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July 27, 2010

$7 million fraud at Claims Conference raises questions

Leave a Comment / United States /

After discovering $7 million in fraudulent payments, the Claims Conference is facing questions about whether it will recover the money and how extensive the fraud actually was.

Officials at the Claims Conference, which acts as a pass-through to distribute more than $400 million per year from Eastern European governments directly to survivors, discovered last last year that it had paid out at least $7 million in pension payments dating back as far as 1980 to 202 imposters who used fraudulent documents to file claims for payments.

The Claims Conference notified the recipients earlier this month that their payments were being suspended and that they had 90 days either to return all the money they had received or appeal the suspension. Soome 40 people have responded, with about half saying they wanted to return the money and half asking for appeals, according to the Claims Conference.

It is not clear what, if any, criminal charges they will face.

“Criminal activity is not a matter for the Claims Conference,” Gregory Schneider, its executive vice president, told JTA. “We reserve the right go after them in civil court for the return of money.”

Claims Conference officials first noticed last November that several claimants had falsified information to receive payments from the Hardship Fund, an account established by the German government to give one-time payments of roughly $3,000 to those who fled the Nazis as they moved east through Germany. A further internal investigation revealed that more fraudulent claimants received payments from the organization’s Article 2 fund, through which the German government gives pension payments of roughly $375 per month to those who spent either six months minimum in a concentration camp or at least 18 months in a Jewish ghetto in hiding or living under a false identity to avoid the Nazis.

Conference officials said they immediately notified the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and discussed the matter in meetings with the German government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Claims Conference are continuing to investigate the matter.

“We are determined to get to the bottom of this,” Schneider said. “We have worked very closely with law enforcement, and on a regular basis they are in touch with us.”

In total, the Claims Conference has made pension payments to more than 160,000 people in 78 countries on behalf of the Germans since the start of the Hardship Fund in 1980 and the Article 2 fund in 1995. The organization now is reviewing each of the recipients, comparing the information it has from the fraudulent claims, such as where the claims were made, to all other claims, going case by case through all their case histories.

The 202 suspects come from reviewing “thousands” of recipients, according to a Claims Conference official, but it expects to find more as the organization reviews the entire caseload.

Payments are made from Claims Conference’s offices in Frankfurt, Tel Aviv and New York, but thus far all the suspected fraud was processed through the New York office. The discovery led to the firing of two case workers and one supervisor in that office. Schneider would not comment on whether the employees were under criminal investigation.

The fraud was reported in the New York Jewish Week just before the Claims Conference board of directors held their annual meetings in New York two weeks ago.

At the meetings, the board approved a $500,000 reserve fund “as a contingency to cover potential expenses associated with investigating the fraud and recovering the funds,” according to a spokesperson for the Claims Conference.

The board also has spent some money on public relations services from the high-profile firm Howard Rubenstein; Claims Conference Chairman Julius Berman described the sum as “minimal.”

The Claims Conference makes several kinds of payments. Most of the money it handles are pass-through payments from the German government to Nazi victims. The organization handled about $418 million in such payouts in 2009, and some $4 billion since 1980 from agreements negotiated between the German government and the Claims Conference acting as the representative of Nazi victims and the Jewish people. This is where the $7 million fraud was discovered.

In addition, the Claims Conference decides on how to distribute money each year from the sale of heirless Jewish property in the former East Germany. That money is distributed using a formula in which 80 percent goes to organizations that aid survivors and 20 percent to programs involved in Holocaust education, documentation and commemoration.

Over the past few years, however, as the Claims Conference upped the payouts from this fund—in 2010, the organization is set to distribute $136 million—the Holocaust education portion was capped at $18 million. The Claims Conference has about $1.16 billion from this fund earmarked for future payments.

The organization also distributes other monies negotiated from European governments for such issues as home care for needy, ailing survivors. The Claims Conference will distribute about $80 million in such funds this year, officials said.

“The Claims Conference has a 59-year history of working with the German government,” Schneider said. “During this time, the Claims Conference has continuously negotiated for the rights of Holocaust victims, establishing compensation funds and obtaining expansions of existing programs.”

He added, “While all understand that money can never truly compensate Holocaust victims for their suffering, the German government has assumed responsibility throughout the decades and acknowledged its obligation to survivors. The Claims Conference believes that the German government will continue to honor this obligation as long as Nazi victims remain alive.”

$7 million fraud at Claims Conference raises questions Read More »

Letters to the Edtior: ‘Dinner for Schmucks,’ Avi Pincus, Chabad

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor, Opinion /

Change in Word’s Meaning

I appreciate your recent article about the changed meaning of “schmuck” used in the movie being released July 30, 2010 (“Springtime for Schmucks,” July 9). Given my family name going back generations from southern Germany, I have another set of concerns about its use.

Some years back there were 400 people in the United States with our family name. In German it means jewel or jewelry. I have been aware of its Yiddish meanings, too.

I ask for awareness and sensitivity to various audiences out here.

Sister Mary Schmuck
Nazareth, Ky.

Jewish Recovery House

I offer my condolences to the Pincus family (“Dying to Recover: The Life and Loss of Our Son and Brother, Avi Pincus,” July 23). I only wish you had known about Beit T’Shuvah, the only Jewish recovery house in the country, located on Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles. We house 120 men and women, 18 years old and over, who struggle with addiction as your son did. I am so sorry you did not know about us.

Our program uses the 12-Step program along with Torah study and traditional psychotherapy as the major part of our recovery treatment. A resident can stay six months to a year or more, if necessary, and we do not turn anyone away for their inability to pay our fee. We are an agency of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. We work very hard to overcome the shame and denial that many Jewish families feel as they face this horrible disease and face their friends and community.

Again, I say to the Pincus family that I am so sorry for the loss of your Avi.

Annette Shapiro
Chair, Board of Directors
Beit T’Shuvah

Thank You for ‘Thank You’

I didn’t know anything about you, so, when I started reading “Thank You, Robert Gibbs” (July 23), I figured it was going to be some innocuous, overly nuanced [column]. But, when I finished it, I was amazed. The article is not only beautifully and insightfully written, it’s an important statement that needs wide publication.

So I’ve written a fan letter. So what?

Arthur Margolis
via e-mail

Chabad’s Lessons Learned

Dennis Prager’s article (“Lessons for the Rest of Us From Chabad’s Success,” July 16) was “spot on.” I would respectfully add one more reason for the success of Chabad. That reason is that Chabad shluchim [emissaries] really believe in Ahavas Yisroel (love for a fellow Jew) and will go to unbelievable lengths to fulfill this mitzvah. I personally know of Chabad rabbis who offer to pay for funerals of deceased Jews in order for the body not to be cremated. This is for complete strangers and not for members of their respective communities. I have seen them go to great lengths to raise bail for Jews and go to trials for Jews. I always tell people that no matter where in the world they are that they should look up and see if there is a Chabad rabbi there and to call him if they ever get into trouble. Chabad shluchim live Judaism to the fullest in regard to every mitzvah. How many rabbis can we say that about?

Morton Resnick
Oxnard

Out of the Ashes

Jonathan Zasloff asserts that Rabbinic Judaism could have arisen only in a post-Temple world (“What Are You Doing for Asarah B’Av?” July 16). This seems to imply that Rabbinic Judaism and the Temple represent two mutually exclusive eras, that Rabbinic Judaism was somehow invented as an alternate religion to Temple Judaism, which was no longer feasible. This theory ignores the fact that while the Mishnah was not written down, halachah certainly existed, as did a framework for interpreting the law. Starting with Joshua, many Prophets and Judges added rabbinic enactments. Going one step further, it was the Sanhedrin that created many rabbinic enactments along with explanations of the Torah specifically during the time of the Temple. When Judah HaNassi composed the Mishnah, he did not just create laws and transcribe them on paper. What he did was collect generations of discussion about the laws and put down the most valid opinions. Where there was a split about what to do, he put in both opinions. The progression of the Oral Law was certainly independent of the destruction of the Temple.

Certainly, if the Temple was never destroyed, then Judaism would be different. Today, much of our religion rests upon the reality of our destructed Temple. What this reflects is that the Jewish people are a people of memory. In halachah and in our rituals, we consistently delve back into history, redeeming the value found in our collective Jewish memory and applying it to our present. To forget the pain of the destruction of the Temple can be labeled as nothing other than “Jewish Amnesia.”

Jacob Agi
Los Angeles

Jacob Agi is a rising junior at Brandeis University and is president of the Brandeis Orthodox Organization on campus.

This Marriage Trumps Chelsea’s

If you want a marriage to celebrate (“Clinton-Mezvinsky,” July 16), try Ivanka Trump’s recent marriage to Jared Kushner. Prior to her marriage, she spent several years studying and living Judaism, then had a universally accepted (Orthodox) conversion. She chose Judaism, not just a Jew. Her children will be Jews. That was a wedding to be joyous about, to want to attend, to wish a mazel tov. Where was your article to celebrate that?

Jason Kay
via e-mail

I’m so sorry to read that you weren’t invited to Chelsea’s wedding—neither was I (“Clinton-Mezvinsky,” July 16). But I want you to know that, as a frequent reader of The Journal, I totally support your message to her and her Jewish bridegroom. I wish them well, and hope they will raise several wonderful Jewish children who will be a blessing to them and all the grandparents. Your wishes for them were very wise, thoughtful and kind.

To assuage your disappointment, I will tender to you an invitation to a very different kind of event:  the 34th annual Catholic-Jewish Women’s Conference, taking place at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, 3663 Wilshire Blvd., Nov. 11, 2010,  8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Continental breakfast and a box lunch will be served.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Who Is My Neighbor? Do We Practice What We Preach?” Speakers will be Rabbi Denise Eger, president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, and Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu, assistant professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University.

I think you will find this a very informative and enjoyable day, and I really do hope you will join us.

Lee Soskin
Member of the Board of Catholic-Jewish Women’s Conference

Web Site for Orthodox Jews

I am a conservative Jew living in South Florida and I check the Jewish Journal Web site five to 10 times a day to keep up with the latest happening in the Jewish community.
I have become aware of a new Web site run by the Miami Herald, Orthodox Miami, that targets the Orthodox community in South Florida.

Now, what I don’t understand is why open a site that is exclusively for Orthodox Jews and ignores all other types of Jews, unlike the Jewish Journal that is available for Jews and Non-Jews of all kind, including Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews.

This site is bluntly saying that they only acknowledge Orthodox Jews. It is wrong of the Miami Herald to open such a site, as their paper is available for all communities, races, etc.

If they wanted to open a news site for Jewish people, it should not be only for Orthodox Jews, but for all Jews, like The Jewish Journal.

Sarah Cohen
Aventura, Fla.

Pondering Ad Placement

In the July 23 issue, I found the articles “A Taste of Peace” and “Jews Feel at Home at Sisters of Charity Hospital” very interesting. However, what struck me as most interesting was the placement of the advertisements next to each article. The Gelson’s ad next to the “A Taste of Peace” article was about food as a way to bring together countries at war with one another. And the “Jews Feel at Home at Sisters of Charity Hospital” was sandwiched between a full page ad for St. John’s Health Center (whose foundation was referenced in the article) and Providence Tarzana Medical Center, and a few other health-related ads. I was left with the question: “Were these articles or advertorials?”

Julie Friedman
Malibu

Conversion Bill’s Effects

Regarding “The Israeli Conversion Bill” (July 23), whenever I could, when I lived in Israel, I would go and listen to Israeli Orthodox Jewish philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, who was a staunch believer in the separation of state and religion.

He continually warned mixing the two corrupted faiths. I remember Leibowitz pointing out laughingly that the appointment of the Chief Rabbis of Israel were confirmed by the Israeli Knesset, which had a significant minority of Arab members and a majority of secular Jewish members.

So it will be with the current conversion bill before the Knesset that will determine who gets to decide who is a Jew. I wonder how the 14 Arab Knesset members and their estimated 77 (non-Sabbath-observant) secular Jewish colleagues out of a possible 120 Knesset members will be voting. As Leibowitz wrote: “What is truly illegitimate is the surreptitious introduction, by administrative action of religious items into the secular reality, so as to disguise its essential secularity.”

We American Jews live in a world of separation of religion and state, and it’s time to realize that Israelis, no matter how much we want to cleave to them, live in a different world, of their own making. Let not their craziness or mishegoss infect our American Jewish spirituality that is nurtured in an environment they aren’t fortunate to share. I’ve chosen my rabbis, and their conversions of those who sit next to me in shul transcend national boundaries no matter how the political pie gets divided up in Israel.

Pini Herman
via e-mail

Clinton-Mezvinsky Marriage

I tried to digest Rob Eshman’s editorial-cum-letter (“Clinton-Mezvinsky,” July 16) to Chelsea (or is it the other way around?), together with my tuna sandwich at the local deli. And I just couldn’t. Better people than I will surely comment on this tragedy. No, not the tragic intermarriage taking place and the ultimate loss of Jewish generations as a result, a type of union that has taken more Jews out of Judaism than any other tragedy in history.

No, the tragedy here is the tacit, albeit humorous, approval and acceptance of this union by the editor of a well-known Jewish publication. Rob Eshman has deftly summed up decades of liberal Jewish secular aspirations and tolerance of what can only be termed as a national tragedy in these few words:

“The princess openly chooses a Jew.”

And the Jews sing mazel tov! Aside from the fact that anyone who considers the Clintons royalty needs acute psychological help, here we have the crux of the American secular Jewish dream: To finally be accepted, at any cost, as long as society at large is willing to have me, I’ll do anything to facilitate it, I’ll give up everything dear, I’ll change my name, my nose, my values, my religion, anything! As long as I’m accepted in that most coveted inner sanctum—the non-Jewish world society.

Finally! Royalty has accepted the lowly Jew. A true simcha. Mr. Eshman, you and all you represent are just as responsible, just as culpable as Marc, his parents and teachers.  You set the tone. And unfortunately you all seem to be tone-deaf.

Harold Weiss
Los Angeles

Destruction of the Temple

Jonathan Zasloff’s claim that “the destruction of the Temple was one of the best things ever to happen to the Jewish people,” juxtaposed with an illustration of the Romans massacring Jews and looting the Temple, is upsetting and inappropriate (“What Are You Doing for Asarah B’Av?” July 16). What is more, his arguments reveal stark ignorance of Rabbinic Judaism, which he ostensibly so adores.

There is no neat border between the pre-Rabbinic and Rabbinic Judaism, and anyone with basic familiarity with the Talmud is aware that it records traditions that long predated the destruction. Thus pre-Rabbinic Judaism included a component of sacrifice, which is described by the Torah at length as one element of a healthy religious life, and thus was understood by the earliest prophets, who advocated and even participated in sacrifice (e.g. Samuel). Pre-Rabbinic Judaism, beginning with the Torah, also included “Love your fellow as yourself,” tort law and welfare taxes on produce.  Rabbinic Judaism retains all of these; in fact, an entire talmudic order (“Kadashim” or “Sanctities”) focuses on the Temple service.

Zasloff asks whether anyone believes that sacrifice is “a way of uplifting the soul and approaching God.” The Torah does. The Talmudic sages did. So, for that matter, did Maimonides, whom Zasloff sloppily attempts to cite, but, in fact, indicates elsewhere that sacrifice is inherently religiously valuable and will be reinstated (cf. Code, Me’ila 8:8 and Melakhim 11:1).

Much has been written on the value of sacrifice in terms of giving of one’s own to God, seeing the animal as a substitute for oneself and thus being spurred to repentance, and so on. Let it suffice that Zasloff’s failure to appreciate sacrifice, or not injuring others, or the Exodus, or the Land of Israel, or honesty does nothing to detract from their rightful place in Judaism.

David B. Greenberg
Jerusalem

If some pseudo intellectual educator had the audacity to write an article explaining how the Holocaust was “one of the best things to happen to the Jewish people” and then piece together some absurd theory about how the establishment of the State of Israel and the growth of Judaism around the world made it all worth it, would your publication have the impudence to publish it?

What Jonathan Zasloff (“What Are You Doing for Asarah B’Av?” July 16) either doesn’t know or fails to mention in his article is that hundreds of thousands and —according to many authorities—millions of Jews were killed during the destructions of both the first and second Temples. Mr. Zasloff’s attempt at an innovative view of history was not only pitiful but patently offensive.

Daniel Rosenberg
Thousand Oaks

Like witnessing a horrific accident on the road, I couldn’t avert my eyes from the awful cover of your paper praising the destruction of our holy Temple as “one of the best things ever to happen to the Jewish people.” I read with disgust the erroneous claims of professor Jonathan Zasloff, (“What Are You Doing for Asarah B’Av? July 16) another ivory-tower resident who arrogantly imposes his false, radical opinions on an uninformed public.

What Zasloff fails to mention is that, as a direct result of the Temple’s destruction, the Jewish people have, over the past 2,000 years, lost countless millions through expulsions, inquisitions, pogroms and the Holocaust.  Despite having a secular State of Israel, we’ve also lost thousands more to continuous wars and intifadas. And who knows how many we have lost, and continue to lose, through intermarriage and just plain abandonment of our heritage?

Zasloff justifies his delight over the Temple’s destruction because, in its aftermath, all the great Rabbinic texts of the past two millennia were composed. That’s like saying wars are good for humanity because of the great technological advances they produce.

Our tears aren’t shed over a building, but what that building represents. Our people were once together on an undisputed land given to us by God, Whose presence and protection we continuously felt. But because of our sins, He distanced Himself from us, leaving us vulnerable to those who hate us. We yearn for that closeness with God, symbolized by the Temple, to return and pray that the Third and final Temple will be built speedily in our days.

Daniel Iltis
Los Angeles

Last week’s front cover on Tisha b’Av tore into my heart (“What Are You Doing for Asarah B’Av?” July 16). Just to think that the destruction of the temple is/was good for Israel. Are you now able/receptive to putting out a front cover with a picture with caption “Good for Jews”?

Moshe Brodetzky
via e-mail

No More Blame Game

The eight years I spent in White House and Congressional life, due to my appointment by President Reagan to a position on the United States Commission of Public Diplomacy, I learned firsthand how the government works. Professor Kaplan’s column, “Thank You, Robert Gibbs” (July 23), lays bare the difficulty we have in finding a solution to our economic crisis. Both the left and the right are guilty of playing the blame game. The ins blame the outs, and the outs blame the ins. President Obama needs to act on his campaign promise of bipartisanship. The right needs to find leadership that will do the same. Our country is in serious financial straits. We, the people, must insist our leaders focus all their attention on fixing our economy. The media must also stop playing the blame game. They should use their power to bring all sides together to find a solution. All media have a bias. That is a luxury we cannot afford today. Kumbaya, professor Kaplan.

Hershey Gold
Los Angeles

Book Review

The Jewish Journal review of the new book about the Lubavitcher Rebbe by professors Samuel Heilman and Menachem Friedman (The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem,” July 16) failed to mention the intense controversy surrounding it.

Scholars have raised serious questions about the quality of the scholarship. The book ignores crucial facts, makes numerous false claims, uses nonexistent documents and translations that distort the original texts. One of the major assertions of the book is that the Rebbe was disengaged from Chassidic life during the 1930s when he attended university in Berlin and Paris. To validate their preconceived theories they claim the Rebbe lived almost eight miles from a synagogue. This, it turns out, is a lie—he lived a 20-minute walk from a synagogue. They ignore volumes of talmudic and kabbalistic scholarship produced by the Rebbe during these years that reveal an intense commitment to Jewish learning and Chassidic life. Testimony that refutes their theories from many, including the great Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, an intimate friend of the Rebbe in his Berlin years. (It was the Rav who bailed the Rebbe out of jail after he was arrested in Berlin for making a public speech about the importance of Purim.)

Other media accounts, such as those in The New York Times, Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle and Tablet, have highlighted the controversy, which raises very serious questions about academic integrity of the authors and the quality of their research. The Jewish Journal ignored theses crucial questions, which should have be central to any review of the book.

Rabbi David Eliezrie
Yorba Linda

Editor’s note: Rabbi Eliezrie is author of the forthcoming book “The Mission,”  about the Rebbe and his impact on modern Jewish life.

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Letters to the Edtior: ‘Dinner for Schmucks,’ Avi Pincus, Chabad Read More »

Prison can’t hold Warren Jeffs

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized /
 

At least not right now. Not according to the Utah Supreme Court, which today overturned Warren Jeffs’ rape conviction. From the Christian Science Monitor:

Mr. Jeffs, known as the “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), was convicted in September 2007 of two counts of rape and has been in prison since.

The Utah justices held that instructions given to the jurors were erroneous and ordered a new trial. Jeffs was originally found guilty of being an accomplice to rape for using his religious influence to coerce a minor into marrying her 19-year-old cousin.

The justices said that the jury’s deliberation should have been focused on whether Jeffs’ intent in performing the “spiritual marriage” was for rape to occur, not on whether the action itself led to nonconsensual sex.

“In particular, the court held that Mr. Jeffs had to have the intent to aid the rape that was committed,” says Paul Cassell, professor of criminal law at S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. “That will be the issue on which the new trial will focus.”

Ah, memories of criminal law. I wonder if Utah applies common law or the Model Penal Code.

Prison can’t hold Warren Jeffs Read More »

Two L.A. Teens Win Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards

Leave a Comment / Community /

In its fourth year, the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards has recognized five Jewish teens in California for showing leadership and vision in comprehensive community service projects. Among the group are Megan Kilroy from Santa Monica and David Weingarten from Woodland Hills, both 18. The two will each receive $36,000 for their involvement and dedication to their respective projects.

Kilroy worked with the environmental organization Team Marine at Santa Monica High School, where she just graduated. As captain of Team Marine this past year, Kilroy worked to raise awareness of the harmful effects on the environment and oceans caused by the excessive use of plastic.

Weingarten, who graduated this year from New Jewish Community High School, used his involvement in United Synagogue Youth (USY) to develop a cohesive partnership with the Abayudaya Jewish tribe of Uganda. With this partnership, Weingarten’s USY region raised money to bring three Ugandan teens to a USY convention in 2009. The following year, the region raised money to fund the first Abayudaya Youth Association Convention. Weingarten, along with two other USY members, traveled to Uganda to help facilitate leadership programs.

Created by the Helen Diller Foundation in 2007, the award is based on the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (repair the world) and Diller’s vision for giving young leaders a foundation to make changes and pursue their own visions of making the world a better place.

“What’s interesting is how it varies,” said Phyllis Cook, philanthropic consultant with the Helen Diller Family Foundation. “Some projects will affect many people, some will affect a few. The impact issue isn’t always numbers but the significance of the project.”

This year, the foundation received over 175 nominations for the award, which is decided through extensive evaluation by a diverse panel of community members throughout the state. Recipients will be honored at a lunch on Aug. 23 in San Francisco. For more information on the program, or to find out about applying for the 2011 awards, go to the Diller Teen awards website here.

Two L.A. Teens Win Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards Read More »

On Quest for a Cure, Healing Happened

Leave a Comment / Books, Entertainment, Judaism /

Among the many surprising things we discover in “Now I See the Moon: A Mother, a Son, a Miracle” by Elaine Hall with Elizabeth Kaye (HarperStudio, $19.99) is that its author once played the role of Oscar the Grouch for a touring company of “Sesame Street.” It’s a surprise because the last word that we might think to use to describe her is “grouch.”

Rather, Elaine Hall is a profoundly gifted woman who was forced to reinvent herself after she adopted a toddler from a Russian orphanage. Her son, Neal, turned out to be severely autistic, and Hall drew on unsuspected resources of courage and creativity to cope with the challenge. From a lively job as an A-list acting coach and a marriage “that seemed like an extended Saturday-night date,” she suddenly found herself struggling with the dire problems that confront every parent of an autistic child.

Today, she is the director of The Miracle Project, a theater and film program for children with autism that was the subject an award-winning HBO documentary titled “Autism: The Musical,” and she leads a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah program for children with special needs. Thanks to her celebrity, she is an international role model for parents who struggle with the same tough circumstances that she has confronted over the last decade or so. And yet she makes a startling disclosure in her newly published memoir: “Neal has been my greatest teacher,” she declares. “From him, and because of him, I have learned patience, understanding and compassion in ways that I never imagined.”

Hall does not pretty up the picture of what it’s like to be the parent of an autistic child. “[H]ad I known Neal had autism, I might have been too afraid to adopt him,” she confesses. “Thank God I didn’t know.” But she also reveals what may be her real secret of success: “When I make a decision, I become unstoppable,” she writes. “That, for as long as I remember, has been my chief asset … and principal liability.”

Willpower drove her to adopt an orphaned Tatar child when she discovered that she could not bear a baby of her own. She traveled all the way to Siberia to pick up her adopted son, “a whirlwind of taxis, paperwork and borscht.” She handed out souvenirs from Venice Beach and baseball caps from movies and TV shows as “incentives” to speed up the paperwork. “Suddenly, I am the 40-something mother of a 2-year-old child.” And, promptly upon her return to California, she insisted on a circumcision and a visit to the mikvah to complete his formal conversion to Judaism: “Neal has been clipped and dipped,” she jokes.

But soon the danger signs began to appear. She lavished love and care on her son, but he did not seem to make eye contact or respond to his name, and he had the disconcerting habit of hoarding food. “ ‘He’s been living in an orphanage,’ I tell myself and others. ‘What do you expect?’ ” When the diagnosis of autism was confirmed, she began to weep: “[W]ill that rushed mikvah ceremony be the last bit of normalcy we share?”

We should not be surprised to witness how Hall reacts to the ominous news. With the same zeal she applied to becoming a parent, she now sought out medical treatment for her son, special education resources and the companionship of parents of other autistic children.  Yet even the simplest pleasures of parenthood seemed like unattainable goals:“I wonder if Neal will ever say the word ‘Mama,’ ” she recalls. “Neal takes three steps forward and four steps back.”

Nor is autism her only challenge — Hall’s marriage falls apart and her mother falls gravely ill. But she ultimately succeeds in redefining herself through her struggle to address her son’s needs.

Drawing on her background in theater, she sets up a playroom at home where “we rehearse for life.” The effort turns out to be therapeutic for both of them: “I am not only learning how to heal Neal,” she insists. “I am beginning to heal myself.”

But “heal” does not mean “cure,” as Hall makes clear. “Instead of trying to ‘cure’ Neal of his autism, the time has come for me to accept the autism that is in Neal,” she writes. “Instead, I see my mission as helping him to live the happiest, most fulfilled, and independent life that he can.” The crowning moment comes when Neal is called to the Torah with several other boys after completing his preparations in a class at Vista Del Mar. “We call the class ‘Nes Gadol,’ which means a ‘great miracle,’ ” explains Hall — and her words brought tears to my eyes.

“Now I See the Moon” is intended to inspire and assist parents whose children are autistic. “I offer this journey to you in hope that it will, perhaps, help guide you with yours,” she writes. But it is more than a self-help manual. Rather, her book is a heartfelt memoir that has something important to say to every reader, a tale of redemption that is thoroughly modern in its setting but nearly biblical in its resonances.

Jonathan Kirsch, author and publishing attorney, is the book editor of The Jewish Journal. He blogs at On Quest for a Cure, Healing Happened Read More »

Parashat Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25)

Leave a Comment / Torah /

Shabbat in 16th-century Safed must have been a mind-blower. Reading the historical documents of this era and the exploits of the Safed mystics transports one to another universe. The rabbis of this mystical city used to usher in the Sabbath out in the field with tremendous fervor and emotion. One can only imagine the throng of rabbis in flowing beards and white tunics, their feet barely touching the ground, dancing with the angels in a circle as the sun was setting. The Sabbath Queen was never more palpable than amid the beauty and mystery of this magical place and time. We try to recapture that magic every time we sing “Lecha Dodi,” the Friday night hymn written by one of these mystics, Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkebetz (d. 1580).

One of the stanzas of “Lecha Dodi” begins with the words: “To the right and to the left shall you spread forth.” Reuven Kimelman, professor of classical rabbinic literature at Brandeis University, has extensively researched the mystical theology of this song and many of the esoteric messages embedded within it. He explains that Rabbi Alkebetz and his colleagues very much believed in the central role that the Jewish people played in sanctifying the other nations and bringing them to a state of monotheistic righteousness. Spreading forth to “the right and to the left” is a reference to the influence that the Jewish people have exerted and continue to exert on Judaism’s two younger cousins, Islam and Christianity.

Islam is called the “right side” because Muslims are alleged descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s first-born son. Abraham was famous for being a man of chesed (kindness), which in kabbalistic lore is referred to as the right side of man. Christianity is called the “left side” because modern-day Christians descend from the ancient Romans, who, according to the Talmud, are descended from Isaac’s first-born son, Esau. Isaac was famous for being a man of justice and might, which in kabbalistic texts is referred to as man’s left side.

“Lecha Dodi,” therefore, presents a prayer that as we enter the holiest day of the week, the Sabbath, may our holiness emanate outward, not just being contained within our own people, but spilling over and “infecting” our Christian and Muslim brethren.

At the opening of our Torah portion, God promises the Jewish people that in exchange for hearkening to His rules for an ethical society, He will preserve for us the “covenant [brit] and the kindness [chesed]” that was promised to our forefathers (Deuteronomy 7:12).

One of the Chasidic masters explained that Jews aren’t the only ones who have great ancestors. After all, Ishmael (Muslims) and Esau (Christians) are also descended from Abraham and Isaac, so why shouldn’t God preserve a covenant for them as well? Esau argued that he was Isaac’s first-born and, therefore, the first-born “covenant” was rightfully his. Ishmael argued that he was Abraham’s first son; thus he, and not Isaac, was the rightful heir to his father’s “kindness.”

The response to both Esau and Ishmael is that the Jewish people have a special role within a world of multitudinous nations and beliefs. We are supposed to be an exemplar and teacher of social justice and righteousness. When we fulfill our role of being “a light unto the nations,” we gain an advantage over the other descendants of Abraham and Isaac who were not given this role. Only when we succeed in sanctifying the rest of mankind, can we stake a greater claim to our ancestors’ “covenant” and “kindness.”

The Torah thus only guarantees the Jews that special ancestral bond when we are committed to educating the world about social justice and ethics. Because we educate the rest of mankind, we are granted privilege over the other descendants of the same patriarchs.

Admittedly, our beacons have shined that light of morality to the world with inconsistency; sometimes our lights have been bright, other times they have been lackluster. But we can certainly take pride in having brought ethical monotheism to the rest of the Western World, in the guise of Judaism’s offspring, Christianity and Islam. On Shabbat, we pray that we always rise to our calling to be that beacon of morality and ethics to mankind, and that we, together with our Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters, will be able to worship God in peace together.

Ironically, the Sabbath eve, the moment in time that represents the intimate bond between God and Israel alone, is the time to pray for success in spreading our holiness to the rest of the world and bringing mankind closer to that inner circle with God. May our good works among the family of man help get our prayer answered.

Rabbi Korobkin is rosh kehilla of Yavneh Hebrew Academy, a community mohel, and provides synagogue services to Orthodox Union synagogues.

Parashat Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25) Read More »

Rabbi Follows Marital Advice Success With Book for Women

Leave a Comment / Blogs, Culture, Weddings /

Defying men’s general resistance to relationship books, “The Garden of Peace: A Marital Guide for Men Only,” by Rabbi Shalom Arush, was a surprise Jewish hit last year, selling more than a half-million copies in English, Hebrew, French and Spanish worldwide.

The religious marital guidebook for men details what women want from their husbands (complete devotion) and provides instructions on how to express it: Never criticize her, never comment on her perceived faults, and treat her as priority No. 1.

Arush, the Israeli Breslover founder of the Chut Shel Chessed Institutions in Jerusalem, has followed his “Garden of Peace” success with a guide for women — “Women’s Wisdom: The Garden of Peace for Women” (Chut Shel Chessed Institutions, 2010). The English adaptation, by Rabbi Lazer Brody, hit L.A. Jewish bookstores last month and is already, Brody said, offto an “unbelievable start,” with 100,000 copies sold.

“It’s a whole handbook for life,” Brody said in a telephone interview from his home in Ashdod, Israel, where he serves as dean of Chut Shel Chessed. “It’s a lot more in depth than ‘Garden of Peace’ for men; it tells women things they didn’t even know about themselves.”

“Women’s Wisdom” covers a range of topics that may plague women in their quest for a happy married life: livelihood, fertility, motherhood, self-esteem and self-image.

Since the book is geared to Orthodox women, some of the religious injunctions and mystical causality might grate on the sensibilities of the modern, secular Jewish woman — for example, weight gain correlates with errant speech, or women must get rabbinic permission to use birth control, and women should avoid sharing the workplace with men.

However, among the many nondenominational self-help teachings of the book is the call for women to focus on the good points — in their husbands and beyond.

Speaking as the English voice of Arush, Brody said there are three cardinal guidelines for married women:

No. 1: “If you make him a king, you’re a queen. If you make him a shmatte [rag], you’re a floor mop.”

Practically speaking, a woman should verbalize gratitude and appreciation for every major and minor deed her husband does for her and be receptive to his efforts to please her. A woman can destroy marital peace with a few misplaced words. She should refrain from criticism, rebuke, insults and nagging. She shouldn’t unload her worries and complaints the minute he walks in the door, but welcome him warmly with a smile and his favorite drink.

“The guy is an economic gladiator. He has the whole world on his case. You’re going to jump on his back, too?”

No. 2: “If HaShem put you under the chuppah with that guy he’s your beshert and he’s your soul correction.”

Marriage isn’t a mere social relationship or fantasy; it’s work, and the building of a home is a woman’s most exalted province. Her husband is her “destined,” the one who will help her achieve her highest spiritual growth. Women have a tendency to compare their marriages to others’ — one reason why Arush instructs women not to dish their marital problems with girlfriends.

Instead of lashing out at her man, she should look within and direct her voice toward a medium where women have special talents: prayer or, more particularly, Hitbodedut, which roughly translates into thoughtful meditation.

“Because that guy is your soul correction, he’s the key to your happiness,” Brody said. “He’s like a washing machine with 26 cycles. If you know only how to push two of the cycles, it’s your loss.”

No. 3: “When you feel good about yourself, you’re ready to love your husband and your kids.”

A woman’s “evil inclination” is strongest in two areas: speech and self-esteem. Women often persecute themselves for not being good enough, pretty enough, competent enough or fill-in-the-blank enough. But a woman’s low self-esteem, Brody said, has far-reaching consequences.

“Livelihood comes by virtue of the illumination of a woman’s soul, which means an angry woman, an unhappy woman kills livelihood.”

Since a wife is considered a “mirror” of her husband and the “mouthpiece” of God, “Garden of Peace” prohibits men from ever criticizing their wives. “Women’s Wisdom,” on the other hand, gives women more leeway in “fixing” their husbands and luring them away from destructive behaviors, such as bad business deals or addictions. Arush provides step-by-step guidelines, starting with words of love and encouragement, and culminating with an ultimatum — but only when more constructive means have been exhausted.

Brody said he has firsthand experience with the power of a woman to make or break a man. Since his wedding 20 years ago, he has become a sought-after author, writer and speaker.

“I would be the biggest nothing in the world without my wife,” he said. “I couldn’t say two words at the Shabbat table. She forced me. Every success that I have is all hers. I can take no credit for myself.”

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Why I’m Marrying a Jewish Girl

Leave a Comment / Culture, Weddings /

I have spent the better part of the last four years convincing my parents that I don’t need to marry a Jewish girl. Turns out I was wrong. It’s not the first time that’s happened, although it may be the first time I’m admitting it to them.

Every Jew of my generation grew up with the irrefutable truth that we had to marry Jewish or all Jews would die out, and everyone who was already Jewish would spontaneously convert.

We were told that with the current rate of intermarriage, Jews would die out in three generations. That was a lot to put on my lanky shoulders. While you’re at it, why don’t you tell me I’m Neo and offer to unplug me from the matrix. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the city in the “Matrix” trilogy is named Zion.

As a 14-year-old, I was repeatedly instructed that my destiny was to help repopulate the planet with Jews. That’s hard to grasp at that age. At that point, I’d only found one girl in the entire city willing to kiss me — if I was going to save my religion, I’d have to get moving.

I lived in a predominantly Latino, Indian and Asian neighborhood but was exposed to plenty of Jewish girls. I was an active member of United Synagogue Youth, I worked at Camp Ramah, and even my high school and college had large populations of Jews (thank you, New York City).

Every girl I dated in high school was Jewish. Although I can’t fully take credit for that choice — a lanky bespectacled bookworm might do well at a Shabbaton, but that’s not the look most WASPs go for.

By the time I was graduating college, I’d traded lanky for lean and bookworm for well read. For the first time in my dating life, I had options — but I held on to the irrational belief that if I didn’t marry a Jewish girl, Kirk Cameron would win.

During senior year, I dated a non-Jew who was convinced that the reason I broke it off was because she wasn’t Jewish. Actually, I broke it off because she never made me laugh. Maybe if she had been Jewish she’d have had a better sense of humor. But when she told people I dumped her was because she wasn’t Jewish, I began to feel prejudiced.

Haven’t Jews always said that people should not be persecuted for their religious beliefs? So why shouldn’t I marry someone wonderful, who just happens to pray while kneeling?

The more I traveled, the more wonderful non-Jews I met. I tried dating all the Jewish women in Alabama, North Dakota and West Virginia, but I wasn’t attracted to her. (Ba-zing!)

I ended up with a few non-Jewish girlfriends in a row — even buying a Christmas tree for one of them. That led to the statement most Jewish men of my background have said to their mothers at one point: “Mom, I’m full.”

Kidding. What I said was, “Isn’t how she treats people more important than her religion?”

After a few hours of reminding me of everyone from Moses to Sandy Koufax, my mother had to concede that she’d rather I end up with a sweet and loving Christian than a mean and uncaring woman whose mother happened to be born Jewish. And thus, she had to admit that religion was not her No. 1 priority.

I was off the hook, kind of. I had logically browbeaten my mother into submission — into reluctant permission to marry a non-Jew. But something strange happened. As I grew up and began looking for “the one,” I started looking for her to be Jewish.

What dozens of youth leaders and camp counselors had failed to explain to me was the one point I took away from my debate with my mother: That marrying a Jewish woman is simply better for me. It’s not about my kids or the future of our entire people. It’s about chemistry and finding someone who is passionate about what I love. And one thing that I love is being Jewish.

I love kibitzing during Kiddush, without having to explain either of those words to someone. I love knowing what baseball players are Jewish and rooting for them a bit more because of it. I love eating buttered matzah the first morning of Passover (though by the eighth, I’m not as big of a fan).

I finally realized that I don’t have to be Judah Maccabee — I just have to be me. And it’s a lot more rewarding to share your life with someone who truly understands it.

I reactivated the JDate profile my mother had encouraged me to have in college. On day one, I IM’d Sara. On day two, we met. On day five, we were exclusive. And on day 51, I asked her to marry me.

Did I fall in love with Sara because she’s Jewish? Without performing a series of bizarre and potentially illegal experiments, I’ll never know for sure. But I do know that I enjoyed going to services with her on the High Holy Days. I enjoyed eating with her in my brother’s sukkah. And I enjoyed looking at pictures of her bat mitzvah, knowing that she grew up just as lanky and bookwormish as me.

So when you tell your kids that you want them to find a nice Jewish girl — or boy, or who cares what it is as long as it’s Jewish — I suggest you tell them why. They’re not looking for someone Jewish because it’s important to you. They’re looking for someone Jewish because it’s important to them.

I love you, Sara. And I look forward to teaching our kids to marry Jewish, too.

Steve Hofstetter is an internationally touring comedian who has been on VH1, ESPN and Comedy Central.

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Douglas Bloomfield: Pandering is no substitute for leadership

Leave a Comment / Opinion /

With less than 100 days until the Congressional elections, Republican dreams of taking control of both the House and Senate are giving nightmares not only to Democrats but also to those who want to see the Israelis and Palestinians make peace.

As the GOP tries to out-Israel the Democrats by taking an increasingly hard line, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida lawmaker who could become the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) if Republicans win in November, is leading the charge by essentially proposing shutting down the peace process.

That was her reaction to last week’s State Department announcement it was upgrading the Palestinian Authority’s Washington office – officially the PLO mission— to a “General Delegation” and allowing it to fly the Palestinian flag, a move the Department spokesman called “symbolic.” Despite charges by some critics, the upgrade does not bestow “any diplomatic privileges or immunities,” the State Department spokesman said. The Palestinians already have similar status in Europe, Canada and several Latin American countries.

The move was cleared with the Israeli Embassy in Washington and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, which approved the decision, but that was apparently irrelevant to Ros-Lehtinen.

She quickly issued a press release declaring, “Instead of giving more undeserved gifts to the PLO, it’s time for us to kick the PLO out of the U.S. once and for all, and move our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, where it belongs.”

“The unrepentant, unchanged PLO deserves no US concessions” such as flying “the so-called ‘Palestinian flag,’” she said.

That positions her well to the right of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not exactly known for his dovishness, as well as the majority of Israelis and American Jews but in line with the notorious bingo baron Irving Moskowitz, who has poured millions into highly controversial housing for Jews in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and other provocative projects.

Moskowitz, who rejects any peace with the Palestinians, is a top Ros-Lehtinen contributor, according to CampaignMoney.com. He and his wife donated over $20,000 to Ros-Lehtinen’s campaigns between 2006 and 2009, according the Federal Election Commission. This year’s figures are not yet available.

There’s no question that if she had her way and tossed out the PLO – which, like the Palestinian Authority, is headed by Mahmoud Abbas and is recognized by Israel – and moved the Embassy, whatever there is of the peace process would be destroyed.  The Palestinians would be certain to walk out and would have the support of many countries.

Ros-Lehtinen is not just another uninformed freshman back-bencher who can get away with such rhetoric; she is the ranking Republican on HFAC and, if her party wins control of the House, would replace the highly respected and thoughtful Rep. Howard Berman (D-Californian) as chair of the panel that authorizes all foreign aid and is responsible for oversight and legislation related to foreign policy.

The Cuban-born Ros-Lehtinen, 58, is the senior Republican woman in the House and first Hispanic woman elected to Congress.  She has close relations to the Jewish community and often speaks of her Jewish roots; her maternal grandparents were Sephardi Jews from Turkey, although her mother converted to Catholicism and she is listed as Episcopalian.

She is considered a strong supporter of Israel, but from the right, as her latest statement demonstrates, and she seems to be moving farther to the right of people like Netanyahu and George W. Bush, and closer to rejectionists like Irving Moskowitz – a dangerous and irresponsible course.

She is smart enough – Ph.D. in higher education – to know that throwing the Palestinian mission out of the United States and moving the American Embassy would scuttle any hopes of reviving the peace process.  Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama repeatedly authorized keeping the Palestinian office open and delaying the embassy move in their efforts to foster peace.

I can’t see how she thinks such statements are helping Israel, which she calls our “indispensable democratic ally.” Does she agree with Moskowitz that negotiations with the Palestinians are “a slide toward concessions, surrender and Israeli suicide?”

She could have rightly criticized the timing of the administration’s decision to upgrade the mission.  It is premature so long as Abbas keeps producing excuses to stay away from the negotiating table and anti-Israel incitement in the PA persists. The new status was explained as an incentive, but it should have been held back and used as a reward after Abbas stops playing hard to get.  Concessions seem only to whet his appetite for more.

Ros-Lehtinen has a safe seat and is a prolific fundraiser, so there is no excuse for a senior leader of the Foreign Affairs Committee to advocate policies certain to sabotage a peace process that successive American and Israeli governments of right and left have pursued since before she came to Congress.  That is not responsible leadership.

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Obituaries: July 30 – Aug. 5, 2010

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Alice Bloom died May 9 at 89. She is survived by her son, Ronald. Hillside

Michael Bloomstone died May 18 at 66. He is survived by his wife, Yvone; daughters, Laura (Rene) Corrales, Jennifer (Michael) Casaneda and Pamela (Gary) Strilio; seven grandchildren; and brother, Louis (Marie). Mount Sinai

Howard Joseph Buckman died May 11 at 62. He is survived by his daughter, Shirin; son, Rahmin; mother, Ursula; and sister, Emily Good. Hillside

Norma G. Capsuto died May 20 at 90. She is survived by her daughter, Solica Griffith; and brothers, David (Shirley) Fingerett and Joseph Fingerett. Mount Sinai

Mana Cohen died May 3 at 77. She is survived by her daughter, Ginny Tal; sons, Devy and Yulo Reinstein; and four grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Sarah Cohen died May 7 at 97. She is survived by her sons, Harvey, Stanley (Beth) and Eli (Caroline); three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and sisters, Esther and Celia Mizrahi. Malinow and Silverman

Phyllis Nan Dworsky died May 15 at 84. She is survived by her daughter, Randye (Todd) Howard; one grandchild; and brother, Stan (Frankie). Hillside

Rose Flax died May 15 at 92. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Lytle; son, Larry; and two grandchildren. Hillside

Edward Friedman died May 11 at 67. He is survived by his wife, Joan; daughters, Anne and Juliet (Joshua); sons, Abe (Jennifer) and Jacob (Marcy); four grandchildren; stepmother, Ruth Winer; and stepbrother, Stephen (Bonnie) Webb. Malinow and Silverman

Esther Friedman died May 18 at 85. She is survived by her husband, Stanley; daughter, Melissa (Neil) Fishkin; son, Bob (Cindy); four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Fred Goldstein died May 17 at 103. He is survived by his niece, Cheryl W. (Ted) Miller. Mount Sinai

Diane Hope Hawley died May 16 at 63. She is survived by her son, Miguel del Amo; brother, Arnold Roth; two nieces; and one nephew. Chevra Kadisha

Linda Heller died May 19 at 66. She is survived by her daughter, Joanna; and son, John. Hillside

Pique Hennes died May 6 at 89. She is survived by her daughter, Melinda (Jeff) Van Atta; and one grandchild. Hillside

Stuart Samuel Hillman died May 13 at 84. He is survived by his wife, Marion; daughters, Lori Anne (Neal) Polchek and Julie (Alan) Solursh; son, Ron; and four grandchildren. Hillside

Evelyn M. Jackman died May 16 at 92. She is survived by her daughters, Roberta (Charles), Marcia and Debra (Jack); and three grandchildren.  Mount Sinai

Bert Jacobs died May 19 at 91. He is survived by his daughter, Madeleine Miller; sons, Lucien (Susan) and Andrew (Janet); nine grandchildren; and brothers, Frank Jacobson and Jack Jacobson. Mount Sinai

Larry Frank Jacobs died May 2 at 73. He is survived by his wife, Freddie; daughters, Susan (Michael) First, Wendy (Peter) Riche and Sharon (David) Baratz; seven grandchildren; and brother, Allen (Beverly). Hillside

Edith Johnson died May 19 at 80. She is survived by her husband, Sylvester; daughters, Judy (Eric) Guthman and Sharon (Woody) Putman; son, Steve Collins; one grandchild; and brother, Hal Ritzer. Mount Sinai

Beatrice Kane died May 17 at 90. She is survived by her son, Richard (Barbara); and two grandchildren. Hillside

Estelle Kason died April 31 at 75. She is survived by her daughter, Monica Kason Downing; son, Michael; four grandchildren; and brothers, Murray and Edward Shick. Hillside

Alan Robert Kohn died May 10 at 81. He is survived by his daughters, Marcy Melton and Ellen Osinsky; son, Gary; five grandchildren; and brother, Ronald. Hillside

Irving Kolodny died May 19 at 94. He is survived by his daughter, Barbara Rosenblum; and son, Steven (Tammy). Malinow and Silverman

Charlotte Kovacs died May 1 at 93. She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Balla. Hillside

Joanne Kovacs died May 19 at 69. She is survived by her husband, Ervin; sons, Greg (Jennifer) and Jeff; and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Pearl Levine died May 6 at 89. She is survived by her son, Howard (Jill); three grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and brother, Herb Shield. Hillside

Beatrice Lewis died May 10 at 87. She is survived by her daughter, Sheryl Gordon; sons, Joe and Nathan; and six grandchildren. Hillside

Lazar Leyenson died May 1 at 76. He is survived by his wife, Jenny; and daughter, Joanna Goll. Hillside

Zelda Loseff died May 7 at 101. She is survived by her daughter, Leda (Ronald) Danzig. Hillside

Betty Marer died May 8 at 43. She is survived by her husband, Carl; daughters, Ashley, Nicole and Madison; mother, Esther Doblitz; father, Mark Selitsky; sister, Lisa Klages; and stepfather, Jack Doblitz. Hillside

Grace Markowitz died May 15 at 94. She is survived by her daughter, Ina Bezahler. Hillside

Rebeca Maya died May 4 at 93. She is survived by her five grandchildren;  seven great-grandchildren; and sister, Esther Motola. Malinow and Silverman

Mildred Mayer died May 13 at 85. She is survived by her daughter, Patty; son, Stewart; and niece, Teresa Tschabold. Hillside

Eileen Moss died May 10 at 73. She is survived by her son, Ron. Hillside

Marvin Musick died May 7 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Alice; daughters, Marlene Walker and Elaine Stept; and four grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Denis Ollman died May 18 at 95. He is survived by his daughter, Janet (Mori) Herscowitz; son, Robert (Linda); four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Max Palevsky died May 5 at 85. He is survived by his wife, Jodie Evans; daughter, Madeleine Moskowitz; sons, Nicholas, Alexander, Jonathon and Matthew; and four grandchildren. Hillside

Pauline Pearl died May 14 at 87. She is survived by her daughter, Thea Harris; sons, Randy (Ann) and Neil (Lori); three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Hillside

Jacqueline H. Pepper died May 19 at 84. She is survived by her sons, Kenneth and Jonathan; four grandchildren; and predeceased by her son, Steven. Mount Sinai

Betty Joan Perry died May 14 at 83. She is survived by her daughters, Dale and Kim; and five grandchildren. Hillside

Jack C. Prujan died May 18 at 94. He is survived by his daughters, Caryl (David) Lightfoot and Jan (Dan) Simeone; sons, Ross (Linda) and Robert; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Daniel Reinstein died May 18 at 80. He is survived by his wife, Leslie; sons, Ken (Alisa Shorago), Jonathan (Stacie Bresler-Reinstein), James (Cheryl) Roberts and David (Myrna Galang) Roberts; five grandchildren; and brother, Seymour (Rita). Malinow and Silverman

Marian Revlis died May 20 at 90. She is survived by her daughter, Allyne Spector; son, Russell; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Shirley Roth died May 18 at 89. She is survived by her daughter, Roz Levaco. Hillside

Marsi Rubin died May 17 at 55. She is survived by her husband, Jeff; daughter, Michelle Lawrence; son, Matt; and sister, Randi (Brian Lynch) Devine. Mount Sinai

Jan Schwarzkopf died May 14 at 90. He is survived by his wife, Aliza F.; daughters, Orly Vilnai and Dorit (Stephen) Moss; sons, Dan (Yona) Sarel and Ron (Zohar); and six grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Robert Seltzer died May 11 at 86. He is survived by his sons, Steven, Brad and David. Malinow and Silverman

Sarah Seror died May 12 at 87. She is survived by her husband, Jack; sons, David and Marc; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and sister, Noula Katz. Malinow and Silverman

Joy Lyle Sharp died May 13 at 83. She is survived by her husband, Sidney; and six grandchildren. Hillside

Murray Silver died May 17 at 93. He is survived by his wife, Anita; daughter, Shawne (Jerry) Hobson; sons, Roy (Ellen Franklin) and Marc (Judith); three grandchildren; and sister, May (Hal) Riger. Mount Sinai

Sol William Silverman died May 5 at 86. He is survived by his wife, Florence; daughter, Linda Gail; son, Jeffrey; and three grandchildren. Hillside

Barbara Simkin died May 13 at 72. She is survived by her husband, Raymond; daughter, Roberta (Edmon) Aharon; sons, Rabbi Aharon (Beverly) and Michael (Liette); 14 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Esther Simon died May 19 at 77. She is survived by her sister, Sophie Feinstein; and brothers, Jack, Herman and Seymour. Hillside

Carole Slavin died May 16 at 68. She is survived by her daughter, Staci Feinberg; sons, David and Jarrett; two grandchildren; and sisters, Barbara (Arthur) Speiser and Arlene Goldberg. Mount Sinai

Manny Smolen died May 2 at 91. He is survived by his sons, Allen, David and Robert; and two grandchildren.

Margaret Sobel died May 19 at 89. She is survived by her son, Jeffrey. Hillside

Sherry Sorokin died May 14 at 96. She is survived by her daughter, Donna Collins; son, Steve; and one grandchild. Hillside

Alyne Weil Speed died May 2 at 65. She is survived by her husband, George; and daughters, Alexis, Alison and Amanda Cymone. Hillside

Joseph Statsigner died May 15 at 90. He is survived by his wife, Bernice; sons, Jonathon (Maritza), Steven (Makis) and Robert; and one grandchild. Hillside

Adriana Tartas died May 13 at 62. She is survived by her husband, Rafael Gabay-Yaffe. Sholom Chapels

Helman Todes died May 16 at 87. He is survived by his wife, Norma; daughters, Ethne and Jennifer (Alan) Goodman; son, Mark (Lisa); and four grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Klara Vernik died May 10 at 89. She is survived by her sons, Dmitry and Igor; three grandchildren; and brother, David Rozumov. Sholom Chapels

Bernard Weiss died May 15 at 91. He is survived by his wife, Vivian; daughters, Shelley Meacham, Chava (Jeffrey) Le Barton and Laura Bartholomew; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Julia Weiss died May 13 at 91. She is survived by her daughters, Inez (Mark) Zucherman and Susan (David) Harvey; four grandchildren; and brother, Koloman Green. Hillside

Samuel Wolf died May 16 at 88. He is survived by his daughter, Sheri (Manual) Sanchez; son, Neil (Rosie); one grandchild; and sister, Marsha Stanoff. Mount Sinai

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