Spring • Passover 5767/2007

Spring • Passover 5767/2007
VOLUME 11 NUMBER 4 SPRING 5767/2007
A PUBLICATION OF THE MONTREAL TORAH CENTER BAIS MENACHEM CHABAD LUBAVITCH
JOANNE AND JONATHAN GURMAN COMMUNITY CENTER • LOU ADLER SHUL
Brandon Goldberg flanked by soldiers in Hebron on MTC’s trip to Israel
BAIS MENACHEM
CHABAD LUBAVITCH

2
Gleanings
From the Rebbe’s wisdom
MONTREAL TORAH CENTER
BAIS MENACHEM CHABAD LUBAVITCH
Joanne and Jonathan Gurman Community Center • Lou Adler Shul
There’s no such thing as defeat.
There’s always another chance.
To believe in defeat is to believe that there is
something, a certain point in time that did not
come from Above.
Know that G-d doesn’t have failures.
If things appear to worsen, it is only as part
of them getting better.
We only fall down in order to bounce back even higher.
I N D E X
Rabbi Moishe New
Rabbi Itchy Treitel
Nechama New
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 MTC Draw 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Pre-School & Day Camp Director
MTC’s Sponsors of the Day . . . . . . .4 MTC Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Zeldie Treitel
Program Director
Courses Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Kids in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21B
Velvel Minkowitz
Administrator
Where the Essence Dwells . . . . . . . .6 Sunday Funday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22A
Joannie Tansky
Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Around our Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Co-ordinator
Rabbi Zalman Kaplan
Adult Education Director
Fraida Malka Yarmush
Accounting
Rochel New & Feigie Treitel
Youth Directors
Publication Mail Agreement No. #40030976
Questions or return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
The Montreal Torah Center, 28 Cleve Road, Hampstead PQ H3X 1A6
Tel. 739-0770 • Fax 739-5925
The Mezuzah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Sympathies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Day Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
I Am Woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
MTC’s Remarkable Israel
Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
MTC Mazeltovs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
MTC Draw 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
The Real Haggadah . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Coming Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Email: mtc@themtc.com • www.themtc.com Illustrations by Boris Yefman, www.artyefman.com • Our thanks and appreciation to:
Jeff Corber and his staff of BB Color & Ponctuation Grafix

The picture on the front cover was taken
during our visit to Hebron. Thanks to Rabbi
Danny Cohen, the Chabad representative
there, we were privileged to visit an active army
base. Danny advised us to bring cookies, cigarettes
and chocolates for the soldiers, which we did.
However, I for one, could not give them to the
soldiers directly. Thankfully, the youngsters in our
group did. One feels truly humbled and awed in
their presence. These nineteen-year-olds put their
lives on the line on a daily basis. There is nothing
higher than that.
This was my first group visit to Israel, however
others amongst us had participated in missions to
Israel previously. It was gratifying to hear from
them that the MTC trip was, by far, beyond
anything they had experienced before. We
certainly had a demanding schedule. Comparing
our itinerary with other groups that we encountered,
I realized that we had crammed into ten
days that which would normally take three weeks.
Credit here is due to Rabbi Zalman who was the
chief architect of our schedule, insisting that it
could all be done. Amazingly, we still managed to
partake of the incomparable Israeli breakfasts at
our various hotels, with plenty of time to share the
experiences of the day before.
One of the great benefits of our trip was the fact
that we all got to know each other on a level
that we had not previously. It's a cliché to say we
bonded, but that's what we did. And that, in and
of itself, is priceless. We just had a great time. We
laughed a lot. We were often moved to tears.
We shared. I am thankful to all of you who came.
Those who live in Israel today deserve our admiration
and support more than ever. Sadly, a sense of
apathy hangs over the country like a shroud. The
daily revelations of corruption at the highest levels
of government, the futile policies vis-à-vis Israel's
Arab neighbors, the daily shelling of Israeli cities
are all taking its toll. There is a deep sense
of frustration. And yet,
despite all the above,
there remains a sense of
optimism, faith and joy.
We had the privilege
one night of having a
young family, Rosa
(Hascalovici) and Eitan
Seidenwar and their
two young children,
Neshoma and Mimron,
join us for dinner at the
Red Heifer restaurant in
Jerusalem. Their undisguised
love for Israel; their idealism and their
innocence was like a breath of fresh air. This young
couple, from Montreal and Philadelphia, have
chosen to make Israel their home. When you look
at a family like this, you just know that Israel will
continue to not only survive, but flourish.
We are, G-d willing, planning another trip next
year. I urge you to join us. It will be a decision
I can promise you will not regret.
As we approach Pesach, let us hope that the call
'Next Year in Jerusalem' becomes a reality as we
are all reunited in our beloved homeland in a world
perfected and redeemed.
May we all be blessed with an inspiring and
joyous Pesach.
Rabbi New
Editorial
Publication Mail Agreement
No. #40030976
Questions or return undeliverable
Canadian addresses to:
The Montreal Torah Center
28 Cleve Road,
Hampstead PQ H3X 1A6
Tel. 739-0770 Fax 739-5925
Email: mtc@themtc.com
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MTC’S
SPONSORS OF THE DAY
Thank you! MTC’S
September 1 Ben and Penny Cohen in honour of
their wedding anniversary
Tishrei 7 Shmuel and Chani Gniwisch in honour of
the birthday of their daughter Shaina
Tishrei 12 Shmuel and Chani Gniwisch in honour of
the birthday of their son Yosef
Tishrei 17 Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of
the yarzeit of Mr. Sam Pockrass, of blessed memory
Tishrei 26 Hershel and Ronna Zelman in honour of
the yarzeit of Mr. Zev Zelman, of blessed memory
October 13 Marcia and Michael Flinker in honour of
their wedding anniversary
October 24 Howard and Gloria Richman in honour of
Mr. Reuben Richman’s birthday
Cheshvan 23 David and Laurie Puterman in honour of
Ateret Malka’s birthday
December 17 Ben and Penny Cohen in honour of
Peter Cohen’s birthday
December 19 Henry and Gail Karp in honour of
the birthday of their daughter Ashley
Kislev 21 Steven and Leslie Sonnenstein in honour of
their wedding anniversary
Kislev 22 David and Laurie Puterman in honour of
Ovadia Shalom’s birthday
Tevet 21 Shmuel and Chani Gniwisch in honour of
the birthday of their son Moshe Yisroel
Shevat 23 The Adler family in honour of
the yarzeit of Mr. Lou Adler, of blessed memory
February 3 Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of
his wife Vickie’s birthday
February 5 Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of
the birthday of their son Austin
March 1 Robert and Shari Kahan in honour of
the birthday of their daughter Samantha
March 5 Michael and Marcia Flinker in honour of
Michael’s birthday
March 24 Andy and Ali Kastner in honour of the birthday
of their son and daughter, Ashley and Blake
Adar 7 Corey and Karen Eisenberg in honour of the yarzeit
of Mr. Stanley Ralph Eisenberg, of blessed memory
Adar 10 Marilyn Belzberg in honour of the yarzeit of
her father, Mr. Sam Belzberg, of blessed memory
Adar 15 David and Laurie Puterman in honour of
Laurie’s birthday
Adar 22 Hershey and Laurie Goldenblatt in honour of the
yarzeit of Mrs. Sarah Goldenblatt, of blessed memory
Adar II, 26 Martin Halickman in honour of the yarzeit of
Mr. Isadore Halickman, of blessed memory
April 3 Andy and Ali Kastner in honour of
the birthday of their daughter Alexa
April 28 Robert and Shari Kahan in honour of
the birthday of their son Zachary
Nisan 15 Michael and Marcia Flinker in honour of
the yarzeit of Mr. Issie Flinker, of blessed memory
Nisan 17 Philip and Edie Friedman in honour of
the yarzeit of Mrs. Lucy Friedman, of blessed memory
May 15 Robert and Shari Kahan in honour of
the birthday of their daughter Alexandra
Iyar 7 Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of
the yarzeit of Mrs. Miriam Satov, of blessed memory
Iyar 12 Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of the yarzeit
of Mrs. Dorothy Pockrass, of blessed memory
Iyar 13 Julius and Terry Suss in honour of the yarzeit of
Mr. Marcus Suss, of blessed memory
Iyar 16 Martin and Joelle Sacksner in honour of the yarzeit of
Mr. Yaakov Dovid ben Moshe Chaim, of blessed memory
Iyar 19 Julius and Terry Suss in honour of the yarzeit of
Mrs. Bella Suss, of blessed memory
Iyar 20 Hershey and Laurie Goldenblatt in honour of the yarzeit
of Mr. Lester Edward Goldenblatt, of blessed memory
Iyar 23 David and Laurie Puterman in honour Yehuda’s birthday
Sivan 1 Shaya and Tuky Treitel in honour of the yarzeit of
Menashe ben Yitzchok Mayer, of blessed memory
Sivan 17 Shmuel and Chani Gniwisch in honour of
the birthday of their daughter Chaya Mushka
Sivan 21 David and Laurie Puterman in honour of
Yisroel Yitzchak’s birthday
Sivan 22 Ronald Pearl in honour of
the yarzeit of Mrs. Goldie Pearl, of blessed memory
July 5 Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of
the birthday of their son Evan
July 24 Henry and Gail Karp in honour of
the birthday of their son Richard
July 27 Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of Lee’s birthday
Tamuz 12 Hershel and Ronna Zelman in honour of
the yarzeit of Mrs. Minnie Zelman, of blessed memory
Tamuz 18 Henri Bybelezer in honour of Peggy’s birthday
August 26 Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of
the birthday of their son Spencer
Av 24 Hershel and Ronna Zelman in honour of
the yarzeit of Mrs. Hinda Zemish, of blessed memory
Elul 10 Shaya and Tuky Treitel in honour of the yarzeit
of Tzivia bas Yekusiel Yehuda, of blessed memory
Elul 15 David and Laurie Puterman in honour of
David’s birthday
Elul 12 Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of
the yarzeit of Mr. Richard Satov, of blessed memory
All MTC activities and programs on that particular day are attributed to the day’s sponsor. Each sponsorship is recognized
on our website; in our weekly Mosaic Express and in this magazine. The sponsorship amount is $1800 per day and is billed
annually, creating a consistent form of annuity contributing to MTC’s financial stability.
To become an MTC Sponsor, please call Itchy.

LOU AND JOEY ADLER LEARNING INSTITUTE FALL AND WINTER COURSE SCHEDULE
SUN - THURS
Between Mincha and Maariv
Sefer Hamitzvas
A brief overview of that day’s mitzvah(s)
from the Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvos –
Book of Commandments.
SUNDAY
8:15 – 9:00 am
Rashi Sichos
In-depth, textual study of the
Rebbe’s Rashi sichos.
Instructor: Rabbi New
9:40 – 10:00 am
Living Torah
Screening of a DVD magazine
on the weekly Torah portion.
10:00 - 11:00 am
Talmud
Textual study. For men.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
MONDAY
6:45 – 7:25 am
Parsha
Textual study related to the weekly Torah portion.
Instructor: Rabbi New
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Lunch and Learn DR. JACOB TINK
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Tanya
The primary, classic work of Chabad chassidus
- a blend of mysticism, philosophy & psychology.
For men. Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
7:30 – 8:45 pm
JLI - Jewish Learning Institute
Flashbacks in Jewish History
Spring Semester - 6 weeks beginning April 23
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
In addtion to these courses, MTC offers
one-on-one and small-group learning
opportunities. Please contact Rabbi Zalman
514.739.0770 #231 or zalman@themtc.com
TUESDAY
6:45 – 7:25 am
Parsha
Textual study related to the weekly Torah portion.
Instructor: Rabbi New
8:20 - 9:00 am
Likutei Torah
Chassidic discourses by
the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
7:30 - 8:30 pm
Kabbalah
Heavenly wisdom down to earth
A discussion on: the weekly Torah portion, current
events or holidays in light of the Kabbalah.
Instructor: Rabbi New
8:30 - 9:30 pm
Tanya
The primary, classic work of Chabad chassidus
- a blend of mysticism, philosophy & psychology.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
WEDNESDAY
8:20 - 9:00 am
Likutei Torah
Chassidic discourses by
the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
10:15 - 11:30 am
JLI - Jewish Learning Institute
Flashbacks in Jewish History
Spring Semester - 6 weeks beginning April 23
Instructor: Rabbi New
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch and Learn MARTINI PRODUCTIONS
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch and Learn
Diesel/Seymour Alper/Cissi
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
Instructor: Rabbi New
8:00 – 9:15 pm
JLI - Jewish Learning Institute
Flashbacks in Jewish History
Spring Semester - 6 weeks beginning April 23
Instructor: Rabbi New
Sponsored by the Miryam and Batya Medicoff
Lecture Foundation
8:30 – 9:30 pm
Torah Class
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
In private homes. For men
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
THURSDAY
6:00 -7:00 am
Chassidus
In-depth, textual study, selected from
the broad-based array of Chassidic writings.
Instructor: Rabbi New
12:15 - 1:30 pm
JLI - Jewish Learning Institute
Flashbacks in Jewish History
Spring Semester - 6 weeks beginning April 23
Instructor: Rabbi New
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Lunch & Learn LISAK GROUP
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
Understanding Davening
In the Puterman home. Please call for details.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
FRIDAY
6:00 -7:00 am
Chassidus
In-depth, textual study, selected from
the broad-based array of Chassidic writings.
Instructor: Rabbi New
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch & Learn C & C PACKING
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
Instructor: Rabbi New
SHABBOS
8:00 - 9:00 am
Chassidus
In-depth, textual study, selected from
the broad-based array of Chassidic writings.
Instructor: Rabbi New
One and a half hours before Mincha
Talmud
Textual study. For men.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
Forty-five minutes before Mincha
Torah Class
Text based analysis of the Torah portion of the week,
or current holidays. For women
Instructor: Rabbi New
Halacha
Textual study of Jewish law. For men.
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman
5

6
Where the Essence Dwells
by TZVI FREEMAN
We were at Mount Sinai, and every dimension
of Heaven was folded upon the Earth
as fine sheets upon a mattress. It was
then that G-d declared, "I have come to my
garden, to the place I most desired from the
very beginning."
The angels were stunned.
Since the outset of existence, they
were praising their Creator in sublime
harmony. Amongst them, there is no
jealousy or unpleasantness, only love
and brotherhood. No ignorance, no
confusion, only revelation and vision.
The angels look upon our world of cruelty
between man and man, of mortal blindness to
the most obvious of truths, and they say, "This
place He desires?! This He calls a garden of
delight?! Of all possible worlds, this is the
lowest, the ultimate descent of His Holy Light!
And this He chooses for His holy dwelling?!"
So the Almighty replies, "For Me, even the most
elevated of worlds is a descent. I began with
Infinite Light that contained all things and is the
perfection of them all. Within that light I imagined
the shadows of many beings, and I withdrew that
light so that the shadows could become real. And
they are you and your worlds, sustained by a
glimmer of a reflection of a ray of the Light that
manages to squeeze its way in. Each world lower
than the next, the Light successively diminished
through endless filters and contractions."
"Do I then have a need for the descent of light?
Is there anything your worlds can provide that
I lack? I have no needs, no need for fulfillment,
therefore I need no reason for anything I do,
including the very act of existence."
"I fashioned your worlds not with a need, not
from any cause, yet with a purpose and a desire: It
was that the Infinite Light should meet with the
Absolute Darkness and in their marriage My
Essence would be found. And where is it that these
two can meet? Only in the lowest of worlds."
This is what is written in the ancient Midrash,
"The ultimate purpose of creation of all worlds,
upper and lower, is that the Holy One, blessed be
He, desired a home in the lowest of all worlds."
How to Be Spiritual
Phil Sofer is an enlightened being. He spends
his life in the wilderness far from humanity, focusing
his mind on the higher realms.
Harriet Goldberg is a schoolteacher. She spends
her life cultivating small minds, hoping to nurture
their sense of wonder for the world in which
they live.
Who is closer to G-d?
If the world came from G-d as light comes
from the sun, spontaneously, but with no real
interest, then Phil is closer.
If G-d created a world deliberately, because
that is what He desires and cares for, then Harriet
is closer.
You choose.
Heaven Above, Man Below
Heaven above and the soul of Man below are
two halves of a single form, two converse hemispheres
that fit together to make a perfect whole.
Attuned in perfect consonance, they dance a
pas de deux of exquisite form, each responding to
every subtle nuance of the other, mirroring and
magnifying the most subliminal inner thought,
until it is impossible to distinguish them as two.
Within the human being is the consciousness
of G-d looking back upon Himself from within the
world He has made.
We sit upon the vortex of Creation.
At the Essence
Do not be misled by those who claim there is
no purpose.
They may know life, but not the bowels of
its fountain.
They may know darkness, but not its meaning.

They may have wisdom, but they cannot reach
higher, to a place beyond wisdom from which all
wisdom began.
They may reach the very source from which all
rivers flow. To the place where all known things
converge, where all knowledge is one. But they
have not touched the Essence.
At the Essence there is nothing – no light, no
darkness, no knowledge, no convergence, no
wisdom – nothing but the burning purpose of this
moment now.
In the Work of Our Hands
People imagine that since G-d is not physical,
He must be in heaven.
But the heavens – and all things spiritual – are
just as much creations as the earth. Less dissonant,
more harmonious, more lucid – but finite realms
nonetheless.
G-d is found not because of the capacity of a
place, but because of His desire to be there.
And where is the place He desires to be? In the
work of our hands, as they fix up His world.
In the heavens is G-d’s light. In our handiwork
dwells G-d Himself, the source of all light.
Underrated Earth
For thousands of years, souls wait
up in heaven, longing for their moment
upon this earth to do another soul
a favor.
Angels burn with jealousy each time a
human being turns himself around and
creates beauty in this world.
Heaven is nice, but on the best things, earth
has exclusive rights.
One World
Returning
People might tell you, "When you come to
work, leave your spirituality at home. Don’t bother
us with your peculiar lifestyle, your ethics, search
for meaning… That’s all nice, but this is business.
This is the real world."
There is only one real world, and it belongs to
one real G-d.
Adam trudged past the gates of Eden, his head low,
his feet heavy with remorse and pain.
Then he stopped, spun around and exclaimed, “Wait a minute!
You had this all planned! You put that fruit there knowing
I would eat from it! This is all a plot!
There was no reply.
Without failure, Man can never truly reach into the depths of his soul.
Only once he has failed, can he return and reach
higher and higher without end. Beyond Eden.
7

8
Upcoming Events
Shavuot
Wednesday
May 23
ice cream
party
Hear the
Ten Comandments
live!
Sunday
Funday !
For children ages 3-5
April 22 - May 27
Movement and dancing with a professional dancer.
$55 per session, $10 per Sunday
Kids
Kids in
action for boys and girls
action
grades 1-6
Thursday, April 19: ‘Hip Hop Dancing’
Learn the moves, have a blast and get in shape.
Mitzvah of the Day: Design a home accessory for a needy bride and groom.
Thursday, May 10: ‘Awesome Wood Craft’
Modge podge and decorate a plaque to take home.
Mitzvah of the Day: Wrap candy gifts to show appreciation
to the nurses at the Children’s Hospital.
Thursday, June 7: ‘Grand Finale’
Surprise Activity
Mitzvah of the Day: Let’s celebrate an accomplished year
with awards, games, crafts and much more!

Upgrade your baggage
Shabbaton with Manis Friedman
April 27-28
rsvp 514.739.0770 or www.themtc.com
Sunday, May 6
4:00 – 6:00 pm
9

10
The Mezuzah
I
by CAROLINE BENCHETRIT went to see the Rabbi because it was just time.
I explained that no matter, wherever…I did not
feel at home. I could not find a safe place and my
mind was in constant worry and fear. This, I should
say, resulted regardless of any professional or
personal successes I encountered. He asked me if
I had a mezuzah on the door and as I nodded no,
he immediately suggested I place one on each door
in my home.
I have to admit that the day of his arrival was
much anticipated and I was certainly curious about
what this modest article could do for me. He finally
arrived, scoped the place and began placing one
at my front door, followed by a second, third, fourth
and fifth. The moment the first nail fixed the first
mezuzah, the energy changed in my house.
I mostly noticed it when I returned inside after
his departure. I walked around and tension lifted
from my shoulders.
Suddenly, my house was a home.
I cried and laughed. Admittedly I did not
understand or fully grasp what had happened.
I only know that the mezuzahs have become my
friends. My direct connection to G-d. I feel safe
for the first time since I can recall. I occasionally
marvel at their simplicity yet profound impact on
my life.
I was soon to find out as the days followed
that my home would follow me wherever I would
go. The Rabbi confirmed I should expect this.
I was excited about my journey to come. The
mezuzah had given me back my joy, my hope, and
my freedom...
Pre-School
open for registration
2007-2008
Pre-School opens
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Mommy & Me Program
begins Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Please call Nechama New, School Director to register or
for an appointment - 514.739.0770 #258

MTC EXPRESSES ITS DEEPEST SYMPATHIES TO Sympathies
The Achsen and Landau families
The Reiter and Albert families
on the passing of Mr. Paul Landau
on the passing of Mrs. Helen Reiter
The Balinsky family on the passing
Julie Shizgal on the passing
of Mrs. Clara Balinsky
of her grandmother, Mrs. Annie Shizgal
Linda Besner on the passing
Helena Sidel on the passing
of her mother, Mrs. Betty Schneider
of her father, Mr. Lester Dick
The Bodzy family on the passing
Shmuel Spicer on the passing
of Mrs. Ruth Bodzy
of his mother, Mrs. Betty Spicer
The Dubrofsky family on the passing
The Strasser and Segal families
of Mr. Hyman Dubrofsky
on the passing of Mrs. Annie Strasser
Sandra Fine on the passing
The Tauben family on the passing
of her grandfather, Mr. Isaac Battat
of Mrs. Julie Tauben
Berel Gansbourg on the passing
Steven and Evelyn Waterman
of his father, R’Tzvi Hirsch Gansbourg
on the passing of Mr. Isaac Liebner
The Kadonoff family on the passing
The Wertheimer, Kastner and Bramson families
of Mrs. Sophie Weinstein
on the passing of Mr. Saul Wertheimer
The Lieberman family and Wayne Hodgins
on the passing of Sharon Lieberman
May they be spared further sorrow
Marcy Levine on the passing
and know only of simchas.
of her mother, Mrs. Sheila Levine
The Perzow and Fersten families on the passing
of Mrs. Freda Perzow-Golfman
Beyond Soul
There is something deeper than the soul.
There is the body, the spirit, and then there is the essence.
If the soul is light, then that essence is the source of light. If it is energy, then the
essence is the generator from which that energy comes. It is not something you have.
It is who and what you are.
Whatever we do, we dance around that essence-core, like an orbiting spacecraft
unable to land. We can meditate, inspire ourselves, but to touch our inner core,
the place from which all this comes, that takes a power from beyond.
There are seasons in life empowered from beyond. Special days and special nights,
times of crisis and times of joy. At other times you can move forward.
At those times, you can change who you are.
11

12
Israel

14
New this year!
4-year-old’s bunk
DAY CAMP!
NOW REGISTERING
FOR SUMMER 2007
for boys & girls
ages 2 - 4
www.themtc.com
514.739.0770 #258
limited spaces available
Nechama New, Camp Director
Montreal Torah Center
28 Cleve Road Hampstead

Jerusalem,
Your ancient temple walls
enthrall, embrace me
in a way
I’ve never known
Jerusalem,
City of golden light,
your nights are filled
with secrets
come and gone
Jerusalem,
Majestic, brave and bold
and still you hold my
tearful prayers
within your stone
Jerusalem,
You bare your mournful soul
with untold grace, your songs
reveal a place
that is my home
Jerusalem,
Through years of pain and strife
you pulse with life,
reminding me
that I am not alone
by Peggy Bybelezer
15

16
I Am Woman
by SARA CRISPE,
Reprinted from
Chabad.org
But then one day, when
I could resist no longer,
I had to ask a question.
I'll never forget how I felt the day my gender
studies teacher made the claim that there are
absolutely no differences between men and
women. I looked around, shocked at the proposition,
and wondering if anyone else felt the same.
For most of the semester, we had it pounded
into our heads that all distinctions between those
of different races, geographical
locations or habitats
were really meaningless, and
that it was merely society
that tried to push that there
were actual differences.
Perhaps she was right,
we all thought. Maybe we
had really just bought into
society’s definitions and
desire to separate. Perhaps
it was racist to claim that
generally speaking black
men were taller than asian men. And sexist to feel
that men were physically stronger than women.
But then one day, when I could resist no longer,
I had to ask a question. If we were really the same,
I mean, practically the exact same, then why were
women born with a womb and the ability to carry
and bear a child, and men were not? And if the
physical differences were so clearly undeniable and
apparent, then how could it be so far-fetched to
assume that perhaps alongside these physical
differences were emotional or psychological or
spiritual differences as well?
I'm not sure that my question did much other
than infuriate my professor, who couldn’t believe
that I was still so ignorant as to attribute anything
more to physical differences than physicality, but
for me, that question was a turning point in my
life. If I had abilities and capabilities that the male
sex did not, then I found it imperative to discover
the power of those parts of me, why I was
endowed with them, and what they meant. While
my professor’s idea of a powerful woman was one
who could hardly be distinguished from a man,
I wanted to celebrate the differences inherent in
the sexes rather than diminish them. And not only
did I want to unravel the mysteries of what it
meant to be a woman, but even more importantly,
what it meant to be a Jewish woman.
And so my journey began...
What does it mean to be a Jewish woman?
What does it mean to be a woman in Judaism?
I began my search with the first woman in the
Torah. That woman’s name is Chavah in Hebrew,
translated as "Eve" in English. Chavah is referred
to as "the mother of all life." We are told that she
was created, after the creation of the first man,
Adam, on the sixth day of creation, immediately
preceding Shabbat. And woman was created, we
are taught, with the purpose of being an eizer
knegdo, which can be translated in one of two
ways – either "a helpmate to him" or "a helpmate
against him."
The commentaries explain that in a relationship,
there are times that one is most helpful by
being supportive and alongside one’s spouse, and
there are times when the help that is needed
requires going against the desires and position of
one’s spouse. The goal is knowing when each
action is appropriate.
It would appear, then, that a woman was
created for the sole purpose of helping a man. One
may ask, “Is being a Jewish woman defined solely
in terms of her relationship with another?” And
practically speaking, how would this be accomplished?
The obvious responses would be through
being married and having children.
Yet we find something fascinating. In Halachah
(Torah law), a woman is obligated to do neither.
She has no legal requirement whatsoever. But the
man does. He is required both to marry and have
children. It is pretty clear that he can’t do this
without a woman to be his wife and the mother of
his children, but she is in no way obligated to do
so. The only way he can then fulfill his responsibilities,
is if a woman would be willing to help him
and fill these roles.
According to the Torah, and specifically
through Chassidic and Kabbalistic philosophy,
human beings were created in two categories, as
men and women. Yet, when characteristics are
defined, they most commonly refer to masculine
and feminine traits, as opposed to statements
about men and women. Why is this significant?
Because both men and women have masculine
and feminine traits. Generally speaking, a man is
predominantly masculine and a woman predomi-

nantly feminine. Generally speaking. There are
always exceptions, and this is why not every
woman will naturally desire what is considered a
feminine property, nor a man a masculine property.
The differences between the masculine and
feminine are great. They are vast. And these differences
affect the way men and women think, feel,
speak, and act. The differences are psychological,
emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual. And
while we may be a combination of both those
masculine and feminine traits, at the end of the
day we are either a man or a woman. And our
differences are not meant to cause distance
between us, but to bring us closer together, to
balance one another and bond as they become
points of celebration, not separation.
The greatest difference between a man and
woman, or more appropriately, between the masculine
and the feminine, can be seen in the first
two of the intellectual qualities of a human being.
Chassidic philosophy teaches that there are three
intellectual properties alongside seven emotional
properties. The first of the properties is that of
chochmah, translated loosely as “wisdom,” which
is a male principle.
Chochmah is compared to a flash of insight.
Physically speaking, it is compared to the seed of a
man. It is the beginning of all life, the foundation.
Without it, nothing will ever be able to come into
existence. And yet, like seed, it is invisible to the
naked eye. It has no shape, no form, no meaning.
Not yet. It has potential, incredible potential, but it
cannot develop or grow or form by itself.
The next property, that of binah, is the
feminine property. Binah, loosely translated as
“understanding,” is the desire to attach to the
wisdom, and give it meaning. Binah is the formation
process, the bonding, the development. In
a physical example, binah is the pregnancy. It
literally houses the seed, and then, as the seed is
within it, causes it to grow, develop and form, until
it is ready to be born and exist on its own.
The word in Hebrew for home, bayit, is a yud
in between the letters that form the word bat,
daughter. The concept is that the yud, the smallest
of all the Hebrew letters, represents the seed
(indeed it looks like a drop of seed in its shape) and
yet it is housed within the bat, the daughter. This is
why there is an additional statement which says,
Beito zu ishto, a man’s home is his wife. It is not
that his house is his wife or that his wife represents
the house, but that his literal home is housed
within his wife, on a spiritual and emotional level.
A woman need not be in the home. A woman is
the home.
It is the binah quality that desires to receive
the potential of the seed and cultivate it into
something tangible and meaningful. While it is
not compelled to do so, it wants to do so. It is a
situation where each is dependent on the other to
create a reality. The seed cannot become anything
in and of itself. Likewise, without the seed, the
binah cannot create anything, for it has not been
given the potentials with which to work.
Spiritually, a woman also has the masculine
property of chochmah, just like a man has the
feminine property of binah. In actuality, or on the
most physical of realms, a woman cannot produce
seed and a man cannot house or give birth to a
baby. But while the physical is in many ways the
lowest and most external of all levels, it is
nonetheless the world in which we live, and the
most tangible to us. The physical creation of a baby
is the most profound and everlasting representation
of the love and the bond between a man
and a woman. This child is the culmination of
the chochmah of the man and the binah of the
woman. It is the best of both worlds and is the
representation of the future, the actuality of
the potential of its mother and its father.
Physically, the reproductive organs of a woman
are internal, whereas that of a man is external. This
ability to internalize and to develop within, is once
again understood as something much more than
merely physical. One of the clearest indications of
this is the difference between the halachic, legal,
obligations of men and women.
For the most part, a man is required to observe
all time-bound mitzvot, and his commandments
are also greatly external and physical as well. For
example, a man is required to wear tzitzit, the
fringed garments that represent the 613 commandments
through the strings and their knots.
Furthermore, while it began as a custom, a man
wears a kippah, a head covering to remind him
always that G-d is above. And another primary
example is that a man prays three times a day
A woman need not
be in the home.
A woman is the home.
17

18
I Am Woman
(cont’d)
If one partner is required
to do the will of the
other, with no choice
involved, then that isn’t a
relationship, it is a
dictatorship.
in a quorum of ten others. All of these are very
physical, very external commandments. In essence,
all of these mean that there are others who can
testify or be witness to whether or not a man is
fulfilling his obligations.
A woman’s commandments, however, are
private and internal. In almost every case, they
are done within the home and in some cases
no one other than she is aware as to whether
or not she is doing them. One example with
this is keeping a kosher kitchen in the home.
The woman is trusted by her husband, family
and those who eat in her home. Even if
one were to look through her products to
check if they all have a kosher symbol, no
one other than she is aware as to how she
cooks and if she is properly keeping the
standards of kashrut. Ultimately, her word
must be trusted.
Perhaps the most powerful example of
this is in regards to the laws of family purity
which involves the times that a couple is not
allowed to be physically intimate or physical in
any way. This separation begins from the moment
a woman sees the flow of uterine blood, and
verbally informs her husband of this. This is a
situation where not even her husband is aware of
this reality, and must completely depend on her
word. These laws, which are considered the
foundation of the marriage, the children and the
home, are completely placed in her trust. Her word
creates a new reality, and only she and her Creator
know if what she is saying is the truth.
Therefore, unlike the masculine which is the
side of our self that is external, which can be
viewed by others and is not private, the feminine is
the polar opposite – completely internal, involving
no one else and entrusted to the individual alone.
Because the masculine properties are external
and seen by others, the man is in greater need of
rectification. Unlike a woman, he is not given that
same time and opportunity for reflection, internalization
and contemplation. This is the feminine
process of binah, the bein, between, of what is in
one’s mind and what emits through one’s action.
This is the stage of pregnancy, the in-between of
conception and birth. And this is the time for
development and rectification.
For this reason, we are taught that just as the
woman needs the man for conception, so the man
needs the woman for the pregnancy, the development.
This is not merely a physical reality, but a
spiritual one as well.
This is why it is stated that a role model of a
woman is one who “oseh ratzon ba’alah” – a
Hebrew phrase that has a few different layers of
translation. The first is: “she does the will of her
husband.” But in Hebrew, the verb oseh can be
translated either as “to do” or “to make.” Thus, the
phrase can also be understood that the woman is
the one who "makes (i.e., determines) the will of
her husband." But neither of these possibilities are
terribly healthy in a relationship. If one partner is
required to do the will of the other, with no choice
involved, then that isn’t a relationship, it is a
dictatorship. Likewise, if one makes the will of
the other, it similarly implies that there is no sense
of communication or balance between the two,
since one is deciding for the other. The main
difference between these two is merely who is
the one commanding the other – is it the man to
the woman or the woman to the man, both of
which are problematic.
This brings us back full circle to the beginning
of our discussion – the meaning of eizer kenegdo.
Is a woman a helpmate for him or opposite him?
When we translate “oseh” as “to do” or “to make”
she is opposite him.
Chassidic teachings explain a very beautiful
meaning to this verse. The foremost commentator
Rashi shows the term “oseh” when used in the
Torah, has another meaning, and that is “to
rectify.” Rectification is actually the balance, the
in-between, the binah of what it means “to do”
and what it means “to make.” The true meaning of
this verse then is that when a woman is using her
potential in the proper way, she is able to connect
to her spouse and help rectify him. Through
her ability to develop, she can take his ideas, his
talents, his potential, and internalize it, becoming
impregnated with it, until it is ready to be birthed
in a public, external way. And this is how she is a
proper eizer kenegdo a helpmate to him.
And this brings us back to one of the first
points that was raised: is woman defined in terms
of her relationship with a man? And so the answer
is both yes and no. If each human being is a

composite of both masculine and feminine traits,
then within each and every one of us we must
come to understand how these two extremely
different qualities can co-exist and compliment
one another. If our masculine side has an obligation
to “marry” and “bear children” even though
our feminine side does not, we recognize that the
two must work together.
This teaches us that the true way that we
define ourselves and come to understand and
reveal our potential is through the focus on
the other. Sometimes this is an “other” within
ourselves, sometimes it is the “other” outside of
ourselves. For every woman, single or married, with
children or without children, is able to bear fruit, is
able to be an eizer kenegdo. How is this accomplished?
When we use our G-d given talents to
create, to be creative, through whatever means we
can – through our art, our writing, our poetry, our
song, our dance, our words – this is fulfilling the
commandment of “to be fruitful and multiply,” this
is creating and bringing more light into this world.
When we are in a marriage, when we are
able to physically bond with another, this is our
opportunity to fulfill this law, the first law given
in the Torah, in a physical way. But it is not only
fulfilled when we give birth to children, for unfor-
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2007
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tunately not every woman is physically able to.
But in the Zohar we are taught than whenever a
husband and wife are lovingly intimate, that souls
are created. Sometimes those souls come into a
physical body, other times they remain spiritual,
but they are created.
And every time we create, a process of giving
and receiving must take place. One part of us must
be able to let go, to release, to give to another,
and one part must be able to make oneself open,
to receive, to accept and nurture what has
been given.
When our concern is not about what we are
obligated to do, but in how we can help another
fulfill his or her obligations, this is when we shine
forth and reveal our true power. But we must begin
by looking within, by understanding ourselves, our
strengths and our weaknesses, and helping ourselves
both from within and from those around us.
And when we acknowledge that we are able
to both give and receive, and that both are very
active roles, then we can rejoice in the qualities
and attributes that are uniquely ours as women,
and start celebrating who we are while bonding
and building, rather than competing, with who we
are not.
Sometimes those souls
come into a physical
body, other times they
remain spiritual, but
they are created.
Tickets $100
Your donation entitles you to an entry in our DRAW on
Thursday May 3, 7:45 pm
Dessert & coffee
Number of tickets printed: 3600
514.739.0770
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19

MTC Moments
Kids in Action
20 21
21B

22A
Sunday Funday
22
Around our Table
Honey Glazed Lemon Chicken
INGREDIENTS
2 6 1/2- to 7-pound roasting chickens,
rinsed, patted dry
2 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
(from about 12 large lemons)
Honey for glazing
INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
Granny Smith apple
1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped turnip
1 cup peeled and chopped butternut
squash (seeds discarded)
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1 cup peeled, chopped sweet potato
5 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
2 tsps salt
pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Place each chicken in heavy-duty resealable
plastic bag. Add 1 1/4 cups lemon juice to each.
Seal bags; turn chickens to coat. Refrigerate
at least 6 hours and up to 1 day, turning
bags occasionally.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Drain chickens; pat dry.
Sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Place chickens
side by side, breast side down, on racks in large
roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven
temperature to 375°F. Roast 45 minutes.
Turn chickens breast side up. Brush all over with
honey. Continue to roast until cooked through
and deep brown, basting with any juices in pan
and brushing with honey occasionally, about
55 minutes longer. Transfer chickens to platter.
Tent loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand
15 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour pan juices into small saucepan.
Spoon off fat. Rewarm pan juices. Season with
salt and pepper. Serve chickens with pan juices.
Yields 6 to 8 servings.
Vegetable Soup
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium-high
heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add
apple, turnip, squash, carrot, and sweet potato;
season with salt, then sauté 5 minutes. Add
stock, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally,
about 30 minutes or until vegetables
are tender. Add sugar, salt and pepper.
Yields 6 servings.
Carrots and Rutabagas with Lemon and Honey
Lemon juice adds refreshing flavor to earthy
root vegetables.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into
matchstick-size strips
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into
matchstick-size strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey or sugar
INGREDIENTS
8 large egg whites
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups superfine granulated sugar
Perfect Meringue Cookies
DIRECTIONS
Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted
water 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook until
vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add lemon juice and honey or sugar. Bring to
boil. Add vegetables; cook until glazed, stirring
occasionally, about 6 minutes. Season to taste
with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Yields 6 to 8 servings.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 175°F and line 2 large baking
sheets with parchment paper.
Beat whites with salt in a standing electric mixer
at high speed (or with a handheld mixer in 2
batches) until they just hold stiff peaks.
Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed until
whites hold stiff, glossy peaks.
Spoon half of meringue into pastry bag* and
pipe 1-inch-wide kisses onto 1 baking sheet,
about 1/2 inch apart. Pipe more kisses onto second
sheet in same manner. (All kisses will fit on
2 baking sheets.)
Bake meringues in upper and lower thirds of
oven until crisp but still white, about 2 hours.
Turn off oven and cool meringues in oven 1 hour,
then cool completely on sheets on a rack.
(To make a quick pastry bag, take a sheet of
parchment paper and wind it into a cone shape,
leaving a small opening at the bottom to pipe
out the meringue.)
23

24
MTC’s Remarkable Israel Experience
by JOANNIE TANSKY And “ if you look to your right”, said Danny
Cohen, “you can see the heavy iron doors
with the padlock ‘guarding’ the graves
where Avraham and Sarah are buried. The
mufti has the key and we
are allowed in there ten
days a year.” Welcome to
Hebron and the Cave of
Machpela, which Avraham
bought from Ephron the
Hitite, where he buried his
wife Sarah…
Rosh Hanikra, ‘The upcoming wave’
The Cave of Machpela
We wandered in and
out of the different small
rooms which serve as
synagogues in the Cave
of Machpela. “Pray for
your loved ones. Pray
for Israel”, said Danny,
the Chabad emissary to
Hebron. Some of the men
stayed in one room to
make a minyan for Shmuel
Spicer who was saying
kaddish for his mother.
Most of the women found
a quiet place of their own
to say a prayer.
This was not, by any
means a ‘religious’ trip
to Israel.
It was breathtaking, exhilarating, fun, bonding,
sometimes painful, and very, very exciting. We
covered Israel from the north to the south, east to
west and in between, spending, as most trips do,
quite a bit of time on our bus. Each time we made
a stop and everyone clambered back on, we would
number off to make sure we didn’t leave anyone
behind. Every person watched out for everyone
else, knew who was sitting in front, behind and
beside them and knew whose number was before
theirs and after.
In The Beginning…
We began our trip flying from Montreal to
Zurich, laying over for 4 hours and then continuing
on to Israel. Even though not too many of us
slept on the first leg of the trip, no one seemed
tired in Zurich. The men davened (prayed) in a
large waiting area, garnering almost no attention.
Seems this is a regular occurrence in Zurich. When
they were done we ate a small breakfast brought
from Montreal and proceeded to the gate - a long
walk, a very high escalator, a train, three moving
walkways and a checkpoint where yours truly was
subject to a body search - and an overflowing
plane. At this point, from sheer exhaustion, some
of us fell asleep. The landing in Israel was a tad
rough (read we landed with a huge thud) but once
we were on the ground the whole plane broke out
clapping. Shalom Aleichem! Welcome to Israel!
As the itinerary stated, we began our trip in the
north of Israel, in Tiberias, in Hebrew - Teverya. In
the weeks before we arrived, the weather in Israel
was dry - too dry - and warm, very unusual for
December. In fact, there was so little rain that the
rabbis had been praying for rain for a couple of
weeks before our arrival. Their prayers were
answered when we arrived. It poured - torrential
rains - from Jerusalem to Tiberias. Miraculously,
upon arriving in Tiberias, the rain stopped and we
were able to disembark and retrieve our luggage
from the belly of the bus with ease.
To begin to delve into every moment of our trip
would render this article into a book. So, highlights,
albeit quite detailed, will have to suffice.
(Unless you want to join us next year.)
Rosh Hanikra and Safed
Rosh Hanikra is the northernmost point on the
Mediterranean shore of Israel, where a chalk
mountain range meets the sea. The sea carved out
a chain of grottoes, or caves, in the foot of the
chalk cliffs. These beautiful grottoes are the main
attraction of Rosh Hanikra.
For a long time, the Rosh Hanikra mountain
range had been an obstacle for those who needed
to travel along the shoreline. In the 1940s, the
British army dug three tunnels through the three
cliffs of Rosh Hanikra and built railway bridges linking
the tunnels - the Haifa-Beirut railway passed
here. During the War of Independence (1948), the
bridges were blown up by Jewish partisans.
The first, southern tunnel, and half of the second,
middle tunnel, is now in the Israeli territory; the
rest is Lebanese. A small tourist "train" can take
you to the southern tunnel and the reconstructed

ailway bridge. Then you walk through a passage
hewn in the rock, which leads you down to the
natural grottoes.
On the day that we arrived, the weather had
turned very cold and windy and the sea was wild,
waves crashing onto the rocks. Nonetheless we
headed for the cable cars and our tour. (Not before
a 30 minute delay as the first cable car stalled
about 20 feet from the bottom due to the weather,
with 10 of our group inside, no less. That night,
once everyone got over the ‘excitement’ of that
experience, we were on the floor as Ilana Chernack,
one of those in that cable car and our resident
comedienne and queen of one-liners, gave over a
graphic and hysterical rendition of those twenty
minutes.) This was nature at its most beautiful.
About twenty of us stood at the end of the grotto
watching the water come crashing in, the waves
breaking about twenty feet from where we were
standing. Except for one wave. That one broke five
feet from us, completely drenching yours truly and
five other people. Drenched means absolutely
soaking, dripping wet from head to toe.
But wait, there’s more. In order to exit the
caves one had to climb a set of stone stairs outside.
Below the stairs is the sea, which usually calmly
laps against the rocks below. Today however, the
seas were in a fury and instead of lapping the
waves were crashing onto the stairs. To get to the
top one had to wait for a wave to hit and then
make a run for it up the stairs before the next one
came. I was soaked already and my shoes were
literally floating off me. Ergo, I missed the point at
which one could get up the stairs without getting
soaked and I was hit yet again. I couldn’t even cry
as there was so much salt water in my eyes it
would have hurt.
The end was twofold. Sara Eldor, Esther
Deutsch, Ellen Spicer and I, the wettest of the
bunch, were taken to Mrs. Sara Kaplan’s house
(Rabbi Zalman’s mother) in Safed (our next stop).
We removed all of our clothing, donned Mrs.
Kaplan’s and her daughter’s clothes for a while and
waited while our clothes spun around in the dryer
until we could at least put them on. Others, like
Merle Finkelstein bought shoes, scarves, mitts and
sweaters in Safed. It was at this point in our trip,
that we discovered Trudy Goldberg’s ‘magic bag’.
Anything we needed, from a pill, to a pair of
scissors, to a towel was in her bag.
At the end of this entire affair Rabbi New, who
was in the cave when the wave hit, but somehow
appeared to escape the deluge and to us looked his
usual immaculate self, turned to the women and
said, in a very serious tone, “We have a serious
crisis. I lost the crease in my pants…”
Later in the afternoon we meandered
through the artist’s quarter of
Safed, determined to put money into the
Israeli economy. At one shop we
stopped in, the young couple who
owned the store told us that during the
war in the summer they closed up their
shop and left Safed with their two small
children thinking that they would be
back in a matter days. “Well,” said the
owner, “days turned into weeks and
weeks into months.”
Even after the war they
explained, no one, not a
soul, was in the streets.
It’s only in the past couple
of months that people
have begun to return.
Needless to say, almost
everyone bought something
in that store.
That night we enjoyed
a delicious meal in Safed
where Mrs. Kaplan and
Rabbi Aron Eliezer Ceitlin
spoke to us. Imagine our
surprise when we opened the door to leave and
saw a full blown snowstorm outside. We all
blinked - are we in Israel or Canada??
Snow tires in Israel do not exist and our
bus driver, who was not only excellent, but
had patience above and beyond the call of duty,
was reluctant, to say the least, to drive down
the very steep hills of Safed to get to the main
highway. After waiting about a half-hour, he
began the agonizingly slow trip down. Really,
no one was breathing until we got to the bottom.
To break the ice, so to say, Marilyn Belzberg
asked Rabbi New to say a few ‘spiritual’ words. He
began with “Baruch Hashem,” and everyone, in
unison said – “Excellent, yasher koach - you said
it all!” It was the absolute shortest speech Rabbi
New ever gave!
Praying in the Cave of Machpela
Safea
25

26
Israel
(cont’d)
In the Yardin Winery
Inside the Rebbe’s room, ‘770’,
Kfar Chabad
The Farbrengen
The Golan Heights, Wine Tasting, The
Palmach Museum and…Kfar Chabad
The next day we had to
alter our itinerary due to
the snowy conditions on
the roads. So, instead of
hiking in the Golan we
opted to see a moving
depiction of the Six-Day-
War, on the very spot that
the fighting had occurred.
Because we had just driven
along the exact same roads
we were watching in the
documentary, our group
was riveted to the screen.
“Totally incredible”, was everyone’s
reaction.
From there we went to a winery
in Katzrin where we were treated to
a tour of Yardin’s state-of-the-art
bottling plant, culminating in a
wine-tasting extravaganza. Happy
anyone? Yes, we campers left smiling
and a little looser than when we
walked in.
We spent the next three hours on
the bus en route to Tel Aviv and the Palmach
museum. Traffic held us up and we got to the
museum just in the nick of time to see the last
show. The movie was a docu-drama describing
the years before and right after Israel became a
country via a group of young fighters called the
Palmach. The Palmach was the regular fighting
force of the Haganah (the Jewish underground
army during the British Mandate of Palestine.)
The Palmach was established in 1941. By the
war of 1948 it had grown from humble beginnings,
as depicted in the docu-drama, to three
fighting brigades and auxiliary aerial, naval and
intelligence units.
We decided it was no mere coincidence that
on the same day we saw how Israel defeated the
millions of Arabs surrounding the small country in
its beleaguered beginnings in 1948 and how they
miraculously won the Six-Day-War. The history of
this young country was not lost on anyone, from
Brandon Goldberg at eleven years old, the
youngest in our group, to Moty Farkas, over eighty.
After our meal we made a short stop at
Kfar Chabad, about five miles from Tel Aviv.
Truthfully, it had been a long day, everyone was
tired and the thought of getting on and off the
bus again was daunting. At Rabbi Zalman’s
encouragement everyone changed their attitude
and ‘came back to themselves’, finding the energy
to keep going. It turned out to be one of the
highlights of our trip.
Kfar Chabad was founded by the previous
Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn in 1949.
The first settlers were mostly recent immigrants
from the Soviet Union, survivors of the terrors of
World War II and Stalinist oppression.
On May 5, 1957 a band of fedayeen entered
the village. They made their way to the synagogue
of the local agricultural school, where the
school's young students were in the midst of
the evening maariv prayers, and raked the room
with gunfire from their machine-guns. Five
children and one teacher were killed and another
ten children wounded; their blood soaking the
siddurim that fell from their hands and splattering
the synagogue's white-washed walls. Four days
later the village received a telegram from the
Rebbe containing a single sentence - three Hebrew
words - but these three words sufficed to save
the village from disintegration and its inhabitants
from despair. Behemshech habinyan tinacheimu,
wrote the Rebbe "By your continued building
will you be comforted." That very night the village
elders held a meeting to discuss how the Rebbe's
directive might be implemented. After a short
discussion, a decision was reached: a vocational
school will be built where children from disadvantaged
backgrounds will be taught the printing
trade. On the very spot where the blood was
spilled, the building will be raised.
Today Kfar Chabad has a population of almost
2000 men, women and children housing many
schools, a restaurant, synagogues and, an exact
replica of Lubavitch World Headquarters in New
York, affectionately referred to as ‘770’. That is
where we stopped to daven Maariv. If anyone
has ever been to 770 in New York they know it
is at the same time a humbling and exciting
experience. Rabbi New had never been to 770 in
Kfar Chabad and he was completely blown away by
the exact replication of the building in New York,
down to the minutest details. His excitement and

enthusiasm rubbed off on everyone. First the men
davened Maariv in the Rebbe’s room and then,
Rabbi New told the women to go in and pray for
whatever is in their heart. Really what happened
next cannot be put into words. For a few magical
moments we became as one Jewish woman, one
soul. Age did not matter. It was a connection that
time will not erase, that no one in that room will
ever forget.
The Farbrengen, Mea Shearim,
The Kotel
The best farbrengens are not planned. They
just happen. Such was the case on Thursday night
when we checked into our hotel in Jerusalem.
Suffice it to say that we were all tired and a
tad cranky and the hotel was not exactly a
five-star. (In the end, we grew attached to our
little hotel and many said they would like to
go back there next year.) So, after everyone
had checked into their respective rooms, slowly,
without anyone telling the other, we all found
our way to the warm and haimish lobby. We put
some tables together, gathered some food and
beverages and sat around, Rabbi Zalman leading
the farbrengen. The Chassidic saying, words
that come from the heart enter the heart came to
life that night. The farbrengen reluctantly broke up
at 5:30 a.m...
Erev Shabbos in Jerusalem is something that
should not be missed, especially in Mea Shearim.
So Friday morning, a little later than scheduled, we
climbed into a taxi and made our way to what can
only be described as a mass of people rushing from
one store to the next garnering their wares and
food for Shabbos.
Make no mistake – you get in the way, you get
pushed aside. You walk too slowly, they rush by
you like the wind. It is a hoot just to watch the
comings and goings. Of course the ten-inch high
Yerushalmi kugel must be tasted, as well as the
cholent (served six days a week) and the for-fainting
baked goods. The music store was a total
right-off. You couldn’t even get in the doorway
there were so many people. All of this amidst cars,
buses, taxis, single strollers, double strollers, fur
hats, round hats, young women, old women,
bearded men, not-bearded men and plenty of
tourists just watching the scene.
Shabbos comes in about 4:30 in the winter in
Jerusalem, so in the early afternoon we headed
back to our hotel to begin our preparations. At
the onset of Shabbos the
women lit candles in the lobby
where we all assembled to
walk together to the Kotel to
usher in Shabbos. If you have
never been witness to Friday
night at the Kotel you should
make it one of your priorities.
Watching everyone rush
toward the Kotel makes one
completely forget about any
security issues. It’s Shabbos,
it’s Jerusalem, what more
is there?
When we arrived the men and
women split up. As we were standing
on the women’s side we heard the
most incredible singing, so youthful, so
energetic, so pure. We stood up on our
chairs to look over the mechitza and saw
a group of about 40 soldiers in combat
gear, their guns slung over their shoulders,
arm in arm in a tight circle, bringing
in Shabbos. My sons, your sons, their
sons – in Israel every child belongs to
everyone. These handsome, young,
strong boys – between 18 and 25, brought
tears to every Jewish mother watching
them. They sang and danced for over an
hour with a spirit and determination I will
never know or ever forget. The men from
the MTC, who were davening close by,
closed their books and entered the circle.
Who could not want to be part of this?
Who could not want to thank these
children for putting their lives on the line
for us? Who could not want to tap into
this strength? To a person, we thanked
Hashem for allowing us to be in Israel to be able
to witness and recount to others what we had
experienced for those few precious moments.
Friday Night and Shabbos Day
After the Kotel, we virtually flew back to our
hotel (a 25 minute walk in the misty rain). Our
group of 33 had swelled to almost 60 people for
the Friday night dinner. We were joined by a group
of 11 people from Boca Raton Florida led by Rabbi
Erev Shabbos, Mea Shearim
Sunday morning at the Kotel
27

28
Israel
(cont’d)
Moshe Denburg and his wife Rivky, all friends
of John and Merle Finkelstein (ex-Floridians).
Julius and Terry Suss had invited family to join
them, as did Peggy and Henri Bybelezer. Some
Montreal students who were in Israel, had gotten
wind that Rabbi New
was in Jerusalem. They
found him at the Kotel
amidst the hundreds and
hundreds of people and
they also joined us. What
a meal that was! Rabbi
New insisted that we
do the ‘Bangkok Shuffle’,
where we go around the
table and everyone says
a few words – how they
got there, who they are,
and if they have a story
to tell.
Although everyone was fun and interesting to
listen to, one person blew everyone away - Fred
Layers. Who is Fred Layers? Well, he is an elegant
black Guyanian who has been coming to the MTC
since 1992. He has attended years of Rabbi New’s
Tanya and Kabbalah classes and comes to shul
every single Shabbos, sitting quietly in the back
row. When he got up to tell his story you could
have heard a pin drop. No one expected him to say
what he so eloquently and succinctly did – that he
had known Rabbi New for so many years, how
attached he was to the MTC and how his lifelong
dream of coming to Israel was now fulfilled.
Shabbos Day we made use of the small synagogue
in the hotel and then, right after davening
we left for the Tzemach Tzedek shul, the oldest
standing shul in the area, (purchased about 200
years ago by the Tzemach Tzedek, the third
Lubavitch Rebbe) to hear a few words from Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz.
Rabbi Steinsaltz is a noted scholar, philosopher,
social critic and author world-wide, whose background
also includes extensive scientific training.
In 1988, Time Magazine praised him as an "oncein-a-millennium
scholar," saying, "he will stand like
Rashi and Maimonides." He is most commonly
known for his popular translation and commentary
of both Talmuds, ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Babylonian’. In
1988 he was awarded the Israel Prize, Israel’s
highest honor. As we were walking to the shul
where he davens for Shabbos we could not believe
that this incredible man was going to speak to our
group. Truthfully, it is very rare that he speaks to
any small groups coming to Israel (he was in
Montreal recently). It was through Rabbi Zalman’s
persistence in calling and finally going there early
Shabbos morning to secure Rabbi Steinsaltz that
this event actually transpired.
Rabbi Steinsaltz began by asking the question -
what is Eretz Yisrael? He proceeded to tell the
story of a man who came back from visiting the
holy land. His Rabbi asked him how his visit
was and the man replied that he was not so
impressed. The Rabbi looked deeply at the man
and responded, “The land was not impressed with
you – that’s why it sent you away.”
Rabbi Steinsaltz went on to say that there is
a verse in the Torah which says “And the land
will vomit the people out.” If a person cannot see
the greatness, the holiness and the light in
Jerusalem, it is not a problem with the land but
rather with the person. He cited the example of
when a person visits an ophthalmologist and is
told to read the letters on the wall. If he cannot
read them the problem lies obviously with the
person’s eyes, not with the poster. If someone
cannot see the light, he can and should work on
himself. The more Torah and mitzvoth a person
does, the more G-dliness, the more light he will
see. He noted, with a grin, that everything in
Jerusalem is different, even the Jerusalem thief!
In order to understand Israel, to really feel the
country, we should speak with the regular people
on the street, not the big rabbis and politicians.
We left understanding a bit more of the
holiness of where we were, more inspired and with
our eyes opened in a different way than when we
had walked in.
Yad Vashem
We had booked our time at Yad Vashem on
Sunday which was a fast day. How appropriate.
We noted that the entire complex had been
renovated since the last time we were there. It
flows more evenly, allowing the thousands of
people who pass through each day to wander at
their own pace or with a guide without holding
anyone else up.

There’s not much to say about Yad Vashem, as
there is not much to say about the Holocaust.
Everyone must go there when they visit Israel.
We must never forget. It is our generation, the
one right after the Holocaust that bears the burden
of keeping Yiddishkeit alive, for the generation
before gave their lives in that task. The one thing
that struck me personally was the film playing as
you walked in. It depicted life just before the war.
People like you and me, with our children, grandchildren,
extended family and friends, in a life that
looked like mine or yours. There, but for the grace
of G-d, go I…
Rachel’s Tomb and Hebron
When the bullet proof bus arrived to pick us up,
our level of excitement rose. Upon boarding the
bus the bullet-proof part became a physical reality
when we couldn’t really see out the windows due
to the very thick glass. Along with the bus we
hired an armed guard, Asher, a good-looking,
strapping, 23 year-old soldier. He turned out to
be an American who had made aliyah with his
family when he was very young, so English was no
problem for him. Back to Asher a bit later.
Our first stop was Rachel’s Tomb – Kaver
Rochel. Rachel died giving birth to her son
Benjamin and was buried along the road by her
husband Jacob. Jacob buried Rachel on the road
and not in the Cave of Machpela, with the other
matriarchs and patriarchs, because he knew that
one day the Jews would pass her grave as they
traveled into exile and she would weep on their
behalf and pray for them.
Today it is hard to envision what ‘along the
road’ means, as Rachel’s Tomb has become nothing
short of a fortress, with twelve foot high cement
walls and barbed wire protecting those who wish
to pray for a few moments at her grave. It is
situated on the outskirts of Bethlehem, which
today is a hot-bed of Arab terrorists.
The bus stops directly in front of a steel door
and one exits literally six feet from the entrance.
Once inside the men and women separate. When
one enters the women’s side, hanging on the wall
beside Rachel’s Tomb is the wedding dress of a
young woman, Nava Applebaum, who was killed by
a suicide bomber the night before her wedding,
along with several others, including her father,
chief of emergency in Hadassah Hospital and
mentor to many, many people. She was murdered
in the Café Hillel in Jerusalem. Her family decided
that her wedding dress should hang in Rachel’s
Tomb because Rachel weeps
for her lost children. As not
everyone on our trip was able
to read Hebrew on their own
initiative, the children of our
group, the young teens, took
books of tehillim, psalms,
from the shelves and began to
read with their mothers and
friends, in Hebrew, word by
word. It was one of the most
moving experiences I have
ever witnessed.
When we left Kaver Rochel
for the short trip to Hebron,
we asked our guard, Asher, to
tell us about himself. It turns
out that he is in an elite army
unit, going deep into Lebanon
in search of terrorist cells. He
explained that his unit would
go, in the middle of the night,
to homes where they suspected
terrorist activity. When asked
if they were frightened to go
to these homes he replied, “To
be the one to break down the
door of such a house comes
only with rank and honor.” But that meant,
we retorted, that the person breaking down the
door was the person who would get hit first if
there was resistance. “Yes,” he replied, “still we vie
for that privilege.”
We arrived in Hebron later than anticipated
and Danny Cohen, the shliach in Hebron began his
tour immediately. He wanted us to see as much as
we could before it got dark. We began at the Cave
of Machpela…
From there we boarded our bus again for the
steep ride to the top of Hebron and the Menucha
Rochel Kollel and Synagogue. Danny explained
how the Arabs had, time and again, destroyed the
buildings, and how the Jews, time and again, had
rebuilt them. For the moment they are guarded by
the Israeli Army and are safe.
The bullet proof bus with Asher our
armed guard
Inside Rachel’s Tomb.
Note Hava Applebaum’s , OBM.
wedding dress in the top right corner.
29

30
Israel
(cont’d)
In Hebron
Danny Cohen speaking to us atop
Hebron at the Menucha Rochel Shul
One could say much about Hebron and it
would not shed the most positive light on the
government. Perhaps the following story will
illustrate. We were walking on a
narrow street behind Danny’s
house when we came upon a
trailer on wooden stilts. “This,”
said Danny with a proud smirk “is
my office.” “But why”, we asked,
“isn’t it in a building?” “Ah,”
said Danny, “good question. The
government does not allow any
building whatsoever in Hebron.
Nothing permanent. The Arabs
can and do build to their hearts
content. We are not allowed.
I needed an office and to get
around the government, put this
trailer on stilts right
here. I told them it
wasn’t permanent,
that it was a ‘mitzvah
tank’. I got a
summons anyway
and now I have to
go and fight it in
court. We’ll see
what happens.”
What does Danny
do in Hebron given
that most of the 50
Jewish families (80 on a waiting list) are observant?
He serves the few hundred soldiers based
right next to his house as well as catering to
Hebron’s many visitors. Thanks to Danny, we were
privileged to be able to visit an active army base.
The first thing one notices upon entering the
base is how much the soldiers love Danny. Yes, love
is the right word. He tends not only to their
spiritual needs, but their physical needs as well,
giving them hot soup on Shabbos, donuts on
Chanukah (over 5,000), hamentashem on Purim, a
Seder in their mess hall, and is just there for them.
His wife, Batsheva, is very close to the women
who are on a base nearby, visiting them every
Friday to help them light Shabbos candles and bring
them fresh challah. There is no shortage of what to
do. One more thing must be noted. The soldiers
identify with Danny because he was a combat
soldier in an elite brigade and still is active in the
reserves, serving on the front lines.
We were shocked at the conditions which the
soldiers lived in. It gets very, very cold in Hebron
and the heating system in the bunks and mess hall
leaves much to be desired. The soldiers sleep in
what looks like large containers, with electric
heaters to keep them warm. When we were in the
very, very basic mess hall Rabbi New noted that on
three walls there were signs in Hebrew. Obviously
Rabbi New reads Hebrew, but he could not understand
the connection of what the signs read vis-àvis
the mess hall. The signs read: Light, Moderate,
Heavy. He asked one of the soldiers to explain.
A medic explained that in the event of causalities,
the wounded are brought here and prioritized
according to the severity of their condition...
Danny told us many stories on our short visit.
Each one was poignant, some were heartbreaking,
some incredibly uplifting. Here is one of the latter:
There is a small synagogue right under where Danny
lives called the Avraham Avinu Shul. In 1928, there
was pogrom where 65 men, women and children
were murdered and most buildings, including this
shul, were looted. A few days after the massacre,
the British army came in to remove everyone who
was left. There was a boy who was living there at
the time and before leaving he went into the shul to
see if there was anything he could salvage. To his
amazement, he found a Torah, intact. He removed
it from the ark and began to leave. The soldiers
stopped him and asked what he was going to do
with it. He replied that one day, he was going to
bring it back to this shul. Mocking him, they began
to laugh, but allowed him to take it.
Two years ago, this very shul was completely
rebuilt, according to the way it had been for
centuries before. During the inauguration of the
shul, without any fanfare, a car pulled up and an
elderly man emerged holding a Sefer Torah. Yes, it
was the same man who, 70 years earlier had gently
taken that same Torah to safety and was now
bringing it back home.
Our visit ended with a delicious meal in the
Hebron guest house, prepared by an eclectic
chef and served by someone who lives in a trailer
in the outskirts of Hebron. He lives in difficult
conditions to say the least – no electricity or
running water - but will not move because he
wants to make sure that there is a Jewish presence
there at all times. True self-sacrifice. And he was
serving us…

Although it was physically cold in Hebron,
Danny, the soldiers, the history warmed our bodies
and souls. We reluctantly departed as we had a tour
of the tunnels under the Kotel booked for 9:00 pm.
Ein Gedi, Masada and Eilat
Our second to last day was physical and
exhilarating. We departed for Ein Gedi, our picnic
lunches neatly stowed in the back of the bus. The
weather had cleared, it was crisp, not too cold, and
we were heading south, so the weather was only
going to get warmer.
We arrived at Ein Gedi and upon disembarking
from the bus immediately began shedding our layers
of clothing. It wasn’t hot, but we were going to
walk up and up and up a mountain. What a time
we had! At first it didn’t seem so high or steep, but
as we kept going higher, the terrain got a bit more
gravelly and one had to watch one’s footing.
Finally, in front of us loomed the most beautiful
sight – a waterfall flowing majestically down from
a high mountain through lush greenery. It almost
looked like a painting. We spent quite a while
there just admiring nature. The walk down was
much easier and faster. We ate our boxed lunches
and then boarded the bus for Masada. We had to
hustle as we did not want to be there when it gets
dark. The cable car stops at 4:00 pm.
The history of Masada is too long to write here.
Suffice it to say that we davened mincha in what
was the synagogue and everyone understood the
deep significance of praying in such a place.
Our Last Day –
A Jeep Ride in the Desert
The jeep ride was not on the itinerary, but
we had been told about it by our guide. Not to
be missed, he said. So, we kept to our morning
schedule, visiting the breathtaking underwater
observatory in Eilat and then, at 2:00 pm, according
to our new schedule, were picked up outside
our hotel by Volf (not Wolf) and two other guides,
in open-air, but covered jeeps. Before we got in we
were already laughing.
Volf turned out to be of Polish descent, his
parents Holocaust survivors. He had fought in the
Six-Day-War in the Negev desert and never left.
He became, to put it bluntly, a
desert rat. He knows every stone,
every leaf, every small flower,
every animal in the desert. He was
married at least three times and
has a few children. He was funny,
sarcastic, sometimes going at
loggerheads with Rabbi New, but
certainly entertaining. We literally
blew through the desert on dirt
roads, dust flying everywhere,
with Volf continuously turning
around to give us a minute by
minute description of where we
were. I was having fits as he was absolutely not
looking at all where he was driving. We finally
reached our first destination, the bottom of a
mountain. When he stopped the jeep and turned
off the motor everyone could not believe the
silence. Can you imagine hearing silence?
He then informed us that we would be walking,
then hiking up some mountains. I will admit
that I hiked up the first part of the mountain but
quickly realized that I would have to be either
pushed up the second part (not too modest) or find
a crane to hoist me up (not happening), so I opted,
without the knowledge of Volf, who would have
hauled me up himself, to go back to our little base
and wait for the others to return. I was told that
the view was breathtaking and the climb worth
every moment.
When we were finished, we were
rewarded with an unusual treat. Volf’s
two other guides had built a campfire
and were preparing to bake fresh pita
on what looked like an upside-down
wok. It was served with delicious yogurt
and hot tea. Our ride back was, believe
it or not, freezing cold and pitch black
dark, although Rabbi New was fanning
the desert with the biggest flashlight
I ever saw, hoping to glimpse some
wild animals.
Our Last Meal Together in Eilat
Taking leave of one another after such an
intense, close nine days was not easy. We had
become a very close-knit group. Our last meal was
spent together in a secluded corner of the restaurant
in our hotel in Eilat. Many of us, at Rabbi
The start of our jeep ride
in the desert
Ein Gedi
Negotiating the descent in the
‘Negev Rockies.’
31

32
Israel
(cont’d)
Our last meal together in Eilat
New’s behest, got up to say a few words, but it was
Rabbi Zalman who put everything together for us,
who solidified the trip. He told everyone to take
what they had seen, heard, learned and felt in
Israel and bring it home; that it is incredible to be
able to experience what we did in the past week or
so, but one must take all of this and use it as a
springboard for growth in our personal lives.
Next Year in Jerusalem
Going to Israel is special at any time, no matter
who you go with. But somehow there is an added
dimension when you go with your rabbis, with
your shul. Not everyone knew each other that well
when we began our trip, although the common
denominator was the MTC. But by the end we
were truly one family. Those who ventured on our
first trip, the ‘pioneers’, will never forget this
incredible experience. Those who go next year,
G-d willing, will make their own memories in Israel.
L’shana habah B’Yerushalyim!
Yasher Koach to all who participated in our
first trip. Each person added their own flavor,
making our group very special and cohesive.
Marilyn Belzberg
Henri, Peggy, Charles and Michael Bybelezer
Michael, Barbara, Ilana and Joelle Chernack
Esther Deutsch
Sara Eldor
Moti Farkas
John, Merle, Harley, Andrea and
Lindsey Finkelstein
Eddy, Trudy, Sara, Valerie and
Brandon Goldberg
Fred Layers
Isser New
Shmuel and Ellen Spicer
Julius and Terry Suss
Freddy Tansky
Next year’s dates, G-d willing, are December 24 –
January 3. The itinerary will be different but
the ambiance and camaraderie of the MTC and
the participants will be ever present.

MTC wishes a hearty Mazeltov to
Leonardo Bursztyn and Tally Nissenbaum
on their marriage
Efi Bar and Tamara Levy on their engagement
Allen and Karen Chankowsky on the birth
of their daughter, Hila (Raizel) Chankowsky
Hilly and Erica Diamond on the birth
of their son, Shimon Chaim
Maurry and Sheila Epstein on the birth of
their grandson, Dovid Leib Epstein-Atkinson
Marcia and Michael Flinker
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Jordan
Michael Goldenblatt and Avital Rinaldi
on their engagement
Elan Gurevitch and Kelly Anne Arfin
on their marriage
Frances and Gerald Kessner on the birth
of a grandson, Ryan Charlie (Ari Simcha)
Eddy and Rachel Kruglakov
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Shimon
Velvel and Baila Minkowitz
on the birth of their daughter, Tonya
The Minkowitz and Kaplan families on the
marriage of Chaya Rochel to Hershke Skoblo
Robert and Marla Oringer
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Cory
Ofir and Galit Moyal on the birth
of their son, Yonaton
Sholom Ber and Shoshana Polter
on the birth of their son, Moshe Yerachmiel
Mendy and Shternie Rosenfeld on the marriage
of their son, Chanoch to Shaina Itkin
Ari and Stephanie Schachter on the birth
of their son, Max (Avraham Dovid)
Eitan and Rosa Seidenwar
on the birth of their son, Mimon Mordechai
Lorne and Sharon Smart
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Brandon
Chaim and Bassie Treitel on the marriage
of their son, Benzion to Faigy Grossbaum
Dan and Tracy Wise
on the birth of their son, Crosby
Rabbi and Nechama New
on the birth of a granddaughter, Sarah Relka,
to Yossi and Chaya Schera Spalter
Rabbi Zalman and Frayda Kaplan
on the birth of their daughter, Mushka
Mazeltovs
33

34
MTC DRAW 2006
A SELL OUT!
O
n Thursday evening, August 17,
the Montreal Torah Center
held its 7th annual draw and cocktail party
attended by over 400 guests. The raffle
raised over $350,000 through ticket sales
and corporate sponsorship. Corey Eisenberg,
Leslie Greenberg and Jackie Ohayon were
the draw’s co-chairs.
A heartfelt ‘Yasher Koach’ to the entire team
of captains, canvassers and corporate
sponsors, whose combined efforts and
dedication made the MTC DRAW 2006
an outstanding success.
Joel King won the grand prize of $18,000.
Gary Walfish won 2 nd prize of $3600,
Lorne Sztern won 3 rd prize of $1800,
Andre Nault won 4 th prize of $1000.
There were three winners of $500:
Adele Vineberg, Martin Sacksner
and Lowen Rosenthal.
Ours thanks & appreciation to Omega Photography.

36
The Real Haggadah
by ARON MOSS
Can't we move on
to more pressing
and contemporary
issues?
Question:
So it's Pesach again. Another Seder night
where we meet up with distant relatives we almost
forgot, to tell a story that we aren't allowed to
forget. Is it really necessary more than 3000 years
on to still commemorate our ancestors' freedom
from slavery in Egypt? Can't we move on to more
pressing and contemporary issues?
Answer:
My friend, you are
reading the wrong
Haggada. The Seder is
not just a memorial to
events of the distant past
- it is a dynamic process
of freedom from the
challenges of the present.
We are slaves. Slaves
to our own inhibitions,
fears, habits, cynicism
and prejudices. These
self-appointed pharaohs
are layers of ego that prevent
us from expressing
our true inner self, from
reaching our spiritual potential. Our souls are incarcerated
in selfishness, laziness and indifference.
Pesach means "Passover." It is the season of
liberation, when we pass over all these obstacles to
inner freedom. On Pesach, we give our souls a
chance to be expressed.
Reread the Haggada. Every time it says "Egypt"
read "limitations." Replace the word "Pharaoh"
with "Ego." And read it in the present tense:
"We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt"
"We are slaves to our egos, stuck in our
limitations."
How do we free ourselves? By eating Matza.
After eating Matza, the Israelites were able to run
out of Egypt and follow
G-d into the desert.
Because Matza represents
the suspension of ego.
Unlike bread, which has
body and taste, Matza is
flat and tasteless - the
bread of surrender.
Usually, we are scared
to suspend our egos,
because we think that we
will lose ourselves. On
Pesach we eat the Matza,
we suspend our egos
and find ourselves - our
true selves.
This night is different
from all other nights,
because on this night we
let ourselves go, we liberate our souls to follow
G-d unashamed. We say, "I may not understand
what this means, but I have a Jewish soul, and
somehow that is the deepest layer of my identity."
That soul is the innocent child within us is
waiting to be free. This Pesach, let's allow that child
to sing:
Ma Nishtana Halayla Hazeh...

Most of the Jewish people are so scattered
and removed from each other that they
hardly ever find a common language, or
even any language that makes sense to them as
Jews. This is what is called assimilation, which is
basically the loss of their common heritage. We
therefore have to try to reach some deeper levels
of the soul, many of them bordering on the unconscious,
to help us get back to talking together, to
having some kind of a common language.
Jews can hardly be categorized as a nation
(even though there is now an emerging Israeli
nation); we cannot be considered a religion in the
ordinary sense of a religion with a message which
we think should become general, which we want
to sell to others. Altogether, we are a very different
sort of entity.
To clarify what we are, we may start by saying
that we are a family. Just a family – a large one,
not entirely a biological one, but basically a family.
Now a family tie, sociologically speaking, is a far
more basic tie than either that of a nation or a
religion. To be sure, the family tie is a very primitive
way of binding people, but it is probably the
most stable one, and the most resistant to outside
change and influence.
The concept of the Jews as a family defines us,
not only sociologically, but also, in a manner of
speaking, theologically. In fact, we do not only
behave like a family – feeling like a family, and
incidentally fighting and hating each other within
the family – its even dangerous for a stranger to
intervene. Because any outside pressure only
reinforces the unity and the feeling of the family.
We can be separated and estranged from each
other, but at a certain level, we come together
again as a family; that is, we feel the unity in
just the way we conduct ourselves, in the way
that even when we do deceive ourselves about
the meaning of it, we continue to behave in a
certain manner.
Although at times we may think that we have
nothing in common, as happens in every normal
family, we still have all kinds of ties and links that
are enormously hard for us to explain. What is
more, we somehow find ourselves at ease with
each other, comfortable within our own family.
Understandably, too, we feel a certain amount of
safety in being together and we find it easier to
make connections within the family. But of
course, brothers and sisters tend to grow
estranged. They move to different countries,
adopt different accents, ways of life, ways of
behavior. Nevertheless there is this united element,
very primitive, very hard to define, but undeniably
very much in existence.
One can go so far as to say that Judaism, as a
religion, is in many ways simply the ways of our
particular family. It is the way we do certain things.
We walk and talk with G-d and man, like everyone
else. But we have our own way of doing it. And,
as in any other family, we try sometimes, when
we are young, to run away, to fight our parents.
Later on, we find ourselves resembling them more
and more.
This particular way, which is called Judaism,
is in many respects, the way that we as a family
move together, pray, dress, eat, do a variety of
things. We have our own approach to all sorts of
matters. For example, in our family we don’t eat
certain things. This doesn’t mean that we have
a special claim of any kind, saying we are the
best family there is. But as in any group of
people, we may have this feeling, and nobody
can blame us. Telling myself that my father is
different, my brother is different, is still a very
human preference.
At a much deeper level, the notion that
our people are really our family, brothers, sisters,
connected by kin as well as lifestyle, is called
in the Bible, The House of Jacob, or The House of
Israel. It has the flavor of a family or tribe, very
Coming Home
by ADIN EVEN-YISRAEL (STEINSALTZ)
And, as in any other
family, we try sometimes,
when we are young,
to run away, to fight
our parents.
37

38
Coming Home
(cont’d)
But in fact, our
real legacy isn’t a
biological one at all.
much enlarged, but still a tribe, with
common goals, and somehow united
even if the unity is obscured by a
great variety of individual expression.
The connections are so deep
that we are usually unconscious of
them, but they are there, and
sometimes it is as though we feel
that the clan is calling and then to
our surprise, we join.
This family
feeling is possibly
one of the
main reasons
why Judaism
as a religion
was never
very active
in proselytizing
– just
as a family
would never
go out into the
streets to grab
people to join the
family. It doesnt
mean that Jews feel
superior or inferior. Its
simply that from the very beginning,
it had its own pattern and way
of living. Even when members of
such a family are out of the family
house, when they are wandering far
away, they follow the life style, theologically,
sociologically, behaviorally. Of course,
members of the family can be severely chastised
and rifts can occur between individuals and
groups, but there is really no way of leaving the
family. You can even hate it, but you cannot be
separated from it. After some time, people,
younger or older, come to the conclusion that in
fact, they cant get away from it. And therefore, it
is far better that they try to find the ways in which
they are connected. Because the connection is
beyond choice. It is a matter of being born with it.
And it is far better to get to know where you came
from and who you are.
For some of our people its almost like the story
of the duckling who was hatched by a hen. Often
enough, our ducklings grow up in a different
atmosphere. They are taught to think and act in
ways which are entirely alien. Jews have adopted
a lot of other cultures, national identities and
sometimes religions. Sometimes there is a very
wonderful recognition and return. Frequently, it
comes as a very unpleasant discovery that I am
somehow different, that my medium is a different
medium. When I do indeed find water, I will swim
in it, even though those that raised me taught me
not to. Altogether, finding somehow ones family is
a familiar theme in literature, and in life.
Knowingly or unknowingly, each person begins to
discover it. If the discovery comes soon enough,
the person is not only able to acknowledge the fact
that he belongs somewhere, but also to make
his life, in a way, more sensible. Paradoxically,
freedom comes with the acceptance of a definite
framework from which one cannot move away.
To be sure, a family is usually a biological unit;
the Jewish family is and isn’t a biological unit.
We speak about ourselves as being the children of
Abraham, or the children of Jacob. But in fact, our
real legacy isn’t a biological one at all. Our tribe is
a very different kind of tribe. To quote an old
source, when we speak about the father of our
family, the mother of our family, we say that the
father of our family is G-d, that the mother of our
family is that which is called the communal spirit
of Israel. This is not just a mystical-theological
statement. This is the way our family is constructed,
it determines how the family behaves and feels.
When we speak about G-d our father, it is not
just an image, it is a feeling of integral belonging
to the source of the family. This makes for a
stronger family of course, but nevertheless, we
continue to behave like an ordinary family. Like all
children, we pass through periods of admiring
father and periods of fighting with father, even
hating father. We can never come to the point at
which we deny the existence of a father, our father.
Of course, some children may express this denial
as a mark of revolt and various members of the
family may react in different ways. Sometimes,
members of the family are very angry at such
blasphemy. Sometimes, they just wait for the
young blood to boil down a little. But always,
whether one hates or loves, whether one is an
ardent believer or a convinced heretic, one remains
his fathers child.
This basic connection is what is called the
Jewish religion; being a member of that family. We

have our own history, but that is not the most
important part of it. Most central is our relationship
to the father and mother of the tribal entity to
which all of us belong in one away or another. This
is what makes sense to those who have remained.
There are widely dissimilar parts, a great variety
of members in our rather large, distressed and
sometimes not so glorious family. How much are
we aware of each others existence? We often try,
and some of us keep trying very hard, to ignore,
to deny, and even to throw out of ourselves
any kind of belonging to this family. On the other
hand, there are many of our people who are
consciously reentering into the family fold. And
not necessarily is it a seeking for G-d. It is often
a result of long wandering and far reaching
explorations, and the feeling that we cannot
always describe, of coming home.
One can point to more beautiful mansions and
more exciting sites. But they cannot very much
duplicate the home. For like any personal roaming
and wandering of individuals separated from their
family, the desperate attempt to be independent
only leads to a discovery that somewhere one must
try to come back and find the truth of being home.
The real point of a Jewish person, then, is the
recognition of, I do belong whether I want to or
not. It is the deepest and most important part of
my being, and one that I can’t cover over with
opinions about language, culture, nation or
religion. Ultimately, I do belong to the family.
The deeper I go within myself, the more important
the past becomes. I can reject this past and I can
even cut it off from myself entirely, playing roles
and trying to imitate others, but that does not
change what I am. And then, if I ever want to find
out more about it, I follow the long way home. It is
not an easy way, but it has its compensations and
its own truth.
When animals brought up in a zoo are
released, they sometimes do not even know
whether they are wolves or deer. They have
to find out who they are,
what they are. Its a
great discovery to
learn, I am that,
and to explore
the right way of
behavior of ones
own kind. Such
is the destiny of
a Jewish person
who has been
estranged. He
may find helpers
or he may not.
He may almost
instinctively move
into his natural habitat
or he may have all
kinds of strange resistances
that will interfere forever with his normal
behavior, so that it can possibly be only
corrected in a later generation. Whatever
happens, he is at least coming to grips with
the problem.
Basically, it is the situation of the person
who wakes up and finds out that even though
he grew up somewhere in young Midwest
America, he really belongs to this very old family,
with these strange parents, these sometimes
lovely, sometimes ugly, brothers and sisters. He has
to get accustomed to this idea, and then find out
what to do about it.
39

SPRING – 6 week course
Keep an eye on your rear-view mirror with
FLASHBACKS IN JEWISH HISTORY
As we struggle to co-exist in a multicultural society,
grappling with the rise of anti-Semitism and the
threat of Jihad, remember that as Jews we have faced
these difficult challenges before. Join us at the
crossroads of history as we look back to ancient
Greece, Islamic Spain, and Christian Europe, in an
attempt to understand where we are headed today.
Mondays April 23 – May 28 7:30 – 8:45 pm
Instructor: Rabbi Zalman Kaplan
Wednesdays April 25 – May 30 10:15 – 11:30 am
Instructor:Rabbi Moishe New
Wednesdays * April 25 – May 30 8:00 – 9:15 pm
Instructor:Rabbi Moishe New
Thursdays April 26 – May 31 12:15 – 1:30 pm
Instructor:Rabbi Moishe New
Fee: $100 per course, includes text books. To enroll
call 514.739.0770 or visit myjli.com.
* Sponsored by the Miryam and Batya Medicoff
Lecture Foundation
PM40030976