volume 12 number 4 passover 5768/2008 a publication of the

Transcription

VOLUME 12 NUMBER 4 PASSOVER 5768/2008
A PUBLICATION OF THE MONTREAL TORAH CENTER BAIS MENACHEM CHABAD LUBAVITCH
JOANNE AND JONATHAN GURMAN COMMUNITY CENTER • LOU ADLER SHUL
Gleanings
F ro m t h e Re b b e ’s w i s d o m
The reason you have a business is to reconnect
all these fragments back to their Creator.
And the gauge of your success is your attitude.
...then your world is still something separate from your G-d.
...then your earth is tied to the heavens
and since in the heavens nothing is lacking,
so too it shall be in your world.
MONTREAL TORAH CENTER
BAIS MENACHEM CHABAD LUBAVITCH
Joanne and Jonathan Gurman Community Center • Lou Adler Shul
Rabbi Moishe New Rabbi Itchy Treitel
Rabbi Zalman Kaplan
Adult Education Director
Nechama New
Pre-School & Day Camp Director
Zeldie Treitel
Program Director
Velvel Minkowitz
Administrator
Joannie Tansky
Co-ordinator
Fraida Malka Yarmush
Accounting
Mushky Treitel and Mushka New
Children’s Programs
Publication Mail Agreement No. #40030976
Questions or return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
The Montreal Torah Center, 28 Cleve Road, Hampstead PQ H3X 1A6
Tel. 739-0770 • Fax 739-5925
Email: [email protected] • www.themtc.com
2
If you see yourself as a victim of circumstances,
of competitors, markets and trends, that your bread
is in the hands of flesh and blood...
But if you have the confidence that He is always
with you in whatever you do and the only one
who has the power to change your destiny
is you yourself through your own acts of goodness...
I
N
D
E
X
Straight from the Heart . . . . . . . . . .3
MTC Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Courses Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
America Goes Kosher . . . . . . . . . . .22
Kabbalah & Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
The Torch-Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Prayer Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Pre-School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
MTC Draw 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Around our Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
MTC’s Sponsors of the Day . . . . . . . .8
Family Shabbaton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Light in the Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Lawmaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Shavuot Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Summer in Brandeis University . . .34
Sympathies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Mom & Tots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Mazeltovs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
The Existential Exodus . . . . . . . . . . .36
The Power of Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
A Spiritual Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Rap with the Rabbi . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Woman’s Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Day Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Illustrations by Boris Yefman, www.artyefman.com • Our thanks and appreciation to:
Jeff Corber and his staff of BB Color & Ponctuation Grafix
Straight from the Heart of a Hasid
This article was written in response to a media fire-storm that was set off when a Rabbi apologetically
declined to shake the hand of the female mayor of Richmond Hill, Ontario at a Chanukah lighting ceremony.
M
en, women and intimacy are one of the
core subjects of my lectures. I am a hasidic
rabbi. I teach Chabad Lubavitch hasidism.
(A brief definition - minus the historical data - of
hasidism and Chabad: Chabad is a branch of the
Hasidic movement, which in turn is a branch of traditional, orthodox Judaism. In addition to the study
of the practical, legal and ethical components of the
Torah/Bible, Chabad hasidism places emphasis on
the study of its metaphysical/spiritual/psychological
dimensions as well – the kabbalah. Other branches
of orthodox Judaism focus on the former.)
Aside from pastoral work, an increasing amount
of my time is devoted to counseling, the majority
of it concerning marriage and relationships. Most
of those seeking my advice are non-religious men
and women.
I did not touch a woman – aside from my mother,
grandmother and sister - from around eleven years
old until my wedding day. The same is true for my
wife with respect to the other gender. We had
gone out, prior to deciding to get married, a total
of four times. The dates were at most a week apart
and lasted between three and five hours. We
didn’t go to a movie or a restaurant. Three out of
the four dates were spent in hotel lobbies and one
of them at Parc Mont Royal. We talked. For both
of us it was the first (and, G-d willing, the last)
time we had ever dated.
It wasn’t just that neither of us had not had any
physical contact with the other gender till our
wedding; we had never even engaged in casual
conversation with a member of the opposite sex.
As part of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, both
of us have been active, since our teens, in multifaceted outreach work within the broader, secular
community. However, back then, those conversations and relationships were anything but the stuff
of the average teenager. It goes without saying
that we learned in all-boys and all-girls schools.
Obviously, growing up, neither our peers nor we
had girlfriends or boyfriends.
Our homes were TV-less, though we did watch
it occasionally at friends’ or relatives’ homes.
Movie watching was rare, and then only at our
parents’ discretion.
Our first date was set up. It worked like this: At
twenty-two and a half, I let my parents know that
I was ready to get married. A native of Melbourne
Australia (where my family still resides) I was then
studying at Lubavitch World Headquarters in
New York. My parents called the dean of my
Yeshiva/Rabbinical Seminary who also
functioned as matchmaker for the
student-body. The dean got back to
them a week or so later with names of
a several hasidic girls.
My parents did their due-diligence,
which involved a few long-distance
calls to teachers and friends. Obviously,
the fact that all parties came from
hasidic backgrounds meant that all
shared the same values and the same
general weltanschaung. The question
was, with which girl did it appear more
likely that I was compatible; that there
was potential for physical attraction
and that the respective families were
complimentary. Subsequently, my parents informed me that I was going out with a nineteenyear-old girl from Montreal called Nechama.
(Which meant of course, that her parents, on
her behalf, had gone through the same process
as mine.)
I flew to Montreal, picked her up from her home
in a taxi and proceeded to the hotel lobby of
the Bonaventure Hotel. After the first date, independently, our parents contacted the dean and
informed him that we were interested in continuing to see each other and he, in turn, notified
each set of parents of such. Were either of us –
Nechama or I - to decide, at any point, that we
were not interested in pursuing the relationship,
the respective parents would have conveyed this to
the dean, who would have informed the other
party that it was over. No hard feelings.
by RABBI MOISHE NEW
Three out of the four
dates were spent in
hotel lobbies and
one of them at
Parc Mont Royal.
After the third date, Nechama and I let our parents
know that we didn’t need the dean’s intervention
any longer. The next date, I proposed. We were
married within three months.
(The pattern of our courtship was not uncommon.
However, it was equally common amongst our
peers to date more than one prospective spouse
and to go out more frequently than we had.)
Publication Mail Agreement
No. #40030976
Questions or return undeliverable
Canadian addresses to:
The Montreal Torah Center
28 Cleve Road,
Hampstead PQ H3X 1A6
Tel. 739-0770 Fax 739-5925
Email: [email protected]
3
Straight from the Heart
(cont’d)
Back to the first touch.
The Divine presence
emanates from her face
and thus, in humble
acknowledgment, the veil
precludes others from
intruding upon the sacred.
As customary, we had neither seen nor spoken with
each other for a full week prior to the wedding.
The first time we laid eyes upon each other again
was when I was led to my bride to veil her as she
sat on her throne-like chair, surrounded by the
women and girls
of both her family
and mine. (Amongst
other reasons, the
veiling of the bride
reflects the tradition that the Divine
presence emanates
from her face and
thus, in humble
acknowledgment,
the veil precludes
others from intruding
upon the sacred.
Also, the veil, temporarily concealing her physical
beauty, expresses the sentiment that their bond is
rooted beyond the physical and is ultimately a
reunion of their souls, which, prior to their birth,
had been one.)
The marriage ceremony was held outdoors under a
decorated canopy surrounded by more than five
hundred guests. We were then ushered into a room
where, for the first time in our adult lives, we were
in seclusion with an unrelated member of the
opposite sex. (These moments of absolute privacy
are integral to the marriage ceremony itself. Being
in seclusion is a formal declaration that the couple
is now husband and wife.)
The wedding day is considered the holiest day
of one’s life. Bride and groom are granted the
Divine gift of spiritual cleansing and rebirth. It is
their personal Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement, and
accordingly, (amidst the preparations of makeup
artists etc.) the day is spent in introspection,
fasting and prayer. In their private moment now,
bride and groom break their fast.
Even if I were able to adequately convey the
enchantment and dream-like quality of that first
hesitating touch, the murmuring depths of its
intensity or the waves of inarticulable expectation
and desire that it evoked, I would be compelled to
resist from doing so. Intimacy can only flourish
within the confines of a preciously guarded
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sanctum. (Accordingly, it ought be appreciated
that it is inconceivable that the consummation
of a couple’s union transpire there, when they are
at the center of public awareness. Equally inappropriate to consummating the marriage at that
time are the severely limiting time constraints…
Total intimacy is reserved for an undisclosed,
beautiful bridal suite later that night.)
Our reception, like all hasidic weddings, was a
joyous, noisy and boisterous affair. Bride and
groom are the focus of adulatory attention for
the entire evening. It is a mitzvah (Scriptural
commandment) to bring joy to bride and groom.
Eager, perspiring friends and relatives perform
all kinds of dance and acrobatic stunts to the
amusement of bride and groom. Indeed, they are
considered King and Queen on their wedding day
(and to a lesser degree, for the entire first year of
their marriage). A divide, made of greenery and
wooden lattice, separates men and women
throughout the evening. On both sides, immune
from possible leering eyes, considerations of
whether one has a partner or is single, or the
pressure of attracting attention from the opposite
gender – both men and women are free to
celebrate with innocent, joyous abandon.
From this night on, sexual intimacy is governed
by the Biblical precepts of mikvah. A mikvah is a
pool that has at its source a gathering of water
collected by natural means, in which a married
woman immerses every month one week after
menstruation. The mikvah, spotlessly clean,
beautifully tiled and private, is located often in
a spa-like complex. In preparation for immersion,
a woman bathes and ensures that there are no
foreign substances (such as makeup and nail
polish) between her body and the water. From the
onset of the menstrual period, until her immersion
in a mikvah, a couple refrain from all physical
contact. Invariably, the bedroom of a couple
observant of the laws of mikvah (referred to also
as the laws of family purity) contains two beds.
From the Jewish perspective, marriage is not a concession to the sexual drive. (In other words, it’s not
a matter of - Better you shouldn’t. If you have to,
at least get married.) Nor is marriage a convention
by which to ensure that children are born into
the nurturing custody of a family unit. Rather,
marriage, by which a man and woman enter into
an exclusive relationship of intimacy, is an end
in-and-of-itself. Sexuality can manifest in forms of
abysmal degradation on one extreme, or at the
other - through the Divine laws of marriage - as the
most sublime, spiritual and sensual experience.
Entire volumes have been written on the significance of mikvah. However, the subject cannot be
broached without dispelling at least a few myths:
Women, with or without mikvah, are not unclean.
The mikvah ritual is all about spiritual renewal; the
affirmation of the woman’s unique individuality;
the opportunity during their ‘separation’ for
husband and wife to cultivate the emotional and
intellectual bonds (i.e. non-physical) between
them; and the framework by which to create and
maintain excitement and anticipation in their
relationship, bequeathing them the gift of escalating romantic intensity, culminating in a veritable
honeymoon each and every month.
Hasidic teachings extol the sanctity of the body.
The purpose of life is not to transcend the body by
repressing and surrendering it, but rather to reveal
its innate, G-dly essence.
The woman in hasidic doctrine and practice is
esteemed as naturally more spiritual than the man.
Men, the Kabbalah teaches, can express the tangible, descriptive and therefore finite components
of the Divine. This is because the male identity is
primarily expressed through the prowess of his
performance, function and acquisitions. Men do.
Woman, by contrast, embody and can express
the infinite, essential being of G-d. This is because
the female identity is more an expression of her
innate and intrinsic self. Women are.
(It should be noted that in Kabbalistic thought, all
human beings are a microcosm of the universe and
thus possess both male and female qualities. The
varying degrees of preponderance of the virtually
endless number of components that make up the
human condition determine the differences
between people.)
The perfect world, when the essence of G-d will
pervade all of creation, is described by the
Prophets of Israel, and elaborated upon in the
teachings of Kabbalah, as the epoch of global
feminine consciousness.
In the hasidic world, getting married is patently
uncomplicated. Ninety-nine percent do. There are
no illusions about falling in love. Love is a state
that is earned by virtue of commitment, devotion
and sacrifice. Love only begins with
marriage and, through unfailing effort
and by the grace of G-d, progressively
deepens, notwithstanding - and ofttimes because of - the inevitable
challenges and setbacks.
A hasidic young man and woman
believe that marriages are indeed made
in Heaven. Their task is to merely facilitate Heaven’s workings. Thus, as long
as they are comfortable with each
other and there is at least an undercurrent of
chemistry – why not?
From a purely pragmatic perspective, where the
decision to marry is less calculated and more faithbased, the more likely the relationship is to
succeed. For if I marry because he or she has met
certain criteria, then what happens when those
criteria no longer appeal to me, or my significant
other has changed over time, or someone else
fulfills that criteria in greater measure? Not
surprisingly, the divorce rate in the hasidic
community is far below the national average.
Their task is
to merely facilitate
Heaven’s workings.
Hasidic men and women aspire to observe much
more than the laws of mikvah. Married or not,
their commitment to uncompromised Jewish law
demands that they do not ogle, flirt, objectify the
body, flaunt it or exploit it. Touching the opposite
gender, even in the form of a casual handshake, is
equally proscribed.
Our society inundates us with blatant and subliminal sexual images and stimulation. To simply
function, one is required to avoid them, or subconsciously deaden one’s natural sexual response.
No wonder then, that problems in intimacy
are commonplace.
The relationship between men and women, other
than spouses, should transcend gender altogether.
Shaking hands ought to be a distraction. How
enviable is that?
5
LOU AND JOEY ADLER LEARNING INSTITUTE
SPRING AND SUMMER COURSE-SCHEDULE
SHABBOS
MONDAY CONT’D
WEDNESDAY CONT’D
8:00 - 9:00 am
7:00 - 8:00 pm
3:30 - 4:30 pm
Chassidus
Basic Talmud
Understanding Davening
In-depth, textual study, selected from
the broad-based array of Chassidic writings.
Instructor: Rabbi New
Stimulating and interactive.
The perfect introduction into the vibrant
and illuminating world of the Talmud.
Instructor: Rabbi Kaplan
One and a half hours before Mincha
Talmud
7:30 – 8:30 pm
Textual study. For men.
Rap with the Rabbi
Forty-five minutes before Mincha
Kabbalah – Heavenly Wisdom
Down to Earth
Based on the Torah portion of the week,
current events or holidays, this flagship
course provides illuminating and practical
solutions to life’s mysteries.
Torah Class
8:30 – 9:30 pm
Text based analysis of the Torah portion of
the week, or current holidays. For women.
Torah Class
8:45 - 9:45 pm
A discussion on: the Torah portion
of the week, current events or holidays.
In private homes. For men
Tanya
Forty-five minutes before Mincha
Halacha
Textual study of Jewish law. For men.
The primary, classic work of Chabad
chassidus - a blend of mysticism, philosophy
& psychology.
For men. Instructor: Rabbi Kaplan
TUESDAY
10:30 - 11:30 am
THURSDAY
SUNDAY
Women’s Torah Class
6:00 -6:30 am
8:15 – 9:00 am
In a private home.
Chassidus
8:00 - 9:00 pm
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Rap for Teens Over Pizza
Lunch & Learn
Topics of interest to teenagers
Rashi Sichos
In-depth, textual study of
the Rebbe’s Rashi sichos.
MONDAY THRU FRIDAY
6:50 - 7:10 am
Daily Tanya
The daily portion of Tanya.
Talmud Class
One of MTC’s most popular courses.
This exciting class, with the emphasis on
covering material, makes accessible the
Talmud’s endless riches and provides an
upbeat start for your day.
MONDAY
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Lunch and Learn
WEDNESDAY
DR. JACOB TINK
Jewish Spirituality
For women.
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch and Learn
LISAK GROUP
8:30 - 9:30 pm
9:30 - 10:30 am
Kabbalah and Coffee
8:10 - 8:50 am
6
Topics of interest to young adults, 18-30.
7:45 - 8:45 pm
Insights into Prayer
In the Puterman home. Please call for
details. Instructor: Rabbi Kaplan
FRIDAY
6:00 -6:30 am
MARTINI PRODUCTIONS
Chassidus
12:00 - 1:00 pm
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch and Learn
Lunch & Learn
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SPRING AND SUMMER
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at the mtc
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breakfast following services
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with
SHABBAT
Rabbi Moishe New
please consult www.themtc.com
Friday Evening – times vary
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full Kiddush following services
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2008
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7
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is recognized on our website; in our weekly Mosaic Express and in this magazine. The sponsorship amount is
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Tishrei 7
Shmuel and Chani Gniwisch in honour
of the birthday of Shaina
November 14 Evan and Osnat Feldman in honour
of the birthday of Olivia Raquel
Tishrei 12
of the birthday of Yosef Chaim
November 24 Cola Families in honour of the birthday
of Kimberly Stacey
Tishrei 16
Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Sam Pockrass, of blessed memory
Teves 2
Tishrei 17
Sean, Lorne, Jordan and Aubrey Sztern in honour
of the birthday of Mary Colodny
Teves 3
Tishrei 20
Esther Deutsch in honour of her birthday
Tishrei 21
Rae Slomovic in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Dovid ben Chaim
Tishrei 26
Hershel Zelman in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Zev Zelman, of blessed memory
Cola Families in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Franka Cola, of blessed memory
Teves 18
Frances and Gerald Kessner in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Bessie Miller, of blessed memory
Teves 20
Frank Farkas in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Clara Farkas
Teves 21
of the birthday of Moshe Yisroel
December 5
Steven and Leslie Sonnenstein in honour
of their wedding anniversary
Slomovic Family in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Yakov Yehuda ben Tzvi, of blessed memory
Cheshvan 23 David and Laurie Puterman in honour
of the birthday of Ateret Malka
Cola Families in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. David Cola, of blessed memory
Teves 4
September 16 Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Louis Adler
Cheshvan 7
Cola Families in honour of the birthday
of Edward Israel
December 19 Cola Families in honour of the birthday of Warren Paul
October 13
Michael and Marcia Flinker in honour
of their wedding anniversary
October 15
Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Lee Berdugo Shevat 3
October 22
of Michelle Lindsey
Shevat 14
Howard and Gloria Richman in honour
of the birthday of Mr. Reuben Richman
of the birthday of Roselee Brownstein
Shevat 23
Joey Adler in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Lou Adler, of blessed memory
Shevat 27
of Jennifer Devorah
October 24
Frank Farkas in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. William Farkas
Kislev 3
Barry Schwartz in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Claire Schwartz, of blessed memory
Kislev 14
of Jason Benjamen
January 4
Kislev 17
Barry Schwartz in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Barry Schwartz, of blessed memory
of Adam Joshua
January 31
Kislev 22
David and Laurie Puterman in honour
of the birthday of Ovadia Shalom
Gaby and Sheila Segal and family in honour of
their wedding anniversary
Adar 3
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Gabriella
Adar 7
Corey and Karen Eisenberg in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Stanley Ralph Eisenberg, of blessed memory
Adar 10
Cons Families in honour of the birthday
of David and Victoria
November 5
of Jeremy Samual
November 11 Joey Adler in honour of the birthday
of Fred Berdugo
8
December 21 Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Simon Berdugo
Adar 15
of Laurie's birthday
Adar 22
Hershey and Laurie Goldenblatt in honour of the April 8
yartzeit of Mrs. Sarah Goldenblatt, of blessed memory
April 15
Michael and Elza Hirsch in honour of
Elza's birthday
April 28
Martin Halickman in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Isadore Halickman, of blessed memory
April 25
Adar 22
Adar 26
April 3
Andrew and Ali Kastner in honour
of the birthday of Alexa
Joey Adler in honour of her birthday
Joey Adler in honour of the birthday
of Lou Adler, of blessed memory
Robert and Shari Kahan in honour
of the birthday of Zachary
Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Jarrid Adler
April 24
Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of Lee's birthday
Evan and Osnat Feldman in honour
of the birthday of Benjamin
Sivan 1
Shaya and Tuky Treitel in honour of the yartzeit
of Menashe ben Yitzchok Mayer, of blessed memory
February 21
Evan and Osnat Feldman in honour
of the birthday of Jack Isaac
Sivan 15
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Olivia
Nisan 10
Peter and Marla Veres in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Andre Veres, of blessed memory
Sivan 17
of the birthday of Chaya Mushka
Nisan 11
of the birthday of the Rebbe, of blessed memory
Sivan 21
of the birthday of Yisroel
Nisan 15
Michael and Marcia Flinker in honour of the
yartzeit of Mr. Issie Flinker, of blessed memory
Sivan 22
Ronald Pearl in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Goldie Pearl, of blessed memory
Nisan 17
Philip and Edie Friedman in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Lucy Friedman, of blessed memory
May 6
Mark Lazar in honour of the birthday of Shira Lazar
May 15
Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Sary Berdugo
May 15
Robert and Shari Kahan in honour of the birthday of
Alexander
May 16
Steven and Leslie Sonnenstein in honour of the
yartzeit of Mrs. Katy Sonnesntein, of blessed memory
May 24
Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Joanna Adler
Tamus 12
Hershel Zelman in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Minnie Zelman, of blessed memory
Tamuz 18
Henri Bybelezer in honour of the birthday of Peggy
Tamuz 22
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Samuel
February 3
Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of Vickie's birthday
February 9
Nisan 24
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Shimmy
Nisan 27
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Joelle
March 1
of Samuel Joshua Gilbert
March 1
Robert and Shari Kahan in honour
of the birthday of Samantha
March 8
Michael and Marcia Flinker in honour
of Michael's birthday
March 24
Andrew and Ali Kastner in honour
of the birthday of Blake and Ashley
Iyar 7
Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of the yartzeit June 18
of Mrs. Miriam Satov, of blessed memory
Cola Families in honour of the birthday of Mandy Sara
Iyar 12
Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of the yartzeit July 5
of Mrs. Dorothy Pockrass, of blessed memory
July 8
Julius and Terry Suss in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Marcus Suss, of blessed memory
Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of the birthday of Evan
Iyar 14
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Hannah
Elul 3
Cons Families in honour of the birthday of Joshua
Iyar 16
Martin and Joelle Sacksner in honour of
the yartzeit of Mr. Yaakov Dovid ben Moshe Chaim,
of blessed memory
Elul 10
Shaya and Tuky Treitel in honour of the yartzeit
of Tzivia bas Yekusiel Yehuda, of blessed memory
Elul 12
Iyar 19
Julius and Terry Suss in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Bella Suss, of blessed memory
Stanley and Carole Satov in honour of the yartzeit
of Mr. Richard Satov, of blessed memory
Elul 14
Iyar 20
Hershey and Laurie Goldenblatt in honour
of the yartzeit of Mr. Lester Edward Goldenblatt,
of blessed memory
of the birthday of Stephen
Elul 15
of David's birthday
August 9
of Noah Jacob Berdugo
August 15
Joey Adler in honour of the birthday of Mitchell Adler
August 26
Lee and Vickie Karls in honour of
the birthday of Spencer
Iyar 13
Iyar 23
of the birthday of Yehuda
Iyar 24
George Galambos in honour of the yartzeit
of Mrs. Aniko Galambos, of blessed memory
Kevin and Rozana Ross in honour of the birthday
of Peter and Paul
9
Light in the Darkness of War
by SHULA WEISSFER
A year has passed but First Lieutenant M.
has not forgotten about the activities of Migdal Ohr
which had been discreetly accomplished. With
minor changes, we publish here for the first time
in English, Lieutenant M's written recording of
his experience.
I
remember the two weeks
of near face-to-face combat, the confused orders
and insufficient combat gear,
the intense hunger, physical
and emotional exhaustion and
toughest of all, the selfimposed silence and disassociation with our surroundings.
"Now is not the right time to
complain, but when it is over,"
we thought to ourselves, "when
the air raid sirens stop and we
are out of these fatigues, we can talk and the truth
will be known."
"
I remember the two weeks
of near face-to-face
combat, the confused
orders and insufficient
combat gear, the intense
hunger, physical and
emotional exhaustion.
When the news came that we were receiving a
day off, our hearts soared. We suffered so much
stress and hardship. Where would we go? How
should we take full advantage of this gift?
Rumors begin to circulate that we were going
to some school in Migdal Ha'Emek. "This must be a
joke! Who ordered ten buses to bring us to some
yeshiva with some Rabbi who is just going to try
and brainwash us?"
Then, a few of the guys remembered. "Rabbi
Grossman, that's the Disco Rabbi right? The guys
all give him great respect." But what do they
know? He is still some rabbi.
Tired and emotionally drained, we got off the
buses and stood face to face with an old-world
looking Jew, complete with a white beard,
side locks and long jacket. "So here it comes,"
I thought, "the push to put on tefillin or to say
prayers together. Some day off."
"Boys," the rabbi's words thundered, "I suggest
that first thing you do is take a dip in the pool and
freshen up. In the meantime, we will make you
something to eat."
In amazing simplicity, Rabbi Grossman heard in
passing that the brigade was looking for a home
10
for a day, and he immediately volunteered his
campus. "What's the problem? 600 soldiers? They
should all come, of course we have room!"
With the echoes of war from the battlefield
still in our ears, it seemed like a mirage or hallucination. Soft music came from everywhere and
flowing water and greenery surrounded us. Within
minutes, the tables were set with cold refreshing
watermelon, cakes, and beverages, followed by
cheeses, fresh vegetables, and soft rolls.
Then we heard, "Out of the pool, get dressed
and eat something." We saw piles of new undergarments. 600 new undershirts and underwear
appeared as if out of nowhere, laid out on tables
for our choosing.
Rabbi Grossman sat with us and laughed,
"Have a good time boys! Have a great time!”
I am not a religious person by any means, but
I can't help but envision the first Jew, Avraham,
standing and personally serving his guests perfectly naturally and without the slightest hint of
condescension. He respected each individual and
cared for all their needs. Like Avraham, Rabbi
Grossman saw in this an obvious act of kindness, a
mission of a Mitzvah that had fallen into his hands.
As the evening continued, we learned quickly that
this was the essence of who Rabbi Grossman is
and what he is all about. He loves everyone and
accepts everyone as they are with all his heart
and soul.
"Tell me friends," Rabbi Grossman said, "I heard
you are lacking different pieces of equipment. Do
me a favor. Here is a pencil and paper, just write
down everything you are missing and leave the
paper on the table." That night, we enjoyed the
entertainment and afterwards, slept in soft beds
and air-conditioned rooms.
Like in a fairytale, we awoke in the morning
and could not believe our eyes. Mounds of gear
which we so desperately needed had arrived at
Migdal Ohr. Attached, was a small note from Rabbi
Grossman, "To my dear solders, from all my heart!"
Rabbi Grossman personally and immediately
raised over $60,000 worth of equipment from
friends literally overnight! The essential equipment
included ceramic bulletproof vests, helmets, can-
teens, knee pads, backpack water canteens, night
vision goggles, toothbrushes, socks and more.
Interestingly, a few months before the war broke
out, a special friend of Rabbi Grossman from France
was interested in donating a new Torah scroll to the
main Migdal Ohr Beit Midrash (study hall). For some
reason, Rabbi Grossman requested to postpone the
event until an unspecified later date.
"Now is the right time!" Rabbi Grossman realized. He immediately made arrangements and in
an early evening ceremony, we participated in the
completion of writing the Torah. While the scroll
was carefully laid on the table next to a special pen
and ink, Rabbi Grossman addressed the soldiers.
"My holy ones! I am going to bestow upon you
the merit of a holy mitzvah, which can be considered a once in a life time opportunity. Each one of
you will complete a letter in the Torah scroll. While
you are executing this holy task, each one of you
should pray the prayer of his heart and request
from G-d that the merit of the letter he has completed will protect him in battle. Holy sparks will
emanate from these sacred letters and disperse
around you, creating a protective shield which will
keep you safe and bring you home safely."
After the completion of the Torah, the ceremony continued. Leading the procession was a
decorated car with multi-colored lights strung all
over it and with a crown of lights spinning around
on its roof. Following the car, bearers of a decorated canopy marched while people danced
around it. Under the canopy, others
held the Torah scroll, which was
clothed in white and crimson with a
silver crown at its top.
600 soldiers and thousands of the
town residents marched and danced in
the procession, a loud speaker accompanying them, playing traditional
Jewish music.
As the ceremony came to a close,
Rabbi Grossman approached every
soldier and kissed him while placing a half-shekel
coin in his hand and said "shliach mitzvah aino
nezok," messengers of a mitzvah are not harmed.
Rabbi Grossman concluded, "When you return,
G-d willing, healthy and unharmed, you will fulfill
this mission I am placing upon you, and you will
donate this money to charity."
The night came. Twelve buses made their
way atop the Galilee Mountains. Heavy darkness
engulfed us, yet behind, in the growing distance, a
bright flame pierced the night sky. In the midst of
war and violence, we found love and unending
human compassion at Migdal Ohr, the educational
center established in Migdal Ha'Emek by Rabbi
Yitzchak Dovid Grossman.
Those moments were the most exciting and
emotional ones in my life. Shaking from the intensity of the immeasurable experience, still not
believing, we held the edges of the Torah scroll
while our hearts beat rapidly. There was complete
silence all around. One after the other, we dipped
the quill in the ink and completed a letter in the
Torah scroll.
Rabbi Grossman speaks
A bystander would have seen a breathtaking
scene of incredible elation and spiritual exuberance. The world seemed as if shrouded in silence.
The strings of our heart felt strummed and the
tears flowed freely down our cheeks.
"This was an immense "Kiddush Hashem." For
a long period of time, I cried and was very
emotional." Thus Rabbi Grossman recalled the
moment when he first read the words above
written by First Lieutenant M.
"Mother!" cried one of the soldiers into his cell
phone, "you wont believe what I have done! I have
written a letter in a Torah scroll! Mother, are you
there? Can you hear?! Me, a Shmutznik (a member
of a non- religious Kibbutz), who can't differentiate between Shabbat and the rest of the week, who
has not seen tzizit (ritual garment) in my life. Me,
I wrote a letter in a Torah scroll! I can't believe it.
I can't believe it."
Rabbi Grossman has what to add to the end of
this exciting memoir. "A moment before they
returned to Lebanon, I told the soldiers, 'in the
merit that you said "shema" and put on tefillin,
wrote a letter in the Torah, and are messengers of
a mitzvah, I promise you, that you will all return
safe and sound. None of you will be wounded
or killed.'"
As the ceremony
came to a close,
Rabbi Grossman
approached every
soldier and kissed him.
11
Light in the Darkness of War
(cont’d)
"Wasn't the Rabbi scared to commit to 600
soldiers that they would return home safe and
sound?" asked Shula Weissfer, a journalist. "That is
what came out of my mouth word for word," he
replied. "This was a moment of exuberance."
A group of soldiers
were gathered in an
empty house in a
Lebanese village when
one of them forgetfully
lit a cigarette.
"I continued and told them," Rabbi Grossman
relates, "if this does actually happen that you come
back safely, the first place you must come back to
- before you go home - is Migdal Ohr. We will
thank G-d together and from there we will say
goodbye." I told them, "think of this as an emergency call-up. Do you accept?" The commanding
officer replied in the affirmative.
Two weeks later, around midnight, Rabbi
Grossman received a phone call. "Rabbi, your
blessing has come true!" exclaimed the commander over the phone. "Everyone is safe and we are on
our way to you. We will be there by two o’clock in
the morning."
Rabbi Grossman immediately contacted the
kitchen staff and asked them to prepare a meal
while he worked to organize a band. People asked
him 'You need a band at 2 a.m.? Is Moshiach here?'"
At 2:30 a.m. the soldiers disembarked from the
buses, each one carrying 60 kilo of equipment on
his back. The band started playing music and the
soldiers approached Rabbi Grossman, each one
lovingly received with a hug and a kiss. This
continued for two hours. "I felt as I had never felt
before," recalls Rabbi Grossman. "Each one told me
his personal miracle."
One soldier, a kibbutznik and a lawyer in
civilian life, relayed an incredible miracle. A group
of soldiers were gathered in an empty house in
a Lebanese village when one of them forgetfully lit
a cigarette.
Hezbollah terrorists immediately noticed the
light and fired an anti-tank missile at the house.
Two horses from the village ran in front of the
house and were hit and killed. The missile, deflected by the horses, veered away from the house,
landing elsewhere. Incredibly, the horses miraculously saved the soldiers inside the house.
After the warm reception, the soldiers recited
"birkat hagomel," and together with Rabbi
Grossman, sang and danced until daybreak. "To
this day," says Rabbi Grossman, "we maintain
contact with each soldier and have thus become
one family."
Rabbi Grossman is a recipient of the "Award
of Recognition for his Actions on Behalf of Soldiers
of the Israeli Defense Forces and the Second
Lebanon War"
Meditation
This is what meditation is:
Once you have thoroughly learned a concept and organized
the ideas in your mind, you then try to visualize it.
Once you have visualization, you try to feel the essential life of the thing.
If your mind is completely focused, then the idea will move you until
you are no longer the same self, and your day is no longer the same day.
Then it has become yours.
12
takes great pleasure in inviting you to a
Fabulous
Shavuot Party
celebrating the
FESTIVAL OF THE GIVING OF THE TORAH
Hear the Ten Commandments live !
First Day Yom Tov
Monday, June 9
Services
9:30 am
Reading of the Ten Commandments
10:45 am
followed by
• Special Children’s Program
• Holiday Carnival
• Ice Cream Party & Lunch
13
Sympathies
MTC expresses its deepest sympathies to
The Aslatei family
on the passing of Mr. Carmel Aslatei
The Miller and Keller family
on the passing of Mr. Seymour Miller
The Azoulay family on the passing
of Mr. David Azoulay
The Miller and Singer families
on the passing of Mrs. Rose Singer
The Bell, Chankowsky and Winterstein
families on the passing of Mrs. Annie Bell
The Raicek family on the passing
of Mrs. Pearl Raicek
The Berkowicz and Russ families
on the passing of Mr. Isaac Russ
The Schick family on the passing
of Mr. Mark (Mendel) Schick
Blimes, Eisenberg and Feldman families
on the passing of Mr. Irving Feldman
The Schmerer family on the passing
of Mrs. Fella Schmerer
The Chaim, Litwin and Sheftman families
on the passing of Mrs. Shirley Chaim
The Schmidt and Schwartz families on
the passing of Mrs. Ruth Schmidt
The Cons and Cola families
on the passing of Mrs. Franka Cola
The Schwam family on the passing
of Mr. Benny Schwam
The Dermer family on the passing
of Mr. Harold Dermer
The Schwartz family
on the passing of Mr. Hyman Schwartz
The Garellek and Mann families
on the passing of Mrs. Rose Garellek
The Swift family on the passing
of Mr. Issie (Swifty) Swift
The Goldenblatt and Grossman families
on the passing of Mr. Jack Grossman
The Urman and Zunenshine families
on the passing of Mrs. Nora Zunenshine
The Kurlender and Blumberger families
on the passing of Dr. Steven Blumberger
The Yarofsky and Sanft families
on the passing of Mrs. Elaine Sanft
Landa and Bismuth families on the
passing of Mrs. Esther Bismuth
Lapkovsky Family on the passing
of Mr. Irving Lansky
14
May they be spared further sorrow
and know only of simchas.
Mitchell and Karen Cobrin
on the birth of their daughter Sophie
Mark and Pat Meisels
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Jordan
Jerry and Roslyn Convoy
on the Bar Mitzvah of
their grandson Zev Yehoshua
Yitzchak and Nina Naparstek
on the birth of their
daughter Bassia Devorah
Jeff and Nessa Corber on the
engagement of their
daughter Lauren to Matthew Norris
Howard and Gloria Richman
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Daniel
and the Bat Mitzvah
of their daughter Emily
Shlomo and Adrienne Drazin
on the birth of their son Chanoch Ilan
Yerachmiel and Aliza Galinsky
on the birth of their
daughter Chana Devorah
Berl and Briendy Gansbourg on
the marriage of their
son Nissy to Chani Matasouf
Steve and Alyssa Glazer
on the birth of their daughter Danielle
Pini and Dini Gniwisch
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Leibel
Jonathan and Joanne Gurman
on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Cole
and the Bat Mitzvah of
their daughter Raquel
Donald and Barbara Seal on the birth
of twin boys, Dovid Yakov and Shlomo
Yitzchak to Victor and Eden Avayou
Joey and Sandy Schreter
on the marriage of their
daughter Ellen to Howard Kravitz
Jerry & Helena Sidel on the
engagement of Marissa to Lior
Steven and Leslie Sonnenstein on the
birth of their daughter Katie Ryan
Levy and Kreina Staal
on the birth of their son
Mazeltovs
MTC wishes a hearty Mazeltov to
Elaine Steinberg on the birth of
a grandson Moshe Reuven to
Bracha and Dovid Bettoun
Jeffrey and Jennifer Steinberg on the
birth of their son Jonathan William
Itchy and Zeldie Treitel on the
Bar Mitzvah of their son, Mendel
Rabbi and Nechama New on the
Bar Mitzvah of their son Tzemach
and the marriage of
Rochel to Eli Deitsch
Benzion and Faigie Treitel on the birth
of their son Menachem Mendel
Freddy and Joannie Tansky on
the engagement of their
son Benjamin to Lindsay Reiter
Chaim and Bassie Treitel
on the marriage of
Feigie to Sholom Ber Cohen
15
The Power of Once
by JOANNIE TANSKY
T
hirty-five years ago I married the nicest
Jewish man in the world. We met with the
rabbi on the day of our wedding – under the
chupah. Obviously, it was too late to mention
the word mikvah. In fact he never mentioned it.
I didn’t know about women going to the mikvah
before their wedding day.
My three children grew
up in a warm, loving, elegant
home, in an upscale neighborhood in Montreal. We
celebrated our Judaism on all
the holidays in a one dimensional way – through eating
and reciting some of the
prayers on a literal level, not
knowing that there was a
deeper, richer meaning to
everything that we were
doing. Synagogue figured in
our lives on these occasions,
at weddings, bar mitzvahs
and brises.
To me, it felt as
though I had been
robbed of that part of
When I was 39 my youngest son had his
bar mitzvah. That same year, through a number
of intertwining circumstances, I discovered that
Judaism, Yiddishkeit, belonged to me in a way that
I never dreamed of. It was part of my past, my
present and would figure, although I did not know
it at the time, front and center in my future and
that of my family.
my Jewish womanhood.
I have kept a diary for the past 15 years – a
long time to record what happens in a person’s life.
One day, I will get it organized and put it into a
book. For now though, I would like to share a few
moments in my life.
One day that same year that I wrote the above,
the rabbi came over to me and suggested, very
gently, that perhaps I should consider going to the
mikvah. My situation was that I had had a hysterectomy when I was in my thirties. What, I asked
myself, was the point? I did not have a monthly
cycle, would never experience what I had been
hearing about – the excitement, anticipation and
spiritual renewal that other women had the opportunity to have. I was not opposed to the idea, but
I could not see the benefit of going once in my life.
I held my true feelings in check till I got home.
I was angry at G-d at that point in my life. Not
only did it seem to me that He had held back the
treasures of Judaism till I was forty, it seemed that
I also would never get a chance to experience,
together with my husband, the beautiful and
intimate ritual of mikvah. To me, it felt as though
I had been robbed of that part of my Jewish
womanhood. When I got home that night
I cried bitterly.
When I first entered this Chabad house I sat in the
last chair near the door to make a quick exit. Believe
me, I did not have a clue what was flying here. I was
a secular Jew whose main connection with a rabbi
was on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur with about
1500 other Jews. Not inspiring, I promise you. It has
taken me nearly 3 years to be able to articulate what
I have been feeling for a very long time.
A few weeks passed and the rabbi broached the
subject again. Because of our previous discussion,
I had become more acutely aware of mikvah and
listened more carefully when my friends, who, like
me, were discovering Judaism, spoke about it. They
said they were scared; they voiced their fears as
to how their husbands would react; they said they
did not understand the concept of being ‘unclean’.
Perhaps because it was not going to be a part of
my regular routine, I did not view mikvah the way
they did. I saw it as a privilege, a chance to spend
time with G-d alone, an opportunity to embrace
who I was as a Jewish woman.
The first Shabbos I came here, I was literally
moved to tears. Not from the service, because I was
And so, I agreed to go. The weeks between
the suggestion and my agreeing had allowed my
July 1997
16
totally clued out. But by the Chassidic melodies,
which I had never in my life heard. I still cannot
believe that up till 3 years ago I knew none of these
beautiful, haunting, soulful songs. I tried for a long
time to put into words how I felt about these
nigguns (wordless melodies) and I read something
recently that summed it up perfectly. If I explain it
to you, no matter how brilliantly, you won’t
fully comprehend the experience of eating a
piece of chocolate. But, if I give you a piece to taste,
you will immediately know it. It doesn’t require
an illustration any more. Chassidic niggunim go
straight to the heart bypassing the intellect…
anger with G-d to dissipate and given me time to
reflect and learn, more in depth, about the mitzvah
of mikvah.
I spoke with my husband and he agreed with
me. It was something that we had to do as a
couple - for ourselves, for our children and for
our grandchildren.
I did the preparation as any woman would,
even though I did not, as stated above, go through
my cycle. Finally it was time to go. My anticipation was at a heightened level. I had read an
exquisite book called Total Immersion by Rivkah
Slonim, about, amongst other stories, the sacrifices
that women had made, in the not so distant past,
to go the mikvah. I felt honored, fortunate, scared,
and unsure. I also felt part of a chain, a link in the
history of Jewish women.
Every woman who goes to the mikvah has
a different emotional experience. Some feel very
little, some feel very spiritual, some in between.
While immersed in the mikvah, as well as when
one lights Shabbos candles, one can pray to
Hashem - for anything. The gates of Heaven are
open for those few precious moments.
When I finally went, I forgot to pray, instead
concentrating very hard on immersing myself
completely, from my toes to every strand of hair on
my head. The water seemed to wash away the
anger I had once felt. My tears mixed with the
water in the mikvah in thankfulness to G-d for
bestowing upon me being born of Jewish parents,
for bringing me to this moment.
I recently read an article by Rivkah Slonim. This
part of the article describes, beautifully, why one
should go, even once to the mivkah.
For the postmenopausal woman, one final
immersion in the mikvah offers purity for the rest
of her life. Even a woman who has never used the
mikvah before should make a special effort to
immerse after menopause (it is never too late
for a woman to do this even if many years have
elapsed since her menopause), thus allowing for all
subsequent intimacies to be divinely blessed.
The single greatest gift granted by G-d to
humankind is teshuvah – the possibility of returnto start anew and wash away the past. Teshuvah
allows man to rise above the limitations imposed
by time and makes it possible to affect our life
retroactively. A single immersion in the mikvah
late in life may appear insignificant to some, a
quick and insignificant act. Yet coupled with
dedication and awe, it is a monumental feat; it
brings purity and its regenerative power not only to
the present and future
but even to one's past…
It seems easy for
me. I went once and it’s
over. If one is younger,
still having their cycle,
mikvah plays a central
role in their lives.
I wrote this in 2002:
Faith is a word that
always existed in my
lexicon. Ten years ago faith meant, for example
that I knew that the sun would rise in the morning
and set in the evening. But the concept of faith as
it applied on a personal level was distant from me.
Truthfully, I didn’t even know to need faith. Things
transpired in my life and I coped or didn’t. What
was there to have faith in?
Faith, as I have learned, means devotion. Not in
the sense that I blindly follow, like a robot. Not, as
many say, oh, you found the ‘faith’. Faith as a noun
is static. But as a verb it is constantly growing.
Faith comes from my essence. It’s who I am and it
was always there.
Things transpired
in my life and I coped
or didn’t. What was
there to have faith in?
No – one minute I have to go and think about
that. No – I don’t like this part I only like the other
parts. No – it wasn’t supposed to be this way so
I’ll rethink the whole thing. It means absolute,
unwavering commitment. It means that G-d has
given me a gift and He would be so, so happy if
I opened it.
Today I have begun to understand about G-d
on my simple level, in a way that He has enabled
me to. I have learned that not only does He
need me, He put me here with all of His attention
and love. The reason He created the world and put
me into it, as a Jew no less, is to intensify and
speed up a time when the world will not only
believe that there is a G-d, but they will actually
feel His presence.
17
The Power of Once
(cont’d)
But sometimes, perhaps
once in a lifetime,
one should open
the gift simply because
of who it came from.
Mikvah is a personal bequest from G-d to
Jewish women. When receiving a gift one has a
choice - open it or leave it closed for a while,
until…until one is ready to see what’s inside. But
sometimes, perhaps once in a lifetime, one should
open the gift simply because of who it came from.
No matter what’s inside.
Mikvah is a gift to yourself, to your husband, to
your children, their children, their children and
so on until the time when the world will be what
G-d desires it to be – free of illness, of suffering, a
world of peace and harmony. Knowing that
observing the mitzvah of mikvah will bring the
world closer to this day is extraordinary. Knowing
that I can be a part of it is incredible. And finally,
the benefits in this world are the icing on the cake.
during the evening he kept repeating the same
question - what would happen to the world if the
Jews disappeared. Finally, toward the end of the
evening he answered the question. “The world
would be a riddle with no answer.” Through the
Torah, the Jews hold the answer to life. And it is
the Jewish woman who holds the key tocontinuity
for it is the mother, not the father, who determines
if a child is Jewish.
Mikvah is like a soft, wordless Chassidic
melody, going straight to the heart, bypassing the
intellect. What a wondrous, remarkable place our
world would be if every Jewish woman sang one
song, with one voice. May we merit this moment
without delay.
I recently attended a lecture by Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz. His talk was on Jewish continuity. All
Post-Sinai
Before Mount Sinai, when the Torah was given to us by G-d, there was earth
and there was heaven. If you wanted one, you were obliged to abandon the other.
At Sinai, the boundaries of heaven and earth were breached
and Man was empowered to fuse the two: To raise the earthly into
the realm of the spirit, and to bring heaven down to earth.
Before Mount Sinai, the coarse material of which the world
is made could not be elevated. It could be used as a medium, an aid
in achieving enlightenment, but it itself could not be enlightened.
The spirit was raised, but the earth remained dark.
At Sinai we were empowered to take physical objects
and transform it them into spiritual artifacts.
Our forefathers task was to enlighten the souls of men.
Ours is to transform the material darkness into light.
18
Day Camp!
Now Registering
FOR SUMMER 2008
for boys & girls
ages 2 1/2 - 4
July 1 - August 15
Nechama New, Camp Director
www.themtc.com
514.739.0770 #258
limited space
19
MTC Moments
20
21
America Goes Kosher
by YANIV HALILI
M
adonna drinks Canaan wine, Paris Hilton
orders kosher steaks, Bono eats sushi
under the supervision of the Beth Din,
Donald Trump holds his meetings at one of
Manhattan's kosher restaurants - and everyone
burns calories to the tunes of Sarit Haddad and
Eyal Golan. Kosher is trendy in the USA.
When the queen of pop, Madonna, hears Sarit
Haddad sing, it's hard for her to constrain
her excitement. It happens about once a
week at the restaurant Prime Grill, where
Madonna eats her weekly glatt kosher
meal. The patrons eat to the sounds of Sarit
Haddad and Shlomi Shabbat, while
Madonna explains to her adopted son David that one can eat a
cow, not only play with it.
It happens about once a
week at the restaurant
Prime Grill, where
Madonna eats her weekly
glatt kosher meal.
22
too. Even Hollywood is slowly turning kosher: the
current most popular restaurant is a kosher meat
and sushi bar where paparazzi photographers have
a permanent place at the entrance.
Kosher Buddhism
Until recently, the words "kosher food" would
have the average person running away rather than
meet the dubious culinary experience. These days
the two words mean prosperity. In Manhattan,
kosher Chinese, French, Japanese, Indian and
Iranian restaurants have opened. There is even a
kosher Buddhist restaurant - indeed, Buddha spent
his youth in a yeshiva.
This latest American trend has
celebrities enquiring about the
coveted kashrut seal before letting
a morsel of food touch their
mouths. Apart from Madonna (who
has a private room at the Prime Grill), many
others are rushing around in search of steaks from
cows that were slaughtered under the supervision
of a rabbi.
In the last decade, kosher food sales in
American supermarkets have reached a growth
rate of 15 percent as opposed to a four percent
growth rate for food that is not kosher. Eleven
million Americans buy kosher food, and they are
responsible for a yearly turnover of $9 billion.
What's interesting in all this data is that there are
only just over six million Jews in America and even
fewer keep kosher. Slowly but surely the kosher
food market is being taken over by non-Jewish
Americans who are on the lookout for kosher food
that is not just gefilte fish and matza.
The steaks at the Prime Grill in Hollywood
breathed a sigh of relief when Paris Hilton was
incarcerated and the prison authorities refused to
allow a special delivery of kosher food to her cell.
It's not clear what attracts Hilton to kosher food;
but what is clear is her being responsible for
making kosher food very trendy among Hollywood
youth. And, as for its popularity amongst business
men, credit can be given to Donald Trump and
Steven Spielberg.
So, have the gentiles finally realized that
Judaism is cool? Not necessarily so. In a recent
survey carried out by Mintel International, 55
percent of kosher food consumers do so because
they believe that kosher food is healthier, not
due to religious reasons. The health merits
attached to the kashrut seal are welcomed by
mouths wide open: this last year Americans have
had to swallow avian flu, mass poisoning and
E.Coli bacteria.
A not very trendy 3300 years late, Americans
are discovering that kosher food is both healthy
and spiritual. The subject is complex, but it is
encouraging to realize that we were right all
these years and that it was worth insisting on
manna in the desert. New kosher restaurants are
opening all the time in big cities throughout the
United States, offering dishes that have not
been boiled to death. Kosher products are finding
themselves on supermarket shelves and major
producers in the dairy industry are strict about
having the kosher stamp on their product labels,
knowing that the "gentiles" want kosher products
The American Health Department's statistics
are scary: 76 million people - one in four
Americans - suffer each year from diseases caused
by spoiled food. As the numbers of diseases rise, so
does people's awareness and conscious consumers
are on the look out for alternatives.
Kosher food is popular mostly amongst health
food fans and strict vegetarians who can eat at a
dairy restaurant and be sure that no suspicious
pieces of meat will find their way into their plates
and that they won't meet chunks of smoked bacon
in their salads.
Americans like the fact that kosher food is
prepared under the watchful eyes of supervisors,
often more than one, and kosher restaurants in
Manhattan are proud to announce that "all the
food here is prepared under strict supervision".
This impresses the customers, even if the watchful
eyes are those of a kashrut supervisor who is only
making sure that the dairy and meat utensils stay
separate from each other.
A survey published just before Independence
Day shows that Hebrew National sausages made of
100 percent beef is the highest selling brand in
America. Muslims and Christians too are among
Americans who eat kosher food. Certain Christian
groups follow a diet that is prepared "in the spirit
of the Bible."
Kosher restaurants have exchanged the image
of gefilte fish and matza to a more exclusive,
trendy image of good food. David Deutsch, the
editor of the satirical Jewish magazine "Heeb",
says that each time he goes to a kosher restaurant
he sees more and more non-Jews. "People who
don't keep kosher can choose to eat anywhere,
but they ‘davka’ - purposely choose the kosher
restaurants," says Deutsch. "Sometimes I bump
into owners of non-kosher restaurants eating
at kosher restaurants. Maybe they're spying or
maybe they're just curious to know what the buzz
is all about."
And for dessert Eyal Golan
The kosher trend in New York got a big push
last year when Madonna arrived in the city for
her Confessions tour. After each show, she packed
up her dancers and musicians and took them all
to the Prime Grill for a steak. These intimate
gatherings got a lot of coverage by the local press
and the fashion police raised an eyebrow at the
relatively unknown establishment that Madonna
chose to eat and party at. Madonna doesn't come
to this restaurant only for its food; the owners
play Israeli music and are sure that the songs
of Sarit Haddad will make the desserts taste
even sweeter. Madonna finds it hard to contain
her excitement.
Madonna is a sure bet for kosher food, but a
rather more unexpected personality who has
found her happiness in kosher land is Paris Hilton.
The idea that the young heiress finds solace in
something that is not studded with diamonds
has young Hollywood girls rushing to the Prime
Grill in Beverly Hills. The tabloids and entertainment TV shows were amazed when Hilton chose
to celebrate her birthday at the kosher sushi and
meat bar. She invited 40 of her closest
friends, but 200 guests showed up.
"She loves our sushi", admits the
owner. "Before her birthday
she asked us to prepare a
lot of sushi, but she was
most concerned about us
baking a cake for her."
Even now, from the
heights of the garbage
dumps she's in, Hilton doesn't
forget where she came from and
who fed her. Although her plea to
bring kosher catering to her jail cell didn't
come through, recently during the embarrassing fiasco when she was under house
arrest, she celebrated her temporary freedom
feasting on kosher catering.
But even the huge amounts of kosher food
that are going into Hilton's mouth still don't
qualify it as trendy. So Sasha Baron-Cohen
("Borat") steps in to help. The English star probably
leaves half his monthly salary at the Prime Grill.
Baron-Cohen is seen so often at the Hollywood
branch of the Prime Grill that the sight of a fork
is rarer.
"Sasha eats only kosher food, so he has no
choice", says the owner. "He loves steaks and
eats a lot, often complementing his meals with
expensive, kosher Israeli wine. He celebrated his
Oscar nomination here with his fiancée and a few
friends. But for Sasha, a meal is not a meal if it
doesn't have Eyal Golan, Kobi Peretz or Shlomi
Shabbat singing in the background. He says these
songs remind him of Tel Aviv."
These intimate
gatherings got a lot
of coverage by the local
press and the fashion
police raised an eyebrow...
Signing deals over steaks
The celebrity-watch website TMZ.com reported
that Donald Trump has connected to his lost roots,
and not the roots of his hair: Trump has turned the
Manhattan kosher restaurant Solo into his boardroom. Bono also pops in from time to time, and
when he's not snacking on flies in Africa, he keeps
to his ideals and eats only kosher or organic. When
23
America Goes Kosher
(cont’d)
he dines at Solo he insists on ordering the salmon
in miso and at the Prime Rib he eats kosher sushi.
It's like a closed
family where people
want to peep inside
and see the beauty.
But, in spite of the star dust being sprinkled
over kosher foods, some claim that making kosher
trendy is not a kosher thing to do. Most in the
Jewish community are not swayed by star dust
and are against turning Judaism into "a modern,
trendy cult," says one of the heads of the rabbinical committee in America, who choose to ignore
the phenomenon. "This is just a fashion that
will soon disappear", he says. "Everything Jewish
is suddenly popular, but after the noise has
quietened down and the storm has passed, only
the core will remain, but anyway, the core is what's
important in Judaism."
There are also some who understand that the
phenomenon is typical of the American society,
which adopts a new ritual every 15 minutes,
heralds it as the new king and discards it when the
next trend starts to bloom. "Obviously Madonna
has played her part in making kosher trendy, but
there is a wider issue of self-searching at hand,"
says David Deutsch. "After Scientology and
Buddhism, it's now Judaism's turn. Judaism has
been around for a long time and that makes people
ask how it's managed to last so long and
wonder what its secret can be. It's like a closed
family where people want to peep inside and see
the beauty."
But why kosher food now?
"The kosher trend fits in with modern life. Like
the Kabbalah, it combines the old with the new.
Kosher food meets spirituality and health in one
plate, and that's what people are looking or today:
a little spirituality with an everyday practicality.
Add to that the celeb quality and the fact that
Hollywood has many famous Jews that people
want to imitate. It's very easy being Jewish in
America today."
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24
The Torch-Lighter
A
s a child, I would sit for hours listening to
my great-grandmother’s stories of her
childhood. The one story that I explicitly
remember is the one about the “torch-lighter”; the
man who, every night, after the sun had set, would
take a torch and light all the street lamps where
she lived. I vividly recall my great-grandmother’s
description of the enveloping darkness of the night
and how this one man’s small, insignificant flame
would light up the town.
Having being raised in the internet-obsessed,
fast-food frenzied generation, where life without
modern technology is incomprehensible, I found
this concept puzzling; how can one man have
the time and patience to light every single street
lamp in a town? How did this one flame, which
is capable of being extinguished by a gust of wind
or sudden downpour, illuminate the darkness of
the night?
After a recent encounter, I finally found my
answer.
One evening, I met a twenty-four year old boy
at a mutual friend’s house. As our conversation
progressed, he began to ask me about my religious
background. I related to him my general level
of Torah observance, and his immediate response
was his own lack of faith in G-d. Having
been raised in a family with close ties to Chabad,
I needed to find out why he felt this way. He then
recounted the following:
His grandfather was known to be a righteous,
Torah-observant and God-fearing Jew. He was
dedicated to both his family and community and
lived his life selflessly and generously. However,
after a lifetime of monetary success, excellent
health and religious devotion, at the age of eightyfive his grandfather suddenly became very ill and
suffered for five years before passing away. Having
completed this account of his grandfather’s life,
this young man turned to me, looked me straight
in the eye and asked:
“My grandfather committed his life to Torah,
and G-d repaid him with five years of sickness and
misery. How can I believe in a G-d who can punish
such an amazing person?”
of faith in G-d, but seeks answers from Him; he
denies His ways but still questions them at the
same time. And then it hit me: this young man isn’t
lacking faith in G-d, he is only trying to find a
logical explanation for how
He runs the world. He doesn’t
renounce God’s mastery of
the Universe, but struggles
with his grandfather’s passing because he believes in
Him more than anything.
by ILANA CHERNACK
As I sat there, my mind
racing with thoughts, I replied; “Your grandfather was
blessed with eighty-five years
of success, health and happiness and only five years of
suffering... more than most
could ever dream of. Don’t
you think that that was his
reward for a life devoted to G-d and the Torah?”
He looked away and replied, “I never thought of it
that way.” Three days later I received the following
message via facebook;
“Hey you! Shavoua Tov! I wanted to thank you
for your help in making me understand some stuff
in the religion! You know, after talking with you
Thursday night, I decided to go to the synagogue
today...so I went to Chabad and I enjoyed it! It was
great meeting you! Hope to keep in touch.”
After receiving this message, I read it over and
over again. I was shocked not only by the way in
which this young man responded to our discussion, but the way in which he inspired me as a Jew.
After receiving
this message,
I read it over
and over again.
And, only after I received this boy’s message,
did I finally understand the message behind my
great-grandmother’s story…
The same way the “torch-lighter” ignited the
street lamps, I too took that G-d-given torch,
sparked a soul, and began to light up the darkness
that surrounds us. We are all given the gift to
rekindle the souls of our brothers and sisters.
Now, it is the time for us to all become “torchlighters”… to take that God-given gift
and to illuminate the last vestiges of darkness in
the world.
As he attempted to drive home his point, I had
to smile inwardly. This young man stresses his lack
25
Pre-School
open for registration
2008-2009
Pre-School
Ages 2 - 4 years old
School opens
Wednesday, September 3
Please call Nechama New, School Director, to register or
for an appointment - 514.739.0770 #258
26
27
Around our Table
Carp Fish Cakes with Citrus "Tartar" Sauce
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
For sauce
1
cup mayonnaise
4
teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
(from 2 lemons)
1
tablespoon finely grated orange zest
(from 1 orange)
1
tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1
tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch sugar
Sauce
For fish cakes
2
pounds carp fillets, skinned and cut
into 2-inch pieces
1
medium onion, finely chopped
2
tablespoons chopped cilantro – optional
1
tablespoon mayonnaise
1
egg, beaten
2
tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2
tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup matzoh meal or grated, boiled potato
1
teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup or more vegetable oil (for frying)
1
tablespoon sea salt
In medium bowl, stir together all ingredients.
Cover and chill.
Fish cakes
Line large baking sheet with waxed paper.
Working in 2 batches, in food processor pulse
carp until coarsely ground (do not purée to
paste). Transfer to large bowl and add onion,
cilantro, mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice, and
orange juice. Mix gently until well blended, then
add matzoh meal, salt, and pepper and mix
gently until incorporated.
Using wet hands, roll mixture into 1 1/4-inchdiameter balls and press into 1/2-inch-thick
patties. Arrange on baking sheet with additional
waxed paper between each layer of patties.
Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to
4 hours.
In large heavy skillet over high heat, heat 1/4
inch oil. Working in batches of 5 and adding
more oil as needed, fry patties until brown,
about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper
towels and sprinkle with sea salt while still hot.
Serve warm with sauce.
Red Cabbage Salad
28
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
1
1
2
1-2
1/2
1/2
1/2
Saute cabbage, onion, and apple in oil until
somewhat softened (about 10 minutes).
medium red cabbage, coarsely shredded
large onion, coarsely diced
green apples with peel , chopped
Tbsp. oil
cup red wine vinegar or lemon juice
cup sugar
cup water
salt and white pepper to taste
Add the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer covered for one hour. Refrigerate.
Roasted Pepper Salad
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
4
4
1
2
2
1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the
peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet; bake until
skins are blackened on all sides, about 20
minutes. Remove from oven and place peppers
in paper bag; seal and set aside at least 15
minutes. Peel off the skins, remove the stems
and seeds, and cut into 1-inch pieces.
large green bell peppers
medium tomatoes, diced
tablespoon olive oil
teaspoons lemon juice
cloves garlic, minced (optional)
teaspoon paprika
Salt to taste
Combine peppers with remaining ingredients;
mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.
Pecan Praline Squares
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
5
egg yolks, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups brown sugar, packed or white sugar
(divided)
1
teaspoon vanilla (optional)
6
egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
8
ounces pecans, lightly toasted,
coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1
teaspoon potato starch
1
tablespoon strong brewed coffee
In electric mixer, beat egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, and
vanilla until ribbon forms when beaters are
lifted. In another bowl, beat egg whites and salt
until stiff but not dry. Gently fold pecans, cinnamon and 1/3 of the whites into yolk mixture.
Fold yolk mixture back into whites. Pour batter
into 9-inch square baking pan, lined with parchment and well greased. Smooth top.
Bake at 325° for 30 to 40 minutes, until tester
comes out clean. Turn oven off. Run knife
around edge to loosen. Let stand in oven 15
minutes, with door slightly open. Then cool on
rack. Invert on rack and remove parchment.
Re-invert onto platter.
In small saucepan, mix remaining sugar and
potato starch. Stir in coffee. Cook and stir until
thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat;
stir to dissipate foam. Drizzle hot glaze over top
of pecan praline. Let stand until firm. Cut into
16 pieces.
29
You are warmly invited to
mtc’s
Family Shabbaton
with
guest speaker
RABBI YISROEL HABER
Chabad shliach to the Golan Heights
Israel's North
AN INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE
Friday, May 23
mincha 6:35 pm
candle lighting and services 7:00 pm
followed by dinner
special children’s menu and program
paid rsvp before May 20 $45 children $20
after $55, children $25
rsvp 514.739.0770 or www.themtc.com
30
An Orthodox Lawmaker
W
hen Jason Bedrick was considering a run
for state representative, an incumbent
legislator encouraged him to shave his
beard. Bedrick refused.
"I said the beard is off-limits, and that's not the
half of it," Bedrick said.
Bedrick, an Orthodox Jew, said he wouldn't
enter churches. He wouldn't campaign at the
transfer station on Saturdays. And he wouldn't
shake hands with women. His friend said he didn't
know how Bedrick could win.
"To not shake hands with half your constituents, that would qualify me as a disabled
politician," Bedrick said.
In 2006, Bedrick, a Windham Republican, eked
out a six-vote victory to become the first Orthodox
Jew elected to the New Hampshire State House.
Since then, Bedrick, 24, with his beard and a
black velvet yarmulke, or skull cap, has established
himself as a studious and often quiet conservative
legislator with an interest in education. He still
won't shake hands with women or work on
Saturdays. And he has welcomed his role as
unofficial Jewish ambassador. "The Jewish faith
has outward signs of being Jewish to improve your
behavior," Bedrick said. "If I walk in with a beard
and yarmulke, I represent something... I need to
constantly study to know what I'm talking about,
to avoid foul language, gossip, negative talk
about people. You have to always be on your best
behavior to make sure you're a good and proper
representative of your faith."
Bedrick grew up secular, a fourth-generation
New Hampshire resident. His great-grandfather
came from Russia and settled in Nashua, where
Bedrick's father, Mark, had his bar mitzvah at a
Conservative synagogue. Bedrick's mother was
Catholic and converted to Judaism.
The family celebrated both Hanukkah and
Christmas. Jason Bedrick said that one year he
decided to fast on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of
the Jewish calendar, and his mother brought home
food from McDonald's. Bedrick's parents taught
their three sons about Jewish history and culture,
but they kept no religious rituals.
"We taught our children basically a belief in the
Ten Commandments, to respect all people and all
religions and all religious beliefs, and even if the
person didn't have religious beliefs, you respect
everyone as an individual," Mark Bedrick said.
Bedrick attended public school for
eight years, then switched to Bishop
Guertin, a Catholic high school in
Nashua, believing that the education
was better. Attending Catholic school
forced Bedrick to confront his own
faith. He taught himself Hebrew. He
surfed the internet, trying to learn
about all religions. He started an
interfaith club. And he won a religious
studies award for "the student who
best understands the Christian message presented
in the classroom."
"In conversation with anybody, even some of
the Catholic priests, he would know more on a
subject than they would," Mark Bedrick said.
"Because he was an avid reader, if there was
something he didn't know, he would research
it and read about it, from a lot of different
perspectives."
But it was at Babson College, a Massachusetts
business school, that Bedrick's path toward both
Orthodox Judaism and political activism was set.
by SHIRA SCHOENBERG
Reprinted from Concord Monitor
Rep. Jason Bedrick talks with fellow
legislators last month.
Bedrick grew up secular,
a fourth-generation
New Hampshire resident.
Rabbi reaches out
Bedrick had long been interested in school
choice, supporting education vouchers and charter
schools. For a college political science class, he
wrote a paper about education in New Hampshire.
While in college, he ran for state representative as
an independent, with little hope of winning, to
raise the issue of school choice.
Bedrick was also a senior editor for the college
newspaper, the Babson Free Press. It was that
position that led him to Rabbi Moshe Bleich,
director of the Wellesley Weston Chabad House.
Bleich is part of Chabad-Lubavitch, an international Orthodox Jewish outreach organization the
promotes Judaism to Jews of all levels of religious
observance. Bleich and his wife invite local college
students to Jewish programs, classes and Sabbath
meals in their home.
31
Lawmaker
(cont’d)
Bleich sought out Bedrick after seeing a
pro-Israel article Bedrick had written for the
newspaper. "I invited him for Shabbat dinner
because of the article," Bleich said. "I wanted to
meet him, and one thing led to another."
Bedrick grew close to Bleich's family and
started visiting for the Sabbath and holidays. He
started reading about Judaism and asking Bleich
questions. "He really put the pedal to the metal
when it came to studying. He was obviously
searching for something," Bleich said.
"How many people
get elected? How many
people become religious?",
Bleich said. "It's a very
small percentage."
The turning point in Bedrick's observance was
when he took a trip to Israel with other college
students. Bedrick decided that while in Israel, he
would wear a yarmulke. He
saw his tour guide wearing
tzitzit, a ritual garment with
fringes that Orthodox men
wear under their shirt.
"I thought it was an amazing
concept, this garment my
people have been wearing for
years, to remind you to keep
the commandments," Bedrick
said. So he bought a pair.
On the plane ride home,
Bedrick began to reconsider
his intentions to remove the
yarmulke and tzitzit. "I thought,
'I'm Jewish in Israel, but not
America?' This is my identity."
He kept the clothing and became one of two
Babson College students to wear a yarmulke,
Bleich said. Bedrick had already given up eating
pork and shellfish, and now he started adhering
more fully to the kosher dietary laws. He did not
eat milk and meat at the same meal. He started
walking to the rabbi's house on Friday night, since
observant Jews do not drive on the Sabbath. After
college, he returned to Israel for the summer.
His observance even surprised his rabbi. At the
time, Bleich said, Bedrick's ambitions of public
office and his religious observance were both
"pipe dreams."
"How many people get elected? How many
people become religious?", Bleich said. "It's a very
small percentage."
32
No glad-handing
After graduation, Bedrick worked in his
parents' furniture business for six months, then
decided to go to a yeshiva, a religious school, in
New York to learn more about Judaism.
While Bedrick was studying, a friend in the
Legislature called and asked him to run again, this
time as a Republican. As a student, with no family
to support, Bedrick said, "I know if I was going
to do it, this was the time. I figured if I win, great.
If I lose, I go back to yeshiva."
Bedrick returned to New Hampshire in August,
facing a September primary. As a newly observant Jew, he found himself
back in a state that has two
Chabad centers and no other
year-round Orthodox synagogue. There are about 10,000
Jews in the state, according
to national Jewish organizations. But just "a handful
of families" are Orthodox,
said Rabbi Levi Krinsky,
director of a Manchester
Chabad center.
The most challenging law
during the campaign was that
prohibiting contact between
unmarried men and women.
"You already look weird because it's not common to have beards, then you
say I'd like you to vote for me but I can't shake your
hand," Bedrick said. He learned to knock on doors
with his hands full, and when a woman extended
her hand, he handed her a pamphlet.
When members of the Salem Women's Club
were offended by the practice, he sent the club
an e-mail explaining his religious principles. He
stressed that Judaism sees men and women as
equals, and the laws were out of respect. "I can
compromise on policy but not on principles,"
Bedrick told them. The president of the club
started campaigning for him. Bedrick won the
primary by 19 votes. In the general election,
he finished 13th out of 17 candidates, making
the cut between the winners and the losers by
six votes.
Since coming to Concord, Bedrick has had to
explain the restrictions again to fellow legislators.
"If I haven't seen him in awhile, I can't give him
a hug because he's not allowed to," said Rep.
Marilinda Garcia, a Salem Republican. "I'm Italian,
so that's a big thing for me." Bedrick sits in front of
her, and she has to remember not to poke him to
get his attention. But Garcia said she understands.
"It's somewhat obvious that he's strictly religious,
so he'd explain that it's a religious practice and it's
fine... I admire the discipline."
Political identity
Bedrick also faces other challenges. A lot of
State House business is done in the dining room,
the Barley House, or Capitol Grille - none of which
serve kosher food. Bedrick
has started walking into
restaurants with a bright
red lunch bag. "It's intentional, so it's obvious that
I'm not eating their food,"
he said. Waiters and colleagues have been understanding, he said.
relationship with. "All it's done is to increase my
admiration," Elliott said. "To live out his faith
requires a great deal of motivation, faith and
discipline... He's a role model for people to admire,
even if they're not of the Jewish faith."
Bedrick does not deny that his religious views
affect his politics. "A person's politics expresses
their deeply held beliefs, and a person's religion
is a deeply held belief," he said. "I won't ban
pork, but has it affected my views on justice
and fairness? I believe it has." One bill Bedrick
sponsored relates to a law that only an "ordained
minister of the gospel" or "non-ordained clergy"
can perform marriages. A statute had singled out
rabbis and Quakers as an exception, allowing them
to perform marriages, and Bedrick's bill would
expand that exception to
all faiths.
With no synagogue in
Windham, Bedrick generally
leaves for the Sabbath, and
stays overnight at the
Chabad house in Wellesley,
Mass. He sometimes attends
prayers and classes at the Chabad in Manchester.
When the Legislature is not in session, he studies
at a religious school in New Jersey.
But his opinions are
not limited to religious
issues. He advocates limited
government. He endorsed
Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, in the
presidential primary, citing
Huckabee's emphasis on a
"culture of life," his freemarket ideas, his willingness to take on health
care and education, and
his executive experience.
Bedrick's main issue remains school choice, and he
sponsored a bill that would allow high school
seniors to spend a year at a community college.
His colleagues often ask him questions:
Does kosher mean blessed by a rabbi? (No.) Do
Jews believe Jesus was a prophet? (No.) Do Jews
think everyone who is not Jewish is going to hell?
(No again.)
Bedrick does not plan to run for another term.
Instead, he will spend another year at a religious
school while applying to law school. While he
enjoys politics, he ultimately needs to earn a living,
he said.
State Rep. Bob Elliott, a Salem Republican and
retired Methodist minister, said Bedrick invited him
to a family Sabbath dinner. The two often discuss
theology. "The biggest difference is in how we look
at the historical figure of Jesus, but some of his
practices are the origin of some of the beliefs in
the Christian faith," Elliott said.
What does Bedrick think about his legacy as
the only Orthodox Jew to serve in the Legislature?
"It's an interesting historic footnote," he said. But
he pointed out that other non-Orthodox Jews have
served. "A Jew is a Jew," he said. "If you're Jewish,
you're as Jewish as Moses."
“He's a role model
for people to admire,
even if they're not
of the Jewish faith."
Elliott, 76, said Bedrick is the first Orthodox Jew
he has ever had both a friendship and working
33
Summer in Brandeis University
by ALISHA NATTAN LENETSKY
In the beginning of
each session of our course
our teachers asked us to
go around the room doing
a check-in, everyone
shares something new
or interesting that
they had learnt.
34
ast summer I attended a program called
Genesis at Brandeis University for Jewish
teenagers from all around the world.
Genesis is a program where fifty teenagers build a
community through Jewish roots and practices but
in a pluralistic environment, meaning that no one
practice of Judaism is privileged over another.
Genesis is not a camp; a participant’s time is spent
taking various courses of his/her choice in a
vibrant learning environment, in which participants share and learn from each other.
L
The spirit was also in a dimension of its own; it
seemed to unify us in a way we may not have been
religiously or socially. One night I and four boys
were standing arms around shoulders singing the
well known song ‘hinei matov u’manim.’ Within
two minutes the size had increased to all the
participants in a wild and Chasidic way of dancing!
Almost everyday we continued singing and
dancing together in the dorm hallway or simply
talking about Torah concepts in the lounge; we
came together as a community.
You may wonder why a strictly observant boy
would want to spend his time in a place that is
not exclusively religious. I had initially also
asked myself this question, but after experiencing
this great program I realized that this question
isn’t relevant.
Shabbat at Genesis was something special,
different customs, ways of making Kiddush, songs
etc. All the participants, from varying Jewish
denominations were involved in planning Shabbat
and together we built a unique community. As
well, for three Shabbosim, a growing group walked
to the Chabad house to farbreng with Rabbi Peretz
Chein. Going to the Chabad house was an experience a lot of the participants have never been
exposed to. They loved the freedom to talk about
what’s on their mind, ask questions and learn new
songs or niggunim. One girl’s experience regarding
the Chabad House was especially inspiring. In
the beginning of each session of our course our
teachers asked us to go around the room doing a
check-in, where everyone shares something new
or interesting that they had learnt. When it was
this girl’s turn to speak, she said “Last Shabbat was
the first time I ever went to a Chabad house and
my first time attending a farbrengen. It was also
the first time I felt really Jewish”.
Learning about other practices of Judaism, as
well as other religions, empowers one with a
greater ability to reflect on one’s own practices. As
well, Harav Moshe New and Rav Zalman and the
teachings of our great Rebbe armed me with the
strength to inspire and set an example of how a
chosid thinks and lives his everyday life, as well as
the wisdom to learn from others and be openminded without abandoning my own beliefs and
practices. I also felt I could learn to be a better
leader by understanding others.
Genesis was the first time I had really taken on
the role of a Jewish leader, without being able to
consult with Rabbi New or Rav Zalman as the need
arose. One day after coming back from our daily
Minyan, a boy who during the school year is accustomed to putting on Tefilin, asked me if he could
put mine on. Obviously I said yes, and two minutes
later all the boys in the program ended up in my
room donning Tefillin. Four out of the twenty boys
who put on Tefilin had never put them on in their
life; I was shocked. I later learnt that the Reform
movement, at its very beginnings had decided
that Tefilin, Tzitzit and kipah were outdated
practices, but today many Temples have decided
that Kipah and Tzitzit are necessary for leading
prayer services.
In the end I hope I influenced others to
view deep religious commitment in a new and
inspiring way.
We should all merit seeing the days of
Moshiach.
35
The Existential Exodus
by TZVI FREEMAN
E
any other I but me, or any of this world existing
without my "I".
To be enslaved you must be human. A
computer is not a slave. Animals are not slaves.
Human beings can be slaves because a human
is a master. A human
is essentially free. So
free, that for the
human being to exist
is to be imprisoned.
It is not something you grow out of. You can
grow out of selfishness, greed, impulsiveness. You
can overcome any vice. But ego is not a vice. It is
you. It was there when you began and it is the
basis of everything you do. You can hide it enough
so it does not embarrass you in public. You can
pretty it up so that other 'I's are not as annoyed
with it. You can choose to ignore its whelps and
howls when your mind tells you that it has just
gotten out of hand.
gypt and Pharaoh are facts of life. To be
human is to be enslaved. If you’re not doing
exodus, you’re doing slavery.
The housecat does
not feel imprisoned in
its apartment, but a
tiger does. The animal
does not feel imprisoned in its body, but
the human soul does.
For some human souls,
the entire universe is a
prison. Why? Because, somehow, the human soul
knows something beyond. Something entirely free.
That which is simple reality for other creatures, for
the human being is a prison.
If you’re not doing exodus,
you’re doing slavery.
Because the experience of every human being
is an excruciating paradox. We are born with an
innate sense of I. More than any creature upon the
earth, we feel "I am. Nothing else is but me. All
else is no more than an extension of my being."
We are all little pharaohs, as the prophet
Ezekiel described him, "The big fish in the river
declaring, 'The river is mine. I created it. I created
my own self.'"
And yet we have a mind, a sense of awareness
not only of our surroundings, but also of the I that
exists within those surroundings. And that mind
tells us that our innate experience is absurd.
It is absurd to believe that I am in control. I did
not make this place. I have no clue what is going
on over here. There is a whole world out there that
seems perfectly capable of going on quite well
without me. There are others out there, each of
whom is an entire world, an I unto his or her self.
My I is absurd.
And yet, from the time I opened my eyes
and stood upon my feet, I could not fathom
36
But it will always be there, as the earth upon
which you tread, as the air you breath, as the
darkness that lurks in the background, waiting for
the sun to set, to say, "I never really left. Even as
the sun shone bright, I was still there. I am the
default. I am the ground of all that exists. I am."
This is how the master of the Kabbalah, the Ari,
describes the enslavement of Egypt: It is when the
mind cannot speak with the heart.
Every part of the world corresponds to a facet
of the human soul. Every facet of the human soul
corresponds to a feature of the human anatomy.
Where is Egypt? It is the neck, that most awkward
place of the human form where a massive head
must connect through an agile limb to the rest of
the body. The channel through which air, food,
blood, data, and commands all must pass from one
world to another. Egypt in Hebrew is Mitzrayim,
meaning literally, "the straits."
And Pharaoh? His Hebrew letters are the same
as the Hebrew word Oref, "the back of the neck."
Pharaoh, as the Ari described him, stands at the
back of the neck and strangles us. He hijacks all
that is in the mind for himself, not allowing more
than a trickle to enter the body.
And so, we are enslaved: Our mind knows a
higher truth, an obvious one, to which our heart
pays no more than lip service. The mind struggles
to soar from its cage in futility, its wings clipped by
the self-centered passions of the body and heart.
Every human struggle, every illness, physical
and psychological, can be traced to this underlying
pathology. Everything we do is a gambit to escape
this slavery. One who surrenders has surrendered
to death. One who escapes, even for a day, has
tasted true life.
How do I escape the bondage of my I if my
I is me? Not with love, because then there is still
I that loves. Not in meditation, because there is
I meditating. Not with any striving for enlightenment, because in every striving there is I again,
searching for that which will make me a greater,
more enlightened I.
But only by exchanging this bondage for a
greater one. The ultimate bondage.
The I has a jealously guarded secret, wrote the
Maharal of Prague. It is that the I is no more than
G-d breathing within me.
Why does G-d wish to breathe within me?
Because G-d desires communion with a being
that is also an I. That is why I am an I: Not because
AYS
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that is the truth, not because it cannot be otherwise-but because G-d so desires. That is the drama
of the universe, played and replayed within each
of its creatures, the drama of I and Other drawn
towards each other while remaining separate
beings. At the core of the universe lies the
paradigm of it all: The love affair of G-d and the
human I.
The separateness of these two beings is a
prison. Their communion is freedom. And how is
their communion? Through a betrothal of my I to
that original I. As we did when we bound ourselves
to Him through His Torah, saying, "We will do."
The I has a jealously
guarded secret, wrote
the Maharal of Prague.
And so G-d told Moses, "When you will take
the people out of Egypt, you will serve Me on this
mountain." Because there is only one path to leave
Egypt. Not by being this or striving for that, but
by bondage to an Infinite I, a bondage that knows
no bounds.
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37
A Spiritual Moment
by RABBI MANIS FRIEDMAN
I
t’s past midnight. I’m alone in a cemetery in
Queens. I’m not literally alone; hundreds of
people come and go all night. But I’m alone
with my reflections, trying to compose my note to
place on the Rebbe’s grave.
I ask myself, “Why am I here?” Because I am a
Hasid? But what is a Hasid? I know the familiar
definitions: piety, kindness, religious fervor, disciple of a Rebbe,
but I need something more this
night. I need to get in touch with
what makes a Hasid.
Unschooled in such
matters, I naturally did
not understand the
significance of the act,
but it moved me like an
inside-the-park home
run in the House
that Ruth Built.
A picture comes to mind. I’m 12
years old, living in Crown Heights,
Brooklyn, rooting for the Yankees
to win the World Series, betting
on center fielder number seven
(Mickey Mantle) to make it happen.
It’s Wednesday afternoon. I wander into 770
Eastern Parkway, home base for Chabad Hasidim.
An energy draws me there. A small minyan is
saying Mincha prayers. I see Rabbi Menachem
M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He has
square shoulders and a large forehead. He wears
a large brimmed hat and his broad shoulders
stretch the cloth of his kapota. This much-revered
leader of an international movement, a prodigious
scholar and mystic, then bows.
He was saying the Modim in the Amidah and
he bowed. This picture haunts me all these years.
He bowed with his head and shoulders only.
It was dignified, elegant, and something more.
Unschooled in such matters, I naturally did not
understand the significance of the act, but it
moved me like an inside-the-park home run in the
House that Ruth Built.
Later I realized that I was stunned by the
Rebbe’s unabashed humility. Humility, I learned, is
a great virtue — a spiritual quality, not so much in
those who have no alternative but to be humble,
but in those gifted, powerful people who bow their
heads reverently to that which is greater than they.
I had seen a bigger-than-life hero, and discovered
his awe of something to which he bowed his head.
What humbles such a man?
I understood — no, I felt — what Al-mighty
means, and G-d became real to me. A heady
experience for a 12-year-old. These memories
38
don’t satisfy me. The image continues to haunt me.
One day while counseling a very unhappy couple,
I heard myself saying to the husband, “It’s not
about you. It’s about the family.”
The ability to admit that my life is not about
me, for me that is true humility. Yes, we are
humbled by the Grand Canyon or the number one
billion. But true humility is more than an admission
of smallness. It is the realization that reality exists
independently of me; I cannot control it by my will.
I must live with it, submit to it. This I saw in the
Rebbe's bow. From the communists and the Nazis
to the new world, he never faltered. Because it is
“not about me.” One does what must be done.
I still am not satisfied. I see myself at age 16
speaking to a group of teenagers about the
importance of Mitzvot. “They are not only good
deeds; they are God’s will.” I say the words but miss
the significance. Martin, a 17-year-old asks, “When
did G-d begin to want these Mitzvot?” Five decades
later, I ponder Martin’s question. When did G-d
begin to want? At Mount Sinai? With Adam and
Eve? When did He consider all that He had made
and realize that some of it pleased Him and some
did not? G-d wants. All creation began with His
wanting a world that would please Him.
His will is the oxygen of existence. It is eternal,
ineluctably moving the world toward Divine
perfection, and we are asked to freely participate in
making His will familiar to His creation. The Rebbe,
it now seems clear to me, was bowing to G-d’s will,
to the desire, the very urgency of G-d’s wants.
Five decades later, I think I understand that as
a 12-year-old I was awed by, but not comfortable
with, the Rebbe’s humility; it disturbed me. We are
intelligent beings who can make things happen.
Why be intimidated by what is greater when you
have your own greatness? What use are our
human endowments if we merely submit and
surrender to the “Big All?” I realize now that the
Rebbe was not bowing in submission to an ineffable Being. It was not surrender to fate or destiny,
but rather an unconditional dedication to satisfy
the divine hunger; not to be good or holy, but to
do right by God’s vision of His world. We are His
people because we bow to His plan, not His power
or size. His plan, not ours.
His desire, His plan, His need for tikkun olam
becomes our mission. This humility of purpose
should produce a Hasid who is obedient, not meek;
affectionate yet unsentimental; tolerant yet not
permissive; an advocate without being dogmatic;
pious yet not officious; proud, not haughty; a
pursuer of dreams yet not a dreamer; principled
yet not judgmental; funny but not frivolous.
I still struggle, and it still smarts when I fall
short of these virtues. But to fail is not an option.
With this thought in mind I am ready to write my
note to place on the Rebbe’s grave.
Week of the Jewish Woman
Bella Chandler Learning Institute
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MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE, THE JEWISH WAY IN DEATH AND MOURNING
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May 20, 27, June 3
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September 2, 9, 16, 23
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$25 per semester
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39
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volume 12 number 4 passover 5768/2008 a publication of the

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