WEEKLY Candle-lighting/Shabbos ends Friday, January 9: 4:21/5:25 Vol. III No. 45 (#94) January 8, 2015 • 17 Tevet 5775 Free Yom Hakaddish Haklali Partners In Torah Honors Eldercare II: Observed At YIKGH Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld An Evening To Remember As Part Of Winter Retreat In Stamford Guest speaker Rabbi Daniel Glatstein SEE STORY ON P. 28, 30 SEE STORY ON P. 29 SEE STORY ON P. 32 Public Affairs Shabbos Inbox Queens As I See It Hooked On Healing Shuls Praying Jewish Link Politics Happy. Happy. Big And Small for Blue Lives To Celebrate Makes Strange Happy. Anniversary By Sergey Kadinsky By Eytan Kobre Bedfellows – By Caroline Schumsky Milestone Especially In Israel A real patriot is the fellow he recent opinion piece igh. If only…then…I’d fi - who gets a parking ticket and At Gala Affair by Brooklyn resident Bar- By Cynthia Zalisky nally be happy. The un- rejoices that the system works. ry Katz, “The Case for Big Next Week ending gimmicks we en- T -- Bill Vaughan S Shuls,” published in the Jan. 2, ith the new Israeli dure to try to achieve what we 2015, edition of The Jewish Press, aving recently com- elections called think we want. merits a deeper look, which pleted tours of duty Wfor Tuesday, March Ah, yes. Allow me to show should include perhaps the two Hin Afghanistan and 17, there is a lot of posturing, you how to be an instant cash CONTINUED ON P. 23 CONTINUED ON P. 11 SEE ARTICLE ON P. 55 CONTINUED ON P. 24 CONTINUED ON P. 22 7 2 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] January 8, 2015 17 Tevet 5775 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 3 4 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] January 8, 2015 17 Tevet 5775 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 5 Stories Of Greatness R’ Dovid Hoffman What Will Keep Us Strong? he winds of enlightenment that protruded forth and held the shoulder. He turned around to see your support is.” He led him into a and reform were overspreading vines in place, until the grapes them- the glistening countenance of a man, huge outdoor playground where peo- TGermany, threatening to swal- selves were fully ripened and ready to dressed all in white, tall and regal in ple milled about everywhere. low the hapless Orthodox communi- be picked. appearance. The man smiled at him The distinguished man pointed to ties that maintained their religious a corner of the playground. There sat identities. Into this hostile environ- rows of elderly men, hunched over ment, rose the great R’ Shamshon Who will support us? from age and years of life experience. Raphael Hirsch zt”l, who fought back Each man sat with his hands folded the taint of the secular invaders with How will we be able to withstand the challenges over and leaning on his cane, a thick the courage of a lion and the wisdom that confront us and menace us with total religious extinction? and sturdy piece of wood, worn with of generations of Torah knowledge. age but solid in its construction, sup- But even in his early days, R’ Hirsch porting each man’s full weight on was unsure of his true calling in life. R’ Hirsch’s initial awe at the beau- kindly and asked, “Tell me, what is its solid round base. “These men,” At the age of twenty, R’ Hirsch trav- ty of the garden quickly turned to bothering you, my son?” said the tall shining man, “are old eled to Mannheim, to study in the ye- angst as he stared at the vines. “At R’ Hirsch explained what he was and frail, yet, at the same time, they shivah of the great Aruch laNer. On least these weak vines have branches thinking, and the man took him by are strong and formidable because the wagon to Mannheim, R’ Hirsch to support them until they are fi rm- the arm. “You are looking for sup- relates in a letter he wrote, he dozed ly entrenched,” he thought. “But, port? Come, I will show you what CONTINUED ON P. 44 off and dreamed he was standing in myself, and the whole of the Jewish a beautiful garden. Flowers were in community, we are also weak; we are Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, fi lled full bloom, and fruit trees were giv- engaged in a battle for our very exis- with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tav- ing off their ripened scent. He no- tence. Who will support us? How lin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look ticed how the grapevines were grow- will we be able to withstand the chal- for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the ing steadily, and although they were lenges that confront us and menace Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online still weak and under-developed, they us with total religious extinction?” at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “To- were being supported by branches Suddenly, he felt a tap on his rah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail [email protected] 6 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] January 8, 2015 17 Tevet 5775 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 7 Regular Features As I see it – Cynthia Zalisky .............................................. 1 Beauty briefs – Risselle Naimark ........................................ 53 Classifieds ..........................................................43 Community calendar – Rebecca Wittert ................................... 39 Community corner – Susie Garber, Lorey Friedman, Ezra Fridlander, Leah Bleiberg, Marlene Schiffman, Shimmy Blum ...................... 27-39 Community snapshots – Aharon Katz ................................. 30-31 Delectable dishes – Estee Kafka .........................................47 Financially forward – Gerald Harris ...................................... 25 For what it’s worth – Warren Hecht .......................................41 Frontlines - Dr. Joe Frager ...............................................44 The fun side – QJL Staff ..............................................56/57 Hooked on healing – Caroline Schumsky ...................................1 House and home – R’ Gedalia and Sarah Newcomb ......................... 40 Politics and ethics - Abe Fuchs ..........................................26 Public affairs - Sergey Kadinsky ...........................................1 A Shabbat thought – R’ David Algaze .....................................14 Shabbos inbox – Eytan Kobre ............................................ 1 The Shmuz – R’ Benzion Shafier ......................................... 16 Snippets of strange – QJL Staff ...................................... 18-21 Socially savvy – Esti Berkowitz .......................................... 42 Stories of greatness – R’ Dovid Hoffman ................................... 6 Style myths debunked - Meira E. Schneider-Atik ............................51 Special Articles Partners In Torah Honors Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld as Part of Winter Retreat in Stamford - Leah Bleiberg and Susie Garber .....29 Eldercare II: An Evening to Remember ...................................32 Yom Hakaddish Haklali Observed at YIKGH - Susie Garber ...................27 Queens Jewish Link to Celebrate Third Anniversary – Jennifer Jaffe ...........1 PUBLISHED BY Queens Jewish Link, LLC RABBINIC CONSULTANT Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld MANAGING EDITOR Forecast Naftali Szrolovits SENIOR CONSULTANTS FRI • JAN 9 TUE • JAN 13 Yaniv Meirov Cynthia Zalisky 33° 34° Helen Hoffman Jennifer Jaffe 20° 30° ADVERTISING MANAGER Partly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy Yaakov Serle COPY EDITORS SAT • JAN 10 WED • JAN 14 R’ Yisroel Benedek Rivky Bergstein 27° 38° STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER 19° 31° Aharon Katz Sunny Snow Showers SUN • JAN 11 THU • JAN 15 147-24 69th Road 38° 37° Flushing, New York 29° 1367 26° [email protected] Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy 917.549.6145 www.QueensJewishLink.com MON • JAN 12 FRI • JAN 16 Design by Design2pro.com Design & Production 39° 36° MICHAEL KUROV • Art Director 27° 24° Distributed by Prime Media Distribution Mostly Cloudy Partly Cloudy 8 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] January 8, 2015 17 Tevet 5775 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] 9 10 QueensJewishLink.com • 917.549.6145 • [email protected] January 8, 2015 Shabbos Inbox Eytan Kobre Praying for Blue Lives CONTINUED FROM P. 1 subjected to cruel and anti-Semitic host governments, they understood Iraq, a United States marine enrolled that anarchy is a fate far worse than in college. One day, one of his profes- an antagonistic régime. “And it was in sors—an avowed atheist—declared the course of many days that the king in class, “G-d, if you’re real, I give you of Egypt died, and the Jewish peo- 15 minutes to knock me off this lec- ple sighed and cried from their slave tern.” Ten minutes passed without work” (Shemos 2:23). Paroh’s death incident. As the 15 minutes neared created an anarchistic vacuum, with conclusion, the marine stood up, ap- the Jewish people left to the antipa- proached the professor, and decked thy of the masses. And so the Jewish him. The other students were speech- people cried, not because Paroh was less. a benevolent despot (he was not), “What’s the matter with you?” but because even a bad ruler is better yelled the professor. than no ruler at all (Divrei Eliyahu ad The marine replied calmly. “G-d loc.; Mishlei 29:4). said: ‘Pray for the welfare of the gov- Jews were exiled to Babylon with was too busy today protecting Amer- Of course, one