OpinionThe Jewish National EditionPost&Presenting a broad spectrum of Jewish News and Opinions since 1935.

Volume 83, Number 5 • August 9, 2017 • 17 Av 5777www.jewishpostopinion.com • www.ulib.iupui.edu/digitalscholarship/collections/JPO

Cover art by Karin Foreman

(see About the Cover, p.3).

2 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

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August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 3

challenges and also caring for my ailingfather, I was not always a happy camper.However, as I look back I realize – crystalball or not – we cannot always imaginewhere the road will take us. If all of theabove occurrences beginning with memoving back to help my parents had nottaken place, I may not have achieved whatI did.

My advice to you, dear readers, is todream big and do not underestimate whatyou can accomplish. I am in awe of all thathas transpired. We wish all of our readeran awesome New Year 5778!

Jennie Cohen, August 9, 2017 AAAA

If I had gone to a fortune teller 20 yearsago and she had told me one day I will notonly be managing, editing, and publishinga newspaper, but also writing a column forit, I would have laughed at her. I wouldhave told her that her crystal ball must be off kilter because she was reading thefortune of someone else, not me.

My seven siblings and I had not beeninterested in taking over my father’snewspaper partly because we saw that ittook all of his free time and then some.But that gradually changed for me when Imoved back to Indianapolis to help myaging parents. My mother was then 82,and my father 90. I figured I would mostlybe helping them with household chores,but a year later my mother passed away.

My father lived and worked in a gener-ation where the men left the house to goto work while their wives stayed homeand took care of the cooking, cleaning andchildrearing. For him the kitchen was likebeing in a foreign country. Without mymother in it, he was lost.

Since we were both mourning the lossof my mother, I thought it would be best ifI stayed with my father. At that time I wastold when a man reaches 90 and his wifeof 60 years dies, chances are he will notlive more than a year. I thought I couldmanage to care for him for at least thatlong. No one believed then, he would liveseven more years.

As my father’s health declined, I startedgetting more and more calls from hisoffice workers to help with small tasks.Although I had grown up stuffingenvelopes at my father’s newspaper office,I had no experience in any of the otherpositions, nor had I taken any classes onpublishing except one in college titled,“Journalism for Non-majors”.

As my father was not able to keep up,I had to learn all the positions, on-the-jobfrom the other employees. The reason Iwas able to accomplish this was because itwas a gradual process. No sooner had Igotten one area under my belt, a new one arose. Eventually I had done everypossible job except graphic design. Thatgave me the confidence to assume thatwhatever else new came my way I wouldbe able to handle it.

An example of how this took place waswhen one employee gave a two weeknotice. He had been working at the newspaper for 21 years in design and production. I had to hire and help train a replacement.

The next year the two editors came tome with a major concern. We were stillpublishing weekly then and my father’s

Editorial Inside this Issue

1427 W. 86th St. #228Indianapolis, IN 46260email: jpostopinion@gmail.comphone and fax: (317) 405-8084website: www.jewishpostopinion.compublisher & editor: Jennie Cohengraphic designer: Charlie Bunes

OpinionPost&The Jewish

Jewish News and Opinion since 1935.

Editorial.....................................................3About the Cover ......................................3Rabbi Benzion Cohen:

(Chassidic Rabbi).....................................4Amy Lederman: (Jewish Educator)

A High Holiday Knock-Knock Joke ........5Melinda Ribner: (Kabbalah of the Month)

Tu B’Av – Jewish Sadie Hawkins Day .....6Rabbi Irwin Wiener: (Wiener’s Wisdom)

There is light in darkness...................6Rabbi Herbert Horowitz: (Maggid)

As the summer turns ..........................7Arnie Goldberg:

Dogs have a positive effect ................8Jennie Cohen:

Writing for Wellness ...........................8Rabbi Jon Adland: (Shabbat Shalom)

Devarim Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22 ......9Rabbi Sandy E. Sasso:

Let’s stop putting people in boxes.......9Miriam Zimmerman: (Holocaust Educator)

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years ....10Sybil Kaplan: (My Kosher Kitchen)

A review, an interview and recipes ...12Rabbi Stanley Halpern:

Why civilizations die and we don’t ...13Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel: (Media Watch)

Jewish humor in tribute to Rickles ....14Jim Shipley (Shipley Speaks)

Science and religion: Compatible .....15Rabbi Israel Zoberman:

Summer pilgrimage to Poland ........16Howard Karsh: (Jewish America)

Mindfulness, meaningfulness and relevancy...17Sybil Kaplan: (Seen on the Israel Scene)

Lipstadt speaks and NILI musical.....20

Rosh HaShanahBy Karin Foreman

“Rosh HaShanah” is aMixed Media piece andwas crafted by usingacrylic paint and texturedpaper. The white outlineswere created in Illustrator.

The Jewish New Year marks the beginningof a 10-day long period of planning to better one’s life through self-examination,

K. Foreman

About the Cover

editorials had been on the same subjectfor five weeks in a row. My father believedstrongly that officers of boards of congre-gations should be present at their Sabbathservices every week.

I did not know how many times previously he had written on this topic butI was told complaints were coming in fromreaders who said they would cancel theirsubscription if this continued.

My father was 94 at the time and nolonger had the sharp memory he once did.I thought if I simply showed him his pastfive editorials, he would understand andwrite on a different topic. Instead he saidhe felt the message was so important itneeded to be repeated over and over again.

At that point I had never written an editorial but I told the editors I wouldwrite one for the upcoming edition andthen find another writer to fill that spot. Ittook me all week to write and rewrite theshort editorial, but it turned out betterthan I expected and that was gratifying.Together with the help of the editors who looked at what I wrote and madeadditional corrections, I realized I couldwrite. That was the beginning of approxi-mately 300 editorials I have written overthe years.

By the time my father passed away fouryears later, I was already doing all themanaging and deciding what went in thepaper and where. I still had two editorswith 50 years editing experience betweenthem. They helped correct the columnsthat came to me by email from our writersfrom all over the country, Canada andIsrael. I paid close attention to what theydid. By the time the last editor was gone, Ihad learned enough that I could do it bymyself, though not as well as either of them.

I admit that I have made a few big blunders and a million smaller ones inthese past several years but I learned somuch because every day a new challengearose. This is all good because as it turnsout, I am always grateful when I learnsomething new.

When I was in the middle of all these

j i (see Cover, page 4)

j i

COVER(continued from page 3)

reflection, prayer and repentance. Thisjourney is represented by ten swirly elements that resemble pathways.

The artwork includes some traditionalelements associated with the holiday. Oneis the shofar (ram’s horn), which is to besounded on this day. The other is thepomegranate. It is customarily consumedand represents fruitfulness, knowledge,learning and wisdom as well as symbolizingrighteousness.

One ritual of this holiday is Tashlich – thesymbolic casting off of sins by throwingbread crumbs into a natural body of flowingwater like a lake or sea. This body of wateris represented in this piece with the blueoval. The circle stands for the round challah to be eaten for a sweet New Year.

Karin creates artwork, graphic designs,and award-winning inspirational naturephotography. Foreman has won TheExposure Award and is featured in TheNature Collection. Her photography washonored at a private reception at theLouvre Museum in 2015. Her work was alsofeatured at 4Times Square in New York(2016) and will be displayed in August2017 at the Amsterdam International ArtFair held at the Beurs van Berlage. Seemuch more of her beautiful art on herwebsite at www.karinforeman.com. Shecan be reached by email at karin_foreman@yahoo.com. AAAA

(see Benzion, page 5)

4 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

I was born in Indianapolis in 1950.Our family lived in a quiet middle classurban neighborhood called Broad Ripple.I attended elementary school at PS (publicschool) 59 and graduated from BroadRipple High School.

We were comfortable. Not rich and notpoor. I was number 5 of 8 children, but weowned a nice two story house, so we werenot cramped. Our life was peaceful. Myparents got along well. My mother did notgo out to work while I was growing up. Shedevoted herself to raising our big family.

The atmosphere at home was liberal.We attended a liberal synagogue, calledBeth El-Zedeck.

My problems began – you guessed it –when I became a teenager. I wanted verymuch to be popular and have girlfriends.However, I was shy, and didn’t know how to make friends. This caused me a lotof frustration.

I figured that if I would succeed insports I would be popular. I spent hourspracticing basketball, but failed to makethe school team. I tried to make the football team. I understood that to be onthe football team I would have to be muchstronger. I would have to put on 50pounds of muscles. For many months Ilifted weights and drank protein supple-ments. Again I was disappointed. Mymuscles became stronger, but they refusedto grow.

I did have some pleasure. I rather enjoyedsome of the science classes, especiallychemistry. I liked to play chess. One year Iwas number 2 on our high school chessteam, and won a few games. However wedidn’t have even one spectator. Eating andreading were my main pleasures. I enjoyedreading, especially science fiction. I wouldread for hours, all the while munchingaway. I would eat sunflower seeds,candies, pickles, olives, or whatever Ifound in the kitchen or freezer. However,all of this munching had a bad effect onmy health, especially the white sugar, andcaused me a lot of cavities in my teeth.

In my senior year, I applied to eight universities. Again, I was disappointed.My grades in high school were not thebest, and the schools that I really wantedto go to turned me down. The only onethat accepted me was Indiana University.It was only 60 miles from home, and I wasnot very excited about going there.

When I graduated high school I wasoffered a free trip to Israel. I joined a group of 200 young people from all overthe country, and we spent two months ofthe summer vacation touring Israel. We

BY RABBI BENZION COHEN

Chassidic Rabbi arrived in Israel in June, 1967, two weeksafter the Six Day War.

Wherever we went, we met happy people. I was really surprised and curious.I didn’t know anyone this happy inIndianapolis. I asked them what they areso happy about. They explained that for six months they had been living in fear.Three of the neighboring Arab countrieshad gotten together and were preparing to attack. They loudly declared that theywould throw every last Israeli into the sea!The Israeli army was vastly outnumbered,and Russia was supplying the Arab armies with all of the modern weapons of destruction.

Then, in only six days Israel defeated allof the Arabs! The Israeli casualties werevery low, much lower than even the mostoptimistic of predictions. Israel now hadnew borders, much more secure than theolder ones.

At that time my older brother Teddy wasliving in Jerusalem. He had left Americafive years earlier. He had married an Israeli girl, and was studying at HebrewUniversity. I came up with a brilliant idea.I would stay in Israel with all of thesehappy people. Hopefully, some of thishappiness would rub off on me. I wouldstudy at Hebrew University. IndianaUniversity didn’t appeal to me anymore.

I was accepted by Hebrew University,and started to work on my Bachelor ofScience degree. One day I went to a localbookstore, to find something interestingto read. I went straight to the shelf markedscience fiction. I checked out every book,and was again disappointed. I had alreadyread all of them!

Well, if I had come all of this way to thebook store, I decided to look around.Maybe I would find something else interesting. After a few minutes I pickedup a book about yoga. At that time I knewthat yoga was a way of life practiced inIndia. And in those days, 50 years ago, ourplanet seemed much larger than it seemstoday. So instead of reading science fictionand life on other planets, I settled to readabout life in India. I bought the book andread it with interest.

What are the rules of yoga? Be carefulnot to hurt any human being or any otherliving creature. Be a vegetarian. Don’t killand eat any cows, chickens or fish.Amazing! This was pretty much oppositeto the rules that I had adopted whilegrowing up. I remember sitting in thelocker room in high school and hearingboys bragging about taking advantage ofthis one or that one. Now yoga says thatmy purpose in life is not to take advantageof anyone or anything, but the opposite, tohelp however I can.

People told me that I had a good head,and could learn a good profession and

earn a lot of money. Then I would be ableto buy a fancy car and a beautiful house.The message I got was “look out for #1(myself)”and to heck with everyone else.

Well, at that point in my life I was notespecially happy. My daily life gave memany frustrations. I decided to give yoga atry. I became a vegetarian. I started to doyoga exercises, relaxation and meditation.Every day I would meditate for a few minutes on my soul, and on G-d, whogave me my soul.

After a few months I noticed a strangefeeling. I tried to figure it out. Eventually I realized what it was. I was experiencinghappiness! For the first time in my lifeevery day had happiness and positiveexperiences. No more frustration. Beforeyoga my goals in life were physical pleasures. When I didn’t get them I wasfrustrated. Now my goals were spiritual. Iwanted to be nice and helpful and foundmany opportunities to do so. Here I founda lot of success.

Before yoga I suffered a lot from jealousy. I was jealous of those who werepopular, who had girlfriends, who had acar or a motorcycle, who were rich and

JewishEducatorBY AMY HIRSHBERG LEDERMAN

A High HolidayKnock-Knock Joke

“Knock knock!”“Who’s there?”“Me.”“Me who?”A silly childhood joke, right? Perhaps,

but it could also be viewed as one of themost compelling questions of all time.

Because, if asked differently, the question“Me who?”is actually: “Who am I?”

Since the beginning of time, we havebeen attempting to understand and articulate who we are as individuals. In the Bible, human nature was defined byour relationship to God and creation. Theancient Greeks and Romans understoodhuman temperaments by adopting thefour humors of Hippocratic medicine. TheHindus developed Ayurveda, a medicalsystem still used today, basing humannature on three doshas, or elements. AndShakespeare crafted characters likeHamlet and Romeo and Juliet with thefour bodily humors in mind. Each one ofthese systems attempted to define the“essentials”that make us human.

Who am I? A difficult, complex questionto answer for sure, because at any giventime in life, we are many things and thosethings change, ebb and flow, over thecourse of our lives.

Perhaps, then, the better question to askis: “Who am I …. at this age and stage ofmy life?”

Recently, while hiking in Montana, Ithought a lot about this question. At 63, Iam a very different person than I was at23, before I had even met my husband orgiven birth to my children. In my 40s, I wasjust coming into my own professionallyand everything seemed possible as I shiftedcareers from law to Jewish studies and myfamily blossomed. And now, as I enter thegolden years, I bring with me the wisdomof the first six decades as well as theawareness of the precariousness of life andthe uncertainties inherent in growing older.

As I climbed higher toward the peakthrough a hillside blanketed in a tapestryof flowers, I found myself wondering: “If Ihad only a year to live, how would I wantto live my life?”

Contrary to what this might suggest, Iwasn’t feeling the slightest bit depressedor morbid. Rather, the question came fromsheer appreciation for my good health,

family and friends; it arose from a desire toclarify my priorities as I approach the finalthird of my life.

A decade ago in the movie The BucketList, two terminal cancer patients, playedby Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson,escaped their cancer ward to take a roadtrip to do the things on their “wish list”oflife. The movie got people talking and setoff a rash of skydiving, kite surfing and outof the box road trips that had tourismbooming for a while. But we shouldn’twait for an illness to inspire us to fulfill ourhearts desires, because by then, it is oftentoo late.

The bucket list focused on what twodying men wanted to do in the time theyhad left. But at this time of year, as weapproach the Jewish High Holidays, weare called upon to reflect on who we wantto be in the year ahead.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur beckonus to take a hard look at our life in order toassess our relationships, goals, successesand failures. In a sense, it’s a Jewish bucketlist of the soul. We ask ourselves questionslike: What do I want to change in the coming year? What relationships do Iwant to repair that remain damaged? CanI be a better person, a more compassion-ate friend, a more caring daughter, a moresupportive spouse? This type of hardquestioning is called a Heshbon Nefesh,which in Hebrew literally means “anaccounting of the soul.”

This sort of introspection demands that we stop and listen to that inner voicethat guides us to make choices that areconsistent with our most essential self. Ithelps us consciously prioritize our time,relationships and resources so that we livea more meaningful life. And it requires atype of mindfulness that I call “payingattention to our intentions.”

Living with intention, or kavannah inHebrew, is a gift we can give ourselvesregardless of our health, financial status oreven emotional well-being for the simplereason that it is based on personal,autonomous choice. Even in the midst of a crisis or serious illness, we can stillchoose to live with dignity, honesty, loveand compassion. In fact, doing so oftengives meaning to an otherwise seeminglymeaningless act of fate or unexpectedtragedy.

It is so easy to be distracted from payingattention to our intentions. Cell phonesring and we are off and running; workdemands our time and attention at theexpense of the family and friends we love.Rosh Hashanah presents us with an annu-al opportunity to engage in meaningfulintrospection that can help us not onlyanswer the question “who am I?”but also,“who do I want to be?”And if we choose,

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 5

(see Lederman, page 6)

belonged to the country club. Now all ofthis meant nothing to me. I understoodthat popularity, cars and riches do notbring happiness.

My efforts were richly rewarded. For thefirst time in my life I started to make manyfriends. I was nice and helpful to my fellow students, and lo and behold, theyreciprocated! Friendships blossomed.When I help someone, that person feelsbetter and happier, and that makes mefeel happy.

Soon I noticed another change in mylife. My belief in G-d was becomingstronger. Before yoga, there were timesthat I believed in G-d, and other timesthat I did not believe. But even in thetimes that I did believe, the belief had little or no effect on my life. G-d was onlysomewhere there in the background.

Now G-d was real. I was thinking aboutHim and meditating about Him every day,and He was having a wonderful effect onmy life. I was trying hard to live by Hisrules and commandments.Very soon I sawresults. I saw beautiful and real improve-ments in the quality of my life.

Here is one proof that we have a Creatorwho loves us. When you buy a new car,the people who made it provide you witha booklet of instructions how to take careof it. If you are careful to follow theseinstructions you can enjoy your car formany years. If you ignore them, the car willbreak down sooner than it would have.

So too, our Creator gave us rules andinstructions how to live. If we follow Hisrules we will have a good and happy life.

This is part of the first chapter of a bookthat I am writing, about how to live a goodand happy life. So far this was the story ofmy life until the age of 18. Yoga was thefirst stage of my spiritual journey andhelped me to begin to live a more spirituallife and believe in Hashem. This assistedme later to appreciate the beauty ofJudaism and eventually become a followerof the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

We believe that the Rebbe is our longawaited Moshiach (Messiah). The Rebbeand his followers are bringing us closer toour complete and final redemption. Atthat time there will be no evil in the world,only good.

Look around and see that this is reallyhappening. Most of the countries of theworld, including many Arab nations, arefighting terrorism. And even the WhiteHouse has a kosher kitchen! So it is up toall of us to learn more Torah and do moreMitzvahs to bring Moshiach now!

Rabbi Cohen lives in K’far Chabad, Israel.He can be reached by email at bzioncohen770@gmail.com. AAAA

BENZION(continued from page 4)

6 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

Tu B’Av, the full moon in the Hebrewmonth of Av, is one of the most hidden,joyous and spiritually beautiful days.According to the Jewish calendar, this yearTu B’Av began at sunset on Aug. 6 andended at sunset Aug. 7. Unlike otherBiblical holidays Tu B’Av has no ritual garments at this time in the form ofmitzvot to display or publicize her beauty.

Many people do not even know of herspecial blessings. My teacher Reb ShlomoCarlebach, of blessed memory, used to saythe following about holidays like Tu B’Av.The higher the holiday, the fewer peopleknow about it and even how to celebrateand honor it.

Tu B’Av is spiritually a day of deepeningour connection with the hidden light ofour own soul. It is a day of opening ourheart to greater love. It is a day to seethrough the veil of physicality to perceiveGodliness, the Shechinah within all of creation. Tu B’Av is a day celebrating therise of the feminine. Tu B’Av has evenbeen called a Jewish Sadie Hawkins Day.

In the times of the holy Temple, theJewish maidens wore white dresses anddanced before the men. They would flirtwith their eyes to say “Look at me”. In onelook, marriages would be made. It was on this joyous day that people from thevarious tribes would meet for the purposeof marriage.

Tu B’Av is 40 days before the 15th day ofElul, the day that marks the beginning ofcreation. Forty days is a mystical numberin Judaism. The Oral teachings tell us thatsoul mates are called to each other 40 daysbefore their birth.

Tu B’Av is a day to meditate and pray in order to receive the special vibrationsand blessings, to purify your eyes to seeGodliness around you. For those who aresingle, it is a day to call forth your soul mateenergetically. For those who are blessed tobe married, it is a day to gaze upon yourbeloved and see him or her with the eyesand heart as you did when it was revealedto you that this person was your beloved.Marriage to this person is a gift for yoursoul correction and purification.

Tu B’Av may be a most joyous and evenmiraculous day. After Tu B’Av the daysbegin to get shorter.The weather begins toshift and the scent of fall is in the air, even

Kabbalahof the MonthBY MELINDA RIBNER

Tu B’Av – JewishSadie Hawkins Day

though there may be more hot daysahead. All of nature including ourselveswill once again turn inward. This is thenatural order now.

The Jewish calendar turns on an axis ofTu B’Shevat and Tu B’Av, masculine andfeminine energies. Tu B’Shevat, occurringin the winter, the full moon of the Hebrewmonth of Shevat, signals the flow of blessingfrom above, a time for expansiveness, withholidays like Passover and Shavuos. Tu B’Av,the full moon in this month of Av, signalsa time for the awakening of blessing frombelow, a time of turning inward, with holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippurand Succot.

Melinda Ribner L.C.S.W. is also theauthor of Everyday Kabbalah, KabbalahMonth by Month and New Age Judaism,and The Secret Legacy of Biblical Women: Revealing the Divine Feminine.Internationally known for her pioneeringwork in kabbalistic meditation and healing,she is also a spiritual psychotherapist and for more than 30 years has used kabbalisticwisdom as part of treatment. She offers a freenewsletter on meditation, healing, kabbalisticenergies of the months, holidays, and more.On the web at: www.kabbalahoftheheart.comand e-mail at: beitmiriam@msn.com. AAAA

Wiener’sWisdomBY RABBI IRWIN WIENER, D.D.

There is light in darkness

Most of us, when we think of darknesscannot understand that there is light indarkness. We tend to concentrate on theconcept and perception that darknessleaves us blind to the world around us.Perhaps we could relate better if we wereactually blind. People who have lost theirsight find the light of day in the emptinessof space – a never-ending journey in thequest for the brightness of life.

Such thoughts ran through my mind asI read the following written by an elevenyear old girl and read at her graduationfrom elementary school to the entire graduating class and visitors:

“The darkness is the warm comfort ofsilence.

It is the beautiful color that puts everychild to sleep.

It is not death, but life.

It is the time of rest and relaxation. Darknessis the kiss I receive meaning goodnight.

j i

j i

(see Wiener, page 7)

LEDERMAN(continued from page 5)

it can inspire us to live with kavannah sothat we can become our best and mostessential self.

Amy Hirshberg Lederman is an author,Jewish educator, public speaker and attorneywho lives in Tucson. Her columns in the AJPhave won awards from the American JewishPress Association, the Arizona NewspapersAssociation and the Arizona Press Club forexcellence in commentary. Visit her website atamyhirshberglederman.com. AAAA

It is the covers pulled over my head as Ithink of sleep.

It is the comfort of the pillow resting belowmy head.

Darkness is my eyes slowly closing.It makes the darkness of the day form into

the light of the night.It is the lights turning off meaning sleep

and rest.

Happiness swims into dreams.It is waking up from a nightmare and

sneaking into my parent’s room to sleep once more.

It is the dreams that form that will soon befading from my memory.

It is the relief of ending and forming of anew day, and a new opportunity.”

~ Maddie ScharfI read and re-read these words and

understood the value of dreams and themarvel of light emanating from darkness –the darkness of our minds as they wanderfrom fantasy to reality.

How many of us dream, wake up andcannot remember the dream? How manyof us have dreams of a better life and abetter tomorrow? How many of us findour lives shattered because our dreams arenot realized? How many of us trulyunderstand that the darkness surroundingus represents the gloom that seems tooverpower us?

All of life is about dreams. We dream ofwhat could have been, what might havebeen, what should have been. Perhapsthese lead us into a darkness that neverseems to fade. The truth is that dreamschange with time, but still we continue todream because, life as we know it, is filledwith all sorts of dreams.

This young girl can teach us a very valuable lesson: Darkness may engulf us,but then we reach for the comfort of thosewhom we love and who love us. Theyoung among us are filled with so manydreams, but they all concentrate on living,and growing, and feeling secure. Are these not the dreams of all ages, not justthe young?

Technology has advanced our lifestylesand comforts at a dizzying speed in the last few decades. We rely on new technologies to advance our leisure timeand pleasures of life. Sometimes we losesight of the source of our advancedlifestyles. We must remain cognizant ofour limitations and the awesome unrestricted power that the Almighty hasand continues to release to the world.

Psalm 29 poignantly discusses this awesome power of God in nature, “Thevoice of the Lord peaks across the waters: it isthe God of glory thundering! The Lord isover the vast waters. The voice of the Lordbreaks the cedars: The Lord shatters the cedarsof Lebanon. The voice of the Lord strikesflames of fire. The voice of the Lord causesthe desert to tremble. The Lord sat enthronedat this flood. The Lord remains King forever”.

The warmth of summer and many hoursof daylight is a healing balm for our bodies and reinvigorates us from within,emotionally and psychologically. At thesame time, we must also recharge ourspiritual side through deeper reflection ofGod’s part in our lives. There is no betterway of keeping the “Gates of Heaven”openin the summer. As the Kutzker Rebbereminds us,“Where is God?, he asked. Heanswers, Wherever you let Him in.”

While we enjoy the turning of the summer months let us continue to let Godinto our lives. Then and only then will thewords of the Psalmist ring true, “The Lordwill give strength to the people: The Lordwill bless His people with peace”.

High Holy Days ThoughtsAstronomers have ascertained that

there will be a full eclipse throughoutNorth America on August 21st. There willnot be such an event again until the year2045. Coincidentally, or maybe by design,the month of Elul begins the followingday. The fun of the summer morphs intothe introductory period of the High HolyDays with the recitation of Psalm 27.This Psalm is recited morning and eveningat all traditional synagogues throughShmini Atzeret. Psalm 27 which was composed by King David must have aspecific connection to the High Holy Dayperiod since it was chosen by our sages.What is the connection?

Upon studying Psalm 27, I believe KingDavid passionately described his personalrelationship with God. King David beginsthe Psalm with these words: “God is mylight and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”King David derives his source of protectionin God’s light and not from any humanbeing’s actions. King David’s faith is complete when he says: “For He concealsme in His tent on the day of calamity; Hekeeps me from being found in the covert ofHis tent; He lifts me on high upon a rock”.

WIENER(continued from page 6)

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 7

We may find darkness when our eyesclose, but when morning arrives, the lightof a new day enhances our belief that lightleads us into the true meaning of life, thepurpose for which we were created, andthe value we bring to those around us.

This eleven-year-old is my granddaughter.She has taught me a valuable lesson abouthappiness and sweetness. Her innocenceis a testament to the lessons we can alllearn from a child reaching for light at theend of the darkness of life. She has taughtme, and possibly you as well, that dreamscan and do become reality because of perseverance and the will to live.

And even when we are gone, thedreams do not disappear – they justbecome memories. So, as we learn froman eleven-year old – dream on!

Rabbi Wiener is spiritual leader of the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation nearPhoenix, Ariz. He welcomes comments at ravyitz @cox.net. He is the author of two books: Living With Faith, and a modern and contemporary interpretation ofthe Passover Haggadah titled, Why is ThisNight Different? AAAA

A Jewish couple decided to travel bycar and tour southern states during thesummer. One Friday afternoon theystopped in a southern town and searchedfor a synagogue to attend Shabbat services.They found a synagogue and tried toenter, it was closed. The custodian toldthem the temple was closed for the summer. They looked up and saw thename “Shaarey Shamayim”. They mused toeach other, the “Gates of Heaven” areclosed for the summer. I guess God reallyneeded a vacation!

The summer is a time of “lazy, hazy, hotdays,” a time of escapism and “chill out”.Yet the rhythm of Jewish life continues as the “summer turns”. There is only a limited time for escapism this year. The“three weeks”began on July 12th with thefast of Shiva Assar B’Tamuz (the 17th dayof Tammuz) and culminated with TishaB’Av (the 9th of Av) which is the mostserious historical fast day on the Jewishcalendar. Jews who take Jewish historyand Jewish practice seriously are aware ofthe sadness. The time commemorates thedestruction of both Holy Temples inJerusalem. After Tisha B’Av the summerturns back to joy with Shabbat Nachamu(Sabbath of Comfort). “Comfort yee,comfort yee” voiced the Prophet Isaiah,and the enjoyment of summer returns.

Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch, the greatGerman Jewish teacher, once remarked,“the Almighty has created many wonders innature. If I don’t take in the beauty of theAlps I will have ignored God’s greatness inall his creations”.

How can we show our gratitude forGod’s creation in the summer months?The challenge is to understand the beautyand bounty of the summer months. TheKabbalists of Tzvat created the major partsof Kabbalat Shabbat Services. They reachedout to King David’s Psalms and praisedGod for the beauty and power of nature.Psalm 98 sings God’s praises, “Let the seaand all its fullness thunder praise, the worldand those living in it. Let the rivers applaud,let the mountains sing in chorus before theLord who comes to rule the earth.”

Imagine the feeling of God’s presencewhen kayaking down a river and mountainclimbing. Echo these words of thePsalmist reverberating in your mind andheart while enjoying the great outdoorson vacation.

BY RABBI HERBERT HOROWITZ

As the summer turns

Maggid

(see Horowitz, page 8)

King David feels God’s protection and hisfaith in God’s presence sustains himthrough times of adversity and doubt. Hisfaith is strong as he works through anydoubt: “For even if my father and motherwould have forsaken me. The Lord wouldstill lift me up”.

This Psalm appeals to us as individualsduring the High Holy Day period, especiallywhen we need strength and fortitude.During this period of introspection weseek to overcome the fears, doubts andchallenges that confront our lives. That iswhy King David ends this Psalm with thewords, “Kavei El Adonai Chazak AmetzLibecha V’Kaveh El Adonai” (Hope is in theLord, be of strong courage, hope is in the Lord).

Therefore, as the month of August turnsinto September we witness the dramaticchange in the day. Sunset comes earlier andthe night takes over earlier and earlierserving as a harbinger of the twilight daysof summer. The High Holy Days are in theair and our souls yearn to turn to God.The“Gates of Heaven” are open wide anddraw us to enter God’s presence.

An old fisherman was watching a youngboy picking up starfish and throwing themback into the water. The old fishermanapproached the young boy and ques-tioned “why are you doing that? There areso many starfish on the beach, what doesit matter to you if you throw some of themback into the water?”The young boy replied,

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8 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

(see Cohen, page 18)

Ancient Jewish history provides variousopinions regarding dogs. Stern warnings areevident against having vicious dogs in one’shousehold, yet guard dogs are favorable asstated in the Midrash that God gave Caina dog to protect him in his wanderings.

In Exodus, dogs were praised for keepingquiet so Jews could escape quietly. A rabbifrom the 16th century wrote that a dog iscalled “kelev” which means “like theheart.”This is very similar to the modernexpression “man’s best friend.”

Rabbi Robin Nafshi has performedmemorial services for dogs, and estimatesthat these services have become moreprevalent in Jewish life these past fewyears. This shows the elevation of dogs tofamily status in Jewish families.

Lisa Freeman, director of the TuftsInstitute for Human-Animal Interactionsays, “Some research suggests when children who struggle with reading, readaloud to a trained dog handler, they showfewer anxiety symptoms. Their attitudeschange and their skills improve.”

Researchers at the American HeartAssociation found that having a dog could actually reduce ones risk of gettingcardiovascular disease. They find thatthose who have dogs have lower bloodpressure and heart rate than those who donot have dogs.

Animal Assisted Therapy (ATT) hasshown to reduce anxiety, pain and depression in people with those tendencies.According to Laura Bell in Women’s HealthMagazine, “Just a half an hour with your dog can trigger the brain to releasechemicals linked to happiness.” Dogs canbe calming stress fighters.

One study discovered babies in house-holds with dogs had fewer colds as theirimmune systems benefitted. College students also had benefits to theirimmune systems from a study of studentsasked to pet dogs versus those not asked.

The Journal of Alternative andComplimentary Medicine had an article byDeborah L. Wells, PhD, Shaun W. Lawson,PhD, and A. Niroshan Siriwardena, PhD.

Their research showed some dogs couldbe trained to warn of Hypoglycemia inpatients. Catharine Paddock PhD, statedin Medical News, that once children getinvolved with dogs in a classroom, theywere more positive towards one anotherand worked better together. Recent studiesfound pet owners have higher self-

Quotes from the book DAK-ISMS by Arnie Goldberg

“Happiness is just sitting and watch-ing your dog be a dog…”

“Sometimes the very best part of theday is coming home to a wagging tail!”

“A dog is such a comfort when you are feeling blue, because he never triesto find out why.”

“Dogs are the most amazing creatures. They give unconditional love.They are the role model for me beingalive.” ~ Gilda Radner

“Petting and cuddling a dog cansometimes be as soothing to the mindand heart as deep medication is to thesoul…”

BY ARNIE GOLDBERG

Dogs have apositive effecton humans

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HOROWITZ(continued from page 7)

“It is true there are so many starfish on thebeach, however, it matters a lot to that onestarfish that I threw back into the water”.

As the High Holy Days near, let usremember there may be seven billion people in the world, yet each of us countsand our lives have meaning and value.May the prayers we recite on the HighHoly Days be heard by the Almighty.May He grant us a Shana Tova V’Metuka –a sweet and happy New Year.

Herbert Horowitz is Rabbi Emeritus ofShore Parkway Jewish Center, Brooklyn, NY.He can be reached at rabhh18@gmail.com. Heis available to serve as a scholar-in-residenceor to officiate at services on Shabbat and holidays. Currently he is looking for a cantorto serve with him at a traditional congregationin Williamsburg, Pa., for the High Holidays,and to help blow the shofar. AAAA

esteem, feel more conscientious, and evenbounce back from social rejection better.

On a personal note, my wife has had afew health issues in the past two years andwas in the hospital a year ago for ninedays. Our little rescue dog, DAK (photobelow middle) loved to curl up next to heron the couch, either to take naps or simplywatch TV. He often sleeps on the couch atnight instead of one of his three beds inthe house. The whole nine days my wifewas away, I could not get him to come onthe couch at all. When she returned homehe was anxious to again enjoy being onthe couch.This says something about dogsunderstanding more than we know or expect.

We have enjoyed our DAK, rescuedfrom the local humane society, and wedecided to pay it forward by founding The DAK Foundation with Cissi Sherlock.Our mission is to aid families who rescuedogs and dog rescue organizations, whenthey need help with their veterinarianbills. Those wishing to support us withdonations and/or to volunteer can go to www.thedakfoundation.org or email:cissi@thedakcompanies.com.

The reason so many of us have dogs –43 million households in the United States– is because of one word …LOVE!

Arnie Goldberg is an author, entrepreneur,speaker, trainer, and university instructor.Find out more at the following links: www.arniegoldberg.com, www.dakisms.com. AAAA

Writing for Wellness

While at the printers waiting to pick upa previous edition, I glanced at one of theirother printing jobs because the titlecaught my attention. It was a brochure byIU Health North Cancer Center titled,“The Wellness Series: Mind, Body, Spirit”.

It was a schedule of classes for cancerpatients offering alternative classes andtherapies besides the usual doctor ap-pointments, drugs, surgeries, chemo andradiation. At least one class was scheduledevery Tuesday evening on topics such asCooking for Health, Yoga, Reiki andHealing Touch and Spiritual Offerings.

The relationship between physicalhealth and the environment, a supportivenetwork of friends and family, and havingfaith was not well established thirty years agobut it was obvious from the brochure thattoday those outside influences are consideredvery important to one’s health. I cameacross one class titled,“Writing for Wellness”.

Since we have published 22 special editions that focus on healing, I was looking for something new that we hadnot already covered. I checked with the

BY JENNIE COHEN

A few years ago weneeded to redo our base-ment after a fire causedsignificant damage. Weengaged in the unpleasanttask of removing the furniture and puttingeverything else in boxes, which wereappropriately labeled. The floor wasreplaced and new drywall was installed.The restoration work was finally completed.Slowly, we began emptying the boxes andputting items in their proper places.Actually, we did not empty all of theboxes. We made a conscious decision toleave some of them unopened, thinking

that if we ever moved to a smaller place,we could get rid of these.

This is exactly what is happening in ourcountry. We have had a major shake-up ingovernment and we are putting everyonein boxes with labels. We seal them shutand hope against hope that we will neverhave to engage with what or who is inside.This is not just coming from the right, butfrom the left as well.

One easy way of dismissing a group ofpeople is to put them in a box, to labelthem with a derogatory name. Once wecall someone fascist or socialist, a sexist or a racist, we immediately shut off anypossibility of dialogue or engagement. AllRepublicans are in one box; all Democratsin another. There is a box for Muslims andanother for Jews. There is a box for youngblack males and one for single mothers onfood stamps.

We take the words of the people in theboxes out of context, twist them andamplify them in order to get larger groupsof people to agree with us. When peoplewe label try to explain themselves, we dismiss them, because after all, they comefrom people in the box we have “branded.”And so, we end up living in a country of“little boxes made out of ticky tacky”.

None of this name-calling allows for aconversation in which different people can ever get to know one another, tounderstand each other’s fears, theirdreams, and what they really believe. Wethink the worst of each other, and makeenemies out of friends, and antagonistsout of partners. When leaders do this, theymake war.

We are highly polarized.We read the news,but only the news in our box. Internetalgorithms make certain that the more weread one kind of post, the more we seeposts that are of similar nature. We tend tobe friends with people who think the sameway we do. We are inclined to listen to theradio and television news that agrees withus. We rarely step outside our boxes.

Our brains are set up to seek out evidence that endorses what we alreadythink. This confirmation bias leads us tosearch only for evidence that reaffirmswhat we already believe to be true. Wesuspect and criticize any evidence to thecontrary, regardless of fact.

If we are going to move forward as acountry, we need to ask ourselves – whatwould disprove what we think to be true?What would cause us to look for that evidence and take it seriously? We need to stop putting whole groups of people inboxes and labeling them.

I am reminded of an ancient Jewishstory that tells of two friends in a boat.One starts drilling a hole under his space.His companion asks, “What are you

BY RABBI SANDY E. SASSO

Let’s stop puttingpeople in boxes

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 9

(see Sasso, page 10)

Pirke Avot 2:6 – “Hillel used to say, a boorcannot fear sin, nor can an unlearned personbe pious. A bashful person cannot learn, norcan an impatient one teach. Those who areoccupied excessively with business will notbecome wise in Torah. In a place where thereare no men, endeavor to be a man.”

July 28, 2017, DevarimDeuteronomy 1:1–3:22, 5 Av 5777

In my last Shabbat Shalom, I wrote aboutthose decisions made by Prime MinisterNetanyahu not to move forward with anexpanded egalitarian prayer space at theKotel (The Western Wall) and the move tosolidify the conversion process in thehands of the ultra-right wing Orthodoxrabbinate in Israel. This week, in just thelast few days, we have witnessed our government’s move to roll back the rightsof the LGBTQ community.

While my stomach is turning over atthese decisions, up pops a picture on myFacebook timeline from three years ago ofthe first (and only) same-sex wedding atwhich I have officiated. Why is our currentadministration so afraid of maintainingthe rights gained by members of theLGBTQ community?

After the recent tweet to say that transgender people weren’t going to bewelcome in our armed forces, it was beautiful to see pictures posted by transgender people who volunteered todefend and fight for our country. An article about the Israel Defense Force’s(IDF) wonderful, welcoming attitudetoward transgender people’s ability todefend Israel was inspiring.

As has happened so often, I am amazedthat the right perek from Pirke Avot is next inline for me to put at the top of this writing.The very end of this saying became thetext for one of my favorite songs sung atGUCI – “B’makom sh’ein anashim, Hillelomer hishtadel l’hiyot ish – In a place wherethere aren’t any men, Hillel said strive to be a man.” This saying is for us. As we witness the crumbling of the fabric ofour society around us – kindness towardothers, support, tolerance, love, respect – itis up to you and me to step forward andpersevere towards a better day.

We need to learn to respect winning andlosing. We need to not call each othernames. We need to respect religious andcultural differences. We need to find waysto work together. This doesn’t begin with

ShabbatShalomBY RABBI JON ADLAND

the other person, we need to strive and bethe one who takes the first step.

In less than two months, we will be celebrating our High Holy Days. I know,don’t rush the summer. I am not rushingthe summer away, but encouraging you tobegin the process of finding the pathtoward not only being the best person youcan be, but using that attitude to restorethis nation toward a community wherenewcomers, and all of our families werenewcomers once, are welcome. We mustnot discriminate against those who have agender identity different from our own.We must use language that is positive anduplifting and try not to bully or put peopledown. We can be kind to each other and, atthe same time, stop trying to hurt each other.

There is a lot of pain right now in ourcountry for any number of reasons andthis pain is causing a huge rift in the socialfabric of our society. Hillel nailed this2,000 years ago by reminding us that eachof us must strive to be the best person wecan be even in a place where we can’t findthis in others. If we are ever to continuemoving toward the messianic age, then wemust each take, as singer-songwriter PeriSmilow wrote,“one small step for freedom.”How we act, how we talk, how we behave,how we treat others are all part of this“one small step for freedom.” Strive to bethe best you can be – each and every day.

When you light your Shabbat candlesthis week, light one for the enduring wis-dom and vision of Hillel. Light the othercandle and may its flame guide us towarda better day.

Rabbi Adland has been a Reform rabbi for more than 30 years with pulpits inLexington, Ky., Indianapolis, Ind., and currently at Temple Israel in Canton, Ohio.He may be reached at j.adland@gmail.com. AAAA

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10 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

Opa used to say that he did not mindtax day because he considered April 15 hisday of liberation. Eighty years later, hisgranddaughter will return to Germany, aliving statement of our family’s resilienceand our ultimate triumph over evil.

Opa took Aunt Ruth and me toGermany sometime in the early 1980s, apilgrimage to show us our roots. Dadwanted to pray over the graves of hisgrandparents, in the little towns of |Brilon, whence the Loewensteins came;and Abterode, ancestral home of theKatzensteins, the family name of my Oma (grandmother).

Small towns in Germany, as in theUnited States, are so different from the bigcities. Passersby on the street helped usfind pensions (small hotels), places to eat,and directions to various sites. In Brilonand Abterode, when they realized who wewere and why we had come, they were veryeager to help us find the Jewish cemeteries.

Word spreads quickly in small towns.By the time we had finished praying overthe graves of my great-grandparents andhad made our way to the Stadtmitte (citycenter) of Brilon, the proprietor of the onlyinn invited us to sit in the back room at theStammtisch. The Stammtisch is a tablereserved for the “regulars,” the local menwho frequent a drinking establishment.Opa explained that it was very unusual, anhonor, to be asked to join them.They wereyounger than Opa, but older than Ruthand I, the generation in between.

It was quite a conversation. After talkingabout our family and what happened to

other Jewish families, one by one, the menclaimed they did not know what was happening to the Jews. Opa shook hishead between translating for us. Finally,one man said, “We knew. I was in theHitler youth. Our unit was at a train station where we saw the cattle cars.The people were in terrible condition,moaning, begging for water. We knew.We all knew.”After that speech, the othermen became silent. No one disagreed.

Opa was not shy about asking for directions, especially after he got lost in his hometown of Bür, a suburb ofGelsenkirchen, near Essen. In his defense,Opa pointed out that the town had beenalmost completely destroyed and rebuiltafter the war.

I was astonished to discover that hishometown was very similar to mine.Opa consciously or unconsciously choseto settle in Terre Haute, Ind., a place thatshared the small town ambience of Bür:friendly people who are never in a hurry,surrounded by farms and a gently rollinglandscape, suffused with the feeling ofbeing nowhere.

Opa was 28 when he left Germany, withless than $5 in his pocket, armed only withhis medical school diploma. His journey tofreedom calls to mind the Torah portion,Lech Lechah, which means “go forth,” ormore literally, “go for you.” Our sagesunderstood that this journey was bothphysical and spiritual. This parshah alwaysmoves me for it begins the journey of ourpatriarch, Father Abraham, to thePromised Land, and reminds me of Opa’sescape from the Nazi inferno to theUnited States.

Genesis Chapter 12: “And the Lord saidto Abram, ‘Go forth from your land andfrom your birthplace and from yourfather’s house, to the land that I will showyou. And I will make you into a greatnation, and I will bless you, and I willaggrandize your name, and [you shall] bea blessing’”. (Translation from Chabad.org.)

What did it take for Opa to leave his homeland, when his own father, a

HolocaustEducatorBY DR. MIRIAM L. ZIMMERMAN

Time warp: we were playing with herbeautiful children, Ziva (3-1/2) and Maya(1) (see photo right) in the playroom,which had been her bedroom until shewent off to college. Has 20 years reallyelapsed since she left? Her name is Leah,and she is my youngest child.

Passover 2017: a new generation searchesfor Chometz, for the Afikomen, and experi-ences the comforting family ties that willlast a lifetime – our six grandchildren –ages five, three (three-year-olds), and two (one-year-olds). I had forgotten howmuch fun it is to have young children atSeder. Did Leah’s eyes mist over when Iasked her if she would miss our familySeders? The following is a letter to Leah,written after that fateful family Seder ofApril 15, 2017.

Dearest Leah,Next Passover, you and your family will

not be in your hometown of San Mateo;nor in Jerusalem, the “City of Peace”; butin the “City of Monks,” München(Munich), Germany. Your husband hasaccepted a professorship in Munich, a permanent position.

Your children will become bilingual,and, like their Urgroßvater (great-grand-father), will speak Hochdeutsch (highGerman). Unlike my dad, z”l, they will notspeak English with a thick German accent,since you intend to speak English athome. Even so, I want to learn German sothat I can speak with them when we visit.It is a profound transition, and I can imagine there is considerable emotionbehind your decision. No wonder I sawtears when I asked you if you would missour family Passovers.

It is ironic that you will be returningwillingly to the ancestral homeland of mydad, your Opa (grandfather), whichrevoked his citizenship, expelled him,and destroyed much of his family. It was adistant relative who enabled Opa to emi-grate from Germany, which is one of thereasons I always want as many familymembers as possible at our Seders, nomatter how remotely related. Ida E.Schott, z”l, of Shaker Heights, Ohio,signed the necessary papers and helpedOpa in so many ways. He thus arrived atEllis Island, thanks to mishpochre (family)whom he barely knew, on April 15, 1937.

Sunrise, sunset,swiftly fly the years

Aug. 1, 2017, at San Francisco InternationalAirport: It took two Toyotas, six suitcases,and assorted carry-ons, but my daughter,Leah, and her family are now safelyensconced in their new apartment inMunich. Pictured is Leah holding Maya, andher husband, Ian, holding Ziva.

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SASSO(continued from page 9)

doing?” The friend replies, “Why does itbother you? I am only drilling under myown seat!”

We are all in the same boat; we are really all in the same box. It is time we recognized this.

Sasso is rabbi emeritus of CongregationBeth-El Zedeck and director of the Religion,Spirituality and the Arts Initiative at Butler University, both in Indianapolis, Ind. Reprinted with permission from theIndianapolis Star, June 12, 2017. AAAA

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 11decorated veteran of World War I, refusedto do so? Did Opa respond to an inner“Lech Lechah,” a spiritual and physicalimperative? Without language, withoutmoney, and without a job awaiting him, hesomehow was able to overcome all thebureaucratic obstacles the U.S. and Nazigovernments threw in his way. He departedfrom Hamburg on the S.S. Manhattan onApril 7, 1937.

Perhaps, dear Leah, your return toGermany is more significant to me than itis for you. A key ingredient for me is thatyou are returning part of my family to ourroots. You will be a Jew in Germany, part of the thriving Jewish community inGermany today.

I hope your children will not grow up asI did, attending youth group workshopson “Jewish and American: How Jewishshould you be?”or “Is Judaism a Choice?”or “Jewish identity and Jewish survival,”or“Should Jews have Christmas Trees?”Workshops like these formed the agendafor Temple youth group (NFTY – NationalFederation of Temple Youth) conclaves andworkshops during my teen years. I hopeZiva and Maya will be completely acceptedby their peers and their teachers, with noangst about who they are, where theycame from, why they are there, or howJewish they want to be.

Your dad thinks that Opa, my dad, isturning over in his grave because hisgranddaughter is moving to Germany. Iam not so sure. Six months after your dadand I married, we used our weddingmoney and savings to buy a Volkswagencamper in Germany. It served as our lodging for two months as we touredEurope, a delayed honeymoon.

In those days of the late 1960s, theAmerican Automobile Association (AAA)expedited such purchases. From our end,it was a painless process since AAA handled all the paperwork. In contrast,Opa had to negotiate affidavits, visas,and steamer tickets. Timing was crucial.Would the visa expire before he couldobtain tickets out of the hellhole?

I remember my hesitancy in explainingto my dad our plan, having grown up in ahousehold in which German products,including the German language, were verboten (forbidden). Dad’s nuancedresponse surprised me.“Volkswagen madea favorable trade treaty with Israel afterthe war, making Volkswagens affordable tothe average Israeli.” Dad said he had noproblem with our buying a Volkswagen,despite knowing that the company had usedslave Jewish labor during World War II.

Similarly, I hesitated to explain my newfound feelings for Germany as a resultof our pilgrimage. The tension betweentelling him and not telling him becametoo great; I could not continue to conceal

how I felt. Although I do not rememberexactly where or when this conversationtook place, I can recall the scene vividly, inour little room in a pension somewhere insmall town Germany.

“Dad, I’m having a little trouble here –.”He was instantly concerned. “I mean, Idon’t know how to tell you this, but (Iblurted out), I like Germany.” I had notexpected to have positive feelings aboutthe country that served, in my formativeyears, as the epitome of all things evil. I hadno logical rationale; my reasons, trivial:the cleanliness of the public bathrooms onthe Autobahns, the fresh crisp sweetnessof the apples in vending machines, thefriendly politeness of the people, and thefact that his Gymnasium was still functioningwhile my high school in Terre Haute had been condemned and torn down.Germans build things to last.

Opa said he liked Germany, too, whenhe was growing up. He pointed out that I didnot experience what he had experienced.It was a new generation. The people weencountered, for the most part, were tooyoung to have been part of it. It was a longconversation, and I am so relieved we hadit. He pointed out that Germany madereparations to many survivors and supportedIsrael. Although my dad refused to applyfor money from the German government,his brother, my Uncle Kurt, z”l, received apension from Germany because UncleKurt had lost his judgeship.

In the 1970s, responding to anannouncement by the German consulatein the Aufbau (a German-Jewish newspaperthat arrived weekly in our home while Igrew up), Opa was able to obtain hisGerman license to practice medicine,denied him in 1934 because he was a Jew.When people asked him why he bothered,he replied that it was his; he earned it; andit was unfairly taken from him. Thus, hewanted it.

Ruth became sick during our travels inGermany. At the Apotheke (pharmacy),Dad was surprised that the medicine hewanted required a prescription. He openedhis wallet and showed the pharmacist hisGerman medical license. Thus, he actuallyused it in Germany, once.

When people ask me why I reclaimedmy German citizenship, I recite the samerationale Dad had for obtaining hisGerman medical license. Leah, theseexperiences, especially the conversationabout my liking Germany, help me feelOK about your return to Germany.

Despite my positive feelings, my innerchild wants to say to Germany: “Neener,neener, you did not get us all. Jews are stillhere; we are thriving, and my daughter is proof. She has a Ph.D. in physics,the epitome of the German Jew you triedto obliterate.”

That you obtained your Ph.D. at TUM(Technische Universität München), thatyou received a stipend from a Germaninstitution for your research, that youlearned to speak German, and that youconducted a Passover Seder for you andyour friends in Munich – each clause warrants a hearty “Dayenu!” You alreadyhave a support network in Munich, educatedyoung people who, like you and your husband Ian, are starting their families.

And now, it seems as if you are respondingto your own Lech Lechah, to go forth.Since I am not a Talmudic scholar, I turnedto “Reb Jeff,”whose blog comes closest tomy understanding of the meaning of thisphrase. Reb Jeff cites Rashi to elucidate amore literal interpretation of Lech Lechah.

“The great medieval commentator Rashiunderstood Lech Lechah in absolutely literal terms. He read it as, ‘Go for you.’Rashi wrote that the command means,‘Gofor your own enjoyment and for your owngood.’ God is telling Abram that this is not just a command to leave home, it is an invitation to adventure, wonder, andself-discovery.

“Lech Lechah is the command thatstands at the beginning of Jewish identity.It is the two-word phrase that God uses toset Abram onto the journey towardbecoming Abraham and the foundation ofGod’s covenant with the Jewish people. IfRashi is right, it is a journey that does notserve God’s purposes alone. It is a journeythat serves Abram’s own interests, his ownenjoyment, and his own good.”

Darling Leah – not that you need it –you have my permission and my blessingto make this journey. I hope you willalways listen to your inner Lech Lechah.Applying Rashi’s interpretation, it is thebeginning of your new identity, from anAmerican German-Russian Jew to aGerman-Russian Jew in Germany. Mayyour new life bring you peace, prosperity,and a new sense of who you are – not onlyfor you, but for your whole family.

With much love, deine Mutti (your Mom)To read Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser’s

complete blog on Lech Lechah, browse towww.rebjeff.com/blog/lech-lecha-get-yourself-going. Rabbi Goldwasser is rabbiof Temple Sinai in Cranston, RI.

Dr. Zimmerman is professor emerita atNotre Dame de Namur University (NDNU)in Belmont, Calif., where she continues toteach the Holocaust course. She can bereached at mzimmerman@ndnu.edu. AAAA

Experienced Rabbi available via Skype to help prepare students for their

Bar Mitzvah, or for adults to study Torah,Talmud, Trope or Jewish Mysticism.

To find out more, please contact him at:jliindiana@gmail.com or 317-698-6423.

12 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

“Salads” number 16, for example,Georgian Spinach Salad, Tunisian CarrotSalad and Greek Eggplant Salad. Thirteen“Soups and Dumplings”include JerusalemSunchoke Soup, Russian Minestrone, andUzbec Noodle Soup.

Eleven “Breads”include American VeganChallah, Ethiopian Sabbath Bread, andBukharian Dome-Shaped Crisp Flatbread.There are 10 recipes in “Grains and Such”,some of which are Moroccan Hand-RolledCouscous, Rhodes Toasted Pasta, andItalian Orecchiette.

Fifteen “Vegetable” recipes includeItalian Crispy Fried Zucchini, El SalvadorYuca Latkes and Hungarian RoastedPotatoes. The “Fish”chapter has 15 recipesincluding Indian Fish Curry, Nova ScotianFried Haddock Cakes and Brazilian-Belarusian Grouper.

“Poultry” recipes number 10 such asIraqi Overnight Spiced Chicken, Syrian-Mexican Chicken, and American RoastTurkey. Fourteen “Meat” recipes includeBalkan Leek and Meat Patties, MoroccanLamb Shanks and Iraqi Layered SwissChard, Beets and Meat.

Finally, there are 23 “Sweets” such asSephardic Almond Brittle, Israeli QuinceBabka and Brazilian Cashew Nut Strudel.Scattered throughout the book are fascinating essays such as The WanderingEggplant, Chicken – the exotic bird,Paprika and Sugar. After acknowledgmentsis a bibliography and index.

When Joan guest blogged for the JewishBook Council, soon after the publicationof the cookbook, she wrote: “One of theideas that I have wrestled with throughoutmy career is the question of what is ‘Jewish food.’ Working on my latest cookbook, King Solomon’s Table: ACulinary Exploration of Jewish Cookingaround the World, has at last answeredthat question for me.”

Cookbook collectors, those interested in learning about all aspects of Jewish food in different countries, and fans ofJoan will be fascinated by this collection,like a summary of her 40-year-old career.Below are a few of the recipes from this book.

My KosherKitchen

A review, an inter-view and recipes

[Note: Joan Nathan was in Israel recentlyand agreed to speak before my English-speaking chapter of Hadassah-Israel for afundraiser. We conducted the program withmy interviewing her. Her remarks are at theend of the review.]

King Solomon’s Table. By Joan Nathan.Knopf. 416 pp., April 2017. $35 hardcover.

Before I review this cookbook, I have toadmit, I am prejudiced. I have known Joanfor around 40 years, and every cookbookshe writes is great.

In King Solomon’s Table, Joan traces,through recipes andstories, the journeyof many of thedishes which Jewsate, people she hasmeet over theyears and placesshe has visited.

Alice Waters,well-known chef,food activist, ownerand founder of Chez Panisse Restaurant inBerkeley and cookbook author, writes inthe foreword: “Joan has become the mostimportant preservationist of Jewish foodtraditions, researching and honoring therich heritage that has connected peoplefor millennia.”

Joan’s introduction is an amazing history of the roots of Jewish food. This is followed by “The Pantry”, a discussion of spices and other items. The chaptersand recipes follow. Every recipe has a fascinating story, and there are 171 suchrecipes in 12 chapters.

One can find recipes from Azerbaijan,Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ethiopia,France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary,India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kurdistan, Libya,Lithuania, Mexico, North Africa, Persia,Poland, Rhodes, Romania, Russia, Siberia,Sicily, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, the U.S.,Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

The “Morning” chapter has 17 recipesincluding Tunisian Brik, Hungarian Apple Pancakes and Sri Lankan Breakfast Buns. The “Starters” chapter has 21 recipes like French Buttery OliveBiscuits, Italian Fried Jewish StyleArtichokes, and Greek Long-cookedHard-boiled Eggs with Spinach. (see Kaplan/recipes, page 13)

Smoky Shakshuka(8 servings)The name shakshuka comes from an

Arabic and Hebrew word meaning “allmixed up,”and was made in North Africa.It was born in Ottoman North Africa inthe mid-16th century.

4 red bell peppers1 (1 pound) eggplant2 Tbsp. olive oil3 lamb, beef or chicken chorizo,

sliced in rounds (optional)5 chopped garlic cloves12 chopped tomatoes or28 ounces chopped canned tomatoes1 Tbsp. smoked Spanish paprika2 tsp. salt or to taste1/4 tsp. black pepper or to taste1 Tbsp. sugar or to taste1 bunch chopped cilantro8 large eggsCrumbled Bulgarian feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 450° and line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Cook thepeppers and eggplant, pricking them firstwith a fork, turning occasionally withtongs until slightly soft and blackened,about 20 minutes. Heat the oil in a potover medium heat. Add peppers and fryabout 3 minutes then add chorizo if usingand garlic and cook 6–7 minutes, stirringoccasionally. Add tomatoes and simmer,uncovered, over medium-low heat for 30minutes stirring occasionally. When themixture is thickened, add the smokedpaprika, salt, pepper, sugar, eggplant andall but 3 tablespoons of the cilantro. Stir tocombine, Add seasonings to taste and adda little water if the mixture is too thick.

With the back of a spoon, make 8 shallow wells in the shakshuka. Gentlycrack the eggs into the wells, cover the potand poach over medium-low heat for5–10 minutes until egg whites are set.Serve sprinkled with remaining cilantroand, if you like, Bulgarian feta cheese.

Pickled Herring Spread(6–8 servings)

2 Tbsp. chopped red onion1 Tbsp. almonds1/2 Granny Smith or other tart apple,

peeled and cored1 large peeled hard-boiled egg1 12-ounce jar marinated herring tidbits1 Tbsp. fresh chopped dill

Pulse onion and almonds in foodprocessor. Then add apple and egg tocombine. Pour off sauce and onions frommarinated herring and add to foodprocessor to chop. Place mixture in servingdish and sprinkle with dill to garnish.

BY SYBIL KAPLANPHOTO BY BARRY A. KAPLAN

Sybil Kaplan (R) with Joan Nathan.

Rabbi Lord JonathanSacks recently wrote abouta very interesting piece byRebecca Costa entitled “The Watchman’sRattle” and subtitled “Thinking Our WayOut of Extinction”. I, too, had read thisfascinating work. Costa gives a simple andchallenging account of how civilizationsdie. Simply put, their problems becometoo complex, and societies reach what shecalls a cognitive threshold. They cannotchart a path from the present to the future.

The example she focuses on is the Mayain Central America. For 3500 years theydeveloped an extraordinary civilizationwith an estimated population of morethan 15 million people. They were mas-ters at pottery, weaving and architecture,as well as developing an intricate calendarsystem, charts that tracked the movementof the stars, their own unique system ofwriting and an advanced mathematicalsystem. In addition, they developed awater supply infrastructure involving acomplex network of reservoirs, canals,dams and levees.

Then, for reasons we still do not totallyunderstand, the entire system collapsed.Sometime between the eighth and ninthcenturies the majority of the Mayan people simply disappeared.

Costa’s explanation is that whatevercaused the Mayan collapse, like the fall ofthe Roman Empire and the Khmer Empireof 13th-century Cambodia, occurred becauseproblems became too numerous and toocomplicated for the people of that timeand place to resolve. There was cognitiveoverload, and the system broke down.

The first sign of this breakdown wasgridlock. Instead of dealing with whateveryone could see were the major problems, it was easier to pass them down to the next generation. The secondsign of the breakdown was a retreat intoirrationality. Since people could no longercope with the facts, they took refuge inreligious consolations and extreme behavior.The Maya, just like the Khmer, chose toplacate the gods by gruesome levels ofhuman sacrifice. The problems remainedunresolved, and the civilizations died.

This is what makes the case of the Jewsand Judaism so fascinating. Judaism facedtwo centuries of extreme crises underRoman rule between Pompey’s conquestin 63 BCE and the collapse of Bar Kochba’srebellion in 135 CE. Hopelessly divided,they awaited a cataclysmic destruction.

But unlike the Maya and the Khmer,they did not focus obsessively on sacrifice.

Why civilizations dieand we don’t

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 13

BY RABBI STANLEY HALPERN

Rather, they transformed Judaism into afaith that focused on gemillat chasadim –the doing of acts of righteousness, thestudy of Torah, prayer, both private andcommunal, teshuvah – repentance forwhat we had done wrong – and fasting.

What was so striking about this, partic-ularly from the point of hindsight, is thatrather than clinging obsessively to thepast, our Sages thought forward to thepossibility of a worst case scenario. Howdo we shape and redefine Judaism, even ifeverything horrible happens? How do weanswer the questions? How do we avoidthe gridlock? How do we take our pastand, rather than wallow in it, make it intoa meaningful future?

Perhaps it is time for the Jews andJudaism of today to emulate the Jews andJudaism of 1900 years ago. Our survivalmay depend upon it.

Rabbi Halpern serves Congregation BethShalom in Carmel, Ind., a suburb ofIndianapolis. It is the first new Reform congregation in the area in more than 160years. AAAA

j i

KAPLAN/RECIPES(continued from page 12)

Leek and Meat Patties(12 patties)The original 100-year-old recipe from

Macedonia was a holiday staple for BalkanJews which Joan tampered with a bit.

1-1/4 cup olive oil6–8 chopped leeks2-1/4 tsp. kosher salt1/2 tsp. black pepper2 pounds chopped lamb, beef

or boiled potatoes3 large eggs1 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. allspice1/2 cup chopped parsley1/2 cup matzo meal

Preheat oven to 425° and rub a rimmedbaking sheet with oil.Toss leeks with moreoil, 1 tsp., salt and pepper. Spread leeks insingle layer and roast, tossing frequentlyuntil golden brown and crisp at edges,about 20 minutes. Cool. Chop leeks andmix with meat or boiled potatoes, eggs,cinnamon, allspice, parsley, matzo mealand salt. Form into 12 patties. Heat a frying pan with a thin film of oil. Brownthe patties until golden brown on eachside, making sure they cook through. Ifusing potatoes instead of meat, add a littleParmesan cheese for extra flavor.

An Interview with Joan Nathan,Jerusalem, June 15, 2017

These comments are as close to verbatim

as possible, as the author was also takingnotes while acting as interviewer.

SRK: How did you decide to continue infood writing after you left Israel in the 1970s?

JN: We moved to the Boston area and Imet with an editor at the Boston Globe.He asked me to write about food. I alsohad a scholarship to the Kennedy Schoolat Harvard to do a Master’s in PublicAdministration. I also met Dov Noy, z”l,the world’s renowned Jewish folklorist,who said, “I’ll help you if you decide towrite a cookbook,”because he knew a lotabout ethnic groups.

[At some point] I told Julia Child’s editor I wanted to write a cookbook, butmy father wanted me to go to SchockenPublishers.

[Schocken published The Jewish HolidayKitchen in 1979, An American FolklifeCookbook in 1985, The Children’s JewishHoliday Kitchen in 1988, The JewishHoliday Baker in 1997 and Joan Nathan’sJewish Holiday Cookbook in 2004. Knopfpublished Jewish Cooking in America in1994, The Foods of Israel Today in 2001, TheNew American Cooking in 2005, andQuiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Searchfor Jewish Cooking in France in 2010.]

SRK: How long does it take you to write acookbook?

JN: King Solomon’s Tables took six years.On a trip to India, I saw a sign ‘since the time of Solomon,’ and got the ideaalthough the title to write about my journeys everywhere was my editor’s idea.

SRK: How did you acquire the recipes?JN: I sent out to all the ‘tribes.’[Joan digressed here to say the three

essentials for Jewish food are: the dietarylaws; that the Jews went out to look, forexample, for spices, and adaptations tolocal food.]

SRK: Who does the various elements of a cookbook?

JN: I have people help me in testing andI do my research. In the process of puttingtogether a book, professional photographsare essential today. For King SolomonsTables, I knew where I would go in theworld so I found other places than theoriginal countries for substitutes. If I wentto a country, I would plan trips for 10 daysand when I returned I got the materialtyped quickly; the whole book comestogether with the introduction. Each of mybooks is like a big term paper.

Sybil Kaplan is a foreign correspondent,book reviewer, food writer and lecturer. Shehas compiled and edited nine cookbooks; shewrites the food column for The NationalJewish Post & Opinion; she created andleads weekly walks in English in Jerusalem’sJewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah; andwrites the restaurant features (photographsby husband, Barry) for the website Janglo.She lives in Jerusalem. AAAA

14 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

MediaWatchBY RABBI ELLIOT B. GERTEL

Jimmy Kimmel andAdam Sandler raisethe bar of Jewishhumor in tribute toDon Rickles, z”l

Everyone has been talking about thelate night TV host/comics, and the extentto which they have or have not fanned the flames of political divisiveness in our country. But in the TV season of lastspring, at least one late night TV hostraised the bar of Jewish humor – on thesmall screen, at least.

This past Passover season was usheredin by one of television’s sweetest and mosttouching hours ever. On Thursday night,April 9, Jimmy Kimmel paid tearful buteloquent and appropriately humorous andwitty tribute to Don Rickles (1926–2017),who had passed away that very morningin his 90th year. When I first heard thenews while driving in my car earlier thatday, I teared up, too, surprising myselfwith the extent of the sense of loss that I felt.

Rickles was fun. His appearance on atalk show or at a roast was an event.Though he was not mean and he neverwanted to hurt people or even insult themin any stinging or lingering way, therewere times, mainly in the early talk showyears, when his lines could be hit-or-miss,or off-color or uncomfortably centered oncolor and ethnicity. But he made everyonelaugh repeatedly and long, with his mockeryof political correctness way before theterm was coined. His ad hominem jokesechoed classical Jewish humor, which provides much self-mockery and not a little mockery of others, either as part ofself-deprecation or in all-out satire.

The persona that Rickles conjured onthe stage, different from his real life generosity, kindness and, believe it or not, sensitivity, was, after all, the sarcasticJewish uncle in everyone’s family, Jewishand non-Jewish families alike, whosehumor everyone enjoys though not everyone will admit it.

In a beautiful eulogy for Rickles, hisrabbi, David Wolpe, related that Donspoke of the influence of his father, Max,who, although he did not consider himselfreligious, supported the work of his local (see Gertel, page 15)

synagogue in every detail (time.com/4731430/don-rickles-obituary-rabbi/).

Part of the reason that I felt Rickles’death so profoundly is that I’ve knownhim and his wife Barbara to be devotedsupporters of the Jewish community andof their synagogue in Los Angeles, whichnamed the gymnasium used by the DaySchool and Hebrew School and the congregation in their honor because oftheir fund-raising efforts. They lived theage-old values of “belonging” to the community and doing zedekah, giving.

Like many fans, I always wondered how I would respond to Rickles if theopportunity ever arose. I always admiredRickles for his serious dramatic roles aswell as for his comedy in film and on television. I recall his TV series, which Ienjoyed. Unfortunately, those TV serieswere quite short-lived.

Just as many considered it an honor tobe insulted by Rickles, it certainly wouldhave been an achievement to have comeback at him with a zinger. In his eulogyRabbi Wolpe noted that Don Rickleswould say things to him like,“Don’t giveus a long spiel, ok? I’m due at the track.”Should answering Don Rickles-like congregants be an aspect of rabbinicaleducation? Would I have been able toresist retorting something like, “No sermon could be shorter than the durationof one of your TV series.Your costars stoleyour shows. They must have becausethose shows disappeared so quickly.”Would I have been able to have deliveredthose lines so they didn’t sound nasty, anddone so without meanness, as he did?

I knew instinctively that I had to watchKimmel on the night of April 9 because his eulogies and tributes through the years have been heartfelt and beautiful,beginning with his ode to his Uncle Frank,a warm, friendly and sincere member ofthe Jimmy Kimmel Live ensemble, whowas a real life New York policeman and a security guard. Frank had worked in the latter capacity with Rickles and Sinatra and others in Vegas, where Jimmygrew up.

What I had not expected was that single-handedly, Kimmel would raise the

bar of Jewish humor in America on thatshow, both in his moving tribute to Ricklesand in his ensuing delightful interview ofAdam Sandler.

That night, Kimmel related a wonderfulstory told to him by Rickles’best friend, BobNewhart, about Don and Barbara and Boband his wife Ginny joining Frank Sinatrafor dinner at an elegant Los Angelesrestaurant with completely white décorfrom the tablecloths to the walls. Frankwas in a vile mood, and when a waiterplunked down the ketchup in front of himit was like a toreador waving a red cape infront of a bull. In a rage, Sinatra grabbedthe ketchup bottle and threw it against thewall, sending red splatters all over.Everyone in the restaurant stopped talkingand just gasped. Without missing a beat,Don Rickles asked, in a stage whisper:“Frank, would you pass the ketchup?”This caused everybody, including FrankSinatra, to burst into laughter.

Now that, I thought, is a very Jewishjoke, rooted in Jewish values and teachingswhich regard the yetzer ha-ra or evil inclination, especially such angry displays,as foolish and wasteful. What better wayto communicate the classical Jewish concern, rooted in the Bible and Talmudand in Yiddish lore, regarding waste or bal tashhit (“Don’t destroy!”), wantonbreakage or destruction of objects thatcould still be useful and beneficial.Hearing this story about Rickles, I thoughtof Rabbi Ben Zion Bokser’s poetic description of Jewish law and ethics,including bal tashhit, in his classic book,Judaism: Profile of a Faith (1963).

More directly related to Jewish ritualswas a warm and witty note, among someothers, written by Rickles to Kimmel andread during Kimmel’s eulogy: “Jimmy,Thanks so much for the bottle of wine.We’ve been so busy crushing grapes withour bare feet, hoping to have wine for theholidays, and you came to our rescue justin time.” Here images of Italian wine-making (Kimmel is part Italian) mergewith Jewish holiday blessings. The letterscited and the video clips shown testify toRickles’capacity for a gentle humor whichoffered engaging images and metaphors.In one exchange when Rickles was payingtribute to Kimmel’s Uncle Frank, Donasked Kimmel if he was talking too fast forhim to follow, adding: “You’re looking atme like I’m a chemistry set.”

Kimmel’s show was filled with many morelaughs than tears; its laughs flourishedunder the dew of bittersweet tears. Thehumor was heartfelt and uplifting.

That spirit continued in fine segmentswith Adam Sandler, whom Kimmelqueried about his friends and daughters,and even about his Passover observance.

Jimmy Kimmel (R) interviewing Don Rickles.

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 15

in Philadelphia. He has written his JP&Ocolumn for more than 20 years and is directorof Trading Wise, an international trade andmarketing company in Orlando, Fla. AAAA

photo of Warsaw Ghetto Memorial

j i

(Kimmel has referred regularly to theJewish Festivals in his monologues, skitsand interviews.) On the night of theRickles memorial, he asked Sandler outright, “Do you observe Passover?” Hethen asked Sandler if the children areinvolved in the holiday. Sandler replied,“We do.”Then Sandler elaborated memo-rably: “You can’t have bread.You get rid ofall the bread in the house. My motherused to wrap all the bread in a papertowel…and burn it so the bread was gone.But to carry on the tradition, and the newAdam Sandler wealth, different than thepast, I will do the same, but I just burn myhouse down. I bring the kids to a newhouse every year to celebrate.”

What a clever, even brilliant, play on thebiblically-rooted Jewish custom of biurchametz, the removal or burning of leavenbefore Passover. Sandler noted the impor-tance of the children seeing this custom,including himself as a child. He paid trib-ute to his mother. He also poked fun atthrowaway culture as generations becomemore affluent. But most pointed of all, henoted how difficult it is for traditionalJews, especially the women, to prepare forthe Passover festival with all its cleaning andcooking and literal scouring of the house.

The suggestion that it is easier to getanother house would not be lost onuntold generations of Jews. It’s a modernupdate of the old joke about Jews whowere forced to convert to Christianity inmedieval times and were finally allowedby the local bishop to return to Judaism,but whose wives protested, “Couldn’t wewait until after Passover?” Even in an ageof (hopefully) egalitarian Passover prepa-rations in many Jewish households, theseold jokes ring true, and Sandler, withKimmel’s help, updated them beautifully.

It is a great tribute to Don Rickles, ofblessed memory, and to Kimmel andSandler, that Rickles was fondly recalled ina talk show hour that raised the bar of“Jewish humor”which, in many films andTV shows, is often vulgar and silly.

Rabbi Gertel has been spiritual leader ofcongregations in New Haven and Chicago.He is the author of two books, What JewsKnow About Salvation and Over the Top Judaism: Precedents and Trends in the Depiction of Jewish Beliefs andObservances in Film and Television. Hehas been media critic for The NationalJewish Post & Opinion since 1979. AAAA

GERTEL(continued from page 14)Shipley

SpeaksBY JIM SHIPLEY

Science and religion:Compatible

There is an interesting documentary onYouTube about a recent archeologicalexpedition in Iraq and Iran – what wasancient Persia and before that Babylonia.In ancient texts and evidence in excavationsthere are stories about Sodom, Gomorrahand the big flood.

That area of Persia/Iran was and is susceptible to flooding. They use roundbottom boats of the type described inTorah in the story of Noah. But, there is nohistory of a great flood – plenty of floods,but not one big enough to bring penguinsfrom Antarctica and giraffes from Africa.

A lot of what we read in Torah was written during the Babylonian exile. Notthat there is anything wrong with that.But...like the song says “The things thatyou’re liable to read in the Bible, they ain’tnecessarily so”. Much of our Torah and theNew Testament consist of stories to illustratethe existence of a Higher Power and arenecessary to get the reader’s attention.

People need to believe in somethinggreater than themselves to deal with lifeand what it throws at them. Without faith,we would as a world, be in even worseshape than we are.

But faith, like Joseph’s coat, comes inmany colors. At one time it was stone idolsand fire. Faith.Without it we would not haveelectricity, Einstein’s theory, automobilesor trips to the moon. No, faith should neverbe a problem. Religion on the other hand...

Religious leaders take faith and fashionit into a regimented program of belief anddiscipline. Some of them throughout history take off on their own routethrough faith to religion. Sometimes,strong leaders – up to dictators, use Godto tell their followers what God told themor what he meant.

Sometimes, to do this, some religiousleaders have to defy reality to keep thefaithful in line. Judaism started with a set of rules that all these millennium laterstill make incredible sense. The TenCommandments by themselves set rulesthat adjusted in their wording to modernsituations would make this a mostdelightful world in which to live.

There is not nor is there ever a conflictbetween faith and reality. God, whateveror whoever he may be probably has aplan...but we nor any religious leader is

prescient enough to know what that is.The problems arise when the people who are appointed or in some cases self- appointed start interpreting scriptureto suit their own purposes and ignore history and science.

Can religion and science exist together.Of course they can! Look at a spider web– chimpanzees have 98% of our humanDNA – how can you not believe that aHigher Power, something beyond our ownnarrow experience had something to dowith that? In 1844 when Samuel F.B. Morsesent the first telegraph message – whatdid he transmit? “What has God wrought?”

I have failed over the years to picturesome bearded figure, surrounded by a mysticlight sitting on a high throne somewhere “up”in heaven, handling every little problem –not just on earth but in the billions andbillions of stars that you can only see on aclear night away from civilization.

William Shakespeare wrote: “There aremore things in heaven and earth than arein our philosophy”. I believe there is aHigher Power of some kind and perhapseven a grand plan. And, maybe humansare just a teeny part of that plan. If it is aplan for peace and goodwill we certainlyare not the answer.

Is there any question that religious warshave killed and are killing more peoplethan all the plagues and floods in history?Every war has started through the will andpurpose of some “Strong Man”. Too manytimes these tyrants call upon religion tojustify their means. Religion, not faith.

Could we have faith without religion?Maybe. Probably. But humans tend toquestion and seek simple answers. Jews?Vey! We are the greatest questioners of all.Go to any city with a solid population ofOrthodox Jews. They (we) do not acceptthe word of any fellow human justbecause he stands on a pulpit or a speak-er’s podium. Study and discussion – okay,argument – over Torah is going on as Iwrite and as you read, as it has for centuries. Interpretation of Torah or theNew Testament is varied and difficultbecause it should be. It is the reason wehave seminaries to train our rabbis andour priests and reverends.

They need that base. That base comesfrom Human faith. They read and studyand interpret. But when they carry thatinterpretation to reverse the actual facts of human development, science and evolution – facts that are more and moreindisputable as science gains new insightsand modern tools – they are doing a disservice to their congregation, mankindas a whole and to God – whomever hemay be.

Jim Shipley has had careers in broadcasting,distribution, advertising, and telecommuni-cations. He began his working life in radio

the rich Jewish past is preserved by verydedicated Gentile Poles. I’m still hauntedby the photo of a Lublin Jewish boy whoresembles by own grandson Danny, andthe grim struggle and fate of the Jewishchildren in the ghettos and camps.

At the Majdanek death camp, the firstmajor one to be liberated by the Russiansas part of the Allied Forces, I mentioned inHebrew to a number of Israeli officersfrom the delegation that they arrived 70plus years too late. They responded thatthere was then no State of Israel, “that’sthe point” I retorted. Of the 360,000 lostlives there, 120,000 were Jewish.

In Krakow I was enchanted by thelargest Market Square in Europe, WawelCastle, the Jagiellonian University with itsInstitute of Jewish Studies, the Cathedralwhich was home to Pope John Paul II andmore. In the medieval Jewish Quarter ofKaziemierz are restaurants offering Jewishdishes and Klezmer music in Yiddish andHebrew offered by Poles who capture theJewish spirit.

I was moved by hundreds of AmericanJewish youth who celebrated Jewish life,connecting to both a glorious and painfulpast as they continued to Israel’s Jewishrebirth. Being in Oskar Schindler’s life-saving factory turned museum was animportant reminder of those RighteousGentiles who heroically stood by us.

The Krakow JCC established with the aidof Prince Charles of England is upliftingindeed, as was the instructive GaliciaJewish Museum where Professor EdytaGaworn addressed us. The city is host tothe famous annual Jewish CultureFestival. Visiting vast Auschwitz-Birkenau(symbol of evil’s essence) where the Nazideath machine claimed a million and one-half Jewish lives was an eerie experienceof shock and numbness. How monstrous-ly deceptive is its infamous welcomingsign in German,“Arbeit Macht Frei”(workmakes you free)!

We witnessed the sites of once vibrantsmall Jewish communities in Poland’s pastoral countryside, and the creative andnoble synagogues’ restoration as Jewishmuseums and cultural centers thou sadlywithout Jews; Sejny’s neo-Baroque synagogue is home to the BorderlandFoundation dedicated to Poland’s richmulti-cultural heritage that is Polish,Jewish, Lithuanian, Belaurussian andRussian; Tykocin’s 17th century Baroquesynagogue; picturesque Sandomierz withits cathedral depicting a medieval blood-libel painting of rabbis sacrificing aChristian baby for matza baking. However,following much Jewish protest there is arecently placed plaque testifying that thealleged never took place; Chmielnik withits uniquely renovated synagogue-museum,

16 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

(see Zoberman, page 17)

which is free from both Nazism andCommunism, proudly acknowledging its 1,000 years of Jewish life which contributed so much to Poland.

It is significantly located next to theimposing Warsaw Ghetto Monument.How moved I was that after emerging from the breathtaking museum tour, thelarge Israel Defense Forces (IDF) annualdelegation in uniform conducted a memo-rial ceremony at the monument. It is an educational attempt to bond Israelis withpast heroism and sacrifice.The servicemenand women also assist in cemetery work.

We welcomed Shabbat at the Progressivesynagogue of Beit Warszawa. In the morning we attended the Orthodox NozykSynagogue, the only one that survived thewar, and met there Poland’s Chief RabbiMichael Schudrich, an American. Weencountered Israeli tourists who took thethree and a half hour flight from Tel Avivto Warsaw on attractive “deals”with also ashopping spree in mind. The Chopinpiano recital by Anna Kubicz was an elegant touch of Polish culture.

I had a memorable visit to Lodz with its reminders of a great industrial past of Jewish input. The former largeLitzmannstadt Ghetto, the last of Poland’sto be liquidated and the second in size,is a stark reminder of a tragic end.Controversial Chaim Rumkowski was thehead of the Judenrat, the Jewish Councilappointed by the Germans.

In Lublin, we were at the oncerenowned Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva and the touching Brama Grozdka-NNTheater in the old Jewish quarter where

Examining the June 2017Ayelet Tours advertisedtrip to Poland and Lithuania,I couldn’t help but notice that my father’shometown of Zamosc in southeasternPoland was on the itinerary. We wereaccompanied by Professor Natan Meir ofPortland State University which was anadded bonus to a transforming adventure!

My first exposure to Poland was at agesix months in 1946 when my family ofPolish Holocaust survivors returned homefrom Siberia and Kazakhstan (then USSR)where I was born. However, we left afteronly four months. Some 1500 Jews weremurdered by Poles who begrudged oursurvival and eyed our properties.

I visited Poland in February 1992 for apacked three days sponsored by theChicago Board of Rabbis. I recall seeingthe sign leading to Zamosc and my frustration of not going there. This time Iwas in Zamosc and I am still overtaken bybreathing the air of generations of myancestors who lived, loved and labored till the tragic onslaught of Nazi terror.

Imagine my speechless elation at beingin the restored Sephardic “RenaissanceSynagogue”built in the early 17th century.The only such edifice in Poland officiallyopened on April 5, 2011 with Poland’sPresident Bronislaw Komorowski inattendance as Honorary Patron.

After all, my great-grandma DinaMenzis Zoberman was a descendent ofSpanish and Portuguese Jews, whoseindustrial and communal leadership inZamosc was immense. Dina and her husband Rabbi Yaakov Zoberman perished in the Belzec death camp alongwith other family members and many of Zamosc’s 14,000 Jews. Half a millionentered this latest of the six major Nazideath camps to be cared for (the AmericanJewish Committee played a pivotal role)and only three survived at war’s end withtwo of them murdered following testifyingin court!

Poland was the world center of Jewishlife before WWII. Less than half a millionPolish Jews survived out of 3.5 million.Warsaw, Poland’s capital has been rebuiltfrom its ruins and is now a thriving inter-national metropolis. Its new Museum ofthe History of Polish Jews is called The Polin Museum. Polin is the Hebrewword for Poland meaning “here we sleepand stay.”This state-of-the-art museum ispromising testimony to the new Poland

Summer pilgrimageto Poland, Lithuania,and IsraelBY RABBI ISRAEL ZOBERMAN

Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman at the WarsawGhetto Monument at the Museum of theHistory of Polish Jews in Warsaw Poland.

a bima encased in glass and memorabiliaof a once flourishing community.

Captivating Vilnius (Vilna), Lithuania’scapital, evokes memories of Jewish religious and cultural heights. We attendedthe burial place of the Vilna Gaon, delightedthat one of our fellow travelers from NewYork had recently discovered he was adescendent of this great rabbi. We visitedthe former ghetto as well as the PonarForest where 70,000 Jews were murdered,and the site of the famous escape tunneldug by Jews who were ordered to burn theexhumed bodies.

The calm forest belies the indescribableslaughter that should have shaken heavenand earth. At the Genocide Museum (aformer KGB prison) we were exposed tothe bloody brutalities of the Sovietstoward Lithuanians in general, along withmass deportations to Siberia, all regardedby Lithuania as genocidal policy. LakesideTrakai, the medieval capital of Lithuania,offered us a respite, and we were enlight-ened at the Karaite museum, learninghow this sect escaped Nazi persecution.

We are grateful to The Foundation for thePreservation of Jewish Heritage in Polandfor its remarkable initiatives and accom-plishments! The observed signs of Jewishrenewal are encouraging and heartwarming,but surely this amazing journey wasbound to stir deep and mixed emotions.

I continued by myself to Israel. Howrewarding it was to know that there is awelcoming Jewish state following unfath-omable destruction! To top it all, the aircraft carrier USS H. W. Bush whosehomeport is Norfolk arrived in Haifa, myhometown, with close to 6,000 sailors and pilots aboard following bombing ISIStargets. It was the first American carrier toarrive in Israel in 17 years, spending July4th in Israel. It was greeted enthusiastically,reaffirming the special bond between thetwo democratic allies. I fondly recall beingpresent when a Torah Scroll originallyfrom Germany was presented to thisincredible vessel.

Rabbi Israel Zoberman is the foundingrabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim inVirginia Beach. He is Honorary SeniorRabbi Scholar at Eastern Shore ChapelEpiscopal Church. AAAA

ZOBERMAN(continued from page 16)

August 9, 2017 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT 17

JewishAmericaBY HOWARD W. KARSH

Mindfulness,meaningfulnessand relevancy

In 1978, after five fulfilling years as aHillel Director at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Jewish CommunityCenter of Milwaukee asked me to accept amove to their Senior Adult Department.The US Government had a wide array offunded programs for seniors, and theywanted both the money and the programs.I accepted. In all of these positions wereferred to ourselves as Social GroupWorkers. None of us had any specific geriatric training, but it was expected thatif we could program for college students,we could make the move upward to seniors. It turned out to be a pleasant journey and a fairly long learning curve.

In 1978 I was in my early 40s, and thiswas my initial experience with this agegroup. Every day was a new experience.The participants were mostly put togetherwomen, who knew how to socialize, copeand successfully manage their lives,whether married or single. In contrast themen were fewer, had dramatically less socialskills, and the single men and widowerswere, in the main, floundering. Withoutwork and without their mates, theyseemed to be just treading water. We triedall kinds of interventions, but despite someattractive programming there was a verybig difference in their sense of being aliveand more importantly feeling relevant.

Now I am in my 80’s and experiencingsome of what they were facing. Friendsare dying, your life seems less relevant in asociety where everyone worships youthand new ideas, and while there wereexceptions, the majority of men were notexperiencing anything talked about intheir “Golden Years.”

Large parts of being “aged out of life”offend me, but with a very large family, alively marriage, and writing, I am mostlybothered by doctors who believe that all of my pains and complaints are ageappropriate. But there is hope if you look.

The daily programming on “Ted”introduces one to new and excitingresearch in 20 minute presentations. It isnot only what one learns, but the fact thatthis kind of daily exposure to new ideasrestores many of our brain’s synapses,which have retired and are still open to

being replenished. Learning is indicatedto be better than crossword puzzles andmemory games.

Three of the most meaningful areas ofresearch to look into are “mindfulness-mindlessness, meaningfulness-meaning-less and relevancy”. Mindfulness has beenlooked at for over 20 years and is wellresearched. The premier work has beendone by Dr. Ellen Langer, a tenuredProfessor at Harvard, who has developeda fascinating series of studies on the effectof simply being mindful.

If you Google her name, up comes a significant series of “You Tube” interviewsshe has given. (If you don’t “Google”and can’t use “You Tube,” you are doingyourself a disservice and not adding anything to your sense of “self relevancy.”Our sages teach that the Almighty investedeach of us with potential.You need to testit out. You need to look in the mirror and ask some hard questions about therichness of your life, and what you can doto maximize it. We were not created just tosit and warehouse ourselves.

Some time ago National Geographic dida very interesting series on thriving seniorcommunities. The key to each communitywas involvement, and retirement did notmean retiring from life. The only commu-nity that was in the United States was inLoma Linda, Calif., and was mostlySeventh Day Adventists.

The famous Dr. Oz, who is a cardiac surgeon, was asked to go to Loma Linda tointerview a 90+ year old cardiac surgeonwho was in still practicing and regularlydoing involved surgery. His experiencewas eye opening, but what I remembermost was the doctors instructions to hisassociates to intervene if they ever felt hispatients were at risk. Dr. Oz reported thathis skills were intact and exceptional.

When they had a chance to visit, Dr. Ozasked him if had some secret that hadallowed him to perform so well at thisadvanced age. The doctor replied thatthere was no stress in his life, because G-d ran the world perfectly without him, and allowed him to tend his garden,enjoy life with his wife, children and community, and to do the work he lovedmost, giving life to others.

Each day science is suggesting that theyhave the way to extend our lives. For manypeople that is not a positive, unless thereis a promise of quality and dignity; just living longer isn’t their goal. Your brain isstill the most magnificent “machine” in the world. We all need to keep in touchwith it, and challenge it to help us toenrich our lives.

Update: Eretz Yisroel (The Land of Israel) I am in Israel attending a granddaughter’s

wedding. Because of having a large family

here, two married children, 21 grandchildrenand nearly 31 great-grandchildren, weneed the three weeks we’re here to checkeveryone out, hold the new babies, and feelthat we are finally on Israeli time. I needtime to walk and ride around Jerusalem,clearly the city that touches my soul.

(see Karsh, page 18)

j i

The next writing assignment was tomake a list of the things you appreciate. Iwrote: when I read something well writtenby someone else that I was thinking butnot able to articulate. Others wrote: whensomeone else makes my dinner, taking awalk on a spring day seeing and smellingall the flowers, dressing with warm clothesright from the dryer on a cold wintermorning, and when my children enjoy oneanother. Again I could see how this wouldhelp improve one’s sense of wellbeing.When one is not feeling well, one tends to forget that many good things are alsoconcurrently taking place.

One of the challenges of poor health isloneliness. A person who is ill often feelslike no one else understands him or herand frequently people are not comfortableburdening others with their problems.Everyone wants to be the strong one andnot have to ask or count on others forhelp. This class was the perfect antidote tothat. It was very comforting to both sharechallenges with the class and also to hearthat others had experienced them as well.

The class was held at the EfroymsonCenter for Creative Writing on the Butlercampus. Professor Flanzbaum teachesundergrad and grad writing courses atButler, but for non-students she teacheswriting for wellness courses, also for wellfolks, who want stress relief.You can reachher at hflanzba@butler.edu. AAAA

18 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

KARSH(continued from page 17)

But I like to be the journalist who canstill be objective about Israel. I have a longpast here. Beginning in 1972 when I studied Hebrew for the summer inNetanyah, at Ulpan Akiva, I have been fortunate to have been here almost 50times, and I took photographs and notes.

While I was at Milwaukee’s JewishCommunity Center, I led ten trips to Israeland Europe, and one in the 1990s for pastors and their wives from Wisconsin for the Israeli Tourism Board. Over theyears, three of my children have livedhere. Currently one has returned toNorthbrook, Ill., where he is an outreachteacher and rabbi.

At the time we referred to them as far-away family visits, but in truth, therehave been massive changes. We have both a backward and forward set of associations. The backward ones areabout massive growth, apartments,condos, highways and traffic.

Some things have remained the same:the lack of a real peace with thePalestinians, the slow pace of a better lifefor the immigration of the people fromYemen and Ethiopia, a greater condition of life for the very poor and the very rich,and the continuing lack of peace andacceptance between the religious and thesecular Jews.

It is interesting to understand that theyare living with the issues of 69 years ago,but now in the highly technocratic age,that they are players in all of the big stakesworld markets, healthcare, munitions, andinfrastructure, but simply can’t addresssome of the day-to-day issues that haveplagued them.

In the first part of this column aboutgrowing older successfully, I mention myfascination with “TED TALKS.” I hopethat you are inspired enough to look themup on your computer or Smartphone, orthat you will look at the 20 minute presen-tation by Ari Wallace, a self-proclaimed“Futurist,” a fascinating occupation that Ithought had lost its battle with andagainst living in a time-rushed present,where thinking and working for a betterworld seems obsolete.

The environment, our crumbling infrastructure and healthcare now arebeing regarded as needing temporary fixes rather than long range planning and implementation. We need to begin bysupporting any effort to close the UnitedNations. It does not work, never did andnever will. It is a Black Bureaucratic holethat sucks money and energy.

We need to open conversations withPalestinians on the basis of moving forwardbecause it won’t work any other way. Thetwo parties don’t need anyone else’s help.Make the plan doable and do it.

The rift between the religious and secular populations is doable. They arefaced with having an impossible form ofgovernment which cannot amass enoughvotes to move forward. They simply haveto find a way to live together before an“enlightened Palestinian leadership”simply gives up holding them in unitybecause they dislike the Palestinians morethan each other. Maybe, just maybe, that willbring a new reality to their determinationthat the only victory is when they can wineverything. In America there is not alwaysenmity on this scale, but Jews are a “stiff-necked”people.

Karsh lives and writes in Milwaukee, Wisc.,and can be reached at hkarsh @gmail.com. AAAA

COHEN(continued from page 8)

coordinator of these programs and askedif I could attend this class and write aboutit here. She connected me with theinstructor Hilene Flanzbaum, Ph.D., aProfessor of English and the Director ofthe MFA Program in Creative Writing atButler University.

The class met six times, once a week foran hour and half. During the class, copiesof poetry and prose by different authorswere distributed and read aloud inadvance of writing assignments to helpgive the student ideas about what to write.Also lists of “writing prompts”were passedaround with questions and topics to helpget one’s creative juices flowing when onehas writer’s block. To see a list of 650prompts, go to (nytimes.com/2016/10/20/learning/lesson-plans/650-prompts-for-narrative-and-personal-writing.html?_r=0).Then at the end of each class, we weregiven a writing assignment to do duringthe week to discuss in the next class.

Some examples of writing prompts withthe additional advice of including sensorydetails were: Describe your favorite song.Where would you travel if you could goanywhere? What keeps you up at night?If you were stranded on a desert islandwhat one other person would you like tobe with you or what one book would youlike to have and why? Begin a story withthese words: “In my mother’s kitchen”or“In my father’s garage”.

In the first class at the top of page of thefirst handout of writing prompts was thissentence. “According to psychologicalresearch, the practice of writing 20 minutesa day is as effective as prescription medication in altering mood.”

One of the first writing assignments wasto make a list of personal pet peeves orthings that annoy you. Then the class wasgiven about 15 minutes to write and at theend of that time the students could sharewhat they had written if they felt movedto. After doing this exercise I could under-stand why this would help improve one’s mood. Instead of stewing about aproblem, this gives one the opportunity to express it and unburden oneself.

Some examples of those pet peeves thatothers listed were the steady stream ofloud noisy leaf blowers and lawn mowersthat continue all summer disturbing thepeace and quiet. Some had to do withchallenges with our current healthcaresystem such as not being able to talk toone’s doctor on the phone or to get anappointment when needed. Also havingan unfamiliar pain and not being able tofigure out the cause of it. One of my dislikesis people who are biased and prejudiced,even though I can be that way at times.

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KAPLAN/IS(continued from page 20)

duced and toured in puppet-and-peopleperformances of Jewish tales throughoutIsrael and in North America and GreatBritain. He is a founder of EncoreEducational Theatre Company, for whomhe wrote and directed The Keys to the City,and staged The Mikado, The Wizard of Oz,The Yeomen of the Guard, Oklahoma!, ThePirates of Penzance, Fiddler on the Roof,Ruddigore, The Pianist, Carousel, HMSPinafore, The Grand Tour, My Fair Lady,The Gondoliers, The Secret Garden, TheSorcerer/Trial by Jury, Oliver, Annie GetYour Gun, Guys and Dolls, and Aladdin.

Musical Director Paul Salter is a graduateof the Royal Northern College of Music inManchester, England, where he won several prizes and scholarships in pianoaccompaniment. Paul has performedwidely, with concerts in Manchester,London, Antwerp, and Strasbourg. He hasaccompanied many of the world’s leadingcantors, has broadcast on the BBC andIndependent Television, and appeared incabaret with Ron Moody (Fagin in the filmOliver!). For several years, Salter wasmusical director of Manchester’s JewishTheatre Group, for whom he conductedeleven shows. In Israel, he served as musical director of Capital MusicalTheatre’s productions of Guys and Dollsand Any Dream Will Do. A resident ofAlon Shvut, a community in the GushEtzion, Salter is active as a musicalarranger, composer and conductor.

In the Times of Israel (May 15, 2017)Binder was interviewed by Fred Casdan,who asked why they created this musical:

“This is a project that has been severalyears in gestation. A number of years ago,I made several visits to Zichron Yaakov for a project I was doing at the time, and Ivisited the Aaronsohn house. I was verymuch taken with the story of SarahAaronsohn and especially that ofAvshalom Feinberg being buried in thedesert and his grave being identified 50years later thanks to a tree that had grownfrom the dates he carried in his pocket.

“We met with a patron of ours, the lateSam Sylvester, who told us that he too wasintrigued by the story and had one timewritten a film script that he was unable to sell. But we both had the same idea of starting the story with the discovery ofthe palm tree in the desert. That led us to do some more research and writing onthe project, and after Sam passed away acouple of years ago, we spoke to his familyabout creating a living memorial to him bywriting this story as a serious musical.”

“The Sylvester family very kindly com-missioned us to do so.”The result was anopera, a serious musical, in the way Les

Miz or Phantom of the Opera or the worksof Stephen Sondheim would be described.

Binder describes the story of Intrepid:“The story is a marvelous, thrilling

chapter of early Zionist history, the factthat a group of young Zionists, who hadgrown up in Eretz Yisrael, children of theFirst Aliyah, were determined to drive theTurks from the country and help theBritish conquer it and establish a Jewishhomeland, which in fact they did, eventhough individually they came to rathersticky ends. In this particular story, there’sthe intrigue of the spy ring, there’s theromance of the Aaronsohn sisters withAvshalom Feinberg, there’s the mysteryand the surprise of finding the palm tree inthe desert. It’s really a very complex story….

“The only thing in the script that is not based on an historical event is a littleromantic touch we added at the sugges-tion of Sam’s widow, Carol Sylvester. Shesaid that she had read somewhere thatRivka Aaronsohn, the fiancée of AvshalomFeinberg, gave him a brass button, whichhe carried with him as a good luckcharm….When Rivka and Avshalom part,they exchange a button and a flower. Andthe button is found on Avshalom’s body50 years later. His body was re-interred inthe military cemetery on Har Hertzl. RivkaAaronsohn was there, having waited 50years for her lover to return. And in presenting the flag from his coffin to Ms.Aaronsohn, they also returned the buttonto her as a token of love.”

Asked how he thought people wouldrespond, Binder said,“I think they’ll find itvery significant, seeing the colossal pioneering efforts of these young people,who against incalculable odds, weredetermined to achieve their goal of aJewish nation…. there. It’s a very serioustale that is so important to us today.”

Binder was then asked how the showwas written.“I first produced an outline ofthe script and discussed it with Salter.When he was satisfied with the dramaticoutline, then I started to write lyrics for

various songs and sent them to him.Basically, the words come first and arethen set by the composer. Salter has written the most fabulous music for thisshow. The score is absolutely wonderful.”

Explaining the format of the production,Binder said, “For the leads, there are fivemajor parts for which we had people inmind. All the other characters come in andout and play the British or the Egyptians orthe Turks. We have a cast of 18 performers,all of whom are top caliber. Most of themhave performed with us a number of timesin Encore! productions. We know theirindividual strengths, and we wrote to fittheir particular vocal and dramatic talents.I should also mention that, as usual, wewill have a top-notch orchestra for Salterto conduct.”

Slides projected on the back wall of thestage replace actual scenery.

The story begins with a place in theSinai desert where Arabs told soldiersafter the Six-Day War in 1967 there was apalm tree and area they called “the Jew’sgrave.” Dates from Avshalom Feinbeg’spocket had produced the tree, and hisbones were found underneath.

The focus is then a flashback to 1915 whenthe hero, Aaron Aaronsohn, tells his friend,Avshalom, of a plan he has to set up aJewish spy ring to assist the British in con-quering Palestine from the Ottoman Turks.

Over the next few months Aaron’s sister, Sarah, becomes involved. The spyheadquarters is the Agricultural ExperimentalStation at Atlit, and the group awaitsBritish ships which bring supplies to them.The group chooses the name NILI (acronymfor Netzach Yisrael Lo Yishaker – “TheEternal One of Israel will not be false”).

Later, they begin to use carrier pigeonsto send messages and, on one occasion,one lands near a Turkish officer, exposingthe spy ring. Spy members are revealed,and two are hung. Avshalom is killedwhile trying to reach Egypt via the Sinai todeliver information to the British. Sarah is arrested but will not give the Turks any information. Before being sent toDamascus prison, she is allowed to gohome to change clothes. While there, shechooses to commit suicide rather than betaken to prison. Aaron survives but dies ina plane crash in 1919.

The operatic presentation is dramaticand meaningful and the lyrics and songsare respectful of the seriousness of theplot. For those who know and those whodon’t know, this is a significant part ofIsrael history.

Additional performances are scheduledfor Jerusalem on Oct. 29 and 31, and inZichron Ya’acov at the Elma Arts Complexon Nov. 1 – www.Encore-etc.com, phone:(054) 578-9006 or Mr. Binder: (054) 546-4215.

See Kaplan bio page 13. AAAA

Michael Sacofsky, Aviella Trapido and RafaelApfel as members of the NILI spy ring examine a map of Eretz Yisrael to determinewhere their colleagues can gather militaryinformation.

time, we took the tour. Upon returning,since I had read the book about theAaronsohn family and the spy ring, Nili,I created a lecture to present at the seniorcitizen residences.

When I saw the first notice that theEnglish-language theatre company, Encore!,was presenting a premiere, Intrepid: TheSaga of the Nili Spy Ring as a musical, Iknew I had to see it. To even imagine thistragic story as a musical is incredible, butthis production was unbelievable in itsstory of “romance, intrigue, bravery andtragedy,” with an “operatic treatment inthe grand tradition” on the centennial ofthe Nili spy ring.

Robert Binder wrote and directed thisproduction; Paul Salter, composed the music.

Binder has been involved in the creationof educational media for Israel television, theJNF, and other places. As artistic directorof Bimadaf (“Page on the Stage”), he pro-

Many people have seen the 2016 film,Denial, based on Deborah Lipstadt’s 2005book, History onTrial: My Day inCourt with DavidIrving. This is justone of Lipstadt’sfour books on herspecialty on theHolocaust as anAmerican historian.She is also theauthor of BeyondBelief: The AmericanPress and theComing of the Holocaust, 1933–1945 (1986),Denying the Holocaust (1992), and TheEichmann Trial (2011). She is currentlyprofessor of Modern Jewish History andHolocaust Studies at Emory University inAtlanta, Ga.

Lipstadt spoke at the International BookFair in June in Jerusalem. Leading the discussion with her was Tom Segev,Israeli historian, author and journalist; he currently writes a column for the newspaper, Haaretz. Segev had coveredthe trial in detail and visited Irving in hisLondon home in February 2000.

“From behind his desk, Irving cameacross as full of himself, a condescendingman, a consummate egocentric, an inde-fatigable chatterer,” Segev described.“He drank his tea with milk, and did notoffer us any. One shelf in the room is linedwith the personal diaries that he has beenwriting since 1959. They will be his secretweapon in this case, Irving said. Fifty-fivevolumes, somewhere between 20 and 30 million words, of which a mere 13words bear unmistakably clear anti-Semitic character.”

Lipstadt is well knowntoday for having takenHolocaust denier, DavidIrving to court in Londonwhen he sued her and her publisher for libel forcharacterizing him and someof his writing and publicstatements as a Holocaust denier, falsifier andbigot who manipulated and distorted realdocuments, in her book, Denying the Holocaust.

Seen on theIsrael Scene

Deborah Lipstadtspeaks and NILI spyring goes musical

Aviella Trapido as Sarah Aaronsohnsearches the pocket Bible of AvshalomFeinberg to find a suitable name for theZionist spy ring, NILI, in Intrepid. Photos byBrian Negin.

In that book, she relates that she probablywrote a total of 300 words about Irvingbecause she knew he “knew the materialand twisted it to fit his own conclusions.”She then said that “Holocaust denial is aform of anti-Semitism…people see theworld through an anti-Semitic prism.”

When Irving wrote his book, Hitler’sWar in 1988, it was clear he was a denierbut by the time his book was revised in1991, “all mention of the Holocaust hadbeen edited out,” said Ms. Lipstadt. “Hewas quite proud of being a denier. Hetwisted evidence, convoluted evidence,but if you are a Holocaust denier,” said Ms. Lipstadt,“you are anti-Semitic.”

At the time of the trial (January to April2000), Irving represented himself. “Heloved to do the outrageous. The wholething [trial] was very strange, surrealistic,an out of body experience.”

Lipstadt explained that to use documents or survivors as proof wouldhave “created a level playing field”;instead, her lawyer followed Irving’s footnotes back to the sources. “You have to be careful when you fight people likethem that you don’t elevate them.”

Lipstadt won the case proving that heraccusations were true and not libelous.Irving was also ordered to pay all of herpublisher’s costs. He was declared bankrupt in 2002 and lost his home.

At the conclusion of her presentation,Ms Lipstadt was asked about the BDSmovement. “People behind the BDSmovement are against the existence of theState of Israel,” she remarked. “Be carefulcalling them anti-Semitic. The BDS movement is more effective speaking ahostile view and against interpretations of Israel’s policies.”

The saga of the NILI spy ring becomes an Operatic Musical

Last chol hamoed Pesach, we took a tripup north. We stopped in Zichron Yaacovbecause on previous trips, knowing theAaronsohn saga, we had been unable togo through the Aaronsohn homes. This

20 The Jewish Post & Opinion – NAT August 9, 2017

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