CHRISTIANA LILLY
June 11, 2010
When the congregants walk into the temple, they gaze at the chandeliers hanging from the elevated ceilings, the new marble flooring and the fresh blue paint on the walls. With music playing in the background, they talk and enjoy appetizers and a drink in front of a portrait paying homage to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Within minutes, the foyer is filled with people standing shoulder to shoulder.
When Rabbi Mendy Posner and his wife, Chanie, walk into the temple, they are greeted by congregants with hugs, handshakes and proclamations of "Mazel Tov!" It has been a long time coming, but the family of Chabad Lubavitch of Plantation finally has its own, freestanding temple to call home.
"In this economy, people think it's a nice dream, but no one believed we could pull it off," the rabbi said.
To celebrate the grand opening of the temple, located at 10165 Cleary Blvd., a gala was thrown with about 500 people in attendance, Posner estimated. The social hall was opened up to accommodate the guests in a reception with food, music and memories. A slideshow presentation of past holidays and events was projected onto the wall.
Hugo and Hilda Bamberger, who have been coming to the temple since it opened, attended the gala and said they were blown away by the new building.
"When you pass the outside, you want to go inside. That's what sums it up," Hugo Bamberger said. "It's a wonderful building and we needed it; we were always squeezing."
His wife described her reaction to seeing it for the first time as being "dumbstruck."
Shelley Drujak has been coming to the temple for six years, ever since she was looking to make a change in her religious life. She originally attended a conservative church, and after attending a service at the Chabad, she never left. Drujak said it was the warmth, spirituality and acceptance of the people that drew her to stay. With the new building, she said it was a gift to the community.
"Every nail that went in was because of the rabbi's dream," she said. "He dreamed of it and he made it happen."
The temple is 12,000 square feet, larger than the 800 square feet of the original one that Posner founded in 1993. The groundbreaking was in August 2008, and the rabbi worked closely with an architect to design the building. The new synagogue has children's classrooms, a men's mikvah pool, library, offices for the rabbis, a kitchen and a social hall.
"We feel that we'll be able to offer so much more to the community," Posner said.
At the front of the temple sanctuary stands the Torah ark, which the rabbi hopes to grow in size as well. He wants it to be 36 by 16 feet with the 12 tribes of Israel. But for now, he is worrying about putting the finishing touches on the temple.
Ivor Bamberger, the master of ceremonies for the gala, said the temple is a place for growth in one's Judaism, and the size of the temple shows a need from the growing orthodox community.
"If you build it, people will come," Bamberger told the congregants.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, August 03, 2009
Rabbi encourages positive deeds, attitude
NEW PORT RICHEY — Rabbi Shabsi Alpern was far from home Monday night, speaking to a room full of people about God and what he wants from us.
"This is the last place I expected to be tonight," said Alpern, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Sao Paulo, Brazil. His 48th anniversary doing Jewish outreach in Brazil fell on that night.
Rabbi Yossi and Dina Eber with Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco invited the esteemed rabbi, who was spending some time in Miami, to speak to their community in Trinity and share his insights.
"He wanted to make the drive because he knows what it's like to move out to a place like this," said Rabbi Eber, who came to Pasco County three years ago from Brooklyn.
"Because of him and people like him, we have others doing it today. He set the example."
With a long white beard, small frame and warm eyes, Alpern spoke through stories and anecdotes, but his main message was about serving others.
"Each one of us has a buried treasure within that he has to reveal," he said. "By doing good for others, that's how you find it."
It's the mission of the Jewish people to use their physical world to elevate and bring out that holiness, he said, with such acts as lighting Shabbat candles, praying and giving food to the homeless.
"Any little thing that you do … you don't know what may be missing here in New Port Richey," Alpern said. "One of you may hit the jackpot. Take advantage of every situation and do something good."
A good deed is eternal, he said, even if someone does a hundred not-so-good deeds.
The Chabad leader, Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who passed away in 1994, sent emissaries like Alpern and the Ebers to places like Brazil and Pasco County, and thousands of other locations.
Chabad-Lubavitch is a mystical branch of Judaism that started in Russia 250 years ago. Now based in Brooklyn, the group has 4,000 emissary families around the world reaching out to and teaching nonobservant Jews about Judaism. Two rabbis involved in the organization were killed last November in the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, India.
The mission is to "reach out to every single Jew in every community all over the world," Eber said, "to bring Judaism to them, bring comfort to them, and be there in any way.
"That's really what it's about," he added, "to make this a dwelling place for God, a caring world. It's a ripple effect."
Vicky Benedon of Trinity told the group that what stands out most in her mind is walking through the Auschwitz concentration camp.
"I have never heard so many people saying, 'Oh my God,' " she said. "There's always a God. The people that survived, survived because of God."
A couple of people in the audience spoke about suffering and about doubting God's existence. Alpern responded matter-of-factly that he and his parents survived the Holocaust and came to the United States, while the rest of his family died during the war.
But it still didn't shake his belief in God. When people have questions or doubts, he said, it comes down to two things: Try to get answers, which takes time; and continue being a child of God.
"Misery, violence, the Holocaust, Iraq … he owes us a lot of answers," Alpern said. "We have to have patience."
While some people may call themselves atheists, Rabbi Alpern said that "everyone has a moment when he believes in God."
"God knows everyone has doubts," Keep on doing good things, he said. "Positive doubt, that will bring you to a positive attitude."
Alpern also spoke about the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'av, which was Thursday. The day marks the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem.
"Centuries later, people can still cry like it happened yesterday," he said.
The rabbi said it's an especially good time to think in positive terms.
"What good things can we add to our world and our people … to quicken the coming of the Messiah and the building of the third Temple? May it happen speedily in our times."
The Jewish people have a mission that's not accomplished in just one generation, he said. Each generation builds on each other, he said, and every good deed makes a difference.
"The cup is almost full," he said. "We just need to add a few drops."
Mindy Rubenstein can be reached at Mindy.Rubenstein@me.com.
fast facts
About the Chabad of West Pasco
To learn more about classes and services, visit www.chabadwp.com or call Rabbi Yossi Eber at (727) 376-3366.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Chabad center brings together Jews in Doral
When Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky established the Chabad Jewish Center of Doral, he only knew one Jew in Doral and hosted services in private homes.
Three years later, the congregation has grown to about 40 active members and occupies a two-floor space in a shopping center at 9725 NW 41st St.
Brashevitzky said that does not include several hundred Jews who are mostly of South American descent he has met -- who live or work in Doral -- but don't attend services.
''And there are Jews who live here that I don't know yet,'' said Brashevitzky, formerly a pulpit rabbi at Shalom Congregation at the Casablanca Hotel in Miami Beach.
Doral has a number of Catholic and Lutheran churches within city limits, but the Chabad Center is the only place of worship for the city's Jewish families.
Because Doral is home to a large South American population, most of the center's Jews, Brashevitzky said, hail from countries such as Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, places where Jews are a religious minority -- though a distinct one.
Most Jews arrived in South America after fleeing anti-Semitic forces in Germany, eastern Europe and Russia.
A significant portion of the South American population also consists of Sephardic Jews, who are descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Jorge Ghitis, a Colombian Jew who attends services at Chabad Center of Doral, said his Jewish parents met in Colombia after his mother fled Germany and father fled Romania.
Although he practiced his Jewish faith growing up, Ghitis said he had abandoned it until Brashevitzky called him one day about three years ago and asked to meet.
''Before meeting the rabbi, my spiritual base was very low,'' said Ghitis, who stopped practicing after his Bar Mitzvah.
Now Ghitis spends much of his spare time at the Chabad center and doesn't miss Shabbat morning services at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
''I have achieved a balance between the material, mental and spiritual,'' Ghitis said. ``All Jews have a spark that unites us inside of them. They just need to be reminded.''
Ghitis moved to Doral about 15 years ago because it was a convenient location for his wife, who worked at Miami International Airport. Ghitis now works near the airport, too, as a Miami-Dade police officer.
''I find people who moved to Doral and didn't put the Jewish faith at the top of their list,'' said Brashevitzky, noting that the closest synagogues are in Kendall.
Brashevitzky said that is the vision behind the Chabad movement, which aims to provide outreach services and activities through community centers, synagogues and schools to Jews in communities that lack a significant Jewish population.
''Our goal is to make sure Jews don't go a year without having contact with the faith,'' he said.
Chabad Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism with about 4,000 centers in more than 50 countries. According to www.Chabad.org, there are more than 60 Chabad centers in Florida. Most are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Brashevitzky said the Chabad movement is not about building a temple and increasing membership but awakening the dormant faith in some Jewish people.
''It's nice to have a big center, but the idea is to reach each and every individual,'' he said. ``The idea is to rekindle that spark of Judaism faith. That sense of belonging.''
Brashevitzky, who is planting seeds to someday build a synagogue, likens himself to a farmer overseeing barren soil with hope the land will produce beautiful crops.
''Doral keeps growing and there's a growth -- though a slow one -- of the Jewish population here,'' he said.
Three years later, the congregation has grown to about 40 active members and occupies a two-floor space in a shopping center at 9725 NW 41st St.
Brashevitzky said that does not include several hundred Jews who are mostly of South American descent he has met -- who live or work in Doral -- but don't attend services.
''And there are Jews who live here that I don't know yet,'' said Brashevitzky, formerly a pulpit rabbi at Shalom Congregation at the Casablanca Hotel in Miami Beach.
Doral has a number of Catholic and Lutheran churches within city limits, but the Chabad Center is the only place of worship for the city's Jewish families.
Because Doral is home to a large South American population, most of the center's Jews, Brashevitzky said, hail from countries such as Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, places where Jews are a religious minority -- though a distinct one.
Most Jews arrived in South America after fleeing anti-Semitic forces in Germany, eastern Europe and Russia.
A significant portion of the South American population also consists of Sephardic Jews, who are descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Jorge Ghitis, a Colombian Jew who attends services at Chabad Center of Doral, said his Jewish parents met in Colombia after his mother fled Germany and father fled Romania.
Although he practiced his Jewish faith growing up, Ghitis said he had abandoned it until Brashevitzky called him one day about three years ago and asked to meet.
''Before meeting the rabbi, my spiritual base was very low,'' said Ghitis, who stopped practicing after his Bar Mitzvah.
Now Ghitis spends much of his spare time at the Chabad center and doesn't miss Shabbat morning services at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
''I have achieved a balance between the material, mental and spiritual,'' Ghitis said. ``All Jews have a spark that unites us inside of them. They just need to be reminded.''
Ghitis moved to Doral about 15 years ago because it was a convenient location for his wife, who worked at Miami International Airport. Ghitis now works near the airport, too, as a Miami-Dade police officer.
''I find people who moved to Doral and didn't put the Jewish faith at the top of their list,'' said Brashevitzky, noting that the closest synagogues are in Kendall.
Brashevitzky said that is the vision behind the Chabad movement, which aims to provide outreach services and activities through community centers, synagogues and schools to Jews in communities that lack a significant Jewish population.
''Our goal is to make sure Jews don't go a year without having contact with the faith,'' he said.
Chabad Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism with about 4,000 centers in more than 50 countries. According to www.Chabad.org, there are more than 60 Chabad centers in Florida. Most are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Brashevitzky said the Chabad movement is not about building a temple and increasing membership but awakening the dormant faith in some Jewish people.
''It's nice to have a big center, but the idea is to reach each and every individual,'' he said. ``The idea is to rekindle that spark of Judaism faith. That sense of belonging.''
Brashevitzky, who is planting seeds to someday build a synagogue, likens himself to a farmer overseeing barren soil with hope the land will produce beautiful crops.
''Doral keeps growing and there's a growth -- though a slow one -- of the Jewish population here,'' he said.
Rabbi: Traveling Jewish RV 'an unbelievable miracle'
By MARK HARPER
Education writer
"And behold, the Lord . . . said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you, and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth; and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves.' "
-- Genesis 28:13-14
ORMOND BEACH -- During Volusia County pilgrimages to auto races, bike rallies and beach retreats, most everyone, it seems, checks out everyone else's wheels.
If they haven't noticed already, they'll soon start seeing something resembling a new city bus, bathed in bright blues, purple and orange, with slick slogans and images that could just as easily be advertising a law firm or pest-control service.
But telltale sayings -- such as "We Want Moshiach (the messiah) Now!" -- reveal this 34-foot-long Coachmen Mirada 310ds Class A motor home as something completely different. The RV is a Mitzvah Tank, an outreach to Jews.
This is the way Rabbi Pinchas Ezagui rolls.
The 43-year-old head of Esfmores Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Greater Daytona Beach, an orthodox Ormond Beach synagogue, said the Mitzvah Tank is a way to reconnect with the flock. If Ezagui runs into a man, he might offer a chance to pray while wearing tefillin, an arm wrap. Or he might offer a woman a candle. In essence, it provides him a mobile living room to welcome people to the faith a couple of times a week.
"We give people the feeling they are a part of the community," he said. "Regardless of whether they live in Edgewater or Palm Coast or DeLand or DeBary or Deltona, they are at home. . . . There's no such thing as a lost Jew. You're always part of the family."
Mitzvah in Hebrew essentially means good deeds in God's name.
Ezagui, who arrived in Daytona Beach 17 years ago, had long talked of his camper calling. Last year, one of his synagogue members, Yehuda Morali, an Israeli immigrant, brought him to an RV dealership and instructed Ezagui to pick something out. Something new. Something big.
Morali and his business partner, Nissim Shoaff, shared in the expenses, Ezagui said.
Ezagui is only aware of one other Chabad in Florida with a Mitzvah Tank. And he doubts there's another in the country that can compare to his -- which includes a $15,000 graphics job.
"To have this luxury, to have a traveling Jewish Center, to us this is an unbelievable miracle," he said.
It's understandable that Ezagui -- who built the Ormond Chabad from scratch -- might wish to kvell a bit about the Mitzvah Tank, but to author and journalist Lisa Alcalay Klug, a trend has emerged in this age of multicultural America.
She calls it Hebesterism. Other examples: In San Francisco, the Chabad temple has a Mitzvah Cable Car and the rabbi rides a Mitzvah Bike. People are wearing T-shirts celebrating their Jewishness with phrases such as "Grateful Yid" and "Drink He'Brew: The Chosen Beer." And Hollywood is producing films like "Don't Mess With the Zohan," in which an Israeli counterterrorism hero fakes his own death to pursue a career as a New York hairstylist.
In her recent book "Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe," Klug -- the daughter of a Holocaust survivor -- describes a wider expression of Jewish identity, an embrace of kitsch and what she terms a "reverent irreverence."
"It's a freer way of celebrating (Judaism), based on a love of Jewish community and culture," she said. "Jewish people around the world are enjoying that in a way that is unprecedented."
Even in the land of NASCAR, Bike Week and Spring Break.
Education writer
"And behold, the Lord . . . said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you, and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth; and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves.' "
-- Genesis 28:13-14
ORMOND BEACH -- During Volusia County pilgrimages to auto races, bike rallies and beach retreats, most everyone, it seems, checks out everyone else's wheels.
If they haven't noticed already, they'll soon start seeing something resembling a new city bus, bathed in bright blues, purple and orange, with slick slogans and images that could just as easily be advertising a law firm or pest-control service.
But telltale sayings -- such as "We Want Moshiach (the messiah) Now!" -- reveal this 34-foot-long Coachmen Mirada 310ds Class A motor home as something completely different. The RV is a Mitzvah Tank, an outreach to Jews.
This is the way Rabbi Pinchas Ezagui rolls.
The 43-year-old head of Esfmores Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Greater Daytona Beach, an orthodox Ormond Beach synagogue, said the Mitzvah Tank is a way to reconnect with the flock. If Ezagui runs into a man, he might offer a chance to pray while wearing tefillin, an arm wrap. Or he might offer a woman a candle. In essence, it provides him a mobile living room to welcome people to the faith a couple of times a week.
"We give people the feeling they are a part of the community," he said. "Regardless of whether they live in Edgewater or Palm Coast or DeLand or DeBary or Deltona, they are at home. . . . There's no such thing as a lost Jew. You're always part of the family."
Mitzvah in Hebrew essentially means good deeds in God's name.
Ezagui, who arrived in Daytona Beach 17 years ago, had long talked of his camper calling. Last year, one of his synagogue members, Yehuda Morali, an Israeli immigrant, brought him to an RV dealership and instructed Ezagui to pick something out. Something new. Something big.
Morali and his business partner, Nissim Shoaff, shared in the expenses, Ezagui said.
Ezagui is only aware of one other Chabad in Florida with a Mitzvah Tank. And he doubts there's another in the country that can compare to his -- which includes a $15,000 graphics job.
"To have this luxury, to have a traveling Jewish Center, to us this is an unbelievable miracle," he said.
It's understandable that Ezagui -- who built the Ormond Chabad from scratch -- might wish to kvell a bit about the Mitzvah Tank, but to author and journalist Lisa Alcalay Klug, a trend has emerged in this age of multicultural America.
She calls it Hebesterism. Other examples: In San Francisco, the Chabad temple has a Mitzvah Cable Car and the rabbi rides a Mitzvah Bike. People are wearing T-shirts celebrating their Jewishness with phrases such as "Grateful Yid" and "Drink He'Brew: The Chosen Beer." And Hollywood is producing films like "Don't Mess With the Zohan," in which an Israeli counterterrorism hero fakes his own death to pursue a career as a New York hairstylist.
In her recent book "Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe," Klug -- the daughter of a Holocaust survivor -- describes a wider expression of Jewish identity, an embrace of kitsch and what she terms a "reverent irreverence."
"It's a freer way of celebrating (Judaism), based on a love of Jewish community and culture," she said. "Jewish people around the world are enjoying that in a way that is unprecedented."
Even in the land of NASCAR, Bike Week and Spring Break.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Rabbi explains ancient custom at opening of Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco
Rabbi Yossi Eber and his wife, Dina, with Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco hosted their official grand opening and mezuza affixing ceremony this week.
A mezuza is a small, sacred parchment inscribed by hand with two Hebrew prayers. The tradition of hanging a mezuza (Hebrew for "doorpost") has its roots in the Bible. The last plague visited upon the Egyptians was the death of the firstborn; God told the Jews to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
About 60 people attended the ceremony Tuesday as Eber affixed the mezuza to Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco, at 9945 Trinity Blvd., Suite 5.
As a free service, Eber visits people's homes and offices in Trinity, Holiday, New Port Richey and surrounding areas to help them properly affix their mezuzas. There should be one on the front door, as well as any other doorways in the home or office, he said.
On another level, the mezuza provides protection and good spiritual energy and keeps the bad energy out, Eber said.
Every time you go out or come in, it's customary to touch the mezuza and kiss your hand. On the outside of the case are the Hebrew letters Shin, Dalet, Yud, an acronym meaning "The Guardian of the doors of Israel."
There is some misconception about mezuzas, even among Jewish people. The case can't be empty or contain a photo copy of the prayers, which is how most local synagogue gift shops and Web sites sell them. An original piece of mezuza parchment can cost between $30 and $150 or more.
"The important part is not the case, it's the original piece of parchment written by a scribe," Eber said.
Otherwise, "it's like a body without a soul."
A mezuza is a small, sacred parchment inscribed by hand with two Hebrew prayers. The tradition of hanging a mezuza (Hebrew for "doorpost") has its roots in the Bible. The last plague visited upon the Egyptians was the death of the firstborn; God told the Jews to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
About 60 people attended the ceremony Tuesday as Eber affixed the mezuza to Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco, at 9945 Trinity Blvd., Suite 5.
As a free service, Eber visits people's homes and offices in Trinity, Holiday, New Port Richey and surrounding areas to help them properly affix their mezuzas. There should be one on the front door, as well as any other doorways in the home or office, he said.
On another level, the mezuza provides protection and good spiritual energy and keeps the bad energy out, Eber said.
Every time you go out or come in, it's customary to touch the mezuza and kiss your hand. On the outside of the case are the Hebrew letters Shin, Dalet, Yud, an acronym meaning "The Guardian of the doors of Israel."
There is some misconception about mezuzas, even among Jewish people. The case can't be empty or contain a photo copy of the prayers, which is how most local synagogue gift shops and Web sites sell them. An original piece of mezuza parchment can cost between $30 and $150 or more.
"The important part is not the case, it's the original piece of parchment written by a scribe," Eber said.
Otherwise, "it's like a body without a soul."
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Torah vanishes from Bais Menachem
RABBI SAYS NO SIGNS OF FORCED ENTRY
BY JILL KASSANDER, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
University City police are investigating the disappearance of one of the Torahs belonging to Congregation Bais Menachem — Chabad on Delmar. Rabbi Yosef Landa and the congregation discovered the Torah was missing during Shabbat services on May 24.
"When we opened the ark for the Torah service I realized one of the Torahs was missing," Landa said. "A big gasp went up throughout the congregation."
The synagogue keeps two Torah scrolls in the ark, said Landa. The congregation does not have a daily minyan so the last time he saw both Torah scrolls was the previous Shabbat.
"The Torah which was stolen is the only Torah we actually own," Landa said. "It is a very beautiful, tall Torah with a red mantle, with large letters in the script style of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Ari Zal. The other Torah we have is on loan to us."
Landa contacted the University City police department after Shabbat and officers arrived within a few minutes. They interviewed Landa, filed a report and told him he would be contacted by a detective during the week.
Further research by the Jewish Light has found three thefts of Torahs from Chabad congregations in other states in the past nine months. Asked about the other thefts, Detective Mike Gage who was assigned to the case said he would be looking into the other incidents.
"We will be contacting the other police departments to compare notes and look for possible connections," Gage said.
One of the Torah thefts occurred around the end of September 2007 from Yeshiva High School in Cottage Grove, Minn.
"A Torah scroll was stolen and a video projector," Rabbi Moshe Weiss, the school's director of development said. "The Torah scroll and projector have not been recovered."
In April, a Chabad House in Miami Beach, Fla., was burned down in an apparent case of arson being investigated by fire officials, the police and the FBI according to an article on MiamiHerald.com. It is believed the congregation's Torah scroll was stolen before the fire was set.
Two scrolls were discovered missing from Congregation Bnai Zedek Chabad in Kenosha, Wis., on April 15. The small congregation has only been around for about nine months, said Rabbi Tzali Wilschanski. The rabbi was giving a class in the social hall downstairs and closed the door to the sanctuary before he left for the evening.
"There was no sign of a break-in," Wilschanski said. "I am concerned somebody might have entered the synagogue and hidden in the sanctuary because the deadbolt lock was open in the morning."
The hazzan's oversize siddur, chumashim and the rabbi's laptop computer were also stolen, though the thief left behind the silver ornaments used to adorn to the Torah.
It is not clear whether any of the thefts are connected although there are similarities in some of the cases, such as the missing books. Landa had noticed a couple of books missing about two weeks before the Torah theft.
"I noticed the large oversized siddur used by the hazzan and a large oversized book of Haftarot were missing," Landa said. "We looked everywhere and thought perhaps someone had borrowed them and forgotten to return them."
Now Landa is wondering if the two incidents are related.
"My mind was racing when I saw the Torah scroll was gone though I don't know if the events are connected," Landa said. "All that was stolen were communal articles. They did not take the pushke which has about $30 to $40 in it."
The Torah scroll is valued at $30,000 to $40,000 according to the police report, though Landa said he would have to do additional research to assess the value of that particular Torah.
Landa said he e-mailed other rabbis to alert them to the theft so they could be more watchful at their own congregations.
"This is so disappointing," Landa said. "There was no sign of forced entry. We have an open door policy. People who frequent the congregation know the code to get into the building."
Barry Parnas regularly attends Shabbat services at the congregation and was there when the theft was discovered.
"I remember the Aron HaKodesh, the Holy Ark, being opened and only one Torah being in there," Parnas said. "The first person to respond was Rabbi Landa. I think he said, 'Sefer Torah missing.'"
Sometimes the shul will use the Torah someplace else but it is always back by Shabbat, said Parnas. He said the congregation was very shaken and surprised by the theft.
"A Torah doesn't seem like something that someone would steal," Parnas said. "It seems very odd to me that someone would take it."
Landa and members of the congregation checked around the community just in case someone had borrowed the Torah and other items for a shiva house or to study.
"This is very sad for me personally," Landa said. "I'm holding out hope that I will wake up from this nightmare and the Torah will be back. I assure whoever took it total anonymity. We just want the Torah back — no questions asked."
BY JILL KASSANDER, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
University City police are investigating the disappearance of one of the Torahs belonging to Congregation Bais Menachem — Chabad on Delmar. Rabbi Yosef Landa and the congregation discovered the Torah was missing during Shabbat services on May 24.
"When we opened the ark for the Torah service I realized one of the Torahs was missing," Landa said. "A big gasp went up throughout the congregation."
The synagogue keeps two Torah scrolls in the ark, said Landa. The congregation does not have a daily minyan so the last time he saw both Torah scrolls was the previous Shabbat.
"The Torah which was stolen is the only Torah we actually own," Landa said. "It is a very beautiful, tall Torah with a red mantle, with large letters in the script style of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Ari Zal. The other Torah we have is on loan to us."
Landa contacted the University City police department after Shabbat and officers arrived within a few minutes. They interviewed Landa, filed a report and told him he would be contacted by a detective during the week.
Further research by the Jewish Light has found three thefts of Torahs from Chabad congregations in other states in the past nine months. Asked about the other thefts, Detective Mike Gage who was assigned to the case said he would be looking into the other incidents.
"We will be contacting the other police departments to compare notes and look for possible connections," Gage said.
One of the Torah thefts occurred around the end of September 2007 from Yeshiva High School in Cottage Grove, Minn.
"A Torah scroll was stolen and a video projector," Rabbi Moshe Weiss, the school's director of development said. "The Torah scroll and projector have not been recovered."
In April, a Chabad House in Miami Beach, Fla., was burned down in an apparent case of arson being investigated by fire officials, the police and the FBI according to an article on MiamiHerald.com. It is believed the congregation's Torah scroll was stolen before the fire was set.
Two scrolls were discovered missing from Congregation Bnai Zedek Chabad in Kenosha, Wis., on April 15. The small congregation has only been around for about nine months, said Rabbi Tzali Wilschanski. The rabbi was giving a class in the social hall downstairs and closed the door to the sanctuary before he left for the evening.
"There was no sign of a break-in," Wilschanski said. "I am concerned somebody might have entered the synagogue and hidden in the sanctuary because the deadbolt lock was open in the morning."
The hazzan's oversize siddur, chumashim and the rabbi's laptop computer were also stolen, though the thief left behind the silver ornaments used to adorn to the Torah.
It is not clear whether any of the thefts are connected although there are similarities in some of the cases, such as the missing books. Landa had noticed a couple of books missing about two weeks before the Torah theft.
"I noticed the large oversized siddur used by the hazzan and a large oversized book of Haftarot were missing," Landa said. "We looked everywhere and thought perhaps someone had borrowed them and forgotten to return them."
Now Landa is wondering if the two incidents are related.
"My mind was racing when I saw the Torah scroll was gone though I don't know if the events are connected," Landa said. "All that was stolen were communal articles. They did not take the pushke which has about $30 to $40 in it."
The Torah scroll is valued at $30,000 to $40,000 according to the police report, though Landa said he would have to do additional research to assess the value of that particular Torah.
Landa said he e-mailed other rabbis to alert them to the theft so they could be more watchful at their own congregations.
"This is so disappointing," Landa said. "There was no sign of forced entry. We have an open door policy. People who frequent the congregation know the code to get into the building."
Barry Parnas regularly attends Shabbat services at the congregation and was there when the theft was discovered.
"I remember the Aron HaKodesh, the Holy Ark, being opened and only one Torah being in there," Parnas said. "The first person to respond was Rabbi Landa. I think he said, 'Sefer Torah missing.'"
Sometimes the shul will use the Torah someplace else but it is always back by Shabbat, said Parnas. He said the congregation was very shaken and surprised by the theft.
"A Torah doesn't seem like something that someone would steal," Parnas said. "It seems very odd to me that someone would take it."
Landa and members of the congregation checked around the community just in case someone had borrowed the Torah and other items for a shiva house or to study.
"This is very sad for me personally," Landa said. "I'm holding out hope that I will wake up from this nightmare and the Torah will be back. I assure whoever took it total anonymity. We just want the Torah back — no questions asked."
Monday, May 19, 2008
History, hard work realized in new Jewish center
By JAMES MILLER
Staff Writer
ORMOND BEACH -- To this day, Rabbi Morris Esformes seems awed by twists of fate that connect him to the Jewish community of Ormond Beach.
The Chicago philanthropist bought Woodland Towers retirement village in DeLand two decades ago partly to help a friend out of a business bind.
On a visit to DeLand about 15 years later, he learned of an orthodox Jewish community in Ormond Beach through what seemed a happenstance meeting with a woman who was part of it.
The rest is history -- and hard work.
Both were on display Sunday, when Esformes joined more than 200 people for the dedication of the Esformes Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Greater Daytona Beach.
Esformes gave more than $4 million to help make the 25,000-square-foot synagogue, community center and school on Granada Boulevard a reality, he said.
"It's probably destiny," Esformes said in an interview before an often emotional ceremony in the ornate synagogue, where speakers stood beneath tablets bearing the 10 Commandments in Hebrew. "It's probably God's infinite wisdom and his hand that brought us all together.
"All my life I have attempted to enhance Jewish education -- in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Israel. This was surely was something I never had dreamed about, and it happened by a fluke."
While the center couldn't have happened without him, Esformes -- whose next project is a Jewish school in Alaska -- praises Rabbi Pinchas Ezagui and his wife, Chani, for their years of work nurturing the community it serves.
The couple came -- or, rather, were sent -- to Ormond Beach 15 years ago to open a center as part of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. Chabad is a Jewish acronym that stands for wisdom.
They first held services and Hebrew school classes in their living room before the community was eventually able to build a synagogue on the same land where the gleaming new center now stands.
Ezagui said the couple came to Ormond Beach when his rebbe -- a head rabbi over other rabbis -- sent him from New York.
The purpose: to establish a center of Judaism for people from all walks of life, he said.
"You don't have to be a member to be part of the club, so to say," Ezagui said. "It's an open house policy to all Jews, whenever, however they want to come through and be part of their own heritage, their own roots, their own essence."
At Sunday's celebration, the diversity of the community was reflected in attire that ranged from blue jeans and T-shirts to austere black hats and suits with white shirts meant to show humility.
"I will tell you the honest truth, from the moment I came to this town, I dreamt about this day," Ezagui said.
The school, set up for about 120 pupils from prekindergarden through middle school, follows the Sunshine State educational standards followed by public schools, while also focusing on such things as study of the Torah and the Hebrew language.
"The general education studies are as important as the religious studies here," said Marcia Shook, a language arts and social studies teacher at the school.
It's a blessing, as far as Yehuda Morali is concerned.
He immigrated from Israel in 1986 and helped build the community, and his youngest son, Netanel, is in fifth grade at the school this year.
"If you plant good seed now, you're going to see the flower in the future," Morali said.
james.miller@news-jrnl.com
Staff Writer
ORMOND BEACH -- To this day, Rabbi Morris Esformes seems awed by twists of fate that connect him to the Jewish community of Ormond Beach.
The Chicago philanthropist bought Woodland Towers retirement village in DeLand two decades ago partly to help a friend out of a business bind.
On a visit to DeLand about 15 years later, he learned of an orthodox Jewish community in Ormond Beach through what seemed a happenstance meeting with a woman who was part of it.
The rest is history -- and hard work.
Both were on display Sunday, when Esformes joined more than 200 people for the dedication of the Esformes Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Greater Daytona Beach.
Esformes gave more than $4 million to help make the 25,000-square-foot synagogue, community center and school on Granada Boulevard a reality, he said.
"It's probably destiny," Esformes said in an interview before an often emotional ceremony in the ornate synagogue, where speakers stood beneath tablets bearing the 10 Commandments in Hebrew. "It's probably God's infinite wisdom and his hand that brought us all together.
"All my life I have attempted to enhance Jewish education -- in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Israel. This was surely was something I never had dreamed about, and it happened by a fluke."
While the center couldn't have happened without him, Esformes -- whose next project is a Jewish school in Alaska -- praises Rabbi Pinchas Ezagui and his wife, Chani, for their years of work nurturing the community it serves.
The couple came -- or, rather, were sent -- to Ormond Beach 15 years ago to open a center as part of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. Chabad is a Jewish acronym that stands for wisdom.
They first held services and Hebrew school classes in their living room before the community was eventually able to build a synagogue on the same land where the gleaming new center now stands.
Ezagui said the couple came to Ormond Beach when his rebbe -- a head rabbi over other rabbis -- sent him from New York.
The purpose: to establish a center of Judaism for people from all walks of life, he said.
"You don't have to be a member to be part of the club, so to say," Ezagui said. "It's an open house policy to all Jews, whenever, however they want to come through and be part of their own heritage, their own roots, their own essence."
At Sunday's celebration, the diversity of the community was reflected in attire that ranged from blue jeans and T-shirts to austere black hats and suits with white shirts meant to show humility.
"I will tell you the honest truth, from the moment I came to this town, I dreamt about this day," Ezagui said.
The school, set up for about 120 pupils from prekindergarden through middle school, follows the Sunshine State educational standards followed by public schools, while also focusing on such things as study of the Torah and the Hebrew language.
"The general education studies are as important as the religious studies here," said Marcia Shook, a language arts and social studies teacher at the school.
It's a blessing, as far as Yehuda Morali is concerned.
He immigrated from Israel in 1986 and helped build the community, and his youngest son, Netanel, is in fifth grade at the school this year.
"If you plant good seed now, you're going to see the flower in the future," Morali said.
james.miller@news-jrnl.com
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Day Of Healing For Two South Florida Synagogues
See links at source for video.
I did not get a chance to watch, but it looks worth watching.
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ―
It was a day of healing and moving forward for two South Florida synagogues on Sunday; one was hit by hate and the other was damaged by fire.
A fundraiser was held at the Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura to buy a new Torah for the Chabad Jewish Center of Miami Beach, which was damaged nearly two weeks ago in a fire. At the same time, the Torah, a religious scroll of Jewish laws and customs and a centerpiece of its religion, was taken.
"We have everyone joined together and give some donation towards it [Torah] and everyone is like joined in one Torah," said Rabii Zeb Kats of Habad Shul. "It's kind of like United Funds coming together and we are all going to have a community Torah, something that we did together."
At the Chabad of Parkland, located at 7170 Loxahatchee Rd., the Rabbi showed Hebrew school children the last of three swastikas and hateful words spray-painted on the synagogue's walls last week. Sunday, they painted over the hateful symbols.
"It's very important to show the children that not only is it relevant, not only is it something that still exists," said Rabbi Mendy Gutnick."It still exists in the world and we have to know how to deal with it, and how to overcome it."
Both of the cases are still under investigation to determine if they are hate crimes.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
I did not get a chance to watch, but it looks worth watching.
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ―
It was a day of healing and moving forward for two South Florida synagogues on Sunday; one was hit by hate and the other was damaged by fire.
A fundraiser was held at the Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura to buy a new Torah for the Chabad Jewish Center of Miami Beach, which was damaged nearly two weeks ago in a fire. At the same time, the Torah, a religious scroll of Jewish laws and customs and a centerpiece of its religion, was taken.
"We have everyone joined together and give some donation towards it [Torah] and everyone is like joined in one Torah," said Rabii Zeb Kats of Habad Shul. "It's kind of like United Funds coming together and we are all going to have a community Torah, something that we did together."
At the Chabad of Parkland, located at 7170 Loxahatchee Rd., the Rabbi showed Hebrew school children the last of three swastikas and hateful words spray-painted on the synagogue's walls last week. Sunday, they painted over the hateful symbols.
"It's very important to show the children that not only is it relevant, not only is it something that still exists," said Rabbi Mendy Gutnick."It still exists in the world and we have to know how to deal with it, and how to overcome it."
Both of the cases are still under investigation to determine if they are hate crimes.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Combined Purim festival lights up T.Y. Park
BY BETH FEINSTEIN-BARTL
Special to The Miami Herald
It was more than just a day at the park for Tzippi and Nick Wigoda.
The couple commemorated the Jewish holiday of Purim at a March 16 festival that attracted thousands of revelers to a mini-midway with carnival games and rides set up along a shady stretch at Topeekeegee Yugnee Park in Hollywood.
''We're all celebrating together, as one Jewish community,'' said Tzippi Wigoda as she watched her 2 ½-year-old daughter, Shoshana, rode on a kiddie train.
The couple, who also brought 8-month-old son Jake, were there to have fun and show support for their synagogue, Young Israel of Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale, Wigoda said.
The Orthodox congregation was one of six Hollywood temples that partnered with the Jewish Federation of Broward County to put on the event, aptly named Purim in the Park. Temple Sinai of Hollywood, Temple Solel, B'nai Sephardim, Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad and Walnut Creek Chabad also participated.
Purim, marking how the ancient Jews of Persia were saved from death, is traditionally greeted with joyous activities. The recent celebration was the largest put on by organizers, with about 6,000 visitors.
Crowds noshed at two new food courts selling kosher hot dogs, knishes and lots of hamantaschen, a triangular fruit-filled pastry served during the holiday. Some 20 rides, compared to four last year, kept folks busy, too, said Avi Frier, co-chairman and founder of Purim in the Park.
The festival has been at T.Y. Park since its start in 2002. Due to lack of volunteers, there was no festival in 2005 and 2006, then it returned a year later when the federation got involved, Frier said.
In 2007, the event was renamed Jill Edison Purim in the Park in memory of Edison, a Hollywood resident who organized Temple Solel's Purim carnival for many years at T.Y. Park before it evolved into the existing community-wide event, said Jackie Reiner, festival co-chairwoman and a board member at Temple Solel.
Purim in the Park draws members from the six congregations representing Judaism's Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements. It also brings in the unaffiliated and people from the community at large.
''Everyone's welcome,'' Reiner said.
In accordance with the Purim command of making gifts to charity, for the second year in a row the festival's proceeds supported the sponsoring synagogues and Southeast Focal Point Joseph Meyerhoff Senior Center.
The money will benefit programs at the center, which serves around 750 seniors a week at 3081 Taft St. in Hollywood, said Frieda Caldes, the facility's director.
''It's wonderful for people to come together and give back to the elderly in their community,'' Caldes said. ``We're thrilled and ever so grateful.''
Special to The Miami Herald
It was more than just a day at the park for Tzippi and Nick Wigoda.
The couple commemorated the Jewish holiday of Purim at a March 16 festival that attracted thousands of revelers to a mini-midway with carnival games and rides set up along a shady stretch at Topeekeegee Yugnee Park in Hollywood.
''We're all celebrating together, as one Jewish community,'' said Tzippi Wigoda as she watched her 2 ½-year-old daughter, Shoshana, rode on a kiddie train.
The couple, who also brought 8-month-old son Jake, were there to have fun and show support for their synagogue, Young Israel of Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale, Wigoda said.
The Orthodox congregation was one of six Hollywood temples that partnered with the Jewish Federation of Broward County to put on the event, aptly named Purim in the Park. Temple Sinai of Hollywood, Temple Solel, B'nai Sephardim, Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad and Walnut Creek Chabad also participated.
Purim, marking how the ancient Jews of Persia were saved from death, is traditionally greeted with joyous activities. The recent celebration was the largest put on by organizers, with about 6,000 visitors.
Crowds noshed at two new food courts selling kosher hot dogs, knishes and lots of hamantaschen, a triangular fruit-filled pastry served during the holiday. Some 20 rides, compared to four last year, kept folks busy, too, said Avi Frier, co-chairman and founder of Purim in the Park.
The festival has been at T.Y. Park since its start in 2002. Due to lack of volunteers, there was no festival in 2005 and 2006, then it returned a year later when the federation got involved, Frier said.
In 2007, the event was renamed Jill Edison Purim in the Park in memory of Edison, a Hollywood resident who organized Temple Solel's Purim carnival for many years at T.Y. Park before it evolved into the existing community-wide event, said Jackie Reiner, festival co-chairwoman and a board member at Temple Solel.
Purim in the Park draws members from the six congregations representing Judaism's Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements. It also brings in the unaffiliated and people from the community at large.
''Everyone's welcome,'' Reiner said.
In accordance with the Purim command of making gifts to charity, for the second year in a row the festival's proceeds supported the sponsoring synagogues and Southeast Focal Point Joseph Meyerhoff Senior Center.
The money will benefit programs at the center, which serves around 750 seniors a week at 3081 Taft St. in Hollywood, said Frieda Caldes, the facility's director.
''It's wonderful for people to come together and give back to the elderly in their community,'' Caldes said. ``We're thrilled and ever so grateful.''
Chabad celebrates annual Purim festival
Daniela Aizic wore a pair of bunny ears that she had bought in Israel. Her children, Ethan, 1, was dressed as an M&M, Elan, 2, as a fire truck and Aviya, 4, wore a Snow White costume.
The costumes were part of the Jewish holiday known as Purim.
"We get to wear costumes twice a year" said Aizic, reminiscing about the Purim celebrations she remembered as a child. "The children are still too young to know why we are celebrating, but in time they will learn."
Purim is a time for celebration and rejoicing. It is also about the story of Queen Esther and how she foiled a plot by Haman to have the Jewish people annihilated, thus part of the Purim celebration is the reading of the "Megilah" (Scroll of Esther).
Rabbi Simon Jacobson read the Megilah in Hebrew as a group of children and adults held clangers, poised and ready to make noise each time the name Haman was mentioned.
"Purim is also a time we exchange gifts, we aid the poor and celebrate with food and wine" said Sheina Jacobson, wife of the rabbi.
This was the fourth annual Festival of Purim sponsored by the Chabad of Charlotte County.
The costumes were part of the Jewish holiday known as Purim.
"We get to wear costumes twice a year" said Aizic, reminiscing about the Purim celebrations she remembered as a child. "The children are still too young to know why we are celebrating, but in time they will learn."
Purim is a time for celebration and rejoicing. It is also about the story of Queen Esther and how she foiled a plot by Haman to have the Jewish people annihilated, thus part of the Purim celebration is the reading of the "Megilah" (Scroll of Esther).
Rabbi Simon Jacobson read the Megilah in Hebrew as a group of children and adults held clangers, poised and ready to make noise each time the name Haman was mentioned.
"Purim is also a time we exchange gifts, we aid the poor and celebrate with food and wine" said Sheina Jacobson, wife of the rabbi.
This was the fourth annual Festival of Purim sponsored by the Chabad of Charlotte County.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
An unexpected partnership
On November 29, a deal was signed in Deerfield Beach, Florida, which saved Temple Beth Israel, the giant Conservative congregation, from extinction. And the lifesavers were none other than Chabad Lubavitch. How an ultra-Orthodox group came to form a partnership with a Conservative shul is an compelling story for our time.
Founded in 1977, Temple Beth Israel had about 2,000 member families in the early 1980s, when my parents and in-laws were living in Century Village, a huge retirement community. Beth Israel was so popular that there was a waiting list for those wanting to join. Whenever we visited, my father-in-law would take my wife and me, and one, two or three of our sons with him for Shabbat services, where the presence of youngsters brought wide attention from the hundreds of bubbies and zeidies. My sons were puzzled by the majestic and bilingual services, so different from the wrap-'em-up Shabbat prayers we knew in Israel.
Right up the street was the storefront Young Israel Orthodox congregation, where a few dozen families staunchly rejected Beth Israel's family seating and microphone. Sometimes I would daven in Young Israel, where the services (apart from the Ashkenazi accents) were much closer to the Israeli model.
Way back then, Century Village was, as my father would say, "99.9% Jewish, and I know the one Italian family."
But the only constant is change. In 2007, the only one of our parents left in Century Village is my mother. The demographics have changed completely. For more than a decade, the new people moving in have been either Orthodox Jews or gentiles.
On a recent trip, I couldn't help but notice this in the clubhouse gym and pools. In the past, these locations looked and sounded like a Jackie Mason skit: old Jews shvitzing, kvetching, bumping into each other and shouting in dialect, "Hey Morty, I see you're still alive this morning."
"Sophie, where didya go eat yesterday?" "Stop yer splashin'. Lady, yer grandson's gettin' my hair wet."
Today, you're more likely to see large gold crucifixes hanging around necks.
Young Israel outgrew its storefront and built a huge synagogue rivaling the Conservative one, filled with worshipers every Shabbat. Members of the Young Israel now populate the condos in walking distance to their shul.
MEANWHILE, over in Temple Beth Israel, a few dozen people gather for Shabbat services. Membership has plummeted to some 200 families. There isn't enough income to employ a rabbi, and there was talk that even the salary of Cantor Charles Segelbaum, the acting spiritual leader for the past three years, would have to be cut.
"Our days appeared to be numbered," says the London-born Segelbaum."The few dues-paying members weren't providing us with enough income to continue functioning as a congregation."
Then, a few months ago, Ken Barnett, Beth Israel's new board chairman, had an inspired idea. Alerted to the nearby Chabad Lubavitch group of North Broward and South Palm Beach Counties, which was looking for a permanent place to pray, he thought that perhaps they could be the answer to Beth Israel's prayers. The Chabadniks had no place to daven but they were giving classes and what they call "Lunch & Learn" sessions.
Barnett made a shiduch between the Chabadniks and the Conservatives, between those with a big building and a shrinking congregation - and those with a growing population and no building.
"We were invited to a members' meeting at Temple Beth Israel," explains Rabbi Yossi Goldblatt, the leader of the Chabad group. "I told the members that we don't want to make any changes in how they do things. I said we can give classes, lectures and other activities that will bring people into the building, and life back to the congregation. I was received very well, and with a lot of interest."
However, some members were suspicious that once "inside," the Chabad group would try to change the nature of Beth Israel, which prides itself as being "Conservative, traditional and egalitarian," having mixed seating and calling women to the bima for the Torah reading. Eventually, they were convinced that Chabad would do nothing to interfere with the Conservative way of prayer services.
Ken Barnett adds that Beth Israel's members, who include Holocaust survivors and other immigrants from Europe, may have a special positive feeling for the Chabadniks, with their old world dress and customs. This, he believes, may have also helped to soften their opposition to the partnership.
Within a short while, a deal was hammered out. In return for yearly cash payments which would give Beth Israel a comfortable operating budget, the Chabadniks would receive use of the building and other Beth Israel assets. At this stage, they will use the small chapel for daily and Shabbat services - after installing a mehitza. The Conservatives will continue to use the main sanctuary for their Shabbat services, while sharing the chapel with Chabad for the daily minyan. No one has objected to the mehitza - and since women do not regularly attend the daily minyan, its presence is largely irrelevant.
The cash inflow from Chabad is allowing Beth Israel to hire a rabbi and an executive director, after being without either for several years.
When the congregation met to vote for the partnership agreement, over 90% were in favor.
Cantor Segelbaum expects that as the Conservative congregation continues to shrink and the Chabadniks grow, the latter will eventually take over the huge sanctuary, and the Conservatives will move to the little chapel.
"What can you do?" he shrugs. "That's reality. But I figure that this arrangement will give us at least another five years of life."
Ken Barnett believes that these years will be filled with nachas for his congregants, "thanks to the financial support and sensitivity of our Chabad partner."
As Rabbi Goldblatt put its: "It's a deal that's good for the Jews."
The writer does advertising and direct mail in Jerusalem. He has been visiting Century Village in Deerfield Beach, where his mother now lives, for over 25 years.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Having faith: Ranch's Rabbi Mendy Bukiet lends a hand to others
Ryan T. Boyd
Nov. 20--EAST MANATEE
Rabbi Mendy Bukiet has spent all of his 30 years helping Jews. That's what his father and grandfather, who were also rabbis, taught him.
Whether that entails going to their hospital bedsides or providing food to the needy or strengthening their spirits through the religion, that has been Mendy's mission.
This type of thinking was instilled in him during his younger days in the Jewish community in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, and still dwells in him as rabbi of the Chabad of Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch.
Rabbi Mendy and his wife, Chana, moved to the area three years ago to reach out to the Jewish community of East Manatee after an uncle's urging.
He never thought he would have to reach out even more to his family.
Five years ago, the Bukiets oldest son, Chaim Meir, 5, was born a healthy child. Two years later, the family's second son, Mordechaie, 3, was born.
But it was when the couple's third son, Zalman, 2, was born with Down syndrome that Mendy gained even more knowledge of his religion.
"Jewish religion brings out the concept that special needs children are just not unique," Mendy said, "but they are extremely special. It means that most times they have a closer connection with Godliness. A special needs child can actually strengthen a person's belief in Godliness, and everything else, especially, when you see how much faith they have.
"Children with Down syndrome they have a lot of faith with the parents," he added. "They have a lot of love and a lot of happiness. Even at times of hardship they are able to smile and they really enjoy life. We can learn a lot from these type of children."
Normally, a baby inherits 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. In cases of Down syndrome, a child gets an extra chromosome, and the extra gene causes physical and mental disabilities.
The disease affects one in every 800 babies born.
The first leader of the rabbi movement was named Zalman and it means to bring light. That's how Mendy has interpreted Zalman's arrival.
"We take it as a blessing, and as a gift," he said. "We hope that we can do good with him, and give him the best life he can have. Ultimately, this just brought into focus everything in life. Everything that we have in our lives is a gift from God."
East county synagogue
The Bukiets started the first synagogue in their house, then moved to a school, then to a rental building.
Now the synagogue is on the first floor of the First Priority Bank building, off Palmbrush Trail in Lakewood Ranch.
The Bukiets moved here knowing only five people and the congregation has grown to about 350 families that attend the Chabad at various times of the year. The Chabad offers a weekly service along with various classes for men, women and children throughout the week.
"We grow with the community," Rabbi Mendy said.
Marianne Zoll has grown with the Bukiets and the Chabad as a regular goer of the Chabad for the past 18 months.
Zoll said she's enjoyed Rabbi Mendy's common-man approach to the congregation, and he's made a powerful rapport with his congregation
"He's invited me to his house for Shabbat," Zoll said. "That's not something a rabbi normally does. He's like a regular person. I have his cell phone number, and I know he's not my family, but I know he'll be here if I need him. I believe if he gets 1,000 people in his congregation he'll still be the same way. He is just very honest and very giving, and so is his wife."
Rabbi Mendy spends a lot hours at the synagogue, but he still finds time to transport his oldest two children back and forth to a Jewish day school in Tampa five days a week, make his calls or visit people who are sick or people in need of a spiritual uplift, and open the synagogue in the evenings. Through all of the running, Mendy still makes time to have Zalman to his doctors appointments when scheduled.
Recently, Rabbi Mendy spent most of the day at a hospital in Tampa as Zalman had tubes inserted into his ears to improve his hearing.
"It has been difficult with running a Chabad center," Rabbi Mendy said, "and doing everything he needs to give him the best life he can have. It has been a little bit trying at times, but life is trying, and that is our goal to overcome them, and to make the best out of it. I don't look at the Chabad center as my job. It's my life. My family is not my job. It's my life. There for when there is something special in your life you have the energy to make it work. You have the energy make it be the best it can be."
Others in his congregation has noticed Rabbi Mendy's dedication.
"It's his knowledge, and he's inspiring and he makes you feel good," said Ricki Rubin. "He makes you feel good about being alive, and understand how to live the right way."
Zalman's situation only inspired the Bukiets to produce another gift. About nine weeks ago, Chana gave birth to the couple's fourth child, a healthy boy named, Shaya. Deficiencies or not, to the Bukiets the only thing that matters is that all four of their children are full of energy and having fun.
"Family comes first always," Rabbi Mendy said. "There's a balance that has to be kept so my wife don't suffer and my kids don't suffer. And we do our best to keep that balance."
Mendy Bukiet
Age: 30
Local residence: Lakewood Ranch
Occupation: rabbi of the Chabad of Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch
Birthplace: Miami
Family: wife, Chana; Chaim Meir, 5; Mordechaie, 3; Zalman, 2; and newborn Shaya
Jana Morreale sections editor
P.O. Box 921
Bradenton, FL. 34206
ATTN: MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR
You can also e-mail the information to jmorreale@ bradenton.com, or fax it to her attention at 745-7097.
Rabbi Mendy Bukiet balances family and faith
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Monday, October 22, 2007
Fla. governor: Kotel prayer saved state
Florida's governor said a prayer he made at the Western Wall spared his state from hurricanes.
Charlie Crist , speaking Sunday at a prayer breakfast at the state's Republican Party convention in Orlando, related how he had placed a note in the Western Wall asking God to protect Florida from hurricanes, according to Shmais.com, a Chabad news service.
"So far, so good," Crist said.
Crist, who governs the state with the nation's third-highest Jewish population, traveled to Israel in May to promote economic ties. He was criticized recently by the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union for hanging a mezuzah outside his office in Tallahassee.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Chabad of Nova gets OK to go ahead with zoning suit
COOPER CITY - An orthodox Jewish congregation that claims Cooper City's zoning laws discriminate against religious institutions can move forward with several counts of its lawsuit, a federal judge ruled.
Chabad of Nova Inc., filed an eight-count complaint against Cooper City in May claiming that the city's zoning laws are illegally designed to protect the city's tax base by banning all tax-exempt houses of worship from commercial districts.
The city filed a motion to dismiss the suit in June, but United States District Judge Cecilia Altonaga ruled against dismissing at least three of the eight counts on Monday.
In one of the counts upheld, the Chabad claim Cooper City violates the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act because they permit day care centers, a non-religious assembly, to operate in the business district but prohibits religious assemblies.
Fort Lauderdale attorney Franklin Zemel, who is representing the Chabad of Nova, said, "We're very pleased with the results.''
But Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Burke, who is representing Cooper City in this case, said the judge's ruling was a mixed since some of the counts were dismissed and some the city will have to answer.
According to the lawsuit, the city has discriminated against houses of worship for 30 years by relegating them to the western, agriculturally-zoned borders in order to protect its tax base. Houses of worship do not pay property taxes.
Zemel said Rabbi Shmuel Posner opened a Chabad Outreach Center in the Timberlake shopping plaza last year, but was booted out by Cooper City because of its codes. Posner has temporarily moved the outreach center to 8276 Griffin Road in Davie.
Last October, Cooper City relaxed its ordinance by including houses of worship in office parks and recreational facilities, but the commercial district ban remained.
Despite the changes, Zemel said the city is still violating federal law because new religious congregations tend to start by renting in a commercial district and they don't have that option in Cooper City.
Fort Lauderdale attorney Franklin Zemel, who is representing the Chabad of Nova, said, "We're very pleased with the results.''
But Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Burke, who is representing Cooper City in this case, said the judge's ruling was a mixed since some of the counts were dismissed and some the city will have to answer.
According to the lawsuit, the city has discriminated against houses of worship for 30 years by relegating them to the western, agriculturally-zoned borders in order to protect its tax base. Houses of worship do not pay property taxes.
Zemel said Rabbi Shmuel Posner opened a Chabad Outreach Center in the Timberlake shopping plaza last year, but was booted out by Cooper City because of its codes. Posner has temporarily moved the outreach center to 8276 Griffin Road in Davie.
Last October, Cooper City relaxed its ordinance by including houses of worship in office parks and recreational facilities, but the commercial district ban remained.
Despite the changes, Zemel said the city is still violating federal law because new religious congregations tend to start by renting in a commercial district and they don't have that option in Cooper City.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
THE FAITH LEADER: Rabbi Shmuli Novack
Education: West Coast Talmudical Seminary, Los Angeles; Rabbinical College of America, Morristown, N.J.
Tell us about your family.
I am one of nine and my wife is one of 11, thank G-d. [Editor's note: Orthodox and many other Jews refrain from writing out or speaking the name of God because doing so outside of prayer and worship is considered sacrilegious.]
My wife was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Israel (a great combo). She is gorgeous. I have two adorable boys, thank G-d, Zammy and Menny, 3 and 2. People think they are twins, but they are 13 months apart. With the help of G-d we will have many more healthy, beautiful children. My wife is an amazing cook, which is nice because I love to eat (only kosher food of course).
What is Chabad?
A Jewish organization with more than 150 centers in Florida alone and four in the greater Jacksonville area. Chabad rabbis or emissaries are dedicated to enhancing Jewish education and increasing Jewish pride to ensure a brighter, more vibrant, Jewish tomorrow. An era of true redemption.
What is unique about your congregation?
I don't have a congregation, I have friends who join us for Shabbat, for holidays, to sing, to eat, to pray or just to talk. I am always making new friends.
What is most rewarding about your ministry?
Sitting down for a hearty Shabbat dinner with dozens of friends and community members.
What is most frustrating about your ministry?
Never being able to take off for the holidays or weekends.
What book are you reading or recommending lately?
I am reading Jewish Meditation by Aryeh Kaplan and The Vanishing American Jew by Alan Dershowitz. I always highly recommend Rabbi Shneur Zalman's Lessons In Tanya. Every time I read it, I am both challenged and elevated.
Have you ever doubted your faith?
I have evolved in my devotion. Being born into an observant family, I woke up in my late teens asking myself if this is me or is it peer pressure or just trying to make my parents happy.
How were those doubts resolved?
Inside out. Thank G-d my soul is in a good place.
What is your favorite saying, motto or verse of Scripture?
"Nothing is more complete than a broken heart." Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch moving to new location
HERALD STAFF REPORT
LAKEWOOD RANCH - Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch will be moving to larger quarters in the new First Priority Bank building in Lakewood Ranch.
The Chabad congregation, which will be celebrating its third year anniversary Aug. 24, will make the move to 11509 Palm Brush Trail beginning Nov. 1, Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch, Rabbi Mendy Bukiet said.
"This is a significantly larger center which will suit our expanding needs," said Bukiet, whose congregation will continue to meet at 6311 Atrium Drive # 204 until the move.
The new location will allow the Chabad to expand its Friday night services and early morning Shabbat classes, Bukiet said.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Florida Opens First Hebrew Public School
Larry Luxner
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.
Margaret Schorr, a marketing and public-relations consultant, wanted her 5-year-old daughter Hannah to learn Hebrew, but she wasn't willing to pay the $8,000 to $13,000 annual tuition that Jewish day schools in South Florida typically charge for kindergarten.
For attorney David Barnett, price wasn't the issue -- he wanted his daughter in a more diverse environment.
Both families are set to take advantage of a groundbreaking option: the nation's first Jewish-oriented charter school.
When the school year starts on Aug. 20, Schorr's daughter and Barnett's daughter will be among the 430 or so students attending the new Ben Gamla Charter School in this city. The taxpayer-funded institution says that it will offer two hours of instruction a day in Jewish-related topics, but not religion.
Not a single class has yet been taught, but the school is generating controversy among the estimated 240,000 Jews living in Broward County, which also has one of the nation's largest concentrations of Israelis.
Ben Gamla's charter was approved in March, but the school was still the hot topic at a July 24 school-board meeting that drew a standing-room-only crowd. Supporters of the school -- the brainchild of the area's former U.S. congressman, Peter Deutsch -- say it could serve as a national model, providing families with a financially accessible option at a time when most non-Orthodox households are opting not to send their children to Jewish day schools.
Some critics, on the other hand, worry that the school's main contribution will be to serve as a road map for religious communities seeking to lower the wall separating church and state.
"In other countries, we Jews were forced to support religious institutions of the dominant religions," said Rabbi Allan Tuffs of Temple Beth El, a Reform congregation in Hollywood. "The Jewish community has succeeded in America largely thanks to the principle of separation of church and state.
"But with charter schools like Ben Gamla, we are opening the door for public money to be used to support all sorts of religious ideologies across America," he warned. "What will we say to the imam down the street who says he wants to teach Arabic within an Islamic cultural setting? Or the fundamentalist Christian group that wants to start a school to teach Christian culture?"
By definition, charter schools are publicly financed elementary or secondary schools that are managed privately, with minimal input from local school boards, and whose innovative teaching methods are expected to produce higher academic results.
Ben Gamla's director, an Orthodox rabbi named Adam Siegel, said that students will learn Hebrew, Jewish culture and Jewish history for two hours a day; faculty will be forbidden from teaching Torah or prayer. Siegel, 37, added that the school will serve kosher meals, and students will be permitted to organize their own worship services.
"I didn't get hired for this job because I'm a rabbi," he said. "Plenty of Orthodox Jews work as stock brokers and lawyers without converting people. If you're a math teacher, you focus on the math. It's not my job to chase people and make them Jewish."
Susan Onori, the charter-school coordinator for the Broward school board, noted that her agency rejected Ben Gamla's original curriculum, which utilized textbooks replete with menorahs, Stars of David and other religious symbols.
"We felt that was inappropriate for a public school," she said, adding that the school made changes, and is now in compliance with the law.
"The Ben Gamla school is not religious in nature at all," stated Onori. "We do not fund public religious schools in the state of Florida."
Onori vowed that the school would be monitored, and have its charter revoked if it was found to be teaching Judaism.
"They have a contract with us," she said, "and the contract is very clear about separation of church and state."
About 16,500 of the county's 236,000 students attend charter schools, with 52 such institutions expected to be operating by the time classes begin next month.
The new Jewish-themed school is named after Rabbi Joshua Ben Gamla, a first-century rabbi in ancient Israel who is credited with establishing the concept of public education.
"Ben Gamla was the one who saved Torah study for his generation," quipped Tuffs, the Reform rabbi. "He was known for teaching religion, not math or science."
Tuffs accused Deutsch of misrepresenting the school as secular in nature, while heavily marketing it through Chabad Lubavitch congregations as providing the equivalent of a Jewish day-school education. He also criticized Siegel.
"The director doesn't call himself rabbi anymore; now he's Mr. Siegel," claimed Tuffs. "This is an Orthodox rabbi who has a B.A. He's got no credentials of any kind other than having run a yeshiva-style school. If you really want to have a Hebrew-language program, you hire an Israeli with an advanced degree in pedagogy. It's so disingenuous."
School-board member Eleanor Sobel also raised concerns about the school and its director. During the recent board meeting, she noted that she and her brother had learned Hebrew in a public school, and said that she had originally been excited by the idea of Ben Gamla.
"But your principal is an Orthodox rabbi, and your original location was going to be a synagogue," she said, according to the Florida Jewish News. "The only way we can know what's really going on is if we have a mole in your school."
Deutsch insisted that "Ben Gamla is not a Jewish day school, but a public school open to anyone who lives in Broward County, regardless of religion."
"Trust me," he said, "if we were doing anything in violation of that, we would have already been sued."
Competition for Day Schools Deutsch and Onori both asserted that the school's main detractors are backers of expensive private Jewish day schools terrified of losing students to Ben Gamla. Representatives of day schools who raised questions about Ben Gamla at the recent school-board meeting cited legal concerns.
A champion of the charter-school movement during his time as a Democratic lawmaker in Congress, Deutsch said that Ben Gamla is licensed to have 600 students, but because of space restrictions there can only be 430 for now.
"We have an additional charter from Miami-Dade County for another 600 kids," he added, "and our expectation is that we will be applying for more charters in Palm Beach County and, most likely, several places outside of Florida."
'A Self-Selected Group'
According to Deutsch, 80 percent of Ben Gamla's students are coming from other public schools. He said that it's safe to say that most of them are Jewish, although it is impossible to provide an exact figure because as a public school, the institution is forbidden to ask applicants their religion.
"We have a lot of kids from Israel, but we also have Hispanic kids. Obviously, it's a self-selected group," said Deutsch.
The school is being managed by Academica, a firm that currently runs 21 charter schools in Florida. According to Deutsch, the firm will receive from the Florida Department of Education roughly $5,000 per student -- 95 percent of what the state would pay a regular public school. That works out to just over $2 million for Ben Gamla at current enrollment levels.
"Consider that in Broward County, there are approximately 50,000 Jewish kids attending K-12," said Deutsch. "Last year, there were 1,600 kids in Jewish day schools, or less than 5 percent of the total. Clearly, there is a huge void in Jewish education in Broward County."
Barnett, the Hallandale Beach attorney who felt a regular day school would not be diverse enough for his daughter, said that "you'll find a lot of parents in South Florida are always willing to try new schools because our education system ranks near the bottom."
Tzipora Nurieli, an Israeli-born Hallandale woman, said that she registered her three children -- ages 11, 9 and 7 -- at Ben Gamla, thereby saving a combined $48,000 in annual tuition fees that she would have been spending over the course of the year.
"I was supposed to send them to Hillel in North Miami Beach, but this school is the most amazing miracle that's ever happened," she said. "It's a combination of teaching my kids Hebrew, but also taking advantage of the public-school system. This is like having the best of both worlds."
For attorney David Barnett, price wasn't the issue -- he wanted his daughter in a more diverse environment.
Both families are set to take advantage of a groundbreaking option: the nation's first Jewish-oriented charter school.
When the school year starts on Aug. 20, Schorr's daughter and Barnett's daughter will be among the 430 or so students attending the new Ben Gamla Charter School in this city. The taxpayer-funded institution says that it will offer two hours of instruction a day in Jewish-related topics, but not religion.
Not a single class has yet been taught, but the school is generating controversy among the estimated 240,000 Jews living in Broward County, which also has one of the nation's largest concentrations of Israelis.
Ben Gamla's charter was approved in March, but the school was still the hot topic at a July 24 school-board meeting that drew a standing-room-only crowd. Supporters of the school -- the brainchild of the area's former U.S. congressman, Peter Deutsch -- say it could serve as a national model, providing families with a financially accessible option at a time when most non-Orthodox households are opting not to send their children to Jewish day schools.
Some critics, on the other hand, worry that the school's main contribution will be to serve as a road map for religious communities seeking to lower the wall separating church and state.
"In other countries, we Jews were forced to support religious institutions of the dominant religions," said Rabbi Allan Tuffs of Temple Beth El, a Reform congregation in Hollywood. "The Jewish community has succeeded in America largely thanks to the principle of separation of church and state.
"But with charter schools like Ben Gamla, we are opening the door for public money to be used to support all sorts of religious ideologies across America," he warned. "What will we say to the imam down the street who says he wants to teach Arabic within an Islamic cultural setting? Or the fundamentalist Christian group that wants to start a school to teach Christian culture?"
By definition, charter schools are publicly financed elementary or secondary schools that are managed privately, with minimal input from local school boards, and whose innovative teaching methods are expected to produce higher academic results.
Ben Gamla's director, an Orthodox rabbi named Adam Siegel, said that students will learn Hebrew, Jewish culture and Jewish history for two hours a day; faculty will be forbidden from teaching Torah or prayer. Siegel, 37, added that the school will serve kosher meals, and students will be permitted to organize their own worship services.
"I didn't get hired for this job because I'm a rabbi," he said. "Plenty of Orthodox Jews work as stock brokers and lawyers without converting people. If you're a math teacher, you focus on the math. It's not my job to chase people and make them Jewish."
Susan Onori, the charter-school coordinator for the Broward school board, noted that her agency rejected Ben Gamla's original curriculum, which utilized textbooks replete with menorahs, Stars of David and other religious symbols.
"We felt that was inappropriate for a public school," she said, adding that the school made changes, and is now in compliance with the law.
"The Ben Gamla school is not religious in nature at all," stated Onori. "We do not fund public religious schools in the state of Florida."
Onori vowed that the school would be monitored, and have its charter revoked if it was found to be teaching Judaism.
"They have a contract with us," she said, "and the contract is very clear about separation of church and state."
About 16,500 of the county's 236,000 students attend charter schools, with 52 such institutions expected to be operating by the time classes begin next month.
The new Jewish-themed school is named after Rabbi Joshua Ben Gamla, a first-century rabbi in ancient Israel who is credited with establishing the concept of public education.
"Ben Gamla was the one who saved Torah study for his generation," quipped Tuffs, the Reform rabbi. "He was known for teaching religion, not math or science."
Tuffs accused Deutsch of misrepresenting the school as secular in nature, while heavily marketing it through Chabad Lubavitch congregations as providing the equivalent of a Jewish day-school education. He also criticized Siegel.
"The director doesn't call himself rabbi anymore; now he's Mr. Siegel," claimed Tuffs. "This is an Orthodox rabbi who has a B.A. He's got no credentials of any kind other than having run a yeshiva-style school. If you really want to have a Hebrew-language program, you hire an Israeli with an advanced degree in pedagogy. It's so disingenuous."
School-board member Eleanor Sobel also raised concerns about the school and its director. During the recent board meeting, she noted that she and her brother had learned Hebrew in a public school, and said that she had originally been excited by the idea of Ben Gamla.
"But your principal is an Orthodox rabbi, and your original location was going to be a synagogue," she said, according to the Florida Jewish News. "The only way we can know what's really going on is if we have a mole in your school."
Deutsch insisted that "Ben Gamla is not a Jewish day school, but a public school open to anyone who lives in Broward County, regardless of religion."
"Trust me," he said, "if we were doing anything in violation of that, we would have already been sued."
Competition for Day Schools Deutsch and Onori both asserted that the school's main detractors are backers of expensive private Jewish day schools terrified of losing students to Ben Gamla. Representatives of day schools who raised questions about Ben Gamla at the recent school-board meeting cited legal concerns.
A champion of the charter-school movement during his time as a Democratic lawmaker in Congress, Deutsch said that Ben Gamla is licensed to have 600 students, but because of space restrictions there can only be 430 for now.
"We have an additional charter from Miami-Dade County for another 600 kids," he added, "and our expectation is that we will be applying for more charters in Palm Beach County and, most likely, several places outside of Florida."
'A Self-Selected Group'
According to Deutsch, 80 percent of Ben Gamla's students are coming from other public schools. He said that it's safe to say that most of them are Jewish, although it is impossible to provide an exact figure because as a public school, the institution is forbidden to ask applicants their religion.
"We have a lot of kids from Israel, but we also have Hispanic kids. Obviously, it's a self-selected group," said Deutsch.
The school is being managed by Academica, a firm that currently runs 21 charter schools in Florida. According to Deutsch, the firm will receive from the Florida Department of Education roughly $5,000 per student -- 95 percent of what the state would pay a regular public school. That works out to just over $2 million for Ben Gamla at current enrollment levels.
"Consider that in Broward County, there are approximately 50,000 Jewish kids attending K-12," said Deutsch. "Last year, there were 1,600 kids in Jewish day schools, or less than 5 percent of the total. Clearly, there is a huge void in Jewish education in Broward County."
Barnett, the Hallandale Beach attorney who felt a regular day school would not be diverse enough for his daughter, said that "you'll find a lot of parents in South Florida are always willing to try new schools because our education system ranks near the bottom."
Tzipora Nurieli, an Israeli-born Hallandale woman, said that she registered her three children -- ages 11, 9 and 7 -- at Ben Gamla, thereby saving a combined $48,000 in annual tuition fees that she would have been spending over the course of the year.
"I was supposed to send them to Hillel in North Miami Beach, but this school is the most amazing miracle that's ever happened," she said. "It's a combination of teaching my kids Hebrew, but also taking advantage of the public-school system. This is like having the best of both worlds."
Monday, February 05, 2007
Celebrating Tu B'Shevat
By Jamie Henline
Monday, February 5, 2007
More than 40 people from the Chabad Jewish Center of Naples gathered at Farmer Mike's U-Pick in Bonita Springs on Sunday morning to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees.
Armed with grocery store bags, the children of Chabad's Hebrew School scattered in the pick-your-own strawberry patch at Farmer Mike's, their small fingers rooting through the vines to pluck the bright red berries.
Tu B'Shevat is a celebration of life for trees, and it is marked by eating fruits, including pomegranates, figs, olives, grapes and dates, said Rabbi Fischel Zaklos of Chabad of Naples. Those are the fruits mentioned in the Torah in its praise of the Holy Land, according to www.chabadnaples.com.
Tu B'Shevat is celebrated because a tree's life cycle is like that of a human, said Zaklos. A seed is planted, and after much watering and nurturing, it begins to grow. Two pieces of wood are used to support the tree in its younger years, and then a few decades later, you reap the benefits, he said.
This is the second year students from the Hebrew School, or Jewish Enrichment Program, have gone to Farmer Mike's to celebrate the New Year for Trees, he said. Later, the strawberries will be made into strawberry shortcake or dipped in chocolate and eaten, he said.
Rachel Koral, 9, of Naples, did not let the brisk air or slight smattering of raindrops slow her down. In less than 10 minutes, she had her bag half full of the ripe, red fruit.
"Since we're celebrating Tu B'Shevat, we should pick fruit," she said. "It's fun."
Her mother, Marcy Koral, agreed.
"I think this is really fun and different," she said. "We've been in Naples for five years, and we never knew this was here."
The sweet red fruit is also really tasty, she said with a laugh, adding she had tried a couple of the berries already.
"They taste really good," she said.
Teaching the importance and significance of a Jewish holiday in such a hands-on way is really unique, said Robert Gurdian, who brought his 4-year-old son, Ari, and his 8-year-old daughter, Tova.
"You're so used to Publix. Being outside and actually picking them yourself is a different experience," he said.
Chabad of Naples strives to provide hands-on learning because it has the most lasting results, said Ettie Zaklos, wife of Fischel Zaklos and director of the school. Even the Zaklos' 3-year-old son, Mendel, got in on the picking, stooping over the plants in his blue yarmulke and bright yellow Crocs shoes to grab the reddest berries.
"Mendel also picked last year. This year, he is bigger, so he's picked a lot more," Ettie Zaklos said, laughing.
Carla Morstein came to Farmer Mike's with her husband, Steve, and her two children, Scott and Hailey. They had never been strawberry picking before.
"I think I'm having more fun than the kids," she said with a chuckle as she bent over the plants. She clutched a pile of the berries in one hand, her nails painted nearly the same shade of red as the fruit.
"I think...this is the way a child should learn. It explains to them what they're learning about," she said.
© 2006 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.
Monday, February 5, 2007
More than 40 people from the Chabad Jewish Center of Naples gathered at Farmer Mike's U-Pick in Bonita Springs on Sunday morning to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees.
Armed with grocery store bags, the children of Chabad's Hebrew School scattered in the pick-your-own strawberry patch at Farmer Mike's, their small fingers rooting through the vines to pluck the bright red berries.
Tu B'Shevat is a celebration of life for trees, and it is marked by eating fruits, including pomegranates, figs, olives, grapes and dates, said Rabbi Fischel Zaklos of Chabad of Naples. Those are the fruits mentioned in the Torah in its praise of the Holy Land, according to www.chabadnaples.com.
Tu B'Shevat is celebrated because a tree's life cycle is like that of a human, said Zaklos. A seed is planted, and after much watering and nurturing, it begins to grow. Two pieces of wood are used to support the tree in its younger years, and then a few decades later, you reap the benefits, he said.
This is the second year students from the Hebrew School, or Jewish Enrichment Program, have gone to Farmer Mike's to celebrate the New Year for Trees, he said. Later, the strawberries will be made into strawberry shortcake or dipped in chocolate and eaten, he said.
Rachel Koral, 9, of Naples, did not let the brisk air or slight smattering of raindrops slow her down. In less than 10 minutes, she had her bag half full of the ripe, red fruit.
"Since we're celebrating Tu B'Shevat, we should pick fruit," she said. "It's fun."
Her mother, Marcy Koral, agreed.
"I think this is really fun and different," she said. "We've been in Naples for five years, and we never knew this was here."
The sweet red fruit is also really tasty, she said with a laugh, adding she had tried a couple of the berries already.
"They taste really good," she said.
Teaching the importance and significance of a Jewish holiday in such a hands-on way is really unique, said Robert Gurdian, who brought his 4-year-old son, Ari, and his 8-year-old daughter, Tova.
"You're so used to Publix. Being outside and actually picking them yourself is a different experience," he said.
Chabad of Naples strives to provide hands-on learning because it has the most lasting results, said Ettie Zaklos, wife of Fischel Zaklos and director of the school. Even the Zaklos' 3-year-old son, Mendel, got in on the picking, stooping over the plants in his blue yarmulke and bright yellow Crocs shoes to grab the reddest berries.
"Mendel also picked last year. This year, he is bigger, so he's picked a lot more," Ettie Zaklos said, laughing.
Carla Morstein came to Farmer Mike's with her husband, Steve, and her two children, Scott and Hailey. They had never been strawberry picking before.
"I think I'm having more fun than the kids," she said with a chuckle as she bent over the plants. She clutched a pile of the berries in one hand, her nails painted nearly the same shade of red as the fruit.
"I think...this is the way a child should learn. It explains to them what they're learning about," she said.
© 2006 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.
Ritual bath opens at Chabad of Boynton Beach
By Joel Hood
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 5, 2007
Boynton Beach� Miles from the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the Super Bowl, a spiritual ritual of a different sort was renewed Sunday at the Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Boynton.
Dozens of men and women, some in their teens, many more in their 70s and 80s, walked single file through a steel-rimed arch and into a private sanctuary steeped in thousands of years of tradition. The Chabad of Boynton Beach opened its long-awaited mikvah, or cleansing bath, with celebration and reflection Sunday, a watershed event illustrating the growth and prominence of the city's Jewish community, which tops 50,000. The day also underscored the resurgent popularity of the 3,000-year-old custom for younger Jewish women who might not strictly adhere to other Jewish holidays and rituals.
"It's not just about cleansing; it's a celebration of feminism," said Suzanne Goldberg, of Lake Worth. "It connects you to Jewish women throughout history."
While some men use mikvahs to prepare for the High Holy Days, the ritual bath is primarily used by women who cleanse themselves after menstruation. Women remove all their clothing, jewelry and makeup and immerse themselves completely in a pool that contains both tap water and rainwater. The ritual begins at nightfall on the seventh day after the completion of the menstrual cycle, thus allowing women to resume sexual relations with their husbands.
The purpose of the mikvah is both spiritual and physical renewal, said Rabbi Sholom Ciment of the Boynton Chabad. But many modern mikvahs, like the $500,000 one unveiled in Boynton, resemble day spas with ornate fixtures and polished tile. The Boynton mikvah has several hand-painted murals and sparkling granite floors. That's no accident, Ciment said, as synagogues try to connect with busy women juggling families and careers.
"It's meant for relaxation and reflection," said Boynton Beach resident Jaelle Kellman. "It's a blessing that hopefully will inspire a lot of younger women to be a part of it."
Since ancient times, the mikvah has served at the center of the Jewish faith and, often, literally at the center of the Jewish community. Before the recent revival, attendance in mikvahs had declined as lives got busier and the notion of a cleansing bath after menstruation was seen as outdated. The Boynton mikvah is the third in Palm Beach County, joining those Boca Raton and North Palm Beach, Ciment said.
"The immersion is the literal embrace of God," Ciment said. "It's the total embodiment of the thinking Jew's quest to find meaning."
Joel Hood can be reached at jhood@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6611.
Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 5, 2007
Boynton Beach� Miles from the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the Super Bowl, a spiritual ritual of a different sort was renewed Sunday at the Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Boynton.
Dozens of men and women, some in their teens, many more in their 70s and 80s, walked single file through a steel-rimed arch and into a private sanctuary steeped in thousands of years of tradition. The Chabad of Boynton Beach opened its long-awaited mikvah, or cleansing bath, with celebration and reflection Sunday, a watershed event illustrating the growth and prominence of the city's Jewish community, which tops 50,000. The day also underscored the resurgent popularity of the 3,000-year-old custom for younger Jewish women who might not strictly adhere to other Jewish holidays and rituals.
"It's not just about cleansing; it's a celebration of feminism," said Suzanne Goldberg, of Lake Worth. "It connects you to Jewish women throughout history."
While some men use mikvahs to prepare for the High Holy Days, the ritual bath is primarily used by women who cleanse themselves after menstruation. Women remove all their clothing, jewelry and makeup and immerse themselves completely in a pool that contains both tap water and rainwater. The ritual begins at nightfall on the seventh day after the completion of the menstrual cycle, thus allowing women to resume sexual relations with their husbands.
The purpose of the mikvah is both spiritual and physical renewal, said Rabbi Sholom Ciment of the Boynton Chabad. But many modern mikvahs, like the $500,000 one unveiled in Boynton, resemble day spas with ornate fixtures and polished tile. The Boynton mikvah has several hand-painted murals and sparkling granite floors. That's no accident, Ciment said, as synagogues try to connect with busy women juggling families and careers.
"It's meant for relaxation and reflection," said Boynton Beach resident Jaelle Kellman. "It's a blessing that hopefully will inspire a lot of younger women to be a part of it."
Since ancient times, the mikvah has served at the center of the Jewish faith and, often, literally at the center of the Jewish community. Before the recent revival, attendance in mikvahs had declined as lives got busier and the notion of a cleansing bath after menstruation was seen as outdated. The Boynton mikvah is the third in Palm Beach County, joining those Boca Raton and North Palm Beach, Ciment said.
"The immersion is the literal embrace of God," Ciment said. "It's the total embodiment of the thinking Jew's quest to find meaning."
Joel Hood can be reached at jhood@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6611.
Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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