Amira's Posts

Original Article Published On The JP

“I hope to maintain these relationships I formed at yeshiva. I think it will help me at university. I hope to continue actively and passively including people at all times.”

When Rabbi Shmuel Reiner learned from a mother at his local synagogue in Israel that her autistic son had no options for studying in a yeshiva, he grew frustrated. 

“He wants to learn in a yeshiva, and his parents want him to learn in a yeshiva. And there was no yeshiva for him? That upset me,” reports Rabbi Reiner, founder and yeshiva head at Yeshivat Ma’aleh Gilboa, located on the summit of Mount Gilboa.

An inclusive yeshiva

Shiluv Hameshalev, the yeshiva study and community service program, was founded in 2012, and currently includes 10 young men on the autism spectrum. 

“Torah must go with moral sensitivity,” Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, the program and the yeshiva’s co-founder and co-rosh yeshiva, offers. “It is win/win for all learners.”

Both rabbis were committed to the project from the beginning, but were keenly aware of the limitations of their professional areas of expertise. 

LEARNING AT THE Ma’ale Gilboa Yeshiva. (credit: Ma’ale Gilboa)

“I am a rabbi, not a social worker,” Reiner notes.

Experts in the special education community advised him to “decide on a population [of disability types],” noting that each disability requires specialized support.

Reiner and his colleagues were aware of the social challenges students on the autism spectrum might face, but felt this demographic would have a high likelihood of success if the yeshiva program was designed thoughtfully and with the appropriate accommodations. 

Program director Dr. David Lester, a bibliotherapist and teacher, describes Shiluv as filling a gap for religious boys who graduate high school without a suitable framework. 

“The uniqueness of the program is that it is not a hostel or a therapeutic setting, but a yeshiva program integrated into a normative community,” he said.

A key tenet of the two-year program is that study is integrated. Reiner feels strongly that students on the autism spectrum should not study separately from the other yeshiva students. 

Students in the Shiluv program spend mornings performing community service and studying for one or two hours daily with their typically developing peers. They pray together, eat breakfast, and work on an educational agricultural farm until noon. After the lunch break, some Shiluv students participate in classes given to the general yeshiva, and some gather in study groups designed for them. 

The Shiluv students meet once a week with a therapist for individual and group therapy sessions. Electives offered by kibbutz volunteers include music, creative writing and computers. Men in the program are often hosted by kibbutz members for Shabbat meals.

Gateway to National Service

This year, some students will also work on a farm at nearby Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv. Their work on both farms is considered equivalent to National Service. Participants thereby fulfill Israel’s requirement imposed on young men to serve their country through either military service or community service.

Yosef Zaner, 21, a student in the Shiluv program who made aliyah with his family from Atlanta nine years ago, was drawn to the yeshiva in part for the reason that it would allow him to fulfill his requirement for National Service. 

Zaner was not eligible for full army service, due to his disability, but, through the program, worked on the farm, where he assisted with planting, farming, carpentry and woodworking. 

“I built stuff for the farm – and I made a big puzzle – like the game Rush Hour, inspired by watching the Survivor TV show.”

A mutually beneficial relationship

When Davi Frank of Riverdale, New York, was considering studying at Ma’aleh Gilboa, he saw the yeshiva’s brochure where, in small print, it mentioned the opportunity of studying together with people with disabilities. 

“At the time, it seemed nice, [but] then [I] didn’t think more about it,” Davi says. “I learned at Ma’aleh Gilboa for two years, and it became a crucial element of both years!” 

As Frank became more established in the yeshiva, he began leading a habura class for students in the Shiluv program. It didn’t take him long to appreciate how amazing his students – and his peers – were. 

“They are so smart and so engaged. You see quickly that they are here to grow and have similar goals as us. They make such an effort to learn.”

The relationship among the yeshiva, its students and the Shiluv participants is mutually beneficial. 

Reiner appreciates Zaner’s many gifts and level of commitment to the yeshiva. “He was a hazan (prayer leader) and Torah reader, and you could see his confidence. He was not shy in the yeshiva.”

Challenges for students

While each Shiluv student presents many strengths, there are also challenges. As an example, many on the autism spectrum have difficulties with changes of routines, loud noises and sarcasm. 

Frank recalls one Purim when a Shiluv student became overwhelmed, appeared to having a panic attack, and began screaming at Davi during a good-natured skit. Davi was able to calm down the young man. 

“It was scary for a few minutes,” Frank recalls. 

Heidi Zaner, Yosef’s mother, appreciates the yeshiva’s ability to understand her son’s level of required support. 

“He sometimes talks beyond the time that people want to listen, and the students understand how to be kind, and how to rotate in and out as havrutas [study partners].”

The Shiluv program also creates other challenges. As Reiner notes, “logistics are sometimes complex, and the intensive staffing and small class size comes at a financial cost.”

Long-lasting benefits

Davi Frank, who started his college studies at Princeton University after two years at Ma’aleh Gilboa, looks forward to applying in college, and in life in general, the lessons he learned about inclusion. 

“I hope to maintain these relationships I formed at yeshiva. I think it will help me at university. I hope to continue actively and passively including people at all times,” he said. “Once you become used to including people, it becomes automatic.”

Getting out the word

While the program has been in existence for 10 years and has the potential to serve as a model for other study programs, it continues to be not very well known in the yeshiva world in Israel or in the United States.

Additional information can be found online at https://www.israelnextyear.org/israel-programs/Ma’aleh-gilboa and on YouTube.

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Original Article Published On The JP

For those who observe Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and for those who simply want a relaxed destination getaway not far from New York City, there may be no better place than on Fire Island.

In most American Orthodox synagogues, it’s the one guy sitting in the back wearing shorts, a T-shirt and sandals who gets stares from the more appropriately and well-dressed congregants. 

At the Fire Island Minyan (FIM), located in a small house in the Seaview section of the three-block wide barrier island 51 km. long off the southern shore of Long Island, New York, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay, it was a different scene – the one guy wearing a black sports coat and slacks got the quizzical looks. 

“We attract everything from shtreimels to shorts,” shul president Dov Schwartzben notes playfully, though somewhat seriously. Most attendees at the relaxed, relatively late starting (9:45 a.m.) island minyan were dressed only a drop more fancy than the man leading Shaharit – himself clad in shorts, a red T-shirt with white lettering, a tallit and flip-flops. Some even came with coffee cups in hand. 

The room filled as the Shabbat morning went on, though some timed their arrival to coincide with the lavish hot kiddush served outside. Women had a very good view from behind the mechitza (partition) made of fishing net and seashells decorated with Jewish stars. They had a clear view of the holy ark with the small lighthouse on top used as the ner tamid (eternal light). When the gabbai asked if there were any kohanim present to receive the first aliyah, one wise guy blurted out, “I am not, but I identify as a kohen!” 

What is Fire Island like?

Fire Island is a unique place generally and Jewishly – even among relaxed seasonal vacation communities. No cars are permitted on the island, which sports its fair share of deer, butterflies and bamboo. Arrival times to the island must be timed to coincide with the ferry or water shuttles. As soon as passengers exit the ferry, they unlock their wagons and pull their coolers of food and other household supplies to their homes. 

SUNSET OVER Fire Island. (credit: HOWARD BLAS)

In the summer, those who observe Shabbat must be on a ferry no later than the 5:30 p.m. one – the 7 p.m. ferry arrives after Shabbat has begun (though not a problem for some given the pre-paid nature of the ferry and the fact that most think the island is a natural eruv and thus the prohibition of carrying items is not an issue).

On the island, summer visitors far outnumber seasonal residents by 800,000 to 873. There are only 360 permanent homes on the island, as well as a few rooming houses, some restaurants and bars, and a few essential stores including a general store, a liquor store, a plant nursery, some churches and two synagogues.

When did Jews come to Fire Island?

While there is currently a strong Jewish presence on the small island, the Seaview section was restricted to white Protestant homeowners until 1928 when the ban against Jews was lifted. Ralph Levy was reportedly the first Jew to break into Seaview in the 1940s, closely followed by Walter Weisman. More Jews began arriving in the 1940s through the ’60s including such famous actors and entertainers as Irving Berlin, Fanny Brice, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen, Lee Strasberg, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Randall. The Jewish community’s informal historian, Michael Lustig, notes that Carl Reiner, creator of the famous sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, reportedly wrote the script for several shows from Fire Island. 

Other famous Jewish residents have included Richard Meier (architect), David Duchovny (actor), Peter Greenberg (TV travel reporter), Nat Hentoff (columnist), Harvey Keitel (actor), Paul Krassner (writer), Tim Blake Nelson (actor/director) and Ally Sheedy (actor).

Most early Jewish residents to the island were secular, though there were some observant Jews including Rabbi David de Sola Pool of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue in NYC. When he bought his first house in the Ocean Beach section of the island in 1938, a local Nazi-sympathizer reportedly burned a cross on his lawn. 

The first organized prayer services were held in 1952, and a Torah was brought to the island in 1954. Services were held in the living room of Herman Wouk, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Caine Mutiny, another early, observant Jewish resident of the island. At various times, services were held in Wouk’s living room, Jack Miner’s house at 430 Dehnhoff in Ocean Beach (for High Holy Days services) and later on the deck of Rabbi de Sola Pool’s house in Ocean Beach.

After at least a decade or more of this arrangement, the group was large enough to become independent and was able to bring out a rabbi in a rented home that would double as a synagogue. The house was large enough to host rabbi, professor and medical ethicist Moshe Tendler and his family. Tendler, accomplished on his own, was the son-in-law of the prominent Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.

RABBI DR. Shaul Magid, who has been serving as rabbi of the once Conservative, then more Reconstructionist, now more Renewal Fire Island Synagogue since 1997, provided his account of Jewish life on the island. Magid, who wears earrings and looks one part hassidic master and one part Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, explains that his shul started in the 1970s as an Orthodox synagogue “on the deck of Herman Wouk’s house.” Over time, the synagogue evolved. Magid said there was a “contentious vote” in the 1980s and the synagogue decided to become egalitarian. “Some left over it,” says Magid, who explained that there were many issues and transitions taking place at once including younger families coming to the island with children, and people no longer identifying or wishing to practice in an Orthodox fashion.

The banjo-playing rabbi is an accomplished bluegrass musician who has truly brought a musical flavor to the shul. He and cantor Basya Schechter, lead singer of the singing group Pharaoh’s Daughter, have developed what they call “a Kabbalat Shabbat nusach [style] based on Appalachian music.” 

The bluegrassy service takes place on the shul’s deck each Friday night, and musical friends regularly spend Shabbat and contribute musically. Magid also happens to be a distinguished fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth and is a former professor of religious studies and the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein chair of Jewish studies in modern Judaism at Indiana University. He recently published a book on Rabbi Meir Kahane and is currently working on a book on antisemitism and critical race theory. 

With Magid’s shul in transition in the ’80s and early ’90s, some members left to join what was to become FIM – the second shul on the island, a 10-minute walk from the Fire Island Synagogue. The creation of a second shul begs reference to the classic joke about a small community needing two (or even three) shuls – one to pray in and one to never set foot in! [Actually, one other town on Fire Island, Saltaire, offers High Holy Day services in a space at St. Andrew’s Church].

The FIM was founded in 1990 by Jim (“Yitz”) Pastreich with services taking place on his deck. Pastreich recalls “plastering the entire island” with signs announcing the new minyan. Historian Lustig says: “[Prominent Reform] Rabbi [Herbert] Weiner, [author of the well-known book Nine and a Half Mystics], rented a house to us (in 1993) for a number of years, and it was initially operated as a ‘share house.’” He explained that in a share house, four people lived in two bunk-beds and the middle was cleared for services. The modest house, which was purchased in 1999, originally went by the name “Rodfei Shemesh, Anshe Chof” (Seekers of the Sun, People of the Beach). It proudly strives to be an “inclusive place for interested parties to participate in prayer services in a traditional (yet casual) environment.”

ON A recent Shabbat at FIM, the community was hosting 20 former IDF combat soldiers spending a week on the island as they participated in Peace of Mind, an intensive therapy program of the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma. The community was also gearing up for the Sunday Rosh Hodesh bar mitzvah of the son of longtime residents.

Services moved quickly – until the announcements, when the gregarious and good-natured shul president just couldn’t stop himself as he announced birthdays, famous events on that date in Jewish history – and tide times. No one seemed to care. Everyone stayed for a long time to enjoy the hot meaty outdoor kiddush – with more than a fair share of alcoholic beverages.

The community returned Sunday morning for the bar mitzvah, and many residents will spend Shabbatot on the island through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Some visitors who don’t own homes find their way to the island for a summer Shabbat or for the Jewish holidays. “Two families of Satmar Hassidim came recently,” a member shared. “They said they needed a break from their community.”

The shul website sums it up nicely. “In keeping with the easygoing nature of Fire Island, the FIM has no ‘dress code’ (congregants may be found wearing anything from suits to shorts/T-shirt to bathing suits and everything in-between) and services are self-organized, with no official rabbinical position (therefore no accompanying weekly sermon!). The FIM is very cognizant of the location/culture in which we operate, with a (relatively) late start time and efficient operation, so as to allow people to maximize their rest and leisure hours. In fine Jewish form the FIM also has a strong emphasis on food, and we strive to have good ‘kiddush lunches’ after Saturday morning services.”

For those who observe Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and for those who simply want a relaxed destination getaway not far from New York City, there may be no better place than on Fire Island.

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Original Article Published On The JNS

While Israeli schoolchildren learn all of the basic subjects, their schedule also includes time for aruchat eser, “the meal at 10 a.m.” They enjoy a light snack, usually consisting of a sandwich and a fruit that children bring from home. It provides the energy needed to tide them over until school is over.

Ideally, the youngsters will have a more substantial breakfast and lunch at home, but sadly hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers go to school every day hungry, without having eaten breakfast.

Hunger makes it difficult for them to concentrate on their studies, and many from poor families drop out of the education system. Research demonstrates the connection between a nutritious breakfast and improved student concentration, memory and learning abilities, leading to reduced absences and enhanced academic achievement.

Thanks to the nonprofit organization Nevet-Breakfast for Every Child, 11,000 students at 238 schools in 101 municipalities throughout Israel discreetly receive a sandwich for aruchat eser. Their snack, delivered by their teachers, looks exactly like the ones their peers are eating. Last year, Nevet distributed 1.8 million sandwiches in all sectors of Israeli society, including Haredi, secular, Arab, Bedouin and Druze pupils. There has been a 30% increase in the number of schools that have approached Nevet for services since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevet was launched in 2006 as part of the well-known Leket Israel food bank and food rescue organization. Students were coming to school with no food, and Nevet decided to respond on a large scale. “Many schools wanted to join and we saw the potential. [We realized that] if we want to serve all of the children, we need to start another NGO,” recounts Rotem Yosef-Giladi, Nevet’s CEO, who has been with the organization for six years.

Nevet’s initial goal was to help hungry children by providing sandwiches, which were prepared in a central commissary and distributed to the schools. “Now, we give the schools ingredients and they prepare fresh and nutritious sandwiches in schools,” Yosef-Giladi explains. “That way, the kids don’t feel they are getting support from an NGO, but from a teacher.”

She stresses the careful steps taken to assure the dignity and privacy of each student. The ingredients arrive at school early in the day, and the sandwiches are made by the teachers and remain behind the secretary’s desk.

“There are no tags or labels on the food. It looks like everyone else’s,” Yosef-Giladi adds. “We don’t want to embarrass or shame them. If they feel ashamed, they won’t come and take the food.”

Yosef-Giladi sees the involvement of school staff as a key part of the program’s success. “When the teacher prepares the meal, the child feels cared for.” She also appreciates the initiative’s funding model, which is a partnership among donors, NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, municipal authorities and organizations such as ORT. Yosef-Giladi has observed an important change in recent years, in which high-tech companies and other businesses are getting involved as well.

The program is showing signs of success. “Since we began distributing food to our students, we’ve had a complete change in our school. Attendance has gone up, our students aren’t looking around for food during the day and it’s clear that they are calmer,” reports a principal in Haifa.

A principal in Jerusalem adds, “The food isn’t just filling a physical need, rather it also gives students the opportunity to learn on an equal playing field and to achieve better results because of it. These achievements will allow them to continue to break out of the cycle of poverty and dream of a better future.”

(The educators who are quoted remain anonymous because Nevet operates “behind the scenes,” out of sight of students and their parents, Yosef-Giladi says.)

She notes that 93% of school principals reported an improvement in student behavior as a result of the program.

Even with these successes, Yosef-Giladi says there is still much more work to do. “We have a waiting list of 20,000. And we believe the number is higher. We need all the help we can get,” she says.

She would like to see Israel implement a national food program like what exists in the U.S. and other Western countries. “Just as kids get books and trips at school, they should eat in school as part of their school day. It is a long road but we are starting to get there.”

Danny Noimark, from the U.K., appears in an online video campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Israeli NGO Nevet. Credit: Nevet.

Nevet recently launched an online video campaign to raise awareness and funds. The short video features young children from Britain, South Africa and the U.S. as they prepare for school. It stresses the need for solidarity between students and communities around the world.

“I think it’s really important as I have friends in my school who sometimes don’t bring snacks in as they can’t afford them,” observes Danny Noimark, 9, of Edgeware, U.K. “I felt really bad for them so it is such a lovely idea that a charity like Nevet can arrange for all children to get their food every day like all the other children and not feel left out or hungry.”

“Projects like these are so instrumental in making sure little bellies are full so kids can concentrate in school, having fun, and just being kids,” says Shevi Jassinowsky of Johannesburg, South Africa, whose 5-year-old daughter Leyla took part in the campaign. “No one should ever go hungry.”

Despite the long waiting list for Nevet, Yosef-Giladi remains optimistic. “This is a problem that can be solved,” she says.

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Original Article Published on The JNS

The forward led the national team in points, rebounds and assists at the EuroBasket tournament.

Listening to Deni Avdija answer questions at Washington Wizards Media Day last week provided a reminder of just how much the likable 21-year-old Israeli forward has accomplished—and endured—in his two seasons in the NBA. And he has a lot to look forward to. 

The only Israeli in the NBA is about to kick off season 3 with the Wizards, but first he has to get through a tough four-day training camp, fly to Japan for two preseason games against the Golden State Warriors, overcome a groin injury, and play two additional preseason games on the road—all before the regular season kicks off on Oct. 19. 

Welcome to the life of a young NBA player who also found time to play for the Israel national team this summer, hit the beach, and maintain his good sense of humor. 

“The off-season was great. I had time to work on my game and body,” said Avdija, referring to his experience playing in the EuroBasket 2022 tournament while also visiting with family and friends at the beach. 

“I got lots of experience in the off-season and I enjoyed the experience playing on the national team. We all enjoyed it,” he said while admitting, “I thought we’d advance higher. Unfortunately, we came up short.” 

Israel won two close games against Finland and the Netherlands but lost to Poland, Serbia and the Czech Republic. 

Avdija got off to a slow start as he tested positive for COVID-19 and wasn’t able to fly with his team to Georgia for three exhibition games before the tournament. Yet the 6’9” (2.06 meter) tall small forward still managed to lead Israel in points, rebounds and assists at EuroBasket. 

Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard said he is fond of international basketball. 

“I think FIBA competition simulates as much stress and pressure as you can put on a player outside the NBA playoffs. We want all of our players to compete for their countries,” he said. 

After seeing Avdija play in Prague, Sheppard said the leadership experience provided him with more confidence than the Wizards have seen from him yet. 

“It was nice to see Tommy come and show his support,” Avdija added. 

Avdija had a great summer in Israel with family and friends. “I was chilling, drinking some good wine, enjoying the sun,” he playfully told the media. “You don’t need more than that!” 

He then offered, “I trained on the beach too.” Avdija explained that he devoted time this summer to gaining confidence in his shot, and to “playing more physical.”

At the media session, Avdija reflected on his expectations of himself. “I want to improve my shots, the pick and roll, creating for others, being more confident and knowing where to be on the court.” 

Avdija said he is excited to play with new and returning Wizards teammates. “I feel like these are great guys and the chemistry can be great.”

Sheppard noted that 14 of the 16 rostered players worked out together in Los Angeles this summer. The only two who didn’t join the squad were Avdija and Kristaps Porzingis, who were playing for their national teams—Israel and Latvia, respectively. 

Avdija and the Wizards will soon be off to Japan for the two exhibition games, the NBA Japan Games 2022, at Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2. 

It will mark the Wizards’ first trip to Japan and the league’s 15th and 16th games in the country.

“We are so honored to represent the NBA and the wonderful game of basketball in front of an audience of Japanese fans,” said Ted Leonsis, founder and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Wizards as well as the NHL‘s Washington Capitals.

“We are particularly excited to watch [Wizards forward] Rui Hachimura play in front of his fellow Japanese citizens,” Leonsis said. 

Hachimura said he was excited to bring Wizards basketball to Japan.

“I cannot wait to see the arena filled with fans getting to see NBA basketball in person,” he said. 

Avdija is clearly excited about the team’s trip to Japan. He recently posted a playful video asking teammates, “Which Wizards player would you want to sit next to on the flight to Japan?” 

It is unclear whether he will actually play in these games as he is nursing the groin injury he suffered during last month’s EuroBasket tournament. “I am still dealing with a little bit of [groin] discomfort,” he reported at Media Day.

But Avdija, who made a complete recovery following a fractured right ankle suffered in a game in April 2021, is confident that he will be playing soon. “The doctor and the trainers will do their best to get me healthy and on the court ASAP. I trust them!” he said.

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