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TALKING TABERNACLE IN FRANKLIN LAKES page 6


THE RABBI WHO MET KING ABDULLAH page 8
A SWEET TASTE OF TORAH IN FAIR LAWN page 12
THE PILOTS WHO FLEW ABOVE AND BEYOND page 39

Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

Maza!l IN THUIES
Tov ISS
On YOUR BAR/BAT miTZVAH
A supplement to
The Jewish standard
winter 2015

Get in Gear for Summer Camp


Tu BShevat Crafts and Food
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

JANUARY 30, 2015


VOL. LXXXIV NO. 19 $1.00

Supplement to The Jewish Standard February 2015

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Page 3
AS SEEN ON TV

Nightline: Jewish Standard rocks


ABCs Nightline ran a feature the

other night on Bergenfield native


and Solomon Schechter alumn Jack
Antonoff.
Mr. Antonoff is newsworthy for
having found success in the music
business first with his group fun.,
and now with his group Bleachers
as well as for the company he keeps:
His girlfriend is Girls creator Lena
Dunham, and he has written songs
for and with Taylor Swift.
Nightlines Dan Harris traveled
back with Mr. Antonoff to his
childhood home in New Jersey,
which he only left two years ago,
when he was 28. We were tickled
to see among the childhood toys
and teenage posters a copy of the
Jewish Standard, with his first band,
Steel Train, on the cover. So too was
the Nightline correspondent, who
seemingly couldnt believe that a
Jewish newspaper would put a rock
and roll act on its cover.
Which reminds us: If your children
have moved out, thats no reason for

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JSTANDA RD.COM

On the fast track

Local musicians ride


the
Steel Train express

JEWISH STANDARD
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call 201-837-8818 to subscribe for
them. And if theyre on the verge of
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at editor@jewishmediagroup.com.
Maybe theres a story there for us.
LARRY YUDELSON

Israeli busted for hacking


Material Girls material
Back in December, rough tracks from
Madonnas forthcoming album were
leaked on-line. A furious Madonna
responded by releasing the finish cuts
and moving up the release date for the
album, Rebel Heart, and scheduled it
for a March release.
Guy Oseary, Madonnas Israeliborn manager, hired an Israeli private
detective to investigate. Last week,
Israels Lahav 433 unit the equivalent

of the FBI arrested Adi Lederman,


39, and accused him of hacking into
Madonnas computers, and those of
other musicians.
Mr. Lederman is no virgin to the world
of music; he auditioned for the Israeli
talent show Kochav Nolad.
Meanwhile, Madonnas mood had
already lightened. As she posted on
Instagram a month ago: Shabbat
LY
Shalom from this #rebelheart.

LETTERS, P. 20

As we read the Song of the Sea this Shabbat, may we


remember Debbie Friedman.

RABBI NEAL I. BOROVITZ, RIVER EDGE

Israel remembers the white stuff


One towns fizzle is another towns
blizzard.
While the couple of inches of
snow we received this week was
a let down after the promised
snowpocalypse that closed roads,
bridges, and work places, Israel still
remembers the snow that fell in late
January and early February 1950.
After all, measurable snowfall in Tel
Aviv is one for the record books
and the photo albums.
Ten minutes of snow
in Tel Aviv, reported
a newspaper, Al
Hamishmar, on January
29, 1950. Look, its
really snow! Tel Aviv
passers-by greeted
one another with these
cries of wonderment
on Friday at 8:15, as
thick snowflakes began
falling on the city. The
snow was an especially
pleasant event for
the Sabras and the
schoolchildren who had

never before seen live snow.


Sadly for the delighted children,
after 10 minutes the snow turned
into ordinary cold rain.
A week later, though, the cold
spell returned this time dropping a
respectable 7 inches on Tel Aviv.
The record of this event is
preserved at Israel Revealed to the
Eye, which collects and displays old
Israeli photos at israelalbum.org.il.
LARRY YUDELSON/RACHEL NEIMAN/ISRAEL21C.ORG

Candlelighting: Friday, January 30, 4:53 p.m.


Shabbat ends: Saturday, January 31, 5:55 p.m.

For convenient home delivery,


call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe
PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747) is published weekly on Fridays with an additional edition every October, by
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editorially. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. 2015

CONTENTS
NOSHES ...................................................4
OPINION ................................................ 18
COVER STORY .................................... 22
GALLERY .............................................. 36
TORAH COMMENTARY ................... 37
CROSSWORD PUZZLE .................... 38
ARTS & CULTURE .............................. 39
CALENDAR ..........................................40
OBITUARIES ........................................ 43
CLASSIFIEDS ......................................44
REAL ESTATE...................................... 45

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30 2015 3

Noshes

How big is that lizard in New York?


Negev resident Shimshon, 4, after his grandmother Pam Machefsky, formerly
of Englewood, told him that his cousins in New York were going to be getting
a big blizzard this week.

SUPER SUNDAY:

Jewish Connections
The Seattle
Seahawks play the
New England
Patriots for the NFL
championship on
Sunday, February 1 (NBC;
kick-off at 6:30). By
chance, Boston has all
the big Jewish connections: the teams longtime owner, ROBERT
KRAFT, 73, is an observant Jew whose many
charitable projects
include the Kraft Family
Stadium in Jerusalem
and support of the Israel
Football League (which
plays American football).
His son, JONATHAN, 50,
is president of the
Patriots. Meanwhile, on
the playing field, the
Patriots have the only
Jewish player in the
Bowl: NATE EBNER, 26,
a safety who carved out
a solid place on the
roster with outstanding
special team play. His
late father was the
Sunday school principal
at the familys Ohio
synagogue. Also worthy
of note: the Patriots
famous quarterback,
Tom Brady, who played
college ball for Michigan,
is the brother-in-law of
now-retired Red Sox star
KEVIN YOUKILIS, 35.
Youk is married to
Bradys sister, and the
couple has a son.
By the way, Patriots
wide receiver Justin
Edelman has a Jewish
father and a non-Jewish
mother and the Pats
press office says he
was raised Christian. In

a 2013 interview Edelman referred to himself


as Jewish, but that response may be a tonguein-cheek jokey comeback to a question about
Christmas presents. (The
reporters were hoping,
as a Christmas present to
them, that unlike Pats
coach Bill Belechik he
would answer their questions fully. If you saw
Belechiks deflated footballs press conference
as usual he was stingy
with his answers).
On the sidelines: IDINA
MENZEL, 43, who unexpectedly has become
almost a household
name because of her
voice role and singing in
the mega-hit Frozen,
will sing the national
anthem. The half-time
entertainment is being
provided by Katy Perry
and Lenny Kravitz. Perry
has resumed her onand-off romance with
singer JOHN MAYER,
37, a ladies man who
is the son of a Jewish
father and a non-Jewish
mother. In recent years,
he has said things like he
is attracted to Judaism.
Kravitz has the same
background as Mayer,
except he opted decades
ago to be a non-denominational Christian.
Nice to note: Kravitz did
attend the March 18, 2014
White House ceremony
in which his namesake,
Pvt. LEONARD KRAVITZ,
his fathers brother, was
awarded the Medal of
Honor for heroism during

Robert Kraft

Idina Menzel

Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen

John Mayer

Al Michaels

a Korean War battle that


cost him his life.
AL MICHAELS, 70,
will be in the broadcast
booth calling his ninth
Super Bowl as the playby-play announcer. In
March 2011, Michael accompanied Robert Kraft
and Krafts wife, MYRA,
to Israel to visit the Kraft
Family Stadium, which is
the home to three teams
in the Israel Football
League. (Myra died of
cancer a few months
later.) Last November,
Michaels autobiography,
You Cant Make This Up:
Miracles, Memories, and
the Perfect Marriage of
Sports and Television,
was published. Its full of
interesting sports anecdotes.
MIKE BINDER, 56,
is the director and
writer of Black
and White, which stars

Kevin Costner as the


grandfather of a biracial
girl who vies for custody
of the child with the girls
African-American
grandmother (Octavia
Spencer). Binder, who
also acts, has a mixed
record as a filmmaker.
Two of his better films
are The Upside of
Anger, which also
starred Costner, and
Reign Over Me, in
which ADAM SANDLER,
48, gave a good dramatic performance as a guy
emotionally destroyed
by the deaths of his wife
and daughters in the 9/11
attack on the Twin
Towers. (Opens Friday,
January 30.)
Also opening on the
30th is Project Almanac, is about a brilliant
high school student
(Johnny Weston) and
his friends, who uncover

No time to waste for


Carrie Brownstein
Seattle native CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, 40, is one
busy artist. Her hit IFC show, Portlandia, began its
fifth season on January 8. Guest stars this season include
JEFF GOLDBLUM, 62, VANESSA BAYER, 33, PAUL
SIMON, 73, and NATASHA LYONNE, 35. Brownstein
also moonlights as a recurring Jewish character on the
hit Amazon show Transparent. On top of all this,
Sleater-Kinney, the Portland-based all-woman feminist rock band that made her famous in the 90s, has
reunited with its first new CD since 2006 (No Cities to
Love) and soon begins a live tour. The band is Brown N.B.
stein, JANET WEISS, 49, and Corin Tucker.
plans for a time machine.
The machine may put
their lives in danger.
Co-stars include SAM
LERNER, 22, who has
been acting steadily
since he was 11. In a re-

cent profile, it was noted


he worked in his acting career while going
to school and Hebrew
school, and that he acted
in plays at his synagogue.
N.B.

California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at


Middleoftheroad1@aol.com

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

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Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 5

Local
Build me a sanctuary
Franklin Lakes shul to examine the Tabernacles specs from many directions
Joanne Palmer
Planks of acacia, two and a half
cubits long, a cubit and a half
wide, and a cubit and a half high,
formed into an ark.
Gold overlay on the planks, on
both sides.
Gold molding around them.
Gold rings, one for each side.
Acacia poles.
Instructions for inserting the
poles into the rings, and the rings
into the ark.
Thats just the very beginning
of the multitude of instructions
for building and furnishing the
ark the mishkan, the portable
tabernacle that the Israelites carried with them in the desert. The
lists go into painstaking detail
about what to build, how to

build it, what to use as construction materials, and what colors


to use.
Coming as they do in the
middle of the book of Exodus,
in parashat Trumah (read this
year on February 21), these
lists of largely unrecognizable
things can seem like a thudding
anti-climax. We have just gone
through the stirring high drama
of the crossing of the Red Sea
and the giving of the Torah on
Mount Sinai and then the reading
of the Ten Commandments; now
all of a sudden we are in a Home
Depot, and all the signs there are
in a foreign language.
In fact, Rabbi Joseph Prouser
of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey in Franklin Lakes said, when
rabbinical students are assigned

This reconstruction of the mishkan stands in Israels Timna Park.


6 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

Rabba Kaya
Stern-Kaufman

Bob Goldberg

parashat Trumah for their senior


sermons, as he was during his
last year at the Jewish Theological Seminary, they despair. Parashat Trauma, they call it. He
knows that from personal experience 27 years ago, that rabbinical student facing a shul full of
his peers, professors, family, and

Rabbi Joseph
Prouser

friends, trying to talk about dolphin-skin hangings, lampstand


bases, and blue, crimson, and
purple woolen loops, was him.
Ever since then, I have had a
sensitivity to these several weeks
in the annual Torah-reading cycle,
and the need to breathe some relevance and light and excitement
into the reading, he said.
On Sunday, Rabbi Prouser is
offering a program, Beyond
Parshat Tr(a)uma, that will, as
its subtitle says, offer a way to
find spiritual meaning in the
biblical blueprints of the Jewish
peoples first sanctuary.
How?
By bringing in people who
are accustomed to looking at
building and furnishings from an
entirely different direction than
a typical pulpit rabbi would, and
asking them to lend their expertise to the study of these texts,
he said.
Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman
(and yes, her title, which she
chose when she graduated from
the Academy for Jewish Religion
in Yonkers, N.Y., is rabba), the
keynote speaker, is uniquely
situated for the subject. Before
her ordination, she was a clinical social worker and a feng shui
consultant, so she knows a great
deal about spaces, about people, and about the interaction of
the two. She is the founder and
executive director of Rimon:
Resource Center of Jewish Spirituality, and she teaches about
Jewish mysticism, a subject that
deeply engages her passion.
There is a very clear sense
that there is a message here, in
parashat Trumah, that is being
communicated through the use
of space. Decoding it is our
challenge.

Throughout the development of rabbinical commentary


on the Torah, it seems to be that
very few commentators have
an understanding of the energetics of space. There are many
wonderful commentaries on
this parsha, but none of them
deal with the ancient universal understanding of how space
itself affects consciousness.
A lot of the material that I was
reading in the Torah was leaping off the page to my feng shui
understanding, she said. I was
seeing connections between the
way the mishkan was developed
and some theological ideas that
were present at the time and were
parts of ancient Israelite culture.
Every culture would say
that a sacred space is meant to
be a vehicle for communication between humanity and the
Divine, she continued. Pressed
for an example, she talked about
how in ancient times, the world
was understood through the lens
of the four primary elements
fire, water, air, and earth. They
play a strong part in ancient Jewish mysticism, so within the Tabernacle itself, we have the four
elements. There is the menorah,
which is carrying fire; burning
incense, creating a cloud, which
is air; the altar table, which has
12 loaves of bread, a function of
the earth, and vessels that hold
water. So you have all elements
right there, in the kodesh section
the holiest section.
Each is placed in a different
direction; the fire is on the south,
the air element, the most ephemeral, in the west, where the
Shechina the feminine aspect
of God resides. The earth and
water are in the north, and the
entrance is in the east, where it
faces the rising sun.
Those directions are shared
with other cultures, Rabba
Stern-Kaufman continued.
Imagine that you are in a desert culture, as both the Israelite
and Native Americans were. It
is hot. So very hot. The heat of
the sun is most oppressive from
the south; sunset, the coolest and
most comfortable time of day, is
in the west. You will experience
relief and a sense of beauty, so

the Shechina is connected with


that part of the landscape.
The relief from the sun is not
like the total darkness from the
north, that place of dark and
heavy shadow. But you can really
feel the presence of God coming
in, as we do in Kabbalat Shabbat, when we sing Lecha Dodi.
We are bringing in the Shechina,
the feminine, soothing presence,
that is associated with the western direction.
Not only are these principles
useful as we try to understand
our past they also can be used
for inspiration when we create sacred spaces or synagogues
today, Rabba Stern-Kaufman said.
Thats very much where I want
to take the conversation how do
we orient our buildings? How do
we incorporate or not incorporate
natural elements? There are synagogue spaces that we create that
facilitate a spiritual experience, a
sense of connection and others
that we create that make it more
difficult for us to connect.
A good model for connection,
she said, is the way in which

the Israelite camp was set up in


the desert, essentially in a circle
surrounding the mishkan. There
was God at the center. It is a perfectly egalitarian experience. The
Levites were the closest to the
center they served there but
no other tribe had an advantage
over any of the others in terms
of access to the Divine. Each was
equally close or equally far.
That arrangement speaks to
the possibility of creating a synagogue space in the round, as
opposed to the theater model,
with an audience, and the performance going on up front. That
brings up all sorts of problems
related to class. Changing the
seating arrangement will change
the quality of the experience of
the people who are sitting there,
and their relationship to each
other as a community.
Bob Goldberg, the president of
Temple Emanuel, is an engineer
and the editor of a section of an
engineering journal, the IEEE
Instrumentation and Measurement Magazine. He is fascinated
by the parsha because he finds

meaning in Trumah.
In a way, I planted the seed
for this last year, Mr. Goldberg
said. When Rabbi Prouser read
the parsha last year, he talked
about how difficult it was partly
because the Hebrew is hard, and
partly because the message is
hard to find. While it might be
hard to chant the Hebrew to the
trope, there is a lot of message
in it, Mr. Goldberg recalls having told his rabbi; in fact, his
journals overall editor, Shlomo
Engelberg, wrote a column on
the subject a few years ago.
Modularity is important in
making products successful,
Mr. Goldberg said. Mr. Engelberg
pointed out that the mishkan
could be taken apart, moved,
and put back together. It goes
back several thousand years, and
it is a concept that engineers are
still wrestling with today.
Another modern concept the
importance of each of the building blocks that make up a product and are necessary for its ultimate success also comes up in
the parsha. Each one of them

should be optimized, so when


you put it together you have the
best possible product, and if
there is a problem you can find
it and fix it.
There really are a lot of engineering concepts here in terms of
product development.
He does understand why some
people find the parsha less than
compellingly interesting. If you
were to buy a piece of furniture to
put together, you dont really want
to read the parts list out loud,
he said. But when its all put
together, its a wonderful thing.
Another speaker, Don Argintar,
also is an engineer, and according
to his bio, he is a flight instructor
as well. He declined to talk about
his take on parsha Trumah.

Rabbi Prouser sees even more


value in the program than the
insights it will give into the mishkan in particular and sacred
spaces in general. For me, personally, this program is very
much in keeping with the way
I try to tap into the talent in the
Jewish community, he said.
Often, talented people dont
have the chance to apply those
talents to the study of Jewish
texts in a serious way. But we
have such a diverse, well-educated Jewish community.
I see a big part of my job to
be motivating people to use their
own education, experience, and
perspective to broaden our view
of what Jewish tradition has to
offer, he said.

Who: rabbi Joseph Prouser, rabba Kaya stern-Kaufman, robert Goldberg, and don argintar will present
What: Beyond Parashat tr(a)uma: Finding spiritual Meaning in
the Biblical Blueprints of the Jewish Peoples First sanctuary
When: sunday, February 1, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Where: temple emanuel of north Jersey, 558 high Mountain
road, Franklin Lakes
For information: Call (201) 560-0200 or email rabbi@tenjfl.org.

TRADITION. EXPRESSION. REFLECTION.

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Jewish standard JanUarY
30, 2015

Local

Where no rabbi has gone before


Interfaith activist to speak at brotherhood breakfast
Larry Yudelson
Rabbi David Rosen brings a unique perspective when it comes to evaluating
Saudi Arabias late King Abdullah.
Abdullahs supporters note that in
the 20 years that he led his kingdom, he
sided with America against Al Qaeda,
proposed a peace plan that would recognize Israel, and let women serve as supermarket cashiers.
Detractors note that women in Saudi
Arabia still cant drive, Christianity is
banned, and the kingdom flogs wayward
bloggers.
Count Rabbi David Rosen among those
praising the Saudi glass as half full.
As the international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish

You can see


the enormous
advances
in interfaith
cooperation.
There is in fact less
conflict today than
in the past.
Rabbi David Rosen

Committee, he was among the Jews and


the sole Israeli invited to the unprecedented interfaith meeting Abdullah convened in Madrid in 2008.
And when Abdullah institutionalized
his interfaith dialogue with the formation
of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and
Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna, Rabbi
Rosen was named as one of its nine board
members, serving with representatives of
the Vatican, the Church of England, the
Orthodox church, and Muslim scholars
from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iran.

Rabbi David Rosen meets with King Abdullah as part of an interfaith delegation at the royal court in Saudi Arabia.

For the King of Saudi Arabia to have


an Israeli rabbi on its board is very significant, Rabbi Rosen said Saudi Arabia,
after all, is home to Islams holiest places.
What was remarkable about Abdullahs
interfaith initiative was precisely that it
came from the ultraconservative Muslim
heartland and made dialogue kosher, or
halal, in the Muslim world.
Rabbi Rosen will be the featured
speaker on Presidents Day at the annual
Bergen County Interfaith Brotherhood/
Sisterhood Breakfast, which brings
together eight faith communities. This
year, the Jewish community is hosting.
Rabbi Rosen said that the Saudi interfaith initiative had one of its most important moments late last year, when it
brought leaders of Sunni and Shiite Islam
together with some leaders of the Yazidi,
a religious sect that had been targeted
for genocide by ISIS, and issued a joint

Rabbi David Rosen with South African Archbishop Thabo Cecil Makgoba at Davos.

Valeriano DiDomenico/ World Economic Forum

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Local
declaration condemning Al Qaeda and ISIS and the
abuse of religion.
Its very important psychologically for the minorities to have that kind of support, Rabbi Rosen said.
He acknowledged that there are always problematics involved in cooperation with countries or
religious communities that might not fit our standards with civil liberties. But its better to take the
hands that have been stretched out. I saw an opportunity for progress.
Rabbi Rosen grew up in England, where his father
was a prominent Orthodox rabbi. After high school,
he studied in Jerusalem at the Mir yeshiva, where he
received rabbinic ordination. But he left the charedi
yeshiva to enlist in the Israeli army. For a time he
served as an IDF chaplain in the Sinai. Then, in the
early 1970s, he went to South Africa. He was hired to
be a campus rabbi and then South Africas largest
congregation, an Orthodox synagogue with ten thousand members, hired him.
It was in Cape Town that Rabbi Rosen discovered
interfaith cooperation.
I came to it from a commitment to social justice.
It was one of the few ways to bring people together
across racial separations during the apartheid
regime, he said.
His activism made older congregants nervous. It
also brought death threats against him and his children. And it led the government not to renew his
visa.
A stint as chief rabbi of Ireland introduced him to
the world of Catholic-Jewish relations. You cant be
chief rabbi of Ireland and not relate to other faiths,
he said.
Based in Jerusalem, Rabbi Rosen has represented
both the Israeli government and the chief rabbinate in interreligious dialogue and in the negotiations
leading up to the Vaticans recognition of Israel.
Last week, he was in Davos, Switzerland.
The World Economic Forum understands that
religion has consequence for religious and economic
interests, he said. He appeared on a panel about
religion and violence with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the archbishop of South Africa, and
the founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, the first
Muslim liberal arts college in America.
Rabbi Rosen points to the enormous advances
in the constructive use of religion. You can see the
enormous advances in interfaith cooperation. There
is in fact less conflict today than in the past.
Whats striking in interreligious work is that the
divisions are often not between religions as within
religions; they are instead between those who are
open-minded, embracing, welcoming, and those
who are insular, isolationist, and only inward looking, he said.
Rabbi Rosen said that he is optimistic about prospects for interreligious dialogue with Muslims.

Save the Date


When: Monday, February 16, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
What: The 29th Annual Bergen County Interfaith Brotherhood/Sisterhood Breakfast

After all, he said, the greatest interfaith success of our


time is probably the transformation with the Catholic
Church. But for Jews, that was probably the worst religion historically.
We never had as bad a relationship with Islam as with
Christianity. Islam never taught that God has spurned the
Jewish people and replaced it with another, cursed the Jews
to wander forever, and in effect said we were in league with
the devil. Thats what the church taught. The pope rejected
Theodor Herzl, saw Zionism as anathema for rejecting the

doctrine that Jews had to wander forever, he said.


Now the relationship between Judaism and Catholicism
is such that Rabbi Rosen has been named a knight of the
church, was invited to the installation of Pope Francis,
and has hosted a Shabbat dinner inside the Vatican, where
cardinals sang Shabbat zemirot with a visiting delegation
from the American Jewish Committee.
If we can transform that relationship into such a positive one, there should be no relationship that is beyond
transformation, Rabbi Rosen said.

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Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015 9

Local

Fighting for the rights of survivors


and their heirs
Cresskill couple gets SSA to clarify statute on exemptions
Lois Goldrich

arbara and Michael


Lissner have a
mission.
Its who we are
what we do, said Mr. Lissner,
who has spent practically his
entire life witnessing and furthering efforts to help Holocaust survivors get the benefits
to which they are entitled.
The couple, partners in the
New York law firm Lissner &
Lissner LLP, are both children of
survivors.
Michael Lissners father, Jerry,
started the firm, which soon
came to win the trust of the
tightknit community of German
Jews living in Manhattan and
Queens, the son said. He was
an incredible man, able to help
people in a very knowledgeable
and calming way. He became a
tall pillar in the community.
Mr. Lissner, who formally
started working with the firm
in 1983 but had been around
the firm my whole life, was
able to maintain the trust of that
community.
Ms. Lissner was no stranger
to survivors unique needs. Her
parents were from Poland her
father was on Schindlers list,
while her mother survived in
Eastern Russia. Both lost many
relatives.
After Jerry Lissners death in
1987, Ms. Lissner came to the
law office to help Michael get
through this period, but we really
were able to work well together
and had common spirits, she
said. That spirit is manifest in
the couples advocacy work for
the rights of survivors and their
heirs. Indeed, that has been their
primary focus since 1992
We had a shared history and
commitment to those people
who lost so much and were confronted with so many new things
a new language, filing requirements, what claims could be
filed, Ms. Lissner said. Naturally we made this our focus. Its
part of who we are.
Apparently, the Lissners commitment has reached the next
generation. Their daughter,
Eliese Lissner, actively volunteers

not only with Blue Card, Inc., an


organization that helps needy
Holocaust survivors, but with
Zahal Disabled Veterans FundBeit Halochem, which helps disabled veterans in Israel. Their
son, Sam Lissner, who graduated
from Harvard with a concentration in near eastern studies, is
a Lipper Fellow at the Museum
of Jewish Heritage and has spoken at several venues about his
experiences as a grandchild of
survivors.
According to Mr. Lissner, 1992
was a pivotal year for the couple,
setting the direction for what
they would do over the next few
years.
That year, Elie Wiesel gave a
moving speech in Washington,
D.C., and had a display with a
map of [train] depots and concentration camps, he said. In
an imagined conversation with
President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Mr. Wiesel relayed the American
leaders negative response to
the plea that the military bomb
those depots. Mr. Roosevelt considered this diverting military
equipment to an unnecessary
non-military intervention. In
other words, Mr. Wiesel said,

Barbara and Michael Lissner

In other words, those payments


were excluded from income and
resources for the purpose of
establishing eligibility for federally funded programs.
Following that acts passage,
the Lissners spent the next three
years trying to understand the
history and intent of the legislation, Mr. Lissner said, accepting
invitations to share that knowledge throughout the country.
We realized this meant not
just current monies coming in
from Germany and Austria but
that it also protected accumulated resources received as a

We had a shared history


and commitment to those
people who lost so much
and were confronted with
so many new things.
Barbara Lissner

summarizing the presidents


position, Let the Jews take care
of themselves.
That speech moved a lot of
people, Mr. Lissner said. Everyone said, What now?
One tangible reaction was the
passage of the Nazi Persecution
Victims Eligibility Act in 1994.
Through that act, any payments
made to people because of their
status as victims of Nazi persecution were disregarded (that is,
were considered exempt) by the
Social Security Administration.

10 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

result of Nazi persecution, he


added. There was a real value to
this legislation, and it could really
help survivors.
The couple worked until we
had comfortably understood the
act and how to apply it, he said.
At the time, we had a lot of survivors going into nursing homes,
requiring long-term health care
and spending down their money.
Many were alone. It was a miserable way for them to age. The act
was on the books, but not being
paid attention to.

The first step was to figure out


what kinds of payments could be
protected.
We read the statute as much
broader than actual payments
they received today, but also to
include all payments spouses
may have received and that they
inherited, he said. We read
the act to include any and all of
the payments received because
they were victims of Nazi
persecution.
This would include payments
made by Germany and Austria
since the early 1950s as well as
by any other countries making
restitution to victims including restored property, artwork,
looted assets, anything related.
In the mid-1990s, the Lissners developed an asset protection plan and created the Victim
of Nazi Persecution Restitution
Trust, through which eligible
people are able to identify, separate, and preserve a significant
portion of their assets if they
require long-term health care as
well as other federal benefits.
In an email, Ms. Lissner said
that the trust was utilized to
properly identify and protect the
totality of funds received by survivors as a result of their persecution so that these funds would be
properly treated as exempt assets
for the purposes of receiving federally financed programs such as
Medicaid.
The couple noted that survivors and their families throughout the United States have benefitted from this trust, and that its
importance was recognized by
the Library of Congress, which

requested information about


establishing such an instrument,
as well as by Jewish Family Services, attorneys, and advocacy
groups throughout the country.
While the Lissners mapped it
out and showed how to calculate
restitution so it would be a slam
dunk in dealing with federal
officials, they encountered some
difficulty in making their findings
known to survivors.
Most survivors are not on the
internet, and no one can fully
understand the small type, Ms.
Lissner said.
Now, she said, it is more important than ever to spread this
information not just on behalf
of the survivors themselves but
for their heirs. As a result of ongoing advocacy efforts, the Lissners
have secured recognition from
the Social Security Administration that heirs of survivors who
have received funds as a result
of their status as victims of Nazi
persecution also are entitled to
protection.
They did reference heirs
in the statute, she said, even
though they were not necessarily receiving money. We had to
figure out how to make sense of
who is an heir and what the statute was [saying]. In addition to
the legislative history of the 1994
act making a reference to heirs,
we were also assisted in our
efforts by a 1947 German law that
recognized children of survivors
as, themselves, being victims of
Nazi persecution.
Children of survivors do suffer and have needs that are not
met, she continued. Sadly,
some social service agencies that
help survivors dont help their
children.
Nearly two years ago, there
was a case that threw the issue
into sharp focus.
Approximately a year and
a half ago, the Social Security
Administration stopped payments that had been properly
paid to one of our clients, a child
of survivors, because, according
to the SSA, inherited funds that
had been received as a result of
Nazi persecution were, they said,
available resources to him. The
SSA took the position that since

Local
he had not directly received these funds and since
these funds were only inherited by him, he could not
receive SSI benefits until he spent down these alleged
available resources.
The Lissners filed a lawsuit, and won but the government appealed, and the decision was reversed.
Then our daughter was helping to run a young leadership event for Blue Card, and the guest speaker was
Aviva Sufian, the governments ombudsperson for Holocaust survivors, Ms. Lissner said.
We swarmed her, Mr. Lissner continued. She
didnt know what hit her. She listened and said she
would try to help.
She subsequently connected us with the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, who
later sent us a letter thanking us for raising the issue. On
December 16, the SSA issued an emergency declaration.
That declaration excluded inherited funds from
income and resources if the funds were inherited from
or can be traced back to an individual who received the

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Our message for


survivors and their
families is that
our government
is encouraging
people to take
advantage of
this law. Its not
something to
mistrust.
MichaeL Lissner

funds as payments because of his or her status as a victim of Nazi persecution; the funds were or would have
been excludable under the Victims of Nazi Persecution
Act for the original recipient; the funds are identifiable
as reparation payments; and the funds are unspent.
Many children of survivors will never need assistance,
said Barbara, but I know from our practice that there
are certain damages that children suffer. It may render
them unable to complete their education or take care of
themselves. They may be caretakers, not free to focus
on their own lives.
While some survivors are more able to leave horrors behind and focus on new families, not everyone
can do that.
The Lissners are hoping to spread the word about
the SSA exemptions to survivors, their children, and
their lawyers.
Were hoping the benefit will be understood and
utilized, they said. If people wait too long, it will be
more difficult to recreate what their parents and grandparents received. Even grandchildren are affected, she
said. The legislation didnt put a limitation on who was
defined as an heir. They broadened the definition to say
its not the heir that is the issue but the money. Once
you have identified the money and shown that it was
exempt, that exemption is retained.
Our message for survivors and their families is that
our government is encouraging people to take advantage of this law. Its not something to mistrust, Mr. Lissner said. The government is making an amazing effort,
a gesture. It is, he said, an apology for what was not
done to save Jewish lives during the war, a way to say
were sorry and have you age with more dignity.
Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 11

Local

At night of learning,
NJBR revisits Sinai
Community rabbis will take us back to the mountaintop
Lois Goldrich

ow in its sixth year, Sweet


Tastes of Torah a project of
the North Jersey Board of Rabbis remains committed to its
original goal.
The Bergen County Jewish community
is siloed in many ways, said Rabbi Steven Sirbu, religious leader of Teanecks
Temple Emeth and president of the NJBR.
Were attached to our synagogues. We
identify with our municipalities. Its difficult to realize were part of a greater Jewish
community.
One reason to sponsor the annual night
of learning, he said, is to emphasize that
we are much more when we connect with
other communities.
Apparently, this message resonates with
its intended audience.
Every year the community shows up
and participates, Rabbi Sirbu said. The
feedback has been one of gratitude.
This years program Sinai Revisited:
Views from the Mountaintop will bring
together 20 rabbis from Bergen and Passaic
counties, who will explore the topic from a
variety of perspectives.
As always, said Rabbi David Bockman,
religious leader of Congregation Beth Shalom in Pompton Lakes who, according
to program coordinator Nicole Falk, is the
driving force behind the program
the group tried to choose a canvas wide
enough for individual rabbis to choose
some aspect of it. There will be a lot of different angles.
Some are going with modern things, saying, Look, were here. What is it about Sinai
or about the Torah that speaks to us now?
One session New Songs of Revelation:
Mount Sinai in Modern Poetry, offered by
Rabbi Noah Fabricant of Temple Beth Or
in Washington Township will explore
modern poetry that has to do with Sinai.
Another Increasing Happiness: Clues
from the Peak, led by Rabbi Cathy Felix of
the Jewish Center of Sussex County will
look at the peak experience of receiving the
Torah for clues to increasing happiness in

our own lives.


Rabbi Joseph Prouser of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey in Franklin Lakes will
look at a more recent experience of entering into the covenant, as he discusses the
Conversion of the Abayudaya Community of
Uganda: A First-Hand Account. Another session Looking at Leviticus: Still a Relevant
Revelation?, taught by Rabbi Neil Tow of
the Glen Rock Jewish Center will explore
material in Leviticus that is still current, as
well as rituals no longer practiced today.
Seizing on an issue much in the news
lately, Rabbi Adina Lewittes of Shaar Communities will lead a session called Should
a Rabbi Perform Intermarriages? Rabbinic
I-Dos and I-Donts. Rabbi Benjamin Shull,

Its an important
way we give back
to the Jewish
community for
their support of
us as their rabbis
all year.
Rabbi Steven Sirbu

the immediate past president of NJBR and


chair of the Sweet Tastes of Torah committee, will speak on the different ways in
which Jews and Christians interpret the Ten
Commandments, and Rabbi Debra Orenstein of Congregation Bnai Israel in Emerson will explore When Sinaiand Therefore
WhyWe Stood at Sinai, exploring different traditional ideas, within the Torah and
rabbinic literature, about when revelation
occurred at the mountain.
I think there will be a spectrum of views,
Rabbi Bockman said. Some will say that this
is really a defining moment for us as Jews, and
others will say that it seems like an outmoded
way of dealing with things. We can relate to a
piece of it, but it was too far away.
Still, he added, there is always an impact

What: Sweet Tastes of Torah: A community night of learning, presented by the


North Jersey Board of Rabbis
When: Saturday evening, February 7. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; Havdalah at 6:50 p.m.
Where: Fair Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation Bnai Israel, 10-10 Norma Avenue, Fair Lawn
Cost: $15 per person, pre-registered by February 4; $20 at door. Register by credit card at www.
sweettastesoftorah.weebly.com, or send a check, payable to North Jersey Board of Rabbis, to 32
Franklin Place, Glen Rock, NJ 07452
For more information: call Nickie Falk at (201)-652-1687 or email sweettastesoftorah@gmail.com

exerted by a major event, whether it occurs


in history or in our personal lives.
It affects you later on, even if it is not
present in your life, he said. For example,
if you went through a trauma, perhaps in
a war, even if you dont re-experience it,
the choices you made following that event
changed your life.
His own class Geological Spirituality:
Mountains of Revelation will be a bit
different.
I always give the rabbis a few topics
and let them choose ideas, then I choose
something different, he said. Noting that
he took some geology courses in college,
Rabbi Bockman said he will talk about how
mountains are formed and what they are
about geologically.
Youre driving and you see a mountain,
he said. Do you ignore it, or do you ask
what it tells you about the place youre in
and its history? You can use that as a template for drawing a geological map of your
spiritual self, your experience of the world,
and transcendence.
Rabbi Bockman explained that the NJBR
always tries to tie the learning program into
that Shabbats Torah portion. Usually, that
portion is Yitro, where we read about
Sinai.
It also opens us up to other possibilities, he said, suggesting, for example, that
ties can be made to Dr. Martin Luther Kings
last speech, popularly called Ive been to
the mountaintop.
To me, Sinai is a symbol of what binds
the Jewish community together, Rabbi
Sirbu said. And since we will have just
read about the experience that morning in
synagogue, this is a perfect opportunity to
explore the nuances of what that symbolism means to us.
His own topic is The Twenty Commandments: Comparing and Contrasting What
We Are Told in Exodus and Deuteronomy.
He will look not only at the difference but at
how they have influenced Jewish practice.
Its part of examining the nuances, he
said. Was Sinai, at its heart, a revelation of
commandments? Or was it at its heart the
beginning of a relationship with God that
takes on many permutations? Well try to
answer that in the program.
This is our only annual public program,
he said of the NJBR. Its an important way
we give back to the Jewish community for
their support of us as their rabbis all year.
Were trying to present something for
everybody, from the beautiful Havdalah
service at the beginning, to the different
options for learning at the heart of the evening, to the socializing that will conclude
our time together.

David Bockman

Noah Fabricant

Adina Lewittes

Debra Orenstein

Steven Sirbu
12 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

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Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 13

Local

The Jewish Life Coast to Coast group stands together at the Temple in Atlanta.

Transformative learning
Local YU students learn about service from the Joint
Abigail Klein
Leichman
People think Jews only give to
Jewish causes, so its important
to immerse ourselves in different cultures to learn about them
and to show that Jews are there to
help everybody, said Yoni Mintz
of Fair Lawn.
Mr. Mintz, 20, is a second-year
psychology and business student
at Yeshiva University. He had just
returned from a winter-break
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee program, the
Insider Service Trip to Haiti. On
that trip, 15 Y.U. students collaborated on several humanitarian
projects and met with JDC partner organizations. They learned
about the ongoing difficulties
Haiti has faced as a result of the
massive earthquake there five
years ago.
Mr. Mintz said that he was
proud to learn that the Israel
Defense Forces sent one of the
first delegations that reached
Haiti to provide disaster relief.
Galila Shapiro, an Englewood
senior at Y.U.s Stern College for
Women, was taken aback to see
how much the Haitians appreciate help they continue to receive
from Israeli and American Jews.
We saw a water tower
painted with the Israeli flag;
that was one of the first projects
JDC did when they first came
to Haiti, she said. In the Haiti
State University Hospital in Portau-Prince, we saw a rehab clinic
that had been totally destroyed
in the earthquake and rebuilt
by the JDC. It has a Magen David
painted on the door. It made me
so proud of the concern Jews
show for the global community.
I never appreciated how unique
that is.

For three of the days between


January 10 and 18, the students
planted trees and refurbished
communal areas outside a school
and community center established by the Foundation for
Progress and Development (PRODEV) in the city of Zoranje. They
also led educational and enrichment activities in the school.
Participants met with representatives from Zanmi Lasante
(Partners In Health), an organization that provides healthcare
services to the poor; Heart-toHeart International, which provides emergency medical care
services to populations in crisis;
and a team of Israeli and Haitian medical professionals treating amputees at the renovated
rehab center.
Y.U.s Center for the Jewish
Future traditionally runs servicelearning trips such as these during school breaks. The primary
goal of all CJF programming is to
inspire our students to become
agents of change in their communities and the world at large, said
CJFs Dean Rabbi Yaakov Glasser,
who also is the rabbi of the Young
Israel of Passaic-Clifton.
While pitching in to help
rebuild the lives of the Haitian
earthquake survivors, our student leaders will undergo an
expedited process of growth
and self-discovery that will lay
the foundations for their future
soc ial-justice engagement ,
including opportunities for public speaking, writing, advocacy,
and volunteer service, Rabbi
Glasser said.
Mr. Mintz said he gleaned an
important takeaway message
from the experience. I really
learned that when hearing about
a tragedy, not to look for a second, feel bad, and walk away, he

14 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

Y.U. students, From left, Michelle Levine, Aaron Miller, Esther


Kazlow, Yoni Mintz, and Elisheva Jacobov make volcanoes with
pupils in Haitis Zoranje School.

said. Wherever theres a story,


there are people whose lives
have changed. On the positive
side, he added, We have a perception of Haiti as a devastated
place, but we saw great beauty
and people who are making a difference in society.
Four Teaneck residents were
among the other Haiti mission
participants: Esther Kazlow, Ariella Levie, Michelle Levine, and
Zev Rosenbaum.
Meanwhile, another Y.U.
group of 20 students was gaining new insights into the history,
strengths, and challenges of
Jewish communities in Atlanta,
Charleston, Richmond, and Baltimore. This experiential mission aimed to broaden their
horizons through meetings, volunteering, and interactions with
local rabbinic and lay leaders as
well as with residents in schools,
synagogues, and community
centers.
Engaging Jewish communities
across North America will open
our students to the diversity and
vibrancy that permeates Jewish
life outside the New York metropolitan area, said Aliza Abrams,
director of the universitys Office

of Student Life and Jewish Service Learning.


Yosie Friedman of Teaneck, a
second-year student, reported
that in Atlanta he was impressed
to see how the rabbi of the historic Reform synagogue called
the Temple and the Orthodox
rabbi of the 10-year-old Young
Israel of Toco Hills have so much
respect for each other and try to
find areas of common ground,
like social-action projects.
At the Atlanta Jewish Academy
high school, the visitors from Y.U.
led an educational session about
Jewish leadership. When we
asked them to define what makes
a Jewish leader, many of the kids
stressed that they thought it had
to be someone who not only
leads and organizes but also is a
good, honest person, Mr. Friedman said.
In Charleston, they visited
Addlestone Hebrew Academy.
Its a community school, so its
nondenominational, with a carefully designed curriculum thats
Jewish but accommodating of different beliefs and ways of practicing, Mr. Friedman said.
In Richmond, the students
formed an assembly line to help

organize the annual Jewish Food


Festival, a major fundraiser for
the Orthodox synagogue Keneseth Beth Israel. Unlike a typical
shul dinner run by a committee, the entire shul participated
by cooking, transporting food
or setting up, Mr. Friedman
said. I found it inspiring; a nice
model that communities in other
places, especially in the New
York metropolitan area, could
try to emulate.
Reflecting on what he learned
from the overall experience
down South, he said, Jews
across the spectrum have more
similarities than differences, and
if we focus on areas where all
denominations agree, we can try
to bring people together. We saw
this in action, and Id love to see
communities in metro New York
do this too.
Were delighted that our five
year partnership with Yeshiva
Universitys Center for the Jewish Future has engaged their rising Jewish leaders with global
Jewish issues from Kharkov to
Port-au-Prince, Naomi Sage said.
Ms. Sage is the managing director
of JDC Entwine, the JDCs young
adult movement.
These transformative service-learning experiences truly
shape young Jews worldview
and commitment to pressing
challenges in Jewish communities and beyond, she continued.
We look forward to continuing
our relationship with Y.U. and
to working with their students
as they bring this experience
home.
Other local participants in the
Jewish Life Coast to Coast mission
were Ayala Carl, Daniella Marcus,
Elliot Shulman, and Rebecca Van
Bemmelen, all of Teaneck, and
Adeevah Goldstein of Passaic.

Local

Were Here To Help You


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Are you
a good Berrie Fellow?

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is recruiting a new class

All in the comfort of your home!

Sinai in Tenafly, credits the Berrie Fellowship


o you have
for expanding her perwhat it takes
spectives on the Jewish
to step up to
community.
the plate and
I became much more
help lead the Jewish comfamiliar with the wider
munity of northern New
Jewish community, she
Jersey? Are you between
said. I was functioning in
the ages of 32 and 52? Are
my Reform Jewish world.
you now a volunteer with
I didnt have connections
a synagogue, school, or
with any other denominaother Jewish organization
tions of Judaism.
Ilana Matteson
She became friendly
in Bergen County?
with Lee Lasher, a fellow
The Berrie Fellows
Berrie participant who
Leadership Program is
is president of Congregation Ahavath
accepting applications for its next set of
Torah in Englewood, a nearby Orthofellows.
dox synagogue. Together, the two
Since its founding by the Jewish Fedplanned for their synagogues to work
eration of Northern New Jersey and the
together on a project for the federaRussell Berrie Foundation back in 2004,
tions Mitzvah Day.
the program has trained three groups of
As part of her fellowship, she created a
20 people. Participants have gone on to
program modeled after Berrie for Sinai,
head the Jewish federation, area synacalled Hineini. One of the sessions I
gogues, and day schools.
hold close to my heart is where I bring
Now, theres one week left to apply to
in four other Berrie fellows from differjoin the fourth cohort.
ent denominations, she said.
We need to continue this stream of
Gil Makleff agreed that the Berrie felleaders into our community to keep it
lowship was a great experience. It was
vibrant, said Laura Freeman, the proa really powerful program.
grams director.
Mr. Makleff is now president of the
The Berrie Fellowship is an 18-month
Solomon Schechter Day School of Bercommitment. It will start with a threegen County.
I definitely would not be in Jewish
leadership without Berrie, he said. If
you feel you would like to apply your
leadership skills to Jewish issues, its a
great environment.
Ms. Freeman, the Berrie director, said
the program takes three critical components of leadership development in
the Jewish community and weaves them
together.
The components are: leading through
a Jewish lens; personal leadership development, focusing on understanding
LAURA FREEMAN
your blind spots, opportunities, and triggers; and tactics such as board management and difficult conversations.
day retreat, include a trip to Israel next
Participants will also get private coachsummer, 10 evening sessions, and four
ing from an organizational psychologist,
further overnights.
she said.
It includes leadership training and
More information and the nomination
Jewish study.
form are at www.jfnnj.org/berrie.
Ilana Matteson, president of Temple

Cognitive Fitness
1 on 1 Training
(Couples Welcomed)

Call to Schedule Your Personal Evaluation

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We need to
continue this
stream of
leaders into our
community to
keep it vibrant.

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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 15

Local
Community beit midrash
Yeshiva Universitys Center for the Jewish Future opens the spring semester of
its Community Beit Midrash program on
February 3 with a series of talks by two
distinguished members of YUs faculty
Ambassador Danny Ayalon, Rennert visiting
professor of foreign policy studies, and Dr.
David Shatz, university professor of philosophy, ethics, and Jewish thought. The program, which will explore Jewish ethics and
Israels foreign policy, is open to the community and runs for six consecutive Tuesdays at the Yeshiva University Museum, 15
West 16th St., in New York City.
The first lecture, Mr. Ayalon on Israels
Foreign Policy: Diplomacy in Practice,
will be at 10:30 a.m. The second lecture,
at 11:45, by Dr. Shatz, will be Pursuing
the Right and the Good: Themes in Jewish
Ethics.

Danny Ayalon

Rinats annual dinner


set for February 21

David Shatz
PHOTOS COURTESY YU

For information or to register, go to www.


yu.edu/beitmidrash. For weekly sponsorship opportunities, email Julie Schreier, the
director of the Long Island region, at julie.
schreier@yu.edu or call her at (516) 9722920, or email program coordinator Aryeh
Czarka at aryeh.czarka@yu.edu or call her
at (212) 960-5400, ext. 6826.

JFSNJ bereavement group


for widows/widowers
The Jewish Family Service of North Jersey will begin a bereavement group at its
Wayne office on Monday, February 2, at 2
p.m. The group is for anyone who has lost
a spouse or significant other.
Melanie Lester, LSW, will facilitate the
six-week group. Each participant will meet
privately with Ms. Lester before the first
group session. The cost is $15 per session
and reservations are required.
For information, call her at (973) 5950111 or email her at mlester@jfsnorthjersey.org. JFSNJ bereavement group for

widows/widowers
The Jewish Family Service of North Jersey will begin a bereavement group at its
Wayne office on Monday, February 2, at 2
p.m. The group is for anyone who has lost
a spouse or significant other.
Each participant will meet privately
with Ms. Lester before the first group session. The cost is $15 per session and reservations are required.
For information, call her at (973) 595-0111
or email her at mlester@jfsnorthjersey.
org.

NJOP celebrating 27 years


of achievement
NJOP, formerly called the National Jewish
Outreach Program, will hold its annual
dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown
on Tuesday, February 3. The dinner celebrates the organizations 27-year history,
honors community leaders, and coincides
with Tu BShevat.
Michelle Domb will receive the inaugural Elli and Israel Krakowski Memorial
award, named in memory of two of NJOPs

longtime friends and supporters. Rabbi


Greg Wall, a spiritual leader and musician
known as the Jazz rabbi, will receive
the Leslie Nelkin Special Service award.
Rachel Gutman and Chava Maccaba will
receive the Carl and Sylvia Freyer Young
Leadership award.
For information, call Emma Lebowitz
at (646) 871-0111, email her at elebowitz@
njop.org, or go to www.njop.org.

Tefillin wrap in Fair Lawn


Temple Beth Sholom of Fair Lawn will
be participating in the 15th annual World
Wide Wrap on Sunday, February 1. During
the service, which begins at 9 a.m., Rabbi
Alberto Zeilicovich will teach participants
how to put on tefillin, and talk about some
of the traditions that surround it. A bagel

breakfast sponsored by the synagogues


mens club will follow. The community
is invited to participate and should bring
their tefillin. Temple Beth Sholom is at
40-25 Fair Lawn Ave. For more information, call (201) 797-9321.

Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck is holding its annual dinner on February 21. This years
guests of honor are Barbara and Simcha Hochman. Sandra and Joseph Greenberg will receive
the Sruli Guttman Service award, and Jennifer
and Aaron Hoffer will be honored with the Young
Leadership award.
The Hochmans have been members of Rinat
since 1991. Barbara has served as co-chair of the
Aveylut committee for 10 years, and prepares
almost all seudot havraah (first meal eaten by
Simcha and Barbara
the mourners when they return home from the
Hochman
funeral). She has managed the mishloach manot
project for the last 14 years and is part of Rinats
security team, boutiques, and the board nominating committee. Simcha, a member of Rinats
executive board since 2005 and the shuls financial secretary, has served on many Rinat committees and projects, including the assistant rabbi
search, contract negotiations, and the recent
Wandering Que BBQ event.
The Greenbergs have been members of Rinat
since 2002. Sandra has been involved in crafting Rinats visual image, including its redesigned
Joseph and Sandra
logo, Weekly Brief, shul flyers, and website.
Greenberg
Joseph has been the gabbai of the Yamim Noraim
minyan and the long-time gabbai sheni of the
Beit Midrash minyan. He also has been a technical resource for Rinats office staff and has been a
member and officer of the board. Joseph helped
with the shuls remodeling project, including
inventory and organization of its seforim and
design of the low-voltage systems. Most recently,
he led the transition of the website and operations to the ShulCloud platform.
The Hoffers have been members of Rinat since
2008. Jennifer ran the Nerot Shavuot bake sale
Jennifer and Aaron Hoffer
and volunteered for various Nerot events and
programs. In 2011, she became Nerots first ever
vice president; next, she served as its co-president. She has managed many events, programs, and committees, and has been a
board member for two years. Aaron is active in Rinats youth committee and was
instrumental in the success of the House Duty program, which arranges for parent volunteers during weekly youth group meetings. He also plans youth events and special
programs. Through his company, MD Respiratory Services, he makes sure the shuls
oxygen tanks are always filled and available for emergencies.
To make reservations and donations, go to www.rinat.org or call the shul office at
(201) 837-2795, ext. 101.

Ohel and JFS bringing Sibshops to NJ


Ohel Sibshops will be coming to Clifton/Passaic, through the partnership
of Ohel and Jewish Family Service of
Clifton-Passaic.
SibShops is a unique program that
provides fun, support, and inspiration
for siblings of people with developmental disabilities. There are activities and
discussions and the opportunity for siblings to discuss their feelings, have their
questions answered, and learn more
about their siblings disabilities, and

what the future holds.


The Passaic-Clifton sibshops group will
be co-led by facilitators from Ohel and
JFS, who were trained by Don Meyer, the
creator of the Sibshops model. The first
New Jersey group will be for 9- to 13-yearold girls.
For information, call either Ohels NJ
Sibshop coordinator, Leah Elyakin, at
(862) 686-7205 or the director of JFSs
Parent Resource Center, Suzanne Miller,
at (973) 777-7638.

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16 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015

upcoming aT

Kaplen

JCC on the Palisades

Teen Mission to Washington, DC:


panim el panim seminar
for graDes 10-12

Panim el Panim is a three-day seminar and volunteer


opportunity in Washington, DC where you will explore
todays hottest issues with leading experts, volunteer in
the community and lobby state representatives about the
issues that matter most to you. For more info, contact
Michal at 201.408.1469 or mgreenbaum@jccotp.org.
Sun-Tue, Mar 29-31, $500/$600.
Final application due by Feb 3
Major discounts available for teens currently enrolled in
the JCC Teen Department programs.

Transitions:

oil painTings by JuDiTh brice

An abstract expressionist, Judith Brice spent ten years


studying art appreciation by attending gallery tours
offered at the JCC. Her compositions explore color
and evoke an inner emotional landscape.
On display throughout February
Meet the Artist Reception: Thur, Feb 5, 6 pm

JCC Saturday
Night Events
for graDes 3-8

Laser Tag!

Indoor laser tag, cookie decorating,


hot chocolate and supervision at the
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades.
Feb 7, 7:30-10 pm, $30/$35

Trip to Bounce! Trampoline

Experience the latest and most exciting trend


in Americamassive courts of interconnected
trampolines! Space is limited!
Mar 7, 7-10 pm, $35/$42
To register, please visit
www.jccotp.org/special-events.

family

support

Baseball & Bagels

Alzheimers
Support Group

peTe rose-an american Dilemma


WiTh auThor KosTya KenneDy

Calling all baseball fans to join us for a bagel


brunch as we explore the life and times of
Pete Rose, one of the most provocative
and fascinating athletes of our generation.
Kennedy will examine the moral questions of
how Roses gambling led him to be barred not
only from the game but from baseballs Hall of
Fame. Should he be forgiven? For more info &
family discount, call Kathy at 201.408.1454.
Sun, Feb 8, 10:30 am, $15/$20

Kaplen

These support groups provide an


opportunity for caregivers, families and
friends to learn more about Alzheimers
disease, share their feelings and concerns,
and support each other in coping with
the effects of the disease. For more info,
contact Judi Nahary at 201.408.1450
Groups meet monthly:
2nd Monday of the month, 7 pm
4th Tuesday of the month, 10:30 am

for
all

Tu Bshvat Celebration
in the Lobby

Join us in the JCC lobby for a fun and meaningful celebration


to mark the new year for the trees in the land of Israel. You
will learn about the 7 species of fruits and grains traditionally
associated with Israel and other fun things.
Wed, Feb 4, 3-5 pm, Free
To regisTer or for more info, visiT

jccotp.org or call 201.569.7900.

JCC on the Palisades Taub campus | 411 e clinTon ave, Tenafly, nJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 17

Editorial
Standing with Sinai

t should be easy to decide to send a


child who is a candidate for the education it offers to Sinai Schools.
Developmental disabilities are a
fact of biology, not morality. Children do
not act in ways that differentiate them
from most of their peers for fun, or out
of laziness, wickedness, or lack of caring.
Children with development disabilities
are just children in fact, they are our

The Sinai Schools, founded by parents


who refused to let their developmentally
disabled children slip away from them
through neglect or purposeful blindness,
is an extraordinary institution. It not only
educates its own students, paying them
the sort of close attention that leads to the
right and singular education for each one,
it also allows them to stay in the outside
world. It also lets the other students in the

schools where Sinai houses its programs


learn not to fear the developmentally
disabled, or to shun then, but to accept
them simply as other human beings, other
schoolmates, other Jews.
We think that Sinai Schools is simply
amazing, and we wish it every success. We
hope that anyone in the community who
can support it will consider doing so.

But together, as a community of tens


of thousands, we are much richer, much
stronger, than any of our components.
And we therefore are richer and stronger for programs that weave us together
into one community.
This week we write about two such
community-wide projects. On page 12,
we report on the Sweet Taste of Torah
study evening organized by the New Jersey Board of Rabbis. And on page 15, we
discuss the Berrie Fellows Leadership
Program, which offers participants both

Jewish and management training. More


than that, though, the Berrie Fellowship
is community development in action.
The fellowship brings together 20 people each a leader in his or her own local
organization or synagogue and builds
a community of camaraderie and friendships that reaches across the county
and spans the denominations. Having
launched more than a decade ago, its
earliest alumni are now leading institutions such as the Jewish Federation of
Northern New Jersey, a co-sponsor of the

program along with the Russell Berrie


Foundation.
At the same time it empowers people to
step up to the challenge of leadership, it
also encourages them to think about the
larger Jewish community.
The Berrie program is recruiting its
fourth group of fellows now. If you think
you might want to step up to the challenge or if you know someone who
might be willing you can nominate
yourself or others at www.jfnnj.org/
berrie 
LY

and live longer now that weve discovered


penicillin. Headaches that could kill your
spirit are vanquished by a simple aspirin.
Wounds no longer fester. Jane Austen heroines could stay for days in near-strangers
houses because they got caught in the rain,
which could lead directly to death, but we
have to find other responses to our romantic dilemmas.
But science, as Oscar Wilde said about
truth, is rarely pure and never simple.
Medicine is science but it also is art, if
not mere craft, as you will discover if you

are unlucky enough to develop a serious


illness. There are many medications that
we know work but we havent the slightest idea why. (And please note that by
we I mean scientists, not editorial writers. Its a very expansive we.)
And so is weather forecasting, as it turns
out. Its not that the forecasters got it wrong,
as they and the snowed-in sufferers on
Long Island or in Boston can tell us. Its
just that there were more details to the forecast than they deigned to share with us
and the devil clearly was in those details.

So the governors of New Jersey and New


York basically closed their states highways, and New Yorks Andrew Cuomo shut
down the citys subways as well. All of that
made sense. The blizzard of the century
was possibly headed our way, and safe, we
are told, is so much better than sorry.
But to go on about the blizzard of the
century well, whoops.
Its funny to watch politicians wipe the
egg off their faces. But the problem is that
the next time they declare SnowmagedJP
don, no one will take it seriously.

children. And when they grow to be adults,


they are still part of our community, and
of our world.
But there still is a stigma attached to
many kinds of differences, including this
one. Parents often are loathe to admit that
their children need any kind of special education, even as their lack of special education makes their families lives a nightmare
of chaos, anger, and resentment.

JP

Better together

ometimes the notion of the Jewish community of northern New


Jersey feels very abstract.
We are but one corner of a metropolitan area. Our counties are but afterthoughts when weather maps plot the
promise of life-disrupting, potentially historic blizzards.
And most of our institutions cover
only a small slice of northern New Jersey.
Eighty synagogues scattered across many
towns divide us into different regional and
denominational groups.

Let it snow?

y the time you read this, most


likely you already will have
forgotten this weeks snowocalypse, the big snowstorm that
couldnt. And wouldnt. And didnt.
Its funny, our automatic assumption
that if something sounds authoritative, it
must be right. But guess what? Thats not
necessarily so.
When objective science as we know it
was newer, it all seemed so straightforward. Better living through chemistry! And
its true, as far as it goes. We are healthier

Jewish
Standard
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Marcia Garfinkle

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Joanne Palmer
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Beth Janoff Chananie
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Heidi Mae Bratt

jstandard.com
18 Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015

Correspondents
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Founder
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City Editor
Mort Cornin (19151984)
Editorial Consultant
Max Milians (1908-2005)
Secretary
Ceil Wolf (1914-2008)
Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson

keeping the faith

Snow way to live Jewishly

hen a man
That brings us to Maimonides
opens a pit,
(the Rambam). In his Mishneh
or digs a pit
Torah, the Laws of the Murderer
and does
and the Saving of Lives 6:4 and
not cover it, and an ox or a she-donkey
6, he puts it this way:
falls into it, the one responsible for the pit
There is a person who kills
must make restitution.
unintentionally, whose acts
Ive never seen an ox in my life, except
resemble those willfully perpetrated. Specifically, these acts
in movies. Or a donkey, for that matter, he
Shammai
involve negligence, or that care
or she. Face it, rabbi. The Torah is full of
Engelmayer
should have been taken [with
such useless pronouncements.
regard to a certain factor] and it
Too many people make that argument.
was not....
To them, I offer one word: Snow.
We will return to this in a moment.
Yes, snow. With all the snow we had last year, a
The laws regarding the goring ox that immedifriend asked whether the Torah has anything to
ately precede the discussion of the open pit (Exosay about clearing away the snow from walkways
dus 22:28-32) make clear the need to anticipate
and sidewalks. This friend also wanted to know
hazards. If a person knows that his ox is prone to
what a person must do if he or she is not home
harming people or property, but he does not take
during a winter snowstorm.
preventive measures, he is as responsible as the ox
I provided an answer in a column published last
for any damage, and even must pay with his life if
February 28. I am revisiting these questions in the
life was taken.
wake of this weeks storm, and the probability of
In other words, if you know that a problem is
more snow falling before winters end.
likely to occur, you have to take precautions.
My answer to the first part is to quote the very
Which brings us to the parapet. If a person
same open pit law of Exodus 21:33-34. My answer
decided to leave the snow zone and winter in Florto the second part is to cite a verse often quoted
ida, say, that person must nevertheless arrange for
here in different contextsthe Law of the Parapet.
snow removal back home, especially in any part
Let us deal with the open pit first. It has less to
of his home to which the public could gain access,
do with whether an animal falls into an open hole,
such as sidewalks and even pathways to the house.
and more to do with whether we create an obstruction of some kind that creates a public hazard.
(Neither snow nor sleet must deter a mailman, but
To dig into this pit a bit more deeply, we turn
he or she does not have to slip and slide to deliver
to a discussion in the Babylonian Talmud tractate
the mail.)
Bava Kama 52a:
Torah law requires that when a person is building a house, he must build a parapet around the
According to the Mishnah, If [the owner of a
roof, that you should not bring any blood upon
pit] covered it properly and an ox or a she-donkey
your house, if any man falls from there. (Deuter[nevertheless] fell into it and was killed, he would
onomy 22:8)
be exempt from penalty. The pit owner, after all,
This law is subject to the broadest interpretation
took all the necessary precautions.
possible, as rabbinic decisions make clear. Thus, we
Except for one thing: To the rabbis of the
are told in BT Bava Kama 15b that a person may not
Gemara, the Mishnah has a huge open pit of its
even keep a damaged ladder in his home because
own. But if he covered it properly, how did an
of it.
animal fall [into the pit]? the Gemara asks. Said
In addition to the Rambam passage cited earRabbi Yitzchak bar Bar Chana: [The cover] rotlier that care should have been taken, other
ted on its underside [and thus wasnt visible to
commentators also note, as does Rabbi Samson
the owner]. In other words, since he took every
precaution, yet could not see that anything was
Raphael Hirsch, that this Torah law even requires
wrong, he is exempt.
local civil authorities to intervene to have anything at all that might be dangerous removed from
Wood, however, rots. A reasonable person needs
a persons home.
to inspect a cover made out of wood every now
Finally, there is the question my friend did not
and then to be certain it is still in good condition.
ask: What if the snow falls on Shabbat?
So the Gemara needs to find another reason for the
There is a complicated road that leads to a simapparent contradiction.
ple answer: Snow may not be removed on Shabbat
An anonymous sage therefore asks, What if he
from any areas around the home where it does not
had covered it in such a way that it was able to hold
create a safety hazard for anyone. If the snow (or
[the weight of] oxen, but not of camels, and camels
ice) does pose a safety hazard, Preservation of life
came by first and weakened the cover, and oxen
takes precedence even over Shabbat. (See the disthen came and fell into it [the pit], then what?
cussion at BT Shabbat 132a.)
Comes the answer: It all depends on whether
There is nothing anachronistic about the Torahs
camels are normally found in the area. If camels
laws. There is much wrong in thinking that there is.
used to pass from time to time, he was certainly
careless.
Shammai Engelmayer is rabbi of Temple Israel
Obviously, then, if camels are rarely seen in the
Community Center | Congregation Heichal Yisrael
area, or are never seen there, he probably was not
in Cliffside Park and Temple Beth El of North
careless.
Bergen.
In other words, it is a matter of anticipation.

Opinion

The trees know


How Israeli spy Eli Cohen offers
lessons in renewal on Tu BShvat

u BShevat, which
begins this year on
the evening of Tuesday, February 3, is
the day on the Jewish calendar
that marks the beginning of a
new year for trees.
Not surprisingly, planting
trees is a typical feature of most
celebrations of the
day. So are eating
certain fruits and
preaching the virtues of environmental awareness.
These are, each
and all, an occasion to show appreciation for the relaDr. Lee
tionship between
Igel
people and nature.
While that is an
important emotional draw for many people,
it is also as good a time as any
to bring to mind somethingor,
actually, someonehaving to do
with the practical nature of the
relationship between our lives
and our work.
Its about a person who
scribbled on his prison cell
wall that his only regret was
what he could have done and
didnt have the chance to do.
Its about a person who risked
his lifeand ultimately surrendered itin the interest of his
people, so that they could live
their lives in a free and functioning society. Its about a person whose actions in a present
time had a meaningful impact
on the future.
Who is this person? There
may be one or two candidates
running through your minds.
But rather than run a straw poll
among readers and wait for the

results, check whether your


mind settled on this person:
Kamel Amin Taabet.
Taabet came from a family
of Syrians who had emigrated
to Argentina, where they built
a successful family business. In
the 1950s, he caught the attention of members of the community when he
announced hi s
intentions to live
in Syria and bring
inherited wealth
with him. With
introductions
to some of the
highest ranking
members in the
H.
Baathist regime
ruling Syria during
that time, Taabet
made his move.
By the early 1960s, he was the
life of the party. He circulated
among the Syrian elite, and
that gave him access to some of
the most exclusive people and
places.
But, it turned out, Taabet
wasnt really who he purported
to be. That wasnt even his real
name. Kamel Amin Taabet, in
fact, was Eli Cohen.
Cohen was an Egyptian-born
Jew whose parents fled Syria
when they were children. During his youth in Egypt, Cohen
got connected to the Haganah, the clandestine paramilitary organization of the Jewish
community in pre-1948 Palestine. That set him on course to
become an Israeli spy. His particular aim was to gather intelligence by infiltrating the Syrian
high command.
Cohen managed to keep up
See trees page 20

Lee H. Igel, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Tisch Institute and


co-director of the Sports & Society Program at New York University.
His teaching and writing focus on behavioral insights and decisionmaking. Dr. Igel lives in Bergen County.

Opinions expressed in the op-ed and letters columns are not


necessarily those of the Jewish Standard. The Jewish Standard
reserves the right to edit letters. Be sure to include your town.
Email jstandardletters@gmail.com. Handwritten letters will not be
printed.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015 19

Opinion/Letters
LetteRs

Sweet Taste of Torah

Id like to offer a correction to Dont bogart that joint at least not on Shabbat,
( January 8). The program that inspired
the format for Rabbi Wallace Greens evening of learning was in fact Sweet Tastes
of Torah, a program of the North Jersey
Board of Rabbis, which is co-sponsored by
several local synagogues. This years Sweet
Tastes of Torah program will take place on
Saturday evening, February 7 at the Fair
Lawn Jewish Center / Congregation Bnai
Israel, with the theme Sinai Revisited:
Perspectives from the Mountaintop. (See
story, page 12.) I wish my colleague Rabbi
Green and Congregation Shomrei Torah
great success with their Torah, Text and
Tradition program, and I invite the community to join us at Sweet Tastes of Torah
the following week. For details, go to
sweettastesoftorah.weebly.com.
Rabbi Steven Sirbu
President,
North Jersey Board of Rabbis

Thank you, federation

I want to thank the Jewish Standard for


the wonderful article (Helping, sharing,
learning, January 16) that describes the
two trips, to New Orleans and Israel, made
over winter break by our Bergen County
High School of Jewish Studies students.
It was a wonderful way to share with the
community the ways in which BCHSJS
learning transcends the classroom and
that is key to the development of each
teens Jewish identity.
I want to add an important fact that was
inadvertently left out about the Israel trip.
Without the financial support we receive
from the Jewish Federation of Northern
New Jersey through our work with Partnership2Gether, the trip to Israel and the
Young Leadership program here and in
Nahariya would not be possible.

trees
FrOM page 19

appearances for some time. But his espionage activities were ultimately discovered
and he was hanged in 1965. His remains
have yet to be returned to his family and
homeland.
Today, unfortunately, the road to
Damascus isnt any less treacherous than
it was in Cohens time. Actually, conditions in Syria are so grave that you probably arent thinking much about traveling there any time soon, even if youre

Since the overarching goal of the Young


Leadership Course is for students to be
prepared to take on Jewish communal
leadership roles from high school through
college and into adulthood, what better
role models do they have than the leadership and those that support JFNNJ, giving
them this life-changing opportunity?
Bess adler
Principal-Director, Bergen County High
School of Jewish Studies

Democratic party.
It is so sad and disheartening to read
how the Jewish Republican donors
dont care about people, just about their
pocketbooks.
Sandi kleinman
Old Tappan

Remembering Debbie
Friedman

Regarding Its electability, stupid ( January 23) the key word here is stupid. It is
stupid of Jewish Republicans to back candidates solely on the Israel perspective and
it is truly stupid to think Obama and Hillary dont care enough about Israel. There
are several issues here:
1. In typical anti-Obama, Republican
fashion, the current administration is
criticized for its handling of Israel-U.S.
relations, but they do not provide a solution, alternatives, or any ideas about what
a Republican candidate would do or have
done differently. Obama made a mistake
in not sending someone to Paris, but he
apologized. It is not a sign of anti-Israeli
support. We have accepted many apologies from Republicans over the years.
2. The fact that Republican donors could
possibly back Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Rick
Santorum or Mike Huckabee, just because
they are pro-Jews, is sickening. They are
particularly anti-women, against separation of church and state, against health
care for all citizens, pro NRA, and definitely Christian right wing. They dont give
a damn about Israel, except to court the
Jewish vote.
Democrats have always been the biggest supporters of civil rights, womens
rights, equal education, and opportunity
for all. That is why Jews have embraced the

Our Torah reading this Shabbat includes


the Song at the Sea, the poem sung by
Moses and the Israelites after they traverse the Sea of Reeds unharmed. The
Zohar, the mystical commentary on the
Bible, examines the moment in the story
just before the sea opens up the moment
when the Israelites are trapped between
the Egyptian army and the sea.
The Torah text, in Exodus 14:10, says:
Pharaoh drew near and the Israelites
caught sight of the Egyptians, advancing
upon them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the Lord.
The Zohar (2:47a) goes beyond the
simple meaning of the verse and explains
that Pharaoh drew near really means
that Pharaoh caused the Israelites to draw
near. Draw near to whom? To God. The
Zohar draws a lesson from this interpretation: that the Jewish people draw near to
God only when they are in distress and
it suggests a parable. The Jewish people
are like a dove who is trying to escape
a hawk. Seeking refuge in the cleft of a
rock, she finds a serpent there. The dove,
caught between these two enemies, flaps
her wings and cries out to the owner of the
dove to come to her rescue.
The Zohar is correctly describing the
nature of most people. Most of us turn to
God only when we personally or perhaps
when we, communally, are in trouble. Debbie Friedman, whose fourth yahrzeit we
commemorate this Shabbat, was a women

looking for some excitement in your life.


That goes double no matter how seriously your reading of Daniel Silva or John
le Carr novels gets you thinking that you
just might take to a little spycraft now and
again.
So, then, why orient yourself toward Eli
Cohen, especially at this time of year?
During his time hobnobbing with the
Syrian military brass, Cohen learned
that troops were suffering from and complaining about the effects of heat. He suggested that a good way to both give them

some relief and boost morale would be


for the military to plant eucalyptus trees
near the fortifications and installations
where they were stationed. Syrian decision-makers, who at the time couldnt
seem to get enough of their friend Kamel
Amin Taabet, thought it a great idea and
approved it straightaway.
What they hadnt anticipated was a
serious, unintended consequence that
would hit them hard in the next handful
of years: during the Six Day War in 1967,
two years after Eli Cohen was hanged,

Electability, stupid

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20 Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015

who taught a generation of American Jews


to Sing unto God, in good times and in
difficult moments in our personal or communal lives. Through her songs and her
soul, Debbie Friedman transformed Jewish worship in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Debbie was a woman who confronted
her physical infirmities, with which she
wrestled for the last 30 years of her life, by
using them as an inspiration to help others cope with our own physical spiritual
and emotional disabilities and infirmaries.
Her own illness led her to write the Misheberach prayer of healing that thousands
of Jewish communities use in our worship
services. Her faith in God and in humankind was often challenged but never broke.
She truly prayed, and taught us to pray as
well, as if everything depended upon God.
Through her acts of loving kindness, she
taught me and all who knew her that we
must act as if everything depends upon us.
As we read the Song of the Sea this Shabbat, may we remember Debbie Friedman,
and may we all sing her words in support of all those who are in need of physical healing. May we also hear in Debbies
Misheberach a challenge to heal the spiritual wounds in our nation that lead us to
apathetically continue to ignore the dangers of guns, to abdicate responsibility for
the mentally ill, and to abuse our right of
free speech by seeing it as license to spew
hatred.
As I look back upon the life and death
of Debbie Friedman, I realize that Debbies
life with all of its trials was a resounding
affirmation that in both good times and difficult moments it is our responsibility as
well as our right to sing unto God.
Rabbi neal i. Borovitz
Rabbi Emeritus
Temple Avodat Shalom
River Edge

those trees served as target markers for


the Israel Air Force.
If there is one lesson those of us leading everyday lives can take from Cohens
example, consider that it may be about
actions in the present always having a
meaningful impact on the future. Productive people often find themselves constantly thinking through what has to be
tackled today to make tomorrow. They
and the treesknow that the start of a
calendar year isnt the only time to make
sense of and act on renewal.

facebook.com/jewishstandard

Opinion

Je suis Charlie?
It depends on
what is is

t says much about the age that


we live in that so many of us first
learned of the terrorist attacks in
Paris on January 7th through Twitter, and that the slogan that came to represent much of the international response
to the massacre originated as an image
tweeted by French artist and music journalist Joachim Roncin, and soon morphed
into a hashtag that rose to the top of the
days trending topics, and has become one
of the most popular hashtags in the history
of that social network.
Demonstrators carrying a sign reading We Are Charlie march in a Paris square
I am referring, of course, to Je suis Charduring a unity rally following the recent terrorist attacks in the French capital on
lie, or in hashtag form, #jesuischarlie, and
January 11. 
Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
its English version, #iamcharlie.
Some followed up on this
after President John F. Kennedys famous
while a British member of
formula with the variations Je
quote, part of a speech delivered in West
Parliament tweeted Je suis
suis Ahmed or Je suis Ahmed
Berlin in 1963, in response to the buildPalestinian. A less extreme
Rabet, to acknowledge the
ing of the Berlin Wall by the Communist
expression of disagreement
Muslim police officer who
government of East Germany: Ich bin ein
has been the hashtag #JeNwas so brutally murdered in
eSuisPasCharlie, meaning,
Berliner, meaning, I am a Berliner. The
the attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo,
I am not Charlie. This counambiguity about what exactly is meant by
and as a subtle reminder that
terslogan has been used to
the verb to be is what gives this declaration its powerful effect, but it is that same
the terrorists are not repreexpress the view that Charsentative of Muslims in genDr. Lance
lie Hebdos publication of
ambiguity that Brooks calls into question.
Strate
eral. Others added Je suis Juif,
It is an ambiguity that brings to mind
cartoons making fun of the
meaning I am Jewish, to recall
Islamic prophet Muhamanother famous quote from an American
mad was disrespectful to Muslims, withthe fact that four hostages were murdered
president, Bill Clinton: It depends on
out necessarily condoning the terrorists
in a kosher supermarket, in addition to
what the meaning of is is. This was said
violent response to it. It has been used by
the 12 killed at the offices of the Parisian
in defense of his earlier statement about
news organizations to justify their decision
periodical. (Several of them also were JewMonica Lewinsky: Theres nothing going
ish.) Members of the Jewish community
not to republish or display those cartoons.
on between us. (That is arguably true if
in France and abroad were encouraged
And it also has been invoked as a protest
is is limited to the present moment and
by the appearance of Je suis Juif signs and
against the fact that so many other acts of
not inclusive of what was going on in
hashtags, especially as the slogan was disviolence and bloodshed occurring outside
the past.) In the context of a grand jury
played by some French Muslims, although
the West have been ignored by journalists
investigation, the remark came across as
there has also been some criticism that it
and social media participants.
invoking nothing more than a legal techniIn a New York Times op-ed called I am
cality, but in fact it reflects one of the most
was not shared widely enough.
Not Charlie Hebdo, David Brooks argues
problematic elements of our language.
Another variation on Je suis Charlie,
In the approach known as general
that if anyone had tried to publish the concoming from the far right in France, was
tent of the satirical newspaper on any U.S.
semantics, the problems posed by the verb
Je suis Charlie Martel. The reference is to
campus today, it would have been accused
to be long have been acknowledged.
Charles Martel, the leader of the Franks
of engaging in hate speech and shut down
Simply put, the word is tends to imply
and the grandfather of Charlemagne,
by the universitys administration. Morea relationship of identity, of interchangewho introduced the stirrup and with it
over, Brooks points out that it is inaccuability, projecting all of the characteristics
mounted shock combat (of the sort used
rate for most of us to claim, Je Suis Charlie
of one thing onto another, which is why
by knights in armor on horseback wielding
Brooks objects to the slogan Je suis CharHebdo, or I Am Charlie Hebdo. Most of us
lances). That innovation allowed his outnumbered army to resist an invasion from
lie. Holding the emotional impact aside,
dont actually engage in the sort of deliberately offensive humor that that newspaper
the Islamic empires Umayyad caliphate
it would be more accurate to say that I
specializes in. While characterizing the
back in the 8th century. Considered the
sympathize with the staff of Charlie Hebdo
magazine as sophomoric, indeed juvenile
savior of Christendom and a progenitor
and their families, I grieve for the victims
in its humor, and puerile and insulting, he
of the feudal system that brought order to
of the terrorists attacks, and I unequivocally support freedom of speech and the
maintains that ridicule and provocation
Europe in the wake of the decline of the
press. Because we tend to respond to
play an important role in any community,
Romes imperial authority, he was given
the word is as if it means equals, as if
and that healthy societies should be tolerthe cognomen Martel, the French word
ant of all forms of speech. They should not
it means the same thing as one plus one
for hammer, after his victory, following the
adopt codes of political correctness, as
is two, some general semanticists have
archetype of Judah Maccabee.
many of our institutions have, he says.
suggested avoiding the verb to be altoOutrage against the attacks has not
gether, with all tenses and traces of the
As Brooks suggests, taken literally,
been universally shared, however, and
verb eliminated. While this may seem like
Je suis Charlie seems a bit absurd, but
some have shown their support of the terrorists with the Twitter hashtag #IamKof course the slogan is not meant to be
an extreme measure, substituting verbs
ouachi, in reference to the brothers who
taken literally. It is an expression of suplike sympathize, grieve, and support for is,
port and solidarity, no doubt fashioned
carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack,
am, and are does result in more accurate

statements. It also generally yields better writing, forcing us to use more active
verbs. This is not to discount the simple
power of the ich bin/je suis/I am quotes,
but to understand that they are the exception rather than the rule.
To say that the Kouachi brothers are terrorists is to imply that that is all we need to
know about them. We absolutely must condemn them as terrorists, and do whatever
is in our power to prevent such acts from
occurring again. But we do ourselves a disservice by reducing them down to a simple
label and a simple equation, when we desperately need to understand the complexities of such violent activities. In the aftermath of the attacks, the statement that Islam
is a religion of peace has been repeated
countless times, and while we may applaud
the sentiment behind it, it is as misleading
as saying that Islam is a religion of violence,
as misleading as making similar statements
about Judaism, Christianity, or Buddhism.
Substituting other verbs, such as preaches
and promotes, would be helpful, but general semantics also would recommend dealing with more concrete terms. Islam is an
abstract concept (so is Judaism, Christianity,
or Buddhism), and it helps to use more concrete terms, to refer to specific individuals
and groups, statements and texts, and especially, actions.
Modernity, and with it the establishment
of the State of Israel as a Jewish homeland,
has led to much agonizing over the question of who is a Jew. And while there are
issues we grapple with concerning Jewish
identity, to a significant degree, the problem may be in our verbs, not ourselves.
The answer to the questions of Who
is a Jew? and Who is Charlie? would
depend on what the meaning of is is.
It is significant to note that this is a problem that does not exist in the Hebrew language, at least not in the present tense.
There are no words for is, am, and are,
and the verb lihiyot, to be, is conjugated
only in the past and future tenses. It is a
quality that Hebrew shares with several
other languages, including Arabic. While
it is far from a cure for our many linguistic maladies, it should serve to point us
in the right direction. And it is consistent
with Jewish ethics to say that what really
matters is not so much what someone is,
but what someone does. And that includes
standing up for the right of free expression
and religious affiliation. And that includes
defending the right to live in peace and
free from terror.
Dr. Lance Strate of Palisades Park is a
professor of communication and media
studies at Fordham University in the
Bronx and president of his synagogue,
Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia. He is
the author of Amazing Ourselves to Death:
Neil Postmans Brave New World Revisited.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015 21

Cover Story

Inclusion by design
Sinai Schools honors
Holy Name Medical Center
for community partnership

Joanne Palmer

magine that you see a small group


of students working with an art
teacher, concentrating, creating,
learning.
Add the understanding that these children have developmental disabilities, and
that the art teacher is in fact an art therapist. Be sure, though, that when you add
this knowledge, you do not because you
should not let it detract from the clear
truth that there is joy in this learning, and
learning in this joy.
And then pull your gaze back to see that
these children are in a larger school, where
they have their own individualized learning programs but also sometimes mix with
more standard-issue students. You realize
that each group can learn from each other
without being overwhelmed by the others
very different needs, abilities, or interests.
And then pull back yet again, to see that
all this is in a Jewish environment, where

students of every ability are surrounded


by the sounds, sights, calendar, and passions of their people. Of our people.
Pull back just once more, and you see
love.
Thats the Sinai schools at work.
Sinai, which does not have its own facility, instead places students in two elementary and three high schools. Those three
high schools include two in Teaneck the
Torah Academy of Bergen County and
Maayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls
as well as the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High
School in Livingston.
Students are placed in the high school
that meets their needs, and although they
may enter when they are 14, they can stay
until they are 21. Kushners Sinai students
are more academically oriented, and the
focus is on preparing them for college or
other post-high school studies. But the
two schools in Teaneck the Rabbi Mark
and Linda Karasick Shalem High School at
Torah Academy of Bergen County and the

Cover: A student at Sinai at Kushner


works on his reading. Inset: Holy Names
Michael Maron recently visited Sinai at
RYNJ. Left: The billboard on Route 4.

22 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

es

Cover Story

Rabbi Mark and Linda Karasick Shalem


High School at Maayanot Yeshiva High
School offer boys and girls more of a
practical education in life skills, Sam Fishman, Sinais managing director, said.
All of our educational methods are
research-based, and we are moving more
and more toward cutting edge, Mr. Fishman said. What makes us unique is
our inclusive model. There arent other
schools that I know of that serve the population that we serve within the context of a
regular school.
Although the schools in which Sinai is
set are Orthodox, not all Sinai students
are. We have children from families that
are barely or not at all affiliated; we have
families that are Conservative or Orthodox; we have Ashkenazim and Sephardim;

There arent
other schools
that I know of
that serve the
population that
we serve within
the context of a
regular school.
SAM FISHMAN

we have a segment from the Syrian community that comes from Brooklyn. We are
inclusive. The question for us is just who
can we help, Mr. Fishman said.
Students at the Sinai schools come from
across the tristate area and throughout
New Jersey, he added. Some commute
from New York Citys five boroughs and
Rockland and Westchester counties.
Every year, families relocate from across
the country to be able to send their children to one of our schools. In the last few
years, theyve come from Florida, California, and the Midwest. One family came
back from Israel in order to be able to send
a child to Sinai next year.
Right now, Sinai has 130 students in its
five schools.
This year, at its annual dinner (see box on

page 27), Sinai is focusing particularly on its


vocational program. Among its honorees is
Michael Maron, the president and CEO of
Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck. Representing the medical center, Mr. Maron
is to receive the Community Partnership
award in recognition of the jobs, support,
and care it has provided Sinais students
over the course of many years.
We thought that there could be no
better time than now to celebrate brotherhood, the universal value of helping
others, tikkun olam, helping to make the
world a better place, Mr. Fishman said.
This is a community partnership, rooted
in faith. (That faith, in Holy Names case,
is Roman Catholic.)
In fact, Holy Name has a huge electronic
billboard on Route 4. One of the photographs in the rotating display includes the
logos of both Sinai and Holy Name. and
you can see that when you drive, larger
than life, Mr. Fishman continued. We are
recognizing Holy Name as a good neighbor, and as a partner in recognizing the
needs of our community.
We call it a partnership because our
relationship with Holy Name goes back
more than 15 years. Sinai is 33 years old.
It began with an elementary school program, but grew with its students. The need
for a program for preteens and teenagers
soon became clear. It was shortly after
we established a high school that we had a
need for work/study and vocational placements, Mr. Fishman said.
Holy Name was one of our earliest
vocational settings, he continued. Over
the years, Holy Name has made students
welcome at a variety of jobs, things like
transporting supplies and mail from one
area to another within the hospital, transporting patients for discharge, stocking the
bikkur cholim room, and so on.
We have found that our students have
always been so comfortably and so warmly
welcomed.
Now, perhaps at least in part as a result
of Holy Names example, places across
Teaneck have welcomed Sinais students.
So many businesses and organizations
and schools and shuls have embraced our
students, and provided settings for them
for the work/study and vocational training, Mr. Fishman said.
And beyond the specifics, we wanted to

Children feel great about


themselves when they are
successful at a task. Here,
students at Sinais two elemetary school programs,
the Rosenbaum Yeshiva
of North Jersey and the
Joseph Kushner Hebrew
Academy, beam with pride
as they display their work.
PHoToS ProVIDeD BY SInaI SCHoolS

Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 23

Cover Story

A few years ago, a Sinai student at


a vocational program at Holy Name
pushes a wheelchair.

24 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

take the opportunity at the dinner to recognize the role that Holy Name plays in our
local Jewish community. Even though it is
a Catholic institution, Holy Name makes a
point of reaching out to members of the
entire Bergen County community at large,
making sure that people of all faiths feel
welcome. And Holy Name is a strong supporter of Israel, has a Shabbat room available, does so much for the community.
Just in terms of anecdotal proof, we
hear about how our supporters feel about
Holy Name. The outpouring of warm
responses weve received in response to
the dinner has been beautiful.
With all the horrors in the world right
now, the timing seems right, Mr. Fishman said. Shevat achim gam yachad
thats the second line of Hinei Mah Tov,
the beginning of Psalm 133. In English, its
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity.
Je suis gam yachad, Mr. Fishman said,
evoking the catchphrase Je suis Charlie
Hebdol that resulted from the massacre
at the magazines office in Paris and giving
it a Jewish twist.
Rabbi Mark and Linda Karasick of
Teaneck were among the four couples
who founded Sinai, and their passion for it
and its mission is as strong as ever. Rabbi

Mark Karasick is our chairman today, Mr.


Fishman said. Mark and Linda really are
the heart and soul and face and builders
of Sinai.
They are the parents of four sons, two of
whom were Sinai students.
Their connection to Holy Name is strong
as well. It is physical they are neighbors.
It is emotional the hospital has provided
medical care to the extended family. And
it dates back to the beginning of the hospitals vocational program with Sinai. The
first student we placed at Holy Name was
Avi Karasick, Mr. Fishman said.
We have found that Holy Name always
has been respectful of us, and our respect
for them has grown considerably over
time, Rabbi Karasick said. We have
accepted them as a neighbor, and we have
respected their growth. And they have
respected us. They dont tell us what to do.
For maybe close to three decades,
a group of people from our shul, Beth
Aaron, goes there every Shabbes for bikkur cholim, to visit Jewish patients there,
Rabbi Karasick said. They were always
greeted warmly by the staff and by the pastor who acts as chaplain there.
Sinai placed the Karasicks sons in different environments. Avi and Yacov are
two sons of the same parents, but they

are as different as any kids are different


from their siblings, Ms. Karasick said.
Avi needs more structure, but you cant
put him down at a desk, putting pieces of
things together.
He worked at Holy Name delivering
mail. He is very gregarious, and it gave him
the opportunity to talk to people.
I remember Avi coming home with his
Holy Name nametag. It said Avi Karasick.
Staff. I think he even had a blue jacket that
had his name on it. He was so proud.
Yacov Karasick worked in a number
of different places, Rabbi Karasick said.
The longest was in Maadan. That was
maybe six years ago, and to this day, every
time I walk in there Im Yacovs father.
The friendships and the relationships that
started there are maintained.
Teaneck really all of Bergen County
is an unbelievable community, Ms. Karasick said. The fact that we are able to go
into businesses and establish relationships
in places that are not Jewish I always
marvel about Holy Name. It has crosses!
We dont expect that such places will
embrace our kids but they do.
Why? Well, its not all pure goodness,
although its also goodness, she said. The
benefits go in both directions. Its win-win.
See Sinai page 26

Cover Story

Sweet Boy
A look at stigma, finances, and Sinai
Joanne Palmer
Why do parents send their children to
Sinai schools?
Because the schools innovative program allows developmentally disabled
Jewish children to develop the skills
they need to live in this world, to make
friends, not to define themselves by their
disabilities. Because the school pays
close attention to each child and spends
a huge amount of time, care, experience,
and love in tailoring a program that gives
each child what he or she needs to live
as independently as possible and as joyously as anyone else.
Why do parents not send their children to Sinai Schools?
Ah, that is an easier question to answer
in some ways, but the answers to this one
are devastating.
Finances and stigma.
Thats according to Sam Fishman, the
schools managing director.

He tries to help solve the first


problem and defuse the second at the annual dinner, itself
Sinais biggest fundraiser, by
creating a video that looks at the
very human dynamics behind a
familys decision to send a child
to the school. This years video,
Sweet Boy, looks at the Leiter
familys decision to send their
son Binyamin to Sinai.
Finances first.
It is extraordinarily expensive to provide the level of personal attention that
Sinai gives each child. Our uniqueness,
and the length to which we will go to
craft a program, costs a fortune, Mr.
Fishman said. Our costs begin at about
$70,000 per child per year, and go up
from there. There are few families that
can afford anything close to that.
Thats what our dinner is about. One
of the beautiful things is that people get
it. They understand that it is a fact of life

that there is a certain percentage of children born into this community who have
this need.
If you are blessed with a child with
this need, the chances are that you wont
be able to do it on your own, so we are
able to say that we are here.
As an admittedly extreme example,
he talked about a 5-year-old boy who
was admitted to Sinai. He is brilliant,
on the autistic spectrum, and legally
blind, Mr. Fishman said. You have the

combination of a kid who is locked into


his own world and who has a soaring IQ
he was doing sixth-grade math at 5.
Creating a program for him was a challenge bringing in a teacher for the visually impaired to teach him Braille, keeping him intellectually challenged, and
teaching him boundaries and the social
skills that any kid with hyperactivity and
autism has to learn.
We undertook this as a challenge.
Programming for this child costs us
over $100,000 to do this. There is no
ability within his family to meet this.
We view it as our mandate and our mission. Where else is this child going to
turn? We are thrilled to put something
together for him.
And then the stigma.
Its real, Mr. Fishman said. It has
existed as long as I can remember. I faced
it personally. When he was that age, my
own son, who went to Sinai, didnt look
See sweet boy page 27

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Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015 25

Cover Story
Sinai
from page 24

These two young violinists, Sinai students at Kushner, have just finished a concert
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They are high-functioning kids. They are


extremely reliable, honest, and dependable. They can be tremendous workers,
and they enjoy their work. They can do
the most menial jobs stocking shelves,
putting together pieces of something
and they will do it very conscientiously.
They show up on time, they dont
steal, and they are cheap to employ.
But still the fit has to be right.
For example, she continued, Downs
kids are comforting, warm, cheerful,
nonjudgmental. They can deliver mail
working with supervisors, where there is
not much chance for error. On the other
hand, other Sinai students are capable
of doing computer work. They are at all
different levels.
We are very blessed, Ms. Karasick
said. You know the saying that it takes
a village? It has taken a village and we
have a village.
You cant do it yourself. She and her
family didnt have to, and now they are
making sure that others can have the
support that they had.
Esther Klavan is the director of the
Sinai school at TABC.
The vocational component of our
high school is fundamentally important to many of the families, to the point
where, when I interview prospective
kids and their families, they say they
think its the most important, Ms. Klavan said.
Families are intrigued; they know
that their children will be excited about
starting a job when they start high
school, and they are excited to know that
they will have multiple and varied experiences in the workplace.
Because a students stay in high school
can be as long as seven years, that
means seven different work experiences, with gradually increasingly independence, she said.

When they start at 14, their work time


is limited to an hour and a half a week.
Generally there is one job coach to two
students. Gradually, over the course of
their time with us, we increase the duration and decrease the support, as we see
that the student is capable and the location encourages it.
The program is tailored personally to
each child. When we get new students,
we dont always know their strengths and
interests, although extensive interviews
with new students and their families are
designed to draw out as much as is possible in that fairly abstract setting. We
do our best, based on what we know. The
more we learn, the more it changes.
What we really strive to do here,
because of the nature of the students,
is to provide a functional academic curriculum, combining the life skills and
academic skills they need for their lives.
We work on What does this individual
student need to know to be able to have
a budget, open a bank account, travel to
and from his job, be as independent as
he can be in this world?
We teach them life skills, shopping,
food preparation. And it is all within a
Jewish environment that allows them to
embrace their Judaism and foster their
social skills and opportunities among
Jewish high schools boys and girls.
Thats the balance. We could do any
of that in a box but we do it in someone elses box. In other words, instead
of trying to keep the students cocooned
in a world where everyone else is just
like them, they are provided with a balance of that safety and a chance to interact with others, who are less like them,
in a larger but still safe world.
I have learned over the years that
what my students contribute to that box
is as significant as what they gain from
it, Ms. Klavan said parenthetically.
Back to Holy Name, it was a trendsetter, she said. A decade and a half ago,

A Sinai Kusher student uses magnets as she learns to read Hebrew a task
that often challenges children with language-based disabilities.

Cover Story
they welcomed our young men with disabilities, at a time when it was not popular to do so. Now you can walk up and
down Cedar Lane or West Englewood
Avenue, or even go to Party City or Modells or Staples, and see people with disabilities as workers.
Nowadays its very typical and
expected for individuals of all abilities
to be working, either as volunteers or
as employees, but then it was much less
popular. But Holy Name welcomed us.
She talked about a student of hers who
worked there a few years ago. They welcomed him, and he was independent
there, she said. I would just drop him
off, and he would go to the volunteer
service lounge, where the volunteers
often retired people would wait to be
called. He would sit with the other volunteers, and accept any task.
I visited him there, and saw that he
was warmly welcomed by the other volunteers as an equal. We worked hard to
get him there, because we felt that once
we did, it would pay off. And it did!
Michael Maron said that Holy Name
does not work with developmentally
disabled people just out of charity, but
because it is mutually beneficial. The volunteers and employees do good work.
Beyond that, It is a good reminder to us
all of who we are and why we are here,
he said. It keeps everybody a little more
tuned in and little more on their toes as
to the purpose of being.
Mr. Maron believes that the Sinai
schools and Holy Name Medical Center
are profoundly similar. For me personally, and for us as a whole, we applaud
Sinai for being a beacon of light for

Sweet boy
from page 25

that different from Binyamin.


He remembers how hard it was in
shul, the comments he overheard,
the worldview that excluded his son,
somehow seeing his behavior as a
result of moral weakness.
The sad result is that we see parents who delay in seeking our help,
who have their children in other
schools in the community, who fight
with their schools. Educators often
tell them that this is a kid who would
do better at Sinai, but the parents
fight it. They say, I think that she can
get by for another year, if I just throw
a shadow on it. If I just do this, if I
just do that.
I hear them say I think the kid can
get by. That is a very low standard.
In the video, the Leiters talk about
the stigma. Life was hard at home
before Binyamin entered Sinai; his
three siblings couldnt invite friends
home, the family could not go to
other peoples Shabbat dinners,
everyone else was dependent on his

everyone else to see, he said. We, too,


are a faith-based organization providing
services. Their services are to the misfortunate and educationally needy. Ours
are to the sick and infirm. And so we are
in parallel.
The passion we both bring to what
we do, and the deep reason for why we
do it, are both based in our faith, so partnering will show the community what
unites us rather than what divides us.
He is touched by the way the school
integrates its students with those in the
larger school. That is incredible, he
said. If we could incorporate that spirit
more into our daily lives, that would
make this a far better world.

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who: sinai schools


what: annual dinner
when: sunday, february 8; dinner at
4:45, program at 6:30
where: teaneck marriott at glenpointe hotel
why: to support sinais work
Honoring: the Community partnership award will be presented to
teanecks holy name medical Center,
with Ceo and president michael
maron accepting on behalf of the
hospital.
also honoring: shelley and ruvan
Cohen of manhattan; dr. elie and
nancy elmann of englewood; rabbi
Brian and Laurie gopin of Bergenfield; rabbi shimshon and ashley
Jacob of Jerusalem, formerly of
Livingston; and Judy and nathan
rephan of fair Lawn.

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moods. Life was chaotic.


Binyamin went to schools that were
not right for him, including a public
school. Nothing worked, and he did
not fit in. Still, his parents hesitated.
As they talk about it on the video,
you can see it in their faces, in their
voices, in the way that they look at
each other. The emotion is unmistakably real as they talk both about the
chaos of life before and the safety and
relief of life now.
To some extent, Mr. Fishman said,
the resistance to accepting the need
for special education is generational
the idea that acting out is the kind
of misbehavior that merits punishment. I think that our community
has come a long way in accepting
and including individuals with special needs but we have a long way
to go, he said.
Sweet Boy, like the other videos
Sinai has produced, humanizes the
problem. It is meant not only as a fundraiser but as a consciousness-raiser
as well. It will debut at the Sinai dinner, and then will be available online.

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Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 27

l
a
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a
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v
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On YOUR BAR/BAT miTZVAH
A supplement to
The Jewish standard
winter 2015

S-2 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

BAR/BAT MiTZVAH

through the lens


a snapshot of 13 lms that capture the Jewish coming of age
eRiC A. GOlDMan

he bar mitzvah, the coming-ofage story of Jewish men, has been


a scene in movies and a subject
for Hollywood for decades. Coming of age, as it is, is a popular motif for
drama, but the bar mitzvah, for the last
half-century, has become a showcase
for American Jewish acceptance. In the

In the last half-century,


the bar mitzvah in lm
has become a showcase
for American Jewish
acceptance.
1950s, with Judaisms recognition as one
of Americas three major religions, celebrating this rite of passage with a festive
meal or party became a way of signaling
to ones neighbors and associates that
the Jew in America had truly made it. As
Jews became more affluent, the bar/bat
mitzvah event took on a different, often
ostentatious form. Rabbis would often
try to convey to families who would be
celebrating to concentrate more on the
mitzvah part of the ceremony, rather

Bar Mitzvah Boy

than the bar part. This theme is central to many of the films made in the
last 25 years, listed below.
Just what does this event mean for
child and family? Does one indeed need
to keep up with the Steins, the central theme in Keeping Up With
the Steins? Opulence has sometimes become synonymous
with this party, as witnessed
by the excessive character of
movies of bar mitzvahs that
can be viewed today on the
web and by such films as
Deconstructing Harry
a n d He y He y Its
Esther Blueberger.
But some young
people delve into
this ritual looking

for meaning and we observe how their


search impacts their identity, in such
films as Bar Mitzvah Boy, The Discovery, and A Secret Space. Extending the privilege and honor of becoming bar mitzvah to children with special needs, with the struggles involved
in that process, is the story of Praying
with Lior. Then, there are many films
that are meant to stimulate thought and
introspection on the part of the almost

Sixty-Six

13 year old.
Trying to compile a list of 13 such
movies is no easy task, and doing
a search on the Internet draws you
to the multitude of home videos and
films produced by videographers for
families around the globe, populating
page upon page in the search engines.
Watch out. There is even Sam Horowitzs opening dance routine at his 2012
bar mitzvah in Dallas, which to date

S-4 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

has been seen by over 1.1 million viewers on YouTube. Then try to find films
where a bat mitzvah is central to the
films theme or even a singular scene;
hard to find. There are many movies that have important bar mitzvah
scenes, like when Marjorie Morgenstern
(Natalie Wood) catches the eye of Sandy
Lamm (Edd Byrnes) at her brothers
bar mitzvah in Marjorie Morningstar
(1958), or when Yussel Rabinovitch (Neil
Diamond) coaches boys for their bar
mitzvah in the 1980 The Jazz Singer.
There are also countless television episodes where bar or bat mitzvah is central to the plot, as in such series as The
Wonder Years, Touched by an Angel,
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage.
What we have here are 13 of the more
important movies that have the bar or
bat mitzvah in a key scene or as a central theme. Try and watch these or put
together your own list. Weve also added
a rating system for both interest and
appropriateness for adults and your 12
or 13 year olds indicated by little stars
of David 5 being our top rating.
Enjoy and, Mazel Tov!

Praying with Lior

BAR MITZVAH: This 1935 Yiddish melodrama is the only film that Yiddish theater superstar Boris Thomashefsky was
to appear in and he was inadequately
prepared for his movie debut and poorly directed by Henry Lynn. Thomashefsky plays a Polish widower who lost his
wife in a shipwreck and has remarried
and is about to celebrate his sons bar
mitzvah. Unbeknownst to all, his first
wife actually survived and regains her
memory just before the bar mitzvah.
You know where this story goes.
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BAR MITZVAH BOY: When this 75-minute British television drama aired in the
United States in 1977, it created quite
a stir. It is the story of Eliott Green (Jeremy Styne) from a working class neighborhood in northeast London and
his apprehensions over his forthcoming bar mitzvah. Writer/Producer Jack
Rosenthal, who wrote the screenplay
for Yentl, was one of the first to take
a serious look at the bar mitzvah, from
the point of view of the bar mitzvah boy,
and he did an excellent job.
ADULT WITH CHILD:

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

DECONSTRUCTING HARRY: How


could one draw up a list of films dealing with a Jewish rite-of-passage without including a Woody Allen film? This
was the last of Allens work that touches
on Judaism and it is one of his most
powerful. Throughout the 1997 film, his
father, sister and ex-wives keep asking
him tough questions about his Jewishness. At one point, Allens sister Doris
(Caroline Aaron) reminds him about
how he poorly portrayed the family at a
Star Wars-themed bar mitzvah.
CHILD:
ADULT:
THE DISCOVERY: There was a time,
when Sunday morning public affairs
television produced some very impressive programming. In 1989, the Jewish Theological Seminary explored the
meaning of bar mitzvah in this hourlong story of a 12-year-old (played by
Josh Saviano from The Wonder Years)
who protests that his questions about
Jewish belief and observance are not
being adequately answered by his parents. Their concern is more about the
upcoming party, so he searches for
answers.
ADULT WITH CHILD:
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films
from page 4

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HEY HEY ITS ESTHER BLUEBERGER:


The bat mitzvah, largely ignored by Hollywood, is brought to life by Australian
filmmaker Cathy Randall in this 2008
study of Jewish ambivalence. Esther is
to share her ceremony with her twin
brother, Jacob, who has a tallit wrapped
around him by his father as he is about
to read from the Torah. Esther, on the
other hand, who is to have a necklace
placed around her neck, finds the ceremony meaningless and a first step
toward her disillusion with Judaism.
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Sara and Yehuda Wurtzel made a film in
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youth, who in 1941 is brought by his
aunt to a Leningrad train station, about
to embark for school. By chance, she
meets a Jewish American engineer on
his way home and she begs the American to teach the lad what it means to be
a Jew. The Wurtzels take us on a journey
where each teaches the other about religion and identity in this marvelous film
meant to trigger discussion.
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KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS: The


pressure to make the kind of splash at
your sons bar mitzvah on the same level
as your colleagues and neighbors is the
central theme of this film about American Jewish affluence and true meaning
of this rite of passage. Can Adam Fiedler
( Jeremy Piven) match the opulence
of the Stein affair? With money as no
object, why not rent Dodger Stadium?
Hire Neil Diamond? Director Scott Marshall raises important questions in this
2006 comedic, yet real portrait.
ADULT WITH CHILD:
THE OUTSIDE CHANCE OF MAXIMILIAN GLICK: Allan Goldsteins 1988
Canadian film tells the story of a young
Jewish boy who grows up in a rural
community in Manitoba. Young Glick is
studying for his bar mitzvah, while also
preparing for a piano competition with
a non-Jewish girl whom his parents had
forbidden him to see. The film is made
all the more raucous, when a young
Orthodox rabbi (brilliantly played by
Saul Rubinek), who would rather be a
comic, arrives in town.
CHILD:
ADULT:
PRAYING WITH LIOR: Ilana Trachtmans loving 2008 documentary about a
young Jewish boy with Down syndrome
coming of age. Lior is part of a caring,
very-Jewishly connected family, who
provide incredible support. The film not
only charts Liors journey toward bar
mitzvah, but provides insight into how
a child with disabilities impacts and

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

affects a family. There are other issues


with which this family is contending,
but having a child or sibling like Lior
sets up very different dynamics. Powerful!
CHILD:
ADULT:
A SECRET SPACE: At the height of the
Havurah movement, in 1977, countless
young Jews were searching for spirituality. Roberta Hodes recruited many
of her New York-based actor friends,
including Robert Klein and Phyllis Newman, to make what would be her only
dramatic feature, about a boy about to
turn 13 who is seeking meaning as a
Jew. The lad rejects study with a basketball-playing rabbi at the local synagogue for a basement havurah, where
an eclectic minyan of Jews of all ages
gathers.
CHILD:
ADULT:
A SERIOUS MAN: Ethan and Joel Coens
2009 masterpiece about a dysfunctional
family in 1960s suburban Minnesota.
Danny Gopnik (Aaron Wolff) is preparing for his bar mitzvah as his mother is
carrying on an extramarital affair, his
father is going through midlife crisis, an
uncle has moved into their house and
his sister is vying for time in the bathroom. Danny is bored with his Jewish
schooling and winds up getting stoned
just prior to reciting his Torah portion.
Lots to read into.
CHILD:
ADULT:
SIXTY-SIX: British film director Paul
Weiland celebrated his bar mitzvah
in London on Shabbat, July 30, 1966.
Unfortunately for him, that was also
the day that England would play Germany at nearby Wembley Stadium for
the World Cup and win. One can only
imagine how many people found an
excuse not to be at Pauls bar mitzvah
that day and it weighed on the filmmaker into his fifties. In 2006, he decided to
tell his story the only way he knows how
and what he gives us is a truly delightful
film.
ADULT AND CHILD:
ZORROS BAR MITZVAH: Austrian filmmaker Ruth Beckerman takes a hard yet
often humorous look at three very different Viennese bar mitzvahs and a bat
mitzvah. In her 2007 study, she not only
gives us a sense of Jewish life in Europe,
but she delves into one of the key issues
for Jewish families around the world: Is
the ceremony one of excess or show, or
is it meaningful and how can one make
it meaningful? What do these youngsters have to say about their identity
and Jewishness?
CHILD:
ADULT:
Eric Goldman is film critic for The Jewish
Standard, president of Ergo Media, and adjunct
professor of cinema at Yeshiva University.

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Jewish Standard S-7

S-8 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

Gifts with
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From Judaica to tzedakah,
presents make a positive statement
Heidi Mae Bratt
Chavez for Charity donates money to causes.

f giving is getting and getting is giving then good


thought could and should be put into a gift that
one gives to the bar or bat mitzvah young man or
woman. Traditionally, cash or a check in a denomination of 18 for chai, the word for life in Hebrew was
a gift for the bar or bat mitzvah youngster. While cash
is still a very good choice, there are other items that
could make a unique and meaningful statement as a
gift and also be helpful to the youngsters on their new

journey into Jewish adulthood.


Isaac Zoldan, owner of Zoldans Judaica Center in
Teaneck, said that the tried and true traditional gifts
have always been a good choice for the bar and bat
mitzvah youngsters. Jewelry for girls such as stars of
David necklaces or chais are popular, as are Shabbat
candlesticks and menorahs. For boys, menorahs are
also a popular item, as are books.

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Left, Bima Baskets, right, Alex and Ani jewelry.

Edan Nayowitz, owner of The Judaica House, also


in Teaneck, said that a youngsters background and
schooling can help guide what kind of gift would be
appropriate and meaningful. But there are some staples that are popular, trendy, beautiful and very Jewish.
Artist Gary Rosenthals metal and marble bookends,
which can be personalized, make a lovely gift, as do
hand-carved pens that are made in Israel, such as the
Zait Jerusalem olive wood fountain pens.
Artist Michael Arams beautiful articles of Judaica
are popular, as are Kiddush cups, tzedekah boxes and
Shabbat candlesticks made of colorful anodized aluminum.
Nayowitz said that books are always a welcome
gift and a set of personalized prayer books or a set of
Hebrew/English Chumash books are fitting.
Consider getting a kosher lamp. The popular lighting
for Shabbat and holidays may be in the home already,
but perhaps not every room has one, and they come in
a rainbow of colors. The Judaica House also customizes yarmulkes, in its cool kippahs division.
At Youre So Invited, a stationery boutique in Westwood, Chavez for Charity and Alex and Ani bracelets
are very popular for the bat mitzvah set. The Alex and
Ani jewelry is expandable wire bracelets that promote positivity and a do-good attitude. The Chavez
for Charity bracelets, sold in multiple strands, symbolize different charities that receive a portion of the
proceeds that are sold, said Sharon Aach, co-owner of
Youre So Invited.
The bar or bat mitzvah family may also consider
using the opportunity of the rite of passage to give
something back to the community.
Arveyvut, a local non-profit that has a mitzvah clown
project among other projects, offers bar and bat mitzvah youngsters an opportunity to give back to the
community.
And at the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey in Paramus, a beautiful and decorative basket of
books can adorn the bima of the shul or the tables at
the event. A rental of these baskets through a party
planner that works with the federation means that
the basket filled with books will help to benefit the
federations Bergen Reads program, which helps support youngsters in kindergarten through 4th grade in
Hackensack and Teaneck who are struggling to read,
said Beth Figman, the director of volunteer services at
the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
Youngsters can also find out about myriad opportunities with the federation to volunteer their time and
make their bar and bat mitzvahs most meaningful,
Figman said.

Jewish Standard S-9

twinning the past and present


Special ceremony deepens connection to Israel and the Holocaust
June Glazer

avid Itzkovitz perished in the


Holocaust before reaching the
age of bar mitzvah. Likewise,
Vera Roth, Dania Abramovich,
and Ester Kop never reached their special milestone. All four were brutally
murdered during the dark days of World
War II, and no evidence of their young
lives was ever found.
This past December, a moving ceremony at American Independence Park
in Israel twinned these four youngsters
among 1.5 million children who died
in the Holocaust with four modernday Americans of similar ages. With
their parents, grandparents, and members of their extended families looking
on, Ben and Katie Kort of Phoenix and
Hannah and Sofie Kates of San Francisco unveiled glass tiles mounted on a
stone wall designed to look like a Torah

See Twinning page 10

Ted Kort points to the tile that he donated.

scroll, each tile inscribed with their


individual names as well as the name of
their respective twin.
The tiles represent donations made
to Jewish National Fund (JNF) in their
honor by their grandparents. Each tile
in the Bnai Mitzvah Remembrance Wall
also bears the hometown and date of
the honorees bar or bat mitzvah and
the home country of the twin. Itzkovitz and Abramovich were from the
Ukraine, Roth from Czechoslovakia, and
Kop from Poland.
With this ceremony, I feel we are
passing our commitment and connectedness to Israel on to our grandchildren, said Ted Kort, former JNF Arizona
Region director, who stood by proudly
as Ben and Katie unveiled their tiles.
Held in the verdant Jerusalem hills near

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S-10 Jewish Standard

Twinning
from page 9

Beit Shemesh, the ceremony was a continuation of our support and love for
Israel and a way to demonstrate to the
youngest members of our family that
they, too, are part of the Jewish community and part of this country, Kort said.
According to Michael Kates, Hannah and Sofies grandfather, Its all
about connection. Connecting to
Jews around the world, connecting to
the past, connecting to the future. If it
werent for Israel and everything Jews
do to keep it strong and vibrant, I dont
think we would have that connection to
one another, he said.
The JNF project, conceived to help
Diaspora teens create a link between
themselves and young people who
died in the Holocaust, was inspired
by a JNF blue boxthe iconic pushke
that for generations has served as a
fundraiser to help realize the dream of
building and settling Israel, and which
has been found in virtually every Jewish home and institution worldwide.
At our offices in Jerusalem, we have
a small collection of blue boxes from
different times and countries, said Liat
Itzhak, director of the USA desk at JNF

in Israel. One of these was found in the


Warsaw Ghetto, battered and burned.
What it means is that someone took it
into the ghettosomeone who had a
dream to have a country. He took that
dream with him into that place and
today the box sits in Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people.
The idea to establish the Bnai Mitzvah Remembrance Wall came from
an American boy who was preparing
to celebrate his bar mitzvah in Israel
and saw the rescued collection box.
For him, a wall of remembrance was
a way not only to memorialize young
Holocaust victims here in Israel, but
to actually establish a link with them,
Itzhak said.
My tile is going to be here forever
and I can come back to Israel years from
now and show it to my children, show
them that I have a connection here,
Katie said. Its pretty cool, Sofie concurred.
This gift is very meaningful to me,
Ben said. Now, whenever I want, I can
come back and see it. I will carry David
Itzkovitz in my heart always.
For information about arranging a
ceremony at the Bnai Mitzvah Remembrance Wall in Israel, visit the JNF website.

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Jewish Standard S-11

S-12 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

BAR/BAT MiTZVAH

Setting a new table


The bar mitzvah tisch inspires Jewish bonding and brotherhood
STeVen L. Greene

n the days before my son Marcus


bar mitzvah last fall, I realized I also
wanted to offer him a contemporary experience that he could reflect
upon long after the religious service and
weekend of celebration were over. Ultimately I came up with a little-known
ceremony called the bar mitzvah tisch.
The idea originates with the grooms
tisch, an Ashkenazic tradition associated with weddings. The word tisch is
Yiddish for table. It refers to the table
set with snacks and drinks where the
grooms friends, teachers and relatives
gather before the wedding ceremony
to offer their congratulations and best
wishes and to share words, stories and
songs of Torah. The purpose of the tisch
is to celebrate with the groom and take
his mind off the upcoming ceremony
and marriage. Since a 13-year-old also
might be filled with anxiety and antici-

pation in the days prior to his bar mitzvah, I thought a bar mitzvah tisch might
have the same benefit for Marcus.
I invited to the tisch a number of
Jewish adult friends who had observed

Borrowed from the tradition


of the grooms tisch, the little
known ceremony of the bar
mitzvah tisch enriches the
experience of the young
man and his community.
Marcus growth and maturation in
school, on sports teams and in synagogue life. I included his bar mitzvah
tutor, David Kintzer, a high school

senior. David had not only been a role


model, mentoring and instructing Marcus to lead services, read Torah and
chant the haftarah, but had become
a close friend and buddy on the basketball court. I also invited a college
student, Martin Safer, who had known
Marcus for many years, and whose family had participated with us on a group
trip to Israel in 2006. A major objective
of the tisch was to provide insightful
discussion and reflection for Marcus. So
to avoid distractions, his peers were not
invited. I chose to invite men only in
keeping with the tradition of an all-male
grooms tisch.
Because I had designed the bar mitzvah tisch late in the game, Marcus first

learned of it on the Monday before the


Thursday of the tisch, with his bar mitzvah on that Shabbat. He was not exactly thrilled: I didnt want to be with a
bunch of adults and no kids. I didnt
understand the whole point since I had
never heard about a bar mizvah tisch
before.
For the tisch, I rented the gymnasium
and party room of a nearby community center. As an icebreaker, for the first
hour everyone played basketball and
or volleyball. It was especially symbolic
for me to play on Marcus team to show
him the way into the adult aspects of
our Jewish community through active
play and teamwork.
During the second hour, light refresh-

Ideas for putting together a bar mitzvah tisch


1. Be creative in planning the event
and be sure to take photos and or
videos.
Consider discussion themes such
as joining the larger Jewish community, tikkun olam, community building, life lessons, humor, and funny
stories.
2. Blend in hobbies or special interests of the bar mitzvah into the program.
Use the bar mitzvah tisch as a
chance to emphasize or bridge the
boys bar mitzvah service project
with the upcoming Shabbat ceremony.

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3. Invite a special guest to add some


symbolic words of wisdom and
encouragement. This could be a
sports figure or another community
leader with a link to the bar mitzvah
boys bar mitzvah service project.
4. Play some kind of sports such as
basketball, volleyball or baseball
as an icebreaker to let people get
acquainted while breaking a sweat
and having some fun before sitting
together to focus on the potentials of
the young guest of honor.
5. After the icebreaker serve light
refreshments while everyone meets
around a big table to share thoughts
and guidance to the bar mitzvah boy.
6. Have the guests build something
together such as a play structure
for a school, or participate in building or repairing a house with Habi-

Marcus Greene and his father,


Steven.

tat for Humanity.


7. Consider not inviting the peers of
the bar mitzvah so that his friends
wont distract him, especially during
the discussion time. This allows him
to consider the deeper meaning of
the program.
8. Weave together examples of virtuous character traits through stories
about self-discipline, compassion,
responsibility, friendship, courage,
perseverance, honesty, loyalty and
faith, which likens the program to
a heros journey adding appeal and
linkage to joining the Jewish community in a more mature status.
Steven L. Greene

ments were served around a large table (the tisch).


I welcomed everyone and invited them as elders in
Marcus community to share insights with him as he
approached his bar mitzvah.
While there is much emphasis on encouraging our
sons to grow up quickly, Oscar Kipersztok advised
Marcus, as you grow up, remember to keep some of
your child spirit in you.
Jim Levy, the father of one of Marcus soccer teammates, talked about the importance of taking risks and
being willing to make mistakes. He recounted a recent
soccer tournament game in which Marcus team lost
2-0. Following the game, one of the mothers of the
winning team reported that her sons coach had added
ineligible players to his roster to fortify his squad. A
major statute of the rules of competition had been
broken: a coach cannot play someone who is not registered properly. The coach admitted his mistake and his
team had to withdraw from the tournament. Ultimately, Marcus team was awarded the tournament title,
and a priceless lesson was learned about the mitzvah
of reporting injustice.
I was gratified when Sam Perlin told my son that we,
his parents, were role models of tikkun olam (repairing
the world) in the Jewish community and in the larger
community.
Preparations for the bar mitzvah can be a two-way
street between tutor and student. David Kintzer said
that he learns so much from his students during the
process of teaching them. David also remarked that
he, too, has much to learn about life and a whole host
of important subjects as he travels on his own educational journey.
Mitch Klein told Marcus that wherever he goes in
life he would always have his Jewish community, his
friends, family, Jewish traditions, and institutions to
depend on during times of need.
I have discovered that celebrations find their truest
meaning when shared with ones community. The bar
mitzvah tisch was an opportunity to blend the importance of belonging to a brotherhood and community
with the recognition that personal spiritual awakening
takes place through stories and life lessons conveyed
by mentors and role models.
I think Phil Levin summed up the value of the experience best. The bar mitzvah tisch transcends even
the importance of a mens club whose mission is
brotherhood and service programs, since it is a time
for a young Jewish man to bond with men and mentors from his community.
When I asked Marcus afterward how he felt about
his bar mitzvah tisch, he said that he was really glad we
had done it. It was a lot of fun playing with the adults.
After the discussion part, I felt more relaxed about
my bar mitzvah. It made me feel like I was joining the
adult part of the Jewish community. And the food was
delicious.
Steve L. Greene, MD, is a board certified dermatologist and
medical director of the Advanced Dermatology and Laser Institute of Seattle. He attended Camp Ramah in the Berkshires as a
camper and a counselor.
Published with permission of CJ:
Voices of Conservative/Masorti Judaism

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Mazelmoments offers Mitzvah Planning toolkit


Mazelmoments.com announces the launch of its
Online Bar & Bat Mitzvah Planning Toolkit, which is
set to offer customization and interactivity for families. The Toolkit is free for early subscribers.
This program will raise the bar for mitzvah planning, said Cigall Goldman, co-founder of Mazelmoments.com along with her mother, Sheryl Daboosh.
Our goal is to provide free, cutting-edge tools that
will streamline the planning process, allowing families
more time to enjoy this special period in their lives.

Mazelmoments.coms free Mitzvah Planning Toolkit modernizes bar and bat mitzvah planning for the
digital generation. It offers state-of-the-art design
and function that will improve the mitzvah planning
process from organization to guest list making, RSVP
managing, budgeting, tracking payments, thank you
notes, managing vendors and more. Also included
are lists of party professionals, theme ideas and real
event spotlights. To register for the toolkit, go to
www.mazelmoments.com/mitzvahs.

S-14 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

BAR/BAT MiTZVAH

Creative logos put a personal stamp on the simcha

The

richness of tradition

The

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Celebrate your
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ts not all about the bass; its all about the brand,
these days.
From businesses to personalities, you gotta have
an image means more than ever in our #hashtag
culture. As goes the culture, so go the trends that seep
into every aspect of our lives, including the bar and bat
mitzvah party that starts with the save the date and
ends with an Internet aftermath. And everything in
between looks like a logo that is designed especially for
the bar and bat mitzvah youngster.
Branding your event is a way to tie it together, said
Sheri Lapidus, founder of MitzvahMarket.com, vice
president of its bar bat mitzvah division, and a maven
on trends in the bar and bat mitzvah world.
There used to be pressure to come up with a theme,
be it sports or fashion or Hollywood. But sometimes a
child doesnt have the affinity toward these interests,
so they take a more sophisticated approach and create
a logo that is cool and that is theirs, Lapidus said.
One bat mitzvah girl named Rachel used a clever
play on her own name and at her party had a designed
logo with the word outrageous, but instead had
it spelled Out-Rach-ous. The logo adorned many
aspects of the bat mitzvah from centerpieces to other
decorative touches, branding the event and making
guests smile, said Lapidus.
Teaneck General Store in Teaneck has been doing
a form of logo since the days that the family business
was doing embroidery decades ago, said owner Bruce

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Prince. So the latter-day logo wear is part of its venerable tradition.


Prince is proud of his family history. It was in 1921
that William Prince first established the embroidery
business with his embroidery machine in Hudson
County. Later, the elder Prince was joined by his sons,
Norman and Marvin. These days, Prince Embroidery
continues to be a fixture in the textile-manufacturing
arena after more than 90 years. Embroidery is still
produced in Hudson County, and the Teaneck General
Store is proud to continue the Prince family tradition
in this ancient art of embroidery.
These days, Prince said, Teaneck General Store
embroiders and screen-prints on shirts, pants, bags,
totes, hats, aprons, towels, uniforms and virtually any
wearable item.
When making a bar or bat mitzvah, people are getting very creative with their logo items, Prince said.
One youngster, whose name was Book, had a bath
towel printed with rave Book reviews praising the
party, something that was unique and humorous.
Other standouts included items that featured Yiddish
transliteration and other clever plays on words.
Mirror Magic Store in Yonkers is another business
that for more than 30 years has made mirror items,
not with glass but with mirrored acrylic in various
shapes. Very popular, said owner Marty Cohen, is the
mirrored acrylic baseball cap that features the lasercut shapes that can be personalized and come in 14
different colors.
These items are different, said Cohen.
At Pentland Graphics in Woodcliff Lake, owner Betty
Jane Smith said that the nearly 28-year-old business
could do just about anything from sweatshirts to bags
to hats and more.
Still very popular with the coming-of-age set, she
said, is glitter wear, especially glitter in silver color and
lots of direct embroidery.

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Dressed to thrill
Mitzvah moms putting on the Ritz and glitz
Heidi Mae Bratt

he LBD or little black dress may be the perennial favorite and easy go-to staple in any welldressed womans wardrobe, but for mothers of
the bar or bat mitzvah young man or woman,
the new seasons possibilities offer great spins on the
classics, and a new wave for the sartorially intrepid.
Local fashionistas, who dress many celebrants, said
that looks for 2015 will swing from the prim and proper lady-like (think Valentino-inspired bows and lots of
lace) to the red-hot (think form-fitting frocks for the fit
forming mother and elegant but mischievous peek-aboo crop tops).
Sales and predictions abound, according to fashion
hot spots and their prognosticators.
Its going to be lace, lace and more lace, said Paula
Parlato, the Italian born and bred designer turned
emporium-owner of The Engle Shop in Englewood. In
addition to the tried and true black and navy colors,
Parlato said, lace will make an appearance in shades of
yellow, green and turquoise for the spring and summer.
A l s o p o p u l a r,
she said, will be the
mermaid shape of
d re s s. S h i m m e r y
and sparkly fabrics
will also catch favor.
The Engle Shop is
known to create custom designs and alter
silhouettes to flatter
any shape.
At Seng Couture in
Fanwood, co-owner
Sanh Truong, said
that bar mitzvah
mothers are looking to separate a bit
that is, to wear two
pieces to their parties.
This year people
are really wanting to
wear the crop top,
said Truong. They
want to show a little
bit of belly and a lot
of strong color, like
coral, blue and navy.
The two-piece
ensemble is done in
a variety of elegant
fabrics like satin or
includes intricate
The two-piece crop
top ensemble from
Seng Couture.

beading work, he said.


At Mishelynes in Teaneck, owner Sara said that hilow lace is going to be the rage in spring in a variety of
colors. Also big will be mesh working its way into the
style of the clothing.
Mothers, who are proud of their hard earned trim
40-something physiques, will be wearing fitted dresses

BAR & BAT MITZVAHS PIERS

Jewish Standard S-15

at the

in a variety of metallics, sequins and other fabrics,


according to LH Couture in Englewood.
At Hartley Fashions in Westwood, fashion watchers said the look for bar mitzvah mothers will be very
lady-like. Silk fabrics, bow adornments, full party-style
skirts in solids, and in floral garden prints will grace
the affair.
And lets not forget the girl of the hour.
For the bat mitzvah girl, said Ellen Mekles, owner
of Party Girl in Tenafly, the firecracker look still reigns.
Glitzy, sparkly fabrics, short styles with either spaghetti
straps or sweetheart necklines in all colors, especially

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S-16 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

purple, are popular. Pair the pretty


dress with a pair of sparkly hightop sneakers and youve got the bat
mitzvah ensemble down.
Also very big for the bat mitzvah
girls, said the fashion mavens at
Gattinolli in Ridgewood, are pale

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nudes, mint and other pastels,
as are dresses with bottoms that
resemble ballerina tutus. The look
is made up of a corset-style top and
a poufy and frilly bottom. Its all
topped off with lots of glitz.

Get
ready for
synagogue
in this
sweet,
feminine
dress from
Party Girl.

Call us for your


Holiday Parties &
Office Catering
Now catering
in Monsey at the
Atrium - up to
700 people

515 Cedar Lane, Teaneck

201-530-5665

Sun-Thur 12-10pm Sat -11pm

www.estihana.com

Form-fitting frock from The Engle


Shop.

Get Your FREE Mazelmoments Mitzvah Planning Toolkit


A dramatic black number
from Mishelynes Fashions.

Cantor
10/15/08 5:09
Barbra Lieberstein

0002441714-01.qxd

PM

Page 1

Certified Cantor with

MAGAZINE AD
BAR &12+
BAT
MITZVAH
years
of pulpit 0002441714-01
PLANNING TIMELINE
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Bar/Bat Mitzvah
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Cell: 201-788-6653

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www.cantorbarbra.com
Certified
Cantor with 12+ years
of pulpit experience

___ Art Direction


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15

20

TE
A

Jewish Standard S-17

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S-18 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

BAR/BAT MiTZVAH

The hottest, coolest, latest, greatest


trends for bar and bat mitzvahs
SHeRi laPIDuS
As long as boys and girls keep turning 12 and 13 years old, bar
and bat mitzvahs will always be in style. But its the details
themes, food, fashion, candle lighting protocol and the like
that are subject to the fickle winds of fashion.
For your party, dont be stuck with something that is so
ov-ah! Check out this inspired list and get ready to par-ty!

Four-hour versus
five-hour party
many venues are offering a condensed four-hour cocktail party
in one room without a formal
cocktail hour. This is a very personal choice based on the type
of guests you are inviting and the
type of celebration you want for
your child. With the four-hour celebration, you will have few or no
breaks for your guests and your
crowd does not feel the party is
dragging.

The Empty Vase


a floral company

We Can Make Any Party Beautiful

Email RSVPs
Some families are going green
with their rSVps. This saves on
paper and stamp costs. a special
email address is created so guests
can go digital on their response.
The downside is you cant send
your gift when its a check in the
envelope with your rSVp.

CLOSTER
219 Closter Dock Rd.
201-750-7181
RCBC

Custom sneakers are cool.

Candy bars/buffets

DonaLisa PhotograPhy

Food trucks

Kids and adults love a sugar fix,


and more and more parties are
featuring candy bars and buffets. Candy makes a great favor
that can be taken home by your
guests. Some offer guests logoed
bags and boxes for easy fill-up.

Clever Logos
a creative logo with your childs
name cleverly used can really give
your party the wow factor. once
you have a great logo designed,
you can use it in so many ways
to brand your bar or bat mitzvah
celebration. for many families, the
logo serves as the theme of their
celebration.

Dancer t-shirts
at a bar or bat mitzvah celebration, motivational dancers are not
there just to get your guests out
of their seats and onto the dance
floor, they can look great, too. By
wearing a custom T-shirt, their
look can incorporate your childs
logo or match a particular theme.

although your guests will have


plenty to eat during your celebration, its popular to have a food
truck waiting to offer them a mitzvah exit treat as they leave. You
can find a truck with almost any
type of food: popcorn, cupcakes,
waffles, pizza, and mac n cheese
to name a few.

Custom sneakers
High heels might be a popular
choice for girls, but many girls
(and boys) are slipping into something more comfortable. Whether
they are custom made or embellished with studs, the bar bat
mitzvah kids are using their feet
to express their style.

Dual purpose sign-in boards


at most bar and bat mitzvah celebrations, there is a sign-in option,
so guests can leave a special message for the guest of honor. Why
not use something useful that
can serve a purpose for years to
come? mirrors, pillows and chairs
are some creative items to use as
your sign-in.

A dramatic
entrance.

Custom Designed Apparel


Towels, Blankets & more

sweet Dreams
stuDios

Matts
Super Bar Mitzvah

Its a pillow. Its a sign-in board.

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the PieceD PaLette

Creative candle lighting displays.


simon eLLiot events

Sheri Lapidus is the founder of MitzvahMarket.com, the largest online resource for bar bat mitzvah planning for families in
the country. The encyclopedic service offers the exchange of ideas, real family highlights, and suggestions for mitzvah projects,
vendors and more. For information, www.mitzvahmarket.com.

Jewish Standard S-19

A veritable
wall of candy.
ny Lounge
Dcor

Getting creative with the logo.

Yum, yum and farewell.

tobo FooDs

thecooLestgiveaways.com

For all your events needs,


trust Bergen Linen.

Creative candle
lighting displays
Whether you are lighting one candle or 13, youll
need a display. Some families are opting for
creative alternatives to a traditional bar or bat
mitzvah cake for their candle lighting ceremony.
Cupcakes, floating candles, ice sculptures and
puzzles are some examples.

Meaningful mitzvah projects


Long after the DJs name is forgotten and the
sweatshirt is outgrown, your childs mitzvah project should be remembered. Hopefully your child
will find something that leaves him or her with a
full heart and a lifelong desire to help others and
do good.

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Montage featuring voice-overs


Video montages are very popular and a wonderful keepsake for years to come. Its hard summing up your childs 13 years with photos alone,
so many moms and Dads are lending their voices
and talking over the video montage to add a very
personal touch and their wishes for their child.

Hashtag events
Involve social media at your celebration by creating a custom hashtag. guests are asked to take
and post photos live from the event using that
hashtag. guests who cant attend can view photos in real time.

Food
according to the Upper montclair Country Club
there is an increase in demand for asian food,
and/or sushi rolls. While most kids still want
chicken fingers, fries, pizza and mozzarella sticks,
some are requesting more sophisticated adult
food like Caesar salad and steak options.

Big grand entrances


many children choose to enter their bar or bat
mitzvah celebration on the shoulders of the DJ
dancers, but a growing number of families are
getting more creative! a unique entrance can
show off your childs personality as soon as they
walk in. Whether its in a golf cart, on a surfboard,
Segway or bicycle, your entrance can also tie-in
with your theme.

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S-20 Jewish Standard

WINTER 2015

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

MITZVAH CELEBRATION
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Book your Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration at


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Email specialevents@metlifestadium.com or call 201-559-1710 and come see


for yourself the unique possiblities MetLife Stadium can provide your
special day.

Our
OurChildren
About

Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

Get in Gear for Summer Camp


Tu BShevat Crafts and Food
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Supplement to The Jewish Standard February 2015

AOC-2
First breath. First smile. First steps.

Treasured moments begin here.

The MotherBaby Center at Chilton Medical Center.


Whether you are planning to start a family or adding to one, Chilton Medical Center invites you to
begin this exciting journey with us. Our MotherBaby Center encourages moms-to-be to personalize
their birthing experience in a way that makes it memorable for the entire family. We offer private
rooms with personalized visiting hours, hydrotherapy for labor, a celebratory gourmet dinner and
a Moms spa. For special care, theres a Level II Nursery with board certified neonatologists and
pediatricians available 24/7. And with caring nurses, expert medical staff, and our seamless
connection to Morristown Medical Center, its no wonder why so many women choose to have
their babies here with us, close to home.
For more information about parent education classes, please call 973-831-5475.

For a referral to a Chilton Obstetrician


or Certified Nurse Midwife,
call 1-888-4AH-DOCS
or visit atlantichealth.org/chilton
2 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

AOC-3

Our
OurChildren
About

Useful Information for the Next Generation of Jewish Families

February 2015

Kind Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
How to raise compassionate children in a selfie culture

185 Court Street Teaneck, NJ 201-833-1741


9-10 Saddle River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ 201-797-0330
www.icanj.net chessdirector@icanj.net

One of the worlds oldest an most popular games!


At the ICA, we offer private, group,
and after-school lessons. Students
of all levels are welcome, from
beginner to master. We host
world-renowned international
coaches and our students have
qualified for the World Youth
Championships! With lessons
6 days a week in two locations.

Happy Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Creating a place of love and peace

Tu BShevat Crafts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Bringing a bit of homemade spring into winter

Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Images of our children in the community

CHESS SUMMER DAY CAMP

Sleep Apnea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
A primer on the disruptive condition

Generation G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The grandparents go on a visiting day adventure

Specialty Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12


Variety is the spice of summer

Tips for Sleep-Away Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

June 22 thru August 28 (10 weeks)


(sign up for any number of weeks)

Open to kids from age 6 to 16


Our goal is to foster an environment of learning and fun
We promise a 5:1 student-teacher ratio
Prizes and trophies for tournaments and competitions
Camp T-shirts and FUN!!!
Full day also includes:
Creative art projects Guitar, Piano and Drum lessons
Student band performs once a week

See website www.icanj.net for schedule and pricing.

Preparing your youngster on their journey

Camp Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

All new
experience!

Options for the summertime

Top Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20


Great things to do in February

Simchas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Celebrating our milestones

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Fun events this month

Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Fruit and nuts and chocolate for February

Robin Bodek Rosenbaum, Teaneck


Amie Ben-Yohanan, Paramus
Nicole Cohen, Teaneck
Debra Hirsch, Englewood
Vera Ptashny, Fair Lawn
Sabrina Abergel, Fort Lee

Thrilling New Rides!


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

Birthday Parties!

Chanukah Contest Winners!


Judy Lichtman, Teaneck

Newer, Better, More Spectacular!

Bracha Schreiber, Bergenfield


Carol Granoff, Fair Lawn
Jennifer Mendelsohn, Fair Lawn
Sandra Eckstein, Passaic
Sandra Metviner, Paramus
Stu Lu Lehrer, Fair Lawn

Thanks to all who entered, and congratulations to our winners!

Giant indoor inflatables


Spider Mountain
Private bounce and party rooms
2014
Hassle-free, easy to plan!
Dedicated party pros
READERS
Clean, safe and secure
CHOICE
We clean up!

Beyond Birthdays!

FIRST
PLACE

KIDS FUN
PLACE
PLACE FOR
KIDS PARTY

Open Bounce
Create & Bounce Art Camps
Field Trips
Class and Team Parties
KOSHER
Fundraisers and more! AVAILABLE
Paramus (201) 843-5880
BounceU.com/paramus

ley
Air Cannon Al
Obstacle Course

/BounceUofParamus

70 Eisenhower Drive Paramus, NJ 07652

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

AOC-4*
OurChildren
About

musings from the editor


T

here is a fairy tale


involving an apple, a
princess, and an evil
stepmother.
Heres another tale involving an apple, another
kind of princess, and a
Jewish mother.
We were on a line waiting to get a snapshot with
a princess, Snow White,
who was in Germany meeting and greeting her
fans. Shaina was on the princess hunt. We had just
met Mulan, and now it was time to meet the fairest
in the land.
You see, this was our first family trip to Disney
World, and everything wowed us in a big way.
I wondered, what do they do there? I think we
were all sprinkled with invisible pixie dust to put
us in the most euphoric and hypnotic state, getting
lost in all the fantasy that marks Disney. We lose our
rational minds. A bottled water for $2.50? Sure, no
problem. Under the Disney spell, you just hand over
the credit card and smile.
But Disney was an absolute delight, especially
to our newbie perception.
Of course, its a small world after all pun intended we met people from our hometown on vacation, and met people who knew other people that
we know. While on the princess circuit, we met a
mother and daughter visiting from Brazil. The mother was a cousin of a rabbi whom we know at home.
The longish line to meet Snow White was made

shorter by our chit-chat with our new Brazilian


friend. The line ebbed as we got closer.
Finally, Shaina was ready to have her turn.
Just before Shaina got to stand next to Snow
White, my husband Jeff had an idea.
Offer her the apple, he said, smiling
mischievously.
Huh?
Oh, yes. I was carrying a Red Delicious apple,
wrapped in cellophane, a snack for our long day and
long walk. It sat in my bag waiting for me, but, hey,
why not?
I unwrapped the fruit and thought, this is not
exactly Disney nice, but it was kind of funny. I wondered how many people had offered Snow White an
apple, and how she would respond.
Our friend from Brazil, who was ready to take
our family photo with Snow White, saw our plan and
was slightly aghast.
Youre going to give her the apple? she asked.
I smiled.
So as Shaina got herself into a pose next to the
princess, I offered Snow the fruit.
Would you like an apple?
On cue, Snow kept her composure, and politely
declined.
Oh, said Ms. White. I already had my apple
today a green one.
The answer was so Disney. So perfect. So right.
And with that, Shaina had her picture taken, and
after, we took our place next to the princess, and
our Brazilian friend took our picture with the fairest
in the land.

MissionStatement

OurChildren
James L. Janoff

Natalie Jay

Robert Chananie

Peggy Elias
George Kroll
Karen Nathanson
Janice Rosen
Brenda Sutcliffe

Publisher

Business Manager

Heidi Mae Bratt

Editor

Deborah Herman

AdvisoryBoard

Art Director

Marketing and Communications Specialist

Michelle Brauntuch, MS,CCLS

Barry Weissman, MD

Child Life Specialist, Englewood Hospital, Englewood

Pediatrician, Hackensack and Wyckoff

Hope Eliasof

Cheryl Wylen

Howard Prager, DC, DACBSP

Holistic Chiropractor, Oakland

4 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

Advertising Director

Account Executives

Rachel Harkham
Slovie Jungreis-Wolff
Ed Silberfarb
Adina Soclof
Denise Morrison Yearian

Contributing Writers

Jane Calem Rosen

Psychologist, Teaneck

Marriage and Family Therapist, Midland Park

Shaina with Snow White

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.

It was a cheeky, but a fun moment.


And certainly one of many Disney memories
that will stay with us, happily ever after.
Cheers,

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 March


Published on February 27, 2015

AOC-5

How Do We Raise Kind Children


in a Me-Centered Culture?
S LOV I E JU N G R E I S - WO L F F

y son emailed me a clip from


ESPN titled Dannys Day that
touched me deeply. Danny Keefe,
7, is a high school football team water
coach. Little Danny calls out, Do you
need a water? But it is very difficult
to understand his words. Danny had a
brain bleed after birth and suffers from
apraxia, a miscommunication between
the brain and muscles in the mouth. His
father shares that the doctors were extremely pessimistic about Dannys prognosis.
They said, whatever you do, dont
expect much. He may never walk. He
may never talk. Danny defied the odds.
He has not only come to love life, he
loves to dress colorfully as well. Since
the age of 2 Danny insists on wearing a
button down shirt, jacket, tie and often
a fedora.
In school, kids have made fun of
Danny and bullied him. They could not
understand his words. They could not
understand his attire. Hey, listen to
this kid, hes speaking Chinese! they
mocked. Dannys mother cries as she
describes his request to bring a world
globe to school to show that he really
does come from the same country. Danny is eager to make friends but kids in
school have acted in hurtful ways. They
took off Dannys hat and threw it into the
mulch and then they threw mulch on his
hair. Danny looks into the camera and
says that this made him feel very sad.
Dannys older brother Tim and his
best friend, Tommy Cooney, play on the
Bridgewater Badgers. Tommy is team
quarterback. When he heard about the
bullying Tommy decided to do something to boost Dannys spirits. He got
his football teammates and friends to
declare Danny Appreciation Day. They
dressed like Danny, wearing suits and
hats and cheered his name, Danny,
Danny! A fire truck came to pick Danny
up and brought him to their school. The
boys surrounded him with friendship;
played football with him. When asked
why they did this, Tim and Tommy responded: To show that hes a person
too. He may dress differently or talk differently but he has feelings. Danny describes the moment as The most best
day.
The story went viral. Danny and
Tommy were interviewed on TV. Tom
Brady offered them tickets to the Patriots season finale commenting that we
can all learn from the way these boys
stuck up for their friend. One year later
Danny is described as happy, feeling

confident and still enjoying his job as


water coach.
We all want to raise such kind kids
who take a stand against bullying and
show incredible compassion. Are we
succeeding? Why does it sometimes
seem as if we are surrounded by selfish,
self-absorbed kids?

The message at home


A group at the Harvard Graduate School
of Education led by Dr. Richard Weissbourd released the following information based on a study they conducted:
About 80 percent of the youth in the
study said that their parents were more
concerned with their achievements or
happiness than whether they cared for
others. The interviewees were also three
times more likely to agree with the statement that my parents are prouder if
I get good grades in my classes than if
Im a caring community member in class
and school.
Only 20 percent of kids felt that their
parents genuinely believe that caring for
others is a greater priority than acquiring happiness or achievements.
Parents may believe that theyre
sending the right message but only 20
percent of kids interviewed felt that their
parents genuinely believe that caring for
others is a greater priority than acquiring happiness or achievements. We are
sending our children a mixed message:
Yes, we want to raise moral and kind
kids, but a successful, happy child is the
real goal.
Perhaps weve become too consumed with our childrens accomplishments, neglecting the responsibility we
have to mold them into more compassionate beings. In a world where there
is great pressure to perform, maintain a
high grade average, and join after school
activities and sports teams, where does
kindness fit in? In our selfie society, how
can we help them refocus on the needs
and feelings of others?
Dr. Weissbourd and his team (Making Caring Common) recommend the
following five tips to raise moral, caring
children:
1. Make caring for others a priority.
Help children balance their needs with
the needs of others.
2. Provide opportunities for children
to practice caring and gratitude. Daily
repetition makes caring second nature.
3. Expand your childs circle of concern. Challenge your child to learn to
care about someone outside his circle.
4. Be a strong moral role model and
mentor. This means that parents practice being caring, honest and fair. We

demonstrate how we want our children


to live with others.
5. Guide children to manage destructive feelings. Dr. Weissbourd points out
that our ability to care for others is often
overwhelmed by negative feelings like
shame, envy or anger. We need to help
our children learn how to cope with
these feelings productively.
Here are some added strategies
I suggest to help our children grow
kinder:

Have you stressed grades and


achievements over character?
This includes our emphasizing a childs
need to be happy. Many parents have
told me the main thing is my kids
happy. What about our childs need to
grow into a kinder human being? Pay attention to your childs interactions and
how he treats others. Look beyond test
scores, trophies and accomplishments.
Happiness cannot be acquired at the expense of a childs soul.

Demonstrate gratitude
Selfishness grows when we have eyes
only for ourselves. Children can live in a
home for years and hardly hear parents
express appreciation to one another.
Making dinner, driving carpool, taking
out the trash, food shopping, providing for clothing and family vacations
should never be taken for granted. Just
because we are supposed to fill certain
roles does not mean that we can take
each other for granted. When children
see us appreciating each other they un-

derstand that caring is a normal part of


family life.

Dont feed arrogance


When kids dispose of friends easily or
ignore invitations to birthday parties
and sleepovers because the other child
is unpopular and presumed to be a
loser, arrogance grows. Food servers,
housekeepers, babysitters, bus drivers
and doormen are examples of people
who interact with our children almost
daily but are often allowed to be treated
shabbily; their feelings overlooked. Children should never assume that its ok
to be unkind. The same applies to the
way parents and other family members
are treated. We should expect respectful tones and actions. An environment
where parents are deemed annoying
but convenient is a home that breeds
chutzpah-disrespect. And in a place of
insolence, empathy cannot flourish.
Kindness does not come automatically. A child may possess a compassionate character but without daily interactions and role models the sensitive
spark within will dim. It is up to us to
nourish our childrens souls and teach
them that there is a world beyond high
grades and achievements. This is the
world where we can touch another, lift
their spirits and allow them to soar. How
much greater we will be as we soar along
with them.
Slovie Jungreis-Wolff is a parenting coach
and the author of Raising a Child With
Soul (St. Martins Press).

Reprinted with permission of Aish.com.

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

AOC-6*
OurChildren
About

How to Create
a Happy and Healthy Home
A D I N A S O C LO F

veryone wants a happy


home and as parents we
have the ability and responsibility to create a home
where children feel safe and
loved. We want to foster a home
environment where everyone
feels respected and each persons individuality is celebrated. We want our children and
spouses to want to come home
at the end of their long days.
This does not have to be
difficult. There are some simple
changes that we can implement
to help create that feeling of
warmth and hominess.

Make coming home happy:


The best marriage advice that I
got was this: Go to the door to
greet your husband when he
comes home. Save your complaints, stresses, problems and
whining for later (or for never.)
When my children were little, this was easy advice to follow. My husband would come
home from work and our children would all stop what they
were doing and come bounding
to the door and throw themselves at my husband. The
enthusiastic homecoming was
enjoyed by all. The children
loved it, my husband loved it
and I loved watching the scene
unfold before me.
Although my children are
older and not so bouncy, I still
try to maintain that sense of
fun and happiness when my

husband walks through the


door. When I see his car pull
up, I give a happy yell in the
direction of my kids Daddys
home! I stop what I am doing, walk to the door and give
him a warm welcome. I try to
avoid any heavy topics during
that time, no talk of bills, Aunt
Ethels upcoming visit or an
untimely phone call from our
childrens teachers.
I try to do this for each of my
children as well. Just a few minutes of time as your child walks
in the door can make a world of
difference. Many children need
your undivided attention at the
end of their day. School is like
one long day of work for them.
A hug, kiss, a snack and a listening ear, are simple and powerful
way to let them know that they
are valued, and loved.
Its not the time to bring
up serious issues or discipline
your children. Did you hand in
that paper that was late? You
know you left your dirty laundry in your room, you need to
go upstairs right now and take
care of that!
Parents might also try to
get their children to talk about
their day. Most children usually
find their parents seemingly innocuous questions as intrusive:
How was your day? Did
you have fun? Was Sara feeling better today?
Instead it is better to just let
them know that you are happy
to see them, I am so glad you
are home! Serious discussions,

MAKE COMING HOME


PLEASANT
GIVE TRANSITION TIME
MAKE RELAXATION A VALUE
DONT FORGET TO LAUGH

6 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

eryones day. It is imperative


that everyone in the family has
some downtime.
It is helpful for parents to
identify their childs means of
relaxation and then make sure
that they are able to engage in
that activity. Some common
ways that kids relax are: arts
and crafts, reading, playing an
instrument, outside play, taking care of animals, play sports,
hanging out with friends,
bouncing on a trampoline, nature related activities, taking
care of their collections: rocks,
bugs, stamps. It is the same
with your spouse. Find out
what they like to do to relax and
make sure they are able to do
it. Taking walks, crafts, cooking,
reading are just a few examples.

Laugh:

discipline and questions are


best left for another time.

Give them transition time:


After greeting our spouses and
children happily we need to
give them a bit of time to transition from work/school to home.
Everyone needs a bit of time to
unwind and switch gears. We
want to make it as pleasant as
possible.
I have one friend whose
husband comes home from
work and disappears into their
bedroom for 5 to 10 minutes,
(with his wifes support and
permission) just to catch his
breath. He is then able to sit
down to dinner with his family.
Children also need some
time to unwind. Although there
are some children who need
to review their day in full with
their parents, many children
just need a bit of quiet. Oftentimes parents encourage their
children to do their homework
right when they get home and
get it out of the way. Sometimes
extracurricular activities are
planned, last minute errands or
chores need to be done. Many
children do not have the focus,
attention or ability for that type
of fast turnaround.

It might be beneficial for


children to wait until they have
relaxed before they attempt to
do their homework. Schedules
can be planned with some wiggle room and jobs can wait a bit
until there has been some down
time.
I advise mothers, if they
can, to take a few minutes before all their kids walk in from
school to do something just for
themselves, to enjoy and savor
the last few minutes of quiet
before the rush and stresses of
the dinner and homework hour.
I have another friend who
comes home from work after
her husband and her children.
She stops her car a few blocks
from home, sits and listens to
some music and eats a healthy
snack. This gives her the time
and the patience that she needs
to greet her family after a long
day at work.

Make relaxation a value in


your home:
Our lives are so rushed and
stressful and it is impacting on
our health and well being. Relaxation seems to be a forgotten need or a luxury. However,
it should be a priority and it
needs to be scheduled into ev-

The medical community has


agreed that laughter is the best
way to relieve stress and even
more serious ailments. It is also
the best way to connect with
others. Families bond over a
good laugh. It is a sure sign of a
happy home.
Every healthy family has
their share of inside jokes,
where just a word or a look
could get everyone giggling.
Sharing memories of vacations
gone awry, asking kids to share
the funniest moments of their
day, and telling kids the silly
things they did, as babies are
all ways to keep the laughter
flowing.
We all know that home is
where our heart is. Creating
joyful homecomings, giving our
loved ones time to transition,
developing healthy relaxation
habits and laughter can help
our hearts reside in a happy
place.
Adina Soclof is the director of
Parent Outreach for A+ Solutions,
facilitating How to Talk so Kids
will Listen and Listen so Kids
will Talk workshops as well as
workshops based on Siblings
Without Rivalry. She also runs
ParentingSimply.com and is
available for speaking engagements. You can reach her and
check out her website at www.
parentingsimply.com.

AOC-7

Masters of Illusion
February 26th 8PM

The Very Hungry Caterpillar


March 4th 4PM

Fancy Nancy The Musical


March 8th 1PM 4PM

Popovich Pet Theater


Saturday March 28th 1PM 4PM

NJ Ballet Romeo & Juliet


Saturday April 18th 8PM

NJ Ballet Sleeping Beauty


April 19th 1PM 4PM

Berenstain Bears
May 3rd 1PM 4PM

Curious George
May 13th 4PM

Kidz Cabaret Series All Tickets $17: Bubblemania Be True to Me, PetraPuppets & African Brazilian Carnival

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

AOC-8*
OurChildren
About

Tu BShevat Crafts Turn Winter into Spring


R I V K Y KO E N I G

ust when you think it is going to be


cold forever, Tu BShevat arrives
and reminds us that spring is right
around the corner. This day, the 15th
day of the Jewish month of Shevat celebrated this year from the evening of Feb.
3 to the evening of Feb. 4 is the new
year of trees, marking the season when
the trees in Israel begin to bud and blossom. The heavy winter rains taper off after laying the groundwork for bountiful
crops to come. Spring is about to begin.
Tu BShevat is a lovely time for family and friends to get together and remember the bounty of Israel, especially
the shivat haminim the seven species
of fruits indigenous to the land.
So, if the snow is still falling and
wind-chill factor is heading down where

you live, you can still get a taste of the


upcoming season by planting your own
tree in a beautifully decorated pot. How
exciting it is to see an avocado pit or citrus seed miraculously turn into a flourishing green plant a harbinger of spring
that is sure to come soon in your neck of
the woods. Even as we still bundle up,
we can, through our crafts, see the sunshine and warmth around the corner.
Although Tu BShevat is the new
year of trees, it is fitting to do some
planting of herb seeds at this time, as
well. Watch the results grow quickly.
Remember to water the plants when the
soil feels dry. And before you know it,
youll have herbs to add to your favorite
salads. Just snip off the tops of the herbs
if you need some. Theyll grow back in
no time.

Double-sided tape or glue lines/dots


Ruler
3 to 5 long branches
2 sheets of white and/or pink tissue paper
Green florists tape or green masking tape

How to do it:

from the brown paper. Glue the tree trunk


to the center of the light blue paper.
Have each child place his or her hand,
fingers spread out, on one of the green
papers. Use a pencil to trace around the
hand.
Use the scissors to cut out each traced
hand. With a glue stick, attach the hand
cutouts over and around the top of the tree
trunk.
With the gel pen, write the name of each
child on his or her handprint. Write Our
Family or your familys last name on the
tree trunk.
Handprint Tree

What you need:


Scissors
Brown colored paper or scrapbook paper
Glue stick
1 (12-inch by 12-inch) sheet light blue
heavy scrapbook paper or cardstock
Dark green and light green 12-inch by
12-inch scrapbook paper or cardstock
Pencil
Gel pen or metallic marker
Ruler
Chipboard or sticker flowers

The almond tree is budding,


And the sun is shining brightly,
Birds from every roof top,
Announce the arrival of the holiday.
Israeli folk song

How to do it:
Using scissors cut the shape or a tree trunk

Estimated time: 30 minutes

In Israel, the shkediah (almond) is the


first tree to begin budding around the
time of Tu BShevat. By crafting these
stunning almond blossom branches,
you, too, can enjoy the sight of the flowering almonds, even if you dont live in
Israel. They can almost be mistaken for
the real thing. Use white tissue paper to
mimic the blossoms of sweet almonds
and pink tissue paper to resemble the
bitter almond blossoms.

What you will need:


1 empty Pringles can (or similar-sized
tubular container)
1 (12-inch by 12-inch) sheet of patterned
scrapbook paper
Pencil
Scissors

Place 1 square on top of another, rotating


the top square so that the tissue papers
look like an 8-pointed star. Pinch the
squares in the middle and twist the middle
into a point. It should start to look like a
flower bud.
Wind floral tape around the pointed end of
the paper blossom, and then wind the tape
around a part of the branch until the flower
is securely attached. Continue making
blossoms and fastening them to branches
until all the branches look like they are in
bloom and you are pleased with the way
they look.
Place the completed branches into the
container.
Estimated time: 45 minutes

Reproduced from Crafting Jewish by Rivky Koenig, with permission of the copyright holders,
ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.

8 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

and place the containers on the covers or in


shallow bowls or saucers.
Read the directions on the seed packets
Sprinkle each type of seed into its own
container and cover with soil, following the
directions on the seed packet.

Use the scissors to cut the paper to size.


Glue it to the container using double-sided
tape or glue lines/dots.
Take the 2 sheets of tissue paper and place
them one on top of the other. Use the ruler
and pencil to measure and mark 1 1/2inch to 2-inch squares on the paper. Use
the scissors to cut out the squares. You will
need at least 10 squares for each branch.

Glue the lower edge of the grass strip


(below the slits) to the lower edge of the
paper.
Cut thin strips of dark green paper for the
flower stems. Glue stems behind grass.
Attach a chipboard or sticker flower to the
top of each stem.

Wrap the paper around the empty container, overlapping the paper slightly. With
a pencil, mark off measurements that are
needed for the paper to completely cover
the container and overlap a bit.

Almond Blossom Branches

Use the ruler to measure a 2-inch by


12-inch piece of dark green scrapbook
paper. Use the scissors to cut it out and cut
slits into the paper. Dont cut all the way
through to the end of the strip. Curl the
ends against the scissor blade so that the
strips resemble grass.

Place filled containers on a sunny windowsill


or other sunny spot. Water lightly and keep
the soil moist until the seeds start to grow.

Sow Seeds in Yogurt Cups

What you will need:


Empty yogurt or cottage cheese containers
with covers
Hammer and large nail
Assorted acrylic paints suitable for plastic
1-inch and 1/4 wide paintbrushes
Small stones
Shallow bowls or saucers, optional
Potting soil
Seed such as: chives, parsley, basil, dill or
mint
How to do it:
Wash the containers and their covers very
well and remove any paper labels. Dry.
Turn the containers over. Use the hammer
and nail to make 2 to 3 holes in the bottom
of each container.
Paint the outside of the containers and covers with acrylic paint. Allow it to dry. Add
designs using another paint color. Allow it
to dry.
Place several small stones in the bottom of
each container. Fill the containers with soil

Note: When the plants are 4 inches tall,


and there is no chance of frost in the area
where you live, you can put them outside in
your garden. Transfer them to a larger pot
or plant them directly in the soil.
Estimated time: 20 minutes to 30 minutes,
divided
Drying time: 1 to 2 hours, divided.
The Talmud tells us of a man who was
walking in the desert. He was extremely
tired, hungry, and thirsty. He found a
shady fruit tree with a stream running
alongside it. He ate the fruit of the tree,
drank from the stream, and rested in the
shade. He exclaimed, Tree, tree how
can I bless you? If I were to bless you
that your fruits should be sweet they are
already sweet. If I should bless you with
water, either. I can only bless you that
all the trees planted from your seeds
should be just like you.
Craft this handprint family tree for
your parents to illustrate that you hope
your family will be blessed with the
same blessing: that the children should
be like the parents.

AOC-9*

Gallery
1

1. Dressed in the French flags tricolors, blue, white, and red,


middle school students at Solomon Schechter Day School of
Bergen County took a stand against racism and intolerance. In
the wake of deadly attacks in Paris, photos and letters of support
were sent to students in Jewish and secular schools in Paris.
2. Rabbi Zelick Block Become Grand-Friend of the Children in
the Leonard & Syril Rubin Nursery School at the Kaplen JCC on
the Palisades. The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades runs a GrandFriend program that encourages intergenerational interactions
between seniors and young children who attend programs at the
Center.
3. Glen Rock Jewish Center Hebrew School students celebrated
Chanukah with the residents of the Cupola Senior Center in
Paramus. This annual visit brings smiles to so many faces.
4. The 3rd Grade Gimmel class at Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley participated in a Challah Baking Workshop
led by congregant, Susan Liebeskind. The children kneaded,
braided and took home a challah to bake for their families.
Pictured is Morah Chana Zinstein assisting the children. Other
parent volunteers were Amy Goldstein, Lainie Miller and Tracy
Materetsky.

5. Third and fourth graders at Temple Emanuel of the


Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Lake participated in the Gadna
Program Israeli Boot Camp led by an IDF officer.
In addition to basic training, the students learned many
interesting facts about Israel.
6. Ben Porat Yosefs 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders were treated
to a presentation by Meish Goldish, acclaimed childrens nonfiction and author of more than 400 books. Mr. Goldish talked
about how he gets ideas, conducts research and finds pictures
to illustrate his words. This event complemented the students
study of non-fiction works, a topic that they are learning
about in the classroom.

7. Dr. Shai Shoshani visited Temple Sinai Early Childhood


Center during Health Week and gave each student a copy of
the book, Henry Gets Moving, donated by its author, Pierre
Rouzier.
8. Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley was filled with
bubbles and smiles during the Chanukah Concert by Matty
Roxx and Cantor Mark Biddelman. More than 250 children,
ages pre-school through 3rd grade and their families,
participated in this years Chanukah Festival.
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

AOC-10*
OurChildren
About

Sleep Apnea in Children

Prevents a Peaceful, Restful Night


H E I D I M A E B RAT T

arents know how important it is


for their children to sleep, and
sleep well. Sleep is no less important than food, drink, or safety in
the lives of children. To understand the
critical nature of sleep to our childrens
growth and development, we need to understand more about what sleep does,
what healthy sleep is, and what happens
when children do not get either the right
amount of sleep, the best quality sleep,
or both. We also need to understand the
role sleep plays in being alert or drowsy,
stressed or relaxed, and how that in turn
may affect temperament, learning, and
social behavior.
In certain instances, a child will have
a physical problem that prevents restful
and peaceful sleeping. One condition,
known as sleep apnea is not very common, but does occur, and can impact
youngsters.
We turned to two health professionals to find out more about this condition: Dr. Roberto V. Nachajon, a boardcertified pediatric sleep specialist at
Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck,
who also serves as the chief of Pediatric
Pulmonology at St. Josephs Childrens
Hospital in Paterson, and Kim Cahill,
MSN, RN, who is the supervisor of Pediatric Sleep/Apnea at The Valley Hospital,
Kireker Center for Child Development in
Ridgewood.
About Our Children: What is sleep
apnea?
Dr. Roberto V. Nachajon: Sleep apnea is the cessation of breathing during
sleep. The term sleep apnea generally
refers to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA),
which is an obstruction of the upper
airway during sleep. The soft tissues of
the oropharynx, including adenoids and
tonsils, collapse during the breathing
cycle occluding the airway. This is more
common in children, adolescents and
adults than Central Sleep Apnea, which
can occur when the brainstem breathing centers do not trigger inspiratory effort, as is typically the case in premature
newborns.

AOC: How many children are affected by sleep apnea?


Dr. Nachajon: While it is estimated
that between 3 to 12 percent of the general pediatric population have snoring,
only 1 to 3 percent have Obstructive
Sleep Apnea.
AOC: How can a parent know if a
child has sleep apnea?
Dr. Nachajon: Any child who has
recurrent snoring, mouth breathing
or gasping for air should be evaluated.
Other risk factors for obstructive apnea are enlarged tonsils, obesity, large
neck size (greater than 17 inches), and
some craniofacial traits. Daytime mouth
breathing needs to be investigated.
Young children can develop hyperactivity and inattention while adolescent
patients tend to have excessive daytime
somnolence.
Kim Cahill: Clinical evaluation (history, physical findings) has been found
to not have adequate sensitivity or
specificity to diagnose OSA. Full-night
polysomnography or sleep testing is
a valid and reliable clinical tool that
shows consistent test-retest reliability
and is considered to be the gold standard for diagnosing OSA in children.
Common nighttime symptoms of OSA in
children include respiratory symptoms,
such as snoring, snorting, gasping/
choking, observed breathing pauses,
and mouth breathing. These children
also have disrupted sleep and increased
work of breathing, as evident by frequent awakening, restless sleep, and
nocturnal sweating. Children may sleep
in unusual positions, such as hyper extending their neck in order to maintain
a patent airway. Secondary enuresis
(bedwetting) may occur. This is a child
who develops bedwetting after at least 6
months of consistent dryness. Daytime
symptoms of OSA may include morning
headache, speaking with a nasal voice,
fatigue, and daytime sleepiness. However, compared to adults with OSA, complaints of daytime sleepiness are much
less common in children except in the
case of severe OSA and/or obesity. Daytime sleepiness associated with OSA in

children is typically manifested by disruption in mood, behavior, and cognition. Mood symptoms can include irritability, mood instability, and emotional
dysregulation. Behavioral symptoms include aggression, hyperactivity, oppositionality, poor impulse control, anxiety,
withdrawal and somatic complaints.
Studies have suggested that as many
as 25 percent of children with ADHD
symptoms also have symptoms of OSA
(W eiss & Owens, 2014). Neurocognitive
effects described in children with OSA,
include impaired mental flexibility, inability to problem-solve, impaired attention, and decreased memory capacity.
AOC: What happens with sleep apnea? How does it affect the child in his or
her behavior, cognition or in any other
way?
Ms. Cahill: When we sleep, our muscles relax. This includes the muscles in
the back of the throat that help keep the
airway open. In obstructive sleep apnea, these muscles can relax too much
and collapse the airway, making it hard
to breathe. When someone has sleep
apnea, oxygen levels in the body may
fall and sleep can be disrupted. OSA is
a common, serious condition that can
cause children to miss out on healthy,
restful sleep. If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to learning,
behavior, growth, and heart problems.
In very rare cases, it can even be life
threatening.
AOC: How does sleep apnea get
diagnosed?

Dr. Nachajon: The best way to diagnose sleep apnea is by a polysomnographic study, commonly called a sleep
study, to distinguish between habitual
snoring and obstructive apnea. During a
night in a sleep center, the patient gets
non-invasive monitorization of all the
vital parameters that allow for accurate
diagnosis.
AOC: What is the best way to treat
sleep apnea?
Dr. Nachajon: When diagnosed,
obstructive sleep apnea in children is
typically treated by removal of adenoids
and tonsils. In all cases, treatment needs
to be individualized. Adolescents, particularly obese individuals, will benefit
from the use of positive airway pressure
(CPAP) therapy.
Ms. Cahill: Treatment options vary
but can be grouped in three categories:
medication, surgical and non-surgical.
Medication: In some cases medication
will be prescribed to combat symptoms
that are interfering with sleep. Surgical:
In some instances, children may need
surgery to eliminate an obstruction or
blockage to their breathing. Non-Surgical: Oral appliances for treatment of
pediatric OSA are helpful in some cases,
especially in adolescents whose facial
bone growth is largely complete. Weight
management, including nutritional, exercise, and behavioral elements, should
be strongly encouraged for all children
with OSA who are overweight or obese.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) recently published updated
guidelines for diagnosis and treatment
of OSA in 2012. Recommendations include routine screening for snoring by
healthcare providers at each well-child
visit, and when the clinical assessment
suggests the diagnosis of OSA Polysomnography (sleep testing) is indicated
prior to surgical procedures such as
adenotonsillectomy. Polysomnography
(sleep testing) is also indicated following adenotonsillectomy to assess the effectiveness of treatment.
Heidi Mae Bratt is the editor of About Our
Children

Enrichment at Montclair State University


Montclair State University is offering
its Gifted & Talented summer program
in two, three-week sessions. The first
session runs from June 29 through
July 17 and the second session runs
from July 20 through August 7. The
summer program offers students in
grades 1-12 an environment that includes mathematics, science, technol-

10 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

ogy, fine and performing arts, English


and the humanities, as well as activities like badminton and volleyball.
The Gifted & Talented program is also
accepting applications for the Spring
Weekend Program. The spring program is offered across nine weekends,
beginning on March 7 through May 8.
For detailed information on registra-

tion, eligibility and tuition, visit montclair.edu/gifted.


Honors and AP-level students in
grades 9-12 seeking enrichment can
enroll in intensive online courses in
the spring and the fall. The intensive
courses and targeted workshops cater to Honors and AP-level students
interested in the arts, mathematics

and the sciences. Spring offerings include SAT preparation, fine arts and
college essay writing.
To learn more about Montclair
State Universitys Gifted & Talented
or AP/Honors High School Programs,
please call 973- 655-4104 or email gifted@montclair.edu.

AOC-11*
GENERATION G

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Dance Acting Musical Theater Voice Choreography

Now registering for summer Camp ages 2-9

Once Upon a Time Creative Legos

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Performing Arts

300 Knickerbocker Rd Cresskill


RegisteR Now

2014
April Break Camp
DERS
Summer Performing REA
CHOICE
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SECOND PLACE
DANCE SCHOOLS
Fencing Camp
Creative Legos Workshops

Fencing Princess Dance and more age 2-1/2 to adults

After lunch of macaroni and cheese


in the mess hall swarming with campers
and families, we hope to see more of the
randparents of sleep-away campcamp, maybe the nature lodge, the arts
ers have it easy. They dont have
and crafts shop, perhaps the beit hamikto find the equipment and the
dash. Devorah has other ideas.
clothing, label and pack the clothes, arWalmart! she says.
range transportation, worry about forWalmart? But thats not why we
gotten details. Thats all someone elses
came.
problem. We grandparents may help
Devorah explains how important
with the funding, but then just calmly
a trip to Walmart is to stock up on junk
await visiting day.
food, shampoo, t-shirts and other essenNot quite. Two days before departials. Apparently thats a visiting day rituture to camp its panic time for Naftali.
al. Sure enough, theres a caravan of cars
We take him on a desperate search for
making the half-hour run from the bucolic
a duffle bag, rain gear, khaki pants and a
camp to the highway shopping mall.
flashlight. Then away he goes.
Returning to the City at the end of the
Visiting day is an adventure. We turn
day, Sunday, is another experience trafoff the highway onto what seems to be Devorah hard at work.
fic the length of Route 17. It must have
an old Indian trail. After torturing the
been visiting day for every camp in upcars undercarriage a few miles on the
state New York.
rutted road we find the camp entrance marked by a
sign subtly hidden in a bush. And theres Naftali, lookDevorah and Naftali enjoyed their camp summer and
ing spiffy in his Boy Scout uniform. He shows us his tent
want to do it again. Naftali switches from the rough and
and scouting project. His team is building a small footready scout camp to one with more amenities. We even
bridge over a stream. Hes happy, healthy and delighted
went horseback riding, he announces in a rare letter.
with the voluminous junk food we foolishly brought.
Devorah returns to the camp with the bear, Walmart
A few days later a letter arrives. We recognize the
and the awesome bunk. And the following summer
envelope. Its one of half a dozen self-addressed and
shes back for the third time, but with a job as a kitchstamped that we gave to Naftali in hopes of hearing
en helper.
from him. It comes with the camp season half over.
Good, now you wont have to pay, I say naively.
Dear Grandma and Grandpa:
Oh yes, but only half.
Thank you for coming on visiting day. It was very
You mean you have to pay for the privilege of
thoughtful of you. We went canoeing on the Delaware
working in the kitchen?
River for 18 miles. The canoe I was in flipped over twice,
Of course, but we get a lot of time off.
both times with different people. Tomorrow we will be goIn the meantime, both Naftali and Devorah have
ing on a four-day hike. I might need to gobble down some
earned their life-saving certificates, and have worked
of the food you brought if I want space in my backpack.
part time during the school year as lifeguards.
People who have been here before say this is the best
She plans to return to camp this summer as a
part of camp.
supervisor.
Hope to see you soon.
On the waterfront? I ask. No, not enough time
Love, Naftali
off.
The capsized canoe seems to be a rite of passage
As a counselor? No, I dont want to deal with
for senior campers. A letter from his sister, Devorah,
kids.
tells the same story, but theres also other news from
Whats the job? Its in the kitchen.
her. They went spelunking as well as canoeing, and,
I wonder how much this privileged kitchen job will
most important, My bunk is awesome. My bunkmates
cost, but Im assured it will be a free ride.
are great, and theres a black bear with two cubs living
Meanwhile, Yehuda, their younger brother, has
in the woods right outside camp. They are so cute.
been spending summers at a local day camp, and deUh oh. I foresee a problem. Mother bears with cubs
cides its time to sleep away. He chooses the camp
are not particularly good playmates.
attended by one of his good friends only to learn its
Finding Devorahs camp is much easier than her
booked up. Then after another day camp summer he
brothers with detailed instructions. Were greeted at
tries again. This time he reminds his family about early
the entrance by young ladies in long skirts and long
enrollment. Now he is registered. The coming months
sleeves. They give us a camp map, a list of rules and
will be busy as he prepares for camp, lines up bunkdirections to the parking field. We find Devorah who inmates, studies for his March Bar Mitzvah, sells candy
troduces her friends, and shows us her bunk, which is
bars to classmates on the school bus, plays basketball,
deceptively neat and clean. Then we see the basketball
and, oh yes, attends class at his yeshiva.
court and head for the lake.
Yehuda is a high-energy person. With luck, his
But Devorah, what about the bear?
camp counselor will be able to match Yehudas zest for
Oh, you wont see her with all these people around.
life and cope with the inevitable capsized canoe.
Anyway, we keep the food hidden and the garbage cans
Ed Silberfarb was a reporter for the Bergen Record in New
covered.
Jersey, then the New York Herald Tribune where he was City
Then she shows us pictures she took about 50 feet
Hall bureau chief. Later, he was a public information officer
away from mother black bear and two cubs that look
for the New York City Transit Authority and editor of one of
like little stuffed animals.
its employee publications.

201-390-7513 201-266-8830

studio-info@cresskillperformingarts.com
www.cresskillperformingarts.com
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 11

AOC-12
OurChildren
About

EXPERIENCE
THE POWER
OF YOGA!
Services Offered:

Morning, Evening & Weekend Classes Yoga For All Levels & Ages
Mommy & Me Yoga Classes Childrens Music Classes
Themed Birthday Parties Private Yoga/Training

DROP-INS WELCOME!
Check out our schedule online
www.bloomyoganj.com

Gift
Certificates
Available

13-20 River Road Fair Lawn 201-203-0791

Area Specialty Camps


Let Youngsters Explore
H E I D I M A E B RAT T

SPORTS BROADCASTING CAMP!


is back for our 10th year

July7 6-10, 2015


4

Boys & Girls 10-18


Day/Overnight
options available

Learn from the Pros


Meet sports celebrities
Make play-by-play &
reporting tapes
Make sports anchor tapes from
a TV studio and much more!

For more info call


800.319.0884 or visit
www.playbyplaycamps.com
Facebook.com/sportsbroadcastingcamps
Youtube.com/sportsbroadcastcamp
12 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

Nations
#1 Sports
Broadcasting
Camp!

ow can one get on stage and tell


jokes to an audience one week,
then drive a basketball into a
hoop to the cheers of the fans another,
then pirouette like a ballerina the following week, and then cap it off doing a
play-by-play sportscaster recording that
rivals some of the professional greats?
By going to specialty camps that
allow youngsters the freedom to experience a plethora of interests all within
one summer. Not only are the specialty
camps an alternative to the more traditional summer day and sleep-away
camps, but because many of them have
sessions that are as short as a week,
they offer much flexibility.
Our area abounds with many specialty camps, such as Cresskill Performing Arts summer camp in Cresskill,
which offers youngsters an opportunity
to dance, sing, do arts and crafts, yoga
and more. The dance options include
ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip-hop, theater dance and choreography, to name
some. Cresskill also offers campers a
chance to learn fencing and runs creative Legos workshops.
Legos are the thing at Bricks4Kidz, a
new creative space, also in Cresskill.
Bricks4Kidz introduces children to
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts through its sessions. Problem solving skills and self-esteem are emphasized in the Bricks4Kidz
program that is offered throughout the
year and during the summer months.

The Ice Vault, which specializes in


ice hockey classes and runs a special
ice hockey camp, this year is introducing its first female only ice hockey group
for girls 5 to 18 years old, says Brooke
Ammerman, assistant hockey director at
The Ice Vault in Wayne.
Girls hockey today has really exploded in the United States and in Canada, says Ammerman, who played highlevel female hockey at her college and in
Europe.
Its really great for girls to have role
models who play hockey at a high level
and to know that they can play it at a high
level if they want, says Ammerman.
Chad Mekles, who has run his basketball camp CMEK, at locations in Tenafly
and Paramus, will continue to hold his
weekly basketball camps throughout the
summer for youngsters from 1st to 8th
grade. There will also be pre-K groups,
Mekles says.
Bloom Yoga in Fair Lawn offers childrens classes that are taught by highly
skilled instructors that add their own
personal touch to making yoga fun for
youngsters while they receive the benefits of the practice.
If chess is your childs thing, the International Chess Academy, with locations in Fair Lawn and Teaneck, can teach
the strategies for success to students of
all levels from beginners to masters. The
school hosts world-renowned international coaches. Its students have qualified for the World Youth Championships.
Heidi Mae Bratt is the editor of About Our
Children.

AOC-13
How to Prepare Your Child
for Sleep-Away Camp
DENISE MORRISON YEARIAN

leep-away camp is a wonderful,


growth-filled experience. Parents,
however, may underestimate the
benefits of residential camp and what it
will do for their child. Some parents think
their money is better spent elsewhere,
particularly if they themselves did not
attend sleep-away camp as a youngster,
says Doron Krakow, national director of
Young Judaea Camp. But it provides your
child with invaluable life lessons, such as
how to be independent, responsible and
make diverse friendships.
So how do you go about finding the
right sleep-away camp? First, talk it over
with your child. What are his interests?
Finding a camp with activities your child
will enjoy is important. At the same
time, encourage him to try new things.
Just because your child likes soccer,
doesnt mean he might not like or be
good at arts and crafts, says Krakow.
Camp is a great place to try something
different, because everyone is having
new experiences.
Once your child has decided upon
the type of camp he wants, explore the
options. Find out about the various programs each one offers and ask plenty of
questions. According to Krakow, most
parents find out whether theres quality
instruction and enough time for their child
to participate in the said activity, and stop
there. But they should take a look at the
big picture.
What concepts or philosophy does
the camp espouse? What will my child
do through the course of a typical day? If
the camp has a brochure, read it carefully. This way you can match your agenda
with that of the camps and provide the
experience you want for your child.
Not sure if your child is developmentally ready for residential camp? Have a
trial run. Send him to visit a relative for
the weekend. How did he do away from
home? Did he sleep well? Was he able to
care for himself (brush his teeth, take a
bath, change his clothes)? Did he adjust
to new or different foods? These and
other questions will help you decide if
your child is ready for camp.
Even if your child did well on a trial run,
spend a few minutes talking with the camp
director. Tell him about your child how
he interacts with other children, his level
of participation in school, etc.
Above all, dont let your own apprehensions keep you from sending your
child away to camp.
On the first day of camp, help your
child get settled, then leave. Dont stick
around too long, says Krakow. If you
drive your child to camp, he may cling
to you on the way up.

Once there, however, many kids will


shift from clingy to embarrassment in
front of their friends, and parents are often slow to pick up on this.
Even before you send your child to
camp, mail him a letter. This way hell
have something to open when the mail
arrives on the first day.
If your child is a poor correspondent,
dont take it personally. Camp is a fulltime job for kids, says Krakow. Some
may be inclined to share it all with their
parents, others will get so caught up in
the moment that promises to write are
forgotten. A good rule of thumb is, No
news is good news.
Whether your child goes to camp
for one week or the whole summer, send
a care package. Chances are, the other
kids will get one and you dont want your
child to feel left out. The package doesnt
have to be extravagant, just something
to let him know youre thinking of him.
Items could include: a yo-yo, his favorite
magazine, a pack of gum, candy etc. Just
be sure that if youre sending food items,
you know what the rules are about food
in cabins. Camps often dont allow food
in the cabins because they can attract
bugs and outdoor creatures.
When preparing to send your child to
camp, avoid purchasing new clothes unless he really needs them. Chances are,
theyll get soiled, stained, or mildewed
before they get home if they even get
home! Economically speaking, youre better off rounding up old clothes and shoes
(towels and wash clothes, too) and saving
the new items for after camp.
Several weeks before your child attends camp, keep his schedule open and
stress-free. This will allow him plenty
of time to relax and prepare for the big
event. If, for example, your family comes
back from a vacation on Friday and you
scoot your child off to camp on Sunday,
he may experience some anxiety and
tension. A better idea is to plan major
summer events with a break in between.
On the last day of camp, arrive
on time, and come prepared with a
few extra plastic bags. You may need
them, especially if your child has wet
clothes or muddy shoes that need to be
transported.
On the ride home, listen to your
child. More than likely hell be eager to
share his experiences with you who
he met, what he did, and the funny
things that happened. And if you look
really close you may find hes grown a
little. Not just in height, but in depth of
character.
Denise Morrison Yearian is the former editor
of two parenting magazines and the mother
of three children.

IGNITE YOUR CHILDS PASSION


Code apps, design video games, mod with
Minecraft, engineer robots, build websites,
produce movies, and more

HELD AT 100+ CAMPUSES


NATIONWIDE
Sarah Lawrence Columbia NYIT
Marymount Manhattan Berkeley Carroll School
Queens College NYU The Town School Yale
Stanford and more

iD Tech Camps
Co-Ed, Ages 7-17

Alexa Caf
All-Girls, Ages 10-15

iD Game Design &


Development Academy
Co-Ed, Pre-College, Ages 13-18

iD Programming Academy
Co-Ed, Pre-College, Ages 13-18

iD Tech Mini
Co-Ed, 6-9, Half-Day Options

www.iDTech.com/NY 1-888-709-8324
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 13

AOC-14
OurChildren
About

About Our Childrens Guide to Summer Camps


DAY CAMPS
All About Me, Inc.

555 Palisade Ave.


Cliffside Park, NJ
225 Edgewater Road
Cliffside Park, NJ
5 Legion Drive
Cresskill, NJ
19 Emerson Plaza East
Emerson, NJ
201-945-0266, 201-945-0234, 201569-9112, 201-634-8622
Ages: Up to 9 years old
Session dates: June 22 Sept. 4, 2015
All About Me Summer Camp offers an
extensive variety of fun to its campers.
From arts & crafts to T-shirt making, color war, daily picnics and ceramics, children will never be bored. Come join us
for our Friday theme parties. All About
Me know how to have fun in the sun with
our sprinklers. We also offer sign language and movement, music class, gym
and yoga. Please see our ad on page 11.

Camp Barnert

747 Route 208 South


Franklin Lakes, NJ
Phone: 201-848-1027
Fax: 201-847-0044
www.barnerttemple.org
Ages: 18 months 6 years
Dates: 6/22 8/21/15
Barnert is the perfect mix of a big kid
camp experience in a safe, familiar environment. There are outdoor activi-

14 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

ties, gardening; sports, water play, arts


and crafts and fun visits from a petting
zoo, magicians and more. Older campers go swimming twice a week and our
5+ campers are challenged every day
with STEM activities. Many choices
of schedules to fit your family needs.
Please see our ad on page 18.

Camp Kef/Camp Maa lot

E. 234 Frisch Court


Paramus, NJ
Phone: 201-845-5007
Fax: 201-845-5009
www.benporatyosef.org
Ages: 2 8
Session: June 24 Aug. 18
Camp to counselor ratio: 1:5
Register by January 31 and receive $50
off full price and free pizza. Please see
our ad on page 19.

Camp Shalev/Gan Aviv

21 West main Street


Bergeneld, N.J.
Phone: 201-384-6111
camp@ganaviv.com
www.ganaviv.com
Ages: 2 and up
Session: June 23 to August 21
Extended operations hours:
7:30 6:30 p.m.
New and improved summer camp.
Many fun outdoor activities, instructional swim, weekly outside specials,
weekly trips and events, daily hot
lunch program. You may register on a
weekly basis (9 weeks of camp avail-

AOC-15
OurChildren
About

able) webcam service available. Dedicated teacher


and assistant to each group. Please see our ad on page
12.

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 20 August 21
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.

The Neil Klatskin Day Camp

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: 201-567-8963
or nkdc@jccotp.org.
Ages: 3 11
Dates: Mon Fri, June 29 Aug 21, 9 a.m. 4 p.m. (shorter days available for preschoolers; extended care available)
NKDC offers a summer of adventure and nonstop fun. Our
beautiful 21-acre campus in Tenafly and 600-acre campus
in Alpine provide the perfect backdrop for your camper
to enjoy the outdoors, learn new skills, make new friends
and explore their personal interests. With dynamic, ageappropriate programming including sports, Red Cross
instructional and recreational swim, art, drama, music,
Judaic programming, fun theme days and much more,
your camper will be sure to have an incredible summer to
remember. JCC membership required.

Camp Dream Street:

The Pearl Seiden Summer Program


for Children with Cancer and other Blood Disorders
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: Contact Lisa at 201-408-1455
or lrobins@jccotp.org.
Ages: 4 14
Dates: Mon Fri, Aug 24 28, 9:30 a.m. 3 p.m.
A special free camp experience serving the social
needs of children with cancer and other blood disorders. Activities include arts and crafts, sports, dance,
nature, krav maga, baking, music, swimming and entertainment. Round-trip transportation, light breakfast
and a delicious lunch are provided each day. Siblings
are invited to participate. Sponsored by the Dream
Street Foundation, Childrens Hospital of New York
Presbyterian, Tomorrows Childrens Institute of Hackensack University Medical Center, St. Josephs Children Hospital, Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, Beatman
Foundation, Pearls Girls, Teen Philanthropy Institute,
Team Ko-Jo the Kollender and Rubach Families, Jennas
Rainbow Foundation, and RD Legal Funding, LLC.

Kindercamp at the Bergen County YJCC

605 Pascack Road


Township of Washington, NJ
Phone: 201-666-6610
Fax: 201-664-7518
www.yjcc.org
Grades/Ages served: Ages 2, 3, 4
Dates: June 29-August 21, 4-, 6-, and 8-week sessions
Counselor to Camper Ratio: Varies by age
Ongoing registration
Its a real camp experience for nursery school-age children. Kindercamp includes theme weeks like beach
party, pirates and rock-n-roll, special events including
animal visits and a magician, outdoor water fun and
indoor swim lessons, gym, music, ponies, nature, art
and more. Lunch is included; YJCC membership not
required. For information, contact Wendy Fox, Kindercamp director, at 201-666-6610, ext. 5820, wfox@yjcc.
org. Please see our ad on page 17.

PROGRAMS FOR TEENS


Teen Adventures Travel Camp

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: 201-408-1470
Grades: 7 10, June 29 July 31
An exciting five-week program for teens that features daily
trips to amusement parks, beaches, baseball games, trips
into Manhattan and more! This summer, the program will
feature two community service days every week, a twonight trip to Hershey Park, and an amazing extended trip
to Orlando, Florida. Contact Alexis at 201-408-1470 or arobins@jccotp.org.

ENRICHMENT CAMPS
Bricks 4 Kidz Cresskill

6 Madison Ave.
Cresskill, NJ
Phone: 201-399-7701
www.bricks4kidz.com/389
Ages: 3-13
Camper Ratio: 1:8
Bricks 4 Kidz is an exciting program that introduces children to STEM concepts. We offer classes and provide
all necessary materials for students to build our unique
theme-based models. Classes are held in 4-8 week sessions
for one hour each week and are competitively priced.
Problem solving skills & self-esteem are emphasized and
enhanced in the Bricks 4 Kidz program. Our program offers after-school programs, camps, field trips, birthday

WHERE
GIFTED
STUDENTS
THRIVE
SUMMER CAMP
SESSION I: JUNE 29 JULY 17
SESSION II: JULY 20 AUGUST 7
FULL DAY AND HALF DAY OPTIONS
FOR STUDENTS RISING INTO GRADES 1-12
The Gifted & Talented Program at Montclair State University
offers two three-week summer sessions with more than
100 courses in science, mathematics, technology, visual
and performing arts, and the humanities.
Where gifted students explore, discover, learn and thrive!
Apply for an upcoming session online.

montclair.edu/gifted

,
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 15

AOC-16
OurChildren
About

parties, and pre-school classes to families


with children ages 3-13+. Please refer to
the website for camp specifics. Please see
our ad on page 14.

iD Tech Camps

Alexa Caf at Berkeley Carroll School


181 Lincoln Place
Brooklyn, NY
All girls
Ages: 10 15
Phone: 1-888-709-8324
www.AlexaCafe.com
Unique all-girls program where ages 10
15 develop a passion for tech. Whether
designing a webpage, producing a film,
coding creatively or developing wearable
electronics, technology should be fun and
meaningful. 1-888-709-8324 to register and
find more information. Please see our ad
on page 13.

iD Tech Camps

held at Sarah Lawrence, Columbia, NYU,


and more
Ages: 7 17
1-888-709-8324
www.iDTech.com
Inspired by hip, tech-savvy instructors,
ages 7 17 code apps, design video games,
mod with Minecraft, engineer robots,
build websites, produce movies, and meet
friends with similar interests. Visit www.
iDTech.com or call us at 1-888-709-8324 to
register and find more information. Please
see our ad on page 13.

iD Tech Mini

at Berkeley Carroll School


(Brooklyn)
and at The Town School
Ages: 6 9
Phone: 1-888-709-8324
www.iDTechMini.com
Kids ages 6-9 love iD Tech Mini, where half
day options let aspiring innovators discover a passion for tech. Campers make
friends and learn hands-on STEM skills
in a kid-friendly environment. Visit www.
iDTechMini.com or call us at 1-888-7098324 to register and find more information.
Please see our ad on page 13.

iD Programming Academy
and iD Game Design & Development
Academy

Daily Catered Hot Lunches


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

16 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

Serving Pre-K

to 10th Grade

CIT Program
Nature
Go Karts
Ropes Course

Arts & Crafts


Archery
Mad Science
Basketball
Cooking

Soccer
Football
and so

much more!

Announcing Our New


4-Year-Old Program!

Phone: 1-888-709-8324
www.iDProgrammingAcademy.com
Ages: 13 18
Two-week, pre-college academies where
students gain hands-on experience in coding, app development, programming, modeling with Minecraft, and robotics.
Ages 13 18 tour a studio, create a portfolio, and meet teens with similar interests.
www.iDProgrammingAcademy.com or call
us at 1-888-709-8324 to register and find
more information. Please see our ad on
page 13.

International Chess Academy

9-10 Saddle River Road


Fair Lawn, NJ
Phone: 201-797-0330
185 Court St.
Teaneck, NJ
Phone: 201-833-1741
www.icanj.net
Ages: 6 16
Summer Day Camp: Accepting registration. Learn to play chess, one of the
worlds oldest and most popular games.
We offer private, group, and after-school
lessons. Students of all levels are welcome,
from beginner to master. We host worldrenowned international coaches and our
students have qualified for the
World Youth Championships. With lessons
6 days a week in two locations.See website
www.icanj.net for schedule and pricing.
Please see our ad on page 3.

International Ivy

11 Locations in North Jersey


Paramus, Oakland, Ringwood
Phone: 855-678-6335
www.iisummer.com
Weekly sessions : full day or half day
Ages: 5 14
Summer Enrichment Program. International Ivy offers creative, hands-on and
intellectually-stimulating learning experiences during the summer. Summer is a
great time to explore, meander, stretch
the imagination and lose oneself in doing
something fun. Our ultimate goal is to help
our students find their passion. Once they
find it, they are self-motivated to learn and
explore further. We offer classes across
many disciplines to satisfy the diverse
interests and talents of the children we
serve. There are more than fifty classes to
choose from in technology, science, performing arts, visual arts, math, business,
sports, recreation and even construction.
Please see our ad on page 16.

Montclair State University

Gifted and Talented Summer Camp


1 Normal Ave.
Montclair, NJ
Phone: 973-655-4104
Fax: 973-655-7895
www.Montclair.edu/gifted
Ages: Students who have completed K-11
Counselor to Camper Ratio: 1:10
Sessions I: June 29 July 17, 2015
(no class July 3)
Session II : July 20 August 7, 2015
The summer program provides highachieving students, in grades 1 11, the
opportunity to immerse themselves in
an educational environment focusing on
mathematics, science, technology, fine and
performing arts, English and the humanities, as well as enjoying activities such as
swimming and tennis. The summer course
schedule and application will be available
in February. Registration deadline for Session I: May 17; Session II is June 14. Please
see our ad on page 15.

Big Time Sports Broadcasting Camp

1420 Walnut Street, Suite 605


Philadelphia, PA
Phone: 800-319-0884
www.playbyplaycamps.com
Boys & Girls Ages 10 18
The Sports Broadcasting Camp is located
on the campus of Montclair State College
in Montclair this summer is celebrating
its 10th year. Learn from the pros. Meet
sports celebrities; make play-by-play,
sports anchor, and reporting tapes. Participate in mock sports talk radio and PTIstyle shows, and much more. Please see
our ad on page 12.

William Paterson Universitys PreCollege Summer Youth Programs

1600 Valley Road, Wayne


Phone: 973-720-3709
www.wpunj.edu/cpe
Grades/Ages: Students entering grades
2nd to 12th
Sessions: June 29 to August 7
Councelor to Camper ratio: 1 to 8
Deadline for registration: June 29
William Paterson Universitys Pre-College
Youth Programs are designed to foster a
positive academic transition. These programs offer students early preparation,
awareness and readiness for college and
careers. Choose from more than 40 stimulating science, arts, music and academic
courses throughout the month of July and
August. Students can attend half or fullday enrichment and academic programs.
Working parents can send their pre-teens
to Summer Life on Campus, a full-day
camp that provides fun and academically
focused programs, with recreational activ-

AOC-17
ities where they can meet new friends
in a one-of-a-kind learning experience.
10 percent discount available for early registrations. Please see our ad on
page 17.

Art for Learning, LLC

Englewood area, NJ
artforlearning@yahoo.com
http://www.artforlearning.com/
201-503-9796
Art grades 1-10
Fashion grades 4-11
Teen Travel grades 7-11
Weekly Programs: June 29August 28
Programs include various age appropriate levels of Impressionist,
Modern, Colonial and Victorian Art.
Other programs are taught for specific age groups, like Art of China and
Japan, Mosaic and Glass Art, Princess Experience. All art programs
are taught based on history and
sociology, music and poetry of time
is sometimes introduced. Excerpts
from books are required for the Jewish Immigrant Experience, and Greek
and Roman Art, which are based on
Percy Jackson and the Lightning
Thief book. Younger kids programs
focus on dinosaurs and fish, African
zoo animals and farm animals. Each
art program includes two trips to
related venues like the Metropolitan
Museum followed by art lessons in
Central Park, Victorian mansions, Ellis Island, etc. Fashion programs begin from design concept through retail, with trips to the garment district

showrooms, meetings with fashion


designers, marketing, and merchandising experts, lectures at FIT, and
more. Kids have the chance to create fashion-related artwork and
products. Teen Travel includes five
days of visits to NBC Studios, Empire State Building Skyride, Brooklyn
Bridge, South Street Seaport, Madame Tussauds, and more! Discount
offered for early enrollment. Please
see our ad on page19

ARTS, PERFORMANCE AND


MUSIC CAMPS
Art of Excellence Studio

Artist, Rina Goldhagen


Dates: July and August
Ages 7 Adult
201-248-4779
www.artofexcellencestudio.com
Themed Arts and Crafts camps available in July and August. You can email
inquiries to artofexcellencestudio@
gmail.com. Ongoing lessons and portfolio classes available. Unlock your
creative self with classes in drawing
and watercolor. Please see our ad on
page 21.

Bounce U

70 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, NJ 07652
201-843-5880
www.bounceU.com/paramus
Create and Bounce Art Camp
Date: July 7 thru August 27, 2015
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-a-kind
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)
April Break Performing Arts Mini
Camp April 6 10. Half and full day
camp available. Dancing, Acting, Singing, Art/Crafts, Yoga and more. Be productive, busy, happy and challenged
during the school break! Our expanded program includes Once Upon a
Time (reading readiness/crafts class
for age 4 7) and Kids Concoctions
to Make and Take (designer crafts for
age 8 and up). Activities include ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip-hop, theater
dance, voice/musical theater, acting, improv, fencing (sword fighting),
choreography, on camera workshop
and more! Cresskill Performing Arts
teachers are extraordinary: on staff at
top NYC studios; nominated for VMA
awards, and in Cirque shows! Camp
runs from June 29 through August
28, 2015. Register for one week, two,

Summer Pre-College Programs at


William Paterson University
June 29 to August 7, 2015
10% Discount For Early Registration!
ACADEMIC AND ENRICHMENT COURSES
Art Communication Business
Education Humanities
Languages Music Science
Social Sciences STEM
College Credit Courses are available
for high school students.
973.720.2354
E:mail:youthprograms@wpunj.edu
www.wpunj/cpe

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REGISTERING NOW
FOR ALL SESSIONS
1 Depot Square, Englewood, NJ
education@bergenpac.org
(201) 482-8194
*Tuition Includes Lunch & Snacks
**After Camp Care Available For Fee

First Session

JULY 6 - 24, 2015


Second Session

AUGUST 3 - 21, 2015

Also at
the YJCC:

S P O RT S
CA M P S !

for Nursery
through
Middle
Schoolers

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YJCC M
KinderCamp Director:
Wendy Fox, ext. 5820, wfox@yjcc.org
605 PASCACK ROAD TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, NEW JERSEY

(201) 666-6610 WWW.YJCC.ORG


ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 17

AOC-18
OurChildren
About

or all summer; we have camp for ages 3


through teens. Early drop-off and late pickup helps working parents. Fencing Camp
will be two weeks this summer the week of
June 29 and the week of August 24. Beginners as well as more experienced fencers
will get stronger and try all the weapons in
our popular fencing experience! And our
Creative Legos Workshops return for the
month of July, for age 5 10. Please see our
ad on page 11.

Center Stage Musical


Theater Camp

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: Contact Deb at 201-408-1492
or droberts@jccotp.org.
Grades: 4 9
Of Princes, Beasts and Beauties Beauty
and the Beast & Snow White are woven
into a very funny version of Rogers and
Hammersteins Cinderella Mon.-Fri., June
29-July 17, 9:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m., Show:
Thur., 7/16, 5:15 p.m. Orientation/Placement day: Sun, June 28. An excellent opportunity for students of all levels to experience the fun of performing at a very high
level. Ends with a Broadway style musical
with sets, costumes, challenging dialogue,
big musical numbers and solos for those
who would like them. In the final gala production Of Princes, Beasts and Beauties
the stories are intertwined so that the
dwarfes work in the Beasts minds. Snow
Whites family, Belles town and her castle
friends all dance at Cinderellas Ball. Daily
schedule includes workshops in acting,
improvisation, stage combat, movement,
singing, and end-of-the-day swim. Drama

camp is available to members of all ages


and nonmembers ages 10 and up. Contact
Deb at 201-408-1492 or droberts@jccotp.
org.

BergenPACJCC Summer Performance Intensive

Joseph A. Baker, director


Phone: 201-408-1492
Ages: 9 17
Mon-Fri, July 8-24,
9:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m.
NYC Performance: July 23, BergenPACs
Cabaret Space and/or JCCs Eric Brown
Theater Performance: July 24
An exciting program for intermediate-advanced students that culminates in at least
two performances. Professional skill development in singing, acting, sketch comedy and movement. This cabaret-style performance features favorite numbers from
Broadway musicals, sketch comedy, short
scenes and popular rock songs as well as
new pieces. Mr. Baker will bring in other
Broadway colleagues as guest instructors.
Students will be bussed to the JCC at 3:20
p.m. to swim in the outdoor pool. Joseph
A. Baker is a successful Broadway music
director and accompanist. Drama camp
is available to members of all ages and
nonmembers ages 10 and up. Interview/
Audition required. Extended day optional.
Contact Deb at 201-408-1492 or droberts@
jccotp.org. Please see our ad on page 17.

Summer Dance Intensive

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Ages: 6-16
Dates: Mon-Thurs, Aug 17-27,

10:30 a.m. 3 p.m.


Performance: Thurs, Aug 27, 5:30 p.m.
Four days a week of dance technique in
Ballet, Tap, and Jazz as well as an elective
such as Hip Hop, Lyrical, Modern, Musical Theatre, and Acrobatics. Improve your
skill level, build strength, and gain more
flexibility while having a great time! All instructors are experienced choreographers
and teachers. Early morning and extended
day available upon request. Dance Camp
is available to members of all ages and
nonmembers ages 11+. Contact Allyson at
201-408-1495 or acarolan@jccotp.org.

Musical Explorers Summer Camp

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: 201-408-1465
Ages: 3 5, Aug 24 28,
9:15 a.m. 3 p.m.
Summer is a time to create, explore and
play. Children in our camp will become
music investigators, discovering and
building different instruments, learning
to play the drums, singing their favorite
songs, and using movement and games as
a tool to learn to read music! In addition to
all of our musical discoveries, our young
explorers will enjoy the water park and
playground! Extended care is available.
Contact the music school at 201.408.1465
or Thurnauer@jccotp.org.

The Performing Arts School


Summer Camp
1 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ
Phone: 201-482-8194
Fax: 201-482-8391

bergenPAC.org/summer
Ages: 5 12
Dates: July 6 July 24 and
Aug. 3 Aug. 21
Counselor to camper ratio: 5:1
Deadline for registration: May 31
Theater games, music, dance, arts & crafts,
with a final showcase on the bergenPAC
main stage. Every child will feel like a star.
Please see our ad on page 17Thurnauer

Chamber Music Camp

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: 201-408-1465
Ages 8 18
Dates: June 29 July 10,
9:15 a.m. 3 p.m.
Chamber Music Camp brings together talented young musicians and an acclaimed
faculty of artists and educators to experience the joys of ensemble playing in an
atmosphere of success and enjoyment.
The camp accepts a select group of string
players and pianists based on auditions,
interviews and recommendations. 1 and
2-week options available. Contact the music school at 201-408-1465 or Thurnauer@
jccotp.org.

FluteStars Camp

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Noelle Perrin, Director
Call for dates, times and fees
FluteStars is a two-day workshop for intermediate and advanced flutists, which
includes master class-style lessons, private practice time, and small and large

JULY CAMPS
6/29-7/2 FUNdamental 8U Camp
7/6-7/9 Laura Stamm Power Skating
7/6-7/8 Brooke Ammerman Skills Camp
7/13-7/17 Pick Ur Hockey Poison Week #1
7/15-7/17 GDI Goaltending Camp
7/20-7/24 Bandit Mite/Squirt/PW Camp
7/27-7/31 Bandit Bantam/Midgets Camp

Camp Barnert is conveniently located in


Franklin Lakes, NJ, and offers children the opportunity
to explore the world around them through play, art,
drama, sensory experiences, science discovery and
lots more. Perfect for ages 18 months through 6 years.
Children 4+ go swimming twice a week and 5+ are
challenged each day with STEM activities.
Call (201) 848-1027 and come for a visit,
or go to our website, www.barnerttemple.org,
to download an application.

18 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

AUGUST CAMPS
8/3-8/7 Pro Ambition
8/3-8/6 Brooke Ammerman Skills Camp
8/10-8/13 Chico Goaltending Camp
8/18-8/22 Pick Ur Hockey Poison Camp Week #2
8/25-8/29 Hitmen Camp (For Hitmen Players only)
Times and Dates are Subject to Change

10 Nevins Rd, Wayne NJ 07470

Phone: 973-628-1500 Fax: 973-628-1555

,
C

AOC-19

ensemble rehearsals with an emphasis on


developing musical expression, beautiful
tone and refined technique. The rehearsal
schedule is mixed with free time for socializing and recreation. This exciting workshop culminates with a final concert in
which flutists perform their polished solos
on stage for family and friends. Audition is
required. All applicants must present one
solo piece of their choice performed from
memory. Auditions may be scheduled individually with camp director at flutestars@
aol.com.

SPECIAL NEEDS SUMMER


PROGRAMS
Neil Klatskin Day Camp Tikvah Program

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
201-567-8963
Ages: 5 15
Dates: June 29 Aug 21,
9 a.m. 4 p.m. (extended care available)
Children with special needs participate
in a diverse full-day program including
academic remediation, adaptive physical education, arts & crafts, drama, Red
Cross instructional and recreational swim,
th
Judaic programming, music, theme days,
live entertainment, extended nights, carnivals, playground time, Shabbat and more.
Group sizes range from 3 to 6 campers and
are staffed by a minimum of two caring
and qualified counselors. All prospective
campers must receive an intake interview.
Contact the camp office at 201-567-8963 or
nkdc@jccotp.org.

Camp Haverim

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades


411 E. Clinton Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Phone: 201-408-1489
Ages: 3 21
Dates: Aug 10 21, 9 a.m. 2: 45 p.m.
Camp Haverim is a two-week camp designed for children and teens with autism
and other cognitive and developmental
delays, with sufficient communication
and self-help skills, and attend 11 months
of special schooling. Campers participate
in social skills activities, swimming and
water park activities, sports, yoga and
adaptive physical education, academic enrichment, music and movement, art, and
therapy dogs. Space is limited. Group sizes
are between 4-8 campers. Priority is given
to returning campers, Special Services
program participants and JCC members.
Intake interview required. Contact Shelley
at 201-408-1489 or slevy@jccotp.org.

a 15-mile radius in Bergen County only. Intake interview required. Contact Shelley at
201-408-1489 or slevy@jccotp.org.

SPORTS PROGRAMS/CAMPS
Bloom Yoga

13-20 River Road


Fair Lawn, NJ
Phone: 201-203-0791
www.bloomyoganj.com
Ages: 1-9
Located in the heart of downtown Fair
Lawn, Bloom Yoga offers all levels of adult
and childrens Hatha yoga classes. This exercise focuses on breathing while moving
the body through specific asanas (poses),
leading to physical, mental and spiritual
wellbeing. The benefits of yoga are endless
improved flexibility, advanced whole
body strength, enhanced posture, strong
sense of balance and improved breathing while alleviating stress are just a few
of the benefits of this beautiful practice.
All classes at Bloom are taught by highly
skilled instructors that add their own personal touch and use a Vinyasa flow style
of teaching by incorporating the breath,
movement and meditation. Yoga is a practice that can be enjoyed by everyone, at all
ages. We welcome beginners to start their
journey with us and experts to hone in on
their craft. Bloom will always have an array of classes available for you and your
family. Please see our ad on page 12.

rt, fashion or teen programs

OurChildren
About

Own
Grade 2ndOn
- Our
9th
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
411 E. Clinton
Ave.
Age Appropriate Art & Fashion
Design
Programs
Tenafly, NJ
201-408-1489
Available in Weekly sessions at Phone:
Our
Location
Ages:
15 Englewood
30
Dates: June 29 Aug 7, 9:30 a.m.

2: 30 p.m.
18th
june 26 thru august
This program is a six-week life-skills, vocational and
for
sionist Modern Victorian Art of China
andrecreational
Japan program
- 4 levels
of Fashion
teens and young adults with intellectual
delays, including auPainting in Central Park Tripsand
todevelopmental
Museums
& Mansions
tism, with self-help skills to independently
participate within a 1:3 staffing ratio. AcVisit Garment District
Show
tivities
includeRooms
work experiences, weekly
trips, swim, gym, music and dance. Doore
sit Backstage at Broadway Show totoLearn
Aboutis available
Costume
door transportation
within Design
Teen Tours - Visit Great Sites in New York

Ice Vault Skating Arena

10 Nevins Drive
Wayne, NJ
Phone: 973-628-1500
www.icevault.com
The Ice Vault has various activities for kids
of all ages. Public sessions, hockey clinics,
hockey teams, figure skating, free-style,
Learn to Skate programs. Birthday parties are also available. Please check website for camp information. Please see our
ad on page 18.

Sports Camps
at the Bergen County YJCC

605 Pascack Road


Township of Washington
Phone: 201-666-6610
Fax: 201-664-7518
www.yjcc.org
Grades/Ages served: Nursery schoolthrough middle school age
Session dates: June August, by the week
Cost varies by program
Ongoing registration
Summer starts with sports camps for ages
2 5 in June, where the focus is hand-eye
coordination, working together and lots of
fun. In July and August, elementary- and
middle school-age kids can participate in
one-week sessions of basketball camp and
soccer camp. Sports camps are under the
guidance of Jenny Jurjevic, YJCC Sports
and Recreation Director. For more information, contact Jenny at 201-666-6610, ext.
5790, jjurjevic@yjcc.org.

Book Now! Call

art for learning , LLC


June 29 through Augustor
28
201-503-9796

Weekly Sessions
at our Englewood Location
E-mail:
artforlearning@yahoo.com

aRT PRoGRams Grades 110

Impressionism Modern Victorian Mosaic Art


The Princess Experience China & Japan Greek & Roman Art
Colonial Art Jewish Immigrant Experience
Farm, Zoo, Dinosaurs & Fish Two Trips Per Week

art, fashion
fashion or
or teen
teen programs
programs

art, fashionGrade
or teen
2nd
Grade
2nd--9th
9th programs

dler
d
o
T
:
s
Age

June 24 - August 18
(8 weeks)

9:00am - 4:00pm

Grade
h
t
4
hrough

Facilities:

Our Campus features:

Beautiful, fully enclosed outdoor


playground
Full size, regulation gym
Large, indoor air-conditioned play area
Bright, spacious, fully equipped,
air-conditioned classrooms

Fashion
PRoGRam
Grades
411
Grade
2nd
- 9th Design
Age Appropriate
Art
&
Fashion
Programs
Appropriate
Art
&
Fashion
Design
Programs
(Friday until 3:00pm)
Visit
the fabulous
District
and
related
Age Appropriate
Art
&Garment
Fashion
Design
Programs
Available
in
sessions
at
Englewood
Location
in Weekly
Weekly
sessions
atOur
Our
Englewood
Location
venues.
Meetatwith
designers,
Availablespecialty
in Weekly
sessions
Ourfashion
Englewood
Location
th
th thru august 18th
th
Experienced Head Teachers
june
thru
august
18
june&26
26
marketing
merchandising
experts,
and
perfume
Kindergarten - 4th Grade
june 26th thru august 18th
Modern
Victorian
Art
of
China
and
Japan
- -44levels
ofofFashion
(includes instructional swim and trips)
manufacturers.
Lectures
at
FIT and
more!
ressionist
Modern
Victorian
Art
of
China
and
Japan
levels
Fashion
pressionist Modern Victorian Art of China and Japan - 4 levels of Fashion
projects!
Twotrips
per
PaintingGreat
in
Central
Park
Trips
totoweek.
Museums
&&Mansions
inCentral
Central
Park
Trips
Museums
Mansions
Painting in
Park
Trips
to Museums
& Mansions
Baking, Yoga, Science, Sports, Music & More
Visit
Garment
District
Show
Rooms
VisitGarment
Garment
District
Show
Rooms
Visit
District
Show
Rooms
Teen
TRaVeL
Grades
711
Weekly Rates Available Optional Lunch Program
at
Broadway
Show
to
About
Costume
Design
Visit
Backstage
atBroadway
Broadway
Show
toLearn
Learn
About
Costume
Design
VisitBackstage
Backstage
at
Show
to
Learn
About
Costume
Design
Daily
trips
into popular
NYC
tourist
sites,
NBC
Studios,
Optional Bus Program Optional Swim Program (Pre-K)
Teen
Tours
Great
Sites
ininNew
TeenTours
Tours
- Visit
Visit
Great
Sites
New
York
Teen
- -Visit
Great
Sites
in New
York
Brooklyn
Bridge,
Empire
State
Building
andYork
more!
Book
Now!
Call
Book
Now!
Call
Book
Now!
Call

art for learning , LLC Enroll by


March 1st
201-503-9796
or or
201-503-9796
201-503-9796
or
and get
E-mail:
artforlearning@yahoo.com
E-mail:
artforlearning@yahoo.com
e-mail:
E-mail:artforlearning@yahoo.com
artforlearning@yahoo.com
$50 OFF
www.Artforlearning.com

art for
for learning
learning

Early Drop Off and Aftercare Available

Call or E-m
ail with an
y question
or to set u
s
p a tour of
our facility
Phone: 201-845-5007 Fax 201-845-5009
E-Mail: campkef@benporatyosef.org
Location: Ben Porat Yosef, East 243 Frisch Court, Paramus, NJ
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 19

AOC-20*
OurChildren
About

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

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 15

Sesame Street Presents


The Body at Liberty Science

Now You See It


Now You Dont

Get to know whats under everyones skin in this interactive adventure featuring Elmo,
Oscar, Grover, and the rest of the Sesame Street gang in a new exhibition at the Liberty
Science Center. Large-scale exhibition areas are filled with delightful, hands-on activities
that teach children how the body works and how to stay healthy as they hop, jump, and
dance through a re-creation of Sesame Street. Children can have fun and play all day with
17 different activities in three zones, where they learn about your insides, your outsides
and everything in between. Perfect for youngsters ages 2 to 8. Liberty Science Center,
Liberty State Park, 222 Jersey City Boulevard, Jersey City. 201-200-1000, www.lsc.
org.

Ladies and gentlemen, come and believe the impossible: levitating women,
appearances and vanishes, escapes and sleight of hand in an evening
of oohs and ahhs. Masters of Illusion plays on Thursday, February 26 at
Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood. Only the best, most unique,
amusing, astounding and amazing performers have been chosen to perform in Masters of Illusion. Masters of Illusion is a stage phenomenon
born from the multi-award winning television series Masters of Illusion and
from the World Magic Awards, which is recognized as the International
Academy Awards of Magic. February 26, 8 p.m. bergenPAC, 30 North Van
Brunt St., Englewood. 201-227-1030, www.ticketmaster.com, www.
bergenpac.org.

Portrait Power Family


Day at The Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum will present Portrait Power Family Day, a fun-filled day of activities,
on Sunday, February 1 from noon to 4 p.m. Youngsters can design headdresses, masks,
and pendants inspired by the
exhibition, Helena Rubinstein:
Beauty Is Power; take family
portrait photos in costume;
dance to the swinging music
of Heidi Swedberg and
the Sukey Jump Band, and
enjoy face painting inspired
by artists such as Picasso
and Matisse. This event, for
children age 3 and up, is
free with Museum admission.
Adults are asked to accompany their children. The Jewish
Museum,1109 Fifth Ave.,
Manhattan. 212-423-3200,
www.TheJewishMuseum.org.

20 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

Enjoy David Weinstone


and Music for Aardvarks
David Weinstone and The Music for Aardvarks Band will perform two concerts
for youngsters at The Jewish Museum on Sunday, February 8 at 11:30 a.m. and
2 p.m. Families will hear favorite songs celebrating being a kid in New York City
such as City Kid, Taxi, Jack Hammer Joe and Modern Art. Music for Aardvarks
is the brainchild of the classically trained ex-punk rocker David Weinstone. His
songs, originally written for the Music for Aardvarks classes he founded, reflect
and celebrate the lives
of children growing up
in urban environments,
while addressing themes
universal to children
everywhere. Concert
for children 2 to 5, with
adults accompanying.
The Jewish Museum,1109
Fifth Ave., Manhattan.
212-423-3200, www.
TheJewishMuseum.org.

AOC-21*
OurChildren
About

ART
Lessons

Art of Excellence Studio

Unlock your Creativity with Classes in


Drawing and Watercolor
Structured Lessons - Relaxed Atmosphere
Fabulous Results!
Age 7 to Adult - All levels of ability
Art Portfolio Preparation Available
Artist, Rina Goldhagen 201-248-4779
www.artofexcellencestudio.com

VERBAL
SAT PREP

NJ certified English teacher with


Masters and 15 yrs experience
Individual and small group sessions
Reasonable rates
For phone consultation:

KELLY FISCHER

201-394-5196

Birth

YITZCHAK SHALOM
EFRATI
Yitzchak Shalom Efrati
was born on Nov. 7, 2014,
at Hadassah Hospital in
Jerusalem, to Mandy StorferEfrati and Etan Efrati of
Jerusalem. He weighed 7.4
pounds. Yitzchak Shaloms
grandparents are Linda
and Bennett Storfer of
Bergenfield and Rachel and
Sasson Efrati of Queens, N.Y.

Bnai mitzvah
BENJAMIN BARUCH
Benjamin Baruch, son of
Danielle Baruch of Closter,
celebrated becoming a bar
mitzvah on Jan. 24 at Temple
Beth El of Northern Valley in
Closter.

RIDGEWOOD AREA

ARIELLA MANN
Ariella Mann, daughter of
Aliza and Benjamin Mann of
Teaneck and sister of Matan
and Orly, celebrated becoming a bat mitzvah on Dec. 21
at Congregation Beth Sholom
in Teaneck.

AARON NEWMAN
NOAH
HABERMAN-HIRSCH
Noah Haberman-Hirsch, son
of Elisa Robyn Haberman
and Bradley Adam Hirsch of
Woodcliff Lake and brother of
Jessica Rosalyn, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah on
Jan. 10 at Temple Emanuel
of the Pascack Valley in
Woodcliff Lake.

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.

Aaron R. Newman, son of


Claudia and Bruce Newman
of Great Neck, N.Y., and
brother of Benjamin, 15, and
Eli, 10, celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah on Dec.
13, at Temple Israel in Great
Neck. His grandparents are
Paulette and Jerry Newman
of Fort Lee, formerly of
Emerson, and Phyllis and the
late Al Swift of Douglaston,
N.Y.

MOSHE KRUGER
Moshe Kruger, son of Dov
Kruger and Ellen Buxbaum of
Teaneck, celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah on Dec. 20
at Congregation Beth Sholom
in Teaneck.

LILI PERLIS
Lili Perlis, daughter of Rachel
and Jay Perlis and sister of
Hunter, celebrated becoming
a bat mitzvah on Dec. 20 at
Temple Emeth in Teaneck.

TREVOR ZICHERMAN
Trevor Zicherman, son of
Silvia and Michael Zicherman
of Wyckoff and brother
of Ryan, 16, and Kyle, 9,
became a bar mitzvah on
December 13, at Barnert
Temple in Franklin Lakes.

RACHEL GALLAY
Rachel Gallay, daughter of
Elizabeth and Michael Gallay
of Tenafly and sister of Aaron,
celebrated becoming a bat
mitzvah on Jan. 10 at Temple
Emeth in Teaneck.

JEREMY GRUNAT

EMMA LEIPSNER

Jeremy Grunat, son of


Jaclyn and Joshua Grunat
of Ridgewood, celebrated
becoming a bar mitzvah on
Jan. 10 at Temple Israel and
Jewish Community Center in
Ridgewood.

Emma Leipsner, daughter of


Abby and Alan Leipsner of
Woodcliff Lake and sister of
David, celebrated becoming
a bat mitzvah on Dec. 23 in
Israel and at Temple Emanuel
of the Pascack Valley in
Woodcliff Lake on Jan. 17.

www.tofutti.com

ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 21

AOC-22*

The Good Life With Kids

F E B R UA RY

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.

DaybyDay
Friday, January 30
Pre-Super Bowl Shabbat Dinner: The Chabad
Center of Passaic County will be hosting a community Shabbat dinner at 194 Ratzer Road,
Wayne at 6 p.m. The dinner will be Super Bowlthemed and will feature a presentation by our
very own Hebrew School children. A childrens
program will be provided during the dinner. No
charge for Passaic County residents. 973-6946274 or email chanig@optonline.net. Visit our
website- jewishwayne.com.

Saturday, January 31
Tot Shabbat at Temple Israel & JCC: Childfriendly services 11 to 11:45 a.m. Age appropriate
services led by Cantor Caitlin Bromberg. Temple
Israel and Jewish Community Center, 475 Grove
St., Ridgewood. 201-444-9320, email: office@
synagogue.org.
Bubblemania in Wayne: Bubblemania will
perform at the Ys Rosen PAC at 1 p.m. Tickets
are $12 in advance and $15 at the door (1 hour
before performance). The Ys Rosen PAC is located at 1 Pike Drive in Wayne.
Super Bowl Saturday Night Live: For children
with special needs and their siblings, Saturday
Night Live will have a Super Bowl theme, featuring
sub sandwiches. $10 per family. From 7 to 8:30
p.m. The Chabad Center of Passaic County, 194
Ratzer Road, Wayne. RSVP to Rykal Bendet, 763228-8570.

Sunday, February 1
Portrait Power Family Day: The Jewish Museum
presents a day of activities from noon to 4 p.m.
where youngsters can design headdresses, masks
and pendants inspired by the Helena Rubinstein:

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 March issue (published February 27):
Monday, February 16

Beauty is Power exhibition, take family


portraits and dance to swinging band
music and more. For children 3 and
older. The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth
Ave., Manhattan. 212-423-3200.
Mishloach Manot for IDF: Join the
young people Congregation Kol
HaNeshamah from 2 to 4 p.m. Assemble
packages for lone soldiers of the IDF and
listen to one soldiers story. From 2 to 4
p.m., St. Pauls, 113 Engle St., Englewood.
RSVP at tikkunolam@khny.org.

Friday, February 6
Rock Shabbat at Temple Sinai: Musical
service starts at 7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai
of Bergen County, 1 Engle St., Tenafly.
201-568-3035.
Tot Shabbat at Temple Sinai: Children
ages 2 to 6 are welcome for services
starting at 6 p.m. followed by dinner
and art project. Temple Sinai of Bergen
County, 1 Engle St., Tenafly. RSVP
required to Jaki, 201-568-6867.
Shabbat in Closter: Temple Beth El
invites the community for a Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. led by Rabbi David S.
Widzer and Cantor Rica Timman. Temple
Beth El, 221 Schraalenburgh Road,
Closter. 201-768-5112.
Temple Emeth Family Worship: Join
services at 7:30 p.m. Temple Emeth,
1666 Windsor Road, Teaneck. 201-8331322, www.emeth.org.
Tu BShevat Shabbat in Fort Lee:
Seder, supper and Shabbat together
musical service starting at 6 p.m. Oneg
Bubblemania, see January 31
follows service. Reservations for the
dinner and seder required. RSVP 201Rock Shabbat: Experience a fun and upbeat
947-1735. JCC of Fort Lee/Congregation Gesher
musical service with the Temple Sinai Rock Band.
Shalom, 1449 Anderson Ave., Fort Lee.
Begins at 7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai of Bergen
County, 1 Engle Street, Tenafly. 201-568-3035 for
more information.
Tot Shabbat: For children ages 2-6. Service 6
p.m. followed by dinner and art project. Temple
Sinai of Bergen County, 1 Engle Street, Tenafly.
RSVP required to Jaki. 201-568-6867.

Saturday, February 7
Howdy Stranger in Wayne: Improv Comedy
Group, Howdy Stranger performs at the Wayne
YMCAs Rosen PAC 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 in
advance and $18 at the door (1 hour before performance). Family-friendly show, but some material may be unsuitable for young children. The Y is
located at 1 Pike Drive, Wayne. 973-595-0100.
Tot Shabbat at Congregation Kol HaNeshamah:
Join services for 2 to 6 year olds at 11 a.m. for
prayers, songs, stories and Shabbat-friendly crafts
with Leora Kleinstein, early childhood educator.
Services at St. Pauls, 113 Engle St., Englewood.
rsvp@KHNJ.org, 201-816-1611.

Sunday, February 8

Howdy Stranger, see February 7

22 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

Holocaust Night at Chabad: The Chabad Center


will be hosting a Holocaust Night for teens, parents, and friends. Two Holocaust survivors will
share their stories. Screening of the movie, The
Book Thief followed by dessert. 7 p.m. 194
Ratzer Road, Wayne.

Holiday Happenings at Temple


Sinai: Pre-K children learn about the
Jewish holidays, play games, make
crafts and sing songs and experience
a kabbalat Shabbat. 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Free. Temple Sinai of Bergen County,
1 Engle St., Tenafly. 201-568-3075.
Music for Aardvarks: David
Weinstone and Music for Aardvarks
perform at The Jewish Museum at
11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. For youngsters
2 to 5 years old. Adults are asked
to accompany children. The Jewish
Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., Manhattan.
www.thejewishmuseum.org., 212423-3200.
Holiday Happenings Program
about Purim: Pre-K children learn
about the Jewish holidays, children
play games, make crafts and sing
songs. Each session includes a model
Kabbalat Shabbat. There is no
charge to attend. 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Temple Sinai of Bergen County, 1
Engle Street, Tenafly. 201-568-3075.

Friday, February 13
Shabbat in Closter: Temple Beth El
invites the community for a Kabbalat
Shabbat Service at 6:30 p.m. Temple
Beth El, 221 Schraalenburgh Road,
Closter. 201 768-5112.

Sunday, February 22
Mega Challah Bake: Join women
and girls ages 8 and up from across
Passaic County and surrounding
areas for an evening of unity and
inspiration, as they knead and braid
delicious Challah for Shabbat. 7 p.m.
at The Chabad Center, 194 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
chanig@optonline.net, 973-697-6274.

Friday, February 27
Tot Shabbat in Closter: Temple Beth El will hold
its monthly informal Tot Shabbat with a Purim
theme led by Rabbi David S. Widzer and Cantor
Rica Timman at 5:15 p.m. open to all nursery
school age children and their families. Temple
Beth El, 221 Schraalenburgh Road, Closter. RSVP
201-768-5112.
Family Friendly Shabbat in Closter: Rabbi David
S. Widzer and Cantor Rica Timman are joined by
Rinat Beth El Junior Choir for a family-friendly
Shabbat service at 6:45 p.m. Temple Beth El, 221
Schraalenburgh Road, Closter. 201-768-5112.

Saturday, February 28
Club Shabbat and Torah Tots: Club Shabbat
for students in grade 2 to 6 where they learn
the Torah portion and do the Shabbat service.
Kiddush served. Torah Tots is for children ages
3 to 6 and their parents as they learn about the
beauty of Shabbat. Congregation Gesher Shalom,
1449 Anderson Ave., Fort Lee. For more information, 201-947-1735.

AOC-23*
Dried Fruit and Nuts Marry Chocolate in February
Celebrating Tu BShevat and Valentines Day in the Sweetest Ways
RAC H E L H A R K H A M

he short month of February is ushered in with


Tu BShevat on the evening of Feb 3. Although Tu
BShevat celebrates trees,
nature and other green motifs, it occurs smack in the
middle of the barest season, in one
of the coldest months. Its at a time
of the year, in a region, where nothing
green is growing, and the choices on
the produce shelves are noticeably
limited. If youre looking to celebrate
Tu BShevat with the delicious offerings of nature, your best bet is a selection of dried fruits and nuts, of which
there are plenty.
Within the month of February
there is another day of celebration.
This one devoted to chocolate and
other sweet and fanciful things Valentines Day. Chocolate is always in
season, but during the month of February, in the heart of the cold northeastern winter, it is probably when it
is most needed. The recipes below offer dried fruits and nuts in celebration
of Tu BShevat treats, and chocolate

because, well, everything is


better with chocolate, right?
The Sweet & Salty Chex
Mix has got it all: crunchy
texture, sweet brown sugarmaple flavor juxtaposed with
salty pretzels. Banana chips
and chopped walnuts bring
this mix down to earth, and
chocolate and peanut butter chips
add a slightly decadent edge to this
easy-to-make treat.
Its kind of incredible how delicious the Chocolate Granola Nut Clusters are when you consider how easy
they are to make. And that crunchy
texture! And as tasty chocolate treats
go, these are actually on the healthful
side.
And because its cold and dark
outside, and nothing is as warm and
comfy as a mug of hot chocolate,
Nutella Hot Chocolate is the perfect
hot beverage to enjoy on Tu BShevat,
and every day of the short and sweet
month of February.
Rachel Harkham is a food writer, recipe
developer, cookbook author and chocolatier. She lives with her family in Rockland
County.

Sweet & Salty Tu BShevat Chex Mix


6 cups Chex cereal
2 cups mini-sized pretzels
1 cup banana chips
cup walnuts
8 tablespoons butter
cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons maple
syrup
1 cups chocolate and/
or peanut butter chips
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine Chex, pretzels, banana
chips, and walnuts.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium
heat and mix in brown sugar and maple syrup
until combined. Pour butter mixture over the
Chex mix and stir until the Chex pieces are well
coated.
Spread the Chex mix out onto the prepared
baking tray. Sprinkle chocolate and/or peanut
butter chips over the mix. Set aside until dry
(about an hour).
Nutella Hot Chocolate
1 cups milk
3 tablespoons Nutella or
other hazelnut chocolate
spread

Summer Helps Create a Holistic Education


E DWA R D K RA F T M A N N
All our children are unique and special.
Each child is an individual with specific talents and interests. As they get older their
interests diversify while their schooling
morphs into a more uniform structure. In
grade school, there are set prerequisites
that each student is expected to fulfill in
order to graduate from grade to grade.
Eventually, there are sets of standardized
exams students are expected to pass with
exemplary score paving a way into a college of their choice.
College is a sign of certain freedom,
where one can choose their classes,
hone in on their passions, and ultimately
discover their career interests. Unfortunately, however, many college students
struggle discovering and establishing
their career goals while the tuition meter
is ticking away. How do we, as parents
and educators, help them? What can we
do that will enable our children to be happy, fulfilled and successful?
For many parents and students it is
difficult to allocate time during a school
year to explore enrichment interests in
breadth. Schools academic rigor necessitates, and rightfully so, focus and untainted attention. Realistically, students have

In a medium saucepan combine milk and


Nutella and stir over medium heat until Nutella
dissolves into milk and the milk begins to bubble at the sides.

only tiny pockets of time during their


academic year to devote to their other
interests such as music, dance, robotics,
tennis, golf, medicine, and business to get
a fully rounded holistic education.
Prestigious colleges, universities,
medical schools and other graduate
schools are looking for a well-rounded
student body. Many will attest, that higher education isnt only about academics.
Networking, looking for opportunities,
and creating relationships are also a crucial component of a college experience.
Dedicating effort and time to studying
is undeniably a priority. Yet, engaging in
college sports, clubs, and other various
activities is just as important. Pre-College
programs around the country are in high
demand more than ever before. Parents
and students are seeking a competitive
edge in the college market.
Having a meaningful summer is important for any child. A childs summer
has the potential to impact their upcoming academic year and beyond. As parents and educators we cannot downplay
or underestimate the importance of
enrichment opportunities and having a
meaningful summer for our children.

Chocolate-Granola-Nut Clusters
1 cups semisweet chocolate
chips
2 cups granola
1 cup sliced
almonds
cup dried cherries
Line a baking tray
with parchment
paper.
Place chocolate
chips in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl,
and microwave at full power for 2 minutes, or
until chocolate melts.
Fold granola, sliced almonds, and dried cherries into the melted chocolate until completely
coated.
With a spatula spread out chocolate-granola
concoction. Allow to harden (about 45 minutes). Break off into clusters when ready to
serve.
Makes 2 servings

PARTY

973-661-9368

Edward Kraftmann is the program director at


Julian Krinsky Camps and Programs.
ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015 23

AOC-24

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24 ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2015

A medical history

Auschwitz 70 Years Later

Survivors return to Auschwitz


determined to share their stories
On Tuesday, in a tent set up around the
gaping entrance to Birkenau, the concentration camp that was next to Auschwitz,
survivors and their companions were
joined by dignitaries from more than 40
countries for ceremonies that may well
mark the final time that so many Auschwitz survivors are together here again.
Halina Birenbaum, who survived Auschwitz as a child, described to the crowd of
3,000 her impressions of the Nazi camp 45
miles east of Krakow, calling it a bottomless pit of hell that I could not get out of.
All around us was electric barbed wire,
she said. Rows of barracks, stinking mud
a disgusting mass of people all in lousy
wet rags, with numbers and shaven heads.
Those gray faces with legs like sticks,
wearing those muddy clogs. Nothing
reminded you of anything human.
Roman Kent, president of the International Auschwitz Committee, which was
founded by a group of Auschwitz survivors, said his experience in the camp was

Toby Axelrod
KrAKoW, PolAnd What kept you
alive?
Did your non-Jewish friends reject you?
Could you ever forgive?
Those were some of the questions Jewish young adults posed to Holocaust survivor Marcel Tuchman on Monday at the
Galicia Jewish Museum here.
What kept me alive was having my
father with me, said Tuchman, 93, a physician from New York who was born in
Poland and survived several concentration
camps, including Auschwitz. And another
thing was the hope I had that one day I will
be able to tell the story to the likes of you,
so you can tell it to the next generation.
His meeting with young Jews was one of
many such encounters taking place in and
around Krakow on the 70th anniversary of
the Soviet armys liberation of Auschwitz,
where an estimated 1.1 million people were
murdered, many of them gassed.

Auschwitz survivor Marcel Tuchman, 93, meets with Jewish students in Krakow
on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet soldiers on January 26.
CourTesy of Jeffrey TuChmAn

more than enough to keep me awake at


night until the end of time.
He added: How can I ever forget the

smell of burning flesh that permeated the


air or the cries of children torn from
their mothers arms.

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28 Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015

Auschwitz 70 Years Later


While survivors cannot forget, others simply must
remember. Otherwise, Kent said, the conscience of
mankind would be buried alongside the victims.
Tuesdays memorial was sponsored by the World
Jewish Congress, the USC Shoah Foundation, and Discovery Communications, whose subsidiary, Discovery
Education, is working with the Shoah Foundation to
develop digital teaching materials about Auschwitz. It
also featured the screening of a short documentary,
Auschwitz, co-directed by the famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who started the Shoah Foundation.
In a moment of disequilibrium, survivors watched
the film about their former place of imprisonment, sitting in front of the very gate through which cattle cars
once passed, delivering so many Jews to their deaths.
Just outside the tent, a light snow fell on the remaining barracks of Birkenau, surrounded by barbed wire.
Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, addressed the crowd.
Auschwitz never goes away, he said. This awful
place stands as a reminder that propaganda leads
to anti-Semitism ... that anti-Semitism will grow if
nobody speaks out.
Anti-Semitism, he said, leads to places like
Auschwitz.
He added: After the recent events in Paris and
throughout Europe and around the world, I cannot
ignore what is happening today. Jews are targeted in
Europe once again because they are Jews.
The ceremony was the culmination of several days
of events and meetings attended in total by some 300
Holocaust survivors. Few of them actually were liberated at Auschwitz, but all had passed through its gates.
Today they are in their 80s and 90s, and fit enough
to have traveled from Israel, America, Argentina, and
elsewhere.
A group of survivors who was to visit the Auschwitz
exhibit on Monday never got beyond the infamous
gate, marked Arbeit Macht Frei, so crowded was this
threshold with eager journalists who had come from
around the world. And yet the hubbub didnt seem to
faze them a bit. In fact, most of the visitors seemed
determined to tell their stories to all who inquired.
I know that were getting old and have to make sure
that the memory doesnt die with us, said Irene Weiss,
84, of Fairfax, Va., who traveled with her daughter
Lesley. Her key message to todays youth: Dont be
deceived by demagogues.
On Monday at a ceremony for visiting survivors,
Spielberg, whose Oscar-winning movie Schindlers
List was filmed partly in Krakow, told the survivors,
I found my own voice and my own Jewish identity
thanks to you.

Spielberg, whose USC Shoah Foundation has interviewed


more than 50,000 Holocaust survivors since it was founded
21 years ago, said he was first confronted with the Holocaust
when he was a child, reading the numbers on his grandfathers arm.
Edgar Wildfeuer, 90, came here this week from Argentina with his daughter, Doris Wildfeuer, wanting to show
her both the camp he survived and city where he grew up:
Krakow, with its parks and market squares, its church spires
and streetcars. They planned to visit the street where he
had lived and the synagogue where he had his bar mitzvah.
Wildfeuer, who was deported to Auschwitz in 1944, lost
32 relatives.
I was the only one left, he said.
Still, his daughter said, He wanted to show me not only

NEW!!
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The Jewish Standard will now be mailed
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that place but the place where he grew up and was happy.
Tuchman, too, recalled a happy childhood in Poland. But
when the question of forgiveness came up before the youthful crowd on Monday evening, he paused.
Forgiveness is a very complicated thing, said Tuchman,
who came with his son Jeffrey. After the war, he testified on
behalf of a German engineer who had overseen slave laborers, including Tuchman himself, in Auschwitz.
But Tuchman also dealt out his own justice. In postwar
Germany, he and a fellow survivor spied a man who had
tortured them.
He was a sadist: He pounded on our stomachs when we
were sick with diarrhea, Tuchman recalled. We recognized him on the street and grabbed him, and beat the hell
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A view of Birkenau, the site of the memorial


ceremony.
Toby Axelrod
Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015 29

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Mordechai Ronen, who was a prisoner at Auschwitz when he was 11 and lost his mother, father, and sisters
there, breaks into tears as he walks through the camp, which is now a museum, on January 26.
sEan GaLLUp/GEtty imaGEs

Politics, Putin cast shadow over


Auschwitz liberation anniversary
Cnaan Liphshiz

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30 Jewish standard JanUarY 30, 2015

pRaGUE When they announced the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz,
Polish officials insisted that at this years event, the eyes
of the world will be focused on about 300 Holocaust
survivors whose presence Tuesday at the former Nazi
death camp near Krakow may be the last gathering of
its sort.
The generation of Holocaust survivors, after all, is
dying out.
Yet critics are charging that politics and tensions
between Russia and its neighbors nonetheless are eclipsing the focus on the survivors, and even muddling the
historical record. Many believe that behind the main
event, at Auschwitz, was an organized effort to discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending a
reprisal of sorts for Russias annexation of Ukrainian territory last year.
In 2005, during his earlier stint as president, Putin
attended the 60th anniversary ceremony. This time,
a tentative invitation was extended to the Russian
Embassy but not to Putin directly.
An attempt to keep out Putin was a serious failure in
commemoration because it was Russian troops who liberated the camp, said Efraim Zuroff, the Israel director
for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the human rights organization. This attempt to erase the Russian peoples
contribution to defeating Nazism is casting a shadow on
this commemoration, and creating a vacuum in which
untruths flourish.
One such distortion: On January 21, Polish Foreign
Minister Grzegorz Schetyna told a local radio station that
Ukrainians, not Russians, liberated Auschwitz, citing
the fact that the Red Army unit that reached Auschwitz
was called the First Ukrainian Front. And on January 8,
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that
the Soviets invaded Ukraine and Germany, when, in

fact, it was the Germans who invaded the Soviet Union.


His spokesman later explained that Yatsenyuk had the
carving up of Poland in 1939 by Germany and the Soviet
Union in mind.
These historical inversions show the level of hatred
that exists for Russia for the moment, said Peter Feldmajer, a vice president of the Hungarian Jewish umbrella
group Mazsihisz.
In addition to the event in Auschwitz, the camps liberation was scheduled to be commemorated in Prague
on January 26 and at the United Nations General Assembly on January 28.
But Putins presence would have been an especially
sensitive matter in Poland, where anger over Russian
aggression in Ukraine is mixed with bitter memories of
Russian domination during and predating the Soviet era
and fears of its return.
Polish officials denied that Putin was deliberately disinvited or discouraged from attending, noting that no
other head of state had been invited officially, because
of the policy of focusing on survivors.
Many, however, doubted this argument, as the list
of attending dignitaries at the Auschwitz event grew.
Among others it included French President Francois
Hollande and his German and Ukrainian counterparts,
Joachim Guack and Petro Poroshenko, as well as the
Dutch and Belgian premiers, Mark Rutte and Charles
Michel.
Putin, however, had been invited to attend an event
near Prague co-organized by the European Jewish Congress, which brought hundreds of Jewish community
leaders and dignitaries to commemorations of the Auschwitz liberation and to the nearby Terezin Memorial for
the Theresiendstadt concentration camp.
EJCs Russian-born president, the industrialist Moshe
Kantor, set up the event near Prague with the Czech government to provide a commemoration ceremony where
Putin would feel welcome, according to Peter Brod, a

Auschwitz 70 Years Later


board member of the Jewish Community
of Pragues foundation.
The feeling was that the Russian contribution to the liberation should be honored and commemorated in some way,
and this led to the event, said Brod, a
former BBC journalist.
But Arie Zuckerman, a senior EJC official, said the event near Prague which
featured debates about anti-Semitism
today and legislation to curb it never
was meant to serve as an alternative to
the Auschwitz event, which, unlike our
event, is only about commemoration.
Marek Halter, a well-known French
Jewish author who survived the Holocaust in his native Warsaw before escaping to Russia, said he and his generation
have a responsibility to protect [the]
historical record for as long as we can.
The record, he said, is in danger of
being lost in the politics of the new cold
war we are entering between the United
States and Russia.
Putins attendance at Auschwitz, he
added, should have been facilitated to
defend against this sort of obfuscation.
Serge Klarsfeld, a Romania-born Jewish Nazi hunter who survived the Holocaust in hiding in France and whose
father died at Auschwitz, said he could
understand the Polish state of mind
regarding Putin, but that he should have
been invited.
Its not, as some Poles claim, that the
Russians liberated Auschwitz because it
was en route to Berlin, he said. They
came to free Auschwitz, and the survivors will never forget the Red Armys
arrival there.

Still, Halter said he could think of no


place more appropriate than Prague and
Terezin to commemorate the Holocaust.
Prague was the only old Jewish city
that the Nazis left intact, because they
wanted to turn it into a Jewish Jurassic
Park, a museum to an extinct people,
he said. Convening hundreds of Jewish
community leaders and dignitaries is a
powerful response.
But how the message is carried is
changing as the last generation of Holocaust survivors passes on, Frans Timmermans, a vice president of the European Commission, said in an interview
at the Prague Municipal House, where
Czech President Milos Zeman welcomed
leaders of European Jewry and politicians with a brief address.
We are at a critical point in European history because living memory is
becoming history, Timmermans said.
Soon there will be no more people with
numbers on their arms to tell the story,
and the tendency to beautify a terrible
record is tempting.
In Auschwitz, one of the survivors
who is still telling his story is Ernst
Verduin, 87, who lived in hiding in the
Netherlands before he was deported
to the death camp with his family. Verduin arrived at Auschwitz suffering from
a severe lung infection and was sent
immediately to the gas chambers.
As we said goodbye, my sister wished
me a quick death, recalled Verduin,
who survived because he left the gas
chamber group and snuck to the group
of men sent to work.

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Jewish World

Netanyahus planned speech


roils pro-Israel community
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WASHINGTON When Israel wants something from


the United States, it typically makes three stops: the
pro-Israel lobby, Jewish members of Congress, and the
White House.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored all three
when he accepted an invitation from House Speaker
John Boehner (R-Ohio) to address Congress about U.S.
Iran policy.
Neither congressional Jews nor the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee were notified of the speech,
much less consulted. The White House found out three
hours before Boehner announced the address on January 21.
The result: Muted yet palpable discomfiture among
the three sectors that Israel relies on to ensure continued support from Washington.
Israeli officials say the need to influence the United
States on an issue of existential importance overrides
the need for niceties in this case. But congressional staffers and pro-Israel officials say such niceties are critical if
Israel is going to be persuasive.
Ken Goldstein, an expert on congressional politics and
the pro-Israel community at the University of San Francisco, said Netanyahu and his U.S. envoy Ron Dermer
put Jewish lawmakers most of them Democrats in
a tight spot.
I will agree with Ambassador Dermer that this is a
phenomenally important issue. Given that, is this the
best strategy? Goldstein said. It puts everyone in a difficult position, and doing your job is not to put someone
in a difficult position.
The White House reaction to last weeks announcement was public and sharp, describing the speech as a
breach of protocol and saying that Obama and other top
officials would not meet Netanyahu during his visit. In
his State of the Union speech, which he gave the day
before Boehners announcement, Obama had promised
to veto any new Iran sanctions legislation. Netanyahu is
expected to lobby in favor of such sanctions during his
U.S. trip.
The reaction from the pro-Israel lobby and the Jewish congressional caucus has been more muted, at least
on the record, but sources close to both said bypassing
them undercut their effectiveness and made little longterm sense for Israel. Jewish lawmakers are traditionally
the first address for pro-Israel lobbying on Capitol Hill,
reflecting a tradition of deferring to lawmakers belonging to the ethnic and regional minorities most vested in
a particular issue.
The bottom line is, it would have been smarter to
consult, said a source close to AIPAC.
Other sources said that Dermer, who is suspected of
helping to orchestrate the Boehner invitation, also bore
some responsibility.
Netanyahu is not being well served by who he sent
here, said one Democratic congressional staffer.

Ron Dermer, Israels ambassador to the United


States, defended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus decision to address Congress on Iran in
March.
EMBASSY OF ISRAEL

The Israeli embassy did not reply to requests for comment, except to note that Boehners official invitation
was made in the name of both parties. Top Democratic
officials say Boehner did that without consulting them.
Boehners office has not responded.
In a speech to a State of Israel Bonds gala in Florida
on Sunday, Dermer said getting the Iran message across
was too critical to reject Boehners invitation. He also
lauded Obamas defense and intelligence cooperation
with Israel and said bipartisan support for Israel was
appreciated.
The prime ministers visit to Washington is intended
for one purpose and one purpose only to speak up
while there is still time to speak up, Dermer said. To
speak up when there is still time to make a difference.
Netanyahus speech, which is scheduled for March 3
after being bumped back quickly from its original February 11 date coincides with AIPACs annual policy conference in Washington. It also comes two weeks before
Israeli elections.
Netanyahu supports Republicans and a number of
Democrats who argue that more sanctions will increase
Western leverage on Iran. But Obama has countered
that increasing sanctions now would drive Iran from the
current negotiations with world powers over its nuclear
program.
Right-wing groups including the Zionist Organization of America, the Emergency Committee for Israel
and the Republican Jewish Coalition have defended
Boehner and Netanyahu, as did the sole Jewish Republican in Congress, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).
Inviting the prime minister of Israel to address

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Jewish World

Israeli left resurgent as campaign rhetoric escalates


Ben Sales
TEL AVIV Stav Shaffir was angry.
The 29-year-old firebrand is known
for her outbursts, which have gotten her
kicked out of many Knesset hearings in the
past year. But when she rose in the Knesset on January 21 to answer Jewish Home
party leader Naftali Bennetts charge that
she is post-Zionist, her shrill rebuttal went
viral.
True Zionism, friends, is to distribute
the budget equally among all citizens,
Shaffir said in an impassioned speech
that has been viewed online more than
300,000 times. True Zionism is to be
concerned for the weak. True Zionism is
solidarity not only in war, but in the day
to day, to watch out for one another. This
is Israeliness. This is Zionism.
Israel is no stranger to heated political
rhetoric, but already the campaign for
the March 17 elections is shaping up to be
a particularly fierce one, with the leading parties taking aim not merely at their
rivals policies but at their very commitment to the ideals of the Jewish state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,

Stav Shaffir makes a point at a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee in


Jerusalem in September.
Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

facing the first serious challenge to his


leadership since 2009, has attacked the
Labor Party the faction of Israels founders as anti-Zionist. Labor has shot back,
branding its recently forged alliance with
the Hatnuah faction as the Zionist Camp

and presenting itself as a bulwark against


the right.
The two rivals even have the same campaign slogan. Likud banners read Its us
or them. Zionist Camp ads proclaim Its
us or him.

The Labor Party chose an extreme leftist and anti-Zionist list, read a message
posted on Netanyahus official Facebook
page following the January 14 Labor primary. Theres no meeting point between
the nationalist and responsible Likud outlook, and the irresponsible leftist list.
In the last round of legislative balloting, in 2013, Netanyahu won reelection by
a wide margin, taking 31 seats 12 more
than his nearest rival. This time around,
Labor, which had just eight Knesset members as recently as two years ago, has seen
a resurgence, with polls showing its joint
slate with Hatnuah tied with Likud at 24
seats apiece.
Labor began the election season in
December with a bombshell, merging with
the centrist Hatnuah led by former Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni. Livni and Labor Chairman Isaac Herzog, presenting themselves
as the anti-Netanyahu ticket, have hit the
prime minister especially hard on foreign
affairs, pledging to mend fences with the
United States and Europe.
After Netanyahu pushed his way to
the front of a January 11 Paris rally that
See israeli left page 34

Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015 33

Jewish World
Israeli left
from page 33

the French premier didnt even want him to attend, Zionist Camp activists mocked him with a video game in which
the object is to navigate the prime ministers character past
other heads of state to the front of the procession.
When U.S. House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu last week to address a joint session of Congress in an
apparent breach of diplomatic protocol, Zionist Camp leaders accused him of playing with the U.S.-Israel relationship
for political gain.
The fact that Netanyahu walks the streets of Paris with
the leaders of the world doesnt mean those leaders are with
him, Herzog said on January 15 in a speech in Haifa. The
essential alliance with the U.S. has great influence in the

world. Its on us to tighten it, strengthen it. The Americans


demand mutuality, trust and partnership. Red lines have
been crossed crudely.
Netanyahu has gone tit for tat in the debate, portraying
himself as standing up for Israels interests against enemies
like Iran and frenemies like the French government and the
Obama administration, with whom he has had strained relations. His address to Congress is scheduled for March 3, giving the prime minister a prominent podium to represent
Israel internationally just two weeks before Election Day.
But even if Netanyahus popularity is floundering just
42 percent of Israelis think hes suited to be prime minister,
according to a recent poll there is safety for him in numbers. The party that stands to gain the most in the election is
the pro-settler Jewish Home, which has run this years most

energetic campaign and risen to third in the polls.


More conservative even than Likud, Jewish Home is
almost certain to join a Likud-led coalition.
Its clear Ill support the leader of the right, Bennett said in a January 24 interview with Israeli Channel 10. The question is whether it again will be as if
[the coalition] will be right wing but will really be led
by the left.
Founded as a modern Orthodox faction, Jewish
Home has broadened its appeal by downplaying its
opposition to social reforms like same-sex marriage
and naming several high-profile secular hawks to its
list. The party also has latched on to Likuds effort to
challenge Herzog and Livnis Zionist credentials, running with the slogan We dont apologize.
Like Likud and the Zionist Camp, Jewish Home portrays itself as a broad party for Israelis of all stripes.
But Israels political map remains as fragmented as
ever. Likud and Labor both are slated to win about 24
of the Knessets 120 seats, while polls predict Jewish
Home will take 16. Contending for the remaining spots
are a handful of centrist parties eager to distinguish
themselves from each other while still staying open to
joining whichever party comes out on top.
Pop-up centrist parties are a trend in Israeli elections. In 2006, the newly founded Kadima was the
Knessets largest party. In 2013, it was Yesh Atid. Now
Kadima has disappeared entirely, and Yesh Atid is middling in the polls.
In their place is Kulanu, a new centrist party
founded by former Likud minister Moshe Kachlon that
pledges to reform Israels economy. Kulanu, Hebrew
for all of us, has focused its messaging on breaking
Israels bureaucratic state monopolies, but it also has
bolstered its diplomatic and security credentials by
placing Yoav Galant, the former commander of Israels
Southern Command, and former ambassador to the
United States Michael Oren on its list.
Kachlon has avoided branding the party as left or
right, saying hell join any coalition that shares his economic goals. Kulanu is polling at around nine seats
less than 10 percent of the electorate but in Israels
chaotic political scene, that could be enough to give
Likud or Zionist Camp the votes necessary to form a
government.
In a jab at Yesh Atid, currently the largest party in
the Knesset, Oren said this month that being big is no
guarantee of effectiveness.
That they didnt deliver was not a function of size,
JTA Wire Service
Oren said.

Israeli Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett, right, and Deputy Minister Rabbi Eli BenDahan unveil a series of reforms in religious services in Israel at a news conference in Jerusalem
in 2013.
Flash 90
34 Jewish Standard JANUARY 30, 2015

Jewish World

World Zionist Congress elections: a voters guide

others, this group is focused in part on institutional reform.


It wants to review the focus and structure of the congress
and create direct elections for chairman, priorities and budget. It also wants to encourage the cultural and political
conditions under which secular & religious expressions of
Jewish identity can flourish.

Western Wall plaza to allow for egalitarian prayer. Its slate


includes movement leaders.

American Forum for Israel

What is it?

Mercaz USA: The Zionist Arm of the


Conservative Movement
Promotes the Conservative movements interests, including advocating for state acceptance of all conversions and
weddings performed by Conservative rabbis; state funding for non-Orthodox rabbis; and redeveloping the entire

URIEL HEILMAN
orld Zionist Congress elections began
earlier this month and run through
April 30. Heres a primer on what the
congress is, the logistics of voting,
whos on the ballot, and why you just might want to
sign up for PayPal before casting your vote.

The World Zionist Congress is a 500-person representative body of the Jewish people that wields substantial control over three key institutions with significant
assets at their disposal: Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, or
the Jewish National Fund, which owns some 13 percent of Israels land; the Jewish Agency for Israel,
which deals with immigration and absorption, as well
as Zionism education, and has a $475 million annual
budget; and the World Zionist Organization. The congress helps formulate the organizations policies,
appoints some of their leaders and has a say in how
their money is spent.

When was it established?


Founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897 to help bring about
the establishment of a Jewish state, the World Zionist
Congress was conceived as a parliament for the Jewish people. Now that Israel exists, its de facto significance is its control over the aforementioned Zionist
institutions.

Who is in the congress?


Of the 500 representatives, 190 come from Israel, 145
from the United States, and 165 from the rest of the
world combined. The process for choosing representatives differs in each county. In America, Jews over
age 18 who pledge fealty to certain Zionist principles
are eligible to vote for the party of their choosing
each party has posted its election slate of representatives. In Europe, some communities hold elections
while others appoint their representatives. The Israeli
representatives are allocated according to representation in the Knesset.
Among the Americans, the parties that correspond
with the major religious denominations typically wield
the most power.

How do I vote?
Online. To register, go to Myvoteourisrael.com. Registration will require paying a $10 processing fee ($5
if youre under 30) to the American Zionist Movement and clicking off a box that affirms that you support certain basic Zionist principles called the Jerusalem Program. You can pay via credit card, PayPal,
or eCheck.

Whom should I vote for?


Whoever best represents the values you hold dear,
because the next congress will, in theory, allocate
resources and endorse policies in line with those
values.

Whos running?
In America, 11 different parties:

Zionist Spring: Restoring Vision to


World Zionism
Backed by the youth movement Young Judaea, among

Alliance for New Zionist Vision


With a slate limited to young activists, this party focuses on
the battle for Israels legitimacy on college campuses.

Affiliated with the American Forum of Russian Speaking


Jewry, this nationalist faction believes Israel is Americas
only reliable ally, Jerusalem should never be divided and
the Israel Defense Forces should be strengthened. Its slate
SEE ELECTIONS PAGE 42

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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 35

i
i

W
O

E
t
Y
v
o

A
J

T
i
e
e

Gallery
1

n 1 Teacher Chana Zinstein is with third graders at Temple


Emanuel of the Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Lake during a challah-baking workshop led by congregant Susan
Liebeskind. Amy Goldstein, Lainie Miller, and Tracy Materetsky were among the parent volunteers. COURTESY TEPV

n 2 During the all-day professional development day on


Martin Luther King Day, Solomon Schechter Day School
faculty and administrators packaged weekend snack-packs
for Bergen County kids receiving support from the Center for Food Action. Shop-Rite in New Milford partnered
with the school for the chessed project. COURTESY SSDS
n 3 Members and friends of the National Council of Jewish Womens Bergen County section assembled more than
400 snack packs for the Center for Food Action at a recent
meeting. The packs will provide food to children in four local elementary schools for the weekends, when the federal
school lunch program is not available. COURTESY NCJWBCS
n 4 Melanie Lester, the Jewish Family Service of North
Jerseys community coordinator, center, presented Norman Baron, right, with a silver cup at a recent JFSNJ
board meeting. The honor was for his 21+ years volunteering as a Kosher Meals on Wheels driver for homebound seniors in Fair Lawn and Elmwood Park. His wife,
Zehava, is pictured with them. COURTESY OF JFSNJ
n 5 By making a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, students at the Academies at the
Gerrard Berman Day School in Oakland could wear
their pjs to school for Pajama Day. ELISA BERGER

36 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015

Dvar Torah

Bishalach: Music to our ears

ike many couples, my wife


and I have a song. When the
song (Peter Gabriels In Your
Eyes) comes on the radio,
I always pause to give reflection on the
liminal moments in our lives where that
song helped relieve a stressful moment
for us as a married couple or served as
a reminder of the initial days of courtship on my part. At that moment, I am
reminded of the expression that something can be music to my ears.
As we exit Egypt this week, we recite
Shirat Hayam, a Torah passage which
is one of the few sections with its own
distinct poetic format in the scroll and its
own distinctive melody.
Why does this particular passage merit
these special modifications?
Perhaps the answer to this question
can be found in a biblical passage that we
recite early in the Shabbat morning service. In Psalm 136, we recite the words,
lgozer yam suf leegzarim, ki lolam
chasdo for the God who split the sea

Let each of us
imagine how our
ancestors set
forth a path for
our survival and
freedom.
into parts, Gods kindness lasts forever.
A close reader of this verse would ask
why it suggests that God divided the Sea
of Reeds into multiple sections (gzarim)
when we famously understand it to have
been divided in half.
The midrashic works Pirke de Rebbe
Eliezer and the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan interpret that the plural gzarim,
sections, refers to the division of the
Sea of Reeds into 12 distinct sections
corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel.

Through this midrash, we


merit of their ancestors
can imagine an incredible
was sufficient to divide the
moving moment as each
sea. Therefore Rashi brings
family finds a distinct path
the 12 pathway midrash
across the dry ground, singin order to imagine that the
ing in gratitude and joy,
individual tribes needed
recalling as a tribe their
to march as one in order
ancestors initial beginto recall how each of them
nings and travels as they
and their ancestry was
Rabbi Fred
revel in being rescued from
essential to the process
Elias
the hands of the pursuing
of survival, freedom, and
Solomon Schechter
Egyptians.
redemption.
Day School of
Rashi questions the order
This Shabbat, as we hear
Bergen County,
of events in the story. Why
the recitation of Shirat
New Milford;
Congregation Kol
does God tells Moses to
Hayam and participate in
HaNeshamah,
speak to the Israelites to
the communal reading, let
Englewood,
direct them to move on,
each of us imagine how our
Conservative
and only then is Moses
ancestors set forth a path
told to raise his hand over
for our survival and freedom and how we will in
the sea in order to split it?
their merit continue to ensure that our
Shouldnt the command that the Israelites move follow the splitting of the sea?
community in a united fashion will proliferate through the experience of limRashis answer is that the Israelites
inal moments of holiness together. That
were commanded to proceed because
would certainly be music to all our ears!
the sea could not stand in their way. The

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Holiday

Crossword

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Purim cards available


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Sharsheret, a national
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We understand that young Jewish women have unique concerns

when it comes to breast


in serving them.

programs for women and families to improve their quality

the way that feels most


We help women and families connect to our community in
or treatment, as well as
comfortable, taking into consideration their stage of life, diagnosis,
resources, offer specialized
their connection to Judaism. We also provide educational
cancer, and create
support to those facing ovarian cancer or at high risk of developing
of life.

breast
Sharsheret supports young Jewish women and families facing
before, during, and after diagnosis.

cancer at every stage

North American Inclusion Month is now


February is the fifth annual North American Inclusion Month. Yachad will expand
its programming to promote awareness
and sensitivity for those with special needs
and work to establish inclusion as a mindset in the larger Jewish community.
NAIM is an initiative of Yachad/the
National Jewish Council for Disabilities,
the Orthodox Unions agency dedicated to
enhancing the opportunities of individuals

with disabilities As part of the month-long


initiative, a nation-wide Shabbat BYachad
will be held on Saturday, February 7, Parshat Yitro.
The official NAIM website, which will
list events as they are added, can be found
at www.naim4inclusion.org. The website
provides easy access to program ideas and
resources provided by Yachad.

www.jstandard.com
38 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015

Across
1. Like some Talmudic references
8. Not Kenny Gs usual instrument
12. Big first for little Moisheleh
16. Harry Connick Jr., e.g.
17. Custard dessert, often made kosher for
Passover
18. Pepsi Max is a popular one in Israel
19. Star who played an archaeologist in
67-Acrosss 1981 film
21. Dead sea, or at least one moving in that
direction
22. Friday night gathering
23. How an Anglo poet might say laila
24. Blintz, essentially
25. Star who played an oceanographer in
67-Acrosss 1975 film
31. Three rhyming sources of damage in the
Talmud: bor (pit), chamor (donkey), and
___ (ox)
32. One of 131 Righteous Among the
Nations from a major Balkan country
33. Balaams donkey, perhaps
34. Place to get some shekels
37. Branch out on Sukkot?
40. Friday, to Shabbat
42. Star who played a sidekick in a 2008 film
by 67-Across
45. When very thankful, say it after todah
49. The one for To Tell the Truth often
included Kitty Carlisle
50. Einstein and Salk, e.g.
51. Stereotypical sleep sound for Zaidy
52. Make like a gonif
53. Star who played a nightclub singer in a
1984 film by 67-Across
56. Empire in the Western Hemisphere during Torah times, approximately
58. Location of one of nine Chabad centers
in the Caribbean
59. The Sinai has few (abbr.)
60. The Chazon ___
63. I ___ Extremes (Billy Joel song)
65. Costa ___, the only nation with an
embassy in Jerusalem
67. Subject of this puzzle
72. A Koufax rookie card compared to a
Kershaw
73. Cable sta. where Goldberg would fight
74. Dynamic start for some IDF vehicles
77. 03 is this kind of code for Tel Aviv
78. Star who played a mathematician in
67-Acrosss 1993 film
83. Like ISIS
84. Ingredient in some Ahava products
85. Critic Kael
86. The Jewish ___ (photography curriculum)
87. Way to work for many Five Towners
88. One rushing to make it home before
Shabbat, perhaps

The solution to last weeks puzzle is


on page 45.

Down
1. Bris numero
2. Raisin cereal thats kosher but not for
Passover
3. Egypt compared to Iraq, after losing in
1948
4. Breed of dogs owned by a monarch who
lives near Golders Green
5. Brandeis or Bar Ilan, to an Aussie
6. Mantis Vision, Israeli-made Hi-___ 3D
scanner
7. Primo Levi said I was this way
8. Killed, as Solomon did to many of his
enemies
9. Bar Refaeli and Marilyn Monroe
10. Item that helped save Danish Jewry in
1943
11. Vzot Habracha, in terms of Torah portions
12. Chow (down) at a siyum
13. Dominated at the Maccabi games
14. Pass, as six hours before milchigs
15. Most similar to Winona Ryder
20. Chanukah candle
24. Location of JDate
26. David to Goliath
27. Jewish jig
28. Many a Middle Easterner
29. Sight in Eilat waters
30. Make the wrong bracha, e.g.
34. Snakes that were staffs, maybe
35. Improve, as Netanyahu-Obama ties
36. ___-me (rival of Seth Greens character in
the Austin Powers movies)
38. Hindu psalm
39. Major line in Ashers lev?
41. Sheruts
43. Frat rushed by many Jews
44. Shyster, perhaps
46. Notable Niels
47. City near the Dead Sea
48. Carves commandments into tablets, say
53. Actress Dennings and others
54. Feature on the side of a chasidic childs
face
55. Earlier name for the springtime month
of Nisan
57. Bugsy Siegel or Mickey Cohen
60. AKA Jacob
61. Really, really fast?
62. Part of the sefer Im holding
64. Choose, as the Jewish people
66. Fallow, as land during shmita
68. Meats that are kosher but controversial
69. Use clues, as to guess if someone is
Jewish
70. Lang. often spoken in Raanana
71. Like Ben & Jerrys
75. Letter chiseled on a tablet, perhaps
76. Forty-niner?
78. El Al alternative
79. High Priest with wicked sons
80. Gadsar, Israeli special ___ unit
81. Race unit for Mark Spitz
82. Like some dates?

Arts & Culture


Above and Beyond
ERIC A. GOLDMAN
Every once in a while, a filmmaker captures the essence of what the State of Israel
means to the Jewish people in general and
to Americas Jews in particular.
Above and Beyond provides a remarkable look at the birth of Israels air force.
Perhaps more importantly, it considers
the ways in which Israel can affect the lives
of Jews in America.
On one level, this is a film about a group
of veteran World War II pilots and navigators who volunteered to fly airplanes
for Israel during the 1948 War of Independence, when Israels enemies had air
power and Israel did not. This story has
been told on film before, but after she saw
the obituary of Al Schwimmer in 2011, pro-

ducer Nancy Spielberg decided to provide


a broader look at the band of brothers
who changed the course of Jewish history,
and who indeed may have saved Israel at
a time when its very existence was at risk.
Al Schwimmer, often called the father of
the Israeli air force, was a flight engineer
during World War II who later worked for
TWA. When he learned that Israel needed
aircraft for the new nation, he managed
to find surplus planes and smuggle them
there. He also helped recruit many of the
Americans who would pilot and navigate
those planes during the early months of
the 48 war.
Most of the men who volunteered to fly
for Israel were there because of a sense
of adventure, a desire to find the next

challenge, or simply to meet women. Leon


Frankel, a bomber pilot in the Pacific during World War II, won the Navy Cross.
Coleman Goldstein, George Lichter, and
Gideon Lichtman flew for the U.S. Army
Air Corps and Milton Reubenfeld did the
same for the Royal Air Force. In the film,
they are joined by other men, now in their
80s and 90s, who tell the story of how,
when Israel declared its independence
in May 1948, the country was ill prepared
to fight its enemies and desperately in
need of airplanes. Each mans story, what
brought them to Israel, and how their
service for the new state would not only
change their lives as men, but as Jews, is
remarkable. Their recollections are candid and frank, and boy do they know

how to tell a story. Recreations of flying


sequences, so ably undertaken by director Roberta Grossman, make their stories
even more dramatic.
This film is clearly about the volunteers
who came from abroad, as Mitnadvei
hutz laAretz Machal to help Israel in
its fight for independence. Producer Spielberg, writer Sophie Sartain, and director
Grossman wanted the story of these surviving men to be the focus of this movie.
Their escapades, whether in the air or on
the ground, hold our attention throughout. In the course of the mens narrative,
we learn about how pilots were trained
abroad, how second-rate aircraft caused
unnecessary death, and how random air
attacks by Israeli aircraft could alter the
course of a battle and change the outcome

of the war. One recreation shows how the


Egyptian army, just 30 miles from Tel Aviv,
stopped its advance when it was attacked
by just a few aircraft. We also come to
understand how important the activities
of fundraisers, both here and in Europe,
were in permitting the purchase of the
weapons and equipment without which
Israel might not have survived. Historians
Benny Morris and Derek Penslar help provide a framework for these stories.
The filmmakers do such a superb job
in bringing us in that I wanted to know
more about the other flyers, in particular
the native Israelis who joined these men
in training and in the air. We hear from
former U.S. marine Lou Lenart about

Americans and their unique story.


It was Al Schwimmers life story that
sparked producer Spielbergs interest.
But she shied away from telling about his
indictment for breaking U.S. law by smuggling aircraft to Israel, and chose not to
touch on his trial and his loss of U.S. citizenship; Schwimmer stayed in Israel,
founded Israel Aircraft Industries, and
later was pardoned by President Clinton.
The producer said that she omitted those
details because there simply were too
many stories to tell for one film, and that
Schwimmer no longer was around to tell
his story. Understandable, but I encourage
you to simply read more!

how he trained to be a pilot with several


Israelis near Prague. When he heard that
two Egyptian planes had bombed the Tel
Aviv bus station, killing 42, the Israelis
cut their training short and headed back
to Israel to provide some resistance in
the air. Three Israelis Modi Alon, Ezer
Weizman, and Eddie Cohen returned
with Lenart. We learn a great deal about
Alon, who assumed command of the air
squadron, and whose widow and daughter
describe later his plane crash at a landing
field weeks later. But I wanted the story
of the birth of Israels air command to be
rounded out, particularly with inclusion
of its Israelis one of them, Weizman,
years later would command Israels Air
Force and become the seventh president
of Israel. The filmmakers, however, said
that they wanted to concentrate on the

From left, the films cast and crew,


on location in Duxford, England;
surviving pilots, relatives, and the
producer; Nancy Spielberg and
George Lichter.

We must be thankful for how exquisite a


film Above and Beyond is. It is an amazing story about men who risked both their
citizenships and their lives by fighting in
the armed forces of another nation. It is
also a heartfelt reminder of how special
the State of Israel is to us as Jews. This is
a film that should be seen, not only in theaters but on college campuses.
The film opens today in New York at Village East Cinemas.
Eric Goldman is president of Ergo Media
and teaches at Yeshiva University.
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 39

Calendar
Friday

Sunday

JANUARY 30

FEBRUARY 1

Shabbat in Wayne:
The Chabad Center of
Passaic County hosts a
pre-Super Bowl Shabbat
dinner, hosted by
Hebrew school students,
6 p.m. Childrens
program included. 194
Ratzer Road. Chani,
(973) 694-6274 or www.
jewishwayne.com.

Games in River Edge:


Temple Avodat Shalom
hosts a Jewpardy
Breakfast, 9:15 a.m.
$7 for breakfast. 385
Howland Ave.
(201) 489-2463
or administrator@
avodatshalom.net.

Shabbat in Closter:
Rabbi David S. Widzer
and Cantor Rica Timman
join Rinat Beth El Junior
Choir for a family-friendly
service, 6:45 p.m. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112.

Shabbat in Wyckoff:
Temple Beth Rishon
offers Shabbat Shirah,
a service in song,
7 p.m. Led by Cantor
Ilan Mamber and
featuring the Kol Rishon
Choir with soloist JoAnn Skiena Garey
and cantorial intern
Summer GreenwaldGonella; instrumental
accompaniment by Ilan
Mamber, Itay Goren, Mark
Kantrowitz, and Jimmy
Cohen. Dessert and
coffee. 585 Russell Ave.
(201) 891-4466 or www.
bethrishon.org.

Shabbat in Tenafly:
Temple Sinai of Bergen
County hosts Sabbath
of Song with composer/
pianist Ronn Yedidia,
jazz flutist Itai Kriss, and
percussionist Yuval Edut,
7:30 p.m., 1 Engle St.
(201) 568-3035.

Shabbat in Ridgewood:
Temple Israel and Jewish
Community Center
offers tot Shabbat,
led by Cantor Caitlin
Bromberg on her guitar,
11 a.m. Youngsters, with
their families, join the
service in the sanctuary
for concluding hymns,
followed by kiddush
lunch. 475 Grove St.
(201) 444-9320 or www.
synagogue.org.

Bob Klapisch
Baseball columnist in
Teaneck: Bob Klapisch,

The Kaplen JCC


on the Palisades in
Tenafly presents
Baseball & Bagels, a
bagel brunch and discussion with
Kostya Kennedy, author of Pete
Rose An American Dilemma,
Sunday, Feb. 8, 10:30 a.m. Cosponsored with the James H.
Grossmann Memorial Jewish Book
Month. Family discount available.
411 E. Clinton Ave. (201) 408-1454.

FEB.

Super Bowl special


needs program: The
Chabad Center of
Passaic County offers
Saturday Night Live,
a Super Bowl-themed
program for children
with special needs and
their siblings, 7 p.m. Sub
sandwiches served. $10
per family. 194 Ratzer
Road. (763) 228-8570 or
jewishwayne.com.

Shabbat in Fair Lawn:


Congregation Shomrei
Torah hosts Torah,
Text, and Tradition: An
Evening of Learning and
Sharing, 7-9:45 p.m.
Three sessions, three
choices per session, no
speeches. 19-09 Morlot
Ave. Rabbi Wallace
Greene, wmg14c@gmail.
com or (201) 791-7910.

Kol HaNeshamah in
Englewood assembles
mishloach manot
packages for lone
soldiers in the Israel
Defense Forces, at
St. Pauls Church,
2-4 p.m. (201) 816-1611,
tikkunolam@khnj.org, or
www.khnj.org.

Monday
FEBRUARY 2
Israeli elections: Political
analyst Michael Tuchfeld
discusses the upcoming
Israeli elections at a
lunch and learn at
Young Israel of Fort Lee,
noon. 1610 Parker Ave.
(201) 592-1518 or yiftlee.
org.

Blood drive in Teaneck:

Saturday
JANUARY 31

Mishloach manot for


the IDF: Congregation

David Nesenoff
COURTESY CHABAD

Havdalah in Haskell:
Filmmaker/musician/
author Rabbi David
Nesenoff presents A

40 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015

Funny Thing Happened


to me at the White
House at Chabad of
Upper Passaic County,
7:45 p.m. Havdalah with
guitarist Jeff Goldstein.
1069 Ringwood Ave,
Suite 101. 201-696-7609
or info@JewishHighlands.
org.

the Records baseball


columnist, speaks at a
mens club breakfast
at Congregation Beth
Aaron, 9:30 a.m. He
will preview the 2015
baseball season, discuss
A-Rod returning to the
Yankees, whether the
Mets can be competitive,
and the Hall of Fame
vote; q-&-a session
follows. Breakfast served.
950 Queen Anne Road.
(201) 836-6210 or.

Used book sale: The


Fair Lawn Jewish
Center/Congregation
Bnai Israel holds a sale,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Childrens
books, 50 cents; adult
paperbacks, $1; and
hardcover books, $2.
10-10 Norma Ave.
(201) 796-5040.

Zumba in Tenafly:
The Kaplen JCC on
the Palisades hosts
a 75-minute Zumba
Fitness Party with exotic
rhythms, high energy
Latin and international
beats, and easy-to-follow
moves, for those 12 and
older, 8 p.m. 411 East
Clinton Ave. Barbara,
(201) 408-1475.

Film in Teaneck: The


Jewish Home Family
centennial celebration
continues with a
screening of Ill Be
Me, based on Glen
Campbells battle with
Alzheimers disease, at
the Teaneck Cinemas,
11 a.m. 503 Cedar Lane.
Free. Reservations,
(201) 750-4231.

Holy Name Medical


Center holds a blood
drive with New Jersey
Blood Services, a
division of New York
Blood Center, 1-7 p.m.
718 Teaneck Road.
(800) 933-2566 or www.
nybloodcenter.org.

Tuesday

exotic salads, chocolate


fondue fruit fountain,
and a Tu BShvat seder.
$5. 194 Ratzer Road.
(973) 694-6274 or
jewishwayne.com.

Friday
FEBRUARY 6
Shabbat in Fort Lee:
JCC of Fort Lee/
Congregation Gesher
Shalom offers a Tu
BShvat Shabbat a
seder and supper and
a Shabbat Together
musical service,
beginning with dinner,
6 p.m. 1449 Anderson
Ave. (201) 947-1735.

Shabbat in Teaneck:
Temple Emeth offers
services for families with
young children, 7:30 p.m.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322 or www.
emeth.org.

Shabbat in Woodcliff
Lake: Temple Emanuel
of the Pascack Valley
offers Shabbat Tikvah,
a service of inspiration
and renewal, 8 p.m.
87 Overlook Drive.
(201) 391-0801 or www.
tepv.org.

FEBRUARY 3

Saturday

Hebrew reading in River


Vale: Rabbi Shelley

FEBRUARY 7

Kniaz begins a beginner


Hebrew reading course
at the Jewish Home
Assisted Living, 11 a.m.
Co-sponsored by Temple
Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley in Woodcliff Lake.
$20 donation for the
textbook. 685 Westwood
Ave. (201) 391-0801 or
gail@tepv.org.

Wednesday
FEBRUARY 4
Caregiver support in
Rockleigh: A support
group for those caring
for the physically frail or
people with Alzheimers
disease meets at the
Gallen Adult Day
Health Care Center at
the Jewish Home at
Rockleigh, 10-11:30 a.m.
Topics include long-term
care options, financial
planning, legal concerns,
and the personal toll
of caregiving. Shelley
Steiner, (201) 784-1414,
ext. 5340.

Torah and tea: The


Chabad Center of Passaic
County offers a Tu
BShvat womens Torah
and Tea in memory
of Rashi Minkowitz at
the Chabad Center
of Passaic County in
Wayne, 7:30 p.m. Wines,

Shabbat in Englewood:
Congregation Kol
HaNeshamah offers
prayers, songs, stories,
and crafts for 2- to
6-year-olds, led by early
childhood teacher Leona
Kleinstein, 11 a.m., on the
premises of St Pauls, 113
Engle St. Also March 7.
(201) 816-1611 or www.
KHNJ.org.

Community Torah
learning: Sweet Tastes
of Torah, concentrating
this year on Sinai
Revisited: Perspectives
from the Mountaintop,
is a community night of
study, discussion, music,
and fun, presented by
the North Jersey Board
of Rabbis with support
from local synagogues.
Fair Lawn Jewish
Center/Congregation
Bnai Israel. Havdalah,
6:50 p.m. Choice of
more than 20 classes.
Snow date February
8. (201) 652-1687,
sweettastesoftorah@
gmail.com, or
sweettastesoftorah.
weebly.com.

Calendar
FEBRUARY 8
Blood drive in
Englewood:
Congregation Ahavath
Torah holds a blood drive
with New Jersey Blood
Services, a division of
New York Blood Center,
9 a.m.-3 p.m. 240 Broad
Ave. (800) 933-2566 or
www.nybloodcenter.org.

Super Sunday in West


Nyack: The Jewish
Federation of Rockland
County will hold Super
Sunday a day of
fun and fundraising at
the Rockland Jewish
Community Campus,
9 a.m.-3 p.m. 450
West Nyack Road.
(845) 362-4200 or www.
jewishrockland.org.

Toddler program
in Tenafly: As part
of the shuls Holiday
Happenings program,
Temple Sinai of Bergen
County offers music,
stories, crafts, and
snacks, with a Purim

theme, for pre-k students


and their parents,
9:30 a.m. 1 Engle St.
(201) 568-3035.

Book club: The JCC of


Paramus/Congregation
Beth Tikvah holds its
monthly book club
with a discussion of
Rebecca by Daphne
Du Maurier, 10 a.m.
Light refreshments.
304 East Midland Ave.
(201) 262-7691 or www.
jccparamus.org.

Concert in Wayne:
The YMCA of Wayne
continues its Backstage
at the Y Series with
the Matt Daniel Band.
Daniel, a pianist, and a
drummer perform new
interpretations of wellknown Jewish songs in
Yiddish and Hebrew, and
his own compositions,
which draw upon his
Jewish roots, 11:45 a.m.
The Metro YMCAs of the
Oranges is a partner of
the YM-YWHA of North
Jersey. 1 Pike Drive.
(973) 595-0100, ext. 257.

Holocaust program in
Wayne: The Chabad
Center of Passaic County
hosts a Holocaust Night
for teens, parents,
and friends, with a
discussion by two
Holocaust survivors, a
screening of The Book
Thief, and a dessert
bar, 7 p.m. 194 Ratzer
Road. (973) 694-6274 or
Chanig@optonline.net.

In New York
Wednesday
FEBRUARY 4
Author in NYC: Elana
Sztokman and Nancy
Kaufman, CEO of the
National Council of
Jewish Women, meet
for a discussion of
Sztokmans new book,
The War on Women
in Israel: A Story of
Religious Radicalism
and the Women
Fighting for Freedom,
at the Museum of
Jewish Heritage

A Living Memorial
to the Holocaust,
7 p.m. 36 Battery Place.
(646) 437-4202 or www.
mjhnyc.org.

PHOTOS COURTEY RCNJ

Sunday

Singles
Wednesday
FEBRUARY 4
Senior singles meet for
dinner: Singles 65+, a
group that meets at the
JCC Rockland, goes to
dinner at Hogans Diner
in Orangeburg, N.Y.,
6 p.m. Individual checks.
Reservations to Gene
Arkin by Feb. 2, (845)
356- 5525.

Sunday
FEBRUARY 15
Senior singles meet in
West Nyack: Singles

Paul Haidostian

Khatchig Mouradian

Christian genocide in the


middle east
The Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
at Ramapo College of New Jersey will host a conversation between Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian and Khatchig
Mouradian on The Scourge of Genocide: A Century
of Angst in the Middle East. The discussion, which is
free and open to the public, is in the Trustees Pavilion
at Ramapo on February 10 at 7:30 p.m.
For information or reservations, go to www.ramapo.
edu/holocaust or call (201) 684-7409.

65+ meets for a social


bagels and lox brunch
at the JCC Rockland,
11 a.m. 450 West Nyack
Road. $8. Gene Arkin,
(845) 356-5525.

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:
NJ Jewish Media Group
pr@jewishmediagroup.com 201-837-8818

and StandWithUs Present:

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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 41

Jewish World
Elections
FROM PAGE 35

includes a host of Russian-American Jewish community leaders.

World Sephardic Zionist


Organization Ohavei Zion
Established four years ago at the request of
the late Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia
Yosef, this group aims to strengthen the
voice of Sephardi Jewry, with an emphasis
on Jewish education.

ARZA: Representing Reform


Judaism
The Reform movements faction is focusing its campaign on promoting womens rights, gender equality, religious
equality and a two-state solution to the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The slate consists of Reform movement leaders.

promotes equal rights for all Israeli citizens,


recognition of all religious streams and refugee reform. Its slate includes the leaders
of Americans for Peace Now, the New Israel
Fund, J Street U, Habonim Dror and other
like-minded groups.

Herut North America


The Jabotinsky Movement
This group bearing the name of the late
Revisionist Zionist and nationalist Zeev
Jabotinsky is dedicated to Jewish unity
and the territorial integrity of the land of
Israel.

Zionist Organization
of America
This faction promotes ZOAs wish list:
strengthening West Bank settlements,
fighting the BDS movement and anti-Semitism worldwide, and freeing Jonathan
Pollard.

HATIKVAH
The Progressive Zionist
Voice
This group aligned with Ameinu in the
United States and the Meretz party in Israel
wants Israel to freeze all settlement activity
until it reaches a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians. Hatikvah also

Religious Zionists: Vote


Torah for the Soul of Israel
This faction promotes Orthodox interests
in Israel, is aligned with Israeli religious

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(6) See below for offer details and Important Special Financing/Deferred Interest Details. Offer good 2/1 & 2/2/15 only.
Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores may be independently operated by authorized franchisees of Sears Home Appliance Showroom, LLC. The SEARS mark is a service mark of Sears Brands, LLC.
IMPORTANT SPECIAL FINANCING/DEFERRED INTEREST DETAILS (when offered): Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the purchase balance is not paid in full within the promotional period or if you make a late payment. Minimum
payments required. With credit approval, for qualifying purchases made on a Sears card (Sears Commercial One accounts excluded) Sears Home Improvement AccountSM valid on installed sales only. Offer is only valid for consumer accounts in good standing;
is subject to change without notice; see store for details. May not be combined with any other promotional offer. Sears cards: As of 10/2/2014, APR for purchases: VARIABLE 7.24%-27.24% or NON-VARIABLE 14.00%-29.99%. MINIMUM INTEREST CHARGE:
UP TO $2. See card agreement for details, including the APRs and fees applicable to you. Sears cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. FAMILY & FRIENDS OFFER: (1) Home appliances, tools, mattress, fitness, game room, grills, vacuums, protection agreements
limited to additional 10% off only. (2) Power lawn & garden limited to additional 5% off only. (1,2) Offers exclude Hot Buys, Super Hot Buys and consumer electronics. Offers valid 2/1 and 2/2/15. 5% and 10% savings off regular, sale and clearance prices apply to
merchandise only. May not be used to reduce a layaway or credit balance. Not valid on Super Hot Buys, Hot Buys, Special Purchases, Everyday Great Price items, Stearns & Foster, iComfort, iSeries, Simmons Beautyrest Elite, Jenn-Air, Dacor, GE, GE Profile, GE
Caf, air conditioners, water heaters, water softeners, dehumidifiers, generators, snow throwers and gift cards. Bosch, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, LG, Samsung, Electrolux and Electrolux Icon appliance brands limited to 10% off. Not valid
on commercial orders or previous purchases. Tax and shipping not included. Available only at Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores. Family & Friends offers valid for all stores all day Sunday, 2/1 and Monday, 2/2/15. APPLIANCE OFFER: (3) Advertised savings are
valid in-store only and range from 5%-25%. (4) Advertised savings are valid in-store only and range from 5%-10%. (3,4,5) Bosch, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, LG and Samsung appliances limited to 10% off. Offers exclude Hot Buys, Super
Hot Buys, Special Purchases, Jenn-Air, Dacor, GE, GE Profile, GE Caf, air conditioners, water heaters, water softeners, dehumidifiers and Everyday Great Price items. Offers good 2/1 & 2/2/15 only. (5) Cannot be combined with other Sears card discounts.
Excludes Sears Commercial One accounts and Outlet Stores. Sears Home Improvement AccountSM applies on installed merchandise only. (6) Offer applies to appliances over $499 after discounts and coupons when you use a qualifying Sears card. See above
for Important Special Financing/Deferred Interest Details. Excludes Outlet Stores. Offer good 2/1 & 2/2/15 only.

Zionists, and is backed by the central


institutions of Orthodox Jewish life in
America, including Yeshiva University, the
Orthodox Union, the National Council of
Young Israel and the Rabbinical Council
of America. Its agenda includes securing
funding for Orthodox educational and outreach programs, ensuring the security of
a united Jerusalem and promoting aliyah.

Green Israel: Aytzim/Green


Zionist Alliance/Jewcology
Focused on environmental issues, this faction wants to improve Israels air quality,
address Israels stray-animal situation,
and boost Israels recycling, organic agriculture and sustainable building practices.
The slate is topped by the president of
Aytzim: Ecological Judaism.

Netanyahu
FROM PAGE 32

Congress should never be viewed as undercutting


Americas foreign policy, Zeldin wrote in an email.
When that is the case then there is something wrong
with Americas foreign policy.
Most Jewish Democrats confined their criticism to
Boehner.
Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East,
deserves our continued bipartisan support and the
prime minister is always welcome, said Rep. Nita
Lowey (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House
Appropriations Committee. Moving forward, the
speaker must improve his coordination with the president and minority leader.
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), the top Democrat on the
House of Representatives Middle East subcommittee,
accused the speaker of political gamesmanship.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who for years has
backed strong Iran sanctions, said one problem was
a breakdown in communications between the White
House and the GOP leadership.
It was not what would have occurred if the legislative branch and the executive branch worked better
together in general and on foreign policy in particular, Sherman said. Those of us in the pro-Israel community dont want to see Israel be a partisan football.
The closest thing to criticism of Netanyahu personally came from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who
wrote legislation enhancing U.S.-Israel security cooperation last year. A staffer wrote in an email that Boxer
feels the same way about this invitation/speech that
she felt about Netanyahus comments before the 2012
U.S. election.
Two months before the 2012 vote, Netanyahu said
Obama did not have a moral right to keep Israel
from acting on Iran. In response, Boxer wrote to
Netanyahu and said he had injected politics into one
of the most profound security issues of our time.
JTA WIRE SERVICE

Bergenfield

450 South Washington Ave


Bergenfield, New Jersey 07621
201-244-9160

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Obituaries
Bertha Berkowitz

Bertha Berkowitz, ne Azarkowitz, 98, of Fort Lee,


formerly of Bayonne and Fair Lawn, died on Jan. 25.
Born in New Brunswick, she was predeceased by
her husband, Emanuel, in 1979, and is survived by a
daughter, Elaine Shore (Ivan) of Englewood; a sister,
Tillie Schustrin of Pennsylvania; and two grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

Ileen Greenberg

Ileen R. Greenberg, ne Schwartz, 74, of Fort Lee,


died on Jan. 21. Born in Brooklyn, she was a retired
bookkeeper for Elliot Salon in New York City.
A daughter, Liza, of Leonia, survives her.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

Leyb Katsyv

Leyb Katsyv, 88, of Clifton, died on Jan. 22.


Born in the former Soviet Union, he was a retired
engineer.
He is survived by his wife, Antonina, ne Yadykh; a
daughter, Galina Mankovetskiy; and a grandson, Boris.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

David Landau, Haaretz editor


and long-time JTA Israel bureau
chief, dies at 67
David Landau, a British-born Israeli journalist who held
top positions at several English-language publications,
including JTA, has died.
Landau died of brain cancer in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
He was 67.
Landau, who made aliyah in 1970, served part-time as
JTAs Israel bureau chief for many years while also working
as a diplomatic correspondent at The Jerusalem Post. He
later was promoted to managing editor of the Post. In 1997
he founded Haaretzs English-language edition and served
as the newspapers editor in chief from 2004 to 2008. He
wrote columns for Haaretz until last year.
In choosing to work for JTA, Landau demonstrated his
strong commitment to educating diaspora Jewry about the
intricacies of Israeli politics and Israeli life, said Lisa Hostein, JTAs editor from 1994 to 2008.
Top Israeli journalists in Israel would respond with
disbelief when they discovered I had the audacity to edit
and even challenge David, who was known as a tough
journalist and editor in his own right, said Hostein, who
now serves as executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in
Philadelphia.
He was an Orthodox Jew whose commitment to an
open and moral democracy in Israel drove his work as
a journalist, she said. May his memory be a blessing.
Landau wrote and ghost-wrote several books, including
a biography of Ariel Sharon published last year.
David Landaus untimely death is a very great loss,
not just for his family and his many friends, but also for
Haaretz and for journalism in general, said Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken in an obituary published in that
newspaper.
Former Israeli President Shimon Peres, who collaborated with Landau on two memoirs, told Haaretz that Landau was a rare combination of an individual religious in
JTA WIRE SERVICE
depth and liberal in breadth.

Dr. Lewis Lipman

Dr. Lewis E. Lipman, 85, of Oradell, died on Jan. 25.


An Army veteran, he was a 1953 NYU College of
Dentistry graduate and attended Rutgers University. A
self-employed dentist in Englewood, he was an active
member of the Kiwanis Club.
He is survived by his wife, Edythe; children, Joseph
(Elise), and Linda, all of New York City, and Shelley
(Michael) of Howell; brothers, Alan and Ken; three
grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
Arrangements were by Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, Hackensack.

Irving Schlein

Irving Schlein of Fort Lee died on Jan. 25.


He is survived by his wife, Gene, and daughters Danielle
and Paulette. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban
Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Obituaries are prepared with information
provided by funeral homes. Correcting errors is
the responsibility of the funeral home.

Edward Miller

Edward Arthur Miller, who lived in Wanaque, Montvale, and


Wyckoff, died on Jan. 18.
Born in Passaic, he was an Army Signal Corps World
War II veteran, receiving the Army Good Conduct, World
War II Victory, and American Service medals. He attended
Pace University and New York University, and was a liquor
distributor.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Bella; children,
Eileen, Diane, and Glenn (Lisa); and one grandson.
Contributions can be sent to the Wounded Warrior Project
or K9s For Warriors. Arrangements were by Gutterman and
Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, Hackensack.

Kenneth Gold

Kenneth Gold of Little Falls, N.J., died Jan. 24,


2015, at age 94. He was born Oct. 17, 1920, to
Abraham and Rose Gold and grew up in and
around New York City.
He helped pay for college by working nights at
his parents restaurant on the Upper West Side.
He graduated from New York University with a
bachelors degree in accounting, magna cum
laude. He then served as a Sergeant in the U.S.
Army during World War II.
He married Gladys Petrokofsky on July 28,
1945. They raised their two children in Brighton
Beach, Brooklyn. Later they moved to Little Falls,
where they were active in the local Democratic
Party. He was also an active advocate of a
womans right to choose. He was respected and
well-liked by his neighbors and work colleagues.
Mr. Gold was a certified public accountant in
private practice with a career stretching from the
1940s into the 21st century. His clients included
children and grandchildren of his original clients.
His wife died in 1998. He is survived by a son,
Lawrence Gold, and his partner, William Carroll,
of Washington, D.C.; a daughter, Victoria Gold, of
Boston; his companion of 16 years, Ruth Lipset,
of Little Falls; granddaughters Emily Boutilier of
Amherst, Mass., and Rebekka Gold of Astoria,
N.Y.; great-granddaughter Samantha Boutilier;
grandson-in-law Robert Boutilier; sister-in-law
Rose Petrokofsky of Moorestown, N.J.; and
several nieces and nephews.
Donations may be made in his memory to
Workmens Circle, 247 West 37 St., 5th Floor, NY,
NY 10018.
A funeral will be held at the Goldstein Funeral
Chapel, 2015 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, NJ, at
noon on Friday, Jan. 30.

Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc


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We assure that all deceased veterans have an American
Flag and a Jewish War Veteran Medallion flagholder placed
at their graves at the time of interment. Our Advanced
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honors, when requested, because the need for the
documentation is immediate and it is part of the pre-need
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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 43

Classified
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RealEstate&Business
How to replace hardwood
flooring in older homes

Accessing developmental
disability services

JAMES DULLEY

A community conference

Q: I just bought an old house and the hardwood floors


look terrible. Some are buckled, cupped and have large
gaps between the pieces. How do I repair these problems,
and can any of this be saved? - Emma T.

A free seminar on developmental disability services will


take place at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly on
Sunday, February 15. Registration begins as 8:30; sessions
start at 9 a.m.
Keynote speakers include State Senator Loretta Weinberg; Elizabeth Shea, assistant commissioner of the
New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities; Tom
Toronto, president of United Way of Bergen County; and
Gail Levinson, executive director of Supported Housing
Association.
Sessions will include discussions of employment, SSI/
Medicaid, advocacy for parents, and life care planning and
support.
Attendance is free. Registration is now open.
For more information and registration please contact
the Ohel Teaneck Mental Health Center at 201-692-3972.

A: Dear Emma: When installed and maintained properly, there is nothing more attractive and homey than
hardwood flooring. On the other hand, when it has
some of the problems you have described, it can make
the entire house look bad. If some of the cupping and
buckling is really severe, it can actually be hazardous
to walk on and can cause someone to stumble.
Most of your hardwood flooring should be able to
be saved, but probably not all of it. Your first step is to
try to determine the cause of the problems. Hardwood
flooring is not difficult to install, so most likely, it was
installed properly and there are some other reasons
for the problems.
The cupping and buckling are usually related to
moisture issues - either too much or too little. The
humidity level in homes can vary significantly from
January to June. Even though the hardwood seems to
be sealed with a durable urethane coating, moisture
will get into the wood.
As the moisture content of any wood increases, the
wood expands. When it dries, the wood contracts.
This is the primary cause of cupping. When the
underside of the wood is more moist than the top
surface, the bottom expands and the top contracts,
and the hardwood cups.
It is important to find the source of the moisture
under the hardwood and block it as much as possible.
Dont just take a sander to the installed cupped
hardwood and sand it flat. It may look good for a
month or two, but when the moisture level changes,
it may end up being crowned instead of cupped.
To solve the cupping, you will have to remove the
hardwood. Apply some type of film or spray-on sealer
to block the moisture source from beneath. Once this
is done, reinstall the hardwood and give it several
months to stabilize. In either the spring or fall when
the humidity levels are often in the mid-range, sand
the hardwood flooring to make it level.
Buckling of a hardwood floor is also related to
moisture issues. Usually, the hardwood flooring was
installed when it was too dry and in its contracted
size. When it adjusted to its normal moisture level,
it expanded. As it expands, the gap between the
pieces shrink until it they are gone. At this point, the
hardwood has no place to go other than buckling up.
As with cupping, remove the hardwood and apply
a moisture seal on the subfloor. Allow the hardwood
to acclimate to the normal room humidity, and then
reinstall it. Unless the tongue-and-groove edges
were damaged when it buckled, the floor should lay
reasonably flat.
Uneven gaps between the pieces of hardwood mean
that some pieces are expanding or contracting more
than others because of moisture changes. Areas with
wide gaps are often located over a heating duct, which
warms and dries the hardwood. If you have access
to beneath the floor, lower the heating duct and put
reflective foil insulation over it. Give it several weeks to
stabilize and add slivers of wood in the extra wide gaps.
James Dulleys weekly column, Heres How, can be
CREATORS.COM
found at creators.com.

Solution to last weeks puzzle. This weeks puzzle is


on page 38.

ANNIE GETS IT SOLD

TEANECK
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E-mail:

anniegetsitsold@msn.com

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2014
READERS
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(201) 837-8800

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 45

SELLING YOUR HOME?

Call Susan Laskin Today


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BergenCountyRealEstateSource.com

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2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
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46 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015

*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR is accurate as of 1/15/15 and may vary based on loan amounts. Loans are for 1-4
family New Jersey owner-occupied properties only. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. As an
example, the 7-year loan at the stated APR would have 84 monthly payments of $12.93 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.

Bergenfield I Closter I Cresskill I Englewood I Hillsdale I Leonia I New Milford I Teaneck I Tenafly

The Art of Real Estate


NJ:
NY:

Jeffrey Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NY
TENAFLY

201.266.8555
T: 212.888.6250
T:

TENAFLY

LE

AS

201.906.6024
M: 917.576.0776
TENAFLY

SO

LD

ED

Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
Miron Properties NJ

M:

TENAFLY

CO UN
NT DE
RA R
CT
!

SO

LD

Unique Contemporary. 1 picturesque acre.

Enchanting Tuscany Villa in Bergen County!

Storybook Colonial. Lush property w/gazebo.

Updated 5 BR Victorian on acre.

ENGLEWOOD

ENGLEWOOD

ENGLEWOOD

ENGLEWOOD

Quaint E.H. Colonial. Nearly acre property.

Great 5 BR/4.5 BTH Colonial. $1,325,000

Exquisite 4,000+ sq. ft. designer townhouse.

Custom designed 1.7 acre retreat w/pool.

FORT LEE

FORT LEE

FORT LEE

FORT LEE

J
SO UST
LD
!

SO

P
AR RIM
EA E
!

LIS JUS
TE T
D!

LD

J
SO UST
LD
!

J
SO UST
LD
!

J
SO UST
LD
!

GO TH
OD E
LIF
E

Fabulous southeast views of NYC skyline.

Northbridge Park. Large 1 BR unit. $132K

Sought after 2 BR/2 BTH unit. 1,088 sq. ft.

Phenomenal 3 BR corner unit. $418K

MIDTOWN WEST

PARK SLOPE

BEDFORD STUYVESANT

MIDTOWN EAST

2 BR/2 BTH w/balcony & W/D. $1,450,000

5 BR/3.5 BTH Triplex. $8,995/month

Garden duplex plus rental apartment. $980,000

Great unit. Breathtaking courtyard. $340,000

CHELSEA

UPPER WEST SIDE

EAST VILLAGE

GREENWICH VILLAGE

Grand 3,000 sq. ft. corner unit. $22,000/mo

Studios, 1 & 2 BR. From $2,400/month.

The Hamilton. Gorgeous alcove studio.

TH

E5

05

J
SO UST
LD
!

The Greenwich House. A Chelsea gem.

PA
ST SLO RK
UN PE
NE
R!

AP TH
TH E
RO
P

BR REN
OW OV
NS ATE
TO D
NE
!

RO THE
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DO
ST ORM
UD A
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!

J
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LD
!

Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!

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

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 30, 2015 47

STORE HOURS

646 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666

SUN - TUE: 7AM - 9PM


WED: 7AM - 10PM
THURS: 7AM - 11PM
FRI: 7AM - 2 HOURS
BEFORE SUNDOWN

Tel: 201-855-8500 Fax: 201-801-0225


Sign Up For Your
Loyalty
Card
In Store

Sale Effective
2/1/15 - 2/6/15

Fresh

String
Beans

Sugar Sweet
Cantalopes

89

3/$

Chicken
Cutlets

Beef
Stew

$ 99
GROCERY

18.7 OZ

5.96 OZ.

2/$

16 OZ

Assorted

Jell-O
Puddings

2/$
4 PK

Whole Only

Save On!

Liebers
Mandarin
Segments
11 OZ

59

Assorted

Utz
Snacks

4/$
1 OZ

2.75 OZ

Assorted

Save On!

2/$
16 OZ

Original

Farmland Skim
Plus Milk

2/$
64 OZ

Assorted

Yocrunch
Yogurt

2/$
4 PK

Assorted

Sabra
Salads

2/$
14 OZ

Lb

Ready To Cook

Lb

$ 99

7 OZ

Save On!

Liebers
Thin Rice
Cakes

5/$

2.91-3.1 OZ

2/$

12 OZ

Non Dairy

Richs
Whip Topping

79

8 OZ

Ready To Bake

Godzilla
Roll

625

Lb

$ 99
Lb

Original Only

$ 79
10 OZ.

Save On!

4/$
2 OZ

Save On!

Sharons
Sorbet

2/$
16 OZ

Family Pack

Kineret
Cookie Dough

$ 99

24 OZ

995

ea.

FISH

Breaded
Flounder
Fillet

6
$ 99
5

$ 99

LB.

Family Pack

Honey

Garlic
Sauce

3/$
1 OZ

Save On!

Yonis Cheese
Tortellini

$ 79

15 OZ

Save On!

A&B Sweet
Gefilte Fish

$ 99

20 OZ

LB.

$ 99

EA.

Check Out Our New Line of Cooked Fish

HOMEMADE DAIRY

New

$ 99

Penne
Ala Vodka
Assorted

Osem Ossies
Bamba Tuna Salad

9.6OZ

Mango or Mixed Berry

ea.

Kikkoman Tilapia
Soy Fillet
Sauce

2/$

8 SLICE

Save On!

Spicy
Salmon Roll

Barneys
Egg Rolls

$ 99

Birds Eye
Cooked Winter Squash

ea.

$ 99

Save On!

Brooklyn
Pizza

59 OZ

450

Thick Cut

Save On!

$ 99

Breakstones
Sour Cream

Semi Boneless

Save On!

2/$

Trop 50
Orange Juice

Tropical
Roll

Fillet Steak

Nescaf
Liebers
Clsico Instant
Mini Wow
Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jolly Rancher
Awesome
Twosome

16 oz.

FISH
SUSHI
`

American Black Angus Beef

12 OZ

Save On!

FROZEN

$ 99

8 oz.

DELI, SOUPS, SALADS, KUGELS, DIPS, APPETIZERS & MUCH MORE

3/$

26 OZ.

6.5 OZ

Broccoli Soufe
Jerusalem Kugel

$ 99

Regular Only

1 LTR/
12 PK

Red
Cross
Salt

3/$

99

2/$

Crystal Farms
All Whites

16 oz.

Kugles & Souffles

Sweet Pepper
Pesto Dip
French Onion

Vintage Nestl Carnation


Evaporated
Seltzer
Milk

6 PK.

$ 99

Qt.

Savory Dips

Lb

By The Case

99

Oneg Shredded
Cheese

$ 99

$ 99

$ 99

Goodmans
Onion Soup
Mix

Assorted

8 OZ

Israeli Quinoa
Greek Salad
Potato Oliver

Breaded
Turkey
Shwarma Chicken Fingers

Save On!

Homemade 12 Pack

Lb

2.5 OZ

2/$

Gourmet Salad

Lentil Soup
Broccoli Soup

$ 99

Nestle
Hot Cocoa
Mix

89

Pringles
Potato
Chips

DAIRY

DELI SAVINGS
Homemade Soups

Baby Back
Ribs

Milk Chocolate

Original & BBQ

Save On!

Assorted

12 OZ

CEDAR MARKET HAS


ALL YOUR PARTY NEEDS

American Black Angus Beef

$ 99

$ 99

Osem
Bissli

2/$

2/$

conts.

Beef
Sliders

Cut To Order

11.5 OZ

Blooms
ABC
Cookies

Quaker
Oatmeal
Squares

2/$

Lb

Whole
Brisket

2/$

Save On!

15 OZ.

14.5 OZ

American Black Angus Beef

Post
Waffle
Crisp

2/$

Grape
Tomatoes

$ 99

Save On!

Kelloggs
Raisin
Bran

Save On!

lb.

Organic

Ground
Chicken Breast

Lb

Save On!

Don Pepino
Pizza
Sauce

$ 49

Fresh

$ 99

Lb

Brown Sugar Only

lb.

646 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666


201-855-8500 Fax: 201-801-0225
www.thecedarmarket.com
info@thecedarmarket.com

Red Delicious
Apples

5/$

Lb

Bone In
Cholent Meat

Iceberg
Lettuce

89

99

American Black Angus Beef

2/$

Fresh

Chicken
Wings

Lb

Reg. & Light

bags

Black Beauty
Eggplants

Fresh

Super
Family
Pack

$ 79

Hellmanns
Mayonnaise

lb.

MARKET

Organic

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

646 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666


201-855-8500 Fax: 201-801-0225
www.thecedarmarket.com
info@thecedarmarket.com

Cedar Markets Meat Dept. Prides Itself On Quality, Freshness And Affordability. We Carry The Finest Cuts Of Meat And
The Freshest Poultry... Our Dedicated Butchers Will Custom Cut Anything For You... Just Ask!

Fresh

American Black Angus Beef

2/$

Fresh

lb.

MEAT DEPARTMENT

99

79

Idaho
Potatoes

5/$

Fresh

30 OZ.

Green
Peppers

Loyalty
Program

ORGANIC ORGANIC ORGANIC

3/$

5 lb. Bag

Fresh

Hass
Avocados

Snow White
Cauliflower

Loyalty
Program

ORGANIC ORGANIC ORGANIC

Fresh

Save On!

MARKET

TERMS & CONDITIONS: This card is the property of Cedar Market, Inc. and is intended for exclusive
use of the recipient and their household members. Card is not transferable. We reserve the right to
change or rescind the terms and conditions of the Cedar Market loyalty program at any time, and
without notice. By using this card, the cardholder signifies his/her agreement to the terms &
conditions for use. Not to be combined with any other Discount/Store Coupon/Offer. *Loyalty Card
must be presented at time of purchase along
with ID for verification. Purchase cannot be
reversed once sale is completed.

CEDAR MARKET

CEDAR MARKET

PRODUCE

Super
Family
Pack

Fine Foods
Great Savings

Coffee
Chiffon
Cake
Sprinkle
Cookies

2/$

BAKERY
`

Cinnamon
Loaf
Babka

EA.

5
$ 49
4
$ 49
5
$ 49

18 oz

16 oz

12 oz

PROVISIONS

Aarons

Classic
Franks

$ 99

1.68 LB

Tirat Zvi

Turkey
Slices

$ 99
9.5 OZ.

We reserve the right to limit sales to 1 per family. Prices effective this store only. Not responsible for typographical errors. Some pictures are for design purposes only and do not necessarily represent items on sale. While Supply Lasts. No rain checks.

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