Visa applicants asked about sex-trade

Michael Freund,
THE JERUSALEM POST

Sep. 8, 2006

When Devorah Leah Bandorenko went with her three-year-old son to the Israeli Embassy here earlier this year to apply for a tourist visa to visit her ailing 85-year-old grandmother in Karmiel, she did not expect to be asked whether she was a prostitute.

"I couldn't believe it," said the Orthodox Bandorenko, who covers her hair with a wig and works full-time at the Chabad-Lubavitch Center in Volgograd.

"The official at the Israeli Consulate told me I need to bring proof that I will not sell my child in Israel, and that I do not plan to work there as a prostitute," she said in an interview in fluent Hebrew, with tears welling up in her eyes.

"They told me that I was young and attractive, so they suspected that I was planning to go to Israel to make some money in a sordid and disgusting way. How can they treat people like this? And just how is someone supposed to prove that they are not a prostitute?"

Six months after submitting her application, Bandorenko has yet to receive a visa.

Although the Foreign Ministry vigorously denies that Russian Jewish women seeking visas at the Moscow embassy are subject to such questioning, Bandorenko, it appears, is not alone in having been confronted in such a manner by Israeli consular officials.

"That is a known thing, it has been going on for some time," said an Israeli official based in Moscow. "The consular staff frequently ask good-looking women seeking to visit Israel to prove that they are not prostitutes, or that they do not plan to work in the sex trade while they are there. It is completely outrageous, extremely insulting and it should be stopped."

"Consular officials do not speak that way, and I can assure you that such things do not happen," Foreign Ministry spokesman Eddie Shapira said.

According to Shapira, who served in Moscow until returning to Jerusalem last year, "Such claims are utterly baseless. Our staff meticulously follows the rules and procedures laid down by the Interior Ministry and by the consular section of the Foreign Ministry."

"Anyone who feels that a consular official has not treated them properly," he said, "can submit a complaint to the Interior Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, and it will be reviewed with the utmost seriousness."

Shapira noted that some 50,000 Russian citizens visited Israel last year, and that the consular staff at the Moscow embassy handled hundreds of requests for visas on a daily basis, largely without incident.

But Inna Chizikova, a Russian Jew with grown children who edits a Jewish community newspaper, told The Jerusalem Post about a similar experience she had when she went to the embassy to apply for a visa to attend her son's wedding in Jerusalem.

"My husband, my mother and I, together with our other son, went to request visas," Chizikova recalled. "Then, in front of my family members, the clerk told me that I was very pretty and asked if perhaps I was going to Israel to make money as a prostitute. My husband thought it was a joke, but for me it was terrible. I felt horrible afterward."

Meet a Malibuite Joyce Brooks Bogartz

Amy Larson
Staff Writer

A For nearly two years, the Malibu Beach Grill has been a busy restaurant near the Malibu Pier on Pacific Coast Highway. However, the restaurant is more than just a building. The restaurant, and the manager, Joyce Brooks Bogartz, both have a unique history that helps make the eatery special.

Malibu Beach Grill, which replaced Malibu Chicken, was opened in October of 2004 as a healthy option to the area’s many fast food establishments. The manager is a renaissance woman of sorts and has been involved in a variety of fields. After working as an entertainment publicist for 15 years, she said she felt it was time for a change and decided to look into other options. These “other options” took her through law school, the public defender’s office, and eventually, the Chabad of Malibu, a Jewish organization.

A self-proclaimed “generalist,” Bogartz had a flexible job description, and was responsible for all sorts of tasks, which eventually led her to Malibu Beach Grill.

“At the time that the rabbi was looking for an owner, I told him to consider [my husband] and me,” Bogartz said of the establishment’s owner in search of new management. The rabbi did consider Bogartz, who began working in the eatery from its beginnings nearly two years ago.

“This is like a third career for me,” Bogartz said. Indeed, she has taken on a massive job, with the restaurant being open for 16 hours most of the week and 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m Fridays. The restaurant is closed Saturdays for the Sabbath.

Even with long days and an endless line of customers, Bogartz never seems to tire or get frustrated with demanding or rude people, explaining how she “[understands] the hungry mentality.”

In addition to understanding the customer’s hunger, Bogartz said she makes an effort to be kind and respectful to everyone. People who step into the restaurant have the opportunity to make a new friend in the person who is serving them.

Bogartz spends a great deal of time interacting with the customers. Even the postman was greeted by name and given something to drink out of the eatery’s massive cooler. The kind words, the hugs and the other things Bogartz does to go out of her way to be helpful, do not go unnoticed by customers, many of whom commented to her about how soon they would be returning to the restaurant.

Beyond the friendly atmosphere, many patrons visit and revisit Malibu Beach Grill for the kosher recipes it offers. Chabad of Malibu, a Jewish organization that owns the building that houses the grill, desired a place where they could eat without worrying about whether or not the food went against their customs.

The bright yellow sign outside the restaurant displays not only the eatery’s motto (“It’s all good!”), but also a tiny symbol relays the restaurant’s kosher rating and the word “glatt.”

Glatt is the highest level of being kosher that a restaurant can attain, and the documentation of rabbis checking the restaurant is displayed on a shelf near the counter. Each thing in the restaurant is carefully detailed to ensure the highest standards of kosher.

The restaurant brings a unique way for Bogartz to integrate her faith with her work. Copies of Jewish writings sit on a shelf in the restaurant, and tiny cards that say “keep smiling” in English and Hebrew decorate the cash register.

For Bogartz, her new venture at the Malibu Beach Grill is just beginning. After living in and around Malibu for 12 years, she says feels a great tie to the community and is excited to connect with them in any way she can. Her hospitality and friendliness toward each customer make the Malibu Beach Grill unlike any other place in the area.

“I consider it an extension of my home,” Bogartz said.

Jewish festival draws 3,000

By Matthew Whorf/ Correspondent
Friday, September 8, 2006 - Updated: 09:34 AM EST

The return of the Greater Boston Family Day and Jewish Music Festival at Canton’s Prowse Farm on Labor Day drew around 3,000 people after a two-year hiatus, encouraging organizers to hold the event annually.
Monday’s afternoon-long gala was sponsored and organized by Shaloh House Chabad of the South Area in Stoughton. Originally held in 2001, the group spent the last two years regrouping and reorganizing due to rainy weather and disappointing attendance.
Monday’s attendance, which drew patrons of all levels of Jewish observance and non-Jews, was promising, said Festival committee member Leslie Cain Tamarkin.
Rabbi Mendel Gurkow, a founding rabbi and the executive director at Shaloh House, was on the Festival committee and shared Tamarkin’s sentiment.
"I am extremely excited and feel rewarded," he said. "I believe we’ve reached a new level in our firm commitment for community outreach within the Jewish community. I hope that the festival gave each person who attended a great appreciation for community," said
Along with afternoon of traditional and contemporary live music, covering a diverse of styles from Klezmer, Middle Eastern and Chasidic to rock, the festivities also featured children’s performances, including music and magic, as well as other children’s attractions such as arts and crafts, Judaic booths, carnival rides and the Irving and Mamie Albert children’s library.
For the adults, there was a vast variety of vendors for Jewish faith-based arts and crafts and non-profit agencies. Altogether, the features and attractions aimed to put the emphasis on promoting local talents of or connected to the South Shore Jewish community.
What was also unique about the 2006 Festival was the first-time official presenter, WBOS 92.9 FM, a popular Boston radio station.
The event was also emceed is PMPNetworks.com’s Mark Snyder, who hosts the Entertainment Minute nightly on WBOS as well as WJMX-FM and WROR-FM and is a weekly columnist for the Stoughton Journal.
"A lot of hard work went into putting together the event for this day," Snyder said. "And the music and magic performances were great, the audience was receptive and the weather cooperated."
The more traditional music performers included show openers Dan Gil and Band. Gil, who lives in Sharon, is the vocalist/instrumentalist. He described the band’s performance as a folk-based, original world-rhythm sound with songs in Hebrew and Aramaic lyrics.
Also, Shirav, a spiritual folk/acoustic duo consisting of musicians/clerics Rabbi Paskin, spiritual leader at Temple Beth Abraham in Canton, and Rabbi Creditor of Temple Israel in Sharon.
Fishel Bresler and his Klezmer Hasidic Trio, who are Providence, RI-based charmed the audience with its unique instrumental style, a lively, sometimes exotic, blend of western and ethnic folk music and jazz.
Finally, Cape Cod’s the Grab Brothers Band, closed out the Festival with their own brand of loosen-up-and-have-fun rock and roll, which included originals and classic rock covers rewritten with a Jewish twist, most notably Bob Dylan’s "Rainy Day Women" ("Everybody must say Shalom").
A special guest appearance was made by Harvey Robbins of Sharon, who is the president of the Friends of Prowse Farm. The farm is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to what Robbins described as the 31-year venture to preserve the historic grounds of Prowse Farm, in the events of several corporate and real estate attempts to rezone the property.
Altogether, organizers and performers appeared happy with the day’s event.
"Very few times does a Jewish community of all flavors get together. This is a very precious thing, and we should do more of this," Rabbi Creditor, of Shirav, said.

Mitzvah Marathon to remember victims

The fourth annual Good Deed Mitzvah Marathon, commemorating the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at the Allen Street Gate on East College Avenue.

The event, sponsored by the Chabad Jewish Student Organization and Chabad of Penn State, is designed to present people with the opportunity to do a good deed in memory of Sept. 11 victims.

Tables will be set up at the gate, where participants will be able to do a good deed, such as writing cards for poor children, buying a letter in a Torah Scroll, say a prayer or give to a charity.

Participants will fill out a form to document their deed to attach to a picture of a Sept. 11 victim, then fasten both to a "wall of honor."

At 12:45 p.m., a moment of silence will take place.

For more information, call Rabbi Nosson Meretsky at 863-4929 or 777-2707.

Solon Chabad to dedicate Torah scroll Sept. 10

BY: ALAN SMASON, Staff Reporter

Rabbi Zushe Greenberg and his wife Miriam, of the Chabad Jewish Center of Solon, are very excited about a new arrival.

It's not another son or daughter (the Greenbergs have eight children), but in many ways it will be one of their family's most exciting additions; it's a brand new Torah scroll.

The Solon center is inviting the entire community to welcome this new Torah scroll, especially commissioned for them, on Sun., Sept. 10. The scroll will reside in their Aron Hakodesh (Holy Ark) next to three other Torah scrolls previously donated to the center by synagogues and individuals during the center's 15 years of existence in Solon.

Funds for Chabad's new Torah scroll were publicly raised. Those making a substantial donation could sponsor one of the 54 individual parshas (portions of the Torah). An individual scroll letter cost $18. Because the goal has yet to be reached, fundraising efforts for the new Torah are continuing. Although the exact figure was not disclosed, prices for new Torah scrolls are typically in the $40,000 range.

The new scroll arriving in Solon from Israel will be accompanied by a sofer (scribe). The scribe used a quill and ink to copy the new scroll onto lamb's hide. It was sewn together with animal sinew and glued. The process began in December and is only now near completion.

The sofer copied all but the last few letters as the scroll was rolled onto two long pieces of wood called etz chaim (trees of life). The Torah's last letters will be filled in at the Torah dedication on Sept. 10.

As soon as the final lettering is completed, the participants will begin celebrations in earnest. The scroll will be closed, and a special mantle and crown will be used to dress it. A special chupah (bridal canopy) will cover it as it is carried outside to a waiting throng of well-wishers.

Led by a procession of children brandishing balloons and accompanied by a live band, community members will march the scroll along a parade route onto nearby Cannon Road and then back to the Chabad of Solon center.

"We celebrate (this) like a wedding,” Greenberg explains. "The Torah is celebrated like a human; you dress the Torah with a special mantle, and you put a crown on top of the Torah. It's like a (bridal) veil.”

Adult procession members will light the way with candles, and children will have magic light wands. "We do this with love and excitement to show how much we love and cherish the Torah,” Greenberg notes.

Back at the Chabad center, an outdoor party will feature live entertainment, dancing, and refreshments. A giant inflatable slide and moon bounce will be available for children.

An exhibit on the ancient technique of Torah making will be on view. At the conclusion of the event, signatures written with quill and ink on a blank piece of Torah parchment will be placed into a "time capsule.”

"Writing a Torah creates a new channel of blessing for the community,” explains Rabbi Greenberg. "It is for the protection of the Jewish people.”

One of the 613 mitzvot requires every Jew to write his own Torah. While this task is close to impossible for most, Greenberg admits, taking part in a dedication ceremony for a new Torah scroll is the next best thing.

The event, beginning at 3 p.m., is free to the public, but children who wish to march in the parade and receive a balloon and "magic light wand” must pre-register with the Chabad Jewish Center of Solon at 440-498-9533 or by e-mailing miriam@solonchabad.com.

asmason@cjn.org

Good Deeds Marathon for 9/11 Victims

With Monday marking the fifth year anniversary of September eleventh, University of Florida students will have their chance to commemorate the victims of nine eleven. The Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center will be hosting the nine eleven good deeds marathon. Students will be able to perform a good deed in honor of the victims. Director of the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center Rabbi Berl Goldman says he expects a large turnout people. Deeds range from making sandwichs for the homeless to donating money to charity. Rabbi Goldman says this event will promote unity among people. The Good Deed Mitzvah Marathon will be in Turlington Plaza from eleven A-M to three P-M on Monday September eleventh.

YouTube swells in popularity

Students tap online video-sharing service for entertainment, promotion

Susie Wahrman/Staff Writer
Posted: 9/8/06

When the University's Les Turchin Chabad House was brainstorming ways to recruit new members for the fall 2006 semester, Chabad volunteer Nechama Verter had an idea.

Like nearly every college student in the United States, Verter had been playing around with the free video-sharing website Youtube.com, and she thought of using the Web site to publicize events.

As a result, the Chabad House created the concept of weekly Tuesday night "Jewtube Nights;" Chabad social events are videotaped and later broadcast on the popular Web site for University students to watch and enjoy.

"It's easy to use and convenient, and it's a great way to get Chabad events out there," Verter said. "Once the first video goes up, it will bring a lot of people to both the web site and Chabad events."

Chabad President Jennifer Biddick, a Rutgers College senior, agreed.

"I hope that YouTube can help get people to come to RU Chabad," Biddick said. "Once you see yourself on a video, you'll tell your friends, 'Come see me on the Internet!'"

Biddick also emphasized the web site's advantages for advertising.

"It's a great way to advertise events, since you don't need to know anything about computers to use it," Biddick said.

Many other University organizations have also been using YouTube. University football games, choir performances and fraternity happenings are commonly uploaded onto the site. Frequently viewed videos include the recap of the Rutgers University 2006 Dance Marathon and a collection of clips from the Rutgers 2005 football season.

Using YouTube.com as a publicity tool is only one of the many ways University students have been using video-sharing sites like YouTube.com and video.google.com. Over the past few months, these sites have been growing rapidly, because people constantly put comedic videos on the Internet to share with their friends.

"It's a really great place to watch funny movies," said Ariella Gutin, a Douglass College junior. Approximately 370 Rutgers and global facebook groups are dedicated to students' love for amusing YouTube videos.

Sites like YouTube.com have also become well-known for becoming a propaganda tool. "The only time I ever use YouTube is to watch political videos," said Rutgers College junior Nina Sherman. "And for sure everything is slanted."

But Rutgers School of Engineering junior Benji Vinick said the spread of propaganda should not be blamed solely on sites like YouTube.

"Students can fall for any propaganda if they allow themselves to do so," Vinick said. "Newspaper articles can cause the same problem. It's not the site's fault that these videos are being hosted - it's the users' fault."

As of last week, YouTube has launched a new branch of the site, which is dedicated to college students. So far 31 college networks have been added to the site, including Rutgers University. Similar to Facebook.com, all one needs is a university email address, and a student can join his or her school's network and upload videos specifically to share with other university students.

There are currently 30 members of the Rutgers network and four videos have been posted. However, the numbers are slowly growing.

According to the college YouTube Web site, with this new system "It's easier than ever to share videos with friends at your college on YouTube. [Simply] join up, and add videos to the pool."

© Copyright 2006 The Daily Targum

Post number 1,000

To my thousands of avid readers:

Shabbat Shalom!

Napa Valley gets new rabbi

Friday, September 1, 2006

Rabbi Eli and Chanie Tenenbaum and their two children, Mendel and Mushka, have recently arrived in the region in order to establish the Chabad-Lubavitch Center of Napa Valley, serving the Jewish community. They will be starting off the new year with High Holiday services at the Elks Club on Soscol Ave. The Tenenbaums are available for classes with Jews interested in studying about their heritage, and will answer questions about anything in Judaism. They are also planning holiday programs for children and the elderly throughout the year. They can be reached by calling 320-2348.

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah in India? No Problem

by Robin Esrock


Young Israelis are among the world's most prolific travelers, gravitating to hot spots like Bolivia, Thailand and India, where the shekel stretches far. Having experienced Pesach in Argentina, surrounded by more than 400 mostly Israeli backpackers, I was curious to see where I might end up for Rosh Hashanah on my around-the-world journey.

I knew that I would be in India, and given that several hotels in Delhi's Pahar Ganj district had signs in Hebrew, there had to be something going on.

As it turned out, I would be in the holy town of Rishikesh, where ashrams and yoga studios line the Ganges. A few weeks before Rosh Hashanah, I had fallen in with an Israeli crowd in Goa who had highly recommended Rishikesh as a place to find the inner spirituality that India is so famous for. Like so many others who visit India, I was looking to find myself, too.

During a challenging night bus ride from Delhi, in which the driver seemed hell-bent on having a head-on with every truck on the road, I found myself chatting up an Italian girl in the seat next to me. When we arrived, I followed her to an ashram outside of town. Naturally, we got horribly lost on the way, but I suppose you have to get lost before you expect to find yourself.

The swami there was world famous, and the Italian girl had flown in from Rome to spend eight months studying yoga and inner bliss. It seemed like just the ticket, so I followed her to a yoga class, where I found myself surrounded by post-high school Californians with immaculate tans in the latest, hippest designer yogaware. The instructor, an American, spoke with an unnerving calmness while the class anxiously took notes.

"Can you repeat clearly how one should position our shoulders during two-minute meditation," asked one kid, as if nirvana would be the best possible grade at the end of year semester.

It all seemed a little ridiculous, so I quietly backed out the door, grabbed my pack and headed into town.

Unlike the lower Ganges, where the water pollutants are apparently 150 times more than the most dangerous allowable level, the Ganges here flows thick and fast from its source in the nearby Himalayas. A suspension bridge crosses the gray water at Ram Jhula, a popular neighborhood with the holy set. Pedestrians, cyclists, cows and monkeys all make use of the bridge, and as I stepped foot on the other side, I was surrounded by babas, Indian holy men who meditate all day and survive through the charity of the community.

I followed my nose to a wonderful little guesthouse at the top of the hill, dropped my things and went off in search of a beer. Easier said than done, this being a holy city after all, where most restaurants are vegetarian and the chiming of ashram bells echo in the air.

With a little perseverance, I found what I was looking for above an Internet cafe, where the signs were all in Hebrew. Seconds later, I was talking to some girls from Haifa.

"Nu, and where are you going for Rosh Hashanah?" they asked in that friendly Israeli way that makes you feel like a younger sibling.

"Wherever you are, I hope," I replied.

Turns out there were so many Israelis in Rishikesh, that three different Rosh Hashanah celebrations had been organized. Early the next evening, I met with the girls from Haifa and followed them to the next village of Luxman Jhula, across another bridge. After passing rustic Indian shacks, hundreds of locals getting ready to sleep on the streets, beautifully exotic ashrams and more than a few monkeys and cows, the last thing I expected to see were chandeliers.

A large enclosure had been set up in a field below a hotel, with seats and tables laid out, and chandeliers hanging from the plastic tarp walls, lighting it up. The ceiling was open, the sun was setting and it looked surreally beautiful.

Unlike my Pesach in Argentina, where we had to walk through metal detectors to enter the five-star hotel in Patagonia, this Rosh Hashanah service was open to anybody and everybody, bringing together quite an eclectic mix of travelers.

I turned to talk to a Japanese backpacker, curious how she stumbled upon Chabad, and it turned out she was Jewish, too. By my rough count, there were about 300 people, and this was just one of three celebrations.

We were served a meal of chicken, potato and vegetables after a service that saw uplifting singing and dancing. I wondered how on earth Chabad managed to secure kosher food. But since it was Chabad, I figured it must be kosher. It was the first time I had eaten meat in India, as I was determined to avoid getting sick and was avoiding all meat, eggs and anything uncooked.

At the same time on the Ganges below, a traditional Hindu puja, a religious ritual showing respect to God, was taking place. Floral offerings were made and set forth on the river, young boys chanted holy songs, incense was burned and a gold urn was passed around and touched with reverence by the community, much like a Torah on the way back to the ark.

Never mind the ashrams and the yoga centers.

As I sat beneath the stars, celebrating a new Jewish year surrounded by Jewish backpackers of all nationalities, I decided the Ganges was the perfect place to find myself after all.

Vancouver-based freelance writer Robin Esrock has traveled to 32 countries in the past 18 months, posting pictures and stories on his Web site, www.moderngonzo.com.

Cozy Kosher Surf Shack -- Observant Oasis in the 'Bu

Joyce Brooks Bogartz's look isn't quite what you'd expect from the owner of a kosher restaurant. Adorned with brown and cream dreadlocks, the nearly 50-year-old proprietor of Malibu Beach Grill would at first glance seem to fit in better with customers sporting board shorts than black hats. But this post-punk Gidget is the kind of 'Bu Jew who is as comfortable around Chabadniks as she is with surfers.

"Having a kosher place, you can only be so risqué in your appearance," she said.

Situated a quick jaywalk across Pacific Coast Highway from Surfrider Beach and the Malibu Pier, Malibu Beach Grill is a kosher oasis in a town renowned for breathtaking seaside vistas, A-list celebrity sightings and new-age crunchiness. And nearly two years after the controversial ouster of Malibu Chicken by building owner Chabad of Malibu, Malibu Beach Grill is well on its way to carving out its own niche with an eclectic menu that can best be described as California fleishig (meat).

But the road to winning over the locals wasn't easy.

Brooks Bogartz and her husband/silent partner, Gary Bogartz, each worked full-time jobs in addition to the restaurant during the first year. Malibu Beach Grill was open 16-hour days in the first six months, and differentiated itself from many area restaurants by offering delivery.

"I thought I worked hard before this. I had no idea," said Brooks Bogartz, a former entertainment publicist and Chabad Telethon coordinator. "For a year we were the walking dead," she said. "I was sleeping four hours a night."

Business is starting to pick up at this cozy kosher surf shack, both from word-of-mouth in the observant world and hipster bon mots in the L.A. Weekly last summer.

To compensate for being closed Friday night and Saturday, the restaurant stays open until 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, making it a favorite with Pepperdine students, especially during winter months. The free wi-fi doesn't hurt, either. The novelty of buying kosher food at the beach keeps observant families showing up en masse on Sundays and on weeknights during the summer. More than a few put Malibu Beach Grill on the itinerary so out-of-town guests can savor the SoCal ta'am (flavor).

"It's a small place, but it's better than what we have in Philadelphia," said Shira Weitz, 22, who was visiting with friend Este Kahn.

"They put an interesting twist on everything," said Kahn, a 22-year-old Fairfax resident. "It's different from what you get at other kosher restaurants. It's not just a plain burger."

The burgers at Malibu Beach Grill offer a Cali twist: the Sunset features sundried tomatoes, caramelized shallots and basil aioli. And when the kitchen staff asked Brooks Bogartz how she wanted to prepare the Mexican food, in Jewish fashion she answered the question with another question: "How does your grandmother do it?"

Kashrut for the restaurant is handled by Rabbi Levy I. Zirkind out of Fresno. Brooks Bogartz identifies as shomer Shabbat, and as a resident of the Malibu area since 1994, she attends services at Chabad of Malibu, whose sign featuring a surfing rabbi has graced PCH since 2001.

Despite the dread cred and her sister Collette's local notoriety as a surfer, Brooks Bogartz has yet to actually grab a stick and hit the waves.

"My dream is to learn how to surf in Hawaii, where it's warm," she said. Instead, Brooks Bogartz spends her time working alongside her dedicated kitchen crew, which has remained the same since its opening, slowly building up the restaurant's catering and walking the tables to make sure her customers are happy.

"I have the Jewish mother inclination to feed everybody," she said.

The Jewish Thai Massage Guru

Yosel Tarnofsky: Kabbalist, Theosophist, Jewish Spiritual Master

By Judd Handler

The Madre Grande Monastery is one of the most beautiful places in San Diego County, and one of the least-likely places for a Jew to live. Located in Dulzura, just 10-minutes from the border of Tecate, the monastery is a 264-acre paradise. It is also home to Yosel Tarnofsky, an all-together different kind of Jew.

Considering the spiritual path Tarnofsky has taken, he thinks it makes perfect sense to live with Theosophist abbots of The Paracelsian order.

Tarnofsky not only lives in the monastery; he teaches and performs Thai Massage, a healing modality that is often described in the west as assisted yoga stretching. Thai Massage is gaining in popularity, although it has only been taught in U.S. massage schools for the past two decades.

Originally from Chicago, Tarnofsky has become one of the most sought-out Thai Massage practitioners, often traveling to Chicago, New York and Orange County to perform Nuad Bo Rarn, Thai for ‘traditional healing medicine.’

The 55-year-old compares Thai Massage to Kabbalah.

“The original foundation in Judaism, in my opinion, is based in mysticism, in Kabbalah,” he says. “I was studying Kabbalah in 1972, way before Madonna was pushing it into the mainstream,” he says.

The parallel between Kabbalah and Thai Massage, Tarnofsky notes, is that both were studied only by very observant and learned religious men.

Kabbalah, of course, was studied by rabbis; what is known as Thai Massage in the west was practiced by Buddhist monks, who doubled as physicians and most likely were the inspiration for the development of Chinese medicine.
“What’s interesting about Thai Massage is that it is neither massage nor is it from Thailand,” Tarnofsky says. “And up until 100 years ago, Buddhist monks were the only ones allowed to do this work.”

Thai Massage originally comes from India, where its principles were developed over 5000 years ago. As Buddhism spread to countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand, so did meditation, herbs, hydrotherapy and other natural-healing arts. Tarnofsky says that Thai Massage spread to Thailand about 2500 years ago.

Like the Buddha himself, Tarnofsky embarked on a spiritual quest to seek out personal answers to the universe. Tarnofsky’s path reads much like a novel. In fact, one of his spiritual teachers, Larry Shine, was the inspiration for Somerset Maugham’s novel Razor’s Edge.

Tarnofsky thinks the seeds for his own spiritual growth were planted after a couple of near-death, out-of-body experiences.

As a child, Tarnofsky suffered from asthma. He received weekly injections, and one day, at age 10, a confused doctor gave him the wrong shot. Tarnofsky went into anaphylactic shock and almost died.
“It was exactly how people describe it in books,” says Tarnofsky of his near-death experience.

“I floated outside my body. I was on the ceiling watching everything that was going on.”

Tarnofsky had a similar out-of-body experience after being arresting for hitchhiking near Reno. He was locked in a filthy jail cell, contracted meningitis, and once again found himself outside of his body, watching himself fight for his life.

Tarnofsky’s connection to Judaism includes a half year as a sheep herder on a kibbutz in Israel. He learned Hebrew the spiritual way, through Tarot cards, which is deeply connected to Kabbalah.

“I didn’t learn Hebrew in Hebrew school, that’s for sure,” says Tarnofsky. “I got kicked out.”

Having grown up in a secular household, Tarnofsky waited until the age of 25 to receive his Bar Mitzvah.

“I was bar-mitzvahed on a Chabad bus in New York City,” he explains. They stopped me on the street and asked me if I was Jewish and told me they were one person short of a minyan.

“I told them I’d be happy to help but I haven’t even been bar-mitzvahed. They told me no problem; we’ll bar-mitzvah you here on our bus.”

Tarnofsky’s only observant relative was a grandmother. Growing up, Tarnofsky was called Joey by everybody except his Bubbe.

Being the spiritual seeker he is, Tarnofsky had his name analyzed via numerology later on in life by his spiritual teacher in Independence, California, John Heston, who at one time was studying to become a rabbi.

“John didn’t like the numerology with Joel so he suggested I use another name. I didn’t want to be one of those people in the sixties who changed their name to Sunshine; I wanted something more natural.”

What Tarnofsky picked is the name his bubbe used to call him, Yosel.

“I always loved my Yiddish name,” he says.

Tarnofsky’s spiritual quest, however, has not taken him to Thailand, or India or any other country that one might associate with spirituality.

“I’m probably the only Thai Massage teacher who has never been to Thailand,” he says. “I don’t think it’s necessary to seek out spiritual enlightenment and teachers in far-off exotic places.”

Tarnofsky says he is very skeptical about people who call themselves spiritual.

“You don’t have to go to India to seek spirituality and if somebody is calling themselves spiritual, chances are, they are not that spiritual.”

Thai Massage wasn’t Tarnofsky’s first foray into the healing arts. It was only 16 years ago that it came to San Diego, specifically to I.P.S.B. college in Pacific Beach, where it was brought back from Thailand by senior instructor Rick Gold, who is also Jewish.

Prior to steeping himself in Thai Massage, Tarnofsky, who earned his HHP (holistic healthcare practitioner) license, taught yoga for free, before it became trendy.

He also performed massage for 10 years but was eventually discouraged that people kept coming back to him with the same problems. Tarnofsky would eventually discover his life’s purpose in Thai Massage.

As for now, Tarnofsky feels pure bliss at the monastery and spreading the healing energy through Thai Massage.

“It’s funny, I didn’t ever think that I’d live in the monastery,” he says. “I’m a city boy. I like to do my own thing, but I’m older now and the city is getting more expensive and more chaotic.”

Ever the grounded and pragmatic spiritualist, Tarnofsky adds, “I figured I may as well give the monastery my rent money and not some rich, environmentally-unfriendly developer.”

For feedback, contact editor@sdjewishjournal.com.

Chabad's Torah to honor military

By George Compton
September 2, 2006

pictureOn behalf of Rabbi Dov Muchnik and the Chabad of Oxnard, I would like to invite veterans and their families to the dedication of a Torah (the whole body of Jewish religious literature, including the Scripture and Talmud), to honor and memorialize members of the U.S. military.

The ceremony will be Sept. 10 at Fisherman's Wharf, Channel Islands Harbor (Victoria Avenue and Channel Islands Boulevard), beginning at 1 p.m.

The first letters of the Liberty Torah, as it will be known, will be inscribed by a Jewish scribe at the ceremony to coincide with the eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Liberty Torah will be sent to Israel, where it will be completed and returned to the Chabad of Oxnard.

For additional information, visit http://www.LibertyTorah.com, or contact Rabbi Muchnik at 382-4770.

Q. I served in the Navy during Vietnam and applied for compensation for diabetes. My claim was denied because I did not serve on land. There is a rumor that the requirement to serve on land has been changed, is that true?

A. A recent ruling from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims granted service connection for an Agent Orange presumptive condition for a veteran who served on a Navy vessel stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The finding of court was that the regulation was too restrictive. For those who would like to read the case, it was Haas v. Nicholson No. 04-0491, decided Aug. 16.

Based on this ruling, I recommend that those veterans who have a presumptive disability (the list includes certain cancers, including lung and prostate cancer, as well as type II diabetes) and served aboard a ship stationed within the waters of Vietnam contact this office to file a claim. Compensation from VA is paid from the date of the claim, and it might take a while for a change in the regulation.

Those veterans who had claims denied because they did not serve on land should request a reconsideration of their claims because it may be possible to get compensation from the original claims submission date.

Surviving spouses of veterans who died from one of the presumptive conditions or the condition was a contributing factor in the veteran's death, should also contact this office. Dependency and Indemnity Compensation may be possible.

By expanding the regulation, those who served in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia also may become eligible.

I am sure I will be getting more information over the next few months, and as I do I will keep all informed.

— George Compton, a retired Army colonel, is the veterans service officer for the County of Ventura, Human Services Agency. Send your questions to Veterans Service Office, 1701 Pacific Ave., Suite 110, Oxnard, CA 93033; phone number 385-6366; fax 385-6371; or e-mail George.Compton@ventura.org.


Copyright 2006, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.

Liberty Torah unveiling to honor U.S. military

September 2, 2006

The first Torah (Bible) scroll being written exclusively to honor and memorialize members of the U.S. military will be inaugurated in a ceremony at 1 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Chabad Jewish Center, 3810 Channel Islands Blvd. at Victoria Avenue in Oxnard.

The first letters of the Liberty Torah, as it will be known, will be inscribed by a Jewish scribe, or sofer, at the ceremony, timed to coincide with the eve of the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11. The event also will be marked by prayers for the military and for peace in the world.

The Liberty Torah was initiated by Dr. David and Edi Boxstein and family of Oxnard in honor of their son, Jonathan, who is serving in Iraq.

All who wish to participate can sponsor the writing of a letter, word, chapter or selection in the Torah in honor or in memory of loved ones.

"The Liberty Torah gives everyone, regardless of their political or religious affiliation, the opportunity to honor all our soldiers who have served our great country throughout our history, and to pray for an end to all hostilities," said Chabad of Oxnard director Rabbi Dov Muchnik.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Liberty Torah will be given a gala send-off to Israel, where it will be completed and returned to Chabad of Oxnard for use in its holiday and Shabbat services.

The public is invited to the dedication ceremony, which also will feature live music, refreshments and a hands-on Torah writing workshop for children. For more, go to http://www.libertytorah.com or call 382-4770.

Copyright 2006, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.

Colel Chabad distributing food baskets to needy

Organization's holiday project to handle unprecedented scope of operation in Israel by distributing food baskets to 120,000 poor
Ynetnews

The holiday project of Colel Chabad, working together with the social welfare departments of the local authorities, will be handling an unprecedented scope of operation in Israel, by distributing food baskets to 120,000 poor and destitute throughout the Holy Land, the organization said in a press release.



The directors of Colel Chabad will be dealing with 55 municipalities and local councils who have submitted requests to be included in the activity of distributing food parcels for the upcoming High Holidays. Within the framework of the activity, it was decided to adopt 25,000 poor families who are recognized by welfare as unfortunately suffering from severe economic distress.



Each family receives four cartons fully packed with all the basic food items: Two cartons of basic dry foods, canned goods, spices and other basic products; a further carton filled with fresh vegetables and another carton containing chickens. In some of the settlements the recipients receive vouchers to be exchanged for food in the local shops.



The food cartons are packed in the new logistic center of Colel Chabad, located in a large two-story building in the Beer Tuvia industrial area near Kiryat Malachi. The fresh vegetables are packed in a gigantic hangar in "Mabuim." The logistic teams of Colel Chabad prepare the boxes according to cities and each family receives its personal allotment in an orderly, respectful manner.



Top quality products

Special attention is being given this time to the cities up north. The directors of the welfare departments in Tiberias, Safed, Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona, Hatzor Haglilit, Maalot, Rosh Pina, and Shlomi describe a worrisome situation; many families for the first time in their lives are being forced to cope with real economic distress. It seems that thousands of households, for the first time, are facing a basic dilemma: They do not know how the High Holidays will look like in their homes.



According to the statement, Colel Chabad has decided to do everything so that the cities which absorbed the brunt of the second Lebanon war will not feel distress during the holidays. It is precisely for this purpose that the Food Baskets project was launched.



Much thought was invested in the scope of the project. A list of basic products was consolidated. Colel Chabad purchases the required huge amount of top quality products – and these "Grade A" items are given out to families. The baskets contain a rich variety and make it possible for the families to enjoy respectable holiday meals.



Every month 5,000 families receive a food basket. This provides them with plentiful nutritional security throughout all the days of the month. Before the holidays (Passover and the High Holidays) the project reaches tens of thousands of additional households.

Time for worship

Rabbi Benny Zippel of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah — a local Orthodox Jewish synagogue — said daily services go 45 minutes each.
No member is expected to attend meetings every day.
"Some people come every day," he said. "The majority come once a week."
Jewish members are encouraged to stay focused and active.
Friday evening services are also 45 minutes long, but Saturday morning services may go up to 2 1/2 hours.
Some sermons are listed on the Chabad Web site, DVDs are recorded of some Friday services and members also receive a weekly message by e-mail.

Rosh Hashana meals to be served at synagogue

For the first time in its 26-year history, Congregation Levi Yitzchok-Lubavitch will serve meals along with Rosh Hashana services at the synagogue at 1295 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd. in Hallandale Beach.

Services for the Jewish new year will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 and 9 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. Sept. 23 and 24. Dinners on Sept. 22 and 23 cost $25 per meal. Luncheons on Sept. 23 and 24 cost $15 per meal. Reservations are required.

The cost does not include High Holy Days services. Tickets for nonmembers cost $100. Members receive seats with their yearly dues.

The High Holy Days schedule also includes services for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, at 7 p.m. Oct. 1 and 9 a.m. Oct. 2.

Call 954-458-1877 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday or 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday.

Jewish Renaissance Fair

To borrow the tagline from an old TV commercial, you don't have to be Jewish to like the Jewish Renaissance Fair. The fair features activities and entertainment with a Jewish twist but designed to appeal to Jews and non-Jews alike.

"It's a day of joy and unity for all different kinds of people," says Rabbi Boruch Klar, director of outreach for the Lubavitch Center of Essex County, which produces the fair. "I want to share the beauty and warmth and depth of Judaism with everybody."

Entertainment at the fair includes magic, juggling, vaudeville shows, fire eating and performers such as the Kosher Cookie Monster and Uncle Moishy and his Mitzvah Men.

Traditional carnival rides and games will be available, as will food from cotton candy to knishes to barbecue -- all of it kosher.

"Everything except the rides has some Jewish theme, for education and growth. But everything is fun. It's like going to an Italian festival or a Chinese New Year celebration," Rabbi Klar said.

Children will have hands-on opportunities to make arts and crafts -- or even a shofar, the ceremonial ram's horn trumpet used on some holy days.

Dozens of artists from Israel and America will be displaying their work.

The fair closes with the Rock and Soul Festival, featuring the Jewish rock band "Shlock Rock," performing original songs and parodies of secular songs with Jewish lyrics. Opening the concert will be the Kabbalah Dream Orchestra, an Israeli band that combines Jewish sacred melodies with other musical influences from around the world.

Comments on Chabad in Greece

My husband and I had the honor and pleasure of being guests at the table of Rabbi and Mrs. Hendel. They are warm and fine people and it is very exciting to see this story. The guests at the table on Friday night all had such different stories. One fellow, a Shabbat regular at their table, had come out of Iraq recently and was trying to familiarize himself with his supposedly-Jewish heritage. The Hendels modestly portrayed such self-sacrifice in the efforts of helping the Jewish people.

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My wife (who is from Athens) and I were happy to read about the dedication of a new Sefer Torah in Greece. A brief correction, however: the Chalkida Synagogue is located not in Athens but in Chalkida, a city on the island of Evia north of Athens, and home to a small Jewish community. This is where the dedication is to take place.

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We were very sadly surprised that, in this article,no mention was made of Rabbi and Mrs. Yaacov Arar who have been spiritual leaders of the Jewish community of Athens for so many years and the wonderful Jewish work they have done within and for the Jewish community of Athens. We were there 3 years ago and witnessed it closely. This regrettable omission should be corrected. The way the article was written was as though no spiritual Jewish work was done before.

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What Joyous news

I was born in Salnicki and came to NY as a child. Feeling connected to my past and an avid reader on Greek Jewry, I find this Light out of darkness will continue to glow and strenthen the Greek Jews in Yiddshkeit that has been lost since WWII. Chabad brought me to see this new light of Judaism many years ago. Baruch HaShem. Thank you Arutz7 for bringing Greek Jewry to surface. Many Jews DO NOT know WE SEPHARDIM were also in the HOLOCAUST.

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The writing & donation of the Torah to the Greek Jewish community is heartwarming. It is more than commendable that this lady approached Chabad with this phenomenal gift, and encouraged Chabad to send their emmisaries to Greece. Hopefully the Jewish Community of Greece will grow & flourish. We wish them much mazal & brachot.

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New Torah Scroll in Greece - First Time Since WW2

16:32 Sep 04, '06 / 11 Elul 5766

by Hillel Fendel

This Sunday, for the first time since World War II, a Torah Scroll will be completed and instated in a synagogue in Greece - thanks to the efforts of a dedicated family and a Toronto woman.


Ms. Miriam Leah Danessis of Toronto, formerly from Greece, has spent over five years working on behalf of the dwindling Jewish community in the Mediterranean country. She began by arranging for the Lubavitch movement to send a "shliach" (emissary) family - Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Hendel - to Athens. Later, she spent a year and a half arduously collecting donations large and small to pay for a Torah scroll to be written for and delivered to an Athens synagogue.

Marking this landmark occasion of the new Torah scroll, a joyous ceremony will be held this Sunday, at the Synagogue of Chalkida, north of Athens. The invitation notes that the Torah Scroll is known as the "Love of Israel and Unity of Israel" scroll.

The Torah's final letters will be completed by a scribe from Toronto, Rabbi Abraham Kubayov, and the ceremony will feature guests from the local Jewish community and abroad, musical accompaniment for the traditional march to the synagogue, special programs for children, and more.

Rabbi Hendel told Arutz-7 about the Jewish community in Greece:
"It is a very ancient one, beginning during the Second Temple period over 2,000 years ago. Centuries later, many more Jews came to Greece following the expulsion from Spain in 1492, mainly to Saloniki. Saloniki was such a Jewish community that at one point, its port was closed on the Sabbath! Before World War II, the population was around 75,000 - but then the Nazis arrived."

Within a three-month period in 1943, over 45,000 Jews were transported to Auschwitz; only a handful survived. A total of 60,000 to 65,000 Greek Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.

Pictured above: The monument in memory of the Nazi-murdered Jews of Saloniki. It stands at the intersection of the city's Alexandrou Papanastasiou and Nea Egnatia streets, and was unveiled by President Konstantinos Stefanopoulos in Nov. 1997. It depicts the seven-candled menorah and flames all entangled in a mesh of human bodies.

"The Jews remaining here today," Rabbi Hendel said, "are descendants of the survivors, and number about 3,000 in Athens and 2,500 in Saloniki. We're trying to keep up the numbers; most of the people are traditional, not quite observant. We have a day school that goes up until 6th grade, with Jewish and Hebrew subjects in addition to general studies."

The Hendels teach Jewish children and adults and run Jewish educational programs outside the framework of the school. "For instance," Rabbi Hendel said, "one of our relatively new programs is an interactive video-conference Torah class. The most recent one was broadcast from Israel, and seen simultaneously in Warsaw, Brussels, Copenhagen, and here in Athens; people here are very enthusiastic about it."

Rabbi Hendel said that Ms. Danessis was actually the initiator of his and his wife's arrival in Athens. "She spoke to the people in Chabad, and it was through her efforts that we left New York and are here today," he said. Born in Israel, he originally met Nechama in her home-country of France, from where they left to New York, and are now in Athens - with no plans to leave, despite the hardships.

"No, we don't always have a minyan [required prayer quorum of ten men]," he said, "but many times travelers come and help out... Possibly the greatest challenge we face is giving our two children, aged 4 and 6, the education we want. They speak Greek better than I do, but in a certain way, they feel their Jewish identity much more here than they might anywhere else; they know they are different, and they are much more aware of keeping Shabbat and Kashrut [Jewish dietary laws]."

What does he try to teach the Jews of Athens?
"We try to strengthen Jewish identity in general, have them realize what it means to be Jewish, and try to make it relevant by having people get involved by adding hours of Torah study, observing some of the mitzvot - everyone on their own level... Every Friday night, we have some 20-30 guests, travelers and members of the community."

The official announcement of Sunday's Torah scroll celebration possibly best sums up the Hendels' mission:
"The Torah is the most illustrious and exciting book in the world. Its words have inspired the greatest minds in history. The Ten Commandments are the foundation of so many civilizations on the face of the earth. At this time, when the world is searching for the priceless blessing of peace, we, as Jews, must reassert our unity [and] the dedication that has preserved us as a people through the ages... By participating in the inauguration of the new Unity Torah, the latest link in a holy and eternal chain, we are signifying in a very special way, that we are one with the Jewish people, one with tradition – one with destiny."