Our

OurChildren
About

FOR YOM HOSHOAH, JCC HAILS ALBANIA page 6

A REFUGEE RESPONSE IN PASSOVERS LIGHTpage 8
MEET TRUMPS ISRAEL ADVISER page 14
CLASSICS NATHAN THE WISE page 55

Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

Party
Time

IN THIS

ISSUE
Specialty Camps
Different Strokes
for Different Folks

Into the Water

APRIL 22, 2016

VOL. LXXXV NO. 33 $1.00

Learning How to Swim

Supplement to The Jewish Standard May 2016

NORTH JERSEY

85

2016

THEJEWISHSTANDARD.COM

Maxwells golden
Haggadah
Tracing a Passover staple
from Tennessee through
Tarrytown and Teaneck
page 28

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Jewish Standard
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666

Underwater cinematographer Steve Cruz, as shot by Joseph and Bonnie Wong

Three months after spine surgery,

Steve couldnt wait to get his suit wet.
Steve suffered for years with unrelenting neck and back pain the result of two
severely herniated discs. Our neurosurgery team went to work so that Steve could get back
to the underwater adventures he loved. Only three months after his life-changing surgery, he was
100% pain free, and celebrated by sinking to a whole new low (50 feet to be exact) in full gear.
Renowned excellence in neurosurgery one more reason to make
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
your hospital for life.

englewoodhealth.org

2 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

EHMC_neuro_11x14.indd 1

4/1/16 3:13 PM

Page 3
A Haggadah
to remember
Somehow, between Passover prepara-

tion and tax preparations, we never got

around to writing about an exciting new
Haggadah series out of Israel.
The Asufa Haggadah was published
first in 2013. Each year, its editor
commissions different artists to illustrate
a two-page spread of the traditional text.
These pictures are from the 2016
edition, illustrating the opening passages
on the removal of chametz, and are by
Lilach Ramati. (Not only is this probably
the first Haggadah to show computers
in the illustrations; it is also probably the
first to include its artists websites.)
This year, the publishers put out a
version in English and Hebrew, featuring
some of the best pictures from the
Hebrew-only editions. With next years
seders barely a year away, you can order
it from the creative people at Print-OCraft productions at this charming web
address: https://shabb.es/. LARRY YUDELSON

The fine art of chametz-free living

Seder time and the shopping is easy
As you read this, the Pesach shop-

ping season is over. You may already

have held a seder or two.
So were sorry if you heart breaks
when you see these pictures of
Passover convenience foods you
might not have had the chance to
buy this year.
Forget the all-in-one-container
seder plate fixings (egg, shank bone,
maror, etc. ) which surprised our
correspondent so much that she was
too overcome to snap a clear picture.
What about this single-serving
piece of romaine lettuce for maror?
Certified bug-free. And implicitly
guaranteed to be a kezayis
literally, the olive size required by
the Talmud, but understood to be
several square inches of lettuce.
(We are, though, a bit concerned

The Torah commands us that chametz leaven should not be seen

among us on Passover.
So kudos to the industrious souls
who have labored to remove all traces
of leaven and even wheat from classic
works of art.

They call themselves the Glutenfree museum on their Tumblr site, but
they have performed a service for all
of us who want Passover-friendly art.
Their full collection can be found at
glutenimage.tumblr.com.
LARRY YUDELSON

Candlelighting: Friday, April 22, 7:26 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, April 23, 8:28 p.m.
that the mashgiach isnt said to have
measured it himself.)
We admire the initiative of selling
pre-prepared salt water. And
certainly the pre-peeled hardboiled
eggs save time.
And the kosher for Passover toilet
paper? All we can say is: Its about
LARRY YUDELSON
time.

For convenient home delivery,

call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe

CONTENTS
NOSHES ...............................................................4
ROCKLAND ...................................................... 18
OPINION ........................................................... 24
COVER STORY ................................................ 28
PASSOVER GREETINGS ...............................41
DVAR TORAH ................................................54
ARTS & CULTURE .......................................... 55
CALENDAR ...................................................... 56
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ................................ 58
GALLERY .......................................................... 59
OBITUARIES ....................................................60
CLASSIFIEDS .................................................. 62
REAL ESTATE..................................................64

PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747) is

published weekly on Fridays with an additional edition every
October, by the New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck
Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Periodicals postage paid at Hackensack,
NJ and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck,
NJ 07666. Subscription price is $30.00 per year. Out-of-state subscriptions are $45.00, Foreign countries subscriptions are $75.00.
The appearance of an advertisement in The Jewish Standard does
not constitute a kashrut endorsement. The publishing of a paid
political advertisement does not constitute an endorsement of any
candidate political party or political position by the newspaper or
any employees.
The Jewish Standard assumes no responsibility to return unsolicited editorial or graphic materials. All rights in letters and unsolicited
editorial, and graphic material will be treated as unconditionally
assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject to
JEWISH STANDARDs unrestricted right to edit and to comment
editorially. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without
written permission from the publisher. 2016

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 12, 2016 3

Noshes

One of the Yiddish cookbooks I came across

actually stated that human beings were not
meant to eat raw vegetables.
Michael Wex talking to Tablet writer Leah Koenig about his new book, Rhapsody
in Schmaltz: Yiddish Food and Why We Cant Stop Eating It.

WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN:

Nixon and Elvis

will meet again
In 1970, Elvis
Presley met with
President Nixon at
the White House. Nixon
consented to the hastily
scheduled meeting in
the hope that Presleys
celebrity would help him
with young people.
Presleys motivation
seems mostly to get
Nixon to make him a
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Bureau
honorary officer so he
could get a bureau
badge and add it to his
big collection of law
enforcement badges.
The meeting of the
uber-stiff Nixon and the
uber-loose Presley long
has been fodder for
comics, and in 1997, a
pretty good indie film
about the meeting was
released (Elvis Meets
Nixon). Another
re-telling of the story,
Elvis & Nixon, is
opening on Friday, April
22, starring Kevin
Spacey as Nixon and
Michael Shannon as
Elvis. Good film festival
buzz led Amazon to buy
Elvis & Nixon and itll
stream the film after its
theater run. The screenplay is by JOEY SAGAL,
59, and HANALA
SAGAL, 55ish, who also
have small parts in the
flick. Joey is the son of
the late director BORIS
SAGAL (Masada) and
the brother of actress
KATEY SAGAL, 62.
Hanala, who was briefly

married to Joey, is the

daughter of Holocaust
survivors. She had a
tough childhood, fled to
Los Angeles from
Montreal, and re-invented herself as popular
fitness expert on Los
Angeles TV. Her recent
autobiography is serious
despite the shocking
title: My Parents Went
Through the Holocaust
and All I Got Was This
Lousy T-Shirt.
Political reporter
MARK HALPERIN,
51, is all over the
place this election year.
The son of well known
foreign policy expert
MORTON HALPERIN,
77, he is a frequent
analyst on NBC news; a
regular contributor to
Morning Joe on
MSNBC; a contributor to
Time magazine; one of
the three principals of
the Showtime series
about this election
cycle, called Circus;
and the co-host of With
All Due Respect, a
Bloomberg network
weekday series with
John Heilemann. I was
amused by a recent
segment on Due
Respect, which promised to tell us something
about a presidential
candidate we did not
know. Halperin said that
he heard that Sanders
liked horseback riding.
The camera then cut to
a hotel lobby where
Jane Sanders, Bernies

Joey Sagal

Hanala Sagal

Mark Halperin

Amy Schumer

Barbra Streisand

Barry Levinson

wife, was seated. She

said: Yes, Bernie and I
both like to ride horses.
We do so on vacation. I
think Bernie, the Brooklyn cowboy, should
show another side of
himself. Just imagine
Sanders entering those
jam packed rallies on
horseback maybe a
palomino or mustang
for those upcoming
Western state primaries.
AMY SCHUMER,
34, is the producer of a Comedy
Central special, Amy
Schumer Presents

Rachel Feinstein: Only

Whores Wear Purple.
(It will air first on
Saturday, April 23, at 11
p.m.) Feinstein, 30ish,
has long been a standup comedian and was a
finalist in the seventh
season of Last Comic
Standing. She also
appeared in several skits
on Inside Amy Schumer. In 2012, she played a
festival of Jewish
culture in Manitoba,
Canada, and was
interviewed by the CBC,
who asked her if there is
a Jewish style of humor.

Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard

Coming
Soon

benzelbusch.com

4 32060
JEWISH
STANDARD
APRIL 22,SOON.indd
2016
C-Class
Coupe_StripAd_Rev_COMING

She replied: My dad is

Jewish but my mom
converted, and her side
of the family is more
WASPy. I think I get my
sense of humor from my
Dad and his side. They
all have a darker, more
flippant sarcastic way of
talking.
BARBRA STREISAND, 71, apparently will fulfill her
longtime desire to play
the meaty role of Mama
Rose in a big-screen
remake of Gypsy.
Universal bowed out last
year, but it looks like the

film production is back

on track. BARRY LEVINSON, 74, has been
tapped as the director,
and Streisand is a
producer, and she is
helping to develop the
script. It will be great to
see Streisand belt out
Everythings Coming Up
Roses.
You might have
heard that
STEVEN SPIELBERG, 71, will direct The
Kidnapping of Edgardo
Mortara. The Mortara
story is a shocking one
and still reflects terribly
on the Catholic church.
Nobody but Spielberg
could make a big budget
film about the true story
of the kidnapping of a
six-year-old Italian
Jewish child by papal
authorities in 1857 on the
grounds that a Catholic
housemaid had secretly
baptized him as an
infant. I do question
Spielbergs decision to
cast Mark Rylance as the
Pope who ultimately was
responsible for stealing
the child. Rylance signed
a public statement
calling for a cultural
boycott of Israel. The
signers said they will not
accept any professional
invitations from Israel.
Well, apparently you can
star in a film about
anti-Semitism and
boycott Israel, too. More
on this subject in a later
column.
N.B.

California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at

Middleoftheroad1@aol.com

The
All-New
2017
C-Class
Coupe
4/4/16 10:48 AM

GENERATIONS
IN EVERY GLASS
Since 1848, the quality of Herzog Wines has
been appreciated by royalty as well as those
who aspire to it. Located in its state-of-the-art
winery in Oxnard, California, the Herzog family
produces a wide range of wines combining Old
World value and New World technology. These
wines have made Herzog Wine Cellars the most
award-winning kosher winery in the world.

THE MOST AWARD-WINNING

KOSHER WINERY IN THE WORLD

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 5

Local
The light of Albania
How thousands of Jews found refuge in Europes only Muslim country
LARRY YUDELSON

hen it comes to European countries where

Jews endured World War
II, Albania is first in the
alphabet but seldom first to mind.
Yet the story of how Europes only Muslim country held the Holocaust at bay even
while being occupied by Nazis is one that
Johanna Gerechter Neumann wants you to
remember.
I often say that little Albania saved the
morality of the world, she says.
Ms. Neumann was born in Hamburg in
1931. Now she lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. But from 1939 through 1945, she
lived in Albania.
The story of how Ms. Neumann, her parents, and all the other more than 2,000
Jews who made their way to Albania lived
out the war unmolested stands in sharp
contrast to how Jews fared elsewhere in
German-controlled territory.
On Wednesday night the Kaplen JCC on
the Palisades in Tenafly will show a film
about Albanians who rescued Jews. Besa:
The Promise follows photographer Norman H. Gershman as he travels to Albania
to photograph rescuers, and it includes
Ms. Neumanns story. The screening will
be part of the JCCs Yom Hashoah commemoration. An exhibit of Mr. Gershmans
photographs will be on display at the JCC
through May.
Before the Nazis rose to power in Germany, only a few hundred Jews lived in
Albania. The countrys one synagogue had
been destroyed in the First World War and
not rebuilt. Nestled between Greece and
Yugoslavia, Albania was one of the more
backward countries in Europe.
Johanna Neumann wishes she could ask
her parents, Siegbert and Alise Gerechter,
how they discovered that Albania could
be a path for their escape from Germany.
Not that they were quick to seek escape.
At first, Hitler seemed like an aberration to
them. Her father, she says, was a German
patriot. He had fought on the front lines
in the Great War, in which his younger
brother had been killed. He was even
awarded a special medal by Hitler, along
with all the veterans of the front lines, in
1935. Her mother was from a proud Hamburg Jewish family that traced its arrival in
that city to 1763.
Even as two aunts and an uncle emigrated to New York, Johannas parents
stayed put. But then there was Kristallnacht pogrom, and even my father had
to admit there was no place for Jews in
6 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Young Johanna washing dishes

outdoors in Shkoset, Albania.

Johanna Neumann

Germany, she said.

The family Ms. Neumann was an only
child applied to emigrate to America
but her father was from a part of Prussia
that had became part of Poland, and the
Polish immigration quota was full.
So her parents opened an atlas and set
their sights on Albania.
Albania was ruled by King Zog originally Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli, who had been
selected as prime minister in 1925 and then
assumed the monarchy in 1928. King Zog
was Muslim, as was four-fifths of the countrys population of a million or so. In the
early 1930s, the king had tried to encourage Jews to immigrate en masse to his
country, which he wanted to modernize.
That didnt work out, but he instructed his
embassies in Germany and Austria to issue
visas to any Jews who asked for them, no
questions asked.
My mother went to Berlin and got the

visas and off we went, at the very end of

February 1939, she said. Not knowing
where we were going, not knowing what
to expect, not knowing anything about the
country or anybody.
On March 1, they arrived in the Albanian
port of Durrs.
Much to our delight and surprise there
were German-speaking people at the pier,
she said, Jews who had preceded them.
They planned to stay a few months, until
they could secure visas to America. In fact,
they did not leave Albania until after the
war, when they first went to a displaced
persons camp across the Adriatic in Italy
before finally making it to America in 1946.
For a young girl it is an adventure, Ms.
Neumann said of her time in Albania. She
played hopscotch with Albanian girls. She
made friends. She learned the language. I
often think now, how did my parents feel?
It must have been very difficult for them to
leave everything and go to a place with no
knowledge of what to anticipate. Not the
language, not the country, not anything.
Five weeks after the Neumanns arrived
in Albania, the Italians invaded and King
Zog fled. Yet though Mussolini was allied
with Hitler, The Italian occupation did
not bother us one little bit, she said.
The Italians were very gracious. They
knew we were Jews. We had friends
among the soldiers.
The refugees were supported by the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee until the war stopped the flow of

money. My parents opened up a little

laundry, washing clothes for Italian truck
drivers. It was very difficult, very degrading. In Hamburg, my father was a manufacturer of leather gloves. Here he was
scrubbing dirty underwear.
In the years that followed, the family
lived in 17 different places. They had to
leave Durrs in 1940, when Italy launched
an invasion of Greece from Albania; all foreigners had to leave the militarily significant port city.
In April 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia and about 2,000 Jews by far the
largest influx fled Yugoslavia for Albania.
The Albanian government opened
their borders and allowed as many Jews as
could to escape over the border, Ms. Neumann said. The German general in Belgrade knew who escaped. He demanded
the Albanian government return these
people within 48 hours.
The Albanian interior minister took the
two days to distribute the Jewish refugees
among Albanian families. He went back
and said to the Germans, we looked for
Jews but we didnt find any.
Those Jews the Albanians couldnt
immediately place in homes in the countryside were put into a hospital and
labeled as quarantined with typhoid fever.
Not one was deported, she said.
In 1943, Germany invaded Albania and
asked for a list of Jews.
They were told: We dont know of any
Jews. We just know Albanians.
Just the fact they had the courage to say
that is incomprehensible. Everyone knew
we were Jews. Not one single one of us was
ever denounced or deported.
It would have been simple to say to the
Germans, see that woman, shes Jewish.
Instead, they had the courage, they had
the guts, to deny the Germans. They could
have been shot on spot.
But thats where the Albanian ethos
encapsulated in the word besa came in.
The word means promise, and for an
Albanian, Ms. Neumann said, a promise
is a promise, no matter what. Further,
and related, there is an implied promise
of hospitality. A stranger in my house
has to be guarded, protected, at all costs,
she said. It goes so far as to say that if
something happens to a stranger, on his
way to my house or away from my house,
I am responsible and its a shame on the
whole village.
Once the Germans came, Ms. Neumanns father hid with farmers in the
countryside. Johanna and her mother
lived with an Albanian family in the capital
What: Holocaust commemoration and
screening of Besa: The Promise
When: Wednesday, May 4, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Kaplen JCC on the Palisades,
Tenafly

Local
city, Tirana. The father, Njazi Pilku, was an
Albanian Muslim who had studied engineering in Germany; the mother, Liza, was
the German woman he married.
From the beginning we were accepted
as friends, Ms. Neumann said. She was
very pro-Hitler, no question about it. She
had a big portrait of him in the living room.
We were protected by her. German soldiers
came to visit her, and she would introduce
us as family visiting from Germany.
Her courage should not be underestimated. If anybody had told a soldier thats
not true, that we were Jews, she would
have been shot on the spot and her children would be shot on the spot.
In all the 17 locations, the Neumann
always stayed with Muslims. They were
invited to join their hosts at the mosque
for Ramadan. We were wined and dined
during the holiday of Ramadan, Ms. Neumann remembers.
In 1941, they were living in a policemans
home, and their host asked Ms. Neumanns
father if he could join them for their Passover seders. He said yes. To this day I
cant say how my father could explain to
him what was going on, she said.
Three and a half years later, the partisans came down from the mountains and

the nearest field officer who was the

Albanian policeman who had joined our
seder, she said.
After the war, in September 1945, they
were taken to a D.P. camp in Italy. There
they discovered the horror of the Holocaust as they lived with survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. As puzzling as
it may sound, we did not know what going
on elsewhere during the war, she said.
Ms. Neumann has worked with Yad
Vashem to honor the Albanians who protected her family.
And she believes the story of how Muslims protected Jews has a contemporary
relevance.
Were making a terrible mistake in this
day and age when we say that because one
Muslim is a terrorist, all Muslims are terrorists, she said. The way prejudice is
here in America now, thats frightening.
I try desperately to point out that people
should not be prejudiced.
Human beings are human beings. We
were created by one God. Among everybody there are good and bad elements.
People need to be made aware of the fact
that there were good and courageous Muslim people, even at the risk of not only their
own lives, but of their whole families.

Edip Pilku with a picture of his father, Njazi, who protected the Neumanns during
the war.
NORMAN H. GERSHMAN

won half of Tirana back from the Germans.

The Neumanns were headed out into the
countryside, away from the fighting, when
shooting started.

SUNDAY,
MAY 15TH
2016

My father said to my mother, in German, we should quickly lie down. A partisan girl heard the German and arrested
them on the spot as spies. She took us to

Please Join Us!

14th Annual

Myrna & Alan Cohen Spring Concert

SUNDAY MAY 1, 2016

OVERCOME
ANYTHING!
REGISTER FOR
XTREME CHALLENGE NOW!
WWW.OHELOXC.ORG 718.972.9338

An exciting, fun event that

challenges people of all abilities!

Conquer over 30 obstacles

with your friends and family.

Featuring

Cantor Mark Biddelman

and

Cantor Ilan Mamber

WHAT IS OXC?
OXC is an obstacle course
that encourages you to
accomplish your goals.

2:30 P.M.

Proceeds from this event elevate

the lives of OHEL individuals
with disabilities who face
challenges every day!

an afternoon of
Yiddish, Israeli, Hebrew and Broadway songs
for the entire family

Transportation available to
Camp Kaylie.

FREE TRAINING

10 Link Drive, Rockleigh, NJ 07647

201-750-4231
Free Admission

Lynbrook, NY

Nutley, NJ

Cedarhurst, NY

Brooklyn, NY

ULTIMATE MARTIAL
ARTS & FITNESS

THE TRIBE ATHLETICS

& FITNESS

AVID FITNESS

MOVE U FITNESS

Community is Welcome

Refreshments

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 7

JS-8*
Local

We were strangers once

Teaneck rabbi considers plight of Syrian refugees in a Jewish context
LOIS GOLDRICH

s we sit around the Passover table, enjoying

the blessings of freedom and prosperity, we
read the story of our peoples redemption
from slavery. Year after year, we teach our
children about the hardships our people endured, hoping this will stimulate their gratitude and appreciation for
the good fortune we enjoy today.
But if Passover provides the perfect teaching moment
for these lessons, it also offers fertile ground for sensitizing all seder participants to the plight of others
especially those still suffering persecution, hunger, and
homelessness.
Calls to action on behalf of others are not new to our
community. Those of us who remember the atrocities
in Cambodia in 1980 also will remember Elie Wiesels
words. Asked why he had visited that nation where Pol
Pots Khmer Rouge was killing millions of innocent civilians Wiesel replied, While I am not a representative
of any group, [I felt that] as a Jew, I had to be there and
see firsthand what is happening, and whether I could
be of any help.
Indeed, said Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky, religious leader of the
Conservative Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, the
issue of outreach raises a very important question: What
does never again mean when its not us being attacked?
ZIV MEDICAL CENTER
A Syrian refugee is treated at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, in northern Israel.
Each year, such worthy organizations as MAZON and
the American Jewish World Service take
Its a beautiful idea, like on Friday night,
Second, as a national board member of MAZON, he
that sentiment to heart, sending out readings and other resources that suggest ways
when we stand up and turn around at
will pay particular attention to the words of halach
that Jews can help people in need, whether
the end of Lcha Dodi to see the Sabbath
maanya, which invite all who are hungry to come and
through advocacy or by direct action.
queen. We take ourselves out of our own
eat. Have we done everything we can as a community
Last Shabbat, a working committee at
bodies. What we are pushing for is the idea
to help those who are hungry? he mused. I would love
Beth Sholom met to discuss the plight of
that the central themes of the haggadah
to be able to say yes.
Syrian refugees, a group whose wandershould not remain only in our imagination.
Third, making note of the work of Rabbi Debra Orenings, statelessness, and physical sufferIf we are thinking about what it is to be
stein, religious leader of Congregation Bnai Israel in
ing resonate all too well with the Jewish
free, understanding ourselves in this story
Emerson, and the organization Free the Slaves, he will
people.
and not just retelling it, then how do we perthink about the issue of human slavery.
sonalize these themes today? How do we
A group in the synagogue approached
And fourth, referencing the reading Vehi Sheamda,
Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky
make them powerful enough to understand?
me a few months ago wanting to have
declaring that in every generation enemies rise up to
Were as free as we can be here in Bergen
some sort of synagogue response to the
destroy us, he will pray especially for the safety and security of the state of Israel.
County, and powerful enough to bring social justice into a
Syrian refugee crisis, Rabbi Pitkowsky said. Weve been
Rabbi Pitkowsky acknowledged that the issue of Syrian
seder to cry out for a world that is not what it should be.
meeting on a regular basis, formulating ideas and thinking
The Passover story is such a powerful story for the
refugees is complex, but suggested that Jews have a parof adult education possibilities.
ticular sensitivity to what it means to run away from those
western world because its the first story where the weak
Early on, we recognized that connecting the crisis to
who threaten our families and homes. American Jews are
overwhelm the mighty. Before Passover, we didnt know
Passover was a natural fit and a wonderful vehicle for educating the synagogue and community about these ideas,
privileged to live in the most Jewishly friendly environthat was possible.
ment the Jews have ever lived in.
he said. The seder asks us to use our imagination in a
Rabbi Pitkowsky said that four issues in particular
We know what it is to be turned away at the border,
powerful way. Were commanded to understand ourselves
have animated his thinking this year. First, he will use
and we know what it is to be welcomed.
and to see ourselves as if we personally went out of Egypt.
the opportunity of Passover to reflect on the situation
SEE REFUGEES PAGE 21
Its a central piece of the Magid section.
of Syrian refugees.

A Chag Kasher VSameach

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Holiday.
May this Passover deliver freedom from want, from hunger,
from illness and from loneliness to our entire community

201-837-9090 - www.jfsbergen.org
8 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Local

Why they march

Englewood man,
March of the Living
co-founder, talks
about the program
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

ext month, David Machlis

of Englewood once again
will join March of the
Living.
The march is an annual educational
program that brings people most
of them teenagers from all over the
world to Poland and Israel. There,
they study the history of the Holocaust
and examine the roots of prejudice,
intolerance, and hate.
Dr. Machlis, who has been a professor of economics at Adelphi University
in Garden City, N.Y., for 49 years, has
been the vice chairman of the International March of the Living since before
the first march in 1988. (He describes
that march as having been rather
small only about 1,500 people.)
Since then, some 220,000 participants from 52 countries have marched
along the three-kilometer path that
connects the notorious Nazi death
camps Auschwitz and Birkenau on
Holocaust Remembrance Day Yom
Hashoah, in Hebrew in silent tribute
to the victims.
The next week in Israel is highlighted by a march in Jerusalem on
Israels Memorial Day and a huge gathering on Israeli Independence Day the
following day.
The founders designed the program with the goal of honoring the
memory of those who perished in the
Shoah, expanding Holocaust education, and developing a cadre of alumni
all over the world who would serve as
agents against Holocaust denial on college campuses, Dr. Machlis said.
We never anticipated the tremendous impact it would have on Jewish
identity, bonding with Israel, and commitment to Jewish heritage.
That impact has been studied
through personal interviews with participants that City University of New
York sociologist William Helmreich
conducted in 2010 and 2015. In the
second study, 66 percent of those who
did March of the Living in 2005 said
the experience made them more tolerant, 94 percent said they have visited
Israel again, and 15 percent said the
march even had an impact on their
career choice.
Overall, half of the respondents
said they would consider moving to
Israel. About 90 percent said March
of the Living strengthened their

Happy Passover
Wishing you and your family
a joyful holiday filled with health,
peace and reflection.

Teenagers walk on the tracks between Auschwitz and Birkenau.


YOSSI ZELIGER

David Machlis of Englewood has

been on almost every March of
the Living.
DAVID AZRAN

Jewish identity and made them more

likely to marry a Jewish spouse, give
their children a Jewish education,
become involved in confronting
anti-Semitism, and support Jewish
organizations.
Whats most remarkable about
the march is how deeply it impacts
participants over a period of many
years, Dr. Helmreich commented
when he released the survey results.
It greatly impacts not only on Jewish identity but also on compassion
toward other people.
Considering that the 2013 ADL
Global 100 study revealed that 35
percent of people across the world
never heard of the Holocaust and 32
percent believe it is a myth or highly
exaggerated, March of the Living
seems to show a dramatic effect.
I believe were successful for a
few reasons, Dr. Machlis said.
First of all, psychologists say 16to 18-year-olds are very impressionable and more prone to modifying
their attitudes and behavior. Another
unique feature is bringing together
Jewish populations from very diverse
backgrounds, from Orthodox to unaffiliated. This creates an appreciation of
the other and a bond for the common
goal of Jewish and Israeli survival.

A celebration of freedom.

He said that combining Auschwitz

and Jerusalem, Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israeli Independence
Day in one trip also helps to produce
those magical results.
And then theres the sheer power
of numbers. Anyone can visit the
camps, but with a group of thousands
of people its a game-changer, Dr.
Machlis said.
Local Jewish federations and Zionist
organizations across the world take on
the responsibility of recruiting, interviewing, and educating March of the
Living participants prior to the trip.
We start recruiting in the summer, so
the fall and winter is the study period, N6030253A.indd
Dr. Machlis said.
Although he is not a Holocaust
educator, he has created some of
the most successful components
of March of the Living. Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, March of the Living
world chairman, approached Dr.
Machlis after hearing about his programming achievements at Adelphi,
where he was associate dean of academic affairs from 1978 to 1982.
In 2012, for example, Dr. Machlis
was allowed to start bringing World
War II concentration camp liberators
on the march. The liberators provide
incontrovertible, everlasting testimony to the truth, he said. When an
army veteran says, I opened the gate
Unlike most cancers, skin cancer is easy
of Buchenwald, it has a huge impact.
to SPOT. Detect skin cancer early by
Survivors always have participated
examining your skin regularly. If you
as well, but every year there are fewer
have a spot that is changing, growing,
survivors and liberators alive to share
itching or bleeding, or a new mole,
their testimony.
make an appointment to see a
Our students pledge to be the
dermatologist. Find a
voice of the past in the present to
free skin cancer screening
preserve the future, for the Jewish
in your area, get involved
people and nation and for the betterin the movement, and
ment of all humankind, Dr. Machlis
find more information at
said. We must learn from the past so
www.SpotSkinCancer.org.
there will be a more tolerant and just
society in the future.
About 10 years ago, he opened
March of the Living to non-Jewish high

3/30/16 1:50 PM

Free Skin Cancer Screening

Wednesday
May 4, 2016
6 p.m. 9 p.m.
The Graf Center for
Integrative Medicine
Englewood Hospital
and Medical Center
350 Engle Street
Englewood, NJ 07631
Registration is required. RSVP
by calling 866-980-EHMC or
visiting englewoodhealth.org.

It is this obvious.

SEE MARCH PAGE 21

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 9

2012 American Academy of Dermatology. Use of this poster does not imply product or service endorsement by the American Academy of Dermatology.

Local

We will go up
Naale program brings local high school students to Israel for free education
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
Freedom carries a host of meanings,
especially for Jews at a time of year
that celebrates the festival of freedom,
Passover.
For parents, a free high school education for their children in Israel means
the freedom from burdensome tuition
or the freedom to choose a Jewish education that otherwise would not be within
reach.
For teenagers on their way to becoming independent adults, freedom is about
learning to handle everyday life without
direct parental supervision.
Naa l e E l i te Ac ad e my i n I s ra e l
addresses all these definitions.
Funded by the state of Israel and the
Jewish Agency, Naale which means
we will go up offers a free three-year
high school experience to diaspora Jewish teens. On-campus room and board,
health insurance, extracurricular activities, field trips, pocket money, and even
the initial flight to Israel all are covered.
Naale was started in 1992 for kids from
Europe, South America, and South
Africa; the program began accepting
North American applicants in 2003.
This year, more than 1,600 Elite Academy participants from across the world
are studying in 25 different Israeli high
schools. Among them are two Bergen
County girls, Shawn Kissil of Fair Lawn
and Danielle Haziza of Upper Saddle
River. Both chose to attend Mosenson
Youth Village, a coed multicultural day
and boarding school in Hod Hasharon.
Shawn said she picked Mosenson for
several reasons, among them its proximity to Tel Aviv and its large group of about
200 English-speaking boarders. There
are lots of interesting electives at Mosenson, and its a cool environment, Shawn
said. This year were focused on learning the language and the culture.
In the combined ninth and 10th grade,
the foreigners attend ulpan (Hebrew language) sessions for 18 to 20 hours per
week in addition to their regular high
school classes, and by 11th grade they are
more or less fully integrated with their
Israeli peers. They meet other Elite Academy participants during events and trips
around the country.
I like the feeling of independence,
learning the responsibility of living on
my own, and being able to be with my
Israeli relatives more often, said Shawn,
15, whose roommates come from Florida
and Arkansas.
However, she added, Living alone is
hard to get used to. When I go to visit
family in Tel Aviv and Haifa, sometimes
its difficult to travel alone. You have to
10 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Shawn Kissil, 15, of Fair Lawn enjoys

visiting her Israeli relatives while
attending Mosenson.

Danielle Haziza, 16, of Upper Saddle River takes a break with classmates from
Mosenson Youth Village.

be confident and aware. What you need

most is optimism. The beginning is hard,
and you have to be able to see through
the difficult parts.
Chosen through an application and
selection process, the students are supported by a network of professionals
including dorm counselors, social workers, language specialists, psychologists,
and teachers at each Elite Academy
location.
The program is offered at high schools
that run the gamut from secular to religious, some with intensive tracks in areas
such as science and art, and some catering specifically to students who speak a
particular language.
Though most Elite Academy students
arrive in their second year of high school,
Shawn opted to enter directly after graduating from Thomas Jefferson Middle
School.
I always felt connected to Israel, she
said. I was born here and lived here
until I was 4, and we speak Hebrew at
home. I visited my relatives here a lot. So
I decided I wanted to try a new experience. My parents realized it was something for my happiness, and theyre okay
with it. She went home for Sukkot vacation, and her parents and three siblings
came to visit her recently.
Elite Academy students take the internationally recognized Israeli high school

matriculation exam, the Bagrut. They

receive assistance if they wish to join the
army or make aliyah after high school,
though neither is required. In fact, in
another twist on the freedom theme, students do not even have to commit to stay
the entire three years.
For now I want to stay, but I dont
know about the future, Shawn said.
Danielle Haziza, 16, is wavering
between going into the Israeli military
or going back home for college after she
graduates from Mosenson in a couple
of years. Like Shawn, her parents are
Israeli, and she came to visit Israel every
summer since she was a little girl.
I saw my cousins and friends living
the Israeli lifestyle and they told me how
great it was, Danielle said. It was fun to
be with all Jewish people and I thought it
would be really cool to live here. My parents want to come back eventually, but
I didnt want to wait any longer. At the
beginning they were against my going,
because they would miss me. I told them
that since my dads parents live here
everything would be okay.
Danielle started Mosenson in August
2015. Some people come with zero
Hebrew. I speak it well, but the classes
helped me write and read it at a higher
level, she said. This year, I take one
class with the Israeli students and during
recess and lunch and other breaks we

are always with them. Next year, in 11th

grade, were going to be in most of their
classes, and Im excited to be a part of
that community.
Her best friends are from Colombia
and Italy, but everyone in the Mosenson
Elite Academy program speaks English.
Danielle noted that Israelis are more
independent at a young age than are most
American children, and she feels she has
matured this year by being around them.
Before I came here I never took public
transportation, she said. And sharing
a bathroom at the beginning was really
weird for me, but you learn to compromise and have your own time and respect
others time.
Danielle attended the Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School in Rockland
County through sixth grade. Although
Mosenson is not a religious high school,
the curriculum includes Bible and
Hebrew, two subjects she obviously
wasnt learning at Northern Highlands
Regional High School. Israeli high school
students choose a major, and Danielle
opted for psychology.
The most difficult thing is being apart
from my parents and family, not being
able to come home every day, she said.
But your friends and counselors get
you through it, and give you a sense of
family.
As for her friends from Northern Highlands, they were surprised that I was
going to Israel, but now they see my pictures online and say they wish they could
do this too. A lot of people are oblivious
to what Israel really is they think we
ride to school on camels and I think
Ive made them a little more aware of the
reality here.

5TH GENERATION OF WINE MAKERS

essence
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

In 1880, Zeev Teperberg (2nd

generation) joined his father
Avraham, together they developed
the winery in Jerusalem and
overcame rough times. 30 years
pass and the winery is transformed
from a small family winery into a
major successful enterprise.
This high quality wine series is
distinguished by its unique growing
environment and terroir, which fully
reflects soil and climate conditions.
The meticulous w i n e m a k i n g
process of these varieties strongly
emphasizes the characteristics
of each and every vineyard where
the grapes were originally grown.
All wines in this series matured in
French oak barrels for 18 months
and have great aging potential to
improve for many years to come.

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 11

Local

Teaneck rabbis blog posts provoke controversy

Steven Pruzanskys comments on rape culture, college life, marital abuse evoke response
Joanne Palmer

12 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

youtube screen capture

abbi Steven Pruzansky of

Congregation Bnai Yeshurun
in Teaneck is no stranger to
controversy.
A lawyer and the rabbi of the biggest,
oldest, and arguably the most prominent
Orthodox synagogue in town, Rabbi Pruzansky has strong views, which he often
lays out strongly and at some length in his
blog, rabbipruzansky.com.
Over the years, Rabbi Pruzansky has
angered many people and made many
friends with harshly worded attacks on
Yitzhak Rabin, soon before he was murdered; on President Obamas re-election,
which he blamed on stupid greedy people
wanting free stuff; on the Jewish Week,
which he compared to the Nazi propaganda rag Der Sturmer (although later he
said the comparison of course was purposely ludicrous), and on Israeli Arabs, for
whom he advocated severe mass punishment, possibly including deportation. Earlier this year, dismissing Hillary Clinton as
a liar, a crook, an active participant in the
largest pay-for-play scheme in the history
of mankind, he also called her an awful
speaker, shrill when she tries to be passionate Instead, he endorsed Donald Trump.
In that endorsement, on March 17, he
touched on a theme that has resurfaced
in the last few weeks the theme of victimhood, which he sees as an occasionally
improperly assumed mantle. People have
had enough of the moral posturing of the
faux victim, which has resulted in nothing
less than in the increase of the numbers of
faux victims and even the possible causes
of victimhood, he wrote in that March
post. People are tired of having to whisper the truth because murderers, evildoers, or sinners will have their feelings hurt
by it, even unintentionally.
As a result of the uproar in 2014, centered on the Der Sturmer and Arab controversies, which resulted in a short-term
need for police protection, Rabbi Pruzansky agreed to have an editor look at his
posts before he put them up.
According to Steven Margulies of
Teaneck, who is the president of Bnai
Yeshurun, independent editors have
been reviewing the posts before release.
All this sets the stage for two recent
posts.
On March 31, in a very long post called
A Novel Idea, Rabbi Pruzansky wrote
about what he sees as the debased climate
on intellectually barren, sexually dangerous college campuses.
Relations between the sexes has, allegedly, become so strained that the liberal
media speaks incessantly about a rape
culture on campuses, wherein brutish

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

men have their way with women in numbers approaching an epidemic, he wrote.
Or so it is claimed.
Next, he wrote that because women and
men see sex and need love differently, they
disagree on basic definitions. They often
see the same thing through entirely different lenses, and report and understand it
differently. That is to say, he wrote, the

tried before with great success but has

fallen into desuetude, apparently, on college campuses, he wrote. It will solve
all these problems, the rape culture, the
he said/she said, the feelings of rejection by the party who had an emotional
connection with another person who just
sought a physical connection. Its called
abstinence, self-discipline, or chastity. It
involves waiting until marriage to engage
in intimate acts, and then in a relationship
in which the couple genuinely loves each
other. It is preceded by a joyous ceremony
known as a wedding, which too involves
contractual obligations that are grounded
in mutual respect. Problem solved
That post lay fallow for about two weeks,
and then people started noticing it. A deluge of angry responses followed. Rabbi
Pruzansky was accused of victim-blaming,
of not taking rape seriously, and of not
understanding that marital rape exists.
He responded to his critics with another
post, on April 13, called Culture Wars
Update. There, he repeated his arguments, perhaps in even more strongly
worded language, accusing his opponents
of seeing the world in black and white
black, men, bad; white, women, good.
No one ever deserves to be raped, as
some hideously perverted my words, he

Heeding our moral laws can only

benefit men, women, marriages,
families and society itself. That was
and is my point. The fruitless
debate over statistics aside, I would
hope that even the professional
feminists can subscribe to that.
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

couple was dating, grew close (sometimes

after a two-hour date, I suppose; people
bond much more quickly these days),
retired to someones quarters and quickly
consummated theirfriendship. Soon
after the friendship ended, the woman,
feeling used, as she was by the lecherous
man, files a complaint for sexual assault.
The best argument against the fallacy
that a rape culture exists, he wrote, is
self-evident. If indeed there was a rape
culture on American campuses, no intelligent woman would want to attend college, he wrote. The fact that more
women attend college today than men
itself belies the accusation.
His solution is straightforward and
based in Jewish law.
Heres a novel idea, one that has been

wrote. But do not walk into a field clearly

labeled Danger: Mines!
His conclusion was clear. Heeding our
moral laws can only benefit men, women,
marriages, families and society itself. That
was and is my point. The fruitless debate
over statistics aside, I would hope that
even the professional feminists can subscribe to that.
The reaction to these blog posts was
loud, although, strikingly, much of it was
only semi-public; posted to social media,
on Facebook, in widely circulated emails.
Stories about the posts have made it into
the local press, and into British papers too;
the Independent and the Daily Mail both
reported on it online.
One organization responded; Jofa,
the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance,

demanded that Rabbi Pruzansky withdraw

as a speaker from a June 26 yom iyun,
a day of learning, devoted in this case to
teaching and inspiring children. More than
30 local Orthodox institutions already
have signed on, and Bnai Yeshurun is to
host it. Rabbi Pruzansky in fact will not
speak; now the battle is over where the
conference is to be housed.
The pressure to respond to the ongoing situation, particularly given the yom
iyun, and the fact that its a huge local
locus for emotion, has posed a problem
for many area Orthodox institutions and
their rabbis, who are reluctant to criticize
a colleague.
The Rabbinical Council of America,
which represents a large number of centrist and modern Orthodox rabbis, and
of which Rabbi Pruzansky has been a
vice president, has been pressed to take a
position.
It did; first in a Friday, April 15, JTA Wire
Service story, in which it said, While
Rabbi Pruzansky raises some important
points regarding sexual behavior on college campuses, the RCA rejects the tone
and much of the substance of his recent
comments regarding rape.
In a longer statement, posted on the
groups Facebook page, Rabbinical Council of America RCA, on Saturday night,
the organization elaborated, carefully
distancing itself from the way in which
Rabbi Pruzansky voiced his opinion while
expressing its dismay over what it calls the
overkill that has become the response to
his blog entry.
Rabbi Shalom Baum, who heads Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, is the
president of the RCA. He declined an interview, ceding to Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, head
of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, who is a past RCA president.
I think people need to realize that for
the RCA to have taken a public position
concerning a member rabbis personal
blog means that there is a great discomfort with, as the RCA said, both the tone
and some of the substance of what he
says, and that taking a public posture in
such a circumstance comes only when
the RCA has reached a certain point,
Rabbi Goldin said, choosing his words
with great deliberation.
What people need to realize, what
needs to be recognized, is that the RCA is
a member organization of over 1,000 rabbis, and it cannot and should not monitor
the individual communications of each
of its members, he continued. It is only
when a situation rises to this level in the
public eye that the RCA will be moved to
comment. Of major concern here were the
sensitivities involved, and the pain of those
who have been hurt by others.

Local

David Cheifetz of Teaneck, who was sexually abused

when he was a child, is a strong advocate for victims
of sex abuse.
I am shocked and disappointed on multiple levels,
he said. Obviously Rabbi Pruzansky is a controversial
figure, who enjoys and perhaps seeks controversy, but
I would say that as opposed to some of the extraordinarily offensive things he has said in the past for
example, about Yitzkak Rabin or Israeli soldiers or
killing Arabs they were all on Israel-related issues,
and we know that there is a spectrum of perspectives

Touro.Where Knowledge and Values Meet.

Its not just that you

are offending women,
you are potentially
triggering rape
and sexual abuse
victims by talking
dismissively about
their plight.
David Cheifetz

within the Jewish community. And we also know that

on occasion he has delved into American politics in
a way that some might take umbrage at and others
may not.
But this was different. He was getting into a topic
that does get written about in right-wing circles, but
someone could make the same intellectual arguments
about the culture of rape and the risk of accusing
someone wrongly without offending rape victims.
But he, on the other hand, essentially put the onus
on women, and on rape victims, in a way that is completely unacceptable and offensive.
There are rape victims in every community, including our community. Its not just that you are offending
women, you are potentially triggering rape and sexual abuse victims by talking dismissively about their
plight. It shows tremendous ignorance of the complexity of the emotional mindset and manipulation in
many instances of rape and abuse.
Not all this stuff takes place at knifepoint.
But then lets face it. As an individual person, I can
get up and say any moronic thing that I want to say.
But he is not an individual person. He is the rabbi of
an influential synagogue. He used to hold a leadership position in the RCA, and he is still a member in
good standing. He is a member of the RCBC the
Rabbinical Council of Bergen County, where Rabbi
Pruzansky is a past president and he has won all
sorts of awards and gotten all sorts of recognition by
the Orthodox Union, and all the other major organizations out there.
So the key question is what is the red line? What
does this guy have to do for people to say that its not
acceptable in our society? In any society? What does it
take for people to say dayenu? Its enough?
Mr. Cheifitz praised the RCAs Saturday night statement. They deserve credit, understanding that it is
See Rabbi Pruzansky page 22

On campus, your challenges should be academic, not religious. At Touros Lander Colleges, youll find
a vibrant, safe and nurturing Jewish community where your beliefs are ours.
All of the 29 schools and locations in the Touro College and University System are shabbos, yom tov and kashruth observant.

To learn more visit www.touro.edu/landercolleges

TOUROS LANDER COLLEGES

Where Knowledge and Values Meet
Touro is an equal opportunity institution. For Touros complete Non-Discrimination Statement, please visit www.touro.edu

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 13

Local

Meet Trumps Israel adviser

Lawyer Jason Dov Greenblatt of Teaneck tells his unexpected story
Joanne Palmer

ts not often that a career as a real-estate lawyer

leads to a role as an Israel adviser to a front-running
candidate for president.
In fact, its quite possible that it never happened
to anyone until it happened to Jason Dov Greenblatt of
Teaneck. But on April 14, Donald Trump told reporters
that Mr. Greenblatt, who is 49, would be his lead adviser
on Israel.
Mr. Greenblatts day job is to be the Trump Organizations chief legal officer, in charge of his legal staff six
on the transactional side and three in litigation and personally involved in all his legal matters that do not involve
litigation.
And now, he is joining another lawyer, David M. Friedman of the New York law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres, as
Mr. Trumps sources of context and wisdom about Israel
and the Middle East.
Donald and I have spent time talking about Israel over
the years, Mr. Greenblatt said. He takes input from me,
and from others as well, including his son-in-law, Jared
Kushner, who is Jewish. He wants to be able to rely on
people, to hear their views, and he thought that I would be
a good person to listen to and get ideas from.
But at the end of the day, he makes his own decisions.
We try to give him ideas, and things to think about, and
then he puts it all in his own head and makes his own
decisions.
According to the JTA Wire Services Uriel Heilman, who
was at the meeting with Mr. Trump, when Trump identified Greenblatt last week as his top presidential adviser on
Israel, it appeared to me a spur-of-the-moment decision.
I knew that he was relying on me for certain aspects of
Israel, but I didnt know I was his top adviser, Mr. Greenblatt said. I felt fortunate he said it.
Mr. Greenblatts main sources of information are daily
email alerts, AIPAC materials, and a weekly Jewish radio
program featuring Malcolm Hoenlein, the CEO of the
JTA Wire Services Uriel Heilman contributed to this report.

Jason Greenblatt of Teaneck, newly named as Donald Trumps Israel adviser, is also his top lawyer.Uriel Heilman

Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Mr. Heilman reported.

No, this is not the conventional background for a presidential adviser, Mr. Greenblatt told the Jewish Standard,
but Im not sure that there really is any prototype for this
role any more. Who has had an experience in this role in
the recent past who has managed to successfully achieve
something?
Im not sure there has been. The world has changed.
Look at the Arab Spring. Everything has changed since
then.
There are people who know more than I do, for sure,
but does that mean they will be successful at changing

All the Greenblatts from left, Jason, Noah, Julia, Avery, Naomi, Sophia, Vera, and Anna on a beach in
Israel last summer.
Uriel Heilman
14 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

anything?
Mr. Trump will be successful, he said. Donald is a master negotiator, and people will want to sit at a table with
him and make transactions. Thats what he brings to the
table. We would be there for support and ideas, but it is
Donald who has the knowledge, the experience, the capabilities to sit across the table from the Palestinians.
The goal would be to get the Palestinians and the Israelis to the table of course the Israelis have tried many
times. But someone like Donald could get the Palestinians
back to the table.
And yes, I hope that I would be at the table too but
were getting a little ahead of ourselves, Mr. Greenblatt
said.
Mr. Greenblatts positions on Israel are similar to those
of his boss. Like Mr. Trump, Greenblatt supports a twostate solution, as long as it is reached by the parties themselves and not imposed by an outside body like the United
Nations. He does not believe Jewish settlements in the
West Bank are a core part of the problem.
To get the Palestinians to the negotiating table, Mr.
Greenblatt suggests threatening to withhold some U.S.
funding from the Palestinian Authority.
U.S. negotiators need to lay down the law and explain
that the [Palestinians are] not going to get the benefits they
get from the United States unless they come to the table,
he said. I think they need to say: Over the course of the
next period of time, we will continue to provide funding,
but in order to do that you need to do X, Y, and Z, set concrete goals, and if you dont we need to start tapering off
the funding, and see what happens.
Mr. Greenblatt, like Mr. Trump, believes Israeli-Palestinian negotiations can be handled, like Mr. Trumps real
estate negotiations, by making money a main incentive.
If you take out the emotional part of it and the historical part of it, it is a business transaction, he said. Land is
going to be negotiated, water rights are going to be negotiated, security issues are going to be negotiated. So you need

Local
to say to them, Listen, we want to discuss these two
issues in this quarter, and then youll get your check,
and these two issues in this quarter, and then youll get
your check. At the end of the day you want to resolve
all the issues. I think it isnt a good idea to do partial
negotiations and then hope for the best.
Turning to Syria, Mr. Greenblatt said that the United
States should create safe havens for civilians fleeing
the war, possibly by borrowing land from nearby
Turkey and Jordan. He also thinks that the United
States should marshal a worldwide coalition to deal
with ISIS.
Asked how the Iran nuclear deal should be handled,
Mr. Greenblatt said that its too late simply to tear it up
but hes not sure how to proceed. Im not an expert
on it to answer that question adequately, he said.
Jason Greenblatts own story began in Queens,
where he went to an Orthodox elementary day school
and then to MTA, Yeshiva Universitys high school
for boys. He spent his year in Israel after high school,
studying at Yeshivat Har Etztion. Back home, he went
to Yeshiva University for his undergraduate degree,
and then to law school at NYU.
A real estate lawyer from the start of his career, Mr.
Greenblatt spent a few years as an associate at Fried,
Frank, a well-known New York law firm. Then, in the
mid 1990s, I started a cappuccino company, which
was great for a while, until Starbucks made its inroads
in a huge way, he said. An Italian company developed the precursor to the pod machines that are all
over offices now, and I put machines all over Penn Station and the New York City airports. Then Starbucks
happens, and I sold the machines and went back to
practicing law. Actually, he said, he never stopped
practicing law completely Fried Frank was very
good to me, and they let me work there full time to
finance the cappuccino company.
But he wanted to get married, so he moved to
another law firm, where he could work full time,
and then his phone rang. It was a headhunter for the
Trump Organization. I went for an interview, and it
was great. I hit it off with the general counsel, and then
I had an interview with Mr. Trump.
I thought it was a fantastic interview. I went back to
the general counsels office, and it was great, and then
he realized that I was shomer Shabbes, and something
changed. He said that he had to check something, and
wasnt able to extend an offer to me. I cant say that
he definitely would have done it then, but the writing
was on the wall.
It was a Friday afternoon, and I went home and
said I cant believe that this is 1996, and I wont get a
job because Im shomer Shabbes, but it is what it is.
And then he sent me a fax and extended the offer,
and its all been great. He began to work for the
Trump Organization in January 1997.
Mr. Greenblatt is intensely loyal to Mr. Trump. When
he was asked how Mr. Trumps style, which can seem
both rude and crude to onlookers, would work at the
negotiating table when the subject is peace between
Israelis and Palestinians rather than a real estate deal,
he protested. He is not rude and he is not crude,
Mr. Greenblatt said. He is not the things he has been
accused of by the media. The media will take a sound
bite, and the sound bite itself becomes a story. It is a
snowball effect.
Of course you dont get to be as successful as Donald without being tough, but he is a unifier.
But wait. The debates were not sound bites, and Mr.
Trumps comments were not distorted by the media;
instead they were reported by cameras. But those

Sandi M. Malkin, LL C
Interior Designer

(former interior designer of model

rooms for NYs #1 Dept. Store)

For a totally new look using

your furniture or starting anew.
Staging also available

973-535-9192

Its not manna from heaven, but this Passover,

provide something just as crucial
to the survival of the Israeli people.

In a country where knifings and other terrorist attacks are an all-too-frequent occurrence, your gift
to Magen David Adom ensures Israels national paramedic organization has the medical supplies
and blood it needs to save lives. So this year, while you recount the story of the Jews redemption
from slavery, your gift will help modern-day Israelis survive the threats they face today.
Make a gift today at www.afmda.org/donate. Or call 866.632.2763 to learn about
sponsoring a laboratory or other facility at Israels soon-to-be constructed Marcus
National Blood Services Center. Pesach kasher vsameach.
AFMDA Northeast Region
352 Seventh Avenue, Suite 400
New York, NY 10001
866.632.2763 info@afmda.org
www.afmda.org

See Greenblatt page 23

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 15

Local
Temple Sinai names honorees
Temple Sinai of Bergen County will hold
its annual gala on Saturday, May 7, at 7
p.m., at Montammy Country Club in
Alpine.
This years honorees are the Marks/
Weiss, Friedberg/Goldstein, and Simon
families.
Kenneth and Christel Marks have been
members of Temple Sinai since the mid
1970s. They celebrated the bat mitzvah
of their daughter, Louise, and the bar
and bat mitzvah ceremonies of three
of their four grandchildren there. Ken
and Christels daughter, Arlene, lives in
Manhattan. Louise Marks married Peter
Weiss at Temple Sinai and they have four
children. Ms. Weiss was on the sisterhood board for many years and now is
on the religious school committee. Peter
Weiss is on the Temple Sinais board.
The couple is involved in Jewish philanthropic causes including UJA Federation,
the Weizmann Institute, and Bnai Brith.
Eugene and Marlyn Friedberg of
Alpine joined Temple Sinai in the mid
1960s. Their children, Ahron, Jared,
and Alanna, all celebrated becoming
bar or bat mitzvah and were confirmed
at Temple Sinai. Marlyn, who launched
Friedberg Properties in 1994, is involved
in many Jewish organizations, including ORT, the National Council of Jewish
Women, and the Technion. She received

a Lion of Judah award from the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
Alanna Friedberg married Rob Goldstein and also lives in Alpine. The couple
and their three children have been Sinai
members for 15 years. Rob Goldstein
participated in Temple Sinais Hineini
program and is on the temple board.
Dr. Cliff and the late Leslie Simon
joined Temple Sinai in the mid 1970s.
Their son Scott became a bar mitzvah
at Temple Sinai, while their son Rob
became a bar mitzvah in Israel. The
Temple Sinai community was a source
of great support for the Simon family,
especially during Leslies illness. Cliff
Simon established the Leslie Simon Simcha Fund in her memory to support the
Temples Chanukah Day party. Drs. Rob
and Liz Simon and their three children
live in Tenafly and have been members
of Sinai since 2005. Liz Simon, a Sinai
board member, was co-president of the
Early Childhood Center Parent Association and was on the sisterhood board as
vice president. Rob Simon participated
in the Hineini program. They are looking forward to their daughters upcoming bat mitzvah at Temple Sinai in a few
months.
For information on the dinner or placing an ad in the journals, go to www.templesinaibc.org or call (201) 568-3035.

Temple Emeth celebrating

rabbis bar mitzvah year
Rabbi Steven Sirbu will be
in 2003, Rabbi Sirbu began
honored at Temple Emeths
implementing his vision of
spring gala on Saturday, May
social action and community
7. The evening, marking Rabbi
outreach. He established a
Sirbus 13 years as the spiritual
Muslim-Jewish educational
leader of Bergen Countys
program, participated in a
oldest Reform synagogue,
mission of Jewish and African
includes dinner, dancing, and
American leaders to Birmingham, Alabama, and marched
tributes. A journal will be published to mark his bar mitzvah
in Americas Journey for JusRabbi
tice, which was organized by
year.
Steven Sirbu
the NAACP and co-sponsored
A native of California, Rabbi
by the Central Conference of
Sirbu was ordained in 1998,
American Rabbis. He has been president
after studying at HUD-JIRs Jerusalem, Los
of the Teaneck Clergy Council, the NJ-West
Angeles, and New York campuses. He was
Hudson Valley Association of Reform Rabassistant rabbi and then associate rabbi at
bis, and the North Jersey Board of Rabbis.
North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, N.Y. He
Paula Dillon and Lisa Eig are the galas
and his wife, Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu, live in
co-chairs. For information, call (201) 833Teaneck with their daughter, Talia.
1322 or go to www.emeth.org.
When he arrived at Temple Emeth

NCJW honored
at Project Sarah
breakfast event
The Bergen County section of the
National Council of Jewish Women was
among the honorees at Project Sarahs
10th annual breakfast earlier this month.
Project Sarah (Stop Abusive Relationships at Home) is a program that works
to overcome cultural, legal, and religious
barriers confronting victims of domestic
violence and sexual abuse.
Marcia Levy, NCJWBCS presidium
member, accepted the volunteer recognition award on behalf of the group.
Marcia Levy

Jay Leno helps raise funds

for Israeli EMS organization
Last week, Jay Leno performed at a special concert fundraiser at Lincoln Center for United Hatzalah, Israels largest volunteer EMS service. Mr. Leno
also offered to donate a fully equipped
ambucycle that the EMS organization
can use to save lives in Israel.
The former Tonight Show host called
Eli Beer, United Hatzalahs founder and
president, to the stage for the announcement. Once the ambucycle, which costs
$36,000, is outfitted and adorned with
Jay Lenos name, it will join the fleet of
more than 400 ambucylces used by the
volunteer EMS service.
Mr. Leno also challenged the audience
16 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

to join him in supporting lifesaving in

Israel by donating to the organization
then and there. He offered anyone who
donated $1,000 a free tour of his garage,
which houses his large car and motorcycle collection. An additional $50,000
was raised on the spot.
The concert at the Jazz at Lincoln Center venue featured performances by
musical entertainer Lipa Schmeltzer and
the rock band 8th Day. It also featured
the Neshama Orchestra and was hosted
by Jewish Radio personality Nachum
Segal. Concert sponsors included Jay
and Jeanie Schottenstein, Bob and Amy
Book, and Mendy and Barbara Silber.

Frisch students donate hair to Israeli charity

Six Frisch students and two daughters
of Frisch faculty members donated their
hair to Hair4Wigs Zichron Menachem on
Sunday, April 10. Zichron Menachem is an
Israeli organization that collects hair that
it uses to make custom wigs for children
suffering from cancer.

The girls got their hair cut together at

Lillian Lee Salon in Teaneck. Ms. Lee, pictured, center front, donated the salons
services for the cause. She also runs Do
Wonders, a charitable organization that
cuts and styles wigs for women and girls
with cancer.

y
a

d
-

t
-

s
-

t
s
o

Local
Sinai high schoolers
perform a special
Wizard of Oz

JHAL resident
the subject of
Holocaust book

The students of Sinais Rabbi Mark & Linda

Karasick Shalem High School at the Torah
Academy of Bergen County in Teaneck performed an original production of The Wizard of Oz to a standing-room-only audience.
The teen production, featuring many students who have profound difficulties with
basic communication, came into being
through the dedication and support of the
teachers at Sinai Shalem. Work on the show

Holocaust survivor Abe Peck, a resident of the Jewish Home Assisted

Living in River Vale, is the subject
of a just-published book, Abe vs.
Adolf, that recounts his survival
story. Here, he displays his tattoo as
a prisoner and holds the book. It is
available on Amazon.com.

Bergen County Chabad

joins other centers
in visit to Israel

New fiscal consultant for Emunah

Mel Zachter of Staten Island is Emunah of Americas new
consultant for fiscal operations. Before going to Emanuah,
he had been an executive partner at Loeb & Troper CPAs
LLP. Mr. Zachter is a board member in many not-for-profit
organizations; he is also co-president of Ohel Childrens
Home and Family Services.
Emunah of Americas president, Karen Spitalnick,
announced Mr. Zachters appointment, effective immediately.
He joins Emunah at a critical time in its continued growth, and
he will be a member of the senior cabinet of the organization,
assisting in its efforts to enable Emunah Israel to provide
essential care and services for thousands of challenged and
needy children, adolescents, and adults in Israel.

began in September, and used curriculum

components designed to focus on such
skills as reading, presentation, organization,
and teamwork. The staff wrote the script to
ensure that every student had a role.

Mel Zachter

Thirty people from Chabad of NW Bergen

County in Franklin Lakes and Chabad of
Old Tappan joined more than 500 others
from other New Jersey and U.S. Chabad
centers to create the largest delegation to
tour Israel in 2016.
Thousands of people and groups, ranging
from the British rock group Manfred Mann to
former presidential hopeful Ben Carson, had
canceled their trips to Israel in recent months
citing security concerns. But For us, there
was never a doubt that the trip would go

on said Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, director of

Chabad of NW Bergen County.
The eight-day trip began on March 27 and
included visits to more than 40 historical
and modern sites, ranging from the Western
Wall and Hebron to the Begin Museum and
Yad Vashem.
A return trip is planned for 2018.

JOIN US for the Ultimate On-Field Family Fun Day

TAKE THE
MEOR AT
METLIFE

:
NEW SCHEDULE

EMAND
BY POPULAR D

AY
MEGA FIELD D

SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2016

NOON 5:00 PM

PRE-GAME
CHALLENGE!
Great Prizes,
HUGE Impact

Grand Prize:

Deluxe SuperBow
l
Package for 2!

SCORE A
TOUCHDOWN
FOR JEWISH LEARNING
Enjoy activities on the MetLife field for everyone
Watch yourself on the Jumbotron

REGISTER NOW
www.meor.org/eventres

Feast on bountiful BBQ buffet

Meet NFL players
Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 17

Rockland
Liraz Levi at large
An interview with the Rockland Jewish Federations shaliach
Larry Yudelson

o be a good ambassador, you have

to be able to stand in, or at least
understand, two places at once.
There is the country you represent. And there is the country where you
are stationed, where you present your credentials. One leg in each of two worlds, as
it were.
Liraz Levi is the de facto ambassador of
Israel at the Jewish Federation of Rockland
County. His title is shaliach, representative;
he is, strictly speaking, not working for the
diplomatic corps of the State of Israel, or
even the Jewish Agency for Israel, the organization that he officially represents. Strictly
speaking, he is working for the federation.
His job, though, is to represent Israel and to
promote an understanding and appreciation
of Israel in the Rockland community.
Mr. Levi grew up knowing there was more

than one world. His two

sets of grandparents
were neighbors who lived
across the street from
each other in Herziliya,
near Tel Aviv. His mothers family was observant
and Yemenite; his fathers
was secular and Turkish.
He grew in nearby Kfar
Saba, a town whose suburban greenery is reminiscent of Rocklands. He
was enrolled in the public
Orthodox school system,
attending a boys-only
high school.
Liraz Levi
During his service in
the Israel Defense Forces,
he worked as an analyst with an intelligence unit in Tel Aviv, and headed a human
resource department there. After the army,

Jewish Federation of Rockland County

Womens Philanthropy

The Key to

Kindness

An EVEnIng wIth ORly wAhbA

May 4 7 PM The Rockleigh

cocktails dinner auction
6 PM VIP Reception & photos with Orly. Dietary laws observed.

jewishrockland.org/spring-gala
845-362-4200

Made possible by

18 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

Like almost every

Israeli, I looked for
new adventures, Mr.
Levi said.
First he moved to
Toronto and worked
selling Israeli products in mall kiosks. He
returned to Israel and
worked for Groupon
Israel for a year. Then
he took his real postarmy trip, to Thailand.
During this time,
he learned that the
Jewish Agency sent
emissaries to Jewish
summer camps. He
had always been fascinated by the idea of diaspora Jews.
When I was a young boy, I felt really
attracted, really curious about American Jewry, he said. A stint as a soldier
accompanying a Birthright group didnt
slake his interest. The prospect of actually spending a summer with American
Jews, making a mark, fascinated him.
They sent me to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, which was amazing. I discovered
the Conservative movement. I didnt
know what it meant. I just fell in love
with all the ideals of equality and being
a community together, he said.
At Ramah, he spent two summers as
a counselor for special needs kids. Back
in Israel, he worked for the Conservative
movements high school program, Tichon
Ramah Yerushalayim. There he was one

Five songs
One of the tools Liraz Levi likes to
use to introduce Israel and its diversity to Americans is its culture, and
specifically its music. Heres his list
of five favorites he would recommend as an entry to contemporary
Israeli music.
1) Hatikva Shesh. Theyre doing
reggae music, the first Israelis to do
it. They started in 2007. They got
really successful this past year. The
most famous song from this era is
The Most Israeli, which talks about
all the small Israeli things that make
you the most Israeli, Mr. Levi said.
2) Cafe Shachor Hazak. The
bands name means strong dark
coffee and it consists of two Ethiopian cousins.
They started working two years
ago. Last year there were protests
by Ethiopians about human rights, a
few months after what happened in

of four counselors spending five months

being moms and dads for a group of high
schoolers, getting to know them, letting
them know what it is to live in Jerusalem,
spending time traveling the country.
It was one of the best experiences
Ive ever had in my life, he said.
As shaliach, Mr. Levi still is helping
people get to know Israel only this
time hes the one doing all the traveling.
Im trying to bring as much Israel as I
can, all over the county, he said. Especially the modern Israeli culture.
He hopes to dispel ignorance about
Israel. Hes sympathetic about that ignorance and the funny questions it evokes.
After all, I dont know lots of parts of
America.
Still, he cant helped be amused. One
person asked me about the city in desert, Beersheva. He asked if camels are
the way to transport there, he said.
There is no question in his mind,
though, that he will return to Israel.
Its a great experience being here, living the American dream, being in New
York, he said. There are so many opportunities. But its a once-a-lifetime thing. I
need to come home. Israel is my heart
and my home and thats where Im coming from and something I miss.
But when he returns home, he plans
to stay in touch.
I want to study international business and the relationship between Jewish American people and Israelis, he
said. I want to keep working with Jewish Americans.

Ferguson, Missouri. Their music was

released during those protests, he
said.
3) Amir Benayoun. When it
comes to Mizrachi music, he is really classic, really authentic. He has
a great voice. In the last year he
started expressing his political views,
which I think makes music less good.
Most of his songs from the last 10
years are really good.
4) Shlomit Jersey. She got famous a few months ago on X Factor Israel. Shes part of the Chabad
movement. She was secular and
todays shes charedi. She sings a lot
in English.
5) Dudu Tassa. Hes a well-known
singer, musician, and composer. He
started working in the early 2000s,
doing rock music. For the past few
years hes combining his family
background from Iraq, where his
grandfather was a really famous
singer, with his rock music.

Rockland
NCJW offers lecture
on women pioneers
Julianna Margulies narrates a screening of Makers: Women Who Make
America, a glimpse of trailblazing
women who are pioneers in their
field, for the Rockland section of the
National Council of Jewish Women on
Wednesday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. The
meeting will be at Reform Temple
of Rockland (formerly Temple Beth
El), 415 Viola Road, in Spring Valley. Refreshments will be served. For
information, go to ncjwrockland.org.

New City shul releases CD

Temple Beth Sholom of New City has
released a new CD, Ruach of Temple
Beth Sholom, in time for Passover. It can
be downloaded; to find it, google Ruach
of Temple Beth Sholom.
Using the latest in digital technology,
including multitrack recording, Temple
Beth Sholom produced the entire CD in
house. TBS members, a mix of amateur
and professional musicians and singers,
recorded the CD under the direction of
Cantor Anna Zhar. They spent months

recording many traditional and modern religious musical tracks. The entire
recording was digital from beginning to
CD, Tim Wood, a synagogue member
who is also a sound engineer, said. Rather
than recording in the traditional analog
and converting to digital, we were able to
stay within the digital domain from start
to finish. In addition, we took advantage
of not only real, but a few virtual instruments as well.

Spring gala will stress philanthropy

RJS annual gala
Rockland Jewish Family Service will
hold its annual gala; this year it will
honor Lyn and Hank Meyers, Dr.
Joan Black, and Lauren Lipoff. The
gala will be at Congregation Shaarey
Israel in Montebello, on Sunday, June
5, at 6 p.m.
For more information, call (845) 3542121, ext. 177, or email jvera@rjfs.org.

Jewish Federation of Rockland County

hosts its Womens Philanthropy Spring
Gala on Wednesday, May 4. The cocktail
reception is at 6 p.m.; dinner and the
program follow at 7. Orly Wahba is the
keynote speaker. The gala is at the Rockleigh in Rockleigh, N.J. Bonnie Werk, Lisa
Price, and Lisa Green are its co-chairs.
Ms. Wahba is the founder of Life Vest
Inside, a nonprofit organization that
encourages people to embrace the power
of giving and recognize that in times of

Orly Wahba

hardship, kindness acts like a life vest to

keep the world afloat. Life Vest Inside
gained national attention when Ms. Wahbas film, Kindness Boomerang One
Day went viral on YouTube. So far, more
than 23 million people around the world
have watched the inspirational video.
If you buy auction tickets in advance,
you get five extra tickets to win a Kindness Key necklace. For information, call
(845) 362-4200, ext. 121, or email bweissdunn@jewishrockland.org.

Wishing a Happy Passover to our friends and colleagues in the community!

Great Rate and a Bonus on Each 1-Year Anniversary -with Your Choice of Passbook or Statement Savings!
BONUS Savings Account

0.75

% PLUS
APY*

0.25

On each 1-year anniversary of account opening

$25,000 minimum to earn stated rate

Y
NDA
U
S
N
OPE ROM
F
- 1PM
M
A
9

BONUS**

Visit us today!
75 Route 59, Monsey Town Square
(Evergreen Kosher Market Center)
Anita Levine, VP, Branch Manager 845-425-0189

Established 1863 Member FDIC

www.applebank.com

*For the Apple Bank BONUS Savings account, interest earned on daily balances of $2,500 or more at these tiers: $2,500-$24,999: .10% Annual Percentage Yield (APY), $25,000 and up: .75% APY. There is no interest paid on balances
of $0-$2,499. APYs disclosed effective as of March 29, 2016. APYs may be changed at any time at the Banks discretion. There is a minimum of $2,500 required to open the Apple Bank BONUS Savings account. $2,500 minimum
daily balance is required to avoid $10 monthly maintenance fee. Fees may reduce earnings. Funds used to open this account cannot be from an existing Apple Bank account. Maximum deposit amount is $1,000,000 per household.
**Special bonus feature: A .25% simple interest rate bonus will be paid on each anniversary date of account opening on the lowest balance for that year (anniversary date to anniversary date). No bonus is paid if the account
balance is less than $2,500 on the anniversary date. Additional deposits during a given anniversary period do not affect the bonus interest payment. Deposits made to the account on any anniversary date will be used to calculate
the lowest account balance for the next anniversary period. The bonus interest is calculated on the lowest balance on deposit from one anniversary date to the next anniversary date. Simple interest rate bonus is subject to change
at any time after first anniversary date of account opening. Hypothetical example of how bonus works: Assume an account is opened on January 12, 2016 for $50,000. A $10,000 withdrawal is made on July 12, 2016. No other
withdrawals are made prior to the January 12, 2017 anniversary date. The low balance is now $40,000, so $100 in bonus interest will be paid on January 12, 2017.

apple bk - PASSOVER AD - JEWISH STANDARD - PASSBOOK-STATEMENT-BONUS SAVINGS-4-2016.indd 1

Jewish Standard APRIL

22,10:32:56
2016 AM
19
4/15/2016

NEW WEST WING WITH OVER 6,000 SQUARE FEET!

at Cresskill

07626
ter
ill, NJ
Cen
Cressk
ior
y Road
e Sen
Count
eOn
Car
A221
24
201.567.9310 Fax: 201.541.92
ility
Fac
ed
Rat
Star
m
Five www.care-one.co

Personalized Therapy Program

A uniquely empowering rehabilitation experience
CALL
201 567-9310
TO SCHEDULE
A TOUR

Family Lounge

Spacious Private Suites/

Private Showers
Concierge Services
Specialized Menu Plans
Kosher Available
Therapy 7 Days a Week
Private Consultations
On-Site Physician Consults
Personalized Activities
Spa Services
WI-FI & Daily Paper RESPITE
CARE
AVAILABLE
Pet Therapy
ALL YEAR
Life Coach

221 COUNTY ROAD, CRESSKILL, NJ www.care-one.com/cresskill

Close to the Rockland County border

Rockland
New City student wins
Schechter scholarship
Every year, Schechter Westchester, a Jewish day school
in Hartsdale, gives one incoming ninth grader a fouryear merit scholarship. The Akiva Scholarship goes to
an outstanding applicant who has never attended Jewish day school. Adam Shinder, an eighth grader from
New City, is this years recipient.
Adam and his family are members of the New City
Jewish Center. While Adam always has been a regular
attendee at NCJC for holidays, Shabbat services, and
special events, his interest in learning more about
his religion and culture really sparked after his bar
mitzvah. He continued to study Judaism with his
tutor, Leslie Goldress, and he developed a passion
for learning more. He went to public school in the
Clarkstown Central school district, achieving high
honor roll throughout his middle school years. He
has been a member of the robotics team, worked
on the school newspaper, and been secretary of the
Student Council for the 2016 class. He has also volunteered for a soup kitchen in Suffern, in the local
Buddy Ball program, and at the Jewish Federation of
Rocklands annual phoneathon.

Celebrate Israels 68th year

with special RCJJ programs

Wishing all our friends a

Very Happy Passover
SHOP-RITE of TALLMAN
250 RT 59 TALLMAN, NY
SHOP-RITE OF WEST NYACK
243 EAST ROUTE 59
WEST NYACK, NY

SHOP-RITE OF NEW CITY

66 NO. MAIN ST. NEW CITY, NY
SHOP-RITE OF GARNERVILLE
56 WEST RAMAPO ROAD
GARNERVILLE, NY

SHOP-RITE OF STONY POINT

22 HOLT DRIVE
STONY POINT, NY

More than 343,000 likes.

Like us on
Facebook
20 Jewish standard aPriL 22, 2016

facebook.com/
jewishstandard

The Jewish Federation of Rockland County commemorates Yom Hazikaron on May 10 with a program hosted by Liraz Levi, Federations community
shaliach (Israel emissary), at 6:30 p.m. On May 12 at
4 p.m., there will be a celebration in honor of Israels
68th year of independence. Enjoy music, dancing,
and falafel. Both events are at the Rockland Jewish
Community Campus, 450 West Nyack Road. On June
5, join the Jewish Federation of Rockland County as
they march down Fifth Avenue in New York City in the
annual Celebrate Israel Parade! Buses will leave from
the RJCC at 8 a.m. For information, call Liraz Levi at
(845) 362-4200, ext. 115.

Yom Hashoah commemoration

scheduled at college center
A community-wide Yom Hashoah commemoration
sponsored by the Holocaust Museum & Center for Tolerance and Education in Suffern is set for Sunday, May
1, at 5 p.m., at the Cultural Arts Center in Rockland
Community College. The evening will honor the hidden children of the Holocaust.
Debrah Dwork, an internationally renowned Holocaust historian, is the keynote speaker.
For information, call (845) 574-4099 or go to www.
holocaust studies.org.

Graduation and celebration

marked by federation
The Jewish Federation of Rockland Countys annual
meeting and graduation is set for June 9 at 7 p.m., at
Town & Country in Congers. Jerry Silverman, JFNAs
president and CEO, is the keynote speaker and dinner
will be served. Graduates of the Leadership Development Institute and Melton School will be honored.

Rockland/Local
Refugees

March

from page 8

from page 9

On the issue of security, he pointed out that those

who come to this country as refugees are the most
vetted group of people who enter the country, undergoing investigation for 18 months to 2 years, more
than for a student visa or work visa. If someone thinks
thats not enough, they should take it up with the
government.
Rabbi Pitkowsky also acknowledged that the state of
Syria has been unremittingly hostile to Israel, and that
he has no desire to help the government. That being
said, it doesnt mean that we, as human beings, should
not help individuals who havent given us reason to
believe they are anti-Semitic themselves. In fact, he
added, For years, the state of Israel has been helping
Syrian citizens on the border with Israel, setting up
field hospitals and bringing some of the wounded in
for advanced medical treatment. There are incredible
acts of tzedakah.
Does he worry that some refugees may harbor deep
anti-western sentiments?
Of course, he said, but theyll be thoroughly
vetted.
He stressed that the working committee looking at the
issue of Syrian refugees is not representing the synagogue. We have no official mandate. Well figure it out.
Theres a great desire to help in the Jewish community, but its not so easy to help individual people. The
number of individual Syrian refugees in our area is quite
small. The best way to help them is to donate money
to a large organization such as HIAS, which deals with
resettlement, or to donate to communities in direct
contact with large numbers of refugees.
In that context, he noted that some synagogues in
Canada are engaged directly in the issue because of
different government regulation of refugees, so they
can raise money to support actual families. In addition, he said, some Conservative/Masorti synagogues
in Germany are providing a good deal of support to
individual refugees. Sponsoring a family wont happen here, he said. Our advice is to donate money to
those causes.
Still, he said, some people raise the economic issue,
asking how we know who actually is fleeing danger
and who is just looking for a better life. Theres no
way to determine that, he said, adding that he hopes
government organizations have a way of figuring that
out. Still, he said, it shouldnt paralyze us or prevent us from taking action.
At its meeting, the Beth Sholom working committee
disseminated resources discussing the issue, culled from
the sites of groups like HIAS and the International Rescue Committee. We hope to raise peoples consciousness, to raise questions and have people talk about them
at the seder, without pretending we have the answers,
Rabbi Pitkowsky said.
We hope they will engage with the issue, and that
they will emerge with the desire to be more welcoming
and bring more refugees here. The overriding goal is
for people not to ignore the issue, and its easy to ignore
it in our complicated, busy lives, he said.
Rabbi Pitkowsky said he supports the idea of forming a social justice committee in the synagogue. We
already have a social action committee, which is very
active doing food collections and providing volunteers and staffing for dinners at shelters, he said. But
its not the same thing as a social justice committee that
works toward larger goals. Toward that end, he will
speak with friends who have established such groups,
including Rabbi Sharon Brous, the founder of Ikar in
Los Angeles.

school students in Austria. Weve had 500 in the past few

years, and when you see them singing Am Yisrael Chai, you
realize how inspired they are by three or four days in Poland,
he said.
For this years March of the Living, which will bring four
planeloads of North American participants on May 1 and 2,
Dr. Machlis co-developed a special project commemorating
the 80th anniversary of the implementation of the anti-Jewish
Nuremberg Laws and the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg
trials, which sought to bring Nazi war criminals to justice.
On May 4, the day before Yom Hashoah, many prominent
international jurists will join the group in Poland, in partnership with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights
and the Jagiellonian University of Krakow.
Co-chaired by former Canadian Minister of Justice and
Attorney General Irwin Cotler, the Nuremberg of Hate and
the Nuremberg of Justice conference is to include such
luminaries as former Israeli Supreme Court President Dorit
Beinisch, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Canadian
Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella; Lord John Dyson of the
U.K. Supreme Court; Professor Alan Dershowitz, and the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis
Moreno Ocampo.
At the end of the program we want to create and distribute a meaningful manifesto on genocide and human

rights all over the world, Dr. Machlis said.

Next year, another of his ideas will be implemented a
March of the Living Fellows program for college and university professors on campuses that do not offer Holocaust or
genocide courses of study.
The fellows will take an online yearlong course with top
Holocaust scholars, including two or three academic retreats
with the scholars, and go on the actual march or on a similar
journey, he said. The only requirement is that the college
or university has to commit to create a Holocaust/genocide
program.
Dr. Machlis and Eli Rubenstein, the national director of
March of the Living Canada, also co-founded the March of
Remembrance and Hope, which so far has brought 50,000
college-age student leaders of all faiths and ethnicities to Eastern Europe to learn about the dangers of intolerance through
the study of the Holocaust. This trip takes place every May
after the March of the Living, this year from May 16 to 25.
Though he has participated in it almost every year since
the early 1990s, Dr. Machlis said he never tires of watching the
impact of the March of the Living.
At the mega-event in Israel, with 5,000 to 6,000
youngsters from all around the world marching from
Safra Square to the Kotel, and then gathering in Latrun
for a party celebrating Israels independence, I get a feeling that remains with me forever, he said. It says, You
know, David, your work is worthwhile.

L Shana
L Shana
Tovah!
Tovah!

Wishing you
a sweetyou
newa sweet
year. new year.
Wishing

Jamie and Steven Dranow Larry A. Model Harvey Schwartz

Jamie
and Steven
Dranow General
Larry A.Manager
Model Harvey Schwartz
L. Rosenthal,
Gregg Brunwasser
Michael
Gregg Brunwasser Michael L. Rosenthal, General Manager
As your local Dignity Memorial providers, we wish you
the best this Rosh Hashanah.

As your
local Dignity
Memorial
providers,
we wish you the best this Rosh Hashanah.
We reaffirm our
commitment
of service
to the
Jewish community.
We reaffirm our commitment of service to the Jewish community.
april 22 ................................................. 7:26

Candlelighting

Hellman-Garlick
Memorial Chapel
Hellman MemorialHellman
Chapels
Hellman-Garlick
Memorial Chapel
Memorial
Chapels

april
29Valley,
.................................................
7:33
1300
Pleasantville
Briarcliff
Manor,
NY
15 State Street
Spring
NYStreet
10977
Pleasantville
Rd. 10510
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
15 State
Spring
Valley,
NY 10977Rd. 1300
914-762-5501
845-356-8600
May 6.....................................................7:41
914-762-5501
845-356-8600
May
..................................................
7:48
Our affiliate
Jewish13
Memorials
of Rockland
a complete full
monument
and full
inscription
provider. and inscription provider.
Our affiliate
Jewish Memorials
ofservice
Rockland
a complete
service
monument
Large display on premises. 845-425-2256
Large display on premises. 845-425-2256

Hellman Memorial Chapels

15 State Street Spring Valley, NY 10977

845-356-8600

www.hellmanmemorialchapels.com
DignityMemorial.com www.hellmanmemorialchapels.com
DignityMemorial.com
www.jewishmemorialsofrockland.com
www.hellmanmemorial.com

When
Alone
the
Best
Option
. . . V2 ir
BVK
SCI #9a
JobHashanah
No 025012
ad 5
BVKLiving
SCI #9a Job
No 025012
Isnt
Rosh
adRosh
5 x Hashanah
5 8/18/05
V2x5
ir 8/18/05

The Springs
at College Road

Supportive Living at The Springs is the definition of worry-free

living, offering just the right amount of support to encourage
independence.

Furnished apartments
Emergency response system
Three Kosher, chef-prepared meals daily
On-site minyan three times a day
Access to The Clubhouse pool, spa and fitness center

Trial Stays
Now Available!

More than youd expect for

so much less than youd imagine!

888-606-5963

www.FountainView.org | 2000 Fountainview Dr. | Monsey, NY 10952

Partner JCC Rockland | Supporter of the Jewish Federation of Rockland County

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 21

Best Wishes for a

Joyous and Healthy
Passover
Supervisor
Christopher P. St. Lawrence
Town of Ramapo

Happy Passover from

THE HONORABLE

HOWARD T. PHILLIPS, JR.,

SUPERVISOR
AND

THE TOWN OF HAVERSTRAW OFFICIALS

ISIDRO CANCEL
COUNCILMAN
VINCENT J. GAMBOLI
COUNCILMAN
JOHN J. GOULD
COUNCILMAN
HECTOR L. SOTO
COUNCILMAN
MICHAEL GRANT
LEGISLATOR
JAY HOOD, JR.
LEGISLATOR
KAREN L. BULLEY
TOWN CLERK
GEORGE WARGO
SUPT. OF HIGHWAYS
ANN McGOVERN
RECEIVER OF TAXES
PETER BRANTI
TOWN JUSTICE
JOHN K. GRANT
TOWN JUSTICE
THOMAS P. ZUGIBE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PAUL PIPERATO
COUNTY CLERK

Senator CarluCCi
wiSheS you a

Happy & Healthy

Passover
Identity. Community. Knowledge.

Montebello Jewish Center

A Conservative, egalitarian, family-oriented congregation
led by Rabbi Adam Baldachin, Cantor Michelle Rubin and
Andrea Caloras, President.

Nursery School
Adult Education
Young Couples Club

Religious School K-7

Youth Programming
Sisterhood & Mens Club

Wishing You a
Joyful Pesach
Montebello Jewish Center

34 Montebello Road, Montebello, NY

www.montebellojc.org 845-357-2430
Like us on Facebook!

Join us for Pesach Yom Tov services, April 23-24 and

April 29-30 at 9 AM, and Chol HaMoed (April 25-28)
at 7:30 AM. Yizkor on Sat. April 30 at 10:45 AM.
22 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Rockland/Local
Rabbi Pruzansky
FROM PAGE 13

an umbrella organization, he said. There was one paragraph that bothered him because it focused too much on
self-protection, but otherwise it was a strong statement.
Online response to the statement has not been as kind;
many Facebook comments dissect its wording and find
it wanting.
Tikvah Weiner of Teaneck is an educator, the cofounder and director of the Idea School Network, and
chief academic officer at Magen David Yeshivah High
School in Brooklyn (and also an op-ed writer and blogger for the Jewish Standard). As someone who works
with students, I find the language that we sometimes
hear about gender to be frightening, she said. The lack
of shame that I sometimes hear when boys speak to and
about girls is startling. We have to be careful about how
we are teaching our young people to talk, and to relate to
each other.
The basic point of Rabbi Pruzanskys talk was about
promiscuity on college campuses. Thats something that
we as a religious community should address. We should
be talking about issues of modesty and the importance of
respect and love and entering a relationship in a mindful,
religious way. But thats not what he did. Instead, he contributed to the lack of respect and understanding between
the sexes. That is the opposite of what we are trying to do.
We are trying to enable our young people to understand and respect each other, not to reduce men and
women to stereotypes.
At some point we have to say that enough is enough,
and that silence is acquiescence.
I have friends at Bnai Yeshurun, and I understand their
position. I went there for years, for the very same reasons
for very good reasons. But at some point its not okay.
We have to ask ourselves as a community and now, with
the advent of social media, as a global Jewish community
what it is that we want? What are the values we want to
espouse?
If you are the rabbi of a shul, and you want to preach
this in your shul, and your congregants are okay with it,
then thats your choice. Its kind of like your home. Those
are the values of your home. Everyone has different opinions and values, and we can agree to disagree. But Rabbi
Pruzansky put those values in the public sphere, and the
public is responding, and now the congregation has to
decide how to respond.
That is what we are asking. Is it okay for Orthodox
Judaism to be represented in this manner to the world?
Cheryl Rosenberg of Englewood is the president of Ben
Porat Yosef, an Orthodox elementary and middle school
in Paramus. Its really sad that so few leaders in the community have come out against it, she said.
The community is enraged and in an uproar, yet the
leaders of the community are silent, she continued.
They are literally silent. They are terrified to speak out
against a rabbi.
It is just baffling. He is not saying that we should be
more strict on Shabbat, or we should wear our skirts
longer. He is saying that women who are crying rape are
falsely accusing men of raping them.
That is insane. I used to work for the ACLU; I educated
doctors about emergency contraception in the emergency
room. Its a subject I really know about. I unfortunately
have friends who were raped in college and did not report
it. I have friends who are sexually abused within their
marriages, which Rabbi Pruzansky said cant happen.
They cant speak about it. And the more our leaders
are silent, the more they will not be able to speak out
about it. Rabbis should know that they have members in
their congregations who are suffering abuse in their marriages and cant talk to them about it.

Ms. Rosenberg did not agree with Rabbi Pruzanskys

idea that women would not go to college if sexual abuse
were a danger on campus. I went to Penn, and there was
plenty of sexual abuse and rape and sexual violence, and
we all chose to go to college, she said.
We were all smart women who decided that we
deserved a college degree, despite violence on campus.
Its unfortunate that women even have to consider that
when they decide where to go. Women know that they are
not entirely safe on a college campus, though, and they
still choose to go.
Jofa has many members in Teaneck, including Judy
Heicklen, who was its immediate past president. Its current president, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, said that since
it began its campaign to remove Rabbi Pruzansky from
the roster of yom iyun speakers, and possibly to change
the venue, I have had tons of schools call me in confidence to thank me. We are the critical mass, we are
the community, and we are saying that we cannot tolerate
his behavior, his language, or his sentiments any more,
in any way. This is the power of numbers. This is bigger
than Jofa, bigger than the schools listed. The community
is saying no more.
According to a source at the Frisch School, an Orthodox
high school in Paramus who did not want to be named
because the schools policy does not allow employees to
talk to the press Rabbi Eli Ciner, its principal, spoke
to the students in a way that many of them described as
sensitive, using the opportunity to discuss the issues that
were brought up in Rabbi Pruzanskys blog post and were
being discussed in the community.
Other community rabbis discussed the situation in their
shuls on Shabbat; none who were reached agreed to be
quoted.
Rabbi Pruzansky responded to a request to discuss the
situation by email:
I stand by my words in both posts. The criticism is
unfounded and in some cases motivated by an anti-religious agenda that I reject. Any fair, intelligent reading of
my remarks makes it clear that my focus was on the culture of promiscuity on campus that has to change for the
health and well-being of our young men and women in
college.
Bnai Yeshuruns president, Steven Margulies, also
emailed in response to a invitation to comment.
In confirming that Rabbi Pruzanskys posts have been
edited, he added, Those editors are not officers or directors of CBY nor do we control them in any way. They are
independent.
He also addressed the position in which the synagogue
finds itself.
Over the past few weeks our shul has been the center
of great controversy, Mr. Margulies wrote. Every healthy
organization, large or small, is likely to have an extreme
diversity of opinions. Our shul is no different.
Some members agree with the rabbi part of the time,
some agree with the rabbi all of the time and others will
never agree with the rabbi. Whether a reader agrees or
disagrees with the rabbis blogs, it would be incorrect and
unfair to assume that any particular member or members
of our congregation agrees or disagrees with him.
In a world and community that allows a free interchange of ideas, painting entire groups with a broad
brush, based solely on affiliation, is exceedingly unfair
and uncalled for. Our shul has consistently been a place
of warmth and inclusiveness for women and men, and not
only for our members but also for the entire surrounding community. We host the largest number of minyanim,
shiurim and other programming in the local community
and many members of the surrounding community and
communities benefit greatly from our congregation and
what it offers.

Rockland/Local
Greenblatt
FROM PAGE 15

were debates, Mr. Greenblatt said. Its

not my style but then I wouldnt be on
the debate stage, or in politics in general.
He was getting attacked by all sides at
first there were 17 candidates, remember, including him and so it is hard
for me to sit here and ask How can you
speak like that?
Politics is a tough business, but he is
not rude and he is not crude.
Mr. Greenblatt has a very active life
outside of the Trump Organization. He
and his wife, Naomi Greenblatt, a psychiatrist who specializes in womens
emotional health, have six children.
The three oldest are 17-year-old triplets
Noah, Julia, and Anna and then there
is 13-year-old Sophia, 10-year-old Avery,
and the baby, 5-year-old Vera.
The family travels a great deal traveling is a passion of mine, Mr. Greenblatt said and his wife and children
blog about it at realfamilytrips.com. So
far, Mr. and Dr. Greenblatt have published three travel books; about Israel,
about New York City, and about how to
travel as a family.
Together (except, so far, for Vera) the
family runs a parenting blog, inspireconservation.com. We were on a cruise
about three years ago, and we stopped
at a port in Turkey, one of those market
towns, Mr. Greenblatt said. There was
all that Gucci and Prada, for amazing
prices, and my wife and I wouldnt let
our kids buy any of it. It wasnt real, none
of it. I work for a very big brand, and I
am very sensitive about counterfeiting.
The kids understood, and I asked one
of them, Noah, to write an article about
it. He wrote it and read it to the family,
and we posted it on line
And then El Al had that pricing
glitch, where people were able to

buy tickets on line dirt cheap. It was

an error. We had a discussion about
whether it was appropriate to buy
them. It was not a halachic discussion
I am not a rabbi but it was about
emotions and morality.
Thats how the site morphed. Our
goal is to use the stories of people we
interact with to try to spread values,
ethics, and morals. Its not geared only
to Jews. One of my daughters just wrote
about the Malala fund.
We read these stories at the Shabbes
table. My kids enjoy reading them, and
most not all but most of our guests
enjoy them too.
Its been a great ride.
As for travel We want to get out the
word that the more you put into trips, the
more you get out of them. We find that
people are taking trips, spending money,
and coming home slightly dissatisfied. I do
a lot of research, and then were flexible.
I can tell you from experience, having six kids and many trips around the
world, I am able to say that every trip we
have taken has been incredible.
Why does he do this? Our kids are
only under our roof for a short time, he
said. We feel that it is a very precious
time for our family. We wanted other
parents to see that vision, and to realize
that vacation isnt only down time, but a
chance to bond.
If Mr. Trump should win the presidency,
would Mr. Greenblatt and his family who
belong to Congregation Keter Torah give
it all up to move to Washington?
No, Mr. Greenblatt said. We are so
entrenched in Teaneck, and it is such an
amazing community, that if I were fortunate enough to have Donald ask me to
play some sort of role, I probably would
commute.
I wouldnt want to uproot my family
from Teaneck.

Wishing the
Jewish community
of Rockland a

Happy Passover
Temple Beth Sholom
A Thriving Reform Jewish Community
228 New Hempstead Rd. New City, NY
845-638-0770 www.tbsrockland.org
Rabbi Brian Leiken Cantor Anna Zhar

To You and

Your Famil
y

Rabbi Craig Scheff Rabbi Paula Mack Drill

Rabbi Ami Hersh Lloyd Fishman - President
8 Independence Avenue Orangeburg, NY www.theojc.org

From
Our Family
to Yours

Best Wishes for a Very

Healthy and Happy Passover

(Resident, Lillian Grunfeld with her daughter,

Dir. of Community Relations, Debbie Corwin)

We Wish You a Very Happy Passover

FAMILY OWNED COMMUNITY

THE PROMENADE
AT CHESTNUT RIDGE

SPACIOUS, FULLY FURNISHED APARTMENTS

DAILY LIFESTYLE ACTIVITIES TO ENRICH MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
RN DIRECTOR OF WELLNESS PROGRAM

168 RED SCHOOLHOUSE RD.

CHESTNUT RIDGE, NY 10977

RESPITE PROGRAM AVAILABLE

845-620-0606

LICENSED BY NYSDOH

PROMENADESENIOR.COM

CONVENIENTLY LOCATED ON THE ROCKLAND/BERGEN BORDER

Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey

Proudly Serving New Yorks 17th Congressional District
PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY LOWEY FOR CONGRESS

Come Feel Our Warmth

VISIT US ON THE WEB AT

PROMENADESENIOR.COM

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 23

Editorial
On voting
and being free

o be personal I work in Teaneck, and I love

the Bergen County Jewish community, and
most of the time I feel completely inseparable
from the place where I spend most of my conscious life.
But this week. Ah, this week was different.
Because I actually live across the river, in Manhattan,
I, like our Rockland County readers, was able to vote in
the primary on Tuesday.
New Jerseys primary is on June 7. Thats the last day
of the primary season; seven states, including California,
vote then. New Jerseys primary vote rarely matters, but
when it does, it does in spades. If the contest still is unsettled then and according to most experts (including the
gurus at FiveThirtyEight.com), at least the Republican
side is likely to be your votes will matter hugely.
Our votes in New York seldom matter either. Usually
the contest has been settled well before now. But Tuesday, going in to vote, early in the morning, before work,
was thrilling. Our votes are not very important individually, but together they make a huge difference. Sorry for
the clich, but its hard not to feel moved by it, by the
act of getting a ballot, filling it out with a pencil (we have
a weird system in the city), and then feeding it into the
machine that at least in theory scans and saves it.
It was particularly moving to vote on Tuesday because
Pesach is so much on my mind. Pesach is a story about
moving from slavery to freedom, from oppression to liberty, from black night to shining golden day. Although
this country is not perfect, and although Jews living
here still live in the diaspora, it has been a haven for our
people (and for so many others). When they crossed the
ocean, our ancestors not our distant ancestors, but our
parents or grandparents or great grandparents also
crossed over from oppression to freedom as they came
to this great country.
As some of our columnists have pointed out, many
other people around the world still live in slavery as
hard as it is to imagine, whole families in India are
indentured and they spend entire joyless lives making
bricks, just as our ancestors did, millennia before. God,
our tradition tells us, rescued our ancestors; today,
God, now out of the large-scale miracle business, has
given that job to us.
And the Syrian refugees remind many of us of the
Jews who streamed out of Nazi Germany, survivors
with nightmare memories who could imagine little
future and needed help. Of course the parallels are far
from exact, but the despair and the need are so very
deep.
As we go from voting to re-enacting, to our families
and our memories (hi, Maxwell House!), we at the Jewish
Standard wish all of our readers a sweet, happy, wineJP
stained, liberating Pesach.

Jewish
Standard
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 837-8818
Fax 201-833-4959
Publisher
James L. Janoff
Associate Publisher Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle

Editor
Joanne Palmer
Associate Editor
Larry Yudelson
Guide/Gallery Editor
Beth Janoff Chananie
About Our Children Editor
Heidi Mae Bratt

jstandard.com
24 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

eating certain animals, or agonizing over whether to carry a

handkerchief on Shabbat.
It was because God needed a walking, talking, breathing
instruction book to humankind.
God created a world, put humans into it, and hoped for the
best. What God got was the worst. After 10 generations, God
destroyed all of humanity and the animal world, save Noah, his
n every generation, a person is required to see that
family, and the rescued animals that sailed with him on the ark.
even he (or she) came out of Egypt, the haggadah
Then God said hed would never again do that, but over the
proclaims.
next 10 generations the world sank once again into its evil ways.
Why? Even before we sit down to the first seder, that
Now, God needed another solution, and settled on creating a
is the only real question that matters.
walking, talking, breathing instruction book. He chose AbraThe seder is not just another meal, and it is not just another
ham, for I have singled him out, that he may instruct his chilritual (or, more accurately, a bundle of rituals wrapped up in
dren and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing
a single event). Our task is not to retell the story of the Exodus,
what is just and right, (see Genesis 18:19). When there were
but to relive it, vicariously, through the rituals that make up
enough of his posterity to form a nation, God would assign
its parts.
them the role of a kingdom of priests and holy nation (see
In some communities, for example, when the seders leader
Exodus 19:6).
breaks the middle matzah in two, he places it in a cloth and
Only, Abrahams immediate children and his posterity did
places the cloth on his shoulder, to re-enact a significant
not learn what just and right meant. By the time his greatmoment in the Exodus saga: So the people took their dough
grandchildren (our 12 eponymous ancestors) came along, they
before it was leavened, their kneading bowls wrapped in their
did not have a conception of just and right.
cloaks upon their shoulders. (See Exodus 12:34.)
Judah dallied with a pagan cult prostitute he
Some even have the custom of having everypicked up on the side of a road. Simeon and Levi
one leave the table at that point and walking outused a commandment from God (circumcision)
side for a few moments to re-enact the start of
as a weapon to commit mass murder. Joseph
the Exodus.
was an egotistical tattletale and his brothers
All of us re-enact that moment by what we do
seriously considered murdering him.
not say. Whenever we do a commanded thing,
In the end, Abrahams children and his poswe make a blessing who sanctified us by His
terity could not become Gods instruction book
commandments and commanded us to ritually
without a serious lesson in humility and it had
wash our hands, light Shabbat candles, cover
to be a lesson they would never forget.
ourselves in a tallit, and so forth.
Rabbi
God took Israel out of Egypt to be his kingThe Magid section of the seder is a com- Shammai
dom of priests and holy nation, to live a moral
manded thing, growing out of Exodus 13:8 and
Engelmayer
and ethical life as God defines those terms,
Deuteronomy 6:20-21. These verses are the orithereby demonstrating to all other people how
gin and substance of the seder, yet we make no
a good life is to be lived.
blessing as Magid begins. The blessing comes
For sure, we need to put on tefillin, to keep kosher, and
only at its end.
to observe Shabbat. These, however, are meant as devices
That is because slaves have no blessings, and as we begin
to keep our noses planted to Gods grindstone. They are not
Magid, we are slaves, in a vicarious sense at least. Only at the
ends in themselves, and were never meant to be. No benefit
end of Magid, only when we are free beings, are we able to
accrues to a person who puts tefillin on his arm and head in
make a blessing. Blessed are You, Lord, sovereign of all that
the morning, then uses his hands and mind to harm others
exists, Who redeemed us and our ancestors from Egypt, and
in any way. Keeping Shabbat is meaningless unless a perbrought us to this night.Blessed are You, Lord, Who has
son understands that Shabbat, in part, is about equality
redeemed Israel.
everyone, even animals, is entitled to a day of rest, and on
So the question looms large. Why, in every generation, must
the same day and in part about safeguarding the physical
we see ourselves as having come out of Egypt? Why is it not
world God created.
enough merely to retell the story?
The Exodus was meant to teach us this lesson, but it
The answer lies in why God took us out of Egypt (and,
happened nearly 4,000 years ago. Reading about it is not
more to the point, why God allowed us to be enslaved in the
enough. Reminding ourselves of it every day in our prayers
first place).
is not enough. We need to feel the pain of slavery. We need
The simple answer is that God needed this particular people
to experience the degradation and shame of slavery. Then
(us). From the time God called on 75-year-old Abraham to leave
we need to experience God taking us out of Egypt, bringhis comfort zone in Ur and go to Canaan, God had a plan in
ing us to Sinai, and giving us our working papers the
mind and it was not for the entertainment value of watching
Torah.
people strap leather boxes on their arms and heads, or avoid
Only if we understand what it means the lowest of the lowest
can we understand our purpose for being.
Shammai Engelmayer is the rabbi of Congregation Beth
Dwell on this tonight and tomorrow night, and may we all
Israel of the Palisades in Cliffside Park.
have meaningful sdarim.
keeping the faith

Dont just
read it. Live it

Correspondents
Warren Boroson
Lois Goldrich
Abigail K. Leichman
Miriam Rinn
Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman
Advertising Director
Natalie D. Jay
Classified Director
Janice Rosen

Advertising Coordinator
Jane Carr
Account Executives
Peggy Elias
George Kroll
Karen Nathanson
Brenda Sutcliffe
International Media Placement
P.O. Box 7195 Jerusalem 91077
Tel: 02-6252933, 02-6247919
Fax: 02-6249240
Israeli Representative

Production Manager
Jerry Szubin
Graphic Artists
Deborah Herman
Bob O'Brien

Founder
Morris J. Janoff (19111987)
Editor Emeritus
Meyer Pesin (19011989)
City Editor
Mort Cornin (19151984)
Editorial Consultant
Max Milians (1908-2005)
Secretary
Ceil Wolf (1914-2008)
Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson

Opinion

Pregnancy brain

pparently, in lieu of psychotropic medication, Ive

got pregnancy in my brain.
Who knows the pregnancy hormones may
help lift your mood naturally, said more than one
well-meaning but grossly inaccurate psychiatrist, therapist,
obstetrician, or friend.
Thank you for humoring me as I go off these magic mood
stabilizers, I mumble to myself each time I take on the
endeavor.
I appreciate the good intentions, but wishful thinking isnt
what, come this summer, will have gotten me through roughly
four years of being off mostly well-working, quality-of-life-saving medications. It will be four years of intentionally suspending highly beneficial treatment that took a decade to find, for
the sake of having children. That includes three pregnancies,
time for pre-pregnancy preparation and then postpartum,
and a half-year attempt. And God bless my children and my
husband, and I love them with all my heart, and its a personal
choice to make, and the things we do for our kids, and thank
God for family, friends, support systems, and therapy but
what am I, insane?
No, actually. The answer to that, after making a very calculated decision after three varying experiences going off meds
previously, is no, I am very much not insane. I even passed a
recent perinatal depression screening to prove it. But I would
be lying through my teeth if I said the decision in itself wasnt
extremely weighted, or that the reality of the situation isnt,
at times, ridiculously challenging. But we make choices in life
and we go through with them and sometimes we just hope for
the best while planning for the worst.
And thats the key: planning. That, and screening, both of
which amount to a woman, along with her partner, making
herself aware of mood-related episodes that might occur during and after pregnancy and devising an educated game plan
in case such a situation arises. Better yet, Id say dont even
wait until the in case stage. By then, once a person already is
in such a state, navigating the terrain gets even more difficult.

Freeing ourselves
from oppression
once again

elebrating freedom from slavery starts on the journey that begins with despair and ends with redemption, symbolized by the Jewish people receiving the
Torah and entering the Promised Land.
We are commanded to retell the story in every generation,
and to experience it as if we had been there ourselves. Our
children may be wise, sassy, innocent, or uninterested, but
still it is our duty to engage in this discussion. Now more than
ever we should be focused not just on the joy and freedom,
but on what happened to our people then and what seems
to be happening again, even on college campuses. Thats
because now even with a strong Jewish education, solid Jewish identity, and connections to Israel, which the majority of
our young people do not have, they are likely to encounter
anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity on campus and possibly
in the classroom when they get to college.
After being thrown in a pit by his jealous brothers, Joseph
ended up in Egypt, and whether through divine inspiration
or ingenuity he managed to interpret dreams that foretold a
The opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors,
not necessarily those of the newspapers editors, publishers,
or other staffers. We welcome letters to the editor.
Send them to jstandardletters@gmail.com.

and their mother about how best to raise your

Be more prepared than that. Draw yourself a
children; and the guilt from pregnancy books
map. Ahead of time. Just in case.
that have entire chapters on breastfeeding conA woman need not have a mood disorder to
cluding with a single abbreviated paragraph sayexperience perinatal or postpartum depression. In fact, according to recent statistics, 1
ing that, well, if you cant or choose not to nurse,
in 7 women experience depression or anxiety
you and your baby probably wont really go to
during pregnancy and postpartum (with some
hell; and the guilt and understandable worry
estimates reaching as high as 1 in 4 for both
of having to choose to either go on some sort of
perinatal and postpartum periods). Signs may
medication during pregnancy or breastfeeding
include exhaustion, appetite or sleep disturversus toughing it out; and the preconcepDena Croog
bances, mood swings, and feeling anxious or
tions of how wonderful and blissful it is to have a
overwhelmed.
newborn; and the constant pressure on women
The American College of Obstetricians and
in society at large to do it all and have it all; and
Gynecologists recommends that all pregnant women be
the pressure to stay on top of everything while on a few hours
screened for depression at least once during the perinatal
of sleep night after night, which can clearly be detrimental to
period, and new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services
a persons mental health my suggestion is this:
Give yourself a break and the luxury of six hours of sleep
Task Force recommend that all people 18 and older, including
in a row and let someone else do a night feeding, whether
pregnant and postpartum women, be screened for depression. One questionnaire that might be used is the Edinburgh
it be with pumped milk or formula. You are not doing you,
Postnatal Depression Scale in postpartum and pregnant
your baby, or other family members any favors by sacrificing
women. Screenings can be helpful, according to the Ameriyour sanity.
can College of Obstetricians, because fewer than 20 percent of
All this is not to put a shadow over the miracle of pregnancy
women in whom perinatal depression is diagnosed self-report
and childbirth. Someones experience may be completely
their symptoms. If a condition isnt being reported, it simply
positive, or mostly so, and thats a wonderful thing. But its
cant be addressed or treated adequately.
not always the case that it feels like a wonderful thing, and
There is no reason why, in this day and age, a woman
its completely unhelpful for a woman to feel guilty about not
should have to go through perinatal or postpartum depression
feeling 100 percent blessed, this on top of possible symptoms
alone. Therapy, relaxation techniques, and, in some cases,
of perinatal or postpartum depression.
yes, medication, both during pregnancy and postpartum, all
And while, surely, there may be reason for someone like
may be beneficial in helping combat depression. Conversing
me, with a pre-existing mood disorder, to be more cautious
with others with similar experiences is invaluable. Enlisting
when going through pregnancy, its important for every
the help of family, friends, or a baby nurse can make a world
woman entering this arena to be aware of the signs and symptoms of pregnancy-related depression. Because even at its
of difference in a womans mental state, especially when it
most conservative estimate, 1 in 7 sure is a lot of people.
allows her to get some much-needed sleep.
Speaking of, a word on night feedings (a little rant, if I
may). After the emotional and physical trials many women
Dena Croog is a writer and editor in Teaneck and the founder
go through with fertility and miscarriages; and the unspoken
of Refaenu, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mood
pressure from our family-focused and children-centric comdisorder awareness and support. More information about the
munities (as manifest with the ultimate dictate of Pru urevu
organization and its support groups can be found at www.
be fruitful and multiply); and the two cents from everyone
refaenu.org. You can also email dena@refaenu.org .

most important scientific advances and medigreat famine in Egypt. When he became viceroy
cal achievements to the world, benefitting even
of Egypt, he created a plan to feed the people
states that remain its enemies. Yet the solutions
for seven fat years and store enough food for
that the Jewish state has shared with the world
the next seven lean years, and thus to avoid the
are met with efforts to Boycott, Divest and Sanceffects of a drought. Yet a new pharaoh arose
tion to engage in BDS. This BDS campaign
who knew not Joseph, and despite all the good
has spread around the world and manifested
Joseph had done for the Egyptians, the children of Israel, who made their way to Egypt to
in places as various as cultural institutions and
avoid that drought, were enslaved by the phalabor unions, using a playbook based in part on
raoh. The new pharaoh became fearful that
the anti-apartheid movement. It is an attempt to
Nate Geller
the children of Israel would grow in numbers
demonize, delegitimize, and isolate the Jewish
and power and through great cunning would
and democratic state of Israel, with the ultimate
become a threat.
goal of destroying it.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Of greatest concern is the role of academia in BDS. Professors are teaching our children and grandchildren to hate Israel
This is a paradigm that the Jewish people have experienced
and laying siege to Jewish peoplehood, and their salaries are
in every generation, and that has not changed in our own
paid through hefty tuitions at the finest universities in North
time.
America and around the world.
In thinking about the themes that might enhance the seder
Signs and wonders are all around us, but we are not paying
experience, the story of drought and famine that Joseph predicted was on my mind. Recently I have been reading a fassufficient attention. Some say that ignorance is bliss, but ignorcinating book, Let There Be Water, by Seth M. Siegel. Its
ing these problems and misidentifying them only will allow
about the miraculous ingenuity of the modern state of Israel,
them to grow. Recognizing the problem and naming it is an
which decades ago recognized the imperative of making a desimportant step. Knowledge is power. When you are retelling
ert climate habitable by finding a way to supply enough water
the story of our people at the seder, and thinking about how
for all its needs. Amazingly, Israels scientists have found ways
that story once again is repeating itself in the form of BDS, you
to meet all its challenges, using techniques ranging from drip
can commit yourself to raising awareness and find ways to
irrigation and conservation to desalination and waste water
support the kind of educational projects that will confront the
treatment. Not only did Israel solve the problem for itself, but
scourge of anti-Semitism plaguing our people today.
it has been helping other countries, including its neighbors,
Nate Geller of Teaneck has worked on behalf of Soviet Jewry
to solve their water problems.
and Israel. He is now at the Institute for the Study of Global
Ironically, Israel, with all its technological prowess and
Antisemitism and Policy.
start-up nation mentality, has managed to bring some of the
Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 25

Opinion

The Angel of Death and the choice of life

assover is a celebration of freedom, a holiday

marking the defining moment in Jewish history,
our liberation from bondage.
Passover represents the birth of a nation. The
clan of Jacob, just an extended family, becomes a multitude, the children of Israel.
And the story takes us through a revolution against an
unjust monarch and an escape from tyranny, to the framing of a constitution at Sinai. No wonder that the holiday
resonates so powerfully here in the United States. The Jewish story of slaverys abolition even includes a civil war
of sorts, with the confederacy that turns to worship the
golden calf.
The powerful injunction to remember that we were
slaves in Egypt stands in sharp contrast to the mythologies
of other peoples of the ancient world, which cast them as
the descendants of gods or otherwise of supernatural origin. Passover establishes the foundation of Jewish ethics
not simply to value freedom, but in the words of Micah,
to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
your God. You cant get much more humble than being
a slave.
Birth is a common theme for holidays that incorporate
the rites of spring, as does Passover, with the rebirth of
nature symbolized by the green vegetable and the egg on
the seder plate. The other side of birth is death, a topic we
dont like to think much about. But death, unlike taxes,
is unavoidable for each and every one of us, whether we
acknowledge its existence or not. The very name of the
holiday Passover, or Pesach, refers to the Angel of Death
passing over the dwellings of the Israelites.
The escape from servitude only occurs after the escape
from death. First there must be life. Only then can there

and curse; therefore choose life, that you

be hope, and the potential for freedom. But
may live. While we do not choose to be born
what is left unsaid is that the escape from
or to die, there are choices still to be made.
death is only a temporary reprieve. Does
The Pharaoh chooses death time and time
this imply that the same might be true of the
again, beginning with his order to kill every
escape from bondage? Certainly, there is no
newborn Hebrew male, continuing with his
permanent liberation from the inevitability
refusal to let the Israelites go, resulting in
of death.
the death of the Egyptian firstborn. The PhaThe Jewish-American anthropologist
raohs choice of death culminates in the deciErnest Becker, author of the 1974 book The
Dr. Lance
sion to pursue the escaping Israelites, resultDenial of Death, argued that we human
Strate
ing in the drowning of the Egyptians army.
beings are the only forms of life on earth
Pharaohs choices come as no surprise,
that are aware of our own mortality, and that
insofar as he represents an ancient cult of
awareness represents a crushing blow to our
death. We may marvel at the pyramids and Sphinx as wonself-esteem. The function of human culture is to provide
ders of the ancient world, but we also should recall that
some form of compensation, through beliefs in various
they were built with the blood of forced laborers, and that
kinds of immortality, and by providing us with heroic
they are enormous tombs carrying the embalmed remains
roles to play in the lives that we lead. Of course, when it
of the Pharaoh along with those who served him in life
comes to the denial of death, religious beliefs have played
and were sacrificed so that they might follow him in death.
a major role, especially in the very specific conception of
While the Pharaoh chooses death, the Israelites must
an afterlife that many provide.
make an active decision to choose life. When it comes to
Passover stands out from all of the other traditional
the tenth plague, the Angel of Death will not discriminate
holidays on the Jewish calendar in its direct confrontation with death. By way of contrast, on Rosh Hashanah
automatically in favor of the Israelites, will not spare anyone by virtue of their descent from Abraham, Isaac, and
and Yom Kippur we pray that we may be inscribed and
Jacob, or because they are circumcised, or because they
sealed in the Book of Life, with barely a mention of lifes
worship Adonai. It is not Jewish blood that saves the Israopposite. On Passover, however, death is personified in
elites, but the blood of the sacrificial lamb. This requires,
the guise of an angel. Since an angel literally means a messenger, this implies that death is a message from God, the
first of all, being a part of the community. If you were not,
same God who exiled Adam and Eve from the Garden of
how would you learn about what had to be done? It also
Eden to keep them from eating from the Tree of Life and
requires choosing to follow the instructions.
becoming immortal.
We may have replaced the sign made with lambs blood
The message is one of choice. In Deuteronomy (30:19)
with mezuzahs long ago, but the lesson remains: choose
God tells us, I have set before you life and death, blessing
life, that you may live.

A Florida tomato on the seder plate?

hen I was a child, my maternal grandparents (Marien and Ray, may their memories be a blessing) now and again would
take me out to Wendys restaurant after a
movie or for a treat.
Sometimes I got a Frosty, a delicious chocolate-flavored
frozen dessert, or I got a kids meal and delighted in salty
French fries. Almost always, my grandparents would get
a salad, and as they got older they ate half and took the
other half home. Sometimes, when they wanted to host
but didnt have the stamina to cook, they would buy salads at Wendys and we would all eat around the white oval
table in their kitchen.
Since they died, when I want to remember my grandparents, I go to Wendys. I buy some food that I hope
meets my own kashrut standards (Frosty or fries), and I
reminisce. I remember the Batman movie they took me
to when I was in elementary school, and the trip to Wendys when I went back for a visit from college. I remember
them and the good times we shared. Needless to say, for
this reason, Wendys holds a soft spot in my heart.
But its been harder than usual these last three years to
love the fast food giant that reminds me so much of family
and home.
Of Americas top five fast food chains, Wendys is the
only one that has not signed on to the Fair Food Program, a groundbreaking human rights initiative led by
farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which has been addressing human rights abuses
26 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

successfully in the Florida tomato indusof conduct. It also recently chose to source
try. Fast food giants McDonalds, Subway,
its tomatoes from Mexico, instead of buying
Burger King, and Yum! Brands (Taco Bell),
FFP tomatoes from Florida. The Wendys
all have joined the Fair Food Program, raiscode of conduct calls on its suppliers to foling the wages of tomato pickers by one
low local, state, and federal laws as well as
penny per pound of tomatoes picked and
industry standards. However, at least one
helping to ensure fair, regulated working
supplier it chose is known to have a history
conditions in the fields.
of serious human rights violations.
Food service companies and grocery
In a March 16, 2016 blog post for HarpRabbi Jacob
ers Magazine, author Andrew Cockburn
stores such as Walmart, Whole Foods,
Lieberman
confirmed that the Kaliroy Corporation is
and Trader Joes also have joined the FFP,
providing Wendys with tomatoes. Kaliroy
committing themselves to source only
is the U.S. distribution arm of Bioparques
from growers who have instituted a legally
de Occidente, a major Mexican tomato grower that probinding code of conduct in the fields. Today, thanks to
duces about 6 million boxes of tomatoes for the U.S.
implementation of the FFP in over 90 percent of Floridas tomato fields, the Florida tomato industry is known
market. Cockburn found an investigative article from
as one of the best workplaces in modern agriculture.
December, 2014, in which Los Angeles Times reporter
The industry has made profound progress to end the
Richard Marosi interviewed workers for Bioparques de
widespread labor trafficking, slavery, and unsafe workOccidente. The workers described subhuman condiing conditions that once dominated there, so badly that
tions, with workers forced to work without pay, trapped
it was considered ground zero for human trafficking in
for months at a time in scorpion-infested camps, often
the United States. The FFP has been recognized with the
without beds, fed on scraps, and beaten when they
2015 presidential medal for its extraordinary efforts
tried to quit. Bioparques workers have no Fair Food
combatting modern-day slavery, as well as with the
Program, and if these are the industry standards that
2014 Clinton Global Citizen Award and the 2013 Franklin
Wendys accepts in its supply chain, then, sadly, I think
D. Roosevelt Freedom from Want Medal, among other
we can do better.
acknowledgements and awards.
On March 3, following Wendys move to source tomatoes from Mexico, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Despite the programs proven successes, Wendys has
issued a call for a national boycott of Wendys, and on
resisted joining FFP, and instead has issued its own code

Opinion
www.foliageonmaple.com

This illustration by Russian avant-garde artist

El Lissitzky in a 1919 childrens book called Chad
Gadya could give children the nightmares Dr. Strate
recalls from his own childhood.
Wikimedia Commons

The Angel of Death who executes the tenth plague

is no Adversary. It is not the equivalent of the Christian Satan or Lucifer, nor is it a lord of the underworld
along the lines of the Greek god Hades. The personification of death quite naturally is a frightening figure.
Its depiction as a creeping darkness in the 1956 Cecil
B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments, usually
broadcast on television at this time of year, has been

Wendys has not joined other fast food chains in

buying Florida tomatoes picked through the Fair
Food Program.
April 13 I received an email from Truah, a Jewish nonprofit organization that mobilizes rabbis and their communities to protect human rights in the United States,
Canada, Israel, and the Occupied Territories. The email
endorsed the CIW boycott. I joined with more than 150
rabbis and cantors in answering that call.

the stuff of childhood nightmares for six decades now.

I recall being disturbed, in my youth, by the image of
this angel in a Haggadah that illustrated a Passover song,
Chad Gadya. That the Holy One, Blessed be He, finally
smote the Angel of Death, who slew the slaughterer,
who killed the ox clearly communicated the hierarchy, but this didnt change the fact that both the slaughterer and the ox ended up dead.
Which brings me back to the point that Passover is a
holiday that confronts death rather than denying it, and
offers the alternative to choose life. The Angel of Death
is neither an object of worship nor the embodiment of
evil. The personification of death is frightening, without
a doubt, but as Gods messenger, it is at the same time an
Angel of Justice, under certain circumstances an Angel
of Mercy, and without a doubt an Angel of Humility.
Ernest Becker eventually came to the conclusion that
in our contemporary culture, we have come to place
too much emphasis on enhancing self-esteem. Humility
serves as a counterweight to that tendency, the humility that comes from remembering that we were slaves,
and the humility that comes from remembering that our
lives are finite.
Passover is a celebration of redemption and renewal,
but above all it is a celebration of life, whose meaning
and value can only be understood through its contrast
with death. So as we drink our four cups of wine at the
seder, let us also remember to say Lchaim! To life!

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

April 23 12 Noon
Saturday,
Food Drink Music
Popcorn Cotton Candy
Train
Ride for Kids (up to 10 yrs.)
80 Maple Avenue Montclair, NJ

seasonal promotions

Tables & Chairs - all sizes, all styles

Tables & Chairs - all sizes, all styles

Traditional. Modern.
Contemporary.

Dr. Lance Strate of Palisades Park is a professor

of communication and media studies at Fordham
University in the Bronx and the president of his
synagogue, Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia.

This weekend, when many Jews in our area and around

the world celebrate Passover, the Jewish holiday of freedom, we will tell the story of yetziat Mitzrayim, our peoples miraculous exit from the physical and spiritual
oppression of forced labor. If we are unaccustomed to or
disquieted by miracles like the 10 plagues and the parting of the sea, we still may understand the subtle miracle
of simply being free, able to move at will, to be compensated justly for our labors, to live a life free of physical and
sexual violence. We may come to understand that a boycott, like the plagues, is an enactment of a truth: dramatic
demonstrations of might and power and determination
are often required before we can break free.
This year, Ill struggle to understand why Wendys
heart is hardened to the rights and dignity of the workers who grow its tomatoes, just as every year I struggle
to understand why Pharaohs heart was hardened in
his day. Maybe Ill add a Florida tomato to my seder
plate, or pass one out to each of my guests, and tell the
story of how Taco Bell joined the Fair Food Program
after a CIW boycott some years ago. After all, I may
not understand how hearts become hardened, but I
do know how to soften them.
Rabbi Jacob M. Lieberman is the rabbi of
Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel and assistant
rabbi of Temple Israel and Jewish Community Center in
Ridgewood.

Warm
wishes for
a Happy
Traditional. Modern.Passover!
Contemporary.
Traditional. Modern. Contemporary.

908.583.6109

2500 Brunswick Avenue

Bldg 908.583.6109
H, Linden, NJ 07036
2500
Brunswick Avenue
www.uniqueelegantseating.com
Bldg uniqueelegantseating
H, Linden, NJ 07036
www.uniqueelegantseating.com

uniqueelegantseating

Decorators & Designers Welcome!

Decorators & Designers Welcome!

See Letters on page 32

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 27

Cover Story

Why
Maxwell
I
House?

Some things change, some remain the same. In 1948, Maxwell House advertised in
the haggadah in Yiddish; in 2015, the companys old slogan is on the new cover.

JoaNNe PaLMeR

A look at the countrys

longest-running promotion
and its local connection

28 Jewish standard aPriL 22, 2016

t is traditional to ask questions at the

Passover seder.
There are the four the youngest
child traditionally asks, of course,
about the details that make this night
different. Theres also the challenge
the bad son throws out why is this
night special to you?
And then there are the questions that American Jews ask.
Why Maxwell House? What does a haggadah have to do with coffee in general? With
Maxwell House in particular? Have Maxwell
House and Pesach been linked since the Exodus from Eypt, and if not, then when did they
get together? Whose turn is it to read that part?
Whose turn is it to get the haggadah with that
very weird stain on the page with Dayenu? And
exactly what is that stain? (Um, no. Dont ask
that question)
Unlike the questions in the haggadah, which
have mainly open-ended answers and are meant
to stimulate discussion, the Maxwell House

haggadah questions have fairly easy answers.

Elie Rosenfeld of Teaneck owns Joseph Jacobs
Advertising, a nearly century-old firm (founded
in 1919) that moved to Teaneck from Manhattan
a few years ago. Maxwell House began its relationship with the agency in 1923, he said, and
printed the first haggadah in 1932.
The relationship seemed unlikely from the
beginning. General Foods bought Maxwell
House, and then Kraft Foods bought General
Foods. But at the beginning, Maxwell House,
named after a fancy hotel in Nashville, was
made by a small Tennessee-based concern, the
Nashville Coffee and Manufacturing Company.
It was founded by the wonderfully named Joel
Owsley Cheek, who soon renamed it the CheekNeal Coffee Company to acknowledge his business partner, John Neal.
Mytholoy has it that Mr. Cheek was Colonel Cheek, Mr. Rosenfeld said, but that piece
of information, evocative of the Old South (and
therefore particularly ironic when you think of
the haggadahs story of the escape from slavery
to freedom), seems not to be true.
The reason the haggadah was created was

Cover Story

good enough to be apocryIn fact, it was capital-P

phal, but its not. Mr. Jacobs,
Ponderous, all thees and
the ad agency owner, who
thous and thines. Or, as
knew Mr. Cheek, pitched
we read the answer to
the idea of a haggadah as a
the fourth son, But as
way to educate Jewish confor him who hath no
sumers. Many of them were
capacity to inquire, thou
immigrants; many came
must begin the narrafrom cosmopolitan places
tion as it is said.
where coffee was a staple,
Hath no capacity to
but many others came from
inquire, indeed!
poorer places, shtetls, where
T h e re a re o t h e r,
coffee had not filtered in.
smaller changes; at the
Elie Rosenfeld
Coffee was new to them.
beginning of the seder,
Once Jews learned to
the section now spelled
drink coffee, Pesach became a challenge,
Kiddush was Kiddusch then, with an extra
because of kitniyot.
c. When and why did that change? Mr.
Kitniyot are legumes, which, according
Rosenfeld isnt sure.
to Torah law, and to Sephardi Jews, are
Theres no record of the translators
Pesachdik not forbidden on Passover
name, he added.
but according to the accumulated weight
Occasionally the cover image changed,
of nearly a thousand years of Ashkenazi
and so did the haggadahs size. At some
tradition are chametz, not allowed on
point, blue was added to the black ink, and
Passover, nonetheless. (There is some give
new art, introduced in the mid 1960s and
around the edges on the question of eating
strongly reflecting its period, remained in
kitniyot, with the Conservative movement
use until 1998. That year, both the art and
in North America joining its sister movethe type were reset.
ment, Masorti, in Israel, in permitting it to
In 2011, we introduced the current verAshkenazim.)
sion, Mr. Rosenfeld said. The new translaLegumes are beans. Forbidden on
tion, while still retaining the formality that
Pesach. Coffee is made from beans. Formakes it clear that the text is not converbidden on Pesach?
sation, was modernized. The thees were
As it turns out, no, not forbidden on
gone. No more pseudo-King-James text.
Pesach. Coffee beans are not beans in any
way except linguistically. They are berries.
They are fine on Pesach.
How to convince the Jewish market of
the fact?
By putting out a haggadah, by not selling it but instead giving it away, by putting
your corporate logo not only into a familys kitchen cabinet but actually onto its
dining room table on one of the most emotionally resonant times of the Jewish year.
The Maxwell House haggadah was not
the first one that had been given away free,
and it was not the last one either, but it was
the most popular and successful one,
Mr. Rosenfeld said. It has been published
every year except a few during World War
II, when paper was rationed. It is known
to be the longest-running consumer promotion in the United States, he added.
The haggadah changed slowly over the
decades, one element at a time.
The Hebrew side of the haggadah has
not changed, of course; it is the entire traditional text. But the typeface has been
modernized. Most of the English text
changed just once, in 2011. Until then, it
used the pseudo-archaic constructs that
often were meant to signify capital-D
Devotion, as well as capital-E Earnestness.

The haggadahs look didnt

change much from the 1930s
to the early 60s.

Jewish standard aPriL 22, 2016 29

Cover Story
The largest change and it was a big
one was to make the English text genderneutral. The haggadah now is acceptable
across the board, Mr. Rosenfeld said. It
doesnt question gender; it just translates
it more accurately.
For one thing, using gender-neutral English nouns and pronouns, when possible,
to describe God, is more accurate. The
Rambam Maimonides says that God
isnt a male or female.
The earlier haggadah translations were
accurate in that Hebrew, which is not a
Romance language, nonetheless is like

The largest
change and it
was a big one
was to make
the English text
gender-neutral.
those languages in that they are heavily
gendered. Every noun has a gender. The
translations were very literal.
Some changes were easy. The four
sons, for example, became four children.
Others presented initially more challenging but eventually easy-to-solve problems.
In every blessing, king became monarch. It means the same thing, but its a
bit less in-your-face about it. We really
strove to have it so that if you werent
looking at it critically, you wouldnt
notice, Mr. Rosenfeld said.
To celebrate the new haggadahs, Mr.
Rosenfeld and his team decided to show

Above, Michelle Obama lights the candles

at a private seder at the White House;
at right, in 2012 the White House hosted
a display of Maxwell House haggadahs.

White House/Pete Souza

their colleagues at Maxwell House, most of

whom were not Jewish, what the haggadah
was for, and what a seder actually is.
Back then, the brand team, as he calls
the people who work for Kraft Foods Maxwell House division, still was in Tarrytown,
in New Yorks Westchester County. The
brand team understood what the project
was about, and how important it was, but
they didnt understand how it is used, how
it works, and how families sit around the
table, Mr. Rosenfeld said.

So we decided, instead of going out for

coffee, to have a model seder. So we went
up to Westchester, went into a conference
room about 10 of them and we brought
all the accouterments, the seder plate,
everything. We did it in about an hour, we
explained the three matzahs and the four

A few weeks ago, Elie Rosenfeld, in red and white shirt, went to Chicago to lead a model seder for Kraft Foods employees.
30 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

cups of wine. And because I am not going

to sing along, there isnt much singing.
Because this was during the middle of a
work day, though, the four cups of wine
were four symbolic sips of grape juice, and
then soda.
Sometimes we have had people who
can ask the Four Questions in Hebrew; otherwise we do it in English, he said.
And then there are the deeper concepts. We explained the difference
between celebrating freedom and remembering oppression, Mr. Rosenfeld said.
And I explain why, when it comes to the
plagues, the custom is to take out drops of
wine from the cup. I explain that although
we have a need to escape our captors, to
fight an army, we also have to remember
the other side, that real people are being
harmed.
People who dont know about the
seder learn about people who take their
books and their coffee around the table
Maxwell Houses instant coffee is a huge
seller among people who do not brew coffee or heat water on Shabbat or holidays,
but can stir crystals into preheated water.
And we juxtapose it a bit to Thanksgiving,
to the idea of going home for the holidays.
The idea is that no matter what part of the
Jewish community people come from,
they go home for the holidays.
The seder is about teaching the next
generation, Mr. Rosenfeld tells the highlevel Kraft Food guests. Thats why some

Cover Story
of the things we do serve no purpose other
than the very important one of forcing the
question Why?
Maxwell House moved from Tarrytown
to suburban Chicago, and then to downtown Chicago. We had 18 people, including very upper-level people, from various
departments at Kraft Foods, including the
cheese and beverage departments, Mr.
Rosenfeld said. It is an interesting way to
have people sit around a table and learn
about brands and cultures.
Its also an educational opportunity
to discuss what Passover is in terms of
kosher. Often, when high-level executives talk about selling kosher or specifically kosher-for-Passover products, they
think only about the products themselves,
he said. There is never the chance for a
discussion about what a Jewish home goes
through for the holidays.
I explain that people remove products from their homes, and change their
dishes. I talk about brands other than their
own Coke, Pepsi and about Welchs
joining with Manischwitz for kosher-forPesach grape juice.

It blends the cultures of marketing

and branding and religion into a very fun,
enjoyable hour, he said.
And how does he convince people to try
the model seder in the first place? Theres
nothing better to get people to a meeting
than to tell them there will be matzah ball
soup and potato kugel.
Back to the haggadah.
We believe that this is the most widely
used haggadah in the world, Mr. Rosenfeld said. It is distributed only in this
country, but they have made their appearance on every U.S. battlefield since World
War I to this day; they are sent out through
the chaplains office to Jews serving in the
U.S. armed forces around the world.
There are stories about Russian immigrants to America, who didnt speak English, having them; theyd been smuggled
into the former Soviet Union.
And they are used in the White House.
President Obama has held a private seder
every year, and they use the Maxwell
House haggadah.
Theres a very cool story about it, Mr.
Rosenfeld added. A few years ago, Jeffrey

YoungIsraelofFortLee
YomHaShoahCommemoration
Wearedeeplyhonoredtowelcome

NewJerseySupremeCourt

ChiefjusticeStuartRabner
"HolocaustRemembrancefor
theNextGeneration"
May4,2016
Mincha:6:45p.m.
ProgramsBegins:7:00p.m.
1610ParkerAvenue
FortLee,NJ07024
Foradditionalinformation
email:yiftlee@gmail.com

Goldberg and Jonathan Safran Foer

wrote commentary for a new haggadah. (It was 2012; The New
American Haggadah actually was
edited by Mr. Foer, the novelist;
Mr. Goldberg, who writes for The
Atlantic, was one of an impressive
list of Jewish intellectuals who contributed to it. Jeffrey Goldberg was
in the Oval Office, interviewing
Obama, and when he was finishing the interviewing he said, Wait,
I have a book I want to show you.
It was The New American
Haggadah.
Does that mean we cant use
the Maxwell House? Mr. Obama
asked.
In 2013, Joseph Jacobs Advertising displayed the haggadahs at the
White House for Jewish Heritage
Month.
This is a quintessential American brand, Mr. Rosenfeld said.
And it has entrenched itself and
become part of the Jewish community. This is a perfect blend.

This cover is from the 1965 version.

Highly Respected Company

Serving Families for 15 Years.
Now Open in Tenafly
Vibrant
Community

Vibrant People

Everyone shares
Great gathering
a spirit of vibrant
places to connect living; programs
and engage;
to keep your mind,
transportation
body and spirit at
services offering
their best.
you freedom to
get out and about.

Vibrant Lifestyle
High-energy fun
to quiet relaxation
and a social life as
full as you want it
to be.

Vibrant
Company
Proven track
record and
outstanding
residents and
associates.

Call today for information about Brightview Tenafly, the areas

newest Assisted Living and specialized Dementia Care community.

Tenafly
A SSISTED L IVING
55 Hudson Avenue Tenafly, NJ 07670

Please call Toni or Shannon to

schedule your personal visit.

201-510-2060

Jewish standard aPriL 22, 2016 31

Letters
Spend more to eradicate slavery worldwide
Thank you for your excellent article, Freeing the
Slaves, (April 8). I wanted to correct one important
statistic. I misspoke. In the interview, I said: There is
$150 billion a year going to trafficking, and only one
tenth of that amount is being spent to eradicate it.
I meant to say that one tenth of one percent is being
spent to eradicate it. Kevin Hyland, the U.K.s Anti-Slavery Commissioner, estimates that we spend even less.
He said last week at a conference sponsored by the Vatican: 0.08 percent of the amount spent on trafficking

Trump and Hitler: Obvious parallels

Like several other letters already published in the last

issue or two, I also felt that Rabbi Boteach was completely missing the point about why many felt that calling Donald Trumps campaign tactics Hitler-like and or
Nazi-like was appropriate, and why these accusations
were legitimate, even if Trump was not targeting Jews
at least for now (Comparing Trump to Hitler trivializes the Holocaust, March 18).
To politely paraphrase the late George Carlin: Did
it ever occur to people that the reason why the politicians running for office stink is because the voters
stink?

is spent to fight it.

This is why 44 organizations, including Free the
Slaves and such Jewish groups as the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Federations of North
America, Jewish Womens International, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and
Truah, have co-sponsored generation-freedom.org.
They are soliciting signatures and petitioning all 2016
presidential candidates to commit to spending $3 billion dollars or 2 cents for every dollar that traffickers

earn off the backs of slaves on anti-trafficking efforts.

To put this in context, Americans spend $7 billion dollars on potato chips annually.
The question is not whether we have the resources to
end slavery. The question is whether we have the will.
Readers can view and sign the petition at www.generation-freedom.org, and download seder resources on
modern slavery at www.FreeTheSlaves.net/Judaism.
Rabbi Debra Orenstein
Congregation Bnai Israel, Emerson

Like many fascist demagogues before him, including Hitler, Donald Trump has repeatedly appealed to
racism against Latinos and African Americans, and to
prejudice against Muslims, and he has encouraged and
condoned violence at his rallies. These are danger signals that anyone who values democracy should recognize and call out.
Contrary to trivializing victims of the Holocaust, this
is the least that we can do make sure another Holocaust does not happen.
To further drive the point home, I encourage those
fellow readers with a Netflix account to check out a

currently streaming German movie made in 2015

called Er ist wieder da (it means Look whos back),
a black-humored satire about Hitler suddenly reappearing in the year 2014 and rapidly conquering TV,
Facebook, and the rest of social media. As with Hitlers
first rise, most people do not take anything he says
seriously this time either, and the few that do are dismissed as paranoid or trouble-makers.
The parallels to the current Trump campaign (and those
of other Republicans this year) are chillingly obvious.
David Rubin
Ramsey

4 pm
| 9 am 9
1
g
u
a

ag e s 3 -7 | J u n 2 7

(s h o rte

b le fo r pr e sch oo le r
r d ay s ava i l a
s)

The Best, All-Inclusive Day Camp

Amazing Facilities! 3 pools, sprinkler park, sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, low ropes course,
air-conditioned nursery rooms, indoor rain-day facilities and more!
Professional Staff including head counselors who are certified educators for 3 and 4 year old campers,
professional specialists in nature, Israeli culture, drama, dance, music, sports, ceramics & more!
Incredible Red Cross Swimming programs.
Right in your own backyard! No long bus rides.
Flexible Registration! 4, 5,6, 7, or 8 weeks with transportation & extended
as K a b o u
t
day options.
h ow to s a
ve
All inclusive (lunch, snacks, camp swag, towel service) so parents
u p to $ 8 0
0
dont have to worry about a thing!
w it h o u r
group ra
tes

new to the Jcc? Join the Jcc for $250!

The JCC offers many membership options including

our NEW! Camp Family Membership for $750.

Membership to the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades required for NKDC enrollment.
New to the JCC & Camp Family Memberships run Memorial Day-Labor Day. Call for details.

Kaplen

JCC on the Palisades taub campus | 411 E clinton avE, tEnafly, nJ 07670 | 201.567.8963 | jccotp.org/nkdc

32 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

Jewish World
Congress holds hearing
on Islamic extremisms
threat to European Jews
Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.) chaired a congressional hearing on Tuesday that explored the threat
Islamic extremism poses to European Jewish communities. The hearing examined how European governments can do more to protect those communities by
using policing models pioneered in America.
There can be no European security without Jewish
security. As we have seen so many times in so many
places, violence against Jewish communities often
foreshadows violence against other religious, ethnic,
and national communities. ISIS (the Islamic State terror group) especially hates the Jewish people and has
instructed its followers to prioritize killing them, said
Smith, who chairs the body that held Tuesdays hearing, the U.S. Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki
Commission.
[Islamic States] cronies targeted the Jewish
Museum of Belgium in May 2014, the Paris kosher
supermarket in January 2015, and the Great Synagogue
in Copenhagen in February 2015, and murdered people in all of them, Smith, who represents New Jerseys
4th congressional district, added.
Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of international
Jewish affairs for the American Jewish Committee,
thanked Smith for his pioneering work in identifying and addressing anti-Semitism in Europe. Baker
said that European governments need to do more to
confront anti-Semitism.
One of the problems we have faced and we continue
to face is that governments are slow to recognize the
very problem itself, let alone to marshal the necessary
resolve and expertise to confront it, Baker testified.
Rutgers University Professor John Farmer Jr.,

Abbas says he doesnt

want to run again
for president of PA
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told
the German publication Spiegel Online International
that he does not want to run again if new elections
are held. Abbass presidential term officially expired
in January 2009, but there have been no Palestinian
elections since then.
I am willing to have elections at any time, but
Hamas refuses it. Currently, we are negotiating the creation of a unity government with Hamas in Qatar. We
can conduct elections as soon as we have a unity government, Abbas said in response to a question regarding the decline in his popularity and whether or not he
fears a Hamas takeover in the West Bank.
Abbass interview with Spiegel Online International
also covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace
process.
I am constantly asking the Americans and Europeans: What are my mistakes? They confirm that I made
no mistakes. It is the Israeli side which misses all the
chances for peace, Abbas said.
Abbas said he opposes terror attacks against Israelis, but that such attacks would stop if Israel stopped
occupying Palestinian land.
If Israel stops this, no child will take a knife to
JNS.ORG
attack Israelis, he said.

who has led an initiative at Rutgers designed to identify

the best ways to protect vulnerable communities in light
of the evolving threat of Islamic extremism, said he has
worked with U.S. communities to develop what FBI officials have called an off-ramp to radicalization.
This is a time of particular peril for the Jewish future in
Europe, and it is incumbent upon us to do what we can to
assure that future, Farmer said.
The collaboration with law enforcement agencies
has to be based on trust and confidence, in respect of

international laws and rules protecting individual freedom, civil liberties, and privacy, Jonathan Biermann, a
Brussels-based attorney and an elected city councilman
there, said during his testimony on Tuesday.
Paul Goldenberg, a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said he has observed from a
number of his trips to European cities in recent years that
more work needs to be accomplished to move closer to
a medium and standard of safety and security for European Jewish communities.
JNS.ORG

THIS PASSOVER

1.7 MILLION
STARVING
JEWS
WILL SIT DOWN TO AN
EMPTY SEDER TABLE.

n
m
kl
[
R
E
G
N
U
H
E
H
T
HELP US END RAEL
CRISIS IN IS
DONATE TODAY AT
WWW.MEIRPANIM.ORG

5316 NEW UTRECHT AVENUE, BROOKLYN NY 11219 877.736.6283

CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE IN THE USA. TAX ID # 20-1582478

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 33

Our
OurChildren
About

Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

Party
Time

Specialty Camps
Different Strokes
for Different Folks

Into the Water

Learning How to Swim

Supplement to The Jewish Standard May 2016

AOC-2
T:10

T:13

We make you a priority.

Thats what it means to be a trusted hospital.
Emergency Services at

We care about you and your expectations. Thats why, in an emergency, youll be comforted
to know youll receive the same level of high quality care that is available 24/7 throughout the
Atlantic Health System network.
In addition, our patients consistently rate us better than 99 percent* of Emergency Departments
in NJ for overall patient satisfaction, as well as wait times to see a doctor. We know that when
it comes to an emergency you can trust you will be treated as if you were the only person in the
world. Thats more than healing. Thats healing the whole person.

Learn more at atlantichealth.org/chilton or call 888.4AH.DOCS.

*Press Ganey NJ ER/ED 2015
2 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

716384-1 B
To Contact Us regarding
this Job, Scan this QR

Atlantic Health System

ALYCORP-60998

100%
None

N. Coutroulis/M. Lederman

AOC-3

OurChildren
About

Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

May 2016

Happy Birthday, Baby! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Birthday venues, gifts and more

Family Talk and Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Digital communication breakdown?

Learning to Swim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
What to look for when going into the water

More Questions for the Seder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Inquiries to make the holiday more meaningful

Jewish Pride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

!
S
D
I
K
L
L
A
CALLING
Want a great birthday?

Have a pool party!

For ages 3 and up.
Available Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights after club hours.
Parties include: Host Safety Procedures Fun Water Toys
Water Games Lifeguard, Refreshments & Pizza

$50 OFF

10% OFF

First Time Clients Only. Expires 5.15.16

First Time Clients Only. Expires 5.15.16

BIRTHDAY PARTY

SWIM LESSONS

LEARN-TO SWIM-PROGRAM
Our Red Cross certified swimming instructors provide
one-on-one 30 minute lessons 7 days a week.
Kids Pool Hrs: Weekdays 3-5pm. Weekends 10am-12pm & 2:30-4:30pm

Glenpointe

Spa & Fitness

200 Frank W. Burr Blvd. Teaneck, NJ

201-425-0823

www.glenpointespaandfitness.com

From Steven Spielberg and beyond instilling pride

All new
experience!

Anxiety in Youngsters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

How to recognize a problem and help your children

Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Pictures of our children

Specialty Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Different strokes for different folks

Top Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Great picks for May

Camp Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

A variety of options

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Fun things to do this month

Simchas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Marking our milestones

us

Newer, Better, More Spectacular!

Thrilling New Rides!
Giant Slides
Giant Spider
Obstacle Course Mountain
Air Cannon Alley and Slide
Sports Arena
And More!

Birthday Parties!
Giant indoor inflatables
Private bounce and party rooms
Hassle-free, easy to plan!
2015
Dedicated party pros
Clean, safe and secure
READERS
CHOICE
We clean up!
FIRST
PLACE

FOR A
Beyond Birthdays! PLACE
KIDS PARTY

KIDS FUN
Open Bounce
Create & Bounce Art Camps PLACE
TOP 3
Field Trips
KIDS GYM
Class and Team Parties
Kosher
Fundraisers and more!
Available

Spider Mountain

ley
Air Cannon Al
Obstacle Course

Paramus
(201)
Nanuet (845) 367-4250
Paramus
992-8152
(201) 843-5880
/BounceUofParamus
www.BounceU.com/paramus-nj
www.BounceU.com/nanuet-ny
BounceU.com/paramus
70 Eisenhower Dr. Paramus, NJ 07652
424 Market St. Nanuet, NY 10954
70 Eisenhower Drive Paramus, NJ www.Facebook.com/BounceUNanuet/
07652
www.Facebook.com/BounceUParamus/

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

AOC-4
OurChildren
About

musings from the editor

S

now in April was about as likely as my

brother-in-laws cancer diagnosis.
Tall and fit, with a striking resemblance to Bill Bradley, the American Hall of
Fame basketball player and former New Jersey
Democratic U.S. senator, Frank, my husband
Jeffs brother, got the news in late January.
We were shocked not unlike others who
never would expect a robust relative to get
sick.
But like the athlete with whom he shares
a likeness, Frank has taken on his treatments
with a play-to-win resolve. In between his chemo appointments, Frank has kept up his running routine, his work schedule as an attorney,
his gym visits, and most impressively, his positive attitude.
As for the snow in April? Yes! There was
snow in April!
It was a nearly mid-month Sunday, and
the mercury dipped to freezing levels. That
was the morning Shaina and I had to get out
of bed early to participate in a 3-mile walk for
the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Shaina had
learned of the fundraising
walk while researching
something else online, and
it was her suggestion that
we do it for Uncle Frank.
So donning hats and
gloves and sweaters was

this really April? we Starbuck-ed ourselves

up, and Shaina and I headed to the start line
about two miles away. There already was a sea
of people. There were copious bottles of water,
bagels, and orange slices set out for the participants. Upbeat music blared from the loudspeakers. People were putting on signature
purple T-shirts that were handed out, and attaching bibs with the written name of the person for whom they were walking. They laced
up their sneakers and did some preliminary
stretches. Shaina and I snapped a selfie and
texted it to Frank.
It felt like a party almost. We met a few
people we knew and got to know a few people
we hadnt. But most of all, we felt like we were
doing something. Something good. Something
important.
As we walked, the wind off the Hudson River blew, the sun beat down, and the phalanx
marched on. Folks didnt miss a stride as they
picked up energy bars to snack and bottles of
water to quench their thirst at stations set up
along the way.
At the midpoint mark, many walkers
stopped to take another picture. It was a Kodak
moment, with the river in view and the Statue
of Liberty in the distance. We journeyed back,
and as we reached the finish line, there was all
the hoopla of the end of a marathon with folks
cheering along the sidelines.
When it was all done, we felt accomplished.

MissionStatement

OurChildren
James L. Janoff

Natalie Jay

Heidi Mae Bratt

Peggy Elias
George Kroll
Karen Nathanson
Janice Rosen
Brenda Sutcliffe

Publisher
Editor

Deborah Herman

Art Director

AdvisoryBoard
Michelle Brauntuch, MS,CCLS

Barry Weissman, MD

Child Life Specialist, Englewood Hospital, Englewood

Pediatrician, Hackensack and Wyckoff

Hope Eliasof

Cheryl Wylen

Holistic Chiropractor, Oakland

4 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

Myrna Beth Haskell

Ed Silberfarb
Slovie Jungreis-Wolff
Denise Morrison Yearian

Contributing Writers

Jane Calem Rosen

Marketing and Communications Specialist

Howard Prager, DC, DACBSP

Advertising Director

Account Executives

Psychologist, Teaneck

Marriage and Family Therapist, Midland Park

Cheers,

About

About Our Children is designed to help Jewish families in our area live healthy, positive lives that make the most of
the resources available to them. By providing useful, current, accurate information, the publication aims to guide parents to essential information on faith, education, the arts, events, and child-raising in short, everything that todays
Jewish family, babies to grandparents, needs to live life to the fullest in northern New Jersey and Rockland County.

Dr. Annette Berger, Psy.D.

And proud.
But the day wasnt over.
At Shainas suggestion, we rented bicycles
and rode home along the river, enjoying the
vigor of being out. As we rode, we stopped
to adjust something on one of the bikes, and
a nearby jogger approached us. She was a
young woman who noticed the purple T-shirts
we were wearing, the ones that identified the
Lustgarten Foundation. She explained that she
just returned from Texas to visit her father,
who also is battling the disease.
Then she thanked us for doing the walk.
Wow. That was unexpected. If we didnt already feel good about what we had done, what
she said to us was the cherry on top. It was the
proverbial ripple of a good deed.
How would we have had that moment had
we not said yes? Yes to getting out of bed early
on a Sunday morning. Yes to the walk. Yes to
the bicycles.
Now, most thankfully, we have very good
news about Frank.
May it continue, and may the ripples of
good never fade.
Wishing all a happy and kosher Passover.

Director of Adult Programs and Cultural Arts

YM-YWHA of North Jersey, Wayne

About Our Children is published 11 times a year by the New Jersey/Rockland Jewish Media Group,
1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666; telephone: 201-837-8818; fax: 201-833-4959.;
e-mail: AboutOC@aol.com.

Dont Miss About Our Children in Summer

Published on May 27, 2016

AOC-5
GENERATION G

European Adventure
Seen Through the Eyes of a Child
E D S I L B E R FA R B

he Alpspitz at 8,622 feet

may not be the highest
peak in the Bavarian Alps,
but it is one of the most daunting and glamorous. There at
the summit on a bright day in
July was seven-year-old Alina
with a smile as sunny as the
summer sky.
She had conquered the
Alpspitz with the help of a cable car. It was the beginning of
her adventure in Europe. Her
Daddy was stationed with the
Marines for a year in Stuttgart,
Germany, so Alina and Mommy
spent the summer vacation
visiting him and traveling the
continent.
It was not Alinas first trip
overseas. She was already a
veteran of foreign travel. There
was a brief holiday in Paris, but
No, we didnt do the Eiffel Tower. The line was too long.
Two years ago, she and
her parents went to Russia, her
mothers native land, for a family wedding. Alina, already bilingual, vowed, Im not going to
speak Russian over there, but
relented when she met, Leeza,
her Russian cousin, and the two
began babbling away.
I have lots of boys, Leeza
told Alina, an innocent abroad,
Ill give you some, but only the
ones with glasses.
At the wedding, the two
were resplendent, flower girls,
in their white, bouffant, skirted
dresses, high fashion from New
York.
Now she had returned to
Europe, and by the time the
trip was over she would have
toured six countries: Germany,
Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria. Her favorite
place was Stuttgart, Germany,
where she stayed in her fathers
apartment and made friends
with neighboring kids. She
even became a licensed go-kart
driver.
A Stuttgart attraction for
young and old is its network of
trolley cars that crisscross the

The Little Mermaid in Cohenhagen, Denmark

hilly city. One steep hill defies

even the intrepid trolley driver.
To navigate that peak was a special treat for Alina, a cog railway
with a descent as precipitous as
a roller coaster.
The vast Ukraine was a
different world for her lush
farmland with tent-shaped haystacks, green hills and a castle
with turrets and crenellated
walls. Even her blas father
was impressed by the beautiful
scenery. He said, It makes the
Green Mountains of Vermont
look like Bayonne, New Jersey.
Alina, however, had other
Ukranian interests besides

mountain scenery. There was a

farm with cows, chickens, a pig,
a grassy field for exhaustive
running, and the ultimate joy,
a horse that she and a friend
could ride bareback (with the
help of the farmer).
Besides rolling hills, enticing greenery and picture book
farmland, there is another side
to the Ukraine, a dark side.
They traveled through towns
and villages once populated
by Jews all gone. They saw a
building that was once a synagogue, and suddenly a sight
both startling and somber, a
traffic sign pointing to the town

of Striy where Alinas great

grandfather was born.
Equipped with a EurRail
pass, Alina and Mommy rode
the train to Finland where they
were introduced to Moomin
World. After three visits to Disney World in Florida, Alina is a
veteran of make-believe, but
Moomin World is a creation of
a different order. Based on the
Moomin stories by Tove Jansson, its an amusement park
with no thrill rides, but an assortment of fantastical Moomin
creatures with which the kids
could frolic, and pathways with
surprises around every corner.

One of the thrills was to get arrested and get locked up in a

Moomin jail under the stern,
watchful eye of the Moomin
jail keeper. Finland, however,
was not all fantasyland. Alinas
mother had a Finnish friend
with children, companions for
Alina.
In Sweden, they toured
Stockholm where Alina was
transported back in time at
the Vasa museum. A Swedish
gunboat of the 17th Century
had been sunk and remained
at the bottom of the sea until
400 years later it was raised to
become the heart of a maritime
museum that also told the story of 17th Century Sweden.
And in Denmark they visited Copenhagen and another
waterside adventure, a boat
ride around the harbor. There,
wonder of wonders, was the
Mermaid. Shes beautiful, was
Alinas reaction, an impression
that obscured everything else
in Copenhagen.
Alinas European adventure continued in Vienna, city
of wine and music, but the
heart-tugging attraction for her
wasnt Reisling and Mozart. It
was the Lipizzaner Stallions
the magnificent horses that
perform to worldwide acclaim.
She saw them in their stable
and their elaborate trappings,
and the rink where they perform, but alas, the horses were
not performing the day of her
visit. A severe disappointment,
but Viennese sweets helped
ease the pain.
With retreat of the summer sun, Alina returned home
for her next adventure, second grade, a new teacher and
friends, some old, some new,
and a repertoire of stories
about foreign lands.
Ed Silberfarb was a reporter for
the Bergen Record in New Jersey,
then the New York Herald Tribune
where he was City Hall bureau
chief. Later, he was a public information officer for the New York
City Transit Authority and editor of
one of its employee publications.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

AOC-6
OurChildren
About

Located in Closter Plaza

LEARN
TO SKATE PROGRAM
Plenty of Ways
claim a FREE

new member offer!

Trial Class

53 Vervalen Street
201.983.1551
GROUP
LESSONS
Learn more at1kidville.com/closter

to Celebrate
(skate rental not included)
Birthday
Parties
BIRTHDAY PARTIES!
CLASSES START
9 WEEKS 2 HR SESSIONS $160.00
TOT to ADULT ALL LEVELS

1 Hour of skating during public session

uniors birthday is always a reason
WEEKDAY
MORNINGS
&
EVENINGS
to celebrate whether its his or her
Private decorated party room
first year or the launch year of 18
& SATURDAY
MORNINGS
Pizza and soda with personalized
Carvel cake
or more.

The question is how exactly do you

celebrate?
Happily, there are plenty of local
options as to where and how to have a
happy birthday.
Splish, splash, a pool party need
not only be a warm weather or summer
event.
At the Glenpointe Spa & Fitness, water fun for birthday parties is a perennial
event. The Teaneck-based fitness center
features a 30-feet by 50-feet pool, with
depths from 3 to 5 feet and temperatures

SK ATING ARENA
10 Nevins Drive Wayne, NJ
973-628-1500 Fax 973-628-1555

Places, Spaces, and More

VENUES
Blue Moon Mexican Cafe

More than 343,000 likes.

Like us on
Facebook
facebook.com/jewishstandard
6 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

of a comfortable 84 to 86 degrees.
The kids just love it, says Gregg Evans, the general manager at Glenpointe
Spa & Fitness. They just go crazy and
have so much fun in the pool.
The pool party package at Glenpointe includes a two-hour adventure
in the pool and includes a lifeguard,
party hostess and plenty of water toys
and inflatables for pool fun, followed by
a pizza and beverage after-pool gathering. Parties have been held in the pool
for celebrants as young as 2 years old.
Most youngsters celebrating at the Glenpointe are from 4 to 13 years old, says
Mr. Evans. Pool parties are held on the
weekends, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
A popular birthday spot in a new
location is the Kidville in Closter, which

W193821-01

2 HOURS OF
FUN!
H 18th
E I D I M A E B RAT T
SEPTEMBER

23 E. Palisade Avenue
Englewood, NJ
201-541-0600
www.bluemoonmexicancafe.com

Bounce U

70 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, NJ
201-992-8152
www.bounceU.com/paramus-nj
424 Market St.
Nanuet, NY

845-367-4250
www.BounceU.com/nanuet-ny

Cresskill Performing Arts

300 Knickerbocker Road, Suite 1100

Cresskill, NJ
201-390-7513
and 201-266-8830
www.cresskillperformingarts.com

Glenpointe Spa & Fitness

200 Frank W Burr Blvd,

Teaneck, NJ
201-836-5400
www.glenpointespaandtness.com

AOC-7
OurChildren
About

offers a variety of birthday party packages for youngsters that include all the fun of Kidville, a variety of
themes, pizza and cake and more. All you have to do
is show up because the folks at Kidville take care of
all the details and make sure that your birthday boy
or girl is happy.
Mexican-flavored birthday fun is at Blue Moon
private party rooms that can accommodate up to 65
youngsters, customizes a menu, and offers outside entertainment, if desired. The south-of-the border theme
can also include a piata, sombreros and colorful maracas at the party, says Kelsey Bigler, party planner at
Blue Moon.
Ice-skating is always nice skating at Ice Vault Arena
in Wayne. A birthday party allows celebrants to be the
hottest kid in town at the coolest place around. The ice
vault offers two party packages. All parties include a
private party room, carvel ice cream cake, food, soft
drinks, invitations and an off-ice party attendant.
At Cresskill Performing Arts in Cresskill, birthday
parties run the gamut from events that highlight dancing or Legos or arts and crafts or even pajama parties
and more. But what is very popular these days, says
Betsy Daly, owner and director of Cresskill Performing
Arts, is the triple threat, that is a party that incorporates singing, dancing and acting.
This is new big thing, says Ms. Daly. The party
participants get to warm up and learn the songs, and
moves and actions of piece of work and then perform.
They will take a song from a popular Broadway show,
such as Magic to Do from Pippin and put it together,
perform it, and have party fun.
At the nearly year-old High Exposure Rock Climbing
and Parkour in Northvale, action-packed rockin parties
come in packages for everyones taste, including the action adventure room party, the parkour room party, the
ninja warrior obstacles party and a combination party
and tumble and art.
Weve done parties for 4-year-olds to 45-yearolds, says owner Stephanie Shultz. We try to make it
not only fun but very experiential.
A jumping, bouncing good time can be had at one of
the areas very popular birthday spots, Bounce U, with
locations in Paramus and Nanuet, NY. At Bounce U, say
organizers, children feel like kings for the world with
giant indoor inflatable playgrounds. Planning is as easy
as going online.

High Exposure Rock

Climbing & Parkour

266 Union Street

Northvale, NJ
201-768-8600
www.highexposureclimbing.com

Ice Vault

10 Nevins Road
Wayne, NJ
973-628-1500
Fax 973-628-1555
www.icevault.com

Kidville Closter

53 Vervalen Street
Closter, NJ
201-983-1551
www.kidville.com/closter

SWEETS
AND TREATS
Cake & Co.

1378 Queen Anne Road

Teaneck, NJ
201-530-7555
cakeandconj.com

CLOTHES
AND MORE

Of course, it wouldnt be a birthday without a cake

or cake pops or cookies.
For some of the sweetest and aesthetic treats, Krystina Gianaris, owner and master baker at Teaneck-based
Cake & Co. has taken her skill to create show stopping
cakes that are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.
Need a gift idea?

Milk & Honey in Englewood has a plethora of gifts

that would be great to honor a birthday.
And of course, there are the clothes.
Perfect for the birthday celebrant are the fun and
funky finds at Marcias Attic for Kids, also located in
Englewood, and Carlyz Craze in Teaneck.
Heidi Mae Bratt is the editor of About Our Children.

watershed
recreation
program

Carlyz Craze

The Watershed Recreation Program is now open from April 1 to

November 30, 2016.

Marcias Attic for Kids

Participants can fish, walk, bird watch, hike, or simply enjoy nature.
Access to 4 reservoirs Old Tappan, Oradell and Woodcliff Lake in
New Jersey and Lake Deforest in Rockland County, New York.

472 Cedar Lane

Teaneck, NJ
201-342-3398
www.carlyzcraze.com
29 N Dean St.
Englewood, NJ
201-894-5701
www.marciasatticforkids.
myshopify.com

Milk & Honey

11 Grand Avenue
Englewood, NJ 07631
201.871.2111
milkandhoneybabies.com
201-871-2111

For an online application visit:

www.SUEZWatershed.com

Thinking Ahead
Learn more at MySuezWater.com

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

AOC-8
OurChildren
About

Family Talks and the Texting Takeover

MYRNA BETH HASKELL

be adorable

Texting literally drives me nuts. I press the wrong letter all

of the time. I get frustrated because I want to send a longwinded message, and the darn thing keeps auto-correcting
me. Id much prefer to send a real note via my computer or
just pick up the landline.
I know I sound ancient, but what has the world come
to? No one uses words anymore. Were all emoticons and
abbreviations. For a person who makes a living with words,
this is depressing.
I cant even get a hold of my children normally anymore. If I want to hear from my son, who now lives on his
own in the big city, I have to send him a text to tell him to
check his email. My younger daughter even thinks email is
antiquated. Its as if telephones and normal correspondence
never existed. Try asking a 14-year-old to send a thank you
note. You have to remind him or her that you mean put a pen
to paper and a stamp on an envelope.
Has the digital world morphed our communication skills
into bits and bytes for the long haul? We know that texting
isnt going away. The ease, convenience, and instantaneous
response aspects of texting are just too enticing. According to
the findings a recent poll, Texting is the most frequently used
form of communication among Americans younger than 50.
So, what does this say about communication between
family members? No matter what you prefertexting or real-time, verbal banterits time to examine if this new form
of communication is for better or for worse.

marcia's attic for kids

29 n. dean street englewood, nj
201-894-5701

Cakes

Pastries

Cupcakes

Cookies

Cake Pops

Custom Creations for Every Occasion

RCBC

1378 Queen Anne Rd.

Teaneck
201-530-7555
info@cakeandconj.com
www.cakeandconj.com

Whats Missing in a Text?

30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ

For Tickets Visit www.bergenpac.org or Call (201) 227-1030

May 1st

1pm & 4pm

Friday May 20th 7pm

May 8th

1pm & 4:30pm

May 22nd 1pm & 4pm

June 5th
1pm & 4pm

Go to bergenpac.org for a complete list of upcoming events!

8 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

Weve all read books that have excited

various emotions. However, texting is
communication a la shorthand, so much
is lost in the translation.
Heather Leneau Bragg, a learning specialist and author of Learning Decoded:
Using Your Childs Unique Learning Style
to Improve Academic Performance explains, Face-to-face conversations allow
us to notice cues about the other persons
emotions, such as eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice, body posture, and
the timing and intensity of response. Texting cannot offer these important pieces
of information, which can be key to understanding, communication, and connecting with others.
Texting certainly makes it easier to
avoid real communication and having
to say something directly to someones
face, says Rebecca Levey, family tech
expert, host of ParentingBytes. She says
that this is one of the reasons why its
much easier to bully via text.
How many times have you personally experienced a misunderstanding
when texting (or even emailing) is involved? Perhaps you are very angry
with your teenage daughter who is late
for dinner because she is hanging at
a friends house. If you text, You need
to get home, she might interpret this,
as I should start thinking about getting
home, instead of I better leave right now.
However, misinterpretation is not the
only issue. Should we also worry that the
tech generation has lost the ability of ef-

fortless, in-person, social conversation?

Ms. Levey points out that there could
be a decrease in independence with some
children because of the too readily available communication. In other words, children might be less likely to fend for themselves if they can instantaneously request
help from their mother instead.

Maintaining Family Connection

If communication is suffering, then
parents need to be the first ones to put
away their phones, Ms. Levey advises.
Kids take cues from their parents.
Ms. Levey suggests finding time for
board games, going for walks, and cooking together as options for hanging out
and spending quality time. If a parent
doesnt prioritize that time, then they
cant expect the kids to, she says.
When communication happens via
text as opposed to in organic conversation, Children are less likely to learn
compassion and empathy, as well as
how to interpret non-verbal cues such
as body language, gesture, and tone of
voice, Ms. Bragg says.
Ms. Bragg also explains that texting
can reduce the amount of interaction
we have with our children during family
rituals, such as meals, bath time, and bedtime. Establishing these rituals builds and
maintains familiarity and connection.
Ms. Levey says that family dinner
has been in jeopardy for quite some
time, due to parents working longer
hours and kids participating in more
after-school activities.
Even when it is literally impossible
to sit for dinner together because of
conflicting work schedules, for instance,
finding time on weekends for a family breakfast or planning other activities where everyone participatessans
phoneswill encourage intimacy and
family bonding.

Set Guidelines and Limits

Texting before sleep can also become
a problem. According to an article published by the National Sleep Foundation titled Electronics in the Bedroom:
Why its Necessary to Turn Off Before
you Tuck In, Texting and emailing after
lights out, even once per week, dramatically increases self-reported daytime
sleepiness among teens.
Texting can be useful and desirable
in certain situations, particularly when a
phone call can be disruptive or immediate assistance is needed.
Tech is awesome in moderation.
Look for the happy medium, Ms.
Braggs says. Being able to shelve the
phone as often as possible allows more
opportunities to connect with our children. Be present, not checked-out or escaping elsewhere, she urges.

AOC-9*
OurChildren
About

Diving into Swimming

in the Sea of Learning
DENISE MORRISON YEARIAN

ost parents recognize the need to give their children swimming lessons to keep them safe in the
water. But teaching philosophies may vary from
one program to the next. So how do parents choose
the right swim program for their child? Check out what
these experts have to say about age appropriateness,
program size and instruction, submersion techniques,
fear of water and more.

When should lessons start?

The earlier the better, says Rob McKay, American Swimming Coaches Association level 4 instructor of the Lifestyle Swim School in Boca Raton, Florida. The sooner
a child gets acclimated to the water, the more comfortable he will be. I recommend starting classes no later
than 18 months of age. Somewhere around 19 months
children are more resistant to new experiences, he
says.
Eric Norman, Administrator for Health and Emergency Education at the American Red Cross (ARC),
agrees. Its especially important for children whose
parents have fears of the water, he says. Even if they
say theyre not afraid, kids can pick up on that fear and
feed off of it.

How long and how often should lessons be?

This can vary depending upon the age of the student,
his attention span and the program. For infant/parent
classes, McKay recommends one to two times a week
for approximately 30 minutes. As children get older and
begin learning various techniques, instruction should
increase to four to five times a week for about 30 minutes each session. The longer a child goes between sessions, the more likely he will forget what hes learned.

What is the best class size and student/teacher

ratio?
This too can vary. For children, it normally ranges from
six to ten students per instructor. More important than
ratio, says Mr. Norman, is pool depth, age and ability of
the class.

What should I look for in an instructor?

The two key qualifications an instructor must have are
proper certification and good interaction skills with
students. Mr. Norman believes anyone teaching swimming should be certified through a water safety instruction course, such as ones offered by the ARC. Equally
important is that the instructor has a good rapport
with the students.
Unless a child trusts the instructor, its hard to
make any progress, he says.

What is the right way handle fears?

The way swimming is taught is the most crucial factor,
says Mr. McKay. In his 30-plus years of teaching, he has
encountered a host of children and adults who were
afraid of the water due to improper training. The biggest mistake many parents and instructors make is forcing a child into the water, says Mr. McKay, who spends
numerous hours each week deprogramming fears. The
key is to redirect their attention with something they

will enjoy activities, games or puppets.

For example, during a recent swimming class McKay encountered a 20-month-old child who screamed
every time he got near the pool. Rather than forcing him in, Mr. McKay replaced fear with fun. First he
took a basketball hoop one used during class sessions and set it outside of the pool so the boy could
shoot baskets. Once the child was distracted from his
fear, the basketball net was moved closer to the pool,
and eventually to the edge of the pool. After two hours,
he was standing on the second step in the pool, tossing
the basketball through the hoop.

What is the safest way to submersion?

Perhaps the most frightening aspect for those who have
a fear of the water is not getting in its going under. Although there are many right ways to teach submersion,
there is definitely one wrong way. Both Mr. Norman and
Mr. McKay agree no one should ever be forced to put
their head under the water. When well-meaning parents
and instructors try this approach, it results is an even
greater fear of the water.
Only when a child is happy and comfortable with
his surroundings the water, the teacher and his classmates should he be taught to put his head under the
water, says Mr. McKay.
For a child new to the swim experience or one al-

ready having a fear of the water, Mr. McKay suggests

easing into it. The first few days we spend time playing getting used to being in the water. Then we pour
water down the front of their faces, he says.
This continues until the children are completely
comfortable with having their faces wet, normally by
the fourth or fifth session.
Then we dip their cheeks one at a time in the
water, he continues. Finally when the child is completely comfortable with having his face wet, we hold
and dip him under the water. Its important to put the
entire face under eyes, nose and mouth all at the
same time.

What should I look for in a program?

Before enrolling in a program stop by the school and sit
in on a class. Watch how the instructor interacts with
the students. Is he or she encouraging them without
pushing too hard? Is the instructor patient and respectful of any fears? Is he or she consistent? Does the instructor use positive reinforcement? Are the students
listening and attentive? Do they seem happy? Is the program geared for the skill level and age of the student?
Denise Morrison Yearian is the former editor of two parenting
magazines and the mother of three children and four grandchildren.

MISS PATTIS ACCLAIMED

DANCE CAMPS
Summer 2016

Professional instructors with extensive training,

performance and teaching backgrounds
I. Ages 4, 5, 6, & 7/8
Weeks of July 11 and/or July 18 Mon-Fri 9:30-12:30
Wonderful quality instruction in ballet, jazz and tap
applicable to each age group. Includes other fun-filled
activities such as crafts, tumbling, hip hop, dance videos
and an endearing end-of-camp week performance.

II. Ballet Intensive with Esteemed Instructors

Two weeks July 25 August 5
Professional training in classical ballet technique and
performing skills. (also includes contemporary, musical
theater, character, ballroom dance instruction )
Camp performance: Friday, Aug 5.
NYC trip (Broadway) on Thursday, July 28 to include bus
reservations, dinner and the new Broadway musical. Tuck
Everlasting The Musical.
NYC trip on Sunday, July 31 (Lincoln Center) to see the
National Ballet of Canada performance, The Winters Tale.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

AOC-10*
OurChildren
About

More Questions for a Meaningful Passover Seder

S LOV I E JU N G R E I S - WO L F F

he Passover Seder implants faith

within the next generation, creating a link in an unbroken chain
back to those who first experienced the
miracles of Exodus.
Here are 6 questions that give us a
deeper understanding of Passover.

1. Why must we first search for and

get rid of every morsel of chametz?
The night before Passover begins we
search every nook and cranny for leavenchametz. The next morning we
burn the leaven. Chametz is compared
to the ego of a person. Flat matzah alludes to humility. The leaven we rid
ourselves of represents the negative
character traits we should be searching
for. It is not just our physical homes we
must clean. It is time, too, for a spiritual
cleaning. Just as leaven and breads rise,
so too does a persons pride. Arrogance
does not allow relationships to flourish.
An arrogant person cannot teach, learn,
or truly love. He cannot make space for
God; his heart is filled with self-love.
Before sitting down to Seder, take
steps to search within our hearts and

souls. Take a few moments and think

about how we have been treating others,
reacting to those we live with, and which
words we have been using.

2. Why do we recite the 15 steps of

the Seders order before we begin?
The word seder means order. Life
requires thought. We shouldnt live
randomly. Whenever we take action its
good to think beforehand. Every word
we speak, each text we send should be
considered carefully. These 15 steps are
the ultimate mindfulness plan. Living
purposefully requires setting goals.
The very first step of the Seder is
Kadeshreciting Kiddush, sanctification. Exodus was our gift of sanctification
and spiritual transformation. From that
moment until today we were given the
ability to soar. But spiritual connection
does not just happen. We must also take
a step towards God. Seder night is our
time to take that step. It begins with the
knowledge that we are sanctified. No Jew
should ever give up on himself.

3. Why Karpas, a vegetable dipped

in saltwater?
The Seder leader dips a vegetable into

saltwater and distributes portions to

all. There is a deeper meaning to this
seemingly simple act. Vegetables come
from the dirt. Seeds are put within the
dark ground and one wonders if it will
ever sprout. So too, from the depths of
slavery and a land of idolatry did our nation flourish. Sometimes we may wonder
if the spark within is still alive. We may
feel as if we are living in darkness. Our
nation seems to be floundering. Never
grow despondent. Look at this vegetable
that began from a tiny seed in the earth
and then burst forth and grew. This is a
message to each of us as we begin the
Seder night. We will flourish. Each soul
has a life source within that can pierce
the darkness. Never despair.

4. Why 3 matzahs and 4 cups of

wine?
As we harness the miracles of the night it
is crucial to establish our roots. We transmit to all who sit at our table that we are
a nation who possesses great spiritual
DNA. Seven is the number of our original
forefathers and mothers. Our three patriarchsAbraham, Isaac and Jacob, as
well as our four matriarchsSarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leahwalked before

us. They created a path for us, overcame

tremendous life challenges and tests so
that we would have the fortitude to continue their great legacy.
At the Seder take a few moments to
speak about the strengths of each of these
great zaydies and bubbies of ours. We
are here today because they endowed us
with the traits of resilience, compassion,
spirituality, collective responsibility, unshakable faith and love of God, desire to
learn, and the stamina to never give up
despite the odds that speak against us.

5. Why invite hungry people to join

us once we are already seated?
Passover is the night of redemption and
redemption arrives when we start caring
for those who are around us. There are
times in life that we dont realize that we
have been kind to the world but those
closest to us feel ignored and disparaged. Ive spoken with husbands, wives
and children who live with family members of great community leaders, but
when it comes to their very own spouses and children the silence has been

Questions continued on page 17

CHILDRENS
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
TURN YOUR PARTY
INTO A FIESTA AT
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BLUE MOON

Englewood,
Wyckoff &
Norwood

Bronxville
Woodcliff Lake

Piatas * Crafts * Entertainment * Sombreros * Birthday Cake

(packages range from $13.95 - $21.95 per child)
for party info

201.848.4088 * www.bluemoonmexicancafe.com
10 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

Great Birthday
Parties & Bar/Bat
Mitzvahs!

AOC-11
OurChildren
About

Teaching Pride in Ones Heritage

S LOV I E JU N G R E I S - WO L F F

teven Spielberg, the iconic

filmmaker and champion of
Holocaust survivors, has spoken in interviews about his difficult
childhood where he found himself
constantly bullied. From an early
age, Mr. Spielberg lived in fear of being looked at as different because
he was Jewish.
It isnt something I enjoy admitting, but when I was seven,
eight or nine years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox Jews. I
was embarrassed by the outward
perception of my parents Jewish practices. In high school, I got
smacked and kicked around. Two
bloody noses. It was horrible, Mr.
Spielberg confided in an interview
with Moviepilot.
When Mr. Spielberg was in Saratoga High School, kids would pass
by him in the hall and sneeze HowJew. After school he was again bullied frequently. Mr. Spielberg admits
that he was ashamed of his Jewish
name and all things Jewish. He has
said in the past that because of the
constant taunting, he denied his
Judaism for a long time.
I often told people my last
name was German and not Jewish,
Mr. Spielberg said.

The Spielbergs are dirty Jews

Spielbergs mom, Leah, shared in a
2012 interview with 60 Minutes that
the Spielbergs lived in a non-Jewish
neighborhood and folks would often yell out The Spielbergs are
dirty Jews.
Coupled with his parents difficult divorce, Mr. Spielbergs selfesteem became battered. He felt all
alone.
In order to cope, young
Spielberg created an imaginary
frienda compassionate alien.
The friend could be the brother I never had and a father that I
didnt feel I had anymore.
This imaginary alien friend became the inspiration behind the
popular film E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. And Elliot, the child who finds
E.T., is a mirror to Mr. Spielbergs
life as a boy.
We would go from town to town
and it would just happen. I would
find a best friend, and I would finally
become an insider at school and at
the moment of my greatest comfort
and tranquility move somewhere
else. And the older I got the harder
it got. And E.T. reflects a lot of that.

Bullied Youngsters
Steven Spielbergs boyhood story
of being taunted is not unique. Every day thousands of children are
afraid to go to school, get on the
bus, sit down for lunch, or join
their classmates at recess. Bullying affects youngsters of every age,
all over the world. These children
are mercilessly picked on over and
over again. Bullies do not stop.
They are relentless.
The children who are bullied
can be taunted for the way they
look, dress, speak, act, their race,
home life, or like Steven Spielberg,
their religion. No matter the reason
behind the cruelty, the child who
is being bullied grows fearful and
loses self-confidence. While young
children are encouraged to confide
in a trusted adult like a teacher or
parent, pre-teens and teens would
be reluctant to bring someone else,
especially an adult, into the picture. They are afraid of even more
taunting: So, you had to go to your
mommy? What a baby you are! Instead of sharing their pain, many
of these children grow silent. They
keep their anguish inside. Childhood becomes an emotional album
of painful memories.

Helping Them Cope

Experts advise parents to build a
childs self-esteem so that the bullying will not destroy feelings of
self-worth. The better your child
feels about himself, the less likely
that the taunting will leave a child
battling inner devastation. It is a
good idea to encourage hobbies,
extracurricular activities, healthy
connections with others and friendships made outside of school. Relaying to your child what you love
about him, as well as reinforcing
his strengths and positive qualities,
also builds a childs self-regard.
Some children also need parents to
role play and help them learn how
to ignore the bully or use humor to
get around the situation.
It is important to practice confidence, positive body language, and
not give the bully the response he
is looking for. Forming emotional
intelligence skills allows children to
learn needed life abilities for future
experiences.

From Dirty Jew to Jewish Pride

When it comes to dealing with religious slurs it behooves us to give
our children confidence in who they
are. Sadly, many of our children will
have to deal with taunts and smears

denigrating Judaism. The world has

only grown more anti-Semitic since
Steven Spielberg was a boy. Though
he is a remarkable example of one
who rose above his fears of being
different, and even learned to embrace his heritage publicly through
his work, we are not guaranteed
that our children will automatically
do the same. What can we do to
help our children grow with Jewish
pride?
When called a Jew, instead of
feeling shame, lets make the child
feels a surge of pride.
Knowledge is power. If we
want our children to grow up feeling proud to be called a Jew then
we must transmit to them a strong
Jewish identity. That means that
we stand strong in our own Jewish
identity. We need to ask ourselves:
what does being Jewish mean to
me? How can I help my children
connect to their heritage and love
their legacy? Am I building Jewish
memories for my children to recall
as they grow up?
Home is the place where our
children learn to really care about
being Jewish. We celebrate Shabbat, light our menorahs, sit under
the starry skies in our sukkahs
and speak about the miracles of
our nation Seder night at home.
Children observe as we sing the
Shema at bedtime, recite blessings, live with Torah morals as we
honor our parents, invite guests
and speak respectfully to one another. Our homes are our greatest classrooms. We cannot leave
our childrens Jewish education
to otherswhether it be schools,
teachers, synagogues or after
school programs. The seeds must
be planted at home, otherwise
there are no roots to anchor our
children.
When we help the next generation celebrate their Judaism, grow
strong in their daily Jewish moments, learn more about their past
so that they can successfully build
their future, embrace mitzvot, we
create a strong Jewish identity.
When called a Jew, instead of
feeling shame, lets make the child
feels a surge of pride.
Slovie Jungreis Wolff is a noted teacher,
author, relationships and parenting
lecturer. She is the leader of Hineni
Couples and daughter of Rebbetzen
Esther Jungreis. Slovie is the author of
the parenting handbook, Raising A
Child With Soul.

Reprinted with permission of Aish.com

An innovative and luxe

one-stop shop for new parents

11 Grand Avenue
Englewood, NJ 07631
201.871.2111
milkandhoneybabies.com

A Reason to Smile
A HAPPY FAMILY HAS
HEALTHY TEETH

TEANECK DENTIST
We put the Care
into Dental Care!
Richard S. Gertler, DMD, FAGD
Michelle Bloch, DDS
Ari Frohlich, DMD
Visit us on Facebook

100 State Street Teaneck, NJ

201.837.3000

www.teaneckdentist.com
Convenient Morning, Evening & Sunday Hours
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016 11

AOC-12*
OurChildren
About

Dealing with Anxiety in Children

H E I D I M A E B RAT T

ust like adults, children and young

people feel worried and anxious
at times. Throughout a childs life
there will be times when they feel anxiety. For instance, many children feel
anxious when going to a new school or
before tests and exams. Some may feel
shy in social situations and may need
support. But if a childs anxiety starts
to affect their wellbeing, they may need
some help to overcome it.
Anxiety becomes a problem for children when it starts to get in the way of
their day-to-day life. And severe anxiety
can be harmful to a childs mental and

emotional wellbeing, affect their selfesteem and confidence, and cause other
problems.
About Our Children consulted with
Dr. Kai-ping Wang, the Medical Director of Pediatric Psychiatry at the Valley
Medical Group and current president
of the New Jersey Council of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, for his expertise.
About Our Children: How common
is anxiety in children and teenagers?
Dr. Kai-ping Wang: Anxiety is normal and an essential part of life. However, recurrent problematic anxiety is
the most common mental health issue
in children and adolescents. Frequently
unrecognized, anxiety disorders are es-

ART
Lessons

Art of Excellence Studio

Classes in Drawing and Watercolor Structured Lessons

Summer Specials

NEW
STUDENTS
ONLY

More than
343,000 likes.

Like us on
Facebook.

Sign up for 4 beginner drawing lessons

and get 1 additional lesson free!

Oceans Alive and Native American themed art camps in August!

Artist, Rina Goldhagen 201-248-4779
www.artofexcellencestudio.com

facebook.com/
jewishstandard

Debora K. Geller, M.D.

Pediatric and Adult Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Environmental Food Allergy Testing

Immunotherapy (Allergy shots)
Complete Asthma Care Same Day Appointments
Voted Castle Connolly Top Doctor
NJ Monthly Top Doctor - 2014, 2015
Inside Jersey Top Doctor and Top Doctors for Children

Medical excellence with a personal touch

466 Old Hook Rd., Suite 24E, Emerson, NJ 201-265-7515
NEW LOCATION 170 Changebridge Rd., C3, Montville, NJ
www.bergenallergydoctor.com

12 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

timated to affect about 20 percent of children anxiety.

AOC: What are the
sorts of things that can
cause this anxiety?
Dr. Wang: This is
tough to answer with any
brevity. Any sort of stress,
depending on its perceived severity, could
be a factor in problematic anxiety. Genetics,
biology (nutrition, fitness, sleep), secure
family attachment, individual temperament, peer relationships,
etc. could have an impact as well.
AOC: Are we seeing more youngsters suffer from anxiety, and if so, why
is that happening?
Dr. Wang: Another good, but tough,
question to answer succinctly. There
are several parts to this. We are gradually recognizing the problems of excessive anxiety and the importance of early
identification and treatment. Kids are
exposed to increasing levels of expectations in many areas of their lives: such
things as academic performance with
frequent testing, ever-present media influences on body image and wealth, constant comparisons and insecurities enabled by social media. They are exposed
to issues and pressures that we were in
blissful ignorance of during childhood.
In our efforts to protect our kids from
unhappiness and stress, we may also be
lowering our kids ability to handle issues on their own or never developing
enough resilience.
AOC: When does normal anxiety, -such as test jitters, an upset at the playground, fight with friend and the like
turn into something more?
Dr. Wang: Part of this is in the previous answer. But its very hard to predict.
One conceptual framework is seeing a
childs resilience as a sort of immune
system. We are constantly exposed to
viruses and germs but should only get
sick infrequently if our immune system
is working properly.
AOC: What can a parent do to help
quell the anxiety and not allow it to fester into something else?
Dr. Wang: Quelling anxiety, including rushing to reassure, may inadvertently dismiss a childs experience. It
may inadvertently create an impression
that something is wrong with a child for
feeling what they feel. Fear and worry
are not bad emotions they have their
role and value. They can protect us from
danger, increase our level of alertness,
help us prepare properly, and allow us
to be more perceptive of others. Since
anxiety happens at all age groups, from
toddler to adult, its difficult to give

universal advice. In general, I would encourage

parents to try to understand without judging
what their child is experiencing. Perhaps helping them work through
their negative thoughts
and distortions. A good
principle is that we as
parents are there not
to prevent our kids
from feeling bad, but
rather giving them the
tools and confidence
to handle anxieties and other emotions.
Parenting is less about preventing stress
and anxiety, but helping our kids grow
stronger and more resilient.
AOC: What are some of the psychological and physical manifestations of
anxiety?
Dr. Wang: Physical symptoms are
common in the younger or less emotionally mature such as sweating, racing
heart rate, shortness of breath, loss of
appetite, stomachache, nausea, urinary
urgency, headache, etc.
Mental symptoms include feeling
stressed, difficulty sleeping, nightmares,
inattention, distractibility, irritability,
avoidance, etc. Anxiety is a big risk factor for later development of depression.
AOC: When is it time to seek a
specialist?
Dr. Wang: When anxiety starts to impact behavior, such as avoiding normal
stressors or spending excessive time
worrying or even perfectionist behavior,
the anxiety should be addressed. Seek a
specialist if the initial individual or family response doesnt work. (The child is
progressing trying new things, able to
deal with negative thinking, building selfconfidence, etc.)
AOC: What sort of specialist should
be consulted, a medical doctor, pediatrician, psychiatrist, psychologist?
Dr. Wang: Mental health issues
are difficult to accurately diagnose. In
particular, anxiety is often more internalized and more easily overlooked by
parents and teachers. Kids themselves
often do not recognize that what they
are feeling and thinking is not typical.
Your PCP is likely able to screen for anxiety, but most may not be able to perform
a more in-depth assessment. A specialist
in anxiety, such as a therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist can provide a more
comprehensive assessment. If the anxiety is more severe, if there are biologic
factors, or if medications are to be considered, a psychiatrist may be a good
place to start. Psychiatrists have formal
medical training, either a M.D. or a D.O.
Heidi Mae Bratt is the editor of About Our
Children.

AOC-13

1. The sixth and seventh grade students of Temple EmanuEls Religious School in Closter recently visited the Museum of
Jewish Heritage in New York City.
2. Bergen County High School for Jewish Studies (BCHSJS)
students enjoyed their annual Spring Overnight. Young
leadership students from Nahariya, Israel joined the group for
the overnight held at the JCC of Paramus.
3. The Wayne YMCAs Rosen Performing Arts Center produced
Aladdin, Jr. The cast was made up of young actors from the
local community.
4. Children at the Helen Troum Nursery School and
Kindergarten at Temple Beth Sholom in Fair Lawn enjoy making
Matzoh at the Matzoh Factory.

5. TABC joined with the organization, Midnight Run, to distribute

clothing to the homeless in New York recently. The TABC
community collected, organized and sorted clothing, and then
11 students went to the city and distributed them.
6. Disney film animator and director Saul Blinkoff recently visited
The Frisch School and gave an inspirational talk to the entire
school. He then spent some special time sketching and sharing
his artist self with students in the unique arts track program.
7. Students at the Academies at Gerrard Berman Day School
participated in a statewide event, NJ Makers Day. Their Jewish
STEAM Maker Day activities integrated Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Mathematics with a Jewish theme.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016 13

AOC-14*
OurChildren
About

Specialty Camps:
Different Strokes for Different Folks
H E I D I M A E B RAT T

ll settled about the summer?

For some, the summer will
be the annual return to friends
and fun at a sleep-away camp where
memories mount year and after year. For
others, its a return to a local day camp
where the fun ends at days end camp
side, and then begins again at home.
Still for others, the sleep-away or
day camp experience is not exactly what
they are looking for. They may want
something a little different, something
that emphasizes a skill, an art or a particular interest. Hence, the popularity of
specialty camps has emerged. And our
area boasts plenty of options.
Calling all actors and musicians. For
its 8th summer season and the first in its
new Teaneck home, Black Box Rock Musical Theater Intensive at Black Box Studios

will offer its camp from June 27 to July 22

for teens 13 to 19 years old. This seasons
musical production is Sweeney Todd:
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, says
Matt Okin, the artistic director of Black
Box and the shows director.
Many of our kids are serious about
working in the theater and becoming
theater professionals, Mr. Okin says.
Its very exciting because this is the first
time that we will be working in our own
new theater.
More performing arts for the summer is on tap at Cresskill Performing
Arts in Cresskill, where according to
owner Betsy Daly, the camp has added
another studio to its space but sticks
to a policy of an intimate group size of
12 campers for individualized attention.
Cresskill, she notes, is an official camp
for special needs campers, as well.
Also new this year at Cresskill Per-

forming Arts, says Ms. Daly, is a second

week of modern/ballet intensive dancingthere is a week in July and a week
in August. Camp this year will offer its
array of courses from dance, acting,
art, fencing, stage combat, circus arts
and the new gymnastics/jazz program.
Cresskill also offers evening classes in
modern and ballet dance for dancers
who may be doing something else during the day, but want to continue studying dance.

At The Camp at Teaneck Creek, children entering grades one through seven
can partake in arts and science programs, which includes courses such as
aviation/fabulous flying machines, making magic, fairy tale trialsout of the
woods and into the courtroom, and nature and discovery at the Puffin and the
Teaneck Creek.
High Exposure Rock Climbing and
Parkour in Northvale is offering a survival camp for indoor and outdoor adventure, including tree climbing, rope
climbing and other elements of survival
from June 25 through August 12. Later in
the summer, High Exposure will offer an
American Ninja Warrior Camp that will
feature stars of the popular television
show, including Joe Moravsky, said High
Exposure owner Stephanie Shultz.
Heidi Mae Bratt is the editor of
About Our Children.

Your child needs special education.

You want her to have a Jewish education.
You want him to be included.

INCLUSION by DESIGN
Serving Children

with a

Broad range

of

SpeCial needS

Special education uniquely integrated within Jewish Day Schools

Individualization Educational excellence
Meeting each childs academic, social, and emotional needs
Elementary Schools

High Schools

Adult Services

www.sinaischools.org/js 201-345-1974
14 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

www.tofutti.com

AOC-15*
OurChildren
About

TopChoices
M a y 2 0 16

CO M P I L E D BY H E I D I M A E B RAT T

Goodnight Moon and

Runaway Bunny and PJs

Isaac Mizrahi Family

Day at the Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum presents Isaac Mizrahi
Family Day, a fun-filled day of activities, on
Sunday, May 15. Families can celebrate the
striking and colorful world of fashion on
view in Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History
at a huge drop-in art workshop, hear the
hip Grammy award-winning music of Lucky
Diaz and the Family Jam Band, and take
gallery tours of the exhibition, which fea-

tures the work of Mr. Mizrahi, the Brooklynborn fashion designer. This event, for
children age 3 and up accompanied by an
adult, is free with admission. Isaac Mizrahi
Family Day, Sunday, May 15, noon to 4
p.m. The Jewish Museum,1109 Fifth Ave.,
Manhattan. 212-423- 423-3200, www.
thejewishmuseum.org.

Bee There or Bee Square

at Liberty Science Center
Whats all the buzz about? After taking a break for the winter, the live honeybees are
back at the Liberty Science Center. An observation hive indoors and two field hives on
the deck outside allow visitors to watch bees coming in and out of the hive, workers
converting nectar into honey and storing it in the honeycomb cells, the queen laying
eggs, and larvae growing and maturing. Visitors can even see beekeepers harvesting
honey at certain times. How sweet it is. Liberty Science Center, Liberty State Park,
222 Jersey City Boulevard, Jersey City, 201-200-1000, www.lsc.org.

Come and wear your pajamas to

this Pajama Party Performance
of Goodnight Moon and Runaway
Bunny presented by the Mermaid
Theatre of Nova Scotia on
Sunday, May 1 at bergenPAC.
This adaption by Mermaid
Theatre of the two classics, which
have delighted readers for generations, will bring a new appreciation for the stories. Goodnight
Moon is a celebration of familiar
nighttime rituals, while The
Runaway Bunnys pretend tale
of leaving home evokes reassuring responses from his loving
mother. Performances Sunday,
May 1 at 1 and 4 p.m. bergenPAC, 30 North Van Brunt St.,
Englewood. 201-227-1030,
www.bergenpac.org, www.
ticketmaster.com

Curious George and

his Adventures at bergenPAC
The lovable monkey is back in Curious George: The Golden Meatball a new
musical presented Sunday, May 22 at bergenPAC. On the long-awaited All-YouCan-Eat Meatball Day, George helps his friend Chef Pisghetti cooks meatballs
and serves them to the hungry crowd. But the crowds have vanished because of
Phinneas T. Lightspeed and his speedy Meatballs OMatic machine. In despair,
Chef Pisghetti vows to cook no more. George goes on a mission to help his
friend. And then the fun begins. Performances Sunday, May 22 at 1 and 4
p.m. bergenPAC, 30 North Van Brunt St., Englewood. 201-227-1030, www.
bergenpac.org, www.ticketmaster.com.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016 15

AOC-16

About Our Childrens

Guide to Summer Camps
DAY CAMPS
With over 150 Jewish camps to choose from,
let our dedicated staff help you choose the right one for your child.
Diana Diner | dianad@jfnnj.org | 201-820-3978
Grants available for first time campers

Jewish Federation

OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

*restrictions apply

Your Childs
Summer Memories
Start at Camp Veritans
Day Camp!

Camp Veritans

225 Pompton Road

Haledon, NJ
Phone: 973-956-1220
Fax: 973-956-5751
www.campveritans.com
Ages/Grade: 4 Years 10th grade
Dates: June 27 August 19
Counselor to Camper Ratio: 1:5
Camp Veritans, a Jewish day camp located in Haledon, is a camp for children
entering pre-K through 10th grade. We offer a variety of fantastic activities on our
beautiful 64 acre campus including Red
Cross swim instruction, amazing sports,
creative arts, ropes/challenge course,
in addition to daily hot kosher catered
lunches, transportation and so much
more. Specialized Trip & Travel program
for 8th and 9th graders and a comprehensive CIT program for our 10th graders.
Please see our ad on page 16.

OVERNIGHT CAMPS
Jewish Camp Initiative of Jewish
Federation of Northern New Jersey

Tuition Includes:

Wide Variety of Programs:

Daily Catered Hot Kosher Lunches

Daily Transportation
Low Camper to Counselor Ratio
Red Cross Instructional Swim
Extended Day Option Available

Serving Pre-K

to 10th Grade

New, Enhanced
CIT Program

Nature
Go Karts
Ropes Course

Arts & Crafts

Archery
Mad Science
Basketball
Cooking

4-Year-Old
Program
Available

Soccer
Football
and so

much more!

50 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, NJ
Phone: 201-820-3978
Fax: 201-820-3900
www.jfnnj.org/jewishcamp
Grades/Ages: 7 18 years old entering
3rd 12th grade
Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey is proud to partner with the Foundation for Jewish Camp in providing One
Happy Camper grants of up to $1,000 to
first-time campers who will be attending non-profit Jewish overnight camp.
Your child may be one of this summers
happy campers. Eligibility criteria and information on how to apply can be found
at www.jfnnj.org/jewishcamp. Please see
our ad on page 16.

ARTS, PERFORMANCE AND

MUSIC CAMPS
Art of Excellent Studio

Call or Email for a

Personalized Tour!
Registrar@CampVeritans.com
(973) 956-1220
Registrar@CampVeritans.com
(973) 956-1220
225 Pompton Road, Haledon, NJ 07508
16 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

WeLoveCampVeritans

Artist, Rina Goldhagen

Dates: July and August
Ages 7 Adult
201-248-4779
www.artofexcellencestudio.com
Themed Arts and Craft camps available
in July and August. You can email inquiries to artofexcellencestudio@gmail.com.
Ongoing lessons and portfolio classes
available. Unlock your creative with
classes in drawing and watercolor. Please
see our ad on page 12.

Black Box Studios

at the new Black Box Performing Arts

Center of Teaneck
200 Walraven Drive
just east of Palisade Avenue
Teaneck, NJ
201-357-2221
www.blackboxnynj.com
and on Facebook
Ages: 5 to Adult
Classes in theater, music, and improv all
year round. Professional performances
and events for all ages and interests, including cutting-edge drama, musicals,
childrens shows, musical performances,
improv jams, and more. Please see our ad
on page 17.

Bounce U

70 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, NJ
201-992-8152
www.bounceU.com/paramus-nj
www.Facebook.com/BounceUParamus/
424 Market Street
Nanuet, NY
845-367-4250
www.BounceU.com/nanuet-ny
www.Facebook.com/BounceUNanuet/
Create and Bounce Art Camp
Dates: July 11 Sept. 1, 2016
Time: 9 a.m. 3 p.m.
A little bit of exercise goes a long way toward inspiring your artists minds. BounceUs Create and Bounce program gives
kids a chance to enjoy physical activity
and creative time in equal doses, offering
an experience thats healthy, mentally engaging and seriously fun. Complete with
lunch, snacks, and games, its a one-of-akind camp experience theyll never forget. Please see our ad on page 3.

Cresskill Performing Arts

300 Knickerbocker Road, Suite 1100

Cresskill, NJ
Phone: 201-390-7513
and 201-266-8830
www.cresskillperformingarts.com
Ages: Toddlers-adults (studio)
Ages: 3 teens (camp programs)
Dancing, acting, singing, arts & crafts,
gymnastics, fencing, creative Legos, and
more. Be productive, busy, happy and
challenged during the school break. Born
to Perform Summer Camp: 3 programs,
9 weeks, ages 3 teens, Preschool Performers, Creative Children, Preteen/
Teen Exploring Artists come for one or
two weeks or all summer, June 27 August 26. Two weeks of Fencing Camp, age
7 teens: June 27 and August 22. For intermediate/advanced dancers: Modern/
Ballet Intensive, weeks of July 18 and August 15. Early drop-off/late pick-ups helps
working parents, too. Early registration
discount: call 201-390-7513 for details.
Please see our ad on page 17.

AOC-17
Miss Pattis School of Dance

85 Godwin Ave.
Midland Park, NJ
Rear of Midland Park Shopping Center
201-670-4422
www.misspatti.com
For all children to experience the wonder and joy
of dance in an environment that nurtures their individual creativity and personal growth. To create a
school that enhances childrens sense of confidence
and self-esteem, a place that would assist them in
developing a discipline, which applies to other areas of their lives. For the summer, the school is running several programs including: I. Ages 4,5,6 & 7/8,
July11 and or July 18, Mon Fri 9:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
II. Ballet Intensive with Esteemed Instructors, July 25
August 5. Please see our ad on page 9.

The Performing Arts School

Musical Theater Summer Camp

1 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ
Phone: 201-482-8194
Fax: 201-482-8391
bergenPAC.org/summer
Ages: 5 12
Session dates: 7/5 7/22 & 8/1 8/19
Deadline for registration: 6/1/16
Counselor to camper ratio: 3:15
Approx. cost per child: $850
bergenPACs Summer Camp in the Performing Arts
School provides our youth ages 5 12, an experience
in the performing arts that they will never forget. We
will build confidence, understanding and a sense of
appreciation for the arts while giving campers the opportunity to explore and develop their talents. $100
discount if registered and paid in full by March 1. Tuition includes lunch and snacks. After-camp care available for additional fee. Please see our ad on page 17.

Questions continued from page 10

deafening. As we sit together at Seder take a look
around the table. Let all who are hungry come and
eat let those who are emotionally hungry, anyone
who is starving for a kind word, a loving gesture, a moment of listening, this is the time to start showing our
sensitivity.

6. Why these 4 sons?

The Hagaddah speaks of 4 sons: the wise, the wicked,
the simple, and the one who does not know how to ask.
If you think about it, the righteous son is missing. The
message is clear. Each of these children presents unique
challenges. (Even the wise son may not fit in with peers,
dislike the conformity of school and question constantly thinking he knows better). Seder night teaches us
that we may not overlook any child. We have been given each soul with the understanding that we will do our
best to guide, teach and inspire. Look at a childs nature
and figure out the best response custom-made for that
personality. The Hagaddah instructs us to reply to each
childs question with an individual response. Usually
we think about teaching the righteous or good child
while other children may be ignored. When transmitting faith we cannot afford to take this approach. Every
single child is to be loved and cherished. Each deserves
to be engaged.
Slovie Jungreis Wolff is a noted teacher, author, relationships
and parenting lecturer. She is the leader of Hineni Couples and
daughter of Rebbetzen Esther Jungreis. Slovie is the author of
the parenting handbook, Raising A Child With Soul.

Reprinted with permission

of Aish.com

Presents

IMPROV BOWL V:
MATZAH BOWL

NOW REGISTERING
FOR SUMMER CAMP
1 Depot Square, Englewood, NJ
education@bergenpac.org
(201) 482-8194
*Tuition Includes Lunch & Snacks

Team Format Improvisational Comedy

Wednesday, April 27 at 8 PM
$7 tickets available at the door starting at 7:30 PM

*After Camp Care Available For Additional Fee

THE BLACK BOX PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

JULY 5 - 22, 2016

AUGUST 1 - 19, 2016

200 Walraven Dr., Teaneck, NJ 07666

More summer oerings available for
all ages at bergenPAC.org/summer or
call (201) 482-8194

(Just off Palisade Ave.)

Blackboxnynj.com

(201) 357-2221
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016 17

AOC-18

The Good Life With Kids

M A Y

To Our Readers: To Our Readers: This calendar is a day-by-day schedule of events. Although all information is as timely as we can make it, its a
good idea to call to verify details before you go.

Friday, April 22
Community Passover Seder at Chabad:
Experience a meaningful Seder with reading in
English and Hebrew. 7:30 p.m. Relax and relive
the Festival of Freedom. $55 adult, $25 children 4 to 11 years old. Free for children under
3. Chabad Center of Passaic County, 194 Ratzer
Road, Wayne. 973-694-6274.

Saturday, April 23
Community Second Passover Seder at Chabad:
Experience a meaningful Seder with reading in
English and Hebrew. 8:15 p.m. Relax and relive
the Festival of Freedom. $55 adult, $25 children 4 to 11 years old. Free for children under
3. Chabad Center of Passaic County, 194 Ratzer
Road, Wayne. 973-694-6274.

Sunday, April 24
Dancing for Hope Festival: Cresskill Performing
Arts is featured in the festival that helps raise
funds to fight and end the cycle of homelessness
and helplessness. 3 p.m. Cresskill High School, 1
Lincoln Drive, Cresskill. 201-390-7513, www.tututix.com/cresskillperformingarts

Saturday, April 30
Healthy Kids Day at the Y: Free event for the
community from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. offers healthy
activities for children and families, including theater workshops, inflatables, games, car seat safety
check, and more. 1 Pike Drive, Wayne, 973-5950100, www.wayneymca.org.

Sunday, May 1
Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny: Two
classic tales are presented by Mermaid Theatre
of Nova Scotia in performances at 1 and 4 p.m.
Celebrate these bedtime tales and come dressed
in pajama for a big Pajama Party Performance.
bergenPAC, 30 North Van Brunt St., Englewood.
201-227-1030, www.bergenpac.org, www.
ticketmaster.com.
Friends Gala Klezmer Music Concert: David
Licht, Psachya Septimus and Dobe Ressler regale
with the sounds of klezmer music starting at 2
p.m. Kosher refreshments will be served. Teaneck
Public Library, 840 Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201837-4171, www.teaneck.org.
Yom HaShoah Commemoration: Congregation
Bnai Israel marks the memorial with a special
program that includes the presentation of a
Torah scroll saved from the Holocaust. 7 p.m.
Congregation Bnai Israel, 53 Palisade Ave.,
Emerson. 201-265-2272, www.bisrael.com.

Monday, May 2
College Graduate Job Workshop: Parents, it
can be hard for your graduate to find a job after
college. Get solutions at a free 1-Hour Human
Resources Consultants Associates (HRCA)
Seminar from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. JCC of Paramus/
Congregation Beth Tikvah, 304 E. Midland Ave.,
Paramus. ndrucker@thehrca.com.

Wednesday, May 4
Star Wars Day: May the 4th be with you!
Join the fun at the bookstore as they celebrate
all things Star Wars and learn to play Star Wars
X-Wing. 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 765
Route 17 South, Paramus. 201-445-4589.

18 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016

OurChildren
About

To Add Your Event to Our Calendar

Send it to:
Calendar Editor
About Our Children
New Jersey/Rockland Jewish Media Group
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 0766 AboutOCaol.com
or fax it to: 201-833-4959

Deadline for June issue (published

May 27): Tuesday, May 17

Yom HaShoah in Teaneck: The Jewish

Community Council of Greater Teaneck will
hold its Yom Hashoah observance at 7:30 p.m.
at Teaneck High School, 100 Elizabeth Ave.,
Teaneck. The keynote speaker is Helga Marx
Silbermann, who in 1938 as a13-year-old joined
her grandfather as he ran into their burning shul
to rescue a Torah. She was placed in a position to
be able to warn those destined for death resulting in saving many lives. Her story and her will to
survive with the Torah she helped save is nothing
short of a miracle.

Friday, May 6
Grease Sing-a-long: Experience the friendships,
romances and adventures of a group of high
schoolers in the 1950s in a screening of Grease
starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.
7 p.m. Wayne Y, 1 Pike Drive, Wayne. 973-5950100.

Saturday, May 7
Family Services at Bnai Israel: Family Shabbat
program, for families with children 7 and younger,
8-11 Club and a learning service for adults and
children 12 and older will be available. The learning service starts at 10 a.m., family Shabbat at
10:30 a.m. Lunch of pizza, salads and ice cream
follows services. Congregation Bnai Israel, 53
Palisade Ave., Emerson. 201-265-2272, www.
bisrael.com.
Tot Shabbat at Temple Israel: Join Temple
Israel and Jewish Community Center for 11 a.m.
services featuring Cantor Caitlan Bromberg with
singing, prayers and parade of stuffed Torahs and
storytelling. Temple Israel & JCC, 475 Grove St.,
Ridgewood. 201-444-9320, www.synagogue.org.
Mothers Day Storytime: In celebration of
Mothers Day, read about becoming an expert
grandma sitter in How to Babysit a Grandma followed by Mom School. In Mom School a little
girl imagines where her mom picker up all her
amazing skills, like fixing a bike tire and baking
cupcakes. Join us afterward to make a care for
your mom or special caregiver. 11 a.m. Barnes &
Noble Bookstore, 765 Route 17 South, Paramus.
201-445-4589.

Wednesday, May 11
Preschool Storytime: Children ages 3 1/2 to
5 years old are invited to the librarys preschool
storytime. 2 p.m. No registration required. Teaneck
Public Library, 840 Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201837-4171, www.teaneck.org.

Friday, May 13
Family Services at Temple Israel: Join Temple
Israel and Jewish Community Center for 6:30
p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat services geared especially
for families with 4 to 13 year olds. A community
Shabbat dinner will follow services. Dinner is a
nominal charge. Temple Israel & JCC, 475 Grove St.,
Ridgewood. 201-444-9320, www.synagogue.org.

Saturday, May 14
If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the
Beach, Dont: If your mom says to get ready to
play at the beach, she means with a boat or a
Frisbee or a shovel. She is not talking about the
piano. But Magnolia is a little girl with a big idea,
determination and one very heavy upright piano
she insists she needs to take with her. Whats the
worst that can happen? Wait and see. 11 a.m.

See Sunday May 15, Isaac Mizrahi Family Day

Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 765 Route 17 South,
Paramus. 201-445-4589.
Turtle Dance Music: Interactive music and movement concert, part of the Kidz Cabaret Series,
with shows at 1 and 3 p.m. Drapkin Cabaret and
Lounge, bergenPAC, 30 North Van Brunt St.,
Englewood, 201-227-1030. www.bergenpac.org,
www.ticketmaster.com.

Sunday, May 15
Early Childhood Open House: Enrolling children
21 months to 5 years old for 2016-2017 school
year for the Academies at Gerrard Berman Day
School, 45 Spruce St., Oakland. From 10 to 11
a.m. 201-337-1111. Also on May 16.
Greenhouse Unveiling and Environmental Fair:
Academies at Gerrard Berman Day School invites
the community to its greenhouse unveiling and
environmental fair from noon to 3 p.m. The event
will include planting seedlings, using 3D design
and printers for creating hydroponic garden
containers, and building mini greenhouses. The
Academies at Gerrard Berman Day School, 45
Spruce Street, Oakland. Free admission, but RSVP
by emailing GBDS@ssnj.org.
Isaac Mizrahi Family Day: The Jewish Museum
presents a fun-filled day of activities from noon
to 4 p.m. Families can celebrate the striking and
colorful world of fashion on view in the exhibition
Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History, at an expansive
drop-in art workshop, hear award-winning music
of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band and more.
The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., Manhattan.
212-423- 423-3200, www.thejewishmuseum.org.

Wednesday, May 18
Cooking Class for the Chic Kid: A culinary trip
around the world for 3 to 10 year olds. From
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Children will sample all that is
prepared. $8 per child. Chabad Center of Passaic
County, 194 Ratzer Road, Wayne. 973-694-6274.

Thursday, May 19
Young Fantasy Reads: join the Young Fantasy
Reads Book Group in the Caf as they discuss
Magic Teachers Son, Book One of David Harten

Watsons Magicians Gold Series. 7:30 p.m.

Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 765 Route 17 South,
Paramus. 201-445-4589.

Friday, May 20
Drumming Circle at Temple Bnai Israel:
Congregation Bnai Israel presents an intergenerational drumming circle from 6:45 to 7:30
p.m. A traditional Friday night erev Shabbat service begins at 8 p.m. Congregation Bnai Israel,
53 Palisade Ave., Emerson. 201-265-2272, www.
bisrael.com.

Sunday, May 22
Kids in Action: Meet at Chabad and collect food
items to give to the Wayne food pantry then head
to Sky Zone for trampoline fun. $10 per child.
12:45 p.m. meet at Chabad Center of Passaic
County, 194 Ratzer Road, Wayne. 973-694-6274.
Pickup at Sky Zone at 2:45 p.m.
Curious George at bergenPAC: Curious George:
The Golden Meatball a new musical presented
Sunday, May 22 at 1 and 4 p.m. Come and enjoy
the antics of the lovable, mischievous monkey.
bergenPAC, 30 North Van Brunt St., Englewood.
201-227-1030, www.bergenpac.org, www.
ticketmaster.com

Monday, May 23
Read to Dogs: Children can sign up to read a
book to a therapy dog one-on-one for 15 minutes. The purpose of this program is to encourage
reading, improve language skills, and give children
a sense of security and confidence in their reading ability. 4 to 5 p.m. Teaneck Public Library,
840 Teaneck Road, Teaneck. 201-837-4171, www.
teaneck.org.

Thursday, May 26
Laptime at the Library: This storytime from
11 a.m. to 12 p.m. is for the littlest library goers,
infants not yet walking. Read simple and interactive stories and rhymes, sing songs, and do fingerplays and movement activities. Free play follows
storytime. Teaneck Public Library, 840 Teaneck
Road, Teaneck. 201-837-4171, www.teaneck.org.

AOC-19

Simchas
DARA LIEBESKIND
Dara Liebeskind, a junior
majoring in exercise physiology at the University of Miami,
was named to the Provosts
Honor Roll and Deans List
for the fall 2015 semester.
Liebeskind, of Hillsdale, is the
daughter of Susan and Pete
Liebeskind, and a graduate of
Pascack Valley High School.

ALBERT NISSIM
Albert Matthew Nissim, a
sophomore majoring in digital
and media studies at the
University of Rochester, was
named to the Deans List
for academic achievement
for the fall 2015 semester.
Nissim, of Englewood, is the
son of Nancy and Norris
Nissim, and a graduate of the
Ramaz School in New York
City.

Bnai mitzvah

LINDSAY ARONS
Lindsay Arons, daughter
of Lori and Andrew Arons
of River Vale and sister of
Gary, celebrated becoming
a bat mitzvah on March 26
at Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff
Lake.

CHANTEL EFRAT

ALEXIS MUHLSTOCK

Chantel Efrat, daughter

of Anat and Aviv Efrat
of Montvale, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on
April 16 at Temple Israel &
Jewish Community Center in
Ridgewood.

Alexis Muhlstock, daughter of

Amy and Richard Muhlstock
of Wyckoff and sister of
Samantha, 15, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on
March 19 at Barnert Temple
in Franklin Lakes.

DANI GORMAN

DAVID
ROSENBLATT

Dani Gorman, daughter of

Su and John Gorman of
Harrington Park, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on
April 16 at Temple Beth El of
Northern Valley in Closter.

DORA DIAMOND PHOTOGRAPHY

Deans list

JASON LEBOV
Jason Lebov, son of Leann
and Len Lebov of Wyckoff
and brother of Alden and
Spencer, celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah on March
26 at Temple Beth Rishon in
Wyckoff.

JULIANNA MARTON
Julianna Marton, daughter
of Nina Zubkoff and Fred
Marton of Closter, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on
April 2 at Temple Beth El of
Northern Valley in Closter.

JEREMY HARRIS

JOSHUA MENDEZ

Jeremy Tyler Harris, son of

Lisa and Jordan Harris of
Paramus and brother of Ben,
celebrated becoming a bar
mitzvah on April 2 at Temple
Beth Or in Washington
Township. His grandparents
are Merle and Fred Harris
of Paramus, and Elaine and
the late David Lashin of Port
St Lucie, Fla., formerly of
Connecticut. As a mitzvah
project, he volunteered for
Angels for Animals.

Joshua Mendez, son of

Deborah Friend-Mendez
of Norwood, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah on
April 9 at Temple Beth El of
Northern Valley in Closter.

MATTHEW
ROSENBLATT
SAMANTHA
ROSENBLATT
Triplets David, Matthew, and
Samantha Rosenblatt, children of Michelle and Kevin
Rosenblatt of Ringwood,
celebrated becoming bnai
mitzvah on April 16 at Temple
Beth Rishon in Wyckoff.

SAM SHERMAN
Sam Sherman, son of Dalia
and Ben Sherman of Teaneck,
and brother of Max and
Rachel, celebrated becoming
a bar mitzvah on April 9 at
Congregation Beth Sholom in
Teaneck.

DANIELLE STRASSBERG

JACOB WALLACH

Danielle Strassberg, daughter

of Jill and Steven Strassberg
of Woodcliff Lake and sister
of Jessica, celebrated becoming a bat mitzvah on April 2
at Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff
Lake.

Jacob Wallach, son of Melissa

Wilkison and Cantor David
Wallach of Pearl River, N.Y.,
celebrated becoming a bar
mitzvah on April 16 at Temple
Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley in Woodcliff Lake.

BARRY WALKER
Barry Walker, son of Jessica
and Todd Walker, celebrated
becoming a bat mitzvah on
March 26 at the Fair Lawn
Jewish Center/Congregation
Bnai Israel.

PARTY

HALEY MEYERSON
Haley Meyerson, daughter
of Deborah and Steven
Meyerson of Woodcliff Lake
and sister of Samantha,
celebrated becoming a bat
mitzvah on April 9 at Temple
Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley in Woodcliff Lake.

973-661-9368

Send us your simchas!

We welcome simcha announcements for
births and bnai mitzvah. Announcements
are subject to editing. There is a $10 charge
for photos. Photos must be high resolution
jpg files.
Call (201) 837-8818 for information.

Send to pr@jewishmediagroup.com
or mail to NJ Jewish Media Group,
ATT: Simchas
1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666
If a photograph is to be returned, include a
SASE.

Include:
1 hours of skating (during public session)
Private decorated party room
Off ice party attendant
Skate rental
Invitations for party guests
Pizza and soda
Personalized Carvel ice cream cake
Favors and candy
FREE skating pass for future use
Birthday child receives FREE Ice Vault T shirt

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN MAY 2016 19

AOC-20

INTRODUCING THE

Valley #MomSquad
A New Social Media
Forum for Moms
and Moms-to-Be!

Join our Facebook community

to connect with Valley doctors,
nurses and other specialists.
Valleys Center for Childbirth is pleased to introduce
Valley #MomSquad, a Facebook forum to address
Be.
the topics of interest to Moms and Moms-to-Be.
her moms,
Connect with Valley, as well as with other
e issues that
to ask questions and discuss the
matter most to you!
ng the #MomSquad
Support each other by using
ve messages with
hashtag and sharing positive
age, so ask away
one another. It takes a village,
and meet your new squad!

www.Facebook.com/ValleyChildbirth
m/V
/Va
/V
ValleyChildbirth

VOTING MATTERS!

My goal is to preserve and enhance

Teaneck for future generations.
Henry J. Pruitt, Jr.

Opinion

Pruitt for Township Council

Committed to Teaneck. Dedicated to Progress.

VOTE LINE 7

May 10, 2016 - Polls Open 6AM to 10PM

Dont Let Others Decide For You!

(In the last Teaneck Township election
only 26% of registered voters showed
up at the polls!)

For more information about Dr. Pruitt

go to: www.pruittforteaneck.com

Paid for by Pruitt for Township Council.

113 Voorhees Street, Teaneck, NJ

RVL 4.025x5.375 Mag v2:Layout 1

6/17/10

2:40 PM

Page 1

Luxury Watch Brands & Designer Jewelry

Up to 70% off Retail Everyday
Watch & Jewelry Repair
Custom Jewelry Made to Order
We Buy Gold, Diamonds, Jewelry & Watches

Luxury Watch Brands & Designer Jewelry

40% - 70% off Retail Everyday

Zissen Pesach!

Watch & Jewelry Repair Custom Jewelry Made to Order

We Buy Gold, Jewelry & Watches

59 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood NJ 07450

201 689 1800 www.redvelvetluxe.com

In January 2016, a protest in Buenos Aires marked the first anniversary of Alberto Nismans death.
JALUJ VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Justice for Alberto Nisman

and AMIA Jewish center victims
inches closer in Argentina

he Foundation for Defense of Democracies,

order. In 2004, Nisman was appointed by Argentinas
a think tank, presented its Alberto Nisman
then-president, Nestor Kirchner, to take over the AMIA
Award for Courage to Judge Royce Lamberth
investigation, which had descended into farce by avoidthis week. A senior district judge for the Dising the Iranian connection and concentrating solely on
trict of Columbia, Lamberth is no stranger to the Iralow-level local operatives. With Nestor Kirchners supnian-backed terrorism that cost Alberto Nisman his life
port, Nisman formally accused Iran and Hezbollah of
as he investigated Tehrans responsibility for the 1994
orchestrating the attack. His indictment named Irans
bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buetop leaders, including Supreme Leader
nos Aires. In 2003, Lamberth ruled that
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then-president
the Iranian regime would have to pay more
Ali Hashemi Rafsanjani, and then-foreign
than $2 billion to the families of the 241 U.S.
minister Ali Akbar Velayati, as having
Marines murdered in Beirut in 1983 by a
approved the bombing.
Hezbollah bomb.
In 2008, Nismans tenacity resulted in
Based on the evidence presented by the
Interpol releasing Red Notices which
expert witnesses at trial, the court finds
seek the location, arrest, and extradition
that it is beyond question that Hezbollah
of wanted people for the capture of sevand its agents received massive material
eral Iranian officials, including former
Ben Cohen
and technical support from the Iranian
deputy defense minister Ahmad Vahidi
government, Lamberth wrote at the time.
and Mohsen Rabbani, who served as the
Much the same can be said of the AMIA
cultural attach at the Iranian Embassy
atrocity, which claimed the lives of 85 people and came
in Buenos Aires at the time of the bombing. By then,
just two years after another Iranian-sponsored attack
however, the political environment in Argentina had
in Argentina the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in
changed dramatically. Nestor Kirchner died in 2007 and
Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people and wounded hunwas succeeded by his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchdreds more. But in Nismans case, his unmasking of Iraner. CFK, as she is commonly known, was in thrall to
nian culpability, along with the Argentine governments
the radical agenda of Hugo Chavez, the former Venezudecision to shield the mullahs from investigation, is
elan leader, as well as leftists and Islamist-sympathizers
what has fueled the widespread suspicion that this couin her own circles.
rageous federal prosecutor was murdered for speaking
By 2013, Nisman was out in the cold, as former Argentruth to power.
tine foreign minister Hector Timerman a man who,
Because, sadly, Nisman is not yet a household name
for his troubles, was described as that f**king Jew
among Jews in general, some reminder of both his lifes
by one of Cristina Kirchners closest advisers negotiwork and the circumstances of his death probably is in
ated a shameful deal with the Iranians to create a truth

WE OFFER REPAIRS
AND ALTERATIONS
TALLESIM CLEANED SPECIAL SHABBOS RUSH SERVICE

34 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

We want your business and we go the extra

mile to make you a regular customer

1245 Teaneck Rd.

Teaneck

837-8700

Opinion
commission in which representatives of both countries would settle the dispute over the extradition of
the AMIA suspects.
With his own government working against him, Nisman began investigating the cover-up that Timerman
negotiated. On January 18, 2015, one day before he was
due to present his findings to Argentinas Congress,
Nisman was found dead in his apartment in Buenos
Aires with a bullet in his head.
One cover-up, it would seem, led to another. There
was enough in terms of motive and actual evidence
to suggest that Nisman was murdered the Iranians
had been threatening him openly yet Argentinas
politically corrupted authorities insisted on treating
his death as a suicide. And that was how the case proceeded until last November, when opposition leader
Mauricio Macri defied all the predictions and was
elected as Argentinas new president.
With Macris election, the House of Kirchner has collapsed in spectacular fashion. Just this week, Cristina
Kirchner appeared in court to answer charges of currency rigging.
They can send me to prison, but I will not stay
silent, she told her supporters before stepping into
the dock. (Its true Kirchner is among the last people
on earth to stay silent, and the prospect of a custodial
sentence is a real one.)
This same criminality stained Kirchners approach
to Nismans death, and in Macris new Argentina, that
too has backfired. At the end of March, an appeals
court in Buenos Aires ruled that the investigation into
how Nisman came to be shot dead would be transferred to a federal court a sign that his death is being
treated as murder, since such cases in Argentina are
federal matters. At that hearing, Pablo Lanusse, an
attorney retained by Nismans mother, Sarah Garfunkel, declared without ambiguity that Nisman was
assassinated so as to impede the progress of his work
on behalf of the state. This case is screaming for a
transfer to the federal courts because it must be recognized that Nisman was murdered.
A proper investigation into Nismans death could
well lead to a re-examination of the AMIA atrocity,
whose victims have been denied justice for more
than 20 years. Indeed, one of Macris first statements
as president was to say that he was not bound by the
shabby agreement with Iran negotiated under his
predecessor.
Even so, nothing is guaranteed. Argentine political observers have noted that the judge now presiding over the Nisman investigation, Julian Ercolini, has
been criticized over decisions he made concerning the
business interests of the brutal military dictatorship
that ruled from 1976-83. At the same time, the prosecutor in charge of the Nisman investigation, Eduardo
Taiano, also is leading the probe into Cristina Kirchners currency rigging. No wonder, then, that the former president is having sleepless nights.
As the court investigation proceeds, its imperative that Jews outside Argentina understand what is
at stake here. The AMIA bombing was the worst single
anti-Semitic crime since World War II, and Iran was
responsible for it. Nothing less than the conviction and
sentencing of the perpetrators is acceptable. No more
compromises and no more backroom deals. JNS.ORG
Ben Cohen, senior editor of theTower.org and the Tower
magazine, writes a weekly column for JNS.org on Jewish
affairs and Middle Eastern politics. His work has been
published in Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz,
the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.

Sign up for the

Jewish Standard daily newsletter!
Visit www.thejewishstandard.com
and click on SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY

JewishStandard
N E W

J E R S E Y

R O C K L A N D

ALL TYPES OF MASONRY WORK

Bricks Blocks Pavers Concrete

Stone Chimney Patio
Waterproofing Around the House
Belgium Blocks Driveways Bathrooms Tile

DENNY K MASONRY LLC.

201-741-9543

dennykmasonry@gmail.com

The finest selection of Italian

designer mens & boys suits,
sport jackets, pants, shirts,
shoes and accessories, at
discounted prices.

Visit our

Boys
Store

TEANECK:
215 W. Englewood Ave.
201.530.7300
Mon. 10-7, Tue. 11-8, Wed. 10-9, Thurs. 11-8, Friday 10-3, Closed Sunday

jnau raf dj
JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 35

Jewish World
AGRESTA
PSYCHOTHERAPY
GROUP
Mood Disorders
Anxiety Disorders Addictions
Traumawork (EMDR) Art Therapy
Postpartum Depression
Parenting Skills Couples Issues
Kimberly, LCSW, and
Nanc Agresta, LCSW, CASAC

Treatment plans for individuals,

couples, children and family needs

Available by appointment weekdays and Sunday mornings

Englewood 201-567-3117
Manhattan 212-627-7727
www.agrestapsychotherapy.com
www.womenswellnessnynj.com

Yom HaShoah

Demonstrators protest the arrival of Muslim immigrants to Europe in the

Hague, Netherlands, on April 10.
CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

Europe far right doesnt

quite know what
to make of Trump
CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

7:30 pm
Ahavath Torah 240 Broad Avenue Englewood New Jersey
This remembrance is co-sponsored by:

Congregation Ahavath Torah

East Hill Synagogue
Kehillat Kesher
Congregation Kol HaNeshamah
The Moriah School

Information: 201-568-1315

More than 343,000 likes.

Like us on Facebook.

facebook.com/jewishstandard

36 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS Donald Trumps xenophobic views are neither new nor particularly shocking in
Europe, where fears of jihadism and
the challenges of illegal immigration are
blowing wind into the sails of a rising far
right.
Although the Republican presidential
hopefuls statements on immigrants,
Mexicans, and Muslims often are quite
moderate in comparison to the rhetoric
of some popular European nationalists,
Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric and
anti-establishment image have earned
him a certain following in European farright circles.
I hope Donald Trump will be the next
U.S. President, Geert Wilders, a far-right
Dutch politician whose party has been
leading in the polls for months, wrote on
Twitter in December. Good for America, good for Europe. We need brave
leaders.
But many of Wilders supporters and
those of other far-right politicians in
Europe say they nonetheless are put off
by Trumps perceived crassness, flashy
commercialism, and unpredictability.
I think Donald Trump is a very dangerous man, Pieter Grun, a Wilders
voter, said earlier this month at a rally
here against Muslim immigration into
the Netherlands.
Trump gets it right on Islam but is
so irrational that he could lead us into a
nuclear war, said Grun, who was holding up a sign reading RapeFugees stay
away, not welcome. I dont want his
little fingers on the trigger.

Gruns doubts about Trump are shared

by some of the leaders of the European
far right. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson told Breitbart that Trump
is great at making speeches, but as a
politician and a world leader? No, I dont
think thats a very good idea.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Britains
UKIP far-right party, distanced himself
from Trump after the candidates controversial call in December for a total and
complete shutdown of Muslims entering
the United States.
With this comment hes gone too far,
Farage said, adding it would be punishing a lot of very good people because of
the actions of a few.
Marine Le Pen, leader of Frances
National Front party, had a similar
message.
Seriously, have you ever heard me
say something like that? she demanded
when questioned about Trumps statement on shutting out Muslims. I defend
all the French people in France, regardless of their origin or religion.
H e r n i e c e , l aw m a ke r M a r i o n
Marchal-Le Pen a vocal supporter of
National Fronts bid to have France leave
the European Union said she found
Trumps preference for American isolationism an interesting foreign policy.
But she called his proposed ban stupid and completely unfeasible during a
radio interview last month.
In his stump speeches, Trump talks
about building a border wall with Mexico, tells of American citizens murdered
by undocumented immigrants, and
blames an influx of foreign workers
SEE TRUMP PAGE 38

upcoming at
chris rocK

Kaplen

JCC on the Palisades

LIVE!

Childrens Concert:
Music Tells A Story

From our JCC Family to your Family, best wishes For a

happy passover

Join us as Grammy and Emmy nominated comedian,

Chris Rock, narrates two classic childrens tales,
Ferdinand the Bull and The Story of Babar! Mr. Rock
will be joined by violinist, Sharon Roffman, and pianist,
Melvin Chen, as we listen to the adventures of both
Ferdinand and Babar, performed with story and music.
Dont miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Tickets
available online at jccotp.org/concerts-and-events
Sun, May 1, 3 pm, $15 Students/$25 Adults,
Taub Auditorium

Still Looking for Summer

Camp Plans?
There is something for everyone at JCC Summer Camps.
From exciting summer-long day camps to our new and
improved all-inclusive specialty camps, travel camps and
everything in between the JCC has it all. Dont miss
out on a summer of fun!
Register at jccotp.org/camps today!

Yom Hashoah Commemoration

Besa: The Promise
Join us for this film screening that tells the true
stories of Albanian Muslims who rescued Jews
during WWII as part of their besa, or promise, to
offer a safe harbor to refugees, including the story
of Rexhep Hoxha, who sought to fulfill a besa
made to a Jewish family. The evening also includes
the presentation of the Abe Oster Holocaust
Remembrance Award, a candle-lighting ceremony
by survivors, and an exhibition of Norman
Gershmans photos (on display all May)
of Albanians who rescued Jews.
Wed, May 4, 7-9 pm,
Free and Open to the Community

musiC

art

New! Springtime Art Journal:

Mixed Media Workshop
With paulette cochet

Expand upon your drawing, painting and composition

skills. Grow and nurture your art journal pages into
personal works of finished art. Contact Judy at
201.408.1457.
6 Wednesdays, May 18-Jun 22, 7-9:30 pm, $180/$220

The Gift of Music Gala Benefit

26th anniversary concert

Featuring: renowned violinist Joshua Bell, pianist

Alessio Bax, & violinist Sharon Roffman
Honoring: Dorothy Kaplan Roffman, Founding
Director, Thurnauer School of Music
Sponsored by Drs. Joan and Alan Handler.
Mon, May 2, 7 pm, BergenPAC
For tickets, visit jccotp.org/gom

Community

Yom Haatzmaut:
Israels 68th Birthday
Celebrate Israels Independence Day in this fun
celebration featuring food vendors, arts and crafts,
live performances, Israeli dance, youth activities
sponsored and run by the Israeli Scouts, Israeli
Shuk (market) and more. In partnership with
IAC-NJ and community organizations.
Sun, May 15, 2 pm, $5, open to the community

to register or for more info, visit

jccotp.org or call 201.569.7900.

Kaplen

JCC on the Palisades taub campus | 411 e clinton ave, tenafly, nJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 37

Jewish World
Trump
FROM PAGE 36

for holding down the wages and contributing to high unemployment among poor and working-class Americans.
Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric resonates with more
radical far-right figures, including with Le Pens father,
Jean-Marie, founder of the National Front. Jean-Marie
Le Pen said in February that if he were an American, he
would vote for Trump.

Ilias Panagiotaros, a lawmaker for Greeces neo-Nazi

Golden Dawn party, was so charmed with Trump that last
month he uploaded a video of himself discussing Trumps
virtues to YouTube. He praised Trumps response to critics after the Republican frontrunner re-tweeted a quote by
Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitlers Italian ally.
When called out by reporters for passing along the quote
It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a
sheep Trump replied, But what difference does it make

Commemorate Yom HaZikaron (Day of Remembrance for Israels Fallen Soldiers)

and Celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) | EVERYONE WELCOME

SUNDAY
MAY 8

Yom HaAtzmaut Student Celebration

MONDAY
MAY 9

Partnership2Gether Zachor Educators Workshop

TUESDAY
MAY 10

Yom HaAtzmaut Family Celebration

TUESDAY
MAY 10

Yom HaZikaron Ceremony

WEDNESDAY
MAY 11

Community Cantors Concert

WEDNESDAY
MAY 11

Remembrance and Celebration in Teaneck

THURSDAY
MAY 12

Israel Flag Raising Ceremony

SATURDAY
MAY 14

Cruisin for Israel

SUNDAY
MAY 15

Celebrate Israel New Jersey

Temple Beth Rishon

585 Russell Avenue, Wyckoff | 9:30 am
Grades K - 6 includes breakfast
RSVP Gonen@bethrishon.org

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey

50 Eisenhower Drive, Paramus | 5 - 7 pm
RSVP EthanB@jfnnj.org

Wayne YMCA
1 Pike Drive, Wayne | 4 - 6 pm
RSVP JWeil@metroymcas.org

Fair Lawn Jewish Center

10 - 10 Norma Ave, Fair Lawn | 6 pm

Temple Beth Or
56 Ridgewood Road, Township of Washington | 7:30 pm
In recognition of Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut

Congregation Keter Torah

600 Roemer Avenue, Teaneck | 7 pm
Yom HaZikaron program and Yom HaAtzmaut celebration and dancing

Bergen County Administration Building

1 Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack | 12:30 pm

Young professionals Yom HaAtzmaut boat party for ages 21 - 39

14th Street Pier at Frank Sinatra Drive | Boarding 9:30 pm
Register at www.jfnnj.org/cruisinforisrael

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades

411 E. Clinton Avenue, Tenafly | 2 - 7 pm
Bring your family and friends for a fun filled day!

Jewish Federation

OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

Danit Sibovits | 201.820.3907 | DanitS@jfnnj.org | www.jfnnj.org

38 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

whether its Mussolini or somebody else? Its certainly

a very interesting quote.
Trump has another fan in Maurice Roos of the
Hague, another participant in the anti-Islam rally
organized earlier this month in the Dutch administrative capital by the local branch of PEGIDA a protest
movement that began in Germany in 2014 against
the Islamization of the West, words that are part of its
German-language acronym.
Trumps inexperience in government, Roos said,
only works in his favor. Our educated, eloquent politicians have brought us to the point of bankruptcy and
brought in more than a million Muslims into Europe at
a time of rising Islamist terrorism. Its time for a different school of thought.
Tatjana Schimanski, a German senior member of
PEGIDA, also spoke positively about Trump.
Hes definitely not an intellectual on the caliber
were used to expect from leaders in Europe, she
said, but hes a success story. Hes kind of a one-man
PEGIDA.
Schimanski said the politician she respects the most
is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was
educated in Oxford and wrote his masters thesis on
the Polish Solidarity movement. Orban earned headlines earlier this year for attempting to block a European Union plan to force member states to shelter refugees and erected a fence along Hungarys southern
border to keep them out.

Hes definitely not an

intellectual on the
caliber were used to
expect from leaders
in Europe, but hes a
success story.
TATJANA SCHIMANSKI

The duality on Trump in far-right circles stems from

the American way in which he delivers his messages
rather than from any real shock with what hes actually
saying, said Wim Kortenoeven, a former lawmaker for
Wilders Party for Freedom and a political consultant
specializing in defense issues and the Middle East.
Both Wilders who suggested the Netherlands
leave the United Nations and Trump are into
making unfeasible and radical statements to pander
to voters, Kortenoeven said. Yet Wilders and other
European rightist leaders are more ideological than
Trump, with his self-aggrandizing and flaunting of his
wealth, he said, adding: This comes off as alien, a
little gauche and blunt on a continent where philosophers are mainstream cultural icons who are invited
on prime-time television talk shows.
Like many Europeans, I fear the spread of militant
Islam more than anything, Kortenoeven said. But I
dont think shouting empty slogans that are as inapplicable as they are stupid will help us in any way, so I
dont support Trump.
But Kortenoeven, who used to work for Hollands
main Jewish pro-Israel group, also distrusts Trump
because of Israel, he said.
As a real-estate man, Trump, who has zero understanding of the Middle East and foreign relations, sees
Israel as a real-estate problem, to sell off the minute it
JTA WIRE SERVICE
suits him, Kortenoeven said.

Jewish World

Talk of giving back the Golan is over

BEN SALES
JERUSALEM During the five-plus years of
Syrias civil war, Israel has striven to stay neutral, supporting neither the government of
President Bashar Assad nor the rebels, and
certainly not the Islamic State. But on one
issue, senior Israeli politicians have gladly
taken sides: Israel keeping the Golan Heights.
Facing reports of an international call
for Israel to leave the territory as part of a
settlement of the Syrian crisis, the Israeli
Cabinet met Sunday on the Golan. The
unprecedented meeting aimed to demonstrate that Israels 21,000 citizens in the
heights as well as some 20,000 Druze
residents werent going anywhere.
The Golan Heights will forever remain
in Israels hands, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said at the meeting
in Katzrin, the Golan city 120 miles from
Jerusalem. Israel will never come down
from the Golan Heights.
It wasnt so long ago that the heights,
which Israel conquered from Syria in the
1967 Six-Day War, were up for negotiation.
Israel annexed the mountainous strip
of land on its northeast corner in 1981, a

right have drawn a link between

move the international community
returning the Golan and withhas never recognized. But until
drawing from the West Bank, callthe Syrian civil war began in 2011,
ing them equally foolish.
rumors that it would be returned
Speaking last June at the Heras part of an Israel-Syria peace deal
zliya Conference, Israels premier
had frequently abounded.
defense gathering, pro-settler JewIsrael already had signed treaties
ish Home Chairman Naftali Benwith Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in
nett called for Israel to quintuple
1994. As Israel and the Palestinians
the Golans Jewish population to
flirted with a final accord in the
100,000 within five years.
1990s, Israelis wondered if peace
Whom should we give the Golan
with Syria, their last major Arab
to, to al-Nusra? To al-Qaida? he
adversary, also was in the offing. At
asked at the conference, referring
a 1994 Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin declared that
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an
to terror groups in Syria. Why do
unprecedented weekly Cabinet meeting held on the
he would be willing to agree to a
they still not recognize the Golan?
Golan Heights on April 17. (It is not clear what the
phased withdrawal from the Golan
Whats the reasoning? If we had listwo men on the left are doing.) EFFI SHARIR/POOL/FLASH90
tened to the world, we would have
Heights in exchange for full peace
given away the Golan, and ISIS
and normalization. But those talks
would have been on the Sea of Galilee.
as well as subsequent rounds through
cede. For years, bumper stickers displaying the slogan the nation with the Golan
While a population surge is unlikely, on
2000 and again in 2008 went nowhere,
freckled cars, lampposts, and public spaces.
Sunday Israels Cabinet voted to devote
as result of enduring, seemingly unbridgeable gaps in the two sides positions.
In 2008, a poll showed that 59 percent of
additional funds to the Golan as a show of
As with the Palestinian negotiations,
Israelis opposed giving back the Golan, with
permanence there. Through 2018, Israel
Israelis who opposed withdrawal from the
only 25 percent supporting withdrawal.
will spend an additional $2.3 million on
As Syrias war has become only more
heights mounted a vigorous public protest
culture, energy efficiency, and preservation of historical sites in the area.
complex, opponents of Golan withdrawal
campaign. They argued the Golan was an

JTA WIRE SERVICE
are claiming vindication. Some on the
essential strategic asset that Israel couldnt

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 39

The 4th Annual

Champions of Jewish Values
International Awards Gala
Thursday, May 5, 2016 Holocaust Remembrance Day
Marriott Marquis Broadway Ballroom New York City 5PM Reception 6PM Dinner and Program

HONORING MODERN ICONS

Master of Ceremonies: Americas Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Honorees include: Dr. Miriam & Sheldon Adelson, Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel,
Crown Prince of Iran, Yoko Ono, Pamela Anderson, Gza Rhrig (Star of Son of Saul)

DONATION
$1,800 VIP l $1,000 Premier Seating l $500 General Seating
$250 Young Professional (28 and younger) l $100 Student

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit thisworldgala.com, contact info@shmuley.com or call 212.634.7777

40 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Passover Greetings
ZISSEN PESACH
19-09 FAIR LAWN AVE
FAIR LAWN
201 796-6565
2015

2015

READERS
CHOICE

READERS
CHOICE

FIRST PLACE
BAKERY
CHALLAH

STRICTLY KOSHER shomer shabbos

UNDER RCBC cholov yisroel pas yisroel

Nut Free
Facility

TOP 3

CUPCAKE
CHEESECAKE

Large selection of delicious

Challah Pastries cookies bobkas pies & More...

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!

www.zadiesbakeshop.com zadiesbakeshop@yahoo.com

Happy
Passover

Wishing
ngg you a
Happy Passover!
Visit us online at njfcu.org
Call (973)
(973)--785
785--9200

SENDING WARM
WISHES OF PEACE AND
HAPPINESS TO YOUR
HOME THIS PASSOVER.

Main Office
511 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017
(212)-551-8500
Brooklyn Branch
400 Avenue U
Brooklyn, NY 11223
(718)-382-4987

Happy Passover
From Your Friends at

Staten Island Branch

201 Edward Curry Ave., Suite 204
Staten Island, NY 10314
(718)-698-4892
Long Island IDB Representative Office
455 Broadhollow Rd. Suite 418
Melville, NY 11747
(631)-698-4892
New Jersey Branch
150 John F. Kennedy Parkway
Short Hills, NJ 07078
(973)-379-8699
IDB Bank is a registered service mark of
Israel Discount Bank of New York. Member FDIC

655 Pomander Walk Teaneck, NJ 07666

201-836-7474

www.FiveStarPremier-Teaneck.com
Call 201-836-7474 to learn more about senior living
at Five Star Premier Residences of Teaneck
2012 Five Star Quality Care, Inc.

INDEPENDENT LIVING

ASSISTED LIVING

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 41

Passover Greetings

Happy Passover

Happy
Passover

Happy
Passover!
Best wishes for a
Happy and Healthy Passover
from your friends at
Provident Bank.

rcbc

Dovid's

Fresh Fish Market

We look forward to serving you.
736 Chestnut Avenue Teaneck, NJ
T 201-928-0888 F 201-928-0386

A Sweet and Healthy Passover

to all our friends and customers

Warm Wishes
for a Passover Filled with
Health and Happiness
396 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck
www.juliosfruit.com 201-836-4135
w w w. P r o v i d e n t . B a n k

www.teaneckchamber.org

Wishing you
Happiness, Peace,
Prosperity and all the
joys of Passover!

A Senior Care Company

Trust In Our Care
30 centers throughout New Jersey, including
convenient Bergen County and Passaic County locations

www.care-one.com
42 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

Passover Greetings

Happy Passover
from

Congressman

Scott Garrett

PAID FOR BY SCOTT GARRETT FOR CONGRESS

PO BOX 905, NEWTON, NJ 07860
PAUL KILGORE, TREASURER
973-300-0470
INFO@GARRETTFORCONGRESS.COM

Warm Wishes
for a
Happy Passover

Selman Family
All American Ford Auto Group
Hackensack | Paramus | Kingston

Dont

PASSOVER our

great rates, banking products, and world-class service

this holiday season.

Business Banking

Foreign Exchange

Credit Cards

Commercial Mortgages

Online & Mobile Banking Residential Mortgages

Commercial Loans

Teaneck Branch | 517 Cedar Lane | (201) 287-0008

MEMBER

THE LUSTBERG FAMILY

AMB-U-CAR

INC.

EST. 1964

AMBULANCE SERVICE
When only The Finest Will Do Local and Long Distance
Invalid Coach Service
Medicare - Medicaid Approved
Most Insurance Plans Accepted

www.berkbank.com
Personal Banking

Wishing Everyone
A Happy & Healthy
Passover

Chag Kasher V'same'ach

24 HOUR
SERVICE
FIND US ON THE WEB:
www.ambucar.com

201-656-8888

LICENSED BY THE NJ STATE OF HEALTH

Staffed by State Certified Emergency Medical Technicians

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 43

Passover Greetings

Happy Passover
United States Senator

Happy Passover

CORY BOOKER
Wishing you
happiness,
peace and
prosperity.
Paid
byby
Cory
Booker
for Senate
Paidfor
for
Cory
Booker
for Senate

Happy
Passover

Terri Reicher, Esq.

Candidate for

Passaic County
Surrogate

David
J. Goodman
David
J. Goodman
CPA**CPA**
Stuart
B. Herrmann
CFP,CFP
CPA*
Stuart
B. Herrmann
, CPA*
201-791-3393

stu@chadwickllc.com 32-16 Broadway, Fair Lawn, New Jersey, 07410.

*Securities offered through

American Portfolios Financial Services,
Inc. Broadway,
(APFS) Member FINRA/SIPC.
Investment
201-791-3393
stu@chadwickllc.com
32-16
Fair Lawn,
New Jersey, 07410.
Advisory Services offered through Chadwick Wealth Management, LLC which is not affiliated with APFS. Chadwick
*Securities
offered
through
Portfolios
Financial
Services,
Inc.
Member
FINRA/SIPC. Investment
Financial Services
Group,
LLC isAmerican
not affiliated
with APFS.
** David
J. Goodman
is (APFS)
not registered
nor affiliated
Advisory Services offered through Chadwickwith
Wealth
APFS.Management, LLC which is not affiliated with APFS. Chadwick
Financial Services Group, LLC is not affiliated with APFS.
** David J. Goodman is not registered nor affiliated
with APFS.

HAPPY
Come visit the many shops on
CEDAR LANE
for all your
PASSOVER NEEDS

Cedar Lane Teaneck

www.cedarlane.net 201-907-0493
Sponsored by Cedar Lane Management Group

Always
FREE
Parking!

Wishing you a Happy Passover

from all of us at
Est. 1983

PRIME STEAKHOUSE
1416 River Road, Edgewater, NJ 201-224-2013
41-11 Route 4 West, Fair Lawn, NJ 201-703-3500
1-800-273-3406
kearnybank.com
42 Regional Oces

44 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

209 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ 201-529-1111

www.riverpalm.com

Holy Name Medical Center

wishes you and your family a
healthy, happy and sweet Passover.

Healing begins here.

718 Teaneck Road | Teaneck, NJ 07666 | 877-Holy-Name (465-9626) | holyname.org
Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 45

Passover Greetings
A Zissen Pesach
to my Family
and Friends
Marcia Garfinkle

Wishing You a
Happy Passover
A&T Healthcare serving Bergen, Hudson,
Passaic & Rockland Counties
Alaris Health at The Chateau, Rochelle Park
B. Dinelli for Hair, Teaneck
Carlyz Craze, Teaneck
The Cosmic Wheel, Ridgefield Park
Cresskill Performing Arts, Cresskill
Cross River Bank, Teaneck
Eden Memorial Chapels, Fort Lee
Estihana, Teaneck
Ginger Stores, Westwood
Linda Schmider, Guild Optician, Teaneck
Marcias Attic for Kids, Englewood
Marriott Teaneck at Glenpointe, Teaneck
Mishelynes Fashions, Teaneck
Oceanos, Fair Lawn
On the Table, Teaneck
Parkview Pharmacy, Teaneck
Portage & The Jewelry Box, Englewood
Rudys Restaurant, Hackensack
Sammy's New York Bagels, Pizza, and Coffee, Teaneck
Taverna Mykonos, Elmwood Park
Teaneck Dentist, Teaneck
Teaneck Taxi, Teaneck
Yarndezvous, Teaneck
46 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

5 Continents
at

BERGEN MARZIPAN
FACTORY OUTLET

WISHES YOU A
SWEET PASSOVER!
KOSHER GOURMET CANDY NUTS DRIED FRUIT
GIFT BASKETS NUT TRAYS
65 Honeck Street, Englewood 201-567-4274 Monday-Friday 10-5

To all members of the Jewish

community, wishing you

A Happy and
a Kosher Passover
Best wishes,
Your Sheriff,

Michael
Saudino
PAID FOR BY SAUDINO FOR SHERIFF,
116 RANDOLPH AVENUE, EMERSON, NJ

Happy Passover
District 39 Team

Senator Gerald Cardinale

Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi
Assemblyman Robert Auth
PAID FOR BY EFO CARDINALE, SCHEPISI, AND AUTH

Swing By...

Join Us for a
Summer BBQ
Reserve this summer and
Save $3,000
Youre Invited to a BBQ by the
pool to learn more.

A Zissen
Pesach!

Wed., Aug. 20th at 11:30 am

Please RSVP 1-888-831-8685.

Chag
Sameach!

Limited Seating - By Reservation Only

Passover Greetings
Happy Passover from
Dr. Jennifer Suss
and the staff at

2014

New!

TEMPLE AVODAT SHALOM

CLUBHOUSE

THE

385 Howland Avenue

River Edge, NJ 07632
(201) 489-2463 www.avodatshalom.net

POOL

S PA

FITNESS

2000
FountainView
Drive Monsey, NY
Premier
Retirement Community

2000 Fountain View

Monsey
NY Available
Independent
PlusDrive,
and Trial
Stays

1680 Teaneck Rd. Teaneck www.bergenvet.com

201-837-3470

888-831-8685 www.fountainview.org

www.fountainview.org
www
f unta
fo
t inview org
ta
r
rg

Discover Retirement Living...the way it is meant to be

From the Chilton family

to yours,

AT GBDS

Passover Word Search

Y
F
I
D
C
I
K
C
A
B
E
M
A
R
I
E
J
U
V
L

Happy Passover!

ACADEMIES

WISHING YOU A
MEANINGFUL AND JOYFUL
PASSOVER HOLIDAY

S
E
S
O
M
G
E
P
B
R
E
H
A
D
A
G
G
A
H
U
D
F
X
S
T
S
Y
S
E
R
E
M
O
F
Z
V
P
S
R
E
R
P
A
T
A
D
T
O
B
Y
R
E
S
G
H
A
Y
V
S
M
U
Q
H
A
J
I
L
E
Y
E

www.atlantichealth.org

J
A
K
C
I
Q
K
R
N
W

NVE-1303 Mortg 5x6.5BW:NVE-1303 Mortg 5x6.5BW

10/29/10

2:40 PM

Page 1

Happy
Passover
Dont let mortgage

NVE MISSION #15: Keep our hometowns and customers thriving.

rates like these

pass you by!

CUP
EGG
EGYPT
ELIJAH
HAGGADAH
HERBS
MATZAH
MOSES
PASSOVER
SEDER

45 SPRUCE STREET OAKLAND, NJ 07436 || (201) 337-1111 || WWW.SSNJ.ORG

enzel-Busch
wishes you and your family a
Healthy and Happy Passover.

Theres never been a better time to refinance with NVE.

10-Year Fixed

No Points Quick Determinations

Other mortgage financing available!
Dont wait, call our Mortgage Specialist
today at 201-816-2800, ext. 233, or apply
online at nvebank.com

3.50% 3.578%
Rate

APR*

Rates Valid on Loan Amounts Up To $500,000

1-866-NVE-BANK nvebank.com

Americas premier Mercedes-Benz dealer.

28 Grand Avenue, Englewood, NJ (800) 836-0945
*APR= Annual Percentage
APR is accurate
as of
10/29/10. Englewood,
Loans are 1-4 Hillsdale,
family New Jersey
Offices inRate.
Bergenfield,
Closter,
Cresskill,
owner-occupied properties only. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. As an example,
Newhave
Milford,
Teaneck
and Tenafly
the 10-year loan at the statedLeonia,
APR would
120 monthly
payments
of $9.89 per thousand borrowed
based on a 20% down payment or equity for loan amounts up to $500,000. Payments do not include
amounts for taxes and insurance premiums, if applicable. The actual payment obligation will be greater.
Property insurance is required. Other rates and terms are available. Subject to credit approval.

Offices in Bergenfield, Closter, Cresskill, Englewood, Hillsdale, Leonia, New Milford,

Teaneck and Tenafly

Just minutes from the George Washington Bridge

www.benzelbusch.com
Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 47

py Passover

Passover Greetings

A Zissen Pesach!

Happy Passover

s Cucina
o
d
l
A
BISTRO CAFE

R I S T O R A N T E I TA L I A N O

777 Hamburg Turnpike Wayne NJ 07470

Phone: (973) 872-1842 Fax: (973) 628-8660

Happy Passover
from your friends at

A Zissen Pesach!

J. R W F

Wood Floors Installed, Repaired, Sanded & Finished

Allen Rapaport

158 Linwood Plaza, Fort Lee

201-363-6500 www.jrapaportwoodflooring.com

Happy Passover!

Jewish War Veterans Post 651

Melvin Kaplan, Cmdr., Fair Lawn, NJ

Broadway

Wishing you a
Happy Passover!

MEDICAL SUPPLY COMPANY

60 Washington Avenue Westwood, NJ 07675

ALVINS PHARMACY

201-666-2112 201-666-4661 FAX

115 Cedar Lane, Teaneck

www.BroadwayMedicalSupply.com

201-836-4586

www.bergenpac.org
Box Office 201-227-1030

OPEN 7 DAYS FREE DELIVERY

WISHING YOU A
HAPPY PASSOVER

352 Broad Avenue Leonia

201-944-3461

Creating Community Inspiring Commitment

87 Overlook Drive Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 201.391.0801
www.tepv.org
TE Passover ad.indd 1

Happy Passover

District 37 State Legislators

Senator Loretta Weinberg
Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson
Assemblywoman Valerie V. Huttle
Paid for by Weinberg, Johnson and Huttle

48 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

Open 7 Days Sun 9-6 Mon-Sat 9-7

3/25/14 3:47 PM

Happy, sweet
Passover from our
family to yours
and may the
Haggadah reading
be meaningful.
Beth and Robert Chananie
Joshua, Arlene, and Kylie Frances Chananie
Rachel, Adam, and Rebecca Shara Jay
Michael Chananie and Alyson Angstreich

We hope that your Seder is filled with family,

food and celebration.
But not all families can afford a Seder
or other meals throughout the year.

By giving to Federation, you can feed hungry families

in northern New Jersey.

Please consider making a donation for families in need.

www.jfnnj.org/donate

Jewish Federation

OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

Wishing you a Happy Passover!

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 49

Passover Greetings

FEST. FEAST.

FITNESS.

Happy
Passover

After the holiday, were here for you!

Happy Passover

REP. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

9th Congressional District, NJ
Montvale (201) 802-9399 www.GetToTHEGYM.com Englewood (201) 567-9399

Paid for by Pascrell for Congress

Warm wishes for a

Happy Passover
From the staff at

Cresskill
atatDunroven
221 County Road Cresskill, NJ 07626

201.567.9310
Fax: 201.541.9224
221 County
Road Cresskill,
NJ 07626

221
County
Cresskill
www.care-one.com
201.567.9310
Road,
Fax: 201.541.9224
www.care-one.com
201-567-9310
www.care-one.com

Warm wishes for a

St. Marys General Hospital

350 Boulevard, Passaic, NJ 07055
973-365-4300 www.smh-nj.org

We Wish the
Jewish Community
A Happy Passover

We would like to wish our friends and

patrons a happy & healthy Passover
George & Steve Siderias
& Staff

Phyllis Hoffer

Remax Elite Associates

201-788-5648 (cell)
phyllhof@aol.com
201-476-0777 (office)
Professional Service with a Personal Touch

Happy Passover
To All Our Friends

FREE INTERNET BANKING

and FREE BILL PAY
7-DAY DRIVE UP SERVICE

www.CBBCNJ.com
Small Bank, Big Service
Peter Michelotti - President & CEO

Financial Solutions for Consumers and Business Since 1928

FAIR LAWN
12-79 River Rd.

201-791-0101

MAYWOOD
125 W. Pleasant Ave.

201-587-1221

50 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

ROCHELLE PARK
210 Rochelle Ave.
201-843-2300

River Edge Diner

& Restaurant
516 Kinderkamack Rd
River Edge, NJ
201-262-4976

Bram Alster, DMD, PA

FAMILY & COSMETIC DENTISTRY

From our family to yours,

best wishes for a happy,
healthy Passover
201-797-3044

20-20 Fair Lawn Avenue Fair Lawn

(next to the Radburn Train Station)

www.bramalsterdmd.com

Happy
Passover Greetings
Passover
New Earth Landscape, Inc.
Paid for by Pascrell for Congress

Design & Installation of Custom Landscapes

Kleiber
Association
of Professional Landscape Designers,Barbara
Associate
Member
Happy
Ed Ponzini
Creative Plantings

from

Passover
Ponds & Waterfalls

544 T
eaneck Road
T
eaneck, NJ 07666

2 01 - 8 6 2 - 3 3 0 0

274093

w w w. c a re - o n e. c o m / t e a n e c k

Paving Stone/Stone Retaining Walls

Landscape Lighting
Drainage Work

201-944-8895
1055 Hamburg Turnpike

Fax: Wayne,
201-750-5058
MECH:LKB-1712
newearthjt@aol.com
LKB-1712
JS Passover
JS Passover
NJ 07470

544 Teaneck Road

Teaneck, NJ 07666

A Happy,
Peaceful Passover
To All Our
Friends

Pharmacy
973-696-6667
John L.
Terranova
Surgical 973-696-7337
Landscape
Designer
MECH
3/28/12
11:20
AM Page
Fax
973-872-0088

Best Wishes for a

274093

201-862-3300

www.care-one.com/teaneck
A GLATT KOSHER
SENIOR RESIDENCE

REP. BILL PASCRELL, jR.

9th Congressional District, NJ

Happy Passover
A
G L AT T
KO S H E R
SENIOR
RESIDENCE

W
p

Happy Passover

544 Teaneck Road

Teaneck, NJ 07666

201-862-3300

42 N. Dean Street Englewood 201-569-9693

417 Cedar Lane Teaneck 201-836-7717

A GLATT KOSHER
SENIOR RESIDENCE

274093

www.care-one.com/teaneck

175 We

LakelandBank.com

p
p
Ha

Wishing all
our friends a
Zissen
Passover

Crows Nest

The

Route 17 Southbound Hackensack, NJ

For reservations: 201-342-5445 or Fax 201-487-2488
www.crowsnest.com

WE catE
For al
occaSio

Corporate
Avai

Wishing you Joy and Many Blessings at

Passover and Throughout the Year!
44 Jewish standard aPriL 6, 2012

The staff of
The Jewish Standard
Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 51

(201

Em

Let us hav

Passover Greetings

Happy
Passover!
Glen Rock Jewish Center

682 Harristown Rd, Glen Rock, NJ

(201) 652-6624 www.grjc.org

HAPPY PASSOVER

Chag Sameach
from

DELI RESTAURANT CATERING

Avi & Haim
Proprietors

Annual
Readers
Choice
Poll

Under Rabbinical Supervision

www.koshernosh.com

Serving The Kosher Way Since 1976

New Jersey

894 Prospect Street

Glen Rock, NJ
Tel: 201-445-1186
Fax: 201-670-5674

115 Park Avenue, Hoboken NJ 07030

201-659-4000, www.hobokensynagogue.org

A Zissen
Pesach

Happy Passover

Jodi & Allen

Rapaport

From The Partners and Staff

LAWRENCE B. GOODMAN & CO., P.A.

COUNCILMAN

Certified Public Accountants

Borough of Norwood

201-791-8300 201-791-5257 Fax

www.LBGCPAS.com

Best wishes for a happy and heathy Passover.

National Council of Jewish Women

Bergen County Section
www.ncjwbcs.org

OOD
W
T
ES

UNLIMITED EST. 1979

Happy
Passover

QUALITY PET & SUPPLIES

J&J P H A R M AC Y

Tropical Fish Gold Fish Beautiful Birds Reptiles

Small Animals Premium Dog & Cat Foods All Pet Supplies

Michael Fedida, R.Ph., M.S.

15 WESTWOOD AVE., WESTWOOD

CEDAR CHEMISTS, INC.

TEL: (201) 836-7003

527 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ 07666
EMAIL: fedidamichael@yahoo.com

666-7111

Mon-Sat 10am-6pm Thurs. till 8pm

Spanish & Portuguese Cuisine

120 TERHUNE DRIVE WAYNE, NJ 973-616-0999
www.vilaverderestaurant.com

Happy Passover

Wishing you a
Sweet Passover
FROM DISTRICT 38

Senator

Bob Gordon
Assemblyman

Tim Eustace
Assemblyman

Joe Lagana

Paid for by Bob Gordon for Senate, PO Box 14, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410

52 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

Passover Greetings

Bergen County Executive

Bergen County Executive

Wishing Everyone a
Happy Passover

James J. Tedesco, III

James J. Tedesco, III
Wishes all Friends
and Constituents

A Happy Passover
Paid for by Tedesco for County Executive 2018
Treasurer John
Ten
242forOradell
Avenue,2018
Paramus, NJ 07652
Paid
forHoeve,
by Tedesco
County Executive
Treasurer John Ten Hoeve, 242 Oradell Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652

2015

Cantor

Barbra
Lieberstein

0002441714-01.qxd

10/15/08

READERS
CHOICE

5:09 PM

Certified Cantor with

at Temple Emanu-El

Page 1

Kosher, Glatt Kosher, and Off-Premise Catering

180 Piermont Rd. Closter 201-750-0333

12+ years
of pulpitMAGAZINE AD
BAR & BAT
MITZVAH
0002441714-01

Lessons in experience
your home
LIEBERSTEIN, BARBRA
Learn to read Hebrew
Learn to read

Wishing Everyone
A Happy, Healthy
Zissen Pesach

Fri, Oct 24, 2008

Hebrew
1 cols, 2.13 x 2.50"
Chag
Sameach
Group andProcess Free
private lessons
Lisa Spadevecchia
in your home
Parent Paper
Carine
BarbraCeremonies,
Officiant atCantor
Bar/Bat Mitzvah

201-818-4088

Baby Namings and Weddings

Cell: 201-788-6653
Officiant
for Baby Namings
e-mail: cantorbarbra@aol.com
Certified
Cantor with 12+ years
www.cantorbarbra.com
of pulpit experience

The Board of Directors

___ Art Direction

Mount Moriah Cemetery
_X__ E-Proof
685 Fairview Avenue, Fairview, NJ 07022
24 Hour phone 201-943-6163

www.mountmoriahcemeteryofnewjersey.org

___ OK AS IS
The greatest
menace to
freedom is an
inert people....

___ OK W. CHANGE
________________
approved by

LOUIS BRANDEIS

freedom
CELEBRATE

HADASSAH WISHES YOU A HAPPY PASSOVER

Wishing my family,
friends and clients a
Happy Passover
Natalie Jay

hadassah.org
HADASSAH THE WOMENS ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA, INC.
2016 Hadassah, The Womens Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Hadassah is a registered trademark of Hadassah, The Womens Zionist Organization of America, Inc.

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 53

Dvar Torah
When does liberation begin?

t is zman cheiruteinu, the season

of our freedom. At this season, we
recall Gods miraculous power a
power God used to liberate us from
Egyptian bondage to freedom. This story
our story is a story that has echoed
throughout human history. And it is also
a story that has inspired so many other
people of faith, so many movements of
liberation. Why does it resonate still,
3000 years later?
Surely it resonates because of the miracles that God performed for us; it resonates because it is the archetypal story of
freedom from oppression, freedom from
powerlessness, a freedom granted by a
gracious and merciful God who wants freedom for all people.
But something else is true something I
hope youll bring in to your Passover seder
tonight. Remember the midwives. Remember when we cried out to God. Remember
the blood we put on the doorposts of our
house. The story doesnt begin with God;
it begins with us.
The story of Passover really begins with
a miraculous act of civil disobedience,
when the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and
Puah, defy Pharaohs decree that all male
Israelite babies should be killed. This is a
disturbing story though. Why didnt God

The courage of Shifrah and

simply intervene to stop this
Puah, standing up for what
madness?
was right in a world gone
The first pangs of liberation actually begin with us
mad, is the opening parenthesis to this saga that continwhen we cry out for help to
ues to inspire us three millenGod under the strain of 400
nia later. Surely we lamented
years of slavery. This detail
our plight for 20 generations
in the story could make one
of bondage, but it is that
reject faith in God; why didnt
Rabbi Joel
moment, when we ask for
God intervene in the first 400
Mosbacher
help from God, that as the text
years of our bondage?
Cogregation Beth
And the story reaches its
says in Exodus 2:25, the Holy
Haverim Shir
climax in Exodus 12:13, when
One of blessing takes notice
Shalom, Mahwah,
God instructs Moses to tell the
of us. And yes, we did need to
Reform
Israelites to put blood on the
put blood on our doorposts
doorposts of our house before
not for God, but for us to
the last plague, so that the angel of death
seize a degree of control in a moment that
will pass over our homes. This detail always
felt as if it were beyond our control.
There are things in our lives that are
surprised me. Why does God say, when
beyond our control: random acts of vioI see the blood, I will pass over you? Is
lence, freak accidents, illness that strikes
the text audaciously suggesting that an allwithout warning and for no reason. This
knowing God wouldnt otherwise know
is, tragically it seems, a part of the chaos
which homes were Israelite and which were
of being alive. In these moments, we call
Egyptian? Or is this, as some biblical commentators suggest, simply a test to see if the
upon God and each other to endure the
Israelites will do what God commands?
unfathomable. In these moments, we seek
I see it another way. These three stories
strength to survive something we couldnt
together the midwives, the crying, the
have imagined, couldnt have seen coming, couldnt have avoided.
blood are all agitations to us. In Bible
But much of what we experience in life
times and still today, we must be active
is within our control, or at least within our
participants in our own liberation.

control to decide how we will respond.

The ability to decide whether we will take
care of our bodies or make poor choices
that result in some illness is within our
control. The ability to decide if we will
look out for the well-being of all of Gods
creatures or just the some who look and
think like us is within our control. And, I
would submit, a powerful message of Passover is that the ability to choose to wait
passively for liberation or be active participants in bringing that liberation into a
world in need of liberation is within our
control as well.
Its not that God doesnt play a role in
the Passover story far from it. But neither do I believe that it is a coincidence
that the story is written in such a way that
God only gets involved when we defy an
evil decree, when we cry out, when we
paint our own doors with the neon red.
In this season of our freedom, let us be
grateful to the God who set us free. And,
let us be grateful to a God who has honored us by making us Gods partner in
bringing even more freedom, even more
liberation, even more holiness into the
world.
I believe that when we act, God acts with
us. It was true then; lets work with God to
make it true now.

BRIEFS

Shin Bet apprehends

Jewish terror cell
targeting Palestinians
Israels Shin Bet security agency, together with the
Israel police, has exposed a cell of Jewish terrorists
who committed acts of violence against Palestinians
across the West Bank in 2015, the agency announced
Wednesday. The cells exposure prevented a number
of serious attacks that could have resulted in murder,
it added.
In a statement issued after a gag order on the investigation was lifted, the Shin Bet said that during the
second half of 2015, six members of the cell committed a number of attacks, chiefly arson against Palestinian homes and vehicles. Two of the attacks involved
setting fire to Palestinian homes while people were
inside.
The intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet pointed to
a terrorist cell in the Jewish community of Nahliel in
the western Binyamin region, near the Palestinian villages of Beitillu and Deir Ammar.
The Shin Bet is interrogating the members of the cell
and says the suspects have implicated themselves in
terrorist activities, including attempts to target inhabited Palestinian homes, assault, throwing rocks from a
moving vehicle, and other attacks.
54 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Re-enactments of the crimes, along with the suspects confessions, revealed an extremist and violent group that systematically targeted Palestinians
and their property, fully aware of the possibility that
human lives could be lost. Even after Jewish terrorists
firebombed a home in Duma and killed three members of the Dawabshe family, the group continued its
activity, saying members were inspired by the Duma
arson.
Two of the main suspects in the case are minors.
Other suspects include a 19-year-old soldier and three
adults, including two residents of Nahliel and a resident of Kiryat Arba.
ISRAEL HAYOM/JNS.ORG

Israel invests billions

in multi-layered Gaza
terror tunnel barrier
The Israeli defense establishment is expected to finish installing a sophisticated anti-tunnel barrier along
the Israel-Gaza border within two years, Israel Hayom
reported.
The project, named Hourglass, is estimated to
cost billions of shekels. The barriers blueprints are
the product of cross-platform development involving
officers from the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Directorate, the IDF Engineering Corps, and

the Shin Bet security agency; civilian engineering and

infrastructure contractors; and tunnel-construction
experts.
The projects premise follows a pessimistic security
scenario, suggesting that a recently discovered terror tunnel running under the Gaza border into Israel
was just one tunnel among an extensive grid of underground passageways.
The planned barrier has been described as a multitiered defense striving to meet a wide variety of
threats, above and underground. It incorporates innovative measures, including sensor technology to detect
underground excavation and unique engineering technology. The barrier will also feature a state-of-the-art
fence, complete with sensors, observation balloons,
see-shoot systems, and intelligence gathering measures, as well as an underground wall.
The Sentry-Tech see-shoot system, produced by
Israels Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is a remotecontrolled sensors and weapons system that is already
deployed along the Israel-Egypt border.
Defense sources told Israel Hayom that should other
terror tunnels be discovered, the Hamas terror group
may scramble to maximally use such tunnels before
they are rendered ineffective. Nevertheless, a top
defense official stressed that Hamas is unlikely to provoke a war with Israel at this time.

JNS.ORG

Arts & Culture

Nathan the Wise revives ancient argument

MIRIAM RINN

t is enough to be a man, says

the medieval Jewish merchant
Nathan, and that humanistic sentiment is at the heart of
Nathan the Wise, an eighteenth-century German play thats being revived
at the Classic Stage Company on E. 13th
Street. Using Edward Kemps 2003 condensed translation of the four-hour work
by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, CSC has
stripped the play to its essence a fierce
plea for religious tolerance in a Jerusalem
temporarily quiet between Crusades, as
well as in our own contentious times.
Eliminating scenery except for some
rugs, and cleverly indicating the religious
identity of the characters by the script on
their white robes, the CSC production
focuses on the plays message of brotherhood among Abrahams children. As
embodied by theater stalwart F. Murray
Abraham, Nathan is a warm-hearted but
cautious man, happy to befriend everyone, as much for potential business gain
as for genuine friendship. Returning

home from a successful trading trip to

Babylon, he learns that a young Knight
Templar (Stark Sands) has rescued his
daughter Rachel (Erin Neufer) from a
fire. The knight, one of the last in the city,
has been unexpectedly pardoned by the
sultan because he resembles a relative.
Nathan determines to thank the knight
in person, and although the Templar
spews vicious anti-Semitic jibes, Nathan
remains gracious and patient. The young
man, after all, did save the life of his
beloved Rachel.
The Christian patriarch, on the other
hand, tries to convince the Templar to
assassinate the sultan so the Christians
might regain control of the city. Meanwhile, the sultan Saladin (Austin Durant)
is broke, and his sister Sittah (Shiva Kalaiselvan), who has been supporting him, suggests a scheme to trick Nathan out of his
riches. Invite him to the palace, she counsels, and challenge him to tell you which of
the three monotheistic faiths is favored by
God. He wont be able to answer without
insulting you or condemning himself, and
his riches will be yours.

These goings on, which take up the first

act, bring us to the high point of the play,
a complicated fable about three rings that
Nathan tells the Sultan. Lessing probably
drew this story from a variety of German folktales, but it is a perfect parable
to make the point that our behavior is
the most effective advertisement for our
faith. Lessing also was a proponent of reason; when Rachel insists that the knight
is really an angel who has come to rescue her, Nathan reminds her that God
rewards the good we do on earth, dismissing the notion of miracles.
There is a distinct shift in tone in the
second act, and the pace picks up significantly. The plot goes into overdrive,
with surprise revelations, almost comic
misunderstandings, and a happy ending, like many of the comedies by Shakespeare, whom Lessing admired. Although
some of the plot twists verge on melodrama, they undergird the theme that
we all are connected. An excellent performance by George Abud as Al-Hafi,
the sultans dervish and treasurer, adds
to the plays humane tone, and Caroline

Lagerfelt alternately brings comic energy

to Rachels nurse Daya and icy fanaticism
as the patriarch.
Lessing seemed to have been less
interested in mining the tragic history
of Europes Jews during the Crusades
a litany of butchery and horror almost
unrivaled in Jewish chronicles than in
arguing for the possibility of understanding and mutual respect. Of course, most
Germans in the first half of the twentieth
century did not share that belief, and the
play was performed only once during the
Nazi regime in 1933 by a cultural association of German Jews who had lost their
jobs as artists. It was the first play to be
performed in Germany after World War II,
according to Wikipedia.
It is sad to say that the play feels as relevant today as it was in 1779. Hundreds of
years have made some of us more tolerant
and understanding of each others faith,
but many view Christianity, Judaism, and
Islam as eternal competitors and threats.
Despite Lessings optimism, the idea that it
is enough to be a human being still hasnt
caught on.
JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 55

Calendar
505 Ramapo Valley
Road. (201) 684-7844
or www.ramapo.edu/
berriecenter.

Tuesday
APRIL 26

Sponsored by the Fred

Emert Memorial Adult
Education Fund with
TBR patron support.
585 Russell Ave.
(201) 891-4466 or www.
bethrishon.org.

now, will commemorate

Yom Hashoah there,
7 p.m. Rabbi Ari Kornblit
of the International
Synagogue will deliver
the scroll and speak.
Also survivor testimony
and candlelighting.
53 Palisade Ave.
(201) 265-2272 or www.
bisrael.com.

Yom Hashoah in
Ridgewood: Holocaust

Musical lecture in
Tenafly: Music buff/
Dumont historian Dick
Burnon gives a musical
lecture on Buddy Holly
and Patsy Cline to the
Retired Executives and
Professionals (REAP)
group at the Kaplen JCC
on the Palisades, 11 a.m.
411 East Clinton Ave.
(201) 569-7900, ext. 235.

Friday
APRIL 29

Barbara Stark-Nemon
discusses her book,
Even in Darkness, at
Temple Israel & JCC
in Ridgewood, on Sunday, May 1,
at 10:30 a.m. Ms. Stark-Nemons
debut novel, based on a true story,
is the saga of family, lovers, two
world wars, and the Holocaust.
Books will be available for sale and
signing. 475 Grove St. (201) 4449320 or www.synagogue.org.

MAY

Friday
APRIL 22
Chametz burning in
Teaneck: The ninth
annual Big Bread Burn is
at the Jewish Center of
Teaneck, 9:3011:45 a.m.
Co-sponsored by the
JCT with Yeshiva Heichal
HaTorah. 70 Sterling
Place. (201) 833-0515.

Shabbat in Closter:
Rabbi David S. Widzer
and Cantor Rica Timman
hold a brief pre-seder
Shabbat service, 5 p.m.
221 Schraalenburgh
Road. (201) 768-5112.

Saturday
APRIL 23
Joint Passover Shabbat
in Tenafly: Temple Sinai
welcomes Temple Beth
El of Closter and Temple
Emeth of Teaneck for

a Passover service,
10:30 a.m. 1 Engle St.
(201) 568-3035.

Sunday
APRIL 24
Run/walk in Paramus:
The NJ Sharing Network
holds its annual 5K
run/walk at Bergen
Community College.
Registration opens
at 8:30 a.m. The
network is a nonprofit
organization that saves
lives through organ and
tissue donation. www.
njsharingnetwork.org/5k.

Contemporary dance
in Mahwah: Eisenhower
Dance, metro Detroits
contemporary dance
company, performs
Dances from the
Heart of Rock n Roll
in the Sharp Theater
at the Berrie Center
at Ramapo College
of New Jersey, 8 p.m.

56 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Dr. Debrah Dwork

Shabbat in Parsippany:
In commemoration of
Yom Hashoah, Holocaust
scholar Dr. Debrah
Dwork gives the
annual Joseph Gotthelf
Holocaust Memorial
lecture at Temple Beth
Am, after services that
begin at 7:30 p.m. She
is the Rose Professor of
Holocaust history and
the founding director of
the Strassler Center for
Holocaust and Genocide
Studies at Clark
University in Worcester,
Mass. 879 Beverwyck
Road. (973) 887-0046.

Sunday
MAY 1
Wealth and Judaism:
Rabbi Dr. David
Ellenson, chancellor
emeritus of Hebrew
Union College Jewish
Institute of Religion,
discusses Something
Old, Something New:
On Intermarriage and
Conversion in the
19th Century and its
Significance for Liberal
Judaism Today for
the Food for Thought
Distinguished Speaker
series at Temple Beth
Rishon in Wyckoff,
9:45 a.m. Breakfast.

Book discussion: The

Fair Lawn Jewish Center/
Congregation Bnai
Israel sisterhood talks
about Nomi Eves book,
Henna House, 10 a.m.
Breakfast. 10-10 Norma
Ave. (201) 796-5040.

Cocktails/book
discussion: The Glen
Rock Jewish Center
serves late morning
cocktails and a discussion
of A Backpack, a Bear
and Eight Crates of
Vodka, a memoir by
Lev Golinkin, as part of
this years JFNNJs One
Book One Community
programming, 11 a.m.
(201) 652-6624or www.
grjc.org.

Klezmer music in
Teaneck: T-Klez, a new
group featuring drummer
David Licht, accordionist
Psachya Septimus,
and clarinetist Dobe
Ressler, play klezmer
music at the Teaneck
Public Librarys annual
gala, at the library, 840
Teaneck Road, 2 p.m.
Kosher refreshments.
(201) 837-4171 or
teaneck.org.

Yom Hashoah in Jersey

City: Congregation
Bnai Jacob, Temple
Beth-El, and the United
Synagogue of Hoboken
commemorate Yom
Hashoah at Bnai Jacob,
3 p.m. Holocaust survivor
Frances Malkin, whose
story is told in the
film No. 4 Street of
Our Lady, will speak.
Program also includes
prayers, readings, musical
selections, candlelighting,
and reception. 176 West
Side Ave. (201)435-7525
or www.BnaiJacobjc.org.

Yom Hashoah in
Emerson: A Torah scroll
saved from the Holocaust
and the story behind it
it went from Berlin to the
Hillcrest Jewish Center,
where Rabbi Debra
Orensteins grandfather
served for 50 years,
to Congregation Bnai
Israel, which she heads

survivor/author Inge
Auerbacher is the Donald
and Helen Fellows
Memorial Holocaust
Education Endowment
speaker at Temple Israel
& Jewish Community
Center, 7:30 p.m., at
an interfaith service
with members of the
Ridgewoods Interfaith
Clergy Council. Tamara
Freeman, a music
educator and TI-JCC
congregant, will lead
an interfaith choir.
Service led by Rabbis
Dr. David J. Fine, senior
rabbi of TI-JCC, Rabbi
Jacob Lieberman, TIJCC assistant leader
of the Jewish Centers
Reconstructionist
Congregation Beth
Israel, and Cantor Caitlin
Bromberg. 475 Grove St.
(201) 444-9320 or www.
synagogue.org.

Monday
MAY 2
Violinist in Englewood:
The JCC Thurnauer
School of Music at the
Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades in Tenafly
celebrates its annual Gift
of Music Gala benefit
featuring renowned
violinist Joshua Bell at
the Bergen Performing
Arts Center, 7 p.m. Pianist
Alessio Bax and violinist
Sharon Roffman plus
Thurnauers student
ensembles will join him.
Thurnauers founding
director, Dorothy Kaplan
Roffman, also will be
honored as she turns 75.
30 North Van Brunt St.
(201) 408-9507.

In New York
Wednesday
MAY 4
Poetry in NYC: Awardwinning poet Dana
Robbins, originally
of Teaneck, is among
the readers at Word
Medicine by the Russell
Road Writers, at the
Cornelia Street Caf,
6 p.m. Ms. Robbins,
who had a stroke at
23 and writes about

her experiences, will

read from her book of
poetry, The Left Side
of My Life. Her poetry
has appeared in many
publications, including
the Jewish Womens
Literary Annual and the
Examined Life Journal
of the Carver College
School of Medicine
of the University of
Iowa. She has spoken
to pastoral students at
the Jewish Theological
Seminary in New York
City. 29 Cornelia St.
(212) 989-9319 or www.
danamartinerobbins.com.

Singles
Sunday
MAY 1
Seniors meet in West
Nyack: Singles 65+
meets for a social gettogether with music
by DJ Jeff Sherer and
refreshments, at the JCC
Rockland, 11 a.m. All are
welcome, particularly
from Hudson, Passaic,
Bergen, or Rockland
counties. 450 West
Nyack Road. Gene Arkin,
(845) 356-5525.

Register for
computer
learning
Registration for the EGL
Foundation Computer
Learning Center, for everyone 40 and older, at the
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly, is open
for spring classes.
Choices include Using
your PC, Computers
Level 2, MS Excel 2007,
Using Your iPad: Beginners (and advanced),
Using Your Android
Phone: Beginners (and
advanced), and Windows
10 Basics. There are also
one-on-one classes for
Windows and iPad Users.
For information, call Arielle, (201) 569-7900, ext.
309, or email Michele at
mschaffer@jccotp.org.

Calendar

COURTESY JERUSALEM U

Eva Hesse,
1964

New film documents story

of African-Israeli soldier
In anticipation of Yom Haatzmaut,
Jerusalem U has released Mekonen:
The Journey of an African Jew. The
mini-documentary is from the creators
of Beneath the Helmet and Israel
Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big
Difference.
The film, produced by Rebecca Shore,

traces the story of Mekonen Abebe, a

young African-Israeli Jew, who once was
a shepherd in Africa and now is a commander in the Israeli Defense Forces.
To arrange a screening of Mekonen in
your community, go to mekonen.jerusalemu.org/host-a-screening or email
andrea@jerusalemu.org.

OHEL gears up extreme challenges

for May 15 Camp Kaylie event
Nearly 250 participants from New Jersey (including students from Frisch
and Torah Academy), the five boroughs of New York, and Long Islands
suburban Five Towns are preparing to
run, climb, jump, crawl, and muscle
their way through the Second Annual
OXC OHEL Xtreme Challenge
5-mile or 1.5-mile obstacle course at
Camp Kaylie.
The course was custom-built by professionals to allow all participants to
push their bodies and test their limits, with options for everyone from
children to the most conditioned athletes. Modeled after the now famous
Tough Mudder and Spartan runs,
OXC includes options for children
and adults with disabilities. Several
of Ohel Bais Ezras residents with disabilities who have overcome their own
life challenges will be on hand for this
Competitors at a previous OXC event.
challenging and fun-filled day.

COURTESY OHEL
OXC features over 32 obstacles,
including tunnels, climbing walls,
5-mile (or 1.5-mile) obstacle course, barbalance beams, rope ladders, water
becue lunch, and a participant parade.
hurdles, mud dumpsters, and more. As
All funds raised support Ohels chilteams or individuals, every one of the
dren and adults with disabilities and
participants will make it to the finish
families in crisis programs. For informaline, and receive a medal and other giveaways. Participants and their families
tion, call (718) 972-9338 or go to www.
will get to enjoy a full day at Camp Kaylie,
oheloxc.org.
which includes breakfast, registration, a

KETTWIG
STUDIO

Artist Eva Hesse spotlighted

at Beth Sholom video-lecture
The synagogue speaker,
On May 2, at 7:30 p.m.,
Marcie Begleiter, is the
Congregation Beth Sholom
director of a new fullin Teaneck will present a
leng th document ar y,
lecture, illustrated with
Eva Hesse; she spent
video and slides, called
five years researching the
Eva Hesse: Walking the
film. It will have its world
Edge in the New York Art
premier at the Film Forum
World of the 1960s.
in Manhattan on April 27
Eva Hesse, a painter and
and run for two weeks. A
sculptor, was one of the
Marcie Begleiter
trailer is at filmforum.org/
most significant and least

PHOTO PROVIDED
film/eva-hesse-film.
understood Jewish artists
The program will
of the 20th century. Her
include a 16-minute segment from the
work, owned by many major museums around the world, is on view in
longer film, along with photos and
New York in exhibitions at MoMA, the
other images from the archive. The
new Met Breuer, and the Drawing CenAlfred and Rose Buchman Endowment
ter for the next few months. Later this
sponsor the lecture. Light refreshments will be served. For information,
month, Yale University Press will publish a 900-page volume of her diaries.
call (201) 833-2620.

Fundraising jewelry show May 3

Norma Wellington, a prominent international jewelry designer who has been
recognized by Jewelers of America and
named as a Best of Bergen designer, will
present her latest collection of spring and
summer trends at her Silver Anniversary
show and sale at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly on Tuesday, May 3, from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m. Her exclusive one-of-a-kind
and limited edition pieces feature lariats,
wide cuffs, earrings, beaded necklaces,
and rings crafted from the genuine stones
and precious metals. Norma will donate a
large percentage of her sales to the Kaplen
Adult Reach Center, the JCC day care program for seniors with Alzheimers disease
and related forms of dementia.
Her biography and design photos are at
www.nwjewelrydesign.com. The show is

Jewelry by Norma Wellington.



COURTESY JCCOTP

chaired by Elle Rubach. For information

call (201) 408-1450 or email to jnahary@
jccotp.org.

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 57

Calendar

Crossword
MONOTONOUS MONIKERS BY DAVID BENKOF

EDITED BY YONI GLATT, KOSHERCROSSWORDS@GMAIL.COM

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: CHALLENGING

Boys Town chef creates

glazed Pesach chicken dish
Avi Chemal, Boys Town Jerusalems chef,
has created Sumptuous Seder Delight:
Root Vegetables & Pecan-Stuffed Chicken
Thighs in Citrus Glaze, an easy-to-prepare
chicken dish that combines chicken thighs
with hearty root vegetables and a delicate
citrus sauce.

Root Vegetables
& Pecan-Stuffed
Chicken Thighs
in Citrus Glaze
INGREDIENTS:

10 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Filling:
5 carrots, julienned
3 onions sliced into strips
4-6 colorful sweet peppers sliced in
strips
2 1/2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
1 1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

ground cloves
honey to drizzle
orange zest and lemon zest
grapefruit sections for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
Saut vegetables and season to taste
with salt, pepper, and a dash of ground
cloves. Fill each chicken piece with the
mixture and close. Place in a pan and
bake at 340 for 30 minutes, occasionally brushing skin with a bit of honey.
SAUCE:

Combine:
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup fresh ginger, chopped
orange and lemon zest
Cook over low heat till thick.
Serve:
Place baked chicken pieces on a tray,
slice in half, and drizzle with sauce.
Scatter orange and pink grapefruit sections over the top and serve. Delicious
with sweet potato puree and broccoli.

bergenPAC books
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon will perform on Saturday, May 21, at 8
p.m., at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood.
Avalons top hits include Why and Venus, and he has
appeared in more than 20 films, including his role as teen
angel in the movie production of the hit Broadway musical
Grease, where he sang Beauty School Dropout.
Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or www.
bergenpac.org or from the box office, (201) 227-1030.

Frankie Avalon

Announce your events

We welcome announcements of upcoming events. Announcements are free. Accompanying photos must
be high resolution, jpg files. Send announcements 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Not every release will be
published. Include a daytime telephone number and send to:
pr@jewishmediagroup.com 201-837-8818 x 110

58 JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016

Across

Down

1. Norman Lears Archie Bunker, e.g.

5. Lag Baomer is one
9. Summer camp of CNNs Jake Tapper
14. Mossad intel
15. Davids was originally in Bethlehem
16. It makes kosher Bazooka
17. Comic with a very popular podcast,
and not as popular IFC show
19. Tree on Lebanons flag
20. Gasteyer of Lorne Michaels SNL
21. ___ of Exodus (artistic seder plate)
22. Recites the Kel Male Rachamim
graveside, often
23. Observe shiva
24. Dead ___
25. Word before Tovu in the morning
26. German lyric poet who left Judaism
at age 28
32. ___ Care About (Kander/Ebb song
from Chicago)
33. Chain letters?
34. Robert who played Cooper on
Wieners Mad Men
37. Adjusts ones tefillin
39. Light seven candles on the last night
of Chanukah, e.g.
40. A shamash has two
41. Skhug is a hot Israeli one
42. Actress Dennings, and others
44. ___ above (apt slogan for a
mohel)
45. 18th century Yeminite Kabbalist
known as the Rashash
48. Network for Bochcos Murder in the
First
50. Rabbinic abbreviation in the
Commonwealth
51. Yente quality, often
52. Cultural pluralism pioneer Kallen
54. And G-d ___...
56. Sleep stage for Freud to interpret
59. Insect called a jook in Israel
60. TV authority Sheindlin
62. Cosmetics pioneer who made her
name seem French
63. Masters of the Comic Book
Universe Revealed! author Kaplan
64. Rabbi Carlebachs was 681 words in
the NYT
65. Jenji Kohan Showtime show
66. Roseanne who ran for President in
2012
67. First name of many a shul

1. Elevated locale
2. Sinful son of Judah
3. Singer Haza
4. Eden ___ Miami Beach, hotel with
Passover meals
5. Like Earth, as described in the Torahs
second verse
6. One of two Michelangelo sculpted on
Moses
7. First prophet to write down his prophecies
8. Two before Lev.
9. Takes prewar art out of Germany, e.g.
10. Way to turn the Altalena
11. Locale of Skokie Yeshiva and Hebrew
Union College
12. Name that means crown
13. Pulitzer winner Seymour
18. Kahane of note
22. Seinfeld once voiced one
23. Complainer who the Lamalshinim
prayer is complaining about
24. They were being made when the
Triangle fire happened
26. Bowlers with kippot?
27. Kazan who made Gentlemans
Agreement
28. Make like Maurice Sendak
29. Anton Yelchin played him in Star
Trek
30. ___ al-Sharif (Arabic term for the
Temple Mount)
31. Words before done (nezikin related)
35. Pauly Shore got one at the Oscars
every year in the 1990s
36. Israeli model Ginzburg
38. Uses Pages engine
43. Yiddish relative you might not be
thrilled to see
46. Levis alternative
47. Monica Lewinsky, once
48. Koufax did it with his left hand
49. Morbid Purim prop
53. Got a perfect score on the Bagrut
54. Talmudic academy on the Euphrates
55. ___ Hu
56. Goldberg of contraptions fame
57. Improve the Australian Jewish news
58. Midrash, perhaps
60. Don Rickles joke, often
61. Shortest book in Tanach?

The solution to last weeks puzzle

is on page 63.
JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2016 58

Gallery
1

n 1 Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle spoke with

Ben Porat Yosef students and parents as part of Teach
NJSs Schools in Session program. COURTESY BPY
n 2 Religious school students from Shomrei Torah,
Wayne, make matzah under the direction of Rabbi Yisroel
Rosenblum of Living Legacy. COURTESY SHOMREI TORAH
n 3 As part of an ongoing commitment to the Bergen County
Shelter for the Homeless in Hackensack, members of Glen
Rock Jewish Center prepared a meal by shopping, cooking,
and serving it to residents there last month. COURTESY GRJC

n 4 Temple Sinai Early Childhood Center donated toys and school

supplies to the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood after a fire
damaged its nursery school. Allison Chertoff and Ruthie Nussbaum
show a gamebox to their daughters, Rory and Lucy. COURTESY TEMPLE SINAI
n 5 Rabbi Dov Drizin teaches a JLI class at Valley Chabad exploring
Lessons in Character From Biblical Stories of Kings, Judges, and
Prophets. A new class, Strength and Struggle: Lessons in Character
from the Stories of Our Prophets begins May 17. COURTESY VALLEY CHABAD
n 6 Hebrew school students from the JCC of Paramus/CBT recently took
a field trip to the Brooklyn Jewish Childrens Museum. Participants climb
through a giant challah as they learn about Shabbat. COURTESY JCCP/CBT

JEWISH STANDARD APRIL 22, 2015 59

Obituaries
Adrienne
Ainbender

Adrienne Ronnie
Ainbender, ne Raynes, 79,
of Glen Rock died April 18.
She was a 1957 Cornell
University graduate
and was a computer
programmer.
Predeceased by her
husband, Eugene,
and a brother, Warren
Raynes, she is survived
by a daughter, Anissa
Ainbender (Sean Hamlin),
and two grandchildren.
Donations can be made
to the World Wildlife
Foundation. Arrangements
were by Robert Schoems
Menorah Chapel, Paramus.

Jay Brunn

Jay K. Brunn, 59, of

Fair Lawn, formerly of
Teaneck, died April 18.
He co-owned L.K.B.
Meats, Inc., in Fair Lawn,
with his brother and sisterin-law, Kevin and Shari.
He was a member of the
Fair Lawn Jewish Center
and a volunteer coach and
sponsor of the Fair Lawn
Street Hockey Association
for many years.
Predeceased by his
mother, Laura Brunn, he is
survived by his wife, Anita
Berger-Brunn, his father,
Eric Brunn, children,
Joshua (Stephanie), and
Andrew; brothers, Kevin
(Shari), and Michael
(Dawn), and nieces and
nephews.
Donations can be sent to
Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center, Att: Jennifer
Jacobson. Arrangements
were by Louis Suburban
Chapel, Fair Lawn.

Sandra Ginsberg

Sandra Denner Ginsberg,

ne Berman, 79, of
Secaucus died April 15.
She was a retired public
relations director at
London Records in New
York.
She is survived by
her husband, Robert, a
daughter, Lori Cocco of
Easton, Conn.; siblings,
Michael Berman, Sydell
Berman, and Marilyn
Cooke, all of New York City,
and seven grandchildren.
Arrangements were by
Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

Sidney Goodman

Sidney J. Goodman, 85, of

Teaneck, died April 17.
Arrangements were by
Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.

Gary Lesters

Gary Lesters, 92, of River

Edge died April 18.
He was honorably
discharged after serving
three years in the Air
Force on a B-17. He was
a radio and televition
broadcaster.
He is survived by his
wife of 67 years, Marilyn,
daughters, Lauren Cohen
(Daniel) of River Edge,
and Jayne Morelli (Daniel)
of Livingston and four
grandchildren.
Donations can be made
to St. Jude Childrens
Research Hospital or
Shriners Hospitals for
Children. Arrangements
were by Louis Suburban
Chapel, Fair Lawn.

Dr. Henry Rosin

Dr. Henry Hank Rosin,

85, of Franklin Lakes died
April 13.
Before retiring in 2000,
he was a head and neck
surgeon at the Valley
Hospital in Ridgewood,
serving as director
of the Department of
Otolaryngology/Head and
Neck Surgery and at Holy
Name Medical Center
in Teaneck, with offices
in Manhattan, Teaneck,
Ridgewood, and Midland
Park. He was founder
and first president of
the New Jersey Hospice
Organization, and was a
fellow of the American
College of Surgeons. He
also served as a captain
and flight surgeon in the
U.S. Air Force based in
Ashiya, Japan. A collector
of Japanese art, the
Dr. Henry and Nancy
Rosin Collection of Early
Photography of Japan,
1860 1900 is at the
Sackler-Freer Art Gallery of
the Smithsonian National
Museum in Washington.
He is survived by his wife
of nearly 50 years, Nancy,
children, Diane Huber of
Franklin Lakes, Matthew
of Tokyo, Laura Kloeti
(Michael) of Vermont,
and Robert (Belle) of

60 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

San Francisco, and four

grandchildren.
Arrangements were by
Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

Rabbi Joseph
Rudavsky

Rabbi Joseph J. Rudavsky

of Cranford, formerly of
River Edge, Hackensack,
and Teaneck, died
April 19.
He was the rabbi at
Temple Avodat Shalom
in River Edge, from 1962
to 1988, where he is rabbi
emeritus.
Predeceased by his
wife, Charlotte, and siblings, Sarah Soltes and
Hilel Rudavsky, he is survived by children, Deena
Altman ( Joseph), Ora
Cohen, and Zarky (Laurel); siblings, Benjamin
Rudavsky and Ziva Shapiro; six grandchildren, and
eight great-grandchildren.
Donations can be sent
to Temple Avodat Shalom.
Arrangements were by
Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.

Sylvia Schuster

Sylvia Schuster, 93, of Glen

Rock died April 17.
She is survived by her
husband of nearly 75 years,
Sidney, children, Daniel

(Terry) and Shelly Baltin

(Steve); a grandchild, and a
great-grandchild.
Contributions can be
sent to the Israel Guide
Dog Center for the Blind.
Arrangements were by
Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.

Francine Vacante

Francine E. Vacante, ne
Schwartz, 81, of Fort Lee
died April 15.
She was a buyer for
B. Altman & Co., in
Manhattan. Predeceased
by her husband,
Pasqualino, she is
survived by children,
Andrea Kluepfel (Charles),
Debra Meltsner, Robyn
Schenkman, and Barbie
Mitchell (Patrick); seven
grandchildren, and a
great-grandchild.
Donations can be made
to the American Cancer
Society. Arrangements
were by Eden Memorial
Chapels, Fort Lee.

Robert Weiss

Robert A. Weiss, 75, of

Hamilton, formerly of
Union, died April 18.
An American University
Law School graduate,
he was a self-employed
lawyer for over 42 years,
currently of council to

Yetta Rosen
The officers and members of the Board
of Trustees of the Jewish Home Family,
note with profound sorrow the passing of
Yetta Rosen, mother of Jewish Home at
Rockleigh past president and current trustee,
Myrna Block. Yetta and her late husband
Ben were longtime friends and supporters
of the Jewish Home Family as well as
many other Jewish causes. Yetta was a very
special person to all who were privileged
to know her. She will be greatly missed by
family and friends. We extend our deepest
sympathy to her children, Stephen and
Penny, Myrna and Yale, Beth and Pam,
her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
We know that her loving kindness and good
deeds will be a lasting legacy.
Eli Ungar, Chairman
Carol Silver Elliott, President & CEO

Arons & Arons in South

Orange, and was a
member of the New Jersey
Bar Association.
He enjoyed reading
political literature and
debating real estate legal
issues for many years.
He also loved spending
time with his three
granddaughters, Lila,
Savanna, and Ariana
Weiss.
He is survived by his

partner, David Stephens,

a sister, Ruth Friedland
(Dr. Noel) of Wyckoff; his
children Adam ( Jamie),
Dara, and Marlo, and
three grandchildren.
Donations can be
made to the National
Kidney Foundation, or
Johns Hopkins Kidney
Transplant Foundation.
Arrangements were by
Robert Schoems Menorah
Chapel, Paramus.

Obituaries are prepared with

information provided by funeral homes.
Correcting errors is the responsibility
of the funeral home.

Abbot MAlcolM Reff

Abbot Malcolm Reff of Fort Lee passed away

on April 18, 2016, following a courageous
battle with lung cancer. He was born on
January 22, 1945 in the Bronx. Abby
married Roxanne Kroog, January 16, 1966.
Surrounded by family and friends, Roxanne
and Abby recently celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary.
In May, 1966, Abby graduated from Long
Island University College of Business, with a
BS in Accounting. He was a member of the
Honors Society and the Society of Optimates.
Drafted into the army in July 1967, Abby
completed basic training at Fort Knox,
Kentucky. He was assigned as Personnel Clerk
to the 39th Engineering Division and stationed
in Ulm, Germany. Abbys tour of duty lasted
two years; he was awarded Medals for Good
Conduct and National Defense Service and
received a citation as an M-14 Sharp Shooter.
Abby became a Certified Public Accountant
in 1971, and worked in this field throughout
his career. He became a volunteer for the MS
Swim In program in 2006, and in May 2015,
was honored for his many years of service.
An avid traveler, reader, photographer, dancer
and cook, Abby embraced life with laughter
and passion. He is survived by his wife,
Roxanne, and nephews and nieces.
Donations in Abbys memory can be made to:
VNA Englewood Hospice
15 Engle Street
Englewood, NJ. 07631
MS Swim In
C/O Ms. Barbara Lightbody
41 Margie Ave.
Cresskill, NJ. 07626
Paid notice

Obituaries
The staff of the

Chevra Kadisha Taharath Jacob Isaac

Jewish Standard
extends its deepest sympathy

Serving the needs of the Jewish community for 35 years

with respect, dignity and strict adherence to halacha
through many funeral homes in the tri-state area.

to Reuven Nayowitz and

Family operated for three generations.

For emergencies, 24 hours, 201-530-5822

family on the death of

his beloved father,
Rabbi Joseph Nayowitz.

A zessin Pesach to you and your family from

the members of the Jewish Memorial Chapel

May his memory

Ahavas Achim Bloomfield

Amelia Lodge Cli on
Beth Israel Cli on
Bnai Shalom West Orange
Chevra Thilim Passaic
Cli on Jewish Center Cli on
Adas Israel Passaic
Agudath Israel Caldwell
Ahavas Israel Passaic
Beth Ahm Verona

be a blessing.

Beth El Rutherford
Jewish War Veterans Post 47 Cli on
Beth Shalom Pompton Lakes
Knights of Pythias Memorial
Associaon Cli on
Shomrei Emunah Montclair
Daughters of Miriam Cli on Pine Brook Jewish Center Montville
Temple Emanuel Cli on
Farband Passaic
Hungarian Hebrew Men Pinebrook Temple Ner Tamid Bloomfield
Tifereth Israel Passaic
Jewish Federaon Cli on
Passaic Hebrew Verein Passaic
Young Israel Passaic

841 Allwood Road Clifton, NJ 07012

973-779-3048 Fax 973-779-3191
www.JewishMemorialChapel.org
Vincent Marazo, Manager
NJ License No. 3424

COMMUNITY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1921 NON_PROFIT

A Zissen PesAch
to you And
your fAmily

Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc

Jewish Funeral Directors

Family Owned & managed

Generations of Lasting Service to the Jewish Community
Serving NJ, NY, FL &
Throughout USA
Prepaid & Preneed Planning
Graveside Services

Our Facilities Will Accommodate

Your Familys Needs
Handicap Accessibility From Large
Parking Area

Gary Schoem Manager - NJ Lic. 3811

Conveniently Located
W-150 Route 4 East Paramus, NJ 07652

201.843.9090

201-791-0015

1.800.426.5869

From the entire staff

of Gutterman-Musicant and Wien & Wien
Observing traditions and holidays like Passover
is an important way to celebrate our faith.
GUTTERMAN AND MUSICANT
JEWISH FUNERAL DIRECTORS

800-525-3834

Alan L. Musicant, Mgr. N.J. Lic. No. 2890

Martin D. Kasdan, N.J. Lic. No. 4482

LOUIS SUBURBAN CHAPEL, INC.

Exclusive Jewish Funeral Chapel

Wishing Everyone
A Zissen Pesach
13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West) Fair Lawn, NJ
Richard Louis - Manager
George Louis - Founder
NJ Lic. No. 3088
1924-1996

WIEN & WIEN INC.

MEMORIAL CHAPELS

Advance Planning conferences conveniently arranged at our chapel or in your own home

1-800-522-0588

Fax: 201-489-2392
402 Park Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601

1-800-322-0533

Serving all of Florida

www.GuttermanMusicantWien.com
Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 61

Classified
Crypts For Sale

Crypts For Sale

paramus Cedar Park Cemetery - 2 Crypts Sanctuary of

Abraham & Sarah. Best location! Bldg.2, side by side, heart
level, first floor.Asking $18,000
No reasonable offer refused.
Miriam 201-788-8444

Single CRYPT,

Sanctuary of Abraham & Sarah,

Cedar Park Beth-El Cemetery,
Paramus, NJ. Level 6, Unit
8226, 1st fl. (Bldg #3). All original paperwork intact.
Cost $6,405.00

teachcsny@optonline.net

Help Wanted

(201) 837-8818

Professional Services

MEDICAL BILLING
ADVOCATE
REDUCE YOUR MEDICAL
BILLS UP TO 50%
25 YEARS HEALTHCARE
EXPERIENCE
NO FEE unless we help
you pay less
Please Call MBA at

201-857-4495

. Looking for dynamic,

experienced PreK/Kindergarten Teachers
who will bring their creativity, love of teaching, team spirit
and professionalism
to join the Early Childhood Department
at
Yavneh Academy
Please send your resume to:
shani.norman@yavnehacademy.org

. Looking for an experienced, dynamic lower school

General Studies Teacher

who will bring his/her creativity, love of teaching, team spirit
and professionalism to the
Yavneh Academy family.
To express interest, please submit CV to
Mrs. Shai Norman, Early Childhood Director and
Assistant Principal G.S. Grades 1-2
at
shani.norman@yavnehacademy.org

Situations Wanted
. Looking for
Professional Nurse/CHHA
to care for you or loved one
Call
Spendylove Homecare
732-430-5789

CHHA Caregiver available 5 days

week. Loving care for infants to
elderly. . Experienced. Excellent
references. Bergen & Passaic
County preferred. 973-333-7878
Reliable hardworking CNA
seeks live-in/out position in Florida
or New Jersey area. Good references. Over 20 years experience.
Have valid drivers lics. 561-3967574

Cleaning Service
A Team of
Polish Women
Clean

Apartments
Homes Offices

Experienced References

201-679-5081

Affordable Rates!
POLISH CLEANING WOMAN

Homes,

Apartments,
Offices
15 years experience,
excellent references.
Izabela
973-572-7031

Cleaning & Hauling

RICKS SAME DAY SERVICE

CLEANOUT, INC.
RUBBISH REMOVAL

We clean up:
Attics Basements Yards
Garages Apartments
Construction Debris
Residential Dumpster Specials
10 yds 15 yds 20 yds

201-342-9333

Situations Wanted

CHHA Certified Nurses Aide/Long

time care - 15 years experience
caring for the elderly with Alzheimers/dementia. Knowledge of
kosher food preparation, will shop,
clean, administer medication and
drive client to MD appointments.
References upon request. 201310-3149

DAUGHTER
FOR A DAY, LLC

COMPANION: Experienced, kind,

trustworthy person seeking part
time work. Weekends OK. Meal
preparation, laundry, housekeeping. Will drive for doctors appointments; occasional sleepovers. 973519-4911

experienced
BABYSITTER
for Teaneck area.
Please call Jenna
201-660-2085
experienced Caregiver specializing in care for elderly is available
immediately. Live-in. Own car.
Great references. 201-925-9239
Home Health Aide/Nurses Aide
with 20 yrs experience with eldercare seeking live-in/out position.
Call 973-356-4365

Cleaning & Hauling

immy
J
the Junk Man

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

Touro College and University System

ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKBROOKLYN DIVISION

The Touro College Graduate School of Social Work has experienced remarkable
growth. With campuses in midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, over 300 graduate
students, and more than 100 clinical partners, the School of Social Work invites
nominations and applications for a faculty position in Social Work Teaching and
Research at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor. The Professor will specialize
in clinical social work in the Jewish community. This appointment will begin as of July 1,
2016 and be based in our Brooklyn Division.
Minimum Requirements

MSW
Doctorate in in Social Work or related field desirable
Proven track record of teaching, scholarship, and clinical practice experience is
required.

Please submit letter of intent describing areas of specialization and interests, a current
CV, and three references to:
Nancy Gallina, Ph.D., LCSW
Associate Dean and Director of MSW Program
Touro College Graduate School of Social Work
27 West 23rd Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10010
E-mail: nancy.gallina@touro.edu

62 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

LICENSED & INSURED

FOR YOUR
PROTECTION

Handpicked
Certified Home
Health Aides
Hourly - Daily - Live In
NURSE SUPERVISED
Creative
companionship
interactive,
intelligent
conversation &
social outings
Downsize
Coordinator
Assist w/shopping,
errands, Drs, etc.
Organize/process
paperwork,
bal. checkbook,
bookkeeping
Resolve medical
insurance claims
Free Consultation

RITA FINE

www.rickscleanout.com

SENIOR CITIZENS 10% OFF

EXCELLENT JOB OPENING AT

TOURO COLLEGE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Situations Wanted

WE CLEAN OUT:
Basements Attics Garages Fire Damage
Construction Debris Hoarding Specialists
WE REMOVE ANYTHING!

CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE

201-661- 4940

Help Wanted
Full Time Office Manager in Wayne, New Jersey
A warm, vibrant Conservative Synagogue in Wayne, NJ is
looking for a dynamic Synagogue Administrator/Office Manager for our Congregation of approximately 250 families. Primary responsibilities for our Synagogue Administrator reporting to the Executive Vice President and Rabbi include:
Oversee day-to-day operation of the office
Manage and maintain the facilities
Serve as the primary contact person for prospective and
current members
Desired Qualifications include:
A working knowledge of Jewish holidays, religious practices
and traditions and terminology Ability to extend and reinforce
our warm, friendly and comfortable work environment Strong
computer software skills and the proven ability of learning
technologies quickly Experience using Constant Contact and
Chaverware preferred Proficiency in Microsoft Office required
Social Media skills needed Must be able to maintain a high
level of confidentiality Strong customer service and interpersonal skills Must have the ability to interact well and create a
trusted environment with the Board of Trustees, congregrants,
staff and others Enjoy working as a team and collaborating
on projects Excellent oral, written and proofreading skills
Ability to multitask, attend to detail and enter data accurately
Ability to work well under pressure, manage multiple deadlines
and stay organized Previous experience planning, developing and completing projects Prior supervisory experience
Job Type: Full-time
Please send resume to: applyonjob@gmail.com

201-214-1777

www.daughterforaday.com
Established 2001
I am a HHA, Caregiver/Companion
/Housekeeper with 10 years experience looking for Full-time, Livein/out position. . 917-406-7269
loving, caring, honest lady looking to care for elderly. 15 years experience. Very reliable. References
Call Maggie 201-871-8797; 973530-6415
veteran/college graduate
seeks employment in telephone
sales. 25 years experience in purchasing and marketing of diverse
products. Proven success in generating new business through
building strong relationships, senior
buyer of toys, hobbies, hard goods
and bulk toys. Honest, hard worker. email:yendisid@optImum.net

Home Improvements

BESTof the BEST

BH

Home Repair Service

Painting
Carpentry
Kitchens
Decks
Electrical
Locks/Doors
Paving/Masonry
Basements
Drains/Pumps
Bathrooms
Plumbing
Maintenence
Tiles/Grout
Hardwood Floors
General Repairs

NO JOB IS TOO SMALL

24 Hour x 5 1/2 Emergency Services
Shomer Shabbat
Free Estimates

1-201-530-1873

Call us.
We are waiting
for your
classified ad!
201-837-8818

n
-

e
h
r
s

Classified
plumBing

Handyman

APL Plumbing & Heating LLC

Your Neighbor with Tools

Home Improvements & Handyman

PARTY
PLANNER

Solution to last weeks puzzle. This weeks puzzle is

on page 58.

Complete Kitchen &

Bath Remodeling

Shomer Shabbat Free Estimates

Over 15 Years Experience

Boilers Hot Water Heaters Leaks

Adam 201-675-0816

Fully Licensed, Bonded and Insured

Lic. & Ins. NJ Lic. #13VH05023300

www.yourneighborwithtoolshandyman.com

201-358-1700 Lic. #12285

EMERGENCY SERVICE

NO JOB IS TOO SMALL!

rooFing
ROOFING SIDING

Free
Estimates

HACKENSACK
ROO
FING
OOFING
CO.

201-487-5050

INC.

GUTTERS LEADERS

Roof
Repairs

83 FIRST STREET
HACKENSACK, NJ 07601

Jewish Music with an Edge

Ari Greene 201-837-6158
AGreene@BaRockorchestra.com
www.BaRockOrchestra.com

antiQues

Sterling Associates Auctions

SEEKING CONSIGNMENT AND OUT RIGHT PURCHASES
Sculpture Paintings Porcelain Silver
Jewelry Furniture Etc.

TOP CASH PRICES PAID

201-768-1140 www.antiquenj.com
sterlingauction@optonline.net
70 Herbert Avenue, Closter, N.J. 07642

antiQues

NICHOL AS
ANTIQUES

Car serviCe

A PLUS

ESTATES
BOUGHT & SOLD

FREE APPRAISALS TUESDAYS FROM 12-2

IN OUR GALLERY. CALL FOR APPOINTMENT.

Fine Furniture Antiques Accessories

Cash Paid

201-920-8875

Antiques Wanted
WE BUY
Oil Paintings

Silver

Bronzes

Porcelain

Oriental Rugs

Furniture

Marble Sculpture

Jewelry

Tiffany Items

Chandeliers

Chinese Art

Bric-A-Brac

Tyler Antiques
Established by Bubbe in 1940!

The most reliable and efficient service

at all times for your transporation needs.
Our professional and courteous team works together for you.

Serving the Tri-State Area, New York and Bergen County

EWR $39 LGA $42 JFK $59

Tolls, parking, wlt, stops & tps are not included Extra $7 Airport Pickup
Prices subject to change without prior notice. Price varies by locations.

Fuel surcharge may add up to 10% Additional charge may be applied to credit card payment

201-641-5500 888-990-TAXI (8294)

We pay cash for

Modern Furniture & Art
Judaica Art
Oil Paintings
Porcelain
Bronzes Silver
Chinese Porcelain Art
Jewelry & Costume Jewelry
Men & Women Watches
Other Antiques

Visit us online at: www.apluslimo1.com E-mail: apluslimo@earthlink.net

pets For adoption

ANS A

Over 25 years courteous service to tri-state area

We come to you Free Appraisals

tylerantiquesny@aol.com

201-894-4770
Shomer Shabbos

Limo & Car Service

Call Us!

Shommer
Shabbas

201-861-7770 201-951-6224
www.aadsa726@yahoo.com

Get results! Advertise on this page. 201-837-8818

Jewish standard aPriL 22, 2016 63

Real Estate & Business

ENGLEWOOD EAST HILL
One of a kind 4.3
acre estate backing
Flat Rock Brook
Nature Center.
Step back into
yesteryear in this
circa 1930's Tudor
inspired home with
5 bdrms, 5 full and
2 half baths, huge eat-in kitchen, multiple entertainment areas
and 5 fireplaces; in-ground pool with cabana, tennis court, 15
car garage and 2 family house offering a 1 bdrm/1fbth and 2
bdrm/1fbth apartment. Nearby houses of worship, schools and
mass transit. Minutes to GWB and NYC. Come see.

CUSTOM BROKER RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL

SALES RENTAL LEASING

HIGH-RETURN
Happy
INVESTMENT Passover!
OPPORTUNITIES

Happy
P
Passover

GARDEN STATE HOMES

25 Broadway, Elmwood Park, NJ

from

Martin H. Basner, Realtor Associate

Marlyn Friedberg

(Office) 201-794-7050 (Cell) 201-819-2623

& Associates

HAPPY PASSOVER FROM ALL OF

US AT VOLPE REAL ESTATE
640 Palisade Avenue Englewood Cliffs, NJ
201-567-8700 Fax 201-567-6828

BANK-OWNED PROPERTIES

RIVERVALE

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS

TENAFLY

CRESSKILL

ALPINE

666-0777

568-1818

894-1234

871-0800

768-6868

A Happy Pesach
to all our Friends
and Clients

Larry DeNike
President

DaNieL M. ShLufMaN
Managing directOr

LadcLassic@aOL.cOM

dshLufMan@cLassicLLc.cOM

MLO #58058

MLO #6706

Classic Mortgage, LLC

201-368-3140
Proudly serving the Jewish Community.
Mortgage BankersNJ/NY/CT

FORT LEE THE COLONY

1 BR 1.5 Baths. Sunset view. $115,000

1 BR 1.5 Baths. Updated. Full river view. $189,900
2 BR 2 Baths. Total renovation, new windows, laundry.
$359,900
Largest 2 BR 2.5 Baths. Total renovation with laundry.
High floor, 2 terraces. East Manhattan and west sunset
view. $489,900

Wishing you a Happy Passover

Allan Dorfman

MORE matzah. MORE wine. MORE family.

Wishing you a Happy Pesach!

vera-nechama.com 201.692.3700
Vera and Nechama Realty 1401 Palisade Avenue Teaneck, New Jersey 07666 info@vera-nechama.com

64 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

Broker/Associate

201-461-6764 Eve
201-970-4118 Cell
201-585-8080 x144 Office
Realtorallan@yahoo.com

www.thejewishstandard.com

Real Estate & Business

MEOR scores another touchdown for Jewish learning
ELIE KLEIN
On Sunday, May 8, an energetic squad will
take the field at MetLife Stadium focused
on a single mission: to inspire, educate and
empower future Jewish leaders at top universities across the country.
Hosted by MEOR (www.MEOR.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting
Jewish college students in the discovery of
their own heritage and identity, the annual
MEOR at MetLife event will celebrate Jewish continuity, honor exceptional educators,
highlight impressive student leaders, and
spread the word about the organizations
unparalleled Jewish education and leadership programming. It will also be a unique
family fun day for participants.
Year after year, we host this event to highlight the importance of the Jewish education

and Jewish family, and we pull out all the

stops to make sure that all of the families in
attendance make memories that they can
carry with them forever, said Debra Kodish,
MEORs executive vice president.
Participants will make lasting memories
as they spend the afternoon playing football
with NFL players Zak DeOssie (New York
Giants), Geoff Schwartz (Detroit Lions), and
Mitchell Schwartz (Kansas City Chiefs), feast
on a barbecue buffet, and enjoying a host of
on-field family activities. They will also have
the opportunity to learn about how MEOR
engages Jewish college students across the
country who are hungry for community, continuity and connectivity.
For more than a decade, MEOR has battled
dispassion, detachment from Jewish identity
and the ever-rising forces of anti-Zionism
and anti-Semitism to create a masterwork of

Jewish engagement that now functions on 21

prominent college campuses across the U.S.
Having already impacted 18,000 students,
the goal remains the same: to help promising
Jewish leaders connect with Judaism on their
own terms and in their own time.
While the heavy lifting takes place on
campus, where students study Jewish topics that are relevant and compelling to them
while experiencing Jewish life and community, feelings of deep connection to Jewish
identity and spirituality tend to develop most
effectively on MEOR leadership seminars in
Israel and heritage trips to Poland, explains
Kodish.
Nearly 400 students from universities across the United States participate in
MEORs Israel programs each year, exploring
their heritage through classes with dynamic
teachers on topics such as Jewish leadership,

MEOR students with their campus rabbi

on a MEOR Israel trip

relationships, and philosophy while exploring Israels rich and varied historic, geographic, recreational, and cultural landscape.
These unique Israel experiences allow the
students to build powerful connections to
Israel as part of their Jewish identities.
Students consistently comment that the
combination of classes with knowledgeable,
talented Jewish educators combined with
see MEOR Page 66

SELLING YOUR HOME?

more than
343,000
likes.

BY APPOINTMENT
t TEANECK t

Like
us on
Facebook.

W Englwd Brick Col. Corner Lot. 125' Deep Prop. 4 BRs, 4 Baths.
Multiple Skylights. Fenced Yard. $575,000

Call Susan Laskin Today

To Make Your Next Move A Successful One!
BergenCountyRealEstateSource.com

t BERGENFIELD t

Cell: 201-615-5353

2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

Wishing you a
Happy Passover
from all of us at
Anhalt Realty
facebook.com/
jewishstandard

240 Grand Avenue Englewood, NJ

201-568-3300
info@anhaltrealty.com
www.anhaltrealty.com

Front to Back Split. Prestigious Location. 4 BRs, 3 Full, 2 Half

Baths. 2 Fireplaces, Fam Rm, Eat In Kit & More!! $869,900

ALL CLOSE TO NY BUS / HOUSES OF WORSHIP /

HIGHWAYS / SHOPPING / SCHOOLS & NY BUS
For Our Full Inventory & Directions 2015
Visit our Website
READERS
CHOICE
www.RussoRealEstate.com
FIRST PLACE

(201) 837-8800

Jewish standard aPriL 22, 2016 65

Real Estate & Business

YA GOTTA GET GHADA!

Exceptional Results Year After Year is
Why Serious Sellers & Buyers GET

Ghada

Bergen County Expert for 32 years!

Choosing the right Realtor
makes all the difference!

Ghada Abbasi

cell 201-407-6630

www.getghada.com

MEOR
from page 65

touring experiences makes a deeper impression than any they previously experienced.
They return home inspired to seek out additional Jewish engagement opportunities and
ways to connect to Israel.
In addition to fostering a love for Israel,
MEOR programming encourages a true connection to the land and prepares students
for Israel advocacy on campus, said Kodish.
MEOR students learn to effectively defend
Israel on campus, and some have joined the
IDF, interned in Israel, or made aliyah.
At the event, MEOR will honor Rabbi
Chaim and Mrs. Adina Harkavy, the mainstays of MEOR programming in upstate
New York. In addition to founding MEOR

Binghamton, they also run programming at

Cornell University, staff MEOR Israel trips and
Sinai retreats in the Adirondacks during the
summer, and welcome students into their
Binghamton and Scranton homes throughout
the year, providing a warm and fully immersive Jewish experience.
It brings us so much joy to help young
people recognize how powerful they are and
how much they can contribute to the Jewish
community and culture, said Rabbi Harkavy,
who spent his formative years in Manhattan
and Bergen County. The greatest gift we can
give our Jewish youth is the support to fulfill
their own destinies.
If you are interested in taking the field to
help MEOR give the gift of Jewish education,
visit http://meor.org/eventres.

Ranks in Top 1% Agents Nationwide

#1 Agent in the Office - For 13 consecutive years
NJ REALTORS Circle of Excellence Award - Platinum Level 2004-2015
Please DO NOT confuse Ghada with others with the same last name

It Does Not Cost More To Hire The Best

201-493-2969 direct 44 Franklin Ave. Ridgewood, NJ
201-445-9400 x250 Ghada@njrealestate.com
2016 Caldwell Banker Real Estate LLC Caldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to
Caldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

EQUALHOUSING

LENDER

Improv Bowl V about to entertain

at Teanecks Black Box Arts Center
On Wednesday, April 27, Improv Bowl V, aka
The Matzah Bowl, begins at 8 p.m. (doors
open at 7:30). Admission is $7 at the door
or, to ensure a seat, purchase in advance at
www.blackboxnynj.com/improvbowl.
The Improv Bowl is a monthly event at
Black Box Performing Arts Center featuring
team-format improvisational comedy that
is open to the public both as a show and

for audience participation. Performers featured include adults and older teens from
the Teaneck area, all long-time BBS improv
students. The material is family friendly, and
reminiscent of Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Kosher for Passover refreshments
from the Teaneck Doghouse are for sale
throughout the evening. For further information, call (201) 357-2221.

Wishing the Entire Community a Happy Passover

Englewood

Englewood

100 E. Palisade

Englewood

185 E. Palisade

Norwood

204 Maple St.

152 Piermont Rd.

AC

LD

SO

FO

E
ND

CO

ER

Fort Lee

DE

Tenafly

97 George St.

38 Dean Dr.

CT

RA

T
ON

Tenafly

Atrium Palace

18 Jay St.

T
ON

D
UN

Harrington Park
LD

LD

SO

SO

UN

Ayelet
Hurvitz

Broker/Salesperson

Recipient of the NJAR Circle of Excellence

Sales Award 2012-2015
Sterling Society Award Winner
2014-2015
Five Star Professional Award Winner 2015

Exceptional Service,
Exceptional Results
Direct: 201-294-1844

Alpine/Closter Office: 201-767-0550 x 235

ahurvitz12@yahoo.com www.ayelethurvitz.com
66 Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016

CT

RA

R
NT

L
SA

SE

A
LE

We wish you and all your loved ones

A Very Happy and Sweet Passover!
NJ:
NY:

Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
TENAFLY

201.266.8555
T: 212.888.6250
T:

TENAFLY

SO

LD

ENGLEWOOD

E
CO LEG
LO AN
NI T
AL
!

Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ

TENAFLY

SO

Remodeled and expanded East Hill Colonial. Picturesque setting. Approx. 1 acre. $1,548,000

ENGLEWOOD

EX
T
TO RAO
W RD
NH IN
OM AR
E! Y

TENAFLY

CO SPE
NT CT
EM AC
PO ULA
RA R
RY
!

LD

Exquisitely renovated 4 BR/4 BTH E.H. home.

201.906.6024
M: 917.576.0776
M:

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

Gorgeous 6 BR/4.5 BTH Colonial. $1,288,000

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS

SO

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

LD

Updated 5 BR/4 BTH on acre. $1,195,000

Stunning Beacon Hill home. $1,695,000

Young brick Colonial. Every amenity.

Beautiful 6 BR construction. $2,288,000

ORADELL

CLOSTER

CLOSTER

DEMAREST

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

SO

LD

SO

LD

J
SO UST
LD
!

Great 5 BR/3.5 BTH Colonial. $998,000

Magnificent 6 BR/4 BTH E.H. construction.

Impressive brick C.H. Colonial with pool.

Fabulous new construction. Prime E.H. area.

TEANECK

TEANECK

TEANECK

TEANECK

SO

LD

SO

LD

J
SO UST
LD
!

PI
CT
SE UR
TT ES
IN QU
G! E

Charming brick & stone Colonial Cape.

One-of-a-kind 4 BR home on a cul-de-sac.

4 BR/2 BTH Tudor Colonial with curb appeal.

Spacious 6 BR/3 BTH Colonial. $799,000

FORT LEE

FORT LEE

FORT LEE

FORT LEE

CE
TO NTU
W RY
ER

1 BR/1.5 BTH w/office & terrace. $185,000

SO

LD

The Palisades. 2 BR/2.5 BTH. Skyline views.

CO THE
LO
NY

Oversized & renovated 1 BR/1.5 BTH. $138,000

J
SO UST
LD
!

The Plaza. 2 BR/2.5 BTH corner unit.

Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!

Jeff@MironProperties.com Ruth@MironProperties.com
www.MironProperties.com
Each Miron Properties office is independently owned and operated.

Jewish Standard APRIL 22, 2016 67

FA

M FRES

PRODUCE

WE HAVE SPEEDY DELIVERY!

EMAIL ORDERS@THECEDARMARKET.COM
FOR ALL THE INFO!