The Single vs The Dating Coach Page 59
Next Issue: February 16th Theme: Disability Awareness and Inclusion
Inaugural Issue! February 3 | 7 Shevat 5777 Parshat Bo Light Candles: 5:14 PM CANDLE LIGHTING Shabbat Ends: 6:15 PM
Experts on Jewish pastoral counseling share insights Psyche and Soul
THE ART OF JEWISH PASTORAL COUNSELING A Guide for All Faiths
Michelle Friedman and Rachel Yehuda
David Hornestay, page 41
Your ad could be here Leaving the Jews Out of Jewish History
CONNECTING THE DC, MD, & VA JEWISH COMMUNITY
County Busing Pilot Stalls BY: Suzanne Pollak ROCKVILLE (MD)–– It’s been 18 months since Montgomery County’s public school buses last transported students to six private schools, including three Jewish day schools. Under the county’s non-public school traffic mitigation program, which began in September 2014, approximately 2,600 students from the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, the Torah School of Greater Washington and the Yeshiva of Greater Washington rode on public school buses every day. Two Catholic schools and one nonsectarian school also benefitted from the program. The county covered 78 percent of the cost for the use of the buses and drivers. The schools were responsible for the re-
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maining 22 percent, which they passed on to the participating parents. But in the Spring of 2015, the county council slashed the program’s proposed $600,000 budget to $159,000. That reduced sum was then designated for paying a consultant to come up with a way to continue the program. Since then, the county has not set aside any additional money for private school busing–– but that hasn’t stopped parents and administrators from trying to bring those yellow school buses back. “It’s a shame you have to be a full-time advocate to get your kids to school in an affordable way,” said Jules Polonetsky, CONTINUED ON P. 9
Lessons in Communal Responsibility BY: Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum
Rafael Medoff, page 30
February 2, 2017 | 6 Shevat, 5777
Our community has lost three very special rabbis over a brief period of time. Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah in Kemp Mill, Rabbi Hillel Klavan of Congregation Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah in Washington, D.C., and Rabbi Kalman Winter of Southeast Hebrew Congregation - Knesset Yehoshua in White Oak, all of blessed memory, all passed within the last seven years. In addition to being stellar leaders of their con-
Super Bowl Matchup Preview
Recipe for Game Day
Roey Herzfeld
Shushy Turin
page 50
page 43
gregations, together these three rabbis were the core of Vaad Harabanim (Rabbinical Council) of Greater Washington’s leadership over the 25-year period preceding their passing. Much has been said, and rightfully so, about the end of a rabbinic era in the Greater Washington Jewish community. As a rabbi of “the next generation” who had the great privilege of working closely with each of these individuals, I have reflectCONTINUED ON P. 8
ISSUE #1 Published Bi-Weekly
ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT
Franco Foundation Offers Safety Net for Financially Vulnerable Families By Barbara Trainin Blank SILVER SPRING, MD–– Mitzvah goreret mitzvah. One good deed leads to another. That certainly has been the case with the Franco Foundation.
In a sense, the foundation started by accident, beginning as an effort by members of the Sephardi Minyan of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of CONTINUED ON P. 7
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Get Fired Up for Al Ha’esh BY: Fran Kritz Every once in a while, a new kosher restaurant opens in the Washington, D.C. area and we fall in love and hope it stays with us for a long time. CONTINUED ON P. 47
JDS vs. Berman Hebrew Academy
Spo
rts
BY: Hillel Goldschein ROCKVILLE (MD) ––– On Saturday night January 28, the CES-JDS and Berman Academy girls and boys teams faced off for the second time this season and both games lived up CONTINUED ON P. 52
Getting Our Shabbat Shir On
Taking the 'Bored' Out of The Board
Sarah Antine & Deborah Snyder, page 16
Rabbi Ozzie Burnham, page 10
The home crowd getting riled up for the games.
Walking in the Footsteps of History in Selma
Rabbi Uri Topolosky and Maharat Ruth Friedman, page 20
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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ABOUT US
Kol HaBirah: Mission and Goals The mission of Kol HaBirah is to serve, connect, and strengthen the Greater Washington Jewish community. To achieve this, we will provide:
Community Enrichment and Support Kol HaBirah will increase the visibility and utilization of our Jewish community’s businesses, organizations, programs, initiatives, and services. This will be achieved through our news and feature reporting, our robust community resources section, and advertising opportunities. Community Connection Kol HaBirah will foster connection through the sharing of news, ideas and resources, traversing vari-
ous geographic and ideological boundaries and strengthening the bond of community. Credible Reporting and Respectful, Open Dialogue Kol HaBirah is committed to factbased news reporting and providing a space for the respectful exchange of ideas on issues that matter to our community. A Community Newspaper for All Jews With an editorial commitment to addressing the issues facing today’s American Jewish communities, we will provide a space for the respectful exchange of ideas from the broader community Traditional Torah Values – Kol HaBirah proudly upholds traditional Torah values
(e.g. not employing staff on Shabbat; promoting Kosher restaurants, events, and news) and will strive to maintain these values while respecting the values of the entire Jewish community Support for the Unites States and Israel Kol HaBirah is committed to the safety and support of the government and citizens of the United States and Israel.
We believe Kol HaBirah will further establish the Greater Washington Jewish community’s presence on the map as a leading and vibrant Jewish community in America and beyond. Thank you for your continued support, and keep reading!
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD • Phil Jacobs
Hillel Goldschein, Publisher Hillel grew up in Queens, New York and joined the Greater Washington community in 2014 to work for Measuring Success, a consulting firm that, among other clients, supports Jewish non-profits in achieving their missions by helping them make strategic, data-driven decisions. Before becoming the publisher of Kol HaBirah, Hillel worked for PwC’s management consulting division, where he helped clients with organization redesign. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lander College and his
Bari Perlmutter, Managing Editor Bari Perlmutter grew up in Chappaqua, New York and attended the
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• Fran Kritz
• Steven Lieberman
master’s in industrial/organizational psychology from Baruch College. His thesis focused on rabbinic counseling and he provided consulting services for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah’s (YCT) pastoral counseling program. He studied in post high-school yeshiva under the tutelage of Rabbi Shaya Cohen of Yeshiva Zichron Aryeh, a division of Chofetz Chaim. Hillel is very involved in the Greater Washington Jewish community: he is one of the founders of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington’s 9:15 minyan; is one of the founders of Singles United Network (SUN) a group dedicated to facilitating singles setting each other up; is an associate member of Georgetown's Kesher Israel; was a fellow for Gather the Jews (now know as Gather DC); is involved with the Greater Washington Community Kollel; and volunteers with NSCY. During his free time, Hillel enjoys socializing, working out, watching and playing sports; collaborating with his roommates to host awesome Shabbat meals, Friday night onegs (festive gatherings), and shiurim (Torah lectures) in their apartment; and dating, and otherwise making sure to keep out of trouble.
University of Maryland where she studied economics. During her final semester at Maryland, she moved to the Kemp Mill community. With the help of MEOR’s residential program, she has been able to continuously grow in her Judaism. In the spring of 2016, she became involved in Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington’s 9:15 Minyan and currently serves as their treasurer. Bari enthusiastically serves as Kol HaBirah’s Managing Editor and looks forward to it’s success! During her free time, Bari goes to the gym, cooks, plans community and social events, plays the piano, and watches Terps basketball and Rangers hockey.
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
• Judah Lifschitz
Rachel Kohn, Editor in Chief A transplant from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, Rachel is a proud Akiva Hebrew Day School graduate (go Pioneers!) and attended Michlelet Orot’s Bat Tzion seminary program in the small Israeli town of Elkana from 2002 to 2003. Controversy over coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ignited her passion for fact-based journalism: while in seminary, she volunteered as
Kami Troy, Senior Editor Kami grew up in Tacoma, Washington and attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she majored in English. She earned her Master of Public Health in epidemiology
• Abe Zwany
a special correspondent for The Detroit Jewish News, reporting on life in Israel during the Second Intifada and in the shadow of the US invasion of Iraq. She followed her drive for “Truth Even Unto Its Innermost Parts” to Brandeis University, where she earned a degree in political science with a certificate in environmental studies, another focus in her work and writing. Rachel ran her own small business as a public relations consultant in Jerusalem, Israel before moving to Silver Spring, Maryland, in 2009 to pursue a master’s in International Media from American University. She has worked in the DC area as a communications specialist and a freelance writer and editor for the past four years. Her writing has been featured in the The Culture-ist, The Huffington Post, and The Jerusalem Post. During her theoretical free time (#singlemomlife), Rachel enjoys brushing up on her Sfat Emet, exploring Rock Creek Park with her son, and soaking in all the history and culture this amazing region has to offer.
and biostatistics from George Washington University in 1997. From 1997 until now, she has held many positions and consulting jobs where her title was always “________ writer”: she has been a medical writer for the pharmaceutical/biotech product development industry, a technical writer for a healthcare finance company, a grant writer for a healthcare research institute, a technical writer at NIAID (NIH), and speechwriter for government officials. She also wrote a blog, called “Let Them Eat Honeycake,” where she talked about motherhood as an Orthodox Jewish woman. Her favorite writing, however, is her annual Rosh Hashanah letter, which is not in wide release. Kami has lived in the Kemp Mill community of Silver Spring, Maryland since 2002, and currently resides there with her husband and four children, ages 10-15.
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INDEX / CONTRIBUTORS
ADVERTISER's INDEX Yaffa Koff Photography ..............................................................2 Shonny Kugler Realtor ...............................................................3 Torah School of Greater Washington Annual Auction................................................. 13 Advice on Lice ..............................................................................14 CapitalKidz.....................................................................................16 The Herbert Lieberman & Ruben D. Silverman Memorial Shabbaton featuring Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau.................................................................. 17
Kneseth Israel Pre-School .......................................................19 Silver Spring Jewish Center .................................................. 23 Camp Gan Israel Silver Spring............................................. 26 Barbara Ciment Team .........................................................32-33 "Anti-Semitism Awareness Act" with Sarah Stern................................................................ 34 Nurture Care................................................................................. 42 Brooklyn Sandwich Co. .......................................................... 44 Kosherwine.com ........................................................................ 45 Kedem.............................................................................................. 46
Guys' Nite Out & Seder Summit ......................................... 48 FIDF Lone Soldiers Program ................................................. 51 Shomer Shabbat Boy Scouts .................................................53 ATARA 2017..................................................................................... 54 Judaica Fine Art by Aitana Perlmutter .................................................................55 Kindness Animal Hospital..................................................... 62 Greater Washington Community Kollel..................................................................... 63 Dan Kugler's Design Center................................................... 64
ORGANIZATION INDEX Franco Foundation ..................................................................1, 7 Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy ................................................. 1, 16, 18, 51, 52 Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School ..................................................................... 1, 16, 18, 51 Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah...................................................... 1, 16, 18, 48 Beth Joshua Congregation...........................................1, 20, 21
KOL HaBirah
Ohev Sholom The National Synagogue .................................................... 1, 20 Torah School of Greater Washington ...................................................................................14 HaZamir DC.............................................................................16, 18 JewKvox.....................................................................................16, 18 Bais Yaakov of Baltimore.................................................. 18, 28 Kemp Mill Synagogue.............................................................. 22
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington....................................10, 22 Am HaTorah .................................................................................. 24 EDLAVITCH DCJCC ................................................................... 25 Yad Yehuda .................................................................................... 25 American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) ................................................................... 27 EMET ............................................................................................... 34
Voice of the Capital
Title
Author
IN THIS ISSUE
Page
Title
Author
Page
Franco Foundation Offers Safety Net for Financially Vulnerable Families
Barbara Trainin Blank
1, 7
Principles from Parsha: Bo
Joshua Z. Rokach
38
Get Fired Up for Al Ha'esh
Fran Kritz
1, 47
Divine Justice and Personal Responsibility
Rabbi Haim Ovadia
40
Bus Pilot Program
Suzanne Pollak
1, 9
David Hornestay
41
Lessons in Communal Responsibility
Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum
1,8
Faced with strife and simcha, experts on Jewish pastoral counseling share insights that transcend Judaism itself
JDS vs Berman Hebrew Academy
Hillel Goldschein
1, 52
Ravin's Reads: What to Do When You Worry Too Much
Rachel Ravin
41
Publisher's Note
Hillel Goldschein
6
Getting the Family into Activities
Justin Gedalia Walls
42
Taking the Bored out of the Board
Rabbi Ozzie Burnham
12
Game Day! Honey Sriraha Wings
Shushy Turin
43
Seventy-Five Rows In, Dead Center: My Day at the Trump Inauguration
Bob Levi
15
Deep Dish
Fran Kritz
44
Getting Our Shabbat Shir On
Sarah Antine with contributions from Debbie Snyder
16, 18
An Old Question for a New Column: Old World vs. New World Wine
Gamliel Kronemer
45
A Celebration of Women in Tanach at Bais Yaakov of Baltimore's 2017 Exhibit
Sophie Mazel and Ava Rose
18
Score One for Kosher
Chaiky Bakcman
47
Walking in the Footsteps of History in Selma
Rabbi Uri Topolosky
20
Scotch vs. Bourbon: A Spirited Debate
Joshua E. London
49
The Past Is Not Behind Us Yet
Maharat Ruth Friedman
20
Super Bowl LI Preview
Roey Herzfeld
50
Beth Joshua Congregation Welcomes New Families to Aspen Hill
Beth Joshua Congregation
21
All Star Voting: Zaza Pachulia
Sam Glick
53
KMS Event Shines Spotlight on Local Authors
Ezra Troy
22
Sing Out - or Otherwise Perform - O Jewish Women!
Barbara Trainin Blank
54
JCRC of Greater Washington Opposes Ban on Refugees
Rachel Kohn
22
Capital Arts
Nancy Schreiber, Arts Editor
55
TEAM Shabbos at Am Hatorah Informs and Inspires
Deborah Scheinberg
24
Style Section: Coming Up Trumps!
Beverly Bloom
55
Am HaTorah in Bethesda Promotes Rabbi to FullTime, Expands Educational Programming
Deborah Scheinberg
24
Free to see
Dinah Rokach
56
Young Professionals Learn Adulting 101, Mingle at DCJCC's Life Hacks Workshop
Ben Wacks
25
Dear Rivkie
Rivkie
58
Leaving the Jews Out of Jewish History
Rafael Medoff
30
Ask "The Single"
The Single
58
The One Thing He Couldn't Change
Jacob Kohn
30
The Dating Coach Responds: Random Kiddush Ladies
Rachel Burnham
58
Presidential Election Takeaways
Eli Chomsky
31
Job Search Nuggets: It's Not About You
David Marwick
60
John Kerry's Rant
Sarah N. Stern
34
Handling Large and Unexpected Expenses
Rami Mandelbaum
60
Trump's Presidency Marks Shift in Israel Policy
Zachary Leshin
35
Young Professional Spotlight: Howie Slugh
Batya H. Carl
61
Red, Blue, and Frum: The Orthodox Community and the US Political Divide
DeDe Jacobs-Komisar
37
Farmer's Corner
Aryeh Goldschein
62
Kol HaBirah and the Book of Shemot: A New Sefer for a New Newspaper
Alan Fisher
38
Was I Really Redeemed from Egypt?
Rabbi Hillel Shaps
63
WWW.KOLHABIRAH.COM
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE
Publisher’s Note Rabbi Dr. Chaim Joel Laks, my grandfather, passed away six years ago this past Sunday. He was instrumental in building up the Jewish community in Queens, New York; he was very involved in the start up of a local shul, school and vaad (rabbinic council), and served as a chaplain for many years in the very hospital where he ultimately gave his soul to his Creator, the morning prayer on his lips as he took his final breaths. I recall speaking at his funeral about the impact he made on me. He was a very sophisticated and respected individual, receiving a Ph.D. in philosophy and rabbinic ordination at a very young age. He even had a street named after him. But what was most impressive to me was his ability to understand people and to value everyone’s perspective. He was likely much smarter and knowledgeable than almost anyone he met, yet when you spoke with him, you felt that your opinion mattered. You felt that you had an understanding individual on the other side of the conversation who considered your thoughts without judgment. That is what mattered most to me, and that is what I spoke about. I spoke about how he helped me write a paper arguing one point of view, and then helped me write
my next paper arguing the opposite point of view (my teacher was a bit confused when he saw the second paper). He appreciated diversity of perspective and that made a significant impression on me. I look to follow in his footsteps. I, too, would like to make an impact on my community. I, too, would like to consider others’ needs and address them to the best of my ability. I, too, would like to extol diversity of perspective. On a national level, the country seems more overtly divided than I can remember; and on a local level, the Greater Washington Jewish community could benefit from increased collaboration and sharing of its great programming, resources, and human capital. Kol HaBirah (translated as “Voice of the Capital”) looks to fill these gaps. Kol HaBirah will provide a vehicle for the local community to share its resources and perspectives with each other. Maybe we’ll attend a program or event we wouldn’t have heard about because it was 20 minutes away. Maybe we’ll become friends with a person we never met before. Perhaps even more ambitious, perhaps we’ll come to value the perspective of someone who has a different opinion than us about a “hot-button” issue. Kol HaBirah will not be fulfilling its mission if any one person is able to read the entire paper and leave satisfied that their prior opinions were validated and were not challenged. We are intentional-
ly trying to bring diversity of perspective, challenge preconceived notions, and facilitate difficult yet important conversations. We would like to be clear that as a member of the community, Kol HaBirah is your paper. Kol HaBirah will be whatever you make it. We can’t thank enough all those people, businesses, and organizations that contributed to this first issue. We did our best within the time constraints to reach out to as many people as possible to ask for their involvement. We can’t run this ourselves, nor do we want to do this ourselves. As a community paper, we intend on being a voice of the community, or as Kol HaBirah translates, a “Voice of the Capital.” Our intention is not to provide you with news, perspectives and resources–– we wish to be the vehicle that allows your news, perspectives, and resources to be heard beyond just your inner circle and brings you news, perspectives, and resources that come from beyond your inner circle. Take the poignant example of our mission and goals, displayed on our “About Page.” This was sent out to community members across the spectrum (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, unaffiliated, Republican, Democrat, etc.) and received strong feedback from many helpful people. After multiple iterations, the majority of responses from all sides were ultimately in the affirmative and that’s when we knew we had our mission and goals. We didn’t make our mission and goals–– we asked the community to define it for us, with us. We intend
to continue asking the community to shape Kol HaBirah so that it reflects your voice and addresses your needs. That said, we face the extremely difficult task of balancing the opinions and perspectives of our community and trying to keep everyone happy. That won’t happen. Everyone will not be happy all the time and we don’t look to promise that; but we do guarantee to value your perspective, whatever that may be, and work with you to publish it in some form in Kol HaBirah. Out of all the articles that were submitted for this issue, we had to decline only one, and it was on the basis that certain aspects of the content could come across as attacking certain parts of the community. That lies outside the scope of one aspect of our mission: to provide “respectful” dialogue, and an offer was made to collaborate on re-working the article. I’d like to thank the Kol HaBirah staff and our “friends” at the Jewish Link of New Jersey for their enormous efforts in making sure this gets published on time. Our inaugural issue is the result of the enormous amount of dedication and energy that was put in it by the folks you will see on the “About Us” page. If you like this edition, please reach out to them and thank them for their efforts, as they truly deserve it. If you don’t like this edition, please let me know and I’d be happy to talk about how we can improve it so that it best fits your needs. Best, Hillel Goldschein Publisher, hillel@kolhabirah.com
THANK YOU Thank you to all of our contributors for their role in supporting this edition of Kol HaBirah! We ask our readers to please take special note of the advertisers in this issue, many of whom are investing large sums of money in a venture that hadn’t existed before today. We consider these business, organizations, and individuals community leaders and we encourage you, our reader-
ship, to actively support them. They recognized the value that Kol HaBirah can provide to them and to the broader community and they invested in it accordingly. Should you see the value in Kol HaBirah as well, please support them so that they can continue supporting Kol HaBirah. Tangible actions you can take include utilizing their services more, letting them know that you
saw them in Kol HaBirah and thanking them for supporting a valuable community service. We intend on following up with our advertisers to learn the impact of their promotions and we hope that you will help us by increasing the promotion’s impact so that we can continue to provide this publication for you on a regular basis. As of Tuesday, Kol HaBirah has covered 49% of its first is-
sue expenses and 42% of its projected second issue expenses via advertising revenue. We maintain our ambitious goal of covering 100% of our per issue expenses by the third issue and we look to the community to help us get there. If you would like to partner with Kol HaBirah and leverage our promotion space, please reach out to partnerwithus@kolhabirah.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Here at Kol HaBirah, we love feedback–– which is great, because we get a lot of it. We even received feedback before our first issue hit the stands! Please send your feedback to feedback@kolhabirah.com so that we can publish it in our regular feedback section. Keep in mind that our general policy is to favor submissions that are provided with a name and location (e.g., Bethesda, Maryland). Here are a few pieces of helpful feedback our publisher received in response to the idea to start Kol HaBirah: “So… all that education was a waste?” –– Dr. Goldschein, the publisher’s mom “It can take you years before you become profitable.” –– Dr. Goldschein, the publisher’s “So, Hillel, you have surfaced as a newspaper publisher! Looks like Jared Kushner has replaced me as a career model. Now you have to find an Ivanka and convert her. The enterprise
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sounds challenging and exciting. Now I’ll go directly to the cautions: 1) from an economic standpoint publishing is close to an impossible business–– every day publications are closing–– our digital world has taken a terrible toll; 2) beware of the social attraction clouding your assessment of the economic viability of the paper; and 3) this is very unlikely to become your prime source of income SOOO do not be too quick to join the ranks of the unemployed. You have yet to find the right job in the I/O Psychology world, but it is out there and it is within that realm you may eventually find expression for your entrepreneurial needs. Give me a fuller picture of your career thinking when you have the time.” ––Hillel’s graduate school professor and (apparently former) role model “P.S. If a laundromat is an advertiser your worries are over.”
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
–– Hillel’s graduate school professor and (apparently former) role model “To Hillel, who is embarking on a great new endeavor that will not be a disaster. Good luck!” Dr. Tevi Troy, signing a copy of his book “Shall We Wake the President?” It advises presidents on disaster management... “Don’t forget us when you make it to the big time. I heard you are a hard worker and I am investing in you early on because I believe in you. Remember that I was your friend when you first started before you became established.” –– Executive officer in a local organization “Congratulations on your new business! I wish you much success and I want you to know that if there is anyone who can handle the political aspects of the different types of Jews and political views in the Washington DC area, it is you!” –– Eytan Goldschein, Hillel’s Brother
“This is great news! Can you drop it by our office? We can leave it out. Congrats man!” –– Hillel’s former boss, after hearing about the launch of his new Jewish newspaper. “Make sure to use your good manners in your business. Don’t move to a house too quickly. Get married first!” –– The helpful attendant at Hillel’s apartment building “Sounds like a great idea and lots of work!” “Very ambitious project and will certainly keep you off the streets and out of trouble.” -anonymous A few more of the common lines thrown our way: “It’s a terrible business idea… how will you support yourself? Who’s funding this? What is your niche? Print newspaper is a dying business! Don’t leave your job… What did my competitor advertise?”
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COMMUNITY FEATURES Franco Foundation Offers Safety Net for Financially Vulnerable Families CONTINUED FROM P. 1 Greater Washington to help a family in dire straits. “I and other members of the minyan committed to helping them for a few years,” said Allan Franco, who created the foundation in 1999 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and administers it to this day. “I spoke with my accountant, and he volunteered to set the foundation up.” Initially, the foundation was intended to allow members of the Sephardi Minyan to make financial contributions for families in need of assistance. “The first year, our assistance totaled around $8,000 and maybe 10 people from the minyan gave on a monthly basis,” said Franco. The foundation expanded as the need expanded. Today, the Franco Foundation serves residents in the Silver Spring communities of White Oak, Woodside, and Kemp Mill; in Rockville, Maryland; and in Washington, D.C. Contributions come from all over the area, though 90 percent are from Kemp Mill. Passion for community service is something Allan Franco learned at home from the example of his parents Nathan and Dotty Franco. They grew closer to Judaism through their relationship with the late Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer of Shomrai Emunah, noted Franco. An individual or family in need typically receives assistance for at most six months, because the goal is to “assist struggling families or individuals until they can get back on their feet financially,” said Franco. That can be challenging, because some individuals or families may not be able to bounce back by then. There are those who need to continue to receive assistance, even if it’s a more modest amount, like $200 or $300 a month. “It means a lot to them,” Franco said. He has no choice but to take people off assistance sometimes after six months because new families need help and he is working with a limited budget. Some people in need approach Franco directly, but he also gets referrals from their friends or from area rabbis. He maintains strong connections with the rabbinical leadership, relying on their guidance.
The Franco Foundation presently distributes $15,000 to $18,000 of contributions per month between 18 families. In 2015, donations totaled almost $250,000. As many as 75 to 100 donors contribute to the foundation per month, giving an average of $200-$400 monthly and keeping local families afloat with their regular contributions. Though the one-person dynamo behind the foundation, Franco called its success the “direct result” of the generosity of the local Jewish community and the trust they have in the Franco family.
That trust is enhanced by the fact that the Franco Foundation has the optimal operating costs for any nonprofit: none. “Our contributors know that 100 percent of their donations is spent on helping others,” said Franco. “We don’t keep even five or 10 percent. The foundation also has no payroll.” Franco covers whatever office supplies are needed, and his accountant still does all tax returns at no charge. Two recipients of Franco Foundation assistance described the assistance they had received on the condition of anonymity. One family faced various difficulties, which included a child with chronic medical needs requiring “higher-than-usual” medication and medical care costs. Marital separation and the change to a single-income household complicated their situation. “The Foundation helped us by providing funds to pay for medication, copays, medical bills and groceries,” the recipient said. “But it was more than that. It relieved a huge stress at times when stresses were really, really high. For someone without parents or other family members in the area, having support through a call or e-mail when all other resources are exhausted is tremendous.” The other family faced a sudden and severe medical emergency after the husband–– who had been the main source
of income for the family–– was unable to work for more than six months. There had been financial difficulties prior to his illness, but their situation was just beginning to improve when this crisis occurred. The wife was unable to work for several months as well, both because she was unemployed and then had to care for her husband. “A friend reached out to the Franco Foundation for us,” the recipient said. “We received much-needed financial assistance from them, which was greatly needed to help us pay the mortgage and grocery bills.” It isn’t always easy making the decisions that so deeply affect people’s lives, especially since the process rests entirely on Franco. While the foundation lacks the red tape of some charities, he nevertheless requires a comprehensive snapshot of the would-be recipient’s financial situation, analyzing it with the eye of an experienced business person. He also looks into health issues and whether the individual or family is receiving assistance from anyone else. “But the process is fast,” Franco said. “I ponder it for a day or so, and then act.” The decision for the foundation’s contributors is usually much simpler. Asked why give to the Franco Foundation in particular when there are so many philanthropic organizations, one donor responded, “I choose to donate to the Franco Foundation because the money stays within the local community, helping families in financial need without any of the donated money ‘wasted’ on needless overhead. It is special because I know the Franco family personally and trust their integrity and honesty.” Although the foundation doesn’t “advertise,” Franco said that Max Rudmann, a Kemp Mill resident deeply involved in tzedakah work, makes sure information about it is included on the local listservs and in the “Shabbat Shorts” newsletter of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah a few times per year. Franco suspects there are many local families whose needs are not being met by community institutions; in fact, he was hesitant to have this article published out of concern that the foundation might be inundated with a potential influx of new cases beyond its capacity to support. In order for the foundation to be able to continue its work effectively, he must ensure that it
Allan Franco
always has sufficient funds for the next six to eight months. The Franco Foundation has a warm, cooperative relationship with Yad Yehuda, another local organization that offers free Shabbat meals and financial assistance. “I speak with Nechemia Mond often about situations we’re both aware of,” Franco said of the organization’s founder. Franco would like to see greater coordination of services in the Greater Washington Jewish community to assist those in need more effectively. “It would be extremely helpful to form a communal social services committee to help families and individuals find work and make better financial decisions–– such as moving to a smaller house or seeking better rental rates when they are in the midst of unfortunate events–– so they require a shortterm solution to help get them back on their feet rather than having to rely on longer-term support,” said Franco. Some components of such a committee already exist, such as KempMillJobAssist, run by Rudmann and David Marwick. “What began as a great idea has become a critical safety net for those on the brink of losing their house–– facing eviction, utility cutoffs–– or a lack of basic necessities,” Franco said with pride. With wider coordination and the continued generosity of the Greater Washington community, the Franco Foundation could lead the way toward more mitzvot than ever before. Allan Franco can be reached by potential donors or those in need of assistance at thefrancofoundation@gmail.com. All donations are tax deductible.
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COMMUNITY FEATURES Lessons in Communal Responsibility CONTINUED FROM P. 1 ed considerably since the recent passing of Rabbi Klavan on the common qualities these men shared in their leadership of the community. Much could be written about the impact each of them made on numerous families and individuals within their congregations. In the context of community connectivity, I will focus on their acts on behalf of the community beyond their congregations. I hope the thoughts will be enlightening not only to rabbis, but to any individual striving to lead an inspired life that includes community service.
ly guilty of leaving days’ worth of papers uncollected even when he is in town? How many people would still get out of the car, thinking of the dangers the abandoned papers leave for the homeowner? Rabbis have a number of responsibilities within their synagogues. Many times, a congregation might expect the rabbi to play a role in the broader community infrastructure. A rabbi who tends to his daily congregational responsibilities, and even to some responsibilities in the broader community at the request of his lay leadership, is doing his job, earning his paycheck, being an honest and conscientious employee. What if no one asks a rabbi to ensure that a matter in the broader community
Rabbi Rosenbaum (left) and Rabbi Anemer
A word that each of these individuals would regularly intone with great passion was achrayus, frequently translated as responsibility. What, in communal terms, does that mean? Imagine an individual leaving his home in the morning. After entering his car and backing out of the driveway, he turns to the side and notices the past two days’ newspapers in his neighbor’s driveway. As he shifts the car into drive, he suddenly remembers that his neighbor asked him to keep an eye on the house while he was on vacation for two weeks. Our protagonist stops, puts the car in park, gets out, and collects the newspaper. He accepted a responsibility upon himself and his word means something. What if the neighbor had not mentioned that he was going out of town, but our protagonist saw him loading the car two days ago and the neighbor normally asks him to watch the house? Would a person of responsibility stop to collect the papers? What if the neighbor never expressed a wish that someone collect his papers, and is frequent-
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is dealt with appropriately? Is it his responsibility? Does he have to save the world? Doesn’t he, like so many other noble individuals, have a family to look after? What I find remarkable about these three rabbis is they all lived the community’s needs, whether it was a community standard regarding kosher food, an individual wronged, or so many things in between. The only way I can grasp the remarkable devotion these individuals had to the religious needs of the community is that they saw themselves as charged to play such a role. Their synagogues might not have assigned them these duties–– it was G-d Himself. Each of these rabbis lived an inspired rabbinate, both in their synagogues and beyond, because they believed it was the Divine Will that they serve the community in this manner. Only with such an outlook can I understand how Rabbi Winter could take a passionate interest not only in the needs of congregants whom he had known for decades, but also in the case of the
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
kashrut policy of a store while he was deathly ill. Despite his remarkably gentle nature, Rabbi Klavan was a man of tremendous passion and vigor to fight for what was correct. In his last months, he still engaged in a very fierce debate over communal policies. Rabbi Anemer headed two institutions, holding roles that would have required the efforts of at least one and a half people far his junior, and yet he always had time for communal matters. Their lives did not revolve around jobs and contracts, but rather a sense of mission. They each saw the religious needs and growth of the community as part of their personal mission in life. Another aspect that I find so striking about these three wonderful people is their tremendous adherence to the traditions of the Greater Washington Jewish community. Rabbi Klavan’s esteemed father, Rabbi Yehoshua Klavan, of blessed memory, was a very prominent rabbinic personality in the community. Many of the communal religious standards were set by him. It was understandable, but quite beautiful, how frequently Rabbi Klavan would quote his father at Vaad meetings. Sitting at a table with Rabbi Klavan, I would occasionally reflect on how I, a young rabbi in the Washington, DC area in the 21st century, was being connected back to a world-class authority who was a product of the Kamenitz Yeshiva at the beginning of the 20th century. I once asked Rabbi Anemer about a communal practice. Here was a rabbi through whom all communal infrastructure ran; surely he would have a passionate explanation for the practice. After all, if he didn’t feel strongly about it, why would it be the communal policy? I was shocked when Rabbi Anemer’s explanation was simply that this policy was in place when he came to the area and he saw no reason to change it. He did not seek to put a personal stamp on local practice if it wasn’t necessary just because he could–– an act of true respect for previous authorities. I also remember attending a rabbinic meeting at the Klavan home. Rabbi Winter pointed at a portrait of Rabbi Klavan’s esteemed father. He urged me and one of the other younger rabbis present to view ourselves as links in the chain of the Washington rabbinate. Today’s rabbis and communal leaders are starting from a very different point than our predecessors, thanks in large part to the contributions of these special rabbis and many other individuals. In the Vaad Harabanim we have continued to build on the communal infrastructure of kashrut certification, conversion, divorce, litigation, and general communal needs and causes. Rabbis throughout the Greater Washington Jewish community are ensuring the standards of their communities’ eruv and mikvah. This is all in addition to their standard congregational responsibilities, including teaching Torah, giving halachic guidance and counsel, officiating at life-cycle events. Rabbis are engaged with and attentive to the education being provided in our schools. There is much to be done. The more we view ourselves, and all others whose ef-
forts enhance the community, as being on a Divine mission to spiritually enrich the lives of His People, the more we can work together and learn from each other, as we look back to men of a previous generation who accomplished so much, individually and collectively. The above is based on an article published in the bulletin of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Washington, Tishrei 5777, Volume 4.2. It has been modified by the author and published here with his permission. Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum, a musmach of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, became the Rabbi of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington in 2010 after serving as Assistant Rabbi under Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer since 2005. Rabbi Rosenbaum became a member of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Washington in 2001 and has since served in numerous positions, including President. He is currently the Vaad's Beth Din Administrator.
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COMMUNITY FEATURES County Busing Pilot Stalls CONTINUED FROM P. 1 who has a daughter at Berman Academy and a son at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Polonetsky definitely misses the pilot program. “Now we do a lot of driving,” he said. “The loss of [the busing program] has definitely added to traffic congestion” in the already-congested area around Seven Locks Road in Potomac, he said. Maury Litwack, a former Silver Spring, Maryland resident and the director of state political affairs for the Orthodox Union, has been working for several years to provide private school students the same busing rights as their counterparts in public schools. “Over a dozen states around the country provide transportation as a basic right to public and private school children,” Litwak said. “It’s a safety issue. It’s also an environmental issue, and it’s a common sense issue.” Nearby states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey provide busing to private, non-profit schools, but Maryland does not–– yet all parents, regardless of where they choose to send their children for schooling, must pay school taxes. The Orthodox Union was “very pleased the County launched a program and are still responsive,” said Litwak, but then the council reduced funding for the program with barely any warning and “without enough information or enough voices from those receiving it.” He is urging everyone who appreciated the program to call and meet with county officials to let them know how important the program is. For Pearl Rawson of Potomac, Maryland, the end of the busing program meant somehow getting her three daughters to and from Berman while both she and her husband work at full time jobs. Due to the one-hour difference between the end of the school day for lower school and upper schools students at Berman–– their girls are in first, fourth and seventh grade, respectively–– Rawson and her husband need to travel to and from the Rockville school three times a day. And this does not include
the additional trips for basketball practice and games. The pilot program “was amazing,” said Rawson. Now, she spends time working out carpool schedules with two other families, and her husband does the driving. Berman does offer a bus, but for three kids it is expensive, she said. The Rawsons pay for their three daughters to use it only on Friday afternoons because it is such a busy day. With fewer students being bused to and from school, congestion has definitely gotten worse, said Jennifer Zukerman, development director at Berman. Berman administrators and parents were “extremely disappointed” when the pilot program ended, she said, but she is optimistic a new county council and executive director will review the pilot program and hopefully bring it back. Litwak is less charitable. “The county got away with not finishing the program,” he said. “They know the need and have not continued to work on this issue in a meaningful fashion.” “The community has tasted what busing is like,” and now they need to fight for it, he said. And now is the time to do so, according to several people interviewed for this article. Sam Melamed, co-chair of advocacy in Maryland for the Orthodox Union and a parent of three children in Jewish day schools, pointed out that because county residents voted for term limits in November of last year, four council members and the county executive cannot seek reelection. The significant shift in representation will represent an opportunity to put the issue back on the table. Melamed and other parents plan to make busing to private schools a major issue in the upcoming local elections. “It’s a critical issue for young families in our community,” he said. “It’s definitely going to impact who we are going to support,” he added. “It’s safe to say for a large part of the day school community, there is a lot of frustration. We had it and then it was taken away,” he said of the pilot program.
Melamed called the lack of busing “a quality of life issue.” Currently, there are “a hundred idling mini vans,” picking up and dropping off students during rush hour by parents with hectic schedules, he noted. Ira Ungar, who has two students at Berman, worked hard to get the pilot program off the ground. Parents in Kemp Mill also were a big help by making it known how important a bus would be for them, he said. He called the program a success, saving parents money and time and keeping cars off county roads while not costing the county very much money. “It’s to the county’s advantage to get those mini vans off the roads,” he said. However, the county is no longer actively trying to work out a solution. John Matthews, the county’s former director of transportation, is the consultant the County hired to investigate several alternatives. He issued a report awhile back, but “without funding,” he said it just wasn’t viable to use public school buses at private schools. Another problem was the school board’s decision to change school starting times, eliminating some of the time that the buses and drivers were available, he said. Matthews noted that private schools draw students from all over the county, making it difficult to come up with a route that was economically feasible. However, he said, “the Jewish community tends to have a tight community, focused around synagogues,” making it easier to pick students up at just a few bus spots. According to his study that was completed in the Fall of 2016, parents aren’t willing to pay more than one dollar to a $1.25 each way, and that is not possible without county funding. Parents also don’t want their students to sit on a bus for more than an hour at a time, according to his study. Matthews said he really hasn’t worked on the issue since he completed his report. The Torah School currently is paying to rent one school bus so its students can get home in the late afternoons on Tues-
days, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Parents are charged $350 per child per afternoon, he said. Because it took a while to work out this program, many parents had already designed carpools and decided not to participate. Therefore, the Torah School has had to subsidize the program. “We are losing money on it,” said Rabbi Yossie Charner, director of development. However, he said, the cost of the county-provided bus is still cheaper than renting a private bus as the county only charges the school for the bus driver’s time and gas. “I personally have spent many, many hours working with the county,” Charner said, adding that he already is trying to renew the rental program and possibly adding a morning run for the 2017-2018 school year. “We want to be positive. We want them to know we are appreciative,” Charner said. “We’d love to have busing back.” Under the pilot program, three buses transported Torah School students in Kemp Mill, Olney, White Oak, Rockville and Potomac. Since it ended, “Parents have been miserable, because they have to carpool,” he said. Most of the parents are working and already pay tuition. If parents of private school students speak out during local elections, Litwack believes there is a chance to get those buses back. “The OU’s model of advocacy is very reliant on an active group of parents and activists engaged on these issues,” he said. “We are more than happy to continue to work on this, but this needs to start with a vocal group of parents speaking to their local and state elected officials on what they can do to help the nonpublic school community.” With the support of parents, said Litwak, the Orthodox Union “is certainly able to take up the torch.” Suzanne Pollak is the senior writer/editor at Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington. She was a reporter at The Courier Post in New Jersey and The Washington Jewish Week, and she now writes for The Montgomery Sentinel.
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Taking the “Bored” Out of The Board BY: Rabbi Ozzie Burnham I’m betting you’ve heard about them. It might have been in an unsolicited comment over the phone, while picking up the kids at school, or at the poolside on a lazy summer Sunday, but you’ve no doubt been told about the following organizational boards: The ATM: “The biggest donors are put on the board. The organization does a dog and pony show for them every once in a while, just to keep the cash flowing.” The Bobbleheads: “Those people clearly don’t get much time respect at home - they take it out at board meetings. It’s all talk and procedure.” The Like Button: “The Executive Director has the board around his finger. He knows how to schmooze them up and they know to rubber stamp his decisions.” While there certainly are boards that show some or all of these bad habits, the reality of what most boards are–– and, more importantly, what they’re capable of accomplishing–– is cynically obscured by such broadsides. In reality, boards are the shared ownership of communal success. This is not a figure of speech. Legally, the board “owns” the organization. They carry ultimate hire/fire power and are on the hook should anything go wrong. There’s significant responsibility there, although to somewhat paraphrase
a childhood hero: “With great responsibility comes great power.” Board empowerment is the first key to high performing boards, and its absence, more than any other dynamic, is responsible for poor board performance. If board members are not encouraged by the leadership and organizational staff to proactively build the organization, they’ll likely atrophy in their conference room chairs. The success of boards can be almost directly correlated with how much and how wisely its members are empowered. A telltale sign of board disempowerment is where members can say no, but can’t say yes. Help a member find their “yes” and you will have developed a passionate organizational partner Partners invest their personal human capital, and a broad “investment portfolio” is the second key to board success. While no organization would turn down a board member’s treasure, they often stand to gain even more from their talent and time. Professionals that have developed deep domain knowledge, community members with wide social networks, and creatives of all stripes can bring much needed insight, innovation, and varied resources to the work of societal improvement. Just as organizations cultivate and then solicit financial investment, they should routinely be cultivating and soliciting board members to benefit from the full spectrum of their unique abilities.
The third key to success addresses an inherent structural challenge. In the effort to bring strength to its ranks, boards recruit “alpha” types: people who are professionally successful and get things done. Unfortunately, alphas can be corrosive to the fundamentally collaborative nature of committee work. That said, “death by committee” is a real danger on boards and must be combatted by strong individual action. How to resolve this inherent tension between the powerful individual and the power of the collective? The answer, and the third key to board success, is leadership. Leadership has become an amorphous and overused word. Amazon offers over 57,000 books that carry the word in their title. Considering the diversity of its meanings and applications, I won’t hazard an authoritative definition for “leadership.” I will point out though, that leadership serves as the bridge between the competing energies of the individual and the collective. Well-developed and well-exercised leadership is the strong force that can hold together powerful and diverse individuals to create an exponentially enhanced whole. If you lead or serve on a board that’s not running on all cylinders, ask yourself: Can fellow members say “yes” in addition to saying “no”? How can I/we empower them to say “yes” more actively and emphatically?
Are we making full use of what our board members have to offer? Have we invested the time to identify each member’s complement of talents and apply those to our mission’s success? Are we a collection of competing individuals, a uniform collective, or a forum for leadership that creates synthesis of the individuals and the collective? The challenges facing our world in general and our community in particular are becoming ever more complex. Their resolutions demand ever greater sophistication and collaboration. Now is the time when we need to take shared ownership of our community’s future. There’s nothing boring about that! Since his teen years, Rabbi Ozzie Burnham’s driving force has been, in his own words, to “carry the Jewish ball downfield.”With his deep passion and experience in Jewish education, Ozzie was the co-founder and Director of Education for MEOR Maryland, a Jewish outreach organization at The University of Maryland. His natural talents in strategy, systems, and communications systems led him to become MEOR National’s Director of Operations, overseeing over twenty campus branches nationwide. In 2015 Ozzie opened Oztonish Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps Jewish non-profits adopt the strategies and systems of modern business so that they can achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Ozzie is on the board of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington and on the Capital Campaign Committee for The Torah School of Greater Washington. He lives in Kemp Mill with his wife Rachel and their son Daniel.
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JCRC Testifies for Increase in State Scholarships to Private School Students The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington last week testified in favor of a budget increase for a Maryland state program that provides scholarships to low-income private school students, and in its first year assisted more than 100 youngsters attending Jewish day schools in Montgomery County. Many Jewish students from Baltimore also benefited. The Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program, which was launched for the 20162017 school year, was established as a line item in the state’s $42 billion budget by Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The legislature appropriated $4.85 million from the state’s general fund for the scholarships for the one-year initiative, and the governor is now seeking to increase the program to $10 million over the next three years. Hogan’s request for fiscal year 2018 is an increase of $1.85 million, which would make $6.7 million available for the 2017-2018 school year. In its testimony to the state Senate’s Education, Business and Administration Subcommittee and the General Assembly’s Education and Economic Development Subcommittee, the JCRC — while reaffirming its long-standing commitment to public school education — said that “because the program is funded
through general tax revenue, we feel it adds new money for education without taking away money from public schools, and therefore it merited JCRC support.” The JCRC had not taken a position on BOOST for the initial funding year. “At the time, we did not feel that we had enough information,” said Ron Halber, JCRC executive director. “With a lack of
information about the source of funding and the details of the plan, we could not determine if the program met our standards of support.” The JCRC’s executive committee voted earlier this month to back the program. “We’ve seen its success in helping day school families in our community,” Halber said. “In addition, we are confi-
dent that the BOOST program has been structured in such a way that it does not take any money away from the public school system. The tuition program represents a miniscule portion of the state budget, but makes a huge difference in family budgets.” Students eligible for the free or reduced lunch program can also apply for the scholarships, and this year saw more than 100 youngsters attending Montgomery County Orthodox Jewish day schools receive tuition scholarships, which ranged from $1,000 to $4,000 each. Thirty-five students at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville received a total of $50,000 in scholarship funding; 46 students at the Torah School of Greater Washington in Silver Spring received a total of $65,800; and 25 students at the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, also in Silver Spring, received scholarships totaling $32,600. It was not immediately available if the Alef Bet Montessori School in Rockville and the Leo Bernstein Jewish Academy of Fine Arts in Silver Spring have students who received scholarships. (The BOOST program’s structure does not allow Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville to participate at this time.) In total, 444 students in Montgomery County received BOOST scholarship assistance; the only two areas of the state that have more youngsters receiving scholarships this school year were Baltimore County and the City of Baltimore.
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There’s No Place Like “Home” At the Torah School of Greater Washington BY: Torah School of Greater Washington
SILVER SPRING (MD) ––– “There’s No Place Like Home,” the theme of the 2017 Torah School of Greater Washington’s Annual Auction, is an apt metaphor for the nurturing experience provided at the Torah School for each of its 367 students by its administration, teachers, and staff. Located near downtown Silver Spring, the Torah School, which opened its doors in 2004 with 82 children, is undergoing a growth spurt commensurate with that of the Greater Washington Jewish community at large. Even with the increased enrollment, the primary mission of the school
remains to educate “the whole child” as if he or she is the most important child in the school, by offering a wholesome, well-balanced education. Under the leadership of Rabbi Yitzchak Charner, headmaster, and Mrs. Julie Malka, general studies principal, the school offers Judaic Studies learning that fosters a love for Judaism, making it relevant to the students’ lives, and a general studies program that is both current and progressive. Academic excellence and enthusiasm for Judaism, together with consistent teacher-parent communication and emphases on character refinement, personal responsibility, and social-emotional
Rabbi Yitzchak Charner, Headmaster learning with Mendel Beitsh
development, create a home-like atmosphere in which each student can thrive and meet his/her unique potential. In an effort to fulfill its responsibilities to its students and families, the Torah School has recently launched a capital campaign and is in the midst of enlarging its building to better service and meet the needs of every single child. A math center, five classrooms, three offices, and three sets of bathrooms are presently under construction. (The details of this project are specified at www. tsgwbuilds.com.) This phase of expansion, however, is just the first stage in bringing the school’s ultimate vision to fruition. With the overarching goal to effectively educate all Jewish children, regardless of learning style or financial ability, the Torah School’s aspirations include enhancement of its educational support services with a focus on more individualized instruction, the integration and incorporation of improved technology into all classrooms, increased opportunities for professional development, and the strengthening and bolstering of security systems to ensure the safety of the school and its students.
(left to right) Mirel Sugar, Efraht Samberg, Bayla Frank, Leah Charner, Tehila Mond, Zehava Lachman
By providing a “home” for each Torah School family and investing in the whole child, it is the ultimate goal of this school that these youngsters will, in turn, give back to and enrich their community. This dream can become reality with the completion of the building and the realization of the objectives to help each student achieve success. “It is a fantastic privilege, an awesome responsibility, and an unbelievable pleasure to be involved in the Chinuch (education) of our precious Neshamos (souls),” said Rabbi Charner. “We encourage everyone to join our campaign for the future of our community.” For the students at the Torah School, he said, “there’s no place like ‘home.’”
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Seventy-Five Rows In, Dead Center: My Day at the Trump Inauguration BY: Bob Levi The recent inauguration of President Donald Trump was the sixth presidential inauguration I have attended. The importance of a presidential inauguration cannot be overstated. The quadrennial event, if a new president is sworn in, is a unique symbol of the peaceful transition from one regime to another. From biblical history all the way to the current state of global affairs, the peaceful transfer of power between competing political forces has been the exception, not the rule. In young democracies such as the one in which we live and in Israel, for example, this tremendous political feat succeeds and is envied. Although the West Front of the U.S. Capitol has been a constant for the inaugurations I attended, each occasion has been unique; interactions with fellow witnesses to history has varied from year to year, and the flavors and tones of the event have been very different also. I can say with absolute confidence that the inauguration which took place on January 20, 2017 was distinct. The day started no different than previous inaugural excursions to the National Mall. I woke up early to beat the morning rush that tends to clog security checkpoints to the Capitol grounds. Joining me for the day was Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington President Michael Shimoff. We drove to the Wheaton Metro parking garage, arriving about 7:00 AM. There was no shortage of parking spots–– maybe a dozen cars were in view on Level 3. The metro station was also fairly quiet and the train arrived promptly. The 25-minute train ride was uneventful and only about 15 people disembarked at Union Station. Exiting the station, we were joined by an evangelical pastor from Orange County, California. He mentioned how impressed he was by the number of Jews and rabbis in town to attend the inauguration. Okay, Michael and I were identified. We spoke with the pastor briefly about the degree to which Prime Minister Netanyahu and Trump appear to have a
strong affinity. We parted company with the pastor as we approached our prescribed entry point to the Capitol grounds according to the color-coded ticketing system. We flashed our yellow tickets and proceeded to a secure tented screening area designated for yellow-ticketed spectators. The area was staffed by TSA personnel, US Capitol police and the uniformed secret service. The tents were equipped with a line of magnetometers. We emptied our pockets for inspection and passed through a machine. We then took a serpentine path to our seats in Section 11, about 75 rows behind the U.S. Marine Band and dead center. The time between our arrival and the beginning of the inaugural program permitted us with the opportunity to get acquainted with attendees sitting in our general vicinity. Smartphone photos were taken. The row in front of us was occupied by a group from Missis- Bob Levi at Trump's Inauguration sippi, the row behind us held a famSenate Democratic Leader Charles ily from Arkansas, and to my right was a couple from Iowa. Some of the conversa- Schumer (D-NY), also a member of the Intion revolved about their level of politi- augural Committee, addressed the crowd cal campaign involvement and how they and spoke about rights and freedoms and read portions of a letter from a Union solgot to Washington for the inauguration. I remarked (in a real-time Facebook dier who was killed in the Battle of Bull post) that I noticed less crowd electrici- Run to his wife explaining the purpose of ty and animation than I experienced at his fighting. Portions of the crowd booed previous first-term inaugurations. I also Schumer and his comments. I do not renoted (to myself) that ticketholders for call such a reception at previous presithe Capitol grounds seemed to arrive dential inaugurations when a crowd is later than at previous inaugurations. It addressed by a member of the defeated did not feel as packed-in as in the past, candidate’s political party. However, for me, the most poigneither. By the time 11:00 rolled around, however, the Capitol grounds were full ant moment at the inauguration was the point when President Trump completed and the crowd seemed more energized. As always, the U.S. Marine Band flaw- the recitation of the oath of office. There lessly played patriotic music leading up was a musical flourish, followed by a to the 11:45 AM call-to-order by the chair- rendition of “Hail to the Chief” to the acman of the Joint Congressional Commit- companiment of a 21-gun salute: seven tee on Inaugural Ceremonies; this year, rounds of three howitzers firing. The president’s inaugural address the chairman was Senator Roy Blunt (RMO). Blunt quoted a few short excerpts was short, simple and to the point. It from past inaugural addresses in which was not a speech intended to inspire or the incoming presidents poetically motivate. There was no soaring rhetoric. The goal was to focus on those issues called upon the nation to unite.
which brought him to the White House; therefore, it did not attempt to reach beyond those who elected him. During his speech, however, President Trump addressed an issue of supreme importance to the Jewish community and others terrified by recent global violence, pledging to wipe-out radical Islamic terrorism. This promise was met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Next, six members of the clergy offered benedictions. This sextet included Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. It has been noted that he is the first Orthodox rabbi to ever offer a prayer at a presidential inauguration. His benediction contained pesukim (verses) from Tehillim, including 137:5: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill].” Indeed, this reference has extra import in light of the current discussions relating to the location of U.S. embassy and the effort to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The significance of the mention was not lost on the many evangelical Christians and Jews attending the inauguration. After previous inauguration ceremonies, I would watch the inaugural parade from an office perch along Pennsylvania Avenue, or at ground level; however, the proximity of Shabbat rendered such viewing or other inaugural activities logistically problematic for us, if not impossible. So, Michael and I slowly snaked our way off the Capitol grounds, passing a demonstration conducted by an anti-papist group. We decided to enter the metro at Gallery Place, which was far enough from the Mall; we suspected the crowds would be lighter there. Interestingly, we did not notice significant crowding at any of the Red Line stops on the return trip to Wheaton. We returned home by 2:00 PM, enough time to prepare for Shabbat. We look forward to the next inauguration in four years.
Berman Hebrew Academy Middle School Boys Learn About Kashrut from Star-K Expert ROCKVILLE (MD)–– Berman Hebrew Academy’s 7th and 8th grade boys, accompanied by their teachers and members of Berman’s Torah Mitzion Kollel, were privileged to hear a presentation by Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld, Kashrus Administrator for Baltimore’s Star K, at Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore last month. Rabbi Kurcfeld shared his personal experiences working as a shochet (ritual slaughterer) and in kosher certification and demonstrated how to inspect
knives before shechita (ritual slaughter). Additional topics covered included the centrality of Torah Sh’baal Peh and Mesora (the Oral Law and rabbinic teachings), the laws of shechita, the concepts of traifa and nevelah (non-kosher animals and animals that died by means other than kosher shechitah), and animal anatomy related to kosher meat. The students asked many excellent questions and enjoyed treats that Rabbi Mordechai Weissman delivered from Dunkin Donuts afterward.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Getting Our Shabbat Shir On BY: Sarah Antine, with contributions from Debbie Snyder Five local a cappella groups participated in the sixth annual Shabbat ShirOn at Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Potomac, Maryland. The soldout event, which took place over January 6-7, featured JewKvox, HaZamir DC, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy’s Berman Beats, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School’s Shir Madness, and SMAC (Shir Madness Alumni Choir). Shabbat Shir-On is the brainchild of Debbie Snyder, who organized, MC’ed, and is a founding member of JewKvox,
an a cappella quintet. “For me, it’s a great community builder, a ‘feel-good’ shabbaton that brings all different kinds of people together through the power of music,” she said. Standing on stage without a microphone since they are not permitted on Shabbat, Snyder used her resonant voice to engage the entire social hall in an inventively-choreographed vocal warm up, calling the audience “400 newly formed a cappella guest singers.” The idea for a Shabbat a cappella experience came in 2012 when Tizmoret, the Queens College Jewish a cappella group, approached Beth Sholom looking for Shabbat hospitality during one of
JewKvox, HaZamir DC, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy’s Berman Beats, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School’s Shir Madness, and SMAC (Shir Madness Alumni Choir) join together to prepare for their Shabbat performances.
their East Coast tours. Capitalizing on this good fortune, Shabbat Shir-On was born. The inspiration for the shabbaton’s name came from two sources: Torah and pop culture. The parsha (Torah potion) of
Beshalach, also known as Shabbat Shira or the Shabbat of Song, happened to coincide with the timing of Tizmoret’s visit. Shabbat Shira includes the Song of the Sea, thanking G-d for the miracle of freedom. Combined with NBC’s popular a cappella competition “The Sing-Off,” this convergence both helped create the name and define the pop-imbued Jewish a cappella of Shabbat Shir-On. This year, Friday night featured a Carlebach-infused kabbalat Shabbat and tefillah (prayer service). After services, Shir Madness sang a favorite from their repertoire, “Nachamu,” in four-part harmony, and SMAC sang for the first time. One hundred teens joined shlicha (Israeli emissary) and youth leader Rena Ableman and Maharat Dasi Fruchter for a teen dinner and tisch, a spiritual, music-filled post-meal gathering with snacks, learning, and singing. Shabbat morning prayers were followed by a luncheon for four hundred attendees, including a table with members from the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, and featured performances by each a cappella group. For their first time performing at Beth Sholom, HaZamir DC, a chapter of The HaZamir International Jewish High School Choir, sang a varied set including “Eli Tsiyon” arranged by Louis Lewandowski and “Hazamir” by Leo Low. They were directed and conducted by Cantor Rhoda Harrison. HaZamir DC members hail from high schools across the metropolitan DC area. Harrison said the goal of HaZamir is “to expose audiences to high quality choral Jewish music performed by dedicated teens” and give teenagers from across the Jewish spectrum an opportunity to forge close bonds through music. Next up were the Berman Beats, an all-male a cappella group, dressed in matching button-down shirts and skinny ties. They sang two songs, “Esa Enai” and “Kol Berama,” in an original arrangement by Meyer Kreitman, one of the Berman Beats advisors and an alum himself. Casey Fuller, a junior at Berman and the Berman Beats Student Conductor, felt that singing a cappella at Beth Sholom fulfilled a Jewish value. “We are making people happy and fulfilling Oneg Shabbat by helping people feel relaxed and moved by the music,” he said. CESJDS’s Shir Madness, directed by Aaron Dunn, came to the stage and startCONTINUED ON P. 18
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah 11825 Seven Locks Road Potomac , Maryland 20854
THE HERBERT LIEBERMAN & RUBEN D. SILVERMAN MEMORIAL SHABBATON
featuring
RABBI DR. BENNY LAU Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau is an Israeli community leader, educator and social activist. He is the rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem, founder of the Moshe Green Beit Midrash for Women’s Leadership at Beit Morasha’s Beren College, and a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. Rabbi Lau also serves as a consultant for a number of leading organizations and is frequently cited in the media. He studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Yeshivat Kibbutz HaDati, and received a PhD in Talmud from Bar-Ilan University.
FRIDAY NIGHT, FEBRUARY 3 5:15 PM
Kabbalat Shabbat followed by Shabbat Dinner. Following dinner, the community is invited to join us for as Rabbi Lau and Rabbi Antine discuss "Gender & Sexuality in Modern Orthodoxy in America and Israel" - a text based conversation about key issues around women's spiritual leadership roles and LGBT inclusion.
DINNER REGISTRATION REQUIRED $29.95 adults/$14.95 children www.bethsholom.org Herbert Lieberman, z”l (1928-2001), was a dedicated community leader and activist. He attended Bronx High School of Science, New York University and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Married for 46 years, father of two children and grandfather of Ćve, he built a career as President of C & M Leather Goods, and Accessories by Rachel, The businesses manufactured and sold ladies belts and accessories to stores throughout the United States. Herb Lieberman’s community service in New York City stemmed from the care he felt for the people and the neighborhood of Riverdale. He was a leading member of the community board for more than 30 years, spearheading dozens of community improvement projects.
SHABBAT, FEBRUARY 4 9:00 AM
Shacharit Rabbi Lau will give a drasha on Parashat HaShavua. Kiddush Luncheon following Shacharit Rabbi Lau will discuss: "929: Tanach B'Yachad. How to Heal Israeli Society using Tanach" 15 minutes after kiddush.
4:45 PM
Mincha followed by Seudah Shlisheet, Rabbi Lau will present "The Last Kaddish: Healing and Halacha in the Mourner's Prayer.
Ruben D Silverman, z”I (1927-2016) was born and lived in Lakewood, NJ. His paternal grandfather was one of the founders of the Congregation Sons of Israel, which remains the Orthodox Synagogue in Lakewood. Married for more than 60 years to Phyllis (Penner), he was the father of three children and the grandfather of seven. Immediately after his graduation from Lakewood High School, he served as a medic aboard the USS Nassau in the United States Navy. He attended Seton Hall College on the GI Bill and upon graduation was recruited to be a student in the inaugural class of Seton Hall Law School. He was proud to say that he practiced law “in two centuries” for more than 55 years in Lakewood. Through his legal practice he really did help people - in Lakewood, his name and his handshake were his bond, his integrity was paramount, and he lived what he believed.
This Shabbaton has been generously sponsored by Sharon and Steven Lieberman in memory of their fathers, Herbert Lieberman z"l (left) ! and Ruben D. Silverman z"l (right). We look forward to learning and being inspired in their memories.
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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COMMUNITY NEWS Getting Our Shabbat Shir On CONTINUED FROM P. 16 ed their performance with a joke, as is their tradition. They sang “Hatikvah,” “Lullabye” by Billy Joel, “Kol HaLaila,” and “Holech Lesham” by Chen Aharoni. “The integration of service and performance was particularly meaningful,” said Dunn about the event. “It grounds the students and puts the art we create in perspective.” Even though SMAC only organized for the first time within days of the performance–– the members attend different colleges–– they harmonized with seeming effortlessness and created a vibrant sound. These young adult Beth Sholom members grew up in a culture that lauds Shabbat, Jewish identity and music. Snyder asked Noah Zweben of Columbia University’s Notes and Keys to organize the performance as something new and exciting to bring to Shir-On this year. David Kulp, Snyder’s son and a member of Emory University’s Jewish a cappella group, Chai Tunes, expressed his joy at being part of Beth Sholom. “I have always felt a sense of community at shul, having the extra aspect of being together for Shabbat, disconnecting from technology and the business of our day-to-day, and using the time to sing is very unique and special, and is some-
thing that is hard to find outside of our community in Potomac,” he said. For Snyder, Shabbat Shir-On is a family affair. She and her husband Giorgio Kulp sing in JewKvox together, and all three of their children sing in three of the four youth a cappella choirs. This holds true for the Lehman family as well, whose daughters are in Shir Madness. “We have so many generations of musicians in our midst [at Beth Sholom],” said Giorgio, “and I am thankful to be able to show our younger members that one can be artistic into your middle age (and upwards). That is something I love about my performing for our community.”
The Berman Beats, before a wonderful performance on Shabbat.
“There is nothing more affirming of Judaism then listening to the next generation sing with their full hearts and souls,” he said. Watching one of the students pull off his kippah clip and use it to help the group find their first note demonstrated the ingenuity of Shabbat-observant Jewish a cappella groups. Tuning forks are considered musical instruments and are not permitted on Shabbat. “Before Shabbat you find random kippah clips in your house, flick them and through the vibration determine which notes each represents with use of the piano,” David said. Last year, JewKvox debuted a kippah adorned with kippah clips of all different notes, dubbed the Shabbat-tuner, and was used again this year to help all the groups find their starting pitches. Rabbi Nissan Antine, senior rabbi at Beth Sholom, explained that kippah clips are halachically permitted because they are not musical instruments. The final group of the night was JewKvox. They have performed the national anthem at the Nationals Stadium and opened for Matisyahu and David Broza on the main stage at AIPAC. One JewKvox member, Jordan Fontheim, is a not only a former member of Shir Madness but performed in college with The Yellow Jackets from the University of Roch-
ester on NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” JewKvox rounded out their performance with a set that included a mash up of George Michael’s “Faith” and Lecha Dodi (albeit as a parody) sung to the tune of “Hallelujah” in tribute to Leonard Cohen. The program ended with Maharat Fruchter’s introduction of “The Armenian Niggun,” a wordless melody that everyone was able to sing along to.. Members of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes came on stage dancing and singing in this finale. The a cappella groups draw large crowds to Beth Sholom every year. Beth Sholom members hosted 66 of the performers for this year’s event, offering programming from Friday night through havdalah at the conclusion of Shabbat. The organizers welcome the opportunity to meet the family and friends of the young performers, some of whom are new to Beth Sholom and others for whom this is their first visit to a Modern Orthodox shul. “With so much divisiveness in the world these days, Shabbat Shir-On reminds us that even though we may disagree about things, art forms like music can help us transcend conflict, even if just for a few hours over Shabbat, deepening our connections to each other and things larger than ourselves,” said Snyder.
A Celebration of Women in Tanach at Bais Yaakov of Baltimore’s 2017 Exhibit BY: Sophia Mazel and Ava Rowse
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BALTIMORE (MD) ––– Every four years, the high school girls of the Bais Yaakov School in Baltimore put together an outstanding exhibit focusing on different aspects of Torah and Judaism. The theme for 2017 was all about women in Tanach and titled “Aishet Chayil: Guardians of our Glory.” The school’s classrooms were beautifully disguised with drapes and floor boards, and we didn’t even notice that we were walking through classrooms. Several important women in Tanach like Sarah, Rachel, Rivka, Leah, and even Chulda each had a room designated to them. Two large Shabbat candles made from smaller taper candles were hanging on the wall, and tiny pictures of people learning Torah were shaded and arranged to appear as a bigger picture of Sarah walking into her tent. The ceil-
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
ing dedicated to Rachel was covered in white tulle, meant to evoke her wedding dress. The materials used to create each room in the exhibit were pipe cleaners, matches, sand, straws, beans, tea bags, and other out-of-the-box items. Along with the beautiful art, we enjoyed accompanying explanations from Bais Yaakov students on the history and meaning of each piece. The tour guides presented each room enthusiastically, and we realized how thought-out and ingenious each room was. They clearly knew what they were doing and had everything organized. The visual work amazed us, and we were inspired by how well the guides knew the information. We asked the girls how long it took them to create such an amazing exhibit and they told us they started working right after Sukkot–– in late October. The
three-month project was well presented, planned out, and their creativity was acknowledged by every visitor who was blown away by their incredible work. A job well done! Ava Rowse is in 8th grade at the Hebrew Academy. She davens at Chabad of Frederick, and am very much associated with Shoresh. She enjoys writing, reading, and playing softball and basketball. Her favorite color is black and her favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip. Sophia Mazel and is in 8th Grade at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. She davens at Kemp Mill Synagogue. She enjoys dancing and playing volleyball. Her favorite color is blue and her favorite ice cream flavor is cookies and cream.
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You are cordially invited to join us to meet our staff, tour the facilities and find out about our programs for two, three and four year old children. We will be happy to answer your questions and give you information about our curriculum and educational philosophy. Reasons to consider sending your child to KINS: • applications taken any time during school year • students may enroll throughout the year for current school year and begin immediately if age appropriate • everyone accepted; non-denominational; no religious affiliation necessary • our two-year-old class accepts children when they turn two years of age; potty training not mandatory • low student/teacher ratio ensures individual attention and evaluation of each child • activities include play and social and emotional development activities • KIPS is licensed by the State of Maryland and our teachers are qualified, experienced and trained in CPR and First Aid • tuition is competitive, affordable and payable in installments • 50 year history of caring for and educating children of Anne Arundel County • Drop off and pickup of children supervised by teachers; parents do not have to park to bring children into the building • Buddy system reading program with Aleph Bet Day School students
We offer superior academic programs for Pre-K, as well as a nurturing and caring environment for younger children. JumpBunch is a nationally acclaimed gymnastics program that the three and four-year-old students participate in once a week. Music, art, science, math and language skills, as well as Jewish values and customs, are included in our daily activities. Outside experts are invited to visit and enhance our programs. Pre-Shabbat services are held Friday morning with traditional prayers, songs and rabbinical teachings. Ecumenical activities are included in the curriculum.
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Walking in the Footsteps of History in Selma Local rabbis and maharat lead group on three-day journey to learn about the civil rights movement. BY: Rabbi Uri Topolosky SELMA (AL) ––– The Jewish community here has only seven remaining members, but for one weekend their numbers swelled to over 150, filling the old wooden pews of historic synagogue Mishkan Israel to near-capacity. To mark the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 125 members from Jewish communities throughout the Greater Washington area traveled to Selma to learn about the civil rights movement. Their journey included stops in Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia.
The group visits the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, AL.
The group was led by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld and Maharat Ruth Friedman of Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Uri Topolosky of Beth Joshua Congregation in Aspen Hill, Maryland and Rabbi Yoni Kaiser-Blueth of the George Washington University Hillel. On Friday night, the group sang and danced its way through an energized Shabbat evening service and welcomed the local Jews to join their Shabbat dinner at the nearby community center. Some members of the Alabama Jewish community even came from over 75 miles away to experience this unique gathering in Selma.
The rabbis lead a moment of prayer and refle tion at the grave of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The mayor of Selma, 37-year-old Darrio Melton, spoke at the dinner. He described his grandfather’s experiences on Bloody Sunday, the attempted march for voting rights in 1965 that resulted in horrific brutality on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. That event was captured on national television, leading to a march led by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. two weeks later and galvanizing the civil rights movement nationwide. Selma is “the birthplace of democracy,” said Melton. Over Shabbat, the group heard more about people’s experiences growing up in Selma during the Jim Crow era and their fight for the basic rights to vote, try on a pair of shoes at a store or sit at a lunch counter. Local Joanne Bland led a walking tour Shabbat day and shared the ways that she repeatedly fought for her rights as a child. A key focus of the trip was the children: many of participants brought their kids so they could see the places and meet the witnesses they only know from photos in their social studies books. It was a special opportunity to internalize the messages of inclusivity and diversity that are taught in their communities. During the walking tour of the town, the group stopped to pray at the spot
where Reverend Reeb, a white minister from Boston who came to march with Dr. King, was murdered by three white men. The group also relived part of the famous 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, walking three-by-three over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The three-day trip also included a reflective visit to Birmingham, Alabama’s 16th Street Baptist Church, where four black girls were killed in a bombing by Ku Klux Klan in 1963. The final stop was at the grave of Dr. King in Atlanta, which is located at the foot of a long, cascading pool of water meant to evoke the verse from the book of Amos, which King famously invoked in his speeches: “Let justice roll down like water, righteousness like a mighty stream.” The group was joined at the gravesite by Rabbi Adam Starr and community members of Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta for final moments of prayer and reflection before heading home. Rabbi Topolosky joined Beth Joshua Congregation in the Aspen Hill neighborhood of Rockville, Maryland in August 2013. He also serves as the Rav HaKehillah of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, where he is an alumnus (Class of ’96). Rabbi Topolosky and his wife, Dahlia, live in Aspen Hill with their four children.
The Past Is Not Behind Us Yet
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Sholom The National Synagogue sits with his son Bear, 4, at presentation in Montgomery, AL. (Nicole Goldstein)
BY: Maharat Ruth Friedman Over MLK weekend, over 100 members of our community traveled to Selma, Alabama for Shabbat to learn about the civil rights movement. We stopped in Montgomery, Alabama on Friday, enjoyed a melava malka (post-Shabbat meal) in Birmingham motzei Shabbat, and spent time in Atlanta on Sunday at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Our trip was an unforgettable experience. On Shabbat, local Joanne Bland led us on a civil rights walking tour. Joanne was a child activist in Selma and participated in the marches when she was just 11 years old. She told us of the ways that she repeatedly fought for her rights as a child, and shared the brutal violence that she witnessed against the marchers, and how she is still haunted by the sounds of the beatings today.
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It was truly a privilege to be able to hear the stories of Joanne and others firsthand–– not just for my own education, but that of our children. Of the 125 members of our trip, 30 were kids, and they were Joanne’s most captivated audience. They listened carefully to everything that she told them, and were the first to raise their hands when she asked if anyone had questions. They knew the basic history before the trip, but as is true for all of us, nothing compares to being in the place where history happened, and to hear the stories from those who lived through it. I have been thinking a lot about how the children will process our trip. Joanne is now in her 60s, and she was telling them stories from her childhood. The stories were presented to them as history, and the tour began in a museum. And yet, we know that there are still so many struggles for racial equality today in 2017. The purpose of the marches in Selma in 1965 was to
Rabbi Uri Topolosky of Beth Joshua Congregation in Aspen Hill leads the group in song.
advocate for the right of blacks to vote; today in Alabama, 31% of black men are not allowed to vote because they are convicted felons. Our children spent Shabbat learning about how segregated life used to be for the black community in Selma, and how people fought to make it better. But they also spent Shabbat walking a mile and a half each way from the hotel to the synagogue with a full police escort, encountering a neighborhood the likes of which
At the site where Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus in downtown Montgomery, AL. (Adam Messinger)
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
Matan Silverberg, 12, pauses to refle t at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. (Sarah Gershman)
they would probably not be allowed to walk through in D.C. I have to imagine that they are experiencing a cognitive dissonance, having been told that the fight for civil rights happened 50 years ago, but also bearing witness to the serious poverty and inequality that continues to permeate our society. My prayer for them, and for our country, is that we all continue to advocate for true equality amongst all Americans, and that we merit to see it in our days. Maharat Friedman is a member of the inaugural class of Yeshivat Maharat. She and her husband Yoni moved to Washington, DC in July 2013 to begin her position as Maharat at Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue. She is a member of both the Chicago and Washington Boards of Rabbis; and she sits on the Executive Committee of the board of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, of which she is also a member. Maharat Friedman is also a founding member of the Beltway VAAD. She and Yoni are the proud parents of their son Ezra.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Beth Joshua Congregation Welcomes New Families to Aspen Hill BY: Beth Joshua Congregation ROCKVILLE, MD –– Three new Jewish families closed on homes in Rockville’s Aspen Hill neighborhood this month, representing the 21st, 22nd and 23rd families that have joined the Beth Joshua Congregation family in the past two and a half years. Their presence brings the total number of the congregation’s participating households to over 50 in one of the Washington, D.C. area’s fastest-growing Jewish communities. The Aspen Hill community centers around the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, the area’s only Modern Orthodox day school, which boasts Pre-K through 12th grade enrollment of over 720 students. The school offers a discounted preschool tuition rate to Aspen Hill families as an incentive to move into the neighborhood. In addition, a private donor has been offering no-interest, forgivable loans for families buying a home within walking distance of the school. A mikvah and an eruv are also maintained in the neighborhood, which is nestled around Rock Creek Park and is
a short drive to the Rockville Pike commercial district. Three years ago, Berman hired Rabbi Uri Topolosky as its Community Rabbi, recruiting him and his family from New Orleans, Louisiana to help grow the community. In addition to his responsibilities within the school, Rabbi Topolosky serves as the spiritual leader of the Beth Joshua Congregation that meets in-
side the school building for Shabbat and holiday services. Rabbi Topolosky is an enthusiastic advocate for his community. “We are a community where everyone can make a difference,� he said. “Your presence matters here in Aspen Hill. Although we are growing quickly, there is a strong sense of family that permeates throughout our membership.�
A robust youth department, with programming throughout Shabbat and weekends, caters to a community that skews younger, with over 50 children under the age of ďŹ ve. Adult classes, and an emphasis on women’s programming led by Rebbetzin Dahlia Topolosky, have also been hallmarks of the community’s success. This year’s Prospective Families Shabbaton hosted by the Aspen Hill Jewish community will take place over April 28-29, 2017. Contact Rabbi Topolosky at Rabbi@BethJoshua.org or 301-962-9400 ext.5247 to learn more about Aspen Hill.
Members of the community at a wedding of shul congregants.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
KMS Event Shines Spotlight on Local Authors BY: Ezra Troy SILVER SPRING (MD) ––– Kemp Mill Synagogue hosted a literary reading and book sale on Jan 14. The event featured books by five authors from the Kemp Mill community: Dr. Michael Auslin, Dr. Elliot Cohen, Leah Cypess, Michael Eisenstadt, and Dr. Tevi Troy. The books covered a variety of genres and topics, from the US military to a fantasy world, and the audience was able to ask questions of the authors and buy signed copies of their books. DC retailer Politics and Prose handled the night’s sales. Speaking first, Troy discussed his latest book, Shall We Wake the President? The book explores how disasters have shaped (or reshaped) presidencies and what can be done to prepare them.
Dr. Tevi Troy signing a copy of his book, Shall We Wake the President?
Cohen was up next. His sixth book, The Big Stick, makes an argument for the necessity of America’s use of military force in response to the debate over whether the US should have troops all over the world. In the book, he attempts to untangle the line drawn between force and diplomacy, and how the US should think about using force for the future. Auslin followed, presenting his book, The End of the Asian Century, as an attempt to “provide a different view of the story we all hear about Asia” and a plea to pay attention before a crisis occurs. He covered the “five risk regions” detailed in his book: the failure of economic reform; demographic pressures; unfinished revolutions that have resulted in non-stable governments; a lack of a political unity; and the risk of war in Asia. Next Eisenstadt, the Kahn Fellow and director of The Washington Institute’s Military and Security Studies Program, discussed his book US Military Engagement in the Middle East. His case for continued involvement by the US was a straightforward one: “If you don’t visit the Middle East, it will visit you.” His book examines the errors of previous military undertakings in this volatile region, concluding that the solution to having a better Middle East is understanding these errors and fixing them. Finally, Leah Cypess discussed her fantasy novel, Mistwood. She joked that as the last speaker and the only one who wrote fiction, it was her job to “keep everyone from going home depressed.” Mistwood is the first book in a series,
The fi e authors pose with their books - From left to right: Michael Eisenstadt, Dr. Michael Auslin, Dr. Eliot cohen, Dr. Tevi Troy, and Leah Cypess
the sequel to which she published this year. It concerns a human but immortal shapeshifter who is bound to protect the kingdom she lives in, but faces challenges in her role when she loses her memory. The event was organized by Judy Cohen and KMS Vice President of Education Jennifer Raskas. “It was an honor to moderate an evening featuring five incredibly talented authors in our community,” said Raskas. “It was fascinating to hear from the four policy authors who have such esteemed and illustrious careers of public service and whose expertise is so widely sought, and Leah brought a fresh and unique perspective on young adult fiction and really helped
parents understand how to navigate this creative genre for their teens.” The authors also gave the event favorable reviews. “It’s great to see a community as committed to learning about contemporary affairs and dealing with serious questions as the KMS community,” said Auslin. Ezra Troy is a sophomore at the Berman Hebrew Academy, where he is a member of the Model UN team, student council and the student paper. In addition to writing for Kol HaBirah and his school paper, Ezra is the senior east coast correspondent for a sports blog called My ESPN for Kids. He has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland’s Kemp Mill neighborhood for 14 years, and currently attends Kemp Mill Synagogue.
JCRC of Greater Washington Opposes Ban on Refugees BY: Rachel Kohn ROCKVILLE (MD) –– “We will fight these new policies with everything we’ve got.” This was the response of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington to President Donald Trump’s then-anticipated executive order to restrict many refugees from seeking safety in America and bar visas from being issued to anyone from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In their statement, released on Thursday January 26, the JCRC said that such policies would betray “the Jewish and American values we cherish” and that welcoming refugees is, in a spin on the President’s catchphrase, “part of what has truly made America great.” The executive order was signed into law on Friday January 27, but the JCRC statement a day earlier was prompted by coverage of a leaked draft of the order entitled “Executive Order––Protect-
22
ing the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals.” This draft was one of four, on various subjects, given to online news outlet Vox by an undisclosed source on Tuesday January 24. Vox has said they did not publish the documents immediately since they were as-yet unable to verify their authenticity, but that changed after identical versions of two of the four memos were signed into law as executive orders on Wednesday afternoon. Vox published all four documents later that day. The JCRC emphasized in their statement that the “overwhelming majority” of refugees seeking entry to the United States are civilians whose lives have been thrown into chaos by events beyond their control. At the same time, it recognized that a rigorous process of background checks is still necessary to protect against foreign terrorists attempting to enter the US as refugees. “The Torah teaches, ‘You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,’” the statement said. “Our history as Jews, and of repeatedly fleeing persecution, makes us sensitive to and compassionate for those who suffer similar fates and experiences
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
and we believe that refugees should be treated with compassion and dignity.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told the press January 25 that there was no set date for issuing new rules on immigration because the “nature of them has not been decided yet,” but this changed over the weekend. On Saturday January 28, which was also Holocaust Memorial Day, Trump signed an executive order suspending
all refugee resettlement into the US for 120 days and refugee resettlement from Syria indefinitely. He also suspended entry by citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen— on immigrant or non-immigrant visas for 90 days. (On January 29, the order was clarified as to not affect green card holders. Rachel Kohn is the Editor in Chief of Kol HaBirah.
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K-6TH GRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LBJA is one of a few Jewish Day Schools nationwide to offer a curriculum specializing in Fine Arts.
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LBJA Athletics is recruiting soccer players for the Spring season! Come be a part of one of the most energetic movements in DC Area Youth Soccer. Our skilled and diverse coaching staff makes a wonderful learning environment for any young player.
All Games On Sundays! (301) 592-8433 | pe@lbja.org 1401 Arcola Ave., Silver Spring, MD February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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COMMUNITY NEWS
TEAM Shabbos at Am HaTorah Informs and Inspires BY: Deborah Scheinberg BETHESDA (MD)–– On January 14, Am Hatorah joined 400 shuls in 163 cities participating in TEAM Shabbos, a program developed by the National Association of Chevra Kadisha (NASCK). The “team” in the TEAM Shabbos stands for “Traditional End-ofLife Awareness Movement,” a national movement dedicated to educating and guiding the Jewish community on end-of-life decisions through positive awareness. TEAM Shabbos is meant to be an opportunity for learning and dialogue about topics such as the Torah’s perspective on the value of life, preparing for illness, traditional burial choices, and end-of-life decisions in accordance with Jewish law and ethics. The event fittingly took place on the Shabbat when we read the about Yaakov’s death in Parshat Vayechi. Am HaTorah’s Rabbi Yehoshua Singer built an entire weekend of programs and lectures around the theme to encourage the congregants to deal with often ignored issues about death and dying and to increase awareness and respect for life in the Here and Hereafter. These included a dvar Torah on the topic of life after death and a shiur (lecture) on the laws of medicine on Shabbat. The culminating event was a melave malka meal featuring a special shiur by Rabbi Eliyahu Reingold, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Zichron Amram of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington-Tiferes Gedaliah. The takeaway from Rabbi Reingold’s shiur, “The Day of Death - A Lesson for Life,” was to appreciate the entirety of the life span we are given. Since we are no longer granted as long a life as our Patriarchs, said Rabbi Reingold, we don’t have the luxury of
procrastinating in life. When we engage with our spouses, children, parents and others in our sphere of human connections, we have to stop and think about what the world looks like from their perspective in order to form better relationships. When we write up a will or make preparations for our death, which will occur at a time and place of Hashem’s choosing, we show an appreciation for the finite length of time we are granted in this world, he said. Death is a part of life, so one should be able to talk about it and plan for it; and if we enter that exercise with a true understanding that death is a part of life, perhaps Hashem may grant us more time. The audience listened, spellbound, as Rabbi Reingold told a mashal (parable) about the wife of a mariner: Her husband was at sea for extended periods of time, and she would wake up every day and dress up in her finest clothes and make sure she was perfectly groomed. When asked about this ritual, she replied that she wanted to look her best in case her husband returned from sea early or without much notice. The lesson from the story is that we should be the best person we can every day, because we do not know when Hashem will take us home to him. The entire program was informational and inspirational, and correctly left participants with questions that should lead to further study and contemplation. Am HaTorah is affiliated with the Orthodox Union (OU) and the Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington.
Rabbi Eliyahu Reingold (L) and Rabbi Yehoshua Singer (R)
Shul participants enjoying the meal and program at the Melave Malka.
Am HaTorah in Bethesda Promotes Rabbi to Full-Time, Expands Educational Programming BY: Deborah Schneinberg BETHESDA (MD)–– Tucked away on a quiet street, an unassuming-looking house is home to a community of dedicated Torah learners, and has been for 34 years. Like-minded professionals came together for fellowship, learning and davening back in those days and have kept it going ever since. While the numbers of men and women learning and growing in Judaism have waxed and waned over the years, commitment to growing a Jewish community here has remained steadfast and resolute. Am HaTorah Congregation, in its present location on Marbury Road, is now at a crossroads, preparing to grow and serve the community for many more years to come. The President of Am HaTorah, Alan Dorfman, recently reflected on the goals of expanding the congregation to serve more families in Bethesda. “We are now embarking on an excit-
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ing new chapter of our history,” he said, “We have promoted our part-time rabbi, Rabbi Yehoshua Singer, to full time, and plan to expand our programming and classes. It is a very auspicious time for our members as we plan for an exciting future and welcome new members to learn and grow with us.” Rabbi Singer follows in the footsteps of an impressive line of rabbis who have lead Am Hatorah, including Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum who is currently at YISE in Kemp Mill, and most recently Rabbi Avrohom Sussman. He received his training at the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Queens, better known as the Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim, and he is the Vaad secretary and administrator for the Vaad’s Beis Din for Conversion. “Rabbi Singer brings a wide depth and breadth of knowledge, and an impressive educational, clergical, and teaching background,” said Dorfman. Rabbi Singer is hard at work coalescing existing classes and creating new
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
ones. In addition to a full Shabbos schedule each week and a Gemara class on Wednesday nights, Singer and his wife Serena have added new lectures and parsha discussions: the “Lunch and Learn” and “Brunch and Learn” programs. The Lunch and Learn program, concentrating on the weekly Torah portion, meets every Monday on Woodmont Avenue in Downtown Bethesda and is well attended. The popular Brunch and Learn series has been held in private homes as well
as the shul and has covered a myriad of text-based topics such as loshon harah (forbidden speech), anxiety, and lifecycle challenges. Rebbetzin Singer also conducts classes on understanding prayers and other text-based topics, and runs a popular book club for women. On Chanukah, the Singers organized a fabulous Chanukah banquet and auction. Along with their four adorable children, the Singers create a very welcoming and warm environment at Am HaTorah.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Young Professionals Learn Adulting 101, Mingle at DCJCC’s Life Hacks Workshop BY: Ben Wacks WASHINGTON–– It’s hard out there for an adult, especially if you don’t really feel like one. The expression “to adult” and “adulting” has become a popular term to describe navigating day-to-
day task one imagines a competent adult would engage in without fanfare–– but for you, it feels like a genuine accomplishment. The Edlavitch DCJCC’s young professionals group, EntryPoint DC, hosted an event January 15 entitled “Adulting: An af-
ternoon of Life Hack Workshops” geared toward people in their 20s and 30s looking to rise to the occasion with regularity. In a series of sessions, speakers discussed topics including career planning, modern dating, managing finances, and the 2016 presidential election.
Writer and social media strategist Jon Savitt led “Getting out of your Bubble: A Post-Election Dialogue.” “As an adult I think it’s hard to find the time to actually sit down and talk about such issues in a meaningful way,” Savitt said. “In such tense political times, I wanted this to be an open space for respectful discussion–– to share personal experiences, to vent, and ultimately leave with tangible actions of what we can do if we want to leave our ‘bubbles.’” “As President Obama put it, ‘If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking with one of them in real life,’” said Savitt. Of course, there was also plenty of opportunity to nosh and schmooze between the sessions, giving participants an opportunity to connect and reflect on the discussions. Event participant Mary Wexler said she found the session “Financially Fit: Managing Money, Homebuying, and Estate Planning” useful. “I liked how we spoke about real estate, since I’m a potential buyer,” she said. “The workshop was a very useful tool since I want to learn more about the DC market.” Many participants also enjoyed Erika Ettin’s workshop “Real Talk About Modern Dating.” Ettin is the author of Love at First Site and founder of A Little Nudge, where she helps people navigate the world of online dating. James Brock and Nachum Silverstein said it was refreshing to have discussions about what goes into dating as opposed to just trying to meet people online. “As someone who craves learning,” said Savitt, “the workshops provided the opportunity to expand knowledge on unfamiliar subject matter–– an act that sometimes gets lost after school.” “But honestly, what may have been most important was the fact that the event allowed you to meet strangers in an environment that’s not a bar,” he said.
Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington The young mother of 5 stared past me sadly while we talked. “Until recently, we really had to choose between paying our PEPCO bill and serving chicken and wine for Shabbos”, she said softly. “It’s been a rough time. My husband has been out of work for almost a year and my salary barely covers the necessities.” In that moment, I knew that I wanted to learn more about the Tomchei Shabbos program of Yad Yehuda, the organization that had been there to help this woman and her family. Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington is a critically important part of the Greater Washington Jewish communities’ social safety net. Providing a range of confidential services, Yad Yehuda has helped over 500 individuals in the Greater Washington area with some form of community assistance during 2016 alone. Rabbi Moshe Walter, spiritual leader of the Woodside Synagogue Ahavas Torah, knows the Tomchei Shabbos program firsthand. “The assistance that Tomchei Shabbos provides is extraordinarily necessary. As a community Rab-
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bi, I have worked closely with the Yad Yehuda team to help evaluate the needs of families within my Shul who find themselves in crisis. Everything happens with the utmost respect for the family’s privacy. Continued support requirements are re-evaluated throughout the year.” Tomchei Shabbos enhances the Shabbos simcha in homes around the DC area. In 2016, an estimated 200 recipients received funds to purchase a total of 20,800 Shabbos meals and 5200 Yom Tov meals. To learn more about Tomchei Shabbos of Yad Yehuda, please click on the following link to see our video. http:// www.yadyehuda.org/tomchei-shabbos. html Your donations are welcome. Please visit our website to learn more about the many other Yad Yehuda programs or contact me at dkatz@yadyehuda.org. Tizku L’Mitzvos. Debbie Katz Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington Communications Coordinator
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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B’H
The fun begIns
June 26August 4
2017
Gan IsrAeL DivIsioN
graNd Gan
ENTERING KINDERGARTEN 2ND GRADE
ENTERING 3RD 6TH GRADE
Gan IsraEl bAsIcs LLoving counselors from around the world
MinI gaN AGES 20 MONTHS - PRE-K
Swimming
Jewish pride through stories, activities, crafts, & Shabbat Celebrations
DaIlY spEcIaLtIeS InCludE:
Art
Baking
Yoga
Science
Gymnastics
Nature
Water Play
Gardening
AND MORE! All of our Mini Gan staff are professional teachers. Wee maintain a high staff to camper ratio.
Mini gan gan doeS not GO ofF grOundS. Mini W bRing the fun to CCa mp! Wee bRing Camp!
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TrIpS! Weekly Trips for Gan Division 3 Trips per session for the Grand Gan Israel Division
New For ThIs yeaR! Build your own schedule by choosing a specialty for each of our two-week sessions. Gan Israel teamed up with the professionals in these fields! Children can choose their specialty and work with it for two weeks to build skills in these areas.
Basketball Creative Arts Soccer
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www.CGISilverSpring.com • 301.593.1117 26
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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COMMUNITY NEWS
National Menorah Lighting
A partial view of the over 4,500 people in attendance at the National Menorah lighting. PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE ERENBAUM, STUDENT AT GW
Rabbi Levi Shemtov (Executive Vice President, American Friends of Lubavitch), his father Rabbi Avraham Shemtov (Founding National Director, American Friends of Lubavitch) and Adam Szubin (Acting Undersecretary, Department of Treasury) enjoying the view after lighting the National Menorah.
8th Day brought the crowd to its feet with their timely performance of "Inner Flame," among other great songs.
PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE ERENBAUM, STUDENT AT GW
PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE ERENBAUM, STUDENT AT GW
Emet Event Addressing the UN Resolution
PHOTO CREDIT: RON SHEINSON PHOTO CREDIT: RON SHEINSON
PHOTO CREDIT: RON SHEINSON
PHOTO CREDIT: RON SHEINSON
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PHOTO CREDIT: RON SHEINSON
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
27
COMMUNITY NEWS
Photos Taken at Beis Yaakov of Baltimore Popular Exhibit
Rabbi Frand quotes on cell phone
Puzzle pieces
Twist ties - what?
Moshe! Thumb tacks
Tree made of books
28
Chofetz Chaim made of beans
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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COMMUNITY RESOURCES MINYANIM LOCATION
DESCRIPTION
TIME
Sunday Shacharit
8:15 AM
Friday Night
candle lighting
Shabbat Shacharit
8:30 AM
Weeday Maariv
9:30 PM
Sunday Shacharit
9:00 AM
Mincha/Maariv
Time changes based on candle lighting time
Monday-Friday Shacharit
Monday-Friday Shacharit 6:30 AM
Sunday Shacharit
8:15
Ohr HaTorah
Chabad of Silver Spring
Beth Joshua Congregation of Aspen Hill Shabbat Minyanim Shacharis (Morning) Weekdays, Rosh Chodesh, and Chol Hamoed, Mondays and Thursdays
6:50 & 8:00
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays
7: 00 & 8:00
Sunday
8:00
Rosh Chodesh
6:40
Woodside Synagogue
Email your shul's minyan times to resources@kolhabirah.com and we will include it in the next issue!
Community Calendar, February 2017 Sunday
Monday
29
30
Tuesday
Wednesday
31
1
Sh'vat 5
Thursday
2
Friday
Sh'vat 6
3
Saturday
Sh'vat 7
GWCK Shabbaton at YISE Scholar in Resident Dr. Benny Lau Shabbaton at Beth Sholom
4
Sh'vat 8
Women's Open Mic Night at Beth Joshua Congregation/Berman Hebrew Academy @ 8pm Ohev Shalom Wine-and-Cheese Event Focus On: Culture and Media
5
Sh'vat 9
6
Sh'vat 10
7
Sh'vat 11
8
Sh'vat 12
Women and Girls Ice Show and Open Skate Ashreinu Educational Programs Wheaton Ice Arena 6:15-8:15pm
9
Sh'vat 13
Chabad of Silver Spring Gala Celebration Cocktails: 6pm Dinner 7:30pm Fillmore Silver Spring
Leo Bernstein Jewish Academy PTO Showing Finding Nemo 2pm @ Silver Spring Jewish Center
12
Sh'vat 16
13
Sh'vat 17
Sh'vat 23
20
Sh'vat 24
Midrash, Manicures, and Milkshakes at YISE 5:45-7:15 pm
Sh'vat 30
14
Sh'vat 18
Rosh Chodesh Society Class for Women at 8pm Chabad of Silver Spring
YGW Annual Banquet 6pm Reception 7:45pm Awards
26
Sh'vat 14
Medidative Tu B'Shvat Torah & Eating EmunaHealing Retreat - Pearlstone Retreat Center, Baltimore (Feb 10-12)
11
Sh'vat 15
Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich Shabbaton at YISE - "Keeping Shabbos and Mitzvos Against All Odds" after 8:45pm Shacharit Tasting and Embracing Freedom: From Prisoner for Zion to Citizen of Zion - Between Mincha and Maariv Tu Beshvat Musical Melave Malka at the Topolosky home (4909 Baltic Ave, Rockville
GWCK Men's Trip to Lakewood 7am-10:30pm
19
10
Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich Shabbaton at YISE "Confessions of a Jewish Hijacker" 8:30pm
21
Adar 1
28
Adar 2
Sh'vat 19
16
Sh'vat 20
17
Sh'vat 21
22 CPAC
18
Sh'vat 22
YISE Paint Nite 8pm
Mikvah Emunah Society Annual Dinner at KMS 6:30pm
Sh'vat 25
First Time Home Buyer Workshop 7pm at 1121 University Towers Party Room, Silver Spring
27
15
Sh'vat 26
23 CPAC
Sh'vat 27
24
Sh'vat 28
CTeen Shabbaton NYC
25
Sh'vat 29
CTeen Shabbaton NYC
CPAC
1
2
3
4
Torah School Auction 7pm CTeen Shabbaton Returns
Want your event included? Please email your community event to communitycalender@kolhabirah.com WWW.KOLHABIRAH.COM
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
29
CAPITAL COMMENTARY
Leaving the Jews Out of Jewish History BY: Rafael Medoff Jewish organizations are understandably troubled that last week’s White House statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day failed to mention that the Holocaust targeted Jews. The statement’s bland reference to “the horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror” did not do justice to the historical record. The Washington Post took the omission seriously, devoting an entire 13-paragraph news story to it. But did the critics perhaps take it too seriously? After all, these kinds of statements are not composed by the president himself, but by staff writers who churn out a stream of commemorative declarations and messages of greetings to public events. Occasionally, a writer gets careless. President Barack Obama’s Chanukah statement in 2014 made no reference to Jews. He described the holiday as a “triumph of freedom over oppres-
sion” and a reminder that “we too can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.” There wasn’t much in the way of Jewish criticism or news media coverage of that Chanukah-without-Jews. The president’s 2015 Chanukah statement followed the same approach. This time it was a “struggle to free a people from oppression” and the need to “rededicate ourselves to being the engine of the miracles we seek.” Evidently, somebody finally complained, because by the following year, the Jews had returned. The 2016 White House Chanukah declaration suddenly acknowledged “the Jewish people’s perseverance and the persistence of faith even against daunting odds.” The writers even threw in an excerpt from George Washington’s famous “to bigotry no sanction” message to the Jews of Rhode Island. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau committed a similar faux pas last year, but, like President Obama, he corrected himself. Trudeau’s 2016 state-
ment on International Holocaust Remembrance Day left out the Jews—they were just “the millions of victims murdered during the Holocaust.” Following a burst of criticism, the Canadian leader changed his tune. This year’s statement by Trudeau acknowledged “the more than six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.” Obviously, on any political leader’s staff, one will find employees with a variety of views. Sometimes that can include individuals who have unsettling views regarding the Holocaust. One of the documents released by Wikileaks last year was an email exchange in which Kate Houghton, an official at the Democratic National Committee, objected to a request by then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz for a statement marking Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day). “We aren’t going to do statements for every Jewish holiday unless she wants to do them for every religious holiday and trust me, this Catholic can
give you a list of them,” Houghton declared. Another staffer countered, “This is about remembering the Holocaust. Never forget.” To which Houghton replied: “Yup…or Darfur or Armenia or Rwanda or Bosnia (which PS is where my husband served). Does she want us to do one for each other those remembrance days as well?” Fortunately, Houghton was overruled and the DNC issued a Yom Hashoah statement. Likewise, the staff writers for President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau recognized their error and subsequently corrected it. Hopefully, the Trump White House, too, will do better next time. Until then, the Jewish community presumably will judge the new president not on his boilerplate commemorative statements, but on his actual policies regarding issues of Jewish concern. Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and author or editor of 16 books about Jewish history, Zionism, and the Holocaust.
The One Thing He Couldn’t Change BY: Jacob Kohn The Obama administration is a thing of the past. John Kerry is ready to become a trivia question. However, as President Barack Obama now becomes “former” and we talk about his legacy, it’s important that we don’t allow the fervor over his last few weeks in office to cloud our judgment. Many in the Jewish community reacted to Kerry’s speech at the UN and Obama’s surprise move to give $221 million to the Palestinian Authority with a visceral sense of shock and betrayal. What I have found in conversation with person after person since then is that many of the people with opinions about Kerry’s speech did not listen to his speech, in part or in its entirety. Instead, they looked at sensationalist headlines or memes on their social media feed as confirmation of an anti-Israel bias in the Obama administration that they long ago accepted as fact. Listening to Kerry’s speech from start to finish, I heard a familiar tune, a theme if you will, and it was the theme of Obama’s tenure in office. You can view every major policy decision by President Obama as a challenge to the status quo. Obama seemed to bristle at being told he couldn’t do something because that was “the way things are,” and that status-quo-bucking mindset was a cornerstone of the psychology of his presidency. Tell Obama that the United States and Iran have no relations and a nuclear Iran will likely result in armed conflict? You get the Iran-Nuclear deal. Tell him the United States has had an embargo on Cuba and no engagement for the last 50 years? You get the lift-
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ing of the Cuban sanctions. Tell him the United States simply doesn’t have the political willpower to take drastic action on climate change? Boom– – the Paris Agreement. Thirty million Americans don’t have health care? Here’s an Affordable Care Act. Congress won’t act and the topic too partisan for there to be any meaningful immigration reform? Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Again and again, on health care, immigration, Iran, Cuba, and global warming, President Obama wanted to cast himself as a president who got the ball moving. A president who at the very least tried to tackle issues that had stumped past administrations or simply been ignored. And while we can argue about the results, there’s no denying that President Obama was successful in shaking up the status quo. Except when it came to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Obama administration was not anti-Israel. Funding the Iron Dome, assisting Israel in fighting catastrophic forest fires, providing a $38 billion military aid agreement (the richest such agreement in American history) and using its only UN Security Council veto to protect Israel from unilateral Palestinian action–– the list of supportive actions goes on. What the Obama administration was, however, was anti-Bibi. While Obama pushed to add the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to his list of upended status quos, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked at the political landscape and likely result of a peace agreement with Hamas or Fattah and preferred things the way they are. And with every settlement announcement and failed peace summit, Obama saw his aspirations for
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
moving the conflict towards resolution disappear a little bit more–– because in Obama’s mind, and this is critical, there is a distinction between supporting Israel in principle and resolving the conflict. After eight years of failure, I firmly believe that Obama saw abstaining from the Israeli settlement vote as a final, if small, act of moving the status quo. This is where I get to Kerry’s speech. Kerry spent the first part of his address stressing the point that the Obama administration had been a strong supporter and ally of Israel, and that its choice not to torpedo the vote condemning Israeli settlements did not change that. Again, Kerry stressed that the condemnation was about settlements and settlements only. The Obama administration has always shared the international view that the settlements are largely illegal, and Kerry went point for point on that view and, where they might not be illegal, how they undermined the peace process. While we might consider that semantics, it is important to acknowledge what Kerry was attempting to communicate: to the Obama administration, the UN Security Council vote was about the peace process. While Kerry pointed out that settlements are not the only impediment to peace, and that the Palestinians are culpable for the lack of progress, the vote was a final chance for the Obama administration to claim they did something to shake up the status quo regarding the conflict. I am a supporter of Israel. Overall, I disagree with the Obama administration’s decision at the UN and with multiple points in Secretary Kerry’s speech, particularly with the asser-
tion that if only Israel gave up more land, there would certainly be peace. However, it became clear to me since the speech that far too many of my peers disagreed with Kerry’s speech based on second-hand snippets, soundbites and the echo chambers of social media. The best example of this is the claim that Kerry said, “Israel can either be Jewish or democratic–– it cannot be both.” Somehow this became a rallying cry against both Kerry’s speech and the Obama administration overall. To me, it became a signal that people lacked the context of Kerry’s speech and the context of the Obama administration’s Israel policy. Yes, Kerry said those words, but he said them in the context of the importance of preserving the possibility of a two-state solution, a policy that has been mainstream in both Israel and the United States for at least a decade. So, before you decide to condemn Kerry’s speech or the Obama administration, do yourself a favor: read the entire speech. Before you condemn Obama for releasing the $221 million to the Palestinian Authority–– money that had been approved in the 2015 and 2016 budgets–– consider the pleas he likely received to send aid that a President Trump and Republican-controlled Congress would never consider, and now probably won’t let happen. Agree or disagree, look at all the Obama administration’s actions when it comes to Israel. Investing time in gaining context will only better equip us in our efforts to support Israel. Jacob Kohn is an attorney specializing in political law and American policy. He lives in Washington, D.C. and goes to Kesher Israel.
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CAPITAL COMMENTARY
Presidential Election Takeaways BY: Eli Chomsky With the whirlwind rollout of President Trump’s policy agenda just getting started, it is far too premature to judge its chances of success in making “America Great Again.” So, instead of prognosticating what the results will be on current and upcoming domestic and foreign policy initiatives, let’s take a sobering look back at some crucial but at times overlooked issues that played a part in the 2016 presidential election. Let the post-election musings begin. FBI Reform Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey’s public bungling of the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation has led many Americans to believe that politically unaffiliated investigators need to investigate the FBI investigators. While that suggestion would placate many, long-term reform of the FBI should be a priority of the Trump administration and Congress. To lessen the prospects of future politicization, the FBI–– seemingly, in the eyes of Americans, one of the last bastions of venerability in government–– should be led by a nationally-elected candidate, with no party affiliation attached to his or her candidacy, for one six-year term. By no longer reporting to the politically-appointed attorney general, the head of the FBI would be freed from the political pressure inherent in the position’s current setup. As for Comey’s future, President Trump should consider the reported acrimony among FBI personnel and reverse his decision to keep him as the bureau’s chief. Like a sports coach or manager, once you “lose the clubhouse,” it’s time to go. End Early Voting With Americans’ lives dominated by 24/7 cable, social media and traditional news coverage, late-breaking news has become life’s norm. Thus, early voting––
by definition, the inability of early voters to have access to the latest campaign news–– puts a damper on the widely-held principle that the most informed voter is the one with the most up-to-date political and candidate information at his or her disposal. With more than 47 million voters in 37 states and Washington, D.C. participating in early voting this year, more than one-third of all voters (except for the reportedly few voters in four of the early-voting states who took advantage of the right to revote on Election Day) were unable to considered the election-eve email investigation announcements by Comey before voting; they simply didn’t have the latest information. This lack of information might have swung millions of votes in one direction or the other. Furthermore, the wording in Article Two, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution specifically states: “Congress sets a national Election Day. Currently, Electors are chosen on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, in the year before the President’s term is to expire.” Notice the words “Election Day,” not days, and take equal notice of the words “Currently, Electors are chosen on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November…” Clearly, the Constitution’s framers intended for all votes to be cast and result in the choosing of electors on one day, not over the course of a few weeks. Irrelevance of Debates Post-debate reporting by the mainstream media and most post-debate polls said that Hillary Clinton besting Donald Trump in the three pre-election debates. But Clinton lost the election anyway, leading to this conclusion: either both were wrong or debate performances by the candidates don’t sway voters. A case could certainly be made that the leftist slant of most media coverage taints poll numbers. A better case to be made: candidates’ debate performanc-
es don’t win or lose votes. For the most part, history bears this out. Did President Gerald Ford’s debate gaffe that Eastern Europe was not under Soviet domination cost him the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter? Highly unlikely. More likely was Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon, the desire by the American people to turn the page on the Vietnam War and, most notably, the Watergate scandal. Four years later, was challenger Ronald Reagan’s well-timed refrain, “There you go again,” every time President Carter tried to paint him as an extremist the reason why Reagan won a landslide victory? Again, highly unlikely. More likely was Carter’s timidity in the face of the Iranian hostage crisis, his administration’s mishandling of the economy, and his blaming of the American people in his infamous “malaise” speech. In 1984, challenger Walter Mondale clearly overwhelmed President Reagan in their first debate, always the most watched and listened-to encounter. That didn’t stop Reagan from winning the greatest electoral landslide in presidential election history. Similarly, President Obama’s weak performance in his first debate against challenger Mitt Romney four years ago didn’t cost him much, if any, voter support. Obama won handily. Historically, debate performances have not determined election outcomes, and this year was no different. Two Key Questions for Voters Pre-election polling of voter preference for one candidate over another has become the political version of a horse race. This has distracted from the only two questions pollsters ask of voters that truly reflect the direction of a presidential election: 1) Is the country heading in the right or wrong direction? and 2) Is the past or present better for people like you? When the latest RealClearPolitics average of polling data showed that
Why Does a Soldier Carry a Gun? BY: General (res.) Bentzi Gruber Translated by Rachel Kohn In the course of my lecture tours throughout the United States this month, including a stop in Washington, D.C., I was frequently asked about the case the soldier who was convicted of manslaughter for his actions in Chevron, a case that has become known as “the Elor Azariah case.” Most of the people asking, as far as I can tell from the questions, are not wellversed on the details of the specific event and don’t know in general about the conditions and reasons for using one’s weapon in the IDF. Therefore, I think there’s room for an explanation, in a simple manner, the essense of an IDF soldier’s use of lethal force. Most of those asking have preconceived notions that bring them to ask their questions and to criticize the IDF and the court system.
At the high school I went to, Yeshivat Netiv Meir in Jerusalem, they would send the students for a week to the Yeshiva Gvohah (post-high school yeshiva) of their choosing. This was how, for a number of weeks out of the year, I learned in all manner of top-notch Yeshivot Gvohot in Israel. One amazing week, I learned in the yeshiva in Kefar Chasidim. I went into a Gemara shiur (class) taught by of the one of the most distinguished Talmud lecturers in the yeshiva. In the middle of the shiur, a student asked a question related to the topic we were learning. The rabbi banged on the table and asked: “How did Noach enter the ark? He was blind!” Quiet fell over the classroom. The students looked at one another and didn’t know what to answer. No one could remember where it said that Noach was blind.
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After a minute of quiet, the instructor continued and said, “Who said Noach was blind? Don’t make assumptions, and then you won’t run into such difficulties.” A large portion of the questions and reservations about the Elor Azariah ruling stem from mistaken assumptions. So, let’s talk about why a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces receives permission to use lethal force. In democratic countries, the government is investured with authority over use of force. It is the only one that can delegate responsibilty to state bodies and authorize controlled use of force. Thus, for example, the police in Israel are authorized in controlled use of force, and the prison system receives limited authorization. Through this same framework, the military also receives its authorization for use of force.
61.6% of Americans believe that our country is headed in the wrong direction and a Pew Research Center survey of 2,010 Americans taken in August 2016 found that 36%-47% of voters feel they are worse off rather than better off, the election of Donald Trump, in hindsight, should have been predicted. (This is reinforced by the level of voter enthusiasm for one’s preferred candidate, which consistently favored President Trump.) Based on these numbers and the final election results, Americans would be better off betting on these questions as the ultimate determining factors in future presidential election results. Unity or Civility While the many calls for national political unity by various entities after this divisive campaign are well intentioned, it is unrealistic and wrong to believe that our democratic system is conducive to that idea. Illustrating this point is the relentless protesting by closed-minded anti-Trump forces unwilling to even give the new president a fair hearing as he barely begins his presidency. Also, the lack of national political unity fits the definition of a country based on the principle of non-violent, respectful free speech. After all, we are a 3D nation: democracy based on dialogue and debate. So, rather than dismantle that cherished tradition, we need to achieve a greater level of civility whereby we follow the axiom to “agree to disagree, agreeably.” Our national political life will be much better off if civility ruled our political discourse. Eli Chomsky is a New York-based freelance journalist and writer. He is a former copy editor, feature and opinion writer, and reporter at The Jewish Press. His former professional positions include radio broadcasting, political consulting, and speechwriting for the New York City Comptroller. He recently served for six years as president of the Young Israel of Forest Hills in Queens, New York. He can be reached at echomsky54@aol.com.
These are not sweeping authorizations. The fact that the police are authorized to use force does not mean that unrestrained use of their weapons is permitted. Use of lethal force for the police is intended for clear and defined purposes; and any usage which strays from these is not authorized and is subject to investigation and punishment. The first question then in relation to the case we are looking at is: what is the purpose of the use of lethal force granted to soliders in the Israel Defense Forces? Within days of enlisting in the army, usually close to the time of the swearing-in ceremony, a solider receives his personal firearm and vows allegiance to the State of Israel and that he will act in accordance with the rules of the army, and declares that he is prepared to sacrifice his life in the line of duty protecting of the country. Esentially, we’re giving an 18-year-old enlisting in the army a lethal instrument. CONTINUED ON P. 35
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Highest Price Sale in Subdivisions Across Montgomery County Since Nov 1, 2016 Arcola
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11700 Old Georgetown Rd #1206 Sold Price: $442,000
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12532 Ansin Circle Dr Sold Price: $900,000
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14809 Pennfield Cir #406 Sold Price: $292,000
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Report Courtesy of Barbara Ciment, Realtor, Long & Foster Real Estate; Tel: 301-346-9126; Office: 301-468-0606 barbara@ciment.com All data from MRIS subject to revision. The above sales are from various brokers as indicated. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Copyright 2017.
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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CAPITAL COMMENTARY
John Kerry’s Rant BY: Sarah N. Stern Aleppo, Syria. A once thriving, bustling city. It boasted a population of over two million people and was one of the largest, most vibrant cities in the Levant. Today? It is a ghost town of what it once was. All one can see is rubble, charred buildings and mass graves. Human rights groups have recorded numerous examples of evidence of torture, mutilation and massacres perpetuated by the government of Bashir Assad, or the rebels or ISIS. No one even knows an accurate toll of the Syrian fatalities. As of April 2016, the “unofficial estimate” by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura was 400,000 deaths. As Foreign Policy reported that month, there was no official estimate at that time because the UN had simply stopped counting. “A lack of confidence in its own data, a nearly insurmountable problem in a complex conflict.” Meanwhile, two months earlier, one Syrian organization had already put the death toll at 470,000. And let’s not forget the five million refugees produced by the conflict, which is creating instability throughout Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and much of Europe, and poses a real demographic time bomb for what is left of Western civilization in Europe. So emasculated has America’s role in the region been under the Obama ad-
ministration that the Russians, Iranians and Turkish had a peace conference earlier this month and totally omitted America from the table. This is President Obama’s foreign policy legacy. His red line that was made with vanishing ink just underscores the late great Elie Wiesel’s words: “The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference.” On Obama’s watch, Russia invaded Crimea. Ukrainians, with US assurances of protecting their borders, gave up their nuclear arsenal only to have the Russians invade them. In 2003, Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi also gave up his nuclear arsenal only to be invaded and overthrown by the United States. Now, Libya is a simmering cauldron of rivalling Islamist factions. Iran has become enriched, emboldened and empowered by the Obama nuclear deal, which unlocked 150 billion dollars in frozen assets and bequeathed them with at least an additional 1.7 billion dollars in ransom payments. Now, Iran has achieved an internationally legalized pathway for nuclear weapons, as the mullahs lead their people on chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” And Iran, with its newly enriched arsenal, is sowing instability in Yemen, in Lebanon, in Saudi Arabia and in what’s left of Syria. So, to what do John Kerry and Barak Obama devote the waning days of their administration?
Join us for a discussion: The "Anti-Semitism Awareness Act" with Sarah Stern, founder & president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth Screening and Q&A of "Hate Spaces: The Politics of Intolerance on Campus" with Charles Jacobs & Avi Goldwasser, producers of "Hate Spaces"
Mid-Atlantic Premier
Thursday, February 2, 2017 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm Kemp Mill Synagogue 11910 Kemp Mill Road, Silver Spring, MD
This event is open to the community, free of charge. For additional information, please contact inabyrd@gmail.com
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
That’s right, sticking it to Israel. Totally forgotten from John Kerry’s December 28 rant was the fact that the Palestinian Authority refused to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, even once, over the eight years of the Obama administration. Forgotten also were the incredibly generous offers made to Arafat under Prime Minister Ehud Barak in July of 2000, and even more generous ones to Mahmoud Abbas, with over 93% of the West Bank under Ehud Olmert. Both Palestinian leaders simply walked away from the table. Totally ignored from Mr. Kerry’s rant is the evidence that the premise that Israel cannot be both a “democracy and a Jewish State” has been proven fallacious by demographic experts. Yoram Ettinger, together with the demographer Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute, have been able to find that the Palestinian Authority has inflated the number of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria by at least 1.7 million. The international community has been asleep at the wheel, and has taken the number of Palestinians counted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics at face value. There is a 66% solid majority of Jews living in Judea and Samaria. This canard has been used by the left in Israel–– and now, apparently, in the United States–– to alarm people into making a precipitous withdrawal. Totally misquoted by Secretary Kerry was the wording of UN Resolution 242, which was adopted in the Security Council in November 1967. Nowhere in that resolution does it say that Israel should go back to the pre-1967 borders. The exact wording is “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.” Nowhere does it say, “all of the territories.” In fact, the case may be made that Israel already fulfilled her obligations under Resolution 242 when they gave the Sinai to Egypt, or withdrew from Gaza. After Resolution 242 was adopted, British Foreign Secretary George Brown said, “242 means that Israel will not withdraw from all the territories.” And Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Kuznetsov complained, “There is certainly much leeway for different interpretations that retain for Israel the right to establish new boundaries and to withdraw its troops only so far as the lines it judges convenient.” To say that every president used the pre-1967 lines as the ideal borders for a future Palestinian state is patently false. In the aftermath of the Six Day War, President Lyndon B. Johnson quoted UN Ambassador Arthur Goldberg, saying: “An immediate return to the situation as it was on June 4th, (before the war),
would not be a prescription for peace, but for renewed hostilities.” Referring to the pre-1967 lines, President Nixon said to Henry Kissinger, “you and I both know they [the Israelis] can’t go back to the other borders.” President Reagan said, “In the pre1967 borders, Israel was barely ten miles wide at its narrows point. The bulk of Israel’s population lived within artillery range of hostile armies. I am not about to ask Israel to live that way again.” And before the Gaza withdrawal, on April 14, 2004, President George W. Bush wrote to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: “In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.” And finally: not totally ignored by Mr. Kerry’s rant, but seriously under-emphasized, is the fact that the Palestinians have done absolutely nothing in the last 23 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords to prepare their people for “two states living side by side in peace and democracy.” Instead, the Palestinian Authority has used every opportunity to inebriate its population with a steady diet of incitement to hate and kill Jews and to use the international arena of public opinion to litigate against Israel. As President John F. Kennedy said, “Peace does not exist in signed documents and charters alone, but it the hearts and minds of people.” If the final objective that Mr. Kerry really has in mind is a peace that can endure for generations and will last long after the ink on the paper is dry, how then can he ignore what has been planted in the hearts and minds of the Palestinian people? Or does he actually want to reduce Israel to the rubble of Aleppo? This article was originally published by The Hill and has been updated and republished with the author’s permission. Sarah N. Stern is the founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), “an unabashedly pro-Israel and pro-American think tank and policy institute in Washington, D.C.” The organization produces white papers, articles and books, has an ongoing presence on Capitol Hill, and conducts seminars for members of Congress, their staffers and the public at large. A Silver Spring, Maryland resident for almost 40 years, Sarah came to the area when her husband, Buddy, began his medical residency and fellowship in gastroenterology. The Sterns are members of the Kemp Mill Synagogue. Their children–– Bezalel, Noam and Rachel–– graduated from the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy (then the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington).
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CAPITAL COMMENTARY Why Does a Soldier Carry a Gun? CONTINUED FROM P. 31 This demands clear definition of the purpose for which the solider receives his weapon; and that purpose will define the limits to the use of said weapon. Sometimes I ask the soliders I meet from all of the different armies, why did you receive a gun? For what purpose? The range of responses is wide. Some say that the purpose is to kill the enemy. There are those who say that the threat of lethal force is meant to serve as a detterent. Other explanations of the purpose: to punish, to protect myself, to protect my country. It is important to understand what this means. When someone who claims that he received a weapon to kill the enemy meets that enemy in the field, he will continue to fire upon him until he is dead. It is the purpose for which he received it. If the purpose is to deter the enemy, then there’s a doubt as to whether it is permitted to fire upon someone until they are killed. What is the definited purpose of an IDF solider’s firearm? An Israeli soldier receives a weapon for one purpose only: to remove a threat. Let’s try to understand this idea and how the limitations on lethal force are derived from it. Removing a threat: the meaning is that it is permitted to use a weapon as
long as it’s use is for the purpose of removing a threat. The moment there is no threat, or the moment that the threat has passsed, a soldier does not have the authority to use his weapon. This of course goes against the answers I cited above from members of other armies, the idea that the purpose for a weapon is to kill the enemy. If the purpose is to kill the enemy, then the soldier will pursue this end as long as the enemy remains alive. Not so in the IDF. The next question is, who decides when the threat is over? Is the decision in the hands of the solider’s commanders? Can only an authorized officer determine when the threat is over? The answer in the IDF is that whoever is holding the weapon makes the call. So, the soldier holding the weapon is authorized to determine when the threat has ended. We have to further sharpen the meaning here. The delegation of the responsibility to decide when the threat has ended to the soldier holding the gun is a responsibility that weighs heavily on his shoulders. Moreover, it is obvious that different soldiers will perceive a given situation and the threat differently. A combatant who lies injured, unable to move his arms and legs, will be peceived by one soldier as someone who no longer poses a threat. Another soldier faced with the same situation will interpret it as threatening because the com-
batant could still use his mouth to remove the pin from a grenade, putting him in jeopardy. As long as the interpretation is reasonable, every response is correct. That why, in the case where the soldier claims that the enemy still posed a threat because he could roll a grenade, and the solider shot him, the soldier acted well. In contrast, in a case where there is no place to claim that there is a threat–– for example, if the enemy combatant was captured and his hands and feet were in restraints–– even if the soldier says he was in jeopardy, we’re talking about an unreasonable claim and a departure from the authorized use of force permited. In any case, it is obvious that shooting an enemy combatant as an act of vengence for what he’s done is a clear deviation from intended purpose of using one’s firearm. Only an action that falls under the parameters of removing a threat is allowed. Any other use is a crime. This was the issue that came before the court in the Elor Azariah case. The question was whether he shot because he felt threatened by the enemy combatant, or whether we’re talking about shooting for reasons that would amount to criminal intent. The court clearly established that the soldier shot despite not feeling threatened by the enemy combatant. His behavior, actions and
words after the shooting clearly prove that the this was not an instance of opening fire to remove a threat. I want to emphasize the question under examination in this case was not whether the soldier interpreted the situation correctly. The premise was that if the soldier truly felt threatened, he would be within the bounds of what is permitted. The question under examination was whether the soldier fired from a feeling of jeopardy or as an act of vengence or punishement on the enemy combatant for the stabbing another soldier from Elor Azariah’s company, the soldier who was stabbed by one of these attackers. In conclusion, a soldier in the IDF receives his weapon for the purpose of removing threats to the State of Israel, including the soldier and his compatriots. The responsibility of establishing when a threat has ended belongs to the soldier holding the gun, when a reasonable interpretation justifies its use. The moment a soldier understands the threat has passed, any additional use is a deviation from the authorization to use lethal force.
בוא ה להבין את המו ומה ר ממ ו . ה רת איום.לע יין מ בלות ה ימו ב ק המ מעות היא מותר לה תמ ב ק ל מן בר ע אין.ה ימו הוא למטרת ה רת האיום אין לחייל מ ות, או בר ע חל האיום,איום ה מובן ב י וד לת ובות.לה תמ ב קו הקודמות ציטטתי מצבאות אחרים מטרת אם המטרה היא.ה ק היא הרי ת האוייב א י החייל ימ י להפעיל את,הרי ת האוייב ,קו עד לה ת המטרה היא הרי ת האוייב אתה אמור לה תמ,ל מן האוייב עדיין חי לא ו המטרה.ב ק על מ ת להרו אותו . המטרה היא ה רת איום.בצה ל הת ובה.ה אלה הרא ו ה היא איום על מי ובעיקר על, על חיילים אחרים, היא איום עלי אתה מחוייב לה יר איום מעל ל.א רחי המדי ה .הא ים הללו ה אלה ה ייה היא מי מחליט מתי מ תיים האם ההחלטה תו ה בידי המפקדים.האיום האם רק קצין מו מ לקבוע מתי. ל החייל ? מ תיים האיום הוא מי מח יק, הת ובה אן היא מי קובע החייל האוח ב ק הוא המו מ לקבוע.ב ק .מתי ה תיים האיום תי ת.אן י צור לחדד יותר את המ מעות לחייל,האחריות על הקביעה מתי האיום מ תיים היא אחריות בידה המוטלת,האוח ב ק יתרה מ את ברור יהיו הבדלים.על תפיו .בתפי ת המציאות והאיום בין חיילים ו ים ו ב פצוע ללא י ולת לה יע את ידיו אוייב ייתפ על ידי חייל אחד מי לא ק,ור ליו בה ב עה חייל אחר יפר.ממ ו יותר איום לאוייב י עדיין אפ רות,את המצב האמור לה תמ בפיו על מ ת להוציא צרה ל רימון .ול ן את החייל ל ת ובה היא,ל מן הפר ות בירה חייל טוען, ל ן במקרה תואר אן.ו ה יוון הוא י ול,האוייב מהווה עדיין איום
החייל פעל, והחייל יורה בו,ל ל ל רימון .ורה ה ב י וד למצב בו אין ל מקום לטעון י . אוייב תפ וידיו ור ליו א וקים, למ ל.איום ירי באוייב ם אם החייל יטען י בו,ה והירי הוא, הרי מדובר בטיעון לא ביר,י ון .חור מ מ ויות ה ימו ב ק המותרות ממילא ברור ירי באוייב על מ ת לבצע קמה הוא חרי ה ברורה,על פעילות הוא ביצע .ממטרות ה ימו ב ק הו דרו לעיל תחת ה רת איום מתיר ימו רק מה . ל ימו אחר הוא ב דר פ ע.ב ק ה מה,ם בפר ת החייל אלאור ע ריה בחברון ה אלה אם.עמד על הפרק בפ י בית המ פט י איום מצידו הירי בוצע יון החייל ח או מדובר בירי מ וו ה אחרת,ל האוייב בית המ פט קבע.הוא מהווה אמור פ ע בצורה ברורה החייל ירה למרות הוא לא מע יו, והת ה ותו,ח ל איום מצד האוייב והאמירות לו לאחר הירי מו יחות בבירור .לא היה אן ירי על מ ת לה יר איום הדיון לא,במקרה האמור א י רוצה להד י היה האם הפר ות ל החייל ל יטואציה היה ה חת המוצא הייתה אם החייל ח באמת.ון הדיון.מאויים א י הירי הוא במ רת המותר ע ק ב אלה האם החייל ירה מתו תחו ת איום או הירי בוצע קמה או ע י ה ל האוייב על הדקירה ל החייל המ רת בפלו ה החייל דקר על ידי אחד.ל אלאור ע ריה .המפ עים המטרה ל מה מקבל חייל בצה ל,ל י ום ק היא ה רת איום מא רחי המדי ה וב ללם האחריות לקבוע מתי.החייל וחביריו ליחידה ,מ תיים האיום היא ל החייל האוח ב ק א ר ל פר ות בירה מצדיקה את ה ימו ל, בר ע בו הבין החייל חל האיום.ב ק ימו ו ב ק מהווה חרי ה מה מ ות .ל ימו ב ח ית ה לחייל
General Bentzi Gruber is Vice Commander of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) armored division of 20,000 soldiers in Southern Israel. He is an expert on Israel’s counter-terrorism efforts and the ethics of the Israel Defense Forces.
למה חייל מח יק ב ק במ רת מ עות ההרצאות לי ברחבי ארה ב א י אל לא מעט על פר ת החייל היורה פר ה קיבלה את ה ם פר ת אלאור.בחברון .ע ריה לא,יתן להבין מה אלות ,רוב ה ואלים בקיאים בפרטי המקרה מחד ולא יודעים לל מהם הת אים וה יבות להפעלת ק בצה ל ל ן י מקום לה ביר בצורה פ וטה. מאיד .את מהות ה ימו ב ק על ידי חיילי צה ל רוב ה ואלים מ יחים ה חות ו ות ומ ו ות מובילות אותם ל אלות הם ואלים .ולביקורת לפי הצבא ובית המ פט י יבת תיב מאיר,בי יבה התי ו ית בה למדתי היו ולחים את התלמידים ל בוע,בירו לים קרה.לי יבות בוהות הם היו בוחרים מ פר בועות ב ה למדתי ב ל מי י י יבות בוע אחד.בוהות מה ורה הרא ו ה בי ראל תי לאחד .פלא למדתי בי יבת פר ח ידים מ יעורי ה מרא ל ר מ היה מח ובי מ ידי .ה יעור בי יבה באמצע ה יעור אל אותו אי ה תלמיד אלה הר מ דפק על.ע קה ב ו יא אותה למד ו לתיבה הרי הוא ה ולחן ו אל אי ח ל תלמיד.היה עיוור ? קט ה תרר ב יתה א אחד לא.ה ת ל על ה י ולא ידע מה לע ות .ר הי ן מופיע ח היה עיוור מי אמר. המ י הרב ואמר,לאחר דקה ל קט אל ת יח ה חות וא לא יהיו.ח היה עיוור חלק דול מה אלות והה ות על.ל קו יות .מ פטו ל החייל מקורן בה חות ויות א בואו ברר מה ה יבה חייל בצבא הה ה במדי ות.לי ראל מקבל אי ור ל ימו ב ח דמוקרטיות ה לטון הוא ה מופקד על הוא היחיד י ול להאציל.ה ימו ב ח מ ויות ל ופים ל המדי ה ולא ר להם ימו למ ל מקבלת המ טרה אי ור.מבוקר ב ח ירות בתי ה והר .ל ימו מבוקר ב ח במ רת ה ו מקבל.ה מקבל אי ור מו בל
.ם הצבא את האי ור ל ימו ב ח העובדה י.האי ורים הללו אי ם ורפים לא מתירה, למ טרה אי ור להפעיל ח ה ימו.למ טרה ימו לא מו בל ב ק ב ק במ טרה מיועד למטרות ברורות חור מ הוא לא ומו דרות ו ל ימו .ב מ ותה ומחייב חקירה וע י ה בהק ר ל הדיון בו, ה אלה המתבק ת אם היא מה המטרה ל ימו ב ק,א ו עו קים .א ו ות ים לחיילים בצבא הה ה לי ראל חייל מת יי לצבא מקבל תו ימים פורים ק אי י בדר לל ב מו לטק,ל יו ו בו הוא בע ל מור אמו ים,הה בעה לו , לפעול בהתאם לפקודות הצבא,למדי ת י ראל והוא מצהיר הוא מו ן ם למ ור את פ ו .לה ת המדי ה מת יי81 בעצם א ח ו ות ים ל ער בן ה מחייב לה דיר. לצבא מ יר יודע להרו בבירור מה המטרה ל מה מקבל החייל את המטרה ה ו ת דיר בעקבותיה את מ בלות.קו .ה ימו ב ק לעיתים א י ואל חיילים ב ל מי י צבאות א י מה ה יבה קיבלת ק ? לאי ו מטרה, פו אתה מקבל את ה ק ? טווח הת ובות הוא י מי מ ביר לי המטרה היא להרו.רחב י מי מ ביר ה ק יתן על מ ת.את האוייב מעתי ת ובות אחרות.להרתיע את האוייב . לה ן על עצמי ועל המדי ה, להע י,הי ן מי טוען.י להבין ל ת ובה אן מחייבת ,הוא קיבל את ה ק די להרו את האוייב הוא אמור להמ י ולירות ב ק א ר הוא ו הייתה. עד א ר הוא הור אותו,תקל באוייב אם המטרה היא.המטרה הוא קיבל אותו להרתיע את האוייב א י פק אם מותר להמ י .ולירות עד אתה הור אותו מה המטרה המו דרת ל קבלת ק ל חייל חייל בצה ל מקבל את קו רק למטרה.בצה ל .( taerht diova ) ה רת איום.אחת
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
35
CAPITAL COMMENTARY
Trump’s Presidency Marks Shift in Israel Policy By Zachary Leshin WASHINGTON––– The new administration of President Donald Trump marks a shift in the policy of the United States towards Israel. The clearest shift that has already occurred is the lack of criticism towards Israel’s construction of housing in east Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria. During the Obama administration, every time Israel approved an apartment building to be constructed in the disputed territories, the administration condemned it. In contrast, since President Trump came into office 2500 housing units have been approved in Judea and Samaria and 566 units approved in east Jerusalem and the administration has issued no condemnation.
The Trump administration has also taken a firmer stance towards the United Nations. In contrast to the Obama administration’s refusal to veto Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared all Israeli settlements beyond the 1949 armistice lines to be in violation of international law, the Trump administration has called for supporting Israel at the U.N. The Trump administration has drafted executive orders that would cut funding to any U.N. agency that gives membership to the Palestinian Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organization or circumvents Iran sanctions. There is also legislation going through Congress that would eliminate U.N. funding entirely until Resolution 2334 is rescinded. Since the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which required the embassy be
moved to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999, several presidents have called for moving the embassy to Jerusalem only to later utilize the waiver added to the act in 1998 that permits a delay every six months for security concerns. The Trump administration has already taken steps that show they are more serious about moving the embassy, such as looking for specific locations in Jerusalem to purchase. David Friedman, President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel, has also been outspoken in his support for moving the embassy and stated that he will be living in Jerusalem. It is unclear how the new administration will act with regard to the Iran deal. Since the deal was an executive agreement and not a treaty, it is not binding on the Trump administration.
President Trump may want to withdraw from the agreement to set a precedent that makes it more difficult for future administrations to act unilaterally without the consent of Congress when making international agreements. However, there is also the possibility that “snapback” sanctions are implemented within the framework of the deal since Iran has already violated it. Zachary Leshin is a former Legislative Assistant to Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) in charge of Israel policy. He has lived in DC since 2012 and is currently working towards his Master's in national security at the Institute of World Politics. He has worked as a reporter for CNS News covering Capitol Hill. He frequently attends events at American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), Mesorah DC, and Moishe House.
Where can I pickup the paper? MARYLAND
Silver Spring
Young Israel Shomrai Emunah, Kemp Mill Synagogue, Ohr Hatorah, Silver Spring Jewish Center, Chabad of Silver Spring, Minchas Yitzchok, Yeshiva of Greater Washington Boys Division, The Torah School of Greater Washington , Shalom Kosher, Max’s Café and Catering, Ben Yehuda Pizza, Kosher Pastry Oven, The Candy Man, Kemp Mill Dry Cleaners, Nuthouse Pizza, Goldberg’s New York Bagels, University Towers, Warwick
Potomac Beth Sholom, Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac, Chabad of Potomac, Goldberg’s NY Bagels
College Park UMD Hillel, Chabad UMD, UMD Meor
Olney
North Bethesda/Rockville
COMING SOON
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, SULAM, Bender JCC of Greater Washington, Aish
Annapolis
Hatorah, Magen David Sephardic Congregation, Café Shawreen, Al Ha’esh, Moti’s Market,
Congregation Kneseth Israel
Sienas Vegetarian Pizzeria Restaurant, Goldberg’s NY Bagels, Jewish Federation of
Upper Montgomery County
Greater Washington, Café Sunflower
Chabad Lubavitch Upper Montgomery County
Bethesda
Baltimore
Am Hatorah, Chabad of Bethesda
COMING SOON
WASHINGTON DC Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue, Jewish Primary Day School, Kesher Israel, American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), Char Bar, Brooklyn Sandwich Co., Hillel International, Edlavitch DC JCC, Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
NORTHERN VIRGINIA Chabad Lubavitch of Northern Virginia, Gesher Jewish Day School 36
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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CAPITAL COMMENTARY
Red, Blue, and Frum: The Orthodox Community and the US Political Divide By DeDe Jacobs-Komisar While the post-election report from the Pew Research Center says that 70% of American Jews voted for Hillary Clinton, it’s hard to find definitive numbers on how Orthodox people voted in the 2016 presidential election. The number 56-39 was floating around the internet–– attributed to both Trump and Clinton victories. We may never have hard data, so let’s just ask outright what we’ve been debating at Shabbos tables for what seems like forever: Will Trump be “good for the Jews”? What does this even mean? Many assume he’ll be “better for Israel,” but is there a paradox when it comes to a President who supports the current Israeli government but has as his closest advisor Steve Bannon, founder of a site he called the “platform for the alt-right” and himself on record making anti-Semitic statements? What would Jared Kushner’s grandmother Rae, a Holocaust survivor and refugee who died in 2004, think of Trump’s recent Executive Order banning Syrian refugees and others from entering the US? Do we care that the Trump White House’s statement on the Holocaust didn’t actually mention the Jews? Is this a guy who embodies values we want our Jewish kids to emulate? Does that even matter? And finally, if we take the Trump administration on its own terms, free from comparisons to President Obama or Hillary Clinton, what can we expect? We can’t seem to stop debating these questions in the hope that some kernel of wisdom or “credible” statistic will convince our friends on the other side to see the light. The divide doesn’t hurt because we think everyone should share the same political beliefs; it hurts because the unprecedented nationwide vitriol of this political moment has infiltrated our community. There’s an undercurrent of assumptions–– Hillary voters don’t care about Israel, Trump voters are racist–– and it hurts on an individual level for people on both sides: Why can’t I get my family/friend/neighbor/rabbi to see what is so incredibly obvious and important?
On Friday January 20, I left my husband and kids in Sharon, Massachusetts to attend the Women’s March in DC the following day and to gauge how others in my community are wrestling with these questions. I exited Union Station right into this thick of things: people selling Trump swag on one side and about 300 protesters on the other (with a couple of Jews for Jesus handing out pamphlets in the middle, naturally). Inauguration attendees, among them a noticeably frum family, crossed through on their way to the Mall. My sister, who lives in DC, picked me up and we went to ride out the day at Star and Shamrock, the Jewish-Irish pub on H Street. Marc Vernick, 48, traveled from New Jersey to attend the Inauguration with his teenage son Paul, who is president of his school’s Young Republicans club. “He was the one who wanted to go,” said Marc, a registered Republican and self-described moderate. “Paul called so many congressional offices that we wound up with 24 tickets!” It was the first inauguration both had attended. Marc was originally an “anything but Trump” voter. “I like his pro-business views and pro-Israel stance, but not his shoot from the hip mentality and big mouth,” he said via email. Marc’s support for Trump boils down to one thing: Israel. “The only pro-Israel party right now is the Republican party,” he said. After the Iran Deal made by the Obama administration and the recent abstention vote at the UN, Marc felt that “anyone who is pro-Israel cannot vote Democrat any longer. I’m socially pretty liberal, but I put those values aside for Israel and the economy.” Marc had been thrilled to be at the Inauguration, but was also “pained to see the hate coming from those who did not vote for Trump,” as he put it. “I’m sorry to say this,” said Jared, “But the protests come off as a temper tantrum from a five-year-old. People can voice their opinion, but give him a chance.” Mimi G., a Jewish educator in her 30s who describes herself as a libertarian, said that she “held her breath” when voting for Trump. “I don’t like his style. He’s
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a total jerk. But I felt the same about the other candidate.” Mimi’s vote, she said, was in the hope of stimulating “deeper conversations around the hot button issues of feminism, sexism, racism, and what it means to be an American.” As Shabbos came in over the capital, we lit candles and went across town to Kesher Israel for davening and a community dinner they were hosting for people in town for both the Inauguration and the March -- an interesting crowd, to be sure. There were about 30 of us at dinner, a mix of locals and visitors. One side of my table was a family who had come down from Queens for the Inauguration, on the other side three women in town for the March. Beverly Luchfeld, who is in her 60s and owns a company manufacturing Shabbos robes, had come down from Teaneck to march with her son. Barbara Goldstein came from Queens to be with others who understood where she was coming from. “I’m in a Modern Orthodox community where most support Trump,” said Barbara, a pediatric physical therapist in her 50s. “It’s been pretty hard. I feel like I don’t have a kehilla (community) right now.” Their friend Andrea agreed. The dinner conversation was fascinating, mostly in what was not being said. It was clear that no one wanted to discuss why we were actually there, for fear of sparking a political debate that no one seemed to have the stomach for. Instead, we danced nimbly around that elephant, talking about travel, jobs, and of course, Jewish geography. Within minutes it became clear that Andrea and the woman in from Queens for the Inauguration had a close friend in common. Small world. We kept up that veneer of small talk, almost like we were having Shabbos dinner in an alternate universe. Kemp Mill resident Jared Phusia, 29, spent Shabbat in DC at the Young Jewish Conservatives convention. Jared, who works for a kosher wine e-commerce company and identifies as “centerright Republican,” attended the national conference with about 75 Jews in their 20s-30s of all affiliations. “We had an oneg Friday night next to one of the balls, which I was excited about because Jared and Ivanka were
supposed to make an appearance,” Phusia said, laughing, “But they didn’t show. Oh well!” Originally a supporter of Senator Marco Rubio, Jared backed Trump when he clinched the Republican nomination. “I had reservations,” said Jared. “I thought his campaign was a stunt, or PR, that he had no real interest in running. But now he’s my President. I want him to do well for the country, just like I wanted Obama to.”
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After dinner, my sister and I hiked back across town, an epic journey as we navigated around streets closed off due to Inaugural balls. Lines of police were flanked by a tense, odd mix of protesters and people in tuxes and gowns. Thankfully, we didn’t witness any violence. We saw the motorcade pass by, and caught a glimpse of our new President’s world-famous hair. As I left the dinner at Kesher, I thought about the two women, one marching and one visiting for the Inauguration, discovering a mutual best friend. They were able to connect beyond politics. It made me feel hope. On the other hand, if their connection would collapse if they discussed things they really cared about–– beliefs that had motivated them to travel hundreds of miles–– did it count for anything at all? To Be Continued in the Next Issue… DeDe Jacobs-Komisar is a writer and theatre professional who grew up in Baltimore and lives in Sharon, MA. Endless thanks to husband Yaakov for watching the kids while she was at the March.
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Kol HaBirah and the Book of Shemot: A New Sefer for a New Newspaper BY: Alan Fisher As the Book of Shemot opens, Yosef and his brothers have all died, a new Pharaoh has emerged in Egypt and enslaved Bnei Yisrael, and the Jews have gone through tremendous population growth. The subject of Shemot, Vayeira, Bo and Beshalach is the process of freeing this large group from Pharaoh’s control. While we read these opening chapters, the editorial board of Kol HaBirah is giving birth to a new newspaper for the Greater Washington area’s Jewish community. According to Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, King David was the first to use the term HaBirah, to describe the Beit HaMikdash. Prior to the time-period of the Purim story, there is no other mention of “birah” in Tanach. To a Jew in the time of Esther, “Kol HaBirah” would mean a lot more than the voice of Washington, DC, the capital–– it would mean the voice of Hashem, from the central focal point of Judaism. Referring to the capital city of Shushan as “HaBirah” in the Megillah is a sarcastic condemnation of the failure of the people of that generation to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Mishkan. As Sefer Shemot opens, the Jews are in exile, as they were at the time of Queen Esther – but this time as slaves
to Pharaoh. One can calculate that Sefer Shemot opens approximately 50 to 60 years after the death of Yosef. Bnei Yisrael were in exile in Egypt for 210 years. Yosef was 40 years old when his family joined him, and he died 70 years later, at age 110. The other brothers died after Yosef. Bnei Yisrael were therefore in Egypt 140 years after Yosef’s death. Moshe was 80 years old when G-d called to him to go to Pharaoh. Moshe, therefore, was born 60 years after Yosef died and less than 60 years after the other brothers died. While Yaakov was alive, Yosef invited the entire family to have all meals at his home. Nothing in Sefer Bereshit suggests unusual population growth among the Jews. However, only 50 years later, in Parshat Shemot, the Torah reports that Bnei Yisrael had grown so numerous that they were overrunning Goshen. The entire first generation has died, and the Torah does not mention any of the newer generations by individual name. We have gone from individuals and a family to a nation – but the language in the Torah describes the people as “sheretz,” a swarm, the language normally reserved to describe cockroaches or rats. We have a generation without leaders, a generation of anonymous pests without one individual worth mentioning by name. The language of the Torah here reflects
Principles from Parsha: Bo BY: Joshua Z. Rokach “Come to Pharaoh.” As of last week’s parsha (Torah portion), G-d had already stricken Egypt with seven plagues. Now, Pharaoh follows the same routine. He promises to heed G-d’s word when undergoing the punishment; but when his suffering ends, he reverts to his stubborn refusal to listen. Here, G-d prepares to strike a further blow: swarms of locusts to blight the land of Egypt and devour the vegetation the previous plague, hail, didn’t destroy. Now this week’s parsha begins with G-d’s command. “Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order that I could inflict these, my signs, in their midst.” (Shemot 10:1). This verse lends itself to further analysis. Why does G-d tell Moshe to “come” to Pharaoh, בא, instead of “go” to Pharaoh, ?ל We can understand G-d’s message for Moshe to come to Pharaoh only after resolving difficulties in the rest of the verse. Ramban notes that the Torah does not say what Moshe is supposed to do when he arrives at the palace. It does, however, give the reason for Moshe’s trip–– G-d tells Moshe He had hardened the hearts of the oppressors and that He will engage in “shock and awe” for the benefit of the Egyptians and future generations of the Jews. Ramban considers the omission as a literary device. He comments that the To-
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rah does record what Moshe tells Pharaoh. Indeed, Shemot 10:3 states: “Moshe and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, ‘So said the Lord, G-d of the Hebrews: How long will your refuse to humble yourself before me; let my people go so they can serve me.’” Presumably, according to Ramban, Moshe repeats to Pharaoh what G-d had told him in the first verse. Ramban sees nothing unusual in this construct. He notes that in discussing the seventh plague, hail, the Torah records what G-d had told Moshe, but not what Moshe told Pharaoh. Logically, Moshe repeated to Pharaoh what G-d had commanded. Therefore, we should view the structure of the verse as nothing more than a matter of literary style. The story of the seventh plague omitted the words of Moshe to Pharaoh; the story of the eighth omits the words of G-d to Moshe. Rashi, in his commentary on the verse, takes a different view. He adds the words, “and warn him” to the command, “Come to Pharaoh.” In effect, G-d tells Moshe to present himself at the palace and warn the king of the imminence of yet another plague. Immediately afterward, we read the exact words of the warning Moshe will give. Rashi’s interpretation raises the question: why does G-d have to tell Moshe to warn Pharaoh? More broadly, the commentator Ezor Eliyahu (Lemberg 1889) finds the entire verse difficult. If, as G-d tells Moshe, He has hardened Pharaoh’s heart, why does G-d have
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
the incredible anti-Semitism of Egypt. Pharaoh instituted pest control the way we would call an exterminator for cockroaches or rats. Pharaoh enslaved the Jews and forced them to do hard labor, enlisted the midwives, and then all the Egyptian people, in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the Jewish population from growing. In this intensely anti-Semitic environment, the Jews who were swarming and overcrowding Goshen were anonymous and had no leaders. Until Pharaoh’s daughter saves the baby and names him Moshe, the Torah does not identify by name any of the two million Jews of that generation. The Torah only identifies Moshe’s family as a man and a woman of the tribe of Levi, and the baby’s sister. Other than Moshe, his wife and older son, and Aaron, the Torah does not mention any other Jew of that generation until chapter 6:14. This no-name policy vividly reinforces the message that there was no individual worthy of mentioning by name. This no-name policy also contrasts vividly with 6:14-25, when G-d starts the program to redeem the Jews, and the Torah mentions more than 30 individual members of the families of Reuven, Shimon, and Levi. The Torah says (2:23): “the Children of Israel groaned because of the work and
to send Moshe at all? Since the Egyptians have become programmed to resist changing their ways, what purpose does speaking to Pharaoh serve? Separately, the seeming cynicism here–– warning Pharaoh and not giving him the ability to change his ways, yet punishing him for his recalcitrance––confounds us as well. Ezor Eliyahu’s answer to his questions clarifies everything. He points out that repentance involves three sequential elements: thought, word and deed. First, one has to decide to change his ways. Then, one must articulate his decision. Finally, one must take action. Thought involves the brain. Word involves the mouth. Action involves the heart (a person’s will). Ezor Eliyahu focuses on the word “heart” in the verse–– G-d tells Moshe he had hardened Pharaoh’s heart. We see no mention of his brain and mouth. Nor does the verse state simply that G-d had hardened Pharaoh. Therefore, Ezor Eliyahu interprets G-d as telling Moshe that He had blocked the Egyptians from emancipating the Jews. However, Pharaoh retains free will to change his mind and also to express a willingness to let the Jews go. Ezor Eliyahu concludes that Moshe has a reason to see Pharaoh. Moshe can get the king at least to repent in thought and word. This allows us to understand why G-d must tell Moshe to warn Pharaoh and why the Torah uses the word “come” instead of “go.” G-d does not usually give a person the choice to think about changing his ways and the ability to articulate his resolution, but take away his capaci-
they cried out. Their outcry because of the work went up to G-d. G-d heard their moaning, and G-d remembered His covenant. . .” Once Bnei Yisrael cried out to G-d–– that is, once they davened–– G-d responded and started the redemption process. We have a very Jewish message here. Our role as Jews is tikkun olam. We are to work with G-d to perfect the world. Redemption of the Jews could only start once the Jews participated. This message appears many times in Jewish history, perhaps most famously in Parshat Beshalach where the waters of the Sea of Reeds did not split for the Jews until Nachshon ben Aminadav went into the water until it was up to his neck (Shemos Rabbah 21:9). G-d tells Moshe that He had not appeared to the patriarchs as Hashem. The Torah uses G-d’s name “Hashem” many times, so this comment requires explanation. What G-d meant was that He was about to take an obvious, direct role in the world. When Moshe took G-d’s message to Pharaoh, his response was, “Who is Hashem that I should heed His voice to send out Israel? I do not know Hashem, nor will I send out Israel!” (5:2). G-d decided to appear as Hashem, to engage directly in the human world, to give Pharaoh, Bnei Yisrael, the Egyptian people and other people in the world a graduate course in who Hashem was. He would redeem the Jews with an outCONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE
ty to atone. I cannot think of any similar instance in the Torah. When G-d sends Moshe to Pharaoh, Moshe would expect that his mission remains as before: to induce Pharaoh to free the Jews. Now that Moshe has a more limited objective, G-d must inform Moshe of the change. Alternatively, we read earlier (Shemot 3:11-4:18) that when G-d first asked Moshe to lead the Jews, he refused. Moshe gave several reasons why he would not go on what he perceived to be a wild goose chase; only if his efforts would accomplish something would he undertake them. G-d reassures Moshe here that he is not wasting his time even though Pharaoh cannot release the Jews. Moshe can get Pharaoh to come to grips with his sin. Moshe must “come to Pharaoh.” As in English, the word “come” indicates movement toward something or someone, and “go” means to proceed away. Here, Moshe must explain the subtlety of what G-d wants Pharaoh to do. To accomplish his goal, Moshe must put himself in Pharaoh’s shoes. Similarly, when dealing with a particularly complex situation, we must see the world through the eyes of the other person. Only then can we hope to succeed. Joshua Zev Rokach is gabbai of the Nusach Sefard Minyan at Young Israel Shomrai Emunah in Kemp Mill and former gabbai of the main minyan at Shomrei Emunah and at Kesher Israel in Georgetown. He has taught a weekly Talmud class at both synagogues and served as an officer and a member of the Board of Directors of both shuls. A retired attorney, Joshua has lived in the Greater Washington area since 1976 and in Kemp Mill since 1986.
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TORAH PERSPECTIVES
Crossing the Frontier: Analyzing the timeless symbolism of the Splitting of the Sea BY: Yitzchak Szyf Introduction: Reliving the Parsha The Stropkover Rebbe, on a recent visit to Kemp Mill, Maryland, stressed the importance of reliving the events of the Torah portions that we read each week. In particular, he pointed out that the concepts in the Torah portions of Bo through Ki Tisa, a series which we begin this Shabbos, all echo the holidays in order. Bo discusses leaving Egypt and thereby evokes first days of Pesach; Beshalach has the Splitting of the Sea and represents the last days of Pesach; and so on through the weeks until Parshat Ki Tisa, whose shekalim reminds us of the coins collected in the month Adar and the pieces of silver Haman bid on our destruction in the story of Purim. The only Shabbos in the group with a special name, however, is Beshalach, which is traditionally referred to as “Shabbos Shira” (the Shabbos of Song). Let us try to better understand what we are to experience on this special Shabbos next week. Yam Suf: The Final Border of Egypt The title of this article — “Crossing the Frontier” — was chosen based on two very distinct, but surprisingly similar, sources discussing Kriyas Yam Suf, the Splitting of the Sea. The first is a somewhat shocking Chasam Sofer (Friedman ed. Vol. 2 pg. 544), which discusses the hidden background of Acharon Shel Pesach (the final day of Pesach, celebrated only outside of Israel). The Chasam Sofer explains that the day of “leaving Egypt” was actually the day after the Splitting of the Sea. The sea was basically the border of Egypt, and it was only when we moved to the desert on the following day that we actually left Egypt. It is thus fitting that the eighth day
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stretched arm and great judgments (6:6). This overt participation in the human world contrasts sharply with G-d’s role in Megillat Esther, where G-d appears b’hesder panim, hiding his face, participating by manipulating events behind the scene. (G-d’s name does not even appear in the Megillah.) Since the end of the period of the prophets, G-d has continued to operate Hesder Panim. An important role for all Jews is to recognize G-d’s role behind the scenes, as He continues to watch and guide us, often in ways that no one would have predicted. May Kol HaBirah help us recognize G-d’s role in our lives.
of Pesach is a yom tov, at least in the diaspora, since that is the “real” day of the exodus from Egypt. (We see a similar discussion by the second day of Shavuos, which according to most opinions is the actual day of the giving of the Torah.). The second source is an essay by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Covenant and Conversation, Exodus, pg. 115, essay titled “The Turning Point”), in which he explains that the passage through the sea symbolized a move from being “servants of Pharaoh” to being solely “servants of Hashem.” He adds that walking between the two parts of the sea was not just a practical way to get to the other side: it symbolized a new covenant of the Jewish people with Hashem, just like the Brit bein HaBetarim (the covenant between Avraham and Hashem in the Book of Bereishit). Covenants were often marked by the two parties walking through sliced parts, a process that symbolized their strengthening sense of unity with each other. In other words, walking through the split sea and getting to the other side was a process of “leaving Egypt” (Chasam Sofer) and entering a new “domain” (Rabbi Sacks), both physically and religiously. Grounded in Nature, but With a Supernatural Twist Despite its overall supernatural tone, it is noteworthy that the Splitting of
Alan Fisher, a retired economist with a government agency, is the membership chairman of the American Dahlia Society. He produces and shares a weekly compilation of divrei Torah (Potomac Torah Study Center) and davens most often at Beth Sholom.
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the Sea and the Shira (Song of the Sea), which accompanied it, are predominately observed within the “natural” cycle of our calendar and prayers: It occurred and is celebrated on the seventh day of Pesach, a number generally associated with the natural. The Shira itself forms an integral part of our Pesukei dezimra, a series of psalms that focuses on “natural” miracles that happen every day. The language of the Shira focuses predominately on the drowning of the Egyptians when the water returned to its “natural” state; only a very small part of it discusses the “supernatural” miracle. The strong connection between the natural world and the number seven is at first perplexing, but perhaps can be understood within the context of our earlier analysis. The Splitting of the Sea was our passage into a new physical and spiritual domain, which forms the basis of how we live within our natural world. To be relevant, the experience too had to be grounded, at least to some degree, in what we perceive as “nature.” It is noteworthy that even the split in the water itself was orchestrated by Hashem through the use of a “wind from the East,” a process that some understand to have worked within the laws of nature. But the number eight and the supernatural still play a critical role “behind
the scenes.” For example, the final Rashi on Parshat Shelach compares the Splitting of the Sea to tzitzit, which is also related to the supernatural realm; their main purpose is to serve as a visual cue for man resist acting according to his “natural” animal instinct. So too, the Midrash connects the Splitting of the Sea to the mitzvah of circumcision, which happens on the eighth day and has a similar mission. Rabbi Yehudah Halevi beautifully weaves these three “supernatural” themes together (the Splitting of the Sea, tzitzit, and circumcision) in the liturgy of the seventh day of Pesach (see Artscroll Siddur pg. 712) and at a bris (pg. 214). Using terminology borrowed from Tamar in Parshat Vayeshev and her quest to hint at Yehudah’s role in what transpired (the “chotemet and the petilim”), we remind Hashem that we hold the “chotemet” (circumcision) and the “petilim” (tzitzit) and—using a refrain which focuses on the Song of the Sea —beg for the future redemption. The story of the Splitting of the Sea and the accompanying song was thus not only our path across the frontier of Egypt into our new natural world (the number 7), but will be the backbone of our future redemption (the number 8) when we cross yet another frontier. As we “experience” the Splitting of the Sea next Shabbos, we experience an opportunity to again undergo the final stage of the exodus from Egypt as we “reaccept” the covenant and enter into Hashem’s full domain–– and strengthen the seeds of our final redemption. Yitzchak Szyf received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University and lives with his family in Kemp Mill, Maryland. After serving as a rabbi in Transylvania, Romania and working with Jewish communities around the world, he has focused professionally on international development. His study of chazanus, piyut and midrash under some of the world's leading experts is reflected in his passion for integrating a vast variety of sources–– from midrash to prayer, customs, Chassidic thought, and modern Jewish thought–– in his shiurim and writings, creating a mosaic specific to the time of year.
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Divine Justice and Personal Responsibility BY: Rabbi Haim Ovadia Of all the questions surrounding the ten plagues in Egypt, none have captured the interest of commentators throughout the ages as much as the question of how G-d can disrupt Pharaoh’s decision-making process and then hold him accountable for it. This question fascinates believers because it has direct application to their lives in terms of the purpose and the value of their actions. In a classic system of reward and punishment, evildoers are punished and the righteous are rewarded–– but what if our understanding of righteous and evildoers is wrong? What if all is directed by G-d for His own needs and purposes? If G-d can manipulate Pharaoh’s decisions in order to show His great might, how do I know that when I make a certain decision it is mine only, and not part of a sophisticated Divine plan? This is the pressing question of theodicy, Divine Justice. When a terrorist decides to slam his truck into innocent pedestrians, when a driver decides to text while driving, or when a corrupt CEO presents false data regarding the airbags in his vehicles, how should we view all the people killed on the roads because of these actions? Are they victims of the decisions of those three individuals, stemming from hatred, carelessness, and greed, or were they destined to die and G-d guided the actions of others to carry out His plans? I believe we must answer first the question of Divine Justice and only then breach the issue of Pharaoh being controlled by G-d. Though at first sight the system of reward and punishment seems very logical, it has a major flaw: it does not educate, it trains! We do good not because we understand its intrinsic value and relate to it, and not because we want to benefit others, but rather because we are concerned with our well-being. We avoid evil deeds and crime not because we do not want to harm another person or because we think it is morally wrong, but rather because we are concerned with our own well-being. The belief in the eternal reward in the World-to-Come has become the central piece of every Orthodox speech and educational campaign, and thus many observant Jews are more selfish and less affected by the good deeds they perform. Already the sages of the Mishna anticipated this dangerous trend and warned their followers not to expect their daily paycheck from G-d. They also noticed that the direct result system described in most of the bible, according to which the sinners are smitten while the righteous rejoice, doesn’t function. Their explanation of that phenomenon was that G-d is hiding His face from us because of our sins, and is not involved in micromanaging the world. This approach was not accepted by all, and it seems that the more people suffered, the more they tried to justify their suffering as a retribution for sins. When they were not able to do so, they understood the suffering as an expiation for the communal sins of the nation. This was a defense mechanism which allowed them to survive the toughest times without losing their faith, but what will we say of those who are not part of the Jewish people? Does their suffering expiate for our sins or theirs? And what of people
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who perish in natural disasters, or innocent children who are born ill? I would like to suggest a different approach, which might cause some theological discomfort to those who rigorously observe all the mitzvot with the hope of being protected from danger and disaster. The real question is, why did G-d create the universe? If we believe that G-d is immutable, unchangeable, then there was no difference between G-d without the universe and G-d with the universe. We will have to accept the fact that we have no answer to this question. Evil, as we understand it, is a human concept. We ask why G-d created a world plagued by evil, but when we want G-d to eliminate evil, how far do we go? A G-d-controlled, evil-free world might not allow sports cars, carbon emissions, fast food, and ladders (the main cause of home accidents). We cannot ask G-d to prevent only the things that bother us, and so we must accept, as believers, that making the world a better place is up to us. Why then do we read in the Bible that G-d micromanages our life? It was written for marketing purposes. No one would have accepted the weird new religion which denounced idolatry, claimed that all humans were created in the image of an invisible G-d, mandated a day of complete rest, and expected masters to treat their slaves as human beings. The idea that if you do all these you will be rewarded with bliss and abundance, and that if not, fire and brimstone will turn your cities into Sodom and Gomorrah, was the powerful incentive that brought followers to the new religion. As the sun was about to set over the period of the First Temple, it was clear, however, that the Israelites viewed the system superficially. They felt that they could do whatever they wanted, offer a sacrifice, and start sinning again with a clean bill of health. That is when the prophets stepped in and explained to the people that from now on G-d’s miracles, which served as training wheels, are off. Since then, we live in the era of human responsibility. G-d does not intervene; and if He does, it is very rarely and only for some people. We consider, for example, the return to Israel and establishment of a state to be a miracle, but how many innocent people died on the path to statehood, including the Holocaust, with no miracle to save them? Or take my friend who told me excitedly how he was miraculously saved on 9/11 because he attended a later minyan–– what about the thousands of other victims? Did they not deserve a miracle? The prophets quietly fought to change this mentality, and none of them put it more poignantly than Jeremiah in the book of Job (35:6-8): :ָל־בּוֹ ו ְַרבּ֥ וּ ֝ ְפ ָשׁ ֶ֗עיָך מַה־תַּ ֲעשֶׂה־לּֽוֹ ֑ אִם־ ֭ ָחטָאתָ מַה־תִּ ְפע אִם־ ֭ ָצדַ קְתָּ מ ְלאִישׁ־כּ ָ֥מוָֹך ִרשׁ ְֶעָ֑ך:ַה־תִּתֶּן־לוֹ ֖אוֹ מַה־ ִמיּ ָדְָך֥ י ִקָּ ֽח ֑ וּ ְלבֶן־֝ ָאדָ֗ ם צִדְ ק ֶָתָֽך When you sin, you do not affect G-d, and your numerous transgressions will not change Him. If you are righteous, what have you given Him, and what can you offer Him? Your wickedness affects humans like you, and so does your righteousness. In other words, the system of good and evil, reward and punishment, though presented as a religious system which flows between the individual and the divine, is a social system whose real focus is the rela-
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
tionships between humans. The reward for good deeds directed at others is the sensation of fulfilment and satisfaction, and the knowledge that someone’s life is now better because of me. If we are relentless with our pursuit of this satisfaction, the world will become a perfect place, devoid of evil not because of divine intervention turning us all into robots but because of deliberate actions performed by thinking, sensitive, deeply committed humans. When this happens, we will all benefit. Well, not us exactly, but more likely our great grandchildren, or the equivalent of a fourth generation. The Divine system of reward and punishment, known to us as the Torah, does not guarantee perfect health and long life to the righteous, but as more people embark on the path of total righteousness, which includes and focuses on doing good for others, perfect health and long life could be guaranteed for future generations around the world. Let us now go back to the stiff-hearted Pharaoh. In light of what was said so far, we can understand that the ten plagues, alongside the enslavement of the Israelites, are symbolic and educational. We should therefore look for a message which, beyond the supernatural miracles of the past, can resonate with our contemporary life and with the goal of improving and perfecting the world. That message, I believe, is delivered from both sides of the fence, the oppressed Israelites and the oppressing Egyptians. It is that the power of nations and organizations lies in the hands of individuals, who are collectively responsible for the decisions and actions of the governing body, even in non-democratic systems. On the Israelite side, the first attempt to prompt people to action was done by Moshe, who first killed the taskmaster and then tried to unite the people. They were not ready yet and he fled, frustrated, to the desert. G-d summoned him and insisted that he goes to Pharaoh, because even when assisted by G-d’s miracles, the leader must have an inner conviction of the importance of his mission. The Israelites, who sat idly by during the plagues, were asked to perform an act of defiance against the Egyptians just before the exodus, by slaughtering an animal sacred to their oppressors and splashing its blood on their doorposts. By doing so they marked themselves as targets for their enemies, and showed their confidence in G-d and their readiness to leave this life of slavery. On the Egyptian side, G-d did not want Pharaoh to let the people go, He wanted the people to let the people go. It had to be a decision of the Egyptians, in order to send a message to future generations that they cannot exempt themselves from responsibility by blaming it on the government. Note that G-d never intervenes with the Egyptian people. He only hardens the heart of Pharaoh, and at one point, of his counselors as well. Since mass enslavement would not have been possible without the active collaboration of the Egyptians, the stiffening of Pharaoh’s heart was necessary to give the people a chance to decide on their own, and perhaps to oppose their ruler. To prove this theory, let us examine two issues: when did G-d harden Pharaoh’s
heart, and what was the reaction of the Egyptians to the plagues? Being stubborn was Pharaoh’s choice after the first five plagues and the seventh plague. After the sixth, eight, and ninth plagues, the verse says G-d stiffened the king’s heart. G-d had to intervene towards the end as Pharaoh’s resistance was wearing out and as his counselors were putting pressure on him. The outlier, the sixth plague, can be explained by the nature of that plague, boils, which acted as an equalizer. We know from elsewhere in the Bible that when people were inflicted with boils, they stripped themselves almost naked and scratched the boils with potsherds (Job 2:78). Pharaoh was willing to suffer through the inconvenience of other plagues, but the sixth one not only reduced him to a beggar, but made him lose his elevated status and become equal to all his subjects and even the animals. It was Pharaoh’s arrogance which almost made him vulnerable, and G-d hardened his heart to give an opportunity to the people to react. The people, meanwhile, collaborated with the king. After the first plague, blood, they dug for water around the Nile. After the invasion of the frogs ended, they piled the dead amphibians in odorous heaps instead of marching on the palace with torches and pitchforks. Before the plague of hail, heeding G-d’s warning, some Egyptians brought their flocks from the fields into the homes, while others left them in the field, in defiance of G-d’s word. Through their actions, the Egyptians displayed their belief that the enslavement of the Israelites was justified and that they were going to prevail in the war against G-d. It was only after the last plague, the death of the firstborn, that all Egyptians were stirred to action. Death is the great equalizer, especially when it is the death of a child. The artificial barriers between the monarch and his subjects were removed, and for the first time, the Egyptians identified with the pain of the Israelites who lost many children to Pharaoh’s evil schemes and to their harsh life conditions. This is when we read that the Egyptians took the decision and pressured the Israelites to leave the country (Exodus 12:33). True, it was because of their own suffering, but the point of the exile and the exodus was that the nation of slaves will seek freedom and the nation of oppressors will unanimously decide to send their slaves free. The message for the contemporary reader is that we are not allowed to hide behind leaders at any level of the Establishment. We must examine the world around us, search for injustice, wrongdoing, poverty, or disease, and strive to fight them. Those who choose not to take action cannot complain that their leaders are not doing enough, and those who do evil cannot blame it on the heads of government or institutions. The story of the exodus from Egypt is a call to action, suggesting that instead of rising to the occasion only when struck by disaster, we become proactive and always ask: what is my personal responsibility, and how can I help in making the world a better place. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Haim Ovadia
Rabbi Haim Ovadia is the Rabbi of Magen David Sephardic Congregation-Beit Eliahu (MDSCBE), a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Rockville, Maryland.
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HEALTH & WELLNESS BOOK REVIEW
Faced With Strife and Simcha, Experts on Jewish Pastoral Counseling Share Insights That Transcend Judaism Itself BY: David Hornestay The duties and responsibilities of rabbis have always been formidable. While teaching, preaching, and rendering halachic decisions have traditionally dominated their time, there was also an element of advising on personal issues. This aspect of the job has taken on increased importance with the intensified exposure of Jews to the complex and challenging culture of greater society. Perhaps belatedly, it was only in the last three decades that Orthodox institutions have looked systematically at the role of the rabbi and other religious leaders in dealing with intimate problems such as intra-family conflict, addiction, abuse, intermarriage, and alienation. Recognizing that the methodology and skill-building needed to address these issues were sorely lacking in the traditional education of religious leaders, efforts began to integrate such training into the curricula. One of the most important contributions to this effort is the recent publication The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling: A Guide for All Faiths by Michelle Friedman and Rachel Yehuda. Friedman is the founding director and Sharon and Steven Lieberman Chair of Pastoral Counseling for the pastoral counseling program at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. Yehuda is also a professor in the yeshiva’s pastoral counseling program as well as Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Drs. Friedman and Yehuda have authored a comprehensive but highly readable guide for synagogue rabbis, chaplains, educational directors and
other institutional leaders sought afPsyche and Soul ter for religion-based counsel. The authors’ motivating belief is that THE ART OF “blending the rigorous methodoloJEWISH PASTORAL gy and principles of mental health COUNSELING treatment with the wisdom of reliA Guide for All Faiths gion and halacha can create a healing experience that combines the best of both worlds.” Readers with counseling responsibilities will learn much about the art of listening, how to put people at ease, establish and maintain trust, set boundaries, establish goals, handle unexpected developments, and– – particularly critical–– when to recognize the need for referral to a mental health professional. Lay readers will benefit from an appreciation for what they may gain from pastoral counseling, how they can contribute to its usefulness, and what they Michelle Friedman and Rachel Yehuda can reasonably expect from it. But the unique value of the book The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling: A Guide rests firmly on its 61 dramatized case for All Faiths by Michelle Friedman and Rachel studies, drawn from the authors’ ex- Yehuda (2017). Hardcover or paperback. 208 tensive experience as teachers as pages | 1 B/W illustration. Routledge, $39.95 well as Dr. Friedman’s experience in psychiatry and Dr. Yehuda’s in neuA typical thought-provoking scenarroscience and hospital mental health io: a veteran of Afghanistan who lost programs. The cases run a broad gam- part of his left arm to a landmine asks ut: from illness and death to marital dis- for the halachically acceptable method cord, spiritually-straying children, sex- for putting on tefillin under his changed ual orientation, criminal wrongdoing, circumstances. Through questions and conversion, and potential intermar- discussion, the rabbi (and reader) is guidriage—and even the seemingly compar- ed to reflect on the anguish and dilematively simpler problems of preparation mas that may underlie the question and for a simcha (a happy lifecycle occa- to probe tactfully for any other issues sion). The book effectively employs four that may warrant counseling beyond fictional characters to act out the role the bare halachic response. Throughout of counselor in these scenarios, provid- the book, the emphasis is on careful lising a realistic depiction of both the chal- tening, sensitivity to deeper meaning, lenges and possible solutions to a given and being prepared for the unexpected, situation. all grounded in compassion.
Our four protagonists are an Orthodox synagogue rabbi, a female synagogue rabbi, a male Hillel director, and a female JCC educational director. More traditional readers might intially be put off by the inclusion of a rabbi named Shira Kane, but the authors are sensitive to Orthodox concerns throughout the book, providing frequent references to halachic sources including the Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. The book is meant for a broad Jewish audience, but earns its subtitle–– “A Guide for All Faiths” –– with its convincing case for the applicability of scientific knowledge leavened with Jewish learning to the general population. No less an authority than Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president emeritus of the Orthodox Union and a psychologist himself, wrote in his endorsement of the book that he found it “necessary, informative, relevant, practical, and touching.” Recommending it “heartily” and recognizing that only recent rabbinical students will have been exposed to its subject matter, he gives the following prescription: “For those already in the pulpit, this book is required reading.” Hard to think of a stronger or more authoritative endorsement. David Hornestay has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland, for more than 50 years. After a 34-year career in federal government management, primarily with NASA, he wrote for Government Executive Magazine and is the author of Cases in Effective Leadership. A member and former officer of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah, he is a volunteer driver and visitor for Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington.
Ravin’s Reads: What to Do When You Worry Too Much BY: Rachel Ravin, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist As a clinical psychologist, I feel fortunate that several of the books I read and use professionally can also help me and people I know. Since we are all busy and do not have a lot of time to sit down and read self-help books, I thought that I would use this forum to profile books I have learned from that teach several valuable skills. When I give presentations and conduct therapy, I like to provide people with takeaways. As I review books for this exciting new community publication, I hope you will gain some valuable information, either for yourself or for others. For my first profile, I selected What to Do When You Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D. While this book is tar-
geted for kids ages 6-12, I’ve used it with older adolescents, college students, and even adults. Below are a few ideas from the book that I find particularly useful: 1.) Anxiety is like milk. It needs a container surrounding it, or things can get messy. One way to contain anxiety is by creating a designated “worry time” each day. For example, his can take place ten minutes after dinner to focus on your worries. Outside of that time, remind yourself to save the worrying for your “worry time.” 2.) Use logic to make the worry less powerful. Think about the chances that something bad will actually happen. “Logic is reminding yourself that really bad things don’t happen very often,” says Huebner. And even if something bad were to happen, know that you can get through it.
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3.) Anxiety is like a big worry bully. We often have thoughts telling us that we should fear something. In your mind, talk back to the worry bully. You must use your strength to tell this bully to get lost. Eventually, you will find yourself back in your busy day, thinking about something else. The more you use this exercise, the stronger you will get and the weaker the worry bully will get, hence diminishing your anxiety. 4.) Anxiety is like a plant. The more you nurture and tend to it, the more it grows. Do your best to ignore the anxiety. Talk back to it and dedicate your attention to other tasks. 5.) After our bodies tense up from anxiety, we can “reset our systems” through relaxation or activity. For relaxation, try yoga stretches, calm breathing
or progressive muscle relaxation. For an activity, go out for a run or a bike ride. In the house, run up and down the stairs. Relaxation and exercise can help your body feel better. Anxiety can be overwhelming and uncomfortable, but it is very treatable. Reading this book on your own, to a friend or to your child is a great place to start. Rachel is a clinical psychologist who specializes in work with children and adolescents. She has a private practice in Silver Spring, Maryland and is in her 14th year working for Sulam, where she meets with students individually on a weekly basis, conducts social skills groups, and consults to teachers and parents. She received her undergraduate degree with a major in psychology from University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the George Washington University.
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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HEALTH & WELLNESS Getting the Family into Activities BY: Justin Gedalia Walls One of the challenges active people face is trying to find activities that everyone in the family can enjoy. Too often, a spouse, parent, or child can be supportive of the active person in their life making time to pursue the fitness activity they especially enjoy, but without finding a common joy in it. I know that I personally have that struggle, so I’d like to share three tips for finding a fitness activity you can enjoy together. 1). The activity should be of light to moderate intensity. I regularly teach classes where a parent and child come together for the class, but I alert them ahead of time that they should be aware of their limits. If you are looking to start something new together, start with something easy. Walking, hiking, or other light-intensity activities can allow your family member to start making fitness a valuable part of their routine. Too much too fast can leave them sore and ambivalent about wanting to try anything else. 2). The activity should be straightforward. Taking someone to the gym to lift weights for the first time (either in a long time or ever) isn’t an easy process for everyone. Training a newcomer requires sensitivity not just to form, but to the sometimes overwhelming feeling of
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being in a weight room, and some people want to feel more independent at first. Taking a group exercise class together where everyone follows an instructor can be less intimidating and relieve some of the pressure of having to know your workout when you get to the gym. 3). The activity should leave you smiling. Exercise has been proven to release chemicals that lift your mood, but there’s only so much help it can provide if the chosen exercise activity stresses you out. There’s ample information about the most effective workouts, but being sensitive to the best workout for all of you could mean trying a few things to see what you like. Engaging your body in an activity you enjoy will impact your body’s response to the exercise, and that in turn will keep you all working out together. One activity that incorporates these three qualities for many people is hiking (you can also add a picnic) on some of the best trails around Washington DC. My top five suggestions: • Billy Goat Trails at Great Falls Park, MD https://www.nps.gov/grfa/ index.htm • Cabin John Trails http://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/ cabin-john-regional-park/ cabin-john-regional-park-trails/ • Wheaton Regional Park Trails http://www.montgomeryparks.org/
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
parks-and-trails/wheaton-regional-park/wheaton-regional-park-trails/ • Theodore Roosevelt Island https://www.nps.gov/this/ • Mount Vernon Trail https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/ planyourvisit/mtvernontrail.htm For those not-so-great weather days, I have a few inexpensive indoor activities to suggest: 1). Pick a museum. You have the Smithsonian museums in DC and several museums in Baltimore and Annapolis for indoor walking. Packing a hefty backpack increases your energy exertion, and packing food and water means you can lighten that load as the day goes on. 2). Pick a mall. You might want to leave your wallet at home to keep the cost down, but the malls are a great place to just walk around, and many of them have play areas for younger children. 3). Pick a nature center. There are several nature centers in the area that have activities even in the winter. If you’re willing to spend a little bit for some indoor activity, here are some great options: 1). Indoor Rock Climbing. This starts off expensive at first because of the need for climbing gear and someone experienced at top rope belay to get you going, or you can find the self-belay places instead. 2). Trampoline Park. There are several of these places around, and nothing
says activity quite like jumping around, and maybe even jumping and avoiding a dodgeball. 3). Indoor Miniature Golf. Because not everyone wants to do SO much activity, some rounds of indoor mini golf will sometimes do just fine. Justin is a certified personal trainer from the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis, IN with specialization in youth fitness, senior fitness, myofascial release techniques, joint pain/arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, aqua fitness, running and walking. Justin designs exercise programs for individuals and groups specializing in core and balance, walking, running endurance training, sports-specific training, circuit training, High Intensity Interval Training, and military-style boot camp and obstacle course programs. He also has expertise in lifestyle/health management and meal planning, and a background in psychology. Learn more at justinwallsfitness.com.
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FOOD & WINE SUPER BOWL RECIPE
Game Day! Honey Sriracha Wings BY: Shushy Turin Game day is fast approaching, which for me means only one thing: game day food. I could care less about which teams are playing or even who is singing in the half time show (unless it’s Beyoncé) because when wings, chips and anything with barbecue sauce shows up on the table, I immediately know the real winner of the night. (Spoiler alert, it’s me.) There are two things I hate about making wings: number one is feathers, and number two is sitting by the fryer for an hour until the smell is all over me in the worst way possible. Luckily, I’ve found a way to eliminate all that and make an easier and actually healthier version of chicken wings. You can thank me later. The secret is two-fold: 1.) A cooling rack placed over a baking sheet so that the air circulates and the wings get crispy on the top and bottom 2.) Letting the wings sit in the flour mixture so that it becomes nice and caked on like a crust. This allows the fat to render and crisp the skin with as little moisture going on as possible. That’s the perfect recipe for a super crispy wing with, like, half of the guilt. To deal with the feathers issue, here’s a little secret: it’s way easier to take them out after the chicken has been cooked. Remove some of the very obvious offenders before baking, and then after the chicken has cooked, pull out the rest (preferably with tweezers) before dressing. You’re welcome. 24 chicken wings, patted dry 2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 c cornstarch 1 tbsp kosher salt 1 tbsp paprika 1/2 tsp black pepper
Honey Sriracha Sauce 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup water 1/2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt 2-2.5 tsp sriracha (more if a spicier wing is desired) 1/4 tsp cardamom • In a large zip-top bag, add the flour, cornstarch, salt, paprika, and pepper. Shake a little bit. Add about 3-4 wings at a time into the bag and shake to coat; then remove the wings from the bag and shake off the excess flour (you don’t want it to be gummy when it’s baked). • Lay the wings in a single layer on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Allow the chicken wings to marinade for at least four hours in the refrigerator or up to overnight. • Preheat the oven to 400F. • Set the cooling rack over the baking sheet and spray/brush the cooling rack with olive oil. • Lay the wings in a single layer over the cooling rack about 1 inch apart
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from each other so the air has room to circulate. • Spray or brush the tops of the wings with olive oil until the wings are nicely coated but not dripping in oil. • Bake for 45-60 minutes till golden brown or until the wings are your desired level of crispness. (There is a significant amount of time difference here because some people prefer their wings lightly golden, which requires less time, while others prefer it brown and crispy, which requires more time.) • Cool for about 10 minutes before removing from cooling rack and coating in sauce. Serve immediately. To make the sauce, mix the water and corn starch in a small bowl until integrated. In a small pot, add the honey, water mixture, salt, and sriracha. Allow it to come to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer for about 3-5 minutes. The mixture should thicken. Add
the cardamom and taste the sauce. Add more sriracha, honey or salt to your liking. Toss the sauce with the wings. (Optional: Bake the wings for an additional 10 minutes in a single layer on a baking sheet at 400F.) Sauce can be made one week in advance and stored in a tightly sealed container. Heat before pouring over wings. When Shushy Turin isn't becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner or taking care of her two adorable children, she enjoys creating recipes, learning new cooking/baking techniques, exploring food cultures all over the world and putting things in parenthesis. She recently moved from New York to join the Silver Spring, Maryland community. She has a popular Instagram page and blog @cookinginheelss and writes recipes for Binah Magazine, Joy of Kosher, Kosher.com and The Jewish Echo, among others. Her favorite ingredients include tahini, miso, and nutritional yeast (sometimes mixed together), and she firmly believes that using and knowing quality ingredients is key to a great recipe!
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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FOOD & WINE DEEP DISH Love in the Afternoon: Lunch at Russ and Daughters at New York’s Jewish Museum Russ and Daughters at the Jewish Museum (Museum admission fee not required for restaurant diners) 1109 5th Avenue at 92nd Street Kashrut under National Kosher Supervision For more information: 212.475.4880, extension 3 info@russanddaughters.com http://russanddaughters.com/ jewishmuseum/ NEW YORK–– Russ and Daughters, a 103-year old gourmet grocery store on the Lower East Side, has had my heart for decades. That was before ever eating a morsel of their food; now, I have lunched there three times in six weeks. Due to the store’s newest–– and first kosher–– outpost at the Jewish Museum, I can finally sample their delicious offerings (and, importantly, share my experience with you). It was worth the wait. How can you fall in love with a food store without even taking a taste? Credit Calvin Trillin, the longtime writer for the New Yorker. It’s not just how Trillin has always deliciously shared his Russ and Daughters shopping list with his readers (for example, smoked salmon with slices he describes as “thin enough to read a newspaper through,” fresh cream cheese
and baked farmer cheese). Through Trillin’s pen, the food almost seemed to come in second to Trillin’s shopping experiences at Russ and Daughters, often with his two daughters in tow. In “The Magic Bagel,” an essay Trillin wrote for the New Yorker in 2000, Trillin says transactions at Russ and Daughters “took some time since the daughters (of Joel Russ the founder…) had to quit slicing fish…to tell me in glorious detail how adorable my girls were.” In fact, “The Magic Bagel” is about Trillin’s quest—with an assist from Mark Russ Federman, the owner of the store at the time–– to track down a variety of bagel one daughter enjoyed as a child in the loving hope that it might lure her back home from her job in San Francisco. Trillin’s 2003 novel Tepper Isn’t Going Out, about a man who continually finds the best parking spots in New York City, includes one such spot that is right in front of, you guessed it, Russ and Daughters. It is hard not to share Trillin’s devotion. Around the corner from the original store on East Houston Street is a shopping bag, decades old and lox stain intact, that Trillin presented to the current owners and Russ great grandchildren Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper when they opened the café in
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
The lunch scene at the new Russ & Daughters at The Jewish Museum in NY.
2014. Love indeed. Who wouldn’t fall in love with a food store that tells its patrons: “All orders are to be placed at least 3-5 days in advance, unless in the event of a funeral/shiva.” So, imagine my delight when my friends on Facebook announced the opening of the first kosher Russ and Daughters enclave several months back. Worth going to? The lines don’t lie. And neither does the menu. You can get the requisite nova and schmear, sold here as “boards” replete with your choice of bagel, bialy, shissel (Yiddish for bowl), rye or pumpernickel, tomatoes, capers, onion and varieties of smoked fish. A nod to the modern also includes smoked yellow fin tuna, and goat and horseradish/ dill cream cheese. It is your father’s Russ and Daughters, so long as he picks from his side of the menu. Traditional dishes include knishes, kasha varnishkas with the trendy touch of a poached egg on top, and vegetarian chopped liver with buttered, toasted Matzah, you won’t believe is Streits. And, yes, there’s lox, eggs and onions ($21), but also gravlox tea sandwiches ($14 with thinly sliced apple strips and mustard seeds on toasted pumpernickel.) It is doubtful that when your grandmother served deviled eggs, she topped them with wild Alaskan salmon roe like they do at the Russ and Daughters restaurant, but, you both should give them a try. The menu was carefully constructed with a welcome for anyone. “How do you maintain a continuity of tradition while moving things forward is the questions Josh and I are guided by every day,” says Niki Russ Federman. At the Jewish Museum restaurant, the Russ heirs wanted options for people keeping kosher and steeped in the appetizing store culture as well as people new to lox and bagels. “Platters” ranging from $95 to $110 serve three to four and are both entry level and advanced lessons in the best of Russ and Daughters: piled high with fixin’s such as capers and onions and elegant arrays of smoked fish, including Scottish and Gaspe Nova smoked salmon, baked salmon, sable and smoked brook trout. My new favorite is called the Pastrami Russ. It is made up of pastrami-cured salmon, muenster cheese, pickle, sauerkraut and mustard, served on a pretzel roll. Non-lox lovers, should they be in your party, can feast on several salads with mouthwatering ingredients. These include a Red & Golden Beets salad with
walnuts, grapefruit, watercress, pumpernickel and goat cheese dressing ($18) and a mixed greens salad ($12) with options like a poached egg, kippered salmon or pickled herring for a few dollars more. The “sweet” section of the menu seems more like brunch than dessert, but don’t let that stop you. Top picks include blintzes ($11) served with farmer cheese, fruit compote and sour cream, chocolate babka French toast ($13), and a noodle kugel served warm in its own ramekin ($10). Drinks include a chocolate egg cream made with Fox’s U Bet syrup (if you have to ask, you won’t care–– a farshnikit version includes whiskey). Consider a small cooler when you pack for the trip. What you didn’t choose off the menu is available at the takeout counter. Don’t forget to check out the wallpaper while you’re waiting for your “to go” order of whitefish salad or schmaltz herring. The numbers are meant to conjure up the machine in the Russ and Daughters store that dispenses paper tickets so you know when it’s your turn.
When You Go: The restaurant is open from 11am to 4pm on weekdays (except Wednesdays when it is closed) and Sundays from 9 am to 5:45 pm. No tips allowed (17 percent is added to the bill) and no reservations either, except for Shabbat lunch. (Vus?! Don’t worry your kup: as of January 28, the restaurant is open for Shabbat for prepaid reservations for $54.94 per person including tax and tip. The meal is cold and includes grape juice or wine for Kiddush as well as challah.) Expect a wait for weekday brunch and lunch, but you can saunter up to the museum (admission fee required) or gift shop (no fee) and the restaurant will text you when your table is ready. Fran Kritz is health care policy journalist. Her writing has been published by MSNBC.com, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes Magazine and the New York Jewish Week. Fran is a past president of Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington and the current president of the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington and a member of the Yad Yehuda advisory board and the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Fran and her husband Neil split their time between Jerusalem and Silver Spring and are proud members of the Kemp Mill Synagogue.
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FOOD & WINE An Old Question for a New Column: Old World vs New World Wine BY Gamliel Kronemer Time was, that if you wanted good wine it was going to come from Europe, where wine has been continuously produced for millennia. However, in the last fifty years, the rest of the world has been rapidly catching up with the ”Old World” of wine, and today Calael ifornia, Australia, Argentina, Israel ons and other “new-world” wine regions produce wines that are arguably as ld good as wines from their Old World counterparts. While Old and New World wines can be of similar quality, they are often very different in style. Old-World wine producers tend to be focused far more on terroir and tradition (e.g., chardonnay will be planted in Burgundy but not in Bordeaux), while New World producers are often much more focused on innovation (creating new blends of grapes and using new wine-making techniques that would almost never be found in the Old World). Old
World wines tend to be more restrained and elegant, but may be less approachable than a comparable New World wine. While New World wines may be bolder, and more fruit-forward, but may lack the nuanced shading of their Old World counterparts. To help celebrate the launch of a ne newspaper (and a new wine colnew um I thought it would be fun to umn), hel readers answer that old queshelp tio Which is better, Old World or tion: Ne New World wines? Below are tasting notes for two head-to-head matchups of comparable but very different Old and New World wines. Try these match-ups yourself—and whatever you decide, there is no wrong answer. Match-up number one— the whites: Pascal Bouchard, Chablis, la Classique, 2015: Made from 100% chardonnay grown in the Chablis region of Burgundy, this light straw-colored, medium-bodied wine is both elegant and restrained. The nose has elements of apples, gooseberries, Mey-
er lemons, hay and cream. The flavor is both subtle and complex with apples, quince and gooseberries at the front of the palate, cream and citrus mid-palate, and a slightly astringent note on the finish. Drink within the next four years. Score A-/B+, $37.99. Herzog, Chardonnay, Special Re014: serve, Russian River Valley, 2014: e of Aged for 18 months in a mixture American and French oak, this allormost-full-bodied, bright-straw-colored Californian chardonnay hass a bouquet of apples, quince, key k, limes, pineapples, hay and oak, al with a slight but pleasant floral note. Look for flavors of apples and honey to play against tastes of cream, oak and vanilla, with a tropical note of pineapples and key limes at the back of the palate. Drink now until at least 2020. Score A-, $32.99. Match-up number two— the reds: Chateau Marquisat de Binet, Cuvee Abel, Montagne St-Émilion, 2012: Dark garnet and full bodied, this wine has
a powerful bouquet of cherries, cassis and wet gravel. The flavor has notes of cherries, cassis, figs, pipe tobacco espresso and lots of wet gravel. Enjoyable now, this wine is just now starting to show its best, and should then cellar comfortably until 2023 or perhaps longer. This is the best under-$40 Bordeaux I’ve tasted in over a decade. Score A-, $36.95. Yatir, Mt. Amasa, Judean Hills, 2011: This medium-to-full bodied garnet-colored wine composed of 37% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 25% shiraz, 5% petite verdot and 3% malbec, each aged separately for one year in sma oak barrels before being blendsmall ed aand bottled in 2013. The complex bou bouquet is redolent of smoky pipe tob tobacco, cherries, and cedar, with n a not-unpleasant note of barnyard fu funk. Look for flavors of cherries ra raspberries, cranberries, toffee and smoky oak with a surprising note of physalis fruit on the finish. Drink by the end of the decade. Score A-, $36.46. Please Note: Wines were scored on an A-F scale where A is excellent, B is good, C is flawed, D is very flawed, and F is undrinkable. All of these wines are available at Kosherwine.com, DC’s largest purveyor of kosher wine. Prices came from the Kosherwine.com website.
Article sponsored by Kosherwine.com
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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FOOD & WINE Score One for Kosher BY: Chaiky Backman COLLEGE PARK (MD) ––– Enter Xfinity Center, go up three floors, and keep walking until you reach Stand 16.
Tetsudo visits the Testudo's Kosher Korner with Rabbi Eli, Yossel and Chaiky Backman
Get Fired Up for Al Ha’esh CONTINUED FROM P. 1 Well, that’s the early buzz on Al Ha’esh, the new restaurant adjacent to Moti’s Market in Rockville. Al Ha’esh, which means “on the fire” in Hebrew, is modeled after many steak houses in Israel that put down dishes of salatim or salads to stave off hunger and delight the senses–– some salatim are hot, many are very pretty–– while you check out the menu. (In New York City where I grew up, the same practice was in place, only at Shmulke Bernstein’s it was a hot dog instead of salads while we perused the Chinese menu). Al Ha’esh is in the same space Moti’s Grill occupied, but has been sleekly redesigned with a full view of the kitchen, and that fire. Eager staff come quick-
Or you can go straight to Gate E, show them your ticket, and just make a left. Either way, before the final buzzer, make sure you end up in front of Testudo’s Kosher Korner, the only kosher concession stand in University of Maryland’s athletics facilities. Testudo’s Kosher Korner is open for the majority of the Big Ten men’s basketball games. It is located right behind the student section, for the convenience of the Terps’ number-one fans. Depending on when in the course of the game you drop by, there will either be a long line and or, if you’re lucky, no one ahead of you. Regardless of the crowd, there will always be a smiling cashier, waiting to help. Chances are, one or more of his kids are working in the stand too. At every game, students volunteer to help out in the stand as well. It takes a dedicated group to make sure the stand runs smoothly. At the heart of it all is the Chabad of University of Maryland’s Rabbi Backman (my dad, full disclosure). You will probably see him greeting customers with a smile, taking a selfie with an alumnus, or giving a hug to a student. Even Testudo stops by every so often. Certainly, the biggest draw for customers is the food, especially the sandwiches and the falafel basket. Of course,
we couldn’t possibly forget the kosher hot dogs. When customers specify that they want a kosher hot dog, we tell them we wouldn’t settle for anything less. Sometimes games run late into the night, and though it’s never too late to eat a sandwich, there are game-favorite snack options as well, like soft pretzels, popcorn or soda. The bottomless popcorn is definitely the way to go. (Three words: unlimited free refills.) Food aside, Testudo’s Kosher Korner
has great energy. We frequently see Terps fans of all ages stopping to take a picture of Testudo’s Kosher Korner with a smile on their face. It stands out and makes our Jewish Terps proud of embracing their Judaism. And it makes you wonder–– does Testudo keep kosher?
ly to set down the salatim, which can change by the hour; so if, like me, you really loved the couscous salad, be prepared to love something else in case it’s not there next time. Others we liked were well-seasoned chickpeas, fiery cabbage and Moroccan carrots. The small bowls are refilled as soon as they are empty, but by the second visit we knew to slow down and leave room for dinner. The salads are included if you order an entrée; $9 per person if you order just a starter, like their very good hummus and ground beef. The menu has something for just about everyone. Starters include merguez sausage but also sautéed okra. Skewered options include pargiot, or chicken thighs, chicken livers, steak, lamb and even sweetbreads, a big hit, say the owners. Non-skewered entrees
include falafel, schnitzel, burgers and shawarma. The fish selections, salmon, branzino and sea bream, are fantastic off the grill. Entrees come with sides that can be ordered separately for $7 each including extra crispy French Fries, basmati rice, Israeli salad, roasted zucchini with zaatar and string beans. If a recent lunch is any indicator, order extra fries. My guest ate many of mine straight off the (my) plate. (Some lunch dishes are $1 less than dinner; portions seemed the same). Wine selection and prices are reasonable, ranging from a $16 bottle of Barkan chardonnay to a $56 bottle of Hagafen Cabernet Sauvignon. House reds and whites are $5 a glass and there’s a nice selection of domestic and imported beers, with one from an Israeli microbrewery coming soon.
If you’re mulling dessert, your choices are baklava, chocolate lava cake, chocolate mousse cake and gelato, each $7. Al Ha’esh did a two-week soft opening and is taking some feedback to heart. The starter salads now come with spoons and the pita was switched from cold to warm. For now and likely going forward, the restaurant isn’t taking reservations. To avoid a line, restaurant partner Gideon Sasson says the best times to come are at 5 p.m. or after 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and Thursday, and during the rest of the week from 5-6:30 p.m. and after 7:30 p.m. Lunch has been full, but no lines. Al Ha’esh is a unique and delicious entry in the too-slim kosher restaurant market in the DC area. For now, judging by the lines, it’s on fire! And we hope it stays that way.
JSU board staffing the Kosher Korner in 20 L to R: Rachel Novick, Jack Quint, Julia Ring, Rachel Greenberg, Hannah Litman, Jerry Katz, Keren Straus, Adam Goldberg, Bailey Ehrenpreis
Chaiky Backman is in 11th grade at the Yeshiva of Greater Washington and enjoys writing, reading and volunteering.
Attention Kosher Food Businesses: You now have a way to directly reach the Jewish communities of MD/DC/VA Promote your business in our Food & Wine section! Great for caterers, restaurants, take out stores, food manufacturers and other food related businesses. For more information call 240-478-1924 or email ads@kolhabirah.com WWW.KOLHABIRAH.COM
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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Up n g i S
TS O P S — P ASA
ST! A F GO
JOIN US
for barbeque, Scotch and Passover Learning
Sunday April 2, 2017 6:00-9:30pm Beth Sholom Congregation 11825 SEVEN LOCKS ROAD, POTOMAC, MD
All Members, non-members, brothers, dads, cousins, etc. are welcome! The following giving levels support ongoing programs at Beth Sholom:
& SEDER SUMMIT HOSTED BY
RABBI NISSAN ANTINE WIN premium whiskies, sports memorabilia... TICKETS: $25 ea / 5 for $100 Must be present to win.
Tributes to dad/father-in-law available in the GNO Tribute Book:
$100
Contact us for details.
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
$500
Those ribs are unbelievable, and I will be taking home dinner for four. Also includes a listing of tribute to your dad/father-in-law in program book + GNO Kippah.
$360
Those ribs are unbelievable, and I will be taking home dinner for four + GNO Kippah.
$180
The ribs are great, and I’d love to take one doggie bag to go + GNO Kippah.
$100 7KH ULEV DUH YHU\ JRRG DQG ,Ĺ?P GHĆ“QLWHO\ going back for seconds. We will be collecting gently used sporting goods for Leveling the Playing Field, who will then donate them to underprivileged kids.
Corporate & personal table sponsorships available!
Visit www.bethsholom.org and go to Guys’ Night Out and Seder Summit to register, or call (301) 279-7010 x206. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mark Eidelman: markdeidelman@gmail.com Saul Goldfarb: saul@goldfarbinc.com
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FOOD & WINE Scotch vs Bourbon: A Spirited Debate By Joshua E. London Is Scotch whisky or bourbon whiskey the better tipple? This is one of the great and enduring debates of the kiddush club cognoscenti. American Jews throughout the greater Washington area and beyond have debated this weighty question in our collective search for an adult beverage to help us celebrate and unwind. For anyone not in the know, here are some relevant facts. Scotch and bourbon are both types of whisky, or a spirit distilled from grain alcohol that has been aged in oak barrels. Scotch is imported from Scotland, while bourbon is American made. It is almost universally the case that the word is spelled “whisky” in Scotland,
Canada and Japan, but spelled “whiskey” in America and Ireland. Whatever the spelling, whisk(e)y is an alcoholic beverage produced a by distilling a fermented mash of cereal grain (like corn, rye, wheat, oat, and barley). In very simple layman’s terms: take beer, boil it in a teapot, capture the steam as it boils off, condense this back into liquid and then age it for a bit in an oak barrel (aka, a “cask”). Do this in Scotland with a beer made of malted barley, and you have Scotch whisky, do this in America with a beer made of at least 51% corn and you have bourbon whiskey.
The Case for Bourbon One might argue that, as American Jews, we ought to prefer bourbon whiskey as it is more patriotic to drink American hooch rather than some foreign, European import. Europe has not been good to the Jews while America has, so a little appreciation is in order. Bourbon is part of America’s great cultural heritage; but for bourbon, as so many Americans are quick to point out, there would be no NASCAR! (Bootlegging of moonshine inside cars driven fast enough to evade the police is the origins of NASCAR.) Furthermore, like Mogen David, Kedem, Kesser or even the blue-bottled Bartenura Moscato wine, anything related to kiddush ought to be sweet—so a kiddush club tipple ought to be more sweet than dry. Being largely corn based, bourbon tends to be sweeter than scotch. What’s more, since bourbon is domestic and typically aged for only a relatively short time, it tends to be cheaper than scotch, and nearly always represents better value. Bourbon tastes great.
Rabbi Antine and others at one of the many Scotch tables at Beth Sholom's annual tasting
sents a spirit of tradition and experience. Just as Judaism revels in the dynamic of individualism firmly anchored to familial and communal identity, so too the Scots embody the creative tensions of rugged individualism tethered to familial and clan identity. This Scots identity is itself embodied beautifully in single malt Scotch whisky; each whisky has its own distinct identity, yet is firmly and
The Verdict
The Case for Scotch
Elijah Craig 18
By contrast, one might argue that scotch is the better whisky for Jews, because Judaism respects and loves tradition: Scotch whisky, with its 600-year heritage of whisky production, repre-
Yidden drinking Scotch at Beth Sholom's annual Guys Night Out
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recognizably rooted to its specific history, traditions and place of origin. Furthermore, scotch tastes great. Indeed, Scotch whisky has the greatest range of flavors and complexity of any known distilled spirit. Scotch whisky’s inherent depth and complexity elicits contemplation and therefore moderation, making it clearly the hooch most befitting the intellectual. Bourbon tends to be sweeter and less complex; and—perhaps most damning of all—but for Bourbon, there would be no NASCAR.
Talisker 10YO
OK, so which is better? Well, in truth, there is no right or wrong answer in any absolute sense. Taste is necessarily subjective. Drink what you like— especially if you’re buying. Personally, I love both bourbon and scotch, and will happily drink either, and routinely do so. That said, Scotch whisky— especially a single cask, single malt, Scotch whisky— is undoubtedly the whisky category with the greatest range of complexity and flavor, and is more akin to liquid history and liquid poetry than bourbon. That doesn’t make it better, just different. But don’t take my word for it. This is a debate best continued with wide participation. As I wrote this, I lovingly and contemplatively imbibed a dram of Talisker 10-year-old single malt Scotch Whisky (45.8 percent abv; $50-$65, so shop around). This is an energetic, vigorous, thunderous whisky, with billows of peat smoke, brine, iodine, mothballs and sweet citrus fruits on the nose, followed by oak-softened, though still edgy, black pepper, rich dried fruits, malted barley, toffee, another waft of peat smoke, and traces of licorice and honey, all of which power through towards the balanced, warming, mildly smoky, slightly spicy and absorbingly unvanquished finish. Bold, vibrant, unique and complex with a little undertone of sweetness — this may very well be the essence of Scotland in a bottle. L’chaim! Does the Greater Washington Community favor scotch or bourbon? Please vote on our website at kolhabirah.com/ scotchvsbourbon to let us know your preference.
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SP RTS Super Bowl LI Preview BY: Roey Herzfeld On February 5, the Atlanta Falcons will be taking on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. The Falcons will be facing the illustrious Patriots, who are led by legendary quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick. Under the leadership of the Brady and Belichik, the Patriots have won four Super Bowls since 2001 (their most recent victory was in 2015). The Falcons only Super Bowl appearance was in 1998 and resulted in an unfortunate loss to the Denver Broncos. The Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones have their work cut out for them as they attempt to lead Atlanta to their first Super Bowl victory.
How they got here: The Patriots’ season had a rocky start when Tom Brady announced that he would not be appealing his four-game suspension. The Patriots would have to play their first four games without their best player; yet they proved themselves and, by the time Brady returned, the Patriots were 3-1, at the top of their division. Brady then took the reins and didn’t look back, winning eleven out of twelve games and leading the Patriots to the best record in the NFL. Brady’s MVP-caliber year included a 14:1 touchdown to interception ratio, breaking the all-time record. Brady continued his stellar season in the playoffs by throwing 2 touchdowns against the Texans and 3 more against the Steelers. Thanks to Brady, the Patriots breezed by both of those teams, winning by over eighteen points in both games. This took them to their record breaking 9th Super Bowl appearance. The Falcons are in the Super Bowl in large part due to their MVP Candidate Matt Ryan. Ryan’s thirty-eight touchdown passes and nearly 5000-yard pass-
ing led the Falcons to an 11-5 record, giving the Falcons a first round bye. Ryan’s 117.1 passer rating was the best of all quarterbacks in the league (more than Brady’s 112.2). His performance recently has been incredible–– his last interception thrown occurred in week 13. The Falcons’ star receiver Julio Jones was also a huge part of their successful offense, leading the league with 100.6 receiving yards per game. In their first game of the playoffs, Ryan’s 338 passing yards and three touchdown passes proved too strong for the Seahawks defense, and the Falcons defeated them 3620. Ryan threw for three hundred and ninety-two yards and four touchdowns, with Jones on the receiving end of two touchdowns and 180 yards in a demolition of the Green Bay Packers, 44-21. Ryan and Jones look to continue their hot pace in Super Bowl LI.
Matchups to watch: 1.) Julio Jones vs Malcolm Butler Falcons’s wide receiver Julio Jones is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. He led the league in yards per game and finished 2nd in receiving yards, despite his two-game absence. The Patriots, however, have a phenomenal reputation of shutting down top receivers; they held Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver) to just 77 yards. It will be interesting to see if Butler can hold Jones to an average performance. 2.) Legarrette Blount and Dion Lewis vs Falcons front 7 The Patriots offense has been on a roll: they scored over thirty points in their last games. The only chance the Falcons have of slowing the Patriots’ offense down is eliminating the Patriots’ running game. Patriots’ running backs Dion Lewis and Legarrette Blount have combined for fewer than 100 yards in each of their last two games. If Blount and/or Lewis get going, it could be a long night for the Falcons defense. 3.) Chris Hogan vs Brian Poole The Patriots’ Chris Hogan made headlines recently when he caught 2 touchdowns for 180 yards in the Patriots win over the Steelers. Hogan also had 95 receiving yards in the Patriots’ win over the Houston Texans. He has become a huge part of the Patriots offense due to the injury of Rob Gronkowski. The Falcons’ undrafted rookie, Brian Poole, is expected to cover Hogan for most of the game. This will be a key matchup that could determine the outcome of the game.
Keys to the game:
Tom Brady (PHOTO CREDIT: FLICKR/MCCARMONA23)
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The Falcons should: 1.) Put pressure on Brady Tom Brady is one of the most difficult quarterbacks to sack because of his quick release and tremendous offensive line. The Patriots were the 5th best team in sacks allowed this year. Putting pressure on Brady is a must if the Falcons want any hope of stopping the Patriots offense.
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
Julio Jones (PHOTO CREDIT: FLICKR/ERIC DROST)
2.) Run the ball The dynamic Duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman have led the running back attack for Atlanta, combining for 19 rushing touchdowns. Running the ball well will create more space for Ryan and give the defense a rest. Freeman and Coleman’s success may determine how the rest of the team plays because (clearly explain why).
critical that they shut down Julio Jones in order to win this game. 2.) Pressure Matt Ryan Similar to the Falcons defense, the Patriots must put pressure on Matt Ryan if they want a chance of slowing down the offense. Although the Patriots failed to sack Ben Roethlisberger last week, they were able to consistently put pressure on him which affected the Steelers
Matt Ryan (PHOTO CREDIT: FLICKR/MCCARMONA23)
3.) Use their weapons Finally, the Falcons will need to use all of their weapons on offense. The Falcons’s weapons include countless talented players. Stars such as Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman and Matt Ryan lead the way, but Atlanta also has a number of other players who can alsodamage the Patriots. Tevin Coleman has accounted for 11 touchdowns this year. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games. Other effective players include Taylor Gabriel, Justin Hardy, Aldrick Robinson, Patrick Dimarcoand Levine Toilolo.
Advice for the Patriots will be to: 1.) Shut down Julio The Patriots’ defensive game plan is simple: shut down Julio Jones. Malcolm Butler will be the primary defender on Jones but defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is almost guaranteed to use safeties like Devin McCourty or Patrick Chung in double coverage. The Patriots did a fantastic job limiting Antonio Brown it’s
offense. The front 7 of the Patriots will need to do it again in order to stop the Falcons offense. 3.) Special Teams Joe Judge’s special teams are one of the best in the game. Year in and year out under Bill Belichick his special teams consistently make big plays. In the division round, Dion Lewis returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. This game may very well come down to special teams, and the more experienced unit of the Patriots may give them an extra edge.
Prediction: Matt Ryan’s deep completion to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu sets up a Matt Bryant field goal with 18 seconds left resulting in a 26-24 victory. Matt Ryan wins Super Bowl MVP and the Falcons win their first Super Bowl. Roey Herzfeld is a sophomore at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, where he plans on playing for the school baseball team this year. He attends Ohev Shalom (The National Synagogue) every Shabbat.
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FIDF is proud to honor the more than 80 alumni from Berman Hebrew Academy and Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School who have served, or are serving, in the IDF or U.S. Military.
FIDF Lone Soldiers Program Making Sure Lone Soldiers Always Feel at Home Israel’s Lone Soldiers are those whose families live abroad and chose to leave their countries of origin to serve the State of Israel. These soldiers willingly accept the responsibility of defending Israel, their adopted home, in the name of Jews worldwide. Many choose to serve in combat positions, enduring grueling training, exercises, missions and operations, all to ensure Israel’s safety.
900+ Lone Soldiers received flights to reunite with their families abroad
1,000+ Lone Soldiers in need received financial grants
5,000+ Lone Soldiers participated in Fun Day at Shefayim Water Park
6,600+ Calls were made from Lone Soldier Program staff to Lone Soldiers
Contact Ari Dallas at ari.dallas@fidf.org or 301-960-3531 to learn more or get involved.
94,500+ Emails and text
messages were sent to Lone Soldiers, notifying of them of seminars and social events
2,500+ One-on-one military and
Visit fidf.org WWW.KOLHABIRAH.COM
government consultations and advisory meetings were held
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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SP RTS BASKETBALL: Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School vs. Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy CONTINUED FROM P. 1 to the hype. The bleachers were packed with fans from both schools and the crowd was loud and into the game. Chants of “Defense!” were frequent and loud whoops could be heard when both schools scored baskets.
Close game between the Berman and JDS girls ends with a JDS victory The first game between the Berman and JDS girls was a hard-fought battle and, for the most part, went down to the wire. Both teams got off to a slow start, with the score at the end of the first half 12-9 with Berman in the lead. Both teams picked up the pace in the third quarter, scoring 12 points each, with Berman remaining in the lead at 24-21 to start the start of the fourth quarter. JDS went on a run to take the lead early on in the quarter, but Berman
Ranaan Glashofer leveraging a well-placed pick by teammate Ari Schopf to elude his defender
JDS was just out of Berman’s reach on Saturday night.
wouldn’t go away so easily and retook the lead. JDS took over as the game came to a close led by B. Cohen, who demonstrated her ability to perform well in the clutch by scoring all 17 of her points in the second half, including eight in the pivotal fourth quarter. JDS ended up winning the exciting game by a score of 45-36. Abbie Salamon of Berman experienced an unfortunate foot injury late in the game, but her mom was seen icing her afterwards and she seemed in good spirits–– we wish her a speedy recovery! Fans had a chance to grab pizza and other food between games and were also treated to a stirring speech by FIDF MidAtlantic Executive Director, Ari Dallas, honoring the more than 80 alumni from BHA and JDS who have served, or are serving, in the IDF or U.S. military. The FIDF’s LONE Soldiers Program takes care of soldiers abroad by provid-
BHA and JDS girls battling for the rebound.
ing them with financial grants, consulting services, and flights to allow them to reunite with their families more frequently (among other services). Special mention went out to Atara Mayer (Lower School Administrative Assistant for BHA), who was in attendance on Saturday night, for her service as a commander in the IDF, teaching her soldiers about discipline, uniform code, weaponry, first aid, chemical and biological warfare, and radio communications.
JDS boys take the night cap from Berman after a tough battle Like the girls, Berman’s boys got off to a strong start, holding a 15-13 lead after the first quarter helped out by three pointers from Ranaan Glashofer, Coby Melkin, and Ari Schopf. In addition, JDS’s star player Bryan K. was held at bay by some great defense from Melkin, Berman’s quick and tough point guard. Despite being smaller than Bryan, Melkin allowed him only two points in the first quarter. Bryan K. was having trouble getting open and his jump shot was short for a good part of the game, but he rose up for a thunderous dunk after finding an open lane, setting the tone early on and drawing the crowd to its feet. (We’ll give him a pass for his subsequent technical for hanging on the rim after “embarrassingly” missing a two-handed slam, as most of us wish we could have that called on us.)
Coach Childs rallying his team late in the game.
The score was 28-21 (JDS) at halftime, and they extended their lead by 9 to 40-31 for the start of the fourth quarter. Berman hung in there for a good part of the fourth quarter, but JDS took over with the help of Brian K., who found his stroke and contributed 19 points in the second half. Berman’s center experienced what looked like a painful set of cramps after going up for a layup late in the game, but was thankfully able to check back in after being helped out by teammate Zack Fogel. Berman finally ceded defeat when the coach took out his starters with a little over 30 seconds left, and the final score was 60-48.
JDS: 45 (Coached by Becky Silberman)
Berman: 36 (Coached by Damon Childs)
JDS: 60 (Coached by David McCloud)
Berman: 48 (Coached by)
Sophie Handloff: 5 pts
Mia Raskin: 11 pts
Joel Vardon
Jonah Riffkin: 12 pts
Rayna Armon: 9 pts
Renee Fuller: 3 pts
Danny Zweben: 10 pts
Josh Levieddin: 13 pts
L Marks: 2 pts
Sarah Warshawsky: 5 pts
Nadav Kalender: 11 pts
Tani Levisohn
Hailey Weiss
Rotem Hasan: 5 pts
Bryan Knapp: 25 pts
Ezra Beletskiy
Ally Knapp
Jennie Mellman: 7 pts
Daniel Baumstein
Ari Schopf: 6 pts
Faye Lessans
Lili Panitch: 2 pts
Josh Abromowitz: 3 pts
Coby Melkin: 8 pts
Brooke Cohen: 17 pts
Abbie Salamon
Davira Friedman: 10 pts
Adielle Tuchman:3 pts
Zev Katz
Ranaan Glashofer: 9 pts
Mira Rodney: 2 pts
Shana Lowenstein
Isaac Silber
Dov Kosowsky
Rina Torchinsky
Ellie Guberman
Caleb Gershengorn
Kenny Book
Amy Becker
Shoshana Linfield
Max Stravitz: 11 pts
Akiva Glashofer
Meira Kanovsky
52
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
Zack Fogel
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SP RTS All Star Voting: Zaza Pachulia BY: Sam Glick Zaza Pachulia, the starting center for the overpowered Golden State Warriors, may be a starter in the All-Star game this year. The way to be a starter in the frontcourt for the All-Star game is to get in the top three in votes for your conference. As of January 17, Zaza is second in voting for the frontcourt in the western conference with 823,376 votes. Currently, Zaza is averaging 5.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game; the next best vote is Kawhi Leonard, who was the defensive player of the year last year, with 24.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks as a small forward. This year the Golden State Warriors have the best record in the NBA with a 346. Their starting lineup has a good player at every position except center, which is Zaza. Zaza is the worst player in the starting lineup and isn’t even one of the top 15 centers in the NBA! Now you ask, how is Zaza Pachulia getting all of these
votes? Last year, Grammy singer Wyclef Jean, the President of Georgia (yes, the country), and Vine Star Haynes Grier all endorsed Zaza Pachulia to be in the All-Star game for the Dallas Mavericks, the team he was on last year. That year he was 15,000 votes short from starting. This year he has a much better chance of making it as he has much more votes and a good lead on Kawhi Leonard. Should the way the NBA handles All-Star voting stay the same? Russell Westbrook, who is averaging an amazing triple double, is the first person since Oscar Robertson in the 1960s to average a triple double… and isn’t gonna start in the AllStar game. Stephen Curry and James Harden have a 90,000- and 60,000-vote lead on Westbrook, respectively. Zaza Pachulia–– who, again, is averaging the stats of a backup center–– is going to start over guys like Anthony Davis, who is having a tremendous year (29 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks), Demarcus Cousins, who is arguably the best center in the NBA, and Karl-Antho-
Zaza Pachulia
ny Towns, who coming off a rookie of the year season. In my opinion, the NBA should pick the five or 10 best players in the frontcourt and backcourt from their conference, and fans vote out from among them, because they are guys who are having a really good season and putting up really good numbers and have barely any votes. Another way the NBA could do it: pick the starting lineup
themselves from the best in each category. This decision by NBA fans to vote for a player who doesn’t deserve it will go down in history as one the worst AllStar appearances of all time. Sam Glick lives in Potomac, Maryland and is a sophomore at Winston Churchill High School. His family davens at Beth Sholom in Potomac, and he is a member of Greater Washington NCSY.
Josh Breitstein 301-346-7838 jcars613@gmail.com fax 301-592-0224 Automotive Sales Custom Car Shopping Service
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
53
ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS
Sing Out – or Otherwise Perform – O Jewish Women! BY: Barbara Trainin Blank It is said every one of us has a trouper inside. If you’re a female whose inner performer is looking to come out, or you’re someone who enjoys watching others display their talents, you should check out the third annual Open Mic Night for girls and women this Saturday night, February 4.. “Women are invited to share their talents or just be part of the audience,� said Dahlia Topolosky, creator and coordinator of the event. Performance slots are four minutes long and performers are welcome to share their diverse talents, from slam poetry to joke telling. You can also sing––it’s okay to bring along an iPod
and cords to plug into the speakers for background music–– or play an instrument. A piano will be available. The only proviso: Performers must be at least 14 years old. The Open Mic Night is co-sponsored by Beth Joshua Congregation and the Deborah Lerner Gross Jewish Cultural Arts Center of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. “I have always been someone who expressed myself through singing,� Topolosky said. She described herself as someone “passionate in general about creating opportunities for women to express their G-d-given talents.� In 2004, Topolosky’s friend Leslie Gonsberg started a women’s open mic night in New York City called “Girls Night On� in which Topolosky often
performed. Gonsberg continues to run the program from Baltimore. “When we moved to Aspen Hill a few years ago for my husband to become rabbi of Beth Joshua Congregation, I didn’t know many people,â€? Topolosky said, “but I thought having an open mic would be a great way to bring women together from all the neighboring communities.â€? Her hunch proved correct. The ďŹ rst Open Mic Night, which took place at the Kosher Pastry Oven, drew 75 girls and women. That number grew to 95 when the second Open Mic took place at Sienna’s Restaurant last year. “We all lead busy lives, so important to make the time to give to ourselves, be creative, and utilize our strengths in self-expression,â€? Topolosky said. “This is a special opportunity for women to perform in a warm environment, and for everyone–– performers and non-performers alike–– to enjoy a fun night out.â€?
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Tickets to perform or attend, which can be purchased with cash or check, are $8 at the door. You can even sign up to perform last minute. And of course, what’s a Jewish event without food? Soup, salad, breadsticks and refreshments will be served. Performances will begin at 8:15 p.m., so you should arrive by 8 p.m. so you can get your refreshments and be seated.
If you want to write about local politics, interesting people and things to do, contact
editor@kolhabirah.com 54
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS
Capital Arts BY: Nancy Schreiber, Arts Editor Welcome to the inaugural issue of a new newspaper, Kol HaBirah: Voice of the Capitol, and to the inauguration of a new President Trump. As Kol Habirah considers the artistic landscape of the Greater Washington area and beyond, we will consider the particular concerns of our region and how artists express their views and comments on those concerns. We will relate the arts in the region to events in our nation’s capital, and hope you will read our views and send us your views in return. On January 20, Inauguration Day, two paintings were exhibited especially for the occasion. One, John Bingham’s 1854 work Will of the People, the Supreme Law, was bor-
rowed from the St. Louis Museum of Art to hang over the dais table at the inaugural lunch for Congress, the President and the Vice President. Depicting a party of white men who had apparently voted and two classes of people who were barred from voting in that era–– the painting’s lone black man, pushing a cart, and women tucked away in a balcony and waving a banner proclaiming “Freedom for Virtue, Restriction for Viceâ€?–– the painting seems an odd choice for the lunch after President Trump’s oath of ofďŹ ce. The second painting, displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, is the only ofďŹ cial portrait so far of President Trump. It depicts him in a realist style with an apple oating above his head. Although the apple is acknowledged to be a symbol of New York City, it is also a symbol of the apple the snake tempted Eve to eat, taking humankind from the ease of the Garden of Eden to a world of work and pain. Por-
Style Section: Coming Up Trumps! BY: Beverley Bloom With a new glamorous ďŹ rst family ďŹ rmly ensconced in the White House, style-watchers from around the globe will be eagerly watching the nation’s capital to see what fashionable ensembles the First Lady (and Daughter) will be wearing. The statuesque Melania will surely give Jackie O a run for her money in the style stakes. Celebrity style, however, usually comes with a hefty price tag, so we want to create a designer look on a budget that can appeal to young professionals, working mums and anyone else looking to replicate that groomed sophistication (but without a team of stylists and make-up artists on call). The Trump ladies’ style could be described as more classic than avant-garde; to follow their lead, investing in timeless pieces will last longer than one-season wonders. With this in mind, we searched the racks looking for a attering ďŹ t-andare knitted dress–– and who better to go to than Ivanka Trump’s eponymous brand. Her three-quarter length sleeve ribbed knit dress atters in all the right places and offers a streamlined look favored by celebrities such as former Spice Girl-turned-designer Victoria Beckham. Although, the latter’s will cost you upwards of $2,000, Ivanka’s version is currently on sale for $59.99 at Lord & Taylor.
Paired with a pair of studded suede ankle boots, the look can go from day to night in a ash. While they might not give you legs like Ivanka, they are nonetheless fashion forward and attering. Send us your pics on Instagram and let us see you in your ďŹ t and are dress. We’d love to hear from you! __________________________________ Skincare Product of the Week: Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Face Butter, Sephora, $40 Exclusive to Sephora stores, this former model-turned-skincare-guru can heal any winter skin with her luxe vegan skin cream, featuring 100% pure argan oil. With your skin enduring heating on full blast, wind and snow, this buttery cream is just the right combination of rich and nourishing to pamper it during the winter months. Spa Treatment of the Week: Blue Mercury Hydrating Coconut Sugar Pedicure (50 minutes, $70 French: 60 minutes, $85) Support your local D.C.-based beauty company and indulge feet in a softening sugar bath, scrubbed with a coconut sugar treatment, masked, and warmly wrapped. nails are shaped and ďŹ led. a luxurious foot massage with coconut sugar cream precedes polishing at Blue Mercury. After dancing the night away at all the inaugural balls or trekking at the Women’s March, give tired feet a chance to recuperate with this soothing, moisturizing pedicure.
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trayed by so many artists, the apple symbol is so tempting to grasp, to eat, to make one’s own, instead of leaving it as part of the earth for all to gaze upon and realizing there are some things we must not touch, since we know not the outcome. Art matters. Symbols matter. It is the mission of Jews to look out for their fellows–– kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh, all Jews are responsible for one another––and, in the spirit of tikkun olam, to ďŹ x the world when that is required. It is in this spirit that Kol HaBirah will report on and explore the myriad ways in which Jewish artists–– particularly female Jewish artists–– and those of other backgrounds make art in all its forms to make a better world for us all. It is in that spirit that I witnessed the Women’s March on Washington, a march of diverse people who expressed their various needs and desires in a communal voice, calling on the new administration to ďŹ x their nation so all may thrive. Coming from all over the United States (and, in some cases, other nations), these marchers joined people worldwide in demanding recognition of their selves and their needs and their morals. A sea of men, women and children in pink hats, veils, and kippot put their heads together to urge the President of the U.S. to reconsider hurtful legislation he has proposed. Posters drew attention to their various needs. Costumes expressed the people they sought to emulate, from suffragists to superheroes and heroines. Slogans and long quotations
from Walt Whitman to Tom Paine to the Torah expressed what the populace want from their leaders. Words matter. Symbols matter. Flags matter. Visual art and poetry and speeches–– a form of performance art–– all matter and motivate people and unite them under literal banners. The plethora of art expressed in this march drew from all philosophies, and politics, religions, and ethnicities. It was a sea of causes, an ocean of people proclaiming ways to ďŹ x society to make it better for more. In a march of over 460,000 in Washington, D.C., and over ďŹ ve million worldwide, people joined together in proclaiming truths, seeking beauty and joy. In future issues of Kol HaBirah, the arts section will continue to ďŹ nd beauty, truth and art in many forms to inspire you, our readers, to participate and see and hear art to make the world a better place for all.
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55
ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS
Free to see BY: Dinah Rokach As Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for Trees, approaches, we think of trees in bloom heralding the spring season. In the land of Israel, this harbinger of springtime takes place when the sap in fact is rising, but that stands in contrast to our stark February landscape of bare trees bereft of their leafy adornments. Let me offer a solution to this seasonal dissonance: the United States Botanic Garden beckons us to enjoy indoor trees in the full flowering of warmer climes. What a refreshing way to spend time on a cold winter’s day. When you enter the Conservatory, pick up the visitor’s guide. It includes a map of the interior gardens, which represent different habitats of the world from tropical rain forests to deserts — all under a glass ceiling. Be ready to shed your winter outerwear as you make your way through the warmer and more humid temperatures. Walk upstairs for a panoramic view of Capitol Hill through the glass walls. Before you leave, take a break and sit down in the front garden court, where benches surrounded by trees and plants border a serene pool. Free 45-minute guided tours are scheduled at noon and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Thursday and Friday. Meet at the front desk.
Check online for the availability of the following activities (pre-registration is required, no walk-ins allowed: A free hands-on class on seedling planting for children ages six to 10 on Tuesdays in February from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. may still be open for registration. A free “Parent & Baby Snugglers” 45-minute tour for mom, dad, or caregiver and baby in a carrier/wrap on Thursdays in February at 10:30 a.m. When you visit, be sure to bring a charged phone; if you don’t join a tour, you can follow the cell phone tour commentaries on many of the exhibits. Photography is permitted and you are sure to find several great backgrounds for family photos and selfies. There is no gift shop. The Children’s Garden re-opens in the spring. The outdoor National Garden includes charming pathways for a leisurely stroll and ideas for trips to other well-
known botanical gardens in the US. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own picnic and eat outdoors on one of the benches. The focal point of Bartholdi Park across the street is the ornate 30-foot-tall Bartholdi Fountain designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, best known for creating the Statue of Liberty. Currently, sections of the park are under renovation and fenced in. Gaze at the rows of elm trees planted nearby along the perimeter of the National Mall. In the winter, these trees are bereft of their leaves, their branches pointing skyward; in our mind’s eye, they represent mankind standing with arms outstretched in supplication to heaven. Moreover, as observant Jews, each of us should feel a great affinity to trees. The Torah way of life is a living tree to all who embrace it, the righteous are com-
pared to trees firmly planted, which remain fruitful, never wither and withstand the years of drought, and all that. This year Tu B’Shevat falls on Shabbat Shira. When you pass a tree on the way to shul or on your afternoon stroll, you needn’t hug it, just murmur a fond “Happy Birthday” or “Shana Tova.” United States Botanic Garden 100 Maryland Ave SW, corner of First St SW, Washington DC www.usbg.gov, 202-225-8333 Free Admission. Indoor Conservatory and adjacent outdoor National Garden (on the right facing the Conservatory entrance); open daily 10 am to 5 pm Bartholdi Park (across the street and behind the Conservatory) 100 First St SW, corner of Independence Avenue and Washington Avenue; open daily from dawn to dusk (currently under renovation—parts are fenced off). Getting there: Metrorail red line to Union Station, or Metrorail blue, silver, or orange lines to Federal Center SW, 10-minute walk north on 3rd St, right on Maryland Avenue. Metrobuses 32, 34, and 36 stop behind the Conservatory on Independence Avenue. (Check for service advisories at wmata. com before heading out.) DC Circulator, National Mall route, stops in front of the conservatory on 3rd St at the reflecting pool.
KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2017 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication www.kenken.com 1-31-17
O Each row and each column
must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.
O The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to
56
produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.
O Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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HUMOR
The Adventures of Abie Abie
Abie updated his profile picture.
December 21, 2016 · Bethesda ·
November 23, 2016 ·
Sometimes you walk into a bathroom and someone's sitting in a stall noticeably trying to do their business quietly. I just walked into the bathroom and this dude hears me come in and tries to keep eating his potato chips more quietly.
Abie October 9, 2016 ·
I admit that I frequently preface statements by saying "contrary to popular belief" despite little to no idea of what the people actually think.
Abie September 6, 2016 · Silver Spring ·
Today an Uber driver told me that whoever's giving me a bad day "they just jealous" which is something I had not realized about my sunburn, Amtrak delays, or morale-eroding couch-surfing.
Abie at Secunderabad Market
Abie
January 14 at 8:56am · Secunderabad, India ·
January 17 at 11:49pm · Dubai, United Arab Emirates ·
Announcement: if this plane goes down please be aware that your current profile photo is the shot that will become permanently associated with your visual memory. Consider changing it before take off. Thank you and we wish you a pleasant journey.
"So that's gotta suck that she doesn't like flowers"
Abie October 20, 2016 · Jerusalem, Israel ·
Ever since I lost faith in democracy this election has gotten so much more bearable.
Abie January 12 at 8:48am · Hyderabad, India ·
I really want to tell a judge that I'll let them be the judge.
Abie
Abie
November 6, 2016 ·
9 hrs · Livingston, NJ ·
I have a to-do list app that doesn't have a "failed to accomplish" button. It's just "completed" and snooze. Useless.
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My Uber just got crunched by a Supershuttle so I booked. His slow driving cost me more time than his collisions. Also, my neck hurts.
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
57
ADVICE - DATING
Ask “The Single” The situation: You are in virtually any social situation-- Shabbos meal, wedding, bris, kiddush, softball game, supermarket-- and you run into someone who can tell right away that you are “fresh meat.” You see it coming but you are helplessly at their mercy as they tell you that they have the perfect match for you. You try to avoid the conversation entirely, but this would-be matchmaker strategically corners you at the herring platter with a full plate of food and a filled cup so they know you have no room for an easy escape with a: “It was so nice to see you Mrs. Goldfarb–– I am going to get some soda now.” Mrs. Goldfarb is well aware that your cup is full of Shoprite’s finest discounted diet cola that your synagogue gets on sale and is tax deductible and you both see the bottle on this very table so there’s no need to travel across the room for a refill. And then it happens: “I’ve got the nicest guy/girl for you.” You know whomever they are talking about is not for you, but you have no idea how to get out of this without committing to something that you’d prefer not to, or getting out of it but coming off as rude or disinterested. No worries, my friend–– The Single is here to help you. Do Not: Talk about how extreme your personality is or portray yourself as a complete moron in the hopes that they are too horrified to suggest this person to you. If this “shadchan” is already making the suggestion, she already made up her mind that the person she is suggesting to you is your bashert (soulmate) and will use everything you say to justify why it is so. “You’re all over the place? So is she!” Or, “You’re unable to commit to anything ever? He’s the exact opposite and that’s great because, I don’t know if you ever heard this one before and I’ll let you in on an insight I developed over many years of matchmaking, pontificating, and cornering singles before they get a chance to grab a shot of scotch at the kiddush, but opposites attract. And in fact, my brother’s uncle’s stepsister brushes her teeth every day and her husband never does. When they first met, we all thought there was no way it would work out,
BY: Rachel Burnham
"Like any good poker player, never show your cards. Don't confirm you are available... " CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE
I imagine my life is similar to that of The Single’s random kiddush lady. Like her, I’ve got piles of laundry, grocery shopping, baby feedings, dinners to be made, Shabbat meals to be cooked, reports due at work and errands to run. Still, like her, I think to myself: “What if my effort made a difference in the life of just one single?” What if my response to The Single’s problem helped just one single respond differently to just one scenario? It could change their life and the life of their future spouse and create generations of happy families. In my long history of dating and working with singles, I have found that it always pays to be a mensch (nice person). You don’t have to date anyone you don’t want to date, and you don’t have to marry anyone you don’t want to marry, but menschlachkeit is NOT optional. You can’t imagine the lasting impression a lack of menschlachkeit leaves on everyone involved. I believe we’re in agreement on this point, although we probably define our terms differently. You may think “If I smile politely to the random kiddush woman and then move on to the cholent, am I not being a mensch?” Maybe yes and maybe no. Have you considered that while you were outwardly menschlich to the shadchan, you were likely not a mensch to the suggested match and you were possibly not a mensch to yourself? It’s interesting. We react differently to the same suggestion, depending on whether the person making that suggestion is a friend, a family member, a co-worker, a mentor or a random lady at kiddush. But does that make sense? In each instance the suggested match is the same. While those we like and respect would not be likely to set us up on random dates, random people can often set us up with very likeable and respectable people. Additionally, random people are not so random once they get to know you a bit more, and their suggestions will improve as they continue to interact with you. Finally, sometimes a person’s knowing you well is counterproductive. They might nix excellent ideas, because in some area or another they’ve judged this match as not “good enough.” It’s also important to remember shidduch opportunities, however randomly placed, for what they are: opportunities. If you were desperately looking for a job and having trouble paying your monthly bills, wouldn’t you appreciate every lead someone sent your way, even if the job’s not a fit? Wouldn’t you appreciate the time and effort they took out of their busy schedule to send you a lead, even if it isn’t in your specific field? Just knowing that they were thinking of you, your well-being and your future would make you feel cared for and loved. You’re busy, and it’s fair to assume that those making the suggestions to you have much going on in their lives as well, yet they took the time to think of you. Ironically there are also many singles who have a shortage of dating options and that can be quite depressing. They’re thinking “How will I ever get married if I never get suggestions?” Although you, The Single, do not personally struggle with any shortage of options, it’s important to be sensitive to those that do. Another note of caution. While you might not take random lady’s suggestion seriously, there may well be merit to her suggestion. If there is, it’s likely that a more reputable source will mention the same idea to you down the line. By that time, you’ve probably forgotten the exchange over dry herring, but the match you turned down hasn’t. Relationships are a sensitive thing. People take rejection to heart. Although you’re now excited, they’re still smarting, and not eager to give that random guy a second chance. In summary, I would recommend showing genuine appreciation to anybody who took time out of their busy lives to think of us. Smile and give them as graceful a response as possible and then actually take a moment to consider the person being suggested. If you’re going to say no, it shouldn’t be a “no” to the shadchan, it should be a “no” to the shidduch. Rachel Burnham earned both her BA in psychology and MA in occupational therapy in New York City. While OT may be her profession, her deepest passion lies in Jewish outreach, which she’s been active in her entire adult life. Rachel also coaches Jewish singles to successful marriages, giving them clarity and peace of mind as they navigate the path to love, connection and life long companionship. You can find her at D8gr8.info
CREDIT: SOFEMININE.CO.UK
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Random Kiddush Ladies
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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ADVICE - DATING
Dear Rivkie Dear Rivkie, Why can Ivanka find a nice Jewish boy and I can only find a nice goyish one? Signed, Frustrated Faye Dear Faye, Whoa whoa whoa, hold your horses. Now, we all know that Ivanka is honestly pretty fabulous. Heck, she’s gorgeous and a billionaire. I mean, even Rivkie follows her on Instagram! It’s easy to find a goy. There are over 300 million goyim in this country. It’s harder to find a Jew, but it’s worth it.
All in all, it is Hashem who is the ultimate matchmaker, but we must do our hishtadlus (effort) to optimize our chances of meeting that bashert (soulmate). See if any of the online resources available are right for you (JWed, yuconnects, Jewishsoulsearch). Email me and I’ll put you in touch with one of the shadchanim (matchmakers) I know. Go to an event for Jewish singles–– American Friends of Lubavitch (TheShul) in DC has monthly young professionals Friday night dinners, for example), and bring a friend if you feel shy about it. Make a shidduch resume, if you feel like that will help, and have other (honest) people look at it and give you suggestions. And tell everyone you know
that you are on the market (or out of the freezer). Many people meet because they know someone who knows someone. That’s how I met my bashert. And believe me, it was not an auspicious start, but the someone who fixed us up told the person who didn’t want to go out again (okay, yes it was my husband who didn’t want to–– the nerve!) that he had to give it another try, and here we are almost 18 years and several children later. It can be disheartening to feel that you are the only one who hasn’t found The One, but believe me, many people are in your situation. With a little faith and a little effort, things will work out. Need advice? Email Dear Rivkie at askRivkie@kolhabirah.com
PHOTO CREDIT: FLICKR/RICH GERARD
you are left with the black label that is brought out every week and never gets touched. Just say you’d love to receive her information and see if perhaps you may think of any friends for her. Now, it would be nice if you do try to set this individual up, but that’s up to you. Pro Tip: Like any good poker player, never show your cards. Don’t confirm you are available and don’t just say no, either. It’s always important to provide context; for example, you in the middle of considering a few options, or are slated to be introduced to someone by
a friend. Leave some gray area. The moment you reveal that you are totally free, you’ve given away your position and they feel fully empowered to go on the offensive. Don’t blame me when you get stuck going out with that individual they have been trying to set up for six years. Don’t blame me if you find yourself stuck in a difficult situation–– you did it to yourself by giving up your defense–– just enjoy those three hours at Starbucks during the playoffs, wondering how you can get out of this fast enough so that you can catch the end of the fourth quar-
ter. I’m sorry my friend, but we’ll save a seat for you on the couch when you get back… as long as we don’t have to hear you mope about how terrible it was. After all, you did it to yourself by not following my guidelines. No sympathy! Please submit your most challenging dating questions to the The Single at datingexpert@kolhabirah.com. We ask you to try out our advice and let us know how well it worked. We take no responsibility if it backfires, but we would love to hear what happened and please excuse us if we laugh at your expense.
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
but you know what? They met each other and just hit it off. They’ve been married for 20 years. So you should definitely go out with her.” Please don’t try the above tactic or you risk subjecting yourself to this speech. Do: Thank them for bringing up this perfect match and allow them to talk about the person. This should allow you a few minutes to space out and chew on the stale crackers and dry herring, an important move, being that you may be stuck there for a few minutes. Don’t forget to say “wow” while scrunching your forehead and pressing your lips together in the “I am impressed” look at strategic moments during the monologue such as 1) “and she is in law school at Johns Hopkins,” 2) “and he is full of ambition,” 3) “and she is stunning,” and 4) “he is one of the funniest, most charming people I know” (don’t get fatigued now–– continue doing that look or run the risk of a fifth item on the laundry list just to make sure you are impressed). After they (finally) finish, it’s your time to take over. Don’t stutter. You say that she sounds like an amazing girl but you 1) were actually suggested to someone else and 2) are busy at the moment. These are not lies, I mean, who hasn’t ever been “suggested” to someone, and who isn’t busy? In fact, you are busy right now trying to get out of this interaction and hit the alcohol table before the old guy from hashkama (early minyan) who likes to stick around for every kiddush finishes the rest of the good scotch and
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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ADVICE - BUSINESS / FINANCIAL
Job Search Nuggets: It’s Not About You BY: David Marwick for KempMillJobAssist Introducing Job Search Nuggets provided by KempMillJobAssist, an all-volunteer organization formed about 12 years ago by residents of Kemp Mill to help their neighbors find jobs. The nuggets will include advice on job search topics, highlight free online resources, and answer questions of general interest. Please send questions and comments to DMarwick@JobAssist.org. “A company doesn’t care what you want. They want to know how you can meet their needs.” –– Lisa Rangel, founder of Chameleon Resumes Having a realistic perspective on the job market, especially about why a company posts a vacancy, is vital to success in finding a job. An unrealistic perspective can lead to frustration–– lots of applications, but no job offers. Let’s begin with two basic questions and answers. The first question is, why does an employer advertise a vacancy? An employer advertises a job opening because the employer has a mission to accomplish and needs someone to help accomplish it. The second question: why do you, job seeker, want to fill that vacancy?
Possible answers could vary; maybe you want to earn additional income, use newfound skills, or advance your career. If your qualifications closely match the employer’s needs, the employer may be interested in speaking with you and possibly in hiring you–– but, to be blunt, the employer usually does not care why you want that job.
Below are three typical mistakes by job seekers who are, to be delicate, less than fully qualified for a position and an employer’s likely response to those rationales. For the purposes of the example, this job seeker is applying for a position in the field of gerontology. What you say: “I have a lot of skills, and I’m sure you can find a role for me in
Handling Large and Unexpected Expenses BY: Rami Mandelbaum Home budgets can be a very helpful to assist with finances and savings goals. At the same time, they can be very frustrating to track, and life does not always conform to your budget. Many times, the challenge facing a home budget is a cash flow problem. Cash flow is usually reserved as a business finance term, yet the same principles apply to households: money coming in versus money going out with an added dimension of time. In other words, when reviewing a year of income and expenses, one may have the income to support all their expenses yet find the need to always ensure they have cash in their accounts to cover their checks and ETF payments. A friend of mine was once complaining to me about their finances and said “How come there is so much month left at the end of my money?” This is a common concern for many households, and I’d like to offer some suggestions that can be taken to mitigate the risk of running out of money when an expected or unexpected expense occurs. Spreading Out Annual Expenses A large challenge for cash flow is that income can be stable and expenses can appear out of thin air. Your car may need unexpected repairs or a medical treatment is required. Many large annual expenses like school tuition, utility bills, auto insurance, etc. can be spread out over a year with minimal additional costs. Most service providers will be able to establish a payment schedule and allow the expense to be paid over the course of a year.
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This may not be applicable with all expenses, and if spreading out payments can be established with majority of one’s recurring large expenses there is a great impact to monthly cash availability for the unexpected and non-deferrable expenses. This will allow you to pay an even amount each month rather than trying to deal with the ebbs and flows of paying a large expense. Credit Card vs Debit Cards The benefits of using a credit card and leaving the debit card at home are too many to discuss in this article, so we will only talk about the relevancy to cash flow. When a debit card is used, the funds must be available the same day in a bank account. Alternatively, when using a credit card there is a delay in the time the transaction occurs and when the payment is due. This delay allows time to plan how to cover a large expense. An additional benefit to using a credit card is that you may be able to apply for a new card with 0% interest charges for a promotional period (I found up to 21 months as of the date of this article). A little foresight is needed prior to incurring a large expense in order to fully utilize this option. The intention is not to forget about the debt until the promotional period is over and regular interest rates apply, rather pay monthly toward this expense and pay off the debt as soon as possible. Scheduled Payments Most credit card companies will allow you to choose the day of the month that the bill would be due. Depending on the household’s recurring expenses, one may opt to use a credit card at time
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
your company.” What the employer thinks: If you haven’t made the effort to identify how you can help me fulfill my mission, please don’t expect me to take time from my busy schedule to figure it out. What you say: “I’ve always been interested in gerontology.” What the employer thinks: Your interest in gerontology is admirable, but I see little evidence in your resume that you are well qualified to work in the field, and I want to hire the best-qualified person available. What you say: “I don’t know much about gerontology, but I’m a quick study.” What the employer thinks: Why would I pay you to learn about gerontology when there are other candidates who already know about it? In short, when you make your case to an employer, always remember: It’s not about you. (For further reading, check out “Work Advice: No, temp agencies do not exist to find you a job” by Karla Miller for The Washington Post, January 19, 2017.) David Marwick is KempMillJobAssist’s Workshop Coordinator. He studied economics at George Washington University and worked as an economist for George Washington University and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
of purchase and not have to pay the expense until there is cash in the bank. For instance, let’s say the rent or mortgage payment is due on the 1st of every month, you may want to have your credit card bill due on the 15th allowing two weeks for a paycheck to be deposited.
Most bank accounts can be established with a checking and savings account and sometime multiple savings accounts. While the checking account is where income is deposited and bills are paid, the savings account should be reserved for its namesake–– savings. It is beneficial to have an automatic transfer set up so that once a month a small amount ($25 or $50) is moved from checking into savings. The
With additional credit cards, you can split your expenses more and have a due date each week, thus splitting your expenses into weekly payments. At the point of sale, it helps to know when the statement closing date is for each card in order not to confuse them and have a large bill due the week after the rent/ mortgage was paid. This can be accomplished by adding a simple sticky label to each card with the dates to use each card (i.e. 1st–10th, 10th–20th, etc.) Automatic Savings Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a British naval historian, is famously known for Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” Many people I speak to share this same theory with their pocketbooks: “Expenses increase to utilize all available resources.” This means that when money is available, it will be spent.
amount should be small enough that it is not anticipated to be needed monthly. For larger savings goals, a proper method should be established, yet can follow the same guidelines. This amount will start off small and you may feel it does not have an impact. The idea is to not access these funds unless you absolutely need them. This will allow the savings to grow and when an unexpected expense occurs, this money can be used when all other methods cannot be utilized. In summary, unexpected expenses happen and can be extremely stressful and frustrating to cope with when a payment is due immediately. By using some or all of the ideas presented here, the stress can be lifted and allow for the peace of mind that comes with knowing that there are ways to spread out the expense and not throw you off path for your long- and short-term financial goals.
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TORAH MINUTE
Was I Really Redeemed from Egypt? BY: Rabbi Hillel Shaps Kollel Scholar and Director of Special Projects for the Greater Washington Community Kollel The Mishna in Pesachim (116b) relates that in every generation a person is obligated to view himself as if he left Egypt, as it is stated, “And you should tell your son on that day, ‘Because of this, G-d did this to me when I left Egypt’” (13:8). The Mishna is apparently interpreting this verse to be speak-
ing not only to the generation that left Egypt, but to every generation. If that is the case, how can one honestly say to his or her child that he or she left Egypt? It seems to be blatantly false! In fact, in the Pesach Haggada we take this even further when we say, “Not only did he redeem our fathers but he also redeemed us.” How can we make such a statement? Rav Shimon Schwab explains that the statement “I left Egypt” is actually entirely true, and can be understood
through the following metaphor. It is well known that the cells of the human body are constantly regenerating to the point that every seven to ten years the human body almost completely renews itself. Despite this, it is perfectly normal for a forty five year old to point to his arm and say, “I broke this arm when I was twelve years old.” In truth, it was a completely different arm that he broke, but because it continues to function as the arm of the same living body, it is viewed as the same arm.
The Jewish nation throughout the generations is also one being, unified by our mission to act as a moral compass for those around us and bring honor to G-d in this world. True, this body has replaced and regenerated itself over and over with the passing of one generation and the birth of the next, but ultimately it is the same nation and the same being that was redeemed from Egypt. It is vital for us to appreciate that we are all important components of this great body of a nation, a nation entrusted with a sacred mission. If we make ourselves a part of this greater being, then we can truthfully say, “He also redeemed us!”
■ Young Israel Shomrai Emunah 1132 Arcola Avenue
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
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IN THE BEGINNING
TORAH TOPICS
Uncover the beauty of the mitzvos and their deeper meaning.
A study of Bereishis exploring the fundamental and critical concepts of Genesis.
themes drawn from the weekly Parsha.
RABBI HILLEL SHAPS
RABBI ZACHARIA SCHWARTZ
RABBI MENACHEM WINTER
MEN
THURSDAY
MEN
BEGINNING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
YESODEI HATORAH Broaden and enhance the Talmud skills necessary for independent study.
RABBI AVRAHAM SUSSMAN
SHIVTI
&
INSPIRED AVODAH Developing Spiritual Pathways through the Parsha and Sefer Alei Shur.
RABBI YITZCHAK SCHER
KOLLEL ZICHRON AMRAM AND REBBE, YGW
All men's classes located in the YISE Beis Medrash
This acclaimed curriculum allows participants to delve into Talmudic group led by Rabbi Yonatan Zakem. Program is under the guidance of RABBI YITZHAK GROSSMAN, who will also be presenting bi-weekly lectures on the weekly topic.
WOMEN
MONDAY
WOMEN OF VALOR
A study of the great women of Tanach and their everlasting legacies.
MRS. SARA MALKA WINTER Located in the small Social Hall
For more information, please contact Rabbi Yonatan Zakem at yzakem@gwckollel.org or 513.313.4899 The Greater Washington Community Kollel 10900 Lockwood Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20901 • 301.593.4260 • www.gwckollel.org • Rosh Kollel Rabbi Menachem Winter • info@gwckollel.org WWW.KOLHABIRAH.COM
February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
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ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE
Farmer’s Corner It all started when I left Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Queens, New York to learn full-time in their yeshiva in Dallas, Texas. Growing up, I continuously experimented with new business ideas, and at a certain point during my time in yeshiva in Dallas, I shifted my schedule to learning in the mornings and college in the afternoons. Once the semester ended, I decided to fill my extra time by working on a farm about 30 minutes away. On the farm, the owner raised–– you guessed it–– golden retrievers. This prompted me to do my own research into the business, and I finally realized what I needed to do with my life. My family members responded to my conviction that I wanted to move to upstate New York and live out on a farm with what we’ll call “loving doubt.” They all told me I was nuts and that in three months I would be on to something else. Once I moved upstate, I frequently changed addresses trying to find the right fit. I hoped to settle down near a Jewish community while also following my passion (yes, it’s still golden retrievers, are you with me?). One of the most memorable places I lived was on a 388Naftali Goldschein and Chana Malka Goldschein acre property in Wurtsboro,
In this week’s “Farmer’s Corner,” Aryeh Goldschein shares his unique (true) experiences raising golden retrievers on a farm in upstate New York. (Aryeh also has the unique distinction of being the younger brother of Kol HaBirah’s publisher, Hillel Goldschein.) Some of you may know me as Hillel’s crazy bother who lives on an organic dairy farm in upstate New York. The Greater Washington Jewish community actually has me to thank for Kol HaBirah, as had I not asked Hillel to quit bothering me with his crazy ambitions, he would likely have created Kol HaKelev: Voice of the Dog for me instead. I have decided share my perspective on what it’s like to live out on a farm, and why I prefer it to living in a city where everyone lives on top of each other and pays an obscene price for it to boot.
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February 2, 2017 • 6 Shevat, 5777
Mckinley, now living in Vermont, won January's photo of the month contest with the most likes.
New York. Here I began raising goats, chickens, ducks and even a bull I named Rib Eye. This place was a camp in the 1950s up until the early 1970s. It was a fair assumption that no renovations had taken place since. I didn’t mind, nor did the animals; it was important to me that if I raise golden retrievers they should be on a farm so that they can run free. After the difficult living conditions of no power or running water were resolved, one weekend several of my fam-
ily members visited for an extended Shabbat. We decided to explore some trails deep in the property. To make it more fun, we took my herd of 10 goats and shepherded them about a mile deep into the forest to a beautiful lake hidden from the world. After a while of us all feeling like Yaakov Avinu, we decided to head back– – when the goats who had so faithfully stood by our side booked it out of there like they were under attack… (to be continued)
LOCAL HISTORY
Larry Shor’s Greater Washington “Why don’t you write a book?” This question has been asked of me countless times over the years. While circumstances never allowed me to do so, I am very excited for this opportunity to share what I have known, seen and experienced in my 60 years of life as a part of the Jewish community of this great city. In my lifetime, I have seen this city change in monumental and unthinkable ways, both in good times and in bad, up until the time they happened. The story of the last 60 years is my story, too. In each column, I will share pieces of that story. The details remain fresh in my mind. As a historian by both nature and education, I am blessed with the ability to remember long-ago events and I look forward to sharing them with you. The Greater Washington Jewish community is unique; it does not have many of the characteristics that make New York so Jewish, and has a distinctly different flavor than our nearby neighbor of Baltimore. The Greater Washington Jewish community has done more, with less, than just about any other Jewish community in the United States. Because this series is written through the prism of my own experiences, there may be unexpected twists in the stories; and because I grew up in the movie industry, I have many tales to share about the distinct Jewish personalities of show business. I have hosted a Jewish music radio program for over 35 years, and I will tell you about some of my experiences with the show as well. I hope to educate you with each column. If you read it and say, “I never knew that,” then I will have done my job.
I hope to entertain you as well and am delighted to have you along for the ride. So, join me for a look back, a look at today and even a look forward. We will take a look at my town, my life and the life of this city. I have lived, loved, laughed, cried and grown in this great town which I call my own. I was a seven-year-old boy standing on Pennsylvania Avenue watching President Kennedy’s funeral. Five years later, I saw much of Jewish Washington looted and burned. I saw “No Jews” signs and wondered who would post such a thing. I worked in the Union Market, long before it became fancy, cut chickens and drove a truck for my grandfather. I was in the stands of RFK Stadium, the Capital Centre and even Griffith Stadium once, for just about every important Washington sports game for over 30 years. I fell in love with–– you guessed it–– another native Washingtonian, my wife Shari. I have raised three wonderful children here, Benjamin, Matthew and Shayna, and I look forward to telling you all about it. There is so much to tell and so many people, events and opportunities that have shaped my unique story. So now that we’ve been introduced, as they say in the radio business, stay tuned... NEXT TIME: The story of “Cousin” Kirk
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YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Young Professionals Spotlight: Howie Slugh Interview by Batya H. Carl 1.) Where do you see yourself in 10 years? On the Supreme Court. Failing that, the MVP of the Superbowl. Gotta have a backup plan. 2.) Who is your real-life superhero? Justice Thomas. He has an incredible life story and reached the highest heights in his profession. He consistently does what he thinks is right in the face of constant criticism and derision. 3.) Where is Waldo? In Gitmo. Uncle Sam finally got tired of him getting lost all the time so they shipped him out for indefinite detention. 4.) What is your greatest non-academic/ non-professional accomplishment? For years, I played a game called “e-wresting,” in which the players invented fictional wrestlers and wrote in character interviews discussing upcoming matches between their different characters. These were supposed to be substantive interviews that fleshed out your character’s personality and advanced a story line. In some of the more serious games, interviews could be tens of pages long. I was quite good at this game, and I am unreasonably proud of my accomplishments therein. 5.) Would you date someone with a different political orientation than yours? Sure, I would date someone of a different political persuasion. I probably would not get along great with some hardcore Birchers, Randians, or Communists, but even there I would take it on an individual-by-individual basis. 6.) You are writing a 300-page memoir. What is the first sentence on page 207?
“I had absolutely no idea what she was thinking.” That appears in the book so often that it’s a safe bet you’d pick it at random. 7.) What is your earliest memory? My earliest memories are likely all manufactured memories based on my imagination and stories that I’ve heard from my parents. I think that I remember moving from an apartment in Queens to a house in New Jersey, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t a real memory. I also remember a Pesach seder with my parents and grandparents. I was terrified when we opened the door for shefoch chamatcha, because I thought Elijah would be there
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for sure and Armageddon would start as soon as we opened the door. 8.) What is your favorite show from the 90s? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 9.) Something most people don’t know about me is... I’m a big fan of the band Dashboard Confessional. 10.) What do you like to do for fun? For fun, I like to read, watch baseball and football, swim, write, and host Shabbos dinner. 11.) Who would play you in the movie about your life? Why? Some kind of animated character. By the
time they make a movie about my life, all roles will be played by animated characters or robots. 12.) What is a deal breaker for you on a date? I was once set up with a woman who worked in an abortion clinic--a fact that I only found out while speaking to her. That was one of the most uncomfortable and awkward conversations that I’ve ever had. 13.) What do you hope to find over the rainbow? Wisdom and insight. Oh and an army of flying monkeys. Definitely flying monkeys. 14.) What is your favorite quote? Why? “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald] It captures the mixture of frustration and hope that seem ever-present in life. 15.) What is the best book you have read recently? Why? I really enjoyed Yuval Levin’s Our Fractured Republic. It persuasively describes many of the problems ailing our society. Interested in connecting with this week’s featured young professional? Email Ypspotlight@kolhabirah.com. When she is not writing, Batya H. Carl works as a school counselor for Prince William County Public Schools. She is a Washingtonian from birth and currently resides in Northwest Washington, where she regularly attends Congregation Kesher Israel.
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