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The Jewish Press
Friday, October 16, 2020
Florida SHELLEY BENVENISTE FLORIDA EDITOR IT’S MY OPINION
An Unusual Holiday Observance
Florida Couple Helps Pave The Way For FIDF Scholarship Fund Despite challenging financial circumstances, Aviram Fima is well on his way to becoming an Israeli fashion superstar. Though Fima is still a student, in his last year of study at Shenkar College in Tel Aviv, he has already received many notable accolades, including having one of his garments win second place at the 2020 Frankfurt Style Awards. But only a few know that this talented young man was only able to pursue his education in fashion thanks to a Highland Beach-based Friends of the IDF (FIDF) IMPACT scholarship program and the contribution of David and Pricilla Baum. The IMPACT program offers four-year scholarships to former IDF combat soldiers from disadvantaged, low-income families. The one-of-a-kind program also provides funds to cover living expenses while the former soldiers study and gives them the unique benefit of direct contact with their FIDF sponsors. The Baums have been patrons of the scholarship program for the past 18 years. David serves as the vice president of the FIDF Florida board and the vice-chair of the Chicago JUF Federation. “The FIDF IMPACT scholarship helps me tremendously in paving the way to the future I have always dreamed of having,” says Fima. “During these difficult times, beyond the financial help, the scholarship also provides me with emotional support. Sponsors of this unique scholarship are actively promoting higher education in Israeli society, and for that, myself and thousands of other students are profoundly grateful.” Since the program’s founding in 2002, FIDF has sponsored students from 66 countries of origin. Over 92% of IMPACT recipients graduate successfully, compared to the Israeli national average graduation rate of 70-81%. With the success of the program, some 16,130
Covid-19 recently created an unusual High Holiday observance. The protocols and restrictions due to the virus required a unique approach to the yomim tovim. My synagogue, Young Israel Congregation in Surfside, Florida, accommodated individuals who would not be attending services by having shofar blowing at the beach on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. The crowd stood on the sand by the ocean and heard the soul-stirring blasts. Local shuls maintained social distancing, required masks, and limited the number of individuals allowed in at one time. Many congregations ran several minyanim to best serve their communities. Yet some things remained the same. As always, the awe-inspiring and earnest time of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur was quickly followed by the joyous days of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. In many ways the spate of holidays reflects life itself. There are times to be solemn and times to be jubilant, and we benefit by experiencing the full gamut. There is usually a great degree of shared interaction during the High Holidays. A congregation is often inspired by the rabbi’s speeches, the chazan’s singing, and the camaraderie among everyone present. This year, even those who were able to participate in a synagogue service did not have this experience. Divrei Torah and davening were cut short because of safety concerns, and the usual revelry and merrymaking that accompany the period of Sukkot through Simchat Torah were severely limited. However, some individuals honestly reported that they benefited from the new experience. A friend told me that she was actually well served by her homebased services. She confided that with no one to talk to or divert her, she prayed with a special intensity and concentration, especially on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and that she now truly appreciates the usual jubilant atmosphere of the other holidays and will never again take them for granted. Covid-19 has created a world of hardships and obstacles, but some have used this time to get out of their own comfort zone and do acts of chesed. Young and healthy members of my shul and community have shopped, run errands, and gone out of their way to help the elderly and infirm who dare not expose themselves to contagion. There have been countless acts of kindness and concern. Even the worst of occurrences often has some component that will be of educational benefit or expand our understanding. 9:30 -11:00AM Hopefully, when all of this ON is finally over – when the virus dissipates and the WWNN 1470AM & WWNNradio.com pandemic ends – we will somehow be able to say that going through this nightmarish time taught us some lessons that could WWW.ShalomSouthFlorida.com be used for the good.
SUNDAY MORNINGS
students and alumni are represented in nearly every field, and dozens are now donors themselves. Scholarship recipients each complete 130 hours of community service during each year of their scholarship as a way to give back and help others. Since the inception of the program, IMPACT students have volunteered over 6.1 million hours of community service, making it the 31 scholarship program in providing community service in Israel.
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Friday, October 16, 2020
The Jewish Press
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Florida CALENDAR OF EVENTS WHAT: The Holocaust Documentation & Education Center has added the following program: The Vel’ d’Hiv Round-Up: The Largest Mass Arrest in Wartime in French History. On July 16-17, 1942 in occupied Paris, more than 13,000 French Jews were arrested by French Police and held in deplorable conditions in an indoor cycling stadium. Join Dr. Eileen Angelini to learn about the detailed planning behind the round-up and how France has since dealt with the pain and shame of this event. CONTACT: Holocaust Documentation & Education Center, Inc. Phone: (954) 929-5690, Website: www.hdec.org, Email: rositta@hdec.org.
Dec. 16 - B’nei Menashe and B’nei Ephraim CONTACT: Go to www.CYSCollege.org, or call (305) 868-1411. Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/879 6854 4830 - Password: 171692 *****
URIM PUBLICATIONS Redeeming Relevance in the Book of Exodus: Explorations in Text and Meaning “Dr. Nataf successfully explains the events, locales and personalities of the Exodus experiences with sophisticated detail that treats the engaged reader with respect.... Rabbi Nataf has delivered in this slim volume a most eloquent, traditional, yet modern, Bible commentary. He clearly defines and expounds upon the communication between man and G-d as an essential component to our physical and spiritual existence." - Alan Jay Gerber, The Jewish Star "Rabbi Nataf skillfully deploys a vast command of the exegetical work of the Jewish tradition as well as displays judicious use of the works of modern writers who have enriched our understanding of the Bible.... I highly recommend this volume to all students of Torah, at all levels.” - Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot, Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought
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Between the Lines of the Bible, Exodus: A Study From the New School of Orthodox Torah Commentary
WHAT: Chaim Yakov Shlomo (CYS) College of Jewish Studies Dr. Nathan Katz Series on Sephardic Jewry presents: Jews of India WHERE: CYS College of Jewish Studies, The Shul, 9540 Collins Ave, Surfside, FL WHEN: Multi-week program schedule: Oct. 14 - Overview Oct. 28 - The Jews of Cochin: History Nov. 11 - Religious Life Nov. 18 - The Bene Israel Dec. 2 - “Baghdadi” Jews
"...Rabbi Etshalom successfully presents an argument for integrating discoveries from the disciplined worlds of archaeology, philology, anthropology and literary analysis into the passionate world of religious study of the Bible..." - Dr. Yoel Elitzur "With his captivating prose, penetrating depth and dazzling breadth, R. Etshalom analyzes topics in the Biblical in classical Brisk fashion.... Schooled in contemporary study of the Talmud, R. Etshalom knows how to “give a shi’ur” and arranges his Bible lessons with the same excitement and structure of a high-level Talmud class.... Walking away from the book, you are not only dazzled by R. Etshalom’s interpretations but empowered to study on your own in greater depth." - Rabbi Gil Student, Hirhurim blog
Exodus and Emancipation: Biblical and African-American Slavery
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"...a compelling and utterly original study comparing the biblical account of the enslaved Israelites with the experience of African-American slavery. Dr. Chelst, it would seem, has read and considered everything of consequence that has been written on both subjects, and Exodus and Emancipation is filled with page after page of stunning and illuminating insights." -Rabbi Joseph Telushkin "Neither the exodus nor emancipation proceeded as expected. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years until they learned to obey God. They were attacked by the Amalekites, who were succeeded by other biblical enemies, the Spanish inquisition, the Nazis, and contemporary foes. The promises of emancipation were also elusive. The road to freedom was, and still is, a continuing struggle for dignity, freedom, and justice, thwarted by Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, and others. Unlike the Israelites, AfricanAmericans did not have a single leader on the road to freedom. The leadership of African-Americans was provided by an uncounted number of heroes and heroines through generations, including Harriet Tubman, who contemporaries called the Moses of her people. Kenneth Chelst does an admirable job addressing both narratives and draws deeply on his extensive knowledge of the biblical narrative. By the end of the book, the words of Martin Luther King in his “I Have a Dream” speech become meaningful in a new way. One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, “the Negro still…finds himself an exile in his own land.” - Brenda P. Tirrell, YPB
Studies in the Weekly Parashah Based on the Lessons of Nehama Leibowitz "This book is written in an easy-to-read and original style, which often employs a light, humorous touch in its stylistic phrasings e.g., "Va-Yelekh Elementary, My Dear Rashi," an allusion to Watson via A.C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. This book of nehamah (consolation) affirms love of Medinat Yisrael, the Hebrew language, and Tanakh study. It is recommended for all Jewish libraries (synagogue, JCC, academic, seminary, etc.)." -David B. Levy, AJL Newsletter "Among her many thousands of students was Dr. Moshe Sokolow. A master of Biblical texts and teaching in his own right, Dr. Sokolow was fortunate to have studied with Nehama for many years, to have mastered her technique, and much of her teaching. To Nehama, he was a talmid-chaver, a student and colleague. The book is divided into fifty-four chapters, corresponding to the fifty-four parshiyot in the Torah. Unlike the original gilyonot, each parasha includes not only the texts in question, but also comments of Nehama, and the answers to the questions posed. Because of this, the chapters can be read and discussed, and yet it is not intended, as were the original gilyonot, to serve as a source of active discovery and investigation. To Dr. Sokolow's credit, many of the key lessons Nehama sought to teach are included in these chapters. From the distinction between peshat and drash to the Biblical use of stories, and the true differences between the ways that different commentators view the Biblical narrative, many of the greatest issues addressed during the thirty years which she composed her gilyonot are found in this book. Nehama Leibowitz was the ultimate teacher, whose own epitaph reads simply "Morah." With skill and admiration, Dr. Sokolow faithfully conveys many of her lessons and adds to her legacy." - Rabbi Dr. Leonard A. Matanky, Jewish Book World
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