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A GRAVE CRISIS<br />
ISSUE 48<br />
DECEMBER 7, 2011<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772<br />
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RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER<br />
Rav Elyakim Schlesinger of London, whom I had<br />
the great privilege to speak with last week and<br />
glean from his daas Torah, hails from Frankfurt am<br />
Main, Germany. His mother was a daughter of the<br />
famed resident of that German city, Moreinu Yaakov<br />
Rosenheim, one of the founders of the Agudath Israel World<br />
Organization, and one of that Orthodox organization’s foremost<br />
leaders for many years.<br />
When Rav Schlesinger asked me whether my ancestors too<br />
were from Frankfurt, as indicated by my family surname, his<br />
<br />
and I may have to the city Frankfurt that made Rav Schlesinger<br />
seem so instantaneously familiar to me, but rather his connection<br />
to a city that is today the metaphysical center of the Torah<br />
world, Brisk. Rav<br />
Schlesinger not only<br />
has the mannerism<br />
of his great rebbi,<br />
Rav Yitzchok Zev<br />
Halevi Soloveitchik,<br />
the Brisker Rav,<br />
whom he repeatedly<br />
quoted during<br />
our conversation,<br />
but he also has an<br />
uncanny physical<br />
resemblance to him.<br />
The Second<br />
World War had<br />
some strange consequences.<br />
As a<br />
result of the war, I<br />
was thinking, one of<br />
the primary propagators<br />
today of the<br />
Brisker school of thought is none other than a grandson of Rav<br />
Yaakov Rosenheim, a noted Hirschian whose leadership of the<br />
Agudah caused Rav Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk apprehension<br />
about joining that movement. Rav Chaim feared that the Hirshian<br />
derech, of Torah and Derech Eretz <br />
its way into Russia and Poland through the Agudah.<br />
It was Rav Yitzhak Isaac Halevy (Rabinowitz) (1847–1914)<br />
Rosenheim’s partner as co-founder of the Agudath Israel orga-<br />
<br />
Rav Chaim to join, notwithstanding his many misgivings. Consequently,<br />
upon Halevy’s passing in 1914 Rav Chaim withdrew<br />
his involvement in the Agudah movement.<br />
The letter that Halevy wrote to Rosenheim about getting Rav<br />
Chaim involved in the Agudah movement is compelling:<br />
“Herrn Jacob Rosenheim:<br />
<br />
the Rav of Brisk to take part in our endeavor requires great and respected<br />
ministers. Therefore you think that it may be helpful if Marx<br />
<br />
perhaps riches would.<br />
“From this I see but one thing: You know most of the Russian rabbonim.<br />
But not the cream of the crop. The Rav of Brisk has in his<br />
world only Torah. The riches of the wealthy, even of millionaires like<br />
Rothschild, can’t make him budge one inch.<br />
ence,<br />
but that, due to his nature, he fears to issue a ruling. To take this<br />
<br />
he fears that he may<br />
cause damage and<br />
perhaps his opinion<br />
was wrong, etc.<br />
“If this were only<br />
ing<br />
him, everyone<br />
knows in Russia that<br />
we are literally close<br />
to each other like<br />
two brothers…<br />
“The Rebbe of<br />
Lubavitch (the<br />
Rashab) only knows<br />
the Rav of Brisk<br />
from hearsay, for<br />
he never saw him,<br />
therefore his words<br />
regarding my sending<br />
Lipshitz to the<br />
Rav of Brisk are<br />
somewhat inaccurate….”<br />
Halevy’s responsibilities toward Rav Chaim didn’t end with<br />
Rav Chaim’s arrival in Katowice for the Agudah convention in<br />
1912. As soon as he arrived, there was a deep crisis over the<br />
so-called “Hungarian demand” that only Orthodox congregations<br />
that separated from general communities that included the<br />
Reform could join the movement. Halevy had the daunting task<br />
of maintaining the peace between Rav Shlomo Zalman Breuer<br />
of Frankfurt, who was behind the Hungarian demand, and Rav<br />
Chaim of Brisk, who opposed it.<br />
That Rav Yaakov Rosenheim’s grandson, Rav Schlesinger, is a<br />
leading Brisker disciple and protégé, is certainly one of the uncanny<br />
outcomes of an incomprehensible war. <br />
8 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
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LETTERS<br />
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Chesky Kauftheil<br />
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EDITOR IN CHIEF<br />
Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter<br />
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ED KOCH ALSO A “SURVIVOR”<br />
Unusual exchange between Rabbi Lau and the former Mayor<br />
In reference to “Q &A with Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau,” Issue 44<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
I am writing to thank you for<br />
your very interesting dialogue with<br />
Rabbi Lau, and also to relate an unusual<br />
anecdote I heard involving<br />
Rabbi Lau and former New York<br />
City Mayor Ed Koch.<br />
It seems that Mayor Koch once<br />
told Rabbi Lau that he too was a<br />
Holocaust survivor. When Rabbi<br />
Lau asked him where he was born, Mayor Koch replied that he was born and bred in<br />
the Bronx, where he spent the duration of the Second World War. When the bemused<br />
Rabbi Lau then asked him how he was a survivor of the Holocaust, Mayor Koch explained:<br />
“When I was in Berlin I visited Hitler’s headquarters. On his desk was a globe that indicated<br />
the number of Jews who lived in each country; on America, it was written that<br />
six million Jews lived there. These were his targets for extermination. Accordingly,”<br />
concluded Mayor Koch, “I, as a <strong>Jewish</strong> citizen of the United States, was also on Hitler’s<br />
hit list. I am therefore, like you, Rabbi Lau, a Holocaust survivor.”<br />
T. Jacobowitz<br />
Q&A<br />
AMI MAGAZINE<br />
1575 50 th St., Brooklyn, NY 11219 | letters@amimagazine.org<br />
Phone: (718) 534-8800 Fax: (718) 484-7731<br />
Q<br />
Your arrival at Buchenwald at the<br />
age of seven, hidden in a sack carried<br />
by your older brother, Naftali, is one<br />
of the most fascinating Holocaust survival<br />
stories I’ve ever encountered. But why is it<br />
What purpose does it serve? What are we<br />
importan to keep going back in memory<br />
to that dark period in <strong>Jewish</strong> history?<br />
actua ly giving the kedoshim by remembering<br />
them?<br />
A<br />
The kadoshim don’t need to get anything<br />
from us. “Harugei Malchus ein<br />
kol briah yecholah lamod bemichitzasam”<br />
[“Those who were murdered—no one<br />
can stand among them in their place.”]<br />
People such as Rabbi Akiva and the 10<br />
Harugei Malchus, and also a l of the kedoshim<br />
from every generation; they are<br />
found in the highest place in palmalya were. How they kept their emunah, how<br />
shel maalah, more so than a l of the they said Shema Yisrael and ani mamin,<br />
us to continue in their path. And, in truth,<br />
the best revenge is—as I discussed in the<br />
book—the continuation, th eternity. The<br />
immortality of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people is in our<br />
BY RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER<br />
WITH RABBI YISROEL MEIR LAU<br />
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE?<br />
Rabbi Lau viewing a photo of himself af ter<br />
he was liberated from Buchenwald.<br />
RABBI YISROEL MEIR LAU served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993<br />
to 2003. He is currently the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel and chairman of Yad Vashem. He<br />
authored several seforim on halacha, and a commentary on Pirkei Avos. His best-se ling<br />
Hebrew autobiography was recently translated into English, titled “Out of the Depths.” Last<br />
week, Rav Lau sat with Rabbi Frankfurter, discussing his book and why he found it importan<br />
to publish his life story.<br />
Tanaim and Amoraim; they don’t need us.<br />
They only need to know tha they have a<br />
continuation. They need to know “Shelo<br />
yitosh Hashem amo v’nachalaso lo Yaazov.”<br />
[Hashem won’t forsake His people and<br />
His portion He won’t abandon.] When<br />
people say Yizkor, or Kel malai rachamim<br />
or Kaddish, they aren’t doing anyone a<br />
favor. The favor is for us. By remembering<br />
the kedoshim we fulfi l the injunction,<br />
“Datah mayayin bataa.” [Know where you<br />
came from.] We need to know who our<br />
fathers and mothers were. The memorials<br />
are more for the sake of present and<br />
future generations, so that we should<br />
know our roots, and the foundations on<br />
which Klal Yisroel stands. If we don’t remember<br />
the Holocaust, chas v’shalom, the<br />
younger generation wi l think that we can<br />
start over, with no past. But there is no<br />
future when there is no past. When we<br />
remember the past, not for revenge, and<br />
not as a favor to the korbonos, but rather<br />
for ourselves and for future generations,<br />
we do so to remember what happened to<br />
us.<br />
the memory of them.<br />
They don’t need us; it is we who need<br />
Q<br />
Is remembering, therefore, a matter<br />
of kavod hachayim, respect for the<br />
living, rather than kavod hamaysim, respect<br />
for the dead?<br />
A<br />
Yes. It’s yikra d’chaya, to know where<br />
you came from and who your parents<br />
roots.<br />
Q<br />
Do you think that the people who<br />
lived through tha time period, such<br />
as you and your brother, have something<br />
aside from memories to give to the next<br />
generation? If so, what is the basic message<br />
that your generation, which is now<br />
ge ting older, can relay?<br />
A<br />
First, that you can’t rely on anyone,<br />
only on our Father in Heaven. Not on<br />
people. What didn’t we give to Poland for<br />
over 1,000 years? What didn’t we give Germany,<br />
with our Rothschilds, our Einsteins generations back. In spite of a l the differences,<br />
everyone understood that we are a l<br />
overwhelmed by the “sun.” Emancipation.<br />
Jews. The enemies understood that we are<br />
even until the last minute. This obligates<br />
they initiated an Inquisition, Tach V’tat,<br />
Romans, Kristalnacht—a l so that Jews<br />
continuity. The chain is unbroken. We<br />
would abandon Yiddishkeit. The stronger<br />
remember the fundaments; we know the how to live together al Kiddush Hashem. the wind, though, the tighter the Jews<br />
Chassidim and misnagdim died together held on to their coats. They said “Shema<br />
al Kiddush Hashem. More religious; less<br />
religious; not religious at a l. Even misboolilim<br />
who had <strong>Jewish</strong> blood from six But we have a generation now that is<br />
and Mendolsohns, and so many other<br />
creative people of the world? We gave so<br />
lesson that we are the same people? That to teach the future generations that our<br />
many presents to Germany, and what did<br />
we get in return? Like Yosef in Mitzrayim,<br />
he saved Mitzrayim from hunger, and was<br />
there any protection for his children Me-<br />
which I wish to give over with a parable:<br />
throw them in the river?!“Shelo yadah es<br />
Yosef.” Phaaroh made no exceptions for<br />
The wind tried to blow o f a man’s coat,<br />
but the colder it got, the tighter the man<br />
held onto his coat, and it wouldn’t come<br />
then on, from before yetziyas Mitrayim o f. Then the sun made it hotter, and got<br />
until today, the number one message is:<br />
The emunah is like the coat. A l of the<br />
goyim always wanted us to get rid of our<br />
nashe and Efrayim, so that no one would<br />
Q<br />
A<br />
Is there another important message<br />
for us and our children?”<br />
The second thing to learn is this: We<br />
knew how to die together al Kiddush<br />
Hashem. The time has come for us to learn<br />
the same people. Why don’t we learn the<br />
we are one nation?<br />
There is another important lesson here,<br />
There was once an argument between the<br />
sun and the wind over who wa stronger.<br />
Yosef’s children. Instead of making statues<br />
and stamps of Yosef’s face, they took a l of<br />
his sons and threw them in the river. From<br />
the man to take o f his coat.<br />
don’t rely.<br />
aderet, that we should be like a l the other<br />
nations. They tried to be like the wind—<br />
the decrees of Antiochus, the Greeks, the<br />
Yisroel,” and threw themselves into the fire<br />
like Avraham Avinu.<br />
“We knew how to die together al<br />
Kiddush Hashem. The time has come<br />
for us to learn how to live together al<br />
Kiddush Hashem.”<br />
It is in a l of the universities, and they try<br />
to marry into us with intermarriages, G-d<br />
forbid. In this time, my generation needs<br />
parents didn’t give up their emunah, even<br />
when it was hard. They had mesirus nefesh.<br />
How much more so, for you—the young<br />
generation—there’s no danger today in<br />
wearing tefi lin or wrapping oneself in a<br />
ta lis, no issur against blowing a shofar<br />
on Rosh Hashana, no prohibition against<br />
wearing a yarmulkeh or keeping Shabbos<br />
or kashrus. So if your parents and grandparents<br />
kept a l of these mitzvos, and were<br />
wi ling to sacrifice their lives for it, then<br />
you can keep the mitzvos without sacrific-<br />
24 AMI MAGAZINE // NOVEMBER 9, 2011 // 12 CHESHVAN, 5772 12 CHESHVAN, 5772 // NOVEMBER 9, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 25<br />
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are referred to or excerpted herein.
LETTERS<br />
MORE ON SARAH SCHENIRER<br />
Defending her fellow Yidden, even after death<br />
In reference to “The Mother of Klal Yisrael,” Issue 17<br />
FOLLOWING DAAS TORAH<br />
Kudos for standing up<br />
In reference to Op-ed, Issue 47<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
In reviewing past issues of Ami<br />
Magazine, I happened upon an article<br />
about Sarah Schenirer’s burial<br />
site (March 30, 2011). A while<br />
back I heard a fascinating account<br />
from the late Rabbi Chazkel Besser,<br />
former chairman of the Lauder<br />
Foundation who was responsible<br />
for the repair and upkeep of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
cemeteries in Eastern Europe, who<br />
learned of this amazing incident directly<br />
from the protagonist:<br />
This gentleman, along with many<br />
of his fellow Jews, has been ordered<br />
by the Nazi soldiers to destroy the<br />
tombstones in the Plashov cemetery<br />
in Krakow. Under threat of death,<br />
they had no choice but to comply.<br />
Shouldering their axes, they began<br />
to knock down the markers one by<br />
one. However, when this man approached<br />
a particular tombstone,<br />
<br />
broke in this hands. He tried with<br />
another axe; this one also broke. The<br />
scene was repeated several times. He<br />
could not make a dent in the stone.<br />
At this point a Nazi soldier who<br />
was standing nearby became enraged<br />
and let out a barrage of curses.<br />
“You ----- Jew!” he shouted at<br />
him. “I’ll show you how to do it!”<br />
The soldier grabbed the axe and<br />
swung it at the tombstone with<br />
all his might. It struck the stone,<br />
<br />
which then ricocheted off the stone,<br />
missing the soldier’s head by a hair.<br />
The soldier, in shock, shuddered<br />
and backed off, stumbling from<br />
fright.<br />
The Jew and his brethren who had<br />
witnessed the scene were incredulous.<br />
With their ragged garments<br />
they did their best to clean off the<br />
tombstone in order to see just who<br />
was buried there. Who was it who<br />
commanded such strength, even in<br />
death? When they could make out<br />
the wording on the tombstone, they<br />
saw it was the grave of Sarah Schenirer,<br />
caring for her beloved fellow<br />
Yidden, unto eternity.<br />
Yehi zichrona livracha.<br />
Miriam Liebermann<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
Thank you for the insightful op-ed piece by Rabbi<br />
Emanuel Feldman. As an activist against same-gen-<br />
Ami, like the<br />
noted newspapers, Yated and Hamodia, took an active<br />
position in addressing this scourge, as directed by<br />
many leading rabbonim.<br />
May Hashem continue to guide you in your endeavors<br />
towards glorifying the name of Heaven.<br />
Yaakov Cohen<br />
Lawrence, NY<br />
CORRECTION.<br />
Q & A feature with Rabbi Krinsky,<br />
Photo credit, Lubavitch.com<br />
SHEIMOS: A picture of a scrap of the “War Scroll,” which<br />
is a scroll describing beliefs of the Qumran cult, in the<br />
article “The Scholars and the Scrolls,” was accidentally<br />
printed containing sheimos. Please treat it accordingly.<br />
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THE RUBIN AND KIZELNIK<br />
FAMILIES WISH ALL OF<br />
KLAL YISROEL<br />
A FREILICHEN CHANUKAH
NEWS<br />
NATIONAL AND WORLD<br />
The Lesser and Greater<br />
of Two Evils<br />
EGYPTIAN ELECTIONS CONFIRM ISRAELI FEARS<br />
Ever since the beginning of popular<br />
uprisings in Egypt 10 months<br />
ago, Israelis have been watching the<br />
nascent democracy movement nervously,<br />
concerned about the direction Israel’s south-<br />
<br />
round of parliamentary elections has con-<br />
<br />
mood to say, “I told you so.”<br />
The liberal, secular parties in Egypt seem to<br />
have garnered very few seats in parliament.<br />
Mohammed ElBaradei, former head of the<br />
<br />
possible Egyptian presidential candidate, said<br />
that the reformists have been “decimated.”<br />
The High Election Commission announced<br />
that the Freedom and Justice<br />
Party, a right-wing religious<br />
party associated with<br />
the Muslim Brotherhood—<br />
an Islamist movement that<br />
had been crushed for years<br />
by former Egyptian president<br />
Hosni Mubarak—won<br />
36 percent of the votes cast.<br />
The Nour Party, represent-<br />
<br />
Islamists, won 24 percent.<br />
There were 9.7 million ballots<br />
cast altogether. There<br />
still are runoff elections this<br />
week for many of the positions<br />
that were already<br />
voted on, as well as two<br />
more rounds of voting in<br />
18 of Egypt’s 27 provinces.<br />
But the Islamist hold seems<br />
assured.<br />
There have been no signs<br />
of voting irregularities, something<br />
that many protestors in<br />
recent uprisings against the military government<br />
were worried would knock the voting<br />
off-kilter.<br />
ElBaradei attributed the popularity of the<br />
religious parties to the conditions in which the<br />
populace lived during the Mubarak dictatorship.<br />
“It should not be a surprise people are<br />
voting with their gut. People lost their sense<br />
of identity with the state. They identify with<br />
religion,” ElBaradei said.<br />
The liberal and secular parties also failed to<br />
form stable coalitions early on; the Islamists<br />
retained name and “brand” recognition from<br />
years of opposing Mubarak.<br />
Whether the two Islamist parties will work<br />
Old Egyptian man places ballot in box<br />
<br />
already made statements suggesting that<br />
they do not want to join the Muslim Brotherhood<br />
in a coalition government, and ElBaradei<br />
believes that the Muslim Brotherhood<br />
would rather join liberal groups for a coalition.<br />
One other question revolves around the<br />
1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.<br />
Some members of the Muslim Brotherhood<br />
have stated that they oppose the treaty, but<br />
whether Egyptian politicians would jeopardize<br />
their international standing over the treaty is<br />
unclear. ElBaradei said that he believes that<br />
the Muslim Brotherhood does want to keep<br />
a healthy relationship between Egypt and the<br />
West.<br />
16 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY YOSSI KRAUSZ<br />
Friends in High and<br />
Low Places<br />
HOW TO GET A PRESIDENTIAL PARDON<br />
If you’re convicted of a crime, you’re on your own.<br />
If you’re black, poor, or you don’t know a member of Congress,<br />
that is.<br />
For rich white folks who are chummy with a member of Congress,<br />
the standard byways of justice may not be necessary to<br />
travel. A new study by the Washington Post and the investigative<br />
journalism group ProPublica analyzed 500 randomly chosen<br />
pardon applications from the term of George W. Bush, out of a<br />
total of 1,918 applications.<br />
The pardon application process is a complicated and<br />
tedious process, and it comes as no surprise that someone<br />
with resources may be more capable of completing it. But the<br />
fact, that those with connections to senators and representatives<br />
are much more likely to receive a pardon, sheds a dis-<br />
<br />
the pardon process. The Justice Department runs extensive<br />
background checks on all those who request a presiden-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Critics claim that by not examining the money trail and<br />
party loyalties, the Justice Department ensures that money and<br />
<br />
member of Congress makes to the pardon commission, which<br />
advises the President on the subject of pardons, can be in return<br />
<br />
kept itself from gaining any suspicion of that.<br />
Minorities received far fewer pardons than whites in the<br />
sample, and not a single one of the 62 African-Americans in the<br />
sample received a pardon.<br />
The Postence<br />
on the pardon process in the case of Dale Critz, Jr., who<br />
had been convicted of auto-loan fraud and other criminal acts.<br />
Critz needed a pardon in order to take over his family’s Georgia<br />
car dealership. He had been convicted of a crime that was<br />
related to the business that he wanted to enter, he had been<br />
involved in multiple crimes, and he had lied during interviews<br />
by the FBI and on his pardon request forms. Despite these<br />
facts, Critz received a pardon after Georgia Representative Jack<br />
Kingston wrote a letter and made two phone calls to the top<br />
<br />
It seems that a successful pardon application may lie somewhere<br />
on the continuum between protekzia and baksheesh.<br />
Experimenting<br />
with Our Lives<br />
A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT IN THE<br />
NETHERLANDS RAISES SOME QUESTIONS<br />
It’s possible to be very intelligent but not so smart, apparently.<br />
The New Scientist reports that Dutch researchers have developed a<br />
<br />
of spreading from mammal to mammal easily, yet is still as deadly as the<br />
original virus.<br />
H5N1 kills about 60 percent of those it infects, according to U.S.<br />
Health Department statistics, but it is only known to have infected a little<br />
over 500 people worldwide. The low rate of transmission is because the<br />
virus generally does not pass from person to person.<br />
<br />
somewhere between 20 million and 100 million people. The fact that<br />
<br />
strikes many as irresponsible.<br />
<br />
ated<br />
the mutation, wants to publish his work, detailing for others how<br />
the strain was created.<br />
Dr. Thomas Inglesby, the director and CEO of the Center for Bio-<br />
<br />
just a bad idea for scientists to turn a lethal virus into a lethal and highly<br />
<br />
they did it so others can copy it.”<br />
<br />
eliminated all sources of smallpox except for samples held in the U.S.<br />
<br />
while others claimed that research needs trumped safety concerns.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 17
NEWS<br />
NATIONAL AND WORLD<br />
Russian Revolution?<br />
PUTIN’S POWER MAY BE WANING<br />
Not long ago, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had little to worry about<br />
<br />
peting<br />
in any way with Putin’s clout. But recent parliamentary elections show that<br />
the ex-KGB man’s hold may be loosening.<br />
Putin’s party, United Russia, had held a supermajority of seats in the Russian<br />
Duma, or parliament, until elections early this week. Exit polling, however, showed<br />
that the latest rounds of voting have skimmed off United Russia’s seats, with the<br />
party only holding 50 percent of the legislature. And even those numbers, political<br />
tion<br />
fraud. Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party, said that his party’s<br />
observers found one ballot box in a Moscow polling station containing 300 ballots<br />
<br />
Communist Party election observers, keeping the real observers away from the polling<br />
site. Early ballot counting seemed to show United Russia doing far better than<br />
exit polling would suggest.<br />
Putin left the position of president four years ago, due to a law against more than<br />
eight consecutive years in the position. He had the constitution amended to create<br />
a position of prime minister; many observers saw the move as a gambit to remain in<br />
power even after leaving the presidency. His successor, Dmitry Medvedev, worked<br />
closely with Putin. Although Medvedev carried out a small number of reforms, he<br />
has been widely seen as Putin’s surrogate in power.<br />
This past September, at the United Russia Congress, Medvedev suggested that<br />
Putin seek the presidency again in 2012; Putin agreed to the idea. (It was awfully<br />
nice of Medvedev to offer.)<br />
The parliamentary elections may show that economic and social conditions<br />
<br />
between rich and poor citizens a growing complaint. The Communist Party seems<br />
<br />
were slated to receive over 20<br />
percent of the vote, according<br />
to exit polling. Several of the<br />
most vocal opposition groups<br />
<br />
candidates.<br />
Whether Putin himself will<br />
suffer in next year’s election<br />
still remains to be seen. Part<br />
of what will determine that<br />
is whether opposition par-<br />
<br />
can appeal to voters against<br />
the heretofore wildly popular<br />
<br />
strongman of the Kremlin.<br />
ELECTIONS 2012<br />
weekly<br />
update<br />
RUNAWAY CAIN<br />
TRAIN<br />
CAMPAIGNS OUTLIVE CANDIDATES<br />
Herman Cain announced on Saturday that<br />
he would be suspending his presidential cam-<br />
<br />
campaign may go on without him.<br />
Candidates are still allowed to raise money<br />
toward their election committees even after<br />
withdrawing from a race, according to election<br />
<br />
have to, simply because their campaign has<br />
incurred debts that need to be paid off.<br />
But sometimes the process of paying off<br />
debt doesn’t go so smoothly, and campaign<br />
committees linger on long after the candidate<br />
is working at some other endeavor. Hillary<br />
Clinton’s campaign committee, for example,<br />
remains active three and a half years after<br />
she suspended her bid for the 2008 Democratic<br />
nomination; her campaign reported<br />
being $274,010 in debt this past September.<br />
Other candidates with committees that live on<br />
<br />
In September, the last time the candidates<br />
were required to report their campaign<br />
<br />
against $675,000 in debt. Those numbers have<br />
certainly changed wildly; Cain became the<br />
frontrunner for a short time after the numbers<br />
were reported, attracting donors.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
to vie for dollars as well, to make certain that<br />
their campaigns don’t have to live on without<br />
them.<br />
18 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY YOSSI KRAUSZ<br />
Iran Against the World<br />
BELLIGERENCE FROM TEHRAN TOWARD THE<br />
U.K. AND U.S.<br />
Iran has not won<br />
the Most Popular<br />
Country in the<br />
World contest for<br />
some time now.<br />
But developments<br />
over the last two<br />
weeks have seen a<br />
slide from an attitude<br />
of hostility to<br />
actual hostilities.<br />
Last Tuesday,<br />
<br />
hundreds of Iranian<br />
protestors attacked the British embassy in Iran and a second<br />
British diplomatic compound, destroying furnishings and equip-<br />
<br />
only have occurred with the sanction of the Iranian government,<br />
and they claimed that they would seek compensation for the<br />
damages, which look likely to exceed £1 million.<br />
The British expelled the Iranian ambassador from the United<br />
Kingdom in response, and several countries were considering<br />
moving their diplomatic staff from Tehran.<br />
On Sunday, Iran claimed to have shot down a U.S. drone near<br />
manned<br />
aircraft had crashed and was in the hands of the Iranian<br />
<br />
probably suffered mechanical failure and was not shot down.<br />
Iran claimed that the downed drone was the RQ-170 Sentinel,<br />
the so-called “Beast of Kandahar.”<br />
Iran has repeatedly claimed to have shot down U.S. drone aircraft,<br />
although they have repeatedly failed to provide evidence.<br />
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the recent blast at<br />
an Iranian missile development site was a major setback for the<br />
cials,<br />
as well as technology experts, said that photos of the explosion<br />
site show that most of the Iranian facilities were destroyed in<br />
the huge explosion.<br />
There has been speculation that Israel was behind the explo-<br />
<br />
explanation from the Iranians has also been that it was accidental.<br />
Iran continues to face international isolation over its nuclear<br />
program, and its recent actions are not expected to increase its<br />
international standing.
Rabbi Avi Shafran<br />
The Sound of Silence<br />
ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?<br />
The latest hope for signs of possible life on other planets<br />
lies in the cargo bay of a spacecraft that blasted off<br />
from Cape Canaveral the morning of Shabbos parshas<br />
Toldos.<br />
The Mars Science Laboratory will deliver a rover,<br />
aptly named Curiosity, to the surface of the Red Planet. Methane<br />
gas, which can be emitted by living organisms, has tentatively<br />
been detected in the Martian atmosphere, and instruments on<br />
<br />
other carbon-based molecules likewise considered to be “building<br />
blocks of life.”<br />
Many scientists assume that life must exist on other planets.<br />
Although science doesn’t usually<br />
embrace beliefs that have not been<br />
supported by observations, the<br />
conviction that there is life elsewhere<br />
in the universe derives from<br />
the creed that chance pervades and<br />
governs the universe—that randomness<br />
lies at the root of reality.<br />
If probability is the loom on which<br />
the universe’s fabric is stretched,<br />
the creed’s canon proclaims, what<br />
reason could there possibly be for<br />
only a single, unremarkable planet<br />
in a single, unremarkable solar<br />
system in a single, unremarkable<br />
galaxy to alone have spawned life?<br />
This abiding scientific faith<br />
assumes something of a miracle: that terrestrial life somehow<br />
arose from inanimate matter here on earth. It reveres a trinity: a<br />
single-celled ancestor, random mutation, and natural selection.<br />
Their interplay, the belief goes, is responsible for the astounding<br />
diversity of life on earth.<br />
And so, during the same eons over which time and chance on<br />
Earth allowed inert elements to slowly morph into iPods and<br />
their owners, countless other worlds should have done no worse.<br />
Indeed, they may have done considerably better.<br />
Creation, we believing Jews know, was in fact an act of Divine<br />
will, not the yield of randomness. Still and all, it isn’t unthinkable<br />
that rudimentary life on other planets exists, like the kind Curiosity<br />
is looking for. After all, G-d created life here on Earth that<br />
remained unseen for most of human history—whether in undersea<br />
volcanic vents or Amazonian jungle canopies. The discovery<br />
of life on other planets would hardly challenge <strong>Jewish</strong> belief.<br />
But intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos? Unlikely, I think.<br />
One thing is certain: all efforts thus far to detect it have come up<br />
empty.<br />
Over the 1960s and 1970s, there was SETI, or the “Search for<br />
Extraterrestrial Intelligence,”; META, the “Megachannel Extraterrestrial<br />
Assay”; and META II. In 1972 and 1973, plaques<br />
depicting the location of Earth in the galaxy and solar system,<br />
and what humans look like, were launched aboard the Pioneer<br />
and Voyager probes. In 1974, the Arecibo message, which<br />
carried coded information about chemistry and terrestrial life,<br />
was beamed into space. And in the 1990s, the “Billion-channel<br />
Extraterrestrial Assay” (BETA) was created, as well as a project<br />
harnessing the computing power<br />
ers<br />
to crunch numbers that might<br />
reveal patterns indicative of intelligent<br />
life beyond our planet. Tens of<br />
billions of hours of processing time<br />
have so far been consumed by the<br />
project.<br />
So far, though, nothing.<br />
The dearth of any sign of intelligent<br />
life beyond our own planet<br />
doesn’t prove anything, of course.<br />
It’s a big universe.<br />
But I’m reminded of what Rabbi<br />
Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev had<br />
to say about a verse in the Torah<br />
(Devarim, 17:3) concerning a false<br />
prophet who will “prostrate himself to… the sun or the moon<br />
or to any host of heaven, which I have not commanded.” Rashi<br />
explains that last phrase as meaning “which I have not commanded<br />
you to worship.”<br />
The Berditchever had a different approach. The reason one<br />
may not bow down to a heavenly body, he explained, is because<br />
G-d has not commanded it in any way. One may, however, bow<br />
down in respect to a human being, because humans are unique,<br />
sublime creatures—beings who have been commanded, who<br />
uniquely possess the free will to accept and execute G-d’s will.<br />
Intelligent extraterrestrials, I suppose, could have received<br />
their own Divine commandments. A planet revolving in the<br />
Alpha Centauri system may have had its own Mt. Sinai revelation,<br />
or some alien equivalent.<br />
One could, I imagine, “hear” such a thing.<br />
Personally, I think the silence out there speaks louder. <br />
20 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
Rabbi Avi Shafran<br />
Synopses of, and excerpts from, interesting items that have recently<br />
appeared here and there—and sometimes way over there—in the media<br />
PEANUT BUTTER<br />
AND JIHAD<br />
Would-be murderer goes from<br />
kitchen to jail<br />
In a November 21 report about<br />
the arrest of Jose Pimentel in New<br />
York, on charges that he<br />
attempted to build bombs to kill<br />
city workers and military personnel,<br />
the online magazine Tablet<br />
reprised an article from last year<br />
that it had published about<br />
Inspire, an al-Qaida magazine that<br />
people familiar with Mr. Pimentel<br />
said had influenced him.<br />
That earlier article highlights one<br />
from Inspire, providing a recipe for<br />
a “simple but deadly bomb.”<br />
What “you have to do,” the inspirational<br />
piece insists, “is enter<br />
your kitchen and make an explosive<br />
device.” If, that is, “you are<br />
sincere in your intentions to serve<br />
[Islam].”<br />
They left out “the religion of<br />
peace.”<br />
BENDING THE RULES<br />
Straw man finally gets credit<br />
The Atlantic carried a story on<br />
November 22 about the invention<br />
of the “bendy straw”—the nowfamiliar<br />
drinking facilitator that<br />
allows one to sip a beverage from<br />
a position other than directly<br />
above its container.<br />
The article notes the drinking<br />
straw’s apparent origins in ancient<br />
Sumeria, and the first mass-produced<br />
version of a straw in the<br />
1880s. Then it explains how, in<br />
1930s San Francisco, one Joseph<br />
B. Friedman watched his little<br />
daughter, Judith, struggle with her<br />
milkshake, which she was drinking<br />
from a rigid straw.<br />
Friedman “inserted a screw into<br />
the straw toward the top…<br />
wrapped dental floss around the<br />
paper, tracing grooves made by<br />
the inserted screw. Finally, he<br />
removed the screw, leaving an<br />
accordion-like ridge in the middle<br />
of the once-straight straw. Voila!<br />
He had created a straw that could<br />
bend around its grooves to reach<br />
a child’s face over the edge of a<br />
glass.”<br />
Thus was the bendy straw<br />
born, which has been helping children<br />
and the bed-bound ever<br />
since.<br />
Tall cup, meet Yiddishe kup.<br />
NOTHING FUNNYE<br />
AT ALL<br />
The hat doesn’t make the man<br />
Haaretz also carried an interview,<br />
on November 16 with Rabbi<br />
Capers Funnye, the rabbi of Beth<br />
Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian<br />
Hebrew Congregation of Chicago,<br />
cofounder of the Alliance of Black<br />
Jews, and first cousin once<br />
removed of Michelle Obama.<br />
Recalling his first trip to Nigeria,<br />
he told the interviewer that, “The<br />
men had on black hats and they<br />
said ‘We’re Orthodox,’ because<br />
they thought wearing black hats<br />
made them Orthodox Jews.”<br />
Yeah, that’s a problem<br />
elsewhere too.<br />
WHAT’S THAT<br />
SOUND?<br />
“No news” is good news<br />
Iran’s Islamic Republic News<br />
Agency (IRNA) reported on<br />
November 28 that the Deputy<br />
Governor of Isfahan denied that<br />
he had acknowledged to the<br />
media a “heavy sound” of an<br />
explosion in Isfahan on November<br />
12. Western media reported that<br />
a large explosion had taken place<br />
at a nuclear site there, and satellite<br />
photos confirmed vast<br />
destruction of a sprawling complex.<br />
The Public Relations Manager<br />
of Isfahan Fire Department,<br />
Mas’oud Anayeb, also rejected<br />
news broadcasts of a noise in<br />
Isfahan. “So far,” he said, “the<br />
Fire Department has received no<br />
news in this respect.”<br />
Just move on, folks. Nothing<br />
to see here. Nothing at all.<br />
FINAL SOLUTION<br />
German mathematicians do<br />
some computations<br />
On November 25, Haaretz featured<br />
an article about <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
mathematicians in Nazi Germany.<br />
Professor Christian Baer, president<br />
of the German Mathematical<br />
Society, is quoted as admitting<br />
that “for decades after the war we<br />
ignored the issue of the fate of the<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> mathematicians [since] we<br />
were afraid to discover unpleasant<br />
things”—like collaboration with the<br />
Nazis, and the Society’s expulsion<br />
of <strong>Jewish</strong> members even before it<br />
was compulsory.<br />
The article notes that, before<br />
the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933,<br />
one-third of all math professors in<br />
Germany were <strong>Jewish</strong>—although<br />
“Jews constituted less than 1 percent<br />
of the total population.”<br />
“What would have happened,”<br />
wonders Professor Moritz Epple<br />
of Frankfurt University, an expert<br />
on the history of mathematics<br />
“had this mathematical flourishing<br />
continued in a world without anti-<br />
Semitism…?”<br />
Not hard, indeed, to do the<br />
math.<br />
GLEANINGS<br />
22 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
Experience Education.<br />
We are pleased to announce the formation of<br />
three separate GED<br />
preparation Classes.<br />
These classes will enable you to get your High School Degree, to<br />
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Please visit our website or call us for more details<br />
regarding an appointment or class scheduling.<br />
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Phone: 718.412.1070<br />
Email: Info@experienceedu.com<br />
Visit: www.experienceedu.com
NEWS<br />
NEWS COMMENTARY<br />
RABBI AVI SHAFRAN<br />
Protocols of the<br />
Elders of Agudah<br />
“ACTIVISTS” ACTIVATE VILIFICATION CAMPAIGN<br />
The tone of the report—about<br />
ostensible goings-on at a<br />
“closed-door meeting”—conveyed<br />
something sinister.<br />
“Security people manned<br />
<br />
managed to elude the security forces<br />
“requested anonymity” out of “fear [of]<br />
retribution,” in order to “to protect themselves<br />
and their families.”<br />
But the report concerned not some organized<br />
crime tribunal or governmental star<br />
chamber but rather a meeting of synagogue<br />
rabbis at Agudath Israel of America’s<br />
recent national convention in East Bruns-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
“revelations,” though, this one too had an<br />
antagonistic relationship to truth.<br />
That should have been suspected from<br />
<br />
<br />
etriciousness<br />
and his unbridled animus<br />
charedi community.<br />
tion<br />
enough, then its content itself should<br />
<br />
<br />
scheduled rabbonim meeting—there is one<br />
at every Agudah convention—aimed at<br />
<br />
and the opportunity to engage in discussion<br />
of timely topics pertinent to a rabbi’s<br />
<br />
The blogger asserted that the gathered<br />
clergy had been apprised to act as “gate-<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
of being complicit in the conspiracy, and<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
an effort by Agudath Israel to ensure that<br />
rabbonim-<br />
<br />
prepared to handle accusations of the<br />
same. It consisted of addresses stressing<br />
-<br />
<br />
on victims, and asserting the critical need<br />
to institute means of undermining the<br />
<br />
Yeshiva, a mental health professional, an<br />
menahel<br />
<br />
as director of public affairs for Agu-<br />
<br />
meeting. At no point did anyone suggest<br />
anything other than the procedure<br />
<br />
lengths to inform the public. Earlier this<br />
<br />
Conference in Manhattan and in a subsequent<br />
detailed public statement, responsa<br />
<br />
<br />
decisors permit, indeed demand, that in<br />
“raglayim<br />
la’davar” (roughly, reason to believe) that<br />
<br />
contact the secular authorities—not the<br />
<br />
such things is to help the claimant ascer-<br />
<br />
raglayim la’davar<br />
The only mention at the meeting of the<br />
<br />
<br />
reportedly been told of the halachic decisors’<br />
rulings and had found them entirely<br />
<br />
<br />
is reasonable cause to suspect that a child<br />
<br />
vary from state to state.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
others. One of those “activists” railed that<br />
<br />
“blood on their hands”; and asserted that<br />
it’s “time to call in the feds”— the FBI and<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
the Agudah of “violating the civil rights<br />
of children… in Torah observant households.”<br />
Both sought to disseminate the<br />
<br />
The issue of child abuse is serious and<br />
<br />
the charedi community and its institutions.<br />
What some “activists” seem to have<br />
trouble fathoming is that spreading base-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
24 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
op- ed<br />
<br />
You May Already Be a<br />
“Winner”!<br />
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS GATHERING DUST<br />
We have all seen those sweepstakes<br />
ads that say you may<br />
have won $10,000 or a brand<br />
new car. Realistically, however,<br />
the chances of your winning these are slim to<br />
none. Well, in New York State, we are sitting<br />
on $11 billion in 26 million different accounts,<br />
and some of it may already be yours. And<br />
we’re not kidding!<br />
Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars<br />
in unclaimed funds are turned over to the<br />
<br />
from a wide variety of sources: dormant bank<br />
accounts, un-refunded utility deposits, for-<br />
<br />
cards, life insurance policies that were never<br />
cashed in, or tax refund checks that never<br />
found their way home.<br />
When the rightful owners don’t claim their<br />
money, the law requires companies, after a<br />
certain period of time, to turn the money over<br />
<br />
<br />
efforts to inform the public that we are holding<br />
abandoned or unclaimed property. We’ve<br />
been to dozens of fairs, conferences, town<br />
hall meetings, senior events, and other<br />
venues statewide with our Unclaimed Funds<br />
booth, where people can check to see if<br />
we’re holding any of their unclaimed money.<br />
In addition, we’ve made it even easier to<br />
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New Yorkers claim their funds in six easy<br />
steps, and get their money back in up to 10<br />
business days.<br />
STATE COMPTROLLER THOMAS P.<br />
DINAPOLI-<br />
<br />
the operations of all State agencies and<br />
local governments; managing the State’s<br />
$146.9 billion pension fund; overseeing<br />
the New York State and Local Retirement<br />
System; reviewing the State and NYC<br />
budgets; approving State contracts; and<br />
administering the State’s payroll and central<br />
accounting system.<br />
Last year, we reunited $296 million with<br />
their rightful owners. While we occasionally<br />
process claims for thousands of dollars, most<br />
<br />
even a single unclaimed fund account in the<br />
<br />
money might belong to you.<br />
<br />
holding your abandoned property, and to<br />
claim your money, is by following these easy<br />
steps:<br />
Visit my website at www.osc.state.ny.us<br />
and click on “Search for Unclaimed Funds.”<br />
Enter the Last Name and First Name or<br />
Company Name that you want to search for<br />
unclaimed funds. Review the search results<br />
for items that match your search criteria.<br />
After you select the item you wish to claim<br />
from the search results, if the item is eligible<br />
to be claimed online, you will be asked<br />
to answer a few questions. Based upon<br />
your answers, and the information we have<br />
in our system about the item, you may be<br />
given the option to claim it online. Step-bystep<br />
instructions are provided throughout the<br />
process.<br />
If you choose not to claim online, or if the<br />
item is not eligible to be claimed that way,<br />
select the item you wish to claim from the<br />
search results, and then select the “Mail<br />
Form” link. After you enter the required<br />
information, print and sign the form. Have<br />
your signature notarized and attach all the<br />
required documentation. Mail your com-<br />
-<br />
<br />
26 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
op- ed<br />
Street, Albany, NY 12236.<br />
Of course, the best way to hold onto your<br />
money is to never let it be abandoned in the<br />
<br />
Keep your accounts active. More than<br />
half of unclaimed accounts are dormant<br />
savings accounts that have had no activity<br />
for three years. Make a small deposit or<br />
withdrawal every year.<br />
Cash all checks promptly for utility<br />
deposits, dividends, insurance premiums,<br />
wages, and any<br />
We’ve made<br />
it even easier<br />
to get your<br />
money back<br />
through our<br />
new online<br />
claim form.<br />
other refunds<br />
you receive.<br />
Keep accurate<br />
financial<br />
records.<br />
Record all bank<br />
accounts, stock<br />
certificates,<br />
insurance policies,<br />
utility and<br />
rent deposits,<br />
and your safe<br />
deposit number.<br />
<br />
institutions with which you have accounts.<br />
Tell a family member or trusted friend<br />
<br />
records.<br />
Unfortunately, there are scam artists<br />
who will use the cover of unclaimed funds<br />
to steal information from you. And some<br />
<br />
“for a fee.” You don’t need to pay a fee<br />
<br />
<br />
to look for unclaimed funds is to go to<br />
our website. You can also call our toll-free<br />
number at 1-800-221-9311, between 8:00<br />
<br />
<br />
your money. It might be the easiest jackpot<br />
you ever hit.
Q&A<br />
WITH MALCOLM<br />
HOENLEIN<br />
MALCOLM HOENLEIN has served as<br />
executive vice chairman of the Conference<br />
of Presidents of Major <strong>Jewish</strong> Organizations<br />
since 1986. He is the founding<br />
executive director of the Greater New<br />
York Conference on Soviet Jewry and<br />
the <strong>Jewish</strong> Community Relations Council<br />
of New York, and has been associated<br />
with the Council on Foreign Relations, the<br />
America-Israel Chamber of Commerce,<br />
the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, Jerusalem’s<br />
Shaare Zedek Medical Center, The<br />
Fairness Project, and One Family, among<br />
other organizations.<br />
In the wake of the Muslim Brotherhood‘s<br />
victory in the Egyptian election, Ami spoke<br />
with Mr. Hoenlein regarding its implication.<br />
QWhat is your primary function with<br />
the Conference of Presidents of<br />
Major <strong>Jewish</strong> Organizations?<br />
AMy primary function is to bring together<br />
the different elements of the<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> community, to build a consensus<br />
in order to be able to act together in addressing<br />
the national and international<br />
challenges that confront American and<br />
world Jewry. We do not deal with domestic<br />
issues, or halachic issues. We deal with<br />
things ranging from U.S.-Israel relations,<br />
terrorism, the delegitimization of Israel,<br />
Iran’s nuclear program, and the United Nations’<br />
efforts to isolate Israel; to issues like<br />
welfare, global terrorism, and the safety of<br />
28 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER<br />
the world <strong>Jewish</strong> community. The point is<br />
to enhance the security of our generation<br />
as well as future generations, and to mobilize<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> resources in order to enhance<br />
the ability of Jews to affect their destiny.<br />
QIs your organization mostly Democrat<br />
or Republican?<br />
AWe don’t take sides. We work with<br />
everyone. We meet with all the<br />
presidential candidates and don’t endorse<br />
anyone.<br />
QDo you ever take a public position<br />
and criticize an administration for a<br />
policy?<br />
APolicy is different. Of course we criticize<br />
when we disagree.<br />
QHow about the Israeli government?<br />
Do you take positions?<br />
AMostly we communicate privately,<br />
<br />
sometimes we go public.<br />
QDo you think that Iran is the biggest<br />
danger at present to the existence of<br />
Israel?<br />
A <br />
a <strong>Jewish</strong> issue per se. It is an American<br />
issue and a world issue, given their quest<br />
for hegemony, which is then compounded<br />
by their worldwide support of terrorism.<br />
And if you think of the Iranians obtaining<br />
nuclear weapons capacity, the whole<br />
international order could be destabilized.<br />
[The problem] is augmented today because<br />
of the growth and empowerment of<br />
<br />
the Middle East.<br />
Q <br />
a <strong>Jewish</strong> issue, because it threatens<br />
the United States. Is that something that<br />
is widely accepted, or do you still have to<br />
persuade some circles to adopt that point<br />
of view?<br />
AWell, I can tell you that when we<br />
started, 80 percent of Americans said<br />
that Iran was a <strong>Jewish</strong>/Israeli issue. Today,<br />
80 percent say it’s an American issue. I<br />
think more and more members of Congress<br />
have come to see it as a threat to the<br />
interests of the United States, as it is to<br />
Israel and to other countries in the Middle<br />
<br />
in the context of being a threat to Israel.<br />
We told him on numerous occasions that<br />
even though he did it out of concern for<br />
Israel, the fact is that if you narrow it down<br />
to that, you narrow the support, because<br />
then people don’t see it as relevant to them.<br />
They are now seeing the Iranian issue as<br />
relevant to their own security.<br />
QDoes the Obama administration see<br />
it as a global issue?<br />
AYes. President Obama and his administration<br />
talk about it in that context.<br />
Arabs talk about in that context, including<br />
Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Every Arab leader<br />
we meet talks to us about it. In public<br />
statements they talk about the enemy. It’s<br />
not Israel; it’s Iran.<br />
QDo you take some credit for changing<br />
the dialogue?<br />
ANo. I think it’s been an educational<br />
process. People have been exposed to<br />
groups like UANI, United Against Nuclear<br />
Iran, which get the message across.<br />
Q <br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> issue. What do you consider<br />
a <strong>Jewish</strong> issue?<br />
AThe global campaign to delegitimize<br />
Israel and the <strong>Jewish</strong> people is a spe-<br />
<br />
be involved in both, there is a difference.<br />
QIs the global delegitimization of Israel<br />
and the <strong>Jewish</strong> people coming from<br />
Muslim quarters, or is it broader?<br />
AIt’s broader. There is incitement<br />
coming from various extremist ideological<br />
groups that are against Israel and<br />
the United States, but it’s easier to attack<br />
Israel than the U.S. However, a lot of it is<br />
funded by money coming from Muslim<br />
countries, and it’s also rooted in Middle<br />
East propaganda—the lies and distortions<br />
that are spread from there. Today it’s being<br />
done via satellite. They can reach hundreds<br />
of millions of people—billions of people.<br />
There are tens of thousands of anti-Semitic<br />
and anti-Israel websites. Some of them are<br />
crude, but they also hire professionals to<br />
do it in a sophisticated way.<br />
QHow do you counter that?<br />
AWe’ve set up a strategic communication<br />
center here in New York. We<br />
publish a daily alert to educate people<br />
about the issues. We have 60 organizations<br />
and a national interagency task force dealing<br />
with delegitimization. We try to build<br />
on each other’s assets and resources, and<br />
not replicate and duplicate, but try to use<br />
all of our collective efforts. It’s a huge undertaking,<br />
and a priority issue. The consequences<br />
will be felt for many generations<br />
to come.<br />
QDo you think that the delegitimization<br />
of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people is connected to<br />
the delegitimization of Israel?<br />
AIsrael is seen as the corporate entity of<br />
<br />
Lewis said. It’s still not politically acceptable<br />
in many places to say “I hate Jews,”<br />
but you can say “I hate Israel.” Israel has<br />
become the collective Jew of 70 years ago.<br />
You see the same kind of hatred being<br />
propagated, and it’s not about Israeli policies,<br />
or territory, or settlements. It’s not<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 29
Q&A<br />
about ’67, it’s about ‘47. It’s about Israel’s<br />
right to exist, not a particular policy. It’s a<br />
way to attack the right of Jews to exist, to<br />
say that they don’t have the right to defend<br />
themselves, to self-determination, to a<br />
State.<br />
QDo you think the problem is getting<br />
worse?<br />
AYes, especially on the campuses, and<br />
in virtually every sector of society—<br />
entertainment, unions, cultural areas,<br />
churches, academia. We are trying to counter<br />
it everywhere. We conducted a huge<br />
national study of every sector of American<br />
society to try and understand this phenomenon.<br />
And while there is broad support for<br />
Israel, if you dig down you can see all the<br />
doubts and questions. People are ignorant;<br />
they don’t know the facts. They are there-<br />
<br />
people on campuses or in high schools<br />
who don’t know how to answer and fall for<br />
the lies.<br />
Q <br />
that inasmuch as the outside world is<br />
trying to delegitimize the <strong>Jewish</strong> people—<br />
AI what you’re going to ask.<br />
Q <br />
AThe delegitimization of the charedi<br />
community.<br />
Q Absolutely.<br />
AI think it’s a legitimate concern in<br />
some respects. Some of it we bring on<br />
ourselves. Some of it is that the frum community<br />
is an easy target, just as Jews are an<br />
easy target, and within that you have an<br />
easier target. Sometimes it’s things we do or<br />
<br />
generalizations, categorizations, and blanket<br />
charges against religious Jews.<br />
QHow should we deal with that?<br />
AFirst we have to change our behavior<br />
and make sure there’s no cause for<br />
it. Second, we’ve got to hold to account<br />
people who say outrageous things.<br />
QIs that something your organization<br />
would be able to facilitate?<br />
AWe don’t deal with domestic and internal<br />
affairs; that’s not what the Conference<br />
does. We don’t deal with halachic<br />
issues, or anything that cannot be dealt<br />
with by consensus. I see the critical com-<br />
ence,<br />
as achdus. It’s the one precondition<br />
that Hakadosh Baruch Hu set for everything<br />
that’s happened to us. When achdus is lacking<br />
within the frum community, and between<br />
the frum community and non-frum<br />
community, we undermine ourselves. We<br />
waste our energy and efforts, and we shift<br />
the focus from those who seek to do us<br />
harm, to harming each other.<br />
Q <br />
facilitate that common goodwill and<br />
emphasize what unites us rather than what<br />
divides us?<br />
AThat’s what I talk about wherever I go.<br />
QFantastic. You say that you represent<br />
people of different strands of Judaism.<br />
AI don’t say I represent. My job is to<br />
bring together 52 organizations that<br />
represent every aspect of the <strong>Jewish</strong> community.<br />
I never purport to say that I’m a<br />
spokesman for every Jew, or every sector of<br />
the <strong>Jewish</strong> community. I don’t think any-<br />
<br />
try to build achdus among different people.<br />
QAre you frustrated that no matter<br />
what you do, anti-Semitism and the<br />
delegitimization of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people keep<br />
on growing?<br />
AI don’t think that’s accurate. Our efforts<br />
are making an impact. Our<br />
surveys show that two-thirds of the respondents<br />
said that they support Israel.<br />
It’s not something we can take for granted.<br />
At the same time, if we ask whether they<br />
believe some of the lies about Israel that<br />
have been disproven, they also say yes. A<br />
lot of people still believe that America was<br />
responsible for the World Trade Center. I’m<br />
talking about domestically, let alone those<br />
around the world.<br />
QHow important is it to provide people<br />
with accurate information?<br />
AWe have proven that when people are<br />
given credible information in a timely<br />
manner, the results are different, and we<br />
have created vehicles by which to do this.<br />
It is crucial to get ahead of the curve. You<br />
know better than anyone that the news<br />
cycle today is 30 seconds. It used to be 24<br />
hours, then 12, then 8, then 6. Now, if you<br />
don’t catch something in the blink of an<br />
eye it’s gone, and you can’t get it back.<br />
QDo you think that the Internet is feeding<br />
the delegitimization process?<br />
AAbsolutely. It’s a vehicle for the rapid<br />
dissemination of “the big lie.” It took<br />
Hitler months to spread the big lie, but you<br />
can now do it in seconds. And you can’t kill<br />
it; once it’s out there, it’s out there.<br />
QThe map of the Middle East is<br />
changing so dramatically. Are you<br />
concerned about this change, or are you<br />
hopeful that something good will emerge?<br />
AI don’t see any good in the immediate<br />
future. The only organized opposition<br />
hood,<br />
as demonstrated in Morocco, Tuni-<br />
30 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
sia, and Egypt, although maybe<br />
in time secular and other opposition<br />
groups will be cre-<br />
<br />
doesn’t want responsibility, it<br />
wants control. You’ll notice that<br />
they’re not putting up a presidential<br />
candidate in Egypt.<br />
They don’t want the day-to-day<br />
obligations of taking care of the<br />
garbage and being the target<br />
of criticism. So wherever they<br />
win they want to see others in<br />
power, but retain veto power<br />
and control. In Lebanon they<br />
were forced into having to<br />
assume power, but what did<br />
they do? They put a Sunni up<br />
as president. So now everyone<br />
can yell at him! Then they tell<br />
the people that they agree with<br />
them!<br />
QAre you happy with the<br />
way America dealt with<br />
Mubarak?<br />
AI was in Egypt after the<br />
revolution. I spoke to generals<br />
and to regular people. I<br />
saw that America was hurt by<br />
the way we treated Mubarak.<br />
Some felt that we acted too late.<br />
Some felt we reacted improperly,<br />
that you shouldn’t send<br />
a “kid,” as they called him—a<br />
29-year-old deputy spokesman,<br />
to make a statement to<br />
Mubarak to step down, instead<br />
of a more senior person. They<br />
saw that as compounding the<br />
insult, without recognition of<br />
all the decades of friendship.<br />
QWhy does the American<br />
government keep on<br />
making the same mistakes?<br />
ADon’t ask me that! I can’t<br />
even understand what<br />
I do sometimes! I think they<br />
tion<br />
in terms of trying to determine<br />
what to do. I meet with<br />
Arab leaders all the time. I get<br />
from them a sense of disappointment<br />
and alienation from<br />
the U.S., and also from Europe.<br />
They wonder why the West<br />
doesn’t react to what they’re<br />
doing to Christians in Iran,<br />
Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere.<br />
People say, “Look, if they don’t<br />
stand up for their own, who<br />
can count on them?”<br />
QDo you fear a global<br />
Muslim movement getting<br />
stronger?<br />
AI believe they have global<br />
aspirations, but I don’t see<br />
them taking over the world. I<br />
do think, though, that people<br />
have to take the growth of the<br />
Muslim population in Europe<br />
more seriously. Efforts have to<br />
be made to counter radicalization<br />
of these populations.<br />
People are afraid to address this<br />
issue because of political correctness.<br />
I’m not saying to persecute<br />
them, to subject them to<br />
religious discrimination, but I<br />
do think there is room for very<br />
legitimate action.<br />
QAs the year 2011 comes<br />
to an end, are you optimistic<br />
or pessimistic about our<br />
future?<br />
A<br />
The optimist says that this<br />
is the best possible world,<br />
and the pessimist agrees. Jews<br />
can’t afford to be optimistic or<br />
pessimistic. We have to see the<br />
world as it is, but we have to be<br />
optimistic about our ability to<br />
change it.
JEWISHNEWS<br />
The Missing Grave, Found<br />
THE KEVER OF A SPECIAL RAV IS DISCOVERED<br />
Sometimes mesorah, <strong>Jewish</strong> heritage, is made tangible.<br />
The recent discovery of the grave of Rav Yosef<br />
Yitzchak Schneerson, the son of the Tzemach Tzedek<br />
of Lubavitch, has opened a new connection to a cen-<br />
<br />
outside the chassidic movement. It was known that he<br />
was a rebbe in the town of Ovrutch in the Ukraine, but<br />
<br />
has quickly becoming a sought-after place for tefillah.<br />
Rav Yisroel Meir Gabbai, founder of the Agudas Oholei<br />
Tzaddikim Organization, spoke to me from the Ukraine<br />
about this important discovery.<br />
Identifying lost burial places involves various methods.<br />
In this case, the kever<br />
locals who remembered where the Ovrutcher was<br />
buried. Using modern techniques, Rav Gabbai determined<br />
that there indeed was a kever at that spot. Rav<br />
Gabbai also mentioned that, surrounding the kever, are<br />
a bit of the foundations of a building that the communists tried but<br />
failed to erect over the kever.<br />
Rav Yosef Yitzchak impacted Chabad on many levels. He was the<br />
son of the Tzemach Tzedek (the third Lubavitcher Rebbe), the brother<br />
of the Rebbe Maharash (the fourth Rebbe) and the father-in-law of the<br />
<br />
<br />
There is a fascinating story relating how Rav Yosef Yitzchak’s daugh-<br />
<br />
Dovber Schneerson. When the Rebbe was in his grandfather’s—the<br />
Tzemach Tzedek’s—home, the Tzemach Tzedek indicated that he<br />
desired that Sholom Ber become betrothed to his granddaughter<br />
Shterna Sara. Amazingly, The Rebbe Rashab was only four years old<br />
<br />
Yitzchak wondered aloud that “maybe when they grow older they<br />
won’t be a match,” the Tzemach Tzedek dismissed the claim, saying<br />
that the Rashab would grow to be a great tzaddik and a good match<br />
for his daughter. A detailed tenayim (engagement contract) was written<br />
that same year between the two mechutanim (who were brothers),<br />
which indicated what each side would provide for the young couple. It<br />
<br />
<br />
The recently found Kever of Rav Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson of Ovrutch<br />
The Tzemach Tzedek himself contributed toward this fund.<br />
<br />
Tcherkas before settling in Ovruch. He led his chassidus with slightly<br />
different minhagim (customs) than those of Chabad. He was known<br />
as a miracle worker in his own right and attracted a large following.<br />
He often davened<br />
long. In fact, when his father-in-law sent a messenger to call on Rav<br />
Yosef Yitzchak, the messenger informed him that he had to wait sev-<br />
tefillah.<br />
<br />
thought you told me that you daven b’tzibbur [with a minyan].”<br />
Rav Yosef Yitzchak replied that he had a mesorah originating with<br />
the Baal Hatanya that b’tzibbur meant to gather all of the powers of<br />
the souls as well as all of their nitzotzos (divine sparks), and that took<br />
him quite a while.<br />
kever<br />
once the search had begun. “Things take time and we are having a<br />
<br />
kivrei tzaddikim. He<br />
responded, “Yes, there is more to do.”<br />
Thanks to Rav Zalmen Hertzl—author of the sefer, Nesuei Nesiim—<br />
for contributing to this article.<br />
32 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY NESANEL GANTZ<br />
Clinton Causes Consternation<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE CRITICIZES CHAREIDI LIFE AS<br />
UNDEMOCRATIC<br />
Hillary Clinton caused an uproar with recent comments comparing the separate<br />
seating on mehadrin bus lines in Israel to segregation like that perpetrated against<br />
the African-Americans of the 1950s. In a closed forum for Israeli politicians, Clinton<br />
said she is concerned over Israel’s democracy and the rights of women in Israel. She<br />
directly referred to the mehadrin buses, saying that they reminded her of Rosa Parks’<br />
stand against segregation on buses. She said that the refusal of IDF soldiers to hear<br />
women singing in Army-related events was reminiscent of religious fanaticism in<br />
Iran. Clinton’s remarks immediately caused rapid response from MKs; although not<br />
<br />
<br />
“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. I assume that whatever will be done<br />
here will be within the measure of the law.”<br />
<br />
they seemed to agree with her regarding gender segregation. Finance Minister Yuval<br />
Steinitz said in response, “These voices are totally exaggerated. Israel is a living,<br />
breathing, liberal democracy.” He added, however, “The issue of the exclusion of<br />
women and separation is unacceptable and must be stopped.”<br />
Tzipi Livni was in full agreement with Clinton, saying: “Friends and admirers of<br />
Israel from within and without are worried about processes that Israel is undergo-<br />
<br />
detractors, and who act to preserve Israel’s military advantage in the area.”<br />
Livni, a longtime antagonist of the chareidim, referenced them indirectly by adding<br />
that, “It is time to awaken those still blind to the ugly wave washing over Israel from<br />
inside.”<br />
Blame Government,<br />
Not Business<br />
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN<br />
ISRAEL LINKED TO INCREASED<br />
TAXES.<br />
<br />
a quarter million Israelis slept in tents until early<br />
September to protest rising prices in the food<br />
and housing industries. On August 6, at a rally<br />
entitled “Rally for Justice,” people publicly protested<br />
the increased housing prices, which were<br />
<br />
As protests started gathering momentum,<br />
demonstrators urged the Israeli public to boycott<br />
Tnuva Food Industries, as well as Strauss<br />
Group, Ltd. The severe backlash, at that time<br />
focusing on increased cottage cheese prices,<br />
caused these companies to offer loss-entailing<br />
<br />
The chairman of Israel Discount Bank, Matthew<br />
Bronfman, says that, while the complaints<br />
<br />
group.<br />
“The food-prices protests in Israel have to<br />
<br />
<br />
said in an interview in New York today. “The<br />
imbalances don’t come from our side. It’s the<br />
government.”<br />
Interestingly, the problems that infuriated<br />
Occupy Wall Street protesters seem to be<br />
affecting Israel, as well. The OECD, Organization<br />
for Economic Co-Operation and<br />
Development, released data showing that while<br />
some countries around the world still have a<br />
small rich to poor gap, Israel doesn’t fare as<br />
well. Denmark, Sweden, and Germany have a<br />
<br />
<br />
shows an alarmingly widening gap in Israel of<br />
<br />
ratio? The United States of America. Is Occupy<br />
<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 33
JEWISHNEWS<br />
Rabbeinu Na Nach Nachman……<br />
M’Eretz Yisroel???<br />
THE BATTLE OVER MOVING RAV NACHMAN OF BRESLOV<br />
<br />
people make an annual pilgrimage there. The small city in the<br />
zt”l, and<br />
the masses travel there for Rosh Hashana. The yearly migration,<br />
which has increased by the thousands each year, has become a<br />
highlight of the year for those who make the trip to the far away<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
terred<br />
in Eretz Yisrael? MK Danny Dannon wants to make it a<br />
reality and bring the cherished tzaddik to Har Hamenuchos.<br />
mashpia<br />
<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
ago when there was serious consideration<br />
about moving Rav<br />
<br />
government was planning on<br />
erecting buildings on and sur-<br />
kever.<br />
Even then, strong international<br />
shtadlonus (political pressure)<br />
was carried out, even including<br />
speaking to the President of The<br />
<br />
the construction of the build-<br />
<br />
slov,<br />
conveyed his wishes several times to his beloved talmid Rav<br />
<br />
stemmed from the fact that he would be interred near the resting<br />
place of thousands of children killed during the terrible pogroms<br />
of Tach V’tat (1648-1649).<br />
There are several other factors, both technical and spiritual,<br />
<br />
eternal resting place.<br />
<br />
and while he had expressed the desire to be buried in Eretz Yisroel<br />
as well, the fact that he expressly stated his desire to be interred<br />
halachically<br />
<br />
are buried in extremely close proximity of each other, with no<br />
clear data where everybody is located; that would make it virtually<br />
impossible to open the ground without disturbing the bones<br />
of other dead Jews.<br />
Observes Rav Frank: “If a move wouldn’t receive the blessing<br />
kever of<br />
<br />
<br />
ing<br />
on his kever, the topic has resurfaced due to Danon’s com-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
MK Danon stated that, “Thousands<br />
of Israelis who cannot<br />
make it to Israel would now be<br />
able to visit his kever. It would<br />
bring honor to the <strong>Jewish</strong> people<br />
<br />
Eretz Yisrael.” MK Danon is in<br />
the minority, it seems, possibly<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
favor of it, are not mainstream<br />
<br />
mashpia or rav<br />
<br />
Land.<br />
<br />
pointing to another underlying factor in the decision, at least<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
American dollars.<br />
<br />
moving the Rebbe would be best, they would have their ways of<br />
<br />
<br />
A token of thanks is offered to Rav Frank for his insight and information<br />
for this article.<br />
34 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY NESANEL GANTZ<br />
The Color of Money<br />
CHAGALLS GO ON THE BLOCK<br />
Famed artist Marc (Moishe) Chagall’s paintings are hard to come by and are rarely offered up<br />
for auction today. Even a so-called “unimportant” painting by the “quintessential <strong>Jewish</strong> artist<br />
<br />
While Chagall is famous for his paintings of stained windows in actual synagogues, these<br />
<br />
in depicting actual shuls. I spoke to Emily Bergland, of Sotheby’s Auction House in New York<br />
<br />
one time a year when Sotheby’s auctions all of its Judaica. We are happily surprised at the<br />
press the Chagall paintings are receiving.”<br />
In fact, the press may drive up prices.<br />
<br />
drawn to his <strong>Jewish</strong> roots. He would ultimately return to Israel several more times in his life.<br />
<br />
highest of all three.<br />
While in Tzfas, Chagall was drawn to the two shuls of the Arizal. He painted two versions of<br />
the Sephardi shul, which now hang in the Israeli Museum. He painted one version of the Ashkenazi<br />
Ari Shul, which is now for sale.<br />
<br />
kloiz (study hall), is the only known portrayal of the interior of this small shul,<br />
which was destroyed by the Nazis, yms”h, during World War II.<br />
The sale is open to international buyers as well and it is unique, as it focuses on the Judaism<br />
rooted in Chagall, who was mostly irreligious. Emily stated that “all three paintings are being<br />
lery<br />
in New York.” A worthy investment, indeed.<br />
Chagall’s painting of the Vilna Gaon’s kloiz (study hall).<br />
The only known depiction of the shul which was destroyed during WWII.
JEWISHLIVING IN<br />
Marseille,<br />
Marseille, the secondbiggest<br />
city in France, is<br />
home to about 75,000<br />
Jews, out of a total population<br />
of 850,000. Today,<br />
the vast majority of the Jews are Sephardic<br />
immigrants from the countries of North<br />
Africa. In general, France has the largest<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> population in all of Europe.<br />
If the <strong>Jewish</strong> community of Marseille<br />
had to be characterized in one word, that<br />
word would be warm. People are generally<br />
polite, kind, and friendly. Although<br />
it is not a wealthy community, it isn’t<br />
poor either. Fortunately, extreme poverty<br />
is rare, because the law sets a minimum<br />
income for each individual.<br />
According to the deputy chief rabbi<br />
of the city, Rabbi Shmuel Hatuel, the<br />
<br />
munity<br />
of Marseille, which enjoys a high<br />
<br />
of categorization into sectors is not comprehensible<br />
to the Jews of Marseille. Everyone<br />
converges together around their<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong>ness, and it is unimportant to them<br />
36 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
France<br />
BY NECHAMA<br />
MIMOUN<br />
<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> life in Marseille, located in the<br />
south of France, is organized around 50<br />
synagogues, seven schools, three kollelim,<br />
a yeshiva ketana, a yeshiva gedola, and two<br />
retirement homes. Most of the institutions<br />
are under Sephardic supervision, with the<br />
exception of the kollelim, two schools, and<br />
the yeshiva ketana, which are under Litvish<br />
supervision.<br />
Kosher products are readily available,<br />
and there are more than 20 kosher restaurants.<br />
About 20 percent of the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
population is observant (keeping Shabbos<br />
more or less), while two percent would<br />
be characterized as bnei Torah. It has been<br />
estimated that one third of the primary<br />
school-aged <strong>Jewish</strong> children receive their<br />
education in <strong>Jewish</strong> schools. There are also<br />
several Chabad Houses and institutions in<br />
the city.<br />
In France, the Representative Council of<br />
French <strong>Jewish</strong> Institutions (CRIF—Conseil<br />
Representatif des Institutions Juives de<br />
France) is the umbrella organization of all<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> groups. There is also the Consistoire,<br />
which looks after the religious needs<br />
of the community, such as kashrus, cemetery<br />
management, and community repre-<br />
<br />
Approximately 300 people per year<br />
make aliyah to Israel, many of whom are<br />
young kollel couples. Unfortunately, there<br />
is also a high rate of intermarriage, which<br />
is a real challenge for the chief rabbi.<br />
Thank G-d, there is no particular problem<br />
with anti-Semitism. But like any other<br />
place in the world, we do hear of isolated<br />
incidents from time to time.<br />
Curiously, France has very few <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
archaeological sites, although the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
presence in the country is ancient. Traces<br />
of Judaism date back to the 6th century<br />
If the <strong>Jewish</strong> community of Marseille<br />
had to be characterized in one word, that<br />
word would be warm.<br />
B.C.E., when <strong>Jewish</strong> slaves were brought<br />
in for their business acumen. In Marseille,<br />
there is one small street that evokes its existence<br />
in medieval times: Rue de la Juiverie—Jewry<br />
Street.<br />
In the Middle Ages the <strong>Jewish</strong> popula-<br />
<br />
chachmei Proventzia<br />
among them famous rishonim. Marseille<br />
was one of several cities in southern France<br />
(Bezier, Lunel, Avignon, and Carpentras)<br />
that was visited by prestigious meshulachim<br />
from Israel such as the Chida. In 1257,<br />
the Jews of Marseille were granted equal<br />
rights, although they were prohibited from<br />
working on non-<strong>Jewish</strong> holidays. In the<br />
14th century there were three synagogues,<br />
a guest house, and a mikvah. Another wave<br />
of immigration occurred after the Spanish<br />
Inquisition in 1492.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 37
JEWISHLIVING IN<br />
The French Revolution, in 1789,<br />
granted Jews citizenship, which unfortunately,<br />
led to the mass assimilation of most<br />
French-born Jews. Another element of the<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> population came from Turkey after<br />
the First World War. They are also mostly<br />
assimilated. The community only began<br />
to renew itself with the arrival of very discreetly<br />
repatriated Jews from North Africa,<br />
pushed out of their homes by decolonization.<br />
Other Jews arrived while escaping<br />
Nazi Germany, and still others were displaced<br />
by the British White Paper of 1939.<br />
The oldest functioning synagogue in<br />
Marseille today was built in 1864, which<br />
houses the Consistoire. Up until a few decades<br />
ago there was only one Ashkenazic<br />
synagogue in the city.<br />
The opening of the Suez Canal, in 1869,<br />
greatly facilitated the economic expansion<br />
of the city’s port. From 1830 to 1915,<br />
France had established a huge colonial<br />
empire around the world. Parts of North<br />
America, Indochina, North Africa, West<br />
nized.<br />
The port still plays a large role in<br />
international shipping. Today, Marseille is<br />
a modern city with great cultural diversity,<br />
featuring its own airport, metro system,<br />
and high-speed train.<br />
<br />
Ruimy from Morocco, who was sent to<br />
Marseille by Rabbi Lipmann of the Novardok<br />
yeshiva in Paris, and Rabbi Kohn,<br />
sent after WWII by the Steipler, Rav<br />
Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky. Chassidic Judaism<br />
saw a rebirth in France after the<br />
Lubavitcher Rebbe lived there during<br />
WWII, and today, the country has hundreds<br />
of Chabad institutions.<br />
Behind the belief that France will play<br />
a central role at the time of Moshiach’s<br />
<br />
exiles will leave Tsarfat<br />
which many identify with France. May it<br />
happen immediately! <br />
Cost of Living<br />
½ GALLON CHOLOV YISRAEL MILK<br />
Approx. $3 U.S.<br />
½ GALLON GRAPE JUICE<br />
$7 U.S.<br />
TUITION<br />
Gan and primary school — $200 U.S. per<br />
month.<br />
Yeshiva ketana — $450 U.S. per month<br />
High school — $225 U.S. per month<br />
MINIMUM WAGE (SMIC)<br />
$1,500 U.S. per month<br />
Real Estate<br />
A four-room house rents for $1,200 U.S.<br />
per month, but the state provides housing and<br />
family stipends.<br />
The current price of residential property is<br />
around $600 U.S. per square foot.<br />
Weather<br />
Marseille enjoys a temperate Mediterranean<br />
climate. Both its winters and summers are<br />
mild, and it is sunny throughout the year.<br />
Getting There<br />
BY PLANE:<br />
To New York — 8 hours<br />
To Israel — 4 ½ hours<br />
To Paris —1 hour, 20 minutes<br />
To London— 2 hours<br />
BY TRAIN:<br />
To Paris — 3 hours<br />
To London — with a stop in<br />
Paris, 5 ½ hours<br />
38 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
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BUSINESS<br />
Doomed<br />
to Fail<br />
EURO FOUNDER SAYS SYSTEM<br />
FLAWED FROM THE OUTSET<br />
Facebook IPO 2012<br />
BYYEDIDA WOLFE<br />
INVESTMENT WINDFALL OR ROOKIE INVESTOR TRAP?<br />
W<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Euro architect Jacque Delors claims<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
of <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
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the situation—otherwise it’s<br />
<br />
<br />
into a tailspin.<br />
YOU SHOULDN’T BE<br />
10SIGNS<br />
A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER<br />
1 You can’t make decisions—dawdling<br />
results in lost opportunities.<br />
2 You won’t take responsibility—the<br />
best part of owning a business is being<br />
in charge; the worst part is having to be.<br />
3 Your only motivation is money—you’ll<br />
need motivation to go forward before<br />
you get a fat paycheck.<br />
4 You swing<br />
between<br />
extremes—extremes send investors<br />
running, employees cowering, and drive<br />
customers away.<br />
5 You can’t overcome chronic disorganization—do<br />
what needs to be done<br />
when it needs to be done.<br />
6 You have no track record of comple-<br />
<br />
a lack of success.<br />
7 You have no support system—without<br />
mentors to call for advice, you<br />
reduce your chances for success.<br />
8 You are addicted to the familiar—<br />
keep pace with market changes so you<br />
don’t get left behind.<br />
9 You never set your own limits—live<br />
by your own rules to get the job done.<br />
10 You don’t keep your word—<br />
there’s no trust without honesty.<br />
40 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
40 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
&<br />
Halacha<br />
Hi-Tech<br />
BY SAMUEL SOKOL<br />
GADGETS FOR THE ARMY AND THEDISABLED<br />
“People write articles saying that what [we say]<br />
promotes chillul Shabbos,” Dan Marans opined,<br />
as soon as we sat down in the Zomet Institute’s<br />
new presentation center in its headquarters in<br />
Alon Shvut, Israel. “And they’re right, but it isn’t<br />
what we said. It’s what the reporter thought we<br />
said, and it’s often accidently inaccurate.”<br />
Marans, portly and bearded, with an infectious<br />
smile, is the director of Machon Zomet: the<br />
Center for Science and Technology, best known<br />
for the development of devices such as electric<br />
wheelchairs, telephones, elevators, and—<br />
coming soon—computers that can be used on<br />
Shabbos. While it is only a small fraction of what<br />
his organization actually does, Marans, an American<br />
immigrant living in Bet Shemesh, is naturally<br />
wary, given the way that many in the media have<br />
portrayed his institution’s innovations.<br />
The Machon was founded 35 years ago in the<br />
Gush Etzion suburb of Alon Shvut by Rabbi Yis-<br />
<br />
Lev, the Jerusalem College of Technology. Initially<br />
working at the Institute for Science and Halacha in<br />
Jerusalem, a charedi entity, Rozen saw the need for<br />
the establishment of a similar organization in order<br />
to, in Marans’ words, “synthesize modern life and<br />
halacha.”<br />
That mandate, which sees the Machon developing<br />
technology for the use of the Israeli Army and<br />
police, and for medical professionals throughout<br />
the Orthodox world, has led to Zomet being pro-<br />
The New York<br />
Times describing it as “trying to solve the problems<br />
that arise when technology and the Torah collide.”<br />
Marans was understandably nervous. While operating<br />
strictly within the parameters of halacha,<br />
he does encourage innovations that on the surface<br />
appear to be breaking down barriers and could<br />
present issues of marat ayin, “giving the appearance<br />
of wrongdoing.” The Machon’s innovative<br />
technologies are used by many throughout the Orthodox<br />
spectrum in Israel and around the world,<br />
from traditional to chassidic, but as with any halachic<br />
issue, there are differing opinions on the utility<br />
of the halachic positions on which Zomet’s work<br />
rests.<br />
Zomet is a “progressive” institution in the best<br />
sense of the word, Marans explained. While the<br />
use of this term has become associated in people’s<br />
minds with organized movements that have<br />
sought to throw off the constraints of halacha,<br />
cult<br />
questions through the application of halacha.<br />
Zomet is working to synthesize our post-industrial<br />
world with the traditions passed down from<br />
Mount Sinai.<br />
This is reinforced by the physical layout of<br />
Zomet. Walking down a narrow corridor toward<br />
the presentation center—which is used to teach<br />
schoolchildren and tour groups about technol-<br />
ing<br />
with tool chests, bales of wire, and numerous<br />
open sefarim.<br />
Toward the end of the hall, immediately before<br />
the entrance, is a medium-sized laboratory, partitioned<br />
into cubicles, in which engineers in knitted<br />
kippot and long payos sit and tinker with<br />
circuit boards. While I was there, I saw, in an open<br />
space in the middle of the room, an industrialsized<br />
soda machine. A client, most likely a kosher<br />
hotel, had commissioned Marans’ engineers to<br />
<br />
Marans was proud to inform me that Zomet’s<br />
work on devices such as industrial water heaters<br />
and Shabbos elevators (Zomet services some 90<br />
percent of Israel’s automatic lifts) have led to a<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 41
ZOMET IS WORKING TO SYNTHESIZE<br />
OUR POST-INDUSTRIAL WORLD WITH<br />
THE TRADITIONS PASSED DOWN FROM<br />
MOUNT SINAI.<br />
dramatic reduction in chillul Shabbos in hotels frequented<br />
by Israel’s large secular population.<br />
“We deal with all sorts of halachic issues,” said<br />
Marans. “However, we are best known for our work<br />
in technology, as that is the most visible aspect of<br />
what we do. When we consult with various institutions<br />
and government ministries, that is not as<br />
public.”<br />
There are, at any given time, 20-25 full-time employees,<br />
mostly engineers, although the Machon<br />
consults with various gedolei hador from the various<br />
streams of Orthodoxy.<br />
“We have numerous rabbis who work here, either<br />
editing, writing, or dealing with halachic issues,”<br />
Marans told me. While reticent to provide a comprehensive<br />
list of rabbis in consultation with his organization,<br />
Marans was willing to say that they span the<br />
gamut of Torah Judaism.<br />
Marans himself recently received rabbinic ordination<br />
as well, making him and Rabbi Rozen superb<br />
bridges between the rabbinic and technical staffs.<br />
“The Machon is well known for dealing with electricity<br />
on Shabbos and Shabbos elevators. Some<br />
<br />
used by the [Israeli] Army and by hospitals, or Shabbos<br />
telephones, or medical equipment, or electric<br />
scooters, or the metal detectors at the Me’arat<br />
HaMachpelah or the Kotel. All of these things are<br />
ple’s<br />
heads,” Marans said.<br />
Zomet’s Shabbos products are so well known, at<br />
least in Israel, that people’s reaction when hearing<br />
the name is to mention grama (indirect cause), the<br />
halachic principle on which many Zomet products<br />
are based.<br />
Or, as Marans put it, “You say Machon Zomet, and<br />
people go, ‘Ah! The grama guys’.”<br />
However, he is quick to point out, “Most of what<br />
we do isn’t grama, and increasingly we’re doing less<br />
and less because there are solutions that are much<br />
more lechatchila (at the preferred halachic level at the<br />
outset rather than retroactively), such as modulating<br />
existing current.”<br />
“There is a disagreement between the Chazon Ish<br />
and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach [upon whose<br />
opinions the Machon frequently relies] regarding<br />
whether or not the use of electricity on Shabbos is<br />
forbidden because of the melacha of boneh (building).”<br />
According to the Chazon Ish, it is boneh, which<br />
means that electricity is forbidden d’oraisa; according<br />
to Rav Auerbach, electricity is forbidden d’rabbanan.<br />
“If you go according to Rav Auerbach you can<br />
allow people to use Shabbos wheelchairs and scoot-<br />
<br />
heat and light by the application of electricity, as in a<br />
light bulb, someone using a device reliant on grama<br />
would only be indirectly causing a transgression of a<br />
rabbinical prohibition, which is permitted ‘when you<br />
are looking in terms of great need’.”<br />
“The fact that grama is permitted in ‘a situation<br />
of loss’ [as the Rema wrote] has been interpreted in<br />
<br />
<br />
matters related to health and security,” Rabbi Rozen<br />
explained.<br />
“In fact, this has been extended to include anything<br />
related to health, which has been given a<br />
status on an equal footing with ‘a situation of<br />
loss,’ and often even greater importance.”<br />
One such need led to the creation of a power unit<br />
into which you can plug an inhalation machine.<br />
Rather than turning on the machine itself, you press<br />
a button on the external grama unit. The machine,<br />
at regular intervals, checks if the button has been<br />
pressed, and once this is detected it powers on and<br />
provides current to the inhaler.<br />
<br />
children’s inhalations in advance, the grama switch<br />
allows parents to use the machines as necessary.<br />
Many of the technologies that Zomet develops<br />
<br />
doctors and soldiers frequently operate under<br />
conditions that are life threatening.<br />
The legal dictum that “pikuach nefesh docheh Shabbos,”<br />
that the saving of a life overrides the prohibitions<br />
of the Shabbos, is certainly applicable to much<br />
of what they do. While this principle is applicable,<br />
said Marans, it is still preferable “to limit the chillul<br />
Shabbos.”<br />
If there are two ways to do an action, he explained,<br />
one in which you are violating a Biblical<br />
prohibition and one in which you are violating a<br />
42 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
abbinic prohibition, it is preferable to choose the<br />
one that allows you to refrain from violating Torah<br />
law.<br />
Another way in which technology permits those<br />
required to violate the Shabbos to avoid doing so<br />
on a d’oraisa level is the use of the Shabbos pen.<br />
While permanent writing is a melacha (act prohibited<br />
on Shabbos), writing letters that disappear,<br />
written in invisible ink, is not.<br />
One of the more interesting aspects of Zomet’s<br />
work is the way it allows those with pressing needs,<br />
either medical- or security-related, to perform activities<br />
they never thought they would be allowed to<br />
engage in on Shabbos.<br />
Genesis<br />
“More than 20 years ago, the phone rang at my<br />
home in Alon Shevut,” wrote Rabbi Rozen, explaining<br />
the origin of the Shabbos wheelchair. “Upon<br />
answering I heard, ‘This is Shlomo Zalman.’ I immediately<br />
recognized the voice of the most famous halachic<br />
authority in the world, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman<br />
Auerbach, from Jerusalem.<br />
“In the modest way that was so typical of him, the<br />
Rav asked if I could come to his house the next day<br />
to help him with something. I replied, ‘Certainly,’<br />
very happy that I had been given this great honor.”<br />
That visit was to change the lives of hundreds of disabled<br />
Jews around the world.<br />
As Marans and Rozen looked on with expressions<br />
of tolerant amusement, I took one of<br />
the Institute’s electric scooters for a test drive,<br />
almost crashing into desks and bookshelves, ex-<br />
<br />
by those less fortunate than me. Although I had<br />
<br />
good health, I was able to temporarily put myself<br />
in the position of one of Zomet’s “clients” and<br />
gained some appreciation for what these machines<br />
mean for their quality of life.<br />
Rozen continued: “The next afternoon, the Rabbi<br />
asked me to accompany him to a dilapidated house<br />
in his neighborhood in Jerusalem, known as Shaarei<br />
Chesed. He knocked on the door, and it was opened<br />
by a young girl in an electric wheelchair. ‘Can you<br />
use the expertise of the Zomet Institute to make<br />
some sort of arrangement for her to be mobile on<br />
Shabbos?’ he asked.”<br />
As he told me, Shira was a young victim of paralysis,<br />
unable to move or play. The introduction of<br />
a Shabbos wheelchair into her life allowed Shira,<br />
<br />
of oneg Shabbos, having been introduced by the<br />
prophets, can override rabbinic prohibitions under<br />
certain circumstances.)<br />
According to Mrs. Posner, Shira’s mother, “Shabbos<br />
would come, and the fun would go down the<br />
ing<br />
for someone to come and push her.”<br />
However, since being given her scooter, what<br />
Rabbi Rozen terms a “techno-halachic device,” Shira’s<br />
entire life has changed. “Now I have legs,” she said.<br />
“I can do it myself.”<br />
While seeing someone perambulate through a<br />
synagogue or beis midrash on a motorized vehicle on<br />
Shabbos is disconcerting, it is certainly no match for<br />
the sight of a frum soldier typing and using a computer<br />
system on the holiest of days.<br />
Other Inventions<br />
Through the use of a capacitive keyboard, based<br />
<br />
by tablet computers and smart phones, IDF soldiers<br />
can now use computers that are unfortunately<br />
necessary for security reasons on Shabbos without<br />
doing anything beyond modulating an existing current.<br />
A mouse with two grama-buttons completes<br />
the system.<br />
In fact, Marans informed me that Zomet is currently<br />
looking into the creation of smartphones,<br />
along the lines of Apple’s popular iPhone, featuring<br />
capacitive touch screens that can be used by<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 43
security personnel.<br />
Another invention that relies on the modulation<br />
of existing current are the gates and handheld<br />
metal detectors used by guards at the Me’arat<br />
HaMachpelah and the Kotel, two of Israel’s holiest<br />
and most contentious sites.<br />
According to Zomet, the hand-held metal detecting<br />
wand is a device “in which no electric circuit is<br />
turned on or off. A mechanism that causes very lowlevel<br />
vibrations (as in a cell phone) is left on for the<br />
entire Shabbos, and if the device is brought close<br />
to metal, the level of vibration increases. The prohibitions<br />
related to operating electrical devices on<br />
Shabbos (“giving birth” to a new current, lighting a<br />
<br />
is turned on or off, but not if the level of current is<br />
altered.”<br />
Zomet claims that this techno-halachic device<br />
“may be used on Shabbos even according to the<br />
most stringent halachic requirements. It has been<br />
approved by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Rabbi<br />
Yehoshua Neubirt [author of Shemiras Shabbos<br />
K’Hilchaso].”<br />
The gates at Shaarei Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem<br />
and the abovementioned holy sites are guarded by<br />
electronic gates operating on the same principles.<br />
“If a person passes through carrying a large enough<br />
quantity of metal (such as a gun), a buzzer sounds.<br />
People with evil intentions will certainly not be<br />
inhibited by the Shabbos desecration involved<br />
in going through the gate, but what about an observant<br />
Jew? Sometimes a belt buckle or a tallis<br />
ornament is enough to set off the alarm, thereby<br />
desecrating Shabbos.”<br />
In order to avoid this scenario, the Institute utilized<br />
the same principle of the modulation of current. “In<br />
these entrance gates the buzzer has been replaced<br />
by a meter, and a small current exists even when no<br />
metal is present. A person who passes through the<br />
<br />
of current in the device, but does not open or close<br />
an electrical circuit. A sign at the entrance explains<br />
to those passing through that they need not fear desecrating<br />
the Shabbos.”<br />
Returning to grama, Zomet has developed systems<br />
for use in secure locations such as the City of David<br />
BY MAKING PENS WHOSE INK<br />
DISAPPEARS OVER SEVERAL DAYS,<br />
ZOMET HAS ALLOWED DOCTORS TO<br />
KEEP RECORDS ON SHABBOS<br />
in the Shiloah/Silwan neighborhood, the scene of<br />
frequent violent clashes between Arab and <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
residents. Due to concerns over violence, doors in<br />
the gates of the Ir David compound are locked and<br />
barred.<br />
Standing in the exhibition room, Marans demonstrated<br />
a system whereby one can have a locked door<br />
opened remotely by security guards, allowing one to<br />
enter a secure zone on Shabbos.<br />
According to Zomet:<br />
Electronic and magnetic systems are very<br />
common for use in locking doors in public places,<br />
such as entrances to cooperative housing, hospitals,<br />
and secure installations. Anybody who wants<br />
to enter these places must typically enter a number<br />
into a keypad to open the door, or alert a guard<br />
inside the installation by using a bell or an intercom.<br />
Sometimes it is possible to leave the installation<br />
using a one-way handle, but at many sites the<br />
only way to leave also requires operating a buzzer.<br />
In the past, we suggested that the way to operate<br />
such systems on Shabbos was to install a separate<br />
buzzer for Shabbos, operating on the technique of<br />
grama, indirect action. The problem with this solution<br />
is that it has various halachic problems. The<br />
only cases for which electrical devices using grama<br />
may be used on Shabbos are in situations of a large<br />
<br />
danger, or to avoid great suffering. A new technology<br />
that has been developed allows opening doors<br />
electronically without any problems. This is based<br />
mitted<br />
on Shabbos without any limitations.<br />
The change-sensor operates through the use of<br />
a capacitance-sensing device. Touching the cover<br />
<br />
properties and frequency of the sensor, because of<br />
the electronic properties of the human body. There<br />
is no need to open or close an electric circuit. The<br />
halachic approval for this action is based on the<br />
fact that the prohibition against using electricity<br />
on Shabbos involves opening or closing a circuit<br />
(in violation of boneh—construction—or molid—<br />
giving birth to something new). But modifying a<br />
property setting (current, voltage, frequency, or<br />
capacitance) of an existing current is permitted.<br />
The change-sensor applies a voltage to electrical<br />
devices connected to it. When the capacitance of<br />
the sensor changes, the change-sensor increases or<br />
decreases the voltage, depending on how long the<br />
hand maintains contact with the surface.<br />
This technique is suitable for exit doors that are<br />
operated through the use of a magnetic or electronic<br />
lock.<br />
Magnetic lock: A very strong electromagnet<br />
44 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
slowly, until a small push on the door will open it.<br />
No electric circuit is opened or closed. A few seconds<br />
after the hand is removed the current is decreased,<br />
once again reducing the pull of the magnet and locking<br />
the door.<br />
Ringing a bell: Sometimes a locked door is opened<br />
from the inside by a guard who must be alerted by<br />
ringing a bell or talking through an intercom. The<br />
button normally used to ring a bell will be replaced<br />
by a change-sensor. Putting a hand close to the<br />
sensor will cause the current to gradually increase in<br />
a buzzer or LED display, alerting the guard. In this<br />
technique, no electric circuit is opened or closed.<br />
When the hand is removed, the current gradually decreases<br />
and the buzz or the LED light at the guard’s<br />
station returns to its initial very weak state.<br />
keeps the door pressed tight to the doorpost,<br />
exerting a force of hundreds of kilograms. The<br />
button that is normally used to leave the installation<br />
is replaced by a change-sensor. When a hand<br />
comes close to the control box, the current passing<br />
through the electromagnet will be gradually reduced<br />
so that a light push on the door will open it.<br />
In this way, there is no electric circuit that is created<br />
or broken (and the pull of the magnet continues all<br />
the time). A few seconds after the hand is removed<br />
from the control box, the current is increased and<br />
the magnet returns to full strength.<br />
Electronic lock: The electronic locks have a built-<br />
<br />
the door remains locked. Pressing a switch closes a<br />
circuit and sends a current through the magnet, releasing<br />
the tongue of the lock. In this case, the usual<br />
button will be replaced by a change-sensor. Putting<br />
the hand near the control box or touching it causes<br />
the electric current in the electromagnet to increase<br />
Hospitals<br />
Aside from the security sphere, Machon Zomet’s<br />
<br />
Jerusalem’s Shaarei Zedek Medical Center near Bayit<br />
<br />
Marans, Rozen, and their team of frum engineers.<br />
One of the more interesting devices sold by the<br />
institute is the “Shab-et,” a pen used by many Israeli<br />
doctors. While writing is a biblical prohibition,<br />
temporary writing that fades after several days<br />
is only banned rabbinically. By making pens whose<br />
ink gradually disappears over the course of several<br />
days, Zomet has allowed doctors to keep records on<br />
Shabbos that can be transcribed or photocopied after<br />
Havdalah.<br />
Explains Zomet: “The Shab-et is in regular use in<br />
many hospitals, by security forces, and even in the<br />
<br />
if necessary). The use of a Shabbos pen is permitted<br />
only if the action is so essential that it takes precedence<br />
over the rabbinical prohibition of writing using<br />
temporary ink.”<br />
Another innovation introduced by Marans,<br />
Rozen, and team is the food cart grama plug. It is<br />
generally accepted that it is very important for patients<br />
to be served hot food. It is true that not all<br />
patients in a hospital are considered to be in mortal
THE ABILITY FOR SECULAR JEWS<br />
TO KEEP SHABBOS WITHOUT<br />
FEELING COERCED IS A BIG DEAL<br />
IN AN INCREASINGLY POLARIZED<br />
ISRAELI SOCIETY.<br />
danger, but a public institution cannot differentiate<br />
between one patient and another. Thus, as a<br />
general rule, all the patients should receive hot<br />
food. But how can this be done on Shabbos?<br />
“The solution is an automatic grama outlet,”<br />
<br />
<br />
standard one, so that it cannot be plugged into<br />
regular sockets. Most of the time the circuit in this<br />
special outlet is not live, both during the week<br />
and on Shabbos. The equipment (hidden in the<br />
wall) has an electrical mechanism that operates<br />
as follows:<br />
A digit is displayed on a wall panel, cycling<br />
through the numbers 0 to 9, with the value chang-<br />
<br />
instant that the number changes from 0 to 1, an internal<br />
electronic test is performed (with a duration<br />
of about 1 millisecond) to check whether something<br />
has been inserted into the plug (by measuring<br />
the resistance on the line). If the test shows that the<br />
outlet is “occupied” (by a plug for a food cart or<br />
for any other electrical device) the current will be<br />
turned on, and the food will be heated. The numbers<br />
on the panel continue to cycle, and the heating<br />
continues. That is, in each cycle the food is warmed<br />
for four and a half minutes and is not warmed for<br />
half a minute (while the 0 is shown on the panel).<br />
The heating cycle continues as long as the wire remains<br />
in the plug.<br />
The worker puts the plug into the socket and<br />
goes on to other tasks. When the number in the<br />
panel changes from 0 to 1, the mechanism “senses”<br />
the plug and connects the electric circuit for the<br />
next four and a half minutes, corresponding to the<br />
changing digits.<br />
A worker who observes Shabbos will be careful to<br />
disconnect the food cart from the socket only when<br />
the digit 0 is shown on the display (when the current<br />
is off). But even if the worker desecrates the<br />
Shabbos, the food is not forbidden to the patient,<br />
since it was heated in a permitted way. The fact that<br />
the current might have been turned off in a prohibited<br />
way does not have any effect on the food.<br />
A buzzer, used for calling nurses to one’s bedside,<br />
also operates on similar principles, Marans told me,<br />
handing me a buzzer to click while he explained the<br />
halachic implications and rationales underpinning<br />
his work.<br />
Commercial Applications<br />
Not everything that Zomet manufactures, however,<br />
is bedi’eved. One lechatchila gadget (Marans<br />
claims that thousands of units are sold annually.)<br />
is the Chagaz, a holiday gas timer sold in stores<br />
throughout Israel. The Chagaz is a “spring-operated<br />
mechanical timer” that is hooked into the<br />
gas line leading to the stove.<br />
<br />
a Yom Tov on which cooking is permitted, the<br />
device, approved both by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and<br />
<br />
a preset time.” Sold for less than 200 shekels, the<br />
Chagaz limits the dangers inherent in leaving<br />
<br />
period.<br />
Zomet also manufactures equipment for use in<br />
agriculture and industry. While milking a cow on<br />
Shabbos is absolutely prohibited, “in principle, it is<br />
permitted to ‘milk’ a substance that is not needed.<br />
<br />
from the stalk in order to keep the grain, milking is<br />
prohibited only if the person needs the substance<br />
that is removed (in this case, the milk). Milking in<br />
such a way that the milk will be discarded is not<br />
prohibited. Since not milking the cow will also<br />
cause it discomfort, this process is permitted if the<br />
milk will not be kept. “<br />
However, in a modern dairy farm it is not possible<br />
to actually throw away the milk. A farmer who<br />
discards 15 percent of all the milk (taking into account<br />
Shabbos and holidays throughout the year)<br />
<br />
great rabbis of the previous generation (Rabbi Isaac<br />
Halevy Herzog and the Chazon Ish) found a way to<br />
keep the milk while, from a halachic point of view,<br />
it is being “discarded.” The principle is that at the<br />
start of the process, the milk is sent to a tank with a<br />
substance that spoils it (such as soap or kerosene).<br />
<br />
<br />
clean tank.<br />
Implementing this solution (in addition to other<br />
halachic limitations that the rabbis insisted on)<br />
leads to various technical problems. For example,<br />
how can we be sure that the farmer will not forget<br />
to return the equipment in the direction of “spoil-<br />
46 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
ing” before starting to milk the next cow? How can we make<br />
sure that nothing will contaminate the pipes that lead to the<br />
“spoiled” milk container and ruin the entire system? Is there a<br />
<br />
farmer will not have to be involved with the inconvenience of<br />
valves, which may stick?<br />
The Zomet Institute uses pneumatic and vacuum systems for<br />
this purpose. Such systems are standard equipment in modern<br />
dairies, and their use makes it possible for all the work in a dairy<br />
to be carried out by Jews on Shabbos without any halachic problems.<br />
There are also a number of problems involving electronics and<br />
electrical systems in the modern dairy farm, and innovative solutions<br />
have also been found for them.<br />
Social Impact<br />
The impact of the Zomet revolution has been felt all over Israel,<br />
<br />
technology. From patients in Shaarei Zedek hospital who buzz<br />
for a nurse, to visitors to the Kotel passing through metal detectors<br />
made by the Machon, Israelis of all stripes have gained from<br />
Zomet’s work.<br />
Marans explained that by creating technologies that provide<br />
<br />
in kosher hotels without feeling that they have to heat the water<br />
themselves, a grave desecration of the Shabbos. The ability for<br />
secular Jews to keep Shabbos without feeling coerced is a big deal<br />
in an increasingly polarized Israeli society. Through the installation<br />
of Shabbos elevators in buildings throughout the country,<br />
Marans has helped prevent mass chillul Shabbos.<br />
Despite the success of the technology, however, the Machon<br />
will never be a cash cow. Due to limited manufacturing capac-<br />
<br />
rather than manufacturing their own. “We are not dealing with<br />
<br />
scale,” he explained.<br />
After thanking my host for a wonderful tour, I was ushered<br />
into Ravble<br />
determination hidden behind his affability, the Rabbi expressed<br />
his satisfaction in helping those in need.<br />
That, Zomet certainly has done.
AMBASSADORS<br />
KIDDUSH HASHEM IN THE WORKPLACE<br />
Mesiras Nefesh for the<br />
Common Man<br />
WHEN PUSH CAME TO SHOVE, HE WOULDN’T BUDGE BY BASHA MAJERCZYK<br />
It is said that each and every Yid<br />
possesses the innate quality of<br />
mesirat nefesh—the willingness to<br />
tion<br />
of Hashem’s Name, rather<br />
than commit idolatry. This always brings<br />
to mind Jews tied to the stake during the<br />
Inquisition, crazed Muslims with<br />
outstretched swords lopping off<br />
heads left and right, and images<br />
of the Nazi Holocaust.<br />
As a spoiled and pampered<br />
American, born and bred in the<br />
lap of relative luxury and raised<br />
on 1960s sitcoms, this has always<br />
been somewhat theoretical.<br />
(Thank G-d, and may it always<br />
remain so.) I personally have<br />
had very little experience with<br />
anyone demanding that I deny<br />
my <strong>Jewish</strong>ness.<br />
However, I was recently<br />
reminded of a true story I heard<br />
years ago, which illustrates that<br />
the pintele Yid exists in every<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> heart, even those that<br />
outwardly seem to be assimilated. It was<br />
related to me by a public school teacher,<br />
who had taught English for many years in<br />
a junior high school in Brooklyn. Decades<br />
of teaching Shakespeare, Dickens, and<br />
Chaucer had created in this man a strong<br />
desire to visit England, the birthplace of<br />
all the literature he had taught. And so,<br />
he and his wife booked a trip to England,<br />
which included various historical places of<br />
interest. It was the culmination of a lifelong<br />
dream.<br />
One stop on their itinerary was a dinner<br />
theater, which featured waiters and waitresses<br />
in Elizabethan garb. The patrons<br />
ate dinner at their tables in the audience,<br />
while watching reenactments of Shakespearean<br />
themes on the stage at the front<br />
of the theater.<br />
There they sat, Mr. and Mrs. American<br />
tourist, enjoying their meal and watching<br />
the festivities. Then, all of a sudden,<br />
it was announced—with much fanfare<br />
and blowing of medieval trumpets—that<br />
“Queen Elizabeth” herself was about to<br />
knight a member of the audience! Onto<br />
the stage marched an actress, dressed up<br />
to look like the Queen of Elizabethan<br />
times. Scanning the audience, who should<br />
her “guards” choose, for the distinct honor<br />
of being knighted, but our friend. Leading<br />
him toward the stage, they danced and<br />
sang and gave honor to this individual,<br />
who was about to undergo the special ceremony<br />
required to become a knight.<br />
Bashfully standing on the stage in front<br />
of hundreds of people, the man was asked<br />
his name (an obviously <strong>Jewish</strong>-sounding<br />
one) by the Queen, so that he<br />
could become “Sir” so-and-so.<br />
Then, yielding her royal sword,<br />
the Queen made a demand as a<br />
prerequisite for being knighted:<br />
“Kneel!” she bellowed at him.<br />
There he was on stage, with<br />
all these people looking at him,<br />
and a little bell went off in his<br />
head. As he told me later, “I<br />
remembered suddenly that a<br />
Jew isn’t supposed to bow down<br />
to anyone except G-d.” He<br />
just stood there in front of the<br />
Queen, not moving. “Kneel!”<br />
she said again in an even louder<br />
voice, thinking that perhaps<br />
he hadn’t heard her. There was<br />
silence in the entire theater as<br />
the bareheaded but obviously <strong>Jewish</strong> man<br />
did not respond. Slowly, he shook his head<br />
no. Having no other choice, the Queen<br />
then knighted him with her sword, while<br />
he stood. “Maybe she thought I had arthritis<br />
or something,” the man told me later,<br />
marveling at his own audacity.<br />
The Alter Rebbe taught that “A Jew neither<br />
desires, nor is capable of being separated<br />
(G-d forbid) from G-dliness.” One<br />
<br />
intrinsic worth. <br />
41 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
y John Loftus<br />
Removing the Syri<br />
from the<br />
Iranian W<br />
42 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
Arab League in session<br />
Will Syria sink, survive,<br />
or launch<br />
a sneak attack on<br />
Israel?<br />
an Brick<br />
all<br />
I<br />
never thought I would see the day when the<br />
Arab League would condemn another Arab<br />
nation. Usually they can only agree on con-<br />
<br />
Hussein received so much as a verbal reprimand<br />
for slaughtering their fellow Arabs. In<br />
November 2011, the unthinkable happened.<br />
The Arab League, by a vote of 19–3, man-<br />
-<br />
<br />
nations that voted against the embargo were Iraq and Lebanon.<br />
A no vote makes sense for those two countries. For many years<br />
Lebanese trade has been intertwined with its dominant neighbor.<br />
The only international telephone landline out of Lebanon runs<br />
<br />
lies<br />
depend upon remittances from relatives in Lebanon, which,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
into chaos from an embargo. The real problem for the sanctions<br />
<br />
his American detractors, is a thug in clerical dress. Mookie pre-<br />
<br />
political terrorism.<br />
<br />
Iraq by forming an alliance with Iran, the number one killer of<br />
<br />
<br />
terpretation<br />
that would unseat the Ayatollah. The Ayatollah hates<br />
<br />
does Mookie.<br />
Under orders from his bosses in Iran, Mookie says sanc-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
off a throw-away vote on something as meaningless as the Arab<br />
<br />
<br />
took a unanimous vote before the Arab League acted, which<br />
rendered it a toothless body. The Assads whined that imposing<br />
sanctions with a less than unanimous vote of 19-3 was a violation<br />
of democratic principles. You have to laugh at the notion of<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 43
y John Loftus<br />
Bashar Assad, the<br />
current dictator,<br />
has only killed 4,000<br />
of his people so<br />
far after months of<br />
struggle to put down<br />
the revolution. His<br />
father killed 4,000 an<br />
hour in Hama. Never<br />
underestimate the<br />
killing capacity of an<br />
Assad.<br />
the Assad family standing up for anything to do with democracy.<br />
But then, it was also pretty laughable for the Arab League to say<br />
<br />
you could gag a maggot. Nothing but Israel ever disgusted the<br />
<br />
Mongol invasion, and he was never sanctioned this way.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Union and foisted upon Arab populations at gunpoint.<br />
<br />
a communist puppet state. The Assads came to power because<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
against the King and his Hashemite dynasty.<br />
The sneaky old King quickly changed sides and made a deal<br />
with Israel, and the Israeli Defense Forces promptly booted the<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The King of Jordan and the Israelis still get along pretty well.<br />
In fact, an emergency escape plan was drawn up for the King.<br />
In any future uprising, he and his family would head south to<br />
<br />
ponies. Every once in a while, one of his horses gets lose and<br />
wanders down the beach to the Israeli resort city of Eilat. There<br />
is no barrier. If the King is ever attacked, he and his family will<br />
just follow the horses to the Israeli end of the beach. When the<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
your back.<br />
-<br />
<br />
-<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
gas worked.<br />
<br />
in Hama with Russian-made chemical weapons. The revolt was<br />
suppressed with savage force. The Hama massacre was, Arab historians<br />
say, the single largest event of mass murder in the entire<br />
<br />
the willingness of the Assad family to use any means necessary,<br />
no matter how sickening, to stay in power. Brutality is an Assad<br />
family tradition. It will take more than economic sanctions to get<br />
them out.<br />
Bashar Assad, the current dictator, has only killed 4,000 of his<br />
people so far after months of struggle to put down the revolution.<br />
His father killed 4,000 an hour in Hama. Never underestimate<br />
the killing capacity of an Assad.<br />
Just because the current dictator holds a medical degree<br />
and studied ophthalmology in London does not mean that the<br />
younger Assad is any more merciful than his father. Bashar has<br />
<br />
justice or traditions of humanity. Evidently, the only thing that<br />
<br />
Many uneducated analysts repeat the conventional wisdom that<br />
the Assad family is supported by the Alawite religious minority as<br />
the base of its power. The Alawites are at most nine percent of the<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Assad family. Their base of power comes not from their coreli-<br />
44 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
division, and population area, and all are ready to suppress the<br />
counterrevolution. The Assads worship security as if it were a re-<br />
<br />
vengeance against those who want them gone.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
human rights, cruising Europe in search of a Western sucker to<br />
back his play to become the new dictator.<br />
Bashar Assad was never supposed to be dictator. His older<br />
brother was heir to the post, but he passed away. Bashar was<br />
quickly sheep-dipped into military uniform and taught the rudiments<br />
of counterrevolutionary suppression. His peculiar fascination<br />
with electronic toys has earned him the nickname<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
smart enough to have earned a medical degree on his own. He<br />
may be the most intelligent, the most cunning Assad ever, and<br />
that should give us pause. The Assad family, indeed their entire<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
rich charging a transit fee to the smaller drug lords. Even the<br />
<br />
matic<br />
credentials. He embarrassed the family by dropping his<br />
suitcase, which split open to reveal a very large quantity of very<br />
undiplomatic narcotics. The bemused border guards helped him<br />
sweep up the powder and sent him on his way.<br />
When the Assads are not selling drugs, they are selling guns.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
a massive dossier on him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Before my Republican friends jump on me for defaming Ronald<br />
<br />
bank account showed that a one million dollar check was in fact<br />
<br />
<br />
istration<br />
has decided that gun runners should not be protected.<br />
<br />
<br />
American prison, awaiting trial. That should be fun.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
several French politicians on their payroll as well. It would be<br />
curious if the French were to oppose economic sanctions against<br />
<br />
to be an interesting year.<br />
<br />
a great deal of credit for keeping the spotlight on the Hariri as-<br />
<br />
billionaire who rebuilt much of war-torn Beirut out of his own<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
lah<br />
terrorists to assassinate Hariri with a truck bomb. A few moments<br />
after the bomb went off, Western intelligence recorded a<br />
<br />
<br />
The Assad clan has a lot of blood on their hands, but the worst<br />
ment<br />
to the press, that if the Assad regime is taken down, they<br />
<br />
<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 45
y John Loftus<br />
<br />
innocent of any attack on the Assads, and has offered to return<br />
<br />
<br />
unprovoked missile attack on Israel no matter who is behind the<br />
movement to overthrow the Assads.<br />
rising<br />
over a little boy who was tortured to death with burning<br />
<br />
the Assads and paid for it with his life. His parents circulated<br />
<br />
those photos that launched the uprising, not Israel.<br />
Apparently, the Assads believe that it is the Americans who are<br />
behind the revolution, and the best way to force the Americans to<br />
quit would be to threaten a mini-genocide of Jews in Israel. There<br />
<br />
funding of the Freedom House campaign from 2005 to 2010 that<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
point the Bush administration even asked Israel if they would<br />
<br />
<br />
Assad family in power. Now, Israel has reversed its position and<br />
<br />
It is too late.<br />
There was a time when it would have been easy to take down<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
army: nineteen to stop laughing, and one to blow them away.<br />
<br />
<br />
the attack was called off. It was one of the worst decisions made<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
develop a capability for nuclear weapons.<br />
<br />
built reactor and plutonium processing factory. But Israel will be<br />
<br />
Iran) have located the rest of their nuclear processing facilities.<br />
Israel simply does not know where to drop the bunker-busting<br />
<br />
The truth is that the<br />
current Syrian revolt<br />
is a spontaneous<br />
uprising over a<br />
little boy who was<br />
tortured to death by<br />
the Assads’ regime.<br />
46 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
population centers of Israel.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
within a three-foot circle hundreds of kilometers<br />
away. They can hit what they aim<br />
for, and kill what they hit. Imagine missile<br />
<br />
<br />
knew to aim his suicide planes towards<br />
the top of the towers. The weight of a few<br />
<br />
structure.<br />
If the Assads order a missile launch<br />
while they are on their way to sanctuary in<br />
<br />
there be for Israel to retaliate against in-<br />
<br />
<br />
has nuclear weapons, but if the enemy<br />
<br />
the country, what point would there be to<br />
<br />
The Israeli nuclear response was<br />
<br />
pened<br />
in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel<br />
developed the neutron bomb and tested it<br />
<br />
<br />
invisible radiation. The tanks, crops, and<br />
<br />
<br />
are no longer of any strategic value. The<br />
neutron bomb means there will never be<br />
another tank invasion of Israel.<br />
<br />
<br />
with a massive missile strike. Iron Dome<br />
will look more like a sieve than shield<br />
<br />
<br />
hundred missiles in its arsenal. If it looks<br />
like the Assads will really launch a doomsday<br />
missile strike, Israel may have no<br />
better option than a preemptive strike to
48 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY YOSSI KRAUSZ<br />
GRAVE<br />
MATTERS<br />
Rav Elyakim Schlesinger’s work to save<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> graves involves halacha, politics…<br />
and a great deal of emotion.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 49
“Ich farshtay dos nisht<br />
Harav Elyakim Schlesinger, shlita, of London is<br />
world-renowned for his deep comprehension of the<br />
able<br />
rosh yeshiva, a beloved talmid<br />
sefarim<br />
that examine and dissect the depths of Torah,<br />
<br />
his rebbi<br />
<br />
What Rav Schlesinger was referring to, as he re-<br />
<br />
Rav Shmuel, was the lack of emotion he feels from<br />
the <strong>Jewish</strong> community at large about the subject that,<br />
along with his teaching and learning, he’s made an<br />
integral part of his life’s work: the rescue of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
<br />
on an urgent matter involving kevarim in Poland, he<br />
spoke with us about the challenges of saving our an-<br />
<br />
BEHIND THE CURTAIN<br />
The buried dead of much of Europe were separated from their<br />
living descendants in the twentieth century by the mass murder,<br />
transport, and expulsion of Europe’s Jews by the Nazis, which<br />
uprooted communities across the continent and the invisible but<br />
iron curtain that fell over Eastern Europe, as countries came into<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
communism in the late 1980s meant that these <strong>Jewish</strong> sites were<br />
<br />
The communist years were not kind to <strong>Jewish</strong> cemeteries, with<br />
many that had survived the Nazi onslaught succumbing to the<br />
<br />
The subject of saving kevarim is one that Rav Schlesinger has<br />
<br />
ago, in the wake of the collapse of communism, he founded the<br />
Committee (or Vaad) for the Preservation of <strong>Jewish</strong> Cemeteries in<br />
batei chaim across<br />
<br />
Ami’s editor in chief, Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter, and I met Rav<br />
Schlesinger during a recent meeting in Kensington, New York,<br />
about kevarimsimcha<br />
<br />
the meeting with him were several askanim from Rav Schlesinger’s<br />
Committee and the New York-based organization Admas Kodesh,<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger (back to camera) presides over the meeting regarding<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> cemeteries in Poland<br />
Committee and also a board member of the Foundation for the<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger headed the meeting, listening as others spoke,<br />
but interjecting frequently with pointed comments, intermittently<br />
-<br />
<br />
was the resistance his committee was ostensibly encountering, in<br />
preserving <strong>Jewish</strong> cemeteries in Poland, from the very organization<br />
that was established to help this cause: Fundacja Ochrony Dziedzictwa<br />
Zydowskiego (Foundation for the Preservation of <strong>Jewish</strong> Heri-<br />
<br />
<br />
with Rav Schlesinger alone, about his approach to saving kevarim<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
What inspired him to get involved in saving kevarim, he says,<br />
are statements about this subject he had heard from his rebbi, the<br />
<br />
resemblance he has to his renowned rebbi.)<br />
shiva<br />
should go out [of yeshiva] for, was to save kevarim,” Rav<br />
askanus -<br />
50 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
cumstances! The tears that he shed over the desecration of the<br />
<br />
kevarim-<br />
<br />
<br />
It is amazing that an active rosh yeshiva, who heads a kollel in<br />
his Yeshivas HaRama, together with his famed son, Rav Eliezer<br />
Schlesinger, and gives shiurim several times a week, has the time<br />
and ability to manage an effort that spans a continent and in-<br />
<br />
“I come home from yeshiva at two o’clock after mincha<br />
<br />
<br />
There is a vaad of rabbonim for the Committee that pasken on<br />
vaad consists of Rav Schlesinger; Rav<br />
dayan of London;<br />
<br />
son-in-law; and Rav Lev, the dayan <br />
posek shailos is Rav Shmuel Wosner, shlita,<br />
<br />
He does not travel to the kevarim himself anymore; journeying<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
kevarim, as activists and<br />
<br />
THE PROBLEM WITH POLAND<br />
The Foundation for the Preservation of <strong>Jewish</strong> Heritage in<br />
Poland, the organization that oversees many of the cemeteries<br />
and other <strong>Jewish</strong> sites in Poland, was set up in 2000 by the Union<br />
of <strong>Jewish</strong> Communities in Poland and the World <strong>Jewish</strong> Restitu-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Foundation is carried out under the auspices of Rav Schlesinger’s<br />
Vaad<br />
Poland ostensibly has very strong legal protections for cemeteries,<br />
with a requirement to immediately report to the Chief<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
the legal property of the state during the years of communism,<br />
and the titles for the properties, as well as records showing them<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
projects, in Szczebrzeszyn (Shebreshin in Yiddish), Myslenice,<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
often are misconceptions that people who are not on the ground<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
She said that she feels that some of the problems that people<br />
Spanish Ambassador Fernando Villalonga visits Satmar Rebbe.<br />
The Rebbe viewing a painting he received from the ambassador.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 51
“THE MAGEN AVRAHAM AND THE NEFESH CHAYA AND<br />
OTHER GEDOLEI YISRAEL ARE BURIED IN THE FIELD.<br />
AND KIDS ARE DANCING ON IT.”<br />
have with the Foundation have not been conveyed to her, and<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hertz Frankel, who writes the “The Principal” column for<br />
Ami, told me that he has been working to preserve the bais<br />
hakvaros<br />
of the bais hakvaros was covered by a housing project, part was<br />
covered by a school for developmentally delayed children, and<br />
<br />
<br />
“Each cemetery in Poland takes a struggle to get repaired, to<br />
<br />
I’m talking about cases where the <strong>Jewish</strong> community was ready<br />
<br />
<br />
“I consider Kalisch to be an acid test about the state of preserva-<br />
<br />
60 percent of the town, before the war, was <strong>Jewish</strong>; it was a well-<br />
<br />
“We didn’t ask for the preservation of the part under the hous-<br />
-<br />
<br />
of the experts in the history of this cemetery claimed that the<br />
gedolei Yisrael<br />
<br />
was always a city of gedolei Yisrael<br />
it, kids are dancing on it, playing football, and people are jogging<br />
<br />
Ohel of Rav Chaim of Brisk and the Netziv in Warsaw<br />
lisch<br />
three times with committees; I went to Warsaw<br />
<br />
sentative<br />
of the federal Polish government, as well as<br />
<br />
<br />
Rabbi Frankel sees bureaucratic wrangling and<br />
<br />
<br />
He told us in no uncertain terms that the school is<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
“The Chief Rabbi was involved, the Vaad from<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
was particularly touchy, because Polish public opinion<br />
saw it as the Jews trying to kick out special needs<br />
<br />
<br />
She agreed that anti-Semitism is a factor in many<br />
cases, but she said that there is a cultural divide, as<br />
well; non-<strong>Jewish</strong> cemeteries are not expected to be<br />
<br />
Polish laws, non-<strong>Jewish</strong> gravesites can be moved after<br />
<br />
projects to convince the public of the importance of<br />
<br />
Rabbi Frankel says that Poland must do something about its<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> cemeteries, simply to make up for the destruction that<br />
<br />
ies<br />
and synagogues as a memorial to those thousand years!”<br />
RED TAPE AND RESCUE<br />
The ease of saving the graves varies from country to country,<br />
dependent on the political and economic situation in each country,<br />
the legal protections that exist for cemeteries, and various his-<br />
<br />
Poland has strong laws, but the cemeteries are often no longer<br />
<br />
In Romania, on the other hand, the original ownership of the<br />
52 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
a lower level of protection for cemeteries, is why <strong>Jewish</strong> cemeter-<br />
<br />
and the well-developed expertise of the Committee is needed to<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger gave us a quick rundown on the ability to protect<br />
batei chaim<br />
<br />
<br />
bais hakvaros;<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
“For example, in Metz [located in France], we have worked<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
with a questionable <strong>Jewish</strong> background bought the<br />
<br />
<br />
rasha mirusha<br />
<br />
protesting, he can’t carry on, but the head of police<br />
said that he can’t allow a demonstration against the<br />
<br />
said that he could offer a second place for the project,<br />
<br />
“There is no cemetery with as many gedolei Yisrael as<br />
<br />
There are no gravestones left in Metz; they were all<br />
<br />
<br />
The case in Metz is the only one in which Rav<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
case, about the old Sephardic bais hachaim, which is<br />
gedolai olam<br />
Forty years ago, the Sephardic kehilla sold the cem-<br />
<br />
<br />
There had been 7,700 graves there, and most were al-<br />
<br />
<br />
-<br />
ehrliche rabbonim there,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
there were kevarim<br />
<br />
make a bridge over the kevarim<br />
<br />
He showed us a map of a bais hakvaros<br />
-<br />
<br />
The owners were willing to take an exchange of another piece of<br />
<br />
A NEW PROBLEM<br />
<br />
years is that of kivrei achim<br />
“There was a psak from the rabbonim that we didn’t need to<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<br />
revealed, and threats from development have sprung up almost<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 53
To his left is Rabbi Shmidel of Asra Kadisha.<br />
<br />
“There are bones that are exposed at the mass graves all the<br />
<br />
There are sometimes legal differences between mass graves and<br />
<br />
pass to the <strong>Jewish</strong> community, mass graves are to be overseen by<br />
<br />
THE DANCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS<br />
<br />
to 1,400 known batei chaim<br />
<br />
Romanian batei chaim are under the control of the Committee; it<br />
is a fearsome responsibility, the Rosh Yeshiva<br />
Saving kevarim requires an ability to wade through bureaucracy<br />
-<br />
-<br />
<br />
In some countries, there are <strong>Jewish</strong> organizations that are of-<br />
<br />
there is the Foundation for the Preservation of <strong>Jewish</strong> Heritage in<br />
<br />
-<br />
<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> kehillas that are involved with a cemetery; the kehilla may<br />
<br />
There are other international <strong>Jewish</strong> organizations to deal with,<br />
vation<br />
of <strong>Jewish</strong> Heritage in Poland partially comes from the Joint<br />
<br />
frum organization that has contributed greatly to the<br />
upkeep of cemeteries in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia,<br />
Western Ukraine, and some parts of Poland is Avoyseinu<br />
<br />
Avoyseinu <br />
those buried in a threatened cemetery to make investments in<br />
its restoration and preservation, often working together with<br />
<br />
or other interested parties to step in, Avoyseinu does not get in-<br />
<br />
<br />
The United States is important in cemetery preservation activi-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
it is possible to approach individual members of Congress, who<br />
<br />
The Satmar organization Admas Kodesh serves as a representa-<br />
<br />
<br />
Admas Kodesh, was in the case of the ancient <strong>Jewish</strong> cemetery in<br />
<br />
of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the cemetery was threatened by<br />
Askanim from Admas Kodesh developed a relationship<br />
with the Spanish ambassador to the United States; he even<br />
<br />
Kiryas Joel, and attended a chasuna<br />
54 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
“THERE ARE BONES THAT ARE<br />
EXPOSED AT THE MASS GRAVES ALL<br />
THE TIME; EVERY FEW WEEKS WE NEED<br />
TO COLLECT BONES.”<br />
help was instrumental in the effort to save<br />
<br />
<br />
Admas Kodesh pointed out that Rav<br />
Schlesinger, along with their organization,<br />
understands how to deal with for-<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Rosh Yeshiva expressed his respect<br />
for the help he has received from his chas-<br />
<br />
“They have a feeling for it,” the Rosh<br />
Yeshiva said about the Satmar yungeleit<br />
believe <strong>Jewish</strong> people hailing from Hun-<br />
<br />
<br />
THE EFFORT<br />
Rav Schlesinger has a very practical view<br />
on his efforts, which he summed up in a<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Gershon Schlesinger of Admas Kodesh<br />
If it is an issur<br />
To save kevarim, askanim must travel<br />
tion<br />
and other costs can eat into a small<br />
<br />
He told us that the week we met, one<br />
askan alone had traveled to the Ukraine,<br />
Romania, and Spain, the sort of itiner-<br />
<br />
Even when the askanim receive money for<br />
their work, Rav Schlesinger says that their<br />
acts are clearly and obviously done l’shem<br />
shamayim<br />
“Sometimes there are community institutions<br />
that a person doesn’t necessar-<br />
<br />
is obligatory for all of Klal Yisrael<br />
-<br />
<br />
every single Jew! It is your zeides just like<br />
it is my zeides, and it is your rebbeim<br />
“Much of the funding come from<br />
<br />
amount that comes from Kiryas Yoel,<br />
where the Rosh Yeshiva has gotten<br />
<br />
male follower of the Satmar<br />
Rebbe has to contribute at least<br />
kofer nefesh<br />
erev<br />
“The velt has to understand<br />
that, I don’t understand what the<br />
reason for the gezeira is, but that<br />
this is a gezeira [decree], and it is<br />
incumbent on this generation to<br />
<br />
cheshbonos <br />
work for those are yishainai afar<br />
[sleepers in the dust], they will<br />
work for us in shamayim<br />
derstand<br />
that this is a Klal Yis-
Rav Schlesinger<br />
speaks to<br />
Herbert Block<br />
rael<br />
<br />
did you do for me?’ The<br />
zeides will come and say,<br />
<br />
mandel]<br />
writes that when he<br />
was working [to save Jews]<br />
in Hungary, someone told<br />
him that they should work to save the bais hachaim<br />
<br />
Halevai [if only] I would have worked for them [the<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
should we work for the yisheinai afar? Let’s work for the living!’<br />
<br />
S’iz tut eich nisht vei. For ven tut vei, shreit men<br />
<br />
“He also held that it says in sefarim that this is a sakana for Klal<br />
Yisrael<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger told us that the Steipler was once approached<br />
<br />
written in earlier years, in which it said that disinterring graves<br />
causes danger to Klal Yisrael-<br />
-<br />
<br />
called them back: “I have a source: the Rav writes it!”<br />
DIVINE PROVIDENCE<br />
In Vilna, there was supposed to be an international business<br />
center, serving all of Europe, built on the bais hachaim<br />
“WE SEE OISOIS<br />
<br />
mittee<br />
was still able to save<br />
AND MOIFSIM [MIRACLES],<br />
the cemetery from destruc-<br />
ON EVERY SIDE.”<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger told us an<br />
amazing story that went on<br />
when he was trying to save<br />
the Vilna bais hakvaros<br />
had been trying to meet the president of the European Parliament<br />
<br />
In Posen the very large bais hakvaros had been mostly covered<br />
<br />
<br />
Eventually the Vaad was able to get the entire courtyard converted<br />
back into a bais hakvaros<br />
Using old photos and other sources, the Vaad researched which<br />
kevarim<br />
“In that bais hakvaros<br />
-<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger was visiting the bais hakvaros in Posen as the<br />
ceived<br />
notice that the president of the European Parliament was<br />
coming to Posen and had heard that Rav Schlesinger was there as<br />
<br />
<br />
They met, with the president arriving with his full entourage,<br />
and they discussed the Vilna bais hakvaros<br />
very interested in helping, and in fact, his help ended up securing<br />
the preservation of the bais hakvaros <br />
“I asked him, at our meeting, why he was coming to Posen, and<br />
<br />
56 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
Rav Schlesinger found the meeting fortuitous, and he wondered<br />
whether some zechus connected to his work on the bais<br />
hachaim in Posen had helped him gain an advantage in saving the<br />
bais hachaim<br />
When he returned home from the trip, he found the sefer Igros<br />
Sofrim<br />
Sofer, and their descendants, open on a shtender<br />
looked at the page to which the sefer was open, and noticed that<br />
it was the ksav rabbanus that the town of Vilna had sent to Rav<br />
<br />
their rav, but because he was weak he never was able to actually<br />
<br />
<br />
grave, and then he had received the divine assistance, no doubt in<br />
the zechus<br />
<br />
“We see oisois and moifsim<br />
Rav Schlesinger’s work on the kevarim is accompanied by a feeling<br />
of awe at the gedolim<br />
that he entered Rav Chaim Soloveitchik’s ohel in Warsaw, and Rav<br />
<br />
<br />
Rav Schlesinger told us that he was scared to go to the Vilna<br />
kever in Vilna, remembering the fear he felt at Rav Chaim’s<br />
ohel<br />
The Rosh Yeshiva said that those involved with the holy work<br />
<br />
Al minas shelo l’kabel schar—on condition<br />
not to get reward’? It means that we forget the world when we do<br />
<br />
<br />
That thought is what probably keeps this esteemed rosh yeshiva<br />
Schlesinger walked us to the front door, and as he bid us farewell<br />
he said, with a gentle smile: “You should know that I’m no longer<br />
<br />
<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 57
Moshe L. Lax<br />
We discussed in the last few articles how halacha and science point<br />
ness<br />
and simcha.<br />
David Linden, professor of neuroscience at Johns<br />
Hopkins University School of Medicine, explores<br />
in his book, The Compass of Pleasure, how the brain<br />
creates the experience of pleasure, joy, and desire,<br />
as well as the basis of craving, addiction, and satisfaction.<br />
Many people have heard that the neurotransmitter, dopamine,<br />
controls the brain’s “pleasure” signal, but it’s more complicated<br />
than that. What does it really do?<br />
It has a dual role. For example, if you<br />
have a person in a brain scanner who is<br />
hungry, and you show him a picture of<br />
food that he enjoys, you will see dopamine<br />
release in part of the pleasure circuit,<br />
a part called the striatum. If he actually<br />
gets a chance to eat that food or any other<br />
food that he enjoys while in the scanner,<br />
you will also see release of dopamine.<br />
Dopamine actually is what underlies the<br />
feeling of pleasure. We know that if you<br />
ask people to report on how much pleasure they’re getting from<br />
eating or other pleasurable experiences, their response matches<br />
the level of their dopamine response.<br />
The role of dopamine is tied up with both liking and wanting,<br />
and it’s probably even tied up with something more general,<br />
called salience. (Salience is when an object is set apart from its<br />
surroundings.) Part of what dopamine seems to do is to say, Here’s<br />
something going on that is emotionally relevant and likely important<br />
for continued survival or successful procreation, so wake up and pay<br />
attention.<br />
There are some studies in which some dopamine-producing<br />
cells in the brain are activated by both painful and pleasurable<br />
stimulation. How can that be? Both pain and pleasure are salient.<br />
They say, Hey, this is important!<br />
Dovid Hamelech says [Tehillim 145:16]: “You [G-d] open your<br />
hand, and satiate the desire and wants of every living thing.”<br />
The use of the word “satiate “—masbia—in relation to the word<br />
“wants”—ratzon—indicates that the fact of feeling satiated is tied<br />
to wants, a thought in our minds, rather than just to physical<br />
hunger.<br />
Professor Linden speculates that this may account for the fact<br />
The Emotional Mind<br />
What a Pleasure!<br />
HOW MEMORY AND LIKING DEFINE ENJOYMENT<br />
that some people take pleasure in pain.<br />
One has to wonder about foods like chili peppers. Many people<br />
enjoy them, though they are a little painful. Why? Linden says<br />
his suspicion is that chili peppers engage the brain systems that<br />
say, Hey, this is important, and that aspect adds to the pleasure of<br />
eating spicy food.<br />
Some researchers also theorize that dopamine is not so much<br />
about actual pleasure but about the expectation or prediction of<br />
pleasure.<br />
Indeed, the most intense excitement among researchers is over<br />
the role of dopamine within the limbic system, a brain region<br />
that helps regulate emotions. Basically, dopamine brightens and<br />
highlights our connections with the world<br />
around us, says David Goldman, Ph.D., a<br />
neuroscientist with the National Institute<br />
of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “It’s<br />
essential for associating something that<br />
happens with the feeling of pleasure.”<br />
What makes pleasure so compelling is<br />
that, through the interconnection of the<br />
pleasure circuit with other brain regions,<br />
we adorn it with memory; with associations<br />
and emotions and social meaning;<br />
and with sights, sounds, and smells.<br />
For that reason, our past experience of a certain taste, sound, or<br />
smell plays a tremendous role in shaping our like or distaste for it.<br />
It’s the past emotion which we experienced, that creates and<br />
ence.<br />
We sometimes hear people say, “I can’t eat this food. It smells<br />
like hospital food,” or, “It tastes like medicine.” What that means<br />
is that the negative emotions associated with hospitals and illness<br />
can impact your taste and smell, creating a negative sensation.<br />
Shlomo Hamelech says in Mishlei (15:30): “The light of the<br />
eyes rejoices the heart; and a good report makes the bones fat.”<br />
These words could possibly indicate the close connection of<br />
visual and aural memories to the pleasure and happiness of any<br />
experience.<br />
For me, this raises an old memory of the principal at my elementary<br />
school telling the parent body how important and<br />
powerful is the smell of fresh challah, baked by a <strong>Jewish</strong> mother<br />
before Shabbos, to the growth of her child. <br />
Moshe L. Lax is co-author of Memory and Self-knowledge in Young<br />
Adults with ADHD.<br />
66 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
Esther Blumenfeld . Tel: 718.387.3896<br />
Fax: 718.599.4654 . Email: ebantique@aol.com<br />
Unique selection at affordable prices
Mum’s the Word<br />
RABBIS AND THE QUESTION OF CONFIDENTIALITY<br />
In January of 1973 a young political<br />
philosophy professor at the University<br />
of Toronto named George Will<br />
began to write for National Review<br />
magazine. While he would eventually go<br />
on to win a Pulitzer Prize, and to become<br />
a staple of American intellectual punditry,<br />
he was then having trouble coming<br />
up with new columns week after week.<br />
He approached the magazine’s founder,<br />
legendary writer and father of modern<br />
conservatism, William F. Buckley. “I asked<br />
Bill Buckley what I now know is the question<br />
most frequently asked of a columnist:<br />
‘How do you come up with things to write<br />
about?’ Bill’s answer was: ‘The world<br />
irritates me three times a week, and sometimes<br />
a little more often. I don’t have any<br />
problem coming up with ideas’.”<br />
Several weeks ago, fellow contributor<br />
to Ami, Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky,<br />
bemoaned the difficulty inherent in<br />
coming up with a relatively lengthy<br />
weekly column.<br />
While this is a common concern, and<br />
one that I share, it somehow works itself<br />
out for him, for me, and for others, with<br />
the result that thousands of magazines are<br />
published every week around the globe,<br />
with tens of thousands of writers composing<br />
new and hopefully informative and<br />
interesting content.<br />
Writing a column on the rabbinate<br />
sometimes brings with it a related but<br />
somewhat reverse concern. Rabbis, like<br />
dentiality,<br />
and may even be sued should<br />
they breach that trust, according to New<br />
York State law C.P.L.R. Section 4505—“A<br />
clergyman… shall not be allowed to dis-<br />
<br />
him”. For this reason, the most fascinating<br />
experiences I have been fortunate enough<br />
to have been involved in cannot be disclosed<br />
in these pages. In addition, the<br />
more interesting shailos, political quandaries,<br />
and counseling issues must never be<br />
even alluded to, lest the people involved<br />
become revealed. Soon after I began to<br />
write this weekly column, some friends<br />
approached me to share their concern<br />
that I might easily reveal too much. Some<br />
have even been hesitant to share sensitive<br />
matters with me. Of course, while<br />
an understandable concern, it has been<br />
shown to be unfounded, as I would never<br />
disclose sensitive matters.<br />
In fact, rabbis learn, early on, how to<br />
keep secrets, even if it harms them. Allow<br />
me to give an example: One weekday<br />
morning there was an avel in shul. This<br />
person was from Eretz Yisrael and had<br />
come to Buffalo to bury his father. Because<br />
there was no minyan in his mother’s<br />
house, he was planning on davening with<br />
<br />
So the natural question was, Do we say<br />
tachanun? In other words does a shul take<br />
on the status of a bais avel (shiva-house) in<br />
which tachanun is omitted, or do we view<br />
it as a bais haknesses, that an avel is simply<br />
visiting? What is more, many people did<br />
not even know that this guest was in the<br />
middle of shiva, as he was not acting as the<br />
shliach tzibbur, and the tear in his clothing<br />
went unnoticed.<br />
To be sure, this question is discussed<br />
in the classic sources (e.g. Mishnah Berura<br />
130:20). Generally, a shul will not take on<br />
68 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY RABBI MOSHE TAUB<br />
the status of a bais avel and tachanun would<br />
therefore be recited. But this halacha is not<br />
cut and dry, and certain facts can entirely<br />
cumstances<br />
in which a shul would have<br />
a quasi-status of a bais avel, and tachanun<br />
would then not be said.<br />
Because of particular information that<br />
I could not reveal to my balebatim, gabbaim,<br />
and undoubtedly not in these pages,<br />
I decided that tachanun should not be said.<br />
This was based on certain facts, as well as<br />
a precedent set by Reb Shlomo Zalman<br />
Auerbach. (See, for example, Ishei Yisrael,<br />
page 266, footnotes 75-77 for a comparable<br />
ruling).<br />
So when I instructed the gabbai not<br />
to say tachanun he had no choice but to<br />
follow, although he did not even know<br />
that an avel was in shul. One guest came<br />
over to me and asked the reason behind<br />
my ruling. I explained to him that there<br />
was an avel davening with us. “So what?<br />
The Mishnah Berura says....” I tried to stop<br />
him short by quoting the very same Mishnah<br />
Berura, hopeful that informing him of<br />
my knowledge in this area would cultivate<br />
some trust and calm him down. This,<br />
however, did not work, and the man made<br />
a point of putting down his head for tachanun<br />
right in front of me.<br />
Rabbi Yisroel Reisman is quoted as<br />
having once remarked, “A non-Jew will<br />
never know the thrill of not having to say<br />
tachanun on a Monday or a Thursday.”<br />
Apparently, this man never got that memo.<br />
Now, I do not completely fault this individual;<br />
he did not know me, and based on<br />
the information he was given, in his mind<br />
I had made a huge blunder. While it would<br />
have been liberating to simply explain the<br />
facts not known to him, I could not do<br />
that, and I momentarily looked like a fool.<br />
More stressful than the above example<br />
is the fact that I cannot reveal things to<br />
my wife.<br />
There is a married member in my shul<br />
who is, remotely, through Yeshiva University,<br />
working on attaining his semicha. One<br />
part of the Y.U. semicha process is a wonderful<br />
shimush program. So, using me as<br />
his “mentor,” he is allowed to sit in during<br />
meetings and counseling sessions if the relevant<br />
parties consent. (As an aside: What a<br />
wonderful image of achdus (unity) to have<br />
a musmach from Lakewood working with<br />
a candidate musmach from Yeshiva University!)<br />
Some weeks ago he sat in on a passionate<br />
and intense session. It lasted deep<br />
into the night, and when it was time to<br />
go home he asked if he could talk to his<br />
wife about what had transpired. After all,<br />
<br />
that he could attend. I explained that this<br />
too is part of rabbanus and its training; that<br />
however painful it is, one’s wife must not<br />
only be kept out of the loop, but, and this<br />
takes real strength, be convinced that there<br />
is nothing even going on.<br />
Much has been written of late about the<br />
pressures of the rabbinate, but nothing<br />
holds a candle to this. The most natural<br />
thing to be shared between spouses is<br />
work frustrations. Yet, for a rav, this must<br />
not happen.<br />
<br />
many of the events in Sefer Bereishis.<br />
Sarah, so shocked at the suggestion of a<br />
future child, laughed. But didn’t Hashem<br />
already inform Avraham, at the end of Lech<br />
Lecha, about this joyous future event?<br />
Wouldn’t he have already told Sarah?<br />
According to the commentators who<br />
explain that Yitzchak was ignorant of<br />
Eisav’s evil ways, wasn’t Rivkah already<br />
told, through a navi at the beginning of<br />
the parsha, the true nature of her in-utero<br />
sons? Indeed, that is why she made sure<br />
that Yaakov would receive the brachos!<br />
Why, then, did she leave Yitzchak in the<br />
dark?<br />
The Ramban (18:15 and 27:4, respectively)<br />
asks these questions. It is beyond<br />
this column to go into the reasons he offers<br />
(see also Netziv as it relates to Rivkah),<br />
<br />
remarks: How easily Rivkah could have<br />
avoided the need for subterfuge! How<br />
delighted Avraham would have been to be<br />
Rabbi Yisroel Reisman is quoted as having once<br />
remarked, “A non-Jew will never know the thrill of not<br />
having to say tachanun on a Monday or a Thursday.”<br />
the one to reveal to Sarah, as soon as he<br />
heard, that her dream of bearing a child<br />
would soon come true! But for whatever<br />
holy reason they had to keep quiet, and<br />
they left their respective spouses in the<br />
dark.<br />
What a nisayon!<br />
Many years ago, Rebbetzin Pam, z”l, was<br />
sitting at a wedding when some women<br />
asked her how she was managing with<br />
all that was “going on” in Torah Vodaas<br />
during a famously and publicly trying<br />
period. Bewildered, Rebbetzin Pam looked<br />
at them and asked sincerely, “What is<br />
going on in the yeshiva?” The whole world<br />
was talking about it at their kitchen tables,<br />
but Rav Pam—who worked there!—knew<br />
to keep quiet, and his wife may have been<br />
the one person left who was oblivious to<br />
the shameful hearsay.<br />
So, this column shall continue, the best<br />
stories concealed, and proper order preserved.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Moshe Taub has served as the<br />
rabbi of the Young Israel of Greater Buffalo<br />
since September 2003, and also serves as<br />
the rav hamachshir of the Buffalo Vaad<br />
HaKashrut.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 69
LAST WEEK we saw the Satmar Rebbe train his followers in the mitzvah of tzedakah.<br />
THIS WEEK we see how many people boycotted his institutions and causes.<br />
All Alone<br />
THE SATMAR REBBE’S ANTI-ZIONIST STANCE AFFECTED HIS ABILITY<br />
TO OBTAIN FINANCIAL SUPPORT<br />
One cannot fully appreciate<br />
the Rebbe’s unequaled<br />
chessed and tzedakah without<br />
understanding how<br />
ostracized the Rebbe was.<br />
There has been no leader in the history<br />
of Klal Yisrael who has been as abused,<br />
maligned, and insulted as the Satmar<br />
Rebbe. Every day he was attacked in the<br />
secular press. <strong>Books</strong> were written against<br />
the Rebbe, calling him the worst of names.<br />
Satmar Rebbe on the way to the pier to<br />
board a ship to Israel. On the right is his<br />
nephew, the Beirach Moshe.<br />
The Rebbe also had very few friends in the<br />
frum world. This was a direct result of his<br />
strong opposition to Zionism.<br />
The <strong>Jewish</strong> street was very sympathetic<br />
to Zionism in the ’50s and ’60s, and the<br />
Rebbe’s outspoken opposition to Zionism<br />
didn’t make him very popular. On the<br />
contrary, he was shunned by the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
community and denounced at every<br />
opportunity. There was, consequently,<br />
no person in <strong>Jewish</strong> history who was so<br />
limited in his ability to raise funds as the<br />
Satmar Rebbe.<br />
No <strong>Jewish</strong> group permitted Satmar to<br />
make an appeal in their shul. You cannot<br />
point to a single synagogue in America in<br />
which Satmar was able to formally raise<br />
funds. I’m not referring to Reform or Conservative<br />
synagogues. In those places the<br />
Rebbe wouldn’t consent to making an<br />
appeal in any event. The Rebbe refused<br />
to take money from a person who was<br />
mechalel Shabbos, or from anyone else who<br />
the Rebbe believed had money that was<br />
tainted. The Rebbe once declined a substantial<br />
donation from a well-to-do individual<br />
solely because he was a benefactor<br />
of Israel, and the Rebbe learned that he<br />
had bought $50,000 in Israeli Bonds.<br />
Once a person offered Reb Lipa Friedman<br />
a considerable sum of money for<br />
Satmar, but on the condition that he be<br />
permitted to put an ad in the name of<br />
Satmar in the Morgen Journal newspaper<br />
thanking him for the donation. When the<br />
Rebbe was told of this arrangement, he<br />
didn’t allow Reb Lipa to accept the money.<br />
The Rebbe, nevertheless, would have<br />
gladly accepted money for his mosdos from<br />
other frum Jews. However, they all boycotted<br />
him. Most kehillos would permit Bobov,<br />
Torah Vodaath, or Chaim Berlin to make<br />
an appeal. But not Satmar. The Rebbe had<br />
no entrée to <strong>Jewish</strong> philanthropists who<br />
were benefactors of other Orthodox yeshi-<br />
70 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY RABBI HERTZ FRANKEL<br />
vas and institutions.<br />
When the Rebbe founded Bais Rochel,<br />
a group of patrons of other yeshivas came<br />
to the Rebbe to plead with him to stop his<br />
negative campaign against Zionism. One of<br />
the people in this group was the renowned<br />
philanthropist and supporter of Lakewood<br />
Yeshiva, Irving Bunim. They begged the<br />
Rebbe to stop going to war with the State<br />
of Israel, for only then would his institu-<br />
<br />
<br />
The Rebbe, of course, would hear none<br />
of that. The Rebbe would often say, in the<br />
name of Rav Yehoshua Rokeach of Belz,<br />
that if there were no evil people in town<br />
from whom to separate, the frum people<br />
would need to import into town a group of<br />
evildoers. Separation from wicked people<br />
is something positive, he held; it is an end<br />
in itself. One must be able to highlight<br />
what is good by contrasting it with what<br />
is bad.<br />
The frum world, which was at that<br />
time quite supportive of Zionism, had no<br />
interest in this campaign of the Rebbe,<br />
and therefore ostracized him. As a result,<br />
everything the Rebbe built had to be<br />
funded from within; he was forced to<br />
ects<br />
solely from his own followers. How<br />
these few Holocaust survivors found the<br />
means to do that is beyond me.<br />
It should be noted that the Rebbe<br />
wasn’t building only in New York. The<br />
same massive infrastructure he built<br />
here, with all of its community facilities<br />
and charity organizations, he also<br />
built in London, Antwerp, Montreal,<br />
and so many other places throughout<br />
the world. Everything had to be built<br />
from the ground up, as nothing was in<br />
existence after the Second World War.<br />
The Rebbe was involved in every detail<br />
<br />
decide whether or not to build a new shul<br />
in some city, and where to build one if he<br />
deemed it necessary. Of course, all these<br />
foreign institutions also had to be based<br />
upon his exacting standards. The Rebbe<br />
undertook the building of Yiddishkeit<br />
through a vast charity network around the<br />
world. Again, this became the burden of<br />
his followers. He trained his chassidim—<br />
both men and women—to give, and he<br />
lived to see the results, which continue to<br />
this day.<br />
If one goes to Williamsburg on any given<br />
<br />
tzedakah functions going on in every home<br />
and shul, organized by the women of the<br />
community. Flyers are distributed by<br />
children inviting women to participate in<br />
these events. Whether for a yeshiva or a<br />
<br />
time and the money to help others.<br />
The Rebbe and Rebbetzin taught people<br />
how to give by setting an example. They<br />
were both pillars of tzedakah. The Rebbe<br />
and Rebbetzin gave charity not through<br />
intermediaries or gabbaim, but insisted on<br />
doing charity themselves. They gave not<br />
only with their hearts but also with great<br />
wisdom and understanding.<br />
Once a person from another city was<br />
<br />
his daughter from her estranged husband.<br />
His son-in-law was demanding $5,000 in<br />
exchange for a get. The father-in-law had<br />
The Rebbe would have gladly accepted money for<br />
his mosdos from other frum Jews. However, they all<br />
boycotted him.<br />
come to New York to collect money, and<br />
had put together a measly few hundred<br />
dollars. Though not a Satmar chassid,<br />
heartbroken and not knowing what to do,<br />
he came to the Rebbe.<br />
The man started pouring his heart out,<br />
telling the Rebbe that his daughter would<br />
not receive a divorce unless her husband<br />
was given a minimum of $5,000.<br />
The Rebbe told him to return the following<br />
day. The next day the Rebbe handed<br />
him an envelope containing $5,000, and<br />
some advice as well: “Listen to me,” the<br />
Rebbe said. “Give your son-in-law only<br />
$2,500, half of his request, and you’ll see<br />
that it will satisfy him.” That is precisely<br />
what happened. He gave him $2,500, and<br />
his daughter got the divorce. So the man<br />
called Rav Yosef Ashkenazi to ask what<br />
he should do with the rest of the money,<br />
whether he needed to return it.<br />
The Rebbe’s response was that he should<br />
use the remaining money to marry off his<br />
daughter. The Rebbe not only gave tzedakah,<br />
but he gave it with such kindheartedness,<br />
and yes, with a tremendous amount<br />
of wisdom. <br />
“The Principal” is a series by Rabbi Hertz Frankel,<br />
who is the English principal of Torah Veyirah<br />
school for boys and Bais Rochel school for girls,<br />
a position he has held since 1959. When not running<br />
the schools, he was acting as “Secretary<br />
of State” for the Satmar Rebbe, Rav Yoel Teitlebaum,<br />
zt”l.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 71
Was Our Marriage Too<br />
Hopeless to Save?<br />
IT WAS TIME TO PUT ON MY ROSE-COLORED GLASSES<br />
He was all I had ever hoped<br />
for. His middos were impeccable<br />
and he learned with<br />
great diligence, never missing<br />
a seder and often attending<br />
extra shiurim. My father was thrilled,<br />
and my mother gulped when the shadchan<br />
reassured her that the boy’s father,<br />
who was considerably wealthy, “insists on<br />
buying a house for each of his children.”<br />
<br />
and when I noticed that over four hours<br />
<br />
Although it took a few nerve-wracking<br />
days for the “other side” to get back with<br />
an answer, in the end the answer was yes,<br />
and I could scarcely mask my excitement<br />
when he picked me up for our second<br />
date. Once more, our time together was<br />
<br />
home close to midnight I was certain this<br />
was going to be it. Again it took a while for<br />
the other side to respond, but I was not<br />
overly concerned. After all, we had clicked<br />
<br />
of time before they gave the go-ahead.<br />
We waited anxiously for the shadchan<br />
<br />
it seemed that she had forgotten about<br />
<br />
The shadchan, who was a close friend of<br />
<br />
was perfectly happy and had been ready<br />
to continue the shidduch from the moment<br />
<br />
formidable opponent: his father. As they<br />
fought a battle of wills, the boy decided to<br />
take it up with his rosh yeshiva, who convinced<br />
him to drop the shidduch. It turned<br />
out that his father was unhappy with my<br />
short stature, and was afraid that if we<br />
married, we would have “tiny kids ‘like the<br />
other couple in the family’.”<br />
There followed a string of shidduchim,<br />
all ending in disappointment. Each time<br />
a boy walked through our front door I<br />
<br />
date, and the shidduch was doomed from<br />
the start. In truth, I never stopped hoping<br />
that I would somehow marry him—the<br />
dream boy who was really meant for me.<br />
I prayed that his father would relent. But<br />
when news came that he was engaged, my<br />
hopes were dashed forever. It was time to<br />
move on.<br />
By the time I turned 21, I was at my<br />
wits’ end. I had gone out with a total of<br />
<br />
Would I ever marry? I was aware of the<br />
grim statistics: I belonged to the Litvish<br />
set, in which girls far outnumbered boys,<br />
or so it seemed. The shadchanim scratched<br />
their heads as they tackled lists of girls that<br />
were pages long, while their lists of boys<br />
were woefully short. In high demand, the<br />
72 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 / 11 KISLEV, 5772
BY SHAINA KLEIN<br />
eeny, meeny,<br />
miny, mo, and haughtily put forth their<br />
demands.<br />
In any event, when Danny Fisher walked<br />
through the front door, my heart sank. He<br />
was from “out-of-town,” and other than<br />
his middos <br />
(great masmid<br />
His family dynamics were equally sketchy.<br />
His parents owned a small housewares<br />
store in their hometown and were far from<br />
wealthy, while his siblings were all married<br />
and living in Lakewood. That’s all. The<br />
<br />
<br />
that he was the proverbial “neb.” His beard<br />
was rumpled, and his hat sat askew atop<br />
a shock of hair that had not seen a pair<br />
of scissors for quite some time. Tall and<br />
gangly, his posture was that of an old man<br />
with the weight of the world on his shoulders,<br />
yet he was all of 22. He seemed ill at<br />
ease when my father asked him the customary<br />
opening questions, such as which<br />
yeshivas he had attended, and how many<br />
years he had been learning in Lakewood.<br />
I cringed, wishing he’d leave the poor guy<br />
alone. My mother, who stood on the sidelines,<br />
looked at me and our eyes met in<br />
mutual understanding. This was certainly<br />
a no from the word go. Desperate as I was<br />
to tie the knot, I was not going to do it<br />
with this wimp. Forget marriage, I could<br />
hardly imagine spending a few hours with<br />
this guy. This was going to be a long evening.<br />
As I followed Danny out of the house, I<br />
was dismayed to see his car, or more accu-<br />
<br />
his brother for the occasion. The doors<br />
squeaked and the seats were strewn with<br />
<br />
proud creations of his nieces and nephews.<br />
As I prepared to take the passenger<br />
seat, I gingerly wiped away some crumbs.<br />
Danny looked at me questioningly. “Are<br />
you afraid it’s dirty?” he asked with a halfsmile.<br />
I felt myself blushing. Had I acted<br />
rudely? But Danny was unperturbed.<br />
“Don’t worry,” he reassured me. “I spent<br />
hours vacuuming the car. It’s my brother’s<br />
van, and his kids are kind of messy.” Hmm,<br />
I thought, I wonder if it’s genetic....<br />
In all fairness, our evening turned out<br />
<br />
we had a great time. As we walked through<br />
the park’s winding paths, Danny displayed<br />
a wealth and breadth of knowledge that<br />
surprised me. His keen mind observed<br />
everything around him, and he seemed to<br />
<br />
whole lot about any topic I broached. He<br />
asked appropriate questions, and seemed<br />
genuinely interested in all I had to say.<br />
Unlike some of the other boys I had met,<br />
he was not nearly as self-absorbed. He was<br />
attentive, and had a way of making me feel<br />
tary<br />
school teacher was a grand achievement,<br />
and he was genuinely impressed by<br />
how I managed to control the students. He<br />
had once done a short stint as a substitute<br />
teacher, and the boys were “all over the<br />
place.” Somehow, I found myself squaring<br />
my shoulders.<br />
About two hours into our date, I got<br />
a tickling feeling in my throat. It was a<br />
blustery August evening, and coming<br />
on the heels of several rainy days, it triggered<br />
my allergies in a big way. I started to<br />
cough and sputter, and desperately rummaged<br />
around in my little handbag for my<br />
inhaler, which in my haste I had forgotten<br />
to take along. This threatened to be an allout<br />
asthma attack, the kind I hadn’t had<br />
in years. Danny offered me a drink, which<br />
I eagerly gulped down, after which the<br />
attack ended as abruptly as it had started.<br />
I dared not look up; my makeup was running,<br />
my face was all red from coughing,<br />
and I was sure Danny was about to cut<br />
the date short and dump me back home.<br />
He may not have been Prince Charming,<br />
but he was no fool. Why start up with a<br />
<br />
up, there was kindness in his green eyes.<br />
Somehow, he made me feel good about<br />
myself, even during an asthma attack.<br />
It was late August, and I was working<br />
as a head counselor at a girls’ camp from<br />
which Danny would pick me up about<br />
twice a week for our dates. I felt comfortable<br />
in his presence, and if I didn’t look<br />
too closely, he wasn’t bad looking at all.<br />
I did wish he’d have sewn back on the<br />
<br />
the life of me I couldn’t fathom how any<br />
self-respecting man could allow his hat<br />
to collect so much dust. But while there<br />
were many things that bothered me about<br />
Danny, there really wasn’t anything noteworthy<br />
enough to prompt me to issue a<br />
resolute no. My parents acted neutral in<br />
the matter and, when pressed, were loath<br />
to voice their opinions. Each time I spoke<br />
to them after a date they would listen<br />
patiently, and at the end of the conversation,<br />
gently ask if I wanted to go out with<br />
him again. I wished they’d be more assertive,<br />
to relieve me of the burden of this<br />
weighty decision.<br />
I lay awake at night, thinking of Danny’s<br />
lack of social graces, his habit of blowing<br />
loudly into crumpled up tissues, and<br />
<br />
and I’d cringe. For one of our dates Danny<br />
had shown up with a mishloach manos bag<br />
rugelach and a<br />
bottle of Mayim Chaim seltzer, which we<br />
consumed on a park bench. But Danny<br />
seemed oblivious to my misgivings. He<br />
smiled shyly, and I wondered what an outside<br />
observer might think of us—a tall,<br />
stooped man wearing drab clothes, alongside<br />
a short but perfectly groomed girl. If I<br />
was reluctant to be seen with him now, in<br />
the backwoods of Woodridge, how would<br />
I feel about walking with him on the street<br />
in broad daylight when I got home?<br />
After eight dates the inevitable happened.<br />
Danny proposed, and I accepted.<br />
By now I was convinced that Danny was a<br />
<br />
an attentive husband and a loving father to<br />
our future children—lack of fashion sense<br />
notwithstanding. My twenty-second birthday<br />
was fast approaching, and I dreaded<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 73
spinsterhood more than anything else in<br />
the world. If Danny, socially awkward as<br />
he was, was the one to save me from a desolate<br />
future, so be it. And if I failed to be<br />
terribly excited about him at the time of<br />
our engagement, here was hoping that we<br />
would grow closer in time, once we were<br />
bound by marriage and our mutual desire<br />
to build a Torah’dike home.<br />
Yet despite my pious intentions, no<br />
sooner were we engaged than I had serious<br />
doubts. What had I done? Was I really<br />
going to go through with it? The worst<br />
part was that I had no one to blame but<br />
myself. How clever of my parents to have<br />
remained neutral! The vort was a disaster,<br />
and although I smiled through the entire<br />
affair until my cheeks actually hurt, I was<br />
sobbing inside. Each time I glimpsed<br />
Danny on the men’s side, I quickly turned<br />
away. He hadn’t managed to put himself<br />
together, even for his own vort. His parents<br />
and siblings were all in attendance,<br />
and they were thrilled with the shidduch.<br />
Danny was the baby, and I was going to<br />
be their sweet little sister-in-law. “She’s<br />
<br />
make the cutest couple!” Like Danny, they<br />
paid little heed to their appearance. Their<br />
<br />
guess they had their own unique set of priorities.<br />
I cried myself to sleep that night,<br />
as I did on many nights leading up to the<br />
wedding. As I shopped and readied for the<br />
big day, my sense of dread grew.<br />
We were married in early winter. Before<br />
long, the noisy celebration of our wedding<br />
guests was replaced by an eerie silence<br />
that pervaded our perfect little apartment.<br />
I cooked delicious gourmet meals,<br />
and cleaned the house until every corner<br />
gleamed and sparkled. I worked full time,<br />
yet managed to invite numerous guests<br />
for Shabbos. I was the consummate balabusta,<br />
the envy of my friends and neighbors.<br />
How did I manage, they all wanted<br />
to know, to do everything so perfectly? I<br />
must be Superwoman!<br />
I smiled in feigned appreciation, personifying<br />
perfection until I crossed the threshold<br />
of my own apartment and closed the<br />
door. Inside, I was allowed to shed my<br />
veneer, and for an hour or so until Danny<br />
returned from yeshiva I could allow my<br />
pent-up feelings to surface. I dreaded<br />
Danny’s coming home and having to pretend<br />
that I was happy, when in truth, I was<br />
downright miserable. He always complimented<br />
me on my food, but I knew that he<br />
would have preferred a plate of lettuce and<br />
tuna—without the side order of tension.<br />
In a desperate attempt to please me, he’d<br />
payos, and I’d<br />
feel terribly guilty.<br />
G-d knows I tried, or so I thought back<br />
then, when a clean house and a groomed<br />
appearance were all-important. But Danny<br />
knew that my efforts were all a farce, a desperate<br />
and shoddy pretense. It went so far<br />
that, a few months after the chasuna, Danny’s<br />
father called my parents to an urgent<br />
meeting. Something had to be done, he<br />
mechutonim. Danny, his<br />
kind and gentle son who wouldn’t hurt<br />
<br />
candid moment, his normally reserved<br />
<br />
weren’t going well between him and his<br />
wife, and that try as he might, he could<br />
not manage to please her. His father desperately<br />
asked my parents to get involved,<br />
but they refused. Let them sort it out,<br />
<br />
themselves. This, of course, was all done<br />
in clandestine fashion, and we were not<br />
aware of this meeting until much later.<br />
By Pesach, things had gotten so bad<br />
between us that when Danny suggested<br />
we take a trip on Chol Hamoed, I came<br />
<br />
act<br />
with their spouses with the ease that<br />
comes from years of mutual respect<br />
and shared experiences, our relationship<br />
appeared—in stark contrast—more<br />
dismal than ever. I ached for a happy marriage,<br />
yet I was so entrenched in my illconceived<br />
values that placed social graces<br />
and aesthetics above all else, that I could<br />
not extricate myself from them no matter<br />
how hard I tried. I could not forgive myself<br />
for having given my hand in marriage to a<br />
man who espoused all the wrong values—<br />
who threw off his shoes in the middle of<br />
the dining room, and brushed his teeth at<br />
the kitchen sink in front of a houseful of<br />
guests.<br />
As soon as Pesach was over, I embraced<br />
the return to routine for all it was worth.<br />
I breathed a sigh of relief when Danny<br />
went back to yeshiva. It had been so sti-<br />
<br />
at times I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. The<br />
burden of pretending to be the attentive<br />
wife, when in reality I felt like a hollow<br />
shell, was too much to bear. Thus a few<br />
<br />
B., a marriage counselor who was said to<br />
have helped countless young couples with<br />
<br />
Danny.<br />
“You’re sure it’s worth it?” Danny asked<br />
skeptically. He doubted that anyone could<br />
help us. Over the past months we had<br />
gotten into a kind of rut where we each<br />
did our own thing. In the evenings, Danny<br />
would take a walk, while I talked incessantly<br />
to friends and family on the phone.<br />
By now it was quite obvious that I wasn’t<br />
fond of him, and no rabbi in the world<br />
<br />
working in a camp up in the Catskills,<br />
and the trip would involve upwards of<br />
three hours each way. But I persisted, and<br />
so, early the next morning, we ventured<br />
<br />
to reverse an all but hopeless pattern of<br />
mutual discontent.<br />
As soon as we arrived the two men<br />
<br />
to me with a smile. “So, young lady, what<br />
is the problem that brings you here?”<br />
I was thrown by his abruptness and<br />
felt myself blush. I wished he would have<br />
broken the ice with some social niceties,<br />
<br />
small talk and preferred to get to the point.<br />
“We are here to ask you to help us with<br />
our marriage,” I said, enunciating my<br />
words carefully.<br />
<br />
me.<br />
“It seems—although correct me if I’m<br />
wrong—that it is you, young lady, who is<br />
unhappy. This young fellow,” he said, smiling<br />
and nodding toward Danny, “appears<br />
74 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 / 11 KISLEV, 5772
quite happy with the marriage.”<br />
How was he so sure? I wondered. But I<br />
dared not say anything. We had traveled<br />
over three hours and I wasn’t about to ruin<br />
it by sounding off.<br />
“Nu<br />
I clasped my hands together and took a<br />
deep breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I<br />
peered over at Danny. He smiled his usual<br />
shy smile and waited for me to speak.<br />
“Well,” I began, “it seems like we weren’t<br />
really meant for each other.”<br />
<br />
“Because we are so different. There’s<br />
very little that we agree on.”<br />
Without much further prompting, once<br />
Danny left the room, I plunged into a<br />
lengthy soliloquy, pouring out my heart<br />
<br />
tidy house and a groomed appearance,<br />
while Danny always looked so messy and<br />
unkempt. I told him how I lived my life<br />
with precision and on a tight schedule,<br />
while Danny paid little heed to the clock<br />
and was almost never on time. This went<br />
on for almost an hour, and I would have<br />
continued until G-d knows when, were it<br />
<br />
“Young lady,” he said, “don’t you realize<br />
that all his problems are really his maylos<br />
<br />
How so? I wondered.<br />
“Well,” he said, “take, for instance, his<br />
lack of interest in a clean, orderly home.<br />
While it may be exasperating to be constantly<br />
rearranging the bookshelves after<br />
him, and removing his shoes from the<br />
ful<br />
to have a husband who comes home<br />
after a full day of learning or working, and<br />
instead of complaining about the mess,<br />
he walks through two feet of clutter and<br />
greets his wife with a smile! And while you<br />
may think that a four-course meal is necessary,<br />
once you have a houseful of children<br />
<br />
macaroni, your husband will in all likeli-<br />
<br />
fanciest recipes.”<br />
How unfair, I thought, laying the blame<br />
on me. What about Danny and his bad<br />
habits? What about his slumped posture<br />
and unkempt appearance? Wasn’t there<br />
also something he had to do to enhance<br />
our marriage?<br />
<br />
B.’s words ringing in my ears. “Don’t you<br />
realize that all his problems are really his<br />
maylos?” I couldn’t get his words out of my<br />
head.<br />
Over the next few weeks and months, I<br />
found myself undergoing a gradual emotional<br />
shift. It didn’t happen overnight,<br />
<br />
more I thought about it, the more I realized<br />
that the reasons I had married Danny<br />
were still valid. Why had I chosen to focus<br />
on his faults? And who was I, anyway? I<br />
was short, overweight, and had a bad case<br />
of allergies. Worse still, I was intolerant<br />
and rigid.<br />
After rethinking my attitude, I resolved<br />
to change my behavior. It wasn’t easy. But I<br />
found that the less critical I was, the more<br />
my husband was relaxed and happy. And,<br />
much to my surprise, I also discovered<br />
that I wanted him to be happy!<br />
<br />
point in our marriage. It is now over three<br />
years since then, and with a second baby<br />
on the way, we have grown ever closer.<br />
<br />
<br />
have to remind him to get a haircut, or<br />
<br />
button. But I have come to realize how<br />
unimportant these things really are, and<br />
have grown to appreciate Danny for the<br />
wonderful human being he is.<br />
As I look around and see other couples<br />
resorting to divorce as casually as I<br />
once considered it, G-d forbid, I want to<br />
shout, “Stop! Have you explored all your<br />
options?”<br />
Interestingly, the marriage counselor,<br />
with whom we had met only once, later<br />
told Danny that he had never met a couple<br />
who were so unhappy, yet able to turn<br />
their marriage around so drastically. All it<br />
took was a willingness to accept that it was<br />
up to me to change my thinking, rather<br />
than expect to change the man I married<br />
into someone he was not meant to be.<br />
I am very grateful for having done so. <br />
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A Record Prize<br />
THE LOOK ON HIS FACE GAVE IT AWAY<br />
Having a “gleam in one’s eye”<br />
is often used to describe a<br />
sparkle—sometimes spiritual,<br />
sometimes ethereal—a<br />
sparkle that can hardly be<br />
<br />
and blood.<br />
Over the years I have seen many gleams,<br />
mostly from children who were about to<br />
be rewarded.<br />
But one gleam from a middle-aged<br />
tycoon taught me that even the<br />
childhood excitement of a spiritual<br />
treasure cannot be<br />
withered by age.<br />
About 28 years ago<br />
I was a member of<br />
the Pittsburgh kollel.<br />
I came in the second<br />
or third shift of yungeleit,<br />
who I believe were part of<br />
the Pittsburgh renaissance,<br />
a period in which its chimneys<br />
in nearby Homestead<br />
stopped belching the residue<br />
of coke factories, and liver and<br />
lung transplants, as well as the emergence<br />
of robotics and technology, became<br />
the avant-garde industries that took center<br />
stage.<br />
The rosh kollel, Rabbi Shaul Kagan,<br />
ob”m, and I had much in common, and he<br />
revered my zaide, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky,<br />
and treated me accordingly. Rabbi Kagan<br />
had a keen interest in so many worlds and<br />
ideas, and though he was anchored by the<br />
vision of his rebbe, Rav Aharon Kotler, his<br />
curious enthusiasm for the world at large<br />
allowed him to relate to and appreciate the<br />
widest spectrum of the human race that I<br />
had ever seen in my yeshiva mentors.<br />
He imparted in me a fascination and<br />
appreciation for the history and heritage<br />
of that city’s rabbinate, and with his guid-<br />
<br />
a large cache of discarded old sefarim, and<br />
the benevolence of the Ungar and Pfeffer<br />
families, I established a small but respectable<br />
library, the Otzar Chachmei Pittsburgh.<br />
It contained a collection of works<br />
authored by many of the rabbanim who<br />
graced the city of Pittsburgh from the early<br />
1900s until my time in the kollel.<br />
Though he was a traditionalist, Rabbi<br />
Kagan and the newly-recruited rosh kollel,<br />
Rabbi Naftali Beer, had a penchant for new<br />
ideas to bring people into the kollel and<br />
strengthen their bond to Torah learning.<br />
It was the early 1980s, and the Inter-<br />
<br />
imagination. Audiovisual learning (at least<br />
in the kollel communities) was basically<br />
limited to teachers, blackboards, and overhead<br />
projectors. But I knew of a Torah tape<br />
library in Brooklyn that lent out cassettes<br />
free of charge, and I wanted to replicate<br />
the concept some 500 miles west on Interstate<br />
76—in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<br />
(For those of you under 18 who have<br />
been given an assignment to read a classic<br />
piece of contemporary literature, let<br />
me explain something that may have left<br />
you scratching your heads. In the olden<br />
days, when car windows were cranked<br />
and phones had dials with holes for your<br />
<br />
tape recorder. In it you would place a plastic<br />
cartridge that had two spools of very<br />
thin, brown vinyl tape. The<br />
tape would pass through<br />
something on the recorder<br />
and it would play or record<br />
music. Of course, the tape<br />
could get stuck, and you<br />
would then have to untangle<br />
about 20 yards of it, which<br />
you could never stuff back into<br />
the cartridge. It would also often<br />
rip, creating an exercise in dexterity<br />
as we would try to tape the two<br />
ends together and get it back into the<br />
cartridge without impeding its ability<br />
to spin properly. Without fail, we<br />
would mess things up by inadvertently<br />
twisting the strip before attaching the two<br />
ends. This would result in the sounds<br />
being played backwards, which made for<br />
lots of fun for the younger set, and lots of<br />
frustration for their parents. The tape was<br />
also used for amusement purposes in kollel<br />
homes, where children would occupy<br />
themselves for hours unraveling them to<br />
see how many dining room chairs they<br />
could string together.)<br />
I had approached the rosh kollel and suggested<br />
that a tape library would be a wonderful<br />
addition to our kollel’s community<br />
outreach services, and he was enthusiastic<br />
about the idea, but not about the cost. I<br />
76 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
RABBI MORDECHAI KAMENETZKY<br />
had told him that we would need cases<br />
<br />
speed duplicating machine, in order to<br />
make copies of the many ongoing lectures<br />
that the kollel offered through its resident<br />
scholars. I estimated that the start-up cost<br />
for a 200-plus tape library would run close<br />
to $2,000. Pittsburgh was not a wealthy<br />
community, and the burden of fund raising<br />
was beginning to take its toll on Rabbi<br />
Kagan. “It’s a great idea, but you will have<br />
to raise the money for it!”<br />
I asked him if he would allow me to<br />
revisit the usual suspects—the donors<br />
whom I had known from their visits to<br />
the kollel, or from their being thanked by<br />
name, for various philanthropic endeavors.<br />
“All right,” he said, “but don’t tell them<br />
that I sent you!”<br />
There was one name on the radar that<br />
I had seen quite often in the publications<br />
of many <strong>Jewish</strong> organizations—Jason<br />
Shapiro. He was regularly either dedicating<br />
something or being honored at some<br />
lanthropy<br />
ranged from UJA-Federation to<br />
Israel Bonds, to Lubavitch and the kollel.<br />
I found out that he was the president<br />
of a Pittsburgh-based company, National<br />
Record Mart, and though it took a while, I<br />
got an appointment to see him. As a young<br />
kid, I would often accompany my father to<br />
<br />
I remember delivering mishloach manos to<br />
one of the presidents of the Paragon Oil<br />
Company. I didn’t watch my father in<br />
<br />
tchatchke to play with, and if the visit was<br />
to a home, they would plop me in front of<br />
the TV, where I would stare in wonder at<br />
the moving images on the screen.<br />
I was indeed a bit intimidated by the<br />
large boardroom in which he seated me.<br />
He offered me a drink, and sat down at<br />
the head of the table. The room was massive<br />
and elegantly appointed. Besides my<br />
seat, there were about a dozen empty<br />
leather chairs around the massive dark<br />
cherry wood table. There were various<br />
golden records on the wall, representing<br />
the albums that must have sold in the millions,<br />
and there were some record jackets<br />
as well. (Youngsters, this time I will spare<br />
you the explanation of what a record is,<br />
until a later date.) Opposite Mr. Shapiro<br />
was a large curtain-like tapestry that was<br />
hung across the width of the room. I was<br />
not sure if it was covering something, or<br />
was there just for show. But I had no time<br />
<br />
right next to me. “Why do I have the pleasure<br />
of meeting you today?”<br />
It went fairly well. I explained that I had<br />
a project, a tape library that I wanted to<br />
create, and he had the money to help me.<br />
Simple as that. I said I needed $1,800, and<br />
waited for his response.<br />
He asked me a simple question. “There<br />
are many secular Jews in Pittsburgh. There<br />
are many philanthropic Jews as well. Why<br />
did you choose me?”<br />
I was a bit dumfounded. I could not say,<br />
“Because I spotted your name on a poster<br />
somewhere.” What I did say was, “We are<br />
known as ‘the people of the book.’ Most<br />
of our institutions have libraries of books.<br />
Thousands of them. But you are the owner<br />
of National Record Mart. I could not think<br />
of anyone who appreciates the power of<br />
audio over the written word. That is why I<br />
came to you.”<br />
Mr. Shapiro smiled broadly, then got up<br />
and walked to the far side of the room.<br />
Standing in front of a button on the wall<br />
<br />
curtain with a slight nod of his chin. “Tell<br />
me, what do you think is behind that curtain?”<br />
I had absolutely no idea. I looked around<br />
the room and saw assorted record industry<br />
paraphernalia, and made a wild guess.<br />
<br />
Mr. Shapiro looked at me with mock<br />
disdain. He crunched his nose slightly as if<br />
he were one of my rabbeim saying “shtusim”<br />
to an attempt to compare the sacred to the<br />
mundane.<br />
I knew I was off by a long shot, and I<br />
was certain that I would not be getting<br />
my $1,800 either. But then I saw the glint<br />
in his eye, as he smiled and offered me a<br />
<br />
I looked at his expression, at the<br />
delighted anticipation expressed in his<br />
eagerness to reveal the secret behind the<br />
curtain. And I knew the answer. I was,<br />
in fact, so sure that I said it with a smug<br />
<br />
He asked me a simple question. “There are many secular<br />
Jews in Pittsburgh. There are many philanthropic Jews as<br />
well. Why did you choose me?”<br />
“It’s a sefer Torah!”<br />
His eyes widened in a mixture of surprise<br />
and satisfaction as he pressed the<br />
button on the wall. The curtains slowly<br />
drew apart, and I caught a glimpse of the<br />
velvet mantel. “How did you know?”<br />
“Mr. Shapiro,” I replied, “the gleam in<br />
your eyes and the smile on your face transcended<br />
any mundane item. That expression<br />
shouted out to me, ‘I have something<br />
sacred in there!’ I knew it had to be a<br />
Torah.”<br />
Mr. Shapiro then explained that he had<br />
found the Torah buried in rubble behind a<br />
gas station in Buffalo, New York, and that<br />
he’d had it restored. He decided to keep it<br />
in the most prominent place in his business,<br />
to remind him where he came from.<br />
I believe that it always did.<br />
He also wrote out a check for $1,800 to<br />
start the tape library. <br />
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky is the Rosh<br />
Yeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chaim at South Shore,<br />
a weekly columnist in Yated Ne’eman, and the<br />
author of the Parsha Parable series. He can<br />
share your story through the “Streets of Life.”<br />
He can reached at streets@amimagazine.org.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // AMI MAGAZINE 77
my<br />
word!<br />
ASHER V. FINN<br />
Each week, “My Word!”—penned by the esteemed president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to<br />
English—highlights often-misused or misspelled phrases or words, common grammatical challenges, unusual<br />
expressions, or neologisms. Or it just calls attention to curious or interesting locutions.<br />
So, if you want to learn some new things about English—or are already expert in the language and want to<br />
prove it to yourself—you’ve come to the right place.<br />
Hold the Forte!<br />
You’ve probably heard people say things<br />
like, “Well, I’d really love to help you, but<br />
carrying pianos isn’t really my forte”—pronouncing<br />
the last word, used in the sense<br />
of “talent” or “expertise,” as “fortay,” as if<br />
the “e” carries a French acute accent. That is so gauche<br />
(which is not, the reader presumably knows, pronounced<br />
“gauchay”).<br />
There is in fact no word in English—or in French,<br />
for that matter—that is properly pronounced “fortay.”<br />
In the piano-carrying excuse sentence above, as in all<br />
employment of the word to mean “talent,” the word is<br />
pronounced just as it reads: “fort”—as if the “e” isn’t<br />
there at all.<br />
There is, as it happens, an Italian word, forte, that is<br />
pronounced somewhat differently, with the “e” sounding<br />
not like an accented French “e” but more like “eh”<br />
(as in the sentence: “Eh! You call that gelatinous blob<br />
<br />
but rather to a way of playing (not carrying) a piano. It<br />
is a musical term indicating that a piece of music is to<br />
be played loudly.<br />
Somehow, someone somewhere managed to misconstrue<br />
the Italian word meaning “with force” as a French<br />
word, topped it with an accent mark, mispronounced<br />
it and passed it off as an English word meaning “talent.”<br />
And masses eager to sound sophisticated showed<br />
themselves anything but, and adopted the mistaken<br />
pronunciation.<br />
Oy.<br />
As the ancient Chinese saying goes, let’s “fung on fun<br />
unfung”—or, “start from the beginning.” (Actually, it<br />
might be Yiddish.)<br />
The word, “forte,” is closely related to the word, “fort,”<br />
meaning “a stronghold.” That is because the word “forte”<br />
means “strong” (f.) in French. Thus we have obvious Eng-<br />
<br />
In fact, the word, “forte’s,” original (and still current,<br />
for fencers and executioners) meaning is “the strong<br />
part of a sword blade”—that is to say the half of the<br />
blade’s length closest to the hilt, or handle. (Interestingly,<br />
the rest of the blade until the tip, the weaker half,<br />
is called the “foible,” which also, of course, means a<br />
weakness of character, and is in turn related to “feeble.”)<br />
Which brings us to the “talent” use of the word, the<br />
more common one these days. It’s pretty simple: A<br />
talent is a strength.<br />
Unfortunately, as happens in languages, even mistakes<br />
can become so widespread that they earn a place<br />
in the dictionaries. And so, the “fortay” pronunciation<br />
of the word, “forte” (pronounced “fort!” pronounced<br />
“fort!”) has wiggled its way into common usage and<br />
<br />
you, dear reader!) must do what we can to, so to speak,<br />
hold the fort.<br />
So the next time someone tells you that “vocabulary<br />
isn’t my forte” and pronounces it “fortay,” just smile<br />
sadly and say with resignation, “Obviously.” <br />
78 AMI MAGAZINE // DECEMBER 7, 2011 // 11 KISLEV, 5772
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DECEMBER 7, 2011 11 KISLEV, 5772 ISSUE 48<br />
24<br />
EXPANDED<br />
page<br />
plus<br />
NEW COLUMN<br />
PAULA SHOYER<br />
expert baker<br />
Will<br />
Justice<br />
Prevail?<br />
A mother’s battle<br />
for custody of her daughter<br />
DECEMBER 7, 2011<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772<br />
Delectable Dairy<br />
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Watch Your Children Delight<br />
at Victoria Dwek’s Chanukah Party<br />
Plus! Easy Ideas for Your Own Party<br />
>>> ALSO: THE CLEAN BILL. DANGEROUS CHOICES. WHY CHOOSING<br />
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WEIGHT TO GO,<br />
SENATOR<br />
<br />
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) may be a savvy politician, but<br />
she struggles with the same “weighty” issue many of us do: excess<br />
poundage.<br />
<br />
<br />
was ready to lose weight.<br />
“I’m tired of looking and feeling fat,” McCaskill announced to all<br />
and sundry on May 12. “Maybe talking about it publicly will keep<br />
<br />
The Senator was desperate to lose weight, not for reasons of<br />
<br />
possible Republican challenger.<br />
“The metabolism shuts down on you, and all of a sudden you’re<br />
feeling slow and tired. And I knew I was going to need lots of energy<br />
in the next year, so I decided I needed to put the excuses aside and<br />
get more physical.”<br />
How did McCaskill actually accomplish such a remarkable feat in<br />
a relatively short time?<br />
There’s no magic potion. It involved the “tried and true” rules:<br />
eating less, walking two miles on a treadmill each day, and utilizing<br />
the help of a personal trainer. “Most importantly, I ‘divorced’ myself<br />
from bread and pasta,” Claire declared.<br />
The Senator decided to go public, in order to be held accountable<br />
to her constituency.<br />
“It meant that people were going to be watching to see if, in fact,<br />
I stayed on track,” she said. “If I manage to get healthy and then I go<br />
back to my old ways, it will be a public humiliation.”<br />
Babies “R” Not Us<br />
<br />
It’s not much fun to travel with young<br />
children, especially in midair. Recently,<br />
it’s become a nightmare. Parents are<br />
complaining of airline seating policies that<br />
create “baby ghettoes,” large areas with<br />
tiny tots in the very back of planes, to give<br />
the front passengers some peace.<br />
If that isn’t troubling enough, it gets<br />
worse. In many cases, entire families are<br />
split up, leaving small children frightened,<br />
in the company of complete strangers.<br />
Michael Lyon, one irate passenger,<br />
booked seats together for his family for a<br />
trip from Washington, D.C., to Bangkok<br />
on United Airlines last summer. But<br />
when he checked in, his family was split<br />
up, and his six year-old son was moved to<br />
the back of the plane by himself for the<br />
13-hour trip.<br />
A United gate agent told Lyon<br />
that there were no available seats and<br />
nothing could be done. He protested to<br />
a supervisor, who found two seats next to<br />
each other so he could sit with his son.<br />
“Not only did the United gate staff not<br />
seem to understand the importance of<br />
having him next to us, they were hostile,”<br />
Lyon later told the media.<br />
What gives? It’s the bottom line,<br />
weary parents say. In most cases, paying<br />
adults outnumber children on planes,<br />
and airlines have to balance the needs of<br />
parents with child-free passengers who<br />
want peace and quiet.<br />
Bulkhead rows at the front of coach<br />
cabins, once reserved for infants, are now<br />
saved for passengers with disabilities. As a<br />
result, families often end up separated, or<br />
at the back of the plane.<br />
So if you’re planning to travel with a<br />
small child (good luck to you), make sure<br />
to call the airline in advance, and specify<br />
that you must sit next to your child at all<br />
costs. Even so, be prepared for surprises.<br />
10 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
Nothing to Cry About<br />
<br />
Johnson & Johnson—the prestigious, 125-year-old company that is supposedly the<br />
Rolls Royce of shampoo and baby lotions in the U.S.—has pledged to remove two<br />
harmful chemicals from its baby shampoo and other products.<br />
An international coalition of environmental groups has been pressuring J & J to<br />
remove two potentially cancer-causing chemicals from its products. These products<br />
include the iconic Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo, which costs double the price of<br />
generic brands, and is famously advertised under the slogan,<br />
“No More Tears.”<br />
Recently, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics<br />
realized that the health care giant had<br />
removed the two chemicals—dioxane,<br />
considered a carcinogen, and<br />
quaternium-15, a chemical that releases<br />
the preservative formaldehyde—from<br />
products in several other countries,<br />
including the U.K., Scandinavia, and<br />
South Africa.<br />
American parents, who’d been shelling<br />
out extra dough for the Johnson brand,<br />
cried foul, and the company paid attention.<br />
After all, Johnson & Johnson would rather<br />
pay now than cry later.<br />
Have You Got the<br />
“Kindness Gene”?<br />
<br />
People with a specific genetic trait often appear to be kinder and more caring than<br />
the average Joe. The variation is linked to the body’s oxytocin (a hormone) receptor<br />
gene.<br />
To prove their point, scientists at Oregon State University filmed over 20 sets of<br />
friends. One person was asked to tell the other about a difficult experience in his or her<br />
life. Observers were asked to watch the listener for 20 seconds, with the sound turned<br />
off.<br />
In most cases, the observers were able to tell which of the listeners had the “kindness<br />
gene” and which ones did not, said the article in the Proceedings of the National Academy<br />
of Sciences.<br />
“Our findings suggest even slight genetic variation may have a tangible impact on<br />
people’s behavior, and that these behavioral differences are quickly noticed by others,”<br />
explained lead author Aleksandr Kogan of the University of Toronto.<br />
Nine out of 10 people who were judged by the neutral observers to be “least trusted”<br />
carried the A version of the gene, while six out of 10 deemed “most prosocial” had the<br />
GG genotype, and were judged as more empathetic, trusting, and loving.<br />
But regardless of your genetic makeup, never fear. Kindness and compassion can be<br />
cultivated over a lifetime of selfless giving. Your family would be the best place to start.<br />
ThAN A<br />
A persoNAlized progrAM<br />
of liMUd ToRAh<br />
iN YoUr zechus<br />
I dated for quite a few<br />
years and had reached<br />
the point where I felt that<br />
barring a neis, I would not find<br />
the right one to marry. My sister<br />
saw the Chevrah Lomdei Mishnah<br />
ad in Binah and urged me to<br />
contribute. She actually made the<br />
call for me, and I sponsored the<br />
learning of Gemara Kiddushin.<br />
Less than three<br />
months after<br />
the completion<br />
of the learning<br />
in my zechus,<br />
I became a<br />
kallah! I was<br />
Less than three<br />
months after...<br />
I became a<br />
kallah!<br />
not only zocheh to get engaged<br />
to a true ben Torah, but was also<br />
fortunate to see the tremendous<br />
hashgachah that led to me finding<br />
my zivug. Thank you for the<br />
opportunity to earn such merit;<br />
may we only hear and share<br />
simchos in Klal Yisrael!<br />
SB, Lakewood, NJ<br />
732.364.7029<br />
ChevrahLomdeiMishnah.org
12 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
To Err is Human<br />
[ ]<br />
BY RATZY SZIMONOWITZ<br />
I<br />
t was my first day on the job, and by 5 A.M. I had been<br />
tossing and turning for quite a while. I was therefore only<br />
too happy to leave for work at a “normal” hour—ten to seven,<br />
to be exact. It was a frosty November morning, and the sun<br />
had barely made its presence known to those few hardy<br />
individuals who had already braved the outdoors. Despite my<br />
warm down coat and fur-lined boots, I felt myself shiver. My<br />
teeth were chattering as I walked briskly to the address where<br />
I was to begin work. Before climbing the stairs, I took one last<br />
glance at the exterior of the building. It was a nondescript, twostory<br />
corner brick house, set on a Boro Park street, pretty much<br />
like all the others on the block and beyond. Yet once inside, I<br />
knew that all similarities would end.<br />
I fumbled for the keys in my oversized pocketbook, and was<br />
glad to find them on the first try. With slight hesitation but with<br />
complete confidence, I turned the lock and walked inside the<br />
residence where I would be working as nurse. The house was<br />
eerily silent, and I felt like an intruder, an unwelcome stranger. I<br />
wished I was past the “introductory period” so I could enter the<br />
home as part of “them” rather than as an outsider. But I did not<br />
have much time to think, as no sooner had I removed my coat<br />
than my beeper went off. I glanced at the digital readout and<br />
recognized the number of my new supervisor, Joan. As dictated<br />
by protocol, I immediately called her on a nearby landline (this<br />
was the pre-cell phone era), and in her chirpy voice she asked<br />
whether—in addition to my other duties—I’d be so kind as to fill<br />
in for the residence’s AMAP (counselor certified in medication<br />
administration) who had called in sick. I readily agreed, as in<br />
truth, I had little choice in the matter. And even if I did have<br />
the option of refusing, it was really no big deal because I was<br />
working part-time on Beth Israel’s oncology floor, where I<br />
regularly infused lethal IV concoctions into the mangled veins<br />
of very sick patients. Dispensing a few relatively benign tablets<br />
to eight mentally disabled individuals would be a cinch in<br />
comparison.<br />
How wrong I was!<br />
I set to work immediately. The guys would be off to their day<br />
program by eight o’clock, and there was little time to spare. I<br />
quickly went to the nurse’s office, checked the patient roster, and<br />
decided to start with Moe. I had met him during my orientation<br />
and was enamored by his affable demeanor. During our brief<br />
encounter, I had learned that he liked to redeem recyclable soda<br />
bottles, and it being a Thursday, today would be his weekly trip<br />
to Pathmark’s recycling station. I pulled out his sizeable supply<br />
of medications and carefully reviewed the venerable “five rights:”<br />
The right patient, the right medication, the right dose, the right<br />
route, and the right time.<br />
Moe’s treatment regimen included the typical medications<br />
taken at the home: 2 tabs of Tegretol 100 mg; 1 tab Ativan 0.5<br />
mg; Risperdal 2 mg in AM, 3 mg in PM; and several other<br />
potent psychotropics, each intended to address Moe’s severe<br />
agitation and self-injurious behaviors that included beating<br />
his hands against the edge of just about any hard object that<br />
happened to be in front of him. It was little wonder that he<br />
frequently sustained serious trauma, often accompanied by<br />
fractures. What was unusual was that in spite of the medication<br />
regimen that tended to cause significant weight gain in others,<br />
Moe was rail thin. I still remember his weight: 102 pounds on<br />
a good day, which at 5’8” put him at a dismally low BMI (body<br />
mass index). But the meds had not left him unscathed—not by a<br />
long shot. They had done a mean number on Moe, most notably<br />
on his balance, which was way off. In fact, he had had a positive<br />
Rhomberg test, which meant that when he stood straight and<br />
closed his eyes, his body swayed back and forth like an autumn<br />
leaf in the breeze.<br />
Since Moe preferred to take his meds in bed, I gathered my<br />
supplies and climbed the rickety stairs to his upstairs bedroom.<br />
I cleared a spot on his cluttered dresser and carefully set down<br />
the container with the meds, the med sheets, and a cup of water.<br />
I felt more than ready to tackle a task that was a no-brainer for<br />
a pro like me. I was glad to see that Moe was already up, and<br />
introduced myself as his new nurse-turned-AMAP. Moe, in turn,<br />
was delighted to greet his new nurse; he was an old fashioned<br />
gentleman of a bygone era, who bowed and asked “How do you<br />
do?” upon introduction to ladies.<br />
His partiality to the female gender stemmed from a<br />
deep-rooted mistrust of men, dating back to the time when<br />
he was mercilessly teased by the boys in his class. Their<br />
gentler counterparts, by contrast, showed him kindness and<br />
understanding. Moe had been mainstreamed into a regular<br />
public school back in the early 1960s, not because of any<br />
particular educational theory, but because there were no other<br />
options for someone who was fully verbal and literate, yet<br />
lacked basic social skills. In time, he would be diagnosed with<br />
paranoid schizophrenia which, with proper medications and<br />
individualized behavioral programs, was held in check, and his<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 13
izarre behaviors partially normalized. Nevertheless, I still found<br />
him rather tense, his gaunt face and flat affect testimony to a<br />
troubled mind.<br />
“Are you ready for your meds?” I asked. It wasn’t about<br />
whether he wanted to take them or not; there was no choice<br />
in the matter. But allowing him to choose the time within a<br />
framework of an hour or so provided him with both dignity<br />
and a measure of control, wonderful tools to help him gain<br />
confidence and independence.<br />
“But, of course,” came Moe’s expansive response, for he did<br />
and said everything expansively. He then added apologetically,<br />
“Do you mind if I wash negel vasser first?”<br />
Moe adhered to his traditions with ferocious tenacity. He went<br />
to shul regularly, and cherished the shofar he’d inherited decades<br />
back, practicing the sounds weeks before Rosh Hashanah. (We<br />
won’t discuss the quality of the sounds that emanated from the<br />
ancient ram’s horn.)<br />
I dutifully performed the “three checks,” comparing the labels<br />
on the medication bottles to the entries on the medication sheets<br />
three times: first, when taking the bottles out of the bin; next,<br />
when handing the medication to the patient; and finally, when<br />
returning the bottles to the container. These checks, although<br />
tedious and time-consuming, are designed to avoid medication<br />
errors.<br />
All went well until I got to Moe’s last medication, Risperdal.<br />
As I reviewed the label on the bottle one last time before setting<br />
it back into the container, I was horrified to realize that I had<br />
made a grave error: I had given Moe his evening dose together<br />
with his morning dose, a total of five pills instead of the usual<br />
two he took upon rising. Moe had been overdosed, and I was<br />
the guilty party. My simple task had suddenly morphed into<br />
a disaster. Here I was, my very first day on the job, and I had<br />
already proved myself to be completely inept. I was a dismal<br />
failure, the proverbial klutz.<br />
What to do?<br />
My thoughts went into overdrive as I reviewed my options.<br />
There was really only one thing for me to do: pretend it never<br />
happened. Luckily it hadn’t involved Moe’s Ativan, a controlled<br />
substance that in light of its addictive properties, must be<br />
counted at each shift. The missing pills would not be noted.<br />
Since the culprit was Risperdal, which, although a potent<br />
antipsychotic with serious sedating effects, was not considered<br />
habit-forming, no one would pick up on my mistake. And so,<br />
with shaking hands and my heart beating wildly, I bid Moe a<br />
good day, gathered up my supplies, and continued to administer<br />
medications to the others who were by now waiting anxiously for<br />
their turn.<br />
The rest of the morning passed in a blur of activity. Before I<br />
knew it, the first of the buses arrived to take the residents to their<br />
respective day programs. As I was watching my new patients<br />
at the door I suddenly noticed Moe. Holding a bag filled with<br />
recyclable bottles, he was about to leave the residence. His bus<br />
came much later than the others, so he would have ample time<br />
to make it to Pathmark and back. His balance was off, but it was<br />
always off. Okay, so maybe it was slightly worse than the last<br />
time I saw him, but no two days are ever alike. I continued to<br />
rationalize until my conscience got the better of me.<br />
What about the cardinal rule of “First, do no harm,” the<br />
holiest of mantras, taught to every student nurse on planet<br />
Earth?<br />
What about “To thine own self be true”?<br />
And lastly, what about Moe? What if he fell and got hurt?<br />
How could I live with the guilt?<br />
I ran into the kitchen and dialed Joan’s number.<br />
“Hello, Joan.”<br />
“Oh, hi, Ratzy!” said she with her usual good cheer. “How was<br />
your first morning?”<br />
Wait until she hears the “good news,” I thought bitterly. I<br />
wondered by how many octaves her voice would fall. Most<br />
certainly to the sub-basement level.<br />
“Uh, Joan,” I croaked, “I need to report a little problem.”<br />
“What is it?” she asked, her voice sounding not overly<br />
concerned, but nowhere near as cheerful.<br />
“I gave Moe his evening dose of Risperdal.”<br />
Pause.<br />
“Well,” she finally managed to say, “it’s probably not a big deal,<br />
as we can give him the morning dose tonight. He’ll have gotten<br />
the daily dose, only in reversed order.”<br />
That would have been a pretty neat idea, if only I hadn’t given<br />
him the morning dose as well.<br />
“Actually,” I said plaintively, “I gave Moe the entire day’s<br />
Risperdal.”<br />
I waited to hear from Joan that I had nothing to worry about,<br />
but it wasn’t that simple. With a positive Rhomberg and bones as<br />
thin as an 80-year-old woman’s, Moe was in danger of losing his<br />
balance entirely, and even a slight fall could lead to serious bone<br />
fractures. Joan called Moe’s doctor, who was reassuring but at the<br />
same time did not want to take any chances. We kept a careful<br />
eye on Moe that day, providing him with a constant companion.<br />
And so went my first day on the job. To call it mortifying is<br />
putting it mildly.<br />
Many years have since passed, but I can honestly say that<br />
I have never grown more from an experience than that<br />
fateful morning, when I first started to work with the special<br />
population. I have since trained more AMAPs than I care to<br />
count, and have overseen untold numbers of direct care workers.<br />
My professional advice always concludes with the same words:<br />
“Above all, to thine own self be true.” No matter how many times<br />
I repeat it, I say it with the same heartfelt conviction I felt on<br />
that unforgettable day, when I managed to overcome my evil<br />
inclination and admit that I had erred, because it was really the<br />
only human thing to do. n<br />
14 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
DECEMBER 7, 2011<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772<br />
Delectable Dairy<br />
Etty’s Chanukah Menu<br />
Includes Irresistable Recipes Like This<br />
Better Than Snickers Bar Dessert<br />
You’re Invited<br />
Watch Your Children Delight<br />
at Victoria Dwek’s Chanukah Party<br />
Plus! Easy Ideas for Your Own Party
- Yves St. Laurent<br />
<br />
up<br />
to 50% off<br />
select merchandise<br />
Sunday to Thursday 11 – 6<br />
718.305.1680<br />
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(entrance on 48th Street)
Dear Readers,<br />
I am so excited to bring you “Pastry School with Paula Shoyer,” a<br />
monthly column where you won’t only enjoy tantalizing sweet recipes—<br />
you’ll also learn technique and the secrets behind successful pastry.<br />
The other night, at my son’s PTA, my friend Esther Dayon told me that<br />
she is cooking through Paula’s cookbook, The Kosher Baker. She said that<br />
every recipe of Paula’s is foolproof because, when she writes a recipe, she<br />
is descriptive and walks the at-home baker through every step. Baking<br />
is a science—and unclear directions can easily result in a flop. When you<br />
recreate Paula’s recipes in your own home, you won’t only emerge with a<br />
delicious dessert—you’ll emerge a better baker. Enjoy! -Victoria Dwek<br />
Pastry<br />
School<br />
<br />
<br />
Perfect<br />
Learn the technique of frying the crispiest,<br />
grease-free, most delectable doughnut holes<br />
Deep Frying<br />
I know I am not alone in saving my annual indulgence of fried food for Chanukah.<br />
Who am I to break with tradition? The truth is, if cooked correctly, fried food and<br />
desserts do not have to be heavy and greasy. As for all desserts, eating in moderation<br />
is key, which means that your small portion better taste really good, which is why I<br />
created the chocolate-hazelnut dipping sauce for my doughnut holes.<br />
The science behind deep frying is that if the oil is the proper temperature, then<br />
only the outside of the food is actually fried. The frying seals the outside layer and<br />
doesn’t allow the oil to penetrate the inside. If the oil temperature isn’t high enough,<br />
it cannot form the exterior seal and the food absorbs the oil, leaving you with a greasy<br />
taste. If the oil is too hot, then the outside burns before the inside is fully cooked.<br />
If you follow the deep-frying tips below (which apply to sweet and savory foods<br />
alike), you will have perfect doughnut holes that have a nice golden exterior and a<br />
fluffy, bread-like middle. Then go ahead and dip them in the sauce for a candy-bar<br />
experience.<br />
CHOOSE THE CORRECT OIL. The best oils<br />
to use are those that have a high smoke<br />
point, the point at which oil breaks down,<br />
starts to smoke and deteriorates both in<br />
<br />
<br />
can be heated to the high temperatures required<br />
for deep-frying without exceeding<br />
the smoke point. I prefer to use canola oil<br />
because it is low in saturated fat, and does<br />
not lend its own taste to the food you are<br />
frying, as peanut oil does.<br />
You will need<br />
a saucepan that can hold 2 inches of oil.<br />
Your saucepan must also have 2 inches of<br />
space above the oil because, once you add<br />
food to the oil, the oil will bubble up. I use<br />
a medium-sized saucepan.<br />
The<br />
right temperature is the key to successful<br />
frying. You need to buy a simple candy<br />
<br />
supermarkets. The ideal temperature range<br />
is between 360°F- 375°F. Check the temperature<br />
between batches and adjust the<br />
<br />
Like people, fried<br />
<br />
you fry too many pieces at one time, then<br />
they are likely to stick together and the<br />
temperature of the oil will also drop down<br />
too far. For these doughnut holes (and<br />
when frying vegetables), 6 - 8 pieces are<br />
optimum, for larger doughnuts fry no more<br />
than 4 at a time.<br />
For<br />
safety reasons, do not drop doughnuts or<br />
other food into the oil from more than a<br />
half-inch above the oil or it will splatter<br />
and may burn you. Treat them tenderly and<br />
place carefully into the oil.<br />
You need to babysit frying<br />
food as you would a newborn. Do not go<br />
anywhere while deep frying anything. Your<br />
food, and especially these little doughnut<br />
holes, can go from golden to burned in<br />
seconds.<br />
I set up a<br />
cooling rack over a cookie sheet covered<br />
<br />
remove fried food, let excess oil drip into<br />
the saucepan, and then place on the rack.<br />
<br />
best eaten as soon as cool enough to<br />
touch, but these doughnuts are still tasty<br />
many hours later. You can always reheat<br />
them in a 250°F to 300°F oven or the microwave<br />
oven.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 11
Pastry<br />
School<br />
<br />
<br />
Doughnut Holes with Gianduja Dipping Sauce<br />
Gianduja is an Italian chocolate made with hazelnut paste. In this sauce, you toast and grind up the hazelnuts yourself to<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
back into a ball and let rest for 10 minutes.<br />
<br />
<br />
DOUGHNUTS<br />
¼ ounce active dry yeast<br />
¾ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided<br />
¾ cup pareve plain soy milk<br />
4 tablespoons pareve margarine<br />
2 large eggs<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />
<br />
for sprinkling<br />
4 - 5 cups canola or vegetable oil<br />
(amount depends on the size of your<br />
saucepan)<br />
½ cup additional sugar for rolling<br />
doughnuts<br />
<br />
2.<br />
margarine, eggs, salt, vanilla, and 3 cups<br />
<br />
spoon or with a dough hook in a stand mixer.<br />
<br />
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the<br />
<br />
in, and see if the dough is smooth and not<br />
sticky. If the dough remains sticky, mix in the<br />
<br />
<br />
5.<br />
<br />
<br />
circles and place on the prepared cookie<br />
sheets.<br />
1. To make the doughnuts, in a large bowl,<br />
place the yeast, ¼ cup warm water, and 1<br />
teaspoon of the sugar and stir. Let sit 10<br />
minutes.<br />
4. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise<br />
for 1 hour in a warm place. I use a warming<br />
drawer on a low setting, or you can turn your<br />
oven to its lowest setting, place the bowl in<br />
6.<br />
back in a warm place—a warming drawer<br />
on low or in the oven (turn the oven on its<br />
lowest setting again for 5 minutes, then turn<br />
<br />
12 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
Pastry<br />
School<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
SAUCE<br />
½ cup whole hazelnuts<br />
6 ounces pareve bittersweet chocolate<br />
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar<br />
7. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a medium<br />
saucepan until it reaches 365°F on a candy<br />
thermometer. You may need to adjust the<br />
<br />
<br />
8. Take out a cookie sheet and cover with foil.<br />
<br />
stovetop.<br />
9.<br />
<br />
chopsticks to turn the doughnut over and<br />
cook another 45 seconds.<br />
10. Remove using a slotted spoon and place<br />
on the wire rack to cool.<br />
Repeat for all the doughnuts, checking the<br />
oil temperature in between batches. Roll the<br />
doughnuts, a few at a time, in the remaining<br />
¼ cup sugar and serve.<br />
Paula Shoyer is the author of <br />
Trendy. She teaches cooking and baking classes around the country and recently appeared<br />
. She can be found at www.paulaspastry.com. You can<br />
enjoy this column, Pastry School with Paula Shoyer, every month in Whisk.<br />
<br />
°F.<br />
<br />
baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or<br />
until nuts are browned and fragrant. Shake<br />
the pan after 10 minutes. Let cool a minimum<br />
of 10 minutes. I sometimes toast them the<br />
day before. Rub the nuts with your hands to<br />
remove as much of the skin as you can and<br />
discard the skin pieces.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
like peanut butter and sticks to the sides of<br />
the bowl. Melt the chocolate over a double<br />
<br />
about 1 minute, or until mixture is smooth.<br />
<br />
thoroughly combined. Serve alongside the<br />
doughnuts for dipping. Store covered at room<br />
temperature and stir before serving. If the<br />
sauce starts to get too thick the next day,<br />
reheat the sauce in microwave oven for 45<br />
seconds and stir until smooth.<br />
Yield: 75 doughnut holes<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 13
A personal journal<br />
A Family Like This<br />
By Gitty Gold<br />
LAST WEEK: Gitty came to the realization that things weren’t going well. The older<br />
girls confided in their school principal, telling him how much they dislike their new<br />
stepmother. The situation continued to deteriorate.<br />
September 1996<br />
CHAPTER six<br />
Iwas grateful for the calm and the quiet that would allow<br />
us to discuss the sensitive issue of this coming Shabbos<br />
without undue pressure, and as two sensible adults. I<br />
was still clueless as to why the children had not come<br />
home today, and I wanted to know why it had been<br />
decided (behind my back) that baby Nati was staying in<br />
Yerushalayim for Shabbos.<br />
Nachum did not respond immediately. He appeared<br />
downcast, fidgeting with his beard and rocking in his chair<br />
as though he were learning. I too was tense and uneasy,<br />
still under the spell of my dream. I began to speak first,<br />
choosing my words carefully. While I did not wish to<br />
offend Nachum, who was extremely sensitive, I did want to<br />
sound firm. One thing I wanted to make clear at the outset:<br />
I was not responsible for the death of his first wife, even<br />
though the children were likely to see me as such; they felt<br />
as though she had to go in order to make room for me. The<br />
children had to be told that this way of thinking was totally<br />
incorrect.<br />
I explained to Nachum that I completely understood<br />
the older girls finding it difficult to accept my presence,<br />
especially Mindel, the oldest. The age gap between the<br />
two of us was only 14 years. She had been the closest to<br />
her mother; they were confidantes and friends. When her<br />
mother passed away, she became the mother figure at home.<br />
Now, before the children even had a chance to recover, I<br />
had come to take their mother’s place.<br />
As parents, Nachum and I needed to set an example by<br />
demonstrating good middos and self-control. I had to move<br />
beyond my normal pettiness and not be hurt by their barbs.<br />
At the same time, the children had to be taught that the<br />
mitzvah of honoring parents includes your father’s wife. For<br />
that I needed Nachum. If he would stand by me and defend<br />
my honor, and if we would put up a united front, we would<br />
succeed. Decisions could not be made impulsively, without<br />
consulting one another. It was necessary to exercise the<br />
utmost care and consideration so there would be no regrets.<br />
In addition, it was imperative that we decide on one<br />
mentor we both respect (not a family member!) who could<br />
guide us objectively in times of doubt. I promised to do my<br />
best not to be overly assertive, and to mother his children in<br />
the same way I would want someone else to treat my own.<br />
I reminded him of how thoroughly he had checked my<br />
“credentials” before agreeing to meet me. If he had approved<br />
of me then, he must stand by me now.<br />
I felt that our conversation had been very productive.<br />
I had kept my calm throughout. That evening, Nachum<br />
missed kollel for the first time in his married life (except for<br />
when he was sitting shiva), but it couldn’t be helped. What<br />
was at stake was too important to ignore. When I was done<br />
speaking, Nachum filled me in on everything that had<br />
transpired that day, and told me about the meeting at the<br />
32 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
principal’s home.<br />
I was devastated. All the wind had been let out of my<br />
sails. I felt all my previous satisfaction fade away. What a<br />
shame that this part of the conversation had not taken place<br />
earlier! I fell apart. Hot, scalding tears ran down my face.<br />
I cried like a baby. I was so hurt, I felt as if I were being<br />
rubbed with sandpaper in an effort to see how sensitive<br />
my nerves were. I, Gitty, who had tried to live a dignified<br />
and independent life, the daughter of a maggid shiur, whose<br />
mother was famous and successful in her own right, who<br />
had bravely left the chassidus of my father in favor of a<br />
life of selflessness—now found myself in the lions’ den. It<br />
seemed that I would have to struggle—planning my battles,<br />
strategies, and defense tactics—just to stay alive. This was<br />
not the way things were supposed to be.<br />
When my tears were<br />
spent, we decided to<br />
let the matter drop<br />
until after Shabbos.<br />
In the meanwhile,<br />
we would greet the<br />
children as though<br />
nothing had happened.<br />
I needed to speak to a<br />
gadol b’Yisrael as soon<br />
as possible. I needed<br />
advice on to how to<br />
move forward, and<br />
for someone to tell<br />
me how much I was<br />
capable of handling.<br />
Nachum called his<br />
parents and told the children to come home. Gitty asked<br />
to be allowed to stay for the night but Nachum said no,<br />
insisting that everyone return home. I was pleased that<br />
Nachum had been firm. I was not looking for victories,<br />
but felt that we had to get everybody back under one roof.<br />
Inwardly, I prayed for success in projecting a united front<br />
not just in front of the children but also before the extended<br />
family, until that day when it would no longer be a “front”<br />
and we would truly be united, of one mind and one heart.<br />
I looked over at Nachum, with his kind eyes, wrinkles,<br />
and shoulders that seem to sag a little, and I was hopeful.<br />
I knew that we could and would do it. One day we would<br />
look back and be proud.<br />
Later that evening I called my mother and told her that I<br />
had had a rough day, and she should go get another bracha<br />
from the Rebbe for our continued success.<br />
The children came home. I settled the younger ones while<br />
the older girls got their school things ready for the next day.<br />
I pretended not to hear as Yaakov explained to Yitzchak<br />
that “she” was not really like their mother, but rather Abba<br />
had taken her to be like a servant so he could continue to<br />
learn Torah. Now that their sister Gitty was getting married<br />
“she” would do all the washing and the cooking.<br />
Yitzchak asked if that’s why Abba hadn’t gone to learn<br />
that evening. Yaakov didn’t have a reply.<br />
At 10 o’clock that night Nachum and I went to meet<br />
the school principal. I heard firsthand how the girls had<br />
released all their tension and anger of the last few months<br />
by venting and fuming against me. The principal was a wise,<br />
experienced man who believed that time would be a great<br />
healer. He warned me<br />
against getting into<br />
I had to move beyond my normal pettiness<br />
and not be hurt by their barbs. At the<br />
same time, the children had to be taught<br />
thathe mitzvah of honoring parents<br />
includes your father’s wife.<br />
direct confrontation<br />
with them.<br />
The principal gave<br />
us encouragement, and<br />
agreed that a united<br />
front was of utmost<br />
importance. He quoted<br />
a number of Torah<br />
sources to prove his<br />
point. He also advised<br />
me to go back to work<br />
as soon as possible.<br />
“It is unhealthy for<br />
the children to see you<br />
doing housework all<br />
day. It will only reinforce the belief that you were brought<br />
into the family to serve their needs. They must all have<br />
specific chores, and they must treat you with respect.”<br />
Before we left he took a look at my own Chani’s report<br />
cards, and agreed to accept her into the school after<br />
Chanukah. Leah Gold and Chani would be in the same<br />
grade but in parallel classes. In addition, he asked me<br />
to send him recommendations from my former school<br />
in case there was a job vacancy. Although he gave no<br />
guarantees for a position, I left feeling encouraged. I saw<br />
him as an ally who would do all in his power to help us<br />
succeed.<br />
We returned home exhausted but optimistic. n<br />
To be continued...<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 33
You’re Invited<br />
to My<br />
Chanukah<br />
BY VICTORIA DWEK<br />
Party<br />
14 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
I love entertaining—and<br />
I am one of those crazy people<br />
who doesn’t let anyone take a menu item<br />
off my hands. Though I’ve relaxed a bit over the<br />
last year or so (just a bit!), I like menus to be very wellplanned<br />
and coordinated. Pot luck is not for me.<br />
Last year, though, Chanukah coincided with the launch of Ami<br />
Magazine. If I slept in those days, it was a luxury…so no party there<br />
would be. But, when my sisters-in-law asked if my home could be the<br />
venue for the family Chanukah party and said that they’d bring all the<br />
food—I was thrilled. The party would be brunch time on Sunday—so that<br />
everyone could enjoy, and then arrive back home in time to light the menorah. I<br />
wouldn’t have to travel to Lakewood or cook? No problem!<br />
I picked up an ice cream cake from Sprinkles in Boro Park after leaving work<br />
one day (it was freezing outside and the owner promised me it wouldn’t melt<br />
before I got to Deal…if I didn’t put on the heat in the car), and had the party<br />
come to me.<br />
One sister-in-law, who wasn’t involved in the planning, was shocked, “Why<br />
did Vikki let us bring food this time?” Because it wasn’t my party!<br />
This year, though, I am going to be the hostess. I want my children and all<br />
my nieces and nephews to have the best time ever—and for the adults to<br />
feel like kids again too. I planned a day full of fun Chanukah activities, fun<br />
décor that can’t help but put everyone in a good mood, and a menu full<br />
of dairy Whisk recipes from throughout the year.<br />
I planned this party for Whisk readers so that anyone can<br />
easily implement any of the ideas you see here. Everything is<br />
inexpensive and accessible at craft stores.<br />
But for today, you don’t need to cook anything.<br />
Just come, enjoy, and be my guest.
If your children are like mine, they hardly sit at a table<br />
and eat a bite before they run off and find something that’s<br />
more fun to do. But when there are crayons at their place<br />
setting, the fun is at the table. Little crayon cello bags<br />
double as napkin rings on this table. Use a paper tablecloth<br />
or cover the kids’ table at your party with oaktags or giant<br />
coloring pages so they can color while they eat—and give<br />
the adults a chance to sit and enjoy the meal as well.<br />
To create a fun surface, I lined up paper squares in different<br />
patterns. On the buffet and adult table, these paper<br />
squares will serve as the table runner. Should I match<br />
everything in turquoise, or use a different bright color on<br />
each table? Either way works!<br />
16 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
Flowers die, and<br />
toys…well I can’t<br />
say that they last<br />
much longer. But<br />
they do make a<br />
cute centerpiece!<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 17
A<br />
B<br />
A<br />
B<br />
C<br />
D<br />
E<br />
B<br />
If I were a kid, I would think it has to be more<br />
fun to get a little bag of jelly beans sealed with a<br />
cute sticker than to just grab some from a bowl. As<br />
a mommy, I’m thinking, maybe fewer will end up<br />
on the floor? And there won’t be any fights that one<br />
child got more candy than another? And maybe<br />
they’ll want to save their little bag of jelly beans for<br />
later and we won’t end up with super-hyper kids by<br />
the end of the day? I’m dreaming, right?<br />
Want to know the secret to easy and delicious cake<br />
pops? To save the step of baking and crumbling a<br />
cake, I use a Babycakes cake pop maker. Cake balls<br />
bake in three minutes, and it’s a cinch to dip them in<br />
chocolate. Now for the delicious part. Since candy<br />
melts aren’t available chalav Yisrael, and colored<br />
baking bars don’t taste nearly as good as real chocolate—skip<br />
the colors and just use the best quality bittersweet<br />
chocolate you can find. I only use Alprose or<br />
Scharffen Berger. You can give them a punch of color<br />
using sprinkles. These shiny blue sprinkles are made<br />
by Wilton, who offers a huge variety certified by the<br />
CRC. They are very accessible, including at The Peppermill<br />
in Brooklyn.<br />
First—I love these huge latex balloons. They’re<br />
the giant 16-inch size—never mind the kids, they<br />
even get me excited. Every child loves balloons, and<br />
I thought it would be extra fun if each one received a<br />
balloon with a personalized bag attached (just keep<br />
extra balloons in the bedroom…avoid those tears<br />
when one pops or flies away). I’m going to attach<br />
empty bags to my balloons. This way, each child has<br />
a place to keep all the treats and prizes they’ll collect<br />
throughout the day.<br />
I pinned these mini donuts and cake pops onto a<br />
foam board. It’s another fun way to display the treats<br />
before they’re consumed.<br />
Who will win the dreidel tournament? One of the<br />
best parts of the game of dreidel is that older children<br />
and teenagers don’t have an advantage over the<br />
younger ones. It doesn’t matter how well you spin<br />
it, just where it lands! When they arrive at my party,<br />
every child (or adult if they want to play too!) will receive<br />
a bag with the same amount of fake money and<br />
gelt to use in the dreidel tournament (if they eat the<br />
gelt, they just have fewer chances to win). We’ll divide<br />
everyone up into groups of four to compete…winners<br />
will advance to the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and<br />
finally…the finals. At the end of the day, there will be<br />
one grand dreidel champion (although everyone will<br />
get a prize, of course).<br />
18 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
C<br />
E<br />
D<br />
F<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 19
20 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
Have Fun<br />
at Our Dreidel<br />
Factory!<br />
At my son’s upsherin, I set up a craft<br />
room where children could keep busy and<br />
have fun making Purim-themed projects,<br />
since his birthday is Rosh Chodesh Adar.<br />
It was a hit! At my Chanukah party, we’re<br />
going to have a dreidel factory. <strong>Jewish</strong>crafts.com<br />
has projects ready-to-go, or you<br />
can purchase your own wooden pieces.<br />
Amazingly, the standard wooden parts<br />
available at craft stores (shown here) make<br />
great dreidels. Cubes work as the body of<br />
the dreidel, doll heads for the bottom, and<br />
pegs for the top. Wheels (shown on the<br />
right) make a great dreidel stand. Markers<br />
and glitter pens (washable only!), mosaic<br />
tiles, sequins, rhinestones, foam pieces,<br />
and pom poms are some of the ways to<br />
decorate. If you can’t find foam Hebrew<br />
letters, print out nuns, gimmels, heys, and<br />
shins from the computer or let the kids<br />
just draw their own.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 21
NOVEMBER 23, 2011<br />
26 CHESHVAN, 5772<br />
IN FOOD CURRENTS. <br />
Shifrah Devorah Witt and<br />
Zipporah Malka Heller<br />
Go South with The Best of<br />
Mexican Kosher Cooking<br />
CONTENTS<br />
11 kislev, 5772<br />
december 7, 2011<br />
Features<br />
18 The Clean Bill<br />
Dangerous Choices<br />
Not vaccinating your children is<br />
more than a personal preference.<br />
How the anti-immunization<br />
<br />
By Sarah Perl<br />
26 For the Sake of My Daughter<br />
After 13 months in solitary<br />
<br />
extradition for a crime she didn’t<br />
commit. Will justice prevail?<br />
By Chaya Silber<br />
Departments<br />
8 Parsha<br />
By Batya Channa Shevach<br />
9 Golden Nuggets<br />
By Adele Jacobs<br />
10 Bytes<br />
By Chaya Silber<br />
12 Truth or Consequences<br />
<br />
made a terrible mistake. Yikes!<br />
By Ratzy Szimonowitz<br />
32 A Family Like This<br />
Gitty and Nachum resolve to put up<br />
a united front.<br />
By Gitty Gold<br />
34 Our Days<br />
A literary compilation.<br />
38 Here & Now<br />
By Sarah Shapiro<br />
26<br />
14<br />
in Whisk<br />
18<br />
Inside<br />
Whisk<br />
2 Manna<br />
Dinner is Dairy!<br />
Treat your Chanukah party<br />
guests with sumptuous dairy<br />
dishes like Sour Cream Apple<br />
Pie, Linguine with White<br />
Wine Sauce, Better Than<br />
Snickers Pie, and More.<br />
By Etty Deutsch<br />
10 Pastry School with<br />
Paula Shoyer<br />
New Column!<br />
Learn the techniques of<br />
perfect frying and enjoy<br />
delicious doughnuts with<br />
chocolate hazelnut dipping<br />
sauce.<br />
By Paula Shoyer<br />
14 You’re Invited to a<br />
Chanukah Party<br />
Be my guest in the pages of<br />
Whisk, and bring these easy<br />
party ideas into your own<br />
home.<br />
By Victoria Dwek<br />
22 Food Currents<br />
By Racheli Sofer<br />
Soup Season<br />
Etty Deutsch Warms the<br />
Table with Beef Bourguignon,<br />
Tomato Vodka, and the Best<br />
Chicken Soup yet.<br />
HOW ABOUT SOME<br />
<br />
4 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
DearReaders<br />
<br />
Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter<br />
Editorial<br />
<br />
Rechy Frankfurter<br />
<br />
Rabbi Avi Shafran<br />
<br />
<br />
Yossi Krausz<br />
<br />
Yitta Halberstam Mandelbaum<br />
<br />
Toby Worch<br />
<br />
<br />
Sarah Shapiro<br />
Art<br />
Art Director<br />
Alex Katalkin<br />
Junior Art Director<br />
Joy Yih<br />
Food<br />
<br />
<br />
Advertising<br />
Executive Account Manager<br />
Zack Blumenfeld<br />
Executive Sales Directors<br />
Frumi Meisels<br />
Surie Katz<br />
<br />
Sarah Sternstein<br />
<br />
Malky Friedman<br />
Markowitz Distribution<br />
917-202-3973<br />
646-247-0262<br />
Ami Magazine<br />
P: 718-534-8800<br />
F: 718-484-7731<br />
info@amimagazine.org<br />
Ami Magazine. Published by Mezoogmag LLC. All rights<br />
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form<br />
without prior written permission from the publisher is<br />
prohibited. The publisher reserves the right to edit all<br />
articles for clarity, space, and editorial sensitivities. Ami<br />
Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of<br />
advertisements in the publication, nor for the contents of<br />
books that are referred to or excerpted herein.<br />
At a recent simcha that was long in coming, a friend of mine urged me,<br />
“Write about the miracle that happened tonight. Let people feel encouraged that<br />
miracles really do happen.”<br />
I’ve been thinking about it all week.<br />
About miracles and our daily lives<br />
And the miracle of our daily lives.<br />
How much of a separation is there between the two?<br />
Is a simcha more miraculous because there was an interminable wait and yearning<br />
for it? The end result is, after all, the same: a shidduch is made, a child is born.<br />
simcha from another as a “miracle”?<br />
Last night I visited someone dear in the hospital. Each time I walk into a hospital,<br />
I am struck by the thought that by just stepping over the threshold of a<br />
<br />
a world unto its own. It has its own language, its own hierarchy, its own rhythm.<br />
Its denizens may have—as recently as that morning—been blithely going about<br />
their business, enjoying life, yet by nightfall found themselves thrust into this<br />
alternate universe of medicine and healing, at the mercy of and often totally<br />
dependent on others.<br />
<br />
able to live in the “outside world” suddenly seems like a miracle.<br />
In this issueer<br />
whose world, for the last few years, has consisted of prison and injustice. One,<br />
<br />
<br />
But then again, why is it a miracle if the courts realize that an injustice has been<br />
done?<br />
There is a famous story of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, who once answered<br />
the question “Isn’t Hashem everywhere?” with the simple reply, “Yes,<br />
Hashem is everywhere you let Him in.”<br />
it is with miracles: Although they are all around us, much depends<br />
on our willingness and openness to perceive them.<br />
Let’s let them in.<br />
May the prism through which we view the good in our daily lives be a kaleidoscope<br />
of miracles. So that every time a shidduch is made, or a baby is born—not<br />
only after years in shidduchim, or time spent dealing with infertility—we experience<br />
the simcha with the same profound joy for what it is: a miracle just the<br />
same.<br />
Rechy Frankfurter<br />
rechy@amimagazine.org<br />
4 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
Food Currents<br />
By Racheli Sofer<br />
Is It Safe to Drink?<br />
IApparently, it’s not just all the added sugar<br />
that is scaring parents away from apple<br />
juice. In their effort to substantiate Dr.<br />
Oz’s claim that apple juices contain arsenic,<br />
Consumer Reports tested<br />
almost 100 brands of apple and<br />
grape juice and found Dr.<br />
Oz’s shocking statement to<br />
be true: the juice bottles had<br />
higher levels of arsenic than<br />
federal regulations allow for<br />
bottled water. The researchers<br />
also found the juices to contain<br />
unacceptable levels of lead.<br />
Kiwi Cuts<br />
Blood<br />
Pressure<br />
According to a new<br />
study, all it might take<br />
is three kiwis a day<br />
to keep high blood<br />
pressure away. Men<br />
and women with mildly high<br />
blood pressure who ate three<br />
kiwi fruits a day for eight weeks<br />
had systolic blood pressure<br />
levels that were 3.6 millimeters<br />
of mercury lower than those of<br />
volunteers who ate an apple a<br />
day. Cardiologists were quick<br />
<br />
preliminary. Don’t stop taking<br />
your medication just yet….<br />
SNACK<br />
MORE,<br />
WEIGH LESS<br />
Doesn’t snacking put on the<br />
pounds? Not according to a new<br />
study published in the Journal<br />
of the American Dietetic Association.<br />
The researchers of this study found<br />
that people who are overweight tend<br />
to eat fewer times a day than people who<br />
are of normal weight. This is attributed to the<br />
fact that even though overweight people eat less<br />
often, they consume more calories each time they eat<br />
<br />
researchers found that, generally, the overweight people<br />
who participated in the study ate three meals and just over a<br />
snack a day, while the normal-weight participants ate three meals and<br />
just over two snacks a day. Sounds like grazing isn’t such a bad idea<br />
after all…<br />
QUICK TIP<br />
Add a large raw<br />
carrot to the hot oil<br />
in your pan before<br />
you start frying those<br />
latkes. The carrot will<br />
absorb all the brown<br />
pieces, leaving<br />
you with picture<br />
perfect latkes, and<br />
a pan full of oil that<br />
doesn’t need to be<br />
repeatedly replaced.<br />
22 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
FROM SEED TO SUPPER<br />
DIY<br />
Crème Fraiche<br />
Like sour cream, only richer and sweeter, crème fraiche<br />
is the perfect ingredient for so many of your milchig<br />
Chankuah dishes and treats. Whip it and serve over any<br />
dessert, or use it as a decadent thickener for soups and<br />
sauces in place of heavy cream.<br />
This luxurious dairy product that is unique for its rich<br />
and velvety texture is considered a staple in finer French<br />
cooking. Not so fast—it isn’t so readily available in kosher<br />
supermarkets. Fortunately, you can easily make it yourself:<br />
In a small pot, heat 1 cup heavy cream over low heat until<br />
it reaches room temperature, and pour into a Tupperware<br />
container.<br />
Add 2 tablespoons buttermilk (or milk with a pinch of<br />
vinegar, that has thickened), and the zest of one lemon; stir.<br />
Keep in a warm place near your stove or in a bowl filled<br />
with warm water for up to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.<br />
Refrigerate for 24 hours. Your homemade crème<br />
fraiche will keep for seven to 10 days refrigerated.<br />
Kitchen Lab<br />
Did you ever look up at that pile of<br />
peeled potatoes, waiting on your counter<br />
to be grated and fried into delicious<br />
latkes, only to discover that they’ve turned<br />
pink?<br />
Inside every potato there are little<br />
pockets of phenols—an acidic chemical<br />
compound—that are surrounded by<br />
enzymes. When you cut into a potato,<br />
you damage the cell walls, unleashing<br />
the phenols and enzymes that undergo<br />
a chemical reaction when exposed to<br />
oxygen, turning the potato surface pink.<br />
This is the same chemical reaction that<br />
causes fruits to turn brown and mushy.<br />
So, how do you keep your potatoes<br />
from blushing?<br />
First, use a sharp knife—it causes less<br />
damage to the cell walls. And, keep your<br />
peeled spuds soaking in freezing cold<br />
water while they wait their turn in the<br />
food processor. Cold water cuts down<br />
contact between the potato cells and<br />
oxygen, creating a temporary seal over the<br />
cut surface.<br />
BREAKING BREAD<br />
The spot where Whisk readers share their own recipes.<br />
1. Marinate sliced baby bella mushrooms with a sprinkle of<br />
Billybee teriyaki sauce for several hours.<br />
2. Sauté chopped garlic and the marinated mushrooms in<br />
olive oil.<br />
3. Meanwhile, steam green beans about 4 minutes. They<br />
should remain crisp and bright green.<br />
4. Shock in cold water.<br />
5. Combine mushrooms and pan drippings with green<br />
beans.<br />
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.<br />
Thank you to Manya Kanner for this sophisticated side dish that’s<br />
perfect for an elegant Chanukah meal.
It’s here! This week, a package with<br />
a secret ingredient arrived at the<br />
homes of our favorite columnists<br />
and cookbook authors.<br />
Now they’re busy creating special<br />
recipes for you.<br />
Stay tuned...
THE CLEAN BILL // Real People on the Quest for Health
Dangerous<br />
AS TOLD TO SARAH PERL<br />
Choices<br />
What the anti-immunization movement doesn’t want you to know<br />
It was 3:00 A.M. when my pager went off. I stumbled<br />
out of bed, wondering if it was going to be another<br />
mother of a cranky baby, and made my way to the<br />
study to return the call. It was Mrs. Gould, and she was<br />
sobbing into the phone. I found this to be alarming;<br />
Mrs. Gould is generally a very calm mother.<br />
“Mrs. Gould, what is it?” I asked.<br />
“My four-month-old son, Eli. He hasn’t been feeling well<br />
for a few days now. We are up in the Catskills in our country<br />
house. I took him to a local pediatrician who said that it’s<br />
probably a virus, and we should wait it out. But I just went in to<br />
check on him, and he’s very lethargic and vomiting. I took his<br />
temperature, and it’s 105.4!”<br />
As she spoke, I had a niggling feeling that there was<br />
something important I should be remembering. I racked my<br />
sleep-deprived brain, trying to remember. Suddenly I snapped<br />
awake.<br />
“Mrs. Gould,” I said, “your children are not vaccinated,<br />
correct?”<br />
“I know, Dr. Rosenberg, I know! But, please. It’s three o’clock<br />
in the morning, and my son is very sick. This is not the time for<br />
another lecture on vaccinations!”<br />
“You’re right, but because your child is not vaccinated, we<br />
have to consider much more serious possibilities.”<br />
<br />
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and<br />
Prevention), the use of vaccinations is “perhaps the greatest<br />
success story in public health…. Routine immunization<br />
has eradicated smallpox from the globe and led to the near<br />
elimination of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some<br />
preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now, few<br />
people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis,<br />
and other illnesses.”<br />
According to research by The Children’s Hospital of<br />
Philadelphia (CHOP), before the widespread use of<br />
vaccinations, each year in the United States, parents could<br />
expect polio to paralyze 10,000 children; rubella to cause<br />
birth defects and mental retardation in as many as 20,000<br />
newborns; measles to infect about four million children, killing<br />
3,000; Haemophilus influenza (Hib) to cause meningitis in<br />
15,000 children, leaving many with permanent brain damage;<br />
and whooping cough (pertussis) to kill thousands of infants.<br />
Therefore, vaccines have “literally transformed the landscape of<br />
medicine over the course of the 20th century.”<br />
Despite the powerful impact vaccines have had on public<br />
health, there are still parents who choose not to vaccinate<br />
their children. These parents believe they are acting with<br />
their children’s best interests in mind. But they often obtain<br />
their information from sources that are flawed, rather than<br />
from proven scientific findings. Much of the anti-vaccination<br />
movement is driven by cynicism toward the government and<br />
“greedy” pharmaceutical industries, and publicizes its theories<br />
through sensational stories in the media. The vast majority<br />
of health care professionals agree that it is misinformation<br />
that confuses parents who choose not to vaccinate their<br />
children, and that prevents them from making sound medical<br />
decisions.<br />
Children have no say in their own immunizations; their<br />
parents are the ones making the choice. It is precisely for this<br />
reason that many doctors have stepped in to advocate for them.<br />
For, as science has come increasingly under attack by the antivaccination<br />
movement, it is the children who have become the<br />
victims.<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 17
THE CLEAN BILL // Real People on the Quest for Health<br />
CASE STUDIES IN THE FAILURE TO IMMUNIZE<br />
CASE A:<br />
<br />
One afternoon, Mr. Hertz came in with his teenaged daughter,<br />
Leahle, for what he thought was just a “plain old-fashioned<br />
cough” that had been lingering for awhile. I checked his<br />
daughter thoroughly.<br />
“It’s seems like it’s just a virus,” I said. “Her lungs sound<br />
normal, so let’s give it some time. If it gets worse, please come<br />
back to see me.”<br />
“Thanks,” said Mr. Hertz. “You know me, Dr. Rosenberg. I’m<br />
not the paranoid type; I don’t usually come running in at the<br />
first possible sign of illness, but my new grandchild is coming<br />
tonight! My oldest daughter just had her first child, and will be<br />
moving in with us for awhile. My wife is really excited. She’s<br />
been preparing for weeks!”<br />
“Mazel tov! May you see lots of nachas from the new baby,” I<br />
said as I leafed through Leahle’s chart. I froze when I came to<br />
her vaccination record.<br />
“Your daughter never received the DTap booster shot, correct?”<br />
I asked Mr. Hertz.<br />
“Oh, that one!” he answered. “Yeah, well, she’ll get it eventually.<br />
We like to take it easy with the vaccinations. We don’t want to<br />
bombard our children with too many shots at once. Eventually<br />
we do get to everything.…”<br />
“But she has not yet received the DTap vaccination?”<br />
“No, she has not. But Dr. Rosenberg, I’m in a rush to get<br />
home. Can we please discuss this a different time? Our new<br />
grandchild will be arriving soon.”<br />
“No. Your new grandchild will not be arriving soon,” I<br />
corrected him.<br />
Mr. Hertz seemed confused.<br />
“Since your daughter was not vaccinated, we cannot rule out<br />
whooping cough. I understand that you plan to vaccinate her<br />
for that in the future. But the life-threatening illnesses that<br />
the vaccinations protect us against do not recognize parents’<br />
intentions. Good intentions offer no protection.”<br />
Mr. Hertz sighed as he took out his cell phone. “Don’t you<br />
think you are being too alarmist, Dr. Rosenberg? Isn’t whooping<br />
cough something from the Dark Ages?<br />
“Not quite,” I answered. “Because of children who haven’t been<br />
vaccinated, pertussis, also known as whooping cough, has made<br />
a comeback. According the CDC, last year there were 27,550<br />
cases of whooping cough in the U.S. Twenty-seven people died,<br />
including 25 infants under the age of one.”<br />
“So my daughter can’t bring the new baby into our home?” He<br />
glanced at his watch. “She’s supposed to be arriving any minute.<br />
What are we supposed to do?”<br />
“Mr. Hertz, under no circumstances should she be allowed<br />
into your house. Your daughter may have already contracted<br />
whooping cough,” I answered firmly.<br />
I asked him to wait a minute while I found a copy of a<br />
newspaper article I wanted him to read. His face paled when he<br />
saw the headline: “Whooping Cough Kills Palm Beach County<br />
Infant; Health Officials Urge Vaccination.”<br />
“As for your daughter, we will have to monitor the situation<br />
carefully. In the meantime, she must have no contact with the<br />
new baby. This is very critical. Remember, the best way to protect<br />
newborn babies who are too young to be vaccinated is by making<br />
sure that the people around them are vaccinated. The rest of your<br />
children should receive this vaccination at once.”<br />
“Okay,” said Mr. Hertz, “But my wife isn’t going to be happy.”<br />
“Happier than if her new grandchild became a statistic, G-d<br />
forbid.”<br />
<br />
Infants are more susceptible to infection than older children.<br />
If an adolescent or adult contracts whooping cough, it causes<br />
a severe cough that generally lasts for three months. In infants,<br />
however, it can be fatal. That is why it is recommended that<br />
babies be immunized at the first possible opportunity.<br />
Unfortunately, some parents ignore the recommended<br />
schedule. I remind my patients that the immunization schedule<br />
was formulated by medical researchers and experts, based on<br />
years of scientific investigation and constant monitoring for<br />
the benefit of infants and children. Based on years of scientific<br />
data, it is constantly being updated to reflect current research.<br />
Deviation from the recommended schedule at the whim of a<br />
misinformed parent can have devastating consequences.<br />
Regarding the argument against timely vaccinations “that<br />
vaccines overwhelm the immune system,” it is important to note<br />
that vaccines have drastically decreased the occurrence of many<br />
diseases and their complications. Vaccines accomplish this by<br />
strengthening the immune system, not weakening it. Any person<br />
who has ever seen a child in an I.C.U., suffering the devastating<br />
effects of severe bacterial meningitis, knows what a child with an<br />
overwhelmed immune system looks like. The vaccines we give<br />
our children do not have the ability to overwhelm the immune<br />
system, unlike the diseases that we prevent with these vaccines.<br />
18 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
CASE B:<br />
<br />
“Sorry to disturb you,” my secretary said to me one day, “But Mrs. Klein is on the<br />
phone. Her five-year-old son, Yossi, is currently undergoing chemotherapy.”<br />
“Yes, I remember.”<br />
“She says that he’s broken out in a rash. She recently switched to a new kind of<br />
detergent, and thinks it might be from that. She wants to know what to do.”<br />
“Since Yossi is on chemotherapy, his body is very sensitive right now and susceptible<br />
to illness. Tell her to bring him right in.”<br />
About an hour later Mrs. Klein came into my office with her son. I was walking<br />
through the waiting room when I noticed him. And his rash. Chicken pox, I realized<br />
immediately.<br />
“Mrs. Klein, please follow me into the exam room,” I said.<br />
I examined the rash carefully. “Mrs. Klein,” I said gently, “it seems that your son has<br />
chicken pox.”<br />
“Wait! He can’t have chicken pox! He’s been vaccinated.”<br />
“Yes, I know, but the treatment he’s been undergoing lately has weakened his immune<br />
system, and caused him to lose the immunity provided by the vaccine. Has Yossi been in<br />
contact with anyone who may have had chicken pox?” I asked.<br />
“I’ve actually been very careful to keep him away from children who might be sick,”
THE CLEAN BILL // Real People on the Quest for Health<br />
ARE<br />
<br />
SAFE?<br />
DR. SUSAN SCHULMAN<br />
Because I’m a pediatrician who is an old-timer, I have seen the<br />
diseases that these vaccinations are preventing. I’ve seen measles<br />
that caused brain damage, and mumps that caused encephalitis.<br />
Infertility doctors know all about the children who had mumps;<br />
they’re treating men who are now infertile because of it.<br />
<br />
year with Hib bacterial meningitis. Before the Hib vaccine was<br />
<br />
thing we would do is check for it with a spinal tap. We lived in<br />
constant fear, because if left untreated, even for 12 hours, the<br />
baby could die or be left brain damaged for life. When the vaccine<br />
came out, the number of cases in my practice went from about<br />
<br />
Some parents don’t want to vaccinate their children right<br />
away; they want to wait until the baby is older and “stronger.”<br />
I tell these parents that they are leaving their baby vulnerable<br />
and totally unprotected. In their minds, they are protecting their<br />
child from the vaccine; what they’re really doing is leaving their<br />
children open to the diseases these vaccinations protect against.<br />
There is never a good excuse to leave a child unprotected against<br />
potentially devastating preventable diseases.<br />
While there is a theoretical risk of an allergic reaction to a<br />
vaccine, it is exceptionally uncommon. And a connection between<br />
vaccines and autism or food allergies or other medical conditions<br />
has simply never been shown. In my practice, since 1976, I have<br />
never seen a severe reaction of any type from any vaccine.<br />
I truly believe that in order to do the best for our children<br />
we must do our hishtadlus. Leaving a child unvaccinated is not<br />
doing our hishtadlus. If you neglect vaccinations and something<br />
happens to your child, it’s your responsibility. It’s like allowing a<br />
<br />
It is our job as parents to protect our children. A parent who<br />
withholds vaccinations puts a child in potential danger. Vaccines<br />
are an incredible asset to the health and welfare of our families.<br />
A prestigious Brooklyn pediatrician Dr. Susan Schulman is the<br />
author of Understanding Your Child’s Health.<br />
she said tearfully. “Even when I took him to my sister’s<br />
wedding, I called everyone first to make sure that everyone<br />
was okay.”<br />
I nodded sympathetically. “I understand how careful you<br />
have been, but it happened anyway. And because of his<br />
condition right now, this is not good. I want you to contact<br />
your oncologist immediately to see what the next step should<br />
be.”<br />
A few days later, one of the children who had been at the<br />
wedding came down with chicken pox. His parents had<br />
assumed he was healthy, as he was still symptom-free at the<br />
time. “Was the child at the wedding vaccinated?” I asked Mrs.<br />
Klein.<br />
“Yes, he was vaccinated. But not for chicken pox. His<br />
parents figured that chicken pox is harmless, and decided to<br />
skip that series of shots. I guess they never dreamed what<br />
serious consequences their decision would have for my<br />
Yossi….”<br />
<br />
Some parents pick and choose which vaccinations they feel<br />
are important. “Flu shots?” I’m often asked. “Chicken pox?<br />
Harmless childhood illnesses. We all had them as kids and<br />
lived to tell the tale!”<br />
The first thing I answer is that for children with weakened<br />
immune systems, those on immunosuppressive drugs such as<br />
chemotherapy, or those who are taking steroids for asthma,<br />
chicken pox can be fatal. And for the sick and elderly, or<br />
pregnant women, these diseases are very dangerous. By not<br />
vaccinating our children, we put the whole community at<br />
risk.<br />
Not everyone is strong enough to be immunized; they may<br />
be too young or too sick to receive the vaccine, or for various<br />
reasons they cannot hold immunity. But by vaccinating our<br />
children we protect the weaker members of our community<br />
by creating what is known as “herd immunity:” When a<br />
significant portion of the population has been vaccinated, it<br />
provides a measure of protection even to those who haven’t<br />
been immunized. By vaccinating all of our children, we<br />
are protecting not only our children, but everyone in the<br />
community, including its vulnerable members.<br />
People think of vaccinations as a decision that only impacts<br />
the health of their own child; in truth, it impacts everyone.<br />
<br />
Of course, the most dangerous choice a parent can make is<br />
not to vaccinate a child at all. Which brings me back to Mrs.<br />
Gould and the frantic phone call at 3:00 A.M.…<br />
Continues on page 21<br />
20 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
THE CLEAN BILL // Real People on the Quest for Health<br />
Continued from page 20<br />
“Since your child was not vaccinated,” I said to Mrs. Gould,<br />
“there is a far greater danger that she contracted a serious<br />
illness.”<br />
“Like what?”<br />
“I don’t want to say anything without seeing your child. But<br />
you must take him to the emergency room immediately. And<br />
when I say the emergency room, I don’t mean the local Harris<br />
Hospital. Your child should be flown to one of the prominent<br />
hospitals in New York.”<br />
“Does it have to be now? Can’t it wait until the morning?”<br />
she asked.<br />
“No, you shouldn’t wait another hour. Your child’s life may be<br />
in great danger.”<br />
Mrs. Gould made an effort to pull herself together, and<br />
promised to call Hatzolah as soon as she hung up.<br />
“And one more thing, Mrs. Gould. When you get to the<br />
hospital, please give the ER doctor my pager number, and have<br />
him fill me in. I am very worried about Eli.”<br />
As it turned out, preliminary testing indicated that Eli<br />
had bacterial meningitis. When I spoke to the doctor, Eli’s<br />
condition was, thankfully, stable. However, the long term<br />
effects won’t be known for awhile; hearing loss and brain<br />
damage are major concerns in children who survive bacterial<br />
meningitis.<br />
When I think about this tragic story, I am bothered by the<br />
thought that it most likely could have been prevented, had<br />
Mrs. Gould vaccinated her son. Nowadays, it is almost always<br />
the unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated children who<br />
contract these severe diseases. We don’t always know why<br />
things happen in life, but it is our responsibility to make the<br />
right choices to protect our children and community. <br />
Acknowledgments: The author is particularly grateful to Chaya<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In many states, a<br />
religious exemption<br />
from vaccinations<br />
may be granted to a<br />
child when administration<br />
of vaccines<br />
would be in direct<br />
<br />
tenets of his/her religion,<br />
or when administration<br />
of vaccines<br />
would interfere with<br />
the exercise of the<br />
child’s religious rights. During<br />
the mumps outbreak in Lakewood,<br />
New Jersey in 2009,<br />
several physicians serving<br />
the Orthodox community<br />
provided medical guidance to<br />
the local <strong>Jewish</strong> schools, and<br />
included a psak from the Bais<br />
Hora’ah of Lakewood that<br />
<br />
on “religious exemptions” to<br />
vaccinations:<br />
psak<br />
“…Schools should certainly<br />
comply with the requirements<br />
that are established<br />
by appropriate governmental<br />
agencies with regard to im-<br />
<br />
there is no place [in Torah] for<br />
someone to claim a ‘religious<br />
<br />
not only allows im-<br />
<br />
have them in accordance<br />
with the prevailing medical<br />
opinion.”<br />
25 Kislev 5770, Lakewood<br />
<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 21
THE CLEAN BILL // Real People on the Quest for Health<br />
<br />
The History of the Anti-Vaccination Movement<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The timing was right. The parents of<br />
the anti-vaccination generation didn’t<br />
<br />
that the vaccinations had eradicated. To<br />
these parents, polio and diphtheria and<br />
pertussis were historical incidents. They<br />
<br />
However, what these parents did<br />
see was the discomfort that their<br />
children had to go through when they<br />
were vaccinated. It isn’t pleasant to<br />
bring your newborn baby in for shots;<br />
perhaps these parents were looking<br />
for an excuse to avoid this situation.<br />
Vaccinations have become a scapegoat<br />
in medicine because they are a sore<br />
topic for the parents. Another strong<br />
factor is misinformation: coincidental<br />
evidence lacking an objective medical<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Science, Risky Medicine, and the<br />
and his latest<br />
one: <br />
Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens<br />
Us All<br />
<br />
basis. An incident in 1998 aroused<br />
widespread controversy and fear of<br />
vaccinations. A British physician claimed<br />
that his research showed a link between<br />
autism and the measles vaccine in 12<br />
children. His research was later found<br />
to be fabricated and false; he and his<br />
research were completely discredited.<br />
But that was only after widespread fear<br />
had set in, causing people, especially in<br />
his native U.K., to stop giving the MMR<br />
vaccine to their children.<br />
<br />
studies have been done around the<br />
world, involving hundreds of thousands<br />
of children, that have disproven the<br />
theory that the MMR vaccine causes<br />
autism. In 2009, after extensive<br />
<br />
ruled against legal claims linking autism<br />
with such vaccines, calling the theory<br />
<br />
that vaccinations cause autism is a classic<br />
example of fear, scandal, and alarming<br />
media headlines convincing people,<br />
<br />
and data.<br />
When it comes to medical decisions,<br />
some people are compelled by stories<br />
they hear, rather than by objective<br />
information. As soon as they hear an<br />
alarming story, which often completely<br />
lacks any medical basis, they are<br />
convinced. It is an unfortunate reality that<br />
these anecdotes and stories drive public<br />
opinion.<br />
Science is not a democracy. Science is<br />
fact—with evidence and statistics to back<br />
it up.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In recent years the anti-vaccination<br />
movement has been losing momentum. In<br />
2010 there was an outbreak of whooping<br />
<br />
children. In 2009 there was an outbreak<br />
of mumps, and in 2011, an outbreak of<br />
measles.<br />
The media are now covering these<br />
outbreaks of deadly diseases that could<br />
have been prevented with vaccinations.<br />
These stories are shaking people up,<br />
and they are once again beginning to<br />
appreciate what vaccinations do.<br />
<br />
<br />
At present, 48 states allow parents to<br />
obtain a religious exemption as grounds<br />
for not vaccinating their children. I do<br />
not believe that religion plays a role<br />
in vaccinations. Whenever I encounter<br />
parents who want to use religion as a<br />
basis for making a poor medical decision<br />
for their children, I ask them to bring me<br />
a letter from a clergyman explaining why<br />
it goes against their religion. No one has<br />
ever returned with such a letter.<br />
22 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
24 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
For<br />
Sake<br />
the<br />
of My<br />
by Chaya Silber<br />
Daughter<br />
WILL JUSTICE PREVAIL FOR VALERIE CARLTON?<br />
Last Friday I drove up to the Rockland Country<br />
Correctional Facility at 1:00 P.M., a bit<br />
apprehensive. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I’d<br />
(fortunately) never been in jail before. Located<br />
behind the New City Courthouse, the jail is a drab, rather<br />
unassuming building, surrounded by a low gate. It is a minimal<br />
security prison, where people are incarcerated for petty crimes,<br />
usually until they find a lawyer and can post bail.<br />
Nervous about what I’d encounter, I entered the main lobby,<br />
where three armed sheriffs were sitting at their computer<br />
terminals, looking none too friendly. There was a large metal<br />
detector, the type used in airports, blocking access, and a<br />
forbidding corridor stretched beyond.<br />
I knew that visiting hours for Valerie, whose last name<br />
begins with a C, were from 12:30-2:30. (Visits are arranged by<br />
alphabetical order and the day of the week; there are four groups<br />
of prisoners, each with its own visiting hours.)<br />
“Can I help you?” One guard looked up, wondering what I’d<br />
come for.<br />
“I, uh, I’m looking for Valerie Carl—”<br />
“You can’t see her now,” the sheriff replied tersely, even before<br />
I’d finished.<br />
“Why not?” I had checked and rechecked the visiting hours<br />
on the automated message system. I had cleared the visit with<br />
Valerie’s lawyer, and was looking forward to meeting with her<br />
and trying to make sense of her situation.<br />
“Visiting hours started an hour ago, and she already has a<br />
visitor,” he explained. “Every prisoner is allowed only two visits a<br />
week; if someone is already visiting, that counts as a visit.”<br />
“Can’t I join the other visitor?” I know I sounded obnoxious,<br />
but Valerie’s tale had stirred my passion for justice, and I really<br />
needed to speak with her.<br />
“I’m sorry, but those are the rules. If you want to see her, come<br />
back on Saturday morning. Oh, sorry, that won’t work for you,”<br />
he glanced at my obviously religious attire. “Well, you can try<br />
Monday at 12:30. But be here on time, even a few minutes early.”<br />
I thanked the sheriff and left, casting an anxious glance behind<br />
me toward the sinister vibes I’d picked up. Poor Valerie. To think<br />
she was stuck here for another month, until the governor would<br />
make a decision whether or not to intervene….<br />
Actually, Valerie was better off in the Rockland County Jail<br />
than where she’d come from, but I was only to find that out<br />
later, after I’d spoken to two of her lawyers and a concerned<br />
community activist.<br />
My quest to visit Valerie hit another roadblock on Monday,<br />
when her lawyer tersely informed me that another journalist<br />
from the secular media was meeting with her, and it was critical<br />
that she receive the proper exposure. My request to join the<br />
other journalist was politely refused; it was suggested I try on<br />
Wednesday, at 8:30 in the morning.<br />
During this time I did not sit by idly. In addition to my<br />
numerous deadlines and journalistic responsibilities, I read<br />
all I could about the Valerie Carlton saga, including lawyers’<br />
statements, articles in the media, and the investigation of a<br />
forensic scientist whose testimony cleared her of all charges.<br />
By the time Wednesday morning arrived, I was consumed<br />
with the Valerie Carlton saga. Each person I shared the story<br />
with was incredulous. It was difficult to fathom that, in this day<br />
and age, such rampant abuse of judicial powers can exist. It is<br />
hard to understand how an innocent woman, who was tarred and<br />
feathered by her vindictive ex-husband, can be beaten bloody by<br />
a six-foot-tall security guard, and then charged with assaulting<br />
him.<br />
I was itching to write the story, but wanted to visit Valerie first.<br />
Then I got another phone call from Michael Ettinger, Esq., one<br />
of her lawyers. “I’m really sorry, but Valerie is not feeling well, and<br />
cannot see any visitors,” he said. “She is suffering from PTSD<br />
(post traumatic stress disorder) after what she experienced, and<br />
needs a few days to recover.”<br />
I resigned myself to writing the article without seeing Valerie<br />
in person. Yet I knew I needed more information from a reliable<br />
source. After all, her lawyers are presumably working for her<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 25
A team of activists, including her<br />
lawyers and Mr. Kalman Weber,<br />
tried to appeal to Judge Kelly of<br />
Rockland County,<br />
benefit; I wanted to speak with someone who knew Valerie and<br />
could vouch for her character.<br />
My research led me to Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger of Yeshivas<br />
Ner Yisroel, the prominent rosh yeshiva and askan who has been<br />
instrumental in helping tens of thousands of people. He works<br />
around the clock for the benefit of klal Yisrael, speaking with<br />
politicians and the “Who’s Who” of the political world to help<br />
those in trouble.<br />
Rabbi Neuberger immediately remembered Valerie, who had<br />
come to him for assistance several months earlier. “Valerie is a<br />
wonderful, sincere baalas teshuvah,” he said. “I knew Valerie’s<br />
mother as well. These are good people, who didn’t have the<br />
benefit of a Bais Yaakov education. But she is a wonderful<br />
mother to her little girl, and completely innocent of the trumped<br />
up charges against her.<br />
“It’s terrible what they did to her,” Rabbi Neuberger stressed.<br />
“The whole system there is treif.”<br />
By now you are probably wondering what this is about, and<br />
how Valerie’s saga affects us all. Bear with me another few<br />
moments, as I start at the beginning.<br />
Where it all began<br />
Valerie Carlton was born to a <strong>Jewish</strong> mother and non-<strong>Jewish</strong><br />
father, and was raised in an environment devoid of religious<br />
identity. Her mother, a stewardess for American Airlines, was<br />
warm and caring. Her father, it is alleged, was verbally abusive;<br />
he constantly mocked her and tried to make her feel worthless.<br />
Often, children from abusive homes end up marrying abusive<br />
spouses, and the vicious cycle continues.<br />
Although Valerie suffered from a learning disorder, her father<br />
refused to recognize it or treat it in any way. It was only after her<br />
parents were divorced that a teenaged Valerie finally received<br />
a diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder, which affects the<br />
way the brain processes auditory information. This means that<br />
she has difficulty processing the meaning of sounds when there<br />
is background noise, and may have difficulty understanding<br />
what people are saying if she is not looking directly at their lips.<br />
Nonetheless, despite this disability, Valerie completed nearly all<br />
the requirements for a degree in social work.<br />
Valerie married Russell Carlton, an Evangelist Christian.<br />
They moved to a rural neighborhood near Annapolis, toward<br />
the south of Maryland. When their daughter, Winnifer, was<br />
born, Valerie was a proud and doting mother, who lavished all<br />
her love and attention on the little girl. Unfortunately, Russell,<br />
who was diagnosed with psychopathic tendencies, was explosive<br />
and controlling. A short<br />
while after the little girl’s<br />
birth, Russell and Valerie<br />
were divorced due to<br />
irreconcilable differences.<br />
As long as Valerie<br />
continued raising their<br />
child as a Christian, and<br />
sending her to church,<br />
Russell basically left her<br />
alone. The trouble began<br />
when Valerie, alone and<br />
friendless, reached out<br />
to her coreligionists in the greater Baltimore community. It was<br />
during that time that Rabbi Neuberger first met her, and he was<br />
impressed with her commitment to her daughter and her faith.<br />
When Russell heard that his ex-wife was learning about her<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> heritage, and wanted Winnifer raised as a Jewess, his fury<br />
knew no bounds.<br />
Come what may, Mr. Carlton would make sure Valerie ended<br />
up behind bars for a long time, possibly forever. And not just in<br />
any jail. The prison in Harford County, Maryland was privately<br />
owned and run by a local sheriff, a close friend of Russell’s<br />
family. Due to overcrowding in state prisons, several states<br />
“lease” their prisoners to private jails, where the supervision and<br />
maintenance are privately run. This particular prison is notorious<br />
for “accidental deaths,” and is answerable to no state authority.<br />
How was it possible to get an innocent person behind bars for<br />
an imaginary crime?<br />
The answer? Easy as pie.<br />
All Russell had to do was call the Child Protective Services,<br />
and say his daughter was being abused by her mother.<br />
One phone call. That’s all it took.<br />
When I express amazement that it is possible, in today’s day<br />
and age, to accuse someone of child abuse without any proof,<br />
Ettinger, Valerie’s attorney, says, “That’s because you’re naïve.<br />
You have no idea what goes on in our country, all in the name of<br />
justice. The system is broken.”<br />
The child abuse charges were taken very seriously, and<br />
Winnifer, then six years old, was interrogated. Although in<br />
situations like these social workers often lead the child to say<br />
what they want to hear, Winnifer was a clever girl, and kept on<br />
repeating the truth: that her mother loved her, never yelled at her,<br />
or hurt her in any way. The interview showed no proof of abuse.<br />
Yet the truth did not agree with Russell’s plans, so he twisted<br />
the facts to meet his requirements. He procured testimony from<br />
26 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
a next door neighbor, who said that her<br />
daughter was also abused by Valerie.<br />
Interestingly enough, the same neighbor<br />
had lodged the same complaint against<br />
several of her own family members, and<br />
had a history of making false charges.<br />
No matter. Now, Social Services—aided<br />
and abetted by Russell Carlton—claimed<br />
to have “two little girls” who were abused.<br />
According to Valerie’s advocate, Dr.<br />
Leora Rosen, “Valerie never objected to<br />
Russell continuing to take their daughter<br />
to church. But when Valerie began her<br />
return to Judaism and began to light<br />
Sabbath candles with her daughter<br />
present, Russell, his church, and the judges<br />
and sheriffs viewed her religious practice<br />
as a crime.”<br />
After a brief trial, during which Valerie<br />
was not given an opportunity to defend<br />
herself, Judge William Carr put her<br />
behind bars in early 2009.<br />
Valerie had married a man who<br />
battered her, abused their young child,<br />
and then vowed to destroy her. Russell<br />
Carlton turned out to be a psychopath<br />
who used his Evangelical Christian and<br />
powerful, local connections against the<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> woman who dared to return to her<br />
roots, light Sabbath candles, and “practice<br />
Judaism” with her daughter. When he<br />
heard she now planned to marry a <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
man, he wasted no time in taking action.<br />
Both the search warrant and the<br />
document for the criminal charges<br />
against Ms. Carlton stated that she was<br />
an “Orthodox Jew who practiced <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
customs with her daughter whenever they<br />
were together.”<br />
What followed next was beyond<br />
horrific.<br />
Shortly after she was jailed, on April 15,<br />
authorities put Valerie’s newborn son in<br />
foster care, in the custody of the Delaware<br />
County Social Services. On June 11,<br />
two months later, the infant was dead,<br />
having been accidentally smothered by his<br />
caretaker. The foster care agency denied all<br />
liability or accountability.<br />
Valerie was informed of her baby’s<br />
death while she was in jail, but the<br />
prosecutor arranged that the chaplain<br />
was not permitted to perform this duty.<br />
Instead it was done by an employee of the<br />
sheriff ’s office, who brutally announced<br />
that the baby was dead, then had Valerie<br />
strapped into a medieval torture device<br />
called a “restraint chair,” which caused her<br />
to choke on her own mucus as she wept<br />
and tried to pray for her dead baby. (After<br />
this incident the Sheriff ’s department<br />
claimed, in writing, that Valerie was<br />
“talking in tongues” because she was<br />
praying in Hebrew.)<br />
Her punishers literally tied her down in<br />
a chair and told her that her son was dead,<br />
waiting to see if she would “break.”<br />
For 13 months, Valerie was kept<br />
in solitary confinement “for her own<br />
protection,” in order that she should not<br />
be harmed by other inmates, who were<br />
told she was an abusive mother.<br />
But Valerie really needed protection<br />
from her guards, who often kept her in<br />
restraints, hands and feet tightly shackled.<br />
She was threatened, cursed, and “roughed<br />
up” by the guards, who banged her head<br />
into the wall as sport. Her jailers denied<br />
her medical treatment after these beatings.<br />
According to a former inmate<br />
(contained in an affidavit), he “personally<br />
witnessed Valerie’s kosher food opened<br />
and handled by numerous prisoners. It<br />
was then partially rewrapped and taken…<br />
for Valerie to consume. She was singled<br />
out for this treatment especially by the<br />
‘Black Muslims’ working in the kitchen.<br />
They wanted to contaminate her food<br />
because she is <strong>Jewish</strong>.”
WHAT IS A PRIVATE JAIL,<br />
AND HOW DOES IT WORK?<br />
A private prison, jail, or<br />
detention center is a place<br />
in which individuals are<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
United<br />
<br />
in Europe to use private prisons<br />
Wolds<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Finance Initiative, where<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
, the GEO Group<br />
and <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
sentence the juveniles without<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
All this time, the public defender assigned to her by the<br />
authorities, Harford County Defender John Janowich,<br />
was doing his “job,” cooperating with the sheriff who ran<br />
the prison—the sheriff who made destroying Valerie his<br />
personal mission.<br />
How could the prison wardens allow these injustices to<br />
occur?<br />
According to other inmates, who later testified about<br />
conversations they had overheard, the jailers wanted to drive<br />
her to the brink, so that she would never be allowed custody<br />
of her daughter or even visitation. The sheriff and various<br />
law enforcement officials kept offering her a way out: If she<br />
pleaded guilty to “Not Criminally Responsible,” she would<br />
be allowed out of jail. However, she would be tarred as an<br />
“insane” mother whose visitation with her daughter would<br />
have to be supervised.<br />
“It’s a witch-hunt, a travesty of justice,” said attorney<br />
Michael Ettinger. “She was tarred with a scarlet letter,<br />
vilified by the state prosecutor and media. She was put in<br />
solitary for her own protection, then abused and tortured by<br />
the guards in solitary.”<br />
Philip Murphy, Esq., another one of her attorneys, called<br />
the court case a “sham proceeding.”<br />
Valerie knew she was innocent, and refused to cooperate<br />
with their vicious plot. She would rather suffer until the<br />
truth was uncovered, because that was her only hope of<br />
seeing her daughter again.<br />
Finally, Valerie’s desperate pleas for help were heard,<br />
and some friends hired an attorney, Issac Klein, Esq., from<br />
Baltimore. Within days of hearing about the case, Klein<br />
uncovered a shocking, sordid tale of abuse and torture.<br />
Dr. Mark J. Mills, a forensic psychiatrist who sits on<br />
the faculty of Columbia University, was asked to evaluate<br />
the charges of abuse. After an intense investigation and<br />
interview with all the parties involved, Mills wrote a letter<br />
saying that Carlton “is not psychotic, not dangerous, and it<br />
is unlikely that she ever abused a child.”<br />
After 13 months of torture and abuse, Valerie Carlton was<br />
formally cleared of all charges. The Harford County Jail had<br />
no choice but to release her. However, they had one more<br />
diabolical trick up their sleeve.<br />
Instead of apologizing to Valerie for the pain and torture,<br />
they prepared a “goodbye present” to remember. This would<br />
protect them from being sued for false arrest and other<br />
charges.<br />
On March 8, 2010, shortly before Valerie was scheduled<br />
to be released, she was standing in the hallway during her<br />
one “free” hour a day when she could walk around and not<br />
be locked in her cell. Suddenly (and this was all caught on<br />
security cameras) the guard, who sat at his desk, walked up<br />
the stairs and approached her. Without warning, he grabbed<br />
her and began to beat her savagely, throwing her to the<br />
ground.<br />
In the seven-minute video, the six-foot-tall guard is seen<br />
pummeling Valerie, finally lifting her up off the floor and<br />
28 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
slamming her head into a wall. Then<br />
the guard left her, dazed and bleeding,<br />
and calmly went back to his desk, where<br />
he filed a report saying that Valerie had<br />
assaulted him.<br />
It seems like a horror novel, but it is<br />
sadly all too true.<br />
Instead of waiting for Valerie to recover<br />
from her wounds and file a complaint, the<br />
guard preempted her, filling out a form<br />
stating that the petite, frail woman had<br />
assaulted him.<br />
There was only one problem. The<br />
overwhelming evidence of what actually<br />
happened is clear to anyone who sees<br />
the video feed, available on a website<br />
established by Valerie’s friends.<br />
No matter. As soon as Valerie was<br />
released, she fled to Monsey, terrified<br />
for her life. She had heard some of the<br />
inmates saying that she would be coming<br />
back soon, to face additional concocted<br />
charges. “When she comes back, we’ll<br />
finish her off,” the inmates gloated.<br />
And these weren’t just empty words.<br />
Several inmates had been Tasered to<br />
death or thrown down stairs and left<br />
permanently disabled in the very same jail.<br />
The jail officials had never been charged,<br />
and there were no investigations. In this<br />
jail of horrors, the sheriff and his cronies<br />
wield absolute power over the lives of<br />
their captives.<br />
As Valerie tried to piece her life<br />
together (her daughter was still living with<br />
her ex-husband, and her son was dead)<br />
she received the news she’d been dreading.<br />
Shortly after her mother, Winnifer’s<br />
grandmother, sent the CPS a request<br />
asking to visit the child, Russell Carlton<br />
put Plan B into motion.<br />
An extradition order was speedily sent<br />
to the Rockland County Courthouse,<br />
asking for Valerie Carlton to be sent back<br />
to Harford County, to face charges of<br />
assaulting a guard!<br />
The death sentence had been delivered,<br />
signed and sealed.<br />
When Valerie heard about the order,<br />
she told her friends that it was only a<br />
matter of time before the jail guards<br />
and inmates carried out their threat.<br />
“Be prepared to write my obituary,” she<br />
warned.<br />
Valerie said she would rather be a<br />
condemned criminal on death row than<br />
sent back to the Jail of Horrors. “At<br />
least on death row I’ll be treated with<br />
respect, and when my end will come, it<br />
will be painless. In that torture chamber<br />
jailhouse, I know I’ll die a violent and<br />
painful death. The only question is how<br />
long it will take.”<br />
When Valerie’s friends and newfound<br />
support system heard what was awaiting<br />
her, there was an outcry of protest. How<br />
dare the authorities send an innocent<br />
woman back into the lions’ den?<br />
On October 11, 2011, Valerie was<br />
arrested and placed in the Rockland<br />
County Jail. Rockland County authorities<br />
had no jurisdiction to investigate the<br />
charges; their responsibility was to arrest<br />
a “wanted criminal,” and arrange for her<br />
transportation to Harford County.<br />
A team of activists, including her<br />
lawyers and Mr. Kalman Weber, tried<br />
to appeal to Judge Kelly of Rockland<br />
County, but he explained that he had no<br />
right to intervene in an extradition order<br />
from another state. All he has to do is<br />
make sure the order was properly filled<br />
out, and comply with the instructions.<br />
Sensing imminent danger, Valerie’s<br />
lawyers sent an emergency petition to<br />
Governor Cuomo, asking him to stop the<br />
extradition order, and save an innocent<br />
life. The Governor’s staff has asked for a<br />
month’s time to review the information.<br />
In the meantime, Judge Kelly refused to<br />
grant bail.<br />
At present, as the Governor’s office<br />
reviews the information, Valerie is in<br />
solitary confinement in the Rockland<br />
County Jail, suffering from a recurrence of<br />
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.<br />
Although there are powerful grounds to<br />
sue the Harford County Jail, and uncover<br />
the pattern of horrific abuse, right now<br />
the focus is on the immediate danger to<br />
Valerie’s life.<br />
She has not seen her now 10-year-old<br />
daughter, her only surviving child, in years,<br />
and doesn’t know if she will ever see her<br />
again.<br />
Valerie (whose Hebrew name is Serach)<br />
Carlton deserves our tefillos and support.<br />
She is a <strong>Jewish</strong> mother, pining for her<br />
daughter, now fearing for her life.<br />
Dare we ignore her plea for help?
Postscript:<br />
A Visit to<br />
Valerie Carlton<br />
It’s Tuesday afternoon as I try to type these words. I just<br />
returned from a visit to Valerie Carlton in prison, and my hands<br />
are still trembling.<br />
I’ve read many articles and testimonials about what prison can<br />
do to a person, and what a degrading, inhumane experience it is.<br />
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I’ll second that.<br />
After trying unsuccessfully to visit for about 10 days, and<br />
being given the runaround each time (Valerie is receiving<br />
medical care; her visiting hours were changed; she is being held<br />
in administrative detention, etc.) I was finally given the okay this<br />
morning. As long as I got there before 10:00 A.M., I would be<br />
allowed to see her until 10:30.<br />
I arrived at the jail, about a 20 minute ride from my home,<br />
with literally seconds to spare. I hurried into the building, and<br />
presented my ID to the guard. He conferred with someone<br />
on the phone, and told me the visit was approved. I was to put<br />
everything I own into a locker. “That includes earrings, watch,<br />
cell phone, belt, keys…everything.”<br />
In my haste to put my things under lock and key, I locked<br />
away my ID and had to go back and retrieve it. The guard urged<br />
me to “slow down.” I probably looked as frazzled as I felt. Soon<br />
I was buzzed through a door that locked behind me, and I<br />
found myself in a small holding area, under the watch of several<br />
security screens, and a six-foot female guard.<br />
“The women are the worst,” a former inmate once wrote, and<br />
now, seeing her hostile expression, I was grateful this was only<br />
a visit. The guard roughly ushered me through a metal detector,<br />
asked if I had any piercings, and if the flowers on my sweater<br />
were part of the fabric or an accessory. “This is a jail,” she stated.<br />
As if I could have possibly thought otherwise.<br />
“Sit down and wait,” the guard ordered. “What is your<br />
connection to Valerie?”<br />
“Just a friend.”<br />
“Are you from the media?” she hissed.<br />
“I’m here to spend some time with her,” I replied. I was advised<br />
to visit Valerie in a non-official capacity, just to give her support<br />
and show her someone cares.<br />
I waited, and waited, as the moments ticked by. Through<br />
the clear window I could see a large common table with the<br />
prisoners seated inside, and the visitors on the outer row. They<br />
were separated by a glass barrier, and could have no physical<br />
contact at all.<br />
I noticed a young woman with two small, squirming blonde<br />
children seated at one of the “booths.” On the other side, the<br />
fair-haired young inmate was trying his best to keep his family<br />
entertained. One of the children started to cry, and I felt like<br />
crying along.<br />
After about 10 minutes, the guard spoke into the receiver and<br />
asked if Carlton was coming down. “Oh, there are no visitor’s<br />
hours today?” she said. My heart sank. What, they changed the<br />
rules again? But I just checked this morning!<br />
Suddenly, “She’s here,” the guard said. “Open that door.”<br />
I was shoved into a tiny room with a glass window that<br />
overlooked a matchbox-sized cell. Standing there, even more<br />
frail and emaciated than I had imagined, was Valerie, dressed in<br />
an orange prison suit, her arms tightly manacled. She was pale,<br />
blonde, and looked like the slightest breeze would blow her<br />
away.<br />
Valerie smiled at me, obviously thrilled to see a compassionate<br />
face. She lifted her receiver, and gestured for me to do the same.<br />
“I want you to see this,” she started the conversation, picking<br />
up her sleeves with effort, to show me the purple bruises that<br />
dotted her limbs. I shrank back, horrified. “I need as many<br />
witnesses as I can get, to prove that I am not making this up.<br />
This is what they did to me in Harford County Jail.”<br />
All of a sudden, there was a series of beeps, and I felt that I<br />
was being photographed.<br />
30 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
“Put down the phone,” a voice<br />
ordered over the loudspeaker.<br />
Confused, I dropped the phone,<br />
and whispered an apology to<br />
Valerie. The door opened, and two<br />
burly female guards (one of them<br />
had been guarding me all this time)<br />
stood two inches from my face.<br />
“You lied to us!” they shouted.<br />
“You said you weren’t from the<br />
media. Why did you misrepresent<br />
yourself?”<br />
I began to quake all over,<br />
mentally reviewing what I had<br />
said to Valerie. Had I foolishly<br />
insinuated that I was writing<br />
an article about her? How<br />
could I have forgotten that our<br />
conversation was recorded?”<br />
“Who are you, and what is your purpose?” They were breathing<br />
fire down my back.<br />
I hyperventilated. This is what utter, sheer terror feels like, I<br />
realized. It was almost an out-of-body experience.<br />
Waves of panic washed over me, again and again. Hashem, help!<br />
Will I ever get out of here? I could almost feel the cold metallic<br />
pinch of the handcuffs around my wrists.<br />
“I…I’m not an official journalist,” I stammered. “I came to see<br />
Valerie as a friend, to show my sympathy, and perhaps write a<br />
small article about her.”<br />
But they were not interested. “Get out,” the guards snapped,<br />
propelling me to the door.<br />
A second later, I found myself in the lobby, the doors slamming<br />
shut behind me. My ID card was returned, and I was warned not<br />
to show my face again without official permission from Valerie’s<br />
lawyer.<br />
I left, still quaking, my mind unable to register that they had<br />
actually let me go free.<br />
Though I don’t view myself as a timid, easily frightened person,<br />
the visit left me shaky and emotionally drained for the rest of the<br />
day. Every time I heard a loud noise I jumped. I knew it wasn’t<br />
logical, but I couldn’t help it. Were they coming after me? They<br />
had my address, after all.<br />
I could only imagine what Valerie must be going through,<br />
poor soul. She is currently suffering from the effects of the severe<br />
trauma she has endured. Her mental condition is precarious.<br />
What Valerie needs at this time is medical attention and support,<br />
not imprisonment and harassment. n
days<br />
When Daddy Missed Work<br />
Some things were simply more important<br />
By Varda Meyers Epstein<br />
Only twice did my dad ever miss<br />
a day of work. Maybe that’s why<br />
he died so young. He worked<br />
long hours, often leaving the<br />
house for the office at 5:30 A.M. Some<br />
people would call that Type A behavior;<br />
the kind that befits a guy just looking for<br />
a heart attack.<br />
But my father wasn’t like some gerbil<br />
on a wheel, working for work’s sake. There<br />
was no manic activity. He wasn’t some<br />
fast-spieling, hyperactive marketeer, but<br />
rather, a thoughtful kind of guy who took<br />
the time to puzzle things out to their<br />
logical conclusions. He was in no hurry.<br />
Not with anything.<br />
We always took the scenic route<br />
on family car trips, stopping to pick<br />
fruit at farms along the way to faraway<br />
destinations. I remember Daddy pulling<br />
over on the highway and taking out<br />
his penknife to cut me a length of raw<br />
sugarcane. He held out the blackish stalk,<br />
“Go ahead. Take a nibble.”<br />
I spent the rest of the four-hour car<br />
trip chewing on the cane, getting past<br />
my initial squeamishness over the fibrous<br />
texture, to enjoy the juicy green sweetness<br />
of the raw sugarcane. I would enjoy this<br />
forever, after my own firsthand knowledge<br />
of cane sugar’s origins, thanks to my Dad.<br />
To my mind, it was just my father’s<br />
good old American work ethic that made<br />
him apply himself to his job with such<br />
singular focus. His steadfastness might<br />
also have been his way of expressing<br />
gratitude to my great uncle Morris, who<br />
had made Dad his second in command<br />
at the lumberyard after my paternal<br />
grandfather, like my own father, died<br />
suddenly and young. Overnight, at the age<br />
of 19, my father became the sole support<br />
of his mother and younger brother.<br />
But back to those two days on which<br />
my father elected to miss work. In the first<br />
instance, it was my turn at nursery school<br />
to be the mother in the mock Kabbalat<br />
Shabbat ceremony we held every Thursday.<br />
Mothers always showed up for this event,<br />
but it was uncommon for a father to put<br />
in an appearance. My four-year-old pride<br />
knew no bounds.<br />
I was the youngest of four siblings<br />
and the apple of my father’s eye. As my<br />
father and mother entered the classroom,<br />
an extra folding chair, adult-sized, was<br />
found and set up alongside the one<br />
already-waiting chair. I was so proud of<br />
my handsome father in his suit, and of<br />
my beautiful mother. Like every child, I<br />
thought my parents the best and bestlooking<br />
of all parents in the world.<br />
My nursery school teacher, Mrs.<br />
Margolis, produced a lace doily, placed<br />
it over my curls, and nodded approval. I<br />
felt such joy as I circled my hands thrice<br />
about the candles and made the blessing,<br />
knowing that my Daddy was beaming<br />
at me as I performed the age-old ritual.<br />
Not quite five decades later, I can still<br />
remember the thrill that ran through me<br />
as I gave my parents—and in particular,<br />
my Daddy—Yiddishe nachas: <strong>Jewish</strong> joy.<br />
It’s not that my mother wasn’t<br />
important in this context. I was proud of<br />
her and basking in her approval, too. But<br />
it was so rare for my father to attend the<br />
little events that marked the peaks and<br />
valleys of my development at that early<br />
stage, that I knew there was something<br />
momentous about the occasion. This was<br />
more than it seemed on the surface.<br />
What my Dad’s attendance at that little<br />
nursery school event did was cement in<br />
my mind the idea that <strong>Jewish</strong> ritual and<br />
continuity were of prime importance to<br />
my father. After all, he missed work for<br />
this ceremony: an unheard-of exception<br />
to his way of life. My Dad was showing<br />
me that THIS was what was important<br />
34 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
MY FATHER’S SLEEP THAT NIGHT WAS FITFUL AND<br />
PUNCTUATED WITH NIGHTMARES. IN THE MORNING,<br />
HE RECALLED ONE DREAM IN WHICH HE SAW HIS<br />
MOTHER’S GRAVE. THERE WAS A SENSE CONVEYED,<br />
PERHAPS SOME KIND OF AURA, THAT ALL WAS NOT<br />
WELL WITH THE GRAVE.<br />
to him: Shabbos, lighting the candles,<br />
being <strong>Jewish</strong>. And all of that, for me, was<br />
tangled up with the pleasant feelings<br />
engendered by my father’s expressions of<br />
love and warmth.<br />
The fact that I remember all this<br />
with such clarity—and the fact that I<br />
do, indeed, light Shabbos candles every<br />
week—proves the impact of my father’s<br />
attendance at my nursery school Kabbalat<br />
Shabbat performance. I do believe that this<br />
strong positive reinforcement, which took<br />
shape in the form of a workaholic father<br />
missing work, did what my father hoped<br />
it would do: inspire me to carry the torch<br />
of Yiddishkeit and strive for excellence in<br />
my <strong>Jewish</strong> observance.<br />
While the first time my father missed<br />
work was on behalf of the future, the<br />
second time he called in late concerned<br />
the past. This is a story that I heard from<br />
my mother. Though related secondhand,<br />
the telling of this tale made a chill run<br />
up my spine and gooseflesh overtake my<br />
arms.<br />
One night, as all the occupants of my<br />
family home slept, there was a severe<br />
storm, complete with thunder and<br />
lightning. My father’s sleep that night was<br />
fitful and punctuated with nightmares.<br />
In the morning, he recalled one dream in<br />
which he saw his mother’s grave. There<br />
was a sense conveyed, perhaps some<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 35
days<br />
THE CEMETERY WAS STREWN WITH MUDDY<br />
PUDDLES, BROKEN BRANCHES, AND WET YELLOW<br />
LEAVES. MY DAD MADE HIS WAY TO HIS MOTHER’S<br />
GRAVE, WHERE HE DISCOVERED THE REASON FOR<br />
HIS DREAMS OF THE NIGHT BEFORE.<br />
kind of aura, that all was not well with<br />
the grave. There was nothing specific he<br />
could point to, only the knowledge that<br />
something was wrong.<br />
Someone else would have said, “It was<br />
just a noisy storm. The noise disrupted my<br />
sleep and gave me unpleasant dreams.”<br />
But my father didn’t waste any time<br />
with conjecture. He called the office<br />
to let them know he would be late and<br />
started out for the cemetery. Even if he<br />
found that nothing was wrong with my<br />
grandmother’s grave, he would have done<br />
a mitzvah; there was nothing to lose in<br />
visiting the cemetery.<br />
The cemetery was strewn with muddy<br />
puddles, broken branches, and wet<br />
yellow leaves. My dad made his way to<br />
his mother’s grave, where he discovered<br />
the reason for his dreams of the night<br />
before. The gravestone was cracked<br />
through—slashed on the diagonal. It<br />
was apparent that lightning had struck<br />
my grandmother’s gravestone during<br />
the storm. The stone would need to be<br />
replaced. My father hastened to take the<br />
necessary steps to purchase and lay a new<br />
stone.<br />
My father was a simple man. Home<br />
and family meant everything, as did his<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> identity. He was not some deep<br />
philosopher, nor did he concern himself<br />
with the paranormal. The main quality of<br />
my father was that he prioritized a very<br />
simple list of the things that mattered to<br />
him. Work? Of prime importance. But<br />
even more important was his <strong>Jewish</strong>ness.<br />
That was the real drive behind everything<br />
he did. Both of these things, work and<br />
Judaism, were really about the family, of<br />
course. He might not have articulated<br />
these ideas. He didn’t need to put them<br />
into words. My father’s actions during his<br />
abbreviated lifespan spoke volumes about<br />
his beliefs.<br />
For my father, Judaism, work, and<br />
family were a triangle of interlocking<br />
concepts, where one point might need<br />
more attention at a given moment to<br />
strengthen the whole. Years ago, I had<br />
a garden, and as I diagnosed aphids,<br />
applied fertilizer, weeded, and pruned,<br />
it occurred to me that my father was a<br />
bit like a gardener who sees the state<br />
of his garden and tends to the plants<br />
according to their dispositions. Seen from<br />
this perspective, a workaholic missing<br />
work on two occasions was really not so<br />
remarkable. To my father, ensuring future<br />
<strong>Jewish</strong> continuity and paying honor to his<br />
roots were the obvious twin pathways to<br />
a healthy garden—one that continues to<br />
bear fruit until today. n<br />
(The author is a third-generation born<br />
Pittsburgher and mother of 12 who left<br />
America at the age of 18 to live in Israel, and<br />
has never regretted her decision.)<br />
36 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
If Only They Knew<br />
Sometimes things are not what they appear to be<br />
<br />
They whispered about her in the<br />
hallways. They talked about her<br />
in the teachers’ room. She was a<br />
hopeless case. Not interested in<br />
academics, or else just not that capable.<br />
And not interested in being frum. It was a<br />
real shame.<br />
If only they knew.<br />
Her grades were slipping, and she<br />
seemed perpetually annoyed at her<br />
teachers. Was it their fault that she wasn’t<br />
handing in homework assignments or<br />
studying enough before tests? Her skirts<br />
were always right above her knees, but she<br />
managed to pull them down whenever<br />
a teacher looked at her directly. She had<br />
already been caught twice trying to send<br />
a text on her cell phone during class. Her<br />
teachers shook their heads and wondered<br />
how much longer she would be permitted<br />
to remain in school. She probably didn’t<br />
want to be here, anyway.<br />
If only they knew.<br />
Then one morning, she arrived at school<br />
looking extra tired: bags under her eyes,<br />
hair disheveled. That afternoon she had a<br />
history test. In the middle of writing her<br />
answers she became really frustrated, and<br />
slammed the paper down on her desk,<br />
as if slamming a door shut. Her teacher<br />
looked at her and thought, What does she<br />
expect if she stays up all night on the phone or<br />
on Facebook? Then something in the girl’s<br />
eyes caught her attention.<br />
And so, later in the day, when her<br />
teacher happened to find her alone in<br />
the hallway, she stopped her. The girl<br />
immediately struck a defensive pose,<br />
pulling down her skirt, waiting to hear<br />
what she had done wrong this time. But<br />
the teacher said very gently, “You look<br />
really tired. Did you have a hard night?<br />
She looked back at her teacher with<br />
eyes that seemed to say, “I was waiting for<br />
someone to ask.” Her whole demeanor<br />
changed. She took a deep breath, relaxed<br />
her shoulders, and then said, “Well,<br />
my older sister had to have a medical<br />
procedure today. It was a brain scan, and<br />
she wasn’t allowed to sleep all night, so<br />
I had to keep her awake. It was hard. I<br />
tried showing her videos, telling her jokes.<br />
Whenever she started to doze I had to<br />
think creatively to prevent her from falling<br />
asleep.”<br />
The teacher was surprised. “You have<br />
an older sister? She must not go to school<br />
here, because I never met her.”<br />
“Yeah, she’s a year older than me. But<br />
she has developmental delays, and a lot of<br />
medical conditions.”<br />
“So you were the one who had to stay<br />
up with her all night?”<br />
“Well, my mom is in a psychiatric<br />
facility, and it’s way too much for my dad.”<br />
“Your mother is in a psychiatric<br />
facility?” The story was only getting wilder.<br />
“Yeah. She tried to hurt herself a month<br />
ago. I found her. I called 911. They took<br />
her to a hospital, and she’s been there<br />
ever since. This is the second time it<br />
happened.”<br />
“But Pesach was three weeks ago. What<br />
did you do for Pesach?”<br />
“I know. It was really bad. My dad<br />
said everything was too hard, and he just<br />
wasn’t going to do Pesach this year. He<br />
wasn’t going to clean. He wasn’t going<br />
to cook. He said he just couldn’t. So I<br />
cleaned the whole house myself. I cooked<br />
all the meals, too. And I made both the<br />
sedarim.”<br />
“Wow! I can’t believe it. How did you<br />
do all that? How old are you again?” the<br />
teacher’s voice was incredulous, even<br />
though she tried to mask her shock.<br />
“I know. I’m only 15. It’s a lot. But what<br />
can I do?” The girl’s eyes looked sad.<br />
A girl who had no motivation? A girl<br />
who wasn’t interested in being frum? The<br />
teacher tried to process everything she<br />
had heard.<br />
If only they had known. At least she<br />
knew now.<br />
The teacher gave the girl a hug. And<br />
they both had tears in their eyes. n<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 37
Here<br />
Now<br />
&<br />
By Sarah Shapiro<br />
<br />
Q AND A WITH…CINDERELLA<br />
QOn behalf of the entire Ami<br />
<br />
<br />
AMy pleasure. I must say it wasn’t easy,<br />
though, in these slippers. And I’m<br />
supposed to be exempt from suffering.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
AA hoax?<br />
Q <br />
<br />
AIt’s all right. I’m just sensitive…<br />
because…well you know, it’s no picnic,<br />
being imaginary. I get so tired of people<br />
thinking I’m not real.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
APlease. Your Royal Highness.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
zt”l<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
whole mishpocha<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
AToo real?<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
AI never had a life.<br />
Q <br />
AYour Royal Highness.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
ATime froze for me with that last line.<br />
For both of us. Have you ever stopped<br />
to think what it’s like for us, being limited<br />
to one dimension? Not only for me and<br />
the Prince, but for Sleeping Beauty, too,<br />
in the castle. The Beast feels the same way.<br />
So does Peter. We’re trapped.<br />
Q <br />
APan. In Never-Never Land. Where<br />
he never grows old. Little Red<br />
Riding Hood’s grandmother has the<br />
opposite problem—she was never young.<br />
Snow White, and the Queen, the whole<br />
Mirror, mirror on the wall complex.<br />
Always worrying how they look. To<br />
dwell in a fairy tale is to be imprisoned in<br />
meaninglessness. It’s like Oklahoma. No<br />
ups and downs. Everything’s always the<br />
same. It bores me to tears!<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
AMy wicked stepsisters are eternally<br />
jealous of me and there’s nothing I<br />
can do about it.<br />
Q <br />
AFor what? It’s not my fault the Prince<br />
chose me. I’m pretty. They’re ugly.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
ANot so well. He has no memory of<br />
anything after that last line.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
AI am 18. I’m sick of it already.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
ANo, not the first. There’ve been a few<br />
girls here and there who have read my<br />
story, but generally speaking—and I don’t<br />
know whether this is just paranoia on my<br />
part—I really don’t feel welcome here.<br />
Q <br />
<br />
AYour Roy—<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
don’t mean to be rude but it was the<br />
AI other way around. As a figment of<br />
your imagination, I found myself on your<br />
mind. It’s I who should be interviewing<br />
you. What made you think of me?<br />
Q <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
38 | | NOVEMBER 23, 2011 | 26 CHESHVAN, 5772
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LETTERS<br />
<br />
Slots almost impossible to obtain<br />
<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
I’ve been following with keen interest the ongoing discussion in<br />
Ami about long-term placement for special needs young adults. As the<br />
mother of a beautiful, lovable, three-year-old boy with autism, I am part<br />
of a support network of parents of autistic children. During our tri-annual<br />
support brunch, the conversation always centers around the painful<br />
topic of long-term placement. Since my own child is still so young, and<br />
we don’t know how high-functioning he might eventually be, it is not<br />
something I’m remotely considering at the moment. But the mothers<br />
in the group whose children are older and more difficult to manage are<br />
very much interested.<br />
The problem is: There are no openings. Due to federal budget cuts,<br />
there is a freeze on new homes, and there are no slots available in the<br />
existing group homes. Some parents are desperate; autistic children<br />
can become behaviorally impossible once they hit their preteen years.<br />
THERE IS A TEN-YEAR WAIT FOR A SLOT IN A GROUP HOME.<br />
With this knowledge, some parents have put their kids—some of them<br />
as young as six years old—on the waiting list of every group home in<br />
New York. If they don’t feel ready they can turn it down when there is<br />
an opening; but if they don’t act now, they will be lost when their child<br />
is in his 20s and impossible to be around.<br />
I was therefore shocked to learn through your letters page about the<br />
creation of a new home this spring; I hope my friends who need this<br />
are aware of it. To the mother of the letter in issue #46: If your son is<br />
currently not in need of this home, you are doing a tremendous chessed<br />
by leaving his slot open to other desperate parents. But I hope you’ll<br />
leave him on the waiting list, because slots for long-term placements are<br />
extremely rare and precious.<br />
P.D.<br />
WRITE TO US:<br />
AMI MAGAZINE<br />
1575 50 th St., Brooklyn, NY 11219<br />
Phone: (718) 534-8800 | Fax: (718) 484-7731<br />
letters@amimagazine.org<br />
<br />
<br />
You can have your cake and eat it, too<br />
<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
Thanks for your amazing magazine, which is a<br />
delight to read week after week.<br />
I would like to respond to your article about<br />
children being too attached to their parents.<br />
I live in Williamsburg, and feel that some points<br />
in the article were somewhat misrepresented.<br />
Your assessment of couples spending more time<br />
with the wife’s parents for suppers and Shabbosim/<br />
Yomim Tovim is incorrect. If both the husband’s<br />
and wife’s parents reside in Williamsburg, then the<br />
time spent with both sets of parents with regard to<br />
meals is divided equally.<br />
Also, concerning eating meals at parents’ homes:<br />
In general, I remember my kallah teacher telling<br />
us to be smart and to use our time wisely to spend<br />
time with one another while it was just the two of<br />
us. So I remember many times when we would pick<br />
up our supper from our parents, and eat it at home.<br />
Although living away from parents makes you rely<br />
on each other more, there’s no reason why you cannot<br />
have a similar close relationship even if you live<br />
nearby. I believe that every situation can be worked<br />
out accordingly. You just need to use wisdom and<br />
common sense.<br />
In my case, my parents live in the neighborhood,<br />
and it didn’t have an impact on building our<br />
relationship. I set up boundaries for our privacy<br />
and our commitment early on, which my parents<br />
respected very much. With Hashem’s help, we<br />
have built a relationship where we each rely on<br />
each other for everything from shopping advice, to<br />
friendship, to all major decisions and so on.<br />
While most of my family and friends live nearby,<br />
my husband is certainly my very best friend.<br />
R.S.<br />
8 | | DECEMBER 30, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
Hospice care truly remarkable<br />
<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
I always enjoy your<br />
“Clean Bill” columns,<br />
but last week’s<br />
story really hit home.<br />
Unfortunately, in<br />
the past year I have<br />
also gained firsthand<br />
knowledge about<br />
palliative and hospice<br />
care—although I<br />
would have definitely<br />
preferred to remain<br />
ignorant, and still<br />
have my parents alive!<br />
Nonetheless, I am<br />
truly grateful that they were both able to avail themselves of this wonderful option,<br />
which didn’t exist too many years ago.<br />
My mother fought a brave battle (sounds like a cliché, but it’s true) against her<br />
disease for three years. When the doctors suddenly announced that they had run out<br />
of treatment strategies she was genuinely surprised. As her condition deteriorated,<br />
she was the one who made the choice to enter hospice care. The doctors and nurses<br />
who specialize in this field are amazing. I could not believe the skill with which they<br />
explained her situation to her, with kindness, and without being patronizing. When<br />
they gave her the option of having them repeatedly resuscitate her, and told her that<br />
the procedure would be painful, would probably break her ribs, and would ultimately<br />
not make much of a difference, she declined. The offer of palliative care—being<br />
unhooked from all the invasive equipment and being pain-free—was clearly the best<br />
alternative to her. Incredibly, she actually told one of her grandchildren that she was<br />
grateful for having such a wonderful place to die in!<br />
By contrast, my father was diagnosed with “the illness” just a week and a half<br />
before his petira. Although he was suffering from dementia, after they gave him a<br />
blood transfusion he was more alert and oriented than he’d been in months. The first<br />
thing he said upon realizing he was in a hospital was “Get me out of here! This is a<br />
crazy place! I want to go home.” A couple of days later everything had been arranged<br />
for him to receive hospice care at home. He passed away the following week. I have<br />
since found a letter dated only a few years ago in which he wrote that he never<br />
wanted to enter a nursing home. And he didn’t.<br />
The people who work in hospice care are the most unusual people I have ever met.<br />
I would never choose a job like that for all the money in the world, but I am very<br />
grateful to those who do, until the time of “Hakitzu veran’nu shochnei afar! (Awake<br />
and sing, you who dwell in dust!)” (Yeshayahu 26: 16)<br />
VERTICAL<br />
1/3<br />
{w} 2.5 X {h} 10.3<br />
H. Gutchin
PARSHAS VAYISHLACH<br />
Choose<br />
Your<br />
Battles<br />
Choosing our battles<br />
BY BATYA CHANNA SHEVACH<br />
Jacob heard that he<br />
had defiled Dina his<br />
daughter; and his sons<br />
“Now,<br />
were with his cattle in<br />
the field; and Jacob held his peace until<br />
they came.” (Bereishis 34:5)<br />
When Yaakov’s daughter Dina was<br />
accosted by a Canaani, Yaakov was, of<br />
course, devastated. But after weighing his<br />
options, he decided to hold his peace. He<br />
didn’t seek revenge, but instead hoped to<br />
foster amiable relations with the people<br />
who would be his neighbors.<br />
Yaakov’s sons, however, were unable<br />
to even consider forgiving the men they<br />
viewed as the vilest of enemies. Their<br />
approach to the situation was to kill the<br />
offenders and everyone associated with<br />
them, to wipe out any sign that they<br />
had ever existed. After Shechem and<br />
all the residents of his community had<br />
been circumcised, Shimon and Levi took<br />
advantage of the moment.<br />
“And it came to pass on the third day,<br />
when they were in pain, that two of<br />
the sons of Yaakov—Shimon and Levi,<br />
Dina’s brothers—took each man his<br />
sword, and came upon the city unawares,<br />
and slew all the males.” (Bereishis 34:25)<br />
After the deed was done, Yaakov was<br />
disappointed in his sons and worried<br />
about how their actions would appear to<br />
others. He was afraid that one violent act<br />
would lead to another, and that the peace<br />
Yaakov sought for himself and his family<br />
would never be achieved.<br />
“And Yaakov said to Shimon and<br />
Levi, ‘You have troubled me, to make<br />
me odious to the inhabitants of the land,<br />
even to the Canaanites and the Perizzites;<br />
and, I being few in number, they will<br />
gather themselves together against me<br />
and smite me; and I shall be destroyed,<br />
I and my house. And they said: ‘Should<br />
one deal with our sister as with a harlot?’”<br />
(Bereishis 34:30-31)<br />
Yaakov’s sons still felt that their<br />
conduct had been justified. To them, the<br />
honor of their family, of their sister, came<br />
before any consideration of alliance with<br />
strangers.<br />
v<br />
Today, just as in Biblical times, when<br />
one nation commits a wrong against<br />
another or even against its own people,<br />
the injured party can either turn the other<br />
cheek or engage in acts of warfare. The<br />
Israeli government and its armed forces<br />
face daily challenges regarding how to<br />
deal with terrorists who threaten and<br />
harm innocent Jews. The United States<br />
made decisions affecting thousands of<br />
American soldiers and their families when<br />
military action was initiated in Vietnam,<br />
Iraq, and Afghanistan. And when no<br />
violent act has been committed as of<br />
yet, but the possibility seems imminent,<br />
how should the world react? In the case<br />
of Iran, the peace-loving nations of the<br />
world have reached an impasse: Do we<br />
keep pushing for a peaceful solution, or<br />
do we follow an extreme path of action to<br />
prevent wide-scale disaster?<br />
Within our small <strong>Jewish</strong> “world,”<br />
we have an obligation to protect the<br />
spiritual well-being of our communities<br />
and families. We do our best to shelter<br />
our spouses and children from outside<br />
influences that threaten to lead them off<br />
the path of Torah. But before taking any<br />
major action in life, we need to define our<br />
agenda. Even within our own families<br />
we must focus on our goals, and carefully<br />
calculate our plan of action. If a child<br />
breaks one of our rules, is punishment<br />
necessary, or is compromise preferable as<br />
a means of regaining peace? If our spouse<br />
commits a despicable deed, can we ever<br />
forgive, or is the only solution a drastic<br />
one?<br />
Yaakov never accepted his sons’<br />
approach in dealing with their family<br />
crisis. In Parshas Vayechi, when Yaakov<br />
blesses his sons, he says, “Shimon and<br />
Levi are brothers; instruments of violence<br />
are their wares. Let my soul not come<br />
into their council; let my honor not unite<br />
with their assembly, for in their wrath<br />
they killed a man.” (Bereishis 49:5-6)<br />
If the violation of Dina was not cause<br />
enough for war in the eyes of Yaakov<br />
Avinu, then how very careful we need to<br />
be, when choosing our battles over less<br />
serious offenses. n<br />
8 | | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
GOLDEN NUGGETS // by Adele Jacobs<br />
THINGS LOOK<br />
DIFFERENT HERE<br />
If anyone could pierce the heavens with<br />
his tefillos, surely it was Rabbi Dov Ber,<br />
the Maggid of Mezritch. Therefore,<br />
when the Russian ruler instituted<br />
several evil decrees against the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />
people, it was no wonder that the eyes of<br />
the community turned to Mezritch and<br />
its Rebbe.<br />
In truth, though, the Maggid was<br />
already very ill and weak. One of his<br />
followers, Rabbi Elimelech of Lyzhensk,<br />
was therefore worried that perhaps the<br />
Maggid would not have the strength to<br />
plead with his usual fervor.<br />
“We will fast or do whatever you wish,<br />
to help you,” Rabbi Elimelech assured the<br />
Maggid.<br />
“There is no need for a public fast. In<br />
fact, there is no need for me to leave my<br />
sickbed and go daven.”<br />
“But, Rebbe—” Rabbi Elimelech<br />
couldn’t help but blurt out.<br />
“Don’t worry. I am very aware of the<br />
gravity of the situation. But very soon I<br />
will be in a much better position to plead<br />
on behalf of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people. Soon I<br />
will be leaving this world. When I do, I<br />
will go straight to the heavenly throne,<br />
and I will not leave until these decrees<br />
have been annulled.”<br />
A few weeks later the Maggid did,<br />
indeed, leave this world. During the<br />
week of shiva, while everyone else was<br />
bemoaning the loss of their leader and<br />
advocate, Rabbi Elimelech was calm.<br />
But as the weeks passed and the edicts<br />
remained in place, even he began to<br />
worry.<br />
It was unthinkable that the Maggid’s<br />
pleas, which had been so effective in this<br />
world, had lost their power in the World<br />
of Truth. It was also unthinkable that<br />
the Maggid no longer cared about the<br />
people he had left behind. Why, then,<br />
had nothing changed?<br />
Rabbi Elimelech went to the Maggid’s<br />
kever, where he asked Hashem to help<br />
him understand why the Maggid had<br />
seemingly not kept his promise.<br />
That night the Maggid appeared to<br />
Rabbi Elimelech in a dream.<br />
“Know that I haven’t forgotten you,”<br />
said the Maggid, “but things look<br />
different from here. When I lived among<br />
you, I shared your view that these decrees<br />
and all the suffering that am Yisrael<br />
has endured are a terrible thing. Now,<br />
though, I view the world below from a<br />
different perspective.”<br />
“But, Rebbe, people are in so much<br />
pain,” Rebbe Elimelech pleaded in his<br />
dream.<br />
“I can no longer help you. Because<br />
I no longer see these decrees as being<br />
bad for the <strong>Jewish</strong> people, I can not<br />
daven to have them annulled. But you,<br />
who feel the evil of the decree, must<br />
call out to Hashem yourselves and<br />
plead for what you think you need. And<br />
may your cries succeed in opening up<br />
the Gates of Mercy, if it is the will of<br />
Hashem.” <br />
C. WOLCOWITZ | 917.202.2593<br />
SPECIAL!<br />
FRE E<br />
UNDERARM<br />
TREATMENT<br />
w/ booking of appointment<br />
*Restrictions may apply<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | | 9
Dinner is<br />
Delightful Dairy Dishes<br />
for Your CHANUKAH<br />
Dinner or Party<br />
DAIRY<br />
SOUR CREAM APPLE PIE WITH<br />
WALNUT STREUSEL<br />
2 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 Photography: | 11 KISLEV, John 5772 Uher Food Styling: Studioestherdeutsch@gmail.com
For years, I would receive the Dean and Deluca catalog in the mail.<br />
Before tossing it in the trash along with the rest of my junk mail, I would<br />
naturally study the photos of the food items, page by page. (You never<br />
know where you’ll find inspiration.) They always featured a famous sour<br />
cream apple pie with a walnut streusel by “The Little Pie Co.” that had<br />
me salivating. And, because I’ll take a good piece of pie over a sophisticated<br />
pastry any day, I just had to taste what looked like pie heaven. I<br />
scoured the Internet for this famous recipe. Dozens of websites claimed<br />
that they had the exact “The Little Pie Co.” recipe—all vastly different<br />
variations though. Because I couldn’t compare all these recipes to the<br />
original pie, I was on my own. What renders this pie unique is using a<br />
combination of apples to produce a mélange of textures and flavors that’s<br />
perfectly complemented by the walnut streusel. I also love how the sour<br />
cream gives this pie a slightly piquant taste, instead of tasting overly<br />
sweet. Although I can’t vouch for how my version compares to the original<br />
recipe, it doesn’t matter. This beats regular apple pie any day.<br />
Welcome to my kitchen. Life happens here.<br />
manna@amimagazine.org
CARAMELIZED PEAR SPINACH SALAD WITH POMEGRANATES, PECANS, AND CRAISINS<br />
(DAIRY AND PAREVE OPTIONS)<br />
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4 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
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2 large Bartlett or Anjou pears,<br />
peeled cored and cut lengthwise<br />
into 8ths<br />
¼ cup lemon juice<br />
¼ cup brown sugar<br />
10 ounces baby spinach<br />
1 cup honey glazed pecans<br />
¾ - 1 cup Craisins<br />
1 cup pomegranate seeds<br />
Goat cheese or feta cheese (for dairy,<br />
optional)<br />
For the dressing:<br />
<br />
2 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar<br />
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard<br />
1 clove garlic, minced<br />
½ teaspoon kosher salt<br />
<br />
Juice of caramelized pears<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Dip all<br />
sides of sliced pears in lemon juice, and<br />
then dip in brown sugar. Arrange the<br />
pears in a single layer on a large baking<br />
pan. Roast for 25 minutes. Remove<br />
from heat, and allow to cool to room<br />
temperature. Cut each pear wedge<br />
into 1-inch thick slices. Reserve pear<br />
juice that has been released during the<br />
roasting.<br />
2. To prepare the dressing: In a small<br />
bowl or cruet, vigorously whisk the oil,<br />
vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and<br />
the reserved pear juice together until<br />
combined well.<br />
3. Toss dressing with baby spinach,<br />
pears, glazed pecans, and Craisins.<br />
Sprinkle pomegranate seeds evenly over<br />
the top of the salad. Serve immediately.<br />
For a dairy version, sprinkle the top of<br />
the salad with crumbled goat or feta<br />
cheese.<br />
<br />
DAIRY VERSION<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 5
6 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772<br />
LINGUINE WITH WHITE WINE CREAM SAUCE<br />
AND MUSHROOMS<br />
-<br />
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BETTER THAN SNICKERS DESSERT BARS<br />
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11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 7
LINGUINE WITH WHITE<br />
WINE CREAM SAUCE AND<br />
MUSHROOMS<br />
1 pound linguine pasta<br />
For the sauce:<br />
½ cup (1 stick) butter<br />
16 ounces (2 boxes) white button<br />
mushrooms, quartered<br />
3 cloves garlic, minced<br />
½ cup good quality dry white wine<br />
1 cup heavy cream<br />
¾ cup Parmesan cheese<br />
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more<br />
Fresh black pepper<br />
Optional garnish:<br />
fresh basil<br />
parsley<br />
Parmesan cheese<br />
1. Cook pasta until al dente according to<br />
package directions; drain.<br />
2. To prepare the sauce: In a large skillet,<br />
melt butter over medium heat. Add<br />
mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are<br />
lightly browned and soft, approximately 5<br />
minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another<br />
minute. Add wine and allow to reduce for<br />
4 - 5 minutes. Add heavy cream, parmesan<br />
cheese, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 - 3<br />
minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly<br />
thickened.<br />
3. Lower heat to low and fold linguine<br />
into sauce, mixing well until all strands are<br />
coated well. Add additional kosher salt and<br />
pepper as needed. Garnish with fresh basil<br />
or parsley and/or Parmesan cheese. Serve<br />
hot.<br />
Yield: serves 4<br />
SOUR CREAM APPLE PIE WITH<br />
WALNUT STREUSEL<br />
<br />
2 frozen 9-inch-deep dough pie crusts<br />
(not graham cracker crust)<br />
<br />
1 ¼ cups sour cream<br />
¾ cup sugar<br />
<br />
¼ teaspoon salt<br />
1 egg<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
3 Granny Smith apples, sliced thin (1/8-<br />
inch thick)<br />
3 Cortland apples, sliced thin (1/8-inch<br />
thick)<br />
1 Gala or McIntosh apple sliced thin (1/8-<br />
inch thick)<br />
For the walnut streusel topping:<br />
¾ cup chopped walnuts<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
pinch of salt<br />
8 (1 stick) tablespoons butter, melted<br />
Optional garnish:<br />
store bought caramel sauce<br />
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl,<br />
<br />
and vanilla. Stir in sliced apples. Pour into<br />
2 pie crusts. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce<br />
oven to 350°F and bake for 35 minutes<br />
longer.<br />
2. To prepare the crumb topping: Combine<br />
<br />
cinnamon, and salt. Stir in melted butter and<br />
mix until crumb forms.<br />
3. Sprinkle the topping over the 2 pies<br />
and bake for an additional 30 - 35 minutes<br />
until golden. Cool at room temperature for<br />
several hours before serving.<br />
After refrigerating, bring to room<br />
temperature before serving.<br />
<br />
BETTER THAN SNICKERS<br />
DESSERT BARS<br />
layer 1:<br />
<br />
¼ cup sugar<br />
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar<br />
Pinch salt<br />
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into squares<br />
1 large egg yolk<br />
layer 2:<br />
2 cups store bought caramel cream (I like<br />
Baker’s Choice) at room temperature (so<br />
that it’s easy to mix)<br />
1 ½ cups chopped roasted salted<br />
peanuts<br />
layer 3:<br />
7 ounces (2 bars) bittersweet chocolate<br />
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter<br />
Chopped roasted salted nuts, for<br />
sprinkling<br />
1.<br />
until a dough forms. Put the dough in a<br />
<br />
hands until you have a smooth, thin layer.<br />
Put the pan in the freezer for 20 minutes<br />
and preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the<br />
dough straight from the freezer for 15<br />
minutes and let cool.<br />
2. Prepare the second layer: Combine<br />
caramel cream and peanuts. Pour the<br />
<br />
<br />
3. Prepare the third layer: Microwave<br />
chocolate and butter until melted. Be<br />
careful: Don’t let it burn. Smooth the<br />
chocolate on top of the caramel layer with<br />
a spatula, sprinkle chopped salted peanuts<br />
on top. Freeze until ready to serve. When<br />
serving, cut the dessert into squares while<br />
still slightly frozen and plate. Bring to room<br />
temperature for at least 15 minutes and<br />
serve.<br />
<br />
8 | WHISK | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | 11 KISLEV, 5772
CREAM OF SPINACH SOUP<br />
<br />
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1 large onion, diced<br />
¼ cup (½ stick) butter<br />
10 ounces frozen spinach<br />
3 cloves garlic, minced<br />
<br />
5 cups water mixed with msg-free,<br />
pareve chicken soup powder, prepared<br />
according to package directions<br />
1 teaspoon kosher salt<br />
<br />
1 dash nutmeg<br />
1 cup whole milk<br />
1 cup heavy cream<br />
For optional garnishes:<br />
Toasted pine nuts<br />
Baby spinach leaves<br />
Herbed goat cheese<br />
1. Sauté the onion in butter over medium<br />
heat for 5 - 7 minutes, until translucent.<br />
Add spinach and garlic, sauté for 2 more<br />
<br />
stock gradually. Season with salt, pepper,<br />
and nutmeg. Simmer uncovered for 25<br />
minutes. Add milk and cream and cook<br />
another 15 minutes uncovered.<br />
2. Puree with an immersion blender until<br />
<br />
minutes. Season to taste with additional<br />
seasoning if needed. Serve hot with toasted<br />
pine nuts. Garnish with fresh baby spinach<br />
leaves and/or herbed goat cheese.<br />
<br />
11 KISLEV, 5772 | DECEMBER 7, 2011 | WHISK | 9