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24 45
INSIDE THE JOURNAL
24 » AMERICAN JEWS & THE IRANIAN UPRISING 23 » A SILVER LINING IN ISRAEL
The uprising in Iran — set off by the killing of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian
Morality Police on Sept. 16 — has been met by a harsh, lethal crackdown.
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh, a proud Iranian American, asks why the reaction
of American Jews has been so weak.
9 » COLUMNISTS Paul Socken on the importance of small things; Dan 29 » TABLE FOR FIVE: VAYISHLACH Sarah Pachter, David
Porush, Alissa Thomas-Newborn and Rabbis Scott N. Bolton and Nolan
Schnur on Netanyahu’s extreme challenge; Judy Gruen on the connection
between spirituality and mental health; Elizabeth Danziger on a kippah
that traveled the world; and Rabbi and Cantor Eva Robbins on whether
it’s cool to be a Jew.
14 » MARRIAGE AND OTHER DISAPPOINTMENTS
The story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel, Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz writes, is
filled with discord, dysfunction and disappointment. Disappointment
will always be a part of our lives. Judaism helps us answer the inevitable
question: How do we respond to life’s disappointments?
16 » EVERYTHING “ALTNEULAND” IS NEW AGAIN
“Altneuland,” the utopian Jewish state in Theodor Herzl’s novel, does not
much resemble modern-day Israel, but New Media Director and Columnist
Blake Flayton argues that the issues faced by the citizens in the book
come uncomfortably close to those in the Knesset today.
17 » FROM BERLIN TO QATAR With Qatar in the international 45 » “WHY GOD WHY?” When his 36-year-old wife died, Rabbi
spotlight as the host of the World Cup, the small Middle East nation has
asked Hamas — which the Qatari government finances — to refrain from
attacking Israel. For Rafael Medoff, this resembles the cleaned up Nazi
Germany Hitler presented during the 1936 Olympics.
20 » REWRITING HISTORY AT THE U.N. As Israel
celebrates the 75th anniversary of U.N. Resolution 181, which called for
the creation of Israel, today’s United Nations voted to commemorate
the event the way Palestinians do — as a nabka, or catastrophe. Mark
Goldfeder explains why that’s a “big lie” not backed up by history.
9 » Columnists
» SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING
Fri December 9, 4:26 p.m. 21 » Nation/World
Shabbat ends Sat December 10, 5:25 p.m.
23 » Rosner's Domain
December 9-15, 2022
33 44
The announcement that
Avi Maoz, an ultra-conservative fringe politician, would be deputy minister
in charge of schools has triggered widespread opposition. Israel Political
Editor Shmuel Rosner writes that Maoz gives the opposition something
they were missing: an issue that could motivate and rally their followers.
Lebovitz share their insights on this week’s Torah portion.
33 » A HEAVENLY CAKE A cake tasted during a trip to Bodrum, Turkey
instantly brought back memories of childhood. Back home, the Sephardic
Spice Girls, Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff, worked to recreate
the magical cake, and offer their recipe, just in time for orange season.
39 » SAM GLASER’S NEW MUSICAL WORLD Like
many musicians, Sam Glaser’s ability to make a living performing live was
shut down by COVID. But the tech savvy Pico-Robinson based musician
tells Ari L. Noonan about how he adapted to keep his career going.
44 » ODE TO A CAMERA When filmmaker Alyssa Bolsey discovered
that her great-grandfather invented the Bolex camera, she started looking
into the backstory. The result, Brian Fishbach reports, is a must-see
documentary, “Beyond The Bolex.”
Gershon Schusterman gave God “the cold shoulder.” His new book, “Why
God Why,” relates how he eventually renewed his relationship with God
and how even tragedy can bring positivity to the world. Kylie Ora Lobell
reports.
50 » RABBIS OF LA: A HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN As a child,
Rabbi Sara Berman used to follow her oncologist father as he made his
rounds at the hospital. She was supposed to become a doctor, but instead
found her place as chaplain at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical
Center. She tells Kylie Ora Lobell about her journey.
32 » Food 46 » What's Happening
37 » Community 49 » Jonathan Fong Style
43 » Arts 50 » Rabbis of LA
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 5
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IT Y FA IR & M ENORAH LIGHTING

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7 COL-Suissa- Creative
Volume 39, Number 14
December 9-15, 2022
jewishjournal.com
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Refael, Thane Rosenbaum, Dan Schnur, Mark Schiff,
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All rights reserved. © 2022
December 9-15, 2022
Do We Fight Hate as Winners or Whiners?
» by David Suissa
THE BIGGEST SCANDAL IN THE JEWISH
world today is not the rise in antisemitism, but
the fact that the more money and noise we’ve
thrown at the problem, the worse it’s gotten.
If fighting antisemitism were a business,
it would have gone belly up a long time ago.
It’s the equivalent of investing a fortune to
improve your product, and then realizing
you actually made it worse.
So, what happened?
It turns out there’s a simple explanation
for this epic squandering of Jewish resourc-
es in the “fight against hate.” Donors love a
good fight. It makes it look like we’re doing
something, like we won’t be silenced, like
we’re fighting back against evil forces.
This activity makes us feel good, so we
rarely have to ask: Is any of this working?
Activists who fundraise know all this. They
know there’s nothing like “they’re coming to
get us!” and “it’s never been worse!” to get the
hysterics triggered and the checks rolling in.
Media companies know it, too. It’s the
oldest media trick in the book: Put fear and
alarmism in a headline and you’re guaran-
teed to boost your audience.
There is also, of course, human nature. If
we feel attacked, our instinct is to fight back. If
we see a swastika on a wall, or hear someone
yell “dirty Jew,” or face an anti-Israel march
on a college campus, we’ve been taught that
to remain silent is to be complicit, that we
must make some noise against hate.
What we rarely ask, however, is: What
kind of noise is most effective?
Most of us automatically assume that
“exposing, denouncing and condemning”
antisemitism is the correct approach. It feels
so logical and natural. How can it be wrong?
The problem is that we’re winners who have
been making the noise of losers. Our collective
wailing against any sign or hint of antisemitism
has turned us into fragile, insecure scolds, which
has not only damaged the Jewish brand but has
made the Jew haters smell blood.
It can be wrong if it makes us look weak.
Like it or not, the more we “expose, de-
nounce and condemn” any little act of anti-
semitism, the more we look like whiners and
grievance junkies, and the more we show
fear and weakness.
The great majority of Jews in America
are anything but weak. They’re achievers.
They work hard. They give back to society.
They’re winners.
The problem is that we’re winners who have
been making the noise of losers. Our collective
wailing against any sign or hint of antisemi-
tism has turned us into fragile, insecure scolds,
which has not only damaged the Jewish brand
but has made the Jew haters smell blood.
We failed to realize that when you “fight”
against an emotion like hate, you’re setting
yourself up for failure. Haters will always
hate, which may be lucrative for activists
but means we look like we’re always losing.
There’s no amount of “fight” that will quiet
haters, especially not in a country where
even vile speech is protected speech.
Fighting against hate is not like fighting
against an army with guns and tanks. It’s
fighting an emotion with another emotion.
By giving so much emotional attention to the
haters, we empower and incentivize them.
We tell them: “Look, you have the power to
make us go nuts trying to fight you.”
The typical argument in favor of the “fight”
is that we establish consequences for the
hate. But this need for consequences makes
us look even weaker. We’re like the weak kid
in school who goes to the principal hoping a
bully will get punished for hitting him.
EDITOR’S NOTE
We’re no longer that weak kid in school,
and we should stop acting like one. It’s time
to regain our mojo and start acting like win-
ners. Not just because it’s a smart PR strategy
but because it’s who we are.
Let’s stop apologizing for our success
because we’re afraid it will fuel antisemitic
Let’s stop apologizing
for our success
because we’re afraid
it will fuel antisemitic
“tropes.” Nothing
fuels antisemitism
more than Jews
showing weakness
and fear. The noise
we make should
revolve around
our pride and our
accomplishments,
not our fears.
“tropes.” Nothing fuels antisemitism more
than Jews showing weakness and fear. The
noise we make should revolve around our
pride and our accomplishments, not our fears.
We should inundate college campuses with
the significant achievements of Jews in both
America and in Israel. We should fight hate not
just by exposing haters but by exposing the
enormous Jewish contributions to humanity.
If we must have guards at our synagogues
and file lawsuits to protect our rights, by all
means let’s do it. And yes, let’s go after anti-
Jewish and anti-Israel bias in any institution
where it festers, not least the mainstream
media, academia and the United Nations.
But those defensive measures should not be
the noise that defines us.
What defines us is the resiliency of an an-
cient people that continues to thrive in a free
country like America.
No hater can take that away from us. And
if we absolutely must spend money behind
a campaign against hate, let the slogan be:
“Jew haters are losers.” ■
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 7
During this season of lights and miracles,
Los Angeles Jewish Health
wishes you and your family a

Happy Chanukah !
Please consider
Los Angeles Jewish Health
for your Year-End Giving.




Ode to Small Things
» by Paul Socken
IT WOULD BE EASY TO GIVE ONESELF
over to despair in the world today. Politics
are toxic worldwide; in Europe, ancient
feuds play themselves out once again;
modern technology has turned everyone
anxious and frantic with its constant
communication. All of this gives the
individual a sense of powerlessness. The
Athenian historian Thucydides sounds
modern in his well-known declaration that
“the strong do what they will and the weak
suffer as they must”.
Tractate Semachot of the Talmud (8:7)
states that “When kings die, they leave their
crowns to their sons; when wealthy men
die, they leave their riches to their children;
but Samuel the Small has taken away with
him all the desirable things in the world”.
Samuel the Small, Shmuel ha Katan, may
well have been short physically (Katan) but
he was a great Jewish scholar during the
first century CE.
The idea that “the
little guy” counts as
much as the great
giants of any age is
a powerful theme of
Jewish texts.
If kings and the wealthy leave power
and wealth, what are the desirable things in
the world that the Jewish scholar took with
him? The rabbinic story conveys the idea
that what most people value are tempo-
December 9-15, 2022
rary and transient and that true value lies in
what people consider small and intangible
yet are immortal. In this case: piety, schol-
arship, and a good name. Note that the
names of the kings and the wealthy are not
mentioned but Shmuel ha Katan’s name is
remembered 2,000 years later.
The idea that “the little guy” counts as
much as the great giants of any age is a
powerful theme of Jewish texts. The Tal-
mud (Berakhot 17a: 8) states: “Perhaps you
say ‘I do great things and he small things,’
we have learned it matters not whether one
does much or little if only he directs his
heart to heaven”. Shmuel ha Katan did not
rule an empire and no statues were erected
in his honor, but his legacy endures.
In Mishna Torah (4:17), the philosopher
Maimonides makes a remarkable state-
ment: “Small things are the overflowing
goodness that Hashem gave us to settle this
world in order to inherit the next world”. The
emphasis is on small things that are filled
with such goodness that they entitle one to
heavenly reward. Why? Because they “settle
the world”. I take this to mean that it is not
the grand gestures in society that solve the
issues between people but rather the inti-
mate, personal and caring relationships that
are developed over many years.
The philosopher turns poet in his com-
ment on Pirkei Avot (5:6:1) which discusses
the “shamir.” In Maimonides’s words, “the
shamir is a small creeping thing that chisels
big stone when it goes on top of them, and
Shlomo built the Temple with it”.
Now, Maimonides was a rationalist and
I seriously doubt that he thought that the
“shamir” was responsible for the construc-
tion of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. In-
stead, he suggests that the greatest of proj-
ects are completed by small actions that
cumulatively result in important ventures.
We know that at the centre of sovereign Is-
rael there stood the Temple for hundreds
of years, but we forget that the Temple and
the nation were built and sustained by indi-
viduals working together for the common
good. It is a subtle but critical reminder that
the ordinary, anonymous people are what
constitute civil society.
This idea is relevant in our modern age.
The American author Danusha Laméris’s
“Small Kindnesses” is a touching and vivid
testimonial to the fact that the holy exists in
My ode to small things does not suggest
that we do not fall prey to forces beyond
our control. Much that happens in society
is decided by others, often not wisely,
sometimes malevolently. But it does
affirm the role and the importance of the
individual in building what is in our control.
the small gestures of everyday life:
“I’ve been thinking about the way, when
you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull
in their legs to let you by … And sometimes,
when you spill lemons from your grocery
bag, someone else will help you pick them
up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it
… We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments
of exchange. What if they are the true dwell-
ing of the holy, these fleeting temples we
make together when we say, ‘Here, have my
seat,’ ‘Go ahead – you first,’ ‘I like your hat’”.
COLUMNIST
Kindness and consideration are like cre-
ating a temple, albeit fleeting, and bring-
ing the holy into our relationships and our
fractured world.
My ode to small things does not suggest
that we do not fall prey to forces beyond our
control. Much that happens in society is
decided by others, often not wisely, some-
times malevolently. But it does affirm the
role and the importance of the individual in
building what is in our control.
Our historical and religious sources, as
well as modern writers, attest to the very
great task of the ostensibly ordinary person
to forge a society of honor and dignity and
hope. This sustained effort is at the very
heart of the human enterprise. It makes us
more than hapless figures on the chess-
board of life. We have agency in our own
lives and the lives of those around us. It is
important to reflect on this critical lesson in
a time of turbulence and upheaval. ■
Dr. Paul Socken is Distinguished Professor
Emeritus and founder of the Jewish Studies
program at the University of Waterloo.
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 9

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Bibi’s Extreme Challenge
» by Dan Schnur
DO ISRAELI AND AMERICAN JEWS
need each other? Depending on how
Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government
moves forward, we may be about to find out.
Netanyahu emerged from last month’s
election with a safe majority for his coali-
tion, but one built upon a precarious ideo-
logical foundation. In exchange for their
support, the three ultra-conservative par-
ties who have allied themselves with Ne-
tanyahu’s Likud have demanded a range of
concessions from him. Most of them relate
to internal security matters, West Bank pol-
icy or Palestinian relations, many of which
are controversial but likely to enjoy popular
support in the wake of the ongoing violence
that has plagued the country over the last
several months. While many American Jews
are uncomfortable with such a confronta-
tional approach on these topics, only a small
number of U.S. progressives are emotion-
ally invested in the debate. For most of this
country’s Jewish community, the seeming-
ly ceaseless fighting between the Israeli mil-
itary and Palestinian terrorists has become
little more than political background noise.
Netanyahu has chosen
his new coalition
partners, but for the
sake of the American-
Israel relationship, he
must quickly now find a
way to tame them.
But Netanyahu’s new partners have other
ideological goals as well, which strike much
closer to the concerns of American Jews. They
have called for revocation of the so-called
“grandfather clause” from Israel’s Law of Re-
turn, which grants Israeli citizenship to any-
one with at least one Jewish grandparent who
does not practice another religion. And they
are advocating an end to official state recog-
nition of conversions performed outside the
Orthodox Chief Rabbinate, effectively ending
recognition of Reform and Conservative con-
versions for the purposes of Israeli citizenship.
Together, these two steps would represent
a fundamental redefinition of Judaism and
citizenship in the eyes of the Israeli govern-
ment. They are key components of a pro-
posed override law that would allow a major-
ity in the Knesset to overrule High Court rul-
ings and would lay the foundation for a broad
COLUMNIST
application of religious restrictions in Israeli
society. Both proposals will remain part of the
ongoing negotiations between Netanyahu
and his partners as long as this partnership
remains intact. In other words, the only way
these issues will disappear from the political
debate is if Netanyahu were to at some point
either realign or expand his coalition to in-
clude representatives of center-right parties
as part of a unity government.
Absent such a dramatic shift, immigration
and conversion will remain at the center of Is-
raeli politics for the foreseeable future. While
the primary focus of these changes is not
American Jews but rather those who would
emigrate from Ukraine, Russia and other parts
of Eastern Europe, the U.S. Jewish community
would see such restrictions as a fundamental
and visceral refutation of American Jewry.
The number of Jews who immigrate from
the United States to Israel each year is much
smaller than the influx from the former So-
viet bloc, but American Jews are much more
likely to identify as Reform or Conservative
and large numbers of them would be under-
standably insulted and outraged by what they
would regard as a severing of their relation-
ship with the Jewish homeland.
William Daroff, the well-respected and
measured leader of the Conference of Presi-
dents of Major American Jewish Organi-
zations, has already spoken out forcefully
against a newly-reconfigured Law of Return,
which is likely to have led to Likud’s efforts to
distance themselves from their new partners’
proposal. Daroff has always worked strenu-
ously to avoid criticism of the Israeli govern-
ment, but he is politically savvy enough and
he clearly recognizes the devastating impact
that these restrictions would mean to the re-
lationship between Israel and American Jews.
Daroff is right. At a time when public
opinion polls show a decreasing number
of Jews in this country maintaining strong
feelings toward Israel, with an especially
precipitous drop in support among young
Jews, the implementation of either of these
exclusionary measures would raise semi-
nal questions among American Jews about
whether they would still be welcome in Is-
rael. This could easily lead to an irrevocable
split in a bond that has sustained both com-
munities since 1948.
Netanyahu has chosen his new coalition
partners, but for the sake of the American-
Israel relationship, he must quickly now find
a way to tame them. ■
Dan Schnur is a Professor at the Univer-
sity of California – Berkeley, USC and Pepper-
dine. Join Dan for his weekly webinar “Politics
in the Time of Coronavirus” (www.lawac.org)
on Tuesdays at 5 PM.
December 9-15, 2022

Spirituality and Mental
Health Go Hand in Hand
» by Judy Gruen
SURVEYS REVEAL THAT AMERICANS
continue to move away from traditional
religious practice, but the yearning for
spiritual connection remains strong.
Research abounds that confirms the link
between healthy spiritual connections
and emotional health. A new report by
Springtide Research Institute, "The State
of Religion & Young People 2022: Mental
Health—What Faith Leaders Need to Know,"
underscores this truth.
Nearly 10,000 young people, age 13-25,
were asked about their beliefs, practices,
behaviors and relationships, with a par-
ticular focus on mental health. Pandemic
isolation added to emotional challenges for
a majority of respondents (53%), yet only
a third (34%) felt comfortable speaking to
adults in their lives about it.
Post-pandemic,
people of all ages are
eager for a sense of
community.
More than half of the Gen Z’ers surveyed
reported that spiritual or religious prac-
tices helped their mental health, includ-
ing prayer and meditation. Forty percent
of those who identified as very religious
said they were “flourishing” in their emo-
tional and mental well-being, compared to
17% of those who identified as not religious.
Sizable majorities who believe in a higher
power, pray daily and attend religious ser-
vices weekly also reported that they were
flourishing. Even for those who struggled
the most, religious and spiritual connec-
tions seem to boost mental health.
A Jewish respondent — Tiffany, 25 — de-
scribed her Jewish upbringing as more of a
way of life than about going to temple: “[It
was more about] you’re giving to charity,
you’re doing volunteer work, you’re doing
your part to make your community a bet-
ter place. . . . I feel better when I’m doing
things to help other people. That gives me
something to think about. And then I’m not
worried about myself . . . that’s an outlet for
me — doing good things for other people.”
Many young people don’t feel seen or
heard by the adults and religious leaders in
their lives. This makes them far less likely to
reach out when they feel emotionally trou-
December 9-15, 2022
COLUMNIST
A Winter
Wonderland
of Giving
bled. Dr. Josh Packard, executive director of
Springtide, observed, “It’s imperative for re-
ligious leaders to recognize that the Belong-
ingness Process works when young people
feel noticed and named and known... An ex-
perience of belonging results from a deepen-
ing of relationships over time.” Sunday, December 18th • 2:00–4:00 pm
Religious leaders recognize the pressing
need to address mental health issues among
youth, because people cannot build a faith- You’re invited to join us for:
based relationship with a higher being if they
are filled with inner conflict. “What people A Holiday performance by the
are most concerned about is young people’s
mental health,” Dr. Packard added. “And their San Fernando Valley Male Chorus,
concern is warranted. Without addressing
mental-health issues, a young person who a dessert buffet extravaganza,
is mentally and emotionally unwell won’t
be able to really engage with or understand eggnog, hot chocolate, and spiced cider
the depth, beauty, power, awe, and love that
can come with religion and spirituality. Faith
leaders must be equipped to address both This gathering benefits the
faith and mental health issues.”
This issue is being addressed on many Casa Pacifica Center for Children & Families,
college campuses, including at USC’s Hillel,
where Wellness Director Leenie Baker com- a non-profit that provides the perfect
plements the work of a part-time therapist
through programming that supports “holis- setting for children and adolescents to heal
tic wellness.” As one example, Baker pointed
to their Wellness Learning Fellowship, a 10- and find new hope for a better future.
week discussion-based cohort that explores
various life issues through the lens of Jewish Items needed:
text based learning and psychological tenets.
After one discussion on boundaries, one Beauty/personal hygiene • Arts and crafts supplies
participant told Baker how helpful it was in
navigating her relationship with her room- Stuffed animals • New socks • Books
mate. Another student who was very hard (Please provide items without gift wrap.
on herself academically learned to practice
self-compassion. In group discussions, well- We’ve got the bows and ribbons covered.)
ness skill-building usually connects to Jewish
practice. As an example, Baker said, “Gratitude
naturally leads to prayer for many students.” Please RSVP by December 16th
Post-pandemic, people of all ages are eager
for a sense of community. No wonder that USC
to (747) 900-2043.
Hillel’s Friday night Shabbat dinners attract
between 100-200 participants from across the
Jewish spectrum each week. And Baker has
seen where Jewish practice and community
are paying mental health rewards for students.
“A young woman told me that she realized
a lot of her mental health struggles come from
overthinking things. But when she comes to
Shabbat services, she allows her brain to stop
overthinking and be in the moment. Also,
during the High Holidays, the students who
gave divrei Torah nearly all touched on men-
tal health issues, saying they hoped to start the
year on the right foot. They are including their It’s More Than Retirement. It’s Five-Star Fun.
mental health as part of their spirituality.” ■
8138 Woodlake Ave • West Hills
Judy Gruen’s latest book is “The Skeptic (747) 900-2043 • FairwindsWestHills.com
and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith.”
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 11

The Kippah That Traveled
Buy Judith’s
new books,
‘The Lost Art of
the World
» by Elizabeth Danziger
Dating’ & ‘Your
Soul Mate THE OLD JERUSALEMITE SHUFFLED
Awaits’! into a tiny shul in Meah Shearim, one of
the strictest Orthodox neighborhoods in
Jerusalem. Clad for Shabbat in a shtreimel
and robe, he joined the other members of
the minyan. On this Shabbat, there were
visitors: Rabbi Shalom Rubanowitz, rabbi of
the Shul on the Beach in Venice, California,
and his videographer and congregant, Drew
Thank you, Judith! He was well worth the wait. Rosen. They were in Israel to participate in
We are forever grateful.
- S.J. in Orange County the annual charity bike ride for Jerusalem’s
ALYN Children’s Hospital. They had sought
If I wouldn't have contacted Judith, my life out this shul because Rabbi Rubanowitz’s
would be very different. I wanted to thank
great-grandparents were among those who
Judith for the time and persistence to nd me
the right person.
- Gideon S. in San Diego
™ founded it in 1899, and he wanted to sponsor
a kiddush in their honor.
You are outstanding at what you do. Thank you. When Rabbi Rubanowitz introduced
- S.T. in Los Angeles Rosen and mentioned that he made films,
Read testimonials & buy her books at one of his hosts exclaimed, “Hollywood
man? We have a Hollywood man, too!”
SoulMatesUnlimited.com Pointing at the regally attired Old Jerusale-
mite, he beckoned Rosen to meet “our Mr.
Hollywood,” Reb Yosef Suker.
“I carry that kippah
in my pocket all the
time to remind myself
where I started.“
- Reb Yosef
Rosen had brought several Shul on the
Beach kippot, which he judiciously offered
to people he met. During the kiddush, he and
Reb Yosef were engrossed in conversation.
Afterward, Rosen took Rabbi Rubanowitz
aside, pointed to Reb Yosef, and said, “He has
a Shul on the Beach kippah in his pocket!”
“Of course,” replied Rabbi Rubanowitz,
“you just gave him one.”
“No,” exclaimed Rosen, “He already had it.
He says he always carries it with him.”
Intrigued, they asked Reb Yosef to share
his story. He said he’d been raised in a secu-
lar Israeli home. His only connection to reli-
gion were memories of his mother, a Holo-
caust survivor, taking him to stand outside
the window of a shul in Haifa. Never enter-
ing the shul, little Yosef and his mother lis-
tened to the haunting tunes of “Kol Nidre,”
the only religious song his mother seemed
to remember. Reb Yosef grew up to be a tele-
vision producer and filmmaker with no at-
tachment to Jewish life.
12 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
COLUMNIST
Forty years ago, Reb Yosef found himself
in LA after wrapping up a major Hollywood
production. Wandering down Ocean Front
Walk in Venice, looking out at the ocean,
he thought, “What’s next?” He came to the
open door of the Shul on the Beach in Ven-
ice, where he heard the familiar strains of
“Kol Nidre.” Feeling he was dressed inappro-
priately, he did not enter the shul, but stood
outside like he did as a child. But this “Kol
Nidre” struck a chord. He had been so lost
he had forgotten it was Yom Kippur, but now
he remembered he was a Jew. That was the
moment he decided to return to Israel and
explore his Jewish roots. He returned, stud-
ied Torah and became the “Old Jerusalem-
ite” whom Rosen and the rabbi met.
But how had he gotten the kippah?
Reb Yosef wrote a memoir describing his
spiritual journey, highlighting the Shul on
the Beach's role in his transformation. Two
years ago, his friend Rabbi Mota Frank, a
prominent Breslov Rav, was traveling to LA.
Reb Yosef asked his friend to carry his book
to Venice. Reb Mota gave the book to Alan
Danziger, president of the Shul on the Beach.
Alan gave him a Shul on the Beach kippah.
Rav Mota gave the kippah to Reb Yosef.
Reb Yosef said, “I carry that kippah in my
pocket all the time to remind myself where
I started. Every Yom Kippur, at Kever Rachel
(Rachel’s Tomb in Hebron), I wear it under-
neath my regular yarmulke. And I remember
the Shul on the Beach every day of my life.”
Rabbi Rubanowitz and Rosen were astound-
ed. Of all the shuls in Jerusalem, Reb Yosef
had chosen the one founded by the ances-
tors of the rabbi of the Shul on the Beach.
Every Shabbat, hundreds of people stroll
by the shul in Venice. Many current mem-
bers found their way back to Judaism in the
same way that Yosef Suker did — walking by
and feeling the pull of their tradition call-
ing them from this unassuming synagogue
amid the tumult on the boardwalk. Reb Yo-
sef need not have felt self-conscious about
his attire; the shul welcomes Jews from all
backgrounds and levels of commitment.
At a time when many observant Jews feel
they must circle the wagons and keep out-
siders out, let’s remember the power of an
open door.
To learn more about the Shul on the
Beach in Venice, visit www.shulonthebeach.
com.■
Elizabeth Danziger is the author of four
books, including Get to the Point, 2nd edition,
which was originally published by Random
House. She lives in Venice, California.
December 9-15, 2022

Is It Cool to Be a Jew?
» by Rabbi and Cantor Eva Robbins
RECENLY, DURING A LIVELY
conversation about religion, being a Jew
and life on a college campus, one of the
professors in a department of Jewish
Studies, a young Jewish woman, said
“It’s not cool to be Jewish.” That thought
perplexed me, so I reflected on its possible
meaning.
I am a child of Holocaust survivors. I
grew up aware of my family's suffering
though not a word was shared about their
experiences to me directly. I saw their
numbers, I felt their emotional tenor in our
home, the great elephant in the room that
really was never acknowledged. I also felt
my mother’s survivor guilt and her over-
whelming sadness and depression having
lost every one of her family members.
Yet my synagogue experience, the at-
tention to ritual life and holidays at home,
the kinds of books on our shelves, the mu-
sic that wafted through the rooms in our
What is it that makes
anything cool? Does
the darkness of the
Holocaust — or any
suffering — preclude
any coolness? That
would be true if
coolness meant only
things that are fun and
popular.
home, and the conversations shared with
their friends, mainly other Holocaust sur-
vivors, all left me with a great love of my
religion. It gave my soul nourishment and
happiness to be identified as a Jew. Meet-
ing and marrying Rabbi Steve, this most er-
udite of rabbis, opened the door even wider
in ways I never could have imagined. But
did all of this make it “cool” to be a Jew?
What is it that makes anything cool?
Does the darkness of the Holocaust — or
any suffering — preclude any coolness?
That would be true if coolness meant only
things that are fun and popular.
But if we expanded the view of cool to
include pride, I believe we’d be on to some-
thing.
December 9-15, 2022
COLUMNIST
There are people, particularly young
adults on college campuses, who are
ashamed and probably fearful of calling
themselves Jews. My husband Rabbi Steve’s
recent sermon spoke to that discomfort-
ing reality as expressed in the book, “It Can
Happen Here,” by Jonathan Greenblatt. The
book is a reminder of the potential harm that
lays in wait to those of us who call ourselves
Jewish. Our options are to either cower, hide
from who we are, or find virtue and pride in
being a Jew. I believe that part of countering
adversity and antisemitism is being present,
fully engaged, and showing the world the
strength, the virtues, and the Jewish pride in
who we are and how we live our lives.
The more I learn about Judaism the
more I am astounded by its depth of wis-
dom and its breadth of human understand-
ing. The psycho-emotional and spiritual
underpinnings provide us with a pathway
to understand our lives with greater aware-
ness and enlightenment, to explore our
inner world with more compassion and
conviction, to experience the calendar with
richer textures and elevated personal and
home rituals. Our tradition is not just rou-
tine performance. It is a layering of mean-
ing and purpose to the ordinary in our lives
and lifting them with holiness, but also sur-
rendering to the sacred, paying attention to
all life-cycle and ceremonial moments over
the course of our lives.
Our tradition is living values and morality
that cares about the other, that asks for em-
pathy and compassion in all things personal,
professional, and familial. It honors the frailty
and the mortality of being human and gives
us the gift and opportunity to correct, change,
enhance, or transform any moment in which
we have gone astray, disappointed others, or
ourselves. It is a tradition that honors the need
to nourish the mind, the body, and the soul
recognizing that all three are essential and de-
serve respect and ones’ attention.
There certainly will be difficult issues
that we must face in the Jewish world and
of course in Israel. If we care about free-
dom and dignity for all then we must be
willing to speak for what is right. Jews are
not perfect, and Judaism struggles as well
amongst itself. To be Jewish is to struggle.
This constant spiritual struggle defines
our identity and nourishes our Jewish
pride. It gives us the courage to wear our
Jewish stars, to honor our ancestors, and to
never be afraid to own up to who we are,
imperfections and all.
I would argue that’s pretty cool. ■
Eva Robbins is a rabbi, cantor, artist and
the author of “Spiritual Surgery: A Journey of
Healing Mind, Body and Spirit.”
Rebbe’s Teachings
Vayishlach:
Jacob
in Canaan
T
he eighth section of the Book of Genesis chronicles Jacob’s challenges as he
returns to the Land of Israel. It opens as he learns that his grudge-bearing
brother Esau is on his way to confront him. Jacob sends (Vayishlach in He-
brew) an entourage to meet Esau. After neutralizing the threat from Esau, Jacob has to
respond to his daughter Dinah’s abduction and violation by the local populace. After
this, his wife Rachel dies in childbirth. The narrative then concludes its account of
Jacob’s father Isaac and his brother Esau, closing the curtain on Esau’s relevance to the
Torah’s narrative until the messianic future.
Jacob’s overtures to Esau may be viewed simply as an attempt to make peace for
the sake of enabling him to continue on his way home. Although there is truth to this
view, a closer look at the episode unveils a more profound plot unfolding before us.
As we saw, Isaac favored Esau over Jacob, seeing in him the ideal next link in the
chain of transmission from Abraham. This stemmed from Isaac’s awareness of Esau’s
great potential: Isaac reasoned that if only Esau’s boundless energy, youthful single-
mindedness, and artful cunning could be harnessed for holiness, he could prove a
valiant champion of Abraham’s great vision. Isaac therefore wanted to bless Esau with
the bounty required for this mission, hoping that this would inspire him to reform
himself. Only when it became clear that Esau was not remotely interested in dedicat-
ing his life to his father’s ideals did Isaac reconcile himself to having named Jacob his
successor and having given him the blessings intended for Esau.
All this was not lost on Jacob. He knew that his father’s acute spiritual sensitivity
was not misleading him when he discerned vital potential in Esau. He acknowledged
those superior qualities of Esau’s and understood that in order to bring the world to its
destiny, it would be necessary to combine these strengths with his.
At the same time, Jacob understood what his mother had seen: that he, and not
Esau, would have to orchestrate this process of synthesis in order for it to work. Due
to his faithful devotion to the Torah, Jacob was the one who possessed the breadth of
vision and knowledge of God’s will necessary to harness the raw, untamed power of
Esau.
We can now understand how Jacob, in his encounter with Esau, sought not merely
to neutralize his brother so he could get on with his tasks, but rather to induce him to
join forces with him. If Esau had not been ripe in their father’s time, perhaps now—
once Jacob had proven himself capable of raising a righteous family, outwitting the
crafty Laban, and amassing a sizeable fortune—Esau would be impressed enough to
submit to Jacob’s leadership.
When it became clear that Esau was not ready, Jacob had no choice but to accept
the fact that harnessing Esau’s strengths would be a long, arduous journey, which
would have to be implemented on a metaphysical level, by the ongoing process of rec-
tifying the powers, associated with Esau, before it could be implemented on a national
level.
Nonetheless, although Jacob’s initial plan had to be aborted, he foresaw the key to
his plan’s ultimate success from the outset. The name of the parashah, Vayishlach (“and
he sent”), refers to how Jacob sent emissaries to Esau with the aim of offering him to
join forces. Far from being an incidental detail of the story, this act encapsulated the
ideal necessary to ensure the success of Jacob’s encounter with Esau.
Jacob understood that it is imperative for us to conceive of ourselves at all times as
emissaries. As God’s emissaries in the world, we are not operating on our own power;
rather, we are backed by Divine power, and therefore can always draw upon infinite
resources of Divine insight, strength, and inspiration. u
From the writings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. The
Rebbe’s inspirational teachings on the Torah portion can be found in the Kehot Chumash,
produced by Chabad House Publications.
Sp ons o re d by Cha ba d o f Ca lif o rnia , in lov ing m e m o ry o f Ra bbi Tze m a c h
Yeh osh ua Cunin, E m is s a ry o f the Re bbe a nd Dire c to r o f Cha ba d o f Ce ntury City.
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 13
 Marriage
and Other
Disappointments
JACOB’S FAMILY HAS MORE THAN
its share of discord and dysfunction. Due to
Laban's deception, Jacob ends up marrying
two sisters, Leah and Rachel; this unwanted
love triangle leaves all of them heartbroken.
Comparisons and competitions pull
them apart. Like any family, there are im-
balances. Jacob prefers Rachel. Leah has
children, while Rachel does not. These dif-
ferences stoke the flames of jealousy.
Each one of them pursues what the
other has. Rachel wants children like Leah.
Leah wants Jacob's companionship. Jacob
wants Rachel's attention. All three are dis-
appointed.
Disappointment is very much a part of our
daily lives. Our reach always exceeds our
grasp; disappointment is a by-product of
ambition.
Leah's frustration with Jacob's attitude is
expressed in the names she gives her first
three children. She calls her firstborn Reu-
ben, because “the Lord has seen my misery.
Surely my husband will love me now.” She
14 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
» by Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz
continues this theme with her next two
children, Simon and Levi, whose names
mean “because the Lord heard that I am
hated, he gave me this child too, ” and “now,
at last, my husband will become attached to
me, because I have borne him three sons”
(Genesis 29:31-35).
Rachel, who is infertile, becomes jealous
of her sister. In desperation, she lashes out
at Jacob and says, “Give me children, or I
will die!” (Ge. 30:1). She then asks Jacob to
have children with their maidservant Bil-
hah; they will be considered Rachel's foster
children. Rachel names Bilhah's first child
Dan, because “God has vindicated me; he
has listened to my plea and given me a son.”
The reference to “vindication,” the Radak
explains, is because of Rachel's competi-
tion with her sister Leah; with this child,
God is leveling the playing field. Similarly,
Malte Mueller/Getty Images
Rachel names Bilhah's second child Naftali,
because “I have had a great struggle with
my sister, and I have won” (Gen. 30:6-8).
Unquestionably, Jacob experiences the
greatest disappointment. He had worked
Each one of them
hard for seven years to marry the woman pursues what the
other has. Rachel
he loved, and then his father-in-law (and
uncle) cheats him, and switches wives on
wants children
him. Disappointment has a direct corre-
lation to the size of one’s dreams; and for
like Leah. Leah
Jacob, his best-laid plans go awry, leaving
him with seven more years of labor and a
wants Jacob's
pair of marriages crippled by sibling rivalry.
This is just an outline of how Jacob,
Leah and Rachel found their dreams un-
done. But behind it all is an even greater companionship.
disappointment: the failure of destiny.
Jacob arrives in Padan Aram with oth- Jacob wants Rachel's
erworldly expectations, because the back-
story to his own journey foreshadows what attention. All three are
will happen. His grandfather Abraham,
when looking for a proper wife for his son disappointed.
Isaac, sent his servant Eliezer back to Padan
Aram, to find a wife from his own family. He will watch over him. When Jacob arrives
Divine inspiration leads Eliezer to find Re-
becca standing outside the well; after that,
in Padan Aram, the local shepherds tell him
that Laban's daughter is approaching the
Jacob’s uncle Laban runs out to warmly well; Jacob sees Rachel, and is immediately
welcome Eliezer into his home. overcome by feelings of love. Then, as if
And so it happens with Jacob. First, his on cue, Jacob’s uncle Laban runs out, wel-
mother sends him to Laban's house and tells coming him warmly. Jacob certainly knew
him to marry Laban's daughter. On the way, his parents’ marriage story; and as he sees it
God appears in a dream and tells Jacob that replay in his own life, Jacob must imagine
December 9-15, 2022

Paradoxically, the Jewish people have always
done both. We have built homes in exile and
put down roots, but at the same time, have
always held on to our vision for the future.
that he is about to meet his destiny. Jacob
assumes that his match with Rachel was
made in heaven, and truly "bashert."
Then everything falls apart. Destiny fails
Jacob; and undoubtedly, Rachel and Leah,
who knew the family stories, feel exactly
the same way. Jacob carried this pain in
his heart his entire life. When Pharaoh asks
him how old he is, Jacob responds: "few
and unpleasant have been the years of my
life" (47:9).
Disappointment is very much a part of
our daily lives. Our reach always exceeds
our grasp; disappointment is a byproduct
of ambition. Much like this narrative, all
marriages are prone to dissatisfaction, due
to popular beliefs regarding "soulmates"
and finding "love at first sight." The ques-
tion each of us must answer is: How do we
respond to disappointment?
For the Jewish people, this question is
existential. How long can one people en-
dure exile? How many times will the Mes-
siah stumble on his way to redemption?
If Abraham is tested regarding his faith
in God, Jacob and his family face a different
es test: the test of overcoming disappointment.
Leah and Rachel lead the way, and offer
two responses to overcoming disappoint-
ment. Leah ultimately reconciles herself to
the shortcomings of her situation. When
she has a fourth son, she names him Judah
and exclaims “this time I will give thanks to
God” (29:25).
The Talmud remarks: "from the day the
Holy One, Blessed be He, created the world,
no one thanked the Holy One, Blessed be
He, until Leah came and thanked Him."
Centuries of commentaries have been as-
tonished by the statement; is it possible that
the spiritual giants who lived before Leah
never thanked God?
I believe the answer lies in this: Leah
was thanking God for His kindness, despite
her own continuing dissatisfaction. Until
this point, Leah hoped that having a child
would bring Jacob closer to her. But now,
after three prior children, Leah knew noth-
ing would change; she would still be the
neglected, inferior wife. Yet even with this
disappointment in her heart, she found a
way to appreciate the blessing she did have.
Leah thanked God even while being reject-
ed, and she was the first to offer gratitude
while nursing a broken heart.
Contentment is one of the great les-
sons of Judaism. In a Mishnah that holds
a great deal of affinity to Stoic philosophy,
Ben Zoma tells us that "who is wealthy? One
who is happy with their lot." To reconcile
with reality and accept that one's dreams
December 9-15, 2022
may never be actualized is difficult; to take
joy in what one has left is no simple task.
True contentment requires acceptance.
Leah's sister and co-wife Rachel takes a
very different path. She refuses to let go of
Laban tells Jacob he must work for him for 7 years to wed Rachel, seated, as
Leah, his eldest daughter, listens. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
her dreams, and grasps at any solutions for
her infertility. She is not content to accept a
flawed and broken reality.
The Midrash sees Rachel as a key to Jew-
ish history. It explains that Rachel is buried
on the road out of Israel, so she would be of
assistance to her children. “When the Jews
are exiled and pass by her tomb … Rachel
will emerge from her grave and weep and
beg mercy for them … and the Holy One,
blessed be He, answers her, ‘There is reward
for your work,’ says the Lord… ‘and the chil-
dren shall return to their own border.’" Ra-
chel's unending hope becomes the foun-
dation of redemption; she cries for those
whose dreams are shattered, and God hears
her voice. Rachel remains committed to
her destiny against all odds and ultimately
brings her children back home.
Rachel and Leah bring opposite re-
sponses to disappointment. One is prag-
matic, accepting reality for what it is, and
finding contentment within the blessings
that remain. The other is romantic, and
refuses to let go of the great dream of des-
tiny. Paradoxically, the Jewish people have
always done both. We have built homes in
exile and put down roots, but at the same
time, have always held on to our vision for
the future.
MY TURN
To reconcile with
reality and accept that
one's dreams may
never be actualized is
difficult; to take joy in
what one has left is
no simple task. True
contentment requires
acceptance.
I knew a woman named Rose, who was
a survivor of the Holocaust. At the end of
the war, she was an inmate in Auschwitz;
during that time, one Friday night she
managed to smuggle a makeshift candle
into the barracks, to light for Shabbat.
After the war, Rose moved to Canada
and built a family and a business together
with her husband. A few years later, on a
trip to Israel, they went out to eat at a res-
taurant. As the waitress approached their
table, she looked up at Rose’s face, and col-
lapsed on the floor.
When they revived the waitress, she ex-
plained that she too was a survivor, and had
been in the same barracks as Rose. One day,
this woman learned that everyone else in her
family had been murdered by the Nazis. De-
spondent, she was planning to take her own
life by running into the barbed wire fence.
But that night, as she returned to the bar-
racks, she saw the women gathered around
the Shabbat candle that Rose had lit. It was
at that moment she decided that she would
survive, no matter what.
Disappointment may
spring eternal, but the
search for hope can
start with just one
candle.
Even in the most difficult times, one
must accept the gifts life gives us, even if
it is just a flimsy candle; but as we hold that
gift, we must see within it the dreams of a
better future. Disappointment may spring
eternal, but the search for hope can start
with just one candle. ■
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz is the Senior
Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in
New York.
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 15
14-15 my turn
Herzl Warned Us
» by Blake Flayton
THEODOR HERZL’S UTOPIAN NOVEL
“Altneuland” receives criticism from many
Zionists. For one thing, it envisions for the
future Jewish state a perpetually secure so-
ciety never in need of robust defense, and
over-relies on the mores of European cos-
mopolitan cities to predict how such a soci-
ety would be run. Such a book, many argue,
though a staple in the pantheon of Zionist
works, is a naive projection of one's own lib-
eral values onto a region and a people that
could not bend to fit them. Herzl could not
foresee Israel’s endless military campaigns,
the revival of Hebrew, and the arrival of hun-
dreds of thousands of Jews to Israel from
the Middle East (Jews who were not mari-
nating in democratic ideologies and who
were more traditional and spiritual in their
lifestyles). Therefore, when learning about
Israel, many recommend that “Altneuland”
be studied, rather than heeded.
And yet after the recent Israeli election, it
would be difficult not to concede that what
is written in “Altneuland” is still of some val-
ue and can still provide a roadmap for how
Zionists are meant to run their state. If Herzl
was able to kickstart the Jewish National
Fund, the Zionist Organization, and is still
regarded as the founding father of the coun-
try, then his ideas remain paramount. Even
more so, because as history would have it,
Herzl predicted and gave future generations
explicit instructions on how to manage one
of Israel’s current crises: the presence of ex-
tremists in mainstream politics.
About halfway through “Altneuland,” in
the year 1923, citizens of the new Jewish
state, or “New Society,” head to the polls to
choose their government. One candidate is
a rabbi by the name of Geyer, who leads a
party steadfast in its belief that non-Jewish
residents of the land not be awarded political
rights. An important note is that Rabbi Geyer
does not advocate for the expulsion of Ar-
abs from the land, just for depriving them of
the privilege of civic participation because
this is, after all, a Jewish state. In response,
during a heated debate, a representative of
the New Society’s liberal establishment says:
“The New Society rests squarely on ideas
which are the common stock of the whole
civilized world … it would be unethical for us
to deny a share in our commonwealth to any
man, wherever he might come from, what-
ever his race or creed. For we stand on the
shoulders of civilized peoples.” He receives
thunderous applause, and the liberal party
goes on to defeat Rabbi Geyer, who is taunt-
ed and criticized by Herzl’s fictional political
thinkers for not truly being a Zionist.
This scenario is a product of Herzl’s time.
There was no conversation more prominent
in turn-of-the-century Europe than na-
tion building. A crucial part of this discus-
sion was the status of national minorities
and how best to integrate different peoples
14 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
MY TURN
living in the same land — with more rights
versus with less rights. Therefore, one would
be incorrect to say that Herzl’s work is out
of step with contemporary disputes over
civil rights and systems of government, for
he lived in the very time when these ideas
began to take shape. In 2019, Shlomo Avi-
neri, a prominent Israeli political scientist
and expert on Herzl, said of “Altneuland”:
“Herzl, being a journalist, having spent time
in France, was very much aware that all so-
cieties, including democratic ones, have
serious issues. Just as there can be racists
in Europe, there can be racists amongst the
Jews.” Herzl’s conclusion in “Altneuland” is
informed and specific: that the Jewish state
must take a particular course, a liberal dem-
ocratic course that respects the rights of dif-
ferent peoples, to sustain its legitimacy and
its status among the family of nations.
In today’s Israel, Rabbi Geyer is best
represented by Itamar Ben-Gvir, far-right
lawmaker and leader of the Otzma Yehudit
(Jewish Power) party. Ben-Gvir is poised
to become the new “Minister for National
Security” after the Religious Zionist party,
with which Otzma Yehudit merged, scored
fourteen seats in the last election. The goals
of the Religious Zionist party are transpar-
ent: that Israel work to expand settlements
in the West Bank and annex as much ter-
ritory captured in the 1967 war as possible. uncomfortably replicated in today’s Knes- ernment to be divided between an Arab and
Rather than giving Palestinians political set, are an existential threat to the stability a Jew, and who directly endorsed the rights
rights and thus rendering Israel a binational of Jewish sovereignty and a contradiction of minorities in a future Jewish state.
state, however, Religious Zionism foresees a to the central idea of it in a holistic sense. In further comments about “Altneuland,”
future where “peaceful Arabs” who are com- In “Altneuland,” we are entrusted to defeat Shlomo Avineri says, “We can use the book
fortable living in a Jewish state have their these ideas at the ballot box whenever we as a mirror by which we can judge our own
basic needs fulfilled, but are not awarded are given the opportunity, for they could not society today.” He continues: “In the last
the right to participate in the state. Addi- be more at odds with the ideological envi- few years, there are forces and political par-
tionally, Religious Zionism and Otzma Ye- ronment that inspired political Zionism and ties and leaders in Israel who try to dimin-
hudit advocate for greater incorporation of its advocates in the beginning: national lib- ish the equal rights of Israeli-Arab citizens,
Halakha (Jewish law) into the public sector, eralism, secularism and democracy. In fact, and that is done in the name of Zionism —
the emphasis of Torah education into public even Ze’ev Jabotinsky, often regarded as this is utter nonsense. The Zionist vision, as
schools, the legalization of gender segrega- one of the most right-wing original Zion- expressed by Herzl, views Israel as a Jew-
ish state that respects the civil and cultural
rights of its minorities.”
Avineri goes on to offer the interest-
In “Altneuland,” Herzl warned us that the
ing insight that “Altneuland” is one of the
only nationalist manifestos that not only
ideas expressed by Rabbi Geyer, which
serves as a call to build a new society, but
also sketches out a model for how this new
are uncomfortably replicated in today’s
society should be run. To his knowledge,
no other nation has an equivalent. It is my
Knesset, are an existential threat to the
belief that it would be a mistake to take this
for granted, to refuse to digest the words of
stability of Jewish sovereignty and a
those whose ideas led to Jewish liberation
because they were, after all, the most suc-
contradiction to the central idea of it in a
cessful ideas. They are the ideas that built
the state. When Israelis head to the polls
holistic sense.
again, which I hope will be in the not-so-
distant future, it would be a mistake not
to remember the texts that did the most to
tion in public spaces, and the chipping away ist thinkers, would be considered a smolani create and secure our way of life. ■
of LGBT rights in Israel. (leftist) by Religious Zionism’s standards,
In “Altneuland,” Herzl warned us that the considering he was an atheistic Jew who Blake Flayton is the New Media Director
ideas expressed by Rabbi Geyer, which are advocated for each minister position in gov- and Columnist for the Jewish Journal.
December 9-15, 2022
14-15 my turn
1 Aug 1936: The torch bearer runs through the streets en
route to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.
(Allsport Hulton/Archive)
What Qatar Learned from
Hitler's Olympics
THE GOVERNMENT OF QATAR
reportedly has been pressuring Hamas —
which it finances — to refrain from launch-
ing rockets into Israel during the World Cup
soccer tournament presently underway in
the Gulf state. Sound familiar?
The use of temporary deceit as a politi-
cal weapon has a long and ignoble history.
It originated with Grigory Aleksandrov-
ich Potemkin, a Russian cabinet minister
who is said to have built fake villages — or
deceptively redecorated existing ones —
along the route traveled by Czarina Cath-
erine II during her visit to Crimea in 1787.
As a result, Potemkin’s name has come to
be associated with this particular kind of
deceit.
Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was a master
at this game. In the 1920s and 1930s, West-
ern visitors to the USSR were taken to see
Bolshevo, which was presented as an ex-
ample of a “progressive” Soviet prison that
needed no walls or guards, because crimi-
nals were educated and inspired to become
productive citizens.
The Nobel laureate author George Ber-
nard Shaw, duped by this fiction, claimed
the only problem in dealing with a Bol-
shevo prisoner was “inducing him to come
out at all” when his jail term concluded. In
reality, Bolshevo had been created to im-
press foreigners. It was populated largely
by informers whose reward was to live in
December 9-15, 2022
» by Rafael Medoff
the fake prison. Thus the slave labor camps
of the Soviet gulag remained hidden from
foreign eyes.
During the Holocaust, the Nazis used
Potemkin-style deception to help camou-
flage the mass murder of the Jews. In June
1944, Hitler invited a delegation from the
International Red Cross to visit Theresien-
stadt (Terezin), the Jewish ghetto that had
been created in Czechoslovakia as a tran-
When the World Cup matches are over, the
rocket attacks from Gaza undoubtedly will
resume. Qatar has learned from Hitler, and
too many other historical precedents, that
the Free World is easily fooled.
sit point for Jews being shipped to the gas
chambers of Auschwitz. But the Nazis told
the Red Cross that the camp was an “End-
lager,” a final destination where Jewish
prisoners lived happily.
In ”The Terezin Diary of Gonda Redlich”
(edited by the late Prof. Saul S. Friedman), a
Theresienstadt inmate described the Nazis’
preparations for the Red Cross visit: “They
rain down order after order. Kindergarten
children are to sing during the visit, the
workers are to return home. Plays and cul-
tural events and sporting activities must
take place. Even the few lambs left here
roam about on the grass around the city.
The children, the workers, the sheep — a
perfect idyll.” Another prisoner recalled: “A
playground was laid out with sandboxes
and swings, a ‘children’s pavilion’ was built
and painted from inside with big wooden
animals as toys. Behind a glass veranda
you could see a dozen cribs. It was like a
story book — but children were only al-
lowed to enter this little paradise on the day
the commission visited Theresienstadt.”
Houses were freshly painted — but only
MY TURN
the portions that would be visible to the
Red Cross inspectors. The visitors’ final re-
port to Red Cross headquarters character-
ized conditions in the camp as “relatively
good.” Nobody seemed to wonder why the
population of Theresienstadt at the time of
the visit was 30,000 less than what the Red
Cross knew it had been just a few weeks
earlier.
In the 1950s, the North Korean regime
built a village called Kijong-dong in the
demilitarized zone separating North Ko-
rea from South Korea. The North Koreans
called it a “peace village” that supposedly
was inhabited by 200 families, but to this
day Kijong-dong actually has no civilian
residents; it houses soldiers, artillery and
underground bunkers. A Washington Post
correspondent who visited the area in 1998
reported that “if you squint through your
binoculars, you’ll see that the buildings [in
Kijong-dong] don’t even have glass in the
windows. It’s a lie, a huge Potemkin village.”
The sidewalks are empty; automatic timers
turn lights on and off in the buildings in
order to create the illusion that people live
there.
Perhaps the closest historical analogy
to Qatar and the World Cup was the Berlin
Olympics of 1936. For Hitler, the Olympics
were an opportunity to make the Nazi re-
gime seem reasonable and distract from
his oppression of German Jews. The anti-
semitic newspaper Der Sturmer was briefly
removed from newsstands and “Jews Not
Wanted” signs that had been posted along
major thoroughfares were taken down.
Once the games were over, the signs and
the newspaper returned.
Likewise, the Olympics hosted by China
earlier this year gave the ruling regime a
chance to turn the world’s attention away
from what the U.S. has said is China’s geno-
cidal persecution of its largely-Muslim Uy-
ghur minority. In advance of the games,
according to the Washington Post, the Bei-
jing government even temporarily closed
some of the notorious “re-education cen-
ters” where an estimated one million Uy-
ghurs have been interned. By now those
centers undoubtedly have been reopened.
We can expect the same thing from Qa-
tar and Hamas. The Qatari government,
which is the world’s largest financial sup-
porter of Hamas, evidently has no problem
with the firing of rockets from Gaza into Is-
raeli nursery schools. The problem is mere-
ly a matter of timing. When the World Cup
matches are over, the rocket attacks from
Gaza undoubtedly will resume. Qatar has
learned from Hitler, and too many other
historical precedents, that the Free World is
easily fooled. ■
Dr. Medoff is founding director of The Da-
vid S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Stud-
ies and author of more than 20 books about
Jewish history and the Holocaust. His latest is
“America and the Holocaust: A Documentary
History,” published by the Jewish Publication
Society & University of Nebraska Press.)
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 17
14-15 my turn
History, Art Come Together
at Colorful Jerusalem
Drawing Biennale
» by Maya Margit/The Media Line
ABANDONED ARAB HOUSES, STATELY
Ottoman buildings, and centuries-old
printing presses – in the ancient city of Je-
rusalem, history, memory, and art go hand
in hand.
Since 2001, the Biennale for Drawing in
Israel has celebrated the medium of draw-
ing and shown how deeply the past and
present are intertwined in the holy city.
The eighth edition of the biennale,
which opened just last weekend, is called
“More than One” and presents series or in-
stances of drawings that were created on
more than one sheet of paper.
“Roughly 600 artists responded to the
open call,” Irith Hadar, chief curator of the
event, told The Media Line. “In the end
though there are about 70 artists taking part
in the biennale.”
Six venues across Jerusalem are in-
volved in the sweeping cultural event,
which highlights a medley of artworks in
different media.
Some of these have played a major role
in Israel’s cultural history, such as the Jeru-
salem Artists’ House.
Built in the late 19th century in the Ot-
toman style, the large stone building was
purchased by the Jewish National Fund in
the early 1900s and later became the Bezalel
Art School, Israel’s oldest and most presti-
gious cultural academy.
18 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
A view of the Jerusalem Artists' House. (Maya Margit/The Media Line)
As part of the biennale, dozens of works
are on display throughout three floors’
worth of exhibition spaces.
Among these are standouts by award-
winning Israeli artist Yehudit Sasportas. Her
drawings combine nods to history along
with depictions of deep dives into the sub-
conscious.
“I’ve recorded different areas all around
Europe and especially Germany, areas that I
always felt quite disturbed by, for more than
17 years,” Sasportas related. “I’m often deal-
ing with the history of buildings and infor-
Six venues across Jerusalem are involved
in the sweeping cultural event, which
highlights a medley of artworks in different
media.
mation that is in our systems. I decided that
instead of addressing the political situation
that we are all facing directly [that I would]
go down into the subconscious realm.”
Sasportas, who divides her time between
Germany and Israel, has exhibited interna-
tionally. She is currently in the midst of a
monumental project called Liquid Desert,
which she has worked on for several years
in the Negev Desert.
To top it all off, Sasportas is also a senior
professor at the Bezalel Academy.
“I studied in Bezalel and also in this
building [specifically],” she explained. “This
building means a lot to me because when I
was 19 I did a lot of conceptual works with
the walls of this historic building.”
The Jerusalem Artists’ House hosts con-
temporary art exhibitions year-round, as
well as programs for emerging artists.
At the top of the building is a menorah
– a seven-branched candelabrum – mod-
eled after the one that appears on the Arch of
Titus. The site’s original copper-plated doors
include references to biblical stories, but they
also commemorate a more serious historic
event faced by the academy in its early days.
Exhibiting
contemporary
art in such an
unconventional and
historically-loaded
space is no simple
feat.
According to the nearby wall text, stu-
dents and staff once collected empty artil-
lery shells that had been used in battles in
the Holy Land in order to create artworks
out of them. Fearing that the building
was being used to manufacture weapons,
in 1922 the British Mandate authorities
breached the school doors in a surprise as-
sault only to find that the shells were indeed
being recycled for artistic purposes.
Exhibiting contemporary art in such an
unconventional and historically-loaded
space is no simple feat.
“This is not a white cube like other art
galleries so it brings out very interesting
things [from artists], especially in works
that are site-specific,” Ruth Malul Zadka,
director and chief curator of the Jerusalem
Artists’ House, told The Media Line during a
tour of the premises.
“You have to refer to the space and there
has to be a dialogue, which is very chal-
lenging for artists,” she added.
Another venue participating in the bi-
ennale is the Jerusalem Print Workshop,
Israel’s premiere printmaking center.
Founded in 1974 by Arik Kilemnik, the
site is located within a 19th-century build-
ing that both celebrates the tradition of
Hebrew printmaking and functions as an
educational center aimed at ensuring the
medium’s survival. The space features a
unique assortment of historic printing
presses, some of which are centuries old.
Other historic Jerusalem buildings from
the Ottoman period also have strong ties to
the bustling contemporary art scene in the
city.
In 2016, a group of young artists came
together and transformed a large aban-
doned Arab house into a lively cultural hub
known as HaMiffal, or The Factory.
“We’re referring to the history of the
place,” Meydad Eliyahu, chief curator at
HaMiffal, said of the works on view for the
biennale. “This was an Arab house.”
The house once belonged to the family,
he noted, who abandoned it in 1948 during
the Arab-Israeli War and after the State of
Israel was founded.
“I think that working site-specifically in
December 9-15, 2022
 MY TURN
Ruven Kuperman, "No Title," (2020), ink and color pencil on paper. (Courtesy)

Yehudit Sasportas, "Coded Garden," (1999), ink and acrylic on MDF. (Elad Sarig)

Jerusalem has become a unique tradition Detail from Raya Bruckenthal's "Mizrach," (2022), pencil on paper. (Maya Margit/
to artists, or the practice that artists have in The Media Line)
this city,” Eliyahu said. “Our strategy as an
artists’ collective is to get into these aban-

The weight of the

doned spaces, which always have some
kind of presence.”
Part of that strategy includes leaving
many of the gallery spaces’ walls unfinished. past also comes to
Layers of previous coats of paint and flooring
remain visible throughout HaMiffal, serving the fore in artist Raya
as a reminder of previous occupants.
The weight of the past also comes to the Bruckenthal’s large-
fore in artist Raya Bruckenthal’s large-scale
drawings, which explore the concept of
scale drawings, which
Mizrach – or East – the direction that Jews
in the Diaspora west of Israel face during
explore the concept
prayer. of Mizrach – or East –
the direction that Jews
Her intricate art includes references to
Hebrew texts as well as neo-classical Euro-

in the Diaspora west

pean architecture.
“The Mizrach or East would be marked

of Israel face during

in houses and synagogues to indicate the
direction of Jerusalem,” Bruckenthal said.

prayer.
“We are all preoccupied with images from
the past, both personal and collective.”
The eighth edition of the Biennale for
Drawing in Israel will remain open to the
public in sites across Jerusalem until late
February. ■

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 19

14-15 my turn
United Nations General Assembly
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Lies, Libels, and the Justification
of Terror
» by Mark Goldfeder
THE PAST WEEK PRESENTS A
valuable lesson on how dangerous lies can eas-
ily lead to the justification of deadly violence.
November 29 marked the 75th anniver-
sary of the United Nations Resolution 181,
which called for the creation of two states,
a Jewish State of Israel and an Arab State of
Palestine. The Jewish community accepted
those terms, and declared the State of Is-
rael, while the Arab community refused,
and launched a war that they then lost. Over
time, however, Palestinians developed their
own version of the “big lie” in the form of
the “nakba” myth, a retelling of the 1948
Arab-Israeli war in which the would-be
genocidal Arab armies that failed in their
mission to eliminate the Jewish state are
reimagined as the helpless victims of a hor-
rible catastrophe (or “nakba,” in Arabic) of
destruction and displacement. The legend
of the nakba is at the heart of much of mod-
ern anti-Zionism.
Right on cue, on Nov. 30 the United Na-
tions General Assembly voted to officially
commemorate the founding of the State of
Israel as a nakba. U.N. Resolutions are not
legally or morally binding, and they obvi-
ously cannot create truths. But they do lend
a sheen of credibility to an otherwise ridicu-
lous claim. Such a resolution makes it easier
for the big lie to spread because people can
rely on and appeal to the GA’s “authority”
on the matter without having to defend or
even care about the details of such a hei-
nous accusation. And once a lie has become
officially acceptable to speak in the halls of
power, it is only a matter of time before it
gets picked up and amplified by popular
culture. This one certainly did not take long.
On Thursday, Netflix began streaming the
Jordanian film “Farha,” which purports to fo-
cus on the experiences of a young girl during
the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The hero watches
as Israeli soldiers, portrayed as inhumanly
cruel, brutally and graphically murder inno-
cent Palestinian families, including children.
While the film claims to be “based” on true
20 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
events, the director has admitted that it is not
factual, and that these scenes did not actually
occur. But that does not mean they will not
have a very real-world effect on anti-Jewish
hate and violence, because many will watch
the movie, and few will read the disclaimer.
There are two reasons to publicly correct
the record on the nakba. First, it is simply not
true. There are primary sources, from the
Jordanian side, attesting to the fact that the
vast majority of Arabs who left their homes
did so voluntarily, or under orders from
the invading Arab, not the invaded Israeli,
armies. Many left confident that the com-
bined armies of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon
and Egypt would quickly overwhelm the tiny
Jewish state. As the Jordanian newspaper
Filastin reported, “The Arab States encour-
aged the Palestine Arabs to leave their homes
temporarily in order to be out of the way of
the Arab invasion armies.” But as another
refugee quoted in another Jordanian news-
paper, Ad Difaa, explained that “The Arab
There are two
reasons to publicly
correct the record
on the nakba. First,
it is simply not
true... Second, it is
incredibly dangerous.
government told us: Get out so that we can
get in. So we got out, but they did not get in.”
Second, it is incredibly dangerous. In
1976, Mahmoud Abbas said that “The Arab
armies entered Palestine to protect the Pal-
estinians from the Zionist tyranny but, in-
MY TURN
stead, they abandoned them, forced them to
While the Netflix film
emigrate and to leave their homeland, and
threw them into prisons similar to the ghet-
"Farha" claims to
tos in which the Jews used to live” (emphasis
added). By 2011 his recollection had changed
be “based” on true
in direct proportion to the rising popularity
of the nakba, so that he now claimed “Zionist
events, the director
forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a
decisive Jewish majority in the future state
of Israel, and Arab armies intervened.” This
year, he went so far as to use the commemo- has admitted that it is
ration of the nakba — the same commemo-
ration the U.N. has now embraced, as an ex- not factual, and that
cuse to reaffirm his government’s ongoing
commitment to “pay for slay”: The Palestin- these scenes did not
ian Authority policy under which terrorists
who kill Israeli or American citizens are cel-
actually occur.
"Farha" (Netflix)
ebrated as heroes and monetarily rewarded. heartening for Netflix to give a propaganda
Last week, two bomb attacks in Israel killed
one 16-year-old boy, Aryeh Shechopek a”h,
film like this a platform to spread inciteful
misinformation under the guise of histori-
and injured 14 other people. This week, the
terrorist and his family will begin receiving
cal fiction. Fake news can have real conse-
quences, and facts do matter — even when
their murder-stipend from Abbas’ govern- the country that is being lied about is Israel,
ment — the same government that pushed and even when the people who end up get-
for the UN resolution. ting hurt are Jews. ■
In a world of rising antisemitism, de-
monstrably tied to anti-Zionism, it is dan- Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq. is an international
gerous for the United Nations to give lawyer and Director of the National Jewish Ad-
continued credibility to lies. It is also dis- vocacy Center.
December 9-15, 2022
19 NW_Briefs

NAT ION / WORLD B RIE F S

Nike cuts ties with Kyrie Irving
following antisemitism controversy
Nike has officially ended their partner-
ship with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving on
December 5, after the point guard posted a
link to an antisemitic film on Amazon.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania was the
first to report on the development on Twit-
ter, citing a Nike spokesperson. Nike had
‘Silence is complicity’: Biden calls
on political leaders to denounce
antisemitism, not platform it
President Joe Biden, reacting after the
latest station in Kanye West’s dolorous jour-
ney, explained that Hitler was bad and the
Holocaust was real and chided politicians
like his predecessor Donald Trump who
give the rapper’s antisemitism oxygen.
“And instead of giving it show hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex
a platform, our political Jones, in which he repeatedly praised Adolf
leaders should be call- Hitler, said he loved Nazis and denied that
ing out and rejecting the Holocaust happened as it did.
antisemitism wherever Biden also appeared to be referring
Ye it hides. Silence is com- to Trump, who last week had West over
plicity.” for dinner, along with Nick Fuentes, a
Biden’s statement did not call out any- prominent antisemite and Holocaust de-
one by name. But the most immediate ref- nier. Biden has denounced antisemitism

suspended their relationship with Irving on
November 4, saying in a statement at the
time: “At Nike, we believe there is no place
for hate speech and we condemn any form
of antisemitism. To that end we’ve made
ADVENTURER’S
“I just want to make a few things clear: erence Biden was making was to a three- and Trump’s proximity to it since the first
The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a de- hour appearance this week by West, also speech of his presidential campaign.
monic figure,” Biden said Friday on Twitter. known as Ye, on Infowars, the streaming - Ron Kampeas, JTA

PRAYER
the decision to suspend our relationship
with Kyrie Irving effective immediately
and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8 [shoe
brand].” The Kyrie 8 had been scheduled to
become available in November.
Following The Athletic’s report, Irving
tweeted a GIF that said: “There’s nothing
more priceless than being free.”
The movie in question, “Hebrews to Ne-
groes: Wake Up America,” promotes claims
that "modern Jews are imposters who stole
the religious heritage of Black people” as
well as claims of "a global Jewish conspir-
acy to oppress and defraud Black people”
among other antisemitic tropes, accord-
ing to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson
Irving was suspended for several NBA
games and eventually apologized for shar-
ing a link to the film.
- Aaron Bandler

Kanye suspended from Twitter

after posting swastika Holy Bountiful One,
Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced in a
December 1 tweet that West’s account was You give us life as a gift, to safeguard and to relish.
going to be suspended for inciting vio-
lence by posting the swastika embedded in If we only guard, we will never truly taste.
a Star of David.
Musk wrote in the tweet that West had If we rashly live, we will create injury and chaos in our wake,
“again violated our rule against incitement harming ourselves and those we love.
to violence. Account will be suspended.”
Musk received praise for suspending West Gift us with the wisdom, as we sail life’s seas,
from Twitter. to tack between these two touchpoints,
“We are relieved to see Elon Musk has
as the only way to advance:
suspended Kanye West from Twitter,” Stop
Antisemitism tweeted. “We just hope this is
To cherish and guard life, but not too much.
permanent and not a temporary time out.”
To live with passion, but not recklessly.
Representative Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.)
tweeted, “Kanye has been inciting violence
long before posting the swastika, which he
As we catch the wind and ride the waves,
weaponized to desecrate the Star of David. It
help us hold just enough passion, just enough foresight
took a Nazi symbol for @elonmusk to finally to live long
see what was painfully obvious to the rest of and to live well.
us. Kanye shouldn’t be temporarily suspend-
ed but expelled for good.” AMEN.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan
Greenblatt thanked Musk in tweet for sus-
pending West but called on the Twitter CEO
“to take action on other hate-spreading ac-
counts.” “Allowing extremists to use @Twit-
ter to spread slander and intolerance could
lead to increased harassment and bigotry
on and off the platform,” Greenblatt wrote.
Earlier in the day, West had praised the
Nazis and Adolf Hitler in an interview with
Alex Jones, resulting in widespread con-
demnation for spreading antisemitism.
- Aaron Bandler

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 21

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RO S N E R ’ S D OM A IN
Fr om Is r a e l

A Timely First Something I wrote in Hebrew

Coalition Battle
“WE BARELY STARTED AND IT’S
already a conclusion. The battle is over,”
you say.
“Over?” I respond. “But Deputy Minister
Avi Maoz from the Noam party has not yet
taken office.”
“Right, it’s over anyway.”
“And who won that battle?”
“Well, not the incoming coalition.”
“So, that's it?”
“Eh, not yet. Complacency is dangerous.
» by Shmuel Rosner
toy with certain ideas concerning the West
Bank and will soon discover that it’s easy to
have ideas and more difficult to see them
materialize amid American objections. The
Maoz storm was also a reality check. True,
the coalition represents a majority that
won an election, and yet the Israeli public
must be considered as it moves to alter Is-
rael’s policies. The Israeli public can toler-
Here’s what I wrote about the idea that the Law of Return would be changed:
Supporters of the change say: Most of the immigrants to Israel today are the
grandchildren of Jews who are not Jews. If the purpose of the law is to have more
Jews in Israel, then we are not fulfilling its purpose. Opponents of the change say:
There are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of beloved Jewish families in
the world whose grandchildren are not necessarily Jewish. It is impossible to tell
all these Jews that their grandchildren no longer belong to the extended family of
which we are all sons and daughters. Both sides have strong arguments. Which one
is stronger? That is an ideological question. All definitions are somewhat arbitrary.
You can expand them or narrow them. It is a question of cost and benefit.
Avi Maoz speaks to the press before
a party meeting on November 28,
2022 in Jerusalem, Israel.

The short fierce

Besides, Maoz is a tree that will bear more (Amir Levy/Getty Images)
fruit as long as he is still with us. (It’s not a

battle against
risky bet: He will not be a coalition member
for a very long time).”

Maoz forced the

Now let's begin from the start. Avi Maoz
was appointed to serve as deputy minis-

opposition out of
ter in charge of external programming at
schools in the incoming coalition. He is

an ultra-conservative, anti-LGBT, anti-
progressivism, anti-pluralism member of
a fringe faction within the (quite radical)
Zionist Religious Party. Maoz’ elevation
stirred outcry. Letting him have the author-
ity to distribute billions to non-profit orga-
nizations that will re-educate the children
of Israel was one bridge too far.
But it wasn’t bad for Israel. In fact, I
think it was good.
Why? In recent weeks, quite a few
movements, groups and organizations in
Israel have been searching for something
that could motivate the opponents of the
new government. Benjamin Netanyahu
provided them with an answer. Maoz is
the answer. More than helping the incom-
ing coalition with his one vote, he helped
the confused opposition with his clear
voice. It was almost too easy. Maoz got a
job, and the opposition got its battle cry. A
string of mayors declared that they will not
work with him. Principals and teachers in
the secular educational sector expressed
outrage. Maoz is exactly what the opposi-
tion needed: proof that the new coalition
intends to enforce its radical ideology on
"our" schools, to influence "our" children, to
change "our" lives.
The new coalition has ambitious plans
a post-election
coma and the
coalition to begin
a necessary
process of detox
A week's numbers
following its Why the opposition must fight:
victory euphoria.
ate much, but not everything. Its secular
groups — about half of Israel’s Jewish pub-
lic — would not accept a Maoz-inspired ed-
ucation. Not the teachers, not the parents.
Maoz had no chance. The education
system is subject to strong local influences:
mayors, principles, parents. He was ap-
pointed to a position that depends on the
good will, on the cooperation of many, and
he will not get such cooperation. His project
is doomed. His only role from now moving
forward is to become the cardboard figure
in an opposition verbal shooting range.
The short fierce battle against Maoz and
his newly created portfolio was a successful

for Israel, some good, some questionable.
And as is the habit of new coalitions, the
newly elected bosses rush to implement
their agenda like a herd of running ele-
phants. Alas, they soon notice, from a dis-
tance, an approaching wall. That’s the wall
we will call “reality." It's a wall that tends to
spoil early plans, to moderate ambitions, to
alter purposes.
The incoming coalition has plans, but
reality places limitations on these plans.
Reality comes in many forms. It can be
the U.S. president. Some coalition members
battle, and a necessary one, for all parties.
It was the right battle at the right moment.
Why? Because it forced the opposition out
of a post-election coma and it forced the
coalition to begin a necessary process of
detox following its victory euphoria. It also
provided Netanyahu with proof — which
will serve him as he battles to control an
unruly, unrealistic bunch of coalition
members — that not everything is possible.
And it provides his opponents with proof,
which will serve them later, that there are
battles that an opposition can still win. ■
A reader’s response
Jay Harwitt wrote: “Dear Mr. Rosner … The Hanukkah story has more urgency
than usual. As children, we learned that the Maccabees cast out the wicked Antio-
chus Epimanes … [in fact the Maccabees were] our ancient Taliban … Like the Tali-
ban, the Maccabees won, and like the Taliban, they began to rule along the same
lines that brought them victory … It worked for over 100 years under the Hasmo-
neans. Do you really believe that the comparable right-wing victors in this most re-
cent election — Bibi, the Haredis and Ben Gvir — have that much time to play with?”
My answer: Historical parallels like this one are tricky. They rarely work.
Shmuel Rosner is senior political editor. For more analysis of Israeli and international
politics, visit Rosner’s Domain at jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain.

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 23

 » by Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh

The Iranian people took to the

streets in outrage. Women were
seen removing their hijabs in
protest — an illegal act and one
of defiance against the Islamic
Republic regime that overthrew
the Shah 43 years ago.

24 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com December 9-15, 2022

 C OV E R

I
remember one of my professors telling us in rab-
binical school that, for the life of her, she couldn’t re-
member who came to her wedding. But she could tell
us the names of everyone who attended her father’s
funeral.
I reflect on this now because I am currently grieving
alone. The Iranian people are fighting for their lives on a
daily basis. There have been reports of rape, beatings and
murder, but still the Jewish community has remained large-
ly silent. It feels as though I’m standing at a funeral for my
family members, yet no friends, no colleagues or anyone
outside of my immediate family has bothered to attend. For
almost 13 weeks now, I have been mourning the daily loss
of life after life.
It's a lonely experience.
It started with 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini, a Kurdish
Iranian woman who was arrested by the Islamic Republic of
Iran’s Morality Police. Amini was beaten senselessly because
a piece of her hair was sticking outside of her hijab, or head-
ing covering. She instantly went into a coma and died three
days later, on September 16, 2022. That’s when it all began.
The Iranian people took to the streets in outrage. Women
were seen removing their hijabs in protest — an illegal act
and one of defiance against the Islamic Republic regime that
overthrew the Shah 43 years ago. This is when my own fam-
ily fled the country and came to the United States.
My parents were already in the United States when the
1979 Iranian Revolution broke out. Like many of their cous-
ins and friends, they were in the U.S. to attend college. The
plan was always to return to Iran after they received their de-
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
grees. But that never happened.
The rest of the family — my great aunts, uncles and

It feels as though I’m standing at a funeral for my family

members, yet no friends, no colleagues or anyone outside
of my immediate family has bothered to attend.
grandparents — all escaped in different ways. Many escaped
in the middle of the night, like thieves. They bribed who they
could, and illegally left through Pakistan, or via Spain and
Italy. Not everyone was as lucky.
Eventually they all came to Los Angeles, where I was
raised and immersed in the Iranian Jewish community, af-
fectionately known as “Tehrangeles.” My first language was
Farsi, or Persian. That was intentional because on some lev-
el, I think my parents always thought that they would return
to Iran at some point.
But those who witnessed the atrocities of the ‘79 Revolu-
tion, like my grandparents’ generation, never wanted to go
back to Iran — not even for a visit. At our Shabbat dinner
conversations, this was always a point of contention be-
tween the two generations. I remember the time I took a bite
of watermelon during dessert and declared how delicious it
was. My mom retorted, “Ugh. This is nothing. Wait until you
taste the watermelon in Iran.”
Such comments were endless and they always made me
wonder about this place called Iran. It also left me with a sem-
blance of sadness because it was obvious that for those in my
parents’ generation, leaving Iran was a wound that was still
open and therefore might never heal. They still looked back,
longing for their homeland, while their own parents would
never look back again. I think it’s because my parents never
had an opportunity for closure or the chance to say good-
bye to their homeland. They were already in the U.S. when it
happened, and without witnessing the turmoil of the regime
change firsthand, it was difficult to accept or understand the
reality. Instead, they were left with the responsibility and bur-
den of paving the way for their older parents to come and
settle here while simultaneously having to figure out how to
make a living for the next generation, us.
The trauma inflicted on both my parents’ and grandpar-
ents’ generations by these years is definitive, and a great deal
of research has been done on this topic. But even as first-
generation Americans, we internalized this trauma that was
passed down and handed to us. In so many ways, we weren’t
even given the chance to create our own identity, because
being the children of immigrants is who we are. And even
though we understand our culture, it is not a culture we ex-
perienced first-hand. It is something inherited. It’s like living
in "The Truman Show." Everyone else knows what’s going on
but you only know a reality based on what others have told
you.
And now, with every report of violence against innocent
Iranians, those traumas are being relived for those who un-
derwent them directly. And for us first generation Ameri-
cans — we are finally understanding those traumas in full
Kodak color with every photo, video, and tweet that’s posted
from on the ground in Iran.
In that way, this is totally different from the Iranian Revo-
lution of 1979. This time the world is bearing witness to it.
Every minute there is a social media post that captures the
oil workers’ strikes, a mother crying about the death of her
10-year-old son who was just shot senselessly, or a woman’s
testimony of rape in prison. Our Instagram feeds are saturat-
ed with these images. It is impossible to turn away this time.
Except that some, indeed, are turning away.
For the High Holy Days this year, I expected to hear about it
from the pulpit, especially since Amini’s death had taken place
only weeks earlier. But nothing was said in the synagogue. One
friend told me that at her Ashkenazi synagogue, there was a
passing mention of Iran, in conjunction with a comment on
Ukraine, discussing general “darkness” in the world.
I began to investigate whether any of my rabbinic col-
leagues had said anything substantive about the ongoings in
Iran. I watched High Holy Day services that were streamed
in various Ashkenazi synagogues in Los Angeles, especially
ones with a large Iranian population. No rabbi had given a
sermon about it that I could find.
I was signing on to social media daily, to find out what
was happening in Iran. What began as a protest in solidarity
with the death of Mahsa Amini had quickly morphed into
a nationwide revolt. The Iranian people asked the world to
refer to the uprising as a Revolution. Videos were uploaded
of women being dragged on the ground by their hair, men
being shot at for merely honking in their car during protests,
unarmed students surrounded by armies of police, arrested,
beaten and killed.
The world was silent.

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 25

 “U.N. Me.”
Iranians in the diaspora were being asked, on the dai-
ly, to tag various news stations to put pressure on the BBC,
on CNN, on FOX, on anyone to broadcast and let the world
know of the Iranians’ fight and plight against this merciless
regime. Eventually a few segments were broadcast here and
there. But it was not enough.
Sick to my stomach, I learned that after their arrest, men
and women were being raped in prison. There is a belief that
virgins, when dead, will ascend to heaven, and so in prison,
these tyrants in official clothing began to rape men as well as
women to prevent this ascension from happening.
Despite fears of getting caught, the Iranian people con-
tinued to capture the atrocities done to them for the world to
see on social media. They were risking their lives in captur-
ing these events on video. Within hours and at most days,
even artists and musicians who released songs or poetry,
protesting from the confines of their home, were arrested.
Some even disappeared for days with no one’s knowl-
edge of their whereabouts. One such artist was Shervin Ha-
jipour whose crime was creating a song out of a compilation
of tweets by the Iranian people. The name of the song was
“Baraye,” which means “For” or “Because,” and the lyrics of
the song included the litany of reasons Iranians were against
this regime: “For dancing in the street. For the girl who always
wished she was a boy. For being in fear in the very moment
of kissing. For women, life, freedom.” This song has come to
serve as the anthem for the Iranian uprising.
It was a few weeks after this song was released that we
came together as a coalition called Zan Zendegi Azadi, which
means Woman, Life, Freedom, one of the taglines of the Ira-
nian revolt. The coalition includes 30 Years After, Chaya, EL-
NET, HIAS, Iranian American Jewish Federation, Progressive
Zionists of California, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los
Angeles, and myself. We were all Iranian representatives of
these organizations, except for two who didn't have any. The
coalition kept growing out of the need that something had to
be done. Because while our social media posts were flooded
with posts by people in Iran, risking their lives, there was still
little to nothing on news channels about it. Within our Jewish
communities, all we got was a solidarity statement from our
synagogue communities—as if that was enough.
Why aren’t rabbis talking about Iran? And why aren’t
my friends, most of whom are rabbis, posting about what’s
happening in Iran on their social media accounts? Many
friends messaged me privately to say things like: “Thank you
for what you are saying about Iran. You are my only news
source.” Thank you, I’d say, while thinking, why aren’t you
posting about Iran? I began to wonder if they really cared.
“Is it racism?” I asked one of my Ashkenazi friends. He said,
“Sure, some people have prejudices about Iranians. Also, you
know some people, they want to be politically correct. And
the Iran Deal might have something to do with it too.”
Is this why I am grieving alone? Because of the Iran Deal?
I hope not. As the Iranian people have said repeatedly,
they want nothing to do with this government and this re-
Those who witnessed
the atrocities of the
‘79 Revolution, like my
grandparents’ generation,
never wanted to go back to
Iran — not even for a visit.
26 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
Every minute there is a
social media post that
captures the oil workers’
strikes, or a woman’s
testimony of rape in prison,
or pellets and gunshot
wounds … It is impossible to
turn away this time. Except
that some, indeed, are
turning away.
gime. They do not represent the majority of Iranian citizens.
Is it because people doubt the authenticity of what they
are seeing on social media?
If so, I would ask: Are videos and photos of women, men
and children dying not credible enough to be posted? We
should not need a CNN stamp before we can share these im-
ages on our social media.
Or does the lack of attention have to do with racism?
I see more posts about Ukraine than I do Iran. I’ve also
been asked how what’s happening in Iran is a Jewish issue, as
if our community can care about it only if it affects us direct-
ly. Does the phrase “Never Again” apply only to Jews? Is our
concern for Ukraine predicated on Zelensky’s Jewishness? Or
perhaps it is because there are more Jews in Ukraine than in
Iran. But as Jews, aren’t we supposed to care about atrocities
not only against Jews, but against all vulnerable peoples?
Perhaps now you might understand why I feel that I am
invisible in your eyes. It’s as if no one came to the funeral or
to the shivah. And now we are way past the sholoshim mark,
and still nothing.
Like so many others, Iranian Jews have been born and
raised in Los Angeles. We attended the same schools and live
in the same communities. But after all of this time, since our
families have been here since 1979, people still know very
little about Iranian Jews, other than that we hit each other
with green onions on Passover during the “Dayenu” song.
Conversely, we first-generation Iranian Jews who were
raised here in LA know so much about our Jewish friends
with Eastern European roots. We speak a bisl Yiddish. We
daven and sing niggunim. We have always believed that
Getty Images
when push comes to shove, you will show that you care
about us. But your silence now is deafening.
You who could help us put pressure on the news me-
dia and politicians to help amplify the plight of the Iranian
people, whose government is cutting off their electricity and
shutting down their internet so that they don’t have access
to the outside world, are instead doing nothing.
This past Sunday, the Zan Zendegi Azadi coalition and
I put together a panel made up of activists, historians, and
experts on what is happening in Iran (ed: see sidebar). I dis-
cussed some of the horrendous events that have taken place
in Iran and I also explained the important Jewish task of
always asking questions. We ask questions at the Passover
seder table and the margins of our Talmud are filled ques-
tions written by rabbis over centuries. We are a people that
questions the status quo.
This is a moment in time about asking questions. “Ask
questions of your leaders,” I charged. “Ask questions of your
biblical teachings and religion — whatever that religion may
be. Ask questions of the news media that seems not to al-
ways get it right; and no, the morality police has not been
dismantled by the way. Fake news,” I added. “But more im-
portantly, ask questions about what is happening to the Ira-
Why aren’t rabbis talking
about Iran? And why aren’t
my friends, most of whom
are rabbis, posting about
what’s happening in Iran on
their social media accounts?
nian people on the ground. As for us, Iranian Americans, our
hearts are bleeding too every day that we wake up to more
horrifying news; so don’t forget to also ask us how we are
doing and what you can do to help.”
Our goal was to bring Iranian and non-Iranian commu-
nities together for a night of solidarity and education on the
current Iranian uprising. But as I look at the guest list of al-
most 400 people, fewer than ten percent are from the non-
Iranian Jewish community.
No wonder my professor never forgot everyone who
December 9-15, 2022
This song, “Baraye,” has AJU Panel Unpacks
come to serve as the
anthem for the Iranian Iranian Unrest » by Ryan Torok

uprising. A panel on unrest in Iran featured (from left) Tarlan

Rabizadeh, Moj Mahdara, Houman Sarshar and Elica Le Bon.
Photo by Ryan Torok

showed up to her father’s funeral. I think the point she was

also intimating at was how she couldn’t help but notice the
faces who failed to show up on that important day.
Jewish tradition holds that visiting a mourner’s house is
a mitzvah during the shivah period.
Last week, I attended the funeral of the father of one of
my students. I watched her greeting people. She was hold-
ing it together well, I thought. And when she saw my face, I
watched as she burst into tears. I’m tearing up now thinking
back to that moment because I think more than appreciat-
ing the fact that I made the effort to be there for her, in that
instant, seeing me allowed her the space to feel her grief.
What we do as Jews is show up for one another. Because
by showing up, we are declaring not only that we see you,
that we see your pain, and that we support you during your
pain, but that the pain that you are going through is valid. It’s
an affirmation that you are not alone in this world.
There is a slogan that the Iranian people are chanting ELICA LE BON, A BRITISH-BORN IRANIAN ATTORNEY, Houman Sarshar, another of the panelists, is a contrib-
throughout the nation. It goes: “Natarseen! Natarseen! Mah believes this pivotal moment in Iran — in which the death utor author to Encyclopedia Iranica. On Sunday, he pro-
hameh baham hasteem.” Which means: “Don’t be afraid! of a young woman for not properly wearing her headscarf vided an overview of social grievances in Iran, discuss-
Don’t be afraid! We are all in this together.” has caused widespread unrest — resembles what happened ing the 1979 Iranian revolution and the moment when
So now let me ask you a question: are you part of the here after the police-involved death of George Floyd. the Iranian supreme leader replaced those who dissented
“all”? If so, then why aren’t you talking about it? ■ When Floyd was killed due to a police officer’s pro- from his point of view with religious clerics willing to fol-
longed kneeling on his neck, the thousands of protestors low orders unquestioningly.
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh is the VP for Jewish Engagement in the streets were not merely reacting to his death — they Near the conclusion of the hourlong discussion, Rabi-
were responding to hundreds of years of mistreatment of zadeh asked the trio of speakers in the Gindi Auditorium,
this country’s Black people, Le Bon said. “Why aren’t mainstream news sources covering unrest in
Similarly in Iran, while 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death in Iran as much as they could be? Why aren’t more people
the custody of the morality police surely triggered the coun- paying attention to the story?”
try’s current protest movement, the demonstrators are em- Le Bon, who has spoken out about events in Iran on
boldened not just by her murder but by decades of human TikTok and has a significant following on the platform,
rights abuses perpetuated by the hardline Iranian government. attributed ignorance about the situation to an active mis-

This past Sunday, the Zan

Le Bon offered her take on Nov. 4 during a timely panel information campaign. She said people on the extreme
discussion – titled “Baraye Iran,” or “For Iran” – at Ameri- left are parroting talking points from the Iranian govern-

Zendegi Azadi coalition

can Jewish University (AJU). ment. And as an example, she pointed to Sunday’s news,
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh, vice president of Jewish en- reported by outlets including the New York Times, that
gagement at AJU and an Iranian American, moderated the Iran’s morality police — a feared law enforcement body

and I put together a panel discussion, which was organized following approximately
80 consecutive days of demonstrations in Iran.
responsible for implementing Iran’s hijab law — had been
abolished, when that hadn’t been confirmed.

made up of activists, According to media reports, since protests began in Sep-

tember against the Iranian regime, which governs in accor-

historians, and experts on dance with strict Islamic law, thousands of people have been
injured; hundreds of Iranians have been killed; and there

what is happening in Iran.

have been accounts of sexual violence against detainees.
Although the number of Jews currently living in Iran Rabizadeh asked the
I discussed some of the
is relatively few, the David vs. Goliath circumstances are
resonating with this city’s Jewish community, particularly trio of speakers, “Why
horrendous events that
the sizable local Iranian population, many of whom fled
Iran, or had parents who did so, and thus are sympathetic aren’t more people paying
to the plight of those living under oppressive mullah rule.
attention to the story?”
have taken place in Iran Much of the diaspora activism on behalf of on-the-
ground demonstrators has taken place over social media.

and I also explained the Moj Mahdara, one of the three panelists on Sunday night,
spoke about her ongoing advocacy campaign supporting
About 200 people turned out for the conversation,
which was free and open to the community. A dessert

important Jewish task of

regime change in Iran. reception in the AJU lobby began the program. Around
“We’re going to ‘cancel’ the Islamic Republic,” Mahdara 6 p.m., attendees, including Rabbis Noah Farkas, Yoshi

always asking questions.

said, describing virtual efforts to erase the entity from ex- Zweiback and Erez Sherman, entered the auditorium.
istence. Mahdara, a digital entrepreneur, is the founder of Evening co-organizers included 30 Years After, The
the Iranian Diaspora Collective, a nonpartisan group com- European Leadership Network (ELNET) and the Iranian
mitted to amplifying Iranian voices. American Jewish Federation. ■

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 27

Child Victims of the Iran Protest Crackdowns
At least 46 children have been killed by Iranian security forces since a new wave of public anger erupted following the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini.

Zakaria Khial, aged 16 Amin Marefat, aged 16 Seyed Mehdi Mousavai, aged 16 Pedram Azarnoush, age 16 Abdollah Mohammadpour, aged 16

Amir Farrokhipour, aged 17 Mohammad Reza Sarvari, aged 14 Omid Safarzehi, aged 17 Omid Sarani, aged 13 Sodeys Keshani, aged 14

Mohammad Rakhshani, aged 12 Omid Narui, aged 12 Adel Kouchakzai (Barichi), aged 14 Sarina Saedi, aged 16 Kumar Daroftadeh, aged 16

Mona Naghib, aged 8 Javad Pousheh, aged 12 Amir Nowrouzi, aged 16 Parsa Rezadoust, aged 17 Amir Ali Fouladi, aged 16

28 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com December 9-15, 2022

Sarina Esmailzadeh, aged 16 Nika Shakarami, aged 17 Amirhossein Basati, aged 15 Asra Panahi Khanghah, aged 15 Siavash Mahmoudi, aged 16

Nima Shafaghdout, aged 16 Setareh Tajik, aged 17 Yasser Bahadorzehi, aged 17 Mobin Mirkazehi, aged 14 Kian Pirfalak, aged 9

Sepehr Maghsoudi, aged 14 Ali Barahoui, aged 11 Danial Pabandi, aged 17 Mehdi Hazrati, aged 17 Abolfazl Adinezadeh, aged 16

Karvan Ghader Shokri, aged 16 Bahaoddin Veisi, aged 16 Ali Mozaffari, aged 17 Armin Sayyadi, aged 15 Parmis Hamnava, aged 14

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 29

 Consent is Everything
A poem for Parsha Vayishlach (Aliyah 5)
» by Rick Lupert

And Shechem the son of Hamor, the Hivvite, the prince of the land,
saw her, and he took her, lay with her, and violated her.
Genesis 34:2

Consent is everything.

Listen up, oh princes of Hivvite –

Do not take what is not yours.
Your desires and your status
entitle you to nothing.

Consent is everything.

Listen up, oh Weinsteins and Spaceys –

Your art may be good, your money plentiful.
But none of the contracts let you
take possession of anyone else.

Consent is everything.

Listen up, oh long list of names that

gets longer every day a news outlet exists –
You may be moderately famous.
The masses may have told you
you can have it all. You cannot have it all.

Consent is everything.

Listen up, you old men who’ve

marchmeena29/Getty Images
gotten away with it for years –
The laws are no longer in your favor.
The sons of Jacob are coming to
circumcise you.

Consent is everything.

Listen up, young’uns –

Learn from these mistakes before
they become your mistakes.
Learn this by the common sense of decency.
Do the right thing all the time.

Consent is everything.

everything
everything

Everything is consent.

Rick Lupert, a poet, songleader and graphic designer, is the author of 26 books including
“God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion.”

30 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com December 9-15, 2022

 TA B L E F OR FIV E
WE E K LY PARS HA: ONE V E RS E , FIVE VOIC ES
Edited by Salvador Litvak, Accidental Talmudist

Alissa Thomas-Newborn David Porush

Rabbanit, New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center
and Netivot Shalom Congregation
While many question whether Esav’s intentions are genuine, the Ibn Ezra empha-
sizes that Esav never intended Yaakov harm. He bases this on the verse’s ending, which
mirrors the tearful reunion between Yosef and his brothers when
Yosef reveals his identity. Since Yosef had pure intentions in em-
bracing, kissing, and crying together with his brothers, the parallel
language here suggests that Esav did too.
In each case, there is emotional baggage that justifies suspicion
(Yosef having been thrown in a pit and sold, and Esav having his
blessing stolen). The unifying theme is the potential for emotional
walls to come down through vulnerability. After much has been
lost, including time together, the brothers in each story embrace
and cry together. Their tears mourn all that has happened and ex-
press gratitude for the time they have left together.
When someone who hurt us expresses remorse, we can be surprised by our reac-
tion. This is because when we are met with an open heart, even amidst the baggage,
we are inspired to let go of our pain and receive love and relief in its place. God put this
into our spiritual DNA. Let’s reflect on why this is such a central theme in our Torah’s
wisdom. Perhaps it gets at one of our most profound spiritual responsibilities: To rec-
ognize hurt and distance (between each other and between ourselves and God) and to
have the courage and humility to cultivate re-
union and forgiveness. What tearful embrace
Student, teacher, writer at davidporush.com
What kind of a kiss is this? What kind of tears? After all Jacob’s prostrations, after all Esau’s
saber rattling, do they really fall on each other’s necks as loving long-lost twins? Are we to
believe they truly reconciled here?
Rashi says Esau’s kiss is half-hearted.
Rabbeinu Bachya quotes Proverbs: “Many are the kisses of an enemy.”
Rav Hirsch says “you can fake a kiss, but tears drop from the innermost
part of the human soul.”
Radak says they're sincere, but R’ Yannai claims that Esau meant to
bite Jacob’s neck!
The Targum of Jerusalem totally waves off any sentiment: Esau wept
because of (metaphysical?) pain in his teeth, and Jacob cries because of
pain in his neck.
Luzzatto, citing the analogy of Jacob’s other heartrending reunion -
with Joseph in Egypt - says if Esau and Jacob were sincere, they would be too overwhelmed
to kiss. i.e., it was all just Middle Eastern kabuki.
Kabbalah says poetically, “There are kisses that hate … Like a crocodile, they watered and
wept.” Crocodile tears.
I choose to follow the warmhearted Netziv, R’ Berlin: “They wept with sincere passion …
Love for Esau awakened in Yaakov.” He sees their reunion as prophetic. “Whenever Esau’s
descendants genuinely acknowledge Yisrael’s greatness, Yisrael reciprocates with feelings of
brotherhood.”

are you in need of right now?
Rabbi Scott N. Bolton
Congregation Or Zarua, New York, NY
Why run? Towards whom? When his
brother came running at him, I imagine
Jacob felt like the man on the bridge in the
famous Kafka short story.
Multiple possibilities arise in that three-
paragraph tale. When the man sees the
runner, inner fears and stories start to flow:
“He’s running at me to kill me!” Questions
rise: “Is he running
from a crime? Maybe
he and his friend are
trying to outrun a pur-
suer? Is this just for
amusement?”
As Esau ran towards
Jacob we remember
that Jacob ran away
from his belligerent,
begrudged brother years earlier. “Kum,
b’rakh lekha!” (rise and flee!) Rebecca com-
manded and Isaac barked “kum, lekh!” (get
up and go!). Now Esau "Va-YArotz" (he ran)
towards Ya’akov.
Forget the kisses; stop and focus on the
running. This is holy running! A running of
t’shuvah, reconciliation and reunion. Holy
running. Before this in Torah the verb “and he
ran" ("va’YArotz”) was associated with Abra-
ham meeting three angels at his tent and
Eliezer running towards Rebecca at the well to
affirm she would be the next matriarch. Rashi
notes that Esau found compassion and mercy
at the moment of his reconnecting with his
brother. It was not just in the embrace and
kisses that Torah expresses his true feelings.
His deep desire to reunite was evidenced by
his running towards his estranged brother.
It makes me think, as we stand on that pro-
verbial bridge, what kind of holy running and
towards whom is in our futures?
VAYISHLACH
Sarah Pachter
Author and Speaker
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 37:8 states, “Do
not read vayishakêhu (and he kissed him),
Esau ran to greet him. He but (read) vayishkêhu (and he bit him).”
The commentaries disagree regarding
embraced him and, falling on Eisav’s true intention regarding Yaakov.
Was he coming to Yaa-
his neck, he kissed him; and kov with love and will-
ingness to move for-
they wept. ward? Or was he hold-
ing a grudge?
Some state that
because Eisav wept
during the reunion it
- Gen. 33:4 showed that he truly
had feelings of love to-
wards his brother, be-
cause tears are an expression of the soul.
No definitive answer is given. Perhaps,
Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz this is to suggest that a person can hold
Valley Beth Shalom two opposite feelings in their heart simul-
From Cain’s murder of Abel, to Ishmael’s inappropriate behavior with Isaac, to Esau’s taneously. The human heart can contain
vow of violence against Jacob, the depiction of sibling relationships in Genesis reflects tremendous joy and sadness, all at once.
a sombre reality. Under the chuppah, when we have extreme
Yet, after years of anxiety, years of heartache, years of separation, we finally see that joy, we simultaneously break the glass while
reconciliation between Esau and Jacob is possible. In this moment, we express our sadness and commemorate
the Torah teaches us that the choices within deep-seated struggles the destruction of the temple.
do not have to be restricted to violence or separation. There is an- Similarly, we can feel disappointment in
other path forward: the journey to reconciliation, resolution, and a child and love that child all at once. One
perhaps even return to love, is within reach. can also be hurt by one’s parents and simul-
For many of us, our closest relationships remain our most complex. taneously express gratitude towards them.
Perhaps, it is from this moment that Esau and Jacob embrace We have the capacity to forgive someone,
that the Jewish People learns to include our Wicked Child at our while still feeling sadness and pain over the
Passover Seders. Perhaps, it is here that we begin to ignore the sig- lost opportunity for connection.
nificance of birth order and love equally. Like Eisav and Yaakov, we too can weep
The Torah’s portrayal of siblings evolves from violence in Genesis to support in Exo- tears of genuine happiness to see one an-
dus. Long ago, the Psalmist expressed a degree of hope in saying, “How good and how other and simultaneously weep over the loss
pleasant it is when siblings can dwell together.” (Psalm 133) While that goal remains, the of a potential relationship with a sibling.
artist Bob Dylan cautioned that relational development takes time, “As the present now May we all have the courage and strength
will later be past/the order is rapidly fadin'/ And the first one now will later be last/For the to peel away the outer layer of anger and
times they are a-changin'.” choose the deeper, more hidden layer of
Do not let too much time pass before connecting (or reconnecting) with your siblings. forgiveness and enjoy the inner peace that
How good and pleasant it will be! comes along with that brave choice.

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 31

COMMUNITY
Photos by Jennifer Cohen
Creative Hanukkah
Treats to Celebrate
the Holiday
HANUKKAH IS JUST AROUND THE
corner. A good way to get kids excited
about the holiday is with some fun food
projects.
Jennifer Cohen, founder of Our Happy
Tribe Jewish Family Blog, loves to celebrate
Hanukkah by creating happy memories
with her family.
“When my girls were little, we had a tra-
dition of having a special activity for each
night of Hanukkah, '' Cohen told the Journal.
The night they most looked forward to
was donut night. In years past, they made
traditional sufganiyot (jelly filled donuts).
When Cohen was gifted with a donut bak-
ing pan, that became the inspiration of a
new way to celebrate Hanukkah: a donut
decorating party.
“This is such a fun way to celebrate for
grownups and children alike,” Cohen said.
“To have your own party, you’ll need do-
nuts. Lots of donuts.”
Cohen likes to use cake mix with her do-
nut baking pan. Each box makes about 24
donuts that need 12 minutes of baking in
the oven.
Bake the donuts ahead of time. Then,
at the party, your guests can decorate the
donuts with delicious toppings and home-
made vanilla, chocolate and Hanukkah
blue icing.
Note: You can always “practice” with
your kids, leading up to the holiday.
“Icings are so easy to make, and extra
sweet when you have littles helping you stir
all the ingredients together,” she said.
DIY DONUT DECORATING PARTY:
ICING RECIPES
Homemade Vanilla Icing
Mix together:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Homemade Chocolate Icing
32 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
» by Debra Eckerling
Mix together:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
4 Tbsp warm heavy cream (It needs to be
warm to give the chocolate glaze a beauti-
ful shiny gloss)
Homemade Hanukkah Blue Icing
Stir some of the vanilla icing and blue
natural food coloring until combined.
“H anukkah celebrations wouldn’t be
complete without dreidels,” Cohen
said. “One of our favorite ways to celebrate
is with a dreidel food craft.”
Cohen’s daughters named these treats
“dreidel kisses,” because they're made with
a (chocolate) kiss.
“No matter how old my girls get, I love
making these each year,” Cohen said.
“They're the very first “baking” activity we
ever did together to celebrate Hanukkah.”
DIY EDIBLE DREIDELS (OR DREIDEL
KISSES)
Ingredients:
Pretzel sticks
Marshmallows
Frosting (see recipes above)
Chocolate Kisses (unwrapped)
Sprinkles (optional)
First, poke the top of the marshmallow
with the pretzel stick.
Then, place a little bit of frosting (glue)
on the bottom of the marshmallow.
Next, attach your unwrapped chocolate
kiss to the frosted bottom of the marshmal-
low.
Finally, for extra fun and sweetness, add
some sprinkles by covering the sides of
your marshmallow in frosting and gently
rolling it in a shallow bowl of sprinkles.
For more fun ways for families to cel-
ebrate Hanukkah, visit OurHappyTribe.net.
“I wish you a very happy Hanukkah filled
with light, love, donuts and dreidel kisses,”
Cohen said.
H anukkah tends to be a time of sugar
overload!
“With all the abundance of candy, do-
nuts and general party food, it can be a
challenge to make sure our kids are having
fun and eating well,” culinary and nutrition
educator Yael Friedman, founder of Kitch’N
Giggles meal kits, told the Journal.
Friedman’s solution: an Edible Menorah.
“The menorahs we light at home have
eightcandles for the nights of the holiday,”
Friedman said. “This one has seven, like the
menorah in the temple, because it's easier
to fit on a cucumber.”
Photo courtesy @kitch'n giggles
EDIBLE MENORAH
Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced in
half lengthwise
1 banana, sliced into 1/4 in pieces
1 mango, cubed
15 blueberries
1 clementine, peeled and sectioned.
4 lollipop sticks (I recommend these be-
cause they won't poke little fingers.)
FOOD
“With all the
abundance of candy,
donuts and general
party food, it can
be a challenge to
make sure our kids
are having fun and
eating well.” - Yael Friedman
Note: You can always substitute any oth-
er fruits or vegetables that you already have.
Things that are soft like: grapes, melon or
cherry tomatoes.
Instructions:
1. Lay the cucumber with the flat side
facing down.
2. Cut three of the lollipop sticks in half.
These will be your candles. The other stick
will be your shamash.
3. Arrange the fruit however you like on
the sticks. Make sure to leave about 1/2 in
on the bottom and another on the top.
4. Use a toothpick to poke seven holes
in the cucumber. Then place one candle in
each hole.
5. Finally, poke a hole in the bottom of
each clementine section and attach it as the
flame to each candle.
“I love doing this edible menorah activ-
ity,” Friedman said. ”Not only does it get into
the holiday spirit, but it's also a nice break
from all the sugar.”
Happy Hanukkah! ■
December 9-15, 2022
 26-27 FOOD_Sheff-Thanksgiving
IT WAS A MAGICAL NIGHT BY THE
Aegean Sea in Bodrum. The waves rippled
softly, reflecting the light from our hotel.
We were mesmerized by the shimmering
blue and the sparkling white and silver of
the water. The water was so magical that I
almost expected to see a mermaid emerge.
Of course, there was no mermaid, but
Neil and I were served the most heavenly
orange cake.
This summer Neil and I took a short flight
from Istanbul to Bodrum, a city that hugs the
southwestern coast of Turkey. Founded by
Dorian Greeks, the city later fell under Per-
sian rule. One such ruler was Mausolos and
when he died in 353 BCE, his wife Artemisia
built him a tomb called the Mausoleum. This
structure was known as one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world (and now you
know how the word mausoleum entered the
English language). The area was conquered
by Alexander the Great and ruled by Helle-
nists. Then it was ruled by the Romans.
The Knights Hospitaller arrived in 1402
and used the remains of the Mausoleum
to build Bodrum Castle, a beautiful Gothic
.
structure that still dominates the skyline.
In 1522, when Suleiman the Magnificent
conquered the nearby island of Rhodes,
the Knights left Bodrum for Europe and the
area fell under Ottoman rule.
Once upon a time, the people of Bodrum
earned a living from fishing and sponge div-
ing. More recently, Europeans discovered the
charm of this sunny, idyllic spot and tourism
has become the main industry. The life there
still beats to a simple rhythm and the locals
are so warm and kind. There is a farmers
market overflowing with the fresh produce
o
grown in the local hills and low mountains.
I have honestly never tasted such incredibly
sweet and juicy figs. There is an abundance
of dried fruits and nuts, aromatic spices and
fresh herbs like oregano and za’atar. Piles
of fresh fish glisten, recently caught in the
fishermen’s nets. And the Greek influence
is evident in the tons of fresh feta and other
homemade cheeses.
Every afternoon, Neil and I indulged in
a Turkish coffee and syrupy, honeyed bak-
lava, in lots of different shapes and varied
fillings. It was wonderful.
But that cake! I took one bite and had the
most intense flavor flashback. I was instant-
ly transported to the cakes of my childhood,
which were always flavored with orange
zest or lemon zest or orange blossom water.
Neil and I took bite after blissful bite.
And then we asked the waiter “What is this
cake?”
He replied “The chef’s family recipe. It’s
a Greek recipe because we are so close to
Greece.”
“Wait!” I begged. “Please tell me more.“
He went to the kitchen to ask the chef
December 9-15, 2022
Do You Believe in Magic:
Orange Semolina Cake
» by Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff
about the ingredients. He told me that the
cake was made with semolina and syrup
and lots of fresh oranges.
—Rachel
Did you know that oranges, in all their
infinitely sweet, juicy, bright, citrusy won-
der, were engineered in ancient China by
crossing mandarin with pomelo?
From there, orange varieties spread into
Myanmar, Northern India, Persia, the Mid-
dle East and North Africa.
The Moors brought oranges to Spain
and Portugal. But in the 15th and 16th cen-
turies Portuguese Jewish merchants trav-
eled throughout the Mediterranean, selling
citron (etrogim) to their Jewish brethren
and sweet oranges to the non-Jewish pop-
ulations of Italy, France and later Germany.
In Arabic, oranges are called burtaqal,
denoting this connection to Portugal.
In most other languages, orange the
color and orange the fruit are interchange-
able. However, in Hebrew the word for the
color orange is katom and the word for the
fruit is tapuz, an acronym of tapuchei zahav
(apples of gold).
With their deliciously refreshing flavor
and storied history, it is no wonder that or-
anges play a huge part in the flavor profile
of Middle Eastern and Sephardic cooking.
—Sharon
When I came home, I was obsessed with
that cake. I worked hard to replicate the recipe.
My first cake wasn’t moist enough because I
wasn’t generous enough with the syrup.
But this recipe is magical and it’s just in
time for peak orange season.
We hope you bake this special cake soon.
—Rachel
ORANGE SEMOLINA CAKE
1 cup fine semolina flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of salt
½ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 sticks softened butter or vegan butter
1 ¼ cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
For the syrup
3/4 cup orange juice
Zest of 2 oranges, finely grated
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange blossom water
For decoration
1 cup Greek yogurt or coconut milk yogurt
(non-dairy option)
¼ cup sugar
Candied oranges or toasted pistachios
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line the bottom of an 8 inch springform
pan with parchment paper, then grease the
sides with oil spray.
In a medium bowl, place the semolina,
flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
In a small bowl, combine the orange
juice and vanilla, then set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the
butter and sugar until very creamy and pale
white.
On the low setting, add half the flour and
half the orange juice, mix until just com-
bined. Add the remaining flour and orange
juice. Do not over beat.
Pour the batter into prepared pan and
26-27 FOO
SEPHARDIC SPICE GIRLS
With their
deliciously
refreshing flavor
and storied history,
it is no wonder
that oranges play
a huge part in the
flavor profile of
Middle Eastern and
Sephardic cooking.
Photo by Alexandra Gomperts
bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick
comes out clean from the center of the cake.
Place on a cooling rack.
Prepare the syrup by combining the or-
ange juice, orange zest, sugar and orange
blossom water in a small sauce pan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir
well, then lower heat and simmer until the
syrup begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and allow syrup to
cool.
Once the cake has cooled, poke holes in
the top of the cake with a toothpick.
Pour syrup over the cake.
Wrap cake tightly with plastic wrap.
Just before serving, beat the yogurt with
the sugar and pour over the cake.
Decorate with pistachios, or fresh can-
died orange slices.
Candied orange slices
2 oranges, washed and dried
1/4 cup sugar
Fresh rosemary, optional
Slice oranges into thin rounds and re-
move any pits.
Place in a pan with ¼ cup of sugar and
rosemary.
Simmer until sugar becomes syrupy and
orange slices have released their juice.
Set aside to cool. ■
Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff
have been friends since high school. The Sephardic
Spice Girls project has grown from their collabora-
tion on events for the Sephardic Educational Cen-
ter in Jerusalem. Follow them on Instagram @
sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic
Spice SEC Food. Website sephardicspicegirls.com/
full-recipes
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 33

EMPOWER YOUR GIVING WITH
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COMMUNITY
A Bisl Torah
from Rabbi Nicole Guzik
Preparing for Light
T he Jewish month of Kislev ushers in Hannukah, the Festival of Lights.
Our family spent the last few days dusting off our hannukiyah, clean-
ing candle wax and making room for the holiday to find a place in our
home. Like other holidays, there is preparation. For Rosh Hashana and
Yom Kippur, one prepares their soul, making amends with God, under-
standing where in our relationships we have fallen short. For Pesach, we
prepare our homes, ridding leavened products from refrigerators and pan-
tries to signify an elimination of ego and loftiness. But with Hannukah, the
preparation isn’t as formulaic. How does one prepare for light to emerge?
A gut response is that light fares best in the darkest of conditions. Throw
on an overhead lamp and bring in a bunch of flashlights, the flickering
candles won’t receive their due attention. Light shines when darkness per-
vades. The contradictions abound. Create ample darkness to amplify mo-
ments of light? Is that really what we are meant to prepare?
No. I think the preparation for Hannukah is understanding that despite
the pervasiveness of darkness, light breaks through. Rabbi Nachman teach-
es, “Just as the plague of darkness immediately preceded the redemption
from Egypt, so too, the darkest hour always comes right before the dawn.”
During the bleakest of moments: personal depression, communal despair,
divisions between family and nation, one prepares for light by not suc-
cumbing to darkness. One prepares for light by clinging to hope.
It takes one spark to illuminate a room. It takes one ounce of hope to
change a person’s life.
Preparing for light is facing the darkness we feel, the darkness we expe-
rience and declare, this does not define me. No matter the heaviness of
the night, there is room for light to emerge.
And a miracle of Hanukkah is choosing light, over and over again.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Nicole Guzik is a rabbi at Sinai Temple.
36 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
CAMPUS
WATC H
» by Aaron Bandler
GWU Investigating SJP for Protesting
Hillel Event
George Washington University (GWU) is
investigating the campus Students for Jus-
tice in Palestine (SJP) chapter over their pro-
test of a Hillel event.
The Algemeiner reported that the in-
vestigation stemmed from an October 11
event featuring former Israeli intelligence
official Doron Tenne. According to The GW
Hatchet, the students are facing probation
for damaging benches during the protest
through “wheatpasting,” a term used to de-
scribe using water and starch to hang post-
ers. The university is expected to make a de-
cision this week, per The Algemeiner.
Tufts SJP to Host Event Attacking Liberal
Zionism
The Students for Justice in Palestine
(SJP) chapter at Tufts University is hosting
an event on December 7 attacking liberal
Zionism.
The event, according to the pro-Pales-
tinian group’s Instagram page, is titled “Un-
packing Liberal Zionism: Our Boycott of
Student Groups” and the caption states that
liberal Zionism is “harmful to the movement
for Palestinian liberation.” Jewish on Cam-
pus noted in a December 5 Twitter thread
that in April, Tufts SJP had pledged to boy-
cott all student groups that normalize Israel.
“By choosing to only work with anti-
Zionists, SJP has provided a litmus test to
Jewish students, ignoring the overwhelm-
ing majority of American Jews who believe
in Israel’s right to exist,” Jewish on Campus
tweeted. “Their campaign is inherently anti-
semitic.” They later added: “We refuse to be
boycotted from spaces on campus. Jewish
students deserve to be safe.”
Anti-Israel Flyers at CUNY School
A slew of anti-Israel flyers were found at
the City College of New York (CCNY), one of
the schools under the umbrella of the City
University of New York (CUNY).
Stop Antisemitism tweeted out photos of
the flyers on November 30; the flyers called
Israel a “colonialist apartheid project” and ac-
cused Israel of targeting hospitals and schools
with missiles. Another flyer stated “from the
river to the sea Palestine will be free.” In re-
sponse to the Stop Antisemitism tweet, CCNY
tweeted that the college “stands firmly against
antisemitism and bias of all kinds.”
StandWithUs Urges Texas A&M to
Take Action Against Students Behind
Antisemitic Snapchat Story
StandWithUs sent a letter to Texas A&M
on December 1 urging the university to take
action against students who were behind an
antisemitic Snapchat story.
The letter described the story as featuring
“crass references to the Holocaust, defense of
those who perpetrated the Holocaust, and a
post, ‘we should’ve let the "ant exterminator" do
his job back in WW2’ — a reference to Hitler and
his attempt to annihilate all Jews … These posts
promote antisemitism through Holocaust dis-
tortion and glorifying the killing of Jews.” The
letter argued that because the Snapchat ac-
count is exclusive only to students, “it is there-
fore part of the university's ecosystem of stu-
dent offerings” and the university is obligated
to enforce its policies against the students.
“We ask that you address this matter by
issuing a statement of public condemna-
tion, identifying the posts as antisemitic, and
outlining when such rhetoric crosses the line
into harassing or threatening language that
violates student policy,” the letter added.
Panelists at SJP Event Call for Removal
of Israeli-Canadian’s Name from
Carleton University Buildings
Various participants in a November 18
Students for Justice in Palestine panel called
for Carleton University buildings named
after a prominent Israeli-Canadian philan-
thropist to be removed because of his sup-
port for pro-Israel organizations.
The Charlatan reported on November 27
that the members had accused the philan-
thropist, David Azrieli, of being “a willing par-
ticipant in a campaign of killing, disposses-
sion, and ethnic-cleansing, directed towards
the Indigenous Palestinian population, with
the purpose of establishing a Jewish state on
their land.” Azrieli has been the president of
the Canadian Zionist Federation and a board
member of the Canadian Israel Committee.
The university has rebuffed efforts to rename
the buildings, finding “no issues or concerns”
with Azrieli’s philanthropy.
CT School Board Reverses Decision to
Remove Jewish Holidays from School
Calendar
A school board in central Connecticut
reversed their decision to remove Jewish
holidays from their schools’ calendars in
November 14.
According to a Twitter thread from Stop
Antisemitism, the Farmington Board of Edu-
cation concluded that Jewish holidays like
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur “do not
rise to the level of an operational disruption.
Thus, both observances were not approved
as days off from school.” Following backlash
against the decision, the board issued a state-
ment on December 5 saying that the deci-
sion was not rooted in antisemitism and they
denounce antisemitism and all other forms
of hate. During a December 5 meeting, the
board voted unanimously to reverse their de-
cision, per Stop Antisemitism. ■
December 9-15, 2022

JNF-USA Annual Breakfast Draws
Israel Supporters
CLOSE TO 600 COMMUNITY
members turned out for the Jewish Na-
tional Fund-USA’s (JNF-USA) annual
gathering at the Beverly Wilshire.
JNF-USA’s "Breaking for Israel," held
Nov. 19, was the first Breakfast for Israel
JNF-USA has held in three years because
of the pandemic, and JNF-USA leadership
was thrilled to welcome people back to-
gether to celebrate all JNF-USA does for
the land and people of Israel.
Throughout the event, JNF-USA rep-
resentatives encouraged those seated in
the hotel ballroom — noshing on pita and
hummus, fruit, croissants, coffee and or-
ange juice — to pledge their support for
the pro-Israel organization.
"There is a growing acceptance of Israel
in the Middle East, and Israel draws its
strength from the support it receives from
its friends.” – Hillel Newman
At the program’s start, JNF-USA Los
Angeles Executive Director Lou Rosen-
berg said the organization was on its way
to fulfilling its One Billion Dollar Road-
map for the Next Decade campaign, hav-
ing raised nearly $980 million.
The event was held on Giving Tuesday,
an annual day of charitable giving falling
on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It
December 9-15, 2022
From left: David Suissa, Ron Werner and Alon Ben-Gurion
speak on a panel during the Jewish National Fund-USA's
Breakfast for Israel. Courtesy of JNF-USA
» by Ryan Torok
also marked the upcoming 75th anniver-
sary of the founding of the State of Israel
with the theme “Israel at 75.”
”Israel is strong. Israel is a global leader
in many ways,” Consul General of Israel
in Los Angeles Hillel Newman said from
a stage in the hotel ballroom. “There is a
growing acceptance of Israel in the Mid-
dle East, and Israel draws its strength from
the support it receives from its friends.
You, all gathered here, are our friends and
source of strength, confidence and opti-
mism.”
Additional speakers included JNFuture
Los Angeles Board Member Alice Sher-
man; JNF-USA President Sol Lizerbram
and his wife, Lauren; and JNF-USA Los
Angeles Co-Presidents Susie and Fred
Toczek. Community member Doug Wil-
liams chaired the breakfast, while young
professional Sarah Victor served as the
JNFuture Chair. JNFuture provides JNF-
USA programming for young philan-
thropists, ages 22-40, with more than 20
chapters across the U.S. and Israel.
JNF-USA showcased many of its suc-
cessful programs during the morning-
long event, including Alexander Muss
High School in Israel. “Muss,” as it’s af-
fectionately known, offers students from
North America and elsewhere the op-
portunity to study abroad in Israel. Since
merging with JNF-USA in 2013, Muss has
accommodated thousands of Jewish stu-
dents. Approximately 200 kids from Los
Angeles are expected this year, including
students enrolled at Milken Community
School.
JNF-USA leadership gathers at the Beverly Wilshire
for the organization’s annual Breakfast for Israel.
Photo by Ryan Torok
The breakfast program’s centerpiece
was a live panel discussion featuring Alon
Ben-Gurion, grandson of Israel founder
COMMUNITY
David Ben-Gurion, and Ron Werner, a
board member of JNF-USA’s Alexander
Muss High School in Israel program.
Moderated by Jewish Journal Editor-
in-Chief and Publisher David Suissa, the
30-minute conversation examined Ben-
Gurion’s unparalleled legacy.
“When I tell stories, I call him saba,”
Alon Ben-Gurion said, using the Hebrew
word for “grandfather.” He then shared
how his late grandfather, who served as
Israel’s first prime minister, had an inten-
sive love and passion for the Jewish na-
tion that continued throughout his life.
Werner echoed Alon’s admiration.
“Ben-Gurion is one of my heroes,” he said.
They also discussed how JNF-USA’s
work supporting Israel helps combat anti-
semitism and anti-Zionism. The organiza-
tion’s work includes the development of the
Negev and the country's northern region;
innovative water solutions; inclusion of
special needs populations; and more.
“They’re like the best weapon against
antisemitism,” Suissa said.
Suissa spoke about the “Israel of JNF.”
He asked the two panelists how they rec-
oncile the Israel showcased by JNF-USA
with the negative portrayal of Israel often
featured in the media. The panelists spoke
about countering negativity with the pos-
itivity reflected in JNF’s work.
Ben-Gurion said there are many ways
Israel’s image can be improved. Among
those is the country’s energy indepen-
dence, bolstered by the recent discovery
of natural gas reserves in the Mediter-
ranean Sea. This gives the Jewish state
renewed importance, as a global energy
crisis looms and Europe is increasingly
desperate for new energy sources.
As for JNF-USA, Ben-Gurion add-
ed, “They are, in their way, fulfilling the
dream of David Ben-Gurion.” ■
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 37

Walking Soccer Encourages Senior
Players to Have Fun
EVERY FRIDAY, A GROUP OF FOOTBALL
players meets in Canoga Park for a soccer
game like no other. It’s called walking soc-
cer. Players must be 60 to 80 years old, they
can’t run and there is no heading, slide
tackling or tackling from behind. In short,
the only goal is to go out there and have
fun.
While his grandson is playing in little
league, Joe Perez, 72, meets with his friends
at Lanark Park in Canoga Park each Friday
and plays soccer, just like he used to do
when he was a young man.
“It makes me feel young again,” Perez
said. “I didn’t know how much I missed the
sport until I came back to it. I feel energetic
and alive. It gets me moving again instead
of sitting on the couch at home.”
Perez, a retiree living in Woodland Hills,
joined an activity that is gaining popular-
ity among seniors. Unlike regular soccer,
walking soccer allows players to play safely
without risking an injury.
Perez is playing with the Peruvian team
against the Israeli team. They all wear uni-
forms and try very hard not to run after the
ball. From time to time some of the play-
ers forget the rules and start jogging along
with the ball, just to be reminded that they
should slow down a bit.
The man responsible for bringing those
players together is Dr. Ben Drillings, 62, an
Israeli chiropractor who moved to the U.S.
40 years ago. Drillings was a professional
soccer player for the Ramat Gan team in his
youth. At the age of 22, he was recruited to
play for a university in the U.S. LIU Post (for-
mally C.W. Post College), where he played
for three years. However, an injury made
him give up his dreams of becoming a pro-
fessional soccer player and concentrate on
his studies. He became a chiropractor and
38 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
COMMUNITY
The Israel-U.S. team
"This game brought them back to life,
the stamina, the fun, the friendship,” Drill-
ings said. "These are players who haven't
played in years and suddenly they have a
chance to get back on the field. It’s amaz-
ing. We are already 60 plus years old, some
are close to 80, and we are careful not to get
injured. We took all the good things in soc-
cer and left everything dangerous out."
The Walking Soccer Association an-
nounced that on the 13 and 15 of December,
the first World Walking Soccer Tournament
will be held in Los Angeles with the partici-
pation of the local ethnic teams, as well as
the team that would be arriving from Israel.
At the end of the game, the Israeli team
scored 5-1. The players shook hands and
said goodbye friendlily. “It doesn’t really
matter if you win or lose,” Perez said as he
packed up his gear. “The main goal is to
» by Ayala Or-El have fun, winning is just a bonus. We’ll try
again next week.”
Drillings said he’d love to see more walk-
opened his own clinic, a2z Health Massage Not only are there no tackles — jumping ing soccer teams in L.A., and hopefully an
School. on other players, falling to the ground on American-Jewish team.
Last year, he had noticed that he had top of each other as you might see in other For additional information you can
started to gain weight and tried a few diets soccer games. You also won't hear anyone reach out to Drillings at: 818-687-8100 or
that didn’t help him lose it. He tried swim- yelling or cursing. visit WalkingSoccerAssociation.com. ■
ming, cycling, volleyball and basketball,
but nothing helped; the extra pounds re-
mained. Soccer was out of the question be-
cause it’s a tough sport where you can eas-
ily get injured, so Drillings didn’t consider
it at first.
"Then I was told that in Glendale there
is a walking soccer team,” said Drillings. “[It
was] a game for older players that takes all
the danger out of it. I was very excited. All
the adrenaline came back to me. I decided
to go back to Israel and get my old team-
mates together again.”
His teammates, whom he kept in touch
with all those years, were excited about the
idea. Many of them haven’t played in years.
After returning back home to Los An-
geles, he recruited former Israeli soccer
players and other friends who love the
game,and formed the Israeli-U.S. team.
Every Friday morning, the group meets at
Lanark park in Canoga Park and practices.
One recent Friday morning, the players
were on the field playing against the Peru-
vian team. Altogether, there are six teams in
LA representing nations including El Salva-
dor, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Ar-
menia.
The Israeli group includes Yossi Maman
from Beitar Jerusalem, Yehuda Nexon from
Maccabi Jaffa, Daniel Elkayam from Hapoel
“I didn’t know how much I missed the sport
Tel Aviv, Moshe Hauptman from Beitar Tel
Aviv, Jumbo from Hapoel Tel Aviv, Dova
until I came back to it. I feel energetic and
from Hapoel Ashkelon, Haim Linder, a
sports teacher at LAUSD and Josh Rom.
alive. It gets me moving again instead of
Linder and Romhad never played profes-
sionally before.
sitting on the couch at home.” – Joe Perez
December 9-15, 2022

Glaser is at his console nearly every day.
Photo by Ari L. Noonan
AS A POPULAR and well-traveled per-
former in the world of Jewish music, Sam
Glaser’s career was sailing – until two un-
anticipated disruptions threatened the
journey.
Since 1997 Glaser has been performing
concerts in 50 cities a year in the U.S. and
around the world. Producing albums and
videos, whether singing or at the piano, he
has been thrilling audiences, and the feel-
ing was mutual.
Then Big Tech struck, closely followed by
the COVID pandemic. These threw him for
a loop.
“Essentially,” Glaser said, “since 2020, go-
ing places has been challenging. After the
streaming services started up — the Apple
Musics and Spotifys — the life of a musician
pretty much became go live or go home.”
Digital technology has drastically
shrunk income.
“The common multiplier,” he said, “is
about .00003 cents per stream. A thousand
new listeners to one of my songs, and sup-
posedly I have made $3.”
With Big Tech’s arrival, “artists pretty much
had to go to live music. Then live music
became an endangered species during the
pandemic.”
Not quite. “That is before other people
take their cut.”
Seated at a large console in his fully
equipped backyard studio in Pico-Robert-
son, Glaser was asked about his countering
strategy.
“There really is no countering it,” he
said. “Essentially, Big Tech came and over-
December 9-15, 2022
How Tech and
COVID Altered
Sam Glaser’s
Musical World
» by Ari L. Noonan
whelmed the industry. It was a better way
to get music to consumers. More acces-
sible. Universally adopted. You didn’t even
need the MP3 player or an Ipod to load full
of songs because the songs are in the ether
forever – for free.”
He recalled driving through downtown
Los Angeles a day earlier, spotting a sign
that read “Apple Music: 100 Million Songs
for You.”
With Big Tech’s arrival, “artists pretty
much had to go to live music,” he said.
“Then live music became an endangered
species during the pandemic, although it
seems to have come back gangbusters this
year.”
An exception, he quickly added, is his
arena: “It has not yet come back in my
genre in the Jewish world,” Glaser said.
“The pandemic has had a deleterious ef-
fect on the financial health of a lot of syna-
gogues around the country, specifically in
the Reform and Conservative movements.”
After 33 years of performing, Glaser has
learned to adapt.
“My strategy always has been a trium-
virate of earning possibilities,” said Glaser,
“live, studio and my recordings.
“The pandemic took out live and record-
ings. Something has to make up for it. So, thank
God, I run this room you are sitting in. I spend
my days producing albums. I do music for all
media: film, TV, books, games and podcasts.
“I am either writing the music or pro-
ducing the music other people have written
and bringing it to fruition.”
He anticipated the question of whether
this is a satisfactory substitute for his origi-
nal form of parnassah (livelihood).
“As a Jewish husband,” Glaser said with
a shrewd smile, “having income is a satis-
factory counter. Shalom bayis (a peaceful
home). I think it is contingent – if you are
dependent on the man bringing in an in-
come.
“Thank God,” said Glaser, his plan is
working. “Any time I despair, like I just fin-
ished a bunch of big clients. Now what? My
wife always reassures me. She says, ‘You
know, Sam, HaShem always has taken care
of us.’”
One crucial reason is that the versatile,
multi-talented Sam is as much technician
as performer. “When there is a breakdown,
you do not make a phone call. You dive
in.” Perhaps his most insightful moment
surfaced when he declared: “I am a tech-
nician because I refused to not be able to
make music.” On his website, Glaser says
he is “equally comfortable behind a grand
piano in intimate solo concerts, leading his
eight-piece band or headlining with a full
orchestra.”
“When I got out of (the University of Col-
orado) and tried to open my first recording
studio, I had no idea what I was doing,” he
admitted. “I was working with what was re-
ally primitive equipment. I figured out how
to cobble together a decent finished prod-
uct. My first few projects for people might
not have been the best. But you figure it out.
I have had years to figure it out, thank God.”
He seems to have been born with tech
skills. “In my own realm, I can get the job
done, and it really is a miracle,” Glaser said.
“Let’s say something breaks down in the
studio. You don’t necessarily want to call a
tech. So what do you do? You have to trou-
bleshoot, brainstorm, determine the source
COMMUNITY
“That is part of what
makes this business
interesting. You
have to continuously
reinvent yourself.“
of the problem."
As the youthful Glaser turns 60 this
month, fixing what was broken has been a
lifelong gift.
A performer since age seven, Glaser did
not learn Mr. Fix-it from his parents.
“I am just really stubborn – or tenacious,
either way you want to look at it,” he says.
After college, Glaser spent five years in
the garment business with his father, while
also trying to become a rock star. One day,
he woke up and realized that after working
a full-time job, 10 hours a day, he had noth-
ing left at the end of the day to pursue his
true love, music.
“Then my father lost his company,” Gla-
ser said, "and I had to decide: Do I want to
go into the music industry or the garment
industry?” The question was not tough to
answer. “In 1990, just before turning 28, I
made a pledge to myself that I wanted to
strike it out in music.”
Glaser soon learned that earning a living
in show business is a constantly evolving
challenge. “That is part of what makes this
business interesting,” he said. “You have
to continuously reinvent yourself. I never
have had a paycheck since that year that
was a regular do-the-job-and-get-a-pay-
check. You have to continuously hustle.”
Does he find that energizing or frustrating?
“Both,” Glaser said, “because you have to
adapt.” ■
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 39
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COMMUNITY

The Jewish Journal Hanukkah
Gift Guide 2022
HANUKKAH IS THE TIME OF YEAR
when you can show your family and
friends your love and appreciation with
gifts. No matter whom you’re shopping for
this year, you’re sure to find the perfect gift
for them here. Check out these products for
Hanukkah 2022.
Manischewitz Crypto Gelt
Yes, this is real: Manischewitz is selling
Crypto Gelt AKA “Hanukkah Coins for the
New Ages.” Crypto isn’t actually physical,
but Crypto Gelt is – and it’s delicious! In
fact, with the way crypto has been going
lately, these coins may just become more
valuable than Bitcoin.
Find Crypto Gelt at your local kosher
market.
Book: “Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap
for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your
Goals”
Did you know that the Journal’s own
Debra Eckerling wrote a book that’ll be sure
to get you motivated? You can start off 2023
accomplishing your goals using the D*E*B
METHOD®, the author's system for goal
setting simplified. DEB stands for “Deter-
mine Your Mission, Explore Your Options
and Brainstorm Your Path.” Do yourself a
favor and get Deb’s book ASAP.
Order the book on Amazon.
December 9-15, 2022
MUNITY
» by Kylie Ora Lobell
Dog Harnesses
Do you have a special doggy best friend
at home? Then get him a Mina + Pup dog
harness this Hanukkah. Featuring cute and
colorful designs, these harnesses come
with matching accessories like leashes,
bandanas and collars.
Natalie Kahn, a 15-year-old from Cala-
basas, created her brand in honor of her
uncle Michael, who passed away at 34 years
of age in 2020. “He was my biggest fan and
supporter and a huge animal lover. In fact,
the name of my company, Mina, is a com-
bination of his name, [MI]chael, and mine,
[NA]talie,” she said. “My designs are origi-
nal, vibrant and fun. I am most proud of the
way my pet accessories make people and
their fur babies feel.”
You can purchase the harnesses and ac-
cessories on MinaandPup.com. Enter code
Journal15 at checkout and you’ll save 15%
on your purchase.
Handpoured Soy Candles
Another enterprising teen is Lielle Abra-
hami, a local 13-year-old who started mak-
ing candles when her school shut down
for COVID. “She always enjoyed snuggling
up next to a cozy candle and a good book
for hours on end,” said Nicole Abrahami,
Lielle’s mother. “It wasn’t long that she de-
cided to turn her passion and hobby into a
small business.”
Lielle created Lula Candle Co., and she
sells eco-friendly soy candles in scents like
fresh linen, mint chocolate chip, coffee and
cream or vanilla lavender. Light your can-
dle, sit back, relax and enjoy your delicious-
smelling Hanukkah.
Find Lula Candle Co. on Instagram.
Hamsa Prints and Accessories
Ward off the evil eye with local artist
Tammy Machmali’s gorgeous handmade
hamsa prints and accessories. You can find
hamsas in a variety of colors and on differ-
ent gifts including folded note cards, jew-
elry boxes and ceramic ornaments. Add
some beauty to your home and bring posi-
tivity into it at the same time.
Shop on TammyMachmali.com.
Euro Cuisine’s Crepe Maker
OK, so we know that crepes aren’t tradi-
tionally a Hanukkah food, but they’re just
so delicious! Get the Euro Cuisine Crepe
Maker and add lots of oil to your crepes to
celebrate the Festival of Lights. Along with
crepes, you can prepare delicious blintzes,
omelets and pancakes in just minutes. This
handy little machine comes with a three-
piece accessory kit, which includes a batter
spreader, crepe turner and ladle.
Purchase on EuroCuisine.net or Ama-
zon.
Deuteronomy Press Monograph and
Art Prints
D e u t e r o n o my
Press, an indepen-
dent publisher of
Jewish books, has
created “An Intro-
duction to Sab-
bath Agriculture,”
a monograph that
serves as an ode
to this Shmita (Shabbat Ha’Aretz) year and
to the Shabbat cycles ahead. The publisher
also sells stunning art prints that feature
Jewish themes like the Giving of the Torah
on Har Sinai and the binding of Isaac.
Purchase on Deuteronomy.com.
COMMUNITY
Serum Doctor Foot Serum
Are you always shelling out money for
pedicures? Do you have dry or cracked skin
on your feet? Then try the Serum Doctor
Foot Serum, a natural, botanically derived
serum that swiftly absorbs to hydrate dry
and cracked skin.
“There is nothing like it on the market,”
said Dr. Jasmine Yadegari, who co-created
the product with her cousin Candice Ber-
oukhim. “Every foot treatment is messy and
laborious. Our serum absorbs deep within
the skin’s layers to hydrate and exfoliate
and dries quickly without any messy resi-
due.”
She continued, “It’s like a pedicure in a
bottle.”
Purchase on SerumDoctor.com.
MiriamsKiln Pottery
Check out the gorgeous wheel thrown
pottery on MiriamsKiln, created by local
artist Miriam
Loory Krom-
bach. Pick from
ceramic vases
to decorative
bowls, utensil
crocks, cof-
fee cups and
much more. An
added bonus?
Krombach’s
kilns are solar-
powered and
eco-friendly.
Purchase on Etsy.com/shop/Miriam-
sKiln.
Jeff's Gourmet House Sauces
Get a bottle (or four) of Jeff's Gourmet
delicious kosher house sauces to add to
your burgers, dress your salads or marinade
your favorite meat (from Jeff's of course).
The pack of four sauces, usually sold indi-
vidually for $7.99 each, will have a special
price of $26 for the bunch through the end
of December. Here's a note from Jeff's: "We
receive daily feedback from customers that
someone in their family can't live without
our house sauces. Now they don’t have to!
In their honor, we’ve created this special
gift pack available through December only.
We also offer gift cards year-round in the
store and on our website! Happy Hanuk-
kah!”
Purchase at Jeff's Gourmet Sausage Fac-
tory, 8930 W Pico Blvd. ■
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 41
 MOV E RS & S H A K E RS

Jewish Women’s Repertory Fundraiser,

Israel Phil Gala, Israel Fest Sponsor Kickoff
» by Ryan Torok

The Jewish Women’s Repertory Company (JWRC) celebrated its founder Margy
Horowitz and raised funds for JFS Hope with two nights of 21 musical theater songs.
With over 200 women present in person at a private residence in Beverly Hills and a
video link for at home viewing, JWRC raised over $15,000.
Auditions for the next JWRC production will be held Dec. 12 and 13.
Founded in 2005 by Horowitz and Linda Freedman, JWRC offers Jewish women the
opportunity to sing, dance and act before all-female audiences. A portion of the proceeds
from JWRC productions benefit JFS Hope, a program of Jewish Family Service Los
Angeles offering assistance and crisis services to support domestic violence survivors.
Past JWRC productions have included “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Les Misérables,” “Into
the Woods,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Beauty and the Beast.”
“Our goal is to have fun performing,” JWRC leadership says, “while raising money for
A Jewish Women’s Repertory Company fundraiser features a rousing per-
worthwhile charities.”
formance of musical theater while honoring the organization’s president
and founder, Margy Horowitz. Courtesy of Jewish Women’s Repertory Company

American Friends of the Israel

Philharmonic (AFIPO) recently convened
a Los Angeles gala raising support and
awareness for the Israel Philharmonic.
The Nov. 4 pre-concert gala luncheon at
the Los Angeles home of Soraya Nazarian
was held before the Israel Philharmonic’s
well-received Saturday night performance at
the Soraya.
Attendees included Richard Ziman;
Ada and James Horwich; Shula Nazarian;
AFIPO Board President James Ackerman;
AFIPO CEO Danielle Ames Spivak; Israel
Philharmonic Music Director Lahav Shani;
Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Hillel
Newman; and Helgard and Irwin Field.
Helgard Field received the Lifetime From left: AFIPO board member
Achievement Award for her ongoing and past President Helgard Field
leadership and philanthropy in support of and AFIPO CEO Danielle Ames
From left: Soraya Nazarian, Ada and Jim Horwich and Shula Nazarian attend
the Israel Philharmonic, a leading orchestra Spivak are among the attendees of
the Israel Philharmonic’s festive Los Angeles gala luncheon.
in Israel globally recognized as a world-class the celebratory gathering.
Photo by Luque Photography
ensemble. Photo by Luque Photography

From left: Israel Film Festival (IFF) Founder/Executive Director Meir
Fenigstein; honoree Hanna Rubinstein; and Writer/Director Moshe
Rosenthal attend the glitzy IFF Sponsor Kickoff in Beverly Hills.
Photo by Orly Halevy
The 36th Israel Film Festival (IFF) in Los Angeles saluted the Steve Tisch School of Film and
Television at Tel Aviv University with the IFF Visionary Award and philanthropist Hanna Rubinstein
with the IFF Humanitarian Award during its Sponsor Kick-Off.
The Nov. 30 event at the Writers Guild Theater was immediately followed by the Los Angeles
premiere of the award-winning Israeli film, “Karaoke.”
“Karaoke” director-writer Moshe Rosenthal took part in a post-screening Q&A about the film,
a comedy about a married middle-class suburban couple in their 60s who are drawn to their new
neighbor, a charismatic bachelor who has karaoke evenings at his apartment.
“The Israel Film Festival was thrilled to recognize the artistic contributions that the Steve Tisch
School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University and its graduates have made for 50 years to
establish Israeli cinema and television at the forefront of entertainment around the world,” IFF
Founder Meir Fenigstein said. “Our Festival sponsors and benefactors, including our distinguished
honoree Hanna Rubinstein, deserve extra special recognition for their continued financial support
and donations to bring the outstanding world of Israeli movies and TV shows to Los Angeles
audiences.”
IFF is the largest showcase of Israeli cinema and television in North America. Its 36th annual
festival will be held in Los Angeles from Nov. 8-19, 2023.

42 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com December 9-15, 2022

COMMUNITY
Molly Resnick: From
Celebrity Journalist to
Chabad Influencer
» by Kylie Ora Lobell
WHEN MOLLY RESNICK WAS IN HER
30’s, she was quite successful in her field,
journalism. As a producer for NBC News,
she had interviewed the likes of Henry Kiss-
inger, Menachem Begin, Mikhail Barysh-
nikov and Sean Connery. Born in Bulgaria
and raised in Israel, she grew up in a secular
family and came to America with dreams of
making it big.
“In 1972, I left the land of milk and honey
to go to the land of gold and money,” she
said.
Resnick worked her way up from PBS to
NBC. She was living her dream, but soon,
something was about to change.
Right after “Saturday Night Fever” came
out, she was set to interview the star of the
movie, John Travolta. She wrote in her in-
troduction to her interview that while Tra-
volta was a fabulous dancer, not all of the
critics thought he was a great actor. Tra-
volta’s agent objected to the introduction
and said that she couldn’t say that. She told
him if he didn’t like it, they were welcome to
leave. And they did.
“In 1972, I left the
land of milk and
honey to go to the
land of gold and
money.”
“As they were leaving, I asked Travolta,
‘Don’t you have anything to say on the mat-
ter?’” she said. “He shrugged and didn’t say
anything. That was the moment everything
burst for me. He was this megastar and he
couldn’t decide the fate of his own interview. I
thought, ‘My goodness, who are we interview-
ing? There must be more to life than this.’”
Resnick took a leave of absence and trav-
eled to Panama, Peru and Rio de Janeiro. In
Rio, she met a Chabad-Lubavitch family that
showed her how to light candles to bring in
Shabbat.
“I met the daughter of the rabbi at candle
lighting,” she said. “She impressed me tremen-
dously. She was 10 years younger than me but
so knowledgeable and intelligent and impres-
sive. I couldn’t get enough of her.”
Suddenly, Resnick found herself ques-
tioning her existence and beliefs. She car-
ried a copy of the U.S. Constitution in her
pocket, but she said she didn’t know any-
thing about her own constitution, the Torah.
December 9-15, 2022
ARTS
Molly Resnick
“I was totally ignorant when it came to
Judaism,” she said.
Resnick slowly learned more about Ju-
daism through the Chabad-Lubavitch
movement. She also met her husband, Dr.
Lawrence Resnick, through Chabad; he
happened to be the Rebbe’s doctor.
Because of the close connection her
husband had with the Rebbe, Resnick got to
meet the Rebbe and have a personal meet-
ing with him.
“I was so used to meeting famous people,
but when I met him, it was like nothing I’d
ever experienced before,” she said. “It was re-
ally remarkable.”
As Resnick became more observant, got
married and had children, she started to
spend less and less time at work. In 1986,
she left media altogether and founded an
organization called Mothers Against Teach-
ing Children to Kill and Hate (MATCKH) af-
ter a wave of Palestinian-Arab terrorism in
the 1990s. She also started speaking about
her story and Jewish topics such as mar-
riage and modesty to Jewish communities
around the world.
“Learning about different things in the
Torah really opened my eyes,” she said. “I
literally fell in love with it. Even when I was
kicking and screaming about things that
seemed not to make sense, I said, ‘This is
Godly and superhuman and true.’”
Resnick, who lost her husband in 2004
after 25 years of marriage, has three chil-
dren: two sons and a daughter. Two of them
are now Chabad shluchim (emissaries). Her
son has nine children and her daughter has
seven children, respectively.
“They are following the Lubavitch way,”
she said.
While life didn’t turn out how Resnick
thought it would when she was younger,
she’s grateful that she found Judaism, be-
came observant and is able to share mean-
ingful Jewish teachings with the world.
“When I learned about Judaism, there was
a total turnaround in my worldview,” she said.
“The minute you start learning it, you’ll find
that it’s just so brilliant and inspiring.” ■
Jewish Contributions to Humanity
#18 in a series
How These
Jewish Chemists
Helped Us
Harness Nature.
AdA YonAth (1939-).
b. Jerusalem, Israel.
nobel Prize in Chemistry—2009.
Helping us understand nature’s genetic code.
Yonath was the first woman in the Middle East to
win a Nobel Prize in the sciences and the first woman
in nearly five decades to win the Nobel Prize in Chem-
istry. What was her accomplishment? Discovering the
full 3-D structure of ribosomes, which translates RNA
(DNA’s instructions) into proteins, a key explanatory
process for life. The light she has shown on the inner
workings of ribosomes has vast implications in phar-
macology (such as the mechanisms by which certain
drugs target ribosomes), and thus on the continued improvement of humanity’s stan-
dard of living and quality of life.
SidneY AltmAn (1939-).
b. Montreal, Canada.
nobel Prize in Chemistry—1989.
Seeing RNA for what it really is.
A fixture at Yale University, Altman’s discoveries
about the role RNA plays in cellular biology earned him
a Nobel Prize, changed biotechnology, and caused sci-
entists to reexamine old theories about how cells work.
RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is the messenger of DNA, our
genetic code—RNA transports and executes DNA’s
instructions throughout the body, organizing proteins
and delivering amino acids. Altman’s discovery was that
RNA is an executor and catalyst of certain biochemical
functions, and doesn’t only carry instructions. His discovery of catalytic RNA, or ribo-
zymes, have led biologists to hypothesize that RNA played a crucial role in the develop-
ment of life on earth. Although ribozymes’ pharmaceutical research is still in the pre-
clinical stage, researchers hope they will one day be able to treat HIV and hepatitis C.
henri moiSSAn (1852-1907).
b. Paris, France. d. Paris, France.
nobel Prize in Chemistry—1906.
The (fluoride) isolationist.
Moving from the field of plant metabolism to inor-
ganic chemistry, Moissan won his Nobel Prize in 1906
for being the first ever chemist to isolate the element
fluorine, a crucial ingredient in mining, nuclear energy,
coolants, refrigerants, agricultural chemicals, dental
care (fluorine is found in most toothpaste), pharma-
ceuticals, and PET scans (which are key in identifying
tumors).
Original Research by Walter L. Field Sponsored by Irwin S. Field Written by Jared Sichel
JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 43

'Beyond the Bolex' A Must-
See Documentary For Anyone
Researching Their Ancestors
» by Brian Fishbach
THERE IS AN ORIGIN STORY FOR
every filmmaker. And many of the directors
that we laud the most today had their first
taste of filmmaking with a Bolex camera in
their hands.
The first Bolexes were built in the 1920s;
compared to other movie cameras of the
time, it was small, portable and built like a
tank. It was welded with the finest of metals
and gears with Rolex-level precision and
quality. It was self-powered and so capable
that the Bolex was the go-to entry-level film
camera for icons like Andy Warhol, Steven
Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Spike Lee and
Darren Aronofsky.
But that’s only part of a fascinating story
presented in a new documentary, “Beyond
the Bolex,” where director Alyssa Bolsey
documents the story of her long-lost fam-
ily legacy with one of the most influential
inventions of the 20th century—one of the
first 16mm fully-automatic motion picture
cameras.
It all started while Alyssa was digging
through the belongings of her recently de-
ceased grandfather Emil. A film student at
the time, Alyssa took a particular interest in
multitude of old cameras and film stored by
her grandfather. But one camera in particu-
lar was “wrapped like a present” — a Bolex
camera. Upon further inspection and dig-
ging, Alyssa learned that her great-grand-
father, Jacques Bolsey, was the inventor.
“I actually wasn’t setting out to make a
documentary when I went to film school. I
was going to do fiction films and this kind
of fell into my lap — quite literally — in the
form of boxes of family reels,” Alyssa told
the Journal.
A throughline of the documentary is
44 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
Alyssa trying to find out why the details of
the life her great-grandfather Jacques had
been obscured for so long.
Jacques passed away in 1962. As the
only filmmaker in the family, Alyssa set
out to interview early film experts, preser-
vationists, and other descendants of her
great-grandfather.
“Through making it, I started feeling like
I had a relationship with my great-grandfa-
ther who I never met,” Alyssa said.
Born Yakov Bogopolsky in 1895 in Kyiv
(then part of the Russian Empire), Jacques
launched a photography business in his
neighborhood around 1910. He had dreams
of studying medicine, but there were quo-
The film will have viewers reflecting
on how much we take for granted the
smartphone filming capabilities that have
become so ubiquitous for people today.
tas in Russia restricting the number of
Jews pursuing that profession. So he left
his family behind at age 17 to study medi-
cine in Switzerland, where he would also
support himself by drawing portraits of his
professors.
It was there that a professor lamented
that he wished to have a camera to film the
open-heart surgery of a dog. Jacques vol-
unteered to build that very device.
The early Bolex cameras were so well-
Director Alyssa Bolsey
received that Jacques’ company was
bought by The Paillard Company of St.
Croix, Switzerland in 1930. They kept
Jacques on board as a consulting engineer
for the next five years. During that time, in
the wake of rising antisemitism in Europe,
the company would often send him nasty
letters expressing distrust.
With the outbreak of World War II,
Jacques’ residency was denied by Swiss au-
thorities, and his sons were drafted into the
Swiss military. So in 1939, Jacques moved
to the United States alone, leaving behind
his wife Mariette. She was supposed to join
Jacques in the U.S. a few months later, but
stayed behind for the entirety of the war.
From there, “Beyond the Bolex” dives
deep into an inspiring story of the hurdles
and heroics of being a Jewish inventor and
immigrant to the U.S. in the first half of the
20th century.
“Beyond the Bolex” is a display of how
film can forge a bridge between generations
of family who have never met. The film will
have viewers reflecting on how much we
take for granted the recording capabilities of
smartphones that are so ubiquitous today.
ARTS
“[The Bolex] wasn’t a tool for people, it
was more like a friend,” Alyssa said. “If you
think about it, what have you had your en-
tire life to capture your fifth birthday, but
then also your 21st birthday? A lot of people
have had a Bolex to capture 40-50 years of
their lives. Maybe they pass it on, maybe
they sell it at a garage sale? And so every
camera has a story.”
Alyssa’s touch for stringing together her
long-lost family history is a prime exam-
ple for directors on how to make a deeply
personal documentary without making it
about themselves. The documentary is a
must-see for young filmmakers looking for
a passion project to emulate.
“And now even in film schools, a lot of
them don’t use 16mm film anymore, but
some do,” Alyssa said. “And I think a lot of
the younger generation coming up right
now, they’ve grown up in a completely
digital world. They never touched VHSs
or tapes or records. I think they’re kind of
getting really frustrated with not having
anything tangible, so there’s a moment
happening right now where we’ll see what
happens. There’s something about film
where you have to have a whole new pa-
tience that we don’t really use these days,
but at the same time, there’s a magic to it.”
That said, Alyssa discovered that even
her great-grandpa Jacques had a collection
of what we would refer to today as “selfies”
and Bolex-filmed cat videos that would be
ripe for TikTok.
Without giving away too much about
one of the most powerful scenes, young
filmmakers watching “Beyond the Bolex”
get some simple advice about filmmaking
from great-grandpa Jacques: “It’s not about
place, it’s about context.”
Fans of Steven Spielberg’s new semi-
autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans”
will find that “Beyond the Bolex” is excellent
complimentary content. Corey Wallace’s
score cements the well-paved paths from
the film’s ragtime-era footage with the
modern-day emotional scenes.
Dave Alex Riddett, cinematographer on
“Wallace and Gromit” and other Aardman
Animation films, called the Bolex "a box of
tricks." Peter Jackson, director of “The Lord
of the Rings” trilogy said that “they are nice
and light and you can do a lot of camera
moves with them.” Bruce Brown, director
of “The Endless Summer,” likened the Bolex
camera to heaven.
“Beyond the Bolex” will inspire some
viewers to take a moment on their own
Bolex cameras (masquerading as smart-
phones) to distill their thousands of videos
into a family story that moves them. Or at
the very least, the film will inspire all view-
ers to ask questions about the great-grand-
parents they may have never met. ■
December 9-15 2022
 BOOK REVIEW

ONE SUNNY SUNDAY MORNING community. He didn’t have time to process

in 1986, Rabbi Gershon Schusterman was
driving to his home in Long Beach, Califor-
nia when he received an alarming phone
call from his wife, Rochel Leah. She told
him she wasn’t feeling well, and he knew
from the tone of her voice that it was seri-
ous. He rushed home and took her to the
emergency room right away.
Schusterman sat in the lobby of the ER,
saying Tehillim and praying to God that his
his emotions or examine his relationship
with God.
“I resisted allowing myself to be angry
at God,” he writes. “Rather, I was in deep
shock and pain, bewildered by the new
and intensely challenging circumstances
suddenly thrust upon me and my family. I
didn’t have the emotional language to ar-
ticulate my feelings at that time. But as I
imagine you have experienced, when you

New Book on Tragedy

Asks, “Why God Why?”
» by Kylie Ora Lobell

wife was going to be fine. After an hour, he
saw the doctor heading towards him.
“We did everything we could,” the doctor
said. “But your wife didn’t make it.”
Schusterman thought: Rochel Leah
was only 36 years old. How could she have
suddenly passed away? She wasn’t sick.
They had 11 children together, including
16-month-old twins. She was a beloved
teacher at the day school where he was the
director. How was he going to break the
news to his children? How was he going
to explain this to his community? And how
was he going to move forward?
His next thought was “why?” Even
though he was a rabbi who had consoled
many people who experienced tragedy,
now that it was happening to him, he didn’t
know how to react.
“I respected God and didn’t compromise
my observance, but in my heart, I distanced
myself from Him,” Schusterman said. “I had
a grudge against God. I guess one can say I
gave Him the cold shoulder.”
To process his emotions and help his
community at the same time, a few months
after Rochel Leah’s death, Schusterman
taught a seven-week class on the topic, “Do
bad things happen to good people?” In it
were the seeds for his new book, “Why God
Why? How to Believe in Heaven When it
Hurts Like Hell,” which details his own trau-
matic experience and explores Judaism’s
teachings surrounding tragedy.
The book does not attempt to give a de-
finitive answer as to why there is suffering
in the world. That would be presumptuous
and ludicrous, Schusterman says. Rather,
it offers a number of different perspectives
from the Torah in which the reader may be
able to find comfort. There are chapters on
what evil really is, how tragedy can refine
us, the afterlife, the Holocaust and whether
or not suffering is a test of faith.
There is also a chapter on if it’s OK to be
angry with God. In the immediate after-
math of his wife’s passing, Schusterman
was in sink-or-swim mode trying to take
care of his family, work and look after his
don’t express important, urgent feelings,
they eat away at you and wreak havoc.”
Two years after Rochel Leah died, Schus-
terman got remarried to his current wife,
Chana Rachel. A few years after that, they
were on vacation in Israel when he broke
down in the middle of Jerusalem. Finally, all
his feelings were coming to the surface. He
couldn’t suppress them anymore.
“My wife asked me how I was doing,
and I suddenly got dizzy and felt the world
spinning around me,” he said. “I was expe-
riencing an intense psychic pain. My mind
flashed through all those events of the past
few years.”
Schusterman realized he needed to con-
tend with his feelings, so he spent part of
the rest of his two-week-long trip going
to intensive therapy for two hours a day.
“I didn’t grieve adequately,” he said. “And I
had unfinished business with God.”
While Schusterman said he felt dis-
tanced from God after his wife’s passing,
feeling a range of emotions, including an-
ger, is completely normal in light of such
loss. According to the rabbi, the Talmud
states that a person is not held accountable
for things he says against God in anger af-
ter he experiences a tragedy.
“God has broad shoulders,” he said. “He
doesn’t reject a person who speaks out of
line during a crisis. When that person calms
down, God will take him back lovingly.”
Along with touching upon anger, in
“Why God Why?” Schusterman discusses
the ideas about God that Rabbi Harold
Kushner described in his book, “When Bad
Things Happen to Good People.” While
Kushner believed that evil was not in God’s
control — and we could let God off the hook
for it — Schusterman writes that this is not
inherently a Jewish idea.
“Jews believe that God is firmly in con-
trol of every corner of the universe, and,
as hard as that may be to understand, bad
things can happen to decent people,” he
says. “In a way, it’s a simpler course to
throw up one’s hands and say, ‘There are
forces beyond God’s purview, and those
“Jews believe that God is firmly in control of
every corner of the universe, and, as hard
as that may be to understand, bad things
can happen to decent people.” – Gershon Schusterman
forces are to blame for whatever unfortu-
nate or evil things happens in the world.’
God’s role would then be that of the Sympa-
thizer and Comforter-in-Chief who sits on
the sidelines. But again, that’s not a Jewish
approach.”
Schusterman also explains how tragedy
can make us better people and bring posi-
tivity into the world. In one poignant pas-
sage, he includes a story from a Viktor Frankl
book: A mother is wearing a bracelet made
of nine baby teeth all mounted in gold, and
her doctor asks her what they represent.
The teeth are of her nine children who died
in the Holocaust, she says. The doctor asks
her how she copes with that reality, and she
states that she operates an orphanage.
In his own life, Schusterman became
much more empathetic to people who had
experienced something tragic.
“Until this tragedy happened to me, I
had gone to many shiva homes and said
the right things but, I have to admit, it was
superficial because I couldn’t feel what they
were feeling,” he said. “When I experienced
it myself, I knew what they were going
through. Chazal says that ‘words that come
from the heart enter the heart.’”
The Jewish approaches Schusterman
details in “Why God Why?” are that we
do not, and cannot, know God’s ultimate
“mind,” as He is the Creator and we are
creatures of His creation. Jews believe in an
afterlife, one where souls reunite with God,
as well as the recycling of souls that need to
come back to the world and complete their
mission before they can be at one with God.
Whether someone is currently mourn-
ing the loss of a loved one or hasn’t healed
from old wounds, Schusterman believes
his book can help them handle their pain
and process what happened to them. It can
teach them that while we can’t avoid pain,
we do not have to suffer.
“I hope people find comfort and con-
solation after they read my book and learn
how to engage with God,” he said. “The
worst relationship a Jew can have with God
is an apathetic one. By engaging in a time
of crisis, there is an opening for a deeper
relationship with God.”
“Why God Why? How to Believe in Heav-
en When it Hurts Like Hell” is available for
purchase on Amazon.com. ■

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 45


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9
SHABBAT SOVEV RETURNS
A Shabbat Sovev service – sitting, davening and singing in
the round – at Temple Beth Am is led by Rabbis Rebecca Schatz
and Adam Kligfeld as well as Cantor Hillary Chorny. By daven-
ing in a circle, adherents are creating a space that’s tapping into
the transcendent nature of the Divine. The programming kicks
off of a weekend-long Shabbaton of meaning, innovation and
spirituality. 4:30 p.m. services followed by community Shab-
bat dinner. Held on Ziering Family Field, Zoom. Temple Beth
Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 652-7353. For
additional information, visit tbala.org/get-involved/kol-tefilla-
shabbaton.
THE GREAT LATKE FRY-OFF
On the occasion of Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Great
Jewish Latke Fry-off, Rabbi David Eshel, Rabbi Susan Nanus
and Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro are present to introduce
the temple’s Adult Volunteer Choir. Contest, judges, latke bar,
sufganiyot. 5 p.m. latke fry-off. 6 p.m. Shabbat services. 7 p.m.
latke bar. Free. Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Westside campus,
1661 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 388-2401 https://
www.eventbrite.com/e/the-great-jewish-latke-fry-off-tick-
ets-461532535237
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
HOLINESS HIKE
Congregation Kol Ami’s Shabbat Holiness Hike starts at Debs
Park in the Montecito Heights neighborhood. Beginners and
seasoned hikers are equally welcome. Afterward, enjoy tea and
cake at a member’s home. 1-4 p.m. Free. Debs Park, 4651 Grif-
fin Ave., Los Angeles. https://www.kol-ami.org/event/shabbat-
holiness-hike9.html
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11
“AMERICAN SHTETL”
Did you know there is a shtetl in the United States? The USC Casden Institute invites the community to a reception and
lecture featuring the co-authors of “American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York.”
Nomi Stolzenberg, law chair in the USC Gould School of Law, and David Myers, chair in Jewish history at UCLA, participate
in the 40th annual Jerome Nemer Lecture. 4:45 p.m. reception. 5:30 p.m. lecture. Free. Town & Gown, 665 W Exposition Blvd,
Los Angeles, at USC’s University Park Campus. (213) 740-1744. https://events.usc.edu/esvp/code/nemerlecture2022
46 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com
FAMILY SHABBAT
At the Open Temple’s afternoon Family Shabbat, partici-
pants pause from the hectic daily pace and drink in two of life’s
main joys: beautiful music and stimulating company. Such
gatherings are intended to recharge and allow you to freshly
appreciate the artwork that is your family. 4 p.m. Free. Indoors
at the Electric Lodge, 1422 Electric Ave., Venice. (310) 821-1414.
https://opentemple.org/family-shabbat/
MOVIE NIGHT
For North Valley families and singles seeking an outlet after
Shabbat ends early – catch not only a singalong but the 2017
musical film “The Greatest Showman,” about the life of P. T. Bar-
num, founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The program is
organized by USY at Temple Ramat Zion. 6:15-9 p.m. $36 family
pack; $10 single ticket. 17655 Devonshire St., Northridge. (818)
360-1881. https://www.trz.org/event/movienight
WH AT’ S HAP P
» by Ryan Torok and Ari L. Noonan
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11
CHANUKAH PARTY
With Hanukkah just a week away, the Women of Kol Ami
(WOKA) hold a Get-Ready-for-Hanukkah Party. On the menu
are a little nosh, a little song, a few stories and perhaps a dreidel
game. Here is the crucial part: Bring an unwrapped new toy
and/or new book for a deprived child. The event is held at a
member’s home. RSVP required. 1-4 p.m. Free. (323) 606-0996
https://www.kol-ami.org/event/the-women-of-kol-ami-wo-
ka-returns-with-a-get-ready-for-chanukah-party.html#
“THE CROSSING”
The CBS Film Series invites your attention to “The Crossing.”
Based on a novel by best-selling author Maja Lunde, it tells the
story of adventurous 10-year-old Gerda and her brother Otto,
whose parents are in the Norwegian resistance movement dur-
ing the Holocaust. 2 p.m. $5 per person. Congregation Beth
Shalom, 21430 Centre Pointe Parkway, Santa Clarita. (664) 254-
2411. More information at facebook.com/people/CBS-Film-Se-
ries/100032295772474.
A LIFE IN ARCHITECTURE
For more than 50 years, legendary architect Moshe Safdie
has built some of the world’s most influential structures, includ-
ing the Skirball Cultural Center. Come to the Skirball this eve-
ning and hear Safdie, 84, in conversation with author Frances
Anderton, discuss the process that goes into creating memora-
ble buildings. 6 p.m. $20 general, $15 members, $10 seniors and
full-time students. Skir-
ball Cultural Center, 2701
N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los
Angeles. (310) 440-4500.
https://www.skirball.org/
programs/words-and-
ideas/moshe-safdie-con-
versation
December 9-15, 2022
 HA P P ENI NG
an

“AMAZED: HESCHEL’S SABBATH”

“Amazed: Heschel’s Sabbath,” held at Valley Beth Shalom,
is the world premiere of a groundbreaking program featuring
14 new works by composers from the Max Helfman Institute,
under the direction of Cantor Phil Baron. Abraham Joshua He-
schel's masterwork, “The Sabbath,” is brought to life through
musical interpretations and performances by acclaimed can-
tors and musicians from across Los Angeles. 7:30-9 p.m. Gen-
eral Admission: $60 members, $85 non-members. Valley Beth
Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 788-6000. https://
www.vbs.org/event/heschel-concert.html

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13
JEWS AND CLERGY ABUSE
Veteran anthropologist Elana Sztokman, author of “When
Rabbis Abuse,” has interviewed 84 survivors of abuse and ad-
dresses the question of how abuse can happen. In this online
program, “Clergy Behaving Badly,” she talks to American Jew-
ish University President Jeffrey Herbst about her recommenda-
tions for social and cultural change. Noon. Free. https://maven.
aju.edu/events-classes/program/clergy-behaving-badly
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14
JSTREET PLENARY SCREENING
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15
KOOLULAM
Koolulam — a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening society — brings its mass-singing project to the Saban
Theatre. “Singing is believing” is one Koolulam motto. Organizers bring together a wide variety of people to sing together
for a few hours, in the belief that musical harmony brings harmony to humanity. The international group has performed all
over the world and has successfully brought together disparate peoples and cultures. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind musi-
cal and collective experience. 8 p.m. $45-$65. Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. (888) 645-5006. To purchase
tickets, visit https://teev-e.simpletix.com.

Temple Israel of Hollywood (TIOH) holds a 90-minute ple-

nary screening and discussion of the JStreet 2022 National
Conference. Among the speakers are Tiffany Muller, president
of End Citizens United; social justice consultant Ruth Mess-
inger; and Leah Greenberg, co-executive director at Indivis-
ible. The program also features Rabbi David Saperstein, senior
advisor for policy and strategy for the Union for Reform Juda-
ism. 7-8:30 p.m. Temple Israel of Hollywood, 7300 Hollywood
Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 876-8330. https://tioh.org/event/
jstreet-plenary/

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15
INFINITE LIGHT
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ young Jew-
ish adult organization, NuRoots, celebrates the approach and
arrival of Hanukkah with Infinite Light. The event, which takes
place over 10 days, through Dec. 25, kicks off tonight with the
lighting of a giant menorah in Downtown L.A. The next night,
Dec. 16, brings Shabbanukkah. Join NuRoots and OneTable to
celebrate Hanukkah with winter cocktails, latkes and an epic
communal table under the stars. For additional information,
visit https://www.jewishla.org/event/nuroots-infinite-light-22.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15
MASIH ALINEJAD
For the past eight years, human rights leader Masih Alinejad has published videos of Iranian women removing their
headscarves because the hijab is the tool the regime uses to control them. American Jewish University Rabbi Tarlan Rabi-
zadeh, a first-generation Persian American whose family fled Iran in the 1970s, interviews Alinejad during this live online
event. The two discuss Alinejad’s experiences on the forefront of the recent social unrest in Iran, the future of women’s
rights and the safety of Jews in Iran and in Israel. Noon-12:45 p.m. Free. https://maven.aju.edu/events-classes/program/
masih-alinejad-the-woman-whose-hair-frightens-iran

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 47

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48 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com December 9-15, 2022

 JONATHAN FONG STYLE

A Cardboard Tube Menorah For the Kids » by Jonathan Fong

THIS HANUKKAH, MAKE A MENORAH

just for the kids. This do-it-yourself meno- What you’ll need: 8 bathroom tissue cardboard Stapler
rah is made from cardboard tubes, and the tubes Yellow and orange felt
“flames” are actually felt, so little fingers 1 paper towel roll tube Scissors
won’t get burned. Making the menorah can Wrapping paper Glue
also be a fun family activity that gets every- Tape Clothespins
one excited about the upcoming holiday.

1. Wrap the cardboard tubes
The eight bathroom tissue tubes are for
each night of Hanukkah, and the paper towel
tube is for the shamash candle. Trim the pa-
per towel tube to eight inches so it is about
twice the height of the shorter “candles.”
Cover each cardboard tube with decorative
wrapping paper, using tape to adhere the
paper. At the ends of each tube, just tuck the
paper in rather than taping it.
2. Staple the tubes together
Line up the tubes with the tallest tube in
the center, and staple them together. You can
also attach them with glue or tape. Attaching
the tubes to each other adds stability so they
can stand up without falling.
3. Cut flame shapes
Cut 3-inch flame shapes out of yellow felt
and smaller 2 1/2-inch flame shapes out of
orange felt. Glue the orange flames on top of
the yellow ones.
4. Glue flames to clothespins
Glue the flames to one side of each
clothespin. When it’s time to “light” the can-
dles, just clip the clothespins with the flames
onto the wrapped cardboard tubes.
And the great thing about these felt can-
dles is they will last much longer than eight
days and nights — it’s a Hanukkah miracle!

Jonathan Fong is the author of “Flowers That Wow” and “Parties That Wow,” and host of “Style With a Smile” on YouTube. You can see more of his do-it-yourself projects at jonathanfongstyle.com.

December 9-15, 2022 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 49

46 Rabbis

RA B B I S OF L .A.

Rabbi Sara Berman:

Transforming Sorrow Into Strength
» by Kylie Ora Lobell

WHEN RABBI SARA BERMAN WAS
a child, she would go to the hospital with
her father, who worked as an oncologist.
“I’d say hi to his patients and try to com-
fort them,” she said.
Berman, who grew up in the San Fer-
nando Valley, enjoyed being in the hospital
and seeing what her father did all day long.
Her father thought that she was going to
follow in his footsteps.
“I was supposed to be a doctor,” she said.
“I was very comfortable in hospitals.”
However, Berman wasn’t interested in
studying medicine. Instead, she wanted to
become a rabbi.
“I went on a teen trip to Israel, and the lead-
er was about to study in rabbinical school,” she
said. “I realized I had the same goals, to be a
cross between a teacher and a social worker
and be connected to my Jewish identity.”
Berman got her undergraduate de-
gree in Women’s Studies and enrolled in
the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at
American Jewish University. She wasn’t
sure where she’d want to work once she
graduated, but the answer quickly came to
her. When an acquaintance was diagnosed
with cancer, she visited her in the hospital.
In her work, Berman talks about going
from sorrow to strength, which she learned
from the story of the matriarch Rachel’s
death and Benyamin’s birth. Rachel dies
during childbirth, and Ben'oni becomes
Benyamin.
“When I was pregnant with my second
child, I was on call when a woman died
during childbirth,” she said. “I tried to help
her husband, but there is no way to comfort
someone at that time. I was a presence for
them, and I helped to comfort the staff later
on.”
While the story of Ben'oni becoming Be-
nyamin is not without heartbreak, it also in-
spires Berman.“A lot of what we go through
helps to make us stronger,” she said. “It’s not
always immediate, but it does transform us
into who we are.”
Along with being a chaplain, Berman,
who has struggled with clinical depres-
sion her entire life, is a mental health ad-
vocate. She wrote a book titled, “Ben'oni
L'Benyamin: From Sorrow to Strength: My
Journey With Depression” and did a TEDx
Talk on the same topic, calling it “Monster
Slayers: Overcoming Stigma.”
“I tell people I suffer from depression

“When you’re in the hospital, it’s not just

about your body being sick, but also about
your mind and spirit being sick. If that’s
forgotten, you won’t heal as well.”
“I realized there was a special role that a
chaplain could play, and no one else could
fill that role,” Berman said. “She didn’t know
me very well, but she felt like she could
open up to me.”
The rabbi trained as a chaplain in both
Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and current-
ly works at Kaiser Permanente Woodland
Hills Medical Center. There, she visits with
patients, families and staff and supports
them when they need her the most.
“I make sure their spiritual needs are
met, whether they want kosher food or to
pray in their room, or they need emotional
support and comfort,” she said. “I’m there
during end-of-life discussions with their
doctors and make sure they understand ev-
erything that’s going on.”
and make it OK to talk about it,” she said.
“If there is a stigma around it, people won’t
get the help they need. It’s something that
is treatable, but you have to ask for help.
People shouldn’t be ashamed.”
When working with patients, Berman
hopes she can help them with any mental,
emotional and, of course, spiritual issues
they are contending with during their time
there.
“When you’re in the hospital, it’s not just
about your body being sick, but also about
your mind and spirit being sick,” she said.
“If that’s forgotten, you won’t heal as well.”
She continued, “I focus on comforting
those in need. Sometimes all people need
is someone to listen to them and be there
for them.” ■
Fast Takes with Sara Berman
Jewish Journal: What’s your favorite Jewish food?
Sara Berman: Matzah ball soup.
JJ: How about your favorite spot in Los Angeles?
SB: Huntington Gardens. You can get away from all the chaos of this city but you
don’t really have to drive that far.
JJ: What Torah figure do you like the most?
SB: Chana. She challenged God in a gentle way. She was educated enough to have
an appropriate way to challenge God.
JJ: What superpower would you want to have?
SB: Invisibility. I’d be able to see behind the scenes and better understand how to
help people.

50 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com December 9-15, 2022

 USC Casden Institute
proudly presents

The 40th Annual Jerome Nemer Lecture

AMERICAN SHTETL:
The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York
American Shtetl tells the story of how a Nomi Stolzenberg and David Myers
group of pious, Yiddish-speaking Jews has paint a richly textured portrait of daily life in
grown to become a thriving insular enclave Kiryas Joel, exploring the community’s guiding
and a powerful local government in upstate religious, social, and economic norms. They
New York. delve into the roots of Satmar Hasidism and
its charismatic founder, Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum,
Settled in the mid-1970s by a small contin- following his journey from nineteenth-century
gent of Hasidic families, Kiryas Joel is an Hungary to post–World War II Brooklyn, where
American town with few parallels in Jewish he dreamed of founding an ideal Jewish town
history—but many precedents among reli- modeled on the shtetls of eastern Europe.
gious communities in the United States. Stolzenberg and Myers chart the rise of Kiryas
While rejecting the norms of mainstream Joel as an official municipality with its own
American society, Kiryas Joel has been elected local government. They show how con-
stunningly successful in creating a world stant legal and political battles defined and even
apart by using the very instruments of bolstered the community, whose very success
secular political and legal power that it has coincided with the rise of political conser-
disavows. vatism and multiculturalism in American society
over the past forty years.
Featured Co-authors
Nomi M. Stolzenberg Nathan and Lilly David N. Myers Distinguished Professor
Shapell Chair in Law-USC Gould School of Law of History, Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish
History at UCLA, where he serves as director of the
Professor Stolzenberg’s research spans a range of
UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy
interdisciplinary interests, including law and religion,
law and liberalism, law and psychoanalysis, and law Professor Myers is the author or editor of more than
and literature. She helped establish and co-directs the fifteen books in the field of Jewish history, including
USC Center for Law, History and Culture. Dr. Stolzen- American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a
berg has recently published American Shtetl: The Hasidic Village in Upstate New York (Princeton,
Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate 2022) with Nomi Stolzenberg, and he also serves
New York among other recent works, and is currently as President of the New Israel Fund.
developing a theory of "faith-based discrimination."

Sunday, December 11th, 2022 - Reception 4:45 - Lecture 5:30

Town and Gown, USC University Park Campus
Parking - McCarthy Way Structure at Figueroa and McCarthy Way
ESVP Link: https://events.usc.edu/esvp/code/nemerlecture2022
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