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6 7 -ish 1 19 september 17, 2010 • 9 tishrei 5771 • volume 86, no. 19 • $2

Cooking Sephardic at
the Summit

Round 2: Netanyahu, Abbas talk ‘tough issues’ in

Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benja-
min Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mah-
moud Abbas discussed “tough issues” at their Sept. 15
meeting in Jerusalem, George Mitchell said.
“They are tackling up front the issues that are at the
center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Mitchell, the U.S.
Mideast envoy, told reporters following the meeting, the
third between the two leaders in two days. “I will say that
the two leaders are not leaving the tough issues to the end
of their discussions. We take this as a strong indicator of
their belief that peace is possible.”
Abbas traveled from Ramallah in the West Bank to
Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon for direct talks with
Netanyahu at his official residence. They met first with U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Mitchell.
Clinton and Israeli President
Shimon Peres met Wednesday morn-
ing. Clinton told reporters that the
leaders are serious about peace.
“They are getting down to busi-
ness. They have begun to grapple
with the core issues that can only be
resolved through face to face negotia-
tions,” she said. “This is the time, and
these are the leaders.”
Talks were held the day before in the Egyptian resort
Sharm el-Sheik. That meeting ended with a U.S. call for
Israel to extend its settlements freeze.
“We think it makes sense to extend the moratorium,
especially given that the talks are moving in a constructive
direction,” U.S. Mideast envoy Mitchell told reporters at
the end of the meetings.
Mitchell added that the Obama administration realizes
“this is a politically sensitive issue in Israel.”
The Palestinians have said they will bolt the talks should
any construction begin again in the settlements. Netan-
yahu has been seeking creative ways to avoid lifting the
freeze completely, including limiting construction to a
small number of structures, and possibly only in settle-
ments that are certain to remain in Israeli hands following
a peace agreement.
— JTA World News Service

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2 JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010

Early Fall Family Calendar

For complete details about these and other upcoming JFS events and workshops, please visit our website: www.jfsseattle.org

celebrAte the hArVest At JFs For Adults Age 60+ For the coMMunity

sunday, september 26 Endless Opportunities AA Meetings at JFS

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. A community-wide program offered in mtuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
A Community-Wide Celebration partnership with Temple B’nai Torah & Temple Contact Eve M. Ruff, (206) 861-8782 or
For more information, contact De Hirsch Sinai. EO events are open emruff@jfsseattle.org
Gail Pollack at (206) 861-3151 or to the public.
gpollack@jfsseattle.org Food Drive Food Sort
A Different Shade of Blue m sunday, september 19
A history of female police officers 10:00 a.m. – noon
For children oF Aging with Adam Eisenberg
Contact Jane Deer-Hileman, (206) 861-3155
pArents m tuesday, september 21 or volunteer@jfsseattle.org
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
“Caring for Our Aging Parents” series Sukkot Gathering: Celebrating
What is Secular Our Diverse Families
When to Worry: Understanding
Humanistic Judaism?
Dementia & Health Changes m sunday, september 26
With Judi Gladstone 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
in Aging Parents m tuesday, october 12 Contact Marjorie Schnyder, (206) 861-3146 or
m Wednesday, october 20 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. familylife@jfsseattle.org
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
A Sabbatical, Global Jewish Chai Chavurah
Difficult Behaviors: Responding
to Depression, Mental Illness & Activism & A Trip to India A Judaic/12 Step Study Gathering for Jews
With Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum in or considering recovery, their families and
Substance Abuse m thursday, october 21
their friends.
m Wednesday, october 27 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
m saturday, october 9
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Second Saturday each month
Contact Emily Harris-Shears, (206) 861-8784 To Be Announced 1:00 p.m.
or familylife@jfsseattle.org m thursday, october 28 Contact Eve M. Ruff, (206) 861-8782 or
10:00 – 11:30 a.m. emruff@jfsseattle.org
For pArents & FAMilies RSVP Ellen Hendin, (206) 861-3183 or Global Day of Learning
Choices, Changes & Challenges: endlessopps@jfsseattle.org regarding all
Parenting a Tween or Teen Endless Opportunities programs. Community-Wide Event
A workshop series for parents m thursday, november 7
For dV surViVors Contact Marjorie Schnyder, (206) 861-3146 or
Session 1: Self-Esteem & familylife@jfsseattle.org
Body Image Kids’ Club for Kids 5-8
m sunday, october 10 A 12-week parent/child interactive
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. class for children who have witnessed
Contact Marjorie Schnyder, (206) 861-3146 or domestic violence.
familylife@jfsseattle.org m starts in october
Bringing Baby Home Contact Project DVORA, (206) 461-3240
or contactus@jfsseattle.org
m thursdays, oct. 14 – nov. 18
6:15 – 8:30 p.m.
For lgbtq FAMilies Feed the JFS Food Bank
Contact Marjorie Schnyder, (206) 861-3146 or
familylife@jfsseattle.org that feeds the community.
The first in a workshop series
september 9 – 30, 2010
Learning About Adoption For more information,
A workshop series for LGBTQ couples please call (206) 461-3240 or
and individuals visit www.jfsseattle.org
m Wednesday, november 3
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Contact Emily Harris-Shears, (206) 861-8784
JFS services and programs aremade possible
or familylife@jfsseattle.org through generous community support of

1601 - 16th Avenue, Seattle
(206) 461-3240 • www.jfsseattle.org
Volunteer to MAke
A diFFerence!
(206) 861-3155, volunteer@jfsseattle.org
or go to www.jfsseattle.org
to donate, please visit www.jfsseattle.org
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews Opinion
the rabbi’s turn
This High Holiday season,
leave the judgment to God
Rabbi Mark Spiro LivingJudaism
“To judge between good or
bad, between successful and
unsuccessful, would take the eye
of a God.” — Anton Chekhov
Everyone knows the story
of David and Goliath. But
how many people know that
the difference between these
famous rivals can be traced to
one point of origin and one
critical, defining moment?
David and Goliath were actually third
cousins; descendants of Moabite sisters
named Ruth and Orpah, who married the
sons of Elimelech and Naomi, Israelites
who had fled the city of Bethlehem during
a famine. When Elimelech and his sons
died prematurely, Naomi decided to return
to Israel, insisting her daughters-in-law
remain with their own people. But in a tre-
mendous display of loyalty, both women
ignored Naomi’s attempts to push them
away until, at the story’s climax, Orpah gave
in, kissed her mother-in-law, and returned
home. Ruth accompanied Naomi to Israel,
where she married and eventually produced
David. Orpah went on to produce Goliath.
The storyline is striking. Why should
Orpah, who came within a hair’s breadth of
making the same choice as her sister, pro-
duce Goliath, the antithesis of David? Our
oral tradition provides the missing link: That
night, while Ruth was following Naomi,
Orpah lay with one hundred men. Goliath
was the product of this promiscuity. (Ruth
Rabba – 2:20) But the question remains:
How could Orpah fall so far so fast?
I believe Orpah realized she had missed
an opportunity to achieve greatness. But
instead of owning her mistake and moving
on, she crossed into self-judgment, deem-
ing herself unworthy. Instead of recogniz-
ing her momentary failure to live up to her
potential, she chose to define and limit her
potential altogether, turning disappoint-
ment into despair and devastation.
So what do David and Goliath have to
do with Rosh Hashanah? According to
our tradition, Rosh Hashanah — the awe-
some Day of Judgment — ushers in the
10 days of teshuvah (literally “return”),
a time when people examine their ways
and improve themselves. This is why it’s
important, now more than ever, to empha-
size that Judgment is God’s job, not ours.
Yes, I’m familiar with the adage that we
shouldn’t judge a person until we’ve stood
in their shoes, which seems to imply that
it’s okay to judge ourselves. Nevertheless, I
beg to disagree for a couple of reasons.
First, even when we’re aware of our
actions and motivations, we usually lack
the big picture. We experience life in frag-
“Every Rosh Hashanah I’ll be thinking about the birth and what the experience was like.” — Jessica Pearlman, the mother of the first Jewish baby of 5771
ments of time, and we view
those fragments from way too
close a vantage point: Even if
we could recall every detail of
our lives, we would still lack
the necessary objectivity to
put them into context. We are
rarely capable of viewing our-
selves without distortion.
But there’s a more fun-
damental reason why self-
judgment is not an option, even when we
accurately identify our flaws: We cannot
evaluate our lives and live our lives at the
same time. Self-judgment removes us from
life. This is not to say we shouldn’t be mind-
ful of how we live. It’s just that there’s a huge
difference between mindfulness and self-
judgment. In fact, they tend to conflict.
Take a look at what you’re passionate
about and you’ll see the difference. One of
my favorite extracurricular activities is mar-
tial arts. I love how it combines a great work-
out with mastery of a skill and self-perfection.
To become proficient, I must be constantly
mindful, focusing on the smallest details as
I work the same forms over and over again.
For me, this is what makes the processes both
engaging and fun — that is, until I see some-
one who is better than me and decide that I’ll
never be any good. The moment I focus on
myself, I cease being mindful of the process,
and the activity that had just moments before
been a source of pleasure now leaves me feel-
ing demoralized.
It’s easy for me to slip into self-judg-
ment, and my work as a coach tells me I am
not alone. Most of my clients tend to judge
themselves harshly, which often leaves
them carrying a heavy burden of negativ-
ity, depression, and disempowering beliefs
that they’re sometimes not even aware
of. I recently met a woman who regularly
beat herself up over her tendency to worry
because she knew it was silly and coun-
terproductive. Sadly, she thought her self-
criticism was a mitzvah, her only chance to
change. But the truth is that her inability to
lovingly accept her flaws was the single big-
gest impediment to her growth.
On Rosh Hashanah, a snapshot is taken
of our life and the question is asked: What
have we become and where are we head-
ing? It’s not our job to take that snapshot.
Nor are we meant to feel in any way lim-
ited by it. Rather, that snapshot is meant
to inspire us to do more with our lives. It’s
meant to fill us with excitement and joy,
not negativity. But most of all, it’s meant to
make us more mindful of the greatest gift
we will ever possess — the gift of life.
Wishing you a sweet and meaningful
New Year!
letters to the editor
the ADL Responds
Recently “Blatant Discrimination” (Letters, Sept. 3) totally mischaracterized ADL’s posi-
tion on the proposed NY Islamic center. From the start ADL stated that the consortium has
every right to build in the location they own and have chosen. ADL leads in the effort to
protect religious freedom in America, always and in this instance.
The center’s organizers viewed their proposed location as helping to promote healing.
ADL thought this goal might be undermined by the location. We did not “take a lead role in
fighting against this center.” We asked a question regarding the effectiveness of the con-
sortium’s choice.
Good people can disagree, but this issue has fallen prey to ideologues on all sides. For
some it has been an opportunity to smear all Muslims and Islam. ADL condemns such
appeals to bigotry as un-American and wrong. Others have used this occasion to label all
who questioned the center as bigots or supporters of bigotry. This too is demagoguery, and
the enemy of dialogue and reflection.
The ADL has never “equated all Muslims with the terrorists responsible for the Trade
Center disaster” and would never do so. In fact, ADL has consistently spoken out for the
protection of Muslim rights in America, and spearheads a consortium to champion the
rights of Muslim communities across the country to build their places of worship.
Withdrawing support for ADL rejects the long history of ADL’s good work locally and
nationally. Our local Pacific Northwest ADL office investigates and exposes extremism, edu-
cates law enforcement, and handles victim complaints of anti-Semitism and all forms of
discrimination. We lobby to protect civil rights and advocate for religious freedom. We pro-
mote diversity and respect in schools with programs and resources to help create learning
environments where all feel valued and appreciated.
For the record, ADL is not a membership organization. Our donors contribute because
they want to ensure that our community is safe and inclusive for all, regardless of race, reli-
gion, nationality, sexual orientation, or ability. They know they can count on ADL to pursue
this vision every day. We urge your readers to continue with us in supporting ADL.
Thank you.
The ADL Regional Board David Cohen Howard Michel
Pam Schwartz, Chair Tammy Federman Joel Newman
Linda Clifton, Immediate Past Chair Connie Gould Chuck Scheinbaum
Bill Mowat, Incoming Chair Henry Haas Arthur Siegal
William Goldberg, Secretary Eileen Hershberg Jeff Silesky
Mark Schuster, Treasurer Larry Kuznetz Michael Silver
Louis Berg R Broh Landsman Rob Spitzer
Phil Chanen Joe Levin Don Stark
Be careful what you hope for
The following is a response to John Rothschild’s letter to the editor (Sept. 3) wherein he
“urge[s] all members of the Jewish community to resign any membership that they have
with ADL.” Rothschild accuses the Anti-Defamation League of “stereotyping all Muslims as
terrorists...[and] claiming that Muslims do not have a right to have a center near the Trade
Center.” Rothschild contends that now the ADL is “engaging in the worst kind of discrimi-
nation, based on one’s religion.”
First, Rothschild is misinformed on ADL’s stance. In “The Mosque at Ground Zero,”
ADL’s national director Abraham H. Foxman describes ADL’s position:
“Ultimately, this was not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our
judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center would
unnecessarily cause some victims more pain. And that wasn’t right. Shortly after the 9/11
terrorist attacks, Muslims were being stereotyped and in some cases individual Muslims or
Muslim institutions were attacked. ADL took the lead in not standing idly by. We took out
ads in The New York Times and other newspapers with the headline, ‘Don’t Fight Hate with
Hate.’ Our message was that a terrible event occurred on 9/11, a national tragedy brought
on by hate, but the way to deal with it was to fight the terrorists, and not to stereotype and
hate individual Muslims” (Huffington Post, posted 8/2/10).
To Mr. Rothschild: It is one thing to ask those who agree with you to write letters con-
demning the ADL. However, it is far different to blatantly misrepresent ADL’s stance and
to advocate for its termination.
For decades, ADL had defended the rights of minorities in this country. ADL has taught
generations the true facts of the Holocaust. ADL continues
to be a champion of rights on all fronts. XXPage 4
WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: We would love to hear from you! Our guide to writing a
letter to the editor can be found at www.jtnews.net/index.php?/letters_guidelines.html,
but please limit your letters to approximately 350 words. The deadline for the next issue is
September 22. Future deadlines may be found online.
4 opinion JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010

WWletters Page 3

Mr. Rothschild: Your purist and idealist demands to end ADL’s existence could result —
heaven forbid — in one day you being collected on a cattle train heading toward a concentration
camp. There will be no other organization like ADL explaining that you — as a Jew — are not the
root cause of the problems in the world. Be careful what you hope for, Mr. John Rothschild.
Ruvane Richman
Seattle

Please join us for

Where’s the response?
You certainly have the right to publish John Rothschild’s misguided letter on the New York
City Muslim center near the World Trade site, However you are completely remiss for not print-

Community Celebration & Campaign Kick-Off ing ADL’s response alongside.

Philip S. Chanen

L AUGHYOURWAY
Board member, Anti-Defamation League Pacific Northwest chapter
Seattle

They’re not alone

Despite the comments made by certain of the Chabad participants in “Tacoma Chabad breaks

TOGIVING
ground on new synagogue,” (Sept. 3), please note that there is already an exciting “Jewish pres-
ence” in Tacoma! Temple Beth El is vibrant, its rabbi learned, and its congregation joyous.
Doris Minor
Seattle

Need real partners for peace

Fe a t u r i n g w r i t e r s f r o m
Rabbi Charles Kroloff’s column (“Let’s recognize the sacred power of this time — for peace,”
Sept. 3) misstates Mideast peace prospects. The fact that Palestinians finally agreed to direct
negotiations, without pre-conditions, may be a positive step.
However, let’s not delude ourselves. There can never be peace in the Middle East with a
nuclear Iran.
I am outraged and deeply saddened by the brutal killing of a pregnant mother, her husband
and two passengers in their car, by Palestinian terrorists. Since Hamas, a terrorist organiza-
tion, claimed responsibility and were jubilant about it speaks volumes of their hatred and evil
intentions against the good people of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 cancelled the talks and immediately returned home to attend the victims’ funerals.
In continuing to negotiate with Mahmoud Abbas, a weak leader that is not a credible peace

Benaroya Hall partner, Netanyahu appears to have made a major blunder.

The Palestinians are not yet ready to make a lasting peace with Israel and think they can
defeat the Israelis by violence and murder.

6:00pm Doors Open A persistent myth of the Arab-Israeli conflict is that Palestinian terrorists kill Jews in order
to “disrupt the peace process,” and that the best response to terrorism is to persevere with

6:00-7:30pm International Dinner Bazaar negotiations.”

Peace will never be possible with “partners” that refuse to accept the permanent legitimacy

7:30-9:00pm Program & Show of Jewish sovereignty in the Middle East.

Israel should not be pressured by her allies to enter a delusional peace agreement until she
has a credible peace partner ready to accept Jewish sovereignty.
Josh Basson
TICKETS Seattle
GENERAL ADMISSION: $54 per person
Not an accident
PATRON LEVEL*: $360 per person I would like to draw your attention to a misleading book review, by Diana Brement, pub-
Dinner included in ticket price. Dietary laws observed. lished 30 August 2010.
*Patrons are invited to meet with the writers from The Onion for a book signing You’ve done a disservice to your readers in presenting Isabel Vincent’s book as a “biogra-
and photo opportunity and will have their names listed in the program. phy.” Indeed, far from investigative journalism, the book is a shabby attempt at selling books
at any expense — including that of the facts.
Your columnist questions whether Mr. Safra’s death was “An accident, or murder?” and
RSVP BY SEPTEMBER 27 claims that “Eleven years later it’s still unclear.” This is completely false.
The circumstances of Mr. Safra’s tragic death are clear, despite nonsensical gossip: Ted Maher,
www.JewishInSeattle.org/Laugh or call 206 774-2272 acting alone, started the fire, and was found guilty of his crime after an extensive investigation, a
trial, and an appeal. Contrary to your reviewer’s assertion, Dominick Dunne wrote, in his column
“Verdict in Monaco” published February 2003, that he believed that Ted Maher was guilty.
BECOME A ROW CAPTAIN! I would appreciate your publication of this letter as your readers deserve to know the truth
www.JewishInSeattle.org/RowCaptain on this question, just as they deserve to know that the book is fiction masquerading as biog-
raphy, where errors of fact are piled high to allow the author to present conspiracy theories
worthy of those who believe that 9/11 never happened or that man never walked on the moon.
They shouldn’t be as gullible as was your columnist.
Seth Goldschlager
Corporate Partners
Adviser, Safra SA

www
Geneva, Switzerland

www.jtnews.net
Wolfgang Puck Catering • PubliCola
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews inside

Yiddish Lesson inside this issue

By Murray Meld
Yiddish goes back more than a thousand years to when Jews, who came with Julius Cae-
sar’s legions, began to settle in Germany’s Rhineland. Besides the everyday Latin dialects,
they brought with them their languages of ritual and prayer, their loshn-kodesh, Hebrew
and Aramaic. As they began to hear and use dialects of German in the marketplace and
with neighbors, the result became the root-stock of Yiddish. Moving east into areas of
Poland and Russia, they added Slavic words and phrases, and when later transplanted
across the ocean, American idioms, slang and nuances.
The following folk saying shows double Yiddish irony. First, it points out the prevalence
of poverty and the infrequency of opportunities to eat chicken. Second, the chicken would
not be edible in any case since, being sick, it wouldn’t be kosher:
On the cover:
From left to right, Anne Israel, Sara Eskenazi, Rose Liberman, Rae Barroh, and Mary Ross, all residents at
the Summit at First Hill retirement community, made pumpkin bourekas for Rosh Hashanah dinner at a
cooking class taught by the Summit’s executive chef, Michael Rogozinski.
Torah Day School’s new home 6
It was a scramble, but weeks before the school year began the Torah Day School signed the lease to take over a
facility that had been shuttered by the Seattle School District. But they’re in now and they’ve got room to grow.
The first Jewish baby of the New Year 7
Though she had her parents worried she’d be too early, Washington State’s first Jewish baby of 5771 actually
arrived for them a couple days late. But she was right on time for the New Year — just after sunset, in fact!

“Oyb an orem mentsh hot a hun gegesn, muzn zey beyde geven krank.” Jews on the Ballot: Randy Gordon 8
If a poor person ate a chicken, both must have been sick. He was appointed last year as senator for the 41st district, which covers Mercer Island and parts of Bellevue and
Renton. Now he’s in a tough race to hold onto his seat. Read about Gordon’s first official run for political office.
My mother would take a market hen to the rabbi for an eytse (opinion) if she saw some-
thing questionable upon opening it. I don’t ever recall a rejection. Eliminating the J-word 10
The acronym for the derogatory term Jewish American Princess is a painful word for Asian Americans as
well. So the two communities got together to do something about stopping its use.

Jew-ish in print: The Autumn edition

An architecture contest — for building a sukkah! Also, a conversation with the creator of an anthology
written by Orthodox lesbians, and Tel Aviv’s growing bike culture. Plus, some really, really bad poetry.

Remember when The Yom Kippur sermon that saved Soviet Jews 19
When Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel gave a Yom Kippur sermon that asked American Jews to do more
than sit idly by while Soviet Jews suffered, people finally began to listen. Author Gal Beckerman has a book
From the Jewish Transcript, coming out about the movement, and writes about it here.
September 13, 1984
Hadassah national president M.O.T.: Member of the Tribe 9
Frieda Lewis appears at a San Who was Sey Kaplan?
Francisco rally, on behalf of Soviet
Jewry. Jewish on Earth 11
Invite the immigrant into your sukkah

What’s Your JQ? 12

Welcoming in our heavenly guests

MORE
The Arts 13
t he v o i c e o f je w i s h w a s hin g t o n
Community Calendar 14
B’nai Mitzvah Celebrations 15
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Publisher *Karen Chachkes 267
the continued growth of our local Jewish community as we holding a food drive for the holidays, don’t forget to bring a bag filled with non-perishable items to be taken
Editor *§Joel Magalnick 233
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Assistant Editor Eric Nusbaum 240
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6 community news JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, august 20, 2010

Janis Siegel

One of the girls’ classes at Torah Day School spells out shana tova — have a good year — on their new playground.

Torah Day School finds new digs — in the nick of time

Janis Siegel JTNews Correspondent
When the Torah Day School of Seattle’s
plans to move into the historic Columbia
City Public School collapsed last April due
to the city’s need for space, they waited,
hoping they could complete the move in
time for the 2010-2011 school year.
This summer, just two weeks before
the August 30 start of school, TDS signed
a three-year lease with the Seattle Public
School District and scrambled, with the
help of more than 50 parent, staff, and
community volunteers, to spruce up the
1920s-era school, located in the heart of
the trendy Columbia City neighborhood,
just west of Rainier Avenue South.
Vacant since November 2009, the
grounds were somewhat unkempt, but the
neighbors pitched in and welcomed them
with open arms.
“They’re really nice,” said Rabbi Shef-
tel Skaist, head of school at TDS. “We had
a couple of families who were out there on
one of our play yards and they volunteered
to clean it up. It was wonderful to see that
the local community views this as some-
thing that they’d like to take care of.”
Currently in its fifth year of opera-
tion, the Orthodox Jewish day school now
occupies a facility that spans a 3.2-acre
square block of land, and is equipped with
Internet connections, 13 classrooms, a
gym, a library, a beit midrash study area,
a lunchroom, an organic garden with a
greenhouse, and multiple play areas where
students can let out all of their pent-up
physical energy during their day of rigor-
ous, dual-curriculum studies.
“We have a completely covered out-
door area that can fit our entire school at
once,” Skaist said.
The school-age children have plenty of
areas for play and sports, while the pre-
school has a dedicated playground as
well.
TDS’s 1st and 2nd grades are co-ed,
and the 3rd grade may or may not be,
depending upon the class, but grades 4
through 8 grades are separated by gender.
They use what Skaist calls a “blended-
grades” model.
“We look at not only a student’s age,
but also their academic abilities and their
emotional development,” said Skaist.
“Then, we group them based on a number
of criteria. It just depends on where they
fall developmentally.”
Half of the school day is devoted to
general studies, and the other half to
Jewish studies, where students learn from
the classic Jewish texts including the
Torah, prophets, and Jewish law.
In TDS’s previous location, a converted
elder-care facility, the common area was
a cafeteria-style space that doubled as a
lunchroom and an indoor recess area. As
enrollment increased, however, even that
XXPage 22

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friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews community news 7

First baby of 5771 arrives, right after sunset

Joel Magalnick Editor, JTNews
Oftentimes when we’re searching for
the first baby of the New Year, it’s pretty
clear-cut who the winner is. So when we
got word that the Rabbi Zevi and his wife
Leeba Goldberg, who run Chabad of Sno-
homish County, had had a baby boy on the
Friday morning following Rosh Hasha-
nah, we thought we had our (little) man.
But it turns out that Jessica Pearlman
had the Goldbergs beat, by a day and a
half, and hardly an hour and a half after
the sunset the New Year began. And that’s
how Ilia Cecile Pearlman Oliver entered
the world as the first Jewish baby of 5771
in Washington State.
Ilia was born in her own home on
Sept. 8 at 8:44 p.m., weighing 8 pounds,
4 ounces. So far, everything’s going great,
said new mom Jessica.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Pearlman
about Ilia’s status as the first. “There’s
something about the fact that she threat-
ened to come at 29-1/2 weeks, then waited
to come at the beginning of 5771…. It’s
the neatest thing.”
Labor, as Pearlman put it, depended
upon how you count it: It took either three
hours or 11 weeks and three hours, because
she started having contractions 11 weeks
early and there was some fear the baby
would come prematurely. But Ilia held out
even past her due date by two days.
What makes the timely arrival all the
more surprising is that at eight months of
pregnancy, her family moved to Capitol
Hill. Pearlman was on bed rest, however,
so her husband, Tony Oliver, had to deal
with the movers. Still, she said, “there was
a lot of concern Ilia would come simulta-
neously with the moving.”
Ilia doesn’t come into the world alone.
In addition to her mom and dad, she’s also
got a very proud and excited big sister,
Mian, who turns 4 in November.
“She’s been great, she’s really
thrilled,” said Pearlman of her older
daughter. “She was the one who
was lobbying for a sibling for a long
time.”
Regardless of whether Ilia was the
first Jewish baby of the year, the signif-
icance of her coming on Rosh Hasha- Jessica Pearlman
nah still means a lot to Pearlman. Three-year-old Mian shows off her new baby sister Ilia,
“Every Rosh Hashanah I’ll be the first Jewish baby of 5771.
thinking about the birth and what
the experience was like,” Pearlman said. think about him,” she said.
The High Holidays already have a bitter- Pearlman, a partner at the law firm
sweet tinge in the cycle of Pearlman’s fami- K&L Gates, said she’d probably return to
ly’s life — when she was in high school, her work in about six months. She also sits
grandfather died on Yom Kippur. on the board of Hillel at the University of
“I always remember him then and Washington.
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The Anti-Defamation League’s

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Hadassah’s Annual Friday, November 5, 2010
Kick Off Event 12:00–1:30 PM
Join us for a fabulous dairy brunch…
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then grab a seat for an entertaining
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All community members welcome.

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8 community news JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010

Jews on the ballot: Randy Gordon

Eric Nusbaum Assistant Editor, JTNews
Early in Randy Gordon’s appoint-
ment to the State Senate in Olympia, he
was asked, “Where do your values come
from?” by a fellow senator. Gordon
showed the senator into his office, where
he keeps a 19-volume set of the Talmud.
Gordon (D-41), an attorney and
adjunct law professor at Seattle University,
lives in Bellevue and is an active member
of Temple B’nai Torah. While he does not
cross-check each individual vote with Tal-
mudic law, Gordon cites his Jewish values
as definitive — they are both the motiva-
tion for and the foundation of his public
service.
Gordon’s appointment came about in
a whirlwind when former Senator Fred
Jarrett vacated his seat in order to serve as
Deputy King County Executive. Gordon
joined the Senate on the second day of its
2010 session.
“I was appointed one day, sworn in the
next day, the second day of session, and I
escorted the governor to the State of the
State address by lunch,” Gordon said.
But in the excitement, Gordon made
it a point to maintain his League of King County, people. I believe that that’s the essence of
focus on the issues and the highest possible. our faith, which is — and there’s an old
his work. “I’m asking the poem that says it — that we serve God best
“One of the stories out people to let me carry when serve each other.”
of the Talmud I’m always on,” Gordon said. The Gordon was the primary sponsor of
reminded of is of a fellow 41st district Senate race seven bills and a co-sponsor of 22 others
who is busy planting a will elect a candidate to during the 2010 term. Among the bills on
tree and he’s told the serve two years — the which he was a primary sponsor were pro-
Messiah has come. The remainder of the term visions on school safety, infant and toddler
advice of the Talmud is begun by Jarrett in 2009. early intervention, foreclosure regulation,
to finish planting the tree Gordon believes the dis- and training for electrical workers.
and then go and check,” trict deserves continuity Gordon’s first Senate term is likely to
Gordon said. “There’s in representation — and be remembered for the drawn-out budget
a value in attending to that after learning a great negotiations that forced legislators to
the things at hand and deal in 2010, he will remain in Olympia for a special session.
then focusing on the enter his second session Less likely to be remembered is that the
moment.” Wash. Senate in the Senate even more extra session fell during Passover. Gordon
He says this practice, State Senator Randy Gordon, D-41. prepared. voted for the final budget but not before a
along with his experience But when it comes to brief excursion to the East Coast.
as a trial lawyer, is helping him handle the legislation, don’t expect any changes from “I let the majority leader know I was
rigors of his first-ever election campaign. an elected as opposed to the appointed going to spend time with my family for
Gordon believes that although he was Gordon. Passover,” he said. A few votes were
appointed to his office and is campaigning “You’re not going to find a lot of inner shifted around for the sake of Gordon and
for the first time, he is doing so as a true torment in me,” Gordon said. “I went other legislators with family obligations
incumbent. He cites the “Outstanding” through the session with the decisions I
rating he was awarded by the Municipal was making being the right decisions for XXPage 23

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friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews m.o.t.: member of the tribe 9

Who was Sey Kaplan? • Also: An award-winning kidney doc

Diana Brement JTNews Columnist

1
When Noah Sarkowsky came home
with a Seymour Kaplan Humanitar-
ian Award from Seattle’s Coe Ele-
mentary School, he not only generated
kudos from his family, but some curios-
ity as well. He pointed out to his parents,
Stacy Lawson and Steve Sarkowsky, that
his certificate was signed by Art Siegal,
who Stacy realized was the same Art Siegal
she and her family have known for years.
She also figured out that Seymour
Kaplan was the husband of Sara Kaplan,
a beloved teacher of hers at Franklin High
School. (Sara currently lives at the Kline
Galland Home.) Seeing all these familiar
names on the award gave her a nice feeling
of community and connection, but it also
made her wonder about the award.
“I just didn’t realize there was this
award, and what it meant,” she says of the
Seattle School District honor named for
the Northwest’s Anti-Defamation League
director, who served from 1956 until his
death in 1975. Calling Art to find out
more left her thinking the award’s original
meaning may be getting lost.
“It’s not just about being nice,” he said,
“it’s about where you stick your head out,”
something Sey (as he was called) was defi-
nitely willing to do.
According to his son, Magnolia resident
David Kaplan, Sey was attuned to injustice
at a young age. He joined the Navy as an
tant to him…to be a role committee responsible for cre- and researcher. “A lot of people are walk-
model,” remembers David, ating a suitable memorial. A ing around with some degree of kidney
and he carried this inscription member of both B’nai B’rith disease,” usually undiagnosed. A simple
in his wallet: “Judaism is not and the ADL board at the time, blood test can show early symptoms, but
something you are, it’s some- he and his committee believed, is not part of routine physicals.
thing you do.” He and Sara as Sey did, that prejudice was a “It’s been looked at whether it makes
were founding members of bad habit formed young. sense on a nationwide basis to screen for
Temple Beth Am. “We decided on a school- it,” he says.
The award gives David a age memorial for students who
nice sense of community, too. exemplified” Kaplan’s action-
He tries to attend award cer- oriented attitude. Leaving each
emonies at both Blaine and tribe school to choose winners,
Lowell Elementary schools at the mini- Art says he arranged for B’nai
mum, and has made unexpected connec- B’rith to underwrite it. “It’s
tions with award winners over the years. been going on ever since.”
“One of the things that has been very When I first spoke to Stacy, she won-
cool for me is to run into people who dered if the award itself would survive
another generation. That’s probably not
a concern for the near term. Art says the
costs of the award — about $500 a year
for certificates and plaques — are still cov-
ered by the B’nai B’rith Foundation (of Courtesy Group Health
which he is treasurer). However, he points Dr. Ilan Zawadzki, nominated by both of Seattle’s
out that since local philanthropist Jack lifestyle magazines as one of the area’s best
Spitzer died in 2004, “there hasn’t been a doctors.
fundraiser” for this group.
“My dad was one of those people who Anyone with high blood pressure
believed…it wasn’t enough to care, you should be screened, of course, and obesity
had to act,” David says. may play a role.
So Seattle public school parents, let “If you do have [high blood pressure],
your principal know you know the value keep it controlled. Exercise, be as active as
of the award so we can carry it forward. you can,” he prescribes. And don’t ignore
kidney trouble if you have it.

officer during World War II, in part to
fight the anti-Semitism he heard pervaded
the military. After the war and college he
wound up as an ADL intern in Columbus,
Ohio, where he met Sara, who worked for
Hillel. (David recalls his mom joking, “It
wasn’t a marriage, it was a merger.”)
Moving to Seattle in the mid-1950s, Sey
became active in the civil rights movement.
He helped integrate the local carpenter’s
union and led an anti-Soviet protest at the
Spokane World’s Fair. It was “very impor-
2
Courtesy David Kaplan
Sey and Sara Kaplan, in 1972, when Sey was
honored as Washington State Man of the Year.
might not be connected with my life,” but
when they find out his dad was Seymour
Kaplan, they are delighted to share that
they won the award in his dad’s memory.
When Seymour died, Art — one of
Seattle’s longest-standing and most consis-
tent volunteers — was appointed to chair a
Group Health nephrologist Dr. Ilan
Zawadzki has been twice nomi-
nated by his peers as one of Seattle’s
best doctors (Seattle Metropolitan Maga-
zine and Seattle Magazine), but he mod-
estly takes this in stride.
“It’s always nice to be recognized,” he
says, but “a lot of great docs that I work
with aren’t on the list. Not being on the list
doesn’t mean you’re not a great doctor.”
Kidney disease is on the rise in this
country, says Ilan, who is both a clinician
Born in Israel and raised on Long
Island, Ilan moved to Seattle to attend
medical school at the University of Wash-
ington. He and his wife Patty Blount have
three kids, Miriam, Jonathan and Benja-
min, and are all active members of Con-
gregation Herzl-Ner Tamid.
This summer they had had the enjoy-
able experience of hosting two Ethiopian
students from Kiryat Malachi. One of the
students was featured on a recent cover of
this paper.

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10 community news JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010

Eliminating the “J-word”

Joel Magalnick Editor, JTNews.net
The whole thing started with a come-
dian. Cory Kahaney is creator of and a per-
former in “The J.A.P. Show,” a stage act of
Jewish comediennes whose routines cover
the vagaries of growing older, but in a
Jewish context, while occasionally mining
the stereotype of neurotic, gold-digging
and fashion-centric Jewish women.
Plenty of Jews are familiar with the
pejorative term, which stands for Jewish
American Princess. But that wasn’t the
case for the people of Asian descent who
took exception to the “J-word” when they
saw promotional materials for Kahaney’s
appearance at last year’s Seattle Jewish
Film Festival. They had translated the ref-
erence as Jap, a slur that, especially in this
region, brings painful reminders of the
Japanese internment camps that dotted
the American West during World War II.
“We were very regretful that this hap-
pened, and so we really saw this as an
opportunity to move forward and discuss
this term that really isn’t used very much
anymore,” said Wendy Rosen, executive
director of the Seattle chapter of the Amer-
ican Jewish Committee. The AJC runs the
film festival. “The Japanese community
considers it very hurtful, but the Jewish
community, too, considers it a disparag-
ing term.”
So a group of representatives from sev-
eral Asian communities and the Jewish
community banded together last year
to do something about the term. What
emerged from discussions between the
two groups — the Jewish community, rep-
resented mainly by the AJC, and the Asian
Pacific Island Coalition of King County,
which works with more than 100 local
organizations — was a joint statement
released on Sept. 1 to try to eliminate the
term from the lexicon.
“Between the Jewish and Asian Pacific
communities, we unanimously agreed that
we find the use of the ‘J-word’ in any form
— with or without punctuation marks
— to be reprehensible, disrespectful and
insulting,” reads the statement in part.
As a call to action, its signers pledge
to create “teachable moments” and take
appropriate action “when we encounter
usage of the term.”
Though the word is much more prev-
alent on the East Coast than on the West,
“when we talked to people both in our
dialogue and in our experiences about
the term in the Jewish community, when
it’s used and when it was used histori-
cally, there wasn’t sensitivity, a heightened
awareness of the hurtful term to the Japa-
nese community,” said Bettie Luke, who
represents APIC and co-chaired the com-
mittee to create the statement.
So while the campaign is beginning
here, the signatories hope to take it to a
national level.
“People have to understand how hurt-
ful that term is to the Japanese-Ameri-
can community,” said Jon Bridge, a board
president of the local AJC in the late 1980s.
He said he signed the statement for that
reason, but also because “it brings up
a very embarrassing stereotype that we
should not be emphasizing in our com-
munity.”
Bridge also drew on historical similar-
ities between the two peoples as a reason
to sign the statement: During his lead-
ership tenure, the AJC was among the
first non-Japanese organizations to pres-
sure then-Rep. Mike Lowry (D-7th) to
back the Japanese-American Reparation
Act of 1988. The act was signed by Presi-
dent Reagan and gave redress to individ-
uals and families interned during World
War II.
The national AJC organization even-
tually signed on to the legislation as well,
which was similar to the reparations Jews
received from the German government
following the Holocaust.
“That’s not to draw any distinct like-
nesses to the end treatment of the indi-
viduals, but nevertheless, economically,
the Japanese Americans were treated…
very similarly to the way the Jews were in
Europe,” Bridge said.
With the statement now in circulation,
the next step is the outreach and education.
XXPage 14

Help kids like Eli go to

Jewish camp and more at
www.JewishInSeattle.org/Education
YESTERDAY ’ S MAVENS, TODAY ’ S FOODIES :
Traditions in Northwest Jewish Kitchens
Don’t miss the opportunity to have your family recipes published in
the Washington State Historical Society’s Cookbook.

Deadline for submissions is September 30

For recipe submission form, go to: http://www.wsjhs.org/pdf/onlinerecipeform.pdf
E-mail or send recipes to Lisa Kranseler, c/o WSJHS, 2031 3rd Ave., Seattle 98121
Lkranseler@wsjhs.org
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews jewish on earth 11

Invite the immigrant into your sukkah

Martin Westerman JTNews Columnist
As Americans repeat their centuries- spelled out in every corpo- civic engagement, less pollu- poverty, hunger and disease among people
old folly of inflaming anti-immigrant pas- ration’s charter, profit con- tion and illness, better uses across the globe,
sions, we might remind ourselves that the cerns still trump people and of resources, more jobs, more • COEJL (www.coejl.org), the Coali-
Torah commands us 36 separate times planet for most of them. Busi- local investment. In short, tion on the Environment and Jewish
to love or provide for the stranger. That’s nesses are also hampered by better lives for us all. Life, which creates distinctively Jewish
more than for Shabbat, sacrifices, Yom their sizes: The more national Another way to help re- responses to the environmental crisis,
Kippur, or kashrut. It’s a good idea to recall or global the enterprise, the imagine, and engage in the • Hazon (www.hazon.org) working to
this Torah commandment at Sukkot, when less its owners, executives and social contract is by join- create a healthier and more sustainable
it’s a mitzvah to invite families, friends, managers connect with local, ing the tikkun olam or social Jewish community and world for all, and
neighbors and even sukkah-less strangers social and environmental con- action committee at your • Repair the World (www.werepair.org),
to our booths. We were strangers once in sequences. But the more local temple or synagogue. Other working to make service to those in need a
the Land of Egypt, and God, Moses and our and regional the business, the earth opportunities are posted by defining part of American Jewish life.
rabbinic sages apparently don’t want us more it connects with people and planet. the Reform, Reconstruction- The sukkah’s-eye view makes the world
making the same mistakes with strangers Do you see a pattern here? ist, Conservative and Ortho- seem simple and clear. To paraphrase the
that the ancient Egyptians made with us. One way to re-imagine the social con- dox movements. They have all initiated shema and Ki Tavo: Be kind to the earth,
Torah commandments are made to tract is by “voting with your dollars.” offices or resource centers to promote and it will be kind to you. You are the key
set ideals for us. We’re fear- and scarcity- This supports local and regional enter- earth-healing actions. Several indepen- — and how kind you are to others.
driven animals, whose intellects (cerebral prises that take good care of the people dent Jewish organizations also promote
cortex) are constantly wrestling with our and places where they do business. We’re them. Consider contributing time and/or Author and teacher Martin Westerman writes
fight-or-flight lizard brains (amygdala). bound in Judaism to pursue justice and dollars to: and consults on sustainable living. He can be
This leads us to often act irrationally. But do mitzvot. What are the incentives for • American Jewish World Service contacted with questions at
our intellects are determined and persis- such good behavior? Potentially, more (www.ajws.org), dedicated to alleviating artartart@seanet.com.
tent, and over the millennia, they’ve led
us past superstition and brutality to wiser
places.
For example, we don’t pronounce
death sentences on recalcitrant sons (Ki
Tetze), or on people who plant two differ-
ent crops in the same field, wear
 garments
made from two different kinds of thread
(Lev.19:19), or violate the Sabbath. We no
longer kill or banish men for trimming
their hair (Lev. 19:27), or trading clothes
with women (Ki Tetze). And we don’t keep
slaves (Lev. 25:44), or sell our daughters
into slavery (Exodus 21:7). Curiously, the September 23—26
Torah ignores female homosexual rela-
tionships, but it does condemn male ones

YEFIM
— once (Lev.
18:22).
But as genetic research advances, we
pursue justice, exercise kindness to strang-
ers, and increasingly view these relation-
ships as unremarkable, intellect may lead

BRONFMAN
us past this “hot-button issue,” as it did
with earlier ones. It’s a good thing: We
need to focus on how we’ll survive on this
climate-challenged planet.
The key to survival is re-imagining our
social contract. It’s the invitation behind
every commandment in the Torah — how
can we choose to better relate to and work Plays Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 K ETS
with each other? Currently, we see every- T I C AT
A R T
thing in economic terms, as in, “It’s the
ST

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ness. Though societal responsibilities are
12 what’s your jq? JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010
Welcoming our heavenly guests
Rivy Poupko Kletenik JTNews Columnist
Dear Rivy,
As I prepare to celebrate the holiday
of Sukkot I have been exploring the var-
ious customs, and I’ve become intrigued
by the ritual of Ushpizin, the inviting of
supernal beings as guests to the sukkah.
From what I have read it sounds like
quite the magical mystery tour. Where
did this idea come from and what is its
significance? Is this a must? Is there an
explicit text to this ritual? Is there a spe-
cific way to invite them? I am hoping
there is a “big idea” here, otherwise it
seems a bit off the rational path, maybe
even bordering on the — dare I say it —
spooky. Please enlighten me!
Though many of us are deep in the
menu planning and the lists of actual
guests, I applaud your diverting our atten-
tion to the other kinds of guests, the Ush-
pizin. To a certain degree, they offer less of
a challenge to the host: No food allergies,
no fussy tastes — they tend to be mostly
punctual and never overstay their wel-
come. Given that, however, we have much
to explore here.
First, a word about the word Ushpizin:
Not originally a Hebrew word, it is one of
those rare four-letter roots, perhaps mean-
ing either to be a guest and to host. Inter-
estingly, it shares the same
origin as the Latin hospes, as
in hospitality and hospital. In
Hebrew, these seven guests
are called Ushpizin, which
besides the name of a well-
known Israeli film, means, in
a version of the root as well,
l’ashpez, to be hospitalized.
The practice of Ushpizin,
inviting heavenly beings, is
well-known and accepted. The
text for the practice is found in many hol-
iday prayer books, though some people’s
practice avoids this custom, eschewing its
mystical nature. Those who do embrace
the custom ritually invite Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Moshe, Aaron, Joseph and David
each time they eat a meal in the sukkah.
This practice is first found in the Zohar.
There we learn that when we sit in the
sukkah, the Divine Presence spreads itself
over us and Abraham, along with the other
righteous guests who arrive to sit with us.
This is indicative of our elevated connec-
tion to God as we sit in the sukkah.
This ritual of dwelling in the sukkah
represents a tangible demonstration of
our faith in the Almighty. Ironically,
we feel secure and confident during the
year in our safe, protected homes. Not to
get everyone paranoid here,
but this is an illusion — a
huge pitfall and false sense
of confidence we easily suc-
cumb to. Indeed, our material
goods and comforts lead us to
become haughty and forget
that in truth by the grace of
God go we.
This genuine, perhaps
JQ latent, and unexpressed con-
cern should cause us constant
distress during the year — if
we would pause to reflect. On
Sukkot we are suddenly catapulted into
being unshielded by the walls of our shel-
tering abodes and therefore have the joy
of dwelling within the pure state of trust
and joy in our Maker; we cannot help but
feel the precariousness of our being. There
is no false sense of security in those shaky
sukkah walls. This is true dwelling in the
gentle protective shadow of faith.
According to the Zohar, our holy
guests, which accompany the Shechinah,
the Divine Presence, is even hinted at in
the scriptural verse, “You shall dwell in
booths seven days; all that are citizens in
Israel shall dwell in booths” — this is not
at all evident in the English translation. In
the Hebrew the verb “you should dwell” in
the second phrase differs from the way it
appears in the second phrase. The first is
teshvu — in second person, while the latter
is “yeshvu” — in the third person, indicat-
ing there are two who dwell; the first, the
mystical guests and the second, all of Israel
in the here and now.
Rabbi Hamnuna the Elder, as the
Zohar continues to detail, would stand at
the door of his sukkah and actually ver-
bally invite in these lofty visitors. Here are
the words from the Zohar describing rabbi
Hamnuna’s practice:
Let us invite the guests and prepare
a table and he used to stand up and
greet them, saying, “In booths we shall
dwell,” sit most exalted guests, sit, sit
guests of faith, sit. Happy is our portion
and only then would he sit.
This greeting of the guests, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Moshe, Aaron, Joseph and
David, must include the specific names,
fully articulated with great joy and delight,
adjures the Zohar. This is because each
new day brings a new guest. Though the
guests each appear each night together,
they each take turns leading the others as
the week progresses and each deserves to
be greeted with tremendous joy!
On the first night, Abraham is the lead
guest, on the second night Isaac, on the
third night, Jacob takes the lead, and so on.
However, the subsequent guests are the
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subject of a small dispute: There is a dis-
cussion about the order of the guests after
Jacob. One opinion holds that the order of
the guests is determined by age, in that at a
meal we honor the oldest and most vener-
ated guest with the seat of most honor.
We know that Abraham is oldest, fol-
lowed Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moshe, Aaron,
and David. However, another opinion
holds that the order is determined by
wisdom — this seating is less about shar-
ing a meal and more about a counsel of
sorts, thereby resulting in placing Moshe
and Aaron before Joseph and then fin-
ishing with David. That order would then
be Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moshe, Aaron,
Joseph and David. A Sephardic prac-
tice even goes so far as to provide a sym-
bolic, fully decorated chair in honor of the
guests, not unlike the chair of Elijah at a
brit milah. There are those who light seven
candles in honor of the guests as well.
Now for the “big ideas” of Ushpizin:
One notion central to the holiday of
Sukkot is the responsibility to feed the
hungry, either as guests in our homes
or with foods provided before the holi-
day that are sent on to the homes of the
needy. In the same passage where the
Zohar describes our pious guests from the
beyond, it instructs us to also gladden the
poor, “for the portion of these seven guests
must be given to the poor.”
Truly, it is easy enough to stand at the
entrance of the sukkah and to invite each
of these holy guests by name and to even
prepare a decorated chair in the sukkah to
symbolize their presence, but as always,
our tradition is consistent in its expecta-
tions of all of us to never forget those that
do not have food for their table. Perhaps
we might institute a yearly “Ushpizin”
campaign to feed the hungry.
Big idea number two: Each of the Ush-
pizin guests personify character traits to
which we must all aspire. Abraham rep-
resents loving kindness; Isaac, strength;
Jacob, glory; Joseph, holiness; Moshe, eter-
nity; Aaron, splendor; and David, royalty.
It’s not all easy to grasp but something
to ponder about on each evening. What
would it look like to embody the trait of
that day? Who else are examples of these
values? In what way might we nurture
these values in ourselves and others?
Finally, perhaps the biggest idea of all:
What does it mean to create a family, a
home, a sukkah to which our holy fore-
fathers would be feasible guests? Now
there’s a challenge for each of us!
Rivy Poupko Kletenik is an internationally
renowned educator and Head of School at the
Seattle Hebrew Academy. If you have a question
that’s been tickling your brain, send Rivy an
e-mail at rivy.poupko.kletenik@gmail.com.
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 jew-ish
e r i n g
e n t
Now ah City
Su k k
By Eric Nusbaum
By definition the sukkah is an inaus-
picious structure. Its origins are in the
makeshift huts built by biblical Israel-
ites for temporary shelter as they fled
slavery in Egypt. The laws dictating its
construction — three walls, an organic
roof that leaves the visible sky—lend
themselves to the ephemeral, and to the
pastoral imagination.
Perhaps this is why the sukkah
was such an intuitive place for Adam
Newman to turn to in the months after
he graduated from the University of
Oregon’s School of Architecture and
Allied Arts in June. Newman, a Belle-
vue native and Northwest Yeshiva High
School graduate, sought a personal
challenge and professional kick-start.
Newman and his friend Jacob
Schaeperkoetter-Cochran, a product
ion designer, had decided to try their
hand at an architecture competition.
After browsing blogs and architecture
magazines, they came across Sukkah
City, a competition in which entrants
were tasked with radically re-imagining
the sukkah within biblical constraints.
A dozen winners would have their ren-
derings built and displayed in Union
Square Park in New York.
For Newman, Sukkah City was an
magazine
immediate draw. He was well-versed
in the holiday of Sukkot, but had never
considered the unconventional possibil-
ities that came with the humble dwell-
ing associated with the holiday.
“The sukkah that I had growing up
was a blue tarp and 2x4s from Home
Depot,” Newman said.
However, it was not the sukkah that
presented Newman’s first challenge,
but the assembling of a team. In a reces-
sion economy, the prospect of devot-
ing one’s first months after finishing
school to something besides job-hunt-
ing seemed especially foolish — espe-
cially when that something is working,
autumn 2010
jew-ish.com
uncompensated, to enter a design com-
petition with no financial reward, if
indeed they were to win.
“‘You don’t have a job, you’re all
moving in a couple months, you’re
not going to get a full 9-to-5 now,’”
Newman told his cohorts. “‘What else
can you do that’s better, professionally
and socially?’”
The plea worked. Logan Steinfeld,
a product designer, and Drew Hast-
ings, an architect, joined Newman and
Schaeperkoetter-Cochran to round out
the Portland-based team.
w Page 3
jew-ish 2 welcome to our world Autumn 2010

Navigating the difficult road of sexuality and Orthodoxy

By Joel Magalnick
In the shadow of the polarizing
world of same-sex marriage and Cal-
ifornia’s Proposition 8, real people
grappling with real issues about their
sexuality are often overlooked. One
such subgroup that has largely flown
under the radar has been Orthodox
Jewish lesbians.
As Miryam Nabakov, who came to
Seattle on tour for the anthology she
edited, Keep Your Wives Away from
Them, can attest, establishing her iden-
tity while remaining true to tradition
has not been easy.
The book features stories and histo-
ries of many Orthodox lesbians, some
of who wrote pseudonymously to keep
their secret lives from communities
still coming to grips with the reality of
homosexuality. It’s the first book of its
kind, and was one Nabakov first envi-
sioned more than 25 years ago.
Acceptance of gays and lesbians in
the Orthodox world has been fleeting
at best, and in many cases has resulted
in discrimination or even the casting
out of individuals who have come out
of the closet. Most objections to homo-
sexuality come from a single line in the
Torah of a prohibition of a man lying
with another man. The only reference
to women is Talmudic, and doesn’t spe-
cifically prohibit sexual acts.
“If you’re an Orthodox lesbian,
that’s a little bit more comforting, but
it doesn’t answer the question, ‘Is this
okay?’” Nabakov said. “The way I
understand it is that God is compas-
sionate, we weren’t created this way
for no reason, and if you can’t change,
then you can’t.”
Nabakov had first-hand knowledge
of being asked to change — when her
sexual orientation became clear to her,
the rabbis she consulted suggested she
follow a prescribed path to right herself.
“The theory was that when you
become a mature woman, that means you
that will be attracted to men,” she said.
She followed her rabbis’ advice.
One suggested she work with children
to become more in tune with her femi-
nine side.
“I spent a year working with kids
in Israel,” Nabakov said. “It was a
life-altering experience and I grew tre-
mendously, but at the end of that year
I didn’t become straight. I just became
more of who I was.”
Nabakov’s continual questioning
eventually brought her to a place in
which she accepted she was gay but
needed to continue
to embrace living
within Jewish law,
and that there
would sometimes
be natural tensions
between the two.
“I loved the tra-
dition too much to
just say it doesn’t
belong to me any-
more. I did believe
that it did belong to
me and I still believe
that it does,” she
said.
She said people Courtesy Miryam Nabakov
question her all the Miryam Nabakov, editor of the anthology Keep Your Wives Away From
time about hold- Them.
ing onto a tradition
that would seem to not want her. “I’m not giving up everything that I
“What people don’t get about love because of that 10 percent or because
Orthodoxy is it’s very joyous, and of that one line in the Torah,” she said.
it’s kind of intoxicating in a certain “It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
way. The prayer is very meditative,” Nabakov and her partner were mar-
she said. “The whole thing is just very ried, with a traditional-style wedding,
joyous in many ways and it fills your though the two have different defini-
life with meaning.” tions of the document that sealed their
That makes up about 90 percent of union. What her partner saw as a ketu-
her experience. The other 10 percent is bah Nabakov saw as a contract bound
the intolerance she encounters. by the strictures of Jewish law.

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Autumn 2010 welcome to our world jew-ish 3
“The whole wedding was just based
on Orthodox tradition, but I didn’t think
it was halachically binding except for the
documents,” she said. “It was just great,
and it infused our relationship with all
the values that I grew up with.”
Her experience has been different
from many of the Orthodox lesbians
she has met, but because of a support
group she ran for gay Jewish women,
she was able to create a safe space that
allowed acknowledgement of their sex-
uality while maintaining the connection
to tradition.
This safe space is one of the goals of
her book tour as well, which she called
the “You are not alone” tour. In each
city she visits, she is trying to speak in
both a Jewish space and a non-Jewish
space that can be that neutral place.
“I want to be able to have Ortho-
dox people meet each other,” she said.
“Because how do they meet?”
An event earlier this summer has
shown that the tide against acceptance
of gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews may
be slowly turning.
In July, two months after Nabakov’s
book came out, Rabbi Nathan Helfgot
of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah rabbinical
school in New York released a “State-
ment of Principles on the Place of Jews
With a Homosexual Orientation in Our
Community.” The document was signed
by more than 90 Orthodox rabbis.
The gist of the statement is that all
humans are created in the image of God
and it is unacceptable to treat any person
differently because of sexual orienta-
tion. It notes that while homosexual acts
are forbidden, orientation and sexual
attraction are not. The statement also
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called therapies that attempt to change
sexual orientation “either ineffective or
potentially damaging psychologically
for many patients.” The statement dis-
couraged same-sex relationships while
recommending full acceptance of chil-
dren of gay or lesbian couples.
Though it was a public acknowl-
edgment that has not really been made
before, the statement was not univer-
sally well-received.
“It is simple to use halakhah as an
excuse not to ask these challenging ques-
tions about ethics, human dignity, and
how we relate to those who are different
than us. But those of us who know that
halakhah is not stagnant and is always
open to reinterpretation can see that
this statement has a way to go before it
actually treats gay and lesbian people as
human beings who are truly created in
the Image of God,” wrote Rabbi Haviva
Ner-David for Zeek magazine.
Nabakov said she appreciated the
statement, but stopped short of a
whole-hearted endorsement.
“A lot of people think it’s pathetic,
or don’t get why it’s a good thing or
it’s been a move,” Nabakov said. “But
there’s a lot in there that I thought was
good. Just the fact that we put it out
there was good.”
For more information on Keep Your Wives Away
From Them and local support groups being set
up by Nabakov, visit
www.keepyourwivesawayfromthem.com.
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Sukkah City v Page 1
Before the brainstorming could
begin, however, Steinfeld, Hastings,
and Schaeperkoetter-Cochran had one
more task: Since the three were not
Jewish, they would need to learn a
thing or two about Sukkot.
“I had no idea what a sukkah was,”
said Schaeperkoetter-Cochran.
They conducted a great deal of
research, learning the history and the
legal requirements.
“They really wanted to understand
what Sukkot was all about instead of
just make something that looks cool,”
Newman said.
The result was a mutual sense of his-
tory and of place. The team became
motivated by the universality of the
sukkah concept — that the story of
persecution and of survival is not just
a Jewish one, and that all people could
benefit from time inside a sukkah.
“I felt like I was more conscious of
where I was physically, the space that I
was in,” said Schaeperkoetter-Cochran.
“I could relate it to what I was doing —
how you had to be able to feel the rain
through the roof.”
The team then went straight to work.
They treated the competition as a full-time
job. The foursome sat for hours at a time,
making a home of Floyd’s coffee shop
in Southeast Portland, consulting with
a rabbi on halachic issues when needed,
and powered through the days and nights
fueled by caffeine and cigarettes.
Finally, just before the deadline, they
submitted their DialogueBox.
The final design turned out to be a
merger of narrative inspiration and prac-
tical inclination. Newman cited the dia-
logue between endurance and struggle
and the concept of transition. The inte-
rior walls are warped and slanted to sym-
bolize the turmoil of persecution and the
exterior walls dissipate vertically to draw
one’s eyes and thoughts skyward.
They also chose to design their
sukkah to be even more affordable and
transportable than the competition
regulations required. The Dialogue-
Box design is fully collapsible and, as
Newman described it, “super porta-
ble.” The project team estimates its cost
at $1,500 — far less than the $10,000
budget set by competition organizers.
Copyrights are pending as well.
DialogueBox was not among the
dozen sukkahs selected for construction
in Union Square on Sept. 19-20. But that
is hardly discouraging when considering
the competition. Sukkah City organizer
Joshua Foer said they received more
than 600 sukkah entries from 43 coun-
tries — Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Egypt,
Venezuela, and Malaysia among them.
Newman said he would still like to
see the sukkah constructed. Schaeperko-
etter-Cochran on the other hand, would
simply like to try his hand at sitting
inside a sukkah and observing Sukkot.
“I believe it can be interpreted in a
really current fashion,” he said.
jew-ish 4 welcome to our world Autumn 2010
Tel Aviv on wheels:
Israel’s Surprisingly High-Caliber Bike City
By Josh Cohen
The thought of a world-class bicycling
city brings to mind images of safe, dedi-
cated bike lanes brimming with bicyclists
in Copenhagen or Amsterdam. Amer-
icans might think of Portland, Ore.,
where business people, chic hipsters, and
families line up at the lights, bike tire to
bike tire, on their daily commutes.
Few people, if any, would likely
think of Tel Aviv in the same bike-cen-
tric context. But with plans for a public
bike-share program and increasing
grassroots advocacy efforts, Tel Aviv is
laying the groundwork necessary to one
day be a high-quality bicycling city.
On paper, Tel Aviv holds enor-
mous potential. The city is compact, it
is flat as a pancake, and it has a warm,
Mediterranean climate. According to
nonprofit bike advocacy group Israel
Bicycle Association director Yotam
Avizohar, riding a bike in Tel Aviv also
makes more sense than driving, because
driving a car is so difficult.
“There is a very serious problem with
congestion and a lack of parking for
cars,” said Avizohar. “There are more
than 1 million cars entering and leaving
the city every day, but only a few hundred
thousand parking spaces. The bicycle is a
great solution for many residents.”
Tel Aviv city officials are hoping to
capitalize on the bicycle as a transpor-
tation solution when they roll out their
public bike share program next year.
According to the daily newspaper
Haaretz, the Tel Aviv-approved plan is
to build a bike-share program similar
to the popular Vélib’ program in Paris,
France. Bike shares are short-term bike
rental programs that typically allow
users to borrow bikes from an outdoor
corral for a nominal hourly fee. They
are meant to be used for short trips
(which bike-shares often encourage by
offering the first half-hour of riding for
free), and are often ridden the final mile
a
r
a
p
Kap
lnick
el Maga
By Jo
IntangibleArts/Creative Commons
Cyclists on the streets of Tel Aviv.
of a trip from a bus or train station to
the user’s destination.
Tel Aviv’s program, slated to launch
in 2011, will initially offer 2,000 bikes
at 150 stations throughout Tel Aviv,
with plans to expand to more than
5,000 bikes and 225 stations over the
next 10 years.
All those inexpensive, readily avail-
able bikes would be rendered useless if
Tel Aviv’s streets were too dangerous
to ride on. Thanks in large part to the
efforts of the IBA, Tel Aviv has a growing
network of dedicated bicycle paths and
bike lanes. The city says they have more
than 100km of lanes and paths. And
while that’s a solid start (and more miles
of lanes than many American cities), Avi-
zohar says not all lanes are equal.
“Some of our bike infrastructure is
good, some of it is quite lousy,” he says.
“Like everywhere,” there is kind of an
evolution of bike lanes. At the beginning
As I pick up the chicken
The bird begins its journey
Around my head. Again and again.
I twirl it faster, faster, faster.
My sins melt away with each spin
With every feather flying
Another one releases itself from my heavy heart
Faster, faster, faster
I have many sins this year
For which to atone.
And already one for the next,
For as I begin the new year
with a light heart and a heavy arm
I have killed the chicken.
I have killed the chicken.
Courtesy of Israel Bike Association.
the city just painted lines on the side-
walks. There were no guidelines and the
Ministry of Transportation knew noth-
ing about bicycle transportation.
But the IBA worked with the minis-
try to draft infrastructure guidelines. In
January 2009, the ministry adopted the
new guidelines and can now, accord-
ing to Avizohar, “develop good, pro-
fessional bike lanes” like the ones you’d
find in Europe.
In addition to improving the quan-
tity and quality of Tel Aviv’s bike infra-
structure, the Israel Bicycle Association
is also working to increase bike park-
ing, reduce bike theft, get bikes onto
trains and buses, launch a Safe Routes
to School program, and increase the
overall number of cyclists in the city.
“The main goal is not to get a cer-
tain number of bike lanes in the city,”
Avizohar said. “We want to see an
increase in the number of bicyclists,
Kapparot is the custom of
swinging a live chicken
around one’s head at Yom
Kippur to allow one’s sins
escape through the bird’s
mouth. Though opposition
to the practice from animal
rights activists to religious
scholars exists, some
traditionalists still do it.
This poem somehow lost a
bad poetry contest at the
site MyJewishLearning.com
last year.
and a decrease in the number of inju-
ries. We want to see more people
riding to work, more children riding
to school.”
Avizohar says in just the last two
months they worked with local legis-
lators to pass a bill requiring public
buildings to provide indoor bicycle
parking. “Now every residence build-
ing and public building will supply a
room for parking your bike. Bike theft
is really a major problem in Tel Aviv,
but indoor parking will be one of the
solutions to meet the challenge.”
In the past year, the IBA also worked
with Tel Aviv police to set up bike theft
sting operations with GPS-embedded
bikes. The stings led police to some
of the major bike thieves in the city
and have had “some positive impact”
according to Avizohar.
Now, the advocacy group is work-
ing to pass a bill that would encour-
age multi-modal transportation by
allowing bikes onto trains, require
municipalities to develop bike lanes,
encourage businesses to provide show-
ers for bicycling employees, and pro-
vide economic incentives for employees
to ride to work. The bill has passed the
first of three readings in the legislature
and Avizohar is confident it will make
it through the next two.
The IBA’s efforts have clearly had
an effect. Ten years ago, only 2 percent
of trips in the center city were taken by
bikes. Now, more than 15 percent of
trips are made by bike.
Tel Aviv has a ways to go before
it can be ranked alongside Europe’s
major cycling cities (where over a third
of the population rides every day). But
with active advocates, an enthusiastic
and responsive government, and phe-
nomenal bicycling conditions, Tel Aviv
has all the ingredients to emerge as a
world-class bicycling city.
Congratulations to Randy Sobel, winner of a
gorgeous mezuzah, hand carved and crafted by
artist Al Benoliel
Sign up today for the JTNews e-newsletter
and a chance to be our next winner, announced
in the October 29 issue of JTNews. Log on to
jtnews.net and sign up today!
You can be our
next winner. Register at
www.jtnews.net today!
M a z el Tov!
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews the arts 13

arts
Thursday, September 23 –
Sunday, September 26
Yefim Bronfman
Music
Russian-Israeli pianist Yefim
Bronfman’s four-show run with
the Seattle Symphony will
feature him playing Prokofiev’s
Piano Concerto No. 2. The
concerts will also include Arthur
Foote’s Francesca da Rimini and
Johannes Brahms’ Symphony
No. 3. Seattle Pacific University
Professor Eric Hanson will deliver
a pre-show lecture on Brahms
one hour prior to the perfor-
mance. Ticket information online
at seattlesymphony.org.

Joel Magalnick

Rabbi Yossi Charytan, left, building contractor Fima Kotlyar, Alter Levitin and Frumi Marasow
look on, along with all the students at the Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder, while Tziviah
Goldberg cuts the ribbon to let the kids in for their first day at their newly purchased facility in
Seattle’s Maple Leaf neighborhood. So far, the north wing of the art deco-style building has Monday, September 20, 7:30 p.m.
been renovated to get the Chabad school operational, and authorities hope to have the rest of Jonathan Safran Foer
the building complete by next year. Books
Jonathan Safran Foer is the author
of novels Everything is Illuminated
and Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close. He has also more recently
written a book of non-fiction,
called Eating Animals, about his
exploration of factory farming and
subsequent embrace of vegetari-
anism. Safran Foer will be reading
from Eating Animals. At Town Hall,
1119 8th Ave., Seattle. Tickets $5.

GEMAR
CHATIMAH k a d i m a
reconstructionist community
Seattle’s only alternative School

TOVAH for Jewish Education

May your prayers and reflections

bring blessings of peace and joy
on Yom Kippur and always.

Experiential • Anti-Bias • Holistic • FUN

Preschool–B’nei mitzvah + youth Programs
modern conversational Hebrew — Grades 3–7
Membership not required • Enrollment open now

office@kadima.org or 206-547-3914
www.kadima.org
14 community calendar JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010

cal
Rabbi Sarah Newmark, a recent graduate of the is a nonprofit serving orphans in El Salvador and Sunday 3 October
For a complete listing of events, or to add your Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, lectures on her the trip will include meetings with the local Jewish 3–5 p.m. — WSJHS Annual Meeting 2010
event to the JTNews calendar, visit www.jtnews. predecessors in the rabbinate. Suggested donations community. At the Pocasangre household. RSVP for

Lori Weinberg at 206-774-2277 or

net. Calendar events must be submitted no later
than 10 days before publication.
Candle Lighting Times
Sept. 17............................ 6:59 p.m.
of $10 to $25 go toward the Women’s Torah Project. address. assistant@wsjhs.org or www.wsjhs.org
Location TBA. The Washington State Jewish Historical Society
6–8:30 p.m. — Sukkot Across America will elect a new board. Features the first lecture in
7 p.m.–9 p.m. — Simchat Sukkot Benefit Celebration the Stan Tobin Lecture Series, Dr. Ellen Eisenberg,

206-525-0915 or www.templebetham.org

Rabbi Fredman at 206-251-4063
Sept. 24........................... 6:45 p.m.
Oct. 1............................... 6:32 p.m.
Oct. 8................................6:18 p.m.
Sunday 19 September
co-author of the book, Jews of the Pacific Coast:
Join Temple Beth Am for its annual fundraising
event in support of its H2R — Homeless to Renter
— program. Features guest speaker Doreen Cato,
executive director of First Place. Requested donation
of $18. At Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th St.,
Celebrate Sukkot with pizza and desserts. RSVP
requested. At West Seattle Torah Learning Center,
5121 SW Olga St., West Seattle.
7–8:30 p.m. — Intro to Living Judaism–in
Reinventing Community on America’s Edge. At
Temple B’nai Torah, 15727 NE 4th St., Bellevue.
4–6 p.m. — J.Team

Marla Goldberg at 206-774-2230 or

10 a.m.–12 p.m. — JFS Food Sort Seattle. the Sukkah marlag@jewishinseattle.org or

Jane Deer-Hileman at 206-861-3155 or

Carol Benedick at 206-524-0075 or www.jewishinseattle.org/programs-initiatives/

volunteer@jfsseattle.org Tuesday 28 September carolbenedick@bethshalomseattle.org or teen-philanthropy/jteam
Help sort the food collected in Jewish Family Service’s 6–8:30 p.m. — NESES Sukkah Information www.bethshalomseattle.org The J.Team, or Jewish Youth Philanthropy Team
2010 Bag Hunger Food Drive. RSVP for location. Night Learn about Beth Shalom’s Introduction to Judaism Program will give teens the tools to begin a life of

Joy Pocasangre at 425-747-0877 or class while enjoying a nosh in their Sukkah. No giving. Program members will participate in nonprofit
Wednesday 22 September joypoca@neses.org or neses.org charge for this “open sukkah.” RSVP requested. At site visits, community service and making charitable
4 p.m.— Kids Club Fall 2010: Helping Chil- A Sukkah information session to learn the details Congregation Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave. NE, donations, all with a focus on core Jewish values of
dren Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence of a NESES adult study trip to El Salvador. NESES Seattle. giving. Location to be determined.

Project DVORA at 206-461-3240

Registration deadline today for an 11-week series
for mothers and their children. Kids Club uses art,
games, and interactive activities designed to help
children and parents process their experiences and
give them tools to deal with them. For 5-8 year-olds.
Begins in October. At a confidential location.
Sunday 26 September
4:30–6:30 p.m. — Women in the Rabbinate:
1890 to the Present Day
WWj-word Page 10
“It’s our hope that we can tackle this
one at a time — one child at a time, one
school at a time, one artist, educator,
comedian, filmmaker,” said Rosen.
Luke said she sees the outreach as an
extension of current curricula that might
be similar to Holocaust education, for
example.
already know that exists, we want to bring
this to the attention of the schools. Basi-
cally, my measure of success is that simply
kids can learn to arm themselves with
phrases to protect themselves as a begin-
ning step, if they are a victim.”
Luke added that having such responses
at the ready can be helpful for bystanders
that have caused unintended suffering in
the past by not speaking out.
One organization with experience in
teaching the power hateful words can have
is the Anti-Defamation League. Hillary
Bernstein, director of the Pacific North-
west chapter of the ADL, said their “No
Place for Hate” curriculum taught in area
schools would integrate the connotations
of the term.
“To the extent that we can, we are
always going to speak out against use of

206-547-3914 or office@kadima.org or “Hopefully this statement will get edu- “There’s too much silence. They say that word and we are going to encour-
kadima.org cators talking, and get students talking,” nothing, they do nothing, and that silence age people to be aware of how hurtful that
she said. “Starting with [curricula] we is so damaging,” she said. word can be,” Bernstein said.

civil rights • LGBT rights • economic empowerment • shared society

youth-at-risk • religious pluralism • environmental protection • women’s
rights • effective leadership • citizenship

we are
You have a vision for Israel. So do we.
Equality, social justice, and peace. The values of democracy and
the vision of Israel’s founders.
Since 1979 the New Israel Fund has been fighting for the Israel that
we all know to be possible. Say Yes to a Better Israel www.WeAreNIF.org
 Celebrations

Dani Weiss Photography

Seattle Aquarium ter Dome! In addition to the event space,

The renovated Seattle Aquarium is one of the most unique, full-service facili-
ties in the Seattle area and a best-kept waterfront secret — but not for long! With
the grandeur of the 20’ by 40’ Windows on Washington Waters as your backdrop
and a tantalizing dining experience to complement your surroundings, your eve-
ning at the Seattle Aquarium will fulfill your vision of the perfect celebration.
They can accommodate up to 1,400 guests reception style, or 400 guests for
a plated dinner which includes full access to the entire venue from the Great
Hall, to Life on the Edge, to the mammal exhibits and the coveted Underwa-
Aquarium interpreters are present to help
your guests understand the exhibits and ani-
mals. Highlight your event with a personal-
ized Aquarium Dive show and your evening
becomes an interactive experience surely to be remembered for years to come!
Let your imagination soar — they’ll take care of the details!
Contact 206-386-4321 or events@seattleaquarium.org, or visit
www.seattleaquarium.org.

Celebrations

We offer facilities for:

* Weddings, receptions and rehearsal dinners
* Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
* Business meetings and retreats
* Company picnics, dinners and cocktail parties
* Family reunions and other private celebrations

For event planning call… 206.548.2590 –or– email groupsales@zoo.org

16 celebrations JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010
The Stampfer Center at
Camp Solomon Schechter
Think Schechter for your next simcha!
The Stampfer Center at Camp Solomon Schechter is the
ideal site for your event! Whether for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah,
wedding, family reunion, Shabbaton or retreat, their natu-
ral setting with pristine lake, beautiful grounds and kosher
facility makes it the perfect choice for your simcha.
Located on 160 acres of woods with a private lake just outside Olympia, the
Stampfer Center can accommodate up to 250 people. Whether you are planning
a team-building event on their Challenge Course or looking to celebrate a spe-
cial occasion at a unique facility, their seasoned programming, hospitality and
catering staff will be sure to customize an event to meet your needs.
Available for your consideration for day and overnight events.
For information, please contact 206-447-1967 or info@campschechter.org, or
visit www.campschechter.org.
Emmanuel’s Fine Rug &
Upholstery Specialists
They’ve been cleaning rugs, carpets, furniture and fine Orientals for over 100
years. You can count on them! Highest-quality carpet cleaning, custom in-plant
rug washing, rug repair and blind and upholstery cleaning. They specialize in
Oriental care, repair and mending and restoration. Emmanuel’s is the place to
go for consigned new and antique Orientals, rug sales and appraisals, as well
as on-site carpet cleaning and maintenance. Fifteen percent off all in-home ser-
vices and 30 percent off all cash-and-carry cleaning services. Gift certificates
available.
For more information call 206-322-2200, fax 206-325-3841, or visit
www.emmanuelsrug.com.
Games2U Entertainment
Experience the newest and hottest party in
town! Games2U offers state-of-the-art mobile
entertainment Theater with six 52” LCD screens,
all game systems and surround sound! Laser tag,
hamster balls and foam parties, too! Corporate, community events and birthday
parties start at $229. Contact 425-306-5361 or Games2uSeattle@gmail.com.
Hilton Garden Inn
At Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Issaquah, they
know how important big days are. Whether meet-
ing an important customer, interviewing for a new
job, reconnecting with family, or conducting a training seminar, having every-
Celebrations
Newest & Hottest Party in Town • State of the Art Mobile Entertainment Theater
Corporate, Community Events and Birthday Parties
thing you need the night before is critical to being your best. And that’s why
they focus on five key pillars to ensure your stay is as pleasurable as it is pro-
ductive:
Sleep Deep — Their revolutionary Garden Sleep System bed uses self-
adjusting technology, which studies have shown result in deeper sleep.
Work Smart — They’ll help you stay connected and productive during your
stay by offering complimentary wi-fi and secure remote printing.
Eat Well — Their restaurant features a fresh, prepared-to-order breakfast
along with lunch and dinner.
Stay Fit — Enjoy an invigorating workout when you’re on the road in their
complimentary fitness center.
Treat Yourself — After a long day, take a dip in their indoor swimming pool
and whirlpool. Visit them at www.seattleissaquah.hgi.com or contact
425-837-3600 or ernesto.mendez@hilton.com.
K1 Speed
K1 Speed is a revolution in indoor karting, with
its award-winning centers, European-style racing,
emission-free electric karts, and professionally
designed race tracks. As soon as you walk in, the
difference is apparent with a 20,000-square-foot
track and a 4,000-square-foot lobby.
The karts are the best available in the world —
with 20 horsepower they reach speeds of 45 mph, much faster than gas karts
and without the smog. K1 Speed is ideal for company events, with its corpo-
rate rooms equipped with state of the art presentation equipment and with full
catering available if required. Whether you wish to motivate your employees
with a special bonus or provide your clients with an unforgettable experience, it
all adds up to safe, exhilarating indoor racing excitement!
Visit www.k1speed.com or call 1-888-K1-KARTS.
Kaspars
You will remember your special day for the rest of your
life, so choosing the right partners to help you is an important
decision. The team at Kaspars Special Events and Catering,
with over 20 years of experience and a reputation for excel-
lence, will support you through the entire planning process,
including venue selection, menu creation, ceremony, and
reception planning, ensuring you are stress-free.
Family owned and operated, Kaspars’ passion is to provide
creative, fresh cuisine and superior service at a reasonable price. They cater to
groups of all sizes, both within Kaspars as well as at off-site locations including
private homes. Whether you are entertaining a few or a few hundred guests,
the elements for success are the same: Superb fare, impeccable service, the
proper ambience, and the right caterer! Kaspars Special Events and Catering
has it all. Call 206-298-0123, fax 206-298-0146 or visit www.kaspars.com.
WHEN TOMORROW’S A BIG DAY
STAY HGI TONIGHT
We know finding the time to get away can be a big
deal. That’s why we provide lots of extras when you
stay with us. Like complimentary Wi-Fi, a microwave,
fridge; plus evening room service, breakfast buffet,
pool, a workout facility and more — all for a lot less
money than you’d expect.
Everything. Right where you need it®.

.7'ILMAN"LVD)SSAQUAH7!

/FF) %XIT
425-837-3600

Reservations:SEATTLEISSAQUAHHGICOMs  34!9 (')

425-306-5361 • Games2uSeattle@gmail.com ©2010 Hilton Worldwide
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews celebrations 17

A Seattle tradition thrilling

Cleaning Seattle’s carpets, for over 20 years real fast, real fun
indoor go-karting
rugs & upholstery
We ensure
for over 100 years! ideal setting for:
your Bar or
private rentals
15% Off Bat Mitzvah is
meetings
fall special a spectacular parties for all ages
all in-Home services event. walk-in racing
30% cash & carry discount every day
Our passion is providing fresh,
Gift certificates available
quality food and superior service.
Choose from a complete selection
of menus or create a personalized
menu. 425-251-5060
Private dining rooms for w w w. s y k a r t. c o m
up to 300 guests or full service 17450 west valley highway tukwila, wa
off-premise catering at your home
Fine Rug & Upholstery Specialists Since 1907 or other special location.
1105 Rainier Avenue S., Seattle, WA 98144
Visit kaspars.com for menus and more info
Phone: 206-322-2200
Fax: 206-325-3841 Minutes from the city.
19 West Harrison • Seattle, WA 98119
www.emmanuelsrug.com 206.298.0123 • info@kaspars.com Miles from distraction.

Talaris Conference Center is the ideal event and

meeting destination on 18-acres near the University
of Washington for groups up to 150 guests.

B’nai Mitzvah, company parties, Mention “JT News” when you book and
receive 5% off your master bill! Call for details.
*

reunions, weddings, a cozy dinner for 50...

talariscc.com q 206.268.7000 q info@talariscc.com
What will make your event memorable, beautiful, and easy on you?
w w w. w e l l d o n e v e n t s . c o m *Event must be booked by December 31, 2010 and take place by March 31, 2011.

Think Schechter
for your nexT Simcha!

The Stampfer Center at Camp Solomon Schechter

is the ideal site for your next event:
• Kosher catering • Lakeside amphitheater • Ropes/Challenge course available
• Day and overnight events — we will customize to meet your needs

For more information, call Carolyn: 206-447-1967 or

info@campschechter.org • www.campschechter.org

Become a fan > jtnews

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18 celebrations JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010
The Landing and
Northcut Conference Room
Give your casual graduation party an extra touch of elegance, welcome your
teen into adulthood with sophistication, or make your wedding sparkle. The
Landing also transforms into the perfect setting for your theatre performance,
wedding reception, prom, live band, or dance workshop. The patio with open
terrace setting extends the pleasant ambience of any special events.
The Northcut Conference Room meeting facility is an extraordinary setting
for your off-site meetings, conferences, executive retreats, and ideas for all-staff
retreats. For more information, please contact 206-786-0627 or
info@northcutlanding.com.
Sykart
Get ready for a thrilling ride an inch off the ground at 30-35 mph! Welcome
to Sykart, your indoor racing headquarters. Whether it’s just you and a friend
or your company, they cater to the competitive racer while not diminishing the
fun-loving, exciting racing atmosphere. Experience the thrill of real fast, real fun
indoor go karting. Indoor kart racing is ideal for teambuilding exercises, prod-
uct launch events, client entertainment, off-site staff meetings, fundraising, and
a birthday or special milestone celebration. Also, Sykart is an ideal place to
simply unwind and recharge your battery.
Open in the morning and still racing hard when most people are turning out
the lights, this is the place to race. Call 425-251-5060 or visit www.sykart.com.
Talaris Conference Center
Talaris Conference Center, a retreat, event and meeting destination that com-
bines a distinctively Northwest environment with metropolitan technology and
amenities, is located on 18 acres in a natural, park-like setting near the Univer-
sity of Washington in Seattle. It is within walking distance of neighborhood res-
taurants, cafes and jogging trails.
With 31 guestrooms, three large conference rooms, two intimate meeting
spaces, multiple breakout areas and, for events, the Pacific dining room, this
wooded oasis is an ideal destination for intimate training workshops, meet-
ings, retreats and other events for up to 150 people. And if business or personal
travel brings you to the University District, they are the perfect alternative to a
traditional hotel.
Contact 206-268-7000 or visit www.talariscc.com for more information.
Celebrations
Well Done Family Events
Well Done Family Events are precious!
They know that your anniversary, wedding,
and B’nai Mitzvah events create memories
that can’t be “done better the next time.”
No, these celebrations are the once-in-a-lifetime memory makers of your family
story. Well Done Family Events is proud to make them memorable, beautiful,
and easy on you.
What makes an event Well Done? Communication skills, resourcefulness,
and high energy. Artistry, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail. A sense of
timing, grace under pressure, and relentlessly high standards. They believe that
a Well Done Event is a reflection of them, the founders and planners, so they
give every event their best.
Well Done Events provides complete event planning services in the Seattle
area. They can plan it all or they can help with just a few items on your to-do list.
On the day of your event, relax and enjoy your own party!
Visit www.welldonevents.com.
Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo, one of Seattle’s most
cherished community resources, is the perfect
location for your next event! Set on 92 acres
with over 300 species of animals, the zoo
offers 17 unique venues to host your Bar/Bat
Mitzvah, holiday party, picnic, meeting, wed-
ding, family reunion or birthday party. Funds
generated by your event help support the zoo’s quality animal care, education
programs and field conservation projects to help preserve wildlife species and
habitats in the Northwest and around the world. For more information e-mail
groupsales@zoo.org, call 206-548-2590, or visit www.zoo.org.
Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club & Spa
The Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club & Spa host
spectacular celebrations along the shores of Lake
Washington. Dine under the stars in their seasonal
Olympic Terrace or let the lakeside sunsets set the
mood for festive parties.
Two venues offer distinctive settings for your
special occasion. The Olympic Terrace, with a
spectacular canopy and glowing chandeliers, showcases both daytime and eve-
ning weddings, parties, and brunches. The Marina Room features picture win-
dows and outdoor patio reception area overlooking the Carillon Point Marina,
perfect for B’nai Mitzvah!
Their reputation for professional care and attention to detail has made the
Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club & Spa one of the Northwest’s premier destina-
tions. The Woodmark is small enough to provide highly personalized service,
yet large enough to accommodate your out-of-town guests.
Get away from the ordinary and experience the extraordinary on the shores
of Lake Washington. Call 425-827-1986 or visit www.thewoodmark.com.
Celebrations
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews world news 19
The Yom Kippur sermon that helped spur
the Soviet Jewry movement
Gal Beckerman JTA World News Service
NEW YORK (JTA) — On a fall day in
1963, Abraham Joshua Heschel unbur-
dened his soul.
Speaking the truth without regard for
whether it scandalized or hurt was some-
thing he would do fairly often in that
decade of social upheaval. Already branded
as an eccentric and an outsider, that year he
had met the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for
the first time, beginning a close friendship
that would deepen his involvement in the
civil rights movement. The two eventually
would offer the most endearing and endur-
ing image of the now long dead black-Jew-
ish alliance when they walked arm and arm
to Selma, Ala., in protest, garlands of flow-
ers around their necks.
But in September 1963, Heschel’s audi-
ence was Jewish — a gathering of rabbis at
the Jewish Theological Seminary in New
York. His speech would be read aloud that
Yom Kippur at hundreds of congregations
across the country. It was a sermon that set
in motion one of the great engines of what
would soon be known as the Soviet Jewry
movement: Guilt.
Heschel was angry and ashamed that
American Jews were not more engaged in
helping their brethren in the Soviet Union.
There was mounting evidence that these
Jews were stuck in an increasingly unten-
able situation. Every element of their Jewish
identity, from religious life to cultural
expression, had been brutally squashed. At
the same time, the avenues to assimilation
were blocked — if nothing else, their inter-
nal passports singled them out for discrim-
ination by identifying them as Jews. The
option of abandoning the Soviet Union for
good was not even a possibility.
Heschel looked at the Jews of America
— most of them themselves only two gen-
erations removed from the Pale of Settle-
ment — and could not believe they were
responding with little more than sadness
and resignation
“What is called for is not a silent sigh
but a voice of moral compassion and
indignation, the sublime and inspired
screaming of a prophet uttered by a whole
community,” Heschel lectured the assem-
bled rabbis.
Then he made his most searing argu-
ment. This was not the first time that
American Jews had been impotent when
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it came to helping other Jews, Heschel
told them.
“We have been guilty more than once
of failure to be concerned, of a failure to
cry out, and failure may have become our
habit,” he told them.
Heschel was referring, of course, to the
Holocaust. And it was effective. Whether
or not American Jews deserved to bear this
historical burden — whether there was
anything more they could have done — is
irrelevant. In the early 1960s, just as con-
sciousness of the extent of the genocide
was bubbling up, so too was a painful rec-
ognition that as millions of their brethren
were murdered in Europe, this increas-
ingly stable and prosperous community
could hardly organize themselves to put
on a single rally.
This guilt would blossom into what
for some time now has been an obses-
sive concentration on the Holocaust, one
that many have rightly come to see as an
extremely corrosive development — the
constant memorializing eclipsing so much
else about Jewish identity. But what has
been forgotten is that before every Jewish
community had its own memorial and
museum, there was the guilt and the need
to do something about it.
I’ve been exploring the Soviet Jewry
movement over the past five years for
a forthcoming book. Throughout its
25-year history, the need to cast away this
heavy burden was present at nearly every
moment. But I also came to see it as a pos-
itive element. American Jews mobilized,
went up against an American administra-
tion and became a more assertive com-
munity partly as a way of clearing their
collective conscience.
Guilt was present when a group of
NASA scientists in Cleveland, Ohio,
decided in 1963, after reading the then-
slim literature of the Holocaust, that they
had to do something for those Soviet Jews
now suffering “spiritual genocide” and
started the first grass-roots Soviet Jewry
group. It was also present in New York
the following year at the inaugural mass
meeting of what would soon be known as
the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry. One
of the students offered to sing a ditty he
had come up with for their first protest. Its
refrain was “History shall not repeat.”
Guilt, leavened with anger, also was
present in Rabbi Meir Kahane’s slogan
“Never again,” when he hijacked the
movement in the early 1970s. In 1971 he
rallied a thousand young people to be
arrested in Washington, D.C., near the
Soviet Embassy with the words, “I’m
asking you to do today what Jews didn’t
do while the gas chambers were burn-
ing. Sit down in the streets of Wash-
ington.”
And in 1987 when a quarter-mil-
lion people marched in Washing-
ton for Soviet Jewry, greeting Gorbachev
on his first visit to the United States, guilt
dripped from Elie Wiesel’s words: “Too
many of us were silent then. We are not
silent today.”
But this guilt was not about wallowing.
It was directed, focused. I heard the same
line from the many activists I interviewed
for the book: They did not want their chil-
dren to ask the same question of them that
they had asked their parents: What had
they done to help Jews during the war?
As a result, the movement acted as
a sort of catalyst. By cleansing the con-
science, it allowed these Jews to be asser-
tive. It emboldened them to act with a
confidence they had never before exhib-
ited on American soil.
Never was this truer than during the
fight for the Jackson-Vanik amendment
from 1972 to 1975. The Jewish commu-
nity went up against the president — and
won. They wanted Richard Nixon and
Henry Kissinger to temper their pursuit
of detente and make any improved trade
relationship with the Soviets contingent
on freer emigration.
Here, too, the Holocaust was not far
away. The amendment was inspired by
a new tax the Soviets wanted to levy on
departing emigrants: They would have to
pay back the state for their education.
An editorial cartoon in the Los Ange-
les Times captured the feeling this tax
inspired by showing a caricature of two
almost identical prisoners: The first held
out an arm tattooed with a number from
a concentration camp and was captioned
“Germany, 1936’; the second had the same
tattooed arm and was captioned “Russia,
1972.” The difference was the numbers on
the second arm had a dollar sign in front
Coming Soon to Capitol Hill
the original
opening october 1st
206-467-5043
of it.
American Jews made this guilt produc-
tive. The Soviet Jewry movement became
as much about saving themselves as it
was about saving this far-off community
of Jews.
When I started working on the book,
I was drawn by a need to understand the
world after the war. My grandparents all
survived death camps and lost much of
their families. And yet, by the time I knew
them, they had raised families and were
happy, well-adjusted people.
As curious as I was about what hap-
pened to them in those camps, I also
wanted to understand what went into this
transformation. The same was true on
a much larger scale. How did American
Jews scrub out that terrible stain?
The answer, it seems, was contained
in the Soviet Jewry movement. Here Jews
were able to work out those feelings, to
answer Heschel’s lament.
A few months before his speech in
1963, a reporter from the Yiddish news-
paper the Day-Morning Journal asked
Heschel where he had been in 1943. He
answered mournfully that he had just
arrived in America, did not speak the lan-
guage well, and commanded no attention
from the Jewish leadership.
Still, he said, “This does not mean that I
consider myself innocent. I am very guilty.
I have no rest.”
If not for him, then for the next genera-
tion, Soviet Jewry offered that rest.
Gal Beckerman is a writer at The Forward and
the author of When They Come for Us, We’ll Be
Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry,
in bookstores Sept. 23.)
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A program of Jewish Family Service
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 www.homecareassoc.org
Provides personal care, assistance with
daily activities, medication reminders,
light housekeeping, meal preparation and
companionship to older adults living at
home or in assisted-living facilities.
Hyatt Home Care Services, LLC
In-Home Care Aides
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Assisting with non-medical tasks & home
support needs • Housekeeping Personal
care • Respite care • Meal preparation.
Washington State Licensed Home Care
Agency
Seniors Helping Seniors
Home Care Agency
☎☎ 206-971-6616
 www.seniorshelpingseniors.com
A senior helping another senior. We offer
all the services you need to remain in your
own home: transportation, errands and
doctor appointments, companion and per-
sonal care, homemaker services, pet care
and more. A way to give and receive.
catering
Leah’s Catering, Inc.
Seattle’s Premier Kosher Caterer
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Full Service • Glatt Kosher
Delivery or Pickup • All your catering
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Madison Park Cafe
Simmering in Seattle for over 30 years
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life passages: Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • Weddings
• Brit Milah • Special Occasions.
Karen Binder
Matzoh Momma Catering
Catering with a personal touch
☎☎ 206-324-MAMA
Serving the community for over 25 years.
Full service catering and event planning
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Miriam and Pip Meyerson
certified public
accountants
Dennis B. Goldstein & Assoc., CPAs, PS
Tax Preparation & Consulting
☎☎ 425-455-0430
F 425-455-0459
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Newman Dierst Hales, PLLC
Nolan A. Newman, CPA
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Tax • Accounting • Healthcare Consulting
9/17
to jewish washington 2010
college placement Dentists (continued) Funeral/Burial services invitations
College Placement Consultants Martin A. Rabin, D.M.D., P.S. Hills of Eternity Cemetery Occasionally Yours
☎☎ 425-453-1730 ☎☎ Kirkland: 425-821-9595 Owned and operated by Temple De Hirsch Sinai Adrian Lustig, owner
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Pauline B. Reiter, Ph.D. Specializing in Periodontics. munity. Jewish cemetery open to all pre- Specializing in Jewish Wedding and
Expert help with undergraduate and Dental Implants • Cosmetic Gum Surgery need and at-need services. Affordable Bar/Bat Mitzvah Invitations
graduate school college selection, Oral Conscious Sedation rates • Planning assistance. 20% Discount • Hebrew type
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40 Lake Bellevue, #100, Bellevue 98005 Michael Spektor, D.D.S. Mohelim
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Linda Jacobs & Associates ✉☎ info@spektordental.com Rabbi Simon Benzaquen
College Placement Services  www.spektordental.com Spear Studios, Graphic Design ☎☎ 206-721-2275 • 206-723-3028
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school. Seattle. • Newsletters • Brochures • Logos photographers
Wendy Shultz Spektor, D.D.S. • Letterheads • Custom invitations
counselors/therapists ☎☎ 425-454-1322 • Photo Editing for Genealogy Projects Dani Weiss Photography
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Jewish Family Service  www.spektordental.com
www.jtnews.net
 www.daniweissphotography.com
Individual, couple, child and family therapy Emphasis: Cosmetic and Preventive Photographer Specializing in People.
www.jew-ish.com
☎☎ 206-861-3195 Dentistry • Convenient location in Bellevue Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, parties, promotions &
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Expertise with life transitions, relationships Financial services insurance Digital or film
and personal challenges. Jewish knowledge
and sensitivity. Offices in Seattle and Hamrick Investment Counsel, LLC Abolofia Insurance Agency place your service
Bellevue. Day and evening hours. Roy A. Hamrick, CFA Bob Abolofia, Agent
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Subsidized fee scale available. ☎☎ 206-441-9911 ☎☎ 425-641-7682
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in print
Frances M. Pomerantz, MS  www.hamrickinvestment.com ✉☎ babolofia@yahoo.com
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Professional portfolio management Independent agent representing
☎☎ 425-451-1655 services for individuals, foundations and Pemco since 1979 physician
✉☎ fpomerantz@earthlink.net nonprofit organizations.
Specializing in couples and individuals. Eastside Insurance Services Lakeview Family Practice
Facilitating better communication, more Mass Mutual Financial Group Chuck Rubin, agent Mindy Blaski, MD
satisfying relationships, increased self- Albert Israel, CFP ☎☎ 425-271-3101 We provide expert personal medical care
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1621 114th Ave. SE, #224, Bellevue 98004 Jamison Russ Tom Brody, agent Mindy Blaski MD is Board certified in
☎☎ 206-346-3266 ☎☎ 425-646-3932 Family Medicine. She and the staff take
Dentists ✉☎ jruss@finsvcs.com F 425-646-8750 pride in personal and up-to-date medical
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Toni Calvo Waldbaum, DDS retirement • Estate planning for those We represent Pemco, Safeco, Hartford & ian and Spanish.
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Solomon M. Karmel, Ph.D ☎☎ 425-454-9373 108 5th Avevue S, Suite C-1
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FR  www.jfsseattle.org
EE Comprehensive geriatric care manage-
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 the
september 17, 2010
shouk @jtnews
help wanted cleaning services home services funeral/burial services

URJ Congregation Kol Shalom Gift complete funeral/burial services

on Bainbridge Island Certificate Serving the needs of the greater Seattle community

Part-time teacher openings Available! Planning assistance • Affordable $2295.00

September–June, Wednesdays & Saturdays,
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Résumé and cover letter to Dani Hemmat at
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Dennis 206-799-3334 • Jack Barokas 206-725-0364
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Pauline B. Reiter, Ph.D.
health services announcements
preiter@qwest.net
www.collegeplacementconsultants.com
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linda Jacobs & associates

college Placement services The Baker’s Box ad.
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es deep
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young israeli woman

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in your home. Run your Baker’s Box in the body of the paper or the Classified section. Seattle & North
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next issue: october 1
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september 22
beckym@jtnews.net
call becky: 206-774-2238
22 community news JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010

The Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle
By David Benkof
Across
1. Corn parts
5. Violinist Zimbalist
10. Iridescent gem
14. Israel’s continent
15. ___ Adumim (Jerusalem suburb)
16. Movie musical about a high school
WWtorah day school Page 6 Next to one of the jungle gym play areas
space was cordoned off to create makeshift
is a large organic garden filled with beds
of fruiting cherry tomatoes, ready-to-eat
classrooms. cabbages, and carrots. Another section is
When the school began five years ago, it packed with blossoming herbs like lemon
had 52 students. balm and long-stemmed flowers bursting
“This year, we’re at 104,” Skaist said. with color. A quaint and somewhat dis-
The Columbia City School, however, tressed greenhouse is waiting for a care-
has capacity for far more. taker with a green thumb to restore its
“It’s a campus, it’s a real school!” said natural beauty.
Ezra Genauer, development chair at TDS. “The space is so versatile and unique,”
Genauer’s three children all attend TDS. Genauer said. “It could be used for many
Genauer said the school will be able to educational purposes, for both science and
section off part of the facility to sublease. religious purposes,” he added. “You could
“There’s actually one hallway that’s plant things for Pesach like bitter herbs,
going to be a cultural corner, where we and other things. It does work very well
will lease some rooms to a dance company, with the hands-on approach, education-
and a historical society. We can provide a ally, that the school has.”
service to the community and make space TDS is considering a partnership of
available for these important elements of sorts with the local Columbia City Farm-
the community.” er’s Market for them to teach classes there,
Connecting with their local neighbors or maybe parents might teach classes to
is a high priority for TDS. Since so many students. The possibilities seem limitless
of the surrounding residents most likely to Genauer.
attended school there before the district “There’s never been a [Jewish] school
closed it, TDS decided to keep all of the that has had this type facility before,” he
play areas open to the community after said. “I could see it being used for com-
school hours and until dusk. munity events, or a Hanukkah party for
“There’s a history here,” said Skaist. the community. On weekends, we could
“People come here with their kids and have concerts here. The potential is here.
their strollers and it’s really nice to see. Then we could share the wonderful gift we
Down We want to maintain community expec- have of this building with the whole com-
1. Actor James (“Misery”) tations.” munity.”
2. 1952 Winter Olympics site
3. Prejudice
4. Napoleon convened one
5. May birthstone DOg-walking anD pet-sitting I believe women take on the role of nurturer
6. Devotee first and foremost. So who is taking care of them?

Other critters are considered

Catering to cats and dogs

with music teacher Mr. Shorofsky 7. Garden tool Karen Calara MSPT, CSCS
17. Composer, “Beauty and the Beast” 8. “___ are the stars in Joseph’s Women come to me to find
19. Divided dream” support, get better, and
20. One who snacks 9. Threatening person go on to live vivacious lives.

21. Adolf’s other 10. A lot

22. Brio 11. “Royal Pains” actor Costanzo
23. Quaint outburst 12. Moses’ father
25. By one measure, Israel is the 40th 13. Comic Bruce
largest in the world 18. Start of something big? For more info:
Physical Therapy for Women
27. Austrian-born feminist historian 24. Not hearing www.deliriouspetsitting.com 1836 Westlake Ave N, Suite 202 • Seattle
31. Rabin’s assassin 26. Kind of law Rates start at $20 per 30 minutes 206.283.1030 • www.thenextsteppt.com
32. What “Yom” in “Yom Kippur” 27. Fete
means 28. Arab ruler
33. Rabbinical scholar Nachmanides, 29. Ready
for short
38. Fat
30. Actress Winona
34. Former Vermont Gov. Kunin
Cynthia Williams
40. WWII President 35. ___ Mitzvah (female coming-of-age
Call me for current market information
42. Pop ceremonies) Call 206-769-7140
43. Places to play football 36. #1 spot
45. Age 37. ___-do-well Managing Broker, EcoBroker
47. Capitol feature 39. Biblical source of honey Quorum—Laurelhurst, Inc.
48. It may be Centigrade 41. Masada foe cwilliams@quorumseattle.com
51. Israel summer gear 44. ___ Brothers (“Mary Poppins” www.seattlehomesforsale.net
55. And so on songwriting duo) Office 206-522-7003
56. Region 46. Writes music
57. Philadelphia clergy-training sch. 49. Put on a kittel
59. Biased against the old 50. “Moment” and others
63. Part of a plague 51. Camp Ramah domicile
64. Torah site 52. Got up
66. Madagascar, e.g. 53. Simon and Diamond Russ Katz, Realtor
67. “Yippie” Hoffman 54. Hasidic folklore, e.g. Windermere Real Estate/Wall St. Inc.
68. Zero 58. One stop for the “St. Louis” 206-284-7327 (Direct)
69. ___ Ziona (city in central Israel) 60. Knowing, as a secret www.russellkatz.com
70. Approaches 61. Sinai feature

L’Shana Tova
71. Finishes 62. Israel has none with Syria
65. One of Teddy’s successors

JDS Grad & Past Board of Trustees Member

Mercer Island High School Grad
Answers on page 19
University of Washington Grad
friday, september 17, 2010 . www.jtnews.net . JTNews
Hot on cars, cold on Turkey,
home expensive home
Israel Under The Radar
Marcy Oster JTA World News Service
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Here are some
recent stories out of Israel that you may
have missed.
Home, sweet, more expensive
home
The cost of housing in Israel is rising
through the roof and shows no signs of
stopping.
The average price of an apartment rose
more than 17 percent from June 2009 to
June 2010.
Tel Aviv showed the largest increase,
with the average price of a three-bedroom
apartment jumping 32 percent to nearly
$612,000. Other average increases:  Haifa
and Beersheba, 20 percent; Jerusalem, 19
percent; and Herzliya, 14 percent.
One reason for the bal-
looning prices: a short-
age of new apartments
for sale, according to
the Bank of Israel. The
bank believes that hous-
ing prices will continue to
rise and has tried to cool
off the market by raising
interest rates.
Shalom salaam: Israeli kids to
study Arabic
Soon Jewish and Arabic kids will be
speaking the same language.
Arabic language classes are expected to
become compulsory soon for Israeli stu-
dents beginning in grade 5. A pilot pro-
gram in 170 schools in northern Israel was
rolled out for the new school year.
More than 200 schools in the north
of Israel, where Arabic is a common lan-
WWrandy gordon Page 8
during the special session. Visiting his
parents, who are in their late 80s, was not
something Gordon was willing to forgo.
His parents often accompanied Gordon
— via hands-free cell phone — on his long
early morning commutes from Bellevue to
Olympia, Gordon said. The conversations
usually ended in satisfied surprise when
Gordon caught a glimpse of the Capitol
dome before him, reminding him of the
fulfillment of what he describes as a “life-
long interest in public service.”
Gordon’s first major step toward realiz-
ing that goal was his brief candidacy for the
U.S. House of Representatives 8th district
seat in 2006. He quickly withdrew from
the race, however, to throw his support
behind Darcy Burner, who was eventu-
ally defeated by incumbent Dave Reich-
ert. Gordon sees that decision to withdraw
as an extension of the Jewish values — the
Talmudic purposefulness — that drew
him to politics in the first place.
guage, have signed on to the program.
About 50 Arab teachers have been hired to
teach in the program.
Israeli children begin compulsory Eng-
lish-language instruction in the third
grade.
Students until now could choose among
several languages to study as a second lan-
guage from grades 7 to 10. The languages
include Russian, French and Amharic.
Hit the road, Jack
Prototypes of an electric car made spe-
cifically for Israel have hit the road for
field tests.
Renault sent the cars to Israel in August
to check them out in extreme heart con-
ditions.
Israel is set next year to become one
of the first markets for electric cars with a
quick-change station, where cars can stop
and pick up a freshly charged battery for
immediate use.
Make mine tap water
Israeli government minister’s heads no
longer will be hidden by bottles of mineral
water during Cabinet meetings — Cabinet
Secretary Zvi Hauser will now be serving
“My goal was to stop the Congress from
being a Republican Congress because I was
unhappy with how they were taking the
country under the Bush administration,”
Gordon said. “The best chance of having
a Democrat in the 8th was an uncontested
primary. I thought that I was true to my
beliefs.”
Rabbi James Mirel of Temple B’nai
Torah attests to those beliefs.
“He’s been a member of our temple
for many years and he has been involved;
he’s a very committed Jew,” Mirel said.
“He’s part of our community, part of our
family.”
Gordon is proud of his active role at
Temple B’nai Torah — where once upon a
time he helped carry a Torah scroll on foot
to the congregation’s new synagogue in
Bellevue from its prior Mercer Island loca-
tion — and of his Judaism in general.
“As an attorney and as a legislator, I
am very devoted to the law,” Gordon said.
“And the law of all laws is the Torah.”
lifecycles 23
life
Bat Mitzvah
Emily Ruth Kaplan
Emily celebrated her Bat Mitzvah on August 14, 2010, at a
4 p.m. mincha service at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue.
Emily is the daughter of Carol Schuster and John Kaplan,
step-daughter of Brian Schuster, and step-daughter of
Michelle Carmody Kaplan, all of Bellevue. She is sister to
David and Daniel Kaplan, step-sister to Shoshana, Galya and
Raphael Schuster, and half-sister to Thomas John Kaplan.
Her grandparents are Dr. and Mrs. F. Alan and Marjorie
Coombs of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the late Mr. and Mrs.
Morton and Elaine Kaplan. Her step-grandparents are Rabbi
Arlene Schuster of Bellevue and the late Dr. Joseph Schuster,
Ms. Sharon Carmody of Seattle, and Mr. and Mrs. John and Sharlene Carmody of Edmonds.
Emily is an 8th grader at Odle Middle School. She enjoys reading, playing soccer, swimming,
dancing, listening to music, and spending time with friends. For her Bat Mitzvah project, she is
raising money for the Central Asia Institute, a program working to promote and provide
community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain
regions of Central Asia, made popular by Greg Mortensen’s book Three Cups of Tea.
tap water during meetings. tourist destinations to replace Turkey.
The Forum of Water Corporations had Israeli tourism to Turkey has declined
written a letter to Hauser telling him that by as much as 90 percent in the past year,
it was difficult for the public to believe in more specifically since the Gaza flotilla
the quality of the country’s water when its incident in May.
leaders were drinking water from a bottle. The number of Israeli tourists who trav-
The move was undertaken to prove to eled to Turkey in July was down 90 percent
the Israeli public that Israeli tap water is to 4,500 tourists, compared to 43,000 in
safe to drink, as well as less expensive. July 2009 and 78,000 in July 2008, accord-
Hauser also is responsible for replac- ing to Haaretz. June saw a similar drop.
ing the meetings’ weekly spread of boure- In all, Israeli travel to Turkey is down
kas with vegetables, fruits, granola and 40 percent for the year compared to 2009.
yogurt. Israelis have cut back on travel to
Turkey as relations between the two coun-
Cold on Turkey tries continues to sour, beginning with the
Despite Turkey’s best public relations December 2008 outbreak of the month-
efforts, Israelis are finding other attractive long Gaza war.
2-for-1
“ You’re Amazing”
Cards
When you let JFS “Tribute Cards”
do the talking, you send your best
wishes and say you care about
Belated Greetings funding vital JFS programs here at
home. Call Irene at (206) 861-3150
from Baltimore!
or, on the web, click on “Donations”
Miss you all!
at www.jfsseattle.org. Use Visa or
Best wishes for the New Year! MasterCard. It’s the most gratifying
2-for-1 in town.
Lorraine Sidell
www
www.jtnews.net
How do I submit a Lifecycle announcement?
Send lifecycle notices to: JTNews/Lifecycles, 2041 Third Ave., Seattle, WA 98121
E-mail to: lifecycles@jtnews.net Phone 206-441-4553 for assistance.
Submissions for the October 1, 2010 issue are due by September 22
Download forms or submit online at www.jtnews.net/index.php?/lifecycle
Please submit images in jpg format, 400 KB or larger. Thank you!
24 JTNews . www.jtnews.net . friday, september 17, 2010