Jewish Lifestyle Magazine June 2010 by life style

The Minyan of Billionaires VOLUME 15 #1

JUNE 2010 / SIVAN 5770

The

HIDDEN

SECRETof the

ROCKY MOUNTAINS An exclusive with the Werner brothers of KMR Tours and their guests

Long Island/NJ/Rockland County $3.99 Out of the state NY in the US $4.99 Canada $5.50 -Israel. NIS 12- UK 3.20

718 395-9040 1888 567-0100 www.kmrtours.com 



VELVET SKIN Facial Revitalizer

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

SEE ARTICLE INSIDE

FITNESS CENTER JUNE 2010

1312 38th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218 SEE ARTICLE INSIDE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

46 FEATURED STORIES A minyan of Billionaires Interview with MR. Velvet Skin Yeled Vyalda Fitness Center Health Garden Xylitol The hidden secret of the Rocky Mountains The Complete Kitchens Experience OTHER Death on the Baltic RECIPES A Minister visits for Shabbos Daddys Pushka

26 10 16 21 46 66

40 76 58 102

Volcano Shutdown Ask The Rebbetzin Shidduchim Nightmares

106 108 91

MUSIC Top 10 On/Off the Stage

70 68

HUMOR Humor Me!

HEALTH Dr. Miller Cell Phone Risks Advertisers Directory

81 82 112

www.JewishLifeStyleMagazine.com June 2010 / Tamuz 5770 Volume 15 Number 5 issue 100

Email: jlifestyle@gmail.com

To Advertise Call: (718) 513-9885

2010 LifeStyles Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the Jewish LifeStyle Magazine. All readers are invited to send their opinions by letter to the editor. The advertiser agrees to hold harmless the publisher for publication of submitted copy. The Jewish LifeStyle will not be responsible for typographical errors. We reserve the right to refuse advertising or editorial copy that we feel does not fit our policy. Advertising claims or kashrus of any product or establishment are not the responsibility of the Jewish LifeStyle Magazine. The opinions of each writer do not reflect those of the publisher. The Jewish LifeStyle is not responsible for unsolicited submissions.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

100% Custom European Sheitels & Full Service Salon WHOLESALE • RETAIL CREATIVE MEDIA 516.482.1102

BH Wigs

Spring Sale

• WASH & SETS • CUT & STYLING • ALTERATIONS • HIGHLIGHTS • • WIG TO FALL CONVERSION • DYE/COLOR • WIG RENTALS •

Brooklyn Showroom:

5009 13th Ave Brooklyn, NY 10

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

718.633.WIGS

Long Island Showroom:

FAX: 718.437.WIGS (718.437.9447)

559 Middle Neck Rd Great Neck, NY

516.807.2484

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Mr. Velvet Skin Perfect Harmony Products

an Interview with

By Sarah Tyberg

recently had the opportunity to interview Mr.. Moshe Zussman, the official spokesperson for Perfect Harmony Products, or “Mr.. Velvet Skin,” as he is popularly known in health and beauty supply circles. Mr. Velvet Skin is currently in the U.S. to promote his company’s health and beauty aids, whose products have enjoyed unparalleled success throughout Israel. Lifestyle: Mr. Velvet Skin, there are so many skin creams and lotions available on the market today - What makes your skin care line better than those other products? Mr. Velvet Skin: Velvet Skin is a completely natural serum derived from several beneficial herbs and plant extracts, such as witch hazel and other medicinal flora. Unlike other creams or lotions which may contain harsh or harmful chemicals, Velvet Skin’s unique blend of ingredients are 100% natural and safe. There’s nothing quite like it out in the market today. I’m absolutely confident that Velvet Skin serum and body lotion is superior to any other product for sale in the U.S. today.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

Lifestyle: Where did the idea of Velvet Skin originate? Mr. Velvet Skin: The Velvet Skin serum is a creation of Perfect Harmony Products, which is currently based in Israel and is renowned throughout the country for its outstanding range of natural health and beauty supplements. After over ten years as undisputed leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, and with a chain of family owned pharmacies throughout Israel, we’ve decided to distribute Velvet Skin globally. In fact, we are currently in the process of negotiating a contract with one of the biggest nutritional distributors in the U.S. Lifestyle: What are the actual benefits of using Velvet Skin? Mr. Velvet Skin: For centuries, women have been applying natural creams and unguents in the hopes of rejuvenating and beautifying their complexions. Velvet Skin incorporates the finest natural ingredients used since biblical times and has created a fresh new product. With Velvet Skin’s innovative new formula, we’ve taken an ancient remedy and perfected it, without supplementing any of today’s abrasive byproducts or chemicals. Lifestyle: What can one expect to see after using Velvet Skin? Mr. Velvet Skin: Within just a few days, one can see a marked improvement in the condition of the skin tone. Velvet Skin’s unique emollients penetrate deep into the dermis to regenerate and promote new skin cell growth. After using our product, skin is guaranteed to look refreshed and rejuvenated. Wrinkles and lines will diminish, and skin will feel velvety soft. In addition, Velvet Skin is absorbed into the skin instantly, and leaves no oily residue. Your complexion will look radiant and glowing. Lifestyle: That’s amazing! What other products do you

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

have? Mr. Velvet Skin: We also produce LegEase. We are currently in the process of distributing t h i s miraculous new product to health s u p p l y stores and pharmacies in the U.S. L e g E a s e provides instant, effective relief for those suffering from varicose veins and poor blood circulation. Derived from natural plants and oils, this remarkable product has enjoyed unparalleled success throughout Israel. Lifestyle: Is LegEase safe for the general population, even for people with health problems? Mr. Velvet Skin: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absolutely safe for the general population. Doctors, homeopaths, and other health professionals

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

recommend LegEase to all patients suffering from chronic leg pain or poor circulation. This includes men and women of all ages, as well as pregnant women and nursing mothers. As a matter of fact, LegEase is customarily dispensed to women after child birth in mother/ baby facilities throughout Israel. Within moments of applying LegEase, pain and swelling is alleviated. Furthermore, with recurring usage, varicose veins shrink significantly. The legs look and feel immeasurably better. Lifestyle: Wow! Where can I find your amazing products? Mr. Velvet Skin: The Velvet Skin serum, Velvet

Skin body lotion, as well as LegEase, are available at local pharmacies, health food stores, and beauty salons. We are currently running a promotion and giving out free samples of Velvet Skin while supplies last. Stop by at a store near you to pick up a free sample. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be glad you did! For further information, please feel free to contact us at

347 522-4785.

Mr. Velvet SkinMoshe Sussman

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

- ADVERTORIAL -

Fitness Center

By Sarah Tyberg

eled v’Yalda - The very name is synonymous for unsurpassed professionalism and service to the community. Indeed, their outstanding reputation for excellence speaks for itself. So when my primary care physician informed me that I’d better get back into shape, (euphemism lose some weight!) I knew just where to turn. Conveniently , Yeled v’Yalda‘s state of the art fitness and aquatic center is truly a dream come true for the Brooklyn community.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

As I entered their magnificent new edifice, I was immediately struck by the immaculate cleanliness of the facility, and the heimish, friendly atmosphere. From the moment I was greeted by the warm and helpful staff eager to assist me, I knew I had come to the right place. Getting back into shape and losing a little weight at this incredible venue would be a joy to look forward to, and not some dreaded chore.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

When I stated the purpose of my visit, I was fortunate enough to meet with Ruchie, the fitness center’s talented and charming manager, who graciously answered my n u m e r o u s questions as she gave me a guided tour of the facility. From the pristine, well-appointed changing rooms and multitude of lockers with built-in digital locks (no need to lug around bulky combination locks anymore!) to the spacious individual showers, numerous sinks, roomy countertops, and intricate mosaic tile work, I marveled at the unerring attention to detail. Nothing was left to chance. It was obvious that the entire site had been meticulously designed to meet the needs of the frum consumer; creating an atmosphere that was not only functional and efficient, but charming and warm as well. The center’s star attraction is undoubtedly their spectacular aquatic area, and their heated five-lane lap pool with a gleaming

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

tile floor surrounding it was truly a delight to behold. As the sparkling blue waters beckoned invitingly, I could hardly wait to jump in (heavy jacket and all) and do some laps! But then I viewed their spotless, therapeutic sauna and steam rooms, and that enticed me as well. Next, we toured the spacious, state of the art fitness section. I was amazed at the impressive range of the latest top of the line weight training and cardio equipment. My jaw dropped when I noticed that each treadmill and elliptical machine featured a personal DVD screen specifically for the consumer’s private entertainment. Ruchie proudly informed me that their varied selection of DVD’s (all kosher, of course) were constantly updated. With an ever-changing assortment of DVD’s to choose from, including the finest in Jewish music, shiurim, cooking channels, and documentaries, keeping fit has never been so much

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

fun. As I gazed around in wonder, I was torn. Should I go swimming first, or try out that amazing elliptical machine? What about the treadmill - or perhaps the abs machine which the floor trainer discreetly said would be more beneficial? As I weighed the advantages of each apparatus, (no pun intended) I felt like a kid let loose in a candy store, not knowing which goody to select first. My helpful guide continued and informed me that an on-

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

site certified floor trainer is accessible for a large part of the day, and for a nominal fee, customers can hire an expert personal trainer as well. Stimulating exercise classes such as aerobics, core strengthening, and stepping are conveniently offered during the morning and evening hours. My guide also mentioned that swimming lessons and aquatic aerobics for both the novice and advanced swimmer are available too. The pool is an excellent conduit for exercise, and since water is buoyant, it places no strain on frail limbs. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my husband that they’ve recently implemented an exciting aquatic volley ball class for the men! Healthy meals play a significant role in our family, so I was delighted to hear that Yeled v’Yalda boasts a highly qualified frum male nutritionist on staff, and is looking to hire a female nutritionist as well. “My husband is signing up tomorrow,” I vowed. It was obvious that the benefits of obtaining membership at this incredible state of the art facility were multifold! Ruchie mentioned that flexible monthly plans and annual membership plans are available to accommodate the client’s needs, and there are significant spousal reductions. In addition, the cordial staff is constantly looking for further ways to enhance the center, and suggestions on how to improve the services are always welcome. Truthfully, however, what’s left to improve?!

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

OUR SERVICES Pick Up and Drop Off:

After The Sale:

Insurance Services:

Accessories:

• White glove service we will deliver your new car to your home or office free of charge • Peace of mind and a stress free experience • Competitive Rates

Body Shop:

• State-of-the-art shop with the latest technologies • Any make any model • We specialize in lease return to minimize any costly charges

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

• We are always here for you • We can assist you with any after-sale service • We believe a satisfied customer, is priceless • Alarms • GPS systems • Lighting and sound packages • Window tinting • Car wash coupons • Custom auto detailing

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Chinese have used xylitol for various medical purposes for decades, and in Finland, researchers in the 1970’s discovered that xylitol prevented teeth decay and cavities. Today xylitol is one of the main ingredients used in toothpaste

Xylitol

Health Garden

By Sarah Tyberg

Move over, Splenda! So long, Equal, and goodbye Sweet & Low! Kosher consumers rejoice! There’s an amazing new sugar substitute currently available on the market today that’s actually good for you! Completely natural, and derived from the bark of the birch tree, xylitol is the incredible new sugar substitute that has been conquering the market by storm. Ever since its initial appearance in kosher health food stores and supermarkets shortly before Pesach, Health Garden’s Xylitol has been jumping off the shelves at an amazingly rapid pace.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

Indeed, shopkeepers simply cannot keep up with the demand. It’s no wonder. Not only does this remarkable product look, taste, and pour exactly like sugar, but it has almost 50% fewer calories than sugar, leaves no bitter aftertaste, and has many health related benefits as well. Mrs. D., a busy housewife and mother related. “As per the advice of a friend of mine, I picked up a bag of Health Garden Xylitol right before Pesach. I was a bit skeptical, but since I could not find a sugar substitute with a reliable hechser, I decided to try it for all my baking and cooking needs. I was amazed at the delicious results! My family and I simply could not believe that the xylitol wasn’t sugar. Today it’s the only sweetener I keep in the house. Two of my children were diagnosed with ADHD, so I’m very careful about the snacks they eat, as sugar can make them completely hyper. But when I know a snack contains xylitol instead of sugar, there’s absolutely no problem. My kids no longer feel deprived about their lack of “sugary” snacks. Now It’s a matter of them having their cake and actually getting to eat it too!”

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

Although xylitol was actually discovered by German and French chemists back in the late 19th century, xyliol’s amazing practicality and multiple health benefits have only been discovered recently in the United States. In reality, the Chinese have used xylitol for various medical purposes for decades, and in Finland, researchers in the 1970’s discovered that xylitol prevented teeth decay and cavities. Today xylitol is one of the main ingredients used in toothpaste and mouthwash globally. In addition, scientists have recently discovered that nasal sprays containing xylitol clear up the nasal passages and prevent sinus infections. Xylitol has been approved by the FDA since 1986, and is gluten-free. Furthermore, since it contains no cane sugar, xylitol can be used safely for diabetics, and is often given in intravenous feedings in several European countries. Xylitol can be found naturally in several fruits, berries, and vegetables. In fact, 90% of the xylitol imported to the U.S. today is produced in China and derived from corn extract. Health Garden’s Xylitol however, is derived directly from the birch tree bark, right here in the U.S., and is superior in taste and quality to the Chinese import. And since it is produced within the U.S., the kashrus procedure is easily verified, and is certified as strictly kosher by the OU. Health Garden Xylitol is available in 1, 3 and 5 pound bags, and will shortly be packaged in convenient individual packets as well. Pick up a bag of this amazing sugar substitute at your local supermarket today and discover for yourself why it’s flying off supermarket shelves. For further information, or for wholesale distribution,

Please Call (732) 644-9516.

1 HOUR CELLULAR

423 KINGSTON AVE 718-363-5444

4522 18TH AVE 718-686-6200

1369 CONEY ISLAND AVE 718-758-1180

1 HOUR CELLULAR

242 7TH AVE 718-369-3290

5115 13TH AVE 718-437-4670

2152A RALPH AVE 718-241-0447

CROWN HEIGHTS

PARK SLOPE

BORO PARK

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

FLATBUSH

MARINE PARK Disclaimer: Some prices are after rebate, Prices are for new activation or upgrade, some phones may require texting or new data plan. Expires June 30th, 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

By Harry Roseman

ith this minyan, you’ve probably got enough financial firepower on hand to buy much or even most of whatever city The Ten happen to be gathered in. Larry Ellison. Michael Bloomberg. Sergey Brin. Larry Page. Steve Ballmer. George Soros. Michael Dell. Mikhail Fridman. RomanAbramovich. Ronald Perelman. Simply put, these are the ten wealthiest Jews in the world, as calculated by no less an authority than Forbes Magazine, which for decades has kept close track on the rise and fall of the super-rich, and which each year publishes a list of all of the known billionaires in the world, from which our list of The Ten is compiled. (For the record, Number One on the 938-name list is Mexican telecommunications and media tycoon Carlos Slim, whose anything-but-slim portfolio

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

barely edged out the longtime holder of The World’s Richest Man title, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. Both Slim and Gates topped the $53 billion mark.)

So, how Jewish are these guys? By traditional standards of Jewish practice, the short answer is: not that much. None is personally observant in the sense that, say, Joseph Gutnick, the very wealthy and devoutly Lubavitch Chasidic philanthropist is, or the legendary Orthodox builder Paul Reichmann - although as he has grown older, Perelman has certainly become more frum. However, even those whose observance is not so intense, have some “pintele Yid” semblance of Jewish identity, albeit somewhat hidden, often expressed via support for Jewish causes and/or Israel.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

Put ten Jewish men in a room together, and you’ve got enough for a minyan. Put these ten Jewish men together, and you’ve got enough economic wherewithal to buy the room and the building it’s in. Actually, any one of them could do that individually, without so much as batting an eyelash.

Rising Sun is a the 6th largest yacht in the world with a length of almost 138 meters (453 ft). It reportedly cost over US$290 million to build and is currently co-owned by Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, and David Geffen. The yacht is equipped with four MTU 20V 8000 M90 diesel engines, giving an output of 36,000 kW (50,000 hp), four propellers that enable it to reach a cruising speed of 28 knots (52 km/h), 82 rooms on five stories with a total living area said to be in excess of 8,000 square meters. A basketball court on the main deck can be used as a helicopter pad if necessary.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Let’s take a closer look at our minyan.

Michael Bloomberg: Built a media empire via his computerized financial information service. A “Bloomberg” is a fixture on virtually every desk on Wall Street. He is the second Jewish name on the list, at Forbes #23. He’s worth $18 billion, and 68 years old. Bloomberg is perhaps the best-known name on the list. Certainly he’s the best known in New York City because of his highprofile political career. He was elected New York City’s third Jewish mayor in 2001, following Abe Beame and Ed Koch, and flirted with the idea of an independent run for the presidency in 2008 before dropping that idea to run for reelection to a third mayoral term. He was raised in a kosher home in Medford, Mass., near Boston. His parents were both American-born children of Russian Jewish immigrants. The future media mogul and mayor attended a Conservative synagogue as a child and had a bar mitzvah. As an adult, Bloomberg identifies with Reform Judaism, having joined Temple Emanu-el on Fifth Avenue. During his run for mayor, when Bloomberg, a longtime liberal Democrat, ran as a Republican, he reportedly surprised some veteran politicians by refusing to indulge in the frequent political practice of making the rounds of various synagogues on the High Holy Days to greet potential voters coming from shul, calling it an undignified desecration of the holiday, and saying he would instead attend his own temple and then go home. He still won 52% of the city’s Jewish vote in 2001 against more liberal Jewish Democratic rival Mark Green on his way to election, and handily captured the Jewish vote in subsequent mayoral races in 2005 and 2009. Hank Sheinkopf, a well-known media consultant who in fact worked for Green in 2001 was quoted in a Forward profile of the mayor 30

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

as saying “Bloomberg has never run away from who he is, but he’s not running around waving a lulav, and he’s not holding up a mezuza all day long.” In the same article, Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind characterized Bloomberg as “a mensch” who is “straightforward and honest.” Bloomberg, despite his liberal religious views, has expressed strong support for Israel, although a cynic might say that almost goes hand-inhand with being the mayor of the city with the world’s largest Jewish population, an influential voting bloc. At a meeting with visiting Arab diplomats who expressed dismay that Bloomberg was following in the footsteps of such predecessors as Koch and non-Jews Rudolph Giuliani and even David Dinkins in publicly expressing solidarity with Israel, Bloomberg told them “You have to understand - I am a Jew. These are my forefathers.” Bloomberg has also put his money where his mouth is; among an extensive list of philanthropic activities, he has also donated generously to Jewish causes. An MSNBC profile said he had donated “millions” -- to recipients ranging from his boyhood synagogue in Medford to a $6.5 million emergency rescue service facility in Jerusalem named for his father, William. While in Israel for that 2007 dedication, he also toured the southern Israeli town of Sderot, less than a mile from the Gaza Strip, to voice his support for the small community that has become a symbol of embattled Israel after being a frequent target of Palestinian rocket fire coming from Gaza.

Larry Ellison:

Founder of Silicon Valley computer database giant Oracle Corp. He is the top Jewish name on the Forbes list, and the 6th richest man in the world. Worth

an estimated $28 billion as of midFebruary of this year, and 65 years old. While visiting Sderot, Larry Ellison, already armed with a reputation as a decisive business leader, saw the damage wrought by the falling rockets and asked the principal of a local school what it would cost to protect the school from further missiles. He then handed the startled educator a check for $500,000. Ellison made that dramatic gesture during his 2007 visit to the town, accompanied by then- Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni. It was an eye-opening visit for Ellison. Bomb-damaged buildings and people hiding in shelters to avoid incoming rockets are sights far removed from America’s high-tech capital, Northern California’s Silicon Valley, where his Oracle is headquartered. All told, he would reportedly eventually donate an estimated $5 million to help rocket-blasted Sderot rebuild after the Arab onslaught. Unlike Bloomberg, the child of a stable Jewish home, Ellison’s Jewish mother, who lived in New York, gave the child up for adoption to her uncle and aunt in Chicago, where Ellison was raised in the middleclass Jewish South Shore neighborhood. He dropped out of college in Illinois and was largely self-taught about the computer technology world he would eventually conquer after a modest start as an entrepreneur, a career path followed by many of the titans of the high-tech world, notably Bill Gates. The rest, as they say, is history.

Steve Ballmer:

Took over the leadership of Microsoft from Bill Gates. He’s number 5 on our Jewish list and 33rd on Forbes, worth $14.5 billion at 54 years old. Michigan-born Steve Ballmer, the son of a Swiss father and a mother whose family hailed from Pinsk, in the old Pale of Settlement, did not drop out of college like Ellison. In fact, he graduated Harvard magna cum laude, no small feat. But while at the prestigious Massachusetts College, he also met Gates, whom he would later come to work for as one of the first generation of employees TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

at the latter’s newly formed start-up, Microsoft. By 2000, he would succeed Gates as CEO - a post he still holds today. Ballmer’s personal life is very private, although it is known that he married within the faith and has three children. Although he is rich enough to have a Rolls Royce, or a whole fleet of them, he drives a Lincoln Town Car - a very nice and somewhat pricy ($45,000) vehicle to be sure, but certainly not in the same ostentatious six-figure class as a Rolls or a high-end Mercedes - as a tribute to his father, who worked at Ford for 30 years. Ballmer, who has said that “Jewish brains can change the world,” has invested in the burgeoning Israeli high-tech sector and has hired many Israeli computer geeks and /or managers for Microsoft., which in turn has extensive operations in Israel. In dedicating a Microsoft R&D center in Herzliya in 2008, Ballmer said that his is “an Israeli company as much as an American company” — because of all the Microsoft teams working in Israel. He compared the Tel Aviv area to his own base in Silicon Valley.

Michael Dell: Founder of the eponymous computer manufacturing company, Dell. He’s number 7 on our Jewish list, and 37th on Forbes. Worth $13.5 billion, 45 years old. Like Ellison and Ballmer, Texas-born Michael Dell was bitten by the computer bug during his college years in the early TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

The Munkatcher Rebbe with NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Frum men of means make an impact on their communities and the world

hile the wealth and, in most cases, the contributions of the men on our Ten Jewish Billionaires list are impressive, we should not overlook those of other wellknown people who, unlike our TJBs, are, or were, openly affiliated with the frum community.

Lev Leviev

Lev Leviev was actually on the Forbes magazine billionaires list as recently as 2009, when he was slotted into position number 468 with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion - down from 2008, when his fortune was estimated at $4.5 billion and he occupied slot 227 on the list. The 53-year old Leviev was born in Tashkent (then a part of the USSR, now the independent republic of Uzbekistan) but his Bukharian Jewish family managed to emigrate to Israel in 1971, when

By Harry Rosenman

Lev was 15. He started in the diamond business as an apprentice cutter; after serving in Israel’s army, he went into business on his own, establishing a diamond polishing plant. His business grew rapidly, and he became a major player in the world diamond industry, challenging the world’s biggest diamond company, DeBeers, for part of that lucrative business. Besides mining for diamonds in Russia and Africa, the Leviev-controlled Africa-Israel Investments sells diamonds through luxury retail jewelry stores. The company also is involved in real estate -including the former West 43rd Street headquarters building of The New York Times -- shopping malls, energy, fashion, telecom, and media. Leviev, who is married and has nine children, is a follower of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

“grew up in a Conservative household and had a religious reawakening at the age of eighteen while on a family trip to Israel,” and , in his own words, “felt this enormous void at not being a better Jew. So I decided then to begin being a better Jew. As soon as I got married, we kept a kosher house, we became much more observant. We moved to New York shortly thereafter and joined an Orthodox synagogue and the kids grew up with much more Judaism surrounding them than I ever did.” eventually Perelman today “strictly observes the d r o p p e d Jewish Sabbath, spends three hours every out of college Saturday in prayer, keeps to run his new a kosher home, and millions company full time. Fast donates forward to today. His company, Dell to Jewish groups causes,” Inc. has become the world’s biggest and maker of personal computers, even p a r t i c u l a r l y Chabaddethroning the once-invincible IBM. to On the communal level, Dell has given L u b a v i t c h . generously to some major charitable While he projects in Israel, encouraged by his friend, “does not Israeli President Shimon Peres. Closer consider himself to home, Dell was the primary financial to be a member backer for the Dell Jewish Community of Lubavitch… he Center, a 40-acre facility serving the supports them because he growing Jewish community in Austin, thinks they are Judaism’s best chance for the capital city of the Lone Star State. surviving and thriving in modern society.”

1980s, and began upgrading and selling computers over the phone from his dorm room at the University of Texas in Austin, where he was a pre-med student. H e

Ronald Perelman:

Principal Owner of the Revlon cosmetics company, with holdings and investments in a wide variety of other industries. Number 10 on our Jewish list, and 52nd on Forbes. Worth $11 billion, and 67 years old. Perelman, who has had a stormy and controversial business career buying and selling distressed companies, and an equally checkered personal life with four marriages and several bitter divorces, has found a measure of solace in philanthropy, having given away by one count at least $200 million since 2002 alone. Another source of redemption has been his religious life. According to his biography entry on Wikipedia, Perelman 32

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

Larry Page and Sergey Brin:

Co-Founders of the top search engine company Google, they are numbers 3-4 on our Jewish list, and tied for 24th on

Forbes. Aged 37 and 36 respectively. Page is American-born, while Brin is native to what used to be the USSR, although he is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. Page and Brin (or Brin and Page) are not joined at the hip, but “the Google Guys” go together like lox and bagels, even though they arrived at their current station high up on both the Forbes list and our Billionaires Minyan list by very different roads. Page comes from East Lansing, Mich., the son of a pair of computer science professors from Michigan State University. Brin’s mother is also a scientist and his father a mathematics professor -- but they were forced to leave the old Soviet Union by the persistent anti-Semitism there, emigrating to the U.S. Both young men wound up in a graduate studies course in computer technology at Stanford University in California in 1995, where they met one day -- and spent most of the next two days discussing and debating various technogeek topics. They hit it off, and eventually went on to co-found Google, which has become the world’s premier search engine based on mathematical formulas that can look through millions of websites in a matter of seconds. With almost as many accumulated dollars between them as there are websites, Page and Brin in 2006 set up Google.org, an arm of their company, to give out hundreds of millions of those dollars as charitable grants aimed at poverty and health issues in developing countries as well as climate change. Both are from secular Jewish families. Page has visited Israel several times and in fact, his maternal grandfather was an early settler there, making aliyah in the spartan desert town of Arad, where he became a wood carver. Brin came to America as a child. He has recounted how his father Michael, a mathematician, experienced antiSemitism in pursuing his chosen career. The elder Brin, for instance, originally TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

Satisfaction by design!

For over a decade, A & S Kitchens has been guided by a simple philosophy: combine a selection of top quality cabinetry customizable to any taste and budget with friendly, efficient service and prioritization of customers' needs - and you get thousands of satisfied customers. Now, we are pleased to offer you our new luxurious kitchen line from Grabill Cabinetry, sold in Brooklyn exclusively at A & S. Since 1946, Grabill has been the American trendsetter for cutting edge design and craftsmanship, and warrantied lifetime durability. We'd like to cordially invite you to our new state-of-the-art showroom, where you'll get to visualize and experience the A & S difference yourself.

Showroom: 5225 New Utrecht Avenue | Brooklyn, New York 11219 | 718 438 7820 Hours: Monday-Thursday 9am-5:30pm, Sunday & Evening by appointment

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

z’tl, and received the Rebbe’s personal blessing for success in his business and philanthropic activities, which include funding Chabad outreach activities in the former Soviet Union involving 300 Rabbis and up to 10,000 other community functionaries. Although he now lives in London, he also serves as the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC), an umbrella body representing Jewish communities across the former USSR. In the U.S., he sponsors many of the activities of the Jewish Learning Initiative, a partnership between the Orthodox Union and Hillel, designed to provide college students with opportunities to explore Judaism firsthand through text study, classes, prayer and Shabbos and holiday experiences. Leviev is also a strong supporter of the settlement movement in Eretz Yisroel. The Danya Cebus company, a subsidiary of his Africa-Israel conglomerate, has been involved in construction of such communities in Judea and Shomron as Mattityahu East, Har Homa, Maale Adumim and Ariel, while another subsidiary, LIDAR, is building in Zufim. AntiIsrael forces angered by his support of the settlements, have staged protests at some of his stores, and UNICEF also advised Leviev that they will not partner with or accept any contributions from him due to the controversy, prompting the AntiDefamation League to condemn UNICEF’s decision as “selective political discrimination.”

JOSEPH GUTNICK

Another fabulously successful Jewish businessman and philanthropist is Joseph Gutnick, who, like Lev Leviev, is also a follower of ChabadLubavitch. The 58-yearold Gutnick, born in Australia and CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

wanted to be an astronomer, but was denied entrance to a physics program because of his Jewish identity. When he applied for an exit visa for his family in the late 1970s, when Sergey was a child, he was fired from his state job and had to struggle to make ends meet until the family finally left the USSR for the West. Sergey has said “I know the hard times that my parents went through there, and am very thankful that I was brought to the States.” Although the family was free to practice their religion, they regarded it more in cultural and ethnic terms than spiritual. However, when the time came for Brin to be married, he pleased his parents by marrying within the faith.

Mikhail Fridman:

Oil, Banking, and Telecommunications in Russia after the fall of the USSR. Number 8 on our list, and 42nd on Forbes. He’s worth $12.7 billion, and 45 years old. Ukrainian-born Mikhail Fridman is something that would have been unthinkable in Russia back in the old Cold War days a capitalist businessman (Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and Khrushchev, ymach sh’mom, must all be spinning in their graves). He is the second-richest man in the former Soviet Union; his Alfa Group Consortium controls M o s c o w ’s Alfa Bank, as well as companies dealing in oil, construction materials such as cement, timber and glass, food processing businesses including tea and sugar, telecommunications and a supermarket chain. He has also dabbled in politics. Fridman has been an active donor to Jewish causes in Russia and France. He was one of the founders of the Russian Jewish Congress, one of the main organizations in the country, and is now a member of its Presidium leadership. He has also made large contributions to the European Jewish Fund, a nonprofit organization aimed at developing European Jewry and promoting tolerance and reconciliation on the continent. He has also expressed hopes of providing millions

of dollars to education efforts in Israel, at the urging of President Shimon Peres.

Roman Abramovich:

Steel and Oil, also in the post-Soviet USSR. Number 9 on our Jewish list, and 50th on Forbes. Worth $11.2 billion, 43 years old. Like Fridman, Abramovich is one of the new breed of Russian business tycoons. He began trading and selling black-market consumer goods on the streets of Moscow during the Soviet era, but shrewdly managed to parlay those humble enterprises into soonimpressive dealings in oil, aluminum and other materials, aided by the flourishing of enterprise after the end of the Soviet system. He became friends with the eventual leader of Russia, Boris Ye l t s i n , launching a political career, becoming a member of the Duma (parliament) and eventually the governor of the Chukotka province in Russia’s Far East, a post he still holds. He started the charity Pole of Hope to help the people of Chukotka, and is estimated to have spent as much as $1 billion of his own money to improve living standards there. Abramovich lost his parents at a young age and was raised by his uncle, from a religious Jewish background. He has visited Israel and donated some funds to Jewish charities there, and has also branched out to England, where he bought the popular Chelsea professional soccer team.

George Soros:

Amassed his fortune through investing, and particularly through currency speculation. Number 6 on our Jewish list, and 35th on Forbes. Worth $14 billion, 79 years old. George Soros was born in Hungary, emigrated to England after World War II, where he attended the prestigious London School of Economics, and later to the U.S. He went to work on Wall Street, eventually branching out to form his own investment fund amassing a vast fortune TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32

now a married father of 10 children, came to Brooklyn in the 1970s, received his smicha as a Lubavitch rabbi and returned to his native land, where he ran a girls’ seminary for a while. He went into business in The Land Down Under and gained success in the mining industry, where he earned the nickname “Diamond Joe,” eventually accumulating a $100 million fortune. However, after losing more than two-thirds of his wealth in the 1987 stock market crash, he was advised by the Rebbe to go back to the Australian desert and search for “gold and diamonds,” and claims the Rebbe told him exactly where to mine for gold in the state of Western Australia, eventually running his wealth back up to around $400 million. The Rebbe made Gutnick his special emissary for the “integrity of the land of Israel,” tasking him with marshalling opposition to giving away any part of Eretz Yisroel to the Arabs. Gutnick got involved in Israeli politics, supporting Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party on the theory that they would be less likely to give away land than Labor was. Beyond his support for Jewish nationalism, Gutnick has supported a variety of Jewish communal causes; for instance, several years ago, he gave $100,000 to Massada College, a Jewish college in Australia. In the U.S., Gutnick bought a house next to the Rebbe’s gravesite in Cambria Heights, Queens, where visitors can pray and study, and each Friday, he takes out small advertisements on the front page of The New York Times urging Jewish women to light Shabbos candles.

PAUL REICHMANN

Paul Reichmann’s name is legendary in both the real estate development business and Jewish philanthropy. Reichmann, now 80, was born in Vienna, but his family abandoned CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

as an investor and currency speculator. Soros later became a philanthropist, giving millions of dollars to various charities and causes around the world, although it is not believed he has given to identifiably Jewish causes, despite his own clearly Jewish identity. In Hungary, Soros’ family changed its original name, Schwartz, to Soros, which sounded less Jewish, because of anti-Semitism in the 1930s. He was a teenager when the Nazis occupied the country in 1944, stepping up the already tough persecution imposed by their antiSemitic Arrow Cross allies. Soros’ father sent his son to live with a non-Jew he knew, with George hiding his Jewishness by posing as the man’s non-Jewish godson. Young Soros survived the intense fighting in Budapest between the Nazi and Soviet armies. Soros’ emergence as a philanthropist and political activist made him a controversial figure because of some of the causes he has supported. While Soros financially supported the cause of dissidents against the Communist system, such as the Polish Solidarity labor union and the writer Andrei Sakharov who was persecuted by the government of the Soviet Union, he raised hackles in America by donating to such left-wing groups as MoveOn.org and other groups working against the presidency of George W. Bush., and he supported Barack Obama’s candidacy. The Soros-funded Open Society Institute gave $20,000 in September 2002 to the Defense Committee of Lynne Stewart - the radical lawyer who defended terrorist suspects such as “The Blind Sheik,” Omar Abdel Rahman, in court and was sentenced to prison for “providing material support for a terrorist conspiracy” by helping The Sheik communicate with his followers from jail. Soros has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies, claiming in 2003 that the actions of the Sharon government and the Bush administration in the Middle East helped to generate hostility toward Jews.

While stating in a subsequent article that while “neither Israel’s policies nor the critics of those policies should be held responsible for anti-Semitism,” Soros also declared that “at the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel’s policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby’s success in suppressing divergent views.” While Wikipedia lists Soros as Jewish by birth, it also lists “Atheism” as his religion. The question of Jewish identity In a perfect world, everybody would be an eved Hashem, a servant of G-d, in both personal religious observance and in the mitzvah of giving sums to charity, with men of means who have been blessed by Hashem with great prosperity having the obligation to set a good example in both. But this is not a perfect world. Far from it. The fact is that like most people in the wider world and in the overall Jewish community, our Billionaires Minyan falls short of the standards of both piety and meaningful tzadaka and community service established by such giants as Mayer Amschel Rothschild and Sir Moses Montefiore, or, more in our own time, Joseph Gutnick or Paul Reichmann. However, the men are to be credited with their good deeds for helping others through charitable giving (such as Larry Ellison’s timely gifts to help heal and protect rocket-battered Sderot) rather than squandering their vast wealth on their own high-living pleasures like a gaggle of oil-rich Arab potentates - even if they could be doing more for such vital areas as Torah education and kiruv. But just as Ronald Perelman has become more observant as the years have passed and more focused in his giving, so there is hope that as we wait for Moshiach, the others as well, as long as they live, have the opportunity to improve themselves in these important areas. Maybe even George Soros is not beyond redemption. Who knows?

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

Europe when he was a boy to escape the Nazis, yimach sh’mom. The fact that Paul Reichmann and his several brothers are even alive today is a miracle, an example of Hashgacha Pratis. In 1938, shortly before his elder brother, Edward, was to celebrate his bar mitzvah, the family’s grandfather, David, suffered a stroke in his native Hungary, so family members left Vienna, journeyed to the grandfather’s town and held the ceremony there. That very same day -- March 12, 1938 -- Hitler’s gangsters took over Austria, staging a bloody pogrom in Vienna. The Gestapo arrested all of the city’s wealthy Jewish businessmen, except for Samuel Reichmann, Paul and Edward‘s father, who was temporarily safe in Hungary and who got his family out of harm’s way. Staying one step ahead of the Nazis, they settled first in Paris, then Spain, and eventually in Morocco. He got his smicha after learning in Britain and Israel, and eventually migrated to Canada, where his brother had established a successful flooring and tile business. That led Reichmann into the building business, which eventually grew into his familyowned Olympia & York construction company, which put up such major projects as the World Financial Center in New York, First Canadian Place in Toronto and Canary Wharf in London. When these projects were built, Reichmann, in strict observance of the laws of Shabbos, decreed that no work was to be done on Shabbos or Yom Tovim, even though the vast majority of the employees were nonJews (except under certain unusual circumstances, a Jew generally may not have a non-Jew do work on Shabbos that the Jew is himself not allowed to do). The Reichmann family was among the richest Jews in the world, with estimated collective wealth of over $10 billion, but O&Y unfortunately ran into financial trouble in the early 1990s due to the debt run up by the Canary Wharf project and was forced into bankruptcy, slashing the family‘s overall wealth. Reichmann retired from the business for a while, CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

but several years later managed to head a syndicate that bought back the London project and owned it for a time. In the meantime, he set up another company, International Property Corp., which is currently building a five-star luxury hotel and condominium in Israel, to be known as The Palace Jerusalem - The Waldorf-Astoria Collection. The Reichmann family had long been known for its selfless help to Jewish causes; during World War II, with the family now based in Tangier, controlled by the officially neutral but pro-Axis Spain, Paul Reichmann’s mother, Renee, coordinated an amazing effort to send relief packages to Jews imprisoned in Teresienstadt. The Nazis allowed the prisoners to receive the packages as part of their charade that Teresienstadt was a “paradise ghetto” rather than a concentration camp, with the Spanish postal markings a protection against the packages’ confiscation. The Reichmanns also managed to bribe and cajole officials of Spain’s Franco

government into acting as protectors of some 1,200 Jews in Nazi-occupied Budapest. After the war, before going into business, the newly ordained Rabbi Paul Reichmann returned to Tangier, where he worked for several years without pay as educational director of a philanthropic organization which ran schools for impoverished Jews in Morocco’s rural areas. Reichmann’s mission ended only when most of the country’s poor Jews had emigrated to France or Israel. After Reichmann and his brothers founded Olympia & York, they routinely “set aside a heaping portion of O&Y’s income for charity,” writes Reichmann biographer Anthony Bianco, funding “a self-contained local infrastructure of [Jewish] parochial schools, synagogues and other institutions required to project the family’s religious ideals into succeeding generations.” He estimated that “all told, the brothers would give away more than $1 billion, almost all of it to ultra-Orthodox causes.”

JOSZEF STRAUS

Another European émigré who made his mark in Canada and later the U.S. is Jozef Straus, the Czech-born former chairman of Silicon Valley high-tech giant JDS Uniphase Corp. The 64-year old Straus fled his native Prague in 1968, when the USSR rolled its tanks in to end the Warsaw Pact c o u n t r y ’s b r i e f experiment in a more liberalized, Western-style d e m o c r a c y. He came to Canada, earned a PhD in physics, and along with several other young engineers and scientists, founded JDS Fitel, a TorontoCONTINUED ON PAGE 96

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

Dear Lifestyle, Mi KeAmcha Yisrael! I was amazed (but not surprised) to witness the outpouring of activism and support from our community on behalf of Reb Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin and his unfortunate family. It was wonderful to see many Jews coming

Rabbosai, Jonathan Pollard is a Jew, too. His sentence was also a grave injustice, compared to those of others who have been convicted of similar crimes. Where is our ongoing outcry over him? If there are still people who call the White House every day on his behalf, kol hakavod! We all ought to be calling as often as we can.

Dear Lifestyle, I love your glossy, colorful new look! I enjoyed reading the magazine before because of all the great material you print, but the new format really enhances the experience. I notice that people sometimes take more than one copy. I used to do it, too – to share with friends and neighbors, my grandmother who doesn’t go out much, etc. But sometimes, by the time I get to the store to pick up the latest issue, there is already nothing left. That is always disappointing. It must be expensive to print the magazine in its new, enhanced format. Why not just take one copy and pass it around? That way, more people will be able to get one and enjoy it. Looking forward to the next issue! S. Moskowitz, Flatbush

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

disappointing – contrast between what we have done on behalf of Reb Rubashkin and what we have done on behalf of Jonathan Pollard (Yehonasan ben Malka). Yes, during President Bush’s last days in office there was a strong movement to petition the president for his pardon, but all that seems to have died down. We don’t hear it talked about anymore.

The phone number is: 202-456-1111 The fax number is:202-456-2461

together from all walks of life to defend one of our own. All the Tefilos said on his behalf must have shaken the heavens, and all the letters and phone calls must have been overwhelming.

The address (for letter writing) is: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Let’s storm the heavens – and Washington – on Mr.. Pollard’s behalf. Rabbi Dovid Blaustein, Flatbush

That said, there seems to be a pointed – and

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Model of the Cap Arcona

Death on the

Baltic

A personal look at the “Cap Arcona” bombing which left thousands of Holocaust survivors dead at the hands of the British. Jeremy eliAs

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

n May 3, 1945, thousands of prisoners were loaded onto ships in Lübeck Bay, off the northern coast of Germany. They had endured years of Nazi brutality and were within hours of Allied liberation and the end of a seemingly endless hell. Before that hour could arrive, more than 7,000 would be dead in one of the greatest maritime disasters of World War II. My grandfather was there. I’ve always known my

grandfather’s story. I can’t remember a particular time when he first sat me down and recounted it from beginning to end. So it’s as if I was born with a vague understanding of what happened, and the rest of my life was for filling in the details. I’m constantly filling in the details. And I’ll always be thankful for a grandfather who’s willing to let me. In 1941, at 15, Henry Bawnik was rounded up with others on the streets of the Lodz ghetto. TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

He would be leaving his family and the one place he knew. Scared and anxious, he looked around the group of unfortunate Jews. Through the panicked men and their barking tormentors, he saw David, an older neighborhood friend he’d always looked up to. David was the one familiar face in the newly assembled group. Thank G-d for David, my grandfather thought. David was beaten to death within hours. This was an unfamiliar world, and it wouldn’t be a kind one. From his year in the Lodz ghetto and some four years in the camps, there are countless stories. They are painted with senseless violence and inconceivable brutality. They are the kind that come from any victim who bears witness to the madness of men and lives with the burden and courage to speak about it. But the most prominent theme in all my grandfather’s accounts isn’t murder and destruction; it is hashgacha pratis. And never was hashgacha more imminent than that afternoon on the Baltic 65 years ago. In January 1945, as the Allies drew closer, my grandfather left Fürstengrube, a subcamp of Auschwitz, for Gleiwitz. It was the first leg of a death march north, continuously missing liberation by days, and sometimes by hours. In Gleiwitz, they boarded cattle cars. With the lack of food, space, and sanitation, the cars became boxes for the rotting corpses of starved and diseased prisoners. My grandfather and others began using these corpses as furniture – a couch, a mattress. Death TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

had been a daily occurrence. It wasn’t a tragedy, but an accepted inevitability. One day he too would be a couch or a mattress, and that was justification enough. After 10 days in the cattle cars, they arrived at Dora-Mittelbau. Each living prisoner dragged a dead body to a growing pile of skeletons. The indistinguishable men and women, with sunken cheeks and hollowed eyes, were thrown upon each other, a tangled mountain of death. The bodies were burned that night. In April, the Allies again drew closer, and once again my grandfather was forced to flee an approaching liberation. The Germans were running out of land. Soon there would be repercussions, and a light would shine on years of horror. They were not prepared for that, so they continued to march. Max Schmidt, a young SS officer and camp commander, loaded my grandfather and the 540 other prisoners onto barges to transport them up the Elbe River. With no camps left, he would take them to his

family’s estate in Ahrensbök, Germany. The area of northern Germany was becoming livelier. British bombers filled the sky as the prisoners lined up to be counted. Schmidt leaned back with his hands on his hips, slowly dipping his head to the sky. “Ich sehe schwarz,” he quietly said. “I see black.” But even Schmidt could not foresee the darkness to come. The night of May 2, the prisoners were awakened from their sleep to march once again. It wouldn’t be a long march; just to the coast. They’d finally run out of land. My grandfather and the 500 others were marching to the sea. When they reached Neustadt, the Cap Arcona sat idle, three kilometers off the sandy beaches of the harbor. The water was filled with U-boats, barges, and ships. The prisoners boarded a group of smaller boats waiting to take them to the Cap Arcona. They filed on in reverse alphabetical order, starting with “Z.” In its prime, the Cap Arcona was a beautiful ship, making voyages from South America to Germany for the

Auschwitz

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

rich and famous. Coincidentally enough, it was used in a Joseph Goebbels propaganda film based on the Titanic, where the German protagonist prophetically warns of imminent danger ahead – proving his superior intellect. Now, the motor was completely shot. The ship served as a floating cell for the tortured. There was no more land for their labors, no more camps for their deaths. They were left to the sea, and a ship just fit to stay afloat. The small rafts, loaded with prisoners, inched toward the 213meter cruise liner. My grandfather wondered where they’d be going. Another camp, he supposed. It had always been that way. Wake up, move, and work to live one more day. But of course, even that was not certain. The only thing he did know was that the

British typhoons were roaring through the sky, Blasting everything in their path.

The British preparing typhoons

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

Nazis weren’t going to tell him much, and if they did, it meant nothing. When the rafts got to the base of the Cap Arcona, the captain yelled down that no more prisoners would fit. They’d been loading the ship for more than a week. In the hull, thousands were packed like sardines – no windows, no air, just the swaying motion against the swell of the Baltic. The SS officer told the captain that loading the prisoners was an order, not an option. My grandfather was in one of the last groups to climb on board. He stood in the back of the boat, with hundreds of other striped prisoners roaming the deck. Below them were levels of cramped men and women, leaning on each other, fighting for air, fighting for everything. Their decrepit bodies filled the once extravagant banquet halls and living quarters. Henry wasn’t there more than two hours before the bombing started. British Typhoons were roaring through the sky, blasting everything in their path. It was a show, an extravagant display of power and force, fire and destruction. They’d hit the U-boats. My grandfather had a front-row seat, the air shaking from the blasts and the cold water of the Baltic exploding with each hit. The prisoners on deck were cheering. The pilots were ordered to bomb everything in their path, and they’d been doing so with precision and effectiveness. At 2:30 p.m., however, their paths crossed with the Cap Arcona. The first Typhoon flew overhead, only about 1,000 feet up. As it dove for the great ship, the bomb ripped the far end of the deck open. Men and women fell to the floor as the flames erupted. Prisoners screamed as the scene turned to utter chaos. They tried to put the flames out, but the fire hoses were cut. Soon came more Typhoons and more

direct hits. My grandfather looked down at the smoking floor. Screams of death and pain permeated the air. The stairwell from below, where thousands were being asphyxiated, reached the deck through a small door. People were fighting for fresh air, clawing to escape the coffin of smoke. Most were quickly consumed by the flames. He looked at the SS guard still on board. He was lost, the tormentor becoming the tortured. Two Russian POWs quickly tossed the guard overboard. Prisoners began taking their clothing off. They’d risk the 3-km. swim to shore. Most who tried were paralyzed by the 45ºF water. But those strong enough to bear the temperature would be gunned down by SS, Hitler Youth, naval personnel, and townspeople, all of whom were firing their guns from the sandy beaches of Neustadt. My grandfather couldn’t swim, but he took his clothes off anyway. Suddenly, the ship began to tilt on its side. Hundreds of men and women fell overboard. My grandfather ran to the high side of the ship and grabbed a rope. He looked down at the approaching water. He watched as the men and women sank into the sea – 200, 100, 50 left treading water. The approaching water was clear. Henry could see the prisoners descending to darkness, their bodies slowly fading out of sight. It wouldn’t be long until he reached the water and the same fate. He wasn’t scared. This was it. Fighting for each day for the last five years…it would all end in a minute or two. The exhaustion would be over; the struggle would finally end. The ship was almost completely capsized, the hull sticking up to the sky. My grandfather hit the cold water, the rope no longer serving its purpose. TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

... at participating bookstores ... online at Feldheim.com ... or at our 2 new StoreS!

B r o o k ly n : 5216 new Utrecht Ave • 7347-715-4446 M o n s e y : 455 Rt 306, Wesley Hills Plaza • 845-354-4945

Books, Seforim, Judaica Plus a huge section of Clearance titles *Discount off list prices. Excludes Clearance titles. Other exclusions apply

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

As he prepared for the inevitable, a voice rang through the air: “Henry, Henry!” Like an angel from heaven, it was Peter Abramowitz, one of his closest friends from the camps. He was walking along the bottom of the ship,

had a chance to reflect. But with the German’s short and unexpected answer, he knew that’s what he had – time to reflect. And maybe he could fathom, for a moment, just how vulnerable his life had been.

message on. It was an oversight that led to the sinking of the Thielbek, the Deutschland, and the Cap Arcona. And with those three ships, more than 7,000 prisoners would lose their lives, never knowing just how close they came to liberation. Benjamin Jacobs, a prisoner whose story is almost identical to my grandfather’s, wrote the most comprehensive account of the Cap Arcona, The 100-Year Secret. Within that book, he writes, “Those who perished were not just prisoners. They were tough, tenacious, unrelenting fighters, with hearts stubborn enough to survive all the Nazis had cast upon them. And yet, they died on the very doorstep of freedom.” Sixty-five years later, the British government has never made any public reference to the event, denying the dead the recognition they deserve. The files were sealed until 100 years after the disaster, and so information that would bring the tragedy to the public eye is inaccessible until 2045. By then, all survivors and many of their children will be gone. And with their passing, a chest of personal memories, of when their friends died on the last page of the long and tragic epic, will be gone too. The onus will then be on us to tell their stories. We’ll tell about the “tough, tenacious, unrelenting fighters” who lost their lives at a time when the world went mad. And to prove we’ve learned since then, we’ll show that a human life should never go unrecognized and their deaths should never be forgotten. This is my grandfather’s story, and it is theirs as well. We should strive to make it ours.

the BomB ripped the far end of the deck open. Bombing of the Cap Arcona

his clothing still on. He leaned over the side. “I’ll bring you up,” he said. Peter carried my grandfather on his back, the base of the ship too hot for bare skin. They walked to the partially submerged section, finally able to sit down. They looked around and counted: only 300 people left. In a matter of hours, their friends, who had been in the camps with them for at least three years, were at the bottom of the Baltic. On shore, the British had already seized control. They sent out Germans from the U-boat school to pick up the 350 survivors of the 4,500 on board. Three small tug boats pulled up to the Cap Arcona. “What camp are we going to now?” My grandfather instinctively asked. “No camp,” the German replied. “The war is over.” When telling this story, my grandfather always cries after uttering the German’s reply. Growing up, I assumed they were tears of happiness; after all, he was liberated. But they’re not. They’re very different tears, ones that I’ll never truly understand. Through his entire struggle, he never 46

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

When the survivors returned to shore, many of them unclothed, they fell into line like they had always done. The British officer was dumbfounded by the scene. “Where are your clothes?” he asked. They had none, hadn’t for years. So my grandfather, a free man, walked to an adjacent factory that had been abandoned in all the chaos. The only thing he could find was a green dress and a leather apron. It would have to do. And, still friends, he and Peter simply left. But that day would never be forgotten. The frequent question is why the British would bomb the Cap Arcona and the two other civilian ships. The answer is that the Allies were concerned that high-ranking SS officers were making an escape to Norway. The pilots were not aware of the ship’s true passengers. Ordered to bomb everything in their path, the British Typhoons would make an escape impossible. However, it has been documented that the British were informed of the ship’s cargo the previous day, but RAF personnel never passed the

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

“The KMR tour offers something exceptional. It has all the ingredients for a perfect vacation, including accommodations, services, food, and privacy in a setting that’s astoundingly beautiful. Very few places have this all-inclusive combination.”

R’ Abish Brodt

own a vacation home in Switzerland. I’ve been going to the Alps for years. But you know what? They don’t quite measure up to the Colorado Rockies. Bringing kosher tours to a place like this is just extraordinary.” That’s what David Schwartz, a vacationer with KMR Tours to Vail, Co. had to say about his experience last summer. And it seems he’s just one of many hundreds who have been infected with Rocky Mountain mania. So many people I speak to are suddenly choosing Alberta, Canada, or Vail, Colorado as their new summer destinations. “Whatever happened to the Catskills?” I ask them. Their responses differ in expression, but are unanimous in their enthusiasm and emotion: “There’s absolutely no place like the Colorado Rockies anywhere in the United States, maybe even in the world. You’ve got to see it to believe it.” Or “One look at the Columbia Icefields in Banff National Park, and you’ll understand why this place defies the imagination.” I’ll admit I was skeptical. I mean, a mountain is a mountain, right? See one, and you’ve seen them all. I needed to get a better feel for what was drawing so many kosher travelers westward, like thrill-seeking pioneers. I wanted to hear firsthand about the pull of the Rockies; their majesty, their magnetism, and their magnificence. So I called KMR Tours directly, and asked to speak to the Werner Brothers, who have been planning, preparing, and perfectly programming these annual summer retreats for the last nine seasons. Suffice it to say that at the close of our half hour conversation, my

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

bags were already packed, my hiking shoes were already laced up, and my camera battery was already fully charged for my imminent escape from the East coast. Here’s what I found out: When the brothers ﬁrst started the KMR program in 2002, the Rockies were about as hard for Brooklynites to visualize as the surface of the moon. The cool, crisp weather, the loftiness of its peaks, and the crystalline blue of its waters were completely foreign to bungalow colony trekkers who had grown wearily accustomed to Bear Mountain and Swan Lake. But slowly, the hidden secrets of these national treasures were unveiled. KMR put the Rockies on the map for the kosher family. People began to realize that there was more to summer than mosquitoes and a gated patch of grass. There are canyons for exploring. Summits for climbing. Lakes for boating. Scenic bike paths for pedaling. And for those who just want to rest and relax, there are the dry climate and fresh, mountain air breezes to be enjoyed from balconies overlooking stunning panoramas. In the Rockies, watching a sunset is like watching an artist paint a scene of striking beauty, using every color of the rainbow. Once you leave the resort and wander through the national park on your daily excursions, wildlife abounds - with eagles, elk and even the occasional black or grizzly bear all making their home in the Rocky Mountain or Banff National Parks. There are so many family activities for adults and their children to experience together, creating memories that will last a lifetime. People eventually came to understand that this

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

is what summer should really look and feel like. Once they’ve sampled it, they cannot seem to get enough. Word about KMR’s incredible tours keeps continually spreading. By their second year, they doubled in number of clients. And by now, the Werner brothers take pride in their many newcomers each season, but even more so in their faithfully returning customers, some of whom vacation with them year after year. In fact, one family of 25-30 people just spent their fourth summer with KMR last year - and they’re just one large family of many! Over nearly a decade, the Werners considered offering different destinations for their tours, just for a change of venue. But time and again, they recognized that there was really no place that came close to the wide-eyed wonder and inspiration of the Rockies. Banff is striking, Colorado is sensational. The mountains in Banff are more awesome, sharp and distinct; in Colorado they’re more accessible and majestic. Either way, the Rockies make for an exceptional getaway. Both offer a tremendous variety of activities and amenities for every type of customer, from ‘laid back’ to ‘let’s go!’ Flanking the resort in Vail, there’s a biking path that runs for 17 miles alongside the picturesque Gore Creek, all the way downhill to Lake Dillon, where families can motor or sailboat amid a resplendent backdrop unlike any on earth. ATVing, jeep tours and whitewater rafting are just a few of the exhilarating choices available to their clients. Must-sees and dos include Pike’s Peak and Garden of the Gods, a natural wonder of crimson rock formations, and the Idaho Hot Springs, where you can rent your own private hot spring with natural mineral water for the ultimate in healing power and relaxation. For the first five years of their venture, KMR took up residence in Copper Mt, Co. It was beautiful there, but the elevation was very high, and some people found it too challenging. So, four years ago, the Werners moved their tours to Vail, which is a 2,000 ft. downgrade in altitude. The lower elevation made a big difference. In Vail, there are always clear blue skies, and the evenings boast 50 degree weather in summertime. Guests can hear the river flowing, and feel the soft winds rushing by on moonlit nights. The beauty of Banff lies in its towering landscape, unparalleled anywhere in the world. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake offer blue glacier water, with the mountains as a breathtaking backsplash. Getting away from it all, with privacy, quiet and leisure, are what it’s all about. Banff is as far away from your hectic daily routine as you can possibly get. In Calgary, once you enter TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

the national park, it’s like walking over the threshold into a whole new world. Riding along the Bow River, is like riding right into a postcard. With a KMR vacation, you don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ve been to many beautiful places before, but I always had to fret about meals for the entire family, booking accommodations, and setting up an itinerary that would please everyone from my toddler to my teenagers. With KMR, any inconvenience that a typical kosher traveler has to endure when traveling alone, is addressed a n d eliminated. There’s a beautiful shul on premises, and many shiurim with renowned guest speakers every day. There’s separate swimming in their inviting and invigorating pool, and of course, three sumptuous meals daily prepped by none other than the legendary Michael Schick, one of the

premier kosher caterers in the industry. Guests can choose between hot lunches at the resort, or boxed lunches to take along on their daily escapades. KMR also provides a 24-hour tea room for those who crave a midnight snack. Their concierge desk is manned by people who know the Rockies intimately; who are familiar with the twists and turns, nooks and crannies of the mountains that most tourists tend to overlook. Detailed trips are planned well in advance so that all the hidden gems of these areas are touched upon. For example, one route takes explorers to Rocky Mountain National Park via the Continental Divide - the highest point in the US. From there, it’s 14,000 feet down past Winter Park, the tallest mountain sliding in the country, and past Hot Sulfur Springs, with private indoor mineral hot springs. Their top-notch professional day camp consists of frum girls who give the youngsters

a non-stop, no-holds-barred, grand bash of a time. The Werner brothers have a list of about 40 applicants each year, who all want to come and be counselors at their resorts. They hand-pick the liveliest, most lovable and loving teens of them all, so that children never want to go home. There’s also a playgroup for toddlers and a babysitting service for the littlest tots, so that the adults can have some time to themselves, enjoying all that this splendid summer experience has to offer, while knowing their kids are in responsible hands. That’s the beauty that KMR brings to the kosher family: allowing everyone to enjoy every vacation moment to the fullest. I guess there’s a good reason why 80 percent of those who travel with KMR tours, return for another chance to relive their dream vacation. The crowds who participate are very diverse, which makes for a wonderful display of achdus among Yidden of all stripes. From Boro Park to Chicago and L.A., from London to Flatbush and Manhattan, as well as Teaneck, Monsey, even as far as Australia - all get to know and befriend one another in this warm and welcoming environment. The friendly, aim-toplease service is what sets KMR apart. Guests tell the Werners repeatedly that this is the best getaway they’ve ever had, and that they could never have imagined a program this spectacular. And with every year, it just keeps on getting better. The Werner brothers take great pleasure in bringing families and friends together, watching them interact and bond with each other, while spending time in closeness and camaraderie. KMR has given the brothers the opportunity to meet exceptional groups of individuals, with whom they maintain friendships long after the summer season draws to a close. I don’t know about you, but this summer, I plan to hitch myself onto the KMR bandwagon, and head out west. My bungalow has seen the last of this wandering Jew. The Rockies are beckoning.

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

A True Expression of Beauty.



728 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY 11223 | (718) 513-3700 | info@bhhomeexpressions.com Valet Parking | Walk Ins / Appointments Welcome |JUNEDesigners On Staff TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

d * an the am ts. t u ogr c bo du s a it Pr ® pr o u d k As x Cr e ersen a d l T An era ying d e f F ali qu

C A S E M E N T A N D AW N I N G W I N D O W S Smooth Operation Smooth Control™ hardware features stainless steel hinges and nylon glides that make opening and closing the window extra Weathertight Performance High-PerformanceTM Low-E4® glass helps insulate against heat smooth. and cold, which can help cut energy bills. It also filters UV rays Durability that can fade fabric and damage furniture. In addition, durable Andersen® windows combine the strength and insulation of weatherstripping helps create a tight seal against air and water. natural wood on the inside with seamless, low-maintenance cladding on the outside. The vinyl-encased sash prevents Easy Cleaning warping, too. High-Performance Low-E4 glass has an exterior coating that Beauty The rich wood interior adds beauty and charm to any home.

stays cleaner, dries faster for easy cleaning and has up to 99% less water spots (exterior pane only when activated by sunlight). And the split-arm operator moves the sash away from the frame for easier cleaning.

Owner-2-Owner® Limited Warranty† Glass is covered for 20 years and non-glass parts are covered for 10. Coverage is not pro-rated and can add real value when the home is sold.

WINDOW PALACE “Where all our customers are treated royally.” 660 McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11218 • 718-854-3500 Hours: Mon. – Weds. 8am–5pm, Thurs. 8am–7pm, Fri. 8am–2pm, Closed Sat. & Sun Window Palace is proud to feature quality Andersen products. “Andersen” is a registered trademark of Andersen Corporation. All other marks where denoted are trademarks of Andersen Corporation. *See Andersen’s Manufacturer’s Certification Statements at www.andersenwindows.com for a list of products that meet the eligibility requirements for the tax credit under Section 25C of the Internal Revenue Code as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Andersen bears no responsibility for validating or obtaining the tax credit and expressly disclaims any responsibility for determining whether a particular purchase or application qualifies for the tax credit. Further, Andersen does not intend to and is not providing legal or tax advice and recommends that purchasers consult their own tax advisor or the IRS to determine whether the products they purchase for a particular application qualify for the tax credit. †

See www.andersenwindows.com/warranty for more details.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

Casual... Elegant... Day... Night...

JUDY WIGS For a Style That's Just Right

1-866-JUDYWIG 718-232-0226 • 718-232-0018 Fax. 718-232-0068 www.judywigs.com

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

5712 18th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11204 JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

The

Minister Visits for

Shabbos An expired driver’s license sparks a unique experience.

RABBI MOSHE ZIONCE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

ast year I was planning a trip to the U.S. by plane. The new law required a passport. In preparation, my wife gathered our papers together. She went into my wallet and pulled out my license and giggled. “Is my picture that bad?” I asked. “Um…Moshe, I think your license has expired.” My heart skipped a beat as I inspected the license. It was true. Not only was it expired, but it was expired by three years and two weeks! How could this be? No big deal, I thought. I called the licensing office. The lady said, “No problem, sir, you can always renew a license. How expired is it?” “It’s about three year’s worth,” I responded. The lady took a moment to confirm the dates. “I’m sorry sir, you’re two weeks over. You will have to start from scratch.” “What do you mean, ‘from scratch’?” “You will be required to complete the mandatory Ontario graduated licensing system. That’s the written permit test, the level one road test and the level two highway test. There is nothing I can do. It’s the law.” The words “start from scratch” rang in my ears. I had flashbacks to my 16th birthday. Then reality hit me. Carpools? Seeing clients? Getting to shul to teach? My life had suddenly spun out of control and I was stranded on the side of the road, helpless. I called again. A different woman answered and I explained to her the situation: “But I received a new license just a few years ago!” She checked my records. “Yes in fact, you were issued a new license four years ago, however that was merely a change of address. The license was not renewed at that time.” In desperation I asked, “Is there anyone I can speak to about this?” “No, I’m sorry. It’s the law.” That night I lay in my bed devastated. Our Rabbis teach us, “Even if the blade of the sword is at your throat, one must never give up hope.” There must be a

solution... Then it suddenly hit me. I ran to my office. In moments, I found the direct email of the Ontario Minister of Transportation: The Honorable Donna Cansfield. I fired off an email, entitled “Desperate Driving Dilemma:” “The Honorable Donna Cansfield: I have a problem I’m hoping you could help me with. I’m sure you have issues of much greater importance to concern yourself with, however this is of utmost importance to me... I received my license at age 18 and I have a perfect driving record. I am 34 years old...” I knew I had to lay it on thick. “Life at the best of times is overwhelming. We just had our sixth child a month ago. My wife needs my help. I work and teach, and the thought of not having my full license for over a year is devastating. I was wondering if there is anything that can be done...” First thing in the morning, I received a phone call. I scrambled to pick it up. A voice on the other end said, “Hello, this is Donna Cansfield.” I was shocked; it was really her! I explained the situation and we had a laugh or two. The Minister was down to earth and very understanding. “We’re still trying to get over the fact that you are 34 and have six kids...I’m going to connect you to someone who can resolve the issue. Please call me back if there are any problems.” I thanked her profusely and we hung up. Just like that, I went right to the top in 12 hours. Not only did she respond personally, but she wanted to help! This was going to work! The lady I subsequently spoke to was again very helpful. She said she would look into the matter and get back to me. However, later that day she, too, explained to me that in fact it is the law and there is nothing anyone could do to help. Suddenly, I experienced cold flashes as I had visions of my wife in the driver’s seat and me as her passenger. After accepting defeat I knew there was only one thing left to do: to thank the Minister in an email.

“

WE’RE STILL TRYING TO GET OVER THE FACT THAT YOU ARE 34 AND HAVE SIX KIDS.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

At this point I thought I should probably inform my wife.

IN A STRANGER’S HOME The big day finally arrived. The Transportation Minister, the Honorable Donna Cansfield, would be a guest at our Shabbat table! I understood the Minister did not want to commit to stay for any length of time. But I knew that if she walked through the door, she would not be leaving so fast. The Friday night Shabbat meal is always magical. I was committed not to change a thing: kiddush, etc. In fact, by the standards of most observant people, my singing before kiddush is unusually long. I have the custom to recite an extended version, “Chassidic Bobov style.” Even though it would take quite a while until we would finally eat, I felt it was important that my children see that nothing was altered. (Usually I explain to guests that this is the strategy, to keep them in suspense, so they will really enjoy the challah once it finally comes). We did make one minor modification: there would be no clear, bulletproof plastic cover over the tablecloth. (I prayed my

CONTINUED ON PAGE 87

Desperate Driving Dilemma 2: “I really appreciate all your efforts! I’m so impressed that you took the time to follow up and to actually give me a personal call for my relatively minuscule matter. Unfortunately, Mrs. B. said there is nothing that can be done. I wanted to wish you much success in all your endeavors, happiness and health, and may your deepest dreams and wishes be answered. I’ve attached some pics of my six little monsters. [The kids were wearing yarmulkes; it was obvious we were Jewish.] If you would ever like to meet the family and have a cultural experience, it would be an honor to host you and your husband or friend for a traditional Friday night meal at my house. My wife’s homemade bread is to die for. Call any time at all.” What possessed me to invite the Minister for a Shabbat meal I can’t say. Friday night is magical, and for the most secular person it is always a hit. I guess I felt it was an important bridge to build. It was a spurof-the-moment decision and I hadn’t even told my wife. Two weeks later, after coming back from passing the first road test, there was an email waiting for me: “I have been reviewing Minister Cansfield’s calendar to find a Friday evening when she could drop in to meet your family and taste your wife’s homemade bread... Minister Cansfield will not be able to stay for dinner but she would love to meet your family and sample some homemade bread. If this date doesn’t work, we can always find other Friday nights. Thanks.”

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

When Dining Agrees With You and Your Diet

Has dining out ever come with a clear conscience? Usually, at least one golden health or dietary rule is broken in the process. However, at Natural Village Café you can eat conscience-free, having your specific dietary needs catered to in the food prep.

breakfast, lunch or dinner out a most pleasant and comfortable experience. The charming decor of natural stone and slate add to the relaxed yet elegant atmosphere. The room can accommodate 80-100 guests comfortably for simahot and parties with enough additional space for strollers and other paraphernalia. Under the strict

supervision of the Vaad of Flatbush and conveniently located on East 2nd and Avenue I, Natural Village Café is sure to make a great location for any event. Popular dates are filling up quickly, so be sure to reserve your special date soon.

Health Over All

The number one aspect that makes the Café so unique is its emphasis on natural and organic foods. This means that all foods served at the Café are free from food chemicals, pesticides and hormones. Only the finest and freshest ingredients are used in preparing the wide range of dishes. Additionally, customers have an array of gluten free, sugar free, wheat free and spelt dishes from which they can choose to meet their specific dietary needs. Whichever of these your diet may entail, the foods will be prepared for your specific needs. Restaurant goers can choose from a delicious selection of wraps, fish, pasta, sushi, salads and deserts. The prices are extremely reasonable and competitive, in contrast to the ordinarily prohibitive cost of organic foods in today’s market. The Café is also in the process of opening a healing room featuring nutrition and health classes, under the expert guidance of Nina Shapir, who holds a degree in natural healing. Nina is also on-hand to answer nutrition-related questions, help plan meals and explain how to cook using the special methods required when using healthful or allergy-free substitute ingredients.

Feel at Home

Natural Village Café offers a comely, spacious dining area, making one’s 42

8SBQT t 4BMBE t 1BTUB t'JTI

*UBMJBO t .FEJUFSSBOFBO t "TJBO $VJTJOF #BLFSZ 'VMM 4VTIJ #BS o%BJSZ 1BSWF organic and non organic Gluten free –Sugar free –Wheat free

8F QSFQBSF NFBMT GPS QFPQMF XJUI TQFDJBM EJFUBSZ OFFET ! Nina Shapir, Nutritional Consultant

We cater for all occasions Party room for up to 100 people

VAAD HARABANIM OF FLATBUSH $IBMBW :JTSBFM t 1BU :JTSBFM

"MM VOEFS POF SPPG Health Food Store and Wellness & Healing Center

"WFOVF * t "DSPTT GSPN UIF 4IPQSJUF QBSLJOH MPU t 347.492.5337 view our menu at www.naturalvillagecafe.com

Community magazine

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

THE MINISTER EXPLAINED THAT THE REASON SHE REALLY CAME WAS TO MEET THE WOMAN WHO HAS SIX KIDS AND BAKES HER OWN BREAD. children wouldn’t spill this week). The doorbell rang and my family gathered at the front door. She was alone, and I immediately felt her discomfort. She stood in a stranger’s home, confronted by a strange religion as all eyes focused on her. She was poised and collected. The Minister commented on how beautiful all the children were dressed. She admitted that she had no idea what to expect, and therefore mistakenly dressed down after work. I told her we were simply honored and delighted that she could make it. We took our seats and went around the table with introductions. Obviously, the names were foreign to her. My wife and I aided the children by providing the English equivalent of their names, however she insisted on learning them in Hebrew. She was quite a natural. She even mastered our son Chesky’s name. We all felt comfortable in no time. We laughed and joked. My daughter, Gitty, wanted to know if we were all supposed to bow when the Minister arrived. I presented Minister Cansﬁeld with a translated bencher and showed her the page. My children sang with me, most beautifully. The Minister seemed both amazed and delighted at the sight before her. A smile rested on her face as she glanced from one child to the next. I explained everything – Shalom Aleichem, the welcoming of the angels; Aishet Chayil, the praises of the woman; the blessing of the children – and shared some inspirational anecdotes. “We are going to wash our hands before partaking of the bread,” I said. “Feel free to remain seated.” She insisted on washing with the family. I made hamotzi (the blessing said over bread). I pointed out that my custom is to cut my wife a larger piece than my own, as a husband is obligated to honor his wife more than himself. My wife’s challah, like always, was right on target. This was obvious from the Minister’s reaction. I was certain now that she wasn’t leaving so fast. We talked and laughed some more as I related my entire license episode. The Minister explained that the reason she really came was to meet the woman who has six kids and 64

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

bakes her own bread. My five-year-old son, Yossi, brought out his page of questions and answers on the weekly Torah portion in Yiddish, and we translated. Shuli, my eldest son, gave a dvar Torah (Torah lesson) and explained. The night seemed to fly by. After two hours, just before dessert was served, the Minister said, “I really should be going.” We insisted on packing her up some homemade chocolate cake. She asked if we could spare a couple of extra pieces for her husband and son at home. By the end of the night, she knew the words “Shabbos” and “challah” and all the kids’ names. Before she left, she hugged my wife and asked us to keep in touch. The door closed and there were high fives for everyone. I don’t think it could have gone any better. Thank G-d my children chose this night to be on their best behavior. What an incredible country and what incredible representation we have. After a mere email and subsequent invitation from a stranger, the Minister came into a strange home and an even stranger religion without insecurity or fear. The following week, we received a letter from the Ministry of Transportation. It was not my license, but a lovely, handwritten letter, on the Minister’s personal letterhead. Among other beautiful comments she wrote, “It is an amazing memory I will carry with me always. Who knew an expired license could result in such an event?”

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

�aimonides Good �ealth �essage #��

�o �ou �ave �nee or �ip �ain? Knee and hip pain are common complaints in people over 55. One in five people has experienced significant knee pain in the last month, and one in seven reports significant hip pain. Besides allergies and the common cold, it is the most frequent cause of doctor visits. The knee and hip joints are the largest in the body. They support the body’s weight while allowing for a wide range of motion. These joints, located at either end of the thighbone, are interdependent – a hip disorder and pain may Vladimir B. Shur, MD cause knee pain, and knee disorders Maimonides Department or pain may cause hip problems. Both of Orthopedic Surgery knees and hips are subject to daily wear and tear, and are further susceptible to arthritis and injury as we get older. Knee and hip pain have many causes and a wide variety of symptoms. You may be unable to walk comfortably or bear weight; you may have pain that persists at night or while resting; you may experience locking of the knee or inability to move the hip. These and other symptoms are reasons to seek a doctor’s help. Starting with an accurate diagnosis is most critical. At the Maimonides Department of Orthopedic Surgery, we perform a thorough evaluation that includes a review of a patient’s history, a physical examination and imaging with X-ray, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and a bone scan. We discuss treatment options and then work with patients to determine an appropriate and targeted treatment and rehabilitation plan. Often we are able to treat knee and hip problems with conservative methods that range from rest and ice and heat application to exercise, physical therapy and arthroscopy of the knee. We are increasingly utilizing a variety of less common options, especially for knee problems, such as cartilage transfer, cartilage patch and micro fracture of the knee. Arthroscopy of the hip is also becoming a popular treatment. For many, the solution to a chronic knee or hip pain is joint replacement surgery. There are over 400,000 knee replacement and 350,000 hip replacement surgeries performed in the U.S. every year. These surgeries typically take less than two hours and involve a hospital stay of three to five days. At home and/or outpatient therapy for several weeks follows. The results are often remarkable, with patients experiencing greatly improved mobility and pain relief. If you’re living with chronic knee or hip problems, please give us a call at 718-283-6629 to make an appointment. We are fluent in Russian. With the range of treatments and therapies available, there is no reason to live with pain.

Passionate about medicine. Compassionate about people. For more information, visit www.maimonidesmed.org. �o ﬁnd the right doctor for you, call (888) MMC-DOCS (66�-�6��).

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

MMP-1661R-ENG-2C.indd

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885 4/14/10

4:28 PM

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

THE

COMPLETE KITCHEN

EXPERIENCE ... I

f you are considering remodeling your old, tired kitchen, or have just purchased your new home, then look no further than Complete Kitchens, the place for all your kitchen needs. Nestled in the heart of Williamsburg, at 99 Rutledge Street, Complete Kitchens features a magnificent state-of-theart showroom with an unparalleled display of the latest top of the line contemporary and custom cabinetry, hardware, sinks, faucetry, and countertops. With over 12 years of experience and an impeccable eye for detail, their friendly and courteous staff will expertly guide you from your tangled maze of vague remodeling ideas, to create the kitchen of your dreams and bring your vision to fruition. No wonder then, when sisters Chaya B and Chavi S. decided to renovate their respective homes, they naturally chose Complete Kitchens, the paramount store for fine kitchen interiors. Chavi, a balabusta involved in many chesed projects who was extending

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

her home to accommodate her growing family, preferred a traditional look for her outdated 80’s style kitchen, while Chaya, who had just purchased her first home, a handyman special on a shoestring budget, opted for a sleek, minimalist look. Although both sisters’ tastes in home design differed dramatically, both were in total agreement as to where to go to revamp their archaic kitchens. Naturally, with its stellar reputation, cut rate prices, and consummate service, Complete Kitchens was the single place they absolutely agreed upon. “I’ve heard about home renovations that were total nightmares,” related Chavi, “but with Mikki, Complete Kitchens’s talented designer par excellence and the rest of Complete Kitchens’s helpful staff guiding me, my renovation was stress-free. I opted for a traditional Tuscan style kitchen, with beautiful cherry wood cabinets, warm granite countertops, and a rich mosaic backsplash with copper accents. I’m absolutely TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

delighted with the results and craftsmanship, which have exceeded all my expectations. They created an inviting and fantastic kitchen layout the entire family enjoys, giving me abundant storage to take on the extra baking projects I do for various organizations as well.” “Although we agree on many things, my sister and I hold totally different opinions when it comes to home design,” related Chaya, a young lady in her late twenties. “While Chavi prefers a more traditional style, I needed

With Complete Kitchens’s helpful staff guiding me, my renovation was stress-free. a contemporary, streamlined look for my limited kitchen space. However, we both agreed that with Complete Kitchens’s marvelous selection and competitive prices, we were sure to find an ample range of cabinetry and countertops to suit both our styles and budgets. Sure enough, Heshy Braun, Complete Kitchens’s cordial sales representative, was extremely helpful, and immediately put us at ease. I was amazed to find that when I brought along my rambunctious toddler, they even had a charming play area to keep him happily occupied while I pored over designs and blueprints. Initially, my husband was quite anxious because we were working on a very tight budget, and of course with today’s economy, we had to count every penny. However, we were extremely pleased to find that Complete Kitchens had a range of top quality cabinets and countertops to suit our finances, and the entire renovation cost us a lot less than we had anticipated. We ended up with a sleek, contemporary kitchen in muted earth tones which made the most of our limited space, and although the square footage is compact, my kitchen is a masterpiece in functionality. Best of all, we had enough cash to spare for further home renovations in the near future.” So stop by and find out for yourself why your kitchen will never be finished until it’s a Complete Kitchen. Call

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

F A V O R I T E S

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

YEHUDA GREEN Yearning DIST. ADERET

SHLOMIE GERTNER Say Asay DIST. ADERET

WERDYGERS Shabbos With the Werdygers 2 DIST. ADERET

 NEW  LIPA SCHMELTZER Meimka D’Lipa DIST. ADERET

SHIMON KUGEL Forever DIST. NIGUN

6. 7.

 NEW 

___

BERI WEBER Fabreng DIST. NIGGUN

___

MALKY GINIGER Lost and Found DIST. ADERET

The Pizza Maven (r) Illy of Amnon Pizza & a friend

8. 9. 10.

SHEVAS CHAVERIM DIST. ADERET

 NEW 

___

SHIMON CRAIMER Nashir Beyachad DIST. ADERET

 NEW  SANDY SHMUELY Ki Tov DIST. SAMEACH

REFLECT SALES OF THE CD’S IN THE STORES Dov GalTHESE RATINGS REFLECT Lifestyle Favorite choices THIS RATINGS DO NOTTalkline Joe Davidsohn & father Radio Host communication -LIFESTYLE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INACCURACIES OR MISREPRESENTATIONS & IS PUBLISHED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Zev Brenner -620 on the AM dial

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

A Farbreng with Beri Weber

yet another classic ’s, 2 CoD nus

B Vocal CD‫לי‬

Dart Design 845.782.6558

‫מי הספירה‬

Available in stores

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Allergies getting you down?

Try F Freeda’s Anti-Allergy Anti-

Live Well. Choose Wisely. Trust Freeda.

Freeda’s Anti-Allergy formula is a combination of nutrients which can help strengthen your immune system so your body can remain strong & fight off cold & allergy symptoms naturally. Licensed & Insured

All Freeda Vitamins are: Gluten free, yeast free, sugar free, free of artificial colors and flavors, vegetarian, & kosher

800-777-3737 VISIT US: www.freedavitamins.com

CALL:

Extermin e a m

N.Y.S. & NJ Certified

LLC

A&V

Over 80 years of quality!

, ing

• Bed Bugs • Roaches • Rodents • Ants • Bees • Mice • Rats • Water Bugs • Squirrels & Termite Prevention

And you may just find your day looking up!

• Silverfish • Wasps • Spiders • Moth • Fleas • Spring Tail • Mice Proofing • Squirrel Proofing ohehznv hdux kf ka vrcsv

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL Hospitals • Restaurants • Banks • Hotels • Motels • Offices • Schools • Day Care Centers, Apartment Buildings Is Our Specialty Residential Jobs: Chemicals Are Not Dangerous For Pregnant Women, Infants, Asthmatic People And People With Allergy & House Pets!!!

You Can't Go Wrong With "PRIME" The Name You Can Trust Tel:

Tel: 347-768-4626 • Fax: 516-539-9033 347-768-4626 Y DA aandv@primeexterminating.com T

$100 any

EX FOLLOWING THE TOLL FREE NUMBER off www.AandVprimeExterminating.com RN E

O VIC E ME SER ABL SA AIL AV

1-888-996-9839

Free Termite Inspection

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

termite job

24/ 7 10% off Ants EM

and Bees

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

�aimonides Department of Orthopedics

The neckbone is connected to the backbone.

The backbone is connected to the hipbone.

The hipbone is connected to the thighbone.

And they are all connected to the most comprehensive orthopedic team in Brooklyn. At Maimonides, our team of board-certiﬁed subspecialists offers: • Spine Surgery • Sports Medicine • Foot and Ankle Surgery • Hand Surgery

• Shoulder and Elbow Surgery • Microsurgery • Pediatric Orthopedics • Orthopedic Oncology

So if you or a loved one have any type of orthopedic problem, you would be wise to visit one of our highly trained doctors. Maimonides Orthopedics. It’s where the latest technology and the best orthopedic surgeons are joined at the hip.

Passionate about medicine. Compassionate about people. For more information, visit www.maimonidesmed.org. To ﬁnd the right doctor for you, call (888) MMC-DOCS (662-3627). To contact the Orthopedic Department directly, call (718) 283-7400.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 MMP-1462R-ENG-2C.indd

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE 4/14/10

Prepared by Della Femina / Rothschild / Jeary and Partners

77 4:17 PM

cooking with the

Mediterranean diet

The Jewish General Hospital in Montreal offered a series of six lectures on how to live well with various ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Most doctors addressed the issue of nutrition after the disease was contracted, and the consensus was that the most effective diet for most ailments is the Mediterranean diet. I suggest that we follow this diet while healthy, as prevention before the onset of any serious ailment. As the saying goes â&#x20AC;&#x153;one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cureâ&#x20AC;?

What is the Mediterranean diet? The Mediterranean diet is the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It is characterized by high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, high fiber foods, low intakes of saturated fats and a high intake of mono-saturated fats, such as olive oil and nuts. Fish is favored more often than meat because of its high source of omega-3s. High protein options like lentils, beans and other legumes are also an important part of this diet. The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating -- plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps a glass of red wine -- among other components.

Components of the Mediterranean diet: • Eating generous amount of fruits and vegetables daily

• Consuming healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil, avocadoes in moderation • Eating small portions of nuts • Drinking red wine, in moderation • Consuming very little red meat if at all • Eating fish on a regular basis • Goat cheese is preferred choice over other cheeses • Whole grain bread is eaten without butter or margarines, which contain saturated or trans fats,because these contribute to heart disease.

Mushroom Soup 2 pints mushrooms 2 Tbs. light olive oil 1 medium onion diced 2 cloves garlic crushed 2 Tbs. whole-wheat pastry flour Salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste 4 quarts water 1 cup Almond Breeze or Rice Dream Shredded cheese

In a 6 quart pot, sauté onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Add sliced mushrooms and spices. Add flour and mix well. Add water and bring to a boil. Simmer for another ½ hour. To make it festive serve each bowl with one Tbs. shredded cheese and garlic croutons.

Refreshing Rhubarb Soup Rhubarbs are now in season. They are considered a good cleanser especially if juiced raw. They are high in vitamin C. In our home, they were standard fare for Sholosh Seudos during the summer months. Rhubarbs are extremely tart thus need some sweetener to make them palatable. 2 lbs of rhubarb cut into 1 inch pieces 1 package frozen strawberries 2 quarts water Â˝ cup maple syrup or honey to taste 1 large container strawberry yogurt In a pot put rhubarb and strawberry into 3 quarts of water. Add sweetener of your choice. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes, until the rhubarb starts to fall to pieces, add yoghurt and puree with the blender stick. Serve cold topped with lime zest or mint leaves.

Avacado Dip You can embellish any table by serving this dip in a scooped out red pepper, if you are feeding a larger crowd you can scoop out and stuff a small red cabbage for an original and beautiful center piece. 1 soft avocado 1/2 onion 1/2 hot pepper (optional) 1/2 tomato 1/2 juice of a lime 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Blend all ingredients in food processor with an all purpose blade for 60 seconds. This dish can be served as a delicious dip for any party. It is sure to get compliments.

Teriyaki Salmon 4-8 salmon fillets ½ cup honey ¼ cup Haddar teriyaki sauce 1 fresh clove garlic crushed ¼ tsp. fresh ginger root (optional) ½ tsp. nutmeg (optional) ½ cup water Place honey, teriyaki sauce, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, water, in a container with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously until well combined. Pour over fish. Marinate for one hour with skin face down, then turn fish over, and marinade second side for another hour. Bake covered for 20 to 30 minutes on 350. Remove fish from marinate before serving. Decorate with a twisted slice of lemon. Suggested serving: Serve over a bed of cooked angel hair pasta.

Broccoli quiche 9’ round baking dish ¾ cup cornflake crumbs 2 16 oz. packages Bodek broccoli 1 large onion diced 3 eggs ½ cup homemade or light mayonnaise 1 Tbs flour 1 pint fresh mushrooms washed and sliced Salt & pepper to taste Line a 9’ round baking dish with cornflake crumbs, set aside. Sauté onions until they become translucent. Add broccoli, mushrooms; when ready combine eggs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper and add to sautéed vegetables. Pour over prepared baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes on 350. To enjoy it as a dairy dish sprinkle some grated cheese over the quiche during last 10 minutes of baking. To keep it parve sprinkle top with more corn flake crumbs.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

HEALTH

Dr. Miller talks about: His Teleseminar Series Weight Loss and Hormones

To register, go to:

Do you have problems losing weight?

www.healthy-dietplan-review.com/ stress-teleseminar. html

Are you taking medication for your thyroid, but you still don’t feel right? Or have you actually lost weight on a specific diet, only to find the weight return when you go off the diet?

Or call:

If this is you, then you may have a hormone imbalance.

718-853-4927 845-425-3232 For more Information, call Our office today and Schedule your free Consultation!

Dr. Stanley I Miller, Chiropractor

4405 16th ave. Brooklyn NY 718-853-4927 vvv 1 RibierCT. Monsey,N,Y, 845-425-3232 Checkout Our website DrStanletmiller.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

Many people with hormone imbalance often experience fatigue and inability to sleep at night. Or they may fall asleep, only to wake up between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00 am tossing and turning.

dieting and exercise Learn the four body shapes as they relate to specific hormone imbalance Discover what your thyroid really needs to help you feel good Find out what’s really behind your waking up between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. every night Learn the five sources of fatigue and what you can do to improve this Find out what your body is telling you when you crave And all in the comfort of your home – all you need is a phone! Date: Tuesday evening, June 15, 2010

Did you ever notice that some people gain weight in the abdomen and others in their hips? Why is that?

Time: 9:30-10:30 P.M.

The truth is that different people require different solutions. You can’t always fix every weight problem with the same solution. A diet that works for one person may not work for someone else. Taking random vitamins from the health food store may not be specific enough to create a change in your health. As part of an ongoing series of telephone seminars (teleseminars) on Health and Wellness, I invite you to my next seminar by phone: Hormone Imbalance: The Weight Loss solution! Learn how hormones can distort your midsection into a large stomach and prevent weight loss even with

Two ways to register:

Cost: $15

Online at www.healthy-diet-planreview.com/hormone-teleseminar · By phone at 718-853-4927 or 845-425-3232 P.S.: Our last teleseminar on “Overcoming Stress and Anxiety” was a huge success. You can still register for past seminars by calling our office, or online at: www.healthy-diet-planreview.com/teleseminar-series.

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Cell Phone Risks and Radiation:

IsYour Life on the Line?

As scientists test whether cell phones cause tumors, they’re receiving lots of static from the telecom industry. Here’s what you need to know before you point a loaded phone at your head. PAul Scott

loyd Morgan, an old man with a hole in his head, had no business discovering the fatal flaw. After all, this was a $30 million effort to answer the question of whether cell phones can give you brain cancer. Morgan, 68, is a survivor of brain cancer. Based in Berkeley, California, this retired electronics engineer and self-trained epidemiologist has made it his mission to spread the message that cell phone radiation is carcinogenic. He does this more or less as a wireless communications vigilante, however. The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Food and 84

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

Drug Administration, and the World Health Organization all regard the radio waves emitted from cell phones as safe. But another growing body of experts believes cell phone use can promote tumors, and momentum has been shifting to their side. A researcher in Sweden, for instance, recently reported that people who started using cell phones before the age of 20 — including 80 percent of the readers of this magazine — have four to five times the odds of developing one type of brain tumor. An unpublished (and therefore not peerreviewed) analysis by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

shows an increase in brain tumors among Americans in the under-30 age group. And according to new research, studies showing that cell phones are safe tend to be (a) less rigorously designed and (b) funded by the cell phone industry, while studies showing that cell phones carry risks are (a) produced with better science and (b) have no financial conflicts of interest. And if the slow spread of distress within the halls of government means anything, the topic no longer causes eye-rolling among lawmakers. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), for example, has recently authorized TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

a $25 million study to analyze rats that have been bathed in cell phone radiation for a period of 2 years. Both houses of Congress have held hearings on the issue. And in Maine, legislation

to cause cancer, let alone act as tumorbusting force fields or magical memory sharpeners. While radiation from x-rays and CT scans is strong enough to knock electrons from molecules and damage

a growing body of experts believes cell phone use can promote tumors may soon require warning labels on cell phones sold in that state. The cell phone industry has responded with studies, mind you -- ones that exonerate the technology, including a new study showing that tumor rates are steady in Scandinavia, where cell phones were adopted early. But if you dig deep, those findings aren’t as reassuring as you might hope. For one thing, they tend to limit their good news to people who’ve been using cell phones for less than 10 years. And then there’s the trouble unleashed by Morgan, an unfunded retiree armed only with personal suspicions and plenty of time to read the fine print. Thanks to his pursuit of answers, we now know the biggest cell phone study of all produced a biologically impossible conclusion: It determined that not only do cell phones not give you cancer, but they protect you from it. Another recent study claims that they ward off Alzheimer’s. It makes some people question whether the defenders’ cases are riddled with wrong numbers.

he laws of physics dictate that it should be impossible for cell phones

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

the double helix, radio waves from cell phones are too weak to subvert your operating code in this way. “It’s the equivalent of holding a flashlight up to your head,” my friend Steve, a high-school physics teacher, explained to me with a shake of his head over dinner. His analogy has not been lost on the defenders of the technology. “Radio waves, or radiofrequency (RF) energy, is a range of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes AM and FM broadcast radio, television, and many other devices and technologies, including cordless phones, baby monitors, radar, and microwave ovens,” says Linda Erdreich, Ph.D. Erdreich is a spokeswoman for Exponent, the consulting company chosen by the cell phone industry to represent its position before the U.S. Senate. But in its 43-year history, Exponent has defended nearly everything that is bad in American industry: Buildings that fail. Amusement-park rides that exceed G-forces inflicted on astronauts. Soda machines in schools, rocket-fuel chemicals in groundwater, chromium in the workplace. Atrazine, asbestos, even

the Exxon Valdez. “Visible light is also part of the electromagnetic spectrum,” Erdreich continues, propping up my friend’s flashlight defense of cell phones. “But it’s at a higher frequency and shorter wavelength than RF.” But Erdreich may be on shaky ground at the troubled intersection between biology and physics. The BioInitiative Report, a research project authored by an international team of scientists, sought to gather all the evidence against RF radiation in one place. Released in 2007, the report cites experiments showing that radio waves can in fact damage human cells, though they do it through indirect means. The damage doesn’t happen in every instance, but studies have documented RF radiation causing cells to produce molecules known as “heat-shock proteins,” a sign that the cells sense environmental stress. Animal studies confirm that exposure to RF radiation can also cause leaks in the blood-brain barrier, which could allow carcinogens into the brain. Other studies included in the BioInitiative Report show that radio waves can break both strands of the double helix. “A double-strand break is a big problem,” says Henry Lai, Ph.D., of the department of bioengineering at the University of Washington. “The cell loses the information on how to repair DNA.” David O. Carpenter, M.D., director of the institute for health and the environment at the University at Albany and an expert on radio waves, believes it causes some genes to become more active and other genes to become less active. “This may be how cell phones cause cancer,” he says. Finally, another theory suggests that radio waves might damage DNA by creating freeradical activity: RF radiation could trigger a chemical process known as a Fenton reaction, a chain of events in which radio waves meet molecular iron TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

in cells, turning hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl, which is, in the words of Lai, “a very potent and toxic free radical.”

he explosive debate over cellphone safety comes down to finding out whether the brains of people who use them grow meningioma, glioma, acoustic neuroma, or parotid gland tumors more readily than those of people who ring up their friends over corded landlines. (Cordless phones emit the same type of radiation that cell phones emit, although at lower levels.) In an attempt to settle the issue, the International Agency for Research on Cancer commissioned an epidemiological study in 1998 big enough for cell phone critics to choke on. The 13-nation Interphone project asked more than 6,000 patients with brain tumors about their cell phone use, and then compared their answers with those of a matched group with no brain cancer. So what did they find? Nobody knows. While partial results have been published, the report’s final conclusions are in limbo 4 years after its completion. Press accounts have asserted that the coauthors are bitterly divided over what the study found. Published sections have reported no connection between cell phones and cancer, but most of the patients studied used their cell phones for less than 10 years. That matters, because brain tumors could take decades to develop, and widespread cell phone use in the United States began only in the mid-1990s. “It took 40 years for brain tumors to show up after Hiroshima,” says Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., founding director of the center for environmental oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). “How

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

can you expect to see effects from cell phones in 10?” Studies that look at cell phone use for more than 10 years are less comforting. According to a 2002 study of more than 1,400 brain tumor patients by Swedish cancer epidemiologist Lennart Hardell, M.D., Ph.D., as well as a review by Dr. Hardell of data from other researchers’ studies, regular use of a cell phone for longer than 10 years increases your risk of some types of brain tumors. And that’s just the bad news for adults. A former cell phone-industry researcher from the University of Utah, Om Gandhi, Sc.D., has discovered that children’s brains absorb far more RF radiation than adult brains do. Having routinely subjected adult-sized dummy heads to RF waves, in 1996 Gandhi created models of the smaller, thinner skulls of children ages 5 and 10. In what would mark the beginning of the end of his financial relationship with the cell phone industry (its decision, not his) Gandhi reported in the journal IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques that the cell phone radiation that hits an adult brain with 72 mW/kg (milliwatts per kilogram of brain tissue) of wireless radiation, for instance, zaps a 10-year-old’s brain with 160 mW/kg. Worse, it invades a 5-year old brain with nearly 240 mW/kg. Gandhi’s research was replicated by the French cell phone industry, and France has joined several other nations in issuing advisories limiting the use of cell phones by children. “We have children running around with these cell phones up to their ears and sleeping with them under their pillows,” says Andrea Boland, a lawmaker from Maine who introduced the first piece of legislation in this country to require warning labels on cell phones. Lest readers over the age of 10 take comfort, the window of increased vulnerability to cell phone radiation

may not be limited to kids’ earliest years. According to Ronald Herberman, M.D., former head of UPCI, it takes decades for the brain to lay down the electrical insulation (known as myelin) that presumably shields the nerves, for the most part, from radio waves. Dr. Herberman thinks our increased vulnerability to RF radiation could extend well into our 20s. All of which might explain the latest bad news out of Sweden. According to data published by Dr. Hardell in the International Journal of Oncology in July 2009, brain-tumor patients who went wireless as teenagers had four to five times the risk of developing an astrocytoma, a type of brain tumor. If this data is correct, you can forget about having a leisurely decade to wean yourself off your mobile-phone habit

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

How Much Radiation are You Absorbing? The Federal Communications Commission limits the output of U.S. cell phones to 1.6 watts/kilogram of radiofrequency energy per gram of tissue. But outputs vary depending on a phone’s design and function, so you can shop for lower numbers. Other strategies: Hold your phone farther from your ear, use a headset, and avoid calling when your phone shows only one or two bars: Straining for a signal boosts the radiofrequency output. Another solution: talk less. MOTOROlA RAZR V3 (0.54 W/kg) Droid (1.49 W/kg) Evoke (1.13 W/kg) BlACkBERRY Storm2 9550 (1.01 W/kg) Pearl 8100 (1.22 W/kg) Curve 8330 (1.51 W/kg) lG Vu (CU920) (1.26 W/kg) VX10000 (Titanium) (0 .765 W/kg) VX9100 (enV2) (1.34 W/ kg)

-- these patients had used their cell phones for only a 1-year minimum. Brain cancer is rare, affecting just 27 in every 100,000 U.S. men. It’s also an illness of middle age, with 56 being the median age of diagnosis. But the significance of Dr. Hardell’s latest finding, if it’s true, is pretty stunning. With 277 million cell phone accounts in the United States alone, a quintupling of brain cancer risk has the potential to translate into hundreds of thousands of preventable cancers. The critics of cell phone radiation compare our position today -- at the dawn of wireless communication -- to that of our grandparents upon the widespread introduction of tobacco and asbestos into the environment in the past century. It took decades for these carcinogens to leave a mark on official health statistics, but the body counts grew exponentially: few cancers in the beginning, then a sharp slope upward. If this scenario’s cost in human suffering doesn’t bother you, consider its financial repercussions: It can cost $200,000 to treat a brain tumor.

loyd Morgan’s path to cellphone adversity was personal. In 1995, when he was 53 and working in Silicon Valley, he suffered a grand mal seizure. Doctors removed a softball-size meningioma from his left frontal lobe, and told him he may have

raised his risk of brain cancer from having been around electromagnetic radiation on the job. (He’d also raised his risk by having full dental x-rays as a child and by using a ham radio as a teenager.) Today there is a dimple in his scalp, and MRIs show a hole in the space where his tumor was removed. Morgan immersed himself in braincancer research, and his self-education eventually led to his discovery, two years ago, of a baffling characteristic buried deep within Interphone statistical tables. Not only do cell phones not cause cancer, argued some of the project’s dozens of authors, but according to their results, the brain-cancer risk associated with cell phones routinely produces an “odds ratio” of less than one. That means, incredibly, that Interphone has quietly found that cell phones protect you from brain cancer. “They never say it that way,” says Morgan. “They always just say, ‘We found no increased risk of cancer.’” One Interphone study even found that using cell phones keeps brain tumors smaller. “Either holding a radio transmitter up to your head protects you from developing a brain tumor,” Morgan says, “or the studies have major design flaws.” If RF radiation does cause brain tumors, we’ll see a precipitous rise in cancer by the mid-2030s. If rates stay where they are, on the other hand, gadflies like Morgan will have undermined the case for environmental causes of cancer. Morgan believes

Your phone not on the list? Go to MensHealth.com/ radiofrequency to check if your numbers are up.

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

“ TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

“

in his study by address and discovered that rural cell phone users -- whose phones must emit much more power to reach towers than urban phones do -- faced a higher risk of tumors. For Dr. Herberman, it was the idea of RF radiation saturating the heads

changing patterns of use of cell phones, diagnostic radiation, or even aspartame.” Davis, who moved on from Pitt’s cancer institute to found the Environmental Health Trust, thinks it’s lousy that her findings remain mired in review while the authors of a recent

“

it’s a risk worth taking. “I worry, and I pray that I’m wrong,” he says. When he broke ranks in 2008 to testify before Congress about his concerns, the UPCI’s Ronald Herberman, M.D., became the most prominent member of the American cancer research

It took 40 years for brain tumors to show up after Hiroshima, how can you expect to see effects from cell phones in 10? community to describe long-term use of cell phones as a potential carcinogen. In September, Dr. Herberman appeared before a sparsely attended subcommittee meeting -- it was the week the banking crisis came to a head -- to argue that while more research was needed, enough data was available for him to warn his staff to begin using earbuds and speakerphones and to keep their cell phones away from their children. He based his recommendation on the work of Gandhi and Dr. Hardell. After studying 1,400 brain-tumor patients and an equal number of healthy people, Dr. Hardell found not only a doubling of brain tumor risk after 10 years of heavy wirelessness, but also a specific risk on the side of the head patients remembered using their phones on. (Critics say that recollections by brain-tumor patients would be colored by where the tumor grew.) In 2003, Dr. Hardell looked at the same data and found the risk from using cell phones rose with a patient’s total hours of use. Two years later he sorted the people

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

of children that most troubled him. “Of all the studies I had read linking an increased risk with cell phone use,” he says, “none had been done with kids.” Now retired from the UPCI, Dr. Herberman remains in the minority on the issue. “A number of my colleagues in the cancer community wonder whether I did the right thing,” he says, “whether there was enough evidence to sound an alarm. But most of them didn’t take the trouble to assess the published results. Whenever they ask me why I spoke up, I ask them if they’ve read the research, and what I usually get is, ‘No, I hadn’t seen much about that.’” Dr. Herberman and Davis are now waiting for the publication of the troubling findings presented by Davis last summer in Davos, Switzerland. After parsing the NIH database of brain-tumor incidence in the United States, Davis discovered an “increasing incidence of brain tumors in the United States in people under age 30,” she wrote in an e-mail. “The reasons for this trend could include

article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute made headlines for suggesting that there had been no increase in brain tumors in Scandinavia between 1998 and 2003, a period still early in the use of cell phones.

hen you come down to it though, we might simply be arguing about earbuds. That’s right: Whatever the outcome of these clashes between RF wonks, no one has proposed a ban on cell phones. “In general,” says Dr. Carpenter, “merely pulling the phone 6 inches away will dramatically reduce your exposure.” This entire seemingly apocalyptic argument, in other words, is over whether the cell phone industry should warn us to wear our earbuds, keep the things away from our kids, and use the speaker feature. That seems like an easy enough suggestion. But it’s like suggesting to an NRA member that he put a lock on his gun. Not over my dead cell phone battery, the industry shouts back. TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

...because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never too early to dress up.

Spectacular Sale!

finds & co. Imported Eveningwear - Sales

By Appointment 718.438.FIND (3463)

Additional $100 Off with this ad at time of deposit only TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Luxury•Serenity•Exceptional Dentistry

Wedding and Graduation season is here.

Enjoy your dental visits in the calm, soothing atmosphere that is Dentique.

Receive the best dental care with state of the art equipment and technology. SIMCHA TEETH WHITENING PACKAGES. Relax in our leather massage chairs. Choose your entertainment on your own personal monitor.

At Dentique, we offer unbelievable

KALLAH AND GRADUATE SPECIAL: 40% off Teeth Whitening

ESPECIALLY FOR THE KALLAH: Bring in three friends or family members: Get your own whitening FREE!

Escape reality with our Bose noise cancelling headsets . We offer all phases of cosmetic and general dentistry. We cater to the anxious patient and will custom tailor our dentistry towards any special needs of adults and children.

Meet GROUP RATES: Meet our our team: team: First person: 25% off Dr. Judy Zyskind DDS Groups of 2: 30% off <hlf^mb\ Zg] `^g^kZe ]^gmblmkr _hk Z]neml Zg] \abe]k^g Groups of 3: 35% off Tooth colored fillings•Veneers•Implant restorations Groups of 4 or more: 40% off Nonsurgical gum treatment•Teeth whitening• Crown and Bridges•Pediatric dentistry Dr. Gedaliah M. Stern DDS

718.338.8600 +00) GhlmkZg] :o^gn^

Bet. Ave. N and Kings Hwy.

Implant specialist Uses lasers to place implants Zg] `bo^ rhn m^^ma bg ng]^k Zg ahnk Board-Certified Orthodontist Invisalign•Braces•Interceptive orthodontics _hk \abe]k^g Zg] Z]neml Dr. Benjamin Ziegler DDS Board-Certified Endodontist Root canal specialist

www.Dentique.com 92

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

FrayDesign 516.477.4861

Dr. Chaninah Zweihorn DDS

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

HUMOR

utside England 's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1 for cars ($1.40), £5 for buses (about $7). Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent. The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the zoo's own responsibility. The zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee.. The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll. Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain or France or Italy is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars... and no one even knows his name. Malky S. Flatbush Annoying Things To Do On An Elevator 1) Crack open your briefcase or handbag, peer inside and ask, "Got enough air in there?" 2) Stand silent and motionless in the corner facing the wall without getting off. 3) When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act as if you're embarrassed when they open themselves. 4) Greet everyone with a warm handshake and ask him or her to call you Admiral. 5) Meow occasionally. 6) Stare at another passenger for a while. Then announce in horror: "You're one of THEM!" and back away slowly. 7) Say “Ding” at each floor. 8) Say "I wonder what all these do?" and push all the red buttons. 9) Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button. 10) Stare, grinning at another passenger for a while, then announce: "I have new socks on." 11) When the elevator is silent, look around and ask: "Is that your beeper?" TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

12) Try to make personal calls on the emergency phone. 13) Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers: "This is my personal space." 14) When there's only one other person in the elevator, tap him on the shoulder, then pretend it wasn't you. 15) Push the buttons and pretend they give you a shock. Smile, and go back for more. 16) Ask if you can push the button for other people, but push the wrong ones. 17) Hold the doors open and say you're waiting for your friend. After a while, let the doors close and say "Hi Yeedle, How's your day been?" 18) Drop a pen and wail until someone reaches to help pick it up, then scream: "That's mine!" 19) Bring a camera and take pictures of everyone in the elevator. 20) Pretend you're a flight attendant and review emergency procedures and exits with the passengers. 21) Swat at flies that don't exist. 22) If there are only men, or only women, inside, call out "Group hug!" then enforce it. Mendy P. Flatbush

y Brother-in-Law Borouch had this problem of getting up late in the morning and was always late for work. After a few weeks of this, his boss was mad and threatened to fire him if he didn't do something about it. So Borouch went to his doctor, who gave him a pill and told him to take it before he went to bed. He got a great night's sleep and actually beat the alarm in the morning. After a leisurely breakfast, he cheerfully drove to work. "Boss," he said, "the pill my doctor prescribed actually worked!" "That's all fine," said the boss, "but where were you yesterday? Shmuel G. Cederhurst

y son called my wife one evening from his college and asked her for some money, because he was broke. My wife said, "Sure, sweetie. I will send you some money. You also left your economics

book here when you visited two weeks ago. Do you want me to send that up too?" "Uhh, oh yeah, O.K." responded my son. So my wife wrapped the book along with the checks up in a package, and went to the post office to mail the money and the book. When she got back, I asked, "Well, how much did you give the boy this time?" "My wife said , “I wrote two checks, one for $20, and the other for $1,000." "That's $1,020!!!"I yelled, "Are you going crazy???" "Don't worry ," My wife said, "I taped the $20 check to the cover of his book, but I put the $1,000 one somewhere between the pages in chapter 15!" Menacham L. Crown Heights

y son Moshe had just received his brand new drivers license. The family trooped out to the driveway and climbed into the car, where he was going to take them for a ride for the first time. I immediately headed for the back seat, directly behind the newly minted driver. "I'll bet you're back there to get a change of scenery after all those months of sitting in the front passenger seat teaching me how to drive," said my beaming son to me. "Nope," I said, "I'm gonna sit here and kick the back of your seat as you drive, just like you've been doing to me all these years." Leiby B. Boro Park

Can you Humor Me? Send us your most hilarious jokes , anecdotes or observations, The top picks will appear here lifestylehumor@gmail.com Humor Me P.O. BOX #190811, Brooklyn NY 11219

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

17 S. Tyberg

It Could Happen to You... Talk about Shidduch nightmares, mine was a real doozy!! After spending a very enjoyable Pesach z’man break with my family in New York, it was time for me to pack up and head back to my yeshiva in Yerushalayim. However, my father’s business partner had a brother who lived in England, and kept “dreying ah kup” that it would be a good idea for me to fly in to Manchester for a day or two and go out with this guy’s daughter. Although I was in a rush to get back to yeshiva, I decided to appease the girl’s relatives, and make a stopover in Manchester on my way back to Israel. “Nu, so how bad could a date be already?” I rationalized. If I didn’t like the girl, all I would have to say was “I have to think about it for a while,” and then catch the next plane out. Well, as they say, “A mentch tracht, und G-t lacht…” So I should have known that Hashem had other plans for me. I arrived in Manchester after a long red-eye flight, and met the girl the following afternoon in her cousin’s house. To tell the truth, she was rather sweet, and of course being English, very prim and proper. Unfortunately, her Manchester accent was so thick it was almost impossible to understand her. I suspected she might have the same problem I was having, because she didn’t seem to get my jokes, and only started laughing about fuve minutes after the punchline. I decided I might be better off with a girl who at least thought she understood me. 94

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

“Nu, so what do you think of Chavi?” her cousin asked me after she left. “Well, she seems like a really nice girl, but I’ll have to think about it. I’ll call you when I get to Israel,” I promised diplomatically. Little did I know, however, that events erupting over 1,178 miles away were about to play a big part in changing my plans… I got to the airport the following morning and was shocked to see the biggest line of people I had ever seen in my life. Nothing was moving! Of course, since this was England and not New York, no one was yelling and screaming or pushing and shoving, just waiting patiently on line, reading newspapers and talking on their cell phones. “Hey, what’s going on here?” I asked the guy in front of me. “Is there some sort of airport strike?” “Haven’t you heard the news, mate? Seems like all flights are being postponed for a few hours because of the volcano in Iceland,” he informed me with a shrug. “Yeah, right…ha, ha, very funny,” I thought. A volcano in Iceland, a mere 1,178 miles away disrupting air traffic over England. No wonder that girl wasn’t for me. The British sure have a weird sense of humor! Unfortunately, after waiting around by the airport for a couple of hours, I realized that it was really Hashem who was laughing at me. Oy! So much for my quick, TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

discreet exit. There was really nothing left for me to do but go back to the cousin’s house and wait...and wait...and wait. “So… since you’re here anyway, you might as well get to see Chavi again, right?” her cousin suggested slyly. Shrek! Did I have a choice, stuck in his house all this time? Every hour seemed like a day, and every day seemed like a week. Of course I agreed to another date. My next date with Chavi wasn’t too bad. For some reason, I found myself able to understand her accent better. Maybe the fact that I was exposed to a British accent all day long while listening to the news had something to do with it. So I said yes to a third date, and then a fourth date. After all, at this point, what other options did I have? My only problem was I had nowhere to go with her, except sit in at her house. I could have taken her to the park, but it was always raining. I could have taken her to the mall, but I didn’t have enough money. I could have taken her out to eat, but she didn’t want her friends to see her during a date. I could have taken her for a drive, but they drive on the wrong side of the road. To be honest, these sit-in dates weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. They helped me focus more on the girl, rather than becoming distracted by outside influences. Guess what! I never did get back to Israel in time for the z’man. Thanks to a volcano in Iceland, I got engaged to Chavi instead. And now we understand each other perfectly. So maybe it wasn’t such a shidduch nightmare after all!

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

BIBI LIGHTING

www.bibiantiques.com 1716 Ave. M, Brooklyn, NY 11230 Tel. 718-787-9007 TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

An ENERGY STAR速 qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save you $70 in energy saving over its lifetime

10975BN

FM22ACRL

FM54ACRL

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36

based fiber-optics company, in 1981. Straus was responsible for numerous scientific patents in the field of fiber optic communications. By 1999, he was heading the company, which merged with Uniphase Corp. to form JDS Uniphase. Straus retired as CEO and co-chairman of the company in 2003, cashing out stock options worth more than $150 million. Straus is well-known as an Orthodox Jew, and his omnipresent head-covering has become his trademark; even Business Week has noted that he is “known on Wall Street as the guy in the black beret.” Straus is a supporter of such Canadian Jewish organizations as The Jewish Federation of Ottawa and the Star of David Society, which helps Jews in North America and Israel. He has also generously supported the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and led a $15 million fundraising drive among JDS Uniphase employees for The Ottawa Hospital in 2003, shortly before leaving the company. Straus has also lectured at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business on the ups and down of being a CEO.

MOTTI ZISSER

Mordechai (Motti) Zisser is a Polish-born Israeli billionaire with interests in many different fields. Since 1996, he has been the president and chairman of EuropeIsrael, an international commercial real estate development firm, and he has been an executive chairman of Elbit Medical Imaging since 1999. Elbit --which as the name implies does research and development, production and marketing of magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused medical ultrasound treatment equipment -- is also active in building shopping and entertainment centers and residential projects in Central and Eastern Europe and in India, operates hotels in major European cities; distributes and markets fashion apparel and accessories in Israel, does venture capital investments; and also makes investments in hospitals, and farm and dairy plants in India. Zisser, who holds an economics degree from Bar-Ilan University, has been active in Israeli politics as a supporter of the National Religious Party, which until its 2008 dissolution into the

National Union front was the main political voice of the religious Zionist movement. He has also been involved in numerous charitable ventures, including his current role as a director at Beit Hatfutsot -- the Museum of the Jewish People -- as the Minister of Education’s representative, and as a member of the management of the Oranit hostel for children suffering from cancer. When memorial ceremonies were held last year marking the 65th anniversary of the liquidation of the Lodz Ghetto, Zisser -- originally born there -- underwrote the cost of the commemoration, along with the Lodz municipality.

GUMA AGUIAR

Guma Aguiar is a Brazilian-born billionaire who is now an observant Jew -- after battling his way back from the clutches of Christian missionaries. Aguiar’s Jewish mother converted to Christianity and moved to America when Aguiar was a child. He and his siblings were raised as evangelical Christians. He was completely lost in this fog until age 26, when Hashgacha Pratis intervened. Seemingly by chance, he one day stumbled across the outreachjudaism. org website run by veteran anti-missionary activist Rabbi Tovia Singer (the website encourages Jews who think they believe in Oso Ha’ish to return to Judaism). He phoned Rabbi Singer, intending to challenge and argue with him -- but after the two men spoke several times, exchanging views and debating theology, Aguiar’s pintele yid kicked in and he realized that he had been sold a bill of goods, ultimately abandoning Christianity and seeking instruction in authentic Torah Judaism. Aguiar eventually worked with Rabbi Singer to bring his parents and his siblings back to Judaism. Aguiar by this time had risen professionally, from his first job as a clerk on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where energy futures and other commodities are traded, to become an investor in his own right in energy properties, along with a wealthy uncle, Thomas Kaplan. In 2003, they founded Houston-based Leor Energy, which became a major oil and gas exploration and production company and the foundation of Aguiar’s wealth. Enthused about his rediscovered Judaism, Aguiar began an impressive program of charitable giving to Jewish causes, aimed at strengthening klal Yisroel. In 2008 and again in 2009, he gave $500,000 to Chabad-Lubavitch, to enable its Rabbis to run free Pesach seders all over the

world. He also donated more $8 million to fund the activities of Nefesh B’Nefesh to promote mass Jewish immigration from North America and the United Kingdom to Israel, gave $500,000 to the March of the Living, which organizes educational programming in Poland and Israel to enable students to better understand the Holocaust and the rebirth of Zionism and the creation of the modern Jewish state of Israel, and another $500,000 to Chabad in South Florida. He has pursued other charitable endeavors through the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation, of which he is the chairman. For his philanthropic activities, Aguiar was recognized last year as one of the 36 most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36 by the New York Jewish Week. Guma Aguiar also founded the “Defender of Jerusalem Award,” which recognizes public figures who have taken uniquely strong stances in support of Jerusalem, including Israel’s President Shimon Peres, former Arkansas Governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Florida Congresswoman Ileana RosLehtinen and Texas State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa.

LOWINGER FAMILY

One of the leading Orthodox philanthropic families in the New York area is the Lowingers, headed for many years by the late Maurice Lowinger and his wife, Edith, who were Holocaust survivors from Hungary. During World War II, the Lowingers helped keep thousands of Jews alive by smuggling food and supplies into the Budapest ghetto, running soup kitchens that served otherwise hungry ghetto-dwellers. Relocated to America after the war, Maurice Lowinger used the same smarts and energy he had used to feed starving Jews right under the noses of the Nazis to build a fortune by being perhaps the first U.S. importer of low-cost, transistorized electronic devices from Japan, through his North American Foreign Trading Corp. By the 1970s, Lowinger had built a thriving business in digital watches and pocket calculators sold under the Unisonic brand. Several years ago, the business, now being run by Maurice’s sons, moved into buying unwanted life insurance policies from consumers looking to sell. These closely held enterprises have given the Lowingers a hefty pile of cash. In 2007, Business Week estimated their collective personal wealth as “reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars.” Through charitable foundations named for their parents, the Lowinger sons have gained reknown for supporting charitable causes ranging from building yeshivas to providing health care for the poor. For instance, the Lowingers spent

millions to build one of the largest new yeshiva high schools for young men in the New York area, the Maurice and Edith Lowinger High School, also known as Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, affiliated with Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, N.Y., in the borough of Queens -- and then sponsored a large new campus, named in honor of Maurice Lowinger, at a nearby Orthodox girls’ school. The family also has recently generously endowed Achiezer, a start-up social-services organization serving the Jewish community in the Rockaways and the near-by Five Towns area of Nassau County, Long Island.

BELZ FAMILY

The Belz family of Memphis, Tenn. Is known as one of the pillars of Yiddishkeit in the South. Family patriarch Phillip Belz came to America as a small child from Austria, arriving in the booming Mississippi River commercial center in 1910. Starting out at 15 managing a cotton gin for his father, Philip soon went into business on his own, first into manufacturing and later into real estate. He founded Belz Enterprises in the 1940s, and it soon became one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the Mid-South area. Belz eventually acquired the venerable, but rundown, Peabody Hotel in the heart of the city, spending millions of dollars to restore the historic old hotel to its former splendor. He also bought hotels in

Little Rock and Orlando. In recent years, Belz Enterprises -- which in the past had centered on the development of factory outlet-type malls and the conversion of some of its older traditional properties into such, switched to developing more traditional shopping centers including strip-malls and the new Peabody Place mixed-use center in Memphis, as well as dealing in commercial office and warehouses space. Upon Philip Belz’s death in 2000, his sons Jack and Ronald assumed leadership of the company. In the 1940s, Philip Belz had enabled numerous European Jewish refugees to gain entry to the U.S. by standing up for them as a sponsor, assuring the government that they would not become public

welfare cases by guaranteeing them jobs, either in his own company or with other businessmen he knew. Belz was a generous supporter of local yeshivas and other Jewish schools, but also extended his largesse to Yeshiva University in New York, where he endowed a new school of cantorial music. When in the 1950s the Baron Hirsch congregation -- one of the largest Orthodox congregations in the

In the 1940s, Philip Belz had enabled numerous European Jewish refugees to gain entry to the U.S. by standing up for them as a sponsor, U.S. -- found that it had outgrown its old synagogue, where Belz had worshipped since he was a boy, he took charge of the congregation’s efforts to put up a new building, heading the fundraising drive and engaging top-flight architects. The result was a spectacular building that for many years was the largest synagogue structure in the U.S. -- bigger than anything in New York or anywhere else -- and the congregation occupied it for over 30 years before demographic changes saw Baron Hirsch move to a more suburban location. The old shul still stands today -- the centerpiece of a national historic district that also includes the dozens of nearby homes, built by Belz’s company, which were occupied for many years by families in the congregation. After the elder Belz’s death, his sons continued to lead the company, as well as continuing his tradition of generous giving to the local Jewish community. The Belz family is also counted among the major benefactors of Israel’s Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem.

SAFRA FAMILY

While the passing away after a lengthy illness of an elderly patriarch of a family well- known for tzedka and chesed such as a Philip Belz or a Maurice Lowinger is always a sad occasion, and past recipients who have been helped wonder whether such help will again be forthcoming, how much more upsetting is it when the person’s p’tira is sudden, traumatic, and totally unexpected?. That was the case in 1999, when klal Yisroel in general and the Sephardic community in particular were shocked by the tragic news that the prominent banker Edmond J. Safra had been killed in a fire at his penthouse in Monaco. The news was made all the more bitter when it later came out that the 70-year-old billionaire’s death was totally unnecessary -- the fire

was no accident but had been deliberately kindled by a mentally disturbed health aide who had dreamed up a ridiculously stupid plot to set fire to the apartment and then earn Safra’s gratitude by playing the hero and managing to rescue his boss from the blaze he had set -- except that things didn’t quite work out that way. On top of that, it was also revealed that local authorities in the seaside resort city probably contributed to Safra’s death from smoke inhalation with their clumsy bungling; they prevented his trusted private chief bodyguard - whom a panicky Safra had called by phone while holed up in the bathroom of the burning apartment, fearing a kidnap plot and begging for help - from rushing upstairs to the luxury flat in time to persuade his ultra-cautious and security-minded employer to open the bathroom door and allow firemen to carry him to safety. Before that bitter end, Edmond Safra had become legendary for both his ability to generate wealth, and his generosity in giving much of it away to people and communities in need. Born in Lebanon to a prominent money-lending family, he had emigrated first to Italy, Brazil, Switzerland and later to America, where he built the Republic National Bank into a giant financial institution, the third-biggest bank in New York. He made a fortune estimated in the 1990s at $2.5 billion. Safra generously doled out money far and wide to a variety of educational and medical causes, and supported the building or refurbishments of synagogues all over the world, in locations as far flung as Spain, where there had been no synagogues for 500 years; the island of Rhodes in Greece, where the Nazis had razed the once-thriving congregation’s beautiful shul; and Russia, reopened to aboveground Jewish practice after seven decades with the fall of Communism there. In New York, he dreamed of a Sephardic synagogue on Manhattan’s East Side and gave liberally to the East 63rd Street institution which would eventually bear his name after his death. Meanwhile, Safra’s support benefited numerous Sephardic shuls and other communal institutions up and down Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, the heart of the community. He further provided jobs for many Yidden at or through his Republic National Bank. Upon Safra’s passing, his great wealth passed to his family, and much of it to the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation, administered by his widow, Lily Safra, which continues to support worthy Jewish and non-Jewish causes around the world.

SABA FAMILY

A similar tragedy struck the Jewish world in general and the community in Mexico in particular on Jan. 10, when telecommunications tycoon Moises Saba Masri was killed in a helicopter crash, along

with his wife, Adela, his son Alberto and his son’s wife, Judith. The 46-year old Saba, a member of Mexico’s Syrian Jewish community, had studied engineering, and quickly grasped the opportunities in the expanding telecommunications field. He was a member of the famous Saba family -- the nephew of family patriarch Saba Raffoul, who was niftar in 2008, with the family‘s total wealth estimated at over $2 billion. Since June 1999, Moises had been CEO of Unefon, a Mexican mobile telephone operator and also had investments in radio and television broadcasting and Internet broadband service. Outside of the communications field, he owned or invested in companies in such areas as real estate, construction, theaters, textiles and pharmaceuticals and owned professional soccer teams. Saba tried unsuccessfully to buy the Aeromexico airline when the Mexican government privatized it in 2007. He once considered investing in Israel’s Channel 10, but then decided against it when he realized that the station would broadcast on Shabbos. Saba also owned hotels; a visitor to his hotel in Acapulco once found to his surprise that “there was a full shul, mikva and all the amenities to serve a frum family.” Community members in Mexico described Moises Saba as “the pillar of Mexico City’s Jewish community.” He was also a major supporter of Torah institutions in Eretz Yisroel and around the world. He was especially close to HaRav Ovadia Yosef, shlita and his family, and supported the Shas party. Moises Saba was a learned man, who frequently gave shiurim and acted as a baal koreh in shul as well. According to Forbes magazine, the Sabas also had links to the Syrian Jewish community in New York and were reported to be building a multimillion dollar home in the Gravesend neighborhood in Brooklyn. The family was traveling back to Mexico after a weekend visit to Brooklyn for a simcha -- his sister had just made an engagement party at her home. They were on the last leg of their journey, taking a short helicopter ride from the airport back to their estate near Mexico City, when the TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

crash occurred on a foggy night in poor visibility. Ironically, the bodies were recovered and prepared for burial by the local branch of Israel’s ZAKA organization -- a branch which had been started and funded by Moises Saba. The levaya for Saba and the other family members killed in the crash was attended by many Rabbinic and secular dignitaries from Israel, the U.S. and Mexico, including the country’s president, Felipe Calderon.

Members of the Saba family said its charitable giving would be continued in the zechus of those killed in the crash. It is often said that money isn’t everything, and that money can’t buy happiness. In the wrong hands, such as those of Arab oil sheiks, it can be a tool for untold evil in the world. But in the right hands, such as those of the Minyan of learned and pious men described above, it certainly can be used to better the lives of countless people and to accomplish much in the way of mitzvahs and the bringing of Moshiach.

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

101

102

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

103

104

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

105

106

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

107

108

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

109

Ask the Rebbetzin

The Critical Mom REBBETZIN MALKA KAGANOFF

Q: My mother is always on my case. If she’s not criticizing my clothes, then it’s my schoolwork or my friends. I can’t take it anymore. My friends’ mothers seem so much nicer and more supportive. I think it’s gotten worse now that I’m older. Maybe she’s threatened by the fact that I’m as tall as she is now. How do I deal with this ongoing nagging? A: Ouch! My sympathies are with you. If the situation is as bad as you describe, you are really living in a boxing ring. I hope you’re not responding with verbal barbs, because that only escalates the situation and makes life even more unpleasant for you. I will try to help you address all this, but first I would like to clarify one point. Comparing your life with your friends is not worthwhile. You cannot have an accurate picture of what is going on behind their closed doors. Maybe they have other stressors that make their lives even more intolerable. And besides, it is an exercise in futility. You cannot switch mothers, so focus instead on making your situation more endurable. Let’s try instead to make real improvements in the situation, and to 110

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

upgrade your living conditions. I know you are thinking that in order to create this change, your mother is the one who has to change; however, you approached me, not your mother. She might not even sense how you are feeling. If you feel that an honest chat with your mother might be beneficial, then that is the most direct first step. Rehearse your “speech” carefully in your mind and make great efforts to assure that it does not come out accusatory. Try to put yourself

in your mother’s place; hearing your criticisms and think what approach might work. It might go something like this: “Mommy, I know that you love me and care about me and want to help me improve, but I find it really difficult to hear your ongoing criticisms. I appreciate if you could only share one or two criticisms a day. Rather than mentioning a topic several times, can we sit and discuss whether it is something I can change at this point? Your opinion is important to me, but I can’t change everything at once.” TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

111

Some warnings about your “speech:” 1. Make sure that both you and your mother are in a good mood when you have this conversation. 2. Don’t tell your mother that you think she is unfair, inconsiderate, nasty etc. 3. Throw in a compliment. 4. Don’t compare your mother to others. 5. Don’t threaten ("If not, I will run away from home") or generalize (“You always criticize me”). 6. Don’t analyze your mother (“I know that you are feeling inferior…" or “I know that you had a difficult relationship with your parents…”). 7. Acknowledge that parents have the “right” and responsibility to correct their children. 8. Daven before you begin this chat: “Hashem, please help this conversation be productive.” 9. If you see matters improving even a bit, mention it to your mother.

If you think that nothing good can come from this speech, you might try to write a note instead. A note has the advantage of not sounding emotionally charged, but it also may not sound warm and loving. Remember to reread the note several times before presenting it, trying to look at it through your mother’s eyes. Other options are to discuss the situation with father (you didn’t mention if he is in the picture) and ask him how to proceed. Hopefully you have two parents who are both interested in your welfare and between the two of them they can work on a new system that will be more pleasant for you. When you speak with your

112

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

father, don’t insinuate that your mother feels threatened or is uncaring (whether or not there is truth to these claims), but just focus on enlisting his help in limiting your mother’s critical barrage. It is possible that your father will say that you are supersensitive or that he cannot get involved, but you won’t know until you ask him. Your father might explain to you that your mother has a critical nature, but that she really does approve of you, even though she has trouble communicating her approval. It is possible to give yourself the positive strokes that you are missing. Whether or not you are successful in arresting the criticism, learn how to survive a critical parent. Parental approval is tremendously valuable in creating a positive sense of selfesteem, but it is possible to give yourself the positive strokes that you are missing. When you hear your mother's criticism, remind yourself that you are a worthwhile human being and that you have positive

that despite the fact that you could improve in this area, you have a track record of usually being responsible, and your mother is just sharing her perception of a recent event. Create a mental shield that protects you from suffering the effects of continued criticism. Imagine yourself opening up a mental umbrella, protecting you from the harmful effects of the negativity that is being rained down on you. At the same time, remember that your mother cares about you, and daven for more positive interactions between the two of you. Good luck to you in your efforts. Note to mothers and fathers: You are the most significant people in the lives of your children. Bathe your children in love, approval and emotional support. Make sure that compliments outweigh criticisms by at least three to one. Communicate to your children that you believe in them and that your criticisms stem from a sincere desire to improve

qualities as well as negative ones. Accept the fact that these negative comments will leave your mother's mouth, but filter them so they don’t invade your inner calm. For example, if you hear mommy say that you are irresponsible, remind yourself

your wonderful child. If constant harping on a specific area does not produce positive results, consider changing your approach. Best of luck in the challenging but rewarding

communicate to your children that you believe in them. mission of raising children.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

113

DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS

114

A......................................................................................................38 THRU Z DMV........................................

JACKET ......................................................................................................35 SPOT.........................................

A&S ......................................................................................................31 KITCHEN AND BATH......................

JAMIE ......................................................................................................37 BEAUTY SUPPLIES......................

A&V ......................................................................................................73 PRIME EXTERMINATING................

JUDY ......................................................................................................55 WIG................................................

ACCENTUATIONS ......................................................................................................2 BY DESIGN..............

LUXURY ......................................................................................................49 LUGGAGE................................

BERRY ......................................................................................................71 WEBER - NEW CD.....................

......................................................................................................64,75 MAIMONIDES MEDICAL CENTER..........

BH ......................................................................................................53 HOME EXPRESSIONS......................

MEGA ......................................................................................................80 BABIES..........................................

BH......................................................................................................8 WIGS..................................................

MEIR ......................................................................................................87 KESSLER RPA-C...........................

BIBI ......................................................................................................95 LIGHTING.........................................

MICHAEL ......................................................................................................44 BEER-TRAFFIC ATTORNEY.

BON ......................................................................................................5 APETITE..........................................

......................................................................................................101 MILES4CASH...........................................

......................................................................................................104 BORO PARK OBGYN..............................

MOLLY'S................................................... ......................................................................................................65

BROCHIES............................................... ......................................................................................................87

NAIL ......................................................................................................54 TOUCH BEAUTY SALON...............

B'SIMCHA................................................. ......................................................................................................48

NATURAL ......................................................................................................61 VILLAGE CAFÉ......................

CAFÉ ......................................................................................................1 RENAISSANCE..............................

NOSH ......................................................................................................94 EXPRESS......................................

CAFÉ ......................................................................................................33 VENEZIA........................................

OMEGA ......................................................................................................19 3 PLUS.......................................

CHALLENGE............................................ ......................................................................................................14

ONE ......................................................................................................24 HOUR CELLULAR...........................

CHOP ......................................................................................................64 STIX...............................................

PLAZA ......................................................................................................25 AUTO MALL.................................

CJS ......................................................................................................45 STUDIOS..........................................

PRIME ......................................................................................................12 CLOSETS.....................................

CLOSET ......................................................................................................45 MAVEN......................................

QUALITY ......................................................................................................52 CARPET...................................

COMPLETE ......................................................................................................7 KITCHENS...........................

REHABILITATION ......................................................................................................39 ASS. OF BROOKLYN

COOKIES ......................................................................................................21 CLOTHING DEP. STORE......

......................................................................................................109 RUACH DAY CAMP.................................

CREATIVE ......................................................................................................12 ALTERNATIVE GALLERY....

S&G ......................................................................................................99 FINE CHAIR COLLECTION.............

DAVEN ......................................................................................................93 FOR ME.......................................

SAMEACH ......................................................................................................2 MUSIC....................................

DB......................................................................................................9 ELECTRONICS..................................

SHIMON ......................................................................................................61 KUGEL NEW CD......................

DENTIQUE-JUDY ......................................................................................................90 ZYSKIND D.D.S.........

......................................................................................................100 SLEEP TIGHT..........................................

DOUBLE ......................................................................................................63 TREE HOTEL TARRY TOWN.

STONE ......................................................................................................13 & BATH GALLERY.....................

EITZ ......................................................................................................48 HAGAN............................................

SUPER ......................................................................................................45 COOPER HOME IMPROVEMEN

......................................................................................................111 ELEGANT LINEN BEN BARBER.............

SURGICAL ......................................................................................................35 SOCK SHOP.........................

ENCORE ......................................................................................................20 AUTO LEASING.......................

TEA ......................................................................................................51 SPOONS..........................................

FELDHEIM ......................................................................................................43 PUBLISHERS........................

TIV ......................................................................................................48 TOV FLOOR COVERING..................

FINDS ......................................................................................................89 & CO.............................................

TORAH ......................................................................................................93 UTEFILAH HALL........................

FREEDA ......................................................................................................72 VITAMINS..................................

TRAVELER'S ......................................................................................................3 CHOICE.............................

FRUMSTER.COM.................................... ......................................................................................................74

......................................................................................................4,54 VELVET SKIN/LEGEASE.........................

GET-A-CAR.............................................. ......................................................................................................55

VIDEO ......................................................................................................48 MAVEN.........................................

HEAVEN ......................................................................................................54 BERRY......................................

VIERETZKY ......................................................................................................75 HALL....................................

HR ......................................................................................................36 STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO.

WINDOW ......................................................................................................50 PALACE..................................

INCH ......................................................................................................35 KNOCKER......................................

......................................................................................................105 YAFFA WIGS............................................

J&N ......................................................................................................83 STORM WINDOWS.........................

YOGA ......................................................................................................64 BY FAY..........................................

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885

JUNE 2010 JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

115

116

JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE JUNE 2010

TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-513-9885