Shlomo Carlebach ordains female

Shlomo Carlebach gave this woman Semicha! JSV: Beth David’s scholar-in-residence this spring will be Reb Mimi (Miriam Sarah) Feigelson, an unusual Orthodox rabbi. She considers herself a rabbi, but does not use the title. She did receive smicha (rabbinic ordination) from the famed Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in 1994. But she kept it a secret from most people. A reporter from The Jewish Week in New York broke the news in December 2000. Feigelson lives within the Orthodox world and regards it as her spiritual community. Although she believes a woman can be a rabbi, her community does not agree. She has devoted her life to studying and teaching Torah, and believes in teaching to all who wish to learn, whether they are Orthodox or secular. For years she has led a Passover retreat in Dharamsala, India, where she engaged in interfaith dialogue as well.She will speak at Beth David March 24 to 26. All events are open to the public and free (except the Sunday Torah Fund fundraiser). Please check Beth David’s Web site for a detailed account of times and events. American-born Feigelson made aliyah with her family to Israel when she was eight years old, and lived there until accepting an appointment as lecturer of rabbinic studies at the (Conservative) Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism in 2001.She holds a B.A. in history and special education and an M.A. in Jewish philosophy from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and is now a Ph.D. candidate there. In addition she studied with the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach for 20 years. She did not have ordination in mind when she started studying with him, but after studying for so many years she felt that she was qualified for smicha, which he granted.Reb Feigelson’s teaching has taken her around the world, primarily Canada, England and the United States. Join us at Beth David for a unique and rich learning experience with Reb Mimi.

Zev Brenner - 2/28/06

Tonight, attorney general candidate Denise O'Donnell will be a guest on Talkline with Zev Brenner at 9pm, 620 AM.

Mordy Tendler Part 7 (Suspended!!!)

Received via email: Kehillat New Hempstead 720 Union Road New Hempstead, NY 10977 (845) 362-2425 To: Members and Friends of Kehillah New Hempstead From: Board of Directors and Board of Trustees Date: February 28, 2006 It is with a heavy heart that we are compelled to write thiscorrespondence.As you are all aware of the controversy and issues surrounding our Rabbi, Rav Mordecai Tendler, and the resulting harms on ourcommunity and Kehillah, the Board of Directors(”Board”) inaccordance with its fiduciary responsibilities, has undertaken the necessary due diligence to determine the source, accuracy, extentand affect of those issues. After months of extensive investigation and outreach, the Board pursued the input of many persons with knowledge of the underlying issues, as well as attempting to engage the Rabbi, and his representatives, in the appropriate dialogue to achieve a resolution of remedial and rehabilitative cures. These issues concerned the following:(i) the accuracy of certain explanatory statements made by the Rabbi;(ii) a continuing spiritual deficiency in KNH;(iii) a related loss of membership;(iv) an associated overall decline of community support for KNH;(v) the lawsuit commenced by Adina Mermelstein;(vi) the failure to adequately apprise the Board of the Rabbi’s defensive efforts; and,(vii) a corresponding loss of financial funds and support for KNH. To date, and since the inception of the controversies, the Rabbi has failed to acknowledge or resolve the breadth of these issues. This failure has been consistent and now affects the very manner in which the Kehillat needs to function.Being unable to confirm and verify the Rabbi’s defensive positions,the Rabbi’s continuing lack of responsibility, aware of theworsening negative ramifications affecting the Kehillah, the growing chorus of controversies and issues, and being further convinced that a resolution of the above issues are highly unlikely, the Board has voted to suspend the Rabbi from his rabbinical duties, compensation and responsibilities, the suspension to commence on February 28,2006 and remain until a final determination from either a court ofcompetent jurisdiction or agreed beis din, or a final negotiated resolution. The decision comes on the heels of a prior recent request that asked that the Rabbi take a leave of absence, that being subsequent to many months of recommending remediation and rehabilitation, acts which were not pursued by the Rabbi. Our decision to suspend, of course, took into consideration the Rabbi’s active participation in the birth and growth of ourKehillah, his long-standing commitment to our Kehillah and community and the extent of his outreach efforts. While we are mindful of the range of anticipated member reactions, we believe that the Board’s decision is in the best interest of theKehillah. To correctly communicate this stance, we are attempting to coordinate a forum to discuss the Board’s efforts, the Board’s decision herein, as well as our healing and rebuilding intentions. Lastly, decisions that concern the very essence of our personal and spiritual relationships are never easy. Being exposed, though, to the harms which emanate from our awareness of the realm and breadth of the existing controversies, we are committed to providing the necessary contributions to ensure for the successful implementation of our rebirth. We are hopeful we will continue our community efforts in this regard. May Hashem bless us to direct the correctness of our actions, bless our Kehillah in its spiritual growth and rejuvenation, and bless us with Shalom. SP/spcc: Board of Directors Board of Trustees Daniel Schwartz, Esq.

Lakewood - News Tidbits 2/28/06

In regards to Yeshivaworld's previous post: APP: The normally quiet Lakewood Clergy Association has taken a public stand supporting the Township Committee's efforts to solve the day laborer dilemma.The clergy group, which represents roughly 40 congregations in Ocean County, has praised the committee for trying to find a compassionate way to provide the day laborers a place to find work, while also addressing the complaints of downtown merchants who say the men who line up each morning on Clifton Avenue give Lakewood a poor image."This is a social concern issue,'' said the Rev. Gary Stiegler, association president. "Whether it be at a given intersection or a mindset, what we're saying here is we believe as a clergy association ... that we need to support and help these people in any way that we can.''The association has rarely made public statements on issues, although it has become more a presence in recent years as it sponsors an annual breakfast to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Taking a stance on the day laborer issue is a natural extension of that community involvement, said Rabbi Lee Paskind of Congregation Ahavat Shalom, Lakewood."The LCA has been discussing taking a constructive position on this issue for some time,'' Paskind wrote in an e-mail this morning. "Now we did.'' -------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood murder suspect caught: APP: The man township police charged as the shooter in a daylight murder earlier this month has been arrested in Las Vegas, authorities revealed this afternoon.The arrest of Tyleek Baker, 25, an ex-convict from Manchester, was announced by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, but the apprehension was made by the U.S. Marshals Office, said Robert A. Gasser, executive assistant Ocean County prosecutor.Authorities in Las Vegas also arrested Jamal Scott, a 20-year-old Bergen Avenue resident believed to be an accomplice in the shooting, putting an end to a three-week manhunt for a trio of suspects in the case.....Police say that Baker walked into the Man, Woman and Child Barbershop on First Street that afternoon and shot and killed Francisco Jose Olivares of Lakewood.Olivares was shot multiple times with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Gasser would not say if the murder weapon was recovered."No further statements will be made at this time,'' Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said in a press release.

Frum Jew Murdered in Crown Heights

Ynet: Ephraim Klein, an ultra-Orthodox Jew from Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York, was shot to death Tuesday on one of the neighborhood streets.The motive for the murder is not yet clear, but anti-Semitic sentiments may have played a part. The Chabad organization reported that the murder occurred at 2 a.m. New York time, when unknown assailants shot Klein as he was driving his car and then fled the scene; Klein lost control of his car as a result. Rescue teams were quick to arrive at the scene, only to determine the time of death. Klein’s son was scheduled to be wed in a week’s time, according to reports. The New York Police Department has launched an investigation into the murder, and detectives are looking into the possibility that the murder was anti-Semitic, but are not ruling out that Klein was an innocent victim of a local gang war. The incident is the third in recent weeks in which a Jew was murdered. In Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the rabbi of the local synagogue, Avraham Hacohen, was murdered; his family claims the murder was anti-Semitic. In France, Parisian Jew Ilan Halimi was kidnapped and brutally murdered. ------------------------------------------------------- NY1: Police say a man was found shot dead in his car after the vehicle careened into several parked cars on a Brooklyn street in Crown Heights early Tuesday morning. Frederick Klein, 47, was shot in the arm and chest as he was moving his Dodge Caravan for alternate side of the street parking. The minivan slammed into several parked cars on Carroll Street, before coming to a stop. Jewish Community leaders tell NY1 Klein leaves behind three children, including a son who's supposed to get married next week. "He was a very good person, a kind person, always was helping anyone in the community, was always smiling and he was a good person," said a Jewish Community Leader in the area Abarahim Lidar. "People are very, very angry because it's been very, very quiet and we're not looking for this," said Chanina Sperlin of the Crown Heights Jewish Council. Police aren't sure what the motive was for the shooting and so far there have been no arrests. The Crown Heights Jewish community Council has offered up a 10-thousand-dollar reward for information. For pictures of this horific incident click HERE. The Levaya will be leaving from the Shomrai Hadaas Chapel at Approximately 1:30pm and will be passing 770 at approximately 2:00pm

Urination on Clifton Ave?????

APP: LAKEWOOD — The debate over how to handle day laborers here has grown so thorny, some have now suggested the Township Committee may be targeting the per-diem workers with a new ordinance that bans public urination. In comments that surprised several committee members, a pair of advocates for the day laborer community complained that the ordinance seems to paint the men with a negative connotation. "It does not express any effort to build a positive relationship with Lakewood's newest community," Alice Kelsey, a day laborer supporter, said at last week's Township Committee meeting. Minister Steven Brigham, a community activist, added at the meeting that if the township believes there is a problem with public urination, then portable bathrooms should be provided downtown. "If (people are) good enough to come into this town and pay rent," Brigham said, "then they're good enough to to be supplied what they need."...Kelsey said the new urination ordinance — which is subject to a public hearing next week — could be seen as punitive, especially after months of discussion about how to solve the dilemma without punishing the men who line Clifton Avenue for work....But Mayor Meir Lichtenstein said the township's tone remains even. Further, Lichtenstein and other committeemen say they don't believe it is fair to connect the ordinance and the day laborer community. The ordinance was crafted only because Lakewood has no law banning public urination and there have been complaints made recently about people publicly urinating downtown, Deputy Mayor Raymond G. Coles said. "I'm upset she would take it that way," Coles said Monday. "It was not done because we wanted to ticket a bunch of people standing on the corner."... Lichtenstein emphasized he wants to treat all residents with dignity.

Chofetz Chaim - Monsey; Building UPDATE

Thejournalnews: The developer of a yeshiva with adult-student housing has been issued a violation for using a construction trailer for a pre-school program. Mosdos Chofetz Chaim is due in Ramapo Justice Court on March 20 to answer charges that the trailer had been occupied by children without a certificate of occupancy."We're not going to permit a school to operate in the middle of a construction site," Town Attorney Michael Klein said yesterday. Ramapo inspectors saw children in the trailer Feb. 17. The violation was issued Feb. 22. Dennis Lynch, a Nyack attorney representing Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, declined to discuss it. "These are mere allegations," Lynch said, "and it would be inappropriate to discuss a matter yet to be adjudicated." The trailer was installed early this month when workers demolished 11 houses on the property....the site on Grandview Avenue, a quarter mile west of New Hempstead Road, is one of four locations for adult-student housing in Ramapo, a controversial addition to the town's master plan for development......The town's planning and zoning boards approved the project in 2004. Besides a yeshiva, there will be 28 four-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom apartments. In addition to the charges of improperly using the trailer as a school, the project has also drawn objections from the county. Yesterday, Rockland Commissioner of Highways Charles Vezzetti dispatched an inspector to ensure that workers were complying to a county demand to halt work in the road's right-of-way...

30,000 attend French Rally

In my opinion, this tragic story has not received the media attention that it deserves. Totallyjewish: Thousands of people marched through Paris on Sunday in tribute to Ilan Halimi, whose horrific anti-semitic murder at the hands of a violent kidnap gang shocked France......Halimi, a 23-year-old mobile phone salesman, was found close to death at a train station on the outskirts of the French capital two weeks ago after going missing on 21 January. He was naked, gagged and handcuffed, and his body showed signs of the torture he endured during a three-week kidnap ordeal that began when he went on a date with a stranger. He died in an ambulance as he was being rushed to hospital.Police have been reluctant to label the killing as anti-semitic, but Interior Minister Sarkozy told reporters: “They kidnapped and murdered him because he was Jewish - in their words, the Jews have money.”

Neturei Karta = LOSERS!!!

UPDATE: Yeshivaworld posted on Sunday morning that Neturei Karta would be staging a demonstration in front of the Shuvu dinner. Well it turns out that they are a bunch of wimps after all! Shuvu had hired tons of off-duty cops, undercover security guards..........Everyone was waiting for the action to begin......but....NADA, NOTHING, ZILTCH........NOONE showed up! All the posters all over Williamsburg, the busses, the thousands of demonstrators that they threatened to bring with them....was a bunch of hot air. I guess they occupied their time with THIS (Click Here) activity instead. Bored souls!

Pesach - meat shortage?

First Israel had a Lulav shortage on Succos......now a meat shortage for Pesach??!! DeahVedibur: Last week the disease was discovered in cattle herds in the Corrientes province, located 25 miles from the Paraguayan border. Over 70 head of cattle were found to be contaminated and herds were destroyed immediately, based on orders by government authorities. Following the discovery of the outbreak, in Israel the head of veterinary services at the Agricultural Ministry's meat import department issued orders not to import any meat bearing a shechitoh date later than 17 Shevat until further notice. Chief Rabbinate sources say 12 shechitoh teams are currently working in Argentina for the Chief Rabbinate and other kashrus organizations. Dealers say the development will affect the supply of meat for Pesach. The Agricultural Ministry is assessing alternatives for frozen meat imports to prevent a rise in prices. Israel imports 56,000 tons of frozen meat annually, including 51,000 tons from South America.

Shaimos truck stolen

DeahVedibur: Through joint efforts by the police and IDF and with the help of chareidi public figures, a truck belonging to Vaad Hagenizoh Hakloli was located a short time after it was stolen from the Atarot Industrial Zone north of Jerusalem. As two Vaad Hagenizoh volunteers were preparing to clear large sacks using the truck's crane in Atarot, two young Arabs leaped onto the truck and drove off with it within seconds. The two volunteers began to pursue the truck in another vehicle but, driving at high speed, the thieves managed to escape from sight, apparently with the help of a Palestinian in another truck who interfered with the chase. The two volunteers immediately notified the police and a vehicle locating company, Ituran, which immediately said that the truck was in Bir Navalah, a village north of Atarot in the Ramallah area. A short time later, Ituran computers reported that the truck was again in motion and eventually it stopped in the village of A-Ram, also north of Atarot. Israel police were involved in tracking the truck but as soon as it was found in a Palestinian village, Judea and Samaria District Police said the military would have to be summoned to enter the village and recover the truck. Vaad Hagenizoh Hakloli contacted Jerusalem Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky, Deputy Mayor Rabbi Uri Maklev and MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni. Following conversations with Palestinian officials and with the help of Rabbi Yekutiel Vizner, it was decided to send in a military force to recover the truck. A few hours after the theft an IDF force consisting of several jeeps entered the village and located the truck within minutes. The driver was asked for the keys but the thieves had already managed to sabotage the locator system, rendering the truck inoperable after wreaking havoc to the wiring system. Soldiers guarded the truck for hours until a police tow truck arrived late into the night to transport it to a repair shop. A Vaad Hagenizoh spokesman said that valuable equipment stolen from the truck was not recovered and the expensive repairs of the damage caused by the thieves is only partially covered by insurance.

Looking for a Kollel?

DeiahVedibur: Following an announcement several weeks ago about a program to secure a special income supplement for a group of outstanding avreichim by joining the Torah kehilloh in Yeruchom, dozens of avreichim have decided to move to the city. The kehilloh members, led by HaRav Mordechai Yehuda Kraus, seek to expand the Torah community founded in Yeruchom three decades ago with blessings from Maran HaRav Shach zt"l. In order to alleviate the financial burden on the bnei Torah tzibbur, a decision was reached to provide avreichim who join the kehilloh with a substantial monthly stipend supplement, with no commitment to purchase an apartment in the project to be built near the existing kehilloh. The acceptance committee has already approved a number of kollel families from among the hundreds of applicants received. The kehilloh reports that a few more spaces are still open and further information is available at 052- 7614191 or 08-6589883.

Giving Hakoras Hatov to a GENTILE!

Haaretz: Sim Yeryomin, one of the "righteous gentiles" who saved Jews during the Holocaust, died last weekend at his home in Beit She'an. Yeryomin, the son of farmers from the Kursk region of Russia, was 10 in April 1942 when he came upon Victor Feinstein, 13, who had collapsed as a result of malnutrition. Feinstein had escaped from the Cracow region after his mother and younger sisters were murdered by the Germans. Feinstein survived through the winter, wandering hundreds of kilometers, from village to village, until reaching the Kursk region. Yeryomin took care of Feinstein for several days on his own, bringing him bread and water, before telling his parents about the Jewish teen. His parents brought Feinstein into their home, bathing and caring for him until he recovered his strength. Despite knowing that Feinstein was Jewish, the family sheltered him until the area was liberated, in April 1943. Shortly after Feinstein immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, he asked Yad Vashem to recognize Yeryomin and his parents as "righteous among the nations." Yeryomin married a Jewish woman, Zina Shimnovsky, in 1959. In 1996, after he was widowed, he immigrated to Israel with his remaining family.

Uzbekistan Rabbi - Murdered

Arutzsheva: A leader of the Tashkent Jewish community in Uzbekistan, Rabbi Avraham Yugudayev HaCohen, was murdered last Tuesday on his way to the synagogue in Tashkent. The Rabbi’s wife notified police when her husband failed to return from the synagogue. Shortly afterwards friends found him lying mortally wounded on the street near where the synagogue is located. Rabbi HaCohen, 35, died of his wounds after being evacuated to the hospital.The local police suspect a criminal motive, but the local Jewish community is convinced that anti-Semites are behind the murder, because the Rabbi was not robbed of his possessions.

Oh No! Tendler, AGAIN?

Ha! He was at the Mikva! What a joke. Why can't they just stay out of trouble? Jpost: A group of Orthodox Jews visiting Israel from Los Angeles said Israeli police discriminated against them on religious grounds by preventing them from entering the Temple Mount Sunday. But police said the group failed to produce identification and were, therefore, not authorized to enter the Temple Mount area until they produced it. A group of eight, all congregants of the Sha'arey Zedek Synagogue, San Fernando Valley's largest orthodox synagogue, who were in Israel for a Bar Mitzva, blamed the police for discrimination. "About 30 seconds after we were detained a group of about 50 non-Jews were allowed to enter without ID," said Rabbi Aron Tendler, the rabbi of the synagogue. "The policemen at the entrance to the Mount told us that gentile tourists are usually not required to show ID, only religious Jews." A police spokesman rejected Tendler's accusation that police discriminated against the group because they were orthodox Jews, but admitted that police do conduct "selective" ID checks. "We try to single out potentially extremist elements," said the spokesman. "But the checks are not made to discourage anyone from entering the mount." The police spokesman added that it was impossible to check every person who enters the Temple Mount because it would cause delays. The group's tight itinerary prevented it from retrieving IDs and returning to the Mount, said Yossi Maimon, the group's tour guide. Tendler, grandson of the famous halachic authority Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, said that he and his congregants did not bring ID or other valuables with them because they had been at the mikveh [ritual bath] and were afraid that while they were immersing themselves their valuables would be left unguarded. According to Jewish law, it is necessary to purify oneself in a mikveh before entering the Temple Mount. Also, Tendler felt that it was preferable from a halachic point of view to leave all mundane items outside the Temple Mount out of respect for the holiness of the place. "We had no intention of making a political statement," said Tendler, who ventured that perhaps it was Bershert [Yiddish for 'it was meant to be']. "But nevertheless the incident left me incredulous. The holiest place to the Jewish people does not belong to us." Tendler said that one of the non-Jewish tourists who was allowed to enter the Temple Mount without ID was incredulous also. "You mean they let us go up but they are not letting you go up even though this is a Jewish state?"

Kiryat Gat movie theater - shut

Haaretz: Kiryat Gat was without a movie theater for 17 years. And then, for a full eight months, it finally had one. But Wednesday saw the last picture show in town. It took a year and a half, but pressure from the ultra-Orthodox led to the theater's closure. For the non-ultra-Orthodox residents of the southern town, it's back to a familiar routine - an occasional Indian film at the local community center, or a trip to Be'er Sheva. "The Holy One, blessed be He, won," exulted Rabbi Moshe Havlin, head of the town's Chabad yeshiva. Hevlin led the boycott by ultra-Orthodox consumers of the Lev Ha'ir mall, which the owners dared to keep open on the Sabbath, and where the theater was located. When the Globus Group realized it would not be able to open the four-theater multiplex on Shabbat, the company decided it would not be viable to continue to operate only on weekdays. About 18 months ago, when news broke of plans to open a mall in Kiryat Gat where movies would be shown on the Sabbath, the town's ultra-Orthodox mayors joined together to organize a mass rally, with petitions and protests against the desecration of the Sabbath. At first, the battle seemed to have been lost; the mall, and the movie theater, opened and stayed open on Shabbat. A coalition of religiously observant and ultra-Orthodox forces then organized a consumer boycott....

Neturei Karta vs Shuvu!!

The Shuvu organization's annual dinner is scheduled for tonight (Sunday) and Neturi Karta was issued a permit to protest outside. Their reason? The Jerusalem Mayor will be getting an honor! It really amazes me how bored and sick these people actually are. USnewswire: To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Neturei Karta International, 914-262-8342 WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m. WHERE: 14th Ave. between 53rd & 54th Streets, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219 WHAT: Approximately one thousand anti Zionist Orthodox Jews will gather in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, to protest the honoring of a representative of the State of "Israel". The State of "Israel", which is the fruition of the Zionist ideology, is in its essence a rebellion against the Almighty. In a clear and unequivocal edict, the Almighty has expressly forbidden us, the Jewish people, from ending His decreed exile, by creating our own State. This Zionist entity, the State of "Israel", has compounded its rebellion against the Almighty immeasurably, by creating and developing its State by means of the use of a land inhabited by the Palestinian people, against their will. A litany of evils has emanated from the creation of the State, the desecration of the Sabbath, loss of modesty, promoting immorality, promiscuity and the secularization of the Jewish masses. The endless list of violations against the laws of our faith and Jewish teachings includes the deportation and oppression of the Palestinian people. The State of "Israel" is the root cause of the strife and suffering in the Holy Land. The State of "Israel" is the cause for the colossal exacerbation of anti Semitism in our time. As "mayor" of Jerusalem, a representative of the illegitimate State of "Israel", Mr. Uri Lupolianski is a partner in crime to this rebellion against the Almighty and shares responsibility for all its actions. Uri Lupolianski should be vilified and most certainly not honored. For more information please visit Neturei Karta International at http://www.nkusa.org Contact: Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss at 914-262-8342

Lakewood - Washington Square

APP: Yusuf Agac can see the construction of Washington Square — a luxury apartment and shopping complex along Cedar Bridge Avenue — from the gasoline station he runs just down the road. Agac, a Turkish native who manages the Singin station at Cedar Bridge and Hurley avenues, likes the idea of hundreds of new residents stopping by for gasoline and coffee...Lakewood leaders heartily agree. In fact, two weeks ago, the commercial development of Washington Square — 10,000 square feet of retail space and 10,000 square feet of office space — received a tax abatement...Records show the property is valued at $3.3 million, but that number will rise when construction is completed later this year....the complex is a step forward in the development of Cedar Bridge Avenue as an economic corridor...The township last year rezoned 51 acres across the street from FirstEnergy Park to allow restaurants, pubs, retail stores and housing. The idea, officials say, is to give baseball fans places to go before and after BlueClaws games at the park. Dov Gluck, a developer who owns most of the newly zoned land, has not yet submitted proposals, Planning Board Secretary Kevin Kielt said. Also trying to capitalize on FirstEnergy Park is the Cedarbridge Corporate Campus, a plan by Cedarbridge Development Corp. to bring high-tech jobs to an office park next to the stadium. Somerset Development has the board's approval to build three 40,000-square-foot buildings in the campus and plans to move its corporate headquarters there. "Every time you see an expansion and development . . . you're going to generate interest," Corby said. "You're going to generate traffic . . . that will spend money in Lakewood." Moses and Minna Shvarzblat have already spent their money. The couple, who own Dina's Dinettes & Leather on Clifton Avenue, is the development team behind the $10 million Washington Square development, which will include 144 apartments. The first building of apartments — monthly rents for a one-bedroom start in the $900s — is expected to be completed by May. The second building and the commercial space — which includes a restaurant, a dry cleaning shop and other businesses — should be finished by July, Moses Shvarzblat said. Shvarzblat said he is hopeful Washington Square will spur more development around him....

Lakewood News Tidbits 2/24/06

NEW LAKEWOOD TRAFFIC LIGHT: APP: Route 9 is getting a new traffic light, a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman has confirmed.The new light -- first announced by Township Committeeman Robert W. Singer earlier this week -- will be at Route 9 and Locust Street, just north of Route 9's junction with Route 70, said Erin Phalon, a DOT spokeswoman.The light should be installed by year's end, Phalon said.The jumble of two state highways -- and local roads including Honey Locust Drive in Dover Township -- has made the intersection more dangerous in recent years, Lakewood officials and merchants say."(A traffic light) will be an immense help,'' said John P. Curley, manager of Jim Curley Pontiac-Buick-GMC, a car dealership at Route 9 and Locust Street.... ------------------------------------------------ CONRAIL TO CLOSE DOWN ROADWAY: APP: A rail line operator has threatened to close down Mary's Lane, an informal roadway from Fourth to Seventh streets.The road may be an illegal encroachment on private property, according to John Enright, a Conrail spokesman. If so, Conrail likely will ask the township to close off access to the road, Enright wrote this week in an e-mail interview.Conrail's response comes after township officials have publicly asked the company to address a spate of drivers who have driven their cars into the tracks. Committeeman Menashe Miller has said the intersection of Fourth Street and Mary's Lane has caused many drivers to damage their cars by driving into or over the railroad tracks.Miller wants curbing, signs or reflective lighting to warn drivers -- particularly at night -- of the crossing....Conrail is researching the problem and expects to make a decision shortly.

Metzitzah B'peh Part 12

Now we have Metzitza and a TENDLER in one post! YAY! Jewishledger: In the face of a religious court's failure to conclude its investigation of a mohel who transmitted herpes to three babies, New York City's health commissioner recently issued an unprecedented public warning that a controversial circumcision procedure is endangering the lives of Jewish infants."There exists no reasonable doubt that 'metzitzah b'peh' can and has caused neonatal herpes infection," Dr. Thomas Frieden wrote in December in "An Open Letter to the Jewish Community" about a procedure routinely practiced by mohels in some "haredi" - or ultra-Orthodox - sectors of the Jewish community. "The Health Department recommends that infants being circumcised not undergo metzitzah b'peh."The letter - the Health Department's first official warning against the procedure - follows an apparent breakdown in an agreement the department had with a Jewish religious court in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.In September, the city withdrew a lawsuit against a mohel the department concluded had transmitted the disease to three babies on whom he had performed the procedure, including one who died as a result and one who suffered brain damage. It also withdrew a court order barring him from continuing to use the technique.In exchange, Rabbi Yitzchok Fischer agreed temporarily to stop performing metzitzah b'peh voluntarily. And a Jewish religious court took up the case for final resolution. But according to Frieden, the religious court, or Beit Din, failed to meet the Dec. 1 deadline."They've since communicated to us that it's a complicated situation and they're not sure when they can come back," Frieden said. "So rather than let that continue indefinitely, we felt it was important to make clear to the public our own conclusion and position." Rabbi David Niederman, liaison for the Williamsburg Beit Din, said he was "shocked" at Frieden's reaction to the delay."We have set the date, and it might be a little bit later," he said. "However, I believe that the lines of communication are open... We did not break down the agreement."The rabbinical court, he said, "is making a very thorough and broad investigation. They will not leave one stone unturned."But whatever the court's ultimate conclusions about Rabbi Fischer, it will not impact the practice of metzitzah b'peh in the haredi community, said Niederman."We are convinced that it's not dangerous," he said.......Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a dean at Yeshiva University's rabbinic school and a professor of biology there, as well as an expert in Jewish medical ethics with a doctorate in microbiology, opposes metzitzah b'peh as halachically unnecessary and medically dangerous."I'm convinced that many children have been infected and not diagnosed, and years later they are in special education in the schools and no one knows why," Tendler said.

The wait is over!

For all those MBD fans, such as myself: Finally! A breath of fresh air - with MBD's newest album slated to be released next week it's guarnteed to blow you away! You can visit Mostly Music's website (or click here ) and get a sneak preview of the songs. All 13 of them!

Jewish Press gets DUMBER

It just amazes me how dumb the Jewish Press is. They publish the stupidest articles and are completely childish sometimes. To prove my point, this weeks Jewish Press printed this article about a certain blog (which was previously discussed on Yeshiva World). By printing this article they gave this bitter individual the fame and popularity that he so desperately seeked. Although the point the jewish press makes is valid, but coming from them it can't be taken with the sincerity that it requires; considering their dismissal when Rabonim like the RCA look into SERIOUS allegations!

Lakewood News Tidbits 2/22/06

Which "Community Members" will Zucker & Schron be taking input from? APP: The blighted 52-acre property that once held the Anchor Glass Container Corp. on Cliffwood Avenue could be converted into a township center with hotels, town houses, three anchor stores, and hundreds of office spaces and apartments. That was the conceptual plan rolled out by Somerset Development, the Lakewood-based company that owns the property. The company's ambitious conversion plans took a positive step Tuesday night, when the township council signed off on designating the land an area in need of redevelopment. The council during the workshop session also designated Somerset the project's developers. After their hourlong presentation, Mayor David Sobel said the development must "give people from the entire area a reason to go. If they accomplish that, that will make (the venture) successful, and it will thrive for years to come." Somerset President Raphael Zucker said the company is eager to get started but will incorporate input from "major stakeholders and community members, at the right time." -------------------------------------------------- Will Officer Menk be there? APP: The Police Department will have a meet and greet of sorts at Thursday's Township Committee meeting.Public Safety Director Al Peters is expected to introduce 10 new full-time officers, said Sgt. Maureen McGilloway, a department spokeswoman. The officers have completed in-house training and are currently working with training officers, McGilloway said.The public presentation will also include an introduction of nine officers recently promoted, including newly-minted Lt. William Addison, a 34-year department veteran who is now the day-shift patrol commander.The committee meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the municipal building, 231 Third St.

Bar Mitzvah = Star Mitzvah

Click HERE to view a video that was made for some kid's Bar Mitzvah. Enjoy! YW Editor.

BUSTED!

Some more Chillul Hashem.... NJ: Abie Moskowitz was a businessman, authorities said, and for years he ran his tax fraud scheme like a well-oiled corporation. A former part-owner of a Carteret transport firm, Moskowitz enlisted friends and relatives who owned businesses and persuaded them to write him checks under the guise of deductible expenses. He then laundered the money through bank accounts of fictitious companies he created, retrieved the cash, repaid his financiers and kept his cut. In just three years, Moskowitz and his cohorts were able to divert and conceal more than $8.6 million, some of which he squirreled away in accounts in Israel. Moskowitz admitted as much yesterday, when he pleaded guilty to fraud, tax and money-laundering charges before U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh in Newark. The 56-year-old Brooklyn man was the last, and most significant, of the 12 defendants to plead guilty in a long-running fraud network that prosecutors suspect might have stolen millions more....Moskowitz, who emigrated from Israel in 1965, had been a part owner in Sea Jet Trucking/APA Warehouse Inc., a commercial shipping and storage company in Carteret, until he sold his share around 2000, authorities said. He also owned a piece of American Poly Inc., a Brooklyn-based commercial packaging company. And he claimed to be the president of Mosdot Nardvorna Mamar Mordechai, a U.S.-based charity raising money for a Jewish school in Israel. But it was his other companies, shell businesses with names such as Jersey York Baking and Madison Financial and Gateway, that made him rich, authorities said. Under questioning from the prosecutor, Moskowitz admitted laundering money through the fictitious companies' bank accounts and mailing more than $378,000 to an unidentified contact in Israel. He acknowledged that he failed to report $1.9 million in personal income for the tax years 1998, 1999 and 2000 and owed more than $600,000 in income tax. Moskowitz stood with his hands folded during the hearing, answering the judge and prosecutor in one-word replies. He did not offer an explanation for his crime, but will be given an opportunity to do so at sentencing...In the past two years, 11 other defendants have pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the scheme. Among them was Moskowitz's son, Sholom Moskowitz. Most of the others were members of the close-knit Jewish community where Moskowitz lives and is well known, the prosecutor said. "He has quite a reputation, not unfounded," said Gannett.

Neturei Karta do it again

Aljazeera: Following Hamas' announcement of appointing Ismail Haniyeh as the new Prime Minister of its government, Rabbi Hirsch, of the Neturei Karta of the Orthodox Jewry, sent the new PM a greeting message expressing the Jews’ support of the newly democratically elected Palestinian government led by Hamas , the Islamist anti-occupation movement that has a rich history of struggle for the welfare of the Palestinian population that has long suffered under the merciless occupation of the Israeli forces........ The organisation has faxed Al Jazeera Magazine the below letter which was originally sent to Mr. Haniyeh, expressing the group’s support and willingness to stretch its hand in help of the Palestinians’ cause, out of the belief that the only way to achieve peace is to acknowledge the Palestinians’ full rights in the occupied territories, urging world media to circulate the message in support for the new Palestinian government led by Hamas, and confronting the U.S., Israeli campaign to isolate the new PA, regardless to the costs the Palestinians civilians will pay. Click on letter to enlarge it. NOTE: These mongaloids can't even write the correct date!! 2005?? LOSERS!

Holocaust denier sentenced

Eveningtimes: Jewish leaders today welcomed the conviction of Holocaust denier David Irving. However, there were concerns his jail sentence in Austria was too harsh a penalty. The British historian is beginning a three-year prison term today after admitting a charge of denying the Holocaust. His lawyer said he would appeal against the sentence. Irving, 67, insisted during his hearing in Vienna he had had a change of heart and now acknowledged the Nazis' Second World War slaughter of six million Jews. He told the jury: "In no way did I deny the killings of millions of people by the Nazis." But the historian arrived at court carrying a copy of one of his most controversial books - Hitler's War, which challenges the extent of the Holocaust. Lord Janner, chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said he was "pleased" at Irving's conviction. He added: "It is the conviction and not the sentence that matters. "It sends a clear message to the world we must not tolerate the denial of the mass murders of the Holocaust." But Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, director of the Jewish Information and Media Service, questioned whether Irving should have been jailed for the crime. Dr Romain, rabbi of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, said: "I prefer to treat him with disdain than with imprisonment." Irving was arrested in Austria in November on a warrant issued in 1989 under Austrian laws that make Holocaust denial a crime. The charges stemmed from speeches which Irving delivered that year in Austria. Publication date 21/02/06.......

Riverdale Rabbi vs City Planning Com.

NYSun: As the City Planning Commission prepares to consider a plan to create a historic district that would, in effect, make every house in Riverdale's Fieldston section a landmark, the neighborhood's most prominent religious leader has declared that he opposes the proposal.The senior rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Rabbi Avi Weiss, declared that the net result of the proposed landmarking will be harmful to the area's Orthodox Jewish community. If the Planning Commission approves the project on Wednesday, it will then go before the City Council....

Kiryas Joel to get training facility

Recordonline: Kiryas Joel - For two years it has sat empty: 5,000 square feet of space built with $400,000 in state money to put more Kiryas Joel citizens to work and help its businesses thrive.Village officials blame utility problems for the delayed opening. But now that everything except natural gas is hooked up, they vow to roll out all they have touted for the Kiryas Joel Workforce Development Center: computer courses, English lessons, job placement, a chamber of commerce and more.More than 20 computers once used for night classes in the basement of a Kiryas Joel nursery school have been set up in two classrooms. A phone system and thousands of dollars' worth of furniture, including desks for 100 students, are on order.And just this month, SUNY Orange President Bill Richards and two of his assistants visited the center to discuss offering SUNY courses there. Village officials say the college is providing a survey that will be sent to every household in the next few weeks to determine what courses residents want....Kiryas Joel Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said yesterday during a building tour. He hopes to begin classes after Passover, in May.The vocational needs in this Hasidic community of 18,000 are formidable. Focused much more intently on religion than careers, young people here enter adulthood virtually bereft of work skills. Men who become the main breadwinners for families will have studied only religious texts and spoken only Yiddish or Hebrew in the classroom since the age of 12.The result is Orange County's lowest median household income - just more than $15,000 when the 2000 census was taken - and heavy dependence on government assistance.

Israeli Election Video

Sit tight everyone......I'm sure that this is just one of many video's that we will be seeing in the upcoming Israeili elections. Click HERE to view the latest Likud video that bashes the Olmert/Kadima party.

L.R. Arkansas - Jewish PD Chaplain

Ever get a speeding ticket in Arkansas? You now know what to do. We no have an "Edgar Gluck" there!! KTHV: The Little Rock police department has its first Jewish chaplain. Officers attended a prayer breakfast at a Little Rock synagogue last week to meet the chaplain, Rabbi Martin Applebaum. He's one of eight chaplains in the police force. They offer nondenominational support to police and serve in functions such as death notification. Applebaum is originally from Brooklyn, NY, and moved to Little Rock in September. He's worked for decades as an Army chaplain and as a police chaplain in other cities. There are few Jews in Arkansas, but Applebaum says he's used to ministering to non-Jews. He says God wants him to be in Little Rock.

Mort Zukerman PRAISES Lakewood!

Ajspirit: (Mortimer Zuckerman is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report and is the Chairman and co-publisher of the New York Daily News. He served until recently as chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and continues to serve as a trustee for New York University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton. He is a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Visitors, the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.) Mr. Zukerman, you had the opportunity recently to visit the Lakewood Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. Can you tell us what that was like? MZ: It was at the behest of a rabbi I study with that I went and visited the Lakewood Yeshiva. I had never been to a yeshiva before in my life and I sort of did this out of some degree of curiosity but more out of a sense of moral support for what had been such a central part of this rabbi’s life but I have to tell you when I got there I was absolutely knocked out by it. I will tell you that it was the single most intellectually active, energetic, fascinating environment I had ever witnessed. There was a sort of buzz and just sheer concentration and joy in the learning process and it was literally visible to somebody like myself. I mean, I said it afterwards, it made Harvard Law School, which I happen to have attended, look like a kindergarten. It was absolutely extraordinary to see so many people - from various walks of life - in there for the sheer joy of learning about their religious tradition. And the sheer intensity and intellectual demands of this place made it such a unique place to visit. So for me, it was absolutely a stunning experience and I wish everybody could have the chance not only to visit it but to have a guide like I did.

Gur Chasidim vs Jews for "J"

Evangelical: Messianic Jews are calling for international protests against violations of -religious freedom in Israel. Orthodox Jews have harassed a congregation in the desert town of Arad in southern Israel for more than 18 months.Messianic Jews number approximately 6,000 in Israel and at least 100,000 worldwide. They believe in the Messiah -Jesus Christ. Orthodox Jews regard them as apostates. An orthodox group called Gur Chassidim has been persecuting 30 Messianic Jews in Arad. The messianic Jews have been insulted in public as Nazis, whores and dirty Christians, while their persecutors call Jesus illegitimate and insist he is buried beneath their feet. An assembly hall has been burnt down. According to eyewitnesses the police have turned a blind eye or even sided with the persecutors. Leaders of the messianic congregation have written a letter of complaint to the police chief but received no answer. The Mayor of Arad said he was dependent on the Gur Chassidim. He could not intervene unless there was bloodshed.

Torah on EGGED busses

DeiahVedibur: As part of the Bar Bei Rav De Chad Yomo worldwide program started and presided over by the Admor of Kaliv, Daf Yomi shiurim for commuters were begun two years ago. HaRav Chaim Binyomin Kirshenbaum delivers a regular Daf Yomi shiur on Line 402 between Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak. The program has received blessings from HaRav Shteinman and HaRav Kanievsky. The shiurim are intended to strengthen Torah study on the road — uvelechtecho vaderech — and to take advantage of commuting time for the study of the Daf Yomi. A total of 20 shiurim are given on routes including Ashdod-Bnei Brak, Ashdod-Jerusalem, Jerusalem- Ashdod, Bayit Vegan-Kiryat Sefer, Beit Shemesh-Bayit Vegan, Bayit Vegan- Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Sefer-Bnei Brak, Jerusalem- Shmuel Hanovi Gravesite, Bnei Brak-Kiryat Sanz Netanya, Beit Shemesh- Jerusalem, Jerusalem-Beit Shemesh, Beitar Illit- Jerusalem and Jerusalem-Beitar Illit. When the study of maseches Pesochim got underway the Admor of Kaliv called for more maggidei shiurim to take part in this special program, offering to provide free gemoras for regular participants and a portable microphone system.

Jewish Blogging

The Article is way too long to post....but it sure is interesting!! (Hat tip DovBear.) CJN: ...But a post, click and hyperlink away, the burgeoning blogosphere offers a forum for Jewish conversation. Jewish blogs, or Web diaries, run the gamut from kosher cooking to Israeli advocacy. They include leftist rants, dating melodramas, rabbinic ruminations and secular musings from all corners of the globe. Last year, the Pew Internet and American Life Project estimated that 8 million American adults had created blogs. Though the number of specifically Jewish blogs is unconfirmed, those with knowledge of the blogosphere say the pool is substantial. "I'd estimate the number of active blogs at some several thousand," says Steven Weiss, who currently blogs about religion(http://canonist.com/), food (http://kosherbachelor.com/) and the Jewish college experience (http://www.campusj.com/). "Among young, highly-affiliated Jews, J-blogs are very popular," the 24 year- old New Yorker continues. "As you move up the age brackets, the popularity drops off somewhat, though many in the organizational and rabbinic establishment have started paying a lot of attention to them."....

Video of the day 2/19/06

Dick Cheney confesses to killing hundreds of people! Click HERE to see the Vice President talking about it. ENJOY!! --------------------------------------------- To view many different funny Dick Cheney Tee-shirts and Bumperstickers, CLICK HERE

Anti-Semitic Cartoon Contest!

Boomka: A Danish paper publishes a cartoon that mocks Muslims. An Iranian paper responds with a Holocaust cartoons contest - - Now a group of Israelis announce their own anti-Semitic cartoons contest! Click HERE to read all about it!

El Al safer then ever

Arutzsheva El Al Israel Airlines passengers are among the best-protected clientele flying the skies, but the company has just taken security to a higher level. Security sources said Wednesday that the airline completed the installation of an anti-missile system on each of its 29 passenger aircraft. The new security equipment was developed by Israel Military Industries and its subsidiary Elta, both of which are state-owned. Carrying a $1 million price tag per unit, the “Flight Guard” is an Israeli-made system which is now installed on each of the 29 planes n El Al’s fleet.The installation of the system is the final touch on a security overhaul that began in 2002 after an al-Qaida terrorist in Kenya fired shoulder-held missiles at an Israeli charter flight.According to an aircraft industry source, "The State and El Al invest NIS 100 million (about USD 22.5 million) a year in the airline's security.El Al officials declined to comment on the move and said it does not discuss security issues. The company, Israel’s official national carrier, is also the largest airline in the country.

FBI working the streets of LAKEWOOD

APP: In New Jersey, corruption tends to connect the most unlikely people. What begins with the simple exchange of bribes between two people can set off an invisible chain of events until, years later, entire networks of politicians find themselves targets of an FBI investigation. Such is the history of Operation Bid Rig, a massive FBI investigation into political corruption in Monmouth County that has led to the arrest of 17 current and former officials. A year ago this Wednesday, Operation Bid Rig exploded onto the public stage when teams of FBI agents slapped handcuffs on 11 elected and appointed county and municipal officials in Monmouth County in an early-morning raid. And the investigation continues....The FBI is known to be working in Howell in Monmouth County and in Brick and Lakewood in Ocean County.

Satmar dispute Update Part 6

The mass Chillul Hashem continues......SHAME ON SATMAR! Recordonline: Being a judge is a trying job, no question about it. But anyone unlucky enough to have presided over the recent court wrangles between two rival factions of Satmar Hasidim has probably never felt more like chugging Maalox or contemplating a new career.What's a judge to do, for example, when opposing lawyers show up in court claiming to represent the same organizations?Or when a directive meant to clarify a critical issue instantly appears on the Internet and kicks off a synagogue riot a few days later?Or when partisans feverishly tracking the case with the speed of a cell-phone call scrutinize a judge's personal relationships and campaign contributions and fling accusations of bias, or worse, bribery?Any judge plunged into the claustrophobic Satmar world and its high-stakes power struggle can expect this and more. Just ask Stewart Rosenwasser, an acting state Supreme Court justice in Orange County, who last week rendered the most recent decision in a seemingly endless cycle of litigation between the warring factions. Insinuations of bias got so strong in his case that he summoned the attorneys to his chambers in October to insist he was neutral and let them ask for his recusal if they felt otherwise. He had just discovered that someone dug up his personal cell phone records, presumably to determine which lawyers and involved parties he had spoken to. One year earlier, a Supreme Court justice handling a separate but related Satmar case in Brooklyn, let loose with a long, angry epilogue to his decision that cataloged the unusual shenanigans that accompanied his case."Chambers have been daily inundated by calls from individuals using pseudonyms and falsely claiming to be reporters or attorneys," Justice Melvin Barasch complained in his litany.If interest in the Satmar cases is high, then so are the stakes. Two feuding sons of the grand rebbe, Aron and Zalmen Teitelbaum, and their respective followers - Zalmen supporters are Zalis; Aron's supporters are Aronim - have been fighting for five years over which faction controls the property and other assets of the sect's main congregation in Brooklyn. Looming large is the question of which brother succeeds their 91-year-old father, Moses Teitelbaum, as supreme leader of more than 100,000 Satmar members in Brooklyn, Kiryas Joel and elsewhere.There is no mistaking the interest. Barasch recalled in his epilogue that spectators packed his courtroom throughout his case, which lasted more than three years. Within hours, he added, transcripts of those very proceedings would pop up on a Hasidic Internet site.....A spokesman for the court system recently expressed his own outrage at what he called "outrageous claims and allegations" emanating from the Satmar cases."If they don't like a decision, they say the judge is corrupt," said David Bookstaver, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration. "It's not a joke. It's dangerous and unfair. I think that undermines the public's faith in the judiciary."....

Yeshiva Cofetz Chaim vs Lawsuit

Journalnews: Solomon Fuerst is a guy who hopes for the best. These days, the hopes are directed at a construction site bordering his yard, a controversial yeshiva and housing complex that could bring him a couple of hundred new neighbors. While others work to raise money for a lawsuit against it, Fuerst and his wife, Sara, see little point. That's not to say the Fuersts and their neighbors are enthusiastic about the development, which would bring 28 four-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom apartments to the site. "I believe that some of the neighbors thought it was a good thing," Sara Fuerst said about the plan of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim Radin for a religious complex where adults could live and study. "But now," she said, "I think they're not happy with it. That's what I hear." Residents' concerns over the development of the 4.7 acres, including population density and increased traffic, were dismissed by Ramapo's planning and zoning boards, both of which approved the project in 2004. The Fuersts' neighbor Morty Chaimowitz saw little chance that a lawsuit would overcome what he saw as inevitable. "I think they're daydreaming," Chaimowitz said. "I don't want this here, but there really isn't anything they can do." Indeed, some residents of the single-family homes adjacent to the site quietly predict that multifamily housing eventually would swallow their neighborhood. "Contrary to how it was portrayed by some people at public meetings, a large percentage of the neighborhood is opposed to it, but they don't want to go on the record," Chaimowitz said. "In fact, I'd say a majority is opposed to it." The lawsuit fundraising plan was hatched at an evening meeting last week led by Robert Rhodes, a former Wesley Hills trustee who now lives across town off Route 202.....The building permit was issued in December, but construction can't start until the town gets revised building plans and gives the project an architectural review. As for Solomon Fuerst, he plans to build a fence along his property line, and expects the builder will plant a buffer of trees. "The truth is that people have a right to build, but we expect municipalities to act responsibly," Fuerst said...."Rabbi (Aryeh) Zaks assured me that they'd do a beautiful job," Fuerst said, "that they'd put in the trees, the berms. I hope he does."

Message for those with children

Click HERE to view a short (1 minute) and important video clip. This is a must see for all those married with children. Enjoy!

Stay away from the Jews

Ynet: Indian female tennis player Sania Mirza, 19, who is ranked 39th in the world, announced that she would not play with Israeli up and coming tennis star Shahar Pe’er in the doubles tournament of the Bangalore Open for fear of violent protests by India’s Islamic community. The two friends were prevented from cooperating in last month’s Australian Open for the same reason. Mirza initially agreed to play with Pe’er in Bangalore, but later retracted, telling Pe’er “It’s best that we don’t play together this time to prevent protests against my cooperation with an Israeli. There is no reason to arouse their ire (Muslims).” Mirza, a sports hero in her country, was recently chastised by Muslim groups in India for wearing a sleeveless top and a mini-skirt during her matches. Local Muslim groups claimed that her attire degrades Islam, and some even threatened to kill her...

Lakewood Mary's Lane

So Chaveirm made it to the APP......Nice! APP: LAKEWOOD — Mary's Lane is a problem. Wait — never heard of Mary's Lane? It's a strip of blacktop between Princeton and Park avenues that juts out of Fourth Street just east of the Lakewood Community Center. The road — actually, it's a paved right of way — is sandwiched between the railroad tracks and a series of street ends. The popular pathway is home to Foodex Supermarket....Drivers turning right from Fourth Street onto Mary's Lane have smacked into the railroad tracks — or, worse, climbed them only to get stuck like an inert caboose — in seemingly increasing numbers, said Township Committeeman Menashe Miller. The problem is particularly bad at night, when drivers can't see where the blacktop ends and the tracks begin. "It's a terrible situation," said Joseph Newhouse, a member of Chaveirim Volunteer Services, an AAA-like organization in Lakewood that responds to many of the accidents in which cars get stuck and damaged. "There are weeks we've done five or six a week." Township leaders have publicly considered suing Conrail to get the rail company to put up curbing or signs. But a Conrail spokesman said late Friday the line is owned by NJ Transit. An NJ Transit spokesman said they don't own the line, either. Exactly who does own the rail line couldn't be determined Friday night. Regardless, township attorney Steven Secare has suggested condemning the street. "(The right-of-way's owner) might not even object to that," Secare said. "They might, but at least we'd have some response, some decision to make. Right now, everything's in limbo." Mayor Meir Lichtenstein has pushed to sue the property owner, whomever that may be, but Committeeman Robert W. Singer suggested first meeting with Conrail and NJ Transit officials. He said Friday he will schedule that meeting as soon as possible. If the township starts a legal battle, the property owner could ban the town from using the street — and could even close off access to the railroad crossing at Fourth Street, Singer said. "It starts out, "Let's go get 'em,' " Singer said. "Then, wait a minute, it's, "We can't use the street.' " On the bright side, the snow that fell last weekend made Mary's Lane a paper tiger this week. Drivers couldn't take the turn too fast — or too tight — because sullied piles of snow had been plowed off Fourth Street. Today, the road is clear and open for trouble. Drivers making a right from Fourth Street to Mary's Lane can take the turn too aggressively — in a hurry to get to the grocery store or wherever they're going — and not notice where the pavement drops off. "At night, it's very dark over here," Miller said. "There's nothing letting (drivers) know where to stop." Well, there's one thing — faded white line practically invisible at night. Miller wants reflective light, curbing, a sign — anything that would tell drivers to make a wider turn to avoid the pitfalls near the tracks.

Camp Kasho Vandelized

Recordonline: Swan Lake - Police say teenagers scrawled a hateful name in red and green spray paint inside the main building of an Orthodox Jewish bungalow on Mount Hope Road.On walls in the front room at Camp Kasho, overlooking boxes of matzo meal crushed on the floor and a sticker advising people to keep their children off the Internet, was the name "Hitler" in letters a foot high.The vandals also spray-painted their names, nicknames and initials and splashed cans of paint around a room.Police lodged hate crime charges against three teenagers from neighboring Abbott House, a home for neglected, abused, developmentally disabled or otherwise homeless kids. Charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief as hate crimes and first-degree aggravated harassment, felonies, were Nathaniel Jones, 16, and Harry Singleton Jr., 16, both of the Bronx, and a 15-year-old boy from Newburgh."It's an ongoing thing (vandalism), the past four years," Solomon Lebowitz, the assistant director at Camp Kasho, said. A golf cart was stolen once. Broken windows are a constant. And once before, someone spray-painted a swastika.Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff said a camp employee came to the site to handle the delivery of trusses for a new building. The man saw the teenagers flee into the woods, discovered the break-in and vandalism and called 911.Sheriff's Cpl. Paul Slavik arrived within minutes. When he heard the employee's story, he called for a police dog to do a track through the woods. Slavik spoke to a supervisor at Abbott House and learned that the three boys had just returned. Slavik said that after initial denials, Singleton admitted to his and the other boys' involvement.The boys were being held last night pending arraignment.

Yeshivas Arzei Halevonon

Click HERE to view a video of some Rabbi encouraging boys to go learn in Yeshivas "Arrrree-Zei!"

Shelly Silver shakes down the J.P.

Yesterday Yeshivaworld posted an article from the Jewish Press citing their early endorsement of Eliot Spitzer for New York Governor. It seemed very strange that an endorsement came so early in the election campaign. Well The Politicker had to say this regarding the Jewish Press decision: The decision by the Jewish Press, the politically conservative, denominationally Orthodox Brooklyn weekly, to endorse Eliot Spitzer in February raised some eyebrows. Like most papers, they usually endorse a few days or weeks before an election. But one person familiar with the paper's workings said the endorsement didn't just come out of the blue. Spitzer and Shelly Silver met with the paper's editors last Friday, and pushed hard for the early endorsement. Part, it seems, of a strategy of trying to cut Tom Suozzi off at every pass.

Neshomo Carlebach cancels concert?

My holy brothers.....it's mammish ah gevald....Oy Mimkomcho....Oy Malkeinu..... So she is saying that she is not singing the show because she does not want anyone to think that she endorses it, so how does she explain singing for Christian groups "all the time"?? Hello? Anyone home? Forward: Devoted groupies of singer Neshama Carlebach may want to revise their schedules: She is abandoning her plans to perform at a messianic Jewish congregation in New York. The Orthodox performer (????!!!!!???)— daughter of the late Hasidic-hippie "Singing Rabbi" Shlomo Carlebach — had been scheduled to perform at a Purim concert next month at Congregation Beth El of Manhattan, which describes itself as observing "Two-Testament Judaism." When asked to discuss her decision to perform at Beth El, Carlebach informed the Forward that she was pulling out of the gig."I was invited to sing for Congregation Beth El of Manhattan, a congregation of messianic Jews, on March 12, 2006," Carlebach wrote in an e-mail to the Forward. "Naively, I had no idea what their ultimate goal and mission was when I first accepted this invitation. Now that I have become aware of what this organization represents, I will be canceling my appearance."Carlebach added: "I absolutely believe in One God, and live and breathe for my own Orthodox Judaism. While I respect the ideologies and rights of all people, I feel it to be my own religious and spiritual imperative not to participate with a group that is in direct conflict with my own beliefs and way of life."Carlebach said that, like her father, she considers it a "gift" to sing for people. "I want to be able to do it anywhere," she said. "I sing for interfaith groups all the time. I've done events for Christians and many other religious groups."Still, in the end, she concluded that performing at the Messianic venue would send the wrong message. "The reason that I'm not going is because I don't want people to get sucked into something because they think that I endorse it," she said.

Orthodox Jews complaining

Maybe they are getting sick from all the Shomrim radio antennas? Dailynews: A new trend has sprouted on rooftops across the city that is making landlords rich - but may also be making people sick. Cellular antennas and related equipment have flooded the cityscape, as cell phone companies scramble to keep up with the constant surge in mobile phone use. The federal government and company officials insist the technology is safe and that any radiation emitted is far below the accepted exposure levels. But a growing chorus of community groups and elected officials across the city - and the country - charge the long-term health effects even at low levels are unknown, and are pushing for more regulation. "It's like the Wild West out there," said Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who introduced legislation that would create a siting board and ban antennas from within 500 feet of schools. "No one is watching." Advocates point to one Brooklyn apartment building on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights as an extreme example - with at least 27 antennas from three companies. Panicked residents, most of them Orthodox Jews, charge that since the bulk of the antennas arrived, they suffer from headaches, dizziness, lethargy and other ailments. "It's scary," said one resident, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. "It seems like everyone has something." Company officials insist the levels are safe except when standing directly in front of the panels for extended periods. But not all experts are convinced.......

Metzitzah B'peh Part 11

Read this...........This guy has such "Sinah" for people who insist on doing Metzitzah B'peh it's disgusting. He says "My justification for such boldness is that I recently wrote a biography of the great scholar (the Rambam) and interpreter of Halacha, and none of its many reviewers or my correspondents have yet told me that my understanding of him as either a rabbinical authority or as a doctor is wrong". Wow! He's SUCH a fluent master of the Rambam! Just like R' Chaim Brisker! NOT! Forward: One of the first things I was taught when I began my surgical training about 50 years ago was that I must never spit into an open wound. To my knowledge, that is still a good rule.....violent dispute about whether some of our ultra-Orthodox brethren should be permitted to continue a practice about which there seems to be only debatable probability of halachic justification. A custom is not a law, any more than a superstition is the manifestation of religious faith. One can only wonder why not only New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, but also its health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, has been wearing kid gloves instead of mailed fists in his dealings with the Satmar and other Hasidim who insist on their right to metzitzah b'peh...Under normal conditions, the human mouth is home to streptococcus, staphylococcus and about five other forms of bacteria, several of which are capable of causing serious — and even lethal — infections....Fortunately, the disease is rare in the general population — but the general population does not suck on the newly cut penises of its neonates. Who knows the real number of fatalities and illnesses among ultra-Orthodox infants from either viral or bacterial infection, a figure on which the recently reported cases shed no light? Jewish physicians traditionally revere the memory of the most renowned of their number who ever lived, Maimonides, or as the Satmar and many others prefer to call him, the Rambam. One should be very cautious in intruding a historical figure into a contemporary debate, but I will do it anyway. My justification for such boldness is that I recently wrote a biography of the great scholar and interpreter of Halacha, and none of its many reviewers or my correspondents have yet told me that my understanding of him as either a rabbinical authority or as a doctor is wrong. Maimonides railed against superstitions of all sorts, though it is true he was somewhat more lenient with local customs that could not be shown to have a basis in rabbinic law. But regardless of the position he might take in matters of human behavior, he never wavered from the precept that health trumps virtually anything else. Any commandment may be violated in the name of health, except those injunctions against idolatry, blasphemy, sexual immorality and murder.This was not only an ironclad dictum of the Rambam, but it has guided rabbinic thought throughout Jewish history, both before and after him. To Maimonides — and he said this directly — the practice of medicine was a religious undertaking, because without health and life one could not study God and achieve an understanding of His ways. It is this argument that ultimately supersedes any halachic argument that may be brought forward to justify metzitzah b'peh. The Shulhan Arukh, the code of Jewish law, could not be clearer on the matter of circumcision: "The fulfillment of all ordinances [of the brit milah] are suspended if there is danger to human life." The danger of metzitzah b'peh has been more than amply demonstrated. Were the Rambam alive today, he would certainly agree. Sherwin Nuland, a clinical professor of surgery at Yale University, is the author of the National Book Award-winning "How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter" (Knopf, 1994) and the memoir "Lost in America" (Knopf, 2003).

Mayor Lichtenstein - 2/16/06

APP: Milagros Pedraza had never met Mayor Meir Lichtenstein before a brief ceremony in his office two days ago. "I love him," the 51-year-old township resident bellowed as she left. Granted, Pedraza's daughter had just been married by the township's top elected official, but Lichtenstein is finding a lot of fans in his first seven weeks as mayor. Now that the novelty has worn off — Lichtenstein is one of the first Orthodox Jewish mayors in New Jersey history, if not the first — the 35-year-old property manager is ready to focus on his initiatives for 2006. "Religion has nothing to do with how you pay taxes, with how the streets are paved," Lichtenstein said this week in his first extensive public comments since taking over as mayor last month. "While in the beginning, there was more fanfare . . . people realize I'm going to do the job I have to do." Committeeman Menashe Miller was elected with Lichtenstein in 2003 — although the mayor is a Democrat, Miller is a Republican — and, as a rabbi, can understand the pressure of being the first observant Jew to serve as mayor since Lakewood has transformed into a commu-nity that includes an estimated 6,000 Orthodox families. But he knows Lichtenstein can handle the pressure, whether the constituent is wearing a yarmukle (traditional Jewish head covering) or not. "He's available to everyone," Miller said. "What's on his head makes no difference in how he governs." So now, as the requests for interviews have receded, Lichtenstein has time to push what he hopes will be his legacy for 2006. In an hourlong sit-down at his municipal building office this week, Lichtenstein said the most pressing issue is the downtown quandary involving day laborers. Merchants complain the men — many of whom are illegal immigrants — deter business. Immigrant advocates say they are simply filling jobs others won't do. Township officials are now discussing ways to solve the issue, including holding an as-yet unscheduled summit on the issue later this year. "People are here and it's not our place to enforce immigration," Lichtenstein said. "But we do have to recognize we have an issue here." Lichtenstein hasn't convinced everybody he will deal with the problem. Patricia DeFilippis, who owns a professional office building on Fifth Street, said politicians just talk about dealing with the downtown's problems. It recently took 13 days, she said, to remove graffiti from her building. "Nothing gets done," said DeFilippis, a Dover Township resident. "Everybody has meetings, meetings, meetings." Lichtenstein hopes to win over people like DeFilippis, although one way is admittedly to schedule more meetings. The mayor wants department heads to meet with one another, at least monthly, to see how they can help one another. He also wants to meet with school district officials to discuss the state's school funding formula, one school officials say short-changes Lakewood.

Get a Brocha NOW!

Click HERE to listen to a commercial on Israeli radio telling people to call a phone number to receive a Brocha from the Rebbe "shlita".

Mayor Lichtenstein - 2006 initiatives

This took an hour for him to say? APP: Mayor Meir Lichtenstein, in his first extensive public comments since taking over the township's top post, has announced a platform of initiatives for 2006.Lichtenstein, in an hour-long interview at his municipal building office this week, said his first priority is to find an amicable solution to the day laborer quandary downtown.A property manager who understands when merchants complain how the men -- many of whom are illegal immigrants -- deter business, Lichtenstein said the township must also find a way to treat the men with dignity and respect. Other initiatives for the year include:Instilling more public confidence in the township's embattled police department, which has weathered several allegations of police brutality in the past few years. Working with the Board of Education to lobby state officials to increase education funding to Lakewood. The funding inequity hurts taxpayers, Lichtenstein said, adding the township may be able to help the district attain more funding. Holding meetings of township department heads so employees can better work together to address residents complaints. The first of these meetings already has been held.

Jewish Press Governor Endorsement

Just in case anyone really cares what they say, the Jewish Press has endorsed Elliott Spitzer for NY Governor. Yippie! JewishPress: The Jewish Press heartily endorses New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic Party nomination for governor of the State of New York. We take this unusual step well in advance of any announced opposition to Mr. Spitzer for the nomination, and also well in advance of the date for any primary election should a challenger emerge. We believe Mr. Spitzer’s accomplishments in office over the past eight years require no less. Mr. Spitzer’s record in furthering the interests of all New Yorkers in his relentless pursuit of the perpetrators of fraud in the marketplace is legend. He has literally transformed the office of Attorney General in uncovering wrongdoing which, over the years, cost New Yorkers billions. The dimensions of his accomplishments in protecting the commonweal are unparalleled. Blah Blah Blah Blah.......

Yarchei Kallah for "REBBETZINS"

I have no comment on this topic. I'm just sitting and laughing at how pathetic this is. YU: Rabbis’ wives are facing an increasingly complex series of opportunities and challenges in the 21st century. While some are happy and content in the traditional role of “rebbetzin,” helping their husbands lead and minister to their communities, many others are seeking their own personal and professional identities and are striving to negotiate their own needs with the traditional expectations of a rabbi’s wife. Yet, there is no formal program that addresses their evolving role and provides them with guidance on how to navigate this situation. Until now.The Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University has developed what is believed to be the first formal program at any rabbinical school or organization in America designed to give rabbis’ wives the opportunity to meet with seasoned professionals to discuss issues of self, family, and community in a safe and supportive environment. The participants – young and old, from large metropolitan areas and from small towns across North America – will have the opportunity also to network, develop lasting relationships and a support system, and enjoy the intellectual stimulation of Torah study with leading Jewish scholars. The “Rebbetzins Yarchei Kallah” program launches with a three-day conference Feb. 28 to March 2 at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, NJ. More than 30 rabbis’ wives are scheduled to attend and participate in sessions such as “Community, Confidant, Teacher, and Hostess: Defining and Managing the Role of the Rabbi’s Wife,” “Our Husbands Ourselves: Advisor, Supporter, and Partner,” “My Journey: Where Am I and How Did I Get Here?,” and “The Strength of Connections: Caring, Sharing, and Planning.” “Contemporary Orthodox Jews, from rabbis and rabbis’ wives to lay leaders and community members, are sophisticated, intelligent and rooted professionally and culturally in the secular world while living traditional Jewish lives,” said Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, the internationally prominent rabbi who serves as Senior Scholar of the Center for the Jewish Future and is directing this initiative with his wife Shana Yocheved Schacter, a licensed psychoanalyst in private practice......

106 Year old Lubavitcher Dies:

Photo credit Circus Tent Blog NYPost: Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik, a 106-year-old Lubavitcher scholar known for his storytelling, died yesterday. Chitrik had been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack Feb. 8, said Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, a Lubavitch spokesman. A book of translations of Chitrik's stories, "From My Father's Shabbos Table," was published in 1991. In 1926, he began teaching in what is now the Ukraine, where he married Kaila Tumarkin. While there, he also met Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, who later became the seventh Lubavitcher rebbe, the spiritual leader of the Chabad Lubavitch movement... ------------------------------------------------------------ Newsday: Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik, a 106-year-old Lubavitcher scholar...Chitrik, born in 1899 in Krasnolok, Russia, was sent by his father at age 15 to the town of Lubavitch, where he studied at the central Chabad Lubavitch yeshiva until communism and persecution forced him and other scholars to leave. In 1926, he began teaching in what is now the Ukraine, where he married Kaila Tumarkin. While there, he also met Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, who later became the seventh Lubavitcher rebbe, the spiritual leader of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. After World War II, Chitrik's family lived in Belgium and Holland before moving to Montreal, where he taught in a yeshiva, an institution for study of the Torah. He moved to Brooklyn after his wife died in 1983. Chitrik's memories of Schneerson, who died in 1994, have helped scholars learn more about the late rebbe, Shmotkin said. Chitrik is survived by more than 300 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren...

Lakewood - More housing?

APP: Left or right, it can take Charles Zatrinski a few minutes to turn onto Route 9 from Michael's Auto Service Inc., the mechanic's shop he has worked at for three years. A new town house development at the Chateau Grand site across the street won't help. "There's already traffic now," Zatrinski, 45, said. "There'll be a lot more if they put up more houses." But that's exactly the plan for Chateau Grand, a Lakewood landmark that may soon be razed to make way for a development. A developer has submitted plans to knock down the Route 9 banquet facility and build 66 town houses in its place, according to documents on file with the township Planning Board. The application is not yet completed, but Kevin Kielt, the board's secretary, said the plan could be discussed at a March 7 meeting. A public hearing on the proposal would be held at a separate meeting.....No realty signs yet foreshadow the proposed project, and the parking lot remained unplowed Tuesday. The proposal calls for 40 four-bedroom town houses and 26 five-bedroom homes on the 8.25-acre site. The property could have two entrances along Route 9 and would include a cul-de-sac, 200 parking spaces and a community building, plans show. The banquet hall property was sold in March 2005 to Lakewood Equities LLC for $7.75 million. A contact name for the company is Victor Fried of Staten Island, but no one returned a call to the corporate phone number listed on the Planning Board application. The developer's attorney, Abraham Penzer of Lakewood, also could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Coles said more development along Route 9 — where several housing developments already are under construction — will further clog the roadway. "I think we really need to take a long, hard look at what we're doing along Route 9," Coles said...

Chicago Shul desecrated!!

Chicagotribune: Chicago police were conducting a hate-crime investigation Monday into the spray painting of swastikas and anti-Semitic writings on a synagogue in the Uptown neighborhood, the congregation's rabbi and police said.Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz, of the Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation, 5029 N. Kenmore Ave., said police contacted him about 4:30 a.m. Monday about a possible break-in at the temple. But because it was dark, they could not see the graffiti, he said.When the rabbi's son came to the temple later Monday morning, he found swastikas and several anti-Semitic writings--among them "Mein Kampf," "Kill the Jews" and "White Power"--spray-painted on the outside windows, Lefkowitz said. A rope, apparently used to scale a wall, was left hanging outside the temple, but the building was not burglarized."Frankly, I was shocked," Lefkowitz said, "because this is a blight on the neighborhood of Uptown. Everyone has been working together in this neighborhood. This is a bizarre situation."Police Officer Marcel Bright did not know exactly what had been sprayed on the windows, but he said police were notified of the graffiti at 11:16 a.m.The rabbi said empty spray-paint cans were littered outside of the temple.Lefkowitz, who has overseen the congregation for 10 years, said he would try to enlist the help of volunteers in the hope of cleaning up the graffiti before members come to the temple.