Kosher Spirit Nissan 5763

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r w ove e l f e w orning m y s i “Th clearl m e l a s ru aw Je s I . g l Israe atchin w s a I w ce. As a p s ttle from one li e d a m ital, I p a c r ou .’” israel Y a m , ‘She prayer on n Ram a l I l ne — Colo

By Dovi Scheiner sually, a person dies, and then their soul shines down on us from heaven. It is rare that a spirit shines down on us from heaven, and then dies.

Ilan Ramon was one such rare soul. As Israel’s first astronaut, he succeeded in lifting an entire people into space along with him.

“I think that the people of Israel, and the Jewish people as a whole, are a wonderful people,” Ramon said in an interview from outer space. Viewing himself as a “representative of all the Jewish community,” Ramon sent NASA hunting for certified kosher food to put in thermostabilized sealed pouches, as he insisted on eating only kosher during his 16-day space mission. “It is very, very important,” he continued in the interview, “to preserve our historic tradition, and I mean historic and religious tradition.”

Word that “Columbia is lost,” along with its precious crew, troubled me on two accounts: a) because it was the most devastating piece of news I have heard in a long time, and b) that it was the most devastating piece of news I have heard in a long time.

Since the outbreak of the second Intifada in September of 2000, 742 innocent people have been murdered in Israel at the hands of ruthless terrorists. Each one of these victims was a star. Each one of these men, women, and children reflected the image of G-d, much as the moon reflects the light of the sun.

On October 21, 2002, Ilona Hanukayev, age 20, of

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Hadera, was one of 14 persons killed when a bus was blown up in a suicide attack by a terrorist driving an explosive-laden jeep near the Karkur junction. On November 21, 2002, Ilan Perlman, age 8, of Jerusalem, was one of 11 people killed in a suicide bombing on a No. 20 Egged bus in the Kiryat Menahem neighborhood of Jerusalem.

So why was it only the loss of Ilan Ramon, along with the six crewmembers he considered family, that truly shook me up? Why are we so taken aback by the disintegration of a Space Shuttle at 200,000 feet, while the explosion of a bus on a busy city street is somehow considered tolerable?

Sadly, I reached the conclusion that, as the terrorists rob their victims of life and limb, they have also deprived many of us of our ability to truly grieve.

The incessant senselessness has left us desensitized.

But with the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia, something changed. When I heard the news of the Shuttle’s disastrous end, I was suddenly paralyzed by pain; I felt all blood drain from my face as tears welled up in my eyes.

So Ilan, from the bottom of my heart, I say Todah!

Thank you for a lifetime of sweet service to your people, for your boundless Jewish pride that makes me proud to be a Jew. Losing you, Ilan, has reminded me how much pain I ought to feel whenever I learn of the destruction of innocent life.

Dovi Scheiner is editor of Kosher Spirit.

PRIDE &pain

We welcome your comments, submissions, and letters to the editor.

Mail: 391 Troy Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11213 Tel: 718.771.0100 E-mail: editor@kosherspirit.com EDITOR: Dovi Scheiner ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Sara Levy EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS: Neria Cohen, Shalom Doron, Hanna B. Geshelin, Dov Greenberg DESIGN: www.spotlightdesign.com COVER ART: Izak Zenou NOTE: The views and opinions presented in Kosher Spirit 2 do not necessarily reflect those of the ~.

www.KosherSpirit.com

By Rabbi Zvi Konikov

A Triumphant Experiment Rabbi Zvi Konikov, is the Chabad Rabbi on the Space Coast in Cape Canaveral, Florida. He was a friend and spiritual guide to Colonel Ilan Ramon, who died on the shuttle Columbia.

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rom the moment I met Ilan Ramon some 15 months ago, there was an instant feeling of warmth, love, and total informality between us—we were like brothers, laughing, joking, and hugging each other. He showed extraordinary respect to me as a Rabbi, but what touched me most was his genuine humility and sincerity.

Just from Ilan’s smile, you could tell he was different. He was a decorated Air Force Colonel and a brilliant scientist, yet anyone who knew Ilan recognized that the only pride he harbored was Jewish pride. With regard to the space mission, it would have been convenient for Ilan to act in a secular manner and concentrate exclusively on the many sophisticated scientific experiments involved in his mission. Doing so would have earned him prestige with the Israeli Space Agency & NASA, but Ilan chose to also showcase his Jewish soul. While some Jews are so embarrassed about their heritage that they will not display it in public, Ilan took his Jewishness with him into space.

Last year Ilan asked me when one is meant to observe Shabbat in space, where every 90 minutes the sun sets, making every 10 ½ hours Sabbath and every 20 days Rosh Hashanah!

Jerusalem, we have a problem!

I must admit, though, I learned more from the question than the answer. Ilan taught me that no matter how fast we’re going, no matter how important our work, we must pause and think about why we are here on this earth!

Ilan’s request to NASA to keep kosher during the mission showed he had “the right stuff.” Bringing a historical Torah scroll on board, and his effort to observe Shabbat and make Kiddush while in

orbit, was pushing it a bit. Ilan’s request that NASA delay the launch until after Tisha B’av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av—the saddest day on the Jewish calendar—which was the original scheduled launch date) was plain chutzpah! [Interestingly, at our Shabbat dinner table the night before the scheduled landing, I mentioned this postponement. One guest, a NASA engineer who worked at the Shuttle Launch facility for many years, adamantly rejected the possibility that NASA could have rescheduled the launch.

The following week I confirmed it; Ramon had, indeed, convinced NASA to postpone the launch.] Yet it was this chutzpah emanating from a pure heart filled with sincerity and Jewish pride, that won Ilan the admiration of his fellow astronauts, NASA, and the innumerable hearts he touched worldwide.

On the Shabbat morning of the scheduled landing, I was walking to synagogue with my 10-year-old daughter just after 9 A.M. When we did not hear the sonic boom that we expected at 9:16, we assumed that the landing was postponed due to bad weather at the Cape. How crushing was the news when a member of the Satellite Beach Police rushed into our synagogue just minutes before 10 A.M. to inform us of the catastrophe.

Our hearts were broken. After Shabbat, I called Ilan’s wife, Rona, and told her that Ilan had chosen to go to space as a Jew, and that his memory will forever be

imbedded in our hearts. He had carried the Torah, the soul of the Jewish people, with him. I told her that we are planning to write a new Torah scroll to replace the Holocaust Torah that Ilan had taken with him on the mission, and would be giving it to her family in time for their son Tal’s Bar Mitzvah. She cried and I cried with her.

By Divine Providence, the El-Al plane I took to Ilan’s funeral was the plane carrying his remains home. Everyone on the flight, the Israeli Army Rabbi, the pilots, the stewards, and the passengers, were filled with emotion. I merited reciting Kaddish for his lofty soul in a service arranged by the head steward.

After the Shuttle disaster, people wondered if any results of the scientific experiments had come back before the tragedy. One experiment has produced obviously remarkable results: the feeling of Jewish pride Ilan inspired in countless Jewish hearts. Imagine the Jewish children around the globe who today know about keeping kosher and Shabbat only because a Jewish astronaut stressed their importance even in outer space. That vision of pride and hope is desperately needed today when only hedonism is offered to our youth. It is encouraging to see that the polls in Israel show that the highest demand for Purim costumes this year is Ilan Ramon, rather than Elvis Presley or Britney Spears.

I was honored to have been a friend of Ilan Ramon.

Today, I am humbled to be part of his legacy.

Yearning For AHug

JERUSALEM—In my soul’s imagination, I travel back 2,700 years to one of the street corners of this splendid City of White Gold.

I can see our prophet Isaiah wiping his tears as he uttered those moving and immortal words, “Comfort, comfort my people,” says the Lord. “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out to her.”1 Jerusalem! Today I wish to heed Isaiah’s words and speak to your heart.

How many secrets, City of Light, does your gigantic heart contain?

How many impressions, how many scars, are imbedded in the crevices of your ancient stones?

If only I could, even for a moment, feel all that you have absorbed over the past 4,000 years. You have been there to take in every tear, every sigh, every wound, and every death. You have seen your children born and your children slaughtered, the brides married and then mutilated.

You have watched millions of Jews dancing in your streets and then seen millions of them massacred on the very same thoroughfares. You have heard infinite melodies of jubilation and have lent your ear to endless wallows of grief. The entire story of my people is displayed right here on the worn and weathered lines of your stony, silent face.

You have been a loyal witness to our collective drama, unique among all the peoples of the world: Our glory and our horror, our despair and our hope, our firm faith in the existence of ultimate good and our rational skepticism caused by evil’s ruthless power on this planet.

Above all, you have served as the energizer in our millennia-long battle to fashion a world that will reflect the infinity of human potential.

When I enter your walls, oh Jerusalem, I forget my ego. I become larger than myself, part of the eternal melody of my

By Yosef Y. Jacobson

people Israel, reverberating in every inch of your soil.

In the rest of the world, people pursue meaning; in you, Jerusalem, meaning pursues people. You have been the center stage of a 4,000-year struggle to discover G-d in the ordinary lives of mankind and to build a fragment of heaven down here on earth. This courageous effort always sustained itself from your terrain — the one place in the world where heaven and earth kiss.

The Kabbalists teach us that every holy thought, every moral instinct, every sacred yearning, every spiritual experience, originates within the walls of Jerusalem. You have been chosen to serve as the power plant of holiness and morality in a hostile and depraved world.

And you never forgot us, Jerusalem.

Since the day the Temple went up in flames, you did not close your eyelids for even one night’s rest. Like a mother tossing and turning, awaiting the return of a missing child, you have never ceased

1. Isaiah 40:1. - Isaiah, who wrote the 66 chapter book that bears his name, was born 2767 years ago in the year 765 B.C.E. Isaiah was 25 years old when he experienced his first prophetic vision, and is considered, after Moses, to be the greatest of all prophets. According to the Talmud, he was born circum-

anticipating your children’s return.

You never came to terms with us being expelled from your sacred borders.

On this day, Jerusalem, your children are hurting badly. Just this year alone hundreds of your children were blown to pieces by their bloodthirsty neighbors.

Among the victims were babies, teenagers, parents and grandparents. A big hole has formed in the collective heart of Israel. No celebration is complete, no serenity genuine. Too many people’s laughter has been stolen in this tiny country.

Yet, we, the people who brought humanity the Bible and with it a dignity of purpose, refuse to accept that these deaths and our lives are meaningless accidents in a random universe. We choose to embrace our millennia-long conviction that our fight for goodness and for the sanctity of life is worthwhile, because goodness ultimately will triumph, and evil will be banished.

Jerusalem! What we, the Jewish people, need more than anything today is a big hug. We crave reassurance that our daily efforts to live lives of goodness and kindness, inspired by the ethics and morality of our Torah and Mitzvahs, are truly purposeful. We can’t get rid of the pain, but we want to at least feel that our lives and deaths have real meaning and are leading somewhere.

This Shabbat, we will embrace you, Jerusalem, and you will embrace us. May G-d embrace us both, with the coming of Moshiach, now. Only then will the eternal smile return to the face of Jerusalem and its children.

Yosef Y. Jacobson, one of the most sought-after speakers in the Jewish world today, has lectured to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on six continents and in 25 US states and is the author of the tape series “A Tale of Two Souls.” His weekly Internet essays are read by tens of thousands

cised and lived for 120 years. Menasseh, the King of Judah, killed him. Isaiah predicted the demise of the northern state, as well as the future destruction of the Temple. Most of his book, however, consists of words of comfort and healing for Zion and Israel, predicting its future rejuvenation and

By Rabbi Manis Friedman

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he entire Jewish world is uneasy. Jewish hearts and souls are distraught that Israel’s efforts to protect her citizens have become controversial, misunderstood, and even condemned.

Some say we are being punished for our sins. Nonsense! After 3000 years of devotion, this charge is unacceptable.

Then what is happening? What does G-d want from us?

The Torah tells of Moses encountering an Egyptian who is beating a Jew. Believing that no one is watching, Moses kills and buries the Egyptian. The following day, Moses sees two Jews fighting. He says to “the wicked one,” whose hand is raised to strike, “Why do you strike your fellow?” The Jew replies, “Who made you lord and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses is frightened by this and says, “The matter has become known!”

The simple meaning of this phrase is that the matter of Moses killing the Egyptian has become known. But on a deeper level Moses is saying: Now I know why G-d is not fulfilling his promise of taking the Jewish people out of Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land. He is not redeeming them now, because of the way they treat one another.

In the Bible, G-d promises to take the Jewish people out of Egypt and bring them to the Promised Land.

The above story suggests that, at that time in Egypt, we were not yet a people; we were more like a dysfunctional family. Since there was no “Jewish people,” the promise waited to be fulfilled.

Similarly, G-d promised an end to our

insecure u

exile and the coming of Moshiach. When Moshiach comes there will be a perfect world, but we have to be ready.

In what way are we not ready? We resist redemption by being stuck in an exile mentality.

A classic example of “exile mentality” is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s oft-repeated statement that he will root out terror because “we have a right to protect our citizens.”

Is that what we have – “a right”? How sad! As Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon has a moral obligation to ensure the security of his citizens. It’s not a right – it’s a commandment.

Here in the USA we suffer from a similar lack of moral clarity.

On April 15, 2002, more than 120,000 Americans rallied in Washington in support of Israel. It was a magnificent event, but it took a representative of the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel to say, “G-d has not revoked G-d’s covenant with Jews. G-d has never revoked G-d’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and I add, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.” These words are from our Torah. Aren’t we supposed to quote it?

The world does not accept Jews who don’t act the way the Bible says Jews should act. When we say, “We live

by Torah—by the Bible,” that gains us respect.

But we don’t do this. We don’t allow G-d to take us out of exile because we insist on acting exiled.

Jewish writings discuss the nature and characteristics of Moshiach, the one who will lead us out of exile. Many of his qualities are listed: his scholarship, piety, etc. But the first quality attributed to Moshiach is that he stands up straight. That he has good posture.

Why is good posture mentioned first?

Because the first step out of exile is to stop acting like victims. We have to stand up straight and proud. If someone asks why a Jew would live in Israel today, we should stand up straight and say, “What kind of question is that? Jews are the people of Israel. Don’t you read the Bible?”

Were Israel to infuse its policies with a healthy dose of faith and spirituality, it would take us out of exile a tiny drop. At the least, it would give us good posture. And then G-d would do the rest.

World-renowned author, counselor, lecturer and philosopher, Rabbi Manis Friedman uses ancient wisdom and modern wit as he captivates audiences around the country and around the world. Rabbi Friedman is the Dean of Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies of Minnesota and the Founder of It’s Good to Know. For more information visit www.itsgoodtoknow.org

AKosher Tree

by Lisa

I

t was snowing gently the night my husband and I dined at the Box Tree in Midtown Manhattan’s Turtle Bay District. I had heard about the elegantly eccentric décor. The restaurant was designed over the course of a few years, with each antique carefully collected in the spirit of King Ludwig of Bavaria, the mad king who dedicated much of his life to building castles filled with opulent treasures.

Recently, the restaurant has become kosher under the auspices of ~ Kosher Certification. Restaurateurs Serge Gorge and Rafi Bitton chose to have their establishment adhere to the highest kosher standards. “My goal is to raise the standard of kosher dining to a whole new level,” says Mr. Gorge, “to show the world that kosher dining can be a first class experience.”

And first class it is! We left the clamor of the New York City night, and stepped into the elegant foyer of the Box Tree restaurant. The amicable staff took our coats and asked us to sit down for a moment while they found us a table.

While we waited, we relaxed on overstuffed leather armchairs around a crackling fireplace and took in our surroundings. The restaurant, which is situated in two brownstones, is decorated like a European country manor, with polished wooden floors, stained glass windows, and an eclectic collection of objects d’art and antiques. We were struck by the sheer surrealism of the place, by the charming old-world touches of a bygone era… right in the middle of the concrete jungle.

After a few moments, we were taken to our table in the main dining room. We passed by a number of stylishly furnished rooms and a magnificent white staircase that led upstairs to more dining rooms. Most of the rooms seat 20 diners, although some seat 10 or less, offering patrons privacy while dining. After dinner we asked if we could see the other rooms and the staff graciously complied. We viewed the Louis Tiffany Room, the Music Room, the Blue Room, and the Versailles Room. The Versailles Room was especially

impressive, with sparkling chandeliers and gold leaf detail on the ceiling and walls.

The room in which we dined was softly lit with deep forestgreen walls, creating the effect of a fairytale grotto. Tiffany-style stained-glass windows portraying trees lined the room. The ceiling was painted gold with collectible plates mounted high above our heads.

A bow-tied French waiter brought us the menu and a delicate sliver of bread with chives and pureed salmon, compliments of the chef. I ordered the Box Tree Rib-Eye Steak, and my husband ordered the Ahi Tuna, a spicy aromatic fish dish.

The food was unmistakably European, delicious, and magnificently presented.

When we saw the confections the waiter brought to other diners in the room, we decided to try a few desserts. We ordered a fruit sorbet, crème brulee, and a wicked looking chocolate mousse. The pastry chef, Mark Dalpe, is a real artist; every dessert looked like a work of fine sculpture and tasted superb.

Ever since the Box Tree opened a number of years ago—first in Westchester, then in Manhattan—it has enjoyed an excellent reputation. The restaurant combines magical ambience with good food, while the various dining rooms offer patrons as much privacy as they require. In the past, this combination proved irresistible to celebrities and other members of high society, with names like Kennedy and Nixon among them. The restaurant has also received rave reviews from Forbes magazine among others. It is a highly upscale, top-notch restaurant, perfect for a very special occasion.

With the help of ~ Kosher Certification, a kosher agency with valuable experience in certifying restaurants of the highest caliber, ‘impeccably kosher’ has now been added to the Box Tree’s accolades.

THE BOX TREE 250 East 49th Street, NYC 212-758-8320 Glatt Kosher - Under ~ Supervision

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Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheets. BAKE at 325°F for 20 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to wire racks.

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Cool completely. DIP cookies halfway into melted chocolate. Let stand at room temperature or refrigerate on wax paper-lined tray 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Makes about 3 dozen. Storage Know-How: Store in tightly covered container ~ up to 1 week.

Chocolate is chocolate, but Baker’s is love. ©2003 KF Holdings bakerschocolate.com

ith the dust from the Six-Day War still settling, Ariel Sharon took his wife, Lily, and eleven-year-old son, Gur, to visit newly liberated Jerusalem. Sharon was in battle in the Sinai desert when he first heard that Jerusalem had been freed.

Now, after the miraculous victory, the family walked together through throngs of eager Jews toward the Western Wall. A tefillin stand run by a Chabad Rabbi caught Sharon’s eye. Moved and inspired,

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doesn’t know me.”

“A Rebbe is a leader, he feels the pain of every Jew.” The General understood.

A Letter The Chabad Rabbi had mentioned his earlier encounter with Sharon to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He now told the Rebbe about Sharon’s pain-filled questions and the Rebbe reached out to Sharon with a long letter.

First, the Rebbe expressed his grief and sympathy over the tragic loss of Sharon’s son: “We cannot understand

Moshiach, at which time He will repair the personal loss of every Jew by fulfilling the promise of resurrection.

The Rebbe signed off saying, “May it be G-d’s will that, from now on, your family should know no pain.”

A Meeting Sharon was deeply touched by the letter. When he traveled to America, he arranged a meeting with the Rebbe.

General’s in the shadow of the wall, Ariel Sharon put on tefillin.

The Rabbi manning the tefillin stand immediately recognized Sharon, the war hero who had earned a reputation for bravery and brilliance. Fighting in every war since Israel’s birth, Sharon had recently led Israeli tanks through Sinai to the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, greatly contributing to Israel’s victory.

A Tragedy Just weeks later, Ariel Sharon’s son was dead. On Rosh Hashanah Eve of 1967, the boy jovially saluted his father and went off to play. A minute later a shot rang out. Gur and his friends had packed an antique gun with powder and somehow Gur had been shot. As a soldier, Ariel Sharon knew the wound was fatal, yet, still hoping, he picked up the boy, blood soaking his shirt, and flagged down a passing car. Moments later, Gur died in his father’s arms.

The Chabad Rabbi from the Wall visited Sharon during the week of mourning.

The room was full of generals and politicians. A devastated Ariel Sharon pulled the Rabbi aside and implored, “You are religious, how could this happen?” The Chassid could only suggest that he ask the Lubavitcher Rebbe for answers.

“But why should I write to him? He

the ways of G-d. During a time of war you were saved, yet, at home, a tragedy occurred! Just as a small child cannot understand the ways of a sage, so too, a created being cannot comprehend the ways of G-d.” He added that this explanation “does not come to minimize the pain.”

The Rebbe commended Sharon for being among those who secured victory for the Jewish People against their enemies. The Rebbe also thanked him for donning tefillin at the Western Wall, a publicized event that inspired many Jews worldwide.

The Rebbe went on to discuss the traditional Jewish statement of condolence, ‘May G-d comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.’ “What connection is there between one grieving the loss of human life and the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem?” he asked.

The Rebbe offered a number of explanations. Just as the grief over Zion and Jerusalem is common to all Jews, so too, all Jews share the grief of one Jew. The heathen conquerors of Zion could only capture the physical Temple, because the spiritual essence of the Temple resides eternally inside the heart of every Jew. Similarly, death dominates only the physical body, the soul, however, is immortal; upon death it merely ascends to the World of Truth. Ultimately, G-d will rebuild Zion and Jerusalem through

Naturally, Sharon assumed he would meet a Chassidic Rabbi whose only brilliance was in Torah studies. He was therefore astonished when the Rebbe discussed defense issues as authoritatively as an IDF General. Likewise, the Rebbe was familiar with the geography, demography, and politics of Israel.

When the Rebbe asked Sharon why eight soldiers had died in the battle for Kalkiliya, Sharon explained that they had to cross a certain Wadi where the enemy had been waiting. “But why did you have to go through the Wadi?” the Rebbe asked, and then proceeded to draw up an

By Sara Levy alternative method of capturing Kalkiliya, as if he had consulted a regional military map! Sharon was amazed.

The two men talked for hours, and their meeting continued well into the early hours of the morning. When they parted, Ariel Sharon left with a genuine respect and affection for the Rebbe.

On July 23rd 1968, the Rebbe saved Sharon’s life. During a meeting with the Rebbe, Sharon periodically checked his watch, as he was scheduled to return to Israel that night. The Rebbe suggested

that Sharon stay a little longer and take another flight. Sharon complied and they finished their conversation. Later that night, the EL-AL flight Sharon had planned to take was hijacked to Algeria by the ‘Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.’ All Jewish passengers were held for five weeks before being released unharmed. According to those released, the hijackers seemed to be looking for ‘someone important,’ and they were enraged when they realized that he was not aboard. It was later revealed that the entire incident was an

operation executed to capture Ariel Sharon.

Israel At various times, the Rebbe expressed his concerns to Sharon regarding political issues facing Israel. When Sharon approached the Rebbe asking him to influence his followers to settle in the territories captured during the Six Day War, the Rebbe expressed reservations.

“What would happen if a fight were to break out between a Jewish boy and an Arab boy, whose side would the government take? Especially if the Arab mayor comes along and makes a loud fuss about Jewish provocation…”

For six years between 1967 and 1973, Israel built up her military defenses including the Bar Lev Line. Named after Israel’s Chief of Staff, Chaim Bar Lev, the Bar Lev Line was a fixed demarcation between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal defended by small military outposts. Sharon was adamantly opposed to the plan because he felt that a more mobile security arrangement was essential. He was discharged from the army because of his confrontations with Bar Lev. Sharon, always deeply interested in Israeli politics, now felt free to enter the political arena. He met with politicians

while still in uniform. His uniform was a blatant reminder that Sharon’s war hero status made him a well-known and extremely popular figure among Israelis.

Bar Lev received a phone call from Parliament instructing him to reinstate Sharon “before he interferes in the upcoming elections.”

The Rebbe agreed that the Bar Lev Line was a grave error, and kept in close contact with Sharon, advising him to remain in the military as Israel needed his experience and abilities. The Rebbe warned Sharon against the cease-fire with Egypt

that was negotiated after the Six Day War. It subsequently became apparent that in violation of the ceasefire agreement, Egypt was steadily fortifying its army with Russian assistance. War was inevitable.

The Rebbe cautioned Sharon, “If one truly desires peace, then he must show that he is prepared to fight for it, with the utmost intensity and under the most advantageous conditions.”

The Rebbe often told Sharon, “Our greatest mistake would be to withdraw from our new borders. Without hesitation we must stop trying to please other countries. Regarding the various solutions now being put forward, involving either full or partial withdrawal by Israel, such action will cause a worsening of tensions in the future.” The Rebbe emphasized, “These solutions defy the natural order, as the current borders of Israel are its natural borders.”

A few years later, Sharon left the army and formed the “Likud” party with Menachem Begin.

When the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, Israel was caught unawares. The Egyptian army destroyed the Bar Lev Line; hundreds of soldiers were trapped in their positions and almost 3,000 died. Sharon, reinstated as Commander of the armored divisions, promptly crossed the Suez Canal and attacked the Egyptian army unexpectedly. This battle assisted Israel’s subsequent victory.

After the Yom Kippur War, Ariel Sharon reentered politics, eventually becoming Prime Minister of Israel in 2001.

At his last meeting with the Rebbe in 1989, Sharon asked the Rebbe for a blessing for Israel. The Rebbe replied with a verse from the Torah, “And I will give peace in your land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid.”

The Rebbe pointed out, “The Torah does not say ‘in the land’ but ‘in your land,’ which suggests that true peace will come only when the land is clearly Jewish.” The Rebbe concluded, “To help the world realize that Israel is indeed Jewish, the citizens of Israel must strengthen their observance of Torah and Mitzvoth.”

Sara Levy is associate editor of Kosher Spirit

By Wendy Kaufman

The

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The story behind the smile napple got its name from an experience Arnold Greenberg, Leonard Marsh, and Hyman Golden had in the 1980s while developing a new drink.

It was a carbonated apple beverage, which they were fermenting in glass bottles in a New York warehouse. Over a hot weekend in the summer all the bottles suddenly began exploding. They snapped and broke, so they came up with the name “Snapple.”

Arnie Greenberg, one of the founders of Snapple, was my best friend’s father. He kindly gave me a job at an extremely difficult time in my life. For many, Snapple is just a drink, but for me, it helped save my life. This is my story: I was born in the late 50s to a secular Jewish, Long Island family. After graduating from Syracuse University with two degrees, I worked in the shipping department of my father’s steel company in New Jersey. By then, I was already in deep trouble. It all began when I was 12-years old and went to my friends’ Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties. I suddenly had access to alcohol. Drinking seemed like fun, however by the time college was over, I was losing control.

In my early thirties, I sought help at a rehabilitation center where it took me nine full months to reclaim my life. I have been sober now for 14 years, but back then, leaving rehab was a terrifying experience. I was not welcome in the family business because part of my therapy

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involved learning to survive on my own. It was a very painful and emotional time for me. I was jobless for a year, the economy was terrible, and I was tentative about my sobriety and my place in the world. One night, absolutely distraught and weeping, I gazed heavenward looking for G-d, and said, “Please G-d, please help me and make me a star at something. Find me some place where I can shine.”

Shortly afterward, Arnie offered me a job at Snapple. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.

Snapple was becoming very popular and we began to receive lots of mail from happy customers. We were a growing company and employees were busy with their chores. No one wanted to answer the mail, so I started doing it. I would not only write, but also call, and consumers were delighted to know that someone was really reading their mail.

Reaching out to others, and moving the focus away from myself, began to positively redefine my life. The Snapple letter campaign became a crucial key to my recovery. By bringing joy to others, I increased the joy in my own life. I reached a point where I could look in the mirror and like what I saw.

When Snapple hired a marketing director, Jude Hammerle, he saw the value of the letters. He said, “Why not take the person who’s getting all these letters and put her on TV?” I was plucked from the anonymity of

the shipping department, where I was working at the time, and put under the ‘bright lights’ of national television.

The TV spots began with me reading a letter: “Hello from Snapple. Today’s letter is from Linda Fairbanks from wherever.

Linda writes, ‘Snapple is the best drink I’ve ever had. I swear! I am not lying.’”

Then Linda would come on screen and we would give her a lie detector test. We hooked her up to a real lie detector and found out that she was not lying. The TV commercials featured real life customers who starred in their own scenarios. The response was incredible. At one point I was getting 3000 letters a week! I became somewhat of a household name—a sober and happy star!

I have no doubt that G-d watched over me in my most difficult days. In fact, I suspect I have an entire cheering committee up there! Sometimes, when things get rough, I just look up and say, “What’s happening gang? I need a little more attention down here!”

In these tenuous times when there are almost as many terror alert colors as there are Snapple flavors, people are starting to lose it a little out of fear. Fear does terrible things to people. I pray that we should have no fear! Either I’m the stupidest person in the world or I just have such faith that I believe nothing is going to happen. G-d works in mysterious ways. In the end, things always work out the way they’re supposed to.

By Jill Mannie IN MAY OF 2002, AN APPEAL WAS MADE FOR VOLUNTEERS FROM THE DIASPORA TO HELP OUT IN ISRAEL DURING ONGOING TERRORIST ATTACKS. JILL (YOCHEVED) MANNIE, OF JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA DESCRIBES HER RESPONSE TO THIS CALL.

W

hy did I choose to leave my three children (aged 6, 4 and 2) and the comforts of my home, and fly to Israel as a military volunteer in the middle of frequent suicide bombings? (I left my children in the safe care of my husband and mother and prepared three weeks of meals in advance.) I did so based on the belief that all Jewish people are a soul family. We are one, and right now it is OUR Israeli children who live under terrible threat and need our help.

By choosing to be a volunteer on an army base as part of the SAR-EL program, my family and I were not given any information about where I would be stationed or what I’d be doing. I only knew

could provide.

One inspiring volunteer was a wonderful old man who had come with his wife.

We never met her, as she felt that she was better equipped to help out in a hospital.

For three weeks this remarkable couple (both in their mid 80s) only saw each other on Shabbat, when we at the base had time off. Another man in his mid 30s came from one of the Scandinavian countries where he is the ONLY Jew in his town; neither his wife nor his two daughters are Jewish. Yet when Israel sent out a cry for help, his soul heard the call and he rushed to serve.

As a religious woman, I was issued an army shirt and boots as well as an army SKIRT – an unusual sight on the base. In their home-

difference? You bet. For every volunteer, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) saves thousands of shekels they would otherwise pay a reservist – a long term saving that puts money into vital resources like medical and military supplies. It also means that an Israeli family can stay together because someone in the Diaspora has come to do the job of someone’s father, mother, brother, son, etc.

Back home in South Africa, my four year-old son thinks his mother is the “coolest” mom on the block because I

all my children that I would try to give every Israeli I met some sort of encouragement that G-d loves them and that we Jews in the Diaspora really do care.

To my delight I found out that there were 51 other volunteers stationed with me who felt exactly the same way. They came from Norway, Italy, England, Canada, America, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand, and Germany, and were a mix of religious and secular Jews and even a few gentiles. The volun-

teers ranged in age from 20 to 88. There were students, ex-marines, lawyers, a vet, a ballroom dancer, a bail-bondsman, a dentist, psychologists, a banker, housewives, and retirees.

Each person was there to give whatever help, love and support that he or she

towns, many of the volunteers would probably never have discussed Judaism with an observant woman – the wig alone would have kept them at bay. Because they had come to help Israel, their hearts and souls were receptive.

As a result, I found myself sharing time and again the incredible story of how my husband and I gave up our scuba diving school on the banks of Lake Malawi to adopt a Torah lifestyle.

Im my conversations with soldiers (who are mere children themselves, just out of school), many told me that when they see so many people coming from all over the world, they realize that they are not alone, that Israel is strong and that our Homeland will indeed survive. Sadly, too many Israelis are of the opinion that Diaspora Jews always send money but no one really comes when there is trouble.

Did our being in Israel really make a

went to help the Israeli Army. In truth, my children are still too young to understand much about the threat to Israel. I kept a diary while in Israel, complete with newspaper articles, etc., for them to read when they are old enough. What better legacy in the education of love for one’s fellow can I possibly give them?

World Jewry is once again under threat; we have to stand together no matter what our religious affiliation. Recently, 52 volunteers from the four corners of the world put aside their political and religious differences and stood together in a common cause. If we are to survive as a people, we must all do the same.

By Rabbi Don Yoel Levy

F

aced with the prospect of weeks of grueling Passover cleaning, shopping, and cooking, many Jewish families opt to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors in Egypt and make a run for it.

With a plethora of Kosher for Passover hotels advertising a holiday of luxury and convenience, many choose to spare themselves the rigors of Passover preparations.

But before you pick up the phone and make your reservations, you should consider both your physical and spiritual needs. Passover is a time when Jewish families are traditionally more meticulous in their kosher observance. If staying in a hotel will result in your being more lenient, the whole experience may not be worth it.

To help you evaluate hotels, I will outline the issues that the ~ Kosher Certification uses in determining whether a hotel can be made

grammed for each individual guest. This is fine for weekdays, but electronic keys cannot be used on Shabbat or Yom Tov. In some hotels, housekeeping receives an electronic signal when the room is empty, at which time the staff knows to come and straighten the room. By leaving the room, the guest automatically triggers the electronic monitor.

Many hotels have doors which open via an electronic eye. Even when the doors are kept open ( for example, by someone who has just walked through them), the electronic eye may flash as each person walks by.

Of course, the laws of Shabbat must also be observed in the kitchen. Cooking is forbidden on Shabbat. Cholent, a stew comprised of meat, beans, and potatoes, is a staple in the Jewish home for Shabbat lunch because it is placed on the stove or in the oven before Shabbat and

koshering a Passover hotel kitchen a full week prior to the holiday.

Many Passover hotels are not kosher year-round. Before the ~ even considers koshering a hotel, we evaluate if it is generally fit to be kosher. As the ~ insists on complete separation of meat and dairy, several concerns arise.

Storage. In most cases, members of the hotel kitchen staff are not accustomed to keeping meat and dairy separate. Unless there are separate storage areas for meat and dairy, it’s easy for the foods to be mixed accidentally.

Cooking areas. Due to the high volume of cooking, spillage and splattering is frequent.

Thus, complete segregation of all areas, including the area where the food is set out on plates, is necessary to preclude the unintentional mixing of meat and milk. The ~ requires separate stoves, ovens, dish warmers, sinks, steam kettles,

PACKING UP AT PASSOVER Choosing the RIGHT HOTEL for your PASSOVER GETAWAY

acceptable.

“Acceptable” is a more appropriate word than “kosher,” because preparing a hotel for Shabbat and Yom Tov use involves more than just food!

Let’s look at two potential problem areas: Shabbat and Kosher issues.

Shabbat If the hotel you are visiting is being used exclusively for Passover guests, there should be no blatant desecration of Shabbat or Yom Tov. On Shabbat and Yom Tov, check-in and check-out should not be allowed, hotel shops should be closed, and music should not play in the lobby.

Electronic signals, like electrical switches, must not be triggered on Shabbat. Thus, the modern technology that solves many security and housekeeping problems for hotels, presents serious problems for the Shabbat-observant guest. Electronic keys are one example.

These are plastic key-cards that are pro-

kept warm until Shabbat afternoon.

Some hotels are convinced that they must supply their customers with a hot meal other than the traditional Cholent on Shabbat afternoon. They sometimes reach very far to find leniencies to justify heating foods on Shabbat.

Kosher Koshering a hotel is very complicated and time consuming. The process must be performed with scrutiny, patience, and responsibility.

First, all non-kosher or non-Passover food must be removed before the cleansing of equipment can begin. Once the koshering process begins, the entire kitchen is off limits for non-Passover food production.

Depending on the size of the hotel kitchen, it can take from two days up to a week to kosher properly. Many hotels seek to delay the koshering process until the last possible moment—as close to Passover as possible. The ~ insists on

broilers, griddles, etc.

Steam kettles. The use of a common steam line for kosher and non-kosher cooking is not acceptable.

This is a method in which steam is used in place of fire for cooking. When steam is returned to the boiler after having been used to cook non-kosher food and is then used to cook kosher food, the latter becomes not kosher. The same holds true for dairy and meat foods. Another problem arises with consecutive use of steam. This is when steam first heats a dairy kettle and then a meat kettle.

Afterwards the steam, which now contains meat and dairy elements, might be directly injected into a pressure cooker to steam vegetables!

As you can see, there are many issues involved in preparing a hotel for Passover use. Please use this information to question the various tour providers. By booking your retreat responsibly, you will assure your family a truly redeeming Passover experience.

Texas Schindler ’m in a doctor’s waiting room in Huntsville, Alabama, the very buckle of the Bible Belt. I’m leafing through episodes in the life of Elisha, the Prophet, instead of reading about bodily improvements in Cosmopolitan. The Book of Books sits right there on the coffee table along with its trendy companions.

It’s a brief wait. I don’t even get to finish the story in Kings II, about Elisha causing an ax head to float to the surface of the Jordan River. The nurse calls me into the business end of the suite and the doctor—let’s call him O’Neil—checks me out. Later, as I dress, he notices my Jewish Community T-shirt.

“Oh, you’re Jewish. I’m Irish.”

He hesitates. O’Neil is normally a quiet man who doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. I can see that he’s deliberating, considering whether or not to share the thoughts that are visible on his face.

I encourage him by using the old psychotherapeutic technique of neutral repetition.

“Oh, so you’re Irish. That’s nice.”

“Yeah,” he says. “Ya know, a Rabbi blessed my Daddy just before he died; and a Jewish boy who rose to be President of Midwest Grain came to my Daddy’s wake.”

Here it comes, and it sounds like a good one.

“We lived in a dusty, little town twenty miles from Galveston. My Daddy was the head accountant—you might call him the office manager—for Midwest Grain Corporation. It was a good job in the late 30s—plenty of groceries for the family.

“Anyhow, in our town there was an old Jewish guy. I’d often see him on the street, dressed all in black, full gray beard.

Instead of a Stetson, he wore a widebrimmed black hat. Can you imagine walking around in a black suit in a hot, South Texas town where the river dries up in July? I never understood that.

I

“Well, seems like most every weekend, Daddy would go visit the fellow with the beard. Me and my brother and sister, we’d stay in the car and listen to the insect noises that filled the night. Daddy would stay in the house about an hour. He never said what they talked about, but one thing I remember is he always came back to the car with a handful of papers.

“In those years, you know, it was hard for Jews to get into the U.S. They had to have a sponsor and a bona fide job waiting for them. My Daddy, we found out later, was working with that Jewish Rabbi—I’ve forgotten his name— arranging for German Jews to immigrate to America. Jobs were a prerequisite, so my Daddy, in his official capacity as office manager, hired seventeen Jewish office boys. Seventeen!”

In a happier time it would have been a comic scene out of a Marx Brothers movie.

Seventeen office boys falling all over themselves speaking Yiddish or fractured English. Midwest Grain must have given their Galveston region manager a huge corporate wink.

He had more office boys than invoices.

He and the old Jew in the outlandish hat worked it out, Doc O’Neil told me, and one of those office boys rose to be President of Midwest Grain!

“And that’s why the President of Midwest Grain and a Rabbi who looked like an Old Testament prophet came to my father’s funeral.” Dr. O’Neil paused to remember a wake in South Texas: a room full of Irishmen and two Jews. “You know,” said the doctor, “those Nazis were mean.”

The Doc was probably repeating words

By Ted Roberts

he’d heard as a child as his dad sat in his large living room chair and read the headlines. Here was a Texas Schindler. His actions were all the more praiseworthy since he was so remote from the catastrophe; totally disconnected from the victims. He never saw the broken lives. He heard no widows’ cries.

All this was reeling around in my head as I buttoned up my

shirt. Just goes to show, I thought, how life can occasionally threaten a curve ball and instead put a big, fat pitch right over the plate. Thirty minutes with a medico and I get: A) a small innocent lump painlessly removed from my neck, B) a good report on the content of that lump, and C) an inspirational jolt that makes me feel a whole lot better about my planetary brothers.

In Jerusalem, in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, there’s a section dedicated to righteous Gentiles—heroes who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust. I nominate this South Texas Schindler. He’d probably be the first Galveston honoree.

The stories and lighthearted commentary of Ted Roberts appear widely in Jewish publications such as Hadassah and The Reporter.

When he is not commenting on the joys of Judaism, Ted teaches Bar Mitzvah students. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama

T

he atmosphere sparked with intensity. A Chassidic gathering was taking place in Czarist Russia, an inspired group session led by spiritual giants, where all participants bathed their souls in the warm glow of Jewish mysticism.

As their spirits soared to tremendous heights, the Chassidim were served food by the caretaker of the Synagogue, Shmuel Munkas. People knew Shmuel Munkas as a good-hearted fellow with a tremendous sense of humor. He was well known for his amusing antics. Nobody present had ever had a proper conversation with him, and so they did not know of his vast intelligence and deep commitment. Until now, he had successfully hidden his true greatness.

The Chassidim were distracted from their lofty discussion as Shmuel Munkas entered the room. He was bearing aloft a massive dish of roasted lung prepared by the wife of Nochum the ritual slaughterer.

As he neared the table, however, Shmuel held up the dish and started to dance with it, turning it this way and that. The Chassidim, initially amused, began to grumble. Thoroughly distracted from their spiritual pursuits, they roared for him to stop his jesting and serve them the succulent meat.

Shmuel danced on and on. The delicious aroma from the roasted lung prompted a few of the younger Chassidim to leap at the dish to try to wrest it away from him.

When he saw that, Shmuel gracefully tilted the dish with its contents directly into a spittoon filled with slime and filthy water.

For a few seconds there was a deathly

By Ruth Benjamin silence. Then someone suggested Shmuel be beaten for his wastage. Shmuel accepted his punishment gracefully, got up and went to find other food to serve the hungry Chassidim.

He found plain fare. As he set it out, angry mutters and glances followed him for spoiling the sumptuous meal that the gathering should have enjoyed.

It was well past midnight, when a wailing and knocking on the door roused the students from their meditations. The ritual slaughterer, Nochum, rushed in, his eyes red and wild with terror and his face a ghastly white.

“The lung is not kosher! I

was out all evening and in my absence a lung put aside because it was not kosher was mistakenly roasted and sent over here. I came as soon as I found out. This is terrible! he cried.

”

His body trembled as everyone stared at him in stunned silence.

He sniffed the air where the aroma of the roasted lung lingered. One of the Chassidim pointed to the spittoon and the butcher looked at the remains of the forbidden dish.

“All of it?” he stammered.

“All of it!” said the Chassid. “That fellow there would not let us eat it,” he said pointing to Shmuel. “He danced with the meat for a long time and eventually dumped it here in the spittoon.”

The Chassidim were stunned and

Conscientious

Objector

confused, “Beat Shmuel up again for his arrogance.” said one young Chassid. “He has no right to show off his spiritual powers at a Chassidic gathering!”

A few young Chassidim moved towards him, yet nobody wanted to touch him anymore. They looked at Shmuel with respect and even awe. Meanwhile, Nochum sat down, crying with relief.

The Chassidim gathered around Shmuel and demanded to know why he had used mystical powers? Shmuel quickly reassured everyone that he had not used Kabalistic powers. He explained that, years ago, in preparation for his first personal interview with the Rebbe, he had succeeded in eliminating his craving for food.

Earlier that evening, when he realized how strongly he wanted the fragrant roasted lung, he grew concerned that there was a problem with his own spirituality. But when he saw the desperate way the other Chassidim also desired the meat, he realized it must be forbidden food. Only something deeply forbidden can rouse such burning desire. He therefore threw the meat, dish and all, into the filthy water where it belonged.

With that Shmuel continued on, in his jestering manner.

Ruth Benjamin is a clinical psychologist, University lecturer, and prolific author. She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The saintly Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Pshischah once sent his disciple Rabbi Simcha Bunem on a journey without

telling him the purpose for his travels.

Rabbi Simcha chose several fellow students to accompany him and set out.

Honored guests, welcome to my Kosher Inn. I hope you will all be

A meat meal?

But who slaughtered Oh, No! Who koshered the meat?

Was the ani-

I’m sorry I have no dairy food available, but I can prepare a delicious meat meal.

My dear Chassidim!

You are so careful about what you put into your mouths…

But are you just as careful with what comes out of your mouths… your words?

mal

Ah! Now I know why the Rebbe sent us on this journey, simply to learn this lesson. Now

They returned promptly to Pshischah.

~

CREATING A KOSHER ENVIRONMENT Where Jewish life can flourish NEW ~ CERTIFICATIONS JANUARY, 2003

DECEMBER, 2002

NOVEMBER, 2002

OCTOBER, 2002

SEPTEMBER, 2002

AUGUST, 2002

OMYA PERALTA Hamburg, Germany Emulsifiers & Stabilizers

GOLDEN TASTE Spring Valley, NY Salads

PAN AMERICAN GRAIN Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Water

GENUTH SUPPLY CORP. Monsey, NY Coffee

ORLEANS PACKING COMPANY Hyde Park, MA Cherries

SNYDERS OF HANOVER Hanover, PA Candy & Chocolate

POWER SNACKS Brooklyn, NY Dried Fruits & Nuts

SPECIALTY PRODUCTS Wayne, NJ Xanthan Gum

BMF INC. Caguas, Puerto Rico Water

GOLAN HEIGHTS WINERY Katzrin, Israel Wines

GFA BRANDS INC. Cresskill, NJ Popcorn

INTERNATIONAL AROMATICS SAE Alexandria, Egypt Flavoring Extracts

RHODIA FOOD Faro, Portugal Emulsifiers & Stabilizers

COLD ALEX Alexandria, Egypt Frozen Foods

FORTUM OIL Beringen, Belgium Oil & Shortenings

LEGAL SEA FOODS Boston, MA Olive Oils

CRISTALIA ACQUISITION Palmas Catano, Puerto Rico Water

ANDERSON INTERNATIONAL FOODS Los Angeles, CA Cheese

WILTON INDUSTRIES Woodridge, IL Baking Supplies

TASTI D-LITE New York, NY Ice Cream Mixes

JEEN INTERNATIONAL CORP. Fairfield, NJ Emulsifiers & Stabilizers

GRACE BAKING Richmond, CA Frozen Foods

THE WESTIN RIOMAR BEACH Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Water

GUS SCLAFARI CORP. Norwalk, CT Condiments

MISITANO & STRACUZZI Messina, Italy Essential Oils

ZENITH VEGETARIAN Cedarhurst, NY Vegetarian Restaurant

PROMISED LAND DAIRY San Antonio, TX Dairy Products

GLACIER-CLEAR Fort Worth, TX Water

ROSELI PRODUCTS CORPORATION Columbia, MD Olive Oils

INTERPROVINCIAL COOPERATIVE Mississauqa, Canada Snack Foods

BROOKSIDE PRODUCTS Maryport, England Fish Products

RHODA’S BEST Brooklyn, NY Baked Goods

GIVERA CHOCOLATIER Brentwood, TN Candy & Chocolate

MESADA TRADING White Lake, NY Frozen Foods

KOSHER PROVISION INC. Van Nuys, CA Dairy Products

KLENE’S Gross Pointe, MI Cereal

JT CAFE New York, NY Dairy Restaurant

KENNIE’S MARKETS Gettysburg, PA Beverages

GRAPPOLINI Loro Ciuffenna, Italy Olive Oils

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EASTAR CHEMICAL CORPORATION Newton Square, PA Propanoic Acid

NATURAL IMPORT COMPANY Asheville, NC Organic Foods

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BLUE RIDGE FARMS Brooklyn, NY Condiments

LES VINS MAYER HALPERN Armentierer, France Wines

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LIN’S KOSHER CHINESE KITCHEN Mainville, NJ Meat Restaurant

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UNIVERSAL APEX INC. Toronto, Canada Fish Products

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TROPHY NUT CO. Tipp City, OH Candy & Chocolate

CINDARELLA SWEETS Rockaway Beach, NY Bakery

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CATERING BY SOLA Brooklyn, NY Caterer

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LICORERA DE NICARAGUA Mangua, Nicaragua Rum

KIKKOMAN CORPORATION Tokyo, Japan Flavoring Extracts

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