Friday, December 18, 2015
Dear Reader,
The most widely read story on our website this week is about the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, whose soft-pedaling of a swastika incident has enraged parents and intensified a debate about why the school privileges certain identities above others.
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Similar concerns arose at the White House, when a St. Louis rabbi deeply involved with the Ferguson protests used her speech at the president's Chanukah party to talk about those experiences. Some guests protested; others embraced her message.
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Bath mitzvah? The rabbi behind the notion knows it sounds crazy, but if every girl immersed as part of her bat mitzvah rites, all of those with patrilineal Jewish ancestry would ameliorate any conversion issues they might encounter later.
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Shabbat shalom, everyone,
Helen Chernikoff
Web Editor
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THE ARTS
Chasidic Rock Duo Takes Webster Hall
Hannah Dreyfus
Federica Valabrega
The Rolling Stones, U2, Kiss, Madonna, Sting — and now the Bulletproof Stockings.
On Sunday, the chasidic rock group fronted by keyboardist/singer Perl Wolfe and drummer Dalia Shusterman added its name to the list of rock legends who have played Webster Hall, the prestigious club in the East Village.
For the all-girl band, it was a night of firsts. It was the kick-off stop on a national tour marking their first full-length album, “Homeland-Call-Stomp.” It was their first time selling the debut album, which was made possible by the band’s $37,000 Kickstarter campaign. And it was the first night of Chanukah.
As two disco balls rotated overhead and a smoke machine filled the room with a gauzy fog, the band — augmented by violinist Dana Pestun and cellist Elisheva Maister — belted out its latest hits as the all-female audience let loose. (The frum band is prohibited by Jewish law from playing before male audiences.) The band members wore leather motorcycle jackets, well-worn Converse sneakers, knee-length skirts, and, of course, their trademark sheitel wigs.
“The Talking Sheitel Heads,” Wolfe joked from the stage, “that’s our new name.”
The band first made headlines in August 2014 when its all-girls show sold out Arlene’s Grocery on the Lower East Side, its first major venue.
The crowd, though all female, was diverse. Head coverings of all sorts, including scarfs, snoods and wigs, sprinkled the crowd, while many unaffiliated fans rocked out in jeans and nose-rings.
On the eve of the Webster Hall gig, Wolfe told The Jewish Week, “This is a dream come true.”
editor@jewishweek.org
FOOD & WINE
A New, Mysterious Wine Arrives
An exclusive import doesn’t offer much information about its provenance.
Joshua E. London
Jewish Week Online Columnist
Not too long ago, a sample arrived of The Chosen Barrel Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 ($35.99). This new wine, an exclusive import from the folks at Kosherwine.com, is a private labeled offering and something of an enigma. Very little information is disclosed about the wine other than that it is an Israeli Cab, made from grapes grown in the Judean Hills region in 2012, is 15.4 percent alcohol, and is not mevushal (OK supervision).
To support the “reserve” on the label, the back label informs us that the wine was aged for a period of 20 months, that the grapes were harvested “manually” and at night, and that the wine is unfiltered. Little else about it is revealed. There is even an uninformative website http://thechosenbarrel.com/ for “The Chosen Barrel” brand.
The other two wines released under “The Chosen Barrel” label are also Israeli, each sourced from a different undisclosed producer.
For wine-geek consumers, such parentless products with a bare-bones presentation are often looked down upon. They want to know who the winemaker was, and ideally what vineyard or vineyards its grapes came from, how many cases were produced, what the residual sugar (brix) at harvest was, as well as the level of acidity and PH.
I am a wine geek, and the marketing didn’t help assuage my suspicions.
For starters, the website boasts the slogan: “Chosen, especially for you.” That alone gets me thinking all negative and suspicious. Then consider this bit: “The Chosen Barrel is an innovation in the U.S. Wine Industry. We sampled countless barrels from more than 20 Israeli wineries and when we found The Chosen Barrel, we knew we had to have it all. So we could bring it to you.” This is obviously some definition of the word “innovation” previously unknown to me. These hardly constitute the most galling of intelligence-insulting marketing, but they are very far from appealing, either.
Fortunately, I tasted this wind blind, and that allowed for a more forthright evaluation of what is, as it happens, a very nice wine:
The Chosen Barrel, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 ($35.99): This rich, powerful, well made medium-to-full bodied Cab offers aromas and flavors of ripe plum, blackcurrant, cassis, and black cherry, along with dark chocolate and spice, and with soft tannins and enough balancing acidity to keep it all cohesive and very enjoyable. Nice lengthy finish too. L’Chaim!
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FIRST PERSON
Tied To Jackson Heights, Still
Susan Reimer-Torn
Special To The Jewish Week
Susan Reimer-Torn. Photo by Joan RothI grew up in the small but undaunted Orthodox community of Jackson Heights, back in the 1950s and ’60s. I turned my back on the humble turf, as much for its relentless exhortation of piety as its failure to thrive.
Frederick Wiseman’s new documentary, “In Jackson Heights,” triggered a stream of memories.
All that Wiseman documents about Jackson Heights as a refuge for immigrants had a prototype in the post-war era among its resident Jews. It welcomed start-up couples from the crowded Bronx and Lower East Side, then Holocaust survivors and later, in the ’80s, gave sanctuary to Soviet Jews.
Yet, we Jackson Heights kids felt sidelined, as if a piece of the borough had broken off, lying forlorn and fallow. “We were like remnants,” my childhood friend, the filmmaker Toby Perl Freilich, says, as we settle in to watch Wiseman’s latest work. Toby recalls, “The downward slide set in when we were overlooked as a site for a new day school.”
Our unspoiled lives embodied the group loyalty, traditional values and no nonsense work ethic typical of immigrant groups. Wiseman’s film leaves viewers with a sense of the linguistic and cultural barriers today’s residents face. While our lives did not glorify outsized ambition, the combination of Orthodox Jewish discipline and its then-unquestioned integration of secular knowledge opened many doors.
A case study of our community would link a no-frills, religious upbringing to a healthy yield of high-achieving, socially conscious adults. Rabbi David Silber, Ari Goldman, Freilich, Ann Kirschner all lived in the hood.
Our tight-knit group met every Shabbos to pray, study and thoughtfully argue. When we shared Shabbos meals, the women cooked and waited on the men; the spirited co-ed singing of zemirot could go on for hours.
We school kids had to take a combination of buses and subways to attend yeshivas, stretching our already long school days into a couple of added commuter hours. We were not encouraged to complain. It never occurred to us that we didn’t have enough. When my girlfriends and I wrote and performed plays, the admission price went to charity. Snobbery and social hierarchy did not take root here. On the other hand, my concern for aesthetics marked me as out of step. Even at an early age, there was no place in these parts for narcissism.
American-born Jews mingled seamlessly with survivors. Rabbi Silber, founder of the Drisha Institute, credits the enduring faith of the Jackson Heights survivors as an inspiration for his life’s path. He remembers his mother’s gentle insistence that he avoid the commercial Northern Boulevard when walking to Young Israel on Shabbos morning. He later realized that she did not want him to glimpse one of the survivors, obliged to work in his store that day.
Toby often told me how much it meant to her survivor mother to be included in the close friendships of American-born women, particularly the life-long one between Rabbi Silber’s mother, Martha, and my own mother, Mildred. The two women, who never heard of leaning in or having it all, nonetheless supported one another daily in their multiple roles as wives, mothers, New York City schoolteachers and committed Jews.
I fully credit the soulful solidity of Jackson Heights with my own eventual reconciliation with religious Jewish life. Just recently, at B’nai Jeshurun services, I remarked about some young men who seemed to be religious Zionists of army age. They tapped out rhythms and even some counter rhythms with talented fingers on siddurim, along with the percussionist. As the music quieted, Rabbi Silber drew near. He asked me to say hello to a man I did not recognize: his younger brother, whom I had not seen for some 45 years, was visiting from Israel. It turned out that the enthusiastic young men behind me were his brother’s sons.
I think of the close friendship of Rabbi Silber’s mom and my own. The percussionist lending the beat to the BJ brand of Friday night fervor was my own son. Raised by a still-rebellious Jackson Heights self-exile mom, he had little religious affiliation. But it was as if his Jackson Heights grandmother still had a hand in the course of events. It was my mom’s grandson providing the liturgical heartbeat for the visiting grandsons of her life-long best friend. Martha and Mildred were looking down from Jackson Heights heaven, joining in the celestial dance.
Susan Reimer-Torn is author of the memoir “Maybe Not Such a Good Girl: Reflections on Rupture and Return” (Blue Thread Communication).
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Featured on NYBLUEPRINT
Undercover Haredi Agent Cracks Down On Drug Scene
Read More
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BLOGS
THE NEW NORMALCamp Ramah Darom’s Tikvah Program: Hope for the Future
Ali Katz
2015 Campers at Ramah Darom. Courtesy of Ramah DaromEditor's Note: As the cold of winter approaches, many parents are thinking about summer and what camps are available for children with disabilities. This week we'll share several blogs about Jewish camping for children and teens of all abilities.
When I was first invited to staff the new Tikvah inclusion program at Camp Ramah Darom and was asked to describe it, I said, “The Tikvah program provides additional support to campers who may not be able to succeed on their own.” Even though I had worked with programs for kids with disabilities in the past—both in schools and in summer camp settings—I realize now that when the summer began, I didn’t fully understand the meaning of support.
As the summer progressed, I realized that the support of campers in Tikvah did not only come from within the program. The outpouring of love and encouragement that the rest of the camp community provided for our campers was incomparable. The mikzo’im (specialty instructors) allowed my campers to try new activities and overcome many of their fears, whether they were climbing to the top of the tower or shooting a bulls-eye in archery. Staff members stood by my campers’ sides and cheered them on, allowing them to succeed and achieve many of their dreams. If my camper had an interest in hockey, the hockey instructor was always quick to offer us times to play or shoot around.
Support came from staff, but most importantly, from other campers. When the program began, I was very nervous to be living with campers who were being directly supported by the Tikvah program. I feared that many of the campers would not be accepting of those receiving support, but this was surely not the case. Campers immediately jumped into hanging out with my campers and invited them to play cards or chess. They engaged them in morning prayers, sporting events, swimming, meals, and nighttime programs. And the friendships they formed were truly genuine.
When I asked some of the boys who share a Shoafim (rising 8th grade) cabin with the campers supported by Tikvah about the program, they thanked me for the opportunity. One of the campers, Gabe, stated, “I have benefitted from living with the campers supported by Tikvah,” but when asked if he had changed as a result, he stated, “I don’t necessarily feel as though I am a better person, because they are boys just like me who happen to need a little more support.”
Gabe and many of the other campers who had direct contact with the Tikvah program felt this way. The Nivonim (rising 10th grade) girls who lived with girls supported by Tikvah explained that they thought the experience enriched their summer and that they were eager to see their new friends in the coming summers. Many of them are now keeping in touch with the girls who were supported by the Tikvah program and feel as though they have made lifelong friendships.
So when asked to describe the Tikvah program, I now say, “It means hope. It’s a chance to give kids who otherwise may not have the opportunity to gain a little confidence, courage, bravery, and self-assurance, and to make friends along the way.” It’s not the counselors who made the summer so meaningful; what made the summer memorable were the experiences the kids had with each other, making friends and learning new skills.
I was recently asked about my impact on the campers if they took home a new perspective, or if they changed as people. And although they have, what’s important to me is the impression they left on their peers. Many of the campers were so thankful for the opportunity to just experience the Tikvah program from watching it grow from day one, that I see how powerful the program is. Campers were always making an effort to be around the campers supported by Tikvah that it is heartwarming. It gives me hope for a brighter, more inclusive camping future.
Ali Katz, a Tikvah counselor at Ramah Darom, is a third-generation camper and staff alumna of Ramah Wisconsin. She also worked as a counselor at JCC Chicago Camp Chi/JCFS's Camp Firefly for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Ali is a senior at Indiana University, where she is studying Elementary Education.
The Henry and Annette Gibson Tikvah Program at Ramah Darom is supported by generous grants from the Ruderman Family Foundation, as well as many other sponsoring foundations and individual donors.
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Featured on NYBLUEPRINT
Undercover Haredi Agent Cracks Down On Drug Scene
Haredi children in Mea Shearim in 2007. Wikimedia commons
Yeshiva student turned cop nabs 45 people on drug charges in haredi Orthodox communities
JTA
This Week
At least 45 people suspected of drug trafficking were arrested in two haredi Orthodox areas thanks to the work of an under cover haredi agent.
The arrests, in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood and the city of Beit Shemesh, were announced by the Israel Police on its website on Tuesday, hours after the arrests. Additional arrests are expected in the coming days.
The under cover agent had studied at a Jerusalem yeshiva and was recruited by the police two years ago. During his 18-month investigation, he bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs, including marijuana and cocaine, bought a stolen car, and incriminated 60 drug dealers, according to the police.
The police said they taught him to use street language and to imitate the body language and dress of the drug dealers in order to help him fit in. At a ceremony on Monday, the agent received his police badge and a handgun.
The agent thanked the police officers who handled him and said he hoped his actions would bring “peace and security” to the residents of the neighborhood.
“As it says in the book of Deuteronomy, ‘Thou shalt put the evil away from among you.’ I hope that we will learn to do good and put the evil away from among us for a better society,” he said.
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BLOGS
THE NEW NORMALCamp Ramah Darom’s Tikvah Program: Hope for the Future
Ali Katz
2015 Campers at Ramah Darom. Courtesy of Ramah DaromEditor's Note: As the cold of winter approaches, many parents are thinking about summer and what camps are available for children with disabilities. This week we'll share several blogs about Jewish camping for children and teens of all abilities.
When I was first invited to staff the new Tikvah inclusion program at Camp Ramah Darom and was asked to describe it, I said, “The Tikvah program provides additional support to campers who may not be able to succeed on their own.” Even though I had worked with programs for kids with disabilities in the past—both in schools and in summer camp settings—I realize now that when the summer began, I didn’t fully understand the meaning of support.
As the summer progressed, I realized that the support of campers in Tikvah did not only come from within the program. The outpouring of love and encouragement that the rest of the camp community provided for our campers was incomparable. The mikzo’im (specialty instructors) allowed my campers to try new activities and overcome many of their fears, whether they were climbing to the top of the tower or shooting a bulls-eye in archery. Staff members stood by my campers’ sides and cheered them on, allowing them to succeed and achieve many of their dreams. If my camper had an interest in hockey, the hockey instructor was always quick to offer us times to play or shoot around.
Support came from staff, but most importantly, from other campers. When the program began, I was very nervous to be living with campers who were being directly supported by the Tikvah program. I feared that many of the campers would not be accepting of those receiving support, but this was surely not the case. Campers immediately jumped into hanging out with my campers and invited them to play cards or chess. They engaged them in morning prayers, sporting events, swimming, meals, and nighttime programs. And the friendships they formed were truly genuine.
When I asked some of the boys who share a Shoafim (rising 8th grade) cabin with the campers supported by Tikvah about the program, they thanked me for the opportunity. One of the campers, Gabe, stated, “I have benefitted from living with the campers supported by Tikvah,” but when asked if he had changed as a result, he stated, “I don’t necessarily feel as though I am a better person, because they are boys just like me who happen to need a little more support.”
Gabe and many of the other campers who had direct contact with the Tikvah program felt this way. The Nivonim (rising 10th grade) girls who lived with girls supported by Tikvah explained that they thought the experience enriched their summer and that they were eager to see their new friends in the coming summers. Many of them are now keeping in touch with the girls who were supported by the Tikvah program and feel as though they have made lifelong friendships.
So when asked to describe the Tikvah program, I now say, “It means hope. It’s a chance to give kids who otherwise may not have the opportunity to gain a little confidence, courage, bravery, and self-assurance, and to make friends along the way.” It’s not the counselors who made the summer so meaningful; what made the summer memorable were the experiences the kids had with each other, making friends and learning new skills.
I was recently asked about my impact on the campers if they took home a new perspective, or if they changed as people. And although they have, what’s important to me is the impression they left on their peers. Many of the campers were so thankful for the opportunity to just experience the Tikvah program from watching it grow from day one, that I see how powerful the program is. Campers were always making an effort to be around the campers supported by Tikvah that it is heartwarming. It gives me hope for a brighter, more inclusive camping future.
Ali Katz, a Tikvah counselor at Ramah Darom, is a third-generation camper and staff alumna of Ramah Wisconsin. She also worked as a counselor at JCC Chicago Camp Chi/JCFS's Camp Firefly for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Ali is a senior at Indiana University, where she is studying Elementary Education.
The Henry and Annette Gibson Tikvah Program at Ramah Darom is supported by generous grants from the Ruderman Family Foundation, as well as many other sponsoring foundations and individual donors.
Read More
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POLITICAL INSIDER
Putin Endorses Trump
Douglas BloomfieldI don't know how well it will go over with the neo-cons and the anti-Communist wing of the GOP, but Vladimir Putin is backing Donald Trump.
The Russian President told reporters at his annual news conference in Moscow that the American capitalist "is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented."
“It’s not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race,” Putin added.
There's something of a mutual admiration society between the two tough talkers who have little tolerance for their critics or dissenters.
“I would talk to him. I would get along with him,” said Trump. Putin is ready. “He says that he wants a different level of relations, tighter and deeper relations with Russia,” the former KGB agent said. “How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it.”
Putin may be ready to work with Trump, but not the British prime minister.
David Cameron said the bloviating billionaire's call to ban Muslims was "divisive, stupid and wrong." With more than half a million Brits signing petitioning Parliament to ban Trump from visiting the UK, Cameron said if he tried to come "he would unite us all against him."
Trump had been planning to go to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who the New York businessman had enthusiastically endorsed in 2013. Trump. In a campaign video Trump said the American-raised and educated Netanyahu would make a good U.S. president. The GOP frontrunner, knowing Bibi's preference for Republicans, was likely looking to have the favor returned.
But, alas, the trip was cancelled. Trump said he was too busy with him own campaign but would go after he became president. Netanyahu said he did not issue the invitation but would be willing to meet with any American presidential candidate.
Closer to the truth was that Bibi wasn't anxious to host the man who had just called for banning all Muslims – who constitute 20 percent of the Israeli population. The last thing either man needed was anti-Trump demonstrations in Israel not only by Arabs but by also by Jews who reject his bigotry.
POLITICAL INSIDER
Putin Endorses Trump
Douglas BloomfieldI don't know how well it will go over with the neo-cons and the anti-Communist wing of the GOP, but Vladimir Putin is backing Donald Trump.
The Russian President told reporters at his annual news conference in Moscow that the American capitalist "is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented."
“It’s not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race,” Putin added.
There's something of a mutual admiration society between the two tough talkers who have little tolerance for their critics or dissenters.
“I would talk to him. I would get along with him,” said Trump. Putin is ready. “He says that he wants a different level of relations, tighter and deeper relations with Russia,” the former KGB agent said. “How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it.”
Putin may be ready to work with Trump, but not the British prime minister.
David Cameron said the bloviating billionaire's call to ban Muslims was "divisive, stupid and wrong." With more than half a million Brits signing petitioning Parliament to ban Trump from visiting the UK, Cameron said if he tried to come "he would unite us all against him."
Trump had been planning to go to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who the New York businessman had enthusiastically endorsed in 2013. Trump. In a campaign video Trump said the American-raised and educated Netanyahu would make a good U.S. president. The GOP frontrunner, knowing Bibi's preference for Republicans, was likely looking to have the favor returned.
But, alas, the trip was cancelled. Trump said he was too busy with him own campaign but would go after he became president. Netanyahu said he did not issue the invitation but would be willing to meet with any American presidential candidate.
Closer to the truth was that Bibi wasn't anxious to host the man who had just called for banning all Muslims – who constitute 20 percent of the Israeli population. The last thing either man needed was anti-Trump demonstrations in Israel not only by Arabs but by also by Jews who reject his bigotry.
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