Sukkot Lanetzach

See Page 55 $1.00

30

Thirteen Times Two

40

Bold And Brave Hindy Lieberman

53

A Whole New Start Shani Goldner, CDN

BUILDING UP TO THE HOLIDAY

Threats And Promises

34

Bureaucracy Hannah Reich Berman

14 TISHREI 5770 !jna dj OCTOBER 2, 2009

BY LARRY GORDON

MindBiz

Rabbi Avi Shafran

VOL. 10 NO. 2

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

INSIDE Esther Mann, LMSW

WWW.5TJT.COM

62

Continued on Page 8

NO FREEZE HERE BY SAMUEL SOKOL Dr. Bernard Lander and Alan Kadish, M.D. See Page 44

NY Times columnist William Safire, 79. See Page 20

In Mitzpe Avichai, a small outpost located near Kiryat Arba in the Hebron Hills, a new dwelling is being constructed for a soonto-be-married couple. This first home, however, is not a house in the traditional sense, nor is it a caravan typical of development towns in Judea and Samaria. It is, in fact, a sukkah. The Netanyahu government, under pressure from the Obama administration, has enacted what is being termed a temporary ban on new construction in

Judea and Samaria. In response to the building freeze, Rabbi Dov Wolpe of the Ha’Matteh L’Hatzolat Ha’Am V’Ha’Aretz organization has joined forces with Hebron activist Baruch Marzel and National Union MK Michael Ben-Ari to establish the Sukkot LaNetzach initiative. “Sukkot LaNetzach” can be translated as either “sukkot for victory” or “sukkot for eternity.” The goal of this project is to encourage revenants throughout Judea and Samaria to build

Continued on Page 18

Kosher Comes To Costco

Red Shul wins world series. See Page 42

CANDLE LIGHTING Oct. 2 – 6:17 PM Oct. 3 – 7:19 PM

The introduction of glatt kosher meat and poultry at the Five Towns Costco has captured the fancy of local consumers. Above, a scene from the recent Kosher Feast Market Place at Costco. See Story, Page 26

PhotoByEstaGordon

(AFP/Getty Images/Michael Nagle)

It had been, no doubt, a physically and emotionally exhausting few days in New York for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. It was Thursday night, at the tail end of that rather triumphant and diplomatically sterling week, just before a police and Secret Service escort would drive him to JFK in Queens for his trip back to Israel, that Bibi, as friends and colleagues affectionately call him, said farewell and expressed

Jonathan and Steven Litton of Buildmysukkah.com erecting just one of the hundreds of sukkahs they’ve put together in the Five Towns and surrounding areas. After next week’s holiday, they are going to be busy at work taking them down, but let’s not think about that yet. Chag sameiach!

HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE

My Sukkah BY LARRY GORDON When Sukkos was just a yom tov—before it was an industry— we had to annually confront the ordeal of putting up our sukkah. Reflecting on the type of sukkah we used to put up and contrasting that with the sukkah standing today in my driveway, it is clear that while some things have changed little, other things have changed a great deal. I’m not sure what happened

to that old sukkah. I think it was either given away or just rotted in the unused garage in the back of my childhood home in Brooklyn. After my father passed away nearly 20 years ago, that sukkah saw its last days in the sun (or the shade). I have to admit that, now as I think back, I really admired that not-so-little temporary edifice and immensely enjoyed those

Continued on Page 12

Shuvah Lectures

FEAR OF FASTING

Part 3

Another Mother’s Musings

BY RABBI YAIR HOFFMAN

BY PHYLLIS J. LUBIN

In the previous two issues of the 5TJT, we interviewed members of America’s greatest generation—those who came of age during the Second World War and witnessed the destruction and subsequent rebuilding of the Jewish nation. They saw it all, touched us all, and, most importantly, led us through it all. They were our rabbis.

Yom Kippur has ended—now what? Where do we go from here? It’s a question that plagues me every year. And here we are again. My pre-Yom Kippur fear is always “What if I just can’t do it?” What if I can’t take the stress of not eating and I have to break my fast? Or what if I eat by mistake? Maybe as I

Continued on Page 15

Continued on Page 14

Sukkot LaNetzach Continued from Front Cover sukkot of enduring and solid construction to serve as additions to already existing structures. It is a symbolic gesture for the most part, but it is hoped that it will also assist families living in cramped conditions who have been denied permits to expand their homes. Rabbi Wolpe played a significant role in organizing opposition to the 2005 expulsion of the Jewish communities of Gush Katif. He is known for his nationalistic views and is currently closely affiliated with the National Union party. In the weekly newsletter Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, produced by HaMatteh L’Hatzolat HaAm V’HaAretz, Rabbi Wolpe wrote, “As a practical act and to make a symbolic start . . . we suggest that all residents of Judea and Samaria and Benjamin build a sukkah forever this year—meaning a sukkah that is a massive construction, that will become a permanent room in the home.” The rabbi continued, writing, “Dear residents, do not be afraid of arrests; don’t

18

October 2, 2009

give in to the terrorism of the Special Patrol Unit [Yassam]. Remember: We

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

overcame Pharaoh; we will overcome Obama as well. We overcame the decree

of the White Paper; we will also overcome the decrees of Shimon, Ehud, and Bibi. To Hashem will be the salvation!” According to Itamar Ben-Gvir, parliamentary aid to MK Ben-Ari, the builder of the five most permanent sukkot will be eligible for a 1,000-shekel prize. The prize money serves more as a way of generating publicity than as an actual incentive for building. A typical sukkah, temporary and flimsy, costs about that amount. A permanent structure, as envisioned by Wolpe, Marzel, and Ben-Ari, would cost many times the prize money awarded. Ben-Gvir said that the purpose of the Sukkot LaNetzach project is to send a message to President Obama that Israel is not the 51st star on the American Flag, but rather a sovereign nation that can build on its own land without restriction. Tzurnatan Durani is currently engaged in the construction of the Mitzpe Avichai sukkah. The building measures 12 meters by 6 meters (40' x 20') and is described as being constructed of solid wood. Durani stated that both water and electricity hookups are being connected. Inner partitions are being constructed to create walls and, after the end of the Sukkot holiday, Durani says that the s’chach will be removed and replaced with a proper roof. From pictures we obtained of the site, it appears that the sukkah is being laid upon a concrete foundation. Mitzpe Avichai was established one year ago in memory of Avichai Levi, a young victim of terror, killed in a terror attack at the Bet Chagai junction in 2004. The outpost has been demolished multiple times since its establishment, the last incident occurring two months ago. There are currently two families and three single men living in Mitzpe Avichai. More people want to move into the community, Durani commented, but there is a limit to how much they can build at one time. Yaron Kilav, a veteran of the hilltop-settlement movement originally from Hashmonaim, is due to move into his new home during the course of the holiday. He will be getting married in two months and hopes to bring his new bride into the sukkah as well. When asked his opinion of the Sukkot LaNetzach initiative, he replied “Kol ha’kavod to them. It’s a great idea. It will really help. They should continue like this.” Kilav

Photos By Tzurnatan Durani

explained that it will not be off-putting to his wife to live in a sukkah, as she has already spent a number of years in outposts and is used to such conditions. Residents of the outpost have expressed the sentiment, common to all outposts, that if the army comes to destroy their work, as has already occurred, they will rebuild as many times as necessary. Rabbi Wolpe explained his reasons for establishing Sukkot LaNetzach as follows: The Jewish people “should not be enslaved to the anti-Jewish government, allowing Arabs to build as they please in Israel, while prodding the Jews to the ghettos, to the final deportation from their land.” According to a recent report in the Jerusalem Post, Supreme Court Justice

Hanan Meltzer stated that “the question is whether the attitude towards illegal construction by Palestinians is the same as it is towards Jewish settlers. Is there a difference in the order of priorities?” Meltzer answered in the affirmative and went on to say that illegal Arab building must be treated the same by the authorities as “illegal” Jewish construction. Wolpe also stated, “Start actually building, adding rooms and building in all parts of Judea, Samaria, and Benjamin. The Land of Israel is ours, and every Jew received the land from G-d and as an inheritance from our ancestors . . . no nation, including the Hebrew-speaking government, has the power to rob us of our land and hand it over to killers. Therefore, we must build . . . despite the decrees.” ❖

5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

October 2, 2009

19