimics or binge eaters can be a distraction from negative
thoughts and feelings. These thoughts can range from poor self-worth to childhood trauma. Binging, purging, or restricting food can be a way to numb or distract oneself from past and current painful thoughts.
SOCIAL
Although eating disorders are increasing in males, as well as different cultures and socio-economic statuses, they are most prominent in women living in western cultures. Unlike a number of other mental health issues, they are not universally seen. Of course, we know there is great pressure to be thin in this society. In the Orthodox Jewish world, this pressure exists as well, and can be exacerbated by shidduchim. Often young girls feel pressured to be thin, even if being thin means undereating or purging, in order to have better choices in dating. Many feel that Smoothie. I have blending having a higher setfound point that weight places nutrient-rich leafy greens with other them at a serious disadvantage. Although veggies,isfruit, and liquid (yogurt, cothinness not inborn, our culture teaches us to value it. That is why in other counconut water, almond milk, etc.) bring tries and atand different historical my body mind back totimes, life. variIt is ous body sizes for women were idealized. a total rejuvenation! For 31 days, I For example, Lillian Russell, the quintescommit to consuming a homemade sential beauty in the late 1800s weighed green smoothie every single By 200 pounds. In certain culturesday. today, the end month, I almost don’t weight canofbethe a sign of attractiveness as it symbolizes fortitude, prosperity, andisecoeven recognize myself. My skin ranomic success. diant, my hair is shinier, my energy Large meals on my Shabbat andclarity holidays level is sky-high, mental is play a significant role in our Jewish culture. improved, my sleep is deep, my wake Fasting is also an important element to a
is easy, I’m usually a bit more trim, I begin to crave healthier foods, and I feel unbelievably freaking awesome. I decided that I just couldn’t keep this magic to myself, so I created The Sciarretta Collection’s Green Smoothie Challenge! I can’t lie, it is a bit scary to see how much change happens, just from nourishing my body properly.
If you’reof aour parent likeFor me, you know number holidays. someone vulnerable to an eating that healthy eatingdisorder is justthese aboutoccalast sions can be stressors that contribute to on the to-do list for most of the year, added anxiety around food. so it’s important for us to take time
to stop and reset. If you go too long SPIRITUAL without proper nutrition, it will creep In Michelle Lelwica’s book, Starving for back up in author awful emphasizes ways, like that chronic Salvation, the eatdisease, illness, aches and pains, ing disorders are a thwarted way to find meaning. Somehow the potential low energy, moodiness, etc. spiritual I’d like and religious growth of young has to encourage you all to joinwomen our combeen disillusioned. The eating disorder bemunity, take charge of your health, comes a kind of avodah zarah. What beand consider taking the challenge comes idealized and worshipped is thinyourself or with your family or team! ness. (OfYoung course, as with women I workanything with oftenhealthtell me related, always dishow goodititisfeels whenimportant they are theto‘thinnest’ thebenefits room, or and the one who eatsyour the cussinthe risks with least during holiday dinners. As one young physician.) All you have to do peace, teen anmy eating disorder love,diagnosed and goodwith vibes, friends! commented, “Being thin is all I have, if I What makes a green smoothie? lose this I have nothing.” Leafy greens your choice spinSo, whose fault of is an eating disorder? ach,answer kale, collards, swiss chard, etcthe The is... it’s complex. However, Other veggies of better we understand the choice: causes ofcarrot, eating disorders thebeets, quicker cucumber, etcwe can begin the path to prevention. Fruit of your choice (I almost alFrani Pollack is a licensed Social Workways use bananas and one or more er and Psychologist with a private practice of the following: pineapple, mango, at Bala Child & Family Associates. She berries,atcherries, papaya, avocado, teaches the University of Pennsylvaapple, nia, the etc Council for Relationships, and the Home-Based Family Program. Dr. Pollack Liquid of your choice: yogurt, cocospeaks and writes regularly on a range nut milk, almond milk, ice, water, etcof psychological topics. Extras: chia seed, flax seed, protein – Insights From Ourselves About Ourpowder, hemp seed, cacao powder, selves etc Here are just a few of the benefits of green smoothies: • Increased energy • Improved digestion • Improved mental clarity and focus • Supports overall health • Improved mood • Glowy skin
THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL JEWISH BRAIN
Chagei Tishrei – What to Get High Ad for the High Holidays About 1/4
By Dovid Halpern
I
4.3 x 5.63
am excited to be able to share my musings on Jewish spirituality, theology, psychiatry and neuroscience. Recently, with Dr. Andrew Newberg, I published a book on Jewish Spirituality and Neuroscience entitled, The Rabbi’s Brain: Mystics, Moderns September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
and the Science of Jewish Thinking. This column is meant as a forum for insights into Jewish life-cycle events, theology, and psychology and how these link to our own brains from a spiritual, physical, and physiological perspective. The study of how our brains and minds interpret and react to various religious and spiritual practices and beliefs is a relatively nascent field. This type of analysis assumes our actions religiously correlate to imagery seen on a brain scan
(to be discussed in the future). What is unique is that a discussion like this is not classic religion or neurology, but the space between these intersecting phenomena. Ideally this interplay engenders new conceptions of how our minds conceive Hakadosh Baruch Hu and our spiritual and religious selves. For myself, this study helps me see just how incredible our own brains are at understanding the uniqueness that is Jewish practice, and to gain insight into the “Shivim panim
la’Torah” (Bamidbar Rabba 13:16) that Hashem has given us with our mitzvot and mesorah. “Hafoch bah, v’hafoch bah, k’kulah bah” (Avot 5:22). Over time I plan to cover many aspects of religion and theology, however I believe it most apropos as the Yomim Noraim and Sukkot approach, to devote our first exploration to the approaching chagei Tishrei. The month of Tishrei presents as a
Ad 1/8 4.3 x 2.74
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HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Measles – A Cautionary Tale By Janet M. Michaelson, MD
E
ven today I remember the utter misery I suffered when I had the measles in the mid-1950s. I remember the delirium of unrelenting high fevers and the total body rash, but most of all I remember lying in the dark for an entire week, listening to the radio because of terrible light sensitivity from measles conjunctivitis. The first vaccine for measles was licensed in 1963, but a more effective vaccine came out in 1968, and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine came on the market in 1971. Initially, pediatricians gave one MMR vaccine around 15 months of age. Then in 1990-1991 there was a large outbreak of measles in Philadelphia – over 1,400 cases. The most severely affected children were hospitalized at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and nine children died despite
the most sophisticated medical care. Five of the dead were from one antivaccine church community in Germantown. This prompted a change in immunization practice in the United States. Since 1991 the recommendation from the AAP and CDC has been that all children receive two MMR shots given at least one month apart. Older children and teens who attended pediatric offices at that time were given a second MMR, and schools and colleges began to require two MMR’s for admission, a recommendation which exists to this day. The 1998 article which falsely linked MMR vaccine to autism has been overwhelmingly refuted by many reliable studies, and the article has been retracted, its author stripped of his medical license to spend his later years as an anti-vaxxer. But he did much damage, and caused some parents to refuse to vaccinate. This has led to pockets of unimmunized children and young adults, some (but certainly not all) in our Jewish communities. Unimmunized people are a fertile population for infection with
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measles, but so, as you will see, are underimmunized people. Fast forward to Oak Park, Michigan in March 2019. It was Purim time, and a middle-aged man from Israel came via New York City to this lovely frum community in the Detroit suburbs. He was representing a charity, and so he visited the Yeshiva, the Kollel, and some of the Jewish day schools. He also ate at Jerusalem Pizza, and shopped at One Stop, the kosher market. The following day he broke out in a bright red spotted rash, first on his face, then descending to involve his entire body. He was diagnosed with measles, our most contagious disease. He had been exposed 7-14 days before, then experienced 2-3 days of the 3 c’s – cough, coryza (runny nose) and conjunctivitis, before breaking out into the typical measles rash. He had been contagious for 3-4 days before his rash emerged. The measles virus lives on surfaces and in the air for two hours after the patient has left the area. As you can imagine, many shoppers, Kollel, and synagogue members were exposed, and within 7-10 days there were many more cases. Interestingly, the first wave of cases occurred in adults aged 30-63. Most of these people were given only one MMR shot as children. The oldest patients thought, as had the original patient, that they had the disease when they were younger. The second wave of cases came 2-3 weeks later, and involved children of anti-vaccine families. The Detroit Vaad came out strongly in favor of measles immunization, and stated that it was an obligation of Jews to guard their health and the health of their community. Many of the unimmunized families ultimately came for the MMR vaccine to the clinic set up by the Oakland County Health Department at Young Israel of Oak Park, where over 3,000 MMR shots were administered. By late April the outbreak was declared over with 41 total cases reported. Could this happen here in our community? Absolutely! The World Health Organization reports that measles cases are spiking worldwide. This threatens international travelers; and keep in mind, Israel is one of the countries with a significant outbreak among those susceptible (unvaccinated and undervaccinated) to the disease. It is important to note that 9 out of 10 sus-
ceptible individuals who are exposed to measles will get infected. So far in 2019 there have been over 1,200 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S., including 14 in Pennsylvania, some with pneumonia and encephalitis requiring hospitalization. In August a 43-year-old El Al flight attendant who contracted measles from a passenger died of measles meningoencephalitis. El Al now requires all of its personnel to have two MMR vaccines. As a pediatrician I make vaccine recommendations to families, and make it a point to inquire about travel. If they are traveling to an area where there are many known measles cases, the recommendation will depend on the age of the child. From newborn to 6 months old, babies have maternal antibodies which interfere with their response to the measles vaccine, but for a baby 6-12 months of age, we recommend an extra MMR for protection. This is not counted as the true first MMR. The first MMR vaccine is then given at 12 months, and the second at age 4. However, if a family is traveling to Israel with children between 13 months and 4 years, we give the second MMR shot early. It can be dispensed 30 days after the first MMR. People born before 1957 are assumed to have had measles, and to be immune, but there may be some rare exceptions. Most parents and many grandparents were born in the years between 1957 and 1990, and most have had only one MMR. If an adult does not have two documented MMR vaccines and is traveling to Israel or any other area where there is a measles outbreak, the CDC recommends they get a second MMR vaccine. As the New Year holiday season approaches, we should all take special care to safeguard our children and ourselves against measles, especially if we are traveling internationally. We owe it to ourselves, our families, and our community. Shana tova u’metukah. Janet M. Michaelson, MD, studied Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and trained in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has been practicing Pediatrics on the Main Line for over 38 years and is a partner at Advocare Main Line Pediatrics. She is a member of the board of Lower Merion Synagogue, and she and her husband Gilad Gevaryahu have raised their four sons in the Lower Merion community. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
HOUSE TO HOME ‘Mocha Crème’ Launches at Mocha Bleu Courtesy of House of Kosher By Elizabeth Kratz Recipe by Esther Chana Schechter
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POMEGRANATE resh baked pastries, new orCHOCOLATE GANACHE ganic house coffees, croisTART sants and muffins, not to menWhen I was experimenting with this tion gelato- topped crepes, smoothrecipe I figured a “no-bake” dessert is alies and milkshakes, and two types ways a win. And then, when my husband of grabandgodevoured savory sandwiches, came home and two slices in are allfive part of Mocha a new under minutes, well, Crème, that’s when my meeting now debuting hunch wasplace confirmed; this tart isataMoreal winner (since he says he IS on a diet!). cha Bleu. This is an easy counter-purchase dessert that can be preThe new ofpared in advance and to does not require ferings are perfect sample with an oven. The nuttiness from the crust a friend while having morning cofand the rich chocolate ganache make for fee or an afternoon treat with the kids; the ambiance is as comfortChagei Tishrei able at 7:30 in P.the CONTINUED FROM 29 morning as it is at 10 p.m.. Mocha Crème is open six spiritual any Shabmonth days a whirlwind. week andMore on than motzei in the Jewish calendar, Tishrei is a mix to of bat in winter. Priced comparably holidays- engendering a variety of emoother coffee options in the neightions and spiritual experiences. We begin borhood, Mocha Crème is launchwith Rosh Hashanah, a complex day, in ing as Mocha Bleu turns years which by blowing the shofar we10 establish 1) Hashem as King (Malchuyos) in a coronation ceremony, 2) proclaim our ultimate wish for Him to bring Moshiach (Shofros), and 3) acknowledge that God sees all of our actions and will call us to judgement (Zichronos), beginning the Aseres Yimei Teshuva. In many ways, Yom Kippur is the culmination of the Zichronos experience. We fast, spend the entire day immersed in tefillah, and here the message is clearer- last chance for teshuvah. On the heels of this intense experience, Sukkot arrives. Not only do we transition to a holiday filled with “vsamachta b’chagecha” where we dance and sing, but it is also quite physical in nature: building a sukkah, shaking arba minim, and waving/ beating hoshanot on Hoshanah Rabah. This begs the question- what is going on inside our own minds during the Tishrei commotion. First, however, some brief neurology background is required. Our brains are made up of a complex network of cells, some of which are called neurons. These are the cells that send and receive electronic and chemical information thought to correlate with our thoughts and actions. It has been shown these cells operate through clusters of neural networks working together in a complex web with each other. However, certain areas of the brain appear to take over the majority of certain neural activity correlated to specific experiences, such as
a satisfying treat at the end of a festive old. AThe communal for families, meal. fresh bursttable of flavor from the friends or small in pomegranate trulygroup makesmeetings this tart a is perfect dessert. the Rosh new Hashanah Mocha Crème area, perfect forIngredients high school students coming cupapitted dates in 1for quick gelato or sandwich. 1 cup walnuts (you can substitute with The couches and small tables just almonds) next to the coffee area are quiet in 3/4 cup melted coconut oil the1 cup morning and perfect pure maple syrup for friendmeetups after carpool and business 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder meetings, with coffee and muffins. 2 tbsp. pure vanilla extract pinch of kosher salt There is ample space for children cup House Kosher in 1/3 strollers andoffree wifi.pomegranWith a ate seeds, plus more for sprinkling new shiny white woodand- chrome For the Walnut crust: Frigomecccanica ‘jewelry- style’ In a food processor, grind the dates
pastry case, custom-designed in Italy and intended for everything to the occipital lobe for vision, motor cortex be our seen easilyactivity, from eye-level, for physical etc... WhenMoone loses a specific group of neurons such as cha Bleu’s owner Naftali Abenaim is in a stroke, they often lose the associated bringing his most exciting dessert abilities that portion of the brain assoand coffee ideas out into theisopen. ciated with. The neurons themselves are Temperature controlled to just the not bodies in isolation and are constantly right degree, Abenaim explained receiving feedback and sending their that he could do more and own signals. The receiving abilitydifferent of these
cells is known as afferent neural activity, and the sending ability is known as efferent activity. No cell does only one of these tasks, as the network is complex and constantly evolving through smaller dendritic and axonal connections (formed as growths out of the neural cells). Now, let us return to the original question: what is going on mentally during Tishrei? A simple glance shows a remarkably complex neural network at play, but I’d like to focus on two major concepts: deafferentation and group rhythmic processes. 1) Deafferentation: Our brains usually require constant input from our outside surroundings. What happens when the neurons fire without external input, such as during intense spiritual meditative states? When neurons deafferentiate (lose connection to external sensory neural networks), the possibility of an inner experience exists generated from the neurons themselves (or from some other non-physical source?). The intense tefillah of the Aseres Yimei Teshuvah can evoke the concept of “I am nothing but dust and ashes” (Bereishis 18:7) which may correlate to the “nothingness” experienced via temporary neural deafferentation of the parietal area of the brain. With continued isolation, our sense of self is more malleable and true spiritual and internal work can take place. At the same time, one cannot live permanently
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desserts with a higher level dessert case. Just in time to enjoy along with the new desserts, Mocha Bleu is also debuting a line of house coffees from Jim’s Organic. While Nespresso cappuccino, espresso and other Italian coffee drinks are still and walnuts until available, Jim’sit creates Or- a firm texture. Press the mixture into a greased 9” round ganic, a local New Jersey company dish, making sure to place the mixture at that sources beans from all over the world, a smooth on such developed a high spiritual plane. Weblend come calledfrom Papua New Guinea for down this experience and just become “fully interconnected” again synthesizMocha Bleu. Mocha Bleu’s new iced ing the coffee experience of Am Yishouse and with decafthat coffee is anrael as a whole. One is reborn through other blend, called Sweet Nothings. teshuvah, possibly due to the unique “We developed this roast with them sense of interconnectedness and oneto get it just right. ness generated afterIt’s thesmoother experienceand desweeter than your average, ” Abescribed above. 2) Group Rhythmic Process: When we sing aloud with others, we create a rhythmic sensory experience as the beat and song sync various neural networks in our brain. This activates our limbic systems to sync with the group, giving an experience of “oneness” among the group sensation. Our inferior parietal lobe also integrates this sensory information, so when we hear the shofar, jolting us and activating our auditory receptors, we integrate this with older memories of years of shofar blowing through our emotional limbic system, hippocampal memory deposits, and prefrontal cortex. This causes further integration of the experience into whatever framework is primed in our mind by the shofar blast (call to teshuvah, making Hashem king, fighting the yetzer hara, gathering us all together as Jews, etc.). These multiple experiences culminate on Yom Kippur. Fasting has its own unique neurologic effects, as the brain sustains itself by ketones rather than the usual sugars. The philosophy that fasting allows us to focus on more important things appears well-grounded here: both from the lack of time spent looking for food, and neurochemically when our brain subsists on ketones alone. We are more focused, more intense, and able to single-mindedly devote ourselves to a day of prayer and self-reflection. As many brain areas are turned “down,” with deaf-
least an inch up on the sides of the pan. Chill crust in the freezer while you prepare the filling. For the Chocolate Ganache filling: In a mixing bowl combine: coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt. Make sure the coconut oil is completely mixed in. Add the pomegranate seeds. To Assemble: Remove the crust from the freezer. Pour the chocolate ganache into the prepared walnut crust. Sprinkle the top of the pie with extra pomegranate seeds and chill for at least 30 minutes before servnaim said. Chalav yisrael Italian geing. Enjoy!
lato, made once a week by an Italian chef, headlines the new menu offerentation and re-afferentation, a unique ferings. Theofdifference between heightening specific senses and ice decrease cream in andperipheral gelato is distraction that gelatooccurs gen(see the brain scans of myself and Dr. erally contains heavy cream rather Andrew Newberg saying Shema in our than milk as the majority of its base, book “The Rabbi’s Brain, pg. 202). After giving it a higher fat content and a the “high” of Yom Kippur, Sukkot arrives. more decadent, creamy “It’s We build, shake, and movetaste. ourselves best to just close your eyes and physically in ways we have not until now. We utilize the same brain areas as before, but now integrate our motor cortex, interlocking previous experiences with the rest of our brain in a way unique to the Jewish tradition. From this perspective, it is not one specific experience, but an interconnected whole, an “integrated self” utilizing multiple brain areas that epitomizes chagei Tishrei. Once we connect our teshuvah experience with dedicating our entire selves to God’s service, can we move on to taking this integrated brain (i.e. our integrated self, nefesh-ruach-neshamah) and utilizing it in our avodat hakodesh. May we use this time period of the Yamim Noraim and chag Sukkot to recognize the gift from the Creator of the World of this time period that allows us to bring the disparate pieces of ourselves and our people together as one! Wishing a kesiva v’chasima tovah to you, your families, and our entire community! Dovid Halpern was born and raised (and still lives with his family) in Lower Merion and is a third year Resident in Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He has a BA in Psychology from YU, smicha from RIETS, an MD from Sidney Kimmel Medical College, and recently published the book “The Rabbi’s Brain: Mystics, Moderns and the Science of Jewish Thinking” with Dr. Andrew Newberg.
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FOOD & DINING
Sous Vide or Not Sous Vide By Jonathan Chodosh
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ith the chagim approaching faster than a speeding train and teshuvah time escaping our grasp there is one thing that is on our minds more than we’d like to admit- the perfect brisket! You know, the one that is soft but with the right chew. It should slice perfectly and not crumble and heaven forbid it is dry (but remember, your step brother-in-law is on a diet so it can’t be fatty). We must ask ourselves, how will we make this perfect dish? Whether your family likes their brisket sweet or savory, drowning in sauce, or dry (but really, who likes it dry?!) the makeup of your brisket will more or less start the same way, with a big piece of meat. Brisket comes from the chest of the cow, making it a naturally tough cut. This is why people don’t slice off a chunk of brisket and attempt to eat it grilled – it would be nearly impossible to chew. That being said, even though it is tough, it is super flavorful. A low and slow cook will soften it up by breaking down connective membranes in and around the muscle fiber bundles. However, we’ve all eaten briskets that have been cooked for too long. The challenge with this cut of meat is to prepare it so that it cooks long enough to become tender yet stays moist. If you go to the grocery store, you’ll find two different types of brisket, first and second cut. They either come attached (one on top of the other) or separated. First cut is easily identifiable because all the grain runs down a long flat piece of beef. It should have a layer of fat on one side, though many butchers trim theirs off. My advice to keep it moist is to leave some fat on. First cut is always the leaner option of the two, even with some of the fat left on. Second cut brisket doesn’t have much external fat and does not look like the typical strip of beef we generally recognize as a brisket off the shelf. Instead, second cut brisket is awkwardly shaped and asymmetrical. It differs from second cut brisket in that it has strips of fat that appear throughout the meat, which will cook down as the brisket heats up, making it more tender than first cut brisket. It is way easier to keep second cut brisket moist than first cut, but it is more challenging to slice. This is my general preference for brisket. Traditionally, brisket recipes are braised. The procedure is as follows: Sear meat, submerge meat until it is covered about halfway, braise in a pot or oven
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until tender (1-5 hours), then slice and serve. Along the way, different flavors and seasonings are added. I use this method for my second cut brisket with one variation. After one hour of braising the meat is cooked through but very tough. I remove it and slice it then. With the beef still tough I can get thin whole slices that once tenderized would shred the meat. I put the sliced brisket back in its sauce and continue cooking it for another 1.5-3 hours until soft. A great alternative way to prepare your brisket is sous vide. Sous vide is French for “under vacuum.” The food is sealed under vacuum with seasoning and submerged in a hot water bath. A sous vide machine or immersion circulator will heat the water bath to an exact temperature and circulate the water. With this method you can first cook the entire piece of meat and later sear the outside thereby slowly cooking your tough brisket until it is tender but not dry. This is my preferred method for first cut brisket. Chef beware! The long slow cooking process is great for not overcooking your meat but may yield undercooked vegetables when placed together in the same vacuum bag. Below is my classic onion brisket recipe using both methods, braised and sous vide. Which one do you prefer? 4-6 lbs. brisket 2 large onions frenched (think orange segments) 2 large carrots cut in coins 2 ribs celery cut in chunks ¼ cup oil (for sous vide only) 2-3 tbsp. tomato paste ½ tsp. dry thyme
½ tsp. dry oregano 1 tbsp. black pepper 1+ tbsp. salt to taste 2 qts. or 8 cups water, (2 cups for sous vide) Variations Replace some of the water with wine (I like Marsala). Add 1 cup brown sugar for sweet brisket. Add 1 lb. sliced mushrooms for a deeper flavored broth. Braised Brisket Directions 1. Turn on oven broiler and ready broiler pan. 2. Coat brisket in the seasonings, herbs, and tomato paste. 3. Broil brisket and vegetables on high
heat for 4-7 min. on each side until a crust begins to form. 4. Move all ingredients and add water to your favorite braising pan or Dutch oven. 5. Braise one hour in the oven (375 degrees). 6. Remove and let cool for 20 min. so you can handle it, slice and return to braising pan. 7. Braise an additional 1.5-3 hours until the pieces are tender. Sous Vide Brisket Directions 1. Sweat everything except water and brisket in a saute pan on medium heat for 20-30 min. This is to cook all the vegetables through properly. 2. Coat the brisket in the seasoned vegetables and seal in your vacuum sealer. (You may need to split into two bags.) 3. Set your immersion circulator sous vide machine at 155 degrees, for 22-26 hours. 4. Let cool in the bags completely if you are saving it for another day. Save the liquid as it is your sauce! Note: Temperature sensitive food needs to be kept at over 140 degrees or under 40 degrees. Prolonged exposure to temperatures between this range encourages bacteria growth and is not recommended by the National Restaurant Association. Jonathan Chodosh is a food scientist and the owner of Teavon Food Group. You can find his vegan products (gelato, tapas salads, and dips) at Jack Levin’s Wine Store, 304 Old Lancaster Road, Merion Station, PA, or order directly at jonathan@teavonfoods.com. Follow him on social media @nerdydadfoods and @teavonfoodgroup. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
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September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
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FOOD & DINING
Recipes From The Rebbetzin By Rebbetzin Deborah Epstein
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osh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year. The High Holidays are a time of reflection of the past year and charting a course for the new year. The blasts of the shofar serve to awaken our hearts towards repentance, reminding us to return to our best selves, and ask God for the upcoming year to be filled with blessings, good health and success in all of our endeavors. The RECIPE for this is actually, teshuva, tefillah, and tzedakah (repentance, prayer, and charity) the main ingredients for our spiritual COOKBOOK! Rosh Hashanah begins with candle lighting, prior to sundown on Sunday, September 29. The two day festival concludes Tuesday evening, October 1. (Yom Kippur begins Tuesday evening, October 8.) On the evening of Rosh Hashanah it is customary to delight in a festive meal, following the recitation of Kiddush. Two round challahs are served as well as apples dipped in honey, which are symbolic of a sweet new year. Additionally, simanim (ritual foods) are eaten at the
beginning of the meal. They are representative of our hopes and prayers for the coming year. Examples of simanim are: Carrots– so that our merits should be increased. Head of a fish– that we should get aHEAD in life, and not lag behind at the tail-end. Gourds – that our merits be proclaimed and remembered before God. Beets – that our adversaries be removed and beaten. The second evening of Rosh Hashanah is a time when the blessing of Shehechiyanu over a new fruit, such as a pomegranate, is recited. The days of Rosh Hashanah are filled with heartfelt prayers asking Hashem for another year of life, health, wealth, success, finding one’s life partner, to be blessed with children for ourselves, our families, and all of the people of Israel. Wishing all of you a ketiva v’chasima tova!
HONEY GLAZED CHICKEN STUFFED WITH TZIMMES • • • •
1 chicken 2 sweet potatoes 4 carrots 1/8 cup orange juice
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• 1/4 cup honey • 2 tbsp. canola oil • 1 tsp. cinnamon Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the above ingredients in a medium size pan, excluding chicken. Bring to a rapid boil, lower heat immediately. Cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes. When completely cooled, stuff chicken with tzimmes under skin. Glaze with additional 4 tbsp. honey. Place in oven for 1-1/2 hours covered, then an additional fifteen minutes, uncovered. Serves 4.
ROSH HASHANAH GRILLED SIMANIM WITH POMEGRANATE MOLASSES •
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4 carrots peeled and sliced horizontally • Apples, peeled cored, and sliced • Leeks, sliced • Beets, peeled and cubed • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil • 1/8 cup pomegranate molasses Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all of the fruits and vegetables onto a large roasting pan sprayed with cooking oil. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses. Roast in oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Serves 4-6.
QUINOA IN PORTABELLA MUSHROOM CAPS WITH SQUASH, CRAISINS IN WHITE TRUFFLE OIL • • • • •
1/2 cup tricolor quinoa, cooked 4 mushrooms 1 cup butternut squash, diced 1/2 cup craisins 1/4 cup scallions, chopped diagonally
• White truffle oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place mushroom caps on a roasting pan coated with oil spray. Place 3 tbsp. quinoa into each mushroom cap. Place 1 tbsp. butternut squash cubes into the center of each mushroom cap. Place 6 craisins surroundings the butternut squash cubes. Garnish with scallions and white truffle oil. Roast in oven for fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm. Serves 4.
APPLES AND BLUEBERRY CRUNCH •
6-8 Roma apples, peeled, cored, and cubed • 2 cups blueberries • 1 can cranberry sauce • Topping: • 2 cups steel cut oats • 1 cup flour • 1 cup brown sugar • 1/2 cup canola oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size mixing bowl place apples, blueberries, and cranberry sauce. Mix well. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for topping. Place apples, blueberries and cranberry mixture into a large, oven proof decorative bowl. Place topping on top of fruits. Bake for one hour and remove from oven immediately. Serve warm. Serves 6-8. Deborah Epstein is the Rebbetzin of Congregation Sons of Israel, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is also the Director of the Mikvah Ohel Leah, in Cherry Hill. She is a celebrated chef, and has been a recipe columnist and developer for over a decade. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
FOOD & DINING
My Jewish Tunisian-American Rosh Hashanah Home By Isabelle Miller
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am a Sephardic Jew. More precisely I am a Tunisian Jew who was born in Paris; an oddity in Philadelphia where I am one of maybe a dozen Tunisian Jews. Since our marriage 20 years ago, my (American) husband Justin has encouraged me to embrace my cultural heritage. Since Roman times Tunisia has had a large Jewish population. Jews were treated well during some periods and persecuted in others. Before World War II, 100,000 Jews lived in Tunisia. It was the only Arab country to come under full Nazi occupation; thousands of Tunisian Jews were sent to labor camps while others suffered cruel oppression. After the war, promised protection for Jews was soon withdrawn. The majority emigrated to Israel or France including my parents who left in 1953; my mother to Marseilles, and my father to Paris. Today, there are less than 2,000 Jews in Tunisia, most of whom live on the island of Djerba. The Tunisian Jewish diaspora has preserved its traditions. Jews from the Maghreb (North Africa) are often assumed to be a single community with shared minhagim but there are many cultural differences between Moroccans, Tunisians and Algerians. These are not really about food; we all eat couscous and matbucha (a spicy tomato and pepper spread) and enjoy cigares au miel (almond-filled pastries dipped in honey) with a cup of coffee. Each cook in the Maghreb will tell you she has the BEST recipe for a salad, tagine or dessert. There are funny conflicts between Tunisian and Moroccan ladies, each claiming their cuisine is the crème de la crème. As we approach Rosh Hashanah, I wish to share how Tunisian Jews celebrate and honor the New Year. Jews worldwide eat apples dipped in honey and pomegranate seeds, but Tunisians add figs, sesame, pumpkin, spinach, fava beans, garlic heads, a sheep head, and fish. If this sounds like a lot of work, it is! Women spend countless hours preparing a seder, similar to the Pesach seder. Symbolic foods are sanctified with brachot (recited while holding the relevant food) from the Daf Hadvash/La Feuille de Miel Parisienne (the Parisian honey leaf) drafted by Mohel Gaston Guez, of a well-known family of Tunis Mohels. Tunisian Jewish homes follow the Daf Hadvash, a la lettre, to begin the New Year joyfully. The seder has three parts. We begin with reciting Borei P’ri Ha’etz and then: September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Fig/Tehena: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu, shetehe shana zo habaa aleinu tova umetukah kedevela.”/ May this year be for us as sweet as the fig. After the figs, we eat apples (without honey) and pomegranate seeds. I remember my grandmothers carefully separating each seed and adding mazar (orange blossom water). In the second part of the seder, we recite Borei P’ri Ha’adama and then: Sesame/Sumsum: I mix sesame seeds with honey and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu she yirbu zerchuyoteinu ke shumshemim.”/ May our good deeds grow like sesame seeds. Pumpkin/Kara’a: I blanche pumpkin slices dipped in flour and egg, and fry them. These are dipped in homemade honey syrup and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu shetikra ro’ah gzar dinenu.” / May He tear the evil verdict against us. The Hebrew word kara’a is like kriah, meaning to tear. Spinach or Swiss Chard/Selek: Guests are served a spinach beignet sweetened with honey syrup and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu she istalku oyveiynu vesonenu vekhol mevarkha raatenu mipanenu.”/ May Hashem eliminate our enemies and all who hate us from before us. Lehistalek (to eliminate) has the same root as selek (Swiss chard). Fava Bean/Shuiyt: I serve fava beans (blanched, salted, and sprinkled with cumin) and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu she iyplu raatenu mipanenu.”/ May
all evil fall far from our face. Garlic Head/Shum: Each guest receives a clove of roasted garlic and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu sheitamu oyveinu vesonenu vekhol mevakesh raaternu mipanenou.” This prayer for the defeat of our enemies is like the one for spinach/Swiss chard and is repeated to emphasize its importance. At the last part of our seder, we recite Shehakol Nehiyeh Bidvaro and then: Honey/Dvash: Over apple dipped in honey, we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu she t’hei shana zo abaa aleinu tova umetuka kedvash me’reshit shana va’ad aharit shana.” / May we be blessed with a sweetlike-honey year from the first day until the last day. Sheep Head/Rosh Kevess: I make a lamb tagine with spices and harissa. Each guest is served some meat and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu she niyeh ba rosh velo lazanav.” / May we be at the head of the nations and not at the tail. This embodies the idea that we must continue our spiritual growth, so we do not become a “tail” or follower. Fish/Dag: I make Chraimee fish (sea bass or salmon) cooked in a spicy sauce. Each guest is served, and we recite: “Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adoshem Elokeinu velokei avoteinu she nifrei ve nirbe ka dagim.” / May we be fruitful and multiply like fish. Fish are an important Jewish symbol particularly among Tunisian Jews. When we move to a new house, we cut a fish head in front of the main door to chase away the ayin hara (evil eye). Fish live underwater, unseen and therefore unen-
vied. Also, fish were created on the fifth day. The number five is represented by the hand and five fingers are represented by the hamsa hand. Tunisian Jews cherish hamsa amulets. After the Rosh Hashanah seder, we eat pkeila, a slow-cooked stew of spinach and white beans, with wonderful fragrances of fresh herbs, nana (mint), shamir (dill) and cosbara (cilantro), served on a bed of couscous. The Tunisian Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur traditions are incomplete without a beautiful red quince jelly with cloves. This is served with boulou, a homemade panettone laced with almonds and raisins. May Am Yisrael have success this year. May our Eretz HaKodesh and our people be blessed with a myriad of brachot. Wishing you all a happy and sweet New Year. Shana tova u’metuka. Isabelle Miller invites your questions about Tunisian Jewish traditions at isataharmiller@gmail.com
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FUN CORNER
The Kosher Crossword By: Yoni Glatt
THE SWEETEST THING koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Challenging 1
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44. *Gives a potch 45. Mishandles 46. Mentally acute 47. Indy champ Castroneves 48. Make like Solomon or Herod 50. Capital of Jordan 52. Max Weinberg item 53. How Elijah operated before taking on Elisha 55. Voting “no” 56. Baseball team with a history dating to 1869 57. Fast kid in “The Incredibles” 60. “I’ll take that as ___” Answers on page 41
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49. He played cinema’s most famous Butler 51. Some newspapers 54. *Clue Colonel 58. “Smart” one 59. Makes like the Jews, centuries ago 61. First subtopic 62. “Casablanca” role 63. Arm bones 64. Former Fords 65. *Poker prizes 66. *Neptune has 14 of them 67. *Roof attachment, for some DOWN 1. The Raiders’ QB 2. Bread spread 3. “Every ___ king” 4. Home of the Great Synagogue of Europe 5. Mickey and Tarik 6. Highway 6 or Route 443, e.g. 7. ___B (site for cinema lovers) 8. Joust verbally 9. When doubled, a Pacific capital 10. *Kid’s scrape 11. It may get you to first base 12. “Not ___ bone in his body” 13. Observes the Sabbath 21. Hardy’s D’Urbervilles girl 23. Protein source
JEWISH SPELLING BEE How many common words of 5 or more letters can you spell using the letters in the hive? Every answer must use the center letter at least once. Letters may be reused in a word. At least one word will use all 7 letters and have a direct Jewish connection. Proper names and hyphenated words are not allowed. Score 1 point for each answer, and 3 points for a Jewish related word that uses all 7 letters. Rating: 8=Good; 11= Excellent; 14= Genius
Answers on page 41 September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Caskey Torah Academy
SCHOOLS New Initiative in Safa Courses at Politz Day School of Cherry Hill
T CTA Kindergarten students started learning all about apples this week. Students participated in various STEAM projects using apples, and they took an awesome hands-on field trip to Linvilla Orchards.
he middle school at Politz Day School of Cherry Hill is embarking on an exciting new adventure in their safa courses. They have recently launched a new partnership with Bonim B’Yachad, a personalized online learning solutions organization based in Israel. Bonim B’Yachad combines outstanding educators with cutting-edge technology, customizing learning that meets the needs of every student within the class. The middle school safa students have been getting to know their new teachers and are exploring the features of the
online learning platform during the last few sessions. Classes are taught live via Zoom and all programming is uniquely designed to be engaging, rigorous, and tailored for their specific outcomes. This week, Aryeh Eisenberg, the founder/ CEO of Bonim B’Yachad, visited Politz to see how the program was being implemented and to meet with students in person. The school is looking forward to continued success with this new program. To get a better glimpse into what the organization is all about, please visit https://www.bonimbyachad.org/about to watch their promotional video.
Abrams Hebrew Academy
Rabbi Motty Katz, along with Shia Solomon, visited Abrams Hebrew Academy to celebrate the beginning of the school year. Rabbi Katz, who has been visiting Abrams for 39 years, brings a spirit to the school and gets all of the students on their feet dancing to Israeli and Jewish music. According to Abrams Head of School Rabbi Ira Budow, he creates a “Ruach Riot!” Rabbi Katz is based in Brooklyn, NY and is the Founder of JEP, the Jewish Education Program. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
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SCHOOLS Cheder Chabad
Gan Chabad of the Main Line
Politz Day School of Cherry Hill
Students at Politz Day School of Cherry Hill prepared for Rosh Hashanah by learning about the different aspects of the chag. Middle School students at Politz Day School of Cherry Hill participated in mock Israeli Elections (Bibi Netanyahu won by a large majority!).
Politz Hebrew Academy Perelman Jewish Day School
Students at Perelman Jewish Day School's Forman Center celebrating their super-powered character strengths in the Maker Space, a classroom dedicated to innovative, hands-on learning. Early learning in the Hebrew-immersive Ganon program at Perelman Jewish Day School's Stern Center.
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Rabbi Segelman and his 7th grade class had the honor this week of visiting Rabbi Brisman shlita. The boys heard from an Adam Chashuv that all Hashem wants from us before Rosh Hashana, is to change something very small in effort to become a better person. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
SCHOOLS Kohelet Yeshiva High School
Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia
Students from the Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia put up a sukkah in the community as part of a chesed project.
Kohelet Yeshiva High School faculty and students spent time together in Center City as part of a schoolwide exercise intended to foster the bonds between students and faculty. Everyone was divided into teams, each of which had at least one 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grader on it, along with two faculty chaperones. They each had one hour to make their way from Independence Hall to Rittenhouse Square and successfully accomplish a variety of video challenges along the way, including acting out a scene from Shakespeare, running for mayor, asking pedestrians to locate a pasuk in Tanach, or playing 3-on-3 basketball with no court, basket, or ball, amongst many other things.
Students from the Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia participated in Caskey Torah Academy's Chanukat Habayit and Hachnasat Sefer Torah with Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky.
Mesivta Yesodei Yisroel of Elkins Park
The sounds of learning (and the smell of pizza) filled the Kohelet Yeshiva Beit Midrash during the first mishmar of the year.
As our brothers and sisters in Israel headed to the polls, Kohelet Yeshiva High School students had the opportunity to hear from Torah Academy of Bergen County alum Aharon Eckstein about how his desire to find meaning and purpose led him to make Aliyah and join the IDF.
Kohelet Yeshiva Middle School (KYMS)
Kohelet Yeshiva Lab School (KYLS)
KYMS students conducted mock Israeli elections, creating and developing their own party's religious, economic, and social ideology. September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
Bat Sherut Liron Georgi conducted a powerful Tefillah program with the 4th grade students.
Kindergarten and first grade students learned all about shofarot with Rabbi Strasberg and the Shofar Factory and each student got to make his or her very own shofar.
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RTS
Local Jews Take to the Ice By Joshua Katz
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his week National Hockey League teams returned to the ice for preseason games. For the Lower Merion Jewish Hockey Club (LMJHC), the season never ends. Founded about two years ago after a post on the Lower Merion Jewish Listserv, the LMJHC represents a group of Jewish men from a variety of local shuls who gather together to play ice hockey. Group founder Zack Feldman first started the group to fulfill his longtime dream of playing ice hockey. “After getting my kids into it, I talked with the manager at the Skatium about putting together my own group of guys,” says Feldman. This sentiment was further echoed by regular player, Rabbi Yoni Spinka, who loves “that I could pick up a new sport in my 30’s.” Since its inception, the group has steadily grown, so that now games regularly draw more than a minyan of players. Games are informal and pickup. A WhatsApp group polls player availability around ice availability. If enough guys are interested (usually at least nine), then the game happens. Games take place at the Skatium in nearby Havertown, most often on Saturday nights during the winter and on Sunday evenings in the summer months. The quality of play has steadily improved, but the focus is still on everyone just having a good time. When asked what he enjoys most about the game, Yossi Goldstein said he likes “the opportunity to meet and interact with other Jews in a low-pressure environment.” But
P that doesn’t mean the games aren’t competitive, though the atmosphere is always positive. Goalie Isaiah Scoufield noted, “It is great seeing how no matter what skill level you are at, everyone still plays together, always trying to make sure everyone is involved in the game.” LMJHC has been a great way to build ties across the community. Players range in age from high school (even some elementary age kids have been known to show up) to middle-aged and represent nearly every Orthodox shul in the Lower Merion community. The Club even draws players from Cherry Hill. “The LMJHC is a great way for new members of the community to meet each other,” says Rabbi Akiva Weiss, who joined shortly after moving to the area last year. “We have older guys, younger guys, rabbis, doctors, you name it…It’s an incredibly friendly and supportive environment where guys just want to hang out, get in a decent workout, and have fun at the same time.”
Kohelet Soccer
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he Kohelet Yeshiva High School’s boys soccer team took on the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy’s boys soccer team on Sunday, September 22. Kohelet held the home team to just one goal in the first half behind a terrific defensive effort from senior goalie Zachary Magerman and senior defense-
men Shmuel Zvi and Noam Troodler. The strong Barrack squad managed to score two more times in the second half to earn the 3-0 victory. Kohelet was able to bounce back with a 5-1 victory against New Jersey United Christian Academy on Monday, September 23.
Kohelet’s Ido Crammer handles the ball against JBHA.
KYHS goalie Zachary Magerman. Credit:
Credit: Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl
Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl
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The Jewish nature of the group isn’t lost either. Scoufield commented on the “true achdus and middos” on display when the group is on the ice. The group often davens before or after playing to ensure everyone can daven with a minyan since the available ice time sometimes conflicts with the local shuls Mincha/Maariv schedule. After one minyan, Akiba alumnus Micah Cohen excitedly proclaimed, “I can’t wait to call my dad and tell him I just davened Maariv at the Skatium!” In the words of Feldman, the LMJHC has “found guys from all walks of Jewish life who share a common passion for hockey.” Says Weiss, it is “not at all a surprise why the group keeps growing in size.” Players interested in joining LMJHC should contact Zack Feldman at 610-6139853 or zakfeld@gmail.com. He can also be found at Young Israel of the Main Line or Lower Merion Synagogue.
hiladelphia Fall Flag Football is back for an exciting second season! Boys of all ages, from all over Philadelphia, are having so much fun playing flag football. Boys are enjoying being boys, with some friendly competition and a lot of action! Throughout the season, the boys acquire many different sports skills, build friendships, and learn good sportsmanship while playing and having fun! For more information about Philadelphia Fall Flag Football, contact R’ Michoel Shifrin at 267-499-8739.
Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia Soccer
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he Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia’s soccer team played a hard-fought game against Friends’ Central School on Monday, September 23, which ended in a 1-1 tie. Yonah Erlbaum scored for Mesivta.
From L-R: Yonah Erlbaum, Noah Mogyoros, and Bennett Stein
September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
FEATURES Tefillah and Tzedaka in One? Don’t Miss This Special Opportunity Ahead of Rosh Hashanah (Courtesy of Vaad HaRabanim) eshuva, tefillah, tzedaka—the trio of potent weaponry in our arsenal to nullify any painful decrees for the upcoming year, r”l. As we approach Rosh Hashanah 5780—with our fates and the fates of our families in the balance—we are presented with an incredible, easy opportunity for both tefillah and tzedaka at the highest levels. The gadol hador, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, places only one request: that someone should daven on his behalf before the Yamim Noraim. Rav Chaim personally donates to the Vaad HaRabanim L’inyanei Tzedakah and hand writes his name and his mother’s name, requesting that other gedolei Eretz Yisrael daven for him in the zechus of his donation. Can we even imagine the benefit of having the same meilitzei yosher at this
consequential juncture as the ones that Rav Chaim personally seeks out? Yet, we do not need to imagine anything. All of us can attain it ourselves. Just four hours before Rosh Hashanah, a historic Atzeres Tefillah will iy”H be held at the Kosel Hamaaravi. Leading rabbanim and roshei yeshiva shlit”a from Litvish, chasidish and Sephardic circles will unite to daven on behalf of donors to Vaad HaRabanim L’inyanei Tzedakah. Those who donate a minimum of $100 can submit up to two names that will be individually recited by the gedolim at that Atzeres. Other tefillah opportunities, available for donors of $36 and $52, respectively, include tefillos by gedolim on erev Rosh Hashanah, erev Yom Kippur and Hoshanah Rabbah as well as a tefillah by Rav Chaim Kanievsky every day of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. The reason that these preeminent
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Solution to crossword puzzle from page 36:
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JEWISH SPELLING BEE ANSWERS (FROM PAGE 36):
Jewish Answer- BADEKIN. Here is a list of some common words (Yes, we know there are more words in the dictionary that can work, but these words are common to today’s vernacular)- BABKA, BAKED, BANKED, BEAKED, BIKED, DEBEAK, DINKED, INKED, KABAB, KIDDIE, KNEAD, KNEADED, NAKED- Questions/comments/compliments- email Yoni at koshercrosswords@gmail.com
September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
gedolei Yisrael so value the donors of Vaad HaRabanim L’inyanei Tzedakah is because they are intimately familiar with the lifesaving chesed that the organization does for residents of Eretz Yisrael around the clock, every day of the year. The organization serves as a single, allencompassing address to assist those in need, regardless of background or affiliation. Within the past year alone, Vaad HaRabanim distributed over 23,000 food packages to hungry families; financially assisted nearly 5,000 almanos and yesomim; assisted over 12,000 Yidden with medical treatment and rehabilitation; and helped nearly 3,000 children with tutoring and mentoring. The sheer magnitude of these chasadim and their farreaching, long-term implications is difficult for the human mind to grasp. The Heavenly zechus of supporting these endeavors is impossible to estimate! In the zechus of our chesed toward our brothers and sisters around the world, may all of klal Yisrael merit a kesiva v’chasima tova. To make a donation and submit names for the tefillos of the gedolim, please call the Vaad HaRabanim hotline at 877-RABANIM. Or mail in your donation to: Vaad HaRabanim, 221 Regent Drive, Lakewood, NJ 08701.
I Don’t Mean to Eat and Pun CONTINUED FROM P. 28 pairings as this language provides, it is an inevitability that some wordplay will result; that conversationalists will take the opportunity to color their witticisms with the different shades of meaning made available in this tongue. Or, if the mood strikes him, for everyone’s father to answer “Dad, I’m starving” with “Hi Starving, I’m Dad.” Overall, the use of wordplay indicates not just an appreciation of language, but an appreciation of the depth of language. Perhaps that is why it fills such a prominent role in heralding the beginning of a new year, for which the most anyone could ever hope for is depth. We want our toils on this earth to mean something to us, to our loved ones, to God Himself. Whatever reverberations our actions cause, let them be positive. Whatever reverberations elicit our reactions, let those, too, be for the best. In a nuanced world, let us find the shade of meaning that rings true. And hey, if you’re spending the holidays at a hotel, it’s not too late to pray for a suite new year.
TO SPECULATE OR CONTEMPLATE By Rabbi Abraham A. Levene We need to know astronomy For sailing and agronomy; Develop learned philology To guard against tautology. Engage in etymology To fathom sociology; Delve deep into biology To master physiology. Our concepts of geography, Produced, mainly by history; Dis-unified philosophies Create man-made theosophies. Solutions bold, and yes, dramatic, Too often born of needs pragmatic; Determinant of existential What we view as quintessential. I’ve listed here, a very few, Of the many things we do; Creating answers based on need To justify, unanswered deed. …Yet, there’s no need to justify The earth, the sea, the wind, the sky; This wondrous world God set in place, His “Garden for the human race!” Beyond mere limits of the mind, Exists the vastness of the soul; Unlimited, it contemplates, Each single part within the whole. I see it all. I’m unafraid. For I am part of what God made! ©2007 by Abraham A. Levene. All rights reserved This poem may not be reproduced without written permission of Abraham A. Levene.
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HOME
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LIVING SECTION
Seven Myths Home Buyers Actually Believe Submitted by Anne Goldberg
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came across a great article a little while back by Cara Ameer, a top-producing broker associate from Northeast Florida, where she debunks seven popular home buyer myths. I could not agree more with her and thought I would share them with you. We can all gain from a better understanding of how the real estate market truly works. Read on to find out. As is the case with significant purchases one makes, the “armchair experts” are out in force. Whether that entails buying a car, a computer or a home, everyone has something to say. Friends, family, neighbors, friendsof-friends, co-workers, cousins and relatives near and far are all selfproclaimed “experts” when it comes to buying a home. And if a buyer doesn’t have a tribe of so-called “experts” they can trust, everything one needs to know about buying a home can be learned from home improvement and real estate TV shows. Advice ranges from choosing or avoiding a particular area/neighborhood, avoiding new construction (since they don’t build homes the way they used to), avoiding buying a corner home, or a home with skylights because they leak, and the list goes on. Opinions are exactly that and can lead to false perceptions or fears that are unfounded. Incorrect assumptions can cause a buyer to have unnecessary frustrations and false expectations about the buying process — versus what really should happen. By debunking these myths, a buyer has a better chance of embarking on the arduous home buying process with a more realistic understanding. They’ll therefore be better prepared for this major endeavor.
Here are seven myths about the buying process— busted!
1. AGENTS ARE PAID A SALARY BY THE BROKERAGE FIRM AND THE COMMISSION IS “EXTRA.”
Guess what? The agent only gets paid at the end of the transaction through a commission. Meanwhile, the best agents will work their tails off to get buyers their dream houses that usually entails at least 20 trips back and forth to show buyers homes, finding out answers to the buyers’ questions, triangulating between the listing agent, homeowners association, county and city, researching public records, making phone calls to the mortgage lender with continually revised closing cost spreadsheets prepared with different down payment scenarios and interest rates. We must then spend time explaining how all of this works to the buyers, write offer after offer, and oftentimes cancel or rearrange personal plans so that we can show the buyer a house so they don’t miss out. All of this is done without a single paycheck. If the buyer decides
Are you, or someone you know, looking to buy or sell a home or invest in real estate on the Main Line or greater Philadelphia? I’d be happy to help. Give me a call!
ANNE GOLDBERG, REALTOR Mobile: 973-985-9053 Office: 610-520-0100
Email: annegoldberg@kw.com Website: annegoldberg.kw.com
Making Realty Dreams Reality
720 W. Lancaster Ave Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 Each office is individually owned and operated.
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Philadelphia JEWISH LINK
It was a pleasure working with Anne. She truly cared about us finding the home that was right for us... and she did! She is very knowledgeable about all the aspects of buying a home and knows this market well.
to purchase, and purchase through that agent, and only if that transaction goes to closing will the agent be paid. How long the process takes from start to finish is anyone’s guess, and could possibly range from a couple of months to years, depending on the buyer.
2. EVERY HOME THAT’S FOR SALE CAN BE FOUND ON CONSUMER WEBSITES.
Not exactly. You see most Multiple Listing Services (MLS) share their database of properties for sale (and rent) through a feed that syndicates to numerous websites. Not all of these websites update regularly or show the true status of a property. In fact, most times properties that are shown for sale are in fact no longer available and are under contract or sold. So, by relying on a consumer website, you could be missing out on a hot new listing that just hit the market before it shows up on sites other than the MLS. Furthermore, working with an agent affords you access to properties that may not be formally on the market yet through their network of contacts. This could include someone who is interested in selling but has not taken any steps to put their property on the market.
3. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CALLING LISTING AGENTS TO SEE HOMES IF OUR AGENT IS UNAVAILABLE.
Buyers tend to think, “We hate to bother them every time there is something we see of interest.” This approach can and will backfire on a buyer. A listing agent’s job is to represent the seller. Buyers who ask them to show their listing put everyone in a precarious professional situation. Agents don’t like to step on other agents’ toes and do not
want to be put in an awkward predicament. While buyers can still use whichever agent they want to assist in writing an offer, the entire scenario can create a lot of bad feelings. The listing agent may feel exploited after putting in many hours of work meeting the buyers at the property, providing detailed information about the house, and so forth. If a buyer has an agent, they need to work through their agent for all showings. Agent communities are small worlds and word will get out very quickly about the buyers calling every listing agent in certain areas to see homes on their own. Listing agents will grow suspicious and will surely want to know which agent the buyer is working with, whether they have been pre-approved and what their status is, as far as being able to buy a home.
4. A HOUSE “PASSES” OR “FAILS” AN INSPECTION.
False. The purpose of a home inspection is to provide an overview of the home’s condition at the time the home was inspected, along with an assessment of each component in the home as to whether it is functioning in the manner in which it was intended. An inspector does not state whether a home “passes” or “fails.”
5. A BUYER CAN AND SHOULD ASK FOR EVERY ITEM FOUND ON AN INSPECTION REPORT TO BE FIXED, WHETHER IT IS AN ACTUAL REPAIR OR EVEN COSMETIC IN NATURE.
Not so fast. Inspections are a negotiation point. Just because an inspector puts it in a report does not mean it is something that has to be immediately addressed. An inspector needs to be thorough in their observations for the purpose of raising awareness and informing the buyer about the property they are going to purchase. While a buyer should discuss with their agent what repairs —if any— should be addressed by the seller, this is another negotiation point in the transaction that could involve some backand-forth, depending on what is being requested. It will likely be a compromise. If an item is a suggested improvement —such as adding gutters, this is something the seller likely will not do.
CONTINUED ON P. 43 September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
HOME Seven Myths CONTINUED FROM P. 42 The seller may prefer to reduce the price or offer a credit toward closing costs in lieu of doing some or all of the repairs.
6. THE LOWER THE OFFER, THE MORE LIKELY THE SELLER WILL COME DOWN FROM THEIR ASKING PRICE.
Au contraire, my friend! In real estate, usually the lower the offer means the less likely the seller will counter —or in some cases the seller may not negotiate at all. Unless it is truly justified, offering a significantly lower price for the sake of it can put the seller off. They may think the buyer is not serious and completely shut down. The buyer will then have to come back at another price to see if they can get the seller to restart negotiations.
7. THE BANK WILL SEND SOMEONE OUT TO TELL ME IF I’M PAYING TOO MUCH.
Not exactly. The lender providing your mortgage loan will send out an ap-
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LIVING SECTION
praiser to conduct a valuation of the property on behalf of the bank that will be providing the loan. The appraiser will not tell the buyer what to pay. An appraisal is subjective and defined as an art and not a science. Some appraisers are more conservative in their adjustments, and some are more generous, all while staying within lending guidelines. If the appraisal comes in at less than the price you have agreed to pay for the home, that does not obligate you to purchase the house, but at the same time, that does not mean the seller must sell it to you at the appraised value. This becomes a renegotiation point between the buyer and seller. Both parties could agree to split the difference, or the seller could come down in price but may not offer other concessions that they had previously agreed to, such as paying for closing costs, a home warranty, or doing repairs. If the market is really hot and the property is in high demand, then the buyer may have to pay out-of-pocket for the difference. Anne Goldberg is a Realtor with Keller Williams Main Line Realty. She can be reached at annegoldberg@kw.com.
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Wishing a Shana Tova U'metuka to all of my friends in the Lower Merion community and beyond I Love Lower Merion
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I’m a proud resident of Lower Merion and I love to call the Main Line “home.” I am passionate about helping families find their perfect home. If you want to buy, sell, rent or just want to know what your home is worth, I would be honored to help. Call me and together we can find the place you’ll love to call home.
ISRAELA HAOR-FRIEDMAN REALTOR® 610-730-0731 cell Israela.friedman@foxroach.com www.Israelafriedman.foxroach.com
September 26, 2019 / 26 Elul, 5779
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Caskey Torah Academy Chabad of the Main Line Congregation Beth Hamedrosh Kohelet Yeshiva Lower Merion Synagogue New York Bagel Shalom Pizza Star of David The Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia Young Israel of the Main Line Zagafen
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The
Philadelphia Jewish Link would like to wish the entire community a
שנה טובה ומתוקה & כתיבה וחתימה טובה Nachi Troodler Founder/Publisher Lisa Stein Editor Gwen Horowitz Associate Editor