JEWISH ACTION
SUMMER 5776/2016
RABBI'S DIARY
42 Shira Smiles
as told to Rachel Wizenfeld
12 Why Prenuptial Agreements Work By Shlomo Weissmann
46 Erica Brown
14 The Art of Advocacy:
54 Rivka Segal
ISRAEL 70 On and Off the Beaten Track in . . . the Maimonides Heritage Center By Peter Abelow
56 Rochel Sylvetsky
72 INSIDE THE OU
48 Aviva Weisbord
Maury Litwack
20 Financial Squeeze: How One Shul Overcame a $50,000 Deficit and Raised Over $1 Million By Ron Solomon
COVER STORY
Remembering Rabbi Belsky
25 A Portrait of Greatness By Menachem Genack
27 Rabbi Belsky:
The Person and the Posek By Eli Gersten
50 Channah Cohen as told to Rachel Wizenfeld
PROFILE 62 A Traditional Revolutionary: Sarah Schenirer's Legacy Revisited By Leslie Ginsparg Klein JEWISH LAW 66 Gun Control in Halachah By Joshua Flug
By Yissachar Dov Krakowski
90 The Koren Tehillim—
34 The Consummate American Gadol
SPECIAL SECTION Women Leaders Speak . . . about their work, their choices and their lives
40 Sharona Kaplan as told to Rachel Wizenfeld 42 Rabbanit Shulamit Melamed Translated from Hebrew by Rochel Sylvetsky
THE CHEF’S TABLE 82 Cooking Smart to Outsmart Alzheimer’s and Dementia By Norene Gilletz BOOKS 86 Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Reviewed by Francis Nataf
32 An Unconventional Gadol
By Bayla Sheva Brenner
VOL. 76, NO. 4
2
LETTERS
6
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Advisors: the Heart and Soul of the OU By Martin Nachimson
8
FROM THE DESK OF ALLEN I. FAGIN An Open Letter to Michael Steinhardt
94 Reviews in Brief By Gil Student
LASTING IMPRESSIONS 96 One Good Deed Leads to Another By Akiva Males
10 CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE By Gerald M. Schreck
PAGE 20
Rohr Family Edition English translation by Rabbi Eli Cashdan, Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Reviewed by Aryeh Spero
PAGE 24
PAGE 62
PAGE 82
Correction In the spring 2016 issue, we mistakenly wrote that 8,000 families live in Kiryat Arba. This is incorrect. Kiryat Arba's total population is 8,000. Cover: Andres Moncayo Cover photo: Shulim Goldring Jewish Action seeks to provide a forum for a diversity of legitimate opinions within the spectrum of Orthodox Judaism. Therefore, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the policy or opinion of the Orthodox Union. Jewish Action is published by the Orthodox Union • 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 212.563.4000. Printed Quarterly—Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, plus Special Passover issue. ISSN No. 0447-7049. Subscription: $16.00 per year; Canadian, $20.00; Overseas, $60.00. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Jewish Action, 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004. Summer 5776/2016 JEWISH ACTION I 1