$1.00 WWW.5TJT.COM VOL. 7 NO. 21 5 ADAR 5767 vnur, ,arp FEBRUARY 23, 2007 INSIDE FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK YOUR CHILD IN ISRAEL MindBiz BY LARRY GORDON Esther Mann, LMSW 36 Out Of Purim Space Orthomom And Apple Pie Hannah Reich Berman 43 Jewish writers, manufactur- County court seeking to have NCSY in New Orleans ers of opinion pieces, rabbis, Google, the hosting company, Rabbi Dov Emerson 48 and molders of public opinion identify the Internet blogger in general frequently differ in known as Orthomom. It seems Our Aliyah Chronicle their positions about any num- that Ms. Greenbaum believes Shmuel Katz 62 ber of issues. Every once in a that she has been maligned while, however, an issue arises and libeled by Orthomom, Daf Yomi Insights that seems to bring everyone saying she has been called a Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow 77 together and all lined up on bigot and an anti-Semite on the same side. One of those some of the blog postings. issues came to the fore this Blogs have evolved over the Students from several yeshivas in Israel shared their experiences during the week, when Lawrence School last several years into forums Melava Malkah at the Priority-1 conference on the challenges and benefits District trustee Pamela Green- facing our children studying in Israel. The conference took place during the baum filed papers in Nassau Continued on Page 16 recent intersession week in Israel. See Story, Page 24 RABBIS: A HALACHIC VIEW HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE BY RABBI YAIR posed the question as to Another Bnei Brak Story HOFFMAN whether they could discontin- Bini Bornstein & Adam Dachs DEAN, TIFERET CHAYA–THE CAROL ue this practice. Rav Moshe BY LARRY GORDON See Page 27 TEPLER HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS responded with a letter to the president of the shul: They After Shacharis in Bnei Brak Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt’l, may certainly not discontinue on a Sunday morning about was once asked the following the practice. The honor ac- three weeks ago, a rather question: At a certain shul on corded the rav is, in fact, part unusual but interesting thing Long Island, the custom was of his compensation. Halting occurred. I was standing on the that anyone called up for an the practice of shaking his street (which I described last aliyah to the Torah would hand after each aliyah would week) adjacent to the shake hands with the rabbi constitute theft. Lederman Shul, noticing the after leaving the bima. A num- The story illuminates some car that brought us to Bnei ber of people in the shul felt unfortunate aspects of contem- Brak parked down the block. that the rav was too lenient in halachah, and they did not Continued on Page 18 Continued on Page 7 At the UJA-Federation wish to shake his hand. They excellence-in-service awards. See Page 81 The Ultimate FollowYour Dreams 5TJT Team In Play-offs Commuter: Or: ‘Freezing In Israel To New February’ York And Back BY MICHELE HERENSTEIN BY DANNY BLOCK I’m being chased and harassed by the Weather. No, I am sitting in the business I am not hallucinating. I am section of an El Al 777, about not going mad. And I am not an hour before landing. It is imagining it. Wherever I go, The 2nd annual Lander College usually a good time for a little the cold weather follows. Battle of the Bands included reflection. I have already Faithfully. Loyally. If I stay in groups from DRS, Lander, and eaten and had my usual six New York, it’s freezing; we’ve Sh’or Yoshuv. See Page 87 hours of sleep (in this case, recently had the coldest two chemically enhanced). There weeks on record, or close to it. CANDLE LIGHTING is nothing particularly unusu- So I went to Los Angeles a Feb. 23 – 5:21 PM Dani Gottlieb (No. 7) and Reuven Davies (No. 1) of the 5 Towns al about this flight or its tim- month ago, and the cold Jewish Times-sponsored Yeshiva Mercaz HaTorah Mar. 2 – 5:29 PM AFI (American Football in Israel) team. See Page 71 Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 11 2 February 23, 2007 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES February 23, 2007 3 4 February 23, 2007 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES February 23, 2007 5 6 February 23, 2007 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE way to ingratiate oneself with strangers. still waiting for my wife to emerge from looks at me like I’m crazy for even Continued from Front Cover But I don’t take him seriously. I believe the Lederman Shul, which she does repeating the offer to her, never mind in my heart that, while he is perhaps shortly after this episode. seriously considering it. In the mean- The driver we had hired for the day, being courteous and even generous, he As I see her down the block, walking time, he disappears somewhere (maybe Ofer Zecharia, is a fine young veteran of really doesn’t need us up in his apart- with Rebbitzen Kanievsky, I walk along- to tell his wife he’s bringing in guests). the IDF trying to make his way in ment at this hour of the morning, inter- side her and say something like, “You My wife and I get into the car, ready to Israel’s tourist trade. I noticed that he fering with his family’s preparations for see that guy down the block near the move on to our next stop in Netanya. As had his passenger-side window rolled a school day. So I thank him and com- car? He wants us to come up to his we’re sitting in the car, he comes out of down and he was talking to a young red- ment that it is a very nice gesture and a home for breakfast.” We can both use a the building with a look of surprise on haired chassid who obviously had a generous offer, but we have a long day cup of coffee as we were up most of the his face. He says in a mixed English, question or two for Ofer. ahead of us and we have to move on. I’m night and were still fasting. My wife Waiting for my wife to emerge from Continued on Page 8 the women’s section of the shul, I thought I should walk over to see what the two of them were conferring about. At the same time, I noticed a little gro- cery store down the same street and thought that it might be possible to buy a cup of coffee and something to eat. But it was only 7:30 a.m., and the store (which probably didn’t sell coffee, any- way) was still closed. So I show up in the middle of this conversation with Ofer, and the chassid turns to me to say shalom aleichem. Before I could say anything, he says that he sees that I’m from the U.S. and that he travels to the U.S. regularly to raise funds for a kollel he is involved with in Bnei Brak. He doesn’t ask me for money, yet. He takes a different approach, and tells me that he is treated so nicely and kindly in so many commu- nities that he travels to and that he is looking for the opportunity to recipro- cate. To that end, he says he wants my wife and me to come up to his apart- ment, in a building nearby to join him for breakfast. I’m thinking to myself that this is a nice move—a nice and even innovative 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES February 23, 2007 7 HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE 6,000 miles apart, the water in Bnei Brak old, Nachum, is a genius who already Continued from Page 7 tastes just like the water in Lawrence. knows scores of pages of mishnayos by But what can I say that would not make heart. He stood at the table and recited a Yiddish, and Hebrew that he insists that me sound like an American spoiled brat? few for us with ease. His father, Reb we come up to join him for at least cof- That I didn’t like the water? Matisyahu, said he doesn’t know where P.O. BOX 690 LAWRENCE, NY 11559 fee and a bite to eat. I look at Esta and I couldn’t insult my host in that way, his son received that talent, and that he 516-984-0079 [email protected] I say, “Look, if nothing else, it’ll be a cup so I added a little extra sweetener, himself does not have that ability. [email protected] of coffee and a good story.” She agrees focused on the fact that it was a nice, hot He asked where we were from, and we LARRY GORDON that it will be a good story. cup of coffee on a cool, damp morning tried to explain a little about the Five Publisher/Editor He introduces himself as Matisyahu and all was well with the world. With the Towns. Throughout my brief explanation ESTA J. GORDON Lessin and leads us up five flights of coffee and the cake behind us (or actual- to a foreigner in his dining room, he was Managing Editor stairs (no elevator here) to the top-floor nodding his head. Then he asked: “Do YOSSI GORDON apartment. It’s a relatively nice apart- you know Rabbi Yakov Nayman?” I was a Director of Sales ment.